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Celebrities Make the Case, Take the Stage for Campaigns; Palestinian Survivors Say IDF Used Them as Human Shields; Putin Shows Off International Support at BRICS Summit; World Series Ticket Prices Hit Record High. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired October 25, 2024 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. Here are some of the top stories we're following today.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with Arab leaders in London today, trying to restart ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas. This is the last stop on his trip, which included visits to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
Lyle and Eric Menendez, the brothers convicted of murdering their parents nearly 30 years ago, could be released on parole. The Los Angeles County District Attorney says he's recommending that they be resentenced at a hearing later today. A superior court judge will ultimately make that decision.
And there's only 11 days left until Election Day, and both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are campaigning in Texas in the coming hours. Harris will be joined by superstar Beyonce at a rally in Houston, while Trump will record an interview with podcast host Joe Rogan in Austin.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Now, as Election Day nears, celebrities are making the case and taking the stage for the candidates. Superstar Beyonce is expected to perform, as Christina was saying, and appear alongside Kamala Harris at a campaign rally in Houston. And speculation continues over whether pop star Taylor Swift will join Harris on the campaign trail.
Some of the posters now are looking like, you know, events you'd see in, like, a big stadium. Brian Todd has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Her Grammy-nominated ballad Freedom is already a staple of Kamala Harris' rallies. But on Friday, pop superstar Beyonce will up the ante, appearing on stage with the vice president at a rally in Houston.
LEIGH ANN CALDWELL, ANCHOR, WASHINGTON POST LIVE: This is a huge, huge get for Kamala Harris. It generates excitement. It generates buzz. And that's what Kamala Harris team wants in these final days. TODD (voice-over): The celebrity buzz for Harris also ramps up tonight with an appearance by rock star Bruce Springsteen, who will take the stage with the vice president and former President Barack Obama at a get out the vote rally in Atlanta. Harris said she's honored by it.
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I think it just shows the breadth and depth of the support that we have and also the enthusiasm.
TODD (voice-over): The sheer star power that's been brought to the 2024 race is palpable. Harris has also scored the endorsement of musical icon Taylor Swift, who brings more than 280 million Instagram followers and a proven record of being able to inspire young people to register to vote.
BRYAN WEST, TAYLOR SWIFT REPORTER, USA TODAY: With Taylor, it's not just about her influence, it's her power, it's her ability to speak to a massive fandom.
TODD (voice-over): Harris has won endorsements from musician Lizzo, pop and R&B star Usher, actor George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, who spoke at the Democratic National Convention,
[04:35:00]
OPRAH WINFREY, MEDIA MOGUL: Values and character matter most of all.
MEGAN THEE STALLION, RAPPER, SONGWRITER: I'm with the future president of the United States.
TODD (voice-over): And from rapper Megan Thee Stallion, who also appeared with the vice president at a rally.
Donald Trump has scored a high-profile endorsement from X owner Elon Musk, who's also contributed tens of millions of dollars to boost Trump's campaign.
ELON MUSK, CEO X, TESLA AND SPACEX: Donald Trump has to win this election. He really does.
TODD (voice-over): Trump's also won the endorsement of country rock star Kid Rock, who performed at the Republican National Convention.
An endorsement from actor Dennis Quaid, who's campaigned for Trump and from icons of combat sports, like UFC head Dana White and pro wrestler Hulk Hogan.
MICHAEL WARREN, SENIOR EDITOR, THE DISPATCH: These may not be the most popular with Gen Z college girls, but men, this is a big part of Donald Trump's coalition. And that's who he's trying to tap into with those celebrities. He does need those celebrities to validate him.
TODD (voice-over): On Harris' side, the suspense now lies with one tantalizing possibility.
CALDWELL: I'm sure that they would love for Taylor Swift to appear alongside Kamala Harris.
TODD: A Harris campaign official declined to answer a question on whether Taylor Swift would appear with the vice president on the campaign trail, only saying, quote, wouldn't that be great?
When Swift endorsed Harris in September, Donald Trump said at the time that she would probably pay a price for that in the marketplace. And a Trump campaign spokesman said it was more evidence that the Democrats have become the party of the wealthy elite.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: New federal election commission filings show wealthy donors are still pouring millions of dollars into the race.
