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New Round Of Explosives Seen Tonight At Israel-Gaza Border; Blinken Meets Arab Leaders In Jordan Tonight; Netanyahu: Israel Opposes Temporary Ceasefire Unless Hostages Freed. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired November 04, 2023 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. Good evening. Right now, it's 2 a.m. in Gaza, but there will likely be little sleep for many people there tonight. Tonight, we've been watching multiple images of multiple explosions of lighting up the night sky around Gaza City. CNN's Nic Robertson in Sderot, Israel, witnessed some big secondary explosions and a huge fire in Gaza. Nic and his crew also witnessed eight rockets being fired from Gaza. In Israel, the IDF tells CNN that six of the eight rockets were intercepted by that country's Iron Dome defense system. Israeli Police say there are no reports of casualties that they can pass along at this moment.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken has wrapped up his meeting with Arab leaders in Jordan. He is now heading to Turkey. Blinken stressed support for Israel to implement what's been called humanitarian pauses in the fighting in Gaza that is far short of the ceasefire wanted by Arab countries and international aid agencies. Minutes ago, Israel's Military said it would allow a window tomorrow for civilians in Gaza to move to the south.
Let's begin this hour in Israel. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Tel Aviv. Ed, what can you tell us about this latest round of rockets being fired from Gaza? What's the latest on your end?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, another tense and excruciating night of war here inside of Gaza. Earlier tonight, just several hours ago, our Nic Robertson reporting to us that some eight rockets were launched toward Israel from inside of Gaza. And the Israeli Defense Force says that the Iron Dome protection system was used, activated and used to shoot down about six of those eight missiles. There were no reports that we know so far of any casualties on the ground here in Israel from the two that presumably landed somewhere. Many of those rockets. Jim, according to what we've been able to see is, were targeted and directed and struck down over the area just south of Tel Aviv. So, quite a distance away from Gaza.
But, all of this unfolding as Israeli Defense Forces continue fighting inside of Gaza. They say they're trying to dismantle that tunnel system which is basically the home and where Hamas fighters are operating from. But, we've also seen excruciating images of some of the airstrikes that have been ongoing for the last several hours inside of Gaza, and try to get a sense of just the scope of the magnitude of the attacks. And there has been a great deal of criticism as we all well know of the way Israel forces have been carrying out some of these attacks, and the toll that it is taking on civilian populations.
Earlier today, just several hours before this latest round of fighting that we've been able to document, here in Tel Aviv there was a large protest, hundreds of supporters and family members of the 241 Israeli hostages that are still being held inside of Gaza. There was a rally outside of the Military's government building here in Tel Aviv where protesters had gathered. They were demanding that more be done from the Benjamin Netanyahu's government here in Israel to get those hostages released. It has been nearly a month since those 241 people have been in custody. Organizers of the event try to point out that this is not an anti-government protest, but more an effort to try to get the focus back on those 241 hostages that remain being held inside of Gaza. Jim.
ACOSTA: All right, Ed Lavandera, thank you very much.
Earlier tonight, we learned that President Biden was briefed by national security officials, including Secretary of State Tony Blinken. CNN's Jennifer Hansler is traveling with the Secretary, and has the latest from Amman, Jordan.
JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER: Well, Jim, we saw Blinken standing alone among his Arab counterparts here in Amman today. He was the only one to oppose a ceasefire. You saw the Jordanian Foreign Minister, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, both calling for an immediate stop to the fighting in Gaza, this ceasefire would be for an undetermined amount of time, in order to appease the humanitarian catastrophe there on the ground. Blinken instead is trying to bridge this gap by calling for what he is calling a humanitarian pause. This would be a temporary stop to the fighting, not long enough to allow Hamas to regroup and potentially reattack Israel. This is how he described it today.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The United States believes that all of these efforts would be facilitated by humanitarian pauses. We believe pauses can be a critical mechanism for protecting civilians, for getting aid in, for getting foreign nationals out, while still enabling Israel to achieve its objectives to defeat Hamas.
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HANSLER: And, Jim, we should note this is something that Blinken pushed in the meetings with top Israeli officials yesterday in Tel Aviv. This is something that he said the U.S. thought would be beneficial to Israel and to the wider region, and this is something that Benjamin Netanyahu came out and rejected. Almost immediately after their meeting, he said there would be no stop in fighting, whether it was temporary or a permanent ceasefire until Hamas releases those hostages.
Now, Blinken sought to address some of the common grounds between he and his Arab partners here in Amman today. He said they are all focused on getting more humanitarian assistance into Gaza, and they want to see this regional conflict not spread. And this is, of course, a message he will be bringing to Turkey as he travels there in the coming days. Jim.
ACOSTA: Jennifer Hansler, thank you very much.
Joining us now to discuss with CNN Military Analyst, retired Air Force Colonel, Cedric Leighton, Colonel Leighton. You're seeing Tony Blinken trying I think his best from a diplomatic standpoint to get these two sides to get close to somewhere resembling middle ground, calling for these humanitarian pauses. Arab leaders in Jordan obviously wanted that ceasefire. Netanyahu is not going to do that right now. There is just no way. I was talking to one of his top advisors, Mark Regev, earlier today. They want hostages released.
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes.
ACOSTA: They want hostages out before anything like that is going to come to pass. Your sense of things right now.
LEIGHTON: Yes, absolutely, Jim. And I think we have to keep in mind, as easy as it is to say we want a ceasefire or we want a humanitarian pause, it becomes really essential to understand the Israeli position. And you have to put yourself in their shoes for a second and say, hey, I have -- my people are being held hostage at this point in time. I want them back before I do anything. And so, from that standpoint, it's very understandable that the Israelis would have that position. Now, on the other hand, you have the situation with the Palestinian civilians in Gaza who absolutely desperately need a pause in the fighting. So, that middle ground that you talked about, that Secretary Blinken is trying to achieve, is really one in which there is a pause in the fighting, but Israel is allowed to achieve its goals.
And it's very hard to really thread that needle because those seem like diametrically opposed interests in some ways. So, the Israelis want to move forward militarily. The U.S. has a vested interest along with the Arab nations in limiting the damage that has been done to the Palestinian civilians. So, it's a really, really tough and difficult situation from that standpoint.
ACOSTA: And let's talk about these civilian casualties in Gaza, this Israeli airstrike on two ambulances in Gaza overnight. There was a UN school that was being used to shelter refugees. That was also apparently hit earlier today. We talked to the Israeli, the IDF spokesman earlier this evening. They keep stressing, well, we're trying to minimize civilian casualties. We're not targeting civilian facilities and so on, but they're hitting them.
LEIGHTON: Yes.
ACOSTA: And we're seeing the images come out. How much longer can the Israelis do this without really risking the support of the Americans? Because it sounds as though, well, Blinken, Biden are all saying we're standing with Israel. It really sounds as though behind the scenes they're putting on a lot of pressure for some of this to ratchet down.
LEIGHTON: Yes. That's my sense, as well, because what the Biden administration is saying to the Israelis privately is very clearly, you need to be more precise in your targeting. You need to be doing things to minimize this kind of activity. Now, there could be difficulties that the Israelis are having from a military technical perspective in getting things exactly right, the right coordinates, the right fusing even on the bombs.
ACOSTA: Well, when I was talking to Mark Regev, he was saying we also have this issue of Hamas using civilian facilities --
LEIGHTON: Absolutely.
ACOSTA: -- for military strategic purposes. And so, how do we differentiate between the two? I mean, obviously, at some point, the Israelis have to prove that that's what's taking place.
LEIGHTON: Yes. That's exactly the problem, because the world sees the school being bombed or two ambulances being hit, and those things are actually happening. The problem that the Israelis have is they get intelligence saying that these things are being used for Hamas purposes. So, you have a choice -- in the military, you have a choice, are you going to hit a target like that and eliminate it at the risk of killing civilians, or are you going to let it go and hit that target another day? There are ways to do that. It requires a lot of patience and a lot of really fine-grained intelligence to make those decisions.
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And even with that, you can make a lot of operational mistakes. The United States has made some operational mistakes that way.
ACOSTA: Absolutely.
LEIGHTON: And so, we have to be -- in our criticism of Israel, we have to also understand there are a lot of limitations to what can be done in that sense as well.
ACOSTA: And we've been watching this extraordinary reporting from our Jeremy Diamond this afternoon. He was able to embed with IDF forces briefly to go in and see some of the fighting that is happening on the ground inside of Gaza. One has to think that that is really ultimately the next stage in all of this, because from a military standpoint, there is only so much you can accomplish with these kinds of bunker buster type bombs that blow things up, create huge craters, result in a lot of civilian casualties, and you don't know whether or not you're getting these tunnels, whether you're getting these Hamas leaders.
