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CNN International: Israeli Airstrike Kills 13 Near Beirut Hospital in Lebanon; Blinken in Israel to Revive Gaza Ceasefire- hostage Talks; Putin Hosts BRICS Summit in Russia; Israel Warns Residents of Northern Gaza to Evacuate; Presidential Candidates in Final Sprint Before Election Day; Hyundai Stock Debuts in India; Musk's Voter Lottery Draws Ire, Accusations of Illegality; LeBron and Bronny Set to Make NBA History; King Charles Visits Australia's Indigenous Communities; Woman Wedged Upside Down Between Rocks for Seven Hours; Paddington Bear Gets a Real British Passport. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired October 22, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
AMARA WALKER, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM: Hi, everyone. Welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is "CNN Newsroom'. Just ahead, shocking scenes on the outskirts of Beirut after an Israeli airstrike hit close to Lebanon's largest public hospital, at least 13 people have died. Then, the sprint is well and truly on. It's just two weeks now until the U.S. election, and Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are both out on the campaign trail. We will have the latest on their plans for the day. Plus, Russian President Vladimir Putin is welcoming more than a dozen world leaders to the BRICS Summit. We have all the details on that major international gathering, just ahead.
U.S. Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken is in Israel right now, hoping to revive stalled Gaza ceasefire talks after Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week. Now, Blinken is meeting Israeli Prime Minister of Benjamin Netanyahu and others on his 11th trip to the region since the start of the war. This, as Israel presses on with its military campaign in both Gaza and Lebanon.
We want to show you the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Beirut. This is near Lebanon's largest public hospital. Lebanese authorities say 13 people were killed, dozens were wounded. The IDF says it hit a Hezbollah terror site near the hospital, but not the hospital itself.
In Northern Gaza, residents there in two towns say they have been warned by the Israeli military to evacuate. U.N. aid workers say they cannot find food, water, or medical care in Northern Gaza, and that the smell of death lingers everywhere. CNN's teams are covering the story from all angles. Kevin Liptak is at the White House, but let's begin with Salma Abdelaziz who is tracking all the developments from London.
Salma, first off, more on what we're seeing there in the ground in Beirut outside that hospital. SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. So let's just go straight to those images that we have, Amara, to show you people digging with their bare hands through the rubble in the aftermath of that attack, again, an Israeli airstrike near Beirut, near Lebanon's largest hospital just on the outskirts of Beirut. 13 people killed according to local officials. And again, you're just looking at the desperation on the ground there. We understand that evacuation orders were not issued according to CNN analysis for that area. That means that people on the ground did not have a heads up before the strike.
A local affiliate was on the ground as well. There, they say that those rescue workers were seeing children, were seeing adults and children under that concrete, under that rubble, but heard no signs of life. It's -- the allegation from Israel is that there was a Hezbollah-linked infrastructure of some kind near that hospital. They provided no evidence for this claim. And of course, Lebanon and hospital officials have denied it. It is not the only claim Israel is making against Lebanon's hospitals. The Israeli military has also made a claim against another hospital, saying that there is Hezbollah infrastructure there as well.
This is significant, and this is why it strikes fear in the heart of families in Lebanon, is because it shows the sign of expanding this conflict, Amara. Over the weekend, we saw banks, financial institutions hit, now hospitals are in the crosshairs. It's starting to bear the hallmarks of what was seen in Gaza with public institutions, public spaces caught in the crosshairs, struck down by Israeli war planes. For many Lebanese families, the fear now is that they could very much look at an extended conflict that begins, again, to bear the hallmarks of the terrible suffering we've seen in Gaza.
WALKER: In Gaza, we were just mentioning that people, again, are being told to evacuate. I mean, where is there to go? And what's the latest that you're hearing?
ABDELAZIZ: Quite simply, there is nowhere to go. Aid agencies, humanitarian groups are calling Northern Gaza essentially a kill zone. There's evacuation orders there that every civilian must leave. I know we're playing those drone images. I mean, it looks like the landscape of the moon. There is very little left there in terms of standing infrastructure, in terms of food, in terms of water.
[08:05:00]
You read those quotes from a U.N. official describing that aid workers, these are international aid workers, are struggling to find clean water and food, so you can only imagine for average families how much more difficult that challenge becomes. We've reported in the past on CNN, on how when families evacuate, they are at times, struck down as they flee, as they run from their homes, and there's nowhere to go to. All of Gaza is absolutely under this offensive by Israel's military. Many of the families you're looking at running, fleeing from their homes have been displaced already, maybe once, maybe twice.
The struggle continues to just eek out a living. I know we're going to hear from our Kevin Liptak, our colleague, on Blinken's progress. But as you're looking on the ground there and you're seeing those images of suffering, you have to remember there is very little hope among those families for progress when it comes to these peace negotiations, but those calls to end the suffering only grow louder. I actually want to read you a quote from the Head of the U.N. Agency for Palestinian Refugees, again, another plea for peace. He calls it the bare minimum to save the lives of civilians who have nothing to do with this conflict.
