Trump administration considers travel ban-like order for Mexican border  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is considering an executive action that could use travel ban-like authority to block certain asylum seekers at the Mexican border, sources familiar with the discussions said Thursday.

New questions raised about Avenatti claims regarding Kavanaugh  —  “I do not like that he twisted my words,” one woman says of lawyer Michael Avenatti.  —  When Sen. Chuck Grassley referred attorney Michael Avenatti and his client Julie Swetnick to the Justice Department for criminal investigation Thursday …

Newt Gingrich: 'We'll see whether or not the Kavanaugh fight was worth it'  —  Megyn Kelly's rocky two years at NBC  —  Saudi Arabia concedes Khashoggi's murder was premeditated  —  Numerous pipe bombs sent to prominent critics of President Trump  —  CNN's New York offices evacuated after reports of a suspicious device

U.S. economy grew at annual rate of 3.5 percent in 2018's third quarter  —  The U.S. economy slowed in the third quarter to a still-strong 3.5 percent annual growth rate, the Commerce Department said in its final assessment of economic health before the November congressional elections.

Vladimir Putin invited to Washington in early 2019: John Bolton  —  Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to visit Washington, D.C. in early 2019, according to President Trump's National Security Adviser John Bolton.  —  Bolton, who spoke at a press conference in Georgia Friday morning …

Senate: 11 Days Out; NJ Moves to Toss Up  —  With November 6 just 11 days away, it seems that the overall Senate playing field won't change much, although it appears that some of the races in Toss Up are getting even tighter, if that's possible.  —  That said, it is getting more difficult to see a path to the majority for Democrats.

F-Bombs and Real Bombs  —  Our problem isn't “incivility.”  It's right-wing violence.  —  On Wednesday night, after bombs were sent to a number of Donald Trump's most prominent enemies, he held a rally in Mosinee, Wis. A president with even a pretense to statesmanship would have canceled it …

Michael Avenatti's Past Won't Stop Him From Running in 2020  —  The woman approached Michael Avenatti with obvious purpose.  A 79-year-old retired physicist with long blond hair, she wore a blue T-shirt that said AVENATTI IS MY SPIRIT ANIMAL.  It was mid-August, and Avenatti had just finished giving …

Trump fears Florida wipeout  —  The president is mounting an 11th-hour effort to head off high-profile losses for governor and Senate in his adopted home state.  —  The White House is planning a political rescue mission in Florida, fearing a wipeout in a key swing state next month …

Saudi Arabia admits Khashoggi's murder was premeditated.  Fine.  Who premeditated it?  —  SAUDI ARABIA once again changed its story about Jamal Khashoggi, admitting on Thursday he was the victim of a premeditated murder and not, as it said less than a week earlier , the accidental casualty of a “brawl.”

Record early voting in El Paso driven by young, irregular voters  —  EL PASO, Texas - El Paso is shattering early voting records this year because infrequent voters are flocking to the polls, analysis of county election data shows.  Younger voters are also coming out in much larger numbers than in previous midterm elections.

Trump used charity money to buy his own portrait because no one else would: lawyers … Donald Trump had no choice but to blow $10,000 in charity money on a giant painting of himself — because no one else wanted it, his lawyers claimed in court Thursday.  —  Trump picked up the infamous painting …

Megyn Kelly was making racist comments long before ‘blackface.’ NBC hired her anyway.  —  Megyn Kelly is reportedly on her way out of the Today Show and maybe NBC.  Her past racial demagoguery should have disqualified her in the first place.  —  CONNECT  —  “Megyn Kelly said something really racist …

Simona Mangiante has been reported to ICE, sources close to George Papadopoulos say  —  Simona Mangiante, the wife of convicted ex-Trump adviser George Papadopoulos, has been reported to federal immigration authorities by those close to Papadopoulos, per 2 sources with knowledge of the situation …

