Today’s edition of quick hits:
* House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said yesterday there was a 50-50 chance a debt deal would be complete within 48 hours. He’s not saying that anymore.
* House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) met privately with President Obama this morning, and is weighing her options about what kind of role to play in the process.
* No small allegation: “Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said Thursday he believes the Pakistani government ‘sanctioned’ the killing of a prominent Islamabad reporter, Syed Saleem Shahzad, who was murdered in May.”
* Murdoch scandal intensifies in England: “The British police on Friday arrested a former editor of The News of the World who is also a former senior aide to Prime Minister David Cameron, and rearrested the newspaper’s former royal editor. The arrests deepened the crisis swirling around Rupert Murdoch’s media empire in Britain over allegations of phone hacking and corruption.”
* Following an appeals court ruling, the official end of DADT? “The Pentagon has ordered a halt to all separations of gay troops under “don’t ask, don’t tell” and will begin accepting applications from prospective recruits who identify themselves as homosexuals.”
* Texas’ execution of Humbero Leal Garcia has broad and important international implications. It’s definitely a story to keep an eye on.
* The space shuttle’s final launch.
* A nonpartisan budget panel has created a blueprint to end the shutdown in Minnesota. Republican lawmakers will likely ignore it.
* With allegations swirling around Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee has taken a keen interest … in Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan.
* The corporate jet industry is getting awfully worried about its symbolic value in the debt-reduction talks.
* Conservatives have accused the White House’s Jesse Lee of having “bullied” them. What’d Jesse do? He responded to their arguments on Twitter. The nerve.
* Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) believes a Senate hearing on the DREAM Act, featuring undocumented young people, of being “almost treasonous.” He’s really not well.
* Fox Business ran an online poll, asking the audience who they blame for the state of the economy. George W. Bush wasn’t one of the choices. Imagine that.
* Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has a new policy idea: the country will be better off if federal officials invest less in higher education.
* If you haven’t heard about what happened to Ikenna Njoku, you should: “For 28-year-old Ikenna Njoku, what should have been the simple act of cashing a check turned into four days in jail and the loss of his car and job.”
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
