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U.S. Intensifies Push For Ceasefire In Gaza & Lebanon; NYT Poll; 45 Percent Of Voters Believe System Doesn't Represent Them; Court Rules Sean Combs' Accuser Cannot Remain Anonymous. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired October 31, 2024 - 13:30   ET

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

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DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, at my apartment in New York.

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(LAUGHTER)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: A great story.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: That's the best thing ever.

SANCHEZ: Yes, a great story.

Our thanks to Donie O'Sullivan for that report.

It makes me think about potentially start a franchise where we sell some stuff, it may be honey or --

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KEILAR: I can't, even with you. I just want to do a work-from=home story like that.

SANCHEZ: That was -- that was brilliant.

KEILAR: Yes.

SANCHEZ: We'll put a pin in that conversation and get serious.

Because still ahead, CIA Director William Burns meets with Egypt's president to discuss ceasefire efforts in Lebanon and Gaza. Are they actually any closer to a deal? We have details for you in just minutes.

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[13:35:13]

KEILAR: Top U.S. officials today are in the Middle East, making a diplomatic push for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon. But people familiar with the talks tell CNN, there are doubts that any progress can be made before the next U.S. president is known.

SANCHEZ: And, meantime, Israel isn't pausing it's campaign with punishing strikes in Gaza and Lebanon. At least 19 people were killed in the historic city of Baalbek, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.

Despite this, the country's caretaker prime minister says he feels optimistic about the potential for a ceasefire deal.

CNN's Matthew Chance is live for us in Jerusalem.

Matthew, is there any reason for that optimism?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a good question. I mean, look, and the fact is that the Lebanese prime minister does not unfortunately speak for Hezbollah.

But the fact that there are U.S. officials from the White House, from the Biden administration in the region right now, in Israel tonight, and elsewhere in the region as well, is a positive sign that there is this push from the Biden administration to get some sort of ceasefire agreement over the line in the, sort of, the last days before the U.S. presidential election.

There are also talks underway about a possibility of a hostage release from Gaza as well.

But it's -- you know, it's hard to see at the moment. The Israeli government is going to want to go for something organized at -- at such short notice when there's this presidential election in the offing.

Already, Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has said that if there is any agreement to be had, a ceasefire in Lebanon, Israel must have the ability to enforce that agreement.

So we're talking about the broad terms of a Hezbollah withdrawal from southern Lebanon, of a Lebanese army force being put in there to essentially make sure that Hezbollah doesn't come close to the Israeli border.

And basically things like that that would allow Israel to send its population, who have been evacuated from the north of the country, back to their homes.

In addition, Israel would want the ability to enforce that kind of agreement. And it's not clear that Hezbollah or their Iranian backers are at the point yet where there would be willing to accept that kind of an agreement.

KEILAR: And IDF leaders are -- military leaders are suggesting their work in Gaza and Lebanon is done, but Netanyahu, of course, has a say in this. What's his agenda on this? CHANCE: Yes. I mean, well, to be clear, what military figures are

basically saying in the briefings that we've been having, is that, yes, a lot has been achieved when it comes to Hamas and Hezbollah.

For example, there's still stuff that could be done, but the price of any further military action is kind of stacking up. And perhaps there's a way in which, diplomatically, these objectives could be achieved.

It all comes down to a political decision. And that goes back to Benjamin Netanyahu, as you say. And he is at the head of a coalition which has right-wing elements in it that do not want the war in Gaza, for instance, even though Hamas has been degraded significantly, they don't want that war come to an end, right now.

And so it's a political decision. But Benjamin Netanyahu is also hostage to the -- to the right-wing political parties in his coalition, who may withdraw their support if he backs down on Gaza or does some sort of ceasefire there in Lebanon.

KEILAR: All right, Matthew Chance, thank you for the latest from Jerusalem for us.

[13:33:51]

And still ahead, one woman, who has accused Sean "Diddy" Combs of sexual assault, is being forced to reveal her identity. Why a judge says she cannot proceed with her lawsuit as a Jane Doe.

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SANCHEZ: As surprising as it may seem, millions of Americans will not cast a ballot in this year's election. And one simple reason may be disillusionment.

A recent "New York Times"-Sienna College poll finds nearly half of voters, 45 percent, believe our system doesn't represent them and 89 percent say our country's political and economic systems need change.

SANCHEZ: One state is now putting a formal change on the ballot. In this election, voters in Nevada will decide whether to back open primaries and rank choice voting, changes that experts believe can improve how we choose our elected leaders.

Joining me now is the author of "The Primary Solution: Rescuing Our Democracy from the Fringes," Nick Troiano.

Nick, thank you so much for being with us.

We should let folks know that you are the executive director of Unite America that is behind this push for these kinds of changes.

Now, this year, your organization found that just 7 percent of voters, elects almost 90 percent of the U.S. House. You argue that that makes the country less democratic and more divided.

Help us understand exactly what that data means and then how you would go about addressing it.

NICK TROIANO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNITE AMERICA & AUTHOR: Well, it's great to be with you.

What the data means is that we have a political system that's broken. Most of our elected officials are chosen in low turnout party primaries by the fringes of both parties.

And so it's no wonder why voters are dissatisfied with their choices on the ballot. They're dissatisfied with the politicians who are in office. And they're dissatisfied with the results they're getting from government.

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And our case is, if we want to fix any of that, we have to fix our election system, which impacts the incentives of all of our candidates and elected leaders.

