Hey there! It’s Friday! We did it! But buckle up, the weather is going to get messier than that time I fell asleep at a packed beach and started hardcore snoring. Here’s what you need to know today.

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1. Impeachment trial could end as soon as tomorrow

The Senate is preparing for a possible vote tomorrow on whether to convict or acquit former President Donald Trump. WBEZ will air live coverage of the proceedings.

Trump’s legal team today wrapped up their presentation, using about three of the 16 hours allotted to them. They largely argued that Trump’s speech at a rally prior to the Jan. 6 insurrection, in which he told supporters to “fight like hell,” is protected under the First Amendment.

Trump’s lawyers also repeatedly played video clips of Democratic lawmakers saying the word “fight.” Democrats said context matters here. It’s one thing to say you’re going to fight to preserve the Affordable Care Act and another to say you’re going to fight to overturn the results of a fair and free election. [NPR]

Many Republican senators are expected to vote against convicting Trump on procedural grounds, saying the Senate does not have the authority to try a former president. But nearly 200 legal experts, including several conservatives, wrote a letter saying the Senate does have the power and senators need to review the actual evidence. [Washington Post]

With a conviction appearing unlikely, House impeachment managers appeared to aim their case toward the American public and historians, according to this analysis from The New York Times. [NYT]

Meanwhile, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said she doesn’t think Trump will run for president again. Haley, seen as a likely presidential contender in 2024, said of Trump’s chances of running: “I don’t think he can. He’s fallen so far.” [Axios]

2. Biden will begin allowing 25,000 asylum seekers into the U.S. next week

The Biden administration today announced it will begin dismantling former President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” program, which sought to deter asylum seekers by making them wait in Mexico for their U.S. court hearings.

The Department of Homeland Security said about 300 people per day will be brought into the country starting Feb. 19 while their asylum cases proceed. As NPR reports, an estimated 25,000 people have “active cases” in the now-defunct Migrant Protection Protocols program.

Senior officials told reporters they’re still hammering out details of a new asylum system.

“I cannot overstate the fact that the prior administration completely dismantled the program, and it takes time to rebuild it in a way that addresses the humanitarian needs of the individuals who seek to access it,” said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. [NPR]

3. Walgreens in Illinois will receive more COVID-19 vaccine doses

A new federal program will allow Walgreens stores to administer more doses in “socially vulnerable” areas, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Walgreens told the newspaper it expects to get an extra 39,300 doses a week, which is on top of the doses it receives from the Illinois Department of Public Health. [Chicago Tribune]

The vaccine rollout in the U.S. appears to be improving. As The New York Times reports, 68% of vaccines had been used as of yesterday. On Jan. 1, just a quarter of all vaccines delivered had been used. [NYT]

Illinois officials announced that 95,375 doses were used yesterday, a new daily record for the state. Altogether, more than 1.6 million doses have been administered. [Chicago Tribune] 

But of the vaccines handed out so far, white residents have gotten 66%, and Black and Latino residents have respectively received 7%, according to state data. [WBEZ]

Meanwhile, schools can safely reopen even if teachers have not been vaccinated, so long as many other precautions are in place, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today. [Washington Post]

4. Lightfoot spent twice as much on overtime than anticipated

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration spent $366.9 million in overtime last year, which is more than twice as much as the city budgeted for the year — and a $45.5 million increase from 2019, reports WBEZ’s Claudia Morell.

Budget Director Susie Park told WBEZ that City Hall spent $84.8 million in overtime to address civil unrest, nearly $60 million on COVID-19 response and $14.4 million on enhanced security for the presidential election.

Will taxpayers be on the hook for the entire bill? Park said the city is using about $350 million Federal CARES Act dollars to cover COVID-19-related overtime. [WBEZ]

5. Yup, let’s talk about Britney Spears

A Los Angeles judge did not make any significant changes to a complex legal arrangement in which Britney Spears cannot make her own financial and personal decisions, reports The New York Times, which recently examined the yearslong legal drama in the critically acclaimed Framing Britney Spears documentary.

If you haven’t seen the documentary, it takes a deep dive into the “Free Britney” movement. In 2008, Spears was placed in a conservatorship, which is typically used for people who are very ill or old and cannot make decisions for themselves.

Under the conservatorship, Spears’ estate is overseen by her estranged father, Jamie Spears, and Bessemer Trust.

Framing Britney Spears raised questions about whether Spears needs to be in a conservatorship and if the system is broken. [NYT]

Here’s what else is happening

• A spokesperson for a far-right group blasted Northwestern University for reconsidering contracts with Uline, calling it “the far left’s latest attack on the Constitution.” [WBEZ]
• Some parents say the rift between Chicago Public Schools and the teachers union is making them lose faith in the city’s school system. [WBEZ]
• A new study that looked at the Chicago Police Department found that diversity in law enforcement can improve how police treat people of color. [AP]
• Looking for something to listen to? This week’s Nerdette talks about Britney Spears and the 10th anniversary of the viral music video “Friday.” [WBEZ]

Oh, and one more thing …

Is firing an actor for their conservative views the same as Hollywood’s blacklisting of communists?

That’s a question raised in this column from New York magazine. I’m sharing it because I’ve seen it circulating a lot online, you may have already seen it, and I’m honestly interested in what you think.

The catalyst for the column is Lucasfilm’s firing of Mandalorian actor Gina Carano after she posted a comment on social media that compared “hating someone for their political views” to Nazi Germany’s persecution of Jews. Carano has also mocked the use of face masks and supports unfounded claims of voter fraud in the November presidential election.

“If you think blacklisting is only bad if its targets have sensible views, I have some bad news for you about communism,” New York columnist Jonathan Chait writes before explaining that blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, who some see as a martyr during the McCarthy communist hunt, supported dictator Joseph Stalin even when he formed an alliance with Hitler.

Critics of the column, however, say Carano wasn’t expressing support for lower tax rates, less government regulations and other longtime pillars of conservatism, but QAnon conspiracy theories that played a role in last month’s deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol. And Lucasfilm was well within its rights to terminate the employment of an actor whose views could have made a hit show radioactive. [New York]

Tell me something good …

What is something you miss about going to school or college?

Krista writes:

“I miss randomly dropping by friends’ dorm rooms and leaving fun messages on their white board if they weren’t there, and sometimes when they were.”

Thanks for all the responses this week! I’m sorry I couldn’t get to everyone, but it was nice hearing from you.

Thanks for reading and have a nice night! I’ll see you on Monday. If you like what you just read, you can subscribe to the newsletter here and have it delivered to your inbox.