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CNN International: Saudi FM: Normalization With Israel "Off The Table" Until Palestinian Statehood is Resolved; Trump Says He'll Protect Women Whether They "Like It Or Not" Latest in Long String of Controversial Remarks about Women; U.S. Renews Push to Halt Fighting in Lebanon and Gaza; One Person Dead as Typhoon Makes Landfall in Taiwan; Dodgers Win World Series after Staging a Comeback. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired October 31, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: We'll just in from Saudi Arabia. Here in Riyadh, the foreign minister tells me normalization with

Israel is off the table without Palestinian statehood. It's 04:00 p.m. here in Riyadh. I'm Becky Anderson, welcome to what is a special edition of

"Connect the World".

And this hour, Israel expanding its campaign in Lebanon as world leaders push for a cease fire ahead of the U.S. election.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: And speaking of that U.S. election, I'm Erica Hill in New York, where it is 09:00 a.m. Five days to go now until Election Day.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris both trying to shore up support and not lose any votes. But Becky, of course, where you are, there in Riyadh at the FII

Conference.

Those comments from the Saudi Foreign Minister certainly made me sit up, pay attention here. I know you had a wide-ranging conversation. What more

did you hear?

ANDERSON: Yeah, we did. It was just about an hour or so ago. The conversation I've just had with Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the Foreign

Minister explored, as you say, a whole host of issues as the kingdoms -- as the Kingdom increasingly builds its influence here in region and around the

world, in tandem with its ambitious efforts to build its economy into a global powerhouse.

Now top of mind here continues to be the regional instability, not least the situations in Gaza and in Lebanon, of course, but very specifically in

Gaza, that has resulted in more than a year of intense bombardment and unimaginable human suffering, a quote form of genocide. Those were the

foreign ministers' words in our discussion.

And if that is the reality, as he sees it, here is how he says that reality will impact the future of Saudi Arabia's relationship, if at all, with

Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FAISAL BIN FARHAN AL SAUD, SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER: I'm, of course, incredibly concerned, because that tells me that there is a real lack of

understanding of the strategic reality. There we are here in this region. We are stuck in this region. All of us, the Palestinians, everybody.

And we're going to have to find a way to live with each other. And we can only live with each other if we address the rights of the Palestinians, if

we address the issues of injustice that the Palestinians face right now. And that is going to have to be a serious discussion.

If that's not going to happen, we are setting ourselves for a continuing cycle of violence that serves no one except the extremists. What does a

pathway to a Palestinian state mean? That means many things, and that's why we have this you know that's why we, with the European Union, Norway.

And our colleagues in the Arab League and OIC, launched this coalition for a two-state solution because we realized that, just as you said, that

perhaps in Israel, unfortunately, the conversation right now isn't addressing the reality that there's going to have to be a two-state

solution.

The rest of the international community seems to be fully committed to that. Now we need to translate that commitment into concrete steps that's

going to include capacity and state building, state building of state institutions within the Palestinian territories. It will also mean that we

have to build on the existing international law that supports the establishment of Palestinian state.

From our perspective, of course, Palestine should become a member of the United Nations without delay. All of these issues are things we want to

work on. So, there are elements of Palestinian statehood that are tied, obviously, to a negotiation between the Palestinians and Israel, the

settlement of borders, things like that.

But in reality, the establishment of a Palestinian state is not tied to whether or not Israel accepts it. It's tied to the principles of

international law, and I will say that the United Nations resolutions that led to the establishment of the State of Israel clearly had a Palestinian

state in view as well. So, we need to make that happen.

ANDERSON: What you have made clear is that any normalization deal with Israel would need, before it was, you know, a reality, you would need to

see at least a viable pathway towards a Palestinian state. So, a couple of questions to you. Will a verbal commitment from Benjamin Netanyahu,

suffice?

