PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

The House Judiciary Committee on Friday approved two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, taking a big step toward a vote on impeaching him.

Dividing on party lines, the committee voted 23-17 to approve charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The matter now goes to the full House of Representatives next week, where the Democratic majority is expected to approve the impeachment of the chief executive.

If that happens, the issue then goes to the Senate for a trial, with the chief justice of the Supreme Court presiding. A two-thirds majority is required to convict and remove Trump, which is considered unlikely since Republicans hold a majority in the Senate.

The articles of impeachment accuse the president of abusing his power by allegedly asking Ukraine to investigate Democratic front-runner Joe Biden while threatening to withhold military aid, and of obstructing Congress by not cooperating with the House’s investigation.

“Today is a solemn and sad day,” said Chairman Jerrold Nadler, chair of the committee. White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham called the process “a desperate charade.” Later, Trump said “You’re trivializing impeachment, when you use it for absolutely nothing, other than trying for political gain. It’s a sad thing for the country but a good thing for me politically.”

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Court strikes down Mississippi abortion law

A Mississippi ban on abortions after 15 weeks was struck down Friday by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The law did make exceptions for medical emergencies and instances of “severe fetal abnormality” but not for rape or incest.

The court ruled that the 15-week limit amounted to an attempt to defy the 1973 Supreme Court decision which set a 24-week viability standard. An attempt to ban abortions in that state after six weeks was blocked by a federal judge in May and that case will go before the Fifth Circuit Court later.

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Lakers and Clippers post victories

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat 113-110 Friday night on the road to improve their record to 22-3. The Heat fell to 18-7.

Anthony Davis scored 33 points for the Lakers and LeBron James was close behind with 28 points. He also had 12 assists and nine rebounds. The Lakers trailed by 14 points late in the second quarter, but then went on a 36-11 run to take the lead.

The Los Angeles Clippers rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-117 Friday night. The Clips (20-7) got a combined 88 points from Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in the win.