Brett Kavanaugh confirmation hearings, Tropical Storm Gordon, USA Gymnastics: 5 things to know Tuesday

Editors USA TODAY

Published 9:47 p.m. UTC Sep 4, 2018

Senate Judiciary Committee begins its hearing on Kavanaugh

Senate hearings for President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh that begin Tuesday are expected to be contentious as Democrats plan on grilling the nominee on his judicial record and legal philosophy. The battle has been controversial from the start since the nominee will be filling the seat of retiring justice Anthony Kennedy, the court’s swing vote on many key issues including abortion rights, affirmative action and same-sex marriage. Democrats are complaining of lack of transparency, claiming much of Kavanaugh's record and key documents are being withheld from the public. “There will be sparks at this hearing. Sparks will fly," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut. "And there will be a lot of heat.”

Tropical Storm Gordon expected to strengthen  to hurricane as it hits the Gulf Coast

A hurricane watch has been posted for coastal areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida,  as dangerous Tropical Storm Gordon is expected to strengthen into a hurricane late Tuesday when it hits the Gulf Coast with winds of 74 mph and over. Strong wind gusts, battering waves, above-normal tides, minor coastal flooding, flash flooding and a couple of isolated tornadoes and waterspouts will be the main threats from the storm, AccuWeather said. The National Hurricane Center also issued a storm surge warning, meaning possible "danger of life-threatening inundation,'' for the area stretching from Shell Beach, Louisiana, to Dauphin Island, Alabama. 

USA Gymnastics CEO to step down amid heavy criticism, pressure

Kerry Perry, whose nine-month tenure as USA Gymnastics CEO was marked by heavy criticism and little tangible action in helping the organization recover from the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal, is expected to resign Tuesday. Though she preached transparency when she began the job, Perry's resignation, confirmed to USA TODAY Sports by two people with knowledge of the decision, was seen as inevitable — she made very few public statements and had no experience in gymnastics or the Olympic movement when she took over Dec. 1. Her expected departure will be the latest in USA Gymnastics after former CEO Steve Penny was forced to resign under pressure from the USOC in March 2017 for the way the organization handled sexual abuse complaints. 

Michigan city faces another water crisis

Students at Detroit’s city schools are starting the school year Tuesday with concerns about the safety of the city’s water. The school district shut off drinking water to all of its schools after test results found elevated levels of lead or copper in 16 of 24 schools recently tested. Detroit's water department and the regional water and sewer agency for southeast Michigan issued a statement to assure residents that the lead and copper contamination with water in the school buildings do not extend to the pipes that deliver water to customers' homes. The district will be providing bottled water and using portable water coolers at schools when classes start.

Trial begins in case involving misplaced bodies, crushed caskets

A trial begins Tuesday that pits relatives of about 1,200 dead people against licensed funeral homes accused of sending bodies to a Memphis, Tennessee, cemetery for three years after the cemetery said its registration expired in December 2010. The class-action lawsuit claims more than a dozen Memphis-area funeral homes failed to carry out their “sacred and contractual duties” for vulnerable, mourning relatives who expected their loved ones to be interred with dignity.Investigations revealed that Galilee Memorial Gardens' owners, the Lambert family, misplaced hundreds of bodies, buried multiple cadavers in the same grave, and crushed caskets to fit them into single plots for years.

Contributing: Associated Press

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