xfinity x1 just got even better, with peacock premium included at no additional cost. no strings attached. more dangerous and corrupt president than trump. he's harming our basic values, giving rise to hate, and he's selling out america to big corporations. i'm working to protect immigrants, women, communities of color, and lgbtq people. and i'm making corporations like pg&e and insurance companies play by our rules. we need experienced leadership to wipe away trump's stain on america for good. 4. this is cnn breaking news. >> welcome to our viewers here in the united nd around the world.

i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." take a look at this. we've got some live pictures coming in from inside the debate hall where we're now just a few hours away from a truly historic debate between president trump and former vice president joe biden. both men just arriving in cleveland, ohio, for their first face-off of the campaign. the stakes clearly are immense. with each candidate preparing new barbs to get under the other's skin. we're also told it could get rather personal. tonight's showdown will be the first general election debate in american history to take place during a pandemic. precautions include social distancing between the candidates, no handshakes and the entire audience being tested for covid-19. the coronavirus death toll, by the way, here in the united states is closing in on 206,000 with more than 7.1 million confirmed cases. as dr. anthony fauci is now warning that unfortunate mixed messages out of washington are hurting the credibility of

potential vaccines. nearly half the country is now heading in the wrong direction. with new cases increasing in at least 23 states. let's begin our coverage this hour with cnn's kaitlan collins outside the debate hall. cnn is learning that both sides expect this debate to get rather personal. tell our viewers what you're learning. >> yeah, wolf, they think it's going to get personal pretty quickly because the trump campaign believes that major "new york times" investigation into his finances is going to be one of the first questions that the president is asked tonight. and he's made clear during debate prep sessions the view that he has with advisers that he wants to bring up hunter biden and his work overseas as a deflection technique that you're going to see from the president tonight when asked about his own finances. of course, we know the former vice president is deeply protective over his children. we expect him to bring up donald trump's children as well, including ivanka trump and her

son jared kushner who works in the white house alongside president trump. so that is something that's going to be a big subject where you could see this get personal tonight. of course, the president is very sensitive about his finances. it's something that people are actually pretty resistant and hesitant to bring up with him. and joe biden made that clear by releasing his taxes just howaur before the debate showing he paid 400 times what the president did in federal income taxes last year compared to what the president paid his first year in office. besides what you're going to hear about, the debate is going to look like something you've not seen many of the other presidential debates look like. the candidates will come on stage. there's not going to be a handshake. everyone on the ground is wearing a wrist band to show we've been covid-19 tested and tested negative going into this debate for the limited audience they're going to have. the pandemic will be a major topic the president is going to have to answer for tonight at

this debate, wolf. >> thanks very much, kaitlan collins reporting from cleveland. let's go to the white house right now. our chief white house correspondent jim acosta is standing by. how does the president feel about tonight's debate based on your latest reporting? >> yeah, wolf, a senior trump campaign official told reporters earlier today the president feels confident about tonight's debate with joe biden but a trump campaign adviser told me earlier today the president must make up some ground tonight. the adviser pointed to recent polls showing mr. trump running behind joe biden in key battleground states, including this latest "washington post"/abc news poll from pennsylvania indicating the former vice president may be building up a sizable lead in that state. this adviser said of the president's mission for tonight, he needs this debate to break his way. after days of dodging questions about his tax returns, president trump is headed to the one place where he'll be pressed for answers. his first debate with democrat joe biden.

>> mr. president, who do you owe money to? don't the american people deserve to know? >> reporter: the president is trying to sidestep revelations reported in "the new york times" that he's only paid hundreds of dollars in federal income taxes and could owe hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. what democrats are describing as a potential national security threat. >> what is this about? who -- where does the president intend to get this money, this over $400 million to pay back so it's not just about who he owes it to. it's about where he's going to get it to pay it back. >> reporter: white house officials are brushing off those concerns insisting the president is more than capable of paying off his debts. >> it's just at this point ridiculous. the president has assets all over the world and that's something that the public is aware of. there's nothing here to see in terms of any sort of a national security concern. he has put out statements that he's able to on his finances and is ready to answer questions. >> reporter: in a predebate document drop, joe biden

released his tax return from last year showing they paid nearly $300,000 in federal income taxes. far surpassing what president trump sent off to uncle sam in 2016 and 2017. >> you have frontline workers, you have people who are doing god's work to protect and lift us up paying more in taxes than the self-professed billionaire? it's inexcusable. >> reporter: the trump campaign is pointing to the president's go-to explanation for keeping his tax returns a secret, that he's underaudit. >> the president remains under audit and has been under audit for the last ten years. >> reporter: aides confess the president hasn't done much preparation for this first debate. >> we had a little debate prep before we came here. i think this whole thing, though, is debate prep. what i do is debate prep every day. i'm taking questions. >> reporter: mr. trump has made baseless claims about biden's mental acuity. >> we're going to ask for a drug test. i'd like to have a drug test. both of us.

