SATELLITE IMAGE of Hurricane Matthew (FEMA photo).

As Hurricane Matthew surges closer to the U.S. mainland, it has left a death tool of 11 people on Haiti. Hundreds of thousands of people are being evacuated from Florida and South Carolina Wednesday, according to USA Today. The storm, packing winds of up to 120 miles an hour, is expected to strike parts of the Florida coast by early Thursday. “People have less than 24 hours to prepare,” Florida Gov. Rick Scott said. “Having a plan could be the difference between life and death.” A state of emergency has been declared not just in those two states but also in Georgia and North Caroline. Matthew is being called the most powerful Atlantic storm since Hurricane Felix in 2007.

Govt. contractor accused of stealing secrets

Harold Thomas Martin III, 51, a government contractor working with the National Security Agency, has been arrested for allegedly stealing top secret intelligence, CNN is reporting. A criminal complaint has been filed against Martin for theft of government property and unauthorized removal or retention of classified materials. Reports say that among the documents stolen were some hacking tools allowing the NSA to break into computer systems of other countries.

MIKE PENCE, governor of Indiana (Wikipedia).

Pence “won” the veep debate, but ….

The consensus in the aftermath of the vice presidential debate is that the Republican nominee, Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana, turned in a better performance than Democrat Tim Kaine of Virginia. CNN’s instant poll showed that 48 percent of those who watched the debate have the edge to Pence, and 42 percent to Kaine. A CBS News focus group of undecided voters gave an overwhelming edge to Pence, but here’s the catch. Only one of those 20 or so in the group said the debate would be a decisive influence on election day.

SWAT team captures killer of sheriff’s sergeant

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that a SWAT team has arrested the man who allegedly fatally shot a sheriff’s sergeant Wednesday afternoon in Lancaster. Sgt. Steve Owen, a 29-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, was shot in the face when he responded to a report of a robbery in progress at an apartment complex around 12:30 p.m. The gunman was identified only as an Antelope Valley resident on active parole.

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