Monday, Oct. 8

· A new Washington Post-Schar School survey shows likely voters in 69 highly contested House districts narrowly prefer Democrats over Republicans. Women are driving the Democratic support, according to the poll. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/survey-of-battleground-house-districts-shows-democrats-with-narrow-edge/2018/10/07/f45e13f2-c812-11e8-b1ed-1d2d65b86d0c_story.html?utm_term=.eac6a48bfb01

· The Washington Post reported that new Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has hired all women to serve as his law clerks, becoming the first justice to do so. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/kavanaugh-makes-good-on-his-pledge-at-hearing-to-hire-women-as-law-clerks/2018/10/07/06e4893a-ca92-11e8-a3e6-44daa3d35ede_story.html?utm_term=.2a1edc482241

· Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a five-hour visit in Beijing, during which Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during which Wang told Pompeo that the Trump administration’s recent actions against China have “directly impacted our mutual trust and cast a shadow over our bilateral relations.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/china-tells-trump-administration-to-stop-its-misguided-actions-and-allegations/2018/10/08/cd17c926-cac1-11e8-a85c-0bbe30c19e8f_story.html?utm_term=.33ac670a7054

Tuesday, Oct. 9

· Nikki Haley is resigning as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations as of the end of the year, she announced, adding that she does not plan to run for “any office” in 2020. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/09/nikki-haley-resigns-884156?nname=playbook-pm&nid=0000015a-dd3e-d536-a37b-dd7fd8af0000&nrid=00000158-890d-dfd4-ad7b-c96fadf30001&nlid=964328

· An Associated Press investigation based on hundreds of court documents, immigration records and interviews in the U.S. and Central America identified instances that have allowed state court judges to grant custody of migrant children whose parents have been deported to American families without notifying their parents. https://apnews.com/97b06cede0c149c492bf25a48cb6c26f

Wednesday, Oct. 10

· FBI Director Christopher Wray told the Senate on Wednesday that the White House put limits on the re-opened investigation into Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, but that the investigation followed normal processes. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/10/kavanaugh-fbi-probe-limit-888667?nname=playbook-pm&nid=0000015a-dd3e-d536-a37b-dd7fd8af0000&nrid=00000158-890d-dfd4-ad7b-c96fadf30001&nlid=964328

· A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced Richard Pinedo to six months in prison and six months of home confinement after he pleaded guilty to a felony identity fraud charge tied to Russian troll activity in the 2016 presidential campaign. It was the most severe penalty so far in the Mueller investigation. https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/10/mueller-russia-troll-sentence-889038?nname=playbook-pm&nid=0000015a-dd3e-d536-a37b-dd7fd8af0000&nrid=00000158-890d-dfd4-ad7b-c96fadf30001&nlid=964328

· After being extradited from Belgium to the U.S., Yanjun Xu, a senior officer with China’s Ministry of State Security, will be prosecuted for seeking to steal trade secrets from leading aviation firms, top Justice Department officials announced. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/chinese-spy-charged-with-stealing-us-military-secrets-and-extradited-for-prosecution/2018/10/10/b2a7325c-cc97-11e8-920f-dd52e1ae4570_story.html?utm_term=.18224d835036&wpisrc=al_world__alert-world&wpmk=1

· The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 800 points as investors worried that sharply rising interest rates would constrain the nation’s economic expansion. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/10/10/us-markets-drop-sharply-investors-are-spooked-by-rising-rates/?utm_term=.6bc880105be0&wpisrc=al_news__alert-economy--alert-national&wpmk=1

Thursday, Oct. 11

· Sen. Rand Paul called on congress to stop military aid to Saudi Arabia because of that country’s war in Yemen as well as over the disappearance of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who disappeared and is presumed dead after going to the Saudi consulate in Turkey. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/10/stop-funding-saudi-arabia-until-jamal-khashoggi-returns/572692/

