Marc Short, former Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff, testified before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot last Wednesday, following a subpoena, CNN first reported and Axios confirmed on Monday.
Why it matters: The panel considers Pence a key witness into what former President Trump was doing in the days leading up to the Capitol riot.
The Biden administration sees a path to a deal in the Vienna nuclear talks, but Iran must make “tough political decisions now” or face an escalating crisis, a senior State Department official told reporters Monday.
Why it matters: The comments are another sign that the Biden administration is somewhat optimistic as nuclear negotiations in Vienna get closer to a decision point. Last week, White House Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk said the U.S. and Iran are “in the ballpark” of a possible deal.
In a tense UN Security Council meeting on Monday, the Russian and U.S. ambassadors traded barbs over Ukraine, with Russia accusing Washington of "whipping up" tensions and the U.S. warning of an "urgent and dangerous" situation.
Why it matters: Monday's meeting, held at the request of the U.S., was the first open Security Council session on the recent crisis. Western leaders have warned of an imminent Russian invasion, pointing to intelligence and the estimated 100,000 troops they say Moscow has amassed on Ukraine's borders.
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) on Monday reported that her campaign brought in $2.05 million in the last quarter of 2021, the congresswoman's highest fundraising quarterly intake ever.
State of play: Cheney's fundraising total more than quadrupled that of her top primary rival, Harriet Hageman, a lawyer and former gubernatorial candidate who received former President Trump's endorsement in September.
Roughly 1 in 10 Americans believe violence against the government is justifiable "right now," a poll by the COVID States Project out last Friday indicates.
The big picture: The report suggests Republicans and ideological conservatives are the most likely to justify political violence right now — about 18% of Republican men responded that it would be OK.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis asked the FBI on Sunday to conduct a risk assessment of the county courthouse and government center in Atlanta following "alarming" comments by former President Trump during a rally Saturday.
Why it matters: Willis is conducting an investigation into Trump's efforts to interfere with the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
At least six historically Black colleges and universities received bomb threats Monday morning, prompting closures, lockdowns and investigations, according to school officials.
The big picture: It's the second time this month that several HBCUs received such threats.
Sales of Art Spiegelman's 1980 Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel, "Maus," have soared after a Tennessee school board banned it, sending the book and its sequel to the top of Amazon's bestsellers list.
Why it matters: An uptick of book bans and conservative-sponsored legislation seeking to remove literary staples from curriculums have become part of a broader culture war in school districts across the country.
Rising crime, worker shortages, infrastructure problems and housing affordability will be the top issues on cities' agendas in 2022, urban affairs experts predict.
Why it matters: With cities flush from federal COVID relief programs, everyone had hoped they would be able to focus more on quality-of-life issues rather than life-and-death issues — but no.
Why it matters: Millions of Americans have taken advantage of the enhanced ACA subsidies Congress passed into law last year, with many enrolling in health insurance for the first time. But under the status quo, that more generous coverage is going to expire at the end of 2022 — and people will be notified right before the midterm elections.
Two of Ahmaud Arbery's killers, Travis and Gregory McMichael, have reached plea agreements with prosecutors in their federal hate crimes case concerning the Black jogger's 2020 murder in Georgia, according to court filings submitted Sunday night.
Why it matters: Attorneys for Arbery's family released a statement saying they're "vehemently against" the proposed plea deals, reached ahead of the hate crimes trial that's scheduled for Feb. 7, as it would see the murderers serve the first 30 years of their sentence in a preferred federal prison.
Foreign journalists and news outlets are "facing unprecedented hurdles covering China" as the country's government steps up "excessive intimidation" efforts, according to a report published Sunday night.
Why it matters: As global outlets prepare to cover the Beijing Winter Olympics, which begin Friday, 99% of foreign journalists surveyed by the Foreign Correspondents' Club of China reported conditions that did not meet international standards and 62% said they were "obstructed at least once by police or other officials," per the report.
North Korean state media announced its military launched a Hwasong-12 ballistic missile into the sea Sunday — which the Japanese and South Korean militaries estimated reached a maximum altitude of roughly 1,200 miles and traveled nearly 500 miles.
Why it matters: The seventh missile test that North Korea's military has conducted this month marks the first time a "nuclear-capable missile" that size with such a large range has launched since 2017, per Reuters.
