ever met him, because i had read so many of his colorful, accessible opinions. moran that the sty-- more than style, it was his judicial philosophy that was straightforward. a judge must apply the law as it is written, not as she wishes it were. sometimes that approach meant reaching results he did not like, but as he put it in one of his best-known opinions, that is what it means to say we have a government of laws, and not of men. justice scalia was devoted to his family, and fearless criticism. as i embarked on my own legal career, i resolved to maintain that same perspective. there's a tendency in our

profession to treat the practice of law as all-consuming, while losing sight of everything else. that makes for a shallow and unfulfilling life. i worked hard as a lawyer and professor. i owed that to my clients, to my students and to myself, but i never let the law define my identify or crowd out the rest of my life. a similar principle applies to the role of courts. courts have a vital responsibility to the rule of law, which is critical to a free society, but courts are not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong in our public life. the policy decisions and value judgments of government must be made by the political branches elected by and accountable to the people. the public should not expect courts to do so, and courts should not try.

that is the approach that i have strived to follow as a judge on the 7th circuit. in every case, i have carefully considered the arguments presented by the parties, discussed the issues with my colleagues on the court, and done my utmost to reach the result required by the law, whatever my own preferences might be. i try to remain mindful that while my court decides thousands of cases a year, each case is the most important one to the litigants involved. after all, cases are not like statutes which are often named for their authors. cases are names for the parties who stand to gain or lose in the real world, obvious through that i liberty or livelihood. when i write an opinion, i real every word from the perspective

of the losing party. i ask myself how i would view the decision if one of my children was the party i was ruling against. even though i would not like the result, would i understand the decision was fairly reasoned and grounded in law? that is the standard that i set for myself in every case. it's the standard i will follow so long as i'm a judge on any court. when the president offered me this nomination, i was deeply honored, bus it was not a position i had sought out, and thought carefully before accepting form the confirmation process, the work serving on the court, if confirmed, requires sacrifices, particularly from my family. i chose to accept the nomination, because i believe deeply in the rule of law and the place of the supreme court in our nation i believe

americans deserve an independent supreme court. i believe i can serve my country by playing that role. i come before this committee with humility about the responsibility i have been asked to undertake, and with appreciation for those who have come before me. i was 9 years old when sandra day o'connor became the first woman to sit in this seat. she was a model of grace and dignity throughout her distinguished tenure on the court. when i was 21 years old and just beginning my career, ruth bader ginsburg sat in this seat. she told the committee what has become of me could only happen in america. i have been nominated to fill justice ginsburg's seat, but no one will ever take her place. i will be forever grateful for

the path she marked and the life she led. if confirmed, it would be the honor of a lifetime to serve alongside the chief justice and seven associate justices. i admire them all, and would consider each a valued colleague. i might bring a few new perspectives to the bench. as the president noted, i would be the first mother of school-age children to serve on the court. i know that it would make senators young and braun happy to know i would be the first justice to join the court from the 7th circuit in 45 years. i would be the only sitting justice who didn't attend school at harvard or yale, but i am confident notre dame can hold its own. maybe i can even teach them a thing or two about football. as a final note, mr. chairman, i would line to thank the many americans from all walks of life who have reached out with

messages of support over the course of my nomination. i believe in the power of prayer, and it has been uplifting to hear that so many people are praying for me. i look forward to answering the committee's questions over the coming days, and if i am fortunate enough to be confirmed, i pledge to faithfulfully and impartially discharge my duties to the american people as an associate justice of the supreme court. thank you. >> thank you very much, judge barrett. let's try professor o'hara, any luck with her? >> i'm here, chairman graham. >> thank you. i apologize for the problem. the floor is yours. >> that's very kind of you. it's anticlimb maccic, because you've already heard from the most important are important person. let's talk about what we just heard it was interesting to

the end there, jeffrey, he talked about the different perspectives she will bring, but primarily, the first mother of school-age children, the first justice from the 7th circuit, and the only sitting justice who didn't attend law school at harvard or yale. with particular interest, i think we were listening to what she said about her time clerking for justice scalia and the similarities she shares with him as how he viewed the law. what did you take away from this? >> i thought the most important passage was when she said the policy choices should be left to the people's representatives. it's important to remember what that means in the context of what the supreme court does justice scalia felt like in a

state wants to ban a marriage, that's a policy decision. just as justice scalia those, if a state wants to ban abortion, that's a policy decision a state should be allowed to make. what justice ginsburg thought was that the constitutional trumps those policies. the constitution forbids states from engaging in acts that are discriminatory, violating the 14th amendment or the first amendment. so the language of deferring to the policy choices to the states is political content, and it's what justice scalia believe. but people should understand that's what it means in the real world. it is not just boilerplate. it has real political content.

