Thing you need to know when voting by mail early today starts right now good thursday morning, im phillip mena. Im frances rivera. The u. S. Coronavirus surge continues as of today the nation is closing on 8 million infections the latest numbers come as onethird of the country is now reporting some of its highest case counts since the start of the pandemic. One of which being the state of wisconsin which is seeing an alarming rise in the number of new covid cases. On tuesday it set a new state record, 34 reported deaths and to handle the overflow of cases the state has opened a 500bed Field Hospital this as a new Research Suggests that there may be a link between blood types and covid19 risks researchers in denmark found that people with type o blood team to be slightly less likely to be infected research out of canada found types a and ab were more likely to need serious treatment. The nation continues to be hit hard by a fall surge just as the Holiday Season approaches. Here is nbcs miguel almaguer. Reporter the troubling number of new covid infections soars across the nation, onethird of our country is now reporting some of its highest case counts since the start of the pandemic in Oklahoma City there are no open icu beds. States like utah with a dangerously high Positivity Rate on the brink of crisis utah is facing its most dire episode yesterday this this epidemic. Reporter with the number of americans hospitalized in midwest states like iowa hitting new records the nation is set to soon break 8 million confirmed infections the bill and Melinda Gates foundation has pledged 125 million to fight covid the rest of this year will not be normal and, you know, the sooner we deliver that somewhat bad news to people so they can get ready for what will be a tough fall the better. Reporter according to a new national survey, most americans are worried about social unrest tied to a covid resurgence and elections. 52 already have or plan to stockpile food and other essentials this fall we have a full bag of rice just in case lots of sardines, a few things like that. Reporter while there are some signs of progress, this week brought setbacks for both the vaccine and an experimental covid treatment. Eli lilly pausing the Clinical Trial after a safety concern some americans are worried that vaccines and treatments are being rushed to market what do you say to them . We are moving as quickly as we possibly can. Maybe what to reframe the question they might be worried about are we skipping steps to rush them the market and the answer is no. In another sign of how resurgent the virus is, states like california are asking families to stay home on halloween. Beverly hills are outright banning trickortreating. With dr. Fauci advising families to think twice about mixing with anyone outside their household for thanksgiving measures are being taken to avoid another deadly wave of infections. For this woman who lost her father six months ago, the holiday brings heart break. The idea that he died alone is something that will haunt me for the rest of my life. Reporter a reminder of whats at stake and what so many families have already lost miguel almaguer, nbc news. With 19 days to go until the election we are getting dueling town halls instead of a debate President Trump and joe biden were supposed to square off for a second time tonight but the president refused to do a Virtual Event so instead joe biden is taking part in an abc town hall and mr. Trump will appear in one right here on nbc. The events come as the latest nbc news and wall street journal poll showed biden with an 11point lead nationwide. For more lets get to our capitol hill correspondent tracie potts the president still struggling to escape the shadow of his coronavirus diagnosis. Reporter coronavirus continues to be a big issue on the campaign trail the president s diagnosis and recovery and now his sons revealed by the first lady, plus whats happening nationwide with coronavirus, a resurgence in cases and Coronavirus Relief stuck in washington. The president and House Speaker nancy pelosi blaming each other for the stimulus talks that have tate and local governments. This is about a pandemic where we are trying to compensate the states for the money that they spent on the pandemic and the revenue that they lost. Thats one thing that the president theyve all just ignored. The president said im not paying blue states, all that stuff. They havent taken this seriously. And whats sad about it is is we could come to an agreement we need to come to an agreement. Reporter the president tweeting that pelosi should approve the stimulus now that hes ready to sign but he wants to sign pieces of it, she wants a big deal and that seems to be where things have fallen apart. As i noted the first lady in talking about her own covid diagnosis revealed that their teenage son baron tested positive as well he has sense tested negative ca that he, too, had a quick turnaround and used it as an example of why he thinks kids need to go back to school. Adding baron was asymptomatic when he tested posz testify. Tracie, thank you. Tune in tonight at 8 00 eastern for that town hall with President Trump. Our Savannah Guthrie will moderate the event from miami. Today is judge Amy Coney Barretts fourth and final day before the Senate Judiciary committee. All day the committee will hear from experts for and against her confirmation then the nomination goes before the full senate. Nbcs Peter Alexander has the latest reporter in judge Amy Coney Barretts final day of questioning republicans casting her expected confirmation as a Ground Breaking moment for conservative women. This is the first time in American History that weve nominated a woman who is unashamedingly pro life and embraces her faith without apology and shes going to the court. Reporter barrett was pressed on president ial powers. I agree no one is above the law. Reporter but saying she could not weigh in when democrats asked whether a president can pardon himself, as President Trump has insisted so far as i know that question has never been litigated. Its not one on which i can offer a view. Reporter she was challenged on the 2017 article she wrote criticizing the courts decision to uphold the Affordable Care act with another case coming up next month. President trump has been open in acknowledging that he wants a nominee on the court to strike down that aca. You have said