*After his historic conversation with President Obama, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was greeted by both supporters and protesters upon his return to Tehran. While hardliners threw shoes and eggs at Rouhani, they were outnumbered by supporters by about four-to-one.
Trita Parsi, head of the pro-dialogue anti-theocracy National Iranian American Council, tweeted that the footwear missiles incident “shows DESPERATION of hardliners, not their strength” (caps his). “Put it in perspective: In a city of more than 10 million, 60 people protested against Rouhani’s diplomacy.”
*Speaking of desperate hardliners, House Republicans are meeting today to discuss their response to the tourniquet of a budget passed by the Senate yesterday.
In his weekly address this morning, President Obama reiterated that he would not negotiate with Republicans over the debt ceiling.
“I will not negotiate over Congress’ responsibility to pay the bills it has already racked up. I don’t know how to be more clear about this: no one gets to threaten the full faith and credit of the United States of America just to extract ideological concessions,” he said,
*While Tea Party Republicans demand that the President, in his words, agrees to “cutting taxes for millionaires” and “rolling back rules on big banks and polluters” – some Superstorm Sandy victims that the House GOP infamously tried to stiff are still homeless almost a year after the disaster.
Yesterday, a New York state judge ruled that a program funding hotel rooms for 350 victims can end on Monday. City officials said people “without other housing arrangements can apply to stay in shelters.”
*The AP is reporting that a Chinese surgeon has created a nose out of a man’s rib cartilage and implanted it under his forehead before a transplant operation (yes, there is a photo).
