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Trump's Doctor Clears Him to Leave Isolation, Few Details on True State of the President's Health; Biden Hosts Campaign Event in Battleground Pennsylvania

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.</s>VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: New York City right at the top of the hour this morning. Good morning to you there. Good morning. Thanks for being with us. President Trump's doctor says that he can now end isolation, return to an active schedule. He also says that the president has not had a fever in well over 24 hours. But we still don't know if the president is tested negative for the virus.</s>CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: You know, the president hosted a large crowd at the White House yesterday. Take a look here. He delivered what was a highly political speech to supporters there on the South Lawn and has at least three in-person rallies scheduled coming up this week. That potentially puts thousands of people at risk of the coronavirus. CNN's Sarah Westwood is at the White House. Now, we know the doctor has said he is cleared and ready to resume life I suppose as he knew it. But in terms of what is to come next, what do we really know about the president's health? Because there's no negative test that's been released as we know it, yes?</s>SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right, Christi. Good morning. There is no negative test that we know of from the doctor. Even though we did finally get an update from Dr. Sean Conley, the president's lead physician, yesterday after days of not hearing an official update about the president's health, there are still some questions left after this memo that essentially paves the way for President Trump to return to the campaign trail, to start having events again. We just need to know a little bit more about the president's health. But I want to read you some of this memo in the doctor's own words: This evening, I'm happy to report that in addition to the president meeting CDC criteria for the safe discontinuation of isolation, he is no longer considered a transmission risk to others. Now at day ten from symptom onset, fever-free for well over 24 hours, and all symptoms improved, the assortment of advanced diagnostic tests obtained reveal there was no longer evidence of actively replicating virus. Now we don't know, for example, what diagnostic tests were used, whether the president did test negative, we also don't know the date of the president's last negative test before he was diagnosed with COVID-19. That's an outstanding question that the White House has repeatedly refused to answer. But from that memo, we're learning that the president may not be contagious anymore. And clearly, his efforts to get back on the campaign trail and to project the sense of normalcy are paying off. Despite his hospitalization, though, and despite the fact that the president now has personal experience battling the virus, last night at an event here at the White House, the president continued to downplay the threat.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We'll get rid of it all over the world. You see big flare-ups in Europe, big flare-ups in Canada, very big flare-up in Canadian, you saw that today. A lot of flare-ups. But it's going to disappear. It is disappearing. And vaccines are going to help. The therapeutics are going to help a lot.</s>WESTWOOD: Now, President Trump held that event yesterday here at the White House with hundreds of people gathered on the South Lawn. And he'll hit the campaign trail this week starting on Monday with a rally in Florida, Victor and Christi.</s>BLACKWELL: Sarah, we're get something details from "The New York Times" about -- I laugh because they're laughable.</s>PAUL: Yeah.</s>BLACKWELL: From "The New York Times" about the president's departure from Walter Reed hospital. Tell everyone about those.</s>WESTWOOD: Well, "The New York Times" is reporting that president Trump called up some of his confidantes from the presidential suite at Walter Reed and revealed his idea for his exit from the hospital. He wanted to walk out of the hospital appearing maybe frail and feeble at first, but then unbutton his dress shirt to reveal a Superman t-shirt underneath, as some sort of sign of strength and vitality as he was leaving the hospital. Obviously, that stunt did not happen. He left the hospital in a kind of normal way. But it just shows the lengths to which President Trump has wanted to go to project the sense that the virus hasn't weakened him at all -- Victor and Christi.</s>BLACKWELL: Sarah Westwood for us there at the White House, thanks so much. CNN contributor, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, joins me now. So, we're going to put the Superman antics aside. But I want to talk about what we learned and what we have not learned from this letter from Dr. Conley. Good morning to you, by the way. So this letter says that the president is no longer considered a transmission risk to others. No confirmation of a negative test for the virus. Is it safe for the president to travel on Air Force One and the presidential limo, and then campaign for three straight days?</s>DR. ABDUL EL-SAYED, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I want to step back for a second.</s>BLACKWELL: OK.</s>EL-SAYED: The fact that they didn't use the regular test that we have known sensitivity and specificity for, two med risks that epidemiologists use to tell you about the quality of a test, how many falls positives, home -- false positives, how many false negatives. The fact that they clearly did not use those tests to talk about advanced diagnostics means that they were looking for a test that they could then spin to make this particular argument because it's clear it's coming from the president's doctor. This is coming from the president. In fact, all of the information that we've gotten about the president's health has usually just come via the doctor from the president. And so that's number one. Number two, right, there are open questions right now. Number one, he wouldn't have met criteria in terms of just basic CDC protocol. And in fact, the CDC recommends for someone who has had a serious case, which the president had, he had to be hospitalized, his oxygen saturation dipped below 94 several times, he needed supplemental oxygen, that those folks require 20 days, 20 days. He's not even at ten from today. And that -- that's one point. The second points also the fact that, you know, as much as we understand the president's want to get back there on the campaign trail, ask yourself if you or someone you worked on air force, if you were someone who worked at the White House after 37-plus people tested positive from one super-spread event, would you want to be on an airplane with the president of the United States based on what is the flimsiest of arguments about his non-contagiousness? I don't think so. And what that indicates is just that he is being, unfortunately, himself, deeply irresponsible about this virus and its risks, wanting to play them down at every corner, putting the politics ahead of the science. And trying to search for people who will do his bidding, and some modicum of something to stand on to do that. And it's unfortunate to see that he's putting, again, politics ahead of the public health here.</s>BLACKWELL: Yeah. Most important sentence from that letter was "I release the following information with the permission of President Donald J. Trump," because everything goes through his clearance. So, I looked over not just the memo that came out last night but the past few days. And I want to put this up. Let's put the full screen up. On October 7th, Dr. Conley reported that the president was fever free for more than four days. On the 8th, there was no mention of the president's temperature or a fever in that memo. There was no statement, no update at all on the 9th, and then last night, Dr. Conley reported the president had been fever-free for well over 24 hours. Am I reading too deeply into this, or am I characterizing this wrong to say that this is cherry picked happy talk? Whatever the good news is -- remember, we heard from Dr. Conley on the first update that, you know, he wouldn't confirm oxygen or no supplemental oxygen, and the next day said, well, I just wanted to give everyone the optimistic view to reflect how upbeat everyone is.</s>EL-SAYED: Yah. Look, noticed that, too. The fact of the matter is that people don't just pop fevers out of nowhere. If he hasn't been febrile for over 24 hours, they're picking some number that can seem reassuring. But that means that two days ago, right, he probably had a fever. People don't pop fevers for now reason. They have fevers because there are viruses in their body. And what that indicates is that at least two days ago, the president's body was reacting to a virus that was inside of it by spiking a fever. That's one of the things the body does to try and raise the temperature on the virus sore the bacteria in your body to try and kill it. And it's a marker of a much more active immune response. Think about it like the hood of a car getting hot. The engine's working, that's the same case with the immune system. So it's pretty clear to me that, you know, within two days, they wouldn't have said the 24-hour number unless it was the largest limit. So, within two days, he's had a fever, indicating that he has virus. And now they're looking for some test in some interpretation of a test to make an argument that he's -- he's A-okay, ready to go. Of course, that's the president's timeline, not the virus's, and you can look at that from the broader perspective of American life, it's always on the president's timeline, not the virus' timeline in America.</s>BLACKWELL: Yeah. And, you know, the president told Fox News on Friday afternoon, aired on Friday night, that he was medication free, no confirmation of that from Dr. Conley. Dr. El-Sayed, stay with us, because we've got more to talk about, about coronavirus, beyond the president and his return to the campaign. So, we're going to continue that conversation a little later this hour.</s>PAUL: Vice President Mike Pence rallied supporters in Florida yesterday. One of the events took place at a very large retirement communities -- one of the largest in the nation, in fact. Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh tweeted this, 3,000 people were there. A CNN team was also there and said the campaign wasn't following CDC guidelines. A lot of the people who attended weren't wearing masks or maintaining a safe social distance.</s>BLACKWELL: Presidential candidate Joe Biden, he spoke to supporters in Pennsylvania yesterday.</s>PAUL: CNN's Jessica Dean's on the trail following the Biden campaign for us. Good morning, Jessica.</s>JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor and Christi. Former Vice President Joe Biden back in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania. He traveled here to Erie, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. It is located in a Pennsylvania county that premium won narrowly back in 2016. It's a place with the kind of voters that the Biden campaign really thinks they can win back with Joe Biden's economic message which is the one he delivered right here on Saturday.</s>JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The top 100 billionaires in the middle of this pandemic, they made $300 billion additional dollars. Hear me now -- 100 individuals made one -- $300 billion this year. What did the bottom half get? They got -- they got to slide down because the fact is the president can only see the world from Park Avenue. I see it from Scranton. I see it from Claymont for real. You know what I'm talking about. You all see it from Erie.</s>DEAN: In the meantime, the campaign reports that Vice President Biden underwent PCR testing, that gold standard COVID test on Saturday, and that it came back negative. They say he will be tested regularly and always when he travels.</s>PAUL: Jessica, thank you so much. Let's talk to the political -- talk about the political headlines with Alex Burns, CNN political analyst and national political correspondent for "The New York Times." Alex, it's always good to see you again. Thank you for being here.</s>ALEX BURNS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: You bet.</s>PAUL: I want to talk about the latest poll numbers that we're seeing. This from the "Washington Post"/ABC poll. It looks like Vice President Biden is up 12 points among registered voters, 54 percent for Biden, 42 percent for President Trump. What would you attribute that to at this point?</s>BURNS: Look, I think that we have seen over the last few weeks that the race has widened out again at a point when Republicans hoped that it would tighten up. This really follows the first presidential debate in which President Trump was widely seen as having behaved in a just completely inappropriate way toward his challenger and then, of course, the coronavirus outbreak at the White House that has refocused the attention of the electorate on this disease that was already the dominant issue in the election. And, Christi, I think that when some of us started to see a week or two ago some of these double-digit leads for Vice President Biden, I think there was a lot of healthy skepticism about whether he would be able to keep it up. That's still there, a couple weeks left in this race. But the fact of the matter is, those double-digit leads are no longer just a flash in the pan. We've seen that now for more than a week, just really enormous margins for the Democratic ticket.</s>PAUL: Well, and your latest write in "the New York Times" points to polls that indicate President Trump is alienating women, alienating seniors, suburbanites. So what -- where does that leave the GOP? Because there are some surveys, as I understand it, among private GOP surveys, that show solid red states are still safe for President Trump.</s>BURNS: Well, that's right. The Republicans I've spoken to, especially over the last week, they remain pretty confident that in states that are mostly white and mostly rural, that the president will ultimately be fine. But they also see in these surveys that some of those rural white states, a place like Montana, a place like Kansas, it's far closer than it ought to be based on those demographic and partisan fundamentals in a presidential race. And where that really ends up pinching the president, hurting his party, is not in those rural white states. It's in the Sun Belt, the red states like Georgia, Texas, Arizona, where for the longest time the Republican Party has relied on a coalition that was not just rural white folks but also suburban voters, some minority voters. And those are groups that have just moved -- you mentioned seniors, those are all groups that have moved hard against the president, you know, over the course of his term but especially over the last few months.</s>PAUL: So tomorrow we know that Amy Coney Barrett is going to be before the Senate Judiciary Committee as they start the process for the Supreme Court nomination. Vice President Biden has been reluctance, as you know, and has been asked as has -- has Kamala Harris to expound on questions about whether they would stack the Supreme Court. Does he need to answer that question, especially now that the hearing is starting and more focus will be on that?</s>BURNS: Well, as a reporter, I'd certainly like him to answer the question. We heard him answer it during the Democratic primaries. We heard his running mate, Senator Harris, answer during the primaries. They answered it differently during the primaries. Vice president Biden dismissed the idea of adding seats to the Supreme Court. She said in an interview with me that she was open to it, absolutely open to it. We've not heard her say that again. I think this is an awkward one for their ticket. I think that, you know, they have clearly made the calculation that they can evade this question for the next few weeks and the voters will not punish them for it. And given how much else is going on politically right now, they may be right about that. It does point to a set of real governing challenges if they do win this election. Real tensions within their own party where it seems pretty clear based on what he said in the past. The Vice President Biden is interested or has not been interested in the past in a fight over redrawing the judiciary. A lot of Democrats, including folks in the House and Senate feel strongly, strongly otherwise.</s>PAUL: All right. Alex Burns, we are grateful every weekend for your perspective and your willingness to get up early on a weekend. Thank you.</s>BURNS: My pleasure. Thanks.</s>PAUL: Sure.</s>BLACKWELL: It's looking very unlikely that Congress will pass an economic relief and stimulus package before Election Day. The president tried to resurrect negotiations which he himself called off days ago by offering roughly $1.8 trillion stimulus plan. But sources tell CNN that Senate Republicans criticized the offer in a conference call yesterday. According to "The Washington Post," White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said if he took that message back to the president they would have to, quote, all come to my funeral. The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called the proposal insufficient. Former Democratic presidential nominee Andrew Yang says that both sides should just take the deal.</s>ANDREW YANG (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: if I'm Nancy Pelosi, I take this deal. If I'm Mitch McConnell, I take this deal. This is great for the American people. They're suggesting another $1,200 in direct cash relief to millions of Americans, $400 a week in weekly federal unemployment benefits. This would be a lifeline for millions of Americans, and I have no idea why this is not being passed. Instead they're grandstanding and playing politics while people are hurting.</s>BLACKWELL: So, the president's proposal is still $400 billion short of the $2.2 trillion bill that the House Democrats passed. Senate Republicans have united behind a $500 billion COVID relief package. Today at 9:00, you want to make sure to watch Jake's show. He's got White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow and Kate Bedingfield from the Biden campaign. Jake Tapper on "STATE OF THE UNION" and so will be Senator Maize Hirono and Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson. It's today at 9:00 Eastern, right here on</s>CNN. PAUL: So, the number of new coronavirus cases are keeping pace with estimates as we move into the fall. There's a key model now predicting close to 400,000 American deaths by February 1st. We'll talk about that.</s>BLACKWELL: Plus, Hurricane Delta and the severe weather, even a tornado in the Southeast. We'll have an update on the damage next.

More Than 54,000 New Cases Reported Saturday, Fourth Day in a Row Cases in Excess of 50K.

PAUL: We're seeing pretty alarming rise in coronavirus cases across the country right now.</s>BLACKWELL: Almost 30 states are showing week-to-week increases in cases. Only two are showing decreases. Now there's a new estimate that suggests that the U.S. could see almost 400,000 COVID-related deaths by February.</s>PAUL: CNN's Polo Sandoval live for us in New York this morning. So that is what the estimation could be. The question is, is there a way to fend is off so we don't hit it, Polo?</s>POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's a warning that we're hearing from health officials, right, Victor and Christi. And remember, these are all predictions. We don't have to get to that point, according to multiple health authorities who expect that we could potentially see the death count, the COVID death count nearly doubled to over 400,000 by February if the nation eases off on these measures like the mask wearing, like the social distancing. And they also, the other telltale number that we're watching right now is hospitalizations. Wisconsin alone recently reaching a record number of hospitalizations, the highest number of they've seen since the start of the pandemic. Then you heard from an emergency room doctor yesterday on CNN who said they're seeing more COVID patients and fear that that could be signaling the start of this dreaded second wave.</s>SANDOVAL (voice-over): Across the United States, a rise in coronavirus cases.</s>DR. MEGAN RANNEY, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: We are all seeing increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients who are coming into our ERs, who are getting really sick, requiring hospitalization and even intensive care.</s>SANDOVAL: Over 54,000 cases reported on Saturday, making it the fourth day in a row of 50,000-plus cases. And one day after health officials reported the highest number of new cases in a day since mid- August. The current death toll over 214,000. Former CDC Director Tom Frieden says that number could be even higher.</s>DR. TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: So, if you die from cancer and you also have diabetes, you still died from cancer. If you died from COVID and you also had diabetes, you died from COVID. COVID does affect older people much, much more than younger people. And many older people have lots of other health problems. So that ends up on the death certificate.</s>SANDOVAL: The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation out of the University of Washington predicting that the U.S. death toll could reach almost 395,000 by February, with daily deaths hitting 2,300 by mid-January.</s>DR. CHRIS MURRAY, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH METRICS AND EVALUATION: We're expecting both cases and, unfortunately, deaths to really surge as we head into late November and December, and probably peak sometime in January.</s>SANDOVAL: And with cold weather months approaching, health officials stressing the importance of wearing a mask.</s>MURRAY: Every little bits of increased mask wearing is going to save lives.</s>SANDOVAL: As a vaccine is still in development.</s>FRIEDEN: For a vaccine to work, it's got to not only be safe and effective but be accessible and trusted.</s>SANDOVAL: This morning, many of these COVID spikes we're seeing in parts of the Midwest also here in the Northeast, across the river in New Jersey, officials there monitoring some areas of concern. Yesterday, the governor of New Jersey saying that they are starting to see numbers that they are describing as quite sobering. Back to you.</s>BLACKWELL: Polo Sandoval, thanks so much. Let's bring back epidemiologist and public health and CNN contributor, Dr. Abdul Sayed. Let's talk about this growth and something we heard from Dr. Deborah Birx, the coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. This is what she said about the spread in the Northeast and what has to change over the next few months.</s>DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: What we're seeing in the community is much more spread occurring in households and in social occasions, small gatherings where people have come inside, taken off their masks to eat or drink or socialize with one another. What we did in the spring is not going to work in the fall.</s>BLACKWELL: So people are coming in now. They're starting to make Thanksgiving travel plans to see family, Christmas, as well. What's your concern? What's the advice?</s>EL-SAYED: Well, look, this is something that epidemiologists and physicians and scientists have been worried about, that the fall was going to see a huge spike, in large part because, A, people are tired of following the recommendations, simple things like wearing a mask, washing your hands, staying outdoors versus indoors, staying six feet apart. And B, because it's harder to do those things because we're moving inside, because the weather's getting colder, particularly in the Northeast and the Midwest and out West. And so, the recommendations is -- I know it's tiring, I know it's frustrating, I know that folks want to get back to normal life. The faster that we can do the things we need to do to get through this virus, the faster we can get back to normal life. What does that mean? Making sure to wear a mask. Do it outside even if it's chilly. There's a lot of things that you can buy to make it warmer on a patio. Don't do it in inside. Make sure that you are -- you're washing your hands and that you're staying distant if you can. This is really a treacherous time. The schools coming back. There's a lot at stake here. And so, folks really need to tuck into the recommendations. We've got to get through this fall, try and keep the spread of the virus down and the mortality down and hopefully get to a point where we've got a credible vaccine that's out there, and that we no longer have to worry about this. The faster way around is t is through it.</s>BLACKWELL: You know, before the show, I had not planned to ask this, but in Coy's sports segment, this stood out to me. The Gators coach Dan Mullen wants to see 90,000 fans in the Swamp for the game against LSU on Saturday. Now they were wearing masks. But 90,000, even masked, is that advisable? I mean, I can't -- they're not socially distanced because they're shoulder to shoulder. But if they're wearing masks, what's your view on that request even?</s>EL-SAYED: No. I mean, it's super irresponsible. Arguably, we shouldn't be playing football in the first place. Football is not necessary. I love football, don't get me wrong. I live in Ann Arbor, the big house is literal two miles from my house. It is the biggest stadium in the country. I wish we could go to the big house. It's not the right thing to do because, of course, if you really want to turn the Swamp into an actual swamp, have 90,000 people in there in the middle of a COVID-19 pandemic. It's not worth it. And turning something enjoyable like college football, which we're playing, you can watch on TV, into a super-spreading event, it's not worth it. It's irresponsible. And coaches should stick to coaching.</s>BLACKWELL: All right. Dr. Abdul Sayed, thanks so much.</s>EL-SAYED: Thank you.</s>PAUL: You know, a tornado touched down north of Atlanta last night. One person was injured. It damaged a homeless shelter as well. Take a look here, up to 30 people were displaced because of the damage. That's the shelter there.</s>BLACKWELL: The tornado was part of a series of strong storms across North Georgia that were caused by Hurricane Delta. The winds, they ripped over trees and ripped into homes. We, of course, saw the heavy flooding in streets. Atlanta Fire Rescue says they responded to more than a dozen calls for vehicles trapped by those floodwaters. The next few days will be key for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. She's set to face lawmakers and could be questioned on key issues like abortion rights. We'll talk about what you should expect over the next few days.

Trump's Doctor Clears Him To Leave Isolation; Trump Speaks To Supporters Packed Into White House Event Despite Rising Number Of Coronavirus Cases; Confirmation Hearings For Trump's SCOTUS Pick Amy Coney Barrett Start Tomorrow; Trump's Stimulus Proposal Faces Opposition From Pelosi And GOP; Biden Hosts Campaign Event In Battleground Pennsylvania

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a brand-new statement from the president's physician, Dr. Sean Conley, about the president's health.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is essentially clearing President Trump to return to public activity.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very good that we're finally getting some information. It's just not clear to me why they haven't been transparent with this all along.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Science, medicine will eradicate the China virus once and for all. It's going to disappear. It is disappearing.</s>DR. MEGAN RANNEY, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: We are all seeing increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients who are coming into our ERs, who are getting really sick, requiring hospitalization and even intensive care.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Confirmation hearings for Trump's Supreme Court pick Amy Coney Barrett start tomorrow.</s>SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MAJORITY LEADER: We have a process to get through that nomination, and we intend to put her on the Supreme Court in the next few weeks.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY weekend with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.</s>CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Looks like a fall sky out there, doesn't it, behind the Capitol building. As we said, we're getting ready to see Amy Coney Barrett in her hearings tomorrow. President Trump, meanwhile, his doctor is speaking. And he says that the president can end isolation, and he can get back to an active schedule. He also says the president hasn't had a fever in well over 24 hours. However, we still don't know if the president has tested negative for the virus.</s>VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Now, the president hosted a pretty big crowd at the White House yesterday. He delivered a highly political speech to the supporters you see. This is on the South Lawn. The president has at least three in-person rallies scheduled this week, and as we know, these large crowds could put thousands of people at risk for contracting the coronavirus. We're going to start this morning with CNN's Sarah Westwood. She's at the White House. So what do we know this morning? Because we know the statement came out late last night about the president's health.</s>SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, good morning, Victor and Christi. And, yes, we heard from Dr. Sean Conley, the president's physician, for the first time in a few days last night. There was an open question as the president headed into that event last night whether he was still positive for the virus and whether he was still contagious. But this memo from Dr. Conley seems to pave the way for President Trump to return to the active life, the public life that we know he's been eager to reprise since he's been sort of sidelined with the virus. I want to read you just a chunk of this letter in the doctor's own words, "This evening I'm happy to report that in addition to the president meeting CDC criteria for the safe discontinuation of isolation he is no longer considered a transmission risk to others." And then he goes on to say, "Now at day 10 from symptom onset, fever- free for well over 24 hours and all symptoms improved, the assortment of advanced diagnostic tests obtained reveal there is no longer evidence of actively replicating virus." Now, what that means is it's not necessarily true that President Trump is still shedding live virus, but that memo didn't go into everything that we would have liked to know about the president's health. For example, is he still testing positive for the virus? And we don't know what kinds of tests the doctor is basing that assumption on. But nonetheless, the president did hold that event here at the White House last night. He spoke from the White House balcony to a crowd there on the South Lawn. And despite being less than a week out from his own hospitalization from the virus, President Trump continued to downplay it.</s>TRUMP: We'll get rid of it all over the world. You see big flare-ups in Europe, big flare-ups in Canada, very big flare-up in Canada. You saw that today. A lot of flare-ups, but it's going to disappear. It is disappearing. And vaccines are going to help, and the therapeutics are going to help a lot.</s>WESTWOOD: Now, this memo seems to give Trump the clearance to go ahead with the campaign schedule we know he is planning on for this week starting, Victor and Christi, with that rally in Florida on Monday.</s>PAUL: I want to get to some new information, new details we're getting this morning, Sarah, from "The New York Times" regarding the president's departure from Walter Reed Hospital. What are we learning there?</s>WESTWOOD: "The New York Times," Christi, is reporting that President Trump during his hospitalization told some of his confidantes on the phone about a plan he had for leaving, getting some attention as he was leaving the hospital, that he wanted to walk out of the hospital appearing maybe feeble at first and then unbutton his dress shirt to reveal a Superman t-shirt underneath his button down. That seems to be springing from this desire that we've seen the president have to project the sense that he's fine. The virus hasn't handicapped him at all in his attempts to get back on the campaign trail. But clearly, the president did not go through with that. He returned to Walter Reed via Marine One in a normal way, Victor and Christi.</s>PAUL: You have to wonder what those conversations were like, who had that conversation with him and enticed him otherwise, let's say. Sarah Westwood, so good to see you this morning. Thank you. Now, Dr. David Shulkin, the former secretary of Veterans Affairs under President Trump, says we still don't have enough information about the president's condition.</s>DR. DAVID SHULKIN, FORMER SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS UNDER TRUMP: We still should know when the president tested negative. Was there a test just yesterday that had been positive? Did this just turn negative? So it would be a good idea I believe for the White House and for Dr. Conley to be as transparent as possible about what all these test results mean so that the American public can understand what we're dealing with. While technically the PCR test shows that he doesn't have active virus, 72 hours is a safe recommendation. The president has been symptom free for 24 hours.</s>BLACKWELL: Last night Vice President Mike Pence see rally supporters in Florida. And one of these events was at the largest or one of the largest retirement communities in the country. Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh tweeted 3,000 people were there. CNN team there said the campaign was not following CDC guidelines. A lot of people there were not wearing mask or maintaining any safe social distance. With me now, CNN political analyst and White House reporter for the "Washington Post," Seung Min Kim. Good morning to you. Let's start here with the president and his return to rallies, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. It seems that this will be now central to the campaign, his -- you know, with the reporting from "The New York Times" that he wanted to rip open his shirt to show the Superman logo, that this will be how he's going to run the next 23 days.</s>SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. I mean, he has been -- ever since the pandemic really sidelined his campaign travel, he had -- the president had really been looking for different ways to replicate kind of the political power of his rallies. But his rallies are a unique event for him, for his supporters, for a way to get his base excited. So, there was really no way to replicate that besides having the rallies itself, which is why you saw the president so eager to get back on the campaign trail, having a very aggressive travel schedule just a week or so after he tested positive for the coronavirus, going to Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa, just in a matter of three days. And it really does come at a crucial stretch for the president here. Polls show him clearly lagging vice president -- former vice president Biden both nationally and in these key swing states. So, that's why you see him traveling so aggressively. I expect barring any future, you know, health issues that he'll keep up this aggressive travel from now until Election Day.</s>BLACKWELL: One of the narratives that he will offer undoubtedly there as he's campaigning will be the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett which is scheduled, the hearing scheduled for tomorrow. You know, immediately after Justice Ginsburg died, Democrats said that they would use every tool available, whatever they could, to stop the confirmation of a justice before the election. A lot less talk about that now. Have Democrats appeared to resign themselves to the very likely confirmation and then the question of what happens next, or should we expect some delays, some effort starting tomorrow?</s>KIM: Well, Democrats are clearly going to try every procedural maneuver that they have to delay the confirmation as close or beyond Election Day as possible. But even with -- even factoring for all those procedural endeavors, there's very little that Democrats can do to stop this from happening before November 3rd, provided that all Republicans are there, that they're healthy which is a key point to emphasize, and that they are able to fully participate in these proceedings. So that's why while Democrats have still continued to decry the process and vowing to stop -- vow to do as much as they can to hold the nomination, they've really been focusing kind of on the broader issues at play. So, you're going to hear at the confirmation hearings this week a lot of talk about health care. Remember that the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a very important case on the fate of the Affordable Care Act a week after the election. And you're going to hear a lot of talk from basically every member on the -- every Democratic member on the Senate Judiciary Committee about how important the Affordable Care Act is. How important it is to keep the protections for pre-existing conditions. Because they know that this is their election play. Health care is where they thrive, they thrived back in 2018, and they're looking at this as a way to energize their voters in these key battleground states for the presidency and for the Senate.</s>BLACKWELL: Quickly before we go, Republicans in the Senate have pushed back against the president's suggestion of $1.8 trillion stimulus bill, rescue coronavirus bill. Still $400 billion short of where Pelosi and the Democrats are at $2.2 trillion. Any more likely, any indications that's this is going to happen at all before the election?</s>KIM: It looks pretty -- it looks pretty dark. The chances of a big stimulus deal before the election because the proposal that the administration has put forward led by Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin is not making anyone happy on Capitol Hill. You have House Speaker Nancy Pelosi coming out against it, and yesterday morning you have a very feisty, very contentious conference call between Senate Republicans, Secretary Mnuchin, and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, where more than 20 Republican senators spoke, mostly in opposition to what the administration was doing. The feedback was so tough that Mark Meadows told Republican senators on this private conference call that -- quote -- "you're going to have to come to my funeral when he has to take this information back to the president of the United States." But Republicans are worried. They don't like the high price tag, they don't like the policy provisions that were being proposed by the administration, they don't like the fact that this will take away focus, that these decisions over the stimulus package take away focus from the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett in the next couple of weeks.</s>BLACKWELL: Very, very busy week. Seung Min Kim, thanks for helping us start if off right.</s>KIM: Thanks for having me.</s>BLACKWELL: Yes.</s>PAUL: So presidential candidate Joe Biden spoke to supporters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania yesterday.</s>BLACKWELL: CNN's Jessica Dean is on the trail with the Biden campaign for us -- Jessica.</s>JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor and Christi. Former Vice President Joe Biden back in the critical battleground state of Pennsylvania. He traveled here to Erie, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. It is located in a Pennsylvania county that President Trump won narrowly back in 2016. It's a place with the kind of voters that the Biden campaign really thinks they can win back with Joe Biden's economic message which is the one he delivered right here on Saturday.</s>JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The top 100 billionaires in the middle of this pandemic, they made $300 billion additional dollars. Here me now? One hundred individuals made $300 billion this year. What did the bottom half get? They got -- they got to slide down. Because the fact is the president can only see the world from Park Avenue. I see it from Scranton. I see it from Claymont, for real. You all know what I'm talking about. You all see it from Erie.</s>DEAN: In the meantime the campaign reports that Vice President Biden underwent PCR testing, the gold-standard COVID test on, Saturday and that it came back negative. They say he will continue to be tested regularly and always when he travels -- Christi and Victor.</s>PAUL: Thank you so much, Jessica. Appreciate it.</s>BLACKWELL: Jake Tapper has a strong lineup for you this morning on "STATE OF THE UNION." He will be joined by White House chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow, also Kate Bedingfield from the Biden campaign. He has interviews with Democratic senator from Hawaii Mazie Hirono and Arkansas Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson. Starts at 9:00 Eastern right here on</s>CNN. PAUL: Well, the president again says that the virus is going to disappear. He said that back in February, as well. The reality is very different. According to the numbers that are out there, across this country more than two dozen states are seeing a rise in cases. And key coronavirus model predicts close to 400,000 people here in America will die by February 1st. We have more on that clarity just ahead.

More Arrests In Wisconsin On Fourth Night Of Protests Over Alvin Cole's Death; Key Model Projects 395,000 U.S. COVID Deaths By February.

BLACKWELL: We saw protesters occupy city hall on the fourth night of protests in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. The demonstrations, they started this week after the news that a police officer would not face charges for the death of 17-year-old Alvin Cole. Cole, African-American, shot in February outside a mall in a Milwaukee suburb.</s>PAUL: Police say demonstrators threw rocks and bottles at officers trying to enforce a 7:00 p.m. curfew. Now police responded by firing teargas, pepper balls, paint balls. It's not clear how many protesters were arrested.</s>BLACKWELL: Now for some time now, health experts have been forecasting that we would see a rise in coronavirus cases when the fall set. Well, we are now seeing that.</s>PAUL: We are. As many as 30 states are showing an uptick in new cases from this week to last week. Only two are showing cases trending down. And a new estimate suggests the U.S. could see nearly 400,000 COVID- related deaths by February. CNN's Polo Sandoval has been looking at this. The question, Polo, is if they're saying we could see 400,000 cases, how do they expect we're going to get there? Is there anything we can do to fend that off?</s>POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that's key here, Christi. Is this new influential model that is predicting a death toll that could potentially double by next February, that can be avoided. And authorities making that very clear if some of those measures continue to be implemented, and if the nation does not ease off on things like social distancing and mask wearing, that we may actually be able to avoid that prediction. But also when you consider hospitalizations alone, Wisconsin recently reaching its highest ever number of hospitalizations, and then add to that yesterday, one ER doctor telling CNN that he's seeing more COVID patients in his hospital, and many doctors fearing that that could signal the start of this dreaded second wave.</s>SANDOVAL (voice-over): Across the United States, a rise in coronavirus cases.</s>RANNEY: We are all seeing increasing numbers of COVID-19 patients who are coming into our ERs, who are getting really sick, requiring hospitalizations and even intensive care.</s>SANDOVAL: Over 54,000 cases reported on Saturday making it the fourth day in a row of 50,000-plus cases, and one day after health officials reported the highest number of new cases in a day since mid-August. The current death toll, over 214,000. Former CDC Director Tom Frieden says that number could be even higher.</s>DR. TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: So, if you die from cancer and you also have diabetes, you still died from cancer. If you died from COVID and you also had diabetes, you died from COVID. COVID does affect older people much, much more than younger people. And many older people have lots of other health problems. So that ends up on the death certificate.</s>SANDOVAL: The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation out of the University of Washington predicting that the U.S. death toll could reach almost 395,000 by February, with daily death hitting 2,300 by mid-January.</s>DR. CHRIS MURRAY, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF HEALTH METRICS AND EVALUATION, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON: We're expecting both cases and, unfortunately, deaths to really surge as we head into late November and December. And probably peak sometime in January.</s>SANDOVAL: And with cold weather months approaching, health officials stressing the importance of wearing a mask.</s>MURRAY: Every little bit of increased mask wearing is going to save lives.</s>SANDOVAL: As a vaccine is still in development.</s>FRIEDEN: For a vaccine to actually work, it's got to not only be safe and effective but also be accessible and trusted.</s>SANDOVAL: Many of those increases in infections, death rates, and hospitalizations being seen in parts of Midwest and here in the northeast including right across the river of New Jersey where authorities are monitoring several areas of concern. In fact, the governor yesterday, Victor and Christi, saying they are watching multiple specific areas after they're noticing what they're describing as sobering numbers there.</s>BLACKWELL: All right. Polo Sandoval for us in New York. Thanks so much. Next hour we're going to talk about the rise we're seeing across the country. We'll talk about the president's condition with public health expert Abdul El-Sayed. How he could be cleared from isolation especially after the president's recent diagnosis. We'll talk about that. So, stay with us.</s>PAUL: A tornado touched down west of Atlanta last night. One person was injured, and it did damage a homeless shelter. I want to show you the shelter here. There it is. Up to 30 people were displaced because of that damage. This tornado was part of a series of strong storms across north Georgia that were caused by Hurricane Delta. Powerful winds toppled trees onto homes, heavy rain, flooded streets. Atlanta Fire Rescue says they responded to more than a dozen calls for vehicles that were trapped by the floodwaters.</s>BLACKWELL: This is an historic week in the Senate. Key hearings begin tomorrow for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. We will talk about what you should expect and what you need to know about this nominee.

Interview With National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST (voice-over): Round two. Fourteen days after hosting a super-spreader event at the White House, the president is back on stage.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm feeling great. I don't know about you. How is everyone feeling?</s>TRUMP: But, as his party frets over his campaign, he is swinging, from wild accusations to unfounded promises. Can President Trump turn things around? Top White House adviser Larry Kudlow and Biden deputy campaign chair Kate Bedingfield join me. And Supreme showdown. With senators set to begin hearings for the president's High Court pick, Democrats are promising a fight.</s>SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): We will use every tool in the toolbox.</s>TAPPER: But might that backfire? Judiciary Committee Democrat Senator Mazie Hirono is next. Plus: hunker down. COVID cases rising, as the U.S. enters a key period. Can we avoid a wave of more deaths?</s>DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NIAID DIRECTOR: I'd like to say that everything is going to be great by Thanksgiving, but, honestly, I'm not so sure it is.</s>TAPPER: I will ask Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson ahead.</s>TAPPER: Hello. I'm Jake Tapper in Washington, where the state of our union is stunned at the recklessness. Late Saturday, President Trump's doctors released a new letter, clearing the president to return to a public schedule, saying he has met the CDC criteria to leave isolation and is -- quote -- "no longer considered a transmission risk to others" -- unquote. The doctor said the president is 10 days from the onset of symptoms and has been fever-free for more than 24 hours. The doctor did not disclose critical information, such as whether the president is off all fever-reducing medication, whether he has any remaining symptoms, and whether the president has tested negative for the virus. Now, that's not part of the CDC criteria to leave isolation, but it's still important information. And, on that subject, we still do not know when the president last tested negative before catching the virus and potentially spreading it. The doctor's letter came hours after the president delivered a speech to a crowd of supporters on the White House South Lawn, largely wearing masks, thankfully, though they were packed together. The president, after possibly spreading the virus, continues to spread lies about it, telling the crowd that the virus is -- quote -- "disappearing," which is, tragically, far from the truth. Infections, in fact, are increasing. With only 23 days until the election, and a lot of ground to make up, the president seems to be scrambling. He's returning to campaign rallies tomorrow, despite the recent outbreak in his campaign and his White House, and sending Capitol Hill and markets reeling over confusing messages on a potential new coronavirus stimulus package. Joining me now to talk about that package, the president's top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow. Larry, good to see you, as always. So, let's talk about the stimulus. To counter the Democrats' $2.2 trillion proposal, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin offered a $1.8 trillion proposal. But more than 20 Republican senators privately blasted that as a betrayal, a death knell. We're 23 days from Election Day. Is a stimulus deal dead?</s>LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Well, no, I don't think it's dead at all. I spoke to Secretary Mnuchin last evening. Look, don't forget, the Republicans in the Senate put up their own bill a few weeks ago and got 53 votes, I think it was. So, they united. I think, if an agreement can be reached, they will go along with it. Look, the issue here -- and I don't understand this -- my Democratic friends, Speaker Pelosi and so forth, we're asking for some targeted areas of assistance that would help this recovery. It is a V-shaped recovery, but there are key areas that could help. One, let's add on to unemployment assistance. The president's executive order is not going to go forever. Two, everybody, I mean, everybody in the world wants additional loans to small business. They will be forgivable loans, the so-called PPP program. Those are things that everybody absolutely wants. Number three, the president is in favor of direct mail checks to provide, again, some more temporary economic assistance. We are in a very strong rebound. I hope we get to that later. But the fact is, these are simple things. They have bipartisan support. We could do it as stand-alone bills, or an omnibus bill, or whatever. But I don't understand the intransigence from my Democratic friends.</s>TAPPER: Well, I'm not talking about your Democratic friends. I'm talking about 20 Senate Republicans who were mad at Secretary Mnuchin and saying that the proposal of $1.8 trillion was way too much. They called it a death knell. I think that was Senator Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee, called it a death knell. I guess the big question is, going forward, you have to get something through the House and the Senate. Are you willing to pass a relief bill without a support -- without support from a majority of Senate Republicans? In other words, you get the majority of Democrats in the House, you get Democrats in the Senate, and maybe 10 or 20 Republicans in the Senate, and then it goes to the president's desk? Would he be willing to sign that?</s>KUDLOW: Well, look, I don't want to get into the specific legislative strategy, Jake. But I will say, from the president's remarks late last week, he's happy on the key targeted areas that I mentioned, small business loans, unemployment, and so forth. He would actually go beyond what some of the Democratic numbers are. He may not do it for the entire package, but for those key targeted areas that would truly help the recovery, by the way, get kids back to school and reopen businesses. I think, if we could get this thing settled on the Democrat side, we will get it settled on the Republican side. There will still be further efforts at negotiation, perhaps today, but certainly this coming week. So, I don't think we really -- the D's are holding this thing up. Look, it's just a question of this. It's not so much the election, per se. I know this is a political season. I get that. It's just getting Americans through a difficult period of time. We have seen a flood of blockbuster improvement numbers across the board on the economy. But there's really no reason why we can't add to that...</s>TAPPER: Right.</s>KUDLOW: ... some additional assistance in the next three months. And I think you can get a deal. I'm not saying it's easy. Secretary Mnuchin, very dear friend of mine, as you know, he's a very good negotiator. Let's see what he and Speaker Pelosi come up with.</s>TAPPER: But you agree that a stimulus package needs to pass, there needs to be one, right, and you're hoping to do it in the next three weeks?</s>KUDLOW: I don't think, Jake -- I mean, I don't want to parse, but I don't think the recovery is dependent on it.</s>TAPPER: That's not what the Fed chair says.</s>KUDLOW: Look, we have had 11 million job increases. Well, the Fed chair is, essentially, I think, saying the same thing. Targeted assistance would be a good idea. But, look, we have seen numbers across the board just in the past week, booming housing starts, supply managers for manufacturing and for services. We have seen automobiles surging. We have seen manufacturing.</s>TAPPER: Right.</s>KUDLOW: We think we have created a new 700,000 jobs in manufacturing. These are really strong numbers. Inventories have to be rebuilt. You got...</s>KUDLOW: ... talking about 30...</s>TAPPER: Mark Zandi says -- Mark Zandi of Moody's says that, if a stimulus bill isn't passed soon, the administration -- I mean -- I'm sorry -- the country is going to start shedding jobs again.</s>KUDLOW: Well, Mark is a friend of mine, but he's always a naysayer when it comes to Republican policies. I will say this. The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow model is showing 35 percent. That's a -- for the third quarter. That's a big number. The blue-chip consensus, private blue chip forecasters, I think, moved up to 29 percent. We would be thrilled with plus-20 percent in the second half of the year. My point is this. We are in a strong rebound.</s>TAPPER: Yes.</s>KUDLOW: Lower taxes and lower regulations going way back are still in place, and businesses are reopening. We are learning to deal with the virus in a targeted, safe, prevented way.</s>TAPPER: No, we're not.</s>KUDLOW: So, it's not dependent -- all I'm saying is, a little -- some targeted assistance would go a long way right now.</s>TAPPER: We're not -- we're not learning to live with the virus, Larry. The -- we just had four days in a row of more than 50,000 infections. The death rate is the highest in the world. But let's focus on the economic aspect, because that's your area of expertise. I guess one...</s>KUDLOW: I just want to say...</s>TAPPER: Yes.</s>KUDLOW: Just, Jake, one -- Jake, just one second. I want to clarify. Living with the virus. Look, 5,000 experts just signed a petition, led by people from Harvard, Stanford, Oxford University. These are scientists, these are doctors, these are health care workers, who say, we can deal with this virus going on while we're getting new therapies, we're getting new vaccines. They are coming around. It's not just living with the virus. As long as we protect the most vulnerable...</s>TAPPER: Yes.</s>KUDLOW: ... as long as we preserve the key guidelines, yes, we can get through this. We are not going to shut down the whole economy again.</s>TAPPER: No, and nobody...</s>KUDLOW: There is no reason for that. We will take care of the vulnerable. That's the key point.</s>TAPPER: Well, there's so much that you just said. But, again, I had you on to talk about the economy, not health care matters.</s>KUDLOW: OK. OK.</s>TAPPER: In terms of obeying by the key guidelines, I mean, you might want to tell the guy in the building behind you, but that's a separate issue. Let's talk about President Trump and the stimulus package, OK, because President Trump, frankly, has been all over the map on his position. He halted talks completely. But then I want you to take a listen to what the president said on Friday about the size of this stimulus bill.</s>TRUMP: I would like to see a bigger stimulus package, frankly, than either the Democrats or the Republicans are offering.</s>TAPPER: So, that's the president's saying he wants a bigger package. Speaker Pelosi is currently offering a $2.2 trillion deal. The president wants a bigger package than that. So, is Secretary Mnuchin now going to try to offer a bigger deal than a $2.2 trillion proposal?</s>KUDLOW: He may. He may. Secretary Mnuchin is up to $1.8 trillion. So, the bid and the offer is narrowing somewhat between the two sides. President Trump actually has always said -- I mean, I have heard him say it in the Oval -- as far as the key elements are concerned, the checks, the unemployment assistance, the small business assistance -- we have got to help airlines out -- he would go further. He's always said that. He knows that we need as much power for economic recovery as possible. It's not just recovery in three weeks. It's recovery to the end of the year and beyond in a possible second term. So, I think Secretary Mnuchin, who is a very good negotiator, will be carrying the president's message.</s>TAPPER: So -- but, Larry, I mean, a consultant to an adviser to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told "The Washington Post" that he thinks any deal that's in the range of $2 trillion -- Mnuchin is at $1.8 trillion, Pelosi is at $2.2 trillion, and you just said it's possible that Mnuchin and Trump will have a proposal of more than $2.2 trillion. But McConnell's aide says that they think there will only be 10 Republican votes in the Senate for anything in the neighborhood of $2 trillion. So, how do you get it passed? That's the question. You have already lost most of the Republicans in the Senate.</s>KUDLOW: Well, I don't know who we have lost. There are a lot of permutations and combinations. And there's a lot of commentary. I get that, Jake. I'm not going to sit here and negotiate or say, this is OK, that's not OK. That's Mr. Mnuchin's role, as well as Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who is also an excellent negotiator. I'm just saying, we are putting our best foot forward on the table. We have been offering compromise after compromise. We have already passed a Republican bill in the Senate. Now we have raised the ante on some just key targeted points, not everything else. We're not talking about giveaways to state and locals, fixing pension funds, harvesting mail ballots, assistance to illegal immigrants that have nothing to do with COVID or the economy.</s>TAPPER: Yes.</s>KUDLOW: Let's see what happens. I'm not going to negotiate today. Let's see what happens.</s>TAPPER: Let's turn to the event at the White House with hundreds of people not social distancing on the White House lawn, though they were wearing masks, thankfully. I want you to take a listen to what Dr. Fauci said this week about that Rose Garden event for Judge Barrett on September 26.</s>FAUCI: The data speak for themselves. We had a super-spreader event in the White House. And it was in a situation where people were crowded together and were not wearing masks. So the data speak for themselves.</s>TAPPER: President Trump himself has said he may have contracted the virus at -- quote -- "big events" at the White House. But now the president's hitting the campaign trail, Florida tomorrow, Pennsylvania, Iowa. How is this not a risk to the health, if not lives of your own supporters?</s>KUDLOW: Well, lookit, on that big do on the White House lawn, the operations people signed off on it. I have great respect for Dr. Tony Fauci, who is a longtime friend of mine. I'm not the medical scientist. Here's what I know. As you said at the top today, Dr. Sean Conley -- or last night -- released a document that said the president is healthy, he's abided by the CDC, he is no longer contagious. I think that fits the bill. I have not seen the president in the last few days. I have spoken to him on the phone. A lot of people who have been with him said he's fine, he's peppy, he's been smart, again, and he really is in healthy condition. So, it seems like the conditions are being met. And he will -- he will go on ahead. This election needs to be fought out...</s>TAPPER: I'm expressing concern about his supporters' health, his supporters' health.</s>KUDLOW: I understand. I understand.</s>TAPPER: You're in Connecticut. And let me say, Larry, as somebody who likes you and wants you to live a long, long life, I hope that you stay safe. I don't know that the people at the White House are as concerned about people who work at the White House and Trump's own supporters as I am. It's not safe to have big rallies.</s>KUDLOW: Well, I appreciate it, Jake, what you said earlier. It's very kind. Lookit, there will be masks at these rallies. There will be social distancing at these rallies. There will be appropriate testing. A lot of these places, you get tested on the way in. Most of all, we have to stick to the hygiene issues, washing your hands and face and so forth. These things can be done. We can do that. And that's what the experts have said. That's why I wanted to raise that Great Barrington compromise document. It needs to see the light of day.</s>TAPPER: OK.</s>KUDLOW: It's like 5,000 people that are saying basically what I'm saying.</s>TAPPER: Yes.</s>KUDLOW: So, I think he can go through with it. I think his message Jake, look, you know what.</s>TAPPER: Yes. We got to -- we got to go, Larry.</s>KUDLOW: Growth, prosperity, abundance, optimism.</s>TAPPER: OK.</s>KUDLOW: Low taxes and low regulations...</s>TAPPER: I get it.</s>KUDLOW: ... will revive this economy. He did it once. He will do it a second time. Thank you.</s>TAPPER: Larry, stay safe and stay healthy. Good to see you again.</s>KUDLOW: Thank you. Thank you.</s>TAPPER: Hearings for the president's Supreme Court nominee start tomorrow. I will ask what to expect from a Democratic senator who refused to meet with Judge Amy Coney Barrett coming up. Plus, the question that Democratic nominee Joe Biden is repeatedly -- repeatedly refusing to answer, can he keep that up through Election Day? A top member of his campaign team is here next.

Interview With Biden Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield

TAPPER: Welcome back to STATE OF THE UNION. I'm Jake Tapper. As people in dozens of states show up to vote early, there are some encouraging signs for Democratic nominee Joe Biden's campaign, including a decision by President Trump this week to skip the second debate, one of his few remaining chances to shake up the race. Joining us now to discuss this and much more, Biden deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield. Kate, thanks for joining us.</s>KATE BEDINGFIELD, BIDEN DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Thanks for having me.</s>TAPPER: The second presidential debate was officially -- was officially canceled after the Trump campaign refused to participate in a town hall, where the candidates would participate remotely. The Trump team instead proposed pushing back both debates a week, so that they could be held in-person. But your campaign rejected that. Now, look, I get that President Trump is being erratic, but shouldn't Vice President Biden bend over backwards to give the American people every opportunity to see the two candidates go head to head?</s>BEDINGFIELD: Well, look, we agreed to three debates back in June, our campaign and Donald Trump's campaign. We have said that Joe Biden will show up on those dates that we agree to. We are not going to let Donald Trump whipsaw around at the last second, trying to rewrite the rules. We had every intention of showing up on the 15th. He, Donald Trump, refused to participate in a virtual town hall. So, we instead scheduled a national network televised town hall, so that Joe Biden can take questions from voters. And we have every intention and every expectation that we will be there on the 22nd as well. But we're not going to let Donald Trump write the rules. He doesn't get to set the calendar. The Debate Commission sets the calendar. We all agreed to these dates back in June. And we're not going to let him try to rewrite the rules at the last second.</s>TAPPER: So...</s>BEDINGFIELD: He pulled out of the debate on the 15th. It's understandable. He doesn't want to have to answer questions from voters about his handling of COVID and the economy. Joe Biden would have been there.</s>TAPPER: Yes.</s>BEDINGFIELD: He's going to be there taking questions from voters that night. He will be there on the 22nd.</s>TAPPER: So, October 22, as you note, it would be the third debate -- I guess now it would be the second -- in Nashville. You told me the other day that you are trusting the Cleveland Clinic and the Commission on Presidential Debates to ensure that everyone at the next debate test negative before entering the arena. To be candid, they had that responsibility at the last debate too, and we still don't know if the president was tested at all that day or in the previous week. So, just to be clear here, you're not going to demand, personally, the campaign, the Biden campaign, to see proof of a negative test from President Trump before Vice President Biden goes on stage with him, you trust the commission, you trust the Cleveland Clinic?</s>BEDINGFIELD: Well, we demand that the Cleveland Clinic and that the commission work that out. Obviously, it is extremely troubling, what happened at the first debate. And our expectation, our demand of the Cleveland Clinic and of the commission is that the Trump campaign and everybody that they're bringing to the debate shows proof that they're negative. Now, we will let the Cleveland Clinic and the commission work out exactly how that works. But, obviously, we are not interested in creating another moment where there's the potential for the spread of this virus. I mean, we have seen, unfortunately -- look at the event at the White House on September 26. We have seen what happens when the appropriate precautions are not put in place. And it's tragic. So, we -- given how opaque this White House has been about health information related to the president and everybody around him, we are -- we are demanding, unequivocally, of the Cleveland Clinic and of the Debate Commission that they work out protocols to ensure that everybody who is at that debate is safe, because we don't want to spread the virus further.</s>TAPPER: Yes.</s>BEDINGFIELD: It's not just about the health of the people at the debate. It's about the health of everyone else they come into contact with.</s>TAPPER: Sure.</s>BEDINGFIELD: And you have the White House refusing to commit to contact tracing from that event on the 26th.</s>TAPPER: Yes.</s>BEDINGFIELD: It's deeply troubling. They don't seem to be taking it seriously. Our demand is that the Cleveland Clinic and the Debate Commission ensure that debate is safe on the 22nd.</s>TAPPER: So, Kate, Vice President Biden yesterday again refused to say where he stands on this question of adding justices to the Supreme Court. I want to play what he said.</s>JOSEPH BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not constitutional what they're doing. We should be focused on what's happening right now. This court is being packed now by the Republicans, after the vote has already begun. I'm going to stay focused on it, so we don't take our eyes off the ball here.</s>TAPPER: I want to get to the idea of adding justices to the court in a second. But he said it's not constitutional, what they're doing. How is it not constitutional what they're doing?</s>BEDINGFIELD: His point is that the people have an opportunity to weigh in on this constitutional process through their vote. And we are now in the midst of the election. Millions of people have already cast their votes. And you see that the vast majority of people say that they want the person who wins the election on November 3 to nominate the justice to take this seat.</s>TAPPER: That's a poll. That's not the Constitution.</s>BEDINGFIELD: So, by trying to -- by trying to -- that is their constitutional -- there's the constitutional process of advise and consent. The American people get to have their say by voting for president, by voting for senators. We are now 23 days from the election.</s>TAPPER: Right, but it's not unconstitutional.</s>BEDINGFIELD: Again, millions of -- millions of votes, millions of votes, they're being -- voters are being denied their constitutional right to have a say in this process.</s>TAPPER: They elected the Senate.</s>BEDINGFIELD: The Republicans are trying to ram through -- are trying to ram through a nominee, who, by the way, is going to change the makeup of the court. And we see time and time again, poll after poll shows that most Americans vehemently disagree with this. They believe...</s>TAPPER: Again, Kate, that's a poll.</s>BEDINGFIELD: ... that the vote should happen on November 3.</s>TAPPER: That's not what the word constitutional means.</s>BEDINGFIELD: That's the...</s>TAPPER: Constitutional doesn't mean, I like it or I don't like it. It means it's according to the U.S. Constitution. There's nothing unconstitutional about what the U.S. Senate is doing.</s>BEDINGFIELD: They are being denied -- the American people are being denied their opportunity to have a say in who gets this lifetime appointment to the court. The intention of the process here is for the American people to have a say in who gets -- in who makes the nomination, and then who ultimately consents to the nomination.</s>TAPPER: OK. So...</s>BEDINGFIELD: And what the Republicans are trying to do is ram this through because they don't believe they have the electoral support. That's -- that is a problem. And they are going to try to change the makeup of the court in an effort to do that.</s>TAPPER: Again, it's not unconstitutional. I get you don't like it, but it's not unconstitutional. But let me talk about the idea of adding justices to the court, which -- which Vice President Biden refuses to give his answer on. What's bizarre about it to me is that Biden has already answered this question on whether he supports expanding the court. Take a listen to him in 1983, and then again just a year ago.</s>BIDEN: President Roosevelt clearly had the right to send to the United States Senate and the United States Congress a proposal to pack the court, but it was a bonehead idea. It was a terrible, terrible mistake to make. I would not get into court packing. We add three justices, next time around, we lose control, they add three justices. We begin to lose any credibility the court has it all.</s>TAPPER: Biden opposes adding justices to the court. He has for decades. So, why is he refusing to weigh in on it now?</s>BEDINGFIELD: Because Donald Trump and the Republicans don't get to set the terms of this debate. I mean, this is a distraction that they want to throw out. This is a hypothetical that they want to throw out right now to distract from the fact that they are trying to ram through a nominee who, as I said, is going to change the makeup of the court, against the will of the American people. They don't want to talk about that, so they are trying to create a distraction and send folks down a rabbit hole talking about this, when what we should be focused on and what Joe Biden is focused on is the vote on November 3, and making sure that they don't have the opportunity to ram through a nominee...</s>TAPPER: Kate, it's not the Biden...</s>BEDINGFIELD: ... who is going to be the deciding vote.</s>TAPPER: It's not the Trump people who invented this question.</s>BEDINGFIELD: But, look, at one...</s>TAPPER: Right? The idea of adding justices to the Supreme Court came from the progressive side of the Democratic Party. It's just a simple question. He has long been against adding justices to the court. Has he changed his mind, or does he have the same position he's had since at least 1983?</s>BEDINGFIELD: But, look, see, I think you only have to look at how hard, for example, Vice President Pence wanted to go at this in the debate last week, rather than answer a question about what his administration would do to protect preexisting conditions. That -- to me, that tells you everything you need to know about what the Republicans are trying to do here. They would rather have this conversation than talk about the fact that they are pushing through a justice who is going to be part of a court that could potentially overturn the Affordable Care Act, that could strip away protections for preexisting conditions...</s>TAPPER: Yes.</s>BEDINGFIELD: ... that could rule on a woman's right to choose, that could rule on equal pay issues.</s>TAPPER: Yes, we ask Republicans...</s>BEDINGFIELD: They don't want to defend that.</s>TAPPER: I get it. And we ask Republicans those questions. But we get to ask Democrats questions, too. And this is a simple -- it's a simple question. And it's one, frankly, that Trump did not invent. It came from the progressives in the Democratic Party. And I thought it was odd when Vice President Biden said the other day, in response to a reporter's question, that voters do not deserve an answer on this. Of course voters deserve an answer on his position on every issue.</s>BEDINGFIELD: Well, we're not going to play their game. He's given an answer. He's answered the question. I mean, he has probably answered this question 15 times over the course of the last week. The answer is: I am not going to play Donald Trump's game.</s>TAPPER: Right.</s>BEDINGFIELD: I am not going to allow the terms of this debate to shift to a hypothetical that assumes, by the way, that we, the Democrats, are going to lose here. I mean, that's really -- that's what's at the core of this argument they're making. It assumes that we're going to lose. Vice President Biden doesn't accept that. He does not accept that. He's focused on turning people out to vote, making sure their voice is heard, and making sure that they have a say in who the next Supreme Court justice is.</s>TAPPER: All right, well, I think a serious policy question is not a game, and I don't think it's Trump's game. But, Kate Bedingfield, we always appreciate you coming on the show and answering the questions or deftly sidestepping them. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.</s>BEDINGFIELD: Thanks for having me, Jake. I appreciate it.</s>TAPPER: A coronavirus outbreak is not stopping Senate Republicans from their push to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Will it work? Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono is on the committee. She weighs in next.

Interview With Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI).

TAPPER: And welcome back to STATE OF THE UNION. I'm Jake Tapper. If this is even possible, Capitol Hill may feel more partisan this week, more nasty. Tomorrow marks the beginning of the hearings on the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court. But can Democrats put up a fight without damaging their own political interests? Joining me now, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii. Senator Hirono, always good to have you on. Thank you.</s>SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D-HI): Good morning.</s>TAPPER: So, Republicans, they are moving full steam ahead with tomorrow's hearing. You have said -- quote -- "The fact of the matter is that Mitch McConnell has the votes" -- unquote. What are you going to ask Judge Barrett. And is there any way Democrats can stop her confirmation?</s>HIRONO: We are going to be very focused on her state of views on the Affordable Care Act. And the reason that the Republicans are so bound and determined to push her through, with only about two weeks left before the election and millions of people already voting, they want her on that court to hear the Affordable Care Act case on November 10, one week after the election, so that she can strike it down. That is her view on the Affordable Care Act. Then we will also be focused, I will be focused on her state of views on a woman's right to choose, abortion. So, those are the things that I will be focused on. This nominee poses a clear and present danger. The immediate danger is to the health care of over 20 million Americans who have health care thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the over 100 million Americans who are protected under the Affordable Care Act because they have preexisting conditions, not to mention the seven million who have tested positive for COVID, who will be put into the category of those with preexisting conditions.</s>TAPPER: But there's nothing Democrats can do to stop it, is the question.</s>HIRONO: Well, if we can get two more brave Republicans to face up to the fact that they are going to be voting on -- for somebody who's going to take away the health care of hundreds of thousands of their constituents, if we can get two more Republicans to have that courage, we can stop her.</s>TAPPER: So, Judge Barrett has ties to a conservative Christian organization called People of Praise. You have said that her religious beliefs should not be off-limits. And you questioned whether her -- quote -- "closely held views can be separated from her ability to make objective, fair decisions" -- unquote. Do you plan to raise her faith tomorrow? And how can you do that without approaching religious bigotry?</s>HIRONO: Her religion is immaterial, irrelevant. That is what I said. And so that is my position. I am totally focused on what this nominee sitting there as a justice is going to do in striking down the Affordable Care Act. That's what I'm focused on. I'm not going to be asking her questions about her religious views. They're irrelevant.</s>TAPPER: So, no one -- do you think any Democrats are going to bring up her faith or religious views?</s>HIRONO: I think that it's the Republicans who are going to be bringing up that particular issue. Why? Because they don't want to face up to the fact, they don't want to tell the American people that they're about to vote -- about to vote for a person who's going to take away their health care.</s>TAPPER: Well, just to be fair, in 2017, it was Democrats, when she was up for a different judicial post, Democrats who brought it up, including Senators Durbin and Feinstein. But you're saying Democrats aren't going to do it this time. OK.</s>HIRONO: Well, actually, Jake...</s>TAPPER: Yes.</s>HIRONO: ... back then, the -- Chuck Grassley and Ted Cruz also asked about her writing. So, the writing of a nominee, that -- you get asked. So we asked. I ask. And that's it.</s>TAPPER: OK. The number of lawmakers infected with coronavirus continues to grow, regrettably. Several Republicans are either infected right now or in quarantine. There is no -- astoundingly, there is no mandatory testing protocol on Capitol Hill. You have been open about your cancer diagnosis. And we're glad -- we're glad you're recovering. Do you feel safe going into the Senate? Do you feel safe walking onto the Senate floor?</s>HIRONO: Well, the fact that Mitch McConnell and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee have not put in place appropriate protocols, that tells you the seriousness with which they regard this virus and its spread. So, for my own protection and that of everyone that I come in contact with, I will get a test after I do this interview with you.</s>TAPPER: One last question, Senator. President Trump called Senator Kamala Harris a monster on FOX this week. He used the term twice. You and Senator Harris are two of only four women of color in the United States Senate. I have heard some people say that they thought that term was racist, dehumanizing, sexist. What was your reaction to it?</s>HIRONO: It's typical Trump that he will attack anybody. He calls people names. So, when he can't come up with anything more substantive, he will just call somebody a name. And he's called me names. So, that's the president. And then -- and there's a clear choice, by the way, in this election. Are we going to vote for this unhinged person of -- who is running around in super-spreader events, by the way? The irony of a president who's going to spread the virus, and Republicans who want to put on the court a person who is going to knock out the Affordable Care Act in the middle of a pandemic, and Joe Biden, who actually wants to get control over the virus and move us forward, the -- people are already voting. I hope they made the right choice, based on the fact that this nominee is a threat to their health care, which is, by the way, the number one concern of Americans right now.</s>TAPPER: All right, Senator Mazie Hirono, Democrat of Hawaii, thank you so much for your time today.</s>HIRONO: Sure.</s>TAPPER: Good luck at the hearing. Stay safe.</s>HIRONO: You too.</s>TAPPER: As coronavirus cases rise across the U.S., Dr. Fauci says he's skipping Thanksgiving with his family. What does that say about how he thinks the next few months are going to be? We will talk to a Republican governor about his state next.

Interview With Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR)

TAPPER: Welcome back the STATE OF THE UNION. I'm Jake Tapper. Dr. Anthony Fauci is warning Americans we could be in for a tough winter, unless we all commit to following strict guidelines on mask- wearing and social distancing, which it appears may not be happening, if you look at rising infection rates in places such as Arkansas, which recorded a jump in cases this week. Joining us now, the Republican governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson. Governor Hutchinson, good to see you, as always. You said new cases in Arkansas -- quote -- "continue to be too high." Hospitalizations are at record levels. Health experts say things are only going to get worse as people spend more indoors' time during the fall and winter. Why do you think the numbers in Arkansas are going in the wrong direction, and how worried are you about what's coming?</s>GOV. ASA HUTCHINSON (R-AR): Well, a large part of it is simply the nature the virus and that, if you don't take the right protections, it's going to spread. Secondly, we are doing a record amount of testing, which is the good part of the story. But what you have to watch is the hospitalizations. It concerns me that you see those rise. We still have capacity. But with the onset of flu season, you not only have to follow the guidelines in reference to COVID. Everybody needs to get their flu shot. So, we're continuing to do everything that we can. The main thing is, you take it seriously. And, right now, we do have capacity. But we're watching it very carefully and taking it seriously every, every day.</s>TAPPER: When you see your citizens participating in day-to-day life, are they -- are enough of them following the guidelines? Are enough of them distancing, wearing masks, abiding by the protocols that you have been pushing?</s>HUTCHINSON: Well, what you said is very important, and that they are going about their life activities, whether it is school, whether it is work, or whether it is some other activity. We want that to continue. And one thing that we see, not just the United States, but across the globe, is that people cannot be shut up for seven months. They have got to live life. But we have to do that with the social distancing, sure, absolutely. We have a football game, but we have a 70,000-capacity stadium with 14,000 people because we can do the social distancing.</s>TAPPER: OK.</s>HUTCHINSON: Are they doing it enough? I will say that, after the White House challenge that we saw, and the cases that arose from that event with the president, people are taking it very seriously, even more so than ever, wearing the masks. It is getting better. And we want it to continue to.</s>TAPPER: So, Dr. Anthony Fauci called the Rose Garden event you just referred to two weeks ago which infected more than two dozen people, he called it a super-spreader. Minnesota health officials say that at least nine people were infected at a Trump rally in September. The president, however, is hitting the campaign trail tomorrow, Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa, holding rallies. If he wanted to hold a rally in Arkansas the way that he has been doing them, no social distancing, no masks required, would you want your family members to go?</s>HUTCHINSON: Well, they offer masks. They do screening whenever they come to the rallies. Certainly, we want to have an engagement in the presidential campaign this year. It is the topic, as it should be. But, yes, there should not be any mass gathering without social distancing. The social distancing is so important, or wear a mask. If you're going to sit next to somebody, wear a mask. And it's important that we have seen, by illustration, the challenge of the virus in a spreader event when you don't socially distance. We also can utilize this as an example, in other words, a teaching moment. And that's what I hope that we see in the next few weeks from both campaigns, an example that we can set for the winter, because that is the one tool that we have to keep the virus down.</s>TAPPER: Yes, the thing is, they offer masks at those rallies, but they don't require them. And most people don't wear them. And the president has obviously been setting an example of not wearing one. But let's move on to a different topic, because 13 people have been charged in connection with a plot to kidnap one of your gubernatorial colleagues, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. This comes after President Trump repeatedly targeted Governor Whitmer, called on people to liberate Michigan. Governor Whitmer says she considers the president -- quote -- "complicit" in the plot. You're the vice chair of the bipartisan -- or nonpartisan National Governors Association. Has the president's rhetoric against one of your fellow governors, has it gone too far?</s>HUTCHINSON: Well, first, Governor Cuomo and myself issued a statement just supporting Governor Whitmer, that, in terms of this attack, this plan, has no place in civilized society. And we, in the strongest terms, condemn that. There should not be any connection with the president. Governor Whitmer should not be making politics out of this. It is a law enforcement issue. It -- in the '80s, I prosecuted, as a U.S. attorney, a white supremacist group, the radical right. Whether it's anarchists or whether it's the radical right, you stand against it. You enforce the law. You don't make politics out of it.</s>TAPPER: All right, Governor Asa Hutchinson of the great state of Arkansas, thank you so much. Sorry about the game yesterday. Hope to see you soon.</s>HUTCHINSON: All right, thanks, Jake.</s>TAPPER: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox on Friday that, believe it or not, he is going to follow the president's order and release some of Hillary Clinton's e-mails. That's right. Hillary Clinton e-mails before the election. It's just the latest example of Trump cabinet secretaries bending to the president's will to take nakedly political steps to appease him and apparently to try to aid his re-election. Attorney General Bill Barr is deviating from a 40-year policy that had previously deterred federal prosecutors from, as we approach Election Day, announcing the launch of investigations after allegations of voter fraud are made. Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe has been releasing information sporadically about the Obama administration, about the Clinton campaign, lacking context, seemingly to try to influence voters. Way behind in the polls, President Trump and his team are using all of the tools of government to try to win over voters in these last few days using your tax dollars to do so. Politico reports that the White House is pushing health officials to send out a letter to 39 million Medicare recipients to let them know that Trump is working to get them drug discount cards. The Agriculture Department is shipping surplus food packages along with mandated self- promoting letters from President Trump expressing his concern for the recipients. The letters also push voters to wear masks and practice social distancing, which is another clue as to its nakedly political nature because President Trump, who tested positive for the coronavirus recently, has been out there since June holding rallies with no masks or distancing requirements. None. His need to hold these rallies apparently exceeding his concern for those attending them. He is going back on the campaign trail again tomorrow. He originally returned to the campaign trail on June 20th in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Here in the audience is 2012 Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain at that very rally. You see there is no masks, no distancing. Eleven days later Herman Cain checked into the hospital with coronavirus. The Tulsa Health Authority says the rally, quote, "likely contributed" to a dramatic surge in new cases in that county. On July 30th Herman Cain died of coronavirus. It's a timeline that health officials tell me is completely consistent with Herman Cain contracting the virus at the Tulsa Trump rally, though of course there is no definitive link. Tulsa was hardly the only possible super-spreader event that President Trump has hosted. On September 18th, recently, Trump held a rally in Bemidji, Minnesota. Nine folks in attendance have tested positive, two hospitalized, one in the Intensive Care Unit according to health authorities in Minnesota. And this was before Trump himself contracted the virus, we believe. Theoretically he got it at the September 26th Supreme Court event at the White House that Dr. Fauci now calls a super-spreader event. Though we do not know for sure that's where Trump got the disease because the White House continues to deny the public basic information about when he last tested negative. One of President Trump's skills during this era has been to behave with so little regard to basic decency, those who try to uphold these standards get accused of being partisan, as if don't behave in a way that's reckless and displays a wanton disregard for human life is somehow now a partisan issue. It isn't. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell just admitted this week he hasn't gone to the White House in months because of how the president and his team there behave with so little regard for basic safety and health guidelines. President Trump has been a spreader of misinformation about the virus. He has been a leader when it comes to recklessness and reckless behavior about the virus. And now he is determined, apparently, to risk spreading the virus literally. It's no longer just his failure to do everything he can to respect health standards. It's no longer that that has caused the loss of life in a tacit way through failure to act. Trump has likely become personally a vector of the disease. We do not know if after he theoretically contracted the virus on September 26 if he spread it to Ohio September 29, Minnesota September 30, New Jersey October 1. The president's doctor, who has been evasive and has admitted to having previously put a positive spin on the president's condition, released a letter about his health last night that, frankly, raised more questions than it answered. It neglected to say what symptoms the president may still have, whether he is still on medication. Even if President Trump is not spreading the virus anymore, as the doctor says, he is increasing the likelihood that other Americans will contract it through holding these reckless rallies as a matter of public health. The president is taking actions that could result in loss of life. And for what? To hear the crowd cheering him on? The president is seemingly indulging ego at the risk of prolonging the pandemic and at the expense of human lives, American lives. The citizens he swore an oath to protect. It needs to stop. History is not going to be kind to the people around the president who are enabling any of this. It is, frankly, immoral. Thank you for spending your Sunday morning with us. The news is next.

Trump Campaign Accused of Twisting Dr. Fauci's Words in Commercial; Trump Claims He's Now Immune to COVID-19

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.</s>WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. This is a special edition of THE SITUATION ROOM. And we begin tonight with the White House already blamed for disregarding doctors and scientists during this terrible pandemic. Now accused of actually twisting the words of the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, in an official Trump campaign ad for the president. This is the commercial that Dr. Fauci is objecting to.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus and so is America. Together, we rose to meet the challenge. President Trump tackled the virus head on as leaders should.</s>DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.</s>BLITZER: Just one major problem with that, Dr. Fauci wasn't talking about the president. The quote is from an interview with FOX News back in March where he was talking about the Coronavirus Task Force and its efforts to respond to the pandemic. In a statement provided exclusively to CNN, Dr. Fauci told us this, and I'm quoting now, "In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials," closed quote. All of this happening in a time when the last thing we should be worrying about is whether we can trust the president on the coronavirus. Just on Saturday, Johns Hopkins University reported 54,639 new cases here in the United States and 618 new deaths here in the United States. This is the fourth day in a row, by the way, that we've seen 50,000-plus new cases. First time that happened -- the last time, I should say, that happened was back in early August. Let's get straight to our White House correspondent, CNN's Jeremy Diamond is on the scene for us. Jeremy, are we hearing any reaction, first of all, from the White House about these comments, very strong comments, from Dr. Fauci?</s>JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the Trump campaign is standing by its decision to use this small snippet of Dr. Fauci's words from that interview that he conducted back in March and the president is also chiming in, Wolf, taking to Twitter to say that, "They are indeed Dr. Fauci's own words. We have done a phenomenal job, according to certain governors, many people agree, and now come the vaccines and cures long ahead of projections." But, Wolf, of course, what we know is that two things are very important here, the timing and the context of Dr. Fauci's comments. Not only did Dr. Fauci make these comments all the way back in March in the early months of this pandemic, but he was also very clearly referring to the Coronavirus Task Force and this kind of whole of government effort not referring to President Trump specifically as this ad makes it appear. But, Wolf, the Trump campaign's decision to use Dr. Fauci in this makes very clear two things. First of all, that they recognize that President Trump is underwater with voters as far as his approval ratings on the coronavirus, nearly six in 10 voters feel that President Trump has mishandled the coronavirus and clearly they also recognize that Dr. Fauci is an overwhelmingly trusted voice on the coronavirus. But instead of using him to share valuable information about this pandemic, they're trying to use him here to prop up the president's re-election campaign.</s>BLITZER: Yes. Very, very significant. Jeremy, bring us up to speed on what the president and his doctors are saying about his health right now.</s>DIAMOND: Yes. Well, President Trump has been making some pretty misleading statements about his health including claiming that he's now immune from this coronavirus which the CDC warns people who have recovered from the virus not to assume. Here's the president earlier this morning.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I beat this crazy, horrible China virus and it also gives you immunity. I mean, it does give you immunity. Even the people that just could not accept anything, I mean, they just don't want to accept anything. No. So we -- I passed the highest test, the highest standards, and I'm in great shape. And I have to tell you, I feel fantastically. I really feel good. And I even feel good by the fact that, you know, the word immunity means something, having really a protective glow means something. I think it's very important to have that."</s>DIAMOND: Now medical experts do believe that there is perhaps some degree of immunity for people who have recovered from the coronavirus, although it's not clear how much immunity and for how long that actually lasts. But the president is trying to suggest here that he is completely immune. In fact Twitter went and put a misleading information label on the president's tweet in which he made very similar comments. And, Wolf, the president also this evening on a call with campaign supporters claiming that he has tested negative for the coronavirus. But that's not exactly what Dr. Sean Conley, the president's physician, said. In a statement late last night, Dr. Conley said only that the president doesn't have any detectable transmissible virus in him any longer but he did not say that the president has tested negative, something that you would presume he would include if indeed that was the case -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: And we'd like to hear -- we all like to hear from Dr. Conley. Tomorrow it will be one week since the last time he answered reports' questions. Not only reporters but the American people have a lot of question they'd like answered from Dr. Conley but he just releases on a daily basis these very short written statements, doesn't answer our questions at all. All right, Jeremy Diamond, thank you very much. Let's get some more now on the president's efforts to declare a victory over this deadly virus, joining us, Dr. Ashish Jha, he's the dean at the Brown University School of Public Health. Also with us CNN medical analyst, Dr. Celine Gounder. She's the former New York City assistant commissioner of health. Dr. Gounder, what do you make of the president's claim that he's immune?</s>DR. CELINE GOUNDER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Wolf, there's still very little we know about the immune response to coronavirus, how long immunity might last, and whether -- how robust that immunity might be. I think the other important thing to you remember is, yes, the president has tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, but he was treated with antibodies produced by Regeneron. Those Regeneron antibodies are going to be floating around for a while and on top of that, furthermore, he's been treated with three different medications which may well interfere with the immune response to coronavirus long term.</s>BLITZER: So just to be precise, the president says he's now immune, but we have no idea right now how long that kind of immunity would actually last, right?</s>GOUNDER: We have no idea. And we have no idea if he's truly immune.</s>BLITZER: You know, Dr. Jha, the claims did not end there at all. I want you to listen to what the president's son, Eric Trump, said on ABC earlier today. Listen to this.</s>ERIC TRUMP, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S SON: It goes to speak to how good some of these vaccines that are being created are and what my father has done on the vaccine front, no one could have done. No one could have done. I mean, literally, Biden was calling my father xenophobic for shutting down America from travel to China and then the virus came from China. My father literally started day one creating this vaccine. He worked to push this vaccine and now my father just took it. And you see how well he got over it.</s>JON KARL, ABC NEWS HOST: Wait, wait, can you --</s>E. TRUMP: I think he's an inspiration. I think, as Americans, Jon, we should be proud of that.</s>KARL: Can you clarify that you said your father just took a vaccine?</s>E. TRUMP: Meaning when he was at Walter Reed. The medicines that he was taking and --</s>KARL: The therapeutics.</s>E. TRUMP: And on Saturday, again, I spoke to the man three times on Saturday, and he sounded tremendous and I think it goes to show the power of, you know, medicine in this country and how far that -- you know, that we've come on COVID.</s>BLITZER: The only problem there, Dr. Jha, as all of us heard, there's no vaccine that's been approved yet. There are therapeutics. He did some therapeutics, some treatments, but no vaccine. Why do you think he would make such a major blunder like that?</s>DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Yes, it's confusing and unhelpful and obviously the president did not get the vaccine, just to be very clear as far as we know. That wouldn't have been appropriate. And the more important point here, Wolf, is that we have had incredible progress on therapeutics and vaccines, and they have been done by the scientists. The scientists got going on this early on vaccines. We had a bit of a head start because we've done a lot of work with the previous SARS virus. So as much as I do give, you know, the president credit for parts of Operation Warp Speed, the science here has been a global scientific effort, not one by a president or even by any individual group of scientists, but scientists collaborating around the world.</s>BLITZER: You know, Dr. Gounder, the president keeps touting the antibody cocktail that he got, the experimental cocktail he got from Regeneron and says he wants to make it free for people who need it. It hasn't even yet been formally approved for emergency use. He got it on -- for compassionate use. But I want you to listen to what the president said.</s>TRUMP: I just want to say we have Regeneron, we have a very similar drug from Eli Lilly and they're coming out and we're trying to get them on an emergency basis. We've authorized it. I've authorized it. And if you're in the hospital and you're feeling really bad, I think we're going to work it so that you get them and you're going to get them free. And especially if you're a senior, we're going to get you in there quick. We have hundreds of thousands of doses that are just about ready.</s>BLITZER: So what's your reaction to that, Dr. Gounder?</s>GOUNDER: Well, remember that promise a few months ago that everybody who wanted a test for coronavirus could get a test, any time, and it would be for free? This promise sounds just about as hollow to me. I just don't see how it's possible when you're talking about a couple hundred thousand doses being available. Our current projections for late December are that we might have something on the order of 300,000 new infections in the U.S. per day. And while not all of those people will get critically ill, you're still looking at a huge demand for a therapy like this and not nearly the needed supply.</s>BLITZER: You know, Dr. Jha, he got the Regeneron, monoclonal cocktail, but he mentioned this antibody therapy from Eli Lilly. The company says their treatment to reduce virus levels, hospitalizations, E.R. visits for people with mild to moderate cases. Lilly expects to submit a formal request for emergency use authorization in November. How significant is this? Is this a silver bullet, the Eli Lilly cocktail, the Regeneron cocktail?</s>JHA: You know, we all want a silver bullet, Wolf, and it's unfortunately not. It is helpful. I don't think we should downplay it. It is helpful. As Dr. Gounder said, you know, with a couple hundred thousand doses and more than 50,000 Americans getting infected every day right now, we would quickly exhaust the supply. So I wish that the government, the administration, had gotten serious about these antibodies and built up millions of doses of them so when they became authorized we could use them much more widely. Unfortunately we're not going to be able to do that because we haven't had the proactive role from the federal government.</s>BLITZER: And as mentioned, the last four days, there's been more than 50,000 confirmed coronavirus cases every day here in the United States. Dr. Gounder, you heard Dr. Anthony Fauci calling out the Trump campaign for putting him in this political commercial, this ad, with the remark that he says he was taken out of context and it was used totally without his permission. He doesn't get involved in politics. The White House, as you know, has been meddling with the efforts of scientists to stop this pandemic from the beginning. What's your reaction to the use of Dr. Fauci and this campaign commercial?</s>GOUNDER: This is yet another attempt to politicize the science, to politicize the public health response. And Dr. Fauci was actually complimenting the long-term public health workers who are working in the trenches to fight coronavirus even in the absence of the support they really ne from the federal government. And as we've seen, the federal government has tampered with the work of those public health officials at the CDC and on down. And so it's sort of a laughable thing that he would -- ironic thing that he would turn that into a compliment about the administration's performance here.</s>BLITZER: Yes. It's not only been almost a week since we've heard from the president's doctor about his health, it's been weeks and weeks and weeks since the Coronavirus Task Force of experts like Dr. Fauci, Dr. Birx, Dr. Hahn, Dr. Redfield, have been doing their daily coronavirus briefings. They haven't taken place at all. And once again, the American public deserves to hear from the experts on what's going on because the numbers are going up and up and up, and all this is very disturbing in so many states across the country. Dr. Celine Gounder, Dr. Ashish Jha, thanks to both of you for joining us. Up next, I'll get reaction to Dr. Fauci saying the Trump campaign took his comments out of context. The former senior adviser to President Obama, Valerie Jarrett, she's standing by. We have lots to discuss when we come back.

Interview with Valerie Jarrett about the Election and COVID-19

BLITZER: Returning to our top story, the misleading campaign ad from President Trump by taking the words of Dr. Anthony Fauci, perhaps America's most trusted expert during this pandemic, out of context. Of course Dr. Fauci says he was talking about the Coronavirus Task Force, was not endorsing any candidate. And this was an interview, by the way, that he gave to FOX News some seven months ago. Not a recent statement by any means. Joining us now the former senior adviser to former President Obama, Valerie Jarrett. She's also the author of the book, "Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward." There you see the book cover. Valerie, thanks so much for joining us. I want to get to some of the substance. But what's your reaction to this little uproar that we see now, the Trump campaign using these words from Dr. Fauci to mislead voters out there?</s>VALERIE JARRETT, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, first of all, good evening, Wolf. It's a pleasure to be with you. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised, but it is pretty appalling, and as Dr. Fauci said, he's never endorsed a candidate, they didn't ask his permission. He wasn't even talking about the president. He was talking about the task force, taken totally out of context, and so it's blowing up on them and they shouldn't be surprised. They keep getting caught and it sends a very powerful message to the American people about whether or not they should trust this president. And his campaign is behaving in this way.</s>BLITZER: Let me get to the really critically important issue with the stimulus talks that are still under way, albeit, it doesn't look very promising. The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote a letter to her Democratic colleagues criticizing the latest offer, the latest deal proposed by the White House saying until these serious issues are resolved, in her words, we remain at an impasse. But isn't it time for the two sides to find a compromise, neither getting completely what they want? Because there are so many millions of people out there, you know, Valerie, who are legitimately suffering right now. They need help, not only to pay for their rent, pay the bills, but even to put food on the table for themselves and their kids.</s>JARRETT: You're absolutely right, Wolf, the American people are in desperate straits. Nancy Pelosi, leader -- Speaker Pelosi and the House passed a bill back in May and for months the Republicans refused to move. And so yes, they should come to together. It's not helpful to have the president first say he's going to put it off until after the election. Really? People should have to wait until after the election to get the relief you just described? And then he goes from that to the other extreme, a very large package that it seems as though there isn't really any support for. So of course they should work together. He hasn't invited them to the White House virtually, which would be an appropriate thing for the president to do, to say the American people are counting on us. Let's work this out.</s>BLITZER: Yes, they just need a compromise. It's not going to be perfect. But at least you get a trillion and a half or maybe $2 trillion out there to help critical businesses that are laying off thousands and thousands of people right now. You do what you can do and you work down the road on some other big projects. As you know, the Democratic presidential nominee, the former vice president Joe Biden who you used to work with on a day-to-day basis, he spoke yesterday about the election. I want you to listen to what he had to say because this caused a stir. Listen to this.</s>JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Here's the deal, guys. We got to go out and make sure you vote because the only way we lose this is by the chicanery going on relative to polling places.</s>BLITZER: Now after he said that, he clarified his remarks, said he would accept the outcome of the election. The use of the word chicanery, he says, I guess he didn't mean that, but do you agree with the former vice president's initial statement that the only way he can lose is if there is chicanery or people are cheating?</s>JARRETT: I think what he was noting is President Trump, for example, encouraging his supporters to go and watch the polls, and who knows what kind of aggressive behavior that would take. We've seen states like Texas making it harder for people to vote absentee. The Appellate Court upheld their decision today to limit the number of ways in which people can vote by absentee ballot. We know that there are concrete examples of voter suppression all around the country and I think what the Vice President Biden was saying is, look, if it's on the up and up, we give people the opportunity to vote, and the vast majority of the American people will support him. But I hasten to add, Wolf, that he doesn't take a single vote for granted. He will be out there trying to earn the respect and support of the American people every single day until the election is over. But he is -- he should rightly be troubled by the kind of rhetoric and behavior that we're seeing in parts of the country. Every American should have the accessible right to vote in a fair way and particularly with this overlay of the pandemic, voting by mail. There are no examples of vote fraud by mail. It's been done historically in our country. The president's own FBI director said that there weren't examples of voter fraud there. We should encourage people to vote safely and you would think that back in May, for example, when the House was passing a bill, we would have ensured that the Senate also focused on resources for the post office and that did not happen.</s>BLITZER: Yes, lots at stake right now. Just 20-plus days to go until November 3rd. But millions and millions of people already are voting here in the United States. Valerie Jarrett, thanks so much for joining us.</s>JARRETT: You're welcome, Wolf. Be safe.</s>BLITZER: Thank you. You too. Tomorrow is a pivotal day up on Capitol Hill here in Washington as the hearings for the U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett are set to get under way. We're going to tell you what she's expected to say in her opening statement. That's next. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Amy Coney Barrett Faces Confirmation Hearings Tomorrow.

BLITZER: Tomorrow a pivotal day in the U.S. Supreme Court battle, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin hearings for President Trump's nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Today, Judge Barrett released an advance copy of her opening statement as Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer weighs his party's remaining options to try to halt the process. Our congressional reporter, Lauren Fox, is joining us right now. So, Lauren, what's in Judge Barrett's statement and what else can we expect tomorrow?</s>LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, tomorrow is really going to be the opening day that Democrats are going to be able to grill Amy Coney Barrett. But, Wolf, this is really going to be a day where you hear from each individual senator, each member will have about 10 minutes to make opening statements. We, of course, expect that the Chairman Graham will be able to make his opening statement, first followed by Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat, but we also will get our first glimpse into what Amy Coney Barrett, the president's nominee to fill that Supreme Court vacancy, what she will say. And we have gotten an expert of her remarks. She says, quote, "There is a tendency in our profession to treat the practice of law as all- consuming while losing sight of everything else. But that makes for a shallow and unfulfilling life. I worked hard as a lawyer and a professor. I owed that to my clients, my students and myself. But I never let the law define my identity or crowd out the rest of my life." And of course, you can expect that coronavirus is really going to be overshadowing these hearings as well tomorrow, Wolf, because we're going to be keeping our eye out for which of the senators who were diagnosed with coronavirus more than a week ago, two of them on the Judiciary Committee, Mike Lee and Thom Tillis, whether or not they will be participating in person. Thom Tillis said last week he plans to attend virtually the first couple of days but hopes to be there on Thursday for a critical vote. We still don't know whether or not Mike Lee will be attending in person tomorrow or not. We're told by his spokesman that the plan is for them to make that announcement tomorrow morning -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Let's see what happens on that front. You know, Lauren, the Democrats, they're seeking also more information from Judge Barrett. They say she left out materials in her Senate filings. What can you tell us about that?</s>FOX: Well, essentially they are arguing that her questionnaire when she first filed it to the Senate Judiciary Committee was incomplete. There are two things that they are looking for an explanation about, and we should note that Amy Coney Barrett updated that questionnaire with supplemental information on Friday night, but it was after a couple of key missing items. One of them this newspaper ad from the newspaper in South Bend from a pro-life group, essentially criticizing Roe v. Wade, that the judge signed her name to; the other one, several lectures that she gave, two of them to anti-abortion groups back at Notre Dame. They want to know exactly why weren't those materials initially included in her questionnaire -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: All right, we will watch the hearings start tomorrow going on for four days here in Washington. Lauren Fox, thank you very much. Let's bring in our chief legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. He is the author of the important new book entitled, "True Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Investigation of Donald Trump." There you see the book cover. Jeffrey, you've also written an important book on the Supreme Court. You're an expert in this area. Is there anything realistically the Democrats can do to prevent this confirmation from going forward?</s>JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: At this point, it doesn't look that way. There are two Republicans: Susan Collins and Senator Murkowski, who have said they are going to vote against -- they're going to vote against her. But the Democrats need two more votes, and it really does not look like there are two more votes there, but the process has to go forward. This is a deeply bizarre proceeding in the middle of a pandemic that has worked its way through the Senate. There are two prominent Republicans, Lindsey Graham, the senator and Chuck Grassley, who is in his mid-80s, neither of whom have agreed to take a COVID test. It's just a very bizarre proceeding, but that Republicans appear determined and looks like they have the votes.</s>BLITZER: What do you make, you know, Jeffrey, of Judge Barrett's prepared remarks, the advance release of her opening statement that was put forward today? You've gone through it.</s>TOOBIN: It is pretty standard for these proceedings. You know, ever since Robert Bork in 1987, Supreme Court nominees have mastered the art of saying very little, committing themselves to very little and Judge Barrett appears to be acting in that tradition. There is nothing in that statement that commits her to vote one way or another on controversial issues. She talks about her background. She talks about her nine children. I mean, these are all endearing qualities, but they really don't tell you a lot about what kind of justice she's going to be.</s>BLITZER: Yes, she does have a very, very impressive personal life or family life and all of that. We'll see what kind of impact that has during this confirmation process. As you know, the Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer today warned that Democrats could boycott the Judiciary Committee's final vote if Republicans can't get a quorum. How do you see these things playing out because as you know, two Republican members of the Judiciary Committee are now still dealing with their own COVID?</s>TOOBIN: I made a mistake. It is seven children. It's not nine. It's not nine children. But, yes, it is a possibility that if there are two absences on the part of the Republicans, it is possible if the Democrats decide not to show up that there will not be a quorum. At the moment, it looks like Mike Lee and Thom Tillis are recovering sufficiently that they will be able to show up in person and vote. But as I say, this proceeding is literally unprecedented, because so many members of the Senate are afflicted with COVID. Now, whether they are recovered, whether they are still communicable, how -- whether they will be able to show up is uncertain, but as far as we can tell now, the Republicans do appear determined and able to come and vote and that means they'll have a quorum so they can move into the full Senate later in the month.</s>BLITZER: All right, I want you to standby, Jeffrey. We have more to discuss on a different issue, the former Vice President Joe Biden continuing to dodge the question of whether he supports adding seats to the U.S. Supreme Court. Does that concern voters? We'll discuss. We'll get the latest on that when we come back.

Dr. Fauci Says Trump Campaign Ad Took His Words Out of Context; Trump Claims to Have Tested "Totally Negative" for COVID-19

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.</s>WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. This is a special edition of THE SITUATION ROOM. Tomorrow it will have been one week since the president's doctor has answered reporters' questions, and this would be a good time for Dr. Sean Conley to speak in person. The president tonight saying he has tested, quote, 'totally negative" for the conversation. But the White House also finds itself in a war of words with another doctor. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert says the Trump re-election campaign took an old interview of his and used it in a new political commercial to make it look as if he was endorsing the president. Here's part of that ad.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus and so is America. Together, we rose to meet the challenge. President Trump tackled the virus head on as leaders should.</s>DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.</s>BLITZER: The problem is Dr. Fauci was not talking about the president when he said those words. He was discussing the Coronavirus Task Force. And that was back in March. In fact, Dr. Fauci has no intention of endorsing either candidate. He hasn't in five decades of public service. This matters because we are in a truly critical time in the fight against this pandemic. Only yesterday, on Saturday, the Johns Hopkins University reported 54,639 new cases and 618 new deaths here in the United States. Another troubling sign that we are entering a second deadly wave of coronavirus infections. For the very latest, let's go to CNN's Jeremy Diamond. He's over at the White House for us. So, Jeremy, Dr. Fauci told CNN the Trump campaign took his words totally out of context and the president, I understand, has now weighed in.</s>JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. We have heard from the Trump campaign. They said that these are Dr. Fauci's own words. They stand by this political ad despite Dr. Fauci's comments. And the president himself is also echoing that same sentiment saying, "They are indeed Dr. Fauci's own words. We have done a phenomenal job, according to certain governors, many people agree. And now come the vaccines and cures long ahead of projection." But, Wolf, we should point out that it is very clear from the context of that interview that Dr. Fauci is referring to other public health experts like himself, the Coronavirus Task Force, and this whole of government effort. And of course this was happening in March, in the early months of the pandemic is when Dr. Fauci made those comments. We should also point out that the president, while his campaign is willing to tout Dr. Fauci's words and twist them to make it sound like he is endorsing the president, the president himself we know from our sources, Wolf, he's not relying on Dr. Fauci's counsel as much. In fact, Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx have been frustrated by the fact that the president has been relying much more instead on Dr. Scott Atlas, somebody who is not a public health expert, not an epidemiologist, but instead a neuroradiologist with no public health experience. That has been frustrating to Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx. And of course, Wolf, we should point out, given the number of cases in the United States, the claim in that ad that the U.S. is recovering from the coronavirus is blatantly false.</s>BLITZER: Yes. The president yesterday said the coronavirus was disappearing. That's clearly false as well. The president is pushing ahead, Jeremy, as you well know with a schedule full of rallies this coming week and the coming days. It was just last weekend that he was being treated for coronavirus over at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. So what do we know specifically about the president's health right now?</s>DIAMOND: That's right, Wolf. Well, we are hearing the president make a series of confusing or misleading claims and really we still haven't had an opportunity to question Dr. Sean Conley about his latest memo saying that the president is essentially no longer infectious. In fact, we haven't been able to question Dr. Conley in nearly a week now since the president left Walter Reed hospital. But the president is claiming that he is now immune from this virus. Listen to him this morning.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I beat this crazy, horrible China virus, and it also gives you immunity. I mean, it does give you immunity. Even the people that just could not accept anything, I mean, they just don't want to accept anything. No. So we -- I passed the highest test, the highest standards, and I'm in great shape. And I have to tell you, I feel fantastically. I really feel good. And I even feel good by the fact that, you know, the word immunity means something, having really a protective glow means something. I think it's very important to have that.</s>DIAMOND: And, Wolf, while medical experts have said that those who survive the coronavirus likely do have some degree of protection from reinfection, we know it's not impossible to be reinfected with this virus. And it's not clear yet what the science is on that question of immunity. The president did also claim that he had tested negative for the virus, Wolf. But that was not what Dr. Sean Conley said. He only said that the president was no longer at risk of transmitting the virus to others. The White House for its part declined to comment when asked about the president's claim that he tested negative -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Yes. It's about time that Dr. Conley had a news conference and answer reporters' questions. The last time he did so, as you point out, was -- tomorrow will be one week since we specifically heard him answer reporters' questions. He's just been issuing these short little written statements. Jeremy Diamond, at the White House, thank you very much. Joining us now, the emergency room physician Dr. Megan Ranney from Brown University and CNN medical analyst Dr. Rochelle Walensky, chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Ranney, what do you make of team Trump first of all using Dr. Fauci in that political campaign commercial?</s>DR. MEGAN RANNEY, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY: My heart goes out to Dr. Fauci. Certainly, people's words get used in campaign videos frequently, but to have them twisted in that way and assigned to praising President Trump's response, I mean, that does disservice to Dr. Fauci's long history of both being nonpartisan and being truthful. So my heart really goes out to him. And I hope he manages to get his words out of that campaign video.</s>BLITZER: Yes. He's really angry that they included those words there. Dr. Walensky, let's talk about the president's claim -- latest claim that he tested totally negative. Does that sound plausible given about what we've been told about the timeline of his illness?</s>DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Good evening, Wolf. It seems certainly unlikely. We know that the PCR test usually remains positive for some period of time, up to in fact 12 weeks after your initial positive. Certainly, the language that the president has been using is not consistent with any medical terminology. And it makes it very hard to interpret what he is saying. Also with regard to immunity, we know very little about the durability of immunity, about how much protection happens, especially in the context of receiving monoclonal antibodies, which the president received. And we do know of at least four cases of people who have been reinfected. One of which has been actually more severe than the initial infection. So I would say you're on treacherous ice if you're claiming immunity to this disease.</s>BLITZER: So let me get Dr. Ranney to weigh in. So when Dr. Conley, the president's White House physician, says he is no longer considered a transmission risk to others, what does that say to you?</s>RANNEY: That says to me that I have no idea how he is telling us that the president is no longer a transmission risk. There are certainly -- as Dr. Walensky said, there are studies looking at PCR, at those nasal swabs and at the number of cycle times that it takes. So looking at how much virus is there, you can do fancy tests to see if the virus that you get from the back of your throat or the back of your nose is actually infectious or not. But those tests are really on the bleeding edge of science. And to claim that they know with certainly that the president is no longer infectious, that seems to me like a bridge too far. If I were the president, which I certainly am not, the last thing I would want to do is to infect a constituent, a staff member, a donor, so to push the envelope and to say he is not infectious when we don't yet have full proof of that fact, that just -- it's a little mind boggling to me.</s>BLITZER: Yes. You know, for the last four days, Dr. Walensky, the U.S. has had at least 50,000 new confirmed cases of coronavirus, 50,000 every day, more than 54,000 just yesterday. I want you to listen to Dr. Rick Bright, the ousted vaccine director, what he told our Jake Tapper the other day.</s>DR. RICK BRIGHT, OUSTED VACCINE DIRECTOR WHO FILED WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINT: This winter, we're going to have an explosion of cases of coronavirus. This winter, we're going to have an explosion of influenza infections and other respiratory infections. It's going to overwhelming our health care system again. We still don't have enough personal protective equipment for our doctors and nurses. We still don't have enough tests. We're still not doing enough testing.</s>BLITZER: As you know, Dr. Walensky, the president keeps saying, and I'm quoting him, "Don't be afraid of COVID, don't let it dominate your life." He said yesterday at that rally from the balcony overlooking the South Lawn of the White House the coronavirus is disappearing right now. You heard what Dr. Bright said. What do you think?</s>WALENSKY: I want to be very clear. I'm afraid of COVID. I'm afraid of what's going to happen in the winter. I'm afraid of our surges. And we are planning for those surges because we anticipate they are going to happen. We have not had these many cases of this disease since the middle of August. We know that cases generally reflect about a two- week lag from when they happened. And so we're talking about cases now in early to middle of October that reflect, you know, late September. What is going to happen when we have, you know, people indoors, cold weather, people not outside? I am very worried about what's going to happen in the winter.</s>BLITZER: Yes. All of us are very worried. Dr. Bright especially. You know, Dr. Ranney, just this week, there was truly an unprecedented editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine, a 200-year-old publication, entitled "Dying in a Leadership Vacuum." And it urges people to vote President Trump out. I spoke with the editor in chief, Dr. Eric Rubin, the other day. I want you to listen to what he told me.</s>DR. ERIC RUBIN, EDITOR IN CHIEF, NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE: We were watching such poor decision-making, decisions made -- that were very contrary to the evidence. This was not an easy situation. We haven't had an outbreak like this for 100 years with this kind of death rate. And we don't know the right answers. We do know many of the wrong answers. And wrong choices were being made consistently and costing thousands, tens of thousands of lives. It was hard not to speak out.</s>BLITZER: What's your reaction? What do you make of the medical community speaking out like that?</s>RANNEY: You know, I couldn't agree more strongly. There are certainly partisan debates that need to happen. Medicine is not monolithic. We're not all Democrats or all Republicans. But we do all believe in science and we do all believe in protecting our healthcare work force and our community. What we have seen over and over from this administration is an absolute disregard for the science, whether it's the science of transmission of the virus that led to the president himself being infected last week, whether it's disregard for the importance of personal protective equipment and testing, or whether it's disregard for where the virus came from, how it came to the United States and how it continues to spread across our communities. We've just seen time after time that this administration has essentially done harm to our country. So I'm quite proud of the New England Journal of Medicine. I hope that they never have to write an editorial like this again. I do hope that we can go back to science and medicine as usual where we're united in protecting patients and our communities rather than in trying to fight against an executive branch that really is disregarding the needs of the population.</s>BLITZER: Truly an unprecedented editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr. Ranney, thank you so much for joining us. Dr. Walensky, thanks to you as well. Both of you, please, please be safe out there. Appreciate it very much. Stimulus negotiations have stalled once again here in Washington, even as millions of Americans desperately need help from the government. Is there a path forward right now? The former CIA director, former Defense secretary, Leon Panetta, he's standing by. We have lots to discuss. Stay with us. You are in THE SITUATION ROOM.

Stimulus Talks Stall as White House, GOP and Dems Can't Agree on Package

BLITZER: As millions of Americans are struggling in an economy gripped by the coronavirus pandemic, negotiations for another desperately needed stimulus package have stalled yet again. The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said discussions are at an impasse unless specific conditions are met. Republican senators have balked at the White House proposed $1.8 trillion package and adding to the confusion, the White House chief economic adviser Lawrence Kudlow telling my colleague Jake Tapper this.</s>LARRY KUDLOW, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF ECONOMIC ADVISER: I don't want to get into the specific legislative strategy, Jake. But I will say from the president's remarks late last week, he is happy on the key targeted areas that I mentioned, small business loans, unemployment and so forth. He would actually go beyond what some of the Democratic numbers are. He may not do it for the entire package. But for those key targeted areas that would truly help the recovery.</s>BLITZER: All this less than a week after President Trump said negotiations were completely off the table until after the November 3rd election. But then he did a complete 180. Joining us now, the former secretary of Defense, former CIA director, former White House chief of staff, Leon Panetta, who also served, by the way, as the director at the Office of Management and Budget. You got the best resume going out there, Mr. Secretary. Thanks so much for joining us. What's your reaction to this confusing and at times conflicting messaging we're getting on where these critically needed negotiations stand? Because, as you know, there are so many Americans out there right now who are struggling to pay the rent, put food on the table, just pay the bills. And they are wondering, where is the money?</s>LEON PANETTA, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF UNDER PRESIDENT CLINTON: Well, we know there's a lot of frustration, Wolf, with Washington. And its dysfunction. And the inability of the president and the Congress to come to any kind of agreement on something that represents emergency legislation to try to help those that have been impacted by COVID-19, those businesses that are suffering, those individuals who are out of work. This is emergency legislation. And very frankly, we've had nothing but mixed signals coming from the president and the White House. It started with the president saying he was cancelling negotiations until after the election, realized that that could be a problem, came back and then said, we should pass airline assistance alone or different packages alone. Then came back with $1.8 trillion. Now there's discussion about perhaps even increasing that. A lot of mixed signals. So I can understand the frustration on the Hill. But it is essential that they sit down and work through and get an aid package to the American people.</s>BLITZER: Because there's so many millions of Americans who are in desperate shape. They are suffering right now simply to try to put food on the table for their kids. I want you to listen, Mr. Secretary, to what the former 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang told me last night about these negotiations. Listen to this.</s>ANDREW YANG (D), FORMER 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I'm Nancy Pelosi, I'd take this deal. If I'm Mitch McConnell, I'd take this deal. This is great for the American people. They were suggesting another $1200 in direct cash relief to millions of Americans. $400 a week in weekly federal unemployment benefits. This would be a lifeline for millions of Americans. And I have no idea why this is not being passed. Instead they are grandstanding and playing politics while people are hurting.</s>BLITZER: So what do you think, Mr. Secretary? Should Speaker Pelosi take that advice, take the money and run?</s>PANETTA: You know, I think they have reached a point in these negotiations where the numbers have truly narrowed. But, you know, by my last count was that there was somewhere around $500 million or 600 million apart. And in my days, when you were negotiating, you basically cut the difference and went home. I think that's what they ought to be looking at right now. How can they get to a number that's agreeable? I think, frankly, that the speaker has the advantage here. She asked for $2.2 trillion. The administration has certainly moved towards that position. I think it's important to settle on a number, get an aid package to the Congress, pass it and try to help the American people at a dire time of trouble.</s>BLITZER: Let me get your quick reaction to this -- one of the major stories today. As you heard CNN exclusively learning that the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Fauci, did not consent to being featured in a Trump political campaign ad, said his comments were taken completely out of context. You have been in politics a long time. What do you think about that when you saw that?</s>PANETTA: You know, my sense is that the president recognizes and so does his campaign recognizes the failure that is being targeted by this administration in terms of dealing with COVID-19. He is in a corner. He is obviously being impacted by all of the polls that indicate that he is in the wrong place with regard to COVID-19. And now to try to come back by misusing and basically plagiarizing a comment by Dr. Fauci, which was not aimed at the president but aimed at the task force and the work of the task force. The president, frankly, should withdraw that commercial because it does not represent the truth in terms of Dr. Fauci.</s>BLITZER: Mr. Secretary, as usual, thanks so much for joining us. Leon Panetta, out in California, appreciate it very much.</s>PANETTA: Good to be with you, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: There's more news we're following. In the lead-up to the U.S. presidential election, political ads are normal. But that's not necessarily always normal. The Trump campaign as we've been noting using Dr. Fauci's comments in a way that he says were taken completely out of context. So what does that mean? What's the political impact of all of this? We have more when we come back.

Interview with Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson about Kidnapping Plot and Elections

BLITZER: There's stunning new information coming into THE SITUATION ROOM on the alleged plot to kidnap the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer. Neighbors now tell CNN they heard an explosion at the home of two of the suspects, at least a day before the FBI raided that home. 13 people in Michigan are now charged in the kidnapping plot. In the immediate aftermath, Governor Whitmer slammed President Trump for as she put it stoking distrust and hatred. Her comments coming in a rather critical time in a crucial swing state where most polls show Joe Biden leading in the presidential race at least right now. Michigan's secretary of state Jocelyn Benson is joining us right now. Madame Secretary, thank you so much for joining us. This is so disturbing, so worrisome that here in the United States, a governor of a large state, any state for that matter like Michigan, could actually be targeted in this alleged terror plot for kidnapping. Have you had any threats against you in the wake of all of this?</s>JOCELYN BENSON (D), MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes. It's very real. I mean, managing and serving as the chief election officer in a state in this contentious election cycle leads to that sort of thing, but also, you know, I'll tell you, Wolf, I started my career tracking hate groups and hate crimes at the Southern Poverty Law Center, then researched the same at Oxford University in my master's degree. And the bottom line is, the research shows hateful rhetoric and hateful words from leaders lead to hateful actions from followers. That's what history teaches us. And I think that's certainly what you're seeing in Michigan right now.</s>BLITZER: Yes, it's so worrisome. And all of us remember, just a few months ago in the spring, armed protesters poured into the Michigan state capital with loaded -- weapons were loaded and this was legal. This past week, we learned about the kidnapping plot. Should voters in Michigan be concerned when they hear about these things and they're considering how to vote?</s>BENSON: Voters in Michigan should know that the leaders of Michigan, myself, the attorney general, the governor, the tremendous folks at the Michigan State Police and the FBI, we're all on it. We're going to protect every single citizen, we're going to protect every single voter. Weve got a plan in place to ensure precincts are protected for voters on election day. The attorney general and I working with law enforcement so we're fully aware of and tracking all the possibilities and building contingency plans with our priority being to secure elections and protect our voters.</s>BLITZER: Here's what I don't understand, Madame Secretary. The -- it's legal in Michigan, you can go inside the state capital with an AR-15 loaded, but you can't go inside the state capital with a sign because that might damage the wall. Is that right?</s>BENSON: Yes. And it's something we've called on the state legislature to address for many months now. And so my hope is that particularly with the latest revelations, we'll see some action to ensure some realistic protections for the citizens of the state and the lawmakers of both parties.</s>BLITZER: And it's also a little strange. Michigan I take it does not have a state law that explicitly bans firearms at polling places. Will you be banning guns from polling places for this election on November 3rd?</s>BENSON: We will be ensuring that any effort to intimidate voters or disrupt our elections is met with swift consequences. That's the bottom line because that is illegal. It is illegal to intentionally try to intimidate voters or block them from voting. And that's what we're -- we certainly consider any type of, you know, visual intimidation or words. Part of that. So we will be in the weeks ahead as we get closer to election day itself announcing specific rules and regulations that we expect all poll watchers to follow. Poll watchers are allowed in the precincts on election day. But there are regulations around what they can do. And the bottom line is they can't be disruptive or intentionally interfere with the process.</s>BLITZER: Michigan of course being a critical battleground state as we all know. President Trump carried Michigan narrowly four years ago. You've said that every ballot will likely be tabulated, counted by the Friday of election week, November 3rd is a Tuesday. Is that still your expectation as far as confirming a winner in Michigan, that by Friday all the votes will have been counted?</s>BENSON: Well, I'll tell you, yes, I mean to say succinctly. But I'll tell you, we see more people voting even than we'd anticipated by mail and early. Already, I believe by tomorrow, we'll be able to say one million citizens will have voted early already in Michigan. And everyone who votes early, we can't begin tabulating those ballots until election day morning. Still, even with recent changes to the law. So that means that, you know, whether we have three million or more than that, we can't begin tabulating them until election day. And that's going to take time to do so methodically, carefully and securely. Right now the math tells us that will take to Friday at the latest. We're hoping sooner. We can keep increasing capacity through more people, through more machines. And so we'll continue to update our estimates in the weeks ahead. But right now, we feel Friday is a safe bet to say at the latest our results will be in by then. Again, hopefully sooner.</s>BLITZER: Well, good luck with that. And good luck with everything else that's going on. Good luck with your safety, too. We need you safe out there.</s>BENSON: Thank you.</s>BLITZER: Jocelyn Benson, secretary of State of Michigan, appreciate it very much.</s>BENSON: Always a pleasure, Wolf. Thanks.</s>BLITZER: Thank you. Up next, President Trump isn't the only member of the first family who tested positive for COVID-19. We're going to bring you an update on the first lady's health. That's coming up next. We'll be right back.

Trump Holds First Rally since COVID-19 Diagnosis; Interview with Rep. Donna Shalala; Coronavirus Dominates Day One of Barrett Confirmation Hearing.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: Trump is facing right now in this battleground state. The latest polling shows that Trump is trailing Joe Biden by 23 points among women in Pennsylvania.</s>ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Wow. Absolutely stunning. Incredible. All right, Kate, thank you very much. And thanks to all of you for watching. Anderson starts now.</s>ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Good evening. We begin tonight with two facts. One, as of tonight, more than 214,000 Americans died of the coronavirus. And two, on the face of that fact, the President of the United States is that the first of what could be daily mass rallies between now and Election Day. Bear in mind, the country is now averaging nearly 50,000 new infections a day and where he is right now, Florida has a positivity rate of 11 percent. Yet, the President just a week out of the hospital and whose medical status is still largely unknown has kicked off what could be a COVID super spreader tour.</s>DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I went through it. Now they say I'm immune. I can feel -- I feel so powerful. I'll walk into that audience. I'll walk in there. I'll kiss everyone in that audience. I'll kiss the guys and the beautiful women and then -- everybody, I'll just give you a big fat kiss.</s>COOPER: Yes, but he didn't do that. He stayed far away. The President tonight in Florida. At one point, he threw masks out into the crowd. And yes, as it's been at many of his rallies, many of the people who were on camera standing behind him did cover their faces. But not all. In fact, mask wearing was more the exception than the rule of what was a very large crowd as you can see. And perhaps it shouldn't surprise anyone that the President is okay with that and it was okay with these large gatherings as long as he is not anywhere close to the actual people. Here's the head of the Coronavirus Taskforce, Vice President Pence this weekend also in Florida at a mass gathering, the state's largest retirement community. And in case there's any doubt the people around the President are also acting as if the pandemic isn't really worth bothering with or protecting others from here, here is his Chief of Staff at the Capitol today refusing to talk to CNN's Kristin Wilson unless he can take his mask off first.</s>MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: That way I can take this off to talk.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.</s>MEADOWS: Well, I'm more than 10 feet away. Well, I'm not going to talk with a mask.</s>COOPER: So the man who has been by the President's side ever since the boss returned from Walter Reed stood on the balcony, removed his mask, then went inside where people are gathered. We hope he is taking greater care in private than he does in the Halls of Congress, if only for the sake of himself and his family. As for the President, his tweet yesterday about his medical status got labeled by Twitter, misleading and potentially harmful. It reads if you click through, quote, "A total and complete sign off from White House doctors yesterday. That means I can't get it. Immune and can't give it." Which foreshadows what he said tonight and is only half true at best. The CDC has issued guidance saying people can continue to test positive for months without necessarily being infectious, but -- and I'm quoting the CDC here, "This science does not imply a person is immune to reinfection with SARS-CoV-2." As for that sign off from the President's physician, Sean Conley, he issued a paper statement this evening, read in part, "I can now share with you that he has tested negative on consecutive days using the Abbott BinaxNOW antigen card." Which is certainly good news of course. The doctor also cited additional clinical and laboratory data and pronounced the President quote, "no longer considered a transmission risk to others." He did not ever say any of that in front of cameras or people who might ask him actual questions and given his misleading past statements, that is certainly disappointing. That said, even if it's true, that the President is a hundred percent safe to be around, you've got to ask what about all the hundreds of thousands who gathered at each of his rallies? What about them? Even if they can't catch it from him, they certainly can give it to one another and then spread it further from there. The President had nothing to say about that before leaving for Florida, but the nation's leading experts certainly did when asked about it by CNN's Jake Tapper.</s>JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: We know the previous Trump rallies in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Minnesota have led to infections and illnesses, possibly even death. We know the Trump campaign does not require mask. They do not require distancing. As a public health matter, how worried are you about these rallies that the President is kicking off?</s>DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: You know, Jake, I'm glad you use that word as a public health matter because put aside all of the issues of what political implications a rally has, and just put that aside and look at it purely in the context of public health. We know that that is asking for trouble when you do that. We've seen that when you have situations of congregate settings, with a lot of people without masks. The data speak for themselves.</s>COOPER: Dr. Fauci as you know, was equally blunt about the Rose Garden event last month that so many people either got infected at or spread the virus at or both. The doctor called it a super spreader event. And today, he explained why such gatherings are so dangerous now.</s>FAUCI: It happens and now is even more so a worse time to do that. Because when you look at what's going on in the United States, it's really very troublesome. A number of states right now are having increase in test positivity, states above the Sunbelt, and states in the Sunbelt. If you look at the map with the color coding of cases and states that are going up, you see states in the northwest and the Midwest, it is going in the wrong direction right now.</s>COOPER: The President is clearly not listening to Dr. Fauci anymore. They're not using Dr. Fauci's experience and intelligence. He is, however, using Dr. Fauci, his credibility to help him get re-elected. He has edited Dr. Fauci's remarks into a campaign ad to suggest misleadingly that Dr. Fauci endorses the President's handling of the pandemic. It is, as you'll see a bit later in the program, untrue, factually incorrect. Frankly, considering the 215,000 Americans now dead, it is far worse than just that, it is also par for the course. Listen to Vice President today on FOX, and keep in mind again, this is the guy who is supposed to be in charge of what he likes to call the whole of government effort to defeat COVID.</s>DANA PERINO, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: Are you comfortable with rallies going forward at this point?</s>MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I really am. We had a great rally here in Columbus, Ohio today. Lots of enthusiasm, a great outdoor rally. And look, one of the things the American people have proved over the last eight months is people know how to put their health first, the health of their families and their neighbors first.</s>COOPER: Now, keeping them honest, that is what Mr. Pence always does. He deflects any questions challenging his or the President's recklessness by making it seem like the questioner is actually attacking the American people. A few of any people -- person -- a few people would get up in the morning and say, yes, today I'm going to contribute to a deadly pandemic. The public does not lack good intentions or intelligence, what a good deal of the public lacks is information needed to help themselves, their families, friends and neighbors. They're not getting it, certainly not from this administration. In fact, from the very people whose words carry such weight, they're getting the exact opposite. Because of that those same friends and neighbors and family members, some of them are getting sick and dying. Our Gary Tuchman is at the President's rally. He has been talking to people there. He joins us now. Gary, what did you hear tonight from the supporters of the rally?</s>GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, "Macho Man" by The Village People is playing right now is this rally just came to an end. Donald Trump spoke for about an hour. Now if you thought that people would be more carefully in Trump rallies, after hearing that Donald Trump had the coronavirus, and that there was a super spreading event at the White House, you would be incorrect. Hundreds and hundreds of people lined up outside in the broiling sun for hours today here in Sanford, Florida. There was no social distancing. And I would say about 90 percent of people did not have masks. Everyone had their temperature checked. They were given hand sanitizers, and they were also given masks, but there was no mandate to wear them. Most of those masks were put in pockets or put in purses, never to come out again. We talked to a lot of people who decided not to wear masks, and we heard various explanations.</s>TUCHMAN: What happened at the White House recently where so many people who were outside an event got Coronavirus, including the President ended up with coronavirus, that doesn't concern you?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.</s>TUCHMAN: Why doesn't that concern you?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm healthy. I have no underlying health issues. And that seems to be the people that are most prone to getting the disease if you an underlying --</s>TUCHMAN: The President was healthy too, though, and he had to take a helicopter to the hospital. He had good medical care, right?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Well --</s>TUCHMAN: You think you'd have care that good?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know. But I have -- I take care of myself.</s>TUCHMAN: Why not just put on a mask? What's the difference?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, a mask can actually do more harm than good to individuals.</s>TUCHMAN: It can do more harm.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It can because people -- you know people can faint because there's too much carbon dioxide going back into their system.</s>TUCHMAN: You think there's a big problem with people fainting all over the country from masks and dropping dead?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, just enough, enough people are getting ill because they're wearing a mask.</s>TUCHMAN: Really?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, yes --</s>TUCHMAN: Where did that come from?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Commonsense.</s>TUCHMAN: Do you believe you won't get sick from it?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't care if I do. Because I know I'm not going to die from it.</s>TUCHMAN: How do you know that, with all due respect?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, but if I do, I do. I'm not afraid.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe in God, and that's -- I trust that if I get the virus, then that was God's will.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've also seen the numbers drop every single day.</s>TUCHMAN: Well, the numbers are going up now, though.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this -- here?</s>TUCHMAN: I mean, Mr. Trump says it is disappearing, but it's not. That's not the truth.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm debating on whether what the truth is for that, because of what I can see. It's all the numbers that I've read have been down and I'm seeing that the flu is taking more people.</s>TUCHMAN: So that's what you believe.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.</s>TUCHMAN: Let me ask you this, if President Trump at the rally said everyone put on their masks --</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would put it on.</s>TUCHMAN: What that woman told us was very interesting, because we heard that from a lot of people that if President Trump made a request today to put on your masks, many people tell us, they would put on their masks, but Donald Trump made no such request -- Anderson.</s>COOPER: Gary Tuchman, thanks. Enjoy "Macho Man." Joining us now, two more Floridians, Dr. Aileen Marty, she is an infectious disease expert at Florida International University and Democratic Congresswoman Donna Shalala served as H.H.S. Secretary during the Clinton administration. With us, as well, CNN senior political analyst, David Gergen, who served four Presidents on both sides of the aisle.</s>COOPER: Dr. Marty, the positivity rate in Florida is above 11 percent. Cases are going up there. Dr. Fauci said having political rallies is asking for trouble. Just from a public health perspective, how concerned are you about rallies like this, anybody giving kind of rallies like this?</s>DR. AILEEN MARTY, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY: I am wounded. I am deeply, deeply wounded to see this misdirection and misinformation because these kinds of events will cause more and more cases. We're seeing already in our hospitals, again, the admissions are going up. We're balancing those by being able to get people out of the hospital sooner than we were because we've learned a lot, but it's still happening. We're having problems with our schools, and the messaging is completely wrong.</s>COOPER: Congresswoman Shalala, I mean, once again, a large crowd of the President's supporters packed together at this event, most not wearing a mask. I mean, did you have any thought or hope that the President might change given the fact that, you know, he had to be helicoptered to a hospital and receive very rare treatment to bounce back from COVID?</s>REP. DONNA SHALALA (D-FL): Obviously not. This is now the Trump spread. He is now moving around the country having these rallies, spreading the disease, not necessarily from him personally, because he has a lot of distance. But people within these crowds not wearing masks, someone has COVID. And so it's the Trump spread now. But the idea that he is spreading this disease as part of a political campaign is simply outrageous and immoral.</s>COOPER: David, just for getting elected standpoint, I mean, are big rallies like this that are essential for President Trump.</s>DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: No, maybe one, maybe two, but not this series. With these rallies, we are staggering from one obscenity to the next, and it is very clear that the rally haven't helped him very much politically. His numbers have been going down since all this nonsense started. You know, what he really ought to do with reassess. Talk to people like Donna Shalala and go and then do his job as President. Go back home and get a deal with Nancy Pelosi, the Democrats and the Republicans to put money in people's pockets without having to wait week after week after week. Go back there and solve some of these problems and prepare the country for what's coming. This wave is coming. Just to think there is 11 percent of the people in that audience in this rally who are likely to be positive. That's what the recent test show. So 11 percent of the people there, they are all spreaders. And this is -- you know, it is a -- it's just -- it's obscene.</s>COOPER: Dr. Marty, I mean, the President claims he is now immune. Just be clear, one can't say they are you are -- I don't know, can one say you're definitively immune if you've been infected once? I mean, the C.D.C. specifically cautions people not to assume they are immune or you know how long any immunity might last?</s>MARTY: Well, Anderson, thank you for that question. It's actually a layered question and I'm going to start with the first part that I object to which has been broadcast, which I find really very disingenuous to talk about the results of an antigen test when you are more than five days from the time at which you started your symptoms. It simply has no meaning, no value. It's simply a way to provide misinformation. And it's tragic because the only way we would know whether or not for example the President is contagious, let's start with that is to get the CT values from RT PCR in a properly done lab from a properly taken sample. That's one. Number two, immunity. Immunity is incredibly complex. I tell my medical students that it's usually much easier to be a brain surgeon than an immunologist. Immunology has incredible detail to it. He received an antigen -- excuse me, an antibody cocktail with two different antibodies against the SARS2 virus, the spike protein. That by itself while he could be extremely helpful in getting the viral load down in his body for a time while those antibodies are there, in point of fact, decreases the chance that his own body is forming the types of T and B cells necessary to become immune. So it's really quite the opposite from what's being what's being broadcast and I have no idea why the wrong message is being sent to the American public.</s>COOPER: You know, Congressman Shalala, it doesn't surprise me what the doctor said about you know that the tests that he received not really being the one that is definitive, Dr. Conley has been misleading in his statements. I mean, it is one thing for a doctor to say, look, I can't talk about that. My patient doesn't want me to release that information, but he doesn't say that. He has gone out of his way to mislead on the President's condition. The fact that we still don't know when the President actually in the time right before he got ill, when was the last time he tested negative? The fact that they actually -- they did admit they weren't testing every day as they had claimed, it seems like he is going to get away with having lied about how often he was getting tested and whether or not he was positive the day of the debate with Vice President Biden.</s>SHALALA: Well, the President clearly is an uncontrolled patient himself. I mean, there's no question about that. But in addition to that, Dr. Conley is not explaining these tests the way Dr. Marty just explained them, nor is he answering questions from doctors the way Dr. Fauci is whenever you can get him on, detailed questions from doctors about the treatment the President received when he got infected. So there's just so much we don't know. But I put it all on the President because the President clearly is only letting certain information get out. And Dr. Conley should not be giving partial information, which he absolutely knows is partial information and misleading. It is one thing to say my patient won't let me give that information. It's another thing to mislead the American people. This is very dangerous and very reckless.</s>COOPER: You know, David Gergen, you said this is -- you know, the President with the daily kind of rallies like this is, it is going from one obscenity to another. I'm wondering if it has the opposite impact on other people who are not there who are watching this. I mean, it obviously energizes the people who are there, unless they get sick, and then their energy will be sucked from them for a time being. But I wonder if people -- other people looking at this, just view this as the President -- the administration's recklessness as a prime example. I mean, that it's a daily reminder of just the reckless disregard for people and this pandemic.</s>GERGEN: I think a lot depends on what news shows you're watching and what channel you're watching as to what you believe. You know, the people who were being interviewed by Gary Tuchman there tonight, you know, who believe these things that are false. They are patently false, and yet they do believe them. And how did that happen? It happened because they were watchers, particularly of FOX and they are getting a stream of misinformation. It's one of the things that I think that increasingly threatens our Republic, Anderson. Jefferson argued a long time ago that a democracy depends upon a well-informed public, and clearly we don't have a well- informed public or at least not to the degree we should in order to --</s>COOPER: Yes, David Gergen, Dr. Aileen Marty, appreciate it. Congressman Donna Shalala, as always, thank you so much. Next, a closer look at the politics driving the President's travel plans. What it might tell about -- what both campaigns think about the state of the race. Plus, later my conversation with the man who did not believe there even was a pandemic until it all came home to him in a tragic way.

Fauci: Trump Campaign Should Take Down Ad Featuring Him

COOPER: Breaking news on the politics the coronavirus on CNET Dr. Anthony Fauci said President Trump's campaign should take down a highly misleading campaign ad featuring Dr. Fauci. The ad, which the President's defending is running the battleground state of Michigan, not only did the campaign not received Dr. Fauci's permission, Trump's team clip Fauci's comments in such a way as to suggest that famously non-partisan doctor was praising President Trump. In reality, he was praising public health officials. This would Dr. Fauci told my colleague, Jake Tapper.</s>JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Should the Trump campaign take this ad down?</s>ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NIAID: You know, I think so. Jake. I think it's really unfortunate and really disappointing that they did that. It's so clear that I'm not a political person. And I have never either directly or indirectly endorsed the political candidate. And to take it completely out of context statement and put it in, which is obviously a political campaign, I thought was really very disappointing.</s>COOPER: Fauci was also asked by Jake, what his opinion would be if the Trump campaign ran another ad featuring him, Fauci said that might actually come back to backfire on them. Joining me now, former CDC director, Dr. Thomas Frieden. Dr. Frieden, I mean, it's obviously dishonest. I'm wondering, is it dangerous that the Trump campaign is using Dr. Fauci's words out of context? Because certainly, for somebody who has a high level of credibility, it seems to undermine that?</s>THOMAS FRIEDEN, FMR CDC DIRECTOR: Well, Anderson, I can't comment on the politics of it. But if we just look at factually, it's very clear that what Dr. Fauci was saying is not what the campaign wants that to be construed as. You really can't say, with a straight face that the administration has done everything it could to stop COVID no one who understands public health, or COVID would say that. In fact, the record of this administration is a colossal failure, even now, eight months in, there's no national plan. There's no common understanding of where we are. And there's not the existence of frank and effective communication. Those are the three most important things to run the response to an epidemic, and all three of them have been really lacking in the federal response. So it's clear, whatever the politics of it that Dr. Fauci's comment, there's not refer to actually the performance of the federal government, which sadly has been such a tragedy that we've had over 100,000 of the more than 200,000 deaths that probably didn't need to happen.</s>COOPER: It's also remarkable and particularly hypocritical, when Dr. Fauci has been sidelined. I mean, you know, Dr. Birx, Dr. Fauci, the people who actually have long experience dealing with pandemics and as, you know, epidemiologists, and experts, they've been sidelined and yet, the President's campaign clearly wants to use Fauci's credibility in order to bolster his own campaign in the campaign ad. So he doesn't use him to actually get the benefit of his scientific knowledge. He uses him for his credibility to advance himself.</s>FRIEDEN: And you know, Anderson what's fascinating about this also is if you look at what Dr. Messonnier in January and February, it was that disruption to everyday life, it may be severe, it was -- that this is going to be a pandemic. And really what the President was telling Bob Woodward was not so far off. But when Dr. Messonnier said that to the American people she was hardly ever heard from again. I think the bottom line is, we do trust Americans to do the right thing if we give the information in a frank and open way, as long as you're credible. You give people concrete information, you tell people what you know, when you know it, how you know it, what you don't know and how you're trying to find it out. You'll have a much better response to this pandemic. So the reality of being frank with people, good news and bad what we know what we don't know, that's the essence of an effective response. Credibility is key.</s>COOPER: I mean, Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci had been sidelined to such an extent that you wouldn't even really know that a, that there still a coronavirus taskforce and b, that they're actually still on it. Tonight, Dr. Fauci, you know, there was reporting the doctor a few weeks ago, Dr. Birx was questioning how long she could remain on the task force. Dr. Fauci told CNBC, there's no chance that he would walk away. What does it say to you that, you know, Dr. Fauci who's, again, just dedicated his life to fighting infectious diseases are put in these positions, and regardless of, you know, being kneecapped, or sidelined or ignored and, you know, attacked and threatened, is still willing to, and still, you know, feels it's important to do what he can.</s>FRIEDEN: I think we're you see through the federal government, and Tony is a friend, I've known him for many years. You see this in the scientists at CDC, is their commitment is not to a political party. It's not to a politician. It's to the American people. And the commitment is to do the best job they can to save as many lives as possible to provide open and transparent information and to hope that they're allowed to do their job and that their role is not misused or abused by anyone.</s>COOPER: Just finally, when you look at the pictures from the President's rally in Sanford, Florida, it seems like there's going to be rally like this every day or as many days as possible. The President has his wager and the rest of this campaign. Just what concerns you most in the short term given that this is just one week after he left Walter Reed?</s>FRIEDEN: Well, outdoors is much safer than indoors. So the more things that are outdoors, the better. Masks are safer than no masks. So you'd really like either indoors with masks on everyone, and distance, if possible, or outdoors, ideally with masks, but less important have masks outdoors. I think the bigger challenge here is really the understanding that they failed to stop a cluster at the White House. And we're failing to stop clusters all over the country. The same day the President became infected, about 200,000 other Americans became infected, and about 1000 of them will die from this. Each day, we're seeing around 1,000 deaths in the</s>U.S. COOPER: Yes.</s>FRIEDEN: And that is a preventable and shocking tragedy.</s>COOPER: Yes. Dr. Tom Frieden, appreciate it as always. Thank you.</s>COOPER: Just ahead, go to Capitol Hill the effects the coronavirus on day one of the Supreme Court nomination hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

Senate Hearings For Supreme Court Nominee Start Monday; Presidential Debate For This Week Canceled; U.S. Landfall Of Hurricane Delta; Military Parade In East Asia; CNN Hero`s Quarantine With 54 Children In Nepal.

AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hi, I`m Carl Azuz. A lot of news to catch you up on as we kick off a new week, so we`re jumping right into the headlines. In the U.S. Senate, confirmation hearings begin Monday for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. U.S. President Donald Trump nominated her last month to replace the late Associate Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsburg. The Constitution gives the Senate the authority to confirm or reject a president`s nominees. Many Republicans, who`s party controls the Senate, are hoping Judge Barrett will be confirmed to the High Court by Election Day, November 3rd. Many Democrats want the Senate to wait until after the election in the hopes they`ll win more influence over Supreme Court nominees. The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to hold hearings Monday through Thursday. Also in American political news, there will be no presidential debate this week. The Commission on Presidential Debates originally had one scheduled for Thursday. But after President Trump`s coronavirus treatment early this month, it announced the October 15th debate would be virtual. The campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden agreed to that. The campaign of incumbent Republican President Donald Trump did not. It wanted organizers to move forward with an in-person debate. Last Friday the Commission cancelled the October 15th event. The next debate is scheduled for October 22nd. As you watch this show, not much is left of Hurricane Delta mostly just rain moving up the central Appalachian Mountains in the U.S. East Coast. But it drenched and flooded parts of southwestern Louisiana with as much as 17 inches of rainfall when Delta made landfall there as a Category 2 storm on Friday night. Its wind speeds were near 100 miles per hour at that time. The storm flooded roads and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses. It also brought the threat of tornadoes to the southeast. It caused more problems for areas trying to recover from Hurricane Laura which made landfall in Louisiana in August. 10 Second Trivia. What country`s main political party is called its "Workers` Party"? China, North Korea, Russia or Venezuela. The main political party in the communist nation of North Korea is its "Workers` Party". The Workers` Party controls all activities in North Korea. It chooses all candidates for the nation`s government. It controls the nation`s media and the group celebrated its 75th Anniversary over the weekend. Military parades are common in North Korea. They`re meant to display the country`s strength to rivals like South Korea and the United States but decades of heavy investment in its armed forces has come at a heavy cost to the nation`s people.</s>WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was back on New Years Day, January 1st of this year when Kim Jong-un promised to unveil a new strategic weapon. That of course was just before the COVID-19 pandemic ground the world to a halt and left a hermetically sealed permi kingdom more isolated than ever. Now we`re getting our first look at what many analysts believe is that weapon, one of world`s largest ballistic missiles. Look at this thing. Look at how tiny the people are next to it. It`s massive and it`s carried by an 11-axle truck at the climax of an almost two-hour military parade in the North Korean capital Pyongyang. Now, I`ve covered these parades many times over the last several years and they always seem to bring out the missiles at the very end. They do it for the drama. It is incredibly dramatic. The ground is actually shaking beneath your feet as they pass by. Experts are telling us, this missile, right here, could potentially carry multiple warheads. This is the kind of thing that North Korea typically would love to showcase to the foreign media, including CNN. We get invited in almost every year. But this year, things are much different. The borders are closed due to COVID-19 essentially shutting down trade in an already struggling economy. An economy battered by international sanctions over its nuclear program. A widespread COVID-19 pandemic inside North Korea and keep in mind they have very limited, outdated medical resources. That would be catastrophic. I mean, this year we barely saw Kim Jong-un in public when compared to previous years. He disappeared from public view for weeks on end, several times leading to widespread speculation about his health. But Kim appeared to be back in full form at this military parade staged in the middle of the night with slick special effects including a drone flyby. It was certainly the most dramatic North Korean parade I`ve ever seen. Perhaps the most drama though came from Kim himself. You see him there dressed in a gray suit and he appeared to be almost crying maybe even sobbing at times. Tears rolling down his cheeks as he thanked the North Korean people for their hard work during exceptionally hard times. North Korea has been absolutely battered this year. Essentially it faced a triple threat, crippling sanctions over their nuclear missile programs. The economic catastrophe of closing their borders for nearly all of this year because of the pandemic and natural disasters like a massive typhoon and widespread flooding. Things have gotten so bad in North Korea that Kim did something that his father and grandfather never would have. He admitted that his economic plans were a failure and his people, millions of them already barely scraping by, are suffering. That suffering was reflected in Kim`s face and it was echoed by the audience as many people could be heard crying right along with him. North Korea may struggle to produce food and electricity but they did show the world that their missile program is only getting stronger. Will Ripley, CNN, Hong Kong.</s>AZUZ: Quarantined with 54 children. That`s an attention-grabbing headline. It`s also daily life for Maggie Doyne who was CNN`s 2015 Hero of the Year for her work to help women and children in Nepal. When the coronavirus pandemic reached the Asian country, Doyne had to find unique ways and support to keep her children`s home afloat and the heroics continue.</s>MAGGIE DOYNE, CNN 2015 HERO OF THE YEAR: It`s overwhelming. I`ve never felt so scared or overwhelmed. But I`ve never felt more hope that we could do something and mobilize to make the situation better for many, many people. Here at home we are in a pretty strict lockdown. The gates are closed. Who are we missing? Come sit in a circle. I expect everyone here, awake and ready to start the day. About two or three days in, I realized that we needed a schedule and I mean like a tight ship schedule with all these kids. Everyday at 8 o`clock, we`re here and we go over the schedule. We`re all family. We`re all a team. We`re going to work together. Ready, go. It starts at seven. We wake up, maybe do some deep breathing, yoga, meditation, a little bit of exercise. At eight, we have a little bit of tea. By 8:30, the kids all break up into teams and start chores. Good job. Team two is rocking it. And then we play games. This is a Monopoly game happening. We`ve played so much Monopoly and (inaudible) and cards and board games. By 11 to 12 we have a nice big lunch. We are stored up on rice and beans and other dry foods. I`m really grateful to have cows and some fruit trees. We`ll bring some papayas from the tree and the kids will just shriek with joy because it`s something different. We could be out of school for a long time so it`s important that you`re keeping up your reading. That you`re developing yourself and your skills and it takes everybody. OK? Little kids, sutnea (ph) time. After lunch the little kids take a nap. This group, what do you want to do? Music and reading? OK. And then the older kids go to what we call home school. We`ll go up and have dance parties, play little games. All of our older kids who are in college are actually staying in quarantine across the street. So in the evenings, we`ll, like, go up on the roof and we`ll wave over.</s>AZUZ: Leapin` lizards. No, hurdling hounds. Max is a dog who lives in Arizona who would love to great you. How do we know? Hi, there. Hey, ya`ll. Because Max the jumping dog takes a flying leap above a six-foot wall whenever passersby pass by. It doesn`t seem like he`s trying to get out. He`s just trying to say hello and thanks to his efforts and the magic of social media, he`s become far more than a local celebrity. He`s like a "Golden Regreeter", a how do you "doodle", a "hearld English Sheepdog" or a "peekapeekapoodle". He will give you a "salutey"and always wants a "bow wow". He`ll have an easy time saying hello or to "chow chow". Taking puns and greetings to the max on CNN 10. I`m Carl Azuz. I want to give a shout out to all you home schoolers watching today. You students and parents, whether you`re on the couch, maybe at the dinner table, however you`re watching. We`re grateful you`re doing. You`re a valued partner of our audience. END

Fauci Says Trump Campaign Twisted His Words; Second Wave of Coronavirus in Europe; U.K. PM Expected To Announce New Restrictions For England; Iran Tops 500,000 Cases, Reports Highest Daily Death Toll; Latin America And Caribbean Top 10 Million Cases

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN HOST: Welcome to reviewers here in the United States and around the world. Thanks for joining me. I'm Robyn Curnow. You are watching CNN. Coming up on the show, America's top infectious disease expert calls out the Trump campaign. Dr. Anthony Fauci says a new ad for the president takes his words out of context. And we are also just hours away from the confirmation hearings of the Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. We will preview her opening statement. Also, with much of Europe battling a second wave of coronavirus infections, could the U.K. be facing another lockdown? Ten days after telling the world he tested positive for the coronavirus, the U.S. president is now claiming he has tested totally negative, without offering any evidence. The White House won't say whether we'll get an update from his doctor who vaguely told us earlier that President Trump is no longer considered a transmission risk. But now, the president is taking it a step further and actually claiming to have immunity.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (through telephone): I have to tell, you I feel fantastically. I really feel good. And I even feel good by the fact that, you know, the word immunity means something, having really a protective glow means something. I think it's very important to have that.</s>CURNOW: President Trump, also touted his alleged immunity on twitter, claiming he can't get the virus or give it. And twitter than slapped a warning on his tweet, saying it violated rules about spreading potentially harmful information. To be clear, they have been documented cases of coronavirus reinfection. Now, this is all happening hours before President Trump launches his next round of campaign rallies. Here is Jeremy Diamond. Jeremy?</s>JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is heading back to the campaign trail, hitting a trio of battleground states, beginning today in Florida. Tomorrow, the president is going to the battleground state of Pennsylvania before heading to Iowa on Wednesday. Now, President Trump heading back on the campaign trail after the president's physician says that he has recovered from the coronavirus, also saying, that he president is no longer infectious. Now, the president himself claimed that he had gotten a negative test for coronavirus, but the president's physician, Dr. Sean Conley, didn't exactly say that. Instead, he said simply that the president's latest molecular test for coronavirus showed that he is no longer infectious that he can't infect other people, but that he did not say that the president had tested negative for the virus. But nonetheless, the president and his campaign are ceasing on that letter from Dr. Sean Conley to say that that second debate that had been canceled by the Commission on Presidential Debates after President Trump withdrew from that second debate, the president's campaign are calling for that debate to be reinstated saying the president should be able to participate after he's been cleared by his doctor to resume public activity. But another controversy is hitting the president and his team. On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, putting out a statement to CNN after the Trump campaign aired this misleading ad.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus, and so is America. Together, we rose to meet the challenge. President Trump tackled the virus head on, as leaders should.</s>ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.</s>DIAMOND: Now, Dr. Fauci saying in a statement to CNN, "In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials." Now, it is clear from looking at that interview, which was taped all the way back in March in the early months of this pandemic, that Dr. Fauci was indeed referring to the members of the Coronavirus Task Force and other public health officials. But nonetheless, the president and his campaign standing by the ad. The president noting that these are Dr. Fauci's own words. Of course, what is notable here is that the president and his re-election campaign seem to realize that the president is getting bad marks on his handling of the coronavirus. Nearly 6 in 10 Americans have said in recent polls that they disapprove of the president's handling of the virus. And what's also clear is that campaign is using Dr. Fauci's image and his words here because Fauci is far more trusted by the public on this issue of coronavirus than the president is himself.</s>CURNOW: Thanks Jeremy. Jeremy Diamond live from the White House. So now the president's claims come as COVID infections are once again rising in the U.S. For the first time since August, the country has reported more than 50,000 new cases for four consecutive days. Now, take a look at this map, this infection. This pushes the infection total closer to 7.8 million, while the death toll is now far above 200,000 people. And CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro reports, the outbreak is still expected to worsen.</s>EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fears of a new coronavirus peaking the United States are growing in some corners. New cases are now on the rise in 30 states. And this country has reported 50,000 new cases for four consecutive days. That's the first time that's happened since August. But former CDC director, Tom Frieden, told CNN over the weekend that a second wave is not inevitable. But he added that new cases mean a lot of tragedy is coming to this country in the coming weeks.</s>TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER U.S. CDC DIRECTOR: The only thing that's really inevitable is what's going to happen in the next couple of weeks, and from the infections that have already occurred, we will see something like 20,000 deaths by the end of the month, additional deaths. Anytime we ignore, minimize, or underestimate this virus, we do so at our peril and the peril of people whose lives depend on us. We still have, within ourselves, within our communities, within our society, the ability to turn this around. And if you look around the world, the parts of the world, and even the parts of the U.S. that have been guided by public health and have supported public health, have done better.</s>MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Frieden's words about the urgent need to follow infection mitigation guidelines were especially true here in New York City. This was once the hardest hit place in America when it came to the pandemic. But those numbers have dramatically improved in recent months. That is, until recent weeks, when a few New York City neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens have seen their infection rates go back up. They are now six times the overall infection rate in the state. Those numbers, are very concerning. Evan McMorris-Santoro, CNN, New York.</s>CURNOW: Well, earlier, I spoke with Dr. Darragh O'Carroll, an emergency physician in Hawaii, and I asked of his take on the President Trump's claim of immunity.</s>DARRAGH O'CARROLL, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: That's difficult one for most physicians to swallow. It's not in context of anything we have dealt with before as, you know, the medication that I think he's using, Regeneron, that he hangs most of the statement on, has not been used in very many people, you know, less than 200. And what his physician statement said -- it didn't say that he tested negative, just that he was not transmittable. But when you put it in the context of all of the data that we do know, something as (inaudible) illness the CDC guidelines are to say, hey, you're no longer transmissible as long as you spent 10 days from the start of symptoms, your symptoms are improving and you're not taking fever reducing medicines and you're not having fever for the last 24 hours. Now, if somebody has moderate illness and I would absolutely argue that our president had moderate illness. He required hospitalization. He required oxygen. He required dexamethasone, which we only give to people who do require oxygen. That number bumps from 10 days to 20. And so, they are plowing (ph) against most of the recommendations, if not all of the recommendations that physicians across the country are using. So for me, I don't think that statement holds weight and I think he's putting all those (inaudible) contact with at risk.</s>CURNOW: Yes. The three rallies coming up in the coming days. I want to talk also about the cases that we are seeing rising in the U.S., in Europe, in the U.K. Is this the second wave and how concerned are you about all of these soaring new infection rates?</s>O'CARROLL: Well, it is tough to say is it the second wave. It definitely could be the start if we had a, you know, magic ball where we could take a look. It absolutely could be that the start of the second wave. And this is what happens with upper respiratory illness that is similar to flu and how it's transmitted, however, this is much more transmissible and also much more deadly. We know those things. So, flu does increase in the fall and winter months, and the reason why that happens is that I think it's colder out. People are inside more. People are spending more time closer together. And the more that we are doing that, the less that we're wearing mask. The more that we're gathering, the more opportunities, which is one of the main variables that this virus uses. Is the more opportunity we have, the more we're going to transfer to others. So this absolutely could be the start of a secondary wave and we're seeing that, you know, in the United States here. It's getting a bit colder out because our weather is changing and cases are increasing.</s>CURNOW: I don't know if you heard, just before we came to you, we played a few clips, sound clips from folks in the U.K. and London who are marching and they are frustrated about all the lockdowns that's being particularly tough in the U.K. areas like Liverpool are about to also face more tough restrictions. Pubs, you know, pubs and life have changed. Do you, as a doctor, understand that people are rejecting a lot of these harsh crackdowns and feeling extremely frustrated about having these limits on their lives? And what do you say to them when they express that?</s>O'CARROLL: Sure, I absolutely do understand because on one hand, we are seeing the consequences of prolonged lockdowns and that, you know, our economic health is now tied to our public health and that these people are enabled to have a proper gainful employment that they used to have. That is harmful in itself. We do understand that, but the more that we are gathering, the more that our cases are going to increase, the more restrictions are going to be opposed. And that's just -- we need to think long term rather than short term. And Hawaii is going through the same thing here. And that, you know, our state has been closed for the last six months or more because of our mandatory 14-day quarantine. So how do we institute the necessary protective measures to keep our residents safe, yet also continue to make a gainful employment for them as well. So, I understand, but we need to think long term and we need to think ahead rather than just in the next week. And if we do protest and we do go against the public health guidelines, so that's really what needs to guide us, is these public health guidelines and I'm really happy to hear the United Kingdom government has now had, a little bit of change in their having three different (inaudible). Follow those and make sure that you listen to science because we do know that when you don't, it will transfer to other to other people.</s>CURNOW: So that was Dr. Darragh O'Carroll there, an emergency physician in Hawaii. Now, the latest polls show Democrat Joe Biden expanding his lead over Donald Trump in the presidential race. But Democrats are urging voters not to be complacent. A "Washington Post/ABC News poll of likely voters shows Biden with 54 percent to President Trump's 42 percent. It's the third major poll in the last week that has Biden up by at least 10 points and above 50 percent. The pandemic is certainly a key issue with the clear majority of people believing Mr. Biden would handle it better. And the U.S. Senate will begin confirmation hearings for President Trump's Supreme Court nominee in the coming hours. But with Joe Biden's big lead in the polls, many are wondering about his plans for the court if elected. Well, here's Arlette Saenz with that. Arlette.</s>ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Joe Biden and his campaign continue to deflect on the question of whether the former vice president supports adding more justices to the Supreme Court. This comes as Republicans are seeking to turn this into a campaign issue as hearings are about to begin for President Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett. Now, the Biden campaign on Sunday, again called this a distraction from the president and his allies. Take a listen.</s>KATE BEDINGFIELD, BIDEN DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER: This is a distraction that they want to throw out. This is a hypothetical that they want to throw out right now to distract from the fact that they are trying to ram through a nominee who, as I said, is going to change the make-up of the court against the will of the American people. They don't want to talk about that so they are trying to create a distraction and, you know, send folks down on a rabbit hole, talking about this.</s>SAENZ: Now, during the Democratic primary, Joe Biden said he opposed packing the Supreme Court and there had been no public indications yet that he has changed his position on that, but he has said that he will not answer that question until after Election Day. Now, on Monday, Joe Biden is heading to the battleground state of Ohio where his polls have recently shown that President Trump and Joe Biden are locked in a tight race just four years after President Trump won Ohio back in 2016. And Joe Biden hoping to make the state more competitive heading into that November election. Arlette Saenz, CNN, Washington.</s>CURNOW: So coming up on CNN, confirmation hearings are about to begin for the Supreme Court nominee. We'll look at where the Republicans can seal the deal before Election Day. Plus, Iran reaches a new milestone in the coronavirus pandemic and now officials are imposing new restrictions on the nation's capital. We have details and a live report on that as well.

Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing in the Senate on Monday

CURNOW: The stage is set for a Supreme Court showdown in the coming hours. Both sides will make their case for why Amy Coney Barrett should or should not sit on America's highest court. The decision could affect some of the biggest issues of our time. Barrett is expected to say the court should not make policy, nevertheless, the top Democrat in the Senate says if she is confirmed, Barrett should sit out certain cases.</s>SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Given Judge Barrett's conflicts of interest, she should recuse herself from any decision involving the Affordable Care Act and its protections, and any decisions related to the election that we will have on November 3rd. The process is already illegitimate, dangerous, and unpopular. All the more reason she should be recused. She is being rushed through to decide decisions that she has already seems to have made up her mind on.</s>CURNOW: The nomination has been controversial, of course, since day one. Lauren Fox tells us about the latest (inaudible).</s>LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Those critical hearings beginning on Capitol Hill on Monday. And the first day of hearing is going to be lawmakers getting to make their opening statements as well as Amy Coney Barrett, the nominee, making her opening statement, which CNN has obtained. We expect that she will say, "There is a tendency in our profession to treat the practice of law as all consuming, while losing sight of everything else, but that makes for a shallow and unfulfilling life. I worked hard as a lawyer and as a professor. I owed that to my clients, my students, and myself, but I never let the law define my identity or crowd out the rest of my life." Now, also looming over this hearing is going to be the fact that coronavirus is still very much a factor in these proceedings. Remember, two lawmakers, both Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, tested positive for coronavirus just more than a week ago. Those individuals, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, as well as Senator Mike Lee of Utah, both tested positive. And while we know that Tillis is expected to attend the hearings in person later this week, we still don't know whether or not Senator Mike Lee will attend the hearings in person. It's critical whether or not they show up. That's because the top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, told reporters on Sunday that if those two members, and it has to be both of them being absent, are not there on Thursday, the day of a critical vote in the Judiciary Committee, he will not provide the critical number of Democrats necessary to get a quorum. That essentially could slow down this entire nomination process. So, while the first order of business is going to be what lawmakers say in their opening statements tomorrow what Amy Coney Barrett says in her opening statement on Monday, it's also important to remember that the health of the individual members on this committee is going to be closely watched over the upcoming days. For CNN, in Washington, I am Lauren Fox.</s>CURNOW: Joan Biskupic is a CNN Supreme Court analyst and joins me from Washington. Good to see you. So, what do you expect on Monday, in particular?</s>JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Thanks, Robyn. Good to be with you. Monday is the day for all sides to lay down markers. The senators will give opening statements. We've got some 22 senators who will introduce their lines of inquiry just in terms of pure statements. And then the nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, will give her statement too. There won't be any questioning or answers on Monday. That will start on Tuesday. But everyone will sort of lay down, plant a flag so to speak, to alert people to where they are going to come from. And the nominee herself, Judge Barrett, will try to introduce herself in a warm way, talk about her family, talk about her idea of the court and judging just to preliminarily introduce herself to America. Meanwhile, the Republican senators who want this to be a swift, easy hearing will try to portray her and themselves in the most positive light. And then Democrats, who have the hardest chore here. They know that Senate Republicans have the votes to confirm this woman, they will want to put an emphasis on Donald Trump, what Donald Trump has done to the Supreme Court, what he will continue to do to the Supreme Court, and in particular, the risk to what is known as the Affordable Care Act, and that's the 2010 health insurance overhaul that has brought medical coverage to more than 20 million Americans.</s>CURNOW: So, is that the main issue that's going to be at stake here? I mean, let's bear in mind, the Democrats say this shouldn't even be happening a few weeks before the election. The Republicans say, you know, we can do this. This is, you know, this is within the timeframe of the presidency and President Trump can do it. Besides the Affordable Care Act, what are the other main issues that are going to be homed in on?</s>BISKUPIC: That's an excellent question because the Affordable Care Act is going to be argued before the Supreme Court right away on November 10th so that's why it's completely in focus here. Also because it means so much to Americans. But right before that, on November 3rd we have a presidential election, and President Trump has, in fact, said that he thinks that ballot controversies could easily get to the U.S. Supreme Court and the election could be decided there. And he has said out loud, he wants his appointee there to decide any kind of case. He wants nine justices there. So that's in the very immediate world, Robyn, but then going forward after that, you know, abortion rights are at stake, LGBTQ worker rights are at stake. All sorts of issues will be coming down the road, but most immediately in focus will be the election and the Affordable Care Act.</s>CURNOW: How much of a tightrope will Democrats have to walk here particularly as suppose when it comes to the issues around religion?</s>BISKUPIC: Amy Coney Barrett is a devout Catholic. She has devoted some of her academic scholarship to writing about faith in the law, but the last time the Democrats tried to bring up religion in 2017, when she was up for U.S. Appeals Court seat, they kind of bungled it. They suggested by some questions that maybe they thought it was a bad thing that she was so religious. Senator Feinstein, the senior Democrat on the committee famously said, I think the dogma lives loudly within you. And she received a lot of criticism for perhaps being anti-Catholic. But yet -- so Democrats are going to steer away from it, but we have an unusual nominee here. She has actually written a lot about faith and the law, but I think they're going to avoid it this time or if they do touch it, walk very gingerly around it.</s>CURNOW: Yes. Either way, this is going to be politicized and may or may not influence voter's choices. Joan, thanks so much. Really appreciate you joining us.</s>BISKUPIC: Thank you Robyn.</s>CURNOW: Be sure to tune in to CNN for the latest from the confirmation hearing. It all gets underway at 9:00 a.m. eastern time. That's 2:00 p.m. for all of you folks in London. So, coming up on CNN. India has recorded more than 7 million coronavirus cases, the second highest total in world after America. We'll go live to New Delhi.

India Surpasses 7 Million COVID-19 Cases; Nigeria Dissolves Police Unit Accused Of Brutality

CURNOW: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Robyn Curnow live from CNN's world news headquarters here in Atlanta. Thanks for joining me. It is 29 minutes past the hour. So Europe is struggling to respond to surging coronavirus infections. We know Italy has just marked its highest increase of patients entering intensive care since the end of March. Back then, the country was dealing with one of the world's biggest outbreaks. We know that 30 people were admitted on Sunday. For the fourth straight day, Portugal reported more than 1,000 cases, and with more than 1,300 new cases on Sunday, Russia just set a record for new coronavirus infections for the third day in a row. The country now has nearly 1.3 million cases overall. And we're standing by to hear from the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson just hours from now, he said to announce a new system of Coronavirus alert levels for England, which is seeing a record setting increase in cases. England is at a tipping point in the pandemic, according to the deputy chief medical officer, and it looks inevitable that more restrictions are certainly coming. But the U.K. housing Secretary says the government wants to avoid "a blanket national lockdown." And India topped 7 million cases on Sunday according to the health ministry. It's fast approaching the level we're seeing here in the United States, the highest number in the world. Vedika Sud joins me now from New Delhi with more on that. Hi, what can you tell us?</s>VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Well, Robyn, it is a worrying situation, and it will continue to be so for the simple reason that there are a lot of festivals now that are going to be coming up in India in the month of October as well as November. Hindu festivals like Navratra, which is a celebration of nine days, as well as Diwali, the season of lights, and the festival of lights as it's known, is very big in the Hindu calendar here in India. And that's the reason why you have India's Health Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan coming out on Sunday and appealing to 1.36 billion people of India to stay indoors and not venture out to celebrate those festivals. That's going to be a concern given that even winters is approaching now here in India, and the health minister went on to say that you cannot rule out an increase in COVID-19 cases, once winter sets in, as well as pollution levels. Now, remember closer to November, that's when you know the cutting of - the burning of crops takes place in many areas around the national capital region, as well as pollution levels go up, that's another worry that medical experts could feel could have an impact on COVID-19 levels here in India. The caseload stands at over 7.1 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, and there's no ruling out that in the near future, there could be a possibility that India surpasses America's numbers as well. Now one of the reasons and one of the main points of concern is also that people are now facing a COVID-19 fatigue, like in other nations as well. You still see people across India not wearing masks, not adhering to social distancing norms. And repeated appeals by the Indian government is actually unfortunately falling on deaf ears for many who feel that for some odd reason, they weigh above any kind of fears of COVID-19 being and them infecting - being infected by it. So that's one main concern along with the festivals that are coming up. You also have Christmas in December, so two and a half months of festivals coming up and that remains the biggest challenge for the Indian government, at this point in time, appealing over and over again to people not to venture out when these festivals are on Robyn.</s>CURNOW: OK, thank you for that. Vedika Sud there in New Delhi.</s>SUD: Thank you.</s>CURNOW: So Nigeria has disbanded a controversial police unit, following nationwide protests. The special anti-robbery squad known as SARS has been accused of torture methods, including hanging, mock execution and sexual violence, according to Amnesty International. The Group says it's documented 82 cases of police brutality in Nigeria over the past three years. The protests were a culmination of weeks of anger and outcry online by the country's youth. You're watching CNN. Still ahead, mandatory new rules go into effect in Iran as the pandemic surges there. How the government is responding to that crisis.

Europe Struggles With Surging Infections

CURNOW: Iran has now confirmed more than half a million cases of COVID, becoming the 13th country in the world to reach that number. Health officials there have also recorded more than 250 new deaths, setting a new daily record for the country. So for more on all of this, I'm joined by Sam Kiley, Sam's in Dubai. But you've been monitoring what's been happening in Iran, what can you tell us about these numbers? Hi, Sam.</s>SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they've been causing anxiety both for the Iranians and indeed for the region now for some time, as it was several weeks ago now that Iran effectively announced that it was having or enduring a second wave. You'll recall Robyn that it was Iran, very soon after China that saw the worst rate of infections at the very beginning of this pandemic, just at the same time really as it was taking roots in Europe in Italy, in particular. Now, in a similar parallel situation, now Iran has passed the half million mark in terms of numbers of infections. They've also hit record death tolls going over 250 a day just recently, and a large number of cities and provinces have had to be - seen a reimposition of lockdown. This will coming amidst the further sanctions being imposed bilaterally on Iran by the Trump administration last week. Heavy financial sanctions or sanctions on financial services and individuals were imposed on a country whose economy has already been very badly crippled by those American sanctions with the President Rouhani saying that it was in danger, these sanctions of undermining the capacity to actually provide humanitarian support, and above all, medical help to the citizens there. Both of those issues, of course, supposed to be excluded by sanctions in Iran. But the pattern, Robyn, is similar across the Middle East in the nearby or neighboring Iraq, they're close to 400,000 infections and a similar death toll. Also peaking has been Jordan, which over the weekend at a 48 hour lockdown imposed. That's going to go on indefinitely on Fridays and Saturdays, trying and reduce the mixing on traditional days off in that country. Lebanon's Health Service has said that it's in danger of being overwhelmed by a spike. And indeed, in Tunisia, we've also seen a concern from the government there that they're seeing unprecedented levels of infections, Robyn. So a very similar pattern emerging across the Middle East and North Africa, as has been seen in Europe and the United States. Robyn.</s>CURNOW: So, Sam, what is causing these surges? Why - what's behind them? What do we know?</s>KILEY: Well, I mean, the people have been struggling to figure that out. But I think in every case, it's slightly different. I mean, there is obviously a factor of poverty particularly - and insecurity in countries like Iraq, the Lebanon has been suffering, as we know, economic catastrophe. It then had that gigantic explosion in the center of the city. It is has a political system that is in a state - moribund state with no functioning government of any significant kind. And at the same time, countries such as Jordan, which are very interesting, had a very severe lockdown indeed with one international recognition for the severity and success of its ability to keep the pandemic under control. But in every country where things have been relaxed, we have seen a surge in infections. That, of course, the pattern has been seen also in Europe and United States.</s>CURNOW: OK, thanks for that update there. Sam Kiley appreciated. So coronavirus cases in Latin America and the Caribbean topped 10 million on Saturday, the same day the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, whose nation is third in global infections took a motorbike ride around the beach resort, even stopped to take selfies without wearing a mask. Meanwhile, as Sam was saying, Jordan imposed a 48 hour lockdown, the first one there in months, as the country battles what officials call an exponential rise in COVID cases. So if you're an international watcher, if you're somewhere in the world besides America and Canada, WORLD SPORT is coming up for you, that's next, but if you're joining us from here in the U.S., I will be right back after the break with a little bit more news for you. Stick around.

Jordan Imposes Lockdown For First Time In Months; L.A. Lakers Beat Miami Heat To Claim Championship; Rafael Nadal Claims 20th Major Title

PATRICK SNELL, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, there. Thanks for joining us. Star power and record equaling history makers all the way on this Monday edition of CNN WORLD SPORT. Just look at these global icons Lewis Hamilton, Rafa Nadal and basketball mega star LeBron James, whose L.A. Lakers are celebrating a first NBA championship in a decade. On Sunday night, in the Orlando Bubble, King James and his Lakers teammates getting the job done in style of overcoming worthy opponents the Miami Heat in game six of the finals, 106 points to 93, closing out the best of seven series 4-2. Fair to say a COVID-19 impacted season like no other, prevailing through it all although, look at these images, the Lakers, their first title since 2010, and their 17th overall, which now ties them with a famous Boston Celtics for the most all time in league history. Look at their raw emotion too. Amid the ongoing global pandemic we have seen widespread protests over racial injustice across the United States, with James himself a huge presence on and off the court, and afterwards have to say in typically forthright mood.</s>COMMENTATOR: L.A. Lakers conquer the bubble.</s>LEBRON JAMES, NBA FINALS MVP: We just want our respect, Rob wants his respect, Coach Vogel wants his respect, organization what their respect, Lakers Nation what their respect, and I want my damn respect too.</s>SNELL: You have it. Well, this, now the fourth championship for James who will turn 36 just after Christmas, in fact, later this year in his 10th NBA Finals too. He previously won two titles with the Heat and one with the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron named NBA Finals MVP. The fourth time he's received this honor. Only the great Michael Jordan has more. Well, players, this season, have been front and center when it comes to taking a stance against social injustice. The words Black Lives Matter printed on the courts there in Florida. And when the campaign did resume, we saw almost all players with many coaches and referees as well joining them kneeling as well during the U.S. National Anthem. Take a listen now to the powerful words of the NBA's Commissioner.</s>ADAM SILVER, NBA COMMISSIONER: This season restart was always about something bigger than basketball. It was about resilience and ingenuity. But it was also about racial equality, and social justice. Working together, teams and players, we found a way to play through a pandemic, keep everyone safe, and put a spotlight on these critically important issues. For that, every team deserves to be celebrated.</s>SNELL: Obviously, Lakers as well have been playing through this season with collectively heavy hearts. This was the franchise's first NBA Finals appearance since 2010 when the late great Kobe Bryant won his fifth and final NBA crown. Now Bryant, along with his daughter, Gianna and seven other people passed away in a helicopter crash at the start of this year.</s>ANTHONY DAVIS, L.A. LAKERS ALL-STAR: Since that tragedy, all we want to do is do it for him and we didn't let him down. It would have been great to do it in the late game in his jerseys, but it made us come out even more aggressive, even more powerful on both ends on the floor to make sure we close it out tonight. And I know he's looking down on us, proud of us. I know Vanessa is proud of us, the organization is proud of us. It means a lot to us.</s>SNELL: Strong, poignant words indeed. Well, as I mentioned off the top, the Lakers now tied with their great rivals Boston for the most all-time NBA championships, 17. Those two franchises - look at that, by far the most dominant, as you can see the gap between themselves and the best of the rest is really quite substantial. All right, much more to focus on now. A different time of year for the 2020 French Open in Paris, but the same old story when it comes to the winner at the famed Roland Garros, the day after Poland's Iga Swiatek won the women's crown, Spanish Maestro, Rafa Nadal winning it for a record extending 13th time. His 20th Grand Slam crowd overall and he's now tied Swiss great Roger Federer his all-time mark There's a reason they call a man from Mallorca, the "King of Play, or 13 reasons, we should now say to be precise, Rafa, just ruthless Sunday. Thrashing the world #1 Novak Djokovic in straight sets, Nadal swept through the tournament without even dropping a set and he was relentless, Sunday, dismantling the Serbian player very comfortably indeed. The Spaniard is a class act, you know, on and off the court as witnessed by his reflective post match words.</s>RAFAEL NADAL, 13-TIME FRENCH OPEN WINNER: Very tough here. But win here means everything to me, so I - it's not the moment for - honestly, not for me. I don't think today about the 20th of equal Roger on this great number. For me today is just a Roland Garros victory. Now, that Roland Garros means everything to me--</s>SNELL: That was indeed a truly devastating performance that we witnessed from Rafa Sunday. With her reflections on it all now, here is our own Chrissy Macfarlane.</s>CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: It's a rivalry that has spanned 14 years and 56 games, but with history on the line today, Rafa Nadal, slammed the door shut on Novak Djokovic to take his 13th French Open title and a record equaling 20th Grand Slam. Something perhaps his best ever performance at Roland Garros, Nadal was relentless from the start, ripping forehand winners, running down every point to race to a six love opening set before closing out in straight sets, as he has done on four previous occasions. It means the Spaniard has now scored a century of wins in Paris, having only lost twice on the red clay before once to Novak Djokovic. The Serb had not lost a match all year, but this was a surprisingly lopsided result as Nadal scored 31 winners and just 14 unforced errors to seal the match. But now the gap between the big three has widened. Djokovic moves to three behind Nadal and Federer at the top of the all-time standings. Federer hasn't played since February when he had knee surgery and tweeted his congratulations to Rafa after the game saying, "As my greatest rival for many years, I believe we've pushed each other to become better players. Well done. Rafa. You deserve it." With Federer at the age of 38, and coming off knee surgery, there's now a chance for Nadal to end his career on top, especially if he's able to add more titles in Paris. In a tennis season that has looked and felt like no other due to the coronavirus pandemic, it at least ends with a familiar sight, Rafa Nadal holding the French Open trophy once again.</s>SNELL: Thank you Chrissy. Now, we're going to switch the focus on to yet another global superstar. Britain's Lewis Hamilton has just made his own very special piece of F1 history, a record equaling win, yes, but there was so much more to it all in Germany, on a weekend, he will likely never, ever forget.

Lewis Hamilton Wins Record-Equaling 91st Race; Sei Young Kim Claims Her First Major Title.

MEGAN RAPINOE: TWO-TIME WORLD CUP CHAMPION: I believe that we all have a responsibility to make the world a better place. Do what you can with what you have and do as much of it as you can. I clearly am very lucky to have a platform to get to play for the United States, to be able to take on some of these issues. So I've personally just find it interesting, and this is the stuff that I like to do and talk about. I think that we can live in a more fair and equitable society. I think that we can have a better life and I think we don't have to live, particularly with what's happening right now. I don't think we have to live in this world. I think it can be better. And so for me, I try to use all of the resources or platform or microphone if it's given to me to do what I can to make the world a better place.</s>SNELL: Welcome back to this Monday Reflections now on a truly historic weekend. The British Formula One superstar Lewis Hamilton on Sunday, he won the Eifel Grand Prix in Germany, a victory that ensured he's now tied the legendary Michael Schumacher for the all-time record of 91 Formula One race wins. This was the day, this was the moment, his seventh win of this COVID- 19 delayed season. And there is but one man who is rewriting the history books in his own unique fashion. Hamilton, the Englishman has staggering 69 points, clearing (ph) Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas to the top the drivers' standings right now. There's only 156 points more up for grabs. Surely, just a matter of time now before he's tied Schumacher for another record seven Drivers' titles. The F1 Circuit heads to Portugal next up. Well, Germany's Sebastian Vettel has won four world titles and he's third on the list of race wins, but he only has 53, that's 38 behind Hamilton, who will surely have the record all to himself Pretty soon, I would predict. Well unfortunately Michael Schumacher could not be there to see it. He suffered a traumatic brain injury while skiing accident there in 2013. But it was a really touching moment after the race when his 21 year old son, Mick, the current Formula 2 points leader presenting Hamilton with one of his famous father's helmets. Mick tweeting later, "Records are there to be broken. Well, Don Lewis."</s>LEWIS HAMILTON, 6-TIME WORLD CHAMPION: When you grow up watching someone and you generally idolize really just in terms of the quality of the driver they are, but what they're able to continuously do year- on-year, on race-on-race and week-on-week with that team. I remember playing Michael on the game on Grand Prix 2, I think it was. Just seeing his dominance for so long, I don't think anyone would - and especially me, imagine I would be anywhere near Michael in terms of the records. So, it's an incredible honor.</s>SNELL: Really special weekend. All right. Well, like so many other sports, golf has certainly been impacted by the ongoing pandemic. On Sunday, the third major of the season on the women's circuit, the rescheduled PGA Championship playing out in Philadelphia, culminating in a career breakthrough victory for South Korea's Sei Young Kim. Kim, a winner of 10 LPGA Tour events, beginning the day with a two stroke lead. And if anyone wanted to catch her, they would need the fast start and it would come from the Japanese player Nasa Hataoka on the very first hole indeed. The chip in for Eagle there is really impressive from the 21 year old. But nothing was going to keep Kim from her first major title. She played superb golf Sunday. Seven birdies with no bogeys for a resounding five stroke victory. The delight on her face all too apparent. Congrats to her. Her compatriot, by the way, Inbee Park, finishing second with around a 65. But just for perspective here, this is how dominant Kim actually was at a major tournament. Only eight players finishing under par at all. Kim, look at that, finishing 14 under par. The L.A. Lakers are basketball's NBA champs, while at the French Open a weekend to savor for Rafa Nadal and Poland's Iga Swiatek. Just to season, you know, both Swiatek and Nadal mean Christmas in Polish and Catalan respectively is our latest Rolex Minute for you.

U.S. President Claims Immunity from Virus; Trump Gets Ready for New Round of Campaign Rallies; Battle Intensifies Hours Before Barrett Confirmation Hearings; Biden Silent on Adding Justices to Supreme Court

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Robyn Curnow. You're watching CNN. So coming up on the show, we're just hours away from the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Hear what she'll say in her opening statement. A CNN exclusive: Dr. Anthony Fauci is expressing outrage after being featured in a Trump ad without his consent. And England braces for tough new restrictions as coronavirus cases surge there. Officials say they're near the tipping point.</s>ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Robyn Curnow.</s>CURNOW: Ten days after telling the world he tested positive for the coronavirus, the U.S. president is now claiming he's tested "totally negative," without offering any evidence. The White House won't say whether he'll get an update -- we'll get an update from his doctor, who vaguely told us earlier that President Trump is no longer considered a transmission risk. But now the president is taking it a step further and actually claiming to have immunity.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (via phone): I have to tell you, I feel fantastically. I really feel good. And I even feel good by the fact that, you know, the word immunity means something. Having -- having really a protective glow means something. I think it's very important to have that.</s>CURNOW: President Trump also touted his alleged immunity on Twitter, claiming he can't get the virus, or give it. And Twitter then slapped a warning on his tweet, saying it violated rules about spreading potentially harmful information. To be clear, there actually have been documented cases of coronavirus reinfection. Now, this of course, is all happening hours before the president launches his next round of campaign rallies. Here's Jeremy Diamond with that -- Jeremy.</s>JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is heading back to the campaign trail, hitting a trio of battleground states, beginning today in Florida. (voice-over): Tomorrow, the president is going to go to the battleground state of Pennsylvania before heading to Iowa on Wednesday. Now, President Trump heading back onto the campaign trail after the president's physician says that he has recovered from the coronavirus; also saying that the president is no longer infectious. (on camera): Now, the president himself claimed that he had gotten a negative test for coronavirus, but the president's physician, Dr. Sean Conley, didn't exactly say that. Instead, he said simply that the president's latest molecular test for coronavirus showed that he is no longer infectious, that he can't infect other people. But he did not say that the president had tested negative for the virus. But nonetheless, the president and his campaign are seizing on that letter from Dr. Sean Conley to say that that second debate that had been canceled by the Commission on Presidential Debates after President Trump withdrew from that second debate, the president's campaign are calling for that debate to be reinstated, saying the president should be able to participate after he's been cleared by his doctor to resume public activity. But another controversy is hitting the president and his team. On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci putting out a statement to CNN after the Trump campaign aired this misleading ad.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus, and so is America. Together, we rose to meet the challenge. President Trump tackled the virus head-on, as leaders should.</s>DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.</s>DIAMOND (voice-over): Now, Dr. Fauci saying in a statement to CNN, "In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidates. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials." (on camera): Now, it is clear from looking at that interview, which was taped all the way back in March, in the early months of this pandemic, that Dr. Fauci was, indeed, referring to the members of the coronavirus task force and other public health officials. But nonetheless, the president and his campaign standing by the ad. The president noting that these are Dr. Fauci's own words. Of course, what is notable here is that the president and his reelection campaign seemed to realize that the president is getting bad marks on his handling of the coronavirus. Nearly 6 in 10 Americans have said in recent polls that they disapprove of the president's handling of the virus. And what's also clear is that the campaign is using Dr. Fauci's image and his words here because Fauci is far more trusted by the public on this issue of coronavirus than the president is himself.</s>CURNOW: Jeremy Diamond there. Thanks, Jeremy. So the coronavirus is certainly adding to the uncertainty over another big story playing out in Washington. Just hours from now on Capitol Hill, the confirmation hearings begin for Mr. Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. Barrett is expected to tell lawmakers that courts are not supposed to make value judgments or set policy. This as Democrats fear abortion rights and health insurance that millions of Americans rely on could be in jeopardy. Here's Lauren Fox with more on that -- Lauren.</s>LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Those critical hearings beginning on Capitol Hill on Monday. And the first day of hearings is going to be lawmakers getting to make their opening statements, as well as Amy Coney Barrett, the nominee, making her opening statement, which CNN has obtained. We expect that she'll say, quote, "There is a tendency in our profession to treat the practice of law as all-consuming, while losing sight of everything else, but that makes for a shallow and unfulfilling life. I worked hard as a lawyer and a professor; I owed that to my clients, my students, and myself, but I never let the law define my identity or crowd out the rest of my life." Now, also looming over this hearing is going to be the fact that coronavirus is still very much a factor in these proceedings. Remember, two lawmakers, both Republicans, on the Judiciary Committee tested positive for coronavirus just more than a week ago. Those individuals, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, as well as Senator Mike Lee of Utah, both tested positive. And while we know that Tillis is expected to attend the hearings in person later this week, we still don't know whether or not Senator Mike Lee will attend the hearings in person. It's critical whether or not they show up. That's because the top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, told reporters on Sunday that, if those two members -- and it has to be both of them being absent -- are not there on Thursday, the day of a critical vote in the Judiciary Committee, he will not provide the critical number of Democrats necessary to get a quorum. That, essentially, could slow down this entire nomination process. So, while the first order of business is going to be what lawmakers say in their opening statements tomorrow, what Amy Coney Barrett says in her opening statement on Monday. It's also important to remember that the health of the individual members on this committee is going to be closely watched over the upcoming days. For CNN in Washington, I'm Lauren Fox.</s>CURNOW: Daniel Strauss is a senior political reporter with "The Guardian," and he joins me now from Washington. Daniel, hi. So another week. We're going to see a highly politicized legal battle for the Supreme Court seat. How toxic do you think it's going to get?</s>DANIEL STRAUSS, SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE GUARDIAN": I mean, you never know about these things, but judging by the last few Supreme Court battles, it's probably going to get extremely heated. And part of that is just because that we are on the very edge of the campaign season before a major presidential election.</s>CURNOW: Do you think voters will be swayed by what happens in the Supreme Court and in the next few days?</s>STRAUSS: I'm a little skeptical about that, and not because of any sort of, like, precedent about that or any -- or historical trends about awareness on the Supreme Court, but more just because this race has been incredibly static for months now. Former Vice President Joe Biden has retained leads in both national and statewide polls. And despite any different, and any major development in a host of issues or breaking news, that has been the margin between the vice president and President Trump. And I don't think a Supreme Court battle at this point is going to change that.</s>CURNOW: Court packing has been dangled by the Democrats. What is the strategic value of that? Or is it an unforced error?</s>STRAUSS: Well, look, it's -- it has -- when -- look, I think the important thing to think about with this is that the idea of court packing was not proposed by Joe Biden or his presidential campaign. It came up in the primary, and the root of it really came from the campaign of former South Bend mayor, Pete Buttigieg. And the argument here is that, look, Democrats are not going to be able to get a Supreme Court justice onto the court with nine seats any time soon. That's just not going to happen. There are too many justices that are healthy, and the -- and the president -- the sitting president is more inclined to nominate justices that will satisfy conservatives. So what Democrats propose is that they add seats to the court. They -- there's nothing that says that the high court has to be just nine justices. You can add two more or four more, this argument goes. The -- what makes Democrats antsy about that is because Republicans argue that this is, like you say, court packing in a derogatory term. And it's, essentially, sort of skirting the long-standing tradition of the Supreme Court. And Joe Biden has refrained from giving a straight answer on this. And that's partially because, in some Democratic circles and some activist circles, the idea of adding seats to the Supreme Court is very popular. But in others, not so much. And there is a worry among Democrats that committing to adding seats to the Supreme Court would alienate moderate voters or voters who are leaning toward voting for the -- the former vice president but don't usually vote for Democrats.</s>CURNOW: That's interesting. And we're also seeing Mr. Trump, the president, returning to the campaign trail. What does he need to do to win back momentum?</s>STRAUSS: I mean, it's hard to say at this point, and that's precisely because I think a lot of this is baked in. We are less than 30 days out from this election, and despite so much that's happened, the race has remained static. What the president is trying to do here is he's trying to energize as much of his supporters as possible. The Trump campaign feels that, despite all the polling that shows Biden ahead, there is still a possibility that there is some silent majority. There is some group of voters that conventional polls are just not picking up, much like in 2016. And that, if the president simply gets out there, proves that he's still vital and has not been sidelined by contracting the coronavirus, he can rally momentum and really sort of leapfrog Biden and create a surprise victory.</s>CURNOW: OK. Daniel Strauss, really appreciate it. Thanks for joining us. It's certainly going to be another week. Appreciate it.</s>STRAUSS: Thanks.</s>CURNOW: Be sure to tune in to CNN for the latest from Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearing. It all gets underway at 9 a.m. Eastern Time. That's 2 p.m. for all you folks in London. You're watching CNN. Still ahead, the U.S. sees another surge in coronavirus cases, prompting new warnings from health officials. Why some believe the crisis will only get worse as the winter approaches. Plus, a top doctor says England is reaching a tipping point in the pandemic, but that's not stopping protestors from voicing their frustrations. That story, as well, coming up.

