good morning. it is sunday, october the 18th. we are 16 days away from the election of our lifetimes. i'm ali velshi, joining you live this morning from the white stallion ranch in tucson, arizona, stop number six on our special sunday series, "velshi across america." every week, we've been traveling to key battleground states across the nation, giving voters a chance to share their thoughts on the candidates they support and the issues that are driving their vote. and before you hear from the voters we've assembled in arizona, let's get you caught up on some of the morning's top headlines, beginning with president trump continuing to deny growing coronavirus concerns from across the nation. on saturday, he held a rally in wisconsin, which has seen a recent surge in covid-19 cases

and hospitalizations. "the new york times" reporting it was one of at least nine states that set single-day case records on friday. the same day the united states, as a whole, recorded a single-day total of 70,000 new cases, for the first time since july. trump then traveled to michigan, which also set a new one-day record for coronavirus cases. while playing to his base in muskegon, michigan, he took aim at the democratic governor of michigan, the victim of a recent foiled kidnapping plot for her efforts to fight covid in the state. >> what you're doing in michigan has been amazing. now, you've got to get your governor to open up your state, okay? [ cheers and applause ] and get your schools open! get your schools open! the cooschools have to be open, right? [ chanting: lock her up ]

>> lock her -- lock 'em all up. >> michigan governor gretchen whitmer fired back via twitter, quote, this is exactly the rhetoric that has put me, my family, and other government officials' lives in danger while we try to save the lives of our fellow americans. it needs to stop. meanwhile, former president barack obama will hit the campaign trail this week on behalf of his former veep, joe biden. he's set to appear wednesday in pennsylvania. but turning our attention now back to arizona, a less-traditional swing state. it was once considered a republican stronghold when it came to presidential politics. i mean, almost every gop candidate dating back to dwight eisenhower in 1952 has carried the state, except for bob dole in 1996, when clinton took the state. but right now, it is very much in play. it was just 12 years ago in 2018, senator john mccain of

arizona carried the banner for the republican party in his bid for the oval office, to show how much things have changed in that time, mccain's widow, cindy, is now throwing her support behind joe biden, evappearing in a campaign ad for the democrat. take a look in case you haven't seen it. >> my husband knew joe biden a long time. they traveled thousands of miles together, visiting troops overseas and they developed the kind of friendship you don't see too often. now more than ever, we need a president who will put service before self. a president who would lead with courage and compassion, not ego. a president who will respect the sacrifices made by our service members and their families. a president who will honor our fallen heroes. and a president who will bring out the best in us, not the wors worst. >> now, the most recent poll out of arizona this week shows biden with a six-point advantage over

trump, up two points from a month earlier. trump only beat hillary clinton by a 3.5% margin back in 2016. the positive democratic trend is not just at the top of the ticket. you can see it in the senate race here as well, where democratic challenger and former astronaut mark kelly has grown his margin over republican incumbent martha mcsally over the past month to 10%. as has been the trend in many other parts of the country, reports on the ground indicate that arizonans are coming out in full force after early voting got underway this week. az central reports, quote, there's a sense among arizona voters newly adjusting to living in a swing state that regularly sees visits both virtual and in-person from national campaigns. their votes matter. joining me now, valerie jarrett, former white house senior adviser during the obama administration and author of "finding my voice: when the perfect plan crumbles, the adventure begins." valerie, great to see you again. thank you for being with us.

you tweeted about the voting going on, the early voting going on around the country. you said, 16 days until your chance to vote in this election ends. huge increases in early voting. 400% in illinois. 91% in tennessee. 69% in kansas. 62% in georgia. and in fact, we are seeing national early and absentee voting running at about 17 times where it was last election. what do you read into that? are you reading into that democratic support or something else? >> well, good morning, ali. i am definitely reading into that democratic support, beginning with the top of the ticket. vice president biden and senator harris, but also, as you mentioned in arizona, you have incredible democrats such as kelly, who's running, and all across our country, we're seeing momentum growing. but ali, i don't read too much into the polls that would let me take my foot off that pedal. we know that the only poll that really matters is the one that ends on election day.

>> right. although it's a little different this time, because we're seeing these lineups. we're seeing people waiting in some states, including in georgia for several hours. we've heard two and three hours being normal. we've heard some people waiting 10 or 11 hours. on one level, there are a lot of people who say, it shouldn't be that way. that's just wrong. that's something wrong with our democracy and our voting system. on the other hand, that seems to be people responding to the call that the one option they have is their vote and they are going to exercise it. >> well, that's exactly right. well, first of all, it is outrageous in a country such as ours that people would have to wait in those long lines. my mother, my 91-year-old mother made a plan to vote yesterday in chicago. she went down as soon as the polls opened and had to still wait for half an hour. and she's a senior citizen. but the point is, she showed up. and all across america, people are showing up. and i think it is an indication of how fed up they are with this administration, that they are

hungry for change and they are willing to make a sacrifice, a rather modest sacrifice of waiting in line, if that's what it takes, to bring in a whole new day and do what joe biden said, which is to restore the soul of america. >> and there are so many issues that drive people. whether it's the aca, which will be before the supreme court the week after the election or wages or social justice. but coronavirus is remarkable. 220,000 people dead, just a little above the number that the university of washington said would be the case before the election. we've seen so many americans affected by this, one way or the other. and in the end, part of that vote in 16 days is the ability to say, we don't have to listen to donald trump and his lies about coronavirus. we don't have to trust how he's going to handle it. americans can, for the first time in eight or ten months, take coronavirus into their own hands. >> well, that's right. and you mentioned the aca. and it really locks in with the

coronavirus. here with the nids ofmidst of a pandemic, which president trump ignored for far too long. it has cost us lives. he's pretending it doesn't exist. he's putting his supporters in harm's way, which is a callous disregard for their lives, when the scientists are very clear, these large gatherings do not make sense what so ever. and at the same time, he is arguing before the supreme court to repeal the affordable care act, at the time when so many americans have lost their jobs and lost their insurance. and then, he signs an executive order that says he's going to protect pre-existing conditions? it isn't worth the paper it's written on. if he wins in court, it all goes away and he would have to go back to congress and you know what, in the ten years, ali, since the affordable care act has passed, the republicans have not come up with a single alternative. that leaves us high and dry. >> there's been a lot of talk about repeal and replace, we are yet to see an actual document that looks like a replacement

that would actually protect pre-existing conditions. valerie jarrett, thank you for joining me. valerie jarrett is a former senior adviser to president obama. i would like to bring in grant woods, former attorney general in arizona. he served as john mccain's first congressional chief of staff. woods was a republican up until the trump era and he has endorsed joe biden for president. grant, talk to me about this state. talk to me about what is going on in this state that it is possible that joe biden will win arizona, that it is possible that mark kelly will be the is next senator from arizona? >> well, welcome to arizona, ali, we're glad to have you here. yeah, i think -- you know, identify been saying this for a year and a half, even before he announced, there was one democrat who i am positive could win arizona and that's joe biden. and i think he is going to win arizona. you know, we're -- it's for a variety of reasons.

it's a state, when you look statewide, we're generally a little more moderate than people may have thought, it's kind of right up joe biden's alley, and there's a big opening here, i think, for the sort of mature, adult in the room candidacy of a joe biden in arizona. we have the john mccain republican. you know, john won in -- he won in '82, he won in '86 and '92 and '08 and 2004, 2016. he never lost here. it was never close. those of us who were close to john mccain, we don't appreciate one the way the president treats john mccain and two, most importantly, we don't appreciate how he is really the antithesis of john mccain in character and on most of the joimajor issues. so there's a lot of mccain-type republicans who aren't going to

vote for trump and we see someone in joe biden who shares many of the qualities that john mccain had. then you have women and this is not just in arizona, but across the country. and women are showing themselves much smarter then men, you know, and he's got a big problem with women here. he should have a problem with everybody, but women are leading the way. and lastly, ali, there is a group out there that's kind of under noticed, but there's a big lds or mormon constituency here in arizona. i grew up in mesa, which is the -- you know, one of the largest areas of mormons traditionally across the united states, outside of utah. and there is a real movement among the lds community away from donald trump and towards joe biden. now, they're reluctant to vote for a democrat, no question. however, there's two things. one, they're kind of repulsed by the character or lack thereof. it's really the opposite of what they live and breathe in their

