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Trump, Harris Give Final Pitches With 9 Days Left In Race; Gaza Ceasefire And Hostage Talks Restart In Qatar; Netanyahu: Iran's Defenses "Severely Damaged" In Retaliatory Strikes; Happening Now: Early Voting Underway In California; Asheville Schools In NC Reopen Nearly A Month After Hurricane; Pennsylvania Nuns Falsely Accused Of Voter Fraud. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired October 27, 2024 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:29]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN HOST: Hello and thanks for joining me. I'm Rahel Solomon in New York, in this weekend for Fredricka Whitfield.

We're now just nine days from the election and it is crunch time for both campaigns. Today, the candidates are blitzing the campaign trail, making their final pitches and targeting key voters.

And it comes as CNN's brand-new national poll of polls shows the race is deadlocked as we enter this critical home stretch. So far more than 40 million Americans have already cast their votes. The campaigns now focused on rallying the rest of their base to head to the polls and also trying to sway the few remaining undecided voters.

Today, Vice President Kamala Harris, she is in battleground Pennsylvania where she spoke this morning at a church service. She's also making several stops in Philly's black and Latino neighborhoods.

Meantime her political rival, former President Donald Trump, is skipping the swing states for a homecoming in deep blue New York. In a few hours, Trump will host a rally in New York City's iconic Madison Square Garden.

Let's kick off our team coverage this hour in the critical state of Pennsylvania. That is where Vice President Harris is campaigning right now.

Let's get to CNN's Priscilla Alvarez, who is there. So Priscilla what can you share with us about the Harris campaign strategy as we enter these final few days now?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you that Pennsylvania is a crucial part of their strategy as they try to fortify the blue wall which includes Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Of course, this has been a state that the vice president has visited multiple times trying to shore up that support. And today she is courting black voters going, as you mentioned, to a church service.

But also going to a barbershop to participate in a moderated conversation. Over the course of these stops, the vice president has made clear that Pennsylvania is the path to victory.

Take a listen.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm very excited about the reports that were getting about enthusiasm here in Philadelphia.

And to your point, Philadelphia is a very important part of our path to victory. And it is the reason I'm spending time here -- had been spending time here. But I'm feeling very optimistic about the enthusiasm that is here and the commitment that folks of every background have to vote and to really invest in the future of our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, it's not just Philadelphia, it's also the surrounding counties that the vice president has also been spending time in over recent weeks but look, the vice president is building towards her closing argument, which we anticipate on Tuesday when she speaks at the Ellipse with the White House behind her.

The vice president saying in an interview earlier today with CBS that she is trying to draw that sharp contrast with former President Donald Trump using the White House as the background from that location where of course, Donald Trump delivered that fiery speech on January 6 that led to some of his supporters attacking the U.S. Capitol.

So that is going to be part of the closing argument. But also reproductive freedom. We saw on Friday the vice president with Beyonce in Houston, Texas talking about this issue at what they see as the epicenter of what they've called the Trump abortion ban.

So the vice president, both trying to draw a sharp contrast with former President Donald Trump over the closing days of this election, but also prominently featuring some of the key issues that Democrats say will galvanize voters to the polls and that especially means reproductive freedom.

So a lot expected on those two fronts, including here in Philadelphia today.

SOLOMON: Yes. We heard Harris speak about reproductive rights when she was campaigning yesterday in Michigan. And Walz, who was in Michigan, he was joined by former first lady Michelle Obama, who spoke at her rally last night.

What was her message Priscilla?

ALVAREZ: Yes. Michelle Obama spent an extensive amount of time talking about reproductive freedom in perhaps the most explicit way that any surrogate has up until this point. And targeting her messaging to men. Remember that the vice president's polling has shown that they are struggling in some cases with men, including young black man, also Latino men.

So Michelle Obama delivering an address that talks on multiple issues, but especially on reproductive freedom. She had this to say to the men in the crowd.

[14:04:48]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE OBAMA, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Your wife or mother could be the ones at higher risk of dying from undiagnosed cervical cancer because they have no access to regular gynecological care.

Your daughter could be the one too terrified to call the doctor if she's bleeding during an unexpected pregnancy.

You will be the one praying that it's not too late you will be the one pleading for somebody, anybody to do something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, in many ways that was a similar strategy to what we hear from the vice president, which is using personal anecdotes and she's trying to speak to people directly, especially on this issue.

