September 30 – The most fascinating news of the day – NextDraft

Helene’s trail of destruction: North Carolina was especially hard hit by Helene. WaPo (Gift Item): ‘Completely and Completely Obliterated’: How Helene Swallowed a Mountain Town. ‘Just down the hill, and in every direction, lay almost indescribable scenes of destruction and suffering. Cars sat high in tree branches near the Swannanoa River. Homes had been destroyed and mutilated, then set far from their foundations – sometimes upside down, sometimes torn in two – wherever the river left them. A thick layer of mud covered the city, making many roads impassable and many homes and businesses buried, as in modern-day Pompeii.” Helene’s death toll rises to 120, while millions of people remain without power. “Many people drowned after disobeying evacuation orders; others were killed in their homes and cars by falling trees and road signs. At least two Georgians were killed when a tornado picked up their car. Deaths were also reported in Florida, South Carolina and Virginia.” Here’s the latest on NBC’s destruction.

+ A guide to healthy washing: “If you watched the speech, or even just snippets of it, you saw something completely different: an absolutely ugly and brutal attack on Kamala Harris, full of lies and racist misogyny.” Margaret Sullivan: The three stages of normalizing Trump’s attack on Harris in Wisconsin. (These are the same three phases we’ve seen play out for years.) Or like TNR says it: Oops, they’ve done it again: the mainstream media is burying Trump’s outrage. A few statements about what you won’t see in today’s down-to-earth headlines: “These people are animals… I will rid Wisconsin of this massive migrant invasion of murderers, rapists, thugs, drug dealers, thugs and vicious gang members. We are going to liberate our country… You have to take these people back to where they came from. You have no choice. You’re going to lose your culture… They’re going to walk into your kitchen, they’re going to slit your throat.” (Today the NYT editorial board endorsed Kamala, calling her the only patriotic choice for president. They should let their news bureau know.)

+ Here, now: “A far-right party founded by former Nazis won the most votes in Austria’s election Sunday, in a result that could reshape Europe’s political landscape and tilt the balance of power between Russia and the West… Austria joins a long list of countries across Europe where the far right now wields significant power after making gains this summer in Germany, France and the Netherlands.”

+ ‘Deer in the headlines: “Netflix has failed to convince a judge to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by the woman who inspired the stalker character in the hit series Baby Reindeer.” Netflix fails to get Baby Reindeer lawsuit dropped. (Why do I have a feeling this is all going to lead to another season of Baby Reindeer?)

+ Ports in a storm: “The strike could affect 36 ports that handle about half of U.S. ocean imports. That could impact the availability of a range of goods from bananas to clothes and cars shipped by container, while creating weeks of backlogs at ports. It could also fuel rising shipping costs, which could be passed on to voters already frustrated by housing and food inflation, according to logistics experts.” A port strike could cost the economy $5 billion a day.

+ A star is (air)born: “The story goes that Kristofferson was so desperate to get his songs into Johnny Cash’s hands that he landed a helicopter on Cash’s lawn. In the version Cash always told, Kristofferson emerged with a cassette tape in one hand and a beer in the other. “It’s a great story, and one where we have to believe the good even if it’s not true,” says musician Rodney Crowell, who became Cash’s son-in-law when he married Rosanne Cash. ‘But you know, according to John, that literally happened.’” Kris Kristofferson, musical rebel and movie star, has died at the age of 88. And John Ashton, recognizable for his roles in Beverly Hills Cop and Midnight Run, has died at the age of 76. .