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Texas Sending Inspectors to Harris County for General Election; Search Intensifies for Missing Princeton University Student; . Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired October 20, 2022 - 10:30   ET

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

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BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: In Texas, the Secretary of State's Office announced that it will send inspectors to observe vote counting in Harris County general election. The state says the move was prompted by an audit of the 2020 election. But critics in the state's most populous county, which includes Democratic-leaning Houston, are skeptical.

CNN Senior National Correspondent Ed Lavendera joins us now. So, Ed, what more are you learning?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, as you mentioned, this is all stemming from a controversial audit, we should point out, of just four counties in the state that the Texas Secretary of State's Office announced just over a year ago. And now, just days before early voting is set to begin, the Secretary of State's Office has announced that it is going to send inspectors to monitor the election there in Harris County because of what it describes as serious breaches in the way information and vote information was handled during the 2020 election, on particular, these mobile ballot boxes that were used in that election.

So, this letter goes on to say that they're going to -- they have questions and concerns about the way that information that was stored, and because of that, they're going to send a team of inspectors. And the Texas Attorney General's Office says it is also going to send a task force to handle questions and complaints and concerns coming from poll watchers, voters, inspectors as well.

And that opens up another can of worms because, obviously, the attorney general, a very controversial figure in this state, is on the ballot. And he has been a huge supporter of Donald Trump and raising doubts about the 2020 election.

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The Democratic county judge in Harris County, Lina Hidalgo, said in a statement that the timing of this letter is at best suspicious and that is potentially an attempt to sabotage county efforts by sowing doubt in the election process. The Texas Secretary of State's Office says it has done this in the past, sending inspectors to counties across the state during election time, and there is some truth to that. And what officials in Harris County are questioning now is the timing of this letter, Bianna. This is an audit that has been going on for more than a year now. And this letter just now arising just a few days before early voting is set to begin.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Ed Lavendera, thank you.

Well, in the next hour, President Biden will leave the White House and head to Pennsylvania where he'll tour a newly repaired bridge in Pittsburgh. You may remember when it collapsed back in January. Money from the bipartisan infrastructure bill is being used to fix it. After that, he'll attend a fundraiser for the Democratic Senate nominee, Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, in Philadelphia.

And we've just learned that Fetterman will fly with the president on Air Force One to that event. He's, of course, locked in a tight race with Republican Mehmet Oz for that Senate seat.

Joining me now to talk about all of this is Michael Nutter, former Democratic Mayor of Philadelphia. Mr. Mayor, good to have you on the program.

So, we know that infrastructure is crucial. Infrastructure is a crucial, crucial point for so many in this country and particularly in your state. We remember that bridge collapse that the president visited earlier this year. Is this the right message that he'll be sending out there given that he, in fact, did pass infrastructure legislation that many of his predecessors were not able to?

FORMER MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER (D-PHILADELPHIA, PA): Well, it is a historic legislation and at the most challenging time. We know, sadly, that American infrastructure, I think, by any of the engineering societies, I think we're maybe at D or D-plus, never a grade you want to get if you're in school. And so American infrastructure is in disarray and disrepair, and so it is absolutely the right message.

This is not only about infrastructure. When you talk about infrastructure, you're really talking about jobs and putting people to work. And that is what President Biden is all about. That is what John Fetterman is all about. And that is what we need in Pennsylvania, more Pennsylvanians working.

GOLODRYGA: Work, economy, inflation, all important issues. Another important issue for voters is crime. And I'm curious as to how concerned you are about whether or not that is a weakness for Democrats given tha tthe crime that we've seen as of late in big cities like Philadelphia.

NUTTER: I think we've been very clear as Democrats. First of all, we're all about public safety. And, again, you need people to have jobs, you need economic opportunity and, again, putting people to work. When people have money, when people are working, we know for a fact that there is just less crime. The pandemic has been hard on this country and certainly on Pennsylvania, but there is no question that Pennsylvania Democrats and Democrats across the country are all about public safety. We want criminal justice reform. You can have both at the same time. And anyone who talks about it as either/or, that is a false choice that is unacceptable in America.

GOLODRYGA: Let me ask you about John Fetterman and the question that still surround his health after his stroke back in May. Obviously, we all wish him the best of health and a speedy recovery. I want to read from you what his doctor said. He just released a letter from his doctor, in which he said he spoke intelligently without cognitive deficits, occasional words he will miss, which seems like he doesn't hear the word, that it is actually not processed properly. His hearing of sound, such as music, is not affected.

Some, of course, have been calling for months now for a full release of his medical records. Do you think that what we just saw from his doctor is sufficient enough just three weeks before voters head to the polls?

NUTTER: John Fetterman is ready to serve. Obviously, he had a stroke. There will be a recovery. Every decent doctor in America knows and would advise their patients to do their best to get well. He happens to be running for Senate. Okay, fine. But there is no question that upon election and in the weeks and months afterwards, he is going to be able to perform his duties as a United States senator.

And this is, again, just a false issue. And Mr. Oz, if he was advising one of his own patients, he would say take your time, recover, but if he happened to be running for Senate, take it slow, get your health, win the election and go on and do your job and represent Pennsylvania. John Fetterman is going to be fine. He's going to be a great United States senator.

GOLODRYGA: And as we see John Fetterman leads Oz slightly in the polls, Biden won the state in 2020 by a little more than 81,000 votes.

