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. as the pandemic rages on, joe biden and donald trump are both out campaigning, though in very different ways as they head into the time stretch before election day. also ahead, democratic senators grill donald trump's supreme court nominee on key issues, but amy coney barrett did a lot of bobbing and

weaving. and millions of americans are voting early, but some are experiencing extremely long waits in lines. good to have you with us. rising cases in dozens of states, a growing test positivity rate and cold weather in the forecast for months. experts say the fall and winter surge they've been warning about is here. take a look at this graphic. the states in red and orange have seen more new coronavirus cases this week than last. that is according to data from johns hopkins university. that's more than 30 states where caseloads are climbing fast. meanwhile, another setback in the search for a treatment. eli lilly has had to pause its antibody treatment trial over

safety concerns. cnn's erica hill has the latest on the surge in cases and other covid news from around the united states. >> reporter: more than seven months into this pandemic, the u.s. is sliding backwards. >> this is going to be a very tough winter. we may see a rise in new cases that exceeds what we saw back in march and april. >> reporter: 33 states now seeing new cases rise over the past week. nearly half of those also posting their highest seven day averages for new cases since the pandemic began. >> now is the time to act. now is the time to do something about it. >> reporter: covid-related hospitalizations at record highs in five states. positivity rates which ideally should be at 3% or less are climbing. >> we're starting to see a number of states well above that, which is often and infact invariably highly predictive in a resurgence of cases.

>> reporter: in new york, hefty fines and tickets by enforcing masks, closing businesses. >> we're now at day four in the pause in those areas and we are seeing some results. >> reporter: it's not just new york clamping down. in europe restrictions as cases and anxiety grows. >> the highest number of cases reported so far. >> reporter: eli lilly pausing its trial of an antibody treatment today, one tauted by the president, telling cnn safety is of the utmost importance without specific. johnson & johnson just paused phase three of its vaccine trial because of an unexpected illness in one of the volunteers. >> to me it's reassuring that companies are acting responsibly and pausing when they need to. >> reporter: asastrazeneca's trials remain on hold pausing an investigation. in dallas, spectators for

the nlcs. >> it's great to have fans. >> reporter: the philadelphia eagles will allow a limited number of fans to the stadium this sunday. while there are some bright spots when it comes to major league sports here in new york city, the new york philharmonic is canceling the entire season for the first time in the 178 year history. the president and ceo calling the situation dreadful. in new york, i'm erica hill. cnn. with less than three weeks to go before the u.s. election, president donald trump is wasting no time getting back on the campaign trail. his latest rally coming tuesday in the battleground state of pennsylvania. the event featured few masks and little physical distancing in a state where new covid cases are said to be up 63% in the past months. the president said he feels

great now after his last bout with the coronavirus and joe biden who continues to lead mr. trump in national polls spent tuesday courting senior citizens in florida. former president barack obama will hit the campaign trail on biden's behalf starting next week. cnn's jeremy diamond is following president trump's campaign blitz and explains why pennsylvania is now a top priority. >> reporter: president trump back on the road kicking off a three-week sprint in battleground pennsylvania which could be a teping point in the presidential rate. it's his sixth visit to the state since last month and a campaign source telling cnn the president plans to campaign here more than any other swing state before election day. trump will head to iowa, north carolina, florida, and georgia, all states he won in 2016 but where he's now trailing or neck

in neck with former vice president joe biden. as trump rushes to revive his campaign, he's also flailing on twitter claiming republicans will provide low cost health care and always protect people with pre-existing conditions. though he still hasn't unveiled a plan to do that. he is seizing on small scale postal crimes. falsely claim the 2020 election will be rigged. fresh off his coronavirus recovery. >> now they say i'm immune. >> reporter: trump is back to spreading misinformation about the pandemic claiming he's immune despite cases of people getting re-infected. >> i feel so powerful. i'll walk into that audience. i'll walk in there, i'll kiss everyone in that audience. >> reporter: and mocking social distancing measures at biden events. >> 30 people show up, they put them in those crazy circles, right? >> reporter: after dr. anthony fauci said this on "the lead."

>> we know that is asking for trump. >> reporter: trump lashing out saying tony's pitching arm is far more accurate than his prognostications referring to his first pitch at the washington nationals game and that masks were unnecessary and causing shortages for health care workers but fauci and the cdc have been imploring americans to wear masks and practice social distancing since april. >> we should be doubling down and implementing the public health measures we've been talking about for so long, which are keeping a distance, no crowds, wearing masks, washing hands, doing things outside. >> reporter: and once again on tuesday during the president's rally here in johnstown, pennsylvania, he was rallying thousands of people, no social distancing, very few masks in the audience. the president plans to return to this battleground state of pennsylvania repeatedly. a trump campaign source telling me that the president will return to pennsylvania more

times than any other battleground state in the three weeks between now and election day. jeremy diamond, cnn, johnstown, pennsylvania. and as we reported a short time ago, joe biden is reaching out to senior voters in the battleground state of florida. cnn's jeff zeleny explains why this group is so important to a biden victory. >> reporter: three weeks before election day joe biden campaigning in critical florida trying to improve his standing among senior voters with president donald trump. joe biden has been leading the way against the president for months. now he is extending that lead among the critical senior voters. it is because of the president's handling of coronavirus. now as the former vice president made a first speech here in florida, he specifically talked about the president's own diagnosis and handling of his illness. >> i prayed for his recovery when he got covid. i hoped he came out somewhat chastened. what has he done?

he's doubled down on the misinformation he did before and making it worse. >> reporter: biden extending his pitch to senior citizens on social security saying he will preserve that entitlement for older americans. this is a critical block and joe biden is leading the way among seniors. this is a group that donald trump won four years ago. no question florida is one of the most important states in the country. president trump, of course, campaigned on monday, coming back to the state on friday. joe biden talking about why these 29 electoral votes are so key. >> here in florida you can determine the outcome of this electi election. we win florida and it's all over! >> reporter: and joe biden may also be getting an assist from former president barack obama on the campaign trail. we are told that the former president will be joining this democratic race next week for the first time campaigning in

early voting states, particularly going after african-american voters, latino voters, and the young voters. they are trying to get those voters in particular to vote for joe biden. we could also see in the final days of this race that old pair back together on the campaign trail campaigning side by side, biden and obama. jeff zeleny, cnn, west palm beach, florida. president trump's nominee for the u.s. supreme court has wrapped up her second day of hearings before the senate judiciary committee. amy coney barrett was grilled on hot button issues such as health care, abortion and a potential election case. she was providing vague answers and she said she would have no political agenda when ruling on the affordable care act. >> i have the integrity to act

consistently with my oath and to apply the law as the law. to approach the aca, i have not made any commitments, deals, anything like that. i'm not here on a mission to destroy the affordable care act, i'm just here to apply the law and adhere to the rule of law. >> barrett will face more questions from senators in the coming hours. her confirmation is all but guaranteed and would cement a conservative majority on the high court. joining us now is cnn legal analyst and former assistant u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york state, eli honey. >> thanks for having me, rosemary. >> judge amy coney barrett refused to say how she would rule on upcoming cases like affordable care act, gun rights, she just said no one talked about any case with her before the nomination.

what did you make of her answers to these questions about how she might rule on contentious issues? >> yeah. so today we saw sort of i guess frustrating dance where the democrats were trying to get her to give some indication of where she might be leaning on these cases or what her overall judicial philosophy is and she really gave them next to nothing to go on. i thought there was a memorable moment when she held up her notepad and it was blank. i think both sides saw that their own way. the republicans saw that, wow, look at the mastery she's demonstrating. she doesn't need notes or talking points. democrats took that as symbolic, she offered almost nothing in the way of substance today. i think you have to read between the lines a little bit as to what she was and was not willing to say. a key thing was this argument precedent. under what circumstances will you change an existing decision, roe versus wade being the most important one of those. >> right. judge barrett wouldn't answer

the question put to her about how she would rule if president trump tried to delay the electi election. why would she not answer that given it's pretty clear-cut? >> that was a good question. when she was asked does the president have the power to delay the election, the answer should have been a straight up, n- n-o, no. there's another question, if there's a dispute, biden versus trump, which could happen, will she recuse herself because president trump publicly said we need to get her through, we need nine justices in case there's an election dispute. only amy coney barrett can make that decision for herself. nobody can force her to recuse. i think it's pretty clear she will not recuse but that decision is entirely up to the supreme court justice herself. >> yeah. there is an inevitability about all of this, isn't there?

so what do you expect to come out of the third day of confirmation hearings for judge barrett getting underway in just a few hours from now? what will you be looking for? >> i think we'll see a continuation of really two fights -- two sides fighting different battles. on the one hand the republicans just want to get this done, they want to get amy coney barrett confirmed, they want to get a robe on her before election day. if and when they do, they will, there will be a 6-3 conservative majority on the court that could last for many years. i think the democrats are playing a different game. i think they understand they can't stop this nomination. it's just math. the republicans have a majority here. the democrats are making a pitch to voters focusing not only on a legal way but in a visceral way. we saw photographs of people who rely on health insurance. democrats are making their pitch to voters who are watching. i would expect that to continue in day two of the questioning of

judge barrett. >> right. thank you so much. we appreciate your legal analysis on all of this. >> thanks, rosemary. my ploeeasure. record crowds are turning out for early voting in some parts of the u.s., but the process isn't always going smoothly. >> everybody's come out to vote here. lines around the corner. >> ahead, a look at some of the long lines and long waiting times for early voters. we're back with that in just a moment.

the u.s. attorney who was tapped to investigate instances of so-called unmasking around the 2016 u.s. election has reportedly completed his probe without bringing any criminal charges. according to the washington post u.s. attorney general william barr had appointed prosecutor john bash to review with obama era officials to request the identities of people's names who had been redacted in intelligence documents. bash who resigned from the justice department last week has concluded there was no substantive wrongdoing.

the u.s. supreme court is allowing the trump administration to halt the census count. the decision will stand while an appeal plays out in lower courts. at issue is whether the administration's decision to shorten the census count by more than a month should be permitted. the trump administration said the revised deadline is necessary to give the commerce department enough time to report final numbers by december. justice sonya at that time sotomayor dissented. 2020 looks to be a record-breaking year for early voting in the u.s. but the process isn't always going smoothly. there are reports of mechanical problems, long lines and long waits. cnn's pamela brown has more. >> reporter: another state, another day of hours in long lines and some mishaps as voters go to the polls. this time, texas.

>> everybody's come out to vote here. lines around the corner. >> reporter: across the lone star state, houston, fort hood and voteers are taking advantage of the start of early voting. >> i came out, 2 1/2 hours. >> reporter: in harris county, early voters hoping to use drive-through voting are facing similar delays. in travis county where a whopping 97% of the county's 850,000 eligible voters are registered to vote, some voting machines weren't working after waking up to news of a late night ruling upholding republican governor greg abbott's directive for one ballot drop box per state. a major issue where voters could spend more than an hour driving just to cast their vote. >> more than 50 miles in some cases to drop off their mail ballot. it's unfair. it's prejudicial and it's dangerous. >> reporter: it comes a day

after a similar start where voters waited for hours to vote. in quinnette county, people waited for hours. >> i want to share my voice. >> reporter: georgia setting an early record with 127,000 ballots cast. some of the 10.5 million cast nationwide. more voters, more long lines. >> people sacrificed before us. it was almost spitting in their face if we don't take the time to show our kids that they have this right and it's best used as early as possible. >> reporter: but voting rights advocates say it's not right to wait this long. >> there have been problems with poll pads, with ballot access cards and with obviously social distancing and just taking a longer time to get through lines. >> reporter: the online

registration system was down for hours due to an i.t. cable that was accidentally severed. meanwhile, in california unofficial ballot drop boxes, potentially illegal in the state, as the state's democratic secretary of state and the department of justice are sending a cease and desist order to the republican party to remove them in at least three counties. >> this is wrong no matter who is doing it. it's not just the security of the ballot that's in question here, it is the transparency, voter confidence. >> reporter: the state republican party spokesman telling them he believes the box is similar to giving the ballot to a family member to drop off which is legal in california while in new york all uniformed service members have to be prepared for deployment on october 25th according to an

internal memo obtained by cnn. pamela brown, cnn, washington. joining us now is cnn's senior writer and political analyst, harry entern. great to see you, harry. >> my pleasure to be with you. >> so early voting shows people waiting up to eight hours to cast their ballot. certainly in georgia some democrats still nervous though about a repeat of 2016 despite donald trump trailing his rival joe biden. what are the polls telling you? >> look, i hear this 2016 argument a lot. her lead looked nothing like joe biden's now. joe biden was ahead by 11 points, hillary clinton was above 6. joe biden has been consistently above 50%. hillary clinton never reached the 50% at this point. even if donald trump wins all the undecided voters, joe biden

would be ahead. that's very different where trump won the late deciding voters and they helped put him over the top. >> national polls are one thing. it's the electoral college that decides this. what do polls in battleground states indicate in terms of shifts in voting groups? >> i took a look at the six closest states that donald trump won four years ago and take a look at these states now and what you see is you see joe biden is ahead not in one of them, not in two, but in all six of those states he is ahead and in states like michigan, wisconsin, and pennsylvania he holds significant 8, 9 point leads. and the fact of the matter is, if joe biden wins the states hillary clinton won plus michigan, wisconsin, pennsylvania, that gets him over 270 electoral votes. >> do you think that will calm some of the democrats' nerves? when you look at all of these

polls, it appears that biden is doing very well, but trump insists he has a path to victory. do you see it? >> i mean, look, we still have three weeks to go so we'll have to wait and see. another way of getting at this is sort of the states that are on the periphery, right? the candidates might carry if they blow someone out. if you look at these states, the states that last time around hillary clinton won, say, by three points or less, those are the states that trump wants to reach and win. the states that trump won by 5 to 10 points. what do you see? in the states that are essentially the trump reaches, biden is well ahead in all of them, by 7 to 15 points. in the biden reaches, biden has nominal edges in three of those four states. at this particular point, still three weeks to go. i'll say that over and over again. right now trump if the election were held today might have a path but it would be a very, very narrow path. >> right. and when voters watch president

trump hold these rallies with people shoulder to shoulder, it turns people off and it doesn't show trust and how he's handling the pandemic, what do the numbers show on that? what do they reveal? >> i'm not a doctor but i am somewhat of a polling expert. from a poll standpoint, i don't know what the heck the president is doing because when you look at who is more trusted to handle the coronavirus at this particular point, joe biden has an overwhelming advantage over the president of the united states. 59% to 38% our last cnn poll. part of the reason why is because they don't like what trump is doing. they think he's irresponsible. the events that he's been holding merely reinforces that fact. >> harry enton, always a pleasure to chat with you. many thanks. >> thank you. well, many countries that had once lifted coronavirus

restrictions are now considering going back to stricter measures. the coronavirus is resurging across the northern hemisphere. our team will take a look at the global fight. that's next.

a quick recap of our top story. a rise in coronavirus cases with experts saying the fall and winter surge they've been warning about is here. there are new concerns about a potential treatment as another company pauses for safety reasons. elizabeth cohen explains what we know.