MACFARLANE: In the first half of October, the largest pro-Trump super PAC, MAGA, Inc., raised $9.8 million. And that's thanks to some notable figures. The owners of the New York Jets donated $1 million, while a co-founder of WhatsApp contributed five times that amount in Meta stock.
Meanwhile, Trump's Restoration PAC reported $6.5 million from a shipping billionaire, while the owner of one of the largest poultry producers in the U.S. gave $2 million to another leading Trump PAC.
FOSTER: The Harris campaign's largest super PAC received $25 million from a Facebook co-founder in the same period. They also received another $40 million from the group Future Forward USA Action, and Total FF PAC saw a massive $89 million haul in total.
MACFARLANE: Losing track of the millions.
Donald Trump is vowing to fire special counsel Jack Smith if he is reelected. Trump says he would use presidential powers to end Smith's probe into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Here's the former president speaking with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUGH HEWITT, CONSERVATIVE RADIO HOST: You're either going to have to pardon yourself or you're going to have to fire Jack Smith. Which one will you do?
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Oh, it's so easy. It's so easy. It's so easy. I would fire him within two seconds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The Harris-Walz campaign quickly responded, arguing Trump's need for, quote, unchecked power. Here's their statement.
Donald Trump thinks he's above the law, and these latest comments are right in line with the warnings made by Trump's former chief of staff that he wants to rule as a dictator with unchecked power. A second Trump term, where a more unstable and unhinged Trump has essentially no guardrails and is surrounded by loyalists who will enable his worst instincts, is guaranteed to be more dangerous.
Meanwhile, Trump's legal team is asking a federal court to dismiss the January 6th election subversion case. Again, they're calling for Smith's office, well, they're calling it unconstitutional.
MACFARLANE: Now the FBI is zeroing in on how U.S. intelligence documents on Israel leaked to the public. Sources tell CNN the FBI has narrowed down the locations where the top-secret documents could have been printed before being leaked last week. At least one of the documents appears to be scanned from an official briefing book.
Officials believe the pool of people who might have printed these pages would be relatively small. The leaked documents detail Israel's preparations for a possible retaliatory attack on Iran after Tehran launched an unprecedented attack earlier this month.
FOSTER: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting in London today with Jordanian, Emirati and Lebanese officials. During a visit to Qatar on Thursday, he said Gaza, hostage and ceasefire talks would resume this weekend. The Israeli prime minister's office says it plans to send Mossad chief David Barnier to take part in those negotiations.
Meanwhile, Qatar's prime minister says his country has re-engaged with the Hamas political bureau in Doha after the killing of Yahya Sinwar in Gaza last week.
MACFARLANE: Meanwhile, in Gaza, there are troubling new allegations that Israel is forcing Palestinians to act as human shields to avoid putting its troops in harm's way. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has this report.
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[04:40:00]
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They walked through the rubble at gunpoint into potentially booby-trapped buildings and down darkened tunnels. Some were teenagers like 17-year- old Mohammad.
Mohammad (through translated text): I was handcuffed and wearing nothing but my boxers.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Others, like Abu Ali Yassin (ph) were grandparents.
ABU ALI YASSIN (ph) (through translated text): They placed me in areas where I could be exposed to gunfire.
DIAMOND (voice-over): These five Palestinians, all civilians, say the Israeli military detained them and used them as human shields in Gaza.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): We were forced to enter homes. Each time, our lives we at risk. We feared death. We were afraid something might happen. They would ask us to do thing like, "move this carpet," saying they were looking for tunnels.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Now, for the first time on camera, an Israeli soldier is coming forward with his own account, describing how his infantry unit used two Palestinians as human shields.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We told them to enter the building before us. If there are any booby traps, they will explode and not us.
DIAMOND (voice-over): We've blurred his face and changed his voice because he risks reprisals for speaking out. Breaking the Silence, a watchdog group which verifies soldiers' testimonials, provided photographs and facilitated the interview. The soldier says a 16-year- old boy and 20-year-old man were brought to his unit this spring.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Their hands were tied behind their back, and they had a cloth over their eyes.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The instructions from the intelligence officer who delivered them were clear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He told me to take them. In the next attack, use them as a human shield. He told me that they have a connection to Hamas.
DIAMOND (voice-over): For two days, his unit followed those orders. This haunting photo captures the scene, the silhouette of a Palestinian man flanked by two soldiers ordering him forward.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When we went to the attack, before they enter a building, we took the cloth off so they could see. In my company, one of the soldiers knew Arabic. He just shouted in Arabic, open the door, walk to this building, or the other.
DIAMOND: You're using them because you think this building might be booby trapped.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, my soldiers didn't like that at all, and they refused to do this anymore.
DIAMOND (voice-over): The soldiers decided to take their concerns to their senior commander, telling him they believed they were violating international law.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The commander told his fellow, a simple soldier doesn't need to think about international law.
DIAMOND: He didn't say, you guys shouldn't be doing this, this shouldn't be happening?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said that we need to do this. He said that our lives are more important. DIAMOND: So, he didn't just tell you don't worry about it, he said keep doing it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Eventually, the commander relented, telling his soldiers they could release the two Palestinians.
DIAMOND: Suddenly, you're allowed to release.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it made it sure to us that they are not terrorists.
DIAMOND (voice-over): In a statement, the Israeli military said the IDF's directives and guidelines strictly prohibit the use of detained Gaza civilians for military operations. The relevant protocols and instructions are routinely clarified to soldiers in the field during the conflict.
But the Israeli military's use of human shields in Gaza appears to have been widespread. So common it even had a name, Mosquito Protocol. Both
Israeli and international law banned the use of civilians in combat.
Israel also accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields. There is ample evidence for it. Tunnels dug beneath homes and rockets fired from residential neighborhoods.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me, it's more painful with my own army. Hamas is a terrorist organization. The IDF shouldn't use terrorist organization practices.
DIAMOND: And so, when you hear, you know, spokespeople for the Israeli military, Israeli government officials saying, you know, the Israeli military is the most moral army in the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's bull (BLEEP) of course, I don't believe that.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Dr. Yahya Khalil Al-Kayali, who worked at Al- Shifa Hospital, knows that all too well. Months after he says Israeli soldiers forced him to risk his life he cannot shake this terrifying experience.
DR. YAHYA KHALIL AL-KAYALI: A soldier asked me to come. He was talking to me to English, told me I will kill you if you didn't enter there. I was thinking that I will be killed or die within minutes.
DIAMOND (voice-over): His brush with death and the day he feared he would never again see his family.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Takeaways from the BRICS Summit in Russia and President Vladimir Putin's meeting with the U.N. as Secretary General.
[04:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Foreign diplomats are leaving Russia as the BRICS summit wraps up.
MACFARLANE: The final day's events included an address from the UN Secretary General who also met with the Russian president. CNN's Marc Stewart has those details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At a time when the West is trying to isolate Vladimir Putin, the BRICS summit that we've been watching in Russia shows that he has supporters who are coming to his home turf in the midst of the Ukraine war.
Among the many events on Thursday, an address by the U.N. Secretary- General, Antonio Guterres. His invite to the BRICS summit drew criticism from Ukraine's government.
Its foreign ministry posted the Statement X reading, The U.N. Secretary-General declined Ukraine's invitation to the first global peace summit in Switzerland. He did, however, accept the invitation to Kazan from war criminal Putin. This is a wrong choice that does not advance the cause of peace. It only damages the U.N.'s reputation.
Broadly speaking, a U.N. spokesperson said this visit comes after last year's BRICS gathering in South Africa, adding its standard to attend meetings where there are large numbers of important member states like G7 and G20.
[04:50:00]
Guterres did address the war in Ukraine and the violence in the Middle East, but the remarks very general. Let's listen.
ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY-GENERAL: We need peace in Gaza with an immediate ceasefire. We need peace in Lebanon with an immediate cessation of hostilities. We need peace in Lebanon with an immediate cessation of hostilities, moving to the full implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701.
We need peace in Ukraine, a just peace in line with U.N. Charter, international law, and General Assembly resolutions.
STEWART: A big part of this gathering was for Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to promote a message that there are other world views besides the United States and its allies. Putin has touted BRICS as part of a, quote, New World Order, but denies it is an anti-Western alliance.
Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: A summit of Commonwealth nations is underway in Samoa. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and King Charles are facing controversy, though, over a dark chapter in the country's colonial past. A number of countries are asking for reparations for hundreds of years of slavery.
