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Democrats Closer To Senate Control After Key Arizona Win; Interview With Sen. Jacky Rosen (R-NV); Deputies Respond After Protests Outside Arizona Elections Office; Video Captures Moment Two Aircraft Collide At Dallas Air Show; Elon Musk Warns Twitter Staff Of Possible Bankruptcy; Man Who Inspired Spielberg Film "The Terminal" Dies At Paris Airport. Aired 6-6:50p ET

Aired November 12, 2022 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:05]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

Shortly, we are expecting more results to drop in Nevada that could decide the balance of power in the United States Senate. Right now, just 862 votes separate Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and her Republican challenger, Adam Laxalt. The GOP candidate is in the lead for now, but there are still votes to count, a lot of them.

And not long from now in Nevada's Clark County will release results from its remaining 22,000 ballots and we're expecting that later on this evening here on CNN.

Now, if Democrats keep the seat, they keep control of the Senate. Right now. The balance of power is tied at 49 seats apiece. This comes after Democrats garnered a key win last night. CNN projecting Arizona's incumbent Senator, Democrat Mark Kelly will hold on to his seat defeating Republican, Blake Masters.

And we begin in Nevada though where election officials have said they will release more results later on tonight.

How about that for a tease?

CNN's Rosa Flores is tracking developments.

Rosa, for all of our viewers who are just glued to their seats, and you know, refreshing the results on their laptops, trying to stay ahead of the networks in tabulating all of this and making the projections and so on. I mean, this is this is high drama right now. We could get some pretty definitive answers later on this evening.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely right, and this is a nail biter of a race.

Jim, we couldn't see results posted within the hour. That's according to Clark County officials or within the next few hours. So stay tuned. Keep refreshing because we're refreshing our computers as well to make sure that we bring you the latest. According to Clark County officials, they are expecting to post about 20,000 votes. Now, these are ballots that are election date drop box ballots and mail-in ballots as well, and officials here say that they know that America is watching and they feel the pressure as they count today and post those results. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE GLORIA, CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA REGISTRAR OF VOTERS: We're still moving forward as quickly as we can. Look, we know that this is a serious count. There are people nationwide who are looking to see these results. We're not taking that lightly. There is nothing that we've stopped here. I've mentioned every single day.

We're using every piece of equipment that's available to us and we're fully staffed on everything that we've got to use for counting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: The Nevada US Senate race is so tight, the margin right now is 0.1 percent. Let me run through the numbers here because Adam Laxalt is ahead with 468,437 votes, Catherine Cortez Masto trailing with 467,575 votes.

Now we have watched Laxalt's advantage shrink from Wednesday, the day after Election Day. Yes, he was ahead by 22,000 votes, that turned to 15 and then less than 10,000. Right now he's ahead by 862 votes.

Jim, that is razor thin and if what we have seen in the past few days is a preview of coming attractions, like you said, grab your popcorn, tune in because we're going to have the results here in the coming hours -- Jim.

ACOSTA: That's rot. Pop a lot of popcorn and Rosa, let me ask you this. What is the new -- what do we know about the mood inside the Laxalt campaign right now? Is it getting gloomy? What do you think?

FLORES: Well, we've heard two different things. There is a Nevada Republican strategist who spoke to our colleague, Dan Merica, who was said that the mood changed. They had been very optimistic and that the mood change within the Laxalt camp, to "awful," that they felt depressed and that there are several factions of the Republican Party that were pointing fingers saying that Catherine Cortez Masto was going to take the lead.

Well, shortly after that, we received a statement from Adam Laxalt's press secretary saying that that was not accurate, that they remain optimistic.

Now, Adam Laxalt himself also tweeted a few hours ago saying that if the trends continue, that Catherine Cortez Masto could be ahead. So we'll have to see.

I did reach out to Catherine Cortez Masto's campaign and her press secretary sending me a statement saying that they feel confident. They continue to be confident. That's what they've said from Election Day and that they continue to be confident today -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, Rosa Flores, thanks so much for that.

And let's pick it up where Rosa left off.

I am joined now by Nevada's Democratic senator, Jacky Rosen.

Senator, thanks so much for joining us.

I'm sure in Democratic circles there in Nevada, it is a busy time right now.

[18:05:08]

ACOSTA: What can you tell us about the mood inside Senator Cortez Masto's campaign. We had some reporting earlier today about some concerns inside the Laxalt campaign. What do you know about how they're feeling on the other side -- on your side?

SEN. JACKY ROSEN (D-NV): Well, thank you for having me. Of course. We are like you, watching for the results to come through, hopefully sometime later on this evening, later on this afternoon or this evening.

I can tell you, Catherine Cortez Masto, and the rest of us Democrats, we are optimistic knowing where the votes are and the rest of the State that she will win her second term in the United States Senate delivering the Democratic majority in the United States Senate.

I'm not going to speak to what is going on in Adam Laxalt's campaign. I guess, he'll have to do that for himself. But I can tell you we're feeling pretty good right now.

ACOSTA: And Senator, let me ask you this, because I covered -- I remember Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid when he was running for reelection back in 2010, I believe it was against an opponent by the name of Sharon Engel, and I was out there in Las Vegas, had an event for Harry Reid and that the race was tight. It looked like maybe Reid wasn't going to pull it out, and I asked him, you know, are you concerned about things? And he just looked at me with this funny look like, there is just no way I'm going to lose this race.

And when you talk to his aides, it was because they were so confident and turning out the vote in places like Las Vegas and Clark County. Do you get the sense that that same kind of machinery, that same kind of get the vote out effort is paying dividends this time around?

ROSEN: Well, absolutely. We have a strong coordinated campaign. But make no mistake, Nevada is a purple State. Races are always tight here, just as you said in the 2010 campaign, where Senator Reid did win. I think it was by a very small number.

So races are always tight here. We're a battleground State. The path through the Senate Majority, I believe will be cemented soon in the United States Senate and a path to the presidency also runs through Nevada. It gives us a great argument for us to be first in the nation primary, we're hoping for that, maybe to be announced sometime soon after the election.

And Nevada is a diverse working-class pro-choice State and the West Coast is about to deliver the Senate Majority, I believe.

ACOSTA: And what do you make of some of these complaints? A lot of them coming from the Republican side that this process is taking too long. And then there are some -- obviously, some very irresponsible of voices out there, we won't mention any names, who are trying to say, there, there's something untoward going on.

They are sowing doubts, the same kind of stuff that we heard in 2020. What is your reaction to that?

ROSEN: Well, my reaction to that is this. This is the first Midterm that we've had universal mail-in ballots. In Nevada, we have always run free, safe, secure elections under both Democratic and Republican Secretaries of State. We've expanded access in every way.

We have a process, it just takes time to run the process. I trust all of our election officials to do that. They will be reporting when they feel confident that they have tabulated what they need to and we are going to look forward to that and hopefully putting Catherine Cortez Masto over the top sometime soon.

ACOSTA: And do you have a sense as to why this red wave did not happen? What's your sense of it? When you were talking to voters, what were you hearing?

ROSEN: Well, my sense of it here in Nevada, especially is that people want someone to come together, to put their head down to be pragmatic problem solvers. Both Senator Cortez Masto and I are seen in that same way. We work for Nevada families. We try to find solutions to deliver for our State, reducing costs for folks, all those kitchen table issues that everybody worries about most -- healthcare, prescription drugs, affordable housing, and that's what Nevada wants. That's why we're a purple State.

And you see the kind of folks that have been elected, we really did well this time, the Democratic Party again, electing very qualified people for our Secretary of State, our Treasurer, reelecting them, our Attorney General, and I think it is because we stick to thinking about People First.

ACOSTA: Were you surprised at all how close this has been?

ROSEN: Well, like I said, Nevada is a purple State, so we don't take anything for granted.

Senator Reid told you that a few years ago, and as far as we're concerned, we are just going to get through this and start focusing on 2024, because there are always more voters to be registered. There are always more people to talk to, more things to consider.

[18:10:00]

ROSEN: We are a battleground State, I think we might always be that way, but I think it is a blessing because that means we listen to everyone, we respond to everyone. And it's important, I think, for real leaders to do that.

Once you're elected to think about what's good for everybody, it is what I do, it is what Senator Cortez Masto does, and we're going to continue to do that in the United States Senate and put Nevadans first.

ACOSTA: All right, Senator Jacky Rosen, I really appreciate your time this evening. Thanks so much for joining us.

ROSEN: Thank you very much.

ACOSTA: All right, and up next, a big win for Democrats in their attempt to keep control of the Senate, keeping hold of Arizona's Senate seat. We will take you live to Phoenix next. Year live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Additional Sheriff's Deputies were called to an elections office in Maricopa County, Arizona today after a group of protesters showed up outside the building, where votes are being counted.

CNN's Kyung Lah joins us now.

