Today’s edition of quick hits:
* California wildfires: “Fierce wildfires whipping up nightmare conditions in Northern California have killed at least 15 people, destroyed more than 1,500 structures and turned wineries into charred wastelands.”
* Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello today raised the death toll on the island to 43.
* A gut-wrenching day in the entertainment industry: “A wave of Hollywood actresses, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie, have come forward to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct — and three other women have alleged that the film executive forced himself on them.”
* The White House helps make this possible: “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved building plans for 3,736 new units in Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, in what activists say is part of a new wave of construction spurred by the Trump administration’s more accommodating stance.”
* Korean peninsula: “North Korean hackers stole a vast cache of data, including classified wartime contingency plans jointly drawn by the United States and South Korea, when they breached the computer network of the South Korean military last year, a South Korean lawmaker said Tuesday.” * What a fiasco: “A member of President Donald Trump’s voter fraud probe expressed deep frustration Tuesday over the way the commission has been run so far and doubted that the panel would ever meet again.” * And Donald Trump this morning said the New York Times set up “liddle” Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) by recording a recent interview. As is too often the case, the president has no idea what he’s talking about. Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
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