But the vice president, her team, also bringing out the star power over the next several days as they do those get-out-the-vote rallies. That is the phase that the campaign is in right now, which is essentially mobilizing voters early to get to the polls, Rahel.

SCIUTTO: Ok. Priscilla Alvarez there for us in Philadelphia. Priscilla, thank you.

Former President Trump meantime, taking a different approach today. Instead of campaigning in a battleground state, he is kicking off the final full week of this campaign with a rally at Madison Square Garden in his home state and hometown of New York City.

And that's where we find CNN's Kristen Holmes. So Kristen, Trump lost New York by more than 20 points in 2016 and in 2020. So what's the strategy behind his rally there tonight?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rahel there is no kind of indication in any way that Donald Trump could take New York. but this is more of a celebration for the former president and a way to kick off the end of election week.

Donald Trump has really long wanted to hold an event at Madison Square Garden. I talked to his camp about it really for months. They were trying to figure out how to do it. There was concern, just given the politics of New York it would never happen. Given the timing, it would never happen. And then this all fell into place and they're treating this rally

really like RNC part 2. They have a list of speakers, some other celebrities who have endorsed Donald Trump as well as those lawmakers here to really rally up the crowd.

Now Donald Trump has privately said he thinks he could win New York, but every single campaign adviser, every ally of his seems to think that is just a pipe dream. It's something he said, even said it on a call last night with New York lawmakers.

But they are hoping that this rally could at least spike some enthusiasm among Republicans in New York to help with some of those vulnerable House seats. That's why he did that call last night.

The other thing to keep in mind here is that this is serving as one of Donald Trump's largest fundraisers today. They had been selling packages that include a free event with the former president, VIP suites, a photo opportunity. All of this to raise money around him being here at Madison Square Garden.

I look around the room and there are already thousands of people here. The floor is filled. The first row or the first set of rows is all filled and they're letting people in continuously.

There was a long line outside, not clear where these people are from.

I'm also seeing a handful of former administration officials, Trump allies, donors that they are intending on at least trying to fill the entirety of Madison Square Garden.

As you noted, Rahel, this is a real homecoming for Donald Trump something that he has wanted to do. This is his home city of New York. Obviously, he lives in Florida now, but it's something that's important to him and they are certainly putting on a show which Donald Trump loves to do today ahead of this kicking off of the last week of campaigning before those voters hit the polls on November 5.

SOLOMON: Ok. Kristen Holmes, we'll check back in with you soon. Kristen, thank you.

All right. Joining me now to talk more about the race for the White House is Doug Heye. He is a Republican strategist and a former communications director for the RNC. Also with us is CNN political commentator Karen Finney. She was a senior adviser to Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign.

Good to see you both.

Karen, let me start with you. I mean Harris in Philly today. So she's making these campaigns stops where she's targeting more specifically black voters, Latino voters with these small campaign stops instead of a big rally which we've seen her do a lot of.

She's also releasing a new ad targeting men. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) is different. They insult us --

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Bad things happen in Philadelphia -- bad things.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't like us. We don't care. It is really the thing that people like Donald Trump don't understand with Philly.

(EXPLETIVE DELETED) Philly and when you fight us, we fight back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: All right.

So Karen, the polls show a major gender divide. Harris has a big polling lead with women. Trump has it with men. Do you think this last-minute push to sway male voters will be enough and your thoughts on that campaign, on that ad.

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, absolutely. Look, one of the things that I think is so important in this last nine days, eight days there are more voters, potentially available to her than there are Donald Trump.

She's got, you know, Latino voters, African-American voters, young voters, you know, never Trumpers, Haley voters.

[14:09:44]

FINNEY: And what you've seen and will continue to see is fighting for every vote, going to people where they are and having the conversations that -- talking about the issues that they want to hear about.

So I think it's absolutely the right strategy. She's, you know -- look, this is what 100 and some days campaign and so whereas normally you'd have more time to do more events in specific communities, she's having to do a little bit of all of it throughout.

And so I think you're going to see this closing argument on Tuesday and that will kind of bring the moment into what I hope will be a victorious election.

SOLOMON: And just for our audience, what you're looking at here, these are live pictures of her. I believe she's at a Puerto Rican restaurant in Philly. And if I'm not mistaken, the woman behind her is Cherelle Parker, the mayor of Philadelphia, the first female mayor of Philadelphia. We'll keep an eye on that.

