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154 Killed, 130-Plus Injured In Seoul Crowd Surge At Halloween Festival; Suspect Who Attacked Paul Pelosi With Hammer Had Duct Tape, Zip Ties; Brian Kemp, Stacey Abrams To Face Off Tonight In Final Debate In Georgia; Democrats Attempt Last-Minute Appeal For Democracy In Campaign Messaging; Trump-DeSantis 2024 Rivalry Grows More Public. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired October 30, 2022 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:33]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We are following multiple developing stories this hour, starting with the zip ties and duct tape. The new CNN exclusive reporting into the brutal hammer attack on Paul Pelosi. What we are now learning about what else the suspect brought with him as he shouted "where's Nancy?"

And in South Korea, at least two U.S. citizens are among the 154 people killed in a massive crowd surge in Seoul. We are live on the ground in the capital city in South Korea as investigators now try to piece together what exactly led to this horrific tragedy.

But first, rescue crews are searching for survivors after a pedestrian bridge collapsed into a river in western India. At least 60 people, including some children, were killed and more than a dozen others were injured. The bridge fell into the river in the town of Morbi.

These frightening videos that you're seeing here from the scene show people desperately clinging to the fallen structure. It's not clear exactly what caused the collapse, although the bridge was reportedly recently renovated. A top Indian official says the focus right now is on the search for survivors. That official pledging the government will find out how and why the bridge collapsed.

Over in South Korea, South Korea is a nation stunned by a horrific tragedy. 154 people killed in a massive crowd surge in Seoul. Among the dead, at least two U.S. citizens. More than 130 other people were injured. This happened during a Halloween festival at a popular night life district. The South Korean president has declared a period of national mourning as investigators now work to figure out exactly what led to the surge.

Witnesses say it became hard to breathe and impossible to move and the sheer number of people then made it difficult for emergency workers to reach the people who were trapped and needed help.

CNN's Will Ripley is following all of this.

Will, this sounds like a situation that just snowballed into just an absolute calamity. What more are you learning?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, you talked about those first responders. And we actually spoke with one of them, who basically arrived on the scene, and what they witnessed, it is almost impossible to imagine how horrible it must have been in this narrow alleyway here.

Let me just read for you this quote, Jim, from this first responder who we've agreed to conceal their identity. They said, at 10:23 p.m., we received more than five reports that people fell and they could get either hurt or die. When we arrived on site, we were only able to see seven, eight, no 10 rows of faces. We couldn't even see their legs. We fist pulled those out at the bottom row. We thought they were the most urgent. We were pulling them out, they were becoming delirious, and when we laid them on the ground, most of them were unconscious.

So, Jim, rows of people, 10 people high, can't see their arms, can't see their legs, can't see their faces. And I'm going to walk you over here because the anger here is growing because people say that the government should have done more to prevent all of these young people from gathering in the first place. So you've had -- all night long, you have seen people standing here, screaming, people who are angry, people who are holding up South Korean flags and people who standing by this memorial that continues to grow.

One of the men earlier were shouting where was the government, what was the government doing, why didn't they protect our young people. And so you have a growing pile here of flowers, you have messages saying may they rest in peace, but you also have people gathering here, expressing their frustration that even though hours before this deadly incident, police who have a station just a short walk down that way, they were getting calls that people were showing up at the police station saying the crowd is getting too big, nothing is being done about it, you need to get out here, you need to disperse these young people.

The police didn't show up, Jim. And clearly, there was not -- knowing that this was the first Halloween without COVID restrictions in three years, the first Halloween that people wouldn't have to wore masks, they were hyping it up, they were holding, you know, specials at all of the bars and restaurants around here to try to encourage young people to show up. Then they come in such huge numbers that they lost control and something unthinkable happened.

But people here say it's not good enough just to call it a tragedy. They want to know why the government did not do more preemptively to plan for this and to prevent all of this, you know, each of these flowers, each of these candles they symbolize people who died, young people in many cases. Mostly women. More than half of them were women. Many of them in their Halloween costumes who came out here to celebrate, and they have never come home to their families.

