i shouldn't even be here they say i have georgia made, but you know what? i said i promised we have to be here >> honk if you want america to lead again honk if you wanto trust -- americans to begin to trust each other again. one day to go. the candidates have a whirlwind schedule today as they try to lock up any still undecided voters ahead of election day tomorrow businesses in cities big and small are preparing for the potential unrest in the wake of the elections. as walmart reverses their decision to pull guns and ammo

from their sales floors. scary sights over halloween weekend. potential coronavirus superspreader costume parties as cases continue at a record-setting pace. an exciting weekends in the nfl with twists and turns to kick off november on this first monday of the month. "early today" starts right now good to be with you. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. this is it less than 24 hours now until election day the candidates will make their last stand with barn-storming blitz. president trump will headline five rallies across four swing states while joe biden is holdi holding events in ohio and pennsylvania right now the president is trailing his democratic rival by ten points but the race is much tighter in key battleground states including florida, which could prove to be a must-win for the president. he's trailing biden by three points in the sunshine state,

according to the latest "new york times"/sienna poll, which is within the margin of error. overnight he flouted a coronavirus curfew in miami-dade county and held a midnight rally with his supporters. sparking some controversy after suggesting he may fire the nation's top covid expert. [ crowd chanting "fire fauci, fire fauci, fire fauci ] >> don't tell anybody, but let me wait until a little bit after the election i appreciate the advice. i appreciate it. no, he's been wrong a lot. he's a nice man, though. he's been wrong on a lot. >> for the latest let's get to nbc news white house corporate kelly o'donnell. >> reporter: for president trump rallies on repeat. >> tuesday, right? tuesday. tuesday.

super tuesday we'll call it, right? >> reporter: five states. >> michigan is going to make history once again. >> reporter: five events. >> we're very happy with iowa. >> reporter: taking the stage just after 11:00 this morning, the last rally at 11:00, a 12-hour sprint through sunshine and cold. >> does anybody have a coat i could use, please? this is definitely not the right one. >> reporter: the president tries again and again to keep covid off the ballot >> and we're rounding the turn on a pandemic. think of that. >> reporter: but the nation's top infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci gave "the washington post" a dire assessment asked how the two campaigns approach covid, fauci said the president is focused on reopening the economy. while joe biden's campaign is taking it seriously from a public health perspective. the white house accused fauci of revealing a partisan bias. it's unacceptable and breaking with all norms for dr. fauci to

choose three days before an election to play politics. back on the trail, president trump defended supporters in texas, not as menacing but energetic. >> did you see the way our people, they, you know, they were protecting his bus yesterday. >> reporter: the president tweeted video of an incident where trump backers surrounded a biden campaign bus >> they had hundreds of cars trump, trump trump and the american flag. >> reporter: joined by daughter ivanka, the president is polling ahead in iowa. and making predictions >> there's not going to be a transition we're winning. >> reporter: still, feeling pressure to counter democrats' advantage with early voting. >> who is going to vote on election day okay and who's already voted? okay. >> our thanks to kelly for that report. joe biden is going all-in on pennsylvania, holding events across the state today according to the latest "new

york times"/sienna poll, biden is leading the president by six points in the key state. nbc's jeff bennett has more. >> reporter: a biden blitz through battleground pennsylvania the former vp making several stops in philadelphia. >> every day's a new reminder of how high the stakes are, of how far the other side will go to try to suppress the turnout. especially here in philadelphia. >> reporter: rallying supporters at a so-called souls to the polls event with faith leaders >> being with you all reminds me of that gospel hymn that inspired so many of us when i last talked to john lewis, as he was dying, he reminded me of it. i don't feel no ways tired i've come too far from where i started from. >> reporter: a drive-in rally aimed at delivering african-american support. >> i'm a pastor, and so part of what it means to me is that people of faith exercise every resource at our disposal, and the vote is one of those

resources. >> why are you supporting joe biden? >> he knows how to help the country heal and that's one of the things that we need to do, is we need to heal. >> reporter: the biden campaign looking to boost turnout in a state president trump won by only about 44,000 votes in 2016. pennsylvania considered crucial since its 20 electoral college votes could be the decisive tipping point. running mate kamala harris hitting georgia and north carolina >> we have to earn the vote of every person. >> reporter: it all comes a day after the biden campaign crisscrossed michigan with former president barack obama. obama winning raves on social media for sinking this three-point shot at a flint, michigan high school gym the former president tweeting the viral video along with the caption, "shoot your shot," to encourage voting and joe biden is making a stop in cleveland today campaign sources tell me they believe ohio may be within reach. and we've also learned that both lady gaga and john legend will join the democratic candidates

