1. Political history unfolded in real time on television and computer screens across the country.

Christine Blasey Ford, the first woman who accused Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, described the terror she felt more than 30 years ago, when, she said, Mr. Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed, tried to rip her clothes off and clapped his hand over her mouth to muffle her cries for help.

She remained steadfast in her account at a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, saying she was “100 percent” certain her assailant was Judge Kavanaugh, now a Supreme Court nominee.

“I have been accused of acting out of partisan political motives,” she said. “Those who say that do not know me. I am a fiercely independent person, and I am no one’s pawn.”