Monster: At least 1,200 people are believed to be dead in the Philippines in aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, which has been described as the strongest storm ever to make landfall. The Red Cross reported an estimated 1,000 bodies floating in a river on the island of Leyte. Damage was heavy in the city of Tacloban, which has a population of about 220,000. Fishing boats are in the streets, vehicles overturned, and the airport was all but destroyed. A disaster spokesman said, “Almost all houses were destroyed, many are totally damaged. Only a few are left standing.” The storm, which has weakened from a category 5 to a 4, is headed toward Vietnam where evacuations have begun.

Dim Sum: Pope Francis is distributing a questionnaire to the world’s billion Catholics to ask what they think about everything from, contraception, divorce, cohabitation and gay marriage. In the church of “we’ll tell you what to think”, it is revolutionary that the Pope wants to know the opinions of his flock.

Gun Fired: Guns & Ammo Magazine fired its longtime writer Dick Metcalf for a column that suggested some minor compromise on gun control is not a bad thing. Metcalf argued that all rights are regulated in some way and the right to own or carry a gun is not compromised by, for instance, a requirement that the owner have some training. Following an uproar from absolutist defenders of the Second Amendment who say any regulation is an infringement. Metcalf took a bullet and the magazine’s editor said in a statement to readers, “I beg your forgiveness.”

Tick, Tick, Tick: 60 Minutes Correspondent Lara Logan apologized for her recent report about a security contractor who falsely said he was in the thick of the action during last year’s assault on the US consulate in Benghazi. She said, “We were wrong to put him on air.” The story coordinated with the publication of Dylan Davies’ book, “The Embassy House,” which was written under the pseudonym Morgan Jones. He also used that name for the interview with Logan. Threshold Editions, a conservative imprint of Simon & Schuster said it will stop selling the book.

The Obit Page: Muscleman Dan Lurie has died at age 90. Not as well known as Charles Atlas or Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lurie nonetheless was a star among body builders. He was born with a heart murmur and his parents were told he would not live beyond age 5. As a young man he trained even while working with his father in the moving business. He wrote in his biography, “To further build my muscles I would carry a piece of furniture up two or three flights of stairs and then ‘exercise’ on the way down.”

Further Northern Exposure : The lawyer for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says he client might go to rehab. The reputation of the 44-year old Ford, who admitted smoking crack, sank deeper with the release of an expletive laced video of him threatening to kill someone. The mayor’s own brother said, “I’ve mentioned to Rob, maybe go away for a week, a couple weeks, get your mind together.”

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