While the country’s attention is riveted on Florence, Kavanaugh’s confirmation and Manafort’s plea deal, certain other developments around the world may in the end prove more significant. At a meeting earlier this month in Vladivostok, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to bypass the dollar and use their own currencies in commercial relations.
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Here’s Sen. Collins a few hours ago talking to CNN about the Kavanaugh accusations.
Here's the full video of Sen Susan Collins comments on Kavanaugh, whether she still supports him, whether vote should be delayed. pic.twitter.com/rlMjGLJ3K2
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) September 17, 2018
I assume you’ve already read the article in The Washington Post in which the unnamed accuser of Brett Kavanaugh goes public with her account of what happened. I don’t have anything to add to the account or what it means. Those speak for themselves. I have more insight into the potential political fallout. A lawyer shepherding the nomination on behalf of the White House said this to Politico: “No way, not even a hint of it. If anything, it’s the opposite. If somebody can be brought down by accusations like this, then you, me, every man certainly should be worried. We can all be accused of something.” Read More
The head of FEMA not only refused to correct President Trump’s claims about Puerto Rico/Hurricane Maria deaths. He managed to blame some number of the deaths on spousal abuse.
FEMA Chief notes many of the deaths post-Hurricane Maria may have been because of spousal abuse the President is not responsible for. pic.twitter.com/vNvESNbveA
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) September 16, 2018
You may remember that during the World Cup – I’m not sure which game but late in the tournament – some Pussy Riot members rushed on to the field dressed as police officers and disrupted the match. One of them is now fighting for his life after being poisoned.
Does your last name start with P, R, S or T? If it does, and you haven’t signed up for Prime yet, can you make today the day you join us? No, there’s no magic reason tied to these four letters. And if your last name starts with one of the other 22 you can definitely sign up today too. But I was reminded yesterday of how much inertia, convenience and evolving mores among news producers and news consumers all play key roles in this process. Do you pay for news when it’s mainly been free online for the last 25 years or so?
So I thought I’d pick a few letters and for those folks make the case directly. Bringing a substantial number of you into the fold as paying subscribers is really, really important to the future of this site. It just takes a moment to sign up. It’s probably easier to do on the weekend since other matters aren’t as pressing. So if you’re a regular reader, if you’ve been thinking about signing up, I need you to take a moment right now – actually, this moment – and take out your wallet and click here and sign up. It really just takes a moment and it’s well worth it.
TPM’s Caitlin MacNeal takes us inside the courtroom yesterday (sub req) as the dramatic, key moments unfolded.
This piece got a bit lost in the drama of the Manafort plea deal this morning. But it’s a don’t miss: Allegra Kirkland looks at the White Supremacist Leader in Idaho running and anti-Semitic campaign robocalls across the country for this year’s midterm election.
I had planned to write a lengthy post today about the second leg of our big, annual Prime sign-up drive. Now we have the Manafort plea deal breaking. tl;dr: It’s really important. If you’re a regular TPM Reader, please sign up for Prime. Cheap, awesome, important. Click here. It hugely important to the future of this site.