hello. i'm wolf blitzer. it's noon in panama city, florida. 1:00 p.m. here in washington. 8:00 p.m. in baghdad. wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us. up first, two weeks to go. 14 days and counting until the presidential election here in the united states. the candidates are in a sprint to the finish line as they fight for key battleground states. one of the biggest, of course, florida, with 29 electoral votes. both hillary clinton and donald trump, they are campaigning in florida today. clinton holds an early voting rally in coconut creek and trump

holds rallies in tallahassee and sanford, florida. obama, president obama, will also campaign for hillary clinton in orlando on friday. our correspondent boris sanchez joins us live from sanford, florida. boris, trump said today that he thinks he'll win florida, he'll carry the state. what is his message, his strategy there over these final two weeks? >> reporter: well, wolf, the strategy is simple. he's trying to swarm the state of florida, having events chr chriscrossing the entire state. just since sunday in naples, palm beach county, tampa, earlier in doral and in a minute his plane will pull up where the crowd is already excited. his real message here is to go after president obama on the economy. earlier today in doral he talked about jobs. had employees touting job

experience as a job creator and ability as a boss. on top of that he went after obama and hillary clinton when it comes to obama care, on the heels of the news premiums next year are set to spike. aside from that focusing on areas that are traditionally republican. especially here in the central part and northern part of the state. here in sanford, in seminole county, mitt romney won by 6% and trump is hoping to build on that support. romney, keep in mind, lost florida by about 70,000 votes, wolf. >> we know the trump people concede, if he doesn't carry florida, it's for all practical purposes, looks like it would be over. why he's spending so much time there right now. thanks very much. hillary clinton is rallying her supporters at a campaign event in florida next hour. we'll, of course, have live coverage. a recent poll showed clinton leading trump 48% to 44% among likely florida voters, but trump

says he's optimistic about winning the state. florida congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz is the former chair of the democratic national committee, a hillary clinton supporter joining us live from coconut creek, florida, where clinton will hold her event. congresswoman, thanks for joining us. >> my pleasure. great to you with you, woman. >> wolf. >> listen to what donald trump said today. campaigning all over florida. >> the florida numbers, as you know, the polls are packed, and nobody knows how they're voting, but they all seem to have trump stickers and trump hats and trump pins and trump shirts. and the polling booths, they said they'd never seen polling booths so active in florida. people are coming in. hundreds of people where there used to be just a small number of people. i feel tremendously confident we're going to win florida. very important. >> all right. he's tremendously confident about florida. what do you think? you know your state. can he win florida?

>> you know, florida is always close, and we run elections here as democrats like we're ten points behind. donald trump clearly continues to live in his own alternate universe. if you look at the numbers, in terms of voter registration and adding voters to the rolls, democrats eclipsed republicans in new registrants consistently all the way up to the extended deadline october 18th, and, wolf, typically in florida, republicans in vote by mail, in the absentee balloting, they usually out-vote us. pretty consistently. in fact, at the same point in 2012, where we're at right now, republicans had returned 5% more absentee ballots than democrats. we've actually closed that gap to 1.7% and we have equalled them in absentee ballot requests. today with the second day of early voting, we are likely to actually have surpassed them in

the number of votes banked and cast, and we've also been able to increase the registrants who are most likely to go to the polls and vote for democratic candidates. so, you know, donald trump can have rallies all over the state. we're out-organizing and out-mobilizing them consistently. >> he was out campaigning in florida all day yesterday. he didn't once mention the name marco rubio. in a tough senate race himself. here's the yquestion. does that help or hurt marco rubio? >> marco rubio doesn't appear to know what to do with himself in this election. at the same time he's criticizing donald trump but yet still supporting him. marco rubio from what i've seen has been trying to have his cake and eat it too all the way through this election. for quite some time he didn't even show up for work, and i'm confident that voters are going to go to the polls as they should and vote for our candidate, patrick murphy. >> so does that help rubio or

hurt rubio? the fact that trump never talks about him? >> well, you know, i think even marco rubio can't figure out whether it would help or hurt him. he's got a problem where he doesn't want to alienate his base, and so donald trump talking about him could help with the base, but then because donald trump is really radioactive in the state of florida and clearly done worse than any recent republican nominee here leading up to election day, it would be harmful for marco rubio, for the voters that are actually going to decide this election, those important swing voters, that patrick murphy has far more appeal to because he's right on the issues and actually wants the job. >> see what happens in that senate race. obviously very important as were el. donald trump at his campaign today, they pounced on the news about the affordable care act, obama care, premiums are expected next year to shoot up by an average across the country of 22%.

how could that impact the race in florida over the next two weeks? how worried are you about those numbers, because it's pretty -- a pretty significant, that the increase in cost to americans is going to go up. >> you know, i think that voters when they go to the polls and make a decision about who they want to vote for for president are going to vote for hillary clinton, because they know that she has been focused on making sure that we can continue to add more people who have health care insurance. we have 20 million people who now have health insurance that didn't before. when it comes to the rate increases we have the slowest rate of health insurance costs in 50 years, since the passage of obama care. look, it's -- also important to note, wolf, that insurance premiums went up double digits every year before obama care. but now because of the tax credits available to 91% of floridians and 84% of uninsured

and previously uninsured americans nationwide, most of these folks are able to pay $100 or less in their monthly premium and so while there are costs that have continued to go up, it's the slowest rate increase in 50 years and for the kinks that need ironed out, we need to sit down together like hillary clinton has said over and over with republicans across the table and iron out those kinks. we're committed to do to continue with a plan that has given 20 million people insurance and people like me, a breast survivor, not to have to worry about dropped coverage like we had to before. >> the numbers released by the department of health and human services for those millions of americans right now who rely on the affordable care act for some sort of premium, on the average, 22% premium increases in states like arizona, it's going to go up more than 100%.

not the way it was supposed to be. was it? >> we're in a transition year, and as i said, you have 91% of americans, preerchsly uninsured americans in florida eligible nor a tax credit, which brings those costs down. those numbers are really an anomaly. it's four or five states where the number of insurance options have narrowed. so premiums have increased, but we're going to be able to make sure that if we just sit down together and iron out the kinks that have occurred with obama care, this was significant reform that brought more health care insurance, for example, to young adults who can now stay on their parents insurance until they're 26 years old. go donald trump and republicans way, they've forced us in congress to vote more than 60 times to fully repeal it, just get rid of it and leave people with no health insurance. 37 million people, wolf, didn't have health insurance before obama care and now they do. my constituency, seniors had to

can fapharmacists to score thei pills so they would last. now that gap is closing. obama care saved millions of americans money and millioning more now have coverage. we don't freed to do what donald trump is suggesting and pull its up by its root and branch. we need to sit down together, iron out the kinks and make sure we can improve upon what is already working for millions of americans. >> debbie wassermanschultz. former dnc chair, congresswoman up for re-election in florida. coming up, new cnn polls reveal what clinton and trump supporters think about the fairness of this presidential election. do they think votes will be counted accurately? the results of our new poll. plus premium hikes once again for obama care. the health secretary standing by to join us live to explain. we'll be right back.

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switch to liberty mutual and you could save up to $509. call today at liberty stands with you™. liberty mutual insurance. all across the country republicans are saying i told you so about the latest obama care price hike premiums expected to soar by an average of 22% next year. but most consumers will be shielded from the increases because of federal subsidies. the republican national committee put out a statement

saying, quoting now, the news of skyrocketing obama care premiums yet to come makes it clear this law is a full-fledged train wreck which worsened our health care system. bring in our panel. "washington post" political reporter david knonakamra and others. how much of a problem, increase in premiums for those on obama care. how much of a political problem is it for hillary clinton? >> it is a political problem. it is a gift to donald trump, and to every republican candidate running down ballot. republicans have done nothing other than talk about repeal around replace obama care. particular will any congress. over 50 votes on it, and on capitol hill. so this plays right into the narrative. premiums going up, it's a disaster. the question is, is it too late? and lots of, millions of people

are early voting. can donald trump capitalize on it? he sure is trying to. even bill clinton earlier this month called obama care the craziest thing in the world. you've got a democratic governor, mark dayton, of minnesota saying the reality is the affordable care act is no longer affordable to increasing numbers of people. so it's right there in a gift basket for donald trump and republicans, and we'll see how much advantage they can take with it. hillary clinton has been on the record saying that it needs to be fixed. she's going to have to get a lot more specific about that, as are republicans in terms of talking about what they would do to change it, because you don't want to take away some of the provisions people love, which is -- no pre-existing conditions. keeping your children on your medical plan until they're 26 years old. things like that. >> david, it's clear donald trump sees it as a political gift. already twice today raled

against premium increases. listen to what he said this morning. >> obama care is blowing up and the white house, our president, announced 25% or 26%. that number is so wrong, that is such a phony number. you're talking about 60%, 70%, 80% in increases. 23409 not 25%. obama care needs repealed, replaced and replaced with something much less expensive for the people. >> all right. david, can this help donald trump in these final two weeks? >> fire up his base i'm sure and voters still making up their minds. gloria make as good point. is it too late? huge platforms to people to hear directly about this, and president obama is going around the country talking about the need to fix the program once hillary clinton takes office, in his mind, but also trying to reach out still to young people. bill murray to film an ad about

obama care. maybe a little too late as well. for donald trump, something he'll keep hammering. obama challenging republicans, show me another plan. the details won't drive people. right now the emotional argument, good point. manu, arizona is a key state. usually a republican state but it's close. a new poll in arizona showing 46% trump. hillary clinton 45%. arizona ars, premiuming going up 116%. 116%. more than double the premiums presumably that's going to have impact? >> absolutely. and the issue of obama care is one john mccain seized on in his own senate race going after his democratic opponent ann kirkpatrick well before the premium increase because of united health care group pulling out of exchanges in that state. used it as a wedge issue. could have an impact. the reason, republicans have had no galvanizing issue to bring

their party together around for weeks. they've been at war with their party's nominee. begun a terrible news cycle. finally there's something to talk about on the campaign trail. maybe it will help donald trump on the margins but it will help down ticket republicans who need something to campaign on. finally a gift for them. >> kelly ayotte back on-air with an obama care ad just to seize the news environment. it has been a largely issue-free presidential election in many respects. so i think manu is right, wolf, the down ballot impact, down ballot republicans fighting now against this trump stream can now actually talk about something they can own that is irrespective of donald trump. >> monitoring an event at the bay of pigs museum down in florida right now. we'll keep our eye on it and let you know what he's saying speaking about cuba obviously right now. the new u.s. relationship with cuba. stand by, we'll have information

on that. a new poll just came out in the last hour, david, talking about the reaction that trump's claim that this election is rigged. what are the american people saying? >> asked compared to previous years. do you have faith in the way your ballot will be counted and cast? look at the results in our new cnn/orc poll. it showed more people today think they have, they are confident that their votes are counted accurately. 66% say that today. compared to 58% back in 2008. people are actually more confident today than they were eight years ago about their ballot. >> and the what are you hearing about that? that trump -- almost every speech, it's ripping gged, rigg used to say it in the republican primaries which he won. >> if you broke it down, trump supporters are more likely to believe the election will be rigged than trump opponents. >> 66% is more than just clinton -- >> exactly. so -- i think by and large

people believe that the elections are fair in this country. everybody goes back to the year 2000. and we understand that that was almost a tie election, and you're talking about a close election in the state of florida. so my head as everybody else on this panel goes back to the question of florida, florida, florida, and counting votes, and how we have to be careful about that. and i think what this means is that everybody needs to get out and vote. >> if it's very close in florida, really close in florida this time, as it was in 2000, the third party candidates potentially could make a little difference? right, david? >> absolutely. the question of the positively. one of the interesting things about the poll show people expect the winner to concede. that's an important finding. i think 70% or more, if i saw the poll correctly, expected that and don't expect donald trump to necessarily do that. trump talks about rig fld a broader way. talking the election is rigged,

coverage rigged against me. part of his outsider appeal and bashing the establishment this whole thing is rigged not just the final day in voting. >> manu, play for you a clip. kevin mccarthy, house republican majority leader, admitting that donald trump could hurt some republicans down ballot. blunt in this interview on fox this morning. listen to this. >> we know in our face supporting donald trump, is porting our members of congress, we're in a fight. >> you don't believe stand with trump and lose the house? >> no. i believe we have to change this country. we are going to keep this house. we need to elect donald trump president. >> yes. he says the wind is in our face. pretty blunt. >> he is pretty blunt and he is accurate, too. i mean, the bottom line is that the republicans in the house are scrambling to prevent losing 30 seats that would turn the house democratic. now, right now most political professionals do not view likely

chance of democrats taking back the house majority. they think perhaps 15, maybe 20 seats. but still, if this environment continues to get worse for trump, harder for the down ticket republicans. interesting that house democrats, super pac, launched and ad in montana, housed democratic race, showing how they believe the map is expanding, and paul ryan heading there this weekend to help his house republican candidate there. just shows the democrats now believe there's a target-rich environment. >> environment maybe better with trump with obama care increases noi and only five points in our poll we released yesterday? >> the national horse race. yes. although underneath that we see significant advantages for hillary clinton among certain voting blocs critical looking at the electoral map. why her strength is there. five points, remember, a pretty big margin, wolf. we never had in the entirety of the obama/romney race, never a

five-point margin. big for barack obama. yes, as the trump campaign conceded they are behind, no doubt they have a headline today they'll try to drive home. >> certainly will and see what happens in the next two weeks and counting. guy, stand by. up next, taking you behind the scenes. a closer look at the woman who's steering donald trump's campaign right now. kellyanne conway. [ male announcer ] eligible for medicare? that's a good thing, but it doesn't cover everything. only about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. so consider an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, they could save you in out-of-pocket medical costs. call today to request a free decision guide. with these types of plans, you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients... plus, there are no networks, and virtually no referrals needed.

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have right here. look at the white house right behind me. some might call it one of the hardest jobs in politics. managing a presidential campaign. well, kellyanne conway is not only doing that job for donald trump, also the first woman ever to run a republican presidential campaign. what's it like to be the guiding force behind the republican nominee? our chief political correspondent dana bash sat down conway at her new jersey home. >> reporter: morning at the copways. >> sweetheart, how's this? and which jacket. >> reporter: scrambling to get the kits ready for school. familiar chaos for any parent, though kellyanne conway is not any parents. >> acknowledging the uphill climb. >> reporter: the mother of four young children is donald trump's campaign manager. on tv so much explaining and defending her boss, "saturday night live" dedicated an entire bit to imagining her day off. ♪ >> this is so weird. this is exactly the way the

"snl" house looked. >> pajamas? >> where's "walking on sunshine." >> in my head. >>ancakes are true to live. >> reporter: her mother moved in to help with the pancakes. the first woman ever to run a gop presidential race. >> i wasn't hired because of my gender. but it's a special responsibility. >> reporter: and often a difficult one, like this weekend when trump went off script attacking the women who say he groped them. >> all of these liar will be sued after the election is over. >> tear your hair out when you hear him say that? >> it's his campaign and his candidacy, and in the end he has to feel comfortable with his voice and -- >> you're the campaign manager. are you comfortable with that? >> i think donald trump is at his very best when he talks about the issues. >> reporter: translation, going off message hurts his campaign.

conway admits she's tough women him in private. >> i say something that really marks you mad. >> i told him yesterday. on the plane. you and i are going to fight for the next 17 days. he said, why? i said, because i know you're going to win. and that captaomment you just m sounds like you're going to lose and we're going to argue about it until we win. >> >> reporter: his response? >> okay, honey. we're going to win. >> reporter: for a time trump was disciplined. not anymore. especially on twitter. >> literally people seriously say, can't you delete his twitter app? >> reporter: that's one of my questions. >> it's not for me to take away a twitter account. >> reporter: when trump described lewd behavior, conway cancelled sunday tv appearances but helped with damage kronchts i felt like rapunzel in the tower all weekend and told mr. trump in private what i've also said in public or a variation

thereof. i found the comments horrible and indefensible and he didn't ask anybody to defend him, by the way. >> reporter: did you consider quitting? >> i did not. >> reporter: she thought his apology was earnest. >> reporter: the women who have now come forward saying it's not just talk. donald trump groped me. do you believe them? >> i believe -- donald trump has told me and his family and the rest of america now that none of this is true. thee are lies and fabrications, all made up, and i think that it's not for me to judge what those women believe. i have not talked to them. i've talked to him. >> reporter: she was raised in new jersey by a single mom, aunts and grandmahr, all women. as a political pollster chose to work in what she call as man's world, especially as a republican. recalled a potential client. a man asking how she balanced kids and work? >> i hope you ask all the male

consultants, will you give up golf and mistresses? they seem really, really busy, too. ♪ >> reporter: still, like most working moms, time with her kids is precious. >> how about "hamilton." >> reporter: the question, whether she'll have more time in two weeks after election day. when hired in august she told trump he was losing but could still win. >> reporter: you think at this point it is still possible to win? >> possible. >> reporter: probltd? >> probability? >> i think we have a very good chance to win. >> reporter: dana bash, cnn. >> my guest at 5:00 p.m. and asking the health secretary about consumers nationwide. moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, and you're talking to your doctor about your medication... this is humira.

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welcome back. we've been talking this hour about a new government report that says obama care premiums are set to spike next year. going up an average of 22% across states that use health care exchanges. some states like arizona, for example, could actually see an average increase of more than 100%, while others will see searchly no increase at all. with two weeks to go before the presidential election, donald trump and the republicans, they are understandably jumping on all of this as their next big talking point. let's bring in cnn business correspondent alison kosik, who's in new york. michelle kaczynski, our white house correspondent. alison, before we get to the political reaction, it's been intense, lay out what exactly these increases are, how much

people will be paying out of pocket, what states are impacted. tell us about all of that. >> reporter: okay. right about one thing. most states across the country will be feeling the sting of these higher premium jumps, and you see those average premiums, you said, jumping for states at 25%. so if you break down those jumps, what states will see, individually, you look at arizona. that really caught our eye. one 69 biggest jumps at 116% for the more popular benchmark silver premium plan that obama care offers's that means you're seeing a jump from around $200 a month to $500 a month and then you see alabama at 58% for their premium increase. but indiana is actually going to see a decrease in premiums, but across the board you're going to see premium spikes across the country. then you talk about nationwide, people enrolled are going to be getting subsidies from the government, which means many are going to pay less than $100 a

month because of those subsidies. so you see those prices. they're sticker shock but the reality is, most of the people in obama care won't have to pay those premiums, because the subsidized money from taxpayers, families with incomes above $250,000 will now have to pay more in medicare payroll taxes. a small percentage. 15% who don't qualify for the subsidy will wind up paying out of pocket. also one more caveat to get that subsidy, wolf. many actually have to switch plans which could mean a new set of doctors. which isn't always the easiest thing to do for these who have a chronic condition. like cancer. especially as we see insureies pulling out of marketplaces leaving no choice for many in obama care. in fact, one-fifth of the country will just have a single insurer on the obama care marketplacesbefore i go. pointing out, having one choice is better than none at all. before the affordable care act

