HURRICANE HARVEY

The pictures and stories disseminiating from Texas following Hurricane Harvey are both terrifying and remarkable. From families being separated from rising flood waters, to alligators showing up on the front doors of residences, to complete washouts of roads and communities, the devastation from Harvey has been called "catastrophic."

At least 5 people have died in the storm, dozens of injuries have been reported and the search and rescue operations will likely continue early this week, as floodwaters slowly recede.

President Trump said he would travel to Texas as soon as the trip could be made without causing disruption to the rescue efforts.

Courtesy: New York Times

DNC LAWSUIT DISMISSED

In a story followed closely by IVN, a Florida judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by Bernie Sanders supporters against the DNC.

Judge William Zloch ruled, “To the extent Plaintiffs wish to air their general grievances with the DNC or its candidate selection process, their redress is through the ballot box, the DNC’s internal workings, or their right of free speech — not through the judiciary. To the extent Plaintiffs have asserted specific causes of action grounded in specific factual allegations, it is this Court’s emphatic duty to measure Plaintiffs’ pleadings against existing legal standards. Having done so . . . the Court finds that the named Plaintiffs have not presented a case that is cognizable in federal court.”

As noted in a story in the Washington Post, the suit, which its supporters promoted with the hashtag #DNCFraudLawsuit, grew out of the 2016 hack of the DNC that eventually led to the release of thousands of documents on the website DCLeaks.