Today’s edition of quick hits:
* The latest on the storm: “Hurricane Dorian beat a steady path north on Wednesday, as residents of coastal South Carolina braced for the region’s worst flooding in 30 years, authorities and forecasters said.”
* The ongoing Brexit fiasco: “British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has had two epically bad days. Parliament on Wednesday voted to block fresh elections, after voting to stop the country from leaving the European Union without an agreement — two heavy blows to Johnson’s plans to exit the 28-nation bloc by Oct. 31, ‘do or die.’”
* The people spoke; the people won: “A controversial extradition bill that sparked months of protests in Hong Kong will be fully withdrawn, the territory’s chief executive announced on Wednesday, submitting to one of the demonstrators’ core demands.”
* Greg Craig’s acquittal: “A prominent Washington lawyer was found not guilty Wednesday of lying to the Justice Department about work he did for the government of Ukraine in a case that arose from the special counsel’s Russia investigation and focus on the lucrative world of foreign lobbying.”
* The swamp is not being drained: “Last summer, Scott Pruitt left his job heading the Environmental Protection Agency and within a few months had started consulting for coal magnate Joseph W. Craft III. Three weeks after leaving the Interior Department, energy counselor Vincent DeVito joined Cox Oil Offshore, which operates in the Gulf of Mexico, as its executive vice president and general counsel. Now, Joe Balash — who oversaw oil and gas drilling on federal lands before resigning from Interior on Friday — is joining a foreign oil company that’s expanding operations on Alaska’s North Slope.” * An unnecessary tragedy: “Children separated during the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance policy” last year, many already distressed in their home countries or by their journey, showed more fear, feelings of abandonment and post-traumatic stress symptoms than children who were not separated, according to a report Wednesday from the inspector general’s office in the Department of Health and Human Services.” * The right ruling: “A judge has blocked the White House’s decision to revoke the press pass of Playboy correspondent Brian Karem over a Rose Garden showdown in July with former White House aide Sebastian Gorka.” 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
