Three things for February 9
1. Trump’s second impeachment trial to begin today
The Senate is launching former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial today, Feb. 9. The trial has caused a lot of controversy, with lawyers for the former president insisting he is not guilty of inciting mob violence at the Capitol while prosecutors say he must be convicted of the “most grievous constitutional crime.”
According to AP News, Trump faces a sole charge of incitement to insurrection over the Jan. 6 Capitol siege, an attack that stunned the nation and the world after he encouraged a rally crowd to fight for his presidency.
No witnesses are expected to be called for the trial. Under COVID-19 protocols, senators will distance for the trial, some even using the visitors’ galleries. Trump has declined a request to testify.
Trump is the first president to face charges after leaving office and the first to be impeached twice.
2. Brady wins fifth Super Bowl MVP award
On Sunday, Feb. 7, Tom Brady won his fifth Super Bowl MVP award. Brady delivered Tampa Bay its second Lombardi Trophy, and first since 2003, with a 31-9 victory over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Had the Kansas City Chiefs won, they would have made history as the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls.
This win with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers secures Brady’s seventh Super Bowl win.
“He has the resume, he understands the game,” said running back Leonard Fournette, who signed a short-term contract with the Buccaneers along with a handful of other players, finding the lure of playing with Brady too much to resist, according to AP News. “He’s played against every defense you could ever throw at him.”
3. Myanmar military imposes curfew, bans protests
On Monday night, Myanmar’s military rulers cracked down on those protesting their takeover by issuing decrees banning peaceful public protests in the country’s two biggest cities.
A curfew was imposed for areas of Yangon and Mandalay, the country’s largest cities, where thousands of people have been demonstrating since Saturday.
The restrictions were ordered after police fired water cannons at hundreds of protesters in the capital, Naypyitaw, who were demanding the military hand power back to elected officials, reports AP News.
The decrees enabling the new restrictions were issued on a town-by-town basis and are expected to be extended to other areas as well.
