good morning! and welcome to "way too early," the show whose podcast is available for download. get it wherever you get your podcasts. i am kasie hunt on this tuesday, october 13th. we are going to start, as always, with the news. president trump returned to the campaign trail last night for the first time since being sidelined with coronavirus. he held another packed outdoor rally in florida with an estimated 7,000 people, very few wearing masks, even as covid cases, hospitalizations and deaths from the virus began to tick up again in the state. the president spoke for about an hour, attacking his opponents, playing down the virus, and telling his supporters they can ignore lockdown measures, if they want to. >> and we've got to remember, i said it right at the beginning, the cure cannot be worse than the problem itself. can't. the cure cannot be worse. but if you don't feel good about it, if you want to stay, stay. relax, stay. but if you want to get out there, get out. one thing with me, the nice part, i went through it. now they say i'm immune. i can feel -- i feel so powerful. i'll walk into that audience. i'll walk in there. i'll kiss everyone in that audience. i'll kiss the guys and the beautiful women and everybody. i'll just give you a big, fat kiss. no, but there is something nice. i don't have to be locked up in my basement, and i wouldn't allow that to happen anyway. i wouldn't allow it to happen. when you're the president, you can't lock yourself in a basement and say i'm not going to bother with the world. you've got to get out. and it's risky. it's risky. but you've got to get out. but it does give you a good feeling when you can beat something, and now they say you're immune. i don't know for how long. some people say for life. some people say for four months. i mean, every time i think about it, every time i hear that, it gets shorter and shorter and shorter because they want it to be as bad as possible. >> just remember, please listen to the health experts and your local authorities about how best to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. the rally came just hours after the president's doctor released a memo claiming trump had tested negative for the virus on consecutive days and was no longer contagious. his doctor didn't say on which days the president tested negative. we still don't have answers to those questions. meanwhile, coronavirus task force expert dr. anthony fauci condemned president trump's choice to hold rallies as the pandemic continues to grip the nation. >> put aside all of the issues of what political implications a rally has, and just put that aside and look at it purely in the context of public health. we know that that is asking for trouble when you do that. we've seen that when you have situations of congregate settings where there are a lot of people without masks. the data speak for themselves. >> the person that you should listen to when it comes to trying to beat back this horrible pandemic. speaking to auto industry workers in ohio yesterday, joe biden chastised president trump's, quote, reckless personal behavior surrounding the pandemic. >> ask yourself, why didn't he tell us? why didn't he warn us? he said nothing. he told woodward that he didn't want to panic the american people. that's why he said nothing. we don't panic! america doesn't panic! but trump panicked. his reckless personal conduct since his diagnosis has been unconscionable. the longer donald trump is president, the more reckless he seems to get. the supreme court confirmation hearing, meanwhile, for judge amy coney barrett began yesterday. in a socially distanced hearing room, with hours of thematic opening statements on all sides. after judge barrett was sworn in, judiciary committee chairman lindsey graham conceded that the process was basically a formality. >> this is probably not about persuading each other, unless something really dramatic happens. all republicans will vote yes and all democrats will vote no. and that will be the way the breakout of the vote. >> simply put, i believe we should not be moving forward on this nomination, not until the election has ended and the next president has taken office. >> yes, judge, i think this hearing is a sham. i think it shows real messed-up priorities from the republican party. >> the big, secretive influences behind this unseemly rush see this nominee as a judicial torpedo they are firing at the aca. >> democrats highlighted what they believe is most at risk with barrett's all-but-certain confirmation. and you heard a little bit of it there. the future of the affordable care act. those posters, they're displayed posters of people that they say will be most affected, if the law is repealed. democrats also attacked the process itself. >> i also clerked for justice scalia. it was the content of justice scalia's reasoning that shaped me. his judicial philosophy was straightforward -- a judge must apply the law as it is written, not as she wishes it were. courts are not designed to solve every problem or right every wrong in our public life. the public should not expect courts to do so and courts should not try. >> republicans criticized the democrats' tactics and defended the nominee by touting her qualifications and defending her right to her religious beliefs. and the day ended -- i think we just heard a little bit there from barrett's opening statement. and tomorrow -- or today, i should say, she is going to have her first chance to answer questions from lawmakers who will get their first opportunity to talk to her. meanwhile, after avoiding the question for weeks, joe biden yesterday said he wasn't a fan of expanding the supreme court but preferred instead to keep the focus on his