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New York Times/Siena College Poll Shows Harris and Trump Tied Nationally at 48 Percent; Los Angeles D.A. to Recommend Erik and Lyle Menendez be Resentenced; Tesla Has Blockbuster Day on Wall Street. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired October 25, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking just moments ago, it is all tied up. Brand new polling that shows just how close this presidential race is with Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both headed to a state that will not decide the election.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: What a tease, John Berman. A blockbuster move in a blockbuster case, the Los Angeles district attorney said to officially recommend that a judge reconsider the Menendez brothers' life sentences.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And back on Earth in time for the holidays. An overnight splashdown just brought four NASA astronauts home from their 235 day mission in space.

I'm Sara Sidner with Kate Bolduan and John Berman. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: All right. Brand new this morning, a dead heat. Now, sometimes in polling when people say dead heat, they mean within the margin of error or close? No. Not this time. It is actually a dead heat, exactly tied at 48 percent in what will be the final New York Times/Siena College poll.

Now, this might not be the most surprising poll number out this morning. According to an ABC News/Ipsos poll, half the country sees Donald Trump as a fascist, 49 percent.

So, with the election hanging in the balance, both candidates are heading to a state where that will not decide it, Texas. We'll talk shortly about why and how Beyonce factors in.

First, a taste of Vice President Harris on the stump with Barack Obama in Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It's either Donald Trump in there, stewing, stewing over his enemies list, or me working for me, checking off my to-do list.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: This was Donald Trump in an interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're either going to have to pardon yourself or you're going to have to fire Jack Smith. Which one will you do?

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Oh, it's so easy. It's so easy. It's so easy. I would try ahead within two seconds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, let's go to CNN's Eva McKend. Eva, what is in store today with the vice president going to a state where, let's be honest, she likely won't win.

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, they're traveling to Texas because they described it as the abortion bans. The event will feature a Texas couple who led a lawsuit against the state's abortion bans after suffering life-threatening pregnancy complications.

Jeanette Williams, the mother of Amber Nicole Thurman, who died in 2022 from a treatable infection due to delays getting reproductive care in Georgia, she's going to be in attendance as well.

And listen, John, this is what we've been seeing from the Harris campaign. They're leaning on women to tell their own stories to illustrate some of the tragedies abortion restrictions have heeded. Here's how Harris talks about reproductive rights on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Donald Trump still refuses to even acknowledge the pain and the suffering he has caused. He insists that, quote, everybody wanted for Roe versus Wade to be overturned, which is just a further example of how out of touch the man is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: And, John, this is core to their closing argument. You know, not only is she traveling to Texas, but the campaign has several ads up speaking to this very issue, using women to tell their stories.

Now, in Texas, she's going to have some star power. This is the first time we're going to see Beyonce on the campaign trail with her, as well as country music star Willie Nelson. John?

BERMAN: All right, maybe get a duet there. All right, Evan McKend, thank you very much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: With these 11 days to go until the election, the Trump campaign is facing a new allegation from a woman. Stacey Williams, a former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, telling CNN that Donald Trump groped her in the 90s. She says it happened at Trump Tower and it happened in front of Jeffrey Epstein.

CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has more on why Williams says she's coming forward now.

[07:05:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STACEY WILLIAMS, ACCUSES TRUMP OF GROPING HER IN 1993: The second he was in front of me, he pulled me into him and his hands were just on me and didn't come off.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Former Sports Illustrated model Stacy Williams says that Donald Trump groped her more than 30 years ago in Trump Tower with the later convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein watching and smiling in the room as it happened.

WILLIAMS: Then the hands started moving and they were, you know, on the side of my breasts, on my hips back down to my butt, back up sort of them -- you know, they were just on me the whole time. And I -- sorry, I froze.

SERFATY: Williams has not spoken out about the incident extensively until now. And in her first on camera interview, she tells CNN the most detailed accounting of the incident yet, alleging that in 1993, Epstein, who she was briefly dating at the time, brought her into Trump Tower.

WILLIAMS: This context made no sense, because the hands were on me and then he and Jeffrey just kept talking and like looking at each other and smiling.

SERFATY: After leaving Trump Tower, Williams said that Epstein berated her for allowing Trump to touch her.

WILLIAMS: I just had this really like sickening feeling that it was coordinated, that somehow the whole thing was -- I was rolled in there like a piece of meat for some kind of weird, twisted game.

