Good morning. I'm James Holman from the Washington Post and this is the Daily

202 for Wednesday, October 14th. In today's news, the Justice Department's

unmasking probe ends quietly with no charges or public report.

The Supreme Court allows President Trump to abruptly end the census.

And top scientists are appalled that the White House is entertaining a proposal

to hasten herd immunity.

But first, the big idea.

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett

disputed assertions by Democrats on Tuesday

that she would be a reliable vote to take

away health care and abortion access,

pledging during the second day of her confirmation hearing

that she has no policy agenda,

while deflecting dozens of questions seeking specifics.

Barrett came into her nomination with a lengthy paper trail that underscores a personal opposition

to abortion and skepticism about legal reasoning that upheld the Affordable Care Act.

She testified yesterday that she believes Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision that legalized abortion nationally,

is not among the super precedence of the Supreme Court that are considered so fundamental they cannot be overturned.

She said Brown versus Board of Education is such a super president as is Marbury versus Madison.

Trump's third nominee to the Supreme Court declined to answer so many questions that

seemed steeped in basic facts such as whether a president has the power under

the Constitution to unilaterally delay an election.

...