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CNN This Morning

At Least 1 Dead As Tornadoes Tear Through Texas, Oklahoma; Biden, Obama, Trump all campaigning in Pennsylvania Today; Jan. 6 Committee Interviews More Secret Service Witness; South Korea: Four Short-Range Missiles Detected From North Korea; U.S. Announces $400 Million In New Security Assistance For Ukraine; Nike Cuts Ties With Brooklyn Nets Star Kyrie Irving After He Shared Anti-Semitic Material. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired November 05, 2022 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:28]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, buenos dias. And welcome to CNN this morning. I'm Boris Sanchez.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Boris. And I'm Amara Walker. A string of powerful tornadoes ripping through three states and leaving at least one person dead and 10 others injured. Now, a search is underway for the missing and more than 100,000 people remain without power.

SANCHEZ: Plus, the final Sprint's only three days to go until Election Day. We'll tell you where candidates are making their final pitch to voters as we get a deeper look at the closest and most contentious races on the map.

WALKER: And a missed deadline, former President Trump fails to hand over subpoena documents to Congress and now the January 6 committee is giving him a new deadline.

SANCHEZ: And Twitter slashing staff, thousands are now without jobs. What does that mean for the platform's future?

It is the weekend. We are grateful that you're starting with us this Saturday, November 5. Good morning, Amara?

WALKER: Good morning, Boris. Yes, we have a new look. But, of course, the same faces, hope you're OK with that.

We have some news to get to, a lot of news actually because we're just a few days away from the midterm elections. But we're going to begin with severe weather after a tornado outbreak hits three states in the last 24 hours. At least 18 tornadoes were reported in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. As communities begin to wake up, there are reports of widespread damage to homes and businesses as you can see right there on your screen. SANCHEZ: This is out of Sulphur Springs, Texas. Look at that, it's believed to be one of the hardest hit areas. Right now, more than a 100,000 people in that region are without power.

WALKER: And this morning search and rescue operations are underway in McCurtain County, Oklahoma where we have learned at least one person has been killed and several others remain missing.

Let's go now to meteorologist, Chad Myers in the CNN Weather Center. Hi there, Chad. What can you tell us about this?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, we think of severe weather season being the spring. That's when the warm air from the Gulf of Mexico wants to push back winter. Well, the exact opposite happens now. The cold air is trying to push that warm air back down. That clash is the same.

Now, the winter or the fall severe weather season is not nearly as strong as the spring season. But 18 tornadoes reported yesterday. And as the weather service goes out and finds out how big they are, some of the pictures that I saw live from storm chasers were easily EF3 in size. So, 150 or more miles per hour. Maybe not this one here in Sulphur Springs that you've alluded to. But this was the beginning of this storm as it moved to the North end and even across the Red River into Oklahoma. These were long live tornadoes. They were on the ground a very long time.

And many of them were maybe quarter to a half a mile wide at the base. So, this is the damage we're seeing this morning. Obviously, the tornadoes down to the south, but there was golf ball size hail in Madison, Wisconsin yesterday from the same real system. Now, that threat of tornadoes has gone away. At least most of it has.

Now, the threat is a wind threat. It's more of a squall line. It's the line that's going to push wind ahead of it, just moved through Jackson, Mississippi just now. Still moving through the parishes of Louisiana down here to the south. So, we still have the potential for damage because a 60 or 80 mile per hour wind gusts can do damage not like a tornado can but it can still affect your life. The chance of severe weather today, significantly less than yesterday, but there will be very heavy rainfall. And something else we have going on today. An awful lot of people are going to be outside as this is college football Saturday and there are some very big games in the way of some of these storms that will be coming on through later on this afternoon.

Notice here, we're all the way into the afternoon and into tomorrow. Some of this weather even gets into the Northeast for tomorrow afternoon. Now, not a lot of severe weather here with this, but obviously the potential is there for it. Mild in the West. Still a lot of rainfall in the Pacific Northwest and they'll take it with all those wildfires out there. Boris.

SANCHEZ: I'm glad to hear there's less risk of severe weather. We're going to keep you updated with the latest on the search and rescue efforts as well. Chad Myers, from the Weather Center, thank you so much.

MYERS: Welcome.

SANCHEZ: Pivoting to politics now, we can see the finish line, Amara, the race for the midterm elections now heading into the homestretch.

