terry moran back with us from the hill again tonight. and terry, we all watched as

terry moran back with us tonight. as you reported there, the democrats grilling judge barrett on the affordable care act, coverage for millions including pre-existing conditions on the line with that case just days after the election, but we all took note today it seemed it was the republicans on the committee today trying to clarify on the future of the affordable care act. >> reporter: it was, david. and it was really striking. republican after republican using their time questioning judge barrett to send a message beyond the hearing room, to their constituents, to voters, that republicans don't want the entire obamacare statute to be struck down by the court, though that's exactly what president trump's lawyers are arguing in the court, and they left the unmistakable impression that it is an issue that's really hurting them in this election. david? >> all right, terry, we'll see you back here tomorrow night. >>> meantime, overseas tonight, we are watching closely what is unfolding, amid those concerns of a second w

abc's terry moran live at the supreme court for us tonight. terry? >> reporter: david, you are right. this is a record that the senate will be setting tonight, because amy coney barrett is certain to become justice barrett tonight and she will be confirmed closer to election dathan any supreme court justice in american history. and you can see why they want to do it, in what mitch mcconnell said. that he and other republicans are looking at those polls, they're concerned that they could lose not just the white house, but the senate, as well, so they want to get her on the court. once on the court, the week after the election, she faces a huge case that she will be able to hear and rule on, on the affordable care act, whether they'll strike it all down with its protections for more than 130 million americans who have pre-existing conditions. and she will also hear election-related cases that could decide who wins. she hasn't said whether or not she'll recuse. david? >> terry moran tonight, thank you. >>> and tonight, with the prospects 0 of a second r

>> terry moran will be at the court all week for us. terry, thank you. >>> and now to the coronavirus tonight. cases on the rise in more than half the country. and a new study tonight suggesting that the virus can survive on some surfaces longer than we thought. up to 28 days on some surfaces. they actually looked at the surface of phones. also, hospitalizations rising in 35 states. experts warn an increase in deaths could follow. and this number tonight. more than 215,000 american lives lost to this virus. tonight, more on that new study and here's abc's eva bipilgrim. >> reporter: tonight, the number of covid cases and hospitalizations are on the rise in more than half the country. 14 states hitting a record number of hospitalizations last week. in utah, one of the hot spots, entire families coming in. >> many times one of them makes it and one of them doesn't, and that's been really heartbreaking to see. >> reporter: experts warning of an increase in the number of deaths in the coming days. >> when you look at what's going on in the u

. >> reporter: my colleague, terry moran, made that first trip. >> it's terry moran with abc news. >>eporter: eighth grade civics teacher dr. joe harmon, who champions his students' political opinion without providing his own, has been our guide each time. >> their voice matters. they have a responsibility so use their voice in a responsible manner, to provide an educated opinion, to try to make a difference. the other thing is to be active members of society. >> how do you feel, as somebody working very carefully to mold these minds as they start to form their political thoughts, about the vitriolic tone that we see both from just political supporters and also from political candidates themselves in modern politics? >> the key there is to show that you can be of differences of opinion, but we've got to have civil discourse. >> what parts of the state do you think -- >> reporter: the most jarring and obvious difference with dr. harmon's class this year is everyone's wearing a mask. something students had mixed feelings about after coronavirus closed their school in the spring. >> i de

terry moran with us now. a lot of people wondering about this chance that president trump at some point perhaps, would not be able to continue in his role, at least temporarily, and then what would happen? i know the 25th amendment would come into play. terry, talk us through what could happen. of course, this is just a possibility, but what could happen, if the president, while at walter reed temporarily is unable to do his job. >> that's it exactly, david. 25th amendment is there are if president trump to make use of if he sees it necessary. if at any point the president believes he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the presidency, all he has to do is write a letter, write a declaration to that effect to the house and senate, and that letter transfers those authorities to vice president mike pence, who becomes the acting president. it's temporary. when president trump recovers, feels better, he writes a letter saying i feel better and the powers and authorities come back to him. vice president

terry moran back with us from the hill again tonight. and terry, we all watched as judge barrett was pressed today on the affordable care act, on roe versus wade, on same sex marriage. and like many supreme court nominees before her, she was very careful to say as little as possible on how she would rule. so, bottom line, for folks watching at home tonight, did anything happen today to take this nomination offcourse? >> reporter: no, david. not a thing. but that was to be expected, in part because democrats not having the votes decided to use their time in this hearing to try to raise key issues in the election that could help joe biden, like health care, which we heard a lot about. but we know president trump is happy. he just told reporters, amy's doing really well, it's been a great day. david? >> terry will be back on the hill for us tomorrow. thank you, terry. >>> in the meantime, those setbacks against the battle against covid in this country. a key vaccine trial has been suspended tonight after a volunteer came down with an unexpl

>> terry moran covering the court for us tonight. terry, thank you. >>> and this evening, with the prospects of covid stimulus aid dimming, cases soaring across the country, investors outlook on the economy took a hit. the dow closed down 650 points, after being down more than 950 points at one point. closing down more than 2%. it was the worst day for stocks since september 3rd. >>> when we come back here on a monday night, the state of emergency already in place. yet another hurricane heading toward the u.s. tonight. ginger zee standing by to time it out for us. but we can still help protect each other this flu season by getting vaccinated. if you're 65 or older, get the superior flu protection of fluzone high-dose quadrivalent. it's the only 65+ flu vaccine with four times the standard dose. and it's free with medicare part b. fluzone high-dose quadrivalent isn't for people who've had a severe allergic reaction to any flu vaccine or vaccine component, including eggs or egg products. tell your health care professional if you've eve

terry moran in washington with the latest. good morning, terry. >> reporter: good morning, george.re might not be another debate, which could come as good news to many americans. for 30 years the commission on presidential debates which is a bipartisan group has managed to run this show pretty smoothly. all that ended this weekend. they are going back to the drawing board. more on that in a minute. the fallout continues and president trump is declaring victory publicly and privately but many top republicans are stunned and dismayed at his inability to plainly and simply denounce an american fascist group. the president's debate performance has sparked a torrent of criticism that even his most ardent allies have struggled to contain and republicans on capitol hill are now distancing themselves from the president after he failed to disavow a far right fascist group, the proud boys, saying this instead. >> proud boys, stand back and stand by. >> reporter: the senate's only black republican, tim scott, of south carolina calling on trump to explain himself. >> i think he misspoke. i thi

let's go back to terry moran in washington with the latest. l virtual. the nominee herself sitting there wearing make the sign of these coronavirus times. if she's confirmed, amy coney barrett, the 115th justice in the history of security, the fifth woman, the first mother of school-age children to sit on the bench. if she's confirmed, she'll be confirmed as the latest supreme court justice, no supreme court justice has been confirmed this close to an election. the republicans clearly determined to get her on the court by election day. democrats bitterly oppose. but the republicans have the votes. so what you see in this hearing as amy coney barrett is so far listening to the opening statements, democrats on the one hand, using these hearings, to raise issues key in the election, primarily health care, amy coney barrett on the record, suggesting that the affordable care act, obamacare should have been struck down in its entirety by the supreme court. republicans meanwhile singing her praises. she's a very distinguished person, a staunch conserv

our senior national correspondent terry moran tracking all of this for us this morning. good morning, terry. >> reporter: good morning, robin. the questioning continuing this morning with judge barrett like previous nominees declining to commit herself on cases that might come before her. steering clear of politics. in a couple moments she did get personal. this morning, democrats are gearing up for another crack at questioning judge amy coney barrett. >> from a conservative point of view, the generally speaking we want legislative bodies to make laws not judges, is that correct? >> that's correct. >> further true that if you can preserve a statute you would try to the extent possible? >> that's true. >> reporter: overnight, senator kamala harris, california's former top prosecutor and the democratic nominee for vice president grilled the judge remotely on whether she would strike down the affordable care act. >> would you consider the 135 million people who gained protections under the affordable care act when deciding a case that challenges that law? >> i would consider

senior national correspondent terry moran has the story. s to steer clear of controversy, but she's taking a public stand against this tell-all book, because she says what she calls its salacious claims are interfering with her work on behalf of children. this morning, first lady melania trump is fighting back, taking on her former friend and adviser who wrote a book about her personal life and released secret audio recordings of their conversations to cnn. >> they say i'm complicated. complicit. they say i'm the same like him, that i don't do enough, i don't say enough. >> reporter: melania trump who's heard venting to stephanie winston wolkoff in the tapes from 2018 is now blasting the release as pettiness writing in a letter on the white house website, these kinds of people only care about their personal agenda, not about helping others. in the recordings the two are heard discussing the controversial policy to separate children from their parents at the u.s./mexico border. >> they sleep on the floor. they are -- they are -- there's nothi

