Sep 28, 2018 - Politics & Policy

Whip count on Kavanaugh leans confirmation

Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has 48 hard "yes" votes, and needs 50 for a win, with Vice President Pence breaking the tie.

What's next: The Judiciary Committee is racing to vote at 9:30 a.m. today. The full Senate could start taking procedural votes Saturday, setting up a final vote as soon as Tuesday, per AP.

  • Republicans are increasingly optimistic about getting the vote of Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who's in a tough reelection race in a state Trump won by 42 points (not a typo).
  • The uncommitted Republican senators are Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and the retiring Jeff Flake of Arizona. GOP vote counters believe that to avoid future primary challenges fueled by the Trump machine, Collins and Murkowski will find their way to voting "aye."

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Laurin-Whitney Gottbrath
7 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Two officers shot in Louisville amid Breonna Taylor protests

Police officers stand guard during a protest in Louisville, Kentucky. Photo: Ben Hendren/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Louisville Metro Police Department said two officers were shot downtown in the Kentucky city late Wednesday, just hours after a grand jury announced an indictment in the Breonna Taylor case.

Driving the news: Metrosafe, the city's emergency services, said it received reports of a shooting at South Brook St. and Broadway Ave., near the area where protests were taking place. A police spokesperson told a press briefing the injuries of both officers were not life-threatening. One officer was "alert and stable" and the other was undergoing surgery, he said.

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Axios
Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 31,778,331 — Total deaths: 974,436 — Total recoveries: 21,876,025 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 9 p.m. ET: 6,943,078 — Total deaths: 201,930 — Total recoveries: 2,670,256 — Total tests: 97,459,742 — Map.
  3. Health: CDC director says over 90% of Americans have not yet been exposed to coronavirus — Supply shortages continue to plague testing.
  4. Politics: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson tests positive for coronavirus — Poll says 51% of Republicans trust Trump on coronavirus more than the CDC.
  5. Technology: The tech solutions of 2020 may be sapping our resolve to beat the coronavirus
  6. Vaccines: Johnson & Johnson begins large phase 3 trial — The FDA plans to toughen standards.
  7. Sports: Less travel is causing the NBA to see better basketball.
  8. Future: America's halfway coronavirus response
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Fadel Allassan
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Biden: Breonna Taylor indictment "does not answer" call for justice

Former Vice President Joe Biden. Photo: Leigh Vogel/Getty Images

Former Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday condemned the grand jury indictment of a Louisville police officer who entered Breonna Taylor's home in March in a botched drug raid that led to her death, saying in a statement the decision "does not answer" for equal justice.

The big picture: Biden called for reforms to address police use of force and no-knock warrants, while demanding a ban on chokeholds. He added that people "have a right to peacefully protest, but violence is never acceptable."

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