Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Hurricane Michael “strengthened to a Category 2 storm Tuesday as it barreled toward Florida’s northeast Gulf Coast, threatening catastrophic storm surge, torrential rain and heavy winds.”
* Haley’s successor? “President Donald Trump appeared to cast his daughter and a former senior White House national security official as the frontrunners to replace Nikki Haley as ambassador to the United Nations. Daughter Ivanka Trump, a senior White House adviser, would be ‘wonderful’ in the role, Trump said.”
* On a related note, this complaint came before the resignation announcement: “A Washington, D.C., watchdog group wants a federal investigation into U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley’s use of private planes owned by S.C. businessmen. The group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, says Haley undervalued the flights by tens of thousands of dollars on her annual financial disclosure form required of federal officials.”
* This week, there have been developments of note in the Russia scandal, specifically involving Alfa Bank, Psy-Group, and Peter W. Smith. Look for more along these lines on tonight’s show.
* According to the auto manufacturer, Trump’s tariffs aren’t helping: “Ford will be making cuts to its 70,000-strong white-collar workforce in a move it calls a ‘redesign’ of its staff to be leaner, have fewer layers, and offer more decision-making power to employees, the company announced.”
* The post-election lame-duck session is bound to be interesting: “House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Monday there will be ‘a big fight’ after the midterm elections over funding President Trump’s border wall, but he said he doesn’t know how the issue will be resolved.” * This seems like a new tactic to me: “In a first-of-its-kind case, Israel has held an American graduate student at its international airport for a whole week, accusing her of supporting a Palestinian-led boycott movement against the Jewish state.” * Quite a milestone: “Today, for the first time in history, a young American can enlist to fight in a US war that started before he or she was born.” 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
