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Sen. Ron Johnson Doubles Down On Sowing Doubt On Election Results; Arizona GOP Senate Candidate Seizes Momentum In Final Days; Michigan Election Officials Bracing For Disruption On Election Day; Singer Aaron Carter Dies At 34; Children Among 10 Feared Dead In Iran's Crackdown; Obama Stumps For Democrats' Most Vulnerable Senator; Speaker Pelosi Speaks Out Following Hammer Attack On Husband; Nike Suspends Relationship With Nets Star Over Antisemitism. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired November 05, 2022 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:04]

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: Tonight's Powerball drawing will be for a record $1.6 billion with a B. And the winner can thank the Federal Reserve in fact for pushing the jackpot so high. Here's why. The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates to fight inflation. This is the current target rate that banks will pay each other for borrowing money. About 4 percent. Now as that rate goes up, so does the interest rate on government bonds. Right now that's nearly 7 percent.

But what does any of this have to do with lottery payouts? Well, if a Powerball winner chooses to get paid over time, they'll get 30 payments over 29 years. And guess what happens to the money that hasn't been paid out? Lottery officials invest it for the winner. They usually figure on about a 5 percent return. But remember, right now, the return on government I-bonds is almost 7 percent. That means the invested money gets a higher return, leading to a higher jackpot.

So if you're buying tickets, you might be better off not choosing the cash payout. If you win tonight and you select the cash payout, you'll get this. $782 million. Of course, that is an enormous amount, but it is less than half of this, the record breaking $1.6 billion jackpot. So the cash payment, less than half.

By the way, no matter what the interest rate is, your odds of winning remain the same. One in 292 million. That drawing is at 10:59, just before 11:00 tonight. Good luck to all of you out there.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

Live from Washington, D.C. I'm Alex Marquardt in tonight for Pamela Brown. Thank you so much for joining me. The top stories, it is crunch time across the United States. The midterms just three days away and candidates are bringing in big names to help get out the vote.

Plus, as many as 10 people have been killed when Iranian security forces tried to stop more of the protests that have been going on for almost two months now.

And then this Thanksgiving, flying home might cost you a lot more than a turkey wing and a leg. But there may be some ways to save money.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

We are just three days away until the 2022 midterms and all across the country candidates are pulling out all the stops in this final weekend of campaigning. For some, it also means bringing out the big names. In Pennsylvania, you can see Democrat John Fetterman, he has both President Biden and former president Barack Obama making last-minute appeal for this potentially pivotal Senate seat.

In the meantime, the former president and possible 2020 candidate Donald Trump, he is taking to the stage this hour to campaign for John Fetterman's opponent in Pennsylvania, Dr. Mehmet Oz. American voters are more engaged with this election than the 2018 midterms. More than 34 million people have voted early in 47 states.

So many of these races, very, very close. In battleground state Wisconsin, incumbent Senator Ron Johnson, he's a Republican, he still won't commit to saying whether or not he will accept the results of these midterm elections. His Democratic opponent Mandela Barnes he has gone on the record saying that he will.

CNN's Omar Jimenez has the latest on another tight race.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, both Senate candidates here in Wisconsin are making their final campaign stops with just days to the election. Senator Ron Johnson appeared alongside Republican candidate for governor, Tim Michels, here in Waukesha, and Senator Johnson made it clear to his supporters that this election is a fight for freedom.

Now he also doubled down on comments he made earlier this week where he was asked if he would accept the results of Tuesday's election. He didn't outright say yes. Instead he told us, I sure hope I can. So I asked him at this event if he would or if he's seen anything that's changed in the days since those original comments that would make him feel better.

He instead pointed to a case out of nearby Milwaukee of a now former election official who was criminally charged after allegedly obtaining military ballots for fake voters and sending them to a state representative to make a point. Here's some our exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And it doesn't make you feel better that she got caught in this instance?

