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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Hurricane Helene’s aftermath: “There have been at least 116 deaths as a result of the storm, according to an NBC News count of confirmed fatalities. A third of them were reported in North Carolina. Western North Carolina has been hit by devastating floods, with entire communities under several feet of water. At least 35 people have died in Buncombe County, which contains the city of Asheville.”
* In the Middle East: “Israel is planning a limited ground operation into southern Lebanon that could begin imminently, according to a U.S. official, a Biden administration official and a source familiar with the planning. The operation would aim to push Hezbollah forces further away from the Israeli border.”
* On a related note, Israel has “expanded its attacks on Iran-backed militant groups across the region after the killing of powerful Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.”
* Closely watched Austrian elections: “Austrian voters handed the Freedom Party of Austria a solid win in national elections on Sunday, rebuking establishment parties and notching another victory for a xenophobic party in Europe as the tide of far-right populism rises on the continent. But despite the nearly 30 percent who voted for the far-right Freedom Party and its pugilistic leader, Herbert Kickl, the victory in national parliamentary elections could turn out to be merely symbolic, as mainstream parties have promised to form a coalition government without him.”
* I’m planning to have more on this in the morning: “A judge in Georgia’s Fulton County struck down the state’s six-week abortion ban Monday, allowing the procedure to resume and making it legal up to 22 weeks of pregnancy. The state law was signed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019 but didn’t take effect until July 2022 after it faced a legal challenge and the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade.”
* To match Trump’s total, Senate Democrats have to confirm 21 judicial nominees during the lame-duck session: “With the 213th federal judge of the Biden era confirmed by the Senate this week, Democrats are now hoping to take advantage of a post-election lame duck session to finish putting their own stamp on the judiciary and match the number of judges appointed during the Trump administration.”
* Readers probably won’t remember this, but back in 2021, I had an item about a Republican congressional candidate in Florida who threatened to kill a primary rival with a hit squad. I’m mentioning this because that former candidate has now been indicted: “A former Republican candidate for Congress in Florida has been charged with threatening to send a hit squad to kill an opponent in the race, federal authorities said Friday. William Braddock claimed in a recorded call with a local activist that he would send a Russian and Ukrainian hit squad to kill Anna Paulina Luna during the 2022 primary for a seat in the Clearwater area, the Department of Justice said.”
See you tomorrow.