Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Texas: “Houston-area infrastructure is proving to be no match for Harvey’s record rainfall, which overpowered a dam, a bridge and a levee within hours of one another.”
* Another tragic death: “A 34-year veteran of the Houston Police Department officer drowned in his patrol car while responding to deadly Hurricane Harvey over the weekend, officials said Tuesday afternoon. Sgt. Steve Perez, 60, died when he became trapped in floodwaters while on his way to work on Sunday,”
* An ongoing crisis: “Harvey was taking aim at Texas again Tuesday and forecast to make landfall later somewhere along the Lone Star state’s border with Louisiana after swamping the Houston area with record rainfall and deadly flooding.”
* Scary: “ExxonMobil acknowledged Tuesday that Hurricane Harvey damaged two of its refineries, causing the release of hazardous pollutants.”
* The latest mass shooting: “Two people were killed and four others were injured when gunfire erupted inside a public library on Monday, throwing an eastern New Mexico community into a panic as officers swarmed the building with their guns drawn.”
* Richard Wilson Preston is now in custody: “A 52-year-old Baltimore man who allegedly fired a gun within a crowd at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., earlier this month was arrested by police on Saturday.”
* The next step: “Former Maricopa County sheriff Joe Arpaio has asked the federal judge who found him guilty of criminal contempt to toss out his conviction, in light of his recent pardon from President Trump.” * I enjoyed this one: “‘All In’ has obtained emails sent the night the news broke that Sebastian Gorka was leaving the White House — emails that are not remotely normal, according to two former White House staff members.” * The obvious outcome: “A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by the former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin against The New York Times, saying Ms. Palin’s complaint failed to show that a mistake in an editorial was made maliciously.” 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