But Doug, let me bring you into the conversation. Former President Trump as we just said, campaigning in his hometown with a big rally later today at Madison Square Garden.

Your reaction to that. Is that the best use of his time now and will this rally still reach critical voters in the swing states, even though it's happening in Manhattan. DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think what -- you know, Rahel, whether you're talking about Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, I'd say time spent out of the seven key states that are the swing states that could turn this election by and large is wasted time.

Your time is better spent in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Nevada, Arizona, et cetera than it is in Texas or in Washington, D.C. or in New York.

But with this Trump event yes, it's going to get a lot of coverage, although a lot of people, especially young males, who Trump wants to win with big margin, will probably be watching football.

But I think Karen would probably agree with me that every political campaign that you're on, whether you're running for mayor or for president there's always some event that makes staff sort of scratch their heads, why are we doing this in this way?

And the answer is always to scratch that itch that a candidate has. So many times in campaigns I've been on, again I'm sure it's the same for Karen. You're doing something ultimately because the candidate really wants to do it.

And clearly, Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden is sort of like a lifelong dream for him, regardless of whether he wins or loses.

SOLOMON: Yes, it's been described as a bucket list item for him.

Karen, what do you make of Trump's rally in New York as we look at these live pictures?

FINNEY: Look, I think he's trying to show some sort of momentum. It'll be interesting to see if they're actually able to fill it because they really haven't been able to fill many of the venues around the country in the battleground states.

We've seen pictures, or we've heard tale of events that start late because they're trying to what -- when I used to do advanced work, we called shrinking the site, right. So it didn't look quite so small.

Clearly, they're trying to show some momentum. We heard our own reporter talk about this is sort of RNC part 2. They know they had some momentum coming out of the RNC. They're trying to recapture that.

The problem that I would say with Harris if you look at not just what the vice president is doing today, but we have four other top campaign surrogates on the road today, holding events, crowd events, retail politics events, meaning that it's a force multiplier. More people in more places talking to more voters.

Whereas Trump is largely going to be speaking to people who probably already support him. Maybe could reach some of the folks that might be on the fence. But I think if you're on the fence at this point, you're probably more likely either not voting for Trump or contemplating voting for Vice President Harris. SOLOMON: And just for our audience, again we're looking at these live pictures as Vice President Kamala Harris makes a push today in the city of Philadelphia in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania and speaking specifically to black and Latino groups and voters.

Let's listen together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I think the bigger problem are the -- I think the bigger problem are the people from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics.

And I think that -- and it should be very easily handled by, if necessary by National Guard or if really necessary by the military.

These are bad people. We have a lot of bad people but when you look at Shifty Schiff and some of the others, yes, they are to me the enemy from within. I think Nancy Pelosi is an enemy from within.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Ok. That was obviously not Kamala Harris. That was a clip of the former president.

But Doug, what I did want you to weigh in on is his running mate, J.D. Vance spoke to our Jake Tapper earlier this morning. And this is what he had to say when Jake asked him about and really pressed him about it several times. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: He said that he wanted to use the military to go after far-left lunatics who are rioting. And he also called them and he also called them the enemy within.

He's separately in a totally different context and a totally different conversation said that Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff were threats to this country were the enemy within -- were the enemy within.

J.D. VANCE (R) VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: He never said --

TAPPER: He said they were the enemy within.

VANCE: So every time he uses the exact same phrase, we assume that he used.

TAPPER: I don't know. I don't throw around the term of enemy within to talk about using the military against American people.

(CROSSTALKING)

[14:14:49]

VANCE: Well, you're a journalist and you're asking his vice president, but you won't let me answer the question. I'm telling you that Donald Trump has said and I agree with him that

we should use the U.S. military to go after --

TAPPER: To go after Americans.

VANCE: -- people who riot, who burn down our cities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Doug, your reaction and do you buy Vance's explanation?

HEYE: Well, I think it's somewhat of a sort of cleanup on aisle three. What Donald Trump said is clearly a mess, not helpful to win over new voters certainly.

And Vance is trying to do two things. One, he's never going against it -- go against anything that Donald Trump says. Similarly, Tim Walz is always going to backup Kamala Harris. But he's trying to also put it in a way that it is somewhat more explainable.

I would say though this is not what you want to be talking about a week out from the election. You want to be talking about those things that voters are saying they either don't like about the Biden-Harris administration. We don't hear the word Biden all that much anymore. We should hear more of it from Republicans.

And those concerns that they have about Kamala Harris and hit on the issue of the economy, hit on the issue of the border over and over again, work the leg like the Anderson brothers used to do and you can have success.

When you go into these strange rabbit holes that Donald Trump directs you as J.D. Vance is his -- as his nominee, he has to follow that and again try and clean up. You're better off getting as far away from that as you can.

SOLOMON: Karen, I'm going to let you have the last word here as we look at these pictures again of Kamala Harris in the City of Brotherly Love speaking to and speaking at a Puerto Rican restaurant if I'm not mistaken.

Karen, what do you want to hear from Harris when she's speaking specifically in these small groups, clearly trying to reach men especially, men of color especially? What does she need to say? What do you want to hear from her?

FINNEY: Look, I think it's an opportunity to have a two-way conversation to both listen to their questions and talk with them about the policies that she's put forward and how it would impact their lives.

I was actually in Pennsylvania last weekend in a suburb talking to mostly working-class white voters and there were things about her proposals, like taking on price gouging. They really wanted to hear more. And I know it's hard for us to believe because we are people who pay very close attention. But for a lot of folks, they really may not have heard all the details. And so the opportunity to ask for questions and have her kind of talk it out with them is very important.

And never underestimate the power that then those folks will leave there and go back to their communities, their homes, their friend groups, and talk about the fact that they had a conversation with her.

SOLOMON: Ok. We're going to leave it here.

Doug Heye, Karen Finney -- good to see you both, thank you.

HEYE: Thank you.

SOLOMON: Let's listen now to the Vice President Kamala Harris at that event. Let's listen together. Thanks, guys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we try (ph), we win. When we try --

CROWD: We win.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we try --

CROWD: We win.

SOLOMON: We sort of got the tail end of her comments there. We'll continue to watch her trip there, bring you any relevant news lines as they come in.

In the meantime, still to come for us. Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel's retaliatory strikes against Iran severely damaged that country's defense capabilities.

We're going to have a live report from the region after a short break.

[14:18:02]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Welcome back. I'm Jim Sciutto, live in Jerusalem.

We are continuing to monitor developments in the wake of Israel's air strikes on Iran overnight Friday. New today sources tell me that some Israeli jets which took part in those airstrikes breached Iranian airspace during Saturday's operation. That would represent a significant military capability for Israel against Iran.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran's defenses were severely damaged by the attacks. Iran says it will not hesitate to respond decisively and appropriately. Though it's not clear if that's true or if its decided how that might happen or when.

With the Middle East very much on edge today, top negotiators from the U.S., Israel and Qatar are resuming talks on a potential Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal. Those are the first such discussions in more than two months after many false starts in those negotiations.

Here with us now, former spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus. Good to have you on. Thanks for taking time this afternoon.

LT. COL. JONATHAN CONRICUS, FORMER SPOKESPERSON, ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES: Thank you for having me. Hello.

SCIUTTO: I wonder if you could give us a sense first of what military folks would call a battle damage assessment from the strikes on Friday, Israeli leaders are calling them a success. Iranian leaders are playing down the extent of them. I imagine you'd expect both to say something like that.

What do we know about what targets were hit and whether those hits were successful.

CONRICUS: Yes. It's obvious that the Iranian regime would want to downplay the success of the Israeli strike. But I think that there's a lot of information visual as well as radars and reports from the ground.

When you add it all together, I think that in terms of destroying S- 300 air defense systems that had been one significant component that has been successful for the IDF.

[14:24:50]

CONRICUS: The IDF has struck very important targets that are related to Iran's weapons program, its ballistic missiles and also parts of its nuclear program in a place called Parchin.

And Israel has struck various facilities in and around Tehran and in other locations in Iran. So I would say that around 20 targets or 20 installations were targeted. Israel is reporting very good high percentage of hits.

And the Iranians will have to prove that everything is working and ok. But I think that overall what Israel has done is basically to pave the way for the second and third round of attacks which I think will come not in the too distant future.

SCIUTTO: Ok. Before we get to the possibility of further strikes, you mentioned striking a target connected to Iran's nuclear program. This one at Parchin. Can you be more specific?

CONRICUS: Yes. Because the Iran's nuclear military program, which is still going on in full swing. Now, it's not so much about enrichment of fissile material. They've already done that successfully and they have enough enriched material.

And what they're focusing on now is what we call weaponization. Turning it into a bomb and then making that bomb capable of being loaded on a missile and traveling as a warhead.

In order to fire a warhead, you need powerful missiles. And in order to have a missile, you need to mix fuel and to have special equipment that is designed to do exactly that.

And I understand that the specific location in Parchin that is what was targeted and targeted successfully. I think Reuters reported it.

These are crucial components for the Iranian military to be able to have both conventional and unconventional capabilities. It's the Iranian missile program.

I also know that Israel struck various launch sites in northeastern Iran that are related to both conventional and in the future could be used for unconventional uses as well.

SCIUTTO: Ok. Let's talk about next steps here, because there has been some speculation that given air defenses were such a significant they're getting part of these strikes, Iranian air defenses.

Of course, some of that would be natural because you want to allow your jets to move in, carry out their strikes without being targeted by those air defenses.

But you're saying that was part of a plan to clear the way in effect for further airstrikes. How soon are you talking about and in your view, have those further strikes already been decided upon?

CONRICUS: So I think that they've been -- they are prepared. The target bank (ph) is there and the Israeli air force has practiced and has the capabilities. Immediately as the pilots landed, they went to debrief and to understand what -- how they did well and what they need to do even better for the next time, specifically regarding air defenses and how they can approach their targets.

So they are combat-ready for the next round of strikes when the cabinet will decide an order to do so. That could happen immediately and it could happen after an Iranian strike against Israel or unrelated.

I think that we really are, and I'm not sure that many people appreciate it, but we really are in a different stage now in western Asia or the Middle East whereby Iran has kind of opened itself up to Israeli strikes. And Israel now will have the ability to decide when and where to strike.

Of course, taking into consideration diplomatic and military and political considerations. But it's really a new situation, not a good one for Iran.

SCIUTTO: It's interesting because there had been some reads of the latest exchange of strikes. Of course, the Iranian missile barrage on Israel October 1st. And now this Israeli response, which was expected that both sides now are satisfied that they have reestablished deterrence, this phrase we use all the time.

But are you indicating that may not be true from the Israeli side? That its prepared to strike again?

CONRICUS: Well, I have not heard the Iranian regime say that they are stepping down from their ultimate regime goal to annihilate the state of Israel.

If and when they do that, then I think that will change the situation and maybe Israel will have a different strategic posture as long.

As that regime is in place and as long as they openly say that they want to destroy the state of Israel and they continue to fund terrorist organizations and they continue to try to develop nuclear weapons then Israel is not going to sit by and wait for that to materialize.

[14:29:52]

CONRICUS: So I think that we're definitely on another path. And the latest events, October and now the Israeli retaliation, they put the Middle East on the different trajectory. And I think that it's the first time in many, many years, it's a strategic picture that doesn't favor the Iranians and where Israel, Sunni states, and the U.S. really have an opportunity to really take the regime out of balance and really forced them to stop their belligerents activities in the Middle East. If Israel is able to do that with U.S. and Saudi and Emirati support, that I think will be a significant game changer.

SCIUTTO: Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, as always, we appreciate -- appreciate you sharing your insight.

CONRICUS: Thank you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: And we'll be right back with much more news, not just here in the region, but also back in the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:35:14]

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

With just over a week to go until Election Day, more than 40 million ballots have already been cast nationwide. That's roughly a quarter of the 158 million votes cast for president in 2020. In California, vote centers open Saturday for early in-person voting across 29 counties. Now, in addition to casting their presidential ballots, voters there are also selecting a replacement for the seat of the late Senator Dianne Feinstein. It's the states first Senate race without an incumbent running since 2016.

Lets bring in CNN's Julia Vargas Jones. She joins us live from a polling station in Orange County, California.

So, Julia, what's it like out there so far how this turn up in?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in this location where you are where we are in Cyprus, Orange County, we're starting to see people trickle in today, day two. But yesterday, there were more than 300 people just coming to cast their votes in all of California, Rahel, we're looking at 21 million registered voters. And here in Orange County, 1.8 million of those voters. If you break it down by party, 685,836 registered Democrats, 633,710 registered Republicans, independents coming in at 72,075.

Obviously, they will play key role in this election because this district, the 45th congressional district, could be one of the key races that could end up the deciding if Republicans or Democrats take control of the House.

The district's incumbent, Michelle Steel, a Republican she's running for reelection. A third term against Democrat Derek Tran, and to highlight the importance of this race, former President Bill Clinton was here stumping for Tran yesterday, trying to get out the Asian American vote. That's very important in this district, Rahel, because since redistricting in 2020, about 40 percent of the population of this district is Asian-American. They've become an extremely important voting bloc in this area.

And I spoke with one of them earlier, Vietnamese American, Vietnamese born and American citizen who's been in Orange County for more than 30 years, is a retired engineer and a registered Republican, but he told me that the Republican Party doesn't represent him anymore, and that the voted Democrat up and down ballot because he's very concerned about Donald Trumps ability to run the economy and to handle the country during a time of conflict in the Middle East and Ukraine, both of these being key factors to draw voters in to get their votes early.

SOLOMON: Okay. Julia Vargas Jones, very interesting. Thank you.

All right. Coming up next, students in Asheville, North Carolina are set to return to class as their community is still recovering from the devastation from Hurricane Helene. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:42:51]

SOLOMON: Nearly a month after Helene devastated parts of North Carolina, schools and hard-hit Buncombe County are welcoming students back to class.

Asheville City Schools District in the county is set to reopen on Monday, but the superintendent tells CNN that many students are still struggling to meet basic needs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MAGGIE FEHRMAN, SUPERINTENDENT, ASHEVILLE CITY SCHOOLS: We opened up a resource center on one of our campuses and we have probably between 15 and 20 families coming through every day just to get still get basic supplies.

(END VIDOE CLIP)

SOLOMON: CNN's Rafael Romo joins me now.

So, Rafael, you were in North Carolina, you saw the damage firsthand.

What are you now learning about the reopening plans? RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, for some of the people that I've been in touch with this is a sign of hope, Rahel, although they realize full recovery for Asheville and all the devastated areas in western North Carolina is going to take much longer. In the city of Asheville, classes resume tomorrow, but on a modified schedule and no after-school programs. Asheville City School superintendent Maggie Fehrman told CNN this morning that none of their schools were damaged in the storm and will have electricity, internet, and running water.

Asheville is in Buncombe County, but operates an independent system -- an independence city school system, I should say. Buncombe County's students went back to school Friday. Schools are on a two two-hour delay and drinking water is being delivered just as Asheville schools are doing because what's coming out of the pipes is not yet safe for drinking.

Another challenge, Rahel, is that many students and staff were personal affected by the storm as a superintendent told us earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FEHRMAN: We have several students that lost family members. We have staff members who lost family members. I think the most tragic was one of our staff members lost 11 members of her family in the Craigtown area and that is just completely devastating for her for and for our whole community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper last night reminded people that Helene was the deadliest and most damaging storm ever to hit North Carolina, killing at least 98 people, more than 100,000 people had their homes damaged, the governor said, and thousands of businesses that were damaged to have yet to reopen.

[14:45:03]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ROY COOPER (D), NORTH CAROLINA: They're going to need our help collectively. They're going to need local government, state government, the federal government, the private sector, the volunteers, the non-profits all pulling together, so that western North Carolina can build back and a stronger way, more resilient way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Governor Cooper also said that the total damage caused by the storm is estimated, listen to this, Rahel, at $53 billion. He made those remarks at a press conference before the beginning of a benefit concert highlighting some of country music biggest stars, like North Carolina natives, Eric Church and Luke Combs, and others like Sheryl Crow and Keith Urban. All proceeds from the concert will be used for storm relief efforts.

But again, a good, good sign of hope for many residents there -- Rahel.

SOLOMON: Rafael Romo, thank you.

All right. Coming up for us, a group of nuns fighting back after a Republican operative falsely accused them of voter fraud. Their story coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:44]

SOLOMON: Okay. Now, to, Pennsylvania where a group of nuns are pushing back after a Republican operative falsely claimed on social media that there was voter fraud at their Catholic monastery.

The post suggested that no one lived at the address implying that it was evidence of widespread voter fraud. However, the address is actually a home of 53 registered voters. As CNN's Danny Freeman reports, the nuns not happy about the misinformation. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just off the cold waters of Lake Erie tucked into the crisp fall foliage of Western Pennsylvania, the Benedictine sisters of Erie live a peaceful life in a modest monastery.

SISTER STEPHANIE SCHMIDT, PRIORESS, BENEDICTINE SISTER OF ERIE: This is my favorite window.

FREEMAN: Sister Stephanie Schmidt is the prioress, the leader of the 50-plus nuns who have called this place home for decades.

SCHMIDT: When you make your vows here, you're committed to this monastery in Erie for the rest of your life.

FREEMAN: Did it come to you as a bit of a surprise when all of a sudden on social media, someone was saying that no one lives here?

SCHMIDT: More of a shock than a surprise. Where is this coming from? What planet are you living on?

FREEMAN: On Tuesday, an X account claiming to be the head of a canvassing operation in Pennsylvania posted, breaking, a member of the PA CHASE discovered an address in Erie, Pennsylvania, today where 53 voters are registered. Turns out it's the Benedictine Sisters of Erie and no one lives there. We will not let Dems count on illegal votes.

The claim is a canvasser walked in right into the lobby and was told by someone no one lived there.

SCHMIDT: It's misinformation. No one here had that interaction with whomever supposedly came by canvassed. Nno one here would say no one lives here.

FREEMAN: The post seen more than 2.7 million times and reposted by Elon Musk's America PAC, included a long list of names all women implying they supposedly don't live here and aren't real voters at all.

You know most of the sisters who live here, correct?

SCHMIDT: I know all of them.

FREEMAN: So, you know Sister Rita?

SCHMIDT: Yes.

FREEMAN: Sister Ann?

SCHMIDT: Yes.

FREEMAN: There are four Sister Anns, right?

SCHMIDT: Used to be seven but now, we're down to four.

FREEMAN: Sister Annette?

SCHMIDT: Yes.

FREEMAN: Sister Audrey?

SCHMIDT: Yes.

FREEMAN: Sister Barbara?

SCHMIDT: Yes.

FREEMAN: Sister Dolores?

SCHMIDT: Yes.

FREEMAN: Sister Placida?

SCHMIDT: A hundred and seven.

FREEMAN: OK, just turned 107.

SCHMIDT: Just turned 107.

FREEMAN: At lunch, we saw the sisters of Erie firsthand.

Can each of you tell me how long you've lived here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sixty-three years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been in the community 54 years.

SISTER JEAN WOLBERT, BENEDICTINE SISTER OF ERIE: I entered in '59.

FREEMAN: We reached out to the canvassing operation and poster for comment but did not hear back. SISTER ANNETTE MARSHALL, BENEDICTINE SISTER OF ERIE: We're used to being accused of things like being too active and you know being -- we've always been very vocal about peace and justice, but I've never heard us accused of fraud.

FREEMAN: Or not existing.

MARSHALL: Or not existing, right.

FREEMAN: After the nuns publicly pushed back on the claims, the original poster tweeted in part: right now, we've got our team continuing to analyze the situation. Once we have proof, we will be content.

The nuns acknowledge they're in a swing county, in a swing state and misinformation is bound to flow in these final days of the presidential election.

Do you think this whole incident is going to galvanize more sisters here to vote?

MARSHALL: You don't need to galvanize the sisters here to vote. They will vote. They all vote.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN (on camera): Now, I should say, not only do all of these nuns vote, but they're not afraid of a fight either. They tell me that they've reached out to their attorneys to discuss the possibility of legal action after this incident. They're saying they're looking at violation of privacy since many of their nuns' full names and, of course, their address was posted online, but also they're calling accusations of fraud public defamation.

Danny Freeman, CNN, State College, Pennsylvania.

SOLOMON: All right. Danny, thank you.

And in case you missed it, "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" with Roy Wood Jr., Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black with guests Larry Wilmore and Adam Kinzinger will replay tonight at 11:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

Here's a moment from this week's episode.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY WOOD JR., CNN HOST: Have you ever been in any type of like look- alike contests, anything? Talking about --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

WOOD: There's anybody else you'll ever like --

[14:55:01]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. WOOD: -- mistaken.

ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Tom Cruise kind of. But that's --

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes!

(CROSSTALK)

KINZINGER: I'm not the one that --

WOOD: I don't know. I give you --

KINZINGER: I'm not the one that says it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just say you're not the one who says it?

KINZINGER: I'm not the one who said --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just said it, bro!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you just look at what you look like when it happened? Yeah. Some people said --

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some people said I look like Tom Cruise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I keep playing volleyball with my shirt off.

WOOD: I did one time, though, I did when Isaiah Whitlock Jr. look- alike contests from "The Wire".

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: You can catch the replay of "Have I got news for you" tonight at 11:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)