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Blinken Heads Back To The Middle East; Musk's Voter Giveaway Under Scrutiny; Israel Strikes Hit Hezbollah-Linked Financial Institutions; Musk's Voter Lottery Draws Ire & Accusations of Illegality; X Changes Terms of Service to Let Ai Train on User Data; Hyundai Motor India Shares Fall 2 percent on Market Debut After Record IPO; Sean "Diddy" Combs Facing Seven New Lawsuits; Buenos Aires Police Say Preliminary Toxicology Report Completed in Liam Payne Incident. Aired 2-2:45a ET
Aired October 22, 2024 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[02:00:28]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on. CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead, America's top diplomat heads back to the Middle East, hoping to revive stalled talks to bring back Israeli hostages and end the fighting in Gaza.
Billionaire Elon Musk's plan to give away a million dollars a day to registered voters comes under legal scrutiny.
And accusations of unprecedented Russian interference in Moldova's vote to join the E.U.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. And we begin in the Middle East, where Israel says about 15 projectiles fired from Lebanon have crossed into Israeli territory. Hezbollah says it targeted a location outside Tel Aviv, a military base in central Israel and a naval base near Haifa. The IDF says it's not aware of any injuries. Lebanese authorities say an Israeli air strike near the country's largest public hospital has killed at least four people.
The IDF says it hit a Hezbollah terrorist target near the hospital, but not the hospital itself. A CNN analysis shows the area was not covered by evacuation orders from the Israeli military. The U.S. is turning up its diplomatic efforts to end the fighting in Lebanon and Gaza and secure the release of the remaining hostages. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to arrive in Tel Aviv in the coming hours.
Another us envoy visiting Lebanon is urging stronger enforcement of the U.N. resolution that ended the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. Amos Hochstein mesh with the Speaker of Lebanon's parliament. On Monday, Israel has struck another branch of a financial institution in Lebanon, which the U.S. accuses of managing Hezbollah finances. Israel claims the group is hiding hundreds of millions in cash and gold under a Beirut hospital.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, huge crowds of displaced Palestinians left the Jabalia Refugee Camp where more than 400 people have been killed in recent weeks. The U.N. says Israel has besieged the area and is forcing the evacuations.
Well, far-right activists are calling for Israeli settlements in Gaza and the expulsion of the Palestinian population. They held a rally near the border on Monday. CNN's Jeremy Diamond was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There is much more to this right-wing conference on the Gaza border than just singing and dancing amid maps of Gaza and children's puzzles promoting the creation of Israeli settlements in Gaza. There are also calls for the mass expulsion of Palestinians.
DANIELLA WEISS, DIRECTOR, NACHALA: As a result of the brutal massacre of the 7th of October, the Gaza Arabs lost the right to be here ever, so they will go to the different countries of the world, then we must stay here.
DIAMOND (voiceover): But if you thought this conference was contained to the far-right fringe of Israeli politics, think again. Among the hundreds of settler activists, a dozen members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's parliamentary coalition, including three ministers and several members of his own party.
AVIHAL BOARON, MEMBER OF ISRAEL KNESSET: We want again to establish settlements in order to bring security to the -- to the south of Israel. OK? Without it, it won't be peace to the south of Israel, even to Tel Aviv.
DIAMOND (voiceover): The Israeli prime minister has said Israel does not intend to resettle Gaza, but some of his own ministers seem to think he can be swayed.
DIAMOND (on camera): Prime Minister Netanyahu has said that there won't be any civilian settlements in Gaza. You're a member of his government. Why are you here?
MAY GOLAN, ISRAEL MINISTER FOR SOCIAL EQUITY: First of all, the Likud Party is a Democratic Party, a Liberal Party. We have variety of opinions, and I came here today from one reason. We have the right and these people have the right, to put everything on the table, every tool is legitimate in order to protect ourselves and save ourselves.
