Today’s edition of quick hits:
* President Obama will deliver a national address this evening on the Republicans’ debt-ceiling crisis. It will begin at 9 p.m., and be delivered from the East Room.
* Oslo: “The man accused of the killing spree in Norway was deeply influenced by a small group of American bloggers and writers who have warned for years about the threat from Islam, lacing his 1,500-page manifesto with quotations from them, as well as copying multiple passages from the tract of the Unabomber. In the document he posted online, Anders Behring Breivik, who is accused of bombing government buildings and killing scores of young people at a Labor Party camp, showed that he had closely followed the acrimonious American debate over Islam.”
* The latest on Breivik: “The self-described perpetrator of Norway’s deadly bombing and shooting rampage was ordered held in isolation at a hearing Monday after calmly telling the court that two other groups of allies stand ready to join his murderous campaign. Anders Behring Breivik has admitted bombing Norway’s capital and opening fire on a political youth group retreat on an island near the capital. He told authorities that he expects to spend the rest of his life in prison. Saying he wanted to save Europe from Muslim immigration, he entered a plea of not guilty that will guarantee him future court hearings and opportunities to address the public, even indirectly.”
* Soon after House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) unveiled his plan for raising the debt ceiling, a whole lot of right-wing GOP lawmakers said it’s not good enough and they will oppose it.
* Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has a six-word warning for Boehner on the economy: “If you break it, you own it.”
* The guy can’t help himself: “Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said Monday that President Barack Obama ‘would be impeached’ if the nation falls into default.”
* It’s a good thing NFL owners don’t have to worry about Tea Party primary challengers; it enables them to make compromises: “NFL players voted to OK a final deal Monday, days after the owners approved a tentative agreement, and the sides finally managed to put an end to the 4-and-a-half-month lockout, the longest work stoppage in league history.”
* R.I.P., General: “Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, the first foreign-born soldier to become the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, died Saturday morning at an Army hospital in Washington State of complications after a stroke. He was 75.”
* As if this guy wasn’t in enough trouble: “Federal investigators have opened a second criminal probe of U.S. Rep. David Rivera, examining undisclosed payments from a Miami gambling enterprise to a company tied to the Republican congressman, The Miami Herald has learned.”
* Interesting piece on how the New York Times has persevered.
* Daniel Luzer: “As part of the budget discussions one of the proposals under consideration is to reduce Pell Grants, the federal program that provides money for postsecondary education to students from low income families. That’s probably not such a responsible fiscal plan.”
* Note to state lawmakers everywhere: quoting Adolf Hitler favorably is always a bad idea.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
