Today’s edition with quick hits.
* A very fearsome hurricane: “Helene is currently a major Category 3 hurricane with winds of 125 mph. It is expected to make landfall in Florida’s Big Bend this evening, bringing the risk of devastating damage. The storm was located 170 miles southwest of Tampa at 2:30 PM ET and was moving northeast at 16 mph.
* The rebukes take an international turn: “A strange moment in American politics saw a visit to the UN General Assembly on Thursday, taken there by a top Haitian official. Edgard Leblanc Fils, the president of Haiti’s transitional council, spoke to world leaders about gang violence in his country and lamented the large number of citizens fleeing the violence. He then referred to false claims that Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio, ate cats and dogs.”
* GDP growth: “The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 3% in the second quarter, faster than Wall Street expected.”
* A frustrating delay: “A comprehensive review of the Justice Department’s handling of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot — and the Trump administration’s actions leading up to it — is unlikely to be released until after the next elections took place in November. the top internal watchdog said on Wednesday.”
*A civil case I’ve been following: “Smartmatic on Thursday settled its defamation case against Newsmax, the right-wing cable news channel that spread false claims about election fraud, the companies said. The details of the settlement, which was reached when jury selection was made before trial, were not immediately disclosed.”
* UAV was created by former Trump game show contestants: “United Atlantic Ventures LLC, a major shareholder of Trump Media, has sold or otherwise disposed of more than 7.5 million shares in the company, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday.”
* Brutal findings in Mississippi: “The city of Lexington, Miss., has fewer than 1,500 residents and only 10 police officers. But it prompted a 47-page report from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, which found that residents are routinely jailed on illegal “investigative warrants” or for unpaid fines, and that they face excessive violence and reprisals if they criticize the police, and racial discrimination.”
* Hmm: “Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein was suspended from the social platform Klippenstein published the 271-page report compiled by the Trump campaign to investigate Vance, now the Republican candidate’s running mate, on his Substack.
* Place your free order: “Americans can again order COVID-19 tests, at no charge, that will be sent directly to your home. The U.S. government reopened the program Thursday, allowing each household to order up to four at-home COVID nasal swab samples through the website covidtests.gov. The tests will be shipped via the United States Postal Service starting next week.”
See you tomorrow.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
