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Big Names Hit The Trail In Final Days; Abrams, Kemp To Face Off In Last Debate Of GA Governor's Race; At least 154 Killed, 133 Injured In Seoul Halloween Crowd Surge; Polls Open In Brazil's Presidential Runoff Election; Paul Pelosi Recovering In Hospital After Being Attacked With Hammer; Prince Harry's Long-Awaited Memoir Set For January Release; Powerball Jackpot Grows To $1B For Second Time In Game History. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired October 30, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:35]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. Just nine days to go until the midterm elections and the political heavyweights for both parties are hitting the trail, as the campaign hits the homestretch.

President Joe Biden, former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump all fanning out across the country. This weekend, Obama perhaps the Democrats' best messenger, rallied voters in key battleground states, trying to boost turnout.

We have team coverage. CNN's Eva McKend is covering tonight's final Governor's debate in Georgia. Let's begin with Kevin Liptak who is traveling with the president in Delaware. So Kevin, what is Biden's primary message this week?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well Fredricka, we should start by noting where the president is not this campaign weekend and that's on the campaign trail. He is here in Wilmington. He did join the 19 million Americans who have cast early ballots yesterday.

And we will start to see him campaigning more next week when he travels to Florida on Tuesday. And this is a trip that the White House has tried to put on the schedule for a long time. They kept having to cancel it for various reasons, and the president is going down to try and boost the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Charlie Crist.

You know, this is an interesting stop, just because of the national dynamics of that race. You have the Republican Governor Ron DeSantis potentially eyeing a national office. That is also where President Trump lives now in Florida. So it will be interesting to see how President Biden uses that in his campaign speech.

Later in the week, the president will go to New Mexico. He's expected back in Pennsylvania and then he will spend election night eve in Maryland.

So not necessarily the most high profile races. Of course, President Biden has not necessarily been the most sought after surrogate in this campaign, but they will offer him an opportunity to get out his message as Democrats grow increasingly anxious about November. Listen to how President Biden described his message yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm going to be spending the rest of the time making the case that this is not a referendum. It's a choice. It's a fundamental choice. A choice between two very different visions for the country. And that's what it's about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: So that's the closing argument. It's really a warning about what might happen if Republicans take control of Congress. You hear that from President Biden. You hear it from the first lady, you hear it from the vice president, you heard it from President Obama. But of course, Democrats facing some very stiff headwinds heading into next week, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Kevin, thank you so much.

Eva McKend covering tonight's debate showdown in Georgia. So Eva, what will voters be looking for?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: Well Fred, this is among the closely watched rematches in the country. You know, when Abrams and Kemp competed four years ago, Abrams came within 50,000 -- about 50,000 votes. Things much different this time around with Abrams challenging an incumbent Republican governor.

You know, tonight different than a few weeks ago. The libertarian candidate will not be on the stage. He was very disruptive the last time, so tonight we're truly getting a head-to-head match between Abrams and Kemp.

I mean I'm curious to see if Abrams sharpens her attack against Kemp. She has been behind him in most of the polls that we have seen. Does she sharpen her argument on abortion? The abortion restrictions in the state unpopular with most Georgians.

Take a listen to how both Abrams and Kemp have been making their closing arguments on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STACEY ABRAMS (D), GEORGIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: We have a state government full of powerful men who like to give power to other powerful men. And they like to use that power to strip us of our freedoms -- our freedom to vote, our freedom to be safe from gun violence, our freedom to control our own bodies in the state of Georgia. GOVERNOR BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): I tell people who's been fighting for you?

You know, whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, when you look back over the last three and a half years and certainly over the two during the pandemic, who was fighting to keep your business open and give you the ability to go to work every day?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: So as you can hear there, Governor Kemp, key to his election argument really focused on the economy and inflation, Fred.

[14:04:56]

WHITFIELD: All right. Eva McKend, Kevin Liptak -- thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

All right. With me now to talk more about the midterms, David Swerdlick. He is a CNN political commentator and senior staff editor for the "New York Times" opinion. David, so good to see you.

All right. Well, let's talk about the big guns now who are out campaigning. Former President Obama leading the campaign blitz for Democrats in these final days.

Take a listen to Obama warning voters not to buy into Republican messaging.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Own the libs and getting Donald Trump's approval. That's their agenda.

