NEWS SUMMARY-INTELLIGENCE REPORT SATURDAY 10/6/2018

                           (EDITING, UPDATES AND EXPANSION THROUGH 815 AM)

The Senate has been in session all night with senators speaking about the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

The final vote will be today and it could be a 50-48 vote with one senator voting present while another attends his daughter's wedding.

Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who came out as a "NO" on Kavanaugh's nomination, said last night she would vote present so fellow Republican Senator Steve Daines of Montana could attend the wedding.

Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke faces a minimum of six years in prison after being convicted of second degree murder and other charges yesterday in the October 20, 2014 shooting of 17-year old Laquan McDonald.   The black teenager was shot 16 times in 15 seconds. 

The shooting triggered outrage and protests in Chicago.  Video of the shooting was not revealed to the public until after the 2015 re-election of Mayor Rahm Emmanuel.   It was at that time that the first charges were filed against Van Dyke.

Protests were underway in the streets of  Chicago into the evening following yesterday's verdict.

A new tone from the European Union about Brexit.  EU Commission President Jean Claude Juncker told Austrian media the chances of a UK-EU deal have increased in recent days.

Prime Minister Theresa May was able to use the EU's previous harsher comments to her political advantage ahead of the recent Conservative Party conference by making tough sounding statements of her own and creating a good image in the face of a potential leadership challenge.

Brexit supporters like Nigel Farage and UKIP leader Gerard Batten are expecting a phony Brexit In Name Only deal to emerge in the end and be approved by Parliament.

The latest on the disappearance of the Chinese official who heads Interpol is that Chinese authorities took him into custody.   That report came from the "South China Morning Post" in Hong Kong.

The French government is conducting an investigation into what happened to Meng Hongwei.  His family last saw him on September 25th when he left the French city of Lyon where the international police organization is headquartered.  He was taking a trip to China.

We still don't know what happened to Saudi journalist and critic of the Saudi Arabian government, Jamal Khashoggi.  Khashoggi was last seen entering the Istanbul consulate of Saudi Arabia Tuesday afternoon.    He was there to get a copy of his divorce papers to clear the way for a new marriage.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry and the US State Department both inquired about Khashoggi's whereabouts.   The Turks believe Khashoggi is still inside, but the Saudis claim he left.

Khashoggi has been very critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, son of the Saudi king.   The Crown Prince projects an image of a reformer but has arrested critics and rivals including womens rights leaders in the country.

Jihadist opposition forces shelled populated areas in Syria's Latakia province in recent days.  One person was reported injured.   The attacks were in violation of a cease-fire agreement in the area.

In what appears to be a case of disinformation, the Israeli newspaper "Haaretz" has published a story quoting a former US Ambassador to Syria saying that Syrian President Bashar Assad created the Islamic State terrorist organization.

That appears to be a stretch considering that ISIS is essentially a Sunni Islamic jihadist organization much like the ones backed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar who have been fighting against Assad' regime for the last seven years committing many of the same kinds of atrocities but not to the depth and extent of ISIS.

Israel will respond to the new S-300 air defense system deployed by Russia in Syria with the F-35 fighter.   A source in the Israeli Air Force told Israel Defense Forces Radio.   Israel has eight of its own version, the F-35I fighter, in service currently with more on order.

Russia has cut a deal on giving its most advanced air defense system, the S-400, to India.   The contract was signed during a visit to India by President Vladimir Putin. The value of the deal is 5.4 billion dollars.

Russia's Finance Minister says any Western efforts to sanction his country's debt would be last-ditch measures.  Foreign sources currently hold 27 percent of Russia's debt he says, that's down from 33 percent.

We haven't seen it since 1969 in the USA, that's 3.7 percent unemployment.   That's the figure announced in Washington Friday for last month.

For now, the date set for activist Tommy Robinson's trial to resume in London is Tuesday October 23rd.    The hearing will be at the Old Bailey in London.   People are being urged to show up and protest starting at 9am that morning.

A Salt Lake City institution has a new name.    "The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square" is the new name for the "Mormon Tabernacle Choir".   The name change comes as what is commonly called the "Mormon Church" or by the mainstream media in Utah the "LDS Church" has said those names for the church are unacceptable.

The new official name is "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints".