Republicans are already planning to vote on Kavanaugh next week, even before the hearing with his accuser
Christine Blasey Ford, who is accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, will speak before the Senate Judiciary Committee this Thursday.
But even before that happens, Republicans are already laying the groundwork to vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Republican senators to stay in DC throughout the weekend, which would fast-track the final vote on Kavanaugh.
All of the Republicans on the Judiciary Committee are men. McConnell had previously said Republicans wanted to bring in a woman to question Ford, in order to keep the hearing respectful.
Now we know who that will be: Rachel Mitchell, a leading sex crimes prosecutor from Arizona, will ask the questions on behalf of Republicans at Thursday's hearing.
Two things you should know:
President Donald Trump attacked Deborah Ramirez, a second woman accusing Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct.
Kavanaugh’s Yale classmates remember him in “a drinky crowd.”
President Trump goes to the UN; the crowd laughs
Yesterday, the president delivered remarks in front of fellow world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly.
His speech was centered on sovereignty — specifically, on the idea that anyone who tried to dictate US policy through multilateral institutions or multinational agreements was a threat.
Trump also had pointed words about Iran, attempting to paint the Iranian leadership as a threat to the sovereignty of nations in the Middle East and around the world.
French President Emmanuel Macron used his speech to hold a mirror up to the US approach: He suggested it was the United States that posed this threat, by trying to hurt Iran’s economy and by suggesting sanctions on European companies that do business with Iran.
In an awkward moment, after Trump said, “My administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country,” the normally reserved UNGA broke out into a chorus of chuckles. In short, they lol’d.
Trump looked on and said, “Didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s okay.” The president then continued with his speech.
SNAPSHOTS
Bill Cosby was sentenced to 3–10 years in prison for raping a woman in 2004. Cosby will also be required to register as a sexual predator for life, becoming the first celebrity of his stature to be sentenced for assault in the #MeToo era. The entertainer’s lawyer had sought house arrest, saying Cosby is 81, is legally blind, and cannot live unassisted. But the district attorney pushed for the maximum penalty, pointing to what he said was Cosby’s lack of remorse.
Instagram’s cofounders abruptly resigned. Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger suddenly announced they are leaving the company they created. The pair said they were stepping down as the chief executive and chief technical officer of the social network. Sources say Facebook, which found out about their decision yesterday, was blindsided by the announcement. Systrom and Krieger founded Instagram in 2010 and sold it to Facebook for $1 billion in 2012. As of this summer, Instagram had 1 billion monthly active users.
A woman said she cut a baby out of her pregnant neighbor so her boyfriend would stay with her. Brooke Crews testified that she fabricated a pregnancy to keep her boyfriend, then killed her neighbor by cutting the baby out of her and claiming it as her own. Crews reportedly testified that her boyfriend, William Hoehn, had issued an ultimatum to “produce a baby” after discovering she had sent him a fake sonogram and pregnancy test. Hoehn is on trial for conspiracy to commit murder for his role in allegedly covering up the death.
Judi Dench says Kevin Spacey shouldn’t be cut from old movies. Speaking at a film festival in Spain, the British dame said that Spacey remains a “good friend” of hers despite the actor being accused of sexual harassment or assault by some 15 men. Dench had first brought up Spacey by recalling how he had been an “inestimable comfort” during filming together years ago after her husband had died. She added that Spacey “is, and was, a most wonderful actor.”
Making a Murderer is coming back next month with 10 new episodes. Part 2 of the Netflix documentary series will follow Steven Avery's lawyers attempting to prove his innocence as his nephew Brendan Dassey's lawyers argue that his confession was obtained improperly.
Here’s how millennials’ lives were changed by the recession 10 years ago
The financial crisis turns 10 this month. We asked to hear from millennials about how they were affected by the Great Recession, and got some powerful — and sometimes heartbreaking — responses.
For example, one person wrote in, “The economic crisis aftermath has affected my ability to have children. With my salary and student loan debt I can’t afford to have children, and it breaks my heart.”
Another submission: “I've only slowly recognized the effect that period had on me and my entire future, but I learned you can only move forward.”
And in the opposite direction, “Life is overall garbage, has been since 2008. There is no getting out of this hole; there is no moving up in the world. This is it.”
You should read what people had to say about the impact of the financial crisis.
A little boy kept parking his bike at the same lamppost, so a stranger did something lovely
Christie Dietz’s 5-year-old son has chained his little bike to the same post pretty much every day for the last year.
On Monday, they arrived to find a kind stranger had made the boy his own parking sticker.
Dietz said she left a little thank-you note for whoever did this, and shared the photos on Twitter, where people said it made their day.
It’s so sweet. This is what it looks like:
