GOP bringing in Arizona prosecutor for Kavanaugh hearing

Senate Republicans are bringing in Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell to handle questioning about allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at Thursday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. A news release from committee chairman Chuck Grassley's office describes Mitchell as "a career prosecutor with decades of experience prosecuting sex crimes."

GOP Senate candidate on Kavanaugh accuser: ‘I mean, how many 15-year-olds handle a lot of alcohol?’

North Dakota Rep. Kevin Cramer, the Republican challenging Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, suggested the allegation of sexual and physical assault -- even if it's true -- should not disqualify Brett Kavanaugh from the Supreme Court. Cramer's comments in a Monday interview with North Dakota television station KX4 came three days after he said the accusation against Kavanaugh was "even more absurd" than Anita Hill's accusation against Clarence Thomas because Kavanaugh and his accuser were drunk teenagers when the alleged incident occurred.

Push to end bullet train in 2020 could signal GOP strategy

Worried they would lack big-name candidates at the top of the ticket this November, California Republicans turned to a ballot measure that would eliminate a recent gas tax increase in hopes of exciting conservatives and ensuring they show up to support lower-profile legislative and congressional candidates. A potential similar strategy for 2020 emerged Tuesday, when a conservative radio host who is the public face behind this year's gas tax initiative announced he will pursue another measure - this one eliminating the state's beleaguered high-speed rail project.

In Oregon hazelnut country, tariffs unsettling

Additional 25% levies imposed by China in response to Trump administration's moves will make it difficult for local growers to compete Driving through the Willamette Valley in Oregon, which extends from Portland in the north to Eugene in the south, one can see hazelnut trees as far as the horizon. The area cultivates 99 percent of the hazelnuts grown in the United States on more than 29,560 hectares, yielding a harvest worth $90 million annually for Oregon.

California urges Trump to drop plan for weaker fuel standard

California officials demanded Monday that the Trump administration back off a plan to weaken national fuel economy standards aimed at reducing car emissions and saving people money at the pump, saying the proposed rollback would damage people's health and exacerbate climate change. Looming over the administration's proposal is the possibility that the state, which has become a key leader on climate change as Trump has moved to dismantle Obama-era environmental rules, could set its own separate fuel standard that could roil the auto industry.

With newfound aggressiveness, GOP ramps up Brett Kavanaugh fight

On Monday, Donald Trump called the accusations among "the single most unfair, unjust things to happen to a candidate for anything." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., returns to his office after speaking on the Senate floor about Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, Sept.

Florence flooding worsening

Thousands of coastal residents remained on edge Sunday, told they may need to leave their homes because rivers are still rising more than a week after Hurricane Florence slammed into the Carolinas. About 6,000 to 8,000 people in Georgetown County, South Carolina, were alerted to be prepared to evacuate ahead of a "record event" of up to 10 feet of flooding expected from heavy rains dumped by Florence, county spokeswoman Jackie Broach-Akers said.

Auto trade group says new fuel standards won’t work

A large auto industry trade group isn't stating explicitly that it favors freezing federal gas mileage requirements at the 2021 level, but it's says the current plan won't work. In testimony prepared for a public hearing Monday in Fresno, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers said customers aren't buying more efficient vehicles.

Public defender challenging credibility of racist San Bernardino…

A San Bernardino County deputy public defender has subpoenaed the employment records of a lead gang prosecutor whose racist rants on social media in July generated public outcry and a demand by civil rights groups for his termination.

Trump leads aggressive drive to save Kavanaugh

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We may be witnessing a defining moment in Korea

"Late in his presidency, Ronald Reagan challenged his Soviet counterpart, Mikhail Gorbachev, to 'tear down' the Berlin Wall; a structure that had stood for more than a quarter century as a seeming permanent monument to the strength of the communist system. His critics, and even some in his own political Party, sloughed off Reagan's challenge as nothing more than a catchy soundbite delivered by an eloquent but elderly president.

Ben & Jerry’s creating “take back Congress” flavors

The founders of Ben & Jerry's ice cream in Bernie Sanders' home state are putting their ice cream expertise to work to support seven congressional candidates they call progressive. Vermont's Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are working with political action committee MoveOn to create ice cream flavors that reflect each candidate.

However it turns out, the Kavanaugh controversy is a victory…

Ever since murmurings began to emerge that a woman had accused Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her in high school, Kavanaugh's confirmation has been viewed as a referendum on the #MeToo movement. If Kavanaugh, who denies the accusation, is confirmed to the Supreme Court, this will - or so we're told - prove the movement has failed.