President Obama unveiled his executive actions aimed at reducing gun violence; surrounded by those who had lost loved ones to bullets, he was moved to tears. The Center for American Progress launched a twitter campaign in support of the president’s initiative, aimed at urging Congress and state and local governments to follow suit and work toward a reduction in firearms-related killings. Media Matters published a tongue-only-partially-in-cheek piece by Democratic consultant James Carville, urging Republicans to extend open-carry practices to the Republican National Convention.

The investigation into the San Bernardino shootings continued, as the FBI probed an 18-minute window immediately following the attack, during which the movements of the perpetrators remain uncertain. The missing piece of the puzzle may help determine whether others may have been involved in planning the attacks.

Attention turned to discussion of “domestic terrorism” in light of a militia takeover of federal property in Oregon in protest of the state’s role in a dispute with a ranching family. Grantee the Southern Poverty Law Center released its annual tally of anti-government militia groups in the U.S. Tuesday, finding that their ranks grew by a third over the last year. CAP’s ThinkProgress was among the outlets pointing out the incongruous nature of law enforcement responses to white militias and similar armed occupation actions undertaken by African-American organizations.

Grantees stepped up their criticism of the administration’s new initiative to deport migrant families who crossed the Southern border into the U.S. illegally since 2014. America’s Voice executive director Frank Sharry was quoted in The Atlantic saying “I think the administration’s approach is fundamentally flawed. They are treating a refugee crisis as an immigration enforcement issue.” Ali Noorani, ED of the National Immigration Forum also appeared in the piece, comparing the dangers these families face in their home countries (persecution) with the prospect of deportation in the U.S.: “If a person has a choice between living in fear and violence and even a temporary moment of safety in the U.S., they’re going to pick safety.”

MoveOn.org launched a petition drive, supported by a number of fellow grantees, aimed at pressuring TV networks not to air Donald Trump’s maiden campaign ad, which the group claims spreads “anti-immigrant hate.” Muslim Advocates released a statement condemning the ad as an intentional effort “to stoke fear and hatred of Muslims and immigrants that is unprecedented in modern American presidential campaigns.” The British Parliament made plans for a Westminster Hall debate on whether to ban Trump from the UK. Yet a month out from the Iowa caucuses, Trump retains his lead in the polls and is drawing substantial crowds,  like this one Tuesday in Lowell, Mass.

Among other grantee activities:

--Muslim Advocates’ tally of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the US since the Paris attacks now stands at more than 60.

--Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley wrote an op-ed in the Huffington Post questioning the US response to the Saudi executions that stirred Iran’s wrath, complicating the ongoing coalition efforts against ISIS.

--The Electronic Privacy Information Center was quoted protesting a little-noticed decision by the TSA in late December to end its “opt-out” policy, meaning that everyone boarding a plane may now be required to go through full-body scanners—a change the agency said was made in response to “immediate security concerns” during the holiday season. EPIC had brought a lawsuit protesting the scanners when they were first introduced, and views the new policy as a significant and troubling reversal of the original language, which allowed passengers to forego the body scanners in favor of pat-downs.

--The Federation of American Scientists’s Project on Government Secrecy was quoted in coverage of the fallout from revelations that the US listened in on conversations featuring Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu during debate over the Iran nuclear deal—revelations which have spurred fresh debate over the NSA’s powers to spy on US citizens in contact with foreigners.