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Countdown to Election Day; On the Campaign Trail: Tornadoes Strike Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas; Russia's War on Ukraine; Commercial Aircraft Crashes into Lake Victoria; Seoul Crowd Disaster; Glaciers around the World Could Disappear by 2050. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired November 06, 2022 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, pulling out all the stops in Pennsylvania. President Biden teaming up with his former boss, Barack Obama, to get the blue vote out, while Trump rallies Republicans.
It seems he has a new nickname for his most likely challenger to lead the party. We'll have details plus analysis from a former member of Congress for the state.
And destruction left behind in America's Tornado Alley. The latest from CNN's World Weather Center.
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ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: First, we are following a developing story out of eastern Africa. A commercial aircraft of an unknown number of passengers has crashed into Lake Victoria in Tanzania. The plane was owned by Precision Air, which said a rescue operation was now underway for possible survivors.
The airline said it went down near the Bukoba Airport, located on Lake Victoria's western shore. The president of Tanzania has taken to social media to urge calm while rescuers work at the site of the downed plane.
The president says that he's saddened to hear of the crash and has sent condolences to those affected. Precision Air is a Tanzanian airline. And we'll bring you more information as it becomes available.
The U.S. is just two days away from an election that will determine the balance of power in Congress. On the ballot are all 435 seats in the House, as well as 35 of the Senate's 100 positions. Now this year, 36 states are also holding races for governor, which
will further shape the political landscape of the country. And it seems voters are fully aware of what's at stake, as millions have already cast their ballots in early voting.
To win more support for their candidates, each of the last three U.S. presidents held rallies in the battleground state of Pennsylvania yesterday. On the Democratic side, Barack Obama shared the stage with President Biden.
Both of them stumped for John Fetterman in the closely watched Senate race and they also warned that democracy itself is on the ballot. Listen to this.
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JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This isn't a referendum this year, it's a choice, a choice between two vastly different visions of America, vastly different. Maybe it's in our blood. But John and I believe that all, it's all about fighting for working and middle class people.
Elect John Fetterman to the Senate, please.
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BIDEN: He'll protect Social Security and Medicare and will guarantee that veterans are always cared for, always, always, always.
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BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A fair economy that gives working people a fair shot, that's on the ballot. Fundamental rights are on the ballot. Truth and facts and logic and reason and basic decency are on the ballot. Democracy itself is on the ballot. The stakes are high.
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BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, on the other side of the state, Donald Trump campaigned for the Republican candidate Mehmet Oz. He also used the event to rally his own supporters as he prepares for another presidential run. Here he is.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: The election was rigged and now our country is being destroyed. I ran twice, I won twice and now in order to make our country more successful and glorious, I'm just going to tell you, I'm not going to say right now, everybody I promise you, in the very next, very, very, very short period of time, you are going to be so happy.
We're winning big, big, big in the Republican Party like nobody has ever seen before. There it is, Trump at 71. Ron DeSantis at 10 percent.
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BRUNHUBER: Interest in the midterm election has been high from coast to coast. More than 38 million preelection ballots have been cast in 47 states. Some of the states bringing big voter turnouts are Texas, Florida and California, as you can see on the map.
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BRUNHUBER: And here in Georgia, more than 2.5 million votes have been cast, which is a midterm record for the state.
Now the fact that three presidents descended on Pennsylvania just two days before the midterms underscores the state's critical importance during this election cycle. CNN's Jessica Dean is in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, with the latest.
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JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Three presidents, one day, all in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Former president Barack Obama and President Joe Biden rallying Democrats, trying to get the base to turn out for all the Democratic candidates in Pennsylvania; most specifically, John Fetterman, in what will be a pivotal Senate race that could very likely determine who controls the U.S. Senate.
We saw former President Obama and Fetterman in Pittsburgh earlier on Saturday. They then traveled across the state to greet President Biden and all rallied together with a larger group, who's on the Democratic ticket here in Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, both Democratic strongholds.
And to win statewide in Pennsylvania, you must have your base turn out strong, so Democrats certainly going to their bases, really trying to rally them.