LEIGHTON: One of the key difficulties that you have when you target something like tunnels is how do you do battle damage assessment for something like that. And battle damage assessment is a key process to determine whether or not you actually struck the target, whether or not you achieved your goals for that particular piece of ordnance. And in this particular case, Jim, what you're looking at is you're going to run out of bunkers that you can safely hit without damaging the civilian infrastructure. And clearly, they've already damaged a lot of pieces there in that way.
ACOSTA: And we've been seeing some increased activity tonight. We can show the footage. But, we saw some pretty dramatic explosions taking place earlier on in this program. Our Nic Robertson and his crew are close by witnessing some of this. What do you suppose is going on with some of these? I mean, these are just massive explosions that you can see from inside of Gaza.
LEIGHTON: Yes. So -- and this obviously shot from Israel, but it is close enough. It's happening close enough to the border that it can be seen.
ACOSTA: Yes.
LEIGHTON: And one of the key elements here is these look like a lot of ammunition dumps are being hit, a lot of other areas, perhaps rocket launch facilities, all of those kinds of things that either have munitions or fuel. Those things can actually give off spectacular explosions when they're hit by ordnance, even normal artillery shells. So --
ACOSTA: So, that might be what we were seeing there.
LEIGHTON: That is a possibility. Yes, absolutely, Jim. Absolutely.
ACOSTA: OK. All right. Col. Leighton, great to see you as always. Thanks so much.
LEIGHTON: Thank you, Jim.
ACOSTA: As I just mentioned, CNN got rare access to what's happening inside Gaza. Next, what our Jeremy Diamond saw and learned while embedded with the IDF in Gaza? Those images coming up in just a moment.
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ACOSTA: CNN was part of the first group of foreign journalists allowed into Gaza with Israeli forces. The journalists were embedded, meaning they had to stay with the IDF in Gaza, and could not move around freely, and news outlets have to agree to submit all footage to the Israeli Military before it can be published. CNN has agreed to these terms in order to provide a limited window into Israel's operations in Gaza. And CNN's Jeremy Diamond was there. Jeremy, what can you tell us about what you saw? And I guess how much of an indication did you get that this is really the next stage to come for the IDF?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, one, we can say Israel's grounds offensive in Gaza. The Israeli Military agreed to give us access to an Israeli Military position about a kilometer inside Gaza. This position was overlooking Gaza City. And I can tell you, it was very much an active combat zone. We were hearing multiple firefights happening between Hamas militants and Israeli soldiers while we were at this military position. The fighting was happening about 100 meters away from us. And effectively, the Israeli Military is trying to cut off the northern part of Gaza from the south as they encircle Gaza City.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): At this Israeli Military post on the outskirts of Gaza City, the fighting is fierce.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's OK. It's OK. It's us.
LT. COL. GILAD PASTERNAK, 828TH BRIGADE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: OK. The center of the Gaza Strip, the IDF soldiers are fighting against the militants that are using all the houses that they can in order to harm and to get to the IDF soldiers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): One week into its ground defensive, Israel's Military says it has encircled Gaza City from posts like this.
DIAMOND: We're right now it is an Israeli Military post inside the Gaza Strip, about one kilometer inside of Gaza. Gaza City is just this way. And as you can hear behind me, there is a lot of ongoing fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas militants. What they are trying to do right now is to flank the Hamas positions. That's what the battalion commander just told me. And all of this intended to try and cut off Gaza City from the southern part of the strip as Israeli forces also move in from the north.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): CNN was part of a small group of reporters given access to Israeli forces inside Gaza for the first time since the outbreak of the war, entering Gaza using the same roads Hamas militants used to carry out their brutal attack on October 7.
PASTERNAK: And today we are going to the exact same roads, to the same neighborhoods, to their assembly area, to their trucks, in order to go there and be able to get them pay the price and to eliminate the Hamas organization that held this attack on the state of Israel.
DIAMOND: The Israeli Military is taking us into Gaza. We are inside an armored personnel carrier right now. (Inaudible) southern point of Gaza City.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): But still, Israeli forces face the danger of ambush from underground tunnels.
