President Trump Invites Gathering at White House Event before Planning to Hit Campaign Trail Despite Recent Coronavirus Diagnosis; Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden Criticizes President Trump for White House Event; Number of Coronavirus Cases in U.S. Jumps Up; European Countries Experiencing New Increases of Coronavirus Cases.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Two thousand people have been invited to the White House today and, right after that, President Trump is off on an aggressive return to the campaign trail.</s>CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: A first look at the new campaign ad for Joe Biden that just launched this hour, and it features a call for unity from Cindy McCain.</s>BLACKWELL: Plus, the flooding and power outages and the widespread damage tropical storm Delta hammers the Gulf Coast with heavy rains and punishing winds. Good to be with you this morning. I'm Victor Blackwell.</s>PAUL: And I'm Christi Paul.</s>BLACKWELL: Late last night President Trump gave an update on his health. CNN's Sarah Westwood is following the latest. Sarah, I don't know how we're supposed to receive these reports from the president because they're not really based on science, but what did the president say?</s>SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Victor, last night President Trump saying he's feeling great, that he's no longer taking any medication for coronavirus, and he revealed that he had had lung scans at some point during his treatment that showed he had congestion.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It tested good. Initially I think they had some congestion in there. But it tested -- ultimately it tested good. And with each day it got better. And I think that's why they wanted me to stay, frankly. But the CAT scans were amazing.</s>WESTWOOD: We're still awaiting results from the president's latest coronavirus test. We haven't heard an official update on his health in more than 12 hours. But later today he is expected to hold his first really big appearance since his hospitalization here at the White House, and we are expecting as many as thousands of people to gather on the South Lawn for that event. The White House says the president will be speaking from the White House balcony, so he won't be down amongst the crowd. But still, there are concerns given that just a couple of weeks ago an event here at the White House has been linked to so many positive cases of coronavirus in the president's inner circle. It's one that Dr. Anthony Fauci described as a super-spreader event. But nonetheless, the president is set to hit the campaign trail once again. He's scheduled for a campaign rally on Monday in Florida.</s>PAUL: So earlier on NEW DAY we were talking about Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, how he is still hospitalized. But I understand you have an update for us.</s>WESTWOOD: That's right, Christi. Governor Christie this morning announced that he had been released from the hospital following the week that he spent there recovering from coronavirus. He was someone who did attend that ceremony in the Rose Garden that has been linked to all these coronavirus cases. He was one of several members of the president's debate prep team that fell ill with the virus. But luckily, he's tweeted that he has recovered enough to go home from the hospital, and in that tweet he thanked the doctors and nurses who cared for him over the past week, Victor and Christi.</s>PAUL: Good to know. Wishing him the very best. Sarah Westwood, we appreciate it. Thank you.</s>BLACKWELL: Let's go now to CNN's Jason Carroll. He is with us with more on the Biden campaign. And Jason, the former vice president has been very critical of President Trump for this event today, the one that's coming on Monday, that rally. What are we hearing from Biden?</s>JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, you're absolutely right. This is some of the toughest language that we've heard from Vice President Biden. For Biden it's not just about the president's professional behavior, it's also about his personal behavior. He was out at a campaign stop in Las Vegas yesterday where he basically said the president has not only been reckless with his life, he's been reckless with American lives. And while he was out west, Vegas wasn't his only stop. He was also in Arizona on Thursday when he was campaigning with Cindy McCain, and the campaign has released its first TV spot featuring Cindy McCain. It's called "Like John Did." This comes just a few weeks after she endorsed Biden for president. I want to show you just a quick sample of what the ad looks like.</s>CINDY MCCAIN, JOHN MCCAIN'S WIFE: Now, more than ever, we need a president who will put service before self, a president who will lead with courage and compassion, not ego, a president who will respect the sacrifices made by our service members and their families, a president who will honor our fallen heroes, and a president who will bring out the best in us, not the worst.</s>CARROLL: That ad is going to start running in the state of Arizona today. The Biden campaign is making a real push to try to carry Arizona. It is a competitive race, but no Democratic presidential nominee has carried Arizona since Bill Clinton did back in 1996. As for the Biden campaign later today, they're going to be in Erie, Pennsylvania. Again, they're going to be making a real push for that state as well, a state that is in play. That's an area in Erie, Pennsylvania, that has really seen an economic downturn, especially in the area of manufacturing. The Biden campaign is going to really make a push for voters there, especially those Democratic voters who ended up voting for Trump back in 2016. Victor, Christi?</s>PAUL: All right, Jason Carroll, thanks for the update. So the second presidential debate has officially been canceled now because President Trump is refusing to debate Joe Biden due to the fact that it would be virtual. Rather, both candidates will be hosting televised town halls that day.</s>BLACKWELL: CNN political analyst Margaret Talev weighed in on why debates may be really a little less relevant than they have been in the past.