TUESDAY’S MINI-REPORT…. Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Another big shift at GM: “General Motors said Tuesday that its chief executive, Fritz Henderson, is resigning and will be replaced on an interim basis by the automaker’s new chairman, Edward Whitacre Jr. The stunning move by the G.M. board to replace Mr. Henderson marks another big step in the transformation of the nation’s largest automaker since it emerged from bankruptcy in July.”
* Iran seems to want a confrontation: “Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday the country did not have to tell the U.N. nuclear agency about its plans to build nuclear sites unless it used imported technology.”
* Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) is still eyeing a repeal of the health insurance industry’s antitrust exemption.
* COBRA assistance is poised to expire for a whole lot of struggling Americans.
* Real estate data: “October pending homes sales rose for the ninth straight month and hit their highest levels since March 2006, just about when the housing bubble was at its peak.”
* The D.C. Council voted to legalize marriage equality today, 11 to 2. There’s one more procedural hurdle before Mayor Adrian Fenty signs the measure into law.
* Is a gas-tax increase a possibility?
* Senate Dems mocked John McCain relentlessly today for his shameless Medicare flip-flop.
* I’ve heard a lot of talk over the years that Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) doesn’t know much about public policy. The fact that he seems to have no idea what war bonds are doesn’t improve his reputation.
* Don’t be too surprised if Baltimore’s mayor is forced from office.
* Media Matters tackles “Climategate“: “Since the reported theft of emails from the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia, conservative media figures have aggressively claimed that those emails undermine the overwhelming scientific consensus that human activities are causing climate change, dubbing the supposed scandal ‘Climategate.’ But these critics have largely rested their claims on outlandish distortions and misrepresentations of the contents of the stolen emails, greatly undermining their dubious smears.”
* Lou Dobbs headed to CNBC? They’ve chatted.
* The question of whether the remaining, weakened public option is worth fighting for continues to spread.
* John Lott is talking about distorted research? That’s not a good idea.
* Does college neutralize racial disparities?
* For the record, I don’t think the Bush administration screwed up at Tora Bora on purpose.
* And reader J.B. alerts me to this item about Goldman Sachs employees arming themselves, just in case.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
