Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Trump's Friday Town Hall in NC; Biden Says No Guarantee of Peaceful 2024 Election; Israel Delaying Decision about Iran Retaliation; Buncombe Struggles with Hurricane Helene Aftermath; Obama Campaigning for Harris in Battleground Blitz; Syrian Refugees from War See It Again in Lebanon; Hurricane Helene Death Toll Rises; Climate Disasters Increasing in Number and Power; U.S. Economy Adds 254,000 New Jobs ahead of Election; Bronny James Debuts, LeBron Sits Out. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired October 05, 2024 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM
We are one month away from Election Day in the U.S. With all eyes on the battleground states Kamala Harris is warning voters in Michigan about how a Trump presidency could impact workers.
And Donald Trump hitting back while surveying damage from Hurricane Helene. We will look at the false claims he's making about government relief funding.
Plus Lebanon faces a humanitarian crisis as Israel continues its airstrikes.
What we know about the campaign and how the U.S. is responding
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: We are one month away from Election Day here in the U.S. And both presidential nominees are keeping the focus on battleground states, planning to spend the weekend trying to persuade undecided voters.
Today, former president Donald Trump is returning to Butler, Pennsylvania, to the same venue where he survived an assassination attempt in July. He's expected to honor the victims of the shooting during a rally.
Running mate JD Vance and billionaire Elon Musk are also scheduled to be there. Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris heads to North Carolina today
to survey the impact of Hurricane Helene. She will also get a briefing on the recovery efforts. Harris held two events in the key state of Michigan on Friday, where she told working class voters that Donald Trump doesn't have their back. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: As we stand here in a house of labor, we will not be fooled. We will not be gaslighted. Donald Trump's track record is a disaster for working people. He is an existential threat to America's labor movement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: The vice president also highlighted her record on labor issues, fighting to protect union jobs. And she touted the Biden administration's commitment to continue federal grant funding for a vehicle manufacturing plant in Michigan.
Donald Trump held a town hall in North Carolina on Friday where he criticized Harris and Biden's handling of Hurricane Helene and falsely claimed that they misused relief funds.
Steve Contorno reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump spent Friday evening in Fairfield, North Carolina, just down the road from Fort Liberty. That is the largest military installation in the world.
He promised that, if he was elected, he would change the name of the fort back to Fort Bragg, which was named after a Confederate general.
That was well received in this crowd of service members, veterans and military families, many of which asked questions about the military and about what Donald Trump would do differently than Joe Biden if he is elected.
Trump in kind was quite critical of the Biden administration's handling of the military and foreign affairs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: They asked him, what do you think about -- what do you think about Iran?
Would you hit Iran?
And he goes, as long as they don't hit the nuclear stuff.
That's the thing you want to hit, right?
I said I think he's got that one wrong. Isn't that the what you're supposed to hit?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CONTORNO: North Carolina, of course, is a state that is still in recovery mode after Hurricane Helene and Donald Trump continued to criticize the Biden-Harris administration's handling of the cleanup and recovery of the storm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And, you know, Kamala should be here. She shouldn't be anywhere else. They're giving you lousy treatment in North Carolina, in particular. And we don't like that, so we're going to let it be known then they have to get a lot better because people are not happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CONTORNO: Now the vice president is scheduled to tour hurricane wreckage in North Carolina on Saturday.
Trump, meanwhile, will return to Butler, Pennsylvania. That is the site of the first assassination attempt on his life. He'll be joined there by tech billionaire Elon Musk and his running mate, JD Vance -- Steve Contorno, CNN, Fayetteville, North Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
U.S. President Joe Biden expressed concern about the potential for violence after next month's election. On Thursday, Biden spoke to reporters from the White House Briefing Room for the first time in his presidency.
When questioned on whether he felt certain the election would be free, fair and peaceful, the president said his confidence only went so far. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm confident it'll be free and fair. I don't know whether it will be peaceful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Biden also pointed to last Tuesday's vice presidential debate.
[05:05:00]
Noting Ohio senator JD Vance is sidestepping the question of whether Trump lost in 2020 and whether he'd accept the outcome in the upcoming election.
The White House is also commenting on Israel's strikes against targets in Lebanon and the humanitarian crisis it's creating. Israel's bombardment of Lebanon is ongoing this morning, following strikes across the country and at least a dozen air raids on Beirut's southern suburbs overnight.
A new report from a conflict monitoring group says Israel's bombardment there over the past three weeks is the world's most intense aerial campaign with the exception of what's happened in Gaza in the last two decades. The U.S. announced more than $150 million worth of humanitarian aid for Lebanon on Friday.
The Biden administration supports Israel's military offensive but is expressing concerns about the impact on civilians.
Lebanon says more than 1 million people or 20 percent of its population is now displaced because of Israeli strikes. The leader of Hamas' military wing, the al Qassam Brigades, was reportedly killed in an airstrike in north Lebanon near the city of Tripoli. That's according to a media outlet affiliated with the group.
So far the Israeli military hasn't commented. All right, CNN's Nada Bashir is following developments from London.
So Nada, to start, I noted the intensity of the bombardments in Lebanon. Take us through the effect it's having on Hezbollah, even Hamas and, importantly, the civilians there as well.
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, civilian impacts, all of the ongoing bombardment that we are seeing across Lebanon now, is significant, to say the least. This is a hugely desperate situation for many civilians. As you noted, overnight, we have seen at least a dozen raid strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
We have seen Israel's strikes on Lebanon actually spreading and hunting, rather, advancing across the country as you mentioned. Reports of an airstrike overnight in northern Lebanon near the city of Tripoli, targeting the senior Hamas official there, reportedly the head of Hamas' al Qassam Brigades, the military wing there.
Again, no comment from the Israeli military on that just yet. Those reports coming from Hamas affiliated media. 3But we have seen these strikes advancing and deepening across the country. There certainly has not been any sort of de-escalation by the Israeli military in Lebanon.
According to Hezbollah officials, we have seen yet further attempts to advance an incursion in southern Lebanon. Overnight, according to Hezbollah, that began at around 11:00 pm local time. And Israeli infantry pushed back. Again this coming from Hezbollah.
Meanwhile, on the other side we've heard from the Israeli military reporting at least five projectiles being fired from Lebanon, targeting Israeli territory. According to the Israeli military, these projectiles were either shot down or fell in open areas. No casualties are said to have been reported.
But again, the Israeli military is claiming that they are targeting Hezbollah militants, that they are targeting Hezbollah infrastructure across Lebanon. They say that they have killed at least 250 Hezbollah militants so far. But it is important to underscore that these areas that we are seeing
being raided, being bombarded by the Israeli military, are by and large densely populated with civilians. This is a very small country. The areas in Beirut that we are seeing being targeted are densely populated, crammed, filled with residential apartment buildings.
And what we've seen of course, as a result of this huge displacement crisis, Lebanese authorities saying around 1 million people in Lebanon are now internally displaced. We've seen this worrying surge in the number of Syrian refugees now, in fact, trying to flee Lebanon and return to Syria, despite the risks that they may face there.
And of course, we have seen the key main route connecting Lebanon to Syria now also bombed by the Israeli military. So a hugely desperate situation for civilians there.
And while we are hearing these evacuation warnings from the Israeli military for civilians, that they say are living or present near areas that they believe to be Hezbollah targets, by and large these warnings are not coming with enough time for civilians to get out, to get all their belongings.
And, of course, to gather their children and evacuate. So it is a worrying situation and what we're hearing from monitoring groups is it's the level and intensity of bombardment that we're seeing is really unprecedented at this stage.
BRUNHUBER: All right, appreciate that update. Nada Bashir, live in London. Thanks so much.
U.S. Joe President Biden indicated that Israel hasn't yet decided on how to retaliate against Iran for the missile attack it launched on Tuesday. CNN's Kylie Atwood has details from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Israel has given U.S. no assurances that they will not target Iran's nuclear program as part of their retaliation against Iran for the missile strikes that were carried out against Israel earlier this week.
This is noteworthy, given the fact that the Biden administration, President Biden himself has made clear that the United States would not support retaliation from Israel.
[05:10:05]
Including -- that would include going after Iran's nuclear program, though they say that there should be severe consequences for Iran after those attacks earlier this week.
And when it comes to the timing of Israel's retaliation, this top State Department official said it's really hard to tell if Israel would use October 7, of course the anniversary of that horrific attack from Hamas, against Israel, to retaliate against Iran. Saying, in their estimation, it's more likely that Israel would use
the days before or the day just after just given how solemn the day, October 7 is. But it's very clear that U.S. officials right now still don't know exactly how Israel is going to respond or exactly when it will respond -- Kylie Atwood, CNN, the State Department.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: So as Israel weighs its options in terms of striking Iran, the U.S. is going after Houthi targets in Yemen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): That's one of 15 strikes conducted on Friday, taking aim at the group's military and other capabilities. The U.S. says, the goal was to protect the freedom of navigation after weeks of Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea, bound for Israel.
