Today’s edition of quick hits.
* In the Caribbean: “Tropical Storm Melissa dumped heavy rain on Hispaniola as forecasters warned Wednesday of a significant flood risk in parts of the Caribbean region in the coming days. … Melissa had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph early Wednesday and was centered about 325 miles south-southwest of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.”
* Another round of deadly violence in Ukraine: “Hours after a meeting planned for next week between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary was scrapped — at least for the near future — Russia hammered Ukraine in an overnight attack that stretched into the next day, killing seven people, including two children, and leaving parts of the country without power Wednesday.”
* Those who sign deals like these tend to regret them: “The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday announced an agreement with the University of Virginia to pause Trump administration civil rights investigations.”
* There’s something to be said for a good spectacle: “Add a marathon Senate floor protest to the paralysis gripping Washington as a partial government shutdown enters its fourth week. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., pulled an all-nighter on the Senate floor that began early Tuesday evening, putting floor business on hold while railing against President Donald Trump and his agenda.”
* What are the odds that these sensible warnings will be taken seriously? “Democrats from the Senate’s powerful tax-writing committee on Wednesday demanded that Trump administration officials drop large-scale changes at the Internal Revenue Service that would make it easier to launch criminal investigations of President Donald Trump’s political opponents.” * A question in need of an answer: “Three dozen members of Congress, including two Republicans, asked Wednesday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth explain why the Pentagon has pushed back its cleanup of ‘forever chemical’ contamination at nearly 140 military sites nationwide.” * As a rule, when these guys act like they have something to hide, it’s because they have something to hide: “[The Texas Tribune] asked [Gov. Greg] Abbott for his and his staff’s emails with Elon Musk and Musk’s companies. The governor’s office won’t turn them over, saying some contain ‘intimate and embarrassing’ information that is ‘not of legitimate concern to the public.’” See you tomorrow.
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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