WOMEN MARCH ON RALEIGH WITH THE ERA ON THEIR MINDS: Most of Sunday’s event took place in the grassy center of Halifax Mall, where nearly a dozen speakers took the stage, representing a wide range of issues, from healthcare and reproductive rights, to indigenous people’s rights, to pay inequality between men and women. Longtime activist and march organizer Yevonne Brannon said a new generation is ready to pick up the torch for women’s rights. “I think you see a lot of young women who are anxious,” Brannon said at a march event earlier in the week. “They’re willing and ready and want to connect to their world. They’re very frustrated by coming out of high school and entering college, entering the workplace and seeing that we’re still facing many of the things they read about in their U.S. History classes.”
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/counties/wake-county/article239601663.html

NC ARMY RESERVE SOLDIER KILLED IN ACCIDENTAL CRASH IN SYRIA: Gov. Roy Cooper has ordered that all U.S. and North Carolina flags at state facilities be lowered to half-staff in honor of a 22-year-old soldier who died in Syria. Cooper ordered the flags be flown at half-staff starting Monday in honor of Spc. Antonio Moore of Wilmington. He died Friday in Deir ez Zor Province, Syria, while conducting route-clearing operations, the Defense Department said. Moore was assigned to the 363rd Engineer Battalion, 411th Engineer Brigade, based in Knightdale. "Our hearts are heavy with the tragic loss of Wilmington native Spc. Antonio I. Moore. We’re honored by his selfless service to this country and are praying for his loved ones and fellow soldiers in the 363rd Engineer Battalion,” Cooper said in a news release. As a show of respect, individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flags at half-staff. Flags are to remain at half-staff through sunset on Feb. 2.
https://www.wral.com/governor-orders-flags-lowered-for-nc-soldier-killed-in-syria/18910731/

PUBLIC INTEREST IN THE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL IS WANING: For all the gravity of a presidential impeachment trial, Americans don’t seem to be giving it much weight. As House impeachment managers make their case to remove President Donald Trump from office, voters in several states said in interviews with The Associated Press that they’re only casually following the Senate trial, or avoiding it altogether — too busy to pay close attention, bored of the legal arguments, convinced the outcome is preordained or just plain tired of the whole partisan saga. Web traffic and TV ratings tell a similar story, with public interest seeming to flag after the House voted last month to impeach a president for only the third time in U.S. history. Many Americans are tuning out because they made up their minds about Trump’s impeachment months ago, said Eric Kasper, director of the Center for Constitutional Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. In addition, he said, there’s little doubt about the eventual outcome — acquittal by the GOP-controlled Senate — depriving the trial of drama.
https://www.wral.com/in-divided-america-some-voters-tuning-out-impeachment-trial/18910720/

BOLTON'S TELL-ALL BOOK HAS DEMOCRATS DEMANDING HE TESTIFY: The book, “The Room Where It Happened,” is scheduled for publication March 17, but a White House review could attempt to delay its publication or block some of its contents. Two people familiar with the book, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the project, confirmed that it details Trump tying aid to the desire for Biden probes and details a number of conversations about Ukraine that he had with Trump and key advisers, such as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. They said Bolton is ready to testify in the Senate impeachment trial. In a joint statement, the seven House impeachment managers called the report “explosive” and urged the Senate, controlled by Republicans, to agree to call Bolton as a witness in Trump’s trial, which kicks off its second full week on Monday. Bolton has said that he would testify before the Senate if subpoenaed. “The Senate trial must seek the full truth and Mr. Bolton has vital information to provide,” the managers said in a statement Sunday. “There is no defensible reason to wait until his book is published, when the information he has to offer is critical to the most important decision senators must now make — whether to convict the president of impeachable offenses.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/democrats-call-for-bolton-to-testify-in-trump-impeachment-tr...

LOCK HIM UP AND THROW AWAY THE KEY: One actress accused Harvey Weinstein of raping her after he had pushed his way into her New York City apartment in 1993. A second woman said he forcibly performed oral sex on her inside of his TriBeCa apartment in 2006. Seven years later, in a hotel in Midtown Manhattan, the Hollywood producer allegedly raped a third woman. A fourth woman said he slipped his hand into her vagina during a business meeting. A fifth said he groped her in a hotel, masturbated and ejaculated onto a bathroom floor. Then, a sixth woman said Mr. Weinstein raped her in his apartment when they met to discuss an acting role. All six women are expected to testify against Mr. Weinstein at his trial in State Supreme Court in Manhattan — the most anticipated case in recent history. More than 90 women have accused Mr. Weinstein of sexual misconduct including rape, unwanted touching and harassment. Allegations against the producer prompted the #MeToo movement, and his trial has focused attention on the complicated issues of consent and power dynamics in the workplace.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/26/nyregion/harvey-weinstein-trial-accusers-testimony.html?action=cl...