Category 4: Central coast states already soaked and flooded by heavy rains are bracing for the possible arrival of Hurricane Joaquin, which has been upgraded to a Category 4 storm with sustained winds up to 130 miles per hour. Virginia, New Jersey, and New York have already alerted their National Guard.

Joaquin blew through parts of the Bahamas overnight and is heading up toward the Eastern Seaboard. Forecasters can’t precisely predict its path, but they believe the hurricane will stay offshore, possibly coming close to the New England coast next week.

Add to the List: Witnesses say the shooter at Umpqua Community College yesterday morning in Roseburg, Oregon asked victims their religion before shooting them. Ten people died and seven were wounded at the school in the small town between Medford and Eugene.

The shooter, 26-year-old Chris Harper Mercer, was armed with at least three guns and had a lot of ammunition. He was killed in a gunfight with the police. Local Sheriff John Hanlin at first refused to identify Harper saying, “I will not name the shooter. I will not give him the credit he probably sought.”

Hanlin, by the way, was one of hundreds of law enforcement officials who wrote letters to Vice President Joe Biden opposing new gun controls after the Newtown school shooting in Connecticut. He wrote that “any actions against, or in disregard for our U.S. Constitution and 2nd Amendment . . . would be irresponsible and an indisputable insult to the American people.”

President Obama spoke hours after yesterday’s shooting, condemning the “routine” of mass shootings and attacking the gun lobby, “Right now I can imagine the press releases being cranked out. ‘We need more guns,’ they’ll argue. ‘Fewer gun-safety laws.’ Does anybody really believe that?”

Permawar: Russia says it has flown 18 sorties in the last 24 hours against 12 Islamic State targets and that the air attacks could go on for three to four months.

After a third day of air strikes over Syria, Russia claimed it has been bombing the same targets the US-led coalition has been hitting, but there’s a difference of opinion about that. Russia describes its targets generically as “terrorists,” but the US claims some of them are rebel groups supported by America. The Associated Press reports that the Pentagon is weighing whether to use force protect the rebel groups it supports.

Papal Denuncio: The Vatican says the Pope’s secret meeting with Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis was not an endorsement of her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. Vatican spokesman, The Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Davis was just one of “several dozen” people the Pope met at the Vatican’s embassy in Washington. “The Pope did not enter into the details of the situation of Mrs. Davis and his meeting with her should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects,” Rev Lombardi said.

Politic$: Once dismissed as a fringe candidate, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has demonstrated that he has what it takes to raise the money necessary to challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. Spurning the support of Super Pacs that can provide super amounts of money, Sanders has put away $26 million in cash relying mostly on small online donations.

And striving to show her charming and funny side, Hillary Clinton is scheduled for an appearance tomorrow on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” Clinton is likely to bump up against the show’s Kate McKinnon, whose Hillary imitation will haunt the candidate throughout the election year.

“I’m speaking to you as a relatable woman on a couch.”

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