And so there is a historic number of states, six in total, with open primaries initiatives on the ballot this year that would do away with party primaries and move towards open to all candidate primaries.

So every voter has the freedom to vote for whomever they want. And then the general election, whoever earns true majority support wins. And we think that will really improve how representative and functional our government is.

SANCHEZ: Essentially, because like you said, the folks at the fringes won't eat up all of the party's attention and people are able to move between the parties if there's a candidate that perhaps addresses most of their concerns, even though they're not within that party.

But, Nick, the argument that I've heard about open primaries is that,, in theory, one party can have it supporters swing the oppositions primary toward a candidate that's less electable in a general election.

We've seen both parties try to do that through funding certain more extreme candidates in primaries. Are there any safeguards that you have in mind that might prevent that?

TROIANO: By moving to a more open primary actually will do away with the gamesmanship that we've seen of how parties have spent and money to elect the lead most electable candidate of the other party. And it will also do away with other types of gamesmanship.

Right now, in Colorado, where there's Prop 131 on the ballot for this system, we're seeing in Colorado, the Democratic Party, which is opposed to this reform, they send out mailers to support a Libertarian candidate in one of the congressional races because they want to peel off votes from Republicans and help their own candidate. This system would also do away with that. It creates a more level playing field and gives a lot more power, more choice, more voice to voters.

And it's remarkable to me that, in an election cycle where both parties are bitterly divided, the only thing that they both agree on is to help stop these reforms.

The Republican Party in Montana, the Democratic Party in Nevada, they're opposing this because they are clinging to their own power. And I think voters will see through that and support these initiatives.

SANCHEZ: In the states, the six that you mentioned that have adopted these kinds of measures, what of the results been like, what kind of changes have you seen?

TROIANO: Well, the best example is in Alaska, which implemented this system for the first time in 2022, we saw a 60 percent increase in the number of voters who cast ballots that we're in competitive elections where their votes actually made a difference, not determined just by party affiliation.

And we saw how candidates that have different political backgrounds got elected, a conservative Republican governor, a moderate Republican Senator, a moderate Republican Democrat from the same statewide electorate.

Which shows how these reforms aren't about trying to tilt the scales towards one side or the other, but to give voters a lot more voice and choice in their elections.

Now, Alaska is also on the ballot this year because opponents who lost under that system and it didn't represent a majority are trying to take that away. And so we're working to defend Alaska in addition to spread this reform in more states.

I think it will be a big deal if we end this election cycle with more states having these reforms than we began. And this is going to be a multi-year effort both on the ballot, through legislatures, as more people come to realize and appreciate that, if we want to improve our politics, we have to fix the system.

SANCHEZ: Nick Troiano, we have to leave the conversation there. I'll look forward to seeing what the results are in and potentially having you back.

TROIANO: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

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Still ahead, CNN catches up with House Speaker Mike Johnson to ask what he really meant when he told supporters there would be massive reform to the Netan, quote, "No Obamacare," if Trump wins the election. Hear what he has to say in just a few moments.

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KEILAR: New developments today in one of the sexual assault cases that Sean "Diddy" Combs is facing. A federal judge ruled a woman suing the music mogul for rape must identify by herself for the case to move forward.

SANCHEZ: Her lawsuit is one of about a dozen that John or Jane Doe plaintiffs have filed against Combs since his arrest last month.

CNN's Kara Scannell is following these developments for us.

So, Kara, how is the judge justifying this decision?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So the judge has said that she is weighing the interests of both the plaintiffs, their privacy, as well as the defendants right to face their accuser, and the public's right -- the constitutional right that the presumption that judicial and court proceedings are made public.

So the plaintiff had argued in this case that her identity should remain private because she had concerns about her physical safety. The judge evaluated numerous tests that judges look at in these types of instances.

And said that since the Jane Doe had not had contact with Combs in the 20 years since the alleged rape, that didn't weigh in her favor.

That there has -- that Combs is, in fact, actually in federal jail so the threat to her physical safety was outweighed by his rights right to know who she was so he could defend against her claims.

And the judge saying that defendants have a right to defend themselves, including by investigating the plaintiff. And the people have a right to know who is using their courts.

The judge saying that the accuser was not entitled to the exceptional remedy of anonymity in this case.

Now, this, as you said, is one of numerous cases that have been brought. And we reached out to her attorney. He has not responded to us today.

But he previously -- previously told our colleague, Elizabeth Wagmeister, that he was -- he was aware that they might be challenges and that the plaintiffs would be prepared to go forward. We'll wait to see what he says in court now -- Boris, Brianna?

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KEILAR: Could it impact the other cases, Kara?

SCANNELL: It could. I've spoken with a number of attorneys today who said that this could have a chilling effect on other people who want to go forward with lawsuits.

I mean, as we saw, before Sean, "Diddy" Combs was even arrested, there were about a dozen lawsuits brought by people under their actual names. So you know whether people would continue to file those types of lawsuits, they certainly could.

If there is a chilling effect on those who want to move forward, that is something that may play out.

But each of these lawsuits that have been brought or before individual judges and there'll be evaluated on their individual basis, there are a number of allegations involving people who were minors at the time of the assault. And lawyers say that those cases often do remain anonymous -- Boris Brianna?

KEILAR: All right, Kara, thank you so much. We'll see how it does impact other cases.

Some numbers show that inflation has cooled even further. Coming up, what impact, if any, this could have on what is one of the top issues for voters, the economy.

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