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The Hill's 12:30 Report: Bolton allegations shake-up impeachment fight | GOP faces crucial decision on witnesses | Trump denies telling Bolton Ukraine aid was tied to investigations | Romney: 'Increasingly likely' GOP will want Bolton's testimony | What to watch on day six of trial | Sights and sounds from the NH campaign trial | Biden splits weekend between NH, Iowa | World grieves Kobe Bryant's death | Trump meets Netanyahu | National Chocolate Cake Day

LATEST WITH THE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

John Bolton John BoltonDiplomacy with China is good for America The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by The Air Line Pilots Association - Pence lauds Harris as 'experienced debater'; Trump, Biden diverge over debate prep DOJ launches probe into Bolton book for possible classified information disclosures MORE has become the 'disaster girl meme'

--> https://r29.co/2uxhnkJ

The New York Times's Maggie Haberman Maggie Lindsy HabermanBiden, Pence cross paths at NYC 9/11 ceremony The Hill's 12:30 Report - Presented by Facebook - Trump floats 0M+ in personal spending for reelection bid The Hill's 12:30 Report: Washington reacts to scathing Trump military story MORE and Michael S. Schmidt reported a bombshell last night: "President Trump Donald John TrumpUS reimposes UN sanctions on Iran amid increasing tensions Jeff Flake: Republicans 'should hold the same position' on SCOTUS vacancy as 2016 Trump supporters chant 'Fill that seat' at North Carolina rally MORE told his national security adviser in August that he wanted to continue freezing $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine until officials there helped with investigations into Democrats including the Bidens, according to an unpublished manuscript by the former adviser, John R. Bolton." Read the full report: https://nyti.ms/38F9kRJ

Keep in mind: Bolton's book, which publishes on March 17, is now available for pre-order on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2NXC1Bt

WHY THIS IS A PIVOTAL STORY IN THE IMPEACHMENT TRIAL:

The Senate is nearing a key vote on new witnesses, and it has looked almost certain that Republicans could block subpoenas on new witnesses. But Bolton's first-hand account could change things. How this could play out: http://bit.ly/2tSwIME

REACTION FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP:

The president tweeted, "I NEVER told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens. In fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination. If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book." http://bit.ly/2Gpp532

Mitt Romney Willard (Mitt) Mitt RomneyMomentum growing among Republicans for Supreme Court vote before Election Day Toobin: McConnell engaging in 'greatest act of hypocrisy in American political history' with Ginsburg replacement vote The Memo: Court battle explodes across tense election landscape MORE had an interesting quote this morning:

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who is the only GOP senator who says he would like to hear from Bolton but has not made a final decision, told reporters this morning:

"It's pretty fair to say John Bolton has relevant testimony. I think it's increasingly likely that other Republicans will join those of us who think we should hear from John Bolton." http://bit.ly/36rkuYB

AND SO DID SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-MAINE):

Sen. Collins said in a statement, "The reports about John Bolton's book strengthen the case for witnesses and have prompted a number of conversations among my colleagues.” http://bit.ly/2uAR1hJ

Who else to watch: Sen. Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann MurkowskiMomentum growing among Republicans for Supreme Court vote before Election Day Collins: President elected Nov. 3 should fill Supreme Court vacancy Barrett seen as a front-runner for Trump Supreme Court pick MORE (R-Alaska)

What would need to happen: Four Republican senators would need to vote with Democrats to subpoena Bolton.

It's Monday. I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com -- and follow along on Twitter @CateMartel and Facebook.

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HAPPENING TODAY

We hear from Trump's lawyers today:

President Trump's defense team is presenting its second day of opening statements in the impeachment trial this afternoon. http://bit.ly/2GovzPE

What to watch: Will Trump's lawyers mention the New York Times report about Bolton's manuscript?

Preview for today: http://bit.ly/2GovzPE

Livestream for today -- the trial begins at 1 p.m. EST: https://cs.pn/2U0xbXL

IN THE WHITE HOUSE

At noon tomorrow — Trump will release a peace plan:

President Trump just announced that he will unveil his administration’s peace plan between the Israelis and Palestinians Tuesday at noon. http://bit.ly/2uzGGTe

Trump said while meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin (Bibi) NetanyahuMORE this morning: “So tomorrow at 12 o'clock, we'll be announcing a plan. And it's a very big plan, it will be a suggestion between Israel and the Palestinians, it's the closest it's ever come and we'll see what happens.”

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

For the next two weeks, The Hill's 12:30 Report will be on the road in New Hampshire -- my home state! -- for the first-in-the-nation primary. You can also follow on @CateMartel for tidbits and color from the trail.

