>> well, our happy and hurry cookbook comes out tomorrow. thank you to everybody who is buying it today. they'll deliver it tomorrow if you get it today. see you tomorrow. >> sandra: here we go. face-to-face for the first time 36 hours from now. president trump and joe biden will meet on the debate stage tomorrow night in an election year like no other. good morning everyone i'm sandra smith and joining us for special coverage this morning. >> bill: hello, my friend. i could not stay away, sandra. good morning to you. i'm bill hemmer live. thank you so much. we'll be together for the next couple days. it is great to be back. the stakes are high. we're on the campus of the cleveland clinic give you a rundown about everything happening around us in a moment. tomorrow night, sandra, chris

wallace will moderate debate number one here in cleveland 9:00 eastern but the attacks have already started. president trump demanding his democratic opponent take a drug test either before or after tomorrow's showdown. the biden team jumping on "the new york times" report dropped late last night 20 years on the president's taxes. anticipation as you know is sky high. both men are looking to put their best foot forward in hopes of swaying anyone who may be undecided in this campaign. >> president trump: i debated a lot four years ago. if you look at the polls, those polls are coming out -- according to the polls i won every single debate in the primaries and then when i debated crooked hillary. >> my guess is, it will be just straight attack. mostly personal. the only thing he knows how to do. he doesn't know how to debate the facts. he is not that smart. he doesn't know that many facts.

he doesn't know much about foreign policy. not much about domestic policy and know much about the detail. i think the american people are on to him. >> sandra: fox team coverage monday morning analysis from karl rove coming up. griff jenkins in cleveland and we begin with kristin fisher outside the white house this morning. what is president trump doing to prepare for the big debate tomorrow night? >> not much, sandra. the president says that what he does every single day is debate like the briefing he held yesterday afternoon with members of the white house press corps at the white house. before that briefing started "the new york times" dropped this very big report on the president's taxes. i want to share with you some of the key findings all strictly according to the "new york times." they found the president paid no federal income taxes in 11 of 18 years. in 2017 the ohr after he became president he paid $750 in federal income taxes. and within the next four years

more than 300 million in loans will come due. now the president is dismissing all of this as fake news. he is continuing to refuse to release his tax returns saying he is still under audit. here the kayleigh mcenany defending the president earlier this morning. >> we've seen this play out before. a hit piece about the president's taxes just before a debate. and inaccurate one at that. this is the same playbook they tried in 2016 and the same playbook the american people rejected and will do so again. >> the biden campaign has dropped an ad about this noting the typical income tax for an elementary school teacher is $7200. construction manager $1600 and compared it to the $750 "the new york times" says the president paid in 2017. you see in donald trump a president who is hype thetically worth millions and is paying $750 in taxes this

year? not just only paying $750 in taxes but saying things it makes me smart that i do that. i think it contributes to this larger sense that we have from donald trump that he looks down on working people. he calls them losers. he calls them suckers. >> so you have the biden campaign saying that president trump should release his tax returns and president trump saying that joe biden should agree to do a drug test before the big debate tomorrow night. >> sandra: spoke to the presidential debate commission yesterday and they said it isn't being considered. the battle for judge amy coney barrett is heating up on capitol hill. how is the white house preparing for all that? >> they're preparing for a very aggressive, defense strategy of judge amy coney barrett led by kayleigh mcenany and part of the strategy is going to be going after some of the democrats who they believe are really attacking judge amy coney barrett over her religion.

>> president trump: the religious situation with amy. i thought we settled this 60 years ago with the election of john f. kennedy. seriously, they're going after her catholicism. we'll stand with her and fight with her and we will make sure that these attacks stop because they -- it's unprecedented. >> one senior official told fox news that we'll need to be knife fighters with the opposition, sandra, both sides gearing up for what is sure to be a very contentious, very heated confirmation battle right before this election. >> sandra: the next few weeks we'll be watching it all. kristin fisher, thank you. >> bill: final preparations now underway here in cleveland. we are getting ready. there will be three debates in total. 36 hours away, traditional face-off will look a lot different this year. griff jenkins is live in cleveland where we've found a beautiful morning in northern ohio.

how are things shaping up, griff, ahead of debate number one? good morning. >> it's beautiful, bill. the final preps inside that building behind me. one where history is made. you're right. it will be different right out of the gate. one of the first things the candidates will not do that pre-debate handshake. they won't even bump elbows. they will see them socially distanced and not wearing masks. now, they won't make opening statements but the commission on presidential debates says there will be a live audience but a much smaller one than usual. they expect about 80 to 100 individuals including the ticketed guests, media, security and staff. they're finalizing the total numbers based on the spacing. all the individuals in the building will be tested and finally at the very end a tradition we've gotten so used to that spin room. that won't exist although we expect they'll be around for

interviews to do their spinning. chris wallace's topics are chosen. 90 minutes, no commercials. six 15-minute segments. trump and biden's records. supreme court, coronavirus, economy, race and violence in america and the integrity of the election. the moderator, chris wallace, was talking about his preparation yesterday and what he hopes to engage. he says he hopes to be as invisible as possible. so the candidates can engage on the issues. if after the debate people are saying it was a great debate who was the moderator, he will feel he had accomplished his goal. it will be interesting. sandra mentioned before i came on that the cpb was not going to entertain the taxes issue or other things. late-breaking news as we've seen over the weekend, both of these candidates are gearing up to attack each other maybe they'll drop news in there that isn't in the format. one thing for sure it will be one for the ages.

bill. >> bill: that's why we watch. thank you, griff, nice to see you. check in with you a bit later in cleveland, ohio. griff jenkins. >> sandra: for more on this let's bring in karl rove, former white house president chief of staff to george w. bush. something tells me you have a lot to say on what we might see tomorrow night. first to the preparations on the part of each candidates. you had the "wall street journal" talking about donald trump playing down his debate preparation this time around. although they are reporting his aides are helping him with some sort of q & a behind the scenes. will that be enough to beat joe biden on that debate stage? >> well, we'll see in 36 hours. i wouldn't underestimate the debate prep. to me one of the people sitting there in that white house briefing room last night chris christie is probably very helpful to the president. christie i've known him for a number of years has the ability to get to the nub of the thing. he did that in his own debate

performance in 2016 because he needed to take down marco rubio and he did in that debate. famous debate where the two went at it. my suspicion is his advice to the president has been pointed. backed by a lot of pre-thought and focused on what he thinks the essential items what the president needs to do in that debate. >> sandra: biden's debate prep is a fact checker when it begins tomorrow night. he has been pouring over past statements by the president. reviewing past debate performances of president trump. is that a winning strategy for joe biden? >> well, i worry about turn into yourself from a visionary. here is what i want to do for america to fact checking the other guy. remember, just recently he said 200 million americans had died of coronavirus. and he confused iran and iraq. i would not be -- i would not

be the guy to make my strategy be i'll be the "washington post" and be the fact checker of the debate. you want to be the guy with vision for the country and a way to unite the country and move us together if you are the challenger and i'm not certain fact checking helps you a heck of a lot in that respect. >> sandra: before we leave this topic tell us what you really think when this really gets going tomorrow night. i think everybody is kind of worked through in their heads what they think it will look like tomorrow night. what do you see happening? >> well, i really don't know. i think my old companion from the bush campaign put it right. one guy will show up like it's a boxing match and one thinks it's the world wrestling federation. how they clash will be interesting. they'll go at each other. the question is, is joe biden going to do something unusual when they get an attack from the opposition. for example, if trump goes after biden about his son,

hunter and his involvement in burisma and china, is biden going to do what he has done before just to say my son did nothing wrong or will he do something unusual and diffuse the issue. hunter shouldn't have gone on that board and i should be paying for attention and when i'm president there will be no more shenanigans. people would say he admitted it was a mistake and won't let it happen again. i think we'll see them go back to established practices. what they've said about the issues in the past what they'll say tomorrow night. how it plays with a small group of people up for grabs in this election will be anybody's guess. the debates have played a bigger role in past elections at least going in. the last time around i think it was 34% of the american people said they could change their minds based on the debates. the election before that it was 38. this one it's now 29% in the "wall street journal" latest poll who say they could be

affected by the debates. smaller number of people who can be affected but that could be enough in a close election one way or the other. >> sandra: final thoughts 36 hours out from that debate you have "the new york times" reporting they've obtained donald trump's tax returns reporting chronic losses on the part of the president, avoidance of taxes. the white house has come out slamming that report calling it phony and made up. what impact do you think this will have on the race? >> well, among those for trump and against biden this is fake news. for those that are for biden and against trump, it is a confirmation of everything they thought. how does it play among the people in the middle who are out for grabs in this election? i don't think it's helpful. there is a fundamental principle of fairness. if it's true the president had losses bigger than his income. if you have losses, you should be able to offset your income.

but to the average cat on the street the idea the president paid a small amount of tax is not something they like. but again, we don't really know. the president denies it. "the new york times" has gotten leaked documents. they say the documents were obtained legally but that refers to how they obtained them. somebody potentially violated the law taking those documents and providing them to the "new york times." we won't know the truth about this thing until probably years in the future when these things are ultimately revealed. it ain't going to be helpful to the president the day before the debate a big thing like this. after cat on the street says everybody ought to pay taxes. if it's true i don't like it. but the advocates for each candidate are already locked in. that small group in the middle that are up for grabs that will be affected and will buy this. >> sandra: more on that coming up. karl rove joining us from cleveland. the special live coverage of the first debate between president trump and joe biden

begins tomorrow 6:00 p.m. eastern time hosted by bret baier and market martha maccallum. it all begins at 9:00 p.m. eastern live from cleveland here on the fox news channel. >> bill: i for one cannot wait to see these two men on stage together. i think the audience of 80 million maybe, if not higher, cannot wait either. it can lie with house lawmakers. if neither joe biden or president trump win the votes required to win the white house. nancy pelosi is warning democrats in letter obtained the decision may not lie with the party that controls the house but by the party controlling more state delegations with each state getting one vote. got that? congress has not decided a presidential race since 1876.

