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Russia Imposes Mask Mandate Amid Soaring Cases, Deaths; Mexico Says Death Toll is Much Higher Than Reported; Tropical Storm Zeta Heads for Gulf Coast; White House Falsely Claims 'Ending COVID-19 Pandemic' as Trump Accomplishment. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired October 28, 2020 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm John Vause.
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM, first the case numbers surge, next the hospitalizations. Already straining health care systems around the world, bracing for another wave of COVID-19 patients.
Frustration boils over in Philadelphia after the shooting death of yet another Black man by police.
And the campaign map tells the story, Donald Trump a president on defense, shoring up states he won four years ago, but for his rival, Joe Biden, a rate state offensive.
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VAUSE: From the United States to Europe, to Latin America, coronavirus cases are surging to record levels. The World Health Organization confirms almost 3 million cases worldwide in the past week, the most ever in a 7-day period since the pandemic began.
About half are in Europe, which is once again the global epicenter, reporting the highest number of new cases, 2 weeks in a row. The U.S. reported almost half a million infections in the past week, also, a new record, with the 7-day average now topping the previous peak, from last July.
With cases rising, hospitals are once again reaching capacity. In France, almost 3,000 people had been admitted to intensive care units. And within 2 weeks, one model predicts, peaks not seen since April.
Meantime, hospitals in Belgium are asking staff to continue to work, even if they've tested positive for COVID-19. Rising cases are also putting further strain on nurses, in one of England's worst affected areas, details on that from CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: In ICUs, the worst of the pandemic is not behind them, it's just happened.
LINDA GREGSON, CRITICAL CARE MATRON: We've also eight deaths (ph). It's been the worst weekend that we've had. And that's a bad one (ph) because you have a death and, unfortunately, there is somebody to go in that bed, (INAUDIBLE) mattress (INAUDIBLE).
WALSH (voice-over): A third of the COVID-19 patients in this ICU have died since Friday. There are 197 total in the hospital, 30 new this weekend. Outside the northern city of Blackburn last week, had the worst rate of new infections in England.
WALSH: It's extraordinary, it's just how frenetic, how busy this ICU ward is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On Sunday afternoon, it was literally patient in, stabilized; they were almost doing traffic control to make sure that they weren't banging into each other when they came in (ph).
WALSH (voice-over): The pandemic never really eased for summer here. They are exhausted; by only 2 weeks since March without a COVID patient.
DR. IAN STANLEY, ROYAL BLACKBURN HOSPITAL: And it's when I see those very senior experienced nurses, it's when I see them crying. It's when I don't really have an answer. But it's when they say, yes, but when?
When is it going to end?
When are we going to get back to some degree of normality?
WALSH (voice-over): But they are also exhausted by a general public disobeying and angry at the rules.
GREGSON: You know we've given absolutely everything. And yet, we're being called liars and we're being abused on the phone. And was -- because nurses, we've joined treatments on patients and doing end of life on a Zoom call and having a wife or a husband or a daughter on the other side of that camera crying and saying, please will you hold Michael's hands?
Please, will you do whatever. And then the next telephone conversation matters when we hear (INAUDIBLE).
Unfortunately, on several occasions, we've had to stop the Zoom calls because there's been numerous relatives in a room, not social distancing. The other day there was at least 45 in a room. So we had to stop it.
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WALSH (voice-over): Better treatments keep the patients conscious now, able to talk clearly of how dangerous the disease is. Retired cop Jack Ratcliffe has no idea where he got it or why people insist on breaking the rules.
JACK RATCLIFFE, COVID-19 PATIENT: Ridiculous. I just don't understand why they do it. They have no idea of the consequences of it.
DR. BETHAN GAY, ROYAL BLACKBURN HOSPITAL: It really does wear you down when patients and worker really unwell, dying. They are dying in a very specific way and yet there's people who know nothing about the virus, saying that it's not real, that it doesn't exist.
Yes, last weekend, on my nights, what -- as soon as I arrived here, a lady had come to the ward and, unfortunately, passed away almost immediately. You know, giving some relatives a bag and a stick of a lady who has passed away in the bed in front of them, it's quite difficult. It's difficult for them and it's difficult for us as well.
