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US election 2020

By Fernando Alfonso III, CNN

Updated 11:42 a.m. ET, October 25, 2020

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12:31 p.m. ET, October 24, 2020

Biden says to supporters: "I’m not banning fracking in Pennsylvania or anywhere else."

From CNN’s Sarah Mucha with Lauren Koenig

Joe Biden is continuing to clarify his position on fracking, telling supporters at an event in Bucks County on Saturday.

"I’m not banning fracking in Pennsylvania or anywhere else. I’m going to protect Pennsylvanian jobs, period," the former vice president said.

Some context: Fracking is an important industry in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

The remarks come as Biden has had to clarify his position on getting rid of the oil industry after Thursday night's debate, and as President Trump continues to use this as a line of attack against his opponent.

Biden claimed that he "never said I oppose fracking" when pressed by President Donald Trump on the issue during Thursday night's presidential debate.

"You said it on tape," Trump replied.

In 2019, Biden said "we would make sure it's eliminated" when asked about the future of coal and fracking; in 2020 he said he opposed "new fracking."

Biden's written plan, conversely, never included a full ban on fracking or even on new fracking. Rather, it proposes "banning new oil and gas permitting on public lands and waters" — not ending all new fracking anywhere or ending all existing fracking on public lands and waters.

12:19 p.m. ET, October 24, 2020

More than 6.8 million votes have been cast in Texas

From CNN's Ashley Killough

Voters line up to cast their ballots in Dallas on October 15. LM Otero/AP

More than 6.8 million people have cast their vote in Texas, including the first 11 days of early voting, according to data posted on the Texas Secretary of State website Saturday morning.

On Friday, 450,533 people voted in person, bringing the total in-person votes to 6,040,431. Cumulative ballots-by-mail so far this cycle were 816,828.

Some context: Comparing early voting data from 2016 can be complicated for multiple reasons, in addition to the pandemic.

Texas has three weeks of in-person early voting this cycle compared to two weeks in 2016. The state is also tracking early voting data from all 254 counties this cycle, but it only collected data from the top 15 most populous counties in 2016.

Still, when looking at the data from the first 11 days of early voting in the top five most populous counties in both cycles, turnout has increased by 360,989, an increase of about 14%. It's worth noting that those counties represent 42% of all registered voters.

The last day of early voting in Texas is Oct. 30.

11:22 a.m. ET, October 24, 2020

Joe Biden tests negative for Covid-19 ahead of Pennsylvania trip

From CNN’s Sarah Mucha

Joe Biden tested negative today for Covid-19 ahead of his trip through Pennsylvania on Saturday, according to his campaign. This is the first test result the campaign has disclosed following Thursday night’s debate.

"Vice President Biden underwent PCR testing for Covid-19 today and Covid-19 was not detected," the campaign said.

11:15 a.m. ET, October 24, 2020

CDC highlights safety tips for in-person voting ahead of election day

From CNN's Lauren Mascarenhas

People cast their ballots in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on October 20. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images

With Election Day less than two weeks away, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is highlighting some additional tips for in-person voters.

The CDC has encouraged Americans to vote safely this election season by following basic public health measures and considering a variety of voting options, including voting by mail.

The agency on Thursday reiterated the importance of the basic preventative measures while voting in person: social distancing, mask wearing and washing hands. It also advised people bring their own supplies to voting stations, including pens, an extra mask, and all necessary forms and identification.

The CDC’s message to voters ahead of Election Day: Make sure you are registered. The agency says this can limit the amount of time spent at a polling station.

Some other tips from the CDC:

Check how you can vote, including early voting and special options for people with disabilities, and those living in long-term care facilities.
Know where and when you can vote, and plan to get there in a safe way that limits contact with others. The agency advises avoiding crowded public transportation options.
Finally, be prepared. The CDC notes that the more prepared voters are, the less time they have to spend at voting stations. The agency suggests filling in election forms and preparing a list or sample ballot of choices ahead of time.

11:07 a.m. ET, October 24, 2020

Trump's schedule today takes him to 3 coronavirus hotspots

From CNN's Noah Broder

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base to travel to campaign rallies in Florida on October 23. Evan Vucci/AP

President Trump travels to three Covid-19 hotspots for rallies on Saturday.

The President will speak in the battleground states of North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin just as those states continue to show higher infection numbers and rates.

Saturday’s events will come a day after the US saw its highest ever tally of daily Covid-19 cases with 83,757. The previous high was 77,362 cases, reported on July 16.

The President’s first stop will be in Lumberton, North Carolina.

CNN reported Friday that North Carolina set a record for the highest daily increase of newly reported cases since the start of the pandemic. According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services website, there were 2,716 new cases reported in the state on Friday.

Trump will then head to Circleville, Ohio, for his second rally of the day. In Ohio, the health department reported 2,518 new Covid-19 cases Friday, the highest number of daily new cases since the pandemic began. Friday's numbers also mark the third day in a row the state surpassed its record of daily new cases.

The President’s final stop of the day will take him to Waukesha, Wisconsin. Wisconsin is having one of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks in the entire country and has a top five per-capita infection rate over the past week, behind just the Dakotas and Montana. On Wednesday, Wisconsin also reported their highest number of daily deaths since the start of the pandemic with 48.

10:55 a.m. ET, October 24, 2020

Trump tries to cast doubt on mail-in ballots after casting his vote in-person in Florida

From CNN's Alison Main

President Donald Trump leaves after casting his ballot at the Palm Beach County Public Library in West Palm Beach, Florida, on October 24. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

After emerging from voting early in-person in Florida, President Trump continued to try to cast doubt on mail-in voting, saying his chosen method was "much more secure."

"It was a very secure vote, much more secure than when you send in a ballot. I can tell you that. Everything was perfect, very strict, right by the rules. When you send in your ballot, it could never be secure like that," the President said.

Voting experts have disagreed with Trump’s ongoing assault against mail-in voting and his questioning of its security and reliability.

Trump, who changed his voter registration to Florida in September last year, told reporters it was an "honor" to be voting in the state, where he held rallies on Friday. Florida is a key battleground in this year’s election, and both campaigns have put a lot of resources into the state.

Some data: A CNN poll on Florida this week showed 50% of likely voters say support Joe Biden while 46% said Trump. The difference between the two is right at the poll's margin of sampling error.

"I don't think there's ever been anything like this, this tremendous spirit. I hear we're doing very well in Florida, and we're doing very well, I hear, every place else," Trump said Saturday after voting in West Palm Beach.

When asked who he voted for, the President said he voted for "a guy named Trump."

Watch:

10:55 a.m. ET, October 24, 2020

President Trump has arrived in Florida to cast his early vote

President Trump has arrived at a library in West Palm Beach, Florida, to cast his early vote in this year’s general election.

9:18 a.m. ET, October 24, 2020

The top issues that came up during Trump and Biden's last debate

From CNN's Zachary B. Wolf

President Trump disciplined himself for Thursday night's presidential debate and dispensed with the interruptions. And with former Vice President Joe Biden able to talk this time, unlike in the first debate, there was a serious policy discussion.

Here's a breakdown of some of the key issues:

Coronavirus: Trump continued to downplay the severity of the virus and defend his early reaction — restricting travel from China — and promising, despite the facts, that a vaccine will be ready shortly. Biden, pointing to the death toll from the virus, repeatedly held up a mask and said he'd push common-sense advice to states to encourage mask-wearing, social-distancing and restrictions on things like dining in restaurants if there are outbreaks in a state. Trump continues to argue he should be judged for the pre-Covid economy and the pre-Covid reality. He said millions could have died from Covid, as if that absolves him from having to deal with the fact that hundreds of thousands have died on his watch.
Health care: Trump still thinks that Obamacare — the Affordable Care Act — should be invalidated. He has spent years promising a plan to replace it. But there is no plan, as of yet. Biden, on the other hand, wants to one-up the Affordable Care Act by adding the public health care option Democrats were unable to add to Obamacare 10 years ago. There's a fundamental disagreement here about whether a public option equals socialized medicine. Trump says yes and Biden says no.
Policing, justice and racism: Biden called Trump the most racist president. Trump said he's done more for Black Americans than any other president. What's the truth? Trump did sign a sentencing reform bill. But it didn't solve the problem of over-incarceration, no matter what he says. Biden did certainly mastermind the 1994 crime bill that helped create over-incarceration. The difference now is Trump wants to demonize protesters for racial justice and paint himself as the law and order President.
Immigration: Somehow Trump was accusing Biden of inhumanity on immigration, arguing that the Obama administration began the policy of family separation. There's a kernel of truth there, but the Trump administration had institutionalized it before the outcry made them stop. There are still more than 500 kids whose parents can't be found and, in a major moment, Trump said at the debate, "They are so well taken care of."

8:42 a.m. ET, October 24, 2020

How Biden and Trump's campaign cash compares in final stretch to Election Day

From CNN's Fredreka Schouten

Former Vice President Joe Biden and aligned Democratic committees maintained a substantial cash advantage of more than $107 million over President Trump and his political operation in the final weeks of the campaign, according to a new round of filings that capture last-minute fundraising and spending.

Here's what the reports show:

Biden is outspending the President in the campaign's homestretch: Biden's campaign alone brought in $130 million during the first two weeks of October and spent more than $145 million. That's a spending rate of more than $10 million a day over the two-week period.
Trump, by comparison, raised nearly $43.6 million between October 1 and October 14 and spent $63.1 million, according to filings Thursday night with the Federal Election Commission.

The President's political operation has struggled to compete financially with Biden in recent months, and Trump has headed to high-dollar fundraising events to shore up his cash position in the waning days of the presidential campaign.

On Thursday — just hours before the pair's final confrontation on the debate stage — Trump made an appearance at a Nashville fundraiser that was expected to bring in $8 million for the campaign. On Friday, Trump campaign officials announced a $26 million haul around the debate for the campaign and affiliated GOP committees, marking the reelection effort's largest digital fundraising day.

The President insists he has enough funds to prevail on Nov. 3 — as he did four years ago, despite being outspent by his then-rival Hillary Clinton.

"We don't need money," Trump said during Thursday night's debate. "We have plenty of money. In fact, we beat Hillary Clinton with a tiny fraction of the money that she was able" to raise.