WEDNESDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Indonesian earthquake kills 75.
* A massive tsunami hit Samoa and American Samoa, killing at least 119.
* We knew this was coming: “The Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposed rule Wednesday to begin regulating greenhouse gas emissions from thousands of power plants and large industrial facilities.”
* On a related note, cap-and-trade finally gets unveiled in the Senate.
* Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has scrapped the Senate’s Columbus Day recess, so the chamber can work on health care reform. Good move.
* Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) isn’t convinced the public option is dead.
* Encouraging vote: “The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday rejected a Republican proposal to tighten restrictions on abortion under a bill to overhaul the health care system.”
* Sen. Olympia Snowe’s (R-Maine) constituents want to see her break party ranks on health care.
* Roll Call reports that the White House is still working on a possible health care bill. Robert Gibbs knocks it down.
* Another possible compromise on a public option?
* The efforts aren’t working: “The number of homes lost to foreclosures rose about 17 percent in the second quarter of this year despite the launch of an extensive government program aimed at helping borrowers save their home, according to government data released Wednesday.”
* Second quarter GDP was readjusted in a positive direction — it was down 0.7%, not 1%.
* An expedited withdrawal timeline for Iraq? Maybe.
* NIH gets $5 billion in grants. Good.
* Despite yesterday’s setback(s), the White House is not abandoning the public option.
* Why is Reagan’s national security adviser lobbying on behalf of Sudan?
* How college students’ brains work.
* When Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) called the president “an enemy of humanity,” he apparently only meant part of humanity.
* It’s hard to believe how badly three Hyatt hotels in Boston treated their housekeepers.
* House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) criticized President Obama today for traveling abroad to ask for an American Olympics in 2016. Boehner said Obama should focus his attention on “the problems we have here at home.” Dems reminded Boehner he took a two-week trip abroad just last month.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
