10 things you need to know today: October 2, 2018

1.

The White House has told the FBI to expand its investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. "The FBI should interview anybody that they want within reason," President Trump said Monday after Democrats complained the investigation was too limited. The FBI has talked to four people agents were initially told to interview, including Mark Judge, the man Christine Blasey Ford says was in the room when Kavanaugh allegedly sexually assaulted her in 1982. More news surfaced as the investigation continued. A 1985 police report described a bar fight apparently provoked when Kavanaugh threw ice on another patron. Also, college friends said Kavanaugh texted them seeking to refute an allegation that Kavanaugh had exposed himself to a classmate at Yale, days before the accusation was made public. [The New York Times, NBC News]

2.

President Trump on Monday boasted that his administration's trade deal with Canada and Mexico showed that his insistence on renegotiating trade deals and pressuring trading partners into being more fair to the U.S. was paying off. "Without tariffs, we wouldn't be talking about a deal," Trump said. "Just for those babies out there that talk about tariffs — that includes Congress, 'Please don't charge tariffs' — without tariffs, we wouldn't be standing here." The deal, called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), is an update to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which Trump called the "worst trade deal ever made." It lets U.S. dairy products be traded tariff-free with Canada, and requires more car manufacturing by "high-wage workers" like those in U.S. plants. [CNN]

3.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), the swing vote on the Senate Judiciary Committee who insisted on an FBI investigation into sexual misconduct claims against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, vowed Monday to make sure that the inquiry is "real." Democrats have complained that the scope of the investigation is too narrow. "It does us no good to have an investigation that just gives us more cover," Flake said as he traveled through New England while exploring a possible presidential bid. Flake, followed by protesters opposing Kavanaugh's nomination, said in Manchester, New Hampshire, that he would vote against confirming Kavanaugh if "any evidence" corroborates Christine Blasey Ford's sexual assault allegation dating to her and Kavanaugh's high school years, or if evidence shows Kavanaugh lied to the committee. [The Associated Press, Politico]

4.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Monday found that 48 percent of voters say Judge Brett Kavanaugh should not be confirmed to the Supreme Court, while 42 percent say he should. Women and men are split on the issue. Women oppose confirmation 55 percent to 37 percent, while men support it 49 percent to 40 percent. Among white voters, 51 percent say Kavanaugh should be confirmed, while 81 percent of black voters and 65 percent of Hispanic voters say he should be rejected. Forty-eight percent of voters believe Christine Blasey Ford, who alleges that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in the 1980s, over Kavanaugh, while 41 percent believe Kavanaugh over Ford. The Senate is awaiting an FBI investigation into the allegations before Kavanaugh's final confirmation vote. [Quinnipiac University]

5.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo declared a national emergency on Monday, three days after an earthquake and tsunami devastated the island of Sulawesi. The death toll rose to more than 1,200 people. Rescue workers continued trying to dig out survivors trapped in wreckage, and the death toll is expected to keep rising as crews reach areas cut off by the disaster. Thousands of homes were destroyed on Sulawesi. An eight-story hotel collapsed and scores of other buildings were damaged or destroyed in the city of Palu. Hungry survivors begged for aid and crowds descended on the airport trying to leave. In some areas, including Palu's Petobo section, the quake caused loose, wet soil to liquefy, creating a blanket of mud that caused much of the damage and is feared to have left hundreds of people buried. [The New York Times, The Associated Press]

6.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) has fallen into a statistical tie with his Republican challenger, Bob Hugin, in a Stockton University poll released Monday. New Jersey is solidly blue, but Menendez received the backing of just 42.6 percent of the likely voters polled, while Hugin got the support of 41.9 percent, a difference well within the poll's 4.25 percent margin of error. Menendez led by 6 percentage points in a Quinnipiac University poll two months ago. Menendez faced corruption charges that ended in a mistrial last year, and he will be retried. Those charges were an "extremely important" or "significant" factor for nearly 60 percent of surveyed voters in choosing who they'd vote for. [Stockton University Poll, NJ.com]

7.

Former President Barack Obama on Monday announced his second wave of 2018 endorsements. The list covered candidates in 29 states, including a dozen diverse gubernatorial nominees, such as Andrew Gillum in Florida, Ben Jealous in Maryland, Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan, Michelle Lujan Grisham in New Mexico, and Christine Hallquist in Vermont. Texas Senate nominee Beto O'Rourke, who is mounting a strong challenge against Sen. Ted Cruz (R), was not on the list. Obama endorsed many candidates for state legislature, in keeping with his promise to make it a priority to back candidates supported by the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which aims to boost Democrats by fighting GOP gerrymandering. Obama said he was trying to "endorse even more Democratic candidates who aren't just running against something, but for something." [The Washington Post]

8.

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded Tuesday to Arthur Ashkin of the United States, Gérard Mourou of France, and Donna Strickland of Canada for their work with lasers used for surgery and scientific study. Ashkin of Bell Laboratories in the U.S. was awarded half the $1 million prize, and Mourou and Strickland shared the other half. "The inventions being honored this year have revolutionized laser physics," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said. The scientists were recognized for their work using light to make tiny tools. Ashkin's "optical tweezers" use highly focused laser beams to let researchers hold microscopic objects steady, and Mourou and Strickland separately created the shortest and most powerful laser pulses ever. [The New York Times, Reuters]

9.

Riot police in Barcelona broke up a demonstration held in front of Catalonia's regional parliament on Monday. Earlier, thousands of protesters marched through the city to mark the first anniversary of a referendum to make the region independent from Spain. Demonstrators waved red and blue separatist flags, and chanted, "October 1, no forgiving, no forgetting." Madrid last year imposed direct rule in Catalonia after politicians declared independence after voters endorsed it, although pro-Spain forces had boycotted. Polls in the region show a roughly even split between those who want to remain part of Spain and those who want to secede. [Reuters]

10.

Forecasters said the remnants of Hurricane Rosa, a one-time Category 4 now downgraded to tropical depression status, would make landfall Tuesday on Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, threatening parts of California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah with heavy rain and possible flash floods. Arizona is expected to see the most rainfall, with the National Hurricane Center warning the state could get up to a half-foot of rain in some places. That much rain could cause "life-threatening flash flooding" and "dangerous debris flows and landslides" in the coming days, the hurricane center said. Flash flood watches covered areas with more than 11 million people. [USA Today, CNN]