cbsnews.com. reporting from washington, i'm catherine herridge. it's tuesday, october 27th it's tuesday, october 27th, 2020. this is the "cbs morning news." heading to the high court. the white households a swearing in ceremony for amy coney barrett. the pivotal case she could rule on by election day. >> i have never been in a situation like this before. >> forced to leave. a growing wildfire is threatening homes in southern california as two firefighters get hurt fighting the flames. bound for the u.s. yet another hurricane is taking aim at the gulf coast. good morning. good to be with you. i'm anne-marie green. well, we begin with the

confirmation of amy coney barrett to the u.s. supreme court. she's expected to record to work today for her first day as a member of the highest court in the country. barrett was confirmed last night by the senate in the face of democratic opposition. barrett was then sworn in at a ceremony at the white house. nancy chen is in washington. nancy, her vote was pretty much right along party lines, no surprise there. >> reporter: that's right. good morning to you, anne-marie. justice barrett was confirmed last night by a 52-48 vote with all democrats and only one republican voting against her. now today will be her first day of work. amy coney barrett is now a supreme court justice. >> i, amy coney barrett -- >> reporter: the 48-year-old was sworn in last night during a ceremony at the white house. >> it is the job of a judge to resist her policy preferences. it would be a dereliction of duty for her to give in to them. >> reporter: barrett is the third associate justice

appointed by president trump. >> our country owes a great debt of thanks to senate majority leader mitch mccome. we appreciate it very much, mitch, thank you. >> reporter: the republican led senate approved barrett over unanimous opposition of democrats. she replaces ruth bader ginsberg who died last month. >> donald trump, mitch mccome and their republican buddies are shoving aside the wishes of the american people in order to steal this supreme court seat. >> reporter: justice barrett will take the judicial oath of office and is expected to begin working immediately. no justice has ever joined the supreme court so close to a presidential election. democratic presidential nominee joe biden continues to face questions about how he would handle a supreme court with a 6-3 conservative advantage. during a campaign appearance in pennsylvania biden rejected the idea of term limits for justices. >> it's a lifetime appointment.

i'm not going to attempt to change that at all. >> reporter: they have called on biden to hack the court and fill them with progressive judges. if appointed he will appoint a commission to study the workings of the nation's top courts. during her confirmation hearing justice barrett refused to say whether she would recuse herself from any election-related cases before the court. >> thank you so much, nancy. amy coney barrett could have a say in some major cases currently under consideration. the first one involves 8 years worth of president trump's taxes. it's been a back and forth legal battle so far between his legal team and the manhattan attorney. ballot extensions in pennsylvania and north carolina could be on the docket. republicans want to shorten the deadline for receiving and knowing the details.

justices may refuse a 15-week abortion ban. one state is up for grabs. pennsylvania. joe biden holds a seven point lead there over president trump. that's according to our latest cbs battleground tracker poll. natali brandt traveled to the keystone state which could be make or break for the presidential candidates. >> reporter: in the battleground state of pennsylvania the signs are everywhere. from roadside tributes to street corner competition to the line at this ballot drop box in york county. >> he doesn't even know who i voted for. >> we haven't told each other because we're pretty much split. >> reporter: but one thing they can agree on -- >> it's going to be tight. >> reporter: not just simply who flips a county here and there, it's about marge begins. >> reporter: cbs news director says the strength of the candidates' performance will matter in the key counties of

the key states. >> there's a couple of big themes running through the electoral map this year and one of this em is the sunbelt and the rust belt. >> reporteter: that includes states president trump won in 2016 that are now back in play. pennsylvania, wisconsin, michigan and ohi o and sunbelt states the president is trying to defend. florida, north carolina, georgia, arizona, even texas. >> voters in those states have told us they were unhappy with how the trump administration handled the covid outbreak. >> reporter: while the pandemic is an election year challenge like any other, one trend that's carried over, the rural urban divide. southwestern pennsylvania's coal country voted overwhelmingly for the president four years ago. >> when he came in things got better. >> republican bruce cochran, small business leader, believes mr. trump still has the edge. >> i think people feel they're better off now than they were