it's an open book on 2020. right now republicans control 26 state delegations. they have a simple majority on that. sandra, what i think is very interesting. notre dame was supposed to have this debate. two months ago yesterday they withdrew. the cleveland clinic and case western reserve stepped in and took that. remember, in july, too, you had a real rush of coronavirus cases in states like florida and texas and arizona. since then many of those states have since beaten the curved and learned to flatten it out again. one thing that needs to be considered as we look at debate number one is the lack of a live audience. the reason i think that's so critical is because oftentimes you feed off the energy of other people. we are told that inside the arena there will be no more than 200 people. some have suggested that number might be between 80 and 100. it is interesting to see how that dynamic plays out. as for the television audience,

all the networks have access to this. wallace is in the center seat and said pretty much he wants to be a silent person. that at the end of this debate if they don't remember him, that will be a success. now, 84 million watched 2016 with hillary clinton and donald trump. you wonder during covid times with not a lot of action going on elsewhere do they match that number or do they possibly go higher than that? we'll see tomorrow. >> sandra: while you were talking we were showing some of these beautiful shots there of cleveland and it appears to be a beautiful, sunny day there on the ground. we see the fox setup and the preparations are well underway. it is hard to believe we're already here in that point of the race. bill, great to have you here with us this morning. we will see you in a moment. thousands of people in california forced to evacuate as a major fire in wine country spreads at a dangerous rate.

the latest on containment efforts there. president trump is attacking the mainstream media accusing them of looking the other way when it comes to controversies surrounding joe biden. byron york will join us live on that next. >> president trump: it would be a tremendous thing for the mainstream media to really start reporting. i think your ratings would go through the roof. people really are tired of this fixed stuff that you don't even talk about it. blair. [ chuckles ] whoo. i'm gonna grow big and strong. yes, you are. i'm gonna get this place all clean. i'll give you a hand. and i'm gonna put lisa on crutches! wait, what? said she's gonna need crutches. she fell pretty hard. you might want to clean that up, girl. excuse us. when owning a small business gets real, progressive helps protect what you built with customizable coverage. -and i'm gonna -- -eh, eh, eh. -donny, no. -oh.

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>> bill: with the first presidential debate only a day away president trump talking about the media for not pressing joe biden's son hunter for his business dealings in ukraine and china. >> if we had a media that was fair, even reasonable, this would be the biggest story for years and years and years. then you would really be entitled to be full of surprises. not the fake committee that gives you fake awards. why did he get 3 1/2 million dollars? because joe was in on it. no way he wasn't. >> bill: byron york political correspondent and a fox news

contributor. byron, would you expect the president to bring up the hunter biden issue? if so would he do that in prime time? >> yes, i do expect him to bring it up. there is no doubt about it. he has made a big deal of it. he is very angry about press coverage of the revelations had report from senators ron johnson and charles grassley about hunter biden's business dealings not only in ukraine but around the world. one of the more interesting things they pointed out was that hunter biden's company received 3 1/2 million dollars from a russian billionaire who had connections to vladimir putin. many people thought that was big news. others did not. "the new york times" story on the report was republican inquiry finds no evidence of wrongdoing by biden report. little more than a rehashing of

unproven allegations that echoed a russian disinformation campaign. an enormous contrast of the coverage between so-called mainstream media and conservative media. the president will point that out. >> bill: a few things with joe biden's campaign director on sunday. play this sound bite and i'll bring up another point after that. >> he is not runner for fact checker in chief. he won't let donald trump misconstrue his record. what he will do is use the time to talk to the american people. tuesday night is an opportunity for people to see that joe biden is the leader who has a plan. >> bill: keep an eye on that. another writer writes the following. it could shake up the race the former v.p. finally gets grilled. voters know trump. they don't know biden 3.0. characterize that as you've been in washington for 47 years, byron.

>> that's pretty amazing. nearly half a century in public life and eight as vice president. i think two things to look for. the demeanor of both men. remember back in the 2016 republican debates trump would just han handle a lot of his opponents, newt gingrich compared him to the bear in a movie. we'll see in trump comes out loaded for bear like that. on the other hand remember in 2012 barack obama was running for reelection against mitt romney and really didn't prepare very hard for the first debate and really got clocked in that first debate. so he was clearly over confident, didn't prepare enough. could the president be in that situation? i really don't know. i think those are two things to look for in that debate. >> bill: one more topic here, amy coney barrett. chuck schumer said sunday he won't take a meeting with her. that's unusual but that is his

position. going back over time she was voted on three years ago in 2017, 7th circuit in chicago, illinois. joe manchin and tim kaine voted for her. how does that play during the confirmation hearing? >> i don't think process arguments are very effective in this. in other words, this is a highly qualified candidate here but we won't listen to her because we don't like the process involved. so any sort of democratic boycott of the confirmation i think would probably go over badly with the public. i think democrats and some of the press are learning a basic lesson in this confirmation. that a republican is in the white house and republicans control the senate. that is enough, they are united to confirm a supreme court nominee. >> bill: thank you, byron york with us today.

we'll talk tomorrow and see where we are then. back to sandra now. >> sandra: we're moments away from the opening bell on wall street watching u.s. stocks as they're on pace for a rally at the open following four straight weeks of losses over fears worsening over the pandemic. a live look at wall street as we await maria bartiromo. she will join us next. new evidence in the shooting death of breonna taylor raising more questions about that investigation. what we are learning now about the ballistics report from kentucky state police. that's next. >> they robbed the world of a queen. a queen willing to build up anyone around her. a queen who was starting to pay her taxes.

>> bill: it is 9:31 in cleveland, ohio, time for some of our top stories.

big day for two presidential candidates. president trump holds a coronavirus briefing later today where he is expected to talk about the nation's testing strategy. joe biden spends the day getting ready for the first presidential debate tomorrow night here in cleveland. >> sandra: thank you, bill. another major fire spreading through california's napa valley. the fast-moving blast fire already scorching at least 2500 acres. prompting mandatory evacuation orders across the region. >> bill: also a federal judge? washington, d.c. has ordered a temporary halt to president trump's tik tok ban largely a unilateral decision for very little opportunity for plaintiffs to be heard. president trump ordered the ban in august over fears that user's data here in the u.s. would be shared with chinese officials. >> sandra: big news that came last night. the bell ringing on wall street a few moments ago. the dow surging triple digits out of the open this morning

after suffering a four-week losing streak. there it is, the big board 420 point gain on the dow. maria bartiromo joining us now. host of sunday morning futures and mornings with maria on fox business network. it is tricky for the markets because we saw the recent sell-off as a result of some of the uptick in coronavirus cases we were seeing in some parts of this country but also abroad, england and other places. it is also balancing the hope of a vaccine coming by end of year. what are you seeing, maria? >> sandra, good morning to you. a big week this week not just the debate tomorrow night, but we also have jim comey in front of the senate judiciary on wednesday and the end of the third quarter. oftentimes when you see the end of a quarter, you see different positioning as money managers try to sell the losers and buy new winners and buy new stocks they perhaps hadn't owned in the quarter. i think that's what you are seeing with the rally this morning. don't forget you have wednesday the end of the third quarter,

end of a quarter where we did see a slow but sure recovery for the economy. we'll continue to see that going into the fourth quarter. i think today's rally of 400 points has more to do with just technical movements going into the end of the quarter and into the new fourth quarter as opposed to -- than any new optimism exists. we're looking at optimism for the economy. we have four weeks of selling for the stock market purely valuation based. the stock market had gotten ahead of itself. money managers came back going into the end of the quarter knowing they have better prices because of the four weeks of selling in the markets. i would look at today as technical. but tomorrow night when we have the debate we are going to see a market reaction likely on wednesday morning because depending on who comes out a winner there, depending on what wall street believes will be the policies that stick after this election, that will certainly drive earnings and that will drive the economy.

we will expect a reaction wednesday morning. ahead of that you are seeing backing and filling. money managers know it's the end of the quarter on wednesday. >> sandra: final question. has wall street priced in any particular candidate's victory? >> look, i think the market wouldn't be trading near record highs if investors didn't believe president trump gets reelected. if you expected that joe biden's $4 trillion of tax increases would actually take effect. earnings would take a hit. the economy would take a hit. individuals' money would take a hit and i expect we would see a sharp sell-off if there was a belief that joe biden would take president trump. right now wall street's message. there is always a message. the message of the market so far has been that the president gets a second term. >> sandra: real quick. >> the polls tell a different story. >> sandra: we'll watch the debate and reaction of the

stock market the day after. >> sandra: if businesses received loans there would be loan forgiveness. that is not happening. no forgiveness. small businesses on hook for rescue loans, banks say prophets for converting the loans into grants has been frustrating. they were told if they kept their employees on the payroll those loans would be forgiven. they're saying that's not happening? >> they sure were told that and that's why they kept those employees on the payroll. they thought that small business administration loan would be forgiven. look, as you know there has been confusion around this ppp program from the get-go. i think it's more about confusion as far as who wants the forgiveness and who doesn't. whose employees stayed and who didn't. eventually you will see loan forgiveness. right now you're in the stage we're not sure who needs it, where the applications are. there is a bit of confusion about it and that's where this is coming from. i do believe at the end of the day the sba will keep its word

and forgives the loans. >> sandra: frustrated for those small businesses struggling to survive right now. >> bill: meanwhile another weekend of deadly violence across chicago. 48 said to be shot. 7 dead. chicago sun times reports the deaths include mean between the ages of 17 and 66. 5-year-old girl also stabbed to death. according to reports in chicago, her mother was charged with first degree murder in the child's death there. body cam ra footage in the breonna taylor case raising questions. reports the ballistics analysis from the kentucky state police doesn't match claims by the attorney general daniel cameron a week ago. we sort through it. what does the new information perhaps tell us, bryan? >> good morning, breonna taylor's boyfriend kenneth walker while his lawyer says that ultimately that frankly

that -- police say he fired that first shot when officers went into breonna taylor's apartment. which caused the police to fire in self-defense. well, that attorney says frankly that the kentucky state police ballistics report shows they could not conclude that walker fired that first shot that hit officer jonathan mattingly. in fact, he says the ballistic report was inconclusive. the report reading due to limited markings of comparative value the 9 millimeter bullet that hit mattingly was not verified to be fired from walker's gun. last week the attorney general said ballistics showed that shot hit the officer. >> kenneth walker fired the shot that hit sergeant mattingly. there is no evidence to support that sergeant mattingly was hit by friendly fire from other officers. >> the attorney general said

last week they relied on fbi ballistics to determine who shot breonna taylor because their ballistics report was inconclusive. he did not say whether f.b.i. ballistic was used to find out who shot mattingly. new evidence appears to show former officer hankinson walking in and around taylor's apartment an active crime scene in the moments after the shooting against louisville police procedures that are designed to maintain the integrity of an active crime scene. all of this, bill, as breonna taylor's family is calling on all of the evidence to be released because they have questions they say they do not trust the investigation that was led by the a.g. and hankinson will be arraigned this afternoon facing three charges of wanton endangerment. >> bill: we're live in louisville, kentucky. >> sandra: a daring rescue caught on camera.

