BURR & TILLIS VOTE TO BLOCK WITNESSES IN TRUMP IMPEACHMENT TRIAL: North Carolina’s U.S. Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis voted with the majority of their Republican colleagues to block the Senate from calling witnesses in the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump on Friday evening, clearing the way for a final vote on acquittal. The vote was 51-49 with Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Mitt Romney of Utah joining 47 Democrats and independents in wanting additional witnesses and documents beyond what was provided by the House of Representatives. The final vote will be held Wednesday at 4 p.m. after closing arguments on Monday and speeches from senators on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. “The hearsay that John Bolton or anybody else may bring to this is irrelevant because even if the president said this, it does not raise to the level of removal from office, which is a sacred thing because the American people have duly elected him,” Burr said.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article239836913.html

JOHN BOLTON FEATURED SPEAKER AT DUKE ON FEB 17: According to a news release issued by the university on Wednesday, Bolton will talk about current threats to national security at a speech that will begin at 5:30 p.m. in Page Auditorium on the Duke campus. Bolton will be the spring 2020 Ambassador Dave and Kay Phillips Family International Lecturer, appearing as part of the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy. On Sunday, the New York Times released information about Bolton’s upcoming book, “The Room Where It Happened,” in which he claims that Trump told him he wanted U.S. aid to Ukraine held up until the nation agreed to investigate Trump’s Democratic political rivals. On Wednesday, Trump sent repeated tweets criticizing Bolton and his “nasty & untrue book.” “Frankly, if I listened to him, we would be in World War Six by now,” Trump tweeted.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article239759513.html

TILLIS COVERS HIS EARS AND SAYS, "LA LA LA, LA LA LA": Sen. Thom Tillis said a new account from former Trump administration official John Bolton “hasn’t affected my decision” on whether he will vote to call witnesses in the Senate’s impeachment trial. The Republican senator from North Carolina has said he would probably oppose calling witnesses. Tillis has also said he plans to vote to acquit President Donald Trump, something he made clear even before the Democrat-controlled House impeached Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Democrats want to call Bolton to testify about his time as Trump’s national security adviser and specifically about how the president handled aid to Ukraine. In an unpublished manuscript described in a New York Times story Sunday, Bolton says Trump told him he wanted to continue withholding the security aid until Ukraine turned over material related to his political rivals Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article239681818.html

IT'S TIME TO IMPLEMENT SOLUTIONS TO BRING QUALITY EDUCATION TO ALL NC STUDENTS: The order outlines in seven clear – and now indisputable -- points what needs to be done. It also provides a series of deadlines for the state to demonstrate compliance. The first will be two months from now. That will be a month before the opening of the General Assembly’s “short” session. Judge Lee will have the opportunity to determine if the state is moving properly in the agreed-upon direction. Then the General Assembly will need to pass the laws to fulfill the order. And all North Carolinians will be able to watch to see if their legislators provide the means to be sure every child gets access to the quality education our State Constitution is supposed to guarantee. It has been a quarter-century since North Carolina declared that, as the judge put it, “every child in North Carolina have the opportunity to receive a sound basic education in a public school.”
https://www.wral.com/editorial-with-agreement-on-facts-now-implement-solutions-to-bring-quality-educ...

REPUBLICANS PLAY WITH FIDGET SPINNERS DURING IMPEACHMENT, THANKS TO RICHARD BURR: As senators sat through endless hours of arguments on impeachment, they found a new outlet to focus their attention: fidget spinners. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., handed out the toys to his colleagues before Thursday's trial proceedings began. A fidget spinner is a small toy designed to be spun between the fingers, relieving stress or boredom. The devices and stress balls were on the tables at Burr's "Carolina Cookout" luncheon for senators that included hamburgers, hot dogs, sweet potato fries and ice cream sundaes. Burr was later seen playing with a blue spinner while listening to arguments by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., an impeachment manager. Other senators, including Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., were also seen with spinners on their desks.
https://www.wral.com/trial-highlights-conspiracy-theories-and-fidget-spinners/18905917/