The next phase of the impeachment investigation starts now

Public hearings...Stephen Miller...Syria...DACA...Venice

view in browser Wednesday 11.13.19 Could we be heading for another government shutdown? The clock is ticking as lawmakers enter spending talks this week to get their financial ducks in order before next week's funding deadline. Here's what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. By AJ Willingham Impeachment investigation   Today is the day. The House's impeachment investigation officially goes public today when US diplomat Bill Taylor and State Department official George Kent give televised testimonies. If you watch, you may notice the format is a little different than previous big-ticket political hearings. The chairman and ranking GOP member of the House Intelligence Committee will each get 45-minute blocks to ask questions, rather than the usual, short back-and-forths. Democrats hope the blocks will give them more time to walk through witness stories and to do so without interruption from the GOP. The House Intelligence Committee has also teed up a full slate of witnesses for next week, including an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, the former US special envoy to Ukraine and the US ambassador to the European Union. The stocked docket indicates that Democrats are pushing to wrap up their impeachment proceedings in a swift manner -- preferably before the end of the year.   Stephen Miller   A bushel of leaked 2015 emails reveals Stephen Miller, the controversial senior White House policy adviser, promoted stories from white nationalist and fringe media organizations to staffers of the far-right website Breitbart. Miller is known for his hard-line immigration stance, and emails show him trying to connect news stories about hurricanes to the possibility of increased immigration. Others show him trying to link race and crime. Some emails link to sites and articles that express anti-Muslim speech. Other messages reference VDARE, a prominent white nationalist website, or InfoWars, a site that often peddles conspiracy theories. The messages were published by the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the organization says it'll release more over time.   Syria    Two US defense officials tell CNN that the US military has at least one drone surveillance video that may show a possible war crime being perpetrated by Turkish-commanded fighters in Syria. The video appears to show a possible extra-judicial execution of a detainee by Turkish-affiliated fighters, but officials caution that the quality of the video and the current lack of broader context make it hard to draw a firm conclusion. The US government is looking into several incidents carried out by Turkish-supported opposition forces in the area to determine whether they are war crimes. The latest video evidence comes at a sensitive time for the White House: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visits Washington today. The two leaders will likely talk about their roles in Syria and their respective relationships with Russia.   DACA   The Supreme Court yesterday weighed the fate of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama-era program that shields from deportation hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US as children. President Trump has long said he wants to do away with the program, but the Supreme Court is apparently not finding it to be a simple task. The future of the program may hang on Chief Justice John Roberts and conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Their opinions could decide the whole thing, and after a day of hearing arguments, it's not clear where either man will come down on the issue. Outside the court, immigrant advocates and DACA recipients from across the country gathered to listen to the proceedings and voice their support for the program.   Venice   One of Italy's most popular tourism towns is requesting a state of emergency as it slogs through its worst flood in 50 years. An unusually high tide filled Venice's streets with water last night, flooding at least 45% of the city. At least one person has died as a result. As the city starts to clean up, residents and businesses will be able to better assess the damage. Venice is a lagoon town that is prone to flooding, and wintertime high tides, known as acqua alta, are uncommon but not unprecedented. Venice's mayor said in a tweet that the tide was "a wound that will leave a permanent mark."   Content By: CNN Underscored How many times have you had a mid-December holiday-shopping panic because it's actually impossible to get anything done after Thanksgiving? To help, the CNN Underscored team combed through all of Amazon's holiday gift guides and found the best deals tucked inside their huge electronics, home, fashion and toys lists. Want more Black Friday and holiday shopping guidance? Sign up for the CNN Underscored newsletter.  People are talking about these. Read up. Join in. Scientists may have figured out why we hiccup  It would be great if they could also figure out how to stop them.  A cat was put in 'solitary confinement' after he kept letting out his shelter mates The revolution begins with a single paw. Treasure hunters salvaged liquor from a 102-year-old WWI shipwreck but haven't tried it yet  Do it, you cowards! A Facebook bug allowed app to access cameras while users were scrolling through news feeds Hope they enjoyed our grimacing double chins.    7,120 The number of hate crime incidents reported to the FBI in 2018. That's 55 fewer than 2017 but still in keeping with a historically high trend over the past few years.  I've been in shape and ready for this for 3 years, can't wait to see the head coaches and GMs on Saturday.   Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, announcing that he has been invited to a private workout organized by the NFL to presumably see if there is any interest in signing him. Kaepernick has claimed the league colluded to keep him from playing because of his political activism.  Sonic is back on track Paramount has released a new trailer for the "Sonic The Hedgehog" movie after fans recoiled at the original trailer's strangely tall, toothy version of Sonic. Looks really different, right? Here's a good side-by-side comparison. (Click here to view.)  Share Tweet ALL CNN NEWSLETTERS update preferences or unsubscribe CNN Five Things shows up in your inbox every weekday at 6AM ET and Sundays at 9AM ET. Like what you see? Don't like what you see? Let us know. We're all about self improvement. Did a friend forward you this newsletter? Sign yourself up! Sign up to get updates on your favorite CNN Original Series, special CNN news coverage and other newsletters. Copyright © 2019 Cable News Network, Inc. A WarnerMedia Company, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to CNN's 5 Things newsletter.