you have not made any agreements or statements to the contrary but i will tell you it is a cloud over your nomination reporter barrett strongly pushing back. Youre suggesting that i have anonymous or that i cut a deal with the president and i was very clear yesterday that that isnt what happened. Reporter republicans arguing democrats who cannot stop the confirmation are instead focusing on the president ial campaign. Weve seen that our democratic colleagues have very few questions, actually, to raise about judge barretts qualifications, instead much of this hearing has focused on political attacks directed at President Trump. Reporter the committee is expected to vote on barretts nomination next month with a full senate expected to confirm her along party lines before election day phillip . Peter, thank you. In texas an investigation is under way after a massive tire for through an apartment complex. The heavy smoke visible for miles with neighbors saying they felt the heat from those flames. Our Gabe Gutierrez has the latest. We have a massive fire just north of i10 and 99. Reporter the threealarm inferno lit up the sky near houston just before dawn [ bleep ] crazy. Reporter a 30 million apartment complex under construction up in flames. Never seen a fire like this before. Reporter residents in a neighboring complex owned by the same company say they could feel the scorching heat you can feel the heat. Reporter firefighters had trouble finding water pressure. Some of the debris that was coming off of the roof in the smoke was coming down and starting Little Pockets of grass fires. Reporter one firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion, no one else was injured. If youre standing in front of my window in the house, yes, i fell the heat. The heat from the building is tracking the some of the windows. Reporter the fire is out as investigators search for what sparked it Gabe Gutierrez, nbc news new mandatory evacuations are in effect in colorado. The cameron peak fire is threatening Homes Northwest of denver its burned more than 158,000 acres making it the largest fire ever recorded in the state crews have been battling this inferno since midaugust and its about 56 contained. Lets see what the weather is going to do to see if this is going to help at all here is nbc meteorologist gentleman necessary is a webb. Good morning. Good morning. For the southwest and Pacific Northwest we do have a heat wave that is setting up im going to talk about that a little bit later, but for the east coast it was a beautiful day, upper 50s right now and its going to be another nice day, you better hold on to this one because we have a change that is coming in quickly. High plains to the midwest were going to see temperatures about 10 cooler air impacting you, even for the northeast still in the mid 70s but the change comes by friday we will talk more about that fire danger for the Pacific Northwest coming up. Thank you so much. Now to something the colors were wearing here, a little hadnt on how you can show support for lgbtq youth on the spirit day. And vote watch, what to know about your signature before you vote early today is back in two taking metamucil every day can help. Metamucil supports your daily Digestive Health using a special plantbased fiber called psyllium. Psyllium works by forming a gel in your digestive system to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. Metamucils gelling action also helps to lower cholesterol and slows sugar absorption to promote healthy blood sugar levels. So, start feeling lighter and more energetic. By taking metamucil every day. Beds get sick too protection. Lysol laundry sanitizer kills 99. 9 of illnesscausing bacteria detergents leave behind. Proven to kill covid19 visibly fades the dark spots away. New neutrogena® rapid tone repair 20 percent pure vitamin c. A serum so powerful dark spots dont stand a chance. See what i mean . Neutrogena® you cant fake the goodness the crunch of real almonds. How chocolatey chunks taste in cold milk. We keep it real. Because you cant fake. Delicious. Kelloggs special k. Vicks vapopatch. Easy to wear with soothing vicks vapors for her, for you, for the whole family. Trusted soothing vapors, from vicks and this mornings vote watch one of the top issues when voting by mail like so many are in this election is the importance of verifying your signature. Nbcs Cynthia Mcfadden on how its done and what you need to know before you send in your ballot reporter something most states do, but few voters understand, the process for verifying signatures on mailin ballots. 100 of the signatures that are verified on the mail ballots that are coming through this office reporter in maricopa county, arizona, these Election Officials are learning how to do it. Do not tack yourself into accepting it if you are not mfcoortable. Reporter at least 31 states and the district of columbia require Election Officials to compare the signature on the security envelope voters place their ballot in with other signatures on file, like past voting records on a drivers license to validate the voters identity 18 states require officials by law to notify voters if there is a problem with their signatures so they can fix it but the president has warned unsupported by evidence that the system is subject to fraud theres no verification it is a disgrace that this can happen. Reporter while some democrats believe also without evidence that massive numbers of legitimate balrelots a thrown out over signature issues. Election expert professor nate persilli says both concerns are overwrote if history is a guide. Scarded because of signature mismatches. Reporter official 2016 voting data found around 0. 