>> joan, what stood out for you? >> she's putting it out there. her allegiance to justice scalia, her reference to the power of prayer. she knew her past could be controversial. she wants to show herself for who she is, for better or worse, for members of the senate panel. i think you're going to see once who, tomorrow, when she has to field questions, appears just as she did now. incredibly disciplined, pretty firm in what she's saying, but with a tone of modesty. i think what the senators will have to cut through is look at what those consequences will be. she's face some hard questions about the affordable care act, but she will -- i can see her repeating what she's doing

today, saying this is my philosophy, this is what i'm going to stick to. and in some ways it's a departure from what we have seen from other nominees who wanted to present themselves as different, noncontroversial, but to jeffrey's point, you have to look beyond those words that sound very reasonable and understand the consequences for the law, which, as we had earlier, is the opposite of what ruth bader ginsburg did for the law. >> abby, what did you think? >> there was that passage whether she talked about how she views the rulings she writes, from the perspective of the losing party. i did think that that was the kind of framing she think being her rulings, to convey to people she will be a reasonable jurist

evaluating each decision individually, but then you go to the question of, well, what does it mean to lead policymaking to legislators, in the context of the affordable care act? which has come up all day long day. i think this is an interesting thing, and perhaps jeffrey or joan has insight. republicans all day long have been saying the court should not legislate. she basically reiterated that idea today, but what we face with this affordable care act case that will come before the court in november is a case in which congress did legislate and the federal government now wants to invalidate that law. so i do think it raises some questions and i think it would be borne out later this week how it policymaking legislate to the legislature applies specifically to the affordable care act. i think that will be the question of the week. >> i'm just laughing, because

abby is so exactly right on that point. you heard this over and over again from the republican senators, is that, you know, the courts, the supreme courts should let legislators legislate, not try to solve society's problems. that we should be the ones to do health care, but what are we doing in the affordable care act case? they are demanding the supreme court of the united states throw the whole thing out, with no remaismt. i mean, it's so outrageous, of all issues to be exercised about, the trump administration, having failed over and over again to come up with a replacement for obama care, is simply throwing it on the courts saying you get rid of it and maybe something good will happen result.

>> if you're leaving everything up to the voters, what about her own nomination, which is taking place in the middle of an election? you might be able to say, wait a minute, let's let the voters speak, as kamala harris said, but jamming through a supreme court nominee, which is exactly what is going on here. there's one thing -- you didn't hear from her, and i think it's going to be asked, this question of whether i see it from the point of view of my opponents, if it were one of my children who lost a case, the question that i think has to be raised to her, would you recuse yourself from election cases? if you're looking at super tfro opponent's point of view? you're being appointed by somebody who has a vested interest in that case. i'm sure the members, the

democrats will be asking that question. i doubt they'll get a direct answer about it, but i think the public deserves to hear it. >> go ahead, abby. >> she emphasized she would be an independent justice on the supreme court. that stuck out to me, considering how much of a box she's been put in by the president, a the election, even on roe v wade. i think it's made her path this week difficult. thank you all for this discussion. i appreciate getting all your insights on this historic moment, the confirmation process for amy coney barrett. 11 days after the president's covid diagnosis, he's returning to the campaign trail, he's spreading more misinformation as cases arise,

and california has launched an investigation into fake drop-off ballot boxes. and some are trying to distance themselves from president trump. we'll roll the tape. insurance so you only pay for what you need. liberty power! wow. that will save me lots of money. you're insured! this game's boring. let's get tacos. only pay for what you need. liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty.

there are troubling signs in the fight for covid-19. 29 states are showing an increase in cases. only three states are seeing a decrease in new cases. more than 50,000 new infections were reported every day from last wednesday through saturday, which is something we have not seen since august. one influential model often touted by the white house, now project more than 400,000 deaths by february 1st.

