Hours before the news of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's passing broke Friday, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she would not vote to confirm a Supreme Court nominee before the November election. At the time, the question was hypothetical, but now that it's reality Murkowski is sticking to her word.

On Sunday, the senator — considered a centrist — became the second Republican in the upper chamber after her colleague Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) to oppose confirming Ginsburg's replacement before Nov. 3. Murkwoski explained she didn't support former President Barack Obama's attempt to fill a vacancy in 2016 since it was too close to the election, and she's applying the same standard to this situation, which has an even smaller window.

Observers have pointed out that Murkowski didn't specify whether she'd be opposed to voting during the so-called lame-duck session in the weeks after the election, but in her comments before Ginsburg's death, she did suggest "the people" should have a say in an appointment. Collins, for her part, said whoever wins the presidential contest should fill the seat.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) still could have the numbers he needs to push a vote through, but all eyes are on a few other GOP senators, including Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), to see if they'll follow Collins and Murkowski. Tim O'Donnell

The Emmys this year won't look like ever before — but that doesn't mean there won't be the usual amount of shock upsets.

Pundits are generally in agreement about who will take the top prizes at Sunday's virtual Emmys. But what surprises could be in store? Here are some possibilities.

1. Ozark wins drama series - Critics largely see this top Emmy going to HBO's Succession, but some think Netflix could score an upset with Ozark, which debuted its third season in March. It could get a boost after, Deadline writes, many "housebound viewers finally discovered the series" in COVID-19 lockdown.

2. Insecure wins comedy series - The favorite here is easily Schitt's Creek, but what about Issa Rae's Insecure? Variety's Adam B. Vary is predicting a massive upset, writing that Insecure "feels like the right winner, both in quality and in capturing the current moment."

3. Issa Rae wins lead comedy actress - On that note, could Rae herself surprisingly defeat the heavy favorite, Schitt's Creek star Catherine O'Hara? Vanity Fair says Rae "may be the underdog victor."

4. Ramy Youssef wins lead comedy actor - Schitt's Creek star Eugene Levy is poised to win here. But Ramy's Ramy Youssef surprised at the Golden Globes in January by taking the best comedy actor trophy. He wasn't competing against Levy, but still, could he do so again?

5. Zendaya wins lead drama actress - Zendaya wasn't even originally expected to be nominated in this category, but as Jennifer Aniston, Olivia Colman, and Laura Linney duke it out, some see her swooping in for a shock victory.

6. Jason Bateman wins lead drama actor - This category seems like a battle between Succession stars Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox, but if they split the Succession vote, could Ozark's Bateman, who last year won a surprise directing Emmy, emerge victorious?

Expect the unexpected - more so this year than ever - when the Emmys kick off at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on ABC. Brendan Morrow

ActBlue, the Democratic Party's donation-processing site, received a record $91.4 million in the 28 hours following the announcement of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death on Friday, executive director Erin Hill said in a statement. That figure was the result of 1.5 million contributions, indicating the looming battle over confirming Ginsburg's replacement on the high court will be a priority for both parties as the November election nears.

Donors set the single-day donation mark by pouring in $70.6 million on Saturday, surging past the previous one-day high of $41.6 million. The 1.2 million contributions on Saturday also set a daily record since ActBlue launched 16 years ago.

The hourly record was set consecutively Friday evening after the news broke, first during the 9 p.m. ET hour and again during the 10 p.m. hour at $6.2 million and $6.3 million, respectively. The previous record was $4.3 million in one hour. As the pattern suggests, the number of contributions made during the latter hours was record-breaking, as well. Read more at Axios. Tim O'Donnell

President Trump said Saturday that he has given his "blessing" to a deal that will keep the popular social media app TikTok operating in the United States, but the decision appears perplexing to some observers.

Despite Trump's approval, the deal itself is not done, but the current framework consists of U.S. tech company Oracle joining up with Walmart to form a new entity called TikTok Global, for which they'd pay TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, $12 billion. The two companies plan to own a combined 20 percent of TikTok Global, while ByteDance is expected to retain most of the remaining 80 percent. Per NPR, TikTok Global will still be presented as majority-American owned since 40 percent of ByteDance is owned by U.S. investors.

The negotiations to sell TikTok were spurred by Trump's threat to ban the app in the U.S. over national security concerns as tensions between Washington and Beijing remain high. It seems that the Trump administration is satisfied those concerns will be addressed in the Oracle deal, but Chris Kelly, the former chief privacy officer at Facebook, told NPR the Chinese government will likely still have "substantial" ability to pressure ByteDance under the future framework and the interactions "could stretch into personal data pretty easily," which has been Washington's primary worry.

On a similar note, Trump previously signed an executive order in August requiring ByteDance to completely divest from U.S. TikTok operations, which likely won't be the case under the proposed deal. "They're really moving the goalpoasts here," a former Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States told NPR on condition of anonymity. "ByteDance is still the biggest dog in this deal. The foreign control issue does not go away." Read more at Bloomberg and NPR. Tim O'Donnell

Speaking at a rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Saturday night, President Trump told supporters that he has yet to select anyone to fill the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat, but said his nominee will be a woman.

Earlier Saturday, speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he will "most likely" choose a woman, but he appeared to make that a promise once he got on stage at the rally. Either way, Trump said an announcement could come within a week and reiterated his preference that the confirmation process happens swiftly, preferably before the November election. That will certainly continue to draw objections from his critics, who believe the choice should be made by whomever wins the election.

In a phone call with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has expressed his desire to fast-track a Senate vote, Trump reportedly mentioned two female appellate court judges — Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa — as possible selections. Barrett is seen as an early favorite since Trump interviewed her when he was selecting his last two nominees for the high court, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, and she is well-regarded by conservatives. Allison Jones Rushing, also an appeals court judge, is another contender. Politico notes that, at 38, she would be one of the youngest justices ever to serve on the Supreme Court, which means there'd be a chance she could hold the seat for quite some time. Read more at The Washington Post and Politico. Tim O'Donnell

There's a lot of speculation about how Republican senators will respond to the Supreme Court vacancy following the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) plans to forge ahead with a confirmation vote, and President Trump has urged GOP lawmakers to confirm his nominee "without delay." But observers have pinpointed a few Republicans that could potentially break with the party and try to push the vote until at least after the November election is decided. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), often considered one of the more moderate voices in the upper chamber, was one of them.

Collins, who is in a tough re-election battle, released a statement Saturday, clarifying that she believes a vote to confirm the nominee should wait until after the election. Collins said "we must act fairly and consistently — no matter which political party is in power," likely referring to the fact that the Republican-led Senate blocked then-President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, in 2016 due to the proximity to that year's election.

The senator said she would not object if Trump makes a nomination or if the Senate Judiciary Committee begins "the process of reviewing his nominee's credentials," but, ultimately, whoever wins the election on Nov. 3 should make "the decision on a lifetime appointment." Tim O'Donnell