WALSH (voice-over): While outside may seem to want to be less aware of the disease, inside, they grow more aware of its victims suffering its stark, random viciousness.
WALSH: What's the one thing you've learned about this disease in the last 7 or 8 months?
GREGSON: You can't beat it. And I hate it. From the pit of my stomach, I hate it.
WALSH (voice-over): Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Blackburn, England.
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VAUSE: The White House has listed its achievement of the first Trump term ahead of next week's election and, among them, ending the COVID- 19 pandemic. The Trump administration claims they have taken decisive actions to engage scientists and health professionals to defeat the disease.
The reality is that nearly half a million Americans tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week. Every state is reporting a spike in cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. And the United States leads the world with more than 226,000 COVID-19 related deaths. CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner warns there could be much worse to come.
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DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Avoid social gatherings. They're unsafe. They are unsafe at any size. And to wear masks; you know, if we continue our current behavior, by the time we start to go down the other side of the curve, a half a million people will be dead.
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VAUSE: The spike in COVID-19 cases is pushing many hospitals to the brink in the U.S. These 11 states highlighted in red are reporting record numbers of hospitalizations. One health expert says rural areas are especially vulnerable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: It's not just that there aren't beds; it's that all beds are not the same. There are a number of cases now in rural areas. Rural hospitals have a limited number of beds. They have limited resources. They often don't even have intensive care units and ventilators.
We know that 80 percent of counties in this country don't have a single infectious disease physician. So I really do worry about all of the resources in the months ahead.
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VAUSE: In Utah, health officials could be just days away from rationing health care.
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GREG BELL, PRESIDENT, UTAH HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION: It's the system of grading patients and triaging or rationing care. At the end of the day, some senior person versus some very healthy young person probably would not get the nod.
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VAUSE: In El Paso, Texas, tents are being set up in the parking lot of a medical center to help treat non-critical coronavirus patients.
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MAYOR DEE MARGO (R-TX), EL PASO: We have a significant spike to the point that our hospital capacity is really tapped. We are probably at the end of our rope there.
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VAUSE: Dr. Emily Porter specializes in emergency medicine. She is with us this hour from Austin, Texas.
Emily, it is good to see you again, it's been a while. Thank you for taking your time with us.
DR. EMILY PORTER, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: Thank You, John.
VAUSE: Confirmed cases that have been a leading indicator but more specifically seems to be the number of hospital admissions. We have the situation right now in 11 states. They are struggling with this record number of COVID-19 cases. And it's October.
So as someone who works in the emergency room, what are you bracing for in the coming months?
PORTER: Flu season because it's a stressful time for emergency physicians and intensive care doctors and hospitals in general with flu season. They had flu in Iowa in August. My dad lives in Iowa -- and they already had flu in August.
So I know a lot of people got their flu shots. I personally got mine about a month or 6 weeks earlier than I would have. But it's flu season. So hospitals are already normally slammed at this time with flu and pneumonia. And now we've got COVID-19 on top of it.
I guess we all just thought that we would be in a much, much better place heading into flu season.
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PORTER: And you know, flu season --
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PORTER: -- we might have been OK. But we are on an uptick again in a bad way, it's not good.
VAUSE: And this is the point. The situation in Utah seems to be especially acute. And maybe it's foreshadowing what's to come. In 2 weeks, maybe less, the hospital's ICU reached capacity. Doctors there say they will be forced to decide which patients will continue to receive intensive care and which ones will be moved on.
"The Salt Lake Tribute" reported it this way, "Patients who are getting worse, despite receiving intensive care, will be moved out first. In the event that two patients' conditions are equal, the young get priority over the old, since older patients are more likely to die."
You know, the state governor has yet to approve this triage protocol but the bigger point is this is where this country is right now, this far into a pandemic. And we're placing this incredibly unfair burden on doctors and health care workers, asking them to decide who lives and who dies.
PORTER: Yes, I warned everybody about this in March, it was over 7 months ago, when I did my video. At that time, Italy was going through these things. And we are 7 months into it and now we've got a couple of therapeutics to help a little bit. But we don't have a miracle drug.
Remdesivir just got approved last week but the studies are mixed, it may decrease the length of stay in the hospital, mortality a little bit. But it's certainly not a miracle drug. It's expensive, there is not enough of it. It's IV only, so it's not good for outpatient people.
And a lot of people that live in those rural areas, they live so far away, they wait and wait and wait until they get bad. And none of the drugs that we have really work until when you get to a certain point that you're so bad.
And so we need better testing and outpatient care, a vaccine and a good outpatient therapy, just to continue the mitigation factors that we have because we are nowhere near a vaccine. So this reality that is happening in Utah, that was happening in Houston in June and July.
And it's just like musical chairs of what area is going to have death panels, essentially. And doctors are going to get blamed for it. We don't want to do that.
VAUSE: This is about more than ICU beds, because, in Utah, the plan is, maybe triage areas. But just to make doctors and nurses work longer hours?
PORTER: And go to work despite positive cases. You can argue that, if you're positive as a physician or a nurse, that if you're wearing the appropriate PPE, like an N-95 and a gown and patient's in a mask, there should be minimal transmission.
But who wants to go to work febrile, short of breath?
Who wants -- ?
You know, we go to work when we're sick. Doctors and nurses are notorious for going to work when we are not at our best, because we feel we are essential workers, especially in the ER, especially surgeons. But it's not fair to them, either, to do that.
VAUSE: A few hours ago the governor of South Dakota was the warm-up act at a Trump campaign, likely superspreader event in Omaha. I'd like to listen to part of what she said to the crowd.
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GOV. KRISTI NOEM (R-SD): Let me tell you, my people are happy. They're happy because they're free. The governor in Nebraska, Pete Ricketts; Kim Reynolds in Iowa and I have been making decisions to protect our people and let them use personal responsibility to protect their way of life.
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VAUSE: When she talked about protecting the people in South Dakota, she's protecting their freedom from mandatory pandemic restrictions. But you know, the many freedom loving COVID truthers, they're all potential hospital admissions, which could have been avoided, aren't they?
PORTER: Right. In her state alone, the motorcycle rally back in Sturgis, had been linked to at one point with good contact tracing to potentially up to 200,000 cases. Some of those people died.
And I think the hardest thing about this, it's not necessarily the people who attended the event that died. I had a patient who was in her 60s and she said that her 85-year-old mother had been isolated since February because she's at risk; she's got bad lungs. So they did not have anybody visit. They took groceries, being delivered to her house, all these things.
And then all of a sudden, her sister visited town and went to a funeral back in July that was not supposed to happen because of the restrictions. Five people there knew they were sick; had the funeral, anyway, went to the funeral, gave it to the sister.
The sister brought it home to the mom and the mom died. And now everyone just feels crappy. And this 85-year-old woman died and she didn't even leave her house. That's scary.
VAUSE: Yes.
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VAUSE: -- so important here, what you do affects others. And it cannot be stressed enough. But it doesn't seem to get through to all the people, unfortunately. Emily, always good to see you, take care and be well.
PORTER: Thank you; you, too, John.
VAUSE: Thanks.
In the following days o n the U.S. campaign trail, Joe Biden looks to build high school support in some unexpected places while Donald Trump continues casting doubt on the integrity of the election. More on that in a moment.
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VAUSE: Also, looming violence and outrage in Philadelphia, hundreds of protesters hit the streets for a second night after the deadly police shooting of a Black man.
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VAUSE: Protests have erupted for a second night in Philadelphia as outrage grows over the fatal police shooting of a Black man. Hundreds of demonstrators demanded justice for 27-year-old Walter Wallace Jr.
While mostly peaceful, police say nearly 1,000 people were seeing looting local businesses. Officers say Monday's incident began with a call about a man armed with a knife. Cellphone video shows how the confrontation unfolded. A warning, the video you are about to see is disturbing.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You mark my word (ph) you crazy young man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- a gun.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move, move, move.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ohh! Ohh! (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: The family says they told police that Wallace Jr. had mental health issues. His father spoke with CNN's Chris Cuomo.
