Her sworn in before election day. The democrats say the stakes are too high to move that fast. Most importantly, Health Care Coverage for millions of americans is at stake with this nomination. Workers rights are at stake. Consumer rights are at stake. The right to a safe and legal abortion is at stake. Abc News Reporter faith abube explains the confirmation process and the big concern raised today by democrats. Reporter senator lindsey graham, chair of the judicial committee, opened day one of the Supreme Court confirmation hearing acknowledging what democrats have feared. This is the beginning of a confirmation, not a consideration. This is probably not about persuading each other unless something really dramatic happens. All republicans will vote yes and all democrats will vote no. Reporter yet, still, senator democrats seizing the spotlight, focusing on what they say is at stake if judge Amy Coney Barrett makes it on the Supreme Court. Theyre scared, amy barrett. Theyre scared you would rip them of their very health care protections. Reporter they highlight the millions who stand to lose coverage if the Affordable Care act a week after the election is struck down. Republicans firing back, arguing that judges should not make policy but rather make decisions only based on law. You scanned accused of intending to violate your oath before you even take it. Justice scalia taught me more than just law. He was devoted to his family, resolute in his beliefs and fearless of criticism. And as i embarked on my own legal career, i resolved to maintain that same perspective. Reporter with voters already casting ballots in the president ial election, democrats lashing out on the timing. The whole thing, just like trump, is an irresponsible botch. There is nothing unconstitutional about this process. Reporter judge barrett did bring her children with her today, and if shes confirmed, she would be the first mother with schoolage children on the u. S. Supreme court. Faith abube, abc news, washington. Today the abc news iteam is digging into the covid Distribution Plan for Nursing Homes and longterm care facilities. California is one state that wants the Trump Administration to develop a full plan. Stephanie sierra explains there are some problems with it. Reporter scott achery lost his father to covid19, a painful experience as he didnt even get to say goodbye. Now hes scared for his mom. My family is hyperconcerned about what could happen to my mom. Reporter costelle died at a Rehabilitation Center in haywood. Now his mom lives in a longterm care facility. From my perspective, my mom should be one of the people at the top of the list when there is a vaccine. Reporter according to guidelines, nursing home residents is in the first phase of distribution. Mike wasserman is the president of the association of longterm care medicine. He is advising the state on their plan. At the federal level, it appears that the administration is looking at major pharmacy chains for distribution. One of the problems with major pharmacy chains is they dont have a clue as to how Nursing Homes operate. Reporter instead, wasserman is recommending the state Health Department work with consultant pharmacists and longterm Care Pharmacies who understand how the facilities function. We understand the state has had six weeks to develop this plan. What has been the main problem . They dont know exactly what to prepare for. Because the federal government has not been fully transparent. Reporter lack of transparency paired with concerns over vaccine storage. We know that the vaccine thats going to be out there is going to require something called cold chain storage, which Nursing Homes dont have at their disposal. Reporter abc7s Data Analysis shows more than 4,500 nursing home residents and 152 Health Care Workers have died from covid19 in california. And while new data shows both cases and deaths are we are still seeing up to 50 to 60 deaths in Nursing Homes throughout the state every week. Reporter achery hopes to not have to live through that pain again. I know im going to lose her one day, but i dont want to lose her like i lost my father. Reporter distribution at Nursing Homes could start within 24 hours. Wasserman says counties with a higher Positivity Rate of the virus will likely get priority. For the iteam, stephanie sierra, abc7 news. Governor newsom today said californias Positivity Rate has dropped to 2. 6 for both the 14 and 7day averages. He cautioned that while the rate is slowing, it appears to have reached a plateau. Now by some estimates, 6,000 businesses have closed in the bay area since the pandemic began in march. About half are permanent closures. However, micro loans are helping some minority and womanowned businesses survive. Abc7 reporter david louie shows us one such business in hayward as we focus on our economy to build a better bay area. Reporter this was supposed to be the best year yet for luis. The familys business was selling 42,000 tamales a month. Then the pandemic hit. We lost business only once, and i can say like 95 of our business is gone. Reporter alicia villanueva, husband pedro and their son started by selling tamales door to door. They were prepared to start all over again to keep their 25 employees working. Small businesses like this often dont have relationships with banks. However, an Opportunity Fund has stepped in. This is a reflection, right, of the longstanding bye season our financial season to capitalize with less resources and sitting in the back of the line. We need to change that. Reporter Opportunity Fund has made at least 1,000 loans since march. It gave alicia time to diversify his product line and pursue other customers. They did not have to lay off anyone. Opportunity funds focus is to help minority and womenowned businesses. The Silicon Valley foundation has raised 3. 5 million for micro loans. Comcast has contributed 350,000. Whats the impact . A 95 survival right and a 95955 repayment rate. Three jobs are created or saved, and for every loan there is money regenerated. He is bouncing back, selling his products now to lenardis and online at williams sonoma. David louie, abc7 news. A fire weather watch will go into effect this wednesday because of wind conditions, the same winds that have pg e warning that another round of what it calls Public Safety power shutoffs is possible. The utility says it will have a better idea of the cities and counties that will be impacted by the end of the day tomorrow. Lets bring in abc7 news meteorologist drew tuma. Drew, any idea how strong these winds will be . It looks like these winds will gust to 30 Miles Per Hour later this week, and it will drag in warm and dry air. That fire weather watch begins at 5 00 a. M. Wednesday, and as we get closer to wednesday, this may get upgraded to a red flag warning. Watch those onshore winds gusting to 30 miles an hour. Some in higher peaks may gust to 50 miles an hour. This time of year, its october, everything is dry and when we get these winds it does increase our fire danger. What were looking at timelinewise is Late Wednesday into early thursday for that first burst of wind, mainly in the north bay, finding those offshore winds likely over 20 to 30 Miles Per Hour and then well likely get another burst of those winds late thursday into early friday. Now, this wind will produce some very warm temperatures by friday. Well have those numbers in a few minutes. Sounds good. Well check back with you. Thank you, drew. Coming up, an empty pedestal shows an old look to a new holiday this monday in october. Plus, the future of Stem Cell Research. Whats at stake for proposition 13. Proposition 16 takes some women make as little as 42 of what a man makes. Voting yes on prop 16 helps us fix that. Its supported by leaders like Kamala Harris and opposed by those who have always opposed equality. We either fall from grace or we rise. Together. Proposition 16 provides equal opportunities, levelling the Playing Field for all of us. Vote yes on prop 16. Today is columbus day, a federal holiday, but for many communities, this monday, october 12th, is Indigenous Peoples day. Many moved online because of the pandemic. Thats not the only thing thats changed this year. Reporter well, its not the first year that Indigenous Peoples day and columbus day are celebrated on the same day here in the bay area, but it is the first year its done without the statue of Christopher Columbus which was taken down from here in june. The podium where the statue once stood remains bear and north beach relatively quiet. There was a small parade yesterday. What were dealing with is not being able to celebrate like we normally do. Reporter the president of the San FranciscoNational Heritage festival and parade celebrated the weekend of columbus day. This year he said the message was less about history than trying to help existing businesses. That was our message was support local businesses, italian businesses in north beach and the greater bay area while still coming together to celebrate our italian heritage. Reporter meanwhile, the Indigenous Peoples day was forced online as well. Happy Indigenous Peoples day. Im very blessed to be part of this wonderful gathering. Reporter the yearly pow wow in berkeley normally looks like this. But this year it was all on zoom. They share what the day meant for them. Keep fighting for indigenous rights. Whether youre on the front line at a protest, or whether youre at home studying a language or reviving our traditional ways. Keep fighting. Reporter the statue remains in city storage. Decisions on what to replace it with are ongoing. There is a new reason to wipe down your phone and why you should be looking at refinancing your home loan. Ab abc7s michael finneas is here. With Interest Rates at about 3 to 5 , its a wonder no one has refinanced their home. A homeowner carrying a 500,000 loan can save 600 a month by refinancing. It turns out millions of homeowners do not believe the savings are real. Look, they are. Please. If you havent refinanced, take time to talk with your financial adviser. There wont be much of a crowd at airports over the thanksgiving holiday, but that doesnt mean getting home is going to be any less frustrating. Consumer passenger website the point sky reports airlines are slashing prices because passengers arent buying enough tickets. Right now only about a fourth as many tickets have been sold as usual for the thanksgiving holiday. That means even more flights could be canceled. Some wont even know their flight is getting canceled until a week into november. Heres some bad news on the coronavirus front. The coronavirus can live on a cell phone screen for as long as 28 days. Australia researchers say the virus can live on cotton clothes as long as 14 days. Everything has to be just right for the virus to survive that long, but it goes to show sanitizing everything brought into your home is still a very good idea, you guys. I know we tend to be loosening up as we get used to the covid19 pandemic, but remember all of that, 28 days on your phone. Cell phones are dirty, clean them. And you say that as i look at the two phones sitting next to me right now. Pretty horrifying. Michael, thank you. Should california invest an additional 500 billion for Stem Research . That is what prop 14 asks voters to decide on in the next election. Heres whats at stake. Reporter publicly funded Stem Cell Research was a national hot button issue in 2004. California voters were at the vanguard by approving it. Now the program we okayed is running out of money. Voters will be asked to approve proposition 14, authorizing 5. 5 billion in new bond money for stem cell and other medical research. 16 years ago, proposition 71 made it a state constitutional right to conduct Stem Cell Research and voters approved 3 billion in borrowing to fund it. The measure created the California Institute for regenerative medicine. The new Initiative Includes m e more oversight for the institute and provides better access to treatment. Some of the money would be funded for brain and nervous system diseases such as alzheimers, parkinsons and dementia. It would look for cure for Heart Disease and diabetes. But all of this comes at a cost. The debt on borrowing the 5. 5 billion will cost nearly 8 billion, and they say, we cant afford it. A yes vote authorize the state to sell the obligation bonds. A no vote stops the sale. A reminder the election is three weeks from tomorrow. We have a complete guide to all of the state ballot measures at our website. You can check out everything you need to know before voting at abc7news. Com. And meanwhile, a programming note for you. Thursday abc news host as a tow hall with democratic nominee joe biden. You can watch it here on abc7 as well as roku, amazon tv and apple tv. Heres a question, how do you weigh a winner . Very carefully. Up next a when you take a it all begins to unravel. Ann ravels no reformer, shes backed by big corporations whove poured hundreds of thousands into her campaign. And she opposes ballot measures to make the economy more fair for working people. Only dave cortese is endorsed by the California Democratic party. Hes helping us battle the pandemic with a sciencebased approach. And expanding Health Services and child care to those in need. For state senate, Democrat Dave cortese. The unfair money bail system. He, accused of rape. While he, accused of stealing 5. The stanford rapist could afford bail; got out the same day. The Senior Citizen could not; forced to wait in jail nearly a year. Voting yes on prop 25 ends this failed system, replacing it with one based on Public Safety. Because the size of your wallet shouldnt determine whether or not youre in jail. Vote yes on prop 25 to end money bail. A minnesota man is taking home the top prize of the 47th annual pumpkin weighoff in half moon bay. It hit the scale today at 2,350 pounds. Look at that. At 7 a pound, travis ginger will collect more than 16,000. He held the giant gourd all the way from minnesota, some 2,000 miles from half moon bay. Just seeing the look on peoples faces with how big they get with, is that real . This thing was growing 2. 3 pounds an hour. Geez. Can you imagine carving that sucker . Because of the pandemic, spectators werent allowed this year. Organizers had also offered a 30,000 megaprize for the pumpkin that beat the world record, but no one frls about to beat a pumpkin that weighed 2,350 pounds. It was a warm and sunny start to the week. Temperatures today, we had widespread 80s this afternoon, so a mend is on the way through the week ahead. You can see in most spots we have green dots on the bay area, good air quality. A few yellow dots indicating moderate air quality. For the most part right now, our 2. 5 pm levels are below 100 so a nice start to the week. Outside a live look from our san jose camera showing you bright sunshine, blue skies. Looking at the air quality over the next two days, there are no spare the air days in effect. Tomorrow and wednesday, very similar air quality fluctuated between good and moderate, depending where you live. So were not anticipating anywhere in the bay area to get above 100 in terms of pm 2. 5 levels. Thats something well watch in the week ahead. Right now its warm. 80 currently in oakland, 87 in concord. San francisco earlier today, we had a high of 80 degrees and cooled off to 73 with a sea breeze. Overnight tonight well have very limited fog along the coastline. Our marine layer is very compressed right now, so most spots will find clear skies, plenty of stars, and overnight lows, many people will settle in the mid50s over the next 12 hours. Now, tomorrow well have a little bit of coastal fog first thing but a lot of sunshine throughout the day and thats going to really raise our temperatures into the low 90s in our warmest spots tomorrow. So tomorrow is a little warmer than today. 91 in concord, 91 in livermore, 86 in san jose, 82 in oakland. 84 in san rafael and San Francisco in the upper 70s, if not 80 degrees. Fastforward those temperatures into thursday, and future tracker showing you were well into the 90s in hot spots. From richmond to oakland to hayward, were in the upper 80s. 89 in san jose. 90s in the north bay as well. It looks like friday will be the peak of this heat. We can see widespread 90s on the board, including oakland, san jose, napa, even San Francisco very warm going into the 80les the end of the week. The accuweather 7day forecast, warming continues tomorrow. We will track those dry and gusty winds over the hills, ama and dion, and cooling off by friday before the upcoming weekend. Im pretty sure thats the Indian Summer of drew. Thanks. Still ahead, the what . Never. Are you kidding me . For years, the residential burden has gone up. While the corporate burden has gone down. Prop 15 reverses that. It closes corporate l