thank you so much for joining me. it is the final stretch in the fight for the white house. president donald trump and former vice president joe biden taking nothing for granted. the candidates, their running mates and teams crisscrossing battleground states with just three days left until america decides. in this last weekend before election day, trump making four stops in pennsylvania, where he narrowly won in 2016, while biden teams up with former president barack obama in the swing state of michigan. both states among those experiencing an upsurge in covid cases in october.

on friday, the u.s. broke a world record for single-day case count, nearly 100,000 infections. the highest of any country since the pandemic began. deaths also on the rise, more than 1,000 americans died on friday alone, leading some health experts to warn that if the current trend holds, hospitals may be pushed well beyond kpcapacity in the coming weeks. stark contrasts by the candidates on the handling of the ongoing pandemic. soon, president trump departs the white house for pennsylvania, continuing to defend his style of rallies, attracting many maskless people in crowds. >> mr. president, do you think it's at all dangerous to be holding these big rallies while the numbers are going up? >> no, i don't at all. and they're outdoor rallies. they're all outdoor. >> biden blasting that approach. >> we need a president who

brings us together, not pulls us apart. i'll deal with this pandemic responsibly, bringing the country together. >> we have reporters tracking the campaigns across the country as we enter this final stretch of the election. let's begin at the white house where president trump is poised to have 14 campaign rallies across seven states today through monday. first four stops today in pennsylvania. cnn's sarah westwood joins us now. sarah, why so many stops in pennsylvania where he narrowly won in 2016? >> reporter: you can tell how valuable the trump campaign sees pennsylvania just by how much time the president is set to spend in that state between now and election day. he's doing a four-stop blitz through the state today and first lady melania trump will also be in pennsylvania today. so a lot of attention from the trump team on pennsylvania. and part of the strategy here appears to be trying to drive up

turnout in the more rural parts of the state. erie is where trump enjoys higher support. he's got to overcome a massive biden advantage in some of the pennsylvania cities like philadelphia where biden is polling much higher and he also has a polling advantage across the state. he's consistently led in pennsylvania polls heading into election day. he's still in the lead. but if you talk to trump campaign advisers, if you talk to republican strategists, they say there's still hope for trump in pennsylvania and they point to the ground game. they say the trump campaign has been conducting far more in-person voter contacts and having more get out the vote efforts. also, they say that gop voter registration is up much higher over 2016 levels. for those reasons, they say the fight is not over for trump in pennsylvania. and this is not the last time that pennsylvania voters will get to see trump. on monday he will also be back in that state campaigning. it's part of his 14-rally sprint

to election day. he'll be hitting seven states and closing out this race with a pair of rallies in michigan, which is another key state for the president here. but ultimately this is a pandemic election and people will be considering the way that trump has handled coronavirus as they head to the polls. millions have already done so. the election is coming as cases are striking across the country. trump yesterday speaking in minnesota, criticized the democratic governor for imposing too many covid restrictions. >> our doctors get more money if somebody dies from covid. you know that, right? i mean, our doctors are very smart people. so what they do is they say, i'm sorry, but everybody dies of covid. >> reporter: now, president trump, this is reflective of his overall strategy when it comes to his closing argument. he's making a gamble that people are more concerned about returning to normal life than about the virus itself and that

could not be more different from biden, who has made this race a referendum of trump's handling of the virus and promises to handle it better. >> sarah westwood at the white house, thank you so much. meanwhile, joe biden slamming president trump's response to the pandemic as, quote, utterly disqualifying. cnn's mj lee is with the biden campaign in wilmington, delaware. mj, can we expect more of that kind of messaging today when biden hits the trail with president obama? >> reporter: we absolutely can, fred. joe biden has made clear in recent days and weeks that he believes this is the covid-19 election, when he visited three different states in one day yesterday he repeatedly in his stump speeches went after president trump and his handling of the virus, and said that in contrast he actually has a plan for trying to contain covid-19 that he is going to listen to scientists. and one of the things that we saw the former vice president respond to was this baseless attack that he made against

doctors and medical professionals claiming that they were inflating the number of covid-19 deaths so that they can get paid more. take a listen. >> the president of the united states is accusing the medical profession of making up covid deaths so they make more money. doctors and nurses go to work every day to save lives. they do their jobs. donald trump should stop attacking them and do his job. >> reporter: biden has also been stressing, fred, that he's not taking anything for granted right now. we heard him talk about this in wisconsin last night. remember, this is a state that hillary clinton famously did not visit once in the 2016 campaign. he was pointing out that he has traveled to wisconsin because he does take this state seriously and that he even plans to go back if he were to win next week. as for what we have coming up, later today we are going to see him travel to michigan where democrats hope to turn up the

turnout. they're hoping to get some help from the star power of former president barack obama and stevie wonder, fred. >> mj lee, thank you so much. as election day approaches, millions of americans are suffering financially because of the pandemic. but now we hear senate majority leader mitch mcconnell say there likely will not be any movement on a stimulus bill until next year. >> we probably need to do another package, certainly more modest than the $3 trillion nancy pelosi package. i think that will be something we'll need to do right at the beginning of the year. >> the white house and treasury secretary steve mnuchin have taken the lead role in negotiations with house speaker nancy pelosi, but it is mcconnell who is refusing to bring the bill to the floor for a vote and that lack of action was a major point for his opponent in the kentucky senate

election, amy mcgraff. >> if the house passed a bill in may, and the senate went on vacation. i mean, you just don't do that. you negotiate. senator, it is a national crisis. if you want to call yourself a leader, you've got to get things done. those of us that served in the marines, we don't just point fingers at the other side. we get the job done. >> nobody went on vacation, except the house was gone most of the time. but nobody went on vacation. we actually can do things like use telephones, we communicate with each other a lot. the challenge here was the speaker was simply unwilling to cooperate to the extent that we could get a reasonable proposal. >> joining me right now, democratic senate candidate and former marine combat fighter pilot, amy mcgrath. good to see you. so mcconnell says no stimulus this time around, with so much

suffering, jobs lost, rents unpaid, evictions happening. do you feel like kentuckians will be angry and see that as senator mcconnell failing them? >> well, i think kentuckians are already angry and upset. senator mcconnell, he has been a colossal failure on the most important issue for kentucky and for our country right now. and that's the coronavirus and coronavirus aid. you know, we have over a million kentuckians that have filed for unemployment sometime in the last four or five months. we have 300000 kentuckians without health care and for him to really just point fingers and make excuses, that is exactly what is wrong with being in the same seat for 36 years. that is exactly what is wrong with washington. in the middle of a national

crisis. he isn't just a member, he's the leader of the senate. and let's be clear, president trump wanted more aid before this election. president trump wanted four times the amount of aid, effective aid to kentucky and to this country. the house already passed two bills of aid for our country, and he is the single point of failure right now for our country. and that, to me, is inexcusable. >> mcconnell and many of his supporters see this 36 years as a real asset. you are up against his 36 years, you know, of representing people in kentucky. you've made he is too entrenched in politics to represent the people of kentucky. so how is it you, a marine fighter pilot, a neophyte in politics, are in this position now to challenge him as the democratic nominee? >> well, my fellow kentuckians know that he represents the special interests, the wealthiest 1%. wall street, washington, d.c.,

swamp, may more than he represents kentucky. that's very clear. i'm somebody that i've had tough challenges in my day and i think right now this country needs leaders that can put their country above their political party. and that's what i'm all about. i'm somebody that wants to get things done. and, you know, we need that now more than ever. look at where we're at. 230,000 americans dead in nine months, no coronavirus aid. this is the first time in a century where we have a major international crisis and no one in the world is looking to the united states for leadership. and it is because we have such poor leaders like senator mitch mcconnell. and enough is enough. we need folks who have served this country, who have proven that they can put their country and their personal interests -- well, their country ahead of their political party. i think that's the most important thing going forward.

and it is about unifying the country. i want to be a senator for all kentuckians, not just the republicans, not just the democrats, but for all kentuckians. that's what we need. >> to unify, you've got to reach across the aisle. how in the next three days are you going to convey how you will be able to do that? >> well, i focus on the bread and butter issues that people care about. you know, whether you're a republican or democrat here, folks are hurting. people are worried about their kids going back to school, they're worried about good quality jobs for the future. we have a lot of counties here that don't have broadband. folks are worried about their health care. senator mitch mcconnell has been striei str trying to throw kentuckians off their health care for a decade. now he's trying to do it in the courts. i'm just trying to focus on what are the things that matter to everyday people. i don't look at everything through a political lens. i don't look at it through the lens of being a democrat or republican. i look at it through the lens of being united states marine and a

mom. and i think that's what we need in this country. and a lot of people get that. >> lieutenant colonel amy mcgrath, good luck. thank you so much. >> thank you. cnn has reached out to mcgrath's opponent, senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, to come on the air to join us, but he has declined our invitation. after a race like no other, it all ends here. join us for special live coverage the way only cnn can bring it to you, from the first vote to the critical count. understand what's happening in your state and across the country. election night in america, our special coverage starts tuesday at 4:00 p.m. eastern time. and this breaking news this morning, academy award winning actor sean connery has died. he was known for his original role as the 007 in the james bond franchise. stephanie elam looks back at his

life. >> mr. -- >> bond, james bond. >> sean connery was the first to utter that now-famous line and turn the name james bond into a worldwide phenomenon. connery was born in 1930 in edinburgh and joined the british royal navy in 1947, but was discharged due to medical issues. he found work as an artist, model and body builder and appeared in the musical "south pacific". >> i was in "south pacific" in london, yeah, and i never seriously considered being an actor. it was two hours of an evening and i had a terrific time. >> but an actor is exactly what he became. connery said busy during the 1950s landing roles in television and film. in 1961 he met producer albert

brockley, who was looking for a leading man to play a secret agent in an upcoming spy film "dr. no". the role of the mysterious handsome james bond turned sean connery to movie star, delivering famous one-liners. >> aren't you in the wrong room, mr. bond? >> not from where i'm standing. >> connery would make seven bond films, the last being never say never again. in 1991 he explained his reasons for leaving the franchise. >> i realized it was really taking over me and no matter what one did, it could never outweigh the balance because of the popularity. >> although not as popular as the bond movies, "the untouch abls" was a signature film for connery. >> you send one of his to the

morgue. >> his role earned him an oscar in 1988 and soon after, at the age of 58, connery's career saw a new experience, indiana jones and the last crusade put him back in the action genre and roles of the hunt for red october, the rock and entrapment followed. along with recognition for his lifetime achievements, president clinton honored him in 1999 at the kennedy center. he was knighted by queen elizabeth the following year. he supported scottish independence and starred in one last film in 2003, "the league of extraordinary gentlemen", a fitting title to cap off this extraordinary gentleman's stellar career. >> the chance to get -- to go there has always been, to me, a fascinating journey.

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incoming! ahhhahh! i'm saved! water tastes like, water. so we fixed it. mio. a stunning and sad new record today. the u.s. reporting the highest number of daily coronavirus cases to date. a number that also broke a world record. there were more than 99,000 new infections recorded friday and the number of cases in the u.s. has now surpassed 9 million. 14 states have hit record high hospitalizations as well. the director of the cdc warns a silent epidemic of asymptomatic infections among people under 30 is what's fueling the spread. and on the campaign trail, president trump is pushing the completely baseless narrative that doctors are inflating covid deaths and those counts for monetary gain. this, as one forecaster from the university of washington, tells cnn that hospitals could be

pushed beyond capacity by this surge in cases. i want to bring in now dr. ester chu, professor of medicine at oregon science and health university. good to see you, but sadly on such terms. this gets worse with every conversation we have. do you share the concern that hospitals could be pushed past their limits? >> certainly. i mean, we're already seeing it, fred, in places like wisconsin, if you're following el paso, texas, people already reporting that those hospitals are being pushed well beyond capacity. and of course, you know, the thing to remember, too, is that we've been celebrating a lot of wins in covid in terms of improved mortality and we've been attributing that to clinicians being more comfortable, diagnosing covid and moving very rapidly to some of our evidence-based treatments, things like oxygen and dexamethasone. our ability to consistently provide high-quality care depends on us having a capacity

that we can manage. so as cases rise, as hospitals get crowded, as we go beyond capacity and start building these field hospitals again, we just won't be able to provide the same high quality of care, let alone move things forward. and of course we're going into flu season as well and we'll have a number of things on our hands. this is very intimidating from the view of the hospital and of course we're all tired. >> i know. exhaustion, i know most people in your profession have past the exhaustion point. how mind-boggling is this for you that here we are, the united states at this point, nine months into this pandemic, and hitting these kind of record number of cases? >> i can't believe we're here. i was just saying this to a bunch of colleagues. i will tell you back in the spring i thought, you know, my tenure on cnn would be well over by now, that it would be a few months where we did this thing, where doctors had to go on the news and talk about what the pandemic looked like from the

hospital and by now we would have it wrapped up and be able to turn our attention to catching up on the care we missed over the spring and summer. the fact that we are worse off than back then is just -- we assumed that we would have an adequate public health response, it's so discouraging, fred, it's discouraging, it's depressing, and we're just trying to tighten our belts and get ready to, you know, dive in for this next peak. >> i can see it in your face, too. and here it is, halloween, this is a time when families and kids want to get out there and there are some neighborhoods that are becoming rather inventive on how to have trick-or-treating. what is the message that you want to convey on this halloween? >> well, we've had a fall where there's been damaging public health messaging from our administration and from the president, and that is the momentum that we're taking into these holidays.

