Welcome to Your Week. Meet the man who sparked an impeachment trial.

USA TODAY's Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page has reported on 11 presidential elections and seven White House administrations. She’s interviewed the past 10 presidents.

And, she's covered three presidential impeachments – not something she says she would have predicted back in journalism school.

Last week, Page sat down with Alexander Vindman, the man credited for sparking proceedings to remove our most recent ex-president. He's the White House staffer who flagged alleged quid pro quo in former President Donald Trump's now-infamous "perfect" call with Ukraine. With time and a pandemic between him and the spotlight – and a book out Tuesday – Vindman has a lot to say. And Page got the whole scoop, family drama included.

Welcome to Your Week, a Monday newsletter for USA TODAY subscribers that highlights must-read premium content and gives you inside access into our newsroom. I'm Lindsay Deutsch, an editor dedicated to helping you make the most of your subscription. (Alex Connor, our usual host, is back next week.)

This week, I highlight Page's subscriber-exclusive profile of Vindman and share a Your Week newsletter-exclusive excerpt of his book, “Here, Right Matters: An American Story,” out Tuesday from Harper Books.

Scroll down and you'll see more can't-miss, subscriber-only headlines ranging in topics from climate change's impact on real estate to the impending insurance battles related to the Surfside collapse. What to read first?! Let's dive in.

Exclusive excerpt: 'Here, Right Matters: An American Story'

"Alex Vindman is a hero to those who credit him with saving democracy and a villain to those who blame him for undermining a president they revere," Susan Page tells me. "But in two hours of interviews at his home on Thursday, he came across less as a political mastermind and more like an earnest nerd – the word he used to describe himself."

What's clear is that he'll always hold a place in history: "The next time there’s an impeachment, I’ll be back up there like John Dean," Vindman told Page half-jokingly.

Susan's profile covers:

• How Vindman's father, then a solid Trump supporter, urged him not to testify against the president.
• How the transcript released of Trump's controversial phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky doesn't include two important comments that are in his handwritten notes.
• How an ad hoc network has emerged among those who have found themselves in the crosshairs of Trump and his legions...

And much more. I encourage you to read all the revelations in Page's article here.

In the below excerpt, Vindman describes monitoring President Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Zelensky on July 25, 2019, when Trump offered to release U.S. military aid if Kiev launched a corruption investigation against Joe Biden. Others in the Situation Room with Vindman included his boss at the National Security Council, Timothy Morrison, and State Department official Jennifer Williams.

“I do remember looking around the conference room when the meeting broke up, knowing that others, including my boss, had heard what I’d heard. In that moment, I realized something right away. Nobody else was going to say anything about it. I was the person most knowledgeable about and officially responsible for the portfolio. If I didn’t report up the chain of command what I knew, no one might ever found out what the president was up to with Ukraine and the 2020 U.S. election. That’s why I went straight to (my brother) Eugene’s office.

“I knew what I had to do. I’d known from the moment I heard the president say what he said. Regardless of any impact on the president, the domestic and foreign policy consequences, or personal costs, I had no choice but to report what I’d heard. That duty to report is a critical component of U.S. Army values and of the oath I’d taken to support and defend the U.S. Constitution. Despite the president’s constitutional role as commander in chief – in fact, because of his role – I had an obligation to report misconduct.

“Eugene was the top NSC ethics official, with all the important security clearances. He was therefore uniquely positioned to advise me in the proper procedures for doing the right thing in the right way, and I knew that he would support my doing my duty. He would protect, at all costs, my telling the truth. He would never be swayed by any institutional or presidential interest in covering up the truth.

“I made sure to close the door behind me. Eugene, seated behind his desk, was looking at me.

“’If what I just heard becomes public,’ I told my brother, ‘the president will be impeached.’”

“Here, Right Matters: An American Story” by Alexander S. Vindman is out Tuesday from Harper Books.

Return to normal? Not so fast.

Top need-to-knows regarding the COVID-19 outbreak:

• Mapping CDC's new guidelines:See high transmission areas where you need to wear a mask indoors
• The CDC says masks for the vaccinated are optional. As COVID cases climb, some feel differently.
• Hawaii travel restrictions: Travel in Hawaii is tricky right now, from COVID tests to missing vaccine info and wristband envy.
• Royal Caribbean cruise outbreak: Four vaccinated adults, two unvaccinated children tested positive for COVID on a Royal Caribbean ship. Our reporter Morgan Hines was there.

Make sure you're staying updated with the latest COVID-19 news with our Coronavirus Watch email newsletter. And for quick reference on masks, vaccines and more, check out our coronavirus resource guide.

More can't-miss premium stories

OLYMPICS | Five gold medals. And infinite pressure. Caeleb Dressel has been honest about the stress that comes with being a champion. USA TODAY's Christine Brennan exposes a side to the elite athlete we may not otherwise see.

REAL ESTATE | Climate change is starting to shape where Americans relocate. Nearly half (49%) of respondents in a recent survey said they planned to move in the next year, blaming extreme temperatures, and the increasing frequency or intensity of natural disasters as playing a role in the decision.

LIVING HISTORY | In 1972, Melvin McNair helped hijack a plane to join Black Panthers in Algeria. He is wanted by authorities in the U.S. for his 50-year-old crime, living in exile in France. Why, how... and what now? "I am at peace with what I did," he says in this latest edition of the Never Told series.

SURFSIDE DISASTER | Homes destroyed. Neighbors perished. Now, Surfside survivors face insurance companies. In one case, documents provided to USA TODAY show State Farm won't decide whether to pay until the cause of the collapse is determined – a process investigators say could take months if not years.

LET'S TALK SEX | Sex drive is a popular term, a catchall phrase for describing a person's ability to get turned on. But sex researchers say the term is poorly understood, frequently misused and often fails to capture the complexity of human desire.

–

Thanks for reading, and for subscribing. Until next week!

Lindsay