And then here in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, former president Donald Trump, right behind me, speaking to a giant crowd of people attending his rally tonight, where he's here to rally support for Republican candidates here in the state of Pennsylvania.
Trump flying in on his plane to talk to people here. Fetterman's opponent, Mehmet Oz, the Republican who's really tacked to the middle in this general election, cast himself as a moderate, giving a shortened version of his stump speech and not mentioning former president Trump or the gubernatorial candidate, Doug Mastriano at all.
Sticking instead to what he's been talking about unity, about bipartisanship, about moving forward and trying to appeal again to independents and conservative Democrats here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
At the same time, appearing here at this Trump rally to really rally the base, again, Republican voters in the more rural parts of the state turned out in huge numbers for former president Trump, really helping him carry the state back in 2016. Oz hoping to capture their support as well -- Jessica Dean, CNN, Latrobe, Pennsylvania.
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BRUNHUBER: I'd like to bring in Charlie Dent, a CNN political commentator and former Republican U.S. representative for the state of Pennsylvania. He's also the executive director of the Aspen Institute congressional program and he joins us from Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Let's start with what we saw last night, three presidents.
Do you think any of them will make a difference to the race at this stage?
CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, I think the die is already cast, Kim. Really, frankly, I think really what these three presidents are doing is trying to gin up turnout.
But in the case of Donald Trump, he really doesn't appeal to swing voters. So I think it's a mistake to bring him in to swing states like Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, Georgia, Arizona; not a smart move.
You know, President Obama did not have a good track record when he was president in terms of midterm elections. And of course, Joe Biden has an approval rating in the low 40s and so he's underwater.
But right now, I think, really, the race in Pennsylvania, at least the Senate race, is one where Dr. Oz seems to be surging. The polls have tightened. In fact, I think they're dead even.
And in an environment like this, dead even will accrue to the party in power. On the other hand, we have a governor's race in Pennsylvania, where the Democrat, Josh Shapiro, is going to win and beat the Republican, Doug Mastriano, who is an election denier and a candidate who has not been able to raise any money.
He is running in the most unconventional and unorthodox of campaigns. It's a terrible campaign and he's likely to lose there. And there are three very competitive House seats in Pennsylvania that Democrats hold, that could easily flip to the Republican column.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, he's only been trying to appeal basically to the base.
So I want to go back to the Senate race and the debate between Fetterman and Oz. I mean, we used to talk in politics about debates being the election turning point. Then the conventional wisdom sort of changed and, you know, people thought it was kind of an exaggeration.
But do you think that in this case, it might actually have played a huge role?
After all, Fetterman was leading in the polls until after that debate.
DENT: Yes, the debate was a disaster for John Fetterman. We all sympathize with him because of the stroke that he experienced. But his campaign set the bar so low, they told people not to expect much. But they didn't set the bar low enough.
Fetterman wasn't able to explain himself on various positions, whether it was on fracking for natural gas in Pennsylvania, the crime issue. He wasn't able to articulate it.
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DENT: And I think it's caused many voters to question John Fetterman's ability to serve in the Senate. So that was really the issue.
Ordinarily, these debates probably don't matter that much. Each side takes its shots. But there was one candidate that looked very sharp and crisp in his responses, that was Dr. Oz. And the other, I couldn't tell you if it was the stroke or the fact that he wasn't a very good debater or he didn't have a great grasp on the policy issues.
But whatever the case may be, it's going to cause voters to question his capacity to serve. So I think, in this case, a debate really did matter and we've seen movement. I'm told, by some reliable pollsters, that 60 percent of Pennsylvanians saw some part of that debate.
And that college-educated men are now moving away from Fetterman toward Oz. And so you're seeing something happening here. And it could be a major factor in the outcome of this election.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. Let's talk about the political geography of the state. I mean, Pennsylvania has the liberal cities sort of on either side; very conservative in the middle. So often a state will swing, depending on whether the urban voters actually turn out. And I'm wondering, you mentioned crime.
How will the issue of crime play into this?
It's often a galvanizing issue for Republicans, stoking fears about nonexistent crime waves. They do that all the time.
But in Philly and Pittsburgh, the rise in crime is real.
DENT: Yes, especially in the city of Philadelphia. In the city of Philadelphia, last year in 2021, had 561 murders, which is more than New York City. A city that's 5.5 times the size of Philadelphia. So this is a very real issue in Philly.
And I know this, because I have two children and a niece living in the city. And this is a front of mind issue. People talk about it. They're altering their behavior. It is a less-safe city.
And what Oz has done, effectively, in the campaign, he has been contrasting the votes of John Fetterman and Josh Shapiro, both of whom serve on the state board of pardons, where Shapiro has voted opposite Fetterman over 200 times.
And so Fetterman is being accused of, you know, voting to release murderers, including one guy who killed another person with garden shears, stabbing him 26 times. And so there's all of these issues that are coming out there.
And particularly in the Philadelphia market. So it's a big issue. I would say, after inflation and the economy, this is a very big issue. And it shouldn't be minimized.
I would argue really since the George Floyd murder and the ensuing protests, some of which turned violent, I think the Democrats have been in a rather defensive position on the crime issue since that time. And we're still witnessing that today.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. Listen, pivotal races there, all eyes will be on your state. Charlie Dent, thanks so much for speaking to us. Really appreciate it.
DENT: Thanks, Kim. Great to be with you.
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BRUNHUBER: An election official in Pennsylvania say more than 3,400 mail-in ballots are at risk of being rejected and that number is expected to grow as more ballots are returned.
Authorities say the ballots have incorrect information, missing dates or missing secrecy envelopes. It's an alarming development, given the national implications of the races in battleground states.
The election officials are urging voters to take immediate steps to get replacement ballots. And Pennsylvania is just one of several key swing states to watch on Election Day. Later this hour, we'll also take a look at Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin.
Now those states all have multiple critical races that will impact issues like abortion and reproductive rights, the climate crisis, education, the economy and much, much more. So we'll have reports from our correspondents in each of those states coming up in just a few minutes.
The death toll now stands at two from the powerful tornadoes that struck Texas, Arkansas and Oklahoma Friday night. The governor of Oklahoma declared a state of emergency in four counties Saturday.
He says that more than 100 homes and businesses were destroyed. But the worst damage was in Ida Bell, a small town just north of the border with Texas. He posted a video message identifying the victim as a 90-year-old man. A second person was killed in Texas but no details provided.
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[04:15:00] BRUNHUBER: Ukraine is rejecting Iran's new statement about supplying military drones to Moscow. Still ahead, why President Zelenskyy believes his own air defenses proved Iran wrong. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Ukraine's military is calling Russia's bluff near the strategic city of Kherson. A military spokeswoman says Russia is creating an illusion that it is pulling out of the city to lure Ukrainian forces into street fighting.
There have been indications of a possible Russian withdrawal from Kherson but Moscow has been sending in reinforcements. Meanwhile, Russia is planning to use more hardcore criminals to fight in the war.
President Vladimir Putin has signed a law to conscript murderers, drug dealers and others who were recently released from prison. The move could potentially allow the deployment of hundreds of thousands of people who were previously banned from the military.
And back in Ukraine, President Zelenskyy says he is not buying Iran's new claim of supplying drones to Russia. Tehran said it sent a limited number of drones to Moscow in the months before the war.
The statement came after weeks of Iranian denials that it provided any drones to Russia but President Zelenskyy says Iran's new claim still doesn't add up.
For more, Salma Abdelaziz joins us from Kyiv.
Salma, Ukraine pushing back hard on those drone claims by Iran.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a very significant admission from Iran's foreign minister at a press conference, that, yes, Iran did provide a limited number of drones to Russia.
But -- and this is a very big but -- it was prior to the conflict, months prior to this conflict and that Iran has no knowledge that Russia is using those drones here in the war on Ukraine.
Let me start by clarifying this right away, Kim. We do know that Iranian-made drones are being used here in Ukraine, because Ukrainian officials have found the remnants of them after they struck at apartment buildings or terrorized citizens and have been able to show those remnants to journalists as well.
What was also curious about that statement from Iran's foreign minister is that he then went on to ask Ukraine to provide concrete evidence. Take a listen to how President Zelenskyy responded to all of this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Today, there were messages from Iran from official representatives. There, they decided to admit that they did supply drones for Russian terror.
But even in this confession they lied. We shoot down at least 10 Iranian drones every day. And if Iran continues to lie about the obvious, it means the world will make even more efforts to investigate the terrorist cooperation between the Russian and Iranian regimes and what Russia is paying Iran for such cooperation.
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ABDELAZIZ: Now not only has Iran provided Russia with weapons, Western sources say that Tehran is preparing to send even more weapons to Russia, including more drones and ballistic missiles. That's, of course, very crucial to Russia.
That's used a great deal of its arsenal here in the invasion of Ukraine. It could help boost the fight for Kherson. So a very curious statement there from Iran. And a final point, this could also have consequences for Iran itself, Kim. The United States, other allies have said that they will step up sanctions if Iran continues to support Moscow in this fight.
BRUNHUBER: And Salma, another story we're following, a Russia- appointed judge in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic is in serious condition after an alleged assassination attempt.
What more can you tell us about that?
ABDELAZIZ: Yes, very interesting report that came out in the evening hours yesterday. Russian-appointed officials saying that a Russian- backed judge in the Donetsk region, this is a Russian-occupied region, is now in critical condition after there was an assassination attempt on him.
This judge is significant. He was the judge who sentenced three foreigners in June to death, including two British fighters, who had been here fighting with Ukrainian forces.
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ABDELAZIZ: Now Russian-backed officials, Moscow blaming Ukraine for this. Ukraine not responding. But this isn't the first time we've seen this, where Russian-backed officials have been attacked in these very shadowy circumstances.
And you always get that sense, Kim, that, yes, we have this open war on the battlefield but there's also this kind of covert war that happens in the shadows, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Thanks so much, Salma Abdelaziz live in Kyiv.
The U.S. military says its ultra-advanced long-range bomber, the B-1B Lancer was among the 240 warplanes involved in last week's air defense drills with South Korea, known as Vigilant Storm.
Those exercises infuriated North Korea, which fired off dozens of missiles in protest, including a suspected ICBM that apparently failed in mid-flight. On Saturday, the European Union strongly condemned those missile launches as illegal and a dangerous escalation.
All right, still ahead, much more on the U.S. midterm elections, including the Republican strategy to win Arizona's races for governor and senator.
Plus, a Wisconsin Republican senator refuses to say if he'll accept Tuesday's election results. We'll hear his answer when pressed about it by one of our correspondents. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
We're returning to a story we're following out of eastern Africa.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): These are the first images we're receiving of a commercial aircraft that's crashed into Lake Victoria in Tanzania.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): The plane was owned by Precision Air, which says a rescue operation is now underway for possible survivors. Tanzania's president is urging calm while rescuers work.
The president says he's saddened to hear of the crash and has sent condolences to those affected. The airline says it went down near the airport located on Lake Victoria's Western shore. Precision Air is a Tanzanian airline and we'll bring you more information as soon as it becomes available.
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BRUNHUBER: In just two days, the U.S. will hold an election that will determine the balance of power in Congress. On the ballot this year, every seat in the House, more than a third of the Senate and 36 governors.
With so much on the line, many voters have wasted no time in making their picks. More than 38 million preelection ballots have been cast in 47 states with a record number of here in the swing state of Georgia.
I want to take you to two other states that could have a profound impact on the election outcome. Omar Jimenez has the latest on Wisconsin but we'll begin with CNN's Kyung Lah in Arizona.
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KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT: It is a mad dash across Arizona with three days left of campaigning. We are in the Phoenix suburbs. And what you can see behind me is the Arizona first get out the vote bus tour.
It is the top of the Republican ticket, all campaigning together, including Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake as well as Senate nominee Blake Masters.
These Republicans are making the argument that it is time for a new party to be in charge here in the state of Arizona, when they are closing on issues about the economy as well as border security.
On the Democrat side, Dr. Jill Biden has landed in Arizona. She is campaigning with Democratic incumbent senator Mark Kelly. The Democrats making their final case that, if Republicans are elected in just three days, it will mean that they are too extreme to be with the mainstream of Arizona voters. Take a listen.
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BLAKE MASTERS (R-AZ), U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: 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 of these problems. He will make them worse if we give him more time to rubber stamp Biden's agenda. But if you think you and your family deserve better, send me in there. We'll retire Mark Kelly. I promise that I'll make you proud. Red wave incoming. Thank you and God bless you.
KARI LAKE (R-AZ), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Go out and wait for the election results to come in. And it might take 10 days, because we're still Arizona. But I vow to you, when I take office, we will reform our elections and restore honest, transparent elections in Arizona. Get out and vote, everybody. I love you, Arizona.
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MARK KELLY (D-AZ), U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: And Arizonan families are struggling right now with rising costs and gas and groceries and housing. So we've worked to address this issue and every day I spend in the United States Senate, I'm going to keep working on this issue to bring down costs.
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LAH: All of this campaigning is happening in the Phoenix area today. Tomorrow, they head to the Tucson area -- Kyung Lah, CNN, Chandler, Arizona. (END VIDEOTAPE)
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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 Michaels, 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 of our exchange.
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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-WI), 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)
JIMENEZ: And that, of course, was Johnson's opponent, Democratic lieutenant governor, Mandela Barnes. I asked him what their final strategy was leading up to the election. He, though, I should also mention and emphasize, that he said he would accept the results of Tuesday's election.
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JIMENEZ: At almost every stop we've been to, for both of these candidates, remarks have been made about how close elections are here in Wisconsin, sometimes jokes being made. But those jokes are slated to become reality on Tuesday, as polls have
shown no clear leader in these races. Instead, what's been clear are the stakes for these candidates, as both of them have been campaigning on the country being on the line -- Omar Jimenez, CNN, Waukesha, Wisconsin.
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BRUNHUBER: In other election news, a critical error with ballots in Georgia's Cobb County. Election officials say hundreds of absentee ballots were mailed out yesterday, just before Election Day. And they're blaming procedural changes in the office for the mistake. CNN's Nadia Romero has more.
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NADIA ROMERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More than 1,000 absentee ballots requested but not mailed out in Cobb County, Georgia. That area covers the metro Atlanta area.
And officials there say this was done by human error, that they had a new supervisor in the role after seeing a lot of turnover in the elections department and seeing her not double check the processes to make sure those requested absentee ballots were mailed out.
They also gave other reasons why. Take a look at a statement, partly released by the board of elections chair, saying, "While human error was clearly a factor, I believe reduced timeframes for the receipt of requests for and processing of absentee ballots provided under SB202 as well as the turnover in the elections office are also significant factors."
And she was referencing there the law passed in Georgia that changed the voting laws and processes across the state.
We are told that those people who did not receive their absentee ballots, who are part of that large number, are getting those ballots sent out to them by overnight mail. They're being contacted by phone and by email. And some of them are being told to vote in person on Tuesday if possible -- Nadia Romero, CNN, Atlanta.
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BRUNHUBER: One week after a deadly bridge collapse, the grief and the questions as families mourn. We'll have the latest when we come back.
Plus, a somber moment as thousands in South Korea remember the victims of the deadly Halloween crowd crush. The growing calls for accountability, next.
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BRUNHUBER: At least 135 people were killed during last week's bridge collapse in India, many of them children. An investigation is underway to determine exactly what happened.
But as questions linger about why a bridge that was recently renovated would collapse, families know that nothing can replace the loved ones they lost. Vedika Sud reports.
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VEDIKA SUD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A grieving father lights an oil lamp in front of his son's portrait. He last saw his son on October 30th, when his 10-year old, his cousin and uncle took a bike ride to the city's popular tourist spot, the hanging bridge in Western India.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They were so excited when they left the house and promised to be back soon.
SUD (voice-over): Hours after a cable of the bridge snapped, the bodies were recovered from the river.
Ever since, his relatives and neighbors have been visiting their home to offer their condolences. But words have failed to comfort this mother, who has lost her youngest child.
A familiar scene here, over a dozen people attend a day of mourning. They've lost 12 loved ones. The family had gathered from across the state to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. Days later, five grandchildren, four daughters and three sons-in-law fell to their death while walking on the bridge. It stunned them into silence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There have been a lot of deaths. I cannot describe the pain and sadness it's caused.