and of course every holiday that we've had we've experienced, you know, a difficult time having people contain those celebrations and that has led to a surge in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. here we're facing in rapid succession three holidays that we love, that everyone loves. and we have to just accept the fact that 2020 holidays are not going to be what they traditionally have been, that we're really going to have to reign it in, try to keep things just contained to our households. you know, halloween happens to also be my eldest son's birthday. this is the first time in 13 years that we're not doing a party and my four kids are not going trick-or-treating. there were definitely tears, but we have to do the right thing for our communities. if we want the full range of holidays next year, we have to keep things quiet and to ourselves this year. pumpkin carving is the way to go. watch out for fingers, because those put you in the er as well.

but i think we just have to let go of those holidays. >> i feel you, especially on your exhaustion as a parent and as a medical professional. before i let you go, i have to ask what it felt like to hear from the president of the united states place blame on doctors inflating numbers for compensation? >> well, i hope it goes without being said that we do not make more money by diagnosing more covid and all of us everyday are walking into the hospital and hoping that we see less covid and hoping we don't have to take care of patients that are that sick. but aside from accusing me and my colleagues of fraudulent behavior, what trump is doing and he's derailing trust in the professionals who have the right messages to get us out of this pandemic. he's done it to scientists and public health officials and now he's doing it to physicians on masks, asking people to question our motives here and not listen to us. i'm sure he'll go after nurses next because they're the most trusted. so, you know, it is beyond

insulting, of course, but it is beyond damaging in terms of what we need to be telling people and who they should listen to in terms of, you know, changing behavior so that we can get out of this pandemic. so he's just being harmful on multiple levels and it makes me sad and disappointed. >> all right, doctor, thank you so much for what you're doing and all your colleagues on the front lines, stay safe and say well. we'll be right back. so with at&t, you can pick the perfect plan

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live pictures from elm city, north carolina, where vice

president pence is expected to speak next hour. meantime, millions of americans have already cast their vote in the 2020 election. the early voter turnout has been record breaking, more than 86 million so far. cnn has a team of reporters on the ground with voters in key states. we begin with alexander field in pennsylvania, where both cants wi candidates will be campaigning. alexandra. >> that's right, fredricka. the name of the game in battleground pennsylvania is leave nothing to chance. so while the candidates are still blitzing the state in the final few days, voters who are still hanging on to their mail-in ballots are being urged to take them directly to boxes, don't put them in the mail at this point. that to make absolutely certain your vote will be counted. a supreme court ruling has allowed to stand for ballots to be counted that are received as many as three days after the

election, but counties have agreed to segregate the ballots. even though ballots are coming in early, none of the ballots can be processed until election day. some counties have said they won't start counting those ballots until after election day. all counties are being urged to do it on election day. the view from ohio, we'll go to gary tuchman. >> reporter: thank you very much. early voting here in the state of ohio. this is cuyahoga county, home of cleveland, where there are hundreds of people in line. the wait is over two hours to get in and vote inside the building here. this is the 22nd day of early voting in the state of ohio. tomorrow will be 23, and then monday early voting is open and that will be day 24. lots of days to vote but not lots of locations. that's because under ohio law, you're only allowed one location in each of the 88 counties. so there's lots of activities, very busy at each of these

locations. you have a long line here to my left, and this is a drive-through area where cars drive up, they stop and they give their ballot to an election worker and they drop it off here in the box. polls show the race here in the state of ohio is too close to call and that is one of the reasons why michael blumberg, former democratic presidential candidate, has decided to spend millions of dollars for commercial ads for joe biden through a super pac here in the state of ohio. we can tell you that no republican has ever won the presidency without winning the buckeye state, as you watch people drop off their ballots. now we go to omar hermanez in the battleground state of michigan. >> thank you, gary. of course michigan always expected to be close in the presidential election and as the state tries to button things up, a situation we're keeping an eye on comes out near grand rapids where the city clerk reported hundreds of irregularities in voter registration forms that were coming in that they

immediately reported to county prosecutors. the several hundred irregularities game within a match of 6,000 new voter registrations. now, as that investigation opened up, the state attorney general and the state police also opened up an investigation and, for now, state police tell us that none of these irregular registrations actually resulted in ballots received and that any people that actually -- any of these registrations that actually went through are now being voted and it's not expected to have any impact on any election. but so far, we have seen 2.6 million michiganders cast their voet. that is more than half of the 2016 presidential turnout or 2008, who saw the highest in history. while many have voted, there are many people who haven't and that is why the candidates are making a final push. president obama and joe biden in flint and detroit today, with president trump sdpeexpected to back in michigan home. >> thanks to all our

correspondents. appreciate that. the road to victory for both candidates must pass through some key battleground states. biden will bring the star power of formal president barack obama to michigan today and president trump is holding multiple rallies in pennsylvania, the state that narrowly led him to victory in 2016. phil massingly, cnn congressional correspondent is with us. president trump is campaigning in pennsylvania today and will return one last time on monday. biden will blitz the state on sunday. how significant is pennsylvania to either candidate? >> fred, i'm going to demonstrate, but here's a shorthand you can take to the bank. the most valuable commodity are the time of their candidates, their spouses and all of them will be heading to pennsylvania, which gives you a sign that pennsylvania matters. take a look back at 2016 and you understand why pennsylvania is so important. president trump just shattered the blue wall, wisconsin, michigan, but mostly pennsylvania. this state right here, kind of the anchor of that blue wall

where the real sirens went off when president trump flipped this state from democrats, but winning narrowly, 44,000 votes. it's why you've seen president trump in pennsylvania in the eastern and western part of the state and joe biden focusing on philadelphia, trying to turn out the big vote in the city and suburbs, the counties surrounding it and pittsburgh, allegheny county. those strongholds are going to be the same this time around, the question is margins. can democrats run up margins where they're supposed to and can president trump run up huge margins in the western part of the state. pennsylvania poll polls, a combination of polls that cnn has put together, right now joe biden with a six point lead. obviously democrats happy about that, but cognizant of the fact that polls might be wrong or there might be margin of error. let's go back to the 2016 map and talk about the importance of pennsylvania right now. let's say that a number of the states the president won in 2016 had toss-up states, whether it's flord or georgia or north

carolina. democrats feel good about arizona. the reality right now if you look at this map, president trump holding on to everything except for those states, right now under 270. what happens if joe biden wins the state of pennsylvania? he's not at 270 yet, but any combination of wisconsin or florida or arizona, if you give him florida, above 270, north carolina, joe biden is above 270. while there are pathways without the state of pennsylvania, the reality is pennsylvania is crucial and pennsylvania is also a leading indicator for what might happen in states like michigan and wisconsin. >> it is all a nail-biter, for sure. phil mattingly, thank you so much for that, appreciate it. a record number of coronavirus cases, a record number of early votes cast. two clear reasons why this is an election year like no other. next, how this is shaping the candidates' closing arguments.

