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South Koreans Wants Answer on What Happened in Itaewon, Seoul; Battleground States Campaigning for the Midterm Elections; Lula da Silva Wins Brazil Elections; India Bridge Collapse Kills 132. Aired 2- 3a ET

Aired October 31, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. You are watching "CNN Newsroom" and I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead, families in South Korea are demanding answers as the nation mourns after a Halloween celebration turns tragic. We are live in Seoul with the latest.

Here in the U.S., we are just eight days away from pivotal midterm elections with control of Congress at stake. We will look at which races are closest and where the heavy hitters are going to next on the campaign trail. And speaking of critical elections.

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LULA DA SILVA, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (through translation): They tried to bury me alive. And I am here.

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CHURCH: A former president makes a comeback in Brazil. What the leader known as Lula is telling his backers and how his opponents' supporters are reacting.

Thanks for joining us. Well, South Koreans are demanding answers from authorities after at least 154 people died in a crowd surge. Many want to know why there was very little crowd control during the large Halloween celebrations in Seoul. The area was brimming with party goers making it hard to move or breathe. Many people fell over and were trampled by others around them.

Some were so desperate to get out that they tried to climb over walls. It was so crowded in fact that by the time emergency crews got there they struggled to people reach people in need. So, let's get more now from CNN's Ivan Watson who joins us live from Seoul.

Ivan, families of the victims are dealing with the loss of their loved ones in the midst of this tragedy. What is the latest on all of this?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, so many young people, their lives cut short in this kind of senseless disaster that took place. I'm in Itaewon in this neighborhood of Seoul. It's a normally busy shopping district as well as this kind of night life district. And as you can see, it's completely blocked off because of the scale of the disaster that took place here.

The old U.S. military base is down the road there and this is where the throngs were gathered on Saturday night to party for a Halloween weekend in costumes and where things went terribly, terribly wrong. I'm going to bring you over to here, as you can see now, the tension of the Korean media, the international media is here. And over there is the entryway to this little alleyway where so many people lost their lives.

I think we can show you a map of where just the surge of the crowd took place, where people fell on top of each other by the scores and where we believe that the majority of the loss of life took place as people were piled underneath, just piles and piles of other members of the crowd. So much so that the rescue workers struggled to pull people out from underneath the weight of this crowd.

Now, all around here, you have people who are laying flowers, lighting candles, putting little bottles of soju out in honor of the victims. It's just the beginning of several days of mourning that have been declared by the president here. And we've been hearing from some of the eyewitnesses and survivors of this. Let's take a listen to what one woman had to say about what she witnessed that night.

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UNKNOWN: It was about like, you know, you versus all the people. I just wanted to get out of there. I was using my arms, squishing out like I don't care that my clothes were getting ripped, Like, I just got out of there on the sidelines with my friends, and it was really hard. I kind of like, you know, bruises on my arms and stuff from trying to maneuver out.

But we got into the sidelines luckily and were kind of standing up from this like brick wall and we could see above. And, yeah, it was just shoulder to shoulder. People just couldn't breathe. The shoulder people were trying to look up in the air to get some of the sort of air. It was just, yeah, it was a mess (ph).

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WATSON: Of the 154 people have been confirmed dead as of Saturday night's crowd surge, one person has said to be identified. To just give you a sense of the ages here, the South Korean Ministry of Education says five of those who died were high school students. One was a middle school student. In addition to the vast majority of Korean victims, they were also 26 foreigners, people from countries like France and Thailand and China, Iran and Norway.

Two American students went to the campus at the university where they were studying for their semester abroad. A community there devastated. An administrator telling me that these young Americans have just arrived in late August, got COVID as soon as they got to Korea. And just basically, weeks later, this terrible disaster happened here. Of course, an investigation is underway. Rosemary?

CHURCH: It is just unbelievable and shocking. Ivan Watson joining us live in Seoul. Many thanks.

Well, more than two dozen foreign nationals from 14 countries were among those killed in Saturday's crush. China's leader, Xi Jinping, says he was shocked to learn of the tragedy which killed four Chinese nationals. He has sent condolences to the president of South Korea, the victims, and all of the grieving families.

U.S. President Joe Biden has also expressing grief after learning that two Americans died in that crush. He says he and the First Lady are devastated, adding that their hearts go out to the victim's families and that they are praying for the recovery of all of those injured.

