The second day of hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh began much like the first as protesters repeatedly interrupted the proceedings. The judge called Roe v. Wade a "settled" precedent of the court and emphasized that he understood "the importance of the issue." He declined to say whether a president can constitutionally pardon himself, calling that a "hypothetical question."—Josh Petri

Here are today's top stories

Investor optimism, elevated valuations and a tightening labor market have both Goldman Sachs and Citigroup warning that investors should be prepared for lower returns in coming years.

Senators raised the prospect of regulating social media platforms as they confronted Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg over their companies’ efforts to stop foreign meddling. Facebook users are still adjusting their digital behavior following the 2016 election, according to a new survey. 

The British and German governments have abandoned key Brexit demands, potentially easing the path for the U.K. to strike a deal with the European Union,

President Donald Trump faces organized opposition from within his own administration who want to “frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations,” according to an op-ed published Wednesday in the New York Times by an unnamed author.

House GOP leaders are forging ahead with a vote on a second phase of tax cuts, despite dissent from Republicans in high-tax states.

Cryptocurrencies plummeted amid a report that Goldman Sachs is pulling back on near-term plans to set up a crypto trading desk.

What's Joe Weisenthal thinking about? The Bloomberg news director is debating the significance of the $1 trillion market-cap level. When Apple broke the barrier, some critics grumbled that the number was completely arbitrary, and that it was only good for some eye-catching headlines. With Amazon having (briefly) joined the club, the question is worth raising again: does it matter? He argues that it does.

What you'll need to know tomorrow

• Local news is dying, and it's taking small town America with it.
• Qatar became the first Gulf state to offer expats permanent residency.
• Forty-five Americans under age 26 earned $10 million or more in 2016.
• An Emirates flight was quarantined at JFK after a number of passengers became ill.
• Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore sued comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.
• Trump is flirting with provoking a government shutdown that Republicans hope to avoid.
• Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop agreed to pay $145,000 over jade vaginal-egg claims.

What you'll want to read tonight

Tech Titans Plot Their Doomsday Escape to Luxury Bunkers

Years of doomsday talk at Silicon Valley dinner parties has turned to action. In recent months, two 150-ton survival bunkers journeyed by land and sea from a Texas warehouse to the shores of New Zealand, where they’re buried 11 feet underground. At the first sign of an apocalypse—nuclear war, a killer germ, a French Revolution-style uprising targeting the 1 percent—their owners plan to hop on a private jet and hunker down.

Yesterday's newsletter misspelled the name of Senator John Cornyn. We regret the error.

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