Happening Today: Election Day Eve, Brian Kemp, Khashoggi, Pete Davidson, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody'

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'Everything's at Stake' on Eve of First Trump-Era Elections

The day of reckoning for American politics has nearly arrived. Voters will decide the $5 billion debate between President Trump's take-no-prisoner politics and the Democratic Party's super-charged campaign to end the GOP's monopoly in Washington and statehouses across the nation. There are indications that an oft-discussed "blue wave" may help Democrats seize control of at least one chamber of Congress. But two years after an election that proved polls and prognosticators wrong, nothing is certain on the eve of the first nationwide elections of the Trump presidency. "I don't think there's a Democrat in this country that doesn't have a little angst left over from 2016 deep down," said Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY's List, which spent more than ever before — nearly $60 million in all — to support Democratic women this campaign season. All 435 seats in the U.S. House are up for re-election. And 35 Senate seats are in play, as are almost 40 governorships and the balance of power in virtually every state legislature.

Without Evidence, Republican Says Ga. Dems Attempted Voter Hack

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, the Republican candidate for governor, said he was investigating the state Democratic Party for an attempted hack of the voter registration system — a claim met with a swift response from Democrats charging him with a shameless "political stunt" two days before Election Day. Kemp, who is in a neck-and-neck race with Stacey Abrams, alleged that the state Democratic Party made a "failed attempt to hack the state's voter registration system," and announced his office was opening an investigation into the party, NBC News reported. Kemp said his office alerted the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI and offered no evidence to back up his allegation. His office also said no data was breached. Democrats blasted the announcement, which comes amid the backdrop of one of the nation's most fiercely contested races ahead of Election Day.

Saudi Investigators Worked to Remove Evidence, Report Says

Members of a team from Saudi Arabia sent to help Turkish authorities investigate the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi worked instead to remove evidence of the slaying, a senior Turkish official said. The official confirmed a report in Turkey's Sabah newspaper that an 11-member team of Saudi investigators that arrived in Turkey nine days after Khashoggi was killed to take part in a joint Turkish-Saudi probe included experts on chemicals and toxicology who were reportedly charged with obfuscating the evidence. The official said Turkey believes that two members of the team "came to Turkey for the sole purpose of covering up evidence" before Turkish police were allowed to search the Saudi Consulate, where Khashoggi was killed on Oct. 2 after he entered to collect a document he needed to marry his Turkish fiancee. The official said the fact that a clean-up team was dispatched suggests that Khashoggi's killing "was within the knowledge of top Saudi officials." The official spoke on condition of anonymity, in line with government rules.

Candidate Chides 'SNL's' Pete Davidson Over Eyepatch Joke

A Texas Republican congressional candidate has chided "Saturday Night Live" comic Pete Davidson for poking fun of the eyepatch he wears because he was badly wounded during his third tour in Afghanistan as a Navy SEAL. Davidson said during Saturday's "Weekend Update" segment that Dan Crenshaw, whose photo was displayed, was "kinda cool" but that viewers might be "surprised he's a congressional candidate from Texas and not a hit man in a porno movie." He added, "I'm sorry, I know he lost his eye in war or whatever." Crenshaw, who is running against Democrat Todd Litton for an open suburban Houston district seat, replied in a tweet, saying: "Good rule in life: I try hard not to offend; I try harder not to be offended. That being said, I hope @nbcsnl recognizes that vets don't deserve to see their wounds used as punchlines for bad jokes."

'Bohemian Rhapsody' Tops the Weekend Box Office With $50 Million

The Freddie Mercury biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" and 20th Century Fox are — for now, at least — champions of the world. "Bohemian Rhapsody," starring Rami Malek as the late Queen frontman, shrugged off production troubles and mediocre reviews to debut with $50 million in weekend ticket sales in U.S. and Canada, and another $72.5 million internationally, according to studio estimates. That was well beyond expectations, which had pegged the film closer to $35-40 million in its opening weekend. But audiences rushed to theaters to see the widely praised performance by Malek, the "Mr. Robot" star, and to hear Queen's foot-stomping anthems like "We are the Champions," ''Another One Bites the Dust" and the operatic title song. The movie, which Bryan Singer directed before being replaced by Dexter Fletcher, at times has an almost concert-like feel, including a lengthy re-creation of the band's 1985 Live Aid performance.