♪ ♪ captioning sponsored by cbs >> o'donnell: tonight the battleground blitz begins with just 22 days to go, as president trump trails in key states, he races back to the campaign trail for a week of rallies. thousands of people wait hours in long lines on the first day of early voting in the critical state of georgia. just a week after being discharged from the hospital, tonight the president hosts a rally in florida. why dr. anthony fauci says that's asking for trouble. and joe biden is going after trump voters in the rust belt. supreme court showdown, never in american history has a supreme court confirmation fight happened this close to a presidential election. the tough questions judge amy coney barrett faces from senators. fall coronavirus surge.

17 states break single day records in the last week. why a top infectious disease doctor say it is out of control. >> it's more like a coronavirus forest fire, where in fact it burns, burns and burns. >> o'donnell: the aftermath of hurricane delta, downed power lines, extreme flooding. deadly shooting in denver, the private security guard suspected of killing a protester prompts concerns about escalating violence at political protests. crossing the border, the mother and toddler we first met at the nation's largest migrant processing facility, nearly 15 months after they were in cages, tonight we reconnect with them in florida. a season unlike any other, the l.a. lakers bring home the championship after a decade, winning one for the late kobe bryant. >> this is the "cbs evening news" with norah o'donnell, reporting from the nation's

capital. >> o'donnell: good evening to our viewers in the west and thank you for joining us, we're going to begin tonight with the final frantic sprint to election day. as we come on the air the white house says president trump has tested negative for coronavirus and his doctor has cleared him to hit the campaign trail tonight just a week after leaving the hospital. his supporters say that can't come soon enough as new polling shows joe biden is widening his lead over the president to double digits nationally. and tonight take a look at our new cbs news battleground tracker poll shows the former vice president ahead in key swing states too, including michigan and nevada and tied in iowa. cbs news learned the former vice president is now planning new ad buys in traditionally republican leaning states as he looks to grow his support among suburban women and seniors. the trump campaign is wasting no time going on offense either, as the president rallies hundreds of supporters in florida tonight. the first of four battleground state events he'll hold this week. now, that comes even as the

country's top infectious disease doctor anthony fauci said that crowds packed in to see the president are "asking for trouble" as new cases of coronavirus are spiking nationwide. meantime today, democrats tried to put the virus and the idea that it could lead to preexisting conditions for millions front and center at the first day of confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee amy coney barrett. as you can see we've got a lot of new reporting to get to tonight. and our team of correspondents is standing by. cbs' weijia jiang is going to lead off our coverage tonight from the white house. good evening, weijia. >> reporter: good evening, norah. dr. anthony fauci says the reason why these rallies are asking for trouble is due to how many people are packed together and how few of them cover their faces. the campaign has not implemented any new safety measures for attendees and tonight rally goers in florida stood shoulder to shoulder. with president trump's physician announcing he had tested negative for covid-19, a maskless mr. trump raced back to

the campaign trail tonight for his first rally in 12 days. thousands of supporters in stanford, florida, started lining up this morning, many also avoiding masks. >> then he recovered. and i said, well, take that, covid. because i guess you messed with the wrong president. >> reporter: the president is also making trips to pennsylvania, iowa and north carolina this week-- a total of four key battleground states. he trails joe biden in all but iowa, where the candidates are tied according to cbs news. white house physician dr. sean conley did not say when the president tested negative, only that he did so on consecutive days, and that the medical team determined that the president is not infectious to others. but conley did not corroborate president trump's claim of immunity on sunday. >> looks like i'm immune for, i don't know, maybe a long time,

maybe a short time. >> reporter: on twitter the president's post about immunity was flagged as a violation for spreading misleading and potentially harmful information related to covid-19. meanwhile one of the president's campaign ads is drawing criticism. >> i can't imagine that anybody could be doing more. >> reporter: dr. anthony fauci said his full quote was taken out of context to make it appear like he was endorsing president trump's handling of the pandemic. >> i think it's really unfortunate and really disappointing that they did that. it is so clear that i'm not a political person. >> reporter: president trump is scrambling to make up for time he lost while recovering from covid-19. the campaign expects he will hold events just like this one almost every day from now until november 3. one point he is expected to make repeatedly is that he has literally defeated the virus. norah. >> o'donnell: alright, weijia jiang, thank you. today joe biden campaigned in

ohio, taking his case to blue collar workers, a key group in president trump's political base in a state where the president won handily four years ago and where our cbs news battleground tracker poll shows the candidates now neck and neck. here is cbs' ed o'keefe. >> reporter: in georgia, tonight, lines for early voting causing waits of up to eight hours in some spots and marking a shift three weeks from election day. >> this election is a life or death, this is a life or death situation with all that is going on in this world today. >> reporter: president trump and joe biden are now effectively tied in georgia, a traditional republican stronghold, with biden launching a new ad there over the weekend and sending joe biden to court voters. in fact, biden is beginning to spend more time in states he never expected to win, like ohio, where today in toledo he courted working class workers selling his scranton blue collar roots to union members in a town ravaged by the collapse of the auto industry and the coronavirus. >> across ohio and the country folks are worried about making the next mortgage payment or

