Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s ambitious school voucher programs just got a big boost from one of the biggest names in education reform. Students First, a school reform organization led by former DC schools commissioner Michelle Rhee, released a national state-by-state report card on Tuesday which ranked Louisiana first in the nation with a B- grade, just ahead of Florida, Indiana and Rhode Island.

The commentariat is busy poring over the latest enrollment numbers for clues on Obamacare’s future, but on Capitol Hill, the verdict is already in. A poll of Hill staffers found that the vast majority are seriously concerned about their health plans under Obamacare—so concerned, in fact, that many of them may be driven to seek new jobs. As The Hill reports, of the 38 percent of staffers who are planning to get a new job next year, more than two-thirds cited health care costs as a major reason.

Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, is visiting Lebanon this week, and he had some contradictory announcements to make. First, Zarif paid his respects and laid a wreath at the tomb of his fallen comrade Imad Mughniyeh in Beirut. Mughniyeh was a senior Hezbollah commander who was killed in 2008 by a car bomb of unknown origin. He is deemed responsible for orchestrating the 1983 bombings of the US Embassy and Marine barracks in Lebanon that killed hundreds of Americans. Zarif then met with Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of Hezbollah, and several other Lebanese government officials before giving a press conference. At the press conference, he announced Iran’s commitment to “combatting terrorism,” which is a “dangerous phenomenon” that requires “international cooperation.”

Detroit may be able to keep its priceless art collection after all. In what is being called a “grand bargain,” the bankruptcy judge is allowing foundations to purchase the art from the city, moving it to a public trust that would keep the art on the walls. The city would use some of the proceeds from the sale to fund pension payments for retirees. So far, $330 million has already been pledged from various foundations, but the art is valued at $866 million, and time is running out to seal the deal.

PhD reform was a hot topic at the recent MLA convention last weekend, yet speaker after speaker managed to avoid the obvious fix: shrinking the size of their programs. But while professors are burying their heads in the sand, a number of schools are already beginning to cut back.

After the Volcker Rule was passed in December, there was much misplaced rejoicing. The real issues behind the successful regulation of banks are only now being debated.

Israel faces graver threats these days than inane resolutions drafted by misguided academics. But the Modern Language Association’s recent panel on boycotting Israel and its impending vote to condemn the Jewish state is, like the ASA’s recent boycott, part of a larger trend that should be resisted.

When it comes to passing massive trade deals with Europe and the Pacific, Obama’s biggest obstacle may not be France or Japan, or even his Republican opponents in the House, but his allies in the Democratic Party. A number of Democratic senators and congressman reacted negatively to efforts to fast-track the legislation through Congress, and there are now questions as to whether the measure will have the votes to pass. Is Obama losing influence in his own party?

A mysterious report claiming that China plans to invade an island in the South China Sea that is controlled by the Philippines emerged over the weekend. The report, translated from “Chinese media” and appearing at a site called China Daily Mail, appears to threaten the Filipino forces occupying Pag-asa Island. Pag-asa is known as Zhongye Island in China and Beijing claims the Philippines has illegally occupied it for years. At about a tenth of a square mile, the island is one of the larger ones in the Spratly Island group and is the only one with an airstrip long enough to accommodate larger planes. It has a civilian population of 300 souls.

The political gridlock that has gripped Washington over the past few years may have one small upside: For the third year in a row, the lobbying industry is losing profits. Most struggling companies are losing business due to the linger effects of the recession, but with lobbyists, the problem appears to stem from the inability of Congress to get much of anything done.