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Democrats Making Their Case Ahead of Critical Vote; New Russian Attacks Reported Across Ukraine; Government Forces and Students Clash at Universities in Iran. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired October 31, 2022 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, to let me bring you up to date with the latest news this hour.

Brazil has elected former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva by razor thin margin on Sunday's presidential runoff. Lula beat Jair Bolsonaro. The head of Brazil's electoral authority says he thinks Mr. Bolsonaro will accept the results. However, videos posted on social media show apparent Bolsonaro supporters blocking highways after his loss.

And we are just eight days away from the U.S. midterm elections. More than 20 million preelection ballots have been cast so far. Republicans are using the economy and inflation as they look to press an advantage against Democrats.

The Federal Reserve is poised to raise interest rates by three quarters of 1 percent again on Wednesday. It would be the fourth- straight supersized hike. And it's still possible another rate increase of that magnitude could come before the end of the year. There's also a growing chorus of Democratic lawmakers they're warning Fed Chair Jerome Powell to slow down the rate hikes, fearing it could lead to recession. With the economy a key issue for Americans, U.S. President Joe Biden and other top Democrats are now making their case and hoping to sway undecided voters. CNN's Kevin Liptak is following developments from Wilmington, Delaware.

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KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE 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 head winds, economic head winds, political head winds and just historic head winds. Typically, the president's party fairs poorly in his first midterm elections. Now listen to a little bit of how President Biden described his strategy for the coming week. JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, I'm going to be

spending the rest of this 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 it's about.

LIPTAK: Now you notice though the president is here in Delaware. He did not spend this weekend on the campaign trail. We do expect to see him next campaigning in Florida on Tuesday for the Democratic gubernatorial candidate there Charlie Crist. Of course, that race is 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 cancelled for various reason. 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.

[04:35:00]

He's also expected back in Pennsylvania before spending election night eve in Maryland. Now those are not necessarily the most high-profile races of this midterm 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: We're following developments out of Ukraine, where the mayor of Kyiv says parts of the capital are no without electricity and water after key infrastructure was hit. New video out of Kyiv shows smoke rising across the city. Local officials also say Russian missiles hit facilities in Kharkiv and in the regions of Zaporizhzhia and Shmyhal.

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his forces have stopped a fierce assault by Russian troops in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, delegations from the U.N., Ukraine and Turkey have agreed to move more than a dozen vessels today under a 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 Sebastopol.

No Ukraine says the movement of more than 200 ships participating in the UN brokered deal has been blocked and Russia faces growing calls to renew its participation. Also facing criticism from many countries including the U.S. which accuses Moscow of weaponizing food. For more let's bring in CNN's Salma Abdelaziz live in Kyiv. What was it like there this morning -- Salma?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this early this morning we woke up to the sounds of air raid sirens, Max, after that we heard several loud explosions. We saw smoke over the sky. And we're now getting more details on what exactly was hit. We understand from officials there were 50 cruise missiles this morning, 44 of them intercepted but several of them, of course, falling, hitting critical infrastructure.

One of the facilities that was hit, an energy facility that provided power to 350,000 apartments. That's where the mayor of Kyiv. We're seeing these in the east of the country, as you mentioned, in Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv and other areas. And it's a continuation really of the strategy that we've seen over the last few weeks the targeting of civilian infrastructure, particularly the city's power grid here in the capital. That's meant that some 30 percent of Kyiv's power capacity has been taken, destroyed or damaged in these attacks.

So, continuation of these blackouts that are only getting worse and worse as families head into the winter. You can understand the concern and fear that that causes.

And this comes just a couple days, Max, after Russia pulled out of that all-important grain initiative, that deal that was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey this summer. It's already led to some 200 ships now being blocked, unable to get out, unable to provide those exports that the world so desperately needs, particularly in parts of North Africa, Southeast Asia.

There's a huge amount of international pressure to try to bring Russia to revive this deal. You hear that from the United States, from Ukraine's allies. They are accusing Moscow of weaponizing food, of blackmailing the world by pulling out of this deal. No signs from Moscow that they want to revive this. They for their part, blame Ukraine. They are accusing Ukraine of carrying out drone attacks in occupied Crimea over the weekend. Something that Ukraine denies.

