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Georgia to Pick Warnock or Walker in Tuesday's Senate Runoff; Pro-Reform Group Says Hijab Under Review Amid Protests; Targeted Substation Attack Investigated in North Carolina; England, France Shine at World Cup. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired December 05, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster joining you live from London. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Georgia Senate runoff campaign entering the final stretch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ready to win this election?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just got to get out and vote. It's time to have our voices heard and our vote counted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And England are flying now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only objective for me is to win the World Cup.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Massive power outage which has left more than 40,000 people without electricity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I can say this, this individual that done this, it was targeted. It wasn't random.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

FOSTER: It is Monday, December 5th, 9 a.m. here in London, 4:00 a.m. in the U.S. state of Georgia where a high stakes runoff election to determine who will hold the final Senate seat is just a little more than 24 hours away.

NOBILO: On Tuesday voters will hit the polls to choose between incumbent Democrat, Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger, Herschel Walker. Both will be back on the campaign trail in the hours ahead after a weekend push to reach voters. Democrats hope for a Warnock win to solidify the majority.

Ahead of Tuesday's election more than 1.8 million people across Georgia cast ballots during early voting. Now time is running out for both candidates to sway those still undecided. CNN's Dianne Gallagher has the latest from Loganville, Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Georgia Senate runoff campaign entering the final stretch, just days to go really a matter of hours. More than 1.85 million Georgians have already cast ballots. But a woman told me today I feel like we're always voting in Georgia. And that's what the campaigns are up against here. In an election fatigued state, making sure that the people who haven't already voted actually show up on election day.

Now, here in Loganville, Georgia, Republican Herschel Walker was joined by Republican Senators Tim Scott and Joe Kennedy. They spent a lot of time talking about former President Barack Obama who, of course, came to Georgia on Thursday to rally for Senator Warnock.

Now Herschel Walker in these final days hasn't changed his stump speech but is having more pointed attacks against Senator Warnock when it comes to missing Senate votes because he's been out campaigning and also working to tie him closely to President Biden.

Now, we are also seeing surrogates for Senator Warnock try and tie Herschel Walker to former President Trump. Senator Warnock keeping a very busy schedule for the duration of the total runoff period. He held a large event last night with the AAPI Victory Fund and also spent the day in Athens which is often considered Herschel Walker territory, the University of Georgia being there and outside of Atlanta in Gainesville. Warnock will maintain that aggressive campaign schedule through election day.

We've talked about Herschel Walker having a bit of a lighter campaign schedule, not having as many events. This was the only one today. That changes on Monday. The Walker campaign scheduling five different campaign events, a much more ramped up schedule than we have seen really throughout this entire runoff period as we go from days to hours before election day.

Dianne Gallagher, CNN, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBILO: Walker's camp may feel the pressure as the Republican candidate faces questions about his honesty and battles negative news including from some within his own party. A recent CNN poll found that nearly half of those who back Walker say their vote is more about opposition to Warnock than support for Walker. And then there are others like Georgia's Republican lieutenant governor who can't support either one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEOFF DUNCAN, GEORGIA LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: I showed up to vote this morning. I was one of those folks who got in line and spent about an hour waiting and, you know, it was the most disappointing ballot I've ever stared at in my entire life since I started voting. You know, I had two candidates that I just couldn't find anything that made sense for me to put my vote behind and so I walked out of that ballot box showing up to vote but not voting for either one of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:05:00]

FOSTER: Duncan may not be alone and that view could affect turnout. Tia Mitchell with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution breaks down how Republicans are split leading up to Tuesday's vote.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: It definitely is an interesting dynamic Republican side where you've got some Republicans who are those, you know, ultra conservative evangelical Christians, Georgians saying who all in for Herschel Walker. Then you have other Republicans who say he's not the best candidate, I have some concerns but I want to support Republicans. Those are the people like Geoff Duncan and some them are moving forward and they voted for Herschel Walker in the general election, they say they'll do so in the midterms even though they have reservations.

But there are some Republicans and the moderates, the independents who say Herschel Walker's controversies are too much for them to stomach. The question is, are there enough of them to sway this election, and how many of them are going to follow in Geoff Duncan's footsteps and stay home or go with those 200,000 split ticket voters we saw in the midterms and vote for Raphael Warnock? That's going to be a big question mark going into Tuesday.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: And Georgia's runoff between Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker is now two days away. CNN special coverage set to start at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday.

