Tiger Woods is back.

Woods sent a resounding message to the sports world with a dominating win at the Tour Championship — he's back, and the majors are next.

After playing in just two tournaments in over two years, and after a tumultuous few months that included his fourth back surgery in four years and an arrest after being found asleep in his car on the side of the road, Woods is finally back.

In fact, he has looked so good this season, people have already started whispering about Jack Nicklaus' record again.

On the course, Woods is one of the highest-paid athletes of all time. That means plenty of cash off the course to spend on yachts, private jets, megamansions, and video games.

Take a look at how he spends it all.

Tony Manfred and Mary Hanbury contributed reporting to a previous version of this article.

SEE ALSO: Injuries, infidelities, and poor choices: How Tiger Woods unraveled from the greatest golfer in the world

Tiger Woods has made more than $1.4 billion since turning pro in 1996.

Source: Golf Digest and Forbes

More than $115 million of that came from on-course winnings. He's No. 1 on the all-time money list, by far.

Read more: The 30 highest-paid golfers of all time »

He won $4.6 million at the Tour Championship alone — $1.6 million for winning the tournament and $3.0 million for his second-place finish in the FedEx Cup — one of his biggest paydays ever in golf.

• President Donald Trump on Monday said he stood with his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh "all the way" as the judge faced a barrage of sexual-assault allegations.
• Trump called Kavanaugh "outstanding" and said the allegations against him were "totally political."
• At least three women are accusing Kavanaugh of sexual assaulting them when he was in high school or college.
• Kavanaugh vehemently denies the allegations and is scheduled to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

President Donald Trump on Monday said he was still with his Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh "all the way" as the judge faced a barrage of sexual-misconduct allegations.

Speaking with reporters at the United Nations in New York, Trump called Kavanaugh "outstanding" and said the allegations against him were "totally political," the Associated Press reported.

The president's comments come less than a day after Kavanaugh's nomination for the Supreme Court was further imperiled by new accusations of assault.

The allegations against Kavanaugh

The New Yorker on Sunday published an article featuring allegations from a classmate of Kavanaugh's at Yale who said he shoved his penis in her face and forced her to come into contact with it at a party in college. The woman, Deborah Ramirez, is calling on the FBI to investigate the incident.

Also Sunday, Stormy Daniels' attorney claimed to have evidence of further sexual misconduct from Kavanaugh's high-school years.

In an email to the chief counsel for nominations for the Senate Judiciary Committee, the attorney, Michael Avenatti, said he had evidence that Kavanaugh, his friend Mark Judge, and others would target women at house parties in the early 1980s using alcohol and drugs "in order to allow a 'train' of men to subsequently gang rape them."

Avenatti demanded to present testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee and called for Kavanaugh's nomination to be withdrawn.

The Senate Judiciary Committee's chairman, Chuck Grassley, said in a statement on Sunday that the committee would "attempt to evaluate" the new accusations.

Correspondingly, Senate Democrats are calling for proceedings to halt and want the FBI to investigate.

Before Sunday, Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor, had accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her at a high-school party when they were teenagers. Ford accused Kavanaugh of forcing himself on her and covering her mouth so people wouldn't hear her scream. Kavanaugh categorically denied her account.

On Monday morning, the Montgomery County Sentinel reported that investigators were looking at a possibly fourth woman's allegation of sexual misconduct from Kavanaugh's senior year in high school. But later in the day, law enforcement in Montgomery County, Maryland, said they're not currently looking into sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh, seemingly contradicting the Sentinel's report.

What Kavanaugh has said

Kavanaugh has vehemently denied the allegations and plans to defend himself before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Ford is also set to testify to the committee.

In response to Ramirez's allegation, Kavanaugh said in a statement Sunday night:

"This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen. The people who knew me then know that this did not happen, and have said so. This is a smear, plain and simple. I look forward to testifying on Thursday about the truth, and defending my good name — and the reputation for character and integrity I have spent a lifetime building — against these last-minute allegations."

What the White House has said

The White House sent an email just before midnight on Sunday echoing Kavanaugh's denial and politicizing Ramirez's accusation.

The email attempts to discredit Ramirez's accusation with a selective breakdown of the New Yorker article, such as the fact she acknowledged "significant gaps" in her memories about the event.

"It took six days of 'assessing her memories' for Ramirez to say she recalled Kavanaugh committing the alleged incident, and that came only after consulting with an attorney provided by the Democrats," the White House said.

The White House spokeswoman Kerri Kupec also released a statement in response to Ramirez's accusation Sunday night saying the White House stood behind Kavanaugh:

"This 35-year-old, uncorroborated claim is the latest in a coordinated smear campaign by the Democrats designed to tear down a good man. This claim is denied by all who were said to be present and is wholly inconsistent with what many women and men who knew Judge Kavanaugh at the time in college say. The White House stands firmly behind Judge Kavanaugh."

Appearing on "CBS This Morning" on Monday, the White House counselor, Kellyanne Conway, said the second allegation against Kavanaugh sounded like a "vast left-wing conspiracy."

"I know there's pent-up demand for women to get their day, women who have been sexually harassed and sexually assaulted — and I personally am very aggrieved for all of them — but we cannot put decades of pent-up demand for women to feel whole on one man's shoulders," Conway said. "What exactly is the standard for ruining one man's life based on decades of allegations that have nothing to do with him?"

SEE ALSO: Democrats are reportedly investigating a new allegation of sexual misconduct against Brett Kavanaugh

DON'T MISS: Michael Avenatti said he has 'significant evidence' that Brett Kavanaugh participated in sexual misconduct in high school

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Inside the Trump 'MAGA' hat factory

• Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has been at the center of multiple recent reports that say he will soon be fired or resign.
• The Justice Department's rules of succession dictate that the solicitor general, Noel Francisco, is next in line to take over for Rosenstein.
• Francisco's views seem to mirror some of President Donald Trump's — a 2016 op-ed article rebuked the FBI, and a case he was involved in earlier this year included a defense of executive authority.

Speculation swirled Monday that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein would soon be fired or resign.

On Friday, The New York Times reported that Rosenstein had discussed using the 25th Amendment to remove President Donald Trump from office and wearing a wire to record their conversations. Rosenstein has disputed the report.

News organizations reported differing accounts Monday morning, including that Rosenstein resigned, that he was fired, and that he was leaving the administration.

But White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Rosenstein instead spent part of the day in scheduled meetings, including "extended" conversation with Trump about recent news stories.

The White House also confirmed the two would meet on Thursday when Trump returns to Washington from United Nations General Assembly.

The Times report is said to have pushed Trump to weigh firing Rosenstein, who oversees the special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 US election. Four Americans once affiliated with Trump's campaign or administration have been charged as a result of the inquiry.

Justice Department rules dictate that the solicitor general, Noel Francisco, would assume Rosenstein's post. Francisco's track record and views more closely align with ideas and grievances expressed by Trump.

Francisco, a White House counsel under President George W. Bush, was a DOJ lawyer until 2005, when he joined the law firm Jones Day. There he worked with several future Trump appointees, including the White House counsel Don McGahn, as well as took stances against various prosecutions of public officials.

Trump announced on Twitter last month that McGahn would leave the administration this fall, following a bombshell Times article that said McGahn had given over 30 hours of testimony in Mueller's investigation.

Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel in May 2017. Since the beginning of the investigation, Trump has decried it as a "witch hunt."

In a 2016 op-ed article in The Wall Street Journal, Francisco took aim at James Comey, then the FBI director, accusing Comey of acting in political interests by watering down an investigation into Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee.

In a case earlier this year involving the Securities and Exchange Commission, Francisco sought to assert Trump's constitutional ability to hire and fire almost all federal authorities.

"The Constitution gives the president what the framers saw as the traditional means of ensuring accountability: the power to oversee executive officers through removal," Francisco wrote, according to the Los Angeles Times. "The president is accordingly authorized under our constitutional system to remove all principal officers, as well as all 'inferior officers' he has appointed."

It has been widely debated whether Trump has the authority to fire Mueller, whose investigation would be overseen by Francisco should he assume Rosenstein's post.

Amid calls from conservative media figures for Trump to fire Rosenstein, Democratic leaders have sought to discourage the president from doing so.

Democrats have reportedly developed a plan to insulate the Russia investigation from any personnel changes, zeroing in on concerns about obstruction of justice and a desire to protect the integrity of the inquiry.

During Francisco's confirmation hearings last year, the Senate Judiciary Committee's top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein, mentioned his expressed support for Trump's travel ban and urged him in a letter to "publicly commit to refuse any order or request — whether express or implied — to interfere in the Special Counsel's investigation."

After two decades in the top legal circles in Washington, Francisco is an established presence who lawmakers have recognized could be elevated at any time because of Trump's unpredictable behavior.

Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, told Business Insider last month that he thought Francisco made for an ideal candidate to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

"I think the solicitor general has done a pretty extraordinary job and is someone who will clearly be in the mix," Bannon said. "But that's for the president to decide."

SEE ALSO: Rod Rosenstein reportedly discussed invoking the 25th Amendment and wearing a wire to record his conversations with Trump

DON'T MISS: Rod Rosenstein reportedly thought he could convince John Kelly and Jeff Sessions to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Inside the Trump 'MAGA' hat factory

It’s been a good year at the multiplex, as the box office is up over 8% from last year. But the year hasn't been without a few duds.

A handful of titles couldn't find an audience in the US, ranging from the latest movie from the guys who made "Jackass" to a Disney release.

Here are the seven worst box-office earners so far this year.

Note: This selection is limited to titles that played on more than 2,000 screens for at least two weekends. Grosses are all domestic earnings from Box Office Mojo.

SEE ALSO: Experts explain how the movie 'Life Itself,' from the creator of 'This Is Us,' became the biggest box-office flop of 2018

7. "A Wrinkle in Time" — $100 million

Reported budget: $103 million

(Note: Production budgets are estimates and do not include expenses for marketing and release.)

If you factor in the movie's foreign gross, the movie made back Disney's production budget, but the studio doesn't want to just break even on its movies. 

6. "The Predator" — $40.4 million*

Reported budget: $95 million

*Movie is still playing in theaters.

It's been out for only a few weeks, but its lousy reviews seem to be keeping the fans of the franchise far away.

5. "Death Wish" — $34 million

Reported budget: $30 million

Bruce Willis finds here that if he's not named John McClane and holding a gun in a movie, audiences may just not care.

• Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh wrote a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee's leaders on Monday, pledging to continue with the confirmation process.
• Kavanaugh called the allegations against him "smears" and a character assassination.

WASHINGTON — Embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh called the accusations that he sexually assaulted and harassed two individuals while in high school and college "smears" and an attempt to assassinate his character and derail his nomination.

In a Monday letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and ranking Democrat Dianne Feinstein, Kavanaugh wrote that he only learned of the allegations against him until after his official testimony and that the latest reports that he assaulted a woman while in college are unfounded as well. 

"Last night, another false and uncorroborated accusation from 35 years ago was published," he wrote. "Once again, those alleged to have been witnesses to the event deny it ever happened. There is now a frenzy to come up with something — anything — that will block this process and a vote on my confirmation from occurring."

Kavanaugh also wrote that he is the subject of a smear campaign that could have disastrous consequences for future public servants and high profile figures.

"These are smears, pure and simple. And they debase our public discourse," he wrote. "But they are also a threat to any man or woman who wishes to serve our country. Such grotesque and obvious character assassination — if allowed to succeed — will dissuade competent and good people of all political persuasions from service."

Kavanaugh also vowed to continue with his nomination in advance of a committee hearing on Thursday to address the initial allegations made by Prof. Christine Blasey Ford that he sexually assaulted her at a high school party in the early 1980s.

"The coordinated effort to destroy my good name will not drive me out," he wrote. "The vile threats of violence against my family will not drive me out. The last minute character assassination will not succeed."

"I have devoted my career to serving the public and the cause of justice, and particularly to promoting the equality and dignity of women," he added. "Women from every phase of my life have come forward to attest to my character. I am grateful to them. I owe it to them, and to my family, to defend my integrity and my name. I look forward to answering questions from the Senate on Thursday."

SEE ALSO: Here's an evolving count of which senators are voting for Trump's Supreme Court pick

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Inside the Trump 'MAGA' hat factory

• Brett Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee, is facing at least two allegations of sexual misconduct.
• Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez have accused Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct in high school and college, and there are signs of at least one more accuser to come.
• He has categorically denied the allegations and plans to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about them on Thursday.

Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, is facing at least two allegations of sexual assault and misconduct that have surfaced in the past week.

The two accusations are from the 1980s, when Kavanaugh was in high school and college, and there are signs of at least one more to come. He has denied the allegations.

Though the Trump administration has repeatedly waved off the accusations and defended Kavanaugh, congressional lawmakers are split on how to proceed. Republicans want to get Trump's Supreme Court pick confirmed, but Democrats are calling for an FBI investigation into the allegations.

Christine Blasey Ford says Kavanaugh assaulted her in high school

Christine Blasey Ford, a professor at Palo Alto University, wrote a letter in July to Rep. Anna Eshoo and Sen. Dianne Feinstein that said Kavanaugh assaulted her at a party in Bethesda, Maryland, when the two were in high school.

On September 16, The Washington Post published an article that identified Ford as the accuser and detailed her allegation that a "stumbling drunk" 17-year-old Kavanaugh pinned her down, put his hand over her mouth, and groped her while his friend watched.

"I thought he might inadvertently kill me," Ford told The Post of Kavanaugh. "He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing."

The Post said it corroborated Ford's account with an interview with her husband, a lie-detector test from her lawyer, and notes from therapy sessions that included mentions of a "rape attempt" by students from an "elitist boys' school" who would become "highly respected and high-ranking members of society in Washington."

Ford has alleged that Kavanaugh's friend Mark Judge was in the room and said she was able to get away after Judge jumped on them. Judge, now a conservative writer, has said he didn't doesn't remember "any of that stuff going on with girls."

Deborah Ramirez alleges an incident of sexual misconduct in college

On Sunday, a week after The Post published Ford's account, The New Yorker published an article detailing an allegation from Deborah Ramirez, a former Yale University classmate of Kavanaugh's who said Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a dorm-room party during the 1983-84 school year, when he was a freshman.

Ramirez said she was reluctant to come forward because she was drinking at the time of the incident and there are gaps in her memory, though she said she could recall key details.

"I remember a penis being in front of my face," she told The New Yorker. "I knew that's not what I wanted, even in that state of mind."

Ramirez also recalled another student nearby yelling, "Brett Kavanaugh just put his penis in Debbie's face."

The New Yorker said that it contacted several classmates but that many didn't respond, declined to comment, or said they didn't remember or attend the party.

One classmate said he was 100% sure he heard at the time that Kavanaugh had exposed himself to Ramirez, and the magazine said he independently recalled many details Ramirez had outlined, including that a male student egged Kavanaugh on.

The classmate told The New Yorker he remembered the incident as a "big deal" that had "been on my mind all these years when his name came up." He also recalled Kavanaugh as being "relatively shy" but someone who could become "aggressive and even belligerent" when drunk.

As of Monday morning, over 600 Yale alumnae had signed a letter in support of Ramirez.

Kavanaugh denies the allegations

Kavanaugh has categorically denied Ford's and Ramirez's allegations in separate statements.

Of Ford's allegation, he said:

"This is a completely false allegation. I have never done anything like what the accuser describes — to her or to anyone. Because this never happened, I had no idea who was making this accusation until she identified herself yesterday. I am willing to talk to the Senate Judiciary Committee in any way the Committee deems appropriate to refute this false allegation, from 36 years ago, and defend my integrity."

In response to Ramirez's allegation, he said:

"This alleged event from 35 years ago did not happen. The people who knew me then know that this did not happen, and have said so. This is a smear, plain and simple. I look forward to testifying on Thursday about the truth, and defending my good name — and the reputation for character and integrity I have spent a lifetime building — against these last-minute allegations."

After Ford's allegations were published, 65 women who knew Kavanaugh through school or work signed a letter saying he has "always treated women with decency and respect." Five former Yale classmates and the wife of a sixth cast doubt on Ramirez's allegation in a statement to The New Yorker.

In response to a question from Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month whether he had ever "committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature" as a legal adult, Kavanaugh said under oath that he hadn't.

On Monday afternoon, Kavanaugh sent a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the committee, and Feinstein, its ranking Democrat, calling the allegations "smears" that "debase our public discourse."

"They are also a threat to any man or woman who wishes to serve our country," Kavanaugh wrote. "Such grotesque and obvious character assassination — if allowed to succeed — will dissuade competent and good people of all political persuasions from service."

Michael Avenatti says he has a 3rd accuser

The attorney Michael Avenatti said on Sunday that he had evidence that Kavanaugh, Judge, and others would target women at house parties in the early 1980s with alcohol and drugs "in order to allow a 'train' of men to subsequently gang rape them."

He included in the tweet a screenshot of an email to Mike Davis, the chief counsel for nominations for the Senate Judiciary Committee, outlining the allegations.

Avenatti also said he was representing "a woman with credible information" about Kavanaugh and Judge.

Avenatti later told Politico he was representing a group of people who could corroborate allegations involving Kavanaugh and Judge; Avenatti described the people as one victim and multiple witnesses. Avenatti clarified that his client was not Ramirez.

Avenatti, who is also representing the adult-film actress Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against Trump, said he "will be demanding the opportunity to present testimony" to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

He has not made public more information on the identity of a potential accuser or additional allegations against Kavanaugh.

Police say they're not investigating a possible 4th allegation

The Montgomery County Sentinel reported on Monday morning that investigators were looking at what could be a fourth woman's allegation of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh from his senior year in high school.

But the department said in a statement on Monday afternoon that it had not received a request for such an investigation.

Lawmakers are split on next steps

Ford is scheduled to testify with Kavanaugh before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

But Senate Democrats are requesting an FBI investigation, and Feinstein on Sunday night called for Thursday's hearing to be canceled and Kavanaugh's confirmation proceedings delayed.

Congressional Republicans have expressed support for having Ford testify but appear skeptical about her account's significance in Kavanaugh's overall chances of confirmation.

The Trump administration has repeatedly defended Kavanaugh. Trump has described him as a "fantastic man," while Kellyanne Conway, a counselor to the president, has painted the allegations as "a vast left-wing conspiracy."

SEE ALSO: Trump and the White House have come out swinging at the new sexual-assault allegations against Kavanaugh, painting them as a smear campaign

READ MORE: Brett Kavanaugh writes letter calling new accusations 'grotesque and obvious character assassination,' says he 'will not be intimidated into withdrawing'

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NOW WATCH: Inside the Trump 'MAGA' hat factory

• BMW recently unveiled an electric concept SUV, the Vision iNEXT, with plans for the vehicle to enter the market in 2021. 
• The vehicle will feature technology that includes autonomous driving, voice control activation, single-touch input response technology, and a projector light that can beam out images, moving content, or interactive video graphics. 
• BMW says the car will be highly automated, fully connected, and completely emission-free.
• "The iNEXT project will provide our building blocks for the future, from which the entire company and all of its brands are set to benefit," said Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management at the BMW Group. 

BMW recently unveiled an electric concept SUV, the Vision iNEXT, with plans for the vehicle to enter the market in 2021. 

The BMW Vision iNEXT is the German carmaker's next step in intelligent-drive development, as the car will be highly automated, fully connected, and completely emission-free.

In a public statement at an annual BMW General Meeting in May, Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management at the BMW Group said, "The iNEXT project will provide our building blocks for the future, from which the entire company and all of its brands are set to benefit."

The Vision iNEXT follows the line started by BMW "i" in 2007 and BMW "i3" from 2013, two models which used electric powertrain technology.  

More than anything, it is the three "Shy Tech" visionary applications that will make the BMW Vision iNEXT a trailblazer in the future development of automobiles

First, there is the Intelligent Personal Assistant, an integrated digital world linked with smart devices that respond to voice commands by the driver. There is also Intelligent Materials, a single-touch functionality that allows the car to respond to various hand or touch gestures a passenger makes upon the seats with their fingers as if they were inputs. Finally, there is Intelligent Beam, a projection light that beams images, moving content, or interactive video graphics at the simple command of the driver or passenger. 

The BMW Vision iNEXT will be equipped with other impressive aspects. Cameras will take the place of exterior mirrors, and touch-sensitive graphics will take the place of door-handles. iNEXT drivers can choose to either use "Boost" mode to drive themselves or "Ease" mode to be driven by the car's technology. BMW says that "Boost" mode is a virtually silent driving experience that exerts zero-emissions from the car. 

While in "Ease" mode, the steering wheel retracts slightly into the dashboard, and the display panels change into "Exploration Mode" which allows passengers to digitally explore activities in their surrounding environment as the car cruises along. 

"The BMW Vision iNEXT represents a new era of sheer driving pleasure," Krüger said in the public statement. "It underlines the leading role Germany plays in the future of mobility."

Let's take a look at some photos below. 

SEE ALSO: BMW just unveiled a new electric SUV concept to take on Tesla's Model X — take a closer look

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The BMW Vision iNEXT SUV is just around the corner.

The car is painted in a "Liquid Greyrose Copper," which changed shades from warm copper to dark rose depending on the light.

Here it is in dark rose. The dynamic sculpted forms and two-box proportions with a long roofline highlight the ample space inside the passenger cabin.

• Google will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its search engine launching on Thursday. 
• It's changed a lot in 20 years.
• For a peek at what Google's search results looked like back then, search "Google in 1998."

Google turns 20 years old this month.

Google Search was the first product from the tech giant now known as part of Alphabet, and Google's been celebrating the milestone all week on social media:

The company's official birthday is September 27, 1998, which is when Google first launched its webpage. 

In the 20 or so years since then, Google has changed a lot — while the primary colors in the logo and the search engine's name has stayed the same, the company has added a ton of new products, including Gmail, the world's most popular webmail product, and Android, which powers most of the world's smartphones. 

Thankfully, the search page has stayed relatively minimal. 

Here is what Google looked like when it first launched: 

If you want the full retro experience, you can see what Google's search results looked like back then by searching "Google in 1998."

Here's what that looks like:

What's particularly interesting is the links to other search engines at the bottom of the search results. Except for Yahoo and Amazon, most of those websites are defunct these days. 

SEE ALSO: Demand for the larger and more expensive iPhone XS Max may be significantly higher than its smaller brother

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: An environmental group is testing giant floating pipes to clean up oceans

• A new private club in Colorado may be one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the world.
• The Cimarron Mountain Club is only open to 13 members who pay at least $2.65 million plus annual fees of $62,000 for private access to the 1,750-acre wilderness area.
• Members also get a 35-acre piece of land on which they can build a chalet — but no "mega-mansions" are allowed.
• The membership will also include access to a lodge with dining areas, a bar, an outdoor spa, a fire pit, and a warming hut.

At one of the world's most exclusive ski resorts, a lucky 13 members pay an initial fee of at least $2.65 million for private access to the 1,750-acre wilderness area — plus a spot to build a personal chalet.

The Cimarron Mountain Club in Colorado was founded by Jim Aronstein, a retired natural resources lawyer, and his wife, Patsy, with the goal of creating "a sanctuary for 13 families who want to ski untracked powder and preserve a beautiful wilderness setting for future generations to enjoy," a representative for the Club told Business Insider.

"I was simply tired of the ski resort experience and dreamed for decades about creating the world's only, intimate and private wilderness club with skiable terrain to rival the best," Aronstein told Business Insider. "My wife and I identified more than a dozen potential sites, located in six Rocky Mountain states and provinces, and visited every one. In the end, just one met all the criteria."

The Aronsteins bought the property in 2004 and the Club officially launched in July 2018, with six member families already signed up and seven remaining spots.

"What has and continues to make CMC so special is our commitment to preserving the powder, protecting the wilderness, and sharing it all with just 13 member families and their friends," Aronstein added.

Here's a look at the super-exclusive resort.

SEE ALSO: This luxury resort on Maine's largest island costs up to $2,000 per night and is a gateway to one of the country's most stunning national parks

DON'T MISS: Are 'luxpeditions' the new glamping?

Cimarron Mountain Club sits in the San Juan Mountains, a rugged mountain range in southwestern Colorado that makes up part of the Rocky Mountains. It's about a 4.5-hour drive from the winter resort town of Aspen.

Source: Cimarron Mountain Club, Colorado Encyclopedia, Google Maps

So far, six families have paid $2.65 million for their memberships and cabin sites, leaving seven memberships up for grabs at $2.8 million each. The annual fees are between $62,000 and $67,000 and include 115 days of skiing per member family, Club labor, operations, and other fixed expenses.

Source: Cimarron Mountain Club

The current members are all "powder hounds," according to a resort representative. "Highly successful entrepreneurs or titans of industry. They all have kids and they all want CMC to be a place to impart lasting memories and values. Skiing has been a part of their families' lives for some time."

Source: Cimarron Mountain Club

• President Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on the US Supreme Court.
• Kavanaugh was born and bred in the Washington, DC area and has a long history in conservative circles.
• His journey to the US Supreme Court has been so star-studded, one senator once called him the "Forrest Gump" of Republican politics.
• Kavanaugh's nomination seemed like a sure thing, until two women came forward to publicly accuse him of two separate incidents of sexual assault, one in high school and one in college. He has denied the allegations.

President Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh, 53, to replace the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy on the US Supreme Court.

"There is no one in America more qualified for this position, and no one more deserving," Trump said at the announcement in July, joining the many Republicans who praised the Ivy League-educated veteran of George W. Bush's administration.

But Kavanaugh has a tough confirmation process ahead of him. Republicans' 51-49 hold on the Senate puts Kavanaugh in a precarious spot.

He has so far had to weather stiff resistance from Democratic lawmakers, scores of protesters who disagree with his views on issues including gun and abortion rights, and now multiple sexual misconduct allegations.

Christine Blasey Ford, 51, accused a teenaged Kavanaugh of forcing himself on her at a high school party in the early 1980s. Deborah Ramirez, a former Yale University classmate of Kavanaugh's, said Kavanaugh exposed himself to her without her consent at a dorm-room party during his freshman 1983-84 school year.

Kavanaugh categorically denied Ford and Ramirez's accounts in separate statements.

Top Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin once called Kavanaugh the "Forrest Gump of Republican politics", because he was present for so many key moments in modern political history.

As Kavanaugh continues his confirmation process, here's a look at how the Washington, DC born-and-bred conservative rose to become the court's most pivotal nomination in decades:

SEE ALSO: Here are all the sexual misconduct allegations against Brett Kavanaugh

DON'T MISS: Here's an evolving count of which senators are voting for Trump's Supreme Court pick

Brett Kavanaugh was born Feb. 12, 1965, in Washington, DC.

Source: NPR

He attended Georgetown Preparatory School, an all-boys school in Rockville, Maryland. He was staff for the school newspaper, played on the school's varsity football team, and was captain of the basketball team.

Source: Washingtonian

Trump's first Supreme Court nominee, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, also attended Georgetown Prep and graduated two years before Kavanaugh.

Sources: Washingtonian, Business Insider

• Some prominent Democrats are accusing Republicans of pushing to expedite the timeline for a confirmation vote on Brett Kavanaugh even after they knew of a then-secret allegation of sexual misconduct against the judge last week.
• The development comes after The New Yorker on Sunday night published details of an allegation of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh by his former Yale University classmate, Deborah Ramirez. 
• "Senate Republicans were trying to rush a vote while they knew Deborah Ramirez would come forward with her story," Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, said Sunday night. 

Some prominent Democrats accused Republicans of pushing to expedite the timeline for a confirmation vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh even after they learned last week of a then-secret allegation of sexual misconduct against Kavanaugh. 

On Sunday evening, The New Yorker published a report detailing a second sexual misconduct claim against Kavanaugh, this one made by the judge's former Yale University classmate, Deborah Ramirez. She says Kavanaugh exposed himself to her and thrust his genitals in her face without her consent at a dorm-room party during the 1983-84 school year.

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand accused Republican leaders of attempting to "rush a vote" on the nominee even after they knew of the second then-secret allegation. 

"Senate Republicans were trying to rush a vote while they knew Deborah Ramirez would come forward with her story," the senator tweeted on Sunday night. "They deny Dr. Ford an FBI investigation, won't subpoena corroborating witnesses, and now, this. It's an embarrassment. They have absolutely no interest in the truth."