3 of all 33 million mailin ballots cast that year only about 87,000 were not counted due to reported signature mismatch in battleground pennsylvania, the rules are changing if the signatures dont precisely match you cant throw away the ballot, you cant disenfranchise legal eligible voters some counties didnt want to follow that. Reporter philadelphias only republican Elections Official says hes still waiting for guidance from the states supreme court. What i hear you saying is that at this point just decide what the rules are. Exactly the sooner we know exactly what we can do and not do, the better off voters are. Reporter meanwhile, an nbc news poll revealed over 50 of voters nationally are not confident their mailin ballots will be counted accurately. My overall biggest concern is that confidence in our electoral system seems to be under siege. Experts tell us if youre voting by mail make sure that the signature on your ballot is the same as the signature on your drivers license. Thats right. None of that coffee shop chicken scratch. Not at all. In this case important stuff. Very important. Our thanks to cynthia for that report. When we return, what to expect from todays unemployment numbers. And a sweet treat to haunt your taste buds. Dunkin is surprising things up with the new ghost pepper doughnut unstopables inwash scent booster downy unstopables good moves. Or hydration. Neutrogena® hydro boost. The number 1 hyaluronic acid moisturizer instantly delivers 2 times the hydration. And keeps hydrating all day long. Running dry of supple, bouncy skin. Never hydro boost. Pair with new serum for 4 times the hydrating power. Neutrogena® pair with new serum for 4 times the hydrating power. Honey honey . New nyquil severe honey is maximum strength cold and flu medicine with soothing honeylicious taste. Nyquil honey. 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Eastern right here on nbc. Lets get a check again with janessa on our weather ahead janessa . September the hottest september ever on record so the heat it continues to build and were on our way to the hottest october as well. So we are going to continue to see record warmth across the southwest. Weve seen over 104 days of temperatures above 100 degrees in phoenix and today the sweltering heat continues to invade that area also the fire danger increasing across Southern California guys pretty disturbing that doesnt sound like a sustainable trend there. Still to come here, we will have the big winners and best moments from the 2020 Billboard Music awards. Plus time is running out to be counted, what you need to know about todays census deadline when our daughter and her kids moved in with us. Our bargain detergent couldnt keep up. Turns out its mostly water. So, we switched back to tide. One wash, stains are gone. Daughter slurping dont pay for water. Pay for clean. Its got to be tide. 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Hormel foods has a new mask that is just for bacon lovers. You have to really, really love bacon to like this the Company Announced the launch of the breathable bacon, its a product they describe as a revolutionary facemask featuring the latest in porkscented technology now through october 28th hormel is giving away free baconscented masks and will donate one into he will to feeding america for every request. Customers can enter for a chance to win at breathable bacon. Com nice gesture, good cause, questionable scent. Diy tip, use it as a bib, eat some bacon, get sloppy and dab a little bit and there you go. Got all the answers. You need some doughnuts. Dunkin has baked up the spicy ghost pepper doughnut. It is stopped with strawberry flavored icing with a blend of cayenne and ghost pepper and finishing off with red sanding sugar. This ghost may haunt you the next day you can also celebrate with a diy doughnut decorating kit and the creepy spider doughnut. You have to throw in a salad at some point. It cant just be bacon and doughnuts. Maybe it can. Not for very long, though. When we come back we have all the highlights from last nights Billboard Music awards right here on early tod. Ay beds get sick too protection. Lysol laundry sanitizer kills 99. 9 of illnesscausing bacteria detergents leave behind. Proven to kill covid19 secret stops sweat 3x more Yo Yo Yo Yo Yo Yo start your day with secret. Than ordinary antiperspirants. With secret youre unstoppable. No sweat. Try it and love it or get your money back. Secret. All strength, no sweat i have friends in low places, he had a medley. Of course, thats garth brooks, he was honored with the icon award at Billboard Music awards. A 19time billboard award winner, he performed a medley of his greatest hits before accepting that award. The starstudded show hosted by Kelly Clarkson honored some of the biggest names who have dominated the charts this year mark barger has more. Post malone. Reporter nine was the magic number for post malone at the Billboard Music awards wednesday night. Host Kelly Clarkson wheeled out his nine awards including top artist. Im honestly blown away just by the love that everybody has shown to me an appreciate it more than i could ever express. Expressed in an empty theater because of coronavirus 18yearold Billie Eilish wore a mask as she accepted top female artist. Please vote please wear a mask please wash your hands be safe. Take care. Reporter the unusual circumstances prompting top country artist winner luke combs to salute the crew behind the scenes into they have gone through some insane stuff to make this happen for you guys. Reporter lizzo literally wore her message as we shoon top sales song message also khalid. Please use your voice your Voice Matters now more than ever. Reporter also country legend garth brooks. Ive got friends in low places reporter he played a medley of his hits before receiving the icon award. To all those people that fill those stands thank you. Reporter the night also offered poignancy billboard awards highlight 2015 honored the memory of guitar legend Eddie Van Halen while john legend delivered an emotional performance. We will never Chrissy Teigen after their pregnancy loss less than two weeks ago. A heart felt moment on a starry night. Mark barger, nbc news. Very Important News here, today is the last day to make sure you are counted in the 2020 census this is a once in a decade count that is used to determine how federal funds are spent and how many representatives that each state has in congress. According to the Census Bureau people can still respond online or over the phone today, paper responses those need to be postmarked by today, october 15th filling out the census so important. Arguably even more important than right now at 4 30, high fire danger sparking power shutoffs. Next were tracking wind, high temperatures and Power Outages county by county this morning. Today in the bay starts right now. A good thursday morning to you. Thanks so much for joining us. Im marcus washington. And im laura garcia. Good to see you back, marcus. And vianey is in for kari. Another warm one . Definitely. With the High Pressure building in, the offshore wind event that will dry