that new forecast coming as new research published in the "journal of the american medical association" shows there were 1.3 million deaths between march 1st and august 1st. 20% more deaths than would be normal during time. with covid-19 accounting for roughly -- -- while some health officials have expressed concerns about a second wave of the coronavirus, there's a group of experts at nyu saying it may already be here in the form of a mental health crisis. i want to bring in elizabeth cohen with me now, and i want to dive into those findings, but first there's a professor at john hopkins who now says hearing loss should be added as a symptom. tell us more about this. >> that's right, doctors are finding many patients are saying

they have suffered hearing loss. i spoke to two patients, one age 42, one 23, so both young, completely healthy, got covid, didn't get very sick, but did lose their hearing in one year. for one of them it came back, one it didn't. this guy has ringing in his ear probably for the rest of his life. there haven't been a lot of studies on there, but there has been one taken in the uk that looked at 138 covid patients eight weeks after they were discharged from the hospital. 13% said that they had experienced a change in hearing, hearing loss of some kind. in fact autopsies on people who died of covid found in the inner ear they found virus. so another reason you do not want to get this virus.

there is also news around mothers who tested positive about coronavirus and how close they can get to their newborns. >> there had been a concern early on they should separate moms after giving birth if the mom had covid-19 because they didn't want to give her to the baby. they never really were separated. they found out that that was okay. they found that they looked at 101 babies that were born to covid-positive moms. only two of those newborn babies had covid. so it doesn't seem like this is being transmitted from mother to child. that, of course, is a good thing. so the american academy of pediatrics saying if you can keep distance, do, but of course hold your baby, wear a mask while you hold your baby, and most importantly, do breast feed your baby. that breast milk can protect them from various infections.

>> elizabeth, thank you so much for that information. now to the ever-expanding disconnect between the president and the pandemic. the president says the virus is disappearing, but you just saw the numbers. it's very much still here and it's actually getting worse. president trump back on the campaign trail just 11 days since he was diagnosed with coronavirus. his doctor says the president is, quote, no longer considered a transmission risks to others. the president himself says he is immune, which scientists are questioning, because it's not been clinically proven that immunity occurs after an infection. the white house is being mum on critical details, like when the president last tested negative and whether he's taking fever-reducing medicines. however, the president is taking on his rallies. it could soon be a house on fire

as one official put it, because of its new cases. i want to drink in dr. peter hotez. doctor, if you were in the white house, what would you say to the president and his campaign. is it no longer possible to be infectious in 11 days? >> the big picture is i would say to the president of the united states, you have an obligation to protect the public. what we're -- what we continue to see is the same playbook we saw all summer, where they were downplaying the epidemic, downplaying the public health impact, downplaying the severity. the president kind of neglects the inconvenient truth, the reason he is able to do what he's doing, he's been privileged to get a unique treatment. we're in for a horrible winter. before i tell you something terrible, i have to preface it

by something good. the northern midwest is seeing an increase. we're already starting at a high level, we have started at 35,000 cases, now up to 50,000. the deaths are projected to double. this is going to be an historically awful time for the country, both in terms of cases and death it is, and as was pointed out, our mental health. people are going to be scared. we have to make hard decisions now about who we'll socially distance with, as we hunker down for this terrible winter. this is now the time we need the comfort, the soothing, the advice of president and the federal government and it's gone. what happens after the election

could be even more vacancies in the white house. this is a time when we really need a strong federal government, and i feel like we're being abandoned in some respects. >> i want you to look at some scenes. there of course is a supreme court confirmation here. you see senator lee there without a mask as times, after testing positive for coronavirus 11 days ago. he says his doctor has cleared him. i want you to look at this moment with chief of staff mark meadows. >> that way i can take this off to talk. i'm more than ten feet away. i'm not going to talk through a mask. >> i believe that was someone from the press corps telling him, no, get your mask back on. he tested negative, but he's been exposed to people who have become sick. should they be wearing masks at

all times when others are present? >> yes, of course. first of all, everyone should be wearing a mask, point one. point two is, particularly given all the massive amount of virus transmission, i mean it's been horrible in terms of the number of people who have been infected. counters has provided a list, and it's extensive. there's so much virus transmission going on, that was the reason why i was discouraging any in-person debates, both the vice presidential debate last week and future presidential debates. it wasn't just the president and the vice president the it's just that the staff has such a high rate of infection that i didn't see how you could assure the safety of everybody present. then, again, you have this deliberate political many -- this deliberate defiance of wearing masks. somehow not wearing masks has been tied to political allegiance. it makes no sense, and it's so

self-destructive and a reason why we are going to climb towards 400,000 deaths by the early part of next year or the worst globally because of this political posturing around masks, which still hasn't gone away even though we suffered such catastrophes. doctor, thank you so much. good to see you. thank you, sir. >> thank you. it's been two months now since many schools started to reopen, but it's hard to know how they're doing when there's no national tracking. plus accusations are flying as fake ballot drop-off boxes are popping up. hear who's being blamed for this. and now your co-pilot.

