| | | | | President Trump attends a meeting on the global drug problem at the United Nations Monday in New York City. Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images | | | Rod Rosenstein Resigning/Has Offered to Resign/Expecting to be Fired?: The deputy AG was at the White House today
White House Welcomes New Beast to the Fleet: Secret Service rolls out new vehicle in New York
Michelle Obama Does Weddings Too: The former FLOTUS officiated a wedding in Chicago | | | What the White House is Talking About:
President Trump starts his four-day stint in New York at the United Nations General Assembly. Today he has bilateral meetings with the presidents of South Korea, Egypt and France. Later, he and Melania Trump attend a diplomatic reception.
What the White House Press Corps is Talking About:
The Brett Kavanaugh nomination to the Supreme Court and what will happen this week.
🚨 Rod Rosenstein Resigning/Has Offered to Resign/Expecting to be Fired?🚨 :
This Rosenstein story is unfolding at rapid-fire pace as Cover/Line heads to your inbox -- for the latest on the deputy AG's status, follow live updates here.
As you might recall, the New York Times on Friday ran a story reporting Rosenstein had suggested wearing a wire to record conversations at the White House. What happens now? Here's a rundown, and the succession plan.
Trump at UNGA:
This morning the president is prepping for leader meetings but he's also firing off spicy statements on everything from Kavanaugh to Puerto Rico's mayor. Trump, in a pre-UNGA Twitter video, expressed his thoughts about the United Nations living up to its potential, saying "it's amazing to me that more things aren't resolved." He also mentioned this morning (casual) that a second summit with Kim Jong-Un is going to happen "quite soon."
Trump on Geraldo Rivera's Radio Show:
Trump also did an interview on Geraldo's new radio program where he said this about Michael Cohen, his former fixer and lawyer who is now cooperating with Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Geraldo asked him if he was worried about Cohen, to which Trump responded: "No I'm not, because I'm an honest guy and that stuff is unrelated to me. And that was Michael did that stuff. And Michael, I mean you know, you know, I have many, many lawyers. I have very big law firms I have that do my work...I do everything straight." | | Kavanaugh, the Latest:
There's just too much unfolding in the Kavanaugh story for me to go through in this space, but I would encourage you to follow all the latest live updates here. Bottom line: The next 24-48 hours will determine if Kavanaugh will be able to remain a Supreme Court Justice nominee or whether his fate was sealed many years ago by deplorable behavior. I'm just going to say it feels like a very, very ugly time in our American politics, and as our societal and cultural calibrations are rightfully readjusted by the bravery and camaraderie of both women and men, I think we're in for a bumpy ride ahead.
Meanwhile, Hundreds of Protesters Took the Halls of Senate Office Building:
Protesters stood outside (and inside) the offices of Senators Jeff Flake, Susan Collins and several other GOP members, shouting for them to vote against Kavanaugh. | | Credit: @frankthorp/Twitter
Ivanka Trump Says It's Been Harder Than She Thought:
Speaking at a Concordia event surrounding UNGA in New York today, Ivanka Trump discussed her work at the White House and her role as both presidential adviser and human being. | | Credit: @betsy_klein/Twitter
Our Daily Melania:
The first lady's office announced she will speak at an UNGA-related reception for leader spouses and other guests on Wednesday morning. Her remarks will outline her upcoming solo trip to Africa.
White House Welcomes New Beast to the Fleet:
The United States Secret Service rolled out the new Beast (the president's limousine) in its motorcade lineup this weekend in New York City. Here's the new one being polished by agents on the left, versus the old one taking the Trumps to Blenheim Palace in England this summer on the right. The new one certainly looks sleeker and less boxy, and there's a new Cadillac grill ... | | | Credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images, Dan Witford/Getty Images | | What Washington is Talking About:
Christine Blasey Ford has agreed to speak to the Senate Judiciary Committee this week, possibly Thursday; a second woman, Deborah Ramirez, has come forward with allegations against Brett Kavanaugh, saying he exposed himself to her at a party when they attended Yale (Kavanaugh denied the allegations); and Sen. Dianne Feinstein has called for Kavanaugh's hearing to be postponed and for the new allegation to be investigated by the FBI.
What America is Talking About:
Tiger Woods won his first PGA tournament since 2013; Bill Cosby arrived at court today for sentencing; and China is retaliating to a new round of tariffs from the Trump administration by adding a 5% to 10% tax on $60 billion in US goods.
