WEDNESDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Details remain sketchy, but the U.S. crew has reportedly retaken control over the ship hijacked by Somali pirates this morning, though the U.S. captain is still reportedly being held hostage.
* In a significant break from Bush-era policy, the U.S. will join in multi-nation talks with Iran over its suspected nuclear ambitions.
* The engagement with Iran will apparently be welcome news to a majority of Americans.
* Keep an eye on instability in Moldova.
* This isn’t going well: “The Obama administration might agree to postpone auctioning off 100 percent of emissions allowances under a cap-and-trade system to limit greenhouse gas pollution, White House science adviser John P. Holdren said today.”
* Attorney General Eric Holder is poised to name Mary Patrice Brown, a well-respected career prosecutor, as the new head of the Justice Department’s internal ethics unit. Good move.
* Speaking of the Justice Department, Keith Olbermann is none too pleased with the administration’s recent claims on secrecy and immunity.
* The fallout from the prosecutorial misconduct in the Ted Stevens case continues.
* Has the Army pressured medical staff not to diagnose post-traumatic stress disorders?
* Speaking of veterans’ issues, Tammy Duckworth will finally get a vote after Republican obstructionism delayed her nomination unnecessarily.
* Encouraging gesture: “The White House is allocating tickets for the upcoming Easter Egg Roll to gay and lesbian parents as part of the Obama administration’s outreach to diverse communities.”
* In yet another embarrassment for George Will, the Washington Post‘s editorial cartoonist has begun mocking him, too.
* Leading progressive bloggers ask leading progressive organizations: where’s the love?
* Muntadar al-Zaidi, the shoe-thrower, has seen his sentence reduced from three years to one.
* The new ads from the National Organization for Marriage are slick but ridiculous.
* A Republican caller told Rush Limbaugh yesterday that the host sounds like a “brainwashed Nazi.” One can only assume the call-screeners will be severely punished.
* I get the sense former Bush strategist Pete Wehner doesn’t understand that tax increases produce more money for the government.
* And finally, a Quote of the Day from Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi, commenting on the 17,000 Italians left homeless by the Abruzzo earthquake: “They should see it like a weekend of camping.”
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
