Today in one sentence: Packages containing "potential explosive devices" were sent to Obama and Hillary Clinton; a similar device was sent to CNN; Trump called the packages "despicable acts"; the Saudi crown prince called the killing of Jamal Khashoggi a "heinous crime"; while Trump called it "a total fiasco"; and the S&P 500 and Dow erased all of their gains for 2018.

1/ The Secret Service intercepted packages containing “potential explosive devices” addressed to Obama and Hillary Clinton, similar to the one found at the home of George Soros on Monday. All three devices are of similar pipe-bomb-style construction. The Secret Service said “the packages were immediately identified during routine mail screening procedures as potential explosive devices and were appropriately handled as such.” Contrary to reports, a suspicious package was not sent to the White House. (New York Times / Washington Post / ABC News / NBC News / CNBC / Associated Press)

  • 📌 The Re-up: Day 642. An explosive device was found in a mailbox outside a home of billionaire George Soros in Westchester County, New York. The bomb was “proactively detonated” by the bomb squad. The case has been turned over to the FBI. (The Hill / New York Times)

2/ A similar device was sent to CNN’s headquarter in New York, addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan. The package contained a white powder. Brennan doesn’t work for CNN, but is a national security and intelligence analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. CNN’s New York bureau in the Time Warner Center was evacuated. (NBC News / CNN / Washington Post)

  • New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called the live explosive package sent to the Time Warner Center in New York City an “act of terror.” (CNBC)

  • A package addressed to Rep. Maxine Waters was intercepted at a Congressional mail facility. (New York Times)

  • Suspicious packages were found outside the San Diego Union-Tribune. The building and nearby businesses were briefly evacuated. The boxes were filled with everyday items that included children’s books and a football. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

3/ The return address on the packages addressed to Soros, CNN, Obama, and the Clintons listed Rep Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who currently serves as a representative for Florida’s 23rd congressional district and is the former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. Wasserman Schultz’s office was also evacuated after a suspicious package was discovered. It was misaddressed to Eric Holder and returned to Wasserman Schultz’s office, because that was the return address on the package. (CBS New York / Miami Herald / CNN)

4/ Trump and the White House condemned the “attempted violent attacks,” calling them “despicable acts.” He added that “threats of political violence of any kind have no place in the United States of America.” In a statement, Sarah Huckabee Sanders denounced the “terrorizing acts” against Obama, the Clintons and “other public figures.” Pence tweeted that the “attempted attacks” are “cowardly” and “despicable.” Trump retweeted Pence’s statement, adding: “I agree wholeheartedly!” (Politico / Associated Press / The Hill / CNBC)

  • Pro-Trump groups called the bomb threats merely a “false flag” operation and a convenient political stunt set up by Democrats two weeks before Election Day. (Daily Beast)

5/ Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called the killing of Jamal Khashoggi a “heinous crime that cannot be justified.” He maintained his innocence, however, calling Khashoggi’s murder “really painful to all Saudis” and to “every human being in the world.” He accused unidentified critics of trying to use the case to “drive a wedge” between Saudi Arabia and Turkey. (Politico / New York Times / Washington Post)

6/ Trump called the murder of Jamal Khashoggi “a total fiasco,” saying Saudi Arabia should never have thought about killing Khashoggi in the first place because “everything else they did was bad too.” (Associated Press)

7/ Chinese and Russian spies are routinely eavesdropping on Trump’s cellphone calls, despite aides repeatedly warning him that his personal iPhone is not secure. Trump has two official iPhones that have been secured by the National Security Agency, but he uses a personal iPhone because it can store contacts on it. As a presidential candidate, Trump regularly attacked Hillary Clinton for her use of an unsecured email server while she was secretary state. (New York Times)

poll/ 56% of Americans think Trump has been too soft on Saudi Arabia in response to the killing of Khashoggi. 78% of Democrats, 55% of independents, and 37% of Republicans said Trump’s response to the killing was “not tough enough.” 56% of Republicans think Trump’s response is “about right.” (Axios/SurveyMonkey)

poll/ 35% of voters said Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation made them more likely to vote for a Democratic congressional candidate, compared to 27% who said it made them more likely to vote for a Republican congressional candidate, and 37% of voters said the confirmation wouldn’t affect their vote. (USA Today)

Notables.

  1. Jeff Flake said he didn’t believe Brett Kavanaugh, but voted for him anyway. Asked on “The View” if he believed if Christine Blasey Ford was telling the truth during her testimony, Flake responded: “I don’t know. I don’t know if I believed him either.” (HuffPost)

  2. The acting EPA administrator told the oil and gas industry that the “new EPA” is “removing regulatory barriers and leveling the playing field for American companies.” Andrew Wheeler, who replaced Scott Pruitt, said that the EPA has initiated 28 “major deregulatory actions” and is developing 49 more. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

  3. The EPA said small amounts of a herbicide found in breakfast cereals is not a health risk. The World Health Organization, however, listed glyphosate as a “probable carcinogen” in 2015. (ABC News)

  4. Yesterday, Pence said it’s “inconceivable that there are not people of Middle Eastern descent” in the caravan. Pence did not offer evidence to support Trump’s claim that people from the Middle East were traveling with the caravan. (The Hill)

  5. Trump admitted that there is “no proof” of “Middle Easterners” in the caravan of Central American migrants traveling through Mexico toward the U.S. border. He said he has “very good information” that “there could very well be” people from the Middle East in the caravan. (ABC News)

  6. A federal court ruled that part of Trump’s executive order to end federal grant funding for sanctuary cities is unconstitutional. The ruling follows a U.S. appeals court decision in August that also found Trump’s executive order unconstitutional. (The Hill)

  7. China plans to wean off U.S. soybeans in response to a soybean shortage stemming from the ongoing trade dispute between the two countries. China is the biggest buyer of soybeans in the world and uses them as a source of protein for its livestock. More than a third of China’s soybeans currently come from the United States. (CNN)

  8. A federal court blocked Georgia from throwing out absentee ballots and applications because of signature mismatches. Voters who had their absentee ballots rejected can now contest the state’s initial determination and confirm their identity. (USA Today)

  9. Trump is expected to sign opioids legislation into law. More than 72,000 Americans died of drug-overdose deaths in 2017 – up nearly 7% from 2016. (CNN)

  10. Congress postponed a closed-door interview with Rod Rosenstein, saying the time allotted for the session was too short. The House Judiciary and Oversight committees will be rescheduled and could become a public hearing rather than a closed-door interview. (Reuters)

  11. Trump directly accused Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell of endangering the U.S. economy by raising interest rates. “Every time we do something great, he raises the interest rates,” Trump said, adding that Powell “almost looks like he’s happy raising interest rates.” (Wall Street Journal / CNBC)

  12. The S&P 500 and Dow erased all of their gains for 2018. The Dow has dropped 7.1% in October and the S&P 500 has pulled back 8.9%. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, has dropped 11.7%. (Bloomberg / CNBC)