Daily News Lesson

SHOW ALL

Jan. 3, 2022, 11:24 p.m.

Jan. 4, 2022: Congress returns from winter recess with renewed Dem push for voting rights

Sign up for NewsHour Classroom's ready-to-go Daily News Lessons delivered to your inbox each morning. To receive NewsHour's monthly education newsletter click here. Write us with any questions, concerns or lesson ideas at education@newshour.org .

Summary

In the latest news wrap, the U.S. Congress returned to a new session with Democrats demanding passage of voting rights legislation. Republicans have filibustered the package. A major winter storm snowed in the nation's capital and much of the mid-Atlantic. The attorney general of New York state issued subpoenas to former President Donald Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump, and son Donald Trump Jr.

Five Facts

Directions: Choose one or more of the stories to record the Five Facts questions as well as the focus and media literacy questions below.
  • Who are some of the individuals or groups of people mentioned in the news summary?
  • What stories are covered?
  • Where do some of the stories take place?
  • When did those stories occur?
  • Why did the event(s) take place?
*Bonus: How do you think the NewsHour's producers decided which stories made it into the news summary?

Focus Questions

What do you think is the most important change that should be made to the way national elections take place? Media literacy: What from this news wrap do you think should have been covered in more detail? How would you find out more?

For More

For more on the issues at stake with voting rights legislation, see this piece .
FILE PHOTO: Fencing to be removed from the U.S. Capitol in Washington
FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Capitol is seen behind fencing that was erected in the wake of the January 6 insurrection, which is expected to be taken down as early as tomorrow in Washington, U.S., July 8, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The U.S. Capitol is seen behind fencing that was erected in the wake of the January 6 insurrection, which is expected to be taken down as early as tomorrow in Washington, U.S., July 8, 2021. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo

Links

TRANSCRIPT

Recent Daily News Lessons

gloria

Daily News Lesson

Remembering Gloria Steinem and her trailblazing fight for women's rights

Learn about the life and career of one of the leading feminist voices of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries

economy

Daily News Lesson

Prolonged Iran war impacts global economy

Learn about the broad impact of the war in Iran on the economy in the U.S. and elsewhere

elnino-1

Daily News Lesson

How a super El Niño is fueling extreme weather

Discuss the impact of El Niño weather patterns and how a "super El Niño" will impact the U.S. this fall and winter

Screenshot 2026-09-01 at 10.27.38 PM

Daily News Lesson

Monitoring the Midterms: Whistleblower warns USPS rushing new system that could jeopardize mail-in ballots

"This new system would inject the federal government into the voting process of every city, town, village, and hamlet in the United States." — Reuters

SUPPORTED BY VIEWERS LIKE YOU. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY:

PBS News Hour Classroom

Copyright © 2025 News Hour Production LLC. All Rights Reserved

Illustrations by Annamaria Ward