he'll take it, i'll take it. >> reporter: hold on. that's a rerun of what the president alleged in 2016. >> we should take a drug test prior because i don't know what's going on with her. >> reporter: the president will also have to answer for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic that's claimed the lives of more than 200,000 americans. mr. trump has frozen out experts like dr. anthony fauchy y fauc of dr. scott atlas. >> he clearly listens to a lot of people. he understands in a very common sense way what the science shows what what should be done to save the american -- really american lives. and that's why i'm here. i'm not here to make friends. >> reporter: former white house official olivia troye says aides to the president pressured the centers for disease control to downplay the risks of children returning to school. >> there are still people walking around the white house today who don't actually believe this virus is real. a lot or: and the president is expected to be joined by his

adult children at tonight's debate. but mr. trump will be taking aim at joe biden's family in an attempt to drudge up old unproven claims about hunter biden. but a trump adviser said it's critical for the president to land some punches on joe biden tonight away from the former vice president's family. the polls are moving in the wrong direction for mr. trump. and he's running out of time to change voters' minds. and after tonight's debate, wolf, he'll only have two more debates to do that with joe biden. >> this debate could get ugly and probably fairly soon. jim acosta at the white house, thank you very much. joining us, someone with plenty of experience sharing a debate stage with joe biden. the democratic senator amy klobuchar. thank you so much for joining us. you debated joe biden in the democratic primaries. what does he need to do on that critically important stage later today? >> well, this is a unique opportunity for joe biden to really put his vision out there.

the country is just thirsting for a real leader right now. they don't have it in donald trump. they know that. and this gives joe biden a moment. donald trump has already -- and look where we are. to show huow he's going to get s through this pandemic with competence and compassion and what's going to happen the day after tomorrow where you know, people want to go back to work. they want to find out how they're going to be able to afford college and what they're going to do about paying their mortgages and paying for their health care. i think health care will be a very big issue in this debate. and donald trump doesn't have much to show for it except trying to get rid of the affordable care act. >> do you fear, senator, that democrats are underestimating president trump heading into this debate? >> you never underestimate him and we know he likes the theatrics of the whole thing but i think the american people are in a different place right now.

they are tired of the bombast right now. they want to see real leadership. and i think that's why you'll see so many people tuning in to see the debate tonight. and they want a true leader. they know he's going to say outrageous stuff, trump. they know he's going to be ha, ha, ha, like he always does. but that's not a moment where most americans are right now. this is deeply personal for them. just like me. my dad got covid. my husband got covid. people have lost their family members. 200,000 people in died. nearly 30 million people unemployed. this is not a time for lies and bombast. and that's why i think joe biden having debated him before, i remember getting off every debate stage, wolf, and people go, how do you think he did. and i would say, he was good because he was himself. he was normal. he was someone that people could relate to. that's what you'll see coming through tonight.

>> but tonight, biden, he's going to have to navigate some of these expected personal attacks from president trump, including attacks on his son hunter biden. how does he deal with that? >> you know, he's ready for it. donald trump's been doing it to him for years now. the meanest of mean. but my guess is what you'll hear from joe biden is, so, yeah, i love my family. but i am running for president to fight for your families, for the families of people watching tonight. not engage in this kind of mean-spirited attack that donald trump does every single day from the moment he wakes up on twitter. so i think it just gives joe biden a moment to show the different kind of president he will be. >> when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic, senator, how does biden lay out his own plan and explain how the response would be potentially different under a biden presidency? because that is the most important issue facing the american public right now.

