With heart problems and other problems, if they have other problems, thats what it really affects, thats it. You know, in some states, thousands of people, nobody young, below the age of 18, like, nobody. It affects virtually nobody. Its an amazing thing. None of that is true. Why would any leader congratulate himself on that level of loss . Overnight, dr. Anthony fauci made clear, this is something to mourn, not celebrate. We have in this country now close to 200,000 deaths. We have 6 million plus infections. You cant look at that and say, thats terrific. Well, President Trump does. He thinks having the highest death toll in the world is some kind of twisted accomplishment. Weve done a phenomenal job, not just a good job, a phenomenal job. We have new developments this morning in the Supreme Court vacancy. Senator Lindsey Graham, the chair of the Senate Judiciary committee, now says republicans have the votes to confirm President Trumps nominee. Of course, they dont know who that is, but they have the votes. Then the idea is to do it, presumably, before the election. Judge amy coney barrett, a top contender, met with the president at the white house for a substantial period of time yesterday. Millions of americans risk losing their health care because of a Supreme Court case that the court will hear just days after the election. We also have breaking news this morning from Washington Post columnist josh rogin about the extent that russia is trying to interfere in the 2020 election. Actually, the news isnt just in the extent, its in the role that Vladimir Putin is directly playing in the effort. We will speak to josh rogin, who has new reporting on a topsecret cia assessment at this hour. Were going to start with cnns Brynn Gingras on the pandemics horrifying toll. We are probably hours away, brynn from passing the 200,000 mark. Reporter yeah, its a grim milestone that we didnt think wed get here and we shouldnt be here, john. We know that all too well. From day one, we know that the president has downplayed this pandemic. He has said and remains steadfast, saying that he has done a phenomenal job, as you just heard, in handling this crises, even as we are still in it. This as nearly half the country seeing the number of cases in their state go up, the infection rate is going up and we are getting closer, just inching hours away from that grim milestone of 200,000 deaths because of this pandemic. As the United States approaches another grim milestone, President Trump continued to downplay the pandemics impact, saying that in some areas it affects virtually nobody. Its an amazing thing. Reporter but the coronavirus has killed nearly 200,000 people in the u. S. The numbers are telling. We have in this country now, you know, close to 200,000 deaths. We have 6 million plus infections. You cant look at that and say thats terrific. Reporter trump once again claiming without proof that the pandemic will soon be over. By the way, were rounding the corner in any event. But were going to have a vaccine very soon. Reporter in wisconsin, joe biden urging americans to avoid becoming numb to the staggering toll of the pandemic. You cant lose the ability to feel the sorrow and the loss and the anger for so many lives lost. You cant let the numbers become statistics and background noise. Reporter the democratic nominee also blaming trump for mishandling the crisis. He froze. He failed to act, he panicked. And america has paid the worst price of any nation in the world. Reporter this morning, at least 24 states are seeing an increase in new cases over the past week. After previous holiday weekends, memorial day, the fourth of july, now labor day, we have seen increases in cases and in addition to that, over the last several weeks, students have been returning to college and university campuses. Those have also become super spreader settings. Reporter meanwhile, the cdc added and then reversed new information from its website, saying the coronavirus could be spread, quote, through respiratory droplets or small particles, such as those in aerosoles, produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, talks or breathes. The agency claiming the information was a draft posted in error. It feeds into the issue of trust. I worry about people questioning great science that cdc puts out, because theyre not sure whats great science and what has the fingerprints of politics all over it. Dr. Anthony fauci stressing how important it is to keep guidance like Wearing Masks out of politics. Wear a mask or not is a political statement. And thats really very unfortunate. Totally unfortunate, because this is a purely Public Health issue. And Health Experts are trying to decipher if the surge in cases is coming from the summer holidays, kids going back to school, or is this the start to the fall and the flu season . Regardless, of course, were coming up on some major holidays. First up is halloween and the cdc is now recommending, alisyn, that kids dont go trick or treating door to door for this halloween. And also, they remind them that a scary mask, a costume mask is not a substitute for a cloth mask. Alisyn . Okay, brynn, thank you very much for all of that. Joining us now is cnn chief medical correspondent, sanjay gupta. Sanj sanjay, this day was the day that we hoped would never come, but didnt know how we would avoid it given that theres no national plan. So 200,000 americans this morning, we believe, we will reach that milestone. And, you know, i mean, in terms of not getting numb to it, i think its kind of a personal defense mechanism, that its hard to stay at that sustained level of grief every day. So of course people turn away and do become a little bit numb. But what are your thoughts this morning . Yeah, i mean, i feel the same way. Its its really challenging. And i talked to a lot of families who have lost people due to this disease. I stay in touch with them, stay in touch with them over the