Poll of the Day:
Support for Kavanaugh's confirmation is dropping. A Fox News poll released Sunday found since August, the share of voters who said they would like Kavanaugh confirmed for the Supreme Court has fallen from 45% to 40%, while those opposed has risen from 46% to 50%. | | Credit: Fox News
The poll also found voters are more likely to believe Ford over Kavanaugh, 36% to 30%, with 34% unsure.
Facebook's War on Disinformation is Working, Study Suggests:
A study by researchers from NYU and Stanford found online engagement of content from 570 sites that have been identified as producers of "fake news" is down since 2016 on Facebook (left chart). But it's risen on Twitter (right chart). | | Credit: Stanford
Even on Facebook, though, these "fake news" sites get a large amount of engagement (about 70 million at the end of the study's sample period). The sites included in the category were determined by lists from fact-checking sites and from reporting from BuzzFeed. You can read the fully study here.
Siblings Hit Congressman Brother:
Rep. Paul Gosar, an Arizona Republican, got hit with an attack ad from his Democratic opponent David Brill criticizing him on healthcare, jobs, and social security, and it stars six of his siblings. Oooof. Gosar accused his siblings of putting politics before family, and said "Lenin, Mao and Kim Jung Un would be proud," but his siblings say they're just speaking out against a brother they don't agree with. "Paul's political rhetoric in the last probably year-and-a-half has gone from, to me, conservative into a place of hate and divisiveness," Gosar's sister Jennifer told our Ana Cabrera.
Cruz and O'Rourke Faced Off in First Debate:
Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Beto O'Rourke met Friday at Southern Methodist University in Dallas for the first of three scheduled debates in their Texas Senate race. | | Credit: Tom Fox/Pool/Getty Images
These moments were some of the highlights:
Cruz, when asked about Trump's attacks against him: "I could've chosen to be selfish and make it about myself and say, 'My feelings have been hurt so I'm going to take my marbles and go home,' but I think that would've been not doing the job I was elected to do."
O'Rourke, also commenting on Trump's attacks on Cruz: "If the president attacks you personally, your wife, your father, how you respond is your business. But when the president attacks our institutions and allows a foreign power to invade our democracy, that is our business. We need a US senator who will stand up to this president where we must and work with him where we can.
O'Rourke when asked about his DUI: "As a white man in this country, there is a privilege I enjoy that many African-American men and women do not. They do not have that second chance."
Cruz, when asked to say something nice about his opponent: "You are absolutely sincere, like Bernie, that you believe in expanding government and higher taxes, and I commend you for what you believe in."
After the debate, O'Rourke went to Whataburger and played air drums to "Baba O'Reilly," which was a very ~on brand~ thing for him to do.
Say Cheese:
You know that thing where someone posts a picture with their friend for the friend's birthday, but the person who posted it looks great and the birthday boy/girl doesn't? That happened in Missouri, but for politics. After Trump stumped for Missouri's Republican Senate candidate Josh Hawley on Friday, Hawley posted a photo where he looked fine and Trump's eyes were closed. "My favorite pic from yesterday!" Hawley captioned the photo. "Thank you, President @realdonaldtrump. It was an honor to have you in the GREAT state of Missouri." Amazing. | | Credit: @joshhawleymo/Instagram
Michelle Obama Does Weddings Too:
The former FLOTUS officiated a wedding in Chicago this weekend for Stephanie Rivkin, daughter of Chicago's deputy mayor Robert Rivkin, and Joel Sircus, held at Chicago's Theater on the Lake. TMZ got footage from an attendee.
Street Art Sighting:
An ice sculpture of the word "Truth" by artists Marshall Reese and Nora Ligorano was put on display Saturday in front of the US Capitol. The sculpture was called "Truth Be Told," it weighed 2,000 pounds, and it melted away. | | Credit: Olivia Hampton/AFP/Getty Images
If you spot political street art, tweet me @hunterschwarz, tag me on Instagram @hunterschwarz, or email me at coverlinehunter@cnn.com with your sighting so I can feature it in COVER/LINE.
P.S.:
Shoutout to Carrie Underwood, who is now the first female country artist to have four No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200. Her Cry Pretty hit No. 1 with 266,000 equivalent album units, the most for a country album since 2015. | | | | | | |
