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Biden Stumps for Midterms; Trump Hints at Third Run for Presidency During Iowa Rally; Justice Department May Turn to Special Counsel If Trump Runs in 2024; Ukraine Wary of Possible Trap in Kherson; IAEA Debunks Russian Claim About Dirty Bomb in Ukraine. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired November 04, 2022 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster joining you live from London. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's a choice, a choice between two fundamentally different versions of America.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: hello In order to make our country successful and safe and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again, OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not here to compare anyone's atrocities or tragic events that their families have dealt with. I'm just here to continue to expose things him that our world continues to put in darkness.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.
FOSTER: Well, it is Friday, November 4th, 8 a.m. here in London. That's 4 a.m. in New York.
NOBILO: And 1 a.m. in California where U.S. President Joe Biden will be waking up today just four days until the midterms. Mr. Biden spoke at a campaign event near San Diego on Thursday night. This weekend he'll appear at a Pennsylvania rally with his old boss, former President Barack Obama.
FOSTER: Across the U.S. candidates are making their final pitches for votes. Control of Congress and dozens of governorships are on the line in Texas where Democrat Beto O'Rourke is challenging Governor Greg Abbott. Voters talked about their biggest issues. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is my first time voting. I feel like voices could be heard.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm voting for me, my little sister, my mom, you know, everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have daughters so it's huge in my household for the reproductive rights of women to make their own choices.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: President Biden is telling voters that this will be the most important vote of a lifetime. After he leaves Southern California, he'll then head to Chicago.
FOSTER: On Thursday also he stumped for New Mexico's Democratic governor. As he addressed the rally Mr. Biden had this desire -- his dire warning rather, about Republicans retaking control of the Senate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Republican extremism is not limited to social programs and the economy. They're going after your right to vote and how -- no, not a joke. Mark my words. They're going after your right to vote and who's going to count the vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: This week, MAGA, Inc., former President Donald Trump's political action committee spent millions of dollars on additional advertising in three key Senate races, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Georgia. CNN's senior data reporter Harry Enten, spoke with Erin Burnett about this big ad buy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: In Arizona, Mark Kelly, the Democrat, seems to be slightly ahead. He's forecast to slightly win the race.
Georgia is so tight at this particularly point. I think that's probably heading towards a runoff. Obviously, if none of the candidates reach 50 percent of the vote plus one, you have a runoff a December that ultimately can determine Senate control.
In Pennsylvania, John Fetterman up by the tiniest little bit, but that race is well within the margin of error, so any money that goes in there, I think will be welcomed news for Mehmet Oz, the Republican candidate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Thursday night in Iowa Trump kicked off a campaign sprint that will carry him straight into election day. NOBILO: And the rally in Sioux City was the first of four events
headlined by Trump in the run up to election day, November 8.
FOSTER: Trump work to build enthusiasm for Iowa's Republican Governor, Kim Reynolds and Senator Chuck Grassley.
NOBILO: At that rally Trump hinted once again at a third presidential bid. He made some statements at other political events, most recently in Texas.
But Trump's comments Thursday night in Iowa make a 2024 run seem increasingly likely. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: In order to make our country successful and safe and glorious, I will very, very, very probably do it again, OK. Very, very, very probably. Oh, that's nice. Well, get ready, that's all I'm telling you. Very soon. Get ready. Get ready.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: That's pretty clear isn't it now? Now join us on Tuesday for in depth special coverage of the crucial U.S. midterm elections which will determine control of Congress.
[04:05:00]
Starts at 4 p.m. eastern time, that's 9 in the evening here in London.
NOBILO: Donald Trump faces serious legal jeopardy on multiple fronts and that could have unexpected consequences if he does decide to run again for president. If he does, the U.S. Justice Department may decide to hand over its investigation to a special counsel. CNN's Sara Murray explains why that might be necessary.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: With Donald Trump getting closer and closer to decide whether he is going to run for president again in 2024, the Justice Department is weighing whether a special counsel may need to be appointed to oversee two investigations dealing with the former president. Of course, one of those is the Mar-a-Lago documents probe, the other one has to do with events and the run-up and the aftermath of the January 6th riot at the Capitol.
This is what sources are telling us. That nothing has been decided so far at the Justice Department. It's an indication though of the conversations as they gear up for a potential Donald Trump presidential run and don't want to send the signal that the current President Joe Biden's Justice Department could be going after someone he may be running against.
Now right now, the Justice Department is in its quiet period. There's still been a lot going on behind the scenes though. Grand jury subpoenas, secret court battles to get folks to testify. That activity though is all going to ramp up after the midterms. The Justice Department is already staffing up as it prepares to make some big decisions including whether to indict allies of the former president or whether to bring an unprecedented indictment against Trump himself, the former president.
