Tipsheet: Kavanaugh fight roils an already ugly political climate

View in your browser     Kavanaugh fight roils an already ugly political climate BY MELANIE ZANONA   Death threats. Heated protests. Nasty campaign ads. The political climate is growing increasingly ugly and personal in the Trump era, a sense that is being underlined by the confirmation battle over Brett Kavanaugh, whose Supreme Court nomination has been roiled by sexual assault allegations in the “Me Too” era and has sparked impassioned debate on both sides of the aisle. Read the full story here     Grassley extends deadline for Kavanaugh accuser to decide on testifying BY JORDAIN CARNEY   Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said late Friday night that he is giving Christine Blasey Ford more time to decide whether to testify on her allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Read the full story here     Five takeaways from Cruz, O'Rourke's fiery first debate BY LISA HAGEN Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) and Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D) lashed out at each other over immigration, school safety and police shootings on Friday night as they appeared for the first debate of their hotly contested Senate race. Here are five takeaways from Friday night’s debate. Read the full story here     Trump vows to get rid of 'stench' at DOJ, FBI BY JUSTIN WISE President Trump on Friday vowed to get rid of the "stench" at the FBI and the Department of Justice, hours after The New York Times reported that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein proposed secretly recording conversations with Trump and discussed a process to remove him from office.  Read the full story here       Rosenstein: 'I never pursued' trying to record Trump BY TAL AXELROD Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein issued his second denial on Friday of a New York Times report stating that he proposed secretly taping conversations with President Trump and discussed the possibility of Trump officials invoking the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office. Read the full story here     Hannity urges Trump not to fire 'anybody' BY TAL AXELROD Fox News host Sean Hannity late Friday urged President Trump not to fire anyone in the wake of a New York Times report that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had proposed secretly taping conversations in the Oval Office last year. Read the full story here     China scraps trade talks with US after latest round of Trump tariffs BY MARY TYLER MARCH Chinese officials announced early Saturday that the country was canceling planned trade talks with the U.S. amid an escalation in trade tensions between the two countries. Read the full story here     Murkowski says she’ll wait until Ford testifies before making decision on Kavanaugh BY TAL AXELROD Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), a crucial potential swing vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, said Friday she will wait to hear testimony from the woman accusing him of sexual assault before making her decision. Read the full story here     FEMA head to reimburse government for use of federal vehicles: report BY TAL AXELROD Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) head Brock Long reportedly plans to reimburse the government for the personal use of federal vehicles that he and staffers used to travel from Washington to his home in North Carolina. Read the full story here     Trump delays release of Russia docs after 'key allies' raise concerns BY MORGAN CHALFANT President Trump on Friday delayed the release of documents related to the Russia investigation that he wants declassified, saying the Justice Department’s inspector general is reviewing them after "key allies" raised concerns. Read the full story here     NY Times, McCabe give Trump perfect cover to fire Rosenstein, Sessions BY JONATHAN TURLEY OPINION | Based on reports that emerged Friday, President Trump could fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for being, at best, insubordinate or, at worst, conspiratorial. Read the full story here     What does it mean to be qualified to be a Supreme Court justice? BY DAVID SCHULTZ OPINION | Imagine that U.S. Supreme Court judicial nominations and confirmations were nonpolitical.  The president would nominate the best-qualified candidate, regardless of politics, and the Senate would treat its advice-and-consent role seriously. Were that the case, is Judge Brett Kavanaugh qualified to be a Supreme Court justice? Read the full story here     The Washington Post: ‘The storm itself is not our biggest problem. Our problem is what comes next.’ By Frances Stead Sellers When Hurricane Florence crashed into North Carolina’s coastline last week, just a tree or two fell in this tiny town along the Neuse River, 70 miles inland. Soon, the power went out. As high winds and storm surge battered eastern cities such as Wilmington and New Bern, the residents here — those who hadn’t already moved away — left for higher ground to wait out what appeared to be a weakening tempest. Read the full story here     Reuters: China says U.S. has 'no right' to interfere in Russia military cooperation By David Stanway and Ben Blanchard China’s decision to buy fighter jets and missile systems from Russia is a normal act of cooperation between sovereign countries and the United States has “no right to interfere”, defense ministry spokesman Wu Qian said on Saturday. Read the full story here     Bloomberg News: White House Drafts Order To Look Into Google, Facebook Practices By Ben Brody and Jennifer Jacobs     The White House has drafted an executive order for President Donald Trump’s signature that would instruct federal antitrust and law enforcement agencies to open investigations into the business practices of Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Facebook Inc. and other social media companies. Read the full story here     The Wall Street Journal: Moody’s Pegs Florence’s Economic Cost at $38 Billion to $50 Billion By Leslie Scism and Erin Ailworth     After a week of heavy rains and record flooding, initial estimates for the damage that Florence wrought on the Carolinas rank the storm among history’s top hurricanes, but far below last year’s trio of powerful cyclones. Read the full story here     The Associated Press: Iran: 24 dead, 53 wounded in parade attack By Michael Weissenstein, Ana Campoy and Omaya Sosa Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency says 24 people are dead and 53 wounded in an attack on a military parade in the country’s oil-rich southwest. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the assault in Ahvaz, which saw gunfire spray into a crowd of marching Guardsmen, bystanders and government officials watching from a nearby riser. Read the full story here         Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up for The Hill Tipsheet       Forward this Tipsheet     You might like         Privacy Policy  |  Manage Subscriptions  |  Unsubscribe  |  Email to a friend  |  Sign Up for Other Newsletters   The Hill 1625 K Street, NW 9th Floor, Washington DC 20006 ©2016 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.