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campaign trail. here she is on her way to west bend, wisconsin, with a delicate wave there. the united states has set a troubling new world record, for most coronavirus infections in a single day. on friday, the u.s. recorded more than 99,000 new covid cases and more than 1,000 deaths from coast to coast, multiple states are hitting record highs. despite the surging pandemic, president trump continues to downplay the virus and hold potential superspreader rallies in states where covid is spiking, rallies with no social distancing and few attendees wearing masks. with we now, david swerdlick, assistant editor tore the "washington post" and former director of the nixon presidential library and a cnn

presidential historian. good to see both of you. david,let begin with you, and the startling contrast between president trump's big rallies and joe biden's socially distanced drive-in rallies. you know, david, neither is budging on their approaches. what do you make of the fact that each is fighting hard and being very strategic about where they are going in this final weekend? >> yeah, good morning, and happy halloween, fred. i think you have two things going on. one is that the visual itself is the closing message. you have president trump having these packed rallies, saying, look, nothing to see here, the virus isn't as bad. he's committed to that message. and similarly with biden, he wants the focus to be on that, and therefore is having socially distanced rallies with people honking their horns. both campaigns are trying to nail down the states that they absolutely have to win and it starts in pennsylvania as everybody has sort of zeroed in on, because, one, joe biden is a

pennsylvania guy, two, that's the sort of front end of that rust belt swing that president trump kind of pulled away from democrats in 2016 and that democrats want to get back. and of those rust belt states, pennsylvania, michigan, wisconsin, minnesota, pennsylvania has the most electoral votes. that's ground zero and that's why you're seeing president trump making multiple stops there and that's why you're seeing vice president biden going later in the week. it's a must have. and then if one side or the other can get that, it cuts off possibilities for the other side. >> and, tim, president trump has been hoping for an october surprise to upend this election, but the surging pandemic, perhaps it's not what the president was expecting. ultimately, how do you see his handling of the pandemic to impact the vote? >> well, the pandemic was, in a

sense, the october surprise for the president. the president got sick, so, too, did a number of his senior staffers. the vice president senior staff got sick. fortunately, everyone has gotten better. but that indeed was the october surprise for the trump campaign. it meant that it was impossible for the president to change the subject as he wanted to away from covid towards other issues, the bidens, for example. i believe that the president has made a decision that puts him in a different category for most leaders in the world. most leaders, if the covid -- if the disease got close to them, it sobered their approach, it made them more cautious. look at what happened to boris johnson in the united kingdom. in the case of our president, he actually began to push for people to take more risks. he undermined our public health message, and as a result i believe that the campaign that he has run since his own october surprise has been the most

immoral in a modern american political history. those campaign rallies, though not necessarily superspreader events, could have been and might have been. there have been at least 12 rallies since the president himself tested positive. so this is unprecedented in our history and a singular mismanagement and imperilling decision by a president to seek reelection. >> and adding to the count, there will be 14 rallies between today and monday for president trump. so, david, several republican senators are in rather tough races, as the gop tries to hold onto the senate. president trump, you know, set the tone for the republicans by skipping one of his presidential debates. of course, he was recovering from his diagnosis of having covid, but we're talking about now south carolina, senator lindsey graham, backing out of one debate before finally deciding to take part in a final face off with his democratic

challenger. and david pursue is in a tight race as well in the state of georgia and he has backed out of a debate with his democratic opponent. take a listen to what he said about that decision. >> we've done two already and, you know, we've got the president coming into town. right now we're doing what we are supposed to be doing and that's getting the vote out. we've already seen in the first two debates that my opponent will say one thing in the rest of the state and another thing in atlanta. >> david, wow. what's the message being sent to voters about whether they can just back out of a debate? i mean, this is an opportunity for voters to hear what they have to say and make a decision before they cast their ballots. >> fred, these senators are calculating that they can get by with the last few remaining days and not have to face the questions from moderators or their opponents. whether you're talking about senator purdue or graham in south carolina. some of the other senators on the fence, collins, loeffler,

mcsally in arizona, they know this is a referendum in a lot of ways on president trump. when you go on a debate stage you can't duck a question, as tim was just saying, what about the morality of having these potentially superspreader events. you can't duck a question in a debate about something like why isn't president trump following his own cdc guidelines. so with just two or three days to go, i think the campaign calculation is let's just avoid them and keep campaigning and not have to go head-to-head. >> lots of unprecedented moments in all of this. thank you so much. appreciate it. we'll be right back. ok, just keep coloring there... and sweetie can you just be... gentle with the pens. okey. okey. i know. gentle..gentle new projects means new project managers.

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american voters are setting all kinds of records for early voting, both in person and by mail. but several court decisions this week have changed the way some states will count those mail n ballots. some got extensions, while others got jarring cut-off dates. in minnesota, senator amy klobuchar sent out this morning to voters this week, because of last-minute ruling, minnesota, do not put ballots in the mail anymore. we're tracking some of the

decisions and how they are affecting voters. let's start with the extensions. which states have a little longer to receive mail-in ballots? >> fred, this has been a week of big court decisions in these critical battleground states. so in pennsylvania, voters who mail in their ballots, their ballots will be counted three days after election day. that's because the state supreme court said that was okay. it went up to the u.s. supreme court. they deadlocked 4-4, which sent it down and makes the state ruling hold for now. in north carolina, ballots that are mailed in and received up to nine days after election day will also be counted. that was a win for the democrats. but on the other hand, you had rulings that have gone the other way. in wisconsin, the supreme court ruled that ballots that come in after election day will not be counted. the state there had extended the ballots to come in for up to nine days after the election. and then in minnesota, we had a ruling from a federal appeals

court just this week where they said that if they do not get the ballots in by 8:00 on election day, they will not be counted. the secretary of state said on friday they are not going to appeal at this point, but that issue could end up back before the courts, fred. >> thank you so much for that. the countdown to the election continues at the top of the hour. water? why?! ahhhh! incoming! ahhhahh! i'm saved! water tastes like, water. so we fixed it. mio.