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): She got caught by -- and being prosecuted by and defended by a bunch of Democrats. I do not know what's happening. It is the most bizarre story. It's just suspicious, and we should be doing everything we can to restore confidence.

LT. GOV. MANDELA BARNES (D), WISCONSIN SENATE NOMINEE: Our strategy has been the same since day one. Show up everywhere, talk to everybody. We're not assuming anybody's political allegiances and we're not assuming that any part of this state is going to show up for us, and any part of the state won't show up for us. We're meeting where they are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:05:13]

JIMENEZ: And that of course was Johnson's opponent, Democratic Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes. I'd asked him what their strategy was in these final days. He also said he would accept the results of Tuesday's election. But at almost every stop we've been to for both of these candidates now, remarks have been made, jokes have been made about how close elections are here in Wisconsin.

Well, those jokes are slated to become a reality in just two days' time here. And that's because polls have shown no clear leader at this point the way it's been for months. But what has been clear to both of these candidates are the stakes as they've both been campaigning on the country being on the line -- Alex.

MARQUARDT: High stakes and an extremely tight race. Omar Jimenez, in Wisconsin on the campaign trail, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

Let's head down south to Arizona where there are two headline grabbing races that are underway including another high stakes Senate race. That's between Democrat Mark Kelly and Republican Blake Masters who has gotten support from former president Donald Trump. There's also a governor's race that pits Republican election denier Kari Lake against Democrat Katie Hobbs.

CNN's Kyung Lah has been in Arizona, tracking the latest developments -- Kyung. '

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Alex, three days to election day and you can feel it on the ground here in battleground Arizona. What you're seeing behind me is the "Republican Arizona First Get Out the Vote" bus tour. They are crisscrossing across the Phoenix area, making their final argument. And who is making that argument? It is the top of the Republican ticket. They're all traveling together.

You have U.S. Senate nominee Blake Masters as well as gubernatorial nominee, Kari Lake. They are making the argument that the economy and border security is why Democrats should essentially lose their jobs. On the Democrat side, Dr. Jill Biden is with Senator Mark Kelly, the incumbent. The Democrats closing on the argument that the Republicans are simply too extreme for the state of Arizona. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLAKE MASTERS (R), ARIZONA SENATE NOMINEE: If you like paying too much for absolutely everything, not being able to afford gas and groceries, hey, there's a U.S. Senate candidate for you. His name is Mark Kelly. He caused all these problems. He will make them worse if we give him more time to rubber stamp Biden's agenda. But, man, if you think you and your family deserve better, send me in there. We'll retire Mark Kelly. I promise I will make you proud.

KARI LAKE (R), ARIZONA GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE: It might take 10 days because we'll still Arizona, but I vow to you when I take office, we will reform our elections and restore honest transparent elections.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: We are across the Phoenix suburbs today. All of these candidates are crisscrossing through the Phoenix area tomorrow. They all head to Tucson, Arizona -- Alex.

MARQUARDT: All right, Kyung Lah in Chandler, Arizona, on the campaign trail, thank you very much.

Now with just three days to go before Americans head to the polls, security officials are saying there are no specific or credible threats to disrupt the voting, but the events of January 6th, the Capitol insurrection, of course, make it clear what a different time we are now living in. A CNN poll conducted last week found that roughly a third of American adults, one-third, still don't accept the results of the 2020 election.

So how many will decide that they don't like the results of this election?

Joining us now with more is Jocelyn Benson. She is Michigan's secretary of state.

Secretary Benson, thank you so much for joining me this evening. You have already deployed 50 people to help monitor polling sites. You've got state and local law enforcement out there ready to respond to any potential disturbances. How concerned are you about what could happen on Tuesday?

JOCELYN BENSON (D), MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE: I mean, I'm concerned, I'm very clear-eyed that we are in the midst of a multiyear battle over the future of our democracy. And right now we're at a point where there will and has been potentially plans in place to try to challenge voters' eligibility on election day and otherwise intimidate them as a way of running a political strategy to impact democracy.