four years ago. >> reporter: 200 miles east mary tribue has a different view. >> i'm afraid if he gets four more years this country will be totally destroyed. >> high early turnout shows voters have a say. >> thank you. >> everybody's got their voice right now and we'll see what the people decide. >> once the battle for their state is over, voters on both sides say they'd like to see the country come together. natali brandt, cbs news, pennsylvania. they crashed, but there was certainly no celebration on wall street yesterday. the dow plunged 650 points over a surge in covid cases and no help in sight from washington, d.c. at one point stocks nearly dropped 1,000 points. meantime, pfizer is expanding its covid vaccine trial to include kids as young as 12. the move was approved by the fda. researchers say they feel

confident about testing children because they have safety data from 30,000 adults who are taking part in the trial. the american academy of pediatrics says thousands of children have been diagnosed with covid this year. battling a wildfire in southern california that exploded in size, the two firefighters suffered second and third-degree burns. the silverado fire broke out before dawn yesterday in orange county south of los angeles. the flames are burning dangerously close to homes in irvine forcing some 100,000 people to evacuate. >> right here where we're standing it looks like we've done a pretty good stand but, again, this fire is going to continue to cross and encroach upon the homes in multiple areas. our priority right now is getting people evacuated and out of the path of the fire.

>> southern california edison said its equipment may have spark'd the out of control fire. the blaze has torched 7200 acres and is 0% contained. hurricane zeta is on track to make landfall in louisiana as early as tomorrow night. here's a look at the storm's latest path. zeta would be the third storm to hit the gulf coast since late august. a hurricane watch has been posted for morgan city, louisiana, to the mississippi border. it hit the region last night as a category 1 storm packing 80 mile per hour winds and torrential rain. no serious damage was reported though. so coming up on the "cbs morning news" now, a convicted sex cult leader faces life in prison at his sentencing today. and victory lap. the head coach of the washington football team completes treatment for cancer. this is the "cbs morning news."

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that's the former british paratrooper attempting to set a new world record for the highest jump from a helicopter without a parachute. 34-year-old john green jumped about 130 feet yesterday into the sea off the coast of england. well, he hit the water at 80 miles per hour. divers said he was briefly unconscious when he hit the water. he was taken to a hospital as a precaution. guinness has not verified the world record yet. i hope it was worth it. i hope he gets it. there's been an arrest in a ballot box fire and it's sentencing day for a cult leader. those are some of the headlines on the morning newstand. "the new york times" reports the leader of the alleged sex cult nexium faces life in prison when he's sentenced for his crimes

today in new york city. 60-year-old keith ranerie was found guilty on several charges on sex trafficking, child pornography and labor. the sex trafficking hearing will have hours of statements from victims. his lawyers say he is not sorry for his conduct and he is confident he will one day be vindicated. "the boston globe" says a man who is emotionally disturbed was charged with setting a ballot box on fire. the box was set on fire outside the downtown boston public library. he appeared in court yesterday. he does not appear to be plotting against our democracy as some are alleging. yesterday police were outside of boxes. >> we want to make sure everybody's right to vote is not interfered with. >> i'm glad they're here, but it's a sad day we have to have

this protection to vote. >> authorities say there were 122 ballots inside the burned box when it was emptied. 87 still able to be processed. voters whose ballots were affected can vote in person or by a replacement ballot. dod ger fans are thrilled about a possible world series tiedle. the dodgers took a 3-2 lead. the dodgers can clinch the series tonight. it would be their first title since 1988. the series is being played at globe life field in arlington, texas, because of the pandemic. it's the first time the world series has ever been played at a neutral field. still ahead, forget about chestnuts roasting on an open fire. kfc is back with its fire log to make your home smell extra crispy this holiday. an open fire. kfc is back with its fire log to

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trailer yesterday for its latest show "selena" the series. she's known for her role in the walking dead. she plays the star in various stages of her career. it shows the early days of her rise until her tragic death at the age of 23. the series is set for release in december. on the "cbs moneywatch" now, california restaurants are suing the government to recover fees and kfc's fire log is back. diane king hall is in new york with those stories and more. good morning. >> we're going to book mark the fire log and come back to that. as we mentioned earlier, stocks skidded yesterday fueled by concerns over rise in coronavirus cases in the u.s. and abroad. the dow tumbled some 650 points in the worst single day session since september. the nasdaq dropped 189 points and the s&p 500 fell 64. california restaurants are

asking state and county officials to refund more than $100 million in fees for liquor and health permits. owners say they still got charged despite their businesses being closed or partially shut down due to coronavirus rules. in the court filings governments will continue to collect fees even after telling restaurants to close because of the pandemic. state officials have 45 days to respond to claims. status update. facebook says it helped register 4.4 million voters surpassing its goal for the election. ceo mark zuckerberg revealed the numbers in a latest record yet. they included people to poets information on the app detailing important deadlines and how to vote by mail. now your home can smell just like kfc. for the third year in a row the fast food chain is bringing back its fried chicken scented 11 herbs and spices fire log. the company says it's designed

to help your home feel and warm as warm as an extra crispy drumstick. they have sold out in previous years. customers can buy them for 16 bucks at walmart and select store locations. anne-marie. >> some of the joy of kfc. none of the calories. >> that would be better, exactly. >> if you don't like the smell of kfc, it might be a bit of a gag gift. >> yeah. that would be a gag gift. >> little funny for you. diane king hall in new york, thank you so much, diane. >> you've got it. up next, winging it for television. a reporter gets a rude surprise just seconds before going to air h. ouch. air. ouch. because there are options. like an "unjection™". xeljanz. the first and only pill of its kind that treats moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or moderate to severe ulcerative colitis when other medicines have not helped enough.

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here's a look at today's forecast in some cities around the country.

a standing ovation for the head coach of the nfl's washington football team from the staff of a northern virginia hospital. yesterday ron rivera completed his last round of treatments two months after being diagnosed with a form of skin cancer. rivera rang a ceremonial bell to mark the end of his seven weeks of cancer treatments. he did not miss a game. for the first time scientists have discovered water on the sun lit surface of the room. nasa a amounts that it could mean there is water across the lunar surface but only in dark and cold areas across the polls. they described the moment they knew they were on to something. >> so when they started, you know, doing analysis, they

started seeing the strong signal at this location near the crater, they were very excited and when we heard it, we were literally over the moon. >> water on the moon's surface could lead to astronauts living on lunar bases in the future. and an australian tv reporter proved to be unflappable, if you will, when a bird smacked him in the face. the reporter was getting ready to go live yesterday when the bird swooped in. seconds later, he delivered his report. viewers were unaware of what just happened. it's spring in australia, which is known as swooping season. that's when certain birds attack people who come close to their nesting territory. i feel that sting. all right. so coming up on "cbs this morning" in our series the new normal, how black friday sales are coming much earlier this year because of the pandemic. i'm anne-marie green. this is the "cbs morning news." did you know diarrhea is often caused by bad bacteria in food?

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our top stories this morning. amy coney barrett is expected to report to work for her first day as a member of the supreme court. she was confirmed yesterday by the senate amid democratic opposition. shortly after barrett was sworn in at a white house ceremony justice clarence thomas administered the constitutional oath. crews are battling the silverado fire in southern california. so far it has burned 7200 acres and is 0% contained. two firefighters were critically injured yesterday. the fire has forced some 100,000 people to evacuate. >> for people who work on election day, waiting all day in line is not an option.

more and more businesses are taking the bold step of giving employees paid time off to cast their ballot. michael george has the story. >> reporter: across america we've seen it, people waiting hours and hours to cast ballots during early voting. those lines often mean a difficult choice for many who work on election day. vote or collect a paycheck but that's starting to change. >> our democracy does better when we all participate. >> courtney kenna is with patagonia. it's one of growing number of businesses making it easier for employees to vote. on election day they'll shut down stores, headquarters and distribution center. workers will get a paid day off so they can vote and four more days off if they volunteer as a pole worker. >> as we face a climate crisis, health crisis and economic

process that we engage and exercise our right to vote. >> reporter: other companies like gm and square have their own initiatives. >> not just large businesses. 2/3 of small businesses say they plan to give workers time off to vote this year. chocolate shot xocolatl has only a dozen employees but on election day they'll all have a paid day off. >> everyone needs to vote. you need to step up. >> co-owner says closing the store for a day is just common sense. >> it should be a national holiday where everyone has the day off. i think the community and business owners that we talked with all felt strongly the same way. >> reporter: sending the message to customers and employees that voting is essential. michael george, cbs news, new york. coming up on "cbs this morning," in our road to a vaccine series, dr. tara narula looks at the distribution challenges our country faces

when a covid vaccine is ready. plus the new normal. how black friday sales are coming much earlier this year because of the pandemic. anna werner looks at the impact on businesses and consumers. milk bar founder christi christiana tozzi tells us about her new cookbook for kids. thank you for watching. i'm anne-marie green. have a great day.

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