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Friday's Mini-Report

<p>Today's edition of quick hits:* Optimism: "Consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in more than four years in May as

Today's edition of quick hits:

* Optimism: "Consumer sentiment rose to its highest level in more than four years in May as Americans stayed optimistic about the job market, while higher income households expected to see bigger wage increases."

* Egypt: "The runoff to become Egypt's first freely elected president is likely to be a contest between two of the most powerful and polarizing forces in Egyptian society representing different visions for the future character of the nation: the Muslim Brotherhood and the military."

* Eurozone: "Spain's banking crisis worsened Friday as the board of Bankia, the country's biggest mortgage lender, warned that a bailout would cost 23.5 billion euros, far beyond what the government estimated when it seized the bank and its portfolio of delinquent real estate loans."

* Politics in Washington can get ugly, but as Ukranians helped remind us today, at least it's not violent.

* SpaceX made history today "with the docking of its Dragon capsule to the International Space Station, the most impressive feat yet in turning routine spaceflight over to the commercial sector. It marked the first time a business enterprise delivered a supply ship to the space station."

* DOMA: "A federal judge ruled Thursday that the state's public-employee pension system must make long-term care insurance equally available to same-sex spouses and partners."

* Student loans: The Senate held two votes Thursday on measures to ensure that student loan rates for millions of college students do not double in July -- and at the conclusion of the legislative action, the issue remained exactly where it began: stuck."

* Ethics: "The Senate Ethics Committee has smacked the hand of Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, for his minor role in the sordid scandal that ended the career of John Ensign, the former Republican senator from Nevada."

* Paul Krugman makes it plain: "If Wall Streeters are spoiled brats, they are spoiled brats with immense power and wealth at their disposal. And what they're trying to do with that power and wealth right now is buy themselves not just policies that serve their interests, but immunity from criticism."

* And as Memorial Day nears, this really is an image that haunts.

Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.