regist religion that's displayed by donald trump. and they're also very pro-immigrant, especially from mexico and south america, so they don't appreciate the way he's treated them from day one, his rhetoric, and the policies that many of us view as immoral, like family separation and like daca. so i think all of those things combined, you see a big opening in arizona. that's why we've been leading and that's why we're going to win. >> what happens to the republican party in that happens. if joe biden does win not just the country, but otherwise conservative places like arizona? what does the new republican party look like? is it a hardened version of the party that is populated by the people who have overtaken it in the last few years? or is it people like you, people like the john mccain republicans, who were able to attract people -- who were able to attract democrats, who were able to attract moderates from the other side and make this into a country who had two

functioning political parties. >> yeah, i think that's up for grabs, ali. that's a good question. i don't think we know what's going to happen there. one of the reasons i've had it with the republican party is not just trump. i mean, trump's bad enough, but it's all of the enablers. the martha mcsallies and the susan collins and the lindsey grahams out there. all of these people need to go, they need to be wiped out in this upcoming election. and if they are, maybe the republican party will regroup and say, you know, maybe we should be about something -- about principle rather than just power. maybe we should put our country first and see what we truly believe in. and if they do that, it might work out. i don't think that's going to happen very quickly. because you'll have all sorts of holdovers from this trump era. and that's a losing strategy. it's a losing strategy for 2020. it's going to be a loser in 2022. and if you go into the future and look at young people, they have zero interest in this guy

you're looking at now with the red hat. there's no future there. at some point in time, they will regroup. i will say the democratic party, you know, four years from now or eight years from now, they'll have to figure out where they are right now, also. are they going to go way left or be more of a joe biden mainstream party? both parties will have to figure out what they're all about. but we can worry about that later. right now, the country is in crisis. the economics of this country is in crisis. we have a coronavirus that's, you know, peaking again. there's so many things to do. first things first is to elect joe biden and clean up this mess, let's right the ship and put our country first. >> greg, good to see you. thank you for joining puus. grant woods is senator john mccain's first congressional chief of staff. "velshi across america" gives me the opportunity to listen to voters across this country from and all walks of life. this weekend, i sat down with

folks right here in arizona on the southern border. our conversation about immigration in america is up next. but first, here's some advice to president trump from republican jim chilton. and i should warn you, it was a little breezy down by the border. >> president trump, stay out of people's lives, but promote policies that encourage people to work, encourage people to work for themselves, work for other individuals, and enjoy prosperity. we need prosperity. all boats are lifted by a rising tide. all boats are lifted by a rising tide for bathroom odors that linger try febreze small spaces. just press firmly and it continuously eliminates odors

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today we're hitting our sixth location on the "velshi across america" tour. right now i'm on the white stallion ranch in tucson, the second largest city in arizona. the president will campaign in tucson tomorrow. arizona is a state that used to be solidly republican, but it's been trending purple in recent years. and is considered to be in play for joe biden. because of its geographic location right on the southern border, immigration is a major

issue here. yesterday, i held yet another socially distant conversation with a diverse group of local voters at rancho in sasabe, arizona, that sits right on the southern border with mexico, there you see the wall, in which new parts of the wall are being built or things are being renovated. what you're looking at is the new part of the wall, the taller part. in the discussion, we had two registered do registered democrats, two republicans, two independent, and one registered with the green party. when it came to the party, most were directly affected by the issue. two of my panelists were ranchers, who say they routinely see smugglers and drug runners cross their party. two indigenous stress that this land was theirs before the united states were formed and their people are on both sides of the wall. one of my panelists migrated to this country from mexico when she was 13 as an undocumented

immigrant and subsequently became an american citizen. here's part one of our discussio discussion. >> first of all, i would say that i feel very proud to be a naturalized citizen. i worked hard for my naturalization and my family work hard for their naturalization. i would even say that the drive here was a very triggering experience, because even though i'm a natural citizen, naturalized citizen now, the fear of border patrol, of family separation never leaves your body. just out here, i saw, on the way over here, i saw a family be detained. a man was carrying a child. >> just here as you were coming to this discussion? >> as i was coming into this discussion. so i feel very vulnerable,

because no matter how many years have passed the fear of witnessing that is still in your body. this wall -- sorry this wall is a representation of hate. this wall is a representation of everything that divides us. i -- i don't think about the immigration issue. i feel the immigration issue. >> we, as a nation, need immigrants. and i love immigrants. the problem is, is we're a nation of the rule of law. and it's against our laws for people just to decide to come into the united states.

