♪ i'll fight ♪ justice ruth bader ginsburg's chair in the u.s. supreme court draped in black. meanwhile, a political row simmering over who takes her place. plus, the u.s. on the cusp of seeing 200,000 people die from the coronavirus. that as the cdc issues new guidance about airborne transmission. and fires rage in wetlands as traditional farming methods and climate change combine to permanently change large swaths of south america. welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and, indeed, all around the world. you're watching "cnn newsroom." i'm michael holmes.

hello, everyone. the battle over filling the late ruth bader ginsburg's supreme court seat will heat up in the hours ahead as senators return to work. ginsburg's seat now draped in black at the supreme court. president donald trump says he will have a nominee in the coming days. democrats hoping to block any plans to rush a vote through before the november 3rd election. on sunday democratic presidential nominee joe biden called on the senate to wait. >> don't vote to confirm anyone nominated under the circumstances president trump and senator mcconnell have created. don't go there. uphold your constitutional duty. your conscience. let the people speak.

cool the flames that have been engulfing our country. we can't keep rewriting history. >> whatever happens from here, the looming showdown is already reshaping the election. cnn's senior congressional correspondent manu raju with more. >> reporter: president donald trump is moving quickly to name his supreme court nominee to fill the seat of the late ruth bader ginsburg. >> raise your right hand. >> reporter: according to sources familiar with the process, three female appeals court judges apier to be among the front-runners. amy coney barrett. trump and senate majority leader mitch mcconnell can only afford to lose the support of three republican senators in order to get 51 votes oh gto get a nomin confirmed. already two republicans have said the nomination should wait until after the elections.

the latest lisa murkowski of alaska. the lone republican saying --? we are now even closer to the 2020 election. less than two months ago, and i believe the same standard must apply. but murkowski would not comment on sunday about whether she would oppose trump's nominee in a lame duck session of congress which will occur after the november elections and conclude in january. similarly, senator susan collins of maine fighting to keep her seat has said the vote should wait until after the election, but her office has not responded to cnn's questions about whether she would vote against a trump nominee in a lame duck session if former vice president joe biden wins in november. the battle over the nomination comes amid a furious fight for control of the senate in november, and it has put some republicans like cory gardner of colorado in a difficult spot as he campaigns to keep his seat.

in 2016 when republicans refused to move on barack obama's nomination of merrick garland to the court, they argued it was too close to the election. gardner said at the time the american people deserve a role in this process, but on saturday, gardner refused to say if he would stick to that same position now that there is a republican president. and just 44 days before the election. >> there is time for debate. there is time for politics. but the time for now is to pray for the family. >> reporter: several veteran republican senators including chuck grassley of iowa have also declined to say if they think the nomination should wait and the party's 2012 nominee, senator mitt romney, has so far declined to comment. several republicans in difficult races are aligning with trump. >> i voted for several hundred conservative judges, including two on the supreme court and another one on the way. >> tillis sung a different tune four years ago. >> we're going to let the american people speak. >> reporter: republicans say times have changed because they now control the white house and the senate, unlike 2016.

>> it's a question of checks and balances. >> reporter: but four years ago, cruz said this -- >> this is for the people to decide. >> reporter: now, donald trump and mitch mcconnell have spoken multiple times through the course of the weekend. and i'm told one person has come up in those conversations, that's appeals court judge amy coney barrett. someone the democrats strenuously opposed. the republicans trying to get her on the high court for years. someone mitch mcconnell said the republicans know well, would be comfortable with her nomination and donald trump is seriously considering putting her forward. also we expect this to move pretty quickly. once the nomination comes, as early as this week, republicans will try to see whether or not they have the votes to move ahead. if they don't, they're going to put it to later, but expect this fight to just intensify on monday when senators get back into town and start to process the monumental developments. manu raju, cnn, capitol hill. >> the top democrat in the senate, chuck schumer, says rushing a nomination so close to

the election is despicable. on sunday schumer was asked about what could happen after the election. here's part of what he said. >> if the president's pick is approved and biden wins the election, should he add more supreme court justices? >> well, it will be a decision that comes to the senate. we first have to win the majority before that can happen, but once we win the majority, god willing, everything is on the table. >> joining me now to discuss is cnn's senior political analyst and former adviser to four u.s. presidents, david gergen. always a pleasure to see you, david. the politics on full show. you've got joe biden pleading to his republican former senate colleagues on the nomination. the thing is, will he be heard? you know, a lot of talk about -- about hypocrisy, but then there is that term "situational ethics" which seems to apply in