In just eight days, American voters will decide key races at the state and national level including the contest for control of Congress. Top powerbrokers from both parties have been campaigning for their candidates in battleground states. Among them, former presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama as well as President Joe Biden.

Right now, Obama is in the middle of a five-state tour. On Saturday, he tried to convince voters in Wisconsin and Michigan that the Democrats will fix the economy. But in New York, conservative star Ron DeSantis urge people to vote Republican. He said Lee Zeldin was the better choice in the governor's race there.

New York is one of many states holding early voting right now. So far, more than 20 million pre-election ballots have been cast nationwide. Well, Democrats are hoping that they can sway still undecided voters. CNN's Kevin Liptak is following developments from Wilmington, Delaware.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HUSE REPORTER: Democrats are narrowing their closing argument now in the final stretch of this midterm campaign and they're centering on this warning about what might happen if Republicans were to gain control of Congress. And you hear that from President Biden, from the First Lady, from the Vice President, even from President Obama, all trying to narrow their focus on these economic issues.

Items like social security, Medicare, trying to get those issues in front of voters before November 8th. But they do face some serious headwinds, economic headwinds, political headwinds. I mean, just historic headwinds. Typically, the president's party fares poorly in his first midterm elections. Now, listen to a little bit of how President Biden described his strategy for the coming week.

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

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LIPTAJK: Now, you notice there, the president is here in Delaware. He did not spend this weekend on the campaign trail. We do expecting to see him next campaigning in Florida on Tuesday for the Democratic gubernatorial candidate there, Charlie Crist. Of course, that raises interesting because it has this national dynamic.

The Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, eyeing national office. The former president, Donald Trump, also now lives in Florida. So, this will be an interesting stop. It's one that the White House had been trying to do for a number of months. It had to be canceled for various reasons, so it will be interesting to see if President Biden ties that all together when he speaks there on Tuesday.

Later in the week we expect the president to go to New Mexico. He's also expected back in Pennsylvania before spending election night eve in Maryland.

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Those are not necessarily the most high-profile races of this midterms cycle, but they will be an opportunity for the president to get his message out to voters before November 8th. Kevin Liptak, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.

CHURCH: Although Mr. Biden is making his rounds backing Democratic candidates, Republicans say it won't make a difference in the midterm elections. They say voters are and angry about the soaring cost of living.

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SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): This is our year. The Democrats can't run on anything they've done. People don't like what they've done. They don't like high inflation. They don't like gas prices, food prices up. They don't like -- the public doesn't like an open border. They don't like -- they don't like high crime. And that's what the Democrats are known for. I mean, they've done all these things. Democrats did it. They did it and they want to run away from it.

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CHURCH: And here in Georgia, Republican governor Brian Kemp and Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams faced off Sunday in their final gubernatorial debate. Early voting has already started in Georgia, but many voters have yet to cast a ballot. During Sunday's debates, the pair sparred over key issues like the state's economy, abortion rights, and concerns of a growing crime and gun safety. Here's just a portion of their debate.

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STACEY ABRAMS, DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR GEORGIA GOVERNOR: Gun violence is now so prevalent and so rampant that I believe Georgians, especially legislators, are willing to finally take action. And we've seen it -- we've seen this on the federal stage. Democrats and Republicans came together and finally pass common sense gun laws.

Georgia is known as part of the lead pipeline. It is so terrible in Georgia when it comes to the weakened gun laws in the state that we were the subject of an episode of FBI most wanted because Georgia it's so easy to get a gun and transfer a weapon.

And while Mr. Kemp will say it's only people who are not law-abiding, everyone is law-abiding until they break the law. The issue is how do we minimize where weapons are. But also, how do we encourage people to get the training they need?

BRIAN KEMP, GEORGIA GOVERNOR: Two years ago, they were in several unrest when we were on the ground and state law enforcement helping the locals keep the city of Atlanta from being burned down, and also making sure that the protesters that deserve a right to be spoken -- to speak their mind for injustice that they had seen with their own eyes. There were people in that crowd walking with those people with AR-15s on their backs, legally carrying weapons, and we had no problems.

Because we were working with them and they were listening to us. Because they were law-abiding citizens. Also, you know, (inaudible) 60,000 people walking in downtown Atlanta. They are on public spaces every day. They have the (inaudible) fest downtown in Athens on public spaces.

