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Jennifer Lopez Backs Support for Kamala Harris; Death Toll from Spain's Flash Floods Risen to 150. Chinese People's View in the Upcoming U.S. Elections; Japanese Kawaii Icon Hello Kitty Turns 50.Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired November 01, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris brings star power to a rally in the key state of Nevada, while former President Donald Trump hits battleground states hard in the waning days of the campaign.

Spain is rocked by deadly floods. We'll have the latest on the rescue and recovery efforts.

And Lebanese state media says Israel has hit Lebanon with a series of new strikes, including on the suburbs of Beirut for the first time in more than a week.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: The clock is running down on the 2024 U.S. presidential election with four days left in the campaign. Nearly 61 million people have already cast their ballots in early voting. Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have been encouraging supporters to vote as soon as possible.

Now, the Trump campaign has released a statement saying it expects, quote, "the bulk of its supporters to cast their ballots on election day itself." Both candidates spent Thursday crisscrossing key Western battleground states in an effort to win any remaining undecided.

Harris was joined Thursday night at a rally in Las Vegas by actress and singer Jennifer Lopez. The Puerto Rican superstar's appearance came just days after a comedian at a Trump rally sparked outrage by describing Puerto Rico as a floating island of garbage. Lopez said all of humanity found a tasteless joke insulting. When Harris spoke to an enthusiastic crowd, she warned about what she called the dangers of another Trump presidency. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS (D), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is not someone who is thinking about how to make your life better. This is someone who is increasingly unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance, and is out for unchecked power. And look, in less than 90 days it's either going to be him or me in the Oval Office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump was also campaigning in the Southwest. The Republican presidential contender hit three key battleground states on Thursday, including New Mexico and Nevada, where CNN polls show Harris and Trump are effectively tied. Trump also stopped in Arizona, where he made remarks at right-wing personality Tucker Carlson's live tour event. Carlson asked Trump about presidential appointments, but the GOP nominee says he wants to get elected first. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, you know, I feel interesting about this kind of stuff. I like to, number one, get elected. I hate to talk to stuff. A lot of people, they set up, I know that even when I ran, Hillary had an office set up where they were interviewing all the -- I don't want to do that.

I want to get elected first, and then we'll cram a little bit. But you know, I don't like doing it. No, I remember she set up this big office. They're interviewing people for jobs. And actually you're supposed to do it, but I want to win. I want to win in five days from now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And now, four days out, the polls continue to show that it's anyone's race. The latest numbers out of two key southern swing states put Donald Trump and Kamala Harris within a hair's breadth of one another. The survey of likely voters here in Georgia shows Trump leading by 1 percent, with Harris doing the same in North Carolina. But in both cases, the results are within the margin of error, which of course suggests no clear leader in either contest.

All right, joining us now from Colchester, England is Natasha Lindsteadt, a professor of government at the University of Essex. Good to see you again. I want to start there with the latest polls. So what we're seeing in those swing states so close as it's been throughout the race, what are you seeing?

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROF. OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: Exactly. The polls are not great for Harris. If you think about the way the polls were in 2016 and 2020, how they underestimated Trump. But we know that pollsters are trying to address that, that some of these Trump voters, which tend to be unlikely voters, weren't accounted for in the previous election cycles, and now pollsters have tried to adjust for that.

The other thing is that the polls don't really capture voter enthusiasm, and they don't capture what's going on the ground. I mean, that's at least what's being reported that it's a pretty thin operation for Donald Trump. I think he assumes that people that vote for him are going to vote for him no matter what. They're very motivated to vote for him.

[03:05:04]

But the Democrats have a much more sophisticated and extensive campaign and they're knocking on doors and they're trying to get the vote out. And really at this point, the polls don't matter much. They haven't changed much. They have been pretty much the same for the last six weeks, eight weeks even. But what really matters is the drive to get voters to vote, and we've already seen record levels of early voting.

