There are several developing stories as we come on the air, including two significant setbacks tonight in the search for a cure for coronavirus. Just as cases are spiking nationwide, were going to get to that and the Drug Companies that are now pausing their tests on experimental drugs in just a moment. But were going to begin with that marathon confirmation hearing on capitol hill that is now stretching into the night. President trumps pick for the supreme court, judge amy coney barrett, has spent the day defending her judicial philosophy and dodging questions about how shed rule on future cases, including next months challenge to obamacare. Barrett also refused to say how she would rule on abortion, insisting she has not made deals with the president or the white house. And while she would not commit to recution herself from any electionrelated cases, barrett said she would not be usedaise pawn by the president to decide the election in his favor. With her confirmation all but certain in the republicancontrolled senate, tonight, democrats are focused less on stopping her appointment and more on making it a key Campaign Issue just three weeks before election day. Well, theres a lot of new reporting to get to tonight. Our team of correspondents is standing by to cover it all. Cbs nancy cordes is going to lead off our coverage tonight from capitol hill. Good evening, nancy. Reporter norah, president Trumps Supreme Court nominee has been on the hot seat for more than eight hours now. And both sides are praising her knowledge and her eloquence, even as democrats accuse her of being evasive about some of her positions. Senators scanned barretts background today for clues about how she would rule. People say that youre a female scalia. What would you say . Reporter barrett clerked for the conservative giant in 1998. Justice scalia was obviously a mentor. But i want to be careful to say say that if im confirmed you would not be getting justice scalia. You would be getting justice barrett. Reporter on many issues, though, she declined to share her views. Its not something really thats appropriate for me to comment on. Ive never expressed a view on it. I cant answer questions like that. Reporter the 48yearold mother of seven said she was just following an example set by the lets ruth bader ginsburg. A judge sworn to decide impartially can offer no forecast, no hints. Reporter but ginsburg did state her support for abortion rights back then, while barrett refused today to discuss her personal opposition to roe v. Wade. Whether i say i love it or i hate it, it signals to litigants that i might tilt one way or another in a pending case. On something that is really a major cause with major effect on over half of the population of this country who are women, its distressing not to get a straight answer. Can you set aside whatever catholic beliefs you have regarding any issue before you . You know, i can. I have done that in my time on the seventh circuit. Reporter as expected, democrats pressed her on obamacare. Im not hostile to the a. C. A. Reporter President Trump has explicitly said he is choosing justices who will overturn the law. I have had no conversation with the president or any of his staff on how i might rule in that case. Reporter she would not say if she agreed with the courts 2015 decision guaranteeing the right to samesex marriage. I do want to be clear that i have never discriminated on the basis of sexual preference and would not ever discriminate on the basis of sexual preference. Reporter that term sexual preference was slammed by democrats as outdated and offensive because it implies that Sexual Orientation is a choice. A short time ago, judge barrett apologized, saying she didnt mean to offend anyone. Norah. Odonnell all right, nancy cordes, thank you. Tonight, theres more evidence that the race for covid vaccines and treatments can only move at the speed of safe science, not political will. We learned today that two Clinical Trials were paused over possible safety concerns. We get more now from cbs adriana diaz. Reporter two setbackbacks in 24 hours in the fight against covid. Tonight, drug maker eli lilly is halting human testing of a Covid Treatment citing a potential safety concern. A person familiar with the trial tells cbs news that the pause will last approximately two weeks. Treatment, which uses covid antibodies, is similar to a therapeutic given to President Trump that he touted as a cure. It was like unbelievable. I felt good immediately. Reporter this comes as Johnson Johnson says its vaccine trial, the largest to date, is also stopping temporarily while it investigates if an unexplained illness was caused by its vaccine. Cbs news medical contributor dr. David agus says these pauses are routine and reassuring. This is not unusual and i hope americans see news like this and have comfort that we investigating every single issue with these drugs and with these vaccines to make sure they are safe for the american people. Reporter 37 states are seeing a rise in average new cases. Only one state, south