NOBILO: While all eyes are on Georgia, a potential battle is brewing over who will be the next U.S. House Speaker. Republican Kevin McCarthy insists the he'll have the votes needed to secure the position. But his conservative opponents say otherwise. Creating the possibility of a messy showdown that may bring uncertainty and chaos just as Republicans prepare to enter their new majority. Meantime, in coming minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat, is weighing in on all that's at stake from his party's point of view.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): Well, I think the question right now is, what are the Republicans going to do? From our standpoint we know what our mission is, the question on the other side of the aisle is, what will the Republicans do. Are they going to double and triple down on extremism that we've seen from people like Marjorie Taylor Greene? That would be unfortunate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: In New York, jury deliberations expected to begin later today in the criminal trial of the Trump Organization.

FOSTER: Prosecutors have urged the jury to focus only on the tax fraud allegations against the company not on politics, on former President Donald Trump. On Friday defense attorneys moved for a mistrial arguing the prosecutors prejudiced the jury by suggesting Trump and his kids were unindicted co-conspirators. They haven't been charged with any crimes. The judge ultimately denied the mistrial motion.

NOBILO: Nearly three months into the protests that have rocked Iran, a pro-reform outlet says an Iranian official has announced a review of the hijab law that requires women to cover their heads.

Now, the announcement likely aimed at quieting anti-government demonstrations that have swept Iran since the death of Mahsa Amini in mid-September. The reforms group -- the reform group, rather, quotes the Attorney General saying Iran's Parliament and judiciary are reviewing the law which came into effect decades ago. He's also quoted as saying Iran has abolished its so-called morality police tasked with enforcing the dress code. Let's bring in Salma Abdelaziz -- it is Monday morning.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT It is Monday morning.

FOSTER: I'm developing some confusion about exactly what's been announced here. What do you understand -- Salma?

ABDELAZIZ: So, let's break down these comments over the last few days from Iran's Attorney General. I me, I'll start with the controversial one where there seems to be misinformation around or misinterpretation rather, around these headlines saying that the morality police as been abolished. This came from an off the cuff remark, a response to a reporter's question to Iran's Attorney General asking where are the morality police because they largely have not been seen on the streets. And he responded saying that they may have been shut down or that it belongs to another ministry.

Now here's the important thing to remember. Take all of this with a grain of salt. Iran's state media has already pushed back saying that the morality police falls actually under the interior ministry not under the judiciary. And it's important to remember, if Iran's morality police was abolished, this would be a major thing, right. You would expect a huge announcement, well-orchestrated and not something vague and unclear. So, put that to one side.

The other announcement was the review of the hijab law. That was an announcement made Thursday. It is being reviewed by the judiciary and the Parliament according to Iran's Attorney General and could see an announcement on what that review resulted in in the next couple of weeks.

NOBILO: So, what changes, if any, could be on the cards in Iran?

ABDELAZIZ: That's the key question here.

[04:10:00]

Because, yes, these demonstrations started out as an opposition to the morality police, in opposition to the mandatory hijab law, but they've morphed into something so much bigger than that over the last few months and weeks. Now these protesters are demanding very serious changes. They're talking about the overthrow of Iran's Islamic establishment, scrapping the whole system, just reviewing the hijab law, that's not going to be enough to satisfy them.

FOSTER: OK, Salma, thank you.

Now, it could be several days before thousands of people get electricity back in one county in North Carolina. We'll have details on the investigation and who damaged two power substations and why.

NOBILO: And we'll have a live report from Doha previewing Monday's World Cup action as well as Neymar's expected return to the pitch for Brazil.

And there's a winter weather warning for the Western U.S. We'll go live to the Weather Center for the latest on how bad it could get.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Nearly 2,000 have been forced from their homes amid an ongoing volcanic eruption in Indonesia.

[04:15:00]

NOBILO: No casualties have been reported so far but the eruption forced people to get to safety anyway they could. Many covered in caustic ash.

Mount Semeru in Easter Java erupted early on Sunday emitting a plume that reached out shoot of roughly 50,000 feet or 15 kilometers.