last several months, we sort of lean on each other. And you know, its its one of those things. I was talking to someone a couple of nights ago and this idea that so many of these deaths could have been prevented is absolutely true. Weve seen, you know, the United States death toll compared to other countries around the world. I can tell you, many of the families that i talk to dont want to hear that, because no one likes to think of their loved one having died a preventable death. But it is true. Countries who have not had therapeutics or vaccines and stuff like that have been able to keep their death toll, obviously, a lot lower than the United States. I think the message they asked me to send and i think its important to remind people of is, you know, were still very much in this. We would like to think about, you know, we hit these milestones and we think, well, well look back and were sort of through this and were not. Theres still so many opportunities to still save so many lives. If you look at what happened in 2018, which is probably the closest model to what we have going on right now, the first wave, which lasted about six months, 75,000 people died. It was that second wave, almost went back down to low numbers. It was that second wave and 195,000 people died in a single month. And that month was october. So that is exactly what we have to sort of avoid here, you know, having those sorts of significant surges again with this pandemic. Jansanjay, forgive me for getting personal here, but you know people. There are people that you care about who have died from coronavirus. So what was it like to hear the president overnight refer to people who have died from coronavirus or the number of deaths, that nobody, it affects nobody. You know, its strangely minimizing and really, i think, deeply offensive, obviously, to these families. This is a disease that doesnt affect young people as much, but it does affect young people. We know thousands of people have become infected. Thousands have been hospitalized, and, you know, if you start looking at people under the age of 24, hundreds have died. We also know people that get infected, they may recover from the infection, but they can still have longterm symptoms from this. The point is that we really shouldnt be in a position of minimizing this right now. We have to do everything we can to prevent those hospitalizations from occurring. And you know, im really worried as we go back into the Colder Weather and go back into primarily being inside and returning to school, but the impact on younger people is going to go up. Thankfully, it is lower in terms of likelihood of getting very sick or dying from this infection. But its not by any means zero. Low but not zero. And its something we have to keep in mind. I think about it personally because of people that ive known. I think about my own girls going out into the world and the likelihood that they may get sick or bring the virus back home to us. These are all real considerations that families are thinking about right now. Sanjay, the family said this affects elderly people with heart problems. And below the age of 18, like nobody. Hes just wrong. On every level, hes wrong. It affects people even without Underlying Health conditions, it affects middleaged people, people in their 20s have died, people in their 30s, people in their 40s. Hes just wrong, and of course, it gives the impression that were not in good hands. So were not in good hands with the president because he gives out false information, and then sanjay, all this cdc stuff where they keep changing their guidance and i dont even understand why theyre changing it. Heres one example of schools reopening. On july 23rd, the cdc recommended social distancing and closing schools if the virus is detected. Four years later, they dropped their reference to social distancing. Why . Why . we know were supposed to stay six feet apart. What is the cdc doing at this point . Yeah, this is i mean, so i talked to folks at the cdc quite a bit. You know, theres several people that i talk to on a regular basis. And they have sounded the alarm for me on various things over the past few months. One of them was the document that just sort of landed on their website, the importance of reopening schools. The other one was the idea that asymptomatic people dont need to be tested. That was wrong and that was reversed. And now this most recent thing, which sort of showed up on the website on friday, that said theres now concern about aerosolization, aerosol being a mode of transmission for this virus. And then it was just removed. This latest sort of back and forth with the cdc seems to be a genuine error. And again, people that ive talked to have called me in the past and told me, this was wrong. In this case, they said, this one seems to be a genuine error. But alisyn, your point is a good one, there is hardly any trust right now, even among Public Health officials who primarily relied on the cdc for their guidance in terms of their Public Health decisions. I think the other thing to keep in mind is that aerosols, according to the science, what reflects the science is that that is way this virus can be spread. To be spread, aerosols. And that means people say its airborne. I think people conflate all of these different terms. When you cough or sneeze and put respiratory droplets into the air, yes, it is going through the air, that is different than an aerosol, which means that the virus particles get suspended in the air, linger and can travel beyond 6 feet. Thats why a choir singing could have affected so many people. That is why people who go to various places and have no idea how they may have become infected, thats how they may be getting infected. This is more about the idea that people need to wear masks when they go indoors versus transmission alone. We need to be Wearing Masks indoors. Thats why that data showed, why it was taken down. Were