So there's a lot of enthusiasm, particularly on the Democrat side. Sure, Trump is incredibly confident because the polls look so good for him. But in some ways, some of his last messages, he almost sounds desperate, like, don't make me waste a day being here. You need to vote for me. An interesting way to close a campaign.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely. You referenced the early voting numbers. I want to get back to that in a second. But you talked about enthusiasm. And for that, Democrats are recruiting so many huge stars. We saw LeBron coming out for Harris, J. Lo on stage there for Harris.

Talk about that floating island of garbage comments. So between that and then Joe Biden's retort, which sounded like he was calling Trump supporters garbage. We have these, sort of, dueling gaffes by proxy. So which do you think will be more harmful now in the closing days?

LINDSTAEDT: Well, by far what happened at Madison Square Garden and what this comedian did calling Puerto Rico an island of trash. I mean, that really hit a nerve. It resonated not with just Puerto Ricans and, of course, in the important, vital state of Pennsylvania.

You have 470,000 Puerto Ricans that could really tip things in Harris' direction. There were already some Puerto Ricans that were notable Puerto Ricans that said, I was going to vote for Trump but I'm not going to anymore.

And so that was a lot more damaging than Joe Biden's gaffe because he's not really running and he's already apologized about that. And we've seen that the Harris team has seized upon this, that Trump doesn't really care about Hispanics. It's all transactional. He just wants them to vote for him, but he doesn't really explain why they should vote for him.

And regarding this whole outpouring of celebrities and there are celebrities on both sides but this really doesn't change people's minds that are already made their mind up the celebrity elements just drums up enthusiasm gets people excited it draws a lot of energy to the campaign and makes people feel good but it's not probably can change people's minds.

BRUNHUBER: Now, but what might change people's minds, perhaps Donald Trump comments about protecting women whether they like it or not certainly Harris is seized on that. Do you think that might help Democrats in terms of reaching more Republican women who might be on the fence?

LINDSTAEDT: So there's been a lot of questions about what Republican women are going to do what white women are going to do and Trump has hemorrhage support from this particular group he was leading by 70 points in the last election and some poll show that with white women, he's maybe leading by a point or instead even.

These types of comments don't help that he's going to protect you like whether you like it or not me this is coming from someone who was convicted of sexual assault described on tape that he's going to assault women by the private to grab by the private.

All this stuff doesn't play well with women and I can't imagine that's what he wants to close on because women vote more than men do, they vote more than men by three or four points. And we're seeing that this is the trend I would be looking at the most.

If the female voter turnout is really high, this is not going to be good for Trump. And we'll have to look at it in comparison to what male turnout is. That's his base, it's mostly white males. And part of his base is not the type of voter that tends to vote all the time.

So that's why he's trying to get enthusiasm with that whole Madison Square Garden Macho Fest. He's hoping that that's going to bring out his supporters. But at the same time, he's really turning off female voters.

BRUNHUBER: Natasha Lindsteadt, will leave it there. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

LINDSTAEDT: Thank you for having me.

BRUNHUBER: More than 150 people are now confirmed dead in Spain from heavy rains and flash flooding. That's after a year's worth of rainfall came down in just a matter of hours earlier this week, causing rivers to overflow, coursing through entire towns and doing immense damage. Emergency workers are working to rescue those still trapped while operations are underway to recover bodies and clear enormous amounts of debris.

Atika Shubert reports from the worst hit region.

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ATIKA SHUBERT, JOURNALIST (voice-over): A dramatic rescue in Spain's Valencia region, a young baby hoisted to safety from the floodwaters below. With the country still reeling from the worst flooding in decades, emergency services are still battling to find survivors.

[03:10:06]

As the water subsides, the scale of the damage here is only starting to be revealed. The littered vehicles piled up like garbage an indication of the

ferocity of the floodwater that tore through these streets. A massive cleanup operation now underway as many remain without power or water. Many roads are totally blocked, hampering relief efforts. As residents pick their way through what is left of their towns now slick with mud, one question remains. How could this happen? So much water, so fast, with seemingly very little warning from authorities.

SHUBERT: Now this area, La Torre, is actually very close to Valencia City and it is also very close to the river. The water is just full- wet right through here. And many people here at Foga estate get the alert until it is too late.

ADAN, RESIDENT OF LA TORRE (through translator): The problem is the alarm on the phone came really late at night. I saw on the T.V., the cars floating on a nearby street and I thought the water must be coming my way. I went out onto the balcony and I saw the wave coming.

SHUBERT (voice-over): The death toll here is expected to rise as recovery teams scour for bodies. Many like this woman searching the streets for their loved ones. The Spanish prime minister visiting the region Thursday warned the threat from the storm was not over yet.

PEDRO SANCHEZ, SPANISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): To the citizens who live in the provinces of Valencia and also Castellon, please, the damage continues and please stay home.

SHUBERT (voice-over): The severity of the flood seemed to catch everyone out, with a year's worth of rain falling in just a few hours in some places, according to Spain's Meteorological Office. But many still asking why in a developed and advanced country like this one couldn't more people be saved.

Atika Shubert, CNN, at La Torre, Valencia, Spain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right, still to come, a new bombardment in Lebanon and the growing push for a ceasefire.

Plus, medicine and supplies desperately needed in Gaza, destroyed by an airstrike. We'll have the details on that, coming up. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Israel is pounding parts of Lebanon with a series of new strikes. According to Lebanese state media, the Israeli military targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut overnight for the first time in more than a week. The assaults reportedly caused massive destruction with dozens of buildings leveled to the ground.

Meanwhile, the Israeli prime minister says Israel's supreme objective is preventing Iran from getting nuclear weapons. Benjamin Netanyahu outlined his strategy against Hamas and Hezbollah in a speech to graduating soldiers. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is following all of this live from London. So

Salma, let's start with those latest Israeli strikes. What more can you tell us?

[03:15:00]

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I do believe we have images to show you from just a short time ago showing that Beirut skyline with smoke roaming over the southern suburbs where there are heavy Israeli airstrikes, according to Lebanese national media, state media. Dozens of buildings have been leveled. There is massive destruction on the ground.

Rescue workers, emergency workers are at the scene. As you mentioned, this is the first time that the suburbs, the southern suburbs, have been targeted in nearly a week. Israel's focus had seemed to be the north in recent days, particularly the area of Baalbek, a sign of just how much it was expanding its offensive on Lebanon.

But these strikes today on the southern suburbs come after the IDF had vowed retaliation yesterday. Some 90 Hezbollah rockets were fired towards Israel yesterday, Thursday to the city of Metula where four foreign nationals, four Thai nationals, were killed along with one Israeli citizen. This retaliation appears to be taking place right now in those southern suburbs.

But as the fighting continues and expands and claims more lives, there is a huge diplomat underway to put a temporary ceasefire in place that would stop this fighting in Lebanon at least for a period of a month and allow the warring parties to negotiate further, to negotiate a longer-term deal. That proposal is, of course, being pushed by U.S. officials. I want you to take a listen to how Blinken put the progress so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I can tell you that based on my recent trips to the region, the work is ongoing right now, we have made good progress on those understandings. We still have more work to do, but that's what's necessary to get us to a diplomatic resolution, including through a ceasefire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: The Secretary of State there speaking. Now, there are several diplomats on the ground in the region for the United States trying to push for a deal. Israel's been rather clamped in response to calls for this deal.

Prime Minister Netanyahu saying that Israel has to hold the right to enforce any agreement in Lebanon, essentially saying that the Israeli military would maintain the right to attack Lebanon if it sees fit, if it sees it as a threat to its own security at this time.

Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister, perhaps, expressed more optimism, said yesterday that he is hoping for a deal in the coming weeks or days. Why is this challenging? Why is this so difficult?

Well, you've had these signals from Israel's military leaders that their task, if you will, their mission on the ground in Lebanon is drawing near, but trying to set up a more permanent system, well, that involves potentially enforcing a U.N. resolution, a U.N. agreement that's been in place between Israel and Hezbollah for some time.

How does that enforcement take place? Who enforces it? How and where and when? All of those details may keep these talks going for some time. And you have to remember, President Biden has of course a deadline for this diplomatic push. The elections take place next week, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely. In the meantime, Israel at a high state of readiness in case Iran should respond to Israel's attacks. Again, those fears of a larger regional war seem to have been tamped down because of the moderate response by Israel. But where are we at in terms of that tit-for-tat of retaliation and where things stand right now in the region?

ABDELAZIZ: I think Kim, a lot of people would say that regional war is here. Yes, not escalated to the level that many have feared, but you now have so many actors, so many nation-states, so many groups involved that it is absolutely dizzying the array of retaliation, retaliations to retaliations, the tit-for-tat that continues to escalate this conflict further and claim more lives.

Yes, as you mentioned, Iran has said that it will respond to Israel's response. The United States has urged Iran not to respond to Israel's response, there are true fears that an escalation any further, particularly with the U.S. election on the eve of the U.S. election, could impact global prices, could impact oil prices, could impact oil supplies.

So there's also been a huge diplomatic effort there to keep the temperature down. Yes, Israel's retaliation did seem to be more moderate than many had expected. And the hope is that will be enough for now to stem the violence, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, that's right, I really appreciate that. Salma Abdelaziz, thanks so much.

Now according to hospital staff, at least 13 people were killed Thursday and dozens more injured after an Israeli strike near a refugee camp in central Gaza. Meanwhile, we're learning desperately needed medical supplies were destroyed by a bombing at a hospital in northern Gaza.

The U.N. says the critical supplies from the World Health Organization had only arrived five days ago. The spokesperson warned that, quote, "hospitals are under assault and rescue teams are unable to work." The Israeli military said it's unaware of a strike on the hospital, but is reviewing the incident.

[03:20:02] And for more on the humanitarian situation there, we're joined by Rachael Cummings with Save the Children, and she joins us now live from Gaza. Really appreciate you being able to join us. So just to start, the Middle East director of your organization reported the other day that Gaza, quote, "looks like the depths of hell." Take us through what you've been seeing and describe what it looks like to you.

RACHAEL CUMMINGS, GAZA HUMANITARIAN DIRECTOR, SAVE THE CHILDREN: Hi, thank you, nice to meet you. The depths of hell is a very good description. The situation in Gaza for children is absolutely dire. As you were describing, the constant bombardment, constant displacement of people, not only in the last few days, but of course for the last 12 months, means that children and their families are living in constant fear of the next attack and there is nowhere for them to move to.

Gaza is a very overpopulated and condensed area and consequently people are not able to move when evacuation orders are issued. However, we know that children are being disproportionately affected and harmed in this awful conflict that is ongoing.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely. And they always say, you know, the dying from strikes and, you know, the violence is one thing, but more people might die of disease and hunger than the direct violence. Hunger are already such a big concern. And now Israel deciding to ban UNRWA, the main aid agency in Gaza. What effect do you think that will have?

CUMMINGS: You know, the effect of the supplies and the restrictions on supplies coming into Gaza, this is the result. The water and sanitation supplies, the food, the essential life-saving interventions that agencies like Save the Children would be able to provide to populations in need are being severely restricted.

The cessation of UNRWA in Gaza would be catastrophic. Gaza is reliant for obviously decades on UNRWA to provide essential services, healthcare, education. They are running shelters for those that are displaced and they are also providing fuel for international organizations like Save the Children to allow us to reach the children and the populations that are most vulnerable.

So the situation is dire and any disruption to the services that UNRWA are currently providing, again would be catastrophic for the people and children in Gaza.

BRUNHUBER: In terms of the more acute needs tending to the injured children. I know people are carrying the wounded on their backs or in carts often they don't know where to take them as you said nowhere is safe and with most the hospital's not functioning at the situation is especially dire in the north with one doctor, I know, calling mayhem and chaos, what are you reporting there?