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Does it all come out to what turnout looks like that night?

NUTTER: Every election is all about turnout and getting our folks out. This is Pennsylvania, you know? Our state color should probably be purple. We're the ultimate purple state. And we take nothing for granted. We saw what happened in 2016 when maybe we took some things for granted. We didn't do that in 2020. We can't do it in 2022. We won't do it no 2024.

And so it is all about turnout, driving out our voters, Democrats who want to win, moderate Republicans who know that the Mastriano/Oz combo is the worst possible outcome for Pennsylvania and sort of the independents as well. It is all about turnout.

GOLODRYGA: Michael Nutter, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it today. NUTTER: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: And next, we're live with the latest on the search for a missing student last seen early Friday morning. What her family is telling investigators and CNN about her case.

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GOLODRYGA: It's been nearly one week since the 20-year-old Princeton student went missing, and now officials are intensifying their search for her. Misrach Eunetie was last seen early Friday morning near a residence hall. Her family requested a wellness check on Sunday and filed a missing persons report Monday.

CNN's Brynn Gingras is live in Princeton with the latest. And, Brynn, Misrach's, friends say she was not someone to go off the radar. So, what more are you hearing?

BRYNNA GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Bianna. I mean, this is a campus that is deeply concerned about her whereabouts. And we just got off the phone with Misrach Eunetie's oldest brother who is here with Princeton with her immediate family, with her distant relatives, as well as friends and family, conducting, really, their own search because they said they're not getting much information from local authorities here in Princeton or the prosecutor's office, which usually handles these types of investigations. They're being told, he said, that they are investigating and that this takes time. But he told us, quote, that is one thing we don't have. We don't have time.

So, he essentially he said they're all huddled together, and right now, they're putting together their own timeline of where they think Misrach has been in the last few days. And what they've come up with, as you said, Bianna, was her last time she was seen was Thursday night, really, into Friday morning. She volunteered at a local food club that Princeton has here on campus. She was seen in her dorm at 3:00 A.M.

According to the family, the roommates of her actually saw her Friday morning in her dorm room. Her father tried to reach out to her by phone but didn't make a connection, basically thought she was just busy, tried it again on Saturday. The texts were going through, the phone calls were going through, and she missed a very important appointment that had to do with citizenship. That alarmed the family. By Sunday, they said to the university, hey, we need to you do a wellbeing check. By Monday, an alert went out on to this campus asking for the public's help in trying to search for Misrach.

So, you can imagine there is now a frantic search several days later looking for this junior at Princeton University. We are told, as you said, Bianna, that she is not someone who wouldn't keep in contact with her family, she's not someone who would just fly off the radar. So, there are just so many questions on where this investigation stands right now. But we're told it is ongoing. We're told that helicopters are being used, drones, water craft. So, we're continuing to try to get those updates. But, certainly, this is a family deeply concerned, now descended on this campus along with friends and family who are trying to search for her.

GOLODRYGA: Hopefully they can find her soon. Brynn Gingras, thank you.

Well, breathtaking new images from the depths of space. We're taking a closer look at the Pillars of Creation. That is up next.

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GOLODRYGA: The James Webb Space Telescope has breathtaking new images that reveal never before seen details in the iconic Pillars of Creation. It is part of the Eagle Nebula, which is about 6,500 light years from Earth. This though was previously captured by the Hubble Telescope in 1995, there you see it on the left.

CNN Space and Defense Correspondent Kristin Fisher joins me now with more details. Just a contrast between what we saw in 1995 and now is breathtaking. What else did Webb reveal, Kristin?

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, such a contrast, Bianna. But because the Hubble Telescope made the Pillars of Creation so famous back in 1995, this was one of the most hotly anticipated objects in space for the Webb Telescope to actually turn its sights.

And what astronomers and scientists all over the world have found is that Webb did not disappoint, especially with this image, and I'll tell you why. What you're seeing right there is the Pillars of Creation, about 6,500 light years away. And that makes it so special is that that is an area where baby stars are born.

And so right now, you're looking at the Hubble on left and right there is what the Webb Space Telescope took of it. And you can see on the right, it is just so much more detailed, and that is really valuable information to astronomers.

And so what you're seeing, the things that look kind of like rocks, the brown stuff, that is all interstellar gas and dust, the stuff that actually feed new star formations.

And then if you look at kind of the tips of the tips, the finger tips almost, you'll see like little red dots or little wavy lines that are bright red. The red dots are actually the baby stars that are kind of the star of this picture. And then the red wavy lines that kind of look like lava at the tips of those finger tips are actually ejections from those baby stars.

[10:55:07] And so what scientists are so excited about is they are really hoping that this type of image will give them a clearer understand of how stars are born out of those dusty clouds over millions of years. And, you know, Bianna, one of the things that I found so interesting is we're calling these baby stars, right? But NASA scientists estimate that those baby stars, those red dots, Bianna, they're are still a few hundred thousand years old. So, that really puts it in perspective for us.

GOLODRYGA: Well, listen, my mom still calls me her baby, so it is all relative, right? These are quickly becoming my favorite segments, Kristin, just beautiful and incredible. Thank you.

FISHER: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: And thank you so much for joining us today. I'll Bianna Golodryga.

At This Hour with Kate Bolduan starts after a quick break.

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