Today’s edition of quick hits.
* AP: “Serb rioters broke into the U.S. Embassy and set fire to an office Thursday, and police clashed with protesters outside other embassy buildings after a large demonstration against Kosovo’s declaration of independence. Masked attackers broke into the U.S. compound, which has been closed this week, just after 7 p.m. and tried to throw furniture from an office. They set fire to the office and flames shot up the side of the building. It took police about 45 minutes to appear at the scene, and firefighters arrived about the same time and put out the blaze. Police secured the U.S. Embassy and surrounding area, blocking off all access.”
* WaPo: “Military officials have a “high degree of confidence” that they were able to hit and destroy the tank of potentially dangerous fuel aboard a wayward spy satellite orbiting Earth last night, but they said they must still monitor the debris to be certain it does not pose further risk of reentering the atmosphere in coming days.”
* Fortunately, no one was hurt: “Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Joseph Biden (D-Del.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) were uninjured in an emergency landing that became necessary during a helicopter flight Thursday afternoon in Afghanistan. Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander said the senators were flying in a snowstorm when the landing became necessary.”
* Bill O’Reilly on Michelle Obama: “I don’t want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there’s evidence, hard facts, that say this is how the woman really feels. If that’s how she really feels — that America is a bad country or a flawed nation, whatever — then that’s legit.” I wonder if he can even begin to understand why “lynching party” was the wrong choice of words.
* Trent Lott may be gone from the Senate, but his record is still drawing scrutiny from some interesting people: “[Federal investigators] are investigating whether former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott knowingly played a role in the alleged conspiracy involving a Mississippi judge, Bobby Delaughter.”
* Air America Radio is changing hands: “Air America, one of the country’s more powerful radio networks and a major progressive megaphone, is switching ownership. Charlie Kireker, a former political official and creator of Pendulum Media will succeed Stephen L. Green, the New York real estate CEO who helped lift the company out of bankruptcy, as chair of the board. The move will be finalized in mid March. Mark Green, Stephen’s brother and Democratic activist, will remain as Air America’s president.”
* Remember this John McCain quote from November? TP does: “Everybody says that they’re against the special interests. I’m the only one the special interests don’t give any money to.” That was … what’s the phrase … demonstrably false.
* Will McCain’s name be on the ballot for Indiana’s Republican presidential primary? As it turns out, that’s a funny story.
* It’s heartbreaking that this garbage still goes on: “A police investigation is under way at an elite prep school here after many black students received anonymous letters that the head of the school described as ‘threatening hate mail.’ A spokeswoman for the school, St. Paul’s, said the letters had arrived in the students’ mailboxes on Tuesday. The spokeswoman, Jana Brown, would not disclose the contents of the letters or how many students received them, but said, ‘Students of color do appear to be the target.’ According to several people associated with St. Paul’s, each student received a copy of his own photo from the school’s internal face book with the words ‘bang bang get out of here’ written below.”
* I may have to break my “no TV news” rule for this one: “On Sunday, CBS’s 60 Minutes will air its long-awaited report on Alabama’s incarcerated former governor Don Siegelman, reportedly one of its ‘best pieces of domestic exposé journalism.’ Justice Department prosecutors opposed the Siegelman investigation, in which Bush administration political operatives — including Karl Rove — allegedly interfered.”
Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread.