[09:05:00]

Were you to get on a sort of, you know, on a pathway that you felt was worth, was worth sort of tabling for an independent state, and if not, what

specific measures does Saudi need to see to move forward? And what is Saudi Arabia's message to Benjamin Netanyahu, is normalization with Israel at

genuine risk? Should you not see this commitment from Israel?

AL SAUD: I would say certainly normalization with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not just at risk. It is off the table until we have a resolution

to Palestinian statehood. But I would say more than that. I would say that it is not just the issue of normalization with the kingdom that is at risk.

I would say that the security of the region as a whole is at risk if we do not address the rights of the Palestinians, if we do not find our way to a

pathway that leads us to a Palestinian state, because that's the only way we can ensure that we can focus on the future, that we can focus on

cooperation, that we focus on integration.

So, I would hope that the leadership of Israel sees that it is not just the right thing to do, it is not just the moral thing to do. Is not just the

just thing to do to give the Palestinians their rights and their state. It is also in the security and strategic interest of Israel to do so, and

that's, I think, up to them to decide.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, I also spoke to the Foreign Minister about Iran. Another regional player that has had a complicated relationship with the kingdom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SAUD: Certainly, we have very, very honest and transparent conversations with each other that help in understanding each other's points of view, and

that ensure that there are no misunderstandings. And I think based on that direct communication, we are able to slowly build in the direction of a

much more stable and strong relationship that can serve the interests not just of our two countries, but of regional stability. And we're doing that

very much in concert and coordination, also with our GCC allies.

ANDERSON: Is it the view of the kingdom that the regime in Tehran will fundamentally change anytime soon, or is this rather a policy of keep your

friends close and your enemies closer at this point?

SAUD: I mean, how Iran governs itself is really up to Iran and the Iranian people. That's, you know, I don't have an opinion on that at all. What

matters to me is regional policies and policies that impact my direct interests. And in that case, certainly the conversations we are having

indicate that we can reach a certain point where we are cognizant of each other's interests, cognizant of each other's concerns. And making sure that

there are no misunderstandings that could lead to any form of risk for --

ANDERSON: That, I understand. The reason I ask, of course, is that you know the bottom line is that for years, Iran has been the biggest threat to

Saudi Arabia's security. We've heard it said time and again. So, I just wonder at this point, how big a threat does Iran -- does Saudi still see in

or from Iran?

And at this point, is this a case of implied threat, direct threat at this point. I mean, we have -- you been in conversation with Tehran about

whether or not, you know, continued escalation could put Saudi's security at risk? Has there been a direct threat from the Iranians?

SAUD: Certainly, there have not been any threats. But the issue that we've had, and that we can, you know, that -- you know that was the basis for,

let's say the divergence in our relationship was the fact that we've that Iran's regional behavior, from our perspective, was not conducive to

stability. And that's something where we are having very, very clear and honest conversations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, that's Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister. And more on that conversation as we move through the show. Saudi Arabia's priority today is

the implementation of vision 2030, and its foreign policy is squarely focused on serving its economic interests, and to that end, the foreign

minister working to reduce threats posed by instability and insecurity.

Here it's that unapologetic Saudi first policy that lies at the heart of the kingdom's increasingly influential role, both regionally and on the

world stage. Ultimately, this is about facilitating Saudi Arabia's domestic ambitions in real terms and regional peace is conducive, some would argue,

call to economic advancement.

Time and again in our conversation, the foreign minister said it is the right of people to decide their own political future, in the case of the

Palestinians, the Iranians.

[09:10:00]

And you won't be surprised to have heard him say in the case of the Americans too, he says he is willing to work for peace with whomever the

American people vote in as president next week. The time being, Erica. Back to you.

HILL: Yeah, it's such an important conversation, I'm looking forward to hearing more of it a little bit later as well. Becky, thank you. Well, with

just five days to go until this very consequential election. The candidates are, of course, in their final push to win votes in those critical battle

ground states. And also, to do their best not to lose any support at this point by alienating key groups which could ultimately decide the election.