opposition to republican efforts to fill the seat of ruth bader ginsburg with their own nominee just weeks before election day. biden has been critical of the republican approach to the process but had also repeatedly dodged questions about whether he would support expanding the court if republicans rushed through the confirmation as americans are already voting for president. joining us now, senior writer at politico and co-author of "the playbook," jake sherman. he is also an msnbc political contributor. jake, good morning to you. thanks for being here. i couldn't help but be struck by lindsey graham basically putting it out there yesterday, and just saying, you know what, democrats are going to vote no, republicans are going to vote yes. this whole thing is a foregone conclusion. i'm not sure it had to be. i mean, republicans had to make absolutely no mistakes. that still remains true for today and tomorrow. but that certainly seems like the course we're on. >> that's right. i mean, good morning, kasie, first of all. number two, that's absolutely right. this is a lot more anticlimactic than almost any supreme court process that we thought. we thought brett kavanaugh, who kind of had a sterling resumé and was being groomed for the court for many years, would also be a nonevent, an uneventful and an easy walk to the court. so, we can never say, especially as we sit here 21 days before election day, that it's going to be a cake walk, although we do think so right now. i mean, i think the interesting thing to me, kasie -- here's my big takeaway from yesterday and from this process, is democrats are staying remarkably on message in making this about the affordable care act. you and i have covered a lot of campaigns, the same campaigns, and what we've seen over the last decade is democrats consistently, since republicans took majorities on capitol hill and now the white house, that democrats have made each campaign about health care and have been successful in doing so. and that's what they're trying to do here. they're trying to say, listen, you, the american people, need to put pressure on your elected officials because, if this woman is put on the supreme court, your health care is gone. obviously, it's not that simple and cut and clean, according to most nonpartisan and objective observers, but that's what they're trying to make it seem like. >> right. and it was also pretty remarkable. i think it was dick durbin or amy klobuchar who joked yesterday that, hey, aren't we remarkably on message? which may be out of the ordinary for democrats, who sometimes struggle a little bit more to get all on the same page. but jake, i mean, one thing where we're seeing republicans splinter is between the white house and the hill on questions of coronavirus relief. and i couldn't help but laugh a little bit when, you know, all republicans wanted to do was focus on the supreme court hearing to try to energize the base, and the president, meanwhile, is saying, oh, no, forget it, dispense with it, i now want a coronavirus deal that i, myself, toward torpedoed jus handful of days ago. where do we stand, do you think, in terms of them actually making some sort of deal? i've also been amused by the white house spokespeople coming out and saying oh, the senate gop will fall in line. that may have been true when president trump seemed to have any shot at re-election. it's much less true right now. >> welcome to the ball game, mr. president. i mean, they've been at these negotiations since may, and there's been no progress because the president's been on the sidelines. it's pretty remarkable that now, 21 days before election day, he's indicating he's interested in a covid relief bill. he could have said this months ago and there could have been a deal. instead, he's been on the sidelines doing whatever he's been doing. but listen, kasie, i mean, 21 days is not a lot of time to get a $1 trillion bill through congress. i mean, there's no evidence to me -- you're right, there's no evidence to me the senate gop is ready to fall in line behind a president who's down 10, 12 points in most national polls and is down in every swing state. and listen, it's not as if the issues have been narrowing. the talks between steven mnuchin, who i've been calling washington's most eager man because he keeps getting back to the negotiating table, and nancy pelosi -- these issues aren't narrowing. they are still miles apart on money, miles apart on policy, and they may come to a deal, but as we saw over the weekend, there is a blowup call between senate republicans and the white house. house republicans aren't much interested. so, i just -- i don't see it happening at this point. i could be surprised. i would just think it's a really, really steep and high hill to climb. >> it used to be the president got on the phone, told senate republicans, hey, vote for my bill, they would do it. not so much anymore. politico's jake sherman, thank you so much, my friend. always great to see you early on tuesday morning. still ahead, several countries across europe are mulling new restrictions amid a second wave of coronavirus cases, and it comes as states here at home are reporting a rise in infections. it helps explain why lakers fans may have to wait a little while in order to celebrate their team's latest championship. those stories and a check on the weather when we come right back. e weather when we come right back. that life of the party look walk it off look one more mile look reply all look own your look... ...with fewer lines. there's only one botox® cosmetic. it's the only one... ...fda approved... ...to temporarily make frown lines... ...crow's feet... ...and forehead lines... ...look better. the effects of