Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Polls on Presidential Race; Combs Named in Seven New Lawsuits; Millions without Power in Cuba; Hundreds Rescued Amid New Mexico Flooding; Social Media Faces New Challenges; Texas Death Row Inmate May not Testify. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired October 21, 2024 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Last week was fall break for the kids. I took them up to Fannin County. That's a deeply red part of the state. And I saw long lines for early voting even there.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Nick Valencia, thank you.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we have been looking at different voting groups and what some of the polling shows us with them. Today we have a really important one for Donald Trump.

With me, CNN's senior data reporter, professor of numbers, Harry Enten.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Oh, fascinating (ph).

BERMAN: When we talk about Donald Trump, from the beginning of Donald Trump as a political figure -

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: Non-college, white voters. White voters who did not go to college have been one of his key demographics.

ENTEN: Don't have a degree. Yes. It's been a key demographic for him. It's been his base. And this is what's so interesting because we've seen so many groups this year moving in Donald Trump's direction. So, you would think his core group, his base of support would be doing the same but, in fact, it's moving a little bit away from him.

So, this is Trump's margin with non-college white voters. Unlike most voting blocs, this group is not moving towards but it's actually moving slightly away.

So, you go back eight years ago, he won it by 33. You go back four years ago, he won it by 31. Now what we look is we see them, the latest average of polls, he's only up by 27. Now, that may not seem like a lot, but given that we're seeing these double-digit gains, say, among black voters, or among Hispanic voters in some of the polls, the fact that we're seeing this core group of supporters actually moving away from him, not just off of the 2016 baseline, but the 2020 baseline as well, I think that's a rather interesting development.

BERMAN: Shrinkage as Donald Trump might say -

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: Based on what he said in the last few days.

Why could even a small difference with this group matter?

ENTEN: Why can a small difference with this group matter? Because look at what percentage of the electorate that they make up.

So, we can look nationally, right? Look at this, non-college white voters make up 40 percent of the electorate. That's more than college whites at 29 percent. All other groups, voters of color at 28 percent.

So, this is something that we've seen throughout the board, right, which is that Donald Trump is making huge gains with groups that make up a smaller percentage of the electorate while he's losing a little bit. But these groups that he's losing a little bit of make up a much larger portion of the electorate.

But more than that, you know, we're talking about the U.S. of A, where they make up 40 percent, why don't you go to those key Great Lake battleground states, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. They have outsized in court, in those Great Lake battleground states, non- college white voters. Look at this, they make up the slim majority of voters at 51 percent. Way more than college whites at 30 percent. Way more than all other voters at 16 percent.

So, if you're seeing movement in the Great Lake battleground states among non-college whites, that could be a very big development, John.

BERMAN: Are we seeing movement in the battleground states among non- college whites?

ENTEN: Oh, nothing quite like a leading question, my dear friend. Yes, we are. We're seeing this same pattern in the Great Lake battleground states that we're seeing nationally. That is small movement among non- college white voters. Again, you see it back in 2016, Donald Trump won them by 25. You see small movement in 2020. Donald Trump winning them by 22. And look at that, what we are today, again, Trump is ahead, but his margins are smaller. And when you have a shrinking margin for Donald Trump among his core group that makes up the majority of voters, it can make up for big shift amongst smaller groups of the electorate.

And this is why Kamala Harris is still in the ballgame right now. It's because even though she's losing big league, she's losing big league among groups that make up a small portion of the electorate and she's making it up, among groups that make up a big portion of the electorate, even if the movements are small. But it's clear here. BERMAN: That is very interesting. And it's a clear downward slope in these key states among his key demographic. And if I can just for a second.

ENTEN: Yes, please do.

BERMAN: Again, you know, as you're looking here, again, this is where Donald Trump has seen gains -

ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: But it's the smallest group in these top two -

ENTEN: That's exactly right. Among white voters and non-college whites and college whites especially, they make up a lion's share of the electorate. And so even if you're seeing small movements among these groups, among non-college white, slightly larger among college whites, it more than makes up - or at least makes up for the movement among non - voters of color, all others in this particular case, John.

BERMAN: All points to a very close election.

Harry Enten, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Fifteen days to go.

BERMAN: Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you guys so much.

Breaking overnight, for the first time, other celebrities for being cited and accused of taking part in alleged abuse as seven more lawsuits are filed against Sean "Diddy" Combs.