In addition to these legal woes the former president faces, he also faces an investigation in Georgia. That is a criminal investigation and the district attorney there has said she wants to wrap up her probe by the end of this year. Sources tell us the indictments there could come as early as December.
Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: Now less than an hour ago we learned Twitter employees have filed a class action lawsuit against the social media giant after its new owner billionaire Elon Musk sent a memo to staff warning them that layoffs will begin today.
NOBILO: The lawsuit says that the job cuts are a violation of labor law which requires large company to provide 60 days' advance with notice prior to a mass layoff.
FOSTER: Musk's earlier memo said that employees will be notified about their employment status through emails which will arrive by noon Eastern time Friday.
NOBILO: And it adds that company offices will be temporarily closed in the interest of safety. Musk has already fired top executives and dissolved Twitter's board of directors.
Meanwhile, major companies are hitting pause on their Twitter advertising -- according to a "Wall Street Journal" report. They include General Mills, Volkswagen and Pfizer.
FOSTER: General Motors was the first to pump the brakes last week. Advertisers are responding to public fears that Musk will allow Twitter to become a haven for rampant hate speech and misinformation.
Now we are just hours away from the opening bell on Wall Street and the U.S. stock market is looking to rebound today. Less than 1 percent though. The Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures up right now in anticipation of the jobs report which comes out at 8:30 Eastern time. Investors will be looking closely to see if the labor market is slowing in anyway. Economists expect 200,000 jobs were added in October, down from 263,000 a month ago and the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 3.6 percent.
NOBILO: But on the up side, mortgage rates fell after topping 7 percent for the first time in 20 years last week. The 13-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 6.95 percent on Thursday and that's still more than double the fixed rate a year ago which sits at just 3 percent. Mortgage rates have been rising almost weekly since August when the Federal Reserve began raising rates to tame this white hot inflation. Yesterday the Fed raised rates another 3/4 of a percentage point. Now to the threat of severe weather in the Plains and Southeastern
U.S.
FOSTER: About 35 million Americans from northern Missouri to the Gulf Coast of Texas can see severe storms this Friday. Let's bring in meteorologist Derek Van Dam. Hi, Derek.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we've got a long day of keeping an eye to the sky especially across the nation's Heartland. We've got a collision of air masses that are going to set the ground -- set the battleground really for stronger storms to develop later today. Cold, dryer air from the northwest interacting with warm, humid Gulf air and that collision zone right here, eastern Texas, eastern Oklahoma, portions of Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri. That is ground zero for the potential stronger storms today.
The Storm Prediction Center has highlighted this area shaded in orange, as an enhanced risk at a level 3 of 5. Damage winds, large hail, a couple of large tornadoes used explicitly in some of the language today. This includes the Dallas Fort Worth region, as well as Shreveport, Louisiana. Slight risk encompasses Oklahoma City as well as Houston.
Look at the timing here. By this afternoon and evening, thunderstorms will fire.
[04:10:00]
But after sunset tonight some of these thunderstorms could form. That means nocturnal tornadoes are possible with this line of thunderstorms that moves through and ultimately develops. They are particularly dangerous because they often catch people off guard not prepared for tornadoes in the middle of the night when we're typically sleeping.
Now the Storm Prediction Center has highlighted this patched area, including Dallas to the east, as our greatest probability of tornadic development later today. So, we'll keep an eye to the sky. You can see some of our computer animations here putting the highest tornado potential across eastern Texas and into western Louisiana and Oklahoma.
On top of the tornado threat there's also a potential for flash flooding as some of the slow-moving thunderstorms produce anywhere from 2 to 4 inches of rain locally across some of the areas that will be hit hardest later today -- Max.
FOSTER: Derek, thank you very much, indeed.
NOBILO: Now it took a while, but NBA star Kyrie Irving has finally apologized after he appeared to promote antisemitic content to his millions of followers.
FOSTER: Plus, South Korea scrambles about 80 fighter jets after a large number of North Korean aircraft observed near the border. A live report from Tokyo coming up.
NOBILO: Plus, new U.S. health data emerging about the use of alcohol during the COVID-19 pandemic and its deadly consequences.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NOBILO: Two U.S. Senators say that American support for Ukraine will keep coming no matter how next week's midterm elections pan out.