politics. what are you seeing? >> well, i think the conventional wisdom may be right up to a point, and that is conventionally people say this is going to help trump, this is going to help the republicans, they're going to hold on to the white house now, hathey're goin to hold on to the senate. it may appear that way for a few days, but, actually, i think in the long term this is going to whip around and serve joe biden and the democrats. if they don't misplay their hand. which they could do. but i have to tell you, i think that what i find around the country talking to people is there is a lot of anger over this whole supreme court appointment. not that -- about getting, you know, a woman, that's going to be a positive. you know, but the fact is there are a lot of americans who think this has been done unfairly. that the supreme court has been stolen from them. that, you know, when they -- when the conservative blocked president obama in his last year in office from appointing a supreme court justice, that seat was then taken by a republican. now the republicans are turning,

flipping things on their head. they're arguing opposite -- they're arguing 180 degrees different from what they argued, you know, back in the obama term. and i think that's caused a lot of anger. and i think it will help joe biden in the general election and help to unseat a number of republicans. and by the way, the negative is, i think if republicans pull this off or come close to pulling this off, it's going to poison the well even more in politics. so much damage has been done about the comity of people working together. a lot of that damage could become irreversible. >> all, think -- a lot of people already find the whole way the supreme court justices are picked entirely overpolitical. >> yes. >> you're lucky enough to get to pick one, they're going to carry out your ideological will. in a campaign sense, until justice ginsburg died, it was all about, you know, the coronavirus and the economy.

>> right. >> so talk more about whether the shift helps republicans or might backfire, especially as democrats hammer potential supreme court decisions on things like health care and abortion rights, where most americans want abortion rights. they don't want their health care taken away. that could hurt them, right? >> yes. i agree. and i think that -- listen, on abortion, most americans now want to give -- want to protect women in making that decision. you're just not gonna win back suburban moms on the idea that you're going to get -- you're going to get rid of all abortions, to the extent that you can. that will play to the base of the republican party. it does not play much beyond that. but let me go to the more, you know, the other question, because i think it's so interesting, which you've raised. the biden people -- biden himself is now putting much greater emphasis upon health care. as a way to combat what affects so many americans in their daily lives.

and that is are they going to have health care protection in an age of covid? will they -- if -- if their husbands lose jobs, you know, if their spouses lose jobs, will they have the health care protection? and that one -- in that respect, president trump, by calling a lot of attention himself now to health care, is playing with fire because it's the democrats who have the upper hand in this argument. the trump people, even as they say we want to protect pre-existing conditions, they're going to court in the supreme court on november 10th to argue that obamacare ought to be abolished entirely across the board. so the pre-existing conditions no longer are protected. you know, i think they in the long run, michael, to come back to it, there are a lot of issues here that the republicans are suddenly making very sharp in the elections. that actually favor -- issues that actually favor the democrats because that's where people stand on policy. >> yeah.

and as you say, a lot of sort of suspicion among people i talk to about how political it's become. >> yes. >> if you're lucky enough to be in power, you pick out a judge that is going to carry out your will, in a way. >> so it is wrong to think that the party that appoints you to be a judge, that pre -- that pre-decides how you're going to vote in a lot of cases. that removes any sense of judicial, you know, probity, weighing of facts or really trying to figure out what's right, and instead it weaponizes and certainly politicizes the courts. and that weakens the courts, too. >> yeah. yeah, i think for a lot of people, the highest court in the land shouldn't be one you can say, oh, it's 6-3, conservative, or whatever. you shouldn't be able to say that. out of time. david, good to see you. thanks so much. >> we'll talk again. thanks. >> we will. joining me now to discuss all of this is cnn's chief legal

analyst jeffrey toobin. a staff writer at the new york magazine and author of "true crimes and misdemeanors: the investigation of donald trump." jeff, great to see you. i wanted to sort of look at the court and the process. do you think the court, which has long enjoyed the trust of the people, would be sort of facing a crisis of confidence because of the very process in which these justices are picked and how political that's become? they're supposed to be above the fray. is the system above the fray? >> you know, michael, this has been come for a long time. i don't think many americans at this point think the supreme court is divorced from politics. remember -- you remember 20 years ago we had the decision in bush v. gore in the exquisitely close election of 2000 when the court effectively decided that george w. bush instead of al gore should be president.

