Politics

CBS News reports: President Trump is holding a rare open-ended press conference in New York after the United Nations General Assembly. This comes as his Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, faces increased scrutiny ahead of a Thursday hearing with one of his accusers. While Mr. Trump met with the world’s top leaders Wednesday, it was domestic politics that dominated headlines, …

Lawyers for Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford this afternoon released the results of the polygraph test she took in August of this year. Ford during the interview told the examiner that she was pulled into a room by either Kavanaugh or his friend Mark Judge during a Montgomery County, Md. party in the 1980s. She said Kavanaugh “got on top …

Talking Points Memo reports: The chief counsel of the Judicial Crisis Network, which has run an aggressive and well-funded campaign in support of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, struggled on Wednesday to continue to support that confirmation in an interview just minutes after new allegations against Kavanaugh were revealed. “I think we have to look into this further, but …

CBS News reports: Sen. Jeff Merkley filed a lawsuit Wednesday to stop Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation process, citing what he believes to be unconstitutional presidential interference. Merkley said via Twitter that he plans to sue President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The lawsuit argues that the Trump administration’s unprecedented withholding of substantial parts of Kavanaugh’s record has …

Republican Sen. Jeff Flake just gave an emotional speech on the Senate floor in which he said that Kavanuagh’s accusers deserve an apology. “These people are not props for us to make our political points,” he said. Flake also went after Trump, saying, “I do not believe that a claim of sexual assault is invalid because a 15-year-old girl didn’t …

Reuters reports: Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday called on U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to withdraw in light of the sexual misconduct allegations against him, and said if he does not, an FBI investigation is needed before any Senate vote. “If our Republican colleagues proceed without an investigation, it would be a travesty for the honor of …

The Washington Post reports: Supreme Court nominee Kavanaugh says he was “not perfect” in high school, drank beer with friends, but denies sexual assault. In his prepared testimony for Thursday’s Senate hearing, Brett M. Kavanaugh said he drank beer usually on weekends and “sometimes I had too many.” “In retrospect, I said and did things in high school that make …

The Rising reports: The counsel of the conservative organization representing Brett Kavanaugh on Wednesday said that the FBI should have probed Christine Blasey Ford’s sexual assault allegations against the Supreme Court nominee before they were revealed to the press. “I agree, they should have investigated this,” Carrie Severino told Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton when asked why the FBI did …

The Guardian reports: The Trump administration has warned Tehran that there would be “hell to pay” if it continued to “cross” the US and its allies. The threat was delivered by the national security adviser, John Bolton, a longtime Iran hawk who told an audience of anti-Tehran activists: “The murderous regime and its supporters will face significant consequences if they …

CBS News reports: Even as world leaders step up to the podium at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, the lion’s share of attention will be down the hall, where President Trump will be chairing the Security Council. It will be his first experience in leading a session of the U.N.’s most powerful body, where the U.S. currently holds the …

USA Today reports: New polls show Democrats doing well in the Great Lakes industrial states that were crucial to President Donald Trump’s victory. Democratic senatorial candidates have double-digit leads in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to Ipsos Public Affairs polls released Wednesday. Democrats running for governor in those states also have healthy advantages. Democratic challenger Tony Evers is ahead of …

“I have no doubt that the Russians have every intention of making life difficult for every American. This has been going on for decades. So please know, the American people should know, that the U.S. government is actively engaged in efforts to ensure the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, North Koreans – all of those – with malintent for America, will not …

Politico reports: Democrats have all the cover they need to vote in lockstep against Brett Kavanaugh. But a half-dozen of them have refused to go there, even after the pair of sexual assault allegations against the Supreme Court nominee. Democratic insiders are feeling more bullish than ever that the party’s 49 caucus members ultimately will oppose Kavanaugh. Yet the undeclared …

The Hill reports: The attorney for the second woman to accuse Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct said Wednesday that the woman, Deborah Ramirez, is willing to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the alleged incident. “She would be willing to testify, but we can’t even talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee about what that would look …

The New York Times reports: Tom Steyer, the billionaire investor and Democratic activist, has directed his political operation to spend more than $5 million aiding Andrew Gillum’s campaign for governor of Florida, an enormous investment that will test whether fired-up Democratic voters can flip control of a state long dominated by Republicans. The campaign between Mr. Gillum, who is the …

CNBC reports: The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, according to a notice sent out by the panel. The committee will choose whether to approve Kavanaugh’s nomination fewer than 24 hours after Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford appear before the panel to discuss Ford’s allegation that Kavanaugh sexually …

Politico reports: Senate Republicans have hired an attorney to use as a questioner of Christine Blasey Ford at Thursday’s high-stakes hearing on a sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh but are declining to name her. Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) told POLITICO on Tuesday as he entered the Capitol for a weekly GOP meeting that “we aren’t …

France 24 reports: French President Emmanuel Macron called for “dialogue and multilateralism” to resolve the world’s crises in a speech at the UN Tuesday delivered minutes after US President Donald Trump blasted international “interference” in policy-making. “What will bring a real solution to the situation in Iran and what has already stabilised it? The law of the strongest? Pressure from …

The New York Times reports: Representative Chris Collins, a New York Republican indicted on insider trading charges, just jumped back into the race for his House seat, but he’s already making waves with a negative ad. Mr. Collins attacked his Democratic challenger for the Buffalo-area seat, Nate McMurray, in a racially tinged television ad that draws on a video that …

Wired reports: Twitter on Tuesday announced a new policy addressing “dehumanizing speech,” which will take effect later this year, and for the first time the public will be able to formally provide the company with feedback on the proposed rule. The policy will prohibit “content that dehumanizes others based on their membership in an identifiable group, even when the material …