[16:05:04]

Four thousand, 100 missing persons cases at the peak of this. That meant that there were 100,000 people out here, more than 4,000 people were calling the police. And for hours, they didn't know if their loved ones were one of those who died. And that number keeps ticking up and could go up higher, Jim, we're told because some of the people who were in the hospital still in very bad shape.

ACOSTA: All right. Will Ripley, just an awful situation there, very sad scene there on the streets of Seoul, South Korea.

Will, thank you very much for all of that terrific reporting this weekend.

In the meantime, CNN has exclusively we learned new details about the suspect who attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband with a hammer. A source telling CNN the suspect had duct tape and zip ties on him when he allegedly broke into the Pelosi home early Friday morning. The suspect at one point tried to tie up Paul Pelosi authorities say before attacking him with a hammer.

The suspect also said he was -- he told arriving officers there that he was, quote, "waiting for Nancy." Late yesterday, the House speaker released her first statement since the attack and CNN's Sunlen Serfaty joins us now.

Sunlen, we're getting more and more details about what exactly happened inside the Pelosi home. And it is just -- it's terrifying.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is. And in this first statement that we've heard from Nancy Pelosi sent out last night, it's very clear that she has raw emotions, of course, still from this incident. She says in the statement, quote, "A violent man broke into our family home, demanded to confront me, and brutally attacked my husband, Paul. Our children, our grandchildren, and I are heartbroken and traumatized by the life-threatening attack on our pop."

And she did say that her husband's condition continues to improve here. And today CNN did see briefly Speaker Pelosi leaving her house in San Francisco, briefly leaving her garage there, and then getting into an SUV. Now, this statement, this comes as there certainly is heightened anxiety on Capitol Hill, with many lawmakers worried about their safety, the safety of their families, and lawmakers, they received an update from the U.S. sergeant-at-arms yesterday as well as the chief of the Capitol Hill police basically, Jim, telling them what recommendations they have to protect themselves and what protocols are already in place.

But a lot of lawmakers, as we heard in the last 48 hours, believe that it's inadequate and are frustrated and want more security.

ACOSTA: Yes. Sunlen, I mean, we were talking to Eric Swalwell, congressman from California, yesterday and he was talking about how he has to spend money to hire security.

SERFATY: That's right.

ACOSTA: And many other lawmakers have to do the same thing because the situation is just inadequate. All right, Sunlen, thank you very much. Let's go to battleground Georgia right now where incumbent Republican

Governor Brian Kemp will face Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams in their second and final debate tonight. A crucial race there with early voting already in full swing, and voters turning out in record numbers. This is the last chance for Kemp and Abrams to deliver their platform to voters.

CNN's Evan McKend is following all of this for us in Atlanta.

Thank you so much, Eva, for being with us. This has been a very feisty race. And I suspect we're going to hear more of that tonight.

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Jim. This is perhaps the most closely watched political rematches right now in the country. You know, when Abrams and Kemp competed four years ago, Abrams came within about 50,000 votes. She of course now is going up against an incumbent Republican governor.

This time, different from a few weeks ago when they debated, the libertarian candidate won't be on the stage. He was a little bit distracting back then, so we're truly going to get a head-to-head matchup of them just speaking with one another. I'm curious to see if Abrams sharpens her attack against Kemp. She has been behind Kemp in many recent polls. Does she sharpen her attack on a host of issues?

But mainly abortion. The abortion ban. The six-week abortion ban that Kemp signed into law is unpopular with most Georgians. Take a listen to how both Kemp and Abrams have been making their closing argument 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.

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R), GEORGIA: 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 3 1/2 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: And so as you can hear there, Kemp routinely makes this argument that he was among one of the first governors to reopen the state's economy during the pandemic, even though it was not popular at the time to do so. We'll have to see how they make their arguments tonight -- Jim.

[16:10:06]

ACOSTA: All right. I don't think it's everybody in Georgia watching that race. It's everybody across the country. Such a hotly contested race there for the job of governor there in Georgia.

Eva McKend, thank you so much.