Again, Ms. Abrams is trying to scare you at home about the constitutional carry legislation that would simply let you abide by your Second Amendment rights. And she doesn't want you to talk about her co-sponsoring legislation that actually would confiscate your firearm.

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CHURCH: Governor Kemp has led in most polling of the race, but Abrams has a strong base of support. So, let's bring in Ron Brownstein, CNN senior political analyst and senior editor of "The Atlantic." He joins me now live from Los Angeles. Good to have you with us.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, just days away from the midterm elections and more than 20 million early ballots have already been cast highlighting just how crucial these elections are in the minds of voters. So, let's start with those two competitive races playing out right here in Georgia where Republican Herschel Walker is challenging Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock in a contest that could decide control of the chamber and then also of course the governor's race between (inaudible) incumbent Brian Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams. We just heard them there. So, what will likely happen in both races do you think?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, when you heard in the package a minute ago, President Biden says this is not a referendum, it's a choice, that's not a given. That really is the key dynamic, whether it is a referendum or it is a choice and you see that especially in many of these Senate races. You know, in 2018 President Trump's -- then President Trump's approval rating nationally was about 45 percent on election day. President Biden may be very close to that on election day in 2022.

The differences are, is that Trump's approval was over 50 thus boosting Republican candidates in a number of the highly competitive states. That's not true this year. In almost every state that is close in the Senate race, President Biden is looking at an approval rating really closer to 40 than to 50, and that is a downward draft on Democratic candidates. And that is why Republicans like Herschel Walker want it to be a referendum on what Democrats have done.

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What Warnock and other Democrats like Mark Kelly in Arizona or Maggie Hassan in New Hampshire or Fetterman in Pennsylvania, what they want to do is make it much more of a choice between them and the Republicans because in almost all of these same states that Biden is underwater in his approval, a majority of voters also have unfavorable use about the Republican nominee.

And certainly, Herschel Walker is carrying as much baggage, personal baggage as any nominee in the country. So, really the issue in the end is going to be can Warnock force this into a choice about two individuals? Because if voters in Georgia are basically saying whether or not they want to continue with Biden's correction, that is not a winning position for Democrats at this point in the state of Georgia.

CHURCH: Well then of course other crucial states to watch when it comes to determining control of the Senate include Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Where do you see these races going? What do you think will happen when it comes to the Senate?

BROWNSTEIN: The inner circle is Pennsylvania on the one side and Georgia and Nevada on the other. It is possible that other races could tip toward, you know, switch party allegiance. Republicans still have a shot, a very real shot in Arizona. They may have a shot in Washington or Colorado. And Democrats may have a shot in Ohio and Wisconsin as you mentioned.

But the likelihood in this year is that all of those are going to be hard for the other party to flip, which means that when you get down to it, you've got the Republicans with two top tier opportunities to take away seats now held by Democrats, which are Nevada and Georgia. And Democrats having won real top tier opportunity to take away a state now held by Republicans, which is Pennsylvania.

So, the likelihood -- the strong likelihood is that whichever party wins two out of three of those three races or three out of three, they are going to have the majority. Nevada and Georgia are both seriously at risk for Democrats.

And Pennsylvania, despite the debate, Fetterman I think is still considered nominally the favorite there to beat Mehmet Oz in part because Fetterman is more aggressively linking Oz to the Republican gubernatorial candidate, Doug Mastriano, who is very unpopular. I think the Senate is an absolute coin flip, but it is likely, as I said, that the side that wins two out of three from Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Nevada probably has the gavel at the end of the day.

CHURCH: And how likely is it do you think that Republicans will take the House?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, as we said before, Republicans only need five seats to take the House. They are -- in all of the midterm elections since the civil war, the party in the White House has lost fewer than five seats, only four times. And each time there was something really unique going on in the world, 1934 with the new deal, 1962 with the Cuban missile crisis, 1998 with Bill Clinton's impeachment and 2002 with 9/11 and the aftermath boosting Republicans and George W. Bush.

So, it is highly likely that Republicans win the House. The question is how big? And whether it is a margin that makes it impossible for Democrats to win it back in 2024 or soon thereafter. Don't forget, I mean, the last time Democrats lost the house in 2010, they held it only four years, which is where they are now. And then it took them after 2010, within eight years to win it back. I mean, that would basically wipe out the entire decade of the 2020's.