But you're seeing again, these pressure points, these ways in which Moscow can ramp up, intensify, escalate this war. Continue through the striking of civilian infrastructure and of course through pulling out of this grain deal -- Max.

FOSTER: Ok, Salma on Kyiv, thank you.

Still the, CNN, Elon Musk tweets a conspiracy theory about the attack on the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. We're following the reaction.

Plus, widespread protests erupt again in Iran, triggering fears the government will unleash even more brutality against the demonstrators. A live report next.

[04:40:00]

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FOSTER: Officials in Jacksonville, Florida, are condemning antisemitic messages that appeared in the city this weekend during the Georgia/Florida football game on Saturday. This message appeared on the outside of the stadium, reading Kanye is right about the Jews. It's a reference to the series of antisemitic comments the rapper made recently. It's not clear how the message got there and how long it was displayed. Other videos on social media show the same message visible on at least one building in Jacksonville on Saturday night.

Twitter's new owner billionaire Elon Musk posted a tweet on Sunday promoting baseless allegations about the attack on House Speaker's Nancy Pelosi's husband. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan looks at how this incident is proving to be an early Test for Musk in his new role as leader of the social media platform.

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DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, just as we approach election day here in the United States, there are people at Twitter working to combat misinformation and disinformation about the election. But we saw on Sunday their new boss, the new owner of Twitter, Elon Musk tweeting out a link to an article that was making baseless claims about what happened to Paul Pelosi. That Musk eventually deleted that tweet, perhaps acknowledging he was wrong. But that website that he had linked to was basically a website that often publishing nonsense, including in 2016 that same website actually claimed that Hillary Clinton had died and that the person on the campaign trail was a body double.

And just a few days in to Musk owning this company, we have seen a lot of upheaval within the company and now we see Musk doing this publicly. It's going to be a rough ride for people at Twitter for the next time. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The British government is facing calls to investigate a media report alleging former Prime Minister Liz Truss's cell phone was hacked while she was foreign secretary. "The Mail" on Sunday reported that private messages between Truss and other foreign ministers including messages about the war in Ukraine had fallen into foreign hands. The report claims Russian agents were behind the hack.

An investigation is under way after incendiary devices were thrown at an immigration center at Dover, England on Sunday. Police say the suspect drove up in a car and threw two to three incendiary devices outside and into the premises. He was later found dead at a nearby gas station. Two people inside the immigration center reported minor injuries.

In Iran, violent clashes broke out between security forces and student protesters at university campuses across the country on Sunday. That's according to reporting from activists and human rights groups inside Iran.

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Take a look at this fresh video. These protests come despite a warning from the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corp. He said protesters need to end their weeks of anti-government demonstrations by last Saturday.

Our CNN Anna Coren joins us now from Hong Kong. The demonstrations continue but the rhetoric from the Revolutionary Guard is getting more severe.

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Max, and obviously, the concern is that a more brutal crackdown is ahead. Protests have now entered their seventh week. We saw the violent clashes over the weekend. Security forces firing tear gas at protesters at university campuses right across the country.

On Sunday, large numbers of protesters mainly students converged on the grounds of universities, calling for an end to the regime. Something we have heard time and time again over the last seven weeks. We saw these protests on social media. That is how, you know, this activism is shared. It came a day after the head of the country's feared Revolutionary Guard issued that ultimatum claiming that Saturday would be the last day of protests. Obviously threatening a much tougher crackdown.

Iran, as we know, has been gripped by protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini back in mid-September after she was arrested by the morality police for wearing an improper hijab. Rights groups say that hundreds of protesters have been killed and thousands arrested. Max, as we know, they are conservative numbers. As authorities struggle to contain an outpouring of public anger and demonstrations, calling for the regime's overthrow.

Now I also should mention that more than 300 Iranian journalists have issued a statement calling for the release of two of their colleagues, Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, accused by the ministry of intelligence of being CIA spies and quote, the primary source of news for foreign media. Now that is a crime punishable by death after breaking the story of Amini's death. Those two female journalists, Max, have been held in Tehran's Evin prison since their arrest last month.

FOSTER: OK, Anna Coren, thank you for the update.

New York City will pay $26 million to settle lawsuits filed on behalf of two men who were wrongly convicted in the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X. The men served more than 20 years in prison. They were exonerated last year after a judge determined there were, quote, serious miscarriages of injustice. An investigation found that evidence demonstrating their innocence including FBI documents were withheld during their criminal trials. One man died in 2009 and was exonerated posthumously.

