Syrian government forces besiege rebel-held Damascus area

German airliner grounded 10 days after rat boards in Florida

Senate Democrats have enough votes to block Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch with a filibuster, setting up a showdown with Republicans who plan to change Senate rules to confirm President Donald Trump's pick. The crucial 41st vote came from Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware who announced his decision Monday. Coons' opposition will prevent Republicans from reaching the 60 votes they need to move Gorsuch over procedural hurdles to a final Senate vote. Determined to confirm him despite Democratic objections, the GOP will likely change Senate rules later this week to reduce the threshold from 60 to a simple majority. All 52 Republicans back the nominee. __ Democrats and one independent who have announced their opposition to Gorsuch and willingness to block the nominee (total 41): Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin Sherrod Brown of Ohio Tom Carper of Delaware Bob Casey of Pennsylvania Kamala Harris of California Ed Markey of Massachusetts Jeff Merkley of Oregon Bernie Sanders of Vermont Chuck Schumer of New York Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island Jack Reed of Rhode Island Tom Udall of New Mexico Patty Murray of Washington Ron Wyden of Oregon Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts Bill Nelson of Florida Mazie Hirono of Hawaii Al Franken of Minnesota Debbie Stabenow of Michigan Dick Durbin of Illinois Gary Peters of Michigan Chris Van Hollen of Maryland Chris Murphy of Connecticut Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire Kirsten Gilibrand of New York Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire Tim Kaine of Virginia Martin Heinrich of New Mexico Cory Booker of New Jersey Maria Cantwell of Washington Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada Tammy Duckworth of Illinois Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut Brian Schatz of Hawaii Claire McCaskill of Missouri Jon Tester of Montana Dianne Feinstein of California Mark Warner of Virginia Patrick Leahy of Vermont Chris Coons of Delaware ___ Supporting Gorsuch (3): Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota Joe Manchin of West Virginia Joe Donnelly of Indiana ___ Still unannounced: Michael Bennet of Colorado says he will vote for cloture, no word on whether he will support or oppose the nominee Angus King of Maine Bob Menendez of New Jersey Ben Cardin of Maryland has said he will oppose the nominee, but it's unclear how he will vote on cloture.

How Senate Dems have said they will vote on court pick