>>ere. right now on "america this morning," closing arguments. trump and biden make their case in the final debate from immigration. >> their kids were ripped from their arms and separated. >> to the pandemic. >> i say we're learning to live with it. >> people are learning to die with it. >> to the economy. >> he is going to destroy the oil industry. >> the big takeaways and the critical moments for each campaign. hospitals in the hot zone. icus overflowing in hard hit states as covid cases surge. a major city now imposing a curfew, but this morning the good news. the new treatment approved and what we're learning about how patients are faring. wildfire nightmare. a fast-moving fire destroying more than 100,000 acres in one day.

the race to stop the spread. plus, the terrifying moment a jeep tumbles down this cliff. what went wrong. hailed a hero. the deputy who saved this newborn who had stopped breathing. ♪ santa claus is coming to town ♪ and later, why santa claus is changing his travel plans this year. good friday morning, everyone. i'm mona kosar abdi. >> i'm andrew dymburt. we begin with the final debate showdown in the race for president with just 11 days until election day. >> the two made their closing arguments to voters, but nearly 48 million americans have already cast their ballots. that's a 700% increase over this time in 2016. >> and it all comes against the backdrop of the pandemic with new cases up 32% in the last two weeks. the final presidential debate kicking off without interruption, the candidates feisty but focused. president trump with the first question defending his

administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has now killed more than 220,000 americans. >> we closed up the greatest economy in the world in order to fight this horrible disease that came from china. it's a worldwide pandemic. >> reporter: joe biden with a strong rebuke of trump promising if elected his administration will do things differently. >> if you hear nothing else i say tonight, hear this, i will take care of this. i will end this. i will make sure we have a plan. >> reporter: the coronavirus dominating the debate, biden slamming the president accusing him of not taking it seriously. >> i say we're learning to live with it. we have no choice. we can't lock ourselves up in a basement like joe does. >> he says that we're learning to live with it. people are learning to die with it. >> reporter: both candidates painting different pictures of the pandemic, on the economy again the virus was the focus. >> i'm going to shut down the virus, not the country.

it's his ineptitude that caused the country to have to shut down in large part. >> i want to open the schools. we have to open our country. we're not going to have a country. you can't do this. we can't keep this country closed. this is a massive country with a massive economy. >> reporter: and with a stimulus deal stalled in congress, biden and trump playing partisan politics. >> nancy pelosi does not want to approve it. we are ready, willing and able to do something. don't forget, we've already approved three plans and it's gone through. >> this h.e.r.o.e.s. act has been sitting there. and look at what's happening. >> the debate was far more civil than the last. new rules muting the candidates' microphones during initial answers, but it didn't take long for things to get personal accusing the biden family of taking foreign moaning. >> his son didn't have a job for a long time. was sadly no longer in the military service. i won't get into that. and he didn't have a job. as soon as he became vice president, burisma, not the best reputation in the world, i hear they paid him 183,000 a month.

>> no basis for that. everybody investigated that. no one said anything he did was wrong in ukraine. >> reporter: on election integrity recent reports suggesting iran and russia are med meddling in the upcoming election. biden and trump again at odds. >> any country who matter who it is that interferes in american elections will pay a price. >> nobody tougher than me on russia. >> reporter: on immigration with families separated at the border trump and biden pointing the finger at one another. >> they built cages. you know they used to say i built the cages and then it was determined they were built in 2014. that was him. >> we did not separate -- >> they built the cages. who built the cages, joe? >> let's talk about what we're talking about. what happened? parents were ripped -- their kids were ripped from their arms. >> reporter: on the environment trump seizing on this development. would you close down the oil -- >> transition from the oil industry, yes. >> oh. it is a big statement. >> because i would stop --

>> why would you do that? >> because the oil industry pollutes significantly. >> reporter: and then their final arguments. >> if he gets in, you will have a depression the likes of which you've never seen. your 401(k)s will go to hell. >> what is on the ballot here is the character of this country. >> reporter: after the debate biden tried to clarify his remark about transitioning from the oil industry. biden said he was referring to eliminating fossil fuel subsidies, not fossil fuels. plexiglass barriers were removed from the stages just before the debate. dr. anthony fauci told abc news the white house chief of staff called to get his opinion. fauci said the plexiglass wasn't needed because the candidates were 12 feet apart, and both tested negative for covid. so what's the takeaway from last night's debate when it comes to voters? we asked abc's political director rick klein. >> mona and andrew, what a difference between the debate of just three weeks ago, the second and final debate, so different in tone and in substance from the first time that these candidates met. in this case there were really no interruptions, very little name calling, hardly a

high-minded policy discussion. there were some very sharp distinctions between the candidates and i think the most telling thing was donald trump was still trying to define joe biden around his 2016 framework, trying to paint him to be corrupt, taken down from his family connections and really felt like he was rerunning that playbook against hillary clinton and i think for joe biden making clear his vision of the country and the big focus on issues like coronavirus that he wants to have people focus on. he has a much different sense of where the country is. now two candidates are off to the races for the last couple of days. mona and andrew. >> our thanks to rick and much more analysis coming up from our political roundtable in just ten minutes. more than 1,100 deaths from the coronavirus were reported across the country yesterday alone. 76,000 new cases were reported. that's one of the highest daily totals so far, and even though rural areas are seeing faster growth rates in cases per capita, one big city is making a big decision. abc's faith abubey is here with

more. good morning, faith. >> reporter: good morning, andrew. a major change this morning in the nation's third largest city. chicago's mayor is now imposing a 10:00 p.m. curfew on all n nonessential businesses as more and more states face coronavirus cases going up and hospitalizations as well. this morning, hot spots across the country bringing hospitals to the brink. >> i have great fears that we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg. >> reporter: despite remdesivir's newly approved status as a covid treatment, doctors say many patients are still ending up critically ill. >> for the first time as a physician, i'm scared to see what's to come. >> reporter: in utah icus filling up with covid patients as the state sees a record number of new cases. >> i don't know what else we could do. >> reporter: in ohio the governor says infections are reaching new highs every day. >> what is most scary about this, it does not seem like we're even starting to get to a plateau. it just goes up and up.

>> reporter: in el paso, texas, daily cases there spiking nearly 450% since october 1st. >> our hospitalizations are coming up. we're seeing it in children. >> reporter: meanwhile, more than 200 students and teachers in massachusetts tested positive for the virus in the last week. >> i am nervous but like mostly for like the blood test. >> reporter: it comes as pfizer becomes the only company to include children in its phase 3 vaccine testing. this 12-year-old receiving his first injection of either vaccine or placebo. >> for me, i think that it's like pretty cool to like just be in the study and to know there is a potential vaccine developed for covid-19. >> reporter: and despite the cases rising and hospitalizations going up, there is some good news here. studies are showing that the mortality rate is actually

dropping as doctors learn more about this novel coronavirus, andrew. >> faith, thank you. northern colorado is under siege by wildfires. the so-called east troublesome fire burned 100,000 acres in just one day forcing emergency evacuations. intense wind, low humidity and high temperatures are hampering fire crews. the smoke is also turning day into night. check out these images that were from 2:30 in the afternoon. abc's clayton sandell is there. >> reporter: you can see behind me the fire is in the trees. the firefighters call this crowning, and when that happens in these conditions, the fire is virtually unstoppable. >> more heavy winds are expected later today. let's take a look now at your friday forecast. the mountain west will get a big serving of snow today. up to 18 inches at the highest elevations of idaho and montana. flakes will also be flying in northern minnesota and wisconsin.

the most widespread and heaviest rain today will stretch from the plains to the great lakes and expect thunderstorms across the gulf coast and in florida. miami will see 85 degrees, but in the middle of the country only 35 in the twin cities and high temperatures in the teens across the northern rockies. 92 in phoenix. and coming up, the power outage on the las vegas strip leaving people trapped in elevators. also ahead, the deposition revealed in the jeffrey epstein case. what ghislaine maxwell said about their alleged sex trafficking operation. and next a terrifying crash

it provides property tax fairness for disabled homeowners like cynde, stuck living with a broken elevator. nineteen helps wildfire victims, like ellie, one of 24,000 who've lost their homes to fire. and seniors like pam who need to move closer to family or medical care, without a tax penalty. prop 19 limits taxes on our most vulnerable. yes on 19.

back now with these

incredible images from colorado. the driver had apparently stopped on the trail to help someone else and set the emergency brake. that's when the jeep started slipping. officials say it's a miracle no one was killed. >> just incredible. a newly released deposition in the jeffrey epstein case reveals epstein's longtime associate has denied any acknowledgement of his alleged abuse of teen girls. ghislaine maxwell has been accused of finding girls for him. according to the deposition from 2016 she testified she, quote, never saw any inappropriate underage activities with epstein. maxwell is behind bars in new york charged on several counts related to the sex trafficking of minors and perjury. she pleaded not guilty. in business news, the gap is set to leave a big hole in america's shopping malls. the retailer is planning to close 350 stores in the next three years. the company plans to focus on outlets and e-commerce. target will be taking

reservations this holiday season to improve safety during the pandemic. customers will be able to see whether there's a line at their local store by going on target's website. you'll be able to reserve your spot and then get an email alert when it's your turn to check out. crews have restored power after an outage on the las vegas strip. people were left scrambling at the paris hotel and casino for nearly three hours. it briefly trapped people in the elevators. no official word yet on what caused the outage. some frantic moments for a texas couple when their 3-week-old baby boy stopped breathing but a hero officer came to the rescue. take a look. >> come on, baby. come on, baby. you have to breathe, baby. please, please, please. >> sheriff's deputy adam dodson cleared the newborn's airway and performed the heimlich. the baby was taken to the hospital alert and conscious. officer dodson was awarded a medal for saving that baby's life. >> wow, incredible. coming up, the giant fall

