TOP STORIES
Thursday, February 6
A BROKEN SYSTEM ACQUITS TRUMP President Donald Trump was acquitted of impeachment charges. After Republican senators voted not to hear from a single witness ― the first time that’s happened in the impeachment trial of a U.S. president, of which there have now been three — it was clear to everyone that acquittal was guaranteed. The system failed. The president can abuse his office in pursuit of reelection. No need to worry about what the authors of the Constitution said. [HuffPost]
IOWA RESULTS STILL PENDING The results continue to trickle in: By early today, 97% of precincts had been counted, and it is unknown whether they are representative of the full state. Bernie Sanders led by one metric (the final popular vote), while Pete Buttigieg led by the significant total of state delegate equivalents. [HuffPost]
OCASIO-CORTEZ BLASTS TRUMP'S MEDAL FOR 'VIRULENT RACIST' Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) ripped into President Donald Trump for honoring Rush Limbaugh with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the State of the Union address. She said awarding the medal to a racist and xenophobe was "truly nauseating" and justified her decision to skip the event. [HuffPost]
CORONAVIRUS DEATHS SOAR PAST 560 The coronavirus toll continues to mount, with more than 560 dead and 28,000 infected -- the vast majority in China. Elsewhere, it has spread to over 25 countries and territories, infected more than 250 and killed two people. Two newborns in Wuhan have been infected, according to China's state broadcaster. [CNN]
AVALANCHE IN TURKEY: RESCUE OPERATION ON HOLD Rescue efforts have been put on hold after two avalanches killed at least 38 people in eastern Turkey. Most of the dead were hit by an avalanche on Wednesday while trying to recover the victims of another downslide a day earlier. The rescue operation, involving more than 700 personnel, is expected to continue on Thursday. [BBC]
HOLLYWOOD LEGEND KIRK DOUGLAS DEAD AT 103 Legendary actor Kirk Douglas died on Wednesday at the age of 103. “It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103,” his oldest son, actor-producer Michael Douglas, said in a statement. [HuffPost] | 
