Good morning. It's Wednesday, Jan. 13, and we're covering a looming impeachment vote, falling cancer deaths, and much more. Have feedback? Let us know at hello@join1440.com.

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NEED TO KNOW

Impeachment—Round Two

The House of Representatives is expected to vote today to impeach President Trump, accusing him of helping fuel the violence at the US Capitol building a week ago. House Democrats introduced a single article of impeachment Monday with the specific charge of inciting an insurrection (read text).

The measure is expected to have enough Democratic support alone to pass, though a number of Republican lawmakers may join. Most notably, Rep. Liz Cheney (R, WY-At Large), the third-ranking member of House GOP leadership, said she would vote to impeach. If approved—the House impeaches, the Senate holds a trial—President Trump would become the first US president to be impeached twice. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has said any charges wouldn't be considered until at least Jan. 20—after Trump's term has already ended. 

The vote comes a day after the House passed a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment (see background) in an attempt to remove the president from office. The bill was largely symbolic—Pence opposes the effort—and was in parallel to the article of impeachment.

In his first public comments since last week, President Trump criticized the effort and defended remarks he gave to supporters just before the crowd headed to the Capitol building. See a timeline of events here.

In related news, officials warned of at least four specific armed threats against the nation's capital ahead of next week's inauguration, while the FBI has warned of the potential for armed protests at all 50 state capitols. President Trump has approved an emergency declaration for Washington, DC, and up to 15,000 National Guard members are expected to be mobilized. 

Officials have opened more than 160 cases thus far in connection with the riot, many of which are reported to involve sedition and conspiracy charges. Finally, an Alabama man whose truck was found near the Capitol building with firearms and Molotov cocktails was indicted on 17 charges yesterday.

Cancer Death Rates Fall 

The death rate from cancer in the US dropped by 2.4% between 2017 and 2018, according to statistics released yesterday. The figure marks the largest single-year drop since data collection began in 1930, beating the previous record of 2.2% set the year before. 

Experts attribute much of the decline to lower smoking rates, as well as better treatments for lung cancer, which represent roughly 13% of all cancer cases but about 25% of all cancer deaths (see data). The figure continues a decadeslong drop in cancer mortality, which has fallen by almost 31% since its peak in 1991—representing more than 3 million deaths averted during that time span. Progress against breast cancer in women, prostate cancer in men, and colorectal cancers—all of which have fallen 40%-50% over the past four decades—also contributed to the reduced death rate.

Ever wondered how cancer works at the cellular level? Start here.

Sheldon Adelson Dies

Sheldon Adelson, the chairman and chief executive officer of Las Vegas Sands Corp, has died at 87 following a battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The son of Jewish immigrants, he became one of the world’s richest people, constructing a worldwide empire of casinos and resort hotels—Forbes estimated his net worth at $35.6B.

The influential political donor used his fortune to become one of the biggest funders of Republican campaigns—including $75M going to President Trump in 2020. Overall, Adelson gave more than $430M to conservatives during the recent election cycle. An advocate for Israel, he was able to achieve one of his primary goals when the Trump administration relocated the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018. Also known for his philanthropic work, Adelson contributed hundreds of millions to medical research, education, and other causes in both the US and Israel. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2018.

A funeral will be held in Israel, followed by a memorial service in Las Vegas.

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LIKE BUYING NETFLIX IN 2007?

What do Netflix and an internet company 1/50th the size of Google have in common? Well, for starters, they're both smaller than Google (ha!). But they also both have a special connection with our pals, Tom and David Gardner.

The Gardner brothers founded The Motley Fool back in 1993, and every month since then, Tom and David have searched far and wide with their independent teams to release their most promising stock picks. Because these teams work entirely independently of each other, their picks are—more often than not—very different. But every once in a while, they'll arrive at the same recommendation. Which brings us back to Netflix. Back in 2007, both Tom and David recommended the little-known DVD-subscription site, and returns have been a whopping 21,354%. In fact, their teams have only arrived at the same pick 27 times in the entire history of The Motley Fool, with average returns of 1,532%.