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CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Mr. Wallace, do you believe that this was about color or condition, his mental health and the police inability or ability to deal with it or both?
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WALTER WALLACE SR., FATHER OF WALTER WALLACE JR.: No, look, I believe it's both, because they overlook things. I mean as somebody this is what we call common sense. I mean you got to look at things. I mean, if somebody tell you something, you know, we're told to take that and respect it.
So if you tell me something and I overlook it and pay you no mind, that mean I should be paying the cause of taking somebody's life, because it's -- I should have -- it could have been dealt in a different way. He could have called his superior to handle this situation.
You know what I mean?
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CUOMO: Do you think your son -- do you think your son would have hurt the officers?
WALLACE: He can't hurt a goddamn fly.
You know what I mean?
CUOMO: Even with a knife?
WALLACE: He always-- no. He can't even inflict his self -- he just -- he just -- he had -- he had mental issue. And it could have been dealt with. It wouldn't have had to -- I mean, I wouldn't be talking to you now. I mean, I believe in -- I believe in the justice system. We've got good -- we got good cops and we also got bad cops. So we've all got to be hold accountable for what we do in life.
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VAUSE: Both officers say they did not have a Taser. But the Philadelphia district attorney's office and the police are both investigating. The police union says the department should not be vilified and wait for the outcome of the investigation. Both officers are now on desk duty.
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VAUSE: -- taking on the role of warrior in chief at Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
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VAUSE: The former president has been harshly critical of President Trump's response to the pandemic, accusing the administration of waving the white flag of surrender as new cases soar. He warned voters in the battleground state of Florida not to be complacent and to turn out like never before.
With less than a week to go before the election, where the candidates are campaigning underscores what the polls have shown. Democrat Joe Biden in the lead can afford to campaign in traditionally Republican territory.
Arlette Saenz will have more on Biden's message of unity in the state of Georgia, something his aides described as his closing argument, as Biden looks to expand the electoral map and Trump is looking to shore up support in the Midwest.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Six days now until the final voting next week on Election Day. President Trump plans to have rallies every day, multiple times a day in battleground states across this country trying to get his base supporters out.
At this late rally last night here in Omaha, Nebraska, the president was chasing one single electoral vote. Of course, Nebraska and Maine split their electoral votes by congressional districts. That is what brought the president here to Omaha, a clear sign that he is trying to turn out his base wherever he can, even here in deep red Nebraska.
But as he talks, he was diminishing the importance of coronavirus. He said the media is simply fixated on coronavirus. But the issue here is this. Nebraska, for the fourth week in a row, has had record high cases.
It's the same in Wisconsin, in Michigan, in Pennsylvania. So cases of coronavirus, the reality of coronavirus, is following him as he campaigns.
Now there is no doubt, in the final six days of this race, there could be twists, there could be turns. But this president knows that his path to winning reelection -- those 270 electoral votes -- is very narrow. It's why he's threading the needle in places like here in Omaha. He'll be campaigning out West today
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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Joe Biden traveled here to Georgia, arguing that this is a time for the country to unite. to deliver his closing argument, saying it's time for the country to unite.
And Biden's messaging was consistent with how he started the campaign, which he framed it as a battle for the soul of the nation and warning that the nation's character is on the ballot. Biden's campaign really believes that resonates as the country is in a divided moment dealing with multiple crises.
Take a listen to what Biden had to say in Warm Springs, Georgia.
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BIDEN: I believe this election is about who we are as a nation, what we believe, maybe most importantly, who we want to be. It's about our essence. It's about what makes us Americans. It's that fundamental, a run to unite this nation and to heal this nation. I've said that from the beginning. It's badly necessary.
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SAENZ: Biden traveled here to Georgia, a state that's not traditionally a battleground; a Democratic presidential candidate hasn't won the state of Georgia since 1992. But Biden wants to put this state in play. His campaign says they are trying to keep all paths to 270 electoral votes open.
Biden later in the week will travel to the critical battleground state of Florida, where recently President Obama has campaigned, showing the importance that the campaign is placing on that state in the final days of this election.
