Today's edition of quick hits:
* Venezuela: "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the charismatic leftist who dominated his country with sweeping political change and flamboyant speeches, died Tuesday at age 58, after a long battle with cancer that was shrouded in mystery and prevented him from being inaugurated for a fourth term."
* China now appears to be on board with a U.S. proposal for intensified sanctions against North Korea, following last month's nuclear test.
* This video on wealth inequality on America has been making the rounds, and it's pretty great (thanks to my wife for the tip).
* The Dow Jones closed at an all-time high.
* Disclosure: "The Obama administration has agreed to provide the Senate Intelligence Committee access to all opinions authored by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel regarding the targeted killing of suspected terrorists, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the committee's chairwoman, said Tuesday."
* A lopsided vote: "The Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday voted 12-3 to approve John Brennan's nomination to lead the Central Intelligence Agency."
* Not a trick question: "A number of Republican senators Tuesday either didn't know or wouldn't say if they consider the Voting Rights Act to be constitutional, even though many of them voted to reauthorize it in 2006 and the Supreme Court is currently considering whether to invalidate a key section of it."
* Four months after running its salacious allegations about Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), The Daily Caller is now trying to verify the accuracy of the unraveling story.
* Fascinating: "Politicians, especially conservative ones, massively overestimate the conservatism of their constituents on the issues of gay marriage and universal health care, an academic paper published Sunday has found."
* Schmoozing? "President Obama is hoping to win over Republican lawmakers on a budget deal through personal appeals, placing a series of phone calls this week in hopes of rallying bipartisan support."
* And over the weekend, Fox News literally turned a press release from the National Republican Congressional Committee into a news segment without any disclosure. My expectations for the network are low, but this one even surprised me.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.