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BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — The latest on the debate and vote in Brazil's Senate on the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff (all times local):
9:40 p.m.
Protesters supporting Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff have clashed with police on the lawn outside the Senate as senators debated whether to impeach the leader.
It wasn't clear what sparked the short but intense confrontations. Police used pepper spray to drive back protesters. Demonstrators largely from feminist groups threw firecrackers at police lines. Emergency service workers took several people out of the area after they fell ill with the effects of the clouds of pepper spray.
On the Senate floor, Communist Party Sen. Vanessa Grazziontin expressed worry about what she called spiraling levels of "unnecessary violence" directed at pro-Rousseff demonstrators.
A wall erected down the center of the lawn separated several thousand Rousseff supporters from a similar-sized group of pro-impeachment protesters. On the pro-impeachment side, a Carnival-esque spirit reigned, with demonstrators sipping beers while decked out in the yellow and green jersey of Brazil's beloved national soccer team.
Both groups were much smaller than the crowds that turned out for the April 17 impeachment vote in the lower house of Congress.
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8:55 p.m.
The pace of the Brazilian Senate's historic session to decide whether to impeach President Dilma Rousseff is anything but brisk. In the first 10 hours, fewer than 30 of the 69 senators scheduled to speak had made their addresses by Wednesday evening.
Under rules for the impeachment process, each senator is allowed up to 15 minutes to speak, and many have made full use of their moment in the spotlight.
That despite admonishments from Senate President Renan Calheiros for speakers to limit themselves to only five to 10 minutes. That suggestion sparked anger from Rousseff's supporters, who insisted it was a bid to curb their right to express their positions.
Calheiros has pledged not to take a recess and push the proceeding through to a vote. If he holds to that, with more than 40 speakers remaining, the session looked likely to drag well into the wee hours of Thursday.
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8:40 p.m.
The president of Brazil's Senate has chided his fellow senators to cut down on the chatter during the body's debate on whether to impeach President Dilma Rousseff.
Senate President Renan Calheiros made the call after a senator complained that he wasn't able to follow the speeches due to rampant chatting on the floor of the Senate. Calheiros reminded senators of the historical weight of the institution and stressed that "the eyes of the world" were on them.
He also urged senators to avoid emulating the lack of decorum seen at the lower house of Congress' impeachment vote last month. Raucous behavior during the Chamber of Deputies vote April 17 was widely mocked on Brazilian social media. Deputies broke into locker-room chants, brandished Bibles, fired confetti cannons and dedicated their votes to everything from their unborn grandchildren to the state of Israel to a stretch of highway.
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6:55 p.m.
The Brazilian newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo says President Dilma Rousseff has packed up all her personal belongings at her office in the Planalto Palace and had them sent to the Alvorada Palace, the official presidential residence.
The move took place Wednesday as the full Senate was meeting in a session that is expected to culminate in Rousseff's impeachment.
The newspaper says Rousseff's books and photos of her daughter and her two grandsons were among the items taken to the Alvorada Palace.
Citing office staff members, the newspaper says paper shredders and document scanners were working nonstop during the day.
Calls to the presidential office to confirm the report went unanswered.
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4:40 p.m.
Brazil's highest court says it has rejected an appeal filed by President Dilma Rousseff's government to halt the impeachment process against her in the Senate.
The Supreme Court says on its website that Justice Teori Zavascki rejected the appeal. Her solicitor general's office argued that last month's vote in the Chamber of Deputies recommending impeachment was riddled with irregularities.
The appeal was turned down as the full Senate was meeting in a session that's expected to culminate in Rousseff's impeachment.
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3:10 p.m.
The atmosphere in Brazil's Senate is subdued as lawmakers debate whether to impeach President Dilma Rousseff.
Most of the seats on the Senate floor has been empty, and the few senators who sitting through their colleagues' speeches have been fiddling with their phones or chatting among themselves.
It's a vivid contrast with the circus-like atmosphere at last month's vote in the lower house. Then, members of the Chamber of Deputies broke into raucous cheers and occasionally popped confetti cannons as they declared their votes.
The Senators speaking Wednesday are taking pains to mention the allegations of fiscal mismanagement that are the basis of the impeachment proceedings. Most of the lower house lawmakers dedicated their votes to God, country and family.
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2:50 p.m.
Even allies of Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff are signaling they expect the Senate will impeach her and suspend her from office.
The head of her Workers' Party in the Senate appeared to concede defeat as he spoke to reporters on the sidelines of Wednesday's session.
Sen. Humberto Costa says "there is no other path for us than opposition." But he added that it would be "very firm opposition."
A simple majority of the 81 senators would be enough to start an impeachment trial that could last six months. It would take a two-thirds majority following the trial to permanently remove the president.
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12:30 p.m.
Pope Francis is addressing the political crisis expected to result in the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. He's calling for "prayer and dialogue" in Latin America's biggest country.
During his general audience on Wednesday, the pontiff said he hopes that Brazil "proceeds on the path of harmony and peace."
His statement was posted on the Vatican Radio Web site.
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9:50 a.m.
Brazil's Senate has kicked off a session that's expected to culminate in a vote on whether to impeach President Dilma Rousseff.
If a simple majority of the 81 senators vote in favor, Rousseff will be suspended from office and Vice President Michel Temer will take over for up to six months pending a decision on whether to remove her from office permanently.
Senate President Renan Calheiros has said he wants the vote to happen Wednesday night.
The impeachment hinges on allegations Rousseff violated fiscal rules in handling the federal budget. But it's also become largely a referendum on her presidency amid a deep recession and a vast kickback scheme in state oil company Petrobras.
Rousseff denies any wrongdoing and insists the impeachment amounts to a "coup" aimed at removing her left-leaning Workers' Party, in power for 13 years.
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