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Former Chinese Leader Unexpectedly Led Out Of Party Congress; Obama Cuts Last Minute Ad For Fetterman As Race Tightens; Nealy 22 Million Borrowers Have Applied For Student Debt Relief; Car Found Buried In Backyard Of $15M California Mansion; EPA Launches Civil Rights Investigation Over Water Crisis In Jackson; Attack Ads Ramp Up As Midterms Elections Near. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired October 22, 2022 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:0:00]

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: China's former top leader, Hu Jintao, after several confusing moments, he's led out of the room, escorted by two men. He appears reluctant to leave. Now, Chinese politics is incredibly opaque. We don't know why this happened. But already there's a firestorm of speculation overseas. Was it because of health reasons? Or was it a political statement?

Either way, it's a symbolic moment. People are seeing it as the exit of a man who represented collective rule. While Xi Jinping, he's a strongman ruler. He's crushed dissent. He's pushed his rivals, reasserted communist party control over every aspect of Chinese society. What we know is that tomorrow when we see his top advisors revealed, is that he's going to be stacking it with his closest advisors and loyalists.

So, in this next term, expect Xi Jinping to double down on his ironclad rule. So a more authoritarian China at home, and a more aggressive China abroad. Fredricka?

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right. Well, possibly more surprises. Selina Wang, thank you so much.

All right. Hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All right. With just over two weeks until the midterm election decides who controls congress, voters are turning out in big numbers across the country to cast their ballots early. So far, nearly six million people have already voted in the midterm elections. In Georgia, more than 660,000 voters have already cast their ballots.

That number is not far off the early voting turnout for the 2020 presidential election. And it's a quarter of a million more than the early voting turnout for the 2018 midterms. Candidates are also on the campaign trail today stomping for votes and blasting the airwaves with ads, hoping to sway voters. CNN's Dan Merica is in Pennsylvania for us right now. Dan, the U.S. senate race in Pennsylvania appears to be tightening, doesn't it? I mean, what are the candidates doing and say, as we enter the homestretch?

DAN MERICA, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: Now we have seen a tightening of the polls, John Fetterman had almost a double-digit lead over the summer that has certainly closed in recent weeks. Dr. Oz has been somewhat mum about what his events are this weekend. He did appear on Fox News this morning speaking about crime and that critical upcoming debate between he and John Fetterman on Tuesday.

That is going to be arguably the most important moment in this race, mostly because of John Fetterman's recovering from a stroke in May that kept him off the campaign trail until June. That stroke has been a hung over this event. It is -- it is certainly a significant factor. And there's going to be a number of Democrats and Republicans watching the debate trying to decipher how his recovery has been going.

I have covered him throughout this year. And I can say he has improved over time. Now behind me. You can see the brewery that John Fetterman will be holding an event at. This will not be your normal John Fetterman event in the -- that you've seen in the last few weeks. This will be a more intimate discussion between he, the local Congresswoman here and Amy Klobuchar. A top Democrat who is stumping for Democrats across the country.

Now what will be notable about this event is that, you know, when John Fetterman does a rally, he often has notes. He does not use prompter, but he has notes that he gives a stump speech. This will be more free flowing. And there will be the use of closed captioning which has -- which is notable because that debate will also have closed captioning technology. Now, Amy Klobuchar is not the only Democrat coming out for John Fetterman.

Take a listen to how former President Barack Obama when he said about John Fetterman in a digital ad that began running this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So when the fate of our democracy and a woman's right to choose are on the line, I know John will fight for Pennsylvanians. You can count on John Fetterman. Make sure he can count on you vote Democrat on November 8th.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MERICA: Fred, all this attention obviously highlights how important this race is. That's why we are here in Chester County, a key county in Pennsylvania. That's why John Fetterman is here. His campaign knows that the ability to win in November will come through suburban counties like here outside of Philadelphia, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. Every moment counts, doesn't it? All right, Dan Merica, thank you so much. Let's go now to Georgia where voters continue to set records for early midterm voting. Today marks the first Saturday voters can cast their ballots. For more on this let's bring in Nadia Romero at a polling station in Atlanta. So, what is the turnout like today on this Saturday?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, the turnout has been steady at this location here in Fulton County. And that's something that you would expect to see. This is our first Saturday to early vote here in the state of Georgia. So you come behind me, you can see that people are lining up just coming out. Did you vote?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

ROMERO: How'd it go?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excellent.

ROMERO: Let me see that sticker.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Proud sticker.

ROMERO: Proud sticker.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Proud sticker.

ROMERO: This is a sticker you get after you vote here in Georgia. Ma'am, we're live on air right now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

ROMERO: And so why did you want to come out and vote and be a part of the early voting process?

[13:05:03]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because it's crucial that the voters get out and do the right thing. I wanted to make sure that I had to say in my future.

ROMERO: And you did that by voting today.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

ROMERO: Thank you for talking with us. And you see so many people coming out with that sticker and just proud of being a part of their civic duty to come out and vote. So you'll come right inside these double doors, you'll walk inside, you'll vote, you can also drop off your absentee ballot. And so many people here have told me about the key issues. What matters to them. Some say abortion, some say inflation, the economy, some are talking about health care, social security.

Listen to two women explain why they wanted to vote today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KESHAWN HAYNES, GEORGIA VOTER: Inflation, abortion, and just really kind of health care. You know, here in Georgia, they've closed some of the hospitals that are in the areas that service, you know, a large population and now we don't have anywhere to go.

MA EVANS BUCKNER, GEORGIA VOTER: For me women's rights are on the line. A poll that a certain group of people are more concerned about controlling what I do and the choices that I make or those of our daughters, those of our mothers and our aunts, as supposed to allowing people to carry automatic weapon. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: So, you hear the issues there, Fred, and what matters to voters. The last woman that you heard from, she told me she's in her 50s, she has a 19-year-old that she made sure vote. And maybe, Fred, maybe that's the key to looking young and youthful is making sure you vote. I couldn't believe it. When she told me she had a 19-year-old. She made it a family affair to come out and vote today.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, as soon as you said that, I was like, really? Oh my gosh, I'm just caught on the fact that she's an amazing looking 50-year-old but I'm with you on that. Well, I'm glad that folks that you've been talking to you are so enthusiastic about getting out and voting and are weighing all that should be weighed. That's really driving them to the polls. So, all very important. Nadia Romero, thank you so much. Appreciate that.

All right. A major setback for one of President Biden's key midterm initiatives, a federal appeals court has temporarily paused his student loan forgiveness program. The order prohibits the White House from canceling loans covered under the policy as the court considers a challenge brought on by six Republican led states. CNN senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns joining us live right now.

So Joe, borrowers, you know, could have started seeing debt relief as soon as tomorrow. But now what's going to happen?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Right. Yes. They were just about ready to start canceling debt. But now the court is going to take a look at this challenge from the sixth Republican states. And it sounds like they're going to at least get the paperwork in pretty quickly. The White House, the administration has to have its response in on Monday. On Tuesday, the sixth Republican states will have to essentially reply to the administration's response.

So that's a very short timeline, if you will. The White House for its part is saying, look, the only thing this is doing is putting a hold on actual cancellation of debt. But we can still go ahead and continue to accept applications encouraging people to continue to apply, and they say they'll continue to review those applications for this debt cancellation. Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House Press Secretary put out a statement said we will continue to move full speed ahead in our preparations and compliance with this order.

And the administration will continue to fight. Republican officials suing to block our efforts to provide relief to working families. So it's been good news and bad news for the administration over the past couple of days about this program, they won a couple court challenges. The president came here to Delaware State University in Dover to promote the program just yesterday, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Joe. And I know the president wants to focus on the here and now and what's likely to happen or, you know, in just about two weeks, but he's also being asked about his long term, longer term, you know, aspirations about running again, and what is he saying? JOHNS: Well, he did say in an interview with MSNBC, Fred, that it is his intention to run, but that he's made no formal decision and made it pretty clear that he doesn't want to put into action, all of the legal machinery that gets going whenever there's a formal declaration that there's going to be a reelection run. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The reason I'm not making a judgment about formally running and not running, once I make that judgment, a whole series of regulations kick in. And I have to be -- I treat myself as a candidate from that moment on. I have not made that formal decision, but it's my intention, my intention to run again, and we have time to make that decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:10:01]

So there are a lot of things that go into that, of course. We all know he's the oldest American president and there's also the question of what happens during the midterms. All of that is yet to be decided. Back to you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Joe Johns, thank you so much.

