On Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), "the longest-serving independent in congressional history," signed a statement affirming: "I am a member of the Democratic Party. I will run a Democrat, accept the nomination of my party, and I will serve as a Democrat if elected." Sanders, who caucuses with the Democrats and is one of more than a dozen candidates running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, has consistently run for office in Vermont as an independent.

After Sanders' 2016 run for the Democratic presidential nomination, the Democratic National Committee decided that all future presidential candidates had to sign the pledge Sanders notarized Tuesday, obtained by NBC News. The DNC sent out the statement to all declared candidates last week, and the signed pledges were due this week.

In late 2015, Sanders told reporters, "I am a Democrat now," and said he would run as a Democrat in all future elections. In 2018, he won re-election in Vermont as an independent, and on Monday, he filed for re-election in 2024 — also as an independent.

"Vermont is one of a handful of states where voters do not register by party and can participate in any primary they wish," NBC News notes, "so Sanders has never had to officially declare his personal partisan membership." Peter Weber

The Justice Department executed Lisa Montgomery, 52, by lethal injection early Wednesday, shortly after the Supreme Court lifted two stays from lower courts. She was pronounced dead at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, at 1:31 a.m. A federal judge in Indiana had halted her execution Monday night, citing the "ample evidence that Ms. Montgomery's current mental state is so divorced from reality that she cannot rationally understand the government's rationale for her execution." Montgomery was the first woman put to death in federal custody since 1953 and the 11th federal inmate executed since President Trump lifted a 17-year hiatus on capital punishment in July.

"The craven bloodlust of a failed administration was on full display tonight," Montgomery's attorney Kelley Henry said in a statement. "Everyone who participated in the execution of Lisa Montgomery should feel shame."

A separate federal judge in Washington, D.C., issued stays Tuesday on two more federal executions scheduled for Thursday, citing positive COVID-19 tests for the inmates, Corey Johnson and Dustin Higgs. "The three executions were to be the last before President-elect Joe Biden, an opponent of the federal death penalty, is sworn-in next week," The Associated Press reports. "Delays of any of this week's scheduled executions beyond Biden's inauguration next Tuesday would likely mean they will not happen anytime soon, or ever."

Montgomery was convicted of the 2003 murder of 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett and abduction of her unborn child. Her lawyers say she is mentally ill after being subject to years of "sexual torture." Henry told AP on Tuesday morning that Montgomery was transferred to the Terre Haute prison Monday night, and "I don't believe she has any rational comprehension of what's going on at all." After the Bureau of Prisons took Montgomery's glasses away in October, out of concern she would kill herself, she had been unable to do needle-point or any of her other "coping mechanisms," Henry said. Peter Weber

The day Marvin walked up her driveway and made himself at home, Meagan Frederick knew it was finally time to realize her dream of owning a goat.

"I kind of took it as a sign that the universe was saying, 'This is your goat,'" Frederick, a New York resident, told Good Morning America. She believes Marvin originally lived at a summer camp, and was then abandoned in the woods. Once he was settled, Frederick and her husband started putting up fencing and building structures in order to open a larger goat sanctuary.

This was seven years ago, and today, the Frederick Farm Goat Rescue and Sanctuary is home to eight goats, lots of chickens, and several dogs. From the start, Marvin enjoyed snuggling with Frederick, and she told GMA he "just loves connection and he loves attention."

The sanctuary is open to the public, although because of the pandemic it is only offering virtual visits and tours to small groups. Frederick said as people watch and play with the goats, they get to see how smart and curious and playful they are, giving them new perspectives on farm animals. "That's a gift that I'm able share them in that way with people," she said. Catherine Garcia

Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.) became the fifth House Republican to announce she will vote to impeach President Trump on Wednesday, but the final number is expected to be higher. Zero Republicans voted to impeach Trump a year ago, but after Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.) said Tuesday afternoon that he will do so this time, and especially after No. 3 House Republican Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) followed suit, it became clear that Trump's second impeachment will have at least modest bipartisan support.

The House will consider and vote on one article of impeachment, accusing Trump of "inciting violence against the government of the United States" and "incitement of insurrection" for encouraging a violent mob to storm the U.S. Capitol last week during a joint session to finalize President-elect Joe Biden's electoral victory. Five people died during the violence, including a Capitol Police officer.

"As many as a dozen Republicans are expected to support impeachment, according to lawmakers and aides of both parties," Politico reports. "But it's unclear how Cheney's public endorsement will change the calculation for Republicans who have been privately dismayed, or even outright enraged, at the president."

In her statement, Herrera Beutler said Trump "incited a riot aiming to halt the peaceful transfer of power," and his actions — and lack of meaningful action — "in my reading of the Constitution, were impeachable based on the indisputable evidence we already have," and "I will vote to impeach him." Reps. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) have also said they will vote to impeach.

The top two House Republicans, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) and Minority Whip Steve Scalise (La.), do not support impeachment. But McCarthy, a Trump ally, "has been scrambling behind the scenes about what to do next" and "polling members about whether he should call on Trump to resign," Politico reports. GOP aides say he is open to censuring Trump, but Democrats argue that's too little, too late. Peter Weber

Citing concerns about "the ongoing potential for violence," YouTube suspended President Trump's channel for a minimum of seven days.

A video that "incited violence" was removed from his channel, YouTube told CNN Business on Tuesday night, and the account will not be able to upload any new content until the suspension is lifted. Additionally, YouTube said it will disable comments under videos on Trump's channel, "as we've done to other channels where there are safety concerns found in the comments section."

After a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol last week, Twitter permanently banned Trump from the platform, and Facebook suspended his account "indefinitely." In a statement, YouTube said Trump's channel received a strike for violating policies on inciting violence, which triggered the suspension. If the channel gets a second strike, it will be suspended for at least two weeks, with a third strike resulting in a permanent ban. Catherine Garcia

The House passed a resolution Tuesday night calling on Vice President Mike Pence to remove President Trump from office by invoking the 25th Amendment. Pence informed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Tuesday evening that he has no intention to do that, making the nonbinding House measure mostly a symbolic prelude to Wednesday's impeachment hearing. One Republican, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), voted with 222 Democrats to approve the 25th Amendment measure, while 205 Republicans voted against it.

Kinzinger is one of at least five House Republicans who have said they will vote to impeach Trump, though the final number is expected to grow as high as 12. Peter Weber

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is taking the idea of an impeachment trial seriously, and there is "a better than 50-50 chance" he would vote to convict President Trump, Axios reported Tuesday night.

One high-ranking Republican close to McConnell said the "Senate institutional loyalists are fomenting a counterrevolution to Trump," and one way to keep him from running for president again would be to convict him in a Senate trial.

Earlier Tuesday, The New York Times reported that McConnell believes Trump did commit impeachable offenses when he incited supporters to storm the Capitol last week, and thinks an impeachment would push the president out of the GOP. Fox News later confirmed the report, saying McConnell has finally decided to break from Trump and is "done" with him. McConnell has yet to publicly call on Trump to resign or say he is in favor of impeachment. Catherine Garcia