They're not interested in solving problems. They're interested in making you angry and then finding somebody to blame. And they're hoping that that will distract you from the fact they don't have answers of their own.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So David, can he help move the needle in those very, you know, tight hotly-contested races?

DAVID SWERDLICK, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Fred, I think he can. Look, whether you like President Obama or dislike him, whether you voted for him or you didn't vote for him, it's hard to deny that he's still the best retail politician on Planet Earth.

It doesn't surprise me at all that Democrats wanted to save him for their closing arguments going down the stretch in these last couple of weeks.

The problem for Democrats is that before we got to the homestretch, a lot of their candidates have taken hits. Their races have tightened up. President Biden's approval ratings are underwater.

So yes, will President Obama make a difference? Will he fire up the Democratic base? Will he help Democrats get a positive message going into election day? Yes.

Will it be enough? I'm not sure. We're just going to have to see in these next (AUDIO GAP).

WHITFIELD: And similarly and perhaps opposite of that, former President Trump, you know, holding a couple of rallies in the last few days before the election in Pennsylvania and Florida.

But yesterday, it was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stumping for Lee Zeldin, the Republican gubernatorial candidate in New York. Arizona Republican Kari Lake, who is running for governor herself, is actually cutting ads for Republicans across the country. So what does that tell you about the standing of DeSantis and Lake within the GOP?

SWERDLICK: Fred, it tells me a couple of things. In the case of Lake, she's a former TV broadcaster. So she has that on-camera, on-stage polish that I think a lot of campaigns are looking for. And if she's willing to cut ads for them or to make appearances for them, they're going to take it.

In the case of Governor DeSantis, Fred, I think you have a clear situation where he's gearing up a message and a style for a national campaign, whether that's in 2024 or 2028. He wants to see how he plays in states that aren't traditional red states.

That includes somewhere like New York. Governor Hochul has a pretty comfortable five, six, seven-point lead. I don't think she's too worried about Zeldin.

On the other hand, the Zeldin campaign has not given up. They think they have a shot, and they want to bring in what they think is one of their big guns, which right now for Republicans is governor DeSantis, who has a huge lead in his Florida governor's race.

WHITFIELD: All right. Kari Lake, in the spotlight for other things too. "Saturday Night Live", by the way, poking a little fun at these rising GOP stars in Lake, Herschel Walker, Dr. Oz. And this was just last night. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And people love me. No matter what, like the great Trump Donald said, I could pay for an abortion in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not lose any voters. And that's a promise from me, Herschel Ricapotamus (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you media types just get over the one thing I have made the center of my campaign for months and months? Arizonians want to talk about the issues that affect them, like crime in New York.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Judy, we need to take care of ourselves and I recommend the miraculous alphacyclodextrin (ph) to help them lose 30 pounds in just one calendar day.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: All right. So you know, David, it's all funny but you know these are three leading Trump-backed candidates with no political experience. So if they win, what does it say about Trump's political future and the direction of the Republican Party?

SWERDLICK: Fred, what makes it funny is that it's not that far from what we're actually seeing in real life. Of course, it's exaggerated, but that's why they get the laughs. I think "Saturday Night Live" is probably anxious for the 2024 race. They can always get more hay, bigger skits out of a presidential debate than they can out of these regional, state, and congressional races.

But I think it speaks to the fact that President Trump, even though he right now is not on the ballot, even though he hasn't declared for 2024, still is this huge driving force in the Republican Party.

[14:09:50]

SWERDLICK: I think everything after 2022 is going to tilt in some ways, at least for the presidential prospects, on whether or not he gets in the race, and then what other Republicans have as a strategy if they decide to challenge him in a primary, and what Democrats have as a strategy that worked in 2020 but obviously didn't work in 2016.

WHITFIELD: All right. David Swerdlick, always great to see you. Thanks so much.

SWERDLICK: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, voters are heading to the polls in Brazil's high stakes presidential run-off election. Why the results could shape the fight against climate change.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

At least 60 people are dead, including children, after a suspension bridge collapsed in eastern India sending dozens plummeting into the water below. A government official confirmed the bridge had been recently renovated. He added the incident will be investigated, but says for now the focus is on search and rescue efforts.

[14:14:53]

WHITFIELD: President Modi said he was deeply saddened by the incident and that families of the victims would receive money from a government relief fund. We'll bring you the latest details when we get them.

South Korea is a country in mourning as well today after a Halloween celebration turned deadly. Officials say a crowd began to surge in a popular nightclub district on Saturday, causing a crushing event that killed at least 154 people. Among those killed, at least two Americans. Another three Americans were injured.

Authorities are still trying to determine what triggered the crush. Witnesses say people panicked, unable to breathe.

Leaders from around the world are offering their condolences. President Biden saying he grieves with the South Korean people.

CNN's Will Ripley is in Seoul at this hour. What more are we learning about this horrific tragedy?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred. We're slowly piecing together details by talking with witnesses. And a couple of hours ago, we had a rare conversation with a first responder.

Now, we had to talk to them by phone. We can't reveal anything about their identity because they're so afraid of being exposed here. But they described what it was like when they arrived at this -- you know, this is the alleyway just right next to the alley where the majority of the people died.

And I'm just here to kind of show you how wide this space is. You would say maybe seven feet or so across. And so just imagine these first responders arriving. They say basically they were getting calls and I'll read you the quote in a minute.

But people had fallen down and they fell forward. And as they fell forward, other people were falling on top of them. And you ended up in a situation where you had layers of people and basically what the first responder described being able to see is nothing but their faces. Ok. So just imagine kind of coming up to a narrow space like this and seeing row after row of human faces.

Now let me read you this quote from this first responder, saying quote, "At 10:23 p.m., we received more than five reports that people fell and they could either get hurt or die. When we arrived now on the site they were only able to see 7, 8, no 10 rows of faces. We couldn't even see their legs. We first pulled those at the bottom row out. We thought they were most urgent. When we were pulling them out, they were becoming delirious and when we laid them on the ground, most of them were unconscious."

So can you imagine just for the first responders how traumatic it would be to see, you know, this essentially this pile of people, and as they're trying to rescue them, to help them, their condition is worsening.

Many of people were laid down on the sidewalks back here. This is just beyond that tape there is where the majority of people were laid down, and basically, in long lines of bodies on the street, and they're just dying right and left as their friends, you know, and other, you know, onlookers were desperately trying to give them CPR. Paramedics were trying to give them CPR. But in the end, because their injuries were so severe in this crushing event, it was almost impossible to save them.

And the death toll has continued to climb at almost every update. Now, at least 154 dead from so many different countries. You mentioned the Americans, Fred. We also have victims from France, from Australia, from China, from Iran, from Thailand, from Sri Lanka. The list just goes on -- Australia, Austria.

It's really overwhelming the scale and scope of this, what truly is an international tragedy even though the majority of the victims from right here in South Korea. All of them, people who were out at this really popular nightclub district Itaewon trying to just celebrate Halloween.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. It's hard to understand and believe how that happened, even after your very descriptive account of how it all happened. Still the question, you know, how? And the question, why?

All right. Will Ripley, thank you so much.

RIPLEY: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right. Polls are open today in one of the world's biggest democracies. Voters in Brazil are deciding a run-off election between a former leftist president and the far right incumbent leader.

What's at stake is control of the largest economy in South America, and the vital Amazon rain forest.

CNN's Paula Newton is in Brazil for us. How did this come to a run- off?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Short answer, Fred, this was a very close race. And for that reason, no one got a 50 plus 1 vote so we're into this second round, and really all of that just belies the division that has occurred in this country as this campaign has continued.

I want to tell you Fred, right now, we're at a high school, and again it has been calm. It has been fairly organized in the polling stations that we have seen. But again, there is that tension about what the result will bring.

I'll let you take a look here. One of the things here in Brazil that is different is the fact that it is all electronic. There are actually no backup paper ballots. That gives some people a huge vote of confidence. Other people believe that it does not allow for a recount to happen.

That is just one of the issues, Fred, in what has been, as I said, a very contentious campaign.

[14:19:55]

NEWTON: I want you to listen now though, to people that we spoke to at the polls this morning. And Fred, you'll be able to relate, right. This has been such a tension-filled campaign. So toxic, that so many that we spoke to just wanted to vote, they wanted this campaign to be over. Take a listen

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm actually not excited at all about the election, but unfortunately, we need to. We must have a president.

NEWTON: How did you feel about the tension in this campaign, all the ugliness, the toxicity?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't like it. You separate people.

NEWTON: Division.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Division, yes. Division of people. So I think you have to bring everyone together, to discuss everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To avoid what happened in the United States, to solve things and pacify the country, so everyone is able to get on with their lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Two very different futures of Brazil on the ballot, Fred. We will continue to have results for you within the next three hours when polls close here in Brazil, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll be watching and waiting. Thank you so much, Paula Newton.

All right. Coming up, new exclusive details about the attack on the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. CNN now learning what the suspect allegedly had with him during the assault.

[14:21:11]

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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

CNN has exclusive new details about the attack on the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A source familiar with the incident tells CNN that the suspected assailant David DePape had a bag of zip ties and duct tape during the break-in on Friday.

Paul Pelosi is still recovering in a hospital. He suffered a skull fracture and injuries to his hands and right arm when he was struck with a hammer.

President Biden speaking about the attack for the first time and blasting those who have propped-up conspiracy theories.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: It's one thing to condemn the violence. But you can't condemn the violence unless you condemn those people who continue to argue the election was not real, that it's being stolen, that all the malarkey that's being put out there to undermine democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN Veronica Miracle is in San Francisco. Veronica, the house speaker has released a statement. What is she saying?

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Fredricka. Well, certainly a very difficult time for Speaker Pelosi and her family. In fact, we just saw her leave her house just now. She came out of the garage and was whisked away by her motorcade. She did not stop to talk to the media.

But last night, she did send a letter to her colleagues in the House of Representatives emphasizing the grief that she is feeling right now, that her family is feeling right now. Saying in a letter, "Our children, our grandchildren, and I are heartbroken and traumatized by the life-threatening attack on our Pop."

Representative Kevin McCarthy, who is the minority leader of the House, and who is also a representative from California, was on Fox News this morning, putting aside their differences and condemning the attack and showing support for the Pelosi family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Let me be perfectly clear. Violence or threat of violence has no place in our society. What happened to Paul Pelosi is wrong.

Having heard it, I reached out and called the speaker. She was on a plane back for her husband, so we were able to communicate by text. She did say the surgery went well.

I wanted to convey that our thoughts and prayers were with her and her family, with Paul, and we hope for him a speedy recovery. And that we're able to stop this crime across our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: And the suspect, David DePape is expected to be charged tomorrow on multiple felonies including attempted homicide, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse among other charges. We're expecting to see him in court on Tuesday for his arraignment.

WHITFIELD: All right. Veronica Miracle, thank you so much. And of course, we welcome you. Welcome to the CNN family.

All right. For more now, let's go to Greg Ehrie. He is the vice president of law enforcement and analysis for the Anti-Defamation League. So good to see you.

So we just heard from the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy condemning this violence against Paul Pelosi. But he pointed to a bigger problem of generic crime, if you will, across the country.

So in a case like this where someone commits an act of violence for possibly political reasons, what should the country's leaders and elected officials regardless of political party be saying or doing?

GREG EHRIE, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: Well, I think and I'm heartened, and thank you for having me on, that we're seeing a bright spot here. Leaders on both sides are understanding that this is wrong. This has to be universally condemned. And maybe it's a point that they can come together on.

We certainly have a growing problem with crime in our country. And when it's tinted with political violence, it inhibits our ability to act in these elections, to have a free and fair election. So I'm glad to see these two sides coming together.

WHITFIELD: The ADL has been tracking extremism during these midterm elections. Just recently, a bulletin from several federal agencies stated that perceptions of election fraud will likely result in heightened threats of violence.

So what concerns you now with early voting under way and election day now just nine days away?

EHRIE: It's something we're watching very closely. We know that what we're going to see on these midterms are going to be a precursor to what we see in two years from now. And we're hoping that this level of violence, certainly the rhetoric, we at the ADL and other agencies are seeing is definitely at an all-time high.

[14:30:00]

EHRIE: And it struck me that we projected our military power in the United States to other countries to insure that they can have free and fair elections. Free of intimidation, free of coercion, and here we are having these problems, struggling with this in our own country.

WHITFIELD: Speaking of the word projection you used in another use here, I mean, messages of hate and animus, it's not just on the political stage. Just yesterday, take a look right there, anti-Semitic messages were projected on the outside wall of this Jacksonville, Florida, stadium during a college game, the Georgia/Florida football game.

