MONDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Afghanistan: “Two United States Marines were killed in a roadside explosion in the southern province of Helmand, a United States forces spokeswoman said Sunday. A third American service member wounded in Afghanistan died on Friday back home.”
* The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has come to the conclusion that “Afghan security forces will have to be far larger than currently planned if President Obama’s strategy for winning the war is to succeed, according to senior military officials. Such an expansion would require spending billions more than the $7.5 billion the administration has budgeted annually to build up the Afghan army and police over the next several years, and the likely deployment of thousands more U.S. troops as trainers and advisers, officials said.”
* Urumqi: “Police fatally shot two Uighur men and wounded a third Monday in western China, where violence has persisted to flare despite the massive numbers of troops sent to restore calm more than a week after deadly ethnic rioting. It is the first time the Chinese government has acknowledged that its security forces opened fire since communal violence hit Urumqi.”
* According to medical researchers, the H1N1 virus “bears a disturbing resemblance to the virus strain that caused the 1918 flu pandemic, with a greater ability to infect the lungs than common seasonal flu viruses.”
* Replacing the car czar: “Steven Rattner, head of President Obama’s task force on restructuring the auto industry, is stepping down after seeing General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC enter and emerge from bankruptcy proceedings during his five-month tenure.” He’ll reportedly be succeeded by Ron Bloom, who’s had an active role on Rattner’s team.
* Meet Dr. Regina Benjamin, who, pending Senate confirmation, will likely be the new U.S. Surgeon General.
* Would the White House ask Congress to delay its August recess? Maybe.
* Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) of Ohio noted late last week that he will not be part of “a filibuster on climate change.” Whether he votes for the bill is another matter.
* Audra Shay, the new chair of the Young Republicans, has drawn considerable criticism for racially-charged comments online, but the matter did not stop her from getting the job.
* Fox News personality Brian Kilmeade continues to draw fire for last week’s comments on racial “purity” and Americans’ habit of “marrying other species and other ethnicities.”
* I’m starting to get the sense that Joe Klein isn’t impressed with Bill Kristol.
* Althouse sure does write some nutty posts.
* Lanny Davis writes some nutty stuff, too.
* Even now, it appears the RNC doesn’t know what EFCA is.
* And Al Kamen ponders Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-Okla.) doctor-patient relationship with Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.): “[I]f a guy can’t trust his OB-GYN, who can he trust?”
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
