As if apartment-hunting wasn't already hard enough.
The low minimum wage in cities across America has made it almost impossible for workers to find a decent place to call home, data released Wednesday by the National Low Income Housing Coalition found. Full-time minimum wage workers can't afford a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the U.S., the group found, whether they're making the $8.50-an-hour wage in cheaper Arkansas or the $11 wage in expensive California.
It only gets more depressing from there: CityLab reports that there are only 22 counties in the U.S. where people working 40-hour weeks at minimum wage can afford even a one-bedroom apartment.
This may seem like an issue solely for the poor, but the future of renting is looking grim for everyone. "The rents are far out of reach from what the average renter is earning," said Diane Yentel, the president of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. This is painfully clear when you look across the states and see what hypothetical wage would enable a renter to afford rent: Even in Arkansas, the state where housing is cheapest in the country, a worker would need to earn at least $13.84 an hour to afford a two-bedroom apartment — more than $5 more than the current hourly wage floor.
With the Trump administration having proposed huge cuts to subsidized housing, and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson supporting a bill to raise rent on households receiving housing assistance by 20 percent, the only thing looking up is that rent bill every month. You can read more at CityLab. Amari Pollard
U.S. military officials announced on Tuesday that "out of an abundance of caution," additional service members affected by the Iranian missile attack earlier this month have been sent to Germany for medical evaluations and treatment.
On Jan. 8, Iran fired missiles at two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops, in response to President Trump's authorization of an airstrike that killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani. The next day, Trump said "no Americans were harmed" and "only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases." Military officials at the al-Asad base told The Washington Post on Jan. 13 that "dozens" of service members there were suffering from concussion-like symptoms, which do not always appear right away. By Jan. 15, 11 people had received treatment.
The Pentagon confirmed last week that the 11 service members had left Iraq to receive treatment, but did not share any information on their conditions. Officials on Tuesday did not say how many additional service members are receiving treatment, only revealing they are in Landstuhl, Germany, and not hospitalized. "As medical treatment and evaluations in theater continue, additional service members have been identified as having potential injuries," Army Maj. Beth Riordan said in a statement. "Given the nature of injuries already noted, it is possible additional injuries may be identified in the future." Catherine Garcia
New York Yankees great Derek Jeter was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, receiving 396 out of 397 votes cast.
This was the shortstop's first year of eligibility. A 14-time All Star, Jeter spent his entire career with the Yankees, and was the American League Rookie of the Year in 1996. He retired in 2014, after scoring 1,923 runs and making 3,465 base hits. His former teammate, Yankees relief pitcher Mariano Rivera, was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2019, the only player ever to be chosen unanimously.
Larry Walker was also elected to the Hall of Fame on Tuesday; this was the British Columbia native's final year of eligibility. The outfielder played with the Montreal Expos, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals during his 17-year career, and while with the Rockies, Walker — the 1997 National League MVP — led the team in 1995 to its first playoff appearance. Catherine Garcia
Jeff Flake, the former senator from Arizona, doesn't know whether he would have voted to impeach President Trump, but is sure of one thing: Trump definitely did something wrong.
Flake announced in 2017 he would not seek re-election, saying he felt there wasn't any room in the Republican Party for critics of Trump. He was in the Senate chamber on Tuesday, watching his former colleagues participate in Trump's impeachment trial, and during a break told reporters he saw valid points on both sides of the argument over whether Trump's pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was an impeachable offense.
Trump pushed Zelensky to launch an investigation into his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, and while Flake doesn't know if Trump should be removed from office over this, it wasn't a good idea. "As a Republican, it pains me when I see Republicans, House Republicans, try to maintain that the president did no wrong, that this is somehow normal," he said. "It's not." Catherine Garcia
That's one down.
The Senate stuck to party lines Tuesday as President Trump's impeachment trial got under way. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced an amendment to the rules dictating the impeachment proceedings which called for the Senate to subpoena White House documents related to the events. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) then responded with a motion to table the proposal.
There wasn't much drama after that. The motion to table passed 53-47, as every member of the upper chamber stuck with their side, including a few GOP lawmakers like Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who are generally considered the biggest threats to cross the aisle. Collins, for her part, issued a statement shortly after the vote indicating her decision had more to do with the timing of Schumer's proposal than her opposition to bringing in new evidence.
After the defeat, Schumer introduced a second amendment, this time calling for documents from the State Department. Tim O'Donnell
Harvey Weinstein's defense will aim to discredit his accusers by citing alleged "loving emails," which a judge has just ruled can be referenced during his rape trial.
Attorney Damon Cheronis claimed in court Tuesday that Weinstein's defense team has "dozens and dozens and dozens of loving emails" from witnesses to Weinstein that it wants to use during the trial, The Associated Press reports. The defense claims that in these emails, women "describe being in loving relationships" with Weinstein or "describe him as someone they cared about both before and after these alleged sexual assaults," Bloomberg reports.
"We will counter with their own words," Cheronis said, also alleging that "witnesses who claim sexual assault with him also bragged about being involved in sexual relations with him," Deadline reports.
Judge James Burke said Tuesday the defense is permitted to reference what was allegedly said in these emails, although they aren't allowed to actually show them, NBC News reports. Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi blasted the defense's characterization of the emails as "blatantly inaccurate," per Bloomberg.
Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than 80 women, is facing charges of rape and sexual assault, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Although Weinstein's defense on Tuesday won the right to reference these emails, it lost another bid to move his trial out of New York City; Assistant District Attorney Harriett Galvin called this a "transparent attempt to delay the proceedings," per AP. After a jury of seven men and five women was selected last week, opening arguments in the Weinstein trial are set to begin Wednesday. Brendan Morrow