Top Scientist: U.K. Nearing a 'Tipping Point'; U.S. Reports 50,000 New Cases for Four Straight Days

CURNOW: Welcome back. I'm Robyn Curnow. So European countries are struggling to respond to coronavirus infections and they're surging. Here's some of the latest updates. Italy just marked its highest increase of patients entering intensive care since the end of March. Back then, the country was dealing with one of the world's biggest outbreaks. Thirty people were admitted on Sunday. And for the fourth straight day, Portugal reported more than 1,000 cases. And with more than 1,300 new cases on Sunday, Russia just set a new record for coronavirus infections for the third day in a row. The country now has nearly 1.3 million cases overall. And we're expecting to hear from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson later on Monday. He's set to announce a new system of corona alert levels for England. Salma Abdelaziz has more on the urgent need to get the pandemic under control in the U.K. Take a listen.</s>SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One of the U.K.'s top scientists warning the country is reaching a tipping point. The deputy chief medical officer saying in a statement on Sunday that the U.K. will see more deaths in the coming weeks, and the decisive action is necessary if history is not to repeat itself. Very stark words there, but they are backed up by the numbers, number of coronavirus cases in the last week across the U.K. has nearly doubled. The rate of infection is now between 1.2 and 1.5. And in the north of the country, cities and towns are battling a resurgence in the number of infections and a rise in hospitalization rates. Now, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to make a statement to the House of Commons on Monday. He's already drawn a lot of criticism for failing to communicate to the public during these last few days as the number of cases has risen. The opposition Labour Party accusing the prime minister's government of losing control of the coronavirus message. Now, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to put tougher measures into place, and while we don't know the content of that statement, according to local media reports, the government has been considering a three-tiered system. That is they cut up the country geographically, based on each region. They would assess what level it would be at regarding its rate of infection, the number of coronavirus cases. If an area is found to be at the highest level, level three, as is expected in the north of the country, then those areas will be subject to tougher measures, which include closing down pubs, closing down restaurants, banning households from mixing together. And potentially, the statement would also include an economic relief package to help those business that have to close their doors. But for right now, the priority is, according to medical experts, is to slow the rise in the number of cases. The British Medical Association saying that the country is reaching a perilous moment and calling on the government to provide clear and simple instruction so that the public can comply quickly and that this rise in cases is stemmed. Otherwise, they warn that this wave can be even worse than the one in the spring. Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.</s>CURNOW: Well, people in London are taking their coronavirus frustrations to the street. Take a look at these images. They marched in the city over the weekend. Again, shutdowns, social distancing restrictions and the threats of possible lockdowns to come. Now, it doesn't matter that cases are rapidly rising in parts of England. Protestors say they are fighting for something else.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What it's basically about is the freedom of our country. Our grandfathers went to war as you all know, back in the day, and they fought for our freedom, for the whole world, everyone, yes? Freedom in the whole world. And we're here today because what's going on is not right.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm skeptical as to whether these deaths are actually linked to this virus or whether there's other things which are causing deaths, like the lack of treatment, lack of healthcare, canceled operations.</s>CURNOW: Meantime, in the U.S., infection numbers have also been rising at an alarming rate. For the first time since August, the country's reported more than 50,000 new cases for four consecutive days. Now, this pushes the infection total closer to 7.8 million people, while the death toll is now far above 200,000 people. As CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro reports, the outbreak is still expected to worsen, as well.</s>EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fears of a new coronavirus peak in the United States are growing in some corners. New cases are now on the rise in 30 states, and this country has reported 50,000 new cases for four consecutive days. That's the first time that's happened since August. The former CDC director, Tom Frieden, told CNN over the weekend that a second wave is not inevitable. But he added that the new cases mean a lot of tragedy is coming to this country in the coming weeks.</s>TOM FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: The only thing that's really inevitable is what's going to happen in the next couple of weeks. And from the infections that have already occurred, we will see something like 20,000 deaths by the end of the month, additional deaths. Any time we ignore, minimize or underestimate this virus, we do so at our peril and the peril of people whose lives depend on us. We still have, within ourselves, within our communities, within our society, the ability to turn this around. And if you look around the world, the parts of the world and even the parts of the U.S. that have been guided by public health and have supported public health have done better.</s>MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Frieden's words about the urgent need to follow infection mitigation guidelines ring especially true here, in New York City. This was once the hardest-hit place in America when it comes to the pandemic. That those numbers have dramatically improved in recent months. That's until recent weeks, when a few New York City neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens have seen their infection rates go back up. They're now six times the overall infection rate in the state. Those numbers are very concerning. Evan McMorris-Santoro, CNN, New York.</s>CURNOW: Dr. Darragh O'Carroll is an emergency physician in Hawaii, and he joins me now from Honolulu. Doctor, good to see you. We spoke about a little bit earlier on in the show. What do you make of the U.S. president's claim of immunity?</s>DR. DARRAGH O'CARROLL, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN: That's a very difficult one for most physicians to swallow. It's not in context of anything we've dealt with before as, you know, the medication that I think he's using, Regeneron, that he hangs most of this statement on hasn't been used in very many people. You know, less than 200. And what his -- his physician's statement said, it didn't say that he tested negative, just that he wasn't transmissible. You put it in the context of all of the data that we do know. Somebody has mild illness, the CDC guidelines are to say, hey, you're no longer symptomatic -- or transmissible, as long as it's been 10 days since the start of symptoms, your symptoms are improving, and you're not taking fever-reducing medicines, and you're not having fever for the last 24 hours. Now, somebody has moderate illness, and I would absolutely argue that our president had moderate illness. He required hospitalization. He required oxygen. He required Dexamethasone, which we only give to people who do require oxygen, that number bumps from 10 days to 20 days. And so they're flat-out going against the -- most the recommendations, if not all the recommendations that physicians across the country are using. So for me, I don't think that statement holds weight, and I think he's putting all those he comes into contact with at risk.</s>CURNOW: Yes, the three rallies coming up in the coming days. I want to just talk also about the cases that we're seeing rising in the U.S., in Europe in the U.K. Is this the second wave? And how concerned are you about all of these soaring new infection rates?</s>O'CARROLL: Well, it's tough to say. Is it the second wave? It definitely could be the start. If we had a -- if we had a, you know, magic ball we could take a look. It absolutely could be the start of a second wave. And this is what happens with an upper respiratory illness that is similar to flu in how it's transmitted. However, this is much more transmissible and also much more deadly. We know those things. So flu does increase in the fall and winter months. And the reason why that happens is that it's cold out. People are inside more. People are spending more time closer together. And the more that we are doing that, the less that we're wearing -- we are wearing masks, the more that we're gathering, the more opportunity, which is one of the main variables that this virus uses, the more opportunity we have, the more we're going to transfer it to others. So this absolutely could be the start of a secondary wave. And we're seeing that, you know, in the United States here. It's getting a bit colder out, because our weather is changing, and cases are increasing.</s>CURNOW: I don't know if you heard. Just before we came to you, we played a few clips, sound clips from folks in the U.K. in London who are marching. And they're frustrated about all the lockdowns, being particularly tough in the U.K. Areas like Liverpool are -- are about to also face more tough restrictions. Pubs are -- you know, pubs and life have changed. Do you, as a doctor, understand that people are projecting a lot of these harsh crackdowns and feeling extremely frustrated about having these limits on their lives. What do you say to them, when they express that?</s>O'CARROLL: Sure. I absolutely do understand, because on one hand, we are seeing the consequences of prolonged lockdowns and that, you know, our economic health is tied to our public health, people are unable to have the proper gainful employment that they used to have. That is harmful in itself. We do understand that, but the more that we are gathering, the more that our cases are going to increase, the more restrictions are going to be opposed. And -- and that's just -- you need to think long-term rather than short-term. And Hawaii is going through the same thing here, in that, you know, our state has been closed for the last six months or more because of our mandatory 14-day quarantine. So how do we institute the necessary protective measures to keep our residents safe, yet also continue to make gainful employment for the, as well? So I understand. But we need to think long-term and we need to think ahead, rather than just in the next week. And if we do protest and we do go against the public health guidelines. So that's really what needs to guide us, is these public health guidelines. And I'm really happy to hear the United Kingdom government has had now a little bit of change and they're -- they're having three different regions, that follow those and make sure that you listen to science. Because we do know that, when you don't, you transfer it to other people.</s>CURNOW: OK. Thanks so much. Live from Hawaii. We really appreciate you sharing all of your expertise, Dr. Darragh O'Carroll. Thank you.</s>O'CARROLL: Thank you, Robyn.</s>CURNOW: So coming up on CNN, the question Joe Biden is refusing to answer as the Senate prepares to confirm a Supreme Court nominee. We'll talk about that, just after the break. Stick with us. You're watching CNN.

Qantas Sells out Sightseeing 'Flight to Nowhere'.

CURNOW: Police here in Belarus used water cannon, batons and tear gas to break up anti-government protestors on Sunday. A human rights monitoring group says more than 200 people were detained, including 35 journalists. There've been huge protests since the August election. Opposition activists say it was rigged, and they're demanding President Alexander Lukashenko step down. And Nigeria has disbanded a controversial police unit following nationwide protests. A special anti-robbery squad known as SARS has been accused of torture methods, including hanging, mock execution and sexual violence, according to Amnesty International. The group says it's documented 82 cases of police brutality in Nigeria just over the past three years. The protests were a culmination of weeks of anger and outcry online by the country's youth. And Australia's Qantas Airlines took a scenic flight to nowhere on Saturday. The flight sold out in a matter of minutes, and hours after its departure, passengers were delighted to be right back where they started. Kim Brunhuber has the story.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Qantas Flight 787 to Sydney now ready for boarding.</s>KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR (voice-over): These die-hard travelers in Australia, many of them grounded for months because of coronavirus restrictions, are ready to embark on their next adventure, even if it's only a seven-hour flight on Qantas Airways, from Sydney to Sydney. For them, it's about the journey, not the destination.</s>WARREN GOODRIDGE, PASSENGER: It's very upsetting for us. We love traveling and so on, and as soon as we saw this one here, Jason and I thought, We've got to go on this one.</s>BRUNHUBER: Tickets to the so-called "flight to nowhere" sold out within ten minutes. The airline says middle seats were left empty so passengers could social distance. The Boeing Dreamliner flew over some of Australia's iconic sites, for a birds-eye view of places like Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, it was spectacular. I thought that some of the sites that we saw today, one would never get the chance to see it quite like that. I felt that I was so close to a lot of them.</s>BRUNHUBER: And, of course, there was an in-flight meal for that special class of people who miss eating a meal at 30,000 feet. The experience is designed to be a morale boost for travelers yearning to fly again, and an airline that posted a nearly $1.5 billion loss earlier this year because of the pandemic.</s>CAPTAIN LISA NORMA, QANTAS 787 FLEET MANAGER: It's been a very challenging year. And you know, when flying's in your blood, you know, I think we're all really struggling.</s>BRUNHUBER: Critics say flights like these are just joyrides and harm the environment, though Qantas says the flight will be fully carbon offset.</s>ALEX PASSERINI, PILOT: Hopefully, we've -- we've planted some seeds in terms of people's next holiday plans. We want more of those flights. Can't wait to get airborne again.</s>BRUNHUBER: And not to be outdone by the airlines, Singapore announced a travel plan to begin cruises with no port stops in November. An embattled travel industry that's taking the staycation to the next level. Kim Brunhuber, CNN, Atlanta.</s>CURNOW: Great story. So coronavirus isn't stopping BTS, one of K-Pop's most popular bands, from putting on arena shows. The group held a virtual concert on Saturday. Take a look at this. And though fans weren't in the stadium, it didn't look -- sound very different from a packed audience. Listen.</s>CURNOW: Thousands of fans cheered, waved light sticks and sang along from home. The band's management company hasn't released how many people actually watched this latest show, although it gathered some 114 million cheer clicks, a sign of approval that fans can press multiple times. Now, the band also had a smaller, socially-distanced audience in the BTS-themed cafe in Seoul. And if you're an international viewer, thanks for being with us. WORLD SPORT is coming up next. I'm going to hand you over to them. But if you're joining us here in the United States, I will be right back after the break. A little bit more for you.

President Trump Double Time Campaigning; Coronavirus in Iran Skyrocketed; Trump Back in Campaign Trail; Dr. Fauci Not a Politics Person; U.K. With New COVID Restrictions; Europe Hit by a Second Wave

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN Newsroom. And I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead, the U.S. president is heading back out on the campaign trail less than two weeks after being hospitalized for the coronavirus. The U.K. is set to unveil new measures for England as a second coronavirus wave hits Europe. And confirmation hearings for President Trump's Supreme Court pick are set to kick off today. Amy Coney Barrett's fate will be front and center. Good to have you with us. Well, a second wave of COVID-19 is striking countries around the world, and as we count down to election day here in the United States, we are also counting a major jump in new infections. Daily cases have been shooting past 50,000 for the first time since August. The virus has killed more than 214,000 Americans. And former director of the Centers for Disease Control says the U.S. will lose another 20,000 lives by November. But U.S. President Donald Trump's reaction to the virus remains little changed, a week after leaving the hospital, he is downplaying the virus and trying to spin his COVID diagnosis for political gain. In a tweet he claims he is immune with a clean bill of health. Twitter flagged that as misleading and potentially harmful. The president tried to explain his conditions Sunday on Fox News.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I have to tell you, I really feel fantastically. I really feel good. I even feel good by the fact that you know, the word immunity means something, having -- having really a protective glow, it means something. I think it's very important to have that.</s>CHURCH: Well, the president is also gearing up for more campaign rallies as he comes under 5 for a misleading ad. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has details now from Washington. JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN White</s>HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is heading back to the campaign trail, hitting a trio of battleground states, beginning today in Florida. Tomorrow, the president is going to go to the battleground state of Pennsylvania before heading to Iowa on Wednesday. Now President Trump heading back onto the campaign trail after the president's physician says that he has recovered from the coronavirus, also saying that the president is no longer infectious. Now the president himself claimed that he had gotten a negative test for coronavirus, but the president's physician Dr. Sean Conley didn't exactly say that. Instead, he said simply that the president's latest molecular test for coronavirus show that he is no longer infectious, that he can't infect other people, but he did not say that the president had tested negative for the virus. But nonetheless, the president and his campaign are seizing on that letter from Dr. Sean Conley to say that that second debate that had been canceled by the Commission on Presidential Debates after President Trump withdrew from that second debate. The president's campaigns are calling for that debate to be reinstated, saying the president should be able to participate after he has been cleared by his doctor to resume public activity. But another controversy is hitting the president and his team on Sunday. Dr. Anthony Fauci putting out a statement to CNN after the Trump campaign aired this misleading ad.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus, and so is America. Together, we rose to meet the challenge. President Trump tackled the virus head on, as leaders should.</s>ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more --</s>DIAMOND: Now Dr. Fauci saying in a statement to CNN, in my nearly five decades of public service I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials. Now it is clear from looking at that interview which was taped all the way back in March in the early months of this pandemic that Dr. Fauci was indeed referring to the members of the coronavirus task force and other public health officials, but nonetheless, the president and his campaign standing by the ad, the president noting that these are Dr. Fauci's own words. Of course, what is notable here is that the president and his reelection campaign seem to realize that the president is getting bad marks on his handling of the coronavirus. Nearly 6 in 10 Americans have said in recent polls that they disapprove of the president's handling of the virus. And what's also clear is that the campaign is using Dr. Fauci's image and his words here, because Fauci is far more trusted by the public on this issue of the coronavirus than the president is himself.</s>CHURCH: Joining me now is Dr. Ashish Jha. He is dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. Thank you, doctor, for talking with us and for all that you do.</s>ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Thank you very much for having me on.</s>CHURCH: So, President Trump's physician has medically cleared him to return to his public schedule after being infected with COVID-19. Let's just look at the wording of his doctor's memo. In addition to the president meeting CDC criteria for the safe discontinuation of isolation, this morning's COVID PCR sample demonstrates by current recognize standards he is no longer considered transmission risk to others. So why doesn't the doctor just say the president tested negative for COVID-19 if that indeed is the case? Because President Trump himself trick claimed on Sunday that he tested totally negative, those are his words. Is there a difference between not the being a transmission risk and testing negative?</s>JHA: Yes, so, you know, the messages from Dr. Conley, the president's physician are consistently convoluted and difficult to decipher. My best read is that the president is still testing positive which is actually pretty common and people well after they have stopped being infectious. So, we always have to turn to other factors and make a determination whether somebody is infectious or not. But again, it's not completely clear from Dr. Conley's note. And of course, you know, the president contradicting his own physician models the picture even further.</s>CHURCH: But a doctor would say he tested positive if he tested positive, or negative?</s>JHA: You would think a simple thing like whether his PCR test was positive or negative would be reported as such. That is not what Dr. Conley did. Again, there has been this pattern from Dr. Conley to try to be as evasive and confusing as possible, which unfortunately actually opens up for a lot of conspiracy theories and a lot of -- I don't think he intends for that to happen, but a straightforward answer on what the president's tests result are, would have been very helpful.</s>CHURCH: Right. And now President Trump plans to hold rallies in Florida, Pennsylvania, and Iowa this week. What are the potential risks posed to those attending these rallies? But of course, the president himself, because he will be standing for some time. And it's going to be pretty hot in Florida.</s>JHA: Yes. You know, I understand the desire for rallies in the weeks leading up to the election. But at the end of the day, public health has got to come first. And what we are seeing, we are seeing data emerge from his Minnesota rally, that there were new infections. People were hospitalized from that. These rallies are frankly dangerous, because you've got large numbers of people gathering. They are stationary together. Most of them don't wear masks, and there is very little social distancing. So even when the president was well, these were dangerous. And of course, right now, when we don't have clarity about the president's infectious status, it adds just more confusion and more concern to these rallies. So of course, as a public health person I would not recommend the president hold them, and I would not recommend that people attend them.</s>CHURCH: Right. And the president's medical team still refuses to answer the question when he last tested negative. Why are they not telling us that, do you think? And do we have the right to know that information?</s>JHA: I do think we have a right to know. He is a public figure. And when he goes and travels places, it's often on public expense, and of course, if he traveled to the debate after testing positive, or if he traveled to Minnesota or New Jersey after testing positive, and people who are there have a right to know. So, there are all sorts of good reasons why the president's team should be forthcoming. This is not a privacy issue. This is just a transparency issue. And it's also a public health issue, to make sure people might have been exposed to get adequate care of themselves.</s>CHURCH: Dr. Ashish Jha, always a pleasure and an honor to speak with you. Many thanks.</s>JHA: Thank you for having me on.</s>CHURCH: COVID-19 is on the rise in Europe. And you can see several countries on the continent in dark red on this map tracking week on week cases. France posted a record over the weekend, nearly 27,000 new cases Saturday. That came down Sunday when numbers are usually low due to less testing. Russia has just reported three days of record high cases. Their latest report is well over 13,000. And the United Kingdom is about to take action. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now set to announce new coronavirus alert levels designed to curb infections rising in certain locations. And our correspondents are tracking developments across Europe. Nic Robertson is live in London. He joins us now. And Scott McLean is standing by in Berlin. Good to see you both. So Nic, let's start with you. And the prime minister will soon outline new COVID restrictions as cases surge. What is expected?</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, one idea behind what the prime minister is doing is really to simplify the picture across the country so that people can understand what the restrictions in their areas are. Up until now there has been a patchwork of different lockdowns in different areas. So, what the prime minister is expected to do today is to announce these three different tiers, medium, high, and very high. Now we don't know precisely what restrictions will come into play with each of those tiers, or what the criteria is to be in one of those particular tiers, how high the infectious rate has to be in your area, for example. We don't know those specific levels yet. But what the prime -- what we do know is that the city of Liverpool is expected to be in the highest tier and they are expecting to have their pubs, their casinos and their gyms shut down. But there still seems to be a question for Liverpool whether or not their restaurants will be shut down. And it does seem that the government at this moment is still fine-tuning precisely what being one of those tiers implies. Now, one of the problems the government is facing at the moment is that the worst cases of rates of infection are in the north of the country. There has been huge pushback from the councils in the north of the country who say that the government is getting it wrong. That local lockdowns there at the moment aren't bringing infection rates down sufficiently. They want more detail about the rules that the government has been imposing. So there has been this pushback from the councils. There is anger in the north of the country, that they feel that this is something that is being imposed by the south of the country, that they may face their pubs being closed while in London the pubs will be open. So, this is a time again where the prime minister is trying to gain the confidence of the country with a simple message. It's not going to at all be easy. Rosemary?</s>CHURCH: It certainly won't. Nic Robertson, many thanks to you. And turning to Scott now. Scott, Germany France and other European nations are struggling with restrictions and increasing case numbers. What is the latest on that across Europe?</s>SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Rosemary. So here in Germany, first off, almost every large city is now a coronavirus hot spot. Stuttgart has even called in the military for help. And it is not just Germany seeing big problems when it comes to the coronavirus. This weekend, France, Czech Republic and Poland all recorded record new daily case counts. In fact, Poland saw four straight days of record new case counts. Paris has closed bars and restaurants. Meanwhile some hospitals in northern France are canceling non-COVID related procedures to make way for the influx of coronavirus patients. Meanwhile, the U.S., India, and Brazil are undoubtedly the worldwide hotspots. They though are starting to see case counts slowly declining or perhaps slowly rising, but in Europe, the case counts are only going in one direction, and that is straight up. The worst affected country here in Europe is the Czech Republic. And when you add them to that same graph, per million people, their case counts have absolutely skyrocketed. Which is interesting, because the Czech Republic is really an early success story when it came to getting a handle on the virus, they immediately moved to closed borders, requiring negative tests for the people that it did allow into the country. Now the Czech prime minister though, is calling on all health workers across the country to contribute to the effort to tamp down this virus after a large number of doctors and nurses tested positive for the virus. He is also warning people that there could be a second nationwide lockdown if things don't turn around. And across Europe countries are really trying everything that they can to avoid that second lockdown. Italy is now requiring masks to be worn in public spaces even outdoors. Here in Germany there are already stringent controls for people coming into the country from high-risk areas when it comes to testing. There is also a nationwide mandate to wear masks in shops and in stores and on public transit. But this weekend Berlin in particular where cases have been exceptionally high also required pubs and restaurants to close their doors at 11 p.m. And that's a big deal for Berlin. It's famous for its night life. In fact, normally the bars here don't have to close at all. They can go right through to the morning. Later today, though, Rosemary, German officials will give an update announcing new testing procedures or new testing strategy, I should say, and also new rules for quarantine.</s>CHURCH: Yes. And masks, of course, they are the key, can't label that message enough. Scott McLean, many thanks for that live report. I appreciate it. And still to come, confirmation hearings begin today for President Trump's Supreme Court nominee. Amy Coney Barrett, Republicans are moving forward and they are not letting the coronavirus get in their way. Plus, the pandemic's severe impact on young people in the U.S. How millennials and members of generation Z are struggling to get by.

Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Day One of Hearing; Young Generation Left to Survive.

CHURCH: Now in Washington, the first day of confirmation hearings will begin for President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. Senate Republicans are pushing ahead with the proceedings. That is despite uncertainty surrounding key members who have recently been diagnosed with the coronavirus. Democrats fear Barrett's appointment to the high court could jeopardize abortion rights and access to health care. CNN's Lauren Fox has a preview.</s>LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Those critical hearings beginning on Capitol Hill on Monday. And first day of hearing is going to be lawmakers getting to make their opening statements as well as Amy Coney Barrett, the nominee making her opening statement, which CNN has obtained. We expect that she'll say quote, "there is a tendency in our profession to treat the practice of law as all-consuming, while losing side of everything else, but that makes for a shallow and unfulfilling life. I worked hard as a lawyer and as a professor. I owe that to my clients and my students and myself, but I never let the law define my identity or crowd out the rest of my life." Now, also looming over this hearing is going to be the fact that coronavirus is still very much a factor in these proceedings. Remember, two lawmakers, both Republicans on the judiciary committee tested positive for coronavirus just more than one week ago. Those individuals, Thom Tillis of North Carolina as well as Senator Mike Lee of Utah, both tested positive, and while we know that Tillis is expected to attend the hearings in person later this week, we still don't know whether or not Senator Mike Lee will attend the hearings in person. It's critical whether or not they show up. That's because the top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer told reporters on Sunday, that if those two members, and it has to be both of them being absent, are not there on Thursday, the day of a critical vote in the judiciary committee, he will not provide the critical number of Democrats necessary to get a quorum. That essentially could slow down this entire nomination process. So, while the first order of business is going to be what lawmakers say in their opening statement tomorrow, what Amy Coney Barrett says in her opening statement on Monday, it is also important to remember that the health of individual members in this committee will be closely watched over the upcoming days. For CNN in Washington, I'm Lauren Fox.</s>CHURCH: Be sure to tune in to CNN for the latest from Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearing. It all gets underway at 9 a.m. Eastern, that's 2 p.m. in London. Well the White House economic adviser says he believes there is still hope for another stimulus package to help Americans and businesses hit hard by the pandemic. Larry Kudlow told CNN's jake tapper, negotiations between Democrats and the White House will continue this week. He says Treasury Secretary of Steve Mnuchin may offer a deal price even higher than the $2.2 trillion dollar offer House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is proposing. And it would target key areas like unemployment assistance and small business loans.</s>LARRY KUDLOW, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Look, I don't want to get into the specific legislative strategy, Jake, but I will say, from the president's remarks late last week, he is happy on the key targeted areas that I mentioned. He would actually go beyond with some of the Democratic numbers are.</s>CHURCH: Last week, you might recall President Donald Trump did an about face on negotiations by first unilaterally putting a stop to the talks, and then signing off on a $1.8 trillion dollar proposal that Pelosi called insufficient. Well for millions of young people in the U.S., the pandemic has affected so much more than their financial stability. It's also had a devastating impact on their health, families and future. Our CNN's Kyung Lah reports.</s>KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hannah and Joseph Kim knew growing up would be tough. But the siblings never imagined it would be like this.</s>HANNAH KIM, LOST PARENTS TO COVID-19: Towards the end of April, they consecutively went to the hospital. It was my grandmother first, and then my dad. The next day, and the next day was my mom.</s>LAH: COVID 19 took them one by one over just a few months, leaving the 22-year-old and 17-year-old Joseph alone.</s>KIM: My parents are gone, and for the last three months we did not even have the capacity to think about our futures. You know, we are just scrambling to save our parents.</s>LAH: She has no time to grieve. No time to show her loss. Hannah is in college now, Joseph in high school with no extended family nearby or clear path for how to make a living.</s>KIM: This is a memorial that we made for our parents. Just to remember them. And you know, we look in every day.</s>LAH: They are part of the hardest hit age group in the COVID economy. Young people. Generation Z and millennials have America's highest rates of unemployment, about half say they or someone else in their household have either lost a job or had a pay cut since the pandemic began.</s>JOSUE MARTINEZ, SURVIVED 45 DAYS IN COVID-19 COMA: You don't have a choice.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.</s>MARTINEZ: I work if I get sick or I end up in the streets.</s>LAH: Twenty-nine-year-old Josue Martinez is the sole breadwinner in his household. Paying the rent for the small converted garage he stares with his mother and girlfriend. He kept working at his job at CBS during the worst of the virus in California. Martinez says employees were notified that COVID positive patient had visited the store in March.</s>MARTINEZ: That's when I started getting all the symptoms. I started getting the fever, the cough, and at the end I was like I couldn't breathe at all.</s>LAH: This is what happened to Martinez. For 45 days he was in a medically induced coma nearly losing his life in intensive care. Weeks later, he survived. But he is dependent on a walker before the age of 30.</s>LAH: Do you think that this will impact your ability to make money or to work in the future?</s>MARTINEZ: Yes. I do. So, any activity -- any activity I was doing normally, like now, I'm like, they make it like I can't do.</s>LAH: Young Americans with no choice but to deal with the hand they have been dealt with.</s>KIM: My brother is still alive. We are healthy and so, you know, I think that's just pockets of joy is what I'm looking for. It's what keeps me going.</s>LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.</s>CHURCH: Shocking situation for those families. And there is new polling just out from key battleground states. Three weeks before election day. And we will discuss the numbers with our panel. That's next. Plus, India is second only to the U.S. for most coronavirus cases. Now, one celebrity chef is doing his best to help the needy during the pandemic. We will have more on that after the break.

Chef Feeds Millions of Indians

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone. We do want to recap one of our top stories. The U.S. president is returning to the campaign trail 10 days after announcing he had COVID-19. The latest poll showed Donald Trump trailing Democrat Joe Biden ahead of November's election. They also show most voters are critical of the president's pandemic response. The Trump team wants to change that with this campaign ad. But it may have backfired, already. It uses a clip from Dr. Anthony Fauci out of context in an effort to falsely suggest he is praising the president's handling of the virus. Let us talk now with CNN political commentator, Dr. Abdul el-Sayed. He endorsed Bernie Sanders for president this year. Also, CNN political commentator, Alice Stewart, she is a former communications director for Senator Ted Cruz. Welcome to you both.</s>ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi, Rosemary.</s>ABDUL EL-SAYED, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi, Rosie.</s>CHURCH: So, Alice, I do want to start with you. President Trump talks a lot about fake news, and yet his latest ad uses a quote from Dr. Anthony Fauci taken out of context. Dr. Fauci said he did not give permission for his words to be used and has never endorsed a political candidate. It's exactly this sort of behavior that adds to the distrust many voters are feeling right now, with the Trump administration. Polls showing 6 in 10 voters disapproving with the way he is dealing with the pandemic. What do you say to that?</s>STEWART: Well, Rosemary, it is pretty clear that for quite some time, the last couple months, the administration has considered Dr. Fauci the bogeyman when it came to the coronavirus, really downplayed a lot of the advice and information he was portraying. But they realized that he certainly had the support and fate of the American people, and the information and the warnings that he had been giving were actually helpful and correct. So, I understand why the campaign would want to use his comments and advice that he was giving, because people do support him. These are the kinds of things from a campaign standpoint, you generally do run it by the person that you are using, but this was just a situation where they clearly saw that COVID is a situation that they need to get in front of. They need to show someone that has strength and confidence in the American people. And that's exactly why they did this.</s>CHURCH: Doctor, what is your reaction to that?</s>EL-SAYED: It is the height of cynicism. Right? They have to the point where the White House actually released a number of times, a sheet of indications of where Dr. Fauci got it wrong, as if to downplay him. Despite the fact that as you noted, he is one of the country's most trusted experts on COVID-19. And then they turn around and cynically use his likeness and his words taken out of context in a campaign ad. I just think it is such a cynical ploy on the part of the campaign that is clearly drowning right now.</s>CHURCH: And Alice, the president's physician gave him the all clear to do upcoming rallies and then in a call to prayer, Mr. Trump said he tested totally negative for COVID, but that is not what his doctor said. In fact, his physician avoided stating directly that the president had tested negative, but instead said he is no longer considered a transmission risk. Why the play on words here? And why is it OK to put people at risk at these rallies?</s>STEWART: Right, Rosemary. I don't believe that the president has tested negative for coronavirus when the doctor looked squarely in the camera and acknowledges as much. The reality is just because it is OK for him to go out and conduct rallies again, doesn't mean that that's what should be done. I think it's imperative, especially given the fact that he is just recovering from COVID that they need to use caution. They need to socially distance. They need to avoid large crowds, encourage mask- wearing. That is the advice moving forward. Look, he does need to get out there. He does need to get his message out there. He had the perfect opportunity to do so this week, and in the debate with Joe Biden, and he decided that he didn't want to participate in that when it was being done virtually. That was a tremendously huge missed opportunity, but he is moving full speed ahead, going out there to meet face to face with voters, which is very important, because the poll numbers, not just nationally but in a lot of these key battleground states, he needs to make up some ground. And this is the best way, obviously they feel they need to do so by holding rallies.</s>CHURCH: Doctor, what's your reaction to finding out that the president will be going to Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa in the coming week?</s>EL-SAYED: It's quite clear given what his physician said that they were looking for a test that they could use that wouldn't say that he is positive for COVID-19 to give him some kind of fig leaf for the wantonly irresponsible choices that him and his campaign are making, to take a clearly sick man who could be shedding virus out onto the campaign trail, to potentially infect many other people after having already been a part of a super spreader event. Basically, the White House that left 37 people and counting sick. And so, this is just in keeping with the level of cynicism and lack of honesty with the American people. And a disdain for the well-being of the folks around him, that the president is making these choices.</s>CHURCH: And Alice, as you mentioned, President Trump is trailing in national polls behind his rival, Joe Biden, and some battleground states. A CBS News poll shows Biden ahead in both Michigan and Nevada, 52 percent to Trump's 46 percent and then in a tie in Iowa at 49 percent. Now Trump -- Trump won Iowa back in 2016 by nearly 10 percentage points. How worried are you and the party that he will lose in that state? And is your party listening to messages sent by these polls? Because Cindy McCain and other high-profile Republicans are endorsing Biden right now. How worried does that make everyone?</s>STEWART: Whether they say it or not, it is certainly a concern. Look, I don't put any stock really at the stage of the game and national polls, but as you mentioned, those battleground states, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, these are states that he absolutely has to win. He is right now not doing very well. And the polls, understand, it's not just about the popular vote. It is the Electoral College votes. And these electoral votes in these key states are what is going to make the difference, and the key right now for this president is to go out there and make the case for himself. He needs to shift the focus from COVID because that is not a winning message for him.</s>CHURCH: Doctor, you will get the final word. Your reaction to all of that.</s>EL-SAYED: Well, I mean, the truth of the matter is you can talk about freedom all you want, but how many of us actually feel free to go about and do what we normally do in a beautiful fall day like this one? Almost nobody. And the fact is the president doesn't feel free because of course he just got COVID-19 because of his irresponsibility in the middle of a pandemic that he and his policies have helped to give oxygen. And so in this moment, the reality of this is that he is underwater because this presidency has failed. And he has failed to explain to the American people early on what we were dealing with, what could have been done. He failed to act in response to this pandemic. And now he is figuratively and literally failing when it comes to keeping people safe. And so, we are in this situation right now, we've got 23 days left into this election, and I know that there is a real focus right now on trying to tell the story, but it's really hard to tell the story about failure that isn't just about failure.</s>CHURCH: Alice Stewart and Dr. Abdul el-Sayed, many thanks to you both. I appreciate it.</s>STEWART: Thank you.</s>EL-SAYED: Thank you.</s>CHURCH: Well, Iran reached two sobering milestones in just 24 hours. On Sunday, the country reported almost 4,000 new COVID-19 cases. Breaching the half million mark in total. Iran also reported a record daily death toll with 251 lives lost over 24 hours. The health ministry says that 26 out of the 31 provinces in the country are categorized as red zones. Well for more, I'm joined now by CNN's Sam Kiley. He joins us live from Dubai. Good to see you, Sam. So what is the latest on the situation across Iran? And what are health authorities doing in terms of testing, isolating and of course wearing masks?</s>SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Iran was the first country really outside of China to have been really badly hit right at the beginning of this pandemic just as it was beginning to cede itself and spread across Europe. We were seeing very high caseloads indeed in Iran. But though they -- and they moved very quickly to try to test, they were obviously behind the curve in a brand-new virus in capacity to do that, but they did impose widespread lockdowns. They went into street cleaning, right, in the beginning of famous Cajuns. We saw trucks spraying the streets with disinfectant and so on, but now the health ministry is saying that they are deeply in the second wave of infections, particularly in the capital of Tehran. There is compulsory mask wearing in most public places. People have been discouraged from attending mosques and other social gatherings, but inevitably during this process they have released a degree of lockdown here and there. And where they have done that or it's been ignored. They have seen very profound increase in cases. And also, the health ministry there, Rosemary, warning that the staffs in these hospitals are on the verge of being personally overwhelmed through overwork and infection themselves. Many of them have been sent home after testing positive and dealing with the coronavirus in quarantine. But they are not alone, Rosemary. Across the Middle East, particularly in Iraq where they are close to the 400,000-infection mark. There has been an increase in cases. Jordan, over the weekend has imposed indefinitely a Friday and Saturday a 48-hour curfew lockdown on the entire nation. That is clearly intended to prevent people circulating and meeting even in masks and that those over the weekend period there as it is in that country. We've seen in Lebanon record cases also last week with the health ministry they're saying they are in danger of being completely overwhelmed in the context of economic collapse and political paralysis. Israel has got very heavy levels of lockdown. It has been reimposed there after they have seen very significant spike in infections. So, the pattern across the Middle East has been remarkably similar to what we have seen in Europe and the United States. Here in the United Arab Emirates where the rules have worked very, very strict to the get-go and remain very, very strict, they are seeing an increase in infections but not a catastrophic level.</s>CHURCH: Yes. We are starting to understand those patterns, aren't we, as we keep seeing them repeated across the globe. Sam Kiley, many thanks for bringing us that live update. Well India's health minister is urging people to stay home from upcoming festivals as the country topped seven million coronavirus cases. On Monday alone India reported almost 67,000 new cases. Officials also reported over 800 deaths. One chef has taken it upon himself to bring hope and food to those who are struggling in India. CNN's Vedika Sud has more.</s>VEDIKA SUD, CNN PRODUCER: Rekindled for millions of India's the underprivileged who have been struggling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic, this massive food drive is the brain child of Indian chef Vikas Khanna. For the last six months, Khanna has been planning every step of his project from his home in New York City. After India implemented its first lockdown in March, Khanna donated to charities. But images of Indians in need stayed with the chef who decided to take direct action.</s>VIKAS KHANNA, INDIAN CHEF: We started getting sharp listing different cities. So, on my room I had this ball. We will put the name of the city and start putting the name of the places who need food.</s>SUD: Khanna soon realized that managing logistics from over 7,000 miles away wasn't easy. So, he collaborated with India's National Disaster Response Force to deliver food and amenities to remote areas of the country. He says they have distributed food to sex workers, seniors, HIV AID stations, flood victims, and migrant workers.</s>S.N. PRADHAN, DIRECTOR GENERAL, NATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE FORCE: And even if it was a one man show up there from there, I said OK, we can be your arms, and ears, and legs.</s>SUD: Khanna who cooked for President Obama in the White House is one of the first Indians to have been awarded a Michelin star. He has written 35 books including what's been called the most expensive cookbook "Utsav". He is also filmmaker but his mission to feed millions of his fellow Indians remains closest to his heart.</s>KHANNA: It didn't start here. It started here. This was stopping the project. Brain was thing that you have too many pending projects.</s>SUD: There are days when Khanna feels overwhelmed by the magnitude of the project. His mother back home in India doesn't let him give up.</s>BINDU KHANNA, VIKAS KHANNA'S MOTHER: I convinced him by saying that you are going out of India. You should do something for your country. Why not bring everybody something?</s>SUD: The 48-year-old Indian says he was born with clubbed feet. For 11 years he walked with the support of braces and then wooden shoes. For Khanna, supporting millions of fellow Indians will always be a bigger moment than the day he first run. Vedika Sud, CNN, New Delhi.</s>CHURCH: Great story there. Up next, Nigerians took to the streets demanding an end to a controversial police unit and it worked. But is the fight against police brutality actually over? We'll look at that.

Nigerians Fed Up with SARS

CHURCH: Anger on the streets of Nigeria has led to change. The Nigerian inspector general and the entire world have heard those chants of end SARS and now the country is dissolving its controversial special anti-robbery squad known as SARS after accusations of police brutality and nationwide protests, but the fight against excessive force may not be over just yet. Protesters in Abuja say police use water cannon and live ammunition during a march on Sunday. CNN's Stephanie Busari joins us now live from Lagos. Stephanie, what is the latest on the situation in Nigeria?</s>STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN PRODUCER: Good morning, Rosemary. The campaigners here are calling the decision to abolish SARS a hollow victory and they say that they will continue protesting there out on the streets this morning. They say these are just words and they are demanding action. This is after all the fourth time that this very same unit has been disbanded, and nothing has changed, they said. In fact, the very moment that the inspector general was announcing the dissolution of this unit, protesters were being dispersed by officers with water cannons, tear gas, live ammunition. We've had one confirmed death and several others unconfirmed, and they are saying this is not what we want. Enough is enough. We want action to back these words that this unit that has been harassing us will stop. And Amnesty International tells CNN that the government seems to lack political will to really in that far reaching reforms needed to stop police brutality here. We went along to protest here in Lagos over the weekend and we spoke to one of the protesters. Take a listen to what she said.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are coming after us. They are not going after our (Inaudible). They are not going after (Inaudible). They are going after hardworking youth. We do not have to work in communist that you were. Many of us are entrepreneurs, many of us freelancers. Stop asking us how we can afford the force or use because we drive. We work hard. Go and work hard. Stop harassing us. Stop extorting us. That's all we want. And that's why we are here right now because we want SARS to stop.</s>BUSARI: So, there you go, Rosemary. That gives you a sense of the real anger and sense of injustice that is people have been feeling out here across the streets of Nigeria. Rosemary?</s>CHURCH: Yes. And I have certainly been receiving a number of tweets from Nigeria. So, keep them coming. We want to stay on top of the story. Stephanie Busari, many thanks. Still to come on CNN, how Rafael Nadal cop-out a remarkable piece of tennis history at the French Open.

Nadal 20th Win in 2020

CHURCH: The Los Angeles Lakers have won the 2020 NBA championship. They defeated the Miami Heat in game 6 Sunday night. It's the Lakers 17th title all-time tying the Boston Celtics for the most in league history. LeBron James was named the finals MVP. Former President Barack Obama congratulated the Lakers and the Seattle storm winning the WNBA title thing he was proud of how the league's teams and players used their voices for racial justice. And in tennis, Rafael Nadal's victory at the French Open earned him his 20th Grand Slam title. It ties him with Roger Federer's all-time record, Nadal beat rival Novak Djokovic in straight sets in Sunday's final. The 34-year-old Spaniard says he is pleased with his performance.</s>RAFAEL NADAL, 2020 FRENCH OPEN WINNER: Yes. Well, of course, I played an amazing level of tennis now. For two sets and a half I played great. Honestly. I can't say another thing. It is impossible to play against him without playing great.</s>NOVAK DJOKOVIC, LOST FRENCH OPEN TO NADAL: Just he did, you know, he surprised me with the way he was playing and the quality of tennis he was producing and the level. I mean, it was phenomenal. I mean, he played a perfect match. The coronavirus pandemic forced tennis organizers to move the French Open from its usual late May start. And I want to thank you for joining me this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more news in just a moment. Stick around.

Europe's Second Wave Breaks; Trump Back On The Campaign Trail; US: October Coronavirus Numbers Equal August's; Speaking With COVID Trial Volunteers

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Then coming up. Europe's second wave of coronavirus is in full force. And it's not even flu season yet. And a showdown over the next supreme court nominee is set to get under way. What we already know about Amy Coney Barrett's opening statement. Also, a landmark. Twentieth Grand Slam title for Rafa Nadal. Who's countin', right?</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM. With Robyn Curnow.</s>CURNOW: Great to have you along with me this hour. So global efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic are falling far short. Second waves and flare-ups are fueling new infections in many places with a case total now topping 37 million people worldwide. So in the past week -- take a look at this map here. New cases rose in all of the countries you see here in dark orange and maroon. That includes much of Europe which is experiencing an alarming resurgence. A similar situation in parts of the Middle East. And the U.S., of course, remains the world's biggest hot spot. But that's not stopping Donald Trump's campaign machine. The U.S. president now says he's tested totally negative and even insists he's immune. Even though that has totally not been proven.</s>CURNOW: And with that unsubstantiated claim of immunity, President Trump is now gearing up for his next round of rallies which start today. Jeremy Diamond has the details. Jeremy.</s>JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is heading back to the campaign trail hitting a trio of battleground states beginning today in Florida. Tomorrow the president is going to go to the battleground state of Pennsylvania before heading to Iowa on Wednesday. Now President Trump heading back onto the campaign trail after the president's physician says that he has recovered from the coronavirus. Also saying that the president is no longer infectious. Now the president himself claimed that he had gotten a negative test for coronavirus but the president's physician, Dr. Sean Conley, didn't exactly say that. Instead he said simply that the president's latest molecular test for coronavirus showed that he is no longer infectious, that he can't infect other people. But he did not say that the president had tested negative for the virus. But nonetheless, the president and his campaign are seizing on that letter from Dr. Sean Conley to say that that second debate that had been canceled by the commission on presidential debates after President Trump withdrew from that second debate, the president's campaign are calling for that debate to be reinstated. Saying that the president should be able to participate after he's been cleared by his doctor to resume public activity. But another controversy is hitting the president and his team. On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci putting out a statement to CNN after the Trump Campaign aired this misleading ad.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus and so is America. Together we rose to meet the challenge. President Trump tackled the virus head on, as leaders should.</s>DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.</s>DIAMOND: Now Dr. Fauci saying in a statement to CNN. "In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to be with my position in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health professionals." Now it is clear from looking at that interview which was taped all the way back in March in the early months of this pandemic that Dr. Fauci was indeed referring to the members of the coronavirus task force and other public health officials. But nonetheless, the president and his campaign standing by the ad, the president noting that these are Dr. Fanucci's own words. Of course, what is notable here is that the president and his reelection campaign seem to realize that the president is getting bad marks on his handling of the coronavirus. Nearly six in ten Americans have said in recent polls that they disapprove of the president's handling of the virus. And what's also clear is that the campaign is using Dr. Fauci's image and his words here because Fauci is far more trusted by the public on this issue of coronavirus than the president is himself.</s>CURNOW: Jeremy Diamond there. Thanks, Jeremy, for that update. So as I was saying, European countries are struggling to respond to the surge in coronavirus infections there. We know Italy just marked its highest increase of patients entering intensive care since the end of March. Back then the country was dealing with one of the world's biggest outbreaks. Thirty people were admitted on Sunday. And for the fourth straight day, Portugal reported more than 1,000 cases. And with more than 1,300 new cases, Russia just set a record for new coronavirus infections for the third day in a row. The country now has nearly 1.3 million cases overall. And as coronavirus cases soar in Europe, protesters are frustrated with government efforts to stop the crisis. They're marching in cities across the continent, fighting for their, quote, "freedom" as thousands die in hospital beds. Isa Suarez has the report.</s>ISA SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Frustrated protesters in London march against COVID-related restrictions. In Glasgow, bar and restaurant workers dump ice on the street outside city chambers in protest. Anti-mask protesters in Dublin say they're sick of being told what to do.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: (Inaudible) I go to mass, then I go to a funeral, masks on everywhere we go.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: This is justly unfair and it's a crime against humanity. And shame on the government of Ireland.</s>SUAREZ: And in Rome, citizens push back against government measures to curb the spread of the virus. Despite daily case numbers in Italy spiking this weekend to levels not seen since late March when the country was in lockdown. Across Europe, many citizens are craving a complete return to normalcy even though the numbers paint an alarming picture. "England is at a tipping point," says its deputy chief medical officer. And on Monday, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce further steps to control the spread of the virus. Over the weekend, France hit a record with over 26,000 new cases in 24 hours on Saturday. As cases are on the rise so is frustration as governments across the continent are responding. Restrictions on night life in Berlin have left business owners agitated.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER (Through Translator): Because of this measure, the world is watching Berlin. I don't understand how the mayor can destroy the largest economic sector of his city. It's unbelievable.</s>SUAREZ: But the German leaders continue to stress the importance of those restrictions.</s>JENS SPAHN, FEDERAL MINISTER OF HEALTH, GERMANY (Through translator): I once again make an urgent appeal to the 20- through 40-year old community in big cities, to understand that this is not a time for partying, not a time for negligence. But it is a time to protect others, especially the elderly, and prevent the number of infections from exploding.</s>SUAREZ: For people continue living within confines, desperate to go back to the life they once knew. Isa Suarez, CNN.</s>CURNOW: And here in the U.S., infection numbers have also been rising at an alarming rate. So over the past week 30 states recorded a spike in new cases while only two saw their transmission rates fall. Nationwide health officials have confirmed more than 50,000 new cases for four consecutive days. It's the first time that's happened since early August. Dr. Darragh O'Carroll is an emergency physician in Hawaii and he joins we now from Honolulu. Doctor, good to see you. We spoke about a little bit earlier on the show, what do you make of the U.S. president's claim of immunity?</s>DR. DARRAGH O'CARROLL, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, HAWAII: That's a very difficult one for most physicians to swallow. It's not in context of anything we've dealt with before. The medication that I think he's using, Regeneron, that he hangs most of his statement on hasn't been used in very many people, less than 200. And what his physician's statement said -- it didn't say that he tested negative, just that he wasn't transmissible. But when you put it in the context of all of the data that we do know, if somebody has mild illness, the CDC guidelines are to say hey, you're not no longer symptom -- transmissible, as long as you spend 10 days from the start of symptoms, your symptoms are improving and you're not taking fever-reducing medicines and you're not having fever for the last 24 hours. Now if somebody has a moderate illness -- and I would absolutely argue that our president had moderate illness -- he required hospitalization, he required oxygen, he required dexamethasone which we only give to people who do require oxygen -- that number bumps from 10 days to 20 days. And so they're flat out going against most of the recommendations if not all of the recommendations that physicians across the country are using. So for me, i don't think that statement holds weight. And I think he's putting all those he comes into contact with at risk.</s>CURNOW: Yes. The three rallies coming up in the coming days. I want to just talk also about the cases that we're seeing rising in the U.S., in Europe, in the U.K. Is this the second wave and how concerned are you about all of these soaring new infection rates?</s>O'CARROLL: Well, it's tough to say is it the second wave, it definitely could be the start. If we had a magic ball, we could take a look. It absolutely could be the start of a second wave. And this is what happens with an upper respiratory illness that is similar to flu in how it's transmitted. However, this is much more transmissible and also much more deadly. And we know those things. So flu does increase in the fall and winter months. And the reason why that happens is that it gets colder out, people are inside more, people are spending more time closer together. And the more that we are doing that, the less that we're wearing masks, the more that we're gathering the more opportunity -- which is one of the main variables that this virus uses -- is the more the opportunity we have the more we're going to transfer to others. So this absolutely could be the start of a secondary wave. And we're seeing that in the United States here. It's getting a bit colder out because our weather is changing and cases are increasing.</s>CURNOW: I don't know if you heard. Just before we came to you, we played a few clips, sound clips, from folks in the U.K. and London who are marching. And they're frustrated about all the lockdowns, it's been particularly tough in the U.K. Areas like Liverpool are about to also face more tough restrictions. Pubs and life have changed. Do you, as a doctor, understand that people are rejecting a lot of these harsh crackdowns and feeling extremely frustrated about having these limits on their lives. And what do you say to them when they express that?</s>O'CARROLL: Sure, I absolutely do understand. Because on one hand we are seeing the consequences of prolonged lockdowns and our economic health is now tied to our public health. These people are not able to have the proper gainful employment that they used to have, that is harmful in itself. We do understand that. But the more that we are gathering, the more that our cases are going to increase, the more restrictions are going to be imposed. And that's just -- you need to think long term rather than short term. And Hawaii is going through the same thing here. In that our state has been closed for the last six months or more because of our mandatory 14-day quarantine. So how do we institute the necessary protective measures to keep our residents safe yet also continue to make gainful employment for them as well? So I understand, but we need to think long term and we need to think ahead rather than just the next week. And if we do protest and we do go against the public health guidelines, so that's really what needs to guide us. And I'm really happy to hear the United Kingdom government has had now -- a little bit of change and they're having three different regions.</s>CURNOW: Right.</s>O'CARROLL: Follow those and make sure that you listen to science. Because we do know when you don't, you transfer it to other people.</s>CURNOW: OK. Thanks so much. Live from Hawaii. Really appreciate you sharing all your expertise. Dr. Darragh O'Connell [sic]. Thank you.</s>O'CARROLL: Thank you, Robyn.</s>CURNOW: So the race to develop an effective vaccine is picking up. Forty-two vaccine candidates are in human trials around the world. That includes 122 in China, seven in the U.S., four in Germany and three in the U.K. But health officials are already warning a vaccine will not mean an immediate return to normal life. And then there's the issue of trust. As the former head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention said at a CNN coronavirus town hall. Take a listen.</s>DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, FMR. DIRECTOR, U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION: For a vaccine to actually work, it's got to not only be safe and effective but also be accessible and trusted. And that's why it's so important that it not get politicized, that it not be seen as from any political party or political figure. Vaccines are already an area where there's a lot of suspicion, a lot of rumor. And so we need to be completely transparent about the information, we need to see vaccines go through the standard procedures. They can go through them very quickly but they need to go through all of the standard procedures. No cutting corners on safety.</s>CURNOW: Now one of those procedures is, of course, human trials. And thankfully, there are volunteers willing to deliberately expose themselves to COVID so see just how effective these vaccine candidates are. Well, Phil Black caught up with some of those volunteers. Here's Phil's piece.</s>PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Like so many, Estefania Hidalgo has quietly endured the challenge, the inconvenience, of living through a pandemic. But she wanted to do more.</s>ESTEFANIA HIDALGO, ONE DAY SOONER VOLUNTEER: This was a way for me to take control of the situation, to feel like I was in a more -- or in a less hopeless place, in a less hopeless world. And be like OK, I can do this, to make it better. I chose not to be in fear.</s>BLACK: So she volunteered to be deliberately infected with the coronavirus.</s>HIDALGO: I was shaking but then I just, without knowing, I just typed my name in and was like let's go for it. I want to be a part of it --</s>BLACK: Shaking?</s>HIDALGO: Yes. Because it can be scary, right? You're going to be potentially exposed to the virus.</s>ORGANIZER "1 DAY SOONER: " Yes.</s>BLACK: Alexander Fraser Urquhart is also very keen to be infected.</s>ALISTAIR FRASER-URQUHART: I've just got the email.</s>BLACK: He helps with running the recruitment campaign Estefania has signed up to. "1 Day Sooner" finds volunteers -- so far tens of thousands around the world -- and has been lobbying the U.K. government to make use of them through potentially risky research.</s>ALISTAIR FRASER-URQUHART: I wake up thinking about science trials, I go back to bed thinking about science trials.</s>BLACK: Challenge trails involve giving young, healthy people a potential vaccine. Like this one developed by London's Imperial College. Then later, testing them by deliberately dozing them with the virus. Proponents say it's faster than waiting for test subjects to be exposed to a specific virus in the real world. With numerous COVID-19 vaccines being developed, some scientists think challenge trials could help identify the best of them sooner.</s>FRASER URQUHART: By taking that small risk on myself, I can potentially protect thousands of other peoples from having to be infected without consenting to it.</s>BLACK: Critics say challenge trials have limited use because the young healthy people who take part don't represent the broader population. They have been used against other viruses.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Hi, Tom (ph).</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Hi.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Welcome to Flu Camp.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Thank you.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Through to quarantine then?</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yes, yes, yes.</s>BLACK: This is corporate video from a London facility that recruits, exposes and strictly quarantines people to test influenza vaccines.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: We've got a wonderful safety record that we're all proud of.</s>BLACK: But there are always risks. Especially with a new virus that's already killed more than a million people. And epidemiologists say it's likely some volunteers would be needed for a control group, to make sure the virus does -- can cause disease. It means they'd be exposed to the virus without receiving a vaccine. The real potential for doing harm to volunteers would be closely scrutinized by regulators.</s>PROFESSOR SIR TERENCE STEPHENSON, CHAIR OF ENGLAND'S HEALTH RESEARCH AUTHORITY: A challenge trial would have to make the cogent argument that the benefits to society greatly outweighed the risk. And that that evidence of those data could not be achieved in a simpler or safer way.</s>BLACK: Test subjects in challenge trials are compensated financially but Alistair's father knows that's not motivating his son.</s>ANDREW FRASER-URQUHART QC, VOLUNTEER'S FATHER: It's at the forefront of science and technology. It's something to benefit others. It's something rather brave, it's something slightly different. And that's him in a nutshell.</s>ALEXANDER FRASER-URQUHART: To be totally honest, I really don't care what he says. I do what I like.</s>BLACK: A crucial ingredient for any COVID-19 challenge trial will be the determined idealism of its young volunteers. Phil Black. CNN, London.</s>CURNOW: Thanks, Phil for that piece. So you're watching CNN. Still ahead, India reports more than seven million coronavirus cases, the second highest total in the world. We'll go live to Delhi with that. Plus the Republican push to confirm President Trump's supreme court nominee. Both sides are gearing up for hearings now just hours away.

Famous New NYC Chef Feeds Indians From New York

CURNOW: Iran has now confirmed more than half a million cases of COVID becoming the thirteenth country to reach that number. Health officials there have also recorded more than 250 new deaths setting new daily record for the country. The government is now mandating masks in the nation's capital and warns that violators could face a fine. Elsewhere in the Middle East, Jordan has imposed its first two-day lockdown in more than three months. Over the weekend streets were closed off, stores shut down to prevent further spread. And India topped seven million cases on Sunday. That's according to the health ministry and it's fast approaching the level where we're seeing here in the U.S., the highest number in the world. Vedika Sud joins me now from New Delhi with more on all of that. Hi, not a great number to hit. Hi, Vedika.</s>VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. It's a 7.1 million caseload for India at this point in time. And given the population and the fact that there are Hindu festivals coming up in the near future, this is a concern that worries the Indian government. We've had the health minister reach out and ask people not really to venture out to celebrate because there are Hindu festivals, like I mentioned, coming up. But that's where it stands as of now. You know, Robyn, at times like this -- these have been challenging times for people across the world, it's also important to talk about inspiring stories. I had one of them today. There's a man who's sitting 7,000 kilometers away from India, he's as celebrity chef, an Indian celerity chef called Vikas Khanna, he lives in New York. And this man from his apartment and his terrace has actually nearly completed sending out 50 million food kits across India while sitting in New York. And this is the inspiration story of the man who's actually reached out to people in the most remote areas who don't have food to eat after the lockdown was first announced in India in March. Here's the story of the man on a mission.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER (Captioned): Thank you, Vikas Khanna.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER (Captioned): Keep helping people like us.</s>SUD: For the last six months, Khanna has been planning every step of the project from his home in New York City. After India implemented its first lockdown in March, Khanna donated to a charity. But images of Indians in need stayed with the chef who decided to take direct action.</s>VIKAS KHANNA, INDIAN CHEF: We started short listing different cities. So on my room, I had this wall where I put the name of the city and I start putting the name of the places where we need food.</s>SUD: Khanna soon realized managing logistics from over 7,000 miles away wasn't easy. So he collaborated with India's national disaster response force to deliver food and amenities to remote areas of the country. He says they have distributed food to sex workers, seniors, HIV Aids patients, flood victims and migrant workers.</s>S.N. PRADHAN, DIRECTOR GENERAL, NATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE FORCE: So even if it was a man show out there from there, I said OK, we can be your hands and ears and legs.</s>SUD: Khanna, who cooked for President Obama in the White House, is one of the first Indians have been awarded a Michelin star. He has written 35 books including what's been called the world's most expensive cookbook, "Utsav." He's also a filmmaker but his mission to feed millions of his fellow Indians remains closest to his heart.</s>KHANNA: It didn't start here, it started here. This was stopping the project. The brain was saying that you have too many pending projects.</s>SUD: There are days when Khanna feels overwhelmed by the magnitude of the project. His mother back home in India doesn't let him give up.</s>BINDU KHANNA, MOTHER TO VIKAS KHANNA: I convinced him by saying that you have gone out of India, you should do something for your country. Why not? When everybody's suffering.</s>SUD: The 48-year-old Indian says he is born with clubbed feet. For 11 years, he walked with the support of braces and then wooden shoes. For Khanna, supporting millions of fellow Indians will always be a bigger moment than the day he first ran. And he's known as the godfather by many, a lot of people say he's a godfather to millions of people back home here in India who have been fed solely because of this initiative by Chef Khanna. Well, this initiative is called "Feed India," and it's reached out to, like I said, almost 50 million people. And when you ask the chef when is he going to stop this initiative, all he does is smile. Because he really wants to carry on with this. Robyn, this man has fed presidents in America, he's known because of the movies he's producing, he's written 35 books. One of his books is one of the more expensive books in the world as far as cookbook books go. But for the chef, this initiative is closest to his heart. Robyn.</s>CURNOW: Thanks so much. And thanks for sharing a positive story, appreciate it. We all need it, don't we?</s>SUD: Absolutely.</s>CURNOW: Vedika Sud there, in New Delhi. So Nigeria has disbanded a controversial police unit following nationwide protests. The special anti-robbery squad known as SARS has been accused of torture methods including hanging, mock execution and sexual assault. This according to Amnesty International. The group says it's documented 82 cases of police brutality in Nigeria over the past three years. The protests were a culmination of weeks of anger and outcry online by the country's youth. And then coming up on CNN. Coronavirus is certainly adding new uncertainty to Amy Coney Barrett's supreme court nomination, just hours before these hearings are set to begin.

Contentious Hearings to Begin Monday for Amy Coney Barrett

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to all of our viewers all around the world. I'm Robyn Curnow. You're watching CNN. Thanks for joining me. So confirmation hearings begin less than eight hours from now for President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. Amy Coney Barrett -- that is how you say it. If confirmed Barrett would strengthen the conservative majority on the bench. Opponents say key laws on gay rights, abortion rights and the Affordable Care Act which provides health care to millions of Americans would be at risk. The Senate's top Democrat says she would sit out certain votes.</s>SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Given Judge Barrett's conflicts of interest, she should recuse herself from any decision involving the Affordable Care Act and its protections, and any decision related to the election that we will have on November 3rd. The process is already illegitimate, dangerous and unpopular -- all the more reason she should be recused. She is being rushed through to decide decisions that she's already seems to have made up her mind on.</s>CURNOW: The hearings come in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Of course, that's adding to the turmoil as Lauren Fox now explains.</s>LAUREN FOX, CNN POLITICS CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Those critical hearings, beginning on Capitol Hill on Monday. And the first day of hearings is going to be lawmakers getting to make their opening statements, as well as Amy Coney Barrett, the nominee, making her opening statement which CNN has obtained. We expect that she'll say, quote, "There is a tendency in our profession to treat the practice of law as all-consuming while losing sight of everything else. But that makes for a shallow and unfulfilling life. I worked hard as a lawyer and as a professor. I owe that to my clients, my students, and myself. But I never let the law define my identity or crowd out the rest of my life." Now, also looming over this hearing is going to be the fact that coronavirus is still very much a factor in these proceedings. Remember, two lawmakers, both Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, tested positive for coronavirus just more than a week ago. Those individuals, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, as well as Senator Mike Lee of Utah, both tested positive. And while we know that Tillis is expected to attend the hearings in person later this week, we still do not know whether or not Senator Mike Lee will attend the hearings in person. It is critical, whether or not they show up. That is because the top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, told reporters on Sunday that if those two members, and it has to be both of them being absent, are not there on Thursday, the day of a critical vote in the Judiciary Committee, he will not provide the critical number of Democrats necessary to get a quorum. That essentially could slow down this entire nomination process. So, while the first order of business is going to be what lawmakers say in their opening statements tomorrow, what Amy Coney Barrett says in her opening statement on Monday, it is also important to remember, that the health of the individual members on this committee is going to be closely watched over the upcoming days. For CNN in Washington -- I'm Lauren Fox.</s>CURNOW: Joan Biskupic is a CNN Supreme Court analyst and joins me now from Washington. Good to see you. So what do you expect on Monday, in particular?</s>JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Thanks Robyn. Good to be with you. Monday is the day for all sides to lay down markers. The senators will give opening statements. We've got some 22 senators who will introduce their lines of inquiry, just in terms of pure (ph) statement. And then the nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, will give her statement too. There won't be any questioning or answers on Monday. That will start on Tuesday. But everyone will sort of lay down, plant a flag, so to speak, to alert people to where they are going to come from.</s>BISKUPIC: And the nominee herself, Judge Barrett will try to introduce herself in a warm way, talk about her family, talk about her idea of the court and judging. Just to sort of preliminarily introduce herself to America. Meanwhile, the Republican senators, who want this to be a swift easy hearing, will try to portray her, and themselves, in the most positive light. And then Democrats, who have the hardest chore here, they know that Senate Republicans have the votes to confirm this woman, they will want to put an emphasis on Donald Trump. What Donald Trump has done in the Supreme Court. What he will continue to do to the Supreme Court. And in particular, the risk to what's known as the Affordable Care Act. And that's the 2010 health insurance overhaul that has brought medical coverage to more than 20 million Americans.</s>CURNOW: So is that the main issue that's going to be at stake here? I mean let's bear in mind, that Democrats say, this shouldn't even be happening a few weeks before the election. The Republicans say, you know, we can do this. This is, you know, this is within the timeframe of the presidency, and President Trump can do it. Besides the Affordable Care Act, what are the other main issues that are going to be honed in on?</s>BISKUPIC: That's an excellent question because the Affordable Care Act is going to be argued before the Supreme Court right away on November 10th. So that's why it is completely in focus here. Also because it means so much to Americans. But right before that, on November 3rd, we have a presidential election. And President Trump has, in fact, said that he thinks that ballot controversies could easily get to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the election could be decided there. And je has said, out loud he wants his appointee there to decide any kind of case. He wants nine justices there. So that is in the very immediate world, Robyn, but then going forward after that, you know, abortion rights are at stake, LGBTQ, worker rights are at stake, all sorts of issues will be coming down the road. But most immediately in focus will be the election, and then the Affordable Care Act.</s>CURNOW: How much of a tight rope will Democrats walk here? Particularly I suppose when it comes to the issues around religion?</s>BISKUPIC: Amy Coney Barrett is a devout Catholic. She has devoted some of her academic scholarship to writing about faith and the law. But the last time that Democrats tried to bring up religion in 2017 when she was up for a U.S. Appeals Court seat, they kind of bungled it. They suggested, by some questions, that maybe they thought that it was a bad thing that she was so religious. Senator Feinstein, the senior Democrat on the committee, famously said, I think the dogma lives loudly within you. And she received a lot of criticism for perhaps being anti Catholic. But yet, it is -- so Democrats are going to steer away from it. But we have an unusual nominee here. She has actually written a lot about faith and the law. But I think they're going to avoid it this time, or if they do touch it, they will walk very, very gingerly around it.</s>CURNOW: Yes. Either way, this is going to be politicized and may or may not influence voters' choices. Joan, thanks so much. Really appreciate you joining us.</s>BISKUPIC: Thank you, Robyn.</s>CURNOW: And of course, stay with CNN for coverage of this confirmation hearing. It gets underway at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time. That's 2:00 p.m. in London. So ahead on CNN, the financial struggle many people are facing during the pandemic is clear at local food banks. But a key White House adviser believes more help could be coming soon. Plus, the pandemic's severe impact on young people in the U.S. How millennials and members of Generation Z are struggling to get by.

Optimism for New U.S. Stimulus Lifts Markets; Outbreak has Devastating Impact on Gen Z and Millennials

CURNOW: So as the pandemic drags on, more and more people are facing financial troubles. Many of those hoping to feed their families are relying on food banks here in the U.S. And those agencies are struggling to keep up with enormous demand. For many Americans, another stimulus package is long, long overdue. But the White House economic adviser is offering some hope saying negotiations will continue this week. And he says the Treasury Secretary may offer a package that is closer to what the Dems want. But for more on all of this, let's go to John Defterios. John is in Abu Dhabi. As you're watching all of this, because the impact could be global. And there's certainly a lot of drama, and a lot of uncertainty, about what exactly the president wants out of the stimulus package. He's in and out -- all over the place. Are we close to a deal here?</s>JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, the gap is closing, Robyn, as you are suggesting there in your lead-in and it is taking a long time to get there, a month and a half of negotiations. And as you suggest, the added drama from President Trump which left global markets on edge, so we're starting to see an improvement on that front but is not done yet. Let's put it that way. The U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had put up a package of $2.2 trillion and passed it in the House and held steadfast on that target. It is our understanding now from our team and CNN in Washington, that Speaker Mnuchin has now -- or the Secretary of Treasury has put up $1.8 trillion. And there is even this discussion of even going a little bit higher, Robyn. It's almost like an art auction when somebody wants to bid. They're suggesting now, we can move higher, we can move higher. But then we get counter signals, about doing something that is not wide- reaching. Here's Kudlow on CNN, Sunday.</s>LARRY KUDLOW, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: Secretary Mnuchin is up to $1.8 trillion. So the bid in the offer is narrowing somewhat between the two sides. President Trump actually, has always said, I mean I've heard him say it in the Oval, as far as the key elements are concerned, the checks, the unemployment assistance, the small business assistance, we've got to help airlines out he would go further. He has always said that.</s>DEFTERIOS: So we know the key priorities that we have here Robyn. But the challenge is in the U.S. Senate. The majority leader, Mitch McConnell, of course is the one that's trying to round them all up. They have been resistant about this package, over $1.6 trillion. You can see, getting closer and closer to $2 trillion. And like Jerome Powell, the U.S. Federal Reserve board chairman, one of the regional presidents, Neel Kashkari from Minneapolis, who's suggesting, let's not be shy. Be aggressive with the stimulus right now and carry people over until the vaccines get in probably in the second or third quarter of 2021. As you can see Robyn, there is progress on the way.</s>CURNOW: Yes. Hold thumbs (ph), but those talks still have had really hovered over markets in terms of a dark cloud. I mean what is the reaction in the stock market, particularly it's the start of another trading week?</s>DEFTERIOS: Yes. And that sentiment is changing at the start of the trading week, Robyn. Let's put it that way. Because of the language we heard over the weekend. Let's take a look at U.S. futures. I wouldn't say they're blockbuster gains because the bill is not passed yet, right. They don't have a consensus. But we are looking at a quarter to about a half a percent across the board for U.S. markets which finished strongly on Friday on this conversation about the stimulus which advanced on the weekend shows on television in the United States. The Asian markets, we have two that are standouts, and this is playing out because of the stimulus, and that is Hong Kong and Shanghai. Seoul is trading in the tight range but we have Tokyo lower. That is because of a specific reason they've had wholesale (ph) inflation go down and their concerns reemerging in Japan about deflationary pressures. That has kept a lid on that market as of late. But I would say, in general right now, the drama we saw a week ago that we talked about with President Trump, he's attacked (ph) to get a job done with the package. And I would think by the end of the week we may have something complete.</s>CURNOW: Yes. There are just so many people struggling here. We just hope that something does happen on a positive note. John Defterios, always good to see you. Thanks very much for that.</s>DEFTERIOS: Thanks.</s>CURNOW: So for millions of young people in the U.S., the pandemic has affected so much more than their financial stability, it's also had a devastating impact on their health, families and futures. Kyung Lah now reports.</s>KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hannah and Joseph Kim knew growing up would be tough, but the siblings never imagined it would be like this.</s>HANNAH KIM, PARENTS DIED OF COVID-19: Towards the end of April they consecutively went to the hospital. It was my grandmother first and then my dad the next day and then the next day was my mom. COVID-19 took them one by one over just a few months. Leaving the 22- year-old and 17-year-old Joseph alone.</s>KIM: My parents are gone and for the last three months we didn't even have capacity to think about our futures. You know, we're just scrambling to save our parents.</s>LAH: She has no time to grieve, no time to show her loss. Hannah is in college now, Joseph in the high school. With no extended family nearby or a clear path for how to make a living.</s>KIM: This is a memorial that we made of our parents so we can just remember them and, you know, look in every day.</s>LAH: They're part of the hardest hit age group in the COVID economy -- young people. Generation Z and millennials have America's highest rates of unemployment, about half say they or someone in their household have either lost a job or had a pay cut since the pandemic began.</s>JOSUE MARTINEZ, COVID-19 SURVIVOR: You don't have a choice. I work, I get sick, or I end up on the streets.</s>LAH: 29 year old Josue is the sole breadwinner in his household, paying the rent for this small converted garage he shares with his mother and girlfriend. He kept working at his job at CBS during the worst of the virus in California. Martina says employees were notified that a COVID positive patient had visited the store in March.</s>MARTINEZ: That's when I started getting all the symptoms as I say -- getting the fever, the cough and at the end I was like -- I couldn't breathe at all.</s>LAH: This is what happened to Martinez. For 45 days he was in a medically induced coma nearly losing his life in intensive care. Weeks later, he survived. But he is dependent on a walker before the age of 30. Do you think that this will impact your ability to make money? Or to work in the future?</s>MARTINEZ: Yes. I do. For any activity -- any activity I would have been eligible normally, like now I'm like they made it like I can't do.</s>LAH: Young Americans with no choice but to deal with the hands they've been dealt.</s>KIM: I'm still alive and my brother's still alive and we are healthy. And so, yes. I think that is just pockets of joy is what I'm looking for and it's what keeps me going.</s>LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN -- Los Angeles.</s>CURNOW: What a powerful story. Thanks to Kyung for that. You're watching CNN. We will be right back.

Nadal Overcomes Djokovic, Wins Record-Tying 20th Major.

CURNOW: The Los Angeles Lakers have won the 2020 NBA championship. They defeated the Miami Heat in game 6 on Sunday in Orlando, Florida. It's the Lakers' 17th title all-time tying them with the Boston Celtics for the most in league history. Lebron James was named the finals MVP and this is now James' fourth championship title. And the team also got a shoutout from the former president, Barack Obama. He congratulated the Lakers and the Seattle Storm who won the WNBA title saying he was proud of how the league's teams and players used their voices for racial justice. And Spanish sensation Rafael Nadal made tennis history on Sunday, seizing his 20th Grand Slam title. He overcame rival Novak Djokovic in the French Open final. And Christina Macfarlane shows us now how the</s>CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN WORLD SPORT: It's a rivalry that has spanned 14 years and 56 games. But with history on the line today Rafa Nadal slammed the door shut on Novak Djokovic to take his 13th French Open title and record-equaling 20th Grand Slam. Something (ph) perhaps his best ever performance at Roland Garros, Nadal was relentless from the start. Looking for hand winners (ph) running down every point, the race to a 6-large opening sets before closing out in straight sets as he has done on four previous occasions. It means the Spaniard has now scored a century of wins in Paris, having only lost twice on the red clay before once to Novak Djokovic. The Serb had not lost a match all year but this was a surprisingly lopsided result as Nadal scored 31 winners and just 14 unforced errors to seal the match.</s>MACFARLANE: But now the gap between the big three has widened. Djokovic moves to 3 behind Nadal and Federer at the top of the all- time standing. Federer hasn't played since February when he had knee surgery and tweeted his congratulations to Rafa after the game saying "As my greatest rival for many years, I believe we pushed each other to become better players. Well done, Rafa. You deserve it." Federer at the age of 38 and coming off the surgery, there is now a chance for Nadal to end his career on top, especially if he is able to add more titles in Paris. In a tennis season that has looked and felt like no</s>CURNOW: So coronavirus isn't stopping BTS, one of K-Pop's most popular bands from putting on arena shows. The group held a virtual concert on Saturday, and look at this, even though fans weren't in the stadium, it didn't look or sound very different from a packed audience. Thousands of fans cheered, waved light sticks and sang along from home. The band's management company hasn't released how many people watched the show but it gathered some 140 million cheer clicks, a sign of approval that fans can press multiple times. The band also had a smaller, socially distant audience in the BTS themed cafe in Seoul. I'm Robyn Curnow. Thanks so much for watching. The news continues after a short break. I will be back with that. Stay with CNN.

Confirmation Hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett

POPPY HARLOW, CNN NEWSROOM: Is at stake. Listen to this.</s>SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): What will happen is that my Democratic colleagues will say, this has never been done, and they're right in this regard. Nobody, I think, has ever been confirmed in an election year past July. The bottom line is Justice Ginsburg, when asked about this several years ago, said a president serves four years, not three. There's nothing unconstitutional about this process. This is a vacancy that has occurred through a tragic loss of a great woman.</s>SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA): The president has promised to appoint justices who will vote to dismantle that law. And when he appointed Judge Barrett to fill Justice Ginsburg's seat, the president said that eliminating the Affordable Care Act would be a, quote, big one for the USA. Simply, put, I believe we should not be moving forward on this nomination, not election until the election has ended and the next president has taken office.</s>HARLOW: We have team coverage this morning. Let's kick it off with our Manu Raju. He joins us on Capitol Hill. It's interesting. We don't hear from her, Manu, until this afternoon.</s>MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. This is the typical how confirmation hearings work for Supreme Court nominees. The senators all get their chance, ten minutes a piece, to go back and forth, the Republican and Democratic side, making their arguments. And, finally, in the afternoon, we get to hear from the nominee herself. She will make that opening statement this afternoon. And then the questioning will begin. That will happen tomorrow, that will happen Wednesday. And then on Thursday, we'll hear from outside witnesses before Republicans set the stage for this committee vote. The committee vote ultimately will happen on October 22nd. And a sign the Republicans are moving ahead to try to get her confirmed before the end of the month, which would make about a month-long confirmation process, much faster than a typical confirmation process, which takes two or three months. And a key sign for them this morning, Republican Senator Mike Lee, who had tested positive for the coronavirus about ten days ago, said he's been cleared by his doctor, he's actually in the committee room right now, working. We expect also the other Republican senator who had tested positive about ten days, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who sits on this committee, to also return at least later this week when they actually need to have a quorum of senators presents to move forward on a voting process. So that is a positive side for Republicans to get her through at the moment. The question, ultimately, will be, will four Republicans break ranks to prevent her from going forward. There is no indication that that's going to happen. And we're hearing those arguments being made pretty clearly on both sides. Democrats saying it's going much too fast. This needs to be considered more deliberately, concerned about her dismantling of the Affordable Care Act if she gets on the bench. Republicans are saying she is well qualified and arguing, in their view, there is no evidence that they believe that she would ultimately strike down the Affordable Care Act. But we'll see what she ultimately has to say about her past views and writings on that topic. But she won't get to answer that until tomorrow, Poppy.</s>HARLOW: Well, it's a good point. Important point, Manu, that I want to pick up with you, Jeffrey, we don't know, because she's never as the judge ruled on this.</s>JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: And you know what? After tomorrow, we won't know either, because she won't answer the question. That's how these hearings go. I mean, ever since Robert Bork in 1987 actually answered questions about his judicial philosophy and really engaged with the senators --</s>HARLOW: And didn't get the job.</s>TOOBIN: -- and got rejected in part because of his candor, all nominees of both parties have been extremely cautious in answering questions about the issues that they will rule on. So I anticipate there will be a lot of questions about the Affordable Care Act. I suspect there will be some carefully worded questions about the future of Roe v. Wade. The Democrats are -- the Republicans are playing the refs. They are trying to make out, like if you ask any questions about the right to abortion, you're attacking the nominee's Catholic faith. That is clearly not the case. But it does appear that the Democrats are quite intimidated on this subject and are going to try to steer away from it and concentrate their fire on the Affordable Care Act. But I anticipate that Judge Barrett will insist that she has not made up her mind and she will not give her views on pending cases. And we'll be left to judge her based on her prior writings and prior opinions.</s>HARLOW: Of which there are not a lot because she just was named -- just appointed to the 7th Circuit in 2017. Abby, in terms of Democrats, it was an important point that Lindsey Graham made at the beginning that, by the way, she's filling the seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who, by the way, was confirmed in '93, '96. It was '96, that's right, that she was confirmed. So, I mean, I know that was a different time but like nothing close to that is going to happen here. So what is Democrats' main objective since they can't stop it?</s>ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, nothing close to that is going to happen this week or next week or really maybe ever again. And I think the Democrats are coming into this knowing in some ways there's an inevitability to all of this. Whether the inevitability is that she is confirmed in the coming days or in the coming weeks that despite what Dianne Feinstein said, which is that she believes that this should be left until after the inauguration of the next president or the re-inauguration of current president, they know that that is not going to happen. So you're just going to see them really harping on the hypocrisy of this in their eyes but knowing inevitably she will be confirmed and then trying to kind of extract as much of her judicial philosophy, as per your conversation with Jeffrey, as they possibly can. What is interesting about the moment that we're in is because President Trump, in the last election and he continued this practice as president, released these lists of Supreme Court justices. Republicans on the committee actually don't really need her to say anything about her judicial philosophy or about how she might approach some of these cases that they care a lot about, especially Roe v. Wade because they already know. She has already been vetted, she has already cleared through their interest groups as being someone who is on, in their view, the right side of that issue. So Republicans don't want to hear what she stands for. Democrats do, on the other hand, and I think you will see them try to extract as much as they can on those issues.</s>HARLOW: Let's listen, everyone, to what she said during her confirmation hearing back in 2017 for the 7th Circuit about -- about her personal beliefs versus how she judges and how she writes opinions. Listen to this.</s>JUDGE AMY CONEY BARRETT, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: It's never appropriate for a judge to impose that judge's personal convictions, whether they derive from faith or anywhere else on the law.</s>HARLOW: Jeffrey Toobin, it's never appropriate, and I think it's interesting how she talks about how she writes her opinions. She says she tries to put herself in the feet of the people she's ruling against. The question is, you know, practical implications of that.</s>TOOBIN: Well, you know, that is true. And I think it's also important to point out that, you know, that her faith is not the issue here. Two of the most liberal justices in the history of the court, William Brennan and Sonia Sotomayor are both Catholic. Justice Scalia, a very conservative justice, was also Catholic. I mean, the religion itself is not significant, I think. What matters is her positions on issues. And what is striking about Judge Barrett is that, as a private citizen before she was on the bench, she was an outspoken opponent of abortion rights. And she was involved in speaking to groups and signing advertisements and someone who -- this was a political passion of hers. And the idea that that is somehow entirely separate from her judicial philosophy and how she will rule as a judge suggests to me that that's just unrealistic. I mean, there is no precise barrier between political views and judicial views. And the other point that is just worth emphasizing is that President Trump said, repeatedly, he will appoint justices to the Supreme Court who will vote to overturn Roe versus Wade. And what I think he meant by that he will appoint justices to the Supreme Court who will vote overturn Roe versus Wade. He's got two, he's got Kavanaugh, he's got Gorsuch, and it looks like he'll get a third here with Judge Barrett.</s>HARLOW: Even though, I think, he said the other week, we don't know where she -- that he doesn't know where she stands.</s>TOOBIN: But that's how it always works. It's like that's what they want. And then once they're nominated, it becomes some big mystery about how they'll vote on Roe v. Wade. I mean, give me a break.</s>PHILLIP: And, Poppy, it's not just on this issue for President Trump. He's put Amy Coney Barrett in a really tough spot on Roe v. Wade and also on the Affordable Care Act, because he said in both cases he wants justices that will rule against the Affordable Care Act, against Roe v. Wade, and now, she's going to have to answer for that.</s>HARLOW: Thank you all. We've got leave it there. We appreciate it. We're keeping a close eye monitoring this hearing, of course, as it continues for the rest of the day, and for the next few days. Right now, more than 30 states across the country are seeing coronavirus cases rise. Several states are seeing record hospitalizations, including the state of North Dakota, where there are only apparently 16 ICU beds left in the entire state. We'll take you there. And amid all of this, the president choosing to gather crowds and hold a campaign rally tonight.

Infections Rising in 30+ States, 54,000 Cases on Saturday Alone

HARLOW: Welcome back. Well, this morning, 31 states across the country are seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases. This is a key model warns of a brutal winter ahead, predicting the number of American deaths will almost double to nearly 400,000 by February. Let's go to my colleague, Alexandra Fields, she joins us for more on these disturbing numbers. Good morning, Alex.</s>ALEXANDRA FIELDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Poppy. All over the country, you've got officials trying to get a handle on this. Even in New York where the positivity rate remains much lower than it does in many states across the city, you've got the city that is grappling with a number of hot spots. We're now learning that over the weekend or since Friday, the city has handed out some $150,000 worth of summons for violations related to the restrictions. Fines for mass gatherings can be as much as $15,000 a day. So you can see how they get to that number. Nationwide, you've got 31 states now seeing increases in cases. Nine states setting records for hospitalizations in just the last few days. The west and Midwest still hit particularly hard. The state of Montana recording 5,000 new cases just in the last 11 days, compare that to the fact that it took five months to record their first 5,000 cases. And, once again, Poppy, all eyes are on Florida. The state reported more than 5,000 cases just yesterday, that as alarm bells are ringing from public health officials who are seeing the numbers climb in that state after the governor quickly got rid of virtually all COVID- related restrictions. Poppy?</s>HARLOW: Not to mention a state where both the presidential candidates are going to be today. Thanks, Alex.</s>FIELDS: All eyes on Florida.</s>HARLOW: I appreciate the reporting, for sure, on all those fronts. Let's turn now to the president, who is set to hold four rallies over the next four days. His doctors cleared him to return to his public schedule but, notably, they have not answered questions about his coronavirus infection, not being on T.V., taking questions from the media in about a week. John Harwood is at the White House. Good morning, John. Also, have we received an official negative test on the president from the White House?</s>JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We have not. The president has said on Fox that he was totally -- he is totally negative for the virus. We haven't seen a test. It's pretty remarkable when you think about it, Poppy. Ten days after the first onset of symptoms and the president's diagnosis of a positive COVID case, one week after the president has been released from Walter Reed, he is going out on the campaign trail again. Now, by the CDC guidelines for mild or moderate cases, he has passed the ten-day point to be no longer infectious. But if he had a severe case that they reserve a longer window when you might be infectious and the president, of course, has gotten some medications that are only given to people with severe cases. Not sure whether that's simply because he was president or because his case was that severe. Nevertheless, he is going to Florida tonight, Iowa and Pennsylvania later in the week. And this is something that whether or not it helps him politically, and we've seen that the has been moving a little bit backwards in the polls over the last couple weeks, he's down ten points nationally by solid margins in a decisive number of battleground states. He needs the affirmations of these rallies that he's going to get it. He got it over the weekend at an event at the White House and now he's taking the show on the road.</s>HARLOW: He is. John Harwood at the White House, thanks very much. Let's talk about all of this. Dr. Joshua Sharfstein is with me, Vice Dean at Johns Hopkins School Bloomberg School of Public Health, and former Principal Deputy Commissioner at the FDA. Good morning, Doctor. Thanks for being here. Is it safe for everyone else for the president to be on the campaign trail holding four rallies in the next four days?</s>DR. JOSHUA SHARFSTEIN, FORMER PRINCIPAL DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, FDA: Well, the truth is we don't know. We really have so little information from the White House and, of course, the president's doctor, I think, has lost his credibility. So we really don't know. It would mean so much to have a truly independent physician just explaining what's going on. It's possible that he is not contagious, but we just don't know.</s>HARLOW: Okay. The treatment issue, so the president got a whole lot of some experimental treatments at the hospital that are not available to most Americans. And then over the weekend, Doctor, he claimed on Twitter that he is now immune. Twitter actually flagged that tweet with a warning, with a public health warning, because we don't know, right, the science doesn't tell us if people are immune or not. What is your take on that? And is it giving false hope to the millions of Americans who have contracted this?</s>SHARFSTEIN: This is such a threat right now to so many people. There are 44,000 cases diagnosed today and the numbers are going up. They're not going up because there's more testing available. It's about the same amount of testing available and a lot more people who are sick. And the way people need to protect themselves is wearing a mask, washing their hands, keeping their distance. And if they believe that there's some miracle cure out there and they don't have to wear a mask or wash their hands or keep their distance, there's a good chance in many parts of the country that they could get sick and they could even die because there is no miracle cure. This requires vigilance, not false hope.</s>HARLOW: Okay. We are all hoping for a very effective and broadly widely administered vaccine to come. But you have warned in the past few days that in years' past, a say-so warning from the FDA, this works, this is safe, is enough. But now that's not enough for people, and that's not the environment that we're in today. So what do you think that's actually going to result in, in terms of enough people taking this vaccine to have enough vaccination for us to get back to how life was pre-pandemic?</s>SHARFSTEIN: Well, you're making a great point. It's not a vaccine that saves lives. It's a vaccination that saves lives. People have to accept vaccination in order to get the benefits. And what I was saying was that an FDA decision alone these days is probably not going to be enough, especially with the president making all kinds of allegations about FDA. But the FDA could run a process that will give people more confidence. And what would that look like? Sharing information publicly, convening an advisory committee and hearing from independent experts that the data is strong enough, and then explaining things to the public, including, here is what the studies showed, here is why we think it's effective, here is all the safety data, and here is why we think it's safe. And, in fact, that's why we're comfortable with our families getting this vaccine. And I think if they communicate that well, they share data and they have independent experts vouching for them, it's different than just the FDA going, it's good to go.</s>HARLOW: Yes. Well, very good news this weekend that former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is out of the hospital after a week. He contracted COVID and he checked himself in as a precautionary measure. As we understand it from our reporting, he was treated with remdesivir. What should every American take away from that? I mean, should most Americans in his age group with some of what he's been facing, should they all be going to the hospital and checking in for precautionary measures?</s>SHARFSTEIN: Well, early on, Governor Christie was one of the people, and we're hearing from more of them now who say, it's just too much to be worrying about the masks and the hand washing, like a lot of people are going to have to get sick. And some are going to die, and that's how we're going to get herd immunity. And the truth is the herd immunity strategy means that a lot of people get sick and die, and it's fine for some people if it's other people getting sick and dying. But then when it's them getting sick and facing death, maybe people will rethink that strategy because it is a cruel and unnecessary approach. It's giving up against the virus. So I'm hopeful that people stay vigilant instead of saying, well, what we really need is for other people to get sick so we build up population immunity.</s>HARLOW: Yes, exactly. Let's hope people are heeding your words and your warning this morning. Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, thank you.</s>SHARFSTEIN: Thanks for having me.</s>HARLOW: Of course. Well, Dr. Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease doctor, now tells CNN that the words used from him in a Trump campaign ad were used without his permission and deliberately taken out of context. We'll explain, next.

Kudlow on Stimulus, Mnuchin May Go Higher Than $2.2 Trillion Proposal.

HARLOW: Welcome back. So, coronavirus stimulus talks hit another major roadblock this weekend when lawmakers in both parties, some in both parties, seemed to just reject the latest $1.8 trillion offer from the White House, too big for a number of Senate Republicans, too small for Democrats. The president's top economic adviser still says a deal could happen. Take a listen to Larry Kudlow on with Jake just yesterday.</s>LARRY KUDLOW, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: Secretary Mnuchin is up to $1.8 trillion. So the bid in the offer is narrowing somewhat between the two sides. President Trump actually has always said -- I mean, I've heard him say it in the Oval, as far as the key elements are concerned, the checks, unemployment assistance, the small business assistance, we've got to help airlines out, he would go further. He's always said that.</s>HARLOW: Our Congressional Reporter, Lauren Fox, joins me from Capitol Hill. A good Monday morning. I wish I could say, it's Monday and there's a deal that help millions of Americans, but there's not. It's notable though that Kudlow was saying the president could go up to above 2.2 trillion.</s>LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, I think that this really speaks to why this negotiation has been so confusing to follow and so confusing to really be a part of on Capitol Hill, because you're looking here at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She is hearing from Kudlow basically saying, perhaps the president would go further than Steve Mnuchin's $1.8 trillion offer. And you get a sense that perhaps maybe she's going to hold out for that number to continue to tick upward. Meanwhile, over the weekend, you had Senate Republicans just outright rejecting the idea of $1.8 trillion, saying that this was just too far. They were on a conference call with Steve Mnuchin and Mark Meadows and you had someone like Lamar Alexander, sort of a member who is very soft spoken, doesn't really speak out very often, saying, quote, there was no appetite for going that high among Senate Republicans.

Trump Downplays Virus, Says He's Immune; Trump Returning to Campaign Trail After COVID Diagnosis; Battle Intensifies Ahead of Barrett's Confirmation Hearings; Biden Silent on Adding Justices to Supreme Court

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, and I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead -- President Donald Trump returns to the campaign trail today claiming he is totally negative for COVID-19. Plus, a show down looms on Capitol Hill, the confirmation hearing for Mr. Trump's Supreme Court pick is set to begin in the coming hours. And the U.K., Germany, Ireland, Italy, across Europe, frustration with new coronavirus restrictions as cases across the continent surge. Good to have you with us. Well, it has been one week since U.S. President Donald Trump left Walter Reed Medical Center. Now questions about his health and COVID-19 status are following him back onto the campaign trail. He insists he's totally negative. Those are his words, negative for the disease he suggests, and keeps downplaying a virus that's killed nearly 215,000 Americans. In a tweet, he even says he's immune. Twitter flagged that as misleading and potentially harmful. The President made a similar statement Sunday on Fox News. Take a listen.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have to tell you, I feel fantastically. I really feel good. And I even feel good by the fact that, you know, the word immunity means something. Having really a protective glow means something. I think it's very important to have that.</s>CHURCH: Well, the President is set to hold a campaign event later today in Florida. This as he comes under fire for a misleading ad. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has details from Washington.</s>JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is heading back to the campaign trail, hitting a trio of battleground states beginning today in Florida. Tomorrow, the President is going to go to the battleground state of Pennsylvania before heading to Iowa on Wednesday. Now President Trump heading back onto the campaign trail after the President's physician says that he has recovered from the coronavirus, also saying that the President is no longer infectious. Now the President himself claimed that he had gotten a negative test for coronavirus, but the President's physician Dr. Sean Conley didn't exactly say that. Instead, he said simply that the President's latest molecular test for coronavirus show that he is no longer infectious, that he can't infect other people, but he did not say that the President had tested negative for the virus. But nonetheless, the President and his campaign are seizing on that letter from Dr. Sean Conley to say that that second debate that had been canceled by the Commission on Presidential Debates after President Trump withdrew from that second debate. The President's campaign is calling for that debate to be reinstated, saying the President should be able to participate after he has been cleared by his doctor to resume public activity. But another controversy is hitting the President and his team on Sunday. Dr. Anthony Fauci putting out a statement to CNN after the Trump campaign aired this misleading ad.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus, and so is America. Together, we rose to meet the challenge. President Trump tackled the virus head on, as leaders should.</s>ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more --</s>DIAMOND: Now Dr. Fauci saying in a statement to CNN, in my nearly five decades of public service I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials. Now it is clear from looking at that interview which was taped all the way back in March in the early months of this pandemic that Dr. Fauci was indeed referring to the members of the coronavirus task force and other public health officials, but nonetheless, the President and his campaign standing by the ad, the President noting that these are Dr. Fauci's own words. Of course, what is notable here is that the President and his reelection campaign seem to realize that the President is getting bad marks on his handling of the coronavirus. Nearly 6 in 10 Americans have said in recent polls that they disapprove of the President's handling of the virus. And what's also clear is that the campaign is using Dr. Fauci's image and his words here, because Fauci is far more trusted by the public on this issue of the coronavirus than the president is himself.</s>CHURCH: And that was CNN's Jeremy Diamond at the White House. Well, Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for a political show down on Capitol Hill as confirmation hearings for President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett are set to begin in the next few hours. Senate Republicans are moving forward to confirm Barrett quickly despite some committee members testing positive for the coronavirus recently.</s>SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Anybody that has a concern about showing up can virtually interview Judge Barrett. She will be there. I will be there, and to my Democratic colleagues, America has to go to work Monday, including us. We're going to work. We're going to work safely.</s>CHURCH: CNN's Lauren Fox has a preview of today's hearing.</s>LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Those critical hearings beginning on Capitol Hill on Monday. And first day of hearing is going to be lawmakers getting to make their opening statements as well as Amy Coney Barrett, the nominee making her opening statement, which CNN has obtained. We expect that she'll say quote, there is a tendency in our profession to treat the practice of law as all-consuming, while losing side of everything else, but that makes for a shallow and unfulfilling life. I worked hard as a lawyer and as a professor. I owe that to my clients, my students and myself, but I never let the law define my identity or crowd out the rest of my life. Now, also looming over this hearing is going to be the fact that coronavirus is still very much a factor in these proceedings. Remember, two lawmakers, both Republicans on the judiciary committee tested positive for coronavirus just more than one week ago. Those individuals, Thom Tillis of North Carolina as well as Senator Mike Lee of Utah, both tested positive. And while we know that Tillis is expected to attend the hearings in person later this week, we still don't know whether or not Senator Mike Lee will attend the hearings in person. It's critical whether or not they show up. That's because the top Democrat in the Senate, Chuck Schumer told reporters on Sunday, that if those two members -- and it has to be both of them being absent -- are not there on Thursday, the day of a critical vote in the Judiciary Committee, he will not provide the critical number of Democrats necessary to get a quorum. That essentially could slow down this entire nomination process. So, while the first order of business is going to be what lawmakers say in their opening statement tomorrow, what Amy Coney Barrett says in her opening statement on Monday, it's also important to remember that the health of the individual members on this committee is going to be closely watched over the upcoming days. For CNN in Washington, I'm Lauren Fox.</s>CHURCH: New polling on the presidential race finds Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden well ahead of President Trump nationally. Biden is also leading or neck in neck with Mr. Trump in key battleground states. CBS news polls showed Biden favored 52 to 46 points over Mr. Trump in both Michigan and in Nevada. They are tied in Iowa and with all eyes on the upcoming Supreme Court hearings, many are wondering about Joe Biden's plans for the court, should he get elected. CNN's Arlette Saenz has the details.</s>ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Joe Biden and his campaign continue to deflect on the question of whether the former vice president supports adding more justices to the Supreme Court. This comes as Republicans are seeking to turn this into a campaign issue as hearings are about to begin for President Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett. Now, the Biden campaign on Sunday, again called this a distraction from the President and his allies. Take a listen.</s>KATE BEDINGFIELD, BIDEN DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER: This is a distraction that they want to throw out. This is a hypothetical that they want to throw out right now to distract from the fact that they are trying to ram through a nominee who, as I said, is going to change the make-up of the court against the will of the American people. They don't want to talk about that. So, they are trying to create a distraction and, you know, send folks down on a rabbit hole, talking about this.</s>SAENZ: Now, during the Democratic primary, Joe Biden said he opposed packing the Supreme Court and there had been no public indications yet that he has changed his position on that, but he has said that he will not answer that question until after Election Day. Now, on Monday, Joe Biden is heading to the battleground state of Ohio where his polls have recently shown that President Trump and Joe Biden are locked in a tight race just four years after President Trump won Ohio back in 2016. And Joe Biden hoping to make the state more competitive heading into that November election. Arlette Saenz, CNN, Washington.</s>CHURCH: Joining me now is CNN chief legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. Thank you so much for being with us.</s>JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Good to be here.</s>CHURCH: So Republican Senator Mike Lee says he will decide Monday morning if he will attend Amy Coney Barrett's hearing after testing positive for COVID-19 last week, along with Senator Thom Tillis. It is of course key that both are present to make up a quorum for the crucial vote Thursday for Barrett to advance this nomination for approval before the election. Where do you see all of this going?</s>TOOBIN: Well, the Republicans have decided that they are on a mission to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court before the election and it seems likely that they have the votes to do it. But this is really a surreal event because this committee hearing is really a matter of these Senators risking their lives. You have two Senators as you pointed out who were very recently diagnosed with COVID. You have two Republican Senators, the chairman, Lindsey Graham and the Senator Grassley from Iowa who refuse to take COVID tests. And several Senators, including Grassley, Pat Leahy of Vermont, and Dianne Feinstein, the regular -- the ranking Democrat, who are in their 80s and terrifically vulnerable to this disease, which is spreading through the Senate. So, you know, this is not just an important hearing. This is a literally life or death matter for the members of Congress who have been -- who have to conduct it, and the Republicans have chosen to conduct.</s>CHURCH: Yes, certainly a lot of factors to consider. And Jeffrey, on Monday, we will hear the opening statements from Senators in the hearing, and then Barrett herself will give her opening statement, and we have that now if we can just bring that up. Barrett says she was shaped by the late Justice Scalia's reasoning, and she adds that his judicial philosophy was straightforward, a judge must apply the law as written, not as the judge wishes it were. So clearly, she hopes to convince Democrats that she won't be flounced by her religious beliefs here. How will that likely play?</s>TOOBIN: You know, I think the Democrats are smart enough to stay away from her religious background. You know, there have been very liberal justices who were Catholic, and very conservative justices who are Catholic. That's not the issue here. The issue is her judicial philosophy. Justice Scalia's view of the use of the Constitution were very different from those of Justice Ginsberg whose seat is at issue here. And what makes this nomination so important is that it looks like a strongly liberal member of the court is going to be replaced by a strongly conservative member and that has very profound, real life implications for life in the United States.</s>CHURCH: And Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer is demanding that Barrett recuse herself from the upcoming Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act, and any possible election case that might come before the court. How likely is it that Barrett will recuse herself, and what questions should Senators be asking her about these two issues and the controversial case of Roe versus Wade?</s>TOOBIN: Well, I do think there is a pretty good argument that she should recuse herself from anything related to the election. President Trump has been so explicit in saying that he wants his justice, Amy Barrett, to vote for him on anything related to the election, that there really is an odor of impropriety about it. As for the Affordable Care Act, I don't really see why she should have to recuse herself on that. And on Roe v. Wade, which is the Supreme Court decision that prohibits states from banning abortion, you know, that is one of the profound issues in American law. But I look for Judge Barrett to duck questions about that the way most Supreme Court nominees duck it. And she will say it's settled precedent, which it is, but that doesn't mean that she won't vote to overturn it. Because that she has given every indication in her background and her history and her associations that she is someone who is profoundly opposed to constitutional protections for a woman's right to choose abortion.</s>CHURCH: Jeffrey Toobin, always a pleasure to get your legal analysis. Many thanks.</s>TOOBIN: Sure.</s>CHURCH: And be sure to tune into CNN for the latest from Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation hearing. It all gets underway at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, that's 2:00 p.m. in London. And still to come, anger across Europe over coronavirus restrictions even as some countries log record spikes. How leaders are balancing public health with COVID fatigue. That's next.

Protesters March Against Restrictions Across Europe; Boris Johnson Set to Introduce COVID Alert System; COVID-19 Cases on the Rise in Parts of Europe.

CHURCH: COVID-19 cases are spiking across Europe, and leaders are struggling to balance public health with fragile economies. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now set to announce a new alert system to try and tackle the virus in those cities where it's spreading the fastest. But from London to Paris, many Europeans are already unhappy with coronavirus restrictions. Isa Soares has our report.</s>ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Frustrated protesters in London march against COVID related restrictions. In Glasgow, bar and restaurant workers dump ice on the street outside city chambers in protest. Anti-mask protesters in Dublin say they are sick of being told to what to do.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have they got a mask and then they go to a funeral. The mask and whether they've got.</s>JEAN MURRY, ANTI-LOCKDOWN PROTESTER: This is justly unfair, and it's a crime against humanity, and shame on the government of Ireland.</s>SOARES: And in Rome, citizens pushed back against government measures to curb the spread of the virus, despite daily case numbers in Italy spiking this weekend to levels not seen since late March when the country was in lockdown. Across Europe, many citizens are craving a complete return to normalcy, even though the numbers paint an alarming picture. England is at its tipping point says its deputy chief medical office officer. And on Monday U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce further steps to control the spread of the virus. Over the weekend France has a record with over 26,000 new cases in 24 hours on Saturday. As cases are on the rise, so is frustration as governments across the continent are responding. Restrictions on night life in Berlin have left business owners agitated. Mark Stolz, bar owner who filed complaint against curfew (through translator): Because of this measure, the world is watching Berlin. I don't understand how the mayor can destroy the largest economic sector of his city. It's unbelievable.</s>SOARES: But the German leaders continue to stress the importance of those restrictions.</s>MICHAEL MULLER, GOVERNING MAYOR OF BERLIN (through translator): I once again make an urgent appeal to the 20 to 40-year-community in big cities, to understand this is not a time for partying, not a time for negligence but it is a time to protect others, especially the elderly and prevent the number of infections from exploding.</s>SOARES: For now, people continue living within confines, desperate to go back to the life they once knew. Isa Soares, CNN.</s>CHURCH: And our correspondents are tracking developments from across Europe. Nic Robertson joins us live from London, and Scott McLean is standing by in Berlin. Good to see you both. And Nic, let's go to you first. Prime Minister Johnson will soon outline new COVID restrictions as cases search. But there is considerable resistance as we heard from people of Britain. How will authorities deal with that and what measures are expected?</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: yes, Rosemary, there's a big north/south divide at the moment in England. And that's what Boris Johnson will be focusing on today. The north of England has a much higher rate of infection generally speaking, compared to the south of the country. The Prime Minister is trying to simplify the restriction measures that different areas of the country will face. So, there will be three tiers. That's what's expected. A medium, a high and a very high, and the government -- or at least some members of the cabinet today will be meeting to fine-tune the details of what will apply in those three tiers. But the highest tier we understand, will affect the city of Liverpool at least. And we understand from officials in Liverpool that that means their pubs, their casinos, their gyms will be shut down. So, there's a question of whether or not their restaurants will shut down. So, you have this frustration in the north of the country from people generally, who feel that the south are getting off light, and are having unfair restrictions imposed on them. You have the councils, the sort of regional authorities in those areas in the north of the country are saying the government restrictions that have been applied really aren't coping very well to bring down infection rates in their areas. That local knowledge is more important, and the government hasn't been listening to that. That's particularly relevant on track and trace, which isn't working as well as the government said and is leading to an erosion in confidence generally, in the government. And I think the other piece of the picture that the government will focus on today is the economic support that these local areas want from central government when the businesses like the pubs, like the gyms, like the casinos in Liverpool get shut down, what financial support will there be for those workers, and that's also -- we're expecting to get details on that as well today -- Rosemary.</s>CHURCH: All right, many thanks to our Nic Robertson. Appreciate that. Joining us from London. All right let's go now to Scott. And Scott, Germany, France, other European country, struggling with restrictions and increasing case numbers. What is the latest on this?</s>SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Rosemary, so just to put things into context for you here. Almost every large city in Germany is now considered a coronavirus hot spot. Stuttgart down in the southwest has even called in the military to help it try to tamp down cases there. And it's really a similar picture that we're seeing across Europe. France, the Czech Republic, Poland, over the weekend, they all reported record new case counts. Poland actually has recorded new daily records for the past four days. France in response has closed bars and restaurants in the Paris region. In the north of the country, they are also cancelling non- COVID related procedures in some hospitals to make way for the onslaught of coronavirus patients that they are expecting. And if If you look at the numbers, the main hot spots around the world, India, Brazil, the United States, they're all starting to see cases either slightly declining or just slightly starting to rise in the case of the United States. But in Europe, the cases are really only going in one direction, and that is straight up. And there is one area of particular concern here that we can add on to that graph, and that's Czech Republic. So per million people, their cases have absolutely skyrocketed. Which is interesting because this was a country that was an early coronavirus success story, a country that managed to close its borders relatively early. The travelers that it did allow in had to show a negative test in order to be admitted to the country. Now though the Prime Minister, well he's asking all health workers in the country to help fight the coronavirus after a large number of doctors and nurses tested positive for the virus. He's warning if things don't turn around in a hurry, there could be a second nationwide lock down. Something that every country in Europe is trying desperately to avoid. In Italy, they even brought a nationwide mask mandate even outdoors in order to avoid that. In Germany, they also have mask mandates across the country. But in Berlin -- as you heard in that last story -- they closed bars and restaurants early this past weekend to try to tamp down the virus. We're also going to hear more from government officials later today on testing strategies and on quarantine rules -- Rosemary.</s>CHURCH: Many thanks, Scott McLean, joining us there live from Berlin. Well, there's new polling out from key battleground states three weeks before election day, and with the coronavirus raging in many parts of the U.S., we'll discuss the state of the presidential race with our panel. That's next.

Trump Returning to Campaign Trail After COVID Diagnosis; Trump Campaign Stand By Misleading Commercial; U.S. Schools Adapting to In- Person and Virtual Learning; Russia Reports 13,500+ New COVID-19 Cases

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. We do want to recap our top story. The U.S. President is returning to the campaign trail ten days after announcing he had COVID-19. He insists he's totally negative, and even immune from the virus. This as polls show most voters are critical of his pandemic response. The Trump team wants to change that with a new campaign ad, but it may have backfired already. It uses a clip from Dr. Anthony Fauci out of context in an effort to falsely suggest he's praising the President. Take a listen.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus and so is America. Together, we rose to meet the challenge. President Trump tackled the virus head on as leaders should.</s>DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.</s>CHURCH: Let us talk now with CNN political commentator, Dr. Abdul el- Sayed. He endorsed Bernie Sanders for president this year. Also, CNN political commentator, Alice Stewart. She is a former communications director for Senator Ted Cruz. Welcome to you both.</s>ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi, Rosemary.</s>DR. ABDUL EL-SAYED, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi, Rosie.</s>CHURCH: So, Alice, I do want to start with you. President Trump talks a lot about fake news, and yet his latest ad uses a quote from Dr. Anthony Fauci taken out of context. Dr. Fauci said he did not give permission for his words to be used and has never endorsed a political candidate. It's exactly this sort of behavior that adds to the distrust many voters are feeling right now, with the Trump administration. Polls showing 6 in 10 voters disapproving with the way he is dealing with the pandemic. So, what do you say to that?</s>STEWART: Well, Rosemary, it's pretty clear that for quite some time, the last couple months, the administration has considered Dr. Fauci the bogeyman when it came to the coronavirus, and really downplayed a lot of the advice and information he was portraying. But they realized that he certainly had the support and faith of the American people, and the information and the warnings that he had been giving were actually helpful and correct. So, I understand why the campaign would want to use his comments and advice that he was giving, because people do support him. These are the kinds of things from a campaign standpoint, you generally do run it by the person that you are using, but this was just a situation where they clearly saw that COVID is a situation that they need to get in front of. They need to show someone that has strength and confidence in the American people. And that's exactly why they did this.</s>CHURCH: Doctor, what is your reaction to that?</s>EL-SAYED: It is the height of cynicism. Right? They have to the point where the White House actually released a number of times, a sheet of indications of where Dr. Fauci got it wrong, as if to downplay him. Despite the fact that as you noted, he is one of the country's most trusted experts on COVID-19. And then they turn around and cynically use his likeness and his words taken out of context in a campaign ad. I just think it's such a cynical ploy on the part of the campaign that is clearly drowning right now.</s>CHURCH: And Alice, the President's physician gave him the all clear to do upcoming rallies and then in a call to prayer, Mr. Trump said he tested totally negative for COVID, but that is not what his doctor said. In fact, his physician avoided stating directly that the President had tested negative, but instead said he is no longer considered a transmission risk. Why the play on words here? And why is it OK to put people at risk at these rallies?</s>STEWART: Right, Rosemary. I will believe that the President has tested negative for coronavirus when the doctor looked squarely in the camera and acknowledges as much. And the reality is just because it is OK for him to go out and conduct rallies again, doesn't mean that that's what should be done. I think it's imperative, especially given the fact that he is just recovering from COVID that they need to use caution. They need to socially distance. They need to avoid large crowds, encourage mask wearing. That is the advice moving forward. Look, he does need to get out there. He does need to get his message out there. He had the perfect opportunity to do so this week, and in the debate with Joe Biden, and he decided that he didn't want to participate in that when it was being done virtually. That was a tremendously huge missed opportunity. But he is moving full speed ahead, going out there to meet face to face with voters, which is very important, because the poll numbers, not just nationally but in a lot of these key battleground states, he needs to make up some ground. And this is the best way, obviously they feel they need to do so by holding rallies.</s>CHURCH: Doctor, what's your reaction to finding out that the President will be going to Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa in the coming week?</s>EL-SAYED: It's quite clear given what his physician said that they were looking for a test that they could use that wouldn't say that he is positive for COVID-19 to give him some kind of fig leaf for the wantonly irresponsible choices that him and his campaign are making, to take a clearly sick man who could be shedding virus out onto the campaign trail, to potentially infect many other people after having already been a part of a super spreader event based at the White House that left 37 people and counting sick. And so, this is just, I just think, it is in keeping with the level of cynicism and lack of honesty with the American people. And a disdain for the well-being of the folks around him, that the President is making these choices.</s>CHURCH: And many thanks to Dr. Abdul el-Sayed and Alice Stewart for joining me. Well, the Trump administration has been pushing for schools to reopen for in-person learning. This despite the President's own son doing virtual school. But it's left it up to the schools and local health officials to figure out how to do so safely. CNN's Bianna Golodryga has our report.</s>KAREN NGOSSO, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER: I have this just up here so that the kids can refer back to it.</s>BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST (voice-over): For the past six months, Karen Ngosso has been teaching her third graders from this makeshift classroom in her Baltimore home.</s>NGOSSO: We connect first thing in the morning. We make that connection, and you find just a huge amount of information just asking that question. How's everybody doing?</s>GOLODRYGA: The first few weeks of remote learning last spring were challenging. Ngosso says less than half of her 42 students regularly logged in for class. And those that did seem gripped with fear.</s>NGOSSO: I can vividly remember this one student of mine. He was like, Am I going to die from COVID? Am I going to catch it? Do I have it already? Because I was coughing yesterday.</s>GOLODRYGA: The start to this school year has been much better.</s>NGOSSO: Everybody is coming on every day, even with all the technical issues and things like that. People are logging in.</s>GOLODRYGA: Also, better -- the city's seven-day average of new COVID- 19 cases, down to 65 from a high of almost 158 in July. Yet, online learning has not been without its challenges. Less than two weeks into the school year, fewer than two-thirds of Baltimore public school students were able to log into virtual learning classes, according to Sonja Santelises, CEO of Baltimore City public schools. And while most of the nation's largest school districts began the semester fully online, nearly half are offering some form of in-person learning.</s>EMILY OSTER, ECONOMICS PROFESSOR: We can follow case rates and the kids in schools where pretty low.</s>GOLODRYGA: Without a federal tracking system, it is difficult to compile official data on school-related cases. However, initial data from some 700 school districts, collected by Brown University's COVID- 19 School Response Dashboard, suggests spread within schools may not be as rampant as feared.</s>OSTER: We had about 120, 130,000 kids in in-person learning.</s>GOLODRYGA: Confirmed cases were found in less than two-tenths of a percent of students.</s>OSTER: The rates in staff are a bit higher than that but still really quite low.</s>GOLODRYGA: As more is learned about the virus, experts are also learning which students appear more vulnerable, according to this initial data.</s>JENNIFER NUZZO, EPIDEMIOLOGIST: What we have seen is that sort of age- related phenomenon play out in the case numbers, where younger children are less likely to be represented.</s>GOLODRYGA: In New York City, where nearly half a million students returned to school buildings last week, already signs of trouble. One hundred and sixty-nine public schools are now closed to students after an uptick of COVID cases in their neighborhoods. Karen Ngosso believes that schools should remain closed for now. The risks, in her view, far outweigh the benefits, even when presented with early data.</s>NGOSSO: You want to make sure it's safe. I don't want to be a guinea pig to see, you know, is it safe? I know what I do in my space. You know, I know how I'm handling the pandemic. But I can't control what anybody else does.</s>GOLODRYGA: Bianna Golodryga, CNN, New York.</s>CHURCH: And just ahead, why some young volunteers are willing to expose themselves to COVID-19 for vaccine trials.</s>ESTEFANIA HIDALGO, 1 DAY SOONER VOLUNTEER: This was a way for me to take back control of the situation to be like, OK, I can do this, to make it better.</s>CHURCH: Next, more from volunteers deliberately putting themselves in COVID's way for the greater good. Back in a moment.

Volunteers in Britain Take Part in COVID-19 Vaccine Trials

CHURCH: Within the last hour, Russia has reported its new case total for Monday, more than 13,000. That is a slight decrease after three straight days of record high increases in new infections. CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins me live from Moscow. Good to see you, Fred. So, Russia has set a new daily record for these confirmed coronavirus cases. What is the latest on that, and what might it reveal about the efficacy of Russia's COVID vaccine?</s>FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think very little about the actual efficacy. Because that's something that's still being tested by the Russian authorities. But it certainly shows that despite the fact that the Russian vaccine has been certified, it's still pretty far away from being available to the general population here in this country. One of the things that we have to keep in mind about the Russian vaccine, Sputnik V, Rosemary, is that it was certified by the Russian authorities without having gone through those key phase 3 trials which of course are the big large-scale trials to determine whether or not a vaccine works and whether or not it is safe. So, the Russians still fairly at the beginning of those phase 3 trials, even though they have said that they believe the vaccine will work. And it seems as though the authorities are acknowledging that fact as well, that they are going to have to go through this wave of infections they are seeing right now in the country without having a vaccine widely available. In fact, the Moscow mayor just said yesterday, he said, look, in a couple of months, as he put it, there will be a vaccine available on an industrial scale, but right now it's up to the population to get through this very testing phase at the moment. The Russian authorities are urging people to stick by the anti- pandemic measures. Moscow itself, of course, is really the epicenter here in Russia. I was looking at the numbers just now, and it's around 4,400 new infections over the past 24 hours. It was around 4,500 the day before. So, they continue to remain very high. They put some new measures in place already. They've extended some of the school holidays a little bit. But they're also saying that if things don't get better, that new additional measures might have to be put in place as well -- Rosemary.</s>CHURCH: All right, many thanks to Fred Pleitgen joining us live from Moscow. And Chinese officials are scrambling to ramp up testing after a new cluster of COVID-19 cases in Qingdao. The northeastern port city is home to some 9 million people, and officials hope to test all of them within the next five days. Authorities are tracking at least a dozen new cases, all linked to a local hospital. That hospital is now on lockdown with more than 114,000 people having been tested. Well, at least one neighboring city is urging residents to stay away from Qingdao. Central China was the original COVID-19 epicenter, but the local outbreak was brought under control after an intense lockdown. In Britain, some volunteers are actually eager to deliberately be exposed to the coronavirus to test the effectiveness of vaccine candidates. They're young and fit, but human trials come with risks of course. CNN's Phil Black caught up with some of those volunteers.</s>PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like so many, Estefania Hidalgo has quietly endured the challenge, the inconvenience, of living through a pandemic. But she wanted to do more.</s>ESTEFANIA HIDALGO, 1 DAY SOONER VOLUNTEER: This was a way for me to take control of the situation, to feel like I was in a more -- or in a less hopeless place, in a less hopeless world. And be like OK, I can do this, to make it better. I chose not to be in fear.</s>BLACK: So, she volunteered to be deliberately infected with the coronavirus.</s>HIDALGO: I was shaking but then I just, without knowing, I just typed my name in and was like let's go for it. I want to be a part of it --</s>BLACK (on camera): Shaking?</s>HIDALGO: Yes. Because it can be scary, right? Like you're going to be potentially exposed to the virus.</s>ALISTAIR FRASER-URQUHART, VOLUNTEER AND ORGANIZER 1 DAY SOONER: Ah, yes.</s>BLACK (voice-over): Alexander Fraser Urquhart is also very keen to be infected.</s>ALISTAIR FRASER-URQUHART: I've just got the email.</s>BLACK: He helps with running the recruitment campaign Estefania has signed up to. 1 Day Sooner finds volunteers -- so far tens of thousands around the world -- and has been lobbying the U.K. government to make use of them through potentially risky research.</s>ALISTAIR FRASER-URQUHART: I wake up thinking about science trials, I go back to bed thinking about science trials.</s>BLACK: Challenge trails involve giving young, healthy people a potential vaccine. Like this one developed by London's Imperial College. Then later, testing by deliberately dozing them with the virus. Proponents say it's faster than waiting for test subjects to be exposed to a specific virus in the real world. With numerous COVID-19 vaccines being developed, some scientists think challenge trials could help identify the best of them sooner.</s>ALISTAIR FRASER-URQUHART: By taking that small risk on myself, I can potentially protect thousands of other peoples from, you know, having to be infected without consenting to it.</s>BLACK: Critics say challenge trials have limited use because the young healthy people who take part don't represent the broader population. They have been used against other viruses.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Hi, Tom, welcome to FluCamp.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Thank you.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Through to quarantine then?</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yes, yes, yes.</s>BLACK: This is corporate video from a London facility that recruits, exposes and strictly quarantines people to test influenza vaccines.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: We've got a wonderful safety record that we're all proud of.</s>BLACK: But there are always risks. Especially with a new virus that's already killed more than a million people. And epidemiologists say it's likely some volunteers would be needed for a control group, to make sure the virus does -- can cause disease. It means they'd be exposed to the coronavirus without receiving a vaccine. The real potential for doing harm to volunteers would be closely scrutinized by regulators.</s>PROFESSOR SIR TERENCE STEPHENSON, CHAIR OF ENGLAND'S HEALTH RESEARCH AUTHORITY: A challenge trial would have to make the cogent argument that the benefits to society greatly outweighed the risk. And that that evidence of those data could not be achieved in a simpler or safer way.</s>BLACK: Test subjects in challenge trials are compensated financially but Alistair's father knows that's not motivating his son.</s>ANDREW FRASER-URQUHART QC, VOLUNTEER'S FATHER: It's at the forefront of science and technology. It's something to benefit others. It's something rather brave, it's something slightly different. And that's him in a nutshell.</s>ALISTAIR FRASER-URQUHART: To be totally honest, I really don't care what he says. I do what I like.</s>BLACK: A crucial ingredient for any COVID-19 challenge trial will be the determined idealism of its young volunteers. Phil Black. CNN, London.</s>CHURCH: Brave young people there. Well still ahead, would you take a flight from Sydney to Sydney? How an Australian airline is aiming to boost spirits with a flight to nowhere. Back with that in a moment.

Qantas Sells Out Sightseeing "Flight to Nowhere".

CHURCH: Well, Australia's Qantas Airlines took a scenic flight to nowhere Saturday. The flight sold out in just minutes. And hours after its departure, passengers were delighted to be right back where they started. Kim Brunhuber has the story.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Qantas Flight 787 to Sydney now ready for boarding.</s>KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These die-hard travelers in Australia, many of them grounded for months because of coronavirus restrictions, are ready to embark on their next adventure, even if it's only a seven-hour flight on Qantas Airways, from Sydney to Sydney. For them, it's about the journey, not the destination.</s>WARREN GOODRIDGE, PASSENGER: Oh, it's very upsetting for us. Because we love traveling and so on, and as soon as we saw this one here, Jason and I thought, We've got to go on this one.</s>BRUNHUBER: Tickets to the so-called "flight to nowhere" sold out within ten minutes. The airline says middle seats were left empty so passengers could social distance. The Boeing Dreamliner flew over some of Australia's iconic sites, for a birds-eye view of places like Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, it was spectacular. I thought that some of the sites that we saw today, one would never get the chance to see it quite like that. I felt that I was so close to a lot of them.</s>BRUNHUBER: And, of course, there was an in-flight meal for that special class of people who miss eating a meal at 30,000 feet. The experience is designed to be a morale boost for travelers yearning to fly again, and an airline that posted a nearly $1.5 billion loss earlier this year because of the pandemic.</s>CAPTAIN LISA NORMA, QANTAS 787 FLEET MANAGER: It's been a very challenging year. And you know when flying's in your blood, you know, I think we're all really struggling.</s>BRUNHUBER: Critics say flights like these are just joyrides and harm the environment, though Qantas says the flight will be fully carbon offset.</s>ALEX PASSERINI, PILOT: Hopefully, we've -- we've planted some seeds in terms of people's next holiday plans. We want more of these flights. Can't wait to get airborne again.</s>BRUNHUBER: And not to be outdone by the airlines, Singapore announced a travel plan to begin cruises with no port stops in November. An embattled travel industry that's taking the staycation to the next level. Kim Brunhuber, CNN, Atlanta.</s>CHURCH: Makes me home sick. Thanks so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. "EARLY START" is up next. You're watching CNN. Have yourselves a great day.

U.S. Sees Highest Number of Cases; Trump to Hold Campaign Rally

HARLOW: Welcome back. This morning, coronavirus cases are still surging across the country. We have 31 states that are now seeing a spike in infections. Five states reported a 50 percent jump in cases in just a week and now a key model predicts nearly 400,000 U.S. deaths from COVID-19 by February. Let's go to our Alexandra Field. She has more on these disturbing numbers. Good morning, Alex. I mean I -- you know, some doctors are saying this is a second wave. I don't know if it's get -- the first wave getting worse, but it is tragic.</s>ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They've warned us it would get worse as we head into flu season and the winter months. That's exactly what we seem to be seeing, even as early as October now. Some 50,000 average cases a day just last week. That puts the country at the highest numbers we've seen in about two months now. So clearly moving very much in the wrong direction. Poppy, you pointed out that IHME model projecting nearly 400,000 deaths by February 1st. The other news that's part of that prediction is, if 95 percent of Americans wore a mask, we could say 80,000 lives by February. You will see the hardest-hit parts of the country, still the Midwest, lit up in red there. Even in the northeast, where positivity rates have been lower, there is a fight to fight. In New York we've been talking for weeks now about these clusters of cases in Brooklyn, in Queens and even outside of New York City. The governor, over the weekend, saying there has to be aggressive enforcement in these hot spots. These hot spots are home to the Hasidic Jewish community, which has pushed back, even protested against some of these strict guidelines now in place. The governor says those guidelines will stand and that they will be enforced. Poppy.</s>HARLOW: Alex, let's hope it makes a big difference. Thanks so much for that. This morning, we are learning about a new symptom that could be tied to COVID. Our Elizabeth Cohen, our senior medical correspondent, joins me with details. Hearing loss?</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hearing loss. You know what, viruses like mumps and measles have been known to cause hearing loss and it actually might be even worse with COVID. It's just heartbreaking, Poppy. I spoke with a 42-year-old, a 23-year-old, both previously healthy, both got COVID, didn't get particularly sick, but each of them lost their hearing in one ear. Let's take a look at what one small study shows. It looked at 138 patients with COVID after they were discharged from the hospital. Eight weeks later, 13 percent -- that's quite a few -- experienced hearing loss. And, in fact, when they've done autopsies on people who have died from COVID, they've actually found the virus in the inner ear. Now, what this means is you just need to be so careful. There's so many reasons not to get COVID, to do social distancing, to wear your mask. This is another one. Poppy.</s>HARLOW: Elizabeth, it certainly is. Thank you for that. Now to the president. He is heading back on the campaign trail today. He actually has four rallies scheduled over the next four days. John Harwood joins us at the White House. OK, so, his physician wrote that letter over the weekend clearing him and pointing to CDC guidelines, saying, you know, he meets them to be out and interacting with people. However, do we know, for example, and have we seen a negative COVID test from the president?</s>JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We do not know that, Poppy. The letter did not say that. The president has indicated that he is clear of the virus, that he can't transmit it to others. But we have not been able to question Dr. Conley, the president's physician, for a week now. The president has not taken questions either, except from friendly interviewers on Fox. So we are pretty much in the dark about the exact state of the president's health. We know that the White House has not talked about additional precautions being taken before the rallies in Florida tonight, later in Iowa and Pennsylvania. In the past, of course, they've distributed masks and recommended that people wear them but not require it, talked about social distancing and responsible behavior, but not insisted on that. The president clearly draws energy and emotional satisfaction from seeing crowds packed in and cheering for him and he's going to go out and get it this week.</s>HARLOW: Let's hope safely. John, before you go, there's a new Trump campaign ad, and they play sound from Dr. Fauci talking. And it sounds a whole lot like Fauci is praising and giving high praise to the work of the administration on handling COVID-19. But Dr. Fauci has a big issue with being used in this ad.</s>HARWOOD: No, he's pushed back very strongly against the use of this quote in the ad without his permission, said it was taken out of context. He was talking about the administration as a whole. This quote is being used to suggest that the world's leading infectious disease specialist, certainly the leading one in the U.S. government, was endorsing the president's re-election, when, of course, the president has pushed Dr. Fauci aside when it suited his purposes. And Dr. Fauci did not restrain himself and put out a statement saying, yes, this was taken out of context. I've never endorsed a presidential candidate in my life and I'm not endorsing one now.</s>HARLOW: Yes. OK, we'll talk more about that ahead for sure. Thanks, John. Appreciate the reporting at the White House. So, early voting is now early in-person voting underway in the state of Georgia. Take a look at this. It's a polling place that is pretty packed already. We'll take you there, next.

Early In-Person Voting in Georgia

HARLOW: It is only, if you can believe it, 22 days until November 3rd. And that means 22 days until Election Day. And, this morning, voters in Georgia are now getting their first chance to hit the polls for in- person voting. Nick Valencia joins us at a polling location in Atlanta. Good morning to you, Nick.</s>NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Poppy.</s>HARLOW: Unfortunately, already learning about some problems -- some problems there this morning?</s>VALENCIA: That's right. Election Day starts today. And for the next three weeks, Georgians across the state will have a chance to early vote. But it has been a rocky start here at State Farm Arena at one of the untraditional voting sites, early voting sites, that were put in place to alleviate some of those disastrous issues that we saw this summer where voting machines were down, people were standing in line up to seven hours, predominantly in communities of color. I want to pan over here because it was a crush of people that were waiting outside State Farm Arena, home to the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. You see this line. They're social distanced. It goes all the way down, snakes around to the entrance. But you mentioned those glitches here. Earlier this morning, Steve Koonin, the CEO with State Farm, as well as the CEO for the Atlanta Hawks, told us that 60 of the voting pads had glitches, technical glitches. They were issued by the county. Fortunately, there were representatives here on site to help alleviate those issues. But it caused about a 45-minute to hour delay. Voting has since resumed. We did talk to some of those voters who have experienced those glitches, getting their voting cards rejected. They said that they were -- you know, had to wait around for about 30 to 45 minutes but were satisfied with some of the communication that they were receiving from those here on site. They're expecting between 3,000 to 6,000 voters per day. So a lot of intensity around this early voting. Georgia could potentially be a battleground state. Not only do we have the presidential election on the ballot. We also have two Senate seats here in Georgia that are expected to be very much so contested. Poppy.</s>HARLOW: Absolutely. Also, Nick, if I could, let's talk about what is happening in the South Carolina Senate race. We just heard Lindsey Graham, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, in the spotlight this morning, right, leading these hearings.</s>VALENCIA: Yes.</s>HARLOW: But his challenger, Harrison, raised $57 million in the last three months. That is -- that's the most ever, right, in that period of time in a Senate race?</s>VALENCIA: That's right, Poppy. And it goes to show you just how much literally is being invested in some of these races. Lindsey Graham is facing something that, you know, perhaps he didn't think he was going to be facing with his -- you know, the person up against him, Jaime Harrison, raising, as you mentioned, $57 million during the final full quarter. That's shattering the latest record that we had in 2018 when Beto O'Rourke, you remember that name, Texas Democrat, he raised about $38 million. But Jamie Harrison shattering that. Lindsey Graham going on Fox News just recently appealing to more people to donate to his campaign because he knows he's been outraised. Poppy.</s>HARLOW: I mean almost $20 million more in the quarter than Beto O'Rourke.</s>VALENCIA: Yes.</s>HARLOW: And we thought that number was stunning. Nick, thanks for that reporting on both fronts this morning.</s>VALENCIA: All right.</s>HARLOW: Well, this pandemic has left so many -- so many renters facing eviction. We're seeing an historic crisis here. We'll head to a small Texas community near Dallas where so many are feeling the impact.

Confirmation Hearings for Supreme Court Pick; Financial Devastation for Many in Texas.

HARLOW: Well, as you know, COVID-19 has been so financially devastating for so many families that the CDC, last month, extended the moratoriums on evictions in the U.S. for the rest of the year. But it doesn't help everyone. Still millions of people are behind on their rent and are losing their homes as we speak. Our Ed Lavandera spoke to a woman out of work for months who is now in this crisis facing eviction. He joins us from Dallas with more on her story. Good morning, Ed.</s>ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Poppy. Well, as congressional lawmakers continue fighting over stimulus package because of the coronavirus pandemic, it's clear that the tentacles of this pandemic have reached into every corner of the country and every segment of society.</s>LAVANDERA (voice over): For three months this year, Diane Lusk was out of work and watched unpaid bills pile up and her electricity turned off.</s>DIANE LUSK, FACES EVICTION: It scared me whenever I lost my job and I was like, how am I going to make it? What am I going to do?</s>LAVANDERA: Now she's making $11 an hour cooking philly cheese steaks in a little place called Happy Eats in Dallas. But when Lusk leaves work, she doesn't know what she's coming home too.</s>LUSK: The constable was in the driveway and handed me court papers.</s>LAVANDERA: Lusk faces evictions from the house she rents for $600 a month. Her landlord isn't renewing her lease. The 60-year-old cook is struggling to find a place she can afford.</s>LUSK: I just never dreamed that I would see the days that I'm seeing. All I can do is pray. That's all I can do is pray.</s>LAVANDERA: We met Lusk in this food line at Praise Fellowship Church in Wilmer, Texas, where she comes to get meats and fresh vegetables. It's stunning to see the endless car line that shows up every Tuesday at this unlikely place, a little church on the side of an interstate. Pastor Edwin Favors says COVID-19 struck and the crisis knocked on his church doors. They went from helping 400 people a week to 3,000.</s>PASTOR EDWIN FAVORS, PRAISE FELLOWSHIP CHURCH: This is a crisis that has literally hit every household. When a crisis comes, it doesn't stop.</s>LAVANDERA: From the kitchen of his Dallas home, Mark Melton is witnessing the edge of the pandemic cliff.</s>MARK MELTON, DALLAS ATTORNEY: Normally evictions are a two-step process.</s>LAVANDERA: Melton is a lawyer. In March he started offering free legal advice to people facing evictions.</s>MELTON: And I got your message. I hear you're having some trouble.</s>LAVANDERA: This woman is calling for a friend.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's unable to pay her rent tomorrow. Been on unemployment since the beginning of this year.</s>LAVANDERA: So many calls poured in that Melton has recruited an small army of 150 lawyers to help.</s>MELTON: There are definitely days where I just turn the lights off and sit in here and just cry my eyes out trying to figure out how to take the next step.</s>LAVANDERA: And, Poppy, it' important to remember, as this pandemic continues to unfold, that it's not just people directly affected, but it's also inspired many people across the country to step up and help, like the Mark Melton, like the Praise Fellowship Church. A reminder of the famous words of Mr. Rogers, you know, in times of tragedy, always find the helpers. Poppy.</s>HARLOW: Yes. Yes. A good reminder. So sad to hear that man saying, just crying his eyes out. Ed Lavandera, thank you for the reporting. It is the top of the hour this Monday morning, 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 a.m. Pacific. Glad you're with us. I'm Poppy Harlow. Right now the confirmation hearing for President Trump's Supreme Court pick, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, is underway. Senators on the Judiciary Committee are making their opening statements. Moments ago we heard from the chairman of the committee, Lindsey Graham. He is defending the Republican's quick move to fill this seat. We're now just about three weeks from Election Day. The ranking Democratic member, Dianne Feinstein, made it clear that the Democrat's main argument, the future of the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is at stake. Listen to this.</s>SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): What will happen is that my Democratic colleagues will say, this has never been done.

Presidential Candidates Hit Swing States Today

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: With just 22 days to go until Election Day, the candidates are hitting the campaign trail. It's clear from their schedules that swing states are top of mind, of course. Take a look at where President Trump is headed, Florida this evening, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Iowa on Wednesday. And former Vice President Joe Biden's week is looking pretty similar. He's visiting Ohio today, Florida tomorrow, his Wednesday plans TBD at this point. All this campaigning as the Senate holds confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. Gloria Borger is back with us now to talk politics. You know the president obviously has been infected with coronavirus. And yet, here he is heading to Florida and Pennsylvania and Iowa this week. All of these are states that are seeing a rise in new COVID cases. Of course, many people wondered, Gloria, is getting the virus would cause him to change his outlook and his behaviors. It appears that is completely the opposite of what has happened.</s>GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: No. I think we've spent the last almost four years saying: Will Donald Trump pivot and become presidential? And the answer to that has always been no. And I think the answer to this is exactly the same. And I think the reason that he's going to these states, Brianna, is very clear. These are states he won last time. Iowa he won by more on nine points. Now it's a tie. These are states he feels he needs to go to, despite the increase in COVID cases, because he needs to win these states again. And I guarantee you, he's not going to be talking about the increase in COVID in these states. He's going to be saying the same things he's always been saying, which is that we've turned the corner. And I think a lot of people in a state like Iowa or a state like Florida, for example, will be scratching their heads about that.</s>KEILAR: I want to ask you, the president has tweeted or retweeted more than 50 times today before 10:30 a.m. If you have a tweet alert on him, which most political journalists, do you're getting blown up, right?</s>BORGER: Yes.</s>KEILAR: Just blown up. And many of those tweets were aimed at getting Americans to vote for him. What does this tell you about his confidence three weeks out from the election?</s>BORGER: Look, I think this is a president that reads the polls even though he says they're fake. He gets internal analysis where it shows that he is trailing. And I think he's just kind of flailing and throwing everything up against the wall that he can. When he's not tweeting, he's watching the hearings. And he's complaining about Republicans, as we were talking about a moment ago, not talking enough about how he's going to protect pre-existing conditions on health care. Because he understands that health care is an issue the Democrats are going to raise. And it is an issue that he does not do well on when compared to Joe Biden. So he understands exactly what's going on and that's one of the reasons he's been kind of like a caged animal stuck in the White House and wants to get out on the campaign trail, even though a lot of people believe that is not what he should be doing, including doctors.</s>KEILAR: Yes. All right, Gloria Borger, great to see you again. Thank you.</s>BORGER: Good to see you.</s>KEILAR: It's been two months since many schools started to reopen, but it's hard to know how they're doing when no one is tracking it nationally. Plus, why thousands of people are deliberately exposing themselves to the coronavirus. And why is this Republican Senator appearing at the Supreme Court hearing in person and speaking without a mask just 11 days after his coronavirus diagnosis? This is CNN's special live coverage.

Trump Pushes COVID Misinformation as He Returns to Campaign Trail; Biden Speaks on Economy in Ohio; Senate Confirmation Hearing for Supreme Court Nominee Amy Coney Barrett.

JOE BIDEN, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: -- the largest General Motors and largest Chrysler plant outside of Michigan and Ohio. And I saw -- I saw what happened when we got hit very hard. We've lost both those plants. Let me start off by saying, Mr. Mayor, thanks for the passport into your city. And, Marcy, you've been a friend a long time. Thank you for your introduction. You know, there's no more fierce defender -- there's no more fierce defender with the people she grew up with than Marcy.</s>BIDEN: She has never, ever, forgotten where she's come from. She's tough. She's a straight shooter. She's influential in Congress. She's honest. And she sees you. You're always in her view. And, Tony, Mr. President, I know you're new. And he said piece of cake so I don't have to worry if I get elected the first hundred days. But all kidding aside, Tony, thank you for hosting us. And thank you, Local 14. And can you -- thanks for that introduction. All you did for Barack and me when we were running, when we got elected, jumping in and being part of helping us govern. You remind me of something my dad said. He said, Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It's about your dignity. It's about your place in the community. It's about respect. It's about being able to say to your kid, look him in the eye and say everything is going to be OK and mean it. That's what a job is about. A decent-paying job like the UAW provides. This is a lesson I grew up with, surrounded by hard-working families in Scranton and then in Claymont, Delaware, where we had to move when dad lost work and there was no work in Scranton. Just like here in Toledo. But the times are hard. Unemployment is way up due to the pandemic and the terrible way in which it's been handled. The economic outlook remains uncertain. Across Ohio and the country, folks are worried about making the next mortgage payment or the rent payment, whether or not they can purchase prescription drugs or be able to put food on the table, literally. Worried about whether their kids' school is open and able to stay open. And if they're not open, how they can go to work if they have a job and still take care of their kids. They see the people at the very top doing better than they ever have, while they're left to wonder, who's looking out for me. That's Donald Trump's presidency. And 215,000 dead because of COVID. Experts say we're likely to lose another 200,000 people in the next few months unless we take some serious action, and he doesn't know what he's doing. All because this president's only worried about one thing, the stock market. He refuses to follow the science. It's estimated if we just wore these masks nationally, we'd save over 100,000 lives between now and the end of the year. This president knew back in January. He was briefed in detail by the Intelligence Community how extremely dangerous this COVID virus was, how communicable the disease was. He went in a taped interview with Bob Woodward, a leading journalist -- it's been played -- telling Woodward he knew how dangerous the disease was but did nothing. Ask yourself, why didn't he tell us? Why didn't he warn us? He said nothing. He told Woodward that he didn't want to panic the American people. That's why he said nothing. We don't panic. America doesn't panic. But Trump panicked. His reckless personal conduct since his diagnosis has been unconscionable. The longer Donald Trump is president, the more reckless he seems to get. Dr. Fauci, the most respected doc on this issue in the world -- in the country, he told the president -- you know, the president's announcement of his pick for the Supreme Court in the Rose Garden, he referred to that as a super spreader. All those people that caught the disease, how is he responding? Well, guess what, he's now running an ad you probably saw, a national ad quoting Dr. Fauci out of context way back in March. Referring to public health officials, Dr. Fauci said, "I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more," end of quote. In the recent ad that's going out nationally, Trump ad quotes Dr. Fauci as saying that about him, the president. Trump and his campaign deliberately lied, making it sound like Fauci was talking about Trump. Fauci went on the public air when the ad came out saying three days ago, I did not give permission for that quote. He wasn't referring to the president. And even after that, Fauci said he didn't say that. The president and the campaign, even after Fauci laid this out, the campaign said, we're still going to use it because he did say it, even though it wasn't about him. The point I'm trying to make is it was a knowing lie, like we're being told about everything about this COVID consequences. As a consequence to his months of overwhelming lying, misleading and irresponsible action on the part of Donald Trump, how many empty chairs were around your breakfast table this morning? Someone you love, someone you cared about, someone you knew, family member or a neighbor, missing, missing. And why? Because of negligence. Look, I view this campaign as I've said before and I'll say it again between Scranton and Park Avenue, between Toledo and Park Avenue. All Trump can see is from Park Avenue is Wall Street. That's why his only metric for American prosperity that he values is the Dow Jones and the index. Like a lot of you, I spent a lot of my time with guys like Trump looking down on me, the Irish Catholic kid in the neighborhood. Guys who thought they were better than me because they had a lot of money. Guys who inherited everything they ever got and still managed to squander it. I have to admit -- I shouldn't have done it, but I've been on record so I'll repeat it. I still have a little bit of chip on my shoulder about guys like him. I read some stories after I got the nomination that, quote, "If Biden gets elected, he'll be the first non-Ivy League School graduate to get elected" I think in 80 or 90 years. Guys, have a seat, man. You know what? Like some state school guy, I went to the University of Delaware. I was proud of it. Hard to get there, hard to get through in terms of money. But folks, since when can someone who went to a state university not be qualified to be president? Folks, I know what it takes to be president. I sat next to a man for eight years watching and participating. My mom taught me that what you're probably taught by your parents, too. She'd say, Joey, nobody is better than you but everybody is your equal. I don't measure people based on the size of their bank account. I don't respect people based on whether they own a mansion. I don't judge them whether -- based on whether they belong to a country club. You and I measure people by the strength of their character, their honesty, their courage, their courage. My mom used to say the greatest gift of all, the greatest virtue is courage. You're redeemed by your courage. That's what she would say and redeemed by your loyalty. Honesty, loyalty, things that are bigger than yourself. Those are with the neighborhoods we were raised in. It's all about family, decency, honor, opportunity. These are the values I learned growing up in Scranton, and my guess is you learned them where you grew up. The people I grew up in Scranton didn't have money in stocks. In our house growing up, every penny my dad made went to paying bills, keeping the lights on, food on the table. Every penny our friends in Scranton made went to paying the bills and taking care of their families as well. We looked out for our neighbors. That's why I have a different measure by which I judge the health of America's economy. I see hard-working women and men who are just trying to earn an honest living to take care of their families. Just want an even shot. They're not asking for anything. Just asking for a fair thought. You know, given a shot, the American people would never, ever, ever let their country down. Never. The other expression my dad had, he said, when you see the abuse of power, there's only one way to respond and that is with power. The only power we have to take on Corporate America is union power. That's the only power.</s>BIDEN: I just think back to 2008 when Barack and I were elected, and we had the worst recession short of a depression in history. The president put me in charge of the Recovery Act, $800 billion that was needed to save our economy from going into a depression. We did it with less than 0.2 percent of waste or fraud. We were able to see to it that Ohio and other states received substantial assistance to address their economic pain, to recover and to build, to make sure to kept teachers, firefighters and cops, public nurses on the job. People are being laid off now because you don't have the local money to do it. So they didn't have to be fired because of lack of money. That was when the federal government stepped up and started the longest sustained economic recovery in American history that this guy inherited and then squandered again. But you know what Mitch McConnell said recently about helping the states and the cities. He said, quote, "Let them go bankrupt." I heard that before. You heard it, too. Republicans said the same thing about the automobile industry. Like I said, I come from an automobile state and an automobile man. The auto industry supported one in eight Ohioans. It was on the brink. It was more than 10 years ago, but you remember like it was yesterday. It was on the brink. Barack and I bet on you, the American worker. We argued the American worker was the finest worker in the world. Management screwed it up. You didn't.</s>BIDEN: You didn't make the mistake.</s>BIDEN: By the way, it all got paid back. But guess who made the greatest sacrifices? Autoworkers. You made the sacrifices to get it back.</s>SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Do you solemnly swear the testimony you're about to give is the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth, so help you God?</s>AMY CONEY BARRETT, U.S. SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: I do.</s>GRAHAM: Welcome to the committee, to your family. All doing a great job over there. The floor is yours, Judge. (</s>BARRETT CONFIRMATION HEARING FROM 13:54:17 TO 14:00: 02)</s>BARRETT: More than the style of his writing though, it was the content of Justice Scalia's reasoning that shaped me.

Study Shows Death Rates in U.S. Higher than Expected in Spring/Summer

JOHN KING, CNN INSIDE POLITICS: Some new information today on death rates in the United States and the affect of the coronavirus on a surprising spike in death numbers. CNN's Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now. Elizabeth, what is this new research?</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: John, as if there were any doubt, what these numbers show is the incredibly devastating effect that this pandemic has had in the United States. Let's look at what the numbers show. It's found that in March through July of 2020, so just that time period, there were 1.3 million deaths from all causes in the United States. That's 20 percent more than the same time periods in each of the years 2014, '15, '16, '17, '18 and '19, so 20 percent more than the same time period each of those years. That's incredible for one disease basically to have that much effect is just, as I said, devastating. Now, let's take a look at the death rate in the U.S. compared to death rates in other countries. This isn't total number of deaths, this is death rates. So, in the U.S., what another study showed is that there have been 60.3 deaths per 100,000 people. Compare that death rate to Canada, 24.6 deaths, Australia 3.3 deaths. As you can see, the U.S. is not doing a great job here. Now, John, President Trump has said that the U.S. has the best mortality rate in the world. As you can see from the numbers, that is simply not true.</s>KING: Yet another stunning example of where the president says one thing and the statistics, the data tell us something else. And, Elizabeth, researchers also now thinking about another possibly symptom, another new symptom when it comes to COVID-19, tell us about that.</s>COHEN: Right, it's hearing loss. And I think this is surprising to many people but viruses can cause sudden hearing loss. John, it is heartbreaking. I spoke with a 42-year-old, with a 23-year-old, both totally healthy, came down with COVID, had very mild symptoms. It wasn't a big deal, except each of them lost their hearing in one ear. Viruses can do that. And there's some thinking that COVID may be even worse than other viruses because we know that COVID can cause blood clots and the arteries and the veins, the vessels in the ear are some of the tiniest vessels in the entire body and can become clotted easily. So this is something that doctors are really on the lookout for now, hearing loss after a COVID infection.</s>KING: Yet another kick in the teeth, if you will, from the virus. Elizabeth Cohen, I appreciate the important new reporting. Up next for us, President Trump's long war against Obamacare.

Early Data Shows Schools Don't Appear to be Major Spreaders of COVID-19

KING: Let's look now at some new and interesting data on the reopening of K through 12 schools and their role question about whether they're spreading coronavirus. Our next guest is tracking school-related cases nationwide and says early data suggests, quote, schools are not super-spreaders and fears from the summer appear to be overblown. Emily Oster is Professor of Economics at Brown University. Emily, thank you for your time today. So I just want to put up from your early data, put up some stats here. Among students, 0.13 percent infection rate, among staff members, 0.24 percent infection rate. This is the last two weeks of September. You studied 200,000 students across 47 states. Again, I know you're still at this and it's preliminary, but what jumps out at you as most significant about what you've learned so far?</s>EMILY OSTER, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, BROWN UNIVERSITY: So I think that one thing is that the rates that we're seeing, they're fairly low, they're kind of slightly lower than what we're seeing generally in the community. So it looks like a lot of maybe what's happening is some people get COVID elsewhere and they're at school, so it's not that there's no COVID but that the rates are relatively low compared to what people would expect that there would be huge outbreaks at schools, we're not seeing as much of that in our data in other data outside of our data.</s>KING: And so what is most important for you as you take this early data and try to expand it? And what questions do you have after round one or round two, I guess, that you're looking to answer as you get more people to help you participate?</s>OSTER: Yes. I think the big question is what mitigation factors are working. A lot of the schools in our data are doing masking, some of them are doing distancing, some of them are doing smaller pods. I think as we get more data, and we're really working to recruit larger samples, more schools, more districts, we'll be able to say things like how important is masking, how important is distancing, three feet versus six feet. Those are the kinds of things, I think, we can learn from this data, which will help other schools reopen more safely.</s>KING: And it's interesting, because we can show people some of that, things like staff mask use, student mask use, in-home screening, meaning take your temperature, do a checklist, make sure you don't have symptoms before you come to school. They're almost universal. 95 percent requiring staff mask, 92 percent, student mask, 92 percent, you do that home screening. And then you get to the other end, the right side of your screen there, only about half of schools say, keep all the students in one class all day long, symptom checks if entering school or on the bus, temperature check upon entering school on the bus, only about half. So how do you take it from there? How much more data do you need to say, okay, should schools be doing more of those things where you have half and half?</s>OSTER: So I think what we really need is this. This week, we are collecting another biweekly poll of data. And from that, we'll be able to look at places two sort of time periods in a row, see whether there are outbreaks, whether outbreaks are growing, whether we're see a single case turn into many cases and we'll be able to analyze the relationship between that and some of these mitigation practices. I think that will be key for understanding how to prevent spread in schools as opposed to preventing cases from coming outside, which is going to be much harder to regulate. So that's really what we're looking for in the next wave of the data.</s>KING: And what was striking to me, reading some of the analysis, some people who are looking at your data, saying, hey, it is early but this is helpful, also saying that the United States government is not giving us this information. Was that part stunning to you, that you're essentially a pioneer here doing it yourself, because the government is not keeping this?</s>OSTER: I think our team feels like there should be somebody else doing this. We're kind of a team of volunteers of like ten people doing this on nights and weekends. So I'm sort of hoping as we grow this, maybe there will be more input from the government, but I think that so far we haven't seen that, which is why we're doing it.</s>KING: as a parent, I can tell you, it is a critical issue for millions, millions and millions of American parents and families around the country. So we're grateful for what you and your team are doing. Keep up the work. Thank you.</s>OSTER: Thank you.</s>KING: Up next for us, to the campaign trail, Joe Biden today, two stops, in battleground Ohio.

Biden to Hold Campaign Event in Toledo, Ohio.

KING: Joe Biden is on his way to Ohio, proof the Democrat is playing offense in the final three weeks of this most unusual campaign. Toledo and Cincinnati are on tap for Biden in Ohio. Tomorrow, two stops in cities in Florida. And then on Thursday, Biden will take part in a nationally televised town hall from Philadelphia, which replaces the now canceled town hall debate with President Trump. Pennsylvania is central to Biden's strategy. He does not need to win Ohio or Florida to win the presidency. But a Biden win in either of those states would make the president's re-election math nearly impossible. CNN's Jessica Dean covering the Biden campaign, she is live for us in Cincinnati. Biden keeping the foot on the gas, if you will, Jessica, on the road.</s>JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he certainly is, John, appearing at two stops in Ohio today, a state that the Biden campaign counts as one of 17 priority states, but a state that hasn't gotten nearly the attention of some of the higher priority states in the lists have gotten states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, you mentioned. But, look, they are making a play here in Ohio. Vice President Biden is going to travel into Toledo earlier, then he's going to give remarks on his economic speech, more of that Scranton versus Park Avenue messaging that we've heard from him in the last several weeks. And then he is going to come here to Cincinnati for a voter engagement event. And that will be really interesting to see as he makes his way through Ohio, a state where the Biden campaign is also expanding its advertising. Recent polls have shown essentially a tied race here. And, look, the Biden campaign has the financial ability to do this. They can, to your point, put their foot on the gas in places like Ohio and Florida because of all of the fundraising and the records that they have been breaking within their fundraiser. Local democrats here think that Ohio is winnable for them, John. And if that happens, it could have significant impacts on Trump's ability to get to 270. Now, President Trump, of course, traveling to Florida today, Vice President Biden releasing a statement on that trip. Let me read you a portion of it. It says, President Trump comes to Stanford bringing nothing but reckless behavior, divisive rhetoric and fear mongering, but equally dangerous is what he fails to bring, no plan to get the virus that has taken over the lives of over 15,000 Floridians under control, no plan to protect Floridian's health care amid his attacks against the ACA and certainly no plan to mitigate economic impact the pandemic is having on families across Central Florida. You mentioned Biden going into Florida later this week. Mike Pence is in Ohio today. So we are getting at that point, of course, just three weeks out from election day, John, where we are seeing a lot of activity and Trump, of course, returning to the campaign trail as well.</s>KING: State by state chess, that's interesting part. Jessica Dean, thank you, from Hamilton County. We look at it by county, some of us with maps. Jessica, thank you.

Trump Ad Misleads on Coronavirus

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: So this really leads to the question of would Pelosi and President Trump cut a deal and then force Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to have to make a decision whether or not to bring it to the floor? You're also getting a sense that some Democrats in the House are getting frustrated by Pelosi continuing to hold out. You have this tweet by Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, saying, quote, "People in need cannot wait until February. $1.8 trillion is significant and more than twice Obama stimulus. It will allow Biden to start with infrastructure... Make a deal and put the ball in McConnell's court." This just speaks to all of the different members -- both on the Republican side and on the Democratic side -- that are applying pressure to their leadership, trying to get them to make a deal. But like I said, Poppy, no deal in sight yet.</s>POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: Unbelievable. I cannot believe that we're still here. All right, Lauren, thank you very, very much. Also this morning, the nation's top infectious disease doctor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, tells CNN the president's campaign took his words out of context when they used his words in a campaign ad without his permission. This is the relevant part of it, watch.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus, and so is America. Together, we rose to meet the challenge. President Trump tackled the virus head-on, as leaders should.</s>ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.</s>HARLOW: So here's the thing. When Dr. Fauci made that comment, it wasn't now, it wasn't October. It was back in March and he wasn't talking about the president, he was talking about, quote, "public health officials." Olivia Troye is with me, former Homeland Security advisor to Vice President Mike Pence. She worked on the COVID Task Force, she is now endorsing Joe Biden for president. Also Abby Phillip is back with us, our political correspondent. Olivia, Tim Murtaugh, the campaign communications director, said, "Those are Dr. Fauci's words and Dr. Fauci was praising the Trump administration." Not exactly. Your thoughts?</s>OLIVIA TROYE, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER TO VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: No, those are Dr. Fauci's words but similar to the e-mail that they tried to spin when they said that, you know, prior to the narrative of me (ph) getting fired where they tried to say that I wrote a note to President Trump -- similar to that, where I was praising the work of the Task Force, that's exactly what Dr. Fauci was doing back in March. He -- I remember that and we were all in the trenches. We were working day and night, hand-in-hand next to each other. These are the Task Force members and the experts and some of the cabinet members. We had numerous conference calls. He is 100 percent talking about the work and effort of these people. And you'll notice that the president at the time was actually already calling the virus a hoax, and he was completely undermining these exact people that Dr. Fauci is talking about.</s>HARLOW: Just to be clear, the president, when he used the word "hoax," he was talking about the Democrats and their -- the words that they were using, Abby, about coronavirus and how they were talking about it. But, Olivia, I take your point, downplaying it over and over and over again. Abby, the president's back on the campaign trail: Florida, and then four rallies in four days this week. But I want to focus on Florida because he and Joe Biden are there this week, showing again the importance of the state. And this new Quinnipiac poll finds Biden ahead of the president, 55 to 40 percent among Florida voters age 65 and over. Is this a president desperate to close that gap among such a critical voting bloc in Florida?</s>ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is really where the president is seemingly hurting the most although there are other weaknesses including Biden's competitiveness among white voters. But when you look at older voters, this kind of slide is really dramatic and it matters in Florida. That's why you saw the vice president, Mike Pence, at The Villages senior home doing an event there. Look, this for President Trump is all about the coronavirus, it's all about his handling of this issue. And that ad demonstrates that they're trying to turn, you know, a bad hand into a good hand on the coronavirus, but it's hard for me to see how that argument necessarily works with seniors. I mean, the reason the president is in this position is because they've seen his behavior, his attitude toward this virus, his downplaying of mask-wearing, his claims that it's just going to go away. Even this morning, the president saying that the virus is basically just going to kind of burn out or pass. Seniors are not buying that, and they're giving him very low marks. And until he turns that fundamental narrative around, I don't see this really changing. In Florida, also, the president is doing better with Hispanic voters but the slide with older voters is I think what's making that state more competitive than they'd like it to be.</s>HARLOW: Yes. Also, a reliable voting bloc, right? Older voters go and they vote, that matters a lot, especially in that state. I'd like to turn to the Supreme Court. We are in the middle of the beginning of a big week of these Supreme Court nomination hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Olivia, you're a lifelong Republican, I should note. You are endorsing Joe Biden. Joe Biden will still not answer the question, when directly asked over and over again, if he would support packing the Supreme Court if elected. Listen to this exchange that happened with a reporter in Nevada over the weekend.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But this is the number one thing that I've been asked about from viewers in the past couple of days.</s>JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well you've been asked by the viewers who are probably Republicans who don't want me continuing to talk about what they're doing to the court right now.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, sir, don't the voters deserve to know --</s>BIDEN: No they don't deserve -- I'm not going to play his game.</s>HARLOW: He said they don't deserve to know. And then on Saturday, here's what else Vice President Biden said.</s>BIDEN: Court-packing's going on right now. It's going on with Republicans packing the court now. It's not constitutional, what they're doing.</s>HARLOW: It -- he says it's not constitutional, what they're doing. It -- you know, it's not unconstitutional. But Olivia, to the deserving to know point, do you think that voters deserve to know what, if he becomes president, he and Harris would support?</s>TROYE: I think it's fair to ask Joe Biden to talk on this topic, especially because of what we've seen with the Trump administration repeatedly with the Supreme Court, but I can understand his viewpoint of really focused on the now. And quite frankly as a Republican, I am upset at the behavior of the Trump administration, trying to push this nomination forward. I really think that the Supreme Court is something that is critical and should be taken so seriously for our country, there (ph) are (ph) the fundamental values on the court. And personally I think that it is the People's Court. And to force this nomination through the way they are doing it, I think, is quite frankly as a Republican, I find it embarrassing for the Trump administration to</s>HARLOW: Abby, my colleague Jake Tapper smartly pointed out yesterday on his show that we actually kind of do know where Joe Biden stands on this issue of packing the court. Not only from a year ago, but also from 1983. Listen to these two.</s>BIDEN: President Roosevelt clearly had the right to send to the United States Senate, the United States Congress a proposal to pack the court. But it was a bonehead idea. It was a terrible, terrible mistake to make. I would not get into court-packing. We added three justices. Next time around, we lose control, they add three justices. We began to lose any credibility the court has at all.</s>HARLOW: Bonehead idea, I wouldn't get into it. Why won't he answer now?</s>PHILLIP: Yes, this is one of the more odd things about where we are in this campaign. The only thing I can surmise is what Biden said in the earlier clip that you played, which is that he doesn't want to play Trump's game. I think the Biden campaign recognizes that the Trump campaign and Republicans are trying to set an agenda item, putting court-packing on the table and forcing Biden to reject it or accept it. But as you pointed out, he doesn't support this idea, he hasn't in the past. And I do think it's odd that he won't just put this to bed. Look, Democrats on the left of Joe Biden have stomached a lot of other rejections on a lot of other issues whether its Medicare for All or you name it. And I don't see why Democrats wouldn't stomach this one if Biden would just say, no, I don't support this. But I do think there's is a strong sense among the Biden camp that they don't want to let President Trump just sort of put random ideas on the table and then they are forced to respond and being put on the defense.</s>HARLOW: I hear you, but good for that reporter in Nevada -- who said, by the way, this is the number one issue I'm getting asked by voters in his state. So all right, ladies. We're out of time, we'll have you both back soon. Thanks very much, Olivia Troye and Abby Phillip. Growing concerns this morning over these rising COVID numbers in a state that has very few mandates -- there's no mandate on masks for example in North Dakota. I will speak with the public health official there about the disturbing trend and the toll it's taking on the hospitals.

Interview with North Dakota Public Health Official

HARLOW: Well, North Dakota's hospital system this morning is being pushed to the limit. The state is seeing record hospitalizations and record new number of cases. Joining me now is Renae Moch, director for Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health. It's really good to have you. When I first started reading these headlines about North Dakota last week, I was really worried and hoping things might turn the corner over the weekend, but it doesn't appear that they have. How stretched are your hospitals right now?</s>RENAE MOCH, DIRECTOR, BISMARCK-BURLEIGH PUBLIC HEALTH: So right now, our hospitals have less than 20 beds available across the state of North Dakota. It's really concerning for us because we have some major hospitals that are able to take on more serious cases, but we have some hospitals in very rural areas that are having difficulty meeting the demand and having to send patients to different areas across the state of North Dakota, and even had to send out of state at some point to Sioux Falls and also Billings, Montana.</s>HARLOW: To send people out of the state of North Dakota because you don't have enough resources to take care of them?</s>MOCH: That's correct.</s>HARLOW: Wow. And you've said that you feel -- your word -- "powerless" in all of this. Why?</s>MOCH: So as a health official, we're working to educate the public on the importance of practicing measures such as social distancing, avoiding large crowds, wearing a mask. And without that mandate or enforcement piece behind it, it becomes very difficult for us to try to make a difference in the number of cases that we're seeing and really trying to take -- have this taken seriously by the public that we're working with. And so that's been a real challenge for us in public health.</s>HARLOW: There's no mask mandate in North Dakota, it's one of now fewer than 20 states that doesn't have one. As I understand it from you earlier, people are having big weddings, there's not a whole lot of social distancing going on at some of these events. Are a majority of people wearing masks?</s>MOCH: Unfortunately, North Dakota, majority are not wearing masks. At this point, we have been given the message from the state level that personal responsibility is the way to go when it comes to masking up and wearing masks and social distancing. And so we've seen large weddings, people are continuing to operate kind of as they had before COVID even was here. And that's leading to a lot of our numbers increasing, and we're seeing lots of different clusters and such in -- across North Dakota.</s>HARLOW: You have said that you're having -- there's been a real issue there in terms of contact tracing. Why? What's happening?</s>MOCH: Yes, so I think we're at the point now where a lot of people are frustrated. I know we've been in the pandemic now close to seven months here, and when we do our contact tracing, there are individuals that are refusing to cooperate so we're dealing with people maybe saying they don't have any close contacts. Or if they have been to a wedding or a large gathering, they're not giving us that information. And so that gives us a real hard time to try to do the contact tracing work and contain some of the spread there. If we would have that information, we would be able to make contact and do outreach, but we're just not getting that.</s>HARLOW: So people actually refusing to tell contact tracers who they've been in contact with?</s>MOCH: They're refusing, exactly. So some are you know, not even answering the contact tracer's call, or they will answer the call and say that they have no contacts or haven't been anywhere. And so you know, we have -- we live in a small enough state that we know some of that is not true because we have the proof for that, so it's unfortunate.</s>HARLOW: Well, Renae, thanks for the work you're doing on this front. I'm sorry you're in a position to feel so powerless in the middle of this. Good luck to everyone in the state right now.</s>MOCH: Thank you very much.</s>HARLOW: We are just 22 days out from the election. We're seeing a major court ruling when it comes to ballot boxes in two key states. Your election, your vote is next.

Pennsylvania Judge Throws Out GOP Voting Challenges.

HARLOW: Every day, we are keeping a close eye on this 2020 race. This is your election, it is your vote and your vote is critical. Here are the big headlines this morning. Early in-person voting begins in Georgia today. We've seen a packed polling place in Atlanta already this morning, and election officials say they're bracing for record turnout. We are also following key court rulings made in Texas and Pennsylvania over drop boxes. Let's talk more about this, Kristen Holmes joins us in Washington this morning. Good morning. What do those rulings say, what do they mean practically for voters?</s>KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Poppy. Well, let's start in Pennsylvania because this is a big deal. Keep in mind, this is going to shape the way that voters in this critical swing state cast their ballot in just 22 days. So essentially, here's what was on the table. Republicans, the Trump campaign had sued the state on three categories, one being ballot boxes. They wanted to limit those ballot boxes, saying they were unconstitutional. The other was on signatures. The secretary of state had said earlier this year that absentee ballot signatures did not have to perfectly match what was on file. Again, Republicans fighting on that. And the third thing here was poll watchers. The law in Pennsylvania says that poll watchers can only serve as poll watchers in the county that they vote in, and Republicans were fighting that. Now, the judge has thrown this out. Now -- before I read what he said, just keep this in mind. The overarching argument here is that these things are unconstitutional because they lead to fraud. So here's the statement that the judge said. It says, "While the Trump campaign may not need to prove actual voter fraud, they must at least prove that such fraud is," quote, "'certainly impending.' They haven't met that burden. At most, they have pieced together a sequence of uncertain assumptions." Now, one thing to keep in mind here because we hear President Trump say this all the time, this is a Trump-appointed judge. So any kind of rhetoric on how this was politically motivated will be nearly impossible. And just to quickly touch on what's going on in Texas, because we are just weeks from the election, and it is an utter mess. As we know, the governor there had restricted ballot boxes to one per county. And Poppy, that included counties that had over 4 million people in them, so really making it hard for people to vote. Now, a federal judge on Friday overruled that, said you couldn't limit the number of drop boxes. However, the state has now appealed, meaning that there is a stay-in-place. So there's still going to only be one drop box for the time being while those judges rule -- Poppy.</s>HARLOW: And when Ed Lavandera did that piece, it was like they're open 9:00 to 5:00, right? Not like those are people's work hours or anything.</s>HOLMES: Yes. Incredible.</s>HARLOW: Kristen Holmes, thank you very much for the reporting. We'll see you tomorrow. Thanks to all of you for joining me today, Jim and I will both be back here tomorrow. NEWSROOM with John King starts after a quick break.

Live Coverage of Judge Amy Coney Barrett Nomination Statement

AMY CONEY BARRETT, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: More than the style of his writing though, it was the content of Justice Scalia's reasoning that shaped me. His judicial philosophy was straightforward. A judge must apply the law as it is written, not as she wishes it were. Sometimes that approach meant reaching results that he did not like, but as he put it in one of his best known opinions, that is what it means to say that we have a government of laws and not of men. 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. There's a tendency in our profession to treat the practice of law as all consuming while losing sight of everything else but that makes for a shallow and unfulfilling life. I worked hard as a lawyer and as a professor. I owed that to my clients, to my students and to myself but I never let the law define my identity or crowd out the rest of my life. A similar principle applies to the role of courts. Courts have a vital responsibility to the rule of law, which is critical to a free society, but courts are not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong in our public life. The policy decisions and valued judgments of government must be made by the political branches, elected by and accountable to the people. The public should not expect courts to do so and courts should not try. That is the approach that I have strived to follow as a judge on the 7th Circuit. In every case, I have carefully considered the arguments presented by the parties, discussed the issues with my colleagues on the court and done my utmost to reach the result required by the law, whatever my own preferences might be. I try to remain mindful that while my court decides thousands of cases a year, each case is the most important one to the litigants involved. After all, cases are not like statutes, which are often named for their authors. Cases are named for the parties who stand to gain or lose in the real world, often through their liberty or livelihood. When I write an opinion resolving a case, I read every word from the perspective of the losing party. I ask myself how I would view the decision if one of my children was the party that I was ruling against. Even though I would not like the results, would I understand that the decision was fairly reasoned and grounded in law? That is the standard that I set for myself in every case and it is the standard that I will follow, so long as I am a judge on any court. When the President offered me this nomination, I was deeply honored, but it was not a position I had sought out and I thought carefully before accepting. The confirmation process and the work of serving on the court, if confirmed, requires sacrifices, particularly from my family. I chose to accept the nomination because I believe deeply in the rule of law and the place of the Supreme Court in our nation. I believe Americans of all backgrounds deserve an independent Supreme Court that interprets our Constitution and laws as they are written and I believe I can serve my country by playing that role. I come before this committee with humility about the responsibility that I have been asked to undertake and with appreciation for those who have come before me. I was nine years old when Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman to sit in this seat. She was a model of grace and dignity throughout her distinguished tenure on the court. When I was 21 years old and just beginning my career, Ruth Bader Ginsburg sat in this seat. She told the committee "what has become of me could only happen in America." I have been nominated to fill Justice Ginsburg's seat but no one will ever take her place. I will be forever grateful for the path she marked and the life she led. If confirmed, it would be the honor of a lifetime to serve alongside the Chief Justice and seven associate justices. I admire them all and would consider each a valued colleague. And I might bring a few new perspectives to the bench -- as the President noted when he announced my nomination, I would be the first mother of school age children to serve on the court and I know that it would make senators Young and Braun happy to know I would be the first justice to join the court from the 7th Circuit in 45 years. I would be the only sitting justice who didn't attend school at Harvard or Yale but I am confident that Notre Dame could hold its own and maybe I could even teach them a thing or two about football. As a final note, Mr. Chairman, I would like to thank the many Americans from all walks of life who have reached out with messages of support over the course of my nomination. I believe in the power of prayer and it has been uplifting to hear that so many people are praying for me. I look forward to answering the committee's questions over the coming days, and if I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I pledge to faithfully and impartially discharge my duties to the American people as an associate justice of the Supreme Court. Thank you.</s>GRAHAM: Thank you very much, Judge Barrett. Is -- let's try Professor O'Hara, any luck with her?</s>O'HARA: I'm here, Chairman Graham.</s>GRAHAM: Thank you. I apologize for the problem. The floor is yours.</s>O'HARA: That's very kind of you. It's anticlimactic because you've already heard from the most important person from whom you need to hear, but it's very kind of you --</s>BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All right, let's talk about what we just heard from the nominee to the Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett. I want to bring in Jeffrey Toobin first to talk about this along with Gloria, Joan and Abby with me. It was interesting to the end there, Jeffrey, she talked about the different perspectives that she will bring, but primarily what she said was she'll be the first mother of school-age children to serve the court, she noted that she'll be the first justice from the 7th Circuit, and that she'll be the only sitting justice who didn't attend law school at Harvard or Yale. With particular interest, I think, we were listening to what she said about her time clerking for Justice Scalia and the similarities that she shares with him as how he viewed the law. What did you take away from this, Jeffrey?</s>JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I thought the most important passage was when she said, you know, the policy choices should be left to the people's representatives -- to the House, to the Senate, to the state legislatures. And it's important to remember what that means in the context of what the Supreme Court does. You know, Justice Scalia felt like if a state wants to ban marriage between two men or two women, that's a policy choice that a state should be allowed to make. Justice Scalia thought that if a state wants to ban abortion, that's a policy choice that a state wants -- should be allowed to make. You know, what Justice Ginsburg thought was that the Constitution trumps those policy choices, that the Constitution forbids states from engaging in acts that are discriminatory, violating the 14th Amendment or the First Amendment. And so the language of the deferring to the policy choices of the states has real political content, and it's conservative political content and it's what Justice Scalia believed. But you know, people should understand that's what it means in the real world. It is not just, you know, boilerplate, it has real political content.</s>KEILAR: Joan, what stood out to you?</s>JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SUPREME COURT ANALYST: You know, she's not running from her record, she's pretty much putting it all out there in terms of just how she's going to interpret the Constitution, her allegiance -- once again -- with Justice Scalia, her reference to believing in the power of prayer. She knew that her past record on religion, faith and the law could be controversial, and she's -- she wants to show herself for who she is, for better or for worse, for members of the Senate panel. And I think you're going to see someone who, tomorrow, when she has to field questions, is going to appear, just as she did now, incredibly disciplined, pretty firm in what she's saying but with a tone of modesty. And I think that what the senators are going to have to cut through is look at what those consequences will be. She'll face some hard questions about the Affordable Care Act, but she will -- but I could see her just repeating exactly what she's doing today, saying, this is my philosophy, this is what I'm going to stick to. And in some ways, it's a departure from what we've seen from other nominees who wanted to present themselves as different, noncontroversial. But to Jeffrey's point, what you have to do is look beyond those words that sound very reasonable, and understand the consequences for the law which, as we said earlier, Bri, would be the opposite of what Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg did for the law.</s>KEILAR: Yes. And she talks about bringing different perspectives, right? Abby, what did you think?</s>ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, there was that passage where she talked about how she views the rulings that she writes from the perspective of the losing party. And I did think that that was the kind of framing of how she thinks about her rulings that is designed to just convey to people that she will be a reasonable jurist, evaluating each decision individually. But then you go to the question of, well, what does it mean to not -- to leave policymaking to legislators in the context of the Affordable Care Act, which has come up all day long today. And I think this is one of those interesting things, and perhaps, Jeffrey or Joan has some insight into this. Republicans, all day long, have been saying that the court should not legislate. Amy Coney Barrett basically reiterated that idea today. But what we face with this Affordable Care Act case that is going to come before the court in November, is a case in which Congress did legislate, and the federal government now wants to invalidate that law. So I do think it raises some questions -- and I think this will be borne out later this week -- about how this whole policymaking-is- left-to-the-legislature applies specifically to the Affordable Care Act, because I think that's going to be the question of the week.</s>KEILAR: Jeffrey, what do you think?</s>TOOBIN: I -- can I -- well, I'm just laughing because I mean, Abby is so exactly right on that point because you heard this over and over again from the Republican senators, is that, you know, the courts, the Supreme Court should let legislators legislate and not try to solve society's problems, and that you know, we should be the ones to do health care. But what are they doing in the Affordable Care Act case? They are demanding that the Supreme Court of the United States throw the whole thing out.</s>GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, and --</s>TOOBIN: With no replacement. And that -- I mean, it's just so outrageous that of all issues to be exercised about policymaking from the bench, the Trump administration having failed, over and over again, to come up with a replacement for Obamacare is simply throwing it on the courts and saying, you get rid of it. And then maybe something good will happen as a result.</s>BORGER: Well, and let me just add to that. If you want to leave everything up to the legislators -- which means you're leaving everything up to the voters -- what about her own nomination, which is taking place in the middle of an election? And so you might be able to say, wait a minute, let's let the voters speak -- as Kamala Harris said -- before jamming through a Supreme Court nominee, which is exactly what's going on here. And there's one thing I -- you know, you didn't hear from her and of course I think it's going to be asked, Brianna, but this question of whether, you know, she said, I see this from the point of view of my opponents, if it were one of my children who lost a case. The question then I think has to be raised to her, would you recuse yourself from election cases if you're looking at (ph) from the opponent's point of view? Because you are being appointed by somebody with a vested interest in the outcome of that case. And I'm sure that the members -- Democrats -- will be asking her that question. I don't know, I doubt they're going to get a direct answer about it, but I think the public deserves to hear it.</s>KEILAR: Yes --</s>PHILLIP: I did, Brianna (ph) --</s>KEILAR: Go on, Abby.</s>PHILLIP: Just to that point, I mean, I really did note she emphasized that she would be an independent justice on the --</s>BORGER (?): Yes.</s>PHILLIP: -- Supreme Court, that really struck out to me considering how much of a box she's been put in by this president on the election, on ACA, even on Roe v. Wade. I think it's made this path for her to navigate this week very difficult.</s>KEILAR: Yes. Thank you all so much for this discussion, I really appreciate getting all of your insights on this historic moment that we are watching on Capitol Hill, the confirmation process for Amy Coney Barrett. And 11 days right now after the president's COVID diagnosis, he's returning to the campaign trail, he's spreading more misinformation as cases are rising across America. Plus, California officials have launched an investigation into fake ballot boxes that have popped up in multiple locations. And several Republicans facing tough re-election battles are now trying to distance themselves from President Trump. We'll roll the tape.

Hearing Loss May Result From COVID-19; President Trump Returns to Campaign Trail.

