• Hawaii’s strict gun law faces SCOTUS challenge: Hawaii has some of the most restrictive gun laws of any state. One of those laws has been challenged, and the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments today. In Wolford v. Lopez, the state’s ban on open carry on private property that serves the public, such as a grocery store, without “express authorization” is being challenged as an infringement on residents’ Second Amendment rights. The Court’s Bruen decision in 2022 ruled that the right to bear arms includes bringing “a handgun for self-defense outside the home.” It would appear that Hawaii’s law is in direct conflict with the Bruen decision and is an underhanded effort to block Hawaiians from exercising their 2A rights.

• Unaffirming affirmative action: The attorneys general for Florida and Texas both issued opinions on Martin Luther King Jr. Day that, in keeping with Dr. King’s dream, forbid affirmative action and DEI policies in their states. Florida AG James Uthemeier commented that racial discrimination is morally wrong and unconstitutional, “Yet Florida maintains several laws on its books that promote and require discrimination on its face.” Some Florida laws that Uthemeier seeks to challenge require minority quotas on boards, councils, and in government contracts. In Texas, park locations, clean energy funds, and water projects approved in part due to affirmative action policies are likely to be reconsidered. Affirmative action and “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” infiltrated American society over decades, and it will take decades to undo the damage, but Florida and Texas are leading the way.

• ICE gets court win limiting congressional oversight visits: Following Democrat lawmakers’ efforts to force themselves unannounced into an ICE facility last year on the pretext of Congress’s oversight authority, the Department of Homeland Security made a new policy barring members of Congress from performing surprise inspections. On Monday, Judge Jia Cobb rejected Democrats’ challenge to the new rule and agreed with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s argument that the agency needs to be informed of a lawmaker’s planned facility visit to ensure the “adequate protection” of the lawmaker and ICE personnel. Cobb also noted that the passage of last summer’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act created an independent revenue stream for ICE and notably did not include a guaranteed access language tied to the funding.

• Speaker Johnson addresses Parliament: For the first time in its 250-year history, the speaker of the House of Representatives addressed the Parliament of London, which has existed in some form for over 700 years. Johnson spoke favorably of the “special relationship” between the U.S. and the UK, noting that “our nations have evolved and grown and strengthened in so many ways together.” Lindsay Hoyle, speaker of the British House of Commons, introduced Johnson, joking, “We’ve only just about forgiven you” for the first trade dispute between the two nations, the Boston Tea Party, “so I’ll say no more about any others,” obliquely referencing the far less friendly tone of the U.S. president. Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have harshly criticized the UK in recent days, but hopefully, Johnson’s visit can soothe some troubled waters.

• Teachers union leaders support Maduro and communism: The Chicago Teachers Union is, as the name implies, a group meant to support public school teachers in the Chicago area, so readers can probably guess what it was up to in early January. That’s right — leading an emergency protest in concert with other socialist groups to oppose Operation Absolute Resolve, where the U.S. captured the illegitimate leader of Venezuela. To understand how this took place, it is useful to examine CTU’s executive board, which includes one member, Kobi Guillory, who also serves on the Freedom Road Socialist Organization’s central committee. The FRSO issued public statements in support of Maduro’s regime and has wished for terrorist organizations to experience “success upon success.” While conservatives are unlikely to be surprised by a strong link between teachers unions and radical Marxists, their brazen connections can still come as a shock.

• Venezuelans are appreciative of Maduro’s extradition: A local Venezuelan polling firm asked 1,006 Venezuelans about their feelings on Operation Absolute Resolve and the capture of their illegitimate president, Nicolás Maduro. American leftists may be surprised to learn that 92.2% of respondents said they were grateful to President Trump for his stunning action, while only 6.3% said otherwise. Venezuelans aren’t limiting their gratitude to the commander-in-chief either. When asked if they agreed with the U.S. “becoming the principal ally and only provider of products for the Venezuelan state,” 90.6% said yes. Americans have been so insulated from tyranny for so long that they struggle to understand some basic facts, but as it turns out, human beings are usually grateful when their oppressors are killed or captured.

• What is a woman? Dems won’t say: Of nearly 20 potential Democrat 2028 presidential contenders, only one knows what a woman is. Axios recently observed how these Democrats responded to the following question: “Can a man become a woman?” The list of Democrats includes Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Kamala Harris, Sen. Cory Booker, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The majority of these Democrats dodged the question entirely. For example, Newsom deflected, “Yeah, I just, well, I think, uh, for the grace of God.” The lone Democrat who didn’t go all mealy-mouthed and weak-kneed was former Obama White House Chief of Staff and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, whose answer was simply, “No.” This issue continues to be a major weakness for Democrats because they are afraid of crossing the LGBT contingent of their base.

• Sanders snubs Holocaust Museum board meetings: Bernie Sanders, who’s as Jewish as a ham sandwich and has falsely accused Israel of committing genocide, has not attended one meeting of the Holocaust Memorial Council in the 18 years since his appointment. Congress established the Council in 1980, requiring 55 members to be presidentially appointed to five-year terms, with an additional 10 members coming from the House and the Senate. Two Trump-appointed members are among a dozen others who have signed a letter requesting that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer replace Sanders, whose “beliefs and public statements do not reflect the stated mission of the museum.” The letter states, “With Jew hatred and Holocaust distortion rising globally, it is imperative that Senate-appointed representatives on the Council are fully engaged and steadfastly supportive of its mission.” It’s probably best practice to have someone on the Holocaust Council who doesn’t hate Israel.

• China’s birthrate continues to plummet: China’s 1979 one-child policy continues to threaten the future of the world’s largest communist country. Despite ending the policy in 2015, the birthrate of the East Asian nation is in a continuous free fall. Last year, China saw a total of 7.92 million babies born while experiencing 11.31 million deaths. This continues a trend of falling birth rates, now at a record low of 5.63 births per 1,000 people, down from 6.4 births per 1,000 two years prior. The population “replacement level” is 2.1 births per woman. China has not only dropped below two births per woman but is now below one birth per woman. If this trend doesn’t turn around soon, China’s future is doomed. However, China is far from the only country struggling with declining birth rates, as the U.S. is currently at 1.6 births per woman.

Headlines

• Team Kamala asked if Josh Shapiro was an Israeli double agent (Hot Air)

• Kremlin says Trump has invited Putin to join “Board of Peace” for Gaza (Not the Bee)

• Canada-China trade deal poses national security threat to U.S. (Washington Stand)

• Humor: ICE protesters reveal next nine places they will attack (Babylon Bee)

The Executive News Summary is compiled daily by Jordan Candler, Thomas Gallatin, Sterling Henry, and Sophie Starkova. For the archive, click here.