So this message, you know, making reference to artist Kanye West's anti-Semitic remarks that led to companies dropping affiliation with him. It's unclear who is behind these messages on the stadium wall or how long it was projected. In addition, there were banners with anti- Semitic messages hung on highway overpasses near the stadium this weekend. Florida officials and the two universities put out joint statements condemning the acts.

But in your view, what does all of this say about the depths and perhaps the temperature of hate in America?

EHRIE: I think, and from my background not only with the ADL and FBI, from what we're seeing and studying it on now from our Center on Extremism, it's at an all-time high.

You mentioned some of the current incidents. These are happening on a daily basis across the country, at the local, state, and larger levels. And we're not knowing if this is something that was always there or if this is just a sign of the new country we're moving into in a time of these elections. But I can tell you it's unnerving, difficult to watch, and it's

something that all sides need to come together and understand and address it.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, Greg Ehrie, thank you so much for your expertise. I know it is shameful that we have to talk about this, but at the same time, it's imperative and important that we do. And not pretend that it's not happening. Appreciate you being with us today.

All right. Tomorrow, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a case that could diminish the number of Black and Hispanic students seeking higher education. The justices will determine whether colleges and universities can take race into consideration as a factor in admissions, and this leaves the future of admissions' plans at hundreds of schools hanging in the balance.

CNN's Jessica Schneider is live for us with the latest on this.

And, Jessica, what are challengers hoping for in this case? Why is the timing significant? And what is happening now on the eve of this case going to the Supreme Court right behind you?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, several students, Fred, have been rallying outside the Supreme Court, mostly Asian American students. They're among the group who brought these two cases against UNC Chapel Hill and Harvard.

So, tomorrow morning, the Supreme Court will once again re-examine affirmative action here. You know, it's really quite likely that this solidly conservative court could end up banning the practice of colleges and universities considering race as a factor in admissions despite the fact that the Supreme Court first approved it back in 1978. You know, this is a case that has been going through the courts for almost a decade now.

Asian American students in particular sued Harvard saying they were being disadvantaged in favor of Blacks and minorities. These groups have actually lost at the lower courts. The lower courts saying that affirmative action is okay because the Supreme Court said it was okay.

But it is quite possible that the Supreme Court could once again overturn precedent and come this spring or summer, the Supreme Court could in fact ban affirmative action. That's what this case will be about when they hear arguments tomorrow morning.

What's interesting is that in the past several years, nine states in this country have banned affirmative action at public universities. And, you know, a "Washington Post" poll, a recent "Washington Post" poll, actually found that 63 percent of Americans who were surveyed did support banning affirmative action. So, this is a high-interest case. We're already seeing people outside the Supreme Court rallying about this. Students who say they were disadvantaged because of affirmative action, they're rallying right now to get rid of it.

So, the arguments will be heard tomorrow morning, Fred. And then at some point in the spring or summer, we will likely know what the Supreme Court decides here. It is quite possible that this conservative court could upend about 45 years of precedent here if they do ultimately ban affirmative action. But we'll see how the arguments play out tomorrow morning when it's all heard here at the Supreme Court -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jessica Schneider, outside the U.S. Supreme Court, thank you so much.

All right. Coming up, we now know the name and release date of Prince Harry's highly anticipated memoir. What we can expect from the book, straight ahead.

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[14:38:58]

WHITFIELD: Media titan Rupert Murdoch has built one of the largest media empires in history over the last several decades. This week, the final episode of the CNN original series, "The Murdochs: Empire of Influence", reveals what happened as Rupert Murdoch makes a surprising decision about the future of the family business.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that brings us back to August 2017, when Rupert Murdoch invites Bob Iger, the head of Disney, to have a drink with him at his $29 million vineyard in the hills of Bel-Air.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rupert suggests something stunning, something that flies in the face of everything he's done and built over the last few decades.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rupert floats the idea of selling 21st Century Fox to Disney.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And over the next several weeks and months, Disney made a play to buy the crown jewel of the Murdoch empire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I can hear the drum beat now.

All right. Joining us is Jonathan Mahler, a staff writer for "The New York Times."

[14:40:04]

He's also a consulting producer for the "Murdochs: Empire of Influence", which features his exclusive reporting.