And the latest on a deadly helicopter crash that brought down a communication tower. You see the fiery result. We'll have more - that and more stories coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:39:21]

SIDNER: New this morning, it's not just Diddy being accused now. For the first time, lawsuits are exposing accusations against other celebrities at his parties. And this morning, there are disturbing details laid out in seven new lawsuits filed against former music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. These suits include allegations of rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and false imprisonment. Now, celebrities are accused of being present or taking part in the alleged abuse.

Combs is currently locked up without bond as he awaits trial on federal sex trafficking and racketeering charges, which he has denied.

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister is joining us now.

What can you tell us?

[08:40:00]

What's different about these allegations?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: As you said, Sara, really disturbing allegations in these seven lawsuits which come from four male accusers and three female accusers. These allegations span from the year 2000 to 2022. And all but one of these seven accusers alleges that they were drugged by Combs before they were sexually assaulted. Those are some similar patterns that we have seen in past lawsuits against Combs.

But what is different this time around, as you said, Sara, for the first time ever in lawsuits against Combs, other celebrities are also directly accused of wrongdoing. Now, these celebrities are all anonymous. They are referred to as "Celebrity A" and "Celebrity B."

But I want to walk you through some of the claims. By the way, two of these lawsuits coming from "Jane" or "John Does," who allege they were minors at the time. One of the "Jane Does" alleges that she was a 13- year-old girl when she was allegedly raped and drugged by Combs in 2000 at a VMA after party. Now, she says that she was brought to this party by a limo driver who alleged that he worked for Combs and allegedly said that Combs likes younger girls.

Now, I want to read you part of her lawsuit. It says, quote, "after drinking just one drink, plaintiff began to feel woozy and light headed, making her need to lie down." The lawsuit goes on to say that, "soon after Combs, along with a male and female celebrity, entered the room."

Now, the lawsuit goes on to horrifying allegations where she said that "Celebrity A," who was a male celebrity, then undressed her as she felt disoriented, and raped her, while the other two, Combs and "Celebrity B," which is a female celebrity, watch.

Now, another lawsuit, which comes from a male personal trainer in 2022, alleges that he was drugged and assaulted by Combs at a party in the Hollywood Hills that was an after party for an award show. He says that he lost complete consciousness, doesn't remember anything but, quote, it says, "he was drugged and repeatedly sexually assaulted," end quote, by Combs and an unnamed celebrity.

SIDNER: Now, I understand that there are photos in some of the lawsuits that have just come out. What do you see in them?

WAGMEISTER: Yes, there are photos in some of these lawsuits. They don't show any alleged wrongdoing. But what the attorneys say is that it allegedly places these accuser in the room of - the same room as Combs.

So, one of these photos comes from a Ciroc party. Ciroc was Combs' vodka brand. And this was in 2022. It's from a male "John Doe" who says he was a businessman. And in this photo, which we see there, the other faces are blurred out, you see Combs at a table with Ciroc bottles.

Now, another photo comes from a female, "Jane Doe," who alleges that in 2014 she was drugged and raped by Combs at a Vegas after party in a hotel. And there, this photo from this accuser, alleges that this was taken by her, posted on her Instagram, and allegedly shows Combs in the room where she says she was.

Now, I do want to note, I reached out to attorneys for Combs. They did not respond to these specific allegations in these seven lawsuits. But they referred me to a past statements, Sara, where they denied all allegations, saying that Mr. Combs has never, ever sexually assaulted anyone, male or woman, or any minor.

SIDNER: All right, Elizabeth Wagmeister, some very serious allegations coming out yet again on Sean "Diddy" Combs and now other celebrities.

Thank you so much for your reporting. Appreciate it.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, millions of people in Cuba are waking up to darkness after the country's power grid failed for the fourth time in three days. This has some Cubans now taking to the streets to protest what's happening in this three-day blackout.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann is in Havana tracking all of this.

Patrick, what's going on here?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: Well, a long - another long, dark night, I should say, although we did see more people come out and bang pots and pans because they are so frustrated, particularly as peoples' food begins to spoil. And, you know, since Friday, most of the people in this country have not seen any power. I think I've only seen an hour or two.