DIAMOND (voiceover): That push to settle Gaza comes as Israel has killed more than 400 people in northern Gaza over just the last two weeks according to Gaza officials where tens of thousands have been forced to flee. [02:05:05]
And as the U.S. launches another diplomatic push to encourage Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza and strike a hostage deal. But it's people like far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who are keeping Netanyahu in power. As I ask him, what will become of Gaza's Palestinians, his response is stark. He will encourage emigration, he says. But on the outskirts of this conference, others, including October 7th survivors, are raising their voices too, rejecting those who point to October 7th to justify settling Gaza.
RON SHIFRONI, KIBBUTZ BE'ERI RESIDENT: They take advantage of the situation that happened in order to further their agenda. And their agenda is not about security, it's about settlement. It's about conquest. We have to find some sort of negotiation with the -- with the other side. We can't forcefully come inside and take land and stir up violence.
DIAMOND (voiceover): A call so far unheeded by those in power.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Be'eri, Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: The White House says there is no indication that any more documents would be leaked detailing Israel's plans for an attack on Iran. Two classified U.S. intelligence documents were published on social media on Friday. They are marked top secret, and appear to outline Israeli Air Force exercises in preparation for a strike on Iran. The leak has alarmed U.S. officials at an extremely sensitive point in U.S.-Israeli relations.
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JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: We're deeply concerned and the President remains deeply concerned about any leakage of classified information into the public domain. That is not supposed to happen and it's unacceptable when it does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Israel has vowed to respond with force to Iran's missile barrage on Tel Aviv and Israeli military bases earlier this month.
Two weeks and counting until Americans head to the polls to choose a new president, and the two candidates are barnstorming across a handful of battleground states in a quest to pick up new support. Donald Trump spent the day in North Carolina where he visited with Hurricane Helene relief workers. He falsely accused the White House of spending all of its money on illegal immigrants and having nothing left to help storm victims.
And at a campaign rally, Trump repeated his promise to eradicate what he says is a wave of migrant criminal activity. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 18, no, of 1798. Think of that. 1798. That's when we had real politicians that said we're not going to play games. We have to go back to 1798 to target and dismantle every migrant criminal network operating on American soil. We're going to knock the hell out of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOVEN: Kamala Harris is pushing ahead with her plan to attract new support from people disillusioned with Trump. On the campaign trail Monday, she brought along some backup. Former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney joined Harris in Michigan, urging those who might not normally vote Democrat, to give Harris consideration.
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LIZ CHENEY, FORMER UNITED STATES REPRESENTATIVE: If people are uncertain, if people are thinking, well, you know, I'm a conservative. I don't know that I can support Vice President Harris. I would say, I don't know if anybody is more conservative than I am. And you can vote your conscience and not ever have to say a word to anybody, and there will be millions of Republicans who do that on November 5th.
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CHURCH: Our Priscilla Alvarez has more on Cheney's message and how Kamala Harris is pushing hard to convince voters that Donald Trump is dangerous for America.
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PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER (voice-over): Vice President Kamala Harris, targeting a small but potentially decisive group of voters, Republicans turned off by former President Donald Trump. Harris is focused on vote rich counties in the key swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, making an aggressive bid to win over independents and moderate Republicans with Liz Cheney by her side.
Harris started her day in the Philadelphia suburb of Chester County with a warning about the danger Trump poses.
HARRIS: There are things that he says that will be the subject of skits and laughter and jokes, but words have meaning. Coming from someone who aspires to stand behind the seal of the President of the United States.
ALVAREZ (voice-over): The Vice President's swing includes populous suburban areas like Waukesha County outside of Milwaukee.
[02:10:03]
A long time GOP stronghold, where the Harris team believes they can make inroads. Biden lost the county in 2020 but performed better than any Democrat in decades. Harris is trying to appeal to those undecided and persuadable voters in places like Oakland County, Michigan, outside of Detroit, including those who backed Nikki Haley in the Republican primary.
HARRIS: I hope and I pray that we, the American people, understand not only what is at stake for us in this election, but how much we mean to the rest of the world.
ALVAREZ (voice-over): Monday's moderated conversations centered on a second Trump term serving as a warning to voters. Harris has been sharpening her attacks on Trump, frequently casting him as, "unstable and unhinged," including taking aim at what she described as Trump's off script moments.
HARRIS: Generally, for the life of him, cannot finish a thought and he has called it the weave. But I think we here will call it nonsense.
ALVAREZ (voice-over): She's also resorted to near rapid response of her Republican rival, including his profane criticism of her time as vice president.
TRUMP: So, you have to tell Kamala Harris that you've had enough that you just can't take it anymore. We can't stand you. You're a shit vice president. The worst.
ALVAREZ (voice-over): Harris responding on MSNBC.
HARRIS: It demeans the office. And I have said, and I'm very clear about this, Donald Trump should never again stand behind the seal of the president of the United States. He has not earned the right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALVAREZ: Now, the Vice President and her team are hoping that this message resonates, especially with white college educated voters. That is where they want to make more inroads to try to peel off votes from former President Donald Trump, especially in the suburban areas in the key swing state. Now the Vice President also indicating that reproductive freedom will also feature prominently in the following days, as that is another issue that they think that they can capitalize on as they try to shore up support going into Election Day.
Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Brookfield, Wisconsin.
CHURCH: A new Washington Post poll of seven key swing states shows about 40% of younger voters are not locked into their presidential choice yet. I spoke earlier with Larry Sabato, Director of the Center for politics at the University of Virginia, about what candidates should be doing and saying in the coming days to win over those undecided young voters.
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LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: It's pretty clear what Kamala Harris has been doing, she's been attracting various stars, music stars and that sort of thing. I think Democrats still hope that Taylor Swift is going to swing into action and do a bit more than she has done. She's endorsed Kamala Harris, but she hasn't really organized on her behalf.
That's what Kamala Harris is doing. What is Donald Trump doing? He's trying to expand his support with the bro vote, with the young male voter, often non college. But that's his strength. That's his special strength among male voters. Now you know whether these things make a difference at this late date, we'll have to find out on Election Day. We're very good at analyzing votes, Rosemary.
We're not terribly good at projecting them. We often get those wrong, though, of course not my crystal ball that it's 100 percent accurate all the time, as you've testified to that, I believe.
CHURCH: And just a new AP-NORC Center poll shows 46 percent of likely voters believe Harris would do a better job when it comes to middle class taxes, compared to 34 who say Trump would do better than on housing costs, 41 percent said Harris would do a better job, compared to 36 percent who said Trump would. Is this a possible sign that Harris may be making inroads on the top issue of the economy or not?
SABATO: Well, I think so. I've actually seen elements of that and other polling gradually the gap between Harris and Trump on the economy has been shrinking in Harris' direction. In the beginning, simply because Harris was representing the Biden administration and most voters were upset about the state of the economy, people gave Trump the credit there. They indicated they'd be better off economically if Trump were in power, but that has been changing.
As evaluations of Kamala Harris have improved, so has been the evaluation of the public about how she would deal with the economy. So yes, that's a good sign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: And you can see the rest of my interview with Larry Sabato coming up in the next hour.
Well, a surprise visit to Kyiv and a new infusion of military aid. Ahead, the latest U.S. commitments to Ukraine as Russia makes gains.
Surprise visit to Kyiv and a new infusion of military aid ahead, the latest U.S. commitments to Ukraine as Russia makes gains.
[02:15:09]
Plus, we are following two crucial votes in Moldova and allegations of Russian election meddling. Back in just a moment.
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CHURCH: The BRICS summit is set to start soon in Russia with the Kremlin's war in Ukraine raging next door. This year's gathering is being held in the Russian city of Kazan, and it's a high-profile occasion for President Vladimir Putin to prove Russia still has global allies despite Western attempts to isolate it. The summit of leading emerging economies is drawing prominent world leaders like China's President Xi Jinping, as well as the Indian Prime Minister and the Turkish Iranian and Egyptian presidents.
Meanwhile, the death toll from Russia's war in Ukraine keeps rising. Officials say a missile attack on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia killed at least three people, more than a dozen others, including an eight-year-old girl were wounded. Another attack overnight in the Sunni region also killed three people, including a child. And three other people were killed by Russian attacks in the eastern Donetsk region.
