A massive tranche of texts from former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows obtained by CNN shows how former President Trump's allies went from pleading for a stop to the violence on Jan. 6 to affirming their support for Trump in the aftermath.
Why it matters: The more than 2,300 texts offer a rare glimpse into the communications between the White House and a network of Trump associates, Fox hosts and lawmakers in the period after the 2020 election.
A bipartisan group of senators met Monday evening to discuss a potential climate and energy bill that can garner 60 votes in the Senate and revive the barest elements of President Biden's Build Back Better agenda, senators and aides told Axios.
Why it matters: By aiming for 60 votes in a 50-50 Senate, some members of the group are trying to recreate the dynamic that led last year to the passage of $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill.
Between the lines: Trump needs Twitter. The platform was the critical element in the Trump news cycle, which was centered more around angry reactions rather than retweets from devoted fans.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Monday signed a bill to form a statewide law enforcement agency to investigate voter fraud and other election crimes.
Why it matters: The measure is part of a slate of voting restrictions initiated after former President Trump's baseless claims of a stolen election. Despite the fact that instances of voter fraud are rare in the U.S., DeSantis pushed for an election police force last year, echoing Trump's claims without citing evidence.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has delayed the execution of Melissa Lucio, who was scheduled to be executed Wednesday for the death of her 2-year-old daughter.
The big picture: Lucio and her lawyers say she is innocent, pointing to new evidence they say shows her daughter, Mariah, died from falling down the stairs. Her case has drawn widespread outrage, with over 100 Texas lawmakers, celebrities and criminal justice advocates voicing their support for Lucio in recent weeks.
A New York judge on Monday held former President Trump in contempt for failing to turn over documents to New York Attorney General Letitia James for her investigation into his business.
Driving the news: "Trump must pay $10,000 per day for every day that he continues to defy the court's order to turn over documents to my office," James said in a tweet.
The body of Bishop Evans, a soldier in the Texas Army National Guard who tried to save two migrants from drowning, has been found, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday.
State of play: The Texas Military Department said Sunday that Evans "went missing following his selfless efforts to rescue two migrants who appeared to be drowning while crossing the river from Mexico into the U.S."
Russia is "failing" in its war aims and "Ukraine is succeeding," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Monday from an undisclosed location in Poland near its border with Ukraine, hours after visiting Kyiv.
The big picture: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said after also meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the country's capital that Ukraine could win the war against Russia "if they have the right equipment, the right support," pledging the U.S. would "do everything we can" to help.
The pandemic has changed what Americans want from their homes, and builders say they expect those changes to last.
The big picture: A ton of pandemic-era adaptations are becoming common fixtures in new homes. The model homes that builders are showing off today are meant for working, living and learning, not just coming home and crashing at the end of the day.
Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during talks that U.S. diplomats will begin returning to Ukraine this week, State Department spokesperson Ned Price confirmed Monday.
Why it matters: The resumption of American diplomatic operations in Ukraine for the first time since Russia launched its invasion was among key steps announced during Blinken and Austin's trip to Kyiv on Sunday. The others include further aid and plans to nominate the first U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine since 2019.
The National Labor Relations Board has accused Starbucks of "retaliating against" three workers involved in organizing a union and is petitioning a federal court to have them reinstated. Starbucks rejects the claims.
Why it matters: The NLRB's court filing marks the latest in what's set to be a long and costly legal battle between a union drive and the coffee chain giant, as more workers at Starbucks stores move to unionize, per CNBC.
There was a 59% increase in the murders of police officers, with 73 officers killed in 2021. FBI director Christopher Wray addressed that stat in an interview aired on CBS' "60 Minutes" Sunday evening.
Driving the news: Wray spoke on the wider issue of crime fighting and on the 29% rise in murder in the U.S. in 2020, with almost 5,000 more people killed than the previous year.
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