Eliana Willis

Rush Limbaugh, the conservative US radio host whose nastily personal and bigoted riffs on the daily news won millions of devoted fans and altered the landscape of American media and politics, has died. At the height of his influence in the mid-1990s, Limbaugh commanded a daily radio audience of millions, known as ‘dittoheads’, who tuned in to hear him dissect the sins of the Bill Clinton administration and wage battle against the ‘commie libs’ he accused of plotting to destroy the country. Limbaugh, 70, had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer a year ago.
Rush Limbaugh, influential rightwing talk radio host, dies at age 70
Rush Limbaugh obituary More

The Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, said on Saturday that Donald Trump was ‘practically and morally responsible’ for the insurrection at the US Capitol on 6 January – minutes after voting to acquit the former president in his impeachment trial for that very same act.
The House majority leader, Nancy Pelosi, criticised McConnell’s remarks in a press conference on Saturday and said the issue of timing ‘was not the reason that he voted the way he did; it was the excuse that he used’
Mitch McConnell savages Trump – minutes after voting to acquit More

The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, decried the decision to acquit Donald Trump of inciting a riot at the US Capitol on 6 January. House Democrats, who voted a month ago to charge Trump with ‘incitement of insurrection’, needed two thirds of the Senate, or 67 votes, to convict him. Only seven Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in voting to convict Trump.
The Democrats argued in the short trial that Trump caused the violent attack by repeating for months the false claims that the election was stolen from him, and then telling his supporters gathered near the White House that morning to ‘fight like hell’ to overturn his defeat. Five people died when they then laid siege to the Capitol.
Senate has officially voted to acquit Trump on 57-43 vote More

Jaime Herrera Beutler, the congresswoman for south-west Washington state at the center of last-minute drama at Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial, has been a rare Republican supporter of the Democrat-led effort to convict the former president of “inciting violence against the government of the United States”.Herrera Beutler, who has served as a representative since 2011, made her support to impeach Trump known six days after the Capitol riot in early January. “The president of the United States incited a riot aiming to halt the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next,” Herrera Beutler said then.In the statement, Herrera Beutler described Republican leader Kevin McCarthy as “pleading with the president to go on television and call for an end to the mayhem, to no avail”.Late on Friday, Herrera Beutler went further, saying she was told by McCarthy that Trump initially sided with supporters. She urged Republican “patriots” to come forward and share what they know about the conversation in which Trump is alleged to have told McCarthy that rioters at the Capitol were “more upset about the election” than the congressional minority leader was.For a few tense hours it looked as if Herrera Beutler might upset the whole impeachment trial, as Democrats, backed by a handful of Republicans, suddenly decided she needed to be called as a witness – a move that would ensure Republicans would call witnesses too.But amid scenes of farce, chaos and frantic negotiations, a deal was struck to merely read Herrera Beutler’s statements into the record, in lieu of personal testimony. Suddenly, the prospect of weeks of lengthy witness testimony in the impeachment trial receded again.But the incident has focused senators to focus – even if briefly – on what Trump knew and when he knew it on the day of the riot, something that may leave a lingering impact on how the American public views the trial.Herrera Beutler first came to national attention in 2014, when then speaker John Boehner introduced her 13-month-old daughter Abigail, who has Potter’s syndrome, a rare condition in which a child is born without kidneys, to the legislative chamber with the Johns Hopkins doctor, Jessica Bienstock, who had helped save her life.Herrera Beutler later co-sponsored a bipartisan bill that would allow children on the Medicaid program with complex medical conditions to seek specialty care outside their coverage areas.She also drew attention as one of a growing number of women balancing motherhood and elected political life. At the time of her daughter’s birth, she was just the ninth lawmaker in history to have a baby while serving in Congress.Now again she is a rare politician: an eloquent voice in her Trumpist-dominated party, arguing for a return of the party to its pre-Trump values and standards of political life.In her 12 January statement on the Capitol riot, the congresswoman wrote: “I understand the argument that the best course is not to further inflame the country or alienate Republican voters. But I am also a Republican voter. I believe in our constitution, individual liberty, free markets, charity, life, justice, peace and this exceptional country. I see that my own party will be best served when those among us choose truth.” More

Eugene Goodman, the Capitol police officer who led violent rioters away from lawmakers during the 6 January attack, has been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal by the US Senate.The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, called the vote at the end of Friday’s impeachment proceedings, noting Goodman’s “foresight in the midst of chaos, and his willingness to make himself a target of the mob’s rage so that others might reach safety”.The Senate voted to award Goodman the medal – the highest honor Congress can bestow – by unanimous consent, meaning there were no objections. The medal has traditionally been used to honor military officers for distinguished service.Goodman was in the Senate chamber as Schumer spoke, and the entire Senate stood and turned toward him, giving him a standing ovation. He put his hand on his heart.Goodman, who was promoted to acting deputy sergeant-at-arms for the Senate after his performance during the Capitol riot, has been in the chamber for much of the impeachment trial. As an armed mob of Trump supporters bore down on the Capitol, threatening lawmakers including Mike Pence, the former vice president, Goodman intercepted, engaging rioters and leading them away from the Senate chamber.In new videos aired as part of House Democrats argument that former president Donald Trump incited the insurrection, Goodman was also shown leading the Republican senator Mitt Romney to safety as he unknowingly headed toward a location where the mob had gathered.“I was very fortunate indeed that officer Goodman was there to get me in the right direction,” Romney told reporters on Wednesday. He said he was unaware until he saw the footage that Goodman had potentially saved his life.A decorated army veteran who served from 2002 to 2006, Goodman, 40, is from Maryland. Last month, he escorted vice-president Kamala Harris and her husband, Douglas Emhoff, to the inauguration ceremony.“He is wholly deserving of the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress, and I’m glad the Senate acted quickly on our legislation to recognize the quick thinking and bravery of this great Marylander with a Congressional Gold Medal,” said Maryland senator Chris Van Hollen in a statement. “I urge my colleagues in the House to quickly follow suit.”House leader Nancy Pelosi this week introduced plans to honor the officer. More

House impeachment managers concluded their case against Donald Trump on Thursday by saying that the deadly Capitol assault he stands accused of inciting was the culmination of a presidency beset by lies and violent rhetoric. They also said he would remain a threat to US democracy if not convicted and barred from holding future office
Democrats rest case with warning that Trump remains a threat More

Joe Biden has criticised Donald Trump’s handling of the US Covid vaccination program after confirming the country had ordered an additional 200m vaccine doses to be delivered by the end of July. Speaking at the National Institutes of Health on Thursday, the president spoke of the efforts his team had gone through to ensure high vaccination numbers and criticised Trump’s strategy for distributing vaccines. ‘My predecessor, to be very blunt about it, did not do his job,’ Biden said. ‘He didn’t order enough vaccines. He didn’t mobilise enough people to administer the shots’
US finalizes order for 200m additional Covid-19 vaccine doses, Biden says More

House impeachment managers warned that more political violence could occur if Trump is not held accountable. Representative Diana DeGette argued the vote to impeach would make sure this would never happen again.
The  managers rested their case on the third day of the trial after presenting arguments for convicting Donald Trump.
US politics: latest updates More