still not entirely sure. Hopefully theyll put it back up. And we immediate to wear masks probably indoors for a long time, sanjay. Dr. Anthony fauci overnight made clear that he thinks we should be Wearing Masks for all of 2021. Thats the thing. People talk about the vaccine, which i think people are optimistic about, although we still havent seen data on that. Thats another issue that people have, creating all of these schedules and the sort of being optimistic about it, and i am as well, but we havent seen the data from this phase iii trial. Its a blinded trial. No one has really seen this data yet. But what dr. Fauci has said and others have said, as well, its not going to flip a switch even when the vaccine comes and that Wearing Masks indoors, especially now with the knowledge that this can spread through the aerosols is going to be important for some time to come. Until we get to that, you know, 60, 70 of the country being immunized and staying immunized, its going to be harder to let our guard down. Sanjay, thank you very much for helping us try to understand whats happening today on this important day and this horrible milestone. Yeah. Also, join cnn today for citizen by cnn. This is a virtual conference. It features interviews with guests like dr. Anthony fauci, julia louise dreyfuss, loretta lynch, chris paul, adam silver. Theyre all going to be discussing an array of issues that matter to voters six weeks before election day. So you can watch a live stream of this starting at 9 00 a. M. Eastern time on cnn. Com as soon as john and i get off the air, just switch right over to that. Meanwhile, President Trump has not even announced his Supreme Court nominee yet, but top republicans, Top Senate Republicans are already saying the pick will be confirmed before the november election. Thats next. For all the moments youve missed and all the moments you havent hi love, cant wait got the ring yes and with jared it doesnt have to connected approach to your aetna medicahealth and wellness. With medicare plans designed to simplify medicare and help you age actively. So you can keep pursuing the life you love. Aetna medicare solutions. With priceline, you can get up to 60 off amazing hotels. And when you get a big deal. You feel like a big deal. Priceline. Every trip is a big deal. Where you live has never no mattermattered more. E, for over 100 years, realtors® have been providing expert guidance, helping people find new places to dream and thrive. When youre ready. Look for the r. So youre a small bor a big one. You were thriving, but then. Oh. Ah. Okay. Plan, pivot. How do you bounce back . You dont, you bounce forward, with serious and reliable internet. Powered by the largest gig Speed Network in america. But is it secure . Sure its secure. And even if the power goes down, your connection doesnt. So how do i do this . You dont do this. We do this, together. Bounce forward, with comcast business. The nominee is going to be supported by every republican in the Judiciary Committee and weve got the votes to confirm the judge, the justice on the floor of the senate before the election and thats whats coming. There you go. Senate judiciary chair Lindsey Graham saying that republicans have the votes to confirm President Trumps Supreme Court nominee before the election. Of course, graham saying that without even knowing who the nominee is. President trump is expected to announce the pick later this week. Joining us now, cnn political analyst, maggie haberman. Shes a White House Correspondent for the new york times. Maggie, good morning to you. Whats the latest . I mean, whats the latest . We know amy coney barrett, who is seen as the leading contender, was at the white house for a long time yesterday. Is she number one and where are the votes . She is number one. And i think shes going to stay number one, john. I think that you might hear from a president who likes to create suspense and drama around all of his picks, some whispers that it could be somebody else, but it is very likely going to be amy coney barrett, barring, you know, the unforeseen. He is getting pressure from some advisers to consider Barbara Lagoa of florida. As the president himself has said sort of bluntly, she is hispanic, and that is one of the things, and shes from florida, and those are two qualities that some of his advisers think would be helpful to him politically. But as we have seen repeatedly, he tends to sort of burrow into what evangelicals want and what christian conservatives want over and over, and he thinks that that is coney barrett. Where the votes are . Look, graham is pretty blunt that they are talking about voting before they know who the nominee is. They clearly know who it is likely to be. There are a couple of outstanding questions we dont know the answer to. Number one is, where is mitt romney on this . He says he wants to wait until after today after mcconnell speaks. Romney is not a fan of trumps style, but represents a very conservative state. Sfwreits interesting graham saying, it doesnt matter who the nominee is. Thats literally what he said. And last night, President Trump appeared to be crowd sourcing his decision for who to pick. This is how he was going to decide. Watch this moment. Who would like to see a woman justice of the Supreme Court . Who would like to see a male justice of the Supreme Court. The only one i hear some women whats that all about . Okay, woman it is. This is what he does and we have seen him do repeatedly when he faced with a choice he has to make. He did this at a fundraiser in the hamptons in new york over 2016 in the summer when he was on the verge of picking mike pence as his running mate but threw out a bunch of names to attendees. He does this to rev up the crowd. It has very little bearing on what hes ultimately going to do, and that is going to be pick coney barrett. The question is when. His instinct has been to wait and do it at least after par