in a very politically-charged case. they have continued to do cases like citizens united involving limit -- unlimited campaign contributions. they struck down the voting rights act. i mean, this is a deeply political court. i don't blame them for that. i think their mission is inherently -- involves them in political issues. but it is also certainly true that the political furor around the court is about as great as it's ever been. >> yeah. of course chief justice roberts said there are no obama judges, no trump judges and so on and so forth. there is that professed independence, but the perception has to be -- and the reality in many ways, whichever party is lucky enough to get the opportunity to appoint judges gets decisions that fit that party's ideology, but does that

hurt the credibility of the court when it comes to decisions it hands down? >> well, you know, one of my favorite justices was a justice named robert jackson in the '40s and '50s, and he said something that i think, you know, rings true, even today. he said about the supreme court, we are not final because we are infallible. we are infallible because we are final. somebody has to have the last word. and in our system, it's the supreme court. now, many of those decisions have great political implications. but there really is no appeal, literally and figuratively, from the supreme court. so even though the supreme court may not be regarded as independent of politics, it is all we have to resolve these cases. and i think the public has learned to accept that, if not embrace it. >> well, there are some who

believe -- and i was talking to max boot about this last night. some believe that the public is going to be fed up with things like this. donald trump has appointed two, perhaps three supreme court judges. he lost the popular vote. the justices were approved by republican senators who represent 15 million fewer americans than their democratic colleagues. i mean, do americans have the right to think the makeup of the court might not necessarily represent their will when it comes to issues like abortion and health care? and, you know, as i say, there are some who think people may rise up at some point. >> well, i -- i -- color me skeptical that there will be a rising up about the supreme court. i think it is too far from the everyday concerns of most -- of most americans. donald trump may feel the country rising up. the -- the -- both the benefit and the problem of the supreme court is that it is insulated from public scrutiny. i mean, the justices are -- are

not accountable to the public in any meaningful way. and i think that they are well-insulated from the public's displeasure. and it is also worth remembering there are a great many people who are very happy to see the court move in a more conservative direction. so, you know, i think the politicians have reason to fear that the country -- that the country will rise up against them, but i think the supreme court is pretty safe for all intents and purposes. >> yeah, i guess the majority of americans want to keep abortion rights. they certainly like their health care. and, you know, if those things are radically changed by a court they feel is unrepresentative, then it might be different. i wanted to ask you, though, about the sort of the structural issues. ruth bader ginsburg was 87. stee stephen breyer's in his 80s.

youth seems to be a criteria for nomination, the idea being longevity, of course, yet the constitution doesn't say lifetime, it says shall hold their office during good behavior, i think it is. why isn't there a retirement age like there is with most other jobs or term limits or perhaps the suggestion of rotating justices from a bigger pool i know was suggested at one point. why is it the way it is and why aren't there term limits? >> well, the reason it is the way that it is is because that's how the framers of the constitution set it up. but, remember, you know, the constitution was written in the 18th century, and in those days, you know, just to be -- to be blunt about it, people didn't live as long as they did now. so the idea of appointing a distinguished judge in his -- and it was only his in those days -- in his 40s could maybe expect to live another 10, maybe 20 years. and that's -- and that was the

rule for many years. now, fortunately we all live a great deal longer than we used to. and the court is perceived as much more of a political body than it was in the post-woorld years, the '40s, the '50s, even into the '60s. so the supreme court fights have become proxies for all the divisions that we face and as a result presidents seek to put a stamp on the court for as long as possible. so the days of appointing justices in their 60s, which used to be fairly common, and ruth bader ginsburg actually was 60 years old when she was appointed. so -- but those days are long gone and it's quite clear that president trump is only considering people in their 40s and early 50s. >> jeffrey toobin, i wish we had longer. we do not.

thanks so much. >> okay, michael. we'll take a quick break. when we come back, america's cdc has updated its guidance on how covid-19 spreads and it might be much easier to catch than you realize. we'll be right back. (vo) with t-mobile for business, your business has an easy choice. the largest 5g network... award-winning customer satisfaction... insanely great value. choose. all. three. ready when you are. ♪ ♪ i buy my own rocks and i flaunt it ♪ ♪ rolling through the streets so stunning ♪ ♪ you know i'm a diamond honey ♪ ♪ i'm a celebrate this feeling ♪ ♪ watch me while i break the ceiling ♪ ♪ you know that unstoppable feeling ♪ ♪ so i'ma show'em how i'm shinin' ♪ ♪ walking bold... ice on me ♪ ♪ raining down like diamond rings ♪ ♪ everyday did you know that you can shop online with a virtual consultant? ask about special financing ♪ yeah i do it right cuz with the diamond credit card. ♪ i'm a diamond... with acetaminophenction fights pain in two ways.

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[ bells tolling ] bells tolling 200 times sunday at the washington cathedral. as the nation nears 200,000 deaths from the coronavirus. the official number right now from john hopkins university just short of 19 9,500. it is sadly, of course, just a matter of time before that staggering death toll is reached. 200,000 people. well, for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention is acknowledging covid-19 be commonly spread through viral particles in the air. the agency's new guidance says those aerosols are produced when a person talks, sings, coughs,

sneezes or even just breathes. and it's believed the particles can hang in the air and be breathed in by others. the cdc had previously said the virus was thought to spread mainly through respiratory droplets between people within 6 feet of one another. this new update reinforcing why masks are so crucial. the head of the u.s. testing efforts claims the country is seeing fewer fatalities compared to its peak in july, but as cnn's evan mcmorris-santoro reports, america's death toll remains the highest in the world and the numbers are still rising and are stalgerring. staggering. >> reporter: projections now show within the next day or so america will cross a grim milestone in this pandemic, 200,000 confirmed deaths from complications of coronavirus. to put that number in perspective, let's go back to march 29th, when president trump addressed the idea of 200,000 deaths. >> if we can hold that down as

we're saying to 100,000, it's a horrible number, maybe even less, but to 100,000, so we have between 100,000 and 200,000. we all together have done a very good job. >> reporter: that 200,000 number comes even as places like new york city, where i'm standing, are seeing their viral numbers come way down. but this country is still in the grips of this thing. the pandemic is reeking havoc on the american economy, education, and, of course, people's lives. and there's really no end in sight. over the weekend admiral brett ju girar has no idea when a vaccine will become widely available. evan mcmorris-santoro, cnn, new york. protesters in masks facing off against police in masks. this was the scene sunday ahead of a new partial lockdown in some of the poorest neighborhoods in madrid.

some 850,000 people are under new quarantine restrictions. no one allowed in or out of parts of the city. unless it is for work, school or a doctor visit. residents say the restrictions unfairly target them instead of wealthier areas. >> translator: the measures taken by madrid's regional leader are unfair. it doesn't make sense that you can go to work in a rich neighborhood but you can't go shopping. if you are infected, you can infect at work or get infected at work. it is utterly unfair and discriminatory. >> now, the government says it had to take action because infection rates there are more than five times the national average. meanwhile, in the united kingdom, officials will impose fines starting at $1,300 on anyone who does not self-isolate after testing positive. the health secretary says people must be vigilant because the country is at a tipping point.

>> if everybody follows the rules, everybody follows the rules and we'll be increasingly stringent on the people who are not following the rules. if everybody follows the rules then we can avoid further national lockdowns. but we, of course, have to be prepared to take action if that's what's necessary. >> quick break now on the program. when we come back, respect and remembrance. how people are paying tribute to ruth bader ginsburg outside the u.s. supreme court. you're watching cnn. (vo) with t-mobile for business, your business has an easy choice.

