Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The effects throughout the region are brutal: “Hurricane Helene killed at least 42 people and left millions without power across the Southeast before weakening on its way north Friday morning, officials said. Widespread damage was expected in Florida’s Big Bend region, where Helene made landfall as a Category 4 shortly after 11 p.m. ET on Thursday. It was the strongest storm to ever strike the area, which connects Florida’s panhandle and peninsula.”
* In the Middle East: “The Israeli military said it has struck Hezbollah’s headquarters in southern Beirut after reports of a huge bomb blast in the Lebanese capital. An Israeli official told NBC News that the target was the Iran-backed militant group’s powerful leader, Hassan Nasrallah, although it wasn’t clear whether he had been killed.”
* The charges Donald Trump claimed he has been waiting for: “Three Iranian nationals have been indicted for hacking into the campaign of former President Donald Trump, stealing emails and documents, and then sharing them with the news media, according to U.S. officials and a federal indictment filed in Washington on Friday.”
* Good news on the PCE inflation gauge: “Inflation moved closer to the Federal Reserve’s target in August, easing the way for future interest rate cuts, the Commerce Department reported Friday. The personal consumption expenditures price index, a gauge the Fed focuses on to measure the cost of goods and services in the U.S. economy, rose 0.1% for the month, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.2%, down from 2.5% in July and the lowest since February 2021.”
* Aiding Ukraine: “President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the U.S. is providing Ukraine a total of $7.9 billion in defense aid, a commitment he described as a ‘surge in security assistance’ that — coupled with expanded F-16 fighter jet pilot training and other newly unveiled moves — aims to bolster Kyiv before a new president enters the White House.”
* Ken Klippenstein’s provocative move: “An American journalist who runs an independent newsletter published a document Thursday that appears to have been stolen from Donald Trump’s presidential campaign — the first public posting of a file that is believed to be part of a dossier that federal officials say is part of an Iranian effort to manipulate the U.S. election. The PDF document is a 271-page opposition research file on former President Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio.”
* Modest steps: “President Biden, frustrated with congressional inaction on gun violence and seeking to secure the issue as part of his legacy, said on Thursday that he was using his executive authority to improve school preparedness and to stem the tide of untraceable weapons and devices that make firearms more deadly.” * A story I’ve been watching: “A federal judge this week tossed a lawsuit against a Tennessee congressman who falsely accused a Kansas man of being involved in a deadly shooting at a rally celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory this year. U.S. District Judge John Broomes ruled that the case should not be handled in Kansas, where plaintiff Denton Loudermill Jr. lives. U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican, has little connection to Kansas.” * Sen. Ron Wyden’s ambitious reform plan: “A sweeping bill introduced by a Democratic senator Wednesday would greatly increase the size of the Supreme Court, make it harder for the justices to overturn laws, require justices to undergo audits and remove roadblocks for high court nominations.” Have a safe weekend.
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."
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