so we've had people coming from mexico, from guatemala, hondu s honduras, come to our front yard. i have water for them. i have my truck always has ten gallons of water. we meet them, but this is very rare. in 2008, that traffic stopped and the drug cartels took over the 200 trails coming through my ranch. and what's coming through now aren't just good people trying to get into the united states, it's drug packers. drug packers coming into the united states to poison our people. we very seldom ever, ever see a woman or a child. in fact, i haven't seen one in the last four or five years. >> this is native land, so when jim talks about his cattle ranch, that's native land. that's traditional native land.

this whole area was native land. and it's the home to the people and they migrated, you know, from what is now known as mexico and what is now known as the united states. so when i think of immigration, i think of people like jim. that's who i think about. you know, i think that's very important is people are not understanding the history of how the united states came to be. we are talking about two different things. we're talking about immigration and we're talking about the flow of drugs. these are two separate issues that for whatever reason in this area seem to be merged together. we talk about immigration reform, we need to talk about how the unchecked policies of the department of homeland security. we talk about the ongoing abuses of border patrol.

those are very important issues and policies that never get discussed at this level. and i just think it's a double standard, because we are -- because we're brown. it really comes down to the white supremacy in this country and that is this wall. >> first of all, i resent you and your comment, white supremacist. i'm white, i don't view myself as a supremacist. but that's neither here nor there. let's talk reality. in our property, we have the border patrol that's there, often, and they raid various houses that are there for drugs, the cartel, and they are saving lives. the other part of the story is never told, because the border patrol here saves more lives of illegals coming through this desert than anybody. >> nobody is illegal.

>> the aravoca fire department, they save lives. our tax dollars are going out into the desert saving lives of individuals. how do they get there? because people like these various organizations are allowing the cartels and the coyotes to bring people across with lives. in our property, we are currently seeing people come across the border on our property and we're scared to death. so this wall out here is securing. that's for us. and to somehow diffuse it with these other issues is really kind of representing interest groups. >> i was born and raised in tucson. i know a lot of families that have relatives on both sides of the mexican/american border. culturally, we're not that different. i mean, maybe in the last 50 years, we've had a lot of in-migration in tucson, but it hurts my soul to see this black, ominous barrier ripping through the desert and the ecological

sequen consequences are not insignificant. and it's quite upsetting to even those of us who are relative newcomers to the region. we need to find ways to be pragmatic, informed, and not subscribe strictly to these extreme party views. >> it's interesting to hear everyone talk, because really it's a lot of fearmongering. you know, i don't believe that it is as bad as we say. now, i will say, yes, people come in, they steal cattle, they steal my family's cattle. we have a ranch on the nation as well. but do we need a big wall to be put in place? no. in fact, this wall has impacted our way of life. you know, where we were passing back and forth between the so-called border, you know, we have villages that are located

on the mexican side. we have villages locate ed clos to the border on our side. we have lived here since time immemorial. this is our way of life. i believe that people need to understand that migration is traditional. and so here we have a group of people that come in and say, this is our land. it is your land now, but it was our land. so i think, really, the problem that we have right now is that we are not talking to ooeeach other. we are not hearing each other. what we're seeing is brown skin, white skin, and unfortunately we're not getting down to the most important part here. is that this wall has divided our people, you know, it's divided us forever. you have people that came in and did a land grab, grabbed all that they could, and now it's theirs and here we are, and we are still impoverished, to this da day. >> we'll have a lot more from that conversation in our next

hour. please stay with us for that. as you might have seen there, kruk is well underway at that section of the border wall in sasabe. coming up in the next hour, i will speak to jacob soboroff, who is nbc's resident expert on all things border about where trump's efforts stand after four years in office. coming up next, protecting your vote this election season, i want to know what your voting experience has been like. many of you have sent me your stories to velshi.com. here's one of the ones that caught my attention. mina says, my mother is 96. she's been a progressive and always advocated for social justice. like me, she's following this election despite a language barrier, but i keep her informed. we always vote absentee in the barrier, california, but this year she insisted on putting her ballot into the drop box herself to make sure her vote is not going to be tampered with. she said, quote, i think this will be my last attempt to save democracy, end quote. keep mailing me your voting experience to

mystory@velshi.com. alright, everyone, we made it. my job is to help new homeowners who have turned into their parents. i'm having a big lunch and then just a snack for dinner. so we're using a speakerphone in the store. is that a good idea? one of the ways i do that is to get them out of the home. you're looking for a grout brush, this is -- garth, did he ask for your help? -no, no. -no. we all see it. we all see it. he has blue hair. -okay. -blue. progressive can't protect you from becoming your parents, but we can protect your home and auto when you bundle with us. -keep it coming. -you don't know him.

