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Record Number Of Early Voters In Georgia; Tight Race For Pennsylvania Senate; Both U.S. Parties Hope To Control Congress; Xi Jinping's Aides Promoted As Top Ruling Body Members; U.K. Leadership Contest; Russia's War On Ukraine; El Paso To Stop Busing Migrants To NYC; Strikes And Anti-Government Protests In Iran; Hurricane Roslyn Bears Down On Mexico. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired October 23, 2022 - 05:00   ET

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

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ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching in the United States and around the world, I'm Anna Coren.

This hour on CNN NEWSROOM, we are seeing millions of people across America casting their vote in the midterms and Election Day is more than two weeks away. Coming up, why so many are voting early this year.

And former British prime minister Boris Johnson could be vying for his old job. Ahead, why the Tories may support the Boris or bust campaign. We're live from London.

And later the symptoms of the viral respiratory illness known as RSV that parents need to be aware of and what to do if their child has it.

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COREN: In just over two weeks, U.S. voters will head to the polls and determine which party will control the House and Senate. With so much at stake, politicians have been hitting the campaign trail with urgency, trying to clinch dozens of seats up for grabs; 218 seats are needed to control the House.

Right now it looks like Republicans have a slight lead with 212 likely wins. In the Senate, three seats are considered tossups. CNN estimates that 12 are solidly Democratic or leaning that way; about 20 are either solidly Republican or leaning to the right.

In the state of Georgia, voters have been casting early ballots in record numbers. So far, about 660,000 people have shown up to vote in person, with more than 140,000 going to the polls on Friday alone. Officials say the numbers are shattered previous turnout records. CNN's Nadia Romero has more from Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NADIA ROMERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the first weekend of early voting here in Georgia for the midterm elections. Take a look at this polling location in Atlanta, long lines here. One voter took 27 minutes to get from the back of the line to the front.

By the time she handed her ballot ID to poll workers, it took 10 minutes to vote. That's what it takes at some of these polling locations; 4,000 people, workers told us, have been here, early voting, since Monday. Take a look at those numbers.

Look at early voting all throughout Georgia from Monday through Friday, more than 660,000 Georgians have already participated in the voting process. You compare that to our last midterm election in 2018, just about 398,000. So you can see that number so much larger this time around.

People tell me it's all about the key races. That's what they care about. The governor's race with the incumbent Republican governor, Brian Kemp, with a rematch with his Democratic challenger, Stacey Abrams, and everyone's keeping watch on the Senate race that has national implications, take a listen.

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KESHAWN HAYNES, GEORGIA VOTER: I think it has turned into a circus, if you want to be honest. Some of the things that are being said, you don't even know if they can even be true, you know, some of the things.

But I know that that is an important race because, if the wrong person gets into office, then even more things could change just for my community.

VERONICA HAYGOOD, GEORGIA VOTER: I think Stacey Abrams and Warnock is a great team together and that they will put their best foot forward as to look out for not just the Democrat but the Republican as well.

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ROMERO: Another reason why we might be seeing record voter turnout in Georgia is because of key issues. People tell me they're passionate about abortion, about the economy, inflation, health care. And that's why they wanted to make sure that they voted and participated in the early voting process as well.

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COREN: Nadia Romero reporting there.

One of the most closely watched contests is the Senate race in Pennsylvania. Its outcome could determine the balance of power in that chamber. And the voters who could tilt the scales are women from the suburbs. CNN's Jessica Dean has this report.

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DR. MEHMET OZ, SENATORIAL CANDIDATE (voice-over): I'm Dr. Oz, I approved this message.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As ads for the hotly contested Pennsylvania Senate race flood the airwaves, in the final weeks of the campaign, it's the Philadelphia suburbs where women may end up deciding the outcome.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I am fired up.

DEAN (voice-over): The four so-called collar counties that surround Philadelphia are home to some of the state's most affluent and educated female voters. And they have a big independent streak.

BERWOOD YOST, FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL COLLEGE: We know these voters have moved in recent years toward Democrats. but they have a long tradition of voting for Republican candidates.

DEAN (voice-over): Most of the women we talked to have voted or considered voting for someone in both parties.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the past I was independent and I would vote on either side. But it's become clearer and clearer that I need to vote Democratically.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In 2016 I realized that there needed to be a change. And so at that point I decided that I was going to become a Republican.

DEAN (voice-over): Berwood Yost has studied Pennsylvania voter trends for years.

YOST: It's really going to be an interesting push-pull between these concerns that voters have about the economy and inflation.

[05:05:00]

YOST: And then concerns about abortion rights.

DEAN (voice-over): In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, women we spoke to named three key issues swaying their decision: the economy, crime and abortion rights.

SHARON JACKSON, BUCKS COUNTY VOTER: I'm voting based on our economy and based on the crime.

DEAN (voice-over): Sharon Jackson said the country is moving in the wrong direction.

JACKSON: I go to the grocery store and I'm like, oh, my goodness. This costs me $250. Oz has more to offer to me. And so I think he has a lot more to offer to our state.

DEAN (voice-over): But for others abortion rights remain top of mind and they plan to vote accordingly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: John Fetterman.

DEAN: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I care about reproductive rights.

DEAN: Is that the biggest issue for you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is. There's a lot of other issues. But right now I've become a single issue voter.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm afraid of the abortion issue, whether or not my own personal opinions of that, it's nobody's business.

DEAN (voice-over): The candidates are targeting these suburban women in different ways.

JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: John Fetter-woman.

DEAN (voice-over): Fetterman is leaving into the issue of abortion rights.

FETTERMAN: Women are the reason we can win. Don't piss women off.

DEAN (voice-over): While Oz released an ad this week, emphasizing political moderation.

OZ: Extremism on both sides makes things worse. We need balance, less extremism in Washington.

DEAN (voice-over): Both campaigns signaling they understand the potential impact of these voters in a race where the result could determine control of the Senate.

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COREN: Jessica Dean with that report.

Let's discuss now with Leslie Vinjamuri, director of the U.S. and Americas Programme at Chatham House.

It is great to have you with us. There are a lot of issues motivating Americans to vote in midterm elections -- abortion rights, crime, the state of democracy. But they certainly do seem to be giving way to inflation and the economy.

I mean, what is your opinion as far as what is shaping up to be the most politically decisive issue?

LESLIE VINJAMURI, CHATHAM HOUSE: Well, I think the headline news is that, over the last few weeks, the headline issue has moved from being abortion rights to being about the economy and inflation.

But I think the reality is that different voters are choosing between these top two or three issues. You have to add crime in there as we've just heard. And many women, of course, are registering to vote in record numbers and are turning out very much on the basis of their fear of losing that right to choose, that control over their own bodies.

I think the question then is what happens overall. One real concern is whether men will turn out. And especially I think for the Democrats, a real concern is whether minority men, Black and Latino men, will turn out and on what basis.

So there is a division; the headline, again, looks like it's back to the economy, a real concern with inflation, a real concern with the stock market. But we've seen also that President Biden is squarely taking on this issue of the economy.

And he's trying to make the point that, if the Republicans come back, there will be tax cuts but that will add to the deficit. So right now, again, the headline is the economy but different voters are really putting a priority on very different issues.

COREN: Republicans appear to be gaining an edge just, you know, a bit over two weeks ago.

Why now?

VINJAMURI: I think, you know, right now, this is a race by race contest. The pressure on the economy, I think, is driving many people out. There might be a sort of question mark about Donald Trump, that the January 6th committee that decision to subpoena the former president might be pulling out more of his base voters.

But you know, the headline again is that overall we're looking at a record turnout in these midterms. The 2018 midterms had the highest turnout, about 122 million Americans voted. That was the highest turnout since 1978. And I think right now we're on track to surpass that.

So again, the intensity around these midterms suggests that voters care passionately, that they're very worried about their issues. I think they're very worried about democracy. I think we're all very concerned to see whether these elections are free, whether they're fair and especially whether they're nonviolent.

As we get closer to the actual day of those elections, the campaigning is fierce, the candidates are out on the ground, the president is visible, the former president is visible for a number of reasons. And so passions are very, very high.

COREN: Well, as you mentioned, inflation concerns are front and center for many voters. While this is a global phenomenon, people blame the government in power.

Do you see that playing out in the United States?

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VINJAMURI: Well, I think, you know, if you go below the headline, you're getting an intense debate about what's driving inflation, even amongst the Democratic Party.

We've seen Joe Stieglitz (ph), a very famous economist, disagreeing with Larry Summers about, you know, whether inflation has been driven by the pandemic era spending or not.

And so, you know, the facts on the ground are one thing but you're right, that right now people are blaming this president. President Biden has struggled.

And the other thing that we're seeing is that, you know, a number of Democrats and Republicans on the ground are having to make a very specific choice about whether to align themselves with the president in the case of the Democrats or the former president in the case of the Republicans, because both of these leaders are struggling with significant constituents.

President Biden hasn't been polling well since that exit from Afghanistan. So very difficult politics. But remember, the stakes are extremely high. They're high for the economy, they're very high for abortion rights and they're especially high for the question of climate.

This is where President Biden has had tremendous success, putting through that Inflation Reduction Act and the future of this question has very significant stakes, not only for America, for Americans, but for the entire globe.

COREN: Leslie, almost 6 million people have cast an early ballot. I guess it's a hangover from the pandemic.

Any indication of which party will benefit from this?

VINJAMURI: I mean, I think that, you know, traditionally, we suspect that Democrats benefit from that early voting. A lot of Democrats are concerned partly about voter suppression. They're worried about whether they can get the day off of work.

The fact that there were so many contested elections state by state and, obviously at the national -- at the federal level in 2020, has really raised deep concerns about -- amongst voters about being sure that they vote, that they vote safely, that their vote is counted.

There's just, you know -- the good news story for democracy is that Americans are out, they're passionate and they want their vote to count.

The difficult news, of course, is that there's a lot of politics. There's tremendous amounts of disinformation state by state at the local level. There are still many candidates running on the Republican ticket who deny the outcome of the presidential elections.

So it's a deeply fraught democracy but the good news story, again, is this turnout on the ground by voters.

COREN: Leslie Vinjamuri joining us from London, we certainly appreciate the context and your insight. Many thanks. VINJAMURI: Thank you so much.

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COREN: After 10 years in power, Xi Jinping appears well on his way to ruling China for life. A few hours ago, the Chinese Communist Party appointed Mr. Xi to an unprecedented third term as Communist Party leader.

That ensures he will remain in power well into the future. Russian president Vladimir Putin was among the first to send his congratulations, telling Mr. Xi it would be a pleasure to continue Russia's strategic alliance with China.

Let's get right to it with CNN Beijing bureau chief Steven Jiang.

It would appear the CCP is now a party of one, that is the party of Xi.

STEVEN JIANG, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER, BEIJING BUREAU: That's right, Anna. Going into this party congress, we had always known this would be a norms-busting event but not sure to what degree.

And this unveiling of this leadership team really is the latest and the most powerful proof of this absolute power over this party of more than 96 million members and, by extension, this nation of 1.4 billion people.

With him staying on for another five years and potentially for life, he obviously has broken with convention of two five-year terms and then, of course, not only term limits, age norms and power sharing convention as well as meritocracy.

Those all have been largely abandoned because, when you look at this new lineup of this standing committee, the four new members on this most powerful decision-making body, they have all worked closely with Xi during phases of his career, either in the provinces or Beijing.

