Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Two Weeks To Go: Harris, Trump Focus on Swing States; Blinken Looks to Revive Gaza Ceasefire-Hostage Talks; Shares Fall on Market Debut of Hyundai; Sean Diddy Combs Facing Seven New Lawsuits. Aired 4:00-4:30a ET

Aired October 22, 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]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 180 of 1798. That's when we had real politicians that said we're not going to play games.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am a capitalist. I am a pragmatic capitalist.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can vote your conscience and not ever have to say a word to anybody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Be informed, be proactive, be your best advocate for breast health. Breast care is self-care.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love this game and I love it to the death. I mean, that's it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, a warm welcome to our viewers joining us from the U.S. and around the world. I'm Max Foster.

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Christina Macfarlane. It's Tuesday, October 22nd, 9 a.m. here in London, 4 a.m. at the White House. And with just two weeks to go until Americans choose their next president, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are looking to seal the deal with undecided voters in a race that remains a toss-up.

FOSTER: Yes, Trump kicked off his week in North Carolina where he visited with Hurricane Helene relief workers. He criticized the Biden administration for its handling of the storm's aftermath, falsely accusing the White House of misusing funds that should have gone to storm victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She didn't get the proper support from this administration. They spent their money on illegal migrants. But look, a lot of the money is gone. They don't have any money. They have to have, they have to have a meeting in Washington, a special meeting in Washington to get money. It's all gone. They've spent it on illegal migrants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, Trump also repeated his vow to eradicate what he claims is a massive wave of migrant criminal activity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I will invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 180 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)

FOSTER: Meanwhile, Kamala Harris is working to attract Republicans disillusioned with Trump. She tried to draw a line between herself and the former president on key economic issues, promising to work to lift America's lowest paid workers out of poverty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, which means that the person who is working a full day and working full weeks will make $15,000 a year, which is essentially poverty wages. I absolutely believe we must raise minimum wage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, as Harris looked to new support, she brought along some backup. Former Republican congressman -- Congresswoman Liz Cheney joined Harris on the trial Monday. She urged those who might not normally vote for a Democrat to give Harris consideration.

Our Jeff Zeleny reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Vice President Harris, of course, is running in the Democratic primary. But in the closing days of this campaign, she is focusing on some Republican voters, particularly Republican voters in the suburbs of key swing states from Pennsylvania to Michigan to Wisconsin. She was traveling on Monday with a former Republican congresswoman, Liz Cheney, at her side trying to make the case that democracy is indeed on the line in this election.

Cheney had this to say of some Republicans who may be reticent to vote for a Democrat. LIZ CHENEY, FORMER U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: Many Republicans who will say to me, I can't be public. They do worry about a whole range of things, including violence, but they'll do the right thing. And I would just remind people if you're at all concerned, 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.

ZELENY: So, of course, it is an open question how many of those voters will take Liz Cheney up on that to vote their conscience and not talk about it. Of course, Vice President Harris has many Democratic supporters who are very eager to talk about her candidacy. They're focusing on the ground game in the final two weeks of this campaign.

It really is becoming one of a fear. Donald Trump is telling his voters and his supporters, really trying to spread fear and say you must vote for him over Kamala Harris. She is trying to say, don't be afraid to vote for me. Take that leap.

[04:05:00]

This, of course, leading into the second full week of campaigning, even as millions of Americans have cast their ballots. Where's Vice President Harris preparing for her CNN town hall on Wednesday, taking questions at each stop along the way with Liz Cheney from voters in a town hall.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Royal Oak, Michigan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: And you can watch the presidential town hall moderated by Anderson Cooper right here on CNN. It airs live on Wednesday night, 9 p.m. Eastern time. That's 2 a.m. here in London.

Israel says about 15 projectiles fired from Lebanon crossed into its territory today. 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.

MACFARLANE: Lebanese authorities say an Israeli airstrike 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.

FOSTER: Israel struck another branch of a financial institution in Lebanon, which the U.S. accuses of managing Hezbollah finances. Israel claims the group is also hiding hundreds of millions in cash and gold under another Beirut hospital.

MACFARLANE: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel right now, hoping to revive Gaza ceasefire and hostage talks. He landed in Tel Aviv about an hour ago. The top U.S. diplomat is set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later today.

FOSTER: Salma, are you optimistic? SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, the region is not optimistic, and it's very difficult to be. Now, the U.S. has, of course, been pushing for these peace talks. You see that Blinken has landed. He has this meeting in Jerusalem midday with Prime Minister Netanyahu. He has several things on the agenda, and first and foremost is restart those peace negotiations.

There was that moment, you guys will remember, last week with Yahya Sinwar's assassination, where the White House seemed to hope that that could be the impetus that would allow Prime Minister Netanyahu to come back to the negotiating table. That simply has not transpired.

Right now, you have a Hamas with no clear leader, of course, after the death of Yahya Sinwar and a Prime Minister Netanyahu, who is only doubling down on what he says are his goals, which is not just to defeat but to destroy Hezbollah and Hamas. So very, very little hope of any major breakthrough.

He also has a couple of other items on his agenda. Lebanon, of course, just as he landed, or just before he landed. You mentioned those rockets being fired at military bases in Tel Aviv, at a naval base near Haifa.

How can Secretary of State Antony Blinken turn down the temperature there, diffuse that situation in Lebanon somehow, when, again, the Secretary of Defense for Israel, Yoav Gallant, was just on the border the other day saying, we're not -- we're going to continue. We want to clear parts of southern Lebanon. How do you bring down the temperature there?

And then, of course, Iran. You have to remember, Israel is right now weighing its response to Iran's ballistic missile barrage. There's fears that that could trigger an oil crisis, an economic crisis, right before the November election.

Can Blinken get any guarantees from Prime Minister Netanyahu? What do those guarantees look like? And you have to remember that just a few days ago, or about a week ago, I think it is now, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin wrote a letter to Israeli politicians saying, you need to allow more aid into Gaza, or you could potentially face restrictions from the U.S., including when it comes to arms sales. Will he see through on that promise? He'd given a 30-day time limit on that. Will he see through on that promise?

A lot at play here. His 11th visit, not just to Israel. He will also be visiting Jordan and Doha.

But very little optimism. And those signs of hope, if any at all, are absolutely fleeting. And that time, you have to remember, there's a deadline here, the November elections, coming very near.

MACFARLANE: And we were just reporting in our last 24 hours, with regard to the Lebanon strike specifically, this targeting of the largest public hospital in Beirut, the IDF saying they were trying to target a Hezbollah terrorist target near the hospital. How much of a repeat are we seeing here of the strategy in Gaza targeting healthcare facilities? I mean, is that a reflection of what we're seeing?

ABDELAZIZ: On that claim, Lebanese officials, of course, have batted that away. They've invited journalists. They have said that is absolutely not true. Israel has not provided any evidence. But as you pointed out, we've seen this playbook from Gaza before. And the concern and the fear is, the more that you begin to see those indications, those hints of the same playbook, again, that we've seen in Gaza, that it indicates how much larger the scope of this conflict in Lebanon could be.

[04:10:00]

Meaning how many more lives could potentially be lost? How much longer could this be dragged out? What parts of Lebanon could potentially look like parts of Gaza at the end of this conflict? That's why this meeting is so important with Blinken.

He needs to defuse this situation, or you're looking at a Lebanon that could be, yet again, caught in this crossfire and looking at a longer conflict.

FOSTER: OK, Salma, thank you so much for that.

Far-right activists are calling for Israeli settlements in Gaza and expulsion of the Palestinian population.

MACFARLANE: They held a rally near the border on Monday, seen as Jeremy Diamond was there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM 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 their right to be here ever. So they will go to the different countries of the world. They will not stay here.

DIAMOND (voice-over): 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.

AVIHAI BOARON, MEMBER OF ISRAELI KNESSET: We want again to establish settlements in order to bring security to the south of Israel. OK. Without it, it won't be peace to the south of Israel, even to Tel Aviv.

DIAMOND (voice-over): 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: 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, ISRAELI MINISTER FOR SOCIAL EQUITY: First of all, the Likud party is the democratic party, a liberal party, we have a variety of opinions. And I came here today for 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 (voice-over): 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.

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. We 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 other side. We can't forcefully come inside and take land and stir up violence.

DIAMOND (voice-over): A call so far unheeded by those in power.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Be'eri Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Officials in Havana say power has now been restored to most of the capital, but services believed to still be down in much of Cuba.

FOSTER: The island nation first lost power on Friday when one of the country's major power plants failed. Since then, Cuba's power grid has collapsed four times. Making matters worse, Cuba was hit by Hurricane Oscar on Sunday as millions of people had already faced days without power. People are headed outside into the dark to escape the heat indoors and to protest the outages.

