Low-key senator steps into spotlight, tells men to ‘step up’

Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono, one of only four women on the 21-member Senate Judiciary Committee, asked Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh the same questions on sexual harrassment she has asked dozens of other nominees. Had Kavanaugh "made unwanted requests for sexual favors" or committed verbal or physical harrassment of a sexual nature since he became a legal adult? And had he ever faced discipline or settled with anyone over that kind of conduct? Kavanaugh said "no" to both questions at his confirmation hearing earlier this month.

Fundraiser stages homage to former Texas governor

The late Texas Gov. Ann Richards charmed the delegates at the 1988 Democratic National Convention with her famous quote about women's penchant for nimble cooperation. Actress Holland Taylor penned a one-woman show, Ann, that dramatizes the silver-haired politician's life in and out of office.

Top Grassley aide fuels fight over Kavanaugh accuser

Sen. Chuck Grassley walks to the Senate floor for a vote after a meeting in Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office in the Capitol. A top Senate Judiciary Committee staffer gave critics of the panel's efforts to speedily confirm Brett Kavanaugh more ammo Thursday, after suggesting that the Supreme Court nominee's confirmation was already in the bag.

Donald Trump may have to wait to see public release of FBI documents on the Russia case

Intelligence officials are reviewing documents ordered declassified by President Donald Trump; no one knows how long the review will take. Donald Trump may have to wait to see public release of FBI documents on the Russia case Intelligence officials are reviewing documents ordered declassified by President Donald Trump; no one knows how long the review will take.

The Latest: Foreign hackers target US senators, aides’ Gmail

A Google spokesman says the company has notified an unspecified number of senators and aides that their personal email accounts continue to be targeted by state-backed foreign hackers. Spokesman Aaron Stein would not disclose further details such as who was behind the attempted break-ins, their timing or who was targeted.

The Latest: Gillibrand says GOP is ‘bullying’ Christine Ford

The Latest on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and a woman who accuses him of sexually assaulting her decades ago : Groups fighting Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court say a Judiciary Committee lawyer's tweet shows Republicans are biased against Christine Blasey Ford's allegation of sexual assault. Mike Davis, the chief counsel for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, tweeted late Wednesday that he had personally interviewed Kavanaugh as part of the committee's review but was "still waiting" for Ford's lawyers to get back to him.

Donald Trump – Donald Trump wrong on FBI limits in Kavanaugh Supreme Court hearings

As the Senate Judiciary Committee moves to assess the allegations of sexual assault during Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's high school years, President Donald Trump dismissed a role for the FBI. When a reporter asked if he would ask the FBI to investigate the allegations, Trump said that "it would seem that the FBI really doesn't do that."

GOP pushing forward for Kavanaugh, accuser wants ‘fairness’

The Latest on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and a woman who accuses him of sexually assaulting her decades ago : Groups fighting Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court say a Judiciary Committee lawyer's tweet shows Republicans are biased against Christine Blasey Ford's allegation of sexual assault. Mike Davis, the chief counsel for Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, tweeted late Wednesday that he had personally interviewed Kavanaugh as part of the committee's review but was "still waiting" for Ford's lawyers to get back to him.

Samantha Bee Wants Democrats to Stop Being Afraid of Fox News and Demand Universal Health Care

Samantha Bee is worried about the Democrats' strategy for the upcoming midterm elections. You probably will be too, if you watch the campaign ad in which Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia advocates for better health care by loading bullets into a shotgun and blasting a "lawsuit on coverage of pre-existing conditions" into papery bits.

Christine Blasey Ford’s Request for an FBI Investigation Makes Perfect Sense

As soon as Christine Blasey Ford came forward as the woman accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when both were in high school, it felt like we were hurtling toward something women in this country have wanted for decades: a chance to fix what had gone so horribly wrong during the disastrous Anita Hill hearings of 1991. Statements from Senate Republicans-among them Jeff Flake, Susan Collins, and Lindsey Graham-forced Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley to grant Ford a public hearing.

Suspect tied rope around neck of pregnant woman after baby was sliced from her womb: prosecutor

A North Dakota man accused of helping to kill a pregnant woman tightened a rope around her neck after his girlfriend sliced the baby from the victim's womb, a prosecutor said Wednesday, later suggesting the girlfriend couldn't have restrained the mom-to-be alone. William Hoehn is charged with conspiracy to commit murder in the death of 22-year-old Savanna Greywind, who was eight months pregnant when she was killed in August 2017.

US Senate Staff Targeted By State-Backed Hackers, Senator Says

An anonymous reader quotes a report from PBS NewsHour: Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, said in a Wednesday letter to Senate leaders that his office discovered that "at least one major technology company" has warned an unspecified number of senators and aides that their personal email accounts were "targeted by foreign government hackers ." Similar methods were employed by Russian military agents who leaked the contents of private email inboxes to influence the 2016 elections .

GOP warns time running out for Kavanaugh’s accuser to talk

Republicans are warning that time is running out for Brett Kavanaugh's accuser to tell Congress about her claim he sexually assaulted her when both were teenagers, even as President Donald Trump called the woman's allegation hard to believe in one of the GOP's sharpest attacks on her credibility.