LT. COL. RAN CNAAN, 828TH BRIGADE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: And over there, over there, and inside the neighborhood also.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, in just this area, there are at least three tunnels. CNAAN: I believe, at least. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Israel says many of those tunnels lie below residential buildings, and for weeks it has relentlessly bombed those targets are killing and injuring thousands of civilians in the process.
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The forces here say they're now working to secure a humanitarian corridor to help civilians flee the heaviest fighting.
PASTERNAK: This is a huge objective for the brigade, the battalion right here. The population will be able to go from the north to the south, surely in (inaudible) in order to get the IDF do what it need to do in order to demolish Hamas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): For these soldiers, achieving that goal may see them deploy deep into Gaza City, where the prospect of deadly urban combat awaits.
PASTERNAK: Well, the IDF will be here as long as it takes, weeks, months or years, until it makes sure that Israel is safe and secured for the long-term view period. It will be you need to get inside Gaza, house by house. This is exactly what's going to happen.
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DIAMOND: And Jim, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli political and military leaders have made clear that the goal with this ground defensive is to eliminate Hamas, to remove it from power in Gaza. But, for now, they have encircled Gaza City. We know that they are operating in parts of Gaza City, but they haven't gone into the most densely populated areas. They haven't engaged in that kind of the most bloody, the most deadly kind of urban combat that could be expected if indeed they made that decision. For now, the soldiers that we met today say that they are prepared to go in if necessary, but they haven't yet gotten that order, it seems, Jim, and that's still seems an open question of how far is the Israeli Military willing to go into Gaza City. Jim.
ACOSTA: Yes. And that certainly is a critical stage to come. Jeremy Diamond, thanks very much for that reporting. Really appreciate it.
A U.S. Congressman canceled a planned town hall with his constituents, citing "threats against Jews. He joins me next to share what happened. Stay with us.
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ACOSTA: As war rages in Gaza, we're continuing to monitor the rise of antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents. Back here in the U.S., Democratic Congressman Greg Landsman of Ohio postponed a town hall scheduled for today in his district due to security concerns. The Congressman, who is Jewish, released a statement saying in part it was because of "problematic online discourse and very serious national threats against Jews." And Congressman Landsman joins me now. Congressman, tell us about what happened.
REP. GREG LANDSMAN (D-OH): Yes. So, you've seen, obviously, the antisemitic attacks, the violence against both Jews and Muslims. But, we've seen just an explosion of antisemitism in the United States, and there have been threats to members. And the House Sergeant of Arms has said, hey, be very careful. If you don't have to do these events, don't do it. And then, there were -- there was a lot online local chatter. There was going to be a protest and a sit in. And that wasn't a problem. There was some additional chatter that suggested to law enforcement that they should just pull it down. And folks don't want to be put in a position where they're not going to be safe.
ACOSTA: And Congressman, did you receive some specific threat? Is that what really pushed this over the edge where you had to cancel?
LANDSMAN: No, not a specific threat on my life or anything like that. I think this is part of the issue is that you have, folks who are well-intentioned, potentially, that -- not to stand in solidarity with folks who are really suffering in Gaza. But, there are very problematic, dangerous rhetoric that comes along with it, unfortunately, sometimes where you see Israel is racist or Israel is pursuing genocide. And as Jews, that is very, very scary. And so, there has been protests in front of our offices, Jewish members, and certainly my office. But, it was just chatter that local folks, law enforcement thought was particularly problematic, and there was just no reason to put people in harm's way.
ACOSTA: And what is your sense of this sharp rise we've seen in antisemitism and Islamophobia in the U.S. right now, and how do we get to a place where some of that is knocked back? Is it really just going to -- is this something that we're going to have to live with as kind of a new normal while Israel and Hamas are at war with one another?
LANDSMAN: So, I think there are three reasons why it's happening. One is that there is legitimate anger and stress, anxiety, frustration, hurt, both from the Jewish community and the Muslim community. I spent a lot of time with both. We have big Jewish and Muslim communities in Southwest Ohio, and both communities are grieving. And so, there is real frustration there. And then, our foreign adversaries want us fighting with each other. And so, they're spending money to put a lot of this awfulness, whether it's antisemitic or is anti-Muslim nonsense on social media platforms, and that --
ACOSTA: Yes.
LANDSMAN: -- doesn't help.
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It blows the fire.
