WHAT'S BREWING
AMY CONEY BARRETT FACES SENATE Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett declared that Americans “deserve an independent Supreme Court that interprets our Constitution and laws as they are written,” encapsulating her conservative approach to the law that has Republicans excited about the prospect of her taking the place of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before Election Day. Barrett spoke about her judicial philosophy, her experience and her large family at the end of the first day of her fast-tracked confirmation hearings that Senate Democrats are using to try and brand her a threat to Americans’ health care during the coronavirus pandemic. [AP]
GOP SENATOR WITH COVID-19 ATTENDS BARRETT HEARING SANS MASK Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), diagnosed with COVID-19 just 10 days ago, ignored guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and attended Monday’s Senate hearing on Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination without a face mask. Lee, who earlier this month declared that the United States is “not a democracy,” delivered a speech to the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of Barrett. Lee, like Trump and other Republicans who fell ill, attended a Sept. 26 White House Rose Garden event celebrating Barrett's nomination. [HuffPost]
DR. FAUCI CALLS ON TRUMP CAMPAIGN TO REMOVE MISLEADING AD Dr. Anthony Fauci said Trump’s campaign should take down a political ad featuring his comments because he did not consent to it and the remarks were taken out of context. The nation’s leading infectious disease expert spoke to CNN’s Jake Tapper about the 30-second campaign ad, which appears to show the doctor endorsing Trump’s abysmal handling of the coronavirus pandemic in a misleading clip not approved by Fauci before it aired. Tapper asked if the Trump campaign should take down the ad, to which Fauci said, “You know, I think so.” [HuffPost]
TRUMP ADVISER FILMED BASHING PRESIDENT'S 'CRAPPY' DEBATE Trump’s economic adviser Stephen Moore was captured on video complaining about the president’s “crappy” debate performance against his Democratic rival Joe Biden. “It was not a great performance by Trump; in fact, I thought it was a pretty crappy performance,” Moore told a crowd gathered in Washington earlier this month for the “Election Protection Summit” by the Trump-supporting FreedomWorks nonprofit organization. Moore also conceded that Trump’s first debate against former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election was similarly “awful.” [HuffPost]
WORKERS TRIED TO BLOW THE WHISTLE. THEN PEOPLE DIED. As soon as the coronavirus pandemic began, workers across the country flooded federal and state offices with complaints that their employers weren’t protecting them from the health threat. The concerns have continued to pour into workplace safety agencies for seven months, totaling nearly 40,000. Now, analysis of data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration shows that a rise in workers’ safety complaints has preceded a rise in deaths throughout the pandemic. [HuffPost] | 
