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Wednesday's Mini-Report, 12.10.14

Today's edition of quick hits.
Today's edition of quick hits:
 
* Will the spending bill pass? As the day progressed, assumptions shifted: "A day before funding for the government runs out, opposition on both left and right emerged Wednesday to a bipartisan spending bill to keep the lights on, leaving the legislation's fate uncertain and raising the specter of a government shutdown."
 
* NDAA: "Retiring Sen. Tom Coburn ... is refusing to allow the Senate to swiftly take up the House-passed defense authorization bill over objections to a lands package that expands resource development in some states and also creates several new national parks."
 
* Colorado voters may have walked away from Udall, but Udall is not walking away from his principles: "The CIA's torture problem is a long way from being resolved, Sen. Mark Udall said Wednesday in a blistering speech that called the agency to account more directly than any Washington lawmaker so far."
 
* Weiss appears to be in real trouble: "Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) added his name to the list of senators agreeing with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in opposition to Lazard banker Antonio Weiss for undersecretary of the Treasury for domestic policy."
 
* Poor oil companies: "Oil greased the way for U.S. stock markets to put in their worst performance in over a month on Wednesday. The Dow industrials shed 1.5 percent, or nearly 270 points, for the index's worst session since Oct. 9. The broader S&P 500 also lost more than 1.5 percent, as did the tech-heavy Nasdaq. They were all dragged lower by plunging oil prices as concerns are growing that supply is far outstripping demand."
 
* Pensions: "A measure that would for the first time allow the benefits of current retirees to be severely cut is set to be attached to a massive spending bill, part of an effort to save some of the nation's most distressed pension plans."
 
* Detroit: "This city emerged from court protection on Wednesday, officials here said, bringing a close to the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history after about 17 months. Yet, the end of the bankruptcy also was to be the start of what may be a still more difficult, lengthy test -- of Detroit leaders' ability to chart a new, sustainable course for a city rescued from financial collapse but still struggling."
 
* A.G. nominee: "The Senate Republican's most senior member is ready to support President Barack Obama's attorney general nominee, U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch. Orrin Hatch, a high-ranking member of the upper chamber's judiciary committee, spoke to reporters Tuesday on Capitol Hill about Lynch's credentials and Republican's desire to see Eric Holder, the current attorney general, leave office."
 
* Air Force: "Now that the U.S. military has opened more jobs to women and allowed gay men and lesbians to serve openly, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James says the ban on transgender troops is likely to be reassessed and should be lifted."
 
* Harry Reid is ready for confrontation: "The Nevada Democrat, who will become the minority leader when the new Senate convenes in January, said in some of his first extended remarks since the election that his diminished role would not discourage him from picking fights with Republicans on issues ranging from the environment to financial regulations to women's rights."
 
* Commendable choice: "They risked and persisted, sacrificed and saved. Editor Nancy Gibbs explains why the Ebola Fighters are Time's choice for Person of the Year 2014."
 
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.