wolf? >> i assume those people don't realize how dangerous it is to be hanging so close together not wearing masks. the situation like that even though they're outside, which is better than inside. but still, it's pretty dangerous. >> there's still a risk. >> let's get some more on the breaking pandemic news right now. cnn's nick watt is in los angeles for us. the country is within days of crossing a really terrible new milestone. >> that's right, wolf. it's likely that this weekend we will pass 200,000 dead americans killed by covid-19. and what really strikes me is that more than seven months since the first death on american soil, some of our leaders are still playing politics and still tinkering with how we should try and contain this virus. today, the cdc is finally once again recommending that asymptomatic people are tested after contact with an infected person. >> we know that asymptomatic spread is one of the primary drivers of this pandemic. >> reporter: we've long known that. but

wolf: yeah. it's extremely difficult. dhs is the largest law enforcement agency in the country, from border patrol to ice to secret service and everything in between. we have an extensive law enforcement community at the department. it's not the only thing that we do, but it's a big portion of what we do. i travel and i get the opportunity to talk with those law enforcement officers, the first thing they say, and they could say a lot of things to me, the first thing they say is, "thank you. thank you for talking about what we do and how we protect the homeland." they put on a badge, they put on a uniform every day at great risk to themselves, and now to their families. i talked about doxxing earlier and they're just trying to go to work and do their job and protect their communities. when they see some of the dialogue that's out there and trying to paint them a certain way with a broad brush, , -- obviously there are bad actors in every profession to include law enforcement, we need to hold those

>> absolutely no role, wolf. those who suggest that the military would have any role in transition, they are being equally irresponsible. i heard some of the comments, for example, by vice president biden, not in recent days but much earlier. of course going back to our founders again, we should remember george washington's grandparents fled the english civil war. it was for that reason that at our founding general washington and then president washington made sure there was a very bold line between the military and politics. the military should have nothing to do with partisan politics and nothing to do with even any talk about a transition between administrations. >> the fact that we even have to ask a question like that is so worrisome in and of itself. i never thought i would have to ask if the u.s. military would have to get involved in dealing with this. i want you to listen, listen to the house speaker nancy pelosi, what she said earlier today. >> he admires putin. he admires kim jong-un. he admires erdoga

>> so, i do expect it, wolf.in the next week or so, you're going to hear news of other folks joining me in that regard. i'm working on it every day behind the scenes. but i've got to say, the president has really created this culture of intimidation, where people are scared to speak out. and they feel like the only way they can do so safely is through the cover of anonymity. but now is not the time for anonymity. i'm urge folks to step forward. i think some will. i'll also add that i think some of the individuals who witnessed this firsthand will tell me that the president wanted to say home and watch tv the day they went to the cemetery. he couldn't validate this comment about suckers and losers with bulb w , but was looking for any excuse to stay home and watch tv. i think that shows you the low-level of respect that our president for the troops and more people will be coming to speak out about that soon. >> if true, that accusation would be outrageous. president often repeated his oft-stated claim that preside

>> no, wolf. we can't, because we don't even have the data yet to show that this vaccine is going to be effective. i mean, there's a lot of enthusiasm around a few of the candidates, but there's really been little data so far, and pretty audacious projections, wolf. you know, it's interesting. i spoke to monsef slowey, this exact issue came up. here's how he described how this might unfold over the next few months. >> if it's shown in november or december, we don't have enough vaccine doses. we have a few million in november and maybe 10, 20 million of each in december. that would be enough to vaccinate certain populations. start vaccinating certain populations, but not the whole population. >> and then the idea, wolf, of sort of trying to really scale up tenfold, 20-fold from there is the real challenge. we simply don't know, and the data is double blinded. there's nobody who right now is looking at the data and so far is saying yes, for sure, this looks promising. there's going to be an independ

that's not enough, wolf. i mean, the whole goal is to get enough people vaccinated that the virus has a harder time finding a suitable host, because we have immunity. if only half the country, roughly, is getting the vaccine, we're still, despite having the vaccine, which is something that, you know, we've aspired to for so long, despite having that, we still may not get to that level of immunity that is necessary. that's what the erosion of trust leads to. >> you had a very important conversation today, sanjay, with the u.s. testing czar, admiral brett giroir, who told you that asymptomatic people here in the u.s. actually need to be tested but that seems to contradict what we've been told by the cdc. so which is it? >> yeah, i mean, no surprise, there's a lot of confusion out there. what it should be, and people should remember this, is that even asymptomatic people should be getting tested. if you are someone who has had contact with somebody who is known to have covid, you need to get tested. i just want

thanks for having me back, wolf. incredible extraordinary increase of people wanting to vote by mail. people on both sides of the aisle i should add, we've already had 2.4 million citizens in michigan request a vote by mail this fall. that's already close to a record in our state, and we are on track to have 3 million of our 5 million citizens this fall will be voting by mail. >> the president has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he were to lose the election. he continues to argue that voting by mail is a scam that can't be trusted. what do you have to say to the president when it comes to these words that he's uttering? >> i'll say to anyone and including all of our voters in our state in michigan and throughout the country, voting by mail is secure. and in michigan as well as many other states we've got time-tested protocols in place to ensure that every ballot is secure, that we're evaluating and identifying the voters who submit every ballot to affirm their identity, and voters should have eve

but you know what, wolf? that also means that probably another 100,000 people will die regardless at this point, which is just -- that did not need to happen, wolf. >> let's not forget more than 6 million americans -- 6.3 million americans have actually come down with coronavirus. and many of them, they may have survived but they could potentially have some long-term ramifications from this illness. and they've gone through very, very rough periods, 6.3 million americans have tested positive for coronavirus over these past few months. dana bash, we just got an exchange that our jake tapper had with joe biden in michigan just a few moments ago he went up there to interview the democratic presidential nominee. i want to play this exchange that jake had with joe biden, and then we'll discuss. listen to this. >> mr. vice president, thanks so much for doing this. i appreciate it. >> happy to do it. >> so, some big breaking news in his upcoming book, bob woodward reports that president trump understood the serious

i'm wolf blitzer.hanks very much for watching cnn's special coverage of this historic first debate starts historic first debate starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >>> on this stage and on this night, president donald trump and former vice president joe biden are facing off in their first debate. it is a high-risk test with enormous consequences for a nation in crisis. it is debate in america on a special edition of "outfront." so glad to be with you. i'm erin burnett. the public has never seen a presidentiate

wolf? >> well, good morning, chairman johnson and ranking member peters and other distinguished members of the committee. certainly an honor to appear before you today as the president's nominee to be the secretary of homeland security. i'm grateful to the president for the faith and trust he placed in me to serve the tremendous men and women of the department. whose mission is now more important and more critical to the safety and security of the homeland than ever before. again, i would like to thank senator cruz for being here today to introduce me and for his kind words but more importantly for his continued support for the department in our mission. as each of you personally understand, service to one country means dedication, hard work and commitment. that dedication often means less personal time with family and loved ones, which is a sacrifice felt by all of us in public service. for many years my family has made tremendous sacrifices so i could serve our nation. i would like to tak

>> that's right, wolf. the nation got a brief reprieve from this bitter campaign season today as both president trump and former vice president joe biden took time to mark 19 years since the 9/11 attacks. but the break from politics won't last very long as the president continues to claim that the pandemic is almost over, when we know that's just not true. on a field in pennsylvania at one of the nation's memorial sites for the 9/11 attacks, president trump and former vice president joe biden hit the pause button on the election to remember the lives lost 19 years ago. >> today we honor their extraordinary sacrifice and every first responder who keeps america safe. >> in new york, biden and vice president mike pence bumped elbows in a rare moment of civility. >> i'm not going to be making any news today. i'm not going to talk about anything other than 9/11. we took all our advertising down. it's a solemn day and that's how we're going to keep it. >> reporter: the national unity that came after 9/11 is nowhe

. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. president trump spent the day celebrating some big diplomatic agreements reached between israel and the united arab emirates and bahrain, but the coronavirus pandemic was stealing part of the spotlight in this deal. like the president's rallies, the white house featured attendees sitting side by side, many without wearing any masks. the president and top officials continue to brush off concerns that they are actively encouraging americans to crowd into places where the virus can pick and choose its next victim. bringing together the leaders of israel, the united arab emirates and bahrain to establish diplomatic relations, president trump hailed the agreement as a breakthrough that would spread peace across the middle east. >> we're here this afternoon to change the course of history. >> reporter: the president pointed to the moment as a sign of his deal-making skills bearing fruit in a troubled region. >> together these agreements will serve as the foundation for a comprehensive peace

you ought to call them, wolf. you know how to get in touch with them and say what are you going to do? >> well, what happens, bob, if let's say mitch mcconnell, chuck schumer can't get together, can't reach some sort of agreement, nancy pelosi, mccarthy can't reach some sort of agreement to do something at this critical moment only a few weeks before the november 3rd election? what's your worst-case fear? >> well, i mean, they don't do something and we just, you know -- i mean, the electoral process is running around the edge of a cliff that goes into an abyss. there should be pressure on mcconnell in my book "rage," a talk a great deal and have many scenes of lindsey graham, chairman of the senate judiciary committee. now he is a big trump supporter. but i have scene after scene in the book where he tries to bring trump down to earth and say, you know, you're always playing for division, you are doing things that are hurting your own case. maybe republicans in the senate could get together and say let's do someth

wolf? >> yeah. normally a debate like this there would be probably a thousand people in the audience tonight. under a hundred we're told, maybe 60, 70, or 80, something like that. arlette saenz on the scene for us in cleveland. thank you. let's go to the white house right now. our chief white house correspondent jim acosta is joining us. jim, the president, he has arrived in cleveland, already a campaign official says. he's feeling confident about tonight's debate. what are you hearing? >> reporter: that's right, wolf. a senior trump campaign official said just what you said a few moments ago telling reporters earlier this afternoon the president feels confident about tonight's debate with joe biden. but a trump campaign adviser told me earlier today, wolf, the president must make up some ground tonight. the adviser pointed to some recent polls showing mr. trump running behind joe biden in key battleground states including the latest "washington post" abc news numbers from pennsylvania indicating th

. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. president trump is claiming he's done a, quote, good job, great job on the coronavirus, he says, as the number of dead in the u.s. from covid-19 has reached approximately 190,000 people. the president's wishes for a vaccine by election, though, just got a dose of reality as dr. anthony fauci just said, that is unlikely. the president is also doing damage control after revelations that he used crude language to describe fallen u.s. service members. as it turns out, there is video from 2016 that appears to show mr. trump describing military commanders as, quote, losers. in the meantime, trump supporters -- you were just showing this picture a few moments ago. they're gaths ring in north carolina right now for a campaign speech. we can show you that video if we have it available to us. there it is. people packed into this event venue down in winston-salem, north carolina. as you can see, there is little social distancing and not many masks in sight. with the number of dead from the coron

>> reporter: wolf, that's very much an open question.ervatives are rallying behind the president's choice here. liberals and democrats are also certainly concerned by this. we spent the last several days in key battleground state of wisconsin, ten electoral votes are critical to the president's re-election strategy, and this is certainly following along partisan lines. also, it is clear as this confirmation process proceeds here, independent voters are going to hold the most important view. take a listen to a couple of voters we talked to about their view of this nomination fight. >> understand it doesn't matter who you put in as president. anytime someone challenges something and it goes up to the supreme court, when you have an activist conservative court, you're civil liberties are going to go away. look to see what civil liberties actions have been decided by the supreme court. >> he's doing his job, what the constitution says, when there's a seat that's open, you're supposed to fill it. it was different four years ago. it is like th

>> thank you very much, wolf.hank you for the well wishes to me and to the administration on this historic breakthrough. obviously, i think that today what we did was we shattered an amazing barrier bringing the arab countries together with israel hopefully marks the beginning of the end of the arab-israeli conflict. and it allows people in the region to start doing business together, traveling to each other. one of the biggest issues that's kept the region divided for so long is the al-aqqsa mosque. this allows muslims to go there. and i think that that will hopefully reduce the tension in the region, hopefully help us counter extremism and terrorism in a much more efficient way. it allows us to bring troops back to america. i think at the end of the day it allows us to hopefully spend our monies on foreign wars, rebuilding our country. >> the president said the administration is very far along in talks with other arab countries who want to follow suit. earlier in the morning he said five or six countries later t

>> that's right, wolf.now, one of the things we see is that the -- throughout the administration, we see an effort by officials, including by the attorney general to make sure that their statements are aligned with what the president says and not necessarily reflecting what the intelligence and what the information they're getting from the professionals in their agencies. so, we've seen this repeatedly, especially with regard to antifa, the antifa protesters and their role in the protest in the wake of gorge floyd's killing that they wanted to talk about the role of antifa, even though we've seen a lot more cases, wolf, brought against white wing extremist groups like the movement folks and instead focusing more on the threat from anarchists and from antifa. we've seen this repeatedly from him and from others in the administration. >> and there's an assessment that white supremacists potentially represent a greater threat. is that right? >> reporter: that's right. that's one of the produced an assessment th

wolf, it's exactly as you say. in the meeting you changed looks, pass notes and afterwards you'd express genuine concern the president was off kilter. obvious you leave the meetings and the president made a decision that people in the room felt was reckless and pushed back and thought reckless or illegal. he doesn't care. we had to strategize, how do we get the bad idea back in the box. that was the struggle. certainly as we saw with olivia, the bad idea didn't get back in the box. the president didn't respond adequately and thousands of americans have died. >> this official, olivia troye, also describes an incredibly insensitive comment she said she heard from the president. watch this. >> when we were in a task force meeting, the president said maybe this covid is a good thing. i don't like shaking hands with people. i don't have to shake hands with these disgusting people. those disgusting people are the same people he claims to care about. >> that's pretty shocking to hear that. is that surprising to you, miles

wolf? >> all right, a tense situation there in louisville. shimon, you've been covering the protests throughout the day. there is a curfew now set for 9:00 p.m. this evening. describe what you're seeing and hearing. i sense things have been very, very tense the past few hours. >> reporter: it has been tense. and the tension has been building, wolf, remember, for days. we have been expecting this announcement probably since last week. there were a lot of rumors that this was coming any day. the police put in all sorts of precautions in place. they've closed the streets down. a lot of the protesters who after the decision came down, they knew exactly what this meant. and they were angry. they were angry that no one was going to be held responsible, at least in the indictment for the death of breonna taylor. and so they took to the streets. they marched, they protested. and we were marching for about an hour and a half till we got to this location, this scene. and for whatever reason, it's sti

the right wing militia american wolf says the police have failed and that the u.s. needs aren't man like himself to restore law and order. people that are down there they're not protesters they're criminals and they're actively working to help the stabiliser government. target practice for members of the militia american wolf at a secret location in the u.s. state of washington. this a k 47 rifle holds 30 bullets the notorious automatic weapon is the one prefers . the kalashnikov was originally developed by the sauvie a dread army for peter it is the ideal weapon to defend his american values. pretty good classic so they don't make them like that anymore you could drop it in the mud. a successful businessman peter recently founded american wolf he says their goal is to keep america the way it is a nation under god proud and conservative he wouldn't reveal how many people have joined his group but many are former soldiers. recent estimates suggest there are about $180.00 militias around the country most of them support president truong are heavily armed and believe i

wolf?> tell us why you and other members of the news media have decided not to do instead for this rally? >> reporter: wolf, the science is clear, indoor events with many people is exactly the kind of thing that you want to avoid, particularly when most people, as has been the case at these rallies, are not wearing any masks. it's been the advice of every single public health expert. there's a reason why nevada is barring public gatherings of more than 50 people. but the president and his campaign hosting this event in defiance of that. >> they're going to be crammed inside this event. it's going to be closed, indoor, once again. people are going to be screaming. people are going to be shouting. potentially, very dangerous. you and your colleagues in the news media made the right decision, jeremy, not to go inside. that rally scheduled to begin a few hours from now. but people are lining up by the thousands as you can see. let's go to minnesota right now. that's another key battleground sta

i've never seen anything like it, wolf. you know, when it comes to masks, i think the point that dr. redfield is making, sort of made three points in there, but this idea over all that a facemask if you had near universal compliance would dramatically bring down the trajectory of this viral spread, i think is pretty well shown by evidence. we can show this, you know, wolf, you've seen this before. look at countries around the world. compare them to the united states in terms of what's happened with the overall viral spread. if we have that we can show, again, what did these countries have such as south korea, such as italy, that we didn't have? they had no vaccine obviously. they have therapeutics we don't have. they wore masks and they tested people. the two issues we're really talking about here. it obviously made a significant difference. you know, i think these numbers sort of speak for themselves. i should also point out, wolf, that the vaccine that may get authorized this fall, the fda may only require it be 50% effec

. >> that's right, wolf. these sken arrocenario document out by the cdc to different public health officials across the country giving them two different scenarios here. it doesn't necessarily mean that we will have a vaccine bay late october but it definitely shows there is something in the works. start to preparing to distribute a covid vaccine as soon as late october is what the cdc told public health officials across the country providing distribution scenarios for two different potential vaccines prioritizing certain groups for the vaccine if approved like health care workers. but there is still no guarantee for a vaccine. the u.s. jumped back to more than 1,000 new recorded deaths on tuesday. >> ride free take risks. that is our motto, right? >> reporter: now it appears we're learning just how deadly the risks were at last month's sturgis motorcycle rally, health officials confirming a 60-year-old minnesota man is the first known covid-19 death traced back to the ten day event attended by more than 400,

that's right, wolf.nd as you just mentioned, this is interesting news coming out of the fda. apparently they are going to be unveiling some stricter standards for approving a vaccine. they're hoping to regenerate some public trust. it has been eroding. this reporting all according to "the washington post." and, meanwhile, wolf, far too many americans are still dying. today, we passed 200,000 dead. that's a hard, horrific fact. >> this is one of the greatest tragedies in american history, not least because these 200,000 deaths, those deaths were preventible. >> reporter: 200,000 people dead, killed by a disease we didn't even know existed a year ago. among them, darlene and johnny lee from north carolina, married 48 years, killed by covid within minutes of each other holding hands. >> the idea of 200,000 deaths is really very sobering and in some respects stunning. >> reporter: only heart disease and cancer will kill more americans this year. and this bears repeating over and over. the u.s. accounts for a

i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." we're following breaking news on multiple crises facing the united states including the coronavirus pandemic, which has now claimed the lives of more than 194,000 americans with more than 6.5 million confirmed cases here in the united states. >>> also tonight we're learning that on a single day when more than 1,300 americans died of covid-19, president trump told journalist bob woodward, and i'm quoting now, nothing more could have been done. and he went on to stress gains in the stock market. >>> also breaking this hour, the death toll from the historic wildfires ravaging the western united states is now at least 35 with millions of acres burned and hundreds of thousands of people forced to flee for their lives. and we're also following hurricane sally right now. it's strengthening as it closes in on the u.s. gulf coast and now threatening to become a strong category 2 storm before making landfall with winds as high as 105 miles an hour. >>> let's begin this hour with our chief white

that is not the case, wolf. the president legitimately thinks obama is guilty of treason and that is why he has said it repeatedly for the last several years. >> he certainly has. guys, everybody stand by. we'll have much more on the breaking news coming up including the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic. all of that and much more right after this. but not every tomato ends in the same kind of heinz ketchup. because you can't be everyone's favorite ketchup without making a ketchup for everyone. >>> welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room" following breaking news. the coronavirus death toll here in the united states has just passed 185,000 as the total number of confirmed u.s. cases surges beyond 6.1 million. and this just in. the cdc, centers for disease control and prevention is now telling states to prepare to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine as soon as late october. meanwhile, dr. anthony fauci is warning americans

>> absolutely, wolf.hat throughout my tenure in those six months and over six months i was there working on the coronavirus task force, this started from very early on. this started from the very beginning. the scientists, they were trying to put out initial warnings and guidelines. actually they were trying to put out daily guidelines that they would normally push out on a normal basis even to medical workers and hospitals on repurposing masks or gowns. eve that from the very beginning because the messaging was such a big controlling thing internally in the white house. they were at times prevented from doing that. >> we've learned that dr. birx and dr. fauci apparently are struggling to compete now with a growing influence of dr. scott atlas who in recent days has been brought onto the coronavirus task force. do you fear these experts are going to be worn down by the infighting that's apparently going on. >> yeah. i've seen dr. fauci and dr. birx and dr. redfield and dr. hahn struggle every day trying d

wolf? >> awful situation.onrovia, stay safe. >>> formation of yet another tropical storm in the gulf of mexico. tropical storm sally is now the 18th named storm of this 2020 atlantic hurricane season. sally is expected to strengthen steadily in the warm waters of the gulf of mexico, throughout the weekend, and is now forecast to become a hurricane by monday night prior to making landfall around the louisiana/mississippi border some time tuesday morning. louisiana's governor just declared a state of emergency just ahead of the storm's potential arrival. we'll have more on this development coming up as well. >>> also coming up, less than two months remain until election day here in the united states and the fight for swing states like michigan heating up dramatically. even as polls show biden slightly ahead of that state, one democratic congresswoman has warned her party in 2016 -- she warned her party in 2016 that trump could win. she has a similar warning this time around. we'll discuss, when we come back. aft

>> i've seen these classified reports, wolf.just say bluntly, these reports of foreign interference in our election are absolutely chilling. they should be declassified. the american people deserve to see them. they need to understand the magnitude of this attack on our democracy. the state department released a report on global interference by russia just a few weeks ago. it makes the 2016 interference look like child's play. as directed at dmemocracies around the world. that's putin's objective, to sew discord. no reason to think that the united states would be immune from it and the american people need to see what i've seen. i am barred from talking publicly about the details because i'm sworn to secrecysec. >> when they say foreign actors, i assume they're referring to the russians, is that right? >> it is principally the russians. other countries have the capability to do so. there's some e question about how actively they're doing it around the world according to that state department report. i am not at lib erty to talk

>> reporter: that's right, wolf.resident trump was rambling and misleading as he lashed out at kamala harris accusing the democratic vice presidential candidate of spreading fears of a coronavirus vaccine. harris told cnn that she does not trust the president as a credible source of covid-19 information. mr. trump used the white house as a backdrop as he hinted once again that a vaccine could be available before election day even though his own administration health experts say don't bet on it. >> thank you, happy labor day. during a labor day news conference that sounded more like a rally from the white house grounds, president trump was all but giving away his own october surprise, suggesting there will be a coronavirus vaccine ready by election day. >> we're going to have a vaccine very soon. maybe even before a very special date. you know what date i'm talking about. but let me just tell you, and what they're doing because they think it is going fast. >> the president ripped into democratic vice presidential cand

target practice for members of the militia american wolf at a secret location in the u.s. state of washington. this a k 47 rifle holds 30 bullets a notorious automatic weapon is the one prefers. the kalashnikov was originally developed by the savia dread army for peter it is the ideal weapon to defend his american values. regard classic. so they don't make them like that anymore you could drop it in the mud. a successful businessman peter recently founded american wolf he says their goal is to keep america the way it is a nation under god proud and conservative he will reveal how many people have joined his group but many of former soldiers. recent estimates suggest there are about $180.00 militias around the country most of them support president trump are heavily armed and believe in conspiracy theories. what is happening right now is our government is in the midst of a coup. there's certain members of our government who are actively working to change this government from what it's designed to be the land of opportunity they're trying to turn us into some sort of sociali

i'm wolf blitzer "the situation room." we're following breaking news on president trump's alarming new threat on the heart of the democracy tonight. he's standing by his refusal to transfer peaceful power. he's trying to sow doubt about the integrity of mail-in voting, and there's also breaking news on the coronavirus as the u.s. death toll rises above 202,000. the cdc is forecasting another 24,000 deaths in the united states over the next three weeks alone as the fda says an approval of a vaccine will be based on science, not politics. dr. stephen hahn and dr. anthony fauci are both pushing back at the president's claim he can override the fda's vaccine standards. this hour i'll ask the white house chief of staff mark meadows. you see him there live. the president just announced new vision for a health care reform here in the united states. but first let's go to our chief white house correspondent jim acosta. jim, the president seems to be doubling down and refusing to follow the precedent set by every president before hi

wolf or mr. cuccinelli appears that we have neither, and in light of that i'll direct questions, director wray, to you. all summer and early fall we've seen numerous and ongoing riots, looting, property destruction, even serious injuries and killings in cities across the united states. minneapolis, l.a., seattle, charleston, chicago, washington, d.c., rochester, lancaster and of course portland come to mind. and we've seen some media characterize these events as fiery but mostly peaceful. and politicians have dismissed them occasionally as myth. but americans have seen independent reports and shocking videos and they keep coming. i don't really understand the thinking of lawmakers who seek perversely to justify this criminality by pointing to the existence of other violent extremists with different ideology. i would think all elected officials would condemn violence regardless of the ideology of the perpetrators especially for the ideologies closer to their position on the spectrum. the character

wolf? wolf's not there. gonna be back next week for cnn's live coverage of the vice presidential debate. on wednesday, october 7th. chris cuomo and don lemon right now are going to pick up our coverage of tonight a's debate after this quick break. stay with us. you're strong. you power through chronic migraine-15 or more headache days a month each lasting 4 hours or more. botox® prevents headaches in adults with chronic migraine. so, if you haven't tried botox® for your chronic migraine check with your doctor if botox® is right for you and, if samples are available. effects of botox® may spread hours to weeks after injection causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away, as difficulty swallowing speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness can be signs of a life-threatening condition. side effects may include allergic reactions neck and injection site pain fatigue, and headache. don't receive botox® if there's a skin infection. tell your doctor your medical history, muscle or nerve conditio

