Vox Sentences: Kavanaugh’s accuser comes forward

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Brett Kavanaugh’s accuser comes forward; the year’s most powerful storm lands in Southeast Asia.

Kavanaugh’s nomination is in jeopardy

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

• The Washington Post’s interview over the weekend with Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were both in high school in the 1980s, has upended Kavanaugh’s confirmation process. [Washington Post / Emma Brown]
• Republican leaders in Congress had hoped to confirm Kavanaugh by the end of the month — well before the midterm elections. By the end of the day Monday, after Kavanaugh and Ford had both said they’d testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, that plan seemed to be in considerable peril. [Politico / Elana Schor, Rebecca Morin, and Burgess Everett]
• Much is being made of the Judiciary Committee’s vote on Kavanaugh. But Senate Republican leaders could bring Kavanaugh’s nomination to the floor even if the committee doesn’t recommend him, or even if the committee doesnn’t vote at all. [Vox / Tara Golshan and Li Zhou]
• There are some striking parallels to Clarence Thomas’s confirmation in 1992, when another professor — Anita Hill — came forward reluctantly to accuse the Supreme Court nominee of inappropriate sexual behavior. [Vox / Anna North]
• Supporters of Kavanaugh’s are asking why Ford made an eleventh-hour accusation (which Kavanaugh has denied). But this allegation is not really new, Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick writes — “it’s just new to us.” [Slate / Dahlia Lithwick]

Millions evacuated, hundreds dead in Southeast Asia

• Typhoon Mangkhut hit the Philippines, Hong Kong, and southern China with 170 mph winds over the weekend. The Category 5 storm is, thus far, the year’s most powerful storm. [Vox / Jen Kirby]
• More than 3 million people were evacuated in China as the storm left all of Southeast Asia “in tatters.” [CNN / Euan McKirdy, Joshua Berlinger, and Ben Westcott]
• A massive landslide was triggered in a small Philippine town on Monday. More than 100 people are presumed to be dead, and scores more are missing. [Guardian / Carmela Fonbuena and Hannah Ellis-Petersen]
• The storm is expected to weaken to a tropical depression by Tuesday, but officials presume life will return to normal at a very slow pace. [NYT]

Miscellaneous

• FEMA announced it will issue a test for a new “Presidential Alert” system that allows President Trump to send personal text alerts to most cellphones across the US at the beginning of October. [The Verge / Andrew Liptak]
• A new survey finds that girls ages 10 to 19 simultaneously feel more empowered and more objectified than ever. [NYT / Claire Cain Miller]
• Rose McGowan, a Harvey Weinstein accuser and controversial leader of the #MeToo movement, alleged in late August that she had proof that actress and fellow Weinstein accuser Asia Argento sexually assaulted then-17-year-old Jimmy Bennett. Now, Argento is threatening to take legal action against McGowan if she doesn’t “retract and apologise for the horrendous lies” within the next 24 hours. [Variety / Brent Lang]
• Researchers have discovered a new phenomenon called “the liking gap,” in which many incorrectly think they are disliked by most people they encounter. [Scientific American / Susana Martinez-Conde]

Verbatim

“In recent decades, America has witnessed the rise of bad jobs offering low pay, no benefits and little certainty. When it comes to poverty, a willingness to work is not the problem, and work itself is no longer the solution.” [Matthew Desmond on why jobs are not the solution to poverty / NYT Magazine]

Watch this: Why the Ouija board became so famous

This is where Ouija boards came from. And it might surprise you. [YouTube / Phil Edwards]

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