The Hill's 12:30 Report — Presented by Meta — NASA unveils historic images of the universe

View Online  12:30 REPORT PRESENTED BY META TALK OF THE MORNING Space is THE COOLEST: ©  Giphy NASA just unveiled spectacular, full-color images of the universe taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.    Watch NASA's livestream where the new images were unveiled: The announcement started around 10:30 a.m.  ➤  THE NEW PHOTOS: ©  AP/NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Whoa: Check out two images of a dying star.    An image showing five galaxies: Four of those galaxies interact, according to NASA.    This is such a cool image, it almost looks fake: "Behind the curtain of dust and gas in these 'Cosmic Cliffs' are previously hidden baby stars, now uncovered by Webb." Photo of the 'cosmic cliffs'   Photo of galaxies colliding: The colors are spectacular.    President Biden unveiled the first image on Monday. Here's the image if you haven't seen it:   ^ By the way: Here is an image of the same spot in the sky, taken with an older telescope. Photo from 2017 ➤  SOME CONTEXT TO THE IMAGES: The part that baffles me: The image released by President Biden on Monday shows the universe as it appeared 13 billion years ago. Yes, you read that right: 13 billion years ago.   This is wild — I can't even comprehend this: NASA's Twitter account for the telescope tweeted, "If you held a grain of sand up to the sky at arm's length, that tiny speck is the size of Webb's view in this image. Imagine — galaxies galore within a grain, including light from galaxies that traveled billions of years to us!"     Curious what a telescope of this magnitude actually looks like?: Here's a photo of the telescope under construction, via Vox    Here's a side-by-side comparison of the new telescope's images vs. an older telescope's images: From Business Insider    What even?: "This isn't the farthest back we've observed. Non-infrared missions like COBE & WMAP saw the universe closer to the Big Bang (~380,000 years after), when there was only microwave background radiation, but no stars or galaxies. Webb sees a few 100 million years after the Big Bang." Image from NASA IT'S TUESDAY. I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. Content from our sponsor: Meta The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real Meta is helping build the metaverse so aviation mechanics will be able to practice servicing different jet engines – preparing them for any complex job.    The result: A more skilled workforce.     Learn how Meta is helping build the metaverse. 🔎 Jan. 6 Happening at 1 p.m. — let's turn our attention to the extremist groups: The House committee investigating the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, is starting its seventh hearing this afternoon.    The focus of today's testimony: The right-wing extremist groups tied to the attack    More on what to expect during today's session    Today's hearing livestream Slide this to the right, bring that forward, now shuffle it, spin the one on the right and swap it with the left: Bloomberg's Billy House reports that Thursday's prime-time Jan. 6 hearing will be postponed until next week.    Why?: We don't know. The hearing had never been formally announced — and an explanation for the delay was also not given.    The focus of this hearing: Former President Trump's actions between the start of the attack and when he told his supporters to go home.     Keep in mind: "It's not the first time the committee has rescheduled hearings in its series of public sessions this summer. The panel did so once last month, citing a need to give its production crew more time to assemble video and exhibits." What we know about the delayed hearing 🚔 News this morning Rest in peace, Shinzo Abe: ©  AP/Hiro Komae The funeral for former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was held in Tokyo earlier Tuesday after he was assassinated during a campaign speech last week.    If you missed this news: "Millions around the world have reacted with shock and anguish at how Abe was gunned down in broad daylight during a campaign speech in the central city of Nara on Friday … The suspect, 41-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami, was arrested at the scene but has not been formally charged."    Photos from the funeral service — and more on Abe's assassination, via CNN's Rhea Mogul and Jessie Yeung Event Invite Securing America's Retirement, Wednesday, July 13 at 8 a.m. ET  A recent Gallup poll shows that 63% of Americans are "worried about having enough for retirement." How might diversifying portfolios affect retirement security? And what policies will truly ensure a secure retirement for Americans? Contributing editor Steven Clemons sits down with Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), BPC chief economist Jason Fichtner, Ohio School Employees Retirement System's Farouki Majeed and more. RSVP today. 