Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Hurricane Dorian: “Floodwaters rose in South Carolina on Thursday as Hurricane Dorian, which weakened to a Category 2, approached the state’s coast, bringing high winds and the danger of a life-threatening storm surge.”
* Afghanistan: “A U.S. service member was killed in a suicide blast in the Afghan capital Kabul Thursday, a U.S. official at the NATO-led Resolute Support mission said.”
* Middle East peace process: “Jason Greenblatt is leaving as President Donald Trump’s envoy for brokering an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, senior officials told NBC News on Thursday. His departure, confirmed by the president on Twitter, is the latest sign that optimism within the Trump administration for the long-awaited plan’s prospects may be fading.”
* Overdue: “The World Health Organization said on Thursday it welcomed a commitment by Facebook that it would direct users seeking vaccine information on its Instagram, Facebook Search, Groups and other forums towards facts, not misinformation.”
* Dragnea’s connections to Trump’s inaugural committee are of interest: “The State Department banned a Romanian politician accused of corruption from entering the U.S. Thursday, after he spent years cozying up to influential GOPers for access to Washington. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued an order barring Romanian politico Liviu Dragnea and his immediate family from entering the U.S. over allegations of ‘significant corruption.’”
* More DHS turnover: “The long-serving head of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Asylum Division was pushed out this week by the agency’s hardline acting director, Ken Cuccinelli, according to a source with knowledge of the move, marking the latest shake-up at the Department of Homeland Security under the Trump administration.”
* Sounds like a slap on the wrist: “Corruption charges against former Rep. Aaron Schock have been dismissed under a deal struck with prosecutors.” * Noted without comment: “Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said Wednesday that during a recent visit to a migrant detention facility he drank from a toilet that also served as a water fountain and that the water was ‘actually pretty good.’” * Also noted without comment: “Former White House assistant Seb Gorka once suffered from debilitating lower back pain, but he is now miraculously ‘pain free’ after taking a job hawking fish oil supplements — and you, too, can be rid of your bodily aches for a small subscription price of $19.95 plus shipping and handling.” 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." Recommended
