Good morning, and welcome to RedState's "Morning Minute" — a brief glimpse at which stories are trending at the moment and a look ahead at what the day may bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to kickstart your day. 

TOP O' THE MORNIN'

Tim Walz's Self-Implosion Continues During Press Gaggle, and John Fetterman's Reaction Is Priceless

If you want to know why he hasn't been very active on the campaign trail, including doing interviews, this is why. He's a political lightweight who has no business on the national stage.

Joe Biden's Dawdling in Ordering Federal Troops for Disaster Relief Is Incompetent, Malicious, or Both

Why has the tap been turned off to military assistance for North Carolina and other battered states?

Kitties on the Barbie

And for the people of Springfield, their new residents, although in place now under temporary status, likely aren't going anywhere...ever.

WHAT'S ON TAP?

Today on Capitol Hill...

Same, same. Not a lot going on until after the election, but speaking of that — what on earth is going on in Texas that there's even a question about Ted Cruz's Senate race? (Or is that just a concreted push-polling/wishcasting effort?) Y'all better come through now, ya hear? 

Also, gang, listen up: Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) wants you to know that Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) is a phony. (It's a safe bet that none of her supporters will be voting for the Republican ticket anyway, but I'm sure there's an undecided out there somewhere who hangs on Nancy's every word...)

White House What's Up

President Joe Biden's aerial tour of the areas affected by Hurricane Helene continues Thursday with trips to view impacted areas in/around Perry, Florida, and Valdosta, Georgia. 

The Homestretch

Vice President Kamala Harris heads to Ripon, Wisconsin, on Thursday to deliver remarks at a campaign event in the late afternoon before heading to Detroit, Michigan. 

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump will campaign in Saginaw, Michigan.

Full Court Press...

Daniel Penny is due in court on Thursday for a pre-trial hearing in the case in which he's charged with manslaughter and negligent homicide for placing Jordan Neely in a chokehold on a New York subway last May. 

Mayor Eric Adams was in court Wednesday for a pre-trial conference. No trial date was set but a discovery schedule was entered in the case. 

In California, District Court Judge John Mendez issued a preliminary injunction against Gavin Newsom's ridiculous parody prohibition law. 

As anticipated, Judge Chutkan ruled Wednesday to allow a (half-heartedly) redacted version of Jack Smith's immunity motion to be unsealed, giving the breathless anti-Trump press oodles of shiny objects to play with. 

Meanwhile, would-be Trump assassin No. 2, Ryan Routh, received a November 18, 2024, trial setting — but don't expect that to hold. 

MORNING MUSING

Being the weather junkie that I am and being fairly familiar with the areas of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina devastated by Helene, I've been following along with the stories of heartbreak and survival fairly closely on X/Twitter, retweeting many of them, as I believe these are stories that need to be told. There are countless. I've struggled to keep my emotions in check at times because the sheer scale of the destruction and the toll it's taken on these communities is overwhelming. One particularly heartbreaking story features a family that lost three of its members after the roof on which they sought refuge collapsed — a husband and wife and their 7-year-old grandson, Micah. Their daughter, Micah's mother, was on the roof as well, but she managed to survive. She and her sister shared their story to a local news outlet. I avoided watching it intentionally because I knew it would utterly break my heart. But I finally did, and I'm glad. Turn your face to God, friends. He's got this. 

I've avoided watching this for several hours because I knew it would break my heart. And it did, and it does. But it also reminds me of God's glory.

Be still, and know that I am God — Psalm 46:10 https://t.co/jqNYF8buGN

— Susie Moore ⚾️🌻🐶 (@SmoosieQ) October 3, 2024

LIGHTER FARE 

Splish-splash!

The baby hated that blue thing but loves the doggy friend 💕 pic.twitter.com/PJ6u40Vwox

— Sun Crypto☀️ (@RadiantNatureX) December 1, 2023