ACOSTA: Right.
LANDSMAN: But then, it's just online people are. And we got to get offline and spend time with each other, and that's the way we're going to get past this.
ACOSTA: Well, let me ask you about some of the heated rhetoric that one of your Democratic colleagues, Rashida Tlaib, has been using. Let me play this. We will get your response.
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REP. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-MI): Mr. President, the American people are not with you on this one. We will remember in 2024.
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ACOSTA: Congressman, she is saying that President Biden is "supporting genocide". And I think you probably also heard some chants from the river to the sea, which is viewed as very antisemitic, very anti- Israeli. What is your response to all this?
LANDSMAN: Very sad by -- saddened by it, frustrated, scared. It is -- I will tell you, as a Jew, it's scary. And I've tried to practice what I preach. I've talked to Rashida many times about this. And each time I feel like I've made some progress, and then this happens. I just -- the -- from the river to the sea, I think there people who are saying it, and they don't really understand what it means. It means no more. There is no more Israel. There is no --
ACOSTA: Right.
LANDSMAN: It means getting rid of the Jewish state of Israel, and Jews with it. And so, it is antisemitic. It is anti-Israel. It is the definition of anti-Israel. And so, that is going to lead to more violence, and it's very problematic. Now, I will say, there are folks on the far right who are making matters worse too by introducing yesterday or the day before a new Muslim ban only focused on removing Palestinians. It's awful, un-American, and also very, very dangerous.
ACOSTA: All right. Congressman Greg Landsman, thank you very much. I hope the temperature goes down for you. Appreciate your time this evening.
LANDSMAN: Thank you.
ACOSTA: Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to take the stand Monday in the fraud trial in New York. What might happen when he "swears to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?" That can be a problem for him, one would think. We'll talk about that next.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ACOSTA: Former President Donald Trump is expected to take the witness stand Monday in his New York civil fraud trial. And in the words of his son, Eric, he is "fired up".
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ERIC TRUMP, CO-DEFENDANT IN NY CIVIL FRAUD TRIAL: My father is certainly going to be here. I know he is very fired up to be here. And he thinks that this is one of the most incredible injustices that he has ever seen. And it truly is.
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ACOSTA: Shan Wu joins us now to break it all down. He is a Defense Attorney, former Federal Prosecutor. One of the greatest injustices, as Eric out it there, they're not prone to hyperbole in the Trump family.
SHAN WU, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, & DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I mean, he has seen plenty.
ACOSTA: Yes. He has seen plenty. No question about it. Do you think Trump takes the stand and testifies in his own defense, doing more than just taking the Fifth or avoiding testifying?
WU: I think he is going to, because in the civil trials, Jim, you get that adverse inference drawn against you on the count that --
ACOSTA: Right.
WU: -- if you don't testify.
ACOSTA: Yes.
WU: But, I also think that he wants to. I mean, I think he is going to play it for all it's worth. He made believe that he could convince the judge that there is some merit or whatever he is saying. But, I mean, the really interesting part is going to be how disciplined can he be? I mean, I would expect that with all the preparation, he'll stay on message for a little bit. But, I can't imagine that he stays very tight and concise in the entire testimony.
ACOSTA: Well, and in these criminal cases, it's in his best interest not to say anything, to --
WU: Right.
ACOSTA: -- just completely clam up. But, as you were saying, in the civil fraud case, if you don't testify, the judge can infer from that, oh, you must have something to hide here. And Trump may decide he might as well go for it if everybody -- if what everybody is saying about Trump is true that his business holdings, his business empire, if you still want to call it that, that's the most near and dear to him. And he may have to, in his mind, pull out all the stops to try to protect it.
WU: Oh, absolutely.
ACOSTA: Yes.
WU: I think it kind of plays right into his idea for his campaign too, that he is being victimized and he wants to make that point, and to point out that he doesn't really know what's happening. I'm going to defense this. We rely on the accountant's defense. We saw that with both the brothers, and certainly expect more of that from him.
ACOSTA: Do you think the brothers helped their family cause in what they said in court last week?
WU: I don't think so. Yes. I don't think so, mostly because they kind of went too far. It's like the lady doth protest too much.
ACOSTA: Yes.
