Politics

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

The Washington Post reports: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Friday that he still plans to attend a major investment conference in Saudi Arabia this month despite mounting evidence that Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. “We are concerned about what is the status of Mr. Khashoggi,” Mnuchin said during an interview on CNBC. …

The Associated Press reports: The Senate confirmed 15 more judges late Thursday and left town until after next month’s midterm elections, as Republicans chalked up more wins days after Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. Clearing the judicial nominees provided a signature walk-off for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has focused on reshaping the judiciary with more …

The Texas Tribune reports: U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, raised $38.1 million for his U.S. Senate campaign in the third quarter, a new record for the largest fundraising quarter ever in a U.S. Senate race, according to his campaign. The haul more than tripled Republican incumbent Ted Cruz’s fundraising for the past three months, which Cruz has said was …

Law & Crime reports: A federal judge ordered the unsealing of a significant portion of the grand jury report sent to the House Judiciary Committee in 1974 regarding the infamous break-in at the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate hotel and President Richard Nixon‘s role in covering it up. The report is commonly referred to as the Watergate “road …

The Hill reports: First lady Melania Trump brushed off allegations of her husband’s rumored affairs, saying she has “much more important things to think about.” Melania Trump spoke with ABC News’s Tom Llamas while on her first solo tour throughout Africa. In the interview, which is airing Friday on “Good Morning America,” the first lady she doesn’t have time for …

The Week reports: Kimmel said he had no idea why they allowed cameras in to capture the Kanye-Trump Oval Office sit-down, “because not only was this a crazy conversation for this White House, this is the kind of conversation that would typically be held between people wearing hospital bracelets.” He played part of West’s monologue, annotated with Trump thought bubbles. …