Joe Biden Joe BidenMomentum growing among Republicans for Supreme Court vote before Election Day Trump expects to nominate woman to replace Ginsburg next week Video of Lindsey Graham arguing against nominating a Supreme Court justice in an election year goes viral MORE covered his bases:

Former Vice President Biden split his time this weekend between Iowa and New Hampshire this weekend. I stopped by his campaign stop in Salem, N.H., on Saturday. Here are some highlights and observations:

License plates from other states: It is worth noting that the parking lot had lots of license plates from Massachusetts. I also spotted a few from Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont. Keep in mind: Salem is on the border of Massachusetts, so the Massachusetts presence makes sense.

The overflow room was not a bad place to be: The elementary school gymnasium where Biden spoke hit capacity pretty quickly, so attendees filled up the nearby cafeteria. As Biden was being escorted out after his speech, he stopped, stood on a block and gave brief remarks to the secondary crowd. The crowd seemed to appreciate that.

For reference -- here's a photo of the main room: http://bit.ly/3aIp7B0

And here's a photo of the overflow: http://bit.ly/2O2g44a

Biden brought his granddaughter on stage: http://bit.ly/38GBmvX

A shot at Trump in the first five minutes: "Eight years of Donald Trump ... I honest to God believe will change the character of the nation. These kids will grow up with a very different country. We'll get it back eventually but it's going to have real consequences."

Biden on the world's view of the U.S. right now: "Donald Trump has diminished America on the world stage. And he's diminished us not only in the eyes of the world but diminished us, who we are as a country and how we're viewed. And I think that's really dangerous."

What even is a campaign stop without kissing babies?: Here's a photo of Biden posing with a baby: http://bit.ly/3aVKNKa

Photo of the line to get in: http://bit.ly/3aJOHpf

THE TALK OF THE WEEKEND

The world reacts to the gut-wrenching news in Calabasas:

NBA legend Kobe Bryant, 41, and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant were among the nine killed in a helicopter crash on Sunday in Calabasas, Calif.

Where Kobe was headed: To a youth basketball tournament with his daughter.

What happened: "The cause of the crash was unknown. The helicopter departed from John Wayne Airport in Orange County at 9:06 a.m. PT. It was going to Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks for Gianna's game, sources told ESPN. The first 911 call reporting the crash was received at 9:47 a.m."

What we know, via ESPN: https://es.pn/30ZXNcR

HERE ARE THE OTHER VICTIMS:

https://nyti.ms/2RzrMFL

New details on what happened:

Via The New York Times, “The helicopter that crashed on Sunday with Kobe Bryant and eight other people on board, killing everyone, had received approval to fly even though weather conditions were worse than usual standards for flying … Whether that was the right decision is likely to be at the center of the investigation into the cause of the crash.” https://nyti.ms/30Vsgci

Getting traction -- here's a video of Kobe playing basketball with Gianna:

Watch: http://bit.ly/2GupKjP

Also getting passed around on social media:

This clip of Kobe explaining the game to his daughter went viral just last week too. pic.twitter.com/LM73m3a9Zk — Siraj Hashmi (@SirajAHashmi) January 26, 2020

Watch: http://bit.ly/2O2DK8p

^The video from December 21, 2019: http://bit.ly/312hIZ0

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES PULLED TOGETHER REMEMBRANCES OF BRYANT:

https://lat.ms/2uDGNNu

WHY KOBE BRYANT WAS ON A HELICOPTER:

Here's a clip of Bryant explaining why he takes a helicopter around Los Angeles. Watch: http://bit.ly/2vtOTsN

NOTABLE TWEETS

Getting traction -- I have so many questions:

Lmao why have Zara decided to model jeans like this pic.twitter.com/xWhOxmMvB4 — sneaky dogfriend (@GrrlGhost) January 19, 2020

Full size photos: http://bit.ly/38K9UxG

ON TAP

The House and Senate are in today. President Trump and Vice President Pence are in Washington, D.C.

11 a.m. EST: President Trump meets with the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.

1:15 p.m. EST: President Trump has lunch with Vice President Pence.

2 p.m. EST: The House meets.

2:20 p.m. EST: Vice President Pence speaks at the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Lunar New Year Celebration.

3:30 p.m. EST: President Trump swears in the administrator for the Small Business Administration.

6:30 p.m. EST: Votes in the House. The House's full schedule today: http://bit.ly/2TVHWuC

WHAT TO WATCH

11 a.m. EST: Senate Democrats held a press conference on the impeachment trial. Livestream: https://cs.pn/38MZFIV

11:30 a.m. EST: Senate Republicans held a press conference on the impeachment trial. Livestream: https://cs.pn/3aO013C

1 p.m. EST: The impeachment trial against President Trump continues. Livestream: https://cs.pn/2U0xbXL

NOW FOR THE FUN STUFF...

Today is National Chocolate Cake Day!

And because you read this far, here's a dog who is working on his bandit skills: http://bit.ly/2uxpM7L