Patch Morning Briefing: Missile Strike On Syria; Nunes Steps Aside; Stealing Birch Trees

It's Friday, and we're as surprised as you are. Here are a few things that we think you should know as you bring this week to an end.

President Trump Orders Missile Strike Against Syria

One day after the president decried the horrors of the chemical attack in Syria — a 180 from when he urged President Obama not to get involved militarily after an earlier chemical attack — he ordered a military strike against them. Fifty-nine Tomahawk missiles slammed into the air base where the Syrians had launched the chemical attack. (Patch).

Senate Goes Nuclear, And By Friday Afternoon Gorsuch Should Be a Justice

Senate Republicans, determined to have what they denied Democrats last year, changed the rules of the Senate Thursday. As a result, on Friday they are expected to confirm Neil Gorsuch as the next associate justice of the Supreme Court with a simple majority. (Patch).

News Minute

Don Rickles Dies: The World Seems Nicer And Sadder

Don Rickles was the court jester to the Rat Pack, and if you don't know what that means, head to Google and YouTube. He was a comedian, who, if he didn't invent insult comedy...well, yeah. He did. He was funny, insightful, made Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin laugh, played Vegas every year since 1959, and paved the way for generations of comedians. He was 90 and died of kidney failure at his home in Los Angeles. (Patch).

Hurricane Season Should Be Below Average, Researchers Say

Research at Colorado State University's Tropical Meteorology Project see 11 named storms coming up this season. They think four of them will become hurricanes and two of those will be major storms — Category 3 or above. The season starts June 1, so wait and see. (Patch).

Mexican Top Cop Linked to Cartel Members

A former Mexican Federal Police Commander used his position to tip off the targets of U.S.-based drug probes, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago. They filed a complaint charging Ivan Reyes Arzate with passing information he knew as the liaison between the U.S. and Mexico to cartel members. (Patch).

Rep. Devin Nunes Steps Aside From House Russia Probe

With himself the target of a separate probe, Rep. Devin Nunes - the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee - said that he is recusing himself from the probes into connections between Trump associates and Russia and into Russia's meddling in the election. He will stay, however, as chairman of the committee. (Patch).

Principal Tells HS Student He Can't Bring Grandma To Prom

It seems like a perfect story: high school student adores his 69-year-old grandmother who never went to a prom. So, he decides to bring her. She buys a beautiful dress. And then the principal says no, citing a rule forbidding anyone older than 20 from attending because they might bring booze. Really. (Patch).

Seattle Mayor Accused Of Molesting Teen In 1980s

A lawsuit accused Seattle Mayor Ed Murray of having "criminally and repeatedly raped" a 15-year-old boy in the mid-1980s. The plaintiff says he was addicted to crack and working as a prostitute at the time. Murray denies the allegations (Patch).

Prized for their distinctive bark and slim branches, paper white birch trees in Wisconsin and Minnesota have become the target of tree bandits looking to capitalize on their new popularity among designers. (Patch).

Lizard Clean-Up In Aisle Three

That's kind of what confronted the Venom Unit of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue when it was called to a Walmart SuperCenter on Thursday. The unit, which usually deals with alligators and really long Burmese Pythons, had to deal with a foot-long spiny lizard who crawled into the store. And she was pregnant. She was captured and safely released. Presumably she and eggs are doing well. (Patch).

Fed Judge Rules AZ Child Molestation Law Unconstitutional

It's not that the judge is soft on crime. The law had two basic problems, he wrote: It was so broad a parent changing a diaper and a doctor treating a child could both be convicted, and the law puts the burden of proof on the defendant rather than the state. So much for presumed innocent. (Patch).

Billy Joel Rocks The Renovated House

The Piano Man returned to Long Island to play the inaugural concert at the newly renovated Nassau Coliseum. He played 33 songs — one for each time he has played the Coliseum — for the 16,000 people who helped make the show a sell-out. (Patch).

On This Date In History

451 - Attila the Hun (yes, he was real) sacks the town of Metz and attacks other towns in Gaul.

1906 - Mount Vesuvius erupts, leaving Naples in ruins.

1933 - Prohibition on beer is repealed. Full repeal comes eight months later.

1990 - Former Reagan National Security Adviser John Pointdexter is convicted for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal, though his conviction would be overturned on appeal.

2003 - U.S. forces capture Baghdad.

Celebrity Births

1770 - English poet William Wordsworth

1897 - Reporter Walter Winchell

1915 - Singer Billie Holiday

1928 - "All the President's Men" director Alan Pakula

1960 - Boxer Buster Douglas, who pulled off a stunning upset, beating then-undefeated Mike Tyson to become champion of the world.

And that's the week. See you back here on Monday.

Photo credit: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais