Senate Republicans are ploughing forward with a committee vote on Friday on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination.
Voting at the Senate Judiciary Committee comes after an extraordinary and highly emotional hearing over Christine Blasey Ford's allegations that Mr Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teens. The marathon session appears to have only deepened the partisan divide.
The Judiciary committee is narrowly split with the slimmest Republican majority. And Democrats are expected to oppose President Donald Trump's nominee.
But even if the panel deadlocks over recommending Mr Kavanaugh, the nomination can push forward. The full Senate may start taking procedural votes as soon as Saturday toward confirmation next week.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the committee's going to vote on Friday and "move forward."
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Read more:
Donald Trump calls second Kavanaugh accuser ‘messed up’
Brett Kavanaugh promises that 'false accusations' will not force him to drop out
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On Thursday Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan declined to talk about the confirmation process.
"I think given the events of today that's the one question I'm not going to answer," Justice Kagan told law students during an appearance at the University of California, Los Angeles. "We're right in the middle of events that are swirling around and I just want to leave it at that and make no news with respect to anything I say."
Ms Kagan spoke as the Senate Judiciary Committee grilled Mr Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, the California psychology professor who contends that Mr Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her decades ago.
For the moment, the Supreme Court is one member short. Justice Anthony Kennedy retired earlier this year.
Ms Kagan told the students that the justices worked "super hard" to find consensus after the death of Antonin Scalia in 2016 temporarily left the panel with only eight judges.
"None of us wanted to look as if the court couldn't do its job," she said. "I think we all felt as though the country needed to feel that the court was a functioning institution no matter what was happening outside."
The court did have a handful of 4-4 decisions, including a deadlock in 2016 in United States v Texas where an equally divided court allowed a lower court injunction to stand that blocked President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Parents of Americans immigration programme.
Even with a full court, Justice Kagan said consensus-building, "especially perhaps in a time of acrimony and partisanship in the country at large, makes a lot of sense."
"The court's strength as an institution in American governance depends on people believe it having a certain legitimacy ... that it's not simply an extension of politics," she said.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
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The trip
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Match info
Manchester United 0-0 Crystal Palace
Man of the match: Cheikhou Kouyate (Crystal Palace)
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Profile of MoneyFellows
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Ten10 Cricket League
Venue and schedule Sharjah Cricket Stadium, December 14 to 17
Teams
Maratha Arabians Leading player: Virender Sehwag; Top picks: Mohammed Amir, Imad Wasim; UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Zahoor Khan
Bengal Lions Leading player: Sarfraz Ahmed; Top picks: Sunil Narine, Mustafizur Rahman; UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Rameez Shahzad
Kerala Kings Leading player: Eoin Morgan; Top picks: Kieron Pollard, Sohail Tanvir; UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Imran Haider
Pakhtoons Leading player: Shahid Afridi; Top picks: Fakhar Zaman, Tamim Iqbal; UAE players: Amjad Javed, Saqlain Haider
Punjabi Legends Leading player: Shoaib Malik; Top picks: Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan; UAE players: Ghulam Shabber, Shareef Asadullah
Team Sri Lanka Cricket Will be made up of Colombo players who won island’s domestic limited-overs competition
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Greenwood 77')
Everton 1 (Lindelof 36' og)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
- Brentford v Arsenal
- Burnley v Brighton
- Chelsea v Crystal Palace
- Everton v Southampton
- Leicester City v Wolves
- Manchester United v Leeds United
- Newcastle United v West Ham United
- Norwich City v Liverpool
- Tottenham v Manchester City
- Watford v Aston Villa
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Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan