THURSDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* President Obama unveils his budget and posts it online.
* AP: “New-home sales tumbled to a record-low annual pace in January and there’s no relief in sight as mounting damage from the collapsed housing market pushes the country deeper into recession.”
* Senate approved a bill this afternoon to give D.C. a vote in the House. It passed 61 to 37, and 36 of the Senate’s 41 Republicans voted against it.
* GM lost $30.9 billion in 2008.
* Jobless numbers continue to rise.
* What do you know, Roland Burris’ situation can look worse.
* Blue Dogs sure can be tiresome.
* Obama and senior administration officials have begun receiving “a daily CIA report” on the global economic crisis, reinforcing the belief that the economy will have a direct impact on national security.
* Daily Kos, the Service Employees International Union, and some of the best bloggers in the business are teaming up to create Accountability Now.
* As of Friday, the Rocky Mountain News, Colorado’s oldest newspaper, will be no more.
* The latest evidence on media bias will not make conservatives happy, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong.
* Ratings for the president’s speech on Tuesday night were pretty impressive.
* Obama staffers are serious about limiting access to lobbyists.
* Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) loves free-market principles, except when he doesn’t.
* “False equivalency” stories are the traditional media’s most annoying bad habit.
* U.S. News tries to make amends.
* Recessions are “a part of freedom“?
* And Fox has renewed “The Simpsons” for (at least) two more seasons. Next year, it will become the longest running prime-time show in U.S. television history.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