how buy standers helped police officers save a man's life. judge amy coney barrett's religious beliefs coming under scrutiny. is her personal life fair game? ken starr joins us next. oh, i will rescue you

>> zero reason to believe that judge barrett is somebody who has -- does not have the idea of the importance of healthcare. she is a working mother to school-age children. she is a mother to a child with a disability. she is a beloved teacher. very respected scholar. i think she has shown herself to be a thoughtful jurist and she is just a wonderful, warm, admirable human being.

>> bill: america is about to get to know her a lot better. that's justice scalia's son talking about amy coney barrett. her special life is under scrutiny from the life in a significant way. want to bring in ken starr former independent counsel and fox news contributor. i will pose the question this way. after bork and thomas and kavanaugh, what is relevant in these hearings when it comes to your personal life? >> zero. the constitution itself, bill, puts up a huge stop sign. it says stop, don't go there. article 6 of the constitution right after explaining that the supreme court must follow the constitution, that the constitution is the supreme law of the land. it then goes on to say and uses clear language, no religious

test shall ever be required. those are the words, no and ever you come up with never. so the constitution itself answers the question. one or two senators who suggested this was fair game, wrong, it is not only anti-constitutional, it is unconstitutional. more over, the supreme court of the united states has made it clear that that rule also applies to states. it applies everywhere, to your local community. you cannot be inquiring into religious faith and practice period, full stop. >> bill: so address this, josh hawley responded to some of the tweets that came out from the left and here is what he said in one of them. he said democratic activist and hill staffers questioning whether amy coney barrett illegally adopted her children from haiti, this is a

democratic game plan? nothing but raw bigotry and hate and it will not stand. how do you consider that in the setting of a hearing if it comes up? >> a senator has been elected to exercise his or her judgment. you can ask anything. what do you like for breakfast? there are questions that i believe out of bounds and if there is a serious issue about illegal conduct i think it is in bounds. but i cannot imagine that two very distinguished lawyers, amy coney barrett and her husband jesse, both very distinguished lawyers, would engage in illegal conduct. this is all rumor. from everything i know, it is utterly -- shame on these the secular humanists who seem to

enjoy assaulting faith and family. shame on them. can't you be kind? how about a little kindness as glen campbell would put it. let's calm it down and be decent to one another and treat her with dignity. >> bill: all those kids, seven of them -- october 12th hearings maybe a vote by october 30th. is that doable in this cycle? >> absolutely. it is up to the chair. it is up to lindsey graham. he gets to run the committee. elections have consequences and so here we are. some nominations in my lifetime have gone very, very quickly. supposedly controversial nominations, john paul stevens to replace william o. douglas. it can happen efficiently. it is up to the chairman.

i have great confident in lindsey graham to get the job done. >> bill: we shall see together. you don't know what kind of stuff -- if you know anything about brett kavanaugh a few months ago. talk to you later in the week. thank you for your time today. back to sandra now. >> sandra: thank you, bill. officials say they expect a surge in mail-in voting this year. why there are new concerns about the way those ballots will be counted. plus the rock gets political with an endorsement for one presidential candidate. >> now this is something that i have certainly not done in the past. so i'll go big. you guys know me. if i go, i go big. associate car. associate car. the different positions i've had taught me how to be there for others. ♪ i started out as a cashier. i mean, the sky's the limit with walmart.

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and raise property taxes w$11 billion a year? small businesses get saddled with big tax bills they can't pay. they're forced to cut jobs. or, pass on higher costs to consumers. that means we pay more for everything like gas, food, utilities and health care. and the cost of living in california gets even more expensive. now is the wrong time to raise taxes on californians. vote no on prop. 15. because it strengthens prop 13 for seniors, disabled veterans, wildfire victims, and family farmers. prop 19 also protects the right of parents to pass on the family home to their children at the current property tax rate. you worked hard for your house and you should be able to give it to your children

without a tax penalty. that's why taxpayer advocates, firefighters, veterans, and small business owners are voting 'yes' on prop 19.

>> sandra: early voting underway in some states. with the expected surge in mail-in ballots the focus shifts to how those votes are counted. william la jeunesse has more on that this morning. william, some of these states have already started counting the ballots. what are we seeing and hearing? >> counting is a controversial term but yes, 28 states already mailed out ballots and some have started processing. the problem is and the way many think we won't have a result for weeks is volume. in the last presidential election less than 10% of voters in 27 states voted by mail. this year that could be half. voters don't have the experience and states don't have the capacity to handle the volume. example, when a ballot arrives typically a machine will confirm the voter is register. then it or election worker will verify the signature that matches the one on file usually from dmv. none of the envelopes are open.

to a second envelope and the ballot. those are removed, sorted, boxed, scanned and sometimes tabulated but the vote stays secret. that process is time consuming. yet many states don't even start counting until election night. >> about half of the problems the end to do with the voter signature or signature of a witness. the earlier states are able to process the ballot and do signature matching and verification. the more time they will have to get back to those voters who may have made an error. >> these states get a jump and begin processing the moment ballots arrive meaning a quick result on election night. these states begin verification about a week before election day but officials in these states don't even start processing meaning the count until actually the election day. the legal fight over those votes could take weeks. >> it's tricky right before an

election to the way people vote or ballots handled. >> why not start early? the worry is that an early election count would be leaked bipartisan officials before the polls close and that would be a different election nightmare. sandra. >> sandra: oh boy, william, thank you. bill. >> bill: fox news alert. preparations underway at the moment here in cleveland. the first presidential debate goes down tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. sharp east coast time. what can tens of millions of americans expect? bret baier joins me in a moment straight ahead in cleveland. beautiful. but support the leg!

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hey! more mercy. save over 30 hours a month with intuit quickbooks. the easy way to a happier business. >> sandra: it is a a brand-new hour and here is what's happening insize "america's newsroom." final preparations are underway ahead of the presidential debate. >> president trump: he will be great in the debate. he has been doing it for 47 years. >> the glass fire burning more than 2500 acres spreading at a dangerous rate. it's creating critical risks for firefighters. >> every grandparent and parent's worst nightmare. joe montana and his wife

prevented an intruder from kidnapping their grandchild on saturday. >> sandra: more on those top stories in a moment. first back to our top story this morning. the 2020 campaign president trump and his democratic rival former vice president joe biden getting ready to meet face-to-face in their first presidential debate. it is happening tomorrow night in cleveland. that's where we find our very own bill hemmer. welcome back to a brand-new hour of "america's newsroom," i'm sandra smith and bill, great to have you for special coverage for couple of days. >> bill: i couldn't stay away, smitty. i couldn't do it. >> sandra: love it. >> bill: great to be back with you, sandra, today and tomorrow we'll be together in cleveland, ohio, i'm bill hemmer. in a moment we'll give you the lay of the land what we're learning on the campus of the cleveland clinic which is, as you know, one of the finest medical centers in the entire world and as a country we're really blessed to have these fine men and women working here at the clinic. in the meantime we have a major

milestone. the race for the white house. we're exactly five weeks before the election. both candidates gearing up for battle on the debate stage which will be watched by millions. both sides hoping to shake things up in their favor. the first face-off tomorrow night 9:00 eastern. moderated by our own chris wallace. sandra. >> sandra: peter doocy is live in cleveland. so peter, what does joe biden say his goal is for the big night tomorrow night? good morning. >> sandra, good morning. joe biden's motto for tomorrow night really short, four words long. >> just tell the truth. >> that's it. biden and trump will not be shaking hands, they won't even elbow bump as a covid-19 consideration. biden has been keeping a light schedule the last few days as he preps for tomorrow night's debate. trump's standin in wilmington

the bob bauer. a lot of the questions have been answers about possible conflicts of interest involving biden's son, hunter. >> it is going to be difficult. i know -- my guess is it will be just straight attack. they will be mostly personal. it's the only thing he knows how to do. he doesn't know how to debate the facts. he is not that smart. >> if trump makes a personal attack or if biden has a personal response, that would generally generate some sort of an audience reaction. that will be very limited tomorrow night. only about 100 people expected to be in the debate hall. >> sandra: dr. jill biden was asked about biden's gaffes. she said she didn't want to talk about it after donald trump was her answer. how much concern is there among the biden campaign about potential gaffes on the stage tomorrow night, peter? >> they -- we have a little bit of that here for you. they think it's all relative to the other person on stage.

