Today’s edition of quick hits.
* I don’t think the war’s over: “Female suicide bombers attacked crowds in Baghdad and the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Monday morning as part of a series of four bombings that left at least 46 people dead and more than 200 wounded, security officials said. The first attacks occurred in Baghdad, as millions of Shiite Muslim pilgrims walked toward the Kadhemiyah shrine a day before one of the holiest Shiite festivals.”
* Terrorism in India: “Authorities scoured a western Indian city Sunday for those behind a series of bombings that killed at least 45 people, reportedly rounding up more than two dozen residents. It was the second series of blasts in India in two days. A little-known group claimed responsibility for the attack.”
* More questions about McCain’s health: “Three-time melanoma survivor John McCain had a spot of skin removed from his right cheek early Monday that he said would undergo a biopsy as a precaution. The Republican presidential candidate told reporters he had his routine three-month check up with his dermatologist.”
* Best wishes for a speedy recovery: “Robert Novak, one of Washington’s best-known columnists for nearly half a century, announced today that he has a brain tumor. Novak, 77, said the diagnosis was made yesterday and that he was admitted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, where he will soon begin treatment. ‘I will be suspending my journalistic work for an indefinite but, God willing, not too lengthy period,’ he said in a statement.”
* McCain may be warming up to the Obama timeline endorsed by the Maliki government, but Gen. Petraeus isn’t on board: “Gen. David Petraeus, the Iraq commander, said in an interview with McClatchy that the situation in Iraq is too volatile to ‘project out, and to then try to plant a flag on, a particular date.'”
* On a related note, former Bush White House communications director and counselor Dan Bartlett said Maliki’s support of the Obama policy is “very close to a game-changing event.”
* Some of the details in the DoJ inspector general’s report today are real jaw-droppers.
* I’d love to hear more about this: “The Environmental Protection Agency is advising certain staff members not to talk to congressional investigators, reporters or even the agency’s inspector general, according to an internal email obtained by the Associated Press.”
* Attacking autistic children will have consequences — Michael Savage is losing advertisers at a rapid clip.
* Maybe some of MSNBC’s on-air personalities should pay closer attention to MSNBC’s actual reporting.
* Bill O’Reilly is still worked up about Scott McClellan.
* On a related note, the Fox Business Network isn’t exactly raking in the viewers. (Consider this odd tidbit: I have more readers than Fox Business has viewers.)
* I meant to mock Bill Kristol today, but ran out of time. Fortunately, Steve M. is on the case.
* Harry Reid’s new approach to Republican obstructionism: “A product of Democratic frustration with the tactics of Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican and physician who has become the Dr. No of the Senate, the Tomnibus is a $10 billion collection of Coburn-blocked measures assembled by the Senate leadership in an effort to break his solitary grip on the legislative process. Engineered by Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader, the bill includes 35 of the most irresistible-sounding measures stuck on the docket, including the Mothers Act and the Protect Our Children Act.”
* Incredibly, Republicans don’t mind obstructing for obstructionism’s sake.
* I guess the Obamas are trend-setters.
* I’ve intentionally avoided the latest rumors about John Edwards, but Lee Stranahan has a very strong piece in the HuffPost about the story’s significance.
* And finally, Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) probably ought to be more careful when he credits himself for awards he did not earn.
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.