memeorandum: The Death Toll for Afghan Forces Is Secret. Here's Why. (Rod Nordland/New York Times)

4:00 PM ET, September 22, 2018

Top Items:

Heidi Przybyla / NBC News:

Spokesman for GOP on Kavanaugh nomination resigns; has been accused of harassment in the past — An adviser for the Senate Judiciary Committee has resigned amid questions from NBC News about a previous sexual harassment complaint. — WASHINGTON — A press adviser helping lead …

Discussion: Washington Post, Politico, ThinkProgress, Reuters, Axios, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Balloon Juice, Joe.My.God., CNBC, The Guardian, POLITICUSUSA, The Week and Mediaite

Jessica Contrera / Washington Post:

Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford moved 3,000 miles to reinvent her life. It wasn't far enough. — When Donald Trump won his upset presidential victory in 2016, Christine Blasey Ford's thoughts quickly turned to a name most Americans had never heard of but one that had unsettled her for years: Brett M. Kavanaugh.

Bret Stephens / New York Times:

G.O.P. Leaders Can't Even Fake Respect for Christine Blasey Ford — They are struggling to pretend they will fairly weigh her accusations against Brett Kavanaugh. — The editorial board represents the opinions of the board, its editor and the publisher. It is separate from the newsroom and the Op-Ed section.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, RedState, Los Angeles Times, Talking Points Memo, The Hill and Mediaite

Washington Post:

Lawyers for Christine Blasey Ford say she has accepted Senate Judiciary Committee request to testify against Kavanaugh — The Senate Judiciary Committee and lawyers for Ford have been in negotiations for days about whether she would appear before the panel.

Discussion: Political Wire

Bret Stephens / New York Times:

This I Believe About Blasey v. Kavanaugh — I believe Blasey deserves to be fairly heard, not automatically believed. — I have absolutely no idea what, if anything, happened between Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford at a party in Maryland in the early 1980s.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money, No More Mister Nice Blog, CNBC, Townhall and HuffPost

Wall Street Journal:

The Presumption of Guilt — The new liberal standard turns American due process upside down. — The Editorial Board — “As Judge Kavanaugh stands to gain the lifetime privilege of serving on the country's highest court, he has the burden of persuasion. And that is only fair.”

Discussion: The Other McCain and The Daily Caller

Deirdre Shesgreen / USA Today:

Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford agrees to testify about sexual assault allegation — WASHINGTON - Dr. Christine Blasey Ford agreed Saturday to testify before Congress next week about her allegations that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers.

Discussion: RedState

Javier E. David / CNBC:
Christine Blasey Ford, accuser of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, agrees to Senate testimony …

Discussion: Power Line, National Review, twitchy.com and New York Times

Seung Min Kim / Washington Post:
Grassley adviser resigns after sexual harassment accusation

Discussion: NPR, HuffPost, Bustle, Politico, POLITICUSUSA and Raw Story

John Culhane / Politico:
Ed Whelan's Troubles Might Be Just Beginning

Discussion: ABC News, Axios, One America News Network and Raw Story

Michael Dresser / Baltimore Sun:
Gov. Hogan rules out state police investigation of Kavanaugh allegations

Discussion: Raw Story, ThinkProgress and The Intercept

Harry Enten / CNN:
Brett Kavanaugh is the least popular Supreme Court nominee in 30 years

Discussion: The Guardian, The Week and FiveThirtyEight

Christina Wilkie / CNBC:
Trump HUD Secretary Ben Carson claims Kavanaugh allegations are part of a centuries old socialist plot

Discussion: Joe.My.God., Outside the Beltway, CANNONFIRE, WTOP, Press Herald and Bustle

Gina Martinez / TIME:
Ronald Reagan's Daughter Comes Out As Sexual Assault Survivor in Op-Ed Defending Kavanaugh Accuser

Discussion: IJR, LifeZette and New York Times

Washington Post:

Former top White House official revises statement to special counsel about Flynn's calls with Russian ambassador — A former top White House official has revised her statement to investigators about a key event in the probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election, after her initial claim …

Discussion: The Hill, Axios and Mediaite

Alexandra Hutzler / Newsweek:

Former Trump Aide Jason Miller Accused of Secretly Administering Abortion Pill — Former Donald Trump aide Jason Miller has been accused of secretly administering an “abortion pill” to a woman he got pregnant during an affair, new court documents show. — The court filing …

Katherine Krueger / Splinter:
Court Docs Allege Ex-Trump Staffer Drugged Woman He Got Pregnant With ‘Abortion Pill’ [UPDATED]

Discussion: Political Wire, Hollywood Life, Law & Crime, Raw Story, Bustle and Joe.My.God.