it's so awful. >> really it's pretty straightforward because he's done it, and that is a national plan for testing. not only will that put people in a better place in terms of their health but it's also going to allow us to bring our economy back in a much stronger way instead of these fits and starts that you've seen with donald trump. secondly, this idea that he's going to tell people the truth and not keep information from people. when i found out the president of the united states found out this was airborne and in his words deadly and at the same time at my house we're like washing every surface and washing our hands, which is still a good thing to do, but we had no idea you could get it the way you can get it because he didn't tell us. and then my husband got sick. there's a lot of people that have those kinds of stories. so telling the truth will be important and then putting the people in place. getting things done in the first 100 days. believing in science. all of those things are going to allow joe biden to lead so much better and build back better

when it comes back to our economy and our country. >> i know you've got to run, but how are your husband and father doing? >> they are both doing really well. it's an amazing thing because my dad is 92. and he got through it. but i know so many families with their parents, didn't have the same experience. and joe biden is going to be there for them. >> please pass along our best wishes. obviously, you guys have gone through a lot. senator klobuchar, thank you for joining us. >> thanks, wolf. just ahead -- the latest on the coronavirus pandemic, including the return to school in new york city where several neighborhoods are now reporting troubling spikes in new cases. we'll be right back. hi, i'm dorothy hamill.

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looking at live pictures coming from inside the debate hall in cleveland, ohio, where we're closing in on a crucial showdown between president trump and former vice president joe biden. the first debate of the general election. let's get some analysis from our political experts. governor kasich, you are the former republican governor of ohio. you are critical of president trump. as someone who has shared the debate stage with him, what do you expect from him during this first one on one debate between joe biden and the president that starts in a few hours? >> you know, it's kind of hard to say, wolf. you have to remember when i was on the stage with him when we got down to four, he quit debating because it was getting down to where he couldn't kind of hide behind other people. i think he'll probably come out and try to personally attack biden. i hope not. i hope this doesn't devolve into

some sort of a nasty back and forth. i think biden needs to talk about two basic things. one is, how the virus was handled and how it's being handled now and the mixed messages. but secondly, i don't think he should let donald trump get away with blaming what's happening with the economy just on the virus. i mean, there should have been things that could have been done before, should have been aware of all of this and the jobs issue. we are talking about a lot of people from ohio. it's in ohio. you had mike dewine on, me. it gets down to one thing we learned from jim rhodes, the former governor who told george bush one time, he took his wallet out, threw it on the desk and said it's all about the wallet. it's all about jobs. and donald trump has not been focusing on the jobs issue. he's been focusing on, you know, fake news and the election is a fraud and all this other stuff. not focusing on jobs. this is an opportunity for biden to make the case that he will have a plan that will help with jobs. people want that. >> we'll see if that kind of

substance really does go through the debate. you know, abby philip, the former vice president entering tonight's debate with a stable lead in this race, including in several of the key battleground states. we're learning that president trump plans to launch some very personal attacks against biden tonight, including attacks on his son hunter biden. is joe biden going to be able abby to successfully defend against these personal attacks? >> well, we will find out. i think the biden campaign is probably as aware as we are that the trump campaign and the president have been signaling that these hunter biden attacks are coming. but, frankly, they've been sort of on the table, the political table, so to speak for over a year now. remember, this is what the, you know, the impeachment scandal was all about. just about almost exactly a year ago. so biden has had some practice dealing with these questions being there. the question is, if president trump goes into personal attacks will biden keep his cool? will he be able to pivot?

and i think with president trump, as someone who has covered him for years and watches him in the context of these debates, he's very good at repeating things whether they are true or not and getting them to stay in people's minds. and the question for biden, can he make himself memorable toepttoept tonight? it's important for people to come away understanding one thing about him and president trump is going to try to make that one thing something about hunter biden and biden needs to be able to pivot that into something else. >> ryan lizza is with us as well. first term presidents running for re-election don't necessarily do all that well in their first debates when running for re-election. we saw that with george w. bush when he was running for re-election. and barack obama even when he was running for re-election. you argue that president trump is being underestimated going into this debate. why do you say that? >> you know, i spent the last couple of weeks watching all of those republican debates from 2015 and '16 and the three

debates from 2016 with hillary clinton. and it's really a revelation to see those in hindsight. first of all, knowing that trump won the nomination and the presidency. and he was much more strategic and canny than i think a lot of people remember. he was not necessarily the kind of shock jock trump in every moment that he has been a lot of the times in his press conferences and on twitter this year. he has the ability to modulate things. and he really did, in the debates against hillary clinton, stick to a message. now very, very different context this time as a lot of people will point out. he has a record. and he has a record, objectively poor record on the issue of this campaign, his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. and so that's very different than running as an outsider against hillary clinton and using a lot of sort of populist rhetoric to attack her as a member of the establishment. but governor kasich will