Biden will also head to Iowa, another reliably, typically reliably red state that they are hoping to put in play in this final week. He's also heading to Michigan and Wisconsin. Biden has told reporters he is looking to reestablish the blue wall, those states and Pennsylvania, Trump won in 2016. But Biden is hoping to bring them home -- Arlette Saenz, CNN, Atlanta, Georgia.
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VAUSE: The Lincoln Project has been devastatingly effective campaigning against Trump. It's made up of former Republicans and cofounded by Mike Madrid, who joins us from Utah this hour.
Mike, thanks for being with us.
MIKE MADRID, THE LINCOLN PROJECT: Thanks for having me. I'm looking forward to a good conversation.
VAUSE: Me, too. OK, in the last week of the election campaign, Joe Biden is in Georgia, a traditionally conservative state. Here is part of one of two rallies he held on Tuesday.
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BIDEN: There aren't a lot of pundits who would have guessed four years ago that a Democratic candidate for president in 2020 would be campaigning in Georgia on the final week of the election or that we'd have such competitive Senate races in Georgia. But we do, because something is happening, here in Georgia and across America. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: In the past, Georgia has been the equivalent of fool's gold for Democrats.
But is Biden right?
Is something happening, not just in Georgia but across the country?
MADRID: Biden is absolutely, right actually.
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MADRID: The number of battleground states have doubled, really, from 6 to at least 12 maybe 15. Democrats look very well positioned to win in Georgia, possibly Texas, looking very good in states like Iowa, places where Donald Trump was winning by 9 points or more going away in 2016.
Something significant has shifted and I think you will see big numbers coming for Joe Biden on November 3rd.
VAUSE: The campaign map says Trump is at best playing defense. Here is part of the rally from Tuesday.
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TRUMP: You will see a giant red wave. You are going to see a red wave like you've never seen before and they saw a very big one. They got a glimpse 4 years ago, because remember, they said where did these people come from.
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VAUSE: Are you expecting some kind of surprise turnout?
Can Trump turn this around with 5 days to go now?
MADRID: He hasn't turned it around since mid March, when he has been in the position of the most stratified race in the history of the country or certainly the last 50 to 70 years.
Those numbers do not look good for Donald Trump. He is losing both nationally, by a historic margin, and I think you will see that translate to the states, where there is at least a dozen, upwards of 15 battleground states, the grand majority of which he won.
And he's now upside down and losing. Those are states that he won, which polling has him losing outside of the margin of error. It appears the red wall he has built up is collapsing on top of him. And he's doing everything he can to hold whatever semblance of a close race together that he can.
VAUSE: Do you see the collapse happening down ballot to the same extent?
MADRID: No question. There will be at least 6 Senate seats picked up by the Democrats, potentially more. As Biden said earlier, Democrats are competitive in Alaska, Kansas, Mississippi, Arizona.
These are very deep red states, where the Trump anchor is pulling down the Republican brand, which has become very toxic with even key, core Republican constituencies.
VAUSE: Before leaving the White House on Tuesday, Trump said he wants election results declared on the night of the election. Here he is.
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TRUMP: It would be very, very proper and nice. A winner would be declared on November 3rd, instead of counting ballots for 2 weeks, which is totally inappropriate and I don't believe that's our laws.
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VAUSE: It may be totally nice and proper but it's totally wrong. Here is Pennsylvania's secretary of state to explain why.
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KATHY BOOCKVAR, PENNSYLVANIA SECRETARY OF STATE: You never know on Election Night because certified results are not due in Pennsylvania until 20 days after Election Day. That is similar to every state.
So that's completely inaccurate. Generally, what happens every year is that, the closer the race, the longer it takes until you can actually see who the winner is going to be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Americans are accustomed to news outlets making a call on Election Night based on exit polls and other data.
But even if what Trump is saying is wrong and misleading deliberately, it kind of rings true for his supporters. That seems to be the danger, doesn't it?
MADRID: That's exactly it. These are the comments of a politician who was losing and losing badly. There's probably a good chance that we will know on Election Night, because if he loses Florida and North Carolina, we will know the early counts.
If it does go to what we expect, which is Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, it will take a couple of weeks. It has always taken a couple of weeks. He has been predisposing his supporters to rise up, he's making increasingly violent comments about what that situation might look like.
So while there is a chance that there could be a time of unrest or uncertainty if the president is feeding the American people into this, my strong sense is we will see a pretty decisive victory, where these comments will look a lot more pathetic than highly charged.
VAUSE: We will see. Less than a week to go now. Next Tuesday is the big day. Mike, good to see you. Thank you for being with us. MADRID: Thanks for having me.
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VAUSE: Stay with CNN's special coverage of Election Night in America starting on Tuesday night at 5 am next Wednesday in Hong Kong.
And we have breaking news this hour. The Los Angeles Dodgers are World Series champs for the first time since 1988. They beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3 to 1 in game 6 to clinch the title. They played in front of a limited crowd in Arlington, Texas. More that victory coming up on "WORLD SPORT" in about 15 minutes.
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Tough decisions ahead for France. With COVID cases spiraling, they may not be able to avoid another lockdown. More on that in just a moment.
Also ahead, tighter restrictions and Russia, as a prominent politician goes into self-isolation.
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VAUSE: France will likely see new coronavirus restrictions with the announcement coming from President Emanuel Macron during a televised address on Wednesday.
One French television network is reporting there could be a month-long national lockdown. New cases and hospitalizations are surging. Doctors say there are just days away from being overwhelmed. Officials, though, are not releasing details, but they are warning the public to prepare for some hard choices.
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GERALD DARMANIN, FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER: I think there are options on the table, but I don't know what they all are. What I will say is you can see that, in spite of the preparations made by western states, which have been affected particularly in the northern hemisphere -- Ireland, Wales, Madrid, the United States in part -- they are locking down again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Tougher restrictions for Russia as well, as the county hits a new highly -- a high daily -- in daily counts in cases on Tuesday. It reported a new record number of deaths within a 24-hour period. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is our man in Moscow.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Russia is instituting a national mask mandate. And everybody in this very vast country, starting Wednesday, is going to have to wear a mask when they're in public spaces, on public transport, in parking lots, and also inside of elevators. The authorities here are also urging bars, clubs, and restaurants to
shut down in the hours between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. However, regions can opt out of that, if the virus situation there allows for it.
Now, all this, of course, comes as Russia is dealing with a high number of new coronavirus infections, basically, every day. And also, Russia just recorded the single highest death toll in a span of 24 hours.
Now, one of those who's currently self-isolating is actually the foreign minister of this country, Sergey Lavrov, after he came into contact with someone who has the novel coronavirus. Lavrov's people right now are saying the foreign minister is doing just fine.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
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VAUSE: Another night of scuffles in Italy, as right-wing protesters clash with riot police in Rome. Demonstrators gathered on Tuesday evening to rally against new COVID-19 restrictions. They chanted "Freedom," lit flairs and threw bottles.
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The Italian government has ordered bars and restaurants to close by 6 p.m. and has shut down gyms, cinemas, and public swimming pools.
Health officials in Mexico admit the coronavirus death toll has been severely undercounted. Officially, the country has severely undercounted. Officially the country has confirmed nearly 90,000 dead. But as Matt Rivers reports, the real number is likely much higher.
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MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Mexico already has the fourth highest coronavirus death toll of any country around the world.
But officials here within the health ministry have long said that the actual number of people who have died as a result of this virus, is higher than what has been officially reported, due to a lack of testing in this country.
But this week, health officials are getting more specific about that number. Health officials took a look at all deaths recorded throughout Mexico, from January 1 all the way through late September of this year.
And based on those findings, health officials are now saying that it is very likely that at least 50,000 additional lives have been lost as a result of the coronavirus than what has been officially reported in the country's death toll so far.
If you were to take those deaths and add it to the official death toll, as it stands right now, Mexico's new death toll would be right around 140,000 lives lost. Meanwhile, there are major concerns throughout the country as cases go
up in different parts of the country, of a building second wave, including here in the country's capital, its most important city, Mexico City.
The mayor of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, announced on Tuesday that she has tested positive for the coronavirus. Thankfully, she says she is feeling well. She will continue to work from home. But it just underscores the continued risk that Mexico faces from the coronavirus.
