DIANA DEGETTE

It's a crowded scene outside the Supreme Court, where hundreds of abortion debate partisans are trading chants while justices hear highly anticipated arguments inside.

Legislation passed by the House on Friday would guarantee a woman’s right to an abortion.

Congressional Democrats have approved a measure reinstating rules aimed at limiting climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas drilling, a rare effort by Democrats to use the legislative branch to overturn a regulatory rollback under President Donald Trump.

The bill passed mostly along party lines, with eight Republicans joining all but one Democratic lawmaker in voting for the bill. It is one of the largest land protection packages Congress has ever considered and covers almost 3 million acres of public lands, overwhelmingly in Colorado, California, Washington and Arizona. The ideological split over the bill was evident as the congressional delegation from Colorado debated the measure on the House floor. The legislation encompassed bills from Rep. Joe Neguse and DeGette that would affect more than 1 million acres of public lands in the state. “I prefer public lands with many uses," he said.

Drugmakers are significantly ramping up Covid-19 vaccine production after working out manufacturing issues that initially delayed the first shots, executives testified before Congress Tuesday. "We did initially experience some problems with the initial ramp up of our vaccine," Pfizer Chief Business Officer John Young testified at the hearing. "In common with other panelists here, we've been in the process of developing a manufacturing process for a vaccine product that we've never made before." The company, he said, delivered 17.8 million doses by Dec. 31. He added that the company is "very pleased" with its current production rate, noting that it delivered 9 million doses last week and is on track to double its current pace of production.

By the end of March, Pfizer and Moderna expect to have provided the U.S. government with a total of 220 million vaccine doses, up sharply from the roughly 75 million shipped so far. “We think we're at a very good spot.”That's not counting a third vaccine, from Johnson & Johnson, that's expected to get a green light from regulators soon. AdLooking ahead to summer, Pfizer and Moderna expect to complete delivery of 300 million doses each, and J&J aims to provide an additional 100 million doses. “The most pressing challenge now is the lack of supply of vaccine doses,” Rep. Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat, said as she opened the hearing. AdNearly 14% of Americans have received at least an initial dose of the two-shot-regimen vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna.

Even out of office, Democrats warned, Trump could whip up a mob of followers for similar damage. Even out of the White House, the former president holds influence over large swaths of voters. Rioters roamed the halls chanting, “Hang Mike Pence,” and eerily singing out, “Where are you, Nancy?” in search of Pelosi. The first president to face an impeachment trial after leaving office, Trump is also the first to be twice impeached. His lawyers say he cannot be convicted because he is already gone from the White House.

The prosecutors described in stark, personal terms the horror faced that day, some of it in the very Senate chamber where Trump's trial is underway. AdVideos of rioters, some posted to social medial by themselves, talked about how they were doing it all for Trump. Even out of the White House, the former president holds influence over large swaths of voters. The first president to face an impeachment trial after leaving office, Trump is also the first to be twice impeached. His lawyers say he cannot be convicted because he is already gone from the White House.

While the Democrats have appealed to the senators’ emotions, Trump’s lawyers have tried to tap into raw partisan anger. REPUBLICANS TO WATCHSix Republican senators voted with Democrats on Tuesday not to dismiss the trial on constitutional grounds. AdCassidy was the only one who did not side with Democrats in a similar vote two weeks ago. He said after the vote Tuesday that he thought Democrats had a better argument and that Trump’s team had done a “terrible” job. He said he will watch the additional arguments as an impartial juror and then decide whether to convict.

WASHINGTON – The Latest on former President Donald Trump’s second Senate impeachment trial (all times local):6:35 p.m.Senate Republicans had sharp criticism for former President Donald Trump’s lawyers after the opening of his second impeachment trial. Many said they didn’t understand Trump’s lawyers’ arguments as they sought to persuade the Senate to dismiss the trial on constitutional grounds. ___3:05 p.m.Rep. Jamie Raskin, the lead House impeachment manager, grew emotional as he concluded the Democrats’ first round of arguments in former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial. Ad___1:40 p.m.President Joe Biden is planning to largely ignore the impeachment trial of his predecessor and plans to focus on the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. ___10:40 a.m.House impeachment managers plan to lay out a “devastating” case that is similar to a criminal prosecution in former President Donald Trump’s second Senate impeachment trial.

What is certain for now is that the impeachment trial will be held after Trump has already left office. But it's still unclear exactly how the trial will proceed and if any Senate Republicans will vote to convict Trump. In the House, 10 Republicans joined Democrats in voting to impeach Trump, including Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking Republican. Every single House Republican voted against Trump's first impeachment in 2019. DIFFERENT CHARGES, DIFFERENT IMPEACHMENTThis impeachment trial is likely to differ from the last one in many ways.

WASHINGTON – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tapped nine of her most trusted allies in the House to argue the case for President Donald Trump’s impeachment. Pelosi hasn’t yet said when she will send the article of impeachment to the Senate. Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette, another manager, says the nine prosecutors plan to present a serious case and “finish the job” that the House started. REP. TED LIEU, CALIFORNIALieu, who authored the article of impeachment with Cicilline and Raskin, is on the Judiciary and Foreign Affairs panels. She is also a member of the House Judiciary Committee, and is a former lawyer and member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

On Wednesday, hallowed spaces of American democracy, one after another, yielded to the occupation of Congress. There was a heavy police presence at the Capitol on Thursday morning, including officers from D.C., Maryland and Virginia and the D.C. National Guard. Trump told his morning crowd at the Ellipse that he would go with them to the Capitol, but he didn’t. Video footage also showed officers letting people calmly walk out the doors of the Capitol despite the rioting and vandalism. Shortly after being told to put on gas masks, most members were quickly escorted out of the chamber.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), who returned to the podium, is gaveled by the presiding Democrat, Rep. Diana DeGette after House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler accused Gohmert of spouting "Russian propaganda on the floor of the House" ahead of a vote on two articles of impeachment against U.S. President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., in a still image from video December 18, 2019. House TV via REUTERS. WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday concluded a daylong debate and began voting on the first of two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. The first vote, scheduled to last 15 minutes, is on abuse of power. Once that concludes, the House will hold a five-minute vote on obstruction of Congress.