When President Trump first launched his campaign in 2015, National Enquirer publisher David Pecker reportedly offered Trump a unique gift: He'd pay off women who alleged they'd had affairs with Trump. And contrary to what he's claimed before, Trump personally orchestrated and took advantage of that promise, The Wall Street Journal reports.

In a massive investigation published Friday, the Journal reports Trump either personally directed, or told his former attorney Michael Cohen to make, payments to silence former Playboy model Karen McDougal and porn star Stormy Daniels. Trump previously claimed he had no knowledge of the payments before they happened, but federal prosecutors have reportedly heard otherwise — from Cohen himself.

News that Pecker, a former longtime friend of Trump, and Cohen paid to bury McDougal's and Daniels' allegations of affairs with Trump has already been reported. But the Journal's interviews with "three dozen people who have direct knowledge of the events" reveal the payments all stemmed from a 2015 Trump Tower meeting in which Trump personally asked Pecker to keep his campaign safe from damaging stories. And when a payment to Daniels stalled, Trump reportedly urged Cohen to "get it done," forcing the lawyer to pay off Daniels himself.

Cohen has allegedly told federal prosecutors all of this in an attempt to soften his sentence for federal crimes he pleaded guilty to in August, implicating Trump along the way. Prosecutors also have secret recordings and even a "reimbursement agreement" that prove Trump funded the hush money payments and "was involved in or briefed on [them] nearly every step" of the way, the Journal writes.

Trump's alleged ties to the payments aren't inherently federal crimes, an election law specialist said. The White House referred the Journal's request for comment to the president's lawyer, who declined to comment. Read more at The Wall Street Journal. Kathryn Krawczyk

It looks like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is beginning to distance himself from his good friend Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) policy-wise.

The two Democratic presidential candidates have always gotten along well and are generally ideological allies, especially relative to many of their primary competitors. But Sanders was pretty clear in an interview that aired on Sunday's edition of ABC's This Week that Warren has a ways to go before she's at the same point on the political spectrum.

Sanders praised Warren's tenure as a senator and reaffirmed their friendship, but he said "there are differences" in their platforms, namely the fact that Warren has maintained she is a capitalist "through her bones." He said the country doesn't need more regulation, but rather a "political revolution" and he believes he's the only candidate who will stand up to the corporate elite in the U.S. and say "enough." He said thar Warren would speak for herself on the matter, but, for the moment, Sanders, who considers himself a democratic socialist, thinks her adherence to capitalism is reason enough to separate them.

The initial analysis Sanders' comments seems to be that Sanders recognizes he's falling behind Warren in the race, and understands he focusing on where they differ might be his best chance at getting back in contention. Tim O'Donnell

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) had some mixed reviews for the Trump administration Sunday.

During an appearance on CBS' Face the Nation, Cruz told host Margaret Brennan that he believes it was inappropriate for President Trump to have asked the Chinese government to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Cruz said "elections in the United States should be decided by Americans and it's not the business of foreign countries to be interfering in our elections."

He did, however, praise the administration for agreeing to release the transcript of Trump's phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Trump is accused of pressuring his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate the Bidens. And the senator wasn't ready to let the Bidens off the hook, either, saying that if there's "credible evidence" of wrongdoing, he would support a Justice Department probe. He also had some advice for Biden — Cruz urged him to follow in Trump's footsteps and release the transcript of his own conversations with Ukraine from when he was vice president, so that the American people can judge for themselves. Tim O'Donnell

One game is already under way in the NFL, but there's a lot more to come. Here are four Week 6 games to keep an eye on:

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans, 1 p.m. ET on CBS — This matchup between two potential playoff teams could be an offensive explosion. Kansas City and Houston feature two of the game's top young playmakers in quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and DeShaun Watson, respectively. Houston was clicking on all cylinders last week when they torched the Atlanta Falcons for 53 points behind a stellar Watson performance. Kansas City and Mahomes, meanwhiel, played their worst game of the season against the Indianapolis Colts last week.

Miami Dolphins vs. Washington Redskins, 1 p.m. ET on Fox — Full disclosure: this is a bit tongue-in-cheek. Miami and Washington are probably two of the worst teams in the league this year, but one of them will have to win this one. It's also Washington's first game since firing head coach Jay Gruden earlier this week. In the long run, though, this is about the race for the number one pick.

Minnesota Vikings vs. Philadelphia Eagles, 1 p.m. ET on Fox — Alright, back to quality football. After a rough start to the season, the Eagles look formidable again, but a road game in Minnesota remains a tall task. Minnesota has had an up and down season, but they're coming off a strong performance against a weak New York Giants team. This should be a good litmus test for two 3-2 teams aiming for division crowns.

Los Angeles Rams vs. San Francisco 49ers, 4:05 p.m. ET on Fox — This promises to be an exciting divisional game. The Rams have been a bit of disappointment this year, but knocking off the 49ers, who remain the only undefeated team not called the New England Patriots, would be a great way to shake off some of their post-Super Bowl rustiness. The Niners, meanwhile, just destroyed the Cleveland Browns last Monday and look like a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Tim O'Donnell

It might not satisfy the Trump administration, but Hunter Biden, the son of Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, said in a statement Sunday that he's stepping down from his position on the board of a Chinese-backed private equity form.

The decision comes after the Bidens became entagled in President Trump's Ukraine-related impeachment sags. Members of the Trump administration, namely the president's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, accused the Bidens of corruption related to Hunter's foreign business ties, including in Ukraine and China. Although there's no evidence that either Hunter or Joe Biden did anything illegal, it looks like they aren't going to take any risks going forward.

"Under a Biden administration, Hunter will readily comply with any and all guidelines or standards a President Biden may issue to address purported conflicts of interest, or the appearance of such conflicts, including any restrictions related to overseas business interests," Hunter Biden's attorney, George Misers, said in the statement. "In any event, Hunter will agree to not serve on boards of, or work on behalf of, foreign owned companies." Read more at The Washington Post and CNBC. Tim O'Donnell

Hundreds of people with suspected links to the Islamic State reportedly escaped from a camp for displaced people near a U.S.-coalition base in northern Syria on Sunday amid a Turkish military offensive and a simultaneous U.S. troop withdrawal from the region, Syrian Kurdish officials said.

The camp is home to around 12,000 people, including around 1,000 wives and widows of ISIS fighters and their children. The Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria said in a statement that more than 700 ISIS supporters escaped as clashes broke out between Turkey-backed Syrian fighters and Kurdish forces, though news sources were not immediately able to confirm that number. The remaining inhabitants of the camp are reportedly being evacuated by U.S. forces to another area, The Guardian reports.

U.S. troops stationed at bases to the west of the camp said they came under Turkish artillery fire Friday night, in what some suspect was a deliberate attempt to drive them away from the bulk of U.S. forces further east. Read more at The Associated Press and The Washington Post. Tim O'Donnell

Saturday Night Live lampooned CNN's Equality Town Hall during the most recent episode's cold open on Saturday evening, as cast members and a handful of special guests portrayed a few of the Democratic presidential candidates.

Poses's Billy Porter dropped by to introduce the candidates, beginning with Chris Redd's Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) who ran off the stage without answering a question about a controversial op-ed he wrote in 1992. Colin Jost then took on the role of South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who wasn't sure what do with his arms on stage. He was followed Kate McKinnon's Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who was spraying zingers at anti-LGBTQ people.

The final two candidates — former Housing Secretary Julián Castro and former Vice President Joe Biden — were portrayed by none other than Lin-Manuel Miranda and Woody Harrelson, respectively. Miranda's Castro apologized for not being gay himself, while Harrelson's Biden had everyone bracing themselves for an inappropriate story. Watch the full clip below. Tim O'Donnell