their rent payment. >> reporter: president trump won ohio by about eight points four years ago selling himself as a deal making businessman. the race there is now nearly tied with mr. trump still holding on. >> i truly believe he's going to help bring jobs back. >> reporter: the story in neighboring michigan is even better for biden. voters who supported the president four years ago now say they are fed up with his handling of the coronavirus. >> this guy is not talking straight. he doesn't have integrity. he doesn't show compassion. he doesn't show vision. and he lies like a rug. >> reporter: tonight biden's team is also planning events and airing ads in places like iowa and texas, states mr. trump won handily in 2016 but are now seen as more competitive. >> a president who will respect the sacrifices made. >> reporter: flush with donations, biden is now on track to spend more than half a billion dollars on advertising by election day, much of it in states like florida and pennsylvania. meanwhile in california tonight

officials are warning about unofficial ballot boxes. this comes as the california g.o.p. has set them up in several counties saying they are trying to make voting easier for people, but state officials say they are illegal and ballots must be mailed in or brought to election offices. norah. >> o'donnell: ed o'keefe, thank you. today democrats worked to make confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee judge amy coney barrett less about her qualifications and more about the affordable care act. they charged that a conservative court with barrett on the bench would quickly move to gut the law. we get more now from cbs' nancy cordes. >> reporter: as demonstrators flock to the supreme court steps, judge amy coney barrett laid out her conservative philosophies. >> courts are not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong in our public life. >> reporter: it is the timing that makes this nomination a political powder keg, with americans already voting in nearly 40 states. >> i think this hearing is a sham. >> there is nothing unconstitutional about this

process. >> reporter: republicans defended barrett's membership in a small catholic group called "people of praise." >> your political opponents want to paint you as a tv or cartoon version of a religious radical. >> reporter: democrats didn't focus on her faith, highlighting instead constituents who they said could lose their healthcare coverage if barrett joins the court. >> kenny is a real person whose life depends on the affordable care act. >> reporter: they pointed to barrett's comments from 2017 when she argued that chief justice john roberts had pushed obamacare beyond its plausible meaning in order to save it. >> the ways in which you may serve as a justice will do irreparable harm. >> that's outrageous. as a mother of seven, judge barrett clearly understands the importance of healthcare. >> reporter: with coronavirus stalking the senate, utah's mike lee recovered in time to make it back.

>> feel great. >> reporter: going maskless while speaking like his colleagues. several others appeared remotely due to exposure or, like democratic v.p. nominee kamala harris, as a precaution. >>his hearing has brought together more than 50 people to sit inside of a closed door room for hours while our nation is facing a deadly airborne virus. >> reporter: starting tomorrow barrett will face two days of grilling from the committees' 22 senators and barring some unforeseen obstacle, republicans are hoping to confirm her to the highest court in the land about a week before election day. norah. >> o'donnell: nancy cordes, thank you. we're going to turn now to the coronavirus pandemic because new cases are on the rise in 39 states, and only three states are seeing decreases. average daily deaths are also rising in ten states compared to two weeks ago. it's the midwest that has been especially hard hit in recent weeks. cbs' adriana diaz has our report

tonight from chicago. >> reporter: tonight with the nation seeing nearly 50,000 cases a day, an ominous warning from public health officials. >> we are truly headed into the fall with a covid virus disaster on our hands. >> reporter: the country is seeing roughly twice as many new cases as it did in the spring. >> i hope these numbers jolt the american public into the realization it's on a trajectory of getting worse and worse. >> reporter: are we still in the first wave of this pandemic or is this the second wave? >> i don't believe that this infection really is being transmitted in waves. what it is, is more like a coronavirus forest fire where in fact it just burns, burns and burns, but then as soon as you let up the break then it all comes back again. >> reporter: there is a flare up in the northeast where cases are up 40% in the last month. tody in wisconsin a judge ruled against a group fighting that state's mask mandate. that's where mark schultz is hospitalized. >> i don't know if i am going to make it. >> reporter: the bar and

restaurant owner is angry, but resilient. >> all i want to do is survive this so i can take care of my family. i got a ten-year-old boy. i'm going to fight this with every breath i got. it's going to take every breath i got. >> reporter: we spoke with schultz today and thankfully he is doing much better. now, hospitalizations are a leading indicator for covid and in at least 36 states hospitalizations are up. norah? >> o'donnell: adriana diaz, thank you. tonight a man working as a security guard at a denver protest is in jail, held without bond and suspected of first degree murder after a violent clash left one man dead. a warning: some viewers have video you are about to see disturbing. here is omar villafranca. ( gunshot ) >> reporter: in cell phone video taken from a distance you can hear the gunshot and see an orange cloud of mace. a photographer caught the confrontation up close. the images show 49-year-old lee

