Trump news: House takes major step towards impeachment, as Democrats debate in Houston
Follow the latest updates, as they happened
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The top 10 Democrats in the presidential race faced each other in yet another 2020 showdown, with Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren meeting head-to-head for the first time in the primary season.
The debate comes following a busy day in Washington, where the House Judiciary Committee approved a key resolution as it gears up towards potential impeachment of Donald Trump. The resolution has defined the boundaries of a probe that Democrats hope could lead to said impeachment, and potentially his removal from office. The move allows the committee to designate certain hearings as impeachment hearings, and empower staff to question witnesses for a longer period of time.
Mr Trump travelled to Baltimore today for a Republican fundraising event and the House Republican Conference member retreat dinner.
During the debates, Ms Warren and Mr Biden were joined by the likes of Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Beto O'Rourke, Julián Castro, Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, and Andrew Yang.
The debate saw an illustration of their differences on healthcare policy, with Ms Warren and Mr Sanders advocating for Medicare for All, while many of the others advocating for a less aggressive approach.
Mr Trump has a quiet day scheduled for Friday, meeting for an intelligence briefing in the morning, before then meeting with the secretary of Defense in the afternoon.
Follow live updates
Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load
Donald Trump has said he plans to ban flavoured e-cigarettes after a spate of vaping deaths, declaring that companies were getting rich as people died.
In an appearance at the Oval Office with his most senior health official, the president said the issue had become such that parents needed to be taught about what was happening to young people.
“People are going to watch what we’re saying and parents are going to be a lot tougher with respect to their children,” he said.
“They’ve become very rich companies very fast and the whole thing with vaping is it’s very profitable. And I want companies – you know that … that’s why I’m fighting with China. But we can’t allow people to get sick.”
Donald Trump did not take action against Israel after it was accused of planting spying devices found near the White House in a move that has shocked former intelligence officials, according to a new report.
The devices are called “Stingrays” and can extract identifying information from mobile phones, including their geolocation. They were found near the White House and across Washington in “sensitive locations”, former officials told Politico, adding that the US government determined Israel was “most likely” behind their placement.
Officials said the devices were probably planted in order to spy on Mr Trump and his inner circle. But the president declined to take action after his government determined within the last two years that Israel was most likely the foreign entity behind the apparent espionage attempts, three former senior US officials told the news outlet.
This video shows the moment Greenpeace activists suspended themselves from the Houston bridge to raise awareness for climate change:
We're approaching the third Democratic debates tonight and The Independent team will be keeping you covered throughout. Keep this tab open while you watch the show to get all the latest updates from Trump world, and more! In honour of the upcoming festivities, here's an analysis on one lesser-known candidate's rise to the debate stage:
As Democrats are surely planning to discuss their robust gun control platforms at tonight's debate, Donald Trump's campaign is releasing these sort of online advertisements attacking the party for supposedly wanting to take away people's guns:
Here's another candidate who has been slowly rising in the polls, though his fundraising and organisational capacity have both grown significantly since the start of his campaign. Pete Buttigieg is in it to win it - will he have a break out moment on the debate stage?
The Trump administration plans to revoke an Obama-era regulation that provided federal protection to many US wetlands and streams.
Two Environmental Protection Agency officials with knowledge of the plan said the administration aims to substitute the rule with its own version.
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Army for Civil Works Assistant Secretary RD James will discuss the decision later this week.
Donald Trump has promised to repeal the 2015 Obama rule, which defines what bodies of water fall under federal jurisdiction.
Reports are coming in that Donald Trump's administration plans to divulge the name of a Saudi official who allegedly conspired with the hijackers behind the attacks of September 11. Story coming shortly:
Well this certainly doesn't sound great: the US budget has officially surpassed $1tn (£810.4bn) under a president who once declared he would be capable of balancing the nation's budget and getting the deficit down to zero after just eight years.
Joe Biden is seeking to hold off a surge from Elizabeth Warren, as the two leading Democrats finally appear on the same stage.
Three decades after a presidential debate was last held in Houston, a 1987 event the then Democratic senator participated in, Mr Biden is struggling to hold on to his status at frontrunner.
A poll, commissioned by the Economist/YouGov, this week put Mr Biden and Ms Warren on 26 points, suggesting support for him has remained stable while her numbers had increased 3 points. The poll put Bernie Sanders in third place, with sixteen points.
After two events which saw 20 Democratic hopefuls take to the stage over the course of two nights, a format many said was unhelpful, the debate in Houston will see the top ten candidates all appear together.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments