SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 10:56 P.M. ET: 

COLBERT IN – From Entertainment Weekly:  "It’s official: Stephen Colbert will replace David Letterman as CBS’s Late Show host.  The broadcast network has tapped the 49-year-old Comedy Central host to take over the late-night franchise.  CBS has made a five-year deal with Colbert, which was announced Thursday by CBS Corp. CEO Les Moonves and CBS Entertainment chairman Nina Tassler."  Reaction has been mixed.  Many believe this is a tremendous risk for CBS, as Colbert's appeal tends to be narrow and generational.  Johnny Carson was, of course, truly the king of late night, in large measure because he could appeal across generations and speak to a nation.  Colbert?  Tough climb.

SEBELIUS OUT – From The New York Times:  "WASHINGTON — Kathleen Sebelius, the health and human services secretary, is resigning, ending a stormy five-year tenure marred by the disastrous rollout of President Obama’s signature legislative achievement, the Affordable Care Act.  Mr. Obama accepted Ms. Sebelius’s resignation this week, and on Friday morning, he will nominate Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, to replace her, officials said."  Guess Kathy's "resignation" wasn't all that unexpected.  I mean, Obama had a replacement in his desk drawer.  Word is that Obama wanted Sebelius out before the 2014 election campaign began in earnest.

WHITE SWANS UNMASKED! – From London's Telegraph:  "Warwick University has erected a fence around a campus lake to stop a spate of swan attacks on students.  A 4ft tall bird, which boasts an 8ft wingspan, has been accused of behaving aggressively towards foreign students as they cross over a footbridge near its nesting place at the university's Gibbet Hill campus in Coventry, West Midlands.  The footbridge is used by hundreds of students everyday as a route between accommodation and university buildings. Undergraduates revealed that the swan only appeared to target students from ethnic minorities."  Racist swans.  I knew it all the time.  You can't be that white and not have feelings.

BROWN ANNOUNCES – As expected, Former Massachusetts Republican Senator Scott Brown announced his candidacy for a New Hampshire U.S. Senate seat.  And a new poll shows Brown closing the gap against incumbent Dem Senator Jeanne Shaheen. Shaheen is up by six.  In January she was up by ten.  Brown moved from Massachusetts to his summer home in New Hampshire to be eligible for the contest.  Most observers consider it close.

April 10,  2014