10 things you need to know today: September 5, 2019

1. Dorian regains strength as it approaches the Carolinas

Hurricane Dorian approached South Carolina early Thursday, forcing coastal evacuations in the Carolinas due to the threat of high winds and life-threatening storm surge. After passing Florida and Georgia just offshore, Dorian strengthened back into a Category 3 storm, with its top sustained winds rising to 115 miles per hour. The storm was blamed for one death in the U.S. after an 85-year-old North Carolina man suffered a fatal fall from a ladder while securing his house for the weather. Dorian is expected to follow a track up the coast just offshore, but "a little wobble could take it right onshore with some of those winds," said National Hurricane Center director Ken Graham. The storm left behind unprecedented devastation in the northern Bahamas, where it made its first landfall with sustained winds of 185 mph.

USA Today The Charlotte Observer

2. Bill blocking no-deal Brexit passes House of Commons

Britain's House of Commons on Wednesday approved a bill seeking to block a no-deal Brexit, dealing a fresh defeat to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his effort to usher the U.K. out of the European Union in late October with or without an agreement. Opposition lawmakers and dissenters in Johnson's own Conservative Party took over control of the legislative agenda late Tuesday when a defector deprived Johnson of his majority. Next, the bill against a no-deal Brexit goes to the House of Lords. Lawmakers rejected Johnson's request to call a snap election in mid-October, two weeks before the country's scheduled exit from the trading bloc. After Johnson threatened the early elections, more than 100,000 people applied to vote over 48 hours.

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The New York Times The Guardian

3. Dorian's toll rises in Bahamas, relief effort intensifies

Hurricane Dorian's death toll in the Bahamas rose to 20 on Wednesday and was expected to climb further as search teams reach devastated areas on Grand Bahama and the Abaco islands. Dorian was the most powerful storm on record in the Bahamas. It made its first landfall on Elbow Cay as a Category 5 storm with top sustained winds of 185 miles per hour, then crashed into Great Abaco Island, wiping out entire communities. Bahamian leaders said the country had never seen such widespread destruction from a hurricane. The U.S. Coast Guard, Britain's Royal Navy, and relief groups sent aircraft and boats to rescue stranded people, get survivors food and medicine, and search for thousands who have not been heard from since the storm cut off communications.

The Associated Press The Washington Post

4. U.S. offers reward for help blocking elite Iranian military unit's finances

The Trump administration is offering up to $15 million for information that helps the U.S. disrupt the finances of Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards, Brian Hook, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, announced at the State Department on Wednesday. It is unusual for the government to offer such a reward targeting a foreign state entity, but the offer is the latest move the Trump administration has made to ratchet up pressure on Tehran. The announcement came as Tehran dials back its adherence to the terms of its nuclear deal with world powers following President Trump's decision to withdraw from the accord last year and impose new sanctions.

Politico

5. Former Obama White House counsel acquitted on charge of lying to Mueller team

A jury on Wednesday cleared prominent Washington lawyer Gregory Craig of charges that he lied to the Justice Department about his work for the Ukraine government. Craig, who served as a White House counsel in the Obama administration, was found not guilty of one count of making false statements. The case emerged from former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Prosecutors said Craig had violated a law requiring him to register as a foreign agent because of a multi-million-dollar project Craig and his former law firm did for the government of Ukraine. Craig thanked the jury, which reached a verdict after brief deliberations, for "doing justice in this case."

The Associated Press

6. Trump administration weakens requirements on energy-saving light bulbs

The Trump administration on Wednesday announced rules dialing back requirements for energy-saving light bulbs. The new standards were passed into law in 2007 to help reduce energy use and emissions of greenhouse gases scientists say fuel climate change. Environmentalists said they would challenge the change in court. "We will explore all options, including litigation, to stop this completely misguided and unlawful action," Noah Horowitz, director of the Center for Energy Efficiency Standards at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said last week with the rule change looming. The shift to energy-saving light bulbs has been credited with reducing household energy consumption by 6 percent since 2010.

The New York Times

7. Watchdog: Child migrants separated from parents suffer severe trauma

A government watchdog reported Wednesday that migrant children separated from their parents under President Trump's immigration crackdown experienced more serious emotional trauma than those who remained with their families. The separated children "exhibited more fear, feelings of abandonment, and post-traumatic stress" than other kids, the report by the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general said. The children did not understand why they were taken from their parents. Others assumed they had been abandoned. Some cried inconsolably. The children separated under the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy also stayed in custody longer.

The Hill

8. Democrats embrace aggressive climate-change action in CNN forum

Democratic presidential candidates in a Wednesday prime-time forum hosted by CNN said that they would fight climate change with unprecedented action, with more than half of the 10 candidates embracing taxes on carbon dioxide pollution. Environmental economists say carbon taxes would be the most effective way to reduce emissions, while critics say an "energy tax" would send fuel costs soaring and devastate the economy. The candidates supported returning to the 2015 Paris climate change agreement that President Trump abandoned in 2017. Former Vice President Joe Biden said he would push mass transit to reduce car traffic. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said energy utilities should be moved to public ownership, while Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said the government should impose "tough rules" on polluting industries.

CNN The New York Times

9. Rep. Sensenbrenner latest Republican to decide against running for re-election

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.) announced Wednesday that he was retiring after 40 years in Congress. Sensenbrenner is the second-most senior House member, and the highest-ranking Republican to decide against running for re-election in 2020. More than a dozen Republicans have announced in recent months that they will step down at the end of their terms. Rep. Bill Flores (R-Texas) on Wednesday became the latest of several Texas Republican members of Congress to decline to run for another term. Reps. Mike Conaway (R-Texas) and Will Hurd (R-Texas) were among those who recently made similar decisions. In a statement, Flores, who has held his seat since 2010, said he was honoring a term-limit pledge he made when he was first elected during the GOP's Tea Party wave.

The Washington Post The Hill

10. Judge rules terror watchlist violates constitutional rights

A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that the Terrorist Screening Database, which contains the names of "known or suspected terrorists," violates the rights of American citizens on the watchlist. In 2017, there were about 1.2 million people on the list, which is maintained by the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center and used by several agencies; roughly 4,600 were U.S. citizens. People on the watchlist can face travel restrictions and closer scrutiny at airports. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security use the database to screen potential terrorism suspects, but Judge Anthony Trenga in Virginia found that "the risk of erroneous deprivation of plaintiffs travel-related and reputational liberty interests is high, and the currently existing procedural safeguards are not sufficient to address that risk."

The New York Times