WU: Totally --
ACOSTA: It's the accountant's fault. It's the --
WU: Yes. I mean, having no knowledge of it at all. I mean, like, with Don Jr., Wharton grad, saying he doesn't even understand the rudimentaries of accounting. It just really stresses that it's too incredible. I mean, if they'd made some good faith effort to say we were involved, we have some defenses, even though you think it is fraud, we didn't have these intentions, give something to the judge instead of just taking this position that absolutely not our fault. We didn't know anything about it.
ACOSTA: And if the numbers are the numbers, the numbers say things were inflated and so on --
WU: Right.
ACOSTA: -- there is not a whole lot you can't say, I mean, that the judge may just go off of what the evidence in the case shows at the end of this.
WU: Oh, absolutely. And I think by hurting their credibility, it makes it more likely that the judge's sanction is going to be stronger or the more harsh.
ACOSTA: Yes. Let me ask you about the Mar-a-Lago documents case. Judge Aileen Cannon indicated that she may be open to the idea of delaying that trial. Obviously, the Trump defense strategy is to postpone this until after the 2024 election0, in the event that he wins, he can pardon himself or try to pardon himself and so on. What did you think of that that she seemed open to this idea of delaying the case?
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WU: I think a lot of folks have been waiting to see some revealing of her weenings (ph) on this.
ACOSTA: Yes. WU: And it's not a hard case to delay. I mean, a lot of people have said, I said that before, I can get it delayed in my sleep, because there are some legitimate reasons to delay it, complexity, the classified sensitive documents. But, the way that she is weening now, it seems pretty clear that she is quite open to the delay. And also, she is actually getting rather snarky with the prosecutors, I think.
ACOSTA: You are right. What was that all about?
WU: Yes. I think probably the prosecutors were also getting kind of snarky with her. I mean, it's very nuanced when they said to her, don't be manipulated by the Trump team. That's really suggesting that she is capable being manipulated. A better way to phrase it would have been they're trying to manipulate you. But, there is obviously no love lost between them at this point. And I think that she has some legit reasons to delay it, and she certainly wants to delay it.
ACOSTA: If the documents case, and that is one of the cases, and I think you and I've talked about this, where Trump may be in the most danger --
WU: Right.
ACOSTA: -- in terms of a conviction, a felony conviction. If that case gets delayed until after the 2024 election, is it all really riding on the federal elections subversion case? I mean, we know that the Fulton County case, of course --
WU: Right.
ACOSTA: -- could also ensnare Trump. But, in terms of Trump being convicted of a federal felony, it may all come down to this election subversion case if the documents case is postponed. And that means there is a lot riding.
WU: Oh, absolutely. I mean, the pressure there is immense. I think you see that, the awareness of that and what the Jack Smith team has tried to do, trying to have a very pared down indictment. Everything was built for speed on that case. They have a good judge for that. She is interested in getting it tried as well. But, I think that really is the only hope of something happening before the election.
ACOSTA: It's a tale of two judges, Judge Cannon.
WU: Right.
ACOSTA: They want to delay Judge Chutkan.
WU: Yes.
ACOSTA: It's almost threatening Trump, I'll speed things up if you keep acting up in this court.
WU: Oh, yes. Absolutely.
ACOSTA: And what are the prospects of actually being able to have a reasonable and effective gag order on Trump in any of these cases? It seems like he is blowing through them. It's almost ineffective at this point.
WU: I think it is effective at this point. I mean, they can ramp up the sanctions, both financially. They could really consider putting him in jail. I just don't think any of these courts have the appetite to actually put him in jail --
ACOSTA: Right.
WU: -- during this time. So, for him, it's really a no lose proposition. He can just say all these are attempts to gag me, to silence me, becoming your candidate. And he just keeps going with it. I think it's very, very hard to control him at this point.
ACOSTA: All right. Very good. Shan Wu, as always, thanks so much. Appreciate it. We will never put a gag order on you.
WU: Thank you.
ACOSTA: Welcome anytime. Say whatever you want. We appreciate.
All right. Coming up, Election Day is Tuesday next, the key races and ballot issues that could impact next year's presidential election, that's next.
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ACOSTA: We are three days from Election Day, and there are some key races worth watching. CNN's Senior Data Reporter Harry Enten joins us with a breakdown. Harry, let's start in Ohio where voters will decide on a constitutional amendment regarding abortion. A lot riding on these upcoming contests.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: A lot riding on these upcoming contests, Jim.
