Monday, October 12 top news briefs
It is Monday, October 12. Here are today’s top news briefs.
Today was the first day of Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings, which will last until Thursday. Republicans hope to confirm her via a Senate vote before the election.
Barrett in her opening statement said she was “used to being in a group of nine,” referring to her family — a husband and seven children. The oldest child is in college, two children were adopted from Haiti, and their youngest child has Down syndrome.
Barrett said she was greatly influenced by her work with Justice Scalia and his philosophy that a judge must apply the law as written, not as the judge wishes it were. She said she aims to make her decisions based on what the law says, regardless of her own preferences. She honored Ruth Bader Ginsburg by saying that although she has been nominated to her seat, no one will ever take her place.
CBS News said Barrett took no questions today as the 22 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, composed of both Democrats and Republicans, debated about whether it was appropriate to confirm her a few weeks before the election. Democrats expressed grave concern that Barrett was nominated so Republicans could make sure the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was overturned.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who is the chairman of the committee, said there is nothing unconstitutional about this process of confirming a judge in an election year. He said that the building was safe from the coronavirus by showing a statement from the Architect of the Capitol that said the room was CDC compliant.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif), who is Joe Biden’s vice presidential pick, is on the committee and delivered her remarks remotely. She criticized Sen. Graham for going forward with the hearings because it risked the health of staff at the Capitol grounds.
Over 20 protesters were arrested for blocking the entrance to the Senate Office Building.
We can expect Barrett to answer questions from senators tomorrow.
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The Los Angeles Lakers won the 2020 NBA championship last night in a Game Six victory over the Miami Heat. It is LeBron James’ fourth championship ring and the team’s 17th title. There were many fans who swarmed L.A. streets to celebrate. 76 people were arrested for failure to disperse, vandalism, and assault on a police officer.
Hurricane Delta hit Louisiana on Saturday as a Category 2 storm. Two people died in separate fires. One was an 86-year-old man who was trying to refuel a generator in a shed but it caught on fire. The second death was a 70-year-old woman who’s home caught fire from a natural gas leak. Over 250,000 people were without electricity as of Sunday. News images show flooding, fallen trees, and damaged buildings.
The White House physician Dr. Sean Conley on Saturday said President Trump does not need to be isolated anymore and is no longer considered a Covid-19 transmission risk to others. Dr. Conley said tests show that there is no longer evidence of actively replicating virus.
Trump had a rally at the White House on Saturday and gave a speech to about 300 to 400 people at the South Lawn while standing on a balcony.
On Sunday, Trump said he had fully recovered from the coronavirus and was ready to return to the campaign trail. He said he was immune and is in great shape. He tweeted this afternoon that he is “leaving for a Florida rally” and was expecting big crowds.
UPDATE: Dr. Conley said Trump tested negative for Covid-19 on consecutive days
The mayor of Manchester, Tennessee, Lonnie Norman, passed away from the coronavirus this morning. He tested positive on October 1st and was hospitalized since then. He was the city’s first Black mayor. The city is in a rural area and is best known for hosting the annual Bonnaroo Music Festival.
In Florida, there is helicopter footage of a 24-foot speedboat with no driver on it moving out of control on a river before it smashed into a concrete dock before coming to a stop in front of a waterfront home. What happened — three men were doing a photo shoot on the boat but somehow all three fell out. The boat circled several times and the three men dove underwater to avoid being hit. Fortunately nobody was injured from the out-of-control boat. The three men are okay.
That’s all the top news news stories for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/10/11/amy-coney-barrett-opening-statement-supreme-court-428635
https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/amy-coney-barrett-senate-confirmation-hearings-2020-10-12/
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/amy-coney-barrett-protest-supreme-court-arrests