FOSTER: Democratic Senator Chris Coons and Republican Senator Rob Portman met with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Thursday. Their visit comes amid speculation Republicans could reduce U.S. aid to Ukraine if they win control of Congress. But Senator Coons said there's too much on the line in Ukraine to be giving up on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): We have asked questions today about making sure that the money that is being spent here for military support, for budget support, for humanitarian relief is needed. It is. It is being well spent. It is. And that we will continue to support the Ukrainian people. And the United States has long been a nation that fights for freedom and this is the most important fight for freedom in the world today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: Zelenskyy says that they also spoke about Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy system which he says deserves a strong global response. It's interesting, Max, because that might be the message that the Congressmen want to send. But it's not how it's being seen even on Russian state TV. We were talking about this.
The fact that they were discussing the midterms and saying that Donald Trump supporters and some Republicans seem like they're less willing to support the war in Ukraine, that it's hurting America's bottom line, it's hitting them economically. That they think changes might happen if there are more Republicans elected.
FOSTER: So, the last time Trump was elected he was seen as being supported by Russia and Putin. It could be the other way around this time?
You know, it's a huge election, this midterm, isn't it, ahead of the presidential election. On the front lines, Ukrainian troops are facing a big question as well. Could it be a major victory or a dangerous trap?
NOBILO: Ukrainian forces have been advancing towards the southern city of Kherson. A top pro-Russian official has suggested that Russian troops will likely pull out of the strategic city. But Ukrainian officials say that they're not necessarily buying that. And they believe that this statement could be an attempt to lure their forces into a trap.
For more now, Salma Abdelaziz joins us live from Kyiv. Salma, there do seem to be quite a few mixed messages on this. So, we've heard from Western officials that Russia seems to be laying groundwork for a withdrawal from Kherson. We've heard something from pro-Russian officials. The British Ministry of Defense however saying that they believe that Russia could be shooting troops that dessert from Kherson. What do you understand about the plans might be?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Ukraine is accusing Russia of muddying the waters a little bit here, Max and Bianca. They say that they're spreading kind of disinformation, if you will. We saw this Russian-backed official who was on Russian state media saying that most likely, quote, most likely troops, Russian troops, would pull back from the city of Kherson itself towards the east of the Kherson region. And we did see the main flag -- the main building rather in Kherson city, the flag, the Russian flag taken down from there on a social media video.
But an Ukraine official saying, look, this is just a trap. Yes, we've seen some troop movement, yes, some checkpoints have been cleared but there is absolutely no mass withdrawal. And you wouldn't expect a mass withdrawal. The city is absolutely a strategic prize for President Putin. It is critical to the bridge, the land bridge that he's built connecting Crimea to the rest of those Russian occupied territories. It is the one and only regional capital that Russian forces has been able to take. And it's of course, part of those illegally annexed regions. So, you cannot expect the Kremlin would back down easily here.
But what I want to point out -- because I know it's difficult for us to really get a clear picture here, there's really tough reporting restrictions on the Ukrainian side. Very few journalists have gotten access to those front lines. It's very hard to find out what's happening if you can't see it ourselves.
But our colleagues who have been there say there's a sense of stalemate. So, yes, both sides really fortifying their positions, gearing up for a battle. But don't expect anything to change overnight. This is an important city and a very difficult fight for Ukraine ahead.
FOSTER: And also, where you are, it's becoming difficult, isn't it, to operate increasingly. Because I read that about half the households were out of power at one point.
ABDELAZIZ: Yes, Max. You really feel the city here and really all across Ukraine just bracing for a very cold, dark winter ahead. There's been scheduled power outages that have been taking place for hours at a time here in Kyiv but also in other cities. Now there's emergency power outages that are happening as well. You can assume that's because people are trying to heat their homes for the winter. But officials are saying, look, we don't have the ability to provide this electricity to our consumers. Everybody needs to conserve energy as much as they can.
[04:20:03]
And I think the worrying part here is the infrastructure has become so weak, so fragile that every time a missile lands it wreaks ever more havoc. So, this week we saw the water pumps stop working in the city and that meant there was no running water. And that's extremely concerning to the families here to think they can sit through the winter months without power, without heat, without potentially water. Everyone really bracing, again, for a very tough winter -- Max.
FOSTER: Yes, it's going to be hard. Salma, thank you very much indeed.
Well, talking about energy, Ukraine's top energy nuclear power plant is offline again after alleged new Russian artillery strikes. At the same time the U.N. watchdog, the nuclear watchdog is debunking Russia's claim that Ukraine is planning to use the so-called dirty bomb.
NOBILO: And Clare Sebastian is here to talk with us about that. So, Clare, remind us what's happened to the energy infrastructure that supplies the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and what potential impact could that have a nuclear safety?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, this is the grid connection that that the Russian here that connects the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to Ukraine's national grid. This according to Energoatom, which is the Ukrainian state nuclear agency, has been disconnected by Russian shelling. Not for the first time anyway. So, they have experienced this before. They say they've switched to diesel generators to keep going.