>> your husband has been known to make the occasional gaffe. >> you can't even go there. after donald trump, you cannot even say the word gaffe. >> the biden campaign is not going to submit to a pre-debate performance enhancing drug test that president trump is pushing for telling us this. vice president biden intends to deliver his debate answers in words. if the president's best case is made in urine, he can have at it. and we don't expect to see the former v.p. anymore today. about 10 minutes ago the press pool traveling with him in wilmington advised the campaign has called a lid. no more in-person events until tomorrow. sandra. >> sandra: peter doocy on the ground in cleveland. thank you. >> the president has nominated me to serve on the united states supreme court. and that institution belongs to

all of us. if confirmed, i would not assume that role for the sake of those in my own circle and certainly not for my own sake. i would assume this role to serve you. >> bill: that was judge amy coney barrett speaking at the white house over the weekend on saturday after her big national announcement and introduction. president trump making her his supreme court pick, a showdown over that confirmation looming on capitol hill throughout the month of october. several senate democrats saying they refuse already to meet with the conservative judge. we're live at the supreme court to take us through that part of the story. who says at the moment i shall not meet with her? >> at this point it is the top senate democrat minority leader chuck schumer calling the process illegitimate. that being said there are still many democrats who believe that judge coney barrett has the

right to meet with them. one of them illinois senator dick durbin. >> i met with every supreme court nominee since i've been in the senate. i will extend that courtesy if she extends it for a socially distanced safe meeting perhaps over the phone. >> the president announced his pick 48 hours ago. republicans have an aggressive schedule on capitol hill to get her confirmed. hearings two weeks from today. >> we'll start on october 12th and more than half of the supreme court justices who have had hearings were done within 16 days or less. we'll start on the 12th of october. we'll have a day of introduction. >> as for judge barrett those who loved justice scalia are thrilled with the president's pick on saturday. not only do scalia and barrett have the same legal philosophy she clerked for him in 1998 inside the supreme court behind

me. barrett is a texturalist. interprets the words of the constitution word for word. proud catholic and pro-life. the senate confirmed her in october 2017 for the circuit court of appeals. 55-43. three democrats voted to put her on the appeals court bench. joe manchin said this time he will not vote for her. no question the clock is ticking one week from today. just one week the fall term of the supreme court begins. barrett will not be on the bench for that but the president and republicans want her on the bench before election day one week after election day, that's when the supreme court justices will hear the affordable care act. the clock ticking to transform judge amy coney barrett into supreme court justice amy coney barrett. bill. >> bill: what a time. remarkable, david, thank you from the supreme court in washington

>> sandra: health experts warning a big surge in coronavirus cases could be coming predicting easier transmission of the virus as more people begin to spend more time indoors amid colder temperatures. some states lift restrictions. according to johns hopkins university 21 states saw at least a 10% rise in cases over the last week. >> bill: federal judge has blocked the trump administration's ban on tik tok set today. the ruling gives the chinese-owned video sharing app more time to firm up a deal to partner with oracle and wal-mart. president trump saying it is a security threat. either sell to an american company or be barred from the country entirely. >> president trump: total fake news. made up, fake. we went through the same stories, you could have asked me the same questions four years ago.

i had to litigate and talk about this. total fake news. actually, i paid tax. >> sandra: president trump blasting "the new york times" report saying he avoided federal income taxes for 10 of the 15 years leading up to the 2016 election. the president is calling the report totally made up coming at a pivotal time before the first presidential debate. let's bring in chris stirewalt. how much does this report change things at this point in the race? >> i don't think that much. i don't think -- look, it's bad for trump because it has a number. $750. paying $750 for a guy who brags about being a billionaire. it won't make a lot of middle class taxpayers the specificity of the number and being able to grasp it. a lot of reporting on trump's taxes. the president pointed out "the new york times" went into -- frustrated by their inability

to get his taxes they went to his dad's taxes. that number $750 is one biden will club trump with. i don't think there is any bombshell or surprise. this is in keeping with expectations and i don't think it will change anybody's -- i don't think it will change very many people's points of view about the president and his reliability. >> sandra: this is from "the new york times" report and i'll put it on the screen. the tax returns that mr. trump has long fought to keep private tell a story different from the one he has sold to the american public. it portrays a businessman who takes in bibillions of dollars year and racks up chronic losses that he avoids paying taxes. kayleigh mcenany was on fox news earlier this morning and responded. listen. >> we've seen this play out before where there was a hit piece about the president's

taxes just before a debate and inaccurate one at that. this is the same playbook they tried in 2016. the same playbook that the american people rejected and will do so again. >> sandra: karl rove was on also this morning at the top of the 9:00 hour, chris. basically said if are you in joe biden's camp you believe he avoeded taxes and didn't pay taxes. if you're a trump supporter it doesn't concern you, fair? >> right. again, i don't think this is a mover. i don't think this moves people. you see why trump has worked so hard to keep them secret. if this would have come out in 2016 kayleigh mcenany is making -- if data of this specificity had come out in 2016 it would have badly damaged the image that trump was trying to create and broadcast to the american people. we know him now. good and bad for trump but he is a totally known commodity now. we see him and hear from imevery day. we've been through the wringer with him. we know trump.

there is nothing in here that changes anybody's perspective on who donald trump is as a person. >> sandra: chris, dozens of lawyers from three different law firms have been hired to dispute election results. have we ever seen anything like this or what we're about to see come election night? >> well, yes and no. on the one hand there has been a lot of media freak-out about all the lawyers. they will litigate this and do that. little secret to let the non-political press in on, every year armies of lawyers line up at state houses and every year parties pick lawyers and have commissions of lawyers in each state just in case, right? in every state or every state that might be a swing state each party has lawyers ready to go every four years in case there is litigation that's required so they have people to go do it. a lot of this is sort of the hyperventilateed disasterism of 2020 and it is kind of silly. on the other hand, this is very

much what the trump campaign has to angle for. the president's chances to win are based on winning another close election like he did in 2016. that means they have to be ready to do a 2000 florida in five states maybe, right? that for if we think about how close the margins were for trump in wisconsin, michigan and pennsylvania, they are going to need that again, right? not necessarily in those states but they'll need close wins in a bunch of places and will have to have a lot of lawyers out there trying to each ballot, right? we imagine this area as close as it was in wisconsin, say, that each ballot is so valuable and lawyers are going to aggravate each other over each and every one. >> sandra: we can only imagine at this point. chris, you are a man always full of surprises. and you have a very important role in the debate tomorrow night. tell us about it. >> well, my privilege but our viewers have a chance to have

an experience this time. through fox news democracy 2020 look for democracy 2020 go there. on debate night starting at 8:00 eastern time for our special coverage there will be a code you will see on your screen and hold up your phone, device, whatever that takes a picture of it and you can sync up so you can see realtime analysis, you can vote on how it is going, you can get trivia, you can get me. whether you ever wanted to watch a debate with me or not i don't know. but my colleague, the pride of the buckeye state chad pergram and i will be in there with a live chat back and forth 8:00 eastern we'll be there. you will like it. >> sandra: pop the popcorn. chris stirewalt, you'll be watching for sure. love it. >> bill: who needs a debate? [laughter] >> exactly. >> bill: i was just thinking, guys, you think about the role that cleveland has played in our national politics over the last five years, some of 2015,

the first debate where donald trump came on stage we had 17 candidates on our network. a year later republicans come back to this city to hold their convention in 2016. and here we are back in cleveland. cleveland clinic and case western reserve in the year 2020 to have debate number one. i mentioned, sandra, earlier, cleveland clinic we're so blessed to have the intellect and ability of so many men and women who work on this campus because they are -- when you think about the mayo clinic in rochester, minnesota and the cleveland clinic. during those covid times we have a small footprint for the fox news channel do covid tests every day. we're doing whatever we can to keep it safe for whoever we come in contact with. >> sandra: our thanks to chris stirewalt watching his analysis tomorrow night. bill, as an ohio guy i know you

love the attention the state is getting with this. >> bill: no doubt about that. from illinois when you get a day like this you feel like you're stealing one. we have a good one, too, sandra. in a moment here we'll get to the story that broke overnight. a car plowing through a crowd of protestors injuring at least two. what happened after that, what police are saying about the driver behind the wheel coming up. the first presidential debate between trump and biden one day away as both sides get ready to make their case. what do we expect? bret baier has a read on that and he is live with me next in cleveland. >> he prepares every day, maria. you see it as well as i do when he takes questions from very hostile reporters. attention veterans, today's all time low mortgage rates just dropped even lower. veterans who refi now can save three thousand dollars a year. with newday's va streamline refi, there's no income verification, no appraisal

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four years behind us. to end the anger, the insults, the division. and start fresh in america. i don't pledge allegiance to red states of america or blue states of america. i pledge allegiance to the united states of america. i'm gonna fight as hard for those who supported me as those who did not support me. we have a chance to put anger and division that has overtaken this country behind us. and we can. we've done it so many times in our history. we begun anew. we can get control of this virus. we can reward work. we can make healthcare affordable. we can be a safe and just nation.

we can deal with the existential threat of climate change. we can be what we are at our best. one nation, one people, one america. i'm joe biden and i approve this message.

>> one guy will show up thinking it's a boxing match. one guy will show up thinking it's the world wrestling federation. how those two people clash on the stage will be interesting. they are going to go at each other. the question is is somebody going to do something unusual when they get an attack from the opposition? >> bill: karl rove there.

sizing up tomorrow night's debate and how the candidates handle their first direct confrontation with millions listening to the answers. bret baier has some experience moderating presidential debates. how are you doing, my friend? let's start generally. what is your expectation if you were to guess right now a day and a half? >> one, people will pay attention. two, likely to be fiery and i moment we didn't see coming. three, i think that this is probably the biggest moment to change potentially the trajectory of this race. it has been pretty stable if you look at all the things that have happened. covid and everything else. the violence in different cities. the polls have stayed relatively the same. some battleground states have gotten a little tighter. but for the trump campaign, this is the moment to shake up the situation. and if he can do it, it will be a big moment heading into the rest of the campaign.

