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Trump Takes His Message to California; Trump Attacks California Governor Newsom; Harris Releases Her Medical Report; Israel Mulls Response to Iran Missile Attack; Lebanon: Israeli Strikes Killed At Least 15 People on Saturday; Israel Orders Massive New Palestinian Evacuations in Gaza; Protesters Push for Release of Hostages; Milton's Aftermath; Biden to Visit Storm-Hit Florida on Sunday; Slow Receding Water Hamper Recovery Efforts; Gaza's Growing Humanitarian Crisis; Kamala Harris Addresses Democratic Anxiety; Obama and Bill Clinton Campaigns for Harris; J. D. Vance's Shifting Opinions; Award-Winning Device for Chemo Patients; Nintendo Museum Opens in Japan. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired October 13, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

Donald Trump takes his message to California, a state that overwhelmingly supports Democrats. Why his campaign is focusing on non-swing states so close to Election Day.

Kamala Harris addresses Democratic anxiety over the increasingly tight race and discloses her medical information as she knocks Trump on his fitness to serve.

And Israeli officials are trying to decide how to respond to Iran's recent missile attack. We'll have the latest developments from the Middle East.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: With 23 days to go, the U.S. presidential hopefuls are hopscotching across the country trying to pick-up last-minute support that could make all the difference on Election Day. The race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump is far too close to call in many critical states, and both candidates are aware that every vote will count.

Harris is expected to rally in North Carolina on Sunday after releasing her medical report and suggesting Donald Trump isn't physically fit to lead the country.

And Trump is making unexpected stops in some of the nation's most diehard Democratic states, pushing a message of doom and gloom and blaming undocumented immigrants and Democrats for the nation's woes. The former president spoke at a roundtable of Hispanic small business owners and union workers in Las Vegas. He talked about his plan to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime while claiming that the very survival of the U.S. is at risk.

He traveled on to California, part of a planned detour into several blue states in the coming weeks, which includes a stop in New York later this month. Our Kristen Holmes has more on what Trump hopes to gain with these stops and how his messages are resonating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump in Coachella, California spent much of his time increasing his dark rhetoric around immigration. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will rescue California and every town across America that's been invaded and conquered. And we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail or kick them the hell out of the country, which is number one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, I've been told by senior advisers to expect more of this ahead of November, ahead of Election Day, because Donald Trump and his team believe this rhetoric is helping him. And if any indication in the crowd tonight, they were receptive to it, as he called it our country in occupied America as he accused people of coming into our country and committing crimes and taking jobs.

We heard the ground cheering and going along with Donald Trump. And if you look at the recent polling, it shows you why he continues this rhetoric. We have seen these slim margins. They believe that this race is going to be incredibly close and there's no reason for Donald Trump to. change any of his rhetoric.

Now, one big question, of course, why was he in a solidly blue state? Well, we're told by those senior advisers that they believe it doesn't matter where Donald Trump goes, that this is a national media campaign and that they're trying to reach voters who don't necessarily consume media the same way that they have in the past. These are people who don't usually engage with politics. So, they believe that this could be just as beneficial to them. These could be clips that go out on social media that reach people through various podcasts or YouTube streaming, and they could actually get just as many eyes on Donald Trump from an event like this than they could from a rally in a swing state.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, Coachella, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: In California, Trump repeatedly lashed out at Governor Gavin Newsom, attacking the Democrat for his liberal policies. Trump repeated his recent threat to withhold federal funds used to fight wildfires in California over what he says are unfair water rules in the state. The former president accuses Newsom of mismanaging the water situation with environmental regulations Trump says comes at the expense of farmers.

Now, the latest polling shows the race for the White House is pretty much a tossup at this point. New figures from The New York Times and Siena College reveal no clear winner in the battleground State of Pennsylvania. Kamala Harris is just slightly ahead, but the gap between her and Donald Trump is within the margin of error. Trump has a similar razor thin lead in Arizona.

[04:05:00]

Now, the CNN poll of polls averages the four most recent nonpartisan surveys of likely voters. It shows Harris leading Trump by just one point in Pennsylvania. CNN's Harry Enten breaks down the numbers.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: You know what's so amazing to me about this race is I thought it was close in the month of September. Somehow, it's become even closer. You can see it in these Great Lake Battleground states, you go back three weeks ago, it was a tight race in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Three points in Michigan, two points in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. You come today. holy Toledo, holy cow. Look at Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Now, we got a one-point race. It's somehow even tighter.

And if we expand it out, we don't just look at the Great Lake battleground states, we look at the Sun Belt battleground states as well and somehow -- I mean, look at these numbers. They're crazy. One, one, one, one, one. And then, Arizona is a relative blowout at a two- point margin for Donald Trump.

I mean, all of these states are so close, these seven pivotal battleground states. And as I mentioned, they've somehow become even tighter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Kamala Harris released a detailed letter from her doctor on Saturday. It says the vice president is in, quote, "excellent health." Before leaving for campaign stops in North Carolina, she criticized Trump's refusal to provide substance of information about his health. Here he is -- here she is, rather.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: It's just a further example of his lack of transparency. That on top of his unwillingness to debate again, his unwillingness to do an interview with 60 Minutes, which again, is part of the norm of what anyone running for president of the United States does, and I think that it's obvious that his team, at least, does not want the American people to see everything about who he is.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: Later Saturday, Trump's campaign pointed to a statement from his physician made last year that called his overall health excellent. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look at the letter from Harris' doctor and gives us his take on what it reveals.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What we were provided with is about a page and a half letter, which is pretty standard for presidential candidates and presidents when it comes to their health history. The headline is the vice president is a 59-year- old healthy woman who is able to fulfill the demands in the office of the presidency.

This particular letter is signed by Joshua Simmons. who is her doctor and a colonel in the U.S. Army. Just a couple of notable highlights, again, keeping in mind that these are minor things, that she is healthy, she has allergies, she has hives associated with those allergies, she wears contact lenses. Most notably is that she has a family history of colon cancer. Her mother died around age 70 of colon cancer. And they make note of this, saying that she is getting preventive care recommendations, including colonoscopies and annual mammograms.

I think they also spent a lot of time in this letter talking about what the vice president does not have. She does not have a history of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, lung disease, neurological disorders, or cancer. They give a lot of the numbers of a recent physical exam which was done in April of 2024. They talk about things like her blood pressure, but also any medications that she may be taking. She is taking things like vitamin B12, vitamin D, which they find all those to be in the normal range.

So, this is a pretty standard letter. There are no particular concerns when you see a letter like this. And again, coming from her doctor, talking about her most recent physical exam, the headline being that she is in excellent health and possesses a physical and mental resiliency, they say here, required to execute the duties of the presidency. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: In the coming hours. Israel could decide on a response to Iran's missile attack earlier this month by Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with his cabinet today as the country faces conflicts on several fronts.

Lebanon's ministry of health says Israeli strikes there killed at least 15 people on Saturday. Now, these images show emergency workers searching rubble for survivors in Southern Lebanon after one of those strikes. Meanwhile, Israel says Hezbollah fired more than 300 projectiles from Lebanon over the Yom Kippur holiday. Iran's parliament speaker was in Beirut on Saturday and met with his Lebanese counterpart. At a news conference, he said Iran supports Lebanon and Hezbollah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAAMMAD BAGHER GHALIBAF, IRANIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER (through translator): I'm particularly carrying a message from the supreme leader for the Lebanese people with assurances that in these difficult conditions the Islamic Republic of Iran shall stand with Lebanon's nation and government and the resistance in all areas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Another United Nations peacekeeper was injured in the fighting in Lebanon. The U.N. says he was hit by gunfire from nearby military activity. That's the fifth peacekeeper injured in the last two days.

[04:10:00]

In Gaza, new evacuation orders from the Israeli military. Some people in the Jabalya camp are having trouble leaving because of all the gunfire and airstrikes nearby.

CNN's Nada Bashir joins us now from London. So, Nada, let's start with that Israeli cabinet meeting. Take us through what they're weighing and the internal tensions that may factor into any response.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. We have seen cabinet meetings held in the last week with no formal conclusions as to what the response from Israel may look like when it may take place. But of course, as you mentioned, we do understand that another cabinet meeting will be taking place today. Unclear when and where this cabinet meeting will take place. But of course, the key focus for many will be on what Israel's response will be, what decision the cabinet will come to and whether we will hear of a decision today.

Of course, there has been some questions around the timing of Israel's response and mounting pressure from many in the international community, trying to temper those tensions, trying to de-escalate what is already an expanding conflict in the region. As you mentioned, the disastrous effects of which have already been felt in Lebanon now and Syria, of course.

But we've been hearing from Israeli officials, some suggesting that we may see a response from Israel that could be more severe than what we saw from Israel in its targeting of Iran back in April. They, of course, is growing pressure within the cabinet for Prime Minister Netanyahu to take tougher action against Iran and its proxies in the region, particularly from the more far-right elements off his cabinet.

We've also, of course, heard earlier in the week. from the Israeli defense minister, Yoav Gallant, who gave quite a firm statement, a video message saying that the response from Israel will be, in his words, deadly, precise, and above all, surprising. He went on to say that Iran will not understand what happened and how it happened, but that they will the see the results. So, plenty of speculation as to what that attack could look like.

We have been hearing from members of the International Community calling for a de-escalation. We've heard from the Biden administration in particular. We know that the White House is opposed to Israel targeting Iran's nuclear power plant or nuclear capabilities. There is, of course, that real fear and concern as to what that could then trigger in terms of a broader regional war, deeper than what we are already seeing now.

Of course, we've heard from President Biden saying that he would be more in favor of seeing Israel taking a more targeted approach, focusing on Iran's oil reserves. But again, it remains to be seen whether any of that pressure from the Biden administration actually has an impact or effect in swaying the cabinet and swaying Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. What we've seen up until this point is, in fact, oftentimes, Prime Minister Netanyahu's actions and words contradicting that of what we've seen from the White House, from the State Department oftentimes.

So, clearly, there is still some daylight between what the U.S. wants to see happen and, of course, what politicians within Prime Minister Netanyahu's cabinet want to see happen. And of course, there is concern as well as to what the response following that attack could be from Iran, if, indeed, we do see Israel targeting Iranian territory directly.

We've heard from sources in Tehran saying they have already informed officials in both the United States and across the Middle East that there will be a retaliation from Iran if Israel targets Iranian territory. So, plenty of concern as to what that could look like as well.

And of course, as you mentioned, we are seeing the situation in Lebanon continue to deteriorate. We're seeing strikes in Syria now. This conflict has already broadened out across the region. The idea that the region is on a tipping point really, at this point, is -- we've already seen that take place. We've already seen the region tip into a broader conflict. So, what could be next? That is a real point of concern.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Appreciate that. Nada Bashir, thanks so much. And as Nada mentioned, Iran's leaders are deciding how they will respond to a potential retaliation from Israel. CNN's Fred Pleitgen brings us the latest from Tehran.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tensions remain really high here in the Middle East region as Iran awaits whether or not there's going to be a retaliatory strike by the Israelis after, of course, the Iranians launched that missile barrage targeting Israeli territory and Israeli military installations last week.

Now, the Iranians have said that any attack by Israel will be met by Iranian retaliation. That is something that a source that is familiar with these discussions has told CNN. At the same time, the Iranians also say that they have communicated that not just to countries here in the region, but also specifically to the United States as well. [04:15:00]

Now, of course, they would do that through intermediaries because the United States and Iran do not have diplomatic relations with one another. However, that is what the Iranians say that they will do. It's unclear what Iranian retaliation will look like. However, a deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is, of course, the elite units of Iran's military, has said that if, for instance, Israel decides to target oil and gas installations here in Iran, that Iran could then, itself, target energy infrastructure inside of Israel.