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thank you for joining me. i'm fredricka whitfield. it's the home stretch in the fight for the white house. president trump and former vice president joe biden taking nothing for granted. the candidates, their running mates and teams crisscrossing battleground states with just three days left until america decides. in this last weekend before election day, trump making four stops in pennsylvania where he narrowly won in 2016, while

biden teams up with former president barack obama in the swing state of michigan. both states among those experiencing an upsurge in covid cases in october. the u.s. marking the worst week since the pandemic began. on friday, breaking a world record for single day case count. nearly 100,000 infections. deaths also on the rise. more than 1,000 americans died on friday alone, leading some health experts to warn that if the current trends hold, hospitals may be pushed well beyond capacity in the coming weeks. back on the campaign trail, stark contrast between the candidates on the handling of the ongoing pandemic. and it's coming at a critical time in this race. several states are ending in-person early voting today. that includes virginia. as you see right here, also, north carolina, new mexico, oklahoma, west virginia and most of florida.

a short time from now, president trump will begin the first of four events planned today in pennsylvania. cnn's joe johns is in bucks county as we watch live images right here of the president of the united states about to leave joint andrews, about to board air force one. joe, it's a busy day for the president and advertise campaign and he is crisscrossing pennsylvania and a good part of the country over the next three days. >> reporter: that's right, fred. you can certainly tell this is the last weekend before election day, or we might want to call it vote counting day, because so many people across the country and the state have already voted, at least 2 million here in the state of pennsylvania alone. this is bucks county, pennsylvania, right outside newtown. as you said, the president has three other stops in butler,

readin reading, and it's going to be a very busy day for the president of the united states. the state, of course, is critical. you can call it pivotal, because this is one of the states that could certainly decide the winner of the election in the electoral college. pennsylvania has 20 electoral votes. so the question, of course, is how is the president doing. according to the cnn poll or polls, the president is down. joe biden leading 51% to 44%. how is the president going to make up that difference? for one thing, he has been downplaying the severity of the coronavirus to the extent that just now he's started even suggesting that medical professionals have a profit motive in declaring coronavirus cases. >> let's listen to the president. >> it's going to be a very interesting three days. it's going to be a very interesting tuesday. we have a big red wave that has

formed, as you've probably noticed. we're doing very, very well with the african-american vote and we're doing very well with the hispanic vote all over. and we're doing very well. it's going to be really something. i want to thank the special forces. we had a tremendous event happen, and really these are incredible people that do this. but it was a tremendous event and we'll be giving you details in a very short period of time. it was something that i had to get done, because they were playing with american citizens. we can't let that happen. so we'll be talking to you about that at the appropriate time. but these are great people, these are the best in the world. there's nobody like them. and you know a little bit about it. i think people have started to hear. but we'll give you the details in a little while. okay? >> have you taught a little bit about what you're doing on election night, mr. president? >> yeah, i'll be perhaps between the white house and the hotel,

because we have -- i guess they have a limit, they've placed limits on the hotel, which is unfortunate. they did that yesterday in minnesota, the governor. and i think he's paying a very big price for it. we're going to have over 25,000 people. you saw what went on there. it was ridiculous. with all the problems that minnesota has with riots and all the things and i saved minneapolis and they should have called me sooner. but we saved -- i mean, you wouldn't even have a minneapolis right now and i think we're going to win minnesota and i think what the attorney general did and what the governor did in minnesota last night was very sad. thousands and thousands of people were disinfranchised. they travels for many miles to get there in some cases. they were staying there. they slept over. and then the governor makes a political move. i don't think it's going to help him. we want to win minnesota. i think we have a good chance

and i think he frankly gave us a better chance. we'll talk to you later. thank you. >> the president, short and sweet there as he's about to board air force one on his way to four-stop campaigning in pennsylvania, saying it's going to be a very interesting next three days. and he's anticipating a red wave. and, of course, he also was asked where is he going to be on election night. he's going to go back and forth between the white house and his hotel in dc there. the mayor of dc reminding him that no one can gather, no more than 50 people can gather in any one place during this pandemic. the president there making issue with the fact that there are those limitations and so thereby, he'll be going between the white house and his hotel. so, joe biden is also campaigning today in the battleground state of michigan where he will be joined by former president barack obama. they will hold a pair of drive-in rallies in the state where the virus is surging.

cnn's jeff zeleny is in flint, michigan, where the first rally is set to get under way. what kind of closing message is expected from biden and obama? >> reporter: good morning, fredricka. we certainly have heard a preview of this message that the former president barack obama has been giving the last little more than a week or so, making the case against donald trump. making a case for why it's time for america to move in a new direction. today, the message with just three days to go in this election season, is to get out and vote. the democratic side of this operation and the biden campaign are trying to reach out to all of those people who voted for barack obama and joe biden in 2008 and again four years later and get out to vote. they have no doubt that there are enough people if they all come out to vote and their votes are counted. but they are slightly concerned about enthusiasm and turnout. just the mechanics of voting. i am told that is one of the things that the former president is going to stress here in his

first stop in flint. this will be the first time we've seen barack obama and joe biden on the campaign trail side by side. they've been doing their own thing, of course, during this pandemic. as you said, it's a drive-in rally and they are making a point of doubling down on the differences between how they're campaigning and how they would govern differently as well. former vice president joe biden went directly after the president's assault on dr. fauci and on masks. let's listen. >> dr. fauci, who has been not treated very well by the president, who has been with three other presidents in the same role, one of the most respected guys in the world, he's called for a mask mandate. this isn't a political statement of us wearing these masks. for god's sake, it's a patriotic duty. >> reporter: and these presidential battlegrounds are pandemic battlegrounds indeed. every state that president trump and joe biden have been campaigning in have seen a rise

in coronavirus cases. that is certainly true here in michigan as well. 52% rise in cases over last week alone, seeing record numbers virtually every day. so that is the center of this campaign and how they are campaigning is certainly key. but the reason that barack obama and joe biden are starting here in flint, in this county alone, four years ago, hillary clinton won 26,000 fewer votes than barack obama and joe biden did four years prior, in detroit 75,000 fewer votes. that adds up to 100,000 fewer votes. donald trump carried this state by 10,704 votes. so the key here is trying to get those democrats out to vote. they know they're out there. they're just trying to get them to the polls between now and next tuesday. >> important details. thank you so much. jeff zeleny. early voting across the country has exceeded a record-breaking 90 million voters. this weekend is the final window for early voting and in some states today the last day to

cast a ballot before election day. cnn has a team of reporters on the ground with voters in key battleground states. let's begin with cnn's randi kay in broward county, florida, where election officials just thwarted a scheme to register deceased residents? >> reporter: absolutely. we're getting more details about that. apparently the scheme was to try and register about 50 people by mail as democrats to vote, but law enforcement and election officials were able to uncover that scheme, put an end to it. a lot of these people were deceased, some as far back as being a century old. that's when they were born. they were able to figure out that these people were not alive and could not vote and should not be registering by mail. so that was the end of that. but just two days to go for early in-person voting here in the state of florida. already more than 8 million floridians have voted. registered democrats leading republicans here in the state by about 116,000 votes.

