First Thing: Donald Trump is still a threat to democracy, Democrats warn

Good morning.

House impeachment managers ended their case against Donald Trump with a warning that he would remain a threat to US democracy if he was not convicted and banned from holding public office again. The managers laid out their impeachment case against the former president over two days, arguing that he was responsible for inciting the deadly siege on the Capitol. Watching senators, who were both witnesses and jurors to the attack, also heard testimonies from rioters about how they were following Trump’s orders and responding directly to his calls.

President Joe Biden has decided not to get too closely involved with the trial, but did appear briefly with senators in front of reporters on Thursday. He said he had not been watching the trial, but “my guess is some minds may be changed” after Democrats presented their case.

• Dozens of former Republicans officials are discussing creating a new party, over the GOP’s unwillingness to stand up to Trump. The discussions centered around forming a centre-right party, and included more than 120 former elected Republicans, former officials in the Reagan Bush and Trump administration’s, ex-ambassadors and ex-strategists.

The US has bought 200m more vaccine doses

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Biden blasts Trump administration’s handling of vaccine program – video

The US has finalised a deal to buy 200m more vaccine doses that will be delivered at the end of July, with 100m each from Pfizer and Moderna. Biden confirmed the purchase while speaking at the National Institutes of Health yesterday, where he attacked Trump’s handling of the vaccine program. He accused his predecessor of failing to order enough doses or get enough people to administer the shots. But things were back on track, he suggested, with the US set to exceed his goal of 100m vaccine doses administered during his first 100 days in office.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said this week that people who have received the full course of their coronavirus vaccine do not have to quarantine for 14 days after coming into contact with someone who has the virus, providing they don’t come down with symptoms.

• Trump was much more ill with Covid-19 than he let on, and some officials were concerned he would be put on a ventilator due to low oxygen levels, according to the New York Times. At the time, the White House was vague about his condition but said there was “no cause for concern”.

• Medics were attacked while trying to give remote indigenous villages vaccines in Brazil, thought to be because evangelical missionaries are stoking fears around the inoculation.

Emergency crews tackle a massive oil spill in California

Emergency services in Richmond, California, are scrambling to clean up a massive oil spill, in which about 600 gallons of oil spilled from a Chevron refinery into the San Francisco Bay. The incident has led to renewed calls from residents and environmentalists for the city tor think its relationship with the refinery. The refinery itself, 12 miles outside San Francisco, spans a vast 3,000 acres. It churns out 245,000 barrels of crude oil every day, and is older than the city itself.

In other news …

• The head of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic organising committee has resigned, a week after derogatory comments he made about women triggered an international outcry.

• The jazz pioneer Chick Corea has died at the age of 79, from “a rare form of cancer which was only discovered very recently”, according to his facebook page.

• A judge stopped Britney Spear’s father retaining some rights over her estate, as the battle over the pop star’s conservatorship continues. Jamie Spears has had control over her estate, career and other aspects of her personal life, including medical treatment, for the past 13 years, but a growing support movement and court case is attempting to end this.

• Criminal charges have been dropped against two police officers seen shoving a 75-year-old protester to the ground in New York last spring. A grand jury declined to indict the Buffalo officers Robert McCabe and Aaron Torgalski on felony assault charges, marking the end of the case.

Stat of the day: how much does it cost to have Covid in the US? Up to $100,000

Major health insurers volunteered to cover coronavirus testing and treatment for their customers and the government established programs to make care more affordable – but these pledges haven’t been especially successful. From the cost of hospital treatment to aftercare, the bills can run into more than $100,000. Amanda Holpuch speaks to six people about what Covid cost them.

Don’t miss this: the anti-abortion movement is gaining pace

Anti-abortion activists in Arizona are attempting to pass a new bill to prosecute women who have abortions for homicide, along with the doctors who provide them. This “full frontal assault on women’s healthcare” is one of many efforts to overhaul reproductive rights in the US in “a year of Republican party schism”, as Jessica Glenza writes.

Last thing: congressman accidentally flips himself upside down on Zoom call

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‘Mr Emmer, are you OK?’: Congressman appears upside down in virtual hearing – video

It’s the perfect sequel to the Texas lawyer who got trapped in a cat filter: a Republican congressman accidentally flipped his face upside down during a House of Representatives committee hearing on video call. The meeting was interrupted by the chairwoman Maxine Waters who asked, “Mr Emmer? Are you OK?” while other attendees suppressed giggles. One asked, “Is this a metaphor?” while another suggested he fixed it by standing on his head.

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