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WWII Bomb Explodes At Airport; Teen Unable To Slow Runaway Vehicle, Troopers Stop Him; Reports: Pink Floyd Sells Music Catalog To Sony For $400M; New Explosions Heard by CNN Team in Beirut Aired 8- 8:30a ET

Aired October 03, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Explodes, it left a 23-foot-wide crater and forced airlines to cancel more than 80 flights. It is not clear what caused it to explode and no one was hurt. The airport was built as a Japanese training base back in 1943.

This morning, a teenage driver is safe after his runaway vehicle reached speeds of up to 113 miles per hour. Sam Durcher (ph) tried to call 911 when he realized his SUV was speeding out of control. He said he had no way of stopping it or slowing it down.

Minnesota state troopers, they caught up with them at first. They tried to pop the tires. That didn't work. Troopers then activated the patrol car's anti-collision sensors, sped up, and told Sam to intentionally crash into them. That worked. And Sam and the troopers are all okay.

Money, a lot of it. Just too easy. The UK's Financial Times reports that Pink Floyd sold their music catalog and their name and likeness rights to Sony for $400 million. Shine on, you rich, crazy diamonds. The new hour of CNN News Central starts now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Today, a prominent Republican hits the campaign trail with the democratic candidate for President Liz Cheney and Kamala Harris teaming up to go after crucial voters in key battleground states and birthplace of the Republican Party. And just over a month to election day, special counsel Jack Smith revealing a bombshell new details in his case against Donald Trump unsealed. The evidence he says shows the former president resorted to crimes to stay in office after he lost.

And President Biden soon leaves to see firsthand more of the devastation left by Hurricane Helene, now the deadliest hurricane since Hurricane Katrina. I'm Sara Seider with John Berman. Kate is out today. This is CNN News Central.

New CNN reporting this morning, an unlikely duo on the campaign trail. Vice President Kamala Harris joined by former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney in a critical swing state. Cheney is, of course, not just any Republican, the former House GOP Conference Chair and daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney supporting Harris even as she acknowledges she has disagreements on policy. The two women will speak at the birthplace of the Republican Party, a

schoolhouse where abolitionists launched the GOP in 1854. It's all part of the Harris campaign's direct appeal to republican and independent voters in crucial battleground states. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is joining us now this morning.

Tell us more about what we expect to see and hear today with these two powerful women.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the effect that we're going to get a nod to some of what the former congresswoman had said in her endorsement of the vice president last month, which is that former President Donald Trump poses a danger to democracy and that the vice president is committed to upholding the rule of law and the constitution alone should serve as a reminder to voters, even if there are differences in policy. That is something that, of course, Liz Cheney has talked about before.

But, of course, this is a notable visit for many of the reasons that you outlined. This, of course, is part of the broader strategy by the Harris campaign to appeal to a broad swath of voters and move those undecided voters away from former President Donald Trump.

And last month, of course, when Liz Cheney did endorse the vice president, that was yet another example that the campaign seized on, that they are bringing Republicans into the fold. In fact, remember that during the democratic National Convention, there was a whole part of that program that was dedicated to highlighting Republicans who are voting for the vice president. So this is an ongoing strategy and one that we are going to see a lot more of in the last homestretch of this election cycle.

Now, the Wisconsin, of course, is a close state. It's a critical state for the vice president. Polls show that she has a slight edge over former President Donald Trump. She's, of course, trying to maintain that edge with this appearance alongside Liz Cheney today, of course, the first time that they've come together since that endorsement.

And we will see more of this strategy unfold in the battleground states, including in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina. So certainly, more to come on all of this. But what it tells us is that this is a campaign that is now doubling down on this strategy of bringing in the undecided voters and the Republicans who are just not interested in former President Donald Trump, but also trying to appeal to folks who are not diehard Democrats, but maybe swayed with big names like Liz Cheney to vote for the vice president, even if there are differences in policy. Sara.

[08:05:10]

SIDNER: She is one of several Republicans, two of whom spoke at the Democratic National Convention as well, who are voting for Kamala Harris and trying to support her. Thank you so much, Priscilla Alvarez. Appreciate your reporting there from Washington. John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now, the former vice chair of the DNC, Michael Blake, and the former press advisor to Then-House Speaker John Boehner, Maura Gillespie.

I want to talk about Liz Cheney, and I do want to stipulate that five years ago this would have been unimaginable. It just would have, she was the number three Republican in the House, you know, really conservative, rock, rip conservative Dick Cheney, all that said, are there republican voters out there in swing states who see a Liz Cheney endorsement now after anything that happens and say, hey, you know, Liz Cheney is voting for Kamala Harris, so I might also.

MAURA GILLESPIE, FORMER PRESS ADVISER TO THEN-HOUSE JOHN BOEHNER: I think the fact that she's out on the campaign trail today with her, again, to your point, five years ago, I would have never guessed that she would be out there campaigning with Kamala Harris for Kamala Harris. But because she is, and again she has conservative credentials to back her up. But I think this speaks volumes. And what she said, you know, we can survive bad policy. We can't survive another attack on our democracy. And I do -- that's what Liz Cheney has said.

And she believes, you know, her being out there and putting her name, her legacy on the line here by endorsing Kamala Harris, it says a lot. And I do think there are Republicans who are not keen to vote for Kamala Harris, but they know the dangers of Donald Trump and they're not happy with how this has gone and how it has caused many losses for the Republican Party over the years.

So this may sway some, I don't think, to the extent that maybe is needed, but it could move some people.

BERMAN: Is this about making Democrats feel good about playing nice with some Republicans, or are there persuadable Republicans?

REV. MICHAEL BLAKE, FORMER VICE CHAIR, DNC: It's about winning the election and it's about and it about making a very clear --

BERMAN: Option C. You're going for Option C.

BLAKE: I'm going with getting elected here. And so the determination is this. When you're in states such as Wisconsin, where you're essentially talking about one to two points, yes, it will matter. It's not just a random place. We're talking about where the Republican Party began.

And so when you think about the surrounding areas, even outside of Milwaukee, the wild counties of Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington, these are the places that will have tremendous impact. It's a reason why this past Friday, we hosted and always hosted a nightly prayer call. We had one of the reverends out of this area to demonstrate what's possible.

So when you think about the issues, whether it be the economy and when you talk about women, I would rather have a Liz Cheney standing up with us and choosing the country as opposed to choosing a cult.

BERMAN: Yes. Jeff Zeleny was saying to me that this is sort of a play for the Nikki Haley voters who may not be swayed yet and still could change their minds. I do want to ask about this new book coming out from Melania Trump. The Guardian got some excerpts and the former first lady talks about abortion and has a diametrically different view than her husband in the Republican Party.

She says, "A woman's fundamental right of individual liberty, her own life, grants her the authority to terminate her pregnancy if she wishes. It is imperative to guarantee that women have autonomy in deciding their preference of having children, free from any intervention or pressure from the government."

Okay. Twelve-dimensional chess here, where you think that Melania Trump is in cahoots with the Trump campaign, trying to muddy the waters on abortion or just something she doesn't care what her husband thinks about?

BLAKE: I think Melania is making it very clear that she stands on the right side of justice as opposed to her husband. And so when we think about whether it be here in New York with Prop One or across the country and saying, being opposed to an abortion ban, she is saying a woman should decide what to do, her body full stop. A man can be and should be a feminist at the same time. And she is making it very clear that a woman should decide what to do with her body.

It is abundantly clear that this is not just a democratic issue. This is an issue across the country. It is one of the fundamental reasons why Republicans have been losing since Trump has been on the ballot. It is another reason why a vice president will get elected this year.

BERMAN: But is it embarrassing for the Trump campaign more, or can they point at this and say, big tent?

GILLESPIE: I think that you saw JD Vance change his tune at the VP debate, trying to talk about abortion in ways of, we have to build back trust with women. I don't know that people necessarily believed it, given the fact that he has been, he's on record for saying that he would endorse a national ban. But I think what she's saying here to me, and that's something I've long believed, is it is a conservative message just to say that you don't want the federal government telling you what you can and can't do with your own body. That goes to a conservative belief of having a smaller, more accountable government.

Yet the republican party has let it become so much so just, you know, a religious issue and feeding into the far right fringe as opposed to what most of the country believes, which is the stance that we should have autonomy of our body and medical freedom for half the population.

BERMAN: I want to play some sound from Donald Trump overnight where he is talking about Haitian migrants in the country who have legal status, temporary legal status. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have to remove the people and you have to bring them back to their own country. They are, in my opinion, it's not legal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you would revoke the temporary protected status?

TRUMP: Absolutely. I'd revoke it and I'd bring them back to their country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What if they won't receive them like they're not?

TRUMP: Well, they're going to receive them. They'll receive them. If I bring them back, they're going to receive them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[08:10:12]

BERMAN: All right. There are several different things at play here. There's the moral issue and there's the political issue. I just want to stay for a second on the purely political issue here. In terms of what voters think about legal versus migrants who are in the country illegally, is there a difference? When you talk about deporting legal migrants, does that play differently politically?

GILLESPIE: It should, but I'm afraid that on the far right fringe, the MAGA of Republicans, it doesn't and he knows that. He can speak about -- even if they are legal, he can say that they're illegals. And now that I'm out of here. That rhetoric and that language he uses he does solely to rev up his base. That is it.

I think, again, for the Republican Party at large and for the country at large, we are a nation of immigrants. And the republican messaging on this shouldn't, always needs to be, is to be the land of hope and opportunity. We need to have law and order. So of course we want to have it done in the right process. But to stop and to say that you're just going to deport people who are here legally and contributing to the community, as many of the Haitians are in Springfield, Ohio, contributing and adding value to the community is a disservice to them all.

BLAKE: We just have to be very clear. This is a racist policy being proposed by him. This is not just dangerous rhetoric that has an impact in Ohio, where they've clearly communicated to stop this nonsense. It's here in New York, whether it be in Brooklyn, it be in South Florida. You have a man who is literally saying he would remove American citizens because they come from another country.

This is about him trying to win an election to discredit black and brown communities once again. And we cannot tolerate it. And it is reprehensible that we continue to allow this man to say these things. He is doing this to win an election to appease a base who believe that black and brown people should not be here. And when we think about the contrast, go deeper.

JD Vance is the lead sponsor to eliminate DEI in federal government. They are saying that a black woman is not black. It is a rhetoric that they believe will be victorious.

However, let's be very clear whether it be New York, Florida, Ohio, et cetera, Haitians belong here. Jamaicans like my family belong here. Our communities belong here. And we will not tolerate this nonsense and this racism that's coming from Trump.

BERMAN: There is a distinction, though, between citizens and people with temporary legal status.

BLAKE: And he's being very -- but let's be clear. This is about the politics. They're not diving into what's one or the other. He is saying, you don't belong here. And this is a consistent rhetoric that has come from Donald Trump. This is the same man who tried to kick out black people when it came to housing, the same one who called for the death penalty. This is consistent. What he believes, he does not think we should be here.

BERMAN: Michael Blake, Maura Gillespie, thanks so much for being here, both of you. Great to see you in person. Sara.

SIDNER: All right, breaking news. New explosions heard by CNN crews in Beirut. And we're seeing the result of those explosions as Israel strikes at the heart of Lebanon's capital city. More on that story. Plus, new revelations from special counsel Jack Smith in the January 6 case against Donald Trump. When told Mike Pence was at risk, Trump allegedly said, so what? And this morning, President Biden tours more of the historic damage left by Hurricane Helene. Those stories in more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:17:44]

SIDNER: The terrifying sounds of war. Breaking this morning, several new blasts were just heard by our CNN crews on the ground in Lebanon's capital, Beirut. They say they are also seeing smoke. We are seeing at ourselves from Beirut's southern suburbs, and are hearing drones in the skies now overhead.

This is coming after huge explosions in Central Beirut overnight. At least nine people have been killed, reportedly. For the first time, we are seeing this -- the heart of the city hit the hardest that we've seen since the 2006 war.

Israel is vowing to punish Iran after its largest missile attack ever against Israel, which happened on Tuesday warning a very strong painful response is coming soon.

President Biden saying Israel has a right to defend itself, of course. But also is urging restraint.

CNN's Erin Burnett is live for us in Northern Israel, very close to the Lebanese border.

Erin, what have you been hearing and seeing today because there has been action there?

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, absolutely.

And you know, you talk about those explosions in Beirut. Just as you were saying that, we had some very loud artillery, outgoing artillery fire from where we are. We are right on the conflict line, Sara.

Right behind me on that hill, that is, right over that hill is Lebanon. So right where we are on the conflict line, there has been a lot of outgoing artillery fire and projectiles going into Lebanon throughout the day.

We actually at one point were counting it, Sara, 22 outgoing artillery and projectiles in 18 minutes, which would make this the busiest period, the most difficult bombardment in many, many years, certainly back to 2006, if not farther, and it does come as Hezbollah says that they have repelled an Israeli force that was trying to cross that border today.

And it is very much an ongoing situation where we are, 10 rockets actually came into this Israeli border town.

One interesting thing, Sara, as we talk about the context, the palpable tension as Israel is awaiting what could be an imminent massive response to Iran is just the mood on the ground.

The town that you see behind me is not in Lebanon. That is an Israeli town. It is the hill behind that is where Lebanon begins.

This Israeli town as a complete ghost town. You can see places where Hezbollah rockets struck. It is a ghost town, except for soldiers and one interesting thing, a couple of them we were speaking to, Sara, they had been here originally after October 7th.

[08:20:08]

They were deployed in Gaza. They are now back here in the north.

And we were sort of wondering whether there would be a sense of fatigue and exhaustion, it was far from it. It was cheers and chants and "we're going to finish this." And they are fired up to go in.

They want to go into Lebanon. They expect that will be the order. They want that to be the order, and they feel that Israel is on the cusp of a major victory.

And that is -- that is the sense that you get here. But on this frontline today, as there is this bigger weight of what will happen, what Israel's strike will be against Iran on this northern front, a lot of action throughout the day and very steadily and important to note, Sara, that that is coming, of course, on what is a Jewish holiday.

SIDNER: That's right. It is the New Year, the Jewish New Year.

Erin Burnett, thank you so much for reporting for us there from Tel Aviv, and we will see you tonight -- John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now, Joel Rubin, former deputy assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs in the Obama administration.

Thanks so much for being with us.

You just heard Erin reporting from Northern Israel that folks there think they are poised for victory over Hezbollah. How weakened do you think Hezbollah is right now?

JOEL RUBIN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS IN THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: Yes, John, it is great to be with you.

And I think, Erin is spot on. These are heady days in Israel and the Israelis do feel like what has taken place over the last several weeks where they executed the pager attacks and followed that on with the killing of her Hassan Nasrallah and now, there are reports that at least half of the arsenal that Hezbollah had of rockets, that they have pointed at Israel have been decimated, excuse me.

I think the Israelis feel like this is the moment to strike and that's why the real question now is, are they going to work to finish the job in Hezbollah? How aggressive will they be a versus how much momentum? Will they have to then move towards Iran in a response?

And I do think that for Israelis, getting the north repopulated is a very high priority to show that terrorist groups cannot shrink Israel's borders, Israel's territory by these attacks. And I think that's where we are probably going to head in the near days.

BERMAN: So part of the answer to the question of how weak is Hezbollah now depends on the response to this next question, which how weak do you think Iran -- how weakened do you think Iran is right now?

RUBIN: Well, look, getting to this question of weakness, you know, Hezbollah is weaker now than it has been in decades. That does not mean it is eliminated. And so the challenge here is that Hezbollah has been backed by Iran for decades, supported by Iran and the Iranian response just over the last couple of days, in many ways was trying to show that it still does support Hezbollah, while Hezbollah gets decimated on the battlefield.

So this calibration of an Israeli response towards Iran also will have an eye on Hezbollah, on trying to deter any resupply, any restocking of Hezbollah, not allowing Iran to continue to try to build up Hezbollah as it has been built up over the last decades.

And so I think -- I think for Israel strategically, they're going to have to really make targeting choices that provide that kind of strong security that they can get from battlefield activity on the ground, Hezbollah -- to not allow Hezbollah to return to the form that it has been over the last decades.

BERMAN: And look, the calculations -- my impression is that calculations have completely changed over the last three weeks.

RUBIN: Yes.

BERMAN: And you know, you always throw around terms like, "oh, fears of a wider war," but what is a wider war at this point? If Hezbollah, if their power is smashed --

RUBIN: Right.

BERMAN: -- if Hamas, if their power is smashed, if Iran is somewhat weakened, what does Israel have to fear from Iran? Strikes more powerful than the ones they attempted the other day?

BURIN: Yes, John, you're spot on. Look, all of the taboos have been broken. These questions that were sort of lingering for the past years about the danger of a regional war, while we now have seen Iran strike Israel twice, we've seen multiple organizations backed by Iran striking Israel repetitively since Hamas launched and started this war on October 7th.

Hezbollah joined in, the Houthis joined in. Now, Iran has joined in and Israel is still standing.

And so from the Israeli perspective, they're saying this is the moment to strike. And, you know, these taboos, now they're broken and we see what is happening, and we can take it.

And I think, that's of course very risky and very dangerous because one always gets concerned about an overreaction that could potentially destabilize the region significantly further.

But that said, the taboos have been broken. Israelis see what the response is like and they see that they can move on Hezbollah and that they should do that to protect their north because their north has been living under the gun, as Erin pointed out, depopulating Northern Israel in a manner could that Israelis just cannot sustain any longer and they did not want it, and that's why they are very supportive of these attacks on Hezbollah.

[08:25:15]

BERMAN: Look, it might be risky, as you say, but it is important to understand the shift in mentality that has occurred over the last few weeks.

RUBIN: That's right.

BERMAN: Joel Rubin, thank you so much for being with us. Appreciate it.

RUBIN: Thanks, John.

BERMAN: So POLITICO is calling it the first October surprise of 2024, never-before-seen evidence against Donald Trump now exposed.

And new this morning, an investigation in to the deaths of employees allegedly told not to leave work despite warnings of historic flooding from Hurricane Helene.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: This morning, new fallout as Donald Trump faces a stunning legal filing with just a few weeks left in his presidential run. A judge has unsealed never never-before-seen evidence in Special Counsel Jack Smith's election subversion case as federal prosecutors now try to prove Donald Trump should be prosecuted under the Presidential Immunity Act, basically that he was not the president in his capacity when he did some of these things.

[08:30:30]