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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 2019)
A7 THE ASTORIAN • TuESdAy, dEcEmbER 24, 2019 McConnell not ruling out witnesses in impeachment trial Meanwhile, the White House is pro- jecting confidence that it will prevail in a constitutional spat with Democrats. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has delayed sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate in hopes of giving Schumer more leverage in talks with McConnell. But the White House believes Pelosi won’t be able to hold out much longer. “She will yield. There’s no way she can hold this position,” Marc Short, the chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, told “Fox News Sunday.” “We think her case is going nowhere.’’ The impasse between the Senate leaders leaves open the possibility of a protracted delay until the articles are delivered. Trump has called the holdup “unfair” and claimed that Democrats were violating the Constitution, as the delay threatened to prolong the pain of impeachment and cast uncertainty on the timing of the vote Trump is set to claim as vindication. “Pelosi gives us the most unfair trial in the history of the U.S. Congress, and now she is crying for fairness in the Senate, and breaking all rules while doing so,” Trump tweeted Monday from his private club in Palm Beach, Florida, where he is on a more than two-week holiday vacation. “She lost Congress once, she will do it again!” Short called Pelosi’s delay unacceptable, saying she’s “trampling” Trump’s rights to “rush this through, and now we’re going to hold it up to demand a longer process in the Senate with more witnesses.” “If her case is so air-tight ... why does she need more witnesses to make her case?’’ Short said. White House officials have also taken to highlighting Democrats’ arguments that removing Trump was an “urgent” mat- ter before the House impeachment vote, as they seek to put pressure on Pelosi to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate. By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press PALM BEACH, Fla. — Senate Major- ity Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that he was not ruling out calling witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial — but indicated he was in no hurry to seek new testimony either — as lawmakers remain at an impasse over the form of the trial by the GOP-controlled Senate. The House voted Wednesday to impeach Trump, who became only the third president in U.S. history to be formally charged with “high crimes and misdemeanors.” But the Senate trial may be held up until lawmak- ers can agree on how to proceed. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is demanding wit- nesses who refused to appear during House committee hearings, including acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton. McConnell, who has all-but-promised a swift acquittal of the president, has resisted making any guarantees, and has cautioned Trump against seeking the testimony of witnesses he desires for fear of elongating the trial. Instead, he appears to have secured Republican support for his plans to impose a framework drawn from the 1999 impeach- ment trial of President Bill Clinton. “We haven’t ruled out witnesses,” McConnell said Monday in an interview with “Fox and Friends.” “We’ve said let’s handle this case just like we did with Presi- dent Clinton. Fair is fair.” That trial featured a 100-0 vote on arrangements that established two weeks of presentations and argument before a parti- san tally in which Republicans, who held the majority, called a limited number of witnesses. But Democrats now would need Republican votes to secure witness testi- mony — and Republicans believe they have Patrick Semansky/AP Photo Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks with reporters after walking off the Senate floor Thursday on Capitol Hill. the votes to eventually block those requests. In a letter Monday to all Senators, Schumer argued that the circumstances in the Trump trial are different from that of Clinton, who was impeached after a lengthy independent counsel investigation in which witnesses had already testified numerous times under oath. Schumer rejected the Clinton model, saying waiting until after the presentations to decide on witnesses would “foreclose the possibility of obtaining such evidence because it will be too late.” Schumer also demanded that the Sen- ate, in addition to receiving testimony, also compel the Trump administration to turn over documents and emails relevant to the case, including on the decision to withhold military assistance from Ukraine. PREP ROUNDUP ‘Vast majority’ of vaping illnesses blamed on vitamin E This screenshot shows the official message on one of 44 websites seized by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for advertising the sale of illicit THC vaping cartridges to U.S. consumers, as part of Operation Vapor Lock. been found in vaping product samples. In the strongest language yet about what’s caused the outbreak, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC told reporters during a telephone briefing Friday that it is her “conclusion” that vitamin E acetate caused the illness in “the vast majority of patients.” The nation’s outbreak of vaping-related lung injuries continues, but new cases are on the decline. More than 2,500 cases of vaping illness have been reported by all 50 states. There have been 54 deaths and more deaths are under investigation. Interviews with patients and fami- lies led investigators to some of the web- sites that were shut down by the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforce- ment Administration. The agencies did not announce any criminal charges. The 44 website domains — with names including Stoners Marketplace and Anony- mous Meds — now direct visitors to a mes- sage in red letters that says “This Site Has Been Seized.” Investigators have said they are not inter- ested in taking action against individuals who use vaping products, and are focused instead on suppliers. Some of the websites shut down were scam sites intended to collect money with- out ever mailing consumers any products, authorities said. SEVENDAY FORECAST FOR ASTORIA TODAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY “But our defense was the story of the game,” said Knappa coach Paul Isom. “The guys were really flying around and making life difficult for PC. We were able to hold them to single digits scoring in each quarter, which isn’t something that is easy to do.” He added, “the effort didn’t dip at all when we went to the bench. Cameron Miethe came in and brought his usual energy and intensity and made a ton of plays defensively.” Ranked fifth, the unbeaten Loggers (6-0 overall) are the only team in the NWL ranked in the 2A top 10. Knappa has 10 days off before playing at Warrenton Dec. 30. Astoria boys still looking for their first win of the season By CARLA K. JOHNSON Associated Press Health officials now blame vitamin E ace- tate for the “vast majority” of cases in the U.S. outbreak of vaping illnesses and they say doctors should monitor patients more closely after they go home from the hospital. The Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention announced the updated advice Friday. And, in a related move Friday, authori- ties investigating how patients obtained pos- sibly tainted vape products said they have shut down 44 websites advertising the sale of illicit vaping cartridges containing THC. The new medical advice is based on a close look at about 3% of vaping illness patients who returned to the hospital after discharge and seven who died after hospital discharge. The study suggests that vaping illnesses can get worse, even deadly, after patients leave the hospital and doctors should check on patients within two days of sending them home. The two-day followup after hospital dis- charge is shorter than the previous recom- mendation of one to two weeks. Compared to other vaping illness patients, those who went back to the hospital were more likely to have chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease or other breathing problems such as sleep apnea. Those who died after hospital discharge were more likely to be 50 or older. The CDC also released new informa- tion that continues to point to a culprit: vita- min E acetate, a thickening agent that’s been added to illicit THC vaping liquids. THC is the chemical in marijuana that makes users feel high. A report published in the New England Journal of Medicine identified the substance in the lung fluid of 48 out of 51 vaping illness patients and did not find it in the lung fluid of healthy people. Vitamin E acetate also has Schumer told the Associated Press on Monday that he stands ready to negotiate with McConnell, and that he hopes ques- tions about witnesses can be settled “right at the beginning.” Without witnesses, he said, any trial would be “Kafkaesque.” “Let’s put it like this: If there are no doc- uments and no witnesses, it will be very hard to come to an agreement,” Schumer said. If McConnell won’t agree, “We can go to the floor and demand votes, and we will,” he added. Schumer told AP the Democrats aren’t trying to delay the proceedings, saying the witnesses and the documents his party is asking for are directly relevant to the charges in the House impeachment articles. The Astoria Fishermen are still search- ing for their first win of the season, follow- ing an 0-for-3 performance at the Seaside Holiday Classic over the weekend. But, “for an 0-8 team, I’m not dis- pleased with how we’re playing,” said Astoria coach Kevin Goin. “We played well enough to win in all three games. We had some turnovers and missed some free throws in the last two. And we just ran out of gas in the last game. We were down to six or seven players.” After a 57-51 loss in the opening round to Montesano, the Fishermen