KEILAR: There are troubling signs in the nation's fight against COVID-19. Thirty-one states right now are showing an increase in new cases. This is compared to just a week ago. Only three states are seeing a decrease in new cases. More than 50,000 new infections were recorded every day from last Wednesday through Saturday, which is something that we've not seen since August. One influential model -- often touted by the White House -- now projects nearly 400,000 coronavirus deaths in this country by February 1st, nearly 181,000 more deaths than have been reported in this country thus far. That new forecast, coming as new research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, shows there were 1.3 million deaths between March 1st and August 1st, 20 percent more deaths than would be normal during that time. With COVID-19 officially accounting for roughly two thirds of them, those findings are bolstering beliefs that deaths tied to the pandemic have been undercounted. And while some health officials have expressed concerns about a second wave of the coronavirus, there's a group of experts at NYU that is saying it may already be here in the form of a mental health crisis. I want to bring in CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, with me now. And I do want to dive into those findings here in a moment, but first there's a professor, Elizabeth, at Johns Hopkins University who now says hearing loss should be added as a symptom of coronavirus. Tell us more about this.</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brianna. Doctors are finding that many of their coronavirus patients are saying that they've suffered hearing loss. I actually spoke to two patients, one age 42, one 23. So both young, completely healthy, got COVID, didn't get very sick but did lose their hearing in one ear. For one of them it came back, for one of them it didn't. But even the one for whom it did come back, this poor guy has ringing in his ear, probably for the rest of his life. So let's take a look. There haven't been a lot of studies on this, but there has been one -- let's take a look -- that was done in the U.K., that looked at 138 COVID patients. Eight weeks after they were discharged from the hospital, 13 percent said that they had experienced a change in hearing, hearing loss of some kind. And in fact, autopsies of people who died of COVID show that in the inner ear, they found virus, they actually found virus in the inner ear. So, Brianna, this is yet another reason why you want to wear your mask, do social distancing: you do not want to get this virus.</s>KEILAR: Wow, that's very interesting and alarming. There's also, Elizabeth, some news around mothers who test positive for coronavirus, and just how close they can get to their newborns. Tell us about this.</s>COHEN: You know, Brianna, there had been a concern early on in the pandemic that they should separate moms after giving birth if the mom had COVID-19 because they didn't want her to give it to the baby. But that never really took off, they never really were separated. And what they found now is that that was OK. What they found is they looked at 101 babies that were born to COVID-positive moms, only two of those newborn babies had COVID. So it doesn't seem like this is really being transmitted from mother to child, and that of course is a good thing. So what the American Academy of Pediatrics suggests is, look, we used to say separate them, we don't say that any more. What we say now is if you can keep distance from your newborn baby, do. But of course you should hold your baby, wear a mask while you hold your baby and perhaps most importantly, do breastfeed your baby because that breast milk can actually help protect them against various infections.</s>KEILAR: All right, Elizabeth, thank you so much for that information. And now to the ever-expanding disconnect between the president and the pandemic. President Trump says the virus is, quote, "disappearing," but you just saw the numbers. It's very much still here and it's actually getting worse, and President Trump, back on the campaign trail today, just 11 days since he was diagnosed with coronavirus. His doctor says the president is, quote, "no longer considered a transmission risk to others," carefully chosen words there. The president himself says he is immune, which scientists are questioning because it has not been clinically proven that immunity occurs after an infection. And the White House is being pretty mum on critical details, like when the president last tested negative and if he's taken fever-reducing medication. Nevertheless, the president is insisting on keeping on with his COVID misinformation tour, taking it to Florida tonight, a state that added 5,000 new cases over the weekend. It is in a fully reopened phase. It could soon be a, quote, "house on fire," as one infectious disease specialist put it, because of its new cases. I want to bring in Dr. Peter Hotez, he's a professor and he's the dean of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, with us now. Doctor, if you were in the White House, what would you say to the president and his campaign? Is it possible to no longer be infectious in 11 days?</s>PETER HOTEZ, CO-DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR VACCINE DEVELOPMENT AT TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: Well, the big picture, Brianna, is I would say the president of the United States, you have an obligation to protect the public. And what we continue to see is the same playbook that we saw all summer, where they were downplaying the epidemic, downplaying the public health impact, downplaying the severity. You know, the president kind of neglects the inconvenient truth that the reason he's able to do what he's doing is because he's been privileged to get unique treatment. I mean, look, we're in for a horrible winter. I mean -- before I tell you something terrible, I want to just preface it by something good, which is that I think our lives will get better in the fall as vaccines become available. So by middle of next year, our lives will be better. So we have a lot to look forward to. But in the interim, we're in for a horrible winter. The cases are already starting to rise, the northern Midwest is already seeing a steep increase in the number of cases. This will be true across the northern states, maybe the entire country. We're already starting at a high level. We've started at 35,000 cases, now we're up to 50,000. The deaths are projected to double. This is going to be a historically awful time for the country, both in terms of cases and deaths and, as was pointed out, our mental health. People are going to be scared, we've got to make hard decisions now about who we're going to socially distance with as we hunker down for this terrible, terrible winter. We have to get ready, and this is a time when we really need the comfort, the soothing and the advice of the president and the executive branch of the government, and it's gone, it's evaporated. And what happens after the election could be even more vacancies in the White House. So this is a time when we really need a strong federal government, and I feel like we're being abandoned in many respects.</s>KEILAR: I want to, Doctor, have you look at some scenes that we're seeing on Capitol Hill. There is of course the Supreme Court confirmation hearing under way, you can see Republican Senator Mike Lee there without a mask at times after testing positive for coronavirus 11 days ago. He says his doctor has cleared him. And then I want you to look at this moment with the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows.</s>MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: That way I can take this off to talk.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh (ph).</s>MEADOWS: Well, I'm more than 10 feet away. I'm not -- well, I'm not going to talk through a mask.</s>KEILAR: All right, I believe that was someone from the press corps telling him no, get your mask back on. He tested negative, but he's now been exposed to people who have become sick. Should these men be wearing masks at all times when they are inside a building when others are present?</s>HOTEZ: Yes, of course. They should be -- first of all, they should be -- everyone should be wearing a mask, point one. Point two is, particularly given all the massive amount of virus transmission going on in the White House right now, I mean, it has been horrible in terms of the number of people who have been infected, as you know, CNN has provided a list and it's extensive. There's so much virus transmission going on. I mean, that was the reason why I was discouraging any in-person debates, both the vice presidential debate last week and future presidential debates. It wasn't just the president and the vice president, it's that (ph) the staff has such a high rate of infection that I didn't see how you could assure the safety of everybody present. And then again, you have this deliberate political -- this deliberate defiance of wearing masks. Somehow, not wearing masks has been tied to political allegiance, and it makes absolutely no sense and it's so self-destructive. And it's a reason why we are going to climb towards 400,000 deaths by the early part of next year, the worst globally, is because of this political posturing around masks, which still hasn't gone away even though we've suffered such catastrophes.</s>KEILAR: Dr. Hotez, thank you so much, it's good to see you. Thank you, sir.</s>HOTEZ: Thank you.</s>KEILAR: It's been two months now since many schools started to reopen, but it's hard to know how they're doing when there's no national tracking of schools. Plus, accusations are flying as fake ballot drop boxes are popping up across California. Hear who's being blamed for this.

Trump Heads To Iowa For Campaign Rally Wednesday

SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): So folks, is it a tough election cycle or what?</s>JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iowa Senator Joni Ernst is feeling the October heat?</s>ERNST: So it is a tough, tough, tough year. But you know what? I'm going to finish first.</s>ZELENY (voice-over): Yet her reelection is not entirely in her control with Republican fortunes tied to President Trump.</s>MARK MCALLISTER, IOWA VOTER: That's the real terror of this all is that Trump takes down the whole ticket, the whole Republican side of the Senate.</s>ZELENY (voice-over): Mark McAllister voted for Trump four years ago. He said he won't do so again.</s>MCALLISTER: I think he has been extremely divisive to our people. I think he's, I mean, I use the word despicable. And I do think he's despicable.</s>ZELENY (voice-over): Despicable.</s>MCALLISTER: Yes.</s>ZELENY (voice-over): In Iowa, we're Trump one by nine percentage points, polls now show he's locked in a tight race with Joe Biden. Republican officials are nervously watching the suburbs here, as the President shaky support threatens the GOP Senate Majority and Ernst, a once rising party star.</s>KATIE NASET, IOWA VOTER: In many ways she's been a disappointment. She's not been a leader. She's basically parroted what the Trump administration has told her to, to project.</s>ZELENY (voice-over): We caught up with Ernst in that weekend campaign motorcycle ride (on camera): Senator, is President Trump complicating your race?</s>ERNST: No, I would say I'm running my own race.</s>ZELENY: But you are tied to him, which is beneficial, obviously, in some parts of Iowa. But what about the suburb, does that complicate your path there?</s>ERNST: I think again, in the suburbs. I've met with suburban women. They're really concerned about law and order that that type of issue and that actually is an issue that draws them closer to the President.</s>ZELENY (voice-over): That is unclear.</s>THERESA GREENFIELD (D), IOWA SENATE CANDIDATE: This is great.</s>ZELENY (voice-over): Her Democratic opponent, Theresa Greenfield believes other issues are more pressing.</s>GREENFIELD: And I will tell you healthcare is number one, and certainly during COVID that is elevated that conversation and that very difficult health pandemic coupled with economic crisis. You know, Iowans are concerned for sure.</s>ZELENY (voice-over): The question is whether Trump standing lifts or sinks the ticket in a state he's suddenly fighting to defend.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So we're going to win the great state of Iowa. And it's going to be a historic landslide.</s>ZELENY (voice-over): Trump won 93 of Iowa's 99 counties, including 31 that twice voted for President Obama. Jasper County, once home to the Maytag Company is one of them.</s>THAD NEARMYER, CHAIR, JASPER COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY: It just says it like it is.</s>ZELENY (voice-over): Thad Nearmyer, the Republican County Chairman wasn't initially sold on Trump before he was elected. But now he deeply believes in him and thinks the Trump base is growing.</s>NEARMYER: I used to think, well, he done it this time, but he always seems like he overcomes that. So I don't even worry about him anymore. What we care about his results.</s>ZELENY (voice-over): His Democratic counterpart, Michelle Smith, said too many Democrats were not inspired to vote four years ago, which she said won't happen this time.</s>MICHELLE SMITH, CHAIR, JASPER COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY: The one's I know that didn't vote are going to vote for Joe Biden this time because they realize by not voting, what we've had to endure the last three and a half years.</s>ZELENY: And that is the specific type of voter that is at play here, John, those voters that may not have turned out four years ago, but are motivated to do so. Now, the Trump campaign believes they have some on their side. The Biden campaign believes though there are many Democrats or at least people who don't like Trump, who will also vote. But John, there is one question, why aren't some of these Republican senators sort of distancing themselves from the President? In the words of one strategist, that's impossible, because President Trump, even with these problems is still more popular among his base. And Senator Ernst and other Republican senators certainly need Trump voters as well, John?</s>JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Jeff Zeleny on the ground for us in Iowa, the state that begins the campaign is going to be a big part of how we ended too. We will learn a lot from Iowa. Jeff, thank you so much for that great report. The mayor of Des Moines worried right now the President's Wednesday rally could turn into a super spreader event. The mayor of Frank County, asking anyone who goes to that rally to please protect themselves with a mask and to distance as well as you can. The Trump campaign says it will hand out masks and will do temperature checks before that event and an airplane hanger. Iowa has seen cases rise recently more than 1,000 new coronavirus infections reported just on Saturday. Up next for us, also a coronavirus related story now forcing the NFL to postpone more games.

NFL: No New Positive COVID Tests Today For Patriots, Titans

KING: The National Football League reporting this morning that the latest round of test shows no new additional COVID cases on the New England Patriots or the Tennessee Titans. Both teams have had cases over the past few weeks. And because of those cases, tonight's game between the Patriots and the Denver Broncos has been delayed a week. That delay then forcing a cascade of schedule changes within the NFL. All of this raises the question of whether the NFL season can continue safely. Joining me now to discuss Dr. Myron Rolle, he's a neurosurgery resident at Harvard in the Massachusetts General Hospital, also a former NFL player. Dr. Rolle, it's good to see you again. You can see the tensions fraying here among your former friends and colleagues in the league. You work now in my hometown, Boston, I saw Jason McCourty of the Patriots talking this past week being mad not only at the League, but also at the Players Union saying there seems to be a priority of getting the players get on a plane, go play the game. He seems to think their safety is being shoved aside, do you believe that?</s>DR. MYRON ROLLE, NEUROSURGERY RESIDENT, HARVARD MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: Thanks for having me. I do believe in. And Jason is a good friend of mine. We actually played together with the Tennessee Titans. So we stay in constant context. But these players are very concerned initially when the pseudo bubble was happening where players went from their hotel to the training facility during training camp, and all the variables were sort of controlled and they felt comfortable about playing the sport. And that's why many of them do not opt out. But now when you open the exposure of traveling, planes, buses, going to different cities, and now when you have a player test positive or a staff member, test positive, and the whole routine of the week gets disrupted where facilities are shut down, and games are being pushed back. It really knocks players out of their rhythm. And it lets you know that the League is more interested in the product, getting that business of football going rather than player safety. So I wholeheartedly agree with Jason. And his sentiments are certainly not unique in this aspect amongst players around the League.</s>KING: You mentioned the pseudo bubble. We watched the NBA championship last night, the Lakers winning the championship. The NBA obviously put took their teams into the Disney bubble in Orlando. And they didn't have to travel once they were in, you could have a testing regimen with everyone in the same place. The travel is what makes this complicated, but so too does the culture. I want to listen here. This is Vic Fangio, the Denver Broncos head coach. He says in a weird way, I'm kind of happy to see some of this stuff happen because you see who the whiners are and who can't handle adversity. And I'm going to try hard that the Denver Broncos don't fall into any of those categories. A head coach in the National Football League in the middle of the pandemic essentially telling guys, hey, toughen up.</s>ROLLE: Yes. I think that's wrong and misguided, certainly. And we've seen that sort of mindset, that ideology permeate his way through the NFL for a long time, even as it relates to something that I'm particularly interested in as a neurosurgery resident, traumatic brain injury, toughen up, you just got your bell rung, you just seen stars a little bit, get back out there and play. And we see the deleterious long term outcomes and effects of traumatic brain injury and repetitive concussions. And this, a pandemic that's not truly controlled on a global level, let alone a national level here in the United States, to have that sort of mindset is the wrong leadership and sends the wrong message to players who were very concerned not only for themselves, but their families as well.</s>KING: Do you see this reaching a breaking point you had, I think, eight different games had to be rescheduled because of the, you know, after the Patriots testing and they'll keep the Broncos game on track. You see the frustrations of Jason McCourty just one of them. You see so far, if you go back to August 1st and October 31, players have tested positive, 53 other personnel in the League. Do you think we're at a breaking point here? Or do you think that they'll be able to keep this together and stay on the field?</s>ROLLE: I do think we're at a breaking point right now. And if I was advising the NFL, I'd say it's time to pause, take a second, realign and readjust your priorities and how you want to have the season go forward with any more without any more disruptions, right? Every week, it seems like a new staff member, a new player gets infected, the games have to be postponed, schedules have to be realigned, I think the NFL if they are serious about this, it's going to take a lot of investment, and a lot of organizational capacity collating different ideas and developing infrastructure. But if they're serious about this, get independent people who are not connected to the NFL emotionally or financially and say, look, we have public health, player safety, population health as a premium and as our main priority. And we put this season together in a way where we really protect our individuals. Because if the NFL wants to be consistent with their message, that the players are not a commodity, and they're not here just to produce and produce and produce for consumerism, and to get ratings and to get viewership up, then they need to be consistent in this aspect too. And as a medical professional, someone who's taking care of COVID patients, I and my other colleagues, we all feel sort of the same way. And we want the players to have a voice and we want them to be protected through all of this. It's imperative.</s>KING: Dr. Rolle, as always, grateful for your expertise and insights. Appreciate it. Up next for us, early voting begins today in Georgia.

Early In-Person Voting Begins Today In Georgia.

KING: Take a look here right now, live pictures This is Decatur, Georgia, voters in line, long lines waiting to cast their ballot today. It's the first day of in person early voting in Georgia that a shot from a CNN drone, the line we were looking at it during the break it stretches around the corner and on and on and on admirable, people waiting for all of that right there. This early voting comes as courts weigh in now in some key voting litigation in this final stretch to Election Day. CNN's Kristen Holmes joins me now. Kristen, there've been a couple of key rulings over the weekend in some of the big battleground states.</s>KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right in a couple of big losses for Republicans and the Trump campaign. So let's start in Minnesota, we saw there was a federal judge upholding an absentee ballot extension. So, just to give a little bit of context here, traditionally, in that state, a ballot, in order to be counted must be received by 8:00 p.m. on Election Day, because of the pandemic, the unprecedented amount of mail-in ballots, the Secretary of State extended that to seven days beyond Election Day, as long as the ballot was postmarked on Election Day or before. Republicans had tried to bring that to court. A federal judge shot that down and kept that in place. And the kicker, John, here is that that judge was appointed to the bench by President Trump as was the judge who issued an enormous blow to the campaign and Republicans in Pennsylvania. Now this is a huge decision because it's going to shape how voters in this key swing state cast their ballots on and around Election Day. So let's talk a little bit about what was at stake in Pennsylvania. The judge throwing this out and essentially saying at this point that he was going to decline limiting drop boxes he was not going to have stricter rules on signatures. As well as they wanted poll watchers as a law in Pennsylvania that you can only serve in the district or county that they vote in. They wanted to overrule that. Now, the judge throws this out. And this is what he argues for them. He essentially says that this is not fraud. You didn't argue that. So let me pull it up for you. It says, while, the Trump campaign may not need to prove actual voter fraud, they must at least prove that such fraud is certainly impending. They haven't met that burden at most. They have pieced together a sequence of uncertain assumptions. And again, John, this was written by a judge who was appointed to the bench by President Trump. So any sort of argument that he was politically motivated, that's going to be a really hard sell.</s>KING: And will be a hard sell. And it's going to be fascinating as we watch these cases trickled that way from District Court up and beyond. Kristen Holmes, grateful you're keeping track of all of this for us, so again, into these very interesting next three weeks and potentially beyond. Up next for us, a global look new coronavirus hotspots emerging across Europe.

Infections Rising in 30+ States, Nearly 400,000 Deaths Projected by February; Trump Pushes COVID Misinformation as He Returns to Campaign Trail; V.P. Nominee Speaks at Hearing for Trump's Supreme Court Pick.

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In fact, starting November 13th, if you do not wear one, you're going to pay a fine, roughly $87.</s>JOHN KING, CNN INSIDE POLITICS: See you tomorrow. Brianna Keilar picks up our coverage right now.</s>BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN RIGHT NOW: Hi there. I am Brianna Keilar. Welcome to viewers here in the United States and around the world. There are troubling signs in the nation's fight against COVID-19. 31 states are now showing an increase in new cases compared to just a week ago. Five of them, Montana, New Mexico, Tennessee, North Carolina and Vermont, experiencing a surge of 50 percent or higher, and just three states are now on the decline. From last Wednesday through Saturday, the number of new U.S. infections topped more than 50,000 each day. The last time that happened was more than two months ago. And today, new research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showing that there were 20 percent more deaths than expected across the country between March 1st and August 1st. This is a total of 1.3 million with COVID-19 officially accounting for about two-thirds of them, bolstering beliefs that deaths tied to the pandemic have likely been undercounted. Tom Foreman is with me now. And, Tom, we're seeing records set for new cases in a single day as well as seven-day averages. Tell us which states are reporting these numbers.</s>TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as a practical matter, Brianna, more than 30 of them are headed upright. But if you look at the map, overall, and look at those states that are really seeing the biggest increase in the seven-day average, what you do see is a greater propensity for that as you move into basically the more northern states. You see it worse in the northern states. Easy reasons, right? We went back to school and because, by the way, getting cooler. Get north of the line there where you see more of the states clustered, you see the two down there, Oklahoma and New Mexico, the only two below that line. Well, above that line, above that line, the temperature right now tends to be 60 degrees or cooler, below that line, 60 degrees or warmer. So, of course, people are being forced closer together, more issues coming up there. Those are the 13 states with the highest seven-day average. But if you look at those that have had the spike, the seven states that have had the highest spike so far in the handling of this virus, there you see them and they're all through that middle of the country. These are representative of exactly what you started off talking about there, Brianna, the notion that as we headed into fall, as we've been warned over and over again, we were going to see this start surging back up. And, sure enough, the numbers say it is surging back up. The weather is not going to let up. More states are still trying to open up. There is no real reason to believe this is going to get better and that difficult fall and difficult winter that you and I have been talking about for months and months indeed is under way.</s>KEILAR: All right. Tom Foreman, thank you so much for showing us that. You wouldn't know that our nation was in the grips of a pandemic, one that has killed nearly 215,000 people in this country and infected almost 8 million if you listen to the president. Here is what he told a crowd at the White House on Saturday.</s>DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Science, medicine will eradicate the China virus once and for all. We'll get rid of it all over the world. It's going to disappear. It is disappearing.</s>KEILAR: Today, the president is returning to the campaign trail in a four-state swing that kicks off in Florida and is followed by Pennsylvania, Iowa and North Carolina, all states, mind you, that are not doing particularly well when it comes to coronavirus. And the president is bringing a new round of COVID misinformation along with him, including this tweet from over the weekend in which he says he's immune from the virus. That language earning the president a warning label from Twitter saying the tweet was misleading. Kaitlan Collins is our CNN White House Correspondent following the president right now. And, Kaitlin, we've learned that nine people in Minnesota tested positive for the coronavirus following the president's rally there a few weeks ago. Is the Trump campaign changing any guidelines around these events?</s>KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: So far they haven't said as much. They said they're going to keep the guidelines they had in place, which is asking people to wear masks. Though, of course, as we've seen, people mostly do not follow this. It's actually you see just few and far between people wearing masks at these rallies, though they do have their temperatures checked as they're coming into the doors. As you're seeing, these are largely at airport hangars where people are mingling outside but there's no social distancing at this event. And you've seen how problematic that can be if you're not wearing a mask and you're not social distancing just from the event at the Rose Garden, and how many people tied to that now have coronavirus. And they're not changing these protocols, even as coronavirus isn't going away in the United States but also just not here at the White House either, Brianna, because several aides are still not coming into work because they are at home isolating after testing positive or quarantining after coming into contact with someone. But the president himself is emerging from isolation and he's taking his first trip outside of Washington today, Brianna, for a campaign rally in Florida. But he's got a packed schedule the rest of the week. And campaign officials have told us we can basically expect that to be the case up until Election Day.</s>KEILAR: And this weekend, you got an exclusive with Dr. Anthony Fauci. He is pushing back against a Trump campaign ad that Fauci says took his words out of context. Tell us what happened here.</s>COLLINS: Yes. This is a new ad that the Trump campaign debuted last week after he was released from Walter Reed. And in it, it's talking about the president and his coronavirus response. And it flashes to Dr. Fauci briefly saying he doesn't think that there's anything more they could have done. Basically, they were doing as much as they could. It doesn't have a date on it, Brianna. But that's a comment that Dr. Fauci made in March, and he says that he believes that they took his words out of context because he says what he was describing in that interview --</s>KEILAR: I'm going to have you pause just for a moment. We're going to Capitol Hill and watch the Supreme Court hearing.</s>SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Just wait just one second. We don't see you.</s>SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA): Of course. You don't see me?</s>GRAHAM: One, congratulations on being on the ticket. I hadn't told you that. There we go.</s>HARRIS: Can you see me now?</s>GRAHAM: I can see you now. I hear you loud and clear. The floor is yours.</s>HARRIS: Mr. Chairman, can you see me and hear me?</s>GRAHAM: I see you, I hear you. The floor is yours.</s>HARRIS: Okay. I appreciate it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This hearing has brought together more than 50 people to sit inside of a closed-door room for hours while our nation is facing a deadly airborne virus. This committee has ignored common sense requests to keep people safe, including not requiring testing for all members, despite a coronavirus outbreak among senators of this very committee. By contrast, in response to this recent Senate outbreak, the leaders of Senate Republicans rightly postponed business on the Senate floor this week to protect the health and safety of senators and staff. Mr. Chairman, for the same reasons, this hearing should have been postponed. The decision to hold this hearing now is reckless and places facilities workers, janitorial staff and congressional aides and capitol police at risk. Not to mention that while tens of millions of Americans are struggling to pay their bills, the Senate should be prioritizing coronavirus relief and providing financial support to those families. The American people need to have help to make rent or their mortgage payment. We should provide financial assistance to those who have lost their job and help parents put food on the table. Small businesses need help, as do the cities, towns and hospitals that this crisis has pushed to the brink. The House bill would help families and small businesses get through this crisis, but Senate Republicans have not lifted a finger for 150 days, which is how long that bill has been here in the Senate to move the bill. Yet this committee is determined to rush a Supreme Court confirmation hearing through in just 16 days. Senate Republicans have made it crystal clear that rushing Supreme Court nomination is more important than helping and supporting the American people who are suffering from a deadly pandemic and a devastating economic crisis. Their priorities are not the American people's priorities. But for the moment Senate Republicans hold the majority in the Senate and determine the schedule, so here we are. The Constitution of the United States entrusts the Senate with the solemn duty to carefully consider nominations for lifetime appointments to the United States Supreme Court, yet the Senate majority is rushing this process and jamming President Trump's nominee through the Senate while people are actually voting, just 22 days before the end of the election. More than 9 million Americans have already voted and millions more will vote while this illegitimate committee process is under way. A clear majority of Americans want whomever wins this election to fill this seat, and my Republican colleagues know that. Yet, they are deliberately defying the will of the people in their attempt to roll back the rights and protections provided under the Affordable Care Act. And let's remember, in 2017, President Trump and congressional Republicans repeatedly tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. But remember, people from all walks of life spoke out and demanded Republicans stop trying to take away the American people's health care. Republicans finally realized that the Affordable Care Act is too popular to repeal in Congress, so now they are trying to bypass the will of the voters and have the Supreme Court do their dirty work. That's why President Trump promised to only nominate judges who will get rid of the Affordable Care Act. This administration with the support of Senate Republicans will be in front of the Supreme Court on November 10th to argue that the entire Affordable Care Act should be struck down. That's in 29 days that that will happen. And that's a big reason why Senate Republicans are rushing this process. They are trying to get a justice onto the court in time to ensure they can strip away the protections of the Affordable Care Act. And if they succeed, it will result in millions of people losing access to health care at the worst possible time, in the middle of a pandemic. 23 million Americans could lose their health insurance altogether. If they succeed, they will eliminate protections for 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions like diabetes and asthma, heart disease or cancer, a list that now will include over 7 million Americans who have contracted COVID-19. Insurance companies could deny you coverage or will sell you a plan that won't pay a dime toward treating anything related to your pre-existing condition. If the Affordable Care Act is struck down, you will once again have to pay for things like mammograms and cancer screenings and birth control. Seniors will pay more for prescription drugs and young adults will be kicked off of their parents' plan. These are not abstract issues. We need to be clear about how overturning the Affordable Care Act will impact the people we all represent. For example, Micah, who is 11 years old and she lives in Southern California. So Micah enjoys being a girl scout and ice skating and reading and eating pasta and baking. Her mother says the only reason Micah is able to live her life, as she does now, is because the Affordable Care Act guarantees that her health insurance cannot deny her coverage or limit her care because it's too expensive. You see Micah has a congenital heart defect. She goes to multiple specialists throughout the year and gets an MRI with anesthesia every six months. At just 11 months old, Micah's family had already hit $50,000 in medical expenses and her biannual MRI costs $15,000 a session. And so -- correction, she -- by 11 months old, her family had hit $500,000 in medical expenses. If Republicans succeed in striking down the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies will be able deny coverage for children with serious conditions, children like Micah. And parents, well, they'll be on their own. No one should face financial ruin to get their child or their spouse or their parent the care they need, and no family should be kept from seeing a doctor or getting treatment because an insurance company says that the treatment is too expensive. In America, access to health care should not be determined based on how much money you have. Health care and access to health care should be a right. Micah and millions of others who are protected by the Affordable Care Act know this is fundamentally what is at stake with this Supreme Court nomination. Of course, there's more at stake. Throughout our history, Americans have brought cases to the United States Supreme Court in our ongoing fight for civil rights, human rights and equal justice. Decisions like brown versus board of education, which opened educational opportunities for black boys and girls, Roe Versus wade, which recognized a woman's right to control her own body, Loving v. Virginia and Obergefell v. Hodges, which recognized that love is love and that marriage equality is the law of the land. The United States Supreme Court is often the last refuge for equal justice when our constitutional rights are being violated. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg devoted her life to fight for equal justice and she defended the Constitution. She advocated for human rights and equality. She stood up for the rights of women. She protected workers. She fought for the rights of consumers against big corporations. She supported LGBTQ rights. And she did so much more. But now, her legacy and the rights she fought so hard to protect are in jeopardy. By replacing Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg with someone who will undo her legacy, President Trump is attempting to roll back Americans' rights for decades to come. Every American must understand that with this nomination, equal justice under law is at stake. Our voting rights are at stake. Workers' rights are at stake. Consumer rights are at stake. The right to a safe and legal abortion is at stake. And holding corporations accountable is at stake. And, again, there's so much more. So, Mr. Chairman, I do believe this hearing is a clear attempt to jam through a Supreme Court nominee who will take health care away from millions of people during a deadly pandemic that has already killed more than 214,000 Americans. I believe we must listen to our constituents and protect their access to health care and wait to confirm a new Supreme Court justice until after Americans decide who they want in the White House. Thank you.</s>GRAHAM: Thanks, Senator Harris. Senator Kennedy?</s>KEILAR: All right. We are watching the confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. And that was a pretty stunning moment there where you have a vice presidential nominee, who is a sitting senator, and a participant in this Judiciary Committee hearing, three weeks before the election with comments saying that the woman you see there on your screen who is the nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, is someone who's going to undo Ruth Bader Ginsburg's legacy. And I want to bring in folks to talk about this, including Gloria Borger. Very much focused on Obamacare, which is going to be before this court very soon. And just that split screen of Barrett listening to Harris as she said that she felt this nomination of Amy Coney Barrett is an attempt to take away the health care of millions of people in the middle of a pandemic. This is a historic moment that we're watching.</s>GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: It is. And she also made it very clear that she felt that the nomination was, what she said, trying to bypass the will of the voters and have the Supreme Court do their dirty work, is the way she put it, when it comes to rolling back the Affordable Care Act. So this was clearly a frontal attack, not only on what Amy Coney Barrett would do if she is confirmed to the Supreme Court, but an attack on the Republican Senate, which clearly she wants to change control of the Senate to Democratic hands, and saying that they are going around the will of the people, that the people ought to decide after this election, also making the case very clearly, Brianna, that it took 150 days for them to decide what to do with the stimulus bill, which is sitting in the Senate, but 22 days for them to push through a Supreme Court nomination. So, very direct, very clear, she outlined the stakes, I think, as the Democrats see it, very well and aimed directly at the Republicans and at the nominee.</s>KEILAR: Joan Biskupic, you are our Supreme Court Analyst. Tell us what stood out to you as you listened to Senator Harris' opening remarks/</s>JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Thanks, Brianna. Yes, she was more emphatic than we had heard earlier today, but she certainly struck the same note, and I'm sure we're going to hear more about the Affordable Care Act tomorrow. And that's because right away on November 10th, shortly after Justice Barrett will likely be seated, the Supreme Court is going to hear the third major constitutional challenge to that law. And as much as President Donald Trump keeps saying that he would like to preserve pre-existing health coverage for people with such conditions as cancer and diabetes, his administration is before the Supreme Court saying, kill it all, get rid of pre-existing coverage. And I think that's what Senator Harris and some of her colleagues who came before her want to stress. And they're taking their message obviously to the American people, to the electorate, rather than trying to comment on what might happen in the Senate committee. It's such a done deal given what Chairman Graham said earlier today. Everyone knows how everyone is going to vote, but what Senator Harris is trying to do is to remind Americans watching of the immediate stakes. And one last thing I would mention is not just do we have the Affordable Care Act stakes right away on November 10th, we could have an election-related case that a Justice Barrett would sit on also and looking forward obviously to sit on all sorts of cases involving reproductive rights, gay and transgender rights, religious freedom. She will be deciding the law of the land for a generation.</s>KEILAR: Abby Phillip, what stood out to you?</s>ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think what Joan said at the end there is really important. And one thing to note, that as we watched earlier today, a lot of the Democrats, everybody was on message. It was all about the Affordable Care Act. Very few people mentioned other cases as well. But it was notable to me that Senator Harris specifically mentioned and brought up reproductive rights several times in her opening statement as part of several other types of what she described as equal justice rights being at risk here. And I think that's significant because Democrats are trying to stay on the Affordable Care Act message, because, politically speaking, they believe that is the strongest message for them. But if you look at what Republicans are doing, they're trying to entrap Democrats by basically laying -- laying out this kind of scenario in which any conversation about how Justice Barrett might rule on abortion cases or on, you know, LGBT rights cases are attacks on her religion. And I think you saw Senator Harris basically saying, no, I believe that these cases are about her jurisprudence. They're also about the tradition of the courts in upholding equal rights and equal justice for all Americans. And I thought that was unique among the Democrats who have spoken today because they have really tried to avoid walking in that direction at any moment. But you saw Senator Harris really trying to actually be right on the line and trying to reframe this conversation in a way that I think she thinks is important to her as a woman and as the only woman on either of the two tickets going into this November election.</s>KEILAR: And, Joan -- sorry, go on, Gloria, yes.</s>BORGER: I was just going to add to that. The only people talking about raising her Catholicism or her religion seem to be the Republicans and not the Democrats at all. The Democrats understand, as Abby is saying, that this is a trick. And they're not -- they're just not going to do it. They're going to talk about health care. That's what they're there to talk about. And the president has been tweeting, Republicans, let them know that we're going to protect pre-existing conditions because he's watching and he sees what's going on in the committee and he doesn't like it.</s>KEILAR: Yes. How are they going to do that though, right? It's very unclear. And what we see also Senator Harris saying here, joan, is that Barrett will undo Ginsburg's legacy. And it was pretty stunning to watch her say that, as you see in the other frame. Amy Coney Barrett just there listening to Senator Harris say this. So let's fact check that. Do we know based on Amy Coney Barrett's record that that would be something that would happen, that she would undo Ruth Bader Ginsburg's legacy?</s>BISKUPIC: In broad strokes, much of it, if it comes to that. And I'll tell you why. Her philosophy, as she's laid it out, is akin to Justice Scalia's legacy, that he wanted and what she subscribes to is the originalist, textualist approach to the Constitution and statutes. And what that does, just to remind our audience some of this legal jargon, it means that she would interpret the Constitution in the terms that its framers back in the 18th century understood it. And it's a legitimate point of view from where she's coming and where many of the Republican senators are coming from are, but it's the opposite of where Ruth Bader Ginsburg comes from. Ruth Bader Ginsburg believes that -- believed, I'm sorry, I'm still talking about her in the present tense -- believed that you don't go back to just what the framers saw, you can expand the rights and the liberties in the Constitution to fit the dilemmas of today. And the difference on that is the difference between upholding Roe v. Wade or striking down Roe v. Wade. The difference is between approving of same-sex marriage and not approving of same-sex marriage. Now, I do want to caution one thing when you rightly ask for a fact check on that, Brianna. Justice Ginsburg's legacy in terms of sexual equality for women's rights and for equal protection for women under federal law and the Constitution is that is unlikely to be rolled back, just the way Ruth Bader Ginsburg first made her name as a woman's rights advocate. I don't see those kinds of protections for women being undercut, with the exception of being in the area of reproductive rights. Amy Coney Barrett has not ruled in an abortion case but she has certainly spoken about who has the role to safeguard things like reproductive rights and she has said that it's a legislative function, not a court's function. That's clearly indicated in her writings. Now, we'll have to see what she does when she gets on the Supreme Court. But in that respect, Brianna, yes, it would be night and day between what Justice Ginsburg stood for and what a Justice Barrett would stand for.</s>KEILAR: I want to bring in Jeffrey Toobin, our Legal Analyst, into this conversation with all of us. Jeffrey, what do you think? Because as Joan said, you look at her record, and it does stand in contrast to where Ruth Bader Ginsburg was. What do you think about this?</s>JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: It's 180 degrees different. I mean, the idea, to listen to all these Republican senators talk about, oh, I want to pay tribute to Ruth Ginsburg, I want to say how wonderful she was. By confirming Amy Barrett, they are undermining absolutely everything Ruth Ginsburg stood for. You know what thinks -- you know who thought that? Ruth Ginsburg. I mean, Ruth Ginsburg understood the stakes of this nomination. That's why she wanted this put off until the next president. But, you know, whether it's abortion, whether it's gay rights, whether it's voting rights, whether it's civil rights, I mean, she -- everybody knows she and Antonin Scalia were great friends. But on controversial issues, they voted against each other all the time. And Amy Barrett, as she very explicitly said, is a -- is a protege and a follower and a believer in Justice Scalia's judicial philosophy. So that the idea that it is somehow an honor to Ruth Bader Ginsburg to see Amy Coney Barrett nominated to replace her is just an obscene revocation of history. I mean, it's just -- I mean, they could not be more different.</s>KEILAR: We're going to be waiting to see if that is demonstrated tomorrow, right? This is going to be the big moment where she answers questions. What are you expecting to see?</s>TOOBIN: Not much. I mean, she's learned -- I mean, she's a very smart woman, as every nominee has been a smart person since Robert Bork in 1987. And they have all learned that it is a far safer course not to engage with the questioners about their judicial philosophy, especially about specific cases. And I anticipate that it will be interesting and it will be dramatic at times, but I doubt we are going to learn much about Amy Coney Barrett's philosophy of the Constitution. I think one thing that we might learn something about is the issue of precedent, because everything that I've seen in her academic writing suggests she is more like Justice Thomas than Justice Scalia. Justice Scalia understood that precedent mattered. And even though you might disagree with a former Supreme Court opinion, there's a certain reliance interest. People think that's the law. Justice Thomas thinks if it's wrong, it's wrong, and you just throw the whole thing out. That does appear to be much closer to Judge Barrett's approach, which suggests a more radical conservative approach than even Justice Scalia. But perhaps we'll see some interesting questioning about that.</s>KEILAR: Yes, that's a huge distinction, so we'll be looking for that tomorrow. Jeffrey, thank you so much. Thank you so much to everyone for this conversation. 11 days after the president's COVID diagnosis, he is returning to the campaign trail as cases are rising across America. Plus, he's also spreading new misinformation about the virus including a new line that it will, quote, run its course. And vulnerable Republicans in the Senate are starting to distance themselves from the president. We'll roll the tape.

Joe Biden Slams President Donald Trump's Florida Rally; Polls Show Biden Leading Trump In PA, FL, No Clear Leader In NC, IA; Confirmation Hearing For Judge Barrett Underway; President Donald Trump Heads To Iowa For Campaign Rally Wednesday.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: The state-by-state chess is the interesting part, Jessica Dean, thank you from Hamilton County. We'll get it by country - map Jessica, thank you. And hello to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Top of the hour, I am John king in Washington. Thank you so much for sharing a very, very busy news day with us. Right now, a break in Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court confirmation hearing. We expect to hear from Judge maybe soon Justice Barrett this afternoon. But the morning marked by stark warnings today from Democrats, that a Justice Barrett would unmake Obamacare. The president busy tweeting today that, Republicans have a health care plan that will protect pre-existing conditions. Unfortunately, there's nothing to suggest that that is true. And Republicans are currently in court trying to dismantle Obamacare. More on the court fight in just a few minutes. First, though the president leaving his Coronavirus isolation and heading today to battleground Florida. Joe Biden spending the day playing offense in battleground Ohio, a state the president won convincingly just four years ago. We are 22 days out from Election Day. Democratic Nominee Biden right now holds a commanding national polling advantage and he also leads in most of the key swing states. Republican worry is deep and getting deeper but the president again trying to put a rosy spin on his election chances. The president says, you find them, but he says the polls showing him behind are fake and he has polls showing him ahead. The president also says the Coronavirus pandemic is, "Disappearing." But look at the numbers. Just look at the numbers. We're actually at the start of another increase. 44,000 new cases reported Sunday. 31 of the 50 United States now moving in the wrong direction. The daily average of new infections sits just below 50,000. That is up a staggering 41 percent from this time last month. The president will be holding campaign events in four states this week, Florida, Pennsylvania, Iowa, and North Carolina. With me now to discuss, CNN's Kaitlan Collins and White House Correspondent from McClatchy, Francesca Chambers. And Kaitlan, I want to start with you, because one of the interesting new dynamics, the president is out of Coronavirus isolation. He says he is now immune, the doctors would tell you something different, but his doctors have given him them the right to travel and the president two or four months has tried to shove the Coronavirus pandemic aside as a campaign issue now has a commercial. Let's listen.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump tackled the virus head on as leaders should.</s>DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.</s>KING: Dr. Fauci seen there as a star in a Trump Campaign Ad provided you with this statement yesterday. "In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials." So, Dr. Fauci not happy with the president here.</s>KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, he's not. Because he is saying that they're using his words out of context. And if you go back, you notice there's no date on that quote where Fauci is speaking in the ad, that's quote from March where he was doing an interview at Fox News. And if you listen to the context of that, he is obviously talking about the work that the task course is doing, he's talking about how they're basically having this around the clock effort with late night phone calls and countless meetings, talking about what they're doing overall. But if you just watch that brief clip there from the Trump Campaign, you would think he is talking about the president and the president's response solely. And of course as we've seen over the last several months, the president and Dr. Fauci have often butted heads over the science here, and which path the nation is on, what are the best measures to be taking? And so, he says he didn't consent to that, he says he doesn't want to be seen as a political figure given that he is a career official who has worked for our presidents on both sides of the aisle but also saying that those words were being taken out of context in that image. And it's striking, John, because the president has been so publicly critical of Dr. Fauci where he has compared their approval ratings, he's gone after him, he's talked about what he said about masks back early on in the pandemic compared to what he said now. And so, for the campaign to try to use Dr. Fauci in this ad shows that they do understand that Dr. Fauci has a lot of credibility with voters, especially when it comes to the pandemic. That's something that the president doesn't have. And so, that's clearly why they put him in this ad for the president.</s>KING: Right. And remember, among the many more recent statements from Dr. Fauci is one just the other day where he said they hosted a super spreader event at the Trump White House with the Amy Coney Barrett rollout event, Dr. Fauci saying the data speak for themselves there. Francesca about the president has issues with the truth sometimes, including when it comes to polling. We've all seen the national polls. Joe Biden has a double-digit lead. I'll walk through some of the state polls in a minute. But the president listen to this from a call last night with his supporters saying pay no attention. I'm winning.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The polls are looking very good. The real polls, that is. We're looking great in Florida, we're looking great in Arizona and Nevada, and I think Pennsylvania, and I'm pretty sure North Carolina.</s>KING: So let's go through a couple of these Francesca. Right now, Quinnipiac Poll last week, Joe Biden at 51 percent in Florida, Donald Trump at 40. In Pennsylvania, Joe Biden at 54 percent, Donald Trump at 41. Iowa, pretty much a tie. A state the president won handily four years ago. North Carolina, pretty much a tie, maybe a slight Biden advantage. Again a state that president won four years ago.</s>KING: We've seen the national polls, we have seen dozens, literally dozens of battleground state polls in the last couple weeks where the president is either behind or competitive. He's just making this up.</s>FRANCESCA CHAMBERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, MCCLATCHY: And the president resumed his telerallies in addition to public events over the weekend, John. But he had an entire week, more than a week where he was unable to be on the campaign trail. And that is not something that they planned for. So now he's in a position where he has to make up ground from not being able to be out there. And you see him with events as you noted on the schedule almost every day this week, campaign events at this point. And look at the states where he is going. It is the states that are key to his strategy of getting to 270 electoral votes. You mentioned Florida and North Carolina. Those are two states that the campaigns say that they're doing fine in. But yet they have high profile surrogates, including the president and the vice president traveling to those states, those high-profile surrogates almost every single day over recent days which should tell you something about where they see themselves in those states, John.</s>KING: And Kaitlan an old saying in politics, when you're whining, you're not winning. The Trump Campaign at the moment trying to get the second debate rescheduled, put back on the books, the president pulled out, he refused to do a virtual debate back after his Coronavirus diagnosis. Now his campaigner saying, hey, the doctors say he is COVID free, put the debate back on the books, but there's zero indication that is going to happen, right?</s>COLLINS: Exactly. And a lot has to do with the schedules of the candidates. Joe Biden has already agreed to an ABC Town Hall on Thursday. I was told last week that the president was in talks to do one with NBC. So they would have these competing town halls basically where they would both be taking questions but not actually be together in the same venue as they were planned to do. And so, putting together a debate takes a lot of work, they've to build the stage, get it ready, reporters would already be there getting COVID tests right now as they were for the other debates. So there's a lot of logistics that also goes into this. So it's not simple for them to just put it back together and have everyone show up in Miami like the Trump Campaign wants. So it's not clear that's going to happen. And what the question that really raises are, they do go for the debate next Thursday, do they have a third debate right before the election? That's what the Trump Campaign wants, that's not what the Biden Campaign wants. So it really determines whether or not we're actually going to get a second and third debate or if there's just one more in our future between these two candidates?</s>KING: All right. And I would bet on one more. There's no reason for Joe Biden if you continue to lead the race to now back down and give a third debate so close to the election. But Francesca the next several days are going to be critical. The president is trying to get on the road, he's trying to say I've my Mojo back, I am healthy, I can travel, I can turn the numbers around. If he doesn't, he runs the risk, because Republicans are worried now they're not only going to lose the White House, but they're going to lose the United States Senate. They're going to lose in key races down ballot across the country. This is Dan Eberhart a Republican Donor and a Trump supporter in an "Associated Press" article over the weekend. "I hope the polls have it wrong, but republicans need to develop a campaign strategy committed to protecting the Senate at all costs, even if it means sacrificing the Oval Office." Joe Biden already has more money cash on hand than President Trump. He is outspending him on TV ads. You see in that article the risk, that if Republicans get another five, six days into this and they see the president still tanking in the numbers, will there be a break where Republicans say try to save the Senate, redirect resources, break from the president on policy, and so on.</s>CHAMBERS: Well, the strategy of the Trump Campaign so far has been to campaign heavily in those states that have competitive Senate races and hope to try to pull those candidates like Senator Tillis in North Carolina or Senator McSally in Arizona across the finish line with the president. But of course, that would require the president to also come across the finish line first in those states, but that's how the Trump Campaign has been approaching that strategy in those battleground states and part of the reason why you see some of the focus on them from the Trump Campaign.</s>KING: Right. And you hear even just Lindsey Graham this morning starting the Supreme Court hearings talking about how serious the COVID crisis is in America that is not what you hear from the man at top of the ticket, President Trump, Francesca Chambers and Kaitlan Collins, grateful for the live reporting and insights there. Now to Capitol Hill and high tension this morning over the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, Republicans spending much of the morning defending their fast track confirmation process. Democrats using their time to paint Judge Barrett as a potential vote to undo decades of progressive progress, including on issues like Abortion Rights and the Affordable Care Act. Let's get straight up to Capitol Hill and CNN's Phil Mattingly. Phil both sides planting their flags, any surprises yet today?</s>PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, not really, John. And I think that's kind of the expectation for the first day which for all instance and purposes is like the longest pregame warm-up before a sporting event ever. If you're wondering did I miss all of the question and answer, the short answer is no, you didn't. That's not the point of today. Today is opening statements, its opening statements by all 22 Senators on the Committee and it's the opening statement by Judge Amy Coney Barrett which we have gotten a look at. I think what you've seen and what the first day of these Supreme Court hearings provides is a window into what's coming next? As you noted, Republicans making very clear, they think Amy Coney Barrett is extremely well qualified.</s>MATTINGLY: Defending Amy Coney Barrett from any potential religious attacks that they felt she faced her first time up in 2017 when she was a circuit court nominee. Also making very clear that they believe that this nomination at this point in time regardless of concerns about the process is essentially inevitable, their confirmation. They have made clear they believe they have the votes. But I think the interesting element here John is what Democrats have been doing? They have been extremely in line on how they have been doing things? They have been telling personal stories with poster board up behind them about the Affordable Care Act, making clear that this is all about health care for them, acknowledging that they don't have a lot that they can do to actually stop this nomination, so long as Republicans stick together. But that health care and the issues of the Affordable Care Act which will come before the Supreme Court just a few days after the election. The fact that the trump administration has joined on to that lawsuit, the fact that Amy Coney Barrett could be voting on that lawsuit when it comes to the Supreme Court. All of these are the issues that they want to talk about, not to sink the nomination necessarily, but to kind of bring this and make it a public issue particularly in the middle of the campaign season. And I'll tell you John just over the course of the last 20 minutes, they've gotten at least one person's attention and that's the President of the United States. Who in the last 20 minutes, as we know he had been watching the hearing earlier today based on twitter, was tweeting twice. Once and I'm not going to read it for you, because he is shouting in all caps. But we're trying to make the point to Republicans where health care has been a weak issue for them over the course of the last several cycles that they have a plan. And the first tweet saying, we will have health care far better than Obamacare. At second tweet surely thereafter saying Republicans must state loudly and clearly that we are going to provide much better health care at a lower cost. This is thrilling Democrats who want the president to engage on this. Because they can point to the fact he has joined a lawsuit to dismantle the law. And at this point in time, as you noted earlier, the White House does not currently have the health care plan. So question and answer session tomorrow that will be the most interesting parts of these hearings. No doubt about it. But it's very interesting to watch the strategy of both sides and who they resonate with so far?</s>KING: Yes, if he wants to debate this issue, he should debate the guy in the mirror who had a Republican Congress for the first two years of his term, and failed to repeal and replace as he promised. His fight is with himself. Phil Mattingly, I appreciate the important reporting live at Capitol Hill. Up next for us, the Coronavirus numbers, despite what the president tells you are heading in the wrong direction across most of the country.

GOP Alarm: Vulnerable Senators Distance Themselves From Trump

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We are three weeks until Election Day and many Republican Senators are fighting for their political lives. As they struggle to stay afloat, some are coming to the realization they're towing a President Trump-shaped anchor and they're starting to distance themselves from the man at the top of the ticket. Listen to North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, apparently looking ahead, arguing that he would be a watch dog on a President Biden. He said, quote, "The best check on a Biden presidency is for Republicans to have a majority in the Senate. And I do think checks and balances does resonate with North Carolina voters." In Colorado, Cory Gardner, a vulnerable Republican, declined to answer whether he is proud of the Republican response to the pandemic.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As a member of the Senate are you proud of the way the Republican majority is handling the pandemic?</s>SEN. CORY GARDNER (R-CO): We have to improve our work each and every day, Republicans and Democrats.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The question was: Are you proud of the way the Senate is handling it. So let me ask you, are you proud of the way the president is handling the pandemic?</s>GARDNER: Again, we have to work each and every day to make sure that we are proud of our response.</s>KEILAR: Gardner also declined to say whether he's proud of his support of the president.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you proud of your support of Donald Trump?</s>GARDNER: I'm proud of the work that we have done together.</s>KEILAR: He's not the only vulnerable Republican Senator having a tough time answering that question.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you proud of your support for President Trump?</s>SEN. MARTHA MCSALLY (R-AZ): Well, I'm proud that I'm fighting for ace Arizonans.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator, the question was: Are you proud of your support for President Trump?</s>MCSALLY: I'm proud to be fighting for Arizona every single day.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that a yes or no?</s>MCSALLY: -- putting legislation on President Trump's test.</s>KEILAR: In Texas, Senator John Cornyn said this about the president's response to the coronavirus: Quote, "I think he let his guard down. And I think in his desire to try to demonstrate that we are somehow coming out of this and that the danger is not still with us, I think he got out over his skis. And, frankly, I think it's a lesson to all of us that we need to exercise self-discipline." Cornyn joined by the Republican leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, who is breaking with the president on a couple of issues recently, including Trump's handling of the pandemic.</s>SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): I haven't been to the White House since August 6th. Because my impression was their approach on to how to handle the virus is different from what we're doing in the Senate.</s>KEILAR: Senate Republicans and the president not even on the same page to with the much-needed stimulus package to help American individuals and businesses who are suffering economic. The president's position keeps shifting. But as of this moment, he wants to see an even bigger deal than even his own party has been pushing.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (voice-over): I would like to see a bigger stimulus package that either the Democrats or Republicans are offering.</s>KEILAR: But here is the Republican that he would need to make that happen.</s>MCCONNELL: I think that's unlikely in the next three weeks.</s>KEILAR: These Republicans are trying to thread the needle, distance themselves from the president without fully breaking with him. But other GOP Senators are all in, like Lindsey Graham, Kelly Loeffler, Joni Ernst, who are tying their success to their support of the president. So why are some Republicans starting to worry that they can't do that? Let's take a look at this. Democrats are smashing fundraising records in my Senate races. In North Carolina, Cal Cunningham brought in more in the third quarter than the last Democratic incumbent did in her entire campaign. That's ditto for the Democratic challenger in Colorado. In Iowa, not only did the Democratic challenger just raise more than Joni Ernst's 2014 opponent, but Theresa Greenfield has raised more than both Ernst and her 2014 challenger did combined. In South Carolina, Jaime Harrison just raised $57 million in the third quarter. That's a record. Democratic challengers in Texas and Georgia also reported huge hauls. So Republicans are looking at the polls and they're looking at the money and they're hedging their bets. They're still on the S.S. Trump but they are inching toward the lifeboats. Here's the thing, though. They are way out at sea and they're anxiously wondering if their constituents are going to throw them a line. We're going to know that here in a few weeks. I want to bring in former Republican congressman, Charlie Dent, who has endorsed Joe Biden. Charlie, Republicans are totally abandoning the president. That's very clear here. Because clearly they still need him. How do you see Trump impacting down-ballot races?</s>CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Brianna, for those members who are in swing states or swing districts, this is a really tough time. Because the numbers of the president keep collapsing. It's going to be very hard for a lot of these members to distance themselves from the president three or four weeks out. If you're going to do that, you need to do that over four years, not over three to four weeks. So I think it will have very little effect, these distancing measures. You want to be seen as a watchdog, not a lap dog. You want to be seen as a check on the president, not a rubber stamp. That's a challenge. I said this all along, by the way, for members of either party. If you're serving the party of the president, you better be very careful you can demonstrate you have some independence from that executive, even in your own party. Even if you support the president on most things, you have to be able to demonstrate that to your voters.</s>KEILAR: Senator Ted Cruz recently warned that Republicans could face what he called a bloodbath of Watergate proportions on Election Day. Do you think that's possible?</s>DENT: Well, I think the worst-case scenario is the Democrats run the tables and that they win the presidency, the Senate and maintain the House. So the worst-case scenario is there could be a very decisive win by Joe Biden. I think that's very -- it may be probable at this point. The best case for Trump is he pulls another inside straight and wins a narrow election. But I think that's a fairly remote possibility at this point. It's more likely you could see a decisive victory by Biden, which could enormous down-ballot problems for Republicans. The president is back on the campaign trail today. You know that. We are watching that. And that means that he's out of COVID isolation 11 days after being diagnosed. He's heading to Florida, North Carolina, Iowa. He's also going to be heading to your state of Pennsylvania this week. What do those stops tell you about where the campaign is this close to Election Day?</s>DENT: I think they're clearly panicked. The fact they have the president out so quickly after being hospitalized with COVID. Brianna, you know, I had COVID back in March. I was never hospitalized. I was never given any drugs, other than Tylenol and Gatorade. I felt miserable. I can't imagine, after a diagnosis like that, that he would be in any mood at all to go out there and visit the public. I mean, I self-isolated for about three to four weeks as a result. And I had mild symptoMs. I was in a very unpleasant position. I am stunned that they're allowing the president, his own campaign, to go out and face the public in this way. It's clearly a sign of desperation. And also, to me, it seems a bit reckless to go out there and face the public so quickly after this diagnosis.</s>KEILAR: Yes, I do think you're right, Congressman. Congressman Charlie Dent, thank you so much for coming on.</s>DENT: Thank you, Brianna. Always great to be with you.</s>KEILAR: Still ahead, Dr. Anthony Fauci is taking exception to the Trump campaign using his voice in one of their political ads. We'll show you how it was taken out of context. And hear his response in an interview with my colleague, Jake Tapper.

Fake Ballot Drop Boxes Prompt Investigation In California

KEILAR: State officials in California are investigating after fake ballot drop boxes were found in several locations. Some of them were labeled official when they most definitely were not official. CNN's Kristen Holmes is tracking this for us. Kristen, tell us what you're learning here?</s>KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, according to the secretary of state in California, this has appeared in at least three counties. I want to pull up a tweet here. This is what we know. This is a regional field director for the California Republican Party. He's tweeting, "Doing my part and voting early. Direct message me for convenient locations to drop your ballot off at." And you see him there. He's crouched in front what looks like an official drop box. Says official on it. Here's the problem. It's not an official drop box. Lots of questions about what's exactly going on. One also appeared in front of a Baptist church. The church had put out a statement on social media in which they said this was brought to them by the GOP and it was an approved box. Again, not an approved drop box. I did get a statement from the secretary of state in California, where he official said that operating an unofficial drop box, especially if you are mislabeling it as an official drop box, is not only misleading to voters, but it is against state law. Now we did reach out to the California GOP. This is the statement that's pulled up right now. They have now gotten back to us. But they wrote essentially supporting it, saying, "If a congregation or business or other group provides the option to parishioners, associates or colleagues to drop off their ballot in a safe location with the people they trust rather than handing it over to a stranger who knocks on their door, what's wrong with that?" Of course, Brianna, we can tell you what's wrong with that. It is a violation of state laws, as the secretary of state said. So still trying to learn more information as to who exactly is behind this. And what exactly is happening to those ballots. A lot of unanswered questions.</s>KEILAR: Yes, definitely. Kristen, we know you're working on this story. Kristen Holmes, thank you so much. A big hit today on the future of cruise ships in the pandemic. Plus, an extraordinary split screen. Long lines of early voters in Georgia as the Senate holds the confirmation hearing for the president's Supreme Court nominee.

Thousands Worldwide Sign Up To Be Exposed To Coronavirus; Update On Coronavirus Responses Around The Country

KEILAR: Another setback for the already devastated cruise line industry. Carnival announcing today that it's cancelling its November cruises out of Florida. The company says the cruises are no longer feasible now that the CDC has extended its no-sale order through October 31st. Other major cruise lines have made similar cancellations. Let's check in with CNN reporters around the country for more on our coronavirus headlines.</s>PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Phil Black in London. Almost 40,000 people around the world have volunteered to be deliberately exposed to the coronavirus. They're campaigning for human challenge trials where potential vaccines are given to people followed by a dose of the virus. Proponents say it could save lives because it's a more efficient way of testing some of the many vaccines being developed and helping to work out which ones work best. But critics say there are health issues. And the young, healthy volunteers don't represent the range of people who most need protected from an effective vaccine. The British government says it's in talks to possibly become the first country to conduct human challenge trials for coronavirus vaccines.</s>NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Nick Valencia in Atlanta, where it is officially Election Day. For the next three weeks, Georgians across the state will be able to vote at any polling location as long as it's in the county where they reside. Things will look a little different this year for voters because of the coronavirus pandemic. Just take a look here. The lines are practicing social distancing. Masks are recommended, though they're not required. Plexiglass also acting as a divider at check-in. And they are regularly wiping down surfaces. Voting will look a little different as well. It'll be a combination between touch screen and the ability to print out the vote for the ballot before it's scanned. COO Steve Koonin, of State Farm Arena, tells me they are expecting between 3,000 and 6,000 people per day.</s>CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Carolyn Manno in New York. And after 94 days of playing basketball in a bubble, the L.A. Lakers are heading home as NBA champions. A remarkable accomplishment not only for the franchise but the league as a whole. Commissioner Adam Silver confirming zero positive coronavirus cases reported among the players and the staff members who were participating in the playoffs. The rigorous protocols that were enforced on the Disney campus, ensuring that none of the disruptions which plagued Major League Baseball early in the season and are currently wreaking havoc on the NFL's schedule came into play. Adam Silver hopes to be back in the NBA's home arenas with fans when the next season starts. Right now, the specifics of that are up in the air, leaving basketball fans savoring the recent showdown between the L.A. Lakers and the Miami Heat, with an unclear timetable for when the sport could return.</s>KEILAR: All right, everyone, thank you so much for that. Joe Biden going off on the president and his campaign for an ad that Dr. Fauci says took his words out of context. Dr. Fauci will respond on CNN, next.

No National Tracking Of School Reopenings After Two Months.

KEILAR: Schools all over the country have been forced to adapt to deal with the coronavirus. Many are giving students and parents options, remote learning, in-person learning or a hybrid of the two. But two months in, we should have an idea of what's working and what is not, and we don't. And that's because there's no national tracking of schools' progress. CNN's Bianna Golodryga is following all of this for us. And, Bianna, it seems like tracking would be a no-brainer. Who dropped the ball here?</s>BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN SENIOR GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Brianna, it does appear that the federal government has dropped the ball. Where is DeVos? Why isn't she briefing us weekly on how schools are doing? There is no federal tracking system to collect data on school- related cases. However, researchers and economists at Brown University have created a COVID-19 school response dashboard. This is all based on voluntary responses. But it's not very small. It actually includes over a thousand schools, 167,000 students, 54,000 staff. And among the students and staff collectively, they're saying a positivity right of .24 percent. Now, mind you, this is early in, just a few weeks into the school year. But this is somewhat optimistic. And to give a bigger picture, while a majority of the larger school districts are on online, half of the country's school districts are offering some in-person learning. So what we're seeing from this data tracker from Brown University, at least, showed the biggest mitigating uses that they're seeing thus far from students and faculty, including mask wearing, home checks, home evaluations and screenings and social distancing. No expert is suggesting that where there's a high positivity rate or a positivity rate that is rising that schools should reopen. But what they are suggesting is that schools are not the super spreaders that many had feared that they would, at least the first few weeks into the school year -- Brianna?</s>KEILAR: That is good news. Bianna Golodryga, thank you so much. Our special coverage continues now with Jake Tapper.

Trump Returns To Campaign Trail For First Time Since COVID Diagnosis; Trump To Hold Campaign Events In FL, NC, IA And PA This Week; Joe Biden Travels To Ohio, Calls President's Florida Trip "Reckless

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Opening statements this morning on Capitol Hill, the prelude to a brutal confirmation fight over Judge Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the United States Supreme Court. More on that ahead. First though, the president is out of coronavirus isolation today and off to Florida for his campaign trail return. Joe Biden travels to Ohio and says this morning that the president's Florida trip is, quote, "reckless." Now the president's doctor say he is no longer a coronavirus transmission risk, but they refuse to tell us -- tell you when the president last tested negative. The president of course trails significantly with just three weeks left of campaigning. If you thought his COVID scare would steer him toward coronavirus truth telling, well think again. The president argues again that the virus is disappearing and that we are around the final corner. Let's look at the data because it tells us something very, very different. You just look at the case trend here in the United States. This is not around the final corner. This is not a virus disappearing. This is a virus heading back up. More than 50,000 cases on average right now in the United States. A bit of a dip on Sunday but the data on Sunday often drops down a bit. You see we did get down here near the end of August but now trending back up. This was 20,000 cases a day up to the summer surge down some now back above 50,000 new infections a day on average in the United States of America. That is not round the final corner. That's the beginning of a possible fall surge. Here's the state trend. Again, 50 states in the United States of America, 31 of them, 31 of them on this Monday trending in the wrong direction. That means more new coronavirus infections now compared to a week ago. And you see it pretty much the entire northern half of the country. As it gets colder, the baseline was shoved down. As it gets colder, the case count going back up. 16 states holding steady, that's the beige. Only three states reporting fewer new infections right now compared to a week ago. 31, 31 states trending in the wrong direction. The president is going to be back on the road this week. Remember, cleared now from his own coronavirus case to travel. Where is he going this week? Well, he's going to Florida today, the case count is going up. He's going to Iowa, the case count is going up. He's going to Pennsylvania, the case count is going up. And he's going to North Carolina, to the deep red there, that means 50 percent more cases now compared to a week ago or higher than that. So, the president's travels today will take him right into the middle of this now fall coronavirus surge even though he says it's disappearing, and we have turned the final corner. If you want to look at this politically, three weeks to Election Day, here's one way to look at it. Red line, the states the president carried in 2016. Blue line, the states Hillary Clinton carried in 2016. It's just unmistakable, the states Clinton won, most of them with Democratic governors have kept the coronavirus case count lower than the Trump states. Most of them with Republican governors. You see the Trump states now in a much more difficult position heading into the final weeks of this campaign than the Clinton states. If you look at the top five states in terms of reporting deaths yesterday, all of them carried by the president in 2016. Florida, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, and Arkansas reporting the most deaths on Sunday. We hope these numbers stay down but we've learned this over the last seven, eight months, right? Case counts, high positivity rate, the death toll tends to travel after those. Yet, despite these numbers, especially despite this map, listen to the president of the United States, he says he's feeling better, he's going to be out on the road and he says pay no attention to this.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES (via telephone): I've been tested totally negative. I'm going to be out in Florida tomorrow working very hard and I want to give my warmest sympathies to the families that have lost someone. And I've lost many friends. I've lost five friends and probably more. But it's -- we're coming around that final turn and things are starting to really shape up.</s>KING: Let's begin the conversation this hour with the chief Washington correspondent for "SiriusXM," Olivier Knox. And congressional editor for "The New York Times," Julie Hirschfeld Davis. Julie, it's hard to overstate the moment in the sense that the president was off the road for a week off the train for a week in his own coronavirus isolation. He begins to travel today, three weeks left to campaign. He's trailing and trailing badly, and he keeps telling people, essentially, pay no attention to the facts. We have turned the final corner. The virus is disappearing. It is not.</s>JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It is not. It is really a critical time for his campaign. And it's -- you sort of can see you know why he's doing what he's doing. He really has no choice because he has taken this approach for months of trying to downplay the seriousness of the virus, trying to downplay the implications of the virus, not just health wise but on the economy and everything else. And so, now he's in a position where he's kind of eroded a lot of his credibility with many voters. That's I think part of the reason we're seeing him lagging in the polls to vice president -- former Vice President Joe Biden. But he really doesn't have a choice other than to argue you're not seeing what you're actually seeing with your own eyes. So, he's downplaying the virus, he's downplaying his own administration's role in doing that. And I think, you know, in these last few weeks he's so eager to be back out in these rallies and talking to voters that he really has to also downplay his own health challenges because we don't even know -- you played that sound from him saying he has tested negatively, we don't actually have official word of that from the White House. So, he says he's been cleared, they say he's been cleared to go back out and interact with people. But there's still a lot of unanswered questions, even about his own health.</s>KING: Even about his own health. But Olivier, the doctors say it's OK for the president to travel, he has told aids he wants to be on the road constantly through Election Day. Completely understandable for a political standpoint he is trailing and trailing badly. The question is, though, a lot of his own aides had hoped that his personal bout with COVID would teach him to be more empathic about this, would teach him to be more factual about this. But we're seeing something very different.</s>OLIVIER KNOX, CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, SIRIUSXM: Right. In some ways what we're seeing is what the president has been doing ever since the pandemic began, playing it down, promising that it'll be over soon. What's different now obviously as you alluded to it is the calendar. We're closing in on what we've all agreed to call Election Day even though millions of Americans will have voted by then. You know you already highlighted something that I think is really, really important. The pandemic is obviously an international story, it's obviously a national story. But if you go to these key states, you go look at the media in Arizona, look at the media in Iowa, look at the media in Florida, look at the media in Pennsylvania, look at the media in Wisconsin, you'll see that there are a lot of coronavirus related headlines. And this White House, no White House is equipped to push back against that kind of story where something is on the evening news, as likely to be on evening news in Des Moines as it is in</s>D.C. KING: Well, I would say, the only pushback I would give you there is there one way to counter that, which would be if the president of the United States would give speeches about the virus, in which he said I'm going to surge more help to the states like North Dakota that has a hospitalization crisis right now. We're going to do this. We're going to do that. But instead, Julie Davis, his speeches about the virus are almost exclusively about him.</s>HIRSHFELD DAVIS: Right. I mean it is very striking. You would think he would want to be doing that. As you've said he'd be wanting to confront head on issues of the virus and what he's going to do about it. You might also think he'd want to be leaning into getting a stimulus deal, which he just in the last couple of days decided that he really did want to see happen, recognizing that you know this is going to be judged as his economy, this pandemic is going to be judged to something that was his responsibility to confront, and a lot of people are still really struggling not just health wise but economically and not having jobs and with all of the effects of that. We do not see him doing that. And that's really because he doesn't actually have a plan to promote right now. The stimulus negotiations are nowhere mostly because Republicans don't want to sign on to as much money as the president now says he wants to spend. But more broadly he doesn't really have that sort of all hands-on deck kind of response that he keeps saying he has had. But people don't see evidence of it. And I think Olivier is right, the problem is you can't just tell people that I've done a great job, and it's going to be fine if in their own lives they don't feel like a great job has been done and if they are not trying. And this is when people are now going to vote, both now and you know in the next three weeks. And they're going to judge him based on what they're experiencing in their own lives for the most part, not on what he's telling them he's doing so well.</s>KING: And his campaign clearly understands the moment, Olivier. I want you to play a little snip it here. Dr. Fauci is not happy about this, but he's the star of a new Trump campaign ad.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump tackled the virus head on, as leaders should.</s>DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.</s>KING: Dr. Fauci, Olivier, says that's out of context, that he was talking a long time ago about the work of the task force, not about the president specifically. And in his five decades in public service, he said in a statement, he's never gotten involved in politics. To me, what's interesting though is the Trump campaign thought it was important to run that ad. If you look at this percentage here from September 8th to October 3rd, about 30 percent, 28.5 percent of their ads were COVID related. Right now, this week on television they're up to 50 percent of the ads are COVID related. The Trump campaign clearly realizes they've tried to push the pandemic aside as an issue. They have no choice now but to confront it.</s>KNOX: Absolutely no choice. And it's obviously understandable they were trying to harness Dr. Fauci's credibility since he enjoys more approval from more Americans than the president does. It is out of context. I think it's from March. But, of course, they want to do this. Of course, they want to try to harness themselves to that because their own credibility is not great.</s>KING: And so, Julie, you look at not only the president now, a lot of Republicans are having serious case of jitters because there's no tickets splitting left in American politics largely. So, if the president goes down, they're worried they will lose the Senate and perhaps several blood bath down the ballot as well. This is from the Republican pollster were there and said, quote, to the "Associated Press." "'It's not good for my side,' said veteran GOP pollster Whit Ayres. 'Pretty obviously, in many ways down-ballot Republicans are in the boat with Donald Trump. That's good for Republicans in deep-red states, but more problematic for those in swing states.' Asked for any bright spots for the Republican field, Ayres said, 'I'm wracking my brain and just struggling.' With a straight shooter, as you know, three weeks before Election Day, as we call it, I get it millions of people are voting early, that's a tough line for the party to be in but they feel essentially, they have no escape because if they leave the president they lose his base as well.</s>HIRSHFELD DAVIS: Right. I mean it's a very uncomfortable and careless place for them. And this is the challenge that they've known and have seen coming for many months and they are squeezed between the need to really you know turn out the Republican base which largely is very, very supportive of the president so they can't really break from him entirely or even in sort of a detectable way. But they really need to reach out to independent voters, to women, to folks in the suburbs, the sorts of people who if you look at the data right now are abandoning the president in droves primarily because of the coronavirus crisis but also for other reasons. This Supreme Court nomination which has so energized the right I think really has in some ways raised a lot of concerns among moderates and women in particular. You hear Democrats harping on the potential consequences for the Affordable Care Act and I think those kinds of messages really break through with the kinds of voters that these Republicans also need if they want to be successful when they face their own reelections. And so, they're in a place now, much like the president, where this is kind of baked in. They can't really get off of the message that they've been on for these last several months. And yet, we very clearly see signs that voters are not satisfied with that and may well be looking for something different.</s>KING: And so, I guess the question for the Trump campaign and the candidate himself, Olivier, is what can you do to break this dynamic. If you have 31 states, most of them states carried by the president four years ago, now reporting more COVID infections than a week ago. You have Joe Biden on the campaign trail with more money and on offense, going to states that are key to the president's map, not so much key to Biden's map. The president this week having to go to Florida, to Iowa, to North Carolina, three states that an incumbent Republican president if you're going to win should have in his pocket already. It's a steeper hill and never steeper hill.</s>KNOX: The Trump campaign theory of the case is that there is some large number of Trump friendly voters who didn't come out in 2016 because they didn't think that he had a chance but they're going to come out this time in part in response to the president's portrayal of a flaming hell scape if former Vice President Biden wins. Could that happen? I suppose so. But the travel and the spending tell the tale. They're spending a lot of money on ads in D.C. or just not obviously crucial to their strategy. Him going to Florida - remember, he's done a lot of stuff in Florida. He reversed himself on offshore drilling. He has tried to court seniors down there. He has after blocking it for three years he has expressed support for a Puerto Rico rescue package. He's doing a lot in Florida, and Florida is obviously a must win. But when you look at -- you talk about these deep-red states - or not you - Whit and others have talked about these deep-red states but look at what's happening in places like Kansas and South Carolina where people who have tied themselves pretty closely to Trump find themselves also in trouble.</s>KING: Also in trouble because no matter what you tweet, no matter what you say, something as personal as a health care crisis, a pandemic, people get it. You can't tell them it's gone when they see it in their lives every day, whether it's the medical or the economic disruption. Olivier Knox, Julie Hirschfeld Davis, grateful for the reporting and insights. Up next for us, the confirmation hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett. First, a look back at a hearing for the justice she would replace on the court, the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg.</s>RUTH BADER GINSBURG, FORMER ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT: I think rank discrimination against anyone is against the tradition of the United States and is to be deplored. The richness of the diversity of this country is a treasure and it's a constant challenge, too. To remain tolerant and respectful of one another.

" Confirmation Hearings Underway For Judge Barrett.

KING: Opening statements this morning the start of a bruising Supreme Court confirmation battle for Judge Amy Coney Barrett. New polling shows the majority of Americans oppose this fast track confirmation but there's less resistance to elevating Barrett to the high court now than there was in that same poll one month ago. Republicans see a chance here to cement this president's judicial legacy and tilt the court in a conservative direction for a generation. And they also hope improve their 2020 prospects by exciting conservative turnout. Democrats though see Barrett as a mortal threat to the Affordable Care Act, Obamacare and a potential vote to abolish or significantly roll back abortion rights.</s>SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): The bottom line is Justice Ginsburg when asked about this several years ago said that a president serves for four years not three. There's nothing unconstitutional about this process. This is probably not about persuading each other, unless something really dramatic happens, all Republicans will vote yes, and all Democrats will vote no.</s>SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA): Health care coverage for millions of Americans is at stake with this nomination. This well could mean that if Judge Barrett is confirmed, Americans stand to lose the benefits that the ACA provides.</s>KING: Let's go straight up to Capitol Hill CNN's Manu Raju. Manu, Judge Barrett has to listen for most of this day and the political arguments are pretty stark.</s>MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they are. And this is what we've been hearing since the day that she was nominated last month. There are Democrats raising concerns about the lightning fast pace in getting her to the bench, as you mentioned 22 days away from the election. There has not been a Supreme Court nominee who has been confirmed after July in a presidential election year. But this would happen, assuming that all goes as planned and it appears it will, that she will get confirmed by the end of the month. Now, in a boost for Republicans earlier this morning, Mike Lee of Utah, who sits on this committee announced that he is cleared by his doctors to attend today's proceedings. He of course tested positive for the coronavirus. He announced that 10 days ago, but the U.S. Capitol physician -- attending physician suggested that he could participate in today's proceedings. So, he is here. And as well as Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a Republican in a difficult reelection race who also tested positive about 10 days ago. He's indicated that he will be back later this week in person. That is important because Republicans need to establish a quorum to move forward in a vote on this nomination. And by all accounts it appears that they will do just that. And that was set up. That confirmation vote by the end of the month. Now, as Lindsey Graham noted there, John, the question is whether or not anyone's views will change. At the moment, it does not appear that way, but will she trip up in any way, tomorrow is when the questioning will begin. Democrats will press her on her views on the Affordable Care Act. It's unlikely she'll get pinned down. She'll likely side step as Judicial nominees tend to do. But that is what Democrats are pushing on, Affordable Care Act. Will she recuse herself from any election related disputes after November, Roe versus Wade, stark battle lines being drawn but the moment Republicans feeling pretty confident about their chances for her confirmation. John?</s>KING: Confident. The moment was there on top of the next few days. Manu, appreciate the live report, getting us there from Capitol Hill. Joining the conversation now, Seung Min Kim of "The Washington Post" and CNN's Joan Biskupic. And Seung Min to that point, as of now, it looks like the Republicans have the votes and they will be able to ram this through. So, Democrats are trying to raise this as a campaign issue. Trying to lay down a marker for Judge Barrett about what they expect of her if she does become Justice Barrett. But listen to this on health care, also trying to rally the American people with the election just three weeks away.</s>FEINSTEIN: They are asking the Supreme Court to strike down the Affordable Care Act.</s>SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Judge Barrett has said that she would overturn the</s>ACA. SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D-HI): This person getting on the Supreme Court lickety-split so that she can get rid of Affordable Care Act.</s>SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): You are being sent to the bench to do his political chores, abolish the ACA.</s>KING: It's interesting listening to that in the sense that Democrats hope as Manu noted that she says something in the hearings to send this off the tracks. The Democrats clearly don't expect that, and we have a Supreme Court confirmation battle that's actually about a bigger legislative and political issue.</s>SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: That's exactly right. I mean what's so fascinating generally about Supreme Court hearings for nerds like you and me is that they can touch on basically any issue that can come before the Supreme Court. But this one is going to be different and deliberately so. Democrats instead of touching on a kind of the monopoly of issues that may come before the court are specifically focusing on health care. You see the postures of affected constituents, constituents who have benefitted from the Affordable Care Act. And the hearing rim behind Democrats right now. Every Democratic senator is mentioning the Affordable Care Act and its benefits. That's certainly going to come up in basically every Democratic senator's questioning because they know they have very, very little power to slow down and even stop this nomination and this confirmation from happening before Election Day. So, they are turning that into a political issue. They know health care was a major advantage for them in 2018 and could certainly be an advantage for them this year because it's so - because it's so tangible. I mean if Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed, she will be on the bench in time to hear these oral arguments in a significant Affordable Care Act case on November 10th. And what Democrats are also trying to do is trying to exploit the divisions on health care on the Republican side of the panel. You look at the dozen Republican members, you see that they range from senators who are in tough reelection races where they're getting hammered by their Democratic challengers for their opposition to the Affordable Care Act and also to staunch conservatives like Mike Lee who say the whole law should be stricken down. So, that's what Democrats are going for here today and for the rest of the week.</s>KING: And Joan, if you look at the opening statement Judge Barrett submitted to the committee, the Democrats' hopes of getting her to be specific are likely misguided and the Democrats know that. They know she's not going to answer how she'll vote on Roe v. Wade. They know she's not going to answer how she'll vote if - when she - if she's on the bench in a couple of weeks, when the Obamacare challenge comes up. Here's one thing she says in her opening statement in talking about how her idol is the justice she clerked for, Antonin Scalia. "More than the style of his writing, though, it was the content of Justice Scalia's reasoning that shaped me. His judicial philosophy was straightforward: A judge must apply the law as written, not as the judge wishes it were. Sometimes that approach meant reaching results that he did not like. But as he put it in one of his best-known opinions, that is what it means to say we have a government of laws, not of men." My translation here, she's going to say I'll call it like I see them as I was taught by Justice Scalia, stay tuned. Right?</s>JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Right. And what Justice Scalia did with that theory was to vote against abortion rights, vote against all reproductive rights. He voted against same-sex marriage. He voted to enhance guns rights. He voted to strike down the Affordable Care Act twice. So, that theory that he held had consequences and it might have consequences again. This hearing so far has been so much about November 3rd and November 10th. November 3rd the election, November 10th, the Affordable Care Act will be argued at the court. But Amy Coney Barrett is only 48 years old. She could serve you know for another 30 years and think of all that her fingers will touch and how much her vote will matter. So, there's a certain incongruity here to hear senators talk about the importance of the Supreme Court but really have already relegated this hearing to an empty exercise. Everybody knows it's a done deal but we -- you know, it would be great if we could have a little more of a back and forth to hear more about her views. Especially tomorrow.</s>KING: We'll see if we get that. But Seung Min, to Joan's very point, Republicans see this as a chance to have a 6-3 majority for years and years on the high court and they understand the politics. Your newspaper today, The Washington Post/ABC News poll 44 percent say the current Senate should vote on these nominations. 52 percent saw a majority -- so majority but the majority say wait for the election. Wait until we know who won the election before you move forward this. But Senate Republicans and President Trump are not going to wait because they understand they could lose the White House and the United States Senate and it's a much harder political argument to make after the election if you have just been shellacked saying let us exercise this power than to exercise it now.</s>KIM: Right. I mean could you imagine if Vice President Biden won the White House, Democrats took back the majority. I mean Mitch McConnell's mind may not change about the lame duck but there were certainly be Rank and File Republican senators who may be questioning their decision to go forward. Which is why it's so important for Senate Republicans to go ahead with this confirmation now. And this has been a long running project, not such for President Trump but certainly for the conservative legal movement and certainly for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell whose top priority as majority leader has been transforming the federal judiciary at all its levels into a conservative one. So, certainly having you know stamping into place a 6-3 conservative majority for years, if not a generation to come, is certainly worth the political risk that Republicans are going to be taking now.</s>KING: And Joan, as you noted, assuming this stays on track we will know pretty quickly. We will know pretty quickly on some big issues who Justice Barrett is, if she becomes Justice Barrett. Fulton versus City of Philadelphia, that's a religious liberty case, a big LGBTQ case. California versus Texas, that's the Obamacare case. There's also the fight between the House of Representatives and Department of Justice over jury documents, the balance of executive power, legislative power, the balance of government, if you will. But on LGBTQ rights and on Obamacare we will know and know fairly quickly.</s>BISKUPIC: We will, John. But here's the other thing we will see her make a move in both of those areas. Think of how these kinds of cases will keep returning and returning. And there might be a tendency for a Justice Barrett and her colleagues to perhaps hedge their bets a little bit in this election year or shortly after the election. And we won't really see the full potency of the kind of justice she can be and the kind of 6-3 court that we will soon have until we have more cases down the road. And I think you know it could mean a difference for the religious rights and LGBTQ issues that you just raised in that immediate case to be heard in November. But you know we've seen some of the justices who were in decent in the same-sex marriage case you know call for a reconsideration of that. So, lots at stake here, John, that we'll see a much fuller picture of her, probably not just this term but the next one and ones to come.</s>KING: Joan Biskupic, Seung Min Kim, appreciate you getting us started on day one of these confirmation hearings. Thank you both so much. Up next for us, the number of deaths across the United States was unusually high in a six month stretch back earlier this year. Researchers believe COVID is to blame for much of that spike.

Trump Holds Rally In Florida; Dr. Fauci Taken Out Of Context In Trump Campaign Ad; President Trump Pushing For A Relief Package; Economy Not As Rosy As Trump Describes.

NATHAN APODACA, VIRAL TIKTOK STAR: I always have a long board or gaming board with me or a skateboard, something a different set of wheels.</s>CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: So, the success has been crazy.</s>APODACA: Yes.</s>CUOMO: It is so much it says. I like that, a little dog action there. What does that dog have, what does he have in his mouth that dog?</s>APODACA: Pillow. Neck pillow.</s>CUOMO: It is, you relax, man. See, your life is about chilling out. Even your dog is get -- want you to get your chill on.</s>APODACA: Right.</s>CUOMO: So, Ocean Spray finds out about it. They send you a truck because you had the car problem. You are selling Merch now based on it and you're just inspiring people to be cool and feel good no matter what comes their way is that the message?</s>APODACA: Yes. Basically, I mean, like I said, I want everyone to just realize how life is hard but you can just take a simple minute out of your life and just reflect on happiness, you know what I mean, something that makes you smile. Just get out there and do it. You know what I mean, you know what makes you happy. Make yourself smile any time, you know. And then just intend to do that and then your days will be brighter.</s>CUOMO: Well, look, I love it. I'm glad you've been rewarded for it. Thank you for giving us a reason to smile when there is so much tough stuff going on and to bring Fleetwood back -- Fleetwood mac back into people's minds as well. Nathan Apodaca, God bless and be well. And thank you, brother.</s>APODACA: Hey, thank you, man.</s>CUOMO: Take care. Now ordinarily, D. Lemon would kill me for taking up a minute and 12 seconds of his time but I know he loved that. I know he loved it and I know you love it and I know people are watching</s>DON LEMON, CNN HOST: I did not.</s>CUOMO: You loved it.</s>LEMON: You owe me a minute and 19 seconds.</s>CUOMO: You -- yes, I'll give it to you, I'll give it to you. I'll give it to you two minutes early tomorrow night but you know you love it. You're a long boarder yourself.</s>LEMON: You know, I love the song, I am long boarder. Actually, I just saw that guy last night. You know the first thing I saw. I didn't see him. I saw the parody one of Donald Trump with the bleach doing what he does with the Ocean Spray. And I didn't -- and then I ran across it on my Instagram last night and I said, that's where that's coming from. All I had seen was Donald Trump on a long board drinking bleach and then I saw him. You've seen that one, haven't you?</s>CUOMO: I have. I've seen them all now because I was getting ready for this. But it is so big that I had one of those moments where I realized just in everyday life that I had heard about this, like six times in a day and a half I was like, I got to check this for a second. But it just shows you how just tight everybody is, Don.</s>LEMON: It's like that we need it.</s>CUOMO: So desperate.</s>LEMON: Yes. And I would say we need to laugh. Remember what I said during the whole, when George Floyd was happening that we needed to in a moment cut each other some slack because everybody was so tense and everyone is tense now. I can't -- it's a -- I am -- how do I say this? I'm sick of it. I'm sick of all the craziness. I'm sick of the madness. I'm just sick of living without facts without a common set of beliefs about what is real and what's not. I'm just really, I want our country to be united. I want people to be united not divided. I don't know if that's going to happen. And I feel like I'm living in La La Land when I see people out, you know, not socially distancing with no masks on and the person who caught it because he didn't wear a mask is telling him it's OK. It's just, it's beyond belief really.</s>CUOMO: But it is reality. It was interesting. Cory Booker, the senator from New Jersey obviously had that moment that's going viral in its own way about where he said this is not normal. My question to him was isn't it? I mean, people elected Trump.</s>LEMON: I'm not surprised by any of it. I'm just sick of it. But listen, I got -- why are you -- why are you like pushing him about court packing? Because you are doing the Republicans' work.</s>CUOMO: No, I'm not.</s>LEMON: Yes.</s>CUOMO: It is a legitimate question. Well look. It is not a legitimate question.</s>LEMON: It's not a -- well, look, it's not a legitimate question in that.</s>CUOMO: What? Go ahead.</s>LEMON: During the debate the vice president raised the question. The moderator didn't raise the question. Plus, it is -- this is something that this is a hypothetical. Whether or not -- Joe Biden has said twice at least on tape that I've seen how he feels about court packing. I think it is a distraction from the Republicans --</s>CUOMO: Why doesn't he answer?</s>LEMON: Because he doesn't have to. Just because he doesn't have to --</s>CUOMO: Well, he doesn't have to answer it.</s>LEMON: Yes.</s>CUOMO: But you don't think it's going to affect people's trust caution?</s>LEMON: No. No. Because people aren't worried about that. People are concerned about, if you want to know specifically about the court, people are concerned about the Republicans switching and being hypocrites on saying this is an election year. That's what people are concerned about. About hypocrites.</s>CUOMO: I think people are worried about that too. You're right.</s>LEMON: People are also -- people are also concerned about where they're going to get their healthcare from.</s>CUOMO: Yes.</s>LEMON: Are they going to die from COVID?</s>CUOMO: They're worried about that too.</s>LEMON: They're worried about their pre-existing conditions. Whether someone is going to pack -- that is so far down the road. We've had this conversation. You know what it has to do. As Cory Booker said that's a legislative issue. I think that --</s>CUOMO: He didn't answer it either.</s>LEMON: I don't think he has to answer it. Because I think it is a red herring.</s>CUOMO: It's not a red herring.</s>LEMON: Because they don't want to talk about how Mitch McConnell has packed the court over the years --</s>CUOMO: Yes. They should say that.</s>LEMON: -- by not allowing --</s>CUOMO: That's the context for the discussion.</s>LEMON: Right.</s>CUOMO: So, I'm with you.</s>LEMON: I would say Mitch McConnell has packed the courts so if you want to ask about the packing courts why don't you ask Mitch McConnell?</s>CUOMO: Ask both.</s>LEMON: That's the thing</s>CUOMO: I agree with you about half of it. I think it matters to people. I think you got Trump voters who aren't going to vote for Trump this time for various reasons. But this matter. And they want to hear Biden who is the better choice in some people's minds.</s>LEMON: It's never going to happen.</s>CUOMO: Because he's not</s>FOS. LEMON: No one is ever going to -- no one is --</s>CUOMO: And they know he doesn't answer the question.</s>LEMON: The country will never any -- they won't let anybody pack the court. It's a hypothetical. I'm sure there are some Democrats who want to do it.</s>CUOMO: There are a lot of Democrats who say they want to do it.</s>LEMON: Joe Biden says he -- it's never, ever going to happen.</s>CUOMO: But how is it never going to happen if they are in control of the House and the Senate?</s>LEMON: I have this argument with you before and you talked about amendments to the Constitution. You got to do all this. You got to do all that.</s>CUOMO: This is much easier than an amendment to the Constitution.</s>LEMON: Yes. Yes. So, I just don't think it will happen. I don't think the country is there yet.</s>CUOMO: Well, it may not happen but it doesn't mean it's not a legitimate question.</s>LEMON: Yes. I don't think -- look.</s>CUOMO: We disagree. Tell me to leave.</s>LEMON: No, I'm not going to tell you to leave</s>CUOMO: I want you to tell me to leave.</s>LEMON: Because you hear it all the time. You're like a masochist. You're like a --</s>CUOMO: I've been kicked out of bed.</s>LEMON: I tell you to -- I tell you have to leave my house, now I'm telling you got to tell you to leave television. All right. I got to see you. I got to talk about this stuff.</s>CUOMO: I love you, D. Lemon.</s>LEMON: You, too, my brother. What is that thing on your face? Come on, get a razor.</s>CUOMO: Shut up.</s>LEMON: Yes. See you. You shut up. Goodbye.</s>CUOMO: You shut up.</s>LEMON: This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon. I want you to -- because you know, we normally start off with, my gosh. Look at this. Right? I just want to show you something as we get started here. Maybe these are the crowd shots people should be focused on tonight. Check out these lines. These are people waiting to vote in Georgia today. Look at these lines, hours and hours and hours in line. That's how much it means to them to cast their vote in this election. That is how important this election is. We don't know who they're voting for. But it gives you an idea where they are, about how it may turn out. But we know it means enough to them that it is worth, it's worth it to be heard. It's only 22 days until the election, 22 days until election day and the president, President Trump is on stage playing a part and it's not as convincing or is compelling as he thinks it is, nothing to see here. Pay no attention to the deadly pandemic raging through the country. You know what he is? He's a serial recidivist, a repeat offender, reckless. It is never going to change, never ever, ever going to change. And the people at his rally tonight aren't going to change even though some of them tell us that they would, they'd change their behavior. They'd wear a mask if he told them to. But he doesn't, so they won't. Talk about -- always -- that Trump is always talking about shit. So, if the president says don't wear a mask you won't wear one. If the president says wear a mask you wear one. But the other side are sheep, OK, whatever. At a certain point though, I say that because it is not about him. It's about them. It's really about everyone else, the people who sacrificed for others. Isn't that sort of the Christianly thing to do? The Christian thing to do? Sacrifice for others? This is about the people who sacrifice for others, people who follow the rules, the people who wear a mask, who don't see their friends and their parents. I haven't seen my mom since December -- January, because she lives in a hot spot. I've seen her on face time. But I would love to hug and kiss my mom but I can't. I don't. That is a sacrifice for me and millions of other people. This is for the people who try to teach their kids while they're working from home or try to feed their kids if they aren't working at all. And behavior like we are seeing tonight and we'll see on the Trump super spreader tour of America increases the risk of the spread of the virus. It's all part of Trump's ongoing, unreality TV show. He wants us to believe what he says. Not what's actually happening. In reality the virus is getting worse which is really bad news for the country as we head towards the winter months. The number of cases skyrocketing, we're now averaging about 50,000 new cases per day. Today 31 states reporting an increase in cases. And the COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. now surpassing 214,000. The danger is real. Florida, where all those people are tonight seeing a rise in the number of new cases. And, yet, the big rally, no social distancing, very few masks. Dr. Anthony Fauci issuing this blunt warning. If anyone in the Trump campaign would bother to even listen.</s>ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We know that is asking for trouble when you do that. We've seen that when you have situations of congregate settings with a lot of people without masks. The data speak for themselves. It happens.</s>LEMON: So, while Trump is on his way to Florida, his doctor, Sean Conley put out a statement saying that the president has tested negative on consecutive days and that Trump is not infectious to others. Do you believe that? Hard to believe anything with this administration. That's all the information Conley or really Trump is making available to the American public, using a test expert tell us if not meant to detect contagion, if it is not meant to detect contagion that way. Reporters -- reporters can't dig deeper. OK? Because Dr. Conley has not taken questions in the past. No doubt at the president's direction and the president is also claiming that he is immune which isn't how this whole thing works. None of this is how any of this works. But that doesn't matter to this president. It doesn't matter at all. What matters is taking the unreality show on the road because the president missed the adoring crowds, really missed them apparently.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: One thing with me the nice part. I went through it. Now they say I'm immune. I can feel -- I feel so powerful. I'll way into that audience.</s>TRUMP: I'll walk in there and I'll kiss everyone in that audience. I'll kiss the guys and the beautiful women and the -- everybody. I'll just give you a big fat kiss.</s>LEMON: It's so pathetic though. Two hundred fourteen thousand Americans are dead from COVID. This is hardly a matter to joke about. Just doesn't get it. He is not the only one campaigning without a mask either. His son Eric addressing Trump supporters in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. No mask in sight. Look at that. Rudy Giuliani addressing a packed group of Trump supporters in Philadelphia without a mask and they're inside both of those events by the way, and no social distancing at the event. A key Trump ally on Capitol Hill, Utah Republican Senator Mike Lee not wearing a mask at the confirmation hearing for Trump's Supreme Court nominee. You'll remember that Lee tested positive for COVID-19 11 days ago. He says he was cleared by his doctor this morning to attend the hearing but no mask? Seriously? Really? What about taking precautions to protect fellow senators? You know, just in case? Well, not in Trump's Washington. And there is Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows who got indignant with reporters who asked him to keep his mask on.</s>MARK MEADOWS, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Let me do this. Let me pull this away.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, pull away.</s>MEADOWS: And then that way I can take this off to talk. Well, I'm more than 10 feet away. Well, I'm not going to talk through a mask.</s>LEMON: Who are these people? Really? I'm not going to talk to you because I don't want to wear a mask. I'm just going to run away. Dr. Fauci taking the Trump campaign to task by the way for using a clip of him in a campaign ad without his consent and saying they took his words out of context. Here is part of the ad.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump tackled the virus head on as leaders should.</s>FAUCI: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.</s>LEMON: And here is what Dr. Fauci originally said from an interview. This was back in March.</s>FAUCI: I'm not the only one. There is a whole group of us that are doing that. It's every single day. So, I can't imagine that under any circumstances that anybody could be doing more.</s>LEMON: Well, Dr. Fauci sounds like he is pretty done with that kind of flagrant manipulation. Maybe they should use his actual expertise the way that they use it to twist his words. Sounds like he thinks so, too.</s>FAUCI: I think it is really unfortunate and really disappointing that they did that. It's so clear that I'm not a political person and I have never either directly or indirectly endorsed the political candidate and to take a completely out of context statement and put it in, which is obviously a political campaign ad, I thought was really very disappointing.</s>LEMON: The top expert on infectious disease in this country and they are taking him out of context in a campaign ad. That is where we are. Here's what's completely clear in the situation. The Trump campaign used Fauci in the ad because he has credibility with voters who are concerned about the deadly virus. President Trump does not and he knows it. And his campaign knows it. Twenty-two days until the election. Make your vote count. President Trump's rally tonight could be a super spreader event with just three weeks to go before the election. Why salvaging his sinking campaign is more important than protecting his supporters and everyone else? Lots to discuss. John Avlon, Kaitlan Collins, next.