NOBILO: The smog and fog in the air can irritate the respiratory system and be dangerous. Officials are handing out thousands of masks.

FOSTER: Now lave continues to flow from Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano with molten rock creeping closer to the Big Island's main highway. As of Sunday, the lava was moving about 40 feet per hour or about 12 meters.

NOBILO: That's not stopping some people from getting a closer look as tourists and locals flock to witness the world's largest active volcano. Hawaii's governor is urging visitors to follow instructions from local officials.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID IGE, HAWAII GOVERNOR: We continue to encourage residents and visitors to stay tuned to Hawaii county's civil defense. They have set up a viewing area and certainly if -- for those who want to see the volcano, we're encouraging them to listen to instructions and cooperate with everyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: The West Coast of the U.S. mainland is bracing for snow and rain right now.

FOSTER: And nearly 3 million people across six states are under winter weather alerts, heavy mountain snow falling in the Sierras. The system is expected to continue to move inland and dump more snow on the Rockies and could also bring up to three inches of rain at lower elevations in the next 48 hours.

NOBILO: To give us some perspective on all of this fire and ice, we're joined by CNN meteorologist Britley Ritz. Britley, tell us more.

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, absolutely We've already picked up over 20 inches of snowfall through parts of the Sierras. As prime example, Soda Springs and Mammoth Mountain and this is just within the last 24 hours. More snow expected, you saw the alerts. Winter weather advisories for parts of the central and northern Rockies. Here we have a foot of snow expected as the system continues to push eastward.

And an additional one to two feet on top of what was already picked up under the winter storm warnings, the Sierras. And these are areas over 4,000 feet that could pick up an additional two to three, possibly four feet of snow at the lower elevations one to two.

Regardless, snow and rain pushing on to shore. More bands expected throughout the rest of today and within the next 24 hours. So, this is an ongoing system. And then we also have to keep our eyes out for not only additional snowfall out west but rain out across the southeast.

With the system lifting back north as a warm front now we're dealing with the potential of flooding. The areas highlighted in yellow, a slight risk, that's southern Tennessee and parts of Alabama as well as Mississippi and Georgia. These are areas that could get one to two inches starting tonight into tomorrow with additional rainfall expected throughout the rest of the week. Which is great, we need the rain, the problem is the ground is so dry, we can't get it to absorb fast enough. So, it's more of a flash flooding concern.

Parts of Tennessee, most of Tennessee, 95 percent of at under a drought. This is good but again, bad at the same time with additional rainfall over the next two to three days' time, we could pick up close to five inches when it's all said and done.

NOBILO: Britley, thank you so much.

FOSTER: Tens of thousands in North Carolina's Moore County are under a mandatory curfew after police reported a targeted attack on the power grid. NOBILO: Authorities say that at least two electrical substations were

damaged by gunfire on Saturday night and now the FBI has joined the investigation. CNN's Gloria Pazmino has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And we're learning a little bit more about exactly what went on in Moore County. What led to that massive power outage which has left more than 40,000 people without electricity. Moore County located about 90 miles east of Charlotte, in North Carolina. And officials today confirming that they found that gunfire had been shot into two substations in the area. That led to those substations failing and the power going out for thousands of people.

We have also learned that a gate was removed off its hinges presumably as people or this person who may be behind this tried to gain access to the property.

Now, the investigation still very much on early stages. Officials talking about how they believe this was a targeted and intentional act, but not much they can say so far about motive.

RONNIE FIELDS, MOORE COUNTY SHERIFF: No motivation. Nobody is -- no group has stepped up to acknowledge or accept it, they're the ones that have done it.

[04:20:00]

So, yeah, I call them cowards. I could say this, this individual that done this, it was targeted, it wasn't random.

PAZMINO: Now as the investigation continues, local officials have instituted a mandatory curfew this evening in an effort to keep people off the roads, traffic lights and traffic signals in the area are not working. So, they are trying to keep the roads clear to avoid any kind of accidents. Public schools also will be closed on Monday and officials are acknowledging that the damage that these two substations sustained could take days to repair.

It is significant damage that will require equipment to be brought into the area. They said they believe it could be at least until Thursday until that property and that machinery can be fixed. So, it is certainly a point of concern considering it is very cold in the area and people will be likely without power for a few more days.

