'Start Here': Trump administration op-ed denials, Booker breaks the rules and New York State subpoenas dioceses. What you need to know to start your day.

Many administration officials are denying they wrote the New York Times op-ed.

ByBrad Mielke, David Rind, and Kelly Terez
September 7, 2018, 4:52 AM

It's Friday, Sept. 7, 2018. Here are some of the stories we're talking about on ABC News' new daily podcast, "Start Here."

1. Which senior Trump administration official wrote the New York Times op-ed?

Several Trump administration officials put out statements yesterday rebuking the blistering critique of President Donald Trump in the New York Times, which describes his leadership as "impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective."

We still don't know which senior Trump administration official penned the critical piece, and amid all the denials, ABC News White House Correspondent Karen Travers points out: "They haven't addressed the substance of what's in the op-ed, and that's really notable."

2. Booker breaks Senate rules at Kavanaugh hearing

Yesterday, Judge Brett Kavanaugh went back in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee to face more questions.

And since these proceedings began, Democrats have said the administration is getting away with something else: withholding documents from Kavanaugh's time at the White House.

Well, yesterday, Corey Booker from New Jersey said he'd had enough.

Booker revealed secret documents available to senators but not the general public. Until now.

FiveThirtyEight's Perry Bacon Jr. says partisan bickering could lead to the changing of norms going forward.

PHOTO: Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Cory Booker attend the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in Hart Building, Sept. 4, 2018.
Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Cory Booker attend the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in Hart Building, Sept. 4, 2018. The hearing was delayed by motions to adjourn by Democratic senators and interruptions by protesters.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images

3. New York AG subpoenas Catholic dioceses to probe abuse claims

Yesterday, the New York attorney general said she was issuing a subpoena to every Catholic diocese in the state. Any evidence found, she added, will be used to investigate the sexual abuse of minors.

Jack Jenkins, a reporter for Religion News Service, says multiple states are taking action to hold potential abusers to account.

4. Idlib braces for attack from Syrian Army

Leaders from Russia, Iran and Turkey are set to meet in Tehran today to discuss what could be the bloodiest battle in the seven-year Syrian conflict. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's troops are surrounding Idlib province, the last area of the country not under government control. The United Nations said 2.9 million civilians are in danger.

Fighters in Idlib are "ready to fight to the death," according to ABC News' Matt McGarry, who joins us from the Turkish side of the Syrian border. "This looks like it could be a very bloody campaign."

PHOTO: A member of the Syrian Civil Defence walks through the wreckage of their center which was destroyed by government forces' bombardment in the town of al-Tamana on the southern edges of the rebel-held Idlib province, Sept. 6, 2018.
A member of the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the "White Helmets", walks through the wreckage of their center which was destroyed by government forces' bombardment in the town of al-Tamana on the southern edges of the rebel-held Idlib province, Sept. 6, 2018.
Omar Haj Kadour/AFP/Getty Images

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