‘A riveting, damning presentation.’ Historian Heather Cox Richardson recaps House impeachment managers’ “devastating” timeline of Donald Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 insurrection.
■ Sun-Times D.C. bureau chief Lynn Sweet: “ If you doubted that ex-President Donald Trump was responsible for sending a mob to the Capitol …to hunt down Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in an effort to overturn the election, then you were not watching his Senate impeachment trial on Wednesday.”
■ The Tribune’s Dahleen Glanton: “Previously unreleased video tells the true story. It was an attempted massacre.”
■ Among the new footage: Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman saving Republican Sen. Mitt Romney from the mob.
■ Romney said he didn’t know until yesterday how close he came to that dangerous encounter—or the identity of his savior.
■ The House prosecutors were set to wrap up their opening arguments today.
■ Watch live here.
Who’s nabbed? NPR’s continually updated database tracks all those arrested for the Capitol insurrection—sortable by state, charges, ties to military and law enforcement, and whether they’ve invoked Trump in their defense …
■ … like this woman, a leader among the Oath Keepers paramilitary group.
■ Trib columnist Steve Chapman: The First Amendment gives Trump no cover for the events of Jan. 6.
■ The Onion: “Trump Attorneys Argue He Spoke Metaphorically Of Ripping Chamber Doors Off Hinges, Crushing Pelosi’s Skull.”
‘Cowardly, fascist-enabling, worthless pieces of garbage.’ Stephen Colbert took off the gloves last night as he condemned Republican senators who seemingly ignored Wednesday’s testimony.
■ Dozens of ex-Republican officials are talking about forming an anti-Trump, center-right third party. (Cartoon: Keith J. Taylor.)
■ The Lincoln Project—a largely Republican coalition whose slick anti-Trump ads won the hearts of many Democrats and other progressives—faces questions about harassment and its spending practices.
Under 65? If you have an underlying condition or other disability, you may be eligible for Illinois’ COVID-19 vaccination beginning Feb. 25 …
■ … frustrating some over 65 who still can’t get shots …
■ … and the expansion won’t apply to Cook County’s and Chicago’s campaigns.
■ Updated guidance from the CDC: Fully vaccinated people don’t need to quarantine after COVID exposure.
Cold discomfort. This weekend threatens more snow and windchills on the order of 30 below zero.
■ But, hey: Kite surfing.
Cop cashiered. The Chicago Police Department has stripped union president John Catanzara of pay for at least a month as it considers his ouster for a mess o’ misconduct.
■ Catanzara tells WGN-TV: “It’ll probably give me more support with members. … It’ll piss (police) off more.”
■ An ex-Chicago cop accused of threatening other officers is about to join the Chicago Fire Department.
Kicking the cans. Chicago’s Streets and Sanitation Department is supposed to make sure owners of residential buildings with five or more units hire private recycling firms—but the department’s chief, under fire for not doing that job, says he wouldn’t mind surrendering that authority to another agency.
■ Two years in, a plan to beautify 50 vacant lots in Chicago looks like a bust.
Oh, say: You can see … The Star-Spangled Banner performed at Dallas Mavericks home games, as owner Mark Cuban complies with orders from the NBA to reverse his decision to drop The Star-Spangled Banner from home games.
■ Texas’ lieutenant governor is backing legislation to require the national anthem be played “at all events which receive public funding.”
■ China’s banning lip-syncing by performers—punishable by a lifetime ban from the entertainment industry.
‘Pretty darn cheerful.’ Health care journalist Dan Weissmann is excited about the new episode of his Arm and a Leg podcast—spotlighting a real and effective “one-minute recipe for ‘crushing’ medical bills.”
■ Chicago’s oldest hospital is filing for bankruptcy.
■ Thanks to Pam Spiegel for making this edition better.