At the same time, diplomacy also continues here as well. Iran's foreign minister has been traveling over the region. Iran's president also was in Turkmenistan on Friday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. And then, on Saturday, the speaker of Iranian parliament went to Beirut in Lebanon and there said that he had a message directly from Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying that Iran will continue to support Lebanon.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The families of Israeli hostages in Gaza, they're sending a message after the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. About 1,000 people gathered in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, urging the Israeli government to do more to return the hostages still held by Hamas. Their rally followed the Yom Kippur holiday, their atonement for religious Jews.

More than a hundred hostages are still believed to be held in Gaza. And according to one protester, the holiday doesn't make any difference for them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHIRO SHAHAR MOR, UNCLE KILLED DURING CAPTIVITY IN GAZA: It's important every day. We are standing here every day, and we don't miss a single day, even if it's Yom Kippur. The hostages are still there. There's no break for them. This is not like their -- it's holiday, so the conditions are different. Their situation is the same every day. And for us, the situation is the same. Every day we will fight until we get everyone back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Another protester who lost a cousin in Gaza accused the Israeli government of abandoning the hostages.

All right. Still ahead, Floridians face the daunting task of cleanup and recovery following back-to-back major hurricanes, but many across the state are still at risk for flooding.

Plus, over the years, J. D. Vance has changed his views on many things, including his running mate Donald Trump. But now, he's trying to walk back comments he made about childless cat ladies. That's ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:20:00]

BRUNHUBER: As Floridians begin the long process of recovery from two massive storms in two weeks, many are facing even more flooding in the coming days. Swollen rivers and waterways remain a threat in northern and central parts of the state, and more than 1 million customers are still without power. Gas shortages continue to persist in some of the state's most impacted areas, prompting drivers to rely on word of mouth to find open gas stations and waiting for hours in the hopes of filling their tanks.

Now, U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Florida today to visit areas impacted by the storm. The visit comes just a day after he issued a major disaster declaration for several counties. The declaration makes more federal funding available, including grants for temporary housing and home repairs. Our Brian Abel is in one of the hardest hit areas in Western Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN ABEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Days removed from landfall of this hurricane and the water levels continue to be an issue.

I want to show you here this canoe. This canoe has basically become a taxi for people to get back and forth to their homes to get supplies and other things like that and get valuables to safety. Now, I also talked with somebody that's been in this neighborhood here, the Bloomingdale Acres neighborhood for about 50 years or so. They say this is the worst they've ever seen it. And they also tell me that the water levels, you see it here, at one point we're as high as the top of the white of that bust down there. So, that's how much the water has dropped. The concern now is where does it go before eventually going back into the bay? It will go to other neighborhoods. And that is a big concern here.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, the sheriff telling me that, of the over 1,000 rescues across the state, his department did about 300 of them. So, that's pretty significant. Power has improved significantly as well. It's gone down nearly half of what it was at one point and improving further.

Also, fuel. Fuel was a major issue. We've seen some really long lines at gas stations in this Tampa area. And it wasn't a delivery problem or a supply problem, according to the sheriff, it was a dispensary problem at the port because equipment got fried and that was delaying the fuel getting to the gas stations. Now, those fuel tankers, they have police escorts to get them to the areas that need it most.

And so, the next chapter of this is, A, where does this water go? When does it eventually subside for everybody? And then, B, the recovery with FEMA because now people are going to have to make claims for not one but two hurricanes. So, they're going to have to do it separately. That's a big issue. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The National Weather Service in Tampa Bay has issued flood warnings for several rivers in the region as slowly receding water levels continue to obstruct recovery efforts across the state. Meteorologist Elisa Raffa has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The rain has stopped, but the flood threat continues because it's going to take time for the rivers to find where to put 10 to 20 inches of rain. This is not storm surge, this is flash flooding from the torrential rain and the rivers rising immediately after Milton.

Look at the footprint of the heavy rain from Tampa up through Orlando to the east coast, 10 to 20 inches in that pink. And it's on the north side of Milton's track because you had that tropical moisture gets squeezed between the hurricane and a front to the north, and that's what really caused that torrential flash flooding.

We still have multiple rivers at moderate and major flood stage, not just on the West Coast where Milton made landfall, but also on the East Coast where we got that heavy rain and where the water is trying to drain across the state.

