Want to drive into central London? It’ll cost you $28 every time if you drive an old, polluting junker of a car. Here’s what else you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. (You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.)
1. Niger attack
We have some new details on the attack in Niger that left four US soldiers dead, thanks to a timeline laid out by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford. The 12-member team was on its way back to its operating base when it was attacked by about 50 members of ISIS. The troops didn’t call for help for about an hour. French jets arrived about an hour after that. Dunford thinks the team initially felt it could handle the firefight, and investigators will focus on why it took them so long to ask for help. Dunford also said it doesn’t seem like the troops were acting outside of their orders.
Even with these new details, there are still a ton of unanswered questions, including why Sgt. La David Johnson was separated from his team during the firefight, and why his body was recovered 48 hours later nearly a mile away from the ambush.
Meanwhile, the controversy over President Trump’s condolence call to Johnson’s widow rages on. Myeshia Johnson said the President’s tone during the call upset her and that Trump stumbled on her husband’s name. Trump disputed the widow’s account of the call in a tweet. CNN’s Chris Cillizza said the unseemly battle with a Gold Star widow was an example of Trump taking the lowest of low roads. Don Lemon wrote an open letter to the President, simply asking him to stop doing, well, pretty much everything.
2. Sexual harassment claims
New Orleans celebrity chef John Besh stepped down Monday from the company he founded amid sexual harassment allegations against him and other male employees. Besh, 49, has not responded directly to the claims made by 25 current and former female employees, which were revealed in a seven-month investigation by The Times-Picayune and NOLA.com.
With these allegations, the restaurant industry is now under the same spotlight recently shone on other sectors for allegedly harboring a workplace harassment culture. Megyn Kelly hit back yesterday at Bill O’Reilly, saying she’s not buying his latest defense against harassment allegations by another former Fox News colleague. And Hollywood is responding to accusations by more than 30 women of sexual harassment by screenwriter and director James Toback.
3. Tax overhaul
The President promised that the tax break for 401(k)s will not change under the tax overhaul proposal he wants to get through Congress, even though some Republicans wanted a serious reduction in that tax break to help pay for all the tax cuts Trump’s been promising. The GOP is also considering eliminating the deduction for state and local taxes. That’s not popular at all in high-tax states, like New York and California. The bottom line is that the Republicans are going to have a heck of a time doing this without ballooning the deficit.
4. Climate change
A government agency says the nation will pay dearly if we don’t do something soon about climate change. The Government Accountability Office says the US has spent more than $350 billion over the past decade in response to extreme weather and fire events. And it warns the nation will spend far more than that if global emission rates don’t go down. The GAO urges the Trump administration – which is pulling the US out of the Paris climate accords, in case you’d forgotten – to use the report to “craft appropriate federal responses.”
5. World Series
It’s going to feel a lot like summer when the first pitch in baseball’s Fall Classic is thrown this evening in Los Angeles. It’ll be about 99 degrees when the L.A. Dodgers host the Houston Astros in Game 1 of the World Series. If this hot forecast holds, that’d be the hottest first-pitch temperature ever in the Series.
The Dodgers, who have won it all six times, are favorites to win the championship again. But the Astros, who have never won a World Series in 55 years of baseball, are the sentimental faves, because they’re doing it for the folks back home still struggling after Hurricane Harvey.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
People are talking about these. Read up. Join in.
Total recall
There’s a big recall of veggies going on across the US and Canada. Products from Mann Packing might be contaminated with listeria.
One and done
ESPN pulled the plug on the late-night talk show “Barstool Van Talk” after just one episode due to concerns over the Barstool website’s bawdy content.
Drawing, undressed
Did you know there’s a sketch out there called the “Nude Mona Lisa?” And it might be the work of Leonardo da Vinci as well.
Universal appeal
Stephen Hawking’s doctoral thesis is available online, but good luck trying to read it. All those would-be scientists logging on crashed the website.
Fit for a king
A $90 million funeral? Thailand’s sparing no expense as it prepares to cremate its late king. Meet the artists prepping sculptures for the week-long extravaganza.
Up in the air
She’s 24 years old. She flies a Boeing 717. And she has an Instagram account that’s soaring in popularity.
WHAT’S FOR LUNCH
Sign of recovery
Puerto Rico, still struggling after Hurricane Maria, takes a small step toward normalcy when some public schools reopen today.
NUMBER OF THE DAY
1,000
That’s how many new flight attendants Delta will hire next year. So far, more than 125,000 people have applied, so, if you’re interested, good luck.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We’ve never been friends.”
Actress Kim Cattrall, laying out why there probably won’t be another “Sex and the City” movie with her former co-stars
AND FINALLY …
Pet parade
Cute dogs and kooky costumes. What more do you need for a Halloween parade? (Click to view)