MACFARLANE: Parts of Italy remain on red alert as heavy rainfall brings severe flooding that has led to dramatic rescues and at least one death.

FOSTER: Our Barbie Nadeau has the latest from Rome.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Italian first responders and emergency workers have been dealing with dramatic weather over the weekend. In the southern island of Sicily, many of the roads were turned into rivers and people had to be rescued from their motorbikes and their cars.

Across on the mainland in the southern region of Calabria, a giant sinkhole opened up on a busy highway, swallowing a car.

But the most dramatic images are coming out of the center of the country, near the city of Bologna, where rescuers were able to save a three-month-old baby and its parents with a helicopter. They've also had to rescue people from buses and cars that have been abandoned on the roadside.

[04:15:00]

Much of this area is farmland that was flooded last year, meaning that much of the infrastructure is not even back online from those devastating floods.

It was also hit earlier this year by storm Boris, which left its devastating impacts and left the ground very saturated. And the worst news is that the country's Civil Protection Agency has called for another red alert on Tuesday, meaning that whole region in the center is going to be under flood alert as rivers rise.

Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: All right, still to come, a much anticipated debut in India's markets for Hyundai. We'll look at how its stocks are performing after the country's largest IPO ever.

FOSTER: Plus, Sean Diddy Combs' legal troubles may take another turn for the worse. When we come back, the details on the music mogul's latest round of lawsuits.

MACFARLANE: And Hollywood star Elizabeth Hurley joins us on CNN to talk about breast cancer prevention.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Some users of X, formerly known as Twitter, are outraged that the social media site says it'll start using data published on its platform to train AI. It's part of the company's new terms of service, which go into effect on November the 15th. X says the data will be used for generative and other types of AI.

MACFARLANE: The platform 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 are down after a tepid response from retail investors.

FOSTER: This was India's largest ever initial public offering of $3.3 billion worth of shares, but demand has been so great they received $5.5 billion in bids.

MACFARLANE: Well CNN's Mike Valerio is following the story, joins us live from Seoul. And Mike, just explain why the lukewarm reception to this listing.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has been a rocky road, I think, to put it mildly. Christina and Max, good morning to you. And it's been a mild reception because when we talk about institutional investors, people like you and me, most people watching at home, they've signaled to analysts that maybe perhaps this is an overvalued stock.

You know, inflation is still pretty high in India, and the automotive sector is slowing down ever so slightly. So that story is told in the chart and the numbers that we're going to look at right now. So when we see the performance of this blockbuster IPO Hyundai India, whoa, just look at that initial few couple of minutes after the opening bell, a drop in the neighborhood of around 6 percent.

Right now, as trading starts to wind down in India, Max and Christina, we're around down 3.95 percent. But there are a lot of institutional investors. When you think BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity, the government of Singapore, they're all behind this stock and the fundamentals of India's economy. And this is why as we bring you a little greater context.

[04:20:03]

You know, India finds itself in the number three position in terms of the leaders in the automotive world, when it goes to the highest markets via China, the United States, India has now leapfrogged over Japan, which finds itself in the number four position.

And what Hyundai India is trying to do and its parent company here in Seoul is trying to do is really make a bastion of its India operation and try to expand its operation. So it's more of an export driven entity, exporting cars to Southeast Asia and the region writ large with more EVs and more SUVs.

So an interesting element of the story is why not China? And what does this IPO say about China?

Well, analysts are, you know, saying in the pages of the Financial Times also telling us here in Seoul that Hyundai India is looking for an alternative to China. And that's why it's making this play. You have the government in Beijing, regional governments in China that are giving all of these very generous subsidies to the domestic Chinese automakers and crowding out the international players.

So from Hyundai's point of view, it makes sense to be expanding in its position that it already holds in India again, trying to export more of those EVs and SUVs, which is also along the goals of the Indian government.

So the too long didn't read version of this story is that it has been somewhat of a disappointing day for this stock. But lest we forget, Max and Christina, it was a disappointing opening day, the IPO for Facebook and Uber as well, but they both corrected in the long term.

So those fundamentals about India's economy and its astonishing place in the world, those big institutional investors are for the moment still behind the stock. So we're going to watch it in the days and weeks ahead -- Max and Christina.