[04:25:00]

The watershed needs to do its work to get rid of the water, but it's going to take time because Florida is a flat and swampy state. So, that's why we're finding the rivers on the West Coast slowly receding, but the ones on the East Coast could still rise through the middle of the week. So, this will take time and there's days of flooding ahead.

We're also still sorting through the damage from the prolific amounts of tornadoes we saw with Milton. So far, we have three EF-3 tornadoes confirmed. That is incredibly rare. We get tornadoes and hurricanes, but typically, they're much smaller, weaker EF-0s or EF-1s. To get an EF-3 is incredibly rare, especially a very long track EF-3 that was on the ground for 21 miles. Tornadoes like that are rare, period, let alone in a spinning hurricane.

We had a record amount of warnings issued the day that Milton made landfall, 126 sets of record for the state. Again, just showing the power and the moisture and the twist that was just in Milton. Really, again, just rewriting record books.

The season so far, of course, has been very busy. These are all of the land falling systems that we've had this year alone. We had Beryl and Francine, but we've had three make landfall in Florida, that ties for the record for most Florida landfalls in one season.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Israel has turned the focus of military efforts toward Hezbollah in Lebanon, but the fighting in Gaza, of course, hasn't stopped. We'll look at how it's making the humanitarian situation there much worse. That's ahead on CNN Newsroom. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:00]

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.

As Israel deliberates how it will retaliate against Iran for its October 1st missile barrage, fighting in Gaza has created a massive humanitarian problem. The World Food Programme says no food has entered northern Gaza since the start of October, which puts 1 million people at the risk of going hungry. Palestinian officials say 90 percent of children in Gaza have been short of food at some point over the past year.

Now, for one family that just welcomed a baby girl, Israeli strikes in Gaza have become heartbreaking and deeply personal. Now, we just want to warn you, the images you're about to see, are disturbing.

The girl's home was struck by Israeli fire just 11 hours after she was born on Friday. Her father and uncle were killed while her mother and grandmother were injured. The newborn suffered a head injury. Now, this is video of her being treated at the hospital. A Palestinian doctor says the baby is now in stable condition, still fighting for her life. And the infant is by her side in intensive care.

Salim Owais is UNICEF spokesperson for the Middle East and North Africa. And he joins us now from Amman, Jordan. Thank you so much for being here with us.

The story we just saw there, it's unfortunately far from an outlier. I know you were in Gaza recently and must have seen similar heartbreaking stories.

SALIM OWAIS, COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER, UNICEF MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA: Yes, that's true. Unfortunately, this is just one of many, many stories. And I wouldn't be exaggerating if I say thousands.

Just being there, we saw a lot of children either orphaned, either hit, paralyzed, amputated. A lot of really graphic scenes on the ground. And this is becoming a normal day for Palestinian children in Gaza as the violence continues one year after and we're still seeing those images. What we thought it would be the beginning only and then things will settle, unfortunately, it continues.

Just a few days ago we saw a strike on a distribution point -- nutrition point that families were queuing to get the treatment for malnutrition, and unfortunately, they were hit and a lot of them, of course, were killed, injured, and lost dear ones.

BRUNHUBER: Yes.

OWAIS: So, this is a day in day out reality for children and guys, unfortunately. BRUNHUBER: Yes. And some of the most recent statistics bear that out. According to Save the Children, roughly 30 percent of the kids killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since last October were under the age of five. And then, according to the ICRC, the number of children who are unattended could be more than 50,000. So, those are just two examples of reasons. You might imagine the director of your organization said the other day that Gaza is a hellscape for children.

OWAIS: It is definitely a hell for children. What we're seeing is a place that's very small to begin with, and now, it's narrowing down to only 22 miles -- squared miles only. That's the area that people are being pushed. We're seeing evacuation orders every day almost for people who don't have any place to go to. Even those areas that people are asked to go to are not safe, are not serviced. There are no essential needs provided there. Unfortunately, that's the reality.