it's tightening as more and more republicans are showing up for early in-person voting. also, another concern for democrats, fredricka, is the rate at which ballots are being rejected, either for missing signatures or for mismatched signatures. i'm told by daniel smith, the university of florida professor who tracks all of this, that the ballots from black and hispanic voters are being rejected at twice the rate as those of white voters. so two to one in that case. also, he said that more ballots for younger people are being rejected as compared to older people. 1% of ballots for 18 to 23-year-olds are being rejected and if you look at those over 65, just one-fifth of a percent of the ballots are being rejected. the good news, he says, is that overall, the rejection numbers are lower than in 2016 and people, at least for now, have a few days to still cure or fix their signatures and their ballots. but as we get closer to election

day, that time will run out. so now let's check in with my colleague, ryan young, in milwauke milwaukee. >> reporter: the polls have been open just for a few minutes and as we look back this direction, we'll give you the up-close view. we've been allowed in as people are starting to cast their votes and the line goes around the building here. just a half hour ago, no one was here and then they opened. we have juliana henry, the director of elections here. you said there's been a lot of people who have been excited about getting out to vote. tell us about the numbers so far. >> right now we have over 324,000, so 58% of the actual registered voters have already received an absentee ballot. >> you said you've never really seen lines like this before. talk about the people who have been showing up. >> well, since the in-person absentee voting started, the

lines have been -- this is one of the busiest sites in the state of wisconsin. the lines have been incredible and individuals have come in, but they've been patient as they go through this process. >> now, you did say something, if you still have a ballot at home, now is not the time to mail it. >> that is correct. if you have a ballot at home, you should take it to your municipal clerk's office or one of their drop boxes. do not wait to do that until election day. do not delay. get out today and turn your ballot in. >> thank you so much. >> reporter: as you see, the folks are moving in and they just had a cheer for a first-time voter, which is something i've never seen before. there's a lot of excitement here. we have seen both candidates, joe biden and donald trump, the president, come here yesterday to try to get the last bit of people to vote. the air waves are energetic with people trying to get more folks to turn out. the line is still growing. it's time to check in with suzanne in north carolina.

>> reporter: well, there are lines here and there's a big line at party city that's right next door for halloween costumes. the enthusiasm has been growing throughout the day, the polling stations opening at 8:00 a.m. for early in-person voting. what's interesting about north carolina is you can register to vote and vote on the same day. this is the last opportunity to do that. a lot of voters are taking advantage of that. i've spoken with the election officials here who say they expect about 1,000 people potentially to show up at this site alone. it's one of the most popular sites in charlotte. just to give you a sense of the enthusiasm and the importance of north carolina, when you look at the 7.3 million registered voters, 4.3 million have already voted. that is actually a good percentage of 49.1% -- rather 59.1% of those voters already participating, breaking all

records before. i had a chance to talk to some of these voters, what is their passion, what is their priority. and the common theme here is they want to vote and are voting for someone who shares their values, whether or not that's getting the kids back into school or providing health care. take a listen. >>. >> i voted for him because i was in the service and i thought what he was going to do for the military was going to be great, but being out of the military, it's not great for everybody. >> that was reginald green, who voted for trump the last go-around and says that is not going to be his vote today. and just to underscore, fred, the importance of these early voting sites, every single one of them being protected, rockingham county, that is where a judge has now ruled that it must reopen after a temporary

closure. there were three staffers that tested positive for covid-19. it was all shut down. the north carolina democratic party sued to get it reopened. that is now a site that has been reopened, decontaminated. again, making sure that every one of these early voting sites is there and available for every voter before election day. >> all of our correspondents, thank you so much. coming up, the united states breaks a coronavirus world record. reporting nearly 100,000 cases in just 24 hours. now governors are urging their residents to take precautions. >> the virus is raging throughout the state of ohio. there's no place to hide. >> and then later, more than 1 million absentee ballots were cast in georgia, and now they are all being processed. see what happens after your ballot is delivered. so with at&t, you can pick the perfect plan

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a stunning and sad new record today, the u.s. reporting the highest number of daily coronavirus cases to date. a number that also broke a world record. there were more than 99,000 new infections recorded friday and the number of cases in the united states has now surpassed 9 million. 14 states have hit record high hospitalizations as well. the director of the cdc warns a silent epidemic of asymptomatic infections among people around 30 is what's fueling the spread. cnn's jean caseres has the report. >> scary numbers this halloween weekend as the u.s. surpassed 9 million coronavirus cases on friday. 1 million of them added in just the last two weeks. >> at the moment today, we now have one person being diagnosed of coronavirus every second. we have one american dying of coronavirus every two minutes. >> reporter: officials nationwide are pleading with people to opt for public safety

instead of public celebrations. >> as we head into halloween weekend, a time when many would normally be out and about in a different sort of face mask, please stay home. >> reporter: the midwest where both president trump and former vice president biden campaigned on friday is seeing a particularly grim spike, and while mask wearing and social distancing guidelines were visible at all of biden's events, trump poked fun at a fox news personality for following protocols at his rally in michigan. >> i can't recognize you. is that a mask? no way. are you wearing a mask? i've never seen here in a mask. look at you. she's being very politically correct. >> reporter: this, as the new seven-day case rate in that state is up 52% from last week. in minnesota, 3,165 new cases were announced on friday. the first time the state has ever crossed 3,000 new cases in

one day. and ohio reported nearly 4,000 new cases yesterday, marking its highest increase for the second day in a row. >> the virus is raging throughout the state of ohio. there's no place to hide. >> reporter: that's not just true for middle america. >> it's very bad and it's going to get worse until we do things differently. so what distinguishes our current outbreak from what happened initially in the spring with our so-called first wave is that the virus is all over the country now. >> reporter: in the northeast, new jersey reported over 2,000 cases on friday, marking the state's highest one-day total since may. and out west in utah, a statewide alert was sent to all residents on friday as the percentage of positive tests hit a record 18.17% and a whopping