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and welcome back to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. this is "cnn newsroom." and i'm michael holmes. the battle lines over the vacancy on the u.s. supreme court are deepening. president donald trump making the nomination to replace justice ruth bader ginsburg a central campaign issue. he has already indicated he will choose a woman. two republican senators, susan collins and lisa murkowski, both announcing their opposition to taking up a nomination now. they cited majority leader mitch mcconnell's decision to block president barack obama's nominee back in 2016. the democratic presidential hopeful joe biden, meanwhile, calling president trump's push to nominate a candidate this close to an election a, quote, exercise of raw political power. now, away from the political maneuvering, people are paying tribute to justice ginsburg outside the supreme court.

cnn correspondent jessica snyder is there. >> reporter: people have flocked to the supreme court for three nights in a row now and it's not just all of the flowers and the candles that theme apeople are out here. the memorials have also turned inventive. you can see on the sidewalks the chalk drawings. they say everything from "thank you, rbg" to "rest in power." it's amazing. they range around the perimeter of the supreme court itself. now, outside the supreme court tonight, the crowds have actually thinned out. a lot thinner than last night's vibrant tribute and vigil, but you can see here the flowers are still lining the sidewalk in front of the steps of the supreme court. people have been coming out here for three nights now to leave the flowers and to light these candles. and the tributes aren't just outside. we've learned that inside the supreme court, even though it's been closed since march, they have kept with tradition, in

that they've put a black wool crepe over justice ruth bader ginsburg's bench chair and the bench in front of her. they've also hung a draping over the courtroom entrance. that's something that's been done since the 1800s. so a lot of tributes out here, and we're still waiting to hear what the final memorial plans are for justice ruth bader ginsburg. jessica schneider, cnn, washington. ♪ ♪ it's about the humans. these humans, those humans. groovin, and golden. it's about getting more than health insurance and a partner who listens and acts. humana calls it human care.

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justice ruth bad welcome back. millions of people on the u.s. gulf coast are under storm warnings as tropical storm beta heads for texas and louisiana. the system bringing heavy rain. also the threat of big storm surges. justify more bad news in what's al already been a record-breaking hurricane season. cnn meteorologist tyler malden joins me now with the latest.

hey, tyler. >> hey, michael. good morning to all of you around the country and around the world. we are looking at the northwestern gulf of mexico at the moment where 15 million americans are under a tropical storm watch at the moment. it's all because of beta, and beta, that slow-moving system that is looking a little discombobulated on satellite imagery at the moment. regardless, it's producing some very heavy rainfall across louisiana and texas. we've been seeing rainfall all weekend. now, we have picked up roughly 1/4 to 1/2 a millimeter of rainfall across the area. but very heavy rainfall sits right offshore, and those heavy rainfall amounts will be coming onshore over the next five to seven days as his system slowly pushes to the north. you see all those reds there? that is all of the rainfall that we will see. and it's all because of the slow movement of beta. that slow movement spells a long

duration rain event for us. rain event for us across the coast of texas all the way into louisiana. i mean, this thing is going to make landfall as a tropical storm overnight monday, and it's only in north louisiana by thursday. now, we're not going to see it strengthen over the next 24 hours before landfall because of all this dry air that is being pulled into the system. so that's good news. but the slow movement of the tropical storm means that you don't need to pay attention at the category. it's gonna produce catastrophic rainfall and flooding, even storm surge, and we're actually already seeing the storm surge in portions of texas. around the rest of the atlantic, we have teddy, which is a category 2 hurricane now. push to the east of burmd. eventually impact nova scotia. under a tropical storm watch at the moment. we have an area just to the south of the a -- the next named

storm would by gamma. deep into the greek alphabet. >> going to run out. >> right? >> thank you, tyler. tyler malden there. all right. fires in brazil's wetlands have destroyed thousands of square kilometers this year. now, this is a recurring trend in latin america, and it threatens many countries. some experts fearing the environment may not recover from these destructive changes. cnn's matt rivers reports. >> reporter: millions of acres up in flames. in brazil, more than 15,000 fires so far this year have burned everything in their path in the pantenal region, the world's largest drop wall wetland. in september alone, brazil's national institute for space research has identified over 6,000 wildfires. it's the first time i've gone through an emergency that is happening now and because of the fire says this bee keeper. thousands of his bees are dead because of the fires. brazilian president jaire bowal