WALKER: All right. Salma Abdelaziz, thank you for that. Let's turn it over to Kevin at the White House. Tell us more about what the expectations are, it must be much lower now considering the fact that Israel continues to pound Gaza and Lebanon, what's the realistic goal for Blinken there?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, the mood (ph) for this meeting I don't think is great. And of course, it comes amid what American officials had hoped would be a window of opportunity to try and bring both of these conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon to an end after the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar last week. You heard from officials, from President Biden on down (ph) that they did view this as a moment to try and bring all of this suffering to an end. But I think it remains an open question of how much the Secretary of State will be able to accomplish in his meetings today.
And we should note that he is meeting with Netanyahu as we speak. That meeting began about 45 minutes ago, but I don't think that any State Department officials who are traveling with Blinken or officials here at the White House necessarily had huge expectations for how much he was able to accomplish. For one, Hamas remains in a state of flux. They don't -- haven't named a successor to Sinwar just yet. That leaves their negotiating position somewhat unclear for American officials who are trying to ascertain exactly how much they would be willing to come back to the negotiating table.
On the other hand, you have Israel who -- which has only expanded its operations in Gaza and in Lebanon, and it also appears poised to strike back at Iran for its missile attack earlier this month. So, this all leads to sort of dampened expectations for how much Blinken is able to accomplish in these talks. I think what State Department officials really do hope that he is able to do is make some progress on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
And you'll remember last week, Blinken along with the American Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin wrote to Israel and said that unless urgent action is taken to improve the humanitarian situation, to allow more humanitarian aid into the Strip that U.S. weapon supplies could be at risk. And so, they do expect him to discuss that with Netanyahu today. The other aspect that they expect the two men to discuss is a plan for Gaza once this war ends. That is something that President Biden mentioned specifically last week, but of course, that war doesn't appear any closer to ending today than it did before Sinwar's death. And I think that all leads to sort of pessimistic outlooks for this talks today.
WALKER: Well, the pessimism is the realistic outlook, isn't it, at this point? Kevin Liptak, good to see you there. Salma Abdelaziz, thank you for your reporting as well. And in a separate move, far right Israeli activists are calling for Israeli settlements in Gaza and the expulsion of the Palestinian population. They held a rally near the border on Monday, and CNN's Jeremy Diamond was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There is much more to this right wing conference on the Gaza border than just singing and dancing. Amid maps of Gaza and children's puzzles promoting the creation of Israeli settlements in Gaza, there are also calls for the mass expulsion of Palestinians.
DANIELLA WEISS, DIRECTOR, NACHALA: As a result of the brutal massacre of the 7th of October, the Gaza Arabs lost the right to be here ever.
(APPLAUSE)
WEISS: So, they'll go to the different countries of the world. They will not stay here.
[08:10:00]
DIAMOND (voice-over): But if you thought this conference was contained to the far right fringe of Israeli politics, think again. Among the hundreds of settler activists, a dozen members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's parliamentary coalition, including three ministers and several members of his own party.
AVIHAI BOARON, MEMBER OF ISRAELI KNESSET: We want, again, to establish settlements in order to bring security to the south of Israel. OK? Without it, it won't be peace to the South of Israel, even to Tel Aviv.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The Israeli prime Minister has said Israel does not intend to resettle Gaza, but some of his own ministers seem to think he can be swayed.
DIAMOND: Prime Minister Netanyahu has said that there won't be any civilian settlements in Gaza. You're a member of his government, why are you here?
MAY GOLAN, ISRAELI MINISTER FOR SOCIAL EQUITY: First of all, the Likud Party is a democratic party, a liberal party, we have variety of opinions. And I came here today from one reason, we have the right, and these people have the right to put everything on the table, every tool is legitimate in order to protect ourselves and save ourselves.
DIAMOND (voice-over): That push to settle Gaza comes as Israel has killed more than 400 people in Northern Gaza over just the last two weeks, according to Gaza officials, where tens of thousands have been forced to flee and as the U.S. launches another diplomatic push to encourage Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza and strike a hostage deal, but it's people like far right National Security Minister Itamar Ben- Gvir, who are keeping Netanyahu in power.
As I ask him what will become of Gaza's Palestinians, his response is Stark. We will encourage immigration, he says. But on the outskirts of this conference, others including October 7th survivors, are raising their voices too, rejecting those who point to October 7th to justify settling Gaza.
RON SHIFRONI, KIBBUTZ BE'ERI RESIDENT: They take advantage of the situation that happened in order to further their agenda, and their agenda is not about security, it's about settlement. It's about conquest. We have to find some sort of negotiation with the other side. We can't forcefully come inside and take land and stir up violence.
DIAMOND (voice-over): A call so far unheeded by those in power.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Be'eri, Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: All right, Jeremy, thank you for that.
Let's turn now to the race for the White House, just two weeks until Election Day. The final sprint is on. Donald Trump is campaigning in the southeastern United States and in the next few hours, he will take part in a roundtable discussion at the Latino Summit near Miami. Then he's off to North Carolina where he will be joined by former presidential hopefuls, Robert Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard. They're appearing in a virtual town hall under the banner, "Make America Healthy Again".