All right, coming up. A major a health concern for young children. The respiratory virus, RSV, is surging nationwide and pediatric hospital beds are filling up faster now than at any point during the pandemic.

Plus, authorities are searching for possible human remains after discovering a previously missing car buried behind a California mansion. Details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:15:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. Doctors are sounding the alarm about a troubling surge in a very common respiratory illness. The U.S. is seeing unprecedented levels of RSV in children overwhelming some hospitals, more than 7000 cases last week alone, according to the CDC. That's higher than any week in the past two years. And now some hospitals are struggling to keep up with the number of young patients.

Seventy-four percent of pediatric hospital beds are currently full across the country. And one of those hard-hit hospitals is Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford. CNN's Brynn Gingras is there.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This is a very common virus among children. What's not common is this surge that many hospitals all across this country, but particularly this one here in Connecticut is seeing. Now this hospital reports on average each night, 15 to 25 borders as they call them for the past two weeks. That means children who are coming into the hospital are having to stay in beds that are typically used for triage just because they can't get into the hospital because they are at full capacity.

They have turned play rooms into hospital beds. They are taking drastic measures to deal with the surge that they're seeing. We also got reports from this hospital that October is the first time since June, that the number of RSV cases has outnumbered COVID cases among children. So, extremely alarming, extremely overwhelming for these doctors, nurses and hospital staff.

Now to prepare for really another surge, possibly of the flu. On top of RSV, what this hospital has done is coordinated with the governor of the state, the Department of Public Health, even the National Guard to kind of possibly set up a field hospital in this area where I'm standing right now, if it comes to that, that they just need help and room for an influx of patients. I haven't pulled the trigger on that just yet. But that's certainly possible in the near future.

And again, the CDC saying this is a surge that they are seeing all across the country. Any doctor will say make sure you get your kids vaccinated with the flu vaccine to help prevent sort of the race and the flu. Because RSV numbers are so bad as well. I'm Brynn Gingras, CNN in Hartford, Connecticut.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. All right. The stage is set for a major legal battle. The January 6 Committee issued a subpoena to Donald Trump for his testimony and documents. Will he comply? We'll discuss next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:21:38]

WHITFIELD: The January 6 committee made good on its promise to subpoena former President Donald Trump. Formally issuing that on Friday and this is all part of an effort to compel him to testify and handover crucial documents by early November. CNN's Sara Murray has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): We are obligated to seek answers directly from the man who set this all in motion.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): That man, Donald Trump now issued a formal subpoena from the House Select Committee investigating the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol. Looking.

CHENEY: Both for his testimony under oath as well as for documents.

MURRAY: The committee writing in short, you are at the center of the first and only effort by any U.S. president to overturn an election and obstruct the peaceful transition of power. The evidence demonstrates that you knew this activity was illegal and unconstitutional and also knew that your assertions of fraud were false. And laying out Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including pressuring Justice Department officials touting false allegations of voter fraud and firing off this tweet attacking Mike Pence during the riot.

Which the committee says incited further violence by publicly condemning your vice president. The committee calling for Trump to hand over documents by November 4th and appear for testimony November 14th. They're calling for a broad range of records including calls made by Trump or at his direction on January 6. Calls to members of Congress. Documents related to the Proud Boys are Oath Keepers.

Communications about blocking the certification of the election and anything on destroying materials or contacting witnesses. But it's unclear if Trump will comply.

TRUMP: They really want to damage me so I can no longer go back to work for you. And I don't think that's going to happen.

MURRAY: The former president tapping to lawyers to take the lead on responding to the subpoena and risking possible contempt of Congress if he ignores it.

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): U.S. law is if you are subpoenaed by Congress, you're expected to come in and speak to us.

MURRAY: Meanwhile, Trump and the Justice Department still battling over documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.

TRUMP: They should give me immediately back everything that they've taken from because it's mine.

MURRAY: But the Washington Post now reporting among those documents, seeds include some of the most sensitive information the U.S. has and two of the biggest threats on the global stage, Iran and China. According to the Post, at least one of the documents describes Iran's missile program. And others detail highly-sensitive intelligence work aimed at Beijing. Trump arguing whatever the FBI seized from his Florida state belongs to him.

According to court filings among the documents Trump kept from his presidency are six clemency requests and a couple of papers related to immigration and border controls. Prosecutors say those are federal records that belong to the government. Offering a glimpse at how Trump lawyers and DOJ are locking horns as they sift through thousands of documents.

TRUMP: They took it from me in the raid, they broke into my house.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY: And attorneys for Trump have now responded to that subpoena from the January 6 committee. They accused the committee of flouting norms by releasing that subpoena publicly but said that they will respond as appropriate to this unprecedented action.

WHITFIELD: Sara Murray, thank you so much for that. Joining me right now to talk more about all this. Former deputy assistant attorney general Harry Litman. Harry, good to see you.

HARRY LITMAN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So I heard this, you know, described as sort of a speaking indictment that speaks to both the legal realm and to the court of public opinion. What's most notable to you here?

[13:25:11]

LITMAN: Well, the speaking indictment itself, Fredricka, is unusual. The legal document here is the subpoena saying, give us this stuff. With prosecutors were to send that out they would not have this blistering four-page letter that the committee attached. And I think, among other things, portends a blistering final report. In terms of the requests themselves. It's wide ranging, it's everything you and Sara have noted.

A couple of things. In addition, there's a request for communications with "Scott Perry and other members of Congress." Scott Perry is a member of Congress. So sort of underlining him, I think, shows they're really zeroing in on the episode that he orchestrated where he brings Jeffrey Clark, the guy at the Department of Justice who might have taken over the whole building with Trump's acquiescence together. He's the one who makes that match.

And then finally, the very last request asked for all communication devices he might have used on January 6th. In other words, I think they have independent evidence. And they're on to his technique of grabbing phones from other people and aides who are nearby precisely to prevent getting real records of them. They want those phones, good luck, but nevertheless, it underscores, they know that's part of what he did on the 6th.

WHITFIELD: Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren is a member of the January 6 Committee and she was asked about the subpoena yesterday. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): He has a legal obligation to come in and talk to us, but just as importantly, as a legal obligation to respond to the documents that we've ordered him to produce, all of which are important to finishing our investigation. So, let's see if he lives up to what the law requires of him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So what happens if the former president chooses not to comply? Do you see potentially the same path for him as we see in Steve Bannon who is sentenced to four months for contempt?

LITMAN: No, because there's just not enough time and Congresswoman Lofgren, also, Congressman Kinzinger, who you cited, are taking this sort of talking point of we expect them to comply, but I think the committee doesn't. The actual subpoena expires at the end of the Congress. At the end, you know, at the beginning of the new term January 20th. There isn't time for that kind of titanic battle, it seems to me. Moreover, it's a tricky one. There are really colossal issues on both sides. And it risks for the committee sort of ending the report with a question mark, instead of an exclamation point. I think the design is more that they anticipate he won't, in fact, comply. And then they can say in their report we asked him to and he refused.

WHITFIELD: More of a statement then to the public. All right. Let's talk about another case, different state, but it also, you know, involves a high-ranking member of Congress, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. He filed an emergency request yesterday asking the Supreme Court to block a subpoena from the Atlanta, Georgia Grand Jury investigating the efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The U.S. Supreme Court is actually now giving investigators, you know, in Atlanta until Thursday to respond. So, in your view, what does this signal to you about Graham's level of concern and where his legal team just might be right now?

LITMAN: I think it's signals he is concerned and he wants to sort of throw a Hail Mary pass just to get a delay. This is not going to succeed. The Eleventh Circuit with two Trump appointees said he asked to testify and they made clear. The district court has put into place a lot of protections for the claim he's making, which is somehow this had to do with his legislative activities. When he reached out to the secretary of state and said, could we find some more votes for a more favorable outcome for Donald Trump?

I don't think you'll find five members of the Supreme Court, which is what he needs now to sort of stop the music. So I think in fairly short order, they'll say we are not going to do anything with this. And that's, you know, that's one norm that has yet to be busted in the United States, if and when they say that, that's the end of the line and he'll have to show up and testify. But at that time, they've already put into place protections.

And they'll be sort of question by question battles that he can wait and say, I don't want to answer this one. It will go to the court. I don't want to answer that one, et cetera. But the core inquiry about this he's going to have to speak to. And the last point, I don't think unlike other people in Trump land he wants to take the Fifth Amendment as a sitting senator. It exacts a bigger political cost for him.

WHITFIELD: All right. Harry Litman, so good to see you. Thank you so much.

LITMAN: Thank you, Fredricka.

[13:30:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. And then there's this, this ongoing mystery in California's Silicon Valley. A car discovered buried in the backyard of a mansion is being checked for possible human remains now. A former homicide detective joins us to discuss next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right. A mystery, a real mystery in California's Silicon Valley after landscapers find a car buried in the backyard of a $15 million mansion. And now the search for answers.

CNN's Camila Bernal is in Los Angeles.

Camila, what do we know so far?

[13:34:59]

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. This is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the country. We're talking multimillion-dollar homes.

And this family decides they want to do a landscaping project. They call a crew. And as they're working, they find this car. Of course, they immediately called authorities.

You have investigators that go out there and they bring cadaver dogs and the dogs start smelling around, according to authorities, into the convertible that has been about six feet underground.

As the dogs were sniffing around, they smelled something. Here is how police is describing what those dogs alerted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN LARSEN, COMMANDER, ATHERTON, CALIFORNIA, POLICE DEPARTMENT: I've done a few questions with some canine officers, a few questions with some different canine officers.

And they said it could be human remains. They could be reacting to blood. They could be reacting to old bones. They could be reacting to human vomit. It could be any one of those combinations of things that the dogs are reacting to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: They are still working on all of this. But as of now, authorities say they have not found human remains.

They do say, look, there's the possibility that one of the members of the crew was out there, maybe got injured, was bleeding or someone threw up, and all of that could be what's alerting the dogs.

But they also are considering other options, and that's why they are investigating all of this.

They say this car was reported missing about three decades ago, and so that also is a big part of the investigation.

They also say they don't believe this family is connected. The owners of the -- or the current owners of the home, they don't believe they're connected.

Authorities say they reported this. They've been, of course, working with authorities who are still at their home going through all of this.

This is going to be a long, difficult process, especially because authorities believe there could be remains, human remains. They're going to be careful about the digging and about what they're trying to do with this car here -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: It's like something out of a creepy movie, isn't it? But we're very curious, where does this lead?

Camila Bernal, thank you so much.

All right. So let's talk more about this mystery. Joining us now, retired Sergeant Chris Anderson, a former homicide detective for the Birmingham, Alabama, Police Department. He also co-hosts "Reasonable Doubt" on Investigation Discovery.

So good to see you.

All right. So let's --

CHRIS ANDERSON, RETIRED SERGEANT AND HOMICIDE DETECTIVE, BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, POLICE DEPARTMENT & CO-HOST, INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY'S "REASONABLE DOUBT": Good to see you again.

WHITFIELD: Let's try to dissect as best we can. Cadaver dogs, police say, may have made a slight notification of human remains. What does that mean when you hear that?

ANDERSON: As an investigator, you know, a slight indication would, just like the investigators said, it would suggest several things, like the presence of some sort of blood or some other bodily fluid that was found in or near or around that vehicle.

But as an investigator, you shouldn't draw any conclusions from that, especially when the detectives are saying they didn't find any human remains as of yet.

WHITFIELD: OK, so help us prioritize or help us understand how investors are prioritizing things. I mean, obviously this excavation or digging kind of continues.

But then because there are so many strange things here, I mean, a car buried in someone's backyard, I mean, for starters, but how do you prioritize how you get to the bottom or piece things together, you know, about the origin of this very strange scene?

ANDERSON: You know, I can appreciate the fact that investigators are taking their time with an investigation such as this, because it's 30 years in the making. And there seem to be a lot of layers to uncover and peel back before they get to any type of closure within a case like this.

So, take your time, look at the scene, process everything, question everyone that was connected to that vehicle, would be the way that I would handle the investigation like that. WHITFIELD: And then, reportedly, there are these bags of concrete

found in the car. What are the threads that they will follow in terms of the origins of the concrete, any kind of forensic evidence that would be on those bags of concrete?

Because so much has changed, you know, over the 30-year span in terms of technology about how you can trace the origins of things.

ANDERSON: So, you know, finding bags inside of a vehicle would suggest several things to me as an investigator. You know, the fact that the cadaver dogs did get a slight indication is one thing.

