A second allegation of sexual misconduct has emerged against Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a development that has further imperiled his nomination to the Supreme Court, forced the White House and Senate Republicans onto the defensive and fueled calls from Democrats to postpone further action on his confirmation. 

The woman who has accused Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual misconduct, Christine Blasey Ford, has been invited to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee Monday, but the chairman of the committee, Sen. Charles Grassley, says that she has not responded to the three or four emails sent by the staff over "the last 36 hours."

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is denying a sexual misconduct allegation from when he was in high school. 

The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, has referred a matter regarding Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh to federal authorities, she said in a statement Thursday.  

President Donald Trump chose Brett Kavanaugh, a politically connected conservative judge, for the Supreme Court Monday, setting up a ferocious confirmation battle with Democrats as he seeks to shift the nation’s highest court further to the right.

In an hour-long meeting with Democrats and Republicans filled with newsworthy comments on gun control Wednesday, President Trump parted ways with members of his own party and accused them more than once of being "petrified" of the National Rifle Association.

This week, amid a spate of mass shootings, the debate over how to reduce gun violence has been renewed.