Both campaigns harping on the garbage remarks that have really set the tone for much of this week. All of this, of course, started on Sunday night with

a Donald Trump supporter who called Puerto Rico, a quote, floating island of garbage that happened at a rally in New York, sparking widespread

bipartisan outrage and offering somewhat of a gift to the Harris campaign.

That is, until Tuesday night when President Joe Biden seemed to call Trump supporters garbage during a "Get Out the Vote Event" and while he did try

to clarify he was referring to a single supporter, that Biden gaffe became a bit of a gift for the Trump camp. Vice President Harris distanced herself

from the President's comments, stressing she would never criticize anyone over their voting choice.

Former President Trump really leaning in here, posing in a garbage truck and a reflective vest at campaign stops in what in Wisconsin rather, on

Wednesday. With more, I'm joined by my colleagues, Kevin Liptak in Washington and Steve Contorno, who is following the development in the

Trump campaign from Florida.

So, Steve, as we look at this, you know, Donald Trump really leaning in here. It is important to remember, he has called the entire country

garbage, has called Harris supporters scum and absolute garbage in the past, but is now really leaning into these comments from President Biden.

And also looking to distance himself from the comments Sunday night that started it all. Here's a moment where he tried to do that. I

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know who he is. I've never seen him. I heard he made a statement, but

it was just a statement that he made. He's a comedian. What can I tell you? I know nothing about him. I don't know why he's there. You put comedians

up, and I guess he went on earlier to show. I don't know who he is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: That is also vintage Trump much of what we heard in his speech last night as well, vintage Trump distancing himself in any way from what could

be a controversy. Steve, what is the sense? How are these comments in the way the Trump campaign is now seizing on the Biden garbage comment? How is

that playing with voters?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Erica, here's what I can tell you, Donald Trump put a ton of efforts this election cycle into trying to drive a wedge

between Latino voters who historically vote Democrat and the Democratic Party, and he has done that by talking to them about issues of crime,

immigration even, economy, and really tailoring a message to these groups.

And so, the Harris campaigns last minute push on this issue, and having this sort of sound bite in their holster to be able to push back against

them is alarming to the Trump campaign, and clearly the Harris campaign believes this is a winning formula for them, because they are now on the

air advertising around these remarks to Spanish speaking viewers.

And they have support from bad bunny and other all these other figures who have come out of the woodwork in the last moment in a way that has that

many people on her side believe have broken -- has broken through. The Trump campaign, you know, their support in the Latino community has come a

lot from sort of these masculine figures, boxers, MFA fighter, MMA fighters, you know, rappers of a certain ilk.

And what it does is it certainly has helped generate more buzz from within Latino communities, especially among male communities. However, it is sort

of played into one of the central fears of the Trump campaign, which is that he hasn't done enough to reach out toward moderate voters and women

voters, especially if you look at the latest polling that they are facing going into this final stretch.

He is down about 14 percentage points among female voters, and that includes wide gender gap among Latino women as well. And so, the concern is

that the Donald Trump campaign, with their messaging, with their focus, with who they are talking with, who they are amplifying at their rallies,

has done nothing but further drive a wedge between his campaign and female voters, even as they are trying to win over male voters across many

demographics.

And I think that is what you are seeing in this final stretch here, where we are people like Charlie Kirk, someone who is immensely important to the

Trump campaign because his organization turning point is in charge of the ground game in some of these swing states.

[09:15:00]

He is now raising the alarm that the early vote is coming disproportionately from female voters. And this emphasis on male voters

could ultimately harm Donald Trump's campaign in the end.

HILL: Look at that the challenges as you laid out there in these final days, there are, of course, challenges for the Harris campaign as well.

There's been a lot of talk throughout the course of the campaign about the Arab-American vote, specifically in Michigan. This latest controversy also

coming up again after Former President Bill Clinton addressed the war in the Middle East.

