****
Today (all times EST):
10:0: Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the proposed “assault weapons ban of 2013″ (C-Span)
11:0: The President delivers remarks at the unveiling of a statue of Rosa Parks, United States Capitol
White House live * C-Span * CBS * CNN
11:0: VP Biden Addresses Attorneys General on Gun Control
3:0: First Lady Michelle Obama will join Rachael Ray in Clinton, Mississippi as part of the Let’s Move national tour
7:30: President Obama delivers remarks at the Business Council dinner and answer questions, Park Hyatt Hotel, Washington, DC (Pooled Press for Remarks)
****
****
Reuters: The Supreme Court on Wednesday will consider whether to strike down a key provision of a federal law designed to protect minority voters.
During the one-hour oral argument, the nine justices will hear the claim made by officials from Shelby County, Alabama, that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is no longer needed.
The key issue is whether Congress has the authority under the 15th Amendment, which gave African Americans the right to vote, to require some states, mainly in the South, to show that any proposed election-law change would not discriminate against minority voters.
More here
****
****
Steve Benen: Defense Secretary-designate Chuck Hagel will take the oath of office later today, which will likely be a satisfying resolution to a difficult confirmation process. But before he’s sworn in, Senate Republicans issued one last challenge to their former colleague…..
… This has to be one of the more amusing things I’ve heard from Senate Republicans in quite a while. In effect, the line from the GOP minority is, “We smeared Chuck Hagel, we questioned his patriotism, we questioned his loyalties, and we accused him without proof of having ties to America’s enemies. Now that he’s confirmed, we expect Hagel to start mending the relationship we destroyed on purpose as part of our partisan scorched-earth campaign.”
Even by Republican standards, this is pretty nutty.
More here
****
****