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we are three weeks until election day. many republican senators are fighting for their political lives. as they struggle to stay afloat, some are coming to the realization they're towing a trump-shaped anchor and starting to distance themselves. listen to thom tillis, apparently looking ahead, arguing he would be a watch dog on a president biden. he said, quote, the best check on a biden presidency is for republicans to have a majority in the senate. i do think checks and balances does resonate with north carolina voters. in colorado, corey gardner,

declined to answer whether he is proud of the republican response to the pandemic. enchs as a member of is the senate are you proud -- we have to improve every day. >> let me ask you, are you proud of the way the president is handling the pandemic? >> again, we have to work each and every day to make sure we are proud of our response. >> gardner also declined to say whether hess's produces of his support of the president? >> are you proud of your support of donald trump? >> i'm proud of the work we have done together. >> he hayes not the only vulnerable republican senator having a tough time answering that question. >> are you proud of your support for president trump? >> well, i'm proud that i'm fighting for ace arizonians.

>> the question was -- >> i'm proud to be fighting for arizona every day. >> is that a yes or no. >> -- putting legislation on president trump's test. >> john cornyn said this, quote -- i think he let his guard down. i think in his desire to demonstration, we are somehow coming out of this and the danger is not still with us. i think he got out over hi skis and frankly a lesson we all need to exercise self-discipline. cornyn joined by mitch mcconn l mcconnell, who is breaking with the president on a couple issues recently, including trump's handling of the pandemic. >> i haven't been to the white house since august 6th. my impression was their approach on how to handle the virus is different from what we're doing in the senate.

>> they're not even on the same page to help american individual, and businesses. the president's position keeps shifting. as of this moment he wants to see a bigger deal than eyen he own party has been pushing. >> i would like to see a bigger stimulus package that either the democrats or republicans are offering. >> here is the republican he would need to make that happen. le. others are all in tying their success to their support of the president. why are some republicans starting to worry they can't do that? let's take a look. democrats are smashing some records. cal cunningham brought in more

in the third quarter than the last democratic incumbent did in her entire campaign. ditto for the democratic challenger in colorado. in iowa, not only did the democratic challenger just raise more than joni ernst's 2014 opponent, but she is earned both ernst and her challenger did combined. challengers this texas and georgia also reported huge hauls. republicans are looking at the polls, looking at the money and hedges their bets. they're still on the s.s. trump, but edging toward the lifeboats. we are going to know whether they're thrown a lifeline in weeks. charlie dent, thank you for being here.

clearly they still need him. how do you see trump impacting down-ballot races? it's going to be very hard for a lot of these members to distance themselves from the president. i think it will have very little effect you want to be seen as a check, not a rubber stamp. that's a challenge. if you're serving the party of the president, you better be very careful you can demonstrate you have some independence from that executive, even in your own party, even if you support the president on most things.

>> do you think that a bloodbath is possibly? >> it's possible that they maintain the house. so the worst-case scenario is there could be a divisive win by joe biden. it may be probable at this point. the best case for trump is he pulls another inside straight and wins a narrow election. it's more likely you could see enormous down ballot for republicans. he's also heading to your state.

>> the fact they have the president out, you know, i had covid back in march. i was never hospitalized. i was never given knit drugs other than gatorade and tylenol. i felt miserable. i self-isolated for about three to four weeks as a result, and i had mild symptoms. i was in a very unpleasant position. i am stunned they're allowing the president, his own campaign to go out and face the public in this way. it's clearly a sign of desperation, and seems a bit reckle reckless. >> congressman, thank you for coming on. >> thank you, brianna. always great to be with you. still ahead, dr. anthony

fauci is taking exception to the trump campaign, using his voice in a political ad. hear hess response in an interview with my colleague jake tapper. when i was in high school, this was the theater i came to quite often. the support we've had over the last few months has been amazing. it's not just a work environment. everyone here is family. if you are ready to open your heart and your home, check us out. we thought for sure that we were done. and this town said: not today. ♪