Still ahead, wet weather is heading for the Eastern Sea Board of the United States. CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri will have the low down on the low pressure system.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And Halloween a few hours away for the trick or treaters. And we've got active weather across parts of the southeast, portions of the Great Lakes region as well. We'll break this down in detail coming up in a couple minutes. [04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Red Bull's Max Verstappen finished in first place in the Mexico City Grand Prix winning a record-breaking 14th Formula One this season. He shared the previous record with Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel. It was also Verstappen's fourth career victory of the Mexico City Grand Prix and the ninth win a row for Red Bull. Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton finished second.

The Philadelphia Eagles remain undefeated seven games into the NFL season. Their best start in franchise history. Quarterback Jalen Hurts threw three first half touchdown passes as his team routed the Pittsburgh Steelers, 35-13. He threw a career high four touchdowns on Sunday after throwing just six in the first six games of the season.

Here in London the Denver Broncos in Jacksonville Jaguars brought NFL excitement to Wembley stadium. The Jaguars took their 17-14 lead with four minutes left in the game. The Broncos responded by marching down the field and scoring with less than two minutes to play. Denver won 21-17.

Umbrella will be part of a proper Halloween costume if you live in certain parts of the U.S. CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri tells us where trick or treaters might have trouble.

JAVAHERI: Good morning, Max. Yes, the wet weather, the conditions here across the Eastern United States really the only area of concern across a large area of eastern half of the U.S., that's about it here. The southeast, parts of the Great Lakes, parts of the northeast, a few scattered showers. Certainly, doesn't look like a washout. But we are going to watch this carefully as we head into Halloween and of course trick or treaters in the forecast for them just momentarily.

But notice the Western United States, this is where the most active weather in the U.S. has been in recent days. Just an incredible deluge of moisture, heavy rainfall near the coast, high elevation snow showers. And frankly this is the wet time of year. We do expect this pattern to continue for much of this week here as we usher in November in the coming hour.

But notice generally speaking here the eastern U.S. goes through an incredible ramp up of temperatures in the coming several days. Temps in spots in Minneapolis 50 is what is normal, how about 66, 72 and 75. That is 25 degrees above seasonal averages. Mind you, Minneapolis, if you kind of look at this, you would think should be much cooler, right. Well, the average first date for snowfall is November 4th. We're talking about temps into the middle 70s the first couple days of November.

Now, your trick or treat forecast, 7:00 p.m. across the southeast, Atlanta showers should begin to taper off, Raleigh into areas around Washington, a few light showers possible. Cleveland also could also see light showers, while temps there around 67 degrees.

[04:55:00]

The dry weather, the comfortable temperatures, the Central U.S. where often you have a cold Halloween beginning to develop especially around Rapid City and Minneapolis, not the case this go around here, middle 60s there. The Southwest remains dry and 77 in Los Angeles. Now Portland and Seattle wet weather expected, temps there into the 50s -- Max.

FOSTER: Thank you, Pedram.

Now a bit of that new but high on the list of things unlikely to do this time next year is what you're about to see. Carving pumpkins under water. It's part of a contest off the Florida Keys. 18 divers competed under the sea to create the best jack-o'-lantern while not losing a pumpkin or finger. Team from Washington, D.C. and British Columbia won the contest. We have no idea if they tried to light the jack-o'-lanterns but we doubt it.

Meanwhile in Romania, tourists got into the Halloween spirit at a castle set to be an inspiration for Dracula. Bran Castle in Transylvania and it's built on an outcrop overlooking a river. It's linked to the real life of Matei and Tepers are tenuous but the castle is close match to the home of author Bram Stoker's fictional vampire.

Now trick, treat or treasure. The Halloween night Powerball jackpot is up now to $1 billion. No one guessed the right combination of number for Saturday night's draw. This is only the second time in Powerball history that the prize hit $1 billion. The cash payout after taxes would be a little over $497 million.

Thank you for joining here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. "EARLY START" with Christine up next.

Before I go through, a programming note for you. Starting tomorrow, Bianca Nobilo will be joining our CNN NEWSROOM team. You can catch the show at the same time every morning Monday through Friday 4:00 a.m. in New York and Washington. Thank you for watching.

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