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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Supreme Court Allows Pennsylvania to Count Votes After Election Day; Debate Commission Will Mute Candidates; Dodgers and Rays Square Off in World Series. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired October 20, 2020 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[05:00:20]

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: A divided Supreme Court rules ballots can still be counted even if they arrive after Election Day in a critical swing state. It's a decision that could help Democrats now but serves as a warning of what could happen on the high court later on.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Then what happens if Thursday's debate disintegrates into a side show? We'll explain the commission's new rule.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States, and around the world. This is EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

JARRETT: And I'm Laura Jarrett. It's Tuesday, October 20th. It's 5:00 a.m. here in New York. Exactly two weeks to the election.

Early voting starts today in Wisconsin, Utah, and Hawaii. There's also a deadline to request a mail-in ballot in Maryland, Nevada, and New Mexico.

ROMANS: Big lift for Democrats in maybe the most pivotal battleground state, as President Trump heads to Pennsylvania today, the U.S. Supreme Court overnight rejected a request by the state Republican Party to limit mail-in voting. As of last Friday, Democrats had requested almost as many as three times as the mail-in ballot as Republicans in the state. So, this decision could change the fate of thousands of ballots in a crucial swing state the president won by just a hair in 2016.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH SHAPIRO, PENNSYLVANIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Pennsylvania voters deserve clarity and confidence in an election that's already underway here in Pennsylvania. And this ruling tonight by the Supreme Court of the United States gives them both. And it shuts down yet another attack by Donald Trump and his enablers on the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

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JARRETT: Case in point, remember we told you last week that Allegheny County, including Pittsburgh will have to reissue 29,000 ballots because incorrect ballots were sent across the county. Well, now, those voters won't have to worry if the mail is slow. The decision may also foreshadow the way the high court is about to be reshaped for generations to come.

CNN's John Harwood has more now from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The United States Supreme Court has handed a major victory to Pennsylvania Democrats and Joe Biden's campaign by allowing a state Supreme Court ruling to stand that permits mail-in votes to be counted if they're received three days after Election Day, even if the postmark is not legible.

Three points to make about this ruling.

First of all, it's a big advantage for Democrats. Pennsylvania may be the tipping point state in the campaign, the one that decides the Electoral College battle and most people who have indicated a desire to vote by mail say they plan to vote for Joe Biden. Republicans have wanted as few of those mail-in votes to count as possible.

Second point is that because Joe Biden has a significant lead, more than 6 points in the polling averages, the ruling may not end up mattering all that much because it may not be close enough that the number of disqualified ballots makes a big difference.

The third point to make is that the U.S. Supreme Court was deadlocked 4-4, and that increases the importance of Amy Coney Barrett who Republicans are trying to rush through in the Senate to join the court to have a full component of nine justices.

In this ruling, it was a deadlocked court, the four hard core conservative justices on the court, versus the three liberals, and chief justice John Roberts who's very concerned about preserving the credibility of the court in making it not seemed so partisan.

But if Amy Coney Barrett gets on that court, we don't know what cases could reach the Supreme Court that were relevant to the election. But if so, it appears likely given her ideological predisposition that those deadlocked cases would tip toward the conservative and Republican side -- Laura and Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, John, thank you so much for that.

The Supreme Court ruling just a part of a nationwide battle over voting, especially in crucial swing states. In Michigan, Republicans scored a win when an appeals court reinstated election day as the deadline for absentee votes. A lower court extended by two weeks because of the pandemic's effect on mail delivery.

And in North Carolina, the state board of election will accept ballots through November 12th, if postmarked by Election Day. Early voting records shattered, by the way, from Georgia to Texas to North Carolina, to Florida where some big counties started in-person early voting yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it'd take a whole day, I'd be standing here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would be standing here all day. I'll do that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) once it gets started.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people aren't working right now. But regardless of what was coming, I know what I intended to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: More long lines are expected across Wisconsin as the state opens up for early voting. The state played a central role in Trump's victory back in 2016, as rural and working class voters rejected Democrats throughout the Upper Midwest.

[05:05:01]

It's part of the reason 94-year-old Mildred Madison, born when Calvin Coolidge was president had her son drive her more than 600 miles from Illinois back home to Michigan so that she could vote after she never got her absentee ballot.

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MILDRED MADISON, TRAVELED MORE THAN 800 MILES TO VOTE: Women got the last, especially black women, we're the last ones that got the power to vote. It's wonderful to see a black woman running for vice president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: More than 28 million Americans across the country so far have already voted for president.

ROMANS: Breaking overnight, both presidential candidates will have their microphones muted during portions of their final debate Thursday night. The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the change after Trump constantly interrupted Biden during the first debate. At the start of each of the six debates segment, each candidate will be given two minutes to answer a question. During that two minute period, the other candidate's microphone will be muted.

It's worth noting, even if microphones are off, interruptions will still be heard in the debate hall and could slow things down. President Trump calls the change unfair, but says he will participate.

JARRETT: So, if you were looking at twitter or listening to a campaign call or watching a rally on Monday, you saw a common thread. President Trump on the offensive, not against coronavirus, though, but against the man charged with stopping the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Two hundred and twenty thousand Americans are dead, 58,000 new COVID cases yesterday alone. For comparison, Japan, with about a third of the U.S. population, had a grand total of 310. Yes, 310 cases yesterday.

ROMANS: The president held two more rallies without social distancing and few masks if battleground Arizona. Mr. Trump has traveled to ten states in the last five days. Cases are skyrocketing and he is holding potential super spreader events. Cases are declining in only one state, Hawaii, but the president's closing argument for the election has now devolved into a campaign of insults against Dr. Fauci.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People are tired of COVID. I have the biggest rallies I have had, and we have COVID. People are saying whatever, just leave us alone. They're tired of it.

People are tired of hearing Fauci and all these idiots, these people that have gotten it wrong. Fauci is a nice guy. He has been here for 500 years. He called every one of them wrong, he's like this wonderful guy, a wonderful sage.

And yet we keep him. Every time he goes on television, there's always a bomb, but there's a bigger bomb if you fire him.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

JARRETT: So, that's how the president talked about one of the most respected public health experts in our country, but yet he loves Dr. Scott Atlas, someone who has dismissed the value of wearing a face masks, and has been pushing so-called herd immunity, a strategy that health experts warned is very dangerous.

And the piling on Fauci right now is not leaving scientists very amused.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. WILLIAM HASELTINE, PRESIDENT, ACCESS HEALTH INTERNATIONAL: What Donald Trump is doing is attacking the fire department when the house is burning down. This is a very, very dangerous time especially to be attacking the one person the nation now looks to for clear, consistent guidance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: That's a powerful metaphor there.

With the Trump campaign desperately needing a softer touch in a way that maybe preempt attention on former President Obama campaigning for Joe Biden tomorrow, Melania Trump will attend a rally with her husband in Pennsylvania tonight. It's her first public appearance since contracting COVID and her first campaign appearance in over a year.

JARRETT: So, coronavirus concerns go beyond case counts right now. Hospitalizations are rising at a startling rate. Just look at this, they are at their highest point since August 26th and these are not the asymptomatic people who can just recover at home. These are people who are very, very sick.

Over the past two weeks, 46 states have seen hospitalizations increase by more than 5 percent.

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DR. TOM MILLER, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, UNIVERSITY OF UTAH HEALTH: We are managing right now, but if we increase, you know, another 20, 30 percent, we're going to have to pull in all kinds of additional help. Kids going back to school, colleges, you know, getting back together. Those infections generally in those age groups very often result in hospitalizations but then there's vertical transmission to parents and grandparents, and then those people who are at risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JARRETT: New research also shows long-term heart damage is likely in some survivors of COVID-19. The virus damages the lungs and their ability to infuse fresh oxygen into the blood.

ROMANS: In California, the governor says the state won't allow any vaccine to be distributed until it's reviewed by the state's own panel of experts, no matter who wins the election.

[05:10:01]

In Mississippi, the governor is requiring hospitals across the state to reserve 10 percent capacity for coronavirus patients and requiring face coverings in nine counties, this includes Jackson County where band members were quarantined after several members tested positive at Ocean Springs High School.

New York state is working to get hot spots under control, a wedding for a rabbis grandson, expected to draw more than 10,000 guests, that has been barred by state order.

JARRETT: All right. Still ahead for you, it's deadline day for a stimulus deal. We have been waiting for this. Millions of Americans desperate for help right now, all but guaranteed to be left behind by Congress, and a White House that won't do their jobs.

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[05:15:03]

JARRETT: The pandemic is driving down real estate prices in the big tech capital of the world. CNN has the pandemic covered coast to coast.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Simon in San Francisco where the pandemic is having a dramatic impact on the price of apartment rentals with companies telling employees they can work remotely. Many people appear to be leaving for the suburbs, going to cheaper areas in the country. According to realtor.com, the median price for a studio apartment has

fallen 31 percent from this time last year. For one bedroom apartments, it's fallen 24 percent. And don't expect that trend to reverse anytime soon.

Tech companies have told employees to expect a work from home well into next year, and many companies like Twitter are saying they can do so permanently.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: I'm Jacqueline Howard in Atlanta. A new study shows that many COVID-19 cases in nursing homes are asymptomatic, meaning they don't show symptoms which can drive dangerous outbreaks.

The study looked at more than 5,000 cases nursing homes across 20 states. It found that 40.9 were asymptomatic, 39.8 percent did show symptoms, and about 19 percent were pre-symptomatic, meaning they didn't show symptoms around the time they were tested but eventually developed symptoms later on.

The study calls for universal testing in nursing homes to identify and isolate these types of cases.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm nick watt in Los Angeles, California, it appears Disneyland workers are ready to go back to work. Their unions want to meet state officials to talk about the fine details of the safety precautions that Disney has been working on.

They say that they are ready to go back when Orange County, where Disneyland is, when it moves into a better tier. Remember last month, Disney laid off 28,000 workers connected largely with the resort division.

AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Amara Walker in Atlanta.

Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, South Carolina's state fair will look like it has never before. Organizers are now changing gears to host the first ever drive through state fair. What is that going to look like? Organizers say guests will have to drive through the fairgrounds. They will not be allowed to exit their vehicles as a safety precaution. Even the fair food will have to be ordered from the car.

South Carolina is currently seeing an upward trend in COVID-19 cases with the positivity rate tracking at 10.3 percent.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Thank you to our correspondents for all of those reports for us this morning.

Stimulus deadline drama. Can markets rebound with today's deadline for a stimulus deal? Dow futures are up right now, looking to try to bounce. The Dow fell 410 points Monday as hopes for stimulus faded over the weekend. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told the White House they had until day to reach a deal on stimulus before Election Day. In a call with her caucus yesterday afternoon, Pelosi said they still have differences here. There's almost universal agreement more stimulus is desperately needed to help households and businesses battered by the pandemic, as well as to secure recovery.

Politicians may not feel a sense of urgency to spend more because of the uneven nature of the recession, right? Well, hotels, airlines, restaurants, cruise liners are in crisis, other parts of the economy are recovering. Last week, the CEO of Best Western slammed Congress saying, quote, there is so much pain and suffering but they're numb to it because the stock market is doing well, and unemployment is back below 9 percent.

The uneven nature of this, Laura, is frightening to watch, in the way that you want to come out of a recession, and be able to have everyone get back on their feet, and this has been cementing inequality -- income inequality into the system which is just really sad.

JARRETT: Well, we'll see if they can get it together today finally.

All right. The final debate of the 2020 campaign almost here. Joe Biden, Donald Trump face off Thursday night. Special live coverage begins on CNN Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.

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[05:23:40]

ROMANS: Well, after a season of road blocks, the World Series is set to begin tonight in Arlington, Texas.

Andy Scholes is there live with more of this morning's "Bleacher Report".

Hi, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, good morning, Christine.

You know, there was a time we didn't think baseball was going get here after COVID-19 outbreaks with the Marlins and the Cardinals, but tonight, the two best teams during the shortened regular season, the Rays and the Dodgers are going to take the field for game one of the World Series, first ever neutral site World Series.

And I'll tell you what, the way the two teams were built, the Dodgers and Rays could not be more different. The Dodgers, one of the highest payrolls in all of baseball, while the Rays have one of the lowest.

Now, Tampa Bay, one of five teams who have never won a World Series. The Dodgers meanwhile have not won one since 1988 and this is going to be L.A.'s third World Series in the past four years, and they think this will finally be their year.

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JUSTIN TURNER, LOS ANGELES DODGERS THIRD BASEMAN: From day one, you know, we came out as a group, and said if there's a championship to be won, we're going to go after it, and we're going to try to run it down.

TYLER GLASNOW, TAMPA BAY RAYS PITCHER: I think we understand mow good we are as a team. I think stepping outside of it knowing that they all do have high payrolls, and we have the lowest it pretty outstanding. I just say in terms of numbers in general, just like how good the front office has done and what the organization has done to put this team together is pretty amazing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:25:07]

SCHOLES: All right. Now, across the street from where we are here at Globe Life Field, Monday night football is taking place between the Cowboys and Cardinals. Last night, about 25,000 fans on hand for this.

And Kyler Murray just loves AT&T Stadium. Dating back to high school, he has never lost there. Now, a perfect 7-0. He threw for two touchdowns. Cardinals blew out the Cowboys, 38-10. Some sad times for Cowboys fans as they are 2-4 on the season.

The Chiefs and Bills playing their rescheduled game early last night. Usually it's the Patrick Mahomes show, but the Chiefs going to the round in this one, rushing, 161 yards rushing in this one. Mahomes did throw for two touchdowns, as the Chiefs beat the Bills, 26-17.

Finally, the Match is back, no Tiger Woods this time around. It's going to be Phil Mickelson teaming up with basketball hall of famer, Charles Barkley. They're going to be taking on Peyton Manning and Warrior superstar Steph Curry, and exhibition golf match. You can watch it on our sister channel TNT the day after Thanksgiving. The event is going to benefit historically black colleges and university.

And Charles Barkley has guaranteed that he and Phil Mickelson are going to win. Definitely going to be fun watching Chuck out there playing golf because he's notoriously one of the worst golfers ever.

But, Laura, here in Arlington, Texas, they're going to have about 11,000 fans for each game at the World Series. You have to wear a mask. You have to socially distance yourself in the seats at the stadium, and I tell you what, whoever wins this World Series, Laura, definitely going to spoil their fan base because the Lakers just won for the City of Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago, and the Tampa Bay Lighting won the Stanley Cup for the city of Tampa.

So, whoever wins this World Series is going to be spoiled this year.

JARRETT: I can tell you're fired up. We're glad you're there this morning for us, Andy. Thanks so much. Good to see you.

All right. Two major developments on the election overnight. A deadlocked Supreme Court decides mail-in ballots can get counted even after Election Day in a pivotal swing state. And the debate commission debates when the candidates can talk.

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