But the reality is, also, that we're ready. We have more partners in the field than ever before. Earlier today I was meeting with the sheriff of Wayne County in which Detroit is sitting in that city in Wayne County and we have folks who are prepared to immediately respond to anyone who tries to intimidate any voters. And we will hold them accountable if and when that happens because our priority is making sure that just as our elections always have been safe and secure and accessible to all, that they will be again on Tuesday and we'll be there to ensure that that is the case.

MARQUARDT: One thing that has been of concern for years for election officials is if there is no result on election night which can be completely normal. You've said that Michigan doesn't have laws allowing for early counting of absentee ballots and that could create an opening for bad actors to question the process. So are you trying to speed up the counting process to avoid any confusion?

BENSON: We have increased our capacity to more efficiently tabulate our votes in Michigan because under the law, for the most part, we can't begin tabulating ballots until election day itself.

[19:10:11]

But that said, with that increased capacity also comes increased potential challenges from folks who have been trained and potentially deploy to interfere even with the counting process. So we're mindful of all of that. We're prioritizing security and accuracy above all else. And that's why we're telling people to expect election results out of Michigan within about 24 hours of the polls closing, sometime late in the day on Wednesday.

MARQUARDT: Twenty-four hours. OK. Let's talk about some of those partisan challenges that you mentioned. They are essentially a given, given this very divided political climate. Michigan Supreme Court is allowing new restrictions for potential election challengers. Do you think those restrictions will help?

BENSON: Well, we've had rules and protocols in place for challengers for the last several elections in our state. And so the Supreme Court upheld those rules against an effort by Republicans to try to change them at the last minute. That said, we now have rules and clarity in place to ensure that if a challenger gets out of line and is clearly abusing their authority to interfere with their election, they'll be removed and held accountable depending on how specifically things play out.

So in other words, we're ready to protect every voter from nefarious challenges and also be transparent to ensure the system is one in which people can observe, just simply not interfere with the voters' right to vote.

MARQUARDT: Now of course it is the state that runs these elections. But in the last hour I spoke with Jen Easterly and she runs this Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. They do a lot to help local officials. I asked her what CISA is doing to help state and local officials, this is what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN EASTERLY, DIRECTOR, CYBERSECURITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY AGENCY: I Actually was just in Michigan and Wisconsin last week. And I met with Administrator Wolfe and met with the election director in Michigan and asked them, were they getting everything that they needed from us, and they were really pleased with the support that we've been providing.

With respect to funding, there are grants that are available. Both from the Election Assistance Commission with the Help America Vote Act, and also through grants from Homeland Security. One of the things that I'm very excited about is this new state and local cybersecurity grant program which can be accessed by state and local officials. And so we've been working with them as they've developed their programs to be able to access for election infrastructure.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MARQUARDT: Secretary Benson, I only have a few moments left but I actually read to her some of your comments that you said you weren't getting enough federal support. So what do you make of her answer there?

BENSON: Well, we appreciate the federal support that's been provided. It's simply not enough. We made available an additional $8 million to our election clerks to be prepared. And in many ways we're more prepared and better funded than we were in 2020. But the challenges we're facing are escalating so it's going to create a need for a regular stream of resources moving forward, especially as we prepare for 2024.

So we'll keep working with CISA to make sure all our needs are met and we appreciate their partnership and hope they do more in the future.

MARQUARDT: All right. Well, Secretary of State from Michigan, Jocelyn Benson, we do appreciate you joining us this evening and wish you all the best on Tuesday and in the days that follow.

BENSON: Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

MARQUARDT: Of course. All right, well, also tonight, very sad news in the entertainment world. Singer Aaron Carter has died. Carter was best known for a string of pop albums that he released starting in the late 1990s.

(MUSIC)

MARQUARDT: CNN's Chloe Melas joins us now.

Chloe, we've just gotten this news this evening. So we're still learning more. But what do we know right now?

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Just 34 years old. I spoke to a source close to the family who told me that he passed away today. He was found in his Los Angeles home, in his bathroom, in the bathtub. We've spoken at CNN to authorities and the circumstances around the death are still unclear as to what led to this. But, you know, he had been really open about his struggle with alcohol and drugs over the years.

He's done many interviews, including with myself, talking about those struggles. And, you know, he rose to fame really early on in his life because his big brother was, you know, the famous Nick Carter in the Backstreet Boys. So sort of always living in his brother's shadow. But he did have many hits, making a name for himself, and appearing on Nickelodeon, and, you know, going on tour with the Backstreet Boys. And, you know, I did have the chance to interview him several times over the years.

MARQUARDT: And when you spoke with him, what did he have to say about his struggles?

MELAS: You know, he went to rehab. Even this fall, he was back in rehab. He's had a very public custody issue playing out over how he lost the custody of his 10-month-old child. And he was trying to better himself, you know, just this fall, and going back into rehab.

[19:15:05]

It's been really tough. You know, he at times has said, I need help, publicly. On TV shows, even appearances on like "The Doctors." But then there are other times where he has said, you know, it's OK. I have this under control. But, you know, he has said before that he had suffered over 100 seizures due to his addiction to prescription pills like Xanax and other opioids. And we know that in this country, there is an opioid crisis. But I can tell you from my experiences with Aaron, he was a talented, kind, funny person. And it is very much a shame because I know that he was trying to turn his life around.

MARQUARDT: So very sad. And of course we send our condolences to the Carter family and his legion of fans.

Chloe Melas, thank you so much for joining us this evening.

MELAS: Thank you.

MARQUARDT: Now control of the U.S. Senate could come down to states like Nevada and Pennsylvania. So what's it like on the campaign trail there this weekend? We'll have reporters from those states joining us ahead. And still to come, when all ballots are cast, how will the vote counting play out on election night? Learn why Tuesday could be a very long night.

But coming up next, Iranian Security Forces have been cracking down on protests all across the country for weeks. Those crackdowns continue to be deadly because of those security forces. Coming up, I'll be speaking with a man who knows Iran better than most, "Washington Post" opinion writer Jason Rezaian. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:20:56]

MARQUARDT: Human rights group Amnesty International is reporting that up to 10 people including children are feared dead after a violent, brutal crackdown. Yet another one by Iran's Security Forces in the south eastern part of the country. In several Twitter posts on Friday, Amnesty said that security forces fired live ammunition at peaceful protesters from the rooftops of the governor's office and several other buildings.

Now, this wave of anger from demonstrators erupted several weeks ago. Back in September, in fact, after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. She was arrested by the so-called morality police for not abiding by Iranian regime's conservative dress code. She died in the custody of the morality police.

For more on this, we are joined now by Jason Rezaian. He's a "Washington Post" global opinion writer and served as Tehran bureau chief for "The Post." In 2016, in fact Rezaian was arrested and jailed by Iranian authorities for 544 days. Jason, so great to have you on this evening. Last time we've spoken, I

just looked. This was at the end of September just a week after these protests erupted. You called it watershed moment. You said it was exhilarating but you also expressed concern over what the security forces would do. And since then, these protests have only grown. And here we are almost at the two-month mark. Have you been surprised at how much energy, how much momentum they still have?

JASON REZAIAN, WASHINGTON POST OPINION WRITER: Well, Alex, I think the short answer is surprised that it's gone on this long, especially in the face of the kind of repression, brutality, violence the protesters have faced. The death count of the number of protesters who had been killed by security forces is well over 200 officially but it could be a lot more than that. It's likely a lot more than that.

Since we spoke six weeks ago, in the meantime, 55 journalists have been arrested and are in prisons around the country. Are various protesters have been put on show trial for going out and peacefully assembling. And I think, you know, the angst and anger that we see is not going to stop. So I'm very astounded and awed by the bravery that we've seen over these last seven weeks.

MARQUARDT: It really is awe-inspiring. How about among the security forces, among the regime? Are you seeing division, any fracturing as these demonstrations continue?

REZAIAN: There are a lot of disagreements at the top of the regime and in the parliament. A lot of discussions on state media, debate shows about how the regime should deal with the moment. But the breaking away and kind of abandoning of the system by, especially those in the Revolutionary Guard Corps command is not something that we've seen yet. And I think that until that happens, you know, the repression, the violence will continue and may even escalate.

MARQUARDT: Yes. They're still cracking down viciously. The White House, the administration, they've been grappling with how to support these demonstrators, how much to support these protesters. In fact the White House had to clarify, walk back some remarks that President Biden made earlier this week on Iran. Let's listen to what he had to say, and this was in California.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to free Iran, we're going to free themselves pretty soon.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Yes, those key words there, we're going to free Iran. That might of course imply regime change. We heard from the Iranian government they hit back saying that America is aiming to destroy our national unity and coherence. The White House said that the president was expressing solidarity and not direct U.S. involvement in the protest. Jason, why do you think the administration is having to be so careful?

REZAIAN: Well, I think a lot of it has to do with mixed signals that they've gotten over the years. Not just this administration, previous ones as well.

[19:25:05]

And my argument is, when I wrote about this week in "The Post," is that, you know, the White House and the U.S. government and all Democratic governments should not back down from supporting vociferously and very publicly these protests. No matter what the U.S. government does or does not do, the Iranian regime are going to blame everything that's happening on foreign elements.

They're going to blame the U.S., they're going to blame Israel, they're going to blame the U.K., Saudi Arabia. And at the end of the day, the problem is that it's a regime that can no longer meet the very basic demands of its populace and they can't pin that on anybody else except themselves.

MARQUARDT: Jason, I only have a couple of seconds left, but what more do you want from the administration? What more do you think they should be doing?

REZAIAN: I think they should be working hard to figure out ways to keep Iranians online. It's something that's been talked about a lot. Also, paving the way for dissidents to come to the United States and add to our human intelligence on a situation that we're frankly pretty far removed from.

MARQUARDT: All right. Jason Rezaian, thanks as always for your thoughts. Really appreciate it.

REZAIAN: My pleasure.

MARQUARDT: Let's go now to Amsterdam where hundreds of climate protesters breached an airport's runway and blocked private jets from leaving. Now Green Peace is saying that the airport sends up to -- sorry, sends too many short haul flights which causes unnecessary pollution. In their statement, they say, quote, "The airport should be reducing its flight movement, but instead it is building a brand new terminal." More than 100 of its protesters were arrested. The airport says that it aims to become an emissions-free gateway for Europe by 2030.

Now back here in the United States, on election night, Democrats are hoping to flip a Senate seat blue in Pennsylvania and protect a vulnerable Democrat in Nevada. Are they on track to pull that off? We'll be checking in with two political reporters who have been on the campaign trail in each of those states. That's next. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:31:17] MARQUARDT: Right now, former President Donald Trump is appearing at a campaign rally for Dr. Mehmet Oz who is of course running for Senate. That rally taking place in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

And then a short time ago President Biden was campaigning with his old boss, former President Barack Obama. They were in Philadelphia. Now, they are out stumping for Oz's opponent, Democrat, John Fetterman.

Pennsylvania is among three Senate races that are really coming down to the wire. The other two are in Georgia and Nevada.

So let's focus on two of these races with Jessica Hill who is a political reporter for "The Las Vegas Review Journal" and Julia Terruso, who is a political reporter for "The Philadelphia Inquirer."

Thank you both for joining me this evening.

Julia, I want to start with you. We've got this rally tonight. Dr. Oz, Donald Trump -- Oz really began distancing himself from Trump and his lies over election fraud once the General Election started, and we know that people pivot during the General Election.

They are also campaigning with another election denier, gubernatorial candidate, Doug Mastriano. So why is Oz taking this risk now with Independent voters who could be turned off by this?

JULIA TERRUSO, POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER": It's a good question. I think the answer is really that in a closely divided state like Pennsylvania, Oz is going to need all of the Republican votes he can get to turn out. Pennsylvania is still a State where there's a lot of support and love for former President Trump.

But I think it does run counter to some of the homestretch messaging we've seen from Oz. You know, he has run ads saying that he would bring balance to Washington and Lieutenant Governor Fetterman has really tried to him attack him as being you know, more like Mastriano, more extreme than Oz would want voters to see him.

One thing I do think is interesting, as tomorrow, he is having an event with Senator Susan Collins and Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, so two more moderate Members of Congress to try to kind of perhaps counterbalance, you know, appearing on the stage with the former President tonight.

MARQUARDT: Yes, that'll be two wildly different events.

One of the most vulnerable Democratic senators is Catherine Cortez Masto.

Jessica, we saw President Obama, the former President campaigning for her and other Democrats. That was on Tuesday. Do you think Obama was successful in firing up the really critical younger and Latino voters who are going to be so important for Democrats to keep that Senate seat?

JESSICA HILL, POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL": I think he was. There was a huge crowd there, a full house. We know that Latinos, young voters are going to be crucial, especially the Independent voter.

We've seen a huge increase in the last 20 years of the Independent voter, the nonpartisans. They make up almost 30 percent of the voter base here.

MARQUARDT: And not only are they large portion of the voter base, but they are, you know, they're a part of the electorate that have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic and high inflation. So, what do you think, Cortes Masto and Democrats really should be talking about to make sure that those voters come out on Tuesday.

HILL: They really need to be talking about the economy.

Bernie Sanders was here just a couple of weeks ago, where he really hit on Democrats' need to talk about the economy, the things that they have done and what they could do.

Obama had also mentioned this, Republicans have a lot of big talk, but what would they actually do to get things done and improve people's pockets?

MARQUARDT: Obama is not the only big name to come in in these final hours, Julia. We also have Oprah Winfrey, who of course, was really the person who put Dr. Oz on the map, but now, she is endorsing his opponent John Fetterman. So how much do you think does that endorsement matters with Pennsylvanians?

[19:35:15]

TERRUSO: I think everyone would want to be endorsed by Oprah Winfrey. I think it could be a very good homestretch endorsement for Fetterman.

I don't think his campaign saw it coming, and you know, again, it's not just that she is Oprah Winfrey. It's that as you said, she kind of put Dr. Oz on the map, and I can't imagine that that's a bad thing for Fetterman's campaign.

MARQUARDT: And one of the major concerns by election officials again, is the delay -- the potential delay for results and the kind of -- the confusion and the disinformation that might come without confirmed results.

Julia, there have been more than a million early votes cast in Pennsylvania. Do you know when those votes will be counted? And when do you think this critical Senate race in Pennsylvania is going to be called?

TERRUSO: It's a great question. Unfortunately, we don't know the answer. You know, in 2020, Pennsylvania wasn't called until Saturday morning. I think conventional wisdom is, it'll be sooner than that, but it depends. It depends how close the Senate race is.

I will say, you know, county officials have gotten a lot faster at counting these ballots in the last couple of years, but there has also been kind of a new wrinkle with a lawsuit that said or a State Court decision that says they're going to have to segregate undated ballots.

So, it could be a couple of days. It's really hard to say at this point, but all the votes will be counted.

MARQUARDT: And Jessica, same question you, do we know when Nevada voters are going to know who their next senator is.

HILL: We can expect results to start coming in after 7:00 PM when the polls close on Tuesday. Counties have been counting all of the mail-in ballots that have been coming in in early votes. However, here in Nevada, if you send in a mail-in ballot on Election Day, it will still be counted and could take couple of days.

