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CNN International: Harris Sits Down With Radio Host Charlamagne tha God; Trump Declares Himself "Father Of IVF" At Town Hall Event; Trump Defends His "Enemy From Within" Comments. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired October 16, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Good morning or good evening, depending on where you're watching. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York.
Ahead on CNN Newsroom, it is crunch time in the U.S., with only 20 days until Election Day, two candidates and two very different approaches to messaging. CNN has teams across both campaigns. And a source says that Israel's plan is ready. We will take you live to Jerusalem and the White House to look at how Israel could retaliate against Iran for its missile attacks. Plus, from back-to-back hurricanes to floods and a record number of tornadoes, people in the U.S. Southeast are feeling the emotional strain.
Well, only 20 days left until Election Day, and fresh polling numbers indicate that the race for the White House could truly go either way. In a new CNN Poll of Polls, 51 percent of likely voters back Kamala Harris, while 48 percent say that they support Donald Trump. A Marquette University Law School Poll shows a dead even race and a head-to-head matchup minus any third-party candidates. In that same poll, voters were asked which candidate had a strong record of accomplishments, Donald Trump, with a double-edge -- double-digit edge here, 53 percent to 43 percent, but those voters also said that Trump has behaved corruptly and is too old to be President.
The former President, meantime, making a push for women voters, calling himself the "father of IVF". Trump made those comments during a pre-taped town hall event on Fox News that was recorded on Tuesday in Georgia before an all-female audience. It is airing today. And he is going to tape another town hall today, this time with Univision. That will air later. And in a few hours, Trump will hold a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago. On Tuesday, meantime, in Georgia, he called on his supporters to vote early, something that he discouraged them to do just four years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you have a ballot, return it immediately. If not, go tomorrow, as soon as you can, go to the polls and vote. Then, for the next 21 days, get everyone you know to get out and vote. The people of Georgia going to end Kamala Harris' reign of failure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: Now, in a different battleground state, Vice President Kamala Harris is set to campaign in Pennsylvania today. More than 100 Republicans will join her this afternoon in Bucks County. That's outside of the main city of Philadelphia. Her message is expected to focus on patriotism, unity and upholding the Constitution. Then, on Fox News, Harris will sit down with anchor Bret Baier, marking her first ever interview on the right-wing cable network. That interview is set to air at 06:00 p.m. Eastern Time tonight.
Harris has already been stepping up her media appearances this week, speaking with Charlamagne tha God on his popular radio show, "The Breakfast Club".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S., (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And by voting in this election, you have two choices, or you don't vote, but you have two choices if you do. And it's two very different visions for our nation, one mind that is about taking us forward and progress in investing the American people, investing in their ambitions, dealing with their challenges, and the other, Donald Trump is about taking us backward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: All right. Our team is tracking this final stretch of this high-stakes election. We have Alayna Treene and Eva McKend joining us from Washington, D.C.
Eva, let's start with you in the Harris campaign. Talk to us a little bit about what the strategy appears to be today.
EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, we're going to continue to see Harris lean into this country over party message in an appeal to Republican voters. The Vice President plans to blast Trump for previously calling for the termination of the Constitution. She'll also warn of the threat a second Trump term poses, in her view, and slam her rival for his comment that the military should handle the enemy from within. And she'll be joined at today's event by Republican, former Congressman Adam Kinzinger and former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, among others.
But listen, not everyone thinks this is the right strategy. You have in some corners of the Democratic Party that believe that the resources should instead be channeled to the base of the party, that the money, the energy, the time, that is the most valuable asset that a candidate has, should be in places like Atlanta or in urban centers in North Carolina. But, there are others in the campaign, leading the campaign that still believes that they can appeal to these Nikki Haley voters, these conservatives that just are not going to vote for the former President.
SOLOMON: And what about black voters? I mean, talk to us a little bit about her virtual town hall yesterday with Charlamagne tha God, and The Breakfast Club, a very popular show in general, but also very popular with young African Americans.
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Eva, what came of this?
MCKEND: Yeah. This is perhaps where she seemed most comfortable. This was her most wide-ranging interview to date, Rahel. She was asked about reparation. She said that this is something that should be studied. She was asked about her law enforcement background. There is the impression in some corners that she was unduly punitive when it came to black men. And she said, listen, I have been a leader on -- a progressive leader when it comes to the issue of marijuana legalization. And not only do I think it should be legalized, but I think that black male entrepreneurs should have equal access to the industry. Take a listen to a little bit of that conversation with Charlamagne.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: It's two very different visions for our nation, one mind that is about taking us forward and progress and investing the American people, investing in their ambitions, dealing with their challenges, and the other, Donald Trump is about taking us backward.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD, RADIO HOST: The other is about fascism. Why can't we just say it?
HARRIS: Yes. We can say that.