And we're talking about half of the population in Gaza are children. And of course, many of them are under the age of five. And those people, those kids, are really vulnerable not only for the missiles and killing, but also for the lack of food, for the lack of water. The diseases that are widespread now in Gaza, and that's something that all the agencies are trying to fight.

We're seeing the polio campaign being prepared for tomorrow and we're hoping that this will take place, and the guarantees will be sustained.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. Speaking of disease and all of those, you know, situations that you're describing there, I know from your visit that you sort of saw how people were living in this, you know, basically in foul water and so on. Just describe sort of what you were seeing on a day-to-day basis, in terms of the living conditions that so many children are facing.

[04:35:00]

OWAIS: Well, unfortunately, you could know that there's a gathering of people, which is not unfamiliar in Gaza. Everywhere almost is occupied the people who escaped their homes and now, they're sitting in any empty space of land that they can find, whether it's by the beach, by the -- on the roads, wherever they can find a place. And you can tell that there's a -- there's this kind of unofficial camp.

To be honest, by the smell, there's a lot of waste sewage water that is around those camps because the sewer system is not taking anymore. It's already deteriorating and many of the camps are not even serviced, they are just unofficial. And as I said, empty lands that people are taking shelter in.

You go in those camps and you can see how people struggle to find a cup of water, struggle to find a meal. And those camps that get some water truck and some food delivered, they just struggle to queue and get what there is, and usually that's not enough for the family.

BRUNHUBER: Yes.

OWAIS: When I visited, it was -- yes.

BRUNHUBER: Oh, go ahead. I just wanted to ask you specifically about the food situation. You talked about people struggling to find a meal and those situations especially dire in Northern Gaza, as I mentioned earlier, according to the World Food Programmeno food has entered there since the start of the month.

OWAIS: Yes. And I was in the north of Gaza just some weeks ago, and I remember vividly how children came to me just to ask, please get us some vegetables, please get us some fruits. Because what we are eating is just the same beans from cans day in, day out, three times, if they can find three times a day.

Most of them, they only eat once a day. And they're just -- you could see it on their faces. They're just wasted away. They're just struggling to keep eating the same thing. Some of them, they don't want to eat it anymore. And you can't blame them because this is not a life for a child who's six, seven, 10, whatever it is.

And since I was there, we've seen a drop in the aid coming into Gaza, especially North Gaza. And now, we're seeing the evacuation orders from the whole of North Gaza and Gaza City. And this is becoming a real threat to lives, it's always has been now it's even more so.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. And now, the situation worsening for so many in Lebanon compounding the situation. We'll have to leave it there. Salim Owais, thank you so much for speaking with us. Appreciate it.

OWAIS: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Well, in the coming hours, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will be back out on the campaign trail, looking to pick up support in what's turning out to be a historically tight race for the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Listen, this is it. There's no question I say to my rally. This is a tight race. It is a margin of error race. And that's why I'm out here and will continue for the next 24 days to be traveling around our country, talking with folks about the issues that matter most to them, and offering them what I believe to be solutions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Harris is expected to focus on midwestern battleground states next week with stops planned in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

Former President Barack Obama will stump on her behalf with stops in Arizona and Nevada, and Bill Clinton is also expected to hit the road for Harris. The former presidents looking to drum up support with rural voters by way of a grassroots tour focusing on small groups of people.

Now, Donald Trump will be hitting many of the key battleground spots in the waning weeks of the campaign, but also planning some unusual stops in several Democratic stronghold states.

J. D. Vance, the U.S. Republican vice presidential candidate, once called Donald Trump America's Hitler. Now, he's defending his running mate, saying Trump's incendiary and divisive rhetoric is necessary. This all comes from Vance's hour-long interview with The New York Times journalist Lulu Garcia-Navarro. In that interview, he refused five times to acknowledge that Trump lost the 2020 election. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR AND NEW YORK TIMES JOURNALIST AND PODCAST HOST: Do you believe he lost the 2020 election?

SEN. JD VANCE (R-OH), REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I think that Donald Trump and I have both raised a number of issues with the 2020 election.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Senator, yes or no?

VANCE: OK.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?