FOSTER: And they can be very fickle the markets. Mike, thank you so much.

Now, the Walt Disney Company will soon see another changing of the guard with their fourth board chair just over three years.

Morgan Stanley veteran James Gorman will take over the post at the start of the new year. He'll succeed current chair Mark Parker, who served on Disney's board for nine years.

MACFARLANE: Gorman's priority will be to find a replacement for current CEO Bob Iger, who returned to the position after a brief hiatus. The company says it will announce a new chief executive in early 2026.

FOSTER: Music mogul Sean Diddy Combs has been hit with new allegations of abuse as he sits in jail awaiting trial on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges. He denies any wrongdoing.

MACFARLANE: But as CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister reports, the latest lawsuits he's facing alleged that other celebrities were also involved.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Disturbing details emerging in seven new lawsuits filed against Sean Diddy Combs, including allegations that the music mogul assaulted minors and that other unnamed celebrities took part. One plaintiff identified only as Jane Doe alleges she was drugged and raped by Combs at a party after the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000 when she claims she was just 13 years old. The accuser says that a limo driver who allegedly worked for Combs invited her to an after party, telling her Combs like younger girls and she fit what Diddy was looking for.

She says she was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement when she arrived at the party. And after having one drink, she felt woozy and lightheaded and needed to lie down in a bedroom. It wasn't long until she claims Combs, along with the male and female celebrity, entered the room.

Plaintiff was held down by Celebrity A, who vaginally raped her while Combs and Celebrity B, a female, watched. According to the lawsuit, Combs then vaginally raped plaintiff while Celebrity A and Celebrity B watched. The mention of unnamed celebrities marks the first time since the indictment that claims against Combs have accused other stars of engaging in alleged assault. Combs's parties were known to attract world famous celebrities.

Another suit filed by a John Doe says at 17-years-old he was invited to a party in 2022 in Manhattan with Combs. After one drink, he says he felt dizzy, weak and confused and witnessed multiple people engaging in group sex, including Combs and another artist he recognized.

Doe alleges that Combs later sexually assaulted him on a bed while others laid next to them engaging in sexual activities.

Attorneys for Combs did not respond to specific allegations in the new lawsuits, but referred CNN to a previous blanket denial.

Stating: Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone, adult or minor, man or woman.

Over the weekend, Combs's team requested that the judge overseeing his criminal case block prospective witnesses and their lawyers from speaking out about their allegations outside of court, arguing that the public accusations will interfere with Mr. Combs is right to a fair trial.

[04:25:03]

The latest lawsuits add to a growing web of legal troubles surrounding the music mogul who now faces more than 25 civil suits. Combs remains in custody in New York as he awaits trial in May.

WAGMEISTER: Now it's not just the sheer volume of lawsuits that is noteworthy. As the investigation continues into Combs is criminal case, legal experts that I spoke with say that this continuum of lawsuits and these new accusers coming out every week can actually serve as a road map of sorts to prosecutors. Recently in court, prosecutors said that it is possible that more charges or more defendants are added to this indictment, and it's possible that these lawsuits can provide some information to those prosecutors.

Again, Combs denies all of these allegations, not just in these seven new suits, but in any lawsuit that he has faced, and he is fighting to be released from jail as he awaits his trial in May. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: World leaders arriving for a major economic summit in Russia. It's meant to be a counterweight to the West. We'll talk about who's attending.

MACFARLANE: Plus, Elon Musk opens his wallet to increase voter turnout, but is it legal? We'll tell you what the experts are saying.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Hi there, welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. Here are some of today's top stories.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel earlier today. He's in the Middle East hoping to revive Gaza ceasefire and hostage release talks. Blinken is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It's unclear who represents Hamas after the death of Yahya Sinwar last week.

And we're just 14 days to go until the U.S. presidential election. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are taking their message to crucial swing states. Each candidate is trying to pick up new support that will send them to the White House. Polls continue to show no clear leader in the race.

And Alex Navalny's memoir Patriot is being released around the world today. The widow of the late Russian opposition leader says he started writing it shortly after he was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok in 2020. The book was finished when he was imprisoned in Russia.

FOSTER: World leaders arriving for the BRICS summit in Russia. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been seen as you can see landing in the host city of Kazan a short while ago. The summit of major emerging economies is a very public way for President Vladimir Putin to prove that Russia still has global allies despite Western attempts to isolate it.

[04:30:00]