A TV station controlled by the rebels says some of the strikes hit an airport in Western Yemen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: All right, want to go live now to northern Lebanon. And Paul Salem, the vice president of the Middle East Institute.
Thanks so much for being here with us again. So the U.S. striking targets in Yemen. And this week, the Pentagon announced it would send a few thousand more troops to the region to help defend Israel and to protect the U.S. troops already there.
But now the discussion is that the beefed-up U.S. presence there isn't actually deterring a wider war or just making it more likely because it's emboldening Israel.
What do you think is more likely?
PAUL SALEM, VP, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: Well, I think the trajectories for about a year now has been one of a widening of the war. And indeed we are hours or days away from a major strike from Israel to Iran.
As you know, as you both yourself have reported, that it's not clear what those targets will be. But this will be really the largest scale conflict between the big, two big players, Israel and Iran.
And the ramifications of that could be very enormous. It's been quite clear that the U.S. has really not been able to calibrate or manage or guide developments in the region. They have not been able to influence to any significant degree the decisions of the Netanyahu government.
And maybe they have been able to deter Iran in a very limited way. But Iran, as we've seen, has hit Israel, continues to support Hezbollah and Hamas. So no major change there.
BRUNHUBER: We heard there that Israel hasn't given any assurances it won't target Iran's nuclear facilities. What do you think the U.S. response will be if it does, particularly
if they aren't told in advance?
SALEM: There's a number of major initiatives that Israel has taken without telling the U.S. in advance. And certainly without agreeing with the U.S. on it. This would be a much larger target. This is not the Gaza Strip and it's not Lebanon.
And so it would be more of a breach. But I don't think the United States has any other option or any other setting at this point but to support Israel, even if they disagree on the targeting or on the action.
If Israel does target whatever it wishes to target on Iran, Iran is going to retaliate. And then the U.S. will be in the position of, quote-unquote, "defending" Israel. So effectively the U.S. is locked in to whatever prime minister Netanyahu decides to do.
BRUNHUBER: So as you've noted, there are a couple of times Israel's basically kept the U.S. out of the loop. And despite all of the U.S. calls for peace, de-escalation, peace is even more elusive now than it was before.
So all of this, this constant theme that you're saying there, what does it suggest then about U.S. influence on Israel?
Seems almost non-existent.
SALEM: Yes. I think, yes, the U.S. influence, especially with a prime minister like Netanyahu, who was born in the U.S., knows the U.S. well, has been confronting, I would say, several U.S. presidents in the past. He's quite practiced in this.
He does know and you recall in the U.S. Congress, he got 50 standing ovations from a majority of both parties. So he know that -- he knows that President Biden or the Biden administration doesn't have a lot of political clout when it comes to the support of Israel.
[05:15:00]
They cannot really withdraw or pause military support. They cannot pause financial support. So their tool kit is extremely limited. And I think prime minister Netanyahu knows that all too well.
I think the real discussion, vis-a-vis targeting in Iran, is more about what would the consequences of different targeting be, more than the U.S. position. In brief, if they target nuclear installations, most experts believe that Iran will withdraw from the non- proliferation treaty, go underground and go as fast as it can toward a nuclear bomb.
That would not be a good outcome for Israel or the U.S. If they target oil installations and there's risk of Iran targeting oil installations across the waters of the Gulf, having a global energy crisis and so on. So bombing Iran is very different than bombing Lebanon or Gaza. BRUNHUBER: You touched on the U.S. domestic implications. I want to
ask you this because President Biden responded to this. He was asked whether Israel's actions were part of an effort to influence the U.S. election. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Do you have any worries that Netanyahu may be trying to influence the election and that's why he has not agreed to a diplomatic solution?
BIDEN: No administration has helped Israel more than I have, none. None. None. And I think Bibi should remember that. And whether he's trying to influence the election, I don't know but I'm not counting on that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: So as you said a few minutes ago, he -- Netanyahu knows the U.S. well, he's finally tuned U.S. domestic politics.
Is he trying to influence the U.S. election, do you think are?
Or is he, as you kind of touched on there, taking advantage of the fact that Biden's hands are tied by the election?
SALEM: Yes, I think it's more the latter.
I mean, Netanyahu and many Israelis feel, after October 7, that they're in an existential fight. This is much bigger than influencing an election, even a U.S. election. They're quite aware that any administration in the U.S. will be supportive of Israel.
As Biden said, the Biden administration has been very supportive of Israel. So I think, you know, their reaction to October 7, especially with a right-wing government in place, they went overboard in devastating the Gaza Strip and seeking to maybe reoccupy it.
They turned to the northern front with Hezbollah with a great breakthrough in intelligence capacities. And really dealt almost a knockout blow to Hezbollah. And now they feel, without Hezbollah in its operational shape, Iran is very vulnerable and now is their chance to go after it.
So I think they're making their calculations based on their own sort of perception of threat and opportunity. The fact -- I think it's not a secret that Benjamin Netanyahu favors Trump over Biden. I think that's obvious.
But I don't think they're making these major decisions just in order to influence an election. But perhaps, yes, I do think they would prefer Trump over Vice President Harris. I don't think that's a secret.
BRUNHUBER: All right, we'll have to leave it there but really appreciate your analysis, Paul Salem. Thank you so much. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Officials throughout storm-ravaged areas are coping with multiple hardships as they try to recover from historic devastation.
And politics and misinformation are just two factors getting in the way. Those stories after the break. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:20:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: Hard-hit Buncombe County in North Carolina is temporarily suspending updates on its death toll from Hurricane Helene. Buncombe is where Asheville is located and it's had the highest number killed in the state from the storm.
On Thursday, they reported 72 dead. The state is setting up a support team for the county. And once that's in place, they'll provide more updates.
And in the skies, the number of relief and rescue flights is causing safety concerns. There were 30 near midair collisions last Saturday. Officials have had to limit the number of flights to prevent further tragedy.
(WEATHER REPORT)
[05:25:00]
BRUNHUBER: The aftermath of Hurricane Helene has also brought a deluge of misinformation. Local officials and relief agencies are urging residents to verify information they're sharing.
They say the glut of false rumors is hindering recovery efforts. Among them, Donald Trump and Elon Musk have suggested the federal government is confiscating or diverting aid meant for relief efforts, which isn't true.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: It's been a terrible response from the White House. They're missing $1 billion that was used for another purpose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Officials throughout affected areas are urging residents to, quote, "stop this conspiracy theory junk."
And this is what North Carolina's governor said about the problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. ROY COOPER (D-NC): Well, the misinformation is damaging because it can hurt our relief efforts.
It also demoralizes National Guard soldiers, who are out here for days and days and people who are working in emergency management, who are working around the clock to help people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: It's a nightmare happening all over again for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. They fled a war at home. But fighting followed them to a place where they thought they were safe. That story ahead, stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: Early and mail-in voting are already underway in parts of the U.S. with just one month until Election Day. Former president Donald Trump is set to return to Butler, Pennsylvania, in the coming hours to the same venue where he survived an assassination attempt in July.
Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris heads to North Carolina today to survey the impacts of Hurricane Helene. Democrats are about to put their heaviest hitter on the campaign trail, former president Barack Obama. Next week he'll start a 27 day battleground blitz across America. Our Tom Foreman has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Barack Obama is on a mission to make sure his successor, former President Donald Trump, does not make a return to the White House.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We do not need four more years of bluster and bumbling and chaos. We have seen that movie before and we all know that the sequel is usually worse.
FOREMAN: Kamala Harris backed Obama early in his historic bids for the presidency and for reelection.
HARRIS: President Obama will fight for working families.
FOREMAN: Now fighting for her, he will be storming battleground states, starting in Pennsylvania, making good on the pledge he and former First Lady Michelle Obama offered just days after Harris became the de facto nominee.
OBAMA: Michelle and I couldn't be prouder to endorse you and to do everything we can to get you through this election and into the Oval Office.
HARRIS: Oh, my goodness.
FOREMAN: Obama is a triple threat, tasked with rousing complacent Democrats to show up and vote, continuing to raise funds for the homestretch of the campaign and recording ads for other down ballot Democrats, like U.S. Senate Candidate Elissa Slotkin in Michigan, who is battling it out with Republican Mike Rogers.
OBAMA: Elissa is a true public servant who has dedicated her career to serving the American people, no matter who is in the White House.
FOREMAN: Obama's push right up to Election Day could be very consequential but not just for one side.
DANA MILBANK, AUTHOR, "FOOLS ON THE HILL": He really drives turnout among Democrats but there's a flip side. He also really drives turnout among Republicans.
FOREMAN: The former president, fully aware of that, has pushed his party's outreach to non-Democrats all along.
OBAMA: If we want to win over those who aren't yet ready to support our candidates, we need to listen to their concerns.
FOREMAN: It's not clear what other states Obama may hit before this is all over. But in a very tight election, there will be plenty of places the party is hoping he can stop -- Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The Middle East is bracing for a possible Israeli retaliation against Iran for its recent missile strike. All the while Israel continues fresh bombardments of Lebanon and Gaza. Officials around the region are keeping an eye on the possible timing.
Monday, of course, marks the one-year anniversary of the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel. A State Department official says the U.S. hasn't received any assurances from Israel that it won't target Iran's nuclear facilities.
Speaking from the White House Press Room for the first time as President, Joe Biden said, Israel has not yet decided on a response and that he assumes he will hear from Israel's prime minister when a decision is made.
Lebanon says more than 1 million people or 20 percent of its population are now displaced because of Israeli strikes. They include refugees from Syria, who fled the war in their country, only to see it in Lebanon again. As Ben Wedeman reports, they're now running out of options.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are safe -- or safer -- for now. Syrian families, refugees and migrant workers fled their homes near the border with Israel, now camped out in a parking lot in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon.
Ibrahim (ph), an agricultural worker, walked with his family for more than 12 hours to get here. But his odyssey far from over.
"We escaped from war," he says, " and we came here and war started. We don't know where fate will send us."
Some say they are afraid to return to Syria. Others just can't.
"What can we do?" Yasser (ph) asks me.
"Even if we wanted to return to Syria, we can't pay the fare."
Early Friday, Israeli planes bombed one of the main crossings between Lebanon and Syria.
[05:35:00]
Effectively closing a route through which Lebanese officials say more than 360,000 Lebanese and Syrians have fled in the last two weeks. Here, problems are more immediate.
WEDEMAN: They have no bathrooms. Many of the children and the elderly need medical attention. They're not getting that.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): "Lots of the women go behind the cars for privacy," says Arla (ph), "It is a matter of dignity. We care about our dignity, just like you."
The Lebanese government is struggling to take care of its own and has opened schools and other buildings for the displaced. Syrians are not a priority.
Abdesalem's (ph) greatest worry is his daughter, Maleshem (ph), who has a brain tumor and can barely walk.
"It has been 15 days," he says, "since she took the medicine, the nutrition she needs."
So they wait until help comes or until this war ends -- Ben Wedeman, CNN, Sidon, South Lebanon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The death toll from Hurricane Helene is rising, as search and rescue efforts for the missing continue. And FEMA says it has enough funding for current relief efforts. But that may not last the whole hurricane season. We'll have those stories, when we come back, please stay with us. (MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: At least 218 people have died as a result of Hurricane Helene, with five more deaths announced Friday in South Carolina. Searches continue for those still missing in flood ravaged areas.
The after effects of the Hurricane continue to cause hardship with countless homes, businesses and lifetimes of personal belongings destroyed. Residents, returning to their neighborhoods, have described their shock at the devastation with storm damage leaving entire areas unrecognizable to the people who live there.
[05:40:05]
Two more tropical systems are churning in the Atlantic Ocean. Hurricane Kirk is a powerful category 3 storm. And not too far behind Kirk, Leslie is now a hurricane as well. Neither storm is forecast to make landfall in the U.S. Heavy rain is expected in the southern half of Florida into next week.
Some areas could get more than six inches of rainfall. The National Hurricane Center is also watching an area near the Yucatan Peninsula. It could become a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico early next week.
Well, hurricane season doesn't end for almost two months and President Biden is now warning congressional leaders that disaster funding could run out in the next few weeks.
In a letter to Congress late Friday, Biden sounded the alarm on funding for the Small Business Administration, saying the loan program that helps small business owners and homeowners recover from storms is expected to run out of funding around Election Day.
Officials in the administration tells CNN the loan program needs $1.6 billion in additional funding to meet the needs of roughly 3,000 new applicants impacted by Hurricane Helene.
Now the short-term funding deal Congress pass late last month didn't include that money and only included funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency through December.
Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas echoed the president's warning on Thursday. Here he is.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season.
(END VIDEO CLIP) (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: I want to bring in Sarah Labowitz, a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Thanks so much for being here with us. So you've studied this issue. You've noted that this hurricane season has seen a huge spike in the number of FEMA applications and your warning that FEMA is financially unprepared to meet the needs.
So how worried should individuals, small businesses be, that FEMA won't have enough money to help them?
SARAH LABOWITZ, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Thanks so much for having me. And just really heart goes out to people who are living through Helene. I've lived through it personally and it's -- it really is a hard time.
I would say with -- important to understand how we fund the federal disaster response federally and FEMA is one piece of it. FEMA has programs that -- for individuals and households. And FEMA has said that there is enough money in that program for Helene right now, which is good news.
FEMA also reimburses local governments for doing the kinds of things that they're doing right now, which is sending out police and fire to do rescues, doing debris cleanup, preparing schools, all that stuff. That's the funding that I'm more worried about as we look at Helene recovery.
And then certainly as you were talking about, we've got more storms forming. Hurricane season is not over yet and there'll be more money that's needed.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, absolutely. The bigger problem, to pull back a little bit, is that the funding doesn't reflect the new reality that, these sort of one once in a generation climate events now seemed to basically be happening every year, as you well know, being in Houston.
LABOWITZ: That's right.
And, you know, in my community, we had Hurricane Harvey in 2017. We're still recovering from that storm when it comes to rebuilding our affordable housing stock.
And so you know, the system that we have in the United States relies on a combination of insurance; the various federal programs like we heard about, the Small Business Administration, FEMA, programs for affordable housing and charitable contributions.
And that mix of funds is what we use to recover from disasters. But that system was really designed 40 years ago, when we were not seeing the kind of frequency and impact of the storms that we're seeing now.
BRUNHUBER: So there's a huge economic consequence to all of this. Your recent report suggests that these weather disasters could create sort of a looming shock like the 2008 economic crisis and what happened during COVID. So explain how that might happen.
LABOWITZ: Yes, I'm not the only one talking about this. We're seeing a lot of concern about the insurance industry.
And if we have large parts of the coastal United States, that -- where homes and businesses essentially become uninsurable, then that could really trigger an insurance crisis, a mortgage crisis that spirals into an economic crisis akin to what we saw in 2008.
And so that's -- how I think about disaster is not only as the kind of personal shock that people are living through but that have the potential to create an economic shock.
BRUNHUBER: So I mean, obviously we can't stop the extreme weather from happening. How can we present -- prevent this type of looming economic crisis then?
LABOWITZ: Well, I think we have to think about not just reacting. Our system right now is very reactive.
[05:45:00]
When a disaster hits, then we mobilize funding at a really significant scale. And I think we have to think about shifting a mindset to planning for the future. We're already living in -- we know the climate is getting more extreme. We're already experiencing that. Helene is just the latest example.
So wherever you live, the prospect of living through a disaster is already on the rise.
And so we really have to be thinking, as a community, what are we going to do to build forward if this kind of thing happens to us?
But really adapting for the future.
How are we going to live?
Where are we going to live?
And what are the resources that are required to be in to make that transition?
And how do we start to preposition and plan for that before the disaster strikes?
BRUNHUBER: You say, we know that the climate is getting more extreme. But if half of the country doesn't believe in climate change, it does make the politics of addressing this a challenge.
I mean, you're in the heart of oil and gas country.
How do you make the argument to those who don't believe in the climate science behind this? LABOWITZ: I think -- you know, I lived through Hurricane Harvey. I
worked at the City of Houston after Hurricane Harvey, which was a sweeping, massive storm here in Houston. And my experience is that people, people can see and experience the weather. They know. You don't have to convince anyone who's living through Helene right now that the weather is getting more extreme. And people want come together and do something about that.
I think that there is a window that opens up after a disaster,, where people begin to think about the -- how they are going to deal with this in a different way. There's a kind of flexibility that opens up.
And I think that this is a good time to be talking about, how do we build forward in a better way, a smarter way?
And my experience is that people do come together after a disaster to think more creatively.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, and the key, as you say, is to talk about this before a disaster happens. But as we know, so many people will be affected by these extreme weather events. And it's important to try to minimize their effects on communities.
Really appreciate your insights on this, Sarah Labowitz. Thank you so much.
LABOWITZ: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Well, devastating floods have also turned deadly in Bosnia and Herzegovina after heavy rains soaked towns southwest of the capital, Sarajevo. Now this drone video just in to CNN gives you a sense of the destruction. Look at that.
As of Friday, at least 16 people were confirmed dead. Civil defense says up to 40 people are listed as missing. The floods triggered landslides, which caused even more destruction. And one resident said enormous boulders and thousands of tons of debris poured into his village.
The Muslim Croat Federation government declared a state of natural disaster and the army has deployed forces to the flooded region.
We'll be right back.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:50:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING) BRUNHUBER: There is good economic news ahead of the election. The
Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the U.S. economy added 254,000 jobs in September, far exceeding expectations. That's more than 100,000 more than economists were predicting for the month and well above the 159,000 jobs added in August.
The unemployment rate dropped to 4.1 percent. And stocks rose Friday after that strong jobs report. All three major indices ended the week higher, with the Dow gaining more than 300 points. The Nasdaq composite added 1.2 percent and the S&P 500 rose nearly 1 percent.
All right, turning to sports now, the WNBA's two time defending champs are down but they aren't out. Las Vegas Aces got a blowout win to avoid getting swept by the New York Liberty Friday night. And CNN sports correspondent Carolyn Manno joins me live with more from New York.
So really --
(AUDIO GAP)
CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, their backs against the wall, Kim. And the Aces got the better of the Liberty when they played in the finals last year to win their second straight title. They hadn't been in New York since.
Vegas with five straight losses to Liberty, entering game three, down by two games, needing a win to keep their hopes of a three-peat alive.
But Friday night they showed that they still have the heart of a champion, Jackie Young had a game high 24 points; Kelsey Plum added 20 and Asia Wilson, fresh off being named her MVP award winner for a third straight year, was a beast on the boards, collecting 14 rebounds along with 19 points.
So Vegas led by as many as 25 in the fourth quarter on the way to the 95-81 win. But they know they need to bring the same energy again for game four.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHELSEA GRAY, GUARD, LAS VEGAS ACES: And then you get comfortable. That's when you're exposed. I think you just go one game at a time. We executed this game. We executed four quarters. And so we start all over again Sunday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANNO: The Lynx are on the brink of returning to the finals for the first time in seven years. Napheesa Collier going off in game three against the Suns, scoring 26 points, grabbing 11 boards on the road for Minnesota in the 90-81 win.
Minnesota, taking a 2-1 lead in their series, which means they, too, will try to close it out on Sunday. Baseball's postseason picking back up on Saturday with the start of
the division series four games on the schedule, all eyes on that nightcap that you see between the Dodgers and the Padres.
After seven long seasons, Shohei Ohtani will finally make his playoff debut. As you may have heard, the 30 year old just finished arguably the greatest regular season in Major League history, becoming the first player to ever hit at least 50 home runs and steal 50 basis, all while keeping it 100 about how he's feeling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you nervous at all for just playing in the postseason for the first time?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
(LAUGHTER)
SHOHEI OHTANI, DESIGNATED HITTER, LOS ANGELES DODGERS: (Speaking foreign language).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Always been my childhood dream to be able to -- be in an important situation, to play in important games.
So I think the excitement of that is greater than anything else that I could possibility feel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MANNO: And Bronny James making his highly anticipated debut for the Lakers at the preseason matchup against the Timberwolves.
[05:55:00]
And let's get it out of the way. No, we did not get the father-son moment everybody wants to see just yet. But what we did get was a like father, like son highlight. Less than a minute after coming into the game as a sub at the start of the second, Bronny hustling down the court, coming up with a nice chase-down block.
And a lot like the ones LeBron made famous. Bronny had three blocks, his first and only points coming in the final minute of the game, beating the defendant of the bucket for the layup there. He finished with two points on one of six shooting.
BRUNHUBER: Two points, that's better than none, I guess. Nowhere to go but up. Carolyn Manno, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has overtaken Jeff Bezos and is now the world's second richest person behind only Elon Musk. Zuckerberg is only the third person to ever surpass a wealth of $200 billion, sitting now with 206, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
Meta operates some of the most popular social media sites in the world, including Instagram and Facebook. Zuckerberg said Meta AI is on track to be the world's most used assistant.
All right, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. For viewers in North America, "CNN THIS MORNING is next. For the rest of the world, it's "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS."
