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TODAY'S HEADLINES:

Trump's corruption pays off for Republican fundraisers.

Meanwhile, world health officials warn of a deadly new outbreak. It already shut down a whole city in China.

And finally, Philadelphia police smear an iconic war hero: Gritty

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#AMQuickie: Thursday, January 23rd, 2020

HOSTS - Sam Seder & Lucie Steiner

WRITER - Corey Pein

PRODUCER - Dorsey Shaw

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER - Brendan Finn

Trump's corruption pays off for Republican fundraisers:

Two days in to the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump, the Republican defense strategy is clear: sabotage the process, and change the subject. Same as ever.

Senate Democrats spent yesterday summarizing their case against Trump. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is helping Trump by suppressing new evidence and squeezing the schedule.

There is obstruction outside Congress as well. Attorney General Bill Barr is ignoring a judge's order to turn over even more documents about the Trump family. Specifically, Barr's Justice Department is refusing to disclose an FBI interview with Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The DOJ says it needs to go over the interview and make QUOTE appropriate redactions ENDQUOTE.

Still, the case against Trump, which House impeachment manager Adam Schiff summarized for Senators yesterday, remains strong. Congressman Schiff explained how Trump shook down the leader of Ukraine to force the country to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden. (Also yesterday, more than one new nationwide poll put Biden behind Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in the Democratic presidential primary.)

For his part, Trump has peeled himself away from TV. This week he at the oligarchs’ convention in Davos, Switzerland, no doubt hoping to cut a few more crooked deals. The Washington Post reports that despite -- or more likely because of -- his corrupt reputation, Trump is attracting new money to the GOP. The Post dug up at least 220 big new Republican donors. Together, those new donors have raised more than $21 million for Trump and the Party. They include millionaires and billionaires in fracking and loan sharking (the legal kind). You know, Trump people!

World health officials warn of a deadly new outbreak. It already shut down a whole city in China:

The Chinese government has shut down all public transportation in a city of eleven million people in an attempt to contain a deadly new virus. There are already confirmed cases around Asia, as well as in Australia and the United States. That Chinese city, Wuhan, gave the disease its name -- Wuhan coronavirus.

The World Health Organization started meeting on the issue yesterday. It should announce today whether it will be declaring an international health emergency over the deadly bug.

The last coronovirus you might remember hearing about was called SARS, or Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Wuhan coronavirus is said to be similar and can be transmitted through human-to-human contact.

The New York Times reports that more than 500 cases are confirmed, and at least 17 people have died. A W.H.O. spokesman told the paper QUOTE We don’t know how many people are infected. The more you test, the more you will find people who are infected. We don’t know if there are asymptomatic cases. If they are asymptomatic, are they contagious? ENDQUOTE.

Good question. Expect to hear more about this. And wash your hands!

Philadelphia police smear an iconic war hero: Gritty:

Free Gritty! The Philadelphia police department is smearing the city's beloved Antifascist mascot, Gritty. The shaggy, orange, bug-eyed Muppet-like animal known as Gritty has also been seen at hockey games, rooting for the Philadelphia Flyers. Gritty is beloved by all.

Police say Gritty, or a person dressed as Gritty, punched a 13-year-old fan QUOTE as hard as he could UNQUOTE. That's according to the Philly PD and the boy's father.

But consider the timeline. The alleged incident took place in November of last year. The boy's father waited a month to report it to police. Now, at the end of January, the police tip off the press.

There may be a simple explanation. But there is something the Philly media forgot to mention. The city has a new police commissioner. Her name is Danielle -- would you believe it -- Outlaw. She comes most recently from Portland, Oregon.

In Portland, Outlaw bragged on right-wing talk radio about kicking the butts of Antifa. Those were her words, not mine. She forgot to mention that protests only happened when Nazi

rallies threatened to shut down the city -- just like in Richmond, Virginia, on Martin Luther King Day. Previously, Outlaw worked in Oakland when its police force was racked with scandal.

So Outlaw failed up from Portland to Philly. And soon after she showed up, an Antifa icon got slandered as a child abuser.

Longtime observers of Philly sports noted that the police smear job was likely to backfire. Flyers fans, after all, would no doubt pay to watch their mascot attack a puny little child.

QUICKER QUICKIES:

Some good news! This week Oakland become the first city in California to ban criminal background checks for renters. The city's QUOTE fair chance housing ENQUOTE measure passed unanimously, and Berkely is expected to follow suit. A survey of Oakland’s homeless camps found that three-quarters of the people living there had previously been in jail or prison.

Wicked landlords who break the rules could face $1,000 per violation, and are liable to civil action. So here's my advice: Be gay, do crimes, and if the landlord gets mouthy, sue him and take his money! This plan is perfect.

Evo Morales, the popular and long-serving president of Bolivia who was driven into exile after a military coup last year, has a lot to say. Morales had a big rally in Argentina yesterday. He called it a celebration of the end of his presidential term -- although he is finishing it in exile.

Earlier this month, Morales told a German newspaper it was a mistake not have had a Plan B to defend his government. He also said that if he returned to Bolivia it would be a priority to form popular militias. Morales blamed Donald Trump for the coup against him and said Trump wanted to own Bolivia QUOTE like a trophy ENDQUOTE.

As though Trump needs more gold, the tacky bitch.

Attention! Bras must be worn at all times! A woman's nipples were ruled unfit for her children by a judge in Utah. Tilli Buchanan was installing drywall in her garage with her husband when her three stepchildren came in and saw her boobs. Now a county judge in Salt Lake City says she will face three counts of lewdness involving a child, which mean up to one year in jail and a decade as a registered sex offender.

It makes sense, you know. Kids should learn what nipples are when and only when Jesus says it's time.