Daily Times

Now, after all the chaos in and around the District of Columbia, there are 8 Associate Justices and one Chief Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. One of those 8 associate Justices is Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was confirmed by a partisan vote onto the court, of 52-48, on October 26th. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who is in a tough reelection fight, voted against it.

The associate Justice previously served as a Circuit Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and was confirmed to the position in 2017. On the court, she is believed to be critical of more liberal views and move the SCOTUS to a more conservative side for generations to come. She is the first woman with school-aged children to be confirmed to the court.

In the Senate, the divisive vote of her confirmation was held yesterday. Barrett, who is 48 years old, is likely to serve on the court for decades and will give conservatives a 6-3 majority. While Republicans showed their hypocrisy by confirming her in an election year, Senate Democrats held an overnight session to argue against the confirmation with issues like the Affordable Care Act and in a potential case of an election. In the case of a potential Biden v. Trump case, she was pressed on recusing herself from the case, but she denied to do so. This all happening one week prior to the election, one of the most important in our lives.

During her confirmation hearings on the Senate Judiciary Committee, she spoke in detail of her personal life and of her similarity of Judicial views to that of the Late Justice Scalia who died in early 2016. Trump was to swear-in Barrett at the White House in an outdoor ceremony at 9 p.m. ET, Monday, after her confirmation.

As the Supreme Courts session has already started, she will continue from this session. She will be welcomed by Chief Justice John Roberts, and Associate Justices, Sonia Sotomayer, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Samuel  Alito, Stephen Breyer, Clarence Thomas, and Brett Kavanaugh.

Around the world, the global Pandemic has severely affected people lives and livelihoods. With it, the economy is also taking its toll. Though our society persistently continues to progress and are playing their role in a sustainable and smarter planet, there are specific burdens of a global recession, and rightfully so.

The Economy

In the United States, the situation is far from normalcy. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the ” Real gross domestic product (GDP) decreased at an annual rate of 31.4 percent in the second quarter of 2020″. It reached a level of $19.41 trillion. It highlighted that there were reductions in consumer expenditure, exports investment and other such sectors. By state, Hawaii has lost a lot of its GDP this year as it depends primarily on Tourism and the Services Industry plays a major role in its advancement each year. The District of Columbia reported the lowest GDP decrease in the United States of about 20.4 according to the same Bureau. This, mostly because of its low population.

Stock markets have also continued to stumble due to surges in Covid-19 cases and further, due to the lost hopes for a stimulus deal between Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the White House Delegation.

Election

With just a few days before the election, Biden and Trump faced off one last time in the final presidential debate. The debate was moderated by NBC`s Kristen Welker at Nashville, Tennessee. The commission on presidential debates sponsored the debate.

Additionally, reelection seekers in congress are eager to see a majority in each chamber. Speaker Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, has said that she will run for re-election as Speaker again. Pelosi told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” when asked if she would seek the speakership again.

Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) is in a tight Senate race with her challenger, Mark Kelly who is a former Astronaut as well as a moderate Democrat.  The latest polling show them neck-in-neck.

Coronavirus

The Covid-19 is spreading like wildfire in the United States. There are record numbers over 80000 cases per day and dire numbers and predictions for the next few months for the deaths.

The President says that they are rounding the corner but clearly not. As the second wave is starting, unemployment numbers are taking their own turn and people`s lives and livelihoods are again at risk of a halt.

Overall, this month was a lot to take in, all around the world, but especially in America.