botox® cosmetic, may spread hours to weeks after injection, causing serious symptoms. alert your doctor right away as difficulty swallowing, speaking, breathing, eye problems, or muscle weakness may be a sign of a life-threatening condition. do not receive botox® cosmetic if you have a skin infection. side effects may include allergic reactions, injection site pain, headache, eyebrow, eyelid drooping, and eyelid swelling. tell your doctor about your medical history, muscle or nerve conditions, and medications including botulinum toxins as these may increase the risk of serious side effects. so, give that just saw a puppy look. and whatever that look is. look like you... with fewer lines. see results at botoxcosmetic.com that is hit deep into left-center field! back at the wall. it's gone! austin riley has put the atlanta braves on top here in the ninth with a home run off blake trieden. >> time now for sports. the blavz' austin riley with that lead-off homer in the top of the ninth inning to put atlanta ahead of the dodgers in game one of the nlcs. riley's long ball sparks a four-run rally for the braves, including a two-run jack hit by ozzie albies and atlanta takes the opener 5-1. over in the american league, the braves manuel margot had a breakout game to put tampa on top in the first with a three-run homer and coming up with a spectacular catch in right field while tumbling over the wall in foul territory. the rays go on to win it, 4-2, and they now have a commanding 2-0 lead in the series. some news ahead of tonight's matchup between the titans and the bills, as tennessee reportedly had no new positive tests in their latest round of screening. sunday's positive test ended a two-day run without any positive results. the titans have had 13 players and 11 other personnel test positive since september 24th, most of which have come since they last played a game back in week three. meanwhile, a memo that went out to all teams last night announced changes to the league's coronavirus testing protocol, including game-day testing for all players, coaches, and some other team personnel. meanwhile, the public celebration for the nba champion lakers to mark the franchise's 17th title is on hold because of a ban on large gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic. the team tweeted late yesterday that it hopes to put on an event, quote, as soon as it is safe to do so. some 1,000 people gathered in downtown l.a. after the lakers' victory on sunday night where police say what was initially a peaceful celebration turned chaotic, leading to 76 arrests and more than 30 buildings and businesses damaged. causes for arrest included failure to disperse, vandalism, and assault on a police officer. time now to get a check on the weather! let's go to meteorologist bill karins for the forecast this morning. bill, good morning. hey, good morning, kasie. yesterday was rainy in areas of the mid-atlantic. today that shifts up into new england, and that's pretty much the only bad weather out there on the maps. you can see the rain behind me. a cold front is going through pennsylvania and new york. we have rain and drizzly weather around new york city, all the way up through southern new england. it's actually been drought conditions for the last couple months, so this is welcomed rain in many cases, especially in areas of rhode island,massachus. but it will make for a slow commute as the rain at 7:00 a.m. is over hartford, providence, boston and there's the line of showers and storms. by noon today, boston still getting a soaking rain. i paused this at 5:00 p.m. notice new york city's done with the rain, along with the hudson valley, but still raining pretty hard vermont, new hampshire, and all of maine. and so, again, poor drainage, maybe some isolated cases of flooding. by about 11:00 p.m., it's just about over for everyone and we'll have a pretty nice day tomorrow. the additional rainfall, 1 to 2 inches in northern new england. the other weather story today, heat advisories still up. southern california is still really hot. fire danger's high once again. it's not windy, but it is very dry and it is very warm. so, today's forecast, only 73. some showers early in d.c. the weather improves in the afternoon. notice that the middle of the country and the whole southern half of the country still feels like summer. 101 in phoenix today and about 90 degrees in san antonio. and kasie, as we go throughout this week, we're going to talk more about a big cooldown coming. you expect it in october. it's going to get chilly in a hurry for many areas. >> all right, bill karins. thank you so much. nice to see you on this tuesday morning. still ahead here, early voting gets under way in georgia with some people waiting up to ten hours to vote. we're going to take a look at what election officials are calling record high turnout. we're back in just a moment. ing. we're back in just a moment. - [announcer] welcome to intelligent indoor grilling with the ninja foodi smart xl grill. just pick your protein, select your doneness, and let the grill monitor your food. it also turns into an air fryer. bring outdoor grilling flavors indoors with the grill that grills for you. one ups the cleaning power of liquid. can it one up spaghetti night? it sure can. really? can it one up breakfast in bed? yeah, for sure. thanks, boys. what about that? uhh, yep! it can? yeah, even that! i would very much like to see that. me too. tide pods ultra oxi. one up the toughest stains with 50% more cleaning power than liquid detergent. any further questions? uh uh! nope! one up the power of liquid with tide pods ultra oxi. who trust in our performance and comfortable, long-lasting protection. because your strength is