probably remember the first debate right here in cleveland that another network hosted when trump was a pro-kasich audience. cheered kasich. the center of the republican primary and he went through a dozen -- he can't excel in this format in his own kind of crazy way. >> if you agree, governor kasich? >> well, i mean, look, 2016 you had so many people on the stage, it was just ridiculous. and you know, look, one of the things about hillary clinton is the republicans have spent many years trying to make her very unpopular. and they were successful. but with joe biden, it's hard to do it. the trump people have been saying that they're so frustrated because they can't land any blows on joe biden. furthermore, i just want to say, i have heard you say it, wolf.

i've just heard our other guests say it, ryan, who is obviously an intelligent man that the number one issue is the virus. i think it is a big issue. i think it's right there with the issue of jobs. and i can tell you this because when you talk to any variety of pollsters, they will tell you, at the end, it always comes down to that. i think tonight what joe biden needs to do is show he has the stamina, that he has some vision and that, you know, he's strong. and not get into the ditch with donald trump. i never got into the ditch with donald trump and at the end, i was the last person standing. i didn't have the money or publicity he had, and a lot of what happened to him in '16 was timing. it was also celebrity. it's a little different this time. but we'll see. it's -- anything goes. that's why they play the game, wolf. you never know how it's going to go. >> looking forward to watching this tonight. abby, hold on for a moment. we've got to take a quick break. abby phillip, ryan lizza, john

kasich, appreciate it. a new coronavirus vaccine is generating new data in early clinical trials. and later, the kentucky attorney general says he'll comply with a judge's order to release audio from the grand jury probing the police shooting of breonna taylor. ben crump, an attorney for the taylor family, is standing by live. we'll discuss. stay with us.

take a look at this. live pictures coming in from inside the debate hall in cleveland, ohio, where joe biden and president trump will face off just hours from now. we'll get back to that in just a few moments. there's other breaking news we're following here. the coronavirus death toll in the united states is now closing in on 206,000 as nearly half the states are now reporting an increase in new cases. cnn's nick watt is joining us from los angeles. nick, the latest we're learning from some of the -- we're also learning some encouraging news about a potential treatment. not a vaccine. a therapeutic for the virus. what are we learning? >> that's right, wolf. this is regeneron's antibody cocktail and early results seem to show that this cocktail does

lower the level of the virus and also improve symptoms. but, wolf, you know, we are getting better at treating this disease, but as you just laid out, the virus is still out there and spreading fast. new york city. biggest district in the nation reopened elementary schools this morning. but nearly half of students have chosen to stay home for now to learn online only. staff in 150 school buildings have tested positive. >> it is creating a lot of anxiety for the teachers because it's a lot of unknown, right? it's a lot of uncertainty. >> reporter: the nypd now handing out masks hoping to staunch flare-ups in parts of the city. the mayor mulling reintroducing restrictions in nine zip codes. >> which would be the closing of businesses on some scale.

and a broader closing of community institutions. we do not want to do that if there's any way to avoid that. >> reporter: meanwhile, "the new york times" reports the white house put pressure on the cdc to downplay the risk of sending kids back to school. >> what i saw firsthand was a lot of manipulation of the data, trying to figure out how to tell a story that was less grim than the reality really was. >> it's infuriating, honestly. it begs the question, what's true? who do we listen to? >> reporter: here's some truth. right now new case counts are rising in nearly half of states. these seven states seeing all-time record high seven-day averages of new cases. hospitalizations spiking in parts of wisconsin. >> i can't speak for other areas of the state but in broward county, we're in deep trouble. >> reporter: average case counts in south carolina have quadrupled since midsummer. >> schools are all open in south dakota. colleges are back meeting in

person. we're having events, sporting events, things like that. we are a state that values personal freedoms. >> reporter: here's the scene after florida's governor allowed bars and restaurants to reopen. >> it should be people's choice. not the government's. if people want to go somewhere, they should be able to go somewhere. >> reporter: more than 1 million lives now lost wofrld worldwide to covid-19 and a wildly disproportionate number of them are here in the united states. the richest country on earth. just over 4% of the world's population, more than 20% of those reported deaths. more than 5,000 people are now dying in america from covid-19 every week. >> we can overcome this challenge. but we must learn from the mistakes. responsible leadership matters. science matters. cooperation matters. and misinformation kills. >> reporter: and then, of