· Reuters reported that because of the trade war with China, that country, the world’s largest importer of soybeans, has scaled back purchases of U.S. grain to feed its massive hog herd and is instead turning to Brazil, where soybean exports to China jumped 22 percent in value between January and September, while prices for U.S. soybeans have declined. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-brazil-insight/trump-trade-war-delivers-farm-boom-in-brazil-gloom-in-iowa-idUSKCN1ML0E7

· The Dow Jones industrial average dropped another nearly 550 points, sending its two-day loss to nearly 1,400 points. Much of the loss is attributed to Federal Reserve interest rates. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/markets-across-asia-open-down-sharply-following-wall-st-tumble/2018/10/10/ef1e5422-ccc9-11e8-920f-dd52e1ae4570_story.html?utm_term=.e494a90f56c6&wpisrc=al_news__alert-economy--alert-national&wpmk=1

· The Turkish government told U.S. officials that it has audio and video recordings that prove Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, according to U.S. and Turkish officials. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/turks-tell-us-officials-they-have-audio-and-video-recordings-that-support-conclusion-khashoggi-was-killed/2018/10/11/119a119e-cd88-11e8-920f-dd52e1ae4570_story.html?utm_term=.96d7b1187789&wpisrc=al_world__alert-world&wpmk=1

Friday, Oct. 12

· U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told CNBC he still plans to attend a Saudi investment conference later this month, despite growing outrage over the disappearance of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/12/khashoggi-mnuchin-planning-on-going-to-saudi-event-despite-journalists-disappearance.html?&qsearchterm=mnuchin

· The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration is considering plans that could once again separate parents and children at the U.S.-Mexico border, at least in part because White House adviser Stephen Miller believes the earlier separations were an effective deterrent to illegal crossings. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/immigration/trump-administration-weighs-new-family-separation-effort-at-border/2018/10/12/45895cce-cd7b-11e8-920f-dd52e1ae4570_story.html?utm_term=.45d1689676d0&wpisrc=al_news__alert-politics--alert-national&wpmk=1

· A new Washington Post-ABC news poll showed that a narrow majority of Americans say that the congressional investigation of Brett Kavanaugh should not have ended with his confirmation to the Supreme Court. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/more-americans-disapprove-of-kavanaughs-confirmation-than-support-it-new-poll-shows/2018/10/12/18dbf872-cd93-11e8-a3e6-44daa3d35ede_story.html?utm_term=.1daf5ae1bf56&wpisrc=al_news__alert-politics--alert-national&wpmk=1

Saturday, Oct. 13

· In excerpts of an interview to be aired Sunday on “60 Minutes,” Trump vowed “severe punishment” for Saudi Arabia if the U.S. finds Saudi agents killed Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, calling the journalist’s suspected murder “really terrible and disgusting,” but seeming to rule out a cancellation of a pending arms sale to the country. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-vows-severe-punishment-if-us-determines-saudi-arabia-killed-khashoggi/2018/10/13/dbefa658-cee0-11e8-920f-dd52e1ae4570_story.html?utm_term=.923085b5f2b1&wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

· The Washington Post reported that Trump is expected to name former DOJ attorney Pat Cipollone and informal Trump legal advisor as next White House counsel. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/washington-lawyer-pat-cipollone-emerging-as-trumps-pick-for-white-house-counsel-person-familiar-with-decision-says/2018/10/13/f3d54d3a-cf18-11e8-a360-85875bac0b1f_story.html?utm_term=.5c68826e0361

Sunday, Oct. 14

· Saudi Arabia said it rejects threats and political pressure over the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi in its consulate in Istanbul. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/saudi-arabia-rejectsthreats-after-trump-vows-severe-punishment-on-khashoggi-disappearance/2018/10/14/d8c6a2be-ce55-11e8-ad0a-0e01efba3cc1_story.html?utm_term=.0398b3315199

· Sen. Marco Rubio told CNN’s Jake Tapper “I don’t think we should continue business as usual [with Saudi Arabia] until we know exactly what’s happened here. Because what we do know is this: he walked into that consulate and never came out.”

· The New York Times reported that Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner paid virtually no federal income taxes for several years due to “depreciation losses” on real estate investments — losses occurring only on paper. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/13/business/jared-kushner-taxes.html