wolf? >> all right. thanks very much. let's bring in our political commentators, david axelrod, van jones, and john kasich. you know, van, the president was given the chance to denounce white supremacy last night. once again, he didn't do that. what is his refusal to condemn hate tell you? >> well, it's terrifying people across the country. i've had people contacting me, people i haven't heard from for years, saying, you know, do you think that i should purchase a fire arm? what is going to happen? what does he mean? what does he mean, stand by. does that mean he is going to launch some kind of attack on election day? people are really terrified. and i think it is highly irresponsible for him to -- most people, anybody, the person silting next to you, you know, and the movie theater would be happy to denounce white supremacist, racist, nazis. that is not a hard thing. when you can't pass that test and that bar something is really wrong. >> you know, david, the president now says he doesn't know who the far right group is,

wolf to testify at this hearing. faced with continued refusal, on friday i issued a subpoena for his appearance in accordance with house and committee rules. regrettably, he has chose ton defy the subpoena. that he would refuse to come before the committee after committing to do so should appall every member of this committee. insisting there wolf keep his commitment to testifying before congress isn't playing politics. it's doing our job. congress has the authority and obligation to execute its constitutional oversight responsibilities regarding mr. wolf's decision and the department's action during his tenure. as chairman, it's my responsibility to ensure the committee fulfills its constitutional responsibilities. 19 years after the attacks of 9/11, we continue to face grave threats to the homeland, including the rise of domestic terrorism, ongoing foreign interference in the 2020 elections, and a coronavirus pandemic that has claimed nearly 200,000 american lives. as a person running the department of homeland sec

that's right, wolf.resident trump just told reporters he would like to see the seat left by the late justice ruth bader ginsburg filled before election day. the president said he's already spoken with some of the contenders on his short list and will continue to do so over the coming days as the president and senate republican leaders plot strategy for replacing ginsburg. the u.s. is on the verge of passing 200,000 deaths even as the u.s. is leading the world in covid-19 deaths, the president is giving his administration a, quote, a plus for his handling of the virus. in a stunning departure from reality, president trump is giving himself the best possible grade for his handling of the coronavirus, even as the u.s. death toll has now reached a heartbreaking 200,000 lives lost, still more than any other country. the president is insisting the u.s. is somehow nearing the end of the pandemic when there is no basis for saying that. >> in the job itself we take an a-plus. we're rounding the corner. with or wi

>> thank you, wolf, for your question. let me first say my heart goes out to all the wildfire victims on the west coast, including california and to brave first responders risking their lives to contain these fires and regarding your question, what donald trump sid diddy was ndid dereliction of duty but took actions to downplay this virus and lied to american people to downplay this virus and could draw a straight line between his words and actions and tens of thousands of preventable american deaths and even now, he's doing this super spreader event in nevada. trump is, in fact, increased the number of cases and preventable deaths in america. shows how unfit he is for office. >> anything with members of congress could do about that? >> so there is an election in 50 something days. the american people can make decisions whether they want to keep him in office or not but it's very clear the united states is the worst country in the world when it comes to containing the virus and the large number of deaths. if we had a joe b

i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." we're following breaking news. the u.s. is on the verge now of passing 190,000 coronavirus deaths. there are now more than 6.3 million confirmed cases here in the united states. and tonight as schools move ahead with re-opening, we're learning more about the toll the virus is taking on children. a new report very disturbing new report finds half a million american kids have been diagnosed with covid-19. also this hour, president trump is on the way to the battleground state of north carolina for a rally tonight. the crowd there already gathering with very limited social distancing and very few masks. this as the president is clearly scrambling to deny a report that he disparaged fallen american troops as suckers and losers. sources tell cnn the president is, quote, visibly distressed about the fallout from that story. i'll speak with the author of that bombshell report jeffrey goldberg. he's standing by live. we'll discuss in just a few moments. >>> but first we begin our coverage wit

