Ford's Emotional Testimony Leaves Kavanaugh Nomination Unclear

Ford is ‘100 percent’ certain Kavanaugh assaulted her. [NPR]( Daily Headlines Thursday, September 27, 2018 HEADS UP Saul Loeb/Getty Images Hold on to yourselves — this is going to be a long couple of days. The Senate Judiciary Committee opened its hearing on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who faces [multiple accusations]( of sexual misconduct. Kavanaugh’s first accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, gave an emotional testimony about the alleged sexual assault Ford says occurred when she and Kavanaugh were both in high school more than 30 years ago. Ford said she had no political agenda in coming forward about her allegation against Kavanaugh. "I am an independent person and I am no one's pawn." This exchange also took place: Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.): What is the strongest memory you have [from the incident]? Christine Blasey Ford: The uproarious laughter of the two [boys], and their having fun at my expense. Kavanaugh, who has denied all of the sexual misconduct allegations against him, will be questioned separately after Ford later today. [You can watch live: We’re live-streaming the hearings and will be there to make sense of it all once it’s done.]( While the country is engrossed in the goings-on in Dirksen 226, there is a lot going on in Washington. The White House announced today that President Trump and embattled Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein plan to meet next week. “They do not want to do anything to interfere” with the Kavanaugh-Ford hearing, said Press Secretary Sarah Sanders. The House voted on Wednesday to [approve a spending bill that will avoid a government shutdown]( threat until early December; Trump has said he plans to sign the legislation. THE DAILY GOOD [Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, makes headlines for closing her own car door upon arriving at the Royal Academy of Arts.]( Karwai Tang/WireImage Meghan Markle CLOSES HER OWN CAR DOOR. Royal Twitter totally loses it. In her first solo outing as a royal, the Duchess of Sussex headed out Tuesday evening to attend the opening of an art exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts. Apparently, [the act of casually shutting the door of her Bentley]( is enough of a protocol breach for social media to catch the vapors. DIGGING DEEPER LA Johnson/NPR If we called ourselves yellow. Can Asian Americans refer to themselves as something else? NPR's Kat Chow looks at [the history of the racial description “yellow,”]( beginning with the Swedish doctor who arbitrarily assigned single colors to describe complex peoples. Since then, descriptions of Asian Americans have included the term "Orientals" — and worse. In the 1960s, political activists formed what's been called the Yellow Power Movement, which some considered a rallying cry to unite Asian Americans whose origins ranged from India to South Korea. Not everyone is besotted with the idea of "yellow" becoming a descriptor. Activist and writer Jenn Fang asks whether it's "reclaiming the slur or reclaiming our history?" TODAY'S LISTEN [Hannah Storm (shown here) and Andrea Kremer are Amazon Prime Video's sportscasting team and are set to call 11 NFL games this season.]( Taylor Hill/Getty Images for ESPN The first all-women NFL broadcast team faces a public backlash. Since Amazon announced Tuesday that Hannah Storm and Andrea Kremer will call NFL games, some sports fans have not been happy. They’ve been critical of Storm and Kremer’s knowledge of football and their qualifications as commentators. Nevermind that Storm is an anchor at ESPN's SportsCenter and Kremer, an award recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame for broadcasting, is a correspondent at the NFL Network. ["I think it's extremely myopic to think that ... the NFL or really any sport is only for men,"]( Storm told Morning Edition's Rachel Martin. (Listening time, 3:50) THROWBACK THURSDAY [Joe Regalbuto, Grant Shaud, Candice Bergen and Faith Ford in the newly revived Murphy Brown.]( Jojo Whilden/CBS “Murphy Brown” returns in the Trump era. The "Murphy Brown" reboot makes its debut tonight on CBS, 20 years after the original ended its decade-long run. NPR’s Linda Holmes says [the sitcom’s premiere episode is just what it used to be](. And that might not be such a good thing in the age of 24-hour cable news, social media and the country’s current political climate. BEFORE YOU GO [Dunkin' Donuts announced on Tuesday it's dropping the ]( Dunkin' Donuts - [Dunkin' deletes “Donuts” from its name](. No word yet on what we’re supposed to be dunkin’ now. - [Benny the Beluga whale]( has been spotted splashing around in the Thames, and Brits are in love. - ['ElfQuest' comics is ending its legendary run]( after 40 years. - Maybe because it’s always all about Taylor! Why [Ms. Swift is the 21st century's most disorienting pop star](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Today’s newsletter was written by [Korva Coleman]( and Jill Hudson. You received this message because you're subscribed to our Daily News emails. | [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002 [NPR]