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1. 2nd Jan. 6 Committee hearing begins this morning
The 1/6 panel resumes its hearings today at 10 a.m. with live witnesses, including Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, as committee members say they have uncovered enough evidence for the Justice Department to consider an unprecedented criminal indictment against the former president. Stepien was subpoenaed for his public testimony.
Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and vice chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., are set to lead the morning hearing after last week's blockbuster session drew nearly 20 million Americans to see its prime-time findings.
Monday's witness list includes BJay Pak, the top federal prosecutor in Atlanta who left his position on Jan 4, 2021, a day after an audio recording was made public in which Trump called him a “never-Trumper," and Chris Stirewalt, the former political editor for Fox News.
2. Senate negotiators announce a deal on guns, breaking logjam
Senate bargainers announced a bipartisan framework Sunday responding to last month’s mass shootings, a noteworthy though limited breakthrough offering modest gun curbs and bolstered efforts to improve school safety and mental health programs.
The legislation, which will still need to be written, will center around stricter background checks, red flag laws, school security and mental health programs.
The agreement would offer money to states to enact and put in place “red flag” laws that make it easier to temporarily take guns from people considered potentially violent, plus funds to bolster school safety and mental health programs.
3. Second March for Our Lives rally held following Uvalde school massacre
Weeks after a gunman killed 19 students and a pair of teachers at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school, a second “March for Our Lives” rally was in Washington, D.C. on Saturday.
More than 400 communities across the U.S. held "March for Our Lives" rallies on Saturday, but few received more attention than the one in Parkland which drew thousands.
The first March for Our Lives rally was held in 2018 in the wake of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting that left 17 dead at Stoneman High School.
4. Supreme Court to announce rulings today
There are 29 remaining cases for the Supreme Court to decide before the end of the present term.
The Supreme Court announced it will release opinions on Monday and Wednesday this week, but there's no word yet on the official ruling of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health.
A leaked draft signaled the majority of justices were in favor of giving states the right to make laws limiting abortion access.
5. Thailand giving away 1 million marijuana plants after legalization
Thailand made it legal to cultivate and possess marijuana as of Thursday and the public health minister has begun to distribute 1 million marijuana seedlings.
The decision by the Food and Drug Administration to remove all of the plant from the category of narcotic drugs makes Thailand the first nation in Asia to decriminalize marijuana for medical and industrial use. But it is not following the examples of Uruguay and Canada, the only two countries so far that have legalized recreational marijuana on a national basis.
So far, it appears there will be no effort to police what people can grow and smoke at home, aside from registering to do so and declaring it is for medical purposes.
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On This Day In History
On June 13, 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court hands down its decision in Miranda v. Arizona, establishing the principle that all criminal suspects must be advised of their rights before interrogation.
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