there was no choice. and now there's an option, one health care adviser telling me you don't save money by not insuring people. many believing that this is better than nothing. despite the fact obama care does have a lot of problems. wolf? >> yes. not supposed to be like this. michelle, two weeks ago until the election. what's the political impact here? specifically, how is the white house responding? >> reporter: yes. i think, wolf, a short answer and the easy but right answer was the impact will just depend. this provides now the perfect fodder for republicans criticizing obama care from the start. today calling it a disaster. a train wreck. i mean, this makes that voice louder. it provides what they would say is the proof that obama care is not working. but to the individual voters, it depends where you, whether you like your plan, whether you're getting those subsidies and how big an increase you'll see, and how big of an impact this issue

makes to you on the election overall. the white house has been pretty consistent throughout. we haven't heard from them today. we will hear them take questions in about an hour on these numbers specifically, but what they've been saying throughout is, look at the overall picture. the 20 million more people in america now have insurance where they couldn't find something affordable before. that the vast majority of people are getting subsidies. the vast majority of people are finding an affordable plan, and that when you look at health care increases over the last several years, the last five our six years, these are the smallest increases on record. of course, next year that's going to change a little bit. but democrats will hold that the increases, the overall people are going to be paying would have been more if obama care been exist. so just depends who's voice is out there is stronger to the voters, wolf. >> michelle, thanks very much. alison, thanks to you as well. get more on all of this.

joining us, the u.s. health and human services sent sylvia burwell. madam secretary, thanks for joining us. >> wolf, thanks so much for having me. >> talk about this after of, what, 22% increase what we call the benchmark silver plan for people who use the affordable care act, obama care. why is the price marketed as affordable care act skyrocketing right now? >> it's what the consumer pays when asking a question like that. the consumer and most viewers, 150 million people in the united states have employer insurance. in the last six years, five of those years have seen the slowest growth in premiums that are on record. so for 150 million people, this does not impact them. for all the folks on medicare out there, in terms of that number of about 55 million people on medicare, this does not impact them. for the 70 million in medicaid, it doesn't.

for the 11 million in the marketplace, 85% of those folks actually have the tax credits or subsidies that help them, and those subsidies are designed to move as premiums move. so for those folks, they will be insulated from the changes. >> so arizona, for example. the benchmark plans average increase right now 116% projected next yearmore than double the premium right now. is that acceptable to the administration? >> you know, of course across the board we don't want to see premium increases, and as i said, in the employer base market we've seen that premium growth slowing. even in arizona where 75% of the folks actually have subsidies that will help them so that they're insulated from the changes. additionally in the state of arizona, because they did have lower rates to begin with, will see a large number of people who are eligible now for the subsidies. that's why, wolf, it's so

important for people to shop. one. things that happened on midnight sunday was that window shopping went up. so people can start looking at plans and looking at the kind of financial assistance they can get and which plans might be bet for them from an affordable and a quality perspective. then on november 1st, start signing's for those plans. >> secretary, a lot of those states, several states, only one carrier left. there isn't any competition. all the other health insurance carriers left that state. that's a serious problem. >> on average, wolf, consumers will have 30 plans to choose from. even in those states where there is single consumer, single issuer, last year we know that the average issuer had at least ten plans. and when one looks at the employer market, in 2015, 30% of folks in the employer market actually just had one plan. so in terms of that issue of choice, on average, consumers will have 30 plans to choose from.

>> and several states only one left. and the number of carriers willing to cooperate with the affordable care act has gone down from 298 in 2016 to only 228 next year. i know republicans are seizing on all of this with woueeks to before the election. i want to remind you what the former president bill clinton said about obama care just a few weeks ago. listen to this. >> got this crazy system where all of a sudden 25 million more people have health care and then the people out there busting it sometimes 60 hours a week wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half. it's the craziest thing in the world. >> do you agree it's the craziest thing in the world? >> first back to one of the points you made. it's important to distinguish between issuers and plans. for people in terms of the choices they face and in terms of what the consumer feels, as i said, each issuer on average had ten plans.