Kyung, I know you're on top of this and the Sheriff spoke about this earlier today. What did he say? What can you tell us?

[18:15:07]

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know this created quite a law enforcement response. This is something that they had been expecting, just to have protesters show up at some point, but that it was happening during this particular vote count, echoed back to 2020 when they had an enormous amount of protesters show up, and at one point, some of them got into this building.

So this created a law enforcement response. The security conditions are different, there is much more of a buffer zone. But Sheriff Penzone did respond quite strongly because this vigil or protest, whatever you want to call it, really came about because of prominent figures, both political and elected, who called for it to take place.

I want you to listen to what the Sheriff told reporters just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF PAUL PENZONE, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: There were elected officials who were calling for things and that feels powerful. You call on something and suddenly you see the crowds come in and you think that you know, you're the Almighty Oz. Well, guess what? You know, at some point in time, we have to address that issue and we're going to pull the curtain on you and you're just back there with the handles, but there are a lot of other things going on for people that are in harm's way in a crazy jeopardy.

So be thoughtful, don't treat this like it's just a show, it is bigger than that. It's more important than that and recognize there's real people back here doing a job and they get scared when they see people out there yelling, you know, pretty offensive things in this direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: And those real people that the Sheriff is talking about there, there are the people who are still counting the votes. The vote process has not stopped. It takes some time in Arizona because of the signature verification and the volume of votes that were dropped off on Election Day. Those early ballots dropped off on Election Day.

So all of this is still going on, Jim.

A process of democracy. It is careful, it is slow. We still have races that are not called here in the State of Arizona. So, we are looking at tonight's expected vote drop expected to be about 75,000 to 80,000 votes that are released sometime in the 6:00 PM hour here, 8:00 PM Eastern Time -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Wow. Okay. And Kyung, we do know that we have a projection in the Mark Kelly-Blake Masters Senate race. We projected that Mark Kelly is going to hang on to his seat. Has Blake Masters conceded in the way that other Republican candidates, Trump-aligned candidates have across the country? We're not seeing the same from Blake Masters.

LAH: Not yet. He did tweet certainly that he might be open to it. In a tweet. He said that, "If in the end, after all the legal votes are counted," it is something that he will do. But you know, the emphasis there that he put in that tweet is "all legal votes counted." That process, yes, is still going but mathematically, you know, various news organizations, including CNN have projected that it will be almost impossible for him to catch up -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, Kyung Lah, thank you very much. Appreciate it, as always.

And joining me now is Larry Sabato. He's the Director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

Larry, I want to get your reaction to Blake Masters' statement about the race. Let me ask you? I mean, what is going on? He says, I want to make sure all legal votes are counted. I mean, those are code words, aren't they? Isn't that kind of sowing little seeds of doubt about what's happening in Arizona right now?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Of course it is, Jim. I mean, that's the technique that many of the Trump acolytes have used, I think with less and less effectiveness, because more and more people have caught on to it.

Now, there is a certain group, the MAGA group, the intense super MAGA group, they will always be willing to buy that there was voter fraud when their candidates lose. Now, if their candidates win, of course, it was a totally honest, secure election. This is nonsense. And more and more people understand that it's nonsense.

I think, frankly, when a candidate screams voter fraud, it ought to be considered the equivalent of a concession speech and that is what we are getting from Blake Masters and several others. There's no truth to it.

If I can just say one other thing, these poor election workers have been treated so badly by so many people with the threats against their lies and the cat calls and all the rest. What would have happened if the election counting had been rushed through without signature verification or without every I being dotted and T being crossed? They would have screamed the same way.

ACOSTA: That's right.

SABATO: You know, voter fraud, they're stealing the election. All they are doing is taking the time, a few extra days to make certain they have it right. Everybody should applaud that.

[18:20:02]

ACOSTA: That's right and Larry, I will tell you, remind our viewers earlier in this program, we spoke with Bill Gates, top election official there in Maricopa County in Arizona and he pointed out these hard working folks behind the Plexiglas, as you mentioned, we are looking at live pictures of that right now, there are also election observers from both parties back there as well.

And when I asked Bill Gates about this, I said, well, how are they getting along? Are they getting along okay? He said, they're getting along great. And they're talking about things like their kids and run of the mill stuff, not sticking fingers in each other's faces, and hurling tomatoes at one another, and that sort of thing.

And so people understand, they have to -- if you're watching at home, they have to understand this is the process that we've had, for so long in this country.

Larry, you've watched these elections so closely and systemic voting fraud just doesn't exist in this country. It just doesn't exist because we have this process that works so well.

