Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Terror plot: “An insider, working with the United States and an allied security service, thwarted the al-Qaida bomb plot hatched in Yemen and provided information that allowed the U.S. to launch a Predator drone strike that killed the group’s operations chief.”
* Iran: “A South Korean nuclear inspector on a mission for the United Nations was killed, and a Slovakian inspector was injured, when their car overturned on Tuesday near a nuclear site southwest of Tehran, semiofficial Iranian media reported.”
* It keeps getting worse: “The previous 12 months were the warmest in the U.S. since record keeping began in 1895, government scientists reported Tuesday.”
* Some relief at the pump: “Gasoline prices fell for the fifth consecutive week, extending a sharp decline that has eased fears that prices would soon top $4 a gallon at the pump.”
* Job growth has been very sluggish of late, but the number of job openings has increased considerably, and is now at the highest levels in years.
* Systemic bribery: “The tough U.S. anti-bribery law that Wal-Mart may have violated in Mexico has ensnared leading companies from virtually every sector of the economy, as federal prosecutors increasingly punish firms for transgressions such as giving foreign officials computers and shopping bags of cash.” * Is it entertaining to see Paul Krugman and David Brooks obliquely go after one another? As Upper West explained, yes, it is. * And Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) offers a video update on his post-stroke rehabilitation. He’s still very wrong about improving the economy by taking investments out of the economy, and I’m not sure why he included an economic message in the clip, but I’m delighted his health is improving. Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
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