COVID Cases In U.S. Rising

LEMON: And we're back. So, the news about COVID-19 not good tonight, really isn't, cases rising throughout the country nearly 50,000 new cases on average per day. That's according to data from Johns Hopkins University. So more than half the country seeing a surge in cases with nine states reporting record high COVID-19 hospitalizations on Sunday. That's according to COVID -- the COVID tracking project. The problem is it's even more serious when you consider where we're headed. We're heading to the cold weather months, flu season, and rising death toll. Let's discuss now. Dr. Peter Hotez, the vaccine scientist and the dean of tropical medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine. By the way, doctor, thank you for joining us. You'll be happy. I got my flu shot. I think you know, so.</s>PETER HOTEZ, INFECTIOUS EXPERT, BAYLOR UNIVERSITY: Well done.</s>LEMON: Yes.</s>HOTEZ: Well done.</s>LEMON: Yes. I had to look the other way. They gave me a lollipop afterwards but I got it. So, listen, you know, as a public health expert can you please tell me what you think seeing someone who has recently been infected with the virus, with the coronavirus, and then required the top medical care this country has to offer that he is back on the trail, large crowd of people tonight and it's as if nothing has happened. Nothing has changed.</s>HOTEZ: Well, Don, you know, what's puzzling and what's awful is the tone deafness. I mean, we are, I think entering a very dark chapter in this epidemic and maybe one of the darkest times in modern times in the United States public health history. Look, we went from 20,000 -- we hit a low of 20,000 cases at the end of May. We went up to 65,000 new cases a day in the middle of summer. Then it came back down to around 30 or 35,000 a day and now we're climbing up over 50,000. So, we are already starting at a very high level and we know that everyone has been predicting a massive surge as we go into the fall and winter so we could be looking potentially one of the worst phases yet of our epidemic. And some estimates from the Institute for Health Metrics in Seattle are saying we could double the number of deaths sometime after the inauguration going from 200,000 to 400,000 deaths. So that's the background entering this very scary time in American life. And then the, you know, and then the president joking about it, going into crowds, not -- still not with that culture of masks. That disconnect is just astonishing. And I'm very upset by it.</s>LEMON: So, here's the thing as, you know, things start to change, right, and you know, we've been able to go and have, like I know I have and other people, to eat outdoors. Right? You don't have to be inside of a restaurant. Places people are making -- governments are making exceptions for people to be able to eat outside. And then you can have a certain number of people at your home, blah, blah, blah. So, as we move into this new time, right, this colder period, how should people at home be evaluating their risks? And should they think about modifying their behavior as we move into the fall into the colder weather?</s>HOTEZ: I think we have to plan, you know, and this is what I'm telling my family members, my adult kids and other family members that get ready for a really tough time this winter. Think about who you want to do your social distancing with as you head into later in November, December, and January, and get ready to hunker down. That is point one. Point two, take care of your mental health. The one thing I do say is look, this terrible period will not go on forever. I do think we're going to be in a much better place by the middle of next year because vaccines will be available by this time next year. We'll have a significant percentage of the population vaccinated. So, it's not all bleak, not a time for despair but be realistic and recognize that this winter, this November, December, January, February, could be the worst time in our pandemic and plan accordingly and be smart about it and take steps to protect your mental health. Make certain that you know a -- a mental health counselor, how to reach them if you need them, know how to call on family members. It's OK to feel scared and to be upset and to get depressed. That's a normal reaction to this. But get ready for it. Put all the belts and suspenders in place for a very rough time.</s>LEMON: Doctor, thank you very much. I appreciate it.</s>HOTEZ: Thank you.</s>LEMON: The president demanding a huge stimulus package after he shut down negotiations. My next guest says Trump is killing the economy out of spite. Paul Krugman is going to explain what he means.

Trump Family Still Not Wearing Masks

LEMON: So, the president holding another packed rally tonight as the pandemic rages on with more rallies set for the rest of the week. Dr. Anthony Fauci warning that hosting political rallies is asking for trouble. The Daily Show's Jordan Klepper went to a Trump campaign rally in Pennsylvania just days before Trump's coronavirus diagnosis and the same day as the super spreader event at the White House to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. So here is what rally-goers said about wearing masks to prevent the spread of coronavirus.</s>KLEPPER: What do you think about the whole mask situation right now? Are you worried about COVID?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me, like me personally, I'm not worried but my dad has underlying health conditions.</s>KLEPPER: OK.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, if he gets it he is going to be in trouble.</s>KLEPPER: Why come here and take that risk if your dad has health issues.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just to see Trump.</s>KLEPPER: You are pro-life.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course.</s>KLEPPER: It's important for Americans to do whatever they can to protect a human life.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.</s>KLEPPER: Why aren't you wearing a mask?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, again, it's a personal choice, I think. If everybody was wearing them and everybody said put a mask on, I would respect everybody's wishes and put them on. We're not sheep.</s>KLEPPER: You're not a sheep.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're lions.</s>KLEPPER: You're not sheep. But if everybody here was wearing a mask.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If everybody is wearing, again, we're not sheeple.</s>KLEPPER: You're not sheeple.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not.</s>KLEPPER: So, you're going to look at what everybody is doing and you're going to follow along.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's it.</s>LEMON: The president has convinced his supporters that not wearing masks is OK. I'll report it to any chance I get wearing masks helps prevent the spread of COVID-19. And that's the only misinformation resonating with the president's supporters. Take voting by mail.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think mail-in ballots won't be fair because it leads to fraud and stuff.</s>KLEPPER: You don't trust mail-in ballots.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at all.</s>KLEPPER: The president uses mail-in ballots.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, but they're going to use mail-in ballots for this upcoming election, right?</s>KLEPPER: Right. But the president himself uses mail-in ballots.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He does? Where?</s>KLEPPER: That's how he votes. He mails it in.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's different.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. That's different.</s>KLEPPER: How is it different?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. I honestly didn't know that. I don't even know what you've talking about.</s>KLEPPER: But you do know he's --</s>LEMON: Another fact worth repeating there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud. None. So here with more is Jordan Klepper, contributor to The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Jordan, it's good to see you. It's I watch -- I've been watching you do this since the last election 2016. It's really just unbelievable some of the things that people say. You spoke to a Trump supporter and you asked if it was -- if he was better off than he was four years ago. Listen to this and then we'll talk about it.</s>KLEPPER: Are you in a better place than four years ago?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. Absolutely.</s>KLEPPER: Is America in a better place than it was four years ago?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe absolutely.</s>KLEPPER: We have higher unemployment. We have 200,000 people dead due to COVID and we have riots in the streets.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Let me tell you this much. Yes, I am doing much better. I am literally making four times as much as I was making when Obama was president.</s>KLEPPER: What do you do?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I work for a debt relief company.</s>KLEPPER: Yes.</s>LEMON: I can't -- you don't even have to try but the supporter said that he is a debt collector and he explains why he is better off. I mean, tell me, what is going on here?</s>KLEPPER: Well, I think somebody is coming for my job. It's really difficult. You know we're in an economic downturn but when a comedian goes out and somebody is writing comedic copy on the fly that's better than anything you could come up with you start to get scared.</s>LEMON: Do you ever -- I mean, do you stand there and is it just, it has to be unbelievable to you. I have not been out this, you know, this political season to a campaign rally and I thought like after all of the madness that has happened over the past four years that there may be a different sort of mood or sentiment at Trump rallies. Has much changed since 2016 or 2015?</s>KLEPPER: I mean, I feel like the one I just went to last week you feel that there is still an energy there. And that's undeniable. There was four years ago. But if you're going to the Spin Doctors for the first time, they were exciting their first time out. If you're still going to Spin Doctors concerts four years later you might be excited about the hits but you've heard that song over and over again. And so, at a Trump rally people are excited to be there. There is something in the air. COVID, I believe but they've done this before. They've heard this story over and over again. And so, I do think there is a tamper down in energy levels. But there is also a double down in the things they believe because it's not about politics anymore. It's not -- it's not an audition for a job. It's an ideology rally and it's all about identity.</s>LEMON: Our very own Gary Tuchman talked to Trump supporters at the president's rally tonight in Florida. A lot of people said that they didn't want to wear a mask. What you saw was not an isolated incident there, right?</s>KLEPPER: No. I mean, what I was surprised about we asked people why they weren't wearing masks and most people had masks on them. I'm used to going out and oftentimes much like conservatives will carry the Constitution in the pocket so they can shame a liberal, I feel like that has been replaced by a mask to shame a liberal. Most people weren't wearing them but they were aware that they should have them. I think that actually struck me. I was sort of expecting the narrative of a month and a half ago where this was a hoax or nothing to be aware of. It was as bad as the flu. But it seems that people understood we should have masks which is why it's so infuriating because if Donald Trump set that example and did everything against what he's done up until this point there could be a real effect. People have the masks. They are in their pockets. They are waiting for somebody to tell them put it on you don't look stupid. See if you can save 80,000 lives over the next six months but that call hasn't gone out. But I already make --</s>LEMON: They are waiting for Trump to tell them to put it on. Yes.</s>KLEPPER: So, I guess he has other important topics to talk about.</s>LEMON: Yes, he wants to kiss everyone in the audience. And yet, if the president says put on a mask, they'll put it on. They're waiting for him to tell them to put on a mask. Is that what you're telling me?</s>KLEPPER: I -- they will jump in line. I'm amazed at how quickly the narrative shifts.</s>LEMON: Yes.</s>KLEPPER: As with the president, you know, he sets the tone for those rallies. And people are, they want to go to the big parade in town and I can empathize with that. The president tells them what to wear to the parade and I think they would put on a mask, they should put on a mask, he won't tell them to do it, and until he does, you are going to see what we see every day.</s>LEMON: Just quickly before I have to go here. Did any of the people you were speaking to because you, you know, you have a way of catching them in their own words and thoughts. Do they ever get it in the moment or are they just confused by the logic of what you are pointing out to them? Are they confused by -- do people ever go, wow. I get it. Is there ever an epiphany?</s>KLEPPER: Well, I think there's a -- people aren't used to follow-up questions. I had an epiphany when I was talking to folks about the impeachment hearings months, months ago, I think an eternity ago. And I remember asking people, this was the time when Trump didn't want Bolton to speak and he was withholding witnesses from testifying. And I talked to people and they were, Trump, he didn't do anything. He didn't do anything. And one woman I remember speaking to and she said, you know, I believe Donald Trump. He is open about everything. He is not hiding anything at all. And I asked her, well he is stopping witnesses from testifying. And she took a beat and she registered it, and she responded, I don't care.</s>LEMON: Yes.</s>KLEPPER: And to me, that was it in a nutshell. Like contradiction. Contradiction is only revealing of the lie you tell yourself. And I think that's what I see at these rallies.</s>LEMON: Jordan, it's great work. Seriously. Say hello to Trevor. People still call me Trevor on the street and ask for my autograph. I don't even explain to them anymore that I'm not Trevor Noah. He is much better looking and younger.</s>KLEPPER: Just take the love. Right?</s>LEMON: I have to go. But thank you. Come back. Keep up the great work and be safe, OK, out there.</s>KLEPPER: Thank you, Don.</s>LEMON: Thank you, Jordan. We'll be right back.

Trump Holds First Rally Since COVID-19 Diagnosis; Biden Campaign Focusing On States Trump Won; Amy Coney Barrett's Confirmation Hearings Begin; States Surging Rates Of New COVID-19 Cases; Some 2016 Trump Supporters Now Say They Won't Vote For Him.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Twenty-two days till the election and President Trump back on the campaign trail just a week after being hospitalized for the coronavirus. His doctors saying well, tonight that Trump tested negative for the virus on consecutive days. The president holding a rally tonight in Florida, states seeing a spike in cases. There was no social distancing. And few people were wearing masks. Contrary to what Trump says this pandemic is far from over. 31 states seeing a rise in cases. Let's bring in now CNN's White House Correspondent, John Harwood and political correspondent Arlette Saenz who has been covering the Biden campaign. And senior legal analyst Laura Coates. Good to see all of you. Thank you so much for joining. John, your first, what we saw -- what happened out there tonight? I mean, this week Trump is holding rallies in Florida. He's holding rallies in Pennsylvania, Iowa, North Carolina. Pence is going to be in Ohio. Wisconsin and Michigan. What does this tell you about how the campaign feels about the state of the race right now?</s>JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the state of the race is terrible from their point of view. But I think what President Trump is doing is he is somebody who has always been driven by the impulses of his ego. When he was cooped up at Walter Reed, cooped up in the White House, he is watching television all day. The news is all bad from his point of view, he's at a terrible year, bad management of the coronavirus, bad management of racial justice protest, bad debate, bad polls, he knows he is losing and what he wants to do is go out and bask in the adulation of his supporters. They are not a majority. They know it. He knows he is behind and they know they are a minority and they sort of bask in that shared victimhood. They think the rest of the country is looking down on them. And Trump is out there razing the crowd, performing like a vaudevillian. I think that is what he is doing. I don't think it's really even about political strategy or winning the race at this point. I think he -- throughout his presidency, he has never tried to expand his base and I think he knows at this point he can't and so what he is going to do is try to rev up the crowd and get as much affection as he can.</s>LEMON: Vaudeville is a really good analogy, John. Let me ask you something before I move on, with two of the other guys -- ladies. You know, the last time we heard so much about, well, internal polling was different. And the internal polling -- it's not -- is it not showing that this time?</s>HARWOOD: No. All of the polling is bad. You talk to Democratic and Republican pollsters and they are all pretty much seeing the same thing. He is behind by a wide margin, double digits in the polling averages now. Nationally by a lesser margin in the battleground states but still six, seven, eight points in the three Midwest states that Biden needs to win. And he is even facing a significant deficit in Florida, which is a state that he carried in 2016. He is trailing narrowly in North Carolina. He is in a dog fight in both Iowa where he goes this week and Ohio. So this is a -- it's a grim picture for the Trump campaign and the one thing we've seen pretty consistently he has hovered down around where his job performance is or a little bit below that, low 40s. That is not a winning situation.</s>LEMON: Yes. But it's not over till it's over. You don't know. We still have three weeks. And that could --</s>HARWOOD: True.</s>LEMON: One never knows do one as they say. Arlette, listen, the Biden campaign is focusing on states Trump won in 2016. Jill Biden is in Georgia and Texas this week, the former vice president is focusing on Florida and Ohio. Do they really think they have a shot at turning these states blue?</s>ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, they clearly feel like they are in a position right now to go on offense heading into these states where the president won by pretty big margins. States like Ohio and Georgia and Texas back in 2016. And Biden at this point is doing quite well in the polls in states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Which were always going to be tough targets as well, but now you are seeing them kind of start to wade into some of these more reach states as the president has been struggling a bit there. You know, polling in Ohio has shown a very tight race just after four years after President Trump won that state by eight points. And Biden was there in Toledo, in Cincinnati today. Trying to make that economic pitch about bringing manufacturing jobs back speaking to those white working class voters that he feels might be frustrated with the president's efforts over the past four years and trying to convince them to vote for him coming up in November. But you know, you have Jill Biden going into states like Georgia and Texas. We haven't yet seen the principals Joe Biden or Kamala Harris go into those states. That might signal just how seriously they are taking it if those could be actual candidates go to campaign there. But right now they are clearly in this position where they have the financial resources and they feel like they have the time resources to go into these states where the president won pretty handily like Ohio, and try to make a run for it having this November.</s>LEMON: All right. So, Laura, tonight's rally Trump brought up his Supreme Court pick Judge Amy Coney Barrett there, who appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee today. Watch this.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As America saw earlier today, in Amy's opening statements in the Senate Judge Barrett a brilliant scholar who will defend our laws, our rights, our freedom, and our constitution like very few people would have the capability of doing the radical left is hell bent on destroying everything we love and cherish.</s>LEMON: So Barrett's confirmation hearing is playing out as people across the country are already voting, Laura. Explain how extraordinary it is that these two things are happening at the same time.</s>LAURA COATES, CNN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ANALYST: I mean, it is so extraordinary. Keep in mind people make a big to-do and they should about the hypocrisy about trying to seat Amy Coney Barrett and not trying to seat Merrick Garland. But really, the real issue with that was Antonin Scalia, the former and late justice died 200 and what -- 69 days before an election. You've got Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dying a mere 46 days or so days before the election. And remember when Scalia died you hadn't even picked who the DNC nominee was. You hadn't picked the RNC nominee. He died in February of 2016, before that. Think about the idea here that now you have people who have already cast their vote. They are not -- the will of the people are trying to tabulate the will of the people right now. So many states are engaged in early voting. As you think of the will of the people being done and following what the people want to have happen many have already cast their ballot and only are awaiting for it to be counted. This is a very different scenario and as Lindsey Graham said, this is the first time in history that any Supreme Court confirmation hearing that's taken place after July in an election year. In July, of course is normally the convention month.</s>LEMON: Right. Right, right. But Laura, no matter what kind of argument Democrats make, Judge Barrett's confirmation virtually is guaranteed at this point. What did you learn today about what kind of justice she would be?</s>COATES: Well, it certainly seems it to be a foregone conclusion provided that all the Senators are capable of voting. Remember at least two actually do have COVID-19. But you have the idea here that her legacy, she wants to be known is very similar to Justice Scalia. Where she talks more about an originalist, interpretation to the constitution meaning you don't want to assign new and more moderate concepts to what the founding fathers actually thought of. But what you are seeing here is she has said, now listen. You should allow the political branches to engage in making the policy decisions and not look to the courts to do all of the bidding for everyone. And if that is the case here, one of the first cases, one of the first case that she will hear if she is confirmed will be the affordable care act, Don. Which of course has been made about a policy decision by a political and legislative branch of the government. And so, if she is to be believed that she does not want to have judges usurp those rules it will be interesting to see how she actually rules and has argument on the affordable care act where they have already governed by legislation and if not have been able to have a replacement or even legislate one. So, I think we are going to see a combination of her wanting to stick to her guns about the idea of an original interpretation and also trying to prove that she is not going to be a political Marinette of President Trump. It is hard really to test sincerity, because as you know every justice in that seat in the last three years has told you oh, no they intend to be impartial arbiters of justice. Whether that is actually true remains to be seen.</s>LEMON: Yes. Of course, you are going to say that at your confirmation hearing that you're going to be impartial, right? But it doesn't mean you are going to actually execute that when you become a justice.</s>COATES: Of course.</s>LEMON: Or if you become a justice. Arlette, Democrats were united at today's committee hearing warning that health care is at stake if Judge Barrett is confirmed. How big of a focus is this for Biden?</s>SAENZ: Well, Don, Democrats have been focused on turning this into an argument about health care that extends from that Senate Judiciary hearing all the way to the campaign trail. And you'll remember in the days after Justice Ginsburg passed away, Joe Biden immediately very quickly started framing this as a debate over health care warning that health care was at risk with the Supreme Court set to hear a case on Obamacare just a week after the election. You heard in that hearing today his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris very forcefully also speak about this being an issue of health care and this isn't just about the presidential race. This also goes down to those races lower down on the ballots. The Senators who are running for re-election or challenging Republican incumbents at this point. Voters, what Democrats think is that voters are going to be voting on this issue of health care. That they don't want to see preexisting conditions taken away. That they want to see Obamacare kept intact. And that is just an overall message that you have heard from that hearing room to the campaign trail. Joe Biden when he talks about Judge Amy Coney Barrett's nomination, he always puts it in the frame and context of health care as they are hoping to hammer that away with just three weeks to go until the election.</s>LEMON: All right. Laura, John, thank you very much. Good to see you. I'll see you guys soon. I want to get to our resident fact-checker now, Mr. Daniel Dale. Hi Daniel, oh nice tie, I really like that.</s>DANIEL DALE, CNN FACT CHECKER: Thank you, Don.</s>LEMON: Yes. Very nice.</s>LEMON: So, at tonight's rally the president made multiple false claims about Biden's policy positions. So, give us the fact check.</s>DALE: Yes, Don, Trump basically seems determined to run against a version of Joe Biden that doesn't actually exist. So for example tonight he said that Biden wants to outlaw private health insurance for 180 million people. Biden of course, explicitly, vocally repeatedly rejected that kind of single pair Medicare for All approach during the Democratic primary. He's running on a plan that would allow people to voluntarily opt into government insurance but wouldn't force people off their government insurance. Trump said that Biden has a plan to dissolve America's borders and he acted out in exchange with someone was like where is the border, someone else said I don't know. We don't have a border anymore. This is just completely absurd. Biden is proposing a liberalization of Trump era immigration policy but wouldn't you know, eliminate borders of course. He said Biden wants to destroy the suburbs. Again ridiculous. He said Biden wants to ban charter schools. Now Biden does have a skeptical approach toward charters especially the small minority of them that are for profit rather than not for profit. But he is not proposing a ban. And so, it is issue after issue where Trump is saying Biden would do things that Biden hasn't even come close to proposing, Don.</s>LEMON: The president also brought up one of his signature 2016 campaign promises, the wall. Listen to this.</s>TRUMP: Under my leadership we achieved the most secure border in U.S. history and we're finishing that wall. It is going to be finished and so beautiful. Wait until you see that. Wait until you see that. A few more months. We're doing 10 miles a day. And by the way Mexico is paying, I hate to say it, Mexico is paying for it.</s>LEMON: My god. I can do the fact check on this one. I mean, those people -- they believe him. OK. Go on. It is replacement fence. Whatever makes is nothing -- go on.</s>DALE: its replacement fence, a lot of it is replacement fence and more importantly tonight, Mexico is not paying for the wall. American taxpayers are paying for the wall, both through congressional appropriated money and money that Trump has basically seized from other stuff like the military. This is the lie that won't die. And it goes dormant for a while but then it seems like around election time it magically returns. And no, Mexico is still not paying for the border wall.</s>LEMON: Thank you, Daniel. See you soon.</s>DALE: Thank you.</s>LEMON: People in California dropping their ballots off in boxes that it turns out aren't official boxes. In fact, they are owned by the GOP. We are going to take a closer look at that for you tonight considering it is the president who is always claiming voter fraud. But these boxes are owned by the GOP. Plus, the U.S. seeing its highly daily average of new coronavirus cases in almost two months.</s>ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALERGY AND INFECTOUS DISEASE: We're entering into the cool months of the fall and ultimately the cold months of the winter. And that is just the recipe of a real problem if we don't get things under control before we get into that seasonal challenge.

State Officials Send Cease And Desist Order To California GOP Over Unofficial Ballot Drop Boxes; Fake Ballot Drop Boxes Prompt Investigations In California

LEMON: This is a very important story since we are coming up on an election very closely, very important election, OK, so please pay attention. Fake ballot drop boxes are turning up in some places in Southern California at politically-affiliated offices, candidate headquarters, and even churches. Where do they come from? The California Republican Party is confirming to CNN that they've been setting up these unofficial ballot boxes in Los Angeles, Fresno, and Orange counties. But the California secretary of state is saying the boxes aren't just misleading to voters, they are also a violation of state law. State officials are sending a cease and desists order to the California GOP to have them removed. Todd Spitzer is a district attorney for Orange County, and he joins me now. Mr. District Attorney, thank you so much. I appreciate you joining us. This is a very important story, and I'm glad that you're here. California Republicans argue that this is just ballot harvesting and that a 2016 bill makes that legal. What do you make of that argument?</s>TODD SPITZER, DISTRICT ATTORNEY AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR OF ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: Well, I mean, we are just at the very preliminary stages of our investigation. So, Mio Kelly (ph), who is the registrar voter in Orange County, California which we have 1.7 million registered voters, 3.3 million people, sixth largest county in the nation, so this is serious. This is the real deal. And we received this investigation yesterday. My investigators have been on the ground immediately interviewing witnesses. We actually have one of those ballot boxes in our possession. And starting tomorrow, we will go through the legal process to be able to search the inside of that ballot box, whatever you want to call it, and we will continue our investigation.</s>LEMON: What happens to the votes in that box?</s>SPITZER: Well, I mean, that is a very interesting question, isn't it? Because let me ratchet back just a second about the law. In California, you can give your ballot to a third party, but you have to designate that person and you have to sign the top of your ballot. So, you can't just deposit into a box like a mail box. It is not a mail box. There are only so many official boxes and they're all controlled and regulated by the registrar of voters.</s>LEMON: So, again, the ballots in that box, the one that you have, are they going to be counted? Are they going to be thrown out? What is going to happen to them?</s>SPITZER: I would suspect and I would hope that every ballot is counted. So, if an innocent person, a voter put their ballot into one of those boxes, they don't know what's going on, right? So, I'm very confident when we go inside these boxes, we will make sure that those ballots are counted because let's -- we can't blame the voter for putting it in that box. It was under what -- under what pretense was it set up? And we don't have all the answers to that tonight.</s>LEMON: OK. So, here is the thing, and I want to get to what the California Republican Party, what they're saying. But if those ballots are tampered with or messed with, that's fraudulent. People can go to jail for that. Is there any evidence of that happening?</s>SPITZER: Well, as much as I would like to answer that question, obviously, we don't have all that information.</s>LEMON: We don't know.</s>SPITZER: We are engaged in that investigation, but let me just explain a couple things. If you set up a voting place like a box and you are representing that you're essentially an agent, right, for the registrar of voters, in California, that is a straight felony that can be punished in prison for four years.</s>LEMON: Right.</s>SPITZER: So, this is serious business.</s>LEMON: OK. That's what I was getting at, because if they are doing that and they are tossing ballots out or not turning them in or what have you or even maybe just the process of setting up what, you said it could be fraudulent, and I said jail, but this is serious stuff, prison. OK. So this is how the California Republican Party is defending these fake ballot boxes. They wrote this on Twitter. "If a congregation, business or other group provides the option to its parishioners/associates/or colleagues to drop off their ballot in a safe location, with people they trust, rather than handing it over to a stranger who knocks on their door - what is wrong with that?"</s>LEMON: OK. What do you say to that?</s>SPITZER: Well, you know, ballot harvesting is relatively new in California. This is only the second major cycle in which ballot harvesting has been allowed. So, there obviously is going to be litigation about what is ballot harvesting, but we do know this. When I give my ballot to you, I have to designate you.</s>LEMON: Mm-hmm.</s>SPITZER: And I have to do it in writing, because we have to know that I authorize you to take custody of my ballot.</s>LEMON: Mm-hmm.</s>SPITZER: If you just drop a bunch of ballots into a box, how have you in any way designated a third party to take custody of your ballot?</s>LEMON: Yeah.</s>SPITZER: The only -- that has the legal authority to take custody of ballots are the sanctioned ballot boxes that have been put in our communities by the registrar voters.</s>LEMON: By the people who work at the polls officially. So, thank you, Mr. District Attorney.</s>SPITZER: Right.</s>LEMON: I appreciate it. Before we go, I'm going to let him go, but I just want to put up pictures of what the official ballot drop box looks like or anyone watching who is in California, if we can put that up because that is a service to our viewers. That is what the official ballot box looks like. Drop box. OK? And that's where your vote should be placed, in something that looks like that. So, they supported Trump in 2016, but many pivotal voters now saying that they're not backing his re-election. We're going to meet some of these voters, next.</s>KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Do you regret your vote?</s>HOLLIE GEITNER, FORMER TRUMP SUPPORTER: I -- where we are today? Yes, I do.

Interview With Former Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Elizabeth Neumann; Legendary Reformer and Civil Rights Activist, Angela Davis Reacts on Confirmation Hearings of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court; "Being Blacker," an Intimate Portrait of Race in Britain with filmmaker Molly Dineen and Blacker Dread.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, everyone and welcome to AMANPOUR. Here's what's coming up.</s>JUDGE AMY CONEY BARRETT, U.S. SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: If the Senate does me the honor of confirming me, I pledge to discharge the responsibilities of this job to the very best of my ability.</s>AMANPOUR (voice over): And so it begins an issue of supreme justice wrapped up in partisan politics, amid confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett, the legendary reformer and civil rights activist, Angela Davis joins me. And --</s>BLACKER DREAD, MUSIC PRODUCER AND SUBJECT OF "BEING BLACKER": When you're coming to England, it is a completely different thing. You will land in their country, they don't want you here.</s>AMANPOUR (voice over): "Being Blacker," an Intimate Portrait of race in Britain with filmmaker Molly Dineen and Blacker Dread, himself. Then --</s>ELIZABETH NEUMANN, FORMER DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY OFFICIAL: I can't see into a man's heart. But what I can look at are the actions and the policies that he has put into place.</s>AMANPOUR (voice over): Our Hari Sreenivasan speaks to Elizabeth Neumann formerly in the President's Department of Homeland Security, now in Camp Biden. Welcome to the program, everyone. I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. It's almost back to square one as the U.K. and most of its neighbors battle the second coronavirus wave. Hospitals here report a higher number of COVID patients than in March, and the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduces a new three-tier lockdown system with different swaths of the country under rolling restrictions. And the United States has had over 50,000 daily new cases for four days in a row now. With the pandemic holding the West hostage, the struggle for racial justice out on the streets and a bitterly fought U.S. election on the horizon, into this melee steps fears of an issue to further polarize America for generations to come. The appointment of Amy Coney Barrett, President Trump's choice to fill the Supreme Court seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Confirmation hearings are underway. Her appointment would decisively tilt the court to the right. And she says she will, quote, "apply the law as written. At stake, a fundamental but polarizing issues for millions of Americans from healthcare and a woman's right to choose, to basic civil and voting rights, and my first guest tonight was there at the creation of all of these. She is Angela Davis, the longtime activist who grew up in the segregated south and came of age as a symbol of the black liberation movement in the 60s, which was the last major moment of protest and division across the country. And she is joining me now from Oakland, California. Angela Davis, welcome to the program. I know that all eyes probably will be on this confirmation hearing this week. I just wanted from your perspective, as I outlined all these rights that you fought so hard for, what do you think is at stake with these hearings and with this appointment?</s>ANGELA DAVIS, ACTIVIST AND AUTHOR: Well, first of all, thank you, Christiane, for inviting me to appear on your program. And, of course, so much is at stake, the very future of reproductive justice is at stake, the future of affirmative action and other strategies designed to restructure the institutions of this country. We know that pivotal political moments and I'm speaking of political in the largest sense of the word having to do with power have been marked by Supreme Court decisions. But of course, the decisions are not themselves the explanation for change, rather, the courts often reflect the changes that have occurred as a result of social movements. And so I think that these current hearings have a great deal to do with, you know, what unfolds both within the judicial realm, but also within the realm of struggles for justice.</s>AMANPOUR: So that's really interesting, of course, because right now there is just so much on the streets that is pointing in the direction of reform, demanding reform. Obviously, Shelby versus Holder was the Supreme Court rolling back so much of the Civil Rights movement and that was in 2013, the Civil Rights Act rather and now we have Black Lives Matter out on the streets and making their demands. What do you think of both the longevity and the impact of this movement on the streets compared to what you all went through in the 60s? And the effect of a very conservative court if she is appointed six to three conservative to liberal on civil rights?</s>DAVIS: Well, of course, already, as a result of the current administration, we've experienced attacks on the court system, the Federal -- well, there have been efforts to create a court system that is designed to serve as a bulwark for conservatives. And I think, you know, certainly, if she is confirmed, we will have to bear the consequences and they will be devastating. They will absolutely be devastating. At the same time, I think it's important to point out that the social movements, whose surges we are witnessing now have very long histories. The movement against racism goes back for many, many centuries, and I don't think that the current situation regarding the Supreme Court is going to shift that field of struggle for justice, for freedom, for equality.</s>AMANPOUR: So many of you activists of the last 50 years have suddenly had a new life in terms of culture on television. We're seeing all sorts of programs devoted to civil rights activists, you included; women's rights activists, Gloria Steinem, Shirley Chisholm, all the originals. And Gloria Steinem said to me last week that putting Amy Coney Barrett on the court, is like putting Phyllis Schlafly on the Supreme Court. In other words, it is, you know, somebody who will turn back like Phyllis Schlafly did in terms of defeating the Equal Rights Amendment, women's rights, particularly a woman's right to choose. And yet the majority of Americans believe in Roe vs. Wade. The majority all across the country do not want it overturned, at least, that's the latest polls. So, again, if this balance shifts in the court, and yet on the street and in people's homes, there's a different viewpoint, how far do you think they can go towards denying people's democratic rights?</s>DAVIS: Well, the surge in mass movements that we've experienced over the last period indicates that moves in a conservative direction initiated by the court, but also by the executive, will be met with protests. It seems to me that this is the very first time in the history of this country where the majority of the people are making statements against racism, against misogyny, and like, all periods of radical change, there are contradictions. There are ways in which conflict expresses itself, and I don't think this is unusual.</s>AMANPOUR: How do you compare what's happening now to when you were on the streets? When you were famously, as we said, such a public face of the Black Liberation Movement? I mean, in your amazing, you know, Afro, there you were. I mean, you were just so front and center, and so symbolized the movement. How do you feel today's youth are doing versus those of 50 years ago?</s>DAVIS: Well, first of all, I always like to point out that even though there was a focus on me as an individual, it reflected of mass movement. People would not know my name, if not for the international campaign for my freedom when I was in jail and initially facing the death penalty. And so I always like to point out that I don't really consider myself an icon. I don't consider myself a legend. I consider myself as one of the many activists who have organized and engaged in intellectual labor in order to transform our future.</s>DAVIS: This is a very extraordinary moment. I've never experienced anything quite like this. And as I was pointing out before, I think this may be the first period in the history of this country where there is a major consensus, and this particular historical conjuncture reveals that white people who would never have considered going out into the streets are recognizing their role in the ongoing struggle to end racism. So I don't really like to make comparisons because we can't put issues and ideas within an abstract context to compare them. I like to think about their historical context. I like to think about the continuum. And what impresses me is the fact that this current young generation of activists, they have not only taken up the ideas that were developed in the past, but they have moved forward in ways that many of us could never have predicted. So I am absolutely excited by these movements, and I think that they are really dedicated to creating a future in which we will have attempted to extricate the influence of racism and heteropatriarchy, and the attacks on the climate.</s>AMANPOUR: Angela Davis, you mentioned, you don't want to be seen as an icon, but you were and you are, and you remain so. And you talked about the case that made you world famous, which is when you were charged under a firearms charge, and you served 18 months in prison, and yes, there was the death penalty at stake. And it was people you know, all over the world, including Aretha Franklin and John Lennon who really publicize your case. And in the end, an all- white jury essentially dropped the charges. So that's what happened. But I say it because back then it seemed what you were doing and what the Black Panthers were doing, you supported them was very radical. And I want to bring up a little bit of a report that our late grade Anthony Bourdain did a couple of years ago, in Oakland, where you are right now. He interviewed Bobby Seale, the founder of the Black Panthers, and they were talking about why that name, but also what the Black Panthers stood for, was just not so alarming given the passage of history. Let's just listen.</s>BOBBY SEALE, FOUNDER, BLACK PANTHERS: Black panther is a type of animal that if you push it into a corner, it is going to try and move out of your way. And then you keep pushing it, sooner or later is going to come out of that corner. So I said, that's like the black people. We are just pushed in a corner. We came up with the Black Panther Party. I said, we're going to take a position on self-defense.</s>ANTHONY BOURDAIN, CNN HOST (voice over): The Panthers were viewed by J. Edgar Hoover's F.B.I. anyway, as pretty much public enemy number one. The Panthers aims were by today's standards, shockingly moderate: equality in education, housing, employment, and basic civil rights. But the image of black men with guns was too much for the America of 1966.</s>AMANPOUR: So Bobby Seale was saying to Tony Bourdain, that you know, they were a defensive movement, and that's what they wanted to be. Does that -- how do you feel when you back that footage, but also hear what Tony said, shockingly moderate, given the passage of time and today?</s>DAVIS: Well, but there were other aspects of the Black Panther Party. I think it's important to point out that they were anti-capitalist. We talk about racial capitalism today. One of the points on the 10-point program had to do with the removal of what they call the avaricious capitalists from our community. So yes, there are aspects that might be considered moderate, but at the same time, I think that the Black Panther Party and other activist organizations at that time had a vision of which is now only now beginning to be taken seriously.</s>AMANPOUR: Well, you know, you mentioned capitalism and you are obviously - - you know, you you've you spent a long time activating against it in the current way. I just want to read you this. There's a report from UBS that under COVID, billionaires around the world, I believe it's around the world -- their wealth rose to $10.2 trillion. That is by more than a quarter, 27.5 percent. And you've obviously spoken of the flaws you see in the capitalist system. What does that say to you? And what do you think COVID, you know, colliding with Black Lives Matter, what can that do once we get out of the other end of this tunnel?</s>DAVIS: Well, you know, first of all, the pandemic is a pandemic of global capitalism, exacerbated by the fact that healthcare has been increasingly privatized in this country. And we should remember that the scarcity of hospital beds is related to the fact that hospitals operate on a for-profit basis, and it is not profitable to have more beds than are necessary under unusual circumstances. And I think it was precisely as a consequence of recognizing the structural racism that is embedded in the healthcare system that people became more aware of the nature of racism itself. That is to say, the systemic and institutional dimensions of racism. And of course racism has always been connected with capitalism. Capitalism is racial capitalism. Not only in relation to slavery, but also colonialism. And in the very first place, so many of the problems that we are witnessing now are directly related to capitalism, not the least of which is the fact that health itself has become a commodity. And so I am very excited about the fact that many of the young activists recognize that ultimately, we have to imagine a world that is not dominated by those who have been able to accumulate huge amounts of wealth. The concentration of wealth into the hands of a few people is phenomenal -- phenomenal -- and we continue in that direction. We will have an entirely impoverished planet and a few billionaires are trillionaires.</s>AMANPOUR: You you've talked a lot about the prison system, about law enforcement. I think you've said, obviously during your career, you've said a lot about it. I interviewed Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, and with this debate over how policing should be taken forward. This is what she said to me about that.</s>PATRISSE CULLORS, COFOUNDER, BLACK LIVES MATTER: Well, right now, there may not be all of America, the whole of America who wants to stand with defunding the police. That was the case seven years ago, when we started Black Lives Matter. America wasn't ready to stand with Black Lives Matter. And seven years later, the polling shows that America is in fact saying Black Lives Matter and sees why this movement is so critical, and so we are in a long haul fight.</s>AMANPOUR: Long haul fight, but where do you think the issue of policing is going to end up because the majority of Americans don't believe in in the in the word defund. They want to reform, but not defund. So what do you -- where do you see this going?</s>DAVIS: Well, of course, as someone who has been involved in abolitionist movements since the 1970s, it is important to recognize -- I say that it's important to recognize that reform has accompanied the history of policing, the history of the prison system, from the very outset, as a matter of fact, and many of the reforms that have been instituted have ended up actually serving as the glue that has made these institutions more permanent that has allowed them to expand. Policing, I totally agree with the comments that Patrisse Cullors made. In 2014, when Black Lives Matter was founded, we did not see a majority support for the whole notion that Black Lives Matter. Many people interpreted it as being black lives -- only black lives matter or black lives are the most important lives that matter. But of course, the logic was very different. The point was that if black lives don't matter, then no lives matter. And of course, when black lives finally do matter, that will mean that all lives matter.</s>DAVIS: Policing -- people are often seized with fear when confronted with the possibility of defunding the police and moving some of those funds into other areas that can better guarantee safety and security. And it seems to me that increasing numbers of people are recognizing that this demand to defund the police is not about removing all possibilities of safety and security, but rather about in harnessing them and about recognizing that armed human beings are not the answer to every issue that arises. When a person is in a mental health crisis, why do you see armed people, armed human beings -- it's quite possible that that person will end up killed, end up a victim of racist state violence. So we're talking about new institutions. We're talking about education and healthcare and funding those aspects of our system that guarantees the public good.</s>AMANPOUR: Okay. Angela Davis, thank you so much indeed for joining me. Turning now to the British chapter of the black struggle, "Being Blacker" tells the story of South London record shop owner, Blacker Dread. It is an intimate portrait of a life shaped by inequality, racism, and also a deep sense of community captured by the acclaimed filmmaker Molly Dineen who started by filming the funeral of Blacker's mother. In this clip, you see Blacker's grief amid the elaborate floral tributes to this formidable homemaker who was his mom.</s>DREAD: Freedom pass.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You see the handbag?</s>DREAD: Sewing machine and handbag. This is the most devastating time in my life. I thought when I lost my son, I could never feel this way again. But it's in a different way, is even worse. This is the woman that brought me here. This is the woman that I've known for 55 years of my life.</s>AMANPOUR: And Blacker Dread and Molly Dineen are both joining me now. Molly in London and Blacker is joining me from Jamaica. Molly Dineen, let me ask you first why you decided to do this film at that time, because it first aired in 2018. It's airing again, as part of the Black Lives Matter moment and Black History Month here. What drew you to the Blacker's story?</s>MOLLY DINEEN, DIRECTOR, "BEING BLACKER": Well, originally Blacker and I had made a film 40 years ago about what he was doing in a very underground network of sound systems in the U.K., and 40 years later, when his mother died, I offered to film the funeral for him. And we haven't met much in between. And filming that funeral just shocked me really as to what I've found. I decided to carry on filming after that event, and he agreed.</s>AMANPOUR: And what was shocking, Molly?</s>DINEEN: I think the eulogy is. What I felt that was coming -- I mean, even the pastor had had a brush with the police. It seemed to me this was a beleaguered community. They were incredibly strong family. And there was 700 people in the church, but it was another thing that struck me, which is that it was not a very mixed event. I think there were three white people and Blacker's mother had been living and working in the U.K. for over 60 years.</s>AMANPOUR: Blacker Dread, let me ask you, you know, Molly just said there were maybe three white people in the congregation for your mother's funeral. What made you trust -- I know that you've done this film with her a long time ago about the sound system. But what made you trust Molly, a white woman to tell your story, the much more intimate and deep story of you personally, not just the music?</s>DREAD: Well, yes, good afternoon. Well, Molly, I'd seen her as a friend originally, after doing the first documentary, and we did keep in touch on and off. And so this was an opportunity and I thought, the stuff that was going on in and around the community, around my life, around my mom, my family, my friends, and the black community in general, Molly offered her services. This is a lady that in the intervening years or 40 years have won multiple BAFTA Awards and this was somebody who was actually wanting to do something in the community, something real, not something that was made up because everything that was -- that is in our documentary, everything is 100 percent real.</s>AMANPOUR: Blacker, I want to play a little bit of the documentary because it goes to the heart of the tragedy that affects the black community. There's just so much gun crime, so much, you know, death whether it's here or in America, and your son, Solomon, your oldest son, I believe, was killed. And there seem not to have been any investigation and closure into it. I want to play this little bit of the documentary when you're talking about it.</s>DREAD: Me grew up in the 70s and the 80s and there was no opportunity for us. It was token black time when token blacks were given token jobs.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't think is different now?</s>DREAD: No.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really, no.</s>DREAD: You act diluted in the community around Brixton. If it's any different now. Don't ask me, I had my chance and I did what I did. Yes. But you have to use -- yes, because when they grow up, and they are telling their story, like I am, they are going to say, the 2000 -- 2010 to 2020 were the hardest times in the history of England.</s>AMANPOUR: Gosh, it's quite prophetic what you said. I mean, you're talking about the time that we're living right now, so hard for immigrants. What was it like when you came to England, Blacker? Did you feel hostility? Did your mother feel hostility? I think you were only seven or eight or nine or something when you came over.</s>DREAD: Yes, I was eight years old and when I first came, my mom would warn me. She would say, make sure you don't go out alone. Because we lived in crystal privacy, so I am like, really white suburban area. There wasn't -- hardly any black people living in that area. And the schools, I have -- little or no black children going to them. So she would always warn me and say, be careful while you go out especially late at night because things are that -- we didn't understand because we've come from Jamaica where we were out playing all day and night, and never ever thought of being inches of life. So my mom always wanted me and really had to -- and when I went to school, it was really horrible, because I remember during my 11 plus, and passing and went back to school, I laid it to them and they said, well, you need to do again, because you must survive that. So they put me down in the classroom, and I got more marks done. I got the first time because I messed up on a few questions where I could have answered. And I always thought if I got the opportunity to do those questions, again, how to be correct. And I proved myself right.</s>AMANPOUR: That is an extraordinary story that you were put in this good school. You did really well and they didn't believe you. And you did it again. Molly, how often do you come across that story? It seems to be, you know, even talking to, you know, members of the black community in the United States who -- I've heard this kind of story before, that they just are, you know, considered unable to keep up.</s>DINEEN: I think one of the things with some documentaries, you learn more about the subject after it than while you're making it and I struggled throughout this because in a way, I thought, this can't be true that there are so many things that happened to both Steve, which is his real name, Steve Martin, and his family that shocked me. And it wasn't until we screened the film, in fact, in cinemas and in a lot of black communities and the response was overwhelming and it made me realize that the ignorance was mine, that I had been unaware, that this was not particular to Blacker. This was a common story with a common narrative, particularly in the U.K. where I don't think we've been very honest, really about the divisions in our society. And what's happened now is boy, have people woken up to it.</s>AMANPOUR: So yes, Black Lives Matter movement here. We've had statues. We've had all sorts of, you know, protests in the streets. Do you think it'll last, Molly, given all -- you know, you've been pointing your camera out at this, you know, for 40 odd years. Do you feel that this is a turning point that this moment will last and change will come?</s>DINEEN: How can I possibly say? But I think that when truth comes out for that to be dismissed and become a fashion or just a temporary thought amongst people, I think it would be a tragedy. I think this has to be seized this moment, and built on, I really do, because I have had privileged access to Blacker and to his life. Most people don't have that opportunity.</s>AMANPOUR: Blacker, you also when you were -- you know, after this thing happened to you at school, you left the school eventually, when you were 13. You ran away. And you found refuge with a group of Rastas, for want of a better word to describe them, but people who kind of brought you up and molded and shaped you and took care of you. Can you describe the impact and the effect that that had on life? This is still in London.</s>BLACKER DREAD, MUSIC PRODUCER: Yes, I was very lucky, because I was leading up the path. I was well, well up the path, actually. And I spoke to a few people. And they said to me at the time, go and go and visit the Rastas, go and speak with the Rasta community, because the Rasta community, they got different rules, they got different regulations. They teach you discipline and the things that -- just basic respect for yourself and respect in other people and for their values. And I was very, very lucky, because then I joined the sound system, and rules there were basically the same. You had to fall in line and you had to be respected. I remember, when Molly first came around us, and the boss for the sound system, lady -- he said to me, you see that lady? Take care of her. Make sure she's all right. And that was the first time I had met her. I didn't know her from anywhere. And the boss said, make sure you take care of her. So that was the kind of thing I grew up I knew you had the respect people. You didn't look at the color. The color didn't matter, because when I was a kid in Jamaica, the color didn't matter. And it was the person that mattered. And I think, with what's going on, people are actually realizing what's going on. They're realizing what really matters. We have got a great saying in the music world, because I'm in the music world, and we always say, it's the same blood runs through everyone's veins. So, nobody can stay alive without blood running in through their veins, and it's the same color, so there's no discrepancies there. We are all one people.</s>AMANPOUR: I'm going to play another clip from the movie. It's towards the end of the documentary, Molly. And you're -- again, you're following Blacker. And there's a vigil for a young boy whose name was Kamari (ph). He was stabbed outside of his school. And here in this clip, his friend Bryce (ph) is speaking about the pain, but also about the black community. He's kind of pleading for cohesion. Let's just take a listen.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't shed no tears yet, but this really affect me. And I just want, as black people, because I am black, and that's all I know. I want us all to be together. How come every other single culture can be together, but we can't?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Black people is always fighting over nothing. As a black kid myself, I think that black -- us black boys especially, we don't value our other people. But we'd rather go fight people, go and stab and shoot people. And it's just for what?</s>AMANPOUR: Molly, how do you feel seeing that again? It's quite dramatic, that, from a young boy.</s>DINEEN: Yes. Yes, what a brilliant, brilliant young man. He's called Bryce, and now works at the Brent Civic Centre. I thought it have an absolute tragedy. Again, it was one of those films that was humbling step after step after step because of what I was learning and what I was realizing was a truth, and a truth I had been living in, but not had access to. I mean, I learned so much through spending that time with Blacker and Naptali. And I thought there was something so extraordinary and overwhelming about a child at that age, A, having to address those issues, but, B, standing up and appealing to people.</s>AMANPOUR: And just very quickly, Blacker, last word to you. We have got about 30 seconds. You have gone back to Jamaica in order to give your son, your youngest son, a chance at school, right? He wasn't even getting it here in the</s>U.K. BLACKER DREAD: Yes. And I'm so proud of him, because, at the moment, today, actually, he's starting university in the U.K. He probably would have been another stats, because that's what they wanted. They wanted him to be another stats. And I just -- I wasn't going to have that, because I knew the kid that I knew at home was a brilliant kid. He knew everything. He was reading. He was writing. He was doing everything that a young child don't want to do. And then they said he is naughty. I actually went to his school, observed him, and realized that the work they were giving him wasn't good enough for him. He was doing it so fast. And then he would mess it up. And they said he was a bad kid. He is starting university today. I'm sorry. The U.K. education system needs to take a look at themselves and how they treat these young boys, because there's lots of brilliant people that are nothing getting an opportunity.</s>AMANPOUR: Right. It's great to hear he's starting university. Congratulations. Blacker Dread, thank you so much. Molly Dineen, thank you for joining us. The film "Being Blacker" is airing again now. So, back in the United States, American intelligence and security agencies say that white supremacist extremists are the deadliest domestic terror threat to the country. That shocking evidence, of course, was in full view last week, when the FBI said it had busted a plot to kidnap the Michigan governor, Gretchen Whitmer, and overthrow the government. Elizabeth Neumann was assistant secretary for threat prevention at the Department for Homeland Security under President Trump. She says she repeatedly flagged the danger of these racist groups, but those warnings fell on deaf ears. Here she is explaining to our Hari Sreenivasan why, despite being a lifelong Republican, she is not voting for President Trump this time around.</s>HARI SREENIVASAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christiane, thanks. Elizabeth Neumann, thanks so much for joining us. I want to ask first, given the plot that was revealed against Governor Whitmer of Michigan, was that an escalation to you of what you had been studying when you were in the government?</s>ELIZABETH NEUMANN, FORMER U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY ASSISTANT SECRETARY: It certainly is the thing that we have been most concerned about the last few years. Militia movements, white supremacists that are violent have certainly been with our country for decades. We have seen a resurgence over the last 10 years. And, in particular, in the last two to three years, we have noticed an increase in recruitment, an increase in diverse groups forming and morphing and changing, but all with this common theme of wanting to either accelerate existing violence or cause violence for the purpose of leading to civil war and overturning the U.S. government.</s>SREENIVASAN: There was a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security that was just published that basically makes this point, that this is right now the threat that we need to be worried about.</s>NEUMANN: It's right. The Homeland Threat Assessment was released last week. That document was something that was called for in a strategic framework that my team wrote about a year ago, recognizing that the threat was changing, and we needed to do a better job communicating to the country, to our state and local law enforcement partners what the nature of that threat was, and to make sure we're constantly updating it. But, yes, it did find that what -- now, the government can't call it this, but, if you look at sources like ADL or CSIS, what they describe it as, violence from right-wing extremist groups are the most significant, in terms of both historical patterns, as well as in the current moment we're in. The ADL did it an assessment that 76 percent of all terrorist attacks in the last 10 years come from this right-wing extremist perspective. So, that includes things like white supremacists, and it also includes what we saw in Michigan last week with the militia movement.</s>SREENIVASAN: Is there something about this time right now, in the time of COVID, that is making it easier for these groups to recruit? I mean, what are the kind of underlying conditions that are necessary to tap in to someone's angst?</s>NEUMANN: That's a great question. We have had numerous studies over the last decades about what causes somebody to go and commit a mass attack. Secret Service does these studies. The FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit does these studies. Private academics do these studies. And they come up with a profile of individuals that have usually risk factors in their background, as well as some sort of set of stressors that have occurred in their life. So, what we have all endured in the pandemic includes a number of stressors that are common to people that carry out attacks, things like loss of a job or financial stress, loss of a loved one. But one of the commonalities here is just this sense of uncertainty, this lack of belonging, social isolation. And, again, we have all experienced that this last year. So, one of the things that we were very concerned about, my team and I started looking at in March, are we going to see an increase in attacks because these stressors are increasing, and it's going to create more vulnerable people that might be susceptible to radicalization, and eventually mobilization to violence? And the answer we -- the conclusion we came to last spring was that, yes, this is highly likely. And so we wanted to get the word out and educate people, if you're seeing somebody, a loved one that is -- has concerning behavior or is -- has changed in some way, that's the time to reach out and get them help, well before they cross that criminal threshold. But it is a very tense time right now in our country. And we all need to be doing what we can to be kind to one another and to get people help that might be vulnerable to that radicalization.</s>SREENIVASAN: The president went out of his way earlier this year to say that he wants to brand Antifa domestic terrorists. Why not call the -- why not call the white supremacist groups, the right- wing groups -- they're also engaged in terror.</s>NEUMANN: I was very concerned when I heard him say that, for two reasons. One, we don't have a statute that allows us to label groups domestic terrorism organizations. We do have a statute for foreign terrorist organizations, but not one that labels domestic terrorist organizations. And that's one of the things that, during my tenure at DHS, we were advocating to have the conversation about whether we needed a statute to be able to do that work. And there's lots of pros and cons about whether or not that's a good idea. But we felt like the moment that we were living in, with this increase in domestic terrorists, in domestic terrorism, that we needed to at least have that conversation. But the White House wouldn't let us go there. So I found it odd that, a year after El Paso, all of a sudden, he's willing to talk about domestic terrorism, but he's doing it in the context of Antifa, which nobody in the counterterrorism community would was concerned about Antifa. What we were concerned about was what we saw in El Paso, or in Poway, or in San Diego. These are -- these are -- I'm sorry -- I should have Pittsburgh and Poway and El Paso. Those are the places where we have seen extreme hate motivated by -- and while they were supposedly lone individuals, these are people that were connected online to an ideological movement that promoted violence, incited violence for the purpose of their end goal of eventually overthrowing the United States and establishing a white nation. Those are pretty scary ideologies that I feel like the U.S. government should be taking very seriously. But, instead, we're talking about Antifa, whose primary cause is just to oppose those that they perceive to be fascist. They don't have an end aim of overthrowing the U.S. government, for example, so a very, very different set of threat actors.</s>SREENIVASAN: You were at the Department of Homeland Security when the march in Charlottesville happened. What went through your mind when you saw that video?</s>NEUMANN: That moment in 2017, I think we all were -- I'm failing to think of the right word. It just -- it was such a turning point for us. It was no longer polite to be racist, right? For basically my lifetime, it was not polite. You had to hide it. You had to cloak your language. All of a sudden, it's right out in front. Like, people are not ashamed to show their face. They're not ashamed to associate themselves with that level of hatred that I think we all thought was, for the most part, gone in our country. And so to see it just so blatant and in your face, it was rather frightening. And it was a clear moment for those of us in the counterterrorism community to say, we have a problem on our hands. This is -- we thought the problems of the '90s were gone and past us. It turns out they were here all along.</s>SREENIVASAN: You were also at the DHS, and you mentioned, after the El Paso shooting. And in that manifesto, what was kind of intriguing for reporters that were reading through it was there were phrases in there about fake news, about invasion, that had kind of filtered through. And what did you do, what did you say to the White House after that?</s>NEUMANN: It was really stunning to see how much what might be classified is alt-right ideology had filtered into this manifesto. And it was a moment where you were talking at the White House in hushed tones, like, hey, do we understand that we're now contributing to this problem? The language that you're using to probably help your reelection or to argue for why you need money for a wall is showing up in terrorist manifestos. So we need to change. Like, if you did not realize it was having this effect, OK, I can give you grace for that. But now we know. And you need to change your rhetoric. That was not -- nobody was interested in having that conversation. So they were happy to talk about violence prevention. They were very supportive of the programming that my team was working on at the time to do more prevention work. Not interested in talking about the president's rhetoric.</s>SREENIVASAN: Speaking of the rhetoric, you just saw the debate. Chris Wallace gave him an opportunity, a relatively easy one, to say, here's your chance to denounce white supremacy. Watching that, did you expect he'd say what he did?</s>NEUMANN: I think I must be really naive, because every time that he gets one of those softballs, I'm like, all right, here's the moment. And the reason I hope for that is not because I'm expecting the president to change. But, again, I'm a counterterrorism professional. I want the country to be safe. And if the president would clearly, consistently denounce this, it takes some of the air out of the balloon of recruitment and perhaps any plans that somebody might be making to commit acts of violence. So, you're always hoping that your leadership does the right thing. And when he botched it yet again, seemingly intentionally, and then botched -- the second time that he was asked to clarify, refused -- he actually used the words. It was only on the third time that he -- that he would actually say the words, I condemn white supremacy. That is -- that plays into the mind-set of these extremists. They believe that the government is controlled by elites, by Jews, and that the president, even though he's on their side, he has to follow their rules. And so they believe his first and second refusal to condemn, and only condemning on the third, is a wink and a nod, like, I'm really on your side, but I have to -- I have to condemn you now, because that's what the elites are making me do, but I'm really on your side. So, there's -- it actually plays into their conspiracy theories. And it makes it that much worse.</s>SREENIVASAN: There was a moment where the president went out of his way to criticize Governor Whitmer, not necessarily the people who were planning to do her harm.</s>NEUMANN: Maybe the fault is on his advisers. Maybe they do not realize that they need to be telling him these things, or they're fearful of telling him these things. But if he does not realize that his language in April about "liberate Michigan" and very, very viciously attacking various governors that tended to be in Democratic states that were conducting pandemic mitigation measures that, politically speaking, those on the right might think were too much, too much government overreach, I can appreciate that there's a political dialogue and good government dialogue about how you best handle pandemic mitigation measures. But he wasn't entering into that dialogue. He wasn't bringing people to the table and saying, hey, let's have a conversation about what the best way to do this is. In fact, he actually said, the federal government's not going to do this, states, you figure it out, which is not, by the way, what any of our pandemic plans suggest should happen. So he's already thrown it on the states, the states are scrambling to figure it out, and in the midst of that, he's adding this angry rhetoric to the conversation, which spools his supporters up.</s>SREENIVASAN: Yes.</s>NEUMANN: And then you saw people coming to the capitol with guns, protesting at their state capitol. So, he has this pattern of riling people up. And, in most cases, the action that occurs is not in fact violent. But there are those few instances where it does become violent. And that's where I feel like he should be held accountable. If you don't learn the lesson of El Paso or Kenosha or now Governor Whitmer's impending kidnapping plot, like, when is he going to learn that his rhetoric matters and it influences very vulnerable people? And just a small portion of those people might actually move towards violence, but that small portion are affecting Americans. And he doesn't seem to value his responsibility to keep us safe. That is what a president's first job, is to protect us from all enemies, foreign and domestic. And he has neglected that responsibility.</s>SREENIVASAN: Now, you have not been shy about calling his words and actions racist. I mean, the R-word seems to be a third rail for so many people to use. Why do you, with the evidence that you have, see it that way?</s>NEUMANN: I can't -- I can't see into a man's heart. But what I can work out are the actions and the policies that he's put into place. And for the first few years that I worked in the administration, I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I believed that many of the things they were trying to do were for the sake of securing the country. And I was in the department where we were implementing many of those actions that did have security value. But, over time, I have now multiple examples where we would approach a situation and say, OK, we have addressed this security concern. The refugee ceiling is a great example. We have addressed the security concerns. We can now raise the ceiling and feel comfortable that the people coming in through the refugee program have been properly vetted, they are who they say they are, and they do not have ill intent towards the United States. Let's let more people in. And what we have seen instead is, over the last three years, a steady lowering of the ceiling. So, at that point, you start to realize, this isn't about security at all. This is about keeping people out of the country because they look differently than you. You also look at the president's language, the people that he praises, the countries that he praise tend to be predominantly white. Sweden and Nordic countries, he thinks they're great, and he wants more immigration from there. He wants less immigration from African countries. So, over time, that pattern and practice, whether he realizes it or not, his language and his policies are, in fact, racist.</s>SREENIVASAN: There's people watching this interview, and they're going to say, you know what, I have seen that lady before. She was in an ad. She's a Biden supporter. Of course she thinks this way. But your political credibility or your political history a little bit, you voted for the president. You chose to work for his administration.</s>NEUMANN: I did. I am a lifelong Republican. I grew up in Texas, where it was kind of part of the way you're raised is to be a conservative, be a Republican. I worked in the George W. Bush administration. I reluctantly voted for Trump in 2016. I don't think he actually reflects many conservative values, but I was persuaded by some arguments that I now think were not great arguments, but I was persuaded. And I had not planned to come in, but somebody asked me to come and work at Department of Homeland Security, because they needed people with previous experience in government. And so I came in and served for three years. But it was not -- part of the reason I'm speaking out is that I think many of the people that chose to come in and help the president -- and we all kind of hoped he would rise to the occasion -- he clearly has not -- we did a lot to try to help him be successful as a president. We helped ensure bad decisions were not made. And I know that history will judge us, whether we were right or wrong to have gone in and try to help prevent what in our minds were potentially really bad policy decisions that in some cases may have led to war, or may have led to bad handling of natural disasters. But, as we have seen with the COVID response, there's only so much that the good people can do inside the government. If the president wants to ignore something like COVID, the trickle-down effect is pretty significant. And it's impeded the ability of the government to do what it's supposed to do in a natural disaster like COVID. So, for me, it became clear that the American people deserve to make a decision based on the totality of the facts. And I don't mean to say that the people that were working in the government for the last three years were covering things up, but that's kind of what it was. A lot of the good policies that people point to from the Trump administration, it's because not -- it's in spite of Trump, it's not because of Trump. And I feel like the people, American people, deserve to know the facts and make a decision for themselves when they vote this November.</s>SREENIVASAN: Elizabeth Neumann, thanks so much for joining us.</s>NEUMANN: Thank you for having me.</s>AMANPOUR: And finally to Iran, where tributes are flooding in from around the world following the death of the voice of Iran, Mohammad Reza Shajarian, the classical Persian singer who's died from cancer at age 80. For more than 50 years, his music touched the hearts of millions of people all over the world. And his trademark ballad "The Dawn Bird" has become an ode to freedom.

U.S. Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing Underway; COVID-19 Cases Rising Sharply In Parts Of Europe.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Well this hour we have been watching the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump's nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. I'm Becky Anderson. Hello and welcome to what is CONNECT THE WORLD. Well, two highstakes political clashes unfolding at this hour. The presidential race of course now just 22 days away, but perhaps just as consequential for America, the break-neck speed the Trump administration is moving to fill the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg seats on the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Barrett right now before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee a confirmation could have a profound impact on the Affordable HealthCare Act, abortion rights, even the presidential race itself if the results are in dispute. Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham expects a contentious but predictable outcome.</s>SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): This is probably not about persuading each other unless something really dramatic happens. All Republicans will vote yes and all Democrats will vote no.</s>ANDERSON: Well, high-call confirmation hearings aren't moving at a dizzying pace. CNN legal Analyst Joan Biskupic is watching for us and his live for you. It was interesting, wasn't it? You heard what Lindsey Graham said then which some of our viewers, therefore might feel. What's the point of these hearings?</s>JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes. Hello, Becky. That -- I think that's right. You know, this is a done deal. I don't anticipate any surprise. We don't, you know, shut that out completely. But as Chairman Lindsey Graham said, Republicans have the votes. We're going to get through this soon. And you can tell from the tone of Democrats, Becky, they know that Republicans have the votes. So, they're trying to make their case to the American people on two other issues. One, the Affordable Care Act, which will be argued before the Supreme Court on November 10th that a new Justice Barrett could possibly be sitting on and then of course, our November 3rd election, and that President Donald Trump has said that he wants this ninth justice in place, because he anticipates that an election dispute can go to the Supreme Court. So, you're -- what we're hearing so far and this is just day one, are a lot of, you know, that references to those two key dates, November 3rd election, November 10th arguments over the Affordable Care Act. And with Republican speaking confidently trying to shut down any line of contentious questions that would come on Tuesday or Wednesday, and Democrats themselves seeming to shy away from anything that would hurt them in the election themselves.</s>ANDERSON: This is a week-long process as you suggest. Should these hearings be heard at all at this point given that we are some 22 days away from a U.S. election?</s>BISKUPIC: That's right. And you will remember that back in 2016 when Justice Antonin Scalia passed away in February of that election year, Republicans shut down any consideration of then President Obama's nominee, man by the name of Merrick Garland. And they held that vacancy for about a year, whereas this time around as everyone is observed on both sides of the aisle, this is a break neck speed. People are voting right now in the November 3rd election. They're mailing in balance. We are, you know, just three weeks from the election. And, you know, what happened to the argument that the next president should choose the next justice? That's not being adhered to here. And what Democrats say essentially is, we have nothing to do with throw up our hands.</s>ANDERSON: Fact is these hearings are happening just three weeks out from the election. So, who is Amy Coney Barrett?</s>BISKUPIC: Well, she's a 48-year-old mother of seven children. She will be playing up her family at many points in her own opening statement and likely throughout the hearing. She's been a Notre Dame law professor for many years. In 2017, President Donald Trump put her on a powerful appellate court here based in Chicago, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. She does not have a deep record of rulings on that court. Although she does have a deep record of scholarship before she went on that court. And together it shows her being incredibly conservative which is, you know, what President Donald Trump wants. She has also spoken about her continued alliance and allegiance to the late Justice Scalia for whom she was a law clerk who was one of the most conservative members of the bench. Someone who has -- used to dissent all the time in abortion cases, he was very much against abortion rights. He was against same sex marriage. As I said he was one of the conservative icon here and she is at least setting herself up in some ways to follow in his footsteps. Now, things might be different when you're actually on the Supreme Court compared to being an academic or a lower court judge. But that's what we're seeing so far. And we'll have -- her personality will be fleshed out a little bit more, Becky, over the next couple days. But I have to say having gone back and rewatch her during the 2017 hearings for the appeals court post, she is incredibly disciplined, is likely not to have any mishaps and to be very poised and not defensive to senators as she deflects their questions.</s>ANDERSON: Fascinating. The week will be an interesting one. Thank you. While his Supreme Court nominee is in Washington, President Trump himself is headed back out on the campaign trail. Today he plans to hold a rally in Florida ignoring the public health risk of scattering people during a pandemic to remind you he only got out of the hospital a week ago. Mr. Trump says he is now tested negative for the coronavirus. But the White House has not provided any proof of that. The President will be holding additional rallies over the next several days or at least nine people who attended a Trump rally in Minnesota last month have been infected with coronavirus. One of them is currently in the hospital in an intensive care unit. Well, public health and playing politics, new restrictions and growing anger or doing a number on hard working people trying to figure out how not to wind up at a food bank or in a hospital. The ugly truth is that this second wave of COVID-19 cases is hitting Europe like a tsunami. Take a look at these numbers. Leaders frantic trying to get a grip on the intensifying crisis that you see reflected here. In Germany, nearly every major city in the country is now a virus hotspot. Stuck out asking the military for help fighting the pandemic and we will hear about new restrictions very shortly from the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about to unveil a three-tiered system of alerts for England. And that is not without controversy. Our correspondence sidetracking developments across Europe. For you in fact they are in the sort of nerve centers of power as it were. CNN's Nic Robertson is standing by for us outside 10 Downing Street in London. First let's get you to Scott McLean who is near the Reichstag in Berlin. What is the story that -- what's the feeling on the ground as well, we keep reporting these numbers and certainly, Scott, you know, the picture is very worrying. How are people feeling in Germany?</s>SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Becky. Look, Germans have been quite good up until this point of following all of the coronavirus restrictions, but there seems to be a bit of a fatigue setting in as to what they can and cannot do. And you can certainly understand that. Germany had one of the best coronavirus responses in Europe. It seemed to have tackled the virus. This summer was quite good with cases quite low. The death toll was a quarter of what the U.K. had recorded. It was even sending ventilators to other countries because they had a surplus. Ad so, Germany had all the reasons in the world to do a sort of coronavirus victory lap but now things seem to be getting out of control. Almost all large cities in this country are now considered coronavirus hotspots. Stuttgart is even calling in the military for help. And here in Berlin, well, this is the hottest of hotspots. In fact, night - - not nightclubs, but bars and restaurants have had to close early starting just this past weekend because of this spike in cases, which is quite the blow for a city, which is really famed for its nightlife. Today is also the beginning of the fall break. So, two weeks off of school, you would think that this would be prime time for Germans to go on holiday. But right now it's not so appealing to go abroad, given the web of rules and quarantine restrictions in other countries. It's also not very appealing in many cases to go from a so-called high-risk area like Berlin or like some of the other big cities in this country to other parts of Germany even because each state makes their own rules, and it is a real hodgepodge. And so, in some cases, the states or the areas require you to have a negative test within the last 48 hours before checking into a hotel room. In other cases, you have to have that negative test and then also quarantine on top of that. So, that is leading to really long lines at testing sites in these high-risk areas like Berlin. It's also leading to a lot of cancellations in some of these tourist destinations. The Health Minister has warned about the uncontrolled spread of the virus. But at least from what we heard today from officials Becky, it seems like a second nationwide lockdown isn't so much on the agenda because like the U.K., this government's priority is getting the economy restarted and getting schools or keeping schools open.</s>ANDERSON: Yes, Nic. Look, that picture across Europe is an ugly one. The story in the U.K. it seems equally as alarming. There does seem to be a drip feed of incremental restrictions across Britain, none of which seem to be working out. I mean, when you consider these numbers continue to rise, is it clear what is going on? In the first instance and secondly, what is it that the Prime Minister is about to announce? I mean, these are -- these are restrictions specifically for England, will they be reflected elsewhere?</s>MCLEAN: I think the vote -- you almost you could say that they've been preempted to a degree in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the First Minister, Deputy First Minister over there talking about having a national lockdown. So again, Northern Ireland may be before the U.K., what the Prime Minister is expected to announce today will bring clarity to what has been a series of different regional and local lockdown measures that have been frankly confusing for the population confusing even for the Prime Minister at time. So, three tiers that is expected to introduce today medium, high and very high. We still don't know what it requires to hit one of those levels. And we don't know what it means if you hit one of those levels. We know that the city of Liverpool, for example, will be at the highest level with -- that's what Liverpool is expecting there. The gyms, the pubs, the casinos will shut down. Will the restaurant shut down? That wasn't clear this morning that's been debated. No, the Prime Minister is going to come out of here shortly on his way to Parliament. So, we will begin to find out in the next half an hour what he plans. But we've heard from medical officials earlier today and the medical director of England for the National Health Service was very clear and straightforward and his warning for the population. This is how he laid out what it looks like right now.</s>STEPHEN POWIS, NATIONAL MEDICAL DIRECTOR NHS ENGLAND: It is a sad truth that whilst we've done much to improve the care of those who are infected, while scientific research continues apace, there is still no cure, nor no vaccine for COVID-19. That means, sadly, as the number of those infected increases, then so will the number of people who die.</s>MCLEAN: So, you've had three of the emergency overflow hospitals put on standby in the north of the country. And of course, the criticisms of Prime Minister has faced and the fine line he has toward is that local councils have been saying exactly what you were saying, Becky. Show us the data that tells us what we're doing is correct because in some areas, lockdowns have been in place and the -- or partial lockdowns have been in place. But the infection rates have not been coming down. That's in some areas. So, there's this disparity between what local authorities want and also how they think they can contribute to what the government's doing and the decisions it's making and how they can help out in the -- in the test and trace. So, there's a -- this is a very difficult find political line for the prime minister to walk. Business is a big part of that, Becky.</s>ANDERSON: Nic, very briefly, we've been talking for some time now about this sort of complacency, this fatigue, with restrictions that has sadly, allowed for this spike across Europe, it has to be said. No finger pointing at any one country at this point, because it's a mess all over the place. As the Prime Minister gets set to announce these new measures, this new tearing of restrictions, are people taking this seriously?</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: That was the intention of the, you know, announcements by medical officials earlier today. The reality is that there is a sense and you see the pictures on the video show up the day after when pubs turned out in London over the weekend, there were people playing a game of cricket in the street for example. And fingers have been pointed particularly towards a younger community. But the point being made by officials today was we cannot really believe that we can allow young people to mingle and go out and drink and have fun and be infected because they have less likelihood of dying and believe that that won't touch the older population. And medical officials are saying it is infection rates are on the rise in the over 65-year-olds in the over 85- year-olds are on the rise. They just say it is ridiculous to think that we can try to pretend one part of the population can do one thing and another age bracket of the population can do another because they will be affected. And again, this is a dilemma faced on the Prime Minister.</s>ANDERSON: All right. Nic Robertson is outside number 10, the home of the prime minister. And Scott thank you from Berlin. I mean, it does seem very clear that his people have started to lose patience with restrictions and indeed long for their normal lives. COVID fatigue has become a real problem.</s>ANDERSON: I'm keen to show you that some of the numbers coming out of this crisis are actually hopeful. Check this out, the race to find an effective vaccine is really picking up. 42 candidates are now in human trials around the world, including China, the U.S., Germany and the United Kingdom, amongst others. But health officials are already warning a vaccine will not mean an immediate return to normal life. And then there is the issue of trust as the former head of the US Centers for Disease Control said at a CNN Coronavirus Town Hall. Have a listen.</s>DR. THOMAS FRIEDEN, FORMER DIRECTOR, U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: Before a vaccine to actually work, it's got to not only be safe and effective, but also be accessible and trusted. And that's why it's so important that it not get politicized and not be seen as -- from any political party or political figure. Vaccines are already an area where there's a lot of suspicion, a lot of rumor. And so, we need to be completely transparent about the information. We need to see vaccines go through the standard procedures, they can go through them very quickly, but they need to go through all of the standard procedures, no cutting corners on safety.</s>ANDERSON: Hmm. Well, as we've been reporting, one of those procedures is of course, human trials. Some -- while most of us are trying to avoid the virus. Some people are volunteering to expose themselves to COVID-19 to try to help with this vaccine research. CNN's Phil Black went to meet some of those volunteers.</s>PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Like so many, Estefania Hidalgo has quietly endured the challenge, the inconvenience of living through a pandemic. But she wanted to do more.</s>ESTEFANIA HIDALGO, ONE DAY SOONER VOLUNTEER: This was a way for me to take control of the situation, to feel like I was in a more -- or in a less hopeless place, in a less hopeless world. And be like OK, I can do this, to make it better. I chose not to be in fear.</s>BLACK: So she volunteered to be deliberately infected with the coronavirus.</s>HIDALGO: I was shaking but then I just, without knowing, I just typed my name in and was like let's go for it. I want to be a part of it --</s>BLACK: Shaking?</s>HIDALGO: Yes. Because it can be scary, right? You're going to be potentially exposed to the virus.</s>ALASTAIR FRASER-URQUHART, VOLUNTEER AND ORGANIZER, 1DAY SOONER: Yes.</s>BLACK: Alexander Fraser Urquhart is also very keen to be infected.</s>FRASER-URQUHART: I've just got the e-mail.</s>BLACK: He helps with running the recruitment campaign Estefania has signed up to. 1Day Sooner finds volunteers so far tens of thousands around the world and has been lobbying the U.K. government to make use of them through potentially risky research.</s>FRASER-URQUHART: I wake up thinking about science trials, I go back to bed thinking about science trials.</s>BLACK: Challenge trails involve giving young, healthy people a potential vaccine. Like this one developed by London's Imperial College. Then later, testing it by deliberately dozing them with the virus. Proponents say it's faster than waiting for test subjects to be exposed to a specific virus in the real world. With numerous COVID-19 vaccines being developed, some scientists think challenge trials could help identify the best of them sooner.</s>FRASER-URQUHART: By taking that small risk on myself, I can potentially protect thousands of other peoples from, you know, having to be infected without consenting to it.</s>BLACK: Critics say challenge trials have limited use because the young healthy people who take part don't represent the broader population. They have been used against other viruses.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Hi, Tom.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Hi.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Welcome to Flu Camp.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Thank you.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Through to quarantine then?</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Yes, yes, yes.</s>BLACK: This is corporate video from a London facility that recruits, exposes and strictly quarantines people to test influenza vaccines.</s>UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: We've got a wonderful safety record that we're all proud of.</s>BLACK: But there are always risks. Especially with a new virus that's already killed more than a million people. And epidemiologists say it's likely some volunteers would be needed for a control group, to make sure the virus does -- can cause disease. It means they'd be exposed to the virus without receiving a vaccine. The real potential for doing harm to volunteers would be closely scrutinized by regulators.</s>TERENCE STEPHENSON, CHAIR OF ENGLAND'S HEALTH RESEARCH AUTHORITY: A challenge trial would have to make the cogent argument that the benefits to society greatly outweighed the risk. And that that evidence of those data could not be achieved in a simpler or safer way.</s>BLACK: Test subjects in challenge trials are compensated financially but Alastair's father knows that's not motivating his son.</s>ANDREW FRASER-URQUHART QC, VOLUNTEER'S FATHER: It's at the forefront of science and technology. It's something to benefit others. It's something rather brave, it's something slightly different. And that's him in a nutshell.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be totally honest, I really don't care what he says. I do what I like.</s>BLACK: A crucial ingredient for any COVID-19 challenge trial will be the determined idealism of its young volunteers. Phil Black. CNN, London.</s>ANDERSON: Well, this new coronavirus restrictions linger over England. The mayor of Liverpool is accusing the government of arm twisting or in his words have locked down by diktat. Mayor Joe Anderson will join me in the next hour to explain what he means by that. Well, still ahead this hour, the uphill battle against the coronavirus becomes a whole lot steeper in parts of the Middle East. In some countries, the virus is spreading faster than it ever has before. And Russia reporting a slight dip in coronavirus cases, but that follows a weekend with his highest daily COVID numbers yet. After months of being almost virus free China reporting a dozen new locally transmitted cases. We'll have more on all of this coming up.

Trump Returns To Campaign Trail Despite Public Health Risks

ANDERSON: There are 22 days until Election Day in the United States and it is very clear that President Donald Trump thinks he can't wait any longer to get back on the campaign trail. He will have a rally this evening in Florida. His first since announcing he has coronavirus. The President says he is tested negative and that attending the rally will be safe. The White House though has not provided any proof of that negative test. Mr. Trump will have rallies in Iowa and Pennsylvania scheduled for later this week. Well, let's bring in our senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns to discuss the president getting back on the trail. And anybody who thought that he would sort of sit at the White House and see this out. Well, they were --- they were vastly wrong, weren't they?</s>JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: They absolutely were and this is not surprising because the fact of the matter is in a presidential campaign, when you're down in the polls and a lot of the polls show the president down by double digits. That's what you do. You hit the road even though in this case, as you said, we don't have a negative test in the president. The president also says he's immune from coronavirus, but that's an unsettled question of science.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're starting very, very big with our rallies and with our everything.</s>JOHNS: With just 22 days until Election Day, Trump is ramping up his campaigning causing rising concerns about potential coronavirus spread among rally goers. The Minnesota Department of Health reporting at least nine cases linked to a Trump rally in September landing one patient in the</s>ICU. TRUMP: There's a lot of people. That's great. Thank you very much.</s>JOHNS: Well, the President claims he has tested negative for the virus nine days after he initially revealed his positive diagnosis. His physician Dr. Conley only says he is not a transmission risk to others.</s>DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: We know that the PCR test usually remains positive for some period of time up to in fact, 12 weeks after your initial positive,</s>JOHNS: Much still remains unknown about the President's condition. And Trump himself is now saying he's immune from the virus.</s>TRUMP: I beat this crazy, horrible China virus and it also gives you immunity. I mean, it does give you immunity. But I have to tell you, I feel fantastically. I really feel good. And I even feel good by the fact that, you know, the word immunity means something having really a protective glow. It means something I think it's very important to have that.</s>JOHNS: According to medical experts. Much is still unknown about the immune response to the virus and there was no proven immunity.</s>DR. CELINE GOUNDER, FORMER NYC ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH: Yes, the President has tested positive for coronavirus antibodies but he was treated with antibodies produced by Regeneron. Those Regeneron antibodies are going to be floating around for a while.</s>JOHNS: Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci speaking out after he says the Trump campaign used his words out of context, and without his consent and a campaign video. Fauci tells CNN in my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials. The President defending the ad tweeting, they are indeed Fauci's own words.</s>ANDERSON: Joe Johns in the house out of Washington for you. And CNN digital as details on what to expect from all things domestic U.S. news including the Senate Judiciary hearings that we discussed at the start of this hour. There is plenty of analysis on cnn.com on how these last-minute hearings may impact everything from healthcare to LGBT rights in the states. That is cnn.com. Well, much like in the USA is an alarming rise of COVID-19 cases in Russia. For three consecutive days. Russia reported record high increases with Sunday topping out as the highest daily increase since the pandemic began today. There's a slight decrease from that high but it is still the second highest number of daily cases so far. I want to bring in senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen reporting for us in Moscow. And look, you know, no finger pointing here in it to add any one -- single one country because we've been reporting on this sort of tsunami of cases across Europe for example, but the system of fighting coronavirus created in Russia makes it possible to refrain from going over to a full lockdown. That is the view of the Kremlin spokesman despite the current increase in the number of cases. Do explain what Dmitry Peskov means by that.</s>FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, essentially, Dmitry Peskov, he said that earlier on a call with journalists, and essentially he said, what he meant is the fact that they had so many more new hospital beds now. ICU beds here in Russia that they had prepared for spikes that might happen. And essentially, what Peskov is saying is that they could avoid a full lockdown to happen once again because of course, Russia was on a very, very tight lockdown for a long period of time with people literally stuck in their apartment -- apartments for a month. He says that's something that can be avoided. But if you listen to the local authorities here, especially in Moscow, which Becky is, really by far the epicenter here in Russia with around 4400 cases in the past new cases, in the past 24 hours alone, they are saying that there might have to be additional measures. Right now, it's school holidays here in Moscow in other places in Russia as well. They sort of extended those a little bit or started those a little bit more early just to keep kids out of school just to make sure that there's a little bit less public life going on a little bit less interaction between people. But the authorities here and the Russian capital in other places as well, are saying that people really do need to stick by these pandemic measures, wear masks, indoors in public spaces, and also try to physically distance as well. Otherwise new measures could be upcoming. Now, so far, the authorities have not said what those measures are. But despite the fact, Becky, of course, we've been talking so much about the fact that the Russians have also -- have already certified their vaccine against the novel coronavirus. That vaccine is still far away from being widely available to the general population. And therefore, they are saying people need to stick to these measures. Otherwise tougher measures might be ahead. And certainly, the numbers that we're seeing, as you've noted have been very worrying over the past couple of days. Right now sort of plateauing at 13,600 in the past 24 hours, Becky.</s>ANDERSON: Fred Pleitgen on the story for you in Moscow today. Thank you, Fred. Well, coming up, this pandemic has sports fans around the world hunkering down at home except in New Zealand. We're going to have more on the rugby match that has an awful lot of people talking.