SABATO: And I am old enough to say that it is improved almost with every new year. It has gotten better. There are more checks on voting and the vote counting and the election process. I think, ours is one of the best in the world, and it's time for people to stop running it down. It's a great system.

ACOSTA: And Larry, let's talk about your crystal ball. You're famous for your crystal ball predictions, the outcomes of these elections. I have to ask you this time around, did this election break or put a couple of cracks in the crystal ball, in the Larry Sabato crystal ball? Because a lot of folks were expecting this red wave. I don't know if you bought into it or not, but it just did not materialize and I'm just curious what you think.

SABATO: Well, we did pretty well on Governorships and Senate seats. We'll see what the final results are in the Senate. We did well there.

House, I'm not going to say we bought into the red tsunami, we never agreed with the red tsunami, but we did think there would be a red tide. After all, that's what history had taught us. Midterm of a Democratic President with high inflation.

But I've got to tell you, Jim, this is something that everybody in this process needs to learn. We don't have to follow history. We shouldn't follow history all the time because sometimes there are things that are ahistorical, new things happen.

And here, it was a question of the Supreme Court helping the Democrats unintentionally by overturning Roe v. Wade and Donald Trump, who refused to get off the stage and made himself very public even on Election Eve, and also President Biden's democracy argument.

More and more Democrats have been thinking about that, are concerned about it. It started even before January 6, 2021, but it has accelerated since then.

That was a good way to end the campaign no matter what the pundits said. They all made fun of it, but it actually worked, I think.

ACOSTA: Yes, and typically these Midterms, as you know, all too well, they are a referendum on the on the current President. This almost felt like it was a referendum on the former President.

But let me ask you this: There's new CNN reporting that according to Republican sources, Trump is calling up his allies in the Senate suggesting that Mitch McConnell is to blame for the Republicans' performance. I spoke with a Trump adviser earlier this week. He was talking about how Trump was livid and screaming at everyone. He's been ranting and raving all week.

But former Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is making it clear who is to blame. Let us listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL RYAN (R), FORMER US HOUSE SPEAKER: I think Trump is kind of a drag on our ticket. I think Donald Trump gives us problems politically. We lost the House, the Senate, and the White House in two years when Trump was on the ballot or in office, and I think we've just had some Trump hangover. I think he's a drag on our offices and our races.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: You know, what do you think of that, Larry?

SABATO: Well, he's right. But, you know, senior Republicans, including him, but others who are more prominent should have learned this a long time ago, because Donald Trump has been poisoning their party as well as the system that we have in the United States for years now.

Maybe more Republicans are catching on. I'm going to believe it when I see a lot more evidence because we've been here before. Remember, right after January 6, 2021? They were starting to break with him and they were saying the right things about the insurrection and the attempted coup d'etat, and then it all faded away, and they got back on the Trump train. Who knows whether they'll do it again? You can't trust them.

ACOSTA: Yes. It reminds me that line from "The Godfather 3," every time I tried to get out, they pull me back in.

But let me let me ask you this. I want to look ahead a little bit to this Georgia runoff. In Nevada, I suppose if Cortez Masto wins, perhaps the runoff is not quite as important. It is important obviously, but not as important in determining the balance of power.

But given how this Midterm is going and President Biden's approval ratings, I mean what do you make of the prospect that Donald Trump may announced that he's running for President again and insert himself once again, into a runoff situation in Georgia like he did the last time around?

[18:25:20]

SABATO: Well, it's great news for Senator Warnock. I'm sure that Senator Warnock and the Democrats generally are urging President Trump to jump in and do it now and appear in Georgia by all means, do everything you can to get that Herschel Walker vote up.

It makes no sense politically, but you know, this, Jim, you know, better than almost anybody, Donald Trump does what is in Donald Trump's interest. Period. It doesn't matter whether it helps another candidate or hurts the party or anything else, he is going to do what he wants to do.

But you know, it would be wise if he delayed his announcement, but another part of me says, "Go right ahead."

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, to quote another movie line, it reminds me of Jack Nicholson, "As Good As It Gets." Go sell crazy somewhere else, we're all stocked up here. But --

All right -- and I'm sure they're tired of that down in Georgia. Georgia Republicans are sick and tired of Trump mucking it up for them.

All right, Larry Sabato, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

SABATO: Thank you, Jim. Thank you.

ACOSTA: Thanks, Larry. Great as always.

