memeorandum: Former classmate of Kavanaugh's denies being at party in sexual assault allegation (Kaitlan Collins/CNN)

1:00 PM ET, September 19, 2018

Top Items:

Kaitlan Collins / CNN:

Former classmate of Kavanaugh's denies being at party in sexual assault allegation — (CNN)In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, another former classmate of Brett Kavanaugh's denies attending a party like the one described in the allegation made by Christine Blasey Ford …

Discussion: RedState, United States Senate Committee …, Washington Free Beacon, The Daily Caller, Grrr Graphics, Outside the Beltway, Daily Wire, Washington Times, Breitbart, The Federalist, Betsy's Page, Simple Justice, Law & Crime, The Resurgent, Commentary Magazine, NBC News and Sean Hannity

Maria Caspani / Reuters:

Opposition to Kavanaugh grows, support at historic low: Reuters/Ipsos poll — (Reuters) - A growing number of Americans said they opposed President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, as the candidate's confirmation hearings took place and as he fended off a sexual assault claim, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.

Discussion: Political Wire

Sophie Tatum / CNN:

Kavanaugh accuser wants FBI investigation before testifying — (CNN)The woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault says the FBI should investigate the incident before senators hold a hearing on the allegations. — In a letter addressed to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley …

Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:

“Cut Bait”: As the Kavanaugh Nightmare Escalates, Trump Is Gripped with Uncertainty as Ivanka Suggests Cutting the Judge Loose — The threat of losing the House and Senate has stopped Trump from going scorched-earth on Christine Blasey Ford. If Trump antagonizes women voters …

Lili Loofbourow / Slate:

Men Are More Afraid Than Ever — It is a remarkable fact of American life that hordes of men are now defending sexual assault. It's not immediately clear why. It seems like the very definition of an unforced error. But a substantial group, many of them in politics …

Discussion: The Week, Daily Kos and Vox

John Haltiwanger / Business Insider:
Mark Judge: Meet Brett Kavanaugh's high-school friend and the other man named in Christine …

Discussion: SIMCHA FISHER, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Wire

Jim Geraghty / National Review:
Another Alleged Witness Denies Seeing or Hearing What Kavanaugh's Accuser Claimed

Discussion: NBC News, Townhall and The Federalist

Byron York / Washington Examiner: In fast-moving events, Kavanaugh accuser refuses Monday hearing; nominee appears confident

Andrew C. McCarthy / National Review:
It's a Set-up — If Ford won't agree to testify, hold the vote tomorrow as planned.

Discussion: RedState, Raw Story, Hot Air and thenewcivilrightsmovement.com

Bob Brigham / Raw Story: WATCH: Katy Tur dismantles Orrin Hatch with epic mashup of his comments smearing female victims

Ian Schwartz / RealClearPolitics:
Sen. Hirono: Men Need To “Shut Up,” Kavanaugh Accuser Needs To Be Believed And I Believe Her

Discussion: TheBlaze and Shakesville

Willa Frej / HuffPost:
Kavanaugh Accuser Faces Death Threats Ahead Of Senate Hearing

Discussion: BuzzFeed News, The Atlantic, CNN and ThinkProgress

Alisa Wiersema / ABC News:
Anita Hill urges Senate to ‘push the pause button’ on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh

Discussion: Politico, LifeZette, HuffPost, One America News Network, Breitbart and The Hill

The Hill:

Hill.TV INTERVIEW EXCLUSIVE: Trump eviscerates Sessions: 'I don't have an attorney general' — in an Oval Office interview with Hill.TV launched one of his most ferocious broadsides to date against Jeff Sessions — , suggesting the attorney general was essentially AWOL and performing badly on a variety of issues.

The Hill:

EXCLUSIVE: Trump says exposing ‘corrupt’ FBI probe could be ‘crowning achievement’ of presidency — in an exclusive interview with Hill.TV said Tuesday he ordered the release of classified documents in the Russia collusion case to show the public the FBI probe started as a “hoax,” …

Discussion: Politico, The Atlantic, Fox News, Washington Post, Media Matters for America, Hullabaloo, The Daily Caller, Balloon Juice, AOL, emptywheel, Salon, Talking Points Memo, Sara A. Carter, Front Page Magazine, NPR, Business Insider and Mediaite

The Hill:
Trump hints at new executive action on immigration, wants filibuster-proof Senate majority

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The Week

Greg Miller / Washington Post:

‘The Apprentice’ book excerpt: At CIA's ‘Russia House,’ growing alarm about 2016 election interference — The warren of cubicles was secured behind a metal door. The name on the hallway placard had changed often over the years, most recently designating the space as part of the Mission Center for Europe and Eurasia.

Discussion: Raw Story

Marc Caputo / Politico:

Democrats fear Shalala campaign is in ‘sleep mode’ while challenger surges — The congressional seat was supposed to be the easiest of Democratic pickups. Hillary Clinton carried the Miami-based 27th District by nearly 20 percentage points just two years ago.