🐐 In the Democratic Party Get on our level!: ©  Giphy "Democrats say they are angry, and they want President Biden to be angry, too."     Why Dems are furious: "In recent weeks, they've watched the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade and at least one conservative justice hint that same-sex marriage and contraception could be next. Then they saw the high court restrict the Environmental Protection Agency's ability to effectively tackle climate change. They've also witnessed the escalation of gun violence despite a small-scale legislative success on gun safety that fell well below what Democrats want to do on that issue."    Why Biden's comments about abortion and guns haven't been deemed as enough for his party, via The Hill's Amie Parnes and Morgan Chalfant ➤  'DOOMSDAY POLITICAL SCENARIO TAKES SHAPE FOR DEMOCRATS': Via The Hill's Mychael Schnell and Hanna Trudo  🩺 The abortion fight To give some clarity to doctors — federal law trumps state law: "The Biden administration on Monday told hospitals that they 'must' provide abortion services if the life of the mother is at risk, saying federal law on emergency treatment guidelines preempts state laws in jurisdictions that now ban the procedure without any exceptions following the Supreme Court's decision to end a constitutional right to abortion."     What this means for abortion access, via The Associated Press's Zeke Miller 🦠 Latest with COVID BY THE NUMBERS Cases to date: 88.4 million  Death toll: 1,016,293  Current hospitalizations: 17,783  Shots administered: 597 million Fully vaccinated: 67 percent CDC data here. Content from our sponsor: Meta The metaverse will make learning more immersive  Virtual reality will enable students to see and experience biological concepts in new ways—deepening their knowledge and sparking curiosity.    The metaverse may be virtual, but the impact will be real.    Learn how Meta is helping build the metaverse.  🐥 Notable tweets Ah ha! We knew it:  Law 360's Kellie Mejdrich retweeted a clip from CNBC's "Squawk Box" discussing the number of chips in a bag.     The 'Squawk Box' clip, from PepsiCo's Hugh Johnston: "There are times we'll take chips out of the bag instead of taking pricing up. There's other times we'll actually increase the number of chips in the bag, and we may take pricing up a little bit along with that...we move them around all the time." Watch the clip    Mejdrich commented: "Doritos man admits number of chips in the bag is changing constantly." ⏱ On tap The House and Senate are in. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C. Biden is leaving for Israel tonight. 9 a.m.: Harris hosted Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador for breakfast at her residence.  9:30 a.m.: Biden received the President's Daily Brief.  11:15 a.m.: Biden held a bilateral meeting with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to discuss global challenges such as food security and migration. Photo of his arrival to the White House  11:30 a.m.: Two Senate roll call votes. Today's Senate agenda  2:30 p.m.: Two more Senate votes.  5:30 p.m.: Harris participates virtually in an annual leaders meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum.  6:30 p.m.: First and last votes in the House. Today's House agenda  9:30 p.m.: Biden leaves for Jerusalem, Israel.  Wednesday: The Hill is hosting an event, "Securing America's Retirement." Featured speakers: Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), BPC chief economist Jason Fichtner and Ohio School Employees Retirement System's Farouki Majeed. Details and RSVPs   July 19: The Hill is hosting an event, "America's Unfinished Business: The Hill's Future of Health Care 2022." Featured speakers: Anthony Fauci, CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, AMA president Jack Resneck and Mark McClellan. Details and RSVPs   All times Eastern 📺 What to watch 9:30 a.m.: The White House COVID-19 Response Team held a press briefing. Video  10 a.m.: The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the legal concerns after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Watch  4:30 p.m.: Biden and first lady Jill Biden host the White House Congressional Picnic. Harris also attends. Livestream  Tonight: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and national security advisor Jake Sullivan speak with reporters aboard Air Force One.   🥧 In lighter news Today is National Jell-O Day and National Pecan Pie Day!  And to leave you on a happy note, here's a mama bear trying to get her cubs across the street.  Stay Engaged Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com and follow along on Twitter and Facebook. A friend forward this to you? Subscribe here. Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  Sign Up for Other Newsletters 1625 K Street NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20006 © 1998 - 2022 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved.