10 things you need to know today: November 2, 2018

1. Trump vows to bar many migrants from seeking asylum

President Trump said Thursday that he would take executive action to block people from requesting asylum between border entry points, and hold undocumented immigrants indefinitely in "massive tent cities." Trump said at the White House that he aimed to end "abuse" of the asylum system, although he offered few other details. The remarks came after Trump's vow to deploy thousands of troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to help prevent a caravan of thousands of Central American migrants from entering the U.S. The migrants are weeks away from the border, but Trump has stepped up his rhetoric against members of the caravan and illegal immigration in general, which he has blamed on Democrats in a push to rally support for Republicans in next week's midterm elections.

The Washington Post NBC News

2. Critics call Trump ad racist and inaccurate

President Trump faced a backlash Thursday over a midterm campaign ad blaming Democrats for letting a Mexican citizen who killed two California deputies get into the country and stay. Luis Bracamontes repeatedly entered the U.S. illegally before being sentenced to death for killing the deputies. "Illegal immigrant, Luis Bracamontes, killed our people!" reads the opening text in the ad, which Trump tweeted Wednesday. "Democrats let him stay." Fact-checkers noted that Bracamontes had entered the U.S. when George W. Bush, a Republican, was president. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez called the ad "fear-mongering." Other Democratic activists called the commercial racist, and compared it to the controversial 1988 Willie Horton ad released by backers of former President George H.W. Bush.

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3. Pittsburgh synagogue massacre suspect pleads not guilty

Robert Bowers, the suspect in Saturday's Tree of Life synagogue mass shooting, pleaded not guilty Thursday to all of the 44 counts filed against him so far. Bowers had been indicted by a federal grand jury a day earlier for the murder of 11 people. He also was charged with federal hate crimes, and could face the death penalty. Investigators say Bowers opened fire during Sabbath services, armed with three Glock .357-caliber handguns and an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Bowers had made social media posts expressing hatred of Jews and immigrants, and told police after the shooting that his intention was to "kill Jews." On the day of Bowers' arraignment, three more funerals were held for victims. The last of the funerals is scheduled for Friday.

NPR

4. Report: Emails contain Roger Stone's claim of WikiLeaks insider information

Newly released emails indicate that political operative Roger Stone presented himself to President Trump's campaign as a source of insider information from WikiLeaks, Russia's chosen outlet for documents hacked from Democrats, The New York Times reported Thursday. Stone tried for days to reach Stephen Bannon, then head of Trump's campaign, before WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange promised to release a flood of documents related to the 2016 presidential race. "What was that this morning???" Bannon asked on Oct. 4. "A load every week going forward," Stone said, explaining Assange's vow to release more material every week through the Nov. 8 vote. The exchange supported testimony Bannon and two other senior campaign officials reportedly have made to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team about Stone's claims of WikiLeaks ties.

The New York Times

5. Oprah Winfrey and Mike Pence rally for rival Georgia candidates

Media mogul Oprah Winfrey campaigned for Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Thursday, stirring Abrams' supporters into chants of "You get a vote!" Abrams, vying to be the first black woman governor in the U.S., is running neck-and-neck against Republican Brian Kemp, who is overseeing the election as Georgia's secretary of state. His office reportedly has put more than 53,000 voter applications on hold, heavily affecting minority voters. Winfrey batted down rumors she was planning her own run for office, saying she was there to stand up for everyone who has fought for "equality at the polls." Vice President Mike Pence joined Kemp at campaign stops, mocking Oprah and actor Will Ferrell for trying to boost Abrams with their celebrity power, saying: "I'm kind of a big deal, too."

CNN The New York Times

6. Report: Saudi crown prince told Kushner that Khashoggi was dangerous Islamist

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told President Trump's son-in-law and aide Jared Kushner and National Security Adviser John Bolton that slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi was a dangerous Islamist in a phone call days after his disappearance, The Washington Post reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the discussion. The call occurred before the kingdom acknowledged that Khashoggi had been killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, when he went there to pick up marriage documents on Oct. 2. The alleged criticism of Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist critical of the country's leaders, is inconsistent with public statements by the Saudi government, which has called his murder "a terrible mistake" made by rogue operatives.

The Washington Post

7. U.S. accuses Chinese company of stealing secrets

The U.S. charged China's government-controlled Fujian Jinhua Integrated Circuit Co., along with a Taiwanese company and three individuals, with stealing trade secrets worth up to $8.75 billion from Micron Technology, an Idaho-based semiconductor company, the Justice Department said Thursday. The prosecution marked the Trump administration's latest move to counter what it says are ongoing efforts by Beijing to steal U.S. technology to benefit Chinese companies and the country's economy. "China — like any advanced nation — must decide whether it wants to be a trusted partner on the world stage, or whether it wants to be known around the world as a dishonest regime running a corrupt economy founded on fraud, theft, and strong-arm tactics," Attorney General Jeff Sessions said.

The Associated Press

8. America becomes world's biggest crude oil producer

The United States has surpassed Russia as the world's top producer of crude oil, the U.S. Department of Energy said Thursday. In August, America produced more than 11.3 million barrels of oil per day, beating the July record of 10.9 million barrels. That was enough to inch past Russia's daily production of 11.2 million barrels a day in the same time frame. The U.S. hasn't been the top producer of oil in the world since 1973. America's oil production is rising at a record rate, up 25 percent, or more than two million barrels a day, compared to a year ago. That's the fastest increase the U.S. has seen in six decades, and oil prices are now the lowest they've been since April.

Reuters The Associated Press

9. Google workers stage walk-outs to protest corporate culture

Thousands of Google workers staged brief walk-outs at the company's offices around the world to protest its handling of sexism and racism in the workplace. In New York City, workers filed out of Google's offices and walked silently around the block for 10 minutes, holding printed messages such as "Respect for Women." At the company's Mountain View, California, headquarters hundreds gathered in a courtyard, some carrying placards urging the company to do more to address sexual harassment. The protests came after a report last week that Google gave a $90 million exit package to senior vice president Andy Rubin after he was accused of sexual harassment. "If there is any company who can solve this, I think it is Google," said Thomas Kneeland, a software engineer.

Reuters

10. Simone Biles wins record 4th women's all-around world gymnastics title

Simone Biles won the women's all-around title at the world gymnastics championships on Thursday. The win, her record fourth at the championships, came despite falls on the vault and balance beam. She also put one foot out of bounds on her first tumbling pass on the floor exercises, but a big advantage from difficulty points lifted her above Japan's Mai Murakami. Morgan Hurd, who won last year when Biles took time off, came in third. Her victory, which was expected, extended a winning streak that started at the 2013 U.S. championships and continued through the Rio Olympics, where she won four gold medals.

USA Today