New voters get notices listing wrong Dodge City polling site  —  WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — After moving Dodge City's sole polling site outside city limits, county election officials sent newly registered voters an official certificate of registration that listed the wrong place to cast a ballot …

DOJ Ties a Trump FISA Release to Obstruction  —  In court filings last week the Department of Justice deployed what could be the nuclear option in its latest effort to prevent President Trump from declassifying information regarding FISA warrants used to spy on his campaign aide Carter Page …

The Tragedy of Saudi Arabia's War … Declan Walsh and Tyler Hicks reported from Hajjah and other areas of northern Yemen this month.  Our editors explain why The Times has decided to publish such unsettling images.  —  CHEST HEAVING AND EYES FLUTTERING, the 3-year-old boy lay silently …

Defaming Prophet Muhammed not free expression: ECHR  —  Such defamation could stir up prejudice and risk religious peace, says European Court of Human Rights  —  STRASBOURG  —  Defaming the Prophet Muhammed “goes beyond the permissible limits of an objective debate” and …

Housing Is Tanking in the Northeast.  Guess Why.  —  Losing big deductions for state and local property taxes is having the expected effect.  —  Sales of new single-family houses were down 13.2 percent in September from a year earlier, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday.

Japanese reporter returns home after three-year ‘hell’ in Syrian militant custody  —  BEIRUT — A Japanese journalist held hostage for more than three years in Syria returned home Thursday, ending an ordeal that he described as a personal “hell.”  —  Jumpei Yasuda, 44, was kidnapped …

A New Nuclear Arms Race Has Begun  —  President Trump says he plans to withdraw from a nonproliferation treaty that I signed with Ronald Reagan.  It's just the latest victim in the militarization of world affairs.  —  Mr. Gorbachev is the former president of the Soviet Union.

There's Just No Way That a Terrorism-by-Mail Scheme Targeting the Political-Media Establishment Could be a False Flag.  I Mean, It Couldn't Happen Again, After The Last False Flag Mail Terror Attack in 2001  —  Everyone remember the Anthrax mailings?  —  Real anthrax, by the way.  Not fugazi.

Judge denies Nunes access to secret depositions on Steele dossier  —  The chairmen of two congressional committees, including House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Cal., who sought sealed testimony in a South Florida court case from key players in the Trump-Russia investigation ran afoul …

D.C.-Based Russian Media Venture Boasts that Indicted Kremlin Operative Is Its CFO  —  USA Really, which has pledged to wage an ‘information war,’ claims that Elena Khusyaynova is a top executive.  —  When federal authorities allege a massive, foreign-government-backed campaign …

Eggs with benefits: Sydney's same-sex penguins become parents  —  SYDNEY (Reuters) - Two male penguins entrusted with the care of a fostered egg have welcomed a tiny sub-Antarctic Gentoo chick into the world, Sydney's Sea Life Aquarium said on Friday.  —  The pair, Magic and Sphen …

Stop Using Blowtorches to Kill Spiders in Your House  —  While this should seemingly go without saying, it turns out that “kill it with fire” is not a great idea when it comes to ridding your home of pests.  Nonetheless, there is no shortage of failed cases of people attempting to kill spiders …

Two More Bombs Found, Addressed to Cory Booker and CNN  —  Federal authorities discovered two more explosive devices, one addressed to Senator Cory Booker and the other to James R. Clapper Jr., the former director of national intelligence, law enforcement officials said on Friday.

Careless cruelty  —  Civil servants said separating families was illegal.  The administration ignored us.  —  The meeting was way overdue, and it wasn't going well.  —  It was May 21.  The Department of Homeland Security, where I worked as a senior adviser in the Office for Civil Rights …

I thought Trump would help the LGBTQ community.  I was wrong.  —  Caitlyn Jenner is a transgender rights advocate and author.  —  These past two years under President Trump have given me the opportunity to reflect on a lot of topics that have come up in the LGBTQ community and in our nation.