Morning Constitutional – 27 April 2010

Good morning, everybody. Hugh Hefner has saved the famous Hollywood sign. Now, your morning constitutional:

Senate Republicans blocked the opening of debate for the financial reform package on a 57-41 vote (with 60 needed for cloture). Sen. Ben Nelson voted against cloture, while Majority Leader Harry Reid switched his vote to \”no\” (to allow him to bring the bill for another vote), while Republican Sens. Kit Bond and Bob Bennett did not vote.

Chaos erupts in the Ukrainian parliament as the chamber extends the lease on a Russian naval base in Ukraine.

The provisional government in Kyrgyzstan has charged ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev with the murder of the 85 anti-government demonstrators who were shot by police and presidential bodyguards on April 7.

Ford Motors on Tuesday reported a $2.1B profit in the first quarter of 2010 riding on strong sales worldwide. In the first quarter of 2009, the company reported a $1.4B loss.

Higher oil prices helped British oil company BP more than double its earnings in the first quarter of 2010.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will hear testimony today from the CEO and other executives from Goldman Sachs, ten days after the SEC charged the company with fraud.

Military unsure whether PowerPoint is useful tool or enemy.

Special election court in Iraq throws out winning candidate for being too close to Saddam Hussein\’s Baath party, throwing Ayad Allawi\’s tenuous victory into question.

Um, this guy pretty much defines bad-ass.

U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown lashes out at his opponents, calling them a \”coalition of cuts\” against children.

Sen. Lindsay Graham, unhappy that the Senate will work on immigration before climate change, drops his support for climate change legislation.

Social smokers not addicted, just smoking.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist still undecided on independent bid for U.S. Senate.

Republicans are hoping to succeed in the special election to fill the late Rep. John Murtha\’s seat. Murtha\’s western Pennsylvania district was the only district in the country to be carried by Kerry in 2004 and McCain in 2008.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case on whether states can ban minors from purchasing or renting violent or obscene video games.

Finally, researchers at UC Davis and UC San Diego have found a strong correlation between chocolate consumption and depression.