VANCE: Let me ask you a question.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Senator Vance, I'm going to ask you again, did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?

VANCE: Did big technology companies censor a story --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now, Navarro, who is also a CNN contributor, explained why she pressed him about 2020 and why it's so significant to this race. Here she is.

[04:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARCIA-NAVARRO: The reason I pressed him on that repeatedly in a very long interview is because, ultimately, there is one question that is very important also to voters, and that is democracy in this country. And there is just two answers, yes or no, to that question. And that's why it is important to get someone like Senator Vance on the record, because he will be a heartbeat away from the presidency should Trump win this election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Vance also addressed his years old comment that women without children are childless cat ladies and sociopaths. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VANCE: Well, as I said when I made those comments, look, they were dumb comments and I said it a couple of times in a couple of interviews. And look, yes, I mean, I certainly wish that I had said it differently. I mean, what I was trying to get at is that, look, I'm not talking about people who it just didn't work out, right, for medical reasons, for social reasons, like set that to the side. We're not talking about folks like that.

What I was definitely trying to illustrate and, you know, ultimately, a very inarticulate way is that I do think that our country has become almost pathologically anti-child.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: So, as one vice presidential nominee tries to clear up old comments, the other kicked off a new hunting season. Tim Walz did that in his official capacity as a governor, as he went pheasant hunting in Minnesota Saturday. His party came back empty handed, and shooting one bird that they were unable to retrieve. Walz had a pheasant in his sights at one point, but he didn't shoot because other hunters were close, and he later joked that he didn't want any comparisons with them Former Vice President Dick Cheney who accidentally shot and wounded a hunting partner in 2006.

All right. Still ahead, a new invention aims to help people with cancer maintain a sense of normalcy. We'll have more on the award- winning hair saving device after the break.

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BRUNHUBER: Leaders are paying tribute to former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who has passed away at age 69. He collapsed after giving a speech in North Macedonia on Saturday. Salmond was a key figure in Scotland's independence movement and leader of the Scottish National Party. He resigned as leader of the SNP after the defeat of the 2014 referendum for Scottish independence.

King Charles said, quote, "His devotion to Scotland drove his decades of public service." And U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a statement, Alex Salmond was a monumental figure of Scottish and U.K. politics. He leaves behind a lasting legacy.

An Irish inventor has won a major award for her portable scalp-cooling invention. It's meant to help people fighting cancer keep their hair while undergoing chemotherapy. The young inventor says her mother's battle with cancer inspired the device. CNN's Anna Stewart has more.

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ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An award-winning device could give cancer patients some feeling of normalcy while undergoing treatment.

OLIVIA HUMPHREYS, WINNER OF JAMES DYSON IRELAND NATIONAL PRIZE 2024: There's studies showing that, you know, some women find that leaving their hair is as difficult as losing a breast. You know, it's that kind of thing. It's that extreme.

STEWART (voice-over): An extreme that made 24-year-old Olivia Humphreys want to do more. And she's been named a James Dyson award- winner for her development. Humphreys built a portable scalp-cooling device to help prevent hair loss during chemotherapy.

The idea of cold capping began in the '70s. And more than five decades later, Humphrey says she's found a way to further optimize it. While chemo treatments attack cancerous cells, they also attack healthy cells like hair follicles that can resemble the bad ones.

Athena, Humphrey's prototype, reduces the temperature of the scalp during chemotherapy treatments. The cold temperature restricts blood flow to the hair follicle cells, which can block the chemo from reaching that area to damage or kill the hair follicle. One of the major features in her new device is the battery life. It can last for more than three hours.

HUMPHREYS: The device is utilizing low-cost thermoelectric components to cool water that circulates around the scalp. And it's lightweight, it's portable, it means that a patient doesn't have to be plugged in when they're infusing in a hospital. It means that they can get up and go to the bathroom if they want to, and it means that they can pre and post cool commuting from the comfort of their own homes.

STEWART (voice-over): Watching her mom battle cancer inspired the idea to make this prototype and take what her mum was already using to reduce hair loss and push it even further.