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new data collected this morning from the u.s. elections project, which analyzing data on mail ballot activity shows that 26.8 million people so far have voted in the united states. that is amazing. that is roughly ten times as many as had voted at this point in 2016. though many are worried that their vote isn't safe in the mail, largely result of the president and the republican party spreading disinformation about voting by mail and because the trump-appointed post master implemented changes to the post office that caused widespread delays in delivery. steed during a pandemic, some voters are already spending hours waiting just to do their constitutional duty. while the long lines are a good sign of enthusiasm, they also show the extent to which the

republican-led counties are gone to suppress votes. more than 15 states have closed nearly 1,700 polling places since 2013, including 750 polling sites in texas alone. data analyzed by the kinder institute for urban research found that in 2018, districts that were 90% white had a five-minute wait time. districts that were 90% non-white waited 32 minutes. we're in arizona where officials have closed over 320 polling places across 13 of its 15 counties. joining me now is democratic congressman from arizona, ruben gallegos. also democratic congresswoman from new mexico, deb holland. they both sit on the subcommittee for indigenous people, gallegos being chair in the house armed services committee. thank you both for being here today. representative gallegos, let's talk about arizona and voting right now.

we know the president will be here, he'll be in tucson, in fact, tomorrow. but this state is looking very, very competitive for democrats both on the presidential level and at the senate level. give me your sense of what's going on here on the ground in arizona? >> i feel moment is going for democrats right now. we see a huge increase in first-time voters, which is an awesome sight to see. we have the largest surge of early voting we've ever seen. and i think these visits that this president makes does not help his cause. it reminds everybody to how his response is to covid-19, how his responsive he is to our economy here. so i would be surprised if his numbers don't continue to dive here in arizona. every time he visits, we see an uptick in democratic turnout, so i kind of encourage him to keep coming back. >> representative holland, new

mexico, i believe, started early voting yesterday. so that has begun. and as you and i have talked about and as a couple of my panelists were talking about, there continue to be impediments to indigenous americans voting. although, in new mexico and arizona, at least by law, since 1948, it has been easier to do s so. >> yes. and let me first say, ali, thanks for having me. across the country, we will not be intimidated. everything the president is trying to do to keep people from voting, it's having the opposite effect, because we have decided we're not going to be intimidated. but, yes, new mexico is unique. we have a really terrific secretary of state, but for a very long time, our elected officials, our statewides, our legislature has cared deeply about the native american vote. this is a polling location in

every native community that are in majority precincts. so the pandemic, of course, as thrown us into a very different kind of election, however. and so we've pushed mail-in voting heavily in the state. native folks aren't necessarily used to voting by mail, so we're doing everything we can, including making sure that we're getting hot spots to the tribal places where folks need to be in communication with each other about this election. so we're doing everything we can to make sure that every underrepresented community votes. i've been in the community, getting out the vote, so we'll keep at it. >> representative gallegos, i want to talk about some things that we found out about hispanic

voters. 30% say they're concerned about physical violence or armed militias at voting locations, which might have sounded funny until we learned that there actually are militias out there intimidating voters. 51% are concerned about getting coronavirus if they vote in person, common across races in america. but 24% worry that the government could use in-person voting to serve warrants or arrest people. talk to me about how to overcome these issues for voters. >> first of all, let's recognize the reason that exists is because we have seen the government here in arizona do that. we have seen people like sheriff joe arpaio in the past use the arm of government to enforce bogus laws. we have seen attempts at voter suppression. and one thing when it comes to our native american vote, we took away the ability for neighbors to take other people's neighbors ballots. and that's specifically really important for our indian country. and when i spoke to the legislature about this, they didn't take one minute of testimony from native american

communities or tribes. when i asked her how many tribes were registered in arizona, she did not even know that. she passed a law that was anti-native american without any concept. the way to fight this is please, take your ballot early, drop off your ballot, mail in your ballot, and if you have any doubt, contact your local acl uu, your local ncaap. we will be there and we will fight everybody. and in terms of militias, this is why the president's words are very dangerous. we have a history of militias who have been operating on the border and have caused violence. so this is a very dangerous situation and responsible politicians will learn how to turn down the rhetoric. of course, we don't have that in the white house. >> representative holland, as you know, we try where we can to bring native americans into this discussion about democracy, but

a recent study conducted by the native american voting rights coalition found low levels of trust in government among native americans. now, we know that a number of tribal and indian organizations have endorsed joe biden, but even somebody i spoke to, a young woman i spoke to from the local nation who had gone to tucson to study, she was a university student, said she's supporting joe biden, but reluctantly because she fundamentally still believes that the political parties in america have not taken native groups seriously. >> well, i can understand that. and that's why i've been working in indian country for such a long time. and ali, we have a way to fix that. that's to make sure that more native folks run for public office. we have a record number of native americans across the country running for public office, for congress, for state houses, for state snatenates, f various offices around the country.

we need representation at the table, and that's what's been missing, is that a lot of folks don't -- their voice isn't heard. my slogan when i first ran for congress was, congress has never heard a voice like mine. never a native american woman in congress, in over 230 years. so it's important that we continue to step up, that we make sure that we bring tribal leaders to the table. i thank chairman gallegos. he has been a tremendous ally to indian country for such a long time. as chairman of our subcommittee, he makes sure that native americans have a voice in our congress. and that's what we need to continue to do. and you can -- i think that this election will absolutely make sure that more of us get elected and our voices are heard and perhaps we'll be able to answer those questions, right? to make sure that the indian country has a seat at the table,

always. >> thank you to both of you for the work that you have done to that extent. democratic representative ruben gallegos of arizona. representative congresswoman deb holland of new mexico. thanks to both of you. arizona is home, by the way, to 22 native tribes. a recent supreme court decision to end the census count early could affect their way of life. we'll talk about that ahead. but here's native american democratic voter april ignacio on what voters can do to start rebuilding a better america. >> like, the old indian saying is, you know, you have two years to hear and one mouth to speak. so if you listen more and talk less, you can learn more. u listk less, you can learn more - [announcer] welcome to intelligent indoor grilling with the ninja foodi smart xl grill. just pick your protein, select your doneness,

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last week, the supreme court sided with president trump and ruled that the census bureau could stop counting of the american population earlier than the scheduled end date. just hours after the supreme court decision, the census bureau announced that, quote, well over 99.9% of housing units have been accounted for in the 2020 census. which is great, right? 99.9%. wrong. because within that tenth of a percent that are not counted are groups that are already significantly underrepresented in the united states, including the massive tribal communities living on reservations right here in arizona. the tribal land in this state hard to count because of his geography, lack of proper connectivity and add a pandemic

to the equation and the decision to cut the census short almost guarantees that minority and tribal communities will be undercounted. and that's really important. because census numbers help determine how many congressional seats are allotted to each state. it also guides billions of dollars in federal, state, and tribal funds. that has an effect on how much money goes into schools, into health care clinics, into housing, into clean water initiatives, into sewer programs, into roads, into medicare, into medicaid, into children's health insurance and a lot more. essentially, all of your basic everyday needs. that's why it's so important to get an accurate count of the tribal community. it's accurate -- it's important to get an accurate count of every community in america. and we are not there yet. according to 2020 census data, there is still an entire native american reservation in arizona at zero percent census response. zero. and with the census now

officially closed, the havasupai people will not be represented in the american population this year. stephen roe lewis put it this way, with no explanation or rationale, a majority simply decided that our people do not deserve to be counted. all right, right now in arizona, in the desert, in the early morning, it is cool enough for me to wear a jacket here this morning, but soon it will be in the mid-90s, by noon, actually. phoenix has seen temperatures above 100 degrees for half och all the days in 2020 so far. it's almost like mother nature might be trying to tell us something. more on the climate crisis in arizona when we come back. on t arizona when we come back. into a smaller life?

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not what's easy. so when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. that's how you do it right. usaa insurance is made just the way martin's family needs it - with hassle-free claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. because doing right by our members, that's what's right. usaa. what you're made of, we're made for. usaa good morning, wee we are back from arizona. i don't say this lightly, it is nott tucson. it's r aep's relatively cool. the temperature where i am will climb a full 30 degrees in four hours. the constituent's capital, phoenix, has shattered records as half of all the days in 2020 so far saw triple-digit

temperatures. that's roughly 30 more days of extreme heat in one year than phoenix residents have ever experienced in the last century. not only is there heat, but right now north of me, in crown king, arizona, the horse wildfire is forcing hundreds of people to evacuate. on top of wildfires, we've seen an untick in -- uptick in rainstorms and gulf. we're not listening in part because we have science-denier who's have infiltrated the republican party and a president who denies the effect of human activity to global warming. with the election quickly approaching, scientists and academics alike are sounding the alarms loud. "the lancet" and "nature" endorsed joe biden pfor president. the "new england journal of medicine" surprised many saying, quotes, we should not avet our leaders by allowing them to keep their jobs, end quote.

a few weeks ago, scientific american, the country's oldest continuously circulated science magazine, also endorsed the former vice president in its first-ever political endorsement. its editors write, quote, the evidence and the science show that donald trump has badly damaged the u.s. and its people because he rejects evidence and science. the most devastating example is his dishonest and inept response to the covid-19 pandemic, end quote. this as the nation's death toll crossed 220,000 this weekend. joining me is laura helmouth, editor-in-chief of "scientific america," former president of the national association of science writers and has held positions at several major publications. laura, thank you for joining us. tell me about the decision that it took those of you on your editorial board to endorse a political candidate and to talk about -- two endorse joe biden.

>> we took this decision very seriously. you know, we've been around for 175 years, just celebrated our anniversary. and we've never done this before. when our editors met to discuss this decision, immediately and unanimously we agreed that we need to sound the alarm. this is the most consequential election of our lifetimes. one of the most in the history of the united states. and there's so many reasons to vote for biden. but if you just look at health, science, and the environment, you couldn't have two more different candidates. >> and let's -- the environment is the big one because we will solve this coronavirus thing. but this globe is heating up, and there are people who think we've passed the points at which we can make the right decisions about it. you have used actually in your endorsement coronavirus as the current and important example writing "trump's reaction to america's worst public health crisis in a century has been to say, quote, i don't take

responsibility at all. instead he blamed other countries and his white house predecessor who left office three years before the pandemic began." so in coronavirus, you see a microcosm of the failure to deal with issues that will, in fact, unbelievably be bigger. >> yeah. it's amazing. i mean, the global pandemic and global warming are both just absolutely catastrophic. and you know, in both cases you can pretend it's a hoax, you can pretend it's a conspiracy, but they're not going away. and there's never been a more important time to support the science on both disasters, and especially just have clear, honest information, and not president clint politicize things but do what's necessary to save things immediately from the virus and save lives already. but certainly in the next decades by acting with -- with regard to the evidence on climate change. >> you covered this for a while. you worked for the "the washington times" for slate, for

"in fact g in facin fac in fac- geographic." do you think the nation and government does not take seriously the human contribution to climate and things we have to change it? do you feel that generally speaking the population has gone in the right direction? >> you know, that's a really good question. and i think the people who are getting good information by watching msnbc, by tuning in to you, by reading, you know, reliable sources of news and feature stories and opinion, i think people do understand. and we certainly saw during the march for science at the beginning of the trump administration. more than a million people around the world came out to say basically there is no planet b, there is our planet, we need to respect the science, we need to follow the science and make good decisions based on what we understand about the world. i think a lot of people are really understanding how important this is. certainly younger people, especially.

they're going to be living with this forever. and the decisions we make now will greatly impact what their future is like. so i think there are a lot of people who really understand and really want to do the right thing. and i hope they're all registered, and i hope they all vote. i think the people still denying it -- it comes from the top. trump has been sharing misinformation and instead of, you know, sharing science, he's been sharing conspiracy theories, misinformation, stoking xenophobia, racism, nationalism. and all these things are just the exact wrong things to do when you're in a crisis. >> yeah. laura, thank you for joining us. thank you for what you've done. editor-in-chief of "scientific american." we've got a lot more from arizona coming up including the sun. look at that behind me. the sun is rising. by the way, we'll have a conversation with the mayor of this fine town that i'm in, tucson, regina romero, one day before a trump rally right here in this city. her message to the president, wear a mask.

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good morning. it is sunday, october 18th. we are two weeks and two days until election day, 16 days in total. i'm live in tucson, arizona, at the white stallion ranch on the sixth stop on our special sunday series "velshi across america,"