course, the economic impact of all of this. disney just announced they are laying off 28,000 employees in their parks, theme parks division and beyond. you know, obviously, due to the pandemic but they also took a little jibe at california. they say that the situation is being exacerbated by the state's unwillingness to lift restrictions that would allow disneyland to reopen. wolf? >> all right, nick, thank you. nick watt reporting from l.a. let's get more on the late-breaking developments. we're joined by the former acting cdc director, dr. richard besser. thank you so much for joining us. i spoke in the last hour with the ceo of this drug company regeneron about his company's new treatment for the virus, a therapeutic. he said he was encouraged by the results he saw so far. are you encouraged by the results you're seeing? >> well, wolf, i am glad he's

encouraged. i always withhold judgment until the data have been published, peer reviewed, gone over by people who don't have a vested interest in saying they've got good results. these early results that keep coming out from companies in press releases strike me as being about much more about the stock price than they are about science. there is no data in this report. the fact that companies are working on treatments is terrific news. the vaccines as we've talked about may be a long time coming and treatment really matters. and the idea that giving someone an antibody which is the type of factor our immune system makes and that could work makes a lot of sense but i'd withhold judgment until we see the data. >> just a little while ago, dr. fauci said, and i'm quoting him now, unfortunate mixed messages have fanned out about the safety of a potential vaccine adding once again, i think it's been a lot of mixed messages that have

come out of washington that you can't deny, you can't run away from. certainly very strong words from dr. fauci there, especially coming on the heels of he and a cdc director, dr. redfield, raising serious questions about dr. scott atlas now involved with the president in the coronavirus task force giving what they describe as misleading information to the president. what do you think about that? >> well, i think we have some of the world's leading experts in infectious disease, in public health. in how to address a pandemic. and dr. fauci is one of those. you want our political leaders to be getting their information from the best. and it concerns me if the messages that are coming out of our political leaders are different from the messages from public health and that that may be due to who they are getting their information from. we know the way to getting this under control is the same methods used around the globe wearing masks, social

distancing, doing adequate testing and tracking and providing the circumstances for people to isolate and quarantine. and if we're -- if we follow that blueprint, we'll get there. but clearly the messages we're getting out of washington are saying, take a different route. >> dr. besser, you used to lead the cdc. what goes through your mind when you hear the white house actually pressure doctors and scientists at the cdc and other agencies for that matter to downplay the risks of reopening schools, for example. >> yeah, you know, i think it's the job of the head of the cdc and the head of the fda to have a line that they won't cross. and to stand up when they are being asked to do something that flies in the face of the science. i am a parent, and i'm a pediatrician. and i think it's critically important we get children back into school. but you have to do it safely. safely for them, for teachers and for staff. and that actakes a lot of work d

resources. there are many places where there's too much transmission going on in communities for it to be done safely. >> dr. besser, thanks very much and thanks for everything you're doing. just ahead -- i'll speak with the breonna taylor family attorney ben crump as kentucky's attorney general says he'll comply with the judge's order to release audio from the grand jury. there's ben crump standing by live. plus, with just hours before the first debate, a senior trump campaign official now says the president feels confident about the showdown. we'll have more on that coming up. so what's going on? i'm a talking dog. the other issue. oh...i'm scratching like crazy. you've got some allergic itch with skin inflammation. apoquel can work on that itch in as little as 4 hours,

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ken condition's attorney general now says he will, will release an audio recording of the grand jury proceedings in the breonna taylor case following a judge's order. that decision comes after an anonymous member of the grand jury accused him of misleading the public about the case presented to them. we're joined by ben crump, the attorney for the breonna taylor family. thanks for joining us. we know breonna taylor's family supports the release of this grand jury information. what's the latest? do you have any insight into when this information will become public and what it may actually reveal? >> well, we understand, wolf, that it will become public tomorrow at the conversion of my

co-counselors in kentucky. and breonna taylor's family is relieved because it's a step forward. we understand the journey for justice is awfully a long journey but this is a good step forward so they are relieved. and we hope what will come out, wolf, is what the grand jury was articulating in this motion. that the attorney general daniel cameron attempted to use the grand jury as a shield to deflect liability and responsibility from his office and so he said that they felt like they were deceived. and if we have all the transcripts released, and we can be transparent, we will know, wolf blitzer, if breonna taylor ever had a voice inside those grand jury proceedings or not. >> as you known a lot better than i do, it's highly unusual for a juror to speak out in this manner accusing the attorney

