1. Puerto Rico remains crippled days after Hurricane Maria, with many buildings on the US territory destroyed and millions without power. Officials warned it could be four to six months before electricity is restored across the island. Help survivors of Hurricane Maria HERE! (CNN)
2. Speaking from Indianapolis, President Donald Trump promised “historic tax relief to the American people” as he tried to build momentum behind his plan to overhaul the nation’s tax code. A budget watchdog group in Washington, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, says the newly unveiled tax plancould cost $2.2 trillion over the next 10 years. (PH)
3. Louisville head men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino has been placed on unpaid leave by the school over allegations that his program is among the schools caught up in the FBI’s fraud and corruption sting, a maneuver that Pitino’s lawyer equates with the Hall-of-Famer being “effectively fired.” Pitino released a statement claiming that the allegations—which involve a scheme to funnel $100,000 from Adidas to a high-school recruit—came “as a complete shock” to him, a response similar to the one he offered when a former assistant was busted for paying area escorts to hook up with players and recruits. (CJ)
4. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner died of natural causes in his home at the Playboy Mansion on Wednesday. He was 91. The Chicago-born businessman borrowed $8,000 in 1953 to create the controversial men’s magazine Playboy and shot to fame after the release of the first issue featuring a nude Marilyn Monroe. (HR)
5. Handwritten parking tickets are history in Portland, now that the city has launched the first phase of a new digital parking enforcement system. The city last week began issuing digital parking violation notices, a first step toward a system that ultimately will allow downtown visitors to get text alerts on their phones when their time is about to expire and even use their phones to buy more time in some cases. Portland’s parking enforcement staff are now equipped with computer tablets and wireless printers instead of pens and clipboards. Violators and scofflaws will still find the notices tucked under their windshield wipers, but the tickets can be paid online within minutes of a violation being issued. (PH)
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