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  • Delivering your down-the-middle explanation of world events, I'm Carl Azuz.

  • We hope you're doing well.

  • Despite all of the challenges facing the world today.

  • There have been some new developments concerning last week's events in Washington, D.C.

  • Several arrests were made over the weekend in connection with Wednesday's riot at the US Capital Building.

  • Charges include entering a restricted building without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct.

  • There have been five deaths related to the incident.

  • A supporter of President Donald Trump, who was also an Air Force veteran, was shot and killed by police as she tried to enter the Capital building on Wednesday.

  • A Capital police officer who was attacked while trying to stop some rioters died of his wounds the next day, and three people died from medical emergencies they had while they were at the Capital.

  • The US Capital police chief has resigned from his job.

  • He was in charge of the main law enforcement agency that protects the building.

  • The Justice Department says 300 agents and officers from other groups like the FBI and US Marshals were sent to help Wednesday.

  • But by the time the additional officers got there, Capital Police had already lost control.

  • The people who were serving as the House of Representatives Sergeant at Arms and the Senate Sergeant at Arms--the chief law enforcement officers of these chambers--also resigned after Wednesday's events.

  • This week, House Democrats plan to introduce articles of impeachment against President Trump.

  • These are formal charges of wrongdoing, as he spoke to hundreds of thousands of supporters before the capital riot took place.

  • President Trump outlined what he said were examples of how the November 3rd election was unfair, though in dozens of lawsuits, U.S courts have ruled that there's not enough evidence to overturn election results in any state.

  • The president also said the demonstrators would march to the Capital to quote, "peacefully and patriotically make their voices heard."

  • But President Trump's critics say by repeating his election complaints and encouraging his supporters to quote show strength, he incited the demonstration that became violent at the Capital.

  • If the House votes to impeach the president again, it did this before over different charges in 2019, it be up to the Senate to decide whether to convict him, but President-elect Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated on January 20th.

  • So there are a lot of questions about whether enough lawmakers will have the time or the desire to try to remove the sitting president before then.

  • And the White House says doing that could further divide the country.

  • President Trump says he doesn't plan to attend the inauguration.

  • This could make him the fourth U S. leader to do that for political reasons.

  • He's also been banned from Facebook and Twitter.

  • The social media organizations say they're concerned the president's posts could encourage more violence.

  • But critics call the bans censorship that limits free speech in America.

  • So there's tremendous political strife in the country as one presidency winds down and another one gears up.

  • What's changed about what we know about how coronavirus spreads?

  • The virus that causes COVID-19 is a respiratory virus.

  • Someone who has COVID-19 and is coughing or sneezing expels droplets.

  • If you're close by and breathe in these droplets, or if the droplets land on your nose, your mouth or your eyes, you could be infected with coronavirus.

  • You could also contract COVID-19 if someone coughs or sneezes into their hand, then touches your hand and then you touch your nose, your mouth or your eyes.

  • Over the last several months, scientific studies have shown that this coronavirus is also transmitted through aerosols.

  • These are microscopic particles that people exhale just by breathing and speaking.

  • These tiny aerosols can linger in the air, and if you breathe them in, they can transmit the virus too.

  • This is why wearing a mask is so important.

  • If someone is ill and doesn't know it, the mask helps to trap their droplets and prevent them from spreading in the air.

  • The mask also protects those who aren't infected by stopping the droplets from entering their nose and mouth.

  • Physical distancing is also important.

  • 6 foot is a rule of thumb, with the exact precautions you follow depending on whether you're outdoors or indoors .

  • Outdoors, there is very good air circulation that will quickly diffuse the virus particles.

  • When you're outdoors, it should be safe to keep 6 feet away from others.

  • Indoors, where there is less air circulation, microscopic aerosols could linger for longer in the air.

  • People could be infected beyond the 6 foot distance, especially in poorly ventilated spaces, if they're not wearing masks.

  • That's why indoors you should try to maintain at least a 10 foot distance and wear a mask at all times.

  • Ventilation also helps.

