The shooting at a congressional baseball practice reminds us of something we too often forget: We are one country, and we’re all in this together. Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.
1. Congressional shooting
We have some new details on the attack in Niger that left four US soldiers dead, thanks to a timeline laid out by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford. The 12-member team was on its way back to its operating base when it was attacked by about 50 members of ISIS. The troops didn’t call for help for about an hour. French jets arrived about an hour after that. Dunford thinks the team initially felt it could handle the firefight, and investigators will focus on why it took them so long to ask for help. Dunford also said it doesn’t seem like the troops were acting outside of their orders.
Even with these new details, there are still a ton of unanswered questions, including why Sgt. La David Johnson was separated from his team during the firefight, and why his body was recovered 48 hours later nearly a mile away from the ambush.
Meanwhile, the controversy over President Trump’s condolence call to Johnson’s widow rages on. Myeshia Johnson said the President’s tone during the call upset her and that Trump stumbled on her husband’s name. Trump disputed the widow’s account of the call in a tweet. CNN’s Chris Cillizza said the unseemly battle with a Gold Star widow was an example of Trump taking the lowest of low roads. Don Lemon wrote an open letter to the President, simply asking him to stop doing, well, pretty much everything.
2. Democratic National Committee
Sen. Elizabeth Warren says she believes that the Democratic National Committee was “rigged” in favor of Hillary Clinton during the 2016 primary.
With these allegations, the restaurant industry is now under the same spotlight recently shone on other sectors for allegedly harboring a workplace harassment culture. Megyn Kelly hit back yesterday at Bill O’Reilly, saying she’s not buying his latest defense against harassment allegations by another former Fox News colleague. And Hollywood is responding to accusations by more than 30 women of sexual harassment by screenwriter and director James Toback.
Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee helped fund research that led to the now-infamous dossier of allegations about President Donald Trump and Russia, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. The source said the law firm Perkins Coie, as part of its representation of the Clinton campaign and the DNC, retained the intelligence firm Fusion GPS and entered “into an engagement for research services that began in April 2016 and concluded before the election in early November.” We also know that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team has met with the British former spy who wrote the dossier.
3. The Weinstein effect
The President promised that the tax break for 401(k)s will not change under the tax overhaul proposal he wants to get through Congress, even though some Republicans wanted a serious reduction in that tax break to help pay for all the tax cuts Trump’s been promising. The GOP is also considering eliminating the deduction for state and local taxes. That’s not popular at all in high-tax states, like New York and California. The bottom line is that the Republicans are going to have a heck of a time doing this without ballooning the deficit.
The Kurdish government is rethinking its independence plans in the face of the military response from Iraq. The leaders of the autonomous Kurdistan region, in oil-rich northern Iraq, propose not acting on last month’s independence referendum to stop the violence which has since erupted between Iraqi troops and the Peshmerga, the Kurds’ military force. Kurdish leaders want a ceasefire and the start of talks with Baghdad, but Iraq hasn’t responded to the proposal yet. The US is watching all of this closely, because both Iraq and Kurdistan are critical allies in the fight against ISIS.
4. Russian investigation
Former Trump foreign policy adviser Carter Page privately testified Thursday to lawmakers that he mentioned to Jeff Sessions he was traveling to Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign – as new questions emerge about the attorney general’s earlier comments to Congress about Russia and the Trump campaign.
You need to be careful where you click today. A new ransomware attack has hit Russia and it’s spreading around the globe. Cybersecurity experts say the ransomware – a virus called “Bad Rabbit – poses as an Adobe update, but when clicked on, it locks down computers and demands money for people to get their files back. The current attack targeted Russian media companies and transportation systems in Ukraine. But it’s also been detected in the US, Germany, Turkey, Poland, Bulgaria, South Korea and Japan.
5. Trump in Asia
The Dodgers, who have won it all six times, are favorites to win the championship again. But the Astros, who have never won a World Series in 55 years of baseball, are the sentimental faves, because they’re doing it for the folks back home still struggling after Hurricane Harvey.
You may have to start shelling out more cash when you visit America’s national parks. The National Park Service wants to more than double entrance fees at 17 popular parks – including the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and Yellowstone – to help pay for infrastructure improvements. The fee for private vehicles would rise from $25 to $70 during peak season. Critics have blasted the proposed fee increase, saying it will make a trip to the parks unaffordable for many Americans.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.
Total recall
There’s a big recall of veggies going on across the US and Canada. Products from Mann Packing might be contaminated with listeria.
One and done
ESPN pulled the plug on the late-night talk show “Barstool Van Talk” after just one episode due to concerns over the Barstool website’s bawdy content.
Drawing, undressed
Did you know there’s a sketch out there called the “Nude Mona Lisa?” And it might be the work of Leonardo da Vinci as well.
Universal appeal
Stephen Hawking’s doctoral thesis is available online, but good luck trying to read it. All those would-be scientists logging on crashed the website.
Fit for a king
A $90 million funeral? Thailand’s sparing no expense as it prepares to cremate its late king. Meet the artists prepping sculptures for the week-long extravaganza.
Up in the air
RIP, Benson
WHAT’S FOR LUNCH
Sign of recovery
Puerto Rico, still struggling after Hurricane Maria, takes a small step toward normalcy when some public schools reopen today.
NUMBER OF THE DAY
The latest death toll in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Water-borne infections are driving this latest increase.
That’s how many new flight attendants Delta will hire next year. So far, more than 125,000 people have applied, so, if you’re interested, good luck.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I wish them the very best. That’s what every American should wish for the people in the White House since they are our President and first family.”
Actress Kim Cattrall, laying out why there probably won’t be another “Sex and the City” movie with her former co-stars
The NAACP, warning African-American travelers to be careful when flying with American Airlines. The airline said it’s “disappointed” by the advisory.
AND FINALLY …
Pet parade
Cute dogs and kooky costumes. What more do you need for a Halloween parade? (Click to view)