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On this version of Hot off the Wire:

» Tropical Storm Idalia is barreling through the Carolinas on its way to the Atlantic Ocean after leaving a trail of flooding and devastation throughout the Southeast. Idalia was a hurricane when it made landfall Wednesday in a remote area of Florida, where it shredded homes and submerged streets. It weakened to a tropical storm but still packed 60-mph winds as it raced into Georgia and then into South Carolina.

» Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell appeared to briefly freeze up and was unable to answer a question from a reporter at an event in Kentucky on Wednesday. He had a similar episode weeks ago in Washington.

» 14 million travelers are expected to fly this weekend for the Labor Day holiday. Gas is $3.82 a gallon nationally. 

» The federal Medicaid agency says some children may have been wrongly dropped from the government health-care program as states undertake a massive eligibility review.

» A federal judge has held Rudy Giuliani liable in a defamation lawsuit brought by two Georgia election workers who say they were falsely accused of fraud.

» The Rangers fall from first to third place as the Mariners and Astros now share the AL West lead, the Cubs keep their playoff hopes brewing, a milestone homer for Bryce Harper and Novak Djokovic advances at the US Open along with Coco Gauff.

» President Joe Biden on Wednesday called Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to let him know that federal support would be available to deal with any destruction from Hurricane Idalia. 

» Idalia made landfall as a dangerous Category 3 hurricane in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula. Then it moved east of Tallahassee toward Valdosta, Georgia, where downed powerlines shut down part of the interstate highway into town.

» President Biden announced more funds would be made available to Hawaii following wildfires.

» The United States, the United Kingdom, South Korea and Japan are urging North Korea to halt arms negotiations with Russia following revelations Russian and North Korean talks on a weapons sale are advancing.

» A Massachusetts judge has ruled that once-powerful Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick is not competent to stand trial on charges he sexually assaulted a teenage boy decades ago.

» Cuba's President Miguel Díaz-Canel addressed his nation following Hurricane Idalia.

» Former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio’s sentencing for orchestrating the far-right extremist group’s attack on the U.S. Capitol has been delayed until Sept. 5. The judge was sick Wednesday.

» The stars of "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul" reunited on the picket line to call for studios to resume negotiations with actors.

» The U.S. economy expanded at a 2.1% annual pace from April through June, showing continued resilience in the face of higher borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, the government said in a downgrade from its initial estimate.

» Some 15,000 people, including many tourists, have pasted each other with tomatoes in Spain’s annual “Tomatina� street battle in the eastern town of Buñol.