The Castro era ended in Cuba on Monday after six decades, with Raúl Castro handing over the reigns of a party founded in 1965 by his brother Fidel.
Why it matters: Miguel Díaz-Canel, 60, now assumes the challenge of maintaining Communist rule while grappling with growing discontent over Cuba's economic stagnation.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced plans to introduce a resolution censuring Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), who over the weekend said protesters should "get more confrontational" if Derek Chauvin is acquitted.
Why it matters: Republicans have honed in on her comments, as the judge presiding over the Chauvin trial called her words "abhorrent."
Members of the House and their staff will be able to escort certain visitors into the Capitol starting Wednesday.
Why it matters: The House is slowly starting to reopen after more than a year of pandemic restrictions. The Senate already allows official visits, with a staff escort.
The jury of Derek Chauvin's trial has gone into deliberation Monday. The judge told instructed them to "reach a just verdict regardless of what the consequence might be."
Why it matters: The jury's verdict in Chauvin's murder trial is seen by advocates as one of the most crucial civil rights cases in decades.
Brandon Hole, the 19-year-old shooter who killed eight people at a FedEx warehouse in Indianapolis last week, never had a "red flag" hearing in accordance with state law despite a warning from his mother he was showing signs of violence, a prosecutor said at a press conference Monday.
Why it matters: Indiana's "red flag" law allows authorities to seize guns from people who show "warning signs of violence," per AP. Had the shooter appeared before a judge and been found unstable, he may not have been able to purchase the guns used in the mass shooting.
U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officer Brian Sicknick suffered two strokes and died of natural causes after clashing with rioters during the Jan. 6 attack, according to a ruling Monday by Washington, D.C.'s chief medical examiner, the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: The ruling will make it more difficult for prosecutors to bring homicide charges against the two men arrested with spraying Sicknick with bear spray during the riot, per the Post.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed into law Monday a controversial bill that increases penalties for crimes committed during a "riot," which civil rights groups have denounced as unconstitutional.
Why it matters: The bill, effective immediately, will increase penalties for crimes committed during a "riot" and would allow authorities to hold protesters arrested for misdemeanors without bail until their first court appearance, per the Orlando Sentinel.
A federal judge will revoke bail for two leaders of the Proud Boys, a paramilitary right-wing extremist group, after they were released while awaiting trial for their involvement in the Capitol insurrection, Politico reports.
Why it matters: The judge said he was swayed by new evidence from prosecutorsshowing encrypted messages and profanity-laden social media posts from the defendants that vowed violence against lawmakers who planned to certify the election.
The Supreme Court won't take an appeal by Pennsylvania Republicans claiming that the state's secretary of state exceeded its authority when expanding deadlines for mail-in ballots last year due to the pandemic, according to NBC News.
Why it matters: This is another refusal by the Supreme Court to take up litigation regarding the 2020 presidential election, despite the efforts of GOP leaders and supporters of former President Trump to push baseless claims of voter fraud.
In his first major speech, Attorney General Merrick Garland warned the nation Monday to remain vigilant against the rising threat of domestic extremism.
Why it matters: Domestic terrorism poses an "elevated threat" to the nation this year, according to U.S. intelligence. Garland has already pledged to crack down on violence linked to white supremacists and right-wing militia groups.
Management failures among federal agencies contributed to "health and safety risks" as the U.S. tried to return citizens from abroad and quarantine them domestically at the outset of the pandemic, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report requested by Congress out Monday.
Why it matters: The 13-month investigation revealed that lack of preparation led to infighting at the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) as divisions repeatedly clashed about who should oversee rescue operations, according to the report.
Steve Schleicher, an attorney for the prosecution in Derek Chauvin's trial, began closing arguments on Monday by describing in detail George Floyd's last moments — crying out for help and surrounded by strangers, as Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd for nine minutes and 29 seconds.
Why it matters: The jury's verdict in Chauvin's murder trial, seen by advocates as one of the most crucial civil rights cases in decades, will reverberate across the country and have major implications in the fight for racial justice.
MyPillow counter-sued Dominion Voting Systems for more than $1.6 billion on Monday, alleging that the voting machine company's defamation lawsuit against MyPillow and its pro-Trump CEO aims to suppress free speech and has caused "grave" reputational harm.
Why it matters: Lindell is one of many Trump allies to face a multibillion-dollar defamation lawsuit for spreading false claims about the election, including that Dominion's voting machines flipped votes from Trump to Biden.
Apple will let Parler, a social media app popular with conservatives, back onto the App Store after Parler made attempts to improve its speech detection and moderation.
What's happening: Parler is getting access to Apple's massive App Store again after being suspended for inadequate hate speech policies following the January 6 Capitol riot, according to a letter Apple sent to Congress Monday.
Actor Matthew McConaughey has a 12-point lead over Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in a hypothetical matchup for the governorship, according to a Dallas Morning News and University of Texas at Tyler poll.
