News broke late Thursday that Supreme Court Justice David Souter plans to retire at the end of the current term. The AP reports the move "is unlikely to alter the ideological balance on the closely divided court" because President Obama "is certain to replace the liberal-leaning justice with someone with similar views." The Obama Administration "began from almost its first days in office preparing for the possibility of a retirement by thinking about and vetting potential high court nominees." Names that have been circulating include Appeals Court Judges Sandra Lea Lynch, Sonya Sotomayor, Kim McLane Wardlaw, and Pamela Wood; Solicitor General Elena Kagan; and Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has also been mentioned.
In a front-page story, the New York Times reports "confirmation battles for the Supreme Court in recent years have proved to be intensely partisan and divisive moments in Washington, but Mr. Obama has more leeway than his predecessors because his party holds such a strong majority in the Senate." Still, it "could prove to be one more challenge for a president already engaged on multiple fronts to pass health care, energy and other legislation," or become "a test of Mr. Obama's plans for reshaping the nation's judiciary." According to the Washington Post, "speculation has been fueled in recent weeks because Souter had not hired clerks for the term that begins in October." On its front page, the Los Angeles Times reports Souter has "voiced frustration with the court's conservative drift of late." The Politico reports Obama faces "competing imperatives in replacing him, including the pressure to appoint the first Hispanic to the Supreme Court and his own ties to prominent legal academics beginning with his years at Harvard Law School."
As of Thursday morning, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had officially confirmed 109 cases of the H1N1 "swine flu" in 11 states: Arizona (one case), California (14), Indiana (one), Kansas (two), Massachusetts (two), Michigan (one), Nevada (one), New York (50), Ohio (one), South Carolina (10), and Texas (26). There is one confirmed US death. By Thursday evening, the CBS Evening News was reporting that the CDC has confirmed "at least 120 cases" in 16 states, with the World Health Organization putting the "count of confirmed cases at 257" worldwide. The Los Angeles Times reports that the CDC tally "does not include newly reported cases in California, Minnesota, Nebraska, Delaware, New Jersey, Colorado, Georgia and Virginia."
ABC World News reported, "As the virus spreads, so, too, does the decision to close schools. A quarter of a million students are being kept home, more than half of them in the state of Texas." The CBS Evening News reported the Department of Education "said 298 schools around the country have closed because of the virus." USA Today reports, "As of late Thursday, nearly 300 of the nation's 132,000 public and private schools had been closed," according to the Education Department -- "triple the previous day's total." The "shuttered schools educate about 172,000 students." CNN's Situation Room reported, "School district officials say they are sensitive to the criticism that this might be perceived as an overreaction. And that's what they say they've been torn with: overreacting or not reacting at all."
Biden Seen As Undermining White House Message There is considerable coverage of a widely criticized statement by Vice President Biden on NBC's Today Thursday morning. When asked what advice he would give to a family member who was considering flying to Mexico, Biden said, "I would tell members of my family -- and I have -- I wouldn't go anywhere in confined places now." USA Today reports that the White House message "was undermined" by Biden, whose "comments drew criticism from the travel industry and others. Shortly afterward, Biden's office issued a statement saying he had meant to suggest that those who aren't feeling well should avoid such public places." The Washington Times reports Biden "went far beyond official word on travel safety." The New York Daily News says Biden "took an express train to Stupidville...needlessly stoking fears about how the virus is spread." The Hill says Biden "set off a nationwide panic." On NBC Nightly News, anchor Brian Williams said Biden "knew better."
Gibbs Says Agent Who Contracted Flu Had Little Contact With Obama The Washington Post reports a federal agent who traveled to Mexico with President Obama "probably contracted swine flu and infected several members of his family." The Politico reports White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the aide "did not work closely with Obama, didn't fly on Air Force One and is back at work." Gibbs said, "The President has not experienced any symptoms."
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The extensive media coverage of President Obama Thursday announcement on Chrysler LLC's bankruptcy filing was mostly positive, though many sources cited experts who doubted the troubled automaker would emerge from protection from its creditors in the time frame established by the White House. The story was the lead on ABC and CBS, and ran early in NBC's newscast.
The AP reports Chrysler LLC "filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday with an ambitious plan to emerge in as little as 30 days as a leaner, more nimble company." The New York Times reports in a front page story, "Flanked by his automobile task force of cabinet secretaries and business advisers in the White House's grand entranceway, Mr. Obama announced a plan that would allow the United Automobile Workers, through their retirement plan, to take control of Chrysler, with Fiat and the United States as junior partners."
ABC World News reported, "It's being referred to as a surgical bankruptcy, quick and controlled in the words of the President, and significantly it was President Obama who announced Chrysler's bankruptcy and its new partnership with Fiat." The CBS Evening News reported, "As many as 30 North American plants will shut down for as long as 60 days, idling up to 39,000 workers as the company reorganizes. It is not going out of business. In fact, it's getting another taxpayer bailout, $8 billion this time."
NBC Nightly News reported the White House "blames hedge funds who loaned Chrysler billions of dollars for pushing the company into bankruptcy by refusing to exchange their debt for cash. Those lenders say they deserve more than what was being offered and will fight for it in bankruptcy court."
CNN's Situation Room reported, "The President wanted to avoid this. It's the first US automaker since Studebaker in 1933 to file for bankruptcy, but it really turned out to be the last best hope for saving the company." On CNBC Reports, Larry Kudlow said, "President Obama said he wants an exit strategy, but I don't see any such exit strategy."
