“None of This Was Fair”: the Kavanaugh Nomination Marks the Triumph of Trumpism on Capitol Hill  —  For the President, the whole fight has been the kind of win he loves: divisive and loud, with enraged liberals sputtering and his political base riled up.  —  By the time Senator Susan Collins …

Merrick Garland Has Recused Himself From The Ethics Complaints Against Brett Kavanaugh  —  Chief Judge Merrick Garland disqualified himself from handling ethics complaints against US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit announced Saturday morning.

F.B.I. Review of Kavanaugh Was Limited From the Start  —  President Trump, reacting to critics, said the F.B.I. should have a free hand to investigate.  But the White House counsel told him that would be potentially disastrous. … POLICE SHOOTING  —  White Officer Convicted of Murder in the Death of Black Teenager in Chicago

After Lots of Bluster, Trump Has a Week to Brag About  —  WASHINGTON — He promised so much success that everyone would be tired of all the winning.  But after 20 months that proved more arduous than President Trump once imagined, this may be the best week of his presidency so far.

Backfire.  —  At 12:30 in the afternoon on September 27, I don't think there were many serious political thinkers or activists on the Right who thought Brett Kavanaugh would survive that morning's testimony by his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford.  —  Eight days later—today—Kavanaugh all but secured his appointment.

“Cocaine Mitch” wins over deplorables  —  You know something rare has happened in the Republican Party when Steve Bannon is gushing over Mitch McConnell — the man he spent months trying to destroy.  —  Between the lines: In a text message last night, Bannon told Swan …

U.S. General Considered Nuclear Response in Vietnam War, Cables Show  —  WASHINGTON — In one of the darkest moments of the Vietnam War, the top American military commander in Saigon activated a plan in 1968 to move nuclear weapons to South Vietnam until he was overruled by President Lyndon B. Johnson …

$1.3M Banksy Artwork “Self-Destructs” at Auction  —  A Banksy artwork “self-destructed” at a Friday night Sotheby's auction in London.  —  “Girl with a Balloon” (2006) was the final lot of the evening sale at Sotheby's and ended things off with an impressive final price of £953,829 …

Petty Officer 1st Class Joseph John Pycior Jr.  —  The weekend before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, my entire family went to Baltimore to tour a railroad museum.  While in Baltimore, we trekked to Inner Harbor and went to a beautiful bookstore housed in an old industrial building.

A Reporter Who Wore A MAGA Hat While Covering A Trump Rally Has Been Fired  —  A reporter for an NBC affiliate in Minnesota was fired Friday, one day after he was spotted wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat while covering a Trump rally for the local TV station.