And three of the four men have served as his chief of staff or chief secretaries. So they are really the men that Xi Jinping feels closest to, the men he can trust. So really another indication that, in this system, under one man rule, the only thing that matters is loyalty and affinity to Xi, regardless of your capability or job performance or even unpopularity.

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JIANG: For example, when you look at the number two leader, Li Qiang, he is very much expected to become China's next premier, the one man who is going to be in charge of the world's second largest economy in a time when the economy is facing so many challenges partly due to his strict zero COVID policy.

He has no national policymaking or governance experience at all. He actually gained notoriety during Shanghai's very chaotic two-month COVID lockdown from April to June because he is Shanghai's party chief.

There is video online of angry local residents shouting at him, blaming him for the Shanghai government's mishandling and asking him, how is it possible for residents of China's biggest and wealthiest city to go hungry and have to search for daily necessities during that lockdown?

But it doesn't matter; that hasn't prevented his political rise. In another highly symbolic moment on Saturday during the party congress closing session, we see Xi's predecessor, Hu Jintao, being escorted out of the Great Hall of the People.

We are still not sure about the exact circumstances surrounding that moment but you can see Hu obviously appearing to be reluctant to be led out. after some brief exchanges of words with two staff members as well as to Xi, he was still, you know, eventually had to leave.

That is really another moment showing the era of collective leadership during Hu Jintao's time that is gone and the lack of visible reactions from all the people sitting on the stage.

Another reminder of the ruthless nature of this party and its leader. No one wants to show reaction that can be used against them. So apathy may be the only option for all of them in that hall.

COREN: It was certainly a humiliating experience for Hu Jintao. You talk about him surrounding himself with loyalists. The concern is he is then in an echo chamber. So there are many people within China and out, concerned about that. Steven Jiang, joining us from Beijing, many thanks.

Now to the U.K. Conservative Party leaders are preparing to vote this week for their next leader and prime minister. British media are reporting two of the top contenders, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, held secret summit talks Saturday evening.

Neither one has formally announced their intention to enter the race. The third top contender, House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt, has already thrown her name into the ring. Let's bring in Anna Stewart live from London with more.

Anna, we are not hearing much from the Sunak or Johnson camp about that secret summit.

But what are the experts saying, other than whoever becomes the next leader must unite this Conservative Party?

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that would be the obvious point but I think it has been a point for some time now and hasn't hit home with the various prime ministers we have had.

We don't know whether Sunak or Johnson will officially join the race with Mordaunt. They will likely have more support than her. We will find out by 2:00 pm tomorrow whether they will join the race and whether they have enough support. It may surprise viewers around the world to consider that Boris

Johnson could make a political comeback so soon. He only left office last month. You have to remember that the revolving door of prime ministers has been spinning since 2016. Take a look.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST (voice-over): In a stunning decision, Britain is ending its 43-year long relationship with the European Union.

STEWART (voice-over): From the moment this happened --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Independence Day.

STEWART (voice-over): -- the U.K. has been caught up in tumultuous times. There have been resignations ...

DAVID CAMERON, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I think the country requires fresh leadership to take it in this direction.

STEWART: -- promotions ...

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STEWART (voice-over): -- and a lot of late night votes. As the country tried to get Brexit done it was the undoing of Theresa May.

THERESA MAY, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The second female prime minister but certainly not the last.

STEWART (voice-over): In the end it fell to Boris Johnson. He won an election with a resounding majority and eventually --

-- but the political chaos didn't end. Just months after Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.K. hard. There was tragedy as more than 200,000 people died and many more were hospitalized, including the prime minister.

There was also fuss (ph) as top officials were forced out for breaking their own social distancing rules.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those of us who make these rules have got to stick by them.

STEWART (voice-over): Including the prime minister, with a scandal known as Partygate, a row over illegal gatherings held at Number 10 during lockdowns. Johnson was forced to resign.

BORIS JOHNSON, FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: The baton will be handed over.

STEWART (voice-over): His replacement didn't fare much better.

[05:20:00] STEWART (voice-over): An implosion in the U.K. economy following a so-called mini budget full of unfunded tax cuts led to Liz Truss becoming the U.K.'s shortest serving prime minister.

LIZ TRUSS, OUTGOING U.K. PRIME MINISTER: I cannot deliver the mandate on which I was elected by the Conservative Party.

STEWART (voice-over): And leaving her successor with a multitude of challenges and no end in sight to the chaos.

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STEWART: Anna, that chaos has had the air of comedy at times or perhaps tragicomedy. The last prime minister wasn't elected by the British public. They were appointed by the Conservative Party, as we will see this coming week.

That prime minister had a real and damaging impact on the U.K. economy and people's personal finances. There are some that argue there is a democratic deficit here and that this really should be going to the public with a general election.

COREN: That would sound commonsensical. But you know, that doesn't always work. Anna Stewart, good to see you.

Well, Ukraine's power system takes a major hit from Russian drones and missiles. Now concerns are growing about power shortages this winter. We will get a live report from Kyiv.

And a storm in Florida: some residents are confused and outraged they've been accused of voter fraud and arrested just as the midterms approach.

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COREN: Ukraine says there are no casualties after new Russian missile strikes on the city of Mykolaiv. Two missiles hit residential buildings there late Saturday night but Ukraine says it shot down 16 suicide drones, most near the same city.

While that's happening as Ukraine reels from what could be the worst attacks on its power system since the war began, earlier on Saturday, Russia sent a barrage of drones and missiles at power facilities across the country. Nic Robertson joins from us Kyiv to tell us more.

Nic, tell us about these strikes and how the power outages are affecting Ukrainians and the war effort.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, they are affecting them in many ways. About 11 regions in the country are without proper electricity at the moment. Rolling blackouts or organized blackouts -- Kyiv, for example -- areas of city will have four hours off, six hours on, four hours off.

And that's affecting all sorts of things from bakeries to mines in other parts of Ukraine. Electricity is being cut to mines that produce coal which means that coal isn't available to fuel the power stations.

So that real assessment is from Ukrainian officials is that Russia is very carefully strategically targeting the weaker areas within the power grid, the bits that are outside of the buildings, not the big generators and turbine systems, if you will, but the transformers, the switching gear, the high voltage lines.

These areas that are outside and vulnerable to missile strikes. So you know, Ukraine is doing its best to improve the air defenses, it's waiting for more supplies to come from allies and partners in the West.

But in the meantime, some strikes are getting through. So it's a real question at the moment.

Can Ukraine repair quickly enough to counter Russia's sort of attritional attacks on the system across the country?

And at the moment, over just less than two weeks now, 13 days, the net result is that Ukraine isn't keeping up with those strikes because the power cuts are happening; mines and hospitals are being affected. The consequences are far reaching at the moment.

COREN: Nic, we heard from Zelenskyy calling on the West to provide more anti-missile weapons, to target what the Russians have been using, primarily against Ukraine's energy infrastructure.

Is that request being heard?

ROBERTSON: It is being heard. Ukraine would like it to be heard faster and the response to be quicker and more plentiful. We heard from NATO secretary general just last week saying that they would supply drone jammers, hundreds of drone jammers in a matter of days.

Now of course, it's not in the military's interest here to say what they're doing with those jammers or say when they've received them. But the idea is that these hundreds of jammers could be placed near strategically important equipment.

And that would block the drones using their satellite GPS targeting to sort of get on the target. They're programmed to hit a certain place. And if you can sort of block the -- block the satellite navigation of those drones in the area of the intended strike, then you defend that location.

Of course, the missiles might land somewhere else. But this is complex. There are many places that need defending. And, at the moment, Russia is really exploring and looking for the weak points in the network.

COREN: Nic Robertson joining us from Kyiv, we appreciate the update. Thank you so much.

Well, last hour I spoke about these developments with Mick Ryan, a retired major general of the Australian army. I asked him for his assessment of where the war stands after close to eight months of fighting.

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MAJ. GEN. MICK RYAN (RET.), AUSTRALIAN ARMY: What we're seeing at the moment, particularly from this new Russian commander, is a campaign against the Ukrainian people, because he can't lay a hand on the Ukrainian army on the battlefield.

The Russian army has lost all momentum in every area of Ukraine and, in many respects, these missile attacks are about the only thing he can do against Ukrainians at the moment while he builds strength through the mobilization program.

COREN: But he's certainly being very effective by taking out the power grid or certainly -- certain energy infrastructure. That has a psychological effect as well as obviously a physical effect on the ground in Ukraine.

RYAN: It certainly does. It has a psychological impact.

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RYAN: And it's going to cause a humanitarian tragedy potentially in the winter in Ukraine. I think importantly it also has an economic impact because the Russians are trying to strangle the Ukrainian economy.

And if they don't have power, businesses can't operate and it will reduce the economic output of Ukraine.

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COREN: Mick Ryan speaking to me earlier.

New York City's mayor says he's seeing fewer buses packed with asylum seekers sent from border states. Coming up, what the mayor says is behind the decrease.

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COREN: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world, I'm Anna Coren. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

In just over two weeks millions of Americans will head to the polls for the tightly contested midterm elections. In November, one of the biggest issues on the ballot will be immigration. It's a subject that deeply resonates with Latino voters, who could tilt the scales in key races.

Polls show that most of them support Democratic policies on immigration but many are starting to favor more conservative views, like stronger border security. It comes as border crossings appear to be increasing.

This fiscal year, U.S. authorities say they encountered more than 2 million migrants at the border. That's up from 1.7 million last year.

But even with migrant numbers up, buses carrying asylum seekers will no longer be sent from El Paso, Texas, to New York City. That's what El Paso's mayor tells CNN. And New York mayor Eric Adams confirms the news.

Adams credits the White House with an initiative to ease the crisis and reduce the number of buses filled with migrants that have been arriving from other states.

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COREN: Gloria Pazmino has more.

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GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New York City mayor Eric Adams is certainly crediting the Biden administration, at least for now, for what appears to be a significant decrease in the number of migrants that are arriving here to New York City.

The Biden administration shifted course several days ago and now the policy is that Venezuelan migrants will be turned back at the border.

Now an administration official tells us they have already seen a significant decrease at the border by 80 percent. Now the mayor spoke with CNN's Chris Wallace, telling him that, even though the numbers may be decreasing, there are still thousands of people here in New York who will need access to resources.

In fact, the city of El Paso alone sent more than 10,000 migrants here to the city in the last couple months. The mayor says the city is preparing and will need federal resources to deal with people here who will need that help.

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MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D-NY), NEW YORK CITY: We must sit down at the table and have a clear pathway for those seeking to experience the American dream. And I think we have failed to do that for generations.

And I'm hoping with the decompressing strategy and a real strategy that the White House has put in place, we're finally going to deal with, number one, allowing those who are here to work, to give them financial resources to those who are really carrying the responsibility of those who are coming here to our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PAZMINO: And what the mayor is saying there is also what service providers here in the city have been telling me over several weeks.

Even as the numbers continue to decrease, there are thousands of people now living here in New York who will need to be connected to legal resources, health care, public education and who will likely need housing as they move through what are very complicated asylum cases.

So even as the arrivals begin to decrease, still thousands of people here in the city who will likely be in need of help for several months to come -- Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COREN: Police body cam videos from Florida obtained by CNN show the confusion of convicted felons who were arrested for alleged voter fraud. They say they did nothing wrong.

The arrests were the first public demonstration of Florida's new election security force established when governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill back in April. Leyla Santiago has the story.