MACFARLANE: Starmer has publicly rejected reparations and pulled out an apology at the summit. The King says no one can change the past, but he committed to correcting enduring inequalities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING CHARLES III, UNITED KINGDOM: I understand from listening to people across the Commonwealth how the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate. It is vital, therefore, that we understand our history to guide us to make the right choices in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: A crucially no apology there, which is what the Caribbean countries wanted. And the reason he can't apologize is because that would open the way to legal claims for reparations, which is why, and it's in the government's power to do that. And then Starmer saying there will be no reparations, being very clear about it.
MACFARLANE: But why not at least issue an apology? I mean, that is something that previous monarchs have done.
FOSTER: It makes you, it's an admission of guilt in court, presumably.
MACFARLANE: It's something that the Netherlands King did last year.
FOSTER: Yes, maybe there's a different legal setup there, but it's, I think the royal family, frankly, have become this touchpoint for this issue because of the difficulty in handling it.
MACFARLANE: Yes.
Well, they're wrapping up an 11-day tour in Australia and Samoa. It's obviously the first major foreign trip since his cancer diagnosis earlier this year.
FOSTER: The New York Jets and Los Angeles Dodgers are preparing for an epic showdown when the World Series kicks off on Friday.
MACFARLANE: Ticket prices have reached record highs as fans scramble to see the two teams face off for the first time since 1981. CNN's Natasha Chen has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATASHA CHEN, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): East versus West, Shohei Ohtani versus Aaron Judge. It's the dream matchup 43 years in the making.
MIGUEL JIMENEZ, KADI PROMOTIONS: Because it's Yankees versus Tigers. You know, nobody want to miss this game.
CHEN (voice-over): Miguel Jimenez is a ticket reseller in Los Angeles. With high rolling clients hoping to score seats.
JIMENEZ: What kind of ticket you're looking for?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this case, I'm just looking for the best deal. Whatever the best deal is.
JIMENEZ: OK, you know the cheapest tickets, 1,100.
CHEN (voice-over): Seats closer to the action are going for thousands, the most expensive tickets to a World Series ever. Jimenez says that's partly because prices in general have jumped since the pandemic, but also because of who's playing.
CHEN: The interest in this epic World Series matchup between an East and West Coast team from the two largest metro areas in the U. S. really extends beyond our borders to countries where fans may have historically rooted for the Yankees.
JIMENEZ: Just to let you know, in Mexico, 80 percent of the population go for Yankees. A lot of people, the north side of Mexico, they go for Tigers.
CHEN (voice-over): Gary Lee, founder of the Dodgers Nation fan site, says similarly in Japan after World War II, there had been a tradition of rooting for the Yankees, but now Shohei Ohtani is their nation's superstar.
GARY LEE, FOUNDER, DODGERS NATION: Shohei turning into a Dodger right now, and then having to face the Yankees, this is going to be, this is going to be some discussions between grandpa and his grandkids at the dinner table.
CHEN (voice-over): Fans from Japan poured into L.A. during the regular season to see Ohtani play, staying in L.A.'s Little Tokyo where businesses have seen way more customers this season.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We thought we ordered enough, but then people, you know, the word got out, and all of a sudden they're here all the time. When he hit the 50-50, when he broke the record, tons of people just swarmed downtown just to celebrate.
CHEN (voice-over): Very different dynamic than the last Dodgers World Series appearance in 2020 when the pandemic prevented most fans from attending any of the games played in Texas rather than at the teams home stadiums.
LEE: That feeling, we didn't get a parade, nothing. You know, it was more of like a, yay, we won, you know, stay home, you know, keep your masks on.
[04:55:00]
CHEN (voice-over): This time, the series starts in Los Angeles and people are seizing the moment even if many can't afford a seat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the classic clown face, you know, a little bit of pin striping, bring car culture into it.
CHEN (voice-over): They're buying merchandise and treats with cultural touches, the way only a melting pot of a city can do.
DEANNA DUCTOC, OWNER, LOS ANGELITOS BAKERY: It's even more meaningful because we're bringing our culture and what we love and part of our city together.
CHEN (voice-over): Natasha Chen, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Thank you for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster.
MACFARLANE: I'm Christina Macfarlane. CNN "THIS MORNING" is up after this quick break. Stay with us.
FOSTER: Have a great weekend.
MACFARLANE: Could do with one of those cookies.