>> reporter: rosemary, pharmaceutical giant eli lilly has put their trial on pause. they said the pause was requested by the data safety and monitoring board. that's a board overlooking the trial to make sure that everyone stays safe. the company didn't say exactly what happened, but usually when trials are put on hold it's because a participant, a study subject has become ill, and they need to make sure to see did someone get sick and sometimes the vaccine had something to do with the illness so this needs to be investigated. eli lilly has already applied to the u.s. food & drug administration for permission to put their drug on the market. it's not clear what this pause might mean for this application. what we know is that if, indeed, this is because a participant became ill, safety experts will do an investigation and they'll try to figure out was the illness a fluke or was it related to the vaccine?

rosemary, back to you. >> thanks for that, elizabeth. countries across europe are looking to strict new measures to help stop the spread of the coronavirus as cases on the continent continue to soar. italy on tuesday recorded its highest daily increase of new cases and is recording its highest number of icu patients since late march. germany's largest cities have all become virus hot spots over the past few days and today chancellor angela merkel is set to discuss new nationwide restrictions. in france more people are hospitalized in the icu now compared to last week and nearly 13,000 new covid cases were reported tuesday. meanwhile, in china a massive testing effort continues after a new covid cluster emerges in xingdao. so far more than 7 million people have been tested. cnn's teams are covering the coronavirus pandemic for us this

hour. kristie lu stout is in hong kong and selma is in liverpool where new restrictions are taking effect. selma, just how tough is the crackdown where you are? >> reporter: good morning, rosemary. well, liverpool is waking up to a new reality today. they are the first city to be found at the top tier, tier 3, very high risk. these new restrictions include shutting down pubs and bars, essentially closing down the night life of the city, shutting down gyms and banning households from gathering together. local officials have been outraged at prime minister boris johnson's surge in cases. they have failed to cooperate with officials and accused them of simply failing on their policy and decision making. that sentiment is shared by many here. it is important to know that liverpool is a university city. there are a lot of young people

here and shutting down night life was met with a great deal of resistance last night. take a look at scenes that played out as pubs closed. last call in liverpool. pubs must shut their doors for at least a month. >> why isn't london shut down? >> reporter: tougher restrictions were ordered after a surge in covid-19 cases but there is no socially distant farewell here. the proud port city, birth place of the beetles, home to a championship football team is the first to be classified as very high risk under england's new three-tear covid alert system. the decision was driven by the data. the city has the highest number of coronavirus patients in the entire country. local city councilman paul brandt agrees the rapid rise is a problem but his consensus with london ends there. >> a rather toxic mix of

arrogance and ignorance at central government level has led us to the sorry state that we're in now. i think the evidence is clear now that a short, sharp intervention, three, four weeks ago, would have avoided the mess that we're in now. >> reporter: the country's top scientists agree. three weeks ago a government advisory body suggested a circuit breaker, a short but complete lockdown to reduce case numbers. their advice went unheeded by downing street. after months of controversy over the government's handling of coronavirus, many people hearsay they're running out of patience and they're running low on trust. there's always tensions between the north of the country and the central government in london, but under the pandemic the mistrust is growing. for now the city's iconic beetles tours are running but jeh johnson said the ruling elite is failing its working class. >> because i have no faith in them at all. they keep changing their mind.

constant u-turns one after another. i personally feel that the government isn't doing enough. the prime minister is not doing enough for us. the prime minister has never done enough for us. >> reporter: while public confidence dwindles by the day, the government is calling for immediate compliance to avoid a second wave of the pandemic that may be even deadlier than the first. now everyone here agrees there is a problem. the rate of infection is rising. the number of coronavirus cases in the hospitals is growing. there is no debate over the fact that there is a growing surge in the north of the country. the controversy is over how to handle it. as you heard there in that report, there's been discussions of doing something that is short and sharp, an intense lockdown over a matter of weeks rather than a long, drawn out period of confusing measures. people are still allowed to shop, still allowed to go out and meet with each other. the restrictions are limited. the question is, are they

enough? >> live in liverpool. many thanks. germany has also seen a sharp rise in covid-19 infections. more than 5,000 cases were reported tuesday along with 40 additional deaths. cnn's scott mcclain joins me now live with more on this. scott, what is the latest? >> reporter: hey, rosemary. so because of this recent surge in cases, the demand for testing, as you can imagine, has really jumped up as well. we're at one testing facility in berlin. we've been here for days. we've seen the lines stretch all the way down the block which you can see right now. i also had a chance to speak with the doctor that runs this particular clinic. she said one in every ten people that come here is testing positive for the coronavirus. that's much higher than it's been in past months. she complains about the bureaucratic hurdles that are in place in this country that are slowing down the testing process and making it difficult for everyone who needs a test to

