IT: Trump Senate impeachment trial to begin on February 8, and... ❄️ Should we freeze student loan repayments?

Welcome to Monday, January 25th, #s and @s...

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has announced that he and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have reached an agreement to delay Trump’s second impeachment trial until February 8th.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that she'll send the article of impeachment against Trump for “incitement of insurrection” to the Senate sometime today. 

Democrats previously debated an even longer delay - until after President Biden’s first 100 days - to give Congress time to consider the new administration’s legislative priorities and fill Cabinet positions.

Republicans argued that hastily moving to a trial would further deny Trump due process, as House Democrats’ impeachment vote occurred a week after the alleged “incitement” of the Capitol riot.

Do you agree with delaying the impeachment trial until February 8th?

Thousands Protest in Russia

Russian police have arrested more than 2,700 people as protesters - from the port city of Vladivostok in the east to Moscow seven times zones away - rallied in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Protests continue, despite freezing temperatures and mass arrests by Russian law enforcement. Among the detained were Navalny's wife, Yulia, and many heads of Navalny's regional offices.

Navalny was arrested on January 17 upon his return to Moscow from Germany, where he had spent five months recovering from a near-fatal poisoning by the nerve agent Novichok. The anti-corruption crusader blames the Kremlin, though they continue to deny responsibility.

Do you support or oppose the Russian protesters?

Biden Extends Federal Student Loan Repayment Freeze

President Biden extended the suspension of student loan repayments and the accrual of interest on outstanding loan balances through September 30, 2021, in an executive order signed shortly after he took office on Wednesday.

Student loan payments were initially frozen under the bipartisan CARES Act, which was signed into law by President Trump in March 2020. 

Borrowers with student loans that were originated by the federal government and are currently held by the federal government will see their loans temporarily suspended ― interest-free ― through September 30th. Essentially, your student loans will be frozen and prevented from accruing interest until October.

Do you support extending the freeze on student loan repayments?

And, in the End…

Maybe a "Cool Runnings" screening today in honor of the first Winter Olympics, which occurred on this date in 1924?

The inaugural Winter Games were held in Chamonix, in the French Alps.

Play it cool,

—Josh Herman

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