Today’s edition of quick hits:
* A climbing death toll: “The death toll from Hurricane Michael’s devastating march up the East Coast rose to 13 on Friday as the storm lashed Virginia and killed at least five people in the state.”
* The tech giant didn’t need another controversy, but it has one anyway: “Facebook said on Friday that hackers were able to access the personal information of 14 million people through a security flaw that the company first disclosed last month, and that the data exposed included information such as recent check-ins and searches.”
* Donald Trump this morning asserted that “everyone wants Ivanka Trump to be the new United Nations Ambassador.” He didn’t explain who’s included in “everyone.”
* Two years later: “A Turkish court on Friday convicted American pastor Andrew Brunson of aiding terrorism but sentenced him to time served and ordered his immediate release. The case of the evangelical preacher caught up in Turkey’s post-coup security sweep had garnered attention at the highest levels of the U.S. government and become a sore point in the two countries’ relations.”
* A rather extraordinary mess in West Virginia: “Acting justices on the state Supreme Court issued a ruling to block the impeachment trial of Justice Margaret Workman, putting the legislative and judicial branches of West Virginia’s state government in direct conflict.”
* Another step backwards: “Over the course of 12 months, the U.S. Army discharged more than 500 immigrant enlistees who were recruited across the globe for their language or medical skills and promised a fast track to citizenship in exchange for their service, The Associated Press has found.” * The long sought “roadmap” may go public: “A federal judge has ordered the partial release of a Watergate report that fueled an impeachment drive against President Richard Nixon and could serve as a precedent for a similar effort aimed at President Donald Trump.” * Oh my: “When asked on Fox News if he thought former economic adviser Gary Cohn was a major source for Bob Woodward’s bestselling book Fear: Trump in the White House, President Trump replied that he ‘could very well have been.’ Then he hinted that he’s got dirt on Cohn: ‘I can tell stories about him like you wouldn’t believe.’” 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