i am wolf blitzer in "the situation room." we are following breaking news on american lives in danger on multiple fronts right now in the coronavirus crisis. the death toll in the u.s. surpassed 194,000. we're learning more about president trump's failure to acknowledge the reality of the enormous loss. a recording of his august phone call with journalist bob woodward reveals mr. trump insisted nothing more could have been done to fight the pandemic. the president stressing gains in the u.s. stock market on a day up more than 1300 americans died. also breaking, at least 35 people killed in western wildfires that now blackened an area of california about the size of connecticut. the gulf coast is bracing for hurricane sally. it just strengthened to a category two storm with with 100 miles per hour winds and rapidly intensifying. expected to reach landfall late tomorrow, early wednesday. first, let's go to jim acosta. jim, the president is out west tonight in phoenix, arizona. once again, completely ignoring the science of the p

here's why, wolf.tates presides over a government that had plans for how to deal with this situation. it did not adopt those plans. when i was at the department of homeland security, we had and we exercised clear pandemic response system ises. and how we as a country would be able to quickly address those situation. because the president failed to initiate those mechanisms, failed to use the tools available to him and failed to lead, we're in this situation that we're in now. then we have the head of the rnc who is blaming joe biden for the results, who is blaming joe biden for a nationwide violence and unrest and for americans being dead pause of the coronavirus pandemic. it shows you how desperate the president and his team are becoming in these last few weeks of the campaign and also shows you how damaging they think the last has been to him reputationally. i will also tell you since the revelations have come out from bob woodward, we're hearing from more people behind the scenes that are thinking a

>> we're really excited about this wolf. we're the first big city to launch this safe pass app together with the folks who makes citizen. it's an app that many people use to follow public safety in their cities. it's about a million users already had this downloaded just in the l.a. area alone. that meant a million people that could opt into something. government doesn't own your data. a person who tests positive gets the results back, it notifies everybody's phone who has been close by without naming the person that you should probably get tested. you have come into close contact with somebody who tests positive. when you do manually, that could take weeks and months. you're chasing an every accelerating vehicle that you can't cash up. you have a real shot and this app, if you test positive will help you get a free test delivered to your home. it can help our digital contact tracers that are the people that call you to help you know you have been infected and wants to know everybody that come into contact can call them. tha

>> wolf, the country is on fire. it's on fire with this coronavirus, and the west coast is on fire with these terrible wildfires that are spreading, the sky has turned orange. he's not said a word about those people that are dying or in danger of dying. that tells you something about where his priorities are. instead of being a president for all of the country, of telling people that we'll get through this, if we work together. he is simply dividing us. he's lying again, he's denying the threat of the coronavirus, he's denying basically the impact of climate control or lack of controlling the climate. and now he's just doing what he normally does, he's a show man, he's an entertainer, but he's not the president of the united states. a president of the united states would seek to heal this country. to bring us together. to fight things that are threatening our lives and our livelihood and our existence. he can continue to lie to the american people, hopefully we'll have a chance this november to say, enough. we've had

wolf. since he is not here i would like to submit for the record that these questions and writing and hopefully you can get them to him and he will respond without objection. >> i have a question for both of you. sometime mid august the senate intelligence committee release the fifth and final version or volume regarding russian interference in the 2016 election. that central report found that manafort pass sensitive campaign information to russian intelligence officers. are you monitoring to make sure not only foreign interference into our elections but rather the campaign here in the us are not trying to ask or solicit foreign support by foreign countries of domestic campaigns. >> so certainly with foreign influence investigations with respect to interference in the sense but also in terms of political corruption or illegal of counterintelligence investigation in certain scenarios. certainly we have a number of people working on those kinds of matters but as part of the overall effort not

i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room" following breaking news. we are monitoring the protests in louisville, kentucky right now just ahead of a countywide curfew tonight. earlier police clashed with demonstrators shortly after a grand jury decision in the police shooting of breonna taylor. none of the three police officers on the scene was directly charged in taylor's death. the high profile case is a fight for racial justice. this hour i'll speak live with a lawyer for the taylor family as their team is slamming the decision as outrageous and offensive. also breaking right now the u.s. coronavirus death toll now climbing above 201,000. this as the cdc director is warning that 90% of the people here in the united states remain susceptible to the virus. we expect to hear directly from president trump fairly soon. we are standing by to take his question and answer session during a white house briefing coming up this hour. but fir let's go to our national correspondent jason carroll in louisville for us. jason, what is the situation on the ground ri