Politics

Politico reports: Amazon CEO and Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos took aim at President Donald Trump over his criticism of journalists Thursday night, saying his rhetoric calling the media the “enemy of the people” erodes the freedom of the press the nation cherishes. “It is a mistake for any elected official in my opinion … to attack media and journalists. …

The New York Times reports: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo took a decisive step toward a third term on Thursday, quelling a threatened liberal rebellion by turning aside the insurgent challenge of Cynthia Nixon after a bruising battle to claim the Democratic nomination in New York. Mr. Cuomo had marshaled the support of nearly all of the state’s most powerful Democratic …

The Times Of London reports: Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire founder of a business news empire, is preparing to run for president as a Democrat, The Times understands. Mr Bloomberg, 76, a former mayor of New York with a personal fortune of more than $50 billion, has previously considered running as an independent but decided against it in 2012 for fear …

The Daily Beast reports: Gina Loudon, the Republican commentator and author, recently declared that she has scientific evidence that Donald Trump might be the “most sound-minded” president in history. It’s a claim that might carry more weight if her new book didn’t falsely describe her as having a doctorate in psychology. Loudon, who worked as a surrogate for the Trump …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: What would Jimmy Carter do if he became president of the United States again? Pretty much the opposite of what the current Oval Office occupant is doing. “If I were foolish enough to feel I could be president again, I think the first thing I would do would be to change all of the policies that …

Buzzfeed News reports: Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have referred a letter concerning Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to the FBI. The contents of the letter have been closely guarded by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, as well as California Rep. Anna Eshoo, who originally received the letter and shared it with Feinstein, …

Reuters reports: U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Thursday he had “no reason” to dispute Puerto Rico’s official death toll of 3,000 from last year’s Hurricane Maria, speaking after his fellow Republican President Donald Trump accused Democrats of inflating the death toll to make the president look bad. “Casualties don’t make a person look bad,” Ryan told reporters at …

Roll Call reports: Willie Nelson may be getting up there in years, but there’s always time for firsts. And for the first time ever, the 85-year-old country music star will take the stage to perform on behalf of a political candidate. Nelson is the headline act for a rally in Austin, Texas, on Sept. 29 for Rep. Beto O’Rourke, the …

The Washington Examiner reports: The Senate Judiciary Committee pushed a vote on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court until next week, and decided to vote on his nomination for Sept. 20 at 1:45 p.m. Kavanaugh’s nomination was included on the agenda for Thursday’s committee meeting, and it was expected the panel’s Democratic members would request the nomination …

CBS News reports: Bob Woodward’s account of a dysfunctional Trump White House has already sold more than 750,000 copies, Simon & Schuster (a division of CBS) said Wednesday, a day after the book arrived in stores. “Fear” is virtually assured of joining Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury” as a million-selling takedown of Trump. The pace of sales, which include print, …

Politico reports: The prospect of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort cutting a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller’s office to avoid a second criminal trial set to open next week doesn’t concern President Donald Trump or his legal team, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani told POLITICO. “We can see a reason why he might want to do that. What’s …

The BBC reports: Two men named as suspects in the poisoning of a Russian ex-spy in the UK claim they were merely tourists. The men, named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, told the RT channel that they went sightseeing in Salisbury but returned to London within an hour. They are accused by the UK of trying to kill Russian …

Was this really a big problem anywhere? CBS News reports: The government shuts down at the end of the month, and Democrats and Republicans seem unable to make a deal to keep it open. They are, however, united in trying to stop people from eating pets. The House passed a bill Wednesday by voice vote banning the slaughter, transportation, sale …

ABC News reports: Sources tell ABC News that Mueller’s office is seeking cooperation from Manafort for information related to President Donald Trump and the 2016 campaign. Manafort, however, is resisting and his team is pushing prosecutors for a plea agreement that does not include cooperation, at least as related to the president, sources said. A spokesperson for Manafort declined to …

CNN reports: Washington’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board met on Wednesday to consider a review into whether President Donald Trump has the character to sell alcohol in the nation’s capital. In a terse announcement Wednesday afternoon, the board said its interpretation of local law made them opt not to act at this time, allowing Trump’s DC properties to continue as they …

The Tampa Bay Times reports: A new Florida Chamber of Commerce poll shows Democrat Andrew Gillum leading Republican Ron DeSantis among likely voters in the Florida governor’s race. The poll, which was conducted from Sept. 6 through Sept. 9, asked 514 likely voters who they would vote for in the November gubernatorial election. 47 percent said Gillum, and 43 percent …

NBC News reports: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said today that the Senate races in this year’s midterm elections are going to be “very challenging,” comparing each one to “a knife fight in an alley.” Speaking to reporters at the Gene Snyder Federal Courthouse in Louisville, Kentucky, McConnell was asked if Republicans will hold onto the majority in Congress. …

The Associated Press reports: Stormy Daniels is telling her story in a new memoir titled “Full Disclosure.” The porn star, who alleges an affair with President Donald Trump, announced the book on ABC’s “The View” Wednesday. Set to come out on Oct. 2, it will detail her life and legal standoff with the president. Daniels says “there’s a lot” she …

Axios reports: The vast majority of Americans want to leave Roe v. Wade alone, a reality that Republicans will face if Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed to the Supreme Court and has a chance to overturn it, according to a new Axios-SurveyMonkey survey. The landmark decision legalizing abortion has overwhelming support across the board, including every category of key voters Axios …

The Washington Post reports: Days before in-person jury ­selection is set to begin in his second trial, President Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort is in talks with the special counsel’s office about a possible plea deal, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to ­describe the conversations, cautioned …