National News at a Glance

As Florence’s Power Nears the Carolinas, Residents Brace for the Worst

With millions of coastal residents either on the move or hunkering down anxiously in place, Hurricane Florence surged toward North Carolina on Tuesday, tracing an unusual path that could lead to tremendous destruction — especially if the storm dumps enormous amounts of rain as it moves inland. A powerful Category 4 storm, Florence should reach land by Friday, and when it does, is expected to be a monster. In addition to its powerful winds, the storm will slam the low-lying coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia with a huge, life-threatening storm surge, the National Hurricane Center has predicted.

President Calls Response to Hurricane That Killed Thousands an ‘Unsung Success’

President Donald Trump patted himself on the back Tuesday for an “incredibly successful” job in Puerto Rico, where the government estimates nearly 3,000 people died as a result of Hurricane Maria last year. Trump sought to assure the public that the Federal Emergency Management Agency was ready for Hurricane Florence, saying, “We are ready as anybody has ever been.” He boasted that the federal government got excellent grades for its disaster response in Texas and Florida, but the even better job done in Puerto Rico had been ignored. “I think that Puerto Rico was an incredible unsung success,” Trump said.

Interest Groups Turn Up Pressure on Senators Before Kavanaugh Vote

Pressure is intensifying on undecided senators before a vote to confirm President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, with one senator — Susan Collins, R-Maine — reporting that she and her staff have been targeted with a barrage of calls, including some using vulgar language and threats, to push her to vote against Judge Brett Kavanaugh. With last week’s confirmation hearings behind them, interest groups and advocates are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising to target Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. Also in the cross hairs are three vulnerable Democrats running for re-election in states won by Trump.

Cosby’s Lawyers and Wife Seek Judge’s Recusal Before Sentencing

Just two weeks before Bill Cosby’s sentencing, his wife and his defense team on Tuesday asked Judge Steven T. O’Neill, who has presided over the sexual assault case, to recuse himself, arguing that he had failed to disclose a bitter feud with a key witness in the case. Cosby faces up to 30 years in prison after being convicted in April of assaulting a former Temple University staff member at his home near Philadelphia in 2004. The Montgomery County district attorney, Kevin R. Steele, who prosecuted the case, dismissed the motion as a “desperate, eleventh-hour attempt” to stop the sentencing.

Worker at Arizona Center for Migrant Children Is Convicted of Sexual Abuse

A youth care worker at an Arizona shelter for migrant children has been convicted of sexually abusing teenagers under his supervision, federal prosecutors said Monday. The worker, Levian D. Pacheco, 25, of Phoenix, was convicted Friday by a jury in U.S. District Court of seven counts of abusive sexual contact and three counts of sexual abuse of minors. He will be sentenced on Dec. 3. “Ensuring the safety of all individuals held in federal custody is of utmost importance to this office,” Elizabeth A. Strange, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Arizona, said in the statement.

In an Increasingly Diverse House, Aides Remain Remarkably White

House aides write federal policy and multitrillion-dollar budgets, oversee the administration of government and shape the public’s view of Congress, but the top staff members of the House of Representatives are far less racially diverse than the country — or even the lawmakers who employ them. Just 13.7 percent of top staff members in the House are people of color, according to researchers at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a nonpartisan Washington think tank that promotes racial diversity in government. That compares with 38 percent of the country as a whole, and 23 percent of the House.

Branded Rockets and Astronauts on Cereal Boxes. NASA Chief Asks, ‘Is It Possible?’

Jim Bridenstine, NASA’s administrator, posed a question two weeks ago. “Is it possible for NASA to offset some of its costs by selling the naming rights to its spacecraft?” he asked during to a meeting of a council that advises NASA. Bridenstine has asked a committee of the NASA Advisory Council to explore whether it might be done, despite regulations or laws that seem to prohibit such activities. He also raised the possibility of allowing astronauts to sign endorsement deals. The proposal by NASA’s new administrator comes as the Trump administration has lofty goals in space.