The New Yorker piece, written by veteran investigative reporters Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow, asserted that staffers for some senior GOP Senate staffers and at least four Democratic senators learned of Ramirez's allegation last week. While at least two Democratic senators soon initiated investigations into Ramirez's allegations, Republicans continued to press for a committee vote on Kavanaugh.  

But some Republicans, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, claimed not to have known about the newest charge until it was published on Sunday evening. 

"A Grassley aide tells me the majority Republican staff learned about Ramirez's allegations from Sunday evening's New Yorker story," The Washington Post's Seung Min Kim tweeted Sunday night. "Neither Ramirez nor her attorney have contacted the chairman's office, the aide said, adding Dems never informed the GOP staff of these allegations.

Spokesmen for Sens. Lindsey Graham, Orrin Hatch, and Mike Lee — all Republicans — also told The Post they did not know of the allegations before the New Yorker report.

But top Senate Republicans have joined the president and Kavanaugh in characterizing the allegations as a Democratic "smear campaign" and are continuing to call for a speedy vote. 

"Democrats won't let a complete lack of evidence get between them and a good smear. It's despicable," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday. 

"We should hear from Dr. Ford on Thursday as planned," Hatch, a member of the Judiciary Committee said in a statement. "Then we should vote."

The developments come days before scheduled testimony from Christine Blasey Ford, who alleges that Kavanaugh forced himself on her, locked her in a room, groped her, and covered her mouth to mask her screams during a drunken house party when she was 15 and he was 17.

In the wake of Ramirez's allegation, Democrats led by the Judiciary Committee ranking member Sen. Dianne Feinstein are calling on Grassley to postpone all further confirmation proceedings and join them in pressuring the White House to direct the FBI to investigate both Ford and Ramirez's claims. 

Sen. Mazie Hirono accused the Judiciary Committee's 11 Republicans of "treating this like a hostage situation."

"What are they afraid of?" she asked. 

Kavanaugh, who has denied both Ford and Ramirez's allegations, remained defiant on Monday, writing in a letter to the Judiciary Committee on Monday that the claims are "smears, pure and simple" and "grotesque and obvious character assassination." 

"I will not be intimidated into withdrawing from this process," he wrote. "The coordinated effort to destroy my good name will not drive me out."

Trump simultaneously dug in, calling the sexual misconduct allegations "totally political" and telling reporters that Kavanaugh is "a man with an unblemished past." 

"There's a chance that this could be one of the single most unfair, unjust things to happen for a candidate for anything," Trump said. 

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• Monday featured a number of reports suggesting Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein could soon resign or be fired.
• If he is to depart, the manner with which he leaves his post could have big implications for how President Donald Trump is able to replace him.
• That's because of wording in the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.

A whirlwind Monday featured multiple reports suggested that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein would soon either resign or be fired from his position.

Although neither of those possibilities came to fruition, the White House announced that Rosenstein and President Donald Trump will meet on Thursday.

If Rosenstein does soon depart his position, the distinction of whether it is by his own resignation or Trump firing him could be crucial to how the president can replace him.

That's because of how the Federal Vacancies Reform Act — the statute by which Trump could replace Rosenstein with a Senate-confirmed official — is written. 

If Rosenstein were to resign, Trump would likely be able to replace him with anyone who has been confirmed by the Senate. If Rosenstein were fired, however, it becomes much more debatable.

As it stands, Solicitor General Noel Francisco is next in line to replace Rosenstein and oversee special counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation. If Trump prefers Francisco to oversee the probe, then debate may stall over the Vacancies Act. But if he's not, the wording of the statute will likely be contested.

The law allows for a president to override the line of succession when a Senate-confirmed executive branch officer "dies, resigns, or is otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office." The president is able to choose any Senate-confirmed executive branch official or even some senior staffers at the specific agency who were not confirmed by the Senate to fill the void for up to roughly seven months or until the Senate confirms a nominee to replace the official.

Stephen Vladeck, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law, wrote in Lawfare that "although the text of the statute could be read to encompass all vacancies ... there are strong prudential and contextual arguments militating in the other direction — including that the purpose of the FVRA is to give the president flexibility to deal with unexpected vacancies, not to create vacancies himself and then sidestep existing succession schemes."

If firings were to apply to the statute, Vladeck wrote that the president "would have the power not only to create vacancies in every executive branch office, but to fill them on a temporary basis with individuals who were never confirmed by the Senate either to that specific position, or, in some cases, at all."

The debate was broached in March after Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin departed the agency. The White House said he resigned. Shulkin made it clear he was fired.  

SEE ALSO: The man who could soon oversee Mueller's probe if Rosenstein departs has Steve Bannon's endorsement

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• Justice Department veterans and current and former intelligence officials expressed relief that the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, had not resigned or been fired following a wild Monday morning of conflicting news reports.
• If Rosenstein were to step down, said one current FBI agent who requested anonymity to speak about internal matters, the special counsel Robert Mueller would be "finished."
• But another current FBI agent emphasized that Mueller had taken steps to ensure that relevant divisions of the DOJ and the FBI are briefed on investigative matters that fall under their purview.
• If the deputy attorney general "is fired or resigned, that's a blow to the public-facing aspect of the investigation, but it in no way means the entire thing would be shut down," they said. "The president would have to fire everybody at the FBI and DOJ for that to happen."

Washington flew into a frenzy on Monday morning following initial reports that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was expected to leave his job. But hours later, he was attending a scheduled meeting at the White House.

Rosenstein's job was thrown into question after The New York Times reported on Friday that he had discussed wearing a wire around President Donald Trump and advocated invoking the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office. Rosenstein vehemently denied the allegations in the article, and subsequent news reports also called some of its details into question.

The White House and the Justice Department offered differing accounts following the conflicting reports about Rosenstein's highly publicized trip to the White House on Monday.

White House officials told The Washington Post that Rosenstein had been expected to resign in the wake of The Times' story. But a Justice Department official told The Post that Rosenstein went there expecting to be fired and did not offer to resign, despite having weighed the option over the weekend.

The White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, said that Rosenstein had an "extended conversation" with the president about the news on Monday and that the two would meet again on Thursday.

In the aftermath of a wild morning, DOJ veterans and current and former intelligence officials expressed relief that the deputy attorney general remains in his position.

'He is the only person, the one buffer, protecting Mueller'

If Rosenstein were to step down, said one current FBI agent who requested anonymity to speak about internal matters, "Mueller's finished."

The agent was referring to Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow to tilt the race in his favor. Rosenstein oversees the Russia investigation.

Bob Deitz, a former top lawyer at the CIA and the National Security Agency, said one of the biggest questions that would arise should Rosenstein be ousted would be: "If not he, who?"

"Someone else would become deputy attorney general, and if it isn't someone like Rod — who has enormous integrity and is smart and honest — then who?" Deitz said. "And when someone great leaves, all it does is open up the possibility that some hack will be appointed in their place."

Following the mix-up on Monday over whether Rosenstein would resign or be fired, Vanity Fair reported that Trump, said to be looking to shift the news cycle away from Brett Kavanaugh, his embattled Supreme Court nominee, decided that firing Rosenstein could take some of the heat off Kavanaugh.

