Morning News Roundup

South Korean Elections South Korea elected Lee Myung-bak, of the Grand National Party, with 50% of the vote in a field of 12 candidates. Mr. Lee’s landslide victory in the presidential contest is a result of his promises to ensure further economic expansion in South Korea, resistance to the North Korean government's quest for nuclear weapons, and an emphasis on beautifying and renewing public spaces. Turkish Get-Up Turkey has carried out bombing missions in Northern Iraq against Kurdish rebels affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The strikes, previously opposed by the United States, are thought to be a result of a deal between Turkey’s leadership and the US that will limit Turkish aggression and incursions into Iraq in exchange for more rigorous Kurdish and American policing of the PKK. Just In Time for Iowa: An FEC Shutdown Well, the leadership of the Senate and House couldn’t beat the President on an omnibus spending bill this year, but they did take a stand on the issue of nominees to the Federal Election Commission. The result: they have shut the agency down because the Commission cannot have quorum for a meeting when four of its six seats are vacant. So, yeah… is this progress? Further CIA Problems The CIA has expressed its intent to release documents to Congress regarding the destruction of video footage of interrogations two members of al-Qaeda. The move is a result of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) threatening to subpoena members of the agency. Trail of Tears Mitt Romney continues to explain his complacent attachment to a religious group that had some (shall we say) "unique" and "divinely inspired" theological opinions about African-Americans. He first tried to set distance between his Mormonism and his private opinions by tearing up while talking about a time he wept on Meet the Press. Unsure if that’s worked, he has also dropped an anecdote about how his father marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. But Wonkette, though thoroughly uninterested in the principle of charity, has posted this article that disputes a Romney-King alliance. Emissions Standards The EPA has announced that the carbon dioxide emissions standards that some states (like California) have set are “moot.” The New York Times explains that EPA administrator Stephen Johnson believes that these states have not articulated a “compelling case” that demonstrates the need for the states, and not the national government, to set emissions standards.