Here's the biggest news you missed this weekend
Trump sees 'great spirit' for tax reform plan, targets passage by end of the year
President Trump and aides expressed confidence Sunday they have the votes for a major overhaul of the tax system, despite a few warnings from lawmakers about certain aspects of the plan. "Our economy cannot take off like it should unless we transform our outdated, complex and burdensome tax code, and that is exactly what we are proposing to do," Trump said in an op-ed for Paste BN. In an interview broadcast Sunday on Fox News, Trump said the legislative setbacks suffered by him and Republicans during their efforts to pass a new health care plan won't affect the prospects of a tax cut. "I want to get it by the end of the year, but I’d be very disappointed if it took that long," Trump told Fox Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo.
Harvey Weinstein fallout continues
Harvey Weinstein said Friday he has "a different recollection of the events" in response to Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o and her first-person account detailing her nightmarish experiences with the movie mogul. Rose McGowan, who alleged that Weinstein raped her, responded to Weinstein Saturday, saying, "'if you come for one of us, you come for all of us." The Directors Guild of America also announced Saturday it had filed disciplinary charges against the producer, breaking with its policy of not disclosing its internal affairs. Meanwhile, writer/director James Toback has been called out by 38 women of sexual misconduct and Silicon Valley is being rocked by a new wave of its own sexual harassment charges.
Bill O'Reilly dismisses NYT report as 'lies and smears'
Former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly dismissed as "lies and smear" the details in a New York Times report saying 21st Century Fox had signed O'Reilly to a contract extension months after O'Reilly reached a $32 million sexual harassment settlement with longtime network analyst Lis Wiehl. The settlement, revealed by the Times in an article Saturday, was one of several such deals involving O'Reilly. The controversial commentator was re-upped in February only to be dismissed by Fox in April after the Times reported on some of them. O'Reilly was combative and unapologetic on Twitter. "My investigative team has done a superb job in exposing the lies and smear, O'Reilly tweeted late Saturday. "I will speak with you on Monday."
World Series: Astros-Dodgers clash historic
With 10 teams now qualifying for Major League Baseball's playoffs — which were already very much a crapshoot — an argument can be made that sometimes, the best team doesn't win the World Series. That argument will be much harder to make this year. The Los Angeles Dodgers — winners of a major league-best 104 regular-season games, and seven of eight playoff contests — will take on the 101-win Houston Astros, who finished just a game behind the Cleveland Indians for the American League's best record. And while Dodgers-Astros may lack the mass appeal and network ratings fireworks Dodgers-Yankees would have fetched, both clubs' impressive resumes are just one element that makes this matchup historic in its own right.
Caitlan Coleman breaks her silence on Taliban hostage ordeal
Ten days after her rescue from Taliban-linked militants, Caitlan Coleman has issued her first public statement, detailing her fond childhood memories and challenges adapting to her new life. After her release, along with her husband Joshua Boyle and their three children, her husband made several public statements, some of which included graphic details about their ordeal in captivity. But the couple was clear that Caitlan Coleman was not ready to speak on such matters.
Trump to allow release of thousands of JFK files by National Archives
President Trump said Saturday that he will allow more than 3,000 classified files on the JFK assassination to be released next week by the National Archives as ordered by Congress. The classified files were scheduled to be made public by Oct. 26, barring intervention by the president, under the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992. Most of the files are believed to be from the 1960s and 1970s, stemming from the 1963 assassination and aftermath. But several dozens were generated by government agencies in the 1990s in apparent response to the conspiracy theories raised by the controversial Oliver Stone film JFK.
Spanish government moves to thwart separatists
Spain's prime minister said Saturday that the government would invoke unprecedented constitutional authority to "restore order" in Catalonia, suspend the regional government and call for fresh elections to thwart its leader's attempt to declare independence. Article 155, which has never been invoked in the constitution's history, allows central authorities to intervene when one of Spain’s 17 autonomous regions fails to comply with the law.
Former Olympian Shawn Johnson shares heartbreaking story of miscarriage
Former U.S. gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson and her husband, former NFL long snapper Andrew East, shared a raw and emotional video on Saturday in which they revealed they recently had a miscarriage. "We feel like a lot of people go through this so we wanted to share it, " Johnson said in a tearful YouTube video while sitting alongside her husband. Johnson was six weeks along in her pregnancy.