First day gets feisty at Kavanaugh hearing

with Editors

Kavanaugh's first day of confirmation hearings — and no one's happy

A woman stands and voices her opposition to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, during a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on his nomination for Supreme Court, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) ORG XMIT: DCJM102

First day blues

Just as students and teachers are both sad for the first day of school, Republicans and Democrats are both mad over the first day of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation hearings . Democrats are angry that Republicans dumped 42,000 pages of documents about Kavanaugh on committee members the night before the hearing; Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said he's "convinced they are hiding something." Republicans are angry over protesters' outbursts and Democrats' interruptions. Sen. John Cornyn called one demonstrator a "loudmouth," and said it was "unlike anything I've seen before in a confirmation hearing." Here's what USA TODAY's Editorial Board wishes it could ask the potential Supreme Court justice.

McCain's successor selected

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Tuesday appointed Jon Kyl, once the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, as Sen. John McCain 's replacement. Cindy McCain tweeted that Kyl was a "dear friend" of her late husband's. Kyl, who had retired in 2013, has agreed to stay on at least until the end of the year. Earlier this summer, he was tapped to shepherd Kavanaugh through the SCOTUS confirmation process.

Election Day sprint begins and here's what voters are saying

With just over 60 days until the 2018 midterm elections, analysts calculate that Democrats need a national advantage of about eight percentage points to flip at least the 23 House seats that would bring a majority that would allow them to launch investigations and even consider impeachment of President Trump. A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll of 1,000 voters gives Dems an 11-point edge. Among other findings:

•	58 percent said they want a Congress that mostly stands up to Trump
•	3 of 4 voters said they had no preference between voting for a male or female candidate for Congress. (A record number of women are running.)
•	Just 1 percent and 2 percent of those surveyed said they wouldn't vote for a qualified candidate who was black or female, but 18 percent and 20 percent said they wouldn't vote for one who was Muslim or transgender, respectively.

Nearly 90 elephants slaughtered. Why?

A wildlife organization made a tragic discovery near an animal sanctuary in Botswana: 87 slaughtered elephants. Many of the dead animals were without tusks. During an aerial census, Elephants Without Borders found the elephant bodies near Okavango Delta wildlife sanctuary, a popular tourist destination. Poaching problem? Possibly. The country recently disarmed its anti-poaching unit under president Mokgweetsi Masisi.

Gordon nears landfall

Tropical Storm Gordon continued to bear down on the Gulf Coast throughout the day on Tuesday, and an overnight landfall is likely in Louisiana or Mississippi. Gordon could briefly become a hurricane before it hits land, the National Hurricane Center said. Gordon will bring drenching rain, gusty winds and pounding waves to the Gulf Coast overnight and early Wednesday. Meanwhile, Hurricane Florence lurks in the central Atlantic, another in a parade of storms expected to form over the next week as we reach the typical peak of the Atlantic hurricane season.

This compilation of stories from across the USA TODAY Network was brought to you by Anne Godlasky, Ashley May and Doyle Rice.

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