Today’s edition of quick hits:
* The International Monetary Fund is “seeking to boost its war chest by $600 billion to help countries reeling from the crisis, even though some nations insist Europe must first do more to support ailing members, according to sources.”
* U.S. manufacturing: “A healthy pickup in production of manufactured goods last month added to the gathering momentum for the U.S. economy. So far, that growth has done little to help the job prospects for the millions of factory workers still sidelined by the 2007 recession.”
* Not a good day for SOPA and PIPA: “Congressional support for controversial online piracy legislation eroded dramatically on Wednesday in the face of an unprecedented online protest supported by tech titans such as Google, Wikipedia and Facebook. Several key senators withdrew their support from the Senate’s Protect IP Act.”
* Allowing GOP lawmakers feel better about themselves: “The House on Wednesday evening approved a resolution disapproving of President Obama’s request to increase the debt ceiling by another $1.2 trillion, sending it to a Senate that is expected to reject it.”
* Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) is prepared to play hardball: “A key Democrat tasked with helping to negotiate a full-year extension of the payroll tax cut, unemployment benefits, and Medicare physician reimbursements says Republicans will have to move significantly off their December demands or all three will lapse.”
* Hmm: “Texas Rep. Pete Sessions, a top member of the House GOP leadership, received a VIP mortgage from defunct lender Countrywide Financial Corp., making him the fourth current member of the House who has acknowledged getting a sweetheart deal.”
* Nearly 250 of the nation’s mayors will be in D.C. this week “to discuss some of America’s most pressing issues, including jobs and the economy.” Republican congressional leaders and presidential candidates were invited to talk to the mayors, but they all declined.
* Dear conservative media outlets, Bain Capital and Bain & Company are not the same thing.
* Per-student state funding for public colleges is dropping. That’s not good news.
* A moving story: “Samantha Garvey, a New York high school senior who has been living in a homeless shelter and recently named a semifinalist in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search competition, will be Rep. Steve Israel’s (D-NY) guest at President Obama’s State of the Union address next Tuesday.”
* What a comedian: “The cruise liner captain accused of abandoning ship after he grounded it off the coast of Italy Friday now says he only left because he slipped and tripped into a lifeboat while helping passengers evacuate the ship.”
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