carolina, is down. A key driver is gatherings. A recent c. D. C. Report found a 13yearold girl infected 11 people staying at the same house during a Family Vacation without masks or social distancing. With americans resisting guidelines, the death toll continues to grow. Leanna richardson lost her mother, a thirdgrade teacher from north carolina, in just 10 days. And if anything else, let her death be a reminder that covid19 doesnt care. Covid19 is serious. This is not a joke. Reporter leannas Mothers School say they dont believe she contracted the virus at work where she was teaching students in person. And on the subject of children, norah, today, California Health officials recommended kids dont go trickortreating so they can avoid gathering with others. Odonnell adriana diaz, thank you. Tonight, President Trump is on the campaign trail in pennsylvania, where our cbs news Battleground Tracker poll shows him trailing joe biden by six points. The president is about to take the stage in johnstown, pennsylvania, as he tries to make up ground in that critical swing state. Heres cbs weijia jiang. Reporter tonight, President Trump is trying to revive his campaign in pennsylvania, a key swing state in which hes consistently trade joe biden in the polls. Polls. Our cbs news Battleground Tracker shows just 28 of likely voters there believe he acts in a president ial way, compared to 61 who say biden does. Thats not a factor for some supporters attending the president s jawness town rally. In a sign of pennsylvanias importance to the trump team tries to rebound after his positive covid19 test, and a widely panned debate performance. President trump and Health Officials called packed rallies a bad idea and theres new evidence of coronavirus cases in minnesota, tied to his event. Hello, everybody hello duluth reporter Health Officials have connected 22 of them to Trump Campaign events last month, with one case linked to a biden event. Today, senator mitt romney, a former republican president ial nominee and frequent critic of the president , weighed in on politics in the age of trump, calling it a vial, i have tuperative hatefilled morass that is unbecoming of any free nation. Romney blamed both political parties, but said the democrats own president ial nominee refuses to stoop as low as others. Tomorrow, President Trump is heading to iowa, a state his campaign did not expect would be so competitive. In 2016, the president beat Hillary Clinton by nearly 10 points, but our cbs news poll shows right now, he and biden are tied. Norah. Odonnell weijia jiang, thank you. Over the past six president ial elections, no state has been a better bellwether than florida. The state has voted for the eventual winner every time. Tonight, joe biden is back in the Sunshine State, a day after President Trump rallied with supporters there as they fight for the 29 electoral votes that could again at this point election. Heres cbs ed okeefe. Reporter joe biden today returned to florida with one aim to draw as many Senior Citizen votes away from President Trump as he can. Its become painfully clear as his careless, reckless Covid Response has caused one of the worst tragedies in american history. The only senior that donald trump cares about, the only senior is senior donald trump. Reporter hes banking on the fact floridas older voters increasingly believe he will keep them safer. We came out for this election. Reporter biden holds a small lead in the Sunshine State in part because hes closing the gap with mr. Trump among seniors. He also finally engaged republican critics who claim the former Vice President wanteds to expand the supreme court. Biden says he opposes doing so, which puts him at odds of many democrats. Im not a fan of court packing, but i dont want to get off on that whole issue. I want to keep focused. The president will love Nothing Better than to fight about whether or not i would in fact pack the court. Reporter meanwhile, the battle over ballot boxes continues in california, where state officials are calling on republicans to pack up containers they label add official. Republcans are defending their decision and appear to be looking for a legal fight. Odonnell and ed okeefe joins us now. So, ed, i understand were learning about a lastminute strategy from the biden campaign, right . Reporter thats right, norah. Theyre bringing out the big guns. Former president barack obama today released a series of vdeos instructing americans on how to vote in specific battleground states if theyre still wondering how to do so. And cbs news has confirmed the former president plans to Campaign Soon in person in key states across the country. Norah. Odonnell and with three weeks to go until election day, there is already recordbreaking turnout. Nearly 12 million americans have already cast their vote. Today, voters in texas waited for hours in lon lines on the states first day of early, inperson voting. Upon in Harris County, which includes houston, more than 100,000 have already voted, breaking a record for early voting, two hours before polls