The update is this morning is that some neighborhoods in Havana are reporting that power is being restored. But, Kate, the problem is here is not just getting power back on, it's keeping the power on. We are talking about an aging Soviet-era system here, electrical system, that, you know, fails all the time, and over the last several days has just been absolutely in total blackout and left this island of 10 million people in the dark.

[08:45:00]

Of course, you had Hurricane Oscar as well hitting the eastern end of Cuba. That complicated efforts official said to restore power.

But it really is just a story about a very aging system that the government has not been able to invest in over the years. They blame U.S. sanctions for not being able to get enough oil to run these power plants. And it really does seem that this power system is on its last legs. And officials here have not been able to get it up and keep it running. We should point out that Cuba's president also was on TV - I'm not

sure how many people would have seen him because they didn't have power - warning people not to protest, saying that they could face consequences for doing so.

BOLDUAN: Patrick, thank you so much. Really appreciate the reporting. Good to see you, man.

John.

BERMAN: All right, breaking overnight, at least two people have died with hundreds rescued after historic flash flooding in New Mexico. We have new video showing the Chavez County sheriff stranded on top of his car.

CNN's Derek Van Dam is with me now with the latest.

What are we seeing here, Derek?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, well, we are so grateful for the Chavez County sheriff going in and performing these rescues. But what happens when you have to rescue the rescuer, right? And that is the situation that unfolded for so many residents of Roswell. This is in eastern New Mexico. This all happened late Saturday into early Sunday morning. So, evolving in the nighttime hours. And the floodwaters got so high that it swept away vehicles, it inundated businesses, buildings. And you'll see some of the damage aftermath in just one moment.

But this is not a welcome sight, especially considering all the things that the country has gone through. What - considering what happened with Hurricane Helene and into the mountains of North Carolina just a few weeks ago. But that - these are very similar sites. You can see he the caked mud on the streets here. Buildings being swept away off of their foundations. Look at these cars, almost like they're toy vehicles, just washed up right along this beach - this bridge and stacked as well. You could just see the brute force of the water as it swept through Roswell, New Mexico.

So, why in the world did this happen? Well, we received nearly a half a year's total worth of rainfall in just one day's time. And, in fact, just a few hours' time. This is the wettest day on record for this particular location. And you can see why. This is rainfall accumulation from the storms that moved over the same areas for several hours. There's Roswell. A lot of the flooding occurring just to the south and west of the city.

The good news is, John, the rain has ended, so it will continue to dry things out. But now they're left with the cleanup process as this system continues to advance eastward.

And, yes, that mud is very thick and the damage is obviously very concerning as roads were completely washed out from this flood.

BERMAN: Wow. I mean I've been there. An area not used to rain like this at all. VAN DAM: Right.

BERMAN: Derek Van Dam, thank you very much.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, ahead, a death row inmate is set to testify today before Texas lawmakers, days after his execution was halted. Could this testimony end up getting him off death row?

And King Charles gets heckled during his visit to Australia by a lawmaker. What she's saying ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:52:32]

SIDNER: IN the wake of the January 6th Capitol insurrection, major social media platforms responded by suspending accounts that spread misinformation. But since then, the social media industry has undergone a dramatic transformation and now stopping the spread of such lies is actually harder.

CNN tech reporter Brian Fung is joining me now from Washington.

Brian, experts who study election misinformation are saying their jobs have gotten harder since 2020. Why?

BRIAN FUNG, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yes, Sara, really this is about a big shift from the 2016 to 2020 period when a lot of social media companies invested heavily in content moderation and election misinformation efforts, to now rolling back a lot of those investments and saying, we now don't need as much in the way of policies about that.

You know you had companies engaging in mass layoffs beginning with X, formerly Twitter. But then those also spread to other companies as well, hitting their trust and safety teams. And you had companies like Meta and YouTube, you know, allowing things like lies to be platformed once again on their platforms, claiming falsely that the 2020 election had been stolen.

So, a lot of fact-checkers have been telling me, you know, look, this makes it a lot harder for us to do our jobs. And, in fact, one of them, Baybars Orsek from Logically Facts, a fact checking organization, told me, "the impact of layoffs, budget cuts in journalism programs, and the crackdown on trust and safety teams at X and other major platforms have set troubling precedent as we approach the upcoming elections."

Now, that's not the only thing that's happened. We've had GOP officials at all levels of government engaging in a broad campaign to discredit content moderation or to pass laws seeking to make content moderation by tech platforms harder.