I think the key in the House is whether Democrats can hold down their losses in some of these white-collar districts. I think in a lot of these working-class, blue-collar districts to a large extent across racial lines, they are really going to struggle because those are the places that feel the most squeeze by rising gas and grocery prices.

Those pressures are there, but maybe less intense in white collar districts where more voters may feel free to vote their values on issues like abortion and the threats to democracy posed by Trump and his movement.

So, the question is, can Democrats hold enough of those white-collar districts to hold down their overall loss, but winning the house, holding the house would obviously be, you know, breaking the historic tradition with only four counter examples in what, 160 years.

CHURCH: Right. It is a crucial midterm election with a lot at stake. Ron Brownstein, many thanks for your analysis. Appreciate it.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Well, by a razor-thin margin, voters have elected Luis Inacio Luna da Silva as the next president of Brazil. Thousands of Lula supporters cheered and celebrated in the streets after the results came in. Leftist Lula won just over 50 percent of the vote in the second round, defeating the far-right current president, Jair Bolsonaro, who finished with about 49 percent.

In his victory speech, Lula said he is, quote, "part happy, part worried about the transition of power."

[02:19:58]

He said he has not yet received a call from Mr. Bolsonaro conceding the race. He thanked supporters just a short time ago.

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LUIS INACIO LUNA DA SILVA, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT-ELECT (through translation): On this historic October 30th, the majority of Brazilians made it very clear that they want more and not less democracy. That they want more and not less social inclusion. That they want more, and not less opportunities for all. They want more and not less respect and understanding among Brazilians. To summarize, they want more freedom, equality, and fraternity in our country.

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CHURCH: The head of Brazil's electoral authority says he thinks Mr. Bolsonaro will accept the results, however, there are indications some of his supporters might not. Videos posted on social media show apparent Bolsonaro supporters blocking highways in two states after his loss.

And still to come, rescue workers are looking for survivors after dozens of people are killed in a deadly bridge collapse in India. We will have a live report. That's next.

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CHURCH: Investigations are underway after a deadly bridge collapsed in India on Sunday. Rescue crews assisted by the Indian military are scrambling to find survivors. At least 132 people were killed including children when the foot bridge gave way plunging dozens into the river below.

Officials say the 19th century bridge had recently been renovated. And CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is following this story and joins us live from Hong Kong. Kristie, we've seen the shocking video survivors clinging to the collapsed bridge. And now more disturbing news on the number of people killed in this tragedy. What more are you learning?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rosemary, a recently renovated suspension bridge collapsed on Sunday in the western Indian state of Gujarat. At least 132 people were killed as a result including children. Earlier this morning, we heard from the home minister of Gujarat state. He said that the government there has lodged a criminal complaint against the agency responsible for maintaining the bridge and that an investigation is underway.

Authorities also say some 200 people were on the bridge at the time of the collapse. It took place Sunday evening, local time, 6:30 p.m. And this is a video, I want to show you, and it is very disturbing and distressing to watch. It's been circulating widely on social media, and it shows you the immediate aftermath of this bridge collapse.

And in the video, you see people clinging and attempting to climb the cables and the twisted remains of the bridge after the collapse, all in a desperate attempt to just make it to safety. Some people managed to get to the water to swim to the riverbed. Some made it, and many others did not. Among the victims, were children. I want you to listen to what this eyewitness had to say.

And a witness did speak to us earlier saying that many children were enjoying holidays for Diwali, the Festival of Lights. He said all of them fell, one on top of another. The bridge is a popular tourist destination. This is a bridge that was built in the 1800s during British rule. It was recently closed for renovations. It just re- opened last week.

We're looking at live pictures on your screen of the bridge in Gujarat, in the town of Morbi there, as rescue workers and recovery workers comb the scene looking and trying to find any trace of the missing. Also in Gujarat is the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, who is from Gujarat state. And he, in the aftermath of this disaster, took to Twitter to respond to this disaster saying he felt greatly saddened. I believe we have that for you.

Narendra Modi saying this, "I am deeply saddened by the tragedy at Morbi, that's the name of the town. He talked to the Gujarat chief minister and other officials about this. Relief and rescue operations are going on in full swing and all necessary assistance is being provided to the affected.

The Indian prime minister also announced compensation will be given to the injured as well as to the families of the victims. Back to you Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yeah. It is just horrifying. Kristie Lu Stout joining us there with that live update. And still to come, growing calls for Russia to renew its participation in a U.N. brokered grain export deal as dozens of vessels remain blocked. The latest in a live report from Kyiv.

