Read About Gun Control, Then Watch a Puppy Learn to Walk Down Stairs [Current Events Cheat Sheet]

By Garnet Henderson

In case you were too busy obsessing over Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s perfect hosting job at the Golden Globes last night, here are the week’s top stories.

At Home

Vice President Joe Biden met with the National Rifle Association and other gun ownership groups to discuss new gun control policies. The NRA blasted Biden’s ideas after the meeting, but Biden is still expected to deliver gun law recommendations to the president on January 15.

One student was wounded in yet another school shooting at Taft Union High School in Taft, California. Science teacher Ryan Heber was able to get the student to hand over his gun before he shot anyone else.

Chuck Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska, will likely be confirmed as Secretary of Defense, despite doubts about his feelings toward Israel and a “soft” position on Iran.

The World

An Egyptian court overturned former president Hosni Mubarak‘s conviction and life sentence for allowing the deaths of protestors. However, the court ordered another trial, so Mubarak will not go free.

In an attack nearly identical to the horrific rape in New Delhi, India weeks ago, another woman was gang raped by seven men after boarding a bus at night in Punjab.

Smog levels in Bejing, China have reached record highs, and are now considered “beyond index.”

Sporty

Here’s what happened in the NFL playoffs.

The NHL lockout is officially over, and training camps are opening up.

Hot on the Web

This is a really cute video of a dog teaching a puppy to go down stairs.

Garnet is a student at Columbia University in New York City. She is “that person” who starts dancing at a party when everyone else is standing around, and if there were a Facebook stalking Olympics, she would be a gold medalist. She also loves cheesy 90s music, and almost died of happiness when Vanilla Ice retweeted her. Once. Follow her on Twitter @garnethenderson.