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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* The latest from Michigan: “Four people were killed and several others wounded Sunday when authorities say a man opened fire at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, and set it ablaze in what a federal official called ‘an act of targeted violence.’ At least two of the four victims were fatally shot, police said. Eight people were wounded, with one in critical condition and seven who were stabilized, township Police Chief Bill Renye said.”
* Sunday’s other mass shooting: “Police have arrested a suspect in a weekend shooting at a North Carolina bar that left three people dead and eight others injured. Nigel Max Edge, 40, is accused of opening fire from his boat into the American Fish Company, a riverside bar in Southport, around 9:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, Sept. 27, before fleeing the scene, according to Southport police.”
* Moscow’s latest electoral setback: “Moldova’s pro-European party won a victory after a nail-biting election plagued by Russian interference, preliminary results on Monday showed, allowing it to retain its majority in Parliament after what many observers have called the most important campaign in the nation’s recent history.”
* Trump makes another unilateral tariff announcement on a whim, Part I: “President Donald Trump on Monday said he would impose a 100% tariff on foreign-made films and slap ‘substantial Tariffs’ on any country that does not make furniture in the United States. Trump’s statements left key questions about the plans unanswered.”
* Trump makes another unilateral tariff announcement on a whim, Part II: “President Donald Trump said on Monday he would impose a 100% tariff on all films produced overseas that are then sent into the U.S., repeating a threat made in May that would upend Hollywood’s global business model. The step signals Trump’s willingness to extend protectionist trade policies into cultural industries, raising uncertainty for studios that depend heavily on cross-border co-productions and international box-office revenue.”
* In Venezuela: “U.S. military officials are drawing up options to target drug traffickers inside Venezuela, and strikes within that country’s borders could potentially begin in a matter of weeks, four sources told NBC News.”
* A weather service pushed to its limits: “Some National Weather Service staffers are working double shifts to keep forecasting offices open. Others are operating under a “buddy system,” in which adjacent offices help monitor severe weather in understaffed regions. Still others are jettisoning services deemed not absolutely necessary, such as making presentations to schoolchildren.”
* Epstein files: “New files turned over to congressional investigators from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein suggest the convicted sex offender, in the last years of his life, had ties with President Donald Trump’s former adviser Elon Musk.”
* In South Carolina: “A Republican member of the South Carolina House who prosecutors say used the screen name ‘joebidennnn69’ agreed Friday to plead guilty to distributing sexual abuse material involving children. RJ May signed court papers to change his plea a few days after a hearing where prosecutors laid out how they would present their evidence in May’s trial next month. May, who does not have a law degree, is acting as his own attorney.”
See you tomorrow.