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This is CNN breaking news. Welcome to our viewers in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. We start with breaking news. New cases of COVID-19 are escalating so rapidly in the United States that the office of the U.S. vice president has been directly affected. Two senior aides to Mike Pence have now tested positive in recent days. Pence's office revealed chief of staff Mark Short has begun quarantine and the vice president and second lady tested negative. And CNN learned another senior Pence adviser tested positive recently. It's not clear exactly when. The record spikes in recent days paint an ominous threat. More than 167,000 new cases in just the past two days. If July's surge was a category three, what's looming could be a category five. At the polls with barely one week until the election, Trump and Pence can't afford to let up. In Wisconsin, the president falsely blamed the nation's high death toll on a flawed counting system. If somebody has a really bad heart and they're close to death, even if they're not but they have a bad heart and get COVID, they put it down to COVID. Other countries put it down to a heart. We're going to start looking at things. Because they have things -- they have things a little bit backwards. That by contrast, Biden struck a different tone in Pennsylvania all the while observing basic health precautions. I'm more optimistic about America's future than I've been since I've been involved in politics. We're the only country in the world that's come out of every crisis stronger than we went in. There's not a damn thing America can't do when we decide to do it together. As the campaigns head into the home stretch, Biden is getting a huge assist from the biggest heavyweight in the Democratic Party, former president Barack Obama. He is no longer holding back after mostly remaining silent since leaving office. Listen to this. Eight months into this pandemic, new cases are breaking records. Donald Trump isn't going to suddenly protect all of us. He can't even take the basic steps to protect himself. We won't have a president who threatens people with jail for just criticizing him. That's not normal behavior, Florida. A Florida man wouldn't even do this stuff. With Joe and Kamala at the helm, you won't have to think about them every single day. There might be a whole day where they don't be on TV. There might be a whole day where they don't tweet some craziness. So it's important to understand the significance of coronavirus infecting top aides to the U.S. vice president. Mike Pence is head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. But under his leadership many have often publicly ignored the same rules recommended for the rest of the country. That includes quarantine for anyone who has had close contact with an infected person, as the vice president has but Pence isn't leaving the campaign trail. His schedule is packed with rallies and events, where face masks are few and social distancing is nonexistent. All right, to discuss all of this, let's bring in Natasha Lindstaedt, professor of government at the University at Essex, who joins us from Colchester, England. Thank you so much for being with us. The news from the vice president's office, Mike Pence's chief of staff diagnosed with. COVID- 19. What are the political ramifications given? Pence is head of the Coronavirus Task Force and also the vice president's campaigning without his chief of staff. This just isn't good news for the Trump campaign. It may not really matter. But Trump is at a point where he needs all the help he could get. And this shows that the Trump administration can't even contain a virus in the White House. With the case of Pence, his chief of staff tested positive, his lead adviser tested positive and three other important advisers in his team. Reportedly the White House chief of staff Mark Meadows wanted to keep it private. And there is a reason why he wanted to keep it private. It's not good news. But what you have seen with this task force, once Mike Pence took over, it became politicized and it wasn't really about listening to experts and listening to science. In fact they wanted to downplay the virus. And the vice president's chief of staff in particular wanted to downplay things. They also wanted to ensure that all communication from public health agencies, all of it had to go through Mike Pence's team and this was to try to be in step with what Trump wanted, that this is going to go away and this is what we are seeing Trump doing on the campaign. Trail. He keeps telling people that this is going away, we're rounding the corner now. Yet he just had a superspreader life event in the Villages in Florida. So they are ignoring all the safety protocols and really not being honest with the American public and this is really important because Trump is the most important communicator to the American public about the dangers of the virus. Right and, as you say, Mike Pence, his chief of staff, the people around him are often seen there on the campaign trail, going to rallies, packed with people, just like the president and vice president is continuing, planning to continue campaigning. And that contrast with vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, who took off a couple of days, off of campaigning when a close aide tested positive earlier this month. So will the campaign pay any political price for this type of behavior or will it be seen as a sign of strength to carry on? Well, we have been seeing the polls haven't shifted very much; the base is incredibly loyal to Trump. They get alternative sources of news. They don't believe a lot of the legitimate news media, what they are trying to offer and explain to them. So we see that one group of people, it doesn't really matter for them. Then you also have Biden supporters who are on the other side, are wanting more regulations, want the federal effort to be more concerted and stronger, better organized. But for Trump, what he needs to do is win over these last undecided voters. At the exact same time in 2016, this is where the polls really started to tighten for Clinton and Trump started to make a lot of ground, because the FBI, of course, had announced they were investigating her emails. Trump needed some big shake-up, some big thing to happen that was going to really shift the polls and move the voters in his direction. And this type of news story just isn't going to help him. So essentially will it use up all the oxygen, I guess, or some valuable oxygen as we're heading into the last days of the campaign? Will this be a big and unwelcome distraction from their message of shifting the focus away from COVID? I think it just makes it harder for the American people to think that we are rounding the corner here, as Trump likes to say. That is really what the key issue was of the final debate. We saw that Biden kept criticizing Trump about the COVID crisis, that we're about to head into a very long winter, that he is downplaying it too much and that we need to have a strong federal response. Trump keeps trying to tell people, we are almost over this thing. That is really dangerous, because Trump feels he has to say this because it's vital for the economy. And the economy is the other big issue in the campaign. But I think what many Americans know is that we are not going to recover economically until we get the COVID crisis under control. So if this continues to be the key issue of the campaign and not other issues that may play to Trump's strengths, like this idea that he is this law and order president or that the economy is only going to be good under him, then that is going to be problematic for him. I think that, with COVID being the focus, he is not going to be able to distract voters that are in the middle or undecided for whatever reason, that he is the best person to take us through the next four years. Natasha Lindstaedt, thank you so much. We appreciate. It Thanks for having me. As coronavirus cases soar across Europe, scuffles are breaking out in Italy over restrictions. Police clashed with hundreds of supporters of an extreme right wing group in Rome Saturday night. Agitators threw bottles at riot police as they defied the curfew that went into effect. Police used tear gas to break up the demonstration. Europe is bracing for its second coronavirus wave to get worse as if it wasn't already bad enough. Several countries are reporting record numbers of infections and many fear cases will continue to increase this winter. On the same day France broke its daily case record, President Macron said the virus is likely to stick around until at least next summer. He said there could be new target restrictions in the days to come. Some European leaders have tested positive for COVID-19, including Poland's president. He said he is asymptomatic and is continuing to work but in isolation. The Czech Republic is the worst hit country in the past two weeks. It is reporting more than 15,000 new cases since the pandemic began. Germany is reporting the biggest daily rise in cases from Friday to Saturday. The number of new infections per day has almost doubled within a week. In Wales, streets were largely empty Saturday as the country completed the first day of lockdown. The firebreak will run until November 9th. Officials trying to stem the spread of the virus there. CNN has reporters across Europe covering the coronavirus surge. We have Scott McLean in Berlin. But let's begin with Nina dos Santos at the border of Wales with England. Nina, a lockdown dreaded by all. Wales doing that. Already anger at some of the surprising restrictions. What's happening there? Thank you so much, Kim. Good morning. I'm in the city of Chester, which is a northwestern town in England just less than six miles away from the border in Wales. It's pretty quiet over here. We spent most of the last two days in Wales. As the country within the bigger country of the U.K. started to shut down, people just emptied from the streets. You almost couldn't find anybody to talk to, to find out whether or not they were thinking this lockdown was a good thing or a bad thing. Either way, off the streets; but online it's controversial. The Welsh government has taken what is viewed as draconian action to keep shops from selling anything that's nonessential. Over the border, people can't mix with other households. They have to stay home. They can go out but only to exercise, exercise a dog or to go to the supermarket and buy those essential items, food or medicine. The Welsh government forced some retailers to essentially cordon off big aisles with items deemed to be nonessential or nonperishable. This prompted this polemic online about what is deemed essential and many members of the Welsh government and Welsh parliament, the Senate, are saying this is only going to benefit big international online retailers like Amazon. What a lot of this has caused is people to go online to sign a petition. There's already 45,000 signatures and counting. That means the Welsh government will have to start considering at least potentially some kind of climbdown on how severe the restrictions are. Either way, they will be in place until November 9th. Wales says it needs them to try to control the spread of the virus in hot spots where it gained a foothold, to villages where there's very few cases. They can't afford to have it spread across Wales. Otherwise, things like Christmas further down the year will just have to be off the cards. Thank you so much, Nina. Now let's cross over to Berlin. I'm joined by Scott McLean. You've been looking at the big picture. What's the latest? First an update on the Polish president, Andrzej Duda. He contracted the coronavirus and tested for it on Friday. We got confirmation he was positive yesterday. He posted a video on Twitter where he explained that he was asymptomatic, continuing to work. He appeared healthy in the video. He said he is at full strength and hopes it will stay that way. But obviously he has to isolate for the next two weeks or at least until he's negative of the virus. He apologized to those who he met with in the previous few days because they'll have to isolate, potentially testing positive themselves. And also really hammered home the point to his country that they need to do whatever they can to isolate and to shelter senior citizens. Across Europe we've seen the number of coronavirus cases soaring but the death toll has been pretty slow to catch up. You can understand the cautious approach from European leaders in bringing in sort of strict draconian restrictions like they're seeing in Wales where Nina is. But the calculus might be changing. It is a case of east and west on this continent. I want to show you a couple graphics that illustrate that. First, here's one that shows that the deaths in the U.K., France, Spain, Germany and Italy, you can see from this graphic that Spain has fared the worst, Germany the best. But by and large, the trend is that this second wave of the coronavirus has not been nearly as deadly as the first one was. But once you look at countries from eastern Europe, so we can see on this next graphic, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic, all are seeing death tolls right now that pale in comparison -- sorry, are much, much higher than the first wave. Especially Poland, where they're seeing four times more deaths than the peak of the first wave. The Czech Republic seeing nine times more deaths, their health care system is on the brink of collapse. Today the military has just completed a field hospital expected to see patients any day now as the hospitals begin to fill up and reach their capacities. They're also going to be getting help in the Czech Republic from U.S. medics, U.S. doctors from the National Guard, who are going to be flying in over the next week or two. The country has surpassed 2,000 deaths but here's the most remarkable number. If you were to go to the Czech Republic today, one out of every 69 people you would run into would be currently, right now at this moment, infected with the coronavirus. And those are just the official numbers. Obviously perhaps not everyone has tested. The true number could be much, much higher than that. That is astounding and frightening, Scott. Scott McLean in Berlin and Nina near Cardiff, Wales. Thank you very much for that. The world is winning its hopes on a coronavirus vaccine. Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM. We'll talk to one expert about why it might be the great cure-all everyone is hoping for. Stick with us for that.

Two Top Pence Aides Test Positive for COVID-19; Polish President Tests Positive for COVID-19; Trump Rallies in Three COVID-19 Hotspots Saturday; U.S. to Provide Humanitarian Aid to Sudan

Even if there were a safe and effective COVID vaccine, many Americans are so skeptical about taking it, health professionals are alarmed. Only about half of Americans surveyed said they'd get the vaccine. But the director of the National Institutes of Health warns that's not enough. So the virus could be here for years. Dozens of pharmaceutical companies around the world are racing to get a vaccine. Nine are in the U.S., China and Russia has two, including the controversial Sputnik V that was registered for public use. Now Russia has been bragging about how quickly it developed that vaccine but, in an exclusive interview with CNN, the vaccine's main developer admits it's not actually recommended for some of those most at risk from COVID-19. Fred Pleitgen explains why. As Russia deals with a major spike in new coronavirus infections, despite already having approved two vaccines for emergency use, the head of the Gamaleya Institute in charge of the development of the most prominent vaccine, Sputnik V, told us it may take up to a year for the majority of Russians to get shots, as production sites are still in the process of going online. Planned capacity of these full sites by next year should reach about 5 million doses per month, which will allow 70 percent of our population to be vaccinated with this vaccine within nine, to 10, to a maximum of 12 months. Russia's certified the Sputnik V vaccine with great fanfare in August after testing it in only a few dozen people. The move hailed as a major PR victory for Vladimir Putin as Russia claims to be outpacing Western pharma firms. But in current large phase 3 trials, Sputnik V is lagging well behind Western vaccine candidates. Sputnik V's makers said only about 6,000 participants have so far received the two doses necessary to achieve complete immunization and start collecting data, compared to almost 30,000 in some large Western trials. All this as Russian state TV is trashing the U.K.'s vaccine candidate, calling it, quote, "a monkey vaccine," despite the fact that Russia itself has made a deal to produce this very vaccine under license. The head of Russia's direct investment fund which is bankrolling Sputnik V claiming Moscow's vaccine is superior because it uses so-called human adenovirus technology. So we decided to use something already existing, something already safe, something already proven. And many people in the West failed to think about this. But even the Sputnik vaccine's instructions say it's only indicated for people 18-60 and not for people with some allergies and illnesses, meaning now older age groups and people with health conditions, some of the most vulnerable to severe cases of COVID-19. The head of the Gamaleya Institute told CNN the vaccine simply hasn't been tested on older people but he believes the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions can still take it. With many chronic diseases, in particular people with diabetes, it is not just that it is carried out; it is prescribed to vaccinate people because these are risk groups that need to be protected. But these people, people with cardiac diseases, these are all chronic diseases, as we know, you need to vaccinate. Russia says it will still soon wrap ramp up production of Sputnik V to vaccinate more medical workers and other high risk groups, a move Konstantin Chumakov, a top vaccine expert at the Global Virus Network, called dangerously risky. I think that there is a reason why they call it Russian roulette. So this is exactly it. One Russian who isn't taking the Sputnik V vaccine so far is the president, Vladimir Putin, his spokesman telling CNN, Putin is, quote, "thinking about it" -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow. Even as the world holds out hope for a successful vaccine to be ready soon, it's important to understand what a vaccine can actually do. For a look at what normalcy would look like, I'm joined by Professor David Salisbury, an associate fellow at the Chatham House Global Health Programme. Thank you so much for joining us. This is a very important topic here. I want to start, here in the U.S., president Trump tries to reassure Americans that a vaccine is just around the corner. Other politicians have been saying similar things. We're primed to hear this, that something, a vaccine will make everything better. We're so looking forward to all of this being over. But you wrote a piece suggesting it won't be that simple. No. I don't think it is that simple. Vaccines are wonderful things that have saved millions and millions of lives but we have to be realistic about what they can do. And if the new vaccine that we are all waiting for protects 75 percent of people, that leaves one in four still vulnerable to getting coronavirus disease. And we have to appreciate that that's just those that get vaccinated. We're going to have plenty of people who are not vaccinated. And if we have people who are neither protected and people who are not vaccinated, there's enough fertile ground for the virus to continue to spread. I see the future as not vaccines and that's it. But I think the future is going to be vaccines plus -- plus face masks, plus social distancing, plus homework, plus many of the things that reduce our chances of being exposed. Yes. You know, on that, are we looking at life with essentially a deadly flu? That's to say, I get the flu shot every year; hopefully it will help but every so often I still get the flu. If so, would it be a disease just to kind of live with, as you say, still requiring masks? Distancing for how long? For years, for decades to come? Do we have to get used to the idea of changing the way we live in terms of having masks in public spaces, as they do in many Asian countries? I don't think anybody knows the answer to that. Wouldn't it be wonderful if this virus just went away like SARS did in the early 2000s or if it just turned into a common cold? But we can't put our faith into that and at the moment there's no sign that's happening. So we have to assume for the short term, medium term and who knows, that's what we'll face. If vaccines will protect some of us but won't stop the virus spreading between us, we have to consider other interventions as well. So that's the part of the key here that you just referred to, is that difference between individual protection, basically everybody for themselves, and trying to stop the virus from spreading, generally, in the community using the vaccine. So explain the difference and whether you think that interrupting transmission is even possible, given all the constraints that you've outlined there. When you vaccinate people over 65 or with medical conditions, you're trying to protect them. You're not going to be doing enough of the intervention to stop the virus being spread in the rest of the community. So individual protection is great for those who receive it. But, remember, we won't know who is actually immune. So you could be vaccinated and think that's your passport to freedom. But it may not be. Then there's trying to stop transmission. To do that, you have got to vaccinate really high numbers of the whole of the community, amongst whom transmission is taking place. If you've got significant numbers of people who don't wear face masks, who won't social distance, will they take a vaccine? And if they don't, they will preserve transmission. So we've got to think about two approaches: individual protection, which is great for those at risk, and then strategies to stop transmission. And I think those are going to be much, much more difficult. All right, well, this is very sobering news for many people but very necessary. I appreciate you coming on and talking to us, Professor Salisbury. Thank you. Thank you. President Trump campaigned in three COVID hot spots on Saturday. Looking there, that's the crowd in Wisconsin. We'll have more on that and the battle of the states fighting against the coronavirus. Stay with us.

Exclusive with Russian Vaccine's Main Developer; The Reality of Normalcy after a COVID-19 Vaccine

A chaotic scene in Nigeria, hundreds of people looting, carrying sacks out of this warehouse. After weeks of anti police and anti corruption protests, Nigeria's chief of police on Saturday declared enough is enough. He's deploying the country's entire police force to stop the unrest. The demonstrators are show no signs of easing up. The protests were mostly peaceful until Tuesday, when Nigerian soldiers allegedly opened fire on a crowd of demonstrators, killing some of them. Since then, anger, arson and looting have erupted. Nigeria's president says many lives have been lost. CNN's Nima Elbagir has the latest. Broken glass and debris on the streets of Lagos. Shattered remnants of protests in Nigeria over police brutality that quickly turned from peaceful to deadly. There is a tense calm in the city now. But on Tuesday night, the city erupted into chaos after eyewitnesses say multiple protesters were shot and killed by army soldiers. The army has dismissed reports of the incident as "fake news." The shooting set off a wave of anger across the country. Many shops and businesses have been burned or damaged and there is widespread looting in the worst unrest in the country since its return to civilian rule in 1999. It is one of the biggest political challenges so far for the country's president, Muhammadu Buhari. On Thursday he addressed the nation, appealing for calm. Your voice has been heard loud and clear and we are responding. But critics say he waited too long to make a public statement and didn't even address the events on Tuesday, which has further angered many Nigerians. People died, people and their loved ones, and he didn't mention anything about. It The speech was baseless, hopeless. The state governor spoke to CNN and said he is committed to a full investigation of what happened and people will be held accountable but also says demonstrators should have left when they were told, as a curfew was in effect. The protesters had the time to also have left the site we're talking about. But it's totally condemning (ph). The protests began more than 2 weeks ago and has been largely driven by young people in Nigeria, organizing on social media under the #EndSARS who initially called for a police unit known as a special anti-robbery squad to be disbanded because of allegations of kidnapping, harassment and extortion. Under intense pressure, the government agreed to dissolve the unit and redeploy officers to a different team. But the movement continued, widening to include economic reforms and more protections against the police. The voices raised here in a call for justice have found willing echoes around the world, gaining international attention from celebrities like Beyonce and Rihanna, placing a spotlight on shootings that have yet to be fully explained and the growing discontent from the country's youth -- Nima Elbagir, CNN, London. Sudan's agreement to move toward normalizing relations with Israel is already yielding big financial benefits. On Saturday secretary of state Mike Pompeo said the U.S. will provide Sudan with $81 million in wide ranging humanitarian aid. The assistance will go toward refugees and other vulnerable communities in Sudan. It comes days after President Trump agreed to drop Sudan's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism, the announcement of the Sudan-Israel agreement. According to the International Monetary Fund, dropping the terror designation also eliminates a major hurdle in finding debt relief for the country. Samsung's chairman has died at 78 years old. When we return, a look at the man who turned his father's small South Korean company into an international tech giant.

Nigerian Police Force Mobilize to Quell Worst Unrest in 20 Years

Another powerful storm is threatening the Caribbean, Mexico and the southern U.S. Zeta has been upgraded to a tropical storm. It's currently in the Caribbean and is forecast to become a category 1 hurricane as it moves into the Gulf of Mexico. It's now projected to hit the U.S. along the northern Gulf Coast, which was already battered by multiple storms this season. Forecasters expect Zeta to weaken back to a tropical storm before it makes U.S. landfall. Samsung's chairman Lee Kun-hee has died six years after falling into a coma following a heart attack. The chairman of the South Korean tech powerhouse was 78 years old. no, CNN's Paula Hancocks has more on his legacy. Lee Kun-hee took control of the Samsung empire in 1987, inheriting a company his father created half a century earlier, Lee would transform a trading and textile manufacturer into a global technology giant, making himself South Korea's richest man. The key to his success, change. "If you have to change, change everything," he said in 1993, "change everything except your wife and children," which he did, launching a new management program to change the company focus from quantity to quality. Samsung was exporting very cheap electronic products to the U.S. market and to the world market. And it was literally -- it was sold about 20 percent below the price of its competitors, which is Sony or Panasonic. Two years later, Lee ordered a mass burning of products he considered defective, ramming home the message of quality first. In 1996, Lee was convicted for setting up a slush fund and bribery. He received a two-year suspended sentence before receiving a presidential pardon. In 2008, he was convicted for embezzlement and tax evasion. He received a three-year suspended sentence before again receiving a presidential pardon. Many in Korea questioned the lenient sentences for Lee and other top executives of major Korean companies. Despite brushes with the law, he is seen as a visionary in Korea. He had suffered from ill health for many years, beating lung cancer before being hospitalized twice for pneumonia and respiratory problems. Now into the third generation of succession, Lee's only son has been leading Samsung's empire. But he faces a number of ongoing court cases, including a high-profile succession case. He's also spent a year in prison for corruption. His grip on power appears shakier than his father's ever did -- Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul. That wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back in a moment with more news. Stay with us.

Samsung Chairman Dies after Long Illness.

This is CNN breaking news. Welcome to you, our viewers in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Our breaking news: two senior aides to vice president Mike Pence have tested positive for COVID-19. His office revealed his chief of staff Mark Short has begun quarantine and the vice president and second lady tested negative. Trump said Pence's number two was quarantined and he would be fine. CNN learned another senior Pence adviser also tested positive recently, though it's not clear exactly when. CNN White House reporter Sarah Westwood. Sarah, the vice president and the top staff not exactly known for mask wearing and social distancing. What more can you tell us about this outbreak? The vice president and his staff have been seen frequently, even since the big White House outbreak, not wearing their masks when traveling, when out in public. That was the case again yesterday. We saw the vice president traveling through Florida, emerge multiple times from Air Force Two without wearing a mask and now, as he was out campaigning in several events in Florida yesterday. But last night after his travel when he was arriving back in Washington, the first sort of red flag that something might have been amiss is that he did step out of Air Force Two wearing the mask by himself. He did not wave to the crowd as he normally did. And then shortly after that last night, the vice president's office announced that Mark Short had tested positive. We know Short traveled with the vice president on Thursday and Friday on a very long multiday trip through Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania. And Mike Pence's office also said Pence is considered a close contact of Short. Obviously as the chief of staff, he spends a lot of time around Pence. Even though the vice president's office said Pence would continue his campaign schedule under the CDC guidance for essential workers which said even if there's household contact or close contact who tests positive for coronavirus, essential employees can continue their schedules as long as they have no symptoms of COVID-19. But I think it's worth noting that that is very different from the excuse that the White House provided, when Pence continued his schedule after President Trump tested positive. In that case, they said that Pence could continue his schedule because he wasn't in close contact with the president or anyone in the White House who did test positive at that time. Now despite acknowledging that Pence is a close contact, they're finding a different justification for Pence continuing his schedule. And he is scheduled to head on to North Carolina today for a campaign rally. But what's really the question here is what did change in terms of the White House's protocol between the White House outbreak we saw a few weeks ago, that sickened the president and the first lady, the press secretary and a number of other senior aides, it's not clear there were any significant changes. And the containment measures that were in place before have obviously proven inadequate. Now we know the White House is performing contact tracing with Mark Short to see if there was anyone else he was in proximity to has tested positive as well. Thank you so much. The story we'll be following closely in the next couple days. CNN White House reporter Sarah Westwood, appreciate that. More than 83,000 Americans tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday, almost identical to the record set the day before. It's the second day in a row in which new infections in the U.S. exceeded 80,000. But with barely a week until the presidential election and down in the polls, the Trump campaign has the pedal to the floor. We begin with CNN's Jeremy Diamond as the president fights for a second term. Well, President Trump campaigning again in the battleground state of Wisconsin against a grim backdrop of the coronavirus, not only with a surge of cases across the country, a record number of new coronavirus cases, just before the president arrived here on Friday. But also here in Wisconsin. On Friday, Wisconsin experiencing its highest number of coronavirus cases in a single day during this entire pandemic. Hospitalizations, they are on the rise, not only across the country but here in the state of Wisconsin. What we see here, is the president gathering thousands of his supporters once again, closely packed together and most people as usual not wearing masks. The president also continues to spout misinformation about the virus. Downplaying the seriousness of the pandemic, making a false claim as he often does that, if there wasn't so much testing in the United States, that there wouldn't be as many cases as there are. What we know is that the surge of the coronavirus cases in the U.S. is very real. That's despite what the president is saying. The president did highlight the importance of this battleground state as he was campaigning here, saying that if he wins the state of Wisconsin, he believes that he's going to win the election -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Waukesha, Wisconsin. Well, Joe Biden struck a very different tone as he stumped in Pennsylvania. And he got some help from his former boss, Barack Obama. CNN's Arlette Saenz brings us that part of the story from Florida. Former president Barack Obama traveled here to the critical battleground state of Florida, reminding voters that they helped deliver the White House to him in 2008 and 2012 and asking them to do the same for Joe Biden this time around. He also predicted that if Biden wins Florida, the election will basically be over, as he urged supporters and volunteers to keep up their final work for the vice president. And while he touted the work and leadership style of his former partner, he also took aim at President Trump, slamming his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and also criticizing President Trump's behavior in office, saying that it is not normal. And President Obama also talked about that upcoming interview Trump did with "60 Minutes." When "60 Minutes" and Lesley Stahl are too tough for you, you ain't all that tough. If you got to walk out of a "60 Minutes" interview, then you're never going to stand up to a dictator. If you're spending all your time complaining about how mean reporters are to you, you're not going to stand up to Putin. While President Obama was here in Florida, Joe Biden campaigned in Pennsylvania, holding a drive-in rally with musical artist Jon Bon Jovi. That event took place in Lucerne County, a county that President Obama and Joe Biden won in 2008 and 2012 but a county that President Trump flipped in 2016. Biden trying to make a play for those Obama trumped (ph) counties as the election nears. And both Obama and Biden had a message when it came to early voting. They have reached that point in the campaign where the Biden campaign is really focusing on turnout as the election is now just 9 days away -- Arlette Saenz, CNN, North Miami, Florida. To discuss all this, I'd like to bring in Thomas Gift, the director of the Centre on U.S. Politics at University College London. He's in Oxford, England. Thank you so much for joining us. I want to start with the news from the vice president's office, Mike Pence's chief of staff diagnosed with COVID. So given Pence is head of the coronavirus task force, what are the political ramifications of campaigning without the chief of staff? In terms of the politics, this story is of lesser salience than when Trump tested positive for COVID-19. It's unlikely the news will alter the election significantly. Still, for Trump it keeps the coronavirus in the news heading into Election Day when the president is trying to deflect attention from the depressing data coming out of the Centers for Disease Control. Just yesterday the U.S. did reach a peak one-day record of over 83,000 new infections. Mike Pence directs the Coronavirus Task Force and Mark Short as his chief of staff testing positive. He's played a central role in downplaying the virus. Back in June, an op-ed in "The Wall Street Journal," insisting that there wouldn't be a second wave and Chris has the media for ringing alarm bells, so in many ways, I think the news is another anecdote challenging Trump's grip that the U.S. has turned a corner on the pandemic. When you see Pence and Short, often seen without a mask on the campaign trail, going to rallies packed with people, like the president, and the vice president is planning to continue campaigning, that contrasts with the vice presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, who took a couple days off the campaign trail when a close aide tested positive earlier this month. So you're saying there's no political price for this type of behavior at all? I wouldn't say there's a change to the political price. But I think the political price has already been paid. This is just more messaging consistent what Trump and his administration has pushed since the outset. At the debates Thursday, it was radically different visions for how the U.S. tackles COVID-19 generally. It's hardly worth reiterating that Trump has stated from the beginning that the threat of the coronavirus is overstated. He's denigrated public health experts, impugned critics for wearing masks and not imposed social distancing at his own campaign events. He's generally neglected to cultivate a culture of public health. So it's also true generally and also within the personal behavior of both himself as well as his campaign members. I think voters kind of know what the story is. And if there is a political price to pay, I think it's already factored into the polling. And as you suggest, I guess it's more that it takes some of the oxygen out of the campaign. They have to start answering questions about COVID instead of talking about the economy or other things they want to. I want to turn to the Democrats as we mentioned earlier, former President Obama was in Florida. How influential do you think Obama will be as the super surrogate for Biden or is there a chance he diminishes Biden among progressives, who are reminded Biden isn't as inspirational? I still think there's a certain degree of nostalgia for the Obama administration. If you look at his favorability numbers, they're high. I think on balance, him being on the campaign trail is a bonus for Joe Biden. If anything, I think one concern is that he actually overshadows the former vice president, Joe Biden, just because Barack Obama is such a towering figure. But on balance, I think he's been an effective surrogate. He's taken sharp rebukes of Trump similar to what he did in 2016 with the race against Donald Trump with Hillary Clinton. So on balance, I think this is a good thing for Biden's campaign and he's happy to have him on the campaign trail. All right. Last question for you. I want to ask about the debate; 10 million fewer people watched the second debate than the first, which was to be expected, I guess. But interestingly to me, 8 million fewer people watched this final debate than watched the final debate of 2016. Is that an indication of how much people have made up their minds about the candidates? I think one key difference this year is the number of swing voters heading Election Day is fewer than with Trump versus Clinton. We've already seen more than 40 million Americans cast their ballot early. It's shattered records. That means Biden's lead could be more sturdy heading into Election Day. If there are fewer voters out there, they could be persuaded in the last week. All in all, you're right. This is a reflection that most Americans at this point with a week going into November 3rd have made up their minds. They're going Trump or Biden and nothing much said between here and Election Day is going to make much of a difference. It's an issue of turnout. All right. We appreciate it, thank you so much, Thomas Gift, director of the University College London Centre on U.S. Politics, we appreciate it. Thanks, Kim. The coronavirus numbers out of Europe are really worrisome. Some are saying the virus could be there to stay until next summer at least. That's just ahead. Stay with us.

