Written by Elaine Godfrey (@elainejgodfrey), Madeleine Carlisle (@maddiecarlisle2), and Olivia Paschal (@oliviacpaschal)
Today in 5 Lines
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President Donald Trump said the U.S. is asking Turkey for the audio recordings they claim to have, relating to the alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul earlier this month. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss Khashoggi’s disappearance.
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A federal court in New York charged a senior Treasury Department employee with leaking to a reporter confidential government documents related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.
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To combat the growing federal deficit, Trump said he would ask each of his Cabinet secretaries to cut five percent from their budget proposals next year.
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Democrats from multiple House committees said that their recent briefing from the Department of Homeland Security did not support Trump’s claims that Chinese interference in U.S. elections was greater than Russian interference.
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Trump has chosen Washington lawyer Pat Cipollone to replace outgoing White House counsel Don McGahn.
Today on The Atlantic
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Sessions in the Shadows: Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been quietly remaking the country’s immigration courts in his image. (Priscilla Alvarez)
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Mitt Is Not the #Resistance: If Mitt Romney is elected to the Senate, don’t expect him to be the “heroic opposition” to President Trump. (Dick Polman)
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DNA Is Not Identity: That a DNA test can prove Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Native American ancestry is both scientifically and culturally suspect, argues geneticist Krystal Tsosie.
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The Expatriate Allure: For generations, African Americans have left the U.S. seeking freedom from racism and oppression. They haven't always found it. (Kimberly Springer)
Snapshot
What We’re Reading
DNA Fiasco: Many on the left believe Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is a front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. But her recent announcement about her Cherokee ancestry demonstrates “a conspicuous lack of political common sense,” argues Ross Douthat. (The New York Times)
Trump, Inc.: A new investigation from ProPublica and WNYC found that the Trump family businesses were deeply involved in real estate deals that often relied on deceptive practices.
Why They’re Running: Native American women are running for state and federal office in record numbers. It’s a phenomenon years in the making. (Joe Heim, The Washington Post)
Yikes: On Tuesday night, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and his Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke had their last debate before the midterm elections. O’Rourke couldn’t land a punch. (Jim Newell, Slate)
More Family Separation: ICE data reveals that tens of thousands of parents who have been deported have children who are American citizens. (Madeline Buiano, Center for Public Integrity)
Visualized
Miseducation: Dive into ProPublica’s comprehensive data map of racial inequality in America’s schools. (Lena V. Groeger, Annie Waldman, and David Eads)
America After Shelby: Nearly 20 percent of polling places have been closed since 2013 in areas where the Voting Rights Act of 1965 once mandated federal election supervision. (Rob Arthur and Allison McCann, Vice News)
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