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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2018
Kavanaugh clears crucial Senate hurdle
By LISA MASCARO
and ALAN FRAM
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A
deeply divided Senate pushed
Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme
Court nomination past a key
procedural hurdle today, setting
up a likely final showdown this
weekend in a spellbinding bat-
tle that’s seen claims of long-
ago sexual assault by the nom-
inee threaten President Donald
Trump’s effort to tip the court
rightward for decades.
The Senate voted 51-49 to
limit debate, effectively defeat-
ing Democratic efforts to scut-
tle the nomination with endless
delays and nearing the climax
of a fight that has captivated the
country since summer. With
Republicans controlling the
chamber 51-49, one Republi-
can voted to stop the nomina-
tion, one Democrat to send it
further.
Of the four lawmakers who
had not revealed their decisions
until today — all moderates —
Republican Sens. Susan Col-
lins of Maine and Jeff Flake of
Arizona voted yes, as did Dem-
ocrat Joe Manchin of West Vir-
ginia. Republican Lisa Mur-
kowski of Alaska voted not to
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
Demonstrators rally Thursday in Times Square in New York to protest Supreme Court
nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
move the nomination ahead.
While the vote was a vic-
tory for the GOP, lawmakers
can vote differently on the cli-
mactic confirmation roll call,
and Collins told reporters she
would announce later today
how she would go. That left
unclear whether today’s tally
signaled that the 53-year-old
federal appellate judge was on
his way to the nation’s high-
est court, though it would
be unusual for lawmakers to
switch their votes on such a
high-profile issue.
Confirmation would be
a crowning achievement for
Trump, his conservative base
and Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
Murkowski sat solemnly
during the roll call and whis-
pered “No” when it was her
turn to vote. As the tally neared
an end, she spoke with Collins,
a Democratic friend. Both were
surrounded by colleagues from
both parties after the vote.
All four lawmakers who’d
been undeclared said little or
nothing to reporters as they left
the chamber.
Trump
weighed
in
shortly after the roll call was
announced, tweeting, “Very
proud of the U.S. Senate for
voting ‘YES’ to advance the
nomination of Judge Brett
Kavanaugh!”
Vice President Mike Pence,
who could have broken a 50-50
tie, watched the vote from the
White House. He is heading to
New York for a congressional
fundraiser today but planned to
be back in Washington for the
final vote.
Today’s procedural vote
occurred a day after the Sen-
ate received a roughly 50-page
FBI report on the sexual assault
allegations, which Trump
ordered only after wavering
GOP senators forced him to do
so.
Republicans said the secret
document — which described
interviews agents conducted
with 10 witnesses — failed to
find anyone who could corrobo-
rate allegations by his two chief
accusers, Christine Blasey Ford
and Deborah Ramirez. Demo-
crats belittled the bureau’s find-
ings, saying agents constrained
by the White House hadn’t
reached out to numerous other
people with potentially import-
ant information.
The vote also occurred
against a backdrop of smol-
dering resentment by partisans
on both sides. That fury was
reflected openly by thousands
of boisterous anti-Kavanaugh
demonstrators who bounced
around the Capitol complex
for days, confronting senators
in office buildings and even
reportedly near their homes.
On the Senate floor, law-
makers’ comments under-
scored the lingering bitterness.
“What left wing groups and
their Democratic allies have
done to Judge Kavanaugh is
nothing short of monstrous,”
Senate Judiciary Commit-
tee Chairman Chuck Grass-
ley, R-Iowa, said on the cham-
ber’s floor before the vote. He
accused Democrats of using
destructive, unwarranted per-
sonal attacks on the nominee
and even encouraging the pro-
testers, saying, “They have
encouraged mob rule.”
Dianne Feinstein of Califor-
nia, that committee’s top Dem-
ocrat, said Kavanaugh’s testi-
mony at last week’s dramatic
Judiciary panel hearing should
“worry us all,” citing “a hos-
tility and belligerence that is
unbecoming” of a Supreme
Court nominee.
WORLD IN BRIEF
Associated Press
Disbarred lawyer, 74,
accused of shooting 7 officers
FLORENCE, S.C. — A 74-year-old man accused of shooting
seven South Carolina law enforcement officers, killing one, is a
Vietnam veteran and disbarred attorney who used his marksman-
ship to hold officers back as their comrades lay bleeding on the
ground, authorities said.
Records and social media posts unearthed Thursday showed that
Frederick Hopkins became serious about amateur target-shooting
around the time he lost his law license in the 1980s for mishan-
dling money.
“I just love the smell of gunpowder in the mornin’s,” he once
posted on Facebook.
In recent years, Hopkins had faced several minor criminal
charges, including disorderly conduct in 2014.
Hopkins is accused of opening fire Wednesday from his home
in an affluent South Carolina neighborhood after deputies tried to
carry out a search warrant. He also allegedly held children hostage
inside, authorities said.
The slain officer, a 30-year veteran, was tearfully described as
the “epitome of a community police officer” by his chief.
Mourners held a candlelight vigil Thursday night for 52-year-
old Officer Terrence Carraway inside a Florence church.