bolsonaro -- a climate change denier. the comment made just moments after the plane he was on aborted its first attempt to land in the area due to thick smoke from the fires. brazil's pantenals are not the only areas in danger. years of drought and high temperatures have fueled fires in the santa cruz region of bolivia. and in argentina's delta region, unprecedented fires have burned more than 270,000 acres of land. argentina's environmental minister says that 95% of the fires are set intentionally. burning land to prep it for sowing is common practice in the region. >> old practices of renewing grazing lands for cattle, using fires, they have to be abandoned. very severe dry season. record-breaking temperatures. record breaking dryness in the air. so you have all these elements together, created the conditions

for tremendous amounts of fuel to burn. >> reporter: satellite images show the burn scars. some of these areas will adapt to these fires, experts say, while others might never recover. matt rivers, cnn. >> and thanks for joining us. our international viewers, you've got "world sport" coming up next. for our viewers here in the united states, i'll be right back with more news. with safe, convenient service. >> tech: we'll come right to you. ♪ upbeat music >> tech: you'll get a text when we're on our way. >> tech: before we arrive, just leave your keys on the dash. we'll replace your windshield with safe, no-contact service. ♪ upbeat music >> tech: and that's service you can trust when you need it the most. ♪ upbeat music >> tech: schedule at safelite.com. ♪ upbeat music >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪

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welcome back. in the wake of u.s. supreme court ruth bader ginsburg's death, cnn has obtained audio recordings that give us some more insight into the u.s. president's attitude towards the judiciary. during interviews with the renowned journalist bob woodward for his book "rage," president trump spoke about why his judicial appointments are key to his record. he repeatedly boasted about the number of judges he's appointed to the federal bench, calling them golden nuggets. this comes as he prepares, of course, to try to push through a third supreme court nominee.

>> i just signed my 187th federal judge. it's a record. 187 judges in less than three years, bob. and two supreme court judges. never been done before. the only one that has a better percentage is george washington, because he's, of course, at 100%. my percentage is, you know,, like, ridiculous. our numbers, when i get out, i'll probably have more than 50% of the federal judges in the country appointed under trump, and lindsey graham is sad that there were a couple of those judges that he, himself, didn't care for and rejected them. are you aware of that? >> yeah, although -- when they don't like them, you know, i don't want them. >> does he have kind of -- because that's his committee and they -- >> yeah, lindsey and other people don't like them, we don't put them in. they don't like them because they may be in some cases

they're not conservative or they don't believe -- they had a couple of bad decisions or something. >> now, during a separate interview, this one from july, woodward asked president trump about his response to the coronavirus pandemic. >> so what grade do you give yourself on the virus for the last six, seven months? >> other than the public relations, which is impossible because it's a fake media, fake. they're fake. i know -- >> yeah, i do. >> other than the fact that i have been unable to -- >> so what's the grade, sir? >> or treating us fairly. i give ourselves an "a." but the grade is incomplete, and i'll tell you why. if we come up with the vaccines in -- and therapeutics then i give myself an a-plus. >> with the pandemic raging in the u.s., meanwhile, millions of students have been forced to stay at home and take their

classes online, but this is having a huge impact on their parents, as cnn reports, many of them are taking time off from work just so they can take care of the kids at home. >> whoever catches this gets 100 points. >> reporter: a moment of pure joy. during a difficult time for this family of six. >> it's super challenging to have to juggle everything at the same time all the time. >> reporter: tracy wells is talking about what nearly 25 million parents are experiencing right now. juggling work and remote learning. in june, wells and her husband made the tough decision for her to go part -time so she could b present for her three school-aged girls and toddler son. she expects her kids won't be back in classrooms until 2021. >> i was just like, i cannot maintain this for another six months. it's -- it's just too much. it's too intense. >> 40% of working parents have

made changes to their employment. including 25% who have voluntarily reduced their hours. and 15% who have quit entirely. and women between 25 and 44 are almost three types as likely as men to leave the workforce in order to take care of children. >> that results in a massive decrease in household income. which makes it more difficult for parents and families who are already in a precarious position financially, and, by the way, doesn't help very much in an economy that is currently trying to recover from a staggering unemployment. >> a baby and mommy. >> reporter: but parents were not looking for new work aren't counted as unemployed. under the c.a.r.e.s. act, parents were eligible for unemployment if they needed to stay home with their children, but that protection expired in july. >> i think costs for daycare is -- it's like another rent. it's like a college tuition. if it was more cost effective,