"The strategy was to try and do something really big," Vanity Fair quoted one anonymous source "briefed on Trump's thinking" as saying. The report said the leak about Rosenstein's potential resignation could have been the result of that calculus.

If Rosenstein were to resign, "it would be disappointing because he would abdicate his responsibility," said Jeffrey Cramer, a former federal prosecutor. "He is the only person, the one buffer, protecting Mueller."

Mueller is authorized to investigate not only Russia's interference in the election, but any matters that may arise as a result. Federal guidelines also give him broad authority, saying that he is not subject "to the day-to-day supervision of any official of the department."

But Cramer warned that the biggest danger stemming from a Rosenstein ouster had nothing to do with his replacement potentially ending the Russia investigation, because the political blowback from such a move would be too much.

"Keep in mind that Mueller can't indict anyone or do anything of importance without the approval of whoever's overseeing him," he said. "That puts that person in a very powerful position. They won't shut it down, but they can slow-walk the investigation. That's the biggest concern."

'Quitting is basically handing the president victory on a silver platter'

If Rosenstein were to resign rather than be fired, "it would play into Trump's hands," said Glenn Carle, a retired CIA operative.

The president has long targeted Rosenstein and other DOJ officials who he believes are working against him.

If Rosenstein were to step down, Carle said, it would solve one of Trump's problems without adding another layer to a growing obstruction-of-justice case against him.

Carle added that it would also allow the president to appoint a loyalist to oversee Mueller, which could "deal a grievous blow to the idea of the Justice Department serving the Constitution and the laws rather than an individual."

Cramer agreed.

"If he gets fired, he gets fired," he said of Rosenstein. "There's some nobility in that. Quitting is basically handing the president victory on a silver platter."

Another current FBI agent said there was "no doubt that rank and file would be angry if Rod Rosenstein stepped down or got fired because of that NYT report."

"Many were on high alert this morning," they added.

But they said Mueller had also taken steps to ensure that certain divisions of the DOJ and the FBI are briefed so they could continue the investigation if Trump fires him or Rosenstein.

If Rosenstein "is fired or resigned, that's a blow to the public-facing aspect of the investigation, but it in no way means the entire thing would be shut down," they said.

"The president would have to fire everybody at the FBI and DOJ for that to happen."

SEE ALSO: Trump and Rod Rosenstein are set to meet Thursday amid a wild morning of drama surrounding his future

DON'T MISS: Rod Rosenstein reportedly discussed invoking the 25th Amendment and wearing a wire to record his conversations with Trump

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On Monday, people across the US walked out of schools and workplaces in solidarity with the women who have accused Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. 

The nationwide protests — represented by the hashtag #BelieveSurvivors — came just a day after new allegations of an assault involving Kavanaugh came to light. 

At least two women have directly accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault in high school or college.

California professor Christine Blasey Ford claims Kavanaugh attempted to force himself on her at a party in high school when they were teenagers. Ford was the first person to come forward with allegations against the Supreme Court nominee. 

On Sunday, The New Yorker dropped a bombshell story with an additional allegation against Kavanaugh from Deborah Ramirez, who attended Yale at the same time as him. Ramirez alleges Kavanaugh shoved his penis in her face and exposed himself to her at a party in college. 

Kavanaugh has fervently denied both allegations and says he's prepared to defend himself before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Both Kavanaugh and Ford are set to testify before the committee on Thursday. 

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, the committee’s chairman, said on Sunday the committee will “evaluate” Ramirez's allegations against Kavanaugh.

Additionally, Michael Avenatti, the attorney for Stormy Daniels, claims he has evidence Kavanaugh participated in multiple gang rapes in high school. 

The #BelieveSurvivors walkout on Monday was initially planned after Ford's allegation against Kavanaugh was known publicly. Ramirez's accusation seems to have emboldened participants.

The demonstrations on Capitol Hill were especially intense. Here's how the day's events unfolded. 

Eliza Relman contributed reporting.

The #BelieveSurvivors walkout occurred across the US on Monday, but perhaps most notably on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Hundreds of protesters demonstrated in congressional office buildings and outside of the Supreme Court building.

Protesters wore black and carried signs that said #BelieveSurvivors.

• President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have signed the first major agreement of Trump's trade agenda.
• The agreement was an update with significant improvements to reduce the trade deficit between the countries. 
• Trump called it a "very big deal" and also revealed he would be meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a second time. 

President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in have signed the first major agreement of Trump's trade agenda.

The leaders signed an update to an existing US-South Korea free-trade agreement Monday in New York at the UN General Assembly. 

Trump called it a "very big deal" and said the new agreement makes significant improvements to reduce the trade deficit between the countries and create new opportunities to export American products to South Korea. He also said US automobiles, pharmaceuticals and agricultural products will gain better access to Korean markets.

Moon said companies from both countries will be able to do business under more stable conditions. The South Korean leader also said he hopes the revised agreement with the US will help solidify their cooperation in other areas.

Trump is currently on one end of a fierce trade war between the US and China that has escalated in recent days with a new round of tariffs on roughly $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. 

The leaders met 12 months after Trump stood at the rostrum of the assembly and derided North Korea's Kim Jong Un as "Rocket Man." Amid touting an improved situation with North Korea, Trump received a personal message Kim had entrusted to Moon after their inter-Korean talks last week.

Trump waved off last year's tense moments at the assembly, saying he was open to Kim's message and more optimistic about North Korean-American relations at the time of this year's assembly. 

"It was a different world," Trump said. "That was a dangerous time. This is one year later, a much different time."

Trump said in the "not too distant" future he would be holding a second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that will unfold much like their first meeting, except for the location. He said details will be announced "pretty soon."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is working out the details for the second meeting, Trump said, upon Kim's requested in a letter.

SEE ALSO: Vacuums, tires, and computer parts: These are the goods that will be hit the hardest by Trump's new China tariffs

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• The US and China imposed another round of tariffs on each other on Monday, further escalating the trade war between the two countries.
• All signs indicate their trade war is unlikely to end anytime soon, as President Donald Trump is threatening more tariffs and China called off planned talks.

The trade war between the US and China has escalated in recent days, and the likelihood of a near-term solution is quickly fading.

President Donald Trump's latest round of tariffs on roughly $200 billion worth of Chinese goods kicked in on Monday, bringing the total amount of Chinese goods faced with tariffs up to approximately $250 billion. In response, Beijing slapped tariffs on another $60 billion worth of US goods.

The new tariffs will likely push up prices for US businesses and consumers, according to economists, while also weighing on consumer confidence. It is unclear the degree to which the inflation would weigh on the broader US economy, but most experts expect the tariffs to be somewhat of a drag on growth.

The latest round of tariffs and reactions from Washington and Beijing have made it clear: the trade war isn't going to end anytime soon:

• Most notably, China called off planned talks between mid-level officials over the weekend, and reengagement appears to be unlikely until at least after the US midterm elections in November.
• This sets up the possibility of no deal to reduce tariffs before 2019, which would mean Monday's tariffs would jump to 25% on January 1, 2019, further hurting global supply chains and raising prices on US consumers.
• Trump has been already saber rattling about another slate of tariffs on the remaining $267 billion worth of Chinese imports.

