Today's edition of quick hits:
* To appreciate the effects of Hurricane Sandy, take a look at the remarkable aerial footage of the devastation up and down the East coast.
* According to the most recent counts, the storm has killed 122 people -- 67 in the Caribbean, 54 in the United States and one in Canada.
* President Obama toured New Jersey today with Gov. Chris Christie (R), who continues to be quite effusive in his praise of the president.
* Syria: "The Obama administration on Wednesday renounced the proclaimed leaders of the Syrian political opposition and said any group seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad must reject attempts by extremists to 'hijack' a legitimate revolution."
* As of this afternoon, roughly 6.2 million homes and businesses in 16 states remained without power.
* I'm starting to get the impression that austerity doesn't work: "Euro zone unemployment set another record in September, official data showed Wednesday, with 18.49 million people out of work in a weakening economy. The jobless rate in the 17-nation currency union ticked up to 11.6 percent from the 11.5 percent in August."
* On a related note, though there was talk of possible delays, the Labor Department announced today that U.S. unemployment figures will be released on Friday morning, as scheduled.
* FEMA's disgraced former director, Michael Brown, complained yesterday that the agency was responding too quickly to the Sandy crisis. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate responded this morning, "Better to be fast than to be late."
* As Republicans get a little hysterical about Benghazi, Condoleezza Rice thinks it's better not to "jump to conclusions."
* And Ezra Klein did a terrific job creating an interactive tool trying to make Mitt Romney's ridiculous tax plan add up. Take a look; it's really well done.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