72.5% of the state's icu beds are occupied. in california, a bay area resident, someone under 65, has become the first person there to contract both coronavirus and the flu. yet another reminder of how important it is to be vigilant this time of year. >> people shouldn't let their guard down. we should try to remain vigilant and be careful these last two or three months as we get through what is going to be the most difficult season. have the same prudence around halloween and thanksgiving this year. we've protected people for a long period of time. we've got two or three months to go that we need to be careful. >> in the end, whatever fun you choose, please remember this virus does not make exceptions for holidays or because you want to take a break from it. >> reporter: today is obviously the last day of the month and over half of our states, 31 to be precise, have said that during this last month at least on one day, they have reached the peak of their new diagnosed

covid cases. of the 14 states that are reporting that they are maximum capacity for hospitalizations, they're states that maybe you haven't heard that much about before, such as alaska, idaho, wyoming. it shows the breadth of this virus and the pandemic is spreading, as we said in the story, all across the country. >> it's fast, that's right. thank you so much. straight ahead, the last weekend of the presidential race is right here and the candidates are blanketing the battleground states. so what is the last-minute strategy? plus, vice president mike pence is expecting to speak in north carolina later this hour. our countdown to election day coverage continues in a moment. ♪ ♪

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president mike pence will hold a campaign rally in the battleground state of north carolina. that event is set to get under way in the next few minutes. then president trump will take to the stage in bucks county, pennsylvania, next hour. both trump and bidens campaigns have several rallies planned today in critical swing states. joe biden and former president barack obama are campaigning in michigan. president trump will hold several rallies in pennsylvania. the first lady is also campaigning in pennsylvania and wisconsin. and democratic vice presidential candidate kamala harris has several campaign events scheduled in florida today. david swerdlick is an assistant editor for the "washington post" and a cnn political commentator, julian is a professor at

princeton university and a cnn political analyst. go to see both of you. also, julian is author of "burning down the house, newt gingrich, the fall of a speaker and the rise of a new republican party". david, you first. the president is holding four rallies today as he campaigns at a blistering pace down the home stretch. what does that say about the status of the race? >> pennsylvania is so important if you look at the electoral map. democrats need to claw back 37 electoral votes from him to win. pennsylvania has 20. the simplest way i can think to explain it is if democrats can claw back pennsylvania, then they've only got to win two out of the three of wisconsin, michigan and arizona. if they don't get pennsylvania back, they've got to win those three, hold the rest of the clinton map and not have any room for error. president trump knows that and that's why he's campaigning so

hard in that state. he's stronger in western pennsylvania, but you see the shot you just showed, he's there in bucks county, which is in the outer reaches of the philly part of the state and that's where republicans want to try to boost their vote tallies right now. >> julian, biden and president obama will be campaigning today at two rallies in michigan. president trump won that state by fewer than 11,000 votes in 2016. how important is michigan when we're talking about 16 electoral votes? how is it that this is pretty vital, particularly for a biden victory or a trump victory? >> it's very important. i think the biden campaign is not going on the assumption they're going to win pennsylvania, and because of that, as david said, you want to lock up states that they should win in the midwest. they should have won in 2016 and i think that's what they're trying to assure right now. biden is in the lead in all the polls, but that doesn't mean

biden is going to win. so i think they're trying to cement as many states as possible. >> david, more than 90 million people have already voted. do we have any idea how this surge of early voting might impact the election outcome? who actually shows up on election day as well? >> so, fred, in the last several national elections, high turnout has been to the benefit of democrats, so right now democrats are looking at the high turnout across the country and feeling a little bit optimistic about that. but the thing is, you still have three days to go and republican voters have been encouraged by their side to come out strong at the end to vote on election day in person, and what this election has taught us and what the last election taught us is that no campaign can take anything for granted all the way through the end. that's to the point that julian just made. democrats lost some states that they think they should have won,

they probably should have won, right at the end in 2016. the margins are nary and neither side is going to or should take this for granted. and both sides know it. no one is surprising anyone at this point. it's who can turn out their voters in these key states. >> julian, several republican senators are in really tight races as the gop is in a real fight to maintain control of the senate. how much of an impact will the presidential race have on the senators and candidates come election day? >> i think the senate is in play because of president trump and i think many republicans know that. and the more present that president trump is in the final days as he's trying to shore up support in these states, it might actually hurt a lot of these republican senators who are very vulnerable. so i think democrats can taste the possibility of a majority, and if they lose the presidency, that would be essential to having a check against the

president, and if president biden wins, a democratic senate would open up the door to some months, at least, of policymaking. >> we'll leave it there for now. we're looking at live pictures in elm city, north carolina. that is where vice president mike pence will be showing up momentarily for his rally there. thanks to both of you. appreciate it. it is, indeed, the final weekend for early voting, just three days left before election day. massive lines are wrapped around polling stations across the country, despite fears about the coronavirus pandemic. several states are ending early voting today. more than 90 million americans have already voted ahead of tuesday's historic election. kristen holmes, cnn national correspondent for us is in washington. kristen, tallying the vote count will be tricky and it could take a lot of twists and turns election night. why? >> yeah, that's right. there is a potential to see a skewed either way result right out of the bat on election night

that will eventually shift. here's why. we have this record number of early votes. when you break that down, since the beginning of the pandemic, biden supporters have shown a strong preference for early voting for mail-in voting, where as trump supporters have shown a preference for voting in person on election day. where it gets complicated is that in many of these states, and particularly these states that we're watching so carefully, the swing states, they don't count those ballots altogether. they have different systems, some in which they count early ballots first and release those numbers. others in which they count the day of votes in first and then release mail-in later. you're looking at a situation where you could see what they're calling a red or blue mirage. a blue mirage we're expecting to see in states like pennsylvania, wisconsin, because they are not allowed to start counting the mail-in ballots until 7 a.m. on election day and most of the counties outside of the big cities like philadelphia and

pittsburgh, they're going to start by putting out their in-person election day numbers, which will likely be trump supporters. that is what we are tracking here based on all of the data that we have. later, they will start to put in those ballots that are getting mailed in. then you'll start to see an evening out and even possibly a shift towards biden. that is unpredictable at this time. that's what we're looking at, when you see states that show a huge number skewed in one direction that are usually swing states, you can likely suspect it's either a blue or a red mirage. >> thank you so much for that. after a race like no other, it all ends here. join us for special live coverage the way only cnn can bring it to you from the first votes to the critical count. understand what is happening in your state and across the country. election night in america, our special coverage starts tuesday at 4:00 p.m. eastern time. coming up, president trump is campaigning in pennsylvania today. he's expected to speak to a crowd in reading this afternoon.

cnn team coverage continues in just a moment. plus, the united kingdom is considering whether to impose a new national lockdown. is the united states next? water? why?! ahhhh! incoming! ahhhahh! i'm saved! water tastes like, water. so we fixed it. mio.

