The shooting at a congressional baseball practice reminds us of something we too often forget: We are one country, and we’re all in this together. Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.
1. Congressional shooting
DACA is alive – for now. A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects from deportation about 700,000 young undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children. President Trump had said he would end the program in March unless Congress came up with a fix.
So, how will this affect the negotiations going on in Washington about DACA and immigration? Trump’s televised and nearly hour-long meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the subject, while fascinating, didn’t exactly produce any clarity on the issue, partially because the President kept contradicting himself. This much we know: Democrats would rather only deal with DACA, but Republicans want some concessions on border security first.
Having a hard time keeping track of all this? (Go ahead and raise your hand, because that’s all of us.) Here are five immigration-related storylines you should be paying attention to.
2. Democratic National Committee
The end of the government shutdown finds Republicans and Democrats moving even further apart on immigration. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer withdrew an offer that would have approved funding for President Trump’s border wall. And the White House indicates it wants more than just the wall and additional resources on the Southern border in exchange for a DACA fix. It wants Homeland Security to have more power to remove undocumented immigrants. These changes in positioning risk losing the support of very conservative and very liberal lawmakers. Which means we’ll probably be facing another immigration-fueled shutdown come February 8.
3. The Weinstein effect
They’re planning prayer vigils today at Marshall County High School in western Kentucky after a shooter killed two students and wounded 16 others. The suspected gunman is a 15-year-old male student who was nabbed on the scene. He’ll probably be charged as an adult on murder and attempted murder charges. Shocked students described utter chaos as gunfire broke out in the school’s commons area right before classes started. Some kids jumped fences and ran into the woods for safety.
Meanwhile, Simpson told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the author of the dossier was acting on his own when he went to the FBI because he was concerned that a presidential candidate was being blackmailed, according to the 312-page transcript of his testimony.
4. Russian investigation
What does Kim Jong Un really want? CIA Director Mike Pompeo thinks the North Korean leader is developing nukes for more than just preserving his regime. Pompeo says Kim’s ultimate goal is to take over the entire Korean Peninsula, and he’s prepared to use both nuclear weapons and conventional military forces to do it. So could the US do a limited military strike to stop him without risking a full-scale war? Pompeo wouldn’t answer that, but President Trump has said in the past that all options are on the table when it comes to dealing with North Korea.
5. Trump in Asia
A strong earthquake rocked the Caribbean Sea, and now, the region is bracing for tsunamis. The magnitude-7.6 quake struck 27 miles off the coast of Honduras. Tsunami waves are possible for the coasts of Belize, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica. “Check on your family members that live close to the sea,” a man says in a social media video filmed near the shore in Belize City.
QUOTES OF THE DAY
“I finally had the courage to lock my door at night and sit by it. All damn night.”
Actress Bella Thorne, revealing on Instagram she was a victim of sexual abuse as a child. Her post was met with an outpouring of love and support from her fans.
“Everyone seems stunned.”
A Breitbart employee, talking about Steve Bannon stepping down from the far-right website.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.
Talk about bragging rights. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, with a net worth of $105.1 billion, is the richest person – in history.
Numbers game
Hulu crowed about its growing subscriber base, now up to 17 million. Netflix, with 85 million subscribers, smiled and said that’s real cute.
Lost in space
Remember Zuma, the supersecret spacecraft that SpaceX launched? Well, it failed to reach a stable orbit and is feared lost.
Welcome to Westeros
Send a raven. A “Game of Thrones” ice hotel just opened up in Finland.
Saharan snow
It snowed in one of the hottest places on Earth – the Sahara desert – and it was straight-up awesome.
AND FINALLY …
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Two mischevious boys leave a special surprise for dear old dad in the leaf pile. (Click to view.)