1 And Then There Were Three...Trump Is Impeached
Following hours of fiery debate, Donald Trump is now the third president in U.S. history to be impeached by the House. The House voted to impeach Trump on two articles of impeachment – abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Andrew Johnson was the first (he was impeached during the post-Civil War years), Bill Clinton came next in the late 1990s after committing perjury in the investigation of a sex scandal. Of course, Johnson and Clinton were acquitted in subsequent Senate trials – and when it comes to Richard Nixon in the 70s, he resigned his presidency before House votes on impeachment in the Watergate scandal. Still, not all went as assumed yesterday as four Democrats broke ranks with their party. Reps. Jeff Van Drew (New Jersey) and Collin Peterson (Minnesota) voted no on both articles. Maine Rep. Jared Golden only voted no on obstruction of Congress. Meanwhile, Hawaii Congresswoman and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard also broke with her party, but in a different way. Choosing not to vote yes or no...she voted “present.” A Senate trial is expected to begin next month.
2 Court Rules That Obamacare Individual Mandate Is Unconstitutional
The Affordable Care Act's individual mandate is being ruled unconstitutional. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with 17 states to say the ruling says the mandate "can no longer be read as a tax" and there's "no other constitutional provision that justifies this exercise of congressional power." But it’s not completely gone – the panel is ordering a lower court to look at the rest of Obamacare to see if the rest of the law should be thrown out. There are questions about Obamacare being able to survive without the mandate – justices asked for clarification. The appeals court decision likely means any Supreme Court action won't happen until after the 2020 election.
3 CA Teen Steals Plane Before Crashing It Into Building
A teenager is behind bars for allegedly crashing a stolen plane. It happened this morning at the Fresno Yosemite International Airport. Police say a 17-year-old girl climbed a fence, got behind the controls of a small plane and started the propeller. However, she didn't get very far. The plane crashed into a building and fence. Authorities say they found the unnamed young woman in the cockpit wearing the pilot's headset. She was described as disoriented and uncooperative. There are no injuries and investigators say there is no tie to terrorism. Her motive is unclear. While some say she must have had some understanding of plane to start an engine – the girl’s mother says she doesn’t even know how to drive a car.