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the u.s. is now reporting the highest number of coronavirus cases ever in a single day. almost 100,000 cases on friday. and the total number of reported cases has soared past 9 million. the month of october has been particularly devastating with at least 31 states reporting single-day new case records. dr. nguyen is a cnn medical analyst and a former baltimore health commissioner. good to see you, doctor. you're also raising concerns about the high positivity rates in some states. why is that number so important? >> good morning, fred. so positivity rate is what indicates if 100 people end up getting tested, how many people end up testing positive. the higher the number, it means

that we're not detecting nearly enough cases. so you look at a state like south dakota where the test positivity rate is almost 50%. so one in two people getting tested actually have covid-19. so you wonder how many other cases are out there that are spreading asymptomatically, such that when you have one case that's detected, you may have 10, 20 other cases that are spreading in the community. no one knows about it and there are many other chains of transmission and outbreaks that are happening. >> all right. this is a global problem. let's talk about the british government now and that it is meeting today to consider a possible national lockdown because of a surge in cases there. is that something that you think the u.s. should soon consider? >> i really hope not, and i do believe right now that we have a narrow window of opportunity. we are seeing covid-19 hot spots raging all over the country, and right now we have an opportunity to implement targeted measures,

like universal mask wearing, like making sure that our high risk businesses like bars in certain areas, indoor bars are shut down, like instructing the public that we should be avoiding social gatherings of extended family and friends because those are high risk, too. but if we don't do these things now, we're going to be overwhelming our health systems and then a lockdown may be necessary. otherwise, we'll have a total collapse of our systems and no one will be able to get medical care, even for things like heart attacks and strokes. >> wow. now there's a case in california, the first person known to have contracted coronavirus and the flu simultaneously. what do you want learned from this case? >> well, i think there will be cases of co-infection where people get multiple infections at the same time. i'll actually less worried about the individual who is getting both things at the same time as much as i'm worried about this on a population level, because every year we already have

hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations from the flu. you add on top of that everything else for covid-19 and we could have a collapse of our health care system. and we don't have nearly enough testing. the same symptoms of fever, cost, shortness of breath, body aches, they could be the cold, a flu, covid-19. we need far more testing or else we're not going to know who has what illness. >> dr. nguyen, thank you so much. good to see you. stay well. thank you. still to come, the u.s. senate in the spotlight. we'll take a look at the races that could change the balance of power.

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all right. welcome back. we are just three days from election day. and beyond the presidential race, there are a number of u.s. senate races in the spotlight. races that could drastically change the balance of power in washington. phil mattingly takes a look. >> reporter: heading into the 2020 cycle, democrats said they had multiple pathways in the senate to retaking the majority for the first time since 2014. not necessarily true they all believed it. now democrats believe it. and the reason why, over the course of the last several

months, over the course of tens of millions of dollars flowing into the campaign coffers, democrats feel they have multiple opportunities. not just frontline seats like martha mcsally in arizona, cory gardner in colorado, like susan collins in maine but also seeping deeper into a firewall. talking about joni ernst in iowa, even john cornyn in texas, even dan sullivan in the state of alaska. certainly north carolina with thom tillis. all of these types of races are in play. you know what else is in play? potentially south carolina, where jaime harrison broke every fundraising record imaginable in his race to take out lindsey graham. everything remains in the margin of error as you head to election night. however, republicans come election night feel they have two legitimate pick-up shots. first, alabama. doug jones won a special election. shocked the world when a democrat winning in ruby red alabama. republicans believe that race is almost in the bag already for them. that would be one pick-up. also the state of michigan. gary peters running for his

second term in a tough re-election battle with john james and mitch mcconnell said it's turned into a street fight at this point. democrats hope everything will tip at the same time in their direction and make chuck schumer no longer minority leader, potentially majority leader. republicans acknowledge that while it will be close, while there's a very real possibility they lose their majority, they still have an opportunity to maintain it. everything will play out on election night in some very, very tight races across the country. >> phil mattingly, thank you so much for that. this just in to cnn. the university of wisconsin has just confirmed 22 people have tested positive for covid-19. of those people, 12 student athletes have tested positive. the school will decide on tuesday whether the badgers can play their next scheduled game on november 7th at home against purdue. our countdown to election coverage continues in a moment. first, here's a live look at a rally for senator kamala harris

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all right. in this final weekend before election day, the running mates are also criss-crossing the states. you see a jogging vice president mike pence there in elm city, north carolina, to a crowd awaiting there. and then you see a dancing kamala harris, running mate of joe biden there to the right. she is in miami. we're going to listen in right now to kamala harris. >> that's what we want. so there's so much at stake, guys. so much at stake and florida has

been so hard hit. i think we're dealing right now with four crises that have all happened at the same time. we're dealing with this coronavirus, this pandemic, right? which at this point has killed over 225,000 people in just the last several months. people who tragically in many cases were alone because of the nature of the virus. couldn't have family with them to hold their hands in their last hours and minutes on earth. this pandemic that has afflicted 9 million people in our country who, by the way, will likely experience long-term health impacts. doctors are talking about things like lung scarring. we are looking at a moment where there has been such tragedy in terms of loss of life.

a mass casualty event that can only be compared to world war ii. and here's the thing. the president of the united states who is also the commander in chief, and it's important to point out, everything sergeant cruz said about the responsibility that comes with what we give that person to become that, including that their first priority should be the health and safety of the american people. >> senator kamala harris there in miami. now the vice president mike pence who is in elm city, north carolina. let's listen in. >> an economy that was struggling to break out of the slowest recovery since the great depression. terrorism was on the rise around the world. and we witnessed a steady assault on our most cherished values. but in three short years, we rebuilt our military. we revived our economy.

we secured our border, supported law enforcement, stood for life and liberty and the constitution of the united states. >> all right. thanks so much, everyone. i'm fredricka whitfield. our countdown covers right now with ana cabrera. you are live in the cnn newsroom. i'm ana cabrera in new york. thank you for joining us for our special coverage. we're now just three days away from the election of a lifetime. 90 million ballots already cast and today it's all eyes on the coveted rust belt and the states that helped push president trump to victory in 2016. in michigan next hour, we'll see something we have yet to see this campaign season. a joint appearance by joe biden and former president barack obama. they will be in flint first and then they travel to detroit together with an appearance with

stevie wo