GOD: Yes. Yeah.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKEND: Now, in terms of her week ahead, after Pennsylvania, she'll go to Wisconsin, then back to Michigan, and then she ends the week in Georgia. Rahel.
SOLOMON: All the important battlegrounds. Eva McKend, thank you.
Let's now bring in Alayna Treene, who is watching more from the Trump campaign. Alayna, let's just first talk about the Fox News town hall. What's standing out to you from what you've heard so far? It was just released a short time ago.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: That's right, and we did. It was pre- taped. So, we were able to get some of those excerpts ahead of time as well. Look, I mean, I think, first of all, having this town hall, be with it all-female audience, is obviously notable, and it comes as Donald Trump and his campaign are really trying to make inroads with women voters. They know that they have a problem with the widening gender gap, given that many female voters are supporting Kamala Harris.
Now, when I talked to Donald Trump's senior advisors, they tell me that -- essentially, they acknowledge, I should say, that a lot of women don't like Donald Trump as the man himself. They don't like his rhetoric, but perhaps they think they can win them over by touting his policies and the issues. However, Donald Trump didn't necessarily stick to that strategy yesterday. Instead, he leaned into his dark and divisive rhetoric.
One very notable moment, Rahel, was when he talked about and actually tried to define what he meant when he said over the weekend that the greatest threat to this country is not our foreign adversaries, but the enemy from within. I'm going to read you some of this quote because I think it's pretty striking. He said, quote, "It is the enemy from within, and they're very dangerous. We have China. We have Russia. We have all these countries. If you have a smart President, they can all be handled. The more difficult are, you know, the Pelosis, these people, they're so sick and they're so evil."
So, look, clearly, he is acknowledging himself that he was talking about political opponents, Democrats, people like the Pelosis. And it comes as a lot of his Republican allies in recent days have been trying to defend that comment from Donald Trump, they argue, because, remember, Donald Trump had said he would even send in the military to maybe deal with the enemy from within. They were trying to argue his allies that he was talking about rioters, people protesting in the streets, things that we've seen in the past, that presidents have done to help tamp those down. But, Donald Trump, in his own words, said that he was talking about his political opponents. And so, I think it's very important to keep that in mind.
I think one other notable thing, just to mention there, is that, remember, a lot of Donald Trump's Republican allies have also been blaming Democrats' rhetoric for what they argued led to the two assassination attempts on the former President's life. They have argued that they haven't gone as far. But, I think clearly, this is very dangerous rhetoric as well from Donald Trump.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And then, what about yesterday in Chicago? He was again making false claims about January 6.
TREENE: That's right. I mean, once again, he also did not commit, Rahel, to a peaceful transfer of power or to accepting the election results come November. He was pressed by this directly, by John Micklethwait, the head of Bloomberg News. Watch what he said.
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TRUMP: People were angry. People went there. And I'll tell you what? They never show that. The primary scene in Washington was hundreds of thousands, the largest group of people I've ever spoken before and I've spoken before, and it was love and peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: Love and peace is how he described the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack. I can tell you, Rahel, I was at the Capitol on January 6. It was not love and peace. It was a very different picture that day. But, I think the important thing here is that Donald Trump is already
kind of planting the seeds about what could happen in November. We know that there are a ton of Republican lawsuits already kind of priming the pump to challenge the election results, depending on what happens in November.
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And so, I think as we hit this 20-day sprint before Election Day, it's really important to keep that in mind.
SOLOMON: Yeah. I mean, we're seeing some of that -- some of those new rules in the state of Georgia, which is the perfect segue to my next guest. Alayna Treene, thank you. I will let you go.
Now, let me bring in Jessica Huseman. She is the Editorial Director of Votebeat, which is a nonprofit news organization that focuses on elections and voting here in the U.S. So good to have you, Jessica. Both campaigns obviously focusing a lot of their energy on the battlegrounds for important reasons. The most important, though, may be Georgia. Trump was in Atlanta last night, and he said this. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Early mail-in voting in your state is now underway, and early in-person is underway. But, I'll tell you what? I'm hearing very good things now. It hasn't been going on too long, but we're seeing numbers. They're saying, wow, those are big numbers. In fact, they set a record for the number of ballots today, right, a number.
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SOLOMON: Jessica, in fact, they are big numbers. Georgia's Secretary of State says a record 328,000 ballots were cast Tuesday, more than twice the previous first-day record. So, how do you read that figure, and what can you expect, perhaps in some of the other states, using Georgia perhaps as an indicator?