supported by ours. depend. the only thing stronger than us, is you. how will we do it, at a time we've been asked that before. and through pandemics, and depressions, wars that split a nation, and fractured the world. americans have always found a way to vote and make their voices heard. so stand with the national council on election integrity and help make sure every vote is counted. no matter who you vote for, or how. because while this election may feel different, we all call america home. the rx crafted by lexus. lease the 2020 rx350 for $409 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. if we don't change and make masks mostly universal in america, what are we facing this fall and winter? >> i think we're facing a whole lot of trouble. we would like to see the percent positivity be coming down. and unfortunately, if you look at the states of the country, the midwest, the northwest, the states that you mentioned, including iowa, instead of seeing it go in the other direction, down, we're seeing an increase in test positivity. >> welcome back. that was dr. anthony fauci last night warning of an increase in coronavirus cases across the country. right now, dozens of states are reporting rising numbers of covid-19 infections, signaling the first signs of a long and difficult winter ahead. spikes are being seen in states that had the lowest case numbers in recent months. new york, once the center of the coronavirus crisis in the u.s., has seen its number of hospitalizations jump by 77%, compared to the same period last month. but in the latest surge, the midwest and great plains states have been hardest hit. yesterday alone, over 350 new covid-19 deaths and nearly 46,000 new cases were reported nationwide. since the start of the pandemic, more than 7.8 million people have been infected and over 216,000 deaths have been reported in the u.s. after curbing the first outbreak of the coronavirus in the spring, countries in europe are now in the grip of a second wave. in italy, 5,000 new cases were recorded in a single day on friday for the first time since march, with health authorities mandating masks outdoors and preparing new restrictions, such as a ban on private parties. in france, the number of patients in intensive care has surpassed a peak that they hit back in may. and in spain, there are restrictions on leaving and entering the capital, madrid, which is under a state of emergency. and in the uk, health authorities say the number of hospitalizations have quadrupled in the past three weeks, and there are now more covid patients than before the government imposed a lockdown back in march. to early voting now, which kicked off in georgia yesterday with long lines and high turnout. voters were forced to wait in hours-long lines at some polling locations. some were there for, get this, nearly ten hours before successfully voting. georgia officials say they saw a record-breaking turnout, which was likely helped by monday's columbus day holiday. however, similarly long waits had marred the state's primary in june, when a record number of voters also turned out. officials said there weren't any issues with voting machines, but they did note the lengthy wait times. democrats had been urging people to vote by mail because of the pandemic, but president trump has repeatedly railed against mail-in voting, falsely saying it's prone to fraud. that is what voter suppression looks like, folks. still ahead, despite the white house being a hotspot for coronavirus lately, the president's chief of staff, mark meadows, refused to wear a mask in front of reporters yesterday. we'll show you that moment from capitol hill. plus, amazon prime day is here. we will take a look at some of the best deals available. i'm looking forward to that. but before we go to break, we want to know, why are you awake? email us your reasons at [email protected] or send me a tweet @kasie. use #waytooearly. and we will read the best answers coming up later in the show. the best answers coming up later in the show into a smaller life? are your asthma treatments just not enough? then see what could open up for you with fasenra. it is not a steroid or inhaler. it is not a rescue medicine or for other eosinophilic conditions. it's an add-on injection for people 12 and up with asthma driven by eosinophils. nearly 7 out of 10 adults with asthma may have elevated eosinophils. fasenra is designed to target and remove eosinophils, a key cause of asthma. it helps to prevent asthma attacks, improve breathing, and can reduce the need for oral steroids like prednisone. fasenra may cause allergic reactions. get help right away if you have swelling of your face, mouth, and tongue, or trouble breathing. don't stop your asthma treatments unless your doctor tells you to. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection, or your asthma worsens. headache and sore throat may occur. could you be living a bigger life? ask an asthma specialist about fasenra. don't settle for silver #1 for diabetic dry skin* #1 for psoriasis symptom relief* and #1 for eczema symptom relief* gold bond champion your skin ♪ i feel good ♪ i knew that i would, now ♪ i feel good ♪ get a dozen double crunch shrimp for one dollar with any steak entrée. only at applebee's. with two new haunted houses, the screams are just getting started. wear your favorite costumes and the fun never ends. come get your halloween on, happening now at universal orlando resort. ♪ welcome back to "way too early"! it's 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west. i'm kasie hunt. let's start with the ongoing confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee amy coney barrett. in yesterday's kickoff, democrats stayed on message, a