Debate has centered [long] largely along party lines in the impeachment hearings and vote on President Donald Trump.
We get details from AP's Ed Donahue.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the president gave Democrats no choice. "It is tragic that the president's reckless actions make impeachment necessary."
Republicans say impeachment is all about trying to weaken President Trump in 2020. Ohio's Bill Johnson talked about 2016 and his call on the House floor for a moment of silence. "... and remember the voices of the 63 million American voters that Democrats today are wanting to silence."
Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff says if the whistleblower didn't come forward on President Trump, this wouldn't be happening. "Instead, he got caught."
Utah's Chris Stewart doesn't think these are high crimes and misdemeanors. "If you set this bar as being impeachable, every president in our future will be impeached."
Ed Donahue, Washington.
President Trump himself is headed to Michigan, an election battle ground state that he won in 2016, for a rally with supporters.
Vice President Mike Pence, speaking ahead of Trump's visit, called the House vote on impeachment a "disgrace." "... they're trying to impeach this president because they know they can't defeat this president. They're trying to run down this president because they know they can't run against our record."
Pence spoke to more than 200 people at a "Workers for Trump" event in Saginaw. He criticized Democrats in the important swing state and predicted that Trump will once again carry Michigan, in part because of the impeachment proceedings.
The vice president was in the state for a daylong bus tour before joining Trump at a rally Wednesday evening.
This is VOA news.
India's top court on Wednesday refused to stall the implementation of a new law that lays out a path for non-Muslim minorities from some neighboring countries to Indian citizenship.
As Francis Maguire of Reuters reports, that came despite violent protests across the country.
The Citizenship Amendment Act gives non-Muslim minorities from neighboring countries - Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan - a path to Indian citizenship.
The government says the law was intended to address the persecution of religious minorities, such as Hindus, Sikhs and Christians, in those Muslim majority countries.
But thousands of protesters say the exclusion of Muslims from the law is anti-Islam and weakens the secular foundations of India.
Some protesters believe it's a measure by the Hindu nationalist government to marginalize the community.
Buses and train stations have been torched and on Wednesday police fired shots to push back thousands of demonstrators throwing stones and glass bottles.
The Supreme Court said it would hear petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the law on January 22.
That's Francis Maguire reporting.
Japanese journalist Shiori Ito has won damages from a well-known reporter that she accuses of raping her.
As Reuters' Lucy Fielder reports, it's a high-profile victory for Japan's #MeToo movement.
The Tokyo court ordered senior television journalist Noriyuki Yamaguchi to pay Ito 3.3 million yen. That's $33,000.
The court found highly credible her account that Yamaguchi forced her to have sex while she was unconscious and despite her resisting when she came round.
They'd gone for a drink to discuss how to find a job for Ito, who was freelance.
In her book, she'd suggested he might have given her a "date-rape" drug but she had no way of knowing.
While the court doubted Yamaguchi's statements, in which he argued the sex was consensual. He'd separately alleged she drank too much.
On Wednesday, Yamaguchi repeated he'd done nothing illegal and said he'd appeal the verdict.
That's Lucy Fielder reporting.
The latest attempt by U.S. and South Korean negotiators to reach a deal on sharing defense costs ended without agreement Wednesday.
But senior U.S. negotiator James DeHart said Washington was committed to finding a solution that was mutually acceptable. He emphasized the U.S. government wants all its allies to pay their fair share, not just South Korea.
DeHart was speaking in Seoul after the fifth round of talks to resolve the issue.
The current agreement on cost sharing is set to expire at the end of the year.
For more on these stories and the rest of the day's news, be sure to log on to our website voanews.com. I'm David Byrd, VOA news.
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