Michael Avenatti is looking ahead to 2020.

Avenatti, the attorney representing adult film star Stormy Daniels in her case against President Trump, is in Iowa "exploring a run for the presidency of the United States," he told the Des Moines Register Thursday. He said he wanted to come to Iowa, the first-in-the-nation caucus state, in order to "listen to people and learn about some issues that are facing the citizens of Iowa and do my homework." Avenatti spent Thursday at the Iowa State Fair, where he was stopped by people asking for selfies, and he plans on speaking at the Democratic Wing Ding fundraiser on Friday night.

Avenatti is known for his many television appearances, where he blasts Trump and most people in the president's orbit, and he told the Register he would "never think to come to Iowa in order to use the state or the people of the state to raise my profile," adding, "the trust of the citizens of Iowa is going to have to be earned."

He will tell Democrats in the state that they need to take on Trump, and believes "there's a huge appetite within the party for a fighter. I think the party has yearned for a fighter — a fighter for good, if you will — for a significant period of time. And for many, I'm probably seen as that individual." Catherine Garcia

Cedric Benson, a former standout running back at the University of Texas and 8-year NFL veteran, died in a motorcycle crash on Saturday night in Austin. He was 36.

Benson played in the NFL from 2005 to 2012, mainly for the Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals, though he also played briefly for the Green Bay Packers in his final season. He rushed for over 1,000 yards for three consecutive years for Cincinnati.

While he was a solid contributor at the professional level, Benson was a true star in college. He was a prolific rusher for the Longhorns and remains the school's second all-time leading rusher after Ricky Williams. He rushed for over 1,000 yards all four years and picked up 2,013 total yards his senior year. That season he was an All-American and won the Doak Walker Award, which is given out annually to the top collegiate running back in the nation. The Longhorns earned a Rose Bowl victory over the University of Michigan before getting drafted by Chicago with the fourth overall pick. Tim O'Donnell

A potential recession was the talk of the town on Sunday. Unsurprisingly, viewpoints differed.

Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D-Texas), a Democratic presidential candidate, for instance, told NBC's Chuck Todd on Sunday's edition of Meet the Press that he's afraid President Trump's tariffs on China are "driving the global economy and our economy into a recession" and that they're "hammering the hell out of farmers across the country." O'Rourke's Democratic competitors, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg concurred, calling Trump's tariffs a "fool's errand."

On the other hand, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro and Director of the National Economic Council Larry Kudlow were far less concerned. Both Navarro and Kudlow said they don't foresee a recession on the horizon, with Kudlow saying Americans should "not be afraid of optimism." A few minutes later, though, Kudlow acknowledged that he was wrong when he dismissed fears of a recession in 2007 and, well, you know the rest.

Navarro, who made the Sunday network rounds, said "with certainty" that he expects the U.S. to maintain a strong economy going forward. He shook off criticism from the Wall Street Journal editorial board with a little word play.

Another Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), took the exact opposite viewpoint, however, arguing that the economy might look rosy from the top-down, but that that picture is not reflected in the "everyday, kitchen table issues that families face." Tim O'Donnell

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is ready to implement criminal justice reform.

The 2020 Democratic candidate unveiled a major policy proposal on Sunday, which details how he'd revamp the criminal justice system, with his sights set on the country's prisons, police departments, courts, and drug policies. It's a sweeping plan that would reportedly require the passage of legislation and cooperation with local and state governments. Politico also reports that it will likely draw criticism from police unions as one of Sanders' recommendations is to establish a list of "disreputable" law enforcement officials who cannot be called to testify in court.

One of the major arguments Sanders makes, especially in regards to mass incarceration, is that hundreds of thousands incarcerated people are in jail not because they have been convicted of a crime, but because they cannot afford bail. Even if they are acquitted, then, "the severe damage to their lives cannot be undone," per the proposal. "We are criminalizing poverty," the plan reads.

So, Sanders proposes ending cash bail, reminiscent of a bill he proposed in 2018. He would end the use of secure bonds in federal criminal proceedings, provide grants to states to reduce their pretrial detention populations, and withhold funding from states that continue the use of cash bail systems.

Among some of the other major points in the plan are the institution of "safe injection sites" where people can use illegal drugs under medical supervision and the abolishment of for-profit prisons. Read the proposal here. The Week Staff

Remember HBO's Game of Thrones? It feels like it's been forever since the show that once dominated popular culture was on the air, although it's only been a few months since the series finale aired to mixed reviews from critics and fans alike. While it's no longer the talk of the internet, the fact that the show has faded a bit from the spotlight has given A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin, whose work inspired the television show, a chance to breathe and reflect.

In a rare, lengthy interview, Martin told The Observer that the television show's controversial ending won't "change anything at all" about the conclusion of his supposedly forthcoming final two novels in the series, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. Martin did not address fan criticism of the show's final season in the interview, or even whether he watched the finale, but he did say that the series wrapping up was "freeing."

Martin also acknowledged that the show provided challenges for his writing. "I don't think it was very good for me because the very thing that should have speeded me up actually slowed me down," Martin said, noting that he felt pressure to work at a faster pace because of the show, which eventually led to stagnation. Now, he's back to his old style — which means he's writing three or four pages on a good day. The 70-year-old Martin said he needs "more hours in the day, more days in the week, and more months in the year," but, while discussing A Dream of Spring, he used the word "when" not "if" in reference to its completion. Read more at The Observer. Tim O'Donnell

There's been a lot of talk of the United Kingdom's Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government orchestrating the country's departure from the European Union on Oct. 31 without a deal if the two sides can't come to terms on a new agreement by then. But what would a no-deal Brexit actually look like?

A leaked dossier compiled by the United Kingdom's Cabinet Office might have the answer and it's not a particularly pretty picture.

The government documents predicted that the country will hit a three-month meltdown at its ports, a hard Irish border, and shortages of fuel, food and medicine if it leaves the European Union without a deal on Oct. 31. Without a withdrawal agreement, the document says, the U.K. will "be vulnerable to severe extended delays" for medical supplies and food, with rising prices also a possibility. A hard Irish border would also be difficult to avoid, per the documents.

There appears to be a debate over whether the documents represent the worst-case scenario for a no-deal Brexit or if they are the British government's actual assessment of the possible situation.

A senior source said the document is "not Project Fear," but "the most realistic assessment of what the public face with no deal." But that notion has been disputed. Chancellor Michael Gove said it is, in fact, a worst-case scenario report, while the government of British territory Gibraltar took it a step further, arguing that the papers were "out of date" and the issues in it have "already been dealt with." Tim O'Donnell

Former Vice President Joe Biden is not changing his message.

The Democratic presidential candidate reiterated on Saturday during a fundraiser in Massachusetts that, if elected to the Oval Office, he plans on cooperating with Republicans. "There's an awful lot of good Republicans out there," Biden said. "I get in trouble for saying that with Democrats, but the truth of the matter is, every time we got in trouble with our administration, remember who got sent up to Capitol Hill to fix it? Me. Because they know I respect the other team."

Biden said many GOP members are decent people, who are intimidated by the Trump administration. Biden has received criticism for expressing similar views of compromise in the past, especially from the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party. His most recent comments have already led to some similar reactions. But not everyone is fundamentally opposed to this line of thinking, even Biden's primary opponents.

Read more at The Hill. Tim O'Donnell