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state officials are investigating after fake ballot drop boxes were found in several locations, some found were labeled official, some not. kristin, tell us what you're learning here? >> reporter: according to the secretary of state in california, this has appeared in at least three counties. i want to pull up a tweet. this is what we know. this is a regional field director for the california republican party. he's tweeting -- doing my party, voting early direct message me, and you see him he's crouched over what looks like an official drop box, but here's the problem it's not an official drop box. a lot of questions about what's going on. one appeared in front of the a baptist church, and they said it was brought to them by the gop

and it was an approved box. the secretary of state said operating a drop box, especially if you are mislabeling it as an official drop box is not only misleading to voters, but it is against state law. they have now gotten back to us they brought says it's a congregation or business, to its parishioners, to drop off their lot in a same. >> a lot of unanswered questions. >> we know you're woks on this. >> a big hit today on the

future of cruise ships, plus an extraordinary split screen, long lines of early voters, as the senate holds the confirmation hearing for the president's supreme court knoll knee. i'm voting 'yes' o

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another set back for the already devastated cruise industry. carnival announce thed they are cancelling their cruises in november. other cruises have made similar

announcements. >> reporter: i'm phil black in london. almost 40,000 people around the world have volunteered to be deliberately exposed to the coronavirus. they're campaigning for human challenge trials where potential vaccines are given to people followed by a dose of the virus. proponents say it could save lives because it's a more efficient way of testing some of the many vaccines being developed and helping to work out which ones work best. but critics say there are health issues, and they don't represent the range of people who most need protected with the vaccine. britain is possibly the first country to conduct human challenge trials for coronavirus vaccines. i'm nick valencia in atlanta where it is officially election day. for the next few weeks, georgians across the state will be able to vote in any polling

location as long as it's in the county where they reside. things will look a little different for voters because of the pandemic. lines are practicing social distancing, masks are recommended but not required. plexiglass is at the divider for check-in and they are regularly wiping down surfaces. voting will be a combination of touch screen and the ability to print out the ballot before it's scanned. i'm told they are expecting between 3,000 and 6,000 people per day. i'm carolyn meno in new york, and after 94 days of playing basketball in a bubble, the l.a. lakers are heading home as champions. a remarkable accomplishment not only for the franchise but the league as a whole. zero coronavirus cases reported among the players and the staff members who were participating in the playoffs. the rigorous protocols that were enforced on the disney campus, ensuring that none of the

disruptions which plagued major league baseball beginning of the season and are currently plaguing football are coming into play. the lakers hope to be back in the home arena when next season starts. right now the specifics of that are up in the air, leaving the basketball team to savor the showdown with the miami heat as to when the sport could return. trump saying dr. fauci took his words out of context. dr. fauci responding, next. still an electric car. just more electrifying. still a night out. but everything fits in. still hard work. just a little easier. still a legend. just more legendary. chevrolet. making life's journey,

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schools all over the country have been forced to adapt to deal with the coronavirus. many are giving students and parents options, remote learning, in-person learning or a hybrid of the two. but two months in, we should have an idea of what's working and what is not, and we don't. and that's because there is no national tracking of schools' progress. cnn's bianna golodryga is following all of this for us, and, bianna, it seems like tracking would be a no-brainer. who dropped the ball here? >> reporter: brianna, it seems the federal government has dropped the ball. where is devos? she should be keeping track of what we're doing.

however, researchers and economists at brown university have created a covid-19 school response dashboard. this is all based on voluntary responses, but it's not very small. it actually includes over a thousand schools, 167,000 students, 54,000 staff, and among the students and staff collectively, they're saying a positivity right of .24%. to give a bigger picture, while a majority of the larger school districts on online, half of the school districts are offering some in-person learning. so what we're seeing from this data tracker from brown university, at least, shows the biggest mitigating uses that they're seeing thus far from students and faculty, including mask wearing, home checks, home evaluations and screenings and social distancing. no expert is suggesting that where there is a high positivity rate or a positivity rate that is rising that schools should reopen, but what they are

suggesting is that schools are not the superspreaders that many had feared that they would, at least the first few weeks into the school year. brianna? >> that is good news. bianna golodryga, thank you so much. our special coverage continues now with jake tapper. and welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. we begin today with the 2020 lead. it is, on its face, shocking. president trump a week after his release from the hospital where he battled coronavirus, days after seemingly acknowledging that he could have died from coronavirus, is not rethinking his approach to this deadly pandemic or his own behavior as the leader of the nation. instead he is continuing to do exactly what health officials advise against, bringing together crowds of people for campaign rallies with no mask requirements, no distancing, rallies that we know have already led to his supporters getting infected or even worse. this