And knowing how hard it is and how complex it is to bury a vehicle four to five feet deep, that's very questionable for me.

But those bags of concrete would suggest a couple of things. Maybe this person thought to maybe sink the vehicle or maybe encase the vehicle in concrete, but they would need a lot more concrete than what they found on the scene.

[13:40:03]

You know, all of it goes to suggest that whoever buried this vehicle never wanted it to be found.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And I know you say you don't want to jump to conclusions, but knowing what we know --

ANDERSON: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- you know, you've got the vehicle, you've got fairly shallow burying, because you have landscapers who uncovered it. You've got now bags of concrete or evidence of such, you've got dogs responding to -- do your instincts say anything about what in the world happened here or could have happened?

ANDERSON: You know, I've never been one to lean on my own instincts. I'd rather follow the evidence. And like I say, I think that you should always take your time in a case like this.

Because whoever -- if this is a murder, which you should investigate it as a murder, if it is a murder, whoever committed the murderer has a 30-year head start on you.

So, by missing those small pieces -- those small pieces of this investigation could be the key to bringing any type of closure to whoever lost their loved one, if it is a murder.

WHITFIELD: Yes. So fascinating and curious.

Sergeant Chris Anderson, good to see you. Thank you so much.

ANDERSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. With midterm elections heating up, so is the nature of the campaign ads hitting the air waves. Do these attack ads have a bigger impact on the races? We'll discuss next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:45:56]

WHITFIELD: An investigation is under way after a fiery plane crash in New Hampshire. Authorities say the single-engine plane smashed into a home near an airport last night. Parts of the home erupted in flames.

Officials confirmed two people onboard the plane were killed. No fatalities were reported on the ground.

Officials are describing the crash as an accident. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

A larger-than-life statue of Emmett Till was unveiled yesterday in Greenwood, Mississippi, just 40 miles from where the 14-year-old was brutally murdered in a race-motivated attack in 1955.

The statue was created from the famous image of Till in a dress shirt and tie with one hand on the brim of his hat.

Till's murder was a catalyst for the civil rights movement. No one has ever been convicted in Till's murder.

The Environmental Protection agency has opened an investigation into the Jackson, Mississippi, water crisis. An official with the EPA tells CNN its Civil Rights Office is looking into the state's spending on its water supply and whether two state agencies discriminated against the majority black population.

CNN's Rene Marsh has more.

RENE MARSH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the EPA's focus is on whether Mississippi discriminated against the majority black city of Jackson based on race when it doled out federal funds for critical water infrastructure improvements.

In other words, did Mississippi funnel federal dollars to white communities for projects that ensured safe and clean drinking water and deny Jackson its fair share?

Both Mississippi Department of Health and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality are under the microscope in this investigation. And CNN reached out to both agencies but have not received a response.

But the NAACP, which originally filed a complaint here, said that:

"This investigation by the EPA is a significant first step in holding the state accountable for its role in exacerbating the Jackson water crisis. And for far too long, the residents of Jackson and black communities across the country have had their water access weaponized against them."

Now, this EPA investigation comes just days after two congressional committees launched their own probes into Mississippi's water crisis.

If you remember, in August, historic flooding damaged a pump at Jackson's main water facility, and the city was without drinking water.

But Jackson has long faced these water issues. Residents point out years of systemic neglect as one of the main drivers.

We should note that if the EPA finds wrongdoing, it does have the power to withhold federal funds from the state. And if the agencies do not cooperate, the EPA can refer this case to the Justice Department -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Rene Marsh, thanks so much.

Still ahead, we'll go back to Florida. It's been over three weeks since Hurricane Ian left a trail of destruction in its path in parts of the state. And residents continue to struggle now on this long road to recovery.

And a quick programming note. Join Stanley Tucci as he explores Puglia, the heel of Italy's boot, a region known for its fresh and simple food along with its famous olive oil.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STANLEY TUCCI, CNN HOST, "STANLEY TUCCI, SEARCHING FOR ITALY": (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

TUCCI: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(LAUGHTER)

TUCCI: Oh, come on. (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE). That's amazing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yep. Yep. Yep.

TUCCI: Oh, my gosh. That's so good. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

TUCCI: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

TUCCI: Fantastico.