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CHURCH: Delegations from the U.N., Ukraine and Turkey have agreed to move more than a dozen vessels Monday under the Black Sea grain deal. This after Russia decided to suspend its participation. Russia's decision follows its claims of drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol. Now Ukraine says the movement of more than 200 ships participating in the U.N.-brokered deal has been blocked.

And Russia faces growing calls to renew its participation. It's also facing criticism from many countries including the U.S. which accuses Moscow of weaponizing food. Ukraine's president called Russia's decision deliberate.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): What did the world hear that someone allegedly launches drones from a bulker? At first, they talked about war birds, then war insects now war rain, killer wheat, which rounds Russian admirals? Well, what can you say they are truly sick people. But these sick people are once again putting the world on the brink of the severe food crisis.

Russia is the only one to blame for the fact that food will now become more expensive for people across a vast expanse from West Africa, the East Asia.

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CHURCH: And for more we want to bring in CNN Salma Abdelaziz who joins us live from Kyiv. Good to see you, Salma. So more than 200 ships blocked by Russia's decision to suspend its participation in the grain deal. What will likely happen next?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: I think what we'll see next, Rosemary, is very similar to what we saw earlier in the summer up until July when this grain deal was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey. And what that was, was tons of Ukrainian grain unable to get out of Ukrainian ports, unable to be exported by Ukrainians and unable to make it too many people who depend and rely on those imports across North Africa and across Southeast Asia, parts of Europe, all around the world.

And that would mean it at least in the short term that we're going to see rising food costs. Now. You heard there in that soundbite you played earlier, President Zelenskyy accusing Russia of using food as a weapon. His allies agree. The United States state says that Russia is weaponizing grain weaponizing these exports that Ukraine desperately needs to get out of its ports to make of course that money in these other countries need as we head into the winter and there is a growing cost of living crisis.

But we have to look at the wider picture here as well. This is a deal that was a huge moment in the conflict. To be able to broker, this deal was extremely important to the United Nations. It's really the only major diplomatic breakthrough we've seen since the start of Russia's invasion in Ukraine. And it gave an opportunity see Ukrainians and Moscow come to the table at least on one thing and that was great. And now, that's off the table.

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So you're going to see in the coming days is the NATO, E.U., the international community really putting pressure on Russia to try to come back to the negotiating table to try to bring this deal back. But you have to wonder, what incentive does the Kremlin have at this time to try to revive that deal? President Putin has faced major losses on the battlefield in the last few months. This is one of the few ways that he can put pressure on the international community and on Ukraine itself.

So you're going to continue to see that pressure from the international community to bring back this deal. But at the same time, of course, this growing crisis here in Ukraine this morning, we had air raid sirens at 5:00 a.m. when we woke up. We heard the sound of explosions just before coming to air with you, Rosemary. So the one diplomatic breakthrough that we've seen throughout this conflict now gone, now expired, now Russia pulling out of it in very little avenues to try to resolve this. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Yes. It's very frustrating. Salma Abdelaziz bringing us the latest live from Kyiv. Many thanks.

Well, still to come. Anti-government protests erupt again in Iran triggering fears the government will unleash more brutal and deadly responses against the demonstrators. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

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CHURCH: These are some of the latest images from Iran. According to reporting from activists and human rights groups inside the country violent clashes broke out between security forces and student protesters at university campuses across the country Sunday and we will have much more on this coming up in a live report in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.

Well, on Tuesday, Israelis are going to the polls to elect a new Knesset, or parliament the fifth time, in less than four years.

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The members of the Knesset are not directly elected instead, voters cast their ballot for a political party. Seats are then assigned in proportion to each party share of the vote. Then Israel's president asks a party leader to try and form a government. Polls predict Israel's former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who is in the middle of a corruption trial could win a majority of seats with his potential allies.

While current Prime Minister Yair Lapid is hoping his centrist party will finish in a strong second place.

We'll be sure to watch our live coverage of the Israel election results as the polls closed. That is Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. in New York, 8:00 p.m. in London, 10:00 p.m. in Tel Aviv right here on CNN.

And thanks so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. For our international viewers World Sport is coming up next. For everyone else do stay with us. I'll be back with more news after a short break.

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