While tariffs have grabbed the headlines, the fight could spill out of direct trade channels. One of the reasons that China decided to cut off talks, according to reports, was the US State Department's crackdown on China's defense agency for purchasing goods from a sanctioned Russian arms exporter.

The news website Axios also reported Sunday that the Trump administration plans to begin a public-relations campaign attacking the Chinese on security issues. According to the report, the US will highlight Beijing's alleged attacks, ranging from election interference to intellectual property theft.

Isaac Boltansky, a policy analyst at the research and trading firm Compass Point, said the broadside against China and continued threats of tariffs could trigger a more forceful response from Beijing.

"China’s retaliation this round was consistent with expectations, but there is a growing concern that China may choose to employ a broader suite of retaliatory countermeasures (e.g., higher comparative tariff rates, stalled regulatory approvals, brand boycotts, currency devaluation, [selling US Treasurys]) in subsequent rounds," Boltansky wrote.

While Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are not expected to speak at this week's meeting of the UN General Assembly, there is a chance talks could resume in the coming months during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and G20 summits.

Any talks would be encouraging, according to Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. But he said that Trump's lack of a clear goal for the trade war — outside of vague assertions about the trade deficit — raises the likelihood that the negotiations could be fruitless.

"Unlike his frequent tweets and commentary about tariffs, Trump has not articulated exactly what he wants from China, or how he wants to achieve it," Bown wrote. "Until the president himself engages on this very critical question, his administration’s only likely outcome seems the costly and destructive path of tariffs."

Chris Krueger, a strategist at Cowen Washington Research Group, said Trump's lack of direction means the president is likely to fall back on his decades-long preference for trade protectionism — further exacerbating the situation.

"Perhaps the midterms soften Trump's trade narrative, though our belief is that whatever the outcome Trump will embrace his one core policy belief and ratchet up the tariffs," Krueger wrote Monday. "We are increasingly convinced that tariffs are not the means to the end, but the end."

SEE ALSO: Trump's latest tariffs are about to hit you where it really hurts

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• Judge Brett Kavanaugh and his wife, Ashley Kavanaugh, will appear in an unusual — if not unprecedented — interview, in which they'll address allegations of sexual misconduct.
• In an attempt to reassure Republican senators and the party's voters that Kavanaugh remains the best choice for the Supreme Court, the White House and the GOP are taking the extraordinary step of green-lighting an offensive attack starring the nominee himself. 
• Media reporters and others see the interview as White House-orchestrated propaganda effort to boost Kavanaugh days before one of his accusers testifies before the Senate. 

Judge Brett Kavanaugh and his wife, Ashley Kavanaugh, will appear in an unusual — if not unprecedented — interview, in which they'll address the allegations of sexual misconduct the Supreme Court nominee is facing, with Fox News on Monday night. 

In an attempt to reassure Republican senators and the party's voters that Kavanaugh remains the best choice for the nation's high court, the White House and the GOP are taking the extraordinary step of greenlighting an offensive attack starring the nominee himself. 

Kavanaugh has forcefully denied allegations that he sexually assaulting a girl in high school and exposed himself to a female classmate in college, calling two women's claims "smears, pure and simple" and "grotesque and obvious character assassination" in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday.

And he vowed not to withdraw his nomination, a promise he also makes in the interview with Fox host Martha MacCallum, several excerpts of which were released by Fox on Monday evening. 

In the interview, which aired at 7 p.m. on Monday, Kavanaugh repeats his denials of the allegations ahead of the Thursday hearing in which both he and one of his accusers, Christine Blasey Ford, are scheduled to testify before the Senate committee. 

"The truth is I've never sexually assaulted anyone, in high school or otherwise," he said on Fox. "I am not questioning and have not questioned that perhaps Dr. Ford at some point in her life was sexually assaulted by someone at some place, but what I know is I've never sexually assaulted anyone."

Kavanaugh cited his "lifelong record of promoting dignity and equality for women starting with the women who knew me when I was 14 years old" and insisted that he never had sex throughout college and for "many years after."

At one point, MacCallum suggested that the second allegation — made by a college classmate in The New Yorker — was insufficiently credible or substantiated to be reported. Kavanaugh wouldn't comment on the quality of the magazine's reporting, but made some claims that the New Yorker reporters, veteran investigative journalists Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow, disputed on Twitter. 

Journalists and others quickly pointed out that it is highly unusual for a Supreme Court nominee to conduct an interview with the media or engage in an effort to clear his own name during the confirmation process — and even more unusual for the interview to be conducted by a partisan news network. 

"If you're not familiar with what Supreme Court nominees normally do, this is not what they normally do," HuffPost senior reporter Jeffrey Young‏ tweeted. "If you're familiar what what statist propaganda organizations normally do, however, this is what they normally do."

Some questioned the appropriateness of a Supreme Court nominee appearing on a right-leaning network. 

"If you wanted at least the appearance of objectivity, ie 'balls and strikes,' why not a more neutral network? Or customary morning show interview?" wrote HuffPost politics reporter Igor Bobic.

Others argued that the interview was orchestrated to appeal to conservatives — given that Fox is the go-to network for the president and his followers — and is not an attempt to repair Kavanaugh's reputation among the broader population, with whom he is deeply unpopular. 

"There's a huge difference between Sotomayor on Sesame Street or Scalia on 60 Minutes and this, of course. Choosing Fox News makes it look like an effort to reassure conservatives in particular," New Republic reporter Matt Ford tweeted Monday, referring to media appearances made by Justice Sonia Sotomayor and late Justice Antonin Scalia, both of which were conducted while two were sitting on the Supreme Court. 

Washington Post media columnist Margaret Sullivan argued that interview is nothing more than White House propaganda, facilitated by Bill Shine, the former Fox executive who now serves as a top communications staffer in the White House.

"Female interviewer, check. Fox News, check. Bill Shine approved, check. When an 'exclusive interview' promises to be a challenge-free infomercial," Sullivan tweeted. 

MacCallum, a veteran Fox host, notably defender Fox's late chief executive, Roger Ailes, against claims from multiple women that he sexually harassed them. Ailes was ultimately pushed out of the network over the allegations. 

"Roger is such a terrific boss. I don't like to see anything that reflects negatively on him," MacCallum said in 2016. 

Shine, who for years served as Ailes' right hand, was also forced to resign from Fox last year over his handling of sexual misconduct allegations made by several female employees against senior male anchors at the network.

SEE ALSO: Democrats slam Republicans for pressing forward with Kavanaugh confirmation last week despite apparently knowing of then-secret allegation

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• The public was confused following conflicting reports about whether deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein would resign, and officials on the inside may have been just as much in the dark.
• "DOJ officials have been shell-shocked by the public back and forth critique of Rosenstein," said a former federal prosecutor who said he's been briefed on the department's internal mood by high-level contacts.
• "Today, they were wandering the halls wondering what's next," he added.
• A current FBI agent said the mood was similar within the bureau.
• "Many were on high-alert this morning," this person said.

The public was confused for much of Monday morning following conflicting reports about whether deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein was about to resign from his position.

And officials on the inside may have been just as much in the dark as observers on the outside.