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RON MILLER, FLORIDA VOTER: A hard, conniving slap in the face by the state of Florida.

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's what Ron Miller says he felt when he was accused of voter fraud. He was one of more than a dozen arrested as part of a far-reaching state operation to crackdown on supposed voter fraud in Florida, arrests that left many confused.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Voter fraud?

I voted but I ain't commit no fraud.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is wrong with this state, man?

What are you talking about voter fraud?

What's this about?

SANTIAGO: Newly released body camera video first reported by the Tampa Bay Times gives a fresh glimpse of the confusion and the many questions from those arrested.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): These folks voted illegally, they are disqualified from voting because they've been convicted of either murder or sexual assault.

MILLER: It wasn't my mistake that was made. I trusted in the state of Florida to let me know what's going on and they failed me.

SANTIAGO: He says he thought he was allowed to vote. Miller has a list of convictions under his name, including second-degree murder. But he tells us he's tried to stay out of trouble since his release. And then in October of 2020, he tells us he was approached by someone registering voters at the grocery store who told Miller he could restore his voting rights. Miller signed off on the registration and then this voter ID came in the mail a few weeks later, just in time for the November 2020 election.

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MILLER: I was happy I was able to vote again. Wow.

SANTIAGO: So he voted, he says, even kept his "I Voted" sticker. But then two years later --

MILLER: They were like this at my door.

SANTIAGO: In 2018, nearly two thirds of voters passed Amendment 4 in Florida. It restored voting rights for those convicted of felonies, not including murder or felony sex offenses. Legal battles ensued, confusion spread, voting eligibility remained unclear for many.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As if I had robbed a bank or something.

SANTIAGO: Adam Goodman is the attorney defending Nathaniel Singleton, also among those arrested.

ADAM GOODMAN, ATTORNEY FOR NATHANIEL SINGLETON: It's seems kind of improper that the government is saying, hey, go ahead and do this, we got you. Now you're in trouble. It seems like they're taking advantage of people.

SANTIAGO: In Florida, state law requires the state to notify local supervisors of elections about voters convicted of a felony who are not eligible to vote. In the five counties where these voter fraud arrests occurred --

[05:40:00]

SANTIAGO: -- local election officials tell CNN the state did not informed them the arrested individuals were not eligible to vote before they cast a ballot in 2020.

TONY PATTERSON, TAMPA RESIDENT ACCUSED OF VIOLATING FLORIDA'S VOTING LAWS: Why is it you're all doing this now and this happened years ago?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. I have no idea, man.

PATTERSON: This is crazy, man.

SHARON AUSTIN, POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA: I think it's not coincidental that these arrests occurred before the midterm elections.

SANTIAGO: A voting rights expert we talked to called this a political ploy. AUSTIN: The danger, as I see it, is that it's intimidating and that it is voter suppression. It is, I think, designed and targeted at lower income voters who also disproportionately tend to be men and women of color.

SANTIAGO: For Ron Miller, he wants nothing to do with the election process anymore after the arrest.

MILLER: I want them to drop the charges on me and just leave me alone.

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COREN: Leyla Santiago with that report.

Police in Texas have identified the man accused of shooting and killing two workers at Methodist Dallas Medical Center on Saturday. Nestor Hernandez faces capital murder charges. He was on parole for aggravated robbery and had an active ankle monitor on.

No word on what may have led to the shooting. Authorities are investigating. Here is CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem.

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JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Where were they in the hospital?

If they are on the seventh floor and not the first floor, someone was looking for either them or the place where they were working.

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COREN: The hospital issued a statement saying, the Methodist Health System family is heartbroken at the loss of two of our beloved team members. Our entire organization is grieving this unimaginable tragedy.

A viral respiratory illness known as RSV is spreading much faster than expected among infants and small children. More than 7,300 cases were reported in the U.S. in a single week this month. That's the highest number for any week in the past two years.