HUMPHREYS: So, with mom, for example, she kept about 60 percent of her hair and that meant the world to her, you know. It was -- you could cover it. She put glasses on the top of her head and you wouldn't know the difference. And that was -- that really made the difference.

STEWART (voice-over): Humphreys will continue to design and refine her device and hopes to bring this treatment to the market.

HUMPHREYS: Chemotherapy is the main goal. We've got to focus on, you know, killing the cancer cells, but you've got to focus on the person that's also living in the body.

STEWART (voice-over): Anna Stewart, CNN.

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BRUNHUBER: SpaceX has finally won a license for its fifth test launch as early as today of its uncrewed Starship. Starship is the most powerful rocket system ever built. The approval by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration comes after a 30-day delay due to what it says were violations of state and federal laws.

It sparked a public feud between the FAA and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. SpaceX plans to use the Starship capsule to take NASA astronauts to the moon as soon as 2026, and eventually, Mars.

Well, it's been 135 years in the making. Legendary gaming company Nintendo has opened its museum. Just ahead, we'll show you what the immersive experience is like. Stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: In college football, number three ranked Oregon held off. Number two ranked Ohio State after a late field goal, put them ahead 32-31. Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel through two touchdown passes, and he also ran for another lead his team to victory.

Now, earlier, top ranked Texas comfortably defeated number 18 Oklahoma 34 to 3. Quarterback Quinn Ewers returned from injury to throw for 199 yards and ran for a touchdown as well. Now, this was the team's first matchup in the Southeastern Conference, but they have a long history. Texas now claims 64 wins to Oklahoma's 51.

The Cleveland Guardians Lane Thomas hit a grand slam to lead his team to victory in the decisive game five in baseball's American League Division Series. Final score, 7 to 4 over the Detroit Tigers. The Guardians now face the New York Yankees for the American League title starting Monday. The National League series starts today in Los Angeles with the New York Mets facing the Dodgers.

Well, fans of Super Mario will jump for joy over this. Japan has a Nintendo Museum and it opened to the public earlier this month. Now, it's an interactive experience created in the gaming company's former factory about an hour south of Kyoto. CNN's Hanako Montgomery has more.

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HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That is the sound that brings childhood memories to millions. Nintendo opens its very first museum, giving people the chance to explore Mario's world and guiding visitors through the company's 135-year history.

FERNANDO PATINO, MEXICAN TOURIST: When I was a little boy, I imagine like, wow, I want to be a game programmer someday. But in Mexico, it was like, where, you know, it's something super new, even in these days. But the music of the games is the thinking that I like the most. I think it was very creative.

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PENG MINDA, NINTENDO FAN (through translator): The characters are really cute, and the games are pretty good. They always put new ideas into the games, which I really like.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): From adorable characters like Toad, to interactive games, and even a burger themed restaurant. The museum also features a massive hall with almost every product ever released by the company. Nintendo fans can now enjoy an interactive experience with their favorite characters.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Zelda.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Link.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mario, Zelda, F-Zero.

MINDA (through translator): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): And may encounter another fan favorite. A Pokelid with an original Pikachu design featuring a Game Boy is also on display.

But visiting this highly anticipated museum is not as easy as it sounds. Visitors have to sign up for a lottery ticket system at least three months in advance. Even with the wait, fans are excited to be a part of Nintendo for a few hours.

MINDA (through translator): I think they've added a new route for us to find out more about Nintendo. Not just the goods, but also the history of Nintendo in the past. It feels like we've gained another tool.

Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Tokyo.

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BRUNHUBER: Well, all's fair in love and Fat Bear Week. Alaska's popular online contest celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. The 2024 competition featured a thrilling rematch between bitter rivals. Grazer, a female brown bear, and Chunk, currently the most dominant male bear in the area.

Well, if you're wondering, Grazer retained her crown for a second consecutive year, more than doubling Chunk's vote count. Now, her victory is bittersweet. In July, Chunk killed one of her cubs, but one of Grazer's surviving cubs came in second place in the Fat Bear Junior contest held last month, continuing mama's legacy.

All right. That wraps this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more news in just a moment. Please do stay with us.

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