Ukraine is getting another $400 million in military aid from the United States. The American Defense Secretary made the announcement during a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday. But it comes amid growing fears of future U.S. funding for the war against Russia could eventually dry up. CNN Clare Sebastian has details.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the U.S. Defense Secretary's visit carries enormous weight for Ukraine, not because of the latest $400 million aid package that was announced or the optics and handshakes, but because we're now two weeks out from U.S. election that Ukraine really sees as existential. Former President Trump's rhetoric has become increasingly negative towards Ukraine and his running mate, J.D. Vance, has actively opposed sending military aid.
Now, for his part, Lloyd Austin was there to offer some reassurance that the Biden administration remains committed and was doing what it could to front load aid before the election.
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LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFNESE SECRETARY: We've moved heaven and earth to help Ukraine, and that inspiring coalition of more than 50 allies and partners continues to stand united to provide your country with the security assistance that Ukraine needs to prevail. Under President Biden's leadership, United States remains committed to keeping up this support, and so I'm pleased to announce today the commitment of a $400 million presidential drawdown package to provide your forces with additional munitions, armored vehicles and any tank weapons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: All of that will be welcome, but this is a dangerous moment for Ukraine. Russia is inching forward on several fronts. It's counter attacking, in course, and launching almost daily aerial attacks. In fact, just hours before this visit, Russia launched an attack involving 116 drone fronts. It's counter attacking in Kursk, and it's launching almost daily aerial attacks.
[02:20:05]
In fact, just hours before this visit, Russia launched an attack involving 116 drones and three missiles. It's also, according to Ukraine and South Korean intelligence, actively preparing now to bring up to 12,000 North Korean soldiers into the fight. Video provided to CNN by Ukraine appears to show North Korean soldiers speaking Korean being issued with Russian military uniforms at a training ground near Russia's border with China.
Now the Kremlin did not explicitly deny this was happening, simply saying its cooperation with North Korea was, "not directed against third countries." Ukraine's president, for his part, is now urging a strong reaction from his allies.
Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
CHURCH: Now to Odessa in Ukraine and Michael Bociurkiw who is a former spokesperson for the organizations for Security and Cooperation in Europe and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. Appreciate you being with us.
MICHAEL BOCIURKIW, FORMER SPOKESPERSON, ORGANIZATIONS FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE: Thank you for having me.
CHURCH: So, with the U.S. election just two weeks away, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made that surprise visit to the war-torn nation, and not only announced a $400 million aid package, but also delivered a speech that appeared to counter Republican criticism of Europe not contributing enough aid compared to the U.S. making the point that a dozen U.S. allies and partners now provide more security assistance to Ukraine than America. What impact could all this have in the end do you think?
BOCIURKIW: Good to be with you again, Rosemary. Well, of course, this 400 million is welcome. Ukraine needs, especially more munitions. But, you know, I'll quote what the Lithuanian foreign minister said the other day, Mr. Landsbergis is that, you know, while the West struggles to come up with 10s of billions of dollars, Mr. Putin in Russia comes up with 140 billion at the stop of his fingers.
Bit of exaggeration but that's what's happening. And if you consider that, he's also got the backing of Iran, North Korea, on the sidelines, China and other bad guys. That's quite the advantage. I can tell you, Rosemary that although Ukrainians have got used to their -- these visits. They've got used to Western leaders coming, taking selfies, slapping themselves on the back and gratitude.
But I think the growing feeling here is that if Mr. Trump gets in, that they will pretty much be further and further along on their own. They'll have to, as I've long been saying, rely more on their neighbors, the Baltic states, Poland and other European partners. But the mood here is very dark at the moment with the expectation that it could be another Trump presidency. Hence, aid from its biggest backer could be cut off or reduced substantially.
CHURCH: Yes. Let's talk more about that. Because, of course, you know, as we've mentioned, the U.S. election just 14 days away. Ukraine very much focused on what the outcome could mean in terms of this continued U.S. military support. Let's talk about just how worried Ukraine is about a possible win for Donald Trump and what he would do, because he has said that he will end the war in Ukraine. Let's look at the plan he has to do that.