In the final full week of campaigning before the midterm, some Democratic candidates and activist groups are attempting a last minute appeal for democracy. The issue of democracy in messaging. It's a strategy that some acknowledge, though, hasn't worked so far.

CNN's Isaac Dovere has this new reporting for us.

Isaac, take us behind the scenes. This has been a debate in Democratic circles, how much to focus on this issue of democracy. What are you hearing? What are you finding out?

ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: A lot of Democrats, whether they're elected officials, party leaders, strategists are panicked that they feel like things are not going well for them in the midterms right now. They are panicked beyond that because they are thinking that this is about democracy and its very core that might be at stake here, whether it's election deniers who are coming in or people who think that they may be paving the way for a Donald Trump return.

I was in Baltimore yesterday, the campaign event. Senator Chris Van Hollen leading Democrat in the Senate said that authoritarianism is on the rise from Moscow to Mar-a-Lago. That's the way Democrats feel here, and they feel in a real existential way like if they don't do well next week in the midterms, that American democracy is in trouble, and they are worried that that's where things are headed.

ACOSTA: And is there a concern that that message is not just -- not breaking through with voters? Is that the issue?

DOVERE: Absolutely. That they have not --

ACOSTA: Because there are a lot of Democrats who will say it is breaking through. We're extremely worried about it.

DOVERE: Right. But what Democrats say is that they have tried to get people to care about this and they cannot get voters beyond their base to really be agitated about this. So there is this last-minute push that is going on in certain segments of the Democratic base to try to turn out black voters. And argument, there's a group called Black PAC that has a script that they're using when they knock on doors saying that Republicans tried to throw out our votes in Atlanta and Philadelphia, and in Detroit in 2020. We have to stop that from happening.

There is a push on all sorts -- trying to get to those voters who voted in 2018 and 2020, but are not regular voters, and get them concentrated. And they feel like, look, there are a lot of races that are still very close here and if they can push up, 5,000 votes, 10,000 votes in a race, that could decide a lot of these races for the House, for Senate, for governor. But you talk to people who are in charge here and they say it just hasn't been catching.

ACOSTA: And that's why you're seeing folks like Barack Obama out on the campaign trail, hitting that message. We heard the president talking about it yesterday with respect to what happened to Paul Pelosi. I suspect we're going to hear this a lot more in the next week and a half.

Isaac, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

For more on Isaac's reporting, make sure you go to CNN.com or to the app. Thanks so much, Isaac.

DOVERE: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Coming up, the midterms are not even over and already the Trump versus DeSantis rivalry for 2024 is taking shape and heating up. Details next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[16:17:28]

ACOSTA: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is on the ballot in Florida, but he spent his Saturday night stumping for another candidate in New York. DeSantis flee to Long Island to campaign alongside Congressman Lee Zeldin, who is in a surprisingly close race against New York's Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul. We invited Congressman Zeldin on our show, haven't heard back. But CNN's Steve Contorno joins me now to talk about DeSantis on the road.

You have some new reporting on DeSantis' potential 2024 bid for the White House. Tell us about it.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, as soon as this election is over, Ron DeSantis is facing a decision about his political future. And events like the one you just described in New York have done little to tamp down any speculation about his 2024 plans. But there's one person in particular who is paying close attention to what Governor DeSantis is doing, and that is former President Donald Trump.

Now the potential rivalry that these two men are having is now already spilling into the public view just ahead of the midterms. We have Ron DeSantis wading into a governor's race in Colorado, where the Republican there has been at odds with Trump, and then Trump giving -- sharing with his supporters a clip of Megyn Kelly suggesting that if Trump and DeSantis go head to head, Republicans are going to stick with the former president.

And now we have Trump planning a rally in southern Florida just days before the election. Marco Rubio was invited but Ron DeSantis was not. And sources say that that was intentional. And not only that, but DeSantis' people say that he didn't want to be there. He wasn't interested in going. He hasn't even asked for the president's endorsement.

But the arrival in south Florida has definitely raised eyebrows here. And let me tell you why. Miami-Dade where Trump is going to be speaking, this is a county that Democrats have won for 20 years and Republicans are hoping that they can actually flip it this cycle. And some people think Trump is coming to Miami to sort of take credit preemptively for that turnaround.