When he was there on Monday, he told Christian voters only he could protect them from the religious persecution they had suffered under a Democratic president. Steve Contorno is following the Trump campaign, joining us now from Miami. Tell us more about what we can expect to hear from Trump today, and of course, his strategy in targeting Latino voters.
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, Latino voters were really important to Donald Trump's 2020 campaign in Florida. He actually turned this state red, in large part because of the way he was able to mobilize support in the Cuban American community, among certain Puerto Rican groups, certain Venezuelan groups, often by attacking his Democratic opponent as socialists, and actually had one of the best performances by a Republican candidate for president in this part of Florida in decades. And he is hoping to build on that nationwide knowing that there is large voting blocks of Latino voters in states like Arizona and Nevada, but also in Pennsylvania, who could ultimately prove consequential in this race. So that is a big motivating factor for why he is in South Florida today.
And then later today, he will be in North Carolina for the second time in just two days, really showing how important the state is becoming in these closing weeks. Candidate schedules often reflect where they see opportunity and where they need to protect their flank, and North Carolina is clearly a state where Trump's campaign feels like they need to protect their flank. It was the closest battleground state that he won in 2020, and there are signs that it is going to be incredibly competitive yet again. So that is a big motivating factor for why they are spending so much time there in these closing weeks.
WALKER: All right, Steve Contorno, thank you.
Kamala Harris was in the key battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan on Monday, and she brought along some support from the right, significant support, former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney, and today former President Barack Obama will return to the trail for Harris. This afternoon, he will join VP candidate Tim Walz at a rally in Madison, Wisconsin, and then he will head to Detroit.
[08:15:00]
Eva McKend joining us now live from Washington with the details. I know Harris today will be taping several interviews, but it was interesting to see her sit down and -- with Liz Cheney, and try to court moderate Republicans. Tell us what that was like.
EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Amara, she's doing those interviews today with NBC and Telemundo, so continued outreach to Hispanic Americans there. But another core part of this strategy is reaching moderate Republicans, conservative voters who just have no appetite for supporting former President Donald Trump. And there is some data there to suggest that there is a universe of voters to appeal to in that space.
Nikki Haley voters, they're using Liz Cheney, the former congresswoman, as the messenger. The message is essentially 'country over party'. You don't have to agree with Harris on every single policy issue, but when it comes to these existential questions like the future of our democracy or fidelity to the Constitution, that Harris should be your choice. Take a listen to Cheney on the trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIZ CHENEY, FORMER UNITED STATES HOUSE REPUBLICAN: I want my children to know that there is someone sitting in the Oval Office that they can look up to. You can vote your conscience and not ever have to say a word to anybody, and there will be millions of Republicans who do that on November 5th.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKEND: So in addition to Cheney as a surrogate for the campaign, probably the most popular Democrat in the country, former President Barack Obama out on the campaign trail as well, campaigning with Governor Walz in Wisconsin, as well as in Detroit, Michigan. And he's going to have a special guest introduce him tonight, Amara, the rapper, Eminem, who we rarely see from, is going to make an appearance.
WALKER: Yeah, the Harris campaign has had a lot of star power behind it lately. So just two weeks to go, Eva, I can't believe we're almost there. What are the big campaign moments that we should be looking out for in this final stretch from Harris? MCKEND: Well, I think they're going to continue to leverage celebrities. They get sort of poked fun at from Republicans on this. Why so many celebrities? But listen, I think that if Republicans had the A-list roster to choose from, no doubt they would tap into that resource as well, because ultimately there are so many Americans who aren't paying attention to politics. And when you have an Usher or a Lizzo or an Eminem, it just gives you some attention there to boost your message. So, I would imagine that they're going to continue to leverage that.
But she's also going to do these big events focused on reproductive rights. She's a particularly strong messenger on that issue, and it's not an altogether partisan issue. She is able to appeal to Republican women who are concerned about reproductive choice in this country. So, she's going to lean into that as well. And then also, Amara, she is routinely characterizing the former president as unfit and unhinged. I suspect that that will continue to be part of her larger campaign argument. WALKER: Yeah, she has absolutely been sharpening those attacks against Trump as of late. Eva McKend, good to see you. Thanks so much.
All right, just ahead, world leaders are arriving in Russia as Vladimir Putin stages a big summit. With his invasion of Ukraine grinding on, what messages is the Russian leader's gathering sending to the West. We'll have the details next.
Plus, a much anticipated share sale on the Indian stock market, a look at Hyundai India's debut after the country's biggest-ever IPO.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:21:50]
WALKER: Some of the world's biggest political heavyweights are shaking hands with Vladimir Putin today. That is because the Russian leader is holding an expanded BRICS Summit in Kazan, Southwestern Russia. Mr. Putin's invasion of Ukraine, of course, hangs over the gathering, but Kremlin watchers say the Russian leader is using the summit to show that he's far from isolated despite Western sanctions. It's important to note that this year, Moscow has expanded the BRICS group and acronym for core members, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, and now includes Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE, and Iran.