ACOSTA: Yes.
ENTEN: It's an off-year election, but I'm into it no matter what election year it is.
ACOSTA: I know.
ENTEN: All right? And you mentioned Ohio. I think that's of course the biggest sort of player this year, and the big player is this Ohio abortion ballot measure. A "yes" is a vote for abortion rights, "no" is against. Now, this is the chance of winning. And the chance based upon historical data and the polling data that I've looked at is about an 80 percent chance that in fact "yes" for abortion rights is going to win. Now, that's still within the margin of error. "No" still has a chance. But "yes" is the clear favorite. And you may remember, there was a proxy vote, a proxy ballot measure back in August in which the abortion -- the proxy "yes" for abortion rights --
ACOSTA: Right.
ENTEN: -- won. So, that would line up with what we're seeing and what I'm expecting at least on Tuesday, "yes" for abortion rights. And I should note, of course, there have been six other ballot measures for abortion rights on different red states, blue states since, Roe v. Wade was overturned. Every single time, abortion rights won. This looks like it's going to be the seventh.
ACOSTA: Yes. That national trend continues, and there is a race, a close race for Governor in Kentucky. What about that one?
ENTEN: Yes. So, this is a very interesting race. Andy Beshear, the Democratic incumbent governor, chance of winning again, 60 percent chance of winning. Daniel Cameron, the Republican Attorney General, 40 percent chance. That is well within the margin of error. At this particular point, I do think Andy Beshear is the favorite, but Daniel Cameron seems to be closing strong. And of course, remember, Kentucky is a very red state. So, the fact that a Democrat is even competitive at this point says a lot about Beshear's name, brand, in --
ACOSTA: Right.
ENTEN: -- the State of Kentucky.
ACOSTA: And how about Mississippi? I mean, this is one of my favorite races right now, the state's incumbent Republican Governor being challenged by a cousin of Elvis Presley.
ENTEN: And this is -- it's also one of my favorites. I just love Presley down in Mississippi.
ACOSTA: That was a feeble attack, by the way, at an Elvis impersonation. My apologies.
ENTEN: You know what? It was not bad. I will give you credit. I do wish perhaps to hit the lights on. You may be in a white suit. That might have worked a little better, Jim.
ACOSTA: I am definitely the old Elvis, which is sad, but thank you very much.
ENTEN: Come on. You're the young Elvis. I can get my mutton chops going a little bit --
ACOSTA: There you go.
ENTEN: -- depending on the time of the year. Look, chance of winning again, Tate Reeves, the incumbent Republican governor, is favored in this race at 70 percent chance of winning, Presley with about a 30 percent chance of winning. But, I will note that a number of people involved in the campaigns do believe that this race has closed in the final days, giving Presley a real shot of winning. But again, Mississippi, a very red state. So, Tate Reeves --
ACOSTA: Yes.
ENTEN: -- at this particular point, is the favorite, but again, within the margin of error.
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ACOSTA: Yes, absolutely. It does not -- that'll be a tough one, I think, for Brandon Presley. And let's talk about the time change tonight. There are some people who are really bitter about this. I don't mind it. I like the extra hour of sleep. But, what does the data tell us on this?
ENTEN: I guess my question is, how do you want us to keep time, right? We can keep the current system where we go back and forth. About 30 percent of Americans like that.
ACOSTA: Yes.
ENTEN: Daylight saving where we would not gain that extra hour of sleep, 38 percent, I like standard time only, 28 percent. We kept that extra hour sleep all year long, Jim.
ACOSTA: We cannot make up our minds on this issue either. It is pretty split, it seems. All right, Harry Enten, either way --
ENTEN: What else is new in this country?
ACOSTA: -- that's true. But, enjoy that extra hour asleep while it lasts. We appreciate it, as always. Harry is very fired up and very awake, unlike myself right now. So, I'll take that extra hour. Thanks so much, Harry. Be sure to check out Harry's podcast "Margins of Error". You can find it on your favorite podcast app or at cnn.com/audio.
The Beatles are back, kind of, and they say it's one final Beatles song. We'll break that down for you next with one of the original MTV VJs. There he is right there, Mark Goodman. Can't wait to talk about this in just a few moments. There he is, everybody. We'll be right back.