  • So open the windows and doors and run a fan.

  • What about services?

  • In the beginning of the pandemic, everyone was worried about wiping down everything.

  • There have not been documented cases of transmission through surfaces, so it's not necessary to wipe down groceries or wear gloves when opening the mail.

  • However, it's still good practice to wash your hands often and use hand sanitizer after touching frequently used surfaces like door handles and faucets.

  • This coronavirus is highly contagious.

  • We need to keep up the measures that we know work to prevent its spread: wear a mask, keep physical distancing, avoid indoor gatherings and wash our hands.

  • 10-second trivia!

  • Which of these countries has the largest population?

  • Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil or Russia?

  • So it's far from the largest country on this list.

  • Pakistan has the largest population with more than 233 million people, and unless they had backup power generators, their lights went out on Saturday night.

  • Blackouts are unusual in Pakistan, but what the nation saw over the weekend was its most widespread power shutdown since 2015.

  • An engineering problem at one planted southern Pakistan reportedly caused the nation's other ones to shut down.

  • Because electricity can be unreliable here, all of the nation's major airports as well as many of its hospitals and some of its homes do have backup generators.

  • The residents say there were some very long lines at gas stations where people waited to get fuel for those generators.

  • By dawn on Sunday morning, Pakistan's energy minister said power had come back on for major parts of the capital city of Islamabad.

  • But there were still large parts of Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city, where power was still out early Sunday.

  • "Polar vortex "is so much fun to say, forecasters say there could be some movement in the polar vortex.

  • And if this system, which normally swirls cold air around the Earth's polar regions, does move off the North Pole, it could release some very cold air throughout parts of North America and Europe.

  • When could this happen?

  • Within the next week or two.

  • Who will be affected?

  • Forecasters don't know yet.

  • They've detected some instability in the vortex that can spill cold air south, but they're in a wait-and-see mode for the moment.

  • "Polar vortex" was one of the most trending terms.

  • We heard it all the time, and in fact it's not something that's going to come and get you.

  • It's not something you can be inside.

  • It's not an alien.

  • It's not a monster.

  • It's not ... it's not something that's going to invade the U.S.

  • In fact, the only way to be inside the polar vortex is to be in an airplane.

  • It lives in the upper levels of the atmosphere.

  • It's a low pressure system that's basically locked into the North Pole.

  • So it's not a hurricane.

  • It's not a tornado.

  • It's just an air mass that's locked right around the North Pole, and it stays there all the time.

  • The frequency of the winter outbreaks of these cold outbreaks is dependent on behind the weather patterns across the U.S.

  • Depends on when you have these large dips in the jet stream, replacement of the high pressure and low pressure.

  • So it all depends on Mother Nature.

  • Extreme temperatures can be very dangerous.

  • It all depends on the temperature, though.

  • The bottom line, a lot of areas can have -- there's windy outside.

  • You'll have a really low windchill.

  • If you find yourself in the midst of one of these winter outbreaks, just remember, just try to stay warm.

  • Put in as many layers as you can, bundle up, have a good jacket and try not to stay outside for very long periods of time.

  • When 91-year-old Dean Conklin was told that a sledding park was gonna be named after him, he had just one thing to say: "What?"

  • Conklin is a business owner, town councilman and former teacher in a small town of Minnesota.

  • He once gave this plot of land to a student, and people in the town love Conklin's so much that they dedicated the park to him and named it Conklin's Hill.

  • He recently joined more than 100 others in testing out the new slope, and it's easy to ski.

  • He's got "slopestyle".

  • There's "sn-ow question" about it!

  • Now some people might have buildings or monuments or streets named after him, but your own hill is a "mountainous" accomplishment that maybe worth "Alp-ining away" for because only a "Loser" would let that "slide".

  • We've got Haruka Hills High School watching today shout out to our viewers in Fontana, California, for subscribing and leaving a comment on our most recent YouTube show.

  • I'm Carl Azuz for CNN.

Delivering your down-the-middle explanation of world events, I'm Carl Azuz.

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