Why it matters: The numbers bode well for the Oscar winner's viability, as he already has strong name recognition in his home state. The "Interstellar" star has been flirting with a gubernatorial run as he toured to promote his new book, "Greenlights."
President Biden will nominate Coast Guard Vice Adm. Linda Fagan for vice commandant, which would make her the first female four-star admiral in Coast Guard history, the White House announced Monday.
Why it matters: On the campaign trail in 2019, both Biden and then-candidate Kamala Harris signed a pledge to ensure at least 50%of their national security Senate-confirmed positions would be women, according to Defense News.
Former Trump adviser and media personality Kimberly Guilfoyle was named national chair of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens' (R) bid for the U.S. Senate on Monday.
Driving the news: Greitens resigned from his post as governor in 2018 amid accusations of corruption and sexual misconduct. An ethics panel cleared Greitens of wrongdoing in 2020, and he's since framed himself as a Trumpian victim of the political establishment.
Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), former chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, announced Monday that he will be retiring from Congress on May 16 to become president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce.
Why it matters: Stivers' resignation will add breathing room to the Democrats' razor-thin majority in the House and create a special election in Ohio's Republican-leaning 15th congressional district.
The Biden administration will prohibit U.S. immigration enforcement agencies from using using terms like "alien," "illegal alien" and "assimilation," the Washington Post reports.
The state of play: Memos expected to be sent by the heads of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) frame the new language recommendations as a way of humanizing U.S. immigration policy, after four years of the Trump administration's hardline approach.
Get ready for lofty statements, urgent calls for carbon-cutting progress, new pledges — and known unknowns about how much concrete action will follow — at President Biden's global climate summit this week.
What we're watching: The White House will showcase a new 2030 U.S. emissions-cutting target and unveil plans for billions of dollars to help developing nations fight climate change, according to Bloomberg.
The city of Champlin, Minn., has spent more than $9,000 to erect a security perimeter protecting the home of Kim Potter, the former police officer who fatally shot 20-year-old Daunte Wright.
What's happening: Photos posted to Twitter show cement barricades, fencing and officers stationed outside Potter's suburban Twin Cities home. She faces manslaughter charges in Wright's death.
Minneapolis is waking up to images of an occupied city on Monday, as the city and the world await a verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.
What it's like: Residents running errands, picking up dinner and heading to the dog park in recent days encountered heavily-armed National Guard troops stationed throughout the city.
The biggest hurdle for President Biden in winning new emissions reduction commitments at this week's White House summit is America's on-again, off-again history of climate change efforts.
Why it matters: The global community is off course to meet the temperature targets contained in the Paris Climate Agreement. The White House wants the summit Thursday and Friday to begin to change that.
Officials in Moscow announced Sunday that 20 Czech diplomats had 72 hours to leave Russia, after the EU nation accused Russian operatives of being behind a deadly ammunition depot explosion in 2014.
Why it matters: The action, which came a day after the Czech government expelled 18 Russian diplomats over the blast, marks the latest escalation in what's become the worst tension between Russia and Western nations since the Cold War.
Gov. Tim Walz (D) spoke out Sunday over allegations that journalists covering unrest in the Twin Cities suburb of Brooklyn Center have endured police violence, telling CBS Minnesota: "Apologies are not enough, it just cannot happen."
Why it matters: Since violations of press freedoms came to national attention last year, with reports of journalists being arrested and assaulted while covering anti-racism protests, violent encounters with law enforcement seem to have become the norm.
Former President Obama and NBA greats Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal joined forces to urge communities of color and young people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 during an NBC special on inoculations, broadcast Sunday.
Why it matters: People of color have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. Obama noted during the broadcast that with underlying, pre-existing health conditions being more prevalent in communities of color "we're more vulnerable" to the virus.
Law enforcement were searching for a former sheriff's deputy Sunday night, after three adults were fatally shot in the Great Hills Trail neighborhood of Austin, Texas, police said.
The latest: Interim Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon said at an evening news conference residents no longer needed to shelter in place but should "remain vigilant," as officers searched for suspect Stephen Broderick, 41, following Sunday morning's shooting that killed a Hispanic woman and two Black men.
Three people died and two others were hospitalized with serious injuries after a gunman opened fire in a bar in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, the police department said in a statement on Sunday.
The latest: Officers arrested a "person of interest" Sunday afternoon in connection with the 12:42 a.m. shooting and there's "no threat to the community at this time," per a police statement.
12 of world soccer's biggest and richest clubs announced Sunday they've formed a breakaway European "Super League" — with clubs Manchester United, Liverpool, Barcelona Real Madrid, Juventus and A.C. Milan among those to sign up.
Why it matters: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is among those to express concern at the move — which marks a massive overhaul of the sport's structure and finances. It effectively ends the decades-old UEFA Champions League's run as the top European soccer tournament.
