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Presidential Candidate Responses to E-mail Probe on Trail; Did FBI Director Make Mistake; Iraqi Special Forces Only Hundreds of Meters from Mosul; Life After ISIS Rule; Trump's Uphill Battle to 270 Electoral Votes; 3rd Party Candidate Attacked in Robo-Call by White Nationalist Trump Supporter; Clinton Supporters Concern for Candidate in E-mail Probe; Vatican, U.S. Back Venezuelan Talks. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired November 01, 2016 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00] ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. Ahead this hour --
(HEADLINES)
SESAY: Hello, and welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Isha Sesay. This is NEWSROOM L.A.
The U.S. is one week from choosing a new president and we are learning the FBI's review of the e-mails belonging to Clinton's top aide, Huma Abedin, will not be completed by Election Day. The Clinton campaign wants more information about the e-mails but they are not likely to get it. Sources say that Director Comey will not comment further until the investigation is concluded.
Comey has been under fire from all sides, including former attorneys general, Michael Mukasey, Eric Holder and Alberto Gonzales.
But Donald Trump's campaign has been energized by the e-mail development. The Republican candidate has been on the attack ever since the news broke last Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I have a son named Baron, and I want to tell you, she's a terrible example for my son and for the children in this country. That I can tell you.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: Hillary is the one that broke the law over and over and over again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: For more on how Hillary Clinton is responding, here's CNN's Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(CHEERING) JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, Hillary Clinton is dismissing the FBI's review of newly discovered e- mails that might be related to her use of a private server.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: By all means, they should look at them. And I am sure they reach the same conclusion they did when they looked at my e-mails for the last year. There is no case here.
(CHEERING)
JOHNS: Clinton is warning undecided voters and her anxious supporters in battleground Ohio not to lose sight of what is at stake so close to the election.
CLINTON: I think most people have decided a long time ago what they think about all of this.
In these last days, let's not get distracted from tremendous real choice in this election and the consequences for your future.
(CHEERING)
JOHNS: As the Democratic nominee confronts the latest controversy involving her e-mail practices, she's turning attention to Donald Trump, accusing him of damaging the Democratic process with his rhetoric.
CLINTON: Donald Trump is doing his best to confuse, mislead and discourage the American people. I mean, he's such a downer, right?
JOHN: That, as Clinton and her allies continue to question Comey's decision to alert congressional leaders to the new e-mails on Friday.
CLINTON: A lot of you may be asking what the new e-mail story is about and why in the world the FBI would decide to jump in to an election with no evidence of any wrongdoing with just days to go.
(BOOING)
CLINTON: That's a good question.
JOHNS: Senate minority leader, Harry Reid, even sent a letter to Comey suggesting by taking it public he may have broken the law intended to keep federal employees from directly supporting candidates: "Your highly selective approach to publicizing information and your timing was intended for the success or failure of a partisan candidate or political group."
With eight days until Election Day, Clinton now holds a five-point advantage nationally over Trump in the latest CNN poll of polls,
Clinton is sticking to her core strategy, questioning Trump's fitness to serve.
CLINTON: Imagine him plunging us in to a war because somebody got under his very thin skin. Now, thankfully, he's never been in a position where he had to help make life-and-death decisions.
JOHNS: Her campaign hitting that message with a television ad evoking an old theme, the fear of nuclear war --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: One, two, three --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHNS: -- featuring an actress from the iconic 1964 Lyndon Johnson's Daisy ad to paint Trump as reckless.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: This is me in '64. The fear we had of nuclear war, I never thought our children would have to deal with that again. And to see that coming forward in this election is really scary.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Joining me is CNN law enforcement contributor, Steve Moore. He was a supervisor special agent for the FBI before he retired.
Steve, good to have you with us.
STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Good to be here, thanks.
SESAY: How are you reading the decision by James Comey to notify lawmakers of this review?
[02:05:08] MOORE: I think people are getting this way wrong. Maybe they don't understand how the FBI works. They are saying James Comey on -- 11 days before the election got notification there were some e- mails out there floating around that could be pertinent to the Hillary Clinton case and notified Congress he was reopening the investigation. No, that's not what happened. Two weeks beforehand, he was notified of these e-mails. If he was of a mind to simply to reopen the investigation and notify Congress he would have done it two weeks before. What he did is say, look harder, tell me how serious this is, because we're getting in to an election. The agents then came back to him two weeks later with information on what they had found, not the ephemeral e-mails that might be pertinent, and he reopened the investigation.
As a supervisor, I can tell you that I opened and closed investigations. To open or reopen an investigation, you have to have two things, you have to have a reasonable indication that a crime has occurred and you have to have reasonable indication that the person you are investigating did the crime. But reopening has one more thing it needs, information not previously obtained. So people that say these might be the same old things, they are wrong. You can't reopen the case on that.
SESAY: He said himself, he has made clear that they may or may not be related, Steve, to the initial investigation into Hillary Clinton's e- mail. The question people have and are puzzled by is the fact he would do it
so close to an election. Even if it wasn't his intention to meddle, that could be the unintended consequence here. And it has Senator Harry Reid saying he may have violated the Hatch Act. Did he?
MOORE: Harry Reid is much closer to the "National Enquirer" than he is the Oracle of Delphi, first of all. The director has come nowhere near the Hatch Act. At worst -- and I'm not saying this is the case --
SESAY: Just so tell our viewers, the Hatch Act is a law in place barring political activity by federal employees, correct?
MOORE: Yes. What Harry Reid would have to believe there was an intent to influence the election on behalf of Donald Trump. That would be the crime. That's a huge stretch for anybody. I will say, I'm not a political person here. I'm an FBI former special agent. I think that talking about this and releasing the information 11 days before the election is one of the most extreme things that the FBI has ever done. So if James Comey does not have good, hard information, or at least smoke from possibly a smoking gun, this could be one of the great miscalculations.
SESAY: Are you satisfied with what was put out there? Senator Chuck Grassley, a leading Republican Senator, says the information is insufficient and leaves room for speculation. How satisfied are you with the statements put out surrounding the FBI's actions. Does that give you pause?
MOORE: I don't know whether a statement should have been made. The FBI, as a matter of course, does not tell people when they start and end investigations. They just don't.
SESAY: Why now?
MOORE: I think because -- imagine this scenario. Imagine there is a smoking gun in there. I'm not alleging there is. I think there might be. But if there is a smoking gun, and Hillary Clinton went on to be elected, and two weeks afterwards, the FBI brought charges against her, or even asked for a special prosecutor, imagine the outcry of saying, wait a minute, you knew this a month before the election and didn't tell the American people.
SESAY: Steve Moore, pleasure. Thank you.
MOORE: Thanks.
SESAY: Earlier, I spoke with political strategist, Max Zelder (ph); and Republican consultant, John Thomas, about Clinton's e-mail scandal and whether or not the FBI director made a huge mistake.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN THOMAS, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: I think Director Comey did the right thing despite the political consequences. And the way he looked at it, speculation of course, he had two weeks or his team had two weeks to review it. We don't know if there was a smoking gun in there or not, but I think he figure, if it turns out -- if Hillary Clinton is elected and later action occurs that she is found guilty of criminal wrongdoing, the American people will riot, not so much against Hillary Clinton but the institution of the FBI. So I think he was trying to protect the FBI and putting politics aside, quite frankly.
SESAY: Max?
[02:09:52] MAX ZELDER (ph), POLITICAL STRATEGIST: The fact that Comey has been condemned, not just by Democrats like Harry Reid, but by George W. Bush's ethics lawyer, George W. Bush's attorney general, over 30 state attorneys general, I think it weights it towards the spectrum that he likely messed up here. Hillary Clinton had no wrongdoing up to this point shown.
Meanwhile, just today, we have another revelation on Donald Trump's taxes breaking in "The New York Times," that he likely broke laws and hid tens of millions of dollars in reportable income. And yet, the FBI is not going to drop an announcement like that.
(CROSSTALK)
SESAY: Let me just say, that's "The New York Time's" reporting, not CNN.
THOMAS: Well, the Democratic Party and top-ranking officials were praising Comey as the model of government service a few weeks ago, but the table has turned because you don't like what he's saying.
ZELDER (ph): I think Comey made a mistake when he came out in public the first time and I think he made a mistake when he came out the second time. I think the investigation should be done behind closed doors. Investigations shouldn't be litigated in the public sphere several weeks before an election.
SESAY: Let me read you part of what Senator Chuck Grassley, Republican lawmaker, said in the letter to James Comey. Let's put it on the screen for our viewers: In part, "Unfortunately, your letter failed to give Congress and the American people enough context to evaluate the significance or full meaning of this development. Without additional context, your disclosure is not fair to Congress, the American people, or Secretary Clinton."
Is he wrong, John?
THOMAS: Potentially. Look, I think both parties, including Hillary Clinton, are saying they want the e-mails released. There are different motives. Donald Trump and Republicans believe there's a smoking gun, so please release the e-mails so we can use it to defeat her. Hillary Clinton is using it to help the appearance she did nothing wrong. But Hillary Clinton is walking a very delicate line here. She has gone to full war with the FBI. That's dangerous. She might get what she wished for. The "L.A. Times" reported tonight that a preliminary review that might have taken several weeks, they will rush a preliminary review in the next couple of days. They didn't say whether or not they will make a statement as to what they found, but if they do, and there is a smoking gun, she's finished.
SESAY: But Grassley's point, the statement made by Comey was too vague, that it has -- admitting he's thrown it out there and it has opened the door to speculation.
THOMAS: It has. And I think both sides agree more information should be put forth.
ZELDER (ph): Right. And remember who this is. Chuck Grassley was one of the first Senators willing to appear with Donald Trump. Before Donald Trump cleared the field in the Republican primary, Grassley was holding fundraisers with Trump. The fact that the top ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee is saying that Comey has done this wrong, the fact that Glenn Beck said this is one of the most irresponsible things he's ever seen, shows it is bipartisan, the anger right now, of James Comey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Our thanks to Max and John.
U.S. President Barack Obama says, if Hillary Clinton is elected, Obama says she will be criticized for being a woman and being ambitious. Mr. Obama compared it to the unfounded Birther movement that saw Donald Trump question whether he was born in the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think the equivalent will be she's tired, she's moody, she's being emotional.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's just something about her?
OBAMA: There's something about her.
When men are ambitious, it's taken for granted. Well, of course, they should be ambitious. When women are ambitious, why? That theme I think will continue throughout her presidency. And it's contributed to the notion that somehow she is hiding something.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: North Carolina Senator Richard Burr is bringing headlines over a remark he made in private about Hillary Clinton. Here's what Burr said over the weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RICHARD BURR, (R), NORTH CAROLINA: Nothing made me feel any better than I walked in to a gun shop I think yesterday in Oxford and there was a copy of "Rifleman" on the counter. It had a picture of Hillary Clinton on the front of it. I was a little bit shocked at that, it didn't have a bull's eye on it.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: The Republican Senator is now saying he's sorry. In a statement to CNN, Burr said, "The comment I made is inappropriate and I apologize for it."
Ohio Governor John Kasich has followed through on his promise not to vote for Trump. He was running against Trump for the Republican nomination. And on Monday, he voted not for Hillary Clinton but instead for Senator John McCain of Arizona. Kasich said he wrote in McCain for president, then voted a straight Republican ticket for the rest of the races. McCain was the Republican presidential nominee in 2008.
[02:15:47] Time for a quick break. Iraqi troops are quickly advancing on Mosul. And just outside of the city, men in one town are getting a fresh shave for the first time in two years. Their life after ISIS, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(SPORTS REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Iraqi Special Forces are said to be hundreds of meters away from Mosul. Witnesses say they can see the Iraqi forces in open land outside of the city. It has been two weeks since the start of the offensive to liberate Iraq's second largest city. ISIS has controlled it for two years. The fighting is expected to intensify once troops move inside the city.
Joining me now via Skype, CNN military analyst, retired Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona.
Colonel Francona, thank you for being with us.
They are rapidly approaching Mosul on three fronts. Talk about the calculation for when they actually enter the city, when the right moment is militarily.
RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It could be any moment now. In fact, the Iraqi counterterrorism forces claim they have penetrated in to one neighborhood on the extreme eastern side of the city. I think things are going to schedule, maybe ahead of schedule. They are attacking on three sides. One side is still open. That's the Western approach. They are trying to get one of these Iraqi Shia militias to block the road which is 60 kilometer west of Mosul. They have to block that escape route for ISIS to get in to Syria and prevent resupply coming in from Syria. Once that blocked, they will have the city surrounded. I think that's when we will see the move to go in to the city. A few more days yet.
[02:20:24] SESAY: We talked about this briefly in the past, they are operating on multiple fronts, is a challenge for so many parties.
FRANCONA: This is where American advisers are invaluable. They are good at this and helping with the Iraqi's with the advise-and-assist mission, they're making sure of that command and control. We brought in a lot of logistics and communication support and we can help Iraqis with bringing in air power where it is need also. We were concerned with how the Iraqi were going to approach Mosul and how long it was going to take. They have done a good job. The counterterrorism forces on the outskirts of the city are the elite unit, U.S. Special operations trained. I think they will wait until everything is in place and start to penetrate slowly. As you said, the intense fighting is yet to begin. Once they get in to this city, they get in to the war and the booby traps, minefields, oil trenches and snipers that ISIS has prepared the last two and a half years.
SESAY: You mentioned U.S. aerial power. How does the role of that shift of moving to an urban setting this close contact?
FRANCONA: Yeah, that's a real problem. When they are on the outskirts and you are operating in the open, air power can be more devastating and effective. Once you get to the city you have to worry about civilian casualties. We know that ISIS will use human shields and already used them in certain instances. You have to be careful when you deploy air power in an urban area. We have special munitions for that but it will limit the effectiveness of the air fire and it will be house-to-house and street-by-street. And the Iraqis will have to go slowly, methodically and carefully, but they have the skill and power to do this.
SESAY: Are you confident they have the skill and power to do that?
FRANCONA: I am. We've had two years to rebuild the Iraqi army. We put a lot of effort into this. The Iraqis weren't starting from scratch. There was capability there. We have done a good job getting them up to speed. Look at the numbers. They're overwhelming. The Iraqis have put everything in to this. They are going to retake Mosul. The question is, and I think it's an important question, what is the human cost? What will do it to the infrastructure? How many civilian tragedies will we have? The Iraqis have to be careful. If Ramadi, Tikrit are examples of how the Iraqis will do this, they cause a lot of infrastructure damage and civilian casualties. And with the American advisors there, we will try to caution them to do this in a much more methodical, much less costly manner.
SESAY: Colonel Francona, always appreciate the insight. Thank you so much.
FRANCONA: Good to be with you.
SESAY: Just outside Mosul, people are celebrating their freedom from ISIS. Men can now shave, smoke and wear what they want for the first time in two years.
CNN's Michael Holmes reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Peshmerga front line, 12 kilometers from Mosul, and within eyesight, the ISIS-held town of Alsam Kia (ph).
And at the end of a dusty track, five kilometers in the other direction, Alfaz Ula (ph), four days ago, under the iron fist of ISIS rule. Today, free.
"We're so glad this nightmare is over," this man tells us. "These past days, we live in celebration."
Today, he's the busiest man in town, more than 50 customers a day, old and young, since ISIS left.
Across the street, with another barber, savoring his first shave since ISIS came more than two years ago.
"Under ISIS, we could do nothing without their permission," he says. "The first hour after they left, we felt normal again."
(on camera): One of the most visual aspects of life under ISIS, the men were not allowed to shave. Barber shops had virtually no business. Check this out. Even the faces of the people on the signs outside were taped over so that you couldn't see their faces, their hair cuts, their beards. The tape has now come off and business is booming.
[02:24:58] (voice-over): A few shops down, bad habits renewed.
Smoking a crime under ISIS, but today a breath of freedom for olive farmer, Mahmoud, who told us it's like a black cloud has lifted.
(voice-over): I just asked him how he felt compared to a week ago, and you saw his face. We don't really need to translate it. A happy man.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
HOLMES: Down the street, joy at liberation. Anguish, though, too, for this lady.
(on camera): This lady is telling us when is came into Mosul, her son, who was a major in the Peshmerga, was arrested and taken away. This is his wife, these are his children. He has four kids. They have not seen him since. And obviously, they fear the worst.
(voice-over): The story is repeated across the battlefield. Towns freed, people relieved, happy, but scarred as well. Much damage has been done to bricks and mortar, but also to societies and psyches, neighbors and friends.
For today, though, here, now, the relief is palpable.
Michael Holmes, near Mosul, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Our Michael Holmes there.
Coming up next for viewers in Asia, "State of the Race" with Kate Bolduan.
Next here on CNN NEWSROOM L.A., how Venezuela is trying to bridge the political divide at the negotiating table, not in the streets.
Plus, a white nationalist attacks a third-party candidate. He says his mom is a lesbian. Hear how the Trump campaign is responding.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:30:14] SESAY: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.
The headlines this hour --
(HEADLINES)
SESAY: Donald Trump's campaign manager says several Democratic states are up for grabs and could be swayed to vote Republican, especially Michigan. But Trump still has an uphill battle to 270 electoral votes.
CNN political director, David Chalian, breaks down the numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Donald Trump was campaigning in Michigan today after Colorado and New Mexico over the weekend. Look at these blue states. He's headed to Wisconsin tomorrow, Pennsylvania. As I said, he was in Colorado and New Mexico over the weekend, all blue-leaning states. Why? Because he sees opportunities with e-mails back in the headlines, that maybe there's some depressed Democrats to go try and take advantage of in those blue states, but also out of mathematical necessity. Take a look. Remember, Donald Trump could win all the remaining battleground states, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Ohio, North Carolina, and Florida, and he is still shy of 270 electoral votes. He's got to find a blue state on the map he can turn in his favor. That's why we see him in those states, leaning in Hillary Clinton's direction. Without a blue one, he can't get to 270 electoral votes.
23,131,976 ballots have been cast. We are eight days away from Election Day. We are seeing a slight advantage to the Democrats in the early vote. North Carolina, one of the key races. If Hillary Clinton is winning North Carolina, which Barack Obama lost four years ago, she would put up a significant road block to Trump.
Look at the early voting numbers here. You see here, you have 15- point lead in terms of Democrat versus Republican ballots. It's not as big as the 19-point lead four years ago. Democrats are slightly under performing where Barack Obama was four years ago. That is a significant advantage right now. Democrats hope as early in-person voting continues to increase to make up more ground and that would be a huge victory if Hillary Clinton can pull that together in North Carolina. That would block Donald Trump from the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SESAY: Our thanks to David Chalian.
Trump has another obstacle in the path to 270. Independent presidential candidate, Evan McMullin, has turned Utah in to three-way battleground state and McMullin is accusing the Republican of orchestrating robo-calls by a white nationalist Trump supporter.
((BEGIN VIDEO CLIP))
WILLIAM JOHNSON, SELF-IDENTIFIED WHITE NATIONALIST & TRUMP SUPPORTER (voice-over): My name is William Johnson. I'm a farmer and white nationalist. I make this call against Evan McMullin in support of Donald Trump. McMullin has two mommies. His mother is lesbian, married to anther woman.
EVAN MCMULLIN, INDEPENDENT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was raised in a traditional Mormon family. And when I grew up, my parents divorced. My mother is married to a woman now. We disagree on the issue of gay marriage but I love her very much. She's one of my best friends.
JOHNSON: Evan is over 40 years old and is not married and doesn't even have a girlfriend. I believe he is a closet homosexual.
MCMULLIN: The truth is that I'm straight, first of all, put that on the record.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Well, the Trump campaign quickly condemned the supporter and said they have no knowledge of the phone calls. About 200,000 Utah homes will receive the call over the next few days.
Hillary Clinton's e-mail controversy has upended the race for the White House. Clinton says there's no case and her supporters agree, but there's concern for their candidate.
Gary Tuchman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[02:34:36] GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rally goers in Cincinnati have different reasons for voting for Hillary Clinton.
But everyone we talk to feels the same about her e-mails, they are tired of hearing about them. And that's why FBI Director James Comey's action last Friday has upset so many here.
(on camera): How concerned are you it could affect the election?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: About scale of one to 10, about five.
TUCHMAN: Somewhat worried?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somewhat worried, yeah. If some of the people didn't want to vote for her before, it could tip them to Trump. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm a little concerned, but I feel like people
have mostly made up their mind and know who they are voting for and this won't change it.
TUCHMAN: In the back of your mind, are you having sleepless nights about it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It does weigh on my mind sometimes.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): There's concern that there's more to the FBI director's action.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that the Republicans ganged up on her. That's what I believe.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Do you think the FBI director is involved in the effort to gang up on her?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He has something to do with it. He's being real quiet but I believe he has something to do with it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm disappointed in him. I'm not angry but I am disappointed he didn't give more information.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Derrick Daniel (ph) arrived nine and a half hours early for the rally.
(on camera): Are you surprised there's so much suspense in the race with all of the things that Trump has said that has been controversial? Does that show a weakness in their candidate?
DERRICK DANIEL (ph), CLINTON SUPPORTER: No, necessarily I think it shows there is a clear divide in the American people.
TUCHMAN: As this race winds down, many Hillary Clinton supporters have lost interest in being diplomatic about Trump or those who admire Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you think the Trump supporters are voting for him? For one reason, they don't want their tax dollars going to benefit any minorities. I think that's the overlying reason he has so much support in this campaign.
TUCHMAN (on camera): That's kind of cynical.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that's what I believe.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Something else many believe? That the writing is on the wall.
(on camera): Does it concern you that Hillary Clinton is not running away with this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not so sure she's not running away with it.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Gary Tuchman, CNN, Cincinnati. (END VIDEOTAPE)
SESAY: Away from the U.S. presidential race for a moment.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the opposition party talked for the first time in two years trying to make progress in getting their country on track. The Vatican led the meeting but another powerful ally is backing these talks.
Shasta Darlington has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A top U.S. diplomat is now throwing he support behind talks to end Venezuela's political crisis began Sunday in Caracas and lasted into Monday morning. Embattled President Nicolas Maduro sat down hoping to avert a violent standoff. This was a first step. Some opposition leaders boycotted the talks. Others said it was nothing more than an exploratory meeting. They shook hands and set up subcommittees to deal with the most contentious issues.
NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translation): We come here willing to listen and hopefully be listened to and found points in the common interest of the great majority of the country of the national interests. I think that this is not the time for long speeches, but rather to assume a deep commitment.
DARLINGTON: The problem is the opposition's main demand is reviving a recall referendum. They're hoping to have Maduro voted out of office this year, but his government blocked the efforts to hold this referendum just over a week ago, sparking massive demonstrations. The opposition said it would march on the presidential palace this Thursday unless the government reversed its decision and government supporters said they would turn out and defend the palace, really setting the stage for possibly violent clashes.
Now, during the talks, both sides said they were going to tone down the rhetoric. It's not clear how that will affect Thursday's protests, maybe a lower turnout, maybe no violence, but it sends a positive message. At the same time, they set up these four subcommittees to deal with everything, from the electoral process, to the economy. Those begin work immediately and all parties will sit down again on November 11th.
Shasta Darlington, CNN, Rio de Janeiro.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[02:39:16]SESAY: Next on NEWSROOM L.A., a brother and sister live like vampires for a special night at Dracula's castle, coffins included, totally creepy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SESAY: Hello, everyone. A Canadian brother and sister spent Halloween night sleeping in Dracula's castle. They are the first guests in 70 years to stay overnight in the Transylvanian fortress which inspired the vampire legend. They won a contest to stay at the castle, arriving in a horse-drawn carriage. And eventually, made themselves comfortable in the velvet-lined coffin. Their grandfather actually walked the castle grounds in 1976.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He would talk about his adventure to the castle and said that on his way out, he had heard these footsteps behind him. He said he could feel the evil in the air and in the walls. So he came back to Canada and he shared that experience with everybody.
So, here we are. The sun has just gone down. The witching hour has begun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: Why?
(LAUGHTER)
More than 600,000 people visited the castle last year.
The White House was the best spot in Washington for trick or treating on Monday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SESAY: President Obama and the first lady danced to Michael Jackson's "Thriller," at least they tried to, as they hosted their last Halloween event. The small children and children from military families got cookies, M&Ms, and fruit bars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: On this day, you don't have to pay attention to Michelle and healthy eating --
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Candy for everybody.
(CHEERING)
OBAMA: In fact, the later you eat the candy, the better.
(LAUGHTER)
Because I bet that you being up all night with a sugar rush is exactly what your parents are looking for.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SESAY: Well, one of their young guests came to the event dressed as a lame duck. That was a nod to President Obama's position after next a week's presidential election.
All right. The best spot in town for the candy.
Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm Isha Sesay.
"World Sport" is up next.
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(WORLD SPORT)
