News from the note…
A round up of the day’s news that might be of interest to you.
This is an OPEN THREAD, folks. Chat about any of the stories listed, share links to stories that caught your eye today, and generally have a good time discussing whatever you want.
Trump’s making the migrant caravan a political issue. Here are the facts.
President Donald Trump, in a series of tweets on Monday, claimed he would declare a “national emergency” over an issue that has frequently piqued his attention — migrant caravans moving toward the United States through Central America and Mexico.
His tweets come just weeks ahead of the 2018 midterm elections and he has emphasized immigration as a key issue, without evidence accusing Democrats of pushing for overrun borders in what appears to be a naked fear campaign aimed at turning out his supporters. Immigration was a key issue in the 2016 presidential race.
Crowds of migrants, estimated to be in the thousands on Monday, resumed their long journey north on Sunday into Mexico as part of a migrant caravan originating in Central America.
Currently migrants are at the Central Park Miguel Hidalgo in the center of Tapachula. Organizers plan for them to begin moving north, reaching the northern city of Huixtla, which is about 20 miles north, and resting there.
CNN
GOP floods new House seats with cash in late rescue effort
Republicans are launching 11th-hour rescue missions into a set of longtime GOP House districts that have tightened weeks before the election, highlighting the limits of the recent boost in voter enthusiasm touted by the GOP — and the dangerous cash deficit haunting some Republican candidates.
Two weeks out from Election Day, a constellation of groups — including the National Republican Congressional Committee’s independent expenditure unit; Congressional Leadership Fund, the House leadership-aligned super PAC; and America First Action, the principal super PAC backing President Donald Trump — are pouring millions of dollars into TV ads to help GOP members in Florida, Georgia, Michigan, New York, North Carolina and Virginia. It’s a last-minute effort that Republican operatives say will shore up lawmakers in seats that once leaned Republican but have become increasingly competitive.
Politico
It’s also a troubling sign for the GOP’s prospects of keeping the House.
Factbox: Options for U.S. congressional action against Saudis over Khashoggi
President Donald Trump has said he plans to work with Congress to craft a U.S. response to the killing of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
“In terms of what we ultimately do, I’m going to leave it very much – in conjunction with me – up to Congress. And that means Congress, both Republicans and Democrats,” Trump said, adding that he would like a bipartisan recommendation.
Reuters
$1.537 billion Mega Millions ticket sold in South Carolina
“The final total was less than the $1.6 billion estimate,” said Carol Gentry, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Lottery, which leads a consortium of state lotteries participating in the Mega Millions jackpot.
“Estimates are based on historical patterns,” she explained Wednesday morning in a phone interview with The Associated Press. “The jackpot’s been rolling since it was hit in July in California, but there are few precedents for a jackpot of this size. Typically, about 70 percent of sales occur on the drawing day, so forecasting precise numbers in advance can be difficult. That’s why we always use the term estimate.”
It’s possible the world will never know who bought the ticket that matches all six numbers in Tuesday night’s drawing.
AP
South Carolina is one of eight states — along with Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio and Texas — where winners can remain anonymous.
Scaramucci says Trump is a ‘liar’
Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci said Wednesday that President Donald Trump “is a liar” and that he “should probably dial down the lying.”
Appearing on “New Day” to promote his new book, “Trump: The Blue-Collar President,” Scaramucci was asked by CNN’s John Berman about the President’s pattern of spreading falsehoods and what he would call someone who spreads lies.
Scaramucci said such people are “like a rascal, like a scoundrel.”
“I asked you what do you call someone who likes to lie? You said a scoundrel,” Berman replied. “Another thing you could call someone who likes to lie is a liar. Is he a liar?”
“OK, well we both know that he’s telling lies. So if you want me to say he’s a liar, I’m happy to say he’s a liar,” Scaramucci said.
CNN
Putin says Russia will target nations hosting US missiles
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday that if the United States deploys intermediate-range missiles in Europe, Russia will have to target the nations that would host them.
The stern statement follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement over the weekend that he intends to opt out of a 1987 nuclear arms control pact over alleged Russian violations.
Putin said he hoped the United States wouldn’t follow up by positioning intermediate-range missiles in Europe. Such a move would be a repeat of a Cold War showdown in the 1980s, when the U.S. and the Soviet Union both deployed intermediate-range missiles on the continent, the Russian leader said.
AP
Trump admits ‘there’s no proof’ of his ‘unknown Middle Easterners’ caravan claim
President Donald Trump on Tuesday defended his unsubstantiated assertion that “unknown Middle Easterners” are traveling in a migrant caravan traveling north to the United States from Central America, but admitted “there’s no proof of anything.”
“They could very well be,” Trump reiterated during a bill signing in the Oval Office, referring to Middle Eastern individuals embedded in the caravan. “I have very good information.”
However, pressed for the proof of Middle Eastern individuals in the caravan by CNN’s Jim Acosta, Trump said “there’s no proof of anything.”
“There’s no proof of anything but they could very well be,” Trump said.
CNN