Bloomberg News reports President Obama "thanked everyone from unions to executives for working to keep Chrysler LLC alive while blaming 'a small group of speculators' for forcing the automaker into bankruptcy." The Wall Street Journal reports "the intervention Thursday to preserve the 84-year-old company is far from certain and could stall in court, especially if aggrieved parties such as creditors and dealers mount a legal challenge."
USA Today reports under bankruptcy, Chrysler "would still sell cars and the government would back its auto warranties. But Chrysler said Thursday that it will idle its plants during the legal proceedings." The Los Angeles Times reports President Obama's "decision to save Chrysler by pushing it into bankruptcy Thursday puts the major U.S. automaker in risky, uncharted territory and could portend a similar outcome for General Motors Corp. as it races to meet its own government restructuring deadline."
The AP reports the Senate on Thursday voted 51-45, with twelve Democrats joining Republicans, to defeat "a plan to spare hundreds of thousands of homeowners from foreclosure through bankruptcy, a proposal that President Barack Obama embraced but did little to see through." With strong opposition from financial institutions, Mr. Obama "did little to pressure" lawmakers who were concerned the "cramdown" legislation "would encourage bankruptcy filings and spike interest rates."
The Hill reports that the vote was a "stinging loss" for Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), who "has tried and failed to pass the bankruptcy measure through the Senate for two years." The Los Angeles Times calls Thursday's vote a "stinging rebuff to President Obama and consumer advocates" and adds that Democratic leaders "were furious to see bankers lobbying against consumer protection measures after Congress had approved enormous sums to shore up the financial services industry."
The Politico reports that while Sen. Durbin blamed the "powerful" banking lobby for the bill's defeat, some Democrats say that Mr. Obama "invested far less political capital in the controversial bankruptcy measure than he did credit card legislation, another campaign priority over which Democrats are going head-to-head against big financial interests." Roll Call reports Durbin "said nearly all parties had walked away from the negotiating table, and he reiterated that he would oppose future government bailouts of the banking industry."
The Wall Street Journal says Mr. Obama "lost his first big legislative fight" and adds that that some opponents said they "wanted to signal to Mr. Obama their dwindling tolerance for what they described as continued government intervention in private business, particularly businesses that didn't precipitate the nation's mortgage crisis." According to the Washington Times, mortgage banking industry lobbyists, "who gave more than $1.8 million in campaign contributions to Senate members in 2008, fought fiercely against the legislation, which was offered as an amendment to a housing bill."
Meanwhile, the New York Times says that the vote "demonstrates that, even though Democrats are close to gaining 60 votes in the Senate with the recent decision" by Senator Arlen Specter to leave the Republican Party, the "increasing number of Democrats does not prevent the Republicans - with the support of a handful of moderate or conservative Democrats - from blocking legislation."
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The AP reports that Kentucky Secretary of State Trey Grayson (R), who "has insisted he won't run" for Senate in 2010 unless Sen. Jim Bunning (R) "decides to abandon his re-election bid," said yesterday "that he has formed an exploratory committee." In a story headlined "Bunning Poised To Retire," The Politico says the move indicates that Bunning "appears headed for retirement." McClatchy adds Grayson "met with Bunning and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Wednesday and called members of the state's congressional delegation before publicly announcing the exploratory committee, said Billy Piper, McConnell's chief of staff."
The Hill reports Rep. Joe Sestak (D), "who has been mulling a run for Senate, says he may go ahead and challenge Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic primary," despite attempts by Democratic leaders to "clear the field" for Specter.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports Norm Coleman's (R) "legal team urged the Minnesota Supreme Court on Thursday to take dramatic action in the U.S. Senate dispute by throwing out a lower-court verdict favoring" rival Al Franken (D) "and ordering the counting of thousands of additional absentee ballots." The Star Tribune adds, "In a 50-page document detailing his arguments for appeal, lawyers for Republican Coleman called on the high court to overrule the unanimous ruling of a three-judge trial panel that DFLer Franken finished 312 votes ahead in the now six-month-old election. The trial court applied a stricter standard for counting thousands of disputed absentee ballots than was used on Election Day, said Ben Ginsberg, Coleman's legal spokesman."
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Jay Leno: "I'm a little bummed out today" because "I made a bad investment. So stupid! I opened a Chrysler dealership in Mexico City."
Jay Leno: President Obama "told the American people they should cover their mouths when they cough to prevent the spread of swine flu. And today, he told Joe Biden to cover his mouth whenever he talks."
Jay Leno: "I don't think Joe Biden's going to catch swine flu, but it's pretty obvious he has a case of foot-in-mouth disease."
Jay Leno: "Arlen Specter has been a Republican" for a long time, so it has "got to be tough. ... For years you're lying out of the right side of your mouth, and now suddenly you've got to start lying out the left side of your mouth."
David Letterman: Mexico "won't let people come to see the soccer games. They're going to play them but the stands will be empty." It will be "just like soccer here in the United States."
David Letterman: "Anybody see President Barack Obama's press conference last night? ... During the press conference, three more Republicans defected."
David Letterman: Arlen Specter has "left the Republican Party," which is "like resigning from Chrysler."
Craig Ferguson: "Chrysler is going to have to declare bankruptcy! There's still hope that they can merge with Italian carmaker Fiat. Chrysler and Fiat? That will be awesome. Crappy cars in two languages."
Jimmy Kimmel: "More than 300 schools in 14 states are closed now, 200 in Texas alone. The swine flu is like a new snow day."
Jimmy Kimmel: "The government" does not "want us to call it the swine flu. They're calling it the 2009 H1N1 virus. The reason for the change is they want people to know you can still eat all the pork you want without any risk to your health, except diabetes, obesity and heart disease."
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