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Israel Holds Fifth National Election in Less Than Four Years; Biden Rallies Florida Dems One Week Before Midterms; U.S. Job Openings See Uptick as Fed Weighs More Rate Hikes; Western Officials: Iran Plans to Send Russia More Weapons. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired November 01, 2022 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Fifth time in fewer than four years voters in Israel are heading to the ballot box to try and end the nation's ongoing political deadlock. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is attempting to make a political comeback after he was shut out of power following last year's vote.

BRIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Current Prime Minister Yair Lapid is hoping his party and his allies will do well enough to keep in him place. CNN's Hadas Gold is live in Jerusalem. Hadas, polls are about to close, I know turnout was very high, so what should we expect next?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're at the Likud Party headquarters. This is where Benjamin Netanyahu he hopes will be here to celebrate with the hopes of a big turnout and a big win for him. And polls will close in 30 minutes and right at around 10 p.m. local, which in less than 30 minutes time, we will start getting some exit poll data. They won't be official numbers but they will give us an idea of where something stand.

[15:35:00]

What was unique about today was even though this is the fifth time around in 3 1/2 years that Israelis went to polls, it is the first time in 13 years where Benjamin Netanyahu that he voted not sitting as sitting Prime Minister. Of course, he was ousted a year ago by the coalition now led by the now caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid.

What's also different this time around as you noted is the turnout, despite the fact that everybody thought the voters would be so exhausted by going to the polls over and over again the turnout has been the highest it has ever been since 1999. And the big question will of course be, whose voters turned out?

One of the big numbers we're going to be looking at is not just how many numbers did Benjamin Netanyahu's party get or how many numbers did Yair Lapid's centrist party. It will be about the rise of the far- right party. This far right party called Religious Zionism/Jewish Power has exploded in popularity, Bianna, one of their leaders was once convicted for inciting racism and supporting terrorism. So, Benjamin Netanyahu in order to form a governing coalition like we need to rely on this party in order to get that magic 61-seat number they need to get a governing majority. So, then the pressure will be, how many seats does this far-right party get and then how much power will they have in a Benjamin Netanyahu government? That could be a big lurch to the right for a future Israeli government -- Bianna, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right, Hadas Gold for us there in Jerusalem, thank you.

President Biden just finished speaking near Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He primarily focused on Medicare and Social Security. He's trying to help fellow Democrats make this final week of pitches to voters.

GOLODRYGA: CNN White House Correspondent Jeremy Diamond is there live. So, Jeremy, what did the president say in his remarks?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, President Biden is taking every opportunity a week out from election day to try and sharpen that contrast with Republicans as he has tried to frame these midterm elections as a choice rather than a referendum on him and his party. And today the president while in Florida a state with a very strong senior population the president making the case on Social Security and Medicare vowing to protect those entitlements for seniors as he warned what Republicans might do if they come into Congress. The president got pretty heated at one point. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You've been paying into Social Security your whole life. You earned it. Now these guys want to take it away. Who in the hell do they think they are? Excuse my language.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And the president in particular focused on the state's Republican Senators Marco Rubio as well as Rick Scott. Rick Scott in particular has been the key focal point of the president's attacks as it relates to this issue of Social Security and Medicare. Scott put out a policy proposal that said that all government programs would have to be voted on every five years or they would simply go out of existence.

Biden has used that policy proposal as an example of the ways in which Republicans would seek to change Social Security, Medicare and perhaps, you know, put it into jeopardy in some way.

Now there's a reason for why the president is making this case in Florida and why we'll hear him make a similar case at a rally this evening. The president's advisers have long seen Florida as the perfect place for him to make this contrast argument. To make this argument that this election is a choice by talking about those MAGA Republicans not only Scott but also, former President Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, all year in the state of Florida. And one senior Biden adviser told me look, you can't shake a stick in Florida without hitting a MAGA extreme Republican. And so, that is the case that you will hear President Biden make this evening and also hoping it will serve as a rallying cry for Democrats not only here in Florida but as he looks to nationalize the stakes of this midterm elections in key races across the country -- Bianna, Victor.

GOLODRYGA: Understandable tongue twisters there. Jeremy Diamond, the president making a final push there in Florida. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: We got it though. We got it.

GOLODRYGA: We got it.

Nearly a dozen Democratic law lawmakers are pushing back publicly on the Federal Reserve. Now they're criticizing their strategy to fight inflation by hiking interest rates a, quote, alarming pace. We'll have more details up next.

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GOLODRYGA: The Federal Reserve is holding its highly anticipated meeting as worries about the U.S. economy remain top of mind.

BLACKWELL: There's some good news, job openings in the U.S. are up, not surprised many economists who thought they'd dropped amid the Fed's aggressive move to cool inflation. CNN's business correspondent Rachel Solomon is here. So, what's the expectation from the Fed now?

RACHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: So, another three-quarters of 1 percent which if you at home are losing track, that would be the fourth in row. So, to put this in perspective the Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate about three percent in just seven months. That is something we have not seen in modern history. In fact, if you look at the last rate hiking cycle, which is 2015, 2016 they did less than a period in three years, so this is pretty aggressive.

So, this is why you're starting to hear from Democratic lawmakers who are saying, wait a minute, you've already done a lot, let's wait and see how this is felt in the economy. Because there is a lag with monetary policy of about 6 to 9 months. And so, if the Fed just started and in March we're still only, seven, eight months into it. Which is why folks are saying, wait a minute, let's see how this is realized before you risk doing too much.

Now to be fair, we have started to hear from certain Fed officials who have said it will be appropriate at some point to start talking about scaling back rate increases.

