Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Hurricane Milton: “The powerful and ‘catastrophic’ storm, currently a Category 4 hurricane, is growing in size as it is now expected to make landfall late tonight. An NBC News forecast predicts landfall sometime between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m.”
* At the White House: “President Joe Biden said Hurricane Milton could be ‘one of the worst storms in 100 years in Florida’ as he urged people in the storm’s path to evacuate, saying, ‘It’s a matter of life and death, and that’s not hyperbole.” Biden spoke on Hurricane Helene response and Hurricane Milton preparations today, saying he’s spoken to all the political leaders in the region and told them ‘anything they ask for, they can get.’”
* On a related note: “As President Joe Biden delivered a stark warning Wednesday about the dangerous hurricane barreling toward Florida, he shot down misinformation about the storm, including one particular conspiracy theory propagated by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.”
* In the Middle East: “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with President Joe Biden today ahead of an Israeli Cabinet vote on the response to Iran’s missile attack and after the Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant’s trip to the U.S. was called off, Israeli and U.S. officials told NBC News. The White House had not elaborated on the call with Netanyahu, but Gallant said Israel’s planned attack on Iran would be ‘lethal’ and ‘surprising.’”
* A scary concern: “Russia could attack Sweden for control of the Baltic Sea, Stockholm’s Defense Minister Pal Jonson said Wednesday. ‘Russia poses a threat to Sweden, as it does to the rest of NATO. We cannot rule out a Russian attack on our country,’ Jonson said in an interview with Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita.” * A notable arrest: “An Afghan national living in Oklahoma was charged this week with conspiring to carry out a terrorist attack on Election Day on behalf of the Islamic State terrorist group, according to court documents unsealed Tuesday.” * Something to look out for: “For the third time this week, people across portions of the United States may get the chance to see the northern lights. A solar storm is expected to hit Earth on Thursday, potentially bringing the dancing lights as far south as Alabama and California on Thursday night. But the influx of solar energy and particles, poised to arrive just after Hurricane Milton hits Florida late Wednesday or early Thursday, could affect power systems and satellite operations, including low Earth-orbiting commercial satellites.” 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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