actually get one. one of the things that's different is you don't have to have symptoms. a lot of the people here have come in contact with people who have it. at other facilities it's difficult to get tested unless you have coronavirus symptoms. germany did quite well in the first wave of the coronavirus but the doctor says she expects this time around this country will not be so lucky. she says the last time around germany had more warning than other countries because italy and spain were getting hit much harder. it had more time to prepare. the german chancellor, angela merkel, she will be meeting with the premieres of the 16 states potentially announcing brand new coronavirus restrictions. one state premiere said this country is at risk of losing control and says that serious conversations need to be had now to avoid a second national lockdown, rosemary. >> many thanks to scott mcclain joining us there. meanwhile, in china a

massive testing effort continues after a new covid cluster emerges. so far more than 7 million people have been tested. for the latest, cnn's kristie lu stout joins us from hong kong. christie, that is a remarkable number of tests but how reliable are these results? >> reporter: reliability is a key question when you are looking at such a scale. the city, more than 7.5 million people have been tested in a matter of days. results have already been returned. according to local officials, no positive covid-19 cases have been detected. what spark'd this, 12, that's t 12 new covid-19 cases were detected and that's what spark'd the city wide testing. in a city of 9 million people to take place in a span of 9 days. china has done this before in beijing, dahlia, xingdung.

they use a method called pool testing. pop-up testing centers. thousands of staff. but when you take a pool test, it's basically a collection of samples, if it tests negative, the team moves on. if it tests positive, you find out which individual test has been infected with the coronavirus. experts i've talked to in hong kong say this is not only fast but it's precise. it may not give the whole picture. listen to this. >> i say mass testing does at this scale is actually a way to process and it might not be helpful. instead it's a contest. positive patients are actually being picked up, not just a snapshot. >> reporter: the doctor from hong kong university said the testing that was underway is

taking place in a space of five days. according to dr. jin, the testers would need at minimum one week. rosemary? >> kristie lu stout, live report. many thanks. florida went for donald trump in 2016, but with the pandemic dragging on, will the state's seniors stand behind him again? we will hear from some of those voters next. what's inside airborne? a blast of immune support that's more than just vitamin c. it's a unique crafted blend of vitamins, zinc, other minerals, and herbs. that's why when you start every morning with airborne, you'll have the confidence to take on the day. no wonder pharmacists recommend airborne more than any other immune support brand. airborne. your daily dose of confidence. a livcustomizeper iquickbooks for me. okay, you're all set up.

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how many of you have been unable to hug your grandkids in the last several months? >> democrat joe biden there with a direct emotional appeal to seniors in the critical battleground state of florida. those voters tend to lean republican and florida went for donald trump in 2016 but four years later and one pandemic later, are seniors still with them? cnn's randi kaye went to find out. >> definitely going to vote for joe biden. there's nothing that donald trump can do at this point in time that would change my mind about that. >> reporter: that's a huge statement coming from this lifelong republican who voted for donald trump in 2016, but steven starridge is 67, a senior citizen and part of the group considered one of the most vulnerable to covid-19. he's so turned off by trump he's now a registered independent and biden supporter. he says trump's mismanagement of the pandemic was the final

straw, especially his messaging on masks. >> the fact he's not listening to the scientists is concerning. the fact that he's ignoring it, encouraging the opposite is dangerous. he's taking people's lives into his hands. >> do you believe the president when he says a vaccine is days or weeks away? >> no. this really affects his credibility. whatever comes out of his mouth you just don't believe. >> reporter: florida senior dave davidson supported president trump in 2016 but not this year even though he's registered republican. so what is it about the pandemic he didn't handle right? >> starting from the beginning, didn't give me the truth. >> reporter: didn't want anybody to panic. >> that's a wonderful thing but we need the information to make our decisions. >> reporter: john colandro is voting trump like he did in 2016. at 74 he says it's about personal responsibility, that seniors should know how to protect themselves. >> reporter: when you say the president handled the pandemic

