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1. Package bombs
Federal officials are concerned that more package bombs -- like the ones sent to prominent Democrats and CNN's New York offices -- are still lurking out there. They're specifically trying to track down a package addressed to former Vice President Joe Biden and considered suspicious because of similarities to other packages. The mailings of the pipe bombs, just two weeks before the midterm elections, sent shock waves through the nation. Thankfully, none detonated, and no one was hurt.
A motive in all this is not clear, but all the recipients -- Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, George Soros, Maxine Waters, John Brennan, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Eric Holder -- are targets of right-wing critics and President Trump. CNN's newsroom in New York was evacuated when a package addressed to Brennan turned up in a mailroom. CNN anchors kept reporting from the sidewalk in front of Time Warner Center, while other staffers turned nearby hotel lobbies and restaurants into temporary work spaces.
The President talked of the need for the nation to stay united, saying that "threats or acts of political violence have no place" in the US. Then, he turned around and continued his attacks on the media during a rally in Wisconsin. CNN's Stephen Collinson says the President squandered a chance to lead. CNN's Anderson Cooper, last night on "AC360," said: "We are not afraid."
2. President Trump & iPhones
Chinese and Russian spies are listening in on President Trump's calls made on iPhones. This startling claim comes from The New York Times, which says frustrated officials were raising an alarm about the President's refusal to stop making calls on unsecured phones. White House officials told The Times they "can only hope he refrains from discussing classified information when he is on them." China is using info from the calls to help develop strategy in its trade war with the US, the officials told The Times. It's less clear what the Russians are doing with their intel. Don't forget that Trump, during the 2016 presidential campaign, harshly criticized Hillary Clinton over her use of a private, unsecured email server, saying it could have exposed classified information.
3. Wall Street
Asian stocks fell sharply overnight, as the fallout from the big drop in the Dow continued. The US stock market plummeted more than 600 points yesterday, wiping out all its gains for the year. The Nasdaq, weighed down by poorly performing tech stocks, plunged more than 4%, its worst daily drop since 2011. It's officially in correction territory. Tech stocks took a nosedive after disappointing results from Texas Instruments and AT&T, CNN's parent company. European markets also opened lower this morning, but the declines weren't as severe as what was seen in Asia.
4. Florida governor's race
Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum got together for another gubernatorial debate in Florida, and race again was front and center. Gillum, who could become the state's first black governor, slammed DeSantis for speaking at conferences hosted by an anti-Muslim conservative political activist, saying that while he wasn't calling DeSantis a racist, he thinks "racists believe he's a racist." Earlier, DeSantis accused Gillum, the Tallahassee mayor, of lying about getting a ticket to "Hamilton" in 2016 through an undercover FBI agent. An ongoing federal probe of possible corruption in Tallahassee has dogged Gillum, despite his insistence that the FBI told him he was not a target.
5. Ethiopia
Ethiopia has its first female President. Sahle-Work Zewde, a career diplomat and senior UN official, was appointed today by the country's parliament. She replaces Mulatu Teshome, who stepped down yesterday. Teshome's resignation seems to be part of a big political reshuffling. In Ethiopia, the Prime Minster leads government and policy, and current Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed shook up his Cabinet last week by appointing women to half of the seats. Ahmed , who took office in April, has also appointed Ethiopia's first female defense minister, freed jailed journalists, bloggers and political prisoners arrested by prior administrations and ended a 20-year war with Eritrea.
BREAKFAST BROWSE
End of the road?
Looks like Megyn Kelly's troubled show on NBC is coming to an end. Her comments on blackface seemed to hasten her apparent ouster.
'It wasn't me'
"Friends" fave David Schwimmer proclaimed his innocence after a look-alike stole from a restaurant in the UK. We'll all keep cracking jokes about it, though.
Vegas, baby!
Nashville's heading to the Strip starting in February, when Lady Antebellum begins a 15-date residency at the Palms Casino Resort.
A good sign
The Boston Red Sox felt pretty good about their chances in the World Series after this rainbow popped up over Fenway Park. Now they're up 2-0.
TODAY'S NUMBER
The number of Cathay Pacific airline passengers whose personal information may have been stolen by hackers
AND FINALLY
Triple spiral
You've seen cascading dominoes. But this three-story set-up takes the art form to mesmerizing new heights. (Click to view.)
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