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ACOSTA: There it is, one last Beatles song, thanks to AI, Mark Goodman. The great Mark Goodwin joins us now, one of the original MTV VJs and host of SiriusXM's 80s on 8. Mark, great to see you. What do you think about all of this? Can you help us explain how this came together? I haven't been able to figure it out. But, it's incredible.
MARK GOODMAN, FORMER MTV VJ, & HOST, SIRIUSXM'S 80 ON 8 CHANNEL: Well, we were talking in the break about your sort of dislike of AI, and in this case, AI --
ACOSTA: Suspicion.
GOODMAN: -- is a hero.
ACOSTA: Yes.
GOODMAN: OK? People should not be confused. This is not fake John Lennon.
ACOSTA: Yes.
GOODMAN: This is -- everything on there is real. John's voice is real. Paul's voice is real. The harmonies, George's guitar, all real. AI just allowed them to lift John's voice out of that original really in rough demo.
ACOSTA: And it sounds amazing. You're absolutely right about this. AI is the hero here. And how are fans reacting to this, and what do you think of the song?
GOODMAN: This song is splitting the room, I got to say, Jim. There is plenty of people who were like, that's not the Beatles. This song doesn't hold up to Eleanor Rigby or any of the greatest of the Beatles.
ACOSTA: True.
GOODMAN: It's true. It doesn't hold up. It's not going to be a huge addition to their legacy or to their catalogue, but it's not going to ruin it either.
ACOSTA: And so, I mean, what is this -- what are the implications for music going forward? Does this mean that we'll see other songs coming from other recording artists that might be on a lost cassette or real somewhere that -- what do you think?
GOODMAN: It's certainly possible. This case, I think, is really getting so much attention, because obviously it's the Beatles. And I think there is a wistfulness. There is a romance to this song. Look, we -- even kids are loving to Beatles, teenagers. So, I think there is a real beauty to this, and it is Paul sort of saying goodbye to guys.
ACOSTA: Yes. And I'm OK with this. I mean, you and I were talking about this during the break. And I think you've convinced me. There is a part of you that sort of feels like, OK. Is technology trying to do too much here? Is it trying to do something that it just did not naturally come together when the band was together? What do you think of that skepticism about this that this is artificial?
GOODMAN: It is not. I mean, that's the thing. There is nothing that was created by AI on this record, nothing. Every track is real. As a matter of fact, they even went back and they used choruses from here, there, and everywhere, Eleanor Rigby. And because, in this song, these are original backing vocals from those songs, I can only find one of them, but they're all in there.
ACOSTA: And so, you're about keeping the 80s alive. I mean, talk about the power of nostalgia right now, and wanting to go back to the sounds that you and I grew up with. I remember watching you on MTV back in the day. I mean, I wish we could -- now I feel like MTV doesn't really show music. Maybe --
GOODMAN: That don't.
ACOSTA: -- that's more of a misnomer. Yes. It is catfish and a bunch of other stuff. Not sure. But, nostalgia, it really has a lot (inaudible).
GOODMAN: I don't look my daughter watching. When she was growing up, I didn't let her watch it.
ACOSTA: I don't blame you. I didn't either. I don't think my kids know what MTV is. But, anyway, putting that to the side, nostalgia.
GOODMAN: It's -- especially with something like The Beatles --
ACOSTA: Yes.
GOODMAN: -- they -- when it comes to music, everyone is most attached to the music of their adolescence.
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For me, it was The Beatles.
ACOSTA: Yes.
GOODMAN: For others, it's somebody today, fall-out boy.
ACOSTA: Yes.
GOODMAN: Or Olivia Rodrigo.
ACOSTA: Exactly. And maybe they will dig up some old tapes of those artists 20 or 30 years from now. We'll see where the technology is at that point.
GOODMAN: If someone cares about it. That's the thing.
ACOSTA: Yes.
GOODMAN: All the stuff that we are hearing, in 50 --
ACOSTA: Yes.
GOODMAN: -- or 100 years, the only thing left is going to be those four guys.
ACOSTA: Absolutely. All right. Well said. Mark Goodman, great to talk to you, as always. We'll have you back again soon. Thanks so much. And thank you everybody for joining with me this evening. I'm Jim Acosta. Don't forget to turn those clocks back an hour, and maybe play some Beatles tonight, later on tonight. Enjoy that extra hour of sleep. I will see you again tomorrow night at five. All stories done. The Whole Story is next.
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