Politics

Newsweek reports: Attorney for adult-film actress Stormy Daniels, possible Democratic presidential candidate and Trump-critic Michael Avenatti proposed Tuesday that he and the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., go head-to-head in a three-round mixed martial arts fight to raise money for charity. Avenatti first mentioned the idea to NBC News senior media reporter Dylan Byers at a Vanity Fair Summit …

The Washington Examiner reports: Disgraced former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner is set to get out of prison earlier than expected. Weiner, who was sentenced to 21 months behind bars, is scheduled to be released three months early, Federal Bureau of Prisons records show. Online records show his release date as May 14, 2019. Weiner has reportedly been a model inmate …

“You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about. That’s why I believe, if we are fortunate enough to win back the House and or the Senate, that’s when civility can start again. But until then, the only thing that the Republicans seem to recognize and respect is strength. …

Talking Points Memo reports: Pieter Hanson, whose mother’s “MY son” tweet went viral and prompted an onslaught of memes over the weekend, says he was disoriented and mortified when he found out that he’d become the poster boy of the #HimToo movement online. “It doesn’t represent me at all,” Hanson said. “I love my mom to death, but boy. … …

The Washington Post recaps a new anti-Ted Cruz ad: The camera cuts to a white-haired man sitting in a dimly lit restaurant, its walls lined with Texas license plates and vintage Route 66 road signs, a bottle of red hot sauce on the table. He clutches a diner mug in one hand. “Somebody left something on my door the other …

Politico reports: The Republican House majority continues to show signs of collapsing, with Democrats steadily gaining ground toward erasing the 23-seat margin and ending eight years of GOP control. A total of 68 seats currently held by Republicans are firmly in play — rated as “Lean Republican” or worse for the GOP — presenting a stark contrast to the Democratic …

CNN reports: “What was done last night in the White House was a political rally. It further undermined the image and integrity of the court,” Clinton, Trump’s Democratic 2016 election opponent, told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in an exclusive interview. “And that troubles me greatly. It saddens me. Because our judicial system has been viewed as one of the main pillars …

USA Today reports: President Donald Trump used a ceremonial swearing-in of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh Monday night to apologize for the “pain and suffering” the president said his nominee endured during his contentious Senate confirmation. “What happened to the Kavanaugh family violates every notion of fairness, decency and due process,” Trump said during an East Room ceremony. “You, sir, …

Buzzfeed News reports: Since Taylor Swift flexed her star power Sunday with an Instagram post that encouraged her 112 million followers to register to vote, Vote.org has experienced an unprecedented flood of new voter registrations nationwide. “We are up to 65,000 registrations in a single 24-hour period since T. Swift’s post,” said Kamari Guthrie, director of communications for Vote.org. Guthrie …

The New York Times reports: “You’re just supposed to believe somebody because they said it happened,” Mr. Cramer said, alluding to Christine Blasey Ford — who has accused Justice Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers — and, more broadly, women who have come forward to claim that they were sexually abused or assaulted. Invoking his wife, daughters, …

Politico reports: Just hours after casting a vote in one of the most contentious Supreme Court confirmation battles in history, Cory Booker stepped on stage in a packed Iowa conference hall and unofficially launched his 2020 campaign. Speaking before 1,500 energized Democrats at the party’s premier Fall Gala event, the New Jersey senator acknowledged their likely feelings of defeat and …

Reuters reports: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he does not plan to fire Rod Rosenstein, the Justice Department official in charge of the federal investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. “No I don’t, no,” Trump told reporters when asked if he had plans to fire the No. 2 Justice Department official. Rosenstein was flying with …

Via press release from the White House: Columbus’s spirit of determination and adventure has provided inspiration to generations of Americans. On Columbus Day, we honor his remarkable accomplishments as a navigator, and celebrate his voyage into the unknown expanse of the Atlantic Ocean. His expedition formed the initial bond between Europe and the Americas, and changed the world forever. Today, …

CNBC reports: Taylor Swift usually stays out of the political fray, but this year, with just a month to go until midterm elections, the pop superstar is getting involved in a big way. Swift stunned the pop culture and political worlds Sunday night with a lengthy, impassioned Instagram post in which she endorsed Democrats Phil Bredesen and Rep. Jim Cooper …

We’ll likely see a lot of these. From the right wing Hot Air: Could Sheldon Whitehouse suddenly find himself vulnerable to a Republican challenger in deep-blue Rhode Island? Almost certainly not, but it’s certainly fun to play out this string anyway. Bob Flanders launched a new ad highlighting the most excruciatingly embarrassing five minutes in recent Senate history — Whitehouse’s …

The New York Times reports: A far-right candidate who has spoken fondly of Brazil’s onetime military dictatorship came close to an outright victory in the country’s presidential election on Sunday, as Brazilians expressed disgust with politics as usual and endorsed an iron-fisted approach to fighting crime and corruption. Voters delivered a first-round victory to Jair Bolsonaro, who had stunned the …

CBS News reports: Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins on Sunday slammed opponents’ efforts to fundraise against her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court, calling them nothing more than blatant ploys to buy votes in a future election. “They are asking me to perform an official act and if I do not do what they want, $2 million …

Talking Points Memo reports: In 2016, when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced Republicans’ plan to keep the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s seat open until the next president took office, a year away, he issued a conclusive statement. “The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice. Therefore, this vacancy …

“Frankly, we are just less than a month away from an election. Folks who feel very strongly one way or the other about the issues in front of us should get out and vote and participate. There’s only ever been one justice that’s been impeached and I think talking about it at this point isn’t necessarily healing us and moving …

Politico reports: Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s first vote as a member of the Supreme Court could come as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday on a Trump administration request testing how much power courts should wield over top executive branch officials. The administration has already made one unsuccessful run at the high court on the issue: asking Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last …