came up short against Madras (53-52) and in a Sat- urday morning contest vs. Newport (62- 45), in a game that was much closer than the final score indicated. Astoria was also playing short-handed, as Ryan Stenblom is recovering from a high ankle sprain, Dylan Junes had the flu and even Goin missed a portion of the tournament, also with the flu. In the final game against Newport, Astoria held leads of 22-11 and 33-26 at halftime. The Fishermen play Elma in a first round game of the Dulcich Tourna- ment Thursday at 8:15 p.m. Portland Christian defeats Knappa girls, 56-29 The Northwest League has three teams in the top six of the latest 2A girls basket- ball rankings, and the Knappa Lady Log- gers hosted one of those teams Friday night. A strong defensive effort by Portland Christian gave the sixth-ranked Royals a 56-29 win over Knappa, the second loss in three days for the Loggers. “We know progress isn’t always lin- ear, and we didn’t execute our game plan,” said Knappa coach Tracie Brockey. “There are going to be days at this stage where we’ll miss the mark. I just hope we learn from it for our next match-up,” Dec. 30 at Warrenton. Portland Christian’s Carly Brunner, a 5-foot-3 junior, scored 26 points for the Royals, while no Knappa player scored more than six points. “PC is a well-coached, fundamen- tally sound team, and they capitalized on our mistakes,” Brockey said. “They don’t have a deep roster, but the players they do have are very disciplined. We were with- out Vicki Ramvick tonight, and Megan Hellberg stepped up to pull down 10 rebounds.” — The Astorian Knappa boys defeat Royals, still perfect The Northwest League has yet to pro- vide any competition for the Knappa boys basketball team. In every one of their three league games last week, the Loggers could have gone scoreless in the second half, and still won all three. Knappa’s latest blowout victory was a 71-30 drubbing of Portland Christian Fri- day night, in which the Loggers led 39-13 at halftime. Eli Takalo led a balanced Knappa attack with 16 points, followed by Devin Hoover with 11, while Kanai Phillip and Mason Westerholm added 10 points apiece. SUNDAY MONDAY REGIONAL FORECAST Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows. Seattle 44 35 46 33 46 35 A little p.m. rain Mostly cloudy Cloudy 47 36 Cloudy 49 39 49 39 Mostly cloudy Showers possible 50 40 Mainly cloudy Aberdeen Olympia 42/36 43/38 Wenatchee Tacoma Moses Lake 43/33 ALMANAC UNDER THE SKY TODAY'S TIDES Astoria through Sunday Tonight’s Sky: The northern cross, which is also known as Cygnus, the swan, stands almost straight up from the northwest horizon before midnight. Astoria / Port Docks Temperatures High/low ................................ 47/40 Normal high/low .................. 48/36 Record high .................. 59 in 1999 Record low .................... 15 in 1983 Precipitation Sunday ..................................... 0.03” Month to date ........................ 8.96” Normal month to date ......... 7.07” Year to date .......................... 49.91” Normal year to date ........... 64.44” Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2019 Source: Jim Todd, OMSI Sunrise today .................. 7:56 a.m. Sunset tonight ............... 4:34 p.m. Moonrise today .............. 6:19 a.m. Moonset today .............. 3:35 p.m. First Full High (ft.) Time Low (ft.) 11:13 a.m. 9.6 5:18 a.m. 2.8 none 6:25 p.m. -0.8 Cape Disappointment 10:50 a.m. 9.4 4:29 a.m. 3.0 none 5:34 p.m. -1.1 Hammond SUN AND MOON New Time Last 11:02 a.m. 9.9 4:51 a.m. 2.9 none 5:53 p.m. -1.1 Warrenton 11:08 a.m. 10.0 5:02 a.m. 2.8 none 6:09 p.m. -0.7 Knappa 12:23 a.m. 7.6 6:19 a.m. 2.4 11:50 a.m. 9.8 7:26 p.m. -0.7 Depoe Bay Dec 25 Jan 2 Jan 10 Jan 17 10:04 a.m. 9.9 3:58 a.m. 3.3 11:41 p.m. 7.6 5:06 p.m. -1.0 City Atlanta Boston Chicago Dallas Denver Honolulu Houston Los Angeles Miami New York City Phoenix San Francisco Wash., DC Wed. Hi/Lo/W 68/46/s 45/30/s 49/37/pc 68/45/pc 54/28/c 83/73/c 73/48/s 59/48/sh 75/60/pc 46/33/s 60/49/r 53/45/c 50/32/s 63/47/pc 42/34/pc 51/41/pc 69/49/pc 48/26/c 81/72/sh 73/54/pc 56/47/sh 80/70/pc 45/37/pc 59/46/c 53/42/r 50/39/s Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain, sf-snow fl urries, sn-snow, i-ice. 40/28 Hermiston The Dalles 40/28 Enterprise Pendleton 37/20 39/27 41/32 La Grande 38/23 41/37 NATIONAL CITIES Today Hi/Lo/W 37/26 Kennewick Walla Walla 38/26 Lewiston 40/28 40/37 Salem Pullman 40/26 Longview 44/35 Portland 41/37 38/27 Yakima 37/29 41/34 Astoria Spokane 32/26 Corvallis 41/35 Albany 42/37 John Day Eugene Bend 43/36 38/24 39/24 Ontario 40/26 Caldwell Burns 35/16 39/24 Medford 41/33 Klamath Falls 36/23 City Baker City Brookings Ilwaco Newberg Newport Today Hi/Lo/W 38/21/pc 46/38/r 44/38/r 40/37/c 45/38/r Wed. Hi/Lo/W 36/19/c 49/38/c 45/34/c 45/28/c 47/34/c City North Bend Roseburg Seaside Springfi eld Vancouver Today Hi/Lo/W 48/38/r 44/37/c 45/37/r 44/37/c 40/37/c Wed. Hi/Lo/W 49/35/c 46/33/c 46/32/c 47/30/c 45/30/c