Trump Downplays Virus In Hard-Hit Wisconsin

As coronavirus cases soar across Europe, scuffles are breaking out in Italy over restrictions. Police clashed with hundreds of supporters of an extreme right wing group in Rome. They threw bottles at riot police as they defied and protested a curfew that recently went into effect. Police used tear gas to break up the demonstration. Europe is bracing for its second coronavirus wave to get worse as if it wasn't already bad enough. Several countries are reporting record numbers of infections and many fear cases will continue to increase this winter. On the same day that France broke the daily case record, President Macron said the virus is likely to stick around until at least next summer. He said there could be new targeted restrictions in the days to come. Some European leaders have tested positive for COVID-19. Poland's president is asymptomatic and continuing to work but in isolation. The Czech Republic remains the worst hit country in Europe during the past two weeks. It's reporting more than 15,000 new infections for the first time since the pandemic began. Germany is now reporting the biggest daily rise in cases from Friday to Saturday. The country's number of new infections per day has almost doubled within a week. In Wales, streets were largely empty on Saturday as the country completed the first day of lockdown. The firebreak will run until November 9th as Welsh officials try to stem the spread of the virus. Wales is now well into its second day of its firebreak lockdowns. For more on this, let's bring in Nina dos Santos at the border of Wales and England. Nina, lockdown, a word dreaded by all. Wales now doing exactly that and already plenty of anger at some of the more surprising restrictions there. What's happening? Yes. That's right. It's important to remember that England where I am. I'm just 5.7 miles away from the Welsh border in the city of Chester, has a different strategy to Wales. Parts of the U.K. like Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland have latitude to set their own health care policies. That's why a country within country like Wales, home to 3 million people, can effectively shut down for two weeks with this firebreak. It has prompted anger. There's question marks over why the rules are so draconian; just down the road, a short distance away from where I am, Welsh people can't mix with other households. They've been told to stay home until November 9th. No exceptions except for exercise, walking your dog and buying essential items like food and medicines. And this is where people said, especially on social media, that things might be getting a little bit too silly. There have been pictures of supermarkets cordoning off aisles of what are deemed to be nonessential goods, like children's school uniforms and bed linens. A lot of people said in Wales that will only benefit the big international retailers like Amazon. People go online and order these things anyway. Remember the restrictions that Wales implemented are going to cost the economy pretty dear. It's estimated they could cost upwards from $600 million over just that short time period. There's also been a lot of controversy about how this has been implemented because it could be punishing communities where coronavirus hasn't managed to get a foothold. Some of those say not far from the border here are reliant on tourism and tourists are being turned away from there. Whereas obviously there are other hot spots like the capital of Wales, Cardiff, that has a larger number of cases. I spoke to the first minister of Wales over the last couple days. He was emphatic this couldn't have been put off longer. They needed to do this to save lives and protect the health system from getting overwhelmed. We won't know for quite some time if it worked. The government may be forced to try to change some of the rules to soften them a little bit. There's been a petition in the Welsh parliament going through the motions today that's gathered 45,000 signatures and counting, asking the Welsh government to soften some of the rules, notably on what people can and can't buy in places like supermarkets and retail outlets. All right. Thank you so much. Nina dos Santos, at the border of Wales in England, we appreciate the reporting. Even if there were a safe and effective COVID vaccine, many Americans are so skeptical about taking it health professionals are alarmed. A CNN poll found only half of Americans surveyed said they would get the vaccine. The director of the National Institutes of Health warns that is not enough. The virus, quote, "could be here for years." Dozens of pharmaceutical companies are racing to develop a vaccine. Nine in the U.S., 12 in China and Russia has two, including the Sputnik V registered for public use. Russia has been bragging about how quickly it developed the vaccine. But in an exclusive interview with CNN, the vaccine's main developer admits it's not recommended for some of those most at risk from COVID- 19. CNN's Fred Pleitgen explains why. As Russia deals with a major spike in new coronavirus infections, despite already having approved two vaccines for emergency use, the head of the Gamaleya Institute in charge of the development of the most prominent vaccine, Sputnik V, told us it may take up to a year for the majority of Russians to get shots, as production sites are still in the process of going online. Planned capacity of these full sites by next year should reach about 5 million doses per month, which will allow 70 percent of our population to be vaccinated with this vaccine within nine, to 10, to a maximum of 12 months. Russia's certified the Sputnik V vaccine with great fanfare in August after testing it in only a few dozen people. The move hailed as a major PR victory for Vladimir Putin as Russia claims to be outpacing Western pharma firms. But in current large phase 3 trials, Sputnik V is lagging well behind Western vaccine candidates. Sputnik V's makers said only about 6,000 participants have so far received the two doses necessary to achieve complete immunization and start collecting data, compared to almost 30,000 in some large Western trials. All this as Russian state TV is trashing the U.K.'s vaccine candidate, calling it, quote, "a monkey vaccine," despite the fact that Russia itself has made a deal to produce this very vaccine under license. The head of Russia's direct investment fund which is bankrolling Sputnik V claiming Moscow's vaccine is superior because it uses so-called human adenovirus technology. So we decided to use something already existing, something already safe, something already proven. And many people in the West failed to think about this. But even the Sputnik vaccine's instructions say it's only indicated for people 18-60 and not for people with some allergies and illnesses, meaning now older age groups and people with health conditions, some of the most vulnerable to severe cases of COVID-19. The head of the Gamaleya Institute told CNN the vaccine simply hasn't been tested on older people but he believes the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions can still take it. With many chronic diseases, in particular people with diabetes, it is not just that it is carried out; it is prescribed to vaccinate people because these are risk groups that need to be protected. But these people, people with cardiac diseases, these are all chronic diseases, as we know, you need to vaccinate. Russia says it will still soon wrap ramp up production of Sputnik V to vaccinate more medical workers and other high-risk groups, a move Konstantin Chumakov, a top vaccine expert at the Global Virus Network, called dangerously risky. I think that there is a reason why they call it Russian roulette. So this is exactly it. One Russian who isn't taking the Sputnik V vaccine so far is the president, Vladimir Putin, his spokesman telling CNN, Putin is, quote, "thinking about it" -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers cast ballots in early voting Saturday. This is just one of the lines they waited in. Turnout numbers are up across the U.S. We'll have more on that coming up ahead. Stay with us.

Wales Under Two- Week "Firebreak" To Stem COVID-19; Exclusive With Russian Vaccine's Main Developer

Welcome back to our viewers in the United States, Canada and around the world. The chief of staff for Mike Pence has tested positive for COVID-19. The diagnosis was revealed Saturday in a statement. It said both the vice president and the second lady tested negative. Marc Short is the second top Pence aide to come down with the virus in recent days. His senior adviser tested positive earlier in the week. Even so, Mr. Pence will remain on the schedule and stay on the campaign trail. Nine days to go before Election Day in the U.S. with more than 52 million Americans already doing their civic duty. According to information from Catalist, a data company that provides services to Democrats, academics and nonprofits. The total includes both in-person voting and absentee ballots. Nearly 94,000 people voted Saturday in the first day of early voting in New York City. That's higher than the total number of early voters last year. Turnout is up among younger voters in key states as well. CNN's Natasha Chen is in Georgia, a potential swing state, talking to early voters about what's driving them to the polls. Well, as of noon on Saturday, more than 2.6 million votes have been cast in the state of Georgia. And when you look at both the in person and early voting as well as the absentee ballots that have been cast, that's a 114 percent increase over the same point in the 2016 election. We've been seeing tremendous enthusiasm and energy, even in the rain, as people continue to wait to cast their votes. Now we have talked to a number of people in line, who represent the changing demographics in Georgia, a younger, more diverse group that is joining the voter rolls. We met this one young couple in Atlanta, who said they are considering some very important issues as they cast their ballots this time. I really do think it's about the character of this country, about who we vote for. So I think -- I just want my voice heard on that. I think, also, having a young daughter, we're also setting up the world for her. And I think our vote now speaks even more than it did as single people, that it's not just for right now. It's for the future. Over the past 20 years, there's been a significant increase in the percentage of African American voters making up the electorate here in Georgia. And according to a recent study by Pew Research, Georgia also has the largest growth of any state in the country of eligible immigrant voters. In fact we met voter here who was recently naturalized and excited about participating in her first U.S. election. Something that's also changing the electorate, Georgia in 2016 started automatically registering people to vote when they got their driver's license. So a lot of young people are joining the voter rolls -- Natasha Chen, CNN, Marietta, Georgia. Even as tens of millions of Americans are casting their ballots, U.S. national security experts are warning that the presidential election is a target for countries such as Russia, Iran and China. But another possible threat to voters comes from a source much closer to home. Pamela Brown explains. New concerns about possible voter intimidation after the Trump campaigned film voters at a Philadelphia polling station. The campaign claims they found at least 3 people dropping off more than one ballot each. What Trump team's attorney believes is just the tip of the iceberg and what can constitute unlawful absentee voting. The voters are allowed to drop off ballots for people who are disabled. And state officials warned the videos might be interpreted as intimidation. Voter intimidation is illegal under state and federal law and videotaping, you're taking pictures of you without your consent is part of that. Which the Trump campaign calls categorically absurd. On election interference, intelligence officials confirm Russian hackers have stolen election data. But it's unclear how the information will be used. Officials say Iran used voter information to send threatening emails that came to light this week. Iran and Russia have taken specific actions to influence public opinion relating to our elections. The federal government issued two new cyber security alerts, warning that state and local governments were targeted. But officials say that election infrastructure has not been compromised. The intelligence community generally agrees that the Russians interfered 4 years ago to help Trump win. Despite that, Trump slammed the assessment again. They both want you to lose because there's been nobody tougher to Russia, with -- between the sanctions. Nobody tougher than me on Russia. Intelligence experts agree, stopping Russia should be the priority. Russia has been interfering in the run-up to our election already and, for my part at least, it's a far more serious threat than Iran. More than 50 million Americans have already turned in their ballots. Well, I'd rather get it done and over with and deliver it early. That way I know I've voted. And more than half of those votes come from CNN's 16 most competitive states and one of the fiercest battlegrounds, North Carolina, over 2.5 million ballots have been cast. That's more than half of the total turnout in 2016. We are learning more about 2020's first election ransomware attack. It happened in Georgia and in one Georgia county, officials there said, the hack affected a voter signature database and precinct maps. They do not believe that it affected the election infrastructure and security experts say that it was likely more about profit than politics. But they are concerned about these ransomware attacks, as we get closer to Election Day, because they can cause chaos and confusion -- Pamela Brown, CNN, Washington. Joining me now in San Francisco, California, Renee DiResta, the tactical research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory. Thank you so much for being here on this very important topic. Given what happened in 2016, there's so much misinformation being spread, primarily by Russia. Going into this election, there were a lot of concerns about the international and intentional spread of misinformation and how it might affect the vote. From what you've seen, has it been as bad in this campaign? And what if any are the differences between 2016 and now? Sure, so right now we're seeing there's a lot more misinformation originating from domestic sources. So misinformation, meaning information that's inadvertently wrong, as opposed to disinformation campaigns with regard to Russia. So what we're seeing today instead is information that oftentimes starts because somebody snaps a photo, maybe of a ballot that's been misplaced, something they see in the trash. And then that's amplified by domestic influencers, who want to spread a political narrative to benefit a partisan side. And then that act of influence, picking it up and sharing it, means that it reaches many more people because these are unfortunately authentic accounts often with very large followings. Who is being targeted here? The way you make it sound is that it's just kind of pumped into the online world for anyone to consume or is it specifically aimed it smaller but influential constituencies of voters? We're seeing a lot of different types of narratives spread. There's suppression type narratives, right now. We're very concerned about some of the footage that is real that is showing very long lines at polling stations but then implying that people are not going to be allowed to vote. We're seeing footage that is taken out of context, suggesting that police officers will interfere in the voting process, targeting people on the Left. We're seeing narratives of misleading ballot, claims about ballots being thrown away or mail-in ballots being, multiple people submitting multiple mail-in ballots. That one is really more targeted at the Right. We're just constantly hearing about how voter fraud is going to be committed in the proceed of the mail-in vote we're going to see a lot of because of coronavirus. So it's really running the gamut. There's really no one community that is more targeted than another this point. We are seeing a little bit more, however, of these narratives about mail-in ballot fraud disrupting the election. That's what I was going to say. It sounds like a lot of the misinformation or disinformation, depending on who's doing it, centers around either voting or the general theme of democracy. What is the aim here? Well, unfortunately, the aim really seems to be discrediting confidence in the outcome of the election by discrediting confidence in the result of the election. So insinuating that if we can't run a free and fair election, in which one person, one vote, ballots are counted fairly, everybody's vote counts. The concern now is that there's substantial lack of confidence in the process. What that might mean is that 50 percent of the population doesn't trust the outcome if their preferred candidate doesn't win because they've been hearing about how the election is going to be stolen or manipulated by the other side. It sounds obviously like what you're saying is echoing a lot of what President Trump is saying out loud. Is this in any way to help him or to help his followers? Well, unfortunately, one of the things we never expected to see was the president of the United States participating in this process. That was not on anybody's -- things that we expected to see back in 2016. In 2016, what we saw a lot of, with regard to these narratives about election machines not working or people fraudulently voting, was actually coming from Russian trolls. Interestingly enough, that was one of the common themes they tried to amplify back in 2016. They were targeting the Right-leaning communities and had built pages for and create fake personas around and those pages and personas really leaned into the idea that the election was going to be stolen in the weeks leading up to the election of 2016. Now we're seeing those themes echoed but instead of by Russian trolls, we're seeing them echoed by extremely prominent influencers with very large followings. Thank you very much, Renee DiResta, we appreciate it. Thank you. Another powerful storm is threatening the Caribbean, Mexico and the southern U.S. Zeta has been upgraded to a tropical storm. It's forecast to become a category one hurricane moving into the Gulf of Mexico. It's now projected to hit the U.S. along the northern Gulf Coast, which was already battered by multiple storms this season. Forecasters expect Zeta to weaken back to a tropical storm before then. Nigeria's top police commander calling out the nation's entire police force. Will it be enough or even the right move to quell weeks of unrest? We'll look at the crisis coming up. Stay with us.

U.S. Officials: Russia, Iran Have Stolen Voter Information

In Nigeria, chaotic scenes of looting and destruction have prompted the deployment of the nation's entire police force. This was the disturbing scene Saturday in a city as looters ransacked a warehouse. It's after weeks of mostly peaceful protests over police brutality. The government shut down a special anti-robbery squad amid accusations that members of that unit harassed, kidnapped and extorted, even murdered citizens. As CNN's Nima Elbagir shows us, this past week was a bloody one in Lagos. Broken glass and debris on the streets of Lagos. Shattered remnants of protests in Nigeria over police brutality that quickly turned from peaceful to deadly. There is a tense calm in the city now. But on Tuesday night, the city erupted into chaos after eyewitnesses say multiple protesters were shot and killed by army soldiers. The army has dismissed reports of the incident as "fake news." The shooting set off a wave of anger across the country. Many shops and businesses have been burned or damaged and there is widespread looting in the worst unrest in the country since its return to civilian rule in 1999. It is one of the biggest political challenges so far for the country's president, Muhammadu Buhari. On Thursday he addressed the nation, appealing for calm. Your voice has been heard loud and clear and we are responding. But critics say he waited too long to make a public statement and didn't even address the events on Tuesday, which has further angered many Nigerians. People died, people and their loved ones, and he didn't mention anything about. It The speech was baseless, hopeless. The state governor spoke to CNN and said he is committed to a full investigation of what happened and people will be held accountable but also says demonstrators should have left when they were told, as a curfew was in effect. The protesters had the time to also have left the site we're talking about. But it's totally condemning (ph). The protests began more than 2 weeks ago and has been largely driven by young people in Nigeria, organizing on social media under the #EndSARS who initially called for a police unit known as a special anti-robbery squad to be disbanded because of allegations of kidnapping, harassment and extortion. Under intense pressure, the government agreed to dissolve the unit and redeploy officers to a different team. But the movement continued, widening to include economic reforms and more protections against the police. The voices raised here in a call for justice have found willing echoes around the world, gaining international attention from celebrities like Beyonce and Rihanna, placing a spotlight on shootings that have yet to be fully explained and the growing discontent from the country's youth -- Nima Elbagir, CNN, London. Samsung's chairman Lee Kun-hee has died after six years in a coma following a heart attack. He was considered a visionary who turned his father's South Korean company into an international tech giant. He was convicted in several criminal cases but was pardoned. His son has been leading the company since 2012 and is expected to inherit his father's title. Lee was 78 years old. We'll be right back.

Nigerian Police Force Mobilize To Quell Worst Unrest In 20 Years

Officials in the U.S. are worried about widespread trust in a vaccine, particularly among the Black and Latino communities. Fueling that concern is the lack of participation in diverse communities in clinical trials. Vaccine maker Moderna said only 10 percent of the trial participants are Black; 20 percent are Latino. And these groups are both more than twice as likely to get COVID-19 than white Americans. Now Asian Americans contract COVID-19 at about the same rate as white Americans, according to the CDC, yet they're dealing with a soaring unemployment rate. CNN's Amara Walker has the details. Lunchtime at this Chinese restaurant is typically a busy hour. That was before the pandemic. Now at Canton House in Atlanta, it's mostly empty tables and an unusually quiet dining room. My God, the business dropped 98 percent. The restaurant industry was among the hardest hit among the coronavirus pandemic. But the owner here is facing a struggle unique to Asian Americans, a double whammy of historic unemployment and discrimination. At the time we closed, we do have our window was broken and -- with a hammer without any reason whatsoever. At that time, we really think that's racist. As COVID-19 has spread, so has the racism and xenophobia. Members of the United Nations Committee on Discrimination recently expressed concern over an alarming level of racially motivated incidents against Asian Americans, saying president Trump's rhetoric seems to play a role in legitimizing the hate crimes. Sixty-year-old Vuong reopened his dining room in May. Business is down still 50 percent. He wonders if discrimination is slowing down recovery. When we first opening, I do have a feeling that the people say don't go to Chinese restaurants. People were avoiding Asian businesses because they thought they would get the coronavirus from these businesses. An economics professor at the University of Massachusetts says COVID-19 has taken a heavy economic toll on Asian Americans. According to government statistics, from February to June, Asian American unemployment rates increased more by more than 450 percent. Asians typically have among the lowest unemployment rates. And it's really shot up during A visit to Atlanta's Chinatown underscores the struggle. This gift shop is closing at the end of the month. Other businesses here are telling us they are just trying to survive. Yet Kim says few are taking notice. I think it's been overlooked because people don't think that Asians have problems. People think of Asians as a model minority. No, we are just not desperate, we are struggling. But Vuong, who came to the United States as a refugee from Vietnam, remains hopeful. He says he's been living the American dream for 40 years and hopes for 40 more. We have a dream, to get the business, to have a house, to have a stable life, a peaceful life, have a family and then raise our kids. But hopefully our dreams are not broken because of this COVID-19. Vuong tells me that he just got started breaking even so he's got quite a way to go still. He's concerned about a second wave of COVID-19 hurting his business. But he says he's the most concerned about the outcome of the presidential election and whether that will inflame racial tensions -- back to you. With that, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. For viewers in the U.S. and Canada, "NEW DAY" is ahead. For everyone else, it's "Quest's World of Wonder."

COVID-19 Triggers Rise In Asian American Unemployment Rate.

Dark winter? U.S. COVID cases hit a new daily record, and the virus infects close advisers to Vice President Pence, as the candidates clash over how to best manage the pandemic. That's all I hear. Turn on television, right? He's given up. He's quit on you. He's quit on America. Who will the American people choose to lead them out of this crisis? I will speak with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows next. And stalemate. Time is running out for a deal between Congress and the White House to help struggling Americans by Election Day. I'm hopeful that we will be able to reach agreement. How much longer will Americans have to wait? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joins me to discuss next. Plus: final countdown. With just nine days left to vote, polls favor Democratic nominee Joe Biden, but President Trump says the energy is behind him. Has Biden gotten Democrats excited enough to turn out the vote? I will speak with Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ahead. Hello. I'm Jake Tapper in Washington, where the state of our union is alarmed at the latest pandemic data. Just nine days until Election Day, and, today, a worrisome late October surprise, a new coronavirus outbreak tied to the White House, this time hitting Vice President Pence's inner circle. The vice president's chief of staff, Marc Short, has now tested positive, as well as Marty Obst, one of Pence's top outside political advisers, and at least one other member of Pence's White House staff, according to an official. Vice President Pence is, of course, the head of the Coronavirus Task Force and was a close contact of Marc Short's. But, according to the White House, the vice president has tested negative for the virus and is choosing to stay on the campaign trail. You can see him here yesterday campaigning without a mask. The White House says it's OK for Pence to be out there because he is a -- quote -- "essential worker," though it is not yet clear how campaigning is essential work, as opposed to, say, being in his office trying to use the levers of government to get control of the pandemic. But, even as the virus spreads within the White House again, the president is out on the campaign trail telling Americans that the virus is -- quote -- "rounding the turn" and criticizing the news media for covering the pandemic. It is staggering and dangerous misinformation, as the virus is actually spreading more rapidly across the country, according to health experts. Saturday, the U.S. hit more than 83,000 cases. That's the second highest day in the U.S. since the pandemic began. The highest day? Friday. Overall, the virus has infected more than 8.5 million Americans and killed nearly 225,000. Joining me now to discuss this and much more, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Mark, thanks so much. Horrible news about the V.P.'s office. How many... Yes, we wish them -- we wish them we wish them best. Obviously, anybody, not just White House staff, but any American who comes down with this, we certainly wish them the very best. Yes. And it's all about trying to make sure that we have the therapeutics, the treatments, and make sure that we can tackle this in a meaningful way. And, hopefully, we will be able to do that. How many individuals in the vice president's office or the White House have tested positive this week? And how many of them have symptoms? You know, we don't give out that kind of information. Obviously, Marc Short and a couple of the key staff around the vice president have come down with the coronavirus. It just goes to show you that we continue to face this enemy that came from China. And yet what we also know is, the one area that -- where we are rounding the corner is really the death rate as it looks to that. Our ability to handle this has improved each and every day, each and every month. And when there were estimates that as many as 10 percent of the population that got this would actually experience a fatal result, we're now down to 2.6. Every death is too many. Right. But, hopefully, we're going to get this to the point where it's not as lethal as the flu. So, Mark, Pence adviser Marty Obst tested positive days ago, and that was not disclosed to the public at the time. According to "The New York Times" -- quote -- "Two people briefed on the matter said that the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, had sought to keep the news of the outbreak from becoming public." Why would you do that? Is it because it's yet another sign of how much the White House has failed to contain the virus? Well, obviously -- yes. Yes, obviously, that's not a report. That's actually a tweet. And, when we look at this, when we're really talking about... No, that was a "New York Times" story. That was a "New York Times" story. When we actually -- when we actually have people's health at risk, what we look at there, Jake, is -- is, sharing personal information is not something that we should do, not something that we do actually do, unless it's the vice president or the president or someone that's very close to them, where there's people in harm's way. Listen, any time that there's someone in harm's way, we have an obligation to let people know, to contact-trace. We have done that. Chris Christie says you didn't do that with him. We did that in -- in this particular -- well, in -- in that -- in that vein, when you look at Chris Christie, it's within 48 hours of symptoms. And when we looked at the president, there was not a contact... Yes. ... within 48 hours of the president, where he would qualify under CDC guidelines. We actually have a CDC person in the... So, Mark... Hold on, Jake. We have got a person, a CDC person, embedded here in the White House that helps us with contact tracing each and every day. Right. No, I understand that. Yes. So, Mark, Marc Short has been in close contact with Vice President Pence. Right. That's correct. I mean, they are always with each other. Short is now positive for the virus. That's correct. So, CDC guidelines say that Vice President Pence should quarantine for 14 days. Now, I understand the White House is trying to get around that by saying the vice president is an essential worker. But, Mark, how is going all over the country, how is that -- campaigning -- how is that essential work? It's not like he's helping to contain the virus, in fact, the opposite. He's holding rallies that could be spreading the virus. Well, actually, he's not just campaigning. He's working. We saw a Middle East peace agreement with Sudan in the Oval Office that the president engaged in. And for anybody to suggest that the president has been out campaigning and not getting things done, all you have to do is look at the facts. So... He was at a campaign rally in Tallahassee. He was just in a campaign rally in Tallahassee. That's -- I'm not saying he's not campaigning. I'm saying that that is only part of what he's doing. And, as we look at that, essential personnel, whether it's the vice president of the United States or anyone else, has to continue on. But he's not following CDC guidelines. Jake, Jake -- well, no, Jake, CDC guidelines does say essential personnel, if they will mask up. Yes, if they wear a mask, if they wear a mask. And -- and I spoke to the vice president last night at midnight. And I can tell you that what he's doing is wearing a mask, socially distancing. And when he goes up to speak, he will take the mask off, put it back on. But he -- he's wearing a mask as it relates to this particular thing because the doctors have -- have advised him to do that. And, so, Jake, when we start to look at this, here's -- here's where we really need to make sure. On your Web site yesterday, Jake... Yes. ... your Web site is talking about, well, now we think the spread is coming from small social groups and family groups. First, it was large groups. Now it's small groups. Now... It's coming from all sorts of places. It's coming from all sorts of places, because the pandemic is out of control. That's exactly the point. So, here's what we have to do. We're not going to control the pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas... Why aren't we going to get control of the pandemic? Because it is a contagious virus. Just like the flu, it's contagious. Yes, but why not make efforts to contain it? Well, we are making efforts to contain it. And that's... By running all over the country not wearing a mask? That's what the vice president is doing. Jake, we can -- we can get into the back -- back-and-forth. Let me just say this, is, what we need to do is make sure that we have the proper mitigation factors, whether it's therapies or vaccines or treatments, to make sure that people don't die from this. But to suggest that we're going to actually quarantine all of America, lock down our... I never said -- no one -- no one is saying that. Well, they are. Joe Biden is saying that. That's not what he said. He says, lock everybody down. We're going to have -- we're going to have a dark... He's not saying -- he's not saying that. We're going to have a dark winter. We're going to have a dark winter. That's what health officials say. That's what health officials say, that it's going to get worse. No, what -- no, no, that's Joe Biden's... We had the two worst days in terms of new infections Friday and Saturday, the two worst days. Jake, let's be honest here. The health officials did not say dark winter. Those were Joe Biden's words. When we look at the... He was quoting a health official. I think he was quoting William Haseltine. Well, when we look -- when we look at the number of cases increasing, what we have to do is make sure that we fight it with therapeutics and vaccines, take proper mitigation factors, in terms of social distancing and masks when we can. And when we -- when we look at this, what we're -- we're going to defeat it, Jake, because what we are, we're Americans. We do that. And this president is leading, while Joe Biden is sitting there suggesting that we're going to mandate masks. Mark, the president -- the president is holding rallies all over the country. That's correct. That's correct. In fact, we're leaving... No masks required, no distancing. We -- we... There have already been, according to health officials' contact tracing, there have already been cases of individuals in Minnesota and in Washington, D.C., and in Oklahoma that got the virus at these Trump rallies that Dr. Fauci himself called a super-spreader event, the one at the White House. Well, there's also been contact tracing, Jake -- there's... That is not leading. That is not leading. There's all been -- also been contact tracing from reporters, some with your own group, where they actually have worn masks religiously. And so what I'm here to tell you is, is, we need to find the vaccines and the therapeutics to actually give Americans the relief that this is not a death sentence... Mark. ... because it's not. And yet, at the same time, to suggest that any of that is -- is not accurate is -- is just not based on the facts. Here's the bottom line. Here's the bottom line. Yes. Yes. We know, according to health officials, that masks are the best thing people can do in terms of trying to prevent the virus from spreading, period. Yes. That's what they say. Right. Until the vaccine and Operation Warp Speed, until that all works out... OK. ... the best thing to do are masks. Yes. That's from Dr. Redfield. It's from Dr. Fauci. It's from Dr. Birx. It's from everybody. Yes. OK? Vice President Pence is the head of the Coronavirus Task Force. He has been exposed to somebody who tested positive. Right. The CDC guidelines say he should quarantine. Now, you're trying to say his running all over the country, meeting voters, campaigning, is an essential worker business. I don't think it is. But OK, if you do that, why is he not wearing a mask? We have -- I haven't seen any pictures of him on the tarmac or anywhere wearing a mask. And should the American people follow the CDC guidelines, or should they not? Because the vice president is not. Well, I -- I can tell you he is wearing a mask. He will be wearing a mask today, as we have this. Obviously, when you have an exposure, you have to take additional mitigation factors to do that. But the other part of that, Jake, is this, is -- is even those experts that you talked about, when we talk about masks, I said, well, if masks is the answer and mandating masks is the answer, can't we put all our students back in schools? If we just mandate masks and make sure the teachers wear masks, will... Should Americans follow CDC guidelines? ... will -- will they be safe? And the answer was no. Should Americans follow CDC guidelines? And so -- so, certainly -- certainly, American should follow CDC guidelines. They should? And when we -- when we look at that, when we look at that... Does that include the president? That includes the president, and it includes everyone. But there are special -- special... Well, then why don't your supporters wear masks at rallies? Well, you're asking about the supporters vs. the president. So -- and so... Well, why don't you require -- why don't you require supporters to wear masks at rallies? Well, we -- we don't mandate masks because -- here's the other thing is, we offer them out. We live in a free society, Jake. And -- and when you look at that, under -- under a Joe Biden's America, he would lock everything down. He would make sure... That's not -- that's not true. No. Well, how do you know that? Have you asked him that question? Ask him that question, Jake. How is he going to fix it? Because I have seen a million interviews -- I have seen a million interviews with him. We're not talking about a hypothetical... No, he doesn't do many -- no. No, you are talking about hypotheticals. I have interviewed Biden more than I have interviewed Trump, OK? I will put it that way. I get that. Well, because, from a standpoint... We don't have to get into that. We can get into that. In terms of interviews, I think most journalists would agree, Joe Biden has largely been unavailable. He's hoping to run out the clock... All right. ... so that the American people will not know. So, America -- the American people should abide by CDC guidelines? But you are not even asking your supporters to wear masks, even though... We pass them out, Jake. I mean, have you been to... Do you know how many people in Minnesota have gotten the virus because of Trump rallies? Have you been to a rally? You come on with us to a rally, and we will -- we will show you. We give out masks. They don't wear them. Well, it's a free society. You're not wearing one right now, Jake. There's literally nobody in this room. There is literally not one person in the studio. Yes, and so -- so, you're saying that you always wear a mask wherever you go? Come on, Jake. The American people know that's not true. I know it's not true. I wear a mask when -- except when I'm in here, in my office, and home. That is true, 100 percent. Yes, but... I wear a mask when I walk in the hallway at CNN, OK? But under -- under your article just yesterday, you're suggesting that Thanksgiving is going to be a super-spreader event. I don't even know what article you're talking about. Yes, well, it's on the CNN Web site. They can all go look at it. Let me ask you a question. Yes. So, just yesterday, President Trump said -- quote -- "We're rounding the corner. It's going away." Yes. Mark, it's not even going away in the White House. But, beyond that, the U.S. reported 83,000 new cases on Friday and Saturday. Right. That's the two highest days of the entire pandemic so far for new cases. And it's not just new cases. The positivity rate is going up. Hospitalizations are going up. Deaths are starting to tick up. For any American... But let... Let me just ask you a question. I have a question here. OK. Well, get to the question. Get to the question, Jake. For any American at home -- for any American at home under the false impression that the pandemic is almost over, would you agree that this remains very serious, the numbers are going in the wrong direction, and people still need to take precaution? Well, I agree that it's very serious. But here's the interesting thing is, we continue to test more and more, more than most other countries. So, the cases that we find will go up. If you're not testing, you're not finding it. So, a lot of these other countries, they're not testing near at the rate that we're testing at, Jake. And yet... So, you know... Hold on. Let me finish. You asked a question. Let me just add some clarity here. Testing is up -- I am, but I just want to bring some clarity. It is true that, the more you test, the more people you will see. But testing has gone up 16 percent in the last month. Right. Coronavirus cases are up 55 percent. So, this is not just about new tests. Well... This is about the positivity rate. And the pandemic is spreading, the virus is spreading, as a factual matter. As a factual matter, if you look at the number of tests vs. the number of cases in the last couple of weeks, where you're talking about all these upticks, there is a correlation to additional testing. I will be glad to go over -- and, someday, when we're... Some of it, sure. OK. And so, in doing that, I mean, what's the point? What is Joe Biden's plan for the pandemic? How is he going to do it? He's going to wear two masks, like he does every day, and suggest that we skip Thanksgiving? He gave a whole speech about it. And if you're interested in his plan, you can read his plan. I... No, I know, a whole speech. No, no, he doesn't have a plan. He has rhetoric, because you and I both know, for 47 years, he's talked about things, and not done things. You have covered him. I know him. And the American people should know his record. OK. I'm asking about what's going on right now, what -- not what, theoretically, Joe Biden would or would not do. He had a whole plan that he outlined on Friday, and I'm sure it's on his Web site, if you want to know. President Trump was asked this week, if he could do it all over again, if he could take a mulligan, what would he do differently on the virus? He said, "Not much." Now, a Columbia University study just out says at least 130,000 deaths and up to 210,000 deaths could have been prevented -- quote -- "with earlier policy interventions and more robust federal communication, coordination, and leadership." Yes. And we know the president publicly dismissed concerns about the virus early on. He undermined messages on masks. He continues to do so. He promoted untested treatments. He holds rallies that lead to more infections. Isn't what is most concerning about the president saying he wouldn't do much differently is that suggests he really hasn't learned anything, if he really thinks he wouldn't do anything differently? Listen, we -- we -- some of those different positions on masks actually came from Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx and the people you like to tout. I mean, I can tell you, early on, what was happening is, we were learning about this virus. And we continue to learn about this virus. And where we are today is much better than where we were nine months ago. When it comes to all the things that we have been able to do in record speed, whether it was PPE, whether it was closing down our borders, whether it was creating ventilators, whether it was actually mobilizing for hospitalization, or whether it was actually providing for therapeutics and vaccines in record times, this president has done that all. That's what you want a leader to do. And to suggest that because of a virus that came here from a foreign country is -- is the whole reason for this pandemic, and to ignore that, Jake, is ignoring the very people that we need to hold accountable. And it's the Chinese. I'm not ignoring it. And I agree China should be held accountable. But we're talking about how the president handled it. I have -- go ahead and -- China and the Chinese government were not up front about this. Well, we found something that we can agree upon. We found something that we can agree. Yes, I agree with you on that. OK. I want -- let's turn to coronavirus relief negotiations... Sure. ... because, obviously, millions of Americans are hoping for some relief, some compromise. If you reach a compromise, Senator McConnell says he will bring any deal that you reach to the floor for a vote. Do you have a guarantee of that, and do you have a commitment from the Democrats and 13 Republicans that you will need to pass it? Have you identified 13 Senate Republicans who would be on board? Well, we don't even have the bill yet, because Nancy Pelosi -- and she's coming up -- I know she can speak to this. But we have continued to make offer after offer after offer. And Nancy continues to move the goalposts. And, as you know, we're up to $1.9 trillion. I personally have talked to the leader multiple times. I have talked to senators multiple times. And, at the end of the day, it was the Democrats just last week who said that they weren't going to support a $500 billion deal. So, they said no to some relief coming to Americans. But you guys are up to $1.9 trillion. Yes, $1.9 trillion, that's correct. And I'm just asking, have you identified -- have you identified the -- like, obviously, when the deal happens -- we're all optimistic that Mnuchin and Pelosi are going to be able to come up with a compromise. Have you identified -- do you have a commitment from McConnell that he will bring the bill to the floor? And have you identified the Republicans that you want to vote for it, and have you gotten commitment that they will? Well -- well, obviously, we have identified those Senate Republicans most likely to vote for it. OK. But we're not Nancy Pelosi. We're not going to vote or opine on a bill and pass it before we have read it. And so we need to make sure that we actually read the bill. We haven't gotten an agreement. I do have a commitment from Leader McConnell that, if we get an agreement, he's willing to bring it to the floor and get it passed. But the Democrats -- again, I want to stress this. Senate Democrats had the opportunity to send relief to the American people this last week, and they didn't do it. OK. That should be a headline, Jake. Mark, I'm being told that we're getting the hook from your team over there at the White House. Just one last question. I don't know if it's from here. Go ahead. But -- it's not on my end. I will have you for the hour. Just a quick question. Is the vice president going to be tested every day for coronavirus, just for safety's sake, to be sure he doesn't get it? Yes, we -- we don't get into safety protocols. But we do test on a regular basis. I get tested every day. I can speak to my testing. I would assume that the president -- the vice president and the president are in protocols that are very close to that, yes, sir. OK. I do think the public has a right to know, because he has been exposed. We obviously wish the best for Mr. Short and everybody else in the vice president's orbit. I do too, yes. And, obviously, Mark, we hope you stay safe as well. Thank you so much for your time. Thanks. I appreciate it. Thanks, Jake. You just heard the White House position on a relief package for struggling Americans. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will join me to respond next. Plus, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez backed Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary very strongly, so what concerns might she have about nominee Joe Biden? I will ask her. Stay with us.

COVID-19 Outbreak Hits Vice President Pence's Staff; Interview With Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA); Interview With White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

Welcome back the STATE OF THE UNION. I'm Jake Tapper. Nine days until Election Day, and more than 50 million Americans have already cast their votes. My next guest is trying to make sure young people join that number. And she's taking a novel approach to getting it done. Joining me now, New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Congresswoman, thanks so much. I don't know if you were listening to Meadows and Pelosi talking about the stimulus, the relief bill. You have warned of a -- quote -- "mass eviction crisis" in your New York district if a relief package isn't approved as soon as possible. Do you think it's time for Democrats to declare victory and get this passed now, so your constituents can get the help they desperately need right now? Yes. Yes, I do think passing a stimulus is incredibly important. There are people that are in a lot of pain. But, frankly, I think the thing that's important is that the Republican side really needs to get their act together. When we hear one thing about an offer from the White House, you also hear Mitch McConnell saying that he doesn't have the votes for it internally. And so, while they're trying to present this united message of kind of having all their ducks in a row, the fact of the matter is, they can't even get their own senators to agree to a pack -- to their own package. And so, really, a lot of this package is going to rely on Democratic votes. It's going to require delivering every Democratic vote in the Senate and peeling off Republican votes to agree to it. So, we really need folks to make sure that we're getting state and local funding, that people can get a second stimulus check without giving up their protections in their workplace. Let's turn to climate change, which is an issue of tremendous importance, especially to you. You introduced a bill earlier this year that would ban all fracking nationwide within the next five years. To be completely candid, Vice President Biden's position on the issue of fracking has been confusing. During the primary, he sounded supportive of a ban. On Saturday, he told voters in Pennsylvania -- quote -- "I'm not banning fracking, period." It sounds like now he's on the other side of this issue from you. Does it bother you? You know, it does not bother me. I believe -- and I have a very strong position on fracking. The science is very clear. The methane emissions from fracking are up to 64 times more powerful than CO2 emissions at trapping heat in the air. And just from a perspective of stopping climate change, there is a scientific consensus. However, that is my view. Vice President Biden has made very clear that he does not agree with a fracking ban. And I consider that -- you know, it will be a privilege to lobby him... ... should we win the White House. But we need to focus on winning the White House first. And I'm happy to make my case. But I also understand that he is in disagreement on that issue. Do you worry that his opposition to a fracking ban is going to hurt young voter turnout? Well, I believe that young people right now have a very disciplined, activist mind-set. And they are not here with the intent of voting for their favorite person or voting for someone that they think is perfect as president. I think young people are actually quite disciplined and quite realistic and pragmatic in their vote, and they want to vote for who they are going to lobby. They're -- right, now young people are so clear on their stances on many political issues, that they believe that they want to vote for a president that is at least going to be receptive to their advocacy, activism and protest, frankly. And so there is no question that Joe Biden is a much better person in that position to be receptive and actually listen to the voices of advocates than Donald Trump, who is intensely focused on enriching himself and his friends. So, last year, Biden told Democratic voters he would eliminate fossil fuels as president. But listen to what he told reporters after Thursday night's debate. We're not getting rid of fossil fuels. We're getting rid of the subsidies for fossil fuels. But we're not getting rid of fossil fuels for a long time. "We're not getting rid of fossil fuels for a long time." You were a member of Biden's climate change task force. Is that good enough for you? Well, when he says, we're eliminating subsidies, I think that that is, frankly, an important first step. There's a lot of folks, with all of -- there's a lot of folks who like to tout themselves as free market capitalists, while still trying to make sure that they get as much government subsidy and propping up of the fossil fuel industry as possible. And the fact of the matter is, is that, if you do believe in markets, solar and renewable energies are growing less and less expensive by the day, and, in many areas, they are starting to become less expensive than fossil fuels. So, when you eliminate government subsidies, they -- it becomes more difficult for fossil fuels to compete in the market. And so I think, while -- again, while the vice president wants to make sure that he's not doing it by a government mandate or regulation, I do believe that we are moving towards that future. Again, I believe that there is a way and that we should push that process along. But, again, the vice president and I's disagreements are, I believe, recorded. And that's quite all right. At the first presidential debate, Biden said -- quote -- "I am the Democratic Party right now." He said the party's platform is his platform. As you just noted, you disagree with him on a range of critical issues, not just fracking, but also health care. And you have made clear, including just a few minutes ago, that you intend to push him if he wins Do you think that that's going to be a major part of your role under a potential Biden administration, trying to push him to the left? Well, I don't want us to start counting our chickens before they hatch. I believe that we need to be focused on winning the White House, period. The fact of the matter is, there are many critical states that are on the line, whether it's Florida, whether it's Georgia, Pennsylvania, et cetera. And we need to make sure that we win this White House. Frankly, I think it would be a privilege and it would be a luxury for us to be talking about what we would lobby the next Democratic -- and how we will push the next Democratic administration. But, in terms of my role, I believe that that has been my role. And my role is consistent, in making sure that we push the Democratic Party to have a larger vision for our future, to listen to the needs of the working class, of people who are living paycheck to paycheck, young people, people of color, because I believe that is the base of the Democratic Party, and that who -- that is who we are, that it is our job to make sure that we are serving all people in the United States, and particularly our base. And, so, is my job to push the Democratic Party? Absolutely. And that has been my job since and that has been a part of my role since I have been elected. It has. I -- OK, understanding your reluctance to count chickens before they're hatched -- and you're right. It remains a competitive election, and, absolutely, President Trump could be reelected. There's no question about that. So, that said, Politico is reporting that Senator Bernie Sanders, who you endorsed for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sanders has expressed an interest in potentially serving as Biden's labor secretary, if Biden wins the White House. How crucial is it to the progressive movement that Biden's -- Biden offers an important position to Bernie Sanders in a Biden Cabinet, should that happen, should Biden win? Well, what I think is extremely important, and what I think what a lot of people kind of misunderstand about the progressive movement is that it wasn't a slogan when Bernie ran on saying, not me, us. And so it's not just about what -- where Bernie Sanders is next term or what role that Senator Sanders is playing. But it's really about who the Biden administration is choosing to lead agencies across the board. And I am not familiar personally with any of Senator Sanders' requests or non-requests. I do not know personally about the veracity of this. But I believe that it's critically important that the Biden administration appoint progressive leaders, whether it's in labor, whether it's in the Treasury, whether it's secretary of education, et cetera, because the fact of the matter is, is that this isn't just about the progressive movement. This is about making sure that we're not just going back to how things were and rewinding the tape before the Trump administration. But this is about making sure how -- how are we going to not just make up for lost time, but leap into the future and actually ensure that we are making the investments and policy decisions that will create an advanced American society? And, frankly, conservative appointments will not get us there. Do you think the Obama presidency was not a progressive presidency? No, I think President Obama did everything he could, with the limitations of a Republican Senate, and, frankly, a Republican-controlled Congress with much of his term. But I think, that being said, there were, of course, progressive demands that were -- or -- and progressive wishes that weren't exactly met. But that wasn't solely due to President Obama. We desperately wanted even to settle for a public option during that time. And it, frankly, wasn't President Obama's fault that that didn't happen. I do believe that there are certain areas, like foreign policy, where there was much to be desired. And I don't believe that, for example, in certain areas, like progressive policy, there wasn't necessarily -- it wasn't as progressive as perhaps many folks in this country would have liked. But, if we have an opportunity, if we work hard enough to elect folks like Jaime Harrison, to make sure that we protect seats like Gary Peters', and to make sure that we unseat Republicans like Joni Ernst, and we have -- and we have the unique, frankly, once-in-a-generation opportunity to have the White House, the Senate and the House majorities Democratically-controlled, then I believe we have an obligation to the American people to show what a Democratic administration can actually accomplish... Yes. ... accomplish, and that we can govern, and that we can truly have leaps in policy that people can feel in their everyday lives that makes voting Democratic worth -- not just worthwhile, but a memorable shift from just a flatline of this idea of bipartisanship, which often just becomes Republican manipulation. You went on Twitch this week and played the video game "Among Us" with popular Internet personalities to encourage young people to vote. I am obviously not a young voter. I had to ask my children what Twitch is and what "Among Us" is. They, of course, knew all about it. That video has now more than five million views. Where did the idea come from? And is it possible to kind of -- to translate this kind of unorthodox, flashy approach to outreach into actual turnout among young voters, who historically do not turn out as much as they could? Yes. Well, I'm -- the idea initially came from, frankly -- you know, I am often on social media, and I have been seeing a lot of people playing "Among Us." Twitch is a platform that I'm familiar with as a livestreaming platform. And I decided that this was something that I wanted to do, not just for fun, but to actually try in the form of engagement. We do know that Twitch is a very popular engagement platform for other means. People often raise thousands, if not millions of dollars collectively for charities. We decided to test this out as a voter mobilization strategy. And so, when we actually were able to put on the stream, over -- when you add up the collective streams, over a half-million people were watching live. As you noted, five million people have viewed since. And it actually has been effective. We were directing voters to IWillVote.com, which helps young people not just register to vote, but develop a voter plan. And the thing about voter plans is that we do know, scientifically and from behavioral studies, that people who make a plan to vote are statistically much more likely to vote than just registering to vote. And what we found during the livestream is that folks from the DNC were tweeting and reporting that we were the highest driver to IWillVote.com ever during the cast of a livestream. And we are seeing early returns in places like Florida, where youth turnout is -- in early voting is astronomically higher... Yes. ... than it was than even in 2016. And so we do know that young people are starting to become an extraordinarily powerful electorate that are issues-focused. Whether it is March for Our Lives on gun safety... Right. ... or whether it is the Sunrise Movement mobilizing on climate change, they're having impacts on the election. So... You could just see, in Senator Markey's reelection, the role that they played. It is interesting watching you drag your party into the 21st century. Last question for you. If Speaker Pelosi runs again, as she just indicated she will if the Democrats keep the House, will you support her? ' Well, again, I want to make sure that we win the House. I do believe that we will. But it's critically important that we are -- that we are supporting Democrats in tight swing races, making sure that not only all of them come back, but that we grow our majority. I believe that we have to see those races as they come, see what candidates are there. I am committed to making sure that we have the most progressive candidate there. But if Speaker Pelosi is that most progressive candidate, then I will be supporting her. OK. Interesting. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, congresswoman from New York, thank you so much for your time today. Appreciate it. Thank you. More than 224,000 people in the U.S. have died of coronavirus, but President Trump says he would not change much about the way he responded. I can think of a few things he could consider. That's next.

Interview With Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)