CUMMINGS: Yeah. We are unable to reach the north and we're deeply, deeply concerned about what is happening in the north.

(TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES) BRUNHUBER: I'm afraid we've lost the signal. Always tricky to reach somebody live in Gaza, but we really appreciate what we could get there from Rachel Cummings with Save the Children in Gaza. Thanks so much to her.

All right, still to come. Harris and Trump tear through the Southwestern U.S. with only days left until the election. We'll bring the latest on the U.S. presidential race, next.

And will there be more trade wars in Paris? People in Beijing weigh in on the U.S. presidential election. That's coming up after the break. Stay with us.

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[03:25:00]

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom."

We're now in the final stretch of the 2024 U.S. presidential race and key state polling remains tight, especially in the southwest where Kamala Harris wrapped her Las Vegas rally with superstar Jennifer Lopez a couple of hours ago. The event, part of the closing push to get out the vote. His early voting ends in Nevada today.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump sprinted through the Southwest on Thursday, speaking with Tucker Carlson in Arizona and holding rallies in Nevada, as well as New Mexico, where he urged Hispanic and Latino voters to support him.

So with the U.S. presidential race quickly coming to a close, officials in Pennsylvania are bracing for another election where the state could once again be the battleground that decides who wins. Now, amid the preparation, Donald Trump is firing his latest accusations of fraud at the swing state. Here's CNN's Brian Todd with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A key battleground at the center of former President Donald Trump's latest allegations of voter fraud, Pennsylvania. Trump, posting on Truth Social, quote, "we caught them cheating big in Pennsylvania. Prosecute now. This is a criminal violation of the law," an accusation that he's been hammering on for days.

TRUMP: They found a lot of smaller things in Pennsylvania, as you know, and I think they've been corrupted.

TODD (voice-over): Trump and his team have alleged that in York County, Pennsylvania, thousands of potentially fraudulent voter registration forms were turned in from a third-party group. And Trump claims that in Lancaster County, there were at least 2,500 fake ballots and forms all written by the same person. CNN's Marshall Cohen has been tracking election disputes in

Pennsylvania. He says in those two counties, it appears the safeguards in place worked.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: The authorities in Lancaster and York County noticed what was going on. They paused all those registrations, launched an investigation, and determined that some of them might be improper, but others were perfectly fine and those registrations could go forward.

TODD (voice-over): Pennsylvania's Secretary of State, a Republican, also spoke of his state's safeguards.

AL SCHMIDT (R), PENNSYLVANIA SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH: Elections in Pennsylvania, whether you're a voter or a candidate, should have confidence in the integrity of our elections and that they are free, fair, safe and secure.

TODD (voice-over): Pennsylvania's Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro posted on X that Trump is trying to, quote, "stoke chaos in his state."

LAURA BARON-LOPEZ, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Given Donald Trump's history of lying about the U.S. election system, I think that it's fair for reporters to say that he is essentially laying the groundwork to call the 2024 election rigged.

TODD (voice-over): Others are sowing doubts too. U.S. intelligence has determined that Russian operatives were behind this fake video which circulated on social media purporting to show someone destroying mail- in ballots for Trump in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Again, this video is fake.

In addition, election officials in battleground states tell CNN they've been trying and largely failing to combat a torrent of misinformation coming from billionaire Trump ally Elon Musk as he stumps for Trump in those states.

A Pennsylvania election official telling CNN, quote, "Elon Musk is a huge problem there".

BARON-LOPEZ: He has millions of followers on X on social media and he has also spread Donald Trump's baseless lies about the election.

TODD (voice-over): Musk and one of his attorneys have not responded to CNN's questions to them about the concerns of him spreading misinformation. An X spokesperson said the platform is enforcing its policies on election interference and misleading content.

[03:30:00]

TODD: As part of his response to Donald Trump's allegations of voter fraud in his state, Pennsylvania's Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro pointed out that he, Shapiro, was the state's attorney general back in 2020, when Trump repeatedly attacked the elections process in Pennsylvania and tried to overturn the results there. Shapiro says that at that time, Trump went 0 for 43 in his court cases in Pennsylvania.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: The United States and China are the two largest economies, and American relations with Beijing have a profound influence on the world. So many in China are watching the U.S. election with interest.

For more on that, CNN's Marc Stewart joins us live with more from Beijing. So Marc, tell us how the Chinese people and the government view the coming U.S. presidential election.

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, hi there, Kim. I can tell you as someone who lives in China, who works in China, there are certainly a lot of curiosity about the American election. Now people ask me all the time, who is going to win? Who are you supporting for president? Yet at the same time, Chinese people, Chinese citizens have their own list of worries. Right now, they're dealing with a shaky economy. They want what's best for their children. They want good health. Yet there is this unknown about what's happening overseas. Let me share with you some of the reaction we got when we recently took to the streets here in Beijing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (through translator): I know about it, but I don't pay too much attention to it.

UNKNOWN (through translator): I don't think it will have any impact on our life here. To us ordinary Chinese people, whoever becomes the president, whether it's candidate A or candidate B, it's all the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: It is all the same, he said. Another place where we're getting a lot of reaction is Chinese social media. I want to share with you some of the responses that we've seen in recent weeks concerning the U.S. election. One person said the U.S. is about to split. Another person said there's no perfect system. Their containment of China won't ease. Even someone saying there's no perfect system, but at least they allow people to question them.

You know, social media, it's often censored by the government, but on these topics of the U.S. election and some of the discord that's happening in the U.S., that is very much open. It's very much fair game.

And as far as what the government would like to see happen, I mean, officially Beijing's responses, this is hands off for us. This is a U.S. matter. We're not getting involved. You could argue that Beijing would like to see Donald Trump because he has been very critical of alliances such as NATO at a time when China's trying to portray itself as the leader of a new world order. Yet at the same time, it may find some comfort in a Harris administration because of what has happened in the Biden administration, ongoing talks, diplomatic talks between the two nations.

But Kim, there is one issue that could be an ongoing divide between these two nations, and that is tariffs. We've talked about Trump tariffs in the past. Vice President Harris has talked about creating an equal playing field. So that may make some challenge for China, regardless of who is in office.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely. All right, Marc Stewart in Beijing, thanks so much for that.

North Korean troops are headed for the fight against Ukrainians, probably just in a matter of days. That's from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who spoke alongside U.S. and South Korean officials on Thursday. As Oren Liebermann reports, the U.S. says it's seeing clear signs that North Koreans are gearing up for battle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: In a meeting between the U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense and their South Korean counterparts, the U.S. went further than it's ever gone before in talking about North Korean troops and their involvement not only with Russia but in the war in Ukraine.

In a matter of days here, the U.S. went from saying there were 3,000 North Korean troops training in Russia to saying there are 10,000, including 8,000 of those of whom are near or in the Kursk region of Russia, where the Ukrainians have conducted a successful offensive and seized some Russian territory there.

Now, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is saying it is only a matter of days, quote, "in the coming days that we expect to see North Korean troops involved in the fighting and the war in Ukraine." He also went further than that to talk about the type of training they have received, and that makes it very clear they are becoming part of Russia's war machine.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Russia has been training DPRK soldiers in artillery. UAVs, basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, indicating that they fully intend to use these forces in frontline operations.

LIEBERMANN: With the South Korean ministers of defense and foreign affairs here, North Korea making their displeasure obvious with the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, the longest flight time we have seen, nearly 90 minutes from North Korea here. It's about a year since they last tested and fired off an ICBM here, so it appears they may be showing one of their more advanced missiles and advanced missile launchers here. The U.S. and South Korea watching this very closely and making it clear there will be some form of response and deep intelligence sharing and cooperation on that front as well.

[03:35:08]

The U.S. and South Korea carrying out a large-scale aerial exercise following that launch. More than 100 advanced fighter jets from the U.S., from South Korea, so making it clear there will be military cooperation when North Korea carries out these sorts of tests.

With South Korean officials here, both the U.S. and South Korea here said they'd like to see more engagement from the Chinese on trying to get the North Koreans to step back. So far all South Korea is saying is that China is waiting and watching.

Oren Liebermann, CNN in the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right, when we come back, a widely celebrated Hindu holiday lights up in the night sky across India. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Hindus across India are celebrating Diwali today, the festival of lights that sets cities aglow with color. The celebrations began Thursday and they're marked by lighting oil lamps, sparklers and fireworks. The vibrant holiday symbolizes the triumph of good over evil and the welcoming of the Hindu god, Lord Ram, after he defeated the powerful king Ravana. Lighting earthen lamps signifies welcoming Lord Ram to the Indian city of Ayodhya after his 14-year exile.

A pop icon is turning 50 today and the superstar is still as cute as the day she was born. Hello Kitty ushered in half a century of kawaii culture, which is Japanese for cute.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery has more from Tokyo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In this sea of Hello Kitty's, it's hard for superfan Asako Kanda to pick her favorite.

ASAKO KANDA, HELLO KITTY SUPERFAN (translated): This one talks. She said, "I miss you."

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Like many fans before her, Kanda was drawn to Hello Kitty as a child. Her collection's grown a bit since then.

MONTGOMERY: So this Hello Kitty is a special Hello Kitty that's celebrating her 50th birthday and she's wearing a tartan because Hello Kitty herself is actually British.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): She loves them all like family. Getting rid of any is out of the question.

KANDA (through translator): She's the one constant in my life. My love for Hello Kitty has never wavered.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): With her iconic red bow and mouthless charm, Hello Kitty has captivated generations of fans. In her 50 years, she's been a United Nations ambassador, met global stars, and even picked up some sports. All while taking Japan's kawaii, or cute, culture from niche to worldwide.

And her hard work's paid off. Worth 80 billion U.S. dollars, Hello Kitty is the second highest grossing franchise in the world, according to Title Max. Not bad for a little girl. Yes, you heard that right. That only weighs three apples and is five apples tall.

[03:40:04]

But Hello Kitty hasn't always been this popular. After her 1974 debut on a small coin purse, Hello Kitty merchandise sales slumped, until parent company Sanrio hired designer Yuko Yamaguchi six years later, who turned to fans for help.

YUKO YAMAGUCHI, HELLO KITTY DESIGNER (through translator): They told me it was always the same stuff and that she wasn't stylish anymore. So I added new trends and made her more like everyone else. And gradually, sales started to improve.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Since then, she's expanded Hello Kitty's world, giving the character new clothes, skills, and broadening her fan base to adults. After decades together, Yamaguchi says her bond with Kitty has evolved, from friend to alter ego, to talent she manages.

YAMAGUCHI (through translator): Now I feel like the two of us are working together to bring happiness to others. It's our way of giving back to all the fans who love and support Kitty.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): As for their striking resemblance, Yamaguchi says Kitty is the copycat.

YAMAGUCHI (through translator): Because I was born before her.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Hello Kitty may be small, but her impact on the world is anything but.

Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Tokyo.

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BRUNHUBER: James Bond movies, of course, are full of cars that played starring roles right alongside the actors, like this Rolls-Royce Phantom from "Goldfinger."

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UNKNOWN: Many people have tried to involve themselves in my affairs. Unsuccessfully.

UNKNOWN: Remarkable.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, if you think that's remarkable, check out this new Rolls Royce Phantom called Goldfinger. The company created the one-of- a-kind modern vehicle to honor the classic movie's 60th anniversary. It took three years to complete for an anonymous client. The car is full of Bond-worthy gadgets, most of them of course gold, plus extras are hidden like Easter eggs that only a die-hard Bond fan could find. Now there is no word if you can get your hands on one or how much gold that would set you back.

All right, thanks so much for joining me. I'm Kim Brunhuber in Atlanta. "World Sport" is next, and then there's more "CNN Newsroom" in about 15 minutes with Max Foster in London.

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