Now, the three-day summit will be the largest international gathering the Russian president has hosted since the start of the Ukraine war in February of 2022. Let's get right to CNN's Clare Sebastian. And Clare, big picture here, I mean, why this meeting and what is the message that Putin is trying to send to the West?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the size of this event really matters to Russia, Amara, in terms of -- in terms of optics, top criminal aide is out there saying that 36 countries will be represented, of which 22, at the highest level. That same aide is saying this might be the biggest foreign policy event ever to be held on Russian soil and the coverage on state media has really echoed that, calling it the most well attended BRICS Summit ever. Of course, that is to be expected since this is the first one since the group was expanded.
But this really is a way to show the West, they know the global spotlight is on them to show that the efforts to isolate Putin have failed and to present the BRICS in this new expanded format, really as a counterweight to the sort of Western U.S.-led alliances like NATO and the European Union, all of which we've seen involved in various meetings in recent weeks. So, it's convenient counter programming for Russia. They also want to show this as the global majority. There's a lot of talk about how much of the world's oil and gas reserves they represent, how much of the world's GDP -- the narrative being that these economies are growing while the West is in decline. So that is all the sort of the rhetoric that we're hearing.
In terms of concrete deliverables, traditionally, the BRICS have not been particularly heavy on those over the sort of 15 meetings that we've seen before this. But the focus today will be on the sort of global financial system. Russia is pitching a new payment system that could circumvent SWIFT, which is of course the international payment system that their banks have been largely cut off from, so sort of a way of eroding the dominance of the U.S. dollar. And that is something that despite the fact that there are disagreements between some of these BRICS members, they are all mainly starting to coalesce around this idea of reducing the dominance of the dollar and in fact, the U.S. and the West in general, Amara.
WALKER: And you know, the summit is coming at a time when we're hearing, regarding the Ukraine war, that Russia has been able to regain some of the ground that it has lost there. Are we learning anything more from Putin's various meetings about his strategy in Ukraine?
SEBASTIAN: Yeah, we're looking to sort of read the tea leaves there. He'll be having a lot of bilateral meetings, he says he's expected to have 17 bilateral meetings over the course of these few days. I think it will be important to watch when he meets with China's President Xi Jinping. China and Brazil have put forward their own six-point peace plan sort of as a counterpoint to President Zelenskyy's victory plan and of course, he has been having some sort of trouble pitching that to his allies. So this is an opportunity for them.
By the way, Russia really rolled out the red carpet for Xi Jinping. His plane was escorted by a Russian fighter jet, as he arrived. But in terms of Russia's strategy, when it comes to the war in Ukraine, Putin gave a pre-summit press conference to journalists from the BRICS countries. Take a listen to what he had to say about the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The Russian army is undoubtedly becoming not only one of the most high tech, but the most battle ready. And until the NATO folks have had enough of fighting us, you'll need to ask them about that. We are ready to continue this fight and victory will be ours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[08:25:00]
SEBASTIAN: Well, if there was any doubt that Russia's strategy in this war is attrition, to try and outlast Ukraine and its allies, I think that clip there really puts pay to that. And of course, some of the alliances that we'll see on display at this summit are helping with that Iran, case in point, China believed by the U.S. to be supplying dual-use technology for Russia's war. It's not clear cut. We just saw Putin in a meeting with Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, who does seek to also maintain ties with the West, saying that he thinks the Ukraine conflict should be resolved peacefully and India is ready to facilitate that. But it certainly is going to be a huge part of the backdrop of this summit. Amara?
WALKER: It's an interesting group of nations coming together, a three-day conference that will wrap on Thursday. We'll, of course, watch this with you. Clare Sebastian, thank you so much.
All right. Still to come, making their closing arguments. The U.S. presidential candidates are focusing on key swing states that could decide the election, now just two weeks to the day away. What we are saying -- what they are saying on the campaign trail is just ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're ridiculous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's so overkill.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's overwhelming.
WALKER: That's what they're saying about political ads. They are everywhere in the swing states. Are they still effective or have voters had enough?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: All right. Two weeks away, today from the election, that's when America will choose its next president. And both candidates are making a last-minute push focusing on the key states and the tens of thousands of voters that could decide the election. Later today, Kamala Harris is down for interviews with two different TV channels. On Monday, she campaigned with Republican Liz Cheney, a prominent Republican in the so-called blue wall states, making the case that American democracy is on the line.
Donald Trump meanwhile will head to North Carolina for the second straight day. At campaign stops in the hurricane-ravaged state yesterday, the former president continued to push lies about federal disaster relief. Both Harris and Trump are trying to reach beyond their party's traditional supporters in the final weeks of an election that couldn't be any closer, we're talking razor-thin margins here. For more on this, CNN Senior Political Analyst, Ron Brownstein is joining me now live from Los Angeles.
Good morning to you, Ron. So, you wrote this really interesting piece on cnn.com about shifts in the electorate's composition. They may -- some may be small, but potentially significant shifts that could impact the election. Let's go through some of it. So first off, white voters without a college degree, they have shrunk as a share of the electorate by two percentage points. This is according to a demographer that you spoke with at the Census Bureau.
RONALD BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Right.
[08:30:00]
WALKER: Is that significant for Trump, considering that he did have a big share of this group in his last two presidential campaigns?
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, look, this is -- this is a continuation and extension of the long-term trend. Generally since the 1970s, certainly the '80s, white voters without a college degree, who have become the absolute cornerstone of the Republican electoral coalition, starting with Ronald Reagan accelerating under Trump. Those white non-college voters have declined about two points over every four-year cycle as a share of the electorate. And they have continued to do so between 2020 and 2024 replaced about equally by increases among white voters with a college education as well as people of color.
Now, from election to election, these are glacial changes. They have only a minimal kind of thumb on the scale, but I thought it was especially noteworthy that Bill Frey, who did this analysis, found that these non-college white voters have declined as a share of the electorate more in Michigan and Wisconsin, two of the former blue wall states, than they have nationally, not so much in Pennsylvania. So that could be a critical distinction. And it does help explain, Amara, I think, why you see Trump trying so hard to reach beyond that base, to reach to more black and Latino men in particular, and why you see Harris trying to focus on these college-educated, historically Republican-leaning voters in the big suburbs outside Philadelphia, Detroit, and Milwaukee, especially the women.
Those Liz Cheney events were precisely targeted at the voters, I think, who offer her, her most realistic prospect of improving on Biden's margins in 2020.
WALKER: Yeah. Let's listen to sound from Liz Cheney. I mean, she is the most prominent Republican supporter for Vice President Harris. And as we were saying, Harris and Cheney, they went on this blue wall swing state tour of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. And it was interesting because Liz Cheney was basically giving permission to these college-educated white voters, should I say, especially the women, to cast their votes for the Democratic ticket. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHENEY: I certainly have many Republicans who will say to me, I can't be public. They do worry about a whole range of things, including violence, but they'll do the right thing. And I would just remind people, if you're at all concerned, you can vote your conscience and not ever have to say a word to anybody. And there will be millions of Republicans who do that on November 5th.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: So, who are Cheney and Harris targeting specifically with this message?
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, I mean, this really is, I think, absolutely critical. And as I said, it's kind of a precision missile at the kind of voters that might give her bigger margins than Biden won in 2020. She's struggling to hold Biden's margins, for example, among black and Latino men. But in the suburbs, what we saw in 2020, the four big suburban counties outside of Philadelphia, Oakland County and Kent County in Michigan, the so-called wow counties outside of Milwaukee, as well as Madison and its suburbs. We saw Biden improve over Hillary Clinton's performance in them in 2016. And that was a big reason, probably the biggest reason that he tipped back Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in 2020 after Trump had dislodged it for -- dislodged them from what I termed in 2009 the blue wall.
In 2022, we saw the Democratic gubernatorial candidates in the first election after the supreme court rescinded the constitutional right to abortion run even better than Biden had two years earlier, exactly in those same white collar suburban counties. And that suggests, I think, pretty strongly that Biden's numbers in them were not the ceiling for Harris. And I think it -- given what's happening in urban centers, where Trump may run a little better among black and Latino men, given the fact that he is going to get towering margins in Trump country, the smaller and rural places, on the edge of the metros, I think it is absolutely critical for her prospect of holding these three former blue all states -- Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin -- to actually improve on Biden in the same way that the gubernatorial candidates did in 2022 in these suburban areas.
WALKER: Fascinating. It's just -- to see these shifts in how much that they will matter when it comes to young voters and women, and of course, college-educated or non-college-educated white voters --
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
WALKER: -- in specific areas. Ron Brownstein, thank you so much. Good to see you.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
WALKER: Political ads are overtaking TV and computer screens in key battleground states as the U.S. draws closer to the presidential election, but which ones are the most effective? CNN's Danny Freeman asked the voters in Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The question was simple. How would you describe the onslaught of political ads so far this year? [08:35:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chaos. Complete chaos.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're ridiculous.
MEGAN FINNEY, PENNSYLVANIA HARRIS SUPPORTER: It's so overkill. We're all sick of it.
JOAN JENNERJAHN, PENNSYLVANIA HARRIS SUPPORTER: I think it's overwhelming.
DREW NIELSEN, PENNSYLVANIA REPUBLICAN: You know, all of a sudden it's nothing but like, ah, illegal immigrants. She's the border czar, she's not the border czar, and we're just trying to get in the fall spirit. You know what I mean?
FREEMAN (voice-over): We know battleground states get flooded with political ads in the home stretch of every presidential race. But this year, Pennsylvania is getting hit more than any other.
Since President Biden dropped out of the race and Vice President Harris took over as the Democratic nominee, the campaigns and outside groups have spent more than $350 million on ads in the Keystone State. That's over $100 million more than the next battleground of Michigan. And voters in Pennsylvania are set to see over $80 million more worth of campaign ads over the final two weeks of the race.
(TRUMP CAMPAIGN AD PLAYING)
FREEMAN (voice-over): This is one of the ads former President Trump's campaign has spent the most on here in recent weeks, attacking Harris over her past support of certain rights for transgender people, including detained immigrants and federal prisoners.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Kamala was the first to help pay for a prisoner's sex change.