BOCIURKIW: Yes. Well, the words coming out of the mouths of the Trump and his vice presidential candidate are basically Kremlin talking points, Rosemary where they're talking about Russia holding on to the territory it already has, possibly to more Oblast. It talks about some vague demilitarized zone. And it also refers to Ukraine dropping its bid for NATO and other Western alliances.
This would be absolutely disastrous for Ukraine, and there's no way, as we saw in Zelenskyy's victory plan that Ukraine could go for something like that. You know, and the other thing, of course, happening in the background, and the wider perspective, is with Trump, like he did during his disastrous presidency, due to kind of take the boxing gloves off when it comes to people like Mr. Putin, the North Korean leader and others, it will empower them.
It will empower them to go even further. So, I don't think it's only the Ukrainians feel this way. Imagine, for example, how the Filipinos feel with China trampling all over their territories in the South China Sea. Imagine how the Taiwanese feel right now, if Trump gets in and he doesn't push back China when it comes to Taiwan, where there's no deterrence. So, I don't mean to depress everybody but the big, big scenario is very, very stark at the moment, very dark.
And I think Ukrainians are saying to the world, look, it's very, very important to push back Mr. Putin now, because if not, it sends a bad signal to other dictators, and in addition to that, he will also go further and hence, defense spending boots on the ground will all go up.
[02:25:08]
CHURCH: Yes. I mean, in a sense, I mean, there is that widespread concern across Europe, isn't there? And in Ukraine, of the possibility of a Trump win. You mentioned Europe not responding as Kyiv would have liked to President Zelenskyy's victory plan. What does that indicate to you?
BOCIURKIW: I've looked at this very carefully and I think there is some fault on the side of the Zelenskyy administration. It is not a well articulate plan -- articulated plan. It's something that's repackaged previous proposals. And, you know, I think they're losing their radar, their compass, a little bit. Their trip to the United States was a disaster. I think a lot of this has to do with them getting rid of educated technocrats like the really well-respected Foreign Minister, Mr. Kuleba and trying to go out on their own.
Well, it doesn't work very well. You can't work in isolation like that. So, the biggest thing in that victory plan which I think everyone doesn't have a problem supporting, especially here in Europe, is for the Ukrainians to get permission to strike further into Russia with Western missiles. I mean, Rosemary overnight across Ukraine, we had 60 Russian drones attacked Ukraine. That's more than I ever remember and we had a missile here 24 hours ago in Odess.
So, air defense systems alone don't do it. Ukrainians have to have that ability to strike inside Russia where these launches are coming from. And I think the Europeans understand that. And I think you may see a scenario play out where it's quietly -- Ukraine is quietly given the OK to strike deeper inside Russia, and that's something I think Europeans would be very supportive of.
CHURCH: All right. We'll see what happens with that. Michael Bociurkiw joining us from Odesa, many thanks and stay safe there. Appreciate it.
BOCIURKIW: Thank you.
CHURCH: Moldova has decided to pursue becoming a member of the European Union by a razor thin margin. Results of the referendum show a deep divide remains in the former Soviet Republic. Just 50.4 percent voted in favor of joining the E.U. and the Moldovan President is accusing Russia of trying to interfere with not just the E.U. vote, but also her bid for reelection. CNN's Anna Stewart has our report.
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Moldova voted yes to the E.U. but by a razor thin margin. It certainly wasn't the strong mandate that the incumbent President Maia Sandu had hoped for. She also didn't win an outright majority in the presidential election, which means she'll go for a second vote now on November 3rd. Speaking after results came in, the incumbent president spoke about the controversy around a Kremlin- backed organization buying votes.
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MAIA SANDU PRESIDENT OF MOLDOVA (through translator): So their target of buying 300,000 votes documented by state institutions and paying 150,000 people to vote shows we must look closely at where mistakes were made and learn from this miserable attack on our sovereignty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: Moldova has long been torn between Russian and Western influence. Russia's invasion of Ukraine really galvanized the E.U. movement and accession talks began in June of 2022. Now, these talks will continue but the country appears divided, mired in corruption, which won't make the process any easier.
