Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Hurricane Florence: “As Florence’s outer bands began lashing coastal North Carolina on Thursday, power outages spread, and officials and forecasters begged residents in the massive storm’s path to not be deceived by the hurricane getting downgraded to a Category 2.”
* Today’s mass shooting: “A shooting rampage that left five people dead in Bakersfield, California, on Wednesday was linked to domestic violence and ended with the suspect turning the gun on himself as deputies closed in, officials said.”
* Well, that’s an intriguing story: “Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., confirmed Thursday that she had referred information about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to ‘federal investigative authorities.’”
* It’s still not clear whether Trump will force a pre-election shutdown: “Appropriators have cut a deal to keep all of the government funded through at least Dec. 7.”
* Thinking ahead is always a good idea: “As Hurricane Florence bears down on North Carolina, the state may face the consequences of policies minimizing the impact of climate change and allowing extensive development in vulnerable coastal areas.”
* The ruling will be appealed: “A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ various delays of Obama-era regulations governing loan forgiveness for defrauded borrowers were illegal.”
* A vote like this one would go very differently if Democrats take back the House: “House Republicans rejected an attempt by Democrats on Thursday to demand that the State Department turn over records related to President Donald Trump’s secretive one-on-one meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.”
* This is a long way from forcing Mexico to pay for a border wall: “President Trump has promised for years that Mexico would pay for a vast border wall, a demand that country has steadfastly refused. Now, in the Trump administration’s campaign to stop illegal immigration, the United States plans instead to pay Mexico.” * Your weird uncle who consumes conservative media all day might email you to say Breitbart released a shocking video today implicating Google in an anti-conservative conspiracy. In reality, however, the video isn’t interesting at all. * This won’t end well: “On Jan. 8, 2019, a new governor of Florida will be sworn in. On that same day, three of the Florida Supreme Court’s seven justices will complete their final terms. Based on those facts alone, you might assume that the new Florida governor will have the opportunity to select these justices’ replacements. That, however, is not at all clear — because current Republican Gov. Rick Scott has declared his intent to replace them hours before his term concludes.” * Good move: “The mayor of a New Orleans suburb said Wednesday he is rescinding his order banning his city’s recreation department from purchasing Nike products for use at city recreation facilities. Kenner Mayor Ben Zahn said at a news conference that he did so on the advice of the city attorney.” Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past." Recommended
