| | | | | First lady Melania Trump receives flowers as she arrives Tuesday at Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana, as she begins her solo trip to Africa. Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images | | | How Trump's Presidency Has Hurt His Business: He's fallen 138 spots on the Forbes 400
FLOTUS Watch: Melania Trump lands in Ghana
Voter Registration Day 2018 Was the Biggest on Record: Organizers announced more than 800,000 people registered | | | What Washington Is Talking About:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said a vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh will happen this week and accused Democrats of trying to move "the goal post every five minutes"; Sen. Jeff Flake said his vote on Kavanaugh will depend on the FBI's findings; and Fiola, the restaurant where Sen. Ted Cruz was forced out by protesters last week, has hired security.
What America Is Talking About:
Cardi B turned herself in to police in connection with an April incident at a New York strip club in which she is accused of throwing things, and sites and apps that allow users to log in using their Facebook account still aren't sure what last week's massive hack may or may not mean for their users.
Poll of the Day:
A Pew Research Center survey of 25 nations found that America's image has declined abroad since Donald Trump took office. The United States received its highest favorable rating in the Philippines -- 83% -- while Russia had the lowest, with 26%. | | Credit: Pew
Family Separation Policy Was a Mess From Beginning, Report Finds:
A report by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General obtained by The Washington Post found implementation of the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy at the border was plagued by problems, including communications failure and an indifference at separating families. According to the report, at least 860 children were left in Border Patrol cells longer than the 72-hour limit, and Border Patrol didn't provide a means to connect children who are too young to speak with their parents, such as giving them wristbands or taking fingerprints.
Trump Reportedly Sought Restraining Order for Stormy Daniels:
Trump reportedly asked his then-attorney Michael Cohen to get a restraining order for Stormy Daniels through a confidential arbitration proceeding and had him coordinate with Eric Trump, according to The Wall Street Journal. The move came after Trump learned Daniels was considering talking to the press about her alleged affair with Trump.
How Trump's Presidency Has Hurt His Business:
Trump is reportedly losing money off his time in the White House, according to Forbes, and he dropped 138 places on the Forbes 400 list, which is releasing the latest edition of its list Wednesday. Trump's net worth has fallen from $4.5 billion in 2015 to $3.1 billion in 2017, due to factors such as the changing economics of brick-and-mortar retail and falling revenue at Trump properties and golf courses, a Forbes analysis found.
"People bought into the building based on the brand being synonymous with luxury," Cyndy Salgado, a real estate broker who once worked for the Trump Organization, told Forbes. "Now many people feel that the brand represents divisiveness, embarrassment and questionable morals."
Here's Trump's entry on the 2017 list. He was right above hotel and casino owner Steve Wynn and two spots below Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel. | | Credit: Forbes
Forbes estimated that if Trump had liquidated, paid capital gains tax and created a blind trust that he invested in the stock market, he would be $500 million richer today.
Obama Drops New Round of Midterm Endorsements:
Former President Barack Obama just announced his second round of endorsements. Among the 260 candidates he's backing are congressional hopefuls Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York and Jahana Hayes, whom he recognized as Teacher of the Year in 2016, in Connecticut.
Kavanaugh Won't Teach at Harvard Next Year:
A Harvard Law School course Kavanaugh taught will be not be offered next year, the school told students Monday. In an email, a Harvard dean wrote that Kavanaugh could "no longer commit to teaching his course." It did not indicate why. More than 800 law school alumni have signed a letter asking that he not teach.
FLOTUS Watch:
Melania Trump landed today in Ghana, where she was greeted in an airport red carpet ceremony by the first lady of Ghana and visited a hospital. At the hospital, the first lady watched as babies were weighed. Kate emailed in: "The babies were placed in bags to hang from the scale. Melania looked on, a bit nervously, as she watched the process. We learned that the voters have to pay $2 for each weighing bag, which is quite a lot of money -- the first lady donated several dozen of these bags." | | Credit: @KateBennett_DC/Twitter
Voter Registration Day 2018 Was the Biggest on Record:
More than 800,000 people registered to vote September 25 on National Voter Registration Day, organizers announced today. That's the biggest figure recorded, up from the previous record of 771,321 during the 2016 campaign.
There were more than 4,000 partners for the day, including BET Networks, Facebook, Google, HeadCount, Lyft, MTV, the National Association of Secretaries of State, Pandora, Reddit, Rock the Vote, Snap, Tumblr, Twitter and the United Way.
Street Art Sighting:
This tattooed Trump in bunny ears was spotted in Barcelona, Spain. | | Credit: @kristel_svn/Instagram
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.
Kate Bennett is off. | | | | | | |