Matt Rivers, CNN, Mexico City.
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VAUSE: Still to come, two fast-moving wildfires raging out of control in southern California, making a record-shattering fire season even worse.
Also, Tropical Storm Zeta is expected to gain strength as it takes aim at the U.S. Gulf Coast in what's already been a very busy hurricane season. The latest forecast when we come back.
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VAUSE: Welcome back.
About 80,000 people in Southern California have been forced from their homes, as two fast-moving wildfires continue to burn out of control. One quadrupled in size in a matter of hours on Monday. Two firefighters have been left critically injured.
It's been a devastating year for the state, with 31 people killed so far. More than 8,000 fires have been reported, burning well over one and a half million hectares, a record for California.
The U.S. Gulf Coast is bracing for Tropical Storm Zeta as it barrels towards the region. Zeta slammed the Yucatan Peninsula early on Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane, bringing with it strong winds and some heavy rains.
This is the 27th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins me now.
Zeta right, or Zay-ta? What are we talking about the pronunciation here? I'm getting confused.
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PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: To-may-to, to-mah-to.
VAUSE: That's what I'm told.
JAVAHERI: Absolutely, John. Yes.
You know, with this particular storm system, 27 named storms this season. Given season, 14, 15, that is what we typically look at what is average. Of course, this now nearly doubling that number. And you take a look at a storm system that is not a strong tropical storm into the Gulf of Mexico.
The concern is, as this system approaches landfall, it will strengthen, possibly into a low-end Category 1 hurricane here as it makes landfall.
But Southeastern Louisiana, that is the most likely area of landfall. Wednesday, say, between 7 p.m., around 9 p.m. local time. That is why hurricane warnings have been prompted there.
But even notice, as far as northern parts of the state of Georgia, tropical storm watches have had -- been put in place here, which is rather unusual for portions of northern Georgia but really speaks to how quickly this system's going to move through and maintain that intensity over the next couple of days.
Now when it comes to this, and also seeing the coastal areas of impact, we know the storm surge threat, as always, is going to be significant. We could see that as much as 5 to 8 feet.
And if you'll notice landfall again coming in, into the evening hours, right around sunset on Wednesday. By sunrise, as we get into Thursday morning, the system could be going right through Atlanta, Georgia, as a tropical storm, potentially. So again, it speaks how quickly it moves out of here.
And notice this. Of the 27 storms, now 11 of them would make landfall as a named system, which also happens to be a record for the Atlantic hurricane season.
Now we know widespread power outages, especially on the coastal region, are going to be -- going to be in place here. And officials saying that nearly 4,000 people across the state of Louisiana are still in shelters from previous storms such as Hurricane Delta and also Hurricane Laura that made landfall across this region.
Now quickly, I want to show you what's happening across the South China Sea, we're watching another typhoon here. This particular feature, equivalent to a strong Category 1, working its way across this area -- strong Category 2, I should say.
But you'll notice, much like the United States, very active season here across the South China Sea. In fact, these four storm, they all made landfall in the last 18 or so days here, so an incredible run of tropical activity across this region.
In fact, one and a half million people, John, have been evacuated across portions of Vietnam. You'll notice the rainfall amounts are going to be significant: 130 fatalities, officials are reporting here from these storms. And 300,000 homes have either been damaged or flooded from this particular round of active weather in recent weeks.
So the last thing you want to see is another storm, which is happening at this hour, John.
VAUSE: It seems like we're going to be saying that a lot in the years to come.
JAVAHERI: Yes. Absolutely.
VAUSE: Pedram, thank you. Pedram Javaheri there, appreciate that.
Now a coral reef, taller than some of the world's biggest skyscrapers has been discovered off northern Australia's East Coast. It's one and a half kilometers wide and 500 meters high. It's all part of the Great Barrier Reef.
Scientists made their surprise discover last week while mapping the sea floor. It's the first time a new detached reef has been found in more than a century. It makes up for all the coral bleaching, hopefully.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause. Stay with us. I'll be back where more news in about 15 minutes. In the meantime, here's WORLD SPORT. The very latest on the L.A. Dodgers, as the new World Series holders.
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