So, Jonathan, what happens next?

JONATHAN MAHLER, STAFF WRITER, THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE: You'll have to tune in to watch, I guess. Well, I think most people probably know that the broad outlines, which are that Rupert does sell to Iger, and that move creates kind of yet another big rift inside the Murdoch family because one of Rupert's two sons, James, was very much in favor of this idea. And the other, Lachlan, who by now is the heir apparent and realizes that he's about to inherit a vastly smaller company if this deal goes through, is opposed to it.

WHITFIELD: And so now, there's talk today of Rupert Murdoch re remerging two parts of his empire that have been separated since 2013. What are you hearing about that?

MAHLER: Yeah, it's certainly a possibility. It seems like maybe even a strong possibility right now, but not yet a done deal. And I mean, I think it makes sense from a couple different perspectives. Certainly, at this point, it's not a great environment for media companies. And this is a way to save on expenses for Murdoch. It's also a way to consolidate things so that his, in all likelihood, his son Lachlan will have kind of a single, if somewhat diminished, empire to run.

WHITFIELD: So what else might be on the horizon for the Murdoch family? Especially as we start looking ahead into the 2024 presidential election? Given the family's influence in previous elections.

MAHLER: Yeah, well, you can be sure that Fox News will play a huge role in the 2024 election. That all the Republican candidates will be assuming there's -- there are more than one, will be courting Rupert and will be trying to get on Fox News as much as possible.

And at the same time, this works both ways. Fox will be trying to get behind whoever the likely nominee is and whoever the nominee is, assuming that's where the kind of Republican base is, because that's the business model here, Fox plays to the Republican base. And you know, its programming reflects that.

So -- so that's certainly, you know, on the horizon in 2024. But, of course, the other thing to always keep in mind is Rupert Murdoch is not a young man, and at some point, he is going to die. And the empire could very well be thrown up in the air all over again because once he dies, his shares pass on to his children, and there could be -- there could be a big kind of intra-family dispute over what to do with the company at that point.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jonathan Mahler, for now, we'll tune in this evening to put it all together. Thank you so much.

Be sure to tune in. The final episode of the "Murdochs: Empire of Influence", airs tonight at 10:00 p.m., right here on CNN.

All right. Coming up, we now know the name and release date of Prince Harry's highly anticipated memoir. The press release claims the book will include revelations and insight. We'll discuss next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:48:11]

WHITFIELD: All right, we're learning new details about Prince Harry's highly anticipated new memoir. It's called "Spare" and it will be released in January. According to the publisher, Penguin Random House, the memoir will follow Prince Harry's journey from trauma to healing as he reflects on losing his mother, Princess Diana, as a small child.

CNN royal historian Kate Williams joining us now.

So good to see you.

So, I mean, after the queen's passing, there were so many beautiful moments, right, that seemed to bring Harry and his brother William and others together. But now, this memoir. I mean, what kind of revelations can we expect in "Spare" as it's titled?

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Well, one of them, the title "Spare", it really does I think sum up what we might guess is going to be in the memoir, and certainly, we do believe there are going to be revelations, Penguin, the publisher has said it's also going to be written with more unflinching honesty and really going to go into detail, it's 416 pages. That's actually very long for a celebrity memoir, the genre of books. It's a very long book.

Prince Harry is going to read the audio book himself. So, we're going to hear it in his own voice, and I do think we're going to see a lot of revelations. A lot of Prince Harry speaking from the heart about how he was treated by the royal family, not just after his marriage to Meghan but also before with the whole idea behind spare implies to me that we're going to be looking at him saying, why am I always judged in the way that I'm a backup to William or a backup to Charles, not in my own right?

WHITFIELD: Is it your feeling it will also be more of a book that kind of documents his coping through all of these things?

[14:50:03]

And less of a tell-all, tell everything about everybody else, all the other players, but more about what his struggles were, how he handled things, what he encountered, how he may have turned the page and all of it?

WILLIAMS: Yes, I think you're very right, Fredricka. I think that Prince Harry has made it very clear in interviews, he talked about how he suffered greatly, he suffered the loss of his mother, he suffered throughout his adolescence, and a difficult time really not being able to find his role. I think which are going to talk about how he got through this.

