Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Ian slams Florida: “Hurricane Ian made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday, lashing the region with torrential rain and winds of 150 mph after it had strengthened to a powerful Category 4 storm. The ‘catastrophic’ system came ashore near Cayo Costa, just west of Fort Myers, the National Hurricane Center said.”
* A worthwhile warning: “President Joe Biden on Wednesday warned oil and gas companies against increasing prices for consumers as Hurricane Ian neared landfall along Florida’s southwest coast. ‘Do not, let me repeat, do not use this as an excuse to raise gasoline prices or gouge the American people,’ Biden said at the start of a conference on hunger in America.”
* Nord Stream 1 and 2: “Sabotage was behind underwater explosions that sent gas spewing from two major pipelines connecting Europe and Russia, Western leaders concurred Wednesday. The question now is whether the mystery might signal Moscow’s intent to intensify its energy clash with the continent as it escalates its military efforts in Ukraine.”
* On a related note: “The European Union put forward a series of new sanctions on Wednesday aimed at punishing Russia for escalating the Ukraine war by drafting at least 300,000 men into its army, threatening the use of nuclear arms and holding discredited referendums in occupied territories widely seen as a prelude to annexation.”
* Prime Minister Liz Truss’ ridiculous plan to give the wealthy tax breaks isn’t going over well: “After days of turmoil, the U.K. drew a rare stinging rebuke from the International Monetary Fund, which urged the government to ‘re-evaluate’ a plan that may fuel already-soaring inflation and increase economic inequality. The Bank of England, the U.K.’s central bank, made its own emergency intervention Wednesday, announcing it would buy up as much government debt as needed in an effort to restore stability.”
* A worthwhile cause: “President Joe Biden said his administration will commit more than $8 billion in private and public sector funding as part of its plans to end hunger and reduce diet-related disease by 2030.”
* There probably won’t be a government shutdown later this week: “The Senate voted Tuesday to move forward with funding the government through mid-December ahead of a Friday deadline to avert a shutdown.”
* On a related note, it’s worth mentioning that House GOP leaders are urging their members to oppose a stopgap spending package, while Senate GOP leaders are urging their members to support it. * Logan Barnhart, a Michigan bodybuilder-turned-construction worker, believed Donald Trump post-election lies, showed up at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and attacked police officers. Today, Barnhart pleaded guilty “to assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon before U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan.” * A new Gilded Age: “A new report by the Congressional Budget Office found that the poorest half of Americans holds just 2 percent of the nation’s wealth.” 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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