Gun plea | Biden called for a ban on sales of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, pleading with Congress to toughen laws following a spate of mass shootings. Still, he acknowledged that Congress is unlikely to restrict them, with Republican lawmakers, who can block the passage of bills in the Senate, vowing to prevent sweeping gun-control measures. - The New York state legislature approved raising the legal age to buy semiautomatic rifles to 21 from 18 and tightened rules on purchasing firearms and other military equipment.
Jan. 6 hearings | The US Congressional committee investigating last year’s insurrection at the Capitol will lay out its findings in hearings starting next Thursday. The panel said it will detail how former President Donald Trump and allies attempted to overturn the 2020 election results. At issue is whether Trump and his associates organized and incited the mob, which he and his former top advisers deny. Saudi nod | OPEC+ agreed to open its oil taps faster in the summer months, a gesture of reconciliation to the US that nevertheless keeps Russia at the heart of the cartel. The White House welcomed the deal, which came after months of diplomatic pressure on Saudi Arabia to mitigate the surge in energy prices that’s battered the global economy since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The proportion of Italians who don’t bother to seek work is among the highest in Europe. It poses a challenge for unlocking the jobs potential in the euro zone’s third-biggest economy, which is one of the few options available to fight the impact of a demographic decline so stark that the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has warned the country risks having no people left. Best of Bloomberg OpinionRadical warning | Colombian voters will reject the socialist “Venezuelan model” when they vote in a runoff election in just over two weeks, outgoing President Ivan Duque said in an interview. Duque, who is term-limited and deeply unpopular in polls, didn’t identify specific candidates, but left-wing senator Gustavo Petro, 62, is running against construction magnate Rodolfo Hernandez on a platform that centers on a radical shift in the economy. Explainers you can usePrice rival | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has no clear rival for elections next June, with the opposition yet to agree on a candidate to challenge him. But as Selcan Hacaoglu writes, runaway inflation is the most urgent threat to his nearly 20-year grip on power, and it’s a formidable one: A survey by MetroPoll shows public support for Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party has fallen close to the lowest level since it was established. Bloomberg TV and Radio air Balance of Power with David Westin weekdays from 12 to 1 p.m. ET, with a second hour on Bloomberg Radio from 1 to 2 p.m. ET. You can watch and listen on Bloomberg channels and online here or check out prior episodes and guest clips here.  | 