Ben Brody / BloombergQuint:

White House Drafts Order to Look Into Google, Facebook — (Bloomberg) — 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 probes into the practices of Alphabet Inc.'s Google, Facebook Inc., and other social media companies.

Discussion: Raw Story, Your News Wire, Washington Times and LifeZette

Washington Post:

White House distances itself from reports that Trump could target Facebook, Google and Twitter with a new executive order — The White House sought to distance itself Saturday from reports that President Trump is considering an executive order that would subject tech giants like Facebook …

Discussion: The Verge

Jim Edwards / Business Insider:
The White House is considering an antitrust investigation into ‘online platform bias’ …

Discussion: Conservative News Today, Gizmodo, TheBlaze, CNBC, The Gateway Pundit and AOL

Emily Stewart / Vox:

Hannity's surprising advice to Trump on Rosenstein: “Under zero circumstances should the president fire anybody” — The Fox News host thinks the New York Times' story on Rod Rosenstein is part of a “deep state” maneuver to set up Trump. — Sean Hannity has a perhaps surprising take on a report …

Discussion: New York Times, Politico, ThinkProgress, Fox News and Breitbart

Politico:

Trumpworld divided on Rosenstein — not whether to fire him, but when — The disagreement between his advisers in the West Wing and those on Fox News aren't about whether he should, but about timing and stated justification. — Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham, once a top recruit to serve …

Discussion: FRONTLINE and WRAL-TV

CNN:
Smears of Robert Mueller are baseless

Discussion: NPR, Fox News Insider and Vox

Danielle Paquette / Washington Post:

China cancels trade talks with U.S. as new Trump tariffs loom — China has scrapped trade talks with the United States days before President Trump is set to escalate the commercial battle with a new round of tariffs, according to a person familiar with the discussion.

Lingling Wei / Wall Street Journal:
China Cancels Trade Talks With U.S. Amid Escalation in Tariff Threats

Discussion: Bloomberg, BloombergQuint, CNBC and The Week

Nelson D. Schwartz / New York Times:
Tariffs to Raise Cost of Rebuilding After Hurricane Florence

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA

Eli Rosenberg / Washington Post:

These six — yes, six — siblings of a Republican congressman just endorsed his opponent — Families are complicated, their private tensions and political disagreements often kept under wraps. — That's not the case with Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), whose opponent in the midterm election just got a boost from Gosar's siblings.

Discussion: Joe.My.God., RedState, Talking Points Memo, Mashable, The Slot and Phoenix New Times

Julia Manchester / The Hill:

Clinton would beat Trump in landslide in 2016 re-run, says Hill.TV poll — would lose the popular vote again if the 2016 presidential election were held again today, according to a new Hill.TV poll. — The survey conducted by Hill.TV and the HarrisX polling company found that 36 percent …

Discussion: POLITICUSUSA and The Daily Caller

The Texas Tribune:

Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke clash over immigration, Trump, guns during intense debate — U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Democratic opponent Beto O'Rourke held a feisty debate Friday evening at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. … DALLAS — U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of El Paso …

Discussion: Dallas Morning News, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Conservative News Today, Off the Kuff and Hot Air

Wall Street Journal:

No Sex Please, We're Apple: iPhone Giant Seeks TV Success on Its Own Terms — The tech giant wants to make scripted shows for streaming, only without violence, politics and risqué story lines — Tim Cook sat down more than a year ago to watch Apple Inc.'s AAPL -1.08% first scripted drama …

Discussion: The Verge, more at Techmeme »

mprnews.org:

MN Rep. Jim Knoblach ends campaign ahead of MPR abuse allegations story … Republican state Rep. Jim Knoblach abruptly ended his re-election campaign Friday as MPR News prepared to publish detailed accusations from his daughter of inappropriate behavior toward her since childhood.

Discussion: HuffPost, Raw Story, Political Wire and POLITICUSUSA