with regard to the former president's remarks, i think the president clarified his support in what he does believe. what we know is for many of those people, the benefits are the affordable care act, many of those folks had no choice. last year for folks who came back on the marketplace and actually shopped. the average savings was $500. and so shopping on the marketplace is going to be an important part, even for those that don't have subsidies. >> i know you've got to run. quickly, whatever happened to, if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan. if you like your doctor, you can keep your consider doctor. promises made six years ago, but you haven't been able to live up to that. right? >> you know, with regard to folks, many of the people we've seen the drop in uninsured be 20 million folks. for those people, they didn't have insurance before the efordable care act.

for 20 million americans they didn't have that insurance and now they have that insurance and they have choices. in addition, what i would say is, there are many tooling we are providing. that's one of the things that will continue to improve in this open enrollment. the tools to go on and shop by doctor, shop by drugs in terms there are certainly prescriptions you take. in terms of increasing the choice and increasing the ability to even have plans, if you had any pre-existing conditions. for those millions of american whose have coverage that didn't before, they're in a place that is much different. >> so what you're saying is the benefits outweigh the setbacks. there have been setbacks but you say the benefits outweigh those setbacks. a big issue over the next two weeks as this campaign winds down, i'm sure. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. >> go ahead. >> i was just going to say, i think that the point about the benefits is so important, because for americans who aren't part of the marketplace, those other tens and hundreds of

millions at this point over 150 in the employer-base market. for those folks pre-existing conditions don't keep them out. your kid can stay on your plan until age 26 and a number of services, whether things like vaccines, pre-cancer screenings at no extra cost. the benefits are broad. often not recognized as being part of the affordable care act, but those benefits extend to many americans beyond the 11 million in the marketplace. >> health secretary sylvia, thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me, wolf. coming up, shifting gears. iraqi forces freed nearly 80 villages as they make their way into the isis-held city of mosul. the terror group calling for reinforcements from fighters inside syria. going live to the region, right after this.

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a week into the operation to liberate mosul, iraqi forces say they've made better-than-expected progress, liberating almost 80 villages near the city. 800 isis fighters have been

killed so far, they say, but the liberators have met with fierce resistance and hundreds of civilians have been killed and some are being used as human shields. arwa damon is nearby in erbil. arwa, isis has been setting traps to go off as they retreat, including setting fire to sulfur facilities. what's the impact over there? >>. >> well, wolf, in some areas, it's been devastating, we were down at a sulfur plant that isis placed explosives in the key strategic explosives that isis left behind. we're inside what was a massive mountain of sulfur and the explosion resulted in the sulfur melting and releasing toxic gas, poisonous clouds into the air. and this burning has been going on for days now, wolf.

you have rescue teams working, trying to help people impacted by this, hundreds have had to seek medical attention, teams have been working around the clock trying to put the flames out and they spread over about a span of about two and a half to three miles. when you're down there, though, what's eerie about all of this is that when you look at it, it's oddly beautiful. you have waves that are fluorescent that are hitting up against this white sulfur. it's so deadly and the question, of course, is not only is what kind of an impact is this having on the troops as they move forward but in some cases the wind is changed and these toxic fumes have reached is americans based at the air base, then you have to impact on the civilian population and what everyone is wondering is if isis is willing to do this on the outskirts of mosul, what is it willing to do inside the city itself, wolf? >> we're expecting in the next

few weeks and months this battle will continue, much more of this kind of destruction and death, thanks so much for that report, arwa damon not far away from mosul. that's it for me, thanks very much for watching. i'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in the situation room. the news continues right after this. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. this is judy. judy is 65 years old. her mortgage payment is $728 a month. that's almost $9,000 a year now judy doesn't think

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welcome to cnn, i'm brooke baldwin. thank you for being with me precisely two weeks until presidential election day. both candidates are focused on the very same goal today -- the ever-critical battleground state of florida. a state donald trump called a must-win for him. in just a couple minutes, you will see donald trump and hillary clinton speaking there live and we very well