strategy that "the new york times" called, quote, unusually disciplined. they defended the affordable care act by asking the public to call their senators and urge them to vote against barrett, whom they consider to be a threat to the law. but republicans also stayed on point and even seemed to make a preemptive attack, trying to frame democrats as attacking judge barrett's religion, even though no democrat raised the issue yesterday at all. a number of republicans and president trump's top allies attended yesterday's confirmation hearings without wearing a face mask. senator mike lee, who announced he had been diagnosed with coronavirus just ten days ago, was at the hearing and took his mask off to deliver his opening statement. lee did not respond when he was repeatedly asked by reporters if he had been tested recently. and the president's chief of staff, mark meadows, refused to keep his mask on while speaking to reporters at the capitol. here he is outside of the senate hearing room. >> i tell you what, let me do this. let me pull this away -- >> yep, pull away. >> and then, that way, i can take this off to talk. >> oh! >> well, i'm more than ten feet away. i'm not -- well, i'm not going to talk through a mask. >> that was our colleague and friend kristen wilson, who insisted he put his mask back on. i think all of us that cover the hill are grateful to her. at one point yesterday, senator kamala harris, who participated remotely, raised questions about the health risks of holding the confirmation hearings. chairman lindsey graham said they were taking place in accordance with safety guidance from health experts. >> this hearing should have been postponed. the decision to hold this hearing now is reckless and places facilities workers, janitorial staff and congressional aides and capitol police at risk, not to mention that while tens of millions of americans are struggling to pay their bills, the senate should be prioritizing coronavirus relief and providing financial support to those families. >> i made a decision to try to make the room as safe as possible but to come to work. millions of americans are going to work today. somebody may have tested positive in a restaurant, a military unit, a fire department or a police department. you make it as safe as possible. you manage the risk, and you go to work. i'm not going to be told to be tested by political opponents. i'm going to be tested as an individual when the cdc requires it. i think we can safely conduct this hearing. we have. and i think it's off to a good start. >> this as president trump last night tossed masks to the crowd before kicking off his campaign rally in florida. joining us now, attorney and former gop staffer on the senate judiciary committee, greg nunziata. greg, good to see you! you've seen and worked on so many of these hearings over the years. and you know, i was struck by how completely coordinated both sides were, frankly, in the way that they approached things yesterday. i'm curious if you think that we are going to continue down what feels like a very predictable path here or if we might see something interesting, some fireworks today? what are the risks for amy coney barrett, no matter how preordained the outcome seems here? these are incredibly high-stakes, high-profile events, really the event of her career so far. >> yeah, well, you're right, kasie. first day of the hearing was unusually disciplined. the first day is always the most scripted, and both parties stuck to their script more devotedly than usual. sometimes they seemed like different scripts for different movies. they were trying to do very different things. today is the first day that the judge gets to answer questions and you're right that it looks like she's on her way to swift confirmation, but hearings are open from here out and she will need to demonstrate poise, mastery of the law and ability to put some of her writings in context. democrats will want to seize on a sentence here or a sentence there that seemed to suggest something frightening about her or that she'll rule a certain way and she'll have to carefully explain things in a manner that average voters can understand. and i think she can do that. she's been a law professor and has taught these things to students for years. so i expect her to perform well. but certainly, today and tomorrow are the days of the most peril in the hearings. >> it seems like democrats have essentially made the calculation, greg, too -- and i think this is probably true of republicans as well -- that they don't want to mess anything up. and for republicans, that's obviously getting this nominee onto the court before the election and any potential political changes, shall we say, could upset the possibility she could be seated. but for democrats, it also seems, to me, like let's not mess this up for joe biden, our democratic nominee, when he seems to be so far ahead in the polls. let's keep this focused on health care. is that the sense you get as well, that they are trying to focus on the november election messaging? and do you think it's working? >> yeah, it's fascinating. we saw, if you remember in the kavanaugh hearings, on the first day democrats tried to disrupt it, they tried procedural moves to delay the hearing, and there was talk about this for this process over the last several weeks and we saw none of that yesterday. and it really appears from the way they're conducting themselves and from the way they've spoken to reporters that democrats have decided that they can't stop this confirmation and that they're not going to try and that they don't want to look obstructive and they don't want to take the conversation away from themes they think are helping joe