This data is likely just a small fraction of the total number. While RSV is similar to the common cold, it can cause serious illness, especially in the very young. Take a listen.

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DR. JENNIFER SHU, PEDIATRICIAN: That's where you start to see the child being really upset, they can't get air in. They're huffing and puffing, they might be panting or even grunting like a ...

So it looks like maybe they've been running a marathon, even though these kids are tiny. So you might see lips turning blue. If you have a pulse oximeter, it would start reading in the low 90s or even lower than that.

So those are lots of warning signs that you need to seek care.

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COREN: RSV is most common in children under the age of 2 and experts believe the spike in cases is due to fewer people wearing face masks.

Demonstrators returned to the streets across Iran on Saturday as anti- government protests show no sign of slowing, despite a government crackdown. We will have the latest in a live report.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

COREN: An update on one of our top stories: the race to head the U.K.'s Conservative Party and, with it, become the country's next prime minister. Just minutes ago, former finance minister Rishi Sunak made it official, he is running for that top job.

Sunak went on to say the United Kingdom is a great country but we face a profound economic crisis. Sunak has already reached the 100 nomination threshold to make it to the voting stage in the race.

He joins Penny Mordaunt in formally entering the race. There is wide speculation that former prime minister Boris Johnson will run as well. We will stay with CNN for more on this developing story.

Saturday saw protests and strikes in Iran that persisted into the evening. Videos from the pro reform activist outlet IranWire show anti-government demonstrations in Tehran and other cities.

An Iranian teachers' union has called for strikes to protest the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody and the death of demonstrators at the hands of government forces. Nada Bashir joins us live from London with much more.

Tell us more about the student protests, which were happening in solidarity with protests around -- around the world.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Anna, from the beginning, all this protest movement in September, students have been at the forefront of the movement, taking on that sort of risk that we are seeing.

The hardline crackdown by the Iranian security forces standing in huge numbers in the streets in protest against the Iranian regime and against the repressive restrictions on women's rights and the way they choose to dress. We saw over the weekend the continuation of those protests. Despite

that crackdown, students in Tehran University, students taking to the streets, chanting "freedom, freedom," "Death to the dictator," "Death to Khamenei," according to video we have seen that has been provided by the pro reform outlet IranWire, which has been working with CNN.

These videos are pretty remarkable to see the brazen and clear public rejection of the Iranian regime. We also saw university students in the east region also protesting in huge numbers. According to video we have seen circulating on social media, chanting the regime's days are numbered.

This is, of course, coming in its sixth week of protests. These are continuing to gain momentum up and down the country. Not only are we seeing protests now but we're also seeing strike action by business owners, by factory workers, even teachers going on strike in solidarity with the protest movement.

In the northwestern Kurdish region over the weekend we saw video of the streets eerily quiet and empty, storefronts closed as business owners took part in that strike. Teachers across the country, a teachers' union calling for a sit-in today and tomorrow in protest against the death and detention of students and young people.

And, of course, we have seen hundreds of people being detained according to human rights organization Iran HR, which is a Norway based human rights group, focused on Iran, has been tallying its own death toll since the beginning of the protest movement.

While it's impossible for CNN to independently verify the death toll, this human rights organization has tallied it at more than 200. So there is clear and growing concern over the crackdown that could intensify as these protests continue to gain momentum.

COREN: Six weeks on and the protests going strong. That takes incredible courage. Nada Bashir, thanks for the update.

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COREN: Hurricane Roslyn is category 3 and bearing down on the Western coast of Mexico. CNN's Derek van dam has the very latest on the track of the storm when CNN NEWSROOM continues. Please stay with us.

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COREN: Hurricane Roslyn is now a category 3 storm and bearing down on Mexico's west coast.

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[05:55:00] COREN: I'm Anna Coren, thank you for your company and for watching CNN NEWSROOM. For viewers in North America "NEW DAY" is next, for the rest of the world it's "TECH FOR GOOD."