Good morning, I’m Tim Walker with today’s headlines. If you’d like to receive this briefing by email, sign up here.
Top story: senators face Kavanaugh vote, and the consequences
The Senate judiciary committee will this morning go ahead with a vote to decide the fate of supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh after a day of high emotion and low politicking on Thursday, in which Kavanaugh’s accuser gave an emotional account of her sexual assault and he angrily rebutted her allegations.
Christine Blasey Ford provided powerful, precise testimony, insisting that she was “100%” confident in her telling of the high-school trauma. Describing her appearance before the committee as a “civic duty”, the 51-year-old psychology professor recalled the “laughter” of Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge during the alleged attack, saying the memory was “indelible in the hippocampus”.
Kavanaugh was less measured but no less passionate in his denials, raging at “the left” for besmirching his reputation as “revenge on behalf of the Clintons”, and decrying the process as a “national disgrace”. It is still unclear whether the few wavering GOP senators were sufficiently convinced to vote for his confirmation, but one viewer was satisfied: Donald Trump tweeted that Kavanaugh was “powerful, honest and riveting”.
- Unbalanced and unhinged. Richard Wolffe argues that Kavanaugh has lost all credibility. However the Senate votes now, the result is bound to further deepen America’s partisan divide, writes David Smith in Washington.
- Shock and awe. Women across the US responded to Dr Ford’s heroic testimony with a mix of anger and deep admiration, as Luke O’Neil reports.
Duterte confesses to ‘extrajudicial killings’ in Philippines
President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines has admitted for the first time that he authorised “extrajudicial killings” as part of his brutal approach to the war on drugs, in which some 4,500 people have been killed by police. Duterte made the confession in a speech on Thursday, while attacking critics of his government. “I told the military, what is my fault? Did I steal even one peso?” he said. “My only sin is the extrajudicial killings.”
- Under investigation. The remarks will add fuel to an ongoing investigation into the killings by theinternational criminal court, amid reports that the true death toll from Duterte’s war on drugs could be up to 12,000.
- Darkness and evil. Duterte’s most prominent political critic, Philippines senator Antonio Trillanes IV, was arrested this week, saying: “Darkness and evil have prevailed in the country.”
SEC sues Elon Musk for fraud over aborted Tesla plans
The SEC is suing Elon Musk and Tesla for fraud over the entrepreneur’s unfulfilled promise to take his electric car company private. Musk tweeted in August that he had the necessary funding secured, only to backtrack sending investors scrambling. Musk said he was “deeply saddened” by the lawsuit, which could end with him being banned from leading a public company, insisting he has “always taken action in the best interests of truth, transparency and investors”.
- Diving suit. Musk is also facing a $75,000 defamation lawsuit from the British diver Vernon Unsworth, after Musk accused him of being a paedophile.
Crib sheet
- The New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, was met with thunderous applause at the UN for a speech urging global cooperation widely seen as a rebuke to Trump.
- Japanese robots have sent back their first video images from the surface of the moving asteroid known as Ryugu.
- A Van Gogh scholar has suggested the Dutch painter’s celebrated Starry Night was inspired by The Great Wave off Kanagawa, the famous print by Japanese master Hokusai.
Must-reads
Robyn returns to rescue pop music – again
Record executives have spent years searching for the next Robyn. Now the Swedish singer is returning to save them the trouble with her first solo album since 2010. On the brink of a breathlessly awaited comeback, Laura Snapes met her in Ibiza.
Peru’s last Incan city reveals its secrets
Explorers and archaeologists are busy clearing the sprawling ruins of Espíritu Pampa, thought to be the last capital of Vilcabamba, an Incan state that survived for decades after the onslaught of the conquistadors. Laurence Blair trekked to see the site for himself.
The Ohio mother living in a church to escape deportation
Edith Espinal has spent the past year living inside the inside the Columbus Mennonite church in Ohio to avoid the deportation orders that would separate her from her family. Espinal’s is one of 51 public cases of sanctuary across America, Dalia Hatuqa learns.
What A Star Is Born tells us about fame, fear and feminism
The gender politics of A Star is Born have remained surprisingly intact from its first film incarnation in 1937 to the third remake, released next week, writes Hadley Freeman: “They all suggest that the woman’s success emasculates, even feminises, the man.”
Opinion
Donald Trump doesn’t stand alone in his skepticism of the transatlantic alliance; his views reflect America’s collective drift away from Europe, writes Timothy Garton Ash.
Now more than ever, the wider American congregation is turning away from international commitments and entangling alliances to address its own pressing domestic concerns.
Sport
As the Ryder Cup gets under way, Tiger Woods’ health remains in question. Find out whether his back holds up, and follow the rest of the action from Le Golf National, on our live blog.
Chelsea and Liverpool will face each other for the second time in several days on Saturday, following their midweek Carabao Cup clash. Here’s what to watch out for during the weekend’s Premier League action.
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