[15:45:00]

Probably not this meeting but perhaps in the next meeting. But the data is not cooperating. Those comments coming from the San Francisco Fed president because inflation still not meaningful lowering.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, but as you said that it takes time, right, so not just Democrats, the economists in general are saying. It may now may be the time to take a beat, right, and this rate hike tomorrow is sort of baked in, but you're going to be really be parsing the words to see what we hear from them tomorrow about future rate hikes. SOLOMON: Yes, it's interesting because this meeting just kicking off

today but it almost feels as if this meeting is sort of in the rear view because now all eyes are on the December meeting, December 13th and 14th. Where some are starting to feel like maybe we'll see half a percent which is traditionally still high, but certainly still much lower than the last you know four meetings or so. Pretty significant, we're living in a pretty unusual time these days.

BLACKWELL: So, it's November 1st, looking back at October for the Dow, big month.

SOLOMON: Big month, great month, the Dow had actually one of its best performances since I think 1976. It finished up 14 percent. All of the major averages however are still lower on the year. So, it's still been a pretty rough year. And the truth of the matter is, earnings season kicked off it really wasn't as bad as a lot of investors were expecting. Not including the tech players, the tech they just -- they're had a pretty awful earnings season. But for some of the consumer names like Coke for example had a good earnings season -- good earnings season. GM had a good season. So, investors are feeling like, all right, well consumers are still holding up, earnings are still pretty decent and stocks soared, at least for the Dow.

GOLODRYGA: The Dow still strong, we'll have to see how retail sales do in the holiday season. Rahel, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thanks, Rahel.

All right, new today, Western officials tell CNN that Iran is planning to send more weapons including ballistic missiles for Russia to use in Ukraine. How the State Department is reacting. That's next.

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BLACKWELL: Today a troubling escalation in Russia's war on Ukraine. Russian. Western officials say that Iran is preparing to send additional weapons to Russia to use against Ukraine.

GOLODRYGA: The shipment is expected to include short range ballistic missiles and more attacked drones.

CNN's Kylie Atwood is at the State Department. So, Kylie, we've heard speculation about this relationship and increase sales. But what more do we know about this specific shipment?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well this shipment according to our sources who are from a Western country that is really familiar with Iran's weapons program. What they say is that this shipment would include additional attack drones that we have already seen sent from Iran to Russia, and that it would also include these advanced precision guided missiles. And the significance there is that Iran has not yet provided those weapons to Russia. It's something that has been discussed but the expectation according to our reporting is that they are planning to move forward with that. And just to bring folks up to speed here, the fact that these Iranian

drones have already been used by Russia on the battlefield has been effective for Russia. These drones are able to essentially identify a target and key in on it. They also are hard to detect, and those are things that Ukrainian officials have said has been challenging about seeing the drones on the battlefield. But when it comes to these precision guided missiles that are also expected, they can be launched from a very far distance.

And Ukraine said just today that they really don't have the capacity to effectively defend against these missiles that Iran is expected to send into Russia and then to be used on the battlefield.

Now when it comes to what the United States is saying about this, just now, the State Department briefing, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that the United States is concerned about Iran potentially sending these advanced missiles into Russia. And he also spoke about the fact that the Biden administration is trying to do everything they can to expose, confront, and counter these potential shipments from going ahead.

But what U.S. officials and Western officials aren't able to definitively say right now is that they will, in fact, be able to prevent these shipments from going ahead. They can potentially make it more challenging. They can roll out sanctions. They can target the companies that are enabling these missile, building them, or helping Iran to ship them. But it will be very challenging to prevent them from going to the battlefield, and Ukrainians are very concerned about the impact that it could have on this ongoing war -- guys.

BLACKWELL: Kylie Atwood there at the State Department. Thank you, Kylie.

We're just getting this in on the breaking news we brought you a moment ago. The Newark mayor's office, they have announced a press conference for 4:30 Eastern, a little more than 30 minutes from now. We're told that officials will talk about the shooting where two officers were injured.

GOLODRYGA: Both are said to be in stable condition as investigators are still looking for the shooter. We of course will monitor those remarks once they begin.

The U.S. Capitol Police are calling for more resources to protect lawmakers after Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband was attacked in the middle of the night with a hammer. More on that straight ahead.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Well, it wouldn't be the first of November without a recap of some of this year's most notable celebrity costumes. For the self- pro claimed Halloween queen Heidi Klum wore this giant earthworm. She even walked around on the red carpet of her famous annual Halloween party. BLACKWELL: Can you see her face there? I mean it is so well done you

can barely see her face there. Actress Kari Washington channel 1982 Lionel Richie and his debut album cover. That's good.

GOLODRYGA: Very good.

BLACKWELL: Figure skater Adam Rippon . He's carpet from Mar-a-Lago and the documents that the FBI seized. Do you see it?

GOLODRYGA: I see it. I feel like I would need explaining though before I would figure out what that is.

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BLACKWELL: I think he did pretty well. Yes, I like the Heidi Klum one. I me, do we have more Heidi Klum pictures?

GOLODRYGA: As the earthworm?

BLACKWELL: Yes, as the earthworm. How long does that take and you just got to walk the carpet and then get back in the car, right. You can't party in that.

GOLODRYGA: I know. I think she did. I think she took it off and party.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

GOLODRYGA: I'm with Kari Washington. Can't go wrong with Lionel Ritchie there.

BLACKWELL: Hello.

GOLODRYGA: Is it me? OK, "THE LEAD" starts right now. I'm not going to do it and yet it's only Tuesday.