and their spouses when they head back here to pennsylvania to close out the campaign today frances? >> jeff, thank you as the anticipation grows for the first election results, there's also increasing anxiety about possible civil unrest. a federal law enforcement source tells nbc news that fencing will go up today around the white house. it's the same perimeter that was set up during protests in june and august d.c. is one of many cities preparing for possible violence as america's largest retailer changes its decision on selling guns nbc's sam brock reports. >> reporter: less than two days after announcing it would pull all firearms and ammunitions from its public displays, an about-face from walmart. in a statement the nation's largest retailer explaining its bankrupt reversal. as the current incidents have remained geographically isolated, we have made the decision to begin returning these products to the sales floor. the announcement following tense

nights in philadelphia with this walmart ransacked after another controversial police shooting involving a person of color prompted fury, property damage and grieving parents to plead for peace. >> i don't condone no violence, tearing up the city, looting up the stores >> reporter: but businesses across the country are boarding up, preparing for a hurricane of protest ahead of tuesday's presidential election. from right by the white house to the streets of santa monica. >> hopefully nothing happens, but we're thinking about hiring security, putting five -- five people out there with guns, standing in front of the store. >> reporter: in new york's herald square, macy's masked by plywood even as it stays open through the election americans worry what mayhem might follow tuesday's results. >> no matter who wins there's going to be some type of resistance, i'm sure. >> i just hope we keep it under control. >> reporter: a new study warning five states are under threat of

violence not on that list florida though miami's mayor is staying vigilant >> we have no credible information, like, from the fbi or anything like that that miami is a target, but like you said, miami is one of a major city in the country and one of the most important states electorally for the presidency so of course we're on alert. >> our thanks to sam brock for that report. meantime, the united states continues to shatter coronavirus records as experts say the pandemic has reached its third peak so far more than 9 million cases have been confirmed in the u.s. and deaths have climbed over 232,000 according to an nbc news tally. on friday the nation reported over 99,000 new covid-19 cases, beating its previous record of more than 88,000 set only a day prior. this as "usa today" reports that the country set a record last week for new coronavirus cases over a seven-day period. with more than 500,000

infections also new data from john hopkins has found an american is testing positive every 1.2 seconds and daily covid deaths are also climbing with one person dying every 107 seconds. meanwhile, the nation's top experts say a surge in new outbreaks are tied to close gatherings the news comes as police in new york say they shut down massive illegal halloween parties over the weekend. anearly 400-person affair in brooklyn was shut down on friday along with a bronx bash on saturday officials say over 550 people were in violation of emergency stay-at-home orders. officials described the party organizers charged with multiple misdemeanors and health violations. >> all right let's get a first look at today's weather with nbc meteorologist janessa webb hi, janessa. good morning. >> hi, you two good morning, everyone we are dealing with some lake-effect snow, first of the season it's going to be heavy at times for portions of the northeast. that lake machine continues to

roar up. we are forecasting potential across erie, pa, the snow belt of northeast ohio, all the way into northern new england. possibility up to 10 inches of snow also, the winds, they're really going to be stirring up, 63 million going to be impacted throughout your afternoon for west virginia all the way into the boston area. we're looking at potential gusts up t degrees warming up, though, for the central plains into the southern plains >> all right thank you. gas explosion demolished a new york home and left multiple people injured was caught on

camera surveillance video from the nearby home captured the powerful blast which also set neighboring homes on fire. the 63-year-old man living inside the home that exploded was air lifted to a hospital with critical burns and smoke inhalation two firefighters suffered bruises and cuts when a chimney fell on them. coming up, nbc's road warriors share an update on the most sought-after swing states. this race could come down to pennsylvania uld biden's last-minute push flip the state back to blue? ite? ewww. dead skin cells? gross! so now, i grab my swiffer heavy duty sweeper and dusters. dusters extends to 6 feet to reach way up high... to grab, trap and lock away gross dust. nice! for dust on my floors, i switch to sweeper. the heavy duty cloths reach deep in grooves to grab, trap and lock dust bunnies... no matter where they hide. no more heebie jeebies. phhhhew. glad i stopped cleaning and started swiffering.

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philadelphia. >> reporter: joe biden beginning day two of his pennsylvania blitz. he and running mate kamala harris are effectively dividing up the state this is the state the democratic ticket has spent more time than any other battleground state this general election and it's clear now as the days tick down off the calender that this is the place that they are going all-in on. joe biden going to be campaigning in cleveland, ohio, as well as then moving closer to pittsburgh, pennsylvania, taking over the western part of this keystone state while his running mate, senator kamala harris, as well as her husband doug emmoff take the eastern part around philadelphia and the suburbs around that area as well key places for them to not just run up big turnout but also potentially flip some counties that went for donald trump in 2016 if we're talking about places that they're looking to flip, look no further than where kamala harris spent part of her day yesterday. that's georgia a place where democrats haven't won there in a presidential year since 1992 but democrats have also been salivating over the chance to

flip it. they think 2020 just might be the year to do it. >> all right we'll see. ali, thank you. as we head into the final stretch, a record-shattering 93 million americans have already cast their ballots that could cross the 100 million mark when this weekend's tallies are complete. in north carolina, the stakes are at an all-time high with the senate and the white house up for grabs and with over $250 million in spending, this senate race is the most expensive in u.s. history. our morgan radford has more. >> reporter: frances, good morning. north carolina is the state to watch because of not one but two important races. of course you have the presidential race. this is a state that president trump won back in 2016 by less than 200,000 votes but he's losing some support right now among suburban voters. women voters and voters with a college education. and those are exactly the voters that joe biden is now trying to pursue on the other hand, you also have a critical senate race this is one of those states that

democrats are hoping to flip to regain power and it's also on track to become the most expensive u.s. senate race in history. surpassing the record that was set in 2018 in florida so all eyes right now are on the tar heel state frances? >> morgan, thank you still to come, a heartwarming announcement from one of sport's biggest power couples. and eagles soar past the unnit s in a sday gh shutdown we'll have your nfl recap next more than just vitamin c. it's a unique crafted blend of vitamins, zinc, other minerals, and herbs. that's why when you start every morning with airborne, you'll have the confidence to take on the day. no wonder pharmacists recommend airborne more than any other immune support brand. airborne. your daily dose of confidence.

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we got a little wind shear swirling kick is a line drive it's good. >> wow >> so it counts for three. the cowboys had the halftime lead in philadelphia on "sunday night football," but the eagles would adjust in the second half. carson wentz there for the go-ahead score phillies' "d" clamped down on cowboys rookie quarterback in the fourth, running away with it down the stretch, 23-9 the steelers were in baltimore looking to stay unbeaten, taking on the ravens. baltimore fended off a steelers comeback to retake the lead early in the fourth. lamar jackson finds marquise brown there for the touchdown, but big ben would later find chase claypool in the end zone pittsburgh would not squander this lead. they stay perfect, 28-24 a wild scene in chicago. the bears javon wims here

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it's a simple measure. everyone needs to wear a mask in public. we need real plans, real guidelines with uniform, nationwide standards. it's a simple proposition folks. we're all in this together. we've gotta fight this together. we'll emerge from this stronger because we did it together. i'm joe biden, and i approve this message. because we did it together. honey honey? new nyquil severe honey is maximum strength cold and flu medicine with soothing honey-licious taste. nyquil honey. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever best sleep with a cold medicine. good morning, everyone this is a prime time looking forecast for your election day most of the country nice and dry. temperatures pretty comfortable. look at all this sunshine. the only place will be seattle with a little bit of early morning rain. >> thank you, janessa. llorrsen we come back, the new

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as with most things in 2020, election polling places are being forced to adapt this year. and one particular age group is stepping up to the plate nbc's kate snow joins us now with that. hi, kate >> frances, just ahead of the election an inspiring story about young people participating in democracy teens making history by working at the polls this year and getting a front row seat to an election like none other in an election year full of challenges an unlikely group is taking action. >> i'm signing up to be a poll worker this year, first of all, to protect democracy. >> reporter: teens, some not

even old enough to vote yet. >> it's my way of making change and getting my voice heard. >> reporter: inspired to become poll workers. >> voting is a sacred right that we should all seek to protect. >> reporter: taking the place of at-risk seniors who don't feel safe going out in the pandemic 19-year-old kai is a sophomore at princeton university who created a network of young people called the poll hero project. >> when you don't have poll workers at the polling places they can often get closed down because they don't have enough people to staff them and when you get them closing down, it creates aen unequal access to the polls. and for that reason, me and a group of many other students formed the poll hero project to recruit our peers to become poll workers this election. >> reporter: the group energizing more than 35,000 to sign up from across the country. >> that level of engagement is so important right now. >> reporter: even getting support from stars like ben stiller. >> to be able to do something to be part of the solution i think is wonderful.

>> reporter: with so much at stake, these teens are joining in, thrilled to be part of the political process. >> i think like a lot of young people we were feeling, hey, we want to do something direct and concrete and, you know, being a poll worker was one of the best ways we found that we could do that. >> the reason that i chose to become a poll worker is because this way i could directly be involved in the process without voting and i could see firsthand how this process works >> reporter: both still too young to vote, they see this as a first step >> this is just the start of our activism. >> i'm almost an adult this is going to be my country i'm inheriting this country and i'm really fired up about making it how i want it to be. >> those are some young people to keep an eye on already making an impact on our democracy today. it will be interesting to see where their enthusiasm takes them in the years to come. frances? >> especially when they get a chance to vote as well kate, thank you. >> that really is encouraging to hear all of that, you know

not even old enough to vote but helping us out they understand the importance of the moment. >> that perspective is so important at that age. imagine the difference they're going to make when they vote. we thank you for waking up with us. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. a reminder, tune

two days we can put an end to a president that has failed to protect this nation in two days we can put an end to a presidency that fanned the flames of hate, poured gasoline on every opportunity he had. >>wo days from now we are going to win this great state, just like we did last time and tomorrow america speaks with the largest early voting totals in history the u.s. is on track for a record voter turnout. president trump tells a late-night crowd t