Now what has Trump so angry at DeSantis? Well, sources tell us that it's mainly that he is upset that DeSantis hasn't ruled out running against him in a primary. In fact, last week, in a debate, DeSantis was asked point blank if he intends to stick around for four years if re-elected? He wouldn't answer. Take a look at this exchange with Democrat Charlie Crist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLIE CRIST (D), FLORIDA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Will you serve a full four-year term if you are re-elected governor of Florida? It's not a tough question. It's a fair question. He won't tell you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We did not agree on the candidates asking each other questions.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: Is it my time?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Governor, it's your turn.

[16:20:02]

DESANTIS: Well, listen, I know that Charlie is interested in talking about 2024 and Joe Biden. But I just want to make things very, very clear. The only worn-out old donkey I'm looking to put out to pasture is Charlie Crist.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Now, Jim, the irony in all of this is that Donald Trump is now a Florida resident. That means he's a Florida voter. And when he cast his ballot in the coming days in these midterm elections, sources have told our colleague Gabby Orr that he intends to vote for Governor Ron DeSantis.

ACOSTA: I should hope so. All right, Steve Contorno, thanks so much. Appreciate that report.

And with me now to talk about it is CNN political analyst and Washington bureau chief for the "Daily Beast" Jackie Kucinich, and former Trump White House official and former press secretary for the Department of Labor, Gavin Smith.

Gavin, thanks for being here in the studio with us. Let me start with you first. What is going on here between Trump and DeSantis?

GAVIN SMITH, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL: Yes. I think there's no question. I mean, I don't know why we continue to tiptoe around this.

ACOSTA: Yes. SMITH: There is no question, Ron DeSantis is going to run in 2024, and

he's going to take on Donald Trump. And I think he stands a good chance at it. You know, I don't know why Republicans continue to tiptoe around this issue and pretend like, will he or will he not? I have no question. He's going to run along with a field of other Republican candidates.

ACOSTA: Yes, no -- and Jackie, I mean, I covered the 2016 race. I covered Donald Trump running against, what was it, 16, 17? You know, I lost count at one point of how many other Republicans he was running against. They all unsuccessfully tried to knock him out. We've seen Republicans attempt to do this and go by the wayside.

Do you think DeSantis poses any more of a threat than the others?

JACKIE KUCINICH, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE DAILY BEAST: It really seems like DeSantis is laying ground work, particularly in some of these more pivotal states by going and campaigning for candidates, right. You know, giving infrastructure and money and really making a name for himself in that way. To get that sort of support and that ground swell that maybe you didn't see with some of these other candidates.

But, you know, Jim, I think it's a fool's errand to guess whether or not someone can match up against former President Trump or not. I mean, we both covered that race and watch people come at him and fall by the wayside. But this is also -- there is a sentiment out there, that even the Trump faithful are kind of shopping for something else.

And we'll have to see, you know, whether or not these people decide to maybe Trump is what they want at the end of the day. But there are some wandering eyes out there. And whether or not they rest on Ron DeSantis at the end of the day, you know, we'll all be watching.

ACOSTA: And nothing makes Donald Trump more nervous than wandering eyes inside the Republican Party. But let me ask you both this next question. There's also a new CNN reporting that Democrats looking to fire up supporters are pivoting to messaging on democracy, on the issue of democracy and how important it is. Of course to American society, it's highly critical.

This is a new CNN Poll of Polls that finds -- poll, I should say, it finds that 90 percent of voters see the economy as the top issue. 85 percent see voter integrity as a top issue. And guys, look at this poll, if we can show this new CBS-YouGov poll out today. It shows 70 percent of Republicans, likely voters, think a strong economy is a big concern versus 29 percent of Republican voters who say that about a strong democracy. A functioning democracy.

Jackie, to you first. I mean, how shocking is that? Maybe nothing should shock us anymore, to see those kinds of numbers?

KUCINICH: So I'm a little careful with some of these polls because of the wording in terms of democracy because it also could be taken that people who don't trust fair elections think that, you know, something is amiss. However, this has been something that has been on voter's mind. I think Democrats are really just trying to see what sticks at this point because the polls are not going in their favor.

We've seen a focus on abortion, we've seen a focus on perhaps some of the things that were passed in Congress, and whether or not those are helping make people's lives better. It really does seem like this turning on the economy. But, you know, for certain reasons, for secretary of state races, for example, yes, this could be a very potent message for Democrats in the closing days.

ACOSTA: And what do you think, Gavin?

SMITH: Yes. I mean, I think that the January 6th Committee has done a wonderful job highlighting the attack on democracy. And I think that, you know, Republicans, I think they might be a little afraid to speak out against the former president. But I think at the end of the day, this is a very important issue for Republicans. We're all proud Americans. And I think you see messaging around that in the Republican Party today. You know, so I think that it is an important message for Republicans. I just think that they're afraid to speak out against the former president.

ACOSTA: And let me ask you about this, Gavin, because in that same vein, the day that we learned of this brutal attack of Nancy Pelosi's husband, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin was out campaigning for Republican congressional candidate in Virginia.

[16:25:10]

He was one of these Republicans that, you know, people inside the party say may be able to take on Donald Trump in 2024. But Youngkin said this. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GLENN YOUNGKIN (R), VIRGINIA: Listen, Speaker Pelosi's husband had a break-in last night in their house and he was assaulted. There's no room for violence anywhere. But we're going to send her back to be with him in California.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: What did you think when you saw that, Gavin?

SMITH: Yes, I mean, to be very honest, I think it's ridiculous. I think that, you know, what we've seen over the last, what, four to six years with Donald Trump is that the tone and leadership is set at the top. And Donald Trump, whether or not we like it or not, is still the leader of the Republican Party. And I think that Glenn Youngkin and other Republican leaders are taking their cues from Donald Trump.

They're afraid to speak out against the former president, so they take the cues. You know, so whether or not -- again, whether or not we like it or not, Donald Trump is the leader. And the tone is set at the top. And I think that they'll continue this until Donald Trump is not -- is no longer the leader of the Republican Party.

ACOSTA: Yes. And Jackie, what did you think when you saw that comment? KUCINICH: It's just very poor taste. There are certain things that,

you know, that everyone should be to agree on and that political violence is unacceptable. It is certainly one of them, and it should have just been full stop. The quip at the end. You know, frankly, again, it was inappropriate to say the least.

ACOSTA: Right. And Youngkin fashioned himself as a new kind of Republican when he ran for governor of Virginia. But lately he's been out campaigning with Kari Lake, an election denier out in Arizona, now he's saying this. It's making people reassess that initial assessment of Governor Youngkin.

All right, Gavin Smith, Jackie Kucinich, thanks to both of you. Really appreciate it.

There are concerns that are growing about the global food supply after Russia pulled out of a United Nations brokered grain deal with Ukraine. How global powers are now responding. That's next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: NATO is calling on Russia to urgently renew a U.N.-brokered grain export deal with Ukraine. Moscow officials said, yesterday, they would suspend participation after drone attacks on Crimea that Russia blames on Kyiv.

The grain deal allowed Ukraine to, once again, export agricultural products through the Black Sea, a move that helped reduce food prices around the world. Already, more than 200 ships have been blocked from moving through the area.

Secretary of state, Antony Blinken, reacted with outrage to news of Russia's decision, accusing Moscow of weaponizing food. CNN's Nic Robertson is in Kyiv for us. Nic, what's the latest?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Jim, secretary of state, Antony Blinken, also went on to say that this shows Russia just doesn't care how much people and families across the world will have to pay for their food. President Zelenskyy, here, who said, in his opinion, for more than a month now, Russia has been throttling back the amount of wheat and other food stuffs that Ukraine's been able to export.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, PRESIDENT, UKRAINE (translator): Russia began deliberately aggravating the food crisis back in September, when it blocked the movement of ships with our food. From September to today, 176 vessels have already accumulated in the grain corridor, which cannot follow their route. Some grain carriers have been waiting for more than three weeks. This is an absolutely deliberate blockade by Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: And the Ukrainian perspective on that is that this is just another way that Russia is trying to pressure Ukraine and pressure its allies to sign up to a Putin peace deal. One where those illegally annexed four regions of Ukraine would stay in Russian hands. Clearly, that's not something Ukraine is going to accept.

