Morning Constitutional – Monday, 19 April 2010

Good morning, folks, and happy Patriot\’s Day, a day that celebrates that accidental first engagement of Massachusetts militiamen and British Army regulars at Lexington and then Concord. Also, a marathon and a Red Sox game. Now, your morning constitutional:

Due to the Icelandic volcanic ash, only about 30% of scheduled flights in Europe will fly on Monday, as Giovanni Bisignani, the head of the airline industry group the IATA, criticizes the way Europe\’s governments have handled the situation. BBC explores the economic impact of the past week\’s airline grounding. A European Commission has criticized the flight restrictions and bans as excessive.

A chart highlighting the impact of the volcanic eruption on CO₂ emissions.

A new survey from the Pew Research Center finds that nearly 8 out of 10 Americans do not trust the federal government.

Senate Democrats look to move on stalled nominees for key administration posts.

In a surprising turn of events, the Liberal Democrat party, perpetually in third place and dismissed as irrelevant until recently, has surged to the top of the polls in the upcoming U.K. election. Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg hopes to upend Labour support in Wales.

New research on the role of exercise in weight loss.

Iran announces that it will start work on another uranium enrichment plant, stoking fears that its nuclear program is expanding and may turn to weaponry.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil lawsuit Friday against Goldman Sachs for bundling bad mortgage bonds and selling them to clients without notifying their clients that they had bet against them. What the lawsuit could mean for Goldman Sachs. More details that have emerged on the lawsuit from the Sunday Times.

As more is learned of the Goldman Sachs lawsuit, it could be a boon for financial reform. Even as Republicans unanimously oppose bringing a bill to the Senate floor this week, the president will be taking to the road to rally support, while Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner predicts financial reform will pass through Congress with bipartisan support. Additionally, polling shows strong support for financial reform among Americans.

The surprising way that the White House has reached out to American Muslim communities.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday on whether Christian Legal Society at the University of California\’s Hastings College of the Law can be denied recognition as a student group by the university. The group has been denied because school policy requires that any official student group not exclude people based on religious beliefs, sexual orientation and other reasons. More from the Christian Science Monitor and NPR.

Sarah Palin\’s ignorant imperialism and the end of the British empire.

How Russia\’s new strategy of using so-called \”soft power\” has played out in the Kyrgyzstan uprising.

Fifteen slides with charts highlighting wealth and inequality in the U.S. economy.

Phil Levy at Foreign Policy: China should reevaluate its currency, but don\’t see it as a job creation strategy for the U.S.

Finally, Cardiff, Wales unveils Britain\’s shortest bike lane: 8 feet.