In New York, Gloria Pazmino, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: To the football, defending champions France sent Poland home for the World Cup with a 3-1 victory. You can see the French team celebrating in the changing room after another dominating performance but the party didn't stop there.

NOBILO: The English team brought the party back to the hotel after the match having defeated Senegal, 3-0. They won it without star Raheem Sterling. British media reports say that he is leaving Qatar after armed intruders broke into his home while his family were there.

FOSTER: And let's have a look ahead at Monday's action. First Japan takes on 2018 runner-up Croatia and later number one ranked Brazil faces South Korea.

NOBILO: For more on the World Cup we're joined by Amanda Davis who is at the center of the action in Doha. Amanda, talk us through what happened yesterday and also what's coming up.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Morning, both. Yes, it seems it's getting quite competitive. These returns back to team hotels after the sides have been victorious. The reception the winning sides are getting with the balloons and the staff and the flags but they certainly look to be enjoying it, don't they?

I feel like I had to apologize to the Senegal fans as I bought my coffee this morning, because of England's convincing performance last night. Booking their place really with relative ease into the quarterfinals to set up that meeting against France. The England boss, Gareth Southgate, talking of France as the toughest test his side could face in the next round given their strength and depth as a squad.

And, of course, because of the form of Kylian Mbappe who was really scoring goals for fun at the moment. Another two against Poland taking his total to five here in Qatar at this tournament, nine World Cup goals in total. So, that sees him overtake both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, a career World Cup goals.

All eyes today, though, will be on Mbappe Paris Saint-Germain's teammate, Neymar. Who you might remember as being in that race against time for their game against South Korea having limped off with that ankle injury in their opening game against Serbia. His boss said he was hopeful that Neymar would be fit to start today depending on how he was in training on Sunday night.

And I can tell you, the 30-year-old channeled a little bit of James Brown on his Instagram last night after the training session saying, I feel good, I knew that I would now.

I mean, try saying that without bursting into song.

Anyway, South Korea are going to be no pushovers. They are a team that beat both the 2010 and 2014 champions in their group stage seeing off Spain and Germany to book their place in the knockout round for the first time since 2010.

But if Brazil needed any extra motivation in their quest for a sixth world title, of course, so many well wishes being sent to the legendary 82-year-old Pele who is continuing his treatment for cancer in hospital. There have been reports of his deteriorating condition, but he did send a message over the weekend saying he is feeling strong and the treatment still going to plan.

So, Japan -- South Korea against Brazil, the later kickoff before that though. Japan against the 2018 runners-up Croatia as you mentioned.

FOSTER: Our thoughts very much with Pele but also with Raheem Sterling. A horrible situation for him. His family apparently vulnerable to some extent. He's gone back. They're playing again on Saturday, aren't they. So, what's his manager saying?

[04:25:00]

DAVIES: Yes, I mean there's still a lot that hasn't been revealed with this story, Max. We know that actually just a couple of weeks ago I spoke to Raheem Sterling. His family were moving house that weekend. He's got a new young child. I think with five children now and we have seen in the past, haven't we, these stories where footballers who so publicly are obviously not at home because they're at major tournaments playing games.

We've seen this report that there has been an incident that has occurred at his home involving his family. And we understand having had discussions with the England setup he has taken the decision to return home. Reports very much still the information still emerging. We understand the English camp have given him the option of returning for the quarterfinal if he so wishes. But you suspect at the moment his immediate focus will be on his family, on his home and we will see what happens next.

FOSTER: Of course, a huge decision for him and yes, we can understand totally. Amanda, thank you very much for joining us from Doha.

Now a price cap on Russian oil coming into force. We'll take a closer look at the impact that could have just ahead.

NOBILO: Plus, Russian forces concentrate their attacks on the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut while the Ukraine's military says the city is now Moscow's number one target.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: All right, welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster. If you are just joining us, let me bring you up to date with the top stories.

This hour we are just one day away from Georgia's crucial runoff election for the final U.S. Senate seat. Voters will choose between Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger Herschel Walker. While the race won't determine control of the Senate, a Warnock victory would give Democrats an outright majority ...

[04:30:00]