biden, particularly health care. so, you see them here with these placards up of faces of patients. i mean, it's a very kind of political performance. it's almost like an affordable care act rally, rather than a confirmation hearing on the democratic side of the aisle, and it's probably smart politics, but i think it's going to fall fairly thin over the next couple of days when judge barrett is asked to answer questions about the affordable care act. despite what some democrats have said, their hand is not as strong as it sounds here. i think most legal scholars doubt that she would vote to strike down the affordable care act in the case that's coming before her, if she is confirmed this year. >> all right. i guess we will likely find out the answer to that question, because as we've been talking about, she is likely to land on the bench. greg announ greg, thank you for your time. we have been reporting on the president's claim that after recovering from coronavirus, he is now immune. if you want to sound smart today and be smart, tell your friends that the u.s. just confirmed its case of reinfection. a new study shows a 25-year-old nevada man was infected on two separate occasions by two different strains of the virus. he tested positive in april and a second time in june, with two negative tests in between. researchers question any claims of immunity, saying the possibility of reinfection is unknown. great. still ahead, with thousands of planes sitting idol amid the pandemic, one airline is still offering the inflight dining experience from the ground! that's next in "the cooler." "way too early" back in just a moment. oler." "way too early" back in just a moment a live bookkeeper is helping customize quickbooks for me. okay, you're all set up. thanks! that was my business gi, this one's casual. get set up right with a live bookkeeper with intuit quickbooks. - with the ninja foodito intelligesmart xl grill.ing just pick your protein, select your doneness, and let the grill monitor your food. it also turns into an air fryer. bring outdoor grilling flavors indoors with the grill that grills for you. unlike ordinary memory want supplements-ter? neuriva has clinically proven ingredients that fuel 5 indicators of brain performance. memory, focus, accuracy, learning, and concentration. try our new gummies for 30 days and see the difference. diddeodorants onlysome alumask odor? secret aluminum free helps eliminate odor instead of just masking it. and is made with 3x more odor fighters. with secret, keep it fresh every day. secret. time now to gather around the water cooler for things that will have people talking today. now that we are mostly spending our time at home, do you ever miss some of the generally mundane parts of life, like airline food and cramped seats? well, an airline has just the thing for you. singapore airlines is turning two of its grounded airbus a-380s into restaurants for two days this month and parking them at changi airport. meals start at $31 for an economy meal all the way to over $400 for a meal in a suite. tickets for the event sold out in 30 minutes. capacity is going to be reduced to half the plane's capacity to maintain social distancing. i miss flying. i don't know if i miss airplane food so much that i would pay for it without having bought an airline ticket. anyway. here's some trivia that we hope you will never need. did you know cougars can run up to 50 miles an hour? so, what do you do if one is stalking you? nbc news correspondent catie beck has the story of one man's terrifying encounter. >> reporter: a serene mountain hike suddenly a race to survive. >> my adrenaline was pumping so much. >> reporter: on saturday, avid hiker kyle burgess was climbing the trails of utah's slate canyon park when he noticed an unwanted follower. >> no! no! go away! go away! please go away! >> reporter: a cougar stalking burgess just after he'd spotted her four cubs along the trail. burgess starts recording the chase, lasting nearly six minutes. >> go away. go get your babies. i'm not going to back down. >> reporter: at first, the cougar pursues burgess at a slow pace, but soon, she closes in. >> no! >> reporter: lunging at charging at him, flashing teeth and claws. >> i definitely felt like, yeah, i was going to get hurt. >> reporter: the cougar continues charging and hissing at burgess. >> come on, dude. i don't feel like dying today. >> reporter: in fear, he hurls a rock toward the wild cat, quickly causing it to retreat and dart away. >> i can't even explain what i thought this would happen, because this is all just crazy to me. >> oh, my god! i'm so glad he's okay! that's terrifying! our thanks to nbc's catie beck for that report. hope you're awake now. still ahead, we are going to go live to cnbc for an early look at what's driving the day on wall street. and as we go to break, this date in history. in 2010, rescuers in chile used a missilelike escape capsule to pull 33 men to freedom, 69 days after they were trapped in a collapsed mine a half mile under ground. ne a half mile under ground [ crowd chanting ] >> reporter: a sense of great pride for a job well done. mission accomplished. in just 22 hours and 39 minutes. with more than 800 people working day and night to get all the miners out. the entire operation planned and carried out with the precision of a moon shot. the precision of m aoon shot (vo) with t-mobile for business, your business has an easy choice. the largest 5g network... award-winning customer satisfaction... insanely great value. choose. all. three. ready when you are. if your gums bleed when you brush, the answer is yes. the clock may be ticking towards worse... parodontax is 3x more effective at removing plaque, the main cause of bleeding gums parodontax still a father. but now a friend. still an electric car. just more electrifying. still a night out. but everything fits in. still hard work. just a little easier. still a legend. just more legendary. chevrolet. making life's journey, just better. welcome back. time now for business. disney is moving its primary focus to streaming as the entertainment world continues to navigate through the changing times of the coronavirus. for that, let's bring in cnbc's karen tso, who is live from london. karen, what can you tell us about what disney's doing? >> good morning. well, disney is restructuring its sprawling media and entertainment operations to effectively focus in on the streaming division. that would be its primary focus. the group is accelerating direct to consumer, not saying it's exactly because of covid, but it has accelerated those digital trends. so, it will centralize its media business into one single entity responsible for content, ad sales, and disney plus. coronavirus, as you may know, has had a huge toll on the theme parks business and movies, but it has accelerated the amount of subscribers on the streaming platforms. it had about 100 million customers at the end of august. recently, the activist investor dan loeb called for the $3 billion dividend to be scrapped and the money channeled into new content for streaming. meantime, it is amazon prime day. it is here, runs through tomorrow, a 48-hour bonanza for shoppers with about one million items discounted. it was made to take place in july but was postponed because of the pandemic. prime members will be receiving lightning deals. you'll have about 15 minutes to complete those deals. and also on the best bargains, there is limited availability, so be ready to make that purchase if you see something. expect a lot of stay-at-home purchases. i was just on the site of what's trending this stage. things, for instance, back support on office chairs, new devices, smart devices, that's all clicking at this stage. so, toys, i would say, is the other category, if you're preparing for christmas. and as a result, a number of other major retailers launching sales early. target and walmart also having special events this week. >> so, there you go, everyone. if you are awake "way too early," what better time to be getting your prime shopping in before those deals go away? cnbc's karen tso. thank you so much for being here this morning. we really appreciate it. >> thank you. and earlier today in the show, we asked, why are you awake? this reply writes, it's actually this girl's bedtime here in melbourne, australia. aw, so cute. goodnight! from deb, ruby and lilly decided i should be up. also very cute. and from kevin -- driving my 15-year-old daughter to her hitting lesson before hitting lesson before virtual school. my thoughts with all the parents out there. i also have ray who wrote, i'm awake because i want to hear the hint of glee in your voice when reporting the score of the astros/rays alcs game. i'm glad we're on the same page on that. coming up next here, we have a look at axios' "1 big thing." and senator richard blumenthal yesterday urged amy coney barrett to recuse herself from any case involving the election. he's going to join the conversation. plus, house majority leader steny hoyer will give us an update on things on capitol hill and the ongoing coronavirus relief negotiations. "morning joe" just moments away. relief negotiations. "morning joe" just moments away. and that sticked to my mind. so, when $1 a day came out, i said, "why not"? why not just utilize that resource. and walmart made that path open for me. without the $1 a day program, i definitely don't think i'd be in school right now. each week for me in school is just an accomplishment. i feel proud every step of the way. (d(burke) isi nothing happened.appened. (driver) nothing happened? (burke) nothing happened. (driver) sure looks like something happened. (burke) well, you've been with farmers for three years with zero auto claims. (driver) yeah? (burke) so you earned your policy perk: accident forgiveness. now instead of this being something, it' s- (driver) it's nothing! (burke) get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. they should really turn this ride off. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ (burke vo) start with a quote at 1-800-farmers state of the art technology makes it brilliant. the visionary lexus nx. lease the 2021 nx 300 for $359 a month for 36 months. experience amazing. at your lexus dealer. less oral steroids. taking my treatment at home. nucala is a once-monthly add-on injection for severe eosinophilic asthma. not for sudden breathing problems. allergic reactions can occur. get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. infections that can cause shingles have occurred. don't stop steroids unless told by your doctor. tell your doctor if you have a parasitic infection. may cause headache, injection site reactions, back pain, and fatigue. ask your doctor about nucala at home. find your nunormal with nucala. ask your doctor about nucala at home. honey honey? new nyquil severe honey is maximum strength cold and flu medicine with soothing honey-licious taste. nyquil honey. the nighttime, sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever best sleep with a cold medicine. welcome back. joining me with a look at axios a.m., the cofounder of axios jim vandehei. walk us through the loyalty index you've got. >> first, good morning, kasie. so we had a reporter for the show julia bart who combed through every single thing that every member of congress has said about trump, especially in his most controversial moments. we took that, plus their voting record, and identified the trumpiest republicans from top to bottom. and just showed sort of how loyal -- we know they're loyal, insanely loyal to trump. 85% of republicans in the house and senate have almost never said even the slightest negative word about the president in public. at home, on social media or to the national media. and the reason that this matters is that it just shows how much the republican party is actually the trump party. and that win or lose in november, trump's not going away and their loyalty to trump is not going away. because he's been able to have almost this mesmerizing spell over republicans and get them to go silent even when you talk to them in private, even in their heart of hearts they don't want to stay silent. they do out of a mix of love and a mix of fear. >> yeah. and you counted -- you lined up these critical moments here. 2017, '18, '19 and that percentage of people who were willing to criticize the president, who seemed to tick downward with time. which i also found -- it was interesting. i know you recently went to north dakota and sat down with senator kevin cramer to talk about the pandemic. i want to show everybody a little bit of your conversation with him. watch. >> i think -- i think president trump's default position is generally for individual responsibility and individual outcomes and so while he's said it's up to you, that's a respect. that is in and of itself the ultimate respect. >> so you're talking about a mask mandate there and he's basically saying i don't think think people would have done that, but we know that people do listen to this president when he speaks. >> yeah. we had a very feisty exchange. senator cramer is i think number four on the list of the trumpiest republicans. he calms himself a trump republican. he says he's not even the trumpiest person in his household, his wife is. in north dakota, people love him, more than they love the party, they love his style. they said nothing breaks that and it makes it hard on republicans when the base, when the voter loves the president for you to stand up to him. even when you might want to. we had a very tense exchange over the coronavirus and the mask and why he never said anything about the way trump handled it and there he was a little -- again, a little bit defensive because i think in his heart of hearts he does think that trump should have handled it differently, especially knowing that people should have worn masks and should have socially distanced and taken it more serious early on. win or lose, these republicans -- this is the party. all of the infrastructure, all of the people that come out, it's so trumpian. i think this is such a moment for republicans because it's usually -- people love ronald reagan. but the party still had real infrastructure, had real standing, real support. and one of the questions that will bedevil the republicans if trump loses, can they become the republican party if trump is still on twitter, trump is still trying to shape the party in his image as opposed to the small government, more traditional version of conservatism that you and i are familiar with for the vast majority of our reporting lives. >> jim, do you think that this is -- this helps explain -- because that makes total sense to me in terms of how this -- the party is going to move forward. they may feel like they can shake trump off, but i think your point is a good one that he's going to continue on in some way. that question to me has always been, well f he's a loser, does he lose that mystique or that what it is that people love about him if he's seen as a loser does that go away, does that help explain -- we talk about him saying a rigged election, but part of me wonders if it isn't about maintaining the support and being seen as a loser? >> he hates the idea of being seen as a loser, he understands he loses his appeal if that to were to happen. if he says it's rigged 40% of the country will believe it was rigged and will probably stand with him. on the flip side of loyalty, go back to the "access hollywood" tape and we dug up this. i think there were 49 republicans who were critical of him about the "access hollywood" tape. 25 of them are nothing longer elected republicans. there's a price to pay if you're against him, whereas there's a big benefit, you won't face a stiff challenge if you're with him. that will be the test. yes, if he gets blown out, maybe his street cred with the base dies but who is going to step in and fill that void? mitch mcconnell might have power but he's not a charismatic leader who is going to take hold of the republican party. it's probably trump's. >> or donald trump jr., perhaps. thank you. we'll be reading axios a.m. in a little while. you can sign up at signup.axios.com. for that point, if in fact, these republicans -- traditional republicans don't have a home in whatever the trump party will be after this election i wonder how many of them will become democrats and that could push democrats into a more centrist type of place. i think some of that may be on display today during the supreme court hearings. keep an eye out for that. that was "way too early." thank you for getting up with us. "morning joe" starts right now. put aside all of the issues of what political implications a rally has and jut put that aside and look at it purely in the context of public health. we know that that is asking for trouble when you do that. we have seen that when you have situations of congregant settings with a lot of people without masks and the data speak for themselves. >> with that warning from dr. anthony fauci, president trump's rally in florida, everybody squished together. governor ron desantis high fiving multiple people and