-According to the New York Times, the Obama administration will soon decide the extent to which the U.S. will assist the French military’s intervention in Mali. At the heart of the issue is a concern that the mission has no end in sight. American aerial refueling aircraft are currently helping the French air force provide cover to its soldiers on the ground.
-An under-reported five decade long insurgency in Myanmar might come to an end soon. The only rebel group that President Thein Sein hasn’t sought to make peace with since he was elected in 2011, the Kachin Independence Army — a Christian ethnic group in the country’s north — is facing a decisive defeat in the wake of a government military offensive. And, as the Guardian graphically reports, this could send hundreds of thousands of battle-weary refugees over Myanmar’s northern border into China.
-In response to Aaron Swartz’s suicide, the hacker collective Anonymous took control of the U.S. Sentencing Commission’s website, posting a message that said “a line was crossed.” According to the AP, Anonymous members claim to have “infiltrated several government computer systems and copied secret information that they now threaten to make public.”
-Gun control advocates — including about 100 from Newtown, Connecticut, and survivors of other mass shootings — are rallying on the mall today. Organizers expect thousands of attendees from all over the country, according to the AP. Notable attendees are likely to include Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan, lawmakers from D.C. and Maryland, and actress Kathleen Turner.