SERFATY: Soon after the encounter, she severed ties with Epstein and said she was unaware of the kind of predatory behavior that would come to light in later years. She also says she received this undated postcard from Trump delivered to her modeling agency by courier shortly after the incident.

Stacey, you're home away from home. Love, Donald.

WILLIAMS: I felt sick to my stomach.

SERFATY: Williams says she did not tell anyone about the incident for over 10 years.

WILLIAMS: I felt a wave of shame and I just couldn't think about it, face it, talk about it for a very long time. I put it in a little box inside of me. Turned the key, locked it.

SERFATY: CNN has spoken to three friends of Williams to corroborate her story, who each said that she told them about the incident with Trump and Epstein in 2006, 2015, and '16.

The Trump campaign has denied Williams allegations, calling it a fake story contrived by Kamala Harris campaign. Williams' account only adding to the lengthy list of women who have alleged that Trump groped, kissed, or assaulted them. Trump has also denied those allegations.

Trump, who was close friends with Epstein, once calling him a terrific guy, has long sought to publicly distance himself from Epstein since he first faced charges related to inappropriate sexual conduct with underage girls in the mid-2000s.

TRUMP: I was not a fan of Jeffrey Epstein.

SERFATY: Williams has been engaged as a Democratic volunteer for decades and shared her story on a Zoom call on Monday at a Survivors for Kamala event, supporting the vice president's run, although the group is not affiliated with the campaign.

WILLIAMS: I felt like that was some sort of sick bet or game between the two of them.

SERFATY: With the election less than two weeks away, Williams arguing that her decision to speak out now was not driven by the presidential campaign but with the release this week of a documentary about Sports Illustrated, one she participated in two years ago, during which she briefly alluded to the incident.

What do you say to those critics that say this is politically motivated?

WILLIAMS: I can't control when that documentary comes out. I can't control the fact that it's premiering two weeks before the election.

SERFATY: And she says she could not stay silent any longer.

WILLIAMS: It takes a lot of guts and you have to really prepare yourself to be ready for that onslaught and I'm ready now. Just bring it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Sunlen Serfaty is here with us now. In, Sunlen, great reporting and also Donald Trump was asked about this directly last night. I believe. What did he say?

SERFATY (on camera): That's right. He was asked directly by one of our CNN reporters on the ground with him. They were at a noisy Cuban restaurant in Las Vegas. The reporter asked about Stacey Williams, and he kind of leaned in to hear her question. They were standing about a foot away. But he pointed to his ear and said, can't you hear you. And it notably was noisy in that restaurant. Meantime, after our first report first aired last night. The Trump campaign of sending us a second statement, saying that the handwriting on the postcard they say was not Trump's. And, of course, they've denied these allegations.

BOLDUAN: Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Still ahead, the Menendez brothers may get a new sentence nearly three 30 years after being convicted of murdering their parents. What's next after the recommendation from the Los Angeles County district attorney?

And Elon Musk is even richer this morning after an epic day for Tesla stock the way he's using his cash to try to influence the presidential race.

And see what happens when firefighters enter this burning building trying to save a woman inside.

[07:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Happening today, a stunning move. The Los Angeles district attorney says he will recommend to the court that a judge re-sentenced Erik and Lyle Menendez. This could mean that the brothers finally grow three more than 30 years after being sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering their parents in 1989. They didn't deny that they killed their parents, but say they acted in self-defense after years of abuse,

[07:15:00]

As new evidence surfaced in the case, the L.A. district attorney, George Gascon, says the brothers have paid their debt to society.

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister is joining us now. What happens from here if this recommendation is what happens in court?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: This is the most movement that we have seen in this high profile case, Sarah, in more than three decades. But as you said, this is just a recommendation right now from the Los Angeles district attorney.

Now, this is a strong recommendation coming from Gascon, but today he says that he is going to formally make this recommendation with the court. Then what goes from here is a judge is the one who will determine next steps. So, it is not the D. A. who can say they should walk free.

So, they are not walking free today. This can take a matter of months. But yesterday after this press conference, the Menendez Brothers' attorney Mark Garago said that he believes that they can be home by Thanksgiving, which is obviously incredibly soon.

Now, a hearing date has not been set yet for next steps, but the D.A.'s office says that they hope that that will be set within the next 30 to 45 days. Gascon says that they are eligible for immediate parole, which means that if a judge agrees with his recommendation, then they could walk free very, very soon.

