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1. Jan 6. panel to hear from Ga. Sec. of State and more today
The House Jan. 6 committee is set to hear from local officials who fended off Donald Trump’s pressure to overturn the 2020 presidential election today at 1 p.m.
The panel resumes with testimony from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger about Trump's call asking him to “find 11,780” votes to prevent Joe Biden’s election victory. His deputy Gabe Sterling and Arizona’s Republican state leader Rusty Bowers are also key witnesses.
The panel will focus on how Trump pressured battleground state officials with schemes to reject state tallies and electors, all fueled by his false claims of election fraud.
2. Supreme Court to issue more rulings today
The Supreme Court will issue some of its remaining opinions today, as the justices work with little time to wrap up several significant cases before the traditional end of their session.
The ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization is expected before the high court recesses for the summer in late June.
The case that could overturn the court's landmark 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide, involves a dispute over a Mississippi law that would ban most abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy.
3. Americans in Russian captivity may get death penalty
Two U.S. military veterans taken prisoner while fighting for Ukraine appear in a video airing on Russian TV, apparently in the custody of pro-Russian separatists. In the audio, the two Americans, Alexander John-Robert Drueke and Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh seemed to have spoken under duress.
Pundits on Russian state TV are speculating that the two soldiers will get the death penalty, saying “there are no other options” because Russia considers foreign fighters to be mercenaries.
The two Americans were captured while fighting north of Kharkiv, with a unit of American and French fighters called “Task Force Baguette.” On social media, the unit, which was attached to a Ukrainian military unit, says the men were captured when their “team ended up isolated in the middle of a Russian offensive.”
4. President Biden considers gas tax holiday
President Joe Biden says he’s considering pressing for a holiday on the federal gasoline tax. That could possibly save U.S. consumers as much as 18.4 cents a gallon.
Biden told reporters Monday that his decision could come by the end of the week. The administration is increasingly looking for ways to spare the public from higher prices at the pump, which began to climb last year and surged after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
Gas prices nationwide are averaging just under $5 a gallon, according to AAA. Taxes on gasoline and diesel fuel help pay for highways.
5. Florida deputies disciplined after Bob Saget death investigation
Two Florida deputies have each been suspended for about two weeks for leaking news about actor and comedian Bob Saget’s death before his family was alerted, officials said.
The Orange County Sheriff's Office confirmed Monday that the two deputies were each suspended for 81 hours without pay.
Saget, 65, was found by a hotel security officer at the Ritz Carlton in Orlando on Jan. 9 after he had failed to check out of the hotel and his family had asked for a well-being check.
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On This Day In History
June 21, 1788: New Hampshire becomes the ninth and last necessary state to ratify the Constitution of the United States, thereby making the document the law of the land.
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