Top story: ‘My responsibility is to tell the truth,’ says Ford
After a day of angry clashes, tears and claims of farce and disgrace, a US Senate committee is preparing to vote on the fate of supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, a decision that could decide America’s judicial course for decades to come.
Dr Christine Blasey Ford told of the agony of having to “relive this trauma in front of the world”. She alleged Kavanaugh had groped her, tried to remove her clothes and covered her mouth to block her screams. “This was what terrified me the most, and has had the most lasting impact on my life,” Ford said. Her strongest memory was “The laughter, the uproarious laughter between the two [Kavanaugh and friend Mark Judge], and their having fun at my expense.”
She rebuked the notion she was politically motivated. “Those who say that do not know me. I am a fiercely independent person and I am no one’s pawn,” she said. “It is not my responsibility to determine whether Mr Kavanaugh deserves to sit on the supreme court. My responsibility is to tell the truth.”
In a furious opening statement, Kavanaugh defiantly stated: “You’ll never get me to quit.” Breaking down several times, Kavanaugh called the whole process “a national disgrace” and accused Democrats on the committee of replacing “advise and consent with search and destroy”. Donald Trump liked his statements – which arguably resembled the approach of the president – calling his testimony “powerful, honest, and riveting”.
Whatever the final outcome, all the bile, ugliness and tribal politicking of Washington was on display here, writes David Smith in his analysis.
During the hearing, Richard Wolffe writes, you could hear Republicans calculating the cost. Which number was larger? Votes lost among women versus those lost among Trump fanatics if they put this nomination out of its misery.
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Brexit meh factor – With six months to go until Britain leaves the EU, nearly two-thirds of businesses have yet to come up with a plan to handle a no-deal Brexit. The British Chambers of Commerce found many smaller enterprises were awaiting more clarity or suffering from “Brexit fatigue”, leading them to switch off entirely. In findings that alarmed the BCC, a fifth of respondents said they would would move part or all of their business to the EU to ensure they could still export. Boris Johnson used the Daily Telegraph to accuse Theresa May of a “pretty invertebrate performance” on Brexit talks, and called for Chequers to be replaced by a “Super Canada” deal, which he noted could require an extension to the transition period.
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Justice is tweet – Elon Musk is being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission over his tweets about taking Tesla private, a case that could lead to him being banned from leading a public company. The claim of fraud caused Tesla’s shares to nosedive. In response, Musk said the lawsuit was unjustified and that “integrity is the most important value in my life”.
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Unhealthy approach – Black doctors are paid nearly £10,000 a year less on average than their white counterparts, an analysis of 750,000 NHS salaries in England has found. The gap is £2,700 for nurses. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the chair of the British Medical Association, said BME (black and minority ethnic) doctors made up more than a third of the medical workforce and “it cannot be right that in 21st-century Britain there are such wide gaps”.
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Orca apocalypse – Half of the world’s killer whale population could be wiped out in the coming decades by toxic pollutants concentrating in body tissue as they travel up the food chain, the largest analysis yet has shown. Among those most at risk are the UK’s last pod, where a recent death revealed one of the highest levels of the banned PCB chemical ever recorded. PCBs were banned in the 70s and 80s but 80% of the 1m tonnes produced have yet to be destroyed and are still leaking into the seas from landfills and other sources.
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Lunchtime read: How Robyn transformed pop
Her absence has only underlined her importance. Entire cottage industries have formed to produce the next great star in her image; there is a steady flow of young female artists from beyond the North Sea who are hopefully, vainly labelled “the new Robyn”. There is something ironic about these efforts to reverse-engineer a figure who has defined herself against the music industry’s lack of imagination. Now, the anticipation around Robyn’s new work couldn’t be greater, but in 2018, at age 39, she feels she has nothing to prove. Laura Snapes caught up with her at a villa in Ibiza ahead of the release her sixth album, Honey.
Sport
On the eve of the Ryder Cup teeing off at the Le Golf National in France, Thomas Bjørn has named Justin Rose and Jon Rahm as the opening pair for Europe, against Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau for the US. Kevin Mitchell runs the rule over the scientific basis underpinning Bryson DeChambeau’s unorthodox style, and Andy Bull writes that in the context of Tadd Fujikawa’s coming out the Ryder Cup’s wives’ parade deserves to be consigned to history.
Lewis Hamilton has claimed he’s feeling “healthier, happier and stronger than ever” ahead of this weekend’s Russian Grand Prix, where he will look to defend his 40-point lead over rival Sebastian Vettel. And, Paul Pogba’s agent, Mino Raiola, has flagged talks with the club in November over the record signing’s ongoing future at Manchester United, following an alleged falling out with coach José Mourinho.
Business
Citizens Advice has lodged a “super-complaint” with the competition watchdog, saying loyal customers of mobile phone and broadband operators, banks and insurers are being overcharged by as much as £4bn a year – or £877 per person. The charity called for measures to end “this systematic scam”. Almost half of self-employed adults aged 25 or over are earning less than the minimum wage, the TUC has revealed, calling for a crackdown on abuses of gig economy workers.
The papers
The only theme uniting today’s papers is a possibly smirking David Beckham, who has avoided a charge of speeding. Otherwise they all go their separate ways.
The Guardian goes top with Dr Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony alongside a powerful picture of her standing before the committee. Second is the pay gap between BME doctors and their white counterparts. The FT gives Ford a picture slot, and the main story is the investigation into the $4bn rip-off of loyal customers (see business above).
The Telegraph again gives its front page to columnist Boris Johnson, who raises Jeremy Corbyn with his own six-point plan for Brexit.
The Mail claims a campaign victory after banks said they would warn customers if it looked like they were transferring money to scammers. It calls Beckham a “boy-racer” and says he is smug. The Express asks why dementia research is getting less funding than cancer research. It features a pic of Beckham after he “swerved” a speeding ban. He is not looking smug in this picture.
The Times looks at what the wives and girlfriends of the European Ryder cup team look like and also calls from independent schools to scrap unconditional uni offers over concerns they make students “take their foot off the gas”.
The Mirror goes the whole hog with David Beckham and says he is “sickeningly smug”. The Sun says “Bend the law like Beckham” and points out that he is “grin the clear”. It also reports the Queen has been given a fake hand to use for waving if need be.
The i says breast cancer deaths will soon rise after decades of decline.
For more news: www.theguardian.com
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