>> bill: joe biden's debate with paul ryan, it has been eight years. i thought biden was aggressive during that debate. i think he actually caught paul ryan offguard a little bit with his level of shall we say aggressiveness when they were sitting head-to-head. we'll see how that goes and whether or not he has the same fire. topics for wallace. the economy, race, violence in america and the integrity of the election. the format is intriguing. 15 minutes for each of those topics. we'll see how well chris can keep them on time on that. he will throw the question to donald trump number one, allow him to talk for two minutes and allow biden to respond and then the idea is to allow the two to engage. is that your understanding how it lays out? >> this is not a town hall. this is not an interview. this is a debate in which chris in his own words talking to us last week said his job is to facilitate and to get them

going at each other ideally on substance but on whatever and have those moments between the two of them. his ideal according to chris is that he would be in the back page much like jim lehrer was for all those debates who said there wasn't a moment where the moderator stepped in kind of -- he kept them in the rails but you didn't change the nature of the debate. i think that this -- for joe biden he wants to keep it on covid and the economy. for donald trump, he wants to keep joe biden off of his talking points and i expect a hunter biden and biden's brothers and all and tying joe biden to the left. ideally that's what the president wants to do. >> bill: a live look inside the debate hall we're at case western, cleveland clinic. is that the first time we've seen that? for a lot of people i guess it is. the peek -- the peculiar thing

is not a large live audience. only 100. that's not significant. for debate number three in las vegas you had at least 2,000 people and they were highly partisan on both sides. the challenge for wallace, he hosted that debate as well, was controlling the audience. i was in the hall and i remember him. if you dare even whisper during that debate, wallace turned around and scolded you. he wanted to make sure the audience did not take part. that won't be a part of this. i just wonder how that plays for inside the hall and the audience at home. >> i think it plays better for chris. he doesn't have to worry about doing that or having to do that. i think in the hall maybe it affects a little bit of the energy. but for the most part the energy is the two candidates. 90 minutes is a long time. you will go through a lot of topics in depth. the first time we've seen the hall on the inside but it looks

exactly the same as commission debates have going back years and years. and ideally in chris's view this is going to be something where you illuminate both sides, people decide what they are going to do based on what happens on the stage. >> bill: nice to see you here in cleveland. >> a good day here today. >> bill: fantastic. prime time coverage begins here on the fox news channel starting with special report at 6:00 eastern followed by the story with mohammed -- martha maccallum. there be will plenty to talk about after that. that's the scene for tuesday night. back to sandra now. >> sandra: looking forward to all that. hello to bret. joe montana was a hero on and off the field. why the hall of famer is being credited with stopping a kidnapping and with the first

presidential debate of 2020 just one day away now, we take a look back at some of the memorable debate moments of the past. >> i am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience. [laughter] [applause] i'm greg, i'm 68 years old.

i do motivational speaking in addition to the substitute teaching. i honestly feel that that's my calling-- to give back to younger people. i think most adults will start realizing that they don't recall things as quickly as they used to or they don't remember things as vividly as they once did. i've been taking prevagen for about three years now. people say to me periodically, "man, you've got a memory like an elephant." it's really, really helped me tremendously. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. >> sandra: it is the bottom of the hour.

time for our top stories. ballistics report raising new questions in the breonna taylor case. kentucky state police say they can't be sure the bullet this hit an officer was fired from the gun of taylor's boyfriend. all this despite the attorney general saying his office had established that taylor's boyfriend fired and hit one of the officers first. >> bill: also sandra rising temperatures, dry winds threaten to create dangerous fire conditions in the west. sparts of california facing the most critical danger. red flag warnings are issued in utah and the state of new mexico. >> sandra: in maryland a man has been sentenced to a year in jail after he threw two large parties that defied the state's coronavirus restrictions. the 42-year-old was convicted of failing to comply with an emergency order. >> bill: back here live in cleveland, ohio, the campus of the cleveland clinic. first debate goes down tomorrow

night. a big opportunity for each candidate to make their case to millions of voters in the homestretch of their campaign for better or for worse. jackie heinrich looks back from make and break moments from presidential debates we've watched in the past. >> there will be covid tests and social distancing but also be a live audience. albeit a small one at tuesday's face-off between president trump and former vice president joe biden making for what may be the most familiar element of an election changed by a pandemic. for one of the white house hopefuls it is factor unseen for months. biden strictly following public health guidelines hasn't addressed a crowd since march. trump has rallies after just three months. presidential debates are made for the home audience and have been since 1960. when john f. kennedy and richard nixon but the first debate to the screen. some say it cost nixon the

election. sweating heavily under lights he never appeared at ease next to the young senator who took time to prepare with the studio heads. nixon wouldn't be the only candidate to lose his lead after a performance. >> there is no soviet domination of eastern europe and there never will be under a ford administration. >> his gaffes denying the iron curtain sent his national security advisor to the "new york times" to a klirfication too late to save reelection. just as debates can break a campaign they can make one. ronald reagan had a wise crack making his opponent chuckle. >> i won't exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience. [laughter] also employed by george bush without so much as a word. >> can you get things done? i believe i can. >> al gore tried to intimidate

him. although body language can make headlines sometimes the unconventional wins. president trump's disrupter image was so relished. >> president trump: nobody has more respect for women than i do, nobody. nobody has more respect. >> it left little room for shock in the debates. >> president trump: you would be in jail. >> secretary clinton -- >> after four years in front of a firing squad of reporters trump has become adept in selling his message in just about any scenario. expecting high expectations for himself and a low bar for -- >> president trump: sleepy joe biden. >> his third presidential run and shaking off this image for years. >> biden is a gaffe machine. can you reassure voters in this country you would have the discipline you would need on the world stage, senator? >> yes.

>> his last face-off with a republican was well received. >> with all due respect that's a bunch of malarkey. >> that was eight years ago the former vice president surprised critics in democratic primary debates. since locking up the nomination biden has taken few reporter questions and unlike president trump he rejected chances to sit with our moderator chris wallace for an interview. >> bill: we wait and see what the big moment will be for tomorrow night and no one can predict that. jackie heinrich reporting there. >> sandra: thank you, bill. legendary nfl quarterback joe montana confronted a home intruder over the weekend after the burglar allegedly tried to kidnap his grandchild. joining us with details is charlie shimkus. a crazy story. tell us about it. >> this is every parent and grandparent's worst nightmare. it took place on saturday. montana told police his 9-month-old grandchild was

sleeping in a playpen in their living room when a woman he never seen entered his home, grabs the baby. walks upstairs with the child. in comes joe montana and his wife. they tried to de-escalate the situation. when the woman wouldn't give their grandchild back, according to police a tussle ensued and jennifer montana pride to baby out of this woman's arms. she then fled the home. doesn't get far. police catch up to her. she is now in custody facing burglary and kidnapping charges. >> sandra: he has responded and put out a statement yesterday saying scary situation. thankful that everybody is doing well. we appreciate respect for our privacy at this time. he and his wife married since 1985. four adult children. he is a super grandpa. what a horrific story. apparently there was a door left unlocked according to the police reports. tough story.

>> absolutely. i know they call him joe cool because he is cool under pressure. i think they need to also call jennifer cool for her hand in getting the grand baby back. but yeah, really scary situation. authorities identified the suspect as 39-year-old. she is in custody right now. >> sandra: his wife is credited for de-escalating the situation and got that person to hand back over their grandchild. glad that happened. thank you. >> bill: word from the white house now. kristin fisher moments ago reporting about the 2:00 rose garden event at the white house. that will be an update from the president on coronavirus testing and the strategy including what we're told is an announcement about a new initiative to deploy covid-19 testing nationwide especially to specific populations which you could assume would be in all likelihood schools and perhaps nursing homes especially.

there is a 2:00 event in the rose garden. we don't know now if he will take questions but there is another event possibly at a 5:00 briefing later today at the white house as well. that's what we're getting on the day before the debate from the president and his schedule at the white house. stand by for all that. we shall wait and watch together. >> sandra: maybe pack a few more things into these couple of days, bill. president trump and democratic nominee joe biden preparing for the first presidential debate. it is happening tomorrow night but how much prep really is each candidate actually doing? trump 2020 campaign communications director will join us next. >> the president has been in a debate for four years with a media that is relentless. he always talks to them. i try to put my arm around any vet that i can, absolutely. at newdayusa that's what we're doing. we put our arm around the veterans. when i think of the veteran out there that needs to refi his home, he may want to purchase, we can help them and provide that financial solution

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sort of see everything that they will be asking. >> look, i'm used to dealing with bullies. rather than say how i'll do, watch me. i'm not a bad debater. we'll see. >> sandra: the presidential debates is one day away and the two candidates are preparing in different ways. president trump as you heard says he is preparing every day in his role as president. while democratic nominee joe biden has his process has been his decades in government. for more on that and what we can expect tomorrow night erin perrine joining us, the 2020 trump campaign press communications director. what is the debate prep on the part of the president? >> thank you for having me. the president is preparing for the debate. you heard him address it yesterday and time and again. there is no better way to prepare for a debate of ideas of what policy positions mean and what the future of america

looks like than actually being the president of the united states. he is crisscrossing the country talking to voters, preparing for the debate as well and leading the country. he knows what is at stake in this debate. you will see him show up tomorrow for what will be a very exciting debate between in the and former vice president joe biden. >> sandra: i hear you saying preparing for the debate as well. can you give us details sf fox news is reporting that the former obama standing in for mock performances with joe biden. does anybody the president is working with have standing in for joe biden? >> a team of people helping him prepare for this debate and our campaign manager and rudy giuliani and chris christie making sure the president is ready to go. we've all seen president trump debate before. he is a very strong debater and know joe biden has debated for 47 years over 30 debates and 11

alone in the democrat primary. the media has always declared joe biden the winner coming out of his debates as the vice presidential candidate. we know the president will be prepared for this. he knows what's at stake and he is ready to go. >> sandra: when you look at the topics that chris wallace has prepared in nod rating this debate it is obviously the supreme court showdown, the coronavirus pandemic, the economy, protests and violence, election integrity, etc. joe biden says his plan is to fact check the president live on that stage tomorrow night. what does the president believe will be his biggest challenges on the stage with joe biden? >> the biggest challenge is going to be whether or not joe biden answers the question directly or continues to do what he has done which is duck and dive and dodge on his record because he has 47 years of failure versus president trump's 47 months of success for the american people. joe biden hasn't had to be pressed on a question in quite some time from reporters who

ask him how he is feeling and why he isn't more angry with the president. where the president gets asked incredibly hostile questions all the time. the american people for the first time will see joe biden have to contrast and defend his failed policies including the fact that he wants to open the borders, allow for free healthcare for illegal immigrants. ban fracking in the united states. he has to defend all of that and get pushed on it. that's what we are hoping will happen here and that's the biggest challenge. >> sandra: erin, the president tweeted out joe biden just announced he won't agree to a drug test. gee, a wonder why. a strategy on the president to continue to push for this. we spoke to the debate commission yesterday saying this is not even close to being a consideration on the part of the commission. so why does the president keep going down that road? >> listen, joe biden has his good days and his bad days and there is a question to be asked about what is going on and how he shows up so well sometimes and other times he doesn't.

so the president asked for it and that's something that we wished the debate commission had considered more seriously. >> sandra: response on "the new york times" tax report on the president. >> oh, well, i mean this is clearly "the new york times" and the media going back to the same old well from 2015. it didn't work then and it didn't work now. the president and his attorney have said it is false. there is no truth to that. "the new york times" did not show where they got documentation from or let us see it to be able to respond. it's the same thing over again from 2015. the media talking about his taxes, nancy pelosi talking about impeachment and adam schiff talking about russia. it didn't work then and it won't work now. >> sandra: thank you. >> bill: amy coney barrett facing increased attacks from the left after she was announced for the pick by the president over the weekend. is the criticism fair? we talk to someone who knows her very well.

that guest is coming up next live.

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>> bill: judge amy coney barrett now facing heat from democratic lawmakers and activists over how much her faith conforms her judicial philosophy and taken shots at her family. seven kids all minors. want to bring in john adams, former clerk for judge barrett. good morning to you. you clerked with her for about a year. tell us about her. what is she like as a boss? let's beginning there, john. >> good morning. great to be with you. it's been all downhill from here since i haven't been able to spend time with her. a remarkable boss. an unrivaled sense of humanity

and humility and great sense of humors. she will make a great supreme court justice. >> bill: here is the "wall street journal" op-ed. they write today the importance of amy coney barrett the judge can solidify -- the political left is portraying judge barrett as a radical who will easily dismiss precedent especially on abortion. this is what they say about every conservative and they're wrong. the phrase you use is settled law. what do we know forfr* her record on the 7th circuit in chicago to tell us whether she respects precedent or not? >> she absolutely respects precedent. look at her extensive judicial record. she participated in over 600 cases and prolific legal scholarship where she discusses the importance of precedent and how it should be viewed. >> bill: okay. can you give us an example of a

case that she ruled on that would give us bread crumbs on what we could expect maybe during a senate hearing in two weeks? >> she wrote a very significant and important decision on the second amendment where she took an originalist support and analyzed supreme court precedent and other second amendment cases. an area of the law that's fairly new and applied her originalist framework. she did it in a very incisive way but clear legal reasoning and clear writing. the type of significant analysis that will make her a wonderful jurist in the years to come. >> bill: could you frame up what her faith means to her? there has been an issue out there already during her hearings in 2017 and senator feinstein from california, how did she answer that question?

>> her faith means a lot to her as a person. she has also made clear her faith has no bearing in her role as a judge. in facts, she has stated many times and she taught me as one of her law clerks that a good judge does not only writes the results she reaches. she is a principle judge or personal preference have no consideration how she decides cases. instead she approaches each case with an open mind and a foundational commitment to the idea either side might be right. she applies only what the law requires. >> bill: she has an amazing track record at notre dame. that's on the record. she is 48, family of seven kids. and 15 or 20 seconds how would you summarize how she has been able to rise this quickly within the legal world? >> i don't think it's a mistake she has been able to rise this quickly. as you stated she is an amazing

person but prolific legal scholarship and amazing judicial record in the few years. she has been able to convince her more seasoned colleagues on the court and other circuit courts throughout the country. it is no surprise she is here now. >> bill: we're getting to know her in many ways. thank you for being on here today. john adams. best name of the day. we'll learn more about her. thank you for being here. >> sandra: fox news alert now from cleveland. the stage is set. chris wallace will host the first presidential debate happening tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. eastern. how both candidates are preparing for the big night. ve . using their va benefits, veterans who refi at newday can now save $3000 dollars a year with the va streamline refi. at newday there's no income verification, no appraisal,

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>> sandra: the first presidential debate of 2020. it is happening in cleveland, ohio tomorrow night. the political world this morning focusing on a "new york times" report describing president trump's chronic losses and avoidance in taxes. the president slamming that report calling it totally made up. welcome to a brand-new hour of "america's newsroom," everyone. i'm sandra smith. we welcome our friend bill hemmer on the ground in cleveland ahead of the big night tomorrow. hey, bill. >> bill: you thought you got rid of me, didn't you? great to be back with you, smitty. i'll be here today and tomorrow and see what we get tomorrow night. welcome back, i'm bill hemmer.

good monday morning. the biden campaign here in cleveland hitting president trump over "the new york times" report with a new commercial mocking the president. here is donald trump junior defending his father saying that report does not tell the entire story. listen. >> understand what goes into a business. it doesn't include property taxes. it doesn't include payroll taxes or real estate taxes, it doesn't include so many of the things that he has been paying taxes on forever as he is putting thousands and thousands of people to work on an annual basis. but of course "the new york times" does this. they put out a selective picture of all of these things. the day before a debate to try to give someone like joe biden an attack line. they come up with catchy sound bites and that's the game. >> bill: team fox coverage. griff jenkins is with us in cleveland with a debate preview. begin from news at the white house. kristin fisher has it covered from the north lawn. how is the president getting

ready for tuesday night, kristin, good morning >> good morning. the president is holding some mock debates. he brought chris christie and rudy giuliani into the briefing room yesterday saying they've been sharing the role of joe biden. but aside from that, president trump says he isn't doing all that much because he believes that every day when you are president is a debate prep day. when you are fielding questions with the white house press corps. heading into tomorrow's debate one of the biggest issues as you all were saying will be this big "new york times" report about the president's taxes. the paper says that it has obtained more than two decades worth of the president's tax information and here is what it claims it found. that the president paid no federal income taxes in 11 of 18 years. in 2017 the year after he became president, he paid just $750 in federal income taxes and within the next four years within $300 million in loans will come due.

the president trump just responded to this report moments ago by saying the fake news media, just like election time 2016 is bringing up my taxes and all sortsz of other nonsense with illegally obtained information. i paid millions of dollars in taxes but entitled to depreciation and tax credits. so that is how he is going to be defending this. at the same time you have the biden campaign already really drilling down on the $750 that the paper says the president paid in 2017 by dropping an ad. this ad comparing that figure to the typical income tax for an elementary school teacher and construction manager was $16,000. >> not only paying $750 in taxes and saying things like it makes me smart that i do that. it contributes to this larger sense that we have from donald trump that he looks down on working people. he calls them losers, he calls

them suckers. >> president trump says he will release his tax returns once this audit is over. that's the excuse he gave four years ago as to why he would not release his tax returns. he is doing it again in 2020. he says when the audit is complete he looks forward to releasing them. that certainly will not be before tomorrow's debate. >> bill: thank you. from the north lawn. more news later today. thank you, kristin for that. >> sandra: president trump and former vice president joe biden preparing for their first face-off happening tomorrow night live in cleveland and the traditional debate platform will be adapting for the coronavirus pandemic, of course, griff jenkins is live in cleveland. is the debate between donald trump and joe biden look anything like previous debates? of course no handshake when they walk on the stage. >> yeah, let me tell you, it will be a get your popcorn ready kind of event, sandra. it will not disappoint, i don't think.

if anything we've seen so far, it will be a lead-up to tomorrow night. it will look almost entirely different from what we've seen from start to finish in the past. no hand shack or elbow bump. the candidates will be socially distanced. they won't be wearing masks and a live audience but more limited than what we've seen in the past. the commission of presidential debates says there are 100 people. all of them will be tested before they go in the hall behind me. at the end of it all, sandra, a tradition goes away. no spin room. there will be surrogates on hand for the networks to do media interviews afterwards. it appears the spinning has already begun. watch. >> i think if the only thing that donald trump has to offer the american people on tuesday night are personal insults and interruptions and rude asides. that says a lot about him. >> joe biden should be good at the debate. i'm worried about joe biden the

other 22 hours of the day where he can't seem to leave the basement. >> tomorrow night 90 minutes long, no commercials broke into up six 15-minute segments. the topics are trump and biden records, supreme court, coronavirus, economy, race and violence in america and integrity of the election. late breaking news on taxes or the joe biden drug test request anything might come up. it will likely be quite fiery. wallace is weighing in and saying he wants to remain as invisible as possible to get the candidates to engage in the issues. >> sandra: here we go. one day and nine hours and 53 minutes and we'll see it happen. >> bill: just last hour, sandra, just last hour president trump pushing for joe biden to take a drug test. either before or after tomorrow

night's debate. the former v.p.'s previous performances have been uneven suggesting drugs may have been the cause. guy benson, political editor and host of the guy benson radio show. how do you size up that issue? >> hi, bill. first of all i want to say it's good to see you back in the old newsroom stomping grounds even for a day or two. it feels somehow right. as for this drug test line, right, it's a head scratcher for me. a little misty filing to me. he has been chirping about this for weeks that there should be a drug test before the debate. i'm not really sure that gains much traction or that any americans believe joe biden is taking performance-enhancing drugs. he is not really campaigning very much at all. i think the line that we hear from donald trump junior saying he is spending so much time off the campaign trail barely doing anything, that might be a better line of attack here in

terms of setting expectations or trying to put things in context. the other thing the trump campaign might say what we've heard throughout september is when they've been calling these lids, the term in politics many days in a row. i saw 40% of all the days in september there has been a lid called in the morning where there is no more public events for joe biden. the democrats are saying he is doing debate prep. with all the debate prep he has done and 50 years in washington it should lead him to the greatest debate performance in the history of man. i would be surprised if we saw that. >> bill: you know about the tax story, it is out there. dropped last night "the new york times." a couple things on that. kayleigh mcenany with the response earlier today on "fox & friends" says the following. >> this is the same playbook they tried in 2016. the same playbook the american people rejected. will do so again.

the president is focused on the issues and the american people right now. >> bill: we heard a similar response to sandra's interview last hour. here is what "the new york times" writes. it's a long piece. here is part of it. one very simple takeaway from a complicated "new york times"s poe say analyzing two decades of the president's tax return data, $750. that's how much he paid in both 2016 and 17. the $750 figure may stick in the minds of blue collar voters who earn far less than the president and pay far more in federal taxes. democrats hope they can turn any field of injustice to their advantage. do you think it makes a difference the way it's laid out now, guy? >> it might because there is a big push on it. i think that donald trump should have released his taxes years ago. a basic function when you are running for president if you

want to be transparent to the american people. you could have gotten headaches out of the way years ago. he made a different choice. it is possible that people will say bring out the tax form from last year. i paid more than this guy did. he says he is a billionaire. how is that fair? perhaps. on the other hand, we saw last cycle four years ago this exact issue come up during a debate with hillary clinton in front of tens of millions of people where she said in the few years we have seen there have been times where you, donald trump, have paid zero in federal income tax and trump was that makes me smart. i took advantage of the system. this was sort of adjudicated four years ago. i guess we have more information that shows and confirms what trump was saying back then was true. and it's a big to do right before a debate this time. we'll see if it has more impact this time around. >> bill: 30 seconds i have left.

what do you expect tomorrow night, guy? >> you know, i think the first hour of tomorrow night's debate could be the most important hour of this campaign. it has been an incredibly stable campaign in the polling. now for months on end. huge events have not really disrupted the polling at all. the national polling including the supreme court vacancy. if joe biden can come out and be fine for the first hour, i think that he is solidifying his position as the frontrunner. if he has significant stumbles that go to the question of fitness, that might be a lifeline to a trump campaign that needs to stage a comeback. >> bill: talk to you on the radio later in the week. guy benson with us today. thank you. nice to see you, guy. back here in cleveland, the cleveland clinic if you recall two months ago notre dame was supposed to have this. they punted because of covid concerns and bringing students

back on campus. the clinic stepped in right away and case western reserve. we've been here before many years ago with then vice president dick cheney here in cleveland, ohio. so the clinic has done a great job. covid testing all around. a lot of masking and sanitizing everywhere. ohio has had an interesting experience with covid. hope to talk to the governor later in our program at 3:00 eastern time. ohio clamped down very early. just about every other state. they've done a good job of keeping the curve low. it has popped up in a few smaller communities in the state. you have a lot of college towns throughout the area. that is in terms of cases. not over hospitalizations and fatalities. overall the governor would give himself an a for keeping ut under control. small businesses, bars and restaurants they've taken hits like every other community in america. they felt it. >> sandra: news coming in.

the pool was gathered on the lawn at the white house and the president was taking a look at a truck that pulled up. peter navarro is there as well and senator portman on the ground. as they were serving this truck as part of the employees that gathered to talk about the president working with gm to make all this happen, as you know, the president was out there looking forward to the debate tomorrow night? and the president said yes. it was a one word answer. so we'll have that for you and turn it around and play it for you. but not much more than that. it was a -- >> bill: one thing about these -- sorry, sandra. just a bit of a delay here. i call it the covid delay. usually when you get a president who is going for a second term history tells you whether it's reagan or bush or obama, that they're not really on top of their game in debate number one. i'm not saying that's the case tomorrow night.

i think the difference between these two men. trump is taking questions every day whether the briefing room or south lawn of the white house. i don't know if you can make that same case with regard to him and how he handles himself with the media every day. we'll find out together tomorrow night. joe biden has put a lid on his campaign often in the month of september trying to get ready for the debate. we'll see together how that turns out. whether it is a repeat of his re or not. >> sandra: things moved slowly during covid shutdown and here we are the first presidential debate happening in cleveland tomorrow night. bill, we'll leave it there and have the president's word for you from the white house in just a moment. meanwhile wildfire spreading fast in california wine country and brand-new details coming up. new information about president trump's remarks that will be happening this afternoon. what he is expected to say about coronavirus testing and we're also learning more about democrat strategy and judge amy

coney barrett's confirmation hearings. donna brazile will join us on that next. hey, donna. >> they are shoving this person down our throat so i'm preparing for her at the confirmation hearing to ask her the questions that i need to ask. for so long.

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>> bill: another weekend of deadly violence in chicago. at least 50 people were shot. seven of them died. five of the victims were 20 years old or younger. there were also two people stabbed to death including a 5-year-old girl. police are charging the girl's mother with her murder. that's in chicago. bullets flying in new york city's tribeca last night during an armed robbery at a sneaker store in the swanky manhattan neighborhood downtown. near an $18 million townhouse and suspects seen running away from the scene. not sure whether the grammy winner tailor swift was home. >> sandra: the democratic party

weighs its strategy for the confirmation hearing. >> see to it the american people will vote on the senate races and vote republicans out of office. that's the consequence. >> sandra: donna brazile joining us now. a fox news contributor. donna, good to see you. good morning. thanks for being here live from cleveland we see. >> thank you. >> sandra: so what about that warning from joe biden and democrats? push her through and you'll suffer the consequences in the senate. >> you know, there is no precedent ever in american history to rush through a nominee on the court. this is a very important time in our country and a time of hyper polarization. why not wait until after the election? we know the senate has the votes to confirm her. i want to say this. i was born in new orleans and i grew up and went to school in new orleans. we never crossed paths.

she has made some controversial statements on issues i care about. no reason to rush through this nomination. no reason as a time when we're suffering. where millions of americans have been infected by this virus. we're not rushing through saving people, saving their jobs and healthcare. instead we're rushing through yet another -- it's why democrats are upset. >> sandra: do you think the democrats would do the same if the party were flipped and democrat was president and republicans wanted to stop this process? >> no, it's not the way we operate. mcconnell set the principles in 2016. he is not even talking about the principle. all he wants is judges, judges, judges. that's what the republicans want and why the democrats will fight like hell just to make sure they can ask as many questions. three days and not three months. i don't understand it. we understand one thing. we want to protect the affordable care act. >> sandra: you don't question

the constitutional obligation and right of the president to do this. >> absolutely we never question that when president obama selected someone 280 days out. but yes, we are going to question the fact that senator mcconnell is violating the principle he set and use it against every senate candidate and everybody else who is running. if you set one principle why overturn it some less than 40 days before the election? >> sandra: really important words from ken starr earlier on this program, donna. talking about the interjection of faith and personal life for a supreme court justice. he said full stop. there cannot be a religious test of this judge to be confirmed as a supreme court justice. are democrats still going to go there? >> well, as you know in the 2017 confirmation process there was questions over some of the comments she made at a

commencement speech. i remember when sandra sotomayor was during her confirmation process and i was on another network and i had to explain all of her religious and personal views. even the way she made dressing. i'm not surprised that some people will bring up the fact she has made these comments in the past. as a practicing catholic. we grew up in the same neck of the woods in the suburbs of new orleans. i have respect for her catholic faith but how she applies it to law, i won't mess with her record. >> sandra: respect for the process we all as americans want to see happen, donna. i'll put up on the screen democrats who have already said that they won't even meet with her. among them hirono, blumenthal. gillibrand and schumer said not even going to do it. not worth it. why do that? >> i wish i had my chart here

today. i will show you all the republicans who wouldn't give merrick garland the time of day. it is just wrong. less than 40 days before the election. it is what it is and therefore we're going to have to prepare. i'm glad i'm not a senate staffer. god knows forget the holidays, forget the election. you have to focus on making sure you go through all her current cases, former cases, speeches and recipes. if she made gumbo different than my mama i'll be upset. >> >> sandra: final thoughts on joe biden saying this on whether or not he would be in support of expanding the court. listen. >> i know you are going to be upset with my answer. but what i'm not going to do is play the trump came. if i were to say yes or no to that, that becomes a big issue. that's the headline here. >> sandra: you can expect a lot

more of this on the debate stage tomorrow night. supreme court and what both candidates plan to do if they have the presidency for the next four years, donna. preview of tomorrow night. what do you think happens? >> well, you know, i'm excited because of chris wallace. someone who has been on many sunday shows with chris wallace, he is not just a great journalist and professional but he knows how to get to the kernel of the truth. i'm suspecting chris wallace won't let the candidates waffle or run out the clock. he is going to ask precise questions and going to do a follow-up. that's what i know about chris wallace. bring your a-game to this debate. chris wallace is not going to let you get away with nonsense. >> sandra: we are all looking forward to it. donna brazile. great to talk to you this morning. thank you. >> sandra, i want to know what kind of -- i will dig down into

the recipes with judge barrett. i won't get into the judicial stuff. i'm not a lawyer. >> sandra: it's crawfish etufay. >> you have to put the peppers in there. sugar. leave the carrots for another kind of soup. >> sandra: down in louisiana it's all about the roux. >> bill: you guys nailed it. my grits go to butter and sugar. is that allowed? >> oh, sugar in your grits? put some cheese in there. >> bill: okay. thank you, donna. thank you, sandra. in a moment here the white house employing a team of knife fighters to defend supreme

court nominee judge amy coney barrett. details on their plan for an aggressive confirmation battle plus a record number of americans expected to vote by mail but there are key differences between an absentee ballot and mail-in voting. what you need to know before you send in that ballot coming up. >> democrats need to get their act together in the states doing mass mail-out voting. trash cans and what we saw in nevada's primary is not an acceptable way to do an election. veteran homeowners: newday's helping thousands of veterans

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>> sandra: bottom of the hour. time for top headlines. wildfire blowing up at a dangerous speed in california. it broke out yesterday in wine country. napa and sonoma counties. within hours the flames had torched foursquare miles and still getting bigger. >> bill: final preps are underway for the first presidential debate tomorrow night in cleveland. showdown set to be unlike any

other. the ongoing pandemic, no handshakeing. a handful of people be inside. >> sandra: now a story you will only see on fox. the president's supreme court pick does not have the white house on the defensive. instead a force of so-called knife fighters is already on the offensive aggressively going against anyone who attacks amy coney barrett with lies or character assassination. mark meredith for us outside the white house. what more can you tell us about the game plan here? >> president trump made it clear he wants his nominee confirmed before election day. that's only 35 days away. the sources are telling foxnews.com that the white house is going to be taking an offense strategy for judge amy coney barrett. the president when he announced the pick made it clear he wants the senate to focus on her resume not the political climate going on. easier said than done with some

senators already announcing they don't have plans to meet with judge barrett face-to-face. fox has told white house counsel and chief of staff are going to be the main liaison for judge barrett on capitol hill. meadows left congress to join the administration earlier this year. the white house communications staff will be responsible for rolling ot barrett's resume to the public and senate including white house press secretary kayleigh mcenany as well as senior aides. we heard from kayleigh mcenany earlier today on fox business. >> we have a compelling case for making this. the constitution is the mostly cloudy compelling case. they're trying to frame this nominee before getting a chance to hear from her and it's -- >> no stranger to supreme court battles as they saw two nominees get confirmed in the first term. the timing is interesting.

no room for error. those hearings are set to begin in mid-october. >> sandra: october 12th, monday. mark meredith, thank you. >> her catholic faith a core value and central to questions about how she would rule on issues like abortion. >> a favorite of religious con cove tifshs. >> sandra: she is a mother of seven. a very warm presentation in the public space. how do you fight that? >> bill: mother of seven. impressive. the battle in the confirmation of amy coney barrett started before she was nominated. "newsweek" ran the following headline and corrected the original. how charismatic catholic groups

inspire the handmade'stale. a long list of tweets fired off on saturday that have since been deleted. what do you make of this so far? >> it's remarkable. i'm looking at the story right now. the thing about corrections, bill. in this case, news weeks' case, they got it wrong. the author of that said no, the people of praise didn't inspire the tale. "newsweek" runs the story anyway and at the end of the story do you see the correction. if you are a reader, absorb everything being alleged and at the end does it tell you everything you read is wrong. maybe put the correction at the top of the story or delete the story if it's that wrong in this case in order to tar a supreme court justice in this case. >> bill: one more point on this. blumenthal tweeted barrett's views would harm real lives real people in real ways.

talking about healthcare and abortion. i'm fighting for them. how do you make that case with seven children all minors? >> remarkable, bill, right? yeah, not just seven children but two who are actually adopted from haiti. you see some democratic operatives on social media actually questioning whether those adoptions were valid. so i see what happened in 2018 i'm old enough to remember the movie with brett kavanaugh with a woman who represented by michael avenatti was put on national television to allege that brett kavanaugh was party to parties that included gang rape. only afterwards in this case nbc did they say oh, by the way, we can't verify any of these claims. they put her on tv for an extended interview anyway. hopefully we won't go down that road again. given the vitriol we're seeing

from both sides that any allegation set forth against amy coney barrett probably won't be vetted. particularly if it's scandalous enough. that's what gets you clicks and ratings depiet the fact that you mislead your viewers and readers completely. i wish i could say it won't happen again but the precedent says it probably will, bill. >> bill: stand by. a long october on this issue. meanwhile the debate number one tomorrow night. i hope you can hear me. here is the co-chair of the commission on presidential debates from sunday. >> we want a debate between the two principles. they are the ones we want to go back and forth at each other. the moderator should be a facilitator. there are fact checkers in every newspaper, every network, there are talking heads if someone said something wrong. it is not our job to be fact checkers. >> bill: that from sunday afternoon from sandra in new york. what do you make of the fact

checking claim that many have suggested chris wallace should become? >> he should not be engaging that in any way, shape or form. 2012 and the second presidential debate between president obama and mitt romney. romney had the momentum going into that debate and wiped the floor in the first debate. and then he made an allegation right to president obama at the town hall debates going back and forth and said president obama didn't initially call the attacks on the u.s. consulate in benghazi and act of terror. out of nowhere candy crowley the moderator sided with obama and declared romney was wrong. that gave president obama all the momentum he needed that night and going forward. afterwards when very few people were watching relatively it was the moderator in crowley who said mitt romney was right. if you fact check you better get it right. chris wallace won't engage in that and a reason why he was invited back here. he knows he want be the focus.

it can't be about him. i was a big enough dork, i watched the 2016 debate he moderated. the questions were tough but fair and professional. chris wallace knows what he is doing, bill. >> bill: thank you, joe. nice to see you today, joe concha, more to come. >> sandra: the new supreme court nominee amy coney barrett says if she is confirmed, she will follow the philosophy of the late justice scalia. what does that say about her future rulings? judge andrew napolitano is on that next. >> i clerked for justice scalia more than 20 years ago. but the lessons i learned still resonate. his judicial philosophy is mine, too. this week on "the upper hands"... special guest flo challenges the hand models to show off the ease of comparing rates with progressive's home quote explorer. international hand model jon-jon gets personal.

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president trump's pick for the supreme court and what it means for the push towards an originalist view of the constitution and law. something conservatives have wanted for a long time. andrew napolitano host of the liberty file on fox nation. judge, great for you to be here. talk about her interpretation of the constitution and law similar to scalia originalism and how that can tell us how she would rule on future cases. >> so justice scalia did not originate the idea of originalism but certainly offered it as the basis for his interpretation of the constitution. one side is texturalism. the other side the original list many. texturalism you interpret the plain words of the constitution as they're written by what they were meant, how they were understood to be meant in 1789,

when the document was ratified. originalism says when the text is ambiguous or does not cover an issue that arises today because the framers couldn't have thought of it you go to the underlying values of the constitution as they were understood in 1789. these two theories are the opposite of justices breyer, kagan, sotomayor, and the late justice ginsburg. they believed in a living constitution. they did not -- and they do believe. they did not and do not feel bound by what the words meant in 1789 when the constitution was ratified but rather they feel liberated to interpret those words as they understand them today to address legal issues today. there is a polar opposite view. justice gorsuch, the first of

president trump's nominees to the court, is also a texture allist and originalist. the other conservative jurists justice thomas, justice alito, the chief justice and justice kavanaugh are more traditional conservatives. but this texturalism originalism is somewhat growing in the federal judiciary but not yet embraced by a majority of jurists. >> sandra: very interesting, judge. senator hirono is one of the democrats who has said the many reasons for which she does not even want to meet with the president's supreme court nominee. listen to what she had to say. >> looking at the material. the issue is whether she can separate her deeply held views on issues like abortion, lgbtq rights, whether she can except rate her views from her ability to be fair and objective as a

justice sitting there for years making decisions that impact all of our lives. >> sandra: one might point out interesting she wouldn't sit down and have this conversation and air her concerns directly to her before these public hearings begin, judge. but what does all this tell you where this confirmation battle goes? >> well, it tells me that the democrats don't have the vote to -- votes to stop it. the last thing in the world they wanted was for donald trump to have three nominees to the supreme court. and that somehow by being rude and imtemperate to her as many republicans were to merrick garland when president obama nominated him to succeed the late justice scalia nine months before election day. by being rude to her and they somehow will feed their base. look, i have a little bit of a bias here. justice -- judge barrett and i went to the same law school, i'm a generation older.

we have many, many mutual friends. i think she is a brilliant and terrific person. she has said publicly and in writing if her religious views interfered with the law of the land she would take herself off the case. she is the very rare judge who has publicly stated that. >> sandra: great conversation. thank you, judge. >> you're welcome. >> bill: sandra, states are bracing for a flood of mail-in and absentee ballots. there are different rules for both. did you know that? that's coming up next and we'll tell you what you need to know in a moment. by refinancing, you can save $3000 a year with one call to newday usa. our team is standing by right now to take your call. and from start to finish, you can do it all without ever leaving the house. with our va streamline refi, there's no income verification. no appraisal. and no out of pocket costs. nobody works harder for veterans than my team at newday usa.

>> bill: question of the day.

absentee ballots versus mail-in ballots. do you know the difference? hillary vaughn has more on that today. what did you find out? >> hello, bill. 80 million americans will socially distance vote by sending their ballot through the post office. double the number of voters that did that in 2016. not all ballots are created equal and there is a big difference to how ballots are showing up in your mailbox. absentee ballots have to be requested ahead of time. voters have to fill out an application to request it and the absentee ballot is mailed out. universal mail ballots are sent to anyone at the voter roles. nevada is a key swing state that republicans are hoping to flip. battleground states have different deadlines for when the ballots can be counted. some will arrive ballots after

election day and michigan will count ballots up to two weeks after november 3. how they're mailed can make a difference. pennsylvania court ruled officials can't count any naked ballots. ballots mailed without a secret secrecy envelope covering the ballot and instead are dropped in the envelope with a staff. the secrecy envelope is there to make sure officials know it hasn't been tampered with. >> bill: sounds like thanksgiving or maybe christmas. we shall see. thank you, hillary vaughn in d.c. >> sandra: anticipation is building as president trump and joe biden are set to face off for the very first time tomorrow night in cleveland. ♪

>> sandra: one day, nine hours away from the big debate tomorrow night, bill. and a look inside the debate hall where the chairs are now being set up. what a moment this is going to be, as we will all watch the first face-off between donald trump and joe biden. >> bill: you know, smitty, you were talking during the break about how close they are to each other. just so the audience knows that on, the cleveland clinic will test everyone who goes inside with a call the perimeter. that'll tell you where with you or negative -- obviously, if you're positive, you get turned away. with ex-planes why they are

there. i just want to let you know, 3:00 this afternoon on the program, we will be live back here in cleveland. the president has moved his coronavirus press conference at 3:30, so we will have that for you when it begins. i'll see you tomorrow for another telethon. >> sandra: looking forward to it, bill. "outnumbered" starts now. >> harris: did bill hemmer just call the debate at telethon? he is so funny. the stage is being set, in fact, in cleveland, for the first presidential debate tomorrow night. president trump and joe biden's at the square off for the first time face-to-face in person, and we are learning more about the differing strategies to cope candidates are employing ahead of the big night. president trump says his personal attorney, rudy giuliani, and former new jersey governor, chris christie, are assisting him. he said he doesn't need the kind of debate prep that joe biden does. >> we had a little debate prep before we came here. i think this whole thing,