KAMALA HARRIS, (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The power that I had, I used it in a way that was about pushing for the movement, frankly, and the Agenda.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): Kamala's agenda is they, them.
FREEMAN (voice-over): Trump supporter Drew Nielsen thought the ad was effective.
NIELSEN: It's inflammatory, but I think the majority of people aren't affected by that. All they're hearing is, oh, she's just wasting tax dollars.
FREEMAN (voice-over): But not all Republicans we spoke with like the ad.
FREEMAN: Do you think that ad focused on this trans issue that is effective to persuade voters here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No because it's a side issue and it's not what most people care about.
FREEMAN (voice-over): Republican Alfred Hagen said language in ads like this make it impossible for him to vote for Trump.
ALFRED HAGEN, PENNSYLVANIA REPUBLICAN: Is that really the biggest issue confronting America today? We've got climate change issues, we've got hurricane issues, we've got relief issues. These are fundamentally difficult, challenging questions that should be dealt with on a federal level. That's (inaudible) and it's just nonsense.
FREEMAN (voice-over): Bucks County mom, Megan Finney said all of the ads have been hard to watch, especially when her young children ask questions.
FINNEY: You want to explain what's going on, who's running for presidency, but you don't really want to feel like you have to explain what rape is and incest, and all these things that they're putting out there.
HARRIS: I've seen all these negative ads against me.
FREEMAN (voice-over): This is one of the ads the Harris campaign has spent the most on here in recent weeks. Finney finds this one appealing.
HARRIS: Look, everyone is tired of the petty destructive politics. Let's turn the page and charge a new way forward.
FINNEY: That's positive. That's, to me, what it should be about. It shouldn't be about all of those other things that you know are negative.
FREEMAN: Do you think messages like these can help sway voters?
JENNERJAHN: I think some people are just, already pre-determined. They're going to -- they're going to vote Trump or they're going to vote Harris. I think those people that are not decided, I think if you compare the two ads side by side, do you want kind of crazy, hateful speech, or do you want something that's much more hopeful and how do we work together as people to bring the country together?
FREEMAN (voice-over): Danny Freeman, CNN, Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: Fascinating perspectives there. Thanks, Danny. Still to come, Donald Trump ally Elon Musk is placing himself front and center in the U.S. presidential election by offering swing state voters a cash incentive. But, is it even legal?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:40:00] WALKER: The stock closed sharply down after a tepid response from individual investors. It was India's largest-ever initial public offering with $3.3 billion worth of shares sold. CNN's Mike Valerio has more.
MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was a rocky road for the first few moments of this blockbuster IPO for Hyundai India, the largest IPO in India history, the largest IPO for Asia this year. So when we look at the numbers and take a look at the stock, how it traded throughout the day, down about 6 percent in the first few moments of trading, and then recovering ever so slightly.
Now, despite these headwinds, the storyline of how this remains an important theme in India's economy, the amazing resurgence of India's economy certainly remains true. So to take you into the context of how we got here, let's look at India's place in the world in terms of the automotive industry. India finding itself as the third ranking member of the top-three nations when it comes to the largest automotive markets in the world, joining China and the United States, leapfrogging ahead of Japan.
So analysts tell us Hyundai India, what they're trying to do and what the parent company of Hyundai here in Seoul, what it wants to do is try to make its bastion in India, a much larger player in the region, to make it a greater exporter of EVs and SUVs throughout the region. And you know the question that many have brought up when we're talking about this IPO is, why not expand to China? There's been a lot of analysis in the pages of the "Financial Times," and analysts here in Seoul are saying that Hyundai is really trying to look for an alternative to China.
When we have Beijing and other regional governments within China giving domestic Chinese automakers a lot of subsidies, it's crowding out so many of the international car makers. So from Hyundai's point of view, it makes sense to expand their position in India, to turn out more of those EVs and SUVs. So, a rocky start. We're going to watch this stock over the next couple days and weeks, worthy of keeping in mind, Facebook and Uber also had some pretty rocky moments for their IPO debuts, and they managed to recover in the short term.
Mike Valerio, CNN, Seoul.
WALKER: Mike, thank you.
Tech billionaire, Elon Musk is drawing criticism for his voting lottery scheme. He's offering the chance to win millions of dollars to Americans who register to vote in swing states, and then sign a petition. Legal experts and lawmakers are scathing about the move, many describing it as a clear case of illegal vote buying. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan spoke with the people at an event hosted by Musk in Pennsylvania. Some were there to meet the man they regard as the innovator, while others felt more of a kinship to the conspiracy theories that he propagates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elon Musk is the smartest man in the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elon is a genius. This is a one-time opportunity to see him.
DAVE FOX, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: I'm a super Star Trek geek. When those rockets came down, I'm like, you've got to be kidding.
CHRISTINE, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: I respect his opinion. I understand the way he thinks, being an engineer myself, I can understand some of the quirky things that maybe other people take the wrong way.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Elon Musk is holding -- this town hall happening here in Harrisburg, trying to get the vote out for former President Donald Trump.
(CROWD CHEERING)
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Musk is pouring tens of millions of dollars into getting Trump elected, even offering cash prizes to registered voters in battleground states.
(APPLAUSE)
ELON MUSK, TESLA & SPACEX FOUNDER: So every day, between now and the election, we'll be awarding $1 million starting tonight.
(CROWD CHEERING)
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): This experts say could be breaking election law.
O'SULLIVAN: So, you're a big Star Trek guy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
O'SULLIVAN: I've been to a lot of Trump rallies, but this has the feel of like part comic con, part Trump rally, right?
(LAUGH)
FOX: There's tons of young people, which I was like surprised. I think it usually, like there's a lot of people like me at a Trump rally, like getting ready to drop over. These are Elon Musk fans.
SHRAGA FEINBERG, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: He's so cool, man. Why not? Right? I mean, he's just so inspirational.
[08:45:00]
What an amazing guy. What I think he offers is being able to use his platform to bring the truth to more people, people that may not otherwise even give a crap about politics.
DEVIN MOUSSO, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: With all the polarization that there is now, I feel like it's really tough to yank somebody out of their camp. Everybody sees what the algorithms show him. I think most of the people that are big Elon Musk fans are probably on the side of Trump and all that already.
FEINBERG: Yeah. I voted for Biden in 2026.
O'SULLIVAN: You did?
FEINBERG: I did.
O'SULLIVAN: And what changed?
FEINBERG: What changed is nothing like positive, that's for sure. So, I know when Trump was in office, I saw more money on my paycheck.
MOUSSO: I was definitely a bit of a Trump hater, I guess.
O'SULLIVAN: So 2020, you weren't a Trump guy?
MOUSSO: I have -- no, no. I think I was more on down the middle, didn't really care about it. I felt everything's just too crazy. I don't want to get involved.
O'SULLIVAN: Yeah.
MOUSSO: And this is, I guess, is the most involved I'm getting. I haven't gone to any other rallies and I probably won't. But --
O'SULLIVAN: So, you haven't been to any other political event?
MOUSSO: No, not at all.
O'SULLIVAN: And you either, right?
FEINBERG: No, me neither.
MUSK: This might be the very last election that's a real election.
O'SULLIVAN: At some of these town halls, Musk has just been repeating election conspiracy theories.
MUSK: Statistically, there are some very strange things that happened.
O'SULLIVAN: You're not worried about Musk's critics who say he's sharing conspiracy theories.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, people make critics all the time. He's doing what is right for America and the people.
DONALD BICKEL, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER: I'm beacon (ph) of science. I do IT for a living.
O'SULLIVAN: Yeah.
BICKEL: So I'm here to see Elon. That's literally why I'm here.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): We met Don Bickel, a Musk super fan and Pennsylvania state government employee. BICKEL: My appeal for Elon is a lot of the way he likes to break conventions, working in government for as long, I like to sometimes smash the silos and just break everything down and build everything back up again. I had voted for Trump in the past. I traditionally vote Republican. I don't think I'm going to vote for Republican this time.
O'SULLIVAN: You don't think Musk's going to change your mind?
BICKEL: I mean, a meteor could strike me. It's possible.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Don says Musk's debunked conspiracy theories are dangerous.
BICKEL: I think probably, Elon's problem is he is so down the rabbit hole, what he is in X now that it's really hard to know what's right and wrong.
MUSK: There was a sort of question of like, say the dominion voting machines --
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): At one town hall, Musk brought up Dominion voting machines, a frequent subject of conspiracy theories.
MUSK: In my view, we should only do paper ballots, hand count it. That's it.
(APPLAUSE)
BICKEL: Here's the funny thing, even with Dominion, there's still a paper trail.
O'SULLIVAN: Yeah.
BICKEL: So, you could still hand recount that. I've been working for the state for many years and I -- heck, my father before me, like (inaudible) my father before me, he worked for the state for many years. So, I've -- I grew up as a state kid and I know how the state works in a lot of respects.
O'SULLIVAN: Yeah.
BICKEL: So, yeah, it's kind of sad when people like me, who are considered like the "enemy within" or the deep fake (ph), we're just doing our jobs.
O'SULLIVAN: But Musk is adding fuel to that fire, right, the demonization of public officials?
BICKEL: Look, the volume for this needs to be taken down.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: And that was Donie O'Sullivan reporting.
Still to come, it was once a pipe dream, but now LeBron James is preparing to suit up alongside his son Bronny in the NBA. We're going to take a look at what could be LeBron's crowning achievement.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: Britain's King Charles met with members of Australia's indigenous communities in Sydney today, as he and Queen Camilla continue their first visit to a commonwealth country since he came to the throne. Things went a little more smoothly than they had on Monday when a First Nation's lawmaker confronted Charles in Parliament shouting, you are not my king.
[08:50:00]
The royal couple haven't commented on the incident. In his speech to lawmakers, Charles paid tribute to Australia's indigenous people, the descendants of communities that have been there for thousands of years before British settlers came. The king will head to Samoa for a meeting of commonwealth leaders after wrapping up his Australia trip.
An Australian woman is recovering with only minor scratches and bruises after a bizarre accident. She dropped her phone between some rocks during a hike in the Hunter Valley, north of Sydney. And in trying to reach it, she slipped and got wedged upside down, listen to this, for seven hours. Rescuers had to remove several heavy boulders to create a safe access point and then they built a frame to stabilize the whole operation and used a winch to move a 500 kilogram boulder. The woman's phone though was not recovered, as long as she's doing fine.
Well, LeBron James is a four-time NBA champion, four-time MVP, and has three Olympic gold medals. But tonight might just be the biggest occasion in a world beating career. 20 years after becoming a dad, LeBron James is getting ready to suit up for the LA Lakers in the same team as his son, Bronny. The NBA season starts tonight with the Lakers hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves. Andy Scholes has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRONNY JAMES, LOS ANGELES LAKERS GUARD: I'm always thinking about, that's my dad because that's literally my dad.
(LAUGH)
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS REPORTER (voice-over): Bronny James and his world famous dad making history this season, and it's been 20 years in the making. LeBron's legendary career has been defined not only by his basketball greatness, but also by his unwavering dedication to being a father. He's had his children, Bronny, Bryson, Zhuri by his side during his NBA journey. And in a 2014 CNN interview, LeBron said his motivation to be a great father comes from his dad not being there for him.
LEBRON JAMES, LOS ANGELES LAKERS FORWARD: My whole life growing up, I think I just kind of always said, why me? Why me? Why wasn't -- why didn't my dad want to be around? I felt like I'm a pretty cool kid. I'm a good kid. Why wouldn't he want to be around for me? And then as I got older and older and kind of had my own family, I started to think the reason he wasn't there is the reason why I became so strong mentally, so loving to my mother, and I am who I am today because he wasn't there, because I use it as motivation.
SCHOLES (voice-over): LeBron and his wife Savannah had Bronny when he was just 19 years old in his second NBA season. And when Bronny started becoming a star in high school at Sierra Canyon, LeBron and Bronny playing together became more than a dream. But a frightening summer day in 2023, nearly derailed it all.
L. JAMES: Get an ambulance here now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok, all right, sir. All right, sir. I'm going to send help there.
SCHOLES (voice-over): Bronny went into cardiac arrest during a college practice and was rushed to the hospital. He would recover and after treatment was cleared, returned to the court just over four months later. Bronny would go on to play for one season at USC and then he declared for the NBA draft where the Los Angeles Lakers would select him with the 55th pick in the second round.
L. JAMES: I know I'm super happy for him. Our family's super proud of him.
SCHOLES (voice-over): Very proud. But LeBron says they will need to keep it professional on the court.
L. JAMES: We cannot be running down the court.
(LAUGH)
L. JAMES: And he'd be like, dad, ball, ball, ball. Dad, come on.
(LAUGH)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's probably going to be like LeBron -- LeBron would be the easiest.
L. JAMES: That I'd be the easiest.
SCHOLES (voice-over): LeBron and Bronny shared the court in the pre- season, a moment that LeBron called surreal, and it's even more than that. LeBron and Bronny on the same court as the culmination of LeBron's legacy, symbolizing the merging of a generational talent with the joy and pride of being a dad
L. JAMES: For a father, I mean, it means everything. I mean, I mean for someone who didn't have that growing up, to be able to be able to have that influence on your kids and have the influence on your son, to be able to have moments with your son, and then ultimately, to be able to work with your son, I think that's one of the greatest things that a father could ever hope for or wish for. So it's pretty cool.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHOLES: Now, we've seen plenty of father-son combos play in the league before, but there was always a big gap from when dad retired to when son made his debut in an NBA uniform. For example, Jalen Brunson came more than 12 years after his dad, Rick. You had Tim Hardaway Jr. more than 10 years after dad there. And then of course, the most famous father-son combo maybe in NBA history is Steph Curry and his dad Dell. They were seven years and 179 days apart. The closest father-son ever came to playing at the same time in the NBA was Gerald Wilkins and his son, Damien, and they were more than five years apart.
So think about that. LeBron and Bronny, that was more than five years, they're going to be on the court together, which is just incredible. Now Ken Griffey Jr. and his dad, they were the first to ever do it, playing together in baseball.
[08:55:00]
They're actually going to be at the game tonight in LA, Amara. Griffey Jr. saying we made history, now we want to go watch some history. So, it is certainly going to be a very cool night there at Staples Center in LA.
WALKER: What a beautiful full-circle moment and proud dad moment for LeBron. Can't wait to see that. Andy, good to see you. Thanks.
And fans of Paddington Bear, pay attention. Britain's beloved fictional bear born in Peru has been given a real British passport. This allows him to travel home to visit his Aunt Lucy in the upcoming film, "Paddington in Peru." The film's producer says they wrote the home office asking for a replica for the movie, but they were sent an official passport instead.
Good for him. That's my time. Thanks for joining me here on "CNN Newsroom." I'm Amara Walker. "Connect the World" with Eleni Giokos is next.
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