JESSICA HUSEMAN, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, VOTEBEAT: I think we should expect similar turnout numbers across the country. This is a really heated election, and that tends to drive people to the polls, especially in a state like Georgia, where voting is kind of baked into the state's DNA. And I think that his super mixed messaging on whether early voting and mail voting are full of fraud or they should do them is confusing to people, but I think Republicans now have permission to participate in this part of the franchise in a way that they didn't in 2020.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And focusing on Georgia more closely, some Democrats are warning that there could be post-election chaos because of new rules passed by the Trump-backed Republican majority on the State Election Board. There is litigation challenging these rules. But, how fair do you think that concern is that it could be post-Election Day chaos? HUSEMAN: I think that we should give the state of Georgia a little bit more credit. This -- the Secretary of State's Office is definitely prepared for potential chaos, and also, recent rulings have made this sort of easier to handle. Right? Just yesterday, a judge ruled that there is no grounds that they have to certify that these local boards don't have an option to choose not to certify. They must certify by the Tuesday after the election. And then, this morning, we heard that another judge has put a pause on a rule that required people to hand count the number, not the votes, but the total number of ballots in every precinct, and before they were to pass them on and certify the election.
So, I think that we're seeing a lot of success by these plaintiffs in Georgia, and I think we should continue -- we should expect to continue in that pattern. The Secretary of State's Office, again, is very prepared to deal with potential problems for certification, and the judicial branch there seems to have absolutely no patience for these shenanigans.
SOLOMON: And would you sort of argue that perhaps we can expect the same in other states who had some of the same challenges in 2020, at least going into 2024, they kind of know what they're in for?
HUSEMAN: Yeah. In 2020, this refusal to certify in very red parts of the country was a new problem. And so, the litigation that happened was kind of a surprise to states. But, even then, they won them uniformly. This year, they are prepared for that, right? And so, for every crazy person that you hear talking about how they're going to break the rules or invalidate the votes of thousands of people, there is a lawyer that has already prepared a lawsuit to make sure that that can't happen. So, I think we should expect a lot of this to go to court. But, I think that just like in 2020 we should expect it not to be particularly successful and probably move even faster this year.
SOLOMON: What about the impact, however, on voters of just creating confusion with the rules being challenged, with the sort of rhetoric that there is? I mean, Georgia obviously came down to about 12,000 votes, ultimately giving Biden that state. But, if margins are that tight again, and every vote matter -- every vote matters, how much of an impact do you think that all of the conversation about these new rules or the changes, even if they are overturned, how much does that impact things?
HUSEMAN: I think that's the real risk here. The closer you get to an election and the changes that -- and you make more changes, the closer you get, the more confused voters get, and the more confused poll workers get, right? I think we sort of leave them out of the equation when we think about rule changes and things like this.
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But, these are the people who are actually facilitating the vote. And so, if you're changing the rules on them while voting is still happening, which is the case in Georgia, you're going to get confusion on Election Day. And as you point out, this is a really close state. The margins are incredibly close. And so, the litigation invalidating 500 votes here or 500 votes there could really have an impact on the results in that state, and as a result of that, the results in the whole country. So, I think the confusion is really the risk to voters. Absolutely.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And then, just lastly, as someone who has followed federal elections quite closely for quite some time, do you find it surprising or shocking that 20 days out it's still virtually a dead heat? I mean, folks are sort of locked in, and despite Harris doing the interviews and -- I mean, people seem to be locked in. Do you find that surprising or shocking at all?
HUSEMAN: I find it surprising as sort of a -- an object of historical interest. But, I think, given the current political environment and given how completely at odds the Republican Party and the Democratic Party seem to be, this doesn't surprise me that much. I think that the number of people who are undecided going into this race is very low. And so, while the candidates have had interesting interview strategies over the last couple of weeks, trying to sort of pick up the few undecided voters here or there, I'm not that surprised that we find ourselves in such a dead heat, and that's certainly going to make things difficult for election administrators.
SOLOMON: Yeah, absolutely, and certainly interesting to watch. Jessica Huseman, thank you for joining us. Appreciate the insights.
HUSEMAN: Thank you.
SOLOMON: All right. Still ahead, Israel strikes southern Beirut for the first time in days, as it readies an attack plan against Iran. Plus, a fuel tanker's fiery crash causing mass casualties in Nigeria. We're going to have the latest on the deadly explosion straight ahead.
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. The attack plan is ready. That's what a source tells CNN about Israel's threat and retaliation against Iran. We still don't know when that could happen, or what sites may be hit. But, U.S. officials believe that it will happen before Election Day in the U.S., now less than three weeks away.
Israel is already fighting wars on two fronts. Today, it bombed the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh. Authorities say that six people were killed, including the mayor. Lebanon's Prime Minister says that a local government meeting was intentionally hit. Israel says that it targeted Hezbollah infrastructure. The IDF also striking Beirut for the first time in days. That's despite U.S. pressure not to bomb the capital. Israel also threatening and tightening, rather, a siege of Jabalia in Gaza. Emergency workers there describe catastrophic conditions, accusing Israel destroying everything that represents life. Israel is reportedly also reviewing U.S. demands to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza within 30 days, or risk a cutoff in U.S. military aid.
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Let's bring in Jeremy Diamond, who is live for us in Jerusalem, and Kevin Liptak, who is at the White House.
Jeremy, let me start with you. Talk to us about these strikes, and what's the latest here.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Israeli military is continuing to carry out airstrikes in southern, central and northern Lebanon, as we have seen over the course of the last 24 hours. The latest strikes today came in the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon. At least six people were killed. More than 43 others were injured in this strike. And you heard from the Lebanese Prime Minister's Office, accusing the Israeli military of intentionally striking this municipal building while officials were having a meeting about emergency relief. There has been no response from the Israeli military so far to that specific claim.
But, what they do say is that they were targeting underground Hezbollah infrastructure, specifically infrastructure for Hezbollah's elite Radwan forces. And we know, of course, that Hezbollah does have some underground compounds beneath buildings in Lebanon. In this case, though, the Israeli military effectively putting the blame on Hezbollah for the civilian death, saying that they are using civilians as human shields. We don't -- we can't independently verify that at this stage, of course. What we do know, though, is that the Israeli strikes across Lebanon are bringing a rising toll on civilians across the country.
There were also strikes in northern Lebanon, where multiple children were killed yesterday in a strike on a Christian village. And overnight, we also saw strikes once again in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, the southern suburbs known as the Dahiyeh, where the Israeli military also said they were targeting a Hezbollah weapons storage facility. We have, of course, seen more than a million people in Lebanon displaced as a result of this Israeli military action.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And Jeremy, I mean, that's where I wanted to go next. I mean, talk to us about the impact on civilians. What does this mean, these continued strikes, for those who are fleeing the strikes and find themselves now displaced?
DIAMOND: Well, we are seeing, of course, a rising toll on civilians, with the number of people who are displaced, as I was saying, about 1.2 million, according to the United Nations. Hundreds of thousands of people have also fled into Syria, and all of this is posing a growing strain on the resources inside of Lebanon to take care of all of these people who are displaced. In addition to that, of course, there is still a lot of uncertainty about the roughly 60,000 people who have been displaced from their homes in northern Israel, as questions mount about where this is all going. We are seeing that this Israeli military operation on the ground in southern Lebanon, according to the Israeli military, is targeted on just the border areas, to remove the immediate threat that they say Hezbollah could pose in terms of an infiltration capacity into northern Israel.
But, we are already hearing calls inside of Israel for this ground operation to not only continue, but also to expand. And so, as both sides continue to escalate, with Hezbollah still firing hundreds of rockets a day into northern Israel, major questions about where this all ends, and whether or not this ground operation will result in sufficient pressure on Hezbollah, or perhaps if the Israeli government will choose to expand that very same ground operation. Rahel.
SOLOMON: OK. Jeremy Diamond live for us there. Jeremy, thank you.
Now, let's bring in Kevin Liptak, who is at the White House. Kevin, you've received new information on when the U.S. expects Israel to retaliate against Iran's recent missile attack. Talk to us a little bit more about that. I mean, we just said before the election, perhaps. What more can you share?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah. And this is the American expectation, we should clarify, that they do expect Israel to respond to Iran's missile barrage before the November 5th election, which would put it in the next couple of weeks or so. They have been fairly tight-lipped about the timing and about the parameters of what exactly they expect Israel to do. But, it does give you a sense of how much this will be thrust into the final weeks of the campaign.
Of course, this has been a topic that President Biden and Vice President Harris have struggled with politically. On the one side, you have the progressive left who have said that they aren't doing enough to bring the crisis to an end. On the other side, you have Republicans who say that they aren't doing enough to protect Israel, and that they have allowed this crisis to expand and create more chaos in the Middle East. And so, you do feel the pressure from both sides.
I think it's fair to say that there is nothing that President Biden or Vice President Harris want less in the final weeks of the campaign, is an expanding conflict. That's part of the reason that you've heard President Biden try to encourage a more measured response from Israel. For instance, he has said that he would discourage them from striking oil facilities. That, of course, would cause a spike in oil prices. You've also heard him encourage against targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, which, at the end of today, American officials view would -- as a red line for Iran that almost certainly would encourage a wider regional war.
[11:25:00]
And in fact, Prime Minister Netanyahu, in his last phone conversation with Biden, did convey that Israel was not planning to strike nuclear or oil facilities. He said that they were planning to strike military facilities. But, American officials are taking all of this with a grain of salt and watching this very closely with an eye both to preventing a wider regional war, but also the political ramifications. And so, certainly, that is the environment against which this decision-making is occurring right now.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And Kevin, speaking of political ramifications, this is all happening as Israel says that it is reviewing a letter from the Biden administration that demands the country improve the humanitarian conditions in Gaza. What's the latest there?
LIPTAK: Yeah. And this is not the first time that the administration has urged Israel to do more to protect civilians and to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza. What is something different this time around is that the letter tacitly suggests that there could be a cutoff of military assistance if those demands aren't met. Now, the deadline is 30 days from Sunday. That puts it after Election Day. But, it does give you a sense of how much urgent -- how urgently the administration is viewing the humanitarian situation in Gaza at the moment, particularly in northern Gaza, where Israel continues to go after Hamas targets, and where humanitarian aid has not been allowed in for the last several weeks.
That is causing some deep concerns inside the White House. They say that this is the lowest humanitarian aid that they have seen since the outbreak of war, and they do say that they need to see some certain benchmarks be met within the next 30 days. It's an open question of how Israel will respond to this letter. But, certainly, American officials are very concerned about the humanitarian situation there that is unfolding right now.
SOLOMON: Yeah. OK. Kevin Liptak live for us at the White House. Kevin, thank you.
Now to northern Nigeria, where more than 100 people were killed after a fuel tanker exploded. Police say that the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to somersault and spill fuel into a ditch. Residents then rushed to the ditch to collect the fuel, which resulted in dozens of injuries and deaths.
Let's bring in our Larry Madowo, who joins us from Nairobi with more. Larry, what can you share with us? What do you know?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rahel, the death toll is climbing from this overnight strategy in northern Nigeria, in Jigawa State. So, what we know, according to police, is that this fuel tanker was driving on a highway when it veered, potentially to avoid crashing into another truck. It rolled several times and landed in a ditch, and fuel was spilling out of that vehicle. Residents gathered at the scene to try and collect and siphon fuel from this tanker, is essentially part of the reason. It could be because fuel has become very expensive in Nigeria after the removal of fuel subsidies. So, free fuel is always welcome.
Unfortunately, a fire broke out there, and it burned quite quickly. Social media video has shown this area engulfed in flames. At least 94 people are said to have died on the spot. In the last update, we had at least 105 people are now confirmed dead, but that death toll is climbing. Emergency services continue to go through and update the numbers. We're working to confirm the latest number. But, still, more than 50 people are feared to be in critical condition. So, that death toll likely to climb even some more, Rahel. So, a real tragedy here, and unfortunately, not the first time.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And talk to us a little bit about that, Larry, when you say it's not the first time. Put this in context for us. How common or uncommon is this?
MADOWO: They're very common, these fuel tanker accidents across Nigeria. Another one happened in Niger State last month. 48 people died there. They happen all over the country. Part of the reason is because of poor roads. Sometimes, they're blamed on unruly vehicles or careless driving. In fact, authorities in Nigeria trying now to crack down on some of these practices. The Vice President of Nigeria has ordered a review of the safety procedures for transporting fuel. But, one of the deadliest years was in 2020, where more than 1,500 tanker accidents across the country were reported. More than 530 people died in that year alone. So, you can see why there is a desperate need to put this -- to get this situation under control.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Absolutely. Larry Madowo, thank you, Larry.
And still to come for us, a mid-air scare. Find out why not one, but two Air India flights had to make emergency landings. Plus, CNN takes you inside one of Ukraine's most elite and secret battle units. Our exclusive report in just minutes.
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[11:30:00]
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SOLOMON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. And here are some of the international headlines we're watching for you today.
Authorities are investigating twin bomb threats that hit Indian airliners on opposite sides of the globe. First, an Air India plane from New Delhi to Chicago made an emergency landing in Canada after the airline says a security threat was posted online. Also Tuesday, Singapore scrambled fighter jets to escort an Air India Express flight away from populated areas before it landed. The airline said that it received an email that there was a bomb on board. Both threats turned out to be hoaxes and are under investigation.
Boeing hopes that an infusion of cash will keep it afloat. The jet maker is facing a series of crises, including a strike that shut down one of its factories. That means that Boeing will not be able to deliver all of its planes as promised. The cash-strapped company said that it would borrow $10 billion from several banks and try to bring in another $25 billion by selling off stock and debt. Boeing's issues are not expected to have much of an impact on the average American flyer.
A representative for Kylian Mbappe calls rape allegations against the French football star totally false and irresponsible. His lawyer plans on taking legal action against the Swedish media making it public. The press and a national TV station cited a police report and documents obtained that Mbappe is suspected on reasonable grounds of rape. The alleged incident happened in Stockholm earlier this month. The 25- year-old Mbappe calls the media reports fake news.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has presented his victory plan to his country's parliament. The plan has five points that he thinks will strengthen Ukraine's position to end Russia's war. The heart of the victory plan is Ukraine's desire to get invited to join NATO. It also outlines provisions to strengthen Ukraine's defense, implement a non-nuclear strategic deterrence package, and grow Ukraine's economy. Zelenskyy was unable to get more support from European allies after meetings last week, but says that his plan will pave the way for more peace talks.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (Interpreted): I want to be frank with you on certain behind closed-door communication with Ukraine. We hear the word talks from our allies, much more often than the word justice. Ukraine is open to diplomacy, but to the fair one. That is why we have the peace formula. It's a guarantee of negotiations without forcing Ukraine to injustice. Ukrainians deserve a decent peace. The victory plan will pave the way for this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: And as President Zelenskyy advocates for Ukraine's victory plan, CNN has gained unprecedented access into a secretive Ukrainian unit remotely carrying out drone attacks targeting deep inside Russia.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen has this exclusive report.
[11:35:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Ukrainian drones attacking southwestern Russia, sowing panic among local residents. Russian air defenses frantically trying to take them down before they slam into their targets.
This massive drone strike carried out in late September by Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Agency, the GUR. And they granted CNN unprecedented access to the entire mission, their target, a Russian ammo depot, the Ukrainians say is storing missiles supplied to Moscow by Iran, even though Tehran vehemently denies giving Russia ballistic missiles.
PLEITGEN: All of these missions have to move extremely quickly. They have to be very precise, because obviously, if they get discovered by the Russians, the Russians want nothing more than to kill everybody around here.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): When you're as badly outgunned as the Ukrainians, even strategic air strikes become hit-and-run operations. The launch location, totally secret. The mission run in near complete darkness. We can only identify the unit commander by his call sign "Vector".
PLEITGEN: How fast do you guys have to be able to do all this now?
VECTOR, LONG-RANGE UAV UNIT, UKRAINIAN DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE GUR: I hope it will be in 20, 40 minutes.
PLEITGEN: Tell me how much the Russians want to kill you.
VECTOR: They want very much, because we are the one of the major goals for them, because this UAVs, which are going up to 1,500, 2,000 kilometers, these UAVs moves the war inside their country, and they're afraid of that.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): After installing the warheads and punching in the flight path, they push the drones to the takeoff area, the pilots going through final checks, then they get the go.
PLEITGEN: The launch is always one of the most difficult and most sensitive parts of the mission. They have to follow the UAV very fast with their cars to make sure it gets into the air all right.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The drones disappear quickly into the night sky. The GUR has been behind hundreds of long-range missions into Russia, they say, including this September attack on an ammo depot between Moscow and St. Petersburg, causing massive explosions visible for miles. The Ukrainians believe they hit hundreds of missiles and explosives.
PLEITGEN: Operational security is extremely important for this team. So, we're on our way to the next secret location right now. They remain on the move almost all the time. Right now, we're going to a place where they're going to do the detailed planning for the flight paths, and where we'll see the actual drones.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The weapons depot is about 400 miles from the Ukrainian border in the southwestern Russian village of Kotluban, a major problem, a mesh of powerful Russian air defenses guarding the area.
PLEITGEN: How good are the Russian air defenses and how difficult is it to overwhelm them?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unfortunately, especially last year, it's really good. It's really good. But maybe not perfect, because we are successful guys and we find the windows in this work, in this technique.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): These are the actual strike drones, the Ukrainian-made Antonov AN-196 named Liutyi, Ukrainian for fierceness or rage. They carry up to 500 pound warheads and fly around 1,300 miles, and they fit into the back of these nondescript trailers for covert deployment. The Ukrainians say they get good results with the Liutyi drones, but what they really need is permission from the U.S. and its allies to use Western-supplied longer-distance weapons.
So far, the U.S. is not allowing Ukraine to fire American-supplied weapons deep into Russia, as Russia has escalated its own aerial attacks against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure using heavy guided glide bombs, cruise missiles designed to take out whole aircraft carrier strike groups and nuclear capable strategic bombers. All the Ukrainians have are their little drones, launching them in swarms to even have a chance to penetrate Russia's air defenses. They blast the Ukrainian folk song, Hey Falcons, as the GUR's own birds take to the skies.
Back at base, it's crunch time. Russian social media starts exploding with reports of an attack on the Kotluban weapons depot. The GUR operatives sometimes chuckling as they listen in. While the Russians claim to have shot down the drones, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence showed CNN the unblurred version of this video, now heavily blurred for operational security reasons, and it shows 11 blasts coming from the same place, they say so large they're confident they hit their targets.
[11:40:00]
CNN was also able to independently verify through a source what seems to be a direct hit on the facility. We're not publishing the image to protect the source's anonymity, but it showed an explosion at the facility and what seems to be wreckage scattered around. A Maxar image shared with CNN shows the same heavily damaged building with some debris still lying on the floor, signs that the Russian military may have cleaned up the site, a small but important victory in their ongoing covert war against a powerful enemy.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: All right. Coming up, three weeks after Hurricane Helene, the people of North Carolina are still picking up the pieces. Plus, a look at the psychological toll on those living in the path of deadly hurricanes. Why one expert says it could have a lasting impact on mental health.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. Nearly three weeks after Helene battered the U.S. state of North Carolina, more than 80 people are still unaccounted for.
Let's get CNN's Ryan Young, who joins us from Atlanta. Ryan, what's the latest on the recovery efforts in North Carolina?
RYAN YOUNG, CNN U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Rahel, I mean, you think about the devastation that we've seen from North Carolina. When you look at it, some of it looks like a movie scene in terms of all the destruction that we've seen over and over again. They're still trying to supply water, get power back to so many different people in that community. We know 1,300 homes still without power, I'm sorry, 13,000. That's after a million people had lost power three weeks ago. And you think about the 1,500 first responders that are still flowing through that area and try to help find people, 81 unaccounted for people. 117 people died during that hurricane.
Listen to Governor Roy Cooper talk about this amazing effort to try to get things back together in North Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROY COOPER, GOVERNOR, NORTH CAROLINA: It's beginning to get into the fall season, into the North Carolina Mountains. So, we're working to make sure that people have blankets and coats and heaters and fuel, and working to change the supply chain to make sure that we are dealing with those issues as well. So, it's really hard when you've lost your home and some people are staying with relatives. Some people are staying in hotels that FEMA has provided for them. But, many of them are just trying to figure out what their next move is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: Yeah. I think the governor makes a really good point there, talking about people who are really scattered all over the place. Rahel, over 77,000 applications have already been granted for people who live in that area in terms of federal assistance. $99 million has been given out to those folks who are trying to recover. When you see video like this, you understand the enormous amount of work that has to go into getting things back up in order.
But, let's not forget, there are people who are living in tents out there, who wanted to live close to their homesteads, who can't live inside their homes anymore.
[11:45:00]
And the temperature is dropping. It's getting really cool up there in the mountains. So, you understand the pain that he was talking about when it comes to trying to get those folks back up and ready because of the storm.
SOLOMON: Yeah. You think about the toll, certainly for families, but even young people. And turning to Florida, students returning to school in Hillsborough County. What more do we know about that?
YOUNG: Yeah. We really have this devastation all across the southeast. So, you have those students in North Carolina who haven't returned to school. Some of them are trying to get back to school. Now you have the issues in Florida with Milton. We know Hillsborough County was hit. We had so many reports with the flooding waters there. There are still power outages, and there are still people who are dealing with tremendous issues when it comes to getting gas. So, you add on the fact that the teachers are not immune from this. You got to get staff back into place, hopefully get these schools up and ready to go. We're told tomorrow will be the first day for many of those students.
But, obviously, as you can understand, as much as Florida has been hit and some of these people still drying out themselves for the second storm, will those kids even be ready mentally to deal with the rigors of going back to class room after these hurricanes? So, it's really just the devastating effect that keeps going on and on as, of course, a lot of the country has moved on. But, these storms left billions of dollars of damage and a lot of just pain in terms of the day-to-day necessities that people count on and need.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And you think about the emotional scars that -- YOUNG: Absolutely.
SOLOMON: -- you don't see.
Ryan Young in Atlanta. Thank you, Ryan.
YOUNG: Good to see you.
SOLOMON: Likewise.
And residents across the southeast, as Ryan was just explaining there, are experiencing these back-to-back jolts of anxiety, uncertainty, fear, that experts say could have lasting effects.
I want to now bring in Dana Rose Garfin, who is the Associate Professor at the Department of Community Health Sciences at UCLA, and she joins me now from Los Angeles. Dana, so good to have you today.
As our reporter was just sort of walking through there, for those who live in the southeast who have experienced both of these storms, this -- these back-to-back storms, Helene, Milton, how does repeated exposure to trauma affect a person mentally?
DANA ROSE GARFIN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DEPT. OF COMMUNITY HEALTH SCIENCES, UCLA: So, repeated exposure is especially difficult because people are not given that time to have that natural recovery process. Human beings are extraordinarily resilient, even in the face of very traumatic events. However, when we experienced traumatic events back to back to back or repeatedly over a period of time, people are not given that time to recover, and they are become overwhelmed, and they are at higher risk for long-term psychological problems from those exposures.
SOLOMON: And what would that look like? I mean, are there telltale signs of trauma that people should be looking out for? The reason why I ask is, because sometimes I think the impacts of trauma can be a little insidious and sometimes hard to recognize. So, what should people be looking for?
GARFIN: Well, some people really somaticize or they feel it in their body. They feel physical symptoms. They might feel stomach aches. They might feel nauseous. They might feel dizzy. They might have really kind of physical symptoms. They might feel socially isolated, disconnected from those around them. They might be having trouble concentrating at work. They might feel short with their friends, their family, their partner, their children.
And so, those are kind of telltale signs that we might experience in everyday life that can signal to us, hey, I'm having a problem, and I might be experiencing these negative psychological effects of traumatic stress exposure.
SOLOMON: And then, what then if you do suspect that you're perhaps having a traumatic response to these exposures? What do you do?
GARFIN: Well, first of all, I like to tell people that when you experience a traumatic event, some distress is quite normative. It's very common. Of course, not everyone will experience psychological symptoms in the aftermath of a traumatic event, but many people will. And for a lot of people, those symptoms can dissipate over time. So, it's not necessarily a red flag in and of itself if you experience some of these symptoms. However, when they start to cause impairment and you really are unable to function, that's when you might want to say, hey, I need to look into this, whether it's talking to a friend, family member, clergy member, or seeking more formal psychological care via the form of a psychologist, a therapist, either online or in person.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Talk to me a little bit about that, sort of the collective role of even just speaking to a friend.
GARFIN: Yeah. Well, a lot of people can feel a lot better just from getting social support. Of course, that can be a double-edged sword, where sometimes you're kind of ruminating and discussing a trauma, and that can actually be a form of reliving it. But, even just knowing that you're not alone, seeking that social support from friends and family, I mean, that can be incredibly supportive and help people mitigate distress.
[11:50:00]
So, just knowing that you're not alone and reducing those feelings of social isolation can be incredibly helpful for people.
SOLOMON: OK. Dana Rose Garfin in Los Angeles, thank you so much.
GARFIN: All right. Thank you.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And for more information about how you can help Hurricane Helene and Milton victims, you can go to cnn.com/impact.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLOMON: Welcome back. Whether you're eagerly awaiting the second season of Squid Game or a fan of comedies like Love Next Door, Korean TV shows are having a moment like never before. Now, CNN has been given an exclusive peek behind the scenes of the new series, "Family by Choice", just one of many new shows winning over audiences in South Korea and beyond.
CNN's Mike Valerio reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE VALERIO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In this beautiful Sunsplash (ph) Cafe outside of Seoul, the scene is set.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
Our CNN team granted rare exclusive access to what this production crew hopes will be South Korea's next hit show. It's just a taste of the new Korean drama, "Family by Choice", where childhood friends form their own chosen family, and a reunion 10 years later leads to romance.
HWANG IN-YOUP, ACTOR: Hi CNN.
VALERIO (voice-over): It could be the friendliest set I've ever seen. Director Kim Seung-ho telling us, laughter is encouraged to offset the scripted drama. And from behind the curtain, lead actor Hwang In-youp takes a quick break to talk to us.
IN-YOUP (Interpreted): It's a drama about healing each other's trauma, recovering from it, and finding happiness in the end. This can be a little spoiler, but from the moment we get back together, the romantic side of the story becomes the main part as the story gets more serious.
VALERIO (voice-over): And things are getting more serious for Korean shows worldwide. Squid Game season two returns in December, and Netflix says Korean shows and movies are its most viewed non-English titles, ahead of Spanish and Japanese, according to Netflix data from the second half of 2023.
YUN KI-YUN, CEO, SLL: I never even imagined that Korean dramas, having a language barrier, can be pervasive to the global market.
VALERIO (voice-over): Yun Ki-yun is the CEO of SLL, the studio behind "Family by Choice", as well as the Korean thrillers Hellbound and All of Us Are Dead, both on Netflix. He says it's the delicate, emotional storytelling that often makes Korean shows so popular with global audiences, and adds K-Pop music led to an even bigger fascination with Korean series and movies.
KI-YUN: Thanks to PSY, BTS, and BLACKPINK, they raised the curiosity from the K-Pop fandom.
VALERIO (voice-over): The industry across South Korea hopes will see more Korean shows on more streaming platforms. Yun hopes his new series, "The Good Boy" about athletes-turned police officers will be a hit on Amazon and lead to stronger ties with the platform.
"Family by Choice" is out now across South Korea, and Hwang says he is up for the challenge to make this show an international hit.
IN-YOUP (Interpreted): It's unbelievable, and I am grateful for all the love and interest. Now I'm left with my homework or challenge to make the content more exciting and living up to expectation.
VALERIO (voice-over): Mike Valerio, CNN, Yeoju, South Korea.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLOMON: And before we go, one more thing.
[11:55:00]
Luxury fashion house Prada and Axiom Space have unveiled this design for a spacesuit that will be worn for NASA's mission to the moon. The suits for the Artemis 3 moon mission are gender-neutral and one-size- fits-all. Now, although they're free of branding or logos, the design does include red accent lines across the forearms and waist and a notch of Prada.
Well, we know your time is money. So, thank you for spending some time with me today. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Stick with CNN. One World is coming up next.
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