[06:05:02]

WALKER: And we're just three days to go we're that close the candidates and their high-profile surrogates are making their final pitch to voters. In the battle for control of the Senate, it comes down to a handful of key states including Pennsylvania. President Biden, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump are all campaigning in that one state today. The President is keeping his focus on democracy and the economy. Republicans though heading into Tuesday's elections with a slight edge.

SANCHEZ: Millions of voters have already cast their ballots. Early voting is up compared to the last midterm election in 2018. Almost 35 million people in 47 states have already voted.

WALKER: Wow. President Biden says he is optimistic about the midterms despite indications that Republicans have the momentum.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, as you noted, Amara, the president on the campaign trail today, making his final pitch to voters.

Let's bring in CNN White House Reporter Jasmine Wright, who joins us with a preview, live. Jasmine, what are we expecting to hear from President Biden?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, Boris. Well, President Biden wakes up in Chicago this morning where he said to continue his last-minute cross-country swing. Today, we will see him in the suburbs, giving remarks on how to lower prescription drug prices, as well as save Social Security and Medicare. Then, we will see him back on the East Coast in Pennsylvania where he and former President Barack Obama to the high-profile rally in support of John Fetterman, who is in a tight, tight race there, in a race that could determine who controls the Senate, a very big thing for President Biden and this White House. Now, as Democrats have been growing anxious about what could happen, come Tuesday when it comes to whether they control the House and the Senate. The President has adopted a role of optimist in chief. He told reporters yesterday when he was in California that he was nowhere near yet ready to concede. Take listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know you always asked me, how are we doing? We're going to win this time around, I think. I feel really good about our chances. I haven't been in all the House races, but I think we're going to keep the Senate pick up a seat. I think we have a chance to win in the House. I don't think we're going to not win, keeping the House. So, I'm optimistic. I really am.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WRIGHT: Now, those optimistic remarks from the President come as Republicans appear to be gaining some momentum heading into this last stretch, but President Biden has been trying to blunt that momentum from Republicans using really two different arguments. First, he says, that really warning Americans that democracy is under assault because of some Republicans and election deniers on the ballot. And then secondly, he's reframing the election as a choice between those two parties instead of a referendum on his party that controls Congress.

Now, of course, he's basically making the argument that it may not be the best under us when it comes to the economy, but it would be worse under Republicans. So, I'm sure that we are going to hear more of that today when we see the president on the trail.

SANCHEZ: The President remaining optimistic despite some strong political headwinds. Jasmine Wright, thank you so much.

Joining us now to share his insights is CNN Political Commentator and Political Anchor at Spectrum News, Errol Louis. Errol, good morning. Always great to see you bright and early on a Saturday. I want to start by focusing on your home state of New York because what's happening there is interesting and it has implications elsewhere too. The Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul, facing a much tougher than expected reelection battle against Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin. Some polls showing this as a single digit race. What does that tell you more broadly about where Democrats stand right now?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Boris. It is indeed a surprise here in New York that that any Democrat in a general election race is statewide appears to be less than 10 points ahead. So, make no mistake, the momentum is still with Kathy Hochul. The sheer numbers really dictate that Democrats are going to do well. On the other hand, yes, it has gotten closer. And the issue that her opponent Lee Zeldin has really stressed over and over again, has been crime, and specifically crime in big cities, crime in New York City that has driven really his entire campaign. That is a warning to Democrats around the nation about what this issue can mean for them at the polls.

Now, will she pull it pull it out? We'll find out on Tuesday. But that has been sort of a big shocker. I think for Democrats here who maybe got a little bit complacent.

SANCHEZ: I want to play some sound for you right now. Because CNN Don Lemon asked Kathy Hochul about the issue of crime specifically this week. Here was her response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: What are Democrats not getting about crime? Why are Republicans winning on this whole crime issue that has been the thing that has fueled Lee Zeldin's campaign?

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): Because they're being dishonest about it. They're not having a conversation about real solutions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The interesting thing about this is that as Hochul has pivoted her campaign to talk more about crime, it seems like voters are ignoring some of the other arguments from Democrats about democracy.

[06:10:10]

Remember, Lee Zeldin, objected to certifying the results in Arizona and Pennsylvania in 2020. Errol, how do you weigh what voters are considering right now?

LOUIS: Well, look, if you see two headlines on any given day, Boris, and one is about something that happened in January of 2021. And the other is about a horrific murder, that while it may have happened miles away, the television is in your living room. One is more shocking. One is more immediate. One is more likely to get people excited. And that's really what the campaign has been.