Viewer warning here before we go, we want to show you a video, but we'd have to warn our viewers. This is disturbing video you're about to watch. You're looking at the moment right before a midair collision at a Dallas Air Show this afternoon. That's it right there. The details next.

You're Live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:31:09]

ACOSTA: I have an update from a story we had a short while ago on this program. New video just in to CNN, but we want to warn you before we show you this video, a caution to our viewers out there that this might be tough to watch. You are looking at the moment right before a mid air collision at a Dallas air show this afternoon.

There you see right there - we're actually pausing this, but - so you don't see the collision, but you can see what happened or you can imagine what happened after that. No confirmation yet on the number of casualties or how many people were onboard. The FAA and the NTSB are now investigating and CNN Aviation Analyst, Mary Schiavo joins us now.

Mary, this is a nightmare, obviously, for the people involved in that air show. What are you looking at? What are you thinking about as you're learning the details of what happened there?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Yes. What people might not realize is that an air show, a whole different set of rules and regulations takes over. Everybody's used to the Federal Aviation Administration and ordinarily a faster plane must give way to the slower plane. Obviously, the faster plane that you can see coming in, in that picture, it's P-38 - excuse me, a P-63 and that one was the faster plane.

But in an air show the performers at an air show particular at any air group where you're doing aerobatics or something that's called dynamic maneuvering, they have to practice the show and the FAA has to have proof that they have done this within last 45 days, they've performed an air show.

So this maneuver was part of their air show maneuver, which is something that they have to practice and show capability of doing an aerobatic specialization, for example. So what appears to has happened is they were doing this maneuver and literally got out of sync. And it's something that can only be done at an air show, but there are lots of rules and - for flying and a lot of those gets suspended at air shows with certification and with the proper licensing, of course. But this kind of show goes on all over America for most of the summer and in the fall in good weather.

ACOSTA: And people love these shows. Mary, we want to point out there was a press conference not long ago. We've learned some new details, we were told both aircraft were "normally crewed," C-R-E-W-E-D, one of them was a B-17 said normally have four to five people and that the other, a P-63, which were told was a single piloted aircraft. And further the planes in these air shows are flown by volunteers. We should note they go through a strict process of training.

But I have to ask you, these shows are so popular and, yes, I know the enthusiasts will say these accidents are rare. Mary, do you think it's a good idea that we continue to have these kinds of air shows in this country? And I know folks are going to get mad at me for even asking this question, but it's the obvious one.

SCHIAVO: Well, yes. Well, that's a good question because the FAA has actually considered that because when tragedies happen at air shows, the FAA has to reevaluate whether they should be allowed. Because remember, even though the regular Federal Aviation rules don't apply, the FAA does approve them license aerobatic flights, license these dramatic maneuver events and air shows and they have to permit these air shows.

And the FAA has decided that it's in the interest of aviation and in the interest of keeping people interested in aviation, aviation skills, aviation promotion, so the FAA has considered that from time to time. So in response to accidents, what they've done over the years is they've increased the safety margin. For example, spectators have to be at least 1,500 feet away from what they call the aerobatic envelope.

[18:35:00]

In other words where the planes are performing these things, spectators must be back, that's an improvement. They can't be under 500 feet over spectators, so they put a lot of safety requirements in. And for example, the B-17 actually was cited by the FAA probably over 10 or 15 years ago for corrosion and they had to redo the plane of great expense.

So the FAA does overtime has increased requirements and safety measures. But in the end, you're flying extremely complicated maneuvers, you're doing aerobatic flight, you're supposed to be licensed to do so or to do fly information, you have to have special certificate, dynamic maneuvering, rocking your wings dramatically from left to right, et cetera.

ACOSTA: Right.

SCHIAVO: That all has to be approved by the FAA.

ACOSTA: All right. Mary Schiavo, thanks as always for your expertise. It's fortunate that this was not a larger accident, a larger tragedy there in Dallas.

SCHIAVO: Yes.

ACOSTA: Mary, thanks very much for your time, we appreciate it.

Coming up, the turmoil at Twitter showing no signs of stopping after Elon Musk tells staff bankruptcy is on the table. It's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:17]

ACOSTA: How's this a - how's this for a message from your new boss, a staff-wide email sent in the middle of the night Elon Musk suggested the company might go into bankruptcy as all his more - executives resigned, more advertisers jumped ship and more trolls run rampant on the platform.

Joining me now CNN Senior Media Reporter Oliver Darcy. Oliver, there are real questions about whether Twitter can survive all of this. Is this because Elon Musk simply paid too much money for this or because of some of the damage that he's doing or has been doing since he took over?

OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: Yes, Jim, I think it's really more of the latter at this point. I mean, the big question is Can Twitter survive Elon Musk. And I honestly wouldn't have said or raised this question few weeks ago when he had taken over, but the things he has done, particularly in the last few days have given rise to questions about this platforms future.

I'll break it down in very simple terms, Jim. Twitter is a company that makes most of its money through advertisements. And advertisers are very afraid right now of the platform, because of some of the things that Elon Musk has said and some of the things he's done. Think about when he pushed that Paul Pelosi conspiracy theory or things early on, he wanted to bring back Trump, for instance, on Twitter, things like that. It gave advertisers some pause.

Well, over the last few days, given all of the disarray, it's hard to see how these advertisers are going to come back. And so without that advertising revenue, and without any other source of revenue, it leads to real questions about this, the future of this platform.

ACOSTA: No question about it. And one of the biggest questions is what's going on with the chaos over paying for those blue verified check marks. Our colleague Donie O'Sullivan pointing to these tweets, one saying, "Was able to verify a fake Donald Trump account in less than two beers." Another one that got verified as Jesus Christ. I suppose this is what happens when Elon Musk plays god.

DARCY: Yes. Donie O'Sullivan, now that we bring him up, he actually even made a fake verified accounts for my cat, Jim, and it took them all about few moments, we share an office, and he just did it in a few moments. So that shows how easy this Twitter blue verification system was to gain. And that - this is another problem, right? Because advertisers don't want to be on a platform where people are able to quickly impersonate brands, news organizations, that gives them pause.

But because now they are pausing this - they suspended the rollout of Twitter blue, it takes away this other revenue stream that Elon Musk had. And so again, no advertiser revenue stream or at least it's dwindling quite a bit, Elon said there's a massive revenue drop from advertisements, and they have no Twitter blue revenue stream.

So where is Twitter going to get its revenue? That's the big question and it's not one that's easily answered, I think.

ACOSTA: And let's look at the top executives who have quit, the Trust & Safety Head, the Chief Information Officer - security officer, the Chief Privacy Officer, how are they going to be able to police misinformation? Setting aside the fact that Elon Musk himself was spreading misinformation almost as soon as he took over the company. But I mean, don't you need those kinds of people? They're pretty important.

DARCY: Yes, particularly the head of trust and safety. And I think, again, not to be beating the drum on this so much, but advertisers look to this figure, Yoel Roth. He was a key figure integral at Twitter as the Head of Trust & Safety. And they look to him to make sure that the platform was clean of hate speech, conspiracy theories, things that brands don't want to put their contents.

Again, you don't want to be a brand advertising next to someone using hateful slurs, for instance. And so that was their job was really to make sure the platform was clean of this, to make sure everyone complied with Twitter rules. Now that he's gone and now that some of these other top executives are gone, it gives rise to this question. And there have been some indications that hate speech, things like that are on the rise on Twitter.

And we're not even talking, gym, about the fact that they laid off half the staff, after the first week Elon took over. So big questions about how this platform is going to work in the future.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. No question about that verified points on your part. Oliver Darcy, thanks very much for your time. We appreciate it.

DARCY: Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right. Coming up, the balance of power in the House and Senate still undecided days after the election, but we're expecting more results soon from a nail biter race in Nevada. Stay right there, there's more to come.

[18:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:49:23]

ACOSTA: Coming up in just a few moments, the great Wolf Blitzer is live with a special edition of THE SITUATION ROOM as we expect more votes to come in at any moment in the critical state of Nevada.

But first some sad news just in, an Iranian refugee who spent time living inside Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and inspired the Steven Spielberg film "The Terminal" has died at the same airport. Mehran Nasseri had returned to live as a homeless person in the public area of the airport since mid-September and was pronounced dead earlier today. He was en route to England back in 1988 when he lost just papers and could not board a flight or leave the airport for 18 years.

[18:50:04]

Sad news about his passing. Sorry to hear that. Not long from now, we're expecting results from the remaining 22,000 ballots from Clark County, Nevada, which could decide which party will control the Senate. Right now, once again, Republican Adam Laxalt leads Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto by less than 900 votes. We'll be keeping you updated and all that throughout the evening.

As I said, Wolf Blitzer coming up next. That's the news reporting from Washington. I'm Jim Acosta. See you back here tomorrow at 3 p.m. Eastern. "THE SITUATION ROOM" with the incomparable Wolf Blitzer starts right now.