We've also heard from Russia today, laying out more detail of this attack they say took place in Sebastopol in Crimea, which, of course, is illegally annexed and illegally occupied by Russia, at the moment. And the Ukrainians consider any Russian ships their fair game.

The Russians are saying that they captured part of an automated submersible-type vessel that they say they've been able to track back, looking at its electronics, to see that it actually came from the coast of Ukraine. And this, of course, central to their complaint that Ukraine is making those waters for the wheat export, the grain export just too unsafe.

The Russians had also said that the British specialists had actually led this operation. The British MOD have denied that. Said that's absolutely not true, just a fabrication.

The bottom-line result of all this, at the moment, is we've heard from the E.U. Foreign Policy chief, saying that Russia should get back in compliance with this deal.

And the U.N. secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, is actually delaying a trip to the Arab League Summit in Algeria by a day so he can try to put this deal back together. It's not clear that he can be successful right now, Jim.

ACOSTA: Nic Robertson, thanks. Coming up, the attorney general is vowing the Justice Department will not permit voters to be intimidated ahead of the midterms. This as violent political rhetoric is on the rise. What is behind that surge next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[16:34:34]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: With violent political rhetoric and election misinformation on the rise, the DOJ is vowing to fight voter intimidation ahead of the midterms. Attorney General Merrick Garland promising that the Justice Department will guarantee, quote, "Free And Fair Elections."

Tonight, a new CNN report, special report, explores the effect that false claims of fraud are having on local leaders and election workers. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're willfully choosing to ignore the data.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Raise the freaking bar.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to come after each one of you, personally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will get the justice that's coming to you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to be arrested.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Flee now while you can.

CROWD: Shame on you!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Threats and anger.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Start working for the people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Coast to coast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People got executed for violating the Nuremberg Code, and you guys are violating the Nuremberg Code, too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You no longer have our consent.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Spreading in local communities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know who your family is. We know your dog's name.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Targeting county supervisors.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Time to dust off the old guillotine.

[16:40:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even educators.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are about to get a real education, mother (INAUDIBLE.)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know your home address is on the Internet, don't you? That could be a little scary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Frightened election officials wearing body armor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have it on almost a daily basis now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And arming themselves.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a .22 automatic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not knowing what danger the upcoming midterm elections might bring.

A CNN special report, "PERILOUS POLITICS: AMERICA'S DANGEROUS DIVIDE."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And CNN's Kyung Lah traveled across the country to bring us this very special report. Kyung, I hope everybody watches this tonight, because it's just so very important. You've been reporting, just in recent days there in Arizona, how things are getting very, very heated and dangerous. Tell us what you found.

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via Webex): You know, I think you can go to almost any local community today and see that same sort of anger. Driven by misinformation and heated political rhetoric, to where action might be taken.

What we did is we wanted to talk to local officials, really the frontline of democracy. The people who take your ballot at your election office, the county official, the school board.

And that same sort of anger from January Sixth is now being directed at them. They have, sometimes, their kids' names. The school that they attend posted online. Their home addresses. And so, we talked to them.

But we also talked to the people who are perpetrating this, and say that it is necessary in today's politics because there is so much noise. That if you want to win, this is the route that you have to take.

And, Jim, you mentioned Arizona. We are seeing this certainly already play out in the midterms. There are these drop boxes and people, armed vigilantes. These are -- that's not my description. That's the description of the election officials in Maricopa County.

ACOSTA: Right.

LAH: Say that they are showing up and watching these ballot boxes. This is all misinformation.

ACOSTA: It's frightening, Kyung. And I remember seeing your report yesterday, the grandmother who confronted some of these guys. And, you know, we need more in this country than grandmas going out to -- I mean, it's nice that she did that. But grandmas going out to ballot boxes to make sure our democracy stays intact. I mean, it -- is there any hope of tamping down this rage?

