DAY'S END ROUNDUP

FROM THE BLOGS:

Maria Bartiromo lays the smackdown on Ben Cardin, trading floor erupts in cheers
The New York Stock Exchange erupted in cheers after CNBC's Maria Bartiromo aggressively questioned Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) on a deficit-reduction deal. Watch the video at National Review's The Corner blog. 

No moderate makeover in Virginia
At The Washington Monthly's Political Animal blog, Ed Kilgore writes politics have already centered on the "midterm cycle" in Virginia. 

The GOP likes Michèle Flournoy for the wrong reasons, but she's the right choice
Michèle Flournoy is actually the best person to be the next secretary of Defense, writes The New Republic's Molly Redden. 

34 years of satellite temperature data show global warming is on a plateau
Ronald Bailey at Reason magazine highlights research by a pair of climatologists at the University of Alabama suggesting global warming has "been largely stalled" since 1998. 

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

US to hit $16.4 trillion debt limit on Dec. 31
The United States will hit its borrowing limit on Dec. 31, the Treasury Department said Wednesday, reports The Hills Peter Schroeder. 

Blues cruise
At New York magazine, Joe Hagan reported on the most recent National Review cruise.