Two wounded city officers have been released from the hospital.
A third officer was listed in serious but stable condition, the police
chief said. He said he did not know the conditions of three wounded
sheriff’s deputies.
Hopkins was hospitalized with a head injury and unable to speak
with officers, television station WIS reported.
The warrant involved an accusation that a 27-year-old person at
the home sexually assaulted a foster child who lives there, Florence
County Chief Deputy Glenn Kirby said.
28-year prison sentence caps
long downfall for ‘Suge’ Knight
LOS ANGELES — Marion “Suge” Knight was sentenced
Thursday to 28 years in prison for mowing down and killing a
Compton businessman in a case that completed the former rap
music mogul’s downfall from his heyday as one of the biggest —
and most feared — names in the music industry.
Knight, 53, will now likely live out most, if not the rest, of his
life in a California prison. He showed no emotion in court Thursday
as relatives of Terry Carter, the man he killed, described their loved
one as a devoted family man and peacemaker.
Carter was killed after Knight and one of his longtime rivals, Cle
“Bone” Sloan, started fighting outside a Compton burger stand in
January 2015. Knight was upset about his portrayal in an N.W.A.
biopic, “Straight Outta Compton,” which Sloan was serving as a
consultant on. Knight clipped Sloan with his pickup truck, seriously
injuring him, before speeding through the parking lot and running
over Carter and fleeing.
While Carter’s relatives said they hoped Knight’s lengthy sen-
tence will bring them peace, many had no kind words for the Death
Row Records co-founder, whom they criticized for showing a com-
plete lack of remorse.
Before Thursday’s hearing, Knight had already agreed to his
lengthy prison term by pleading no contest to voluntary manslaugh-
ter and avoiding a trial on murder and attempted murder charges
that could have resulted in a life sentence if he was convicted. The
sentencing ended a nearly four-year court saga that included fre-
quent outbursts by Knight, 53, who also collapsed in court during
one appearance and shuffled his defense team 16 times.
US unemployment rate falls
to 49-year low of 3.7 percent
WASHINGTON — The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 3.7 per-
cent in September — the lowest level since December 1969 — sig-
naling how the longest streak of hiring on record has put millions of
Americans back to work.
Employers added just 134,000 jobs last month, the fewest in a
year, the Labor Department said today. But that figure was likely
depressed by the impact of Hurricane Florence.
That storm struck North and South Carolina in mid-September
and closed thousands of businesses. A category that includes restau-
rants, hotels and casinos lost jobs for the first time since last Sep-
tember, when Hurricane Harvey exerted a similar effect.
In recent months, though, healthy consumer and business
spending has been fueling brisk economic growth and embolden-
ing employers to continue hiring. Americans are confident about
the economic outlook, buoyed by the job gains and signs of higher
pay. The September gain extended an 8½-year streak of monthly
job growth.
What’s more, the government today revised sharply up its esti-
mate of hiring for July and August by 87,000 jobs. So far this year,
monthly job growth has averaged 208,000, up from a pace of
182,000 for all of last year.
“The acceleration in job gains this year is extraordinary in an
environment where firms are having great difficulty finding quali-
fied candidates,” said Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst
Pierpont Securities.
Average hourly pay rose 2.8 percent from a year earlier, a mod-
erate gain and one tick below the year-over-year increase in August.
Many economists expect pay growth to accelerate in coming
months. With unemployment so low, companies are facing intense
pressure to raise pay to land workers. Amazon responded this week
by raising its minimum wage to $15 an hour.
Interpol president reported
missing during trip to China
PARIS — The president of Interpol, a former senior Chinese
security official, has been reported missing after he traveled to his
native country at the end of September, a French judicial official
said today.
Meng Hongwei’s wife reported today that she had not heard
from her 64-year-old husband since he left Lyon, France, where
Interpol is based, said the official, who spoke on condition of ano-
nymity to provide details of an ongoing investigation.
The French official said Meng did arrive in China. There was
no further word on Meng’s schedule in China or what prompted his
wife to wait until now to report his absence.
In a statement, Interpol said it was aware of reports about Meng’s
disappearance and added “this is a matter for the relevant authorities
in both France and China.” The statement noted that Interpol’s sec-
retary general, and not its president, is responsible for the interna-
tional police agency’s operations.
News of the investigation into Meng’s disappearance came
during a weeklong public holiday in China. In Beijing, the foreign
and public security ministries did not immediately respond to calls
and faxed requests for comment Friday.
t Dulcye Taylor
Mee Candidate
for Astoria Mayor
Tuesday October 9th
Baked Alaska Annex
1 12th St #1
5:30 - 7:30pm
Thursday, October 11th
Astor Place
999 Klaskanine Avenue
11am - Noon
Wednesday, October 17th
Astoria Riverwalk Inn
Dining Room
400 Industry St.
5:30 - 7:30pm
Wednesday, October 24th
KALA
1017 Marine Dr.
6:00 - 8:00pm
Tuesday, October 30th
Astoria Library Flag Room
450 10th St. • 5:30 - 7:30 pm
All meetings are FREE and OPEN to the public