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Chief Justice John Roberts defended the independence of the federal judiciary in the wake of a tense confirmation battle for Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Roberts was at the University of Minnesota Tuesday as part of a lecture series with the law school, an appearance scheduled long before the hearings. But ahead of an interview with University of Minnesota law professor Robert Stein, the chief justice addressed what he called "the contentious events in Washington of recent weeks." He said the Supreme Court's role is clear — to be an independent arbiter of the U.S. Constitution. Asked if there was ever a chill in the room after a particularly divisive 5-4 decision, Roberts said no. And the way to do that is to get as many people on board as you can." Roberts said his bigger concern is ignorance about the court's role as an equal branch of government. "I think too many people think that when we reach a decision on a case, it's pretty much the same as Congress reaching a decision on a question of policy. Roberts said when he crafts opinions, he aims to write in a way that can be understood by people who are not lawyers or legal scholars. Even after the fight over Kavanaugh's confirmation, Roberts promised that the tradition of collegiality will continue, noting that all the justices shake hands ahead of every oral argument and before heading to the conference room to discuss the cases before them.

Thousands of protesters, among them victims of sexual assault, have descended upon the US Capitol with a desperate final appeal to lawmakers to reject embattled supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. The demonstrations began early Thursday afternoon, one day before the US Senate is poised to take its first vote on the judge’s nomination to America’s highest bench. Many protesters and activists had traveled to the nation’s capital from across the country. “It’s time for women to be heard,” said Karen Bralove, an alumnus of Holton-Arms, the all-girls preparatory school Ford attended in the early 1980s when she alleges Kavanaugh attempted to rape her. The reaction to the FBI report fell firmly along partisan lines, and the Republicans are in the majority in both houses of Congress, but those who took to the streets said they weren’t giving up hope just yet. The crowd roared at the news that Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a Democrat facing an uphill re-election battle in conservative North Dakota, had announced her opposition to Kavanaugh. Many spread out banners and sat on the floor, then were put in plastic handcuffs by law enforcement and led away. “Today I was arrested protesting the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, a man who has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault,” she wrote on Twitter. “Men who hurt women can no longer be placed in positions of power.” Emily Ratajkowski (@emrata) Today I was arrested protesting the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, a man who has been accused by multiple women of sexual assault. pic.twitter.com/nnwq1O4qk3 October 4, 2018 Actress and comedian Amy Schumer, who is known as a campaigner for gun control and is involved with the Time’s Up movement against sexual violence and harassment – and is a cousin of Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer – was also reportedly detained.

The Ford-Kavanaugh hearings were both a moment the country watched together but also one that seemingly drove us further apart. President Trump yesterday, before heading to a rally in West Virginia, expressed only support for Brett Kavanaugh as the FBI investigates sexual misconduct allegations into his Supreme Court nominee. GARCIA-NAVARRO: For more, I'm joined by NPR's national political correspondent Mara Liasson. LIASSON: All in for Kavanaugh. LIASSON: Things stand right now - I think Republicans don't yet have the votes. But every Republican I've talked to doesn't expect the FBI investigation to turn up anything new. So this all does really depend on what happens this week and with the FBI. Women saw a credible woman, a kind of everywoman. It wasn't just Kavanaugh who embraced the kind of Trumpist style of politics. GARCIA-NAVARRO: That's NPR's national political correspondent Mara Liasson.

But other things happened this week, too: Here are some of the other big politics stories -- almost any of which would have been the big story in any other week -- in case you missed them: President Donald Trump addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. But the thing that always distracts me is that armchair that speakers at the UN have to sit in for what seems like all of three seconds while they're being introduced. Now, don't get me wrong, I am the most vocal sitting desk supporter you are likely to find. But still, that chair doesn't even look that comfy. Apparently Trump "went off" on Macron. I analyze every handshake between these two as if they're diplomatic Punxsutawney Phils, indicating the state of the relationship between two major world democracies. Eagerly awaiting the remix of Cardi B's "I Like It" featuring Joe Biden where they change the line "I like those Balenciagas/the ones that look like socks" to "I like those Balenciagas/I like pulling up my socks." The other big Trump news was his first solo news conference in quite a while. This week had enough going on. I used this as the GIF of the day in Wednesday's edition of The Point newsletter, and no word yet on whether Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke won the game of Nose Goes that (I think) he was playing.

Thursday’s Senate hearing on Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination was an embarrassment that should have never happened. Judge Kavanaugh was right to call the confirmation process a “disgrace” in his passionate self-defense, and whatever one thinks of Christine Blasey Ford’s assault accusation, she offered no corroboration or new supporting evidence. Her description of the assault and its impact on her was wrenching. She clearly believes what she says happened to her. Her allegation should have been vetted privately, in confidence, as she said she would have preferred. Instead ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein held it for six weeks and it was leaked—perhaps to cause precisely such a hearing circus. As for Judge Kavanaugh, his self-defense was as powerful and emotional as the moment demanded. If he was angry at times, imagine how you would feel if you were so accused and were innocent as he says he is. The female friend Ms. Ford says was at the home the night of the assault says she wasn’t there. The number of people she says were there has varied from four to five and perhaps more, but every potential witness she has cited by name says he or she doesn’t recall the party.

It was evident long before Thursday’s senate judiciary committee hearings addressing Christine Blasey Ford’s allegation of sexual assault – which he denies – and indeed before Dr Ford first accused him. Donald Trump put him forward having promised to appoint judges who would reverse the Roe v Wade abortion ruling, pleasing those who do not believe that women can be trusted to control their own bodies. Before the testimony, more voters – especially female voters – believed Dr Ford than Mr Kavanaugh. But it is evident that they still regard this as a matter of optics. Despite these circumstances, no prosecutor could have hoped for a more credible, compelling or sympathetic witness than Dr Ford. Mr Kavanaugh faces no charges, let alone a risk of conviction. The question is whether he has earned the privilege of a lifetime seat on the highest court, ruling on voting rights, presidential power – and the rights of women to control their own bodies. Women who speak out and are smeared and attacked – as Dr Ford has been. Thursday’s hearings failed to treat the allegations adequately. But in these elections, and the years to come, they should know that women, and the men who respect them, will certainly remember.

I was underneath one of them while the two laughed, two friends having a really good time with one another.”) Conversely, Brett Kavanaugh and his defenders, most prominently Senator Lindsey Graham, cast Ford’s accusation and the hearing itself as an attack on Kavanaugh’s dignity: the shouting, hectoring, crying, and Graham’s explicit refusal even to consider the subject of the hearing communicated that they saw any challenge as an offense. For the rest of us, the spectacle of the hearing, and the vote that followed, became a death watch for dignity in politics. I have written about the concept of the “feminization of politics,” which foregrounds restoring dignity to those who are not often heard: women, poor people, black and brown people, disabled people, and many others. Seemingly out of nowhere, there appeared the performance of respect for the law, for the intellectual rigor of interpreting the law, and for procedure. But as Russia deteriorated, so did the public performance of politics, including in the courts. That underscores the interplay of the two kinds of political dignity: the dignity of participation and the dignity of performance. What we witnessed yesterday was the deliberate refusal to perform dignity. Every single one of them demonstrated, through their sympathetic questioning of Kavanaugh, that they were not in the least swayed by Ford’s credible and moving testimony. However, if the rest of the Republicans on the Judiciary Committee had had their druthers, Ford’s story would be told, but it would not be heard—at least not in the United States Senate. They would deny her, and the millions of women and men outside the Senate who did hear her, the dignity of participation.

But they want to resume negotiations over the exact terms of her appearance. The White House is casting doubt on the willingness of a college professor to speak publicly about her sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford told the Senate Judiciary Committee she would be willing to appear next week. ——— 2:50 p.m. Lawyers for the woman who's accusing Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of a sexual assault decades ago when they were teenagers say they've accepted the Senate Judiciary Committee's request for her to tell her story. But attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford say in a letter to the committee's Republican majority that they want to set up a time later Saturday to keep discussing terms of Ford's appearance. ——— 12:10 p.m. Vice President Mike Pence calls Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh "a man of integrity with impeccable credentials." Pence also says that he and President Donald Trump are confident that Republicans will handle that process "with the utmost respect for all concerned." ——— 11:10 a.m. Saturday at 2:30 p.m. That's the new and latest deadline in the high-stakes confrontation over whether Brett Kavanaugh's accuser will testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee chairman, GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, has given Christine Blasey Ford more time to decide on the terms of her appearance. Ford's accusations of Kavanaugh's behavior 35 years ago and the standoff over the terms of her appearance have captivated the nation as the appeals court judge's confirmation hangs in balance.

Good Thursday morning. Here are some of the stories making news in Washington and politics today. • The woman who accused Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault rejected the idea of a Senate hearing, saying it would not be a “good faith investigation.” [Read the story] • Here’s the story of Christine Blasey Ford, the researcher and statistician who was reluctant to come forward with her allegation against Judge Kavanaugh. [Read the story] • The accusation against the judge has scrambled the political calculations for 10 Democratic senators running for re-election in states won by President Trump. [Read the story] • Mr. Trump’s pugilistic approach to trade and China could rupture relations for years to come. [Read the story] • Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, agreed to “permanently dismantle” key nuclear facilities in a bid to ease tensions with South Korea, but his offers stop short of denuclearization. [Read the story] • President Andrzej Duda of Poland offered to host an American military base as a bulwark against Russia and even name it Fort Trump. Mr. Trump said Warsaw would have to pay billions to use his name. [Read the story] • Mr. Trump excoriated his attorney general, the F.B.I., the special counsel and members of the intelligence community, citing conspiracy theories. We’d love to hear from you.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s prospects of confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court changed significantly over the weekend after Christine Blasey Ford told The Washington Post that he sexually assaulted her when both were in high school. The FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast discusses the political reaction so far and debates whether Kavanaugh is still likely to be confirmed. The crew also looks back at the public’s response to Anita Hill’s accusations against Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991 and asks whether this case will be different. You can listen to the episode by clicking the “play” button above or by downloading it in iTunes, the ESPN App or your favorite podcast platform. If you are new to podcasts, learn how to listen. The FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast publishes Monday evenings, with occasional special episodes throughout the week. Help new listeners discover the show by leaving us a rating and review on iTunes. Have a comment, question or suggestion for “good polling vs. bad polling”? Get in touch by email, on Twitter or in the comments.