The WonkLine: January 18, 2011

While Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel tries to woo Latino voters, he is also taking some heat for allegedly not doing enough while serving in Washington to push for immigration reforms.

The Washington Post reports that “a Prince William County delegate has embraced County Board of Supervisors Chairman Corey A. Stewart’s push to tighten Virginia immigration laws.”

In his lifetime achievement acceptance speech, Robert DeNiro included what has become a highly publicized joke about the Hollywood Foreign Press, Spanish actor Javier Bardem, and the evening’s waiters all being deported.

Chinese President Hu Jintao arrives in Washington today, “and American officials say President Obama will be taking a far more assertive stance as he greets his biggest global economic rival.”

Reps. Mike Pence (R-IN) and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R) have joined a host of Republicans who are advocating that the U.S. default on its debt unless President Obama agrees to vast spending cuts.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) created by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law will begin to discuss new regulations this week, starting with the Volcker rule.

Only one-third of the country thinks that race relations have improved in America since our first African-American president took office.

The Supreme Court will consider the state secrets doctrine — a doctrine presidential administrations frequently raise to immunize themselves from lawsuits that touch upon national security — for the first time in several decades.

Yes, America may have a completely dysfunctional system of government thanks to our broken Senate, but at least we don’t have to argue about whether to call Justice Scalia a “Lord.”

Arizona Republicans react to the Tuscon shooting by pushing for more guns on college campuses.

According to a new study by The Social Science Research Council, “45 percent of students had no significant gains in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and written communication during the first two years of college; 36 percent demonstrated no significant gains in those area over four years of college.”

Education Secretary Arne Duncan criticized the Wake County, North Carolina, school board for its Tea Party inspired decision to abandon a successful integration policy.

“The highly anticipated vote Wednesday to repeal the health care reform bill will make headlines and count as a promise kept by House Republicans. But in the end, it’s really just for show.”

“As lawmakers shaken by the shooting of a colleague return to the health care debate, an Associated Press-GfK poll finds raw feelings over President Barack Obama’s overhaul have subsided.”

“Governor Mitch Daniels has asked Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius not to force termination of the state’s Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP), the health insurance program for low-income uninsured Hoosiers.”

“Iraqi officials say a suicide bomber has killed 45 people and wounded at least 75 others in an attack outside a police station where potential recruits had gathered.”

“Iran wants talks with world powers in Istanbul this week to focus on politics and isn’t preparing to discuss its nuclear enrichment work, the country’s top negotiator told Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine.”

Commenting on Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s split from the Labor Party, Daniel Levy writes, “The parliamentary faction representing the party that founded and built the state of Israel and that dominated its governments for decades was today reduced to mere single digits.”

By clicking and submitting a comment I acknowledge the ThinkProgress Privacy Policy and agree to the ThinkProgress Terms of Use. I understand that my comments are also being governed by Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, or Hotmail’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policies as applicable, which can be found here.