THURSDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* President Obama unveiled the details of his federal budget today. He also identified $17 billion in spending cuts, which was immediately deemed insufficient. (The White House has posted the budget and related materials online.)
* GM lost $6 billion in the first quarter, and its cash reserves are dwindling. In related news, GMAC has to raise $13.1 billion in a hurry.
* Pakistan declares war on the Taliban.
* According to the World Health Organization, there are now more than 2,000 people in 23 countries with confirmed cases of the H1N1 flu. Over half are in Mexico.
* North Korea appears to be gearing up for a new nuclear test.
* Senate Democratic leaders gave Sen. Arlen Specter the chairmanship of the Crime and Drugs Subcommittee. Judiciary Committee Chairman Pat Leahy isn’t happy about it.
* Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said Judge Sonia Sotomayor would face stiff GOP opposition if she were nominated for the Supreme Court.
* Brian Beutler takes a closer look at the whole whisper campaign against Sotomayer.
* It’s odd to hear Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, sound more reasonable than most of his GOP colleagues when it comes to judicial qualifications.
* Every time an Arabic linguist is thrown out of the U.S. military for being gay, I get a little more outraged.
* The Senate confirmed Gil Kerlikowske today as the new director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The vote was 91 to 1.
* The Obama administration now supports letting D.C. public school students who’ve received vouchers to keep receiving them through graduation, but without expanding the program or allowing new students to receive taxpayer-subsidized private school tuition.
* A marriage-equality bill is headed for New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch’s (D) desk. It’s unclear what he’ll do.
* Circle your calendar: “Karl Rove’s long-awaited testimony before Congress about the US Attorney firings will likely occur around early June, according to Rove’s lawyer.”
* If Bill O’Reilly wanted to be less sexist, he could “help” it.
* And finally, Obama is Spock. Good to know.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
