Gun control and Newtown, one month later

January 14, 2013 (WABC) -- The first state to act. That's the scarf New York will wear, after the likely vote tonight to make the state's already tough gun control laws even tougher.

And the toughest in the nation.

The bill would expand the state's ban on assault weapons (although it's unclear whether that means you couldn't buy them here or you couldn't even have them here, which would be tougher of course), reduce the allowed capacity in a ammo magazine from 10 rounds to 7, new rules to try to keep guns from the mentally ill, boost penalties for gun crimes, and require private gun sales to include background checks.

The gun lobby is against all this, but Gov. Cuomo, using the ride tide of public opinion for more gun control after the gun massacre of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

A new ABC News/Washington Post, released this afternoon, says that Americans are more strongly in favor of gun control that any time ever before.

We'll have the latest, at 11.

And we're also looking at the community of Newtown, a month to the day after the shootings, including a proposal to name a school after Victoria Soto, a teacher who died trying to shield her students from the young man with a (quite legal) gun. All of this, on the day before the gun control recommendations are given to the White House.

We're also following the flu outbreak, from what you can do at work to help stop its spread, to where you can get the vaccine.

And on this busy news day, here comes a school bus strike. The union representing the drivers, who at a news conference today suggested that their job is as tough as a surgeon's, said that the 9,000 drivers will walk off their jobs, effective Wednesday morning. About 150,000 New York City students are affected. So what will students do? We'll have the latest, at 11.

We'll also have any breaking news of the night, plus Meteorologist Lee Goldberg's AccuWeather forecast, and Rob Powers with the night's sports. I hope you can join Sade Baderinwa and me, tonight at 11.

BILL RITTER

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