I mean, Kathy Hochul is right to a certain extent. The campaign on crime has been really more about panic than policy. It's been more about, hey, there's a problem here. And if you don't like what's going on, you have to change the leadership. It's a perfectly legitimate argument. But it is not a detailed policy proposal for turning around a problem that it has been, you know, bedeviling cities for centuries at this point.

SANCHEZ: So, let's talk about the surrogates that are campaigning with Democrats. For example, President Biden said the campaign with Kathy Hochul tomorrow, after Vice President Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton campaign for her this week. Also, First Lady Jill Biden said to campaign in a Long Island Congressional District that her husband won by a double-digit margin two years ago. How do you think this this surrogate star power is going to benefit Democrats and not just in New York?

LOUIS: Well, I think they have to show that they're going to show the flag, they're going to try and get something going for a lot of those national level Democrats, especially the President and the First Lady. I mean, these are dollar rich zones as well. These are places where they come to do fundraising, we're going to see a lot more of them in the next year as we get closer to the 2024 reelection campaign. And look, frankly, President Biden in particular, is not that popular in a lot of places. He shows up a lot in Pennsylvania, but you haven't seen him in Georgia, if you haven't seen him in Arizona, there aren't that many places where he's getting a good reception. He's got his own political challenges that he's going to deal with after the midterms, New York happens to be one of the places where he's fairly well liked. And so, he can actually be of some assistance here for his fellow Democrats. I think that's really what these visits point to.

SANCHEZ: An Errol, I want to ask you about the future of Democratic leadership because Republicans are largely expected to take back the House next Tuesday. And there are some whispers out there that a congressman in New York may posture for the leadership and a potential future democratic minority? Errol? LOUIS: Oh, sure, if you're talking about Hakeem Jeffries --

SANCHEZ: Yes.

LOUIS: Who's in the line of succession, and has been rumored for many years now, to be angling to win the top job as either minority leader or a speaker at the Democrats should regain the majority. This is something he's been working on for, you know -- a project he's been working on for probably the better part of a decade. I believe the reason you'll see him out on the road in these closing hours try to help some of his fellow Democrats around the country is for exactly that reason, you collect IOUs. You build loyalty, you get some connections, and then there will be a leadership fight if indeed Nancy Pelosi does step down, which she'd largely been expected to do at some point after the midterms.

SANCHEZ: And Errol, I don't want to put you on the spot. But do you have any special predictions for Tuesday night before we get there?

LOUIS: You know, I never do predictions, Boris. I'm always more interested in the why than the what, you know. I am going to be looking though all over the country for what was called row mentum. The women who registered to vote after the Roe vs. Wade decision was -- a law was struck down. They came out to register. We don't know if they came out to vote. We don't know if those votes are going to make a difference. But that's going to be a really important factor to look at in the next few days.

SANCHEZ: Errol Louis, as always, thanks for joining us early on a Saturday.

LOUIS: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course. And on election night, don't forget to join CNN for special coverage starting on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern. We're going to have up to the minute results on what's happening in all the key races across your state and across the country as well.

Still to come, a missed deadline former President Donald Trump failing to hand over documents to the January 6 committee. Now lawmakers are giving him a new order.

WALKER: Plus, Vladimir Putin, telling civilians to evacuate and preparation for an attempt by Ukraine to take back a key city.

Plus, have you gotten your flu shot? Yes, I have. Boris, have you?

[06:15:00]

Hospitalizations are soaring as the flu and other respiratory viruses spread rapidly across the U.S.

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WALKER: The January 6 committee has extended its deadline for Donald Trump to provide documents it's subpoenaed of the former president. Now, the new deadline for documents is no later than next week.

Trump remains under subpoena to provide deposition testimony beginning November 14. Now the Committee's work continued this week with lawmakers hearing testimony from members of the former President's Secret Service detail. CNN's Whitney Wild with more.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: The house January 6 Select Committee is getting a window into former President Donald Trump's motorcade on the day of the U.S. Capitol attack. Sources tell CNN the committee interviewed a Secret Service agent who was in the lead car of former President Donald Trump's motorcade on January 6, that interview could really help the committee call more detail about the planning that day as well as former President Donald Trump's movements.

[06:20:05]

Friday's interview, which has not been previously reported is the fourth with Secret Service agents and officials in five days. The panel continuing to expand its focus on the agency and the speed here highlighting the commitment to digging into what the Secret Service knew and what the Secret Service saw that day.

Further, Sources tell CNN that an interview with the driver of Trump's presidential vehicle could happen as soon as next week. That's agent's testimony is critical in the effort by the committee to try to corroborate explosive testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, in which she claimed Trump lunch at the wheel of the car. And then at his security detail when he learned he couldn't go to the Capitol after his speech on the Ellipse. Sources tell CNN the Committee expects to interview Several more Secret Service agents as well. Boris, Amara?

WALKER: Whitney, thank you for that. Joining me now is Michael Zeldin, a former Federal Prosecutor, host of the podcast, That Said with Michael Zeldin, and Robert Mueller's former Special Assistant at the Department of Justice. Great to see you this morning, Michael.

Let's start with the Secret Service interviews because there could potentially be a treasure trove of information that could come from them, right? In addition to the tens of thousands of documents, the agency has already handed over. What specifically would you be looking for if you're on that committee?

MICHAEL ZELDIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: From the committee standpoint, you want to know a couple of things. One is what was going on with Mike Pence? Remember, they were trying to push him into the car to get him out of the Capitol. And he refused to get into the car saying that once he was in, he was essentially a captive of the Secret Service, that they might take him away. And he didn't want to go away.

Second, as was just reported, the Secret Service have the ability to say what happened in the car that Cassidy Hutchison testified to. Did he in fact, lunge? Was he in fact, telling them take me to the Capitol, all of that stuff, corroborative of what Cassidy said, because it's important to understand Trump's state of mind with respect to what was going on at the Capitol. And then of course, there is the missing emails, missing texts. And I still think that they want to get to the bottom of how did that come to pass? Why did these agents delete this information from their telephone?

WALKER: And by the way, on that note, do you think we'll ever see these texts messages that were, you know, as agency said, inadvertently deleted?

ZELDIN: Well, I think that some will be restored, and some will be gone forever. But I think the word inadvertently is what they want to get to the bottom of it. Was it really inadvertent? Was this in the ordinary course of these things were deleted? Or was there some bad behavior on behalf of some of the Secret Service agents? And were there any lies told about that in the course of this investigation?

WALKER: Of course, nothing was is coincidence in politics. And so, the fact that Trump may be announcing his intention to run, again, in 2024, on November 14, just a week after the midterm elections, that's according to sources, does that complicate or expedite decisions the DOJ has to make? And we should mention, by the way, that's the same day that the House, the committee has subpoenaed Trump to testify under oath?

ZELDIN: Right, so he won't testify under oath. Instead, he will announce that he's running for president, all of which I think is a political calculation to try to disrupt the investigation of him. But I don't think it really should have a material impact on what the DOJ is doing. This is a mature investigation that's been going on for a while. And the fact that former President Trump now becomes candidate Trump shouldn't really impact what they're doing at the moment.

If the thing stretches on, you know, for another year or so, then maybe we have to figure out what can they do to protect themselves politically from allegations that Biden is investigating his opponent, and that needs a Special Counsel to insulate them. But I think we're a ways away from having them make that type of decision.

WALKER: And let's take a step back regarding the special counsel. And just explain to us, you know, under federal law, what the purpose is of a special counsel and, you know, full well, I mean, you served under Special Counsel, Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, and he wasn't immune to political and personal attacks from Trump and his allies. It would a special counsel oversee these two investigations of Trump would, they really provide any layer of protection?

ZELDIN: Not really. I was a special counsel investigating George Herbert Walker Bush, an allegation that he tampered with Bill Clinton's passport files in the run up to their election, and we were still subject to political criticism that we were part of, you know, some witch hunt or other language that you always hear in respect of these things. But the theory of independent counsels Special Counsel is that you as the Attorney General can't really be investigating your own boss.

[06:25:11]

So here we don't have that situation. We don't have a sitting Attorney General investigating their own boss that needs, therefore, an independent counsel as we saw in Mueller. That's why I don't think it really is necessary here. Merrick Garland is investigating a former president whose actions are a year or so old. So, I really don't think it's legally required. I don't think it's yet politically required. But we'll see.

WALKER: We shall. Michael Zeldin, always appreciate you. Thank you so much.

ZELDIN: Thanks, Amara.

SANCHEZ: Still ahead this morning, millions in Ukraine are without electricity as Russia continues to pummel that country's infrastructure.

Plus, the battle for a critical city continues. We have the latest from Kherson, next.

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[06:30:00]

AMARA WALKER, CO-ANCHOR, NEW DAY WEEKEND: North Korea launched four more short-range missiles this morning as tensions continue to rise in the region.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CO-ANCHOR, NEW DAY WEEKEND: Yes, let's take you to that part of the world now with CNN's Selina Wang, she joins us live from Beijing with the latest developments. Selina, that's roughly 30 missile launches by North Korea in just the first four days of November.

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And actually, by our calculations, this would be the 31st missile, series of missile launches this year. We are really just seeing an unprecedented barrage of weapons testing coming from North Korea. So, the big question is, why is North Korean leader Kim Jong-un doing this? Why is he doing this now?

We know that North Korea is extremely unhappy over the U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises that were scheduled to wrap up today. In fact, they were extended by an additional day which angered North Korea even more. North Korea has called these exercises a rehearsal for an invasion.

So these exercises, called Operation Vigilant Storm, they started on Monday involving thousands of military personnel from the U.S. and South Korea and hundreds of aircraft.

So, in response on Wednesday, North Korea fired the most missiles ever in a single day. Then they followed up with a suspected ICBM launch. Then, on Friday, South Korea went scrambling for fighter jets after they detected a large number of warplanes coming from North Korea.

So, a lot of activity this week. But the big question and concern is what is coming next? Because the U.N. Nuclear Watchdog has warned that North Korea could be preparing for a nuclear test, which would be its first since 2017.

WALKER: Yes, and on that note, Selina, so we know that the U.N. members have really condemned North Korea's actions. So, in terms of the U.N. Security Council, we know Russia and China are on that council. How might they respond to North Korea's recent actions?

WANG: Yes, I mean, the reality is that, there is no agreement. Unified agreement on the U.N. Security Council over how to respond to this. At the meeting on Friday, the United States accused Russia and China, which both have veto power, of providing blanket protection over North Korea, which would prevent them from being hit by any further sanctions.

The U.S. accusing Russia and China for bending over backwards to try and justify their missile launches. We have heard both China and Russia blame the U.S. for provoking North Korea by holding those joint military exercises. But what we are seeing here from experts is that, they think North Korea right now is trying to convince and trying to force the U.S. into accepting it as a nuclear power.

The key contest here is that, for Kim Jong-un, he sees North Korea's nuclear and missile forces as being critical to regime stability, and also providing him more leverage in any potential future discussions with the U.S., Amara.

SANCHEZ: Selina Wang reporting live from Beijing. Thank you so much, Selina. We want to pivot now to eastern Europe because the Pentagon says it is sending an additional $400 million in military aid to Ukraine as the war there rages on. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says more than 4.5 million Ukrainians are now without power after Russian attacks on their infrastructure.

WALKER: Meanwhile, military experts are watching the key city of Kherson where Russian forces may be pulling back from the frontlines. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joining us now live from Kyiv. Salma, what do we know?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: We have indications on the ground that both sides are really gearing up for this all-important battle for the strategic area of Kherson, a place that President Zelenskyy has vowed to win back for his country. But also an area that President Putin has illegally annexed and will not let go off easily.

Reporting in the last 24 hours indicates that Russian troops are forcibly evicting people from their homes along the Dnipro River trying to create a 15-kilometer buffer, so all along that river, even shooting at boats, trying to dismantle any crossing equipment, essentially trying to fortify their position there. So important is this battle that President Putin himself spoke about it in Red Square yesterday. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT, RUSSIA (through translator): And of course, those who live in Kherson should be removed from zones of dangerous fighting because the civilian population should not suffer from shelling, from any offensive, counteroffensive or other measures related to a military operations. Guys like you are doing everything to get people to the safe zone. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:35:00]

ABDELAZIZ: Now, you also mentioned the millions of dollars of additional aid that the United States is going to provide. U.S. National Security adviser Jake Sullivan was actually in Kyiv yesterday, and he said the U.S. is absolutely behind Ukraine in this fight. They are in constant consultations to provide whatever Kyiv needs on those frontlines.

SANCHEZ: And Salma, I find this really interesting. For weeks now, Ukraine and its western allies have accused Iran of supplying Russia with these kamikaze drones to carry out attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. Iranian officials have been denying that for some time, until now. What are you hearing?

ABDELAZIZ: This is a really stunning admission, Boris. Iran's foreign minister saying, yes, they did provide drones to Russia, but that it was prior to this conflict, and still not admitting that Russia actually used them here in Ukraine. They're now asking Ukraine to prove to Tehran, provide that evidence that Iranian drones were used here, and then saying that, quote, "Tehran would be not indifferent to the matter". A rather vague statement.

But there's also consequences for Iran here, of course. The U.S. and its allies have vowed more sanctions if Iran continues to support Russia with weaponry in this fight.

SANCHEZ: We'll keep watching that angle of the story very closely. Salma Abdelaziz reporting from Kyiv. Thank you so much. So just days after he took over Twitter, Elon Musk lays off nearly half of all the social media company's employees. Up next, what that means for the platform.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

SANCHEZ: President Biden is calling out Elon Musk, saying that the billionaire bought a social media platform that, quote, "spews lies across the world."

WALKER: His remarks follow news that litter -- Twitter, I should say, laid off thousands of employees across the country just one week after it was acquired officially by Elon Musk. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan with more.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, guys. Yes, a lot of concerns not just about the future of Twitter and what this all means, even all of these staff go. But I mean, the timing of all of this just happening a few days before election day here in the United States. We know how big a role misinformation has played in elections over these past few years in the U.S.

Twitter had teams in place that didn't always necessarily do an amazing job. But they had teams in place to counter a lot of the election conspiracy theories that we have been hearing over the past few years, particularly, you know, on election day when we normally have seen videos of people saying this voting machine is malfunctioning or people not allowed to vote, et cetera.

Often times, videos like that go viral on election day. But when they are later fact-checked after they have millions of views, they turn out to be false. I spoke to Jason Goldman, who is a former Twitter executive, he was actually on the founding -- he was on the team that founded Twitter way back. And here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON GOLDMAN, FORMER TWITTER EXECUTIVE: You see tools like Twitter being used by powerful influencers to spread disinformation and to question the integrity of elections and to, in general, threaten the faith that people have that democracy is working as intended. And so, I think rightly, post-2016, Twitter started playing a much more active role.

The problem is that Elon seems to be fairly contemptuous of that role. And a lot of his free speech protestations aren't really about protecting free speech, it's really more about trying to put his thumb on the scale for a particular type of political preference that he and some of his cohorts have. And I think that's -- and I think that is dangerous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN: So really just a lot of concern, a lot of questions of how this is all going to impact what is happening here in the U.S. in the weeks ahead, when undoubtedly, we are likely to see people push election conspiracy theories and how they might now be amplified on a platform that isn't -- doesn't have the guardrails in place than it had even this time last week. Guys?

WALKER: Obviously, very concerning, especially right before these elections. Donie, thank you. Cold and flu season has arrived early as we have been saying. And it has come with a vengeance. Flu and other respiratory viruses are spreading fast across the U.S. Details on the rising hospitalization rates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:00]

WALKER: All right. Taking a look now at some of your top stories this hour. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband Paul now at home after surgery to repair a skull fracture following that brutal attack in the couple's San Francisco home last week.

SANCHEZ: And 42-year-old David DePape facing multiple charges including attempted murder, burglary and assault. He's pled not guilty to all the charges, also waiving his court appearance on Friday. Meantime, the House Speaker making her first on-camera comments about the attack. Here's a clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your kind words, your prayers and your good wishes for Paul. It's going to be a long haul, but he will be well. And it's just so tragic how it happened. But nonetheless, we have to be optimistic. He's surrounded by family, so that's a wonderful thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Status hearing for DePape is set for November 28th. He is facing a preliminary hearing for mid-December.

WALKER: Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett has once again denied a request to challenge President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan. But a brief order will not change the status quo. Several lawsuits remain in place temporarily blocking students debt cancellation.

And experts believe that a single challenge brought by six states will likely make it to the high court because it has the fewest procedural hurdles. That case is currently before the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

SANCHEZ: A Cincinnati man who attacked an Asian-American student last year and threatened to kill him is now facing a federal hate crime charge. Darrin Johnson allegedly said, quote, "go back to your country. You brought the kung flu here, you're going to die for bringing it." That is according to a court document.

[06:50:00]

Johnson has already pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and criminal intimidation charges. In 2021, he was sentenced to 360 days in county jail for that. The U.S. Attorney's office says if he's convicted on a hate crime charge, he could face up to 10 years in prison.

WALKER: And U.S. health officials are warning of an early and severe start to cold and flu season this year as cases of viral illnesses are already causing a strain on hospitals.

SANCHEZ: Newly released data from the CDC shows 17 states, Washington D.C. and New York City are already reporting high or very high respiratory illness activity. CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the details for us.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Boris, Amara, it is so unusual to see such high flu rates this early in the season. Let's take a look. When you look at flu illnesses or hospitalizations or deaths, all of those have nearly doubled in the past week. Hospitalization rates, they haven't been this high this early since 2009. So what does this all mean? It means go get your flu shot. Usually, people feel like they have

more time, into November. But this year, get it now. It takes 10 days or two weeks for it to kick in. So really important to get it now. The numbers for flu are still going to go up. We haven't peaked yet. So go get your flu shot, and while you're at it, get yourself a COVID booster. Boris, Amara?

WALKER: All right, thank you, Elizabeth. And new troubles for embattled NBA star Kyrie Irving. He is losing a big sponsor, at least for now. And some huge college football showdowns could have a big impact on the playoffs. The "BLEACHER REPORT" is next.

SANCHEZ: But first, the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2022 have been announced. And one of them will be named the CNN Hero of the year by you, our viewers. Today, we're going to introduce you to Bobby Wilson, he's teaching people how to fight food insecurity by planting and growing their own fresh produce. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOBBY WILSON, ENTREPRENEUR: We have turned five acres of land right here in the heart of the city into a green oasis that really impacts the quality of life of people that live around here and visits with us. Tilt it back into --

Most of the people in this neighborhood don't have access to fruits and vegetables that they can readily get. My main goal is to make sure that marginalized and under-served communities have access to locally- grown food that's free of chemicals. We are more than just a farm. We are about justice, equity, diversity and inclusion. We are changing the dynamics of the way people think about food, the way people use food. This work is changing people's lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: An impressive effort by Mr. Wilson. You can go to cnnheroes.com to vote for Bobby or any of your favorite top 10 heroes. Stay with CNN, we'll be right back.

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[06:55:00]

WALKER: New fallout this morning in the controversy surrounding NBA superstar Kyrie Irving. Nike suspending the Nets guard after he tweeted a link to a movie that has been criticized as anti-Semitic.

SANCHEZ: And Carolyn Manno has more in this morning's "BLEACHER REPORT". Carolyn, good morning. And it wasn't just the tweet, it was his failure to apologize.

WALKER: Well --

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. Good morning to you both. I mean, this has been a complete catastrophe really from the start. And Kyrie Irving has had a signature apparel line with Nike since 2014. He's one of the company's top sellers. But this has just overwhelmed the new cycle, and his failure to apologize at the top, as you mentioned, Boris.

And now, the company is stepping in. Nike released a statement saying that they believe there is no place for hate speech, and that they condemn any form of anti-Semitism. To that end, they say "we've made the decision to suspend our relationship with Kyrie Irving, effective immediately and will no longer launch the Kyrie 8."

That new line was set to release this month. The move comes a day after the Nets suspended Irving for at least five games, that issued apology on social media from him came after that suspension.

Nets star Kevin Durant weighed in on the situation before Brooklyn's game in D.C. last night. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN DURANT, BROOKLYN NETS: It's an unfortunate situation for people that are impacted by this situation. I mean, it just sucks all around for everybody, and hopefully we can move past it. I just didn't like anything that went on. I felt like it was all unnecessary. I felt like we could have just kept playing basketball and kept quiet as an organization. You know, I just don't like none of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: Many have wondered where his contemporaries had been, Amara and Boris. But Durant responding to some Twitter backlash for that afterwards, saying he doesn't condone hate speech or anti-Semitism, and he's all about spreading love and uniting people. Durant and the Nets seemed to take their frustrations out on the Wizards last night.

It has been a rough couple of years for the squad. Poor Daniel Gafford has no chance here defending Kevin Durant's wicked move, sending him to the floor. Durant had 28 on the night, the Nets win by 42, they handed Washington their worst home loss ever.

And guys, it's a huge sports Saturday. Houston can win the World Series. MLS Cup final in L.A., two top 10 showdowns in college football, so outside of the Kyrie drama, there's a lot to look forward to, going to be a very busy day.