that would be wonderful. >> but for you it wouldn't be a cost effective option? >> daycare would not be a cost effective option for me. >> reporter: cindy gil lives in a studio apartment with her 8-year-old son kaden in harlem, new york. >> hang on. >> reporter: she's a single mom with no choice but to work. she's remote a few days a week when kaden had virtual learning. but in order to keep her job, she took a 10% pay cut. things are stressful. >> things reached a boiling point in terms of patience and just things he needed from me. i needed to take a day off work or half a day here and there. >> can go for a walk. >> reporter: in weeks a lifeline is disappearing for wells. the paid family leave that's helped supplement her income runs out. she says she likely can't afford to continue part-time without it. >> honestly, it's hard for me to even go there.

because i don't think i could have continued at the same rhythm i was continuing. >> cnn, new york. there's obviously, a the lot of anxiety around traveling these days. especially flying. but high marks for its safety measures during the pandemic. celia gallagher with more from rome. >> reporter: rome's airport is the first airport in the world to have received a five star rating for cleanliness and an - anti-covid measures from sky tracks. by comparison, heathrow and other airports in france and spain received three stars. it was one of first airport ss gibb using thermoscan rs at entrances and the smart helmet, a portable thermoscannerer. it's also one of the first to have rapid testing available for passengers right at the airport. the director of operations says

it's a safety measure, but also a convenience issue for travelers. >> it's not a good service or at least a good experience for pass squers visiting a hospital or laboratory. as it is acquire d. >> reporter: since august travel rs coming into italy from some high-risk countries have been tested on arrival. just this week the airport becomes the first in europe to test departing passengers on flights from rome to move lance. >> passengers entering the airport, we thought boarding a plane that in that case we have a fly that's fully tested. >> if successful, hay hope to also use it on international flights. travel through this airport is down 80% compared to this time last year. and one of the reasons they say they are continually trying to

improve protocols is not just for the physical hlt of passengers, but also psychologically they will feel safe to fly again. >> reporter: he credits the cleaning and medical staff for their tireless dedication. the rapid testing protocol was set up in 48 hours during an august holiday weekend in rome. >> the way our physicians, doctors, nurse who is start to pressure them, paw it was more important for the company. >> reporter: workers in italy pulling together to help had the country take off again. delia gallagher, cnn, rome. our next story should brighten your day a little. a little boy with an infection smile that lights whup what he hears his mom's voice. it took a lot of work to get to this point. jeannie moos with that story.

>> reporter: kids often tend to i guess noir their moms on purpose, but not mason. >> say hi. >> reporter: at 18 months he just got his first hearing aids. watch him as he hears mom clearly for the very first time. >> hi. can you hear me? hi, baby. you can hear me. >> behind the camera, his mom was bawling. the furs time he heard he say my name, i couldn't keep it together. >> reaction online was similar. be right back while i go cry. >> good job. you canner hear me. >> but you haven't heard the

whole story. mason was born almost four months premature. after three men broke into mom and dad's place, a random hoinl vags. >> i was shot three times. >> reporter: two days later, emergency labor weighing in at 1 pound they thought he might not survive, might never walk, but he beat the odds and now been fitted with hearing aids in richmond. they even gave him leo the stuffed lion fitted with hearing aids. >> he's doing a lot of yelling and making noises because now it's the fist time he can hear himself clearly. >> reporter: but eeb hearing aids don't help when mom steps away. >> when have i ever loved you? why would i start today. >> reporter: something he will look back and listen to the first words he clearly heard.

>> do you like how everything sounds? >> yeah. >> the audio quality test to improve in your ears, not the your mouth. jeannie moos, cnn, new york. >> lovely. india's famed monument to love might photo so lonely anymore it was which issed for six months. officials say it will welcome 5,000 visitors a day down from the usual 20,000 and all social distancing measures must be followed. thanks for your company. if you can, stick around. i'll be back with another hour of cnn newsroom after the break. (vo) businesses are always making choices.

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hello and welcome to our viewers from all around the world. i'm michael holmes. coming up on cnn newsroom, republican leaders forge ahead with plan s s to fill the supre court vacancy length of time by ruth bader ginsburg as quickly as possible. some good news for australia's coronavirus hot spot. victoria reporting its lowest case numbers in months. and the emmys pull off an all-virtual award ceremony.