And recently, Tom and David arrived at another pick independently. Like we hinted at, it's a small internet company roughly 1/50th the size of Google, with massive potential to grow within the entertainment advertising space. Motley Fool Stock Advisor members can check out the report for free—sign up now.

Returns as of 1/7/2021

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IN THE KNOW

Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

> Netflix announces full slate of 71 feature films to be released in 2021 (More) | Spanish-language broadcaster Univision announces launch of its free streaming service PrendeTV (More)

> NBA announces stricter COVID-19 protocols after postponing four games this week (More) | Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers to guest host “Jeopardy!”; Rodgers won a $50K donation on “Celebrity Jeopardy!” in 2015 (More)

> California officials to set up Disneyland as a super distribution site for the COVID-19 vaccine, capable of vaccinating thousands daily (More)

Science & Technology

> Chinese COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac shows dramatically different efficacy rates across four separate clinical trials, from 50% to 90% (More) | US shifts guidance to speed vaccinations, tells states to not reserve supplies (More) | More than 27 million doses sent, with 9.3 million administered (More)

> Researchers observe a new mode of locomotion in snakes; the brown tree snake, an invasive species in Guam, ties itself into a lasso to shimmy up trees (More, w/video)

> Scientists demonstrate the use of CRISPR gene-editing to encode readable information inside living bacteria DNA (More) | What is CRISPR? (More)

Business & Markets

Brought to you by The Ascent

> General Motors unveils electric delivery vehicle business unit, BrightDrop; FedEx will be first ecosystem customer (More)

> Affirm—payments company led by PayPal cofounder that provides installment loans to customers—prices IPO raising $1.2B, to start trading today on Nasdaq (More)

> Visa abandons $5.3B planned acquisition of Plaid, maker of software that connects bank accounts for apps, after Justice Department antitrust lawsuit (More)

Mortgage rates are at a historic low. No matter what you bought your home at, there's no stopping you from refinancing at the incredible market rates today, which can amount to thousands in savings. Carpe diem, while it lasts. #Ad

Politics & World Affairs

> Three lawmakers test positive for COVID-19 following Capitol Hill siege (More) | US to require predeparture negative tests for all international air travelers into the country beginning Jan. 26 (More) | US reports more than 380,796 total COVID-19 deaths, including a record 4,327 yesterday; see rolling averages (cases, deaths)

> Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer on trial for the death of George Floyd, to be tried separately from three other officers involved; trial begins March 8 (More)

> Michigan state prosecutors to charge former Gov. Rick Snyder and former aides over the 2014-15 Flint water crisis, where a switch in sources caused high levels of lead contamination in the public water supply (More) | Background on crisis (More)

A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

In partnership with The Motley Fool

 You probably don't want to compete with David and Tom Gardner—cofounders of The Motley Fool—on stock portfolio performance. Together, they average 556% returns, beating the S&P 500 by roughly five times. But what's better than a stock pick from David or Tom?

You got it: a stock pick from both David and Tom. When they both pick the same stock independently, average returns have been 1,532%, beating the markets over 14 times! Read their report today about a stock pick that both David and Tom recently made.

Returns as of 1/7/2021

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ETCETERA

The 30 best pieces of advice for entrepreneurs. 

Photos from Spain's heaviest snowfall in 50 years.

Pew's new survey on consumption of news via social media. 

Paris to turn the Champs-Élysées into a stunning garden.

Meet Sony's high-end Airpeak drone.

Enchanting shots of the stormy English coast.

This dog knows how to take photos.

South Korea offers some 1950s-style advice for pregnant women.

Clickbait: No, you can't leash your spouse to evade lockdown laws.

Historybook: RIP author James Joyce (1941); HBD actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus (1961); Robert C. Weaver becomes first Black US cabinet member (1966); Douglas Wilder becomes first elected Black US governor (1990); 32 die as cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off coast of Italy (2012).

"A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery."

- James Joyce, "Ulysses"

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