closed. Now, this comes as a federal Appeals Court sides with the governor there in his bid to limit the number of those dropoff ballot boxes. We get more now from cbs janet shamlian. Reporter in the red pickup, richard and mae joyce nickerson, both in their 70s, just throf 35 miles to vote. It really does not make sense. Its totally inconvenient. But we had to do it. Reporter they used to drive a few minutes. The nickersons live outside of houston in Harris County, home to almost five million people. But just one absentee ballot dropoff location. There were 12 in this largely democratic county. The other 11 forced to close after republican governor greg abbott, citing election security, limited every county to a single collection site. Site. Is there a legitimate reason to close these satellite dropoff locations . You know, i dont see a legitimate reason. I think its completely illogical. Reporter Harris County judge lena hidalgo has joined civil Rights Groups in calling is a blatant attempt at voter suppression. This tent, is now the only place to drop off a ballot in all of Harris County. A county that is one of the most populous in the nation, spanning more than 1700 square miles and geographically, larger than the state of rhode island. The nickersons had time and transportation to make the trip. But they worry about those who dont. The bus aint going to bring you here. You cant walk across this parking lot. Theyre not going to let you. So you have to have some type of vehicle to get you into this location. Reporter for some, what could be a new barrier to the ballot box. Janet shamlian, cbs news, houston. Odonnell were going to continue covering those stories. There was a bombshell revelation today at a Court Hearing for some of the suspects accusinged of plotting to kidnap michigans governor. An f. B. I. Agent testified the men also talked about kidnapping Virginia Governor ralph northam. Its not clear if it went beyond the discussion stage. The agent also testified that the men also considered leaving Governor Whitmer in a boat in the middle of lake michigan. More than a dozen suspects are under arrest in connection with the plot against whitmer. Now to a cbs news exclusive the only broadcast interview with breonnbreonna taylors boyfrien, kenneth walker. He and taylor were together when police burst into her louisville apartment in march. Walker fired a shot, believing they were intruders. Officers returned fire, killing taylor. None of those officers is charged in her death. Walker told cbs this mornings gayle king how he wants want world to remember taylor. To the world, just hash tag a picture and all of that. But to me, it was much more. Reporter yeah. More than a girlfriend, too. I think thats what i want the world to know the most. That was my best friend. Reporter that was your best friend . Easily. The most important person to me, pretty much, on earth. And they took her. Odonnell and you can see more of gayle kings exclusive broadcast interview with kenneth walker. Thats tomorrow on cbs this moning. Well, theres still much more news ahead on tonights cbs evening news. Covid strikes two of the worlds greatest athletes just a day after one of them posted a Maskless Selfie with teammates. And a hiker shows us what you should do if you ever find yourself face to face with an angry mountain lion. Ite often. The support weve had over the last few months has been amazing. Its not just a work environment. Everyone here is family. If you are ready to open your heart and your home, check us out. We thought for sure that we were done. And this town said not today. And at fidelity, youll get planning and advice to help you prepare for the future, without sacrificing whats most important to you today. Because with fidelity, you can feel confident that the only direction youre moving is forward. Because with fidelity, you can feel confident [ sneeze ] skip to cold relief fast with alka seltzer plus severe powerfast fizz. Dissolves quickly. Instantly ready to start working. 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Yesterday he posted a photo with his teammates not wearing masks. Rinaldo is in ice whragz no symptoms. And then theres this. The worlds number one golfer, dustin johnson, just tested positive for covid. He has been experiencing symptoms. Johnson will miss this weekends tournament in nevada, and its not clear if hell be ready to play in the rescheduled masters at augusta national. That is just four weeks from now. Now to this story. A hiker in utah is sharing video of his terrifying encounter with an angry mountain lion. Kyle burgess came across a litter of cubs and recorded the six minutes of terror as the mother aggressively followed him and even lunged at him while he nervously backed away. Wildfire experts say if you find yourself in this situation, make yourself look big, be loud, and avoid eye contact, and slowly back away. Doing that likely saved the hikers life. You know what they say dont mess with a cougar. Up next, drivethrough drama. 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