It's so unusual. He's revived these flavors with such skill and reflection that despite their humble origins, these dishes now hold their own as world-class cuisine.

[13:50:01]

(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) There's a dignity to his approach. And if his packed restaurant is anything to do by, it's welcomed by the whole community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I'm always so much hungrier after seeing these.

Don't miss all-new episode "STANLEY TUCCI, SEARCHING FOR ITALY," tomorrow night at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:55:03]

WHITFIELD: All right. With the midterm elections just over two weeks away, Americans across the country are being inundated with campaign ads on the TV and Internet. And much of the campaigning is negative, much is flooded with negative attack ads like this in Pennsylvania.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MEHMET OZ, (R), U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE FOR PENNSYLVANIA: Inflation is making it harder to buy a house, start a family. Guys like John Fetterman take everything to the extreme. Why are we letting murderers out? Why is the solution always tax and respond.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oz? He supports raising taxes for senior citizens, the working class and the military. Of course, it won't raise his taxes. Plus, as a retired garbage man, we know what to do with out-of- state trash like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: While a similar trend is playing out on the airwaves in Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AD ANNOUNCER: Another lie from Herschel's work. Here's Walker's book and he didn't write a word about his violence towards women, nothing about threatening to kill his wife.

In fact, Walker wrote, "I can't point to any major blowups between us." Herschel Walker is lying, again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.

David Schweidel is a professor of marketing at Emory University. He's joining us now.

You have been researching the negative political ads. Are these popular because they're effective?

DAVID SCHWEIDEL, PROFESSOR OF MARKETING, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Well, that's the reason the campaigns keep going back to the same well. What we've see is that negative ads, particularly the negatives ads coming from candidates rather than from PACS or super PACS, those are the ones that are able to move the needle when it comes to vote share.

WHITFIELD: Is there any research that might have a similar outcome if you were to stick with positive campaign ads? Are they effective?

SCHWEIDEL: We looked at positive campaign ads in the same research and did not find those ads to be effective.

What we are seeing -- and this has been mirrored in other research looking at what people are interested in, what people choose to share online -- is that overwhelmingly it is these high-arousal emotions and particularly negative emotion that tend to get people to be more engaged.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. It sounds like you have to have an appetite for some negative campaign ads.

But then can you go too far? Is there a point where there's a limit for any candidate. You can do a little bit. But then you can also do too much and there's a backlash?

SCHWEIDEL: There's absolutely going to be the potential for that. We saw that a little bit in the Georgia Senate debate between Senate Warnock and Herschel Walker.

Senator Warnock trying to land some punches but not trying to go directly at Herschel Walker. Where, in the latest campaign ads, it's more of a direct line of attack aimed at the individual candidate.

WHITFIELD: Oh. Is there anything different about the culture of campaigning today, or has this always been a calculus across the board coast to coast for a candidate to make a decision about whether and how much of negative campaigning to incorporate?

SCHWEIDEL: It's always been part of the mix. But one of the things that we're seeing in the last couple of election cycles is that the tone of the ads is going more negative earlier in the campaign.

Historically, we had seen that decision to go negative coming a little bit later in the campaigns. It almost seems like now, almost out of the gate, the negative campaign ads are coming out.

Part of that might have to do with the polarization we see in the country right now, right?

A lot of these ads not necessarily aimed at winning from anybody from the other side over, but more at energizing the base and making sure that they show up to vote.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. So there's an expectation, are we talking about among the candidates or an expectation even among voters. They expect to see this stuff?

SCHWEIDEL: I think especially today there's an expectation. It's -- part of what we are seeing is attributable to the rise of social media platforms being used in political campaigns and this notion of micro targeting.

Being able to tailor messages to specific groups so I give you the message that will resonate the most with you. But what ends up happening is we end up getting entrenched in our own echo chambers.

So that increased negativity, that "us versus them" mentality that we hear that tenor in the two ads that you had played. I think that's feeding into why we're seeing more negative advertising earlier in the campaign at a higher volume than what we have seen historically.

WHITFIELD: All so fascinating.

David Schweidel, thank you so much for being with us. Appreciate it.

[13:59:58]

SCHWEIDEL: Thanks a lot.

WHITFIELD: All right. Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin this hour with an alarming outbreak that has some U.S. hospitals struggling.