LAH: The hope is that people at the highest level are going to start waking up. We're already seeing, you mentioned, the DOJ getting involved, trying to control some of that anger. Also trying to protect people. But it would really help. And you hear this, especially from Republicans.

I spoke to a lot of Republicans who are feeling some of the worst anger in this country. They are calling upon their political leaders to stop spreading misinformation and to try to cool temperatures. That would have a tremendous impact.

So, the hope, Jim, is that our better angels prevail someday. ACOSTA: And hopefully that someday is soon. Kyung Lah, you are always

doing incredible work, following what's happening. Especially in this very important intersection of our national political scene and this extremism that has just cropped up on the far right. And how it is just really endangering democracy right now.

Kyung Lah, thank you so much for that report.

LAH: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: Kyung's special tonight. You have to watch it. It'll be on later tonight. CNN special report, "PERILOUS POLITICS: AMERICA'S DANGEROUS DIVIDE." It airs tonight at 8:00 right here on CNN.

Coming up, they pop up seemingly overnight. Next, inside the phenomenon of the Spirit Halloween stores. Yes, you've seen some of these memes. We're going to share some of them, next. You're live in CNN NEWSROOM.

[16:43:45]

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ACOSTA: Tomorrow is Halloween, and you may have noticed Spirit Halloween stores popping up in your neighborhood recently. They seem to come out of nowhere, like a ghost, occupying buildings that have been vacated by, sometimes, defunct businesses.

CNN's Nathaniel Meyersohn joins me now to break down this Spirit Halloween is opening up more of these pop-up stores than ever this year. And, Nathaniel, I mean, it, sort of, made its way into the culture, into the public consciousness heading into this Halloween. Tell us some more.

NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Jim. So, Spirit Halloween is opening up 1,450 stores this year. That's a record.

The company is really taking advantage of the fact that there have been so many store closures over the past few years. With the retail apocalypse, all of the retail bankruptcies, empty shopping malls.

So, Spirit Halloween is moving into those stores. And landlords need tenants and are happy to have Spirit Halloween.

And then, they're also taking advantage of the fact that Americans are ready to celebrate Halloween. They're expected to celebrate $10.6 billion this year on Halloween. That's a record number. That includes costumes for the kids, adults, even the pets. And then, all of the candy and decorations.

ACOSTA: Yes, I mean, we're all spending a lot of money on it this year, because it's fun to get out there and do this again.

I know we want to talk about the memes in just a second. Everybody's anxious to talk about the memes. But what are some of the popular costumes this year? The actual costumes. MEYERSOHN: Right. So, I -- we checked Google Trends. And some of the

most popular costumes -- and I thought I would see the Queen on this list, but she's not there.

So, some of the traditional ones, a witch, Spiderman, a dinosaur, Stranger Things, that's good news for Netflix, and then a fairy. So, no Queen but some of the more traditional ones.

ACOSTA: Very good. Of course, "Stranger Things" is in there. It has to be in there.

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ACOSTA: And there's also been this viral trend, where people are posting Spirit Halloween costume packages. I find this to be very inventive.

I apologize to anybody out there who has not had this texted to them over the last several days. But just about everybody is getting texts from their friends, and people are seeing this on social media and so on.

These are -- we just want to caution our viewers who don't understand the meme here. These are joke costumes, but they've gone viral. Here's some of my favorites. An adult from 2020 Edition. It shows Ben Affleck smoking a cigarette and looking disheveled. Our apologies to Ben Affleck.

I just want to say right now, we were searching for the most piecey ones to put up here onscreen, and this happened to be one of them. So, there are lots of others that we can't show.

Nathaniel, another good one, what my dog is barking at, and, of course, there's nothing there. Which ones stood out to you?

MEYERSOHN: Right. So, Jim, this is all good for Spirit Halloween. It's good branding.

ACOSTA: Yes.

MEYERSOHN: So, a couple of my favorites were ice coffee. And the ice coffee costume comes with happiness. I'm not addicted, I promise. And then, of course, we see ice coffee prices way up. so I'm broke. Five- six bucks for an iced coffee, may need to ditch that.

