February 1, 2020

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) was perhaps the most crucial vote in the Senate's decision to ultimately reject additional witnesses in President Trump's impeachment trial.

He was long seen as a possibility to join the ranks of Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) in crossing the aisle to link up with Democrats, but he and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) wound up sticking with the GOP. Alexander has explained his reasoning a few times, arguing Trump's dealings with Ukraine were "inappropriate" but didn't rise to the level of an impeachable offense. He also worried about a conviction tearing the country apart, "pouring gasoline on the fire of cultural divisions that already exist."

But he also provided USA Today with a slightly different rationale. He said he was "struck" by the fact that not a single House Republican voted to impeach Trump following congressional hearings. If just a few of them had voted in favor, he told USA Today he might have voted differently.

Unsurprisingly, that explanation doesn't appear to hold up for some Democrats. Read more at USA Today. Tim O'Donnell

2:05 p.m.

After all that mess in Iowa, there's another caucus right around the corner — but Nevada doesn't want anyone to freak out.

In a statement, the Nevada Democratic Party proactively reassured voters Tuesday. They can "confidently" say will be no repeat of Monday evening's Democratic caucus debacle in Iowa on Feb. 22 when Nevadans gather to select the Democratic presidential nominee. For starters, they won't be using the app that appears to have caused Iowa's issues.

That said, the state is not going app-free. In fact, they'll be using not one, but two apps to count votes (one for early voters and the other for caucus-goers), but it does sound like people will at least be better prepared on how to use them, and there are backup plans in place should things go south. Tim O'Donnell

2:02 p.m.

Will we actually have the full results of the Iowa caucuses before the New Hampshire primary?

The Iowa Democratic Party isn't providing much clarity on that. In a Tuesday call with the 2020 campaigns, officials only promised that more than half of the results of Monday's caucuses, which were delayed amid technical issues, will be released this afternoon, The Associated Press reports.

"We are going to release the majority of results that we have by 4 p.m. today," Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price said. Price also told the campaigns "I don't want to put a number on it, but it's more than 50 percent of results" that will be released, BuzzFeed News reports.

The Iowa Democrats previously explained that a coding issue with the new app used to report results created these issues. The lengthy delay of any reported results stretched on as the Democratic candidates were already moving on to New Hampshire, which holds it primary in a week. Price reportedly provided no information on the call about when more results would come out following this afternoon's release.

"We're continuing to work through that process," he said, The Washington Post reports. "As soon as we can. Today, tomorrow, the next day, a week, a month." In a statement, the Iowa Democratic Party said, "we will continue to release results as we are able to."

BuzzFeed News reports that campaign aides expressed concern on the call that these results would be taken as the "final number," and the Post reports "a representative for the Buttigieg campaign sounded pleased, while a representative for the Biden campaign sounded frustrated." Brendan Morrow

1:16 p.m.

Some conservatives are apparently rooting against democracy this time around.

Iowa's Democratic party still hasn't released the results of Monday's presidential caucuses, and it's leading to more than just mockery from the other side of the aisle. Several conservatives, including some Republican elected officials, are openly suggesting — without proof — that the whole debacle is just Democratic National Committee "rigging" in action.

President Trump himself largely stayed out of conspiracy territory, but members of his family didn't have a problem with peddling disinformation. Eric Trump tweeted Monday night that the Democrats were surely "rigging this thing," while Donald Trump Jr. repeated that unfounded claim. Trump's campaign manager Brad Parscale also suggested that the Iowa Democrats' "quality control" excuse for the delay was synonymous with "rigging."

But it wasn't just a bunch of unelected figures planting doubt about American democracy. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a longtime lawmaker who definitely shouldn't be doing this kind of thing, suggested all of this had to do with Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) apparent success in Iowa.

To be clear, there's no evidence that the Iowa caucuses have been "rigged" in any way whatsoever. Kathryn Krawczyk

12:56 p.m.

It's not just Palestine that's dissatisfied with the White House's Middle East peace plan unveiled last week. For wildly different reasons, some of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's supporters aren't happy with how things are shaping up, either, despite initially reacting positively to the proposal, The Washington Post reports.

