Politico reports: President Donald Trump praised Confederate General Robert E. Lee at a rally in Ohio Friday night during a soliloquy in which he also praised a number of Ohioans, including Union General Ulysses S. Grant. “So Robert E. Lee was a great general and Abraham Lincoln developed a phobia, he couldn’t beat Robert E. Lee,” Trump told supporters at …

CBS News reports: President Donald Trump said in an interview with 60 Minutes that the Saudis could be behind the disappearance of missing journalist and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi, and if so, the U.S. would inflict “severe punishment.” In a clip broadcast on “CBS This Morning,” Mr. Trump said there is a lot at stake “and maybe especially so …

The Associated Press reports: Republican Sen. Ted Cruz says he’s willing to participate in a nationally televised debate with Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke — potentially raising the stakes on a Texas race already among the country’s most-watched. Cruz made the announcement while campaigning Friday in Houston. It came hours after O’Rourke announced raising a record $38.1 million over the last …

The Washington Examiner reports: First lady Melania Trump spoke candidly in a Friday night interview about disagreeing with her husband’s zero tolerance approach to illegal immigration that led to families being separated at the U.S.-Mexico border. “It was unacceptable for me to see children and parents separated. It was heartbreaking. And I reacted with my own voice. I went to …

Playbill reports: The first teaser trailer for Disney’s live-action Aladdin offers a wealth of riches far beyond whatever lies in the Cave of Wonders. We’re talking lush orchestrations, dramatic establishing shots, and what we can presume is a much more realistic Iago. The teaser also gives us our first look at Mena Massoud as the title role. Joining him are …

Politico reports: George Papadopoulos, the former Trump campaign aide whose overseas interactions set in motion a series of events that triggered the FBI’s Russia investigation in 2016, is slated to interview with House investigators on Oct. 25, his lawyer Caroline Polisi confirmed Friday. The voluntary interview, part of a GOP-driven investigation into the FBI’s handling of the Russia probe, will …

The Associated Press reports: Search-and-rescue teams began finding bodies in and around Mexico Beach, the ground-zero town nearly obliterated by Hurricane Michael, an official said Friday as the scale of the storm’s fury became ever clearer. But he gave no details on the number of dead. The death toll across the South stood at 13, not counting any victims discovered …

Reuters reports: President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he has not talked to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman but will call the royal leader soon, as questions mount about the disappearance of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. A delegation from Saudi Arabia has now arrived in Turkey as part of a joint investigation into the disappearance. Khashoggi entered the …

The New York Times reports: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has shifted his explanation for adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census, saying he now recalls discussing it with Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump’s former chief strategist, according to court documents filed Thursday. Mr. Ross, who faces a court order to provide a deposition to the plaintiffs in a lawsuit …

The Guardian reports: Two young Arizona Republicans tried to make a donation to a congressman while posing as members of a university communist party, in an apparent attempt to tie the Democrat to the far left. On Friday afternoon in Flagstaff, two men who called themselves Jose Rosales and Ahmahd Sadia walked into the campaign office of first-term Democrat Tom …

TMZ reports: Lindsey Graham is going high in response to Chelsea Handler going low, after she claimed to out him on Twitter. We got the Senator from South Carolina Friday at Reagan National Airport, and asked him about Handler’s #NationalComingOutDay tweet. Instead of blasting her — as many others have — Graham insisted Chelsea had every right to say whatever …

The Hill reports: First lady Melania Trump’s office is ripping The View and co-host Yvette Nicole Brown for remarks about President Trump’s “mistresses.” The fight began when Brown, who was filling in on the show for “The View” host Joy Behar, at one point suggested that Melania Trump might not be upset about the president’s affairs because she might have …

Reuters reports: Facebook Inc said on Friday attackers stole names and contact details of 29 million users in the mass security breach disclosed by the social media network late last month. The breach, Facebook’s worst ever, has exacerbated concerns among users, lawmakers and investors that the company is not doing enough to safeguard data, particularly in the wake of the …

Mediaite reports: This afternoon Matt Drudge, who rarely tweets these days, highlighted the millions of dollars O’Rourke has raised and said, “A Star Is Born! If Texas senate campaign fails, run for White House!” But he didn’t stop there. After showing a photo of a crowd of cheering O’Rourke supporters at a recent rally, Drudge even asked, “Is Beto the …

CNBC reports: The Food and Drug Administration is threatening to pull new e-cigarette products from shelves if the companies don’t prove they’re selling the items legally. The FDA sent letters on Friday to 21 e-cigarette manufacturers requesting information to investigate whether they illegally introduced more than 40 new devices and nicotine liquids to the market without receiving agency approval. Business …

CBS Los Angeles reports: Authorities formally charged a 47-year-old Lancaster man with attempting to threaten the life of California Senator Dianne Feinstein. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said Craig Steven Shaver faces one felony count each of attempted criminal threats and possession of a firearm — a revolver — by a felon. The case also alleges Shaver was …

CNN reports: A federal judge on Thursday set a trial date of Feb. 3, 2020, for the insider trading case in which Rep. Chris Collins, his son and another man are charged with securities fraud, wire fraud and false statements stemming from an alleged scheme centered on an Australian pharmaceutical company. Collins, a Republican from Western New York state who …

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports: Video footage of audience members waving their hands to “Purple Rain” at one of President Trump’s rallies apparently raised a red flag from some members of Prince’s estate, who issued a statement Thursday night asking that “they cease all use immediately.” The statement, sent out via Twitter, read, “The Prince Estate has never given permission to …

Penn Live reports: In a bizarre turn, Republican governor candidate Scott Wagner threatened to “stomp all over” Gov. Tom Wolf’s “face with golf spikes” as his temper boiled over about attack commercials posted by the Democratic incumbent campaign. Wagner, of York County, made his remarks in a video posted to his campaign’s official Facebook page on Friday. By midday, the …

Newsweek reports: Stephen Miller’s third-grade teacher, who said earlier this week that the Trump aide was a glue-eating “loner,” has now been suspended. Nikki Fiske, a veteran teacher in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, has been placed on “home assignment” after penning an essay in which she described a young Miller as a “strange dude” and recounted a story …