These are the headlines you Need 2 Know. * **After Serious Drama, Kavanaugh Hearings Near the End:** Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings are expected to conclude Friday after four tense, long days. Documents from 2003 once dubbed “committee confidential” were leaked Thursday as Kavanaugh addressed questions on ever-polarizing issues like abortion and affirmative action. While he was serving as a lawyer in the Bush administration, Kavanaugh wrote in an email: “not sure that all legal scholars refer to Roe as the settled law of the land...” The email contradicts Kavanaugh’s recent statements that abortion is a closed legal matter. Read more about Thursday’s proceedings [here](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/06/us/politics/kavanaugh-hearing-confirmation.html). * **Tropical Storm Florence May Become Hurricane Again:** Florence was downgraded Thursday from a Category 3 hurricane to a tropical storm. But the worst isn’t over. The storm will likely regain strength to a hurricane over the weekend and possibly hit the East Coast next week. Details are still vague, since the storm is 1,800 miles from the East Coast. See possible tracks [here](https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/capital-weather-gang/wp/2018/09/06/the-odds-of-hurricane-florence-affecting-the-u-s-east-coast-have-increased-a-little/). * **A Slew of Senior Officials Deny Writing NY Times Op-Ed:** As wild speculation about the author of Wednesday's damning NY Times op-ed continues, many senior officials in the Trump administration have issued denials: Mike Pence, Steve Mnuchin, Sarah Sanders, Mike Pompeo, and Nikki Haley have all vehemently said they are not the writer. The anonymous author has inflamed the fury of the President and his supporters for describing Trump as erratic and amoral. Trump addressed the article again on Thursday night, saying it is “very unfair to our country.” Read more [here](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/09/06/new-york-times-trump-op-ed-author-essay/1209710002/). * **Google Wants to Help Us Find the ‘Joy of Missing Out’:** Google researchers have cited FOMO as a major reason why so many people won’t disconnect from smartphones and technology ー and the company wants to help. In a post on its blog, Google said it has a responsibility to encourage users “to set aside their phone sometimes, not worry about missing anything absolutely urgent, and feel in control of their phone use.” Google has added changes to its mobile software Android, including a “Digital Wellbeing Dashboard” for Android 9. Read more [here](https://metro.co.uk/2018/09/06/no-need-for-fomo-as-google-doubles-down-on-jomo-7919146/?ito=cbshare). * **An Unlikely Match-Up in the U.S. Open Women's Final:** Serena Williams will play rising star Naomi Osaka on Saturday in the U.S. Open Final. It will be Osaka’s first time playing in a Grand Slam championship match, while this will be Williams’s 31st final. Oh, and this little thing: she's won 23 of them. Osaka, 20, won the first and only title of her career this year in Indian Wells, Calif., but she was determined for her semifinal match, telling a reporter afterward, “I was just thinking, I really want to play Serena.” Read more about the upcoming match [here](https://www.wsj.com/articles/naomi-osaka-faces-her-idol-serena-williams-in-u-s-open-final-1536323631). * **Soda as a Dipping Sauce?** Social media exploded when Alexa Greenfield was caught on video dipping her chicken tenders in soda at the U.S. Open. Some people went so far as to call for her imprisonment, but Greenfield has turned the attention around and initiated the #alexagdipchallenge. For each food and soda combination video posted with the hashtag, she promises to donate money to a cyberbullying campaign. Watch the report on [Cheddar](https://twitter.com/CheddarBigNews/status/1037782846658813952). * **Those Bins You Put Your Stuff in at Airport Security Have More Germs Than Toilets:** A new study published last week in the “BioMed Central Infectious Diseases Journal” found that half of airport plastic security bins may carry viruses that can cause respiratory infections. The lead authors of the article, from Finland’s National Institute for Health and the University of Nottingham, said these results prove that airports are a potential risk zone for an “emerging pandemic threat.” Surprisingly, the study of the Helsinki Airport found the most virus-free spot to be toilets, since they’re cleaned so frequently. Read more [here](https://www.washingtonpost.com/transportation/2018/09/04/those-airport-security-bins-carry-more-germs-than-toilets-scientists-say/?utm_term=.f9f452c43c83). * **Here's Another Reason to Hate Flying:** Passengers claim they were asked to urinate in plastic bags and bottles on an American Airlines flight from Phoenix to Hawaii after the toilets onboard clogged and overflowed. The 187 passengers said they were shocked and horrified at the flight attendants’ request. See video of people complaining [here](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6140415/American-Airlines-passengers-pee-bags-toilets-overflowed.html). * **Rest in Peace, Burt Reynolds:** The iconic star and one-time sex symbol died at the age of 82 from a heart attack on Thursday morning. The actor starred in major films like “Deliverance,” “The Longest Yard,” and “Smokey and the Bandit.” He famously passed up the role of Han Solo in "Star Wars." But even still, Reynolds was Hollywood’s top-grossing star every year between 1978 and 1982. Celebrities ranging from Sally Field to Dolly Parton have reacted to his death. Read their statements [here](https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/09/06/burt-reynolds-celebrities-react-his-death/1214422002/). * **India Makes a Landmark Decision:** The country's Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously overturned a 160-year-old ban on gay sex. The five-judge bench said the law amounted to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and was therefore unconstitutional. The chief justice called the law “irrational, indefensible, and manifestly arbitrary.” See photos of celebrations in India following the decision [here](https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2018/sep/06/celebrations-india-supreme-court-legalises-gay-sex-lgbt-in-pictures). * **Starbucks Opens First Location in Milan:** The coffee chain's new store raised questions of whether Italians will be willing to break from their strict coffee culture. The company has called this Reserve Roastery location “the most beautiful Starbucks in the world." It boasts marble floors, bronze accents, and bright green roasting silos. Starbucks said it hopes that younger generations will be curious enough to visit this 25,000 square-foot store with floor-to-ceiling interactive experiences. More branches are expected to open in Italy this year. Read more [here](https://people.com/food/starbucks-milan-italy-photos/). Cheddar's Jill Wagner gets into the latest. 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