"DOJ officials have been shell-shocked by the back and forth public critique of Rosenstein," said Jeffrey Cramer, a 12-year DOJ veteran who says he's been briefed on the internal mood at the department by multiple high-level contacts. "Today, they were wandering the halls wondering what's next, because you need an operational [deputy attorney general]."

Rosenstein did not ultimately resign, nor was he fired on Monday morning.

The news website Axios first reported on Rosenstein's possible resignation, saying he had "verbally resigned" to White House chief of staff John Kelly. Rosenstein's reported move came after The New York Times published a controversial report last week saying the deputy attorney general discussed wearing a wire around President Donald Trump and invoking the 25th amendment to remove Trump from office.

Rosenstein vehemently denied the allegations, and subsequent media reports also called into question some of the details in the original Times story.

White House officials told The Washington Post that Rosenstein offered to resign in the wake of The Times story.

But DOJ officials told The Post that while Rosenstein went to the White House on Monday expecting to be fired, he did not offer to resign, despite reportedly weighing the option over the weekend following The Times' report.

White House Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Rosenstein had an "extended conversation" with the president about the news on Monday and that the two would meet again on Thursday.

People at the FBI were on tenterhooks Monday morning, according to one current FBI agent.

There was "no doubt that rank and file would be angry if Rod Rosenstein stepped down or got fired because of that NYT report," this person said.

"Many were on high-alert this morning," they added.

Axios reported on Monday evening that after it published its initial story floating Rosenstein's resignation, the DOJ drafted a statement announcing his exit, written "in the voice" of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

After commending Rosenstein for his long career as a public servant, the draft statement reportedly went on to say Matt Whitaker, Sessions' chief of staff, would serve as deputy attorney general, and that Noel Francisco, the solicitor general, would become acting attorney general overseeing the Russia investigation and the special counsel Robert Mueller. 

"People who are very high up at the DOJ have understandably all been reticent because they're all just looking over their shoulders," Cramer said.

"Especially now, because as of this morning you had an [attorney general] who was impotent, you had a possibly non-existent [deputy attorney general], and the solicitor general possibly taking over," he added. "The hierarchy of the DOJ was all out of whack, as far as anyone there knew, because the [attorney general] doesn't run things, it's the [deputy attorney general] who's operational. He's the COO."

SEE ALSO: Current FBI agents and former intel officials are breathing a sigh of relief that Rod Rosenstein still has his job after a whirlwind morning in Washington

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• Two of Brett Kavanaugh's former college classmates removed their names from a statement defending the Supreme Court nominee that appeared alongside a sexual misconduct allegation in a story by The New Yorker.
• Louisa Garry and Dino Ewing specified they knew nothing of the incident, and couldn't rebuke Deborah Ramirez's allegation that Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a party in the 1980s.
• Four students kept their names on the statement, which Kavanaugh's lawyer prepared.
• Kavanaugh rebuked the "last-minute allegations" as "smear, plain and simple."
• One of the reporters, The New Yorker's Jane Mayer, said the story first came from emails among other Yale alumni, not Ramirez.

Two of Brett Kavanaugh's former college classmates asked for their names to be removed from a statement disputing sexual assault allegations from a fellow Yale University alumnus against the Supreme Court nominee.

In a report published Sunday by The New Yorker, Deborah Ramirez said Kavanaugh exposed himself to her at a dorm-room party during the 1983-84 school year, when they were freshmen. Several of Ramirez's and Kavanaugh's former classmates provided accounts that ranged from corroboration to vague or no memory of a similar incident.

Six classmates signed their names to a statement Kavanaugh's lawyer provided that disputed the allegation.

But a day after the story was published, Louisa Garry and Dino Ewing asked that their names be removed.

"I never saw or heard anything like this," Garry told The New Yorker, according to an editorial note added Monday. "But I cannot dispute Ramirez's allegations, as I was not present."

Ewing also said he had no direct knowledge of the allegation and considered it out of character for Kavanaugh, but emphasized, "I also was not present and therefore am not in a position to directly dispute Ramirez’s account."

The statement also included two male students who Ramirez identified as involved in the incident, and the wife of another who Ramirez said was present when Kavanaugh allegedly exposed himself and someone told her to "kiss it."

Kavanaugh flatly denied the allegation in a statement released after the report, calling Ramirez's account a "smear, plain and simple," and declaring he would fight back against "these last-minute allegations."

New Yorker reporter Jane Mayer said Monday she and fellow story author Ronan Farrow discovered Ramirez's story in a series of emails among Yale alumni in July, months before Kavanaugh's confirmation process.

"The story broke overnight, but it dates back 35 years," Mayer told NBC News' Savannah Guthrie. "The classmates at Yale were talking to each other about it, they were emailing about it. We've seen the emails, back in July before Christine Blasey Ford came forward, and eventually word of it spread. It spread to the Senate. It spread to the media. And we reached out to her."

Kavanaugh is facing at least one other sexual misconduct accusation from 51-year-old professor Christine Blasey Ford, who alleges Kavanaugh assaulted her at a party when the two were in high school.

The White House has repeatedly defended Kavanaugh against allegations of sexual misconduct.

Trump lashed out at Ramirez on Tuesday, calling her a "mess" and "totally inebriated" during the alleged incident, which he accused Democrats of using as a "con game."

As Kavanaugh took to Fox News on Monday to speak out on the accusations, and Yale alumni come forward to rebuke his denials, congressional lawmakers are split on how to proceed.

SEE ALSO: Protesters across the US staged a walkout in solidarity with Kavanaugh's accusers

DON'T MISS: 'I pray their daughters are never treated this way': Woman responds after learning she was the subject of a suggestive joke on Brett Kavanaugh's yearbook page

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• Eminem's single "Killshot," a diss track directed at the rapper Machine Gun Kelly, topped YouTube's global and US songs charts for a second straight week, the company said on Tuesday.
• Kelly's single "Rap Devil," the diss that prompted "Killshot," came in at No. 3 on YouTube's US songs charts this week, its third straight week in the top five.

Eminem's feud with the rapper Machine Gun Kelly is dominating YouTube's music charts weeks after their beef began.

Eminem's single "Killshot," a diss track directed at Kelly, had the largest debut of a hip-hop song in YouTube's history earlier this month. The song topped YouTube's global and US songs charts for a second straight week, the company said on Tuesday.

Kelly's single "Rap Devil," the diss that prompted Eminem's "Killshot," came in at No. 3 on YouTube's US songs chart. This is the song's third straight week in the chart's top five.

Eminem threw the first overt punch in his beef with Kelly by calling the rapper out on the song "Not Alike" from his new album, "Kamikaze," which topped the Billboard 200 album chart after its release on August 31.

"I'm talkin' to you, but you already know who the f--- you are, Kelly / I don't use sublims and sure as f--- don't sneak-diss / But keep commenting on my daughter Hailie," Eminem rapped on "Not Alike." He was referring to a 2012 tweet from Kelly calling Hailie, who was then 16 years old, "hot as f---."

Eminem released "Killshot" on September 14, 11 days after Kelly dissed him with "Rap Devil."

As of Tuesday, "Killshot" had over 111 million views on YouTube, while "Rap Devil" had over 114 million views on the site.

Listen to "Killshot" and "Rap Devil" below:

SEE ALSO: Eminem took out a full-page ad to diss music critics who panned his new album

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