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
CHURCH: The late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's memoir is being released around the world today. It's called Patriot. And according to his widow, he started writing it shortly after he was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in 2020. A spokesperson says Navalny dictated most of the book to her while he was receiving medical treatment in Germany and finished when he was imprisoned in Russia.
People gathered at Navalny's grave in Moscow ahead of the book's release. The Putin critic died in prison in February under suspicious circumstances. The Russian government denies any role.
Still to come. Elon Musk opens his wallet to increase voter turnout. But is it legal? We will tell you what the experts are saying. Plus, a much-anticipated debut in India's markets for Hyundai. After the break, a look at how its stock is performing after the country's largest IPO ever.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Welcome back, everyone. Elon Musk's voter lottery scheme is drawing criticism from legal experts and lawmakers, with some calling it clearly illegal vote buying. Musk is offering millions of dollars to voters who register to cast their ballots in swing states. CNN's Brian Todd has more details.
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ELON MUSK, TESLA & SPACEX FOUNDER: Sure, thanks.
(APPLAUSE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New concerns being raised over how the world's richest person is throwing his money around on behalf of Donald Trump.
MUSK: The next thing we'd like to do is to announce today's winner of the $1 million prize.
(CROWD CHEERING)
TODD (voice-over): Elon Musk has announced that he'll be giving away $1 million a day randomly to registered voters, but it's only in seven battleground states and only if they sign a petition from Musk's Super PAC saying they support the First Amendment Right to Free Speech and the Second Amendment Right to Bear Arms.
MUSK: And all you have to do is sign a petition in support of the Constitution. If you already believe in the Constitution, you're just signing something you already believe and you can win $1 million. That's awesome.
(CROWD CHEERING)
TODD (voice-over): But not so awesome to some election law experts and to the Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania, one of those battleground states.
GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO, (D-PA): I think it's something that law enforcement can take a look at, but it does raise some serious questions.
TODD (voice-over): Why might it be illegal for Musk to pay people to register and sign that petition?
DAVID BECKER, CENTER FOR ELECTION INNOVATION AND RESEARCH: Vote buying in this country has been a problem in our long history. It is criminal to offer payment or accept payment, anything of value in exchange for registering or voting. It's also been applied to when Ben and Jerry's wanted to offer free ice cream cones if you showed up with your "I Voted" sticker.
TODD (voice-over): Musk has already given $1 million checks to at least two people in Pennsylvania where he's been stumping for Trump.
(CROWD CHEERING)
MUSK: So, by the way, John had no -- no idea.
(LAUGH)
(APPLAUSE)
MUSK: So, anyway, you're welcome. And --
(CROWD CHEERING)
(LAUGH)
TODD (voice-over): On ABC's "The View," Kamala Harris's running mate, Tim Walz slammed Musk's giveaway as a sign of desperation from their opponents.
GOV. TIM WALZ, (D-MN) VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, I think that's what you do when you have no plan for the public, when you have no economic plan that's going to benefit the middle class.
TODD (voice-over): Musk has already given more than $75 million to his own pro-Trump Super PAC.
MUSK: Donald Trump has to be -- has to win this election. He really does.
(CROWD CHEERING)
TODD (voice-over): Analysts say the Justice Department could pursue charges against the billionaire for this $1 million dollar giveaway, but --
DEREK MULLER, ELECTION LAW EXPERT, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME: You're putting the Department of Justice injecting itself into a hotly- contested, disputed, case of interpretation of a criminal law just weeks ahead of the election, which is I don't think where the Department of Justice wants to find itself.
TODD (voice-over): Musk's side is saying the giveaway is legal, a job opportunity, because the winners have appeared in promotional videos and will serve as spokespeople.
BECKER: It certainly doesn't make it all better. There are laws around what constitutes work for hire, whether you're being paid fair market value for those kinds of things.
TODD: If this giveaway is pursued further legally, would the recipients eventually have to give the money back? [02:35:00]
Analysts say that's not clear. One expert says there are rules saying that money that's been wrongfully taken does have to be given back, but he also says this situation with Elon Musk is unchartered territory.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: And Musk's social media site X says it will start using data published on its platform to train AI and some users are outraged. It's part of the company's new terms of service, which go into effect November 15th, saying the data will be used for generative and other types of AI. X has a controversial history with its AI offerings, its chatbot Grok has been criticized for churning out false information about the election and generating controversial pictures of politicians.
