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Wednesday's Mini-Report, 9.20.17

Today's edition of quick hits.

Today's edition of quick hits:

* Puerto Rico: "Hurricane Maria knocked out power to every electricity customer in Puerto Rico on Wednesday, the governor's office said, as the monster storm lashed the economically strained U.S. territory, ripping roofs off buildings and flooding homes."

* Related news: "Dominica's main hospital 'took a beating' from Hurricane Maria while buildings serving as shelters had their roofs ripped off, an official said as the first images showing the devastation unleashed by the storm emerged Wednesday."

* Mexico: "The hunt for dozens of missing children at a Mexico City school partially flattened by a powerful earthquake became a race against time on Wednesday as the death toll rose to at least 225."

* Trump-Russia, Part I: "The document requests provide the most details to date about the breadth of Mr. Mueller's investigation, and show that several aspects of his inquiry are focused squarely on Mr. Trump's behavior in the White House."

* Trump-Russia, Part II: "The special counsel investigating Russian election meddling has requested extensive records and email correspondence from the White House, covering everything from the president's private discussions about firing his FBI director to his White House's handling of a warning that President Trump's then-national security adviser was under investigation, according to two people briefed on the requests."

* Predictable: "Senate Republicans, abandoning a key fiscal doctrine, agreed on Tuesday to move forward on a budget that would add to the federal deficit in order to pave the way for a $1.5 trillion tax cut over the next 10 years."

* Louisiana: "A white man in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was arrested Tuesday and accused of shooting and killing two black men in separate incidents that may have been racially motivated."

* What could go wrong? "The Trump administration is preparing to make it easier for American gun makers to sell small arms, including assault rifles and ammunition, to foreign buyers, according to senior U.S. officials."

* I wonder if Jon Huntsman cleared this with Trump first: "President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Russia was unequivocal Tuesday in calling out the federation's interference in the 2016 election in the United States."

* And speaking of the president, Trump wrapped up his day yesterday by focusing not on North Korea or his ongoing effort to take health care coverage from millions of Americans, but on the television ratings for the Emmys. Is anyone prepared to argue he has his priorities straight?

Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.