Republicans are going on the offensive against Kavanaugh accusers
At first, President Donald Trump said Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony was “credible.” Then this week, he mocked her at a rally.
His derision preceded a general change of course from Republicans, who are now going on the offensive against the women accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
Why the change in tone? For one thing, recent polling shows the Kavanaugh fight is riling up the GOP base.
The tactics are meant to damage the credibility of the women:
A letter from one of Ford’s ex-boyfriends leaked to Fox News claimed she had helped a friend prepare for a polygraph test, which is in conflict with her sworn testimony.
The Senate Judiciary Committee also released a letter from Julie Swetnick’s ex-boyfriend that did not directly address Swetnick’s allegations against Kavanaugh, but portrayed her as mentally ill and fond of group sex.
Key Republicans have criticized the president for mocking Ford’s testimony. Meanwhile, many expect the White House to receive the results of the FBI’s Kavanaugh probe today.
Slow down the news: Read Katherine Miller’s thoughtful piece on the personal impact the Kavanaugh story has had on our memories, and how one way or another, “you’re falling back into what you haven’t thought about in years.”
Seven officers were shot, one fatally, when they attempted to serve a warrant in South Carolina
The shooter opened fire on the officers after they tried to serve a search warrant just outside the city of Florence.
Authorities said three deputies were initially struck by gunfire, then the suspect continued to shoot at officers who responded to the scene.
The suspect, who was barricaded in a home with children, was taken into custody following a two-hour standoff.
A Florence spokesperson later identified the fallen officer as Terrence Carraway, a 30-year veteran of the police department.
SNAPSHOTS
The search is still on for survivors several days after a tsunami struck Indonesia. The country’s disaster agency said in a press conference that the death toll had risen to at least 1,407, adding that at least 2,500 people were severely injured. The figure is likely to rise as the number of deaths is yet to be confirmed.
A student was rejected by an Airbnb host because of her hijab. Nurjahan Saleque is a British neuroscience student doing her PhD in Germany. After inquiring about a three-month Airbnb rental in Hamburg, she received a message from the host saying, “sorry Nurjahan but as I saw you were wearing a veil I don't think you'd fit into our neighborhood.” After outrage on social media, Airbnb said in a statement that it had removed the host.
Vladimir Putin called former Russian spy Sergei Skripal a “traitor to the homeland” and “scum.” The Russian president’s comments come seven months after Russian agents attempted to murder Skripal and his daughter with a deadly nerve agent in the UK, according to British security services.
Mischa Barton is joining MTV’s The Hills revival. This feels like the Upside Down. The Hills was a spinoff reality series from MTV's Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. Laguna Beach itself was said to be inspired by The OC. Now Barton — Marissa Cooper on The OC — is joining the cast of The Hills. I need a flowchart.
Chelsea Peretti announced she won’t be returning to Brooklyn Nine-Nine as a series regular. I am immeasurably sad about this, and I am not the only one.
Christian Bale is unrecognizable as former vice president Dick Cheney in the trailer for Vice. But don’t take my word for it.
Here’s what’s happening with Jake Paul and Shane Dawson and why YouTubers are talking about sociopathy
If you don’t recognize either of those names, there’s a good chance YouTube is not your thing. Nonetheless, this drama is currently consuming the YouTuber community.
Shane Dawson, who has 17 million subscribers on the platform, said he would release an eight-part docuseries on fellow YouTube personality Jake Paul (also 17 million subscribers).
The series, Dawson said, would look at the controversial universe Paul and his brother Logan have created on YouTube.
Throughout the three videos released so far — essentially a YouTube stunt about a YouTube stunt artist — Dawson speculates over whether Paul and/or his brother are “sociopaths.”
Here’s the thing: Whether you follow YouTubers closely or not, these people have a massive reach. Dawson’s series has now caused his audience to start talking about antisocial personality disorder, aka sociopathy. We explain everything here.
Just to clear things up: There’s a lot of misinformation flying around about the disorder, so we also talked to experts and put together this handy explainer.
A British TV presenter accidentally pushed someone into a dock and it is so funny
It really shouldn’t be this funny, but it is. Alison Hammond, a noted British treasure, was presenting the weather from the famous floating map in Liverpool’s Albert Dock.
This wasn’t a random choice — it was a throwback to when they would do the weather forecast like this, with the forecaster at one point jumping between Scotland and Ireland.
Hammond had two assistants to help her jump between the islands on the floating map and, yes, you can absolutely guess what happened next:
