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Michelle Obama Reveals Intimate Details About IVF, Miscarriage; Thousands in California Flee as Fast-Moving Flames Close In; All Victims Are Now Identified in Thousand Oaks Shooting; Nonprofit Provides Refuge for Sex Trafficking Survivors; Judge Rules Florida County Must Turn Over Voting Records by Tonight. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired November 09, 2018 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:30:00] KATE BENNETT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's very true, there is sort of this unspoken rule that you don't criticize a sitting president while you are currently president, Michelle Obama, abiding by that. But even on the campaign trail remember she had a few speeches where she didn't mention Trump's name. But we all know who she was talking about. When she said a president can't just pop off. Then she also said in the speech that we need an adult in the room. It was clear she was talking about Donald Trump. But she just didn't use his name because she was still first lady however now she is free to use his name. And she is talking about it. And clearly struck a chord with her. It was clearly something that affected her very deeply.

And certainly, she is authentic and she sounds like she's very revealing in this new book. Her feelings about Donald Trump are something she's been wanting to discuss since the campaign and just hasn't had the opportunity to do so.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: She also writes about her experience as the first African-American first lady, writing, I was female, black and strong, which to certain people translated only as angry. It was another damaging cliche one that has been forever used to sweep minority women to the perimeter of every room. Angela, to hear Michelle Obama talking about that, what did you think?

ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I just have to give so much credit to who I call our forever first lady, not just because I want them back, I do candidly, keeping it all the way 100 on this Friday afternoon, but also because of what she embodies. She is this woman who is filled with so much grace and class, but she embodies the everyday working woman. There are students who are in school right now who can relate to everything Michelle Obama talks about going to school. The women who are struggling to balance it all and figuring it out if they can have it all, she relates to them. She's talks about her own challenges with fertility. I have not tried to get pregnant but I froze my eggs earlier this year. I relate like Michelle girl we love you for everything you represent. Thank you.

BALDWIN: Let me toss that clip. And I froze mine five years ago and amen to that, thank goodness for modern technology. This is the former first lady talking about her difficulties initially trying to have a family. [BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY: I felt lost and alone and I felt like I failed because I didn't know how common miscarriages were because we don't talk about them. We had to do IVF. I know too many young couples who struggle and think that somehow there's something wrong with them, and I want them to know that Michelle and Barack Obama, who have a phenomenal marriage and we love each other, we work on our marriage and we get help with our marriage when we need it.

[END OF VIDEO CLIP]

BALDWIN: She didn't have to share any of that and she did. Kate, has there been a first lady there's been so open talking about that?

BENNETT: I mean, not in terms of that kind of accessibility. She made you feel like she was your friend, not just first lady. Jackie Kennedy when she was first lady gave birth to a baby that died within a short period afterwards and of course the country understood that and knew about it because it happened while she was first lady, but in terms of looking back and having a first lady discuss marriage, IVF, getting pregnant, all these things, I think we're really seeing a modern day era first lady, and that's really what Michelle Obama was. She sort of kicked off this new feeling of accessible, relatable, authentic first lady for many, many people.

BALDWIN: Here's one more excerpt, Angela this is for you. She wrote "As soon as I allowed myself to feel anything for Barack Obama, the feelings came rushing, a toppling blast of lust, gratitude, fulfillment, wonder." I've heard so many people today say, "lust!" all right.

BENNETT: Why is the last question for me, Brooke? What's that about?

BALDWIN: You're welcome.

BENNETT: I know, what's so interesting is I love the way that she talks about her marriage with the President. I've been in rooms with her where she's been like, nah, dude, you still got to wash the dishes. It's an amazing, very approachable, accessible way to just bring us into their lives, into their humanity. I think the thing that I love about this book is it's called "becoming." it doesn't just feel like a revelation about who Michelle Obama is, but it feels like a call to action for this country, even given where we are right now after this election. What are we becoming? What do we want to see in Florida and Georgia? What do we want to see out of folks who took over the house? What are we going to become as a democracy? I'm just thankful that she released it right now the as a time to challenge us to be our best selves.

[15:35:00] BALDWIN: Becoming me, becoming us and becoming more. Kate and Angela, ladies, thank you so much. That was fun.

Back to our breaking news out of Florida, any moment now we are expecting to hear from Democratic Senator Bill Nelson as an emergency hearing is under way in Broward County where Rick Scott, the governor of Florida, is alleging rampant fraud. We'll bring it to you live. Plus, incredible images out of California. Multiple fires. CNN is there. We'll have a live report.

[15:40:00] [COMMERCIAL BREAK]

BALDWIN: The wildfires in California now have claimed lives. These are pictures just in from the city of would you believe the name of it is paradise. This is in northern company where at least nine people have been killed trying to get out. In just 24 hours multiple wildfires erupted with a speed rarely seen. Several communities, including Malibu, have been ordered to evacuate. Even the L.A. zoo is evacuating a number of their animals. Dan Simon is live for us in Paradise and Kyung Lah is Malibu. Dan, to you.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You have 2,000 structures that have been destroyed. This is one of the businesses that went up in flames. We're in the main part of paradise, California, sort of the main thoroughfare. You can see this used car lot over here. Several cars have been charred. Look across the street, more devastation. You drive up this road, it's home after home, business after business. You have restaurants, you have apartment buildings. It is just complete devastation. This is already one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. Right now, the concern for firefighters is to try to prevent it from spreading even further to the town of Chico, California, which is directly southwest of here. Fire crews think they have done that at this point, but this fire just 5 percent contained, Brooke. You're talking about just a matter of hours and already the fourth most destructive wildfire in the state's history. Unbelievable.

BALDWIN: Stunning. Absolutely stunning. Kyung to you, you can see all the smoke over your shoulder. What's the story in Malibu? Everybody has to get out?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a mandatory evacuation because Malibu is burning. The entire city is being told to get out. Deputies are going door to door. Can you see that massive plume you were just talking about? You can see it all over southern California. It is on fire. A door-to-door fight to try to get people out of here. There are 13,000 people who live in Malibu. Two significant fires are happening in southern California, Hill Fire, which is about 6,000 acres. That is where the Broadway Bar shooting happened. That's a community that saw that mass shooting. This fire is the Woolsey Fire. It started yesterday at about 3 p.m. it is a larger fire, 14,000 acres, and it is currently burning toward the Pacific Ocean.

I've talked to people who have had to leave their homes and they say they were truly fleeing the flames, trying to get down to Pacific Coast highway. This is a community of very wealthy. The average price of a home here is $3 million. There are celebrities like Barbra Streisand and Kaitlin Jenner who had to evacuate. A lot of people are looking at these skies, wondering if their house is going to survive this, Brooke.

BALDWIN: How entirely frightening. We'll stay in close contact with you all and thinking of everyone in California to the north and to the south. Also, out of Florida, we're keeping an eye on this emergency hearing that's been under way in Broward County. The Republican governor, Rick Scott, is taking his Senate race to court. We're expecting to hear from Senator Bill Nelson any moment now. Keep it here.

[15:45:00] [COMMERCIAL BREAK]

BALDWIN: So much grief, so much anger gripping the city of Thousand Oaks, California, as the initial shock of being the latest U.S. city to be victimized by a mass gunman sinks in. Now families begin burying their dead and looking for answers as to why this Marine vet opened fire on college night at a country Western dance hall killing 11 young people and a sheriff's deputy. We are just now learning that the California shooting suspect was not in the VA system, he was a military veteran not in the VA system. So, let me bring in CNN law enforcement analyst Josh Campbell for us. And Josh, the V.A. indicated he was not enrolled in any kind of health care program. What does that tell you about any mental health issues and when they might have begun?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Law enforcement investigators now are trying to look backwards on this person's life. Obviously, we've seen signs of mental health issues. They talked about this contact he had with law enforcement in April that didn't really rise to the level of them determining they needed to commit him here in California against his will, but again it shows the signs of mental health. Again, they're trying to piece together when did this start? When did signs start manifesting that this person was facing a psychiatric issue? In the fact he was in the United States Marine Corps is important we know he spent time overseas.

That's an additional data point for the V.A. coming forward and saying he wasn't enrolled in any of our systems. He wasn't receiving mental health treatment so to speak.

[15:50:00] That doesn't mean he wasn't suffering from any kind of condition while he was still serving but at least he wasn't seeking so get another data point for officers as they are trying to figure out who saw what and where there warning signs possibly missed.

BALDWIN: How about speaking of data points, what you found that the social media posts from the shooter just before the attack?

CAMPBELL: Really chilling, Brooke. I think we have a graphic of the social media post we found, based an official of law enforcement familiar with the investigation. It says. "I hope people call me insane. Wouldn't that be a big ball of irony. Yes, I'm insane. The only thing you people do after these shootings is hopes and prayers or keep you in my thoughts and wonder why these keep happening."

This was a post law enforcement officers believe was sent just before the shooting. Again, it shows, the question we had, did this person snap, was it a crime of passion or violence? It appears he had the time to sit and telegraph what he was about to do on social media, which, again, is so very troubling. It's not going to provide comfort to the victims now, but, again, something that law enforcement will be looking into, or were there other signs out there. And, again, other messages, possibly, the shooter was trying to send.

BALDWIN: Josh Campbell, thank you.

CAMPBELL: Thanks.

BALDWIN: We have more breaking news this afternoon. A new report alleges President Trump may have violated federal campaign finance laws with his hush money payoffs both to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougall, details ahead.

Also, what we have just learned about a lawsuit filed by Democratic Senator Bill Nelson's re-election campaign in Florida. We will take you live to Tallahassee coming up next. First, let's take a moment on this Friday to honor this week's CNN Hero. She was forced into prostitution at age 16, managed to escape. She now runs a nonprofit to provide a safe place for survivors of sex trafficking.

[BEGIN VIDEO CLIP]

SUSAN MUNSEY, FOUNDER, GENERATE-HOPE: Nobody wakes up and just decides one day, I'm going to go sell my body and give the money away. Traffickers are pimps knowing exactly what they're doing. Much of it is on the internet now. They're going on dating websites, they're gaming. They're looking for young, vulnerable women anywhere where young women might hang out. My vision was to have a home where women could come and find safety. And find themselves.

[END VIDEO CLIP]

BALDWIN: Please go to CNNheroes.com right now to vote for her or any of our top ten CNN heroes. We'll be right back.

[15:55:00] [COMMERCIAL BREAK]

BALDWIN: Let's get you back to everything happening in Florida. Election officials just wrapped up this emergency hearing brought on behalf of Rick Scott. The Republican governor of Florida, who wants to become the state's next senator. This race, as you can see, is so close and could be headed for recount. So, Ryan Nobles has been reporting out of Tallahassee on all of this. So, Ryan, you now have some news out of this emergency hearing on the ruling. What is it?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it went in Rick Scott's favor, Brooke. The Judge ruling there was a violation of the Public Records Act by the supervisor of elections in Broward County, Brenda Snipes. The Judge ordered they release that information that the Scott campaign is looking for immediately. So, this is no doubt a win for Rick Scott. But I do think we need to put it into context here, Brooke. Because pretty much everybody is looking for this information that Brenda Snipes has not released yet.

And even Democrats would like to know the answer to some of these questions, including the most important question, how many votes are there to count in Broward County, which we don't have an answer to yet. The other important about this, these lawsuits didn't really specifically have anything to do with these dramatic fraud allegations that Rick Scott has charged against the supervisors of elections in both Broward and Palm Beach County. This was just about releasing the information. Making sure that they're transparent in their vote counting efforts. And we should say, during the hearing, Brenda Snipes, who has been the person at the center of this and has received criticism from both Republicans and Democrats, said she wasn't trying to hide anything, it was just a matter of her getting that information out.

And, you know, Brooke, I think the big divide here between Democrats and Republicans here is they both agree that there are problems in these two counties, but Republicans seem to think that there's something nefarious, perhaps criminal involved in it, where Democrats seem to think it's perhaps just an issue of negligence or incompetency's. And there's a big difference between those two things. It could be the difference between which votes get counted and which votes do get counted. No doubt a win for Rick Scott here today. But there is another hearing take place down the road from me here in federal court that bill nelson filed that starts at 4:00, against the secretary of state, also asking for more transparency and clarification into how provisional ballots will be adjudicated in Florida. So, many moving parts to this story, Brooke. And obviously, a lot at stake.

[16:00:00] BALDWIN: OK. 45 seconds left, Ryan. I want you to tell me, for people, you know, following all of the threads and meetings and this and that, when does this have to be resolved? Is there a deadline?

NOBLES: Right. Yes. Great question. So according to Florida law, it has to be finished by the 18th of November. So, there's technically a finish line in sight. So, on Saturday, we get the first unofficial count. If it's within a margin, then we have another unofficial count. That has to be done by the 15th. That's when that could potentially trigger the hand recount and then it's got to be done by the 18th, which is a Sunday. That's when the Secretary of State will say, he's all done. But there is the possibility of a lengthy court battle after all of that. So, a lot could happen between now and then. Best case scenario for voters in Florida, it all gets done by the 18th of November.

BALDWIN: Everybody got that? Ryan nobles, thank you very much in Tallahassee. You've been extraordinary the last two hours. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for being with me. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper, starts right now.