Now, of course, this is a very controversial recommendation because these were gruesome murders. Erik and Lyle, they admitted to the murders. That is not a question. They did shoot both of their parents, Jose and Katie Menendez, dead back in 1989. Now, after two trials, first in 1993, then the second in 95, they were ultimately convicted and sentenced to life without parole.

But what has happened now is there's been interest over these 35 years, but recently there's been renewed interest, Sara, thanks to a show on Netflix from super producer Ryan Murphy and also a series of documentaries.

Now that Ryan Murphy show on Netflix was met with some criticism, but again, it did bring renewed attention to this case yesterday during this press conference, the D.A. even said that this renewed Hollywood attention factored into his decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE GASCON, LOS ANGELES DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Because it was a more recent documentary about the case that again brought a tremendous amount of public attention.

Our office got flooded with requests for information. And even though this case was already scheduled to be heard in late November, I decided to move this forward because, quite frankly, we do not have enough resources to handle all the requests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: Now, critics have said that this timing is suspicious given that it is so close to his re-election. But it wasn't just the documentaries. There were also two new key pieces of evidence, excuse me, that were submitted by the Menendez Brothers' attorneys, including a letter we see here that was written by Erik a year before the murders. They say that proves that he was sexually abused by his father. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you so much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: He is Donald Trump's most famous billionaire backer. This morning, there's new data out showing that Elon Musk's bank account is getting even bigger. And with that, so too is his influence on the 2024 race.

And SpaceX splashed down overnight, a safe return for seven astronauts.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00] BERMAN: All right. New this morning, Elon Musk, already the richest man in the world, just got a whole lot richer, at least on paper. Tesla saw its biggest one day gain in more than a decade. It is now valued at $832 billion. He owns a big piece of that.

CNN's Matt Egan is here. Wow.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, epic day for Tesla and Elon Musk. Share price going to the moon after the reported blockbuster results, so up 22 percent for Tesla in one day, best day in 11 years, second best day since they went public back in 2010. So, the market value went up by $150 billion.

BERMAN: That's with a B.

EGAN: That's with a B.

Perhaps some context, $150 billion, that's more than Nike is worth. And Tesla gained that much value in a single day. It's stunning, and as you mentioned, Elon Musk, the biggest shareholder. So, his net worth went up by more than $33 billion. He was already the richest guy on the planet he's kind of running away with this thing right now because his net worth has surged to $270 billion, well ahead of number two on that list. Amazon co-Founder Jeff Bezos, well ahead of Facebook co-Founder Mark Zuckerberg.

And all this coming, of course, as Musk has emerged as one of the most prolific backers to former President Donald Trump. Musk is clearly betting that his own business empire will be better off if Trump is back in the White House.

BERMAN: So, what exactly happened with Tesla? Because I thought they've been having some issues.

EGAN: Yes, they were definitely having some issues. The stock was actually down on the year ahead of this report, but everything turned around because they reported a much bigger than expected profit, a key measure of profitability unexpectedly surged because they've been able to cut the amount of money they have to spend when they build these cars.

Also the Cybertruck, that controversial, futuristic looking that truck, that's actually profitable for Tesla for the first time, which is pretty significant.

[07:25:02]

There's been a lot of recalls. Again, it looks it looks sort of odd, but I know my kids are big fans of the Cybertruck whenever we see them on the road.

Another key thing that happened here is Elon Musk is projecting really strong growth for next year. So, you put it all together and Wall Street banks are scrambling to bump up their price targets on this stock. A veteran analyst, Dan ives, he put it this way. He said, Tesla delivered an early Christmas present for investors, an Aaron Judge- like quarter and guidance. When we zoom out, this stock is up something like 20,000 percent since it went public, although it's actually not as high as it was three years ago.

And, John, there are still some significant challenges here, right? There's still a lot of competition. There's a price war. Tesla's very reliant on car buyers in China. And don't forget Elon Musk, his brand has become very associated with Trump, which could be a risk as well.

BERMAN: Matt Egan, great discussion, thank you very much. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. This morning, Donald Trump says if he returns to the White House, he will fire Special Counsel Jack Smith, quote, within two seconds. Can he actually do that?

And Texas hold'em, Beyonce brings her star power to the stage tonight to lift up Kamala Harris.

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