if you vote for biden, he will surrender your jobs to china, he will surrender your future to the virus. >> everybody knows who donald trump is so let's let them know who we are. we choose hope over fear we choose unity over division. science over fiction and, yes, we choose truth over lies >> 15 days until the election and the stakes are rising as record numbers of early voters are casting their ballots. we've got the latest. as a possible third wave of

coronavirus is spreading,the surge is putting a massive strain on rural hospitals and pushing health care workers to the limit. we are live in paris where there's new reaction to the brutal beheading of a teacher as protesters lash out over the weekend. >> spacex launches another rocket to deploy another 60 satellites it's part of a massive undertaking to blanket the globe with orbiting satellites. the los angeles dodgers have punched their ticket to the world series in dramatic fashion. it's mont, october 19th, and "early today" starts right now good morning i'm phillip mena. >> glad to have you start your week with us i'm frances rivera we are just 15 days out from election day and the presidential campaigns are laser focused on key battleground states president trump spent his sunday rallying his supporters in nevada, a state he barely lost in 2016. nbc's kelly o'donnell starts us off. >> reporter: an unusual start to the campaign day

>> let's welcome our president, donald trump >> reporter: making a return visit to this las vegas evangelical church nevada a key battleground where joe biden leads in polling prayers centered on the president's re-election. >> the lord said to me, i am going to give your president a second win >> vote. >> reporter: president trump made a personal donation and a direct political appeal. >> so get out there on november 3rd or sooner and do your thing. >> reporter: amid new fallout over his criticism saturday of michigan's democratic governor and covid restrictions >> get your schools open. >> reporter: supporters chanted "lock her up," referring to their governor gretchen whitmer. the president critical even after a foiled plot to kidnap whitmer. >> she was threatened, right she was threatened and she blamed me! >> reporter: governor whitmer pushed back. >> the president is at it again,

and inspiring and incentivizing and inciting this kind of domestic terrorism it is wrong. it's got to end. >> reporter: but campaign advisers brushed it off. >> i think the fact of the matter is that many residents of michigan are pretty frustrated with the governor. >> he wasn't doing anything, i don't think, to provoke people to threaten this woman at all. he was having fun at a trump rally. >> reporter: trump supporters gathered in carson city. >> woo, we love trump. >> reporter: temperature checks but no social distancing. >> i'm not going to worry about or judge other people. >> reporter: the president made a notable diversion during his time here in nevada, taking a quick trip to southern california to fund-raise doing that with just a couple of weeks before the election is a sign his campaign needs cash today the president will leave from here in las vegas to visit arizona, another key battleground francis? >> all right kelly, thank you meanwhile, joe biden spent his day on the other side of the country trying to urge voters to

turn out in north carolina a state president trump won in 2016 by four points. nbc's ali vitale is following the biden campaign. >> reporter: 15 days until election day and joe biden is ramping up joe biden on offense. >> this president cares more about his park avenue perspective on the world, the stock market, than he does about you. who got sold short y'all got sold short. >> reporter: driving voters to the polls. >> you too have a sacred duty to vote, and it matters. >> reporter: in north carolina where he holds a narrow lead over the president who won the state in 2016. this swing state a must-win. like pennsylvania where biden is counting on former president barack obama to help push him to victory. >> if we are fortunate enough that joe biden and kamala harris are elected -- >> reporter: biden's former boss will campaign for him on wednesday in philadelphia. while running mate senator kamala harris heads to florida

monday ahead of stops in texas, ohio and pennsylvania. a fleury of new ads set to air during sunday and "monday night football" in battleground states. >> do you know how much money we raised >> reporter: the payoff from biden's massive fund-raising hauls. and while most national polls have biden ahead -- >> we shouldn't take anything for granted in these last few weeks. >> reporter: the campaign in the final push warning about complacency. in a memo obtained by nbc news, biden's campaign manager encouraging supporters to campaign like we're trailing the warning hits a nerve. >> you're not letting your friends not vote during this election you are holding your friends and family counsel we saw what happened in 2016. >> reporter: phillip, joe biden is expected to have a lighter travel schedule as he prepares for the debate meanwhile, the debate commission has yet to announce anticipated changes on safety procedures and speaking rules phillip? >> ali, thank you. president trump and former vice president biden will face

off thursday night in the second and final debate live coverage begins at 8:30 eastern, 5:30 pacific time, right here on nbc. now to the covid cases that are surging and many americans are still out of work as unemployment remains at record highs due to the pandemic. and while talks for another stimulus bill have stalled, house speaker nancy pelosi has set a 48-hour deadline on negotiations to reach a coronavirus stimulus deal before the election for the latest let's turn to nbc's tracie potts who joins us live in washington tracie, good morning. >> reporter: francis, good morning. the clock is ticking and the house speaker nancy pelosi says that 48 hours ends tuesday and only applies if they want to get some covid relief in place before the election. she's not necessarily cutting off talks. in fact, she and treasury secretary steve mnuchin were on the phone for an hour over the weekend. they're expected to meet again today, but a couple of the sticking points here are money for state and local governments. pelosi wants it.

the administration does not. they think they're bailing out states that already had financial problems and another one that we're learning about is the language around testing and tracing for this virus pelosi says she got a version back from the white house over the weekend that she believes weakens the language and also takes out efforts to deal with the disproportionate impact on communities of color no word yet back from the white house on the specifics of that but they are still talking it's just that time is running out. interestingly, the money, the larger amount that they want to spend doesn't seem to be the bigger sticking point, but the details, the devil's always in those details, francis, and that's where they seem to be stuck right now with this new 48-hour deadline impose by the house speaker. >> so many people counting on that and some progress being made here. tracie, thank you. as of today, the u.s. has had more than 8 million confirmed covid cases. 38 states and d.c. have reported

at least a 10% increase in the last two weeks and around 30 states are surging at 25% or more this as the uptick in cases is fushing so pushing some of the nation's hospitals to the brink yet again. here is nbc's erin maclachlan. >> reporter: across the country, nurses and doctors are exhausted. >> burnout is a very real limitation to what we can and cannot do. >> reporter: hospitals and resources are strained 15 states now reporting record hospitalizations just 18% of tennessee's hospital beds are available it's even worse in the icu in oklahoma there's an even bigger shortage and the icu in one of utah's largest hospitals reached capacity friday. so it created a spillover section to accommodate the sickest patients christine's mother is in the icu. >> i'm just very grateful for everything that they've done and knowing that they're overwhelmed. >> reporter: a difficult time for families and for those offering them critical care.

>> i'm asking a lot of my nurses right now, and i'm probably going to need to ask for more. >> reporter: in april salt lake city's condition center was turned into a field hospital but never used and taken down. now health officials are standing by to convert it once again. >> they are really getting to the point where it's going to be literally unsustainable. >> reporter: in north dakota 4% of the population has now contracted the virus most within the last few weeks there are only 20 icu beds left in the entire state. and just two in the state's capital. >> i've never seen anything like this. >> reporter: renee wellhouse has been a nurse practitioner there for 12 years. >> it's challenging because the stress level can be up there when we don't know what to expect every day. >> reporter: in many small towns, doctors fear the worst is yet to come. >> it doesn't take long for a small hospital in the midwest to fill up. it doesn't take new york-type numbers to make my little town

of jasper, indiana feel like new york on the inside of the hospital. >> reporter: and with the desperation, frustration that the country's been here before. >> do your part, america we're depending on you because we want to go back to normal just as much as anybody else >> our thanks to erin for that report at least five people were injured after an explosion at a shopping center in harrisburg, virginia city officials say three people were taken to hospitals after the incident and two others treated on the scene for minor injuries governor ralph northam said it was a gas explosion, but investigators say the cause is still under investigation. the los angeles dodgers are headed to the world series the dodgers and braves traded the lead throughout the game but cody bellinger's home run in the seventh gave los angeles a lead that they would not give up. they were done 3-1 in this series, but the dodgers came back to win the game and the series, 4-3. this is l.a.'s third time in the world series in the last four

years. they're still looking for that first championship since 1988. and they will meet the tampa bay rays tampa avoided blowing a 3-0 series lead by beating the houston astros in game seven on saturday this is the franchise's second world series appearance. first pitch for the fall classic is tomorrow in arlington, texas. now to some football the 49ers and rams capped off a hard-hitting day in the nfl. san francisco shook off their blowout loss last week coming out of the gates with a touchdown run from deebo samuel. jimmy g. didn't take his foot off the gas, finding george kittle, extending the 49ere 49e lead in indianapolis, the colts had some trouble with joe burrow and the bengals early? but a clush touchdown from philip rivers to jack doyle would give indy the lead they would not look back the colts get the win 31-27.

check out this incredible pick right here in miami. marcus may pinned the ball to his backside to get that interception pretty much one of the few bright spots all season for the jets mean why, tua tagovailoa made his debut in the nfl for miami the dolphins get the win 24-0. on this monday morning, let's get a check with nbc meteorologist janessa webb with what's ahead lots of sun for some of us, but chill, definitely a chill. >> yeah, chill is going to stay in place, and we are tracking snow this morning for the northern tier states and this is going to last until about thursday afternoon so winter coming early also there's heavy rain for the midwest. right now we're talking about 6 to 8 inches, possible delays this morning all the way into thursday afternoon it's really going to be impacting the upper midwest as we head into your midweek. on the warmer side of this storm system, ahead of the cold front,

is some cooler air that's going to allow widespread rain across the mississippi to ohio valley and that chill, it the goi's go stay in place for new york city all the way into interior sections we do still have a heatwave that's building in the southwest. we'll talk about that coming up. >> all right janessa, thank you so much. another successful launch for spacex the falcon 9 rocket blasted off from kennedy air center carrying another 60 satellites into orbit. the company's aiming to build a network of up to 12,000 to provide high-speed internet access around the globe. still ahead here on "early today" on this monday, how one teen's ingenuity is helping

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so clothes look newer, longer. downy and it's done. leading the news, a hiker missing for nearly two weeks has been found alive holly vanished in utah's zion national park back on october 6th. the 38-year-old california woman took a shuttle into the park but didn't return when she was supposed to. after intense search by rescue teams and volunteers she was found sunday when rangers received tips from a visitor who claimed to see her she's been reunited now with her family. thousands of demonstrators filled the streets in france after a teacher is brutally beheaded crowds paying tribute to samuel patty who led an open discussion on caricatures of the prophet muhammad, angering some parents

and -- what's the latest on this gruesome attack. >> reporter: as you mentioned, tens of thousands of french citizenships throughout the country, many of them teachers themselves, rallied yesterday in a very somber, very moving set of marches again throughout the country. but it's not over yet. the ministry of interior and other leading officials have said that they fanned out across the country and are now making arrests and detentions of people who are not only thought to have participated in this they already had detained nine or ten people over the weekend who were thought to have somehow been associated with the killer. but now they're actually going after and controlling people who were said to have posted messages that were in support of this very brutal crime so now we're seeing two parts of the state, the teachers coming out in protest and in support, demanding that the state support them and demanding that the state support the secular nature of the french republic it's a very sensitive issue.

and on the other side, we're seeing the ministry interior and law enforcement officials really taking matters into their own hands and stretching who it is they can arrest and investigate. a lot of these people, this is about free speech, and a lot of these people are simply being looked at because of things they've said that's brought up a lot of questions here in france about the nature of free speech. again, this all goes back to whether or not this country will remain tolerant of the large muslim minority in this country. phillip, francis >> such a disturbing crime matt bradley live for us in paris. thank you, matt. when we return, "snl" takes on trump and biden's dueling town halls keep it right here, "early today. ep aids, our extended release melatonin helps you sleep longer. and longer. zzzquil pure zzzs all night. fall asleep. stay asleep. and this is country crock. we start with farm-grown ingredients, slow-churned in the middle of the country.

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you can't just do things like that. you're not just someone's crazy uncle. >> really? because this conversation we're having right now is a preview of thanksgiving dinner in a lot of american households. so crazy uncles, stand back and stand by >> that was just a taste of this weekend's "snl" cold open. spoofing the duelling presidential town halls. next weekend, adele will be hosting for the first time with musical guest h.e.r. so there's only going to be two more episodes of "snl" before election day. >> yeah. >> so, you know, depending on who wins, we're not going to see much of jim carrey or alec baldwin. >> got to pack it in now,

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while the country's leaders debate how to best battle covid, one texas teen is stepping up and doing more than just his part here is nbc's jose diaz-balart. >> reporter: he is like any other normal teen. he does his home work and goes on runs. but after he saw his city of houston hit by covid -- >> i just thought to myself what i could contribute to try to lower that curve. >> reporter: he suited up and got to work, starting his own mobile testing lab where he and his team conduct rapid covid

tests with results in 15 minutes. >> why do you do this, taft? >> people need help and i want to be the one to reach out my hand to help them. >> reporter: the high school senior was already a registered emt with a lifelong interest in medicine after waiting in line for two hours for a covid test of his own, taft at just 18 years old thought he could do better he cobbled the money together from friends, family and selling his video game consoles. this is not just the story of a savvy entrepreneur. >> when someone buys a test from our company, a portion of the money from that test goes towards another test for someone who really needs it or someone who is unable to pay for their own test in the community. >> reporter: taft spends most of his weekends testing veterans, the homeless and senior citizens, all for free. >> i'm so thankful for this young man that offered the free testifying >> reporter: his commitment sealed with sacrifice.

the high school wrestling champ giving up his final season for this mission. >> oh, man, it melts my heart. seeing him in that coat just reinforces and reaffirms the fact that he's a hard worker and can accomplish anything. >> you worry about those less fortunate. where did that come from >> it's very easy for someone to look at another person's life and not care because it doesn't pertain to them. i'm not one of those people. there need to be more people that are willing to help others without expecting anything in return. >> wow our thanks to jose for that report what a future this guy is going to have ahead of him the difference he is going to make he already is. >> i was going to say the same thing, future leader, and then stopped myself. >> he's already there. >> sky's the limit for that kid. all right. let's celebrate some birthdays today. trey parker, co-creator of sour "south park," turns 51 actor and director john favro turns 54

former heavyweight boxing champion evander holyfield is 58 john wilithgow, former star

this morning, thousands of residents are forced to plea their homes as the colorado wildfires explode in size. the race to election day heats up as the candidates crisscross crucial states and try to garner last-minute undecided voters with just 15 days to the election. one of the biggest voting blocks in the fight to the white house is the 32 million latino voters. the feared fall surge is in big swing. big increases in coronavirus cases as the country braces for a possible third