This week ends with a flood of news, so let’s just get straight to it. Here’s what you need to know to Get Up to Speed and Out the Door. (You can also get “5 Things You Need to Know Today” delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.)
1. Brett Kavanaugh
The Senate holds a procedural vote this morning on the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, and it’s sure to kick off another day of high drama on Capitol Hill. Hundreds of anti-Kavanaugh protesters got arrested yesterday as they tried to pressure the two or three senators who will determine Kavanaugh’s fate. Meantime, Kavanaugh gave a closing argument of sorts in aWall Street Journal op-ed. He said he’s an “independent, impartial judge” and conceded he “might have been too emotional” during his testimony last week. Democrats continued to grumble about the FBI inquiry, while President Trump, duringa rally in Minnesota, blasted what he called the Dems’ politics of “anger and destruction.” A final vote on Kavanaugh could come this weekend.
2. Russian meddling
It’s not just US elections that the Russians are screwing with. They seem to be trying to mess with the whole world. But the West is starting to fight back — in an unprecedented and coordinated effort that represents a significant escalation of tensions with Moscow:
• The Netherlands accused Russia’s military intelligence agency of targeting the world’s chemical weapons watchdog in a foiled cyberattack.
• The UK, Australia and New Zealand said the same agency carried out cyberattacks worldwide, including the hacking two years ago of the US Democratic National Committee.
• And the US Justice Department indicted seven Russian intelligence officers, accusing them of various crimes designed to distract from Russia’s state-sponsored sports doping program.
3. Kidnapped schoolgirl
Nigerian schoolgirl Leah Sharibu has been held hostage by Boko Haram for most of this year. Now, her parents say the terror group will execute her this month if its demands aren’t met. They’re pleading with the Nigerian government to continue negotiations, like it’s done for other girls abducted by militants. Sharibu, 15, was abducted in February alongside more than 100 girls from their school in Dapchi. Most were soon released, but Sharibu was held back after she reportedly refused to renounce her Christian faith.
4. Florida’s red tide
Florida’s awful red tide bloom has spread from its Gulf Coast. It’s now on the state’s east coast, fouling waters from Palm Beach to Miami Beach. Beaches in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties closed this week. Dead fish are already washing up on some beaches. Red tide — a naturally occurring explosion of algae in coastal waters — is rare on Florida’s Atlantic coast. A NOAA oceanographer predicts strong currents will rip it apart in a couple of weeks.
5. Nobel Peace Prize
This year’s Nobel Peace Prizewill be shared by a pair of leading figures in the movement to end sexual violence against women in times of war. Nadia Murad, a Yazidi woman who was held as an ISIS sex slave, and Denis Mukwege, a doctor who has treated thousands of rape victims in Congo, were announced this morning as the award winners. The chair of the Nobel Committee said Murad and Mukwege “put their personal securityat risk by courageously combating war crime and seeking justice for victims.”
TODAY’S NUMBER
28
That’s how many years in prison ex-rap mogul Suge Knight received for the death of a man during a hit-and-run incident on a movie set
BREAKFAST BROWSE
‘The Sword in the Stone’ remake
An 8-year-old girl pulled a pre-Viking-era sword out of a Swedish lake. Does that make her the “Queen of Sweden?”
Go home, birds
This time, they ARE drunk — on berries that fermented earlier than usual due to an early Minnesota frost.
Got Spanish? She’s got your back
A 30-year-old woman defended two friends after another stranger in Colorado chastised them for speaking Spanish. Now, she’s an internet héroe.
PICK that up off the floor!
The 22-pound rock had been propping open a door in Michigan for decades. Turns out, it’s actually a meteorite worth $100,000.
HAPPENING LATER
Jobs, jobs, jobs
The September jobs reportcomes out this morning, and it should be another stellar one. Economists predict a gain of 185,000 new jobs.
TODAY’S QUOTE
“(My wife is) holding the shredder, and she says, ‘I think the money is in here.'”
Ben Belnap of Halladay, Utah, describing the moment the couple realized their 2-year-old son had shredded more than $1,000 they’d been saving to pay off a debt
TOTAL RECALL
Quiz time
Burglars used social media to target celebrities, including which singer’s house?
A. Ariana Grande
B. Justin Timberlake
C. Rihanna
D. Katy Perry
Play“Total Recall: The CNN news quiz” to see if your answer is right.
IT’S THE WEEKEND, BABY
It’s a big box office weekend, as Lady Gaga fans flock to the remade remake,“A Star Is Born.”They’re also trolling “Venom,” which opens today, too, though CNN’s Brian Lowry says it doesn’t bite “in the manner intended.”
AND FINALLY
All fall down
The Domino King is back, and this time he’s created a Spider-Man out of 36,000 dominoes. Just so he can knock them all down. (Click to view.)
