From NPR News in Washington, I’m Lakshmi Singh.

 

　　Bells toll across Tucson, Arizona in memory of the lives forever changed by a gunman who killed six people and wounded 13 during an outdoor event. Among the survivors, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was critically wounded while she was meeting with her constituents. Two years later, Giffords is taking on the gun lobby. NPR’s Kirk Ziegler reports that on this anniversary, Giffords and her husband are launching a new political action committee aimed at curbing gun violence.

 

　　The new pack is called Americans for Responsible Solutions, which plans to raise money to “counterbalance the influence of the pro-gun lobby.” A statement on its new website says the group will encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence while also protecting responsible gun ownership. In an op-ed published in USA Today, Gabrielle Giffords aims her harshest words at Congress, noting that since Tucson, there have been 11 more mass shootings in the US, including the much deadlier ones last year in Aurora, Colorado and Newtown, Connecticut. Giffords says the main purpose of the new pack is to raise money so that members of Congress won’t, in her words, have reason to fear the gun lobby. Kirk Siegler, NPR News.

 

　　The White House is stepping up discussions over gun violence in response to last month’s shooting rampage at a Connecticut elementary school. Vice President Joe Biden is due to meet with gun control groups tomorrow then gun rights advocates on Thursday. It is part of President Obama’s edict across the administration to present proposals by the end of this month on ways to curb gun violence.

 

　　Illinois lawmakers have only hours now to come up with a plan to deal with what’s considered the biggest pension shortfall in the nation. NPR’s Cheryl Corley reports a new legislature is sworn in tomorrow, and if no deal was struck, the state must start new negotiations.

 

　　The pension shortfall in Illinois has been years in the making. It totals nearly 97 billion dollars. Some state lawmakers have worked to come up with a comprehensive pension overhaul that would require the state to fully meet its pension obligations and for state workers to chip in more from their paychecks. But with the clock ticking during the final full day of a lame-duck session, there’s still no deal. And Illinois Governor Pat Quinn said the state’s fiscal crisis needs to be resolved.

 

　　“We cannot allow the Illinois economy to be held hostage by political timidity. We have to be bold, we have to do things that are difficult.”

 

　　The lack of a pension fix has led to downgrades of Illinois credit ratings. Cheryl Corley, NPR News.

 

　　At last check on Wall Street, Dow was off 59 points at 13,324, NASQAD down eight at 3,091, and the S&P 500 falling six points, it’s at 1,456.

 

　　From Washington, this is NPR News.

 

　　The 25-year-old army private accused of releasing large amounts of classified documents to the WikiLeaks website may learn today whether he will be cleared of all charges. In the Maryland pretrial hearing for Private First Class Bradley Manning, the judge said she would rule on the defense’s motion. Manning argues that the military held him in extremely harsh conditions for several months after his 2010 arrest. His jailers at the Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Virginia say Manning was kept in a windowless six-by-eight foot cell for 23 hours a day because they say he was a threat to himself and others.

 

　　The opening of a controversial new airport in the German capital is delayed for a fourth time. NPR’s Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson says critics are calling on Berlin’s mayor to resign over the project.

 

　　Berlin Mayor Klaus Wowereit refused to quit, but did step down as head of the board overseeing construction of the project that has become a major embarrassment for German officials. Their proposed airport catering to 27 million passengers a year was to be a symbol of Berlin’s growing status as a tourist destination and center for political power. But the project has been plagued by delays since its first scheduled opening in 2011 and roughly two billion euros in cost overruns. The Berlin Airport Authority in a statement said it scrubbed the latest October 2013 opening date because of problems with the airport’s fire safety system. No new opening date has been set. Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, NPR News, Berlin.

 

　　US stocks still trading lower with the Dow off now nearly 60 points at 13,325.

 

　　I’m Lakshimi Singh, NPR News.