And Michiganders who were thinking about not voting because of the current administration's stance on Gaza, I want to play part of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, 42ND U.S. PRESIDENT: I think part of it is that Hamas did not care about a homeland for the Palestinians. They wanted to kill Israelis

and make Israel uninhabitable. Well, I got news for them. They were there first before there was their faith existed.

They were there, in the time of King David, in the southernmost tribes had Judea and Samaria. When I read that people in Michigan are thinking about

not voting because they're mad at the Biden Administration for honoring its historic obligation to try to keep Israel from being destroyed.

I think that's a mistake, because Donald Trump has shown what he wants and I don't think it's -- and he claims it's good for Israel, but I don't think

it is. I think we still have to find a way to share the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: A number of surrogates have been trying to find a way to connect with Arab-American voters, and frankly, not even just Arab American voters, that

is an important voting bloc, but also other Democrats who are very unhappy with the Biden Administration's approach to the situation in Israel, this

the war with Gaza.

Bernie Sanders coming out and saying, look, I don't like it either, but I'm still going to vote for Kamala Harris. Kevin, as we look at these different

comments and how they do or do not land well and the challenges that the Harris Walz ticket still faces. Is there still time for them to work on

that outreach a little more?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: You know, I think a lot of Democrats will say that there's not that the cake is kind of baked among

Arab-American voters, particularly in Michigan, certainly hopes for achieving a cease fire in Gaza before the American election are almost zero

at this point in the argument that you're hearing, including from Bill Clinton there, is essentially that Donald Trump would be worse for the

Palestinians.

Certainly, that President Biden has had his own issues in trying to achieve a peace in the Middle East, but that Donald Trump would certainly be

heavily weighted on the side of Israel. And can I just say it's so fascinating to hear Bill Clinton talk about the struggles to achieve this

in the Middle East.

I don't think anyone understands the frustrations of American policy in that region better than him, after, you know, trying and failing at the end

of his presidency to negotiate that peace between Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat. And so certainly Bill Clinton, I think, understands this better

than anyone.

But I don't think if you're an Arab-American voter in Michigan that hearing that is necessarily going to alleviate any of your concerns. And certainly,

when Kamala Harris has been talking about this, including last night in Wisconsin, when she was interrupted by protesters calling for a cease fire

in Gaza and calling for an end to American weapon sales to Israel.

Her answer has always been to point towards the necessity of that cease fire agreement, but she hasn't necessarily said how she would achieve that,

how she would do that differently than what President Biden has been doing. And I think that's led to a lot of frustrations.

And she has very certainly stopped short of saying that she would condition American arms shipments to Israel on its upholding of humanitarian rights

in Gaza on its addressing of the humanitarian situations in these regions. And so, I think that's what's led to the frustrations.

And in an election that is so razor thin in all of these battleground states, a population like Arab-Americans in Michigan could be a deciding

factor. And I think that's why, you know there are so many concerns among Democrats about how the top of the ticket and how the White House has

addressed this issue over the last year.

HILL: Yeah, absolutely. Kevin, Steve, appreciate it. Thank you both. Well, in terms of efforts in the Middle East, the Biden Administration is making

a new diplomatic push. The big question is, will it help stop the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza? We're going to take a closer look after a quick break.

Also ahead, the world's richest man ordered to appear in court today. Elon Musk facing some legal challenges over those million-dollar giveaways to

voters, the details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:00]

ANDERSON: Well top U.S. officials are in the Middle East today making a push for cease fires in both Gaza and in Lebanon. As Israel expands its

strikes against Hezbollah militants, the Lebanese Prime Minister says he believes the deal is just days or even hours away.

Well CNN's Jeremy Diamond joining us from Tel Aviv. Jeremy, the administrations of the U.S. Administration's Middle Eastern, what and two

other top U.S. figures in region today. What's behind this cease fire push on both fronts right now?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's very clear that the U.S. is sensing an opportunity here to try and advance the cease fire

negotiations. In particular as it relates to Lebanon, where it seems like there is the most momentum, the most promise in the air in terms of

actually making progress.

There were those comments, of course, from the Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister expressing hope that there could be a cease fire going into effect

in days, if not even hours. That seems overly optimistic, and it's important to note that, that Prime Minister is not really a decision maker

in these talks.

And said it's the Speaker of the Lebanese parliament who is the key intermediary between the United States and Hezbollah. We do know, though,

that Hezbollah, in recent weeks has indicated a willingness to engage and to perhaps even agree to some kind of a cease fire, even if it doesn't

relate to a cease fire happening in Gaza, which previously we had seen Hezbollah link those two issues.

But following the drubbing that they really have suffered at the hands of the Israeli military in recent months, that thinking appears to have

changed. And I can also tell you from speaking with Israeli officials that the Israeli government also seems to believe for the same reasons.

That now is the time for the reasons that they believe they've accomplished a lot militarily in Lebanon over the course of the last couple of months,

to really debilitate Hezbollah's ability to fire rockets into Israel. And also, of course, primarily, really decimating its senior leadership,

including killing its Leader Hassan Nasrallah.

So today we are watching as Amos Hochstein President Biden's special envoy on this issue, as well as Brett McGurk, President Biden's top adviser on

Middle East issues. They are both in Israel today meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister, the defense minister, and other top Israeli officials.

The CIA Director, Bill Burns, he is in Egypt trying to advance not only the cease fire negotiations regarding Lebanon, but also critically, as it

relates to Gaza. So, a lot of diplomatic capital being spent here and Amos Hochstein expected to then go back to the Lebanese capital in Beirut to try

and advance talks on the other side as well.

And we do know that there are some plans that have been leaked that are on the table that seem to involve some kind of a shorter-term cease fire a

month.

[09:25:00]

Or perhaps even two months on the table to implement, begin implementing, what would look like a longer-term agreement that would end the war between

Israel and Hezbollah, implementing, critically and enforcing resolution 1701 which ended the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, and would

involve the removal of Hezbollah forces from some 30 kilometers north of the Israel-Lebanon border.

ANDERSON: Yeah, and this has been costly, massively so on the part of the Lebanese. I think I saw a statistic today. A child is dying every four

days. We know that so many people have died, and so many people displaced in Lebanon. And the IDF have taken casualties as well in what has been a

relatively small window that this conflict has been going on.

It would be, I'm sure, in everybody's favorite to see a resolution to this one, however long that might be on the Lebanese file. Cease fire talks for

Gaza began again this week. Now, are we seeing any progress on that front? Do we understand what sort of proposal even is being discussed at this

point?

DIAMOND: Well, it seems that the primary proposal would involve something like a month-long cease fire, shorter than what has been discussed

previously, the release of some hostages. I was told you know, more than eight hostages, perhaps as many as a dozen, released during that time

period.

Unclear exactly how many Palestinian prisoners would be released in exchange, but this is an attempt to kind of shake up the talks. Over the

last two months, we have seen the talks really completely dead locked, but there is a hope that in the wake of the killing of Yahya Sinwar.

Perhaps Hamas will reconsider its demands that the war, that any kind of cease fire, any kind of release of hostages, leads ultimately to the

withdrawal of Israeli troops and the end of the war in Gaza. But that doesn't appear to be the case, at least not yet. We just heard from a top

Hamas official who released the statement reiterating those previous Hamas demands.

Reiterating a demand that they return to the kind of July framework that had been discussed in these negotiations. Israeli officials have really

moved beyond that. They think that they are in a very different place now with the achievements of the military achievements they believe they've

reached in Gaza, particularly the killing of Sinwar.

But so far, it doesn't seem like Hamas is willing to engage in a different way. But of course, those talks still underway. The country is meeting with

Hamas officials this week to discuss some of these new proposals, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yeah, absolutely good to have you. Jeremy, thank you. Erica, back to you with our big story or other big story. Of course, the U.S. election

just days away, some interesting developments with a key Trump supporter, as I understand it.

HILL: Yes, that's right, Elon Musk is set to appear in court in the next hour. Although there's a question about whether that's going to happen now.

So, he'd actually been ordered to show up at a hearing in Philadelphia over those million dollars a day giveaway to voters in swing states.

Well, the city's district attorney says that move actually violates Pennsylvania law. The DA is also had also requested extra security at the

hearing after facing threats on X, which, of course, is the social media platform now owned by Musk. Zachary Cohen joins me now. So, there were

supposed to be a hearing this morning. Where do things stand now?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah, Erica, we have been prepared for a high stakes court battle this morning in Philadelphia, but

some legal maneuvering overnight by Elon Musk and his legal team likely means that this hearing could be delayed and Elon Musk will not have to

appear in court.

In the courtroom today. It remains to be seen how this motion filed by Elon Musk's legal team to try to get this case moved to federal court will

ultimately impact things in both the short term and the long term. But case like this -- or most like this, typically do result in cases being paused

as a judge decides whether or not to allow a motion or accept a motion or to send it back to the state court.

And look, every day that goes by considering we're five days from the presidential election, every day that goes by that this lottery giveaway is

allowed to continue is a win for Elon Musk. And frankly, a win for Donald Trump, and that's what would happen if this hearing today is ultimately

delayed, and until there's resolution, this giveaway is allowed to continue.

And it's also interesting, Erica, because both sides are arguing that the actions of each other are an improper attempt to influence the 2024

election. So really, with the next five days in mind, that sort of the lens to look at this move by Elon Musk.

HILL: Yeah, absolutely. All right, we'll see how that develops. Appreciate it. Thank you. Still to come here a final look at the help of U.S. economy

before Election Day. What new data out this morning tells us about inflation? And what we could see in Friday's hotly anticipated jobs report?

That's just ahead.

Plus, Brett Favre, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jennifer Lopez, Elon Musk, as we just noted. The celebrity star power jumping in here in the final days of

campaigning for the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

HILL: Welcome back. I'm Erica Hill in New York. You're watching "Connect the World". New U.S. economic data just released this morning shows

inflation slowed again last month to an annual rate of 2.1 percent and that comes ahead of a hotly anticipated jobs report tomorrow, which could play

into how voters cast their ballots next week.

CNN's Business and Politics Correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich joining me now to break all this down for us. So, we have that inflation number, but

there's a lot of anticipation about this jobs report on Friday. What is the expectation?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this jobs report is going to be fodder for the campaigns too, right? They're going to

try to spin this in the way they want to attract voters. What the expectation is about 117,000 jobs added in October. That's the expectation.

Of course, things change all the time.

In September, we saw a huge jobs report, about 254,000 jobs added in the month of September. That was double what people expected. But in this

particular report, Erica, there's two sort of things that we need to look at right now, because that could have an impact on this report.

One of the two hurricanes that could have slowed down hiring in the month of October. And also, we've had a couple strikes, and one that is still

ongoing, the Boeing strike, where you have 33,000 people off the job, and that's having a downstream ripple effect on other jobs.

Some estimates suggest that, that could be a hit to the jobs report of about 100,000 jobs. So that's something to look at very closely. One thing

we can use as sort of a precursor to what we're going to see tomorrow is, just yesterday we got the ADP jobs report. That's private sector jobs.

Tomorrow we'll get public sector jobs, but private sector jobs really, really strong. 233,000 jobs added to the private sector. That's about

double what was anticipated. So, with these jobs report, you have all these analysts trying to make predictions, but at the end of the day, the numbers

have swung wildly in recent months.

Over the summer, there was sort of slow hiring, but then it picked up again in September, but this October jobs report is going to be one of the last

pieces of economic data that both voters are going to get about the strength of the economy, and the two candidates are going to get about the

strength of the economy.

So, this is going to be on top of minds for both the campaigns and voters as they head to the poll in the next couple days. Right now, what we're

seeing is that there has been strong economic growth, that jobs have been added at a steady healthy pace. That is what we are expecting in this

report. But you never know. You really just got to wait till it drops, Erica.

HILL: That is for sure.

YURKEVICH Yeah.

HILL: Vanessa, appreciate it. Thank you.

YURKEVICH: Thank you.

HILL: Just ahead, the Dodgers clinching the 2024 World Series with a pretty dramatic comeback and some tough errors on the side of the Yankees.

[09:35:00]

Plus, people in Spain have a massive cleanup ahead of them after deadly flash flooding in Valencia and concerns the threat is not over.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HILL: Spain is still reeling after flash flooding claimed 95 lives, and there are still dozens of people missing. The damage left behind is also

extensive. Take a look at some of these images. Cars piled there, as you can see, piled up in the street after being swept up in these floods.

Many areas in Eastern Spain were hit with as much as 30 centimeters, about a foot, of rain just two hours. It's the worst rainfall in Valencia in 28

years. One local official comparing the rainfall to a dam bursting, making it impossible for emergency services to reach some areas.

It is just devastating, and there are concerns too, that threats could continue. So again, 95 people dead. There are still dozens missing, and of

course, the cleanup is a major effort ahead, as you can see from these images. Let's get you caught up in some of the other stories on our radar

at this hour.

In Taiwan, one person is dead following the strongest typhoon to hit the island in nearly 30 years. Typhoon Kong Rey making landfall there. It hit

the southeast of Taiwan with winds approaching 200 kilometers per hour. Understandably, schools, offices and the stock exchange were all closed.

South Korea and the U.S. just conducting a large-scale joint air drill. That's according to Seoul's Defense Ministry. The drill coming after

Pyongyang said it conducted an intercontinental ballistic missile test on Thursday. A launch believed to have achieved the longest flight time yet

for a North Korean missile.

In Mexico, 8 of 11 Supreme Court justices have resigned in the wake of a constitutional overhaul that mandates all judges be elected by a popular

vote. Supporters say the move will help rid the judicial system of corruption. Critics of the reform call it a power grab.

Well, there are a lot of happy people, a lot of sad people this morning in the U.S. when it comes to baseball, those still cheering this morning fans,

the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are now Major League Baseball's new champions after that World Series victory against the New York Yankees on Wednesday.

But in the first five innings didn't look like they were going to pull it off, and then things changed. Amanda Davies joining me now. Amanda, I mean,

I have to say my husband and my kids were at the game last night -- were they excited until they weren't.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: -- Erica, when I woke up this morning and I saw the news, your children were actually the first people I talked about

having talked -- talks about them yesterday. I'm so sorry. The highs and lows of sport playing out in one game was now.

I mean, you have to say on balance across the season, and from that come back, the Dodgers deserved it. I know your kids won't want to hear that,

but they did --

[09:40:00]

HILL: -- sometimes -- the truth hurts sometimes, but it's important.

DAVIES: It is a valuable life lesson through sport. I mean, it was a roller coaster, the team from Hollywood, you know, an ending, a script that the

writers would have been proud of, wouldn't they? We've got so much reaction to it, scenes from inside the locker room coming up in just a couple of

minutes in "World Sport". And of course, looking ahead to that big parade on Friday. And they've waited a really long time for this parade.

HILL: Yeah.

DAVIES: Because they didn't get the celebration, they felt they deserved in 2020 because of the COVID pandemic. So, they are sure going to make the

most of this moment.

HILL: Yeah, they certainly are. Every Dodgers fan I know is ready for that big parade and excited to see it all. And I think you said your sisters out

there as well, so maybe she's, you know, there you go. Could be a good time to go. Amanda, thank you. We'll have much more from you again on the other

side of the break in "World Sport".

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[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

[10:00:00]

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