Hyundai Motor India made its public trade debut just a short time ago after a record setting IPO, but shares fell 2 percent after a tepid response from retail investors. This was India's largest-ever initial public offering of $3.3 billion worth of shares. But demand had been so great, they received $5.5 billion in bids. And CNN's Mike Valerio is following the story for us from Seoul. He joins us now. Great to see you, Mike. So, what more can you tell us about the stock's debut and how it's performing so far?
MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's an interesting day, Rosemary. So right now, as I look at the chart on the National Stock Exchange in Mumbai, down 2.59 percent trading, that's certainly off its session lows when the stock was approaching down about 5 percent. But this was to be expected from analysts over the past couple days because institutional investors were talking about -- the big investors like BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity, the Government of Singapore were all in on this stock. But as you said, Rosemary, retail investors, people like you and me, the small potatoes who were looking at the stock were thinking maybe it's valued a little too high, so we're going to stay on the sidelines.
And that seems to be what investors are signaling here. But this is an interesting blockbuster story nonetheless for the themes that we're going to outline right here, how we got here, how Hyundai got here today. India right now is the third largest auto market in the entire world, an astounding story of India's economy, leapfrogging Japan, joining China and the United States in the top-three position. Hyundai, what it's trying to do with this IPO, getting past the rocky road that we see right now, it's trying to make so much cash with this IPO to try to strengthen its position in India, shortening the gap that it has right now between the number-one automaker in the country, which is Suzuki's Indian arm, and itself and trying to make a bastion of its Indian operation to export more EVs and SUVs to the region at large.
So, one might be thinking, why not China? Why not make that your play? And it's certainly interesting analysis coming out from here in Seoul, written in the pages of the "Financial Times" a few days ago, that Hyundai is likely looking for an alternative to China because you have Beijing giving all of these generous subsidies to domestic Chinese automakers and that has largely pushed out so many international car companies from the Chinese market. So from Hyundai's perspective, makes sense to invest more in India where it's still relatively cheap to manufacture things. You have a burgeoning middle class, an ever increasing urban population. So that is what Hyundai is trying to do.
Now, Rosemary, make no mistake, there have been some pretty rocky IPO debuts in the past. You think back to Facebook a few years ago, Uber had a pretty -- I don't want to say disastrous day, but there were a lot of concerns on the first day. So, that is not to say that the first few hours are going to be a presage for how this stock performs in the next of couple days and weeks. So, we're going to see if this is the proverbial pedal to the metal if things start to turn around. But we are off the session lows, make no mistake, when it was approaching down about 5 percent, we're now in the down about 2.5 percent range, Rosemary.
CHURCH: All right, thanks for keeping an eye on all of that. Mike Valerio, appreciate it.
VALERIO: No problem.
CHURCH: Well, Sean "Diddy" Combs legal troubles take another turn for the worst, when we return the details on the music mogul's latest round of lawsuits. You are watching "CNN Newsroom".
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[02:41:30]
CHURCH: The latest development in the tragic death of musician and former One Direction member Liam Payne, Buenos Aires Police tells CNN, a preliminary toxicology report has been delivered to the prosecutor's office, but the final results have not yet been released. Payne died Wednesday after falling from the third floor of his hotel in the Argentine capital. He was 31 years old. The prosecutor's office suspects Payne was potentially experiencing some kind of episode due to substance abuse at the time.
New allegations against music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs as he sits in jail awaiting trial on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges. Combs is facing seven new civil lawsuits and other celebrities are allegedly involved. The suits were filed Monday in New York and include allegations of sexual assault, battery and false imprisonment. Two of the accusers alleged they were minors when Combs drugged and assaulted them. The alleged incidents happened between 2000 and 2022. Combs has denied wrongdoing in a raft of similar charges he's facing.
I want to thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then I'll be back in about 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stay with us.
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[02:45:00]
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