We could expect the final unofficial results to be released on November 15th, seven days after the election.

MARQUARDT: All right, well, a very busy and potentially very dramatic few days ahead for you both, Jessica Hill, and Julia Terruso, thank you so much for joining me this evening.

TERRUSO: Thanks.

HILL: Thank you.

MARQUARDT: And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Still ahead, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is speaking on camera for the first time about the attack against her husband, Paul Pelosi. What she is saying about his recovery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:42:15]

MARQUARDT: The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi is saying that her husband faces a "long haul" in his recovery. She spoke out publicly on camera for the first time since Paul Pelosi was brutally attacked with a hammer at their San Francisco home.

He was released from the hospital this week. He is recovering after surgery to repair his fractured skull and injuries to his hand and arm.

CNN's Camila Bernal is following this story for us.

Camila, what else did Speaker Pelosi have to say?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey Alex, I think the one thing that stands out the most to a lot of people is that it is going to be a long recovery, but she also described this incident as tragic. She says that her husband is likely going to be okay, but it is going to take some time.

She says he is at home right now with the family and took some time to thank her supporters on this video. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Thank you, thank you, thank you for your kind words, your prayers and your good wishes for Paul. It's going to be a long haul, but he will be well, and it's just so tragic how it happened.

But nonetheless, we have to be optimistic. He is surrounded by family, so that's a wonderful thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: Now as part of this video released by her team, she also read part of a poem that she had also shared after January 6th, essentially using it to say that the country needs to come together and be respectful.

Of course, as we all know, the man accused of attacking her husband asked for her specifically asked, "Where is Nancy?" And so that, of course is something that stands out also to a lot of people.

We know that authorities are leaning in on a lot of the information coming from this accused attacker, David DePape, and also from Paul Pelosi, because he also talked to authorities.

According to the San Francisco DA, Paul Pelosi was interviewed and was able to remember what happened on the night of the attack -- Alex.

MARQUARDT: All right, our thoughts of course are with the Pelosi family, wishing Paul Pelosi a speedy and smooth recovery.

Camila Bernal, thank you so much for that report.

Turning now to the crisis in antisemitism. Nike is the latest organization to distance themselves from the NBA's Kyrie Irving. He, of course is the Brooklyn Nets star. He is riding the bench for five games, suspended for comments that he made regarding his tweet that linked to a documentary that is considered antisemitic.

Nike is scrapping the launch of their latest shoe in the Kyrie Irving series and cutting ties with a controversial point guard effective immediately they say.

The Lakers star, LeBron James also weighed in. Take a listen.

[19:45:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEBRON JAMES, PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYER: I believe, you know what Kyrie did caused some harm to a lot of people. It doesn't matter what color your skin is, how tall you are, what position you are in, if you are promoting or soliciting, or saying harmful things to any community that harm people, then I don't respect it. I don't condone it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Now, Kyrie Irving did issue an apology on his Instagram account, but that came hours after his suspension.

Now still ahead, inflation is on the mind of voters this election season and soon on the mind of travelers as well for the holiday season. The CEO of online travel agency, Priceline, joins us live next with his expectations and tips.

We'll have that in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:50:26]

MARQUARDT: If you are planning to travel during the holidays this year, I hope you are ready to pay the price.

Right now, the costs for Thanksgiving flights are running nearly 50 percent higher than they were a year ago and Christmas travel could be even worse.

Brett Keller joins us now. He is the CEO of Priceline.

Brett, I just bought my Christmas tickets. So, the ship has sailed for me and they were more expensive than I can ever remember paying, but for folks out there who have yet to buy tickets for the holidays, are there any deals out there?

BRETT KELLER, CEO, PRICELINE: There are always deals to be had in travel, Alex, and it depends on where you're traveling and when you travel.