And then, the other one I really like, and this is perfect ahead of the midterms, campaign finance staffer. So, lots of folks in D.C. maybe dressing up as campaign finance staffer. It includes a vest, and that's pretty scary heading into the midterms.

ACOSTA: Campaign staffers are always scary. But I should note, having been a Washingtonian for all my life, that that is what people in Washington look like pretty much anyway. So, it might not just always be a campaign staffer in that circumstance. It's just about everybody.

But, as you said, Nathaniel, this is -- I mean, it's great advertising for Spirit Halloween. They must be just tinkled pink about this. Nathaniel, we want to ask what your Halloween costume is. You can just tell us later. But thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it. All right, thanks, again.

In the meantime, a five-year-old Canadian boy is winning the hearts of hockey fans with his Halloween costume. Easton Oetting has an extremely rare genetic condition which makes him unable to walk for the past few years.

His dad has built him a special Halloween costume for his wheelchair. This year, Easton got an Edmonton Oilers-themed Zamboni costume. That is just so terrific. There, look at that. The family went to a local ice rink to shoot a video of Easton in his Zamboni. That's gone viral.

The Edmonton Oilers, to their credit, shared the video on Instagram. And the NHL posted it on their Twitter account, declaring Easton Zamboni the costume of the year.

And it's further evidence that not everything on social media is terrible. That is just so heartwarming and adorable. Good for him. Love the Zamboni, as always.

In the meantime, a lucky lottery winner could land the ultimate treat this Halloween. A massive $1 billion jackpot. Nobody matched all the numbers in Saturday's Powerball drawing, causing the prize money for Monday's drawing to soar.

It's only the second time in the Powerball history that the prize has hit $1 billion. The cash payout would be just over $497 million. And, after taxes, enough to buy all of those discounted Halloween candy that your heart desires and maybe a few costumes, as well. You can have the Spirit -- the costume store of your choice.

In the meantime, across the pond, there's new royal money. Coins with King Charles' face have been made for the first time by the Royal Mint.

The new 50 pence coins are expected to go into circulation by Christmas, along with a commemorative five-pound coin to honor the late Queen Elizabeth. The coin will feature King Charles facing left, the opposite of Queen Elizabeth.

That's in line with the 300-year-old tradition of changing sides with the new monarch. It's a custom that historians have no idea how or why it started.

And a quite programming note. A new morning show is coming to CNN. It's the day after Halloween. It's starting Tuesday. Join Don, Poppy, and Kaitlan for "CNN THIS MORNING," every weekday at 6:00 a.m. You not -- you don't want to miss that.

And, next week, the 2022 Top 10 CNN Heroes will be named in honor of that. We wanted to check in on last year's Hero of the Year.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shirley Raines.

SHIRLEY RAINES, FOUNDER, BEAUTY 2 THE STREETZ (voice-over): As much as you want to live in the moment and say it doesn't really matter, let's be real. I wanted to bring that prize money, that win, and that recognition to the community. I really wanted them to have that platform.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Winner, winner, winner.

RAINES (on camera): Good morning, you guys.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations, Shirley.

RAINES: Congratulations to you all.

The world had an opportunity to vote for 10 amazing organizations, and they chose one that dealt with homelessness. Which, I think, to them might say, oh, my God, people really are paying attention. People really are looking. People really do care.

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RAINES: I'm hoping that this win will bring more eyes down here. There's a massive need for blankets. There's a massive need for tents. I've always said this from the beginning. I don't do hero stuff. You know what I mean? I do human stuff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I knew there was something about you.

RAINES: I knew there was something about you, too.

Honestly, all the stuff I've been through in my personal life, I think it's amazing to have gotten this far. Because I came from, oh, my God, the bottom. And I was on the CNN Heroes' day show. It definitely should give hope to other people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: All right, that's the news. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. See you back here next Saturday, at 3:00 p.m. Eastern. Pamela Brown takes over the CNN NEWSROOM, live after a quick break.

Happy Halloween. Duke is going as Yoda this year. I'll try to show the pictures later. A little teaser there. Have a good night, everybody.

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