We know there's talk about trauma and recovery in the book. We know there's talk about mental health issues. So we'll see his journey how he's been in this impossible position.

You might say, well, why is Prince Harry in difficult position? Why is he suffering? He's so wealthy.

But royalty is a gilded cage and it's a gilded cage which he's suffocating and he's a gilded cage where there is no privacy, and it's a gilded cage in which clearly I think that Harry is making an important points here about the role of the second in line, the idea that they're always supposed to be in line to assist the monarch, to assist their sibling.

And that, I think, is very outdated. It's time to change. So, I think George's siblings are going to spend the rest of their lives to being his backup team. That doesn't seem fair.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. I mean, you used a powerful word there when you talked about suffocating. But a powerful word is the title of the book. And I know you touched on it. But when as soon as you see the title, before you even get to the pages, you start thinking about isolation, right? Backup. I mean, these are the synonyms that come to mind for me.

So what do you think -- there had to have been a lot of consternation about that title "Spare."

WILLIAMS: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: And I wonder what his concerns or thoughts were about why that is the right title? Because I'm sure he had all of the say in that.

WILLIAMS: Yes, you're right, Fredricka. The title would have been discussed with the publishers. This is one he's chosen. There are other translation, the other countries with other countries, because "Spare" doesn't translate exactly what the language. In Spanish, it's the shadow. In Sweden, it's the other. In Denmark, it's the reservist.

So just bringing up the idea of being someone who is -- someone who is this spare person, someone who is and I think spare would be -- which is not being valued, someone who is excluded, someone who is ignored, and really --

WHITFIELD: It sounds so sad already. Haven't read a page of it, it's sounding so sad.

All right. Kate Williams, we'll have to leave it there. And, of course, we'll be talking about it again, because it comes out in January. And once we have had a chance to read it and dissect it, we might have new thoughts, especially you.

Kate Williams, good to see you. Thanks so much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:57:43]

WHITFIELD: Saturday's powerball drawing came and went with no jackpot winners. And now, $1 billion is up for grabs. Players who have to match five numbers plus the powerball in order to win on Halloween night. It could be spooky. It's the second time in powerball's 30-year history that the prize reached the billions. The largest jackpot was over $1.5 billion back in January of 2016. Good luck, everybody. All right. A monster door is threatening to eat trick or treaters.

That is a cruel joke. It's the brainchild, however, of a homeowner who decided to get creative this Halloween.

As Jeanne Moos reports, the open door greets kids with open arms, literally.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's as if the cookie monster took up residence in the front door.

MONSTDOOR: You like candy? Well, I'm going to eat you.

MOOS: This is an Iowa family's contribution to Halloween.

GREG DIETZENBACH, MONST-DOOR CREATOR: I thought I would just dress up the house.

MOOS: It took Greg Dietzenbach 10 days and about 200 bucks to make what he calls the monstdoor.

DIETZENBACH: It looked like a Pixar move come to life.

MONSTDOOR: What are you doing? That's my candy.

MOOS: First, he made a mini prototype. Then he made a door, arms out of broom sticks, video eyes looped on an old TV, and a mouth out of Styrofoam, covered in purple fur, purple fur everywhere.

DIETZENBACH: In the end, it looked like I had killed a muppet.

MOOS: Every Halloween, Greg, the creative director of a creative design agency, does something unique for Halloween. Like when he made this zoom meeting costume for his kids at the height of the pandemic.

On Halloween, he'll be the man behind the door, flapping the arms.

DIETZENBACH: Hey!

MOOS: And using his foot to move a line attached to his shoe that moves the mouth.

In a way, Greg is a little like the Wizard of Oz. But one thing Greg's monster door can't do is open to get inside. Greg usually crawls through a window.

But when it comes to the vocals --

MONSTDOOR: That's my candy!

MOOS: Greg is more of a wiz than the wizard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am the great and powerful wizard of Oz.

DIETZENBACH: Hey, that's my candy! MOOS: Greg is the wizard of Iowa.

Jeanne Moos, CNN --

MONSTDOOR: Happy Halloween.

MOOS: -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: (INAUDIBLE) for the kids who are going to knock on that door, but I want to see the video. I want to see the video of what happens when that happens.

All right. Thanks so much for being with me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

"CNN NEWSROOM" continues with Jim Acosta right now.