</s>MARGARET TALEV, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: The moderated debate format, it almost seems like it's just from a time past, like it only works if the rules are followed and if there's a good faith effort to follow the rules. The two campaigns and the commissioner are all scrambling now to figure out what is the right course, and they all have different motives and different end goals. My instinct is there will still be this third debate, but I think you can't really count on anything anymore. And the idea that we could go with a president being hospitalized and now he's holding a large event at the White House and preparing to resume large rallies just gives you a sense of, I think, how agile we have to be as journalists in figuring out how to cover this. But for voters, the window of time for the election is continuing. People are casting ballots as we speak, and all the uncertainty, I think, could be having an impact in terms of how people are voting and when they're voting.</s>BLACKWELL: So if there's no debate, what is next? Here's what we know. On Thursday, ABC News will host an event with former Vice President Joe Biden, and then the Trump campaign says that the president will answer questions from undecided voters on multiple networks.</s>PAUL: There are some new warnings we need to tell you about as well from health experts here in the U.S. after the country's daily COVID cases jumped to more than 57,000 yesterday. That's the highest level in nearly two months. One infectious disease expert tells CNN Florida is, quote, ripe for another large outbreak, and there are alarming trends across the country, with only two states now, Maine and Nebraska, reporting a decline in cases.</s>BLACKWELL: Paulo Sandoval is in New York with the latest. Polo, you've got at least the governor of Ohio, and I'm sure health experts in counties and states across the country saying all the numbers are going in the wrong direction.</s>POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, to your point there, out of Ohio, not only is the governor saying the numbers are going the wrong direction, but they are preparing for what is expected to be a very rough winter. And it's not just in the state of Ohio, but really across the country. Just consider alone that there are about 28 states across the country that reported more new COVID cases this week compared to last. There are many reasons why multiple health officials are warning that people do need to take action, not just in public, but even in their own homes.</s>SANDOVAL: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is out with a new warning, drawing another link between young people and some of the nation's COVID-19 hotspots. The CDC found positive test results generally started rising among people under the age of 25 about a month before a region was designated a COVID-19 hotspot. With the study, researchers are underscoring the need to address young people helping spark outbreaks. A local survey in one Wisconsin county showed young people worried they would feel weird or get odd looks wearing a mask.</s>MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: It starts out, first of all, with college students coming back to universities and colleges, and we're seeing substantial transmission there, which then is spilling over into the older adult population.</s>SANDOVAL: This week the U.S. posted its highest number of single-day COVID cases in nearly two months. Only a few states, those in green, are reporting declines in new cases this week over last. In Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine, predicting a very rough winter with both hospitalizations and the average age of patients edging up.</s>GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): Every single number is going the wrong way.</s>SANDOVAL: In the northeast, the moving average of new cases from September 8th to October 8th went up a staggering 91 percent. Dr. Deborah Birx said the White House's coronavirus task force warns one possible reason is silent, asymptomatic viral spread among families.</s>DR. DEBORAH BIRX, WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE COORDINATOR: To the communities that are seeing uptakes, please bring that same discipline that you're bringing to the public spaces into your household, and really limit engagement with others outside of your immediate household.</s>SANDOVAL: In parts of New York City's Queens and Brooklyn boroughs, calls for compliance are growing amid an increase in COVID clusters. This week members of Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods protested recent restrictions put in place to curb COVID-19 spread. Though a virus vaccine is still in the works, one CDC official says formal plans to distribute it once its available are on target to meet an October 16th deadline in some states and in D.C.</s>SANDOVAL: We certainly would have to have a vaccine first. Now, when it comes to New York, and especially about those COVID clusters that are being monitored in parts of Brooklyn and Queens, authorities here saying that the positivity rate there, about 5.4 percent. Statewide, though, if you take a look back here, Victor and Christi, it's about 0.9 percent statewide, not including those hotspot zones. That's one of the many reasons why authorities in New York are really focusing on those communities there, many of those religious communities, stressing the importance of social distancing, handwashing, and of course that mask wearing as well.</s>BLACKWELL: Paulo Sandoval in New York, thank you. Delta is now a tropical storm, but behind it there's so much damage, flooding, as it moves out of Atlanta -- Louisiana, I should say.</s>PAUL: And the mayor of a city dealt a one-two punch by this storm and hurricane Laura just a few weeks ago is with us live next. Stay close.</s>BLACKWELL: Breaking in the past hour, North Korea has unveiled what appears to be a new ballistic missile. This is at a military parade. And overnight we also saw the country's dictator getting emotional during a speech. We'll tell you more about this in a live report.