Today’s edition of quick hits:
* Florida: “Weary residents in the Florida Keys, eager to assess their hurricane-ravaged homes, may not see electricity return for at least another week — and those are the lucky ones. About 25 percent of homes in the chain of islands were completely destroyed and another 65 percent sustained major damage, federal officials estimated Tuesday.”
* Mexico: “As Hurricane Harvey was still pummeling Houston, Mexico reached out with an offer of help…. But now, Mexico says that it is withdrawing its offer of aid. It needs those resources, the government says, to clean up after its own hurricane and a massive earthquake.”
* U.N.: “The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted new sanctions against North Korea on Monday after U.S. officials eased their demands to convince China and Russia to approve the measure.”
* Trump-Russia: “Some of President Donald Trump’s lawyers earlier this summer concluded that Jared Kushner should step down as senior White House adviser because of possible legal complications related to a probe of Russia’s involvement in the 2016 presidential election and aired concerns about him to the president, people familiar with the matter said.”
* Derek Harvey’s new job: “A former National Security Council official, forced out by National-Security Adviser H.R. McMaster in July, is set to join the staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, according to two sources familiar with his move.”
* Trump World: “Hope Hicks, the longtime aide to President Donald Trump who’d been serving as the interim White House communications director, will now lead the communications team on a permanent basis. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told NBC News of the move Tuesday.” * Seattle: “Seattle Mayor Ed Murray (D), embattled by child sex abuse allegations, will resign his post Wednesday. Murray’s spokesman, William Lemke, told The Washington Post that the resignation takes effect at 5 p.m.” * House Republican leaders believe their chamber has been “the most productive” in the first year of a new presidency “in the modern era.” Is that true? This was a good fact-check. 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
