A vote by the US House of Representatives late last night lays the groundwork for Democrats, supported by several Republicans, to move forward today with a historic second round of impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

According to insiders on Capitol Hill, at least five Republicans have indicated they would join Democratic efforts to remove Trump, with Republican Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming claiming „there has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”

The unprecedented action by the US House of Representatives came after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol last week, resulting in dozens of injuries and the deaths of at least five people, including one Capitol Police officer.

In addition to the looming impeachment proceedings and a series of resignations, the Trump administration suffered an additional setback yesterday when Google’s parent company Alphabet joined Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, in suspending Donald Trump’s YouTube channel for seven days for violating policies against inciting violence.

Source: Reuters, Radio Poland

Poland’s health minister has called for the resignation of the rector of the Warsaw Medical University after he allowed a group of household-name actors and politicians to jump the queue for COVID-19 vaccinations.

Following a probe into what the Polish media has dubbed a „jabs-for-celebrities” scandal, Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said on Monday that the medical centre which administered the shots would be fined nearly PLN 350,000 (EUR 77,000) for breaching ethical standards.

Some of the actors and politicians have said they thought they were taking part in a campaign to promote vaccinations in Poland, and that they would be inoculated from a pool of shots which could have been wasted otherwise. Niedzielski reported that an investigation into the matter found no corroborating evidence for such claims.

Poland’s frontline healthcare workers are first in line to be inoculated against the coronavirus, to be followed by pensioners in nursing homes, people over 60, police, soldiers and teachers. Citizens over 80 will be able to sign up for COVID-19 shots beginning January 15.

Today marks the anniversary of the tragic death of longtime Gdańsk mayor Paweł Adamowicz, who was fatally stabbed during the grand finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOŚP) two years ago.

Adamowicz was the chairman of the Gdańsk City Council from 1994-1998, and served as the mayor of the city from 1998 until his assassination in 2019 at the age of 53.

Commemorations are scheduled to begin Wednesday evening with a tribute at 7:45 pm near the memorial plaque by the Amber Museum, followed by a broadcast of „The Sound of Silence” from the carillon of the Main Town Hall. Events will continue tomorrow with a carillon performance of the composition „Epitaph” at the Main City Hall at 17:30, followed by a mass at St. Mary’s Basilica at 18:00.

An illuminated heart composed of 36,000 candles will also be set up on Plac Solidarność tomorrow evening as part of the „Light the memory of Paweł Adamowicz” initiative. Proceeds from the sale of the candles will be used to support social and civic organizations around Poland as part of the commemorative „Gdańsk shares the good” („Gdańsk dzieli się dobrem”) fund.

For information on how to take part in the fundraiser, visit https://www.gdansk.pl/wiadomosci/zapal-swiatlo-pamieci-dla-pawla-adamowicza-i-wesprzyj-zbiorke-na-fundusz-o-nazwie-gdansk-dzieli-sie-dobrem,a,187510.

A series of concerts and lectures celebrating the annual „Day of Judaism” in the Polish Catholic Church kicked off this week in Poznań and online.

Launched as an annual initiative in 1997, the Day of Judaism aims to promote Christian-Jewish dialogue and reflect on the links between the two religions. Due to the pandemic, this year’s events, including poetry readings and a concert of Hebrew and Yiddish songs, are being held online.

Tonight’s discussion at 18:00 will be based on the encyclical „Fratelli tutti” by Pope Francis on the theme of Christian and Jewish solidarity, to be followed by a series of concerts on Thursday and Friday evening at 19:00. The free events run from now until the official Day of Judaism on Sunday.

For more information visit http://coexist.pl/judaizm/dzien-judaizmu/xxiv-dzien-judaizmu/.

Source: Radio Poland, coexist.pl

Weather

Today will be partly cloudy and cold, with a slight breeze coming in from the southwest and a chance of snow flurries overnight. Temperatures will remain just above freezing during the day, with a high of 1°C, or 34°F, dropping to a chilly -2°C or 28°F overnight. Similar weather is expected through the rest of the week, with a chance for some sun over the weekend.

Elizabeth Peck/mw