general of actually misleading the public. what is the juror's concern signal to you and what will this mean in your fight for justice? >> well, i think, wolf, that the juror has heard all the people out there protesting for equal justice for breonna taylor saying that black women lives matter, too, and why is it when black women are killed by police officers in america, they are disrespected in the courtrooms just as much as they were disrespected in the execution. and so i think that grand jury is saying we did not get the evidence to allow us to deliberate with these police officers who killed breonna and put bullets in her body should have been charged instead of just having the bullets that went into the walls of her white neighbors be the only charge s brought in this tragedy.

i think he's speaking truth to power so we applaud that grand juror, whoever they may be. >> breonna taylor's autopsy report was actually released today, as you know. we now know she was shot five times. what does this report tell you about her killing? >> well, it tells you that the shooting -- the police officers shooting were reckless because everybody has articulated that breonna did not have a gun. she did not pose a threat. she was in her underwear exactly where she had every legal right to be, wolf blitzer. and the fact that these police officers, even in their own statements, said they knew breonna didn't have a weapon. so why is this black woman killed in the sanctity of her own apartment? that is the question her mother has been asking since the first day this tragedy happened. and for 199 days, she's still asking that question, wolf.

>> yeah, ben crump joining us today. we'll see what happens tomorrow when they release this audio. we'll stay in close touch with you. thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you, wolf. this is a step forward for breonna. >> we shall see what happens tomorrow. just ahead, what donald trump and joe biden need to do to convince undecided voters in tonight's truly historic presidential debate. we'll be right back.

we're just hours away from the start of the first and this truly historic presidential debate between president trump and former vice president biden. let's bring in cnn political director david chalian for some analysis. so, what is the president's biggest challenge going into this debate tonight, david? >> well, the biggest challenge, wolf, is where he sits in this race right now, which is as the underdog and needing to upend that trajectory. and i am not sure that donald trump's sort of preferred tactics of throwing shiny objects out there to be distractions and controversies is going to be the way for him to change the trajectory of the race so far. he really needs to convince the american people he has a plan for the next four years of sturdy stewardship. >> what does joe biden, david,

need to do tonight? >> well, i think biden needs to beware the bait. trump is going to try to lie some bait out. the big test for joe biden is does he get thrown off his own game? we know the way donald trump does these debates, the way he performs. and it is really trying to get under his opponent's skin. does joe biden get a little bit flustered when donald trump is throwing a lot of lies his way or stuff about hunter biden, his son, his way? or does joe biden stick to his game plan and take this 90 minutes in front of tens of million of americans to put forth his plan for how to improve america's position. i think that's the big thing to watch from biden tonight. >> we know, david, that most americans have already made up their minds if they're going to vote for biden or vote for trump.

but do we know how many likely voters out there who are legi t legitimately undecided right now? i've seen various estimates. what are you hearing? >> if you look at the total toift polling, the vast majority of americans are locked into their choice. i would say you're looking at a universe of 10% to 15% of voters who are still movable and persuade able. it really masters about the voters in the critical battleground states to get these kand candidates to 270 electoral votes. american politics, uts a both end pop situation. you've got to motivate the base, the folks that are decided, and you need to persuade the folks in the middle. eets that combination that delivers victory for these candidates. you've got to do both tonight. >> it's turn out. you've got to get the base on both sides to show up and vote. david chalian, thank you very much. it's going to be a fascinating

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finally tonight we pay tribute to more americans who died from the coronavirus. jason stein of florida was 46 years old. his wife and daughters describe him as a gentle giant. jason worked as a physical education director and enjoyed watching television. he loved being a dad and always put everyone else in front of himself. patricia ashley of texas was 53, a mother of three children and many grandchildren. she became sick when she returned to work as a

preschoolteacher. her sister says patricia was the protector of the family. her sister misses talking to her every day on the phone. may they rest in peace and may their memories being a blessing. i'm wolf blitzer. thanks very much for watching cnn's special coverage of this historic first debate starts historic first debate starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com on this stage and on this night, president donald trump and former vice president joe biden are facing off in their first debate. it is a high-risk test with enormous consequences for a nation in crisis. it is debate in america on a special edition of "outfront." so glad to be with you. i'm erin burnett. the public has never seen a presidentiate