well, right now we see there's an increase in cases, 230,000 people are dead, they're opening a field hospital there is such a spike. hospitalizations are up again. how did he deliver that well? >> we deliver health care through state and local government. the federal government has a responsibility to support that. we have to look at how those states have handled the pandemic within their own regions and whether or not they have done a good job -- >> reporter: so you're saying it's not the president's fault? >> i'm saying the president is not the sole responsible person for how the pandemic was handled. >> reporter: tell that to florida voter michelle yeager who is turning 70 this week. she blames trump's attitude for the viral spread and won't vote for him again. she's since switched to independent and is supporting biden. >> had he listened to the cdc and dr. fauci and the leaders

who are the science leaders, we might have been able to save many, many lives but because of him and him having narcissism and being ego driven, he thought it was macho not to wear a mask. >> reporter: so how does all of that compare to some of the more recent polling? if you look at a cnn national poll for voters 65 and older that was taken recently, 60% of those are supporting joe biden compared to 39% supporting donald trump. there's also a "new york times" cnn college florida poll specific to this state for 65 and older, biden gets 47% of those supporters and trump gets 45%. so much closer there. but we really don't know where this is going to go. one of those biden supporters i spoke to today said he has a few close republican friends who aren't telling him which way they're voting. he says they may be moving towards biden as well.

we'll have to see where all of this goes. one thing that all of the biden supporters has in common, they do believe the pandemic was mishandled. they believe a lot of people are going to have pre-existing conditions and they're glad that joe biden would keep the affordable care act intact. that is very important to them. millions of people would not lose their health care. they do have that in common as well. randi kaye, cnn, reporting from the villages, florida. up next on "cnn newsroom," demi lovato takes aim at the u.s. president. our exclusive interview with the pop star on her new song. ♪ people are dying while you line your pockets deep ♪

demi lovato has a new song blasting the u.s. president's handling of a number of crises. she spoke about it with cnn's chloe mayless in this exclusive interview. >> reporter: demi lovato is calling out president donald trump in her new song "commander in chief" for what she says is his mishandling of racial injustice and the pandemic. she spoke to cnn about the song

♪ commander in chief, honestly if i did the things you do, i couldn't sleep ♪ >> it's very important for me that i get to use my platform for something much bigger than just singing, and there -- there's been so many times where i wanted to write the president a letter or sit down with him and ask him these questions and then i thought, well, that -- like i don't really actually want to do that and i think one way that i could do that is writing a song and releasing it and for the whole world to hear, then he had as toanswerthose questions to everybody, not just me. >> reporter: lovato who has over 150 million fans on social media says she's not looking for the song to divide the nation, she hopes it encourages her fans to vote in next month's election. ♪ how does it feel to still be able to breathe ♪

>> we have to show up. we have to vote because it's so important that our voices are heard, you know? and honestly for me, whether you are a republican or democrat, just get out and vote. just -- just get out and vote so that at the end of the day whatever happens, whoever wins, we can actually look and say, well, you know what, at least everyone got out there and voted and did their part and our country spoke. >> reporter: lovato will be performing the song for the very first time tonight at the billboard awards. >> wise words there. thank you so much for your company. i'm rosemary church. "early start" is up next. you're watching cnn. have yourselves a great day. ♪when you have nausea, heartburn, indigestion,♪

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a blaring wake-up call on coronavirus. not a single state in the country is seeing cases decrease while the president gathers big crowds in hard-hit states. and it turns out the president's repeated claims that he was spied on by obama was a hoax. trump's own justice department unable to make the case. welcome to our viewers in the united states and all around the world. this is "early start." i'm christine romans. good morning. >> good morning, christine. i'm boris sanchez in for laura jarrett. wednesday, october 14th, 5 a.m. in new york and we're entering