— Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) offered a new way to avert a doubling of the 3.4 percent interest rate on federal student loans by the end of this month.
— The period from “June of last year to May of this year was the warmest year since record-keeping began in 1985,” a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows.
— A New York Times/CBS News poll finds that just “44 percent of Americans approve of the job the Supreme Court is doing and three-quarters say the justices’ decisions are sometimes influenced by their personal or political views.” The court enjoyed a 66 percent approval rating in the late 1980s.
— Which major city will follow New York City Mayor’s Michael Bloomberg’s lead and “pursue a ban on large sugary drinks”:
— Thirty-seven Democrats voted to repeal the tax on medical devices included in the Affordable Care Act, joining Republicans to pass the measure 270 to 146. The bill, which is unlikely to advance in the senate, would also increase health care costs for some families.
— And finally: House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) gave Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) a hug on the floor of the House yesterday during an impromptu celebration of Pelosi’s 25 years in Congress. “[W]e get along with each other fine, we treat each other very nicely,” Boehner said.