They've also engaged in lawsuits, filing lawsuits against the Biden administration, for example, that had sought to undermine partnerships between the U.S. government's election security teams and the tech companies where the two sides would talk about election security threats to - to the U.S. election security infrastructure. And that had also been coming under attack by Republican officials in - and in (INAUDIBLE) Missouri.

So, all of this altogether has really contributed to a culture of intimidation that has made it - raised the political cost of implementing some of these policies and programs by tech companies.

[08:55:06]

And as one academic from George Washington University told me, quote, "the platforms only ever took this as seriously as they felt they needed to." And with some of these changes since 2020, the pressure has now lifted on these companies to maintain the same level of vigilance that they had before.

Sara.

SIDNER: And if anything tells you that, the head of one of those companies has been re-posting lies about the election.

How are researchers adapting to this new, difficult environment?

FUNG: Yes, well, researchers say that they are trying to adapt to this - this new and more difficult environment. You know, for example, even though researchers have lost access to much of Meta's platforms because Meta shut down a critical monitoring tool called CrowdTangle and they no longer have access to Twitter or X because they've raised the cost of accessing that - that data, they say they're still looking at ads, still looking at TikToks, still looking at Telegram and other apps to see what they can find out ahead of the election.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, Brian Fung, thank you so much for that reporting for us.

John.

BERMAN: All right, four people, including a child, were killed after a helicopter crashed into a Houston communications tower. It caused a huge explosion that could be heard and seen blocks away. There is video this morning of damage to the town. You can see just how far that fire spread.

The Navy has confirmed the deaths of two pilots who crashed during a flight training near Mount Rainier. The plane crashed near a remote and heavily wooded area about 6,000 feet above sea level. Recovery teams are still at the scene collecting evidence. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

So, King Charles received a not so royal welcome on a visit to the Australian parliament. All right, I think we actually have - somewhere on the internet you

can find her saying words out loud. Senator Lidia Thorpe represents an area home too much of Australia's indigenous population, who lived for thousands of years on the continent before the arrival of British settlers 230 years ago. You can just imagine it when it's not a silent movie, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, but silent movies are also fun as well.

BERMAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: This morning it is unclear if a Texas death row inmate will be testifying as requested before state lawmakers today. Robert Roberson was scheduled to be executed last week for the 2002 death of his two-year-old daughter. He would have become the first person in the United States to be put to death for a conviction related to shaken baby syndrome. At the last minute, the Texas Supreme Court halted that execution, halted at least in part because of this request from Texas lawmakers to hear him testify.

CNN's Ed Lavandera following all of this.

So, Ed, what is going to happen now?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we appear to be at an impasse right now. Essentially, as you mentioned, Roberson - Robert Roberson is expected to testify at noon central time here today at the Texas capitol in front of this house committee that issued the subpoena that essentially saved his life last week, but it's not clear that is going to happen. We've spoken with Roberson's attorney and - over the last 24 hours.

And what they're describing is a situation where what we have seen in the last few days is the Texas attorney general has sent a letter to that house committee saying that they would only provide Robert Roberson to testify virtually. Those lawmakers have made it clear since last week, as well as Roberson's lawyers, that they will the death row inmate to testify in person. And essentially Roberson's lawyers saying their hands are tied right now, that the attorney general has interjected and is not respecting the subpoena that has been issued for Roberson. And that is the situation that we find ourselves right in. Some real clear questions asked about whether or not this is actually going to happen in-person in the coming hours, as was originally planned.

The attorney general sent a letter to the chairman of the committee that issued the subpoena over the weekend saying that because of public safety issues, as well as concerns for Robert Roberson well- being, that they would provide him to testify virtually. And that is not what the lawmakers and Roberson's lawyers want in this situation. So, we will see how this plays out in the next few hours.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, as this plays out in the next few hours, there's also just the other major issue of all - his attorneys and a whole group of people who are trying to fight to prove what they say is his innocence in court. And where does that stand?

LAVANDERA: Well, exactly. And that's the bigger issue here. While these sides kind of fight over this subpoena and how Roberson will appear here at the capitol, the bigger fight is still unresolved for Roberson's legal team and his advocates.

[09:00:02]

Roberson's lawyers have been saying for months now that they believe they have medical evidence that proves his innocence, but so far they have not.