Vox Sentences: A sitting US senator just accused the president of “slut-shaming”

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Tonight: A growing number of Democrats in Congress are calling for Trump to resign, and long-delayed presidential elections in Afghanistan look like they're going to be stalled even further.

“You cannot silence me”

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

• President Donald Trump is in a war of words with the women of Congress, particularly Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who has led the charge calling for his resignation. [CNN / Jennifer Hansler]
• As he has so many times in the past, Trump went on attack mode this morning, saying Gillibrand used to "beg" him for campaign contributions "and would do anything for them." [Donald Trump via Twitter]
• Many people though Trump's tweet read like sexual harassment. Gillibrand called it a "sexist smear," while her fellow Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren called it "slut-sham[ing]." [Boston Globe / Christina Prignano]
• Gillibrand and Warren are part of a growing group of senators calling on Trump to resign, amid increased scrutiny into the sexual misconduct allegations brought against him by more than a dozen women. [Politico / Nolan McCaskill]
• The chorus is growing in both chambers of Congress. Over in the House, a group of nearly 60 female members of Congress formally called on the House Oversight Committee to investigate the allegations against Trump. [Vox / Ella Nilsen]
• A congressional investigation could do something important: subpoena witnesses and compel people to testify. [Vox / Matt Yglesias]
• It is highly unlikely that Trump will resign (the White House continues to insist Trump's accusers are lying), and it's also very unlikely Republicans in Congress will investigate the president, whom they need as a key ally on policy issues like taxes and entitlement reform. [CNN / Gregory Krieg]

It looks like Afghanistan’s presidential elections will be delayed again

• After already delaying its presidential elections for two years, it appears the government of Afghanistan will not meet its deadline for holding the elections in 2018, as promised. [The Diplomat / Catherine Putz]
• Afghan President Ashraf Ghani recently dismissed the head of the country's Independent Election Commission, raising the prospect that the 2018 elections would not go ahead as scheduled, despite Ghani promising his constituents meaningful election reform. [Reuters / Hamid Shalizi and James Mackenzie]
• These elections are seen as the real test of whether the young democracy, backed by Western powers like the United States and Europe, can function on its own by holding Democratic and fair elections. [NYT / Mujib Mashal]
• The problem is that the Afghan government has deep internal divisions, sown in part by the original deal the US brokered that forced opposing sides to work together. [Washington Post / Pamela Constable]

Miscellaneous

• The regulations California put in place to minimize wildfire damage couldn't have prepared it for a massive blaze fed by hurricane-force winds. [NYT / Adam Nagourney and Thomas Fuller]
• The ubiquitous tweetstorm is becoming a real live feature of Twitter. Time to celebrate with a THREAD. [The Verge / Casey Newton]
• Never mind the tense relationship between the press and the president in 2017 — musicians and music reporters also had a banner year for disagreements and fighting. [The Outline / Laura Snapes]
• Many believe that Russian interference in the 2016 election was a deeply strategic action. But some say it was a kneejerk reaction to Putin's financial secrets being leaked in the Panama Papers. [Atlantic / Julia Ioffe]

Verbatim

"You listen to me, Williams-Sonoma: There will NEVER be a fondueassaince. Ever. You can bring back a lot of things from the 1980s — tube tops, keyboards, a horrifying governmental indifference to the poor — but the fondue STAYS." [Deadspin / Drew Magary]

Watch this: The diet that helps fight climate change

You don’t have to go vegan to fight climate change. Research shows that small changes to our diets can make a big difference. [YouTube / Larissa Branin, Jess Wheelock, Zak Long, and Nicolette Bethea]

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