PBC News & Comment: Supreme Court Confirmation Theater 2.0

Republican damage control for Kavanaugh in disarray as Dems gain momentary advantage toward goal of delaying vote on Court nomination….--Guardian op-ed is example of overheated, partisan rhetoric, with headline “Rapists have no place on Supreme Court”
--just in time, Stormy Daniels publishes kiss-n-tell book
--Trump orders declassification of selected documents in Russia probe….will this expose the Fusion GPS network?
--the trade war won’t end quickly, as China retaliates against Trump tariffs
--Putin quickly de-escalates tensions with Israel after Syrians shoot down Russian plane, killing 15 Russians
--Russia and Turkey agree on demilitarized zone in Idlib battle
--UN issues blistering report on Myanmar ethnic cleansing, and we have comment from Jacqueline Bhabha, a distinguished professor at Harvard
--at UN General Assembly next week, TrumpCo will unveil unusual drug war plan that includes brutal nations like China, Saudi Arabia and Singapore
--leaders of North and South Korea are meeting in Pyongyang
--at ConsortiumNews, Pepe Escobar has some deep questions for The West
--Senate passes short-term spending bill, hoping to avoid Trump-threatened government shutdown
--as Florence’s floodwaters are expected to crest, concerns grow about breaches to ponds holding toxic coal ash and pig waste