Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearing began Monday as the Republican-led Senate charged ahead to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with President Donald Trump’s pick and cement the conservative court majority before Election Day.

Barring a dramatic development, Republicans appear to have the votes to confirm the 48-year-old conservative appellate judge to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court.

No Supreme Court justice has ever been confirmed so close to a presidential contest.

A federal judge has upheld a Minnesota state court agreement that allows counting of absentee ballots received up to seven days after Election Day.

Republicans had asked U.S. District Judge Nancy Brasel to block the seven-day extension that Democratic Secretary of State Steve Simon agreed to in state court after a citizens’ rights group cited concerns about voter safety due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ballots still must be postmarked by Election Day to be counted.

At approximately 9:48 a.m. on Sept. 15, philosophy professor Stephen Laumakis suffered cardiac arrest and lost consciousness while walking to teach a class in Brady Educational Center.

Laumakis is fortunate that four Tommies – a professor, a lab manager and two students – were in the right place to lend critical aid to a stranger in need.

Edwards, Keffer and Lesmeister each were awarded a Merit Pin by the Public Safety staff. It marks the first time since the school’s founding in 1885 that anyone outside the Public Safety department has been awarded the pin.

Madeline Combs can be reached at comb5953@stthomas.edu.