>> terry moran, thanks so much. you can tune in to the town hall next thursday 8:00 p.m.'ll be moderating in philadelphia. michael? >> we'll be watching. >>> more now on the coronavirus emergency. this morning troubling new numbers from the cdc now projecting as many as 20,000 more americans could die from the disease by election day. will reeve has more. >> reporter: this morning, wisconsin among four states reporting record high numbers of coronavirus cases, as colder weather leads to fears of a new surge in the northeast. >> if you're gathering together indoors, assume someone in that group that's outside of your family household that could be positive and wear your mask and continue to physically distance. >> reporter: dr. anthony fauci speaking thursday saying it could be a year before we have a return to normal life. >> will people have to wear masks? yes, likely. i would imagine if we get a good vaccine now, that we could have some degree of normality in the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2021. >> reporter: but until that return to normal many americans in

our senior national correspondent terry moran is tracking this for us. d, terry, yesterday was just the warm up. >> reporter: good morning, t.j. this is the main event. for most americans the only time they get a good, long look for anyone who may sit on the supreme court for decades is a senate confirmation hearing. we're learning about judge amy coney barrett as she answer questions. first, friendly questions from the chairman lindsey graham. she talked about how difficult it was for her and her family to make this decision to accept this nomination. this morning, democrats are preparing to grill judge amy coney barrett, kicking off the questioning, asking if she can put the judicial process above her personal opinion. >> gun, abortion, health care. campaign finance. does that process hold true for everything? >> yes, always --judgescan't wake up one day and say i have an agenda, i like guns, i don't like guns. you can't impose the will on the world. >> reporter: in a personal moment, judge barrett talked about how difficult it was for her and her fami

. >> i want to bring in terry moran.earing the president may be going to the hospital, this brings up the discussion of the 25th amendment, and perhaps turning over some powers to the vice president. >> that is available to him. it's by the 25th amendment was written. guardrails for the president to choose, if at some point, if his condition worsens and he feels he's not up to discharging, in the words of the constitution, the powers and duties of the office, he writes a letter to the house and senate declaring that, and mike pence becomes the acting president. it's a temporary measure, he doesn't take the title or the office. but when president trump recovers, he writes a letter and becomes president again. the hard part is if he falls ill quickly and isn't able to get the letter off, then vice president pence under the constitution would assemble the cabinet. if a majority of them vote that the president is not able to discharge the duties and powers of the office, mike pence would become the acting president. t . >> i

mentioned said they're both well at this time and will maintain a vigilant watch over them and terry moranone of the major questions this morning, what happens if the president becomes unable to do his job? >> reporter: that's right, cecilia. that's where the 25th amendment to the constitution kicks in. that's the amendment passed after the assassination of john kennedy and does provide and it's been tested clear guidance on what happens. it would be the president of the united states, president trump submitting a written declaration to the senate and to the house saying he is temporarily unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. upon recovery, the president would then submit another declaration saying i'm okay. this has been used three times during planned surgeries that ronald reagan and george w. bush underwent. what happens if the president falls so ill he unable to make that written declaration? well, then the cabinet would meet and they would vote that the president is unable to discharge those powers and duties. they submit that written declaration and the vice presid

our senior national correspondent terry moran has a look at the key races and some of them are getting nasty in the home stretch, terry. good morning. >> reporter: it always does, doesn't it. good morning, michael. the battle for the senate as you say coming down to the wire. democrats feel they have the wind at their back but republicans throwing everything they've got into what mitch mcconnell is calling the dog fights. those fierce contests that could decide the outcome. as political ads blanket the air waves this election season could become the most expensive ever, with several senate races surpassing $200 million each, and now some democrats are sensing victory. in arizona, republican senator martha mcsally fending off a strong challenge from former astronaut mark kelly, the husband of former congresswoman gabby giffords. >> as americans we endeavor to build lives than better before. >> reporter: mcsally is the incumbent appointed to succeed senator john mccain and she's had to distance herself from president trump's harsh attacks on mccain. >> quite frankly, it pisses me off whe

. >> and terry moran, as we said at the top of this broadcast, two candidates, two different americas in two very different ways. >> very much so, but speaking as others have said, you know, from the moment that donald trump came down that escalator, he has dominated american politics. it has been the trump show. his gigantic personality, with his colossal need to dominate every hour of the news cycle and here tonight, as cecilia said to the two oldest presidential candidates we've ever had, we got a glimpse of the future. what is american politics without donald trump? well, it turns out to look a little bit like american politics before donald trump. and that, i think, for a lot of americans, is going to be reassuring. >> rahm e man yum, you agree with that? >> well, i think one of the things i would say, no, i don't. i think that -- you have an election here, here's how i say it. joe biden is a change agent. donald trump is a disruptor. and i don't -- i think we should draw that distinction. usually elections are status quo versus change. this is change versus disruptor. and i thin