Advise & Dissent: The White House was briefed last night on the results of the FBI investigation into sexual misconduct accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, The Washington Post reports.

The investigation appears to have been pretty limited. The paper says only six witnesses were interviewed and the inquiry did not go after Kavanaugh’s youthful drinking habits.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the FBI found no corroboration of the story told by Christine Blasey Ford, who says Kavanaugh assaulted her when the two were teenagers. They did not interview Ford or some other witnesses who volunteered to offer testimony.

The three Republican senators who may determine whether Kavanaugh is confirmed to the Supreme Court all condemned President Trump yesterday for his mocking of the woman who accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault when the two were teenagers.

Susan Collins of Maine, Jeff Flake of Arizona, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska all described Trump’s Tuesday night speech as “wholly inappropriate,” “kind of appalling” and “just plain wrong.”

Some political analysts say that many Republicans are convinced that the way to win votes in November is to fight for Kavanaugh and attack the women accusing him. “We will not be intimidated by these people,” Majority leader McConnell declared Wednesday in an angry speech on the Senate floor. “There is no chance in the world that they’re going to scare us out of doing our duty.”

Just last week Trumpcalled Ford “a very credible witness” and “a very fine woman,” but Tuesday night he made a sarcastic parody of her inability to remember details of the assault she said happened when she was just 15. The President tweeted, “VOTERS ARE REALLY ANGRY AT THE VICIOUS AND DESPICABLE WAY DEMOCRATS ARE TREATING BRETT KAVANAUGH!”

Republicans are complaining that it’s OK to dissect Kavanaugh’s story, but not Ford’s. Presidential adviser Kellyane Conway said, “She’s been treated like a Fabergé egg by all of us, beginning with me and the president.” Conway told reporters, “He’s pointed out factual inconsistencies. Do you have corroboration for her claims? Can you fill in her memory gaps or her factual inconsistencies?”

Officers Down: Seven police officers were shot and one of them was killed after an attempt to serve a warrant at a house in Florence, SC, yesterday afternoon. The shooter opened fire hitting three officers and then hit four more as backups arrived.

The dead officer was a 30-year veteran of the Florence police department. The police had to bring in an armored vehicle to safely remove the wounded.

The gunman, who had barricaded himself in the house with children in it, gave up after a two-hour standoff. The situation may have been the result of domestic trouble.

The suspect had a kill zone of several hundred yards, the police said. Florence County Sheriff Kenney Boone said,“These officers went there unknowing the firepower this suspect had. He had an advantage. The officers couldn’t get to the ones that were down.”

Planned: The state of Missouri has only one abortion clinic left after one of the remaining two succumbed to state regulations aimed at eliminating abortions. State law requires abortion providers to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 15 minutes of their clinic even though they don’t really need that relationship to send over a patient in an emergency.

The last remaining abortion clinic in Missouri is run by Planned Parenthood in St. Louis.

The People’s Candidate: JB Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune and the Democratic candidate for governor of Illinois, has agreed to pay $330,000 in back property taxes on a mansion he owns on one of Chicago’s ritziest streets.

Pritzker, who’s worth $3.2 billion, bought a mansion next door to the one he lives in and had the five toilets removed so the house would be evaluated for tax purposes as “uninhabitable.” The property assessed at $6.7 million was lowered to $1.1 million.

We’re guessing this could hurt his candidacy.

Just Beans: A Utah man has been arrested after sending envelopes containing what was suspected to be the poison ricin in envelopes to President Trump and the Pentagon. It turned out to be just castor bean seeds, from which ricin is made.

The Obit Page: Peggy Sue Gerron, the inspiration for Buddy Holly’s classic song “Peggy Sue, has died at age 78. Gerron had been the girlfriend of Crickets drummer Jerry Allison.  When the song was written. Holly originally named it “Cindy Lou” for his niece, but after Allison and Peggy Sue broke up, Allison asked Holly to change the title to “Peggy Sue” in hopes of getting her back. She came back and they got married, but it didn’t last.

“Peggy Sue, Peggy Sue
Oh how my heart yearns for you
Oh Peggy, my Peggy Sue
Oh well, I love you gal, yes, I love you Peggy Sue”

Natural Selection: At least 259 people around the world have died while taking selfies with their cellphones, The Washington Post reports. They fall off cliffs and buildings, get hit by oncoming trains, touch a hot wire, or even manage somehow to get shot. But you know, the pictures are really memorable.

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