Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Big case: “The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether Arizona may impose tough anti-immigration measures. Among them, in a law enacted last year, is a requirement that the police there question people they stop about their immigration status.”
* Europe: “A European summit deal to strengthen budget discipline in the euro zone failed to restore financial market confidence on Monday, forcing the European Central Bank to step in again gingerly.”
* More Europe: “Moody’s Investors Service noted Monday that it is reviewing the ratings of debt in European Union countries for a possible downgrade. S.&P. is expected to announce the results of its own review as soon as this week. Cuts in credit ratings, particularly for the so-called core euro zone countries, could play havoc with bailout plans.”
* There probably won’t be a government shutdown: “Put this in the ‘small accomplishments’ category for an especially gridlocked Congress: It appears increasingly likely that, with little fuss, lawmakers will approve a bipartisan compromise in coming days that will keep government running past Friday, when a short-term funding measure that has kept the lights on expires.”
* Iraq: “President Obama and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki outlined a broad agenda for post-war cooperation Monday as they marked the impending end of America’s nearly decade long conflict in the Middle East.”
* Russia: “Tens of thousands took to the streets in cities across Russia on Saturday to protest alleged vote-rigging in what observers said were the largest antigovernment demonstrations in at least a decade.”
* Durban: “In the wee hours of Sunday morning, climate negotiators pulled out an agreement on climate change after two days of last-ditch efforts. The decision puts world leaders on a path to a negotiating a legal agreement beginning in 2015 and managed to avoid a total disaster, but still leaves a number of questions open.”
* The Obama White House has created a new Office of Manufacturing Policy. Sounds good to me.
* Sorry to see her go: “Michele Flournoy, the most senior female Pentagon official in history, told The Associated Press on Monday she is stepping down as the chief policy adviser to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.”
* Why did Joe Arpaio fail so miserably when confronted with more than 400 sex-crimes cases?
* Emily Crockett has a good rundown of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) pending in Congress.
* Colin Woodard: To understand the debate over the death penalty — and most everything else — consult the real map of American regional cultures.
* First Lady Michelle Obama ends up with a world record on jumping jacks.
* If Mitt Romney had it to do over again, he probably wouldn’t have sat down at Bob Garon’s table this morning in Manchester, N.H.
#board-2412
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit." - Aristotle
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