Good morning, NBC News readers.
The Senate showdown over President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nomination begins this morning. Dr. Anthony Fauci has slammed the Trump campaign for taking his words "out of context" in a new political ad and the Los Angeles Lakers are celebrating their 17th NBA championship.
Here's what we're watching this Monday morning.
Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett kick off
The Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett are scheduled to begin this morning at 9 a.m. ET and last through Thursday.
If Barrett's nomination is confirmed, it would cement conservative control of the nation's highest court.
With Republicans rushing to push through her confirmation before the election, Democrats have acknowledged that there is little they can do to prevent it. But Democrats still plan to grill Barrett on several key issues, including abortion and Obamacare, as well as information that she initially failed to disclose in her Senate questionnaire.
Barrett is expected to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday that courts are "not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong in our public life," according to a copy of her opening statement obtained by NBC News.
The Covid-19 outbreak that resulted from her introduction at the White House will loom over the proceedings.
At least 13 attendees at President Donald Trump's Sept. 26th Rose Garden ceremony announcing Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court have tested positive for coronavirus, according to NBC News count. Dr. Anthony Fauci called the Rose Garden ceremony a "superspreader event" on Friday.
Among those who tested positive were Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Mike Lee of Utah — members of the Judiciary Committee that will be conducting the hearings on Barrett's nomination.
Democrats on the 22-member Judiciary Committee, including vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, say they're concerned the hearings could be another superspreader event and asked Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to delay them.
But Graham and other Republicans, who are eager to speed the nomination through as quickly as possible, refused to budge on the timeline and insisted that coronavirus safety measures will be in place for the hearings.
Harris, who will be watched for how aggressively she questions Barrett, said that she will participate remotely from her Senate office.
Meantime, Democrats continue to dodge questions about whether they may retaliate and expand the number of seats on the Supreme Court if the election goes their way.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, sidestepped questions Sunday about whether he supports progressive calls to expand the Supreme Court and accused Republicans of having packed the federal bench during the Trump administration.
News analysis: Republicans are trying to squeeze the last electoral juice out of another Supreme Court fight before the momentum shifts to the Democrats, writes NBC News' Jonathan Allen.
Watch NBC News, MSNBC and follow our live blog for updates and analysis from the confirmation hearings.
Fauci rips new Trump campaign ad, says it uses his comments 'out of context'
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious diseases expert, said Sunday that comments he made were "taken out of context" in a new Trump campaign ad and were featured without his permission.
"In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed nor do I now endorse any political candidates," Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told NBC News in a statement. "The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials."
The ad, which was released Saturday, promotes President Trump's response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Just yesterday Trump said that he may have a "protective glow" of immunity from Covid-19, although many details about his recovery — including the date of his last negative coronavirus test — remain unknown.
Covid-19 cases are surging in Europe, triggering tightening restrictions — and backlash
Countries across Europe are tightening restrictive measures aimed at curbing the coronavirus pandemic amid a surge in cases.
Europe surpassed 100,000 daily reported Covid-19 cases for the first time last week and cases continued to grow over the weekend.
Yet, even as cases continue to rise, what experts call "pandemic fatigue" is beginning to set in across the continent.
Few places display greater levels of it than Britain, which is considering a new raft of local lockdown measures.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce a tiered system of lockdown measures later on Monday to deal with localized spikes in infections, which will see some areas returning to the kind of restrictions seen in March.
Lakers beat Heat to claim 17th NBA title, capping league's Covid-19 bubble season
The dynamic duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis lifted the Los Angeles Lakers to the franchise's 17th world title on Sunday night, lowering the curtain on the most unusual season in NBA history.
It is the fourth championship for James, one of the world's best known and most respected basketball players, who completed his second season in Los Angeles.
The NBA normally crowns its champion in June, but the coronavirus upended this 74th league season — forcing the league to stop play and restart the season behind closed doors. Players, referees, league officials and reporters were sequestered at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida.
It's been a year of emotional highs and lows for the L.A. team — especially after the Jan. 26 helicopter crash that killed basketball icon and beloved Laker Kobe Bryant.
Davis, a 2012 Olympic teammate of Bryant’s, said that heartbreaking accident weighed heavily on the team for months.
"Ever since the tragedy, all we wanted was to do it for him and we didn’t let him down," Davis said. "I know he’s looking down on us, proud of us, I know (widow) Vanessa’s proud of us."
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Plus
- Two American economists have been awarded the Nobel Prize for economics on Monday for their work to improve how auctions work.
- The virus that causes Covid-19 can survive on currency, glass and stainless steel for up to 28 days, a new study finds.
- Louisiana reported its first death Sunday after the second hurricane in two months battered the Gulf Coast.
THINK about it
With the 2020 election in the home stretch, take this THINK quiz to see how much you agree — or don't — with your fellow Americans on economic policy.
Live BETTER
Feeling stressed out by the election? You're not alone. Here are some tips on how to cope.
Shopping
Pre-Amazon Prime Day, check out Wayfair's sale on function-first and fall-centric appliances.
One fun thing
The fly that landed on Vice President Mike Pence's head during the debate last week took center stage on "Saturday Night Live."
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