Midday Roundup: Detroit sacrifices pensions, saves art collection

Debt ceiling. Detroit submitted its plan today to get out from under $18 billion in debt. Not surprisingly, city pensioners will face cuts of 34 percent for general retirees and 10 percent for police and firefighters,USA Today reported. The city does not plan to sell hundreds of millions of dollars of art it owns. Instead, it will use state funds and private donations to cover costs in lieu of liquidating the masterpieces.

Perils of youth. As the flu season winds down, data show young adults were hit the hardest this year. The season in general was not as bad this year as last year, and the vaccine worked better. While the elderly fared well this year, adults ages 18-64, particularly those already in poor health, accounted for two-thirds of those admitted to the hospital for flu. Officials said the H1N1 swine flu scourged the young adult population this year and could still affect many individuals before flu season ends in the spring.

In the house. President Barack Obama met with the Dalai Lama at the White House today while the Tibetan spiritual leader and fellow Nobel laureate was in the United States on a speaking tour. The meeting was closed to photographers, and, unlike during some previous visits, the Dalai Lama departed the White House without speaking to reporters. The Chinese government issued its customary condemnation of the president’s meeting with the exiled Buddhist monk. Relations between the U.S. and China are already on edge over Beijing’s territorial disputes with its smaller neighbors.

Catering to the munchies. This story will do nothing to ingratiate the Girl Scouts to those of you already miffed at their support of abortion advocacy. A girl scout in San Francisco sold 117 boxes of cookies in two hours by setting up outside a medical marijuana dispensary. Danielle Lei and her mom have made rounds to three dispensaries in the bay area, according to the East Bay Express. Not only do they quickly sell out of cookies, but Lei’s mom calls the experience a “teachable moment” about medical marijuana.