Morning Briefing: May 18, 2012

Facebook stock will begin trading on the Nasdaq today, just as co-founder Eduardo Saverin announces that he will pay “hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes to the United States government” in the process of renouncing his U.S. citizenship. Saverin now lives in Singapore, a country that has no capital gains tax.

Mitt Romney launched his first general election advertisement today. The ad, titled “Day One,” promises that Romney would start the Keystone Pipeline, repeal the Affordable Care Act, introduce tax cuts — all on his first day! You can watch the ad here.

Two regulations from the National Labor Relations Board have been shut down by lawsuits this year. The regulations would have required employers “to post notices explaining collective bargaining rights” and would have sped up the union election process. Republicans in Congress have also been trying to cut down these regulations, but were headed off on their efforts by private lawsuits.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will address Georgetown University students today, despite conservative Catholic groups’ protests that the invitation is inappropriate given controversy over the Obama administration’s birth control coverage mandate.

House Democrats introduced legislation yesterday to push back on the stringent, often discriminatory voter ID laws that have recently been proposed in states across the country. As Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) put it, “I hope and pray we do not return to the days of overt discrimination before we decide to do something about it…We must not be silent while leaders we elect take away our voting rights.”

And finally: It’s no secret that First Lady Michelle Obama loves healthy organic foods, so it’s fitting that she will appear Food Network’s “Restaurant: Impossible” on June 13 in an episode where chef Robert Irvine — the host of the reality show– will renovate the dining areas of a children’s community center in DC.