Discussion: Washington Free Beacon, Florida Politics and Naked Politics

Kathryn Lundstrom / The Texas Tribune:
Beto O'Rourke leads Ted Cruz by 2 among likely voters in U.S. Senate race, new poll finds

Discussion: The Daily Caller

Chris Kahn / Reuters:
Tightening Texas race boosts Democrats' hopes of taking Senate: Reuters poll

Discussion: The Week, POLITICUSUSA, Shareblue Media, The Texas Tribune and Florida Politics

Chris Strohm / Bloomberg:

FBI, DOJ Plan Redactions Despite Trump's Document Order — The agencies can't offer a timeline to finish their review — Holding back information could spark confrontation with Trump — President Donald Trump has demanded the “immediate declassification” of sensitive materials …

Discussion: The Week, Axios and Washington Times

Mike Levine / ABC News:
Trump ‘dossier’ stuck in New York, didn't trigger Russia investigation, sources say

Discussion: Talking Points Memo

Project Veritas:

BREAKING: Deep State Unmasked, Leaks at HHS; DOJ Official Resists “From Inside,” and “Can't Get Fired” — [This post contains video, click to play] — Leaks at Department of Health and Human Services: “It's kind of like the Nixon, ‘deep throat’ type of thing.”

Discussion: PJ Media Home, The Gateway Pundit, America First Media Group, No More Mister Nice Blog, Sean Hannity, Breitbart and twitchy.com

New York Times:

The Five Battlefields for Control of the House — The sizzling-hot day in the Santa Clarita Valley seemed far away inside the air-conditioned food court where Victoria Rust, 57, waited for a cheese pizza. Seeking refuge from the scorching heat is a familiar exercise for voters …

Discussion: CNBC, Political Wire and Axios

Jessie Opoien / madison.com:

Constituent called 911, suspecting drug deal, on Dane County Supervisor Shelia Stubbs while she canvassed for Assembly seat — It was a Tuesday evening in August when a Madison police officer responded to a call on the city's west side, where a silver sedan had been reported on suspicion of drug activity.

Discussion: Raw Story

Jonathan Van Meter / New York Magazine:

Can I Get a Hug? Cory Booker's got a lot of love to give, and he's betting that's what it will take to win in 2020. — Anyone who thinks it's nothing but teeth-grinding paranoia and rank misery in Washington these days hasn't been to the office of New Jersey senator Cory Booker. These people are happy.

Discussion: National Review, Townhall, Political Wire and Washington Free Beacon

Michael Hobbes / Highline:

Everything You Know About Obesity Is Wrong — From the 16th century to the 19th, scurvy killed around 2 million sailors, more than warfare, shipwrecks and syphilis combined. It was an ugly, smelly death, too, beginning with rattling teeth and ending with a body so rotted out from the inside …

Dylan McGuinness / MySanAntonio.com:

Flores defeats Gallego in Senate District 19 — Voters elected political newcomer Pete Flores to the Texas Senate on Tuesday, flipping a Democratic district red for the first time in 139 years and further bolstering Republicans' supermajority in the chamber ahead of the November elections.

Discussion: Townhall, The Week and The Gateway Pundit

Patrick Svitek / The Texas Tribune:
Republican Pete Flores upsets Democrat Pete Gallego in race for Uresti seat

Discussion: Townhall and Washington Monthly

Jon Caramanica / New York Times:

R.I.P. the Celebrity Profile — All glossy magazine superstar covers may look the same from a distance, but inside, you're never quite sure what you'll find. — Take the October issue of GQ, which features Paul McCartney. For decades he has leaned on familiar Beatles anecdotes …

Discussion: BuzzFeed News

Mary Spicuzza / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

‘Shame on Paul Ryan’: Randy Bryce's mom calls for GOP attack ad featuring Bryce's brother to be taken off the air — Randy Bryce's mom said she was deeply hurt to see a Republican group launching an attack ad featuring Bryce's brother. She called for that ad, which is part …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, twitchy.com, Mother Jones, Congressional Leadership Fund and NBC News

Washington Post:

Larry Hogan has commanding lead over Ben Jealous, Goucher poll finds — Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan holds a commanding 22-point lead over Democratic challenger Ben Jealous in a new poll that suggests the Republican is consolidating substantial support from groups that traditionally back Democrats in the deep-blue state.

Discussion: Political Wire

Zoe Forsey / Mirror.co.uk:

Woman's perfect Tinder date with ‘The One’ shattered by five simple words — They had been messaging for a while and she thought she knew him pretty well - but she was very, very wrong — Tinder can be a tricky game, so when one woman went on the perfect date she thought that was it.

Yahoo:

NSA leak fuels rise in hacking for crypto mining: report — Washington (AFP) - Illicit cryptocurrency mining has been surging over the past year, in part due to a leaked software tool from the US National Security Agency, researchers said Wednesday. — A report by the Cyber Threat Alliance …

WISC-TV:

Police respond to reports of shooter at Middleton office building — MIDDLETON, Wis. - Authorities are responding to reports of a shooter at a Middleton commercial building Wednesday morning, a Dane County dispatcher said. … The Dane County Communications Center dispatcher …

Discussion: Raw Story, KTLA and WTKR-TV

Kelly Weill / The Daily Beast:

Cody Wilson, 3-D Printed Gun Advocate, Charged With Child Sexual Abuse — The far-right figure allegedly met a teen on SugarDaddyMeet.com, where he told her he was a ‘big deal.’ — The founder of a an alt-right crowdfunding site and a 3-D gun-printing company was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a child.

Discussion: Gizmodo and Mediaite