Morning Constitutional – 20 April 2010

Good morning, everybody. Apple wants its phone back. Now, your morning constitutional:

A limited number of flights in northern Europe, expected to be around half of normal volume, will go ahead today. While some planes are flying from Scotland and Northern Ireland, it is unlikely any planes will depart from London today. Some science behind the flight bans.

Rahm Emmanuel wants to be mayor of Chicago.

Despite recent allegations of fraud, earnings for Goldman Sachs rose 91% for the first quarter of 2010 to $3.46B from the same period last year. The U.K. Financial Services Authority has also announced a formal investigation into the bank\’s shady dealings.

Gang Starr\’s Guru, or Keith Elam, died of cancer on Monday at 43.

Axel Weber of the European Central Bank Governing Council says Greece may require up to €80B of assistance in coming years. He also told German politicians that the numbers are changing all the time, and that Greece\’s debt situation may be worsening.

There are more signs that Republican Florida Governor Charlie Crist, pressured from members of the Republican party to abandon his bid for the Senate, may run as an independent.

Cuba\’s Cardinal Jaime Ortega says the country is in crisis, citing an enormous economic crisis, and that people were openly talking about problems in the socialist system.

Voters not aligned to the Democratic or Republican parties are becoming much more common in Oregon, accounting for nearly 25% of voters, a drastic change that could have ramifications for primary elections.

President Obama is set to open the first meeting of his bipartisan deficit commission next week. Obama appointed the commission in February to develop a bipartisan plan to tackle soaring federal budget deficits. Morgan Housel at the Motley Fool on why it\’s a bad idea to use inflation to solve the debt problem.

A new study in the Archives and Dermatology finds a link between tanning and addictive behavior.

The Thai army has announced their intention to \”decisively\” use live ammunition against red-shirt protesters.

Finally, John Cleese took a £3,300 cab from Olso to Brussels after being stranded in Norway by the volcanic ash mess.