To the best of my knowledge, the reactors are all in cold storage right now. They're not actually producing nuclear power at the moment. But of course, they need electricity to continue to cool and of course, for the day-to-day activities it's absolutely critical. So, they're running off of generators. Energoatom is alleging that Russia wants to do this because, of course, as you know, Putin signed a decree to bring Zaporizhzhia which is in Russian occupied territory in that region that they have illegally annex under Russian control. And they said the allegation is that they want to disconnect from the Ukrainian grid so they can connect it to the Russian grid, right.
But this deserves a lot of attention. Because this is Europe's largest nuclear reactor. This is a vulnerable installation here. The shelling continuing to go on, according to the Ukrainian side. It's close to the front line -- relatively close to the front line in Kherson --that we were just talking about. The IAEA has been calling now for weeks to create a safe sort of protection zone around the plant. They've expressed frustration that it hasn't happened yet. This is still a very vulnerable installation here.
FOSTER: Russia accused Ukraine of planning to use a dirty bomb. Ukraine also denied that. We've had some experts in to assess it.
SEBASTIAN: Yes, this is Ukraine's attempt to sort of get independent verification to debunk Russia's claim. the IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog has come in, they've inspected three sites that Russia sort of named and they're very elaborate sort of claim around this. And they said they found no evidence of any sort of undeclared nuclear activity or materials. They've taken environmental samples. They're going to report back from those. So, that's good news for Ukraine. But this is not the biggest fear. The biggest fear In the West, is not that Russia will be proved right
and that Ukraine is actually building a dirty bomb. The biggest fear is that this was a Russian false flag operation and it's Russia that's actually, you know, planning some radiologically or nuclear attack. And I think those fears remain because of course, as we see Russia remains on the back foot in the battlefield, the city of Kherson is now heavily contested. That is really a strategic, important area. And when Russia's on the back foot and it's in territory that they claim is their own, that's when those nuclear fears start to rise.
FOSTER: Clare, thank you.
NOBILO: Israel's outgoing Prime Minister has congratulated the country's longest serving Prime Minister on his imminent return to power. Yair Lapid says that he's instructed his entire office to prepare for an organized transition.
FOSTER: Final, but not official results, show Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party and it's far right allies will take 64 seats in the Knesset, which is more than enough for a major. Lapid's bloc came in just short of -- with 51 and the Arab that won't support either leader is getting five seats. Results will be certified on Wednesday.
Paul Pelosi, the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is out of hospital and recuperating at home six days after he was violently attacked in his home.
NOBILO: U.S. Capitol Police say that the home was not being actively monitored at the time because the Speaker was in Washington. Pelosi required surgery for a skull fracture but is expected to make a full recovery. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains how surgeons would deal with this kind of injury.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: When we talk about a skull fracture, you know, obviously the bone is broken, it can bend sort of inward. I think part of the reason the doctors will be so optimistic, is because they would do scans trying to determine if there was bleeding underneath the bone on top of the brain or even within the brain itself and those scans didn't seem to show those types of concerns.
So, again as significant as the injury was, the fact that it, you know, made him unconscious for a period of time, he was able to recover quickly even before the operation. And I think it bodes well, you know, going forward.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[04:25:00]
FOSTER: Now the number of people who have died from drinking too much alcohol went up dramatically during the pandemic. Details on new health data coming up in just a few moments. NOBILO: And people suffering from serious pain may have an easier time
getting medication that they need as the CDC softens its guidelines for opioid prescriptions. Details ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. If you are just joining us, do let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.
Just four days now until midterm elections in the U.S. But millions have already cast their votes. The elections will determine which party controls Congress and command of the Senate will likely come down to four races. They are Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.
Key U.S. economic data expected later this morning. The October job reports, economists expect to see some 200,000 jobs added last month. The numbers could signal if the U.S. labor market is slowing.
And officials from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow met with detained WNBA start Brittney Griner on Thursday. She was sentenced to 9 years in a penal colony on drug smuggling charges in August. This was the first meeting since her appeal was denied.
NOBILO: South Korea says it scrambled dozens of fighter jets today in response to a large number of North Korean military aircraft detected near the South Korean border. According to a South Korean military, about 180 North Korean aircraft were tracked over a four hour period. It says that 80 South Korean warplanes including advanced F-35 stealth fighters were put in a readiness posture to respond to any potential threat. Meanwhile, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations says the U.N. Security Council will meet today to discuss the worsening.