SUD (voice-over): Their grandchildren would play in these hallways. Now there are only empty rooms and memories.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): They used to create an atmosphere of joy for the entire family whenever they visited. It is hard to even think that they are no longer with us.
SUD (voice-over): The 8-year old and 5-year old were days away from heading back to school. They had set off to the bridge with nine other family members but only three survived. Their grandmother is one of them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We had reached the middle of the bridge when it collapsed. I was with them. I got help from people. My life was saved but my daughter, son-in-law and the children all died.
SUD (voice-over): It pains this family to sit by their belongings, a constant reminder of grief and loss. The colonial-era bridge had been renovated just days before reopening to the public. It soon turned into a death trap. For some, an entire generation, wiped out, leaving homes in complete darkness -- Vedika Sud, CNN, New Delhi.
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BRUNHUBER: At least 13 people were killed when fire swept through a night club northeast of Moscow. The smoke and flames were so intense, people who lived nearby thought the fire was in their own homes. Listen to this.
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ANNA KORSAKOVA, POLYGON CLUB NEIGHBOR (through translator): I woke up by the sharp burning smell and I started waking my husband up to determine the source of the fire. We started walking in our flat, checked all the rooms and found nothing.
Then my husband looked out the window and saw black smoke above the Polygon building. After a while, a strong flame appeared. Many trucks arrived. All hell broke loose. Now they're still extinguishing something.
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BRUNHUBER: Authorities say the blaze could have been started by fireworks that were set off by someone inside the club. A 23-year-old man is being held in connection with the deadly incident.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Thousands of people gathered in Seoul on Saturday for a candlelight vigil to honor the victims of a deadly crowd crush one week ago and held signs, demanding accountability for the 156 lives lost during Halloween festivities.
A number of large events across South Korea have either been canceled or minimized in the wake of the danger. And anger is growing at officials for failing to prevent the deadly incident.
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BRUNHUBER: CNN's Will Ripley is on the scene in Seoul.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm at a massive candlelight vigil here in Seoul. They're lighting candles and they're expressing their grief, sorrow and anger about what happened at the Itaewon night club district in the South Korean capital on Saturday.
That's when 156 people died, most of them young people in their teens and 20s, who were out celebrating Halloween and got caught in a horrific crowd crush in one of the narrow alleyways of the packed night club district.
It's ironic that the crowd out here is estimated to be around 100,000. That's according to local media. That's the same number of people who packed into Itaewon Saturday night. And yet unlike Saturday night, the police are out here doing frankly a
good job of keeping the crowd under control. There are scores of officers, barricades. Every step that you take is controlled.
The movements of the crowd are controlled to prevent exactly the kind of disaster that happened when all of those young people packed into a very narrow space, unable to get out, unable to move, unable to breathe.
And those who fell down, those who got crushed, those who suffocated and those who died are the ones being remembered here right now. This has in some ways turned into a political event.
A lot of people expressing their anger against the current South Korean president, saying he is ultimately responsible for the lack of planning, lack of crowd control. The fact that the 130 officers who were out were mostly looking for drunk and disorderly conduct or drug offenses and not actually trying to control the throngs of young people, not stopping them from getting into a very dangerous situation in Itaewon.
The questions, the soul searching continues out here as does the grief for so many people in South Korea -- Will Ripley, CNN, Seoul.
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BRUNHUBER: Pakistan's prime minister has overturned a decision from media regulators, which had banned the broadcasting of speeches of former leader Imran Khan.
A government official says the prime minister reversed the order to uphold the democratic ideals of freedom of expression. Regulators say they had imposed the ban, because they feared Khan's rhetoric could incite hatred.
It followed speech in which he accused the government of plotting to kill him. Khan was shot and wounded in the leg on Thursday and he claimed without proof that the prime minister was one of several officials behind the attack.
Police in Philadelphia are searching for multiple suspects who jumped out of a vehicle and opened fire on a crowd outside a bar. Nine people were shot, two are in critical condition. Seven others are in stable condition.
Now from the air, you can see a number of yellow police evidence markers. Investigators say the attackers might have been after someone in the crowd. Police add, this is a busy area, with lots of police patrol but add, quote, "We have some brazen individuals in the city that don't care."
All right. Still to come, tens of thousands of people, including world leaders and activists, in Egypt this hour to tackle climate change at the COP27 summit. Stay with us.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do we want?
When do we want it?
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Well, this is Amsterdam, where hundreds of climate activists breached a runway Saturday at Schiphol International Airport to stop private jets from taking off. Officials say air traffic wasn't affected.
And in Spain, two climate activists were arrested in Madrid after they each glued one of their hands to the frames of two Goya paintings in the Prado museum. Both instances drawing attention to the climate crisis.
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BRUNHUBER: And on that, the COP27 climate change conference is now underway in Egypt. The U.N.-sponsored event takes place this year in Sharm El Sheikh. More than 45,000 people around the world are registered for the conference, including heads of states and climate activists.
The stated goal: to deliver real action on the climate emergency. The climate crisis is already threatening some of the most beautiful natural wonders on Earth in southern Chile. Mountain glaciers are in danger of disappearing as global temperatures rise. And scientists fear local habitats will be severely affected. CNN's Rafael Romo explains.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AFFAIRS EDITOR: This is the land where glaciers roar and dolphins bask in the freedom that can only be enjoyed by the fact that civilization, as we know it, is so far away.
This is also where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet at the southernmost point of Chile. The South American country extends nearly 4,300 kilometers from north of the Tropic of Capricorn, all the way to the southern tip of the American continent, where Cape Horn is located.
Unknown to Western civilization until 1616, Cape Horn has recently become an outdoor laboratory for Chilean scientists, who say they've been able to measure the negative impact of climate change here more than ever before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language). ROMO (voice-over): Andres Mansilla is a researcher and professor at Magallanes University in Chile. He says higher temperatures that cause glaciers to recede are increasingly affecting marine habitats due to the fact that melting ice produces excess fresh water around the coasts.
A 2020 assessment published by the European Space Agency shows some of the glaciers in Patagonia, including Chile's San Quintana (ph) and San Rafael, are retreating faster than anywhere in the world.
And the problem of melting glaciers is not unique to Chile. Researchers at the U.N. Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization have found that glaciers in one-third of the planet's most beautiful parks and protected areas are set to disappear by 2050.
Among the glaciers on the brink of vanishing are those in two of the most beloved national parks in the United States, Yellowstone and Yosemite, as well as Mts. Kenya and Kilimanjaro in Africa.
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ROMO: According to UNESCO, glaciers shed around 50 billion tons of ice each year, which is equivalent to the total volume of water used annually in France and Spain combined. And these glaciers have already contributed nearly 5 percent of global sea level rise in the last 20 years.
ROMO (voice-over): Back in Chile, in addition to melting ice, scientists have noticed the acidity level in the water has gotten higher because of the greenhouse effect. This harms numerous marine species, scientists say, including those with high commercial value like crab, urchin and oysters.
On land, the effects of climate change can be just as devastating.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking foreign language).
ROMO (voice-over): Camera Contavur (ph), a biologist at the Cape Horn International Center, says they are now seeing non-native insect species here, including mosquitoes and generalist predators that feed on native plants, animals and insects, causing serious harm.
Ricardo Rozzi, a researcher and professor at Universidad de Magallanes in Chile and the University of North Texas compares what's happening to some species like lichens to a sick child.
"Temperatures are already over 20 degrees Celsius," he says.
"And what happens to the mother of a child when he has a fever?
"She despairs."
And he says that's exactly how he and his fellow scientists feel when they see the impact of climate change in Cape Horn. Lichens, he says, are adapted to withstand extremely cold weather but the opposite can kill them, a harsh reality that scientists are already seeing here in the Cape Horn forests, considered to be among the most pristine in the world -- Rafael Romo, CNN.
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BRUNHUBER: I'm Kim Brunhuber. You can follow me on Twitter @KimBrunhuber. I'll be back in a moment with more CNN NEWSROOM. Please do stay with us.
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