Newsletter Feb 12, 2021

Trump's defense team takes its turn today in the second impeachment trial of the former president, and the main objective is to not screw it up.

3 Things

Riding on 'defense': Following three days of damning evidence laid out by the House Managers in the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, the defense gets its turn to make its case to senators Friday knowing that losing is virtually impossible.
Despite the hours of disturbing video clips and compelling time lines, early indications are that Democrats have failed to convince enough Republicans to break ranks and vote to convict the former president. It would take 17 dissenting GOP senators to meet the threshold.
But that didn't keep the Dems from pulling out all the stops. Lead House Manager Rep. Jamie Raskin struck a chord by listing some of the questions he would have asked Trump had he agreed to testify: "Why did president Trump not tell his supporters to stop the attack on the Capitol as soon as he learned about it?" As our constitutional commander in chief, why did he do nothing to send help?"
Trump's lawyers have 16 hours to counter those arguments, however, they say they plan to wrap up their presentation today. There was no immediate word on when a vote would be held, however, there seems to be little doubt about the outcome.
SEE TRUMP'S DEFENSE PLAN, AND WHY IT MAY NOT MATTER

Vax on track: President Joe Biden's ambitious plan to vaccinate 100 million Americans in his first 100 days in office once sounded like an overly optimistic campaign pledge. Only three weeks into his administration, the lofty goal suddenly doesn't seem so unattainable.
Biden updated his plan to vaccinate the majority of the population by mid-summer, thanks in part to the 200 million doses he secured on Thursday. He also announced a new phase that is expected to pick up the pace by offering inoculations in drugstores and supermarkets.
The deal to obtain 100 million doses each from Pfizer and Moderna are "enough supply for 300 million Americans by the end of July," said Biden, updating the nation on the program's rapid progress and emphasizing the need for speed against the spread of new variants.
The announcements came as the U.S. is finally starting to see some significant gains against the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 470,000 citizens. In addition to drops in the rates of new infections for the first time in months, the number of vaccinations is up to nearly 45 million shots administered -- and quickly counting.
WHY IS THE TIDE IS TURNING IN THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID?

Calling China: Repairing U.S.-China relations is near the top of Biden's to-do list, and he used a marathon phone call with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to address a broad range of conflicting issues.
Biden said the two world leaders spoke for two hours, discussing trade policy, Beijing's crack down on protesters in Hong Kong, and China's aggressive territorial actions. Xi had a comeback for all of the above, deeming them internal affairs of no concern to the U.S.
Biden has hands full with the pandemic and other domestic issues, but his administration is making China a top foreign policy priority due to the urgency in mending some of the fences trampled by Trump's confrontational approach . If the U.S. fails to act in swiftly and decisively, Biden said, "they're going to eat our lunch."
FIND OUT WHAT BIDEN HAS ON THE MENU TO SERVE CHINA

Markets

DJIA	31,430.70	-0.02%
S&P 500	3,916.38	0.17%
Nasdaq Composite	14,025.77	0.38%
Japan: Nikkei 225	29,520.07	-0.14%
UK: FTSE 100	6,528.72	0.07%
Crude Oil Futures	57.78	-0.79%
Gold Futures	1,818.50	-0.45%
Yen	104.92	0.16%
Euro	1.21	-0.16%
* As of market close

Bitcoin bonanza

Tesla CEO Elon Musk's announcement earlier this week that his company purchased $1.5 billion in bitcoin has created a lot of buzz about the cryptocurrency's role in the corporate world. While the trend could mean substantial gains for bitcoin investors, it also could do some serious.

The prospect of a blue-chip invasion into bitcoin has caused concern about a gold rush effect, which could have some unsettling consequences -- both for investors and the economy overall. A run on bitcoin could create instability in the stock market as corporations increasingly rely on cryptocurrency as an alternative method for amassing treasury reserves.

Tesla has put almost 8% of its reserves into bitcoin. Assuming tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, and Google were to do the same, this would translate into almost another $7 billion investment. That's less than 1% of the total current worth of the bitcoin market, but the signal that it would send to other companies and retail investors would likely trigger a bull run that would make the current market look comparably stable.

FIND OUT WHAT IMPACT SUCH A RUN WOULD HAVE ON BITCOIN

A pandemic love story

This Valentine's Day will be like none other in American history, with the traditional romantic night out on the town replaced by a quiet Sunday evening at home -- possibly involving pizza delivery and pajamas.

Nearly one year since the coronavirus pandemic forever changed the dating dynamic, couples will endure their first socially distanced Valentine's Day -- complete with hand sanitizer and face masks instead of wine and kisses -- because nothing says love like stay out of my face.

Some unlucky couples will have to endure a virtual Valentine's date, whispering sweet nothings in a Zoom chat room instead of in each other's ears. We're featuring the holiday plans of one poor couple trying to keep the spark alive under awkward circumstances. Perhaps their story will inspire you to find a creative way to find romance this Valentine's Day.

SEE HOW ONE COUPLE IS CELEBRATING VALENTINES MILES AWAY

Chain reaction

The deadlier side of the winter storm that swept across the country this week reared its ugly head in a 100-vehicle pileup in Fort Worth, Texas.

With icy roads and little visibility, drivers were caught in an endless chain of unsuspecting vehicles slamming into one another on Interstate 35W. Video of the helpless commuters being crushed by sliding semis surfaced and sent a chilling reminder about traveling in such wintry conditions.

â€œWe are going vehicle, by vehicle, to make sure that anybody that is still trapped in their vehicle has been extricated, if possible,â€ a Fort Worth Fire Department official said. â€œThereâ€™s a lot of vehicles to go through.â€

At last count, at least six people were dead and 65 others were injured in the mass casualty incident, which clogged traffic and overwhelmed local emergency authorities. Travel conditions are expected to be treacherous for commuters throughout the Midwest and Northeast this weekend.

WATCH THE 100-CAR PILEUP FROM THE DRIVERS' PERSPECTIVES