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Hurricane Ian Death Toll Climbs to 125; Will There Be An "October Surprise". Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired October 07, 2022 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. We made it to Friday and you already know Fridays rock. I`m Coy. This is CNN 10, and we`ve got a
powerful show today to finish this week strong.
First though, we have to head to the state of Florida where residents are dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. The storm hit the state just
over a week ago just shy of a category hurricane 5, making it one of the deadliest to ever make landfall. More than 100 people have died. Rescuers
are still working around the clock using boats and aircrafts to save people who are trapped.
As of this week, more than 2,300 rescues have been made but it`s still unclear how many people might still be missing. Across the state, people
also don`t have access to safe drinking water and to boil water notice was issued for 120 areas. Some residents in island communities off the coast of
Florida are still cut off from the mainland and hundreds of people have been without power for days.
President Biden has pledged national aid for Florida and is working with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis but it`s a long road ahead still for those
who`ve been impacted.
More now from CNN correspondent Leyla Santiago who`s there for us in Florida on Sanibel Island.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An emotional return for the residents of Sanibel Island allowed back on the island for the first time
to check on their hopes and businesses a week after hurricane Ian ravaged the area.
Toni and Dan Tabor shed tears of relief after finding their home still standing.
TONI TABOR, SANIBEL ISLAND RESIDENT: We thought we`d come home and we thought those windows were broken, and we thought we`d find water, and we
thought we would come back and find everything gone.
SANTIAGO: But so many of their neighbors and friends didn`t fare as well.
TABOR: I mean, the house over there, we know all these people. It`s like family back here.
SANTIAGO: So this is West Gulf Drive, it`s one of the main streets here on Sanibel Island. It`s one of the parts that was the worst-hit area. And you
can tell, look behind me, this is now a street that is lined with debris. You can see straight into homes and see personal belongings everywhere.
Look over here. You also have part of a roof that is sitting on the side of the street.
But to make the point of exactly how powerful this storm was. Take a look at this home. Residents tell me that this was actually across the street.
Now you can see straight in what was once a family room, a kitchen no longer here. The equipment and refrigerator now partially out the door and
not much left to be salvaged.
ANDY GARCIA, OWNER, SANIBEL HOME CONCIERGE: There is already mildew growing.
SANTIAGO: Andy Garcia is a property manager on the island. He`s had to deliver bad news to families who couldn`t be here to check on their own
homes.
GARCIA: It`s totally devastating. To hear them on the other end of the phone and just gasping for air, you`re telling them their home is
destroyed. It`s totally heart-wrenching for me.
SANTIAGO: And heart-wrenching for the owners who lost everything.
STEVE SCHULTZ, SANIBEL ISLAND RESIDENT: Everything`s pretty much ruined inside.
JOE SCHULZ, SANIBEL ISLAND RESIDENT: Everything including dressers, beds, everything, ruined. It`s all in our front yard.
SANTIAGO: Steve and Lori Schulz are leaving the island for the first time since Ian hit.
LORI SCHULZ, SANIBEL ISLAND RESIDENT: Hopefully, we`re coming back to a house. Everybody works together. Everybody cares about each other. We`ll be
back.
SANTIAGO: And, you know, a lot of the people we`ve talked to are waiting for some sort of temporary fix to the Sanibel Causeway something Governor
Ron DeSantis has said that the government is working on it and that`s so important to them because they need to be able to move people to move
supplies in order to salvage anything they can from these homes before it`s too late and anyone is forced to tear down the homes completely.
Leyla Santiago, CNN, Sanibel Island, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Ten-second trivia:
In the U.S. midterm elections, how many seats are up for re-election in the House of Representatives?
One hundred, 35, 435, or 143?
The answer is 435,while about a third of the 100-seat U.S. Senate are up for election, all 435 seats on the ballot for the House are up.
The midterm elections in the United States are one month away. Americans will head to the polls to cast their votes on November 8th. They`re called
midterm elections because they happen in the middle of a president`s four- year term. Americans will be voting for representatives in Congress and candidates for state and local offices.
Currently, President Biden`s Democratic Party controls both the House of Representatives and the Senate but a lot can happen in October.
The term October surprise was coined by former President Ronald Reagan`s campaign manager during the election because unexpected events during the
last month of campaigning can impact voter choices and change the trajectory of the election in a major way.
We`ll hear more now from CNN national politics reporter Eva McKend taking a look back at a few of the October surprises of the past.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: It`s October. Leaves begin to change color, the weather starts to chill.
But in the world of politics, it`s when campaigns start to heat up and it`s when unexpected news or events often occurred during the election cycle
commonly known as an October surprise, a game-changing event that can possibly damage one candidate`s chances and boosts the others.
October surprises have been around for decades and it is part of U.S. politics even before the term was used politically, going back 50 years to
1972, President Richard Nixon`s national security adviser Henry Kissinger has late news about the unpopular Vietnam War.
HENRY KISSINGER, NIXON`S NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We believe that peace is at hand.
MCKEND: He was wrong and the war wouldn`t come to a close for two and a half more years.
In 1980, in what was the October surprise that never happened, 52 U.S. hostages held in Iran were not released before the election, despite
President Jimmy Carter`s efforts. Instead, they were set free as soon as Ronald Reagan was inaugurated.
In `92, Reagan`s successor George H.W. Bush seeking re-election was days away from the vote when a top Reagan team member Casper Weinberger was
indicted over the Iran-Contra affair.
With the stock market taking a nosedive, and recession wearing its ugly head, GOP presidential nominee John McCain insisted --
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ): Fundamentals of our economy are strong.
MCKEND: Voters disagreed with this assessment and what was once a tight race became a Democratic blowout, with Barack Obama winning.
In 2012, in what was more of a September surprise than an October surprise, audio tape of Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney surfaced,
characterizing almost half the voters as dependent on government handouts.
MITT ROMNEY (R), THEN-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Forty-seven percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what.
MCKEND: President Obama went on to win re-election.
And during the 2020 presidential election where it was a true October surprise, Trump along with the first lady tested positive for coronavirus,
days after the first presidential debate with Joe Biden.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WIRE: Now for today`s "10 out of 10". We have someone putting the dude in doodle. British artist Sam Cox has been doodling since he was three years
old. His scribbles and bits have been on murals. They`ve been on cars.
But for his latest project he doodled the entire kitten caboodle from his bed and blankets to his interior walls and stairs. He covered every square
inch of his house, dude. It took him two whole years to complete. Even his toilet is decked out with doodles.
If you could live in a house like that, would you doodle it? I`ll tell you what we`re going to doodle now. We`ve got a special shout out to Manchester
Junior and Senior High School in Manchester, Michigan. We hope you and everyone watching around the world have a wonderful weekend.
I`m Coy and this is CNN 10.
END
