Wednesday's Mini-Report, 10.5.16

Today's edition of quick hits:* Hurricane Matthew: "Thousands of Americans were headed for higher ground Wednesday as deadly Hurricane Matthew crawled across the Caribbean and toward the U.S. Eastern Seaboard."* Paris Agreement: "A sweeping global agreement to combat climate change by shifting the world economy away from fossil fuels will take force next month after passing a threshold for ratification on Wednesday with support from European nations. President Obama, speaking from the Rose Garden, called the 'Paris Agreement' potentially a 'turning point' for our planet."* NSA: "A Maryland man who worked as a contractor for the NSA has been arrested for allegedly stealing classified material that was later found in his home and car, U.S. officials said Wednesday. Navy veteran Harold Thomas Martin III of Glen Burnie, who had a top secret national security clearance, was arrested on Aug. 27, according to the Justice Department."* The VP debate drew fewer than half the viewers that tuned in for last week's debate: "Last night's vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Tim Kaine had fewer TV viewers than any VP debate since 2000."* Massive protests forced political change: "After mass street protests in Poland, legislators with the country's ruling party have abruptly reversed their positions and voted against a proposal to completely ban abortion. The proposed law still has to be voted on by the lower house of Parliament on Thursday, where lawmakers can either reject it entirely or send it back to a parliamentary committee for more consideration, The Associated Press reports."* Education: "The Education Department has for more than 10 years poured in excess of $3 billion into the creation and operation of charter schools, but according to a new audit by the agency's own inspector general's office, it has failed in some cases to provide adequate oversight and as a result has put its own grants at risk."* A passing of the torch at the U.N.: "Antonio Guterres, a Socialist former prime minister of Portugal, is the unanimous choice of the 15-member United Nations Security Council to become the next leader of the organization, the ambassadors announced on Wednesday. Guterres will replace Ban ki-Moon as a secretary-general in January. He's a U.N. insider, who until last December had led the U.N. refugee agency."* I appreciate her lack of subtlety: "First Lady Michelle Obama is going all-out to make sure the White House kitchen garden that she created in 2009 and expanded twice doesn't get plowed under by the next first family. With less than four months left in the Obama administration, the first lady on Wednesday was unveiling an expanded and improved garden with the hope that it will endure regardless of who takes office come January."Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.