So if you haven't bought your tickets yet, I would encourage you to book them as soon as possible.

You know, as we look across the different prices that Priceline customers are coming in and buying, we're finding that, you know, specifically there are certain days you want to avoid, clearly the day before Thanksgiving, the day before Christmas Eve, you want to fly a little bit earlier, you're going to find cheaper prices for your flights.

If you're looking for smaller destinations, you could end up spending more. But a lot of the big destinations are still fairly affordable. If you're traveling to places like Orlando, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Chicago, those types of destinations, there are still plenty of deals to be had if you're booking airline tickets.

MARQUARDT: And because so many people are working remotely these days, they will often have more flexibility. They could actually work at home before actually taking off.

But Brett, you know, obviously people are coming back out after the pandemic when travel slowed down so dramatically. Demand has shot up. Just anecdotally, when I'm at the airport, I've seen the difficulty that airlines are having in coping with all of these travelers, do you think airlines have the capacity to handle everyone who wants to get back in the air? KELLER: Well, they've been slowly rebuilding and I think strengthening their workforce to be able to handle it. And you know, when we look at it in the summertime, we saw that flights that were being delayed and really canceled, you know, reached record highs, highs we've never seen before in the history of the airline business.

But as they came out of the summer and into the fall, things have returned back to normal. On any given day, the average number of cancellations have really been back in line with what we saw in 2019.

The challenge will be what happens when we're at max capacity in those couple of days leading up to the holidays themselves. If you're flying on those days, there could be some challenges.

But as I said, the airlines have I think worked very hard to try not to repeat the issues that we saw earlier this summer.

MARQUARDT: So how do people go about uncovering those deals that aren't necessarily most obvious when you go right to a website? You have some pointers there?

KELLER: Yes, we do.

So come to a site like Priceline. Listen, we've been in business for 25 years now. This is what we do, right? We help consumers find the best price, and when you're shopping for airline tickets, in particular, there are a couple of different features that we offer.

As you show up and you put in your destination and your dates, we're going to suggest alternate dates that will help you lower your price. That's one.

Number two, we show you results that include mixing and matching of airlines. So, you'll fly out on one airline, fly back on another that can typically save you up to 10 to 15 percent on your flight.

A third option, this is especially when you're going for a longer vacation and you want to include a hotel is to bundle your flight and your hotel together. That definitely delivers real value because we're able to secure negotiated discounts on a hotel.

For example, just earlier today shopped a couple of prices in Cancun, seven nights all-inclusive at a very nice four-and-a-half star Hilton property there, $1,200.00 a person. It is roughly $200.00 a night, all-inclusive -- food, hotel, airline tickets, et cetera. That's a thousand dollars in savings over what you would pay if you booked the hotel and flight separately, so real savings in that spot, Alex.

MARQUARDT: Brett Keller, very useful. I hope people listen to those tips. Wishing everyone out there the best of luck getting those tickets for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other holidays.

Brett Keller, CEO of Priceline. Appreciate your time tonight.

KELLER: You bet. Thanks, Alex. MARQUARDT: Now, still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, a First Lady, a teacher, and a campaign closer. A new CNN reporting on the role of Dr. Jill Biden and the role that she is playing on the campaign trail in the final scramble for Midterm votes.

We'll be right back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): Of any place in the United States of America she could be tonight, but the amazing First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden is right here today.

[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[19:59:33]

MARQUARDT: From getting sprayed by snowplows to that wacky or drunk person in the background, there are, I can tell you, countless challenges to live TV reporting in the field, but this one may be a first.

A reporter in Chile was telling the audience about rising crime rates when a parrot perched on his shoulder, plucked an Air Pod right out of his ear and flew off. We have no idea whether the correspondent ever got back his stolen property. You can see he continued there with one in his ear, luckily he had both on and hopefully for him, that parrot hates his playlist and brings it back.

But he does look pretty distraught there, doesn't he?

All right, well, this next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

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