Possible Link Between COVID-19 & Hearing Loss Emerges; China To Test Nine Million People After COVID-19 Cluster

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi. This is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.</s>BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson. COVID-19 has left no corner of the globe untouched and no part of our lives unchanged, and nowhere on earth are we seeing numbers like those coming out of the United States, just shy of 50,000 cases per day. Latin America and the Caribbean with about 650 million people in total making up more than a quarter of the world's total cases, 10 million have been confirmed in that region. India with a population of over 1.2 billion with 7 million of the world's 37 million confirmed cases. Meanwhile, Europe struggling to contain a rapid resurgence of the disease it's in the midst of a merciless second wave. So where to start? Well, let's start in the U.S. where 31 of the 50 states are seeing a surge in cases. A new influential model predicts U.S. deaths could almost double by February the 1st bringing the total number killed to nearly 400,000, and that is if social distancing measures are kept in place. Otherwise the number could be half a million still a lot of confusion over the president's condition. He says he's COVID-free, maybe even immune to it only ten days or so after testing positive. But you wouldn't know it. He is hitting the road again with a jam-packed schedule this week. Four is rallies in four days. The first one is in Florida and that is coming in the coming hours. Meanwhile, there is new controversy over one of his campaign ads. It touts the president's handling of the pandemic and uses a quote from the nation's top infectious disease expert in an attempt to make it appear as if he is praising Donald Trump's response. Have a look at it.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump is recovering from the Coronavirus and so is America. Together we rose to meet the challenge. President Trump tackled the virus head on, as leaders should.</s>DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.</s>ANDERSON: Well, Dr. Fauci telling CNN his words were taken out of context. In a statement provided exclusively to CNN he said and I quote, here, in my nearly five decades of public service I've never publicly endorsed any political candidate. Now the comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials. Those are Dr. Fauci's words. Our Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joining me from Atlanta, the home for the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and the home of course is CNN's headquarters. There has been so much confusion surrounding the president's public appearances since he tested positive for Coronavirus. I just want to be clear if testing negative isn't a criteria for being done with isolation, then what is? Help us understand, if you will.</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. So according to the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control, what you're looking for actually is symptoms. Has it been ten days since you had symptoms? Are you improving and have you been at least 24 hours free of fever without using medications? It's those kinds of questions that doctors look at when they say, OK, you are now officially sort of, you know, able to be with other people. Now, the White House has not been particularly transparent about what the president has gone through? So are we sure that his symptoms are truly, you know, getting better consistently? Are we sure that he meets these criteria? It's not 100 percent clear whether that's the case?</s>ANDERSON: No, and those are entirely fair questions as you say when there has been a lack of transparency from the White House. Look, a new model projects U.S. Coronavirus deaths could double by February the 1st reaching a total- of-almost 400,000. What else do we know, and is there any way for the states to bring that number down between now and then?</s>COHEN: There is, Becky, certainly something that we've learned over and over again in this pandemic is that social distancing measures work, masks work, and so the more - getting rid of things like large gatherings, making sure that people don't have huge, huge parties. All of those kinds of things do work, so let's take a look at what this modeling suggests.</s>COHEN: It says that if you look at the deaths so far. It's 214,000. What this model suggests is that nearly 395,000 deaths by February 1st if we keep doing what we're doing. If we keep taking the measures that we're taking? But it could turn into more than 500,000 deaths if we ease social distancing mandates. So as you can see that's a huge difference there. So it very much is in our control to try to keep those numbers down. I mean, we can't get rid of COVID magically, but you can really keep those numbers down by taking certain steps.</s>ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. I know that you've got some fresh reporting on new symptoms of COVID-19. What have you learned?</s>COHEN: Right. This is really interesting. COVID sort of gives all these kind of crazy unfortunate side effects such as blood clots or swollen toes, all sorts of weird things and another appears to be hearing loss. We've seen this with other viruses, but doctors tell me that they think it is going to actually be worse with COVID. I spoke to a 42-year-old, completely healthy woman with COVID. Didn't have any symptoms of COVID, she was perfectly fine but she did have COVID. All she had was hearing loss. She has lost hearing in one ear and now needs to be fitted for a hearing aid. I talked to a 23-year-old, again perfectly healthy before he contracted COVID, had a relatively mild case and he also lost hearing in one ear. He has gained most of it back but he says that he will probably have to live his life with ringing in that ear which is - which happens with hearing loss. And so this is - this is very serious I mean, this is not hearing that we're talking about, and the thing that the reason why this happens? We know that COVID can lead to blood clots and so basically the vessels in the inner ear are teeny tiny, they're among some of the smallest vessels in our entire body and so those are getting clotted up for want of a better term and leading to this hearing loss. As a matter of fact in the UK they did a study, they looked at 138 patients who were recovering from COVID. They were discharged from the hospital and 8 weeks later 13 percent of them said they had had some level of hearing loss.</s>ANDERSON: Facts first here on CNN. Elizabeth, thank you.</s>COHEN: Thanks.</s>ANDERSON: Well, we must act to save lives, that's a declaration made just moments ago by Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister taking the wraps off his new COVID-19 restrictions for England. He is going over his new three- tiered alert system with lawmakers as we speak in parliament Mr. Johnson trying to put the brakes on a rising number of new infections, especially in the sort of midlands to north of the country. CNN's Nic Robertson is standing by for us outside of 10 Downing Street in London. What did the prime minister have to say specifically, Nic?</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Becky, this is a prime minister who likes to put the best and most positive spin on situations that he can do and talk about optimism. What he spoke about today was a fourfold increase in infections over the past three weeks. This is a prime minister preparing the country for bad news. Not as bad as it could be. He said, for example, that left to its devices the virus would have a re-infection rate of between 2.7 percent and 3 percent. And he said no, in the country at the moment the R rate is between 1.2 and 1.5, so the measures the country is taking are working to a degree. But he said we have to go further and he wants to simplify that. So those three different tiers, the medium, the high and the very high, and we did get a little bit more detail about who may be in each of those you can. There will be an app. The government has said that before. There will be an app where you can search here sort of local area and see what level you should be at? But he said most of the country will be on the lowest level. Those areas of the country that right now are on some sort of lockdown, they will go on the middle level and Liverpool, he said, will be on the highest level and this is where we get the clues into what that really means? Bars will be closed there. Gyms will be closed there, casinos will be closed there. The medium level, he said, restrictions there will be to stop households mixing. So you'll be able to meet people outdoors, maximum number six, but not indoors. But at the moment for the majority of the country that rule of six applies indoors and outdoors and pubs, bars and restaurants will remain open until 10:00 pm in the evening. But as we've been saying here, Becky, this is facing a big push back from many region councils in the court of the country. And the flavor that we got at that from the prime minister was today that he said he's still talking to the northwest. To the northeast, to Yorkshire to - people who know the UK, that's a vast swath of the country that the government is still negotiating with those local areas for local add-ons which the prime minister said, will ensure whatever the add-ons on. Retail schools, universities will remain open. Becky?</s>ANDERSON: Let's have a listen to specifically what the prime minister had to say a little earlier.</s>BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is not how we want to live our lives, but this is the narrow path we have to tread between the social and economic trauma of a full lockdown and the massive human and indeed economic cost of an uncontained epidemic. With local and regional and national government coming together in a shared responsibility and a shared effort to deliver ever better testing and tracing, ever more efficient enforcement of the rules and with ever improving therapies with the mountains of PPE and ventilators that we have stockpiled. With all the lessons we have learned in the last few months, we're becoming better and better at fighting this virus, and though I must warn the house again that the weeks and months ahead will continue to be difficult and will test the mettle of this country, I have no doubt at all that together we will succeed.</s>ANDERSON: One of those areas where things are tough is Liverpool, of course, Nic, and we will be speaking with the Mayor of Liverpool a little later this hour who says the new UK Coronavirus alert system is a diktat. What he means by that will be revealed a little while later. Nic thank you. While the rest of the world battles the new surge in cases China, it seems, at least is has it under control or almost virus-free since August but after 12 locally transmitted cases were recorded in one city over the weekend China has announced plans to test 9 million people in response. Now, this cluster is located in a city popular with tourists raising fears of a wider outbreak following all of the travel during last week's Golden Week Holiday. Let's bring in CNN's David Culver from Beijing. In a strong contrast, David, to other parts of the world where cases are spiking, China has now for several months at least managed to contain the pandemic. How big a concern is it that we have seen this cluster, albeit relatively small compared to elsewhere?</s>DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And that's the thing, Becky. You look at numbers and you're saying, all right, a dozen, half of which are asymptomatic, the others are confirmed cases, why such a big deal? Well, this has been a country that has essentially been sealed off from the rest of the world, even though the original epicenter was, of course, Wuhan. After that we've noticed that this has become a bubble that has really felt rather safe. I mean, you're seeing folks travel without any issue going around, losing their masks, taking them off, feeling comfortable to not wear them in places even. However, why this is so concerning is given what we've just experienced over the past week or so, and that is what you mentioned as the Golden Week Holiday. Hundreds of millions of people were traveling and the concern is now did it just originate in that city recently? Has it gone - maybe it dates back a few more days and happened as many of the folks who were traveling through there are now back in other cities. And so that's what remains to be seen? But look at how they are handling this? And this is something that, you know, you can argue of course the skepticism of the numbers going back to Wuhan. Something that a lot of folks continue to question, but you look at how it's being done now in the aftermath so while there have may have been allegations of cover-ups and mishandlings, now it seems that under an authoritarian regime it's handled quite efficiently. I mean, you can't really argue that anecdotally we experience it because life seems rather normal. You've got 9 million people in that City of Chengdu. They're going to be testing nearly all of them if not all of them we already know at least a 100,000 had been tested in less than 24 hours of them starting this type of testing. And they will continue that over the next four-plus days or so. Now what they will do beyond that remains to be seen because if we start to see these numbers go up, and I do expect we will, then they're going to likely put in lockdowns. Is it going to be a Wuhan style lockdown? Not likely. Becky, you remember what that was like? 76 days, it was a harsh, brutal lockdown that left many businesses shuttered and many of those businesses still have not reopened. So they are saying they're not going back to that. Instead it will be what they consider to be a Beijing model lockdown. Back in June we experienced it here. It's compartmentalized, it's a portion of the city, maybe neighborhoods that will be sealed off but outside of that, Becky, life continues as normal. And so that would likely be the case in this one city. However, the concern again is with all the travel we saw is it just isolated to that one location or has this in fact spread farther?</s>ANDERSON: Yes, fascinating. Good questions, thank you David. Well, we're going to take a very short break. Coming up after that, one of the first cargo ships from Dubai arrives in Israel. Hear what the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem has to say about what is a breakthrough in trade? First up though, we will hear from the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund about the pandemic, American politics and the Sputnik vaccine trials around the world.

Russian Sputnik V Vaccine To Start Clinical Trials In UAE

ANDERSON: Well, this hour we've been talking about the impacts of COVID-19 and what is an alarming surge in cases in the U.S. and Europe. You can add Russia to that list. It reported record high increases for three consecutive days with Sunday topping out as the highest daily increase since the pandemic began. Well, today it has been slight decrease from that high but it is still the second highest number of daily cases since this thing began. But of course, Russia, the first country to proudly announce that it had a vaccine and we are just learning that some of the Phase III trials of that vaccine will be held right here in the United Arab Emirates. They say because the country offers a huge diversity of nationalities. The trials will be conducted according to the highest international standards. We're told those trials, looming vaccine trials. Here is part of my conversation with the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund. He's a top Lieutenant of the Russian President Vladimir Putin. We discussed everything from the pandemic to the U.S. Presidential Election, but we started with these newly announced human trials here in the</s>UAE. KIRILL DMITRIEV, CEO, RUSSIAN DIRECT INVESTMENT FUND: We're very excited about clinical trials in UAE. Basically, UAE has a very credible regulator that is respected by the world, by the community in the Middle East and the fact that they will do clinical trials with us for Phase III of Sputnik.</s>DMITRIEV: It's very important also because UAE has almost 200 nationalities.</s>ANDERSON: How are these Phase III trials going?</s>DMITRIEV: So we've already vaccinated more than 12,000 people in Russia. We started clinical trials in Belarus and Venezuela we expect to start clinical trials also in India this week so we have lot of nations who are quite interested in this. And you know we published an article in "The Lancet" that showed a very high level of anti- bodies.</s>ANDERSON: Results from the first human test were indeed published in "The Lancet." just 76 people were involved in those trials.</s>DMITRIEV: The key point there is based on human adenoviral vector which is very different from some of the western approaches that involved more normal approaches. Human adenoviral vector has been tested for decades. Actually U.S. army from 1971, all of the conscripts received human adenoviral vaccines. So we decided to choose something already existing, something already safe and something already proven and many people in the West failed to think about this.</s>ANDERSON: Russian soldiers used, as quote, volunteers. Are those who are volunteering for the human trials really volunteers?</s>DMITRIEV: Of course, Becky, and as you can see people in UAE are volunteers and people in other countries are volunteers, and imagine if Russia really did not believe in the vaccine we would not have started clinical trials in UAE and be so open.</s>ANDERSON: Critics continue to insist that the breakneck speed of the vaccine development points to political pressure from the Kremlin. Has there been?</s>DMITRIEV: Well, I think if there is any political pressure it's actually political pressure from the West to undermine Russian vaccine. It's very fascinating that West rather than trying to fight COVID is really fighting Russian vaccine all the time with different acquisition and they are self- contradictory. We then had acquisitions at all of the Russians billionaires get vaccinated and now we see that people are being forced so West needs to make up their mind. Is it billionaires who gets vaccinated and then the vaccine is sort of good or is it people who are being forced and then it's not so good.</s>ANDERSON: U.S. Foreign Intelligence services suggest that Russia is working to steal, disrupt and prevent an American COVID-19 vaccine this according to the Director of U.S. Counterintelligence William Evanina.</s>DMITRIEV: Frankly to me that's very strange and surprising that people would try to paint Russia always in dark colors. We basically say look at this vaccine. We believe it works. Let us work together on this and other vaccines.</s>ANDERSON: After the U.S. President's COVID diagnosis the Head of the Gamaleya Lab whose team, of course, is developing the Sputnik V vaccine said now would be a good time for the U.S. to seriously consider the Russian vaccine to defend themselves against COVID-19. Donald Trump would not be in this situation if he had been vaccinated with Sputnik V. Do you agree?</s>DMITRTIEV: Well, all I can say is that I think it's good to cooperate on the vaccines, and it's good to study each other vaccines, and as you see from clinical trials in UAE we're open to people studying our vaccines. I think virus is much more dangerous than people think so this is really a horrible challenge.</s>ANDERSON: A lack of transparency on the results of pre-clinical and clinical trials, let alone transparency on due process, does for many people remain concerning?</s>DMITRIEV: Our vaccine will be one of the best studied vaccines in the world. If we didn't believe in this, it's not only I would not have taken my wife, my parents would not have taken it but Russia would not be so outwardly offering clinical trials around the world. So we understand, you know, that we wouldn't be doing this and hopefully you do as well if we didn't really believe that the vaccine is very safe and trials have showed in Russia it's very efficient.</s>ANDERSON: You have taken the vaccine yourself as have other members of your family. What were the side effects?</s>DMITRIEV: Well, for me and for my parents not much. My wife had a slightly higher temperature for about a day. For me I felt a little bit weak for half a day. It's like you get the flu.</s>ANDERSON: We have seen real vaccine nationalism around the world. I'm not suggesting that Russia is any different to other parts of the world. Does Russia assume to manufacture doses of this vaccine for its population first before you distribute it elsewhere?</s>DMITRIEV: In Russia we have enough production capacity originally only for Russia so we'll be basically inoculating our people, already massively starting from the end of the month more in November and will basically with all of the vaccine that can be produced in Russia will be used originally for Russia so this is why we need production in India and Brazil to manufacture for the rest of the world.</s>ANDERSON: You have bemoaned a lack of U.S. support or involvement with anything to do with a Russian vaccine development as anti-Russian sentiment. Dr. Anthony Fauci in the U.S. has said that he seriously doubts that this Russian vaccine is safe and effective. This is a man who has probably forgotten more about epidemiology that most of us know that isn't anti-Russian sent them that's a scientist speaking.</s>DMITRIEV: Well, if he calls us we'll be happy to explain to him everything about it, and I think it's best for him to study it to understand how it works? Maybe he's one of the guys to actually stop over this huge fence between U.S. and Russia if he's not political and tried to look a little bit more into vaccine but maybe that's too idealistic.</s>ANDERSON: How do you respond to the FBI Director, Christopher Wray suggesting in August that Russia is, and I quote, very actively working to denigrate Joe Biden? You are very close to the Russian President. When he hears comments like that of the FBI Director, Russia very actively working to denigrate Joe Biden, reiterating intelligence that Russia is working against Joe Biden, he says what?</s>DMITRIEV: There are lots of very wrong narratives and frankly those wrong narratives almost make Russia even more powerful in the eyes of Americans, so if you really believe that Russia can destroy U.S. vaccine, if you really believe that Russia can really denigrate a great person that Joe Biden is, et cetera, you frankly give too much credit to all these narratives. If an American is in the desert and he wants to have a drink and the Russian comes and offers a drink, does this American just says I don't want anything from Russia, go away, or does this American actually get this drink. And I think the narrative has become so negative that people are just throwing away anything from Russia and it's just wrong. We have great tests. We have great solutions. We have lots of problems, lots of issues, but there needs to be a more balanced perspective on Russia.</s>ANDERSON: Do you have any confidence that were there to be a Joe Biden Administration come second, third week of November, whenever the election is called, that Joe Biden, President Joe Biden, would have a more pragmatic approach to his dealings with Russia, for example, on the vaccine itself?</s>DMITRIEV: Yes. Well, I think we'll see. I think we're really at the lowest point of U.S.-Russia relations. People, you know, think I'm doing my work on restoration of U.S.-Russia relations and probably not succeeding too much, but I'm doing this because I studied in the U.S., and I believe it's my responsibility to make my contribution.</s>ANDERSON: Kirill Dmitriev there. Well, still to come, an historic phone call as Israel and the UAE move forward on their landmark of agreement and billions of dollars in trade between the two countries up for grabs. We'll speak to Jerusalem's Deputy Mayor about all of that up next.

Israel And UAE Negotiating Embassy And Travel Rules

ANDERSON: Israel continues to take steps towards more friendly relationships with some of the Arab World. The Israeli Prime Minister and the Crown Prince of the UAE say they plan to meet, "Soon". Benjamin Netanyahu says the two leaders spoke over the phone over the weekend, their first conversation since signing that landmark deal in Washington to normalize ties. Israel's cabinet unanimously voted Monday to send the agreement to the full Knesset for approval. Let's bring this to Oren Lieberman in Jerusalem. Is there any sense that this does anything but get passed when it reaches the Knesset?</s>OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It will get passed and it should be passed very quickly with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looking to get it through the Knesset this week, to set up what we expect to be an eminent visit from the first Emirati Delegation to visit Israel. It seems the Emiratis want that to be in place before they visit here and that visit should be coming shortly according to one government official here I've spoken with. So it seems the Emiratis want that in place and Netanyahu now has the approval to make sure it happens probably within the next few days here.</s>ANDERSON: What will this new relationship look like, do you think, briefly?</s>LIEBERMANN: I think in many ways it will look like a warm relationship and that's something the Emiratis were quick to point out when we were on the first Israeli Delegation to Abu Dhabi. There's no anger or angst or frustration on the streets between Israelis and Emiratis and because of that there is ability here. And certainly a potential between two of the wealthiest states in the region to move forward and to do so quickly in a relationship that's not just friendly on a sort of relationship level but also it stretches to health, technology, tourism and well beyond that. Of course, Netanyahu is also quick to point out the trying issue of the times which is cooperation in the fight against Coronavirus so it may take a while for this to get going, but Israel's Minister of Intelligence has estimated that it could be somewhere between $3 billion and $5 billion of annual trade in just a few years.</s>ANDERSON: Oren Lieberman is on the ground for you in Jerusalem. Israel and the UAE then pressing ahead with business negotiations just today this cargo ship from Dubai arrived in Israel's Port City of Haifa containing electronics, cleaning supplies and firefighting equipment we're told. Well, a move that was unimaginable a few months ago. Both countries are hoping this will open a profitable new trade route worth an estimated $4 billion a year all of this is of particular interest. Well, my next guest, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, Jerusalem's Deputy Mayor. Right now she is about an hour's drive away from me. She's in the City of Dubai. In addition to meeting with UAE business leaders to discuss economic opportunities between the two countries, she also hosted a meeting between a group of Emirati and Israeli women, and you can see them here in this photo for the first time ever as part of the Gulf Israel Women's Forum. At this stage public communication hasn't extended much further than the signing of MOUs to indicate an intention to cooperate so in practice, and welcome to the show, how long before Israeli businesses will start to build a presence in the UAE?</s>FLEUR HASSAN-NAHOUM, CO-FOUNDER, UAE-ISRAEL BUSINESS COUNCIL: I have to tell you, there's already a presence of Israeli businesses because there's been kind of like a quiet under-the-radar normalization for a number of years. This doesn't come out of the clear blue sky. There has already been a rapprochement for number of years. We estimate there were already about 250 Israeli businesses somehow or other working in Dubai and in the Emirates and in general and we expect that from the signing of the agreement for three months there will be double that number.</s>ANDERSON: Israeli officials I know have estimated we're looking at something like $4 billion a year. Does that sound realistic?</s>HASSAN-NAHOUM: I think it does sound realistic. I think that there's a lot, first of all, of desire of doing trade with one another.</s>HASSAN-NAHOUM: Oren Lieberman mentioned earlier there's going to be peace. I can tell you I'm here and I can feel it. People on both sides and part of a few WhatsApp forums and we've organized already a few Zooms. There is a real desire for warm peace and there's a real curiosity, one about the other. People asking each other cultural questions and religious questions it's actually palpable, and I'm really, really an honor to be here on the front line of history. So, yes, I do believe that there will be a lot of trade in our relationship and tourism. I'm very excited.</s>ANDERSON: You talked about the opportunities between Israel and the UAE. You've specifically talked about opportunities for Palestinians in East Jerusalem. Can you explain exactly what you believe may be on the table?</s>HASSAN-NAHOUM: Well, listen, in Jerusalem we're the largest city in the country and we're also the most diverse city in the country, very similar to Dubai where I am right now in terms of the multiculturalism. 37 percent of our populations in the city of my constituents are Arabs and I Arab- speaking more importantly. At the moment Jerusalem and the municipality and the government of Israel for the last few years have been planning and doing infrastructural development of East Jerusalem to provide more opportunity for people there, bring high tech and bring the prosperity of this start up nation also to East Jerusalem. And I see this as a very natural bridge. We have people speaking Arabic. We have a similar culture. I believe it's a natural organic bridge. We have a lot of innovation in Jerusalem. The innovation is finally getting to the young Arab residents of Jerusalem. And I believe that East Jerusalem could actually be the R&D - I believe that East Jerusalem could actually be the R&D hub for the Middle East.</s>ANDERSON: Well, that's fascinating. Just how do you go about ensuring that that happens because there will be many young Palestinians watching this interview tonight and having felt a complete sense of betrayal about the normalization of relations between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain. So what can you say to ensure that they are feeling more comfortable about this deal going forward?</s>HASSAN-NAHOUM: Most of all, I have to tell you I'm in daily contact with many leaders, young leaders as well as less young leaders in East Jerusalem that I work with, and I don't hear anybody that told me that they are upset about it. In fact, the people in business, it's an opportunity. When you speak to people in tourism, they feel that this is a new opportunity for Muslim tourism that we've never really had. Of course, all the Emiratis here want to come and pray at their third holiest site which is far most believed. And so I don't - I haven't heard. I know that the Palestinian media machine have been pushing out that they are betrayed but the people I've spoken to are very excited by the prospects. And I can tell you that at the moment we're planning a high-tech park in East Jerusalem with hotels and commercial centers, and I'm here to find partners in this endeavor. And the reason that we're building a high-tech park - is in order to bring businesses, to provide employment, quality employment to the young residents of East Jerusalem, to the graduating engineers, et cetera. There are many, many opportunities to come from this deal, and I am here to ensure that the opportunities and the prosperity get to all of my constituents, Jews, Arabs and Christians alike.</s>ANDERSON: Just out of interest. How have has the reception here been?</s>HASSAN-NAHOUM: I can't tell you how warm the people have been towards me? The hospitality, of course, in the Arab World is well known to be fantastic. But the fact that I come here as representing Jerusalem people are so excited and people have been so warm. I honestly could not have expected a warmer reception, and I truly look forward to giving them the same hospitality and reception when they come to visit us in Jerusalem.</s>ANDERSON: Well, the Israeli cabinet officially approving the diplomatic accords with the UAE. I just want to play some sound from what the prime minister had to say earlier. Have a listen.</s>BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Last weekend I spoke with my friend, the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates Sheik Mohammad Bin Zayed. I invited him to visit Israel. He invited me to visit Abu Dhabi but first we'll see a UAE Delegation here and another one of our delegations will go there.</s>ANDERSON: Any expectation that the UAE Crown Prince will visit Israel in the days to come? This was normalization for the dropping of annexation. Many Palestinians will say just for how long.</s>ANDERSON: Are there concerns as you have discussions with business men and women here that that is how long annexation is off the table and still an issue?</s>HASSAN-NAHOUM: I have to say the only people asking me about that are journalists and not the local business people or government leaders that are meeting here to discuss opportunities. It's not even coming up. At the moment we're focused into building forward and building a warm peace. As you know, Becky, we've had peace with Jordan and Egypt but I've never seen one Egyptian tourist in Jerusalem, unfortunately. What we have here is version very, very different. We're building a warm peace and warm peace is built by people to people and business to business. That's how you build trust and that's how you learn about each other's culture and really that's what we're talking about here at the moment.</s>ANDERSON: It is our job as journalists to ask those sorts of questions. It may not be - it was interesting to hear that you weren't getting those questions. Perhaps there will be those watching who say you might be getting those questions going forward. Listen, we're just a couple of weeks away from the U.S. election one of the most important elections in America's history. President Trump has been trailing in the polls. What do you think a Joe Biden Administration will mean for the Middle East and indeed Israel's growing relationship with Arab countries?</s>HASSAN-NAHOUM: Well, as far as I know and from what I've heard Joe Biden is, of course, very supportive of - of the peace deal, of the normalization between the UAE and Israel and Bahrain and hopefully more to come, so I - I don't think it should influence. There is momentum, and I don't see why a Biden Administration would kill that momentum because it's only good for the region. Peace is always good and I believe that there would be support from any White House for what's happening here.</s>ANDERSON: And with that we're going to leave it there. We thank you very much indeed for joining us, and from Abu Dhabi, welcome to the UAE. Well, still ahead England's proposed Coronavirus alert system does not sit well with the Mayor of Liverpool. He says his city is being arm-twisted by 10 Downing Street and he's going to join me after this short break to explain why and what he means by that?

Liverpool Mayor Slams "Lockdown By Diktat"

ANDERSON: We told you earlier about new Coronavirus alert levels in England. In his announcement a short time ago UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the City of Liverpool is in for the toughest restrictions under the new system.</s>JOHNSON: Local authorities in the Liverpool city region will move into the very high alert level from Wednesday.</s>JOHNSON: In addition to the baseline I've outlined, this is as well as - that is as well as pubs and bars, in Merseyside, gyms and leisure centers, betting shops, adult gaming centers and casinos will also close. I know how difficult this is. They, like us, like everyone in this house are grappling with very real dilemmas, but we cannot let the NHS fall over when lives are at stake.</s>ANDERSON: Well, if you ask Liverpool's Mayor, that's too much of a strong- armed approach. He says that the government has been ignoring pleas from cities for a month and now it's imposing, "A lockdown by diktat" Mayor Joe Anderson joining me now from Liverpool via Skype to discuss this. I'm interested in what pleas of yours have been ignored by the government sir explain?</s>JOE ANDERSON, LIVERPOOL MAYOR: Becky, we've been asking for the government to help us set up a better system of tracking, trace and testing. People are getting tested in the city and waiting sometimes 10, 11 days before we get a response back on whether they have got COVID or not? In the meantime they go out mixing in the community, and we've got, you know, infection rates that are rising. We've got a number of students now returning to the city. People have gone back to where and children have gone back to school so it's driving the infection rates. So we need a better tracking system in place. For five or six weeks or even longer than that we've been asking for support from the central government, not just financial, but physical support from the armed force for instance you can do logistics and do back office things to help us track and trace and help us start to bring the virus down. The government hasn't been listening to that. So if we straighten that dent today, we've been told that we're in a - sometimes as you know we welcome because the virus is not - and it is getting hard to manage. We've got 277 people in hospital here in Liverpool, in the city of Liverpool. 3,000 people infected with the virus. And so it's a real concern for us, so we want to work with the national government to help bring it down, but we think the measures that have been introduced that are a little bit over the top in terms of, you know, it's a blanket approach rather than a selective and targeted approach.</s>ANDERSON: There is an individual responsibility that every member of the community has to take, isn't there, and whilst you are concerned about the sort of measures that have been imposed, as you say, by sort of diktats. There are reports of people having huge parties for example in Liverpool. I'm not suggesting that isn't happening elsewhere, but these are stories that have made the headlines of your local press. Are you concerned and disappointed about the response by Liverpool's population to clearly what is going on, you know, which is not just in the UK around Europe is a real disaster as present?</s>J. ANDERSON: Yes, of course I am. I'm disappointed and angry because we've still got people who they say is people who don't think that this virus is a concern supported by your main man President Trump as well. He doesn't believe that the virus was, you know, something that will go away. So it's disappointing that people still believe that. It's disappointing that people in the city of Liverpool, the residents that have elected may have been ignored and mind messages nor the people's messages. And you're right. It's about personal responsibility. It is about taking responsibility for your actions because if you cared about your community, care about your family, care about your city then you should help us try to bring this virus under control. But my clear message to those people look, the law will come down on you really hard if you don't follow the restriction measures that are put in place because this is about trying to save people's lives and livelihoods.</s>ANDERSON: Sure. Listen, by the way, just so you know I have born and breed in England and spent a lot of my time up in the part of the country from where you are from. So I know your area very, very well. You have said that the government's financial package for Liverpool will take the city back to the position that it was in the 1980s, and I remember that very, very well with large levels of unemployment. What specifically are you asking for at this point?</s>J. ANDERSON: Well, we've got a scheme called the furlough scheme when the government introduced the national lockdown measures back in March. It was also supported by financial package called furlough package. And basically we evolved you that if you're going to close businesses down here, restaurants, gyms, casinos, boot- makers, which employ thousands of people that you should actually give a local financial furlough package that to make sure that those businesses, you know, can stay afloat and don't go on there and also to support the people that work in that industry. What the governments are now introducing as of Wednesday is a package that's two-thirds of people's wages. So if you're on low pay and usually the people that work in the hospital sector, are rely on tips, but if you're in that - you're getting your wages reduced by two-thirds - you're only getting two-thirds of your wages but nobody reducing your rent by third or your shopping bill by third or your electric or your gas costs by a third.</s>ANDERSON: Yes, I understand.</s>J. ANDERSON: We're all angry that that's not happened in the full furlough package.</s>ANDERSON: And I think other people watching this will absolutely understand, and I know it's a similar situation reflected in other places, of course. Finally the English Premier League resumes this weekend with top of the table Everton hosting the local rivals Liverpool at Goodison Park. Are you committed to helping that match go ahead? As I understand it, it will go ahead. Look, we know, we realize there's no audience at the stadium but doesn't the gathering of people to watch a Merseyside Derby like that worry you? Is it really a reasonable decision to have that game go ahead?</s>J. ANDERSON: Well, yes, look, I think at the end of the day you just said that, you know, the stadium and the bubbles that the players are in is COVID safe. And, therefore, you know, even the celebration cameras, you know, maintain their COVID distances so I don't see any reason why the game shouldn't go ahead and go on as long as the rules they follow and the guide lines they followed and if they do that then you know why spoil people's entertainment? I'm an Everton fan, by the way.</s>ANDERSON: I was going to ask you but then I thought I probably shouldn't because it's so political out there who you support? But you know what good for you for telling me. Mr. Joe Anderson, my namesake, thank you sir for joining us fascinating insight on a part of the country which clearly is suffering very similar situation to many parts of not just the UK but other parts of Europe and around the world thank you, sir. Just ahead on "Connect the World" an Indian Chef who is comfortable with presidents and royalty takes on a new mission. We're going to show you how he's delivering much-needed food from 7,000 miles away?

Trump Offers To Give MAGA Crowd A "Big Fat Kiss" In Return To Trail After COVID-19 Diagnosis; Johnson & Johnson Pauses Coronavirus Vaccine Trial Due To "Unexplained Illness" In Volunteer

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Tomorrow will be Day Two of the Barrett hearing. Don't miss the full day of coverage here on CNN. The news continues. Want to hand it over to Chris for "CUOMO PRIME TIME." Chris?</s>CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST, CUOMO PRIME TIME: All right, thank you, Anderson. I am Chris Cuomo and welcome to PRIME TIME. Trump was in Florida tonight, a state with more than 5,000 new cases just this past weekend. And he's heading to several other states this week that are also struggling in this pandemic. And he's doing it for one very obvious, if odious reason. He believes this is good for him and his campaign. That's what he thinks. What he knows for sure is that he is creating risk for the people who care most about him in this country, everywhere he goes. And he does not care. How can I say that? Look at the proof. He says nothing about the spacing at the rallies. He says nothing about the maskless nature. In fact, he celebrates contact.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I went through it. Now they say I'm immune. I can feel - I feel so powerful. I'll walk into that audience.</s>TRUMP: I'll walk in there. I'll kiss everyone in that audience.</s>TRUMP: I'll kiss the guys and the beautiful women and the - everybody. I'll just give you a big fat kiss. When you are the president, you can't lock yourself in a basement, and say "I'm not going to bother with the world." You got to get out. And it's risky. It's risky, but you got to get out.</s>CUOMO: That's completely untrue. It's risky, so you don't get out. The worst part is I'm thinking about the people, not the President, to be honest. They're exposing themselves for all bad reasons. They either don't know or pay attention to the risk. They think they're showing support for Trump by not wearing a mask. And the part that gets me the most is listen to the supporters themselves. Listen to what one says they would do if Trump said to.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You saw what happened at the White House recently, where so many people who were outside an event got Coronavirus, including the President ended up with Coronavirus. That doesn't concern you?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. No.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why doesn't that concern you?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm healthy. I have no underlying health issues, and that seems to be the people that are most prone to getting the disease. If you have an underlying--</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well the President was healthy too though. And he had to take a helicopter to the hospital.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: --time.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. He had good medical care, right?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Well and--</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think you'd have care that good?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I - no but I have - I take care of myself.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not just put on a mask? What's the difference?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. A mask can actually do more harm than good to individuals.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think it'll do more harm?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It can because people - people don't - can faint because there's too much carbon dioxide going back into their system.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think that's a big problem, people fainting all over the country from masks and dropping dead?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well it - just enough. Enough people are getting ill because they're wearing a mask.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, yes. No what you've--</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where does that come from that actually?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Common sense.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe you won't get sick from it?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't care if I do because I know I'm not going to die from it. That's ridiculous.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you know? How do you know that with all due respect?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know what, if I do, I do. I'm not afraid.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe in God and that's - I trust that if I get the virus, then that was God's will.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've also seen the numbers drop every single day.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well the numbers are going up now though.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this - in here.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean Mr. Trump says it's disappearing, but it's not. That's not the truth.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well I'm debating on whether what the truth is for that because of the - what I can see it's - all the numbers that I have read have been down. And I'm seeing that the flu is taking more people.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, that's what you believe?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me ask you this. If President Trump, at the rally, said, "Everyone put on their masks," that good?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would put it on.</s>CUOMO: That kills me. It just does. Mr. President, what else do you have to hear? Tell them to put on a mask. You were throwing packages of them out there. Just say, "Listen, put them on. Make the scientists happy. Just put them on. We don't want anybody getting sick. I need you all to vote for me. So, put the mask on. Maybe you are not as tough as I am. You're not going to beat it. You won't be immune." And I put this "Immune," why? Because he doesn't know that he's immune. I don't know that I'm immune. We don't know anything. Nobody told him he's immune, OK? But his refusing to give the right message on masks matters. They listen to you. They would act differently. They'd be safer. Why don't you want that? You refuse to respect the mask rule yourself that made you sick, and you lied about it before the debate. You said, "Well, we took tests." You didn't take a test, and you knew you didn't take a test, and you lied anyway. And you were clearly willing to have contact before you were "Immune." How do we know? Well, because we don't know when he last tested negative before he tested positive for COVID. That is the actionable space. That's when he was likely contagious. Why don't they - won't tell us? "Privacy concerns." Please! If it's not too private to say when he tested negative on consecutive days, since having COVID, so he's able to do these things, then why won't they tell us when he tested negative before he got it? What is this, selective privacy? It's exactly what it is. Look - and I hope the President is free from the virus. But nowhere in America is really free from it. Look at the damn map. He knows this map. He gets briefed on it every day. He just doesn't give a damn. New cases are up 41 percent from last month nationwide. And he's on a four-state blitz this week, gathering largely maskless MAGA crowds? You are making your own people sitting ducks. "Oh, we've never had a problem at a rally." That's BS. We know they have. Why do it? His own top Infectious Disease expert warns Trump, "You're asking for more trouble."</s>DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We know that that is asking for trouble when you do that. We've seen that when you have situations of congregate settings, where there are a lot of people without masks. The data speak for themselves. It happens. And now is even more so a worse time to do that because when you look at what's going on in the United States, it's really very troublesome.</s>CUOMO: And look, the shame is if he would get on the other side of this, and start being aggressive about what kind of testing we should have, what kind of protocols we should have, hey, maybe there is a better way. Maybe you can be more selectively protective. But that's not what he's doing with these rallies. You got the old and the frail in there with the young and the strong. Where is a better plan? Instead of ignoring the reality, help shape the reality. He's been warned. He is more worried about losing this election than losing a few supporters to COVID along the way. And those in the Right have bought in, which is why Senator Mike Lee from Utah, who tested positive 11 days ago, couldn't be bothered to wear a mask today at the Supreme Court confirmation hearing. He could still be contagious. It's hard to believe we are where we are now after all we know. Let's bring in Dr. Ashish Jha for the state of play, and also, Axe - David Axelrod, just for what the political calculus, the plus/minus is on this. Little bit of breaking news, Dr. Jha. Did you hear about what just happened with one of the drug trials? Johnson & Johnson said today it's pausing the advanced clinical trial Phase 3 of its experimental Coronavirus vaccine because of an unexplained illness in one of the volunteers. They say this happens. It's an expected part of any clinical study, especially a large study. But this is the second Phase 3 Coronavirus vaccine trial to be paused. AstraZeneca is in the same situation. That's something that Operation Warp Speed, they're a believer in AstraZeneca, and they're hoping about - that that will go well. Now, this news matters, especially in the specific context of the political pressure on the FDA just last week to not do anything to slow down the approval process of these vaccines. What does this breaking news today mean?</s>DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: So, Chris, thank you for having me on. The Johnson & Johnson trial is the biggest trial of the vaccine that I know of, 60,000 people. Within that trial, you'd expect a few positives. So, on one hand, they're right, this is completely expected. And it's just a reminder of how ridiculous it is to try to meet a political timeline of having a vaccine before November 3rd. That's just not how it works. These things take time. We want the vaccine to be safe, and we've got to let the process play out. And it's going to take a while, and we'll see these kinds of bumps on the road. To me, it's reassuring that companies are acting responsibly, and pausing when they need to.</s>CUOMO: Quick follow, we just heard a Trump supporter, I don't believe, was saying it sarcastically when she says, "Yes, if he told me to put on the mask, I would." That confirms our absolute worst suspicions. What do you think it could mean, if he started saying at the rally, "Look, I want you to come together. We're going to try and keep you apart, a little bit and wear the mask. Wear the mask." What kind of difference do you think that could make?</s>JHA: Well, Chris, I think that'd actually save probably tens of thousands of American lives because it wouldn't just be the people who come to his rallies. The symbolism, all of his supporters, who have so far not been wearing masks, would get the message. And the data is very clear. If everybody wore masks, if 90 percent of Americans wore masks, we'd have tens of thousands of fewer deaths over the next few months.</s>CUOMO: And we're barely like 60 percent or something like that. Axe, what is the basis for the political play to continue to play down the pandemic even now? Not that you subscribe to the theory, but what is the theory that they're acting on?</s>DAVID AXELROD, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, this is a microcosm of the whole saga, dating back to January. He believes he can spin this virus. He believes he can impose his will on the story. Just consider the ad in which Dr. Fauci was misquoted or taken out of context, the beginning of the ad starts like this. "He's recovering from the Coronavirus, and so is America." And that is the message that he wants people to receive in these final weeks of the campaign. It's the same message he was trying to deliver in February, and it's just not true. And the danger of it is in trying to promote this fiction, he is encouraging people to act irresponsibly. Did you know that Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, who's presiding over another upsurge of cases in Florida was standing there in the middle of the crowd without a mask tonight?</s>CUOMO: Yes.</s>AXELROD: I mean it's really extraordinary. It's incredible. It's irresponsible. But it's very familiar, Chris. This has been the story from the beginning. And it's one of the reasons why he's double-digits behind right now.</s>CUOMO: The states he's going to, and the states Biden is going to, they're going to reach states. Explain what a reach state is. We're going to go more in-depth later in the show. But what is the play, and why does it matter?</s>AXELROD: Well, look, I think what's happening, actually is that Trump is playing defense and Biden is playing offense. I mean, there are six states really, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Arizona that are the core battleground states. But you are seeing candidates travel to other states, to states like Georgia, Ohio. Biden was in Ohio. That is a state that no Republican has ever lost and won the presidency. And now it's an even state. And I think it tells you a little something about the state of play here. The fact that the President is going to Des Moines, Iowa, a state that he won by 9 points last time is pretty telling. And he's on the defense, and Biden is on the offense. Biden is expanding his math. And I think that's the story of this race. It's more likely that Biden will win a substantial, maybe a landslide victory in the Electoral College than it is that Donald Trump will get 270 electoral votes.</s>CUOMO: Yes. It's - we're going to go into depth, and it's most - more - later in the show. We have a whole pathway analysis about what could happen on Election Night. But just as a little bit of a taste, the idea that Biden is going to Ohio, he's got no business in Ohio. Looking at 2016, Trump won by 8 points - almost 9 points. So, the President going there, on defense, when he won it by close to 10 points tells you something. So Ashish, the idea that things are getting worse, people say "No, no, no, you're just playing it up because we're getting near the election. And you want to scare us. We already went through it. Now it's the flu. You are confusing COVID for the flu. That's what we're seeing. That's the time of year it is." What is the reality that you see in the numbers?</s>JHA: Yes. So, the reality is very clear, Chris. The flu is not what's surging right now. What's surging is COVID. We're up about 20 percent over the last month. And you know everybody always says "Well it's just cases, not hospitalizations." Guess what? Hospitalizations are up about 10 percent. They always lag. And unfortunately, we know where this story goes. Deaths are going to start climbing in the next week or two. We've played this movie over and over and over again. We're playing it really the third time, and it's not a good movie. I don't think any of us want to see it end this way. So, we can still turn it around. We've talked about what we need to do. Avoid the indoor gatherings, wear the masks, wash your hands, fix testing. But we just don't seem to be able to pull the political will to do that as much as we need to.</s>CUOMO: Hey, is there a middle ground that hasn't been explored yet that you, where you can, allow the young or the not-at-risk to go back to work, and school, and do more to protect those who are vulnerable? You have an older teacher? They don't have to do it. They get to work from home. They get protected. Older people, nursing homes, and all the places where they are, you keep them safe. If you have households, where you have mixed generations, you treat it differently. Should we be thinking about that approach more?</s>JHA: Well, first of all, no doubt about it, we should be doing more to protect vulnerable people, absolutely. But this--</s>CUOMO: No. But while letting other people go, and go to work, and go to school, you know how I feel about schools, Doc, right?</s>JHA: But that's the--</s>CUOMO: I want my kid in school. I think they should be able to be in school.</s>JHA: Yes. So, schools are a different issue, Chris. But let's get back to the idea of letting young people just get back to work and do their own thing. The problem with that theory is if you let the infection kind of rip in the young, it turns out you need workers in nursing homes. They get infected, nursing home workers - nursing home residents get infected. People - elderly people need to go to the grocery store. They're going to encounter younger people. You can't segregate an aspect of society. People have thought about this. They've tried it. It just doesn't work. So--</s>CUOMO: It's just not that simple.</s>JHA: --by protecting the vulnerable, protect everybody.</s>CUOMO: It's not that simple. I hear you. Axe, quick prediction. What do you think turn-out is like?</s>AXELROD: Massive. Over 150 million voters, largest turn-out since 1960, is what I predict.</s>CUOMO: Were you ready for that question? I didn't even prep it. That was a very quick answer, Axe. I'm surprised by that. Thank you very much, David Axelrod, as always. Thank God you are healthy. You and the family be well.</s>AXELROD: Thank you.</s>CUOMO: Dr. Ashish Jha, as always, thank you for understanding and teaching us what the straight path is. Appreciate it. Thanks for helping us stay on it.</s>JHA: Thanks, Chris.</s>CUOMO: All right, now look, Republicans are making a big bet. What is the bet? That getting another SCOTUS Justice will bring people more relief than anything else, even than passing an actual relief bill at a time that we have more people standing in line all over this country for food than any time you can remember. The hearings just started on Judge Amy Coney Barrett today. A Senator who was there is here now to argue how dangerous the hearing was, literally, and politically, next.</s>TEXT: CUOMO PRIME TIME.

Fake Ballot Drop Boxes Prompt Investigations In California.

TEXT: LET'S GET AFTER IT.</s>CUOMO: This is really interesting. There is a new investigation underway tonight by California election officials into boxes like these. Show the box. It's a fake ballot drop-off box in Los Angeles, they found them, Orange County, Fresno County, big counties in California. Some of them designate themselves as official ballot boxes. But they're not. They're unauthorized at a minimum. This is what you should be looking for, bright orange boxes. Any other boxes, you should not put your ballot in. That's what California's Secretary of State says, so he has sent a cease-and-desist order to the responsible Party for the fugazi fixtures. That Party, the state's Republican Party, according to California's Secretary of State, Alex Padilla. Mr. Secretary, thank you for joining us.</s>ALEX PADILLA, CALIFORNIA SECRETARY OF STATE: Thank you, Chris. Thanks for having me.</s>CUOMO: Are you sure it's them?</s>PADILLA: Well they have admitted as much, so it's not just the state Republican Party, but looks like some of their local committees participating as well. So, we sent the cease-and-desist letter also to the Fresno County Republican Party, Los Angeles County Republican Party, Orange County Republican Party, while we continue to gather information. We hope it's been contained. We certainly hope they comply with the cease-and-desist orders. But we're inviting people to submit information if they continue to see these very problematic fake drop boxes.</s>CUOMO: One more step down the process, and then we'll have the argument about why this is the right move. Have they said they will comply?</s>PADILLA: They have not said they will comply with the terms of our cease-and-desist yet. Although, we have heard that many of the drop boxes have been removed. So, I do think that's going to be a little bit more back-and-forth here before we find complete resolution. In the meantime, we're just reminding voters that there are multiple options to vote, and protect their health during this COVID-19 pandemic. Vote-by-mail is a pillar of it. But when you return your ballot, voters deserve the confidence knowing it's in secure hands and it's going to be counted.</s>CUOMO: Here is the counter argument offered by them. "More boxes, more better, Mr. Secretary. We're just trying to help you do it." "If a congregation/business or other group provides the option to its parishioners/associates/ or colleagues to drop off their ballot in a safe location, with people they trust, rather than handing it over to a stranger who knocks on their door, what's wrong with that?"</s>PADILLA: Look, here is the truth, Chris. In California, Californians have multiple options for how to return their vote-by-mail ballot. And yes, every active registered voter is getting a vote-by-mail ballot because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They can return it by mail. In California, we cover the return postage, so you don't even need to find stamps. Secure official drop boxes is another good option. Voters can also deliver their ballot to any in-person voting location, either during early voting or on Election Day, so multiple ways to do it. If a voter finds himself in a pinch, or needs assistance, in returning their ballot, they're empowered to decide for themselves who to turn it over to. But whoever is assisting them in returning the ballot also has to sign the envelope. And that's what's lost with these fake drop box--</s>CUOMO: No accountability.</s>PADILLA: --seeing errors (ph).</s>CUOMO: You don't have a chain of custody.</s>PADILLA: Don't have a chain of custody, and we don't have the requirements or regulations for these fake drop boxes, as you do for the official drop boxes. Number one, the security and integrity of the box itself, somebody who is being misled that this is an official box, turns their ballot in. They don't know who's collecting it. They don't know how quickly it may return to the county, or if it gets returned to the county. We have a ton of requirements on official drop boxes. That's where we should be driving voters to.</s>CUOMO: Are you just busting their chops because it's the Republicans? And you wouldn't do this to the Democrats? And maybe they're doing the same kind of thing, and you're not doing anything about it?</s>PADILLA: No. This is wrong no matter who is doing it. And it's not just the security of the ballot that's in question here. It is the transparency, voter confidence itself. So, one of the messages we've been reiterating today, anybody who believes they might have been misled because, as your picture showed, several of these fake drop boxes were labeled as "Official." If you might as turned your ballot into one of these, go to vote.ca.gov, sign up for "Where's My Ballot?" It's our ballot-tracking tool available to all voters in California, not just to confirm the status of your ballot, but to get confirmation, when it's received and when it's counted.</s>CUOMO: Mr. Secretary of State, thank you very much. We are unusually hawkish when it comes to the process this year because there is so much riding on the integrity of it. We expect such a big turn-out, and thank you for taking the opportunity to explain this situation.</s>PADILLA: Hey, voters deserve no less. Thank you, Chris. We'll be back soon.</s>CUOMO: All right, be well. God bless. Stay healthy.</s>PADILLA: You too.</s>CUOMO: All right, so one more reason to be like "Ohh" right, now if you live in California, right? Or you're just worried about the outcome right - outcome, right? Why? Because there is no relief. There is no sign that any time soon everything will seem to suck less. There is nothing that can just cut through all the nasty, all the division. Or maybe there is! Have you seen the viral sensation? Have you seen this cat with the cranberry juice that just blew up TikTok? Why have tens of millions decided to watch this? Why did the song that he was playing, re-launch Fleetwood Mac as a popular conduit of pop music, although they're really a rock band? Why is it that Ocean Spray wound up hooking up this guy with his luxurious moves on the Longboard for his own video? We've got him. He's with us, next.</s>TEXT: CUOMO PRIME TIME.

Trump Claims He Is Negative For COVID As He Returns To Campaigning; Day One Of Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing; Prime Minister Boris Johnson Announcing New System Of Covid Alert Levels For England.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump holding his first campaign rally tonight since being diagnosed with coronavirus.</s>LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: And the president's pick to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court in the hot seat in just a few hours. We'll have a preview of her Senate confirmation hearing. Good morning, this is EARLY START. I'm Laura Jarrett.</s>SANCHEZ: Good morning, Laura. I'm Boris Sanchez in for Christine Romans. We are 32 minutes past the hour. And, President Trump is headed back out on the campaign trail today with serious questions still remaining about his health. With the timeline of infection still murky and the White House refusing to answer questions, Trump told his supporters Sunday that he has tested, quote, "totally negative" for the virus, though neither he nor his doctor have provided any evidence that backs that up. Instead, he's misrepresenting his chances of reinfection and underplaying the risk of spreading COVID to anyone else.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It was like I'm immune. So I can go way out of a basement, which I would have done anyway and which I did because you have to run a country. You have to get out of the basement. And it looks like I'm immune for, I don't know, maybe a long time or maybe a short time. It could be a lifetime -- nobody really knows, but I'm immune. So the president is in very good shape.</s>SANCHEZ: Trump taking shots at Joe Biden there with quips about staying in the basement and we'll probably hear more of that later today when the president stages his first rally since being diagnosed. He's headed to a key swing state and coronavirus hotspot, the Sunshine State of Florida. We get more now from CNN White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond.</s>JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Laura and Boris. President Trump is heading back to the campaign trail, hitting a trio of battleground states beginning today in Florida. Tomorrow, the president is going to go to the battleground state of Pennsylvania before heading to Iowa on Wednesday. Now, President Trump heading back onto the campaign trail after the president's physician says that he has recovered from the coronavirus and also saying that the president is no longer infectious. Now, the president, himself, claimed that he had gotten a negative test for coronavirus but the president's physician, Dr. Sean Conley, didn't exactly say that. Instead, he said simply that the president's latest molecular test for coronavirus showed that he is no longer infectious -- that he can't infect other people. But he did not say that the president had tested negative for the virus. But nonetheless, the president and his campaign are seizing on that letter from Dr. Sean Conley to say that that second debate that had been canceled by the Commission on Presidential Debates after President Trump withdrew from that second debate -- the president's campaign are calling for that debate to be reinstated, saying the president should be able to participate after he's been cleared by his doctor to resume public activity -- Laura, Boris.</s>SANCHEZ: Jeremy, thanks for that. Meantime, Democratic nominee Joe Biden also on the campaign trail this week and not, as the president likes to say, in the basement. The former vice president heads to the battleground state of Ohio where he's going to stop in Toledo and Cincinnati.</s>JARRETT: All right. With 22 days to the election, it's time for three questions in three minutes. Let's bring in CNN senior political analyst John Avlon. John, thanks so much for getting up with us --</s>SANCHEZ: Good morning, John.</s>JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, guys.</s>JARRETT: -- as usual. All right. The president -- he's trailing in the polls -- badly, by the way -- so he's eager, of course, to get back to holding those famous packed rallies. But can he really make up for lost ground here with undecideds with so little time and when he still may be sick, himself?</s>AVLON: Yes -- the short answer, no. But first of all, let's clarify the only poll that counts is Election Day -- all the usual caveats. The president's supporters are very intense. And he's back out after being sidelined by COVID. Is this going to -- you know, can he make up for lost ground? It's really a question of the last 3 1/2 years. He's never done a good job of reaching out beyond the base, which definitionally is undecided. And while this may not be good for his supporters' enthusiasm, there are also questions about whether it will be good for his health. Don't buy all the superman nonsense. The man just had COVID, he's 74, and not in the world's greatest shape. But he knows that it's now or never. We're in that part of the campaign. So watch out and try not to get COVID in the process, people.</s>SANCHEZ: Yes, it's kind of been rough watching the president sort of stumble and cough often and had to clear this throat over and over. You can hear the symptoms of</s>COVID -- AVLON: Yes.</s>SANCHEZ: -- often when he speaks publicly. We have to talk about Amy Coney Barrett. Confirmation hearings start this morning for the president's pick to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.</s>AVLON: Yes.</s>SANCHEZ: Joe Biden has refused to say whether he would pack the Supreme Court should he win on Election Day. Of course, back in 1983, he made a reference to court-packing, saying that it was boneheaded.</s>AVLON: Right.</s>SANCHEZ: This time around he's not saying anything until after Election Day. Is that the right strategy, John? Does that hurt him?</s>AVLON: Well, let's separate these two things out. First of all, the nomination to the Supreme Court justice and the battle we're going to see in the days ahead is infinitely more consequential in the near term than the question of whether a Biden- Harris administration will pack the court. But obviously, the answer he's giving is politically and emotionally unsatisfying. I don't think it's been the best answer of his campaign -- we'll tell you after the campaign. But here's what's really going on. Joe Biden actually is an institutionalist -- what Mitch McConnell says he is but doesn't give much evidence of. He would not like to pack the court. But, Democrats need to keep that in play as an option, given the pushing through -- the withholding of Merrick Garland and Trump getting three Supreme Court justices. It's very popular with the base as an idea to fight fire with fire. The problem of fighting fire with fire, of course, is the whole house burns down. Joe Biden is trying to keep his powder dry and we're focusing a lot on that -- on this question anyway.</s>JARRETT: Yes. You say he's an institutionalist but the question is have the rules now changed. Has the game changed and can that type of worldview even make sense in this environment. The other angle --</s>AVLON: Yes.</s>JARRETT: -- we want to ask you about before we let you go, Sen. Kamala Harris is going to be involved in this hearing as a member of the Judiciary Committee. Of course, she famously --</s>AVLON: Yes.</s>JARRETT: -- grilled Kavanaugh hard. How is this going to go over with voters today?</s>AVLON: Watch this space. This is going to be real high drama under the dome. Look, here's the deal. Kamala Harris has a different responsibility right now. She's not going to, you know, shirk her duty. She's a prosecutorial person by instinct. But vice presidents have an obligation to do no harm. You saw in the debate and the folks around her saying that look, she's going to be trying to set an example that she is presidential. So I think you're going to get a little bit less raw meat and heat from Kamala Harris -- but still, a lot of tough appropriate questions because that's what she's good at and that's what Supreme Court hearings are for because this is for life, people.</s>JARRETT: That's interesting you think that. I think she's going to bring it. I think she's going to be just as tough if not harder.</s>AVLON: Interesting.</s>JARRETT: Yes.</s>AVLON: We will see.</s>JARRETT: We will see.</s>AVLON: We will see, Laura Jarrett.</s>JARRETT: All right, John. Thank you, appreciate it.</s>SANCHEZ: John, thank you.</s>JARRETT: See you soon.</s>AVLON: Take care, guys.</s>JARRETT: All right. Well, the governor of Kentucky and his family now under quarantine after possible exposure to coronavirus. CNN has the pandemic developments covered coast-to-coast.</s>NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Natasha Chen in Atlanta. The Georgia Department of Public Health reported 1,162 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and 23 additional deaths due to COVID-19. And that marks the fifth consecutive day that the state has reported more than 1,000 cases in a single day, according to CNN's tally. Overall, Georgia's seven-day moving average of new cases is much lower than it was in late-July, but it has plateaued in the month of October. More than 7,000 people in the state have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.</s>EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Evan McMorris-Santoro. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and his family are quarantining after contact tracers informed the governor that a member of his security detail tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday night. In a video posted to Twitter, Beshear said that the member of his security detail had driven his family home on Saturday afternoon. But he said that no one in his family has tested positive for the virus and they hadn't been in close contact with anybody since the contract tracer informed them of the exposure.</s>POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. Yesterday, some religious services in parts of Brooklyn and Queens were limited in size due to newly-imposed restrictions that are aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 in New York. A recent order from the governor limited the size of religious gatherings in any house of worship, depending on the severity of COVID-19 cases in their neighborhood. Some Orthodox Jewish groups as well as the Brooklyn Catholic Diocese sued the governor trying to suspend or maybe even modify those restrictions. However, those motions were denied this weekend and allowed to stay in place.</s>SANCHEZ: Thanks to all of our reporters for that. Developing this morning, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is announcing a new system of coronavirus alert levels for England. It's part of an effort to slow what officials are calling the high and rising number of COVID infections there. The hope is to relieve pressure on hospitals and Britain's National Health Service. CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now live from London with the latest. And, Nic, as this is getting announced it could already be facing legal challenges, right?</s>NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. I mean, what the prime minister is trying to do here as well is to simplify the -- what's become sort of a scattershot series of regional and local lockdowns across the country. Just two weeks ago, the prime minister was asked how does the lockdown affect -- what are the -- what are the rules of the lockdown in one area of the country, and he couldn't get the right answer. So this three-tier system, which will be medium, high, and very high applied regionally, is supposed to address that. We don't know yet what it takes to qualify for each of those different regions or what that means. But we do know that the city of Liverpool is going to be in the highest level and we know that they are expected to close their pubs, their casinos, and their gyms. It's an open question at the moment whether or not they'll have to close their restaurants. Even at this late minute, the details of it aren't clear. But there is heavy pushback, principally because note the highest rates of infection at the moment are in the north of the country. The local authorities there don't feel that the government has been giving them enough information -- that the government hasn't been listening to them enough. That the track and trace that the government has put in place isn't working. So all these local authorities are pushing back because they want to have a greater say. They want the government to listen to them. So right now, the prime minister has a big job ahead of him here, Boris.</s>SANCHEZ: Yes, Nic. Officials are trying to avoid a resurgence of the numbers that we saw in the U.K. back in March. A difficult situation. Nic Robertson reporting from London. Thank you.</s>JARRETT: All right, turning back to the U.S. now. Black Americans are paying more to own a home and falling further behind in building wealth. That's according to a new study from MIT showing that black homeowners pay more in mortgage rates, mortgage insurance, and property taxes than other homeowners. It turns out those differences add up in a big way with just over $67,000 in lost retirement savings. It also means it's virtually impossible for black homeowners to build wealth through homeownership at the same rates as their white household counterparts. Research shows that past discriminatory policies and practices have caused black homeowners, on average, to have lower credit scores and less savings for down payments. Researchers say mortgage policy needs to change to help eliminate this wealth gap. All right. Still ahead, thousands of people are volunteering to pay -- play a very risky role in a vaccine trial.</s>ESTEFANIA HIDALGO, VOLUNTEER, 1DAY SOONER: Scary, right? Like, you're going to be potentially exposed to the virus.</s>JARRETT: More on why they're risking their lives, next.

President Trump Claims He's Negative for COVID As He Returns to Campaigning; Trump Campaign Pushing to have Second Debate Reinstated; Amy Coney Barrett's Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing Begins.

LAURA JARRETT, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: President Trump holds his first campaign rally tonight since being diagnosed with coronavirus.</s>BORIS SANCHEZ, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: And in only a few hours, Senate confirmation hearings begin for Trump's pick to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. We'll have a preview. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world, this is EARLY START, I'm Boris Sanchez in for Christine Romans.</s>JARRETT: Always great to have you, Boris.</s>SANCHEZ: Thank you, Laura.</s>JARRETT: I'm Laura Jarrett, it's Monday, October 12th, it's 5:00 a.m. here in New York, just 22 days until election day. But we begin this morning with President Trump headed back on the campaign trail today with serious questions still remaining about his health. With the time line of his infection still murky, Trump told his supporters, Sunday, he's tested quote, "totally negative" for the virus, but yet, neither he nor his doctor have provided any evidence to back that up. Instead, he's misrepresenting his chances of re-infection and underplaying the risk of spreading COVID to anyone else. Listen to this.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's like, I'm immune. So, I can go way out of a basement to which I would have done anyway, and which I did, because you have to run a country. You have to get out of the basement, and it looks like I'm immune for -- I don't know, maybe a long time or maybe a short time. It could be a lifetime. Nobody really knows, but I'm immune, so the president is in very good shape.</s>JARRETT: Today, the president stages his first rally since being diagnosed in the coronavirus hot spot state of Florida. We get more now from White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond.</s>JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Laura and Boris. President Trump is heading back to the campaign trail, hitting a trio of battleground states, beginning today in Florida. Tomorrow, the president is going to go to the battleground state of Pennsylvania before heading to Iowa on Wednesday. Now, President Trump heading back on to the campaign trail after the president's physician says that he has recovered from the coronavirus. Also saying that the president is no longer infectious. Now, the president himself claimed that he had gotten a negative test for coronavirus, but the president's physician, Dr. Sean Conley didn't exactly say that. Instead he said simply that the president's latest molecular test for coronavirus showed that he is no longer infectious, that he can't infect other people. But he did not say that the president had tested negative for the virus. But nonetheless, the president and his campaign are seizing on the letter from Dr. Sean Conley to say that, that second debate that had been cancelled by the Commission on Presidential Debates after President Trump withdrew from that second debate. The president's campaign are calling for that to be reinstated, saying the president should be able to participate after he's been cleared by his doctor to resume public activity. But another controversy is hitting the president and his team on Sunday. Dr. Anthony Fauci putting out a statement to CNN after the Trump campaign aired this misleading ad.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump tackled the virus head on as leaders should.</s>ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.</s>DIAMOND: Now, Dr. Fauci saying in a statement to CNN, "in my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials." Now, it is clear from looking at that interview which was taped all the way back in March in the early months of this pandemic, that Dr. Fauci was indeed referring to the members of the coronavirus taskforce and other public health officials. But nonetheless, the president and his campaign standing by the ad. The president noting that these are Dr. Fauci's own words. Of course, what is notable here is that the president and his re-election campaign seem to realize that the president is getting bad marks on his handling of the coronavirus. Nearly, six in ten Americans have said in recent polls that they disapprove of the president's handling of the virus, and what's also clear is that the campaign is using Dr. Fauci's image and his words here because Fauci is far more trusted by the public on this issue of coronavirus than the president is himself. Laura, Boris.</s>SANCHEZ: Jeremy Diamond, thank you for that. In Florida, where President Trump is set to hold that rally tonight, 5,000 new coronavirus were reported over the weekend, meantime, at least, nine people who attended a crowded Trump rally in Minnesota last month have since tested positive for the virus. Right now, more than 30 states across the country are seeing cases spike. CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro has more.</s>EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Laura and Boris, fears of a new coronavirus peak in the United States are growing in some corners as new cases are on the rise in 30 states. This country has now reported 50,000 new cases for four consecutive days. The first time that's happened since August. The former CDC Director Tom Frieden told CNN over the weekend that a second wave is not inevitable, but he added that the new cases mean a lot of tragedy is coming in the next few weeks.</s>THOMAS FRIEDEN, FORMER CDC DIRECTOR: The only thing that's really inevitable is what's going to happen in the next couple of weeks, and from the infections that have already occurred, we will see something like 20,000 deaths by the end of the month. Additional deaths. Anytime we ignore, minimize or underestimate this virus, we do so at our peril, and the peril of people whose lives depend on us. We still have within ourselves, within our communities, within our society, the ability to turn this around. And if you look around the world, the parts of the world and even the parts of the U.S. that have been guided by public health and have supported public health have done better.</s>MCMORRIS-SANTORO: Frieden's words about the urgent need for people to follow infection mitigation guidelines ring especially true here in New York City. This was once the worst place in America for the pandemic. But in recent months, it's seeing those numbers come way down, and the picture has been pretty good, until recent weeks, that is. Numbers are now on the rise in several New York City neighborhoods. The infection rate in those areas is now six times the overall state number. That number is concerning. Boris and Laura.</s>JARRETT: Evan, thank you for that report. The effort to fast-track President Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett officially begins in earnest later today as her Senate confirmation hearing gets underway. If Barrett is confirmed to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she would cement the court's conservative majority for generations to come. CNN's Lauren Fox has more on what we can expect today on Capitol Hill.</s>LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Laura and Boris, this is the opening day of Amy Coney Barrett's nomination hearing on Capitol Hill, and it's really the first time that Democrats are going to have to be able to grill the nominee. Now, the first day of hearings is really all about lawmakers setting the table, making those opening statements. We expect that Senator Lindsay Graham, the chairman will set off this hearing with his own statement, followed by Senator Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the committee. Then every member of the Judiciary Committee will have ten minutes to make an opening statement. After that, Amy Coney Barrett will be introduced, sworn in, and then we expect that she will make a statement, which CNN has obtained. She'll say in part, quote, "there is a tendency in our profession to treat the practice of law as all-consuming, while losing sight of everything else, but that makes for a shallow and unfulfilling life. I worked hard as a lawyer and as a professor. I owed that to my clients, my students, and myself. But I never let the law define my identity or crowd out the rest of my life." Now, overshadowing these hearings of course have been questions about who will actually show up in person. That's because two members of this committee, two members of the Judiciary Committee, both Republican Thom Tillis and Mike Lee of Utah both tested positive for coronavirus more than a week ago. We know that Senator Lee is expected to announce today whether or not he plans to attend this hearing in person. Today and the rest of the week, we also expect that Thom Tillis will be signing in virtually, however, he said last week, he planned to attend the hearing in person on Thursday. That is a critical day because that's the day that Senator Lindsey Graham needs a quorum, meaning he can't have both Lee and Tillis absent for a critical vote. If those members are missing, it puts into jeopardy whether or not Republicans will be able to push this nomination forward before election day. Laura and Boris.</s>SANCHEZ: All right, Laura, thank you for that. The confirmation hearings begin at 9:00 a.m., you won't want to miss them here on CNN. Speaking of the Supreme Court, the Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden sticking by his refusal to say whether he would seek to increase the number of justices on the Supreme Court so he could appoint a few of his own, also known as court packing. Biden's unstated stance drawing outrage from Republicans.</s>RONNA MCDANIEL, CHAIRWOMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: His refusing to answer about whether he's going to pack the Supreme Court, upending 150 years of our judicial standards, and he's saying I'll tell you after the election, this is egregious that this candidate is getting away with this.</s>SANCHEZ: Our political reporter Arlette Saenz has more from Washington.</s>ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Boris and Laura, Joe Biden and his campaign continue to deflect on the question of whether the former vice president supports adding more justices to the Supreme Court. This comes as Republicans and President Trump are trying to make this into a campaign issue heading into November. Now, on Sunday, deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield appeared on CNN and called this line of attack a distraction from the Trump campaign. Take a listen.</s>KATE BEDINGFIELD, DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR BIDEN 2020 CAMPAIGN: This is a distraction that they want to throw out, this is a hypothetical that they want to throw out right now to distract from the fact that they are trying to ram through a nominee who, as I said, is going to change the makeup of the court against the will of the American people. They don't want to talk about that. So, they're trying to create a distraction and, you know, send folks down a rabbit hole talking about this.</s>SAENZ: Now, during the Democratic primary, Joe Biden opposed packing the Supreme Court. And there has not been any public indication just yet that his mind has changed on that position. But Biden has insisted that he will not answer this question until after the election, calling it a distraction from the issues at hand. Now, later today, Joe Biden is heading to the battleground state of Ohio where recent polls have shown a tight race between President Trump and Joe Biden. This comes just four years after President Trump won Ohio by about 8 points. And Biden is seeking to make that state competitive as he gets closer to the November election. Laura and Boris.</s>JARRETT: Arlette, thank you so much. Stimulus negotiations in Washington still at a standstill. Democrats and Republicans agree on one thing, more is needed to help struggling Americans, but many at this point think a deal won't happen until after the November election. Over the weekend, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed President Trump's $1.8 trillion proposal. But White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow believes there's still hope for another package with a price tag closer to what Pelosi has proposed.</s>LARRY KUDLOW, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: Secretary Mnuchin is up to $1.8 trillion. So, the bid and the offer is narrowing somewhat between the two sides. President Trump actually has always said -- I mean, I've heard him say it in the Oval, as far as the key elements are concerned, the checks, the unemployment assistance, the small business assistance, we've got to help airlines out, he would go further. He's always said that.</s>JARRETT: One of the problems here is that Senate Republicans who say that they're worried about spiraling debt are pushing back on spending more money. Multiple sources say while the general feeling is that talks with Pelosi should continue, it's clear that the White House plan has virtually no chance of passing the Senate. Meanwhile, in a letter to colleagues, Pelosi called the White House's offer grossly inadequate, adding quote, "it's hard to understand who is shaping their approach which to date has been miserable and a deadly failure." Kudlow said negotiations would continue this week.</s>SANCHEZ: A deadly shooting and near dueling protests in Denver, we're going to break down what happened next.

Trump Holds First Rally Since Coronavirus Diagnosis With Few Masks, No Distancing; Fauci: Holding Political Rallies Is "Asking For Trouble"; Fauci: Appropriate For Trump To Wear A Mask

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: You can always tweet the show @CNNSITROOM. "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.</s>ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next breaking news, the President holds his first rally since his battle with coronavirus in Florida right now, speaking to a mostly maskless crowd standing shoulder to shoulder as you see. Has the White House learned anything from its own hot zone outbreak? Plus, Dr. Anthony Fauci with a warning to the White House tonight, don't use me in another campaign ad. And a four-star general, lifelong Republican, POW for seven years says he has never spoken out about politics before until now. Let's go OUTFRONT. And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, President Trump returning to the campaign trail tonight, the first time since getting coronavirus and being hospitalized for days heading to a state that reported 1,500 cases so far today with a positivity rate above 10 percent over the past week, as hospitalizations rise across much of this country. You are looking at live pictures of the President's rally. Thousands of supporters packed together. No one is socially distanced and there are very few in that crowd as we've looked through it with all of the cameras and our reporters there wearing masks. It is stunning, especially given the President now knows firsthand how dangerous this virus is and how easily it spreads. It's why the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, is sounding the alarm.</s>DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: We know that that is asking for trouble when you do that. We've seen that when you have situations of congregate settings with a lot of people without masks. The data speak for themselves, it happens. And now is even more so a worse time to do that, because when you look at what's going on in the United States, it's really very troublesome. A number of states right now are having increase in test positivity. So if there's anything we should be doing, we should be doubling down in implementing the public health measures that we've been talking about for so long.</s>BURNETT: And that is because the death toll now is 214,000 Americans and nine states right now are recording record high hospitalizations, 31 states heading in the wrong direction with an increase in cases over the past week. And yet for the White House, it's been business as pre COVID usual.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Busy.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is going to be in Sanford, Florida today. Then, he's going to be in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Then Des Moines, Iowa and then Greenville, North Carolina. When it comes to these events, will anything be different, Kayleigh, in terms of the distance and the more, I guess, more deliberate when it comes to putting on masks?</s>KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We will have the same policies that we've had in place.</s>BURNETT: The same policies that they've had in place, which give Trump the optics he wants, big crowds of supporters shoulder to shoulder and masks really not frequently worn, most never worn. This is an Eric Trump event today. I just want to show you. He tweeted these images of him speaking and greeting supporters in Wisconsin. You can see this room just like - there's no masks. It's an indoor room. There's no masks. This is insanity and here's Mike Pence in Florida over the weekend. According to the campaign to their own numbers, they were nearly 3,000 people at this rally. It was at a retirement village. Thousands of senior citizens the most vulnerable age group in this country. This is a message Trump and his team are sending to the American people. That even now, he flout the number one thing that we know prevents the spread of coronavirus, a mask. As the President boarding Air Force One, the only one who did so not wearing a mask and here's his chief of staff today in the halls of the Capitol. There you go. Here's Republican ally Republican Senator Mike Lee tested positive for coronavirus 11 days ago taking his mask off at times during the Amy Coney Barrett Supreme Court confirmation hearing. This all comes as Fauci is now hitting back at the President for releasing this campaign ad which gives the very clear impression that Fauci is directly praising the President.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump tackled the virus head on as leaders should.</s>FAUCI: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.</s>BURNETT: OK. Fauci making it very clear that comment is being taken quite hugely out of context. He was talking about members of the task force with anybody. He's right, the context does not add up because Fauci and the science have, well, never backed Trump up on coronavirus.</s>FAUCI: We're facing a serious problem now.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But I think we are in a good place.</s>FAUCI: It's a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death.</s>TRUMP: If you look at the chart of deaths, deaths are way down.</s>BURNETT: So again and again Trump going against his top scientist on the disease. So the context is pretty clear, it doesn't add up at all. And when asked about possibly being featured in another campaign ad, here's what Fauci told Jake Tapper today.</s>FAUCI: That would be terrible. I mean, that would be outrageous if they do that. In fact, that might actually come back to backfire on them. I hope they don't do that, because that would be kind of playing a game that we don't want to play.</s>BURNETT: Well, I mean, that's pretty incredible and pretty direct. So Jim Acosta is traveling with the President tonight OUTFRONT at the rally in Sanford, Florida. And Jim, so you're there, what are you seeing and, of course, the White House just releasing some new information about the President's health.</s>JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, yes, that's right. Forgive me for our shots going down (inaudible) talking to you by phone here. But, yes, you're right, the President's doctor, Dr. Sean Conley did (inaudible) saying the President has negative for the coronavirus on consecutive days (inaudible) statements from Conley (inaudible) a rapid test ...</s>BURNETT: Obviously, we're having trouble hearing Jim there at that rally. If we get him back, we're going to know what he has to say. Obviously, the President's touting that he has the all clear and on that campaign trail. OUTFRONT now Dr. Todd Husty, Medical Director for Emergency Medical Services of Seminole County, Florida, where the President is holding this rally tonight. So doctor, looking at these pictures and our crews have been in there throughout the day, it's the usual, very few masks except for in some people who are behind the President, where the cameras are pointed. Lots of people no social distance. Dr. Fauci today said political rallies are 'asking for trouble'. We do know people contracted COVID after attending the President's other events. How concerned are you?</s>TODD HUSTY, MEDICAL DIRECTOR FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES, SEMINOLE COUNTY: I'm obviously concerned, Erin. I mean, I'd be a liar to say anything else. I think everybody in Seminole County, all the leadership in Seminole County has worked really hard and the people of Seminole County to knock this thing down. We're still not low enough. We're not low enough to really ease off at all. It's not that hard, you wear a mask, you social distance. It's what we've been doing medically for years for decades. It's really not that hard. So it's discouraging to see any group gathering where people are not doing the right thing. And then we've seen other gatherings. I mean, obviously, this one makes big news. We've seen a lot of them.</s>BURNETT: Yes.</s>HUSTY: As a medical person, I'm just discouraged.</s>BURNETT: So your county, I know, has a mask ordinance. And obviously, that's being ignored tonight with the White House says they have their same policies in place. But obviously, they're not mandating that anybody respect that ordinance in your county and what do you say to that?</s>HUSTY: Well, we have not enforced our mask ordinance. We really went to the people to say, listen, we're going to have a mask ordinance but we want to educate you about how important it is. And I think the people of Seminole County listened. We sure knocked this thing down from where it was. So we were hoping that anybody that has any kind of gathering will take heed. Now we know that there have been gatherings where they didn't do that, we don't arrest, we don't cite people, we don't give them a fine. And this is just in a bigger way, obviously, Erin. We're leading by example.</s>BURNETT: Right. Well, I mean, that's the big point. I mean, you would think it's a presidential rally. This is a place where you would tell people this is what they have to do. If you're them and I know that you do believe your county is doing well, thanks to the mask ordinance, because it is directly when you look at the charts, directly correlated with the success that you've had against the virus. But overall, the State of Florida seeing an upward trend, Dr. Fauci overall, says in the United States, we're on a trajectory of getting worse and worse. Those are his words exactly, Doctor. How concerned are you about the message sent out at a rally like this with no masks required?</s>HUSTY: Well, it's obviously all of us. I'm 69 years old this month, so I wear a mask. I'm fairly widely known locally and I wouldn't be caught dead out there without a mask on, because somebody will go that's Dr. Husty without a mask on. I don't need to wear a mask now. In such a smaller way than the President or anybody else of authority and I would fault the President, but there are a lot of other people who have not been clear on this. There's been a lot of - it's just unclear support. We need to be clear masks and social distancing work, end of story. We've known it. All of the hospitals in Seminole County unanimously support a mass mandate and enforceable mask mandate and it's worked and they're still a hundred percent behind it because we were getting bad there for a while.</s>BURNETT: All right. Well, I appreciate your time, Dr. Husty. Thank you, sir.</s>HUSTY: Thank you, Erin. I appreciate it.</s>BURNETT: And OUTFRONT now Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Director of Cardiac Cath Lab at GW who advised the White House medical team under President George W. Bush and Abby Phillip, our political correspondent. So Dr. Reiner tonight, it's Florida. Cases, obviously, on the rise there. As I said you've got nine states with record hospitalizations in this country and the President is heading to Pennsylvania, Iowa and North Carolina this week, all with upward trends and we're gonna see more maskless rallies. Things are getting worse and worse, according to Dr. Fauci. The President had coronavirus and still, he still won't do it.</s>JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Yes. I think you use the most apt word, which was this is insane. It's obvious that the President has given up on trying to mitigate the spread of this virus and it's just waiting for, at some point in the future, a vaccine to make its way into this country and he's focused on getting reelected. He's not focused on preserving the health of the population. Florida has a 10 percent positivity rate right now. Later in the week, he's going to Iowa. They have an 18 percent positivity rate. You can't bring people together like this. Your previous guest used exactly the right phrase. He said he wouldn't be caught dead without a mask. Well, that's exactly what's going to happen to some people in these crowds. Two to three weeks from now, they're going to be caught dead because they went to one of these events. It has to stop. There's just no explanation for it, other than the President is desperate to get reelected and he doesn't care who gets in his way.</s>BURNETT: I mean, Abby, these massless rallies we're seeing again and again, and I should point out, I mentioned a moment ago that the people who wear masks are the ones that are behind the President. The campaign wants that. That's where you see the few of the masks. Otherwise, it's pretty much none and, obviously, no social distancing. You wouldn't even have any idea this was happening this year. Then today, Abby, there was the Eric Trump event, he tweeted about it today. I mean, this was incredible. This was in-doors. This is inside with no masks and no social distancing. I mean, that is really dangerous and reckless. And then Mark Meadows, he wouldn't answer any questions when someone asked him to put his mask back on, he refused to answer questions. Abby, why are they so stubborn on this and proudly so right, Eric Trump tweeted that image out, because he wanted people to see they're in a closed room not wearing masks.</s>ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It really doesn't make any sense. Dr. Reiner just described it as insane from a medical and scientific perspective. Yes, it's insane. But it's also insane from a political perspective. He is going to Florida. That's a state where he's suffering with senior citizens who think he's been reckless in his handling of this virus and then he's going to Florida and having a giant rally in which many, many, many people are not wearing masks and then going back into the community and potentially spreading the virus to vulnerable people. It doesn't make sense to throw these images in the face of voters who already don't think you're taking this seriously enough. And everyone in that crowd, they are the diehard Trump supporters. They love the President. And if he said to them, do it for me, take that mask in your hand and put it on your face, wear that mask tonight, they would probably do it. But the President is not doing that because he continues to view mask wearing as something that is sort of antithetical to his political image. So much so that - like you said, the Chief of Staff on Capitol Hill wouldn't even wear a mask when talking to reporters when they asked him to even though he could easily be heard and understood with a mask on. Nothing has changed, Erin, his position on this hasn't changed. The President is looking for a cure for this virus, but he's not willing to encourage the public to take responsible steps to get it under control.</s>BURNETT: So Dr. Reiner, you heard Dr. Fauci say they're using his words out of context and that it would be outrageous if they did it again. We, by the way, gave people the context of time after time after time on these crucial issues from testing to masks to social distance where the President has contradicted his chief scientist. He says it'll backfire on the Trump campaign if they use him again. And it was strong words from Dr. Fauci that it could backfire on them, it's outrageous. What do you make up that threat from Fauci?</s>REINER: I think he's telling it exactly the way it is. I think he's telling the administration not to do that again, because he'll just speak very forthrightly about that. I thought for a long time that Dr. Fauci should ignore the administration's efforts to muzzle him. And if he's asked to speak and he can speak and he wants to do an event or an interview, he should just do it. There is zero chance this administration will try and fire Dr. Tony Fauci three weeks before the election. He has twice the public approval rating as the President does. The public trusts him. So I don't think they can muzzle him. And if I were Dr. Fauci, I would do whatever media opportunities presented themselves, because this administration should not be muzzling him. The public should hear the truth. And I think now you're starting to hear that Dr. Fauci is very willing to do that if they push him just a little bit more.</s>BURNETT: Yes. I mean, it was clear, just even the set of his mouth, his jaw, Abby, when he said that, he was really, really angry and rightfully so, because we know that it's not true. But does the campaign care at all about Fauci's objection? How much weight does this threat carry?</s>PHILLIP: I mean, it seems very much like they don't care about Dr. Fauci's objections. And one of the interesting things about their use of Dr. Fauci in these ads is that many of the President's own supporters and surrogates have actually spent many months attacking Dr. Fauci, criticizing him for talking about the severity of this pandemic. So it's ironic that they would then turn around and try to use Fauci as credibility, but it also seems to be a tactical mistake, because Dr. Fauci has been pretty reserved in sort of keeping to the medical aspect of this and I think he does not want in any way to get involved in politics. But I do not think that he enjoys being used, he describes it as him being sort of - kind of harassed actually.</s>BURNETT: Yes.</s>PHILLIP: He told a reporter he was being harassed by the Trump campaign. It is a mistake to make an enemy out of someone who is viewed as more credible than the administration. And at the end of the day, I think that this White House would be better off and just sort of keeping Dr. Fauci out of it, rather than creating potentially a kind of very public rift in which he has no choice but to defend his credibility as a scientist and as someone who is not involved in politics in any way.</s>BURNETT: All right. Abby, thank you very much. And I should emphasize when Abby said that he told reporter he felt harassed. I mean, he did and that is a stunning thing to say. Dr. Fauci says he feels harassed, his word, by the Trump campaign in terms of what they're doing. It is it is a pretty incredible precipice here that we stand on the edge of. OUTFRONT next, the Florida Governor Ron DeSantis arriving at the rally just moments ago and there was the scene. You see the scene. There are no masks. There are high fives, it's 2019. Plus, Democrats united and on message against Trump's Supreme Court pick.</s>SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), PRESUMPTIVE VICE PRESIDENT NOMINEE: President Trump promised to only nominate judges who will get rid of the Affordable Care Act.</s>BURNETT: By the way, I just want to say, Amy Coney Barrett had COVID. She's wearing a mask because examples matter. And also tonight here white women who supported Trump in 2016 say they can no longer vote for the President.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you regret your vote?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where we are today, yes, I do.

Judge Barrett Expected To Face Fiery Day Of Questioning From Senators, Including VP Nominee Kamala Harris; Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) Is Interviewed About Judge Amy Coney Barrett's Hearing.

BURNETT: Tonight, all eyes on Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, and Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett. The intense questioning in Barrett's confirmation hearing starts tomorrow. And tonight, we're getting a preview of what's about to happen. Jessica Schneider is OUTFRONT.</s>SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): The floor is yours, Judge.</s>JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amy Coney Barrett starting off her confirmation hearing this afternoon spelling out her judicial philosophy.</s>JUDGE AMY CONEY BARRETT, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE NOMINEE: Courts are not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong in our public life. The public should not expect courts to do so, and courts should not try.</s>SCHNEIDER: The 48-year-old was a clerk for late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia. And while she would step into the spot of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, it's Scalia's seat she'll really fill.</s>CONEY: It was the content of Justice Scalia's reasoning that shaped me. His judicial philosophy was straightforward. A judge must apply the law as it is written, not as she wishes it were.</s>SCHNEIDER: Democrats immediately aired their disdain that Republicans are racing to fill Justice Ginsburg's seat before the election.</s>SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Senate Republicans have made it crystal clear that rushing a Supreme Court nomination is more important than helping and supporting the American people who are suffering from a deadly pandemic and a devastating economic crisis.</s>SCHNEIDER: Vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris skipped the in- person hearing to go virtual and slammed the committee for moving forward without mandatory testing.</s>HARRIS: This committee has ignored common sense requests to keep people safe, including not requiring testing for all members, despite a coronavirus outbreak among senators of this very committee.</s>SCHNEIDER: While Harris stayed in her office, Republican Senator Mike Lee was there in person without a mask, despite having tested positive shortly after the White House event announcing Barrett's nomination two weeks ago. Lee released a letter from the Senate physician today clearing him to attend in person. While six of Barrett's seven children sat behind her, the political posturing played out for hours in front of her. Democrats warned Americans that their access to health care is at stake when the Supreme Court hears arguments on the affordable care act November 10th.</s>SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA): The president has promised to appoint justices who will vote to dismantle that law.</s>SCHNEIDER: Republicans preemptively made Barrett's Catholic religion the focus, calling out any Democrat who makes Barrett's faith an issue, though no Democrat did.</s>SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): When you tell somebody that they're too Catholic to be on the bench, when you tell them they're going to be a Catholic judge, not an American judge, that's bigotry. The pattern and practice of bigotry from members of this committee must stop.</s>SCHNEIDER: Barrett, meanwhile, kept the focus on her family and her resume. Noting how she would be the only justice without an Ivy League degree.</s>BARRETT: I would be the first mother of school-age children to serve on the clerk. I would be the only sitting justice who didn't attend school at Harvard or Yale.</s>SCHNEIDER: And today's format kept things relatively tame, but it could get a lot more fiery tomorrow and Wednesday when all members of the committee will question Amy Coney Barrett. Democrats will stay zeroed in on health care. And that's also something that was on the president's mind during the hearing. Erin, he tweeted twice before noon about health care, saying he has a plan that is lower cost and better than Democrats'. But, of course, up to this point, Erin, we have yet to see any concrete plans on health care from the president -- Erin.</s>BURNETT: All right, Jessica, thank you very much. Yeah, if he has a plan, he hasn't showed it to anyone. OUTFRONT now, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. So, Senator, I appreciate your time. I know you said today that you made up your mind to oppose Amy Coney Barrett's nomination. Did you hear anything today which suggests that she is not qualified for a seat on the highest court in the land?</s>SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): There was no reassurance today, Erin, none, that she will do anything but strike down the Affordable Care Act and end protections for people who suffer from pre-existing conditions. She has been vetted by Trump screeners. She passed the Trump litmus test, that she would not only strike down the Affordable Care Act but also overturn Roe v. Wade. And she's written that if she'd been on the court she would have struck down the Affordable Care Act in the cases before the Supreme Court. She did nothing today to rebut that conclusion. And we brought into that room real people who would suffer as a result.</s>BURNETT: So, the Harvard law professor Noah Feldman who, as you know, testified in favor of President Trump's impeachment last year wrote in an op-ed that Barrett -- who by the way he's known for more than 20 years -- is more than qualified to sit on the Supreme Court. His argument, Senator, quote, it is better for the republic to have a principled, brilliant lawyer on the bench than a weaker candidate. That's Barrett. He, by the way, went on to say just like you he doesn't agree with a lot of the things that she might do. But he calls her brilliant and qualified, more than qualified. What do you say to that?</s>BLUMENTHAL: Qualifications are important. Credentials on paper. What really matters is judgment. And by her legal positions, she has really shown herself to be extreme or radical, which is the word she used to describe her position on eliminating gun violence prevention provisions in state laws. And we need a justice who has judgment and a sensitivity to the people who would be caused harm by striking down those protections for people who suffer from pre-existing conditions. One of them now is</s>COVID. BURNETT: So, speaking of COVID, the Republican Senator Mike Lee did attend today's hearing in person. He had tested positive for coronavirus 11 days ago. He was cleared by his doctor to attend. He did, though, choose at times not to wear a mask in the committee room, right? Which was more a statement than anything else. You were in the room. Do you think it was appropriate how he handled it?</s>BLUMENTHAL: I was concerned for the health of our colleagues as well as myself by his presence, particularly when he took off his mask. We've called on all our Republican colleagues to be tested. I've been tested twice over the past few days, both negative. But even more important than our health is a national testing strategy for the whole nation. More PPE. More money for vaccines. Instead of rushing this nomination, without giving the American people a say about the next justice through the next president and the next Senate, we should be actually addressing a health care crisis. President Trump is trying to jam through the Senate a nominee who is antithetical to health care during a health care crisis.</s>BURNETT: So, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, we understand, warned lobbyists on a call that, quote, Democrats are on fire, just talking about fund-raising and performance in polls. It comes as Lindsey Graham's opponent pulled in $57 million. And you know -- so I guess how do you see this? Do you think Democrats are in a really great position when you look at taking over the Senate, or do you say, hey, Beto O'Rourke raised a heck of a lot of money too and it didn't work out so well for him in his bid?</s>BLUMENTHAL: I'm really hopeful that the spirit and energy and outrage that those numbers show will be reflected in calls to Republican colleagues who should merit the outrage of people who see them supporting a nominee who would decimate American health care during a pandemic. I hope that the American people will respond by standing up and speaking out. It's a break the glass moment. And I think those numbers about fund- raising reflect a growing movement that in the end will mean my Republican colleagues will be held accountable.</s>BURNETT: All right. I appreciate your time. Thank you, Senator Blumenthal.</s>BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.</s>BURNETT: And next, a lifelong Republican, retired four-star general speaking out for the first time about politics and this president. Plus, Republican women are key to Trump's victory. He must have their turnout and their support. But some are questioning why.</s>KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Was there a moment when you decided I cannot support him anymore?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was almost instantly.