White House adviser and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner has received a lot of the blame, particularly when it comes to the delay in annexation of Jewish settlements. David Elhayani, the leader of the Yesha Council, which oversees more than 150 Israeli settlements, said Kushner "took a knife and put it in Netanyahu's back" when Washington didn't follow through on a reported promise to allow Israel to declare sovereignty over 30 percent in the West Bank if Palestine didn't accept the plan within 48 hours.

In the end, Palestine flat out rejected the plan, but the U.S. urged patience when it came to annexation, with Kushner suggesting Israel wait to consider the motion until a new government is formed after next month's elections. But Elhayani thinks the annexation pause could actually cost Netanyahu an electoral victory. In that scenario, he said, the annexation plan he hopes to see would likely flounder in Israel's future parliament. Read more at The Washington Post. Tim O'Donnell

12:40 p.m.

Could this really have been the last Iowa caucuses?

After the disastrous Monday night caucuses, during which technical difficulties delayed the release of any results, former senior adviser to former President Obama David Axelrod was ready to throw dirt over the entire tradition's grave.

"I think the Iowa caucuses are dead, dead, dead," Axelrod said. "I don't think that's even a discussion anymore."

Axelrod, who worked on Obama's 2008 campaign that famously won Iowa, went on to argue that the idea that campaigns "should start in a discreet, small state" where candidates "actually have to go and interact with human beings" should remain. But as far as the Iowa caucuses go, "the nail has been driven through" it, Axelrod said.

Zero results from the Iowa caucuses have been released as of Tuesday afternoon, and Axelrod has criticized the state's Democratic Party, tweeting their response to this situation has been "an abject disaster" that "should be taught in classrooms as an example of what not to do in a crisis."

Axelrod wasn't the only one to dismiss the Iowa caucuses on Tuesday, with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) telling MSNBC this "quirky, quaint tradition" should "come to an end." President Trump, meanwhile, is defending Iowa's first-in-the-nation position, tweeting Tuesday, As long as I am President, Iowa will stay where it is. Important tradition!" Brendan Morrow

11:47 a.m.

Actress Shannen Doherty has revealed she's battling stage four breast cancer.

The Beverly Hills, 90210 star, who was previously diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 but entered remission for several years, shared the news Tuesday in an interview with Good Morning America.

"My cancer came back," Doherty said. "...I don't think I've processed it. It's a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways."

The 48-year-old actress told GMA she kept the news private while working on a 90210 reboot but is announcing it now because it would have come out in court documents, as she's engaged in a legal battle with State Farm. In the interview, Doherty said she's "petrified" and emotionally described how after her co-star Luke Perry's death, she wondered, "why wasn't it me?"

"It's so weird for me to be diagnosed and then somebody who was, you know, seemingly healthy to go first," Doherty said. "It was really shocking, and the least I could do to honor him was to do that show." Brendan Morrow

11:27 a.m.

Things just aren't going well for Democrats right now.

The party is still trying to work out the results of Monday's Iowa caucuses, but across the border in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, another major problem is unfolding. That city is hosting the Democratic National Convention this summer, and is facing allegations of a "toxic and unstable working environment" that have "sidelined" two of the host committee's top officials, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

In a letter sent to the Milwaukee 2020 board of directors, senior women members of the Milwaukee 2020 staff complained the host committee's chief of staff Adam Alonso has "consistently bullied and intimidated staff members," particularly women. This has created "a culture that coddles male senior advisors and consultants who have no clear role or clear lines of management," the letter continues. Host Committee President Liz Gilbert has "enabled" this "mismanagement," and even gone on to "defend" Alonso since staffers first complained in November, they write.

The board has since placed Alonso on administrative leave as it probes the allegations, and said Gilbert would be working outside of the office and "will not have direct contact with staff," per the Journal Sentinel. But this isn't the first problem Alonso and Gilbert have faced: They were also criticized over their continued work with the New Jersey Democratic party that apparently detracted from their full-time work in Milwaukee. Alonso was ousted from his $15,000-a-month consulting job for New Jersey Democrats on Monday. Kathryn Krawczyk

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