keltner hitting a man, then a puff of orange mist and a man with his gun aimed at keltner, a bullet casing ejecting from the gun. keltner was shot and pronounced dead at the hospital. 30-year-old matthew doloff now in jail accused of first degree murder was hired as a security guard for a local tv station covering a conservative rally and counter-protest. city officials say he was not licensed as a security guard in the city. social media accounts claim doloff was a left wing extremist and antifa member, but authorities say that is not true. >> it seems like we have a little bit more tension. >> reporter: brian lynch is the executive director at the security firm rain, he says tensions are high at some protests and says rumors can lead to more unrest. is bad information a good recruitment tool? >> it certainly helps, these groups certainly understand that in order to recruit they have to stoke that fire a little bit. >> reporter: fires that lynch says can often have violent

consequences. omar villafranca, cbs news, dallas. >> o'donnell: tonight we wanted to update you on a story we told you about over a year ago about immigration on the southern border. remember those packed detention facilities where we saw for ourselves women and children being held in cages. well, a lot has changed in a year. that facility is nearly empty now and tonight we have incredible new details about one of the families we met. >> reporter: we first angelina estrada and her then two-year- old son martine in july 2019. where are you from? >> venezuala. >> reporter: venezuela? angelina, a journalist, fled venezuala after being threatened for her reporting on the authoritarian government. you traveled the whole way with your son. >> reporter: they were among 815

families packed into this detention facility. cbs news had the first cameras inside to document mothers and children caged, sleeping on mats. unaccompanied infants alone in this makeshift nursery. today we found angelina estrada in florida and, incredibly, her family found out she was alive from our interview. now they live with her sister who is an american citizen. she says martine is still traumatized by crossing the rio grande river. >> reporter: angelina is grateful to be in america now and lucky to be able to celebrate birthdays. because the trump administration, citing the coronavirus pandemic, has sent nearly 160,000 people who tried to cross the border back home without a hearing.

>> o'donnell: and angelina tells us she expects to have her initial asylum hearing later this month. there is still much more news ahead on tonight's cbs evening news. the deadly aftermath of hurricane delta and a view from above of the scope of the devastation. and later, lebron james wins a championship and he dials up his m.v.p. yep, that's his mom. mom. significantly clearer skin. ding serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tremfya®. uncover clearer skin that can last. janssen can help you explore cost support options.

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>> o'donnell: at least three people have died in the aftermath of hurricane delta, including two elderly people in louisiana, one from a fire likely started by a gas leak, the other while refueling a generator. the storm slammed ashore on friday with 100 mile-an-hour winds, making landfall just miles from where hurricane laura hit just six weeks earlier. nearly 200,000 homes and businesses are without power in mississippi, louisiana, and

texas. some sad news, roberta mccain, the mother of the late arizona senator and republican presidential candidate john mccain, died today at the remarkable age of 108. she had a twin sister rowena that lived to the age of 99. the mccain matriarch was born in 1912, two months before the sinking of the titanic. john mccain's widow cindy mccain said in a tweet she couldn't have asked for a better role model or friend than her mother in law. she was incredibly vivacious. you have to read about her. coming up next, lebron james and the l.a. lakers end a decade- long draught and burst the n.b.a. bubble with a championship celebration. . >> if you can't if you have postmenopausal osteoporosis and a high risk for fracture, now might not be the best time to ask yourself, are my bones strong? life is full of make or break moments. that's why it's so important to help reduce your risk of fracture

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bubble. >> reporter: it is the lakers 17th n.b.a. title. it is also the team's first championship trophy since kobe bryant lead them to victory a decade ago. >> the organization want their respect, laker nation want their respect, and i want my damn respect too. >> reporter: lebron james leading the charge, the four- time m.v.p. has now won titles with three different teams. after the game, james thanked his most valuable player. >> hey, momma. >> reporter: it was a history making season for the n.b.a. players spent three months inside a covid bubble at disney world. for laker nation, last night's win was for kobe bryant, who died in a helicopter crash back in january along with his daughter. his wife vanessa posted, "congratulations lakers. wish kobe and gigi were here to see this." but according to the lakers'

anthony davis, he was. >> i know he's looking down on us, this was definitely for him. >> reporter: carter evans, cbs news. >> o'donnell: and get this, jeanie buss became the first female controlling owner to win an n.b.a. championship, congratulations, jeannie. we'll be right back. ack. congratulations, jeannie. >> this portion of the cbs evening news is sponsored by: en? where's our family from? was he my age? so nana and pops eloped? ...and then what happened, daddy? well, before us, there were your great, great, great grandparents. turn questions you've always had into stories you can't wait to share; with ancestry.

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that is tonight's cbs evening news. i'm norah o'donnell. we'll see you right back here tomorrow. good night

i am as confident as i can become i guess. >> hope it -- i hope this is an official dropbox. >> illegal ballot boxes. the parties responds and how to make sure your vote