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shooting back in march has been reassigned. major kimberly burbank is under investigation for allegedly pressuring investigators for sensitive information about evidence collected at the scene. no drugs were found in taylor's home, and no officers were charged in her death. returning now to the presidential debate, both candidates are declaring victory. polls show viewers are praising president trump for his arguments on the economy, but 53% of people surveyed said they thought biden won the debate compared to 39% for trump and asked our political roundtable for their thoughts. >> this was a debate that donald trump had to have a knockout to get back in. he's ten points down to get back in. i think joe biden won it, but the thing, as i said, that struck me the most was what he should keep doing, which joe biden continually talked to the broad american public. >> part of campaigns are you got to do everything you're supposed to do and you need your opponent to do everything you hope they do. joe biden did not play the role that donald trump needed him to do. he was good, he was straight and he was right to the camera and

said, this is not about me or my family. this is about you, your family and your kids app future, and when he did that he spoke to them right where they were and at no time did trump engage the american people. >> joe biden made a strategic mistake. he said he's going to go to zero carbon by 2025, in five years and phase out the oil industry. i am confident that voters in the middle of pennsylvania and in certain places of ohio in particular are going to be hearing that loud and clear tonight and knowing that joe biden is going to be eliminating their jobs in five years or less if we're going to go to zero carbon by 2025. i think this is a big, big mistake by joe biden, and i think he's going to pay for it and could very well pay for it by losing pennsylvania. >> the president when we were talking about the economy is usually winning the debate. he was particularly strong on what he's done to improve the lives of minorities. he talks at length about everything from historically

black colleges to his criminal justice reform to job growth. >> to say you're the least racist person in the room with an african-american female moderator, and then he says, the room is dark, and i just love everyone in the room. it's tone deaf. it's insensitive. what joe biden did for the first time was bringing forward the central park five and the way he handled that situation, which is really, really sensitive for african-americans. >> he said he was going to be the president, the american president and that he doesn't see red states or blue states and then right after he said that he said, but i want to remind everybody, all the spikes you see right now are happening in red states. well, you know, mr. vice president, if you don't see red states or blue states, then why did you take that shot? >> there is passion on both sides, but the passion is also driven not only by democrats who are angry at donald trump and what he's done to the country but independent voters, suburban voters, college educated voters,

senior voters who were anti-hillary last time have become anti-trump this time. >> our thanks to the political roundtable. in the nfl last night, giants quarterback daniel jones was sprinting to the end zone against the eagles, but feet don't fail me now. he fell just a few yards short tripping over his own feet. later the eagles staged a dramatic comeback and won 22-21. >> oh, no. coming up, the big announcement about santa claus this year. also ahead, the puppy stealing hearts all over the world. >> ah. but today there's a combination of two immunotherapies you can take first. one that could mean... a chance to live longer. opdivo plus yervoy is for adults newly diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer that has spread and that tests positive for pd-l1 and does not have an abnormal egfr or alk gene. it's the first and only approved chemo-free combination of two immunotherapies that works together in different ways to harness the power of the immune system. opdivo plus yervoy equals a chance for more days.

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the coronavirus. >> that breaks a nearly 160-year streak at its new york store. macy's will offer virtual santa visits. >> and to halloween next, a haunting display that couldn't be more fitting for 2020. >> a san francisco family is winning halloween after covering their house with a giant mask. >> the homeowners say ghosts and witches just don't feel necessary this year because we're living in scary times. next what happens when two pop culture icons join forces, well, you get an elton john barbie. >> it is clad in bell bottoms and pink sunglasses to mark the 45th anniversary of his record smashing performance at dodger stadium. >> it'll cost you 50 bucks. and finally it ain't easy being green, especially when you're a little pup. >> check out this little green guy. he lives on a farm in sardinia. his name is pistachio and he really stuck out from his brothers and sisters who have white fur. >> because of a pigment in his

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it's going away. >> somebody responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the united states of america. just 11 days to go. president trump and joe biden returning home overnight following the debate in nashville. the big moments as they went head to head for the final time. relaxing restrictions in alameda county starting today. the changes you can expect when it comes to capacity and inkoor businesses. the calm before the storm. the wild weather moving in at the end of the weekend that could lead to pg&e cutting the power once again. happy friday. it's october 23rd. >> that is something to celebrate. i'm concerned about this forecast, though, that mike is talking about. it looks like things will take a turn for the worst as far as fire concerns go. >> we have a couple of days until that happens. i have some nice weather and a surprise for you on the positive side before we talk about what will happen sunday, monday and