Cases Rising in 31 States, Record Hospitalizations in Six States

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEW DAY: All right. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is New Day. And this morning, the coronavirus pandemic reality in United States is bad and it's getting worse. That is what the numbers clearly show this morning. Things are now headed in the wrong direction. There's been so much focus on one case that some have lost sight of the fact that the U.S. is now averaging 50,000 new cases a day. That's the highest number in two months. 31 states across the country are seeing a surge in cases. Six states are reporting record hospitalizations. That is the reality, the nearly 50,000 new cases a day. As for the one case in the spotlight, President Trump is getting back on the campaign trail for the first time since his own coronavirus diagnosis. Four rallies over the next four days, beginning in Florida, bringing maybe thousands of people together, perhaps maskless, certainly not social distancing, clearly a public health risk and almost definitely a questionable political choice, as well.</s>ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN NEW DAY: And if you've been wondering what's happened to some of the people who have attended these Trump rallies, well, at least nine people who attended one in Minnesota last month have been infected with coronavirus. One of them is in intensive care this morning. President Trump claims he has tested negative, but the White House has not provided any proof of that. This morning, Dr. Anthony Fauci is calling out the Trump campaign for using footage of him in an ad, appearing to tout the president's leadership during the pandemic, but Fauci says it was done without his knowledge or permission and that his words were taken out of context. Joining us now to talk about all of this, we have CNN Senior Political Reporter, Nia-Malika Henderson, CNN Senior Political Analyst, John Avlon, and Dr. Paul Offit, he is the Director of the Vaccine Education and Pediatrics Professor at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Great to have all of you. Let's start with the medical angle, Dr. Offit. I think the people have been waiting to see what's happened after these rallies. You know, there was lots of concern when President Trump was holding these rallies, I'm thinking particularly of the indoor one in Henderson, Nevada. We haven't heard the contact tracing from there yet, in terms of what local news is reporting. But we do have information now on what happened on September 18th in Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Public Health has traced nine cases of coronavirus to this Trump rally, which was outdoors, as well as two more cases to a counter-rally that was held that same day. One of the people is in intensive care. And so, you know, as the president makes clear his plans that he wants to get back and he's going to be going to Florida today and holding these rallies, your thoughts?</s>DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER: Right, it's remarkable. I mean, the president asks you to participate in his cult of denialism. He brings large numbers of people together in a closed space, whether indoor or outdoor, asks you essentially not to wear mask and, by definition, not social distance, as if his denialism will mean that you aren't going to get infected. I mean, how many times does this have to happen, over and over again, when you realize that he's putting people in unnecessary risk. The most amazing one to me is the Rose Garden ceremony. I mean, here are people like Father Jenkins, for example, from the University of Notre Dame, where he's done this great job at Notre Dame at social distancing, at wearing masks, to see all the students wearing mask. Why would he go to that meeting or that event at the Rose Garden? Does he not wear a mask? I mean, I would like to ask him, why he doesn't? Was it out of respect for the president? Did he believe that since most other people aren't wearing it, he shouldn't wear it? I mean, he clearly knows that you can be contagious in that situation. It's just is remarkable to me that people participate in this cult of denial, if we just shut our eyes, it's all going to go away. It doesn't work that way.</s>BERMAN: Dr. Offit, I've heard you say, this is the most anti-science administration you've seen, particularly in the last six months. How does this campaign swing, four rallies in four days, fit with that idea?</s>OFFIT: Right. He's -- the president is dangerous to the public. It's not just that he doesn't set a good example, which would be to make sure that everybody tries to wear masks and social distance. The most recent data shows that if 95 percent of Americans wear masks, we would prevent 80,000 deaths over the next two months. I mean, it's a remarkable statistic. And maybe the point is we're numb to that statistic. I mean, there's this horrible quote from Stalin, which is, one death is a strategy, a million deaths is a statistic. I mean, the fact of the matter is, because 80,000 deaths are so numbing, we just don't embrace it. But those are people. I mean, if you saw those people, you would try to do something to prevent their deaths, but somehow we just ignore it all.</s>CAMEROTA: And, John Avlon, the president, via tweet, is very interested in talking about what he considers his own immunity. That's not the point. That's not the point. He stays socially distanced. He stays up on a balcony at these things or on a stage. The point is, what's going to happen with all of the other thousands of people?</s>JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, Donald Trump doesn't exactly take other people into consideration, usually. He lives in a Trump-centric universe. But with his newfound claims to have immunity and a protective glow, which is total nonsense, scientifically and otherwise, you see the president being -- deploying out of a degree of desperation into the campaign arena. Frankly, it's some additional risk to his own health, because he's only in the early stages of recovery. But what Dr. Offit just said, there's a cult of denialism that stems from Donald Trump, that flows through his administration, that is impacting his supporters, in a time when we are seeing cases spike like in states like Florida and they're in the heartland, as we showed with unprecedented rates of hospitalization. This is a public health hazard that he's pursuing because he's desperately trying to claw his way back into the polls.</s>BERMAN: Yes. But that's the irony too, isn't it? Because, as Dr. Offit makes clear, it's bad public health, it's dangerous public health. But, Nia, it's not at all clear to me that it's good politics. Going to Florida, there are some seniors, I'm told, who live in Florida. What if you're a senior watching T.V. and you see 2,000 people. Could be 10,000 people, for all I know, packed into an airplane hangar there near a president who just got over coronavirus. What are you supposed to think?</s>NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: No. I think you're exactly right. The president, I think, believes this is a show of strength. He's able to barn storm all of these states over the next couple of days, but it really is a show of weakness. He's doing particularly terrible among seniors. You think about a state like Florida, you think about a state like Pennsylvania, as well, in the top ten or so in terms of aging populations. And those are the voters that he's doing so poorly among. You look at the internals of that new Washington Post poll, he is tied among men, up 26 points among women, up 12 points among independents. This is not a recipe for coming -- for getting elected. So it's hard to see how he thinks these sort of rallies are better than the debate he passed on. It probably would have been much better for him to participate in a debate where tens of millions of viewers would get a look at him, even though he didn't do so well in that first debate. But these rallies are just not a good look for him. It also probably would have been better just to talk to local news anchors, right? They would carry that wall to wall in a way that I'm not sure that these kind of rallies where seniors are going to be watching, vulnerable populations are going to be watching and saying, what is this president thinking. It only underscores what they think already about him, which is that he has handled the coronavirus terribly. Not only nationally, but personally in terms of what he's done with his own behavior and folks in the White House.</s>CAMEROTA: Dr. Offit, so now, Dr. Anthony Fauci has had to come forward and say that he was taken out of context and that he doesn't appreciate being used in this new Trump campaign ad. As John has pointed out this morning, Dr. Fauci, on our air, is so careful, he's so diplomatic. He really doesn't want to weigh in on the politics stuff, but this leaves him no choice. So let me just play the ad and then we'll talk about what was out of context. So, listen to this.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump is recovering from the coronavirus and so is America. Together, we rose to meet the challenge. President Trump tackled the virus head-on, as leaders should.</s>DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I can't imagine that anybody could be doing more.</s>CAMEROTA: Dr. Anthony Fauci did not say, I can't imagine anyone could be doing more about President Trump. He said it, if you listen to the entire quote, about the White House task force, that he and Dr. Birx were part of and how hard they were working and they were working 24 hours a day and overtime, et cetera, that's what they were referring to. And so now, CNN got this exclusive Fauci statement that says, in my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in a GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials. Dr. Offit, your thoughts?</s>OFFIT: No, it's hard to watch. I mean, Dr. Fauci is a hero to me. He's been a hero to me for the 40 years that I've known him. And it's hard to watch him being used as a political football this way. What he was talking about, obviously, was very early on when the coronavirus task force was put together, how hard he and Dr. Birx and others were working to do the best they could to prevent this. Obviously, we've done a terrible job with roughly 4 percent of the world's populations, we have more than 20 percent of the deaths. We're one of the worst, if not, the worst country in the world at handling this, because we haven't done what we need to do, which is to use the most powerful tool we have, which is hygienic measures, wearing masks, social distancing. Not only do we not embrace it. At some level, the administration shows disdain for it. It's just hard to watch. And it's hard to watch Dr. Fauci treated that way. He's such a wonderful public health official. He's got the trust of the American people. And now, although, largely, I think the administration has tried to marginalize him, here they use him in a way that they think is to their advantage, albeit, clearly out of context.</s>BERMAN: So, John Avlon, at risk of quoting myself, not only is this bad public health, but it strikes me as bad politics. There's 22 days to go, so you pick a public fight with Dr. Anthony Fauci? Fauci is a guy who will do anything not to talk about politics. So what does the president do? He forces him out and makes him make a political statement right there. It's just bad politics.</s>AVLON: It would seem. But, look, don't forget, the Trump administration doesn't care, and, in fact, they have contempt for the tradition of non-partisan public servants, like Dr. Fauci. And so he has pushed back on this. But, look, that whole ad is this sort of fantasia of morning in America at a time when we have the worst death rate in the world. And to the point Nia-Malika was just making, a lot of the key states, Florida and Pennsylvania, in particular, have among the oldest populations in the country. At a time when the new CNN poll shows that Donald Trump is down 21 points to Joe Biden among senior citizens. So they'll do anything they and facts, context, all of that stuff doesn't matter to them. So Dr. Fauci has to speak out to remind people. And, look, don't forget also, the administration went out of its way to kneecap Dr. Fauci and raise suspicions and conspiracy theories about him. But now, because he's more popular than the president with more credibility on the coronavirus, they want to hug him down the stretch and he's going to push him away.</s>CAMEROTA: Nia-Malika, I mean, is this -- is what we're seeing this week of President Trump going back and holding these rallies, despite the fact that, as you say, he is hurting in the polls, all of the latest polls with seniors at least in Florida, is this just his gut Trumping, no pun intended, whatever political advice he's getting from people around him or are they just going along for this ride?</s>HENDERSON: Probably a little of both. It is also Donald Trump wanting to feel good. He's going out there having those big crowds when he's obviously been in the White House cooped up in isolation because he had COVID. And so now he's going out and he'll be among those adoring fans. Hopefully, they will wear masks. Hopefully they will social distance. But from what we've seen so far, at least on the social distancing part, that isn't going so well with some of these crowds that he's had. But, yes, I mean, this -- again, this is desperation, it's down the stretch. The president going to what he knows best, but it would be great if he had some policy to go along with it, right? He has been over these kind of last days performing work, oh, he's going to the Oval Office. Probably better if there had been some sort of stimulus package. So he would go to those rallies and say, listen, you're going to get a check in the mail because you're struggling with our rent or seniors, and you're going to get a break, and those kinds of things are just absent. If you compare the kind of messaging he had in 2016, there was some policy to go along with what he was campaigning on. And now, it's just him sort of rallying and talking about COVID and any number of things. This is a bad move by this president, you know, down the stretch and he's in a desperate position.</s>BERMAN: Look, if it's just about feeling good, that's what dexamethasone is for. He doesn't even put thousands of people at risk at these rallies. One programming note in the midst of all of this, Dr. Fauci is going to be Jake Tapper's guest today on The Lead, which will be very interesting in light of what Dr. Fauci has said about those ads. And I just want to say this one more time. We focused a lot on one case there. We're averaging nearly 50,000 new cases of coronavirus a day and the hospitalizations are going up. So we are in trouble as a country right now. Our thanks to all three of you. We have some new details this morning about the alleged terror plot against Michigan's governor, the crucial planning the FBI says happened inside this basement, next.

Trump Returns to Campaign Trail Despite Public Health Risks; Cases Rising in 31 States, Record Hospitalizations in 6 States.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is heading back to the campaign trail, hitting a trio of battleground states.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people have been with him, said he's fine, he's peppy. He will go on ahead.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's foolish for him to do it. It's going to be hard for him to do it and it might give him a big setback. We don't really know whether he's still infectious.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For the first time since August, the U.S. has reported four consecutive days of more than 50,000 new daily coronavirus cases.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're already seeing a sharp increase in the northern Midwest. That will probably start going up in the northeast, as well. It will be a sad time in the fall and winter.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to be very clear. I'm afraid of COVID. I'm afraid of what's going to happen in the winter. I'm afraid of our surges. We anticipate they are going to happen.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.</s>ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It is Monday, October 12, 6 a.m. here in New York. President Trump is returning to the campaign trail today. He plans to hold rallies, despite the risk to public health. The president got out of the hospital one week ago after being treated for coronavirus, and he claims he has now tested negative, but the White House has still not provided any proof. Just 22 days to go until the election. The president has a packed schedule. He will hold four rallies over the next four days. Now, if you're wondering what has happened to some people who have been at these rallies, well, at least nine people who attended a Trump rally in Minnesota last month have been infected with coronavirus. One of them is in intensive care this morning. As for Joe Biden, he is in Ohio today. His running mate, Kamala Harris, will participate in a Senate confirmation hearing for Amy Coney Barrett, but do so remotely.</s>JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So here's the thing. The most important headline this morning is this. The coronavirus situation in the country is not good. In fact, in some ways, it's very bad, as bad as it has been in months. The U.S. is now averaging just under 50,000 new cases reported a day. That's the highest number in two months. Thirty-one states across the country are seeing a rise in cases. Six states are reporting record hospitalizations. One model now predicts that 181,000 more Americans will die by February. A hundred and eighty-one thousand more people dead by February. So that is the environment in which the president is choosing to gather crowds. It's a risky public health choice and a questionable political choice. Speaking of which, the president managed to alienate Dr. Anthony Fauci, using footage of Fauci in a campaign ad without the doctor's knowledge or permission. And Fauci is not one bit happy; says his words were taken out of context. Let's begin at the White House with Joe Johns. And Joe, the president heading back out into the country as the number of cases continue to rise.</s>JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John. The president heads out to Florida today. Later this week, he's also going to Pennsylvania, Iowa, North Carolina. It's what a candidate does when he's behind in the polls in the presidential race. However, we still have very little verifiable information about the president's health, except for what he and his doctors say, including whether the president is contagious.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're starting very, very big with our rallies and with our everything.</s>JOHNS (voice-over): With just 22 days until election day, Trump is ramping up his campaigning, causing rising concerns about potential coronavirus spread among rallygoers. The Minnesota Department of Health reporting at least nine cases linked to a Trump rally in September, landing one patient in the</s>ICU. TRUMP: This is a lot of people. That's great. Thank you very much.</s>JOHNS: While the president claims he has tested negative for the virus, nine days after he initially revealed his positive diagnosis, his physician, Dr. Conley, only says he is not a transmission risk to others.</s>DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CHIEF, DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL: We know that the PCR test usually remains positive for some period of time, up to, in fact, 12 weeks after your initial positive.</s>JOHNS: Much still remains unknown about the president's condition, and Trump himself is now saying he's immune from the virus.</s>TRUMP (via phone): I beat this crazy, horrible China virus, and it also gives you immunity. I mean, it does give you immunity. And I have to tell you, I feel fantastically. I really feel good. And I even feel good by the fact that, you know, the word immunity means something, having -- having, really, a protective glow. It means something. I think it's very important to have that.</s>JOHNS: According to medical experts, much is still unknown about the immune response to the virus, and there is no proven immunity.</s>DR. CELINE GOUNDER, FORMER NYC ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF HEALTH: Yes, the president has tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, but he was treated with antibodies produced by Regeneron. Those Regeneron antibodies are going to be floating around for a while.</s>JOHNS: Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci speaking out after he says the Trump campaign used his words out of context, and without his consent, in a campaign video. Fauci tells CNN, "In my nearly five decades of public service, I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about the efforts of federal public health officials." The president defending the ad, tweeting, "They are, indeed, Fauci's own words."</s>JOHNS: Joe Biden is out on the trail again today, too, headed to Ohio. Meanwhile, the Trump campaign is slamming the Presidential Debate Commission for canceling the second debate, even though it was the president himself who said he would not participate if it was held virtually. All eyes now on the date of October 22 for another debate. John, back to you.</s>BERMAN: Clearly, the Trump campaign regrets the president's rapid and hasty withdrawal from that debate. Clearly, they wish they probably didn't do that so quickly. Joe Johns, thank you very much for being with us. This morning, the U.S. is seeing this alarming uptick in coronavirus cases, averaging now just under 50,000 new cases a day. And you can get a sense of what's going on around the country. Montana now has reported more than 5,000 new cases in just the last 11 days. It took the state five months to reach 5,000 cases at the beginning of the pandemic. CNN's Alexandra Field joins us now with the very latest. And we are seeing this rise. We haven't been where we are right now since the beginning of August, Alexandra.</s>ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, the struggle is real across the country. The predictions for what could happen in the next few months are dire. Right here in New York City, a state that has one of the lowest positivity rates in the nation, we are continuing to see a cluster of cases. The governor is saying the only way forward, the only way to tackle these hot spots is with aggressive enforcement. He says the hot spots are still largely affecting Hasidic Jewish communities. There are strict restrictions on religious gatherings now that have been met by protests in some orthodox neighborhoods. Those restrictions remain in place as the city tries to beat these hot spots. Nationwide, much the same. You're seeing 31 states with an increase in cases. Some 50,000 cases a day on average last week. That is double the number of what we were seeing -- or rather, that is the highest number that we have seen in more than two months. At the same time, we're looking at projections now from IHME. These projections have in the past been accurate, if not conservative. IHME is now projecting that we could see some 395,000 deaths by February 1. If social distancing and other restrictions are eased, that number could go up over 500,000. And perhaps most interestingly, John and Alisyn, IHME is also projecting that if 95 percent of people wore masks, some 80,000 lives could be saved between now and February 1. Something to think about.</s>CAMEROTA: That is such a critical number. The amount of lives that could be saved.</s>FIELD: It's so simple.</s>CAMEROTA: Thank you so much. We'll get into that later in the program. Meanwhile, joining us now, CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. He's a professor of medicine at George Washington University and cardiologist for former Vice President Dick Cheney. Also with us, CNN political commentator Errol Louis. He's the political anchor of Spectrum News. Great to have both of you. Dr. Reiner, President Trump seems to be taking a lot of solace in the notion that he is now immune. Of course, the larger concern should be for the people that he comes in contact with. Case in point, he'll be holding a rally today in Florida. You know, there's been a lot of question about what happens to rallygoers after they go to one of these big, often maskless Trump campaign rallies. And we now have a little bit of information, thanks to the Minnesota Department of Public Health. They did some contact tracing. And they found out that after the September 18 rally in Minnesota, nine people here became infected with coronavirus. One of these people -- we don't know their identity -- is in the ICU this morning. Two more people got infected at a counter rally that same day. And so for everybody who's been wondering, gosh, what -- and by the way, that one was outdoors. OK? What we just saw was outdoors. There have been some indoor rallies. And so we're starting to see reporting, as you had predicted, of some of the consequences.</s>DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Right. We're in the middle of a pandemic. I mean, this sounds so elemental. It's a pandemic with a very contagious virus. If you bring a lot of people together, particularly if you bring a lot of people together who aren't wearing face masks, then the virus will spread. Look, we had a gigantic outbreak in D.C. because of White House activities. Because of White House activities. In a city with only about a 1 percent positivity rate, it spiked because of White House activities. About 34 people associated with the White House itself have been infected with this virus. So now the president is going to take his road show down to Florida. Florida has a positivity rate of 10 percent, which is about twice the national average. So rather than making the same recommendation to the country, which is to lower our viral footprint, do the things that will protect us. And when I tell my patients to lower their viral footprint, that means, you know, minimizing how many times you go to the store, keeping out of crowds, wearing a face mask, keeping your distance from people. If the elevator stops and there are a couple of people in it, wait for the next elevator. These are common sense things. What I don't tell people to do is to go to a giant rally. So -- but now the president is emboldened. He feels that he's immune. He feels that he got let off easy, and he's been playing it down from -- from the beginning. So now basically, his message is, I got through this, I beat this, and that's exactly the wrong message when we're averaging about 50,000 cases a day.</s>BERMAN: You know, Errol, the irony here is, it's clearly bad public health. Just listen to Dr. Reiner here. There's no question this is bad public health. But politically, it doesn't seem to be particularly good thinking, either. I mean, why let yourself be put on camera in front of thousands of people who aren't social distanced when Americans already doubt how you're handling the pandemic?</s>ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, that's right, John. In fact, what it does, in effect, is pit the president against most of the governors, much of the public health establishment, and how this plays out locally. Hey, the president is coming to town. There's going to be some big excitement coming to town. That's the whole point of going there to campaign. On the other hand, every local news organization is also going to have to point out that this runs counter to what everyone has been saying for the last eight, nine months now, that you've got to have social distancing, you've got to have face coverings, and that this infectious spread is very real and that it has affected everyone, up to and including the president of the United States. So it's one thing to run against Joe Biden. It's a much, much tougher pull to run against the entire public health establishment of the United States, including members of his own administration. That, however, is what the president has chosen to do. That is a marker, by the way, John, I think, of where the campaign sees itself. We know that all of the polls show that he's running behind both nationally and in key swing states. But it suggests also this kind of hail Mary approach to this, that they feel like they're not making up ground. And that each news cycle that slips by without them making up that ground means they've got to try something bigger and bolder. And I think that's what these very otherwise reckless rallies represent.</s>CAMEROTA: But, I mean, Errol, very quickly, is this a hail Mary or are they just -- President Trump thinks this these big rallies work for him? He's playing the hits. This is what he thinks, you know, has worked for him in 2016, and he's going back to that.</s>LOUIS: There's some of that, Alisyn, but I think there's also -- this campaign has not caught up with what the Biden campaign has figured out, which is how to do -- how to do rallies, how to do local hits, how to campaign on the campaign trail in a way that is both safe and also effective. So you see all of these different things that the Biden/Harris campaign has put together, where they'll bring in local people, but have them socially distanced. They'll have a town hall, but have them socially distanced. There are ways to do this. The Trump campaign is just behind, I think, in trying to figure out how to do it effectively. And again, they're -- they're running out of days to figure it out.</s>BERMAN: Yes. There's a good chance it's self-destructive. There's a good chance this backfires among seniors in Florida. He's going to Florida, where he's having trouble with seniors, so why not put yourself on TV looking like you're not respecting the coronavirus restrictions that the CDC says are necessary? Why not get in a fight with the most respected doctor in America? Dr. Reiner, it's just fascinating. The Trump campaign put Dr. Fauci in an ad, this sound bite from Dr. Fauci, that so clearly takes him out of context. It's just crystal-clear. And Fauci didn't like it. I mean, Fauci doesn't want to get involved in politics. Wherever we have him on, he dances around it the best he can. But basically, the Trump campaign put him in a position where he had to say, I didn't say the president was doing a good job. I mean, what does it feel like to be someone in the public health establishment trying to stay out of politics and being dragged in?</s>REINER: Well, first of all, what they're doing to Tony Fauci is, they're muzzling him. Tony Fauci is really the scientific leader of the COVID task force. He's the voice that most Americans look to for answers and for solace and for direction. But this weekend, he was largely muzzled. I've actually thought that he should speak out anyway. I don't think this administration can fire Tony Fauci. And he should not allow himself to be -- to be muzzled. So they don't want him to speak out now, but they want to use his words to create some sort of false portrait of the administration's response. And -- and he's just had it. He's just had it. And he'll tell the public he's had it. It's -- the whole communication process for this virus has been just so badly mishandled by this administration, and they keep stepping in it. I mean, they're going to go to Iowa this week? Iowa has an 18 percent positivity rate. They're going -- they're going to the heartland of the virus. I mean, the president is basically running against the virus, and the virus is winning. The big -- I don't think the -- the way forward is to actually go into the hot zones.</s>CAMEROTA: Yes, in fact, I just want to very quickly, before we go, read what the mayor of Des Moines is saying. "Absolutely, I'm worried about the spread. We don't want a super-spreader event here in Des Moines. We urge everyone who would attend this event to wear a mask and social distance as best they can and to stay safe and healthy." So, yes, we take your point that local officials are worried. Errol, Dr. Reiner, thank you both very much.</s>REINER: Sure.</s>CAMEROTA: Coming up, more on the alarming spike in cases across the country. Nearly 50,000 new cases now being reported every single day. So what is fueling this surge?

Confirmation Hearings Begin for Barrett

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: For us. And what should we expect, Jessica.</s>JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, this confirmation hearing is set to be an unprecedented hybrid with some senators appearing in person, others appearing virtually, like Vice Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris. Now, we've learned that Amy Coney Barrett will portray herself as a mother of seven, as a wife, and as a justice who will be in line with the late, staunchly conservative justice, Antonin Scalia. Now, today is just opening statements, but it could be a week of fireworks as Democrats press into a number of important topics.</s>SCHNEIDER (voice over): It's set to be a Supreme Court confirmation showdown Republicans want to rush through before the election. Amy Coney Barrett has been in the hot seat before, in 2017, when she secured her spot on the Seven Circuit Court of Appeals by a 55-43 Senate vote. But this time, with the ideological balance of the Supreme Court at stake, Democrats plan to delve into issues that they did not focus on before, like Barrett's record on abortion, health care, and election disputes.</s>REP. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): I specifically asked her whether she would recuse herself from any election-related case because President Trump has publicly said that he wants her seated on the Supreme Court in time for the election so that she can rule on any dispute. And she made no commitments to recusal.</s>SCHNEIDER: The Affordable Care Act will be at the forefront, since the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the law, one week after the election. Barrett criticized the chief justice swooping in to save Obamacare and the individual mandate in 2012, writing this in 2017. "Chief Justice Roberts pushed the Affordable Care Act beyond its plausible meaning to save the statute." Democrats will also seize on the future of Roe v. Wade. Barrett signed a, quote, "Right to Life" ad in "The South Bend Tribune" in 2006, sponsored by a group that opposes abortion. CNN's K-File uncovered two talks Barrett gave to anti-abortion groups at Notre Dame that she did not initially disclose in her Senate questionnaire. Barrett said she would abide by Roe v. Wade in her 2017 confirmation hearing.</s>AMY CONEY BARRETT, NOTRE DAME UNIVERSITY LAW PROFESSOR (September 6, 2017): As you say, Roe has been affirmed many times and survived many challenges in the court, and it's more than 40 years old and it's clearly binding on all courts of appeals.</s>SCHNEIDER: But once on the Supreme Court, she won't be as bound by precedent and could vote to overturn the 1973 decision affirming the constitutional right to abortion. Barrett's faith will also be front and center. She told senators in 2017 her catholic religion played no role in her opinions.</s>BARRETT: Although I would stress that my personal church affiliation or my religious belief would not bear in the discharge of my duties as a judge.</s>SCHNEIDER: So while Democrats may approach the subject of religion with caution this time, new revelations about Barrett's association with a little-known Christian community called People of Praise have sparked intrigue. "The Washington Post" reports a 2010 directory lists Barrett as a, quote, handmade, a title once reserved for women in leadership roles in the tight-knit group but no longer used. "The Post" also disclosed that Barrett lived in the South Bend home of People of Praise's co-founder Kevin Rangan (ph) during law school. The group embraces traditional gender rules, placing men above women. A spokesman tells CNN, "Christian leadership in no way involves superiority or domination among spouses," but, "we have chosen to rely on male leadership at the highest level of our community based on our desire to be a family of families." A spokesperson for the group would not confirm Barrett's membership and she hasn't spoken publicly about it. But she did disclose she served on the board of the Trinity Schools, an academic institution founded by People of Praise. CNN found several articles from the People of Praise magazine spotlighting Barrett's family in 2006 through 2012, but all of the references were removed from the website between January and June 2017, one month before Barrett's nomination to the Seventh Circuit was announced. Democrats plan to tread lightly on this issue.</s>COONS: I did not ask her anything, nor would I, about her religious beliefs or anything involved in groups that she belongs to. I don't think that's an appropriate topic.</s>SCHNEIDER: And Democrats spent the weekend speaking out about this sped up confirmation process. In fact, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is calling on Amy Coney Barrett, if she is confirmed, to recuse herself from the Affordable Care Act case. That's because of her past statements. Of course, Alisyn, the Affordable Care Act coming up before the Supreme Court one week after the election on November 10th, when the court will decide about the Trump administration's argument to completely eliminate the law. Alisyn.</s>CAMEROTA: The stakes could not be higher for everyone involved.</s>SCHNEIDER: Yes.</s>CAMEROTA: Jessica, thank you very much. Major court rulings on ballot drop boxes and a big win for Democrats in Pennsylvania, that's next.

Pennsylvania Judge Denies GOP Bid

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So developing this morning, two court rulings in the hotly contested issue of ballot drop boxes. And these rulings could have major implications for mail-in ballots in both Texas and Pennsylvania, which are both states that look like toss-ups. CNN's Kristen Holmes joins us now with the details. Kristen.</s>KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Well, let's start in Pennsylvania, because this is a huge loss for the Trump campaign and it is an enormous ruling because it is going to shape the way that voters in Pennsylvania, this critical swing state, cast their ballot. So, what was on the table? Well, the Trump campaign had sued because of drop boxes, as you said. They wanted to limit the amount of drop boxes. They had also challenged the secretary of state's rule that signatures on absentee ballots did not have to perfectly match what the state had on record. And lastly was about poll watching. They challenged the Pennsylvania law that poll watchers have to serve in the same county that they vote in. They cannot serve outside of that. All of this, they said, was unconstitutional and it would lead to widespread fraud. Now, I want to tell you what the judge said when he threw this case out. He said, while the Trump campaign may not need to prove actual voter fraud, they must, at least, prove that such fraud is, quote, certainly impending. They haven't met that burden. At most, they have pieced together a sequence of uncertain assumptions. And something very interesting here, guys, is the fact that this judge is a Trump appointee. So this idea that this might have been somehow politically motivated is going to be very hard for Republicans to say. And, quickly, to touch on Texas, because it is still an absolute mess. We know that the governor had said that there could only be one drop box per county, even in the county that had 4.7 million people. On Friday, a federal judge said you cannot limit drop boxes. However, they -- the state has appealed. That is in court. So right now there is a stay on that, meaning that there is still only one drop box in every county, including that 4 million-person county. Alisyn.</s>CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh, Kristen, I mean this is just coming down to the wire. Thank you very much for the update on all of this. This morning, thousands of people remain in shelters in Louisiana after Hurricane Delta tore through the state, leaving at least one person dead. The storm also caused flooding and destruction in Georgia and North Carolina. Remnants of the storm are now drenching the northeast and CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray has our forecast. How does it look today, Jennifer?</s>JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it looks very wet across much of the mid-Atlantic and the northeast. If you look back at some of these rain totals, we saw anywhere from 11 inches of rain in Alexandria, Louisiana, all the way up to 17 inches of rain in Iowa, Louisiana. And, remember, this made landfall less than 15 miles from where Hurricane Laura made landfall just less than two months ago. So all of that rain is going to push into the mid-Atlantic, the northeast, as we go throughout the day today. So we have rain spreading anywhere from D.C., all the way up to Philadelphia, New York, Boston will get in on it, as we go through the afternoon. And we also have a cold front that's going to push through behind it. So once this first round of rain is over this morning, you have a second round that's going to push through later today. And so that's just going to make this Monday even more soggy. Look at these rainfall totals. We could see several inches of rain up that I-95 corridor, all the way up into northern New England. But we are going to have pleasant temperatures for the rest of the week. That cold front is going to bring some nice temperatures. Fifty-five degrees, your high temperature today in New York. We're looking at temperatures around 69 degrees in Chicago. So really a pleasant day for much of the country, Alisyn.</s>CAMEROTA: OK, Jennifer, thank you very much. So countries across Europe reporting record-breaking rises in cases. The United Kingdom expected to announce new coronavirus restrictions today. We have the details, next.

Political Dead Heat in Iowa

CAMEROTA: Twenty-two days until the election. President Trump is returning to the campaign trail. He's set to hold rallies in a number of states this week, including Iowa, where he is locked in the polls with Joe Biden. The president easily won that state in 2016. CNN's Jeff Zeleny is live in Des Moines, Iowa, with more. So how's it looking this time around, Jeff?</s>JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, good morning. The president's travel schedule speaks volumes about the state of the race. The Trump campaign is on defense. That is why the president is coming here later this week to hold a rally. But Republicans also have another tight race on their hands here. One that could determine the Senate majority.</s>SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): So, folks, is it a tough election cycle or what?</s>ZELENY (voice over): Iowa Senator Joni Ernst is feeling the October heat.</s>ERNST: It is a tough, tough, tough year. But you know what? I'm going to finish first!</s>ZELENY: Yet her re-election is not entirely in her control, with Republican fortunes tied to President Trump.</s>MARK MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN VOTER: That's the real terror of this all is that Trump takes down the whole ticket, the whole Republican side of the Senate.</s>ZELENY: Mark McAllister voted for Trump four year ago. He said he won't do so again.</s>MCALLISTER: I think he has been extremely divisive to our people. I think he's -- I mean I use the word despicable and I do think he's despicable.</s>ZELENY (on camera): Despicable?</s>MCALLISTER: Yes.</s>ZELENY (voice over): In Iowa, where Trump won by nine percentage points, polls now show he's locked in a tight race with Joe Biden. Republican officials are nervously watching the suburbs here, as the president's shaky support threatens to GOP Senate majority and Ernst, a once-rising party star.</s>KATIE NASET, DEMOCRATIC VOTER: In many ways she's been a disappointment. She's not been a leader. She's basically parroted what the Trump administration has told her to project.</s>ZELENY: We caught up with her at a weekend campaign motorcycle ride.</s>ZELENY (on camera): Senator, is President Trump complicating your race?</s>ERNST: No, I would say I'm running any own race.</s>ZELENY: But you are tied to him, which is beneficial obviously in some parts of Iowa --</s>ERNST: Well --</s>ZELENY: But what about the suburbs?</s>ERNST: I -- ZELENY: Does that complicate your path there?</s>ERNST: I -- I think, again, in the suburbs, I've met with suburban women. They're really concerned about law and order. That -- that type of issue. And that actually is an issue that draws them closer to the president.</s>ZELENY (voice over): That is unclear.</s>THERESA GREENFIELD (D), IOWA SENATE CANDIDATE: This is -- this is great.</s>ZELENY: Her Democratic opponent, Theresa Greenfield, believes other issues are more pressing.</s>GREENFIELD: And I will tell you, health care is number one. And certainly during COVID, that has evaluated that conversation and that very difficult health pandemic, coupled with economic crisis, you know, Iowans are concerned for user.</s>ZELENY: The question is whether Trump's standing lifts or sinks the ticket in a state he's suddenly fighting to defend.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So we're going to win the great state of Iowa! And it's going to be an historic landslide.</s>ZELENY: Trump won 93 of Iowa's 99 counties, including 31 that twice voted for President Obama. Jasper County, once home to the Maytag company, is one of them.</s>THAD NEARMYER, CHAIR, JASPER COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY: He just says it like it is.</s>ZELENY: Thad Nearmyer, the Republican county chairman, wasn't initially sold on Trump before he was elected, but now he deeply believes in him and thinks the Trump base is growing.</s>NEARMYER: I used to think, well, he's done it this time, but he always seems like he overcomes that. So I don't even worry about him anyone. What we care about is results.</s>ZELENY: His Democratic counterpart, Michelle Smith, said too many Democrats were not inspired to vote four years ago, which she said won't happen this time.</s>MICHELLE SMITH, CHAIR, JASPER COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY: The ones I know that didn't vote are going to vote for Joe Biden this time because they realize by not voting what we've had to endure the last three and a half years.</s>ZELENY: Now, by all measures, this is an exceedingly close race here, which was not expected only months ago. But the six electoral votes in Iowa are needed for the president to win re-election, no question about that. Now, he does have strength in many rural areas of the state, but top Republicans here, John, are concerned. One telling me over the weekend, the bottom isn't falling out yet, but we can certainly see it. John.</s>BERMAN: Jeff Zeleny, whenever you're back in Iowa, you get a protective glow. Thanks so much for being with us this morning. Appreciate it. So, "Saturday Night Live" with their version of the vice presidential debate. Watch.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Vice President, my first question is for you.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The topic is coronavirus.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dammit.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, you were in charge of the Coronavirus Task Force. And since you took charge, over 200,000 Americans have died. How do you explain that?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, Susan, I'd like to begin by stalling hard. We're in Utah. Wow. What a magnificent state. Even though their basketball team is named after my greatest fear, Jazz.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is what they do, Susan, they avoid taking any responsibilities --</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do not.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking. I'm speaking.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, well, I'm just trying --</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But I'm speaking.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, yes, but --</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes, but I'm speaking. See, I'm speaking right now, (speaking in foreign language), Nevada, Arizona, some parts of Texas. I'm speaking.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand that.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Harris, if elected, would you pack the Supreme Court?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Susan, instead of answering that exact question, I would like to tell you the story of when Joe picked me to be his running mate. Joe told me we were just going out for dinner. And then he got down on one knee. And that's when I knew that he needed help up.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sorry to interrupt, Vice President Pence. There's a --</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: War on police in this country? I couldn't agree more.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, there's a -- there's a giant --</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lack of respect for militias? You're darned right.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, Senator Harris, help me out.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, no, I'm good! Looking real good, Mike! Keep it up!</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me at 'em! Let me at 'em!</s>CAMEROTA: It's hilarious! You're -- John, I really feel like your -- your threshold is too high. You weren't even cracking up during that.</s>BERMAN: It was OK. It was OK. They're doing OK. I mean, look,</s>I -- CAMEROTA: I think Beck Bennet (ph) as Vice President Pence is really masterful.</s>BERMAN: Oh, absolutely. You can't tell -- you can't tell any difference at all.</s>CAMEROTA: He does a great job.</s>BERMAN: And, you know, and Maya Rudolph (ph) was terrific too. It was good. And the fly, which is my favorite movie from the '80s, is also very good.</s>CAMEROTA: OK, I mean, I guess the lack of uproarious laughter is throwing me off.</s>BERMAN: I was laughing inside. Normally I'm crying inside.</s>CAMEROTA: Fair enough.</s>BERMAN: All right, NEW DAY continues right now.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump is heading back to the campaign trail, hitting a trio of battleground states.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people who have been with him say he's fine, he's peppy. He will go on ahead.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's foolish for him to do it.

Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) is Interviewed About the Confirmation Hearing for Amy Coney Barrett; Soon: Confirmation Hearings Begin for Amy Coney Barrett

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D-HI): Because we have no protocol for going forward with this hearing. No protocol to protect the safety of all the members, our staff, and everyone else.</s>ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK? Because I thought that there were some changes that you were all going to be more distant than usual, et cetera.</s>HIRONO: We are just</s>CAMEROTA: So what specific question will you ask her today?</s>HIRONO: I will be asking her position on the Affordable Care Act. I will be asking her position on woman's right to choose among others.</s>CAMEROTA: Look -- I mean, if you just look at the politics of this, you don't have the math. Democrats don't have the votes to stop her confirmation. And so is your strategy just to get her on the record?</s>HIRONO: We need to tell the American people what's at stake. And what's at stake is this person getting on the Supreme Court lickety- split so that she can get rid of the Affordable Care Act. Something that millions and millions of Americans, 23 million or so plus a hundred million who have pre-existing conditions, they're all relying on the protections of the Affordable Care Act. And the American public needs to know that this nominee is a clear and present danger to their health care. And by the way, you know, if we can find two more courageous Republicans who say this is not the way we ought to be going forward with this nominee. They have tried over 70 times to strike down the Affordable Care Act through congressional action. And now they want the court to do that which they couldn't accomplish, 70 times trying to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.</s>CAMEROTA: But let's talk about that because I've heard you say that you're just looking for two more Republicans. Are you still confident this morning that Senators Collins and Murkowski are still no votes?</s>HIRONO: Well, I hope that they at least can keep their word.</s>CAMEROTA: I mean, I think that it wasn't Senator Murkowski at one point suggesting that she didn't like the process. But I don't know if her issue was with Judge Amy Coney Barrett specifically. So now that the process is happening, I just didn't know if you had any indication if she was still a no.</s>HIRONO: Well, maybe she can clarify that for us.</s>CAMEROTA: Got it. OK. So let's talk about on the Democratic side, Vice President Biden and Kamala Harris have been -- not giving completely clear answers about their plan if they were to win for court packing. And why -- I guess I'm just confused about their answers. I mean, why not, why not say I -- understand that they want to keep laser focused on the fast track that Judge Amy Coney Barrett is saying. So, why not say something like that? Say we're just trying to stay focused on this, we haven't even talked about it yet, instead of appearing to hedge and give a non-answer.</s>HIRONO: I have been thinking about court reform for a number of years. But we don't have a serious discussion about court reform, which by the way, it will take serious discussion. It's just a -- not a matter of do you want this change, do you want that change. That kind of discussion doesn't happen unless the Democrats take back the Senate? And yes, I expect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to be laser focused on the potential for this country to give this out of control president -- chaotic president another four years. That is exactly what they ought to be focused on. In the meantime, by the way, I am really concerned about the court packing with the ideologically-driven nominee is now sitting on the court, some 200 of them that Trump has been putting on the court, aided and abetted, of course, by Mitch McConnell whose goal in life is to make sure that there's absolutely no vacancy that he won't fill with these very ideologically conservative, they're against ACA, they're against LGBTQ rights, they're against civil rights, you name it. These are the kind of people who are getting on the courts right now. I'd like to see a court that we can feel assured will be objective and fair and people who do not have an ideological axe to grind.</s>CAMEROTA: I mean, obviously, just filling a vacancy right now is not what is normally referred to as court packing. It's adding seats. But I think that you've said that you're open to that as well.</s>HIRONO: There are a number of things that we can talk about to reform the course, including, by the way, you know, we should apply strict ethics standards to Supreme Court justices. We don't have that. So there are any number of things that we can talk about to make sure that the Supreme Court is not an ideologically determined to body, which by the way, if you look at their recent decisions, many, many five to four decisions that are very much partisan and ideologically based. That is not what we want the Supreme Court to be. In fact, that's not how we want our entire judiciary to be. They should be objective, independent, not filled, as I said, with people who have an ideological agenda. But what's happening right now.</s>CAMEROTA: Senator Mazie Hirono, we really appreciate you taking time this morning before the very big morning. Obviously, we'll be watching closely.</s>HIRONO: Thank you. Aloha.</s>CAMEROTA: Thank you. New developments overnight on this bizarre murder investigation. How a pair of dueling political protests ended in gunfire.

Denver Security Guard Faces Murder Charged in Protest Shooting; U.S. Averaging 50,000 New Cases Daily in the Last Week

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Developing this morning, deadly violence unfolding at the scene of dueling protests in Denver. A private security guard hired by a local TV station is now being charged with murder. CNN's Lucy Kafanov live in Denver with the very latest. Lucy, what can you tell us?</s>LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, good morning. There are still so many unanswered questions in terms of what led to this deadly shooting which took place just a few blocks from here on Saturday afternoon. Police say that 30-year-old Matthew Dolloff is charged -- is being investigated, pardon me, for first degree murder. He was working as a security contractor for 9News, a local TV station. This is normal practice by many TV stations for protest to keep their staff safe. He was contracted through the security firm Pinkerton. Now, a spokesman for the Denver City and County Licensing office says that he actually never held the required license to operate as a security guard in the city. CNN has reached out to Pinkerton for comments. We're still waiting for a response back. In terms of what happened that day though, there were these dueling rallies by the far-right and a leftist group, both events had been winding down. Photos on social media show some sort of a verbal altercation between the victim and another man, not the shooter. The photos then show the victim shoot -- punching or shoving, putting his hand out towards Mr. Dolloff and spraying some sort of a substance at him, perhaps pepper spray as Mr. Dolloff is seen pointing a firearm at him. One video captured by a local news team that was conducting an interview at the time, you hear this loud bang, you see police rushed to the scene. You then see Mr. Dolloff on his knees with a firearm later arrested. We know that police are interviewing witnesses at the moment. We know that they are reviewing all of the social media footage that is out there at the time. And we are expecting the medical examiner to identify the victim later today perhaps. Alisyn?</s>CAMEROTA: OK, Lucy, thank you very much for all of that reporting from Denver. So the U.S. now averaging nearly 50,000 coronavirus cases daily in just the last week. CNN has reporters across the country to bring you all of the latest developments.</s>NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Natasha Chen in Atlanta. The Georgia Department of Public Health reported 1,162 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, and 23 additional deaths due to COVID-19. And that marks the fifth consecutive day that the state has reported more than a thousand cases in a single day according to CNN's tally. Overall, Georgia's seven-day moving average of new cases is much lower than it was in late July but it has plateaued in the month of October. More than 7000 people in the state have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.</s>EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Evan McMorris-Santoro. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and his family are quarantining after contact tracers inform the governor that a member of a security detail tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday night. In a video posted to Twitter, Beshear said that the member of his security detail had driven his family home on Saturday afternoon, but he said that no one in his family has tested positive for the virus, and they hadn't been in close contact with anybody since the contact tracer informed them of the exposure.</s>POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. Yesterday, some religious services in parts of Brooklyn and Queens were limited in size due to newly imposed restrictions. They're aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 in New York. A recent order from the governor limited the size of religious gatherings and any house of worship, depending on the severity of COVID-19 cases in their neighborhood. Some Orthodox Jewish groups as well as a Brooklyn Catholic Diocese sued the governor trying to suspend or maybe even modify those restrictions. However, those motions were denied this weekend and allow it to stay in place.</s>CAMEROTA: Thanks to all of our correspondents. So the Lakers are NBA champions for the 17th time. A look at the celebrations overnight in L.A. in this very bittersweet year for the team and the league.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) is Interviewed About Barrett Hearings

CHRIS WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: Racially motivated violent extremism is, I think, the biggest bucket within that larger group. And within the racially motivated violent extremist bucket, people ascribing to some kind of white supremacist type ideology is certainly the biggest chunk of that.</s>JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Now, what he has said there is completely not controversial or frankly disputed by anyone inside the intelligence community, yet somehow it put him sideways with the president of the United States. So what does that tell you?</s>REP. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): Well, first of all, I give Director Wray a lot of credit. He -- we all know he was in a tough spot and he answered my question and other questions honestly and in a forthright way. I think that it's just another sort of round of just denigration of law enforcement, of people who work in the intelligence community. You know, these are professionals who care about protecting their country, who are just speaking about the facts, right, the number of open cases that they have. And it's just sad that we've come to a point where there's, you know, definitely chunks of people in the country who just automatically don't trust the FBI, who automatically don't trust local law enforcement. I think that's a real danger. And it gets to kind of the bones of democracy, right? If suddenly we don't believe that law enforcement, and the Department of Justice, the intelligence community, folks at the top take threats seriously and deal with them in a straightforward way, you start to question everything. And I think it's just a reminder how fragile our system of democracy is, quite literally.</s>BERMAN: So you're in the House, not the Senate, so you don't have a say in the Supreme Court nomination. There are hearings today. Democrats there plan to make health care and the protection of Obamacare front and center. This has become a very big issue in your re-election campaign in your Michigan district. So I don't know if you're going to have time to watch the hearings over the course of the next few days, but what are you listening for in terms of health care?</s>SLOTKIN: Well, listen, I mean as soon as Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away, we didn't even have a chance to mourn her and we were all thinking about the consequences of her passing away. And, for me, just having lived through some health care issues with my mother, November 10th being the beginning of the case to repeal the entirety of the ACA was first on my mind. And the fact that literally come spring 20 million people could lose their health care. And, in particular, people with pre-existing conditions can again potentially be gouged for, you know, having to be born with something. It just -- it -- it struck me intensely. And, you know, now we know that the other side of the aisle feels like protecting people with pre-existing conditions is a good talking point, but they've had years to come up with a plan. No one can articulate it. And they're literally asking people who -- who, you know, have children and spouses who depend on that health care to just like jump out of the plane and hope that the parachute, you know, is handed to them mid-flight. And it's painful. I spent all of yesterday with my constituents hearing specific cases, real people who are terrified. They're asking me on town halls. So I hope that people remember that literally health care is on the ballot on November 3rd, quite literally.</s>BERMAN: Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, thank you for your time this morning. Appreciate it.</s>SLOTKIN: Thanks so much.</s>BERMAN: And we are just minutes away from that Judiciary Committee hearing in the Senate, the confirmation hearing for the president's nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. So we have that. Plus, some big developments in the election. We'll discuss, next.

President Trump Holding Campaign Event in Florida; Dr. Anthony Fauci Objects to Use of Him Without Permission in GOP Campaign Ad; Voting Begins in Atlanta, Georgia.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Thirty-one states across the country are seeing a surge in cases, six states seeing record hospitalizations.</s>JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I hope people are paying attention because this morning it is so clear that things are headed in the wrong direction with this pandemic. Nearly 50,000 new cases a day. It's worth noting, three Republican senators will not be present for the Senate confirmation hearing today for the president's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett because of coronavirus. The hearing set to begin in just about an hour. You'll get live pictures from inside the hearing room. Missing will be two senators who were infected, a third, Ted Cruz, who was in close contact with at least one of them. Joining us now, CNN political analyst Maggie Haberman and Michael Shear. They're White House correspondent for the "New York Times". And Michael, you are, I know, recovering from coronavirus yourself, which we'll get to in just a moment. I want to start, though, look, we focused so much the last 10 days on one coronavirus case, I think we've lost sight of 50,000 new cases that are arising every day in the country, and it's that context, Maggie, that the president is choosing to go back on the campaign trail and be filmed proudly in front of thousands of people who probably won't be social distanced, many of the won't be wearing masks. Why is the White House doing this? What's the political calculation there?</s>MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, I think that, John, as we've discussed many, many times, there is often not a political calculation per se and simply just a desire to do what the president wants, which is he wants to be back out there on the road for the final three weeks of this election. What they are saying they will try to have him do is illustrate to, particularly seniors, he has battled with COVID, he understands the concerns. They started airing a new ad this weekend which had a misleading quote from Dr. Anthony Fauci in the middle of it, toward the end, talking about work of coronavirus months ago that made it sound like he was talking about the president. That's going to be their strategy. It's going to be to try to sell it as a success story on the issue that he has behind Joe Biden on how to handle coronavirus for many, many, many months. Is it way too late to turn this around? Probably. And I think again, I am not a doctor, I don't know if the president is infectious still or not. But I do know that because the White House has put out so few actual pieces of information about his health, it's impossible for people to make a clear assessment about how they think he is doing.</s>CAMEROTA: Michael, I'm just not sure any seniors in Florida are going to be showing up at these rallies. If you base it upon the poll numbers, a new Quinnipiac poll released October 7th, Biden is ahead of Trump 55 to 40 percent with Florida voters over the age 65, that they in particular seem to be digesting news and his handling of coronavirus in a different way than younger people.</s>MICHAEL SHEAR, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: There's a world in which you might have imagined the White House has a huge coronavirus outbreak and the president and the first lady both get infected, and that somehow that offers them new perspective and a real different take on how to handle the pandemic. And that obviously isn't the world we're living in. What today and the rest of this week shows is that he's returning essentially unchanged to the kind of shrugging off of the dangers of this virus that he was engaged in before he got sick. And so with some modest changes I guess, that have been made at the White House a little bit in terms of some of the staff wearing masks. But essentially, we're going to see the same big raucous crowds with no real sense of social distancing. And I think from the president, as Maggie says, no real change in terms of the message. He wants to get back out and describe the same set of misleading assertions that he was before he got sick.</s>BERMAN: To me, he is going to be physical embodiment of the fact he couldn't protect himself from coronavirus, or protect people in the White House from coronavirus. And so he is making that statement and casting that image in front of thousands of people in Florida where there are seniors concerned. It's just striking. And it's a choice. And I get the choice, but it is a choice. Michael, Maggie brought up the Anthony Fauci thing, that the Trump campaign has put Fauci in an ad. That, too, seems to be reminder that there's a direct split between the administration, or the president and Anthony Fauci, because Fauci came out and said I don't like this one bit. You're taking me out of context. Fauci put out a statement and said "In my nearly five decades of public service I have never publicly endorsed any political candidate. The comments attributed to me without my permission in the GOP campaign ad were taken out of context from a broad statement I made months ago about efforts of federal public health officials." So the president managed to drag out Dr. Anthony Fauci to make a statement against the Trump campaign in a manner of speaking. I just don't know how it helps him politically.</s>SHEAR: Look, the relationship between Dr. Fauci and the president has been strained since the beginning. People have always wondered at what point does Dr. Fauci reach his breaking point in which he finally says look, I'm done being used and trotted out by this president who clearly isn't taking a lot of my advice. Obviously, that breaking point hasn't really come yet, but you can sense the frustration in that statement by one of the world's most respected infectious disease specialists, that he didn't particularly appreciate, first, being used as a purely partisan political prop essentially in that commercial, and then on top of it, essentially being, as Maggie said, misrepresented where he wasn't talking, praising the president in particular. He was praising work of the federal bureaucracy and the work of people in the trenches to try to fight the disease.</s>CAMEROTA: Maggie, you have some stunning reporting about what the president was thinking when he was at Walter Reed and about the splash that he wanted to make when he came out of Walter Reed, the bit of stage craft that he was actually considering. Can you just explain your reporting and what you heard?</s>HABERMAN: Sure. So Annie Karni and I, Michael and my colleague Annie Karni and I had a bit of reporting in a story this weekend as the president was making his first appearance publicly on Saturday from the White House, that when he was in the hospital, and we've all reported that he was itching to get out, Alisyn. He was not happy that he was there. But in several phone calls he described to people something that he was toying with, which was this idea of leaving the hospital, appearing too look frail when he got out, and then having a Superman t-shirt under his white dress shirt, and then ripping open the white dress shirt, and people could see the super man t-shirt. He ultimately did not do that. Everything for him is through the lens of branding and showmanship and tamping down this question that he was sick, which I think has bothered him. So it's not surprising that he was thinking of it through that lens.</s>CAMEROTA: But who talks him out of that, Maggie. When he just say, I have a great idea. I'm going to pretend to be sicker than I am, I'm going to bust out on the balcony and rip open my shirt and it's going to be Superman. Who say, Mr. President, I have a better idea?</s>HABERMAN: One of the things we saw, Alisyn, last weekend was we know the president wanted to leave the White House on Sunday, and didn't leave Sunday. Instead they compromised and gave him that car ride outside of Walter Reed, which no other patient, as a doctor at Walter Reed has said, would have gotten, and he got to wave to the fans who were outside. So I think that there is a very small group of staff around the president who is trying to manage this. But I keep hearing we are in that stage that he gets in sometimes and often where he is not really listening to anyone. So whether it was somebody talked him out of it, or whether somebody on the phone decided this was not a good idea, I'm not precisely sure, but he didn't go ahead with it.</s>BERMAN: Do you have any reporting, Maggie, on why he was thinking a t- shirt and not the tights?</s>HABERMAN: I'm afraid we don't know that, John.</s>CAMEROTA: Keep digging, keep digging.</s>BERMAN: Michael, how are you feeling? You were one of the people infected who I know was infected, most likely at the White House, although there is no way of knowing for sure. How are you feeling now? What ultimately was the outreach from the White House in terms of contact tracing? How is your family?</s>SHEAR: I'm feeling better. Today is the first day after 10 days straight with a fever that I don't have a fever anymore, so that's good. My wife, who also got it, I guess from me, is feeling better as well. So we both turned the corner. Tired, still. The fatigue is a real factor in this thing. And as far as the tracing, nobody at the White House ever did get in touch with me to ask about who I might have been in touch with. I did get a call from the Fairfax County, Virginia, Health Department, and briefly from District of Columbia Health Department as well, but the White House never called.</s>BERMAN: That's unbelievable. That's unbelievable to me that you were never contact traced. And it's very possible that your wife became infected because of you. This is the nature of contact tracing, this is why you do it, to trace where it goes and protect other people.</s>SHEAR: And you would have thought they would have been interested in knowing who else at the White House or in the administration or other reporters, or who had I come into contact with in days before I became symptomatic. That's when you're most infectious. And nobody ever asked.</s>CAMEROTA: Michael, it's so good to get your update. We have been worried about you and your wife. I'm so glad that you guys are on the mend and you're looking great.</s>SHEAR: Thanks.</s>CAMEROTA: And Maggie, thanks so much for all of the reporting. Always great to talk to you as well. We have a quick programming note, Dr. Anthony Fauci will join Jake Tapper on THE LEAD at 4:00 p.m. eastern today only on</s>CNN. BERMAN: That could be something. That really could be something based on the statement that Fauci put out. I'm very interested to hear what he will say when asked that question out loud. Early voting begins today in Georgia. People are voting all across the country already. Officials are breaking for record turnout, despite the pandemic. More than 260,000 absentee ballots have already been cast in that state, and that's more than there were in all of 2016. There's 22 days left until Election Day. I don't know that we should be even putting this up. We shouldn't pay attention to 22 days, because it's Election Day now. People are voting.</s>CAMEROTA: People are already voting.</s>BERMAN: People are voting all around --</s>CAMEROTA: Almost 8 million have already voted.</s>BERMAN: Yes, yes. So it's Election Day now, 22 days if you want to show up in person to get your last chance to vote for 22 days. CNN's Nick Valencia is live inside State Farm arena, an early voting location in Atlanta. I see a lot of people behind you, Nick.</s>NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, my gosh, it is a crush of people here this morning, John. And you're right, the election is happening today here in Georgia. Early voting starts today for three weeks. Georgians all across the state will have a chance to go into any place, any polling district or any polling station in their county to be able to cast their ballot early. And just look at the lines, John and Alisyn, this morning. People showing up here at State Farm Arena, which is doubling as an early voting site. This is traditionally home to the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, the MLS's Atlanta United. But after the absolute disaster that happened here this summer during the primaries where people were waiting in line after five, six, seven hours in communities that predominantly had people of color as residents there, and that led to a lot of concerns, especially with coronavirus. And just take a look behind me here. You see those plexiglass dividers. You see that these folks that showed up to vote early today are socially distanced. Everyone here inside is required to wear a mask. And just really quick here guys, they're expecting between 3,000 and 6,000 people to show up here to vote. They don't want to put a number, but they say this is expected to be high voter turnout. Not only do you have a hotly contested presidential election, but also two open Senate seats here that are going to be on the ballot. So a lot of people are already lined up this morning to cast their vote early. John, Alisyn?</s>BERMAN: Here's my new graphic -- zero days until you can vote in Georgia. Zero days, people there are voting right now, showing up in droves. Nick Valencia, thank you so much for showing us the pictures. Appreciate it.</s>VALENCIA: You bet.</s>BERMAN: Nearly 50,000 new cases of coronavirus a day in the United States last week. We haven't seen those numbers in months. It is getting worse. What's going to happen next, what's behind the surge? We'll discuss next.

Interview with Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI)

BERMAN: Thirteen men have been charged in the alleged domestic terror plot to kidnap Michigan Governor, Gretchen Whitmer. Among them, members of armed anti-government groups. Now, there have been indications for years now that the threat of right-wing extremism and violence is on the rise. So what's being done about that at the Federal level? Joining us now is Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. She serves on the Armed Services Committee, the Homeland Security Committee and is a former CIA official. Some of the alleged crimes committed in the plot against Governor Whitmer took place in your district, Congresswoman, so thank you very much for being with us. And, look, you've got a lot of life experience here dealing with terror in your work in the C.I.A., and you look at what happened in your own state, in your own district and you see hallmarks of terrorism are frankly disturbed that people aren't being very explicit in calling it that. What do you mean?</s>REP. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): Yes, I mean, this is, to me a classic case of radicalization and while I worked as a C.I.A. officer focused on foreign terrorist groups, you know, my entire life, basically, since 9/11, the patterns are very similar and that's why I've been very clear that this is domestic terrorism. You have a permissiveness around speech -- hate speech -- anti- government speech, speech against our Governor. It's become normalized. And we've been seeing the rise of membership in these types of groups. I've been talking about it for six months at home, but also in the Homeland Security Committee. We shouldn't be surprised when a small number of the folks who are involved decide to take it up the next rung of the ladder. They start to organize. They start to train. They start to plot. It's the same pattern we see with terrorist organizations around the world, so we need to call it what it is.</s>BERMAN: You talk about the permissiveness in language, the permissiveness regarding the language that's used here, and this isn't some vague connection. I mean, some of the actual words that have showed up in the affidavit in the criminal complaints here are words we hear from the President: treason, for instance. Talk about that.</s>SLOTKIN: Sure. I mean, I guess, because I worked alongside the military my entire career, you know, you really learn that leadership climate is set from the top, right? If the Commanding General is doing something, you know, untoward you shouldn't be surprised when the lieutenants are doing the same thing. And we've seen not just the President, but leaders, elected leaders across the country, and certainly in our state, using the same language. "Let's liberate Michigan," "Our Governor is a tyrant," protesting against her using language that we again saw show up literally in wiretaps of this group. And it's why elected leaders have a special responsibility to set the tone and tenor for the country, for the people they represent. And to me, you have to understand the connection. And you know, even before COVID, before these protests, I had an event with the F.B.I. and our Attorney General, because we had seen a precipitous rise in the State of Michigan of anti-Semitism. We've been seeing this for a while now, and to me, it just is -- it's a breach of responsibility for elected leaders when they allow and advance this kind of language.</s>BERMAN: And it was your questioning in a congressional hearing, which led to the F.B.I. Director Christopher Wray, now saying something which is in a way put him at odds with the President of United States, I want to play an answer to your question where he highlights the problem of right-wing terror in the country. Listen.</s>CHRISTOPHER WRAY, F.B.I. DIRECTOR: What I can tell you is that within -- within the domestic terrorism bucket, a category as a whole, racially motivated violence extremism is I think the biggest bucket within that larger group. And within the racially motivated violent extremist bucket, people ascribing to some kind of white supremacist type ideology is certainly the biggest chunk of that.

Judge Amy Coney Barrett To Face Senate Questioning Tuesday

ZAIN ASHER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: All right, we've got triple digit gains on the Dow for the fourth straight day in the market. It is somewhat optimistic that there could be a stimulus deal in the near future. These are the markets and this is the day so far. Amy Coney Barrett begins a job interview like no other. I'll speak to a former colleague of the Supreme Court nominee. And Boris Johnson announces a new set of virus restrictions focused on local lockdowns. And British Airways has replaced its CEO with the airline industry still in crisis. Coming to you live from New York, it is Monday, October the 12th. I'm Zain Asher and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. Good evening. Tonight, Judge Amy Coney Barrett states her case before the U.S. Senate on day one of her confirmation hearing for the U.S. Supreme Court. She thanked predecessor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for paving the way.</s>JUDGE AMY CONEY BARRETT, U.S. SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: When I was 21 years old, and just beginning my career, Ruth Bader Ginsburg sat in this seat. She told the committee, "What has become of me could only happen in America." I have been nominated to fill Justice Ginsburg's seat, but no one will ever take her place. I will be forever grateful for the path she marked and the life she led.</s>ASHER: The process has been heavily politicized from the very beginning. Republicans say that she is unassailably qualified and there's nothing wrong with confirming her with the election already underway. Democrats disagree, loudly, I might add. They say Barrett also poses a threat to healthcare in the throes of a pandemic. Take a listen to this.</s>SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): The bottom line is Justice Ginsburg, when asked about this several years ago, said that a President serves four years not three. There's nothing unconstitutional about this process. This is probably not about persuading each other unless something really dramatic happens, all Republicans will vote yes and all Democrats will vote no.</s>SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA): Healthcare coverage for millions of Americans is at stake with this nomination. This well could mean that if Judge Barrett is confirmed, Americans stand to lose the benefits that the ACA provides.</s>ASHER: All right, let's go straight now to Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill. So Lauren, it's clear that there's nothing or not much of the Democrats can do to stop this combination, but they are going to press her. They are certainly going to ask questions. What does today's preview tell us about what we can expect for the rest of the week?</s>LAUREN FOX, CNN POLITICS U.S. CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Well, clearly Democrats are setting the table here that they are going to be laser focused on healthcare. Every single member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who is a Democrat brought with them not just a story about healthcare, but literally a photograph of a constituent who had been helped by the Affordable Care Act. And this, I am told by aides on the committee was really a strategy that was borne out of multiple member meetings, as well as a phone call between presidential candidate Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the Senate. They all agreed that the best strategy here was really going to be to focus on healthcare. And that's because the week after the election, the first case that the Supreme Court is going to hear is one being brought by Republican Attorney Generals on the Affordable Care Act. So, that's why you saw Democrats really making their opening statements today, 10 minutes each about healthcare. But I'll tell you that tomorrow is when they're actually going to have an opportunity to question Amy Coney Barrett. I am told that they have agreed they are not going to be talking about her faith or her religious practices. They are going to stay laser focused on what she means for healthcare and abortion -- Zain.</s>ASHER: And in terms of a possible election dispute, I mean, a lot of Democrats believe that Amy Coney Barrett should sit that out. Obviously, that's something that's going to come up this week as well.</s>FOX: Well, exactly, and I will tell you that you know, this has come up in multiple meetings with Democrats and Amy Coney Barrett over phone calls that they've been having with her, and she has not said what she would do in that situation. That's pretty typical of a Supreme Court nominee. They're not going to get into how they would rule if a certain case went before them or whether or not they would step aside if a certain case went before them. That is a discussion that a judge and a decision really that a judge makes in the moment when that case comes before them, but Zain, certainly something you can expect the Democrats are going to be pressing on her tomorrow.</s>ASHER: And how might the landscape in this country shift quite dramatically, especially just in terms of what Democrats are fearing, if we end up with six to three conservative dominated U.S. Supreme Court.</s>FOX: Well, certainly that's the case that you see Democrats making both today and the case that you'll see them making into the future. Now Republicans are trying to downplay that. You know, Senator Crapo of Idaho, he made the case that everything that Democrats were saying about healthcare was wrong, that she wasn't going to be trying to take away Americans healthcare, but you also heard Kamala Harris, the VP candidate for the Democrats making the case that look, Republicans tried multiple times to take away the ACA in Congress. They failed at every turn, and now they're turning to the court. So certainly a fight that you can expect to see. And certainly Democrats are trying to make the case, Zain, that the shape of the court for decades to come will be reshaped if Barrett moves forward with her nomination. I will tell you, the Democrats do not have the votes to stop this nomination as things stand today.</s>ASHER: But there's a lot at stake, certainly going for both parties. Lauren Fox, live for us. Thank you so much. Derek Muller is a Law Professor at the University of Iowa. He's also one of Barrett's former law students. He joins us live now from Iowa City. Derek, thank you so much for being with us. I just want to read to you part of Amy Coney Barrett's opening statement today, she said that, "When ruling on cases, I have done my utmost to reach the result required by the law whatever my own preferences might be. When I write an opinion resolving a case, I read every word in the perspective of the losing party." Is that your experience working with Amy Coney Barrett? Is she's somebody who will take into consideration the perspectives of every single person involved, regardless of political persuasion?</s>DEREK T. MULLER, LAW PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA: Yes, I think that's absolutely right. I mean, Judge Barrett comes from the world of being a law professor where she picks apart legal arguments from any side. She really pinpoints weaknesses in arguments and wants to present the best and strongest case going forward. Liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, as she was approaching the Seventh Circuit, all said the same thing that she is very precise. She pinpoints weaknesses in arguments and only wants strong cases to go forward. But at the same time, she has this great empathy where she is recognizing that there are different parties that show up in the court with a hot and contentious issue. And when she writes those opinions and thinking about the consequences of them, she is writing in a way that recognizes that there is a dignity to both parties, to both sides of the issue and approaching the law in the most fair and even minded way that she can.</s>ASHER: And just in terms of what she is going to bring to the court, I mean, obviously, there are five other conservative Justices on the Supreme Court right now, what sort of fresh perspective do you think Barrett will add to that?</s>MULLER: Well, I mean, the other eight Justices all went to Harvard and Yale. So, they are all coming out of institutions where they have just a small sort of network of people where they've been discussing the same sorts of ideas with each other for an extended period of time. And Judge Barrett comes from the American South in New Orleans, and she spent much of her career in northern Indiana. She went to Notre Dame for Law School and she is going to bring sort of a different diversity of perspective, a fresh idea set as she approaches the Supreme Court and engages with eight other colleagues.</s>ASHER: Do you think that she should recuse herself if there is an election dispute between Donald Trump and Joe Biden?</s>MULLER: I think, as you know, other commentators have said, when it comes to election disputes, it's really on the context of the facts that is presented before the court. And there might be a case where as a Seventh Circuit Judge, she heard a case out of Wisconsin where she ought to recuse herself, but there are other instances where she might not. And so it really depends on the situation and the facts before her although, when we talk about election disputes, there was only one Bush versus Gore in 2000. We very rarely see the Supreme Court intervening on presidential election disputes. So at this point, it really is hypothetical conjecture.</s>ASHER: And then what do you make of the fact that there's been so much talk about her religion? The fact that she is a Catholic, a lot of Democrats are concerned about what that means for Roe versus Wade, what that means for women's rights. Do you think it's fair that her religion is even coming into the equation at all?</s>MULLER: It seems like Democrats in the committee recognized that when they attacked her for her faith in 2017, that that was something that backfired. That was not the right approach. And in 2020, it appears on the committee, they are not going to be questioning her religious faith and commitments. You know, everyone comes to the law. Everyone comes to the court with their sort of previous commitments, whether it's faith or whether it's their upbringing, or whether it's their educational background, much less a constitutional statutory interpretation philosophy. So Judge Barrett, I think, is able to set aside sort of personal beliefs and personal preferences when it comes to interpreting the text of statutes in the Constitution as she has done for the last three years in the Seventh Circuit.</s>ASHER: Derek Muller live for us. Thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.</s>MULLER: Thanks for having me.</s>ASHER: U.S. stock markets are up to start the week. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500 are jumping on tech gains as Apple and Amazon look forward to big events tomorrow. Apple is likewise pushing the Dow up today. If they hold today's gains, it would extend the indices' best rally since August. Let's bring in Paul La Monica joining us live now from New York. So, Paul, just in terms of what else is really boosting markets today? I mean, it's unlikely we're going to see a stimulus bill passed before Election Day. Election Day is only in three weeks, but that is really what investors are hopeful, crossing their fingers and excited about at this point.</s>PAUL LA MONICA, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes, I think, Zain that investors obviously want more stimulus. And even though there is this back and forth between House Speaker Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin about what could or could not get agreed upon. And obviously, you've got to look at what Mitch McConnell and the Senate Republicans have to say as well. There is also a hope that in a couple of weeks, possibly we get a blue wave, which might mean that Biden is the next President. It might mean that the Democrats take control of the Senate, and all of a sudden, the narrative seems to be shifting to, if you wind up having this blue sweep in the Oval Office, and the Senate, assuming the house obviously stays blue, too, then you might get even more stimulus. And I think that you can't discount that that is something that the market is looking at right now as a possible good sign, because you're right, it's all about stimulus. We know that the Federal Reserve has done everything in its power to try and pump liquidity in this market and that's not going to change. So we're hoping to have more fiscal stimulus as well as monetary stimulus.</s>ASHER: You're right, it is all about stimulus. But there's one other factor that the markets are considering right now, and that is, of course, earnings. We are at the eve right now of third quarter earnings results. You know, six months into this pandemic, will we see that Corporate America has perhaps turned a corner here?</s>LA MONICA: Yes, I think that investors are betting on that as well, Zain. You do have this expectation that while results for the third quarter are not going to be great in absolute terms, they're going to show another big drop in corporate profits, potentially a double digit percentage drop. It won't be as bad as the second quarter, and then the hope is that the fourth quarter is even better than the third quarter with regards to a smaller than expected drop. And then the first half of '21, you have easy comparisons and pretty sizable jumps in corporate profits, while at the same time those tech companies that you talked about earlier, Apple and Amazon leading the rally today, they're still going to post very good results even in the face of this pandemic.</s>ASHER: And speaking of tech companies, Amazon got its Prime Day. I mean, what are we expecting this year compared to last year? The landscape, just in terms of where we are as a society here in the U.S. is very, very different. How will the pandemic impact Prime Day?</s>LA MONICA: Yes, you would have to think that what we've seen so far with Amazon's results being as solid as they have been in 2020 that people will take advantage of those deals on those two days of Prime Day. But that it's not just about Amazon, e-commerce in general has become this vibrant part of the economy. So expect Walmart, Target other big retailers with sizable digital footprints, they're going to be playing offense as well in trying to get some of those consumers that are seeing all those Amazon Prime Day headlines to buy stuff from their sites as well.</s>ASHER: Paul La Monica, live for us there. Thank you so much. All right. Coming up, the CEO of British Airways is out after four tumultuous years as the airline tries to navigate the industry's worst ever crisis. And Twitter flags the presidential tweet while Facebook gives the same message across. How social media companies are responding to misinformation sometimes from U.S. President himself. That's next.

Facebook Removed Trump Post Last Week About COVID-19; CNN Speaks To YouTube CEO About The Challenge Of Monitoring Content; U.S. Averaging Around 50,000 New COVID Cases Per Day

ASHER: Hello, everyone. I'm Zain Asher, coming up in the next half hour of QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. The CEO of YouTube tells us how the company is trying to stop the spread of misinformation, and we'll be live in Nigeria where anti-corruption protests have swept some of the biggest cities that. Before that though these are the headlines on CNN at this hour. The Senate began its confirmation hearing for Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Earlier in her opening statement, she thanked her predecessor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, for paving the way for her career. She will face questioning from the senators on the Judiciary Committee starting Tuesday. China will test all nine million people in the city of Qingdao over the next few days after Coronavirus pasta was detected in the city. China has largely been coronavirus free since mid-August, but 12 locally transmitted cases are sparking concerns of a wider outbreak. Protesters in Portland, Oregon toppled statues of former American President Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt Sunday evening. The protesters were part of the indigenous people's day of rage, the day before the federally recognized Columbus Day holidays. Some have called for the holiday to celebrate indigenous people instead of the Italian Explorer. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will meet with the Crown Prince of the UAE soon, that would be the first meeting after the two countries agreed to normalize relations in August. It's not clear where it will take place, but both issued invitations to that perspective countries. Twitter slapped a warning label on a tweet by President Trump after he claimed, without evidence, that he is immune to the coronavirus. CDC says that there is no evidence people are immune to the virus if they have been infected once. But Facebook did not put a warning label on the same claim. Let's go now to our Donie O'Sullivan. So, why don't you just, just walk us through this? What exactly is Facebook's policy when it comes to misinformation by the President of the United States, especially three weeks before an election?</s>DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, it's an extremely inconsistent policy, Facebook, particularly, Zain. When it comes to COVID-19 misinformation, this is where Facebook said they would draw the line, that if there's dangerous information, false information about the coronavirus, they won't just label it, they'll take it off the platform. Twitter has a different rule for world leaders and such they will put labels on it saying this, it might be against our rules or it is COVID-19 misinformation, but we're keeping up because we want you to be able to see what a world leader is saying but also flagging that it's false. That is what Twitter did last night. Facebook too took no action whatsoever on the posts. It's very clearly against Facebook's own rules here. As you mentioned the CDC, health officials, and Trump's own administration, specifically warning people if they have COVID-19, if they've had it, it doesn't necessarily make them immune. And unusual for Facebook, who has been very out there. They have a large communications team and they always like to highlight the good work they say they're doing, they had absolutely nothing to say about this. We've been asking them multiple times. Meanwhile, that post from the President is still on Facebook, and it's been like shared, commented on, and reacted to almost a million times at this point; meaning, it's probably been seen by millions of people on Facebook.</s>ASHER: But you mentioned the communications team, not only that, Facebook also has an oversight board. I mean, is there any real difference that they can make to the situation at hand given just how, how much they're struggling under the weight of misinformation three weeks before the U.S. election.</s>O'SULLIVAN: Yes, Facebook has set up this oversight board which they're describing a sort of an independent Supreme Court counsel, which will make decisions on behalf for the company. Unfortunately, that oversight board, which Facebook has been talking about for a very, very long time, doesn't really get to work until after the election. So, Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg has very little people looking over their shoulder and actually holding to the accounts apart from you know, us in the media and activists who are calling out Facebook's in action here. And I mean, look, Facebook, it's Facebook, who sets their own rules. And that is all we're highlighting, is that Facebook says they'll do one thing when it comes to COVID-19 misinformation. But when it comes to it, they won't they do the other. And in this case, obviously, they're either afraid of pushback from the Trump administration, or there's some other reason where they're not taking action on this blatant piece of misinformation on their platform that is now being seen by millions of people.</s>ASHER: Right. Donie O'Sullivan, live for us. Thank you. YouTube is struggling with the same problems as Facebook and Twitter. Now, its CEO says it's looking closely at what to do about the QAnon conspiracy theories. CNN's Poppy Harlow asks Susan Wojcicki how they can stop QAnon videos from being shared so widely.</s>SUSAN WOJCICKI, CEO, YOUTUBE: The first thing is, is that the changes that I talked about with regard to our recommendation system have already had over an 80 percent reduction in terms of any of the viewership of that. So, so a lot of that content would be classified as what we would may say borderline content. We also have already removed a lot of it in terms of hundreds of thousands of videos, because of -- it could violate other parts of our policies: hate, harassment, COVID information.</s>POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Except this week, I watched two QAnon videos on YouTube. One of them had over five million views, the other had over three million views. And the FBI says that QAnon is a potential domestic terror threat. So, I guess I'm wondering what is what is the hesitation to ban it on your platform? What would be the reason not to?</s>WOJCICKI: So, we are continuing to evolve our policies here. It's not that we're not looking at it, or we don't want to make changes that in terms are responsible. But if you look at QAnon, part of it is that it's a grassroots movement, and so you can see just lots and lots of different people who are uploading content that has different QAnon theories.</s>HARLOW: I asked because things like, you know, the Pizzagate Conspiracy Theory, actually led a man to go to a pizzeria in D.C. with a gun. And recently there have been examples of mothers in Colorado and Utah, who have followed QAnon direction and gone to try to kidnap their own, their own children. So, there's just real-life consequences here of that. Moving on to the election, I'm sure you heard --</s>WOJCICKI: If anything like that, we would remove. I mean, we're very proactive in terms of removing it, and I think you'll see us continue to be so.</s>HARLOW: It must be odd to have to take down something that the President of the United States has said, but you guys have opted to do that, in certain, certain circumstances. You did it with a Fox News interview that he did in August, where he claimed that children are "almost immune from COVID-19," because it's just not true. But there are other things the President has said about COVID that aren't true that are still on YouTube, why, and where do you, where do you draw that line?</s>WOJCICKI: Yes, so that's definitely a good question. And I'll say that, you know, basically, we hold all politicians, no matter where they are in the country, or what their rank is to the same standards that we hold everyone else. And so, if there is something that is said, that is harmful, that we think can lead to real world harm, that's a violation of our policy, we will remove it. But a lot of times, it's -- I think it's important to also look that, you know, you may have seen those quotes from President Trump in a news broadcast, meaning that it was covered, for example, in CNN, and their commentary afterwards, maybe questioning what he said or clarifying it. And so, you know, we look at that context, too. So, you know, under an educational or documentary standpoint, some of that content, we would still allow, provided that the news provider actually provided context in terms of that information.</s>ASHER: A new study estimates the coronavirus pandemic will cost the U.S. more than $16 trillion. The article in the Journal of the American Medical Association says that's an optimistic assumption. CNN's Erica Hill reports researchers are warning of a second wave of devastation.</s>ERICA HILL, CNN REPORTER: The numbers are not good. Nationwide, we're adding an average of more than 49,000 new cases a day, up 41 percent from just last month.</s>DR. PETER HOTEZ, BAYLOR COLLEGE MEDICINE: We're predicting a pretty worrisome fall and winter.</s>HILL: New cases are surging in 31 states, more than a dozen posting their highest weekly averages for new daily cases. Seven states reporting their highest daily new case counts since the pandemic began.</s>DR. LEANA WEN, FORMER BALTIMORE HEALTH COMMISSIONER: These are extremely alarming trends, and there should be warning bells going off around the country.</s>HILL: Hospitals, especially in rural areas, bracing.</s>DR. GEORGE MORRIS, PHYSICAL VICE PRESIDENT, CENTRACARE: We have the beds; we have the people, but as we get more of these exposures, what's going to happen to our availability?</s>HILL: North Dakota, which leads the nation in cases per capita has fewer than 20 ICU beds available.</s>RENAE MACH, DIRECTOR, BISMARCK-BURLEIGH PUBLIC HEALTH: People are continuing to operate kind of as they had before COVID even was here, and that's leading to a lot of our numbers increasing.</s>DR. THOMAS FREIDEN, FORMER DIRECTOR, CDC: Anytime we ignore, minimize, or underestimate this virus we do so at our peril.</s>HILL: New research in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds a 20 percent increase in U.S. deaths from March to August, adding to the evidence that our current COVID death toll is likely an undercount.</s>FRIEDEN: If you died from COVID, and you also had diabetes. You died from</s>COVID. HILL: As an influential model now projects nearly 400,000 COVID related deaths by February 1st. But if more Americans wore masks, that could change dramatically.</s>DR. PAUL OFFIT, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: If 95 percent of Americans wear a mask, we will prevent roughly 80,000 deaths over the next few months. I mean, it's a remarkable statistic. Those are people. I mean, if you saw those people you would you would try and do something to prevent their deaths, but somehow, we just, just ignore it all.</s>HILL: The human toll is growing, both in lives lost and in lives forever changed.</s>DR. DEEPAK CHOPRA, CLINICAL PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO: People are going through different stages of grief. So, some feel victimized, some angry, some are hostile, some are resentful, some are helpless.</s>HILL: Researchers at NYU warning of a second wave of devastation. This one tied to mental health and substance abuse. The magnitude they write is likely to overwhelm the already frayed mental health system. Of particular concern, essential workers, including those on the frontlines.</s>ASHER: A controversial police unit will be disbanded in Nigeria. We are live here in Lagos, where protesters say they'll continue marching until police brutality in all forms is brought to an end. That's next.

Nigeria Dissolves Controversial Anti-Robbery Police Unit; Indian Celebrity Feeds Millions During Pandemic

ASHER: Nigeria is once again disbanding a police unit accused of kidnapping, harassment and extortion. The unit is known as SARS or the Special Anti-Robbery Squad. The move follows days of nationwide protests against police violence. This weekend, one person died and several others were injured after police fired tear gas and ammunition into the crowd. Nigeria is considered to be among the most corrupt nations in Africa. It is ranked 146 out of 180 countries worldwide in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index. The accounting firm, PwC, estimates corruption could cost Nigeria 37 percent of its GDP by the year 2030. That amounts to nearly $2,000 a person. We'll be in Nigeria with our Stephanie Busari, hopefully in just a moment for you. In the meantime, there are some other stories that we are following. India has now surpassed seven million coronavirus cases, that's the second highest total in the world. The country's economy took a major hit in March from a strict lockdown meant to stem the spread of the virus with cases still rising. India's health minister is now urging people to stay home from festivals set to begin this week. India's growth was already slowing before the pandemic. Now, this concern hundreds of millions could slip back into poverty. Renowned Indian chef is trying to help those who are struggling. Vedika Sud tells us more about the man on a global delivery mission.</s>VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: More pre-kindle for millions of India's underprivileged who've been struggling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic. This massive food drive is the brainchild of Indian chef, Vikas Khanna. For the last six months, Khanna has been planning every step of the project from his home in New York City. After India implemented its first lockdown in March, Khanna donated through charity. But images of Indians in need, stayed with the chef who decided to take direct action.</s>VIKAS KHANNA, INDIAN CELEBRITY CHEF: We started getting shortlisted in different cities. So, on the room, I had this wall will put the name of the city and the start putting the name of the places where we need food.</s>SUD: Khanna soon realize managing logistics from over 7,000 miles away, it wasn't easy. So, he collaborated with India's National Disaster Response Force to deliver food and amenities to remote areas of the country. He says, they distributed food to sex workers, seniors, HIV/AIDS patients, flood victims and migrant workers.</s>S.N. PRADHAN, DIRECTOR GENERAL, NATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE FORCE: Even if it was a one man show out there from there, I said OK, we can be all hands on the arms and legs.</s>SUD: Khanna, who cook for President Obama in the White House is one of the first Indians to have been awarded a Michelin Star. He has written 35 books, including what's been called the world's most expensive cookbook itself. He's also a filmmaker, but his mission to feed millions of his fellow Indians remains closest to his heart.</s>KHANNA: It starts here, it started here. This was stopping the project. Brain was saying that you have too many pending projects.</s>SUD: There are days when Khanna feels overwhelmed by the magnitude of the project. His mother back home in India doesn't let him give up.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I convinced him by saying that. If you have gone out of India, you should do something for your country. Why not when everybody's suffering?</s>SUD: The 48-year-old Indian says he was born with club feet. For 11 years he walked with the support of braces and then boden shoes. For Khanna, supporting millions of fellow Indians will always be a bigger moment than the day he first read. Vedika Sud, CNN, New Delhi.</s>ASHER: Time for a quick break here on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. After which, we'll be back in Lagos with more on those nationwide protests that have rocked Nigeria; a lot of people calling an end to police brutality. More on that after a short break, don't go away.

Volunteers In U.K. Take Part In COVID-19 Vaccine Trials.

ASHER: As people start to lose patience with coronavirus restrictions, COVID fatigue is no doubt becoming a real problem. The good news is the race to find an effective vaccine is really picking up. 42 vaccine candidates are in human trials around the world, of course, human trials require human test subjects. While most of us are trying to avoid the virus, some people are volunteering to actually expose themselves to COVID- 19 to try and help with the vaccine research. CNN Phil Black went to meet some of those volunteers.</s>PHIL BLACK, CNN REPORTER: Like so many, Stefania Hidalgo, has quietly enjoyed the challenge, the inconvenience of living through a pandemic. But she wanted to do more.</s>STEFANIA HIDALGO, VOLUNTEER: This was a way for me to take control of the situation to feel like I was in a more or in a less hopeless place in a less hopeless world and be like, OK, I can do this, to make it better. I chose not to be in fear.</s>BLACK: So, she volunteered to be deliberately infected with the coronavirus.</s>HIDALGO: I was shaking but then I just without knowing I just typed my name in and was like, let's go for it.</s>BLACK: Shaking?</s>HIDALGO: I want to can be part of it. Yes, because it can be scary, right? Like, you're going to be potentially exposed to the virus.</s>BLACK: Alastair Frase-Urquhart is also very keen to be infected.</s>ALASTAIR FRASE-URQUHART, VOLUNTEER: I've just got the e-mail.</s>BLACK: He helps with running the recruitment campaign Stephanie has signed up to. One day sooner, finds volunteers so far tens of thousands around the world, and has been lobbying the U.K. Government to make use of them through potentially risky research.</s>URQUHART: I wake up thinking about challenge trials. I go back to bed thinking about challenge trials.</s>BLACK: Challenge trials involve giving young healthy people a potential vaccine, like this one developed by London's Imperial College. But then later, testing it by deliberately dosing them with the virus. Proponents say it's faster than waiting for test subjects to be exposed to a specific virus in the real world. With numerous COVID-19 vaccines being developed, some scientists think challenge trials could help identify the best of them sooner.</s>URQUHART: By taking that small restaurant myself, I can now potentially protect thousands of other people's from, you know, having to be infected without consenting to it.</s>BLACK: Critics say challenge trials have limited use because the young healthy people who take part don't represent the broader population. They have been used against other viruses.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to Flucamp.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For you to quarantine, then.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes.</s>BLACKWELL: This is corporate videos from a London facility that recruits, exposes, and strictly quarantines people to test influenza vaccines.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a wonderful safety record that we're all proud of.</s>BLACKWELL: But there are always risks, especially with a new virus that's already killed more than a million people. And epidemiologists say it's likely some volunteers would be needed for a control group to make sure the virus dose can cause disease. It means they'd be exposed to the coronavirus without receiving a vaccine. The real potential for doing harm to volunteers would be closely scrutinized by regulators.</s>TERENCE STEPHENSON, CHAIR OF ENGLAND'S HEALTH RESEARCH AUTHORITY: A challenge trial would have to make the cogent argument that the benefits to society greatly outweigh the risk. And that, that evidence or those data could not be achieved in a simpler, safer way.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually built out.</s>BLACK: Test subjects and challenge trials are compensated financially, but Alastair's father knows that's not motivating his son.</s>ANDREW FRASE-URQUHART, VOLUNTEER'S FATHER: It's at the forefront of Science and Technology. It's something to benefit others. It's something rather brave, it's something slightly different. And that's, that's him in a nutshell.</s>ALASTAIR U.: To be totally honest, I really don't care what he says, I do what I like.</s>BLACK: A crucial ingredient for any COVID-19 challenge trial will be the determined idealism of its young volunteers. Phil Black, CNN, London.</s>ASHER: All right, trading is almost over on Wall Street. Just another five minutes or so to go. We'll have the closing bell and a very special announcement after the break.