House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) died on Thursday at age 68 due to "complications concerning longstanding health challenges," according to a statement from his office.
The big picture: A longtime public servant, Cummings worked for 13 years in Maryland's House of Delegates before he was elected to represent Maryland's 7th Congressional District in 1996. He served in Congress for 23 years.
Cummings with a supporter after winning the Democratic primary of Maryland's 7th Congressional District in 1996. Photo: Maureen Keating/CQ Roll Call via Getty ImagesCummings with then-candidate Barack Obama. Photo: Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post/Getty ImagesCummings with Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, his wife, at the White House for a state dinner in 2014. Photo: Andrew Harrer/White House Pool (ISP Pool Images)/Corbis/VCG via Getty ImagesCummings speaking to Black Lives Matter protestors walking for Freddie Gray in Baltimore in 2015. Gray died from spinal injuries about a week after he was arrested and transported in a police van. Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty ImagesCummings announcing his endorsement of then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesCummings during Michael Cohen's testimony before the House Oversight and Reform Committee in 2019. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll CallThe Capitol on Oct. 17, the day Cummings' death was announced. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesCapitol workers lower the flag to half staff after Cummings' death. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesA person peers into Cummings' darkened office inside the Capitol. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Stocks took a hit on Wednesday, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrials Average and Nasdaq dropping more than 3% across the board.
Why it matters: The volatility is a break from the stock market grinding higher in the face of spiking coronavirus cases, a stalling economy and gridlocked negotiations over an additional stimulus package.
The probable path of Zeta, per the National Hurricane Center. Photo: NHC/NOAA
Zeta strengthened on Wednesday afternoon, on track to make landfall along the southeastern coast of Louisiana by the afternoon as a "significant" Category 2 hurricane, per the National Hurricane Center.
The state of play: Zeta is producing 100-mph maximum sustained winds and stronger gusts. The storm is gaining strength as it heads northeastward at 20 mph. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) requested a pre-landfall Emergency Declaration in a letter to President Trump on Tuesday.