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Jennifer Lopez Campaigns With Harris In Las Vegas; U.S. Election Hot Topic On Chinese Social Media; Israel Launches New Strikes In Several Parts Of Lebanon; North Korean Troops Preparing For Ukraine War; Spain Floods Death Toll Soars To At Least 158. Voters Trust Trump more than Harris on Economy; Pro-Palestinian Heckler Interrupts Radiohead Singer's Show; Hello Kitty Turns 50. Aired 1- 1:42a ET

Aired November 01, 2024 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:27]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome, everyone. Appreciate your company. I'm Michael Holmes. Coming up here on CNN Newsroom, Kamala Harris leans into more star power, holding a rally with J-Lo in Las Vegas, courting the Latino vote.

Donald Trump also in search of Latino support with campaign stops in New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona and more positive numbers on the U.S. economy. I'll speak with an expert about why voters still think Trump is best on that issue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN Newsroom with Michael Holmes.

HOLMES: Well, with four days to go before Election Day, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is enlisting some more star power to get her message out to voters in the battleground state of Nevada.

Just moments ago, Harris wrapping up her speech at a rally in Las Vegas, where she was joined on stage by the actress and singer Jennifer Lopez. The vice president speaking to an enthusiastic crowd, telling them it is time for a change in America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: And we will win. We will win. Because here's what I believe. When you know what you stand for, you know what to fight for. And we all know we have an opportunity in this election to turn the page on a decade of Donald Trump trying to keep us divided and afraid of each other. We're done with that. We're done. We're exhausted with it.

And we know that is who he is. That is who he is. But Las Vegas, that is not who we are. That is not who we are. And it is time for a new generation of leadership in America. And I am ready to offer that leadership as the next president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, the appearance by Jennifer Lopez came just days after a comedian so called at a Donald Trump rally sparked outrage by describing Puerto Rico as a floating island of garbage. The Puerto Rican superstar referenced the tasteless joke when speaking to the crowd, saying it wasn't just Puerto Ricans who were offended, it was Latinos and all of humanity.

Now, shortly before bringing Harris onto stage, Lopez encouraged the crowd to get out and vote, saying, this election is about choice, a choice between going backwards and moving forward, she said, and between a nation divided or united.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER LOPEZ, ACTOR/SINGER: Kamala Harris is running for the people who dream for the parents working overtime, the kids studying by streetlight, the teenagers practicing in the basement. She's the only candidate that wants to raise the minimum wage and make college more affordable, keep the Department of Education and even put a teacher in the vice president's job.

That's right. On the other hand, her opponent wants to kill the Affordable Care Act and eliminate the Department of Education.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, earlier I spoke with political analyst Luis Alvarado and asked him about the impact of these celebrity endorsements on the Harris campaign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUIS ALVARADO, POLITICAL ANALYST: When it comes to J-Lo, she has duplicity because besides being Puerto Rican, she played Selena in the movie, and that endeared her with the Mexican American community, which is the majority of Las Vegas. And she also happened to have Tigres del Norte, which is Mexican folk music, our version of country. And she had Mana, which is a Spanish rock.

So you have the universe of Latino conglomerates, of all the different frequencies, supporting Kamala Harris. And then you look at the other side, the contrast, you see Donald Trump is only Donald Trump, you know.

HOLMES: Yes, you know, let's talk about that. You know, when it comes to those comments by that comedian about Puerto Rico being a floating island of garbage and Trump's own comments about migrants throughout this campaign, how much has he hurt himself at a time when he had been trying to successfully court so many Latinos?

[01:05:06]

ALVARADO: He hurts himself greatly. As we all know, it's the swing states that everybody's looking at. And when you come to one of the biggest swing states, which is Pennsylvania, 50 percent of all the Latinos in Pennsylvania come from Puerto Rico.

So when you insult Puerto Rico, you do two things. Obviously, you influence those who really didn't care about the election that much. And then for those that do support Kamala Harris, you light a fire behind them and you create effervescence and you get people to come out and vote. It doesn't matter if it's 2 hours standing in line or 6 hours in standing in line, they're going to have that energy behind them to ensure that their vote counts.

HOLMES: Yes. Because there's been a lot of talk about, you know, the apparent split of the Latino vote between Harris and Trump. I mean, when you look at Trump in the fullness of everything, his promise to deport perhaps millions of mainly Latino migrants and so on, how do you see that split now and the motivation of those who do support Donald Trump?

ALVARADO: You know, when we look at the demographics and the polling, what we're seeing is that the Latinos that are supporting Donald Trump usually come from Cuban descent, Miami type, Colombian types. That people who feel that they want an authoritarian president, which is mostly uncollege educated males in the blue collar industries, who really just want to see the system go down in flames, they want to send the bull into the China shop, and they really don't understand the process or they don't understand how it's going to affect them.

When you see the Democrats, the Latinos that are supporting Kamala Harris, which I have to remind you, she's still for Latinos, very new onto the scene to most Americans, and that includes Latinos, because she's actually never been someone who grasped the headlines. Right. She's always been in the story, but we haven't known who she is until now. And Donald Trump, everybody knows who Donald Trump is for the last 20 plus years.

HOLMES: Yes.

ALVARADO: So we're still trying to understand what we want. And Latinos specifically who are going to Donald Trump are pretty much stuck there. And that needle doesn't move that much. Kamala Harris had to move that needle a lot. And I think she's done a great job of doing that. Not to the point where Democrats feel comfortable, because we all see the polls are very close to each other. And that's why everybody's fighting for every Latino vote right now, because they still are one of the most persuadable voters in the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: That was Luis Alvarado, a Latino political and media consultant, speaking with me last hour. Now, Donald Trump, meanwhile, hitting three key battleground states on Thursday, including stops in New Mexico and Nevada. He also campaigned in Arizona, where the former president made remarks at a right-wing personality, Tucker Carlson's live tour event. It was quite something.

On the campaign trail, Trump urging Hispanic and Latino voters to turn out for him. But he spent much of his time on stage attacking Kamala Harris personally along with other Democrats, while defending his supporters and making completely untrue claims about the state of U.S. cities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Look at how they've treated you. They treat you. They do treat you like garbage. They really do. For the last nine years, Kamala and her party have called us racists, bigots, fascists, deplorables, irredeemables, even Nazis. And now I'm being accused of being Hitler by these lunatics out there that have lost control of our country. Our country is a -- were riddled with crime. Every city, you take a look at it's falling apart. They smell, they're dirty, they're criminal ridden. You take a look at what's happened to our great cities. It's a shame.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Donald Trump there, speaking about his own country. Trump falsely claimed also that he won New Mexico in the 2016 and 2020 elections. That's a lie. He lost by wide margins to Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. That was just one of a string of lies the Republican presidential candidate told throughout his day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And now, of course, what's happening is you go towns and cities all over the country. You can't have a hospital anyway because the migrants have literally taken over the beds, they've taken over the schools, they've taken over -- your son has a seat in school and he no longer has it because a migrant is giving -- they're giving them. Actually, they're saying, you go first, the migrants go first. Migrants go first.

[01:10:04]

Look at, look at what's happening. Look at what's happening all over the country. The schools are bursting at the seams, the hospitals are a disaster. You go to the hospital, you have a problem, you can't get in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Quite the soundbite there, wasn't it? Well, relations between the U.S. and China, the world's two largest economies, have a significant influence on the world. So how do the Chinese people and their government view this upcoming U.S. presidential election?

Well, let's try to find out. CNN's Marc Stewart joins me now from Beijing with more. You live and work in Beijing, Marc. I mean, in your interactions, your day to day life, what is the feeling among Chinese citizens about this election? Is there interest?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Michael, it's good to see you. Look, people ask me all the time, who do I think is going to win as an American, who am I supporting? So the curiosity level is certainly very high. Yet at the same time, Chinese families have their own set of concerns. They're worried about the economy, they're worried about their children, they're worried about their health. So the election is just part of a broader set of issues.

I do want to show with share with you though some of the responses we got when we talked to everyday people on the streets here in Beijing. Let's take a closer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I know about it, but I don't pay too much attention to it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I don't think it will have any impact on our life here. To us ordinary Chinese people, whoever becomes a president, whether it's candidate A or candidate B, it's all the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: It's all the same, said that gentleman. Also a lot of response on social media, in fact, perhaps even more candid than what we found on the streets. Let me show you some of the reactions we're seeing on some of the social media outlets here in China.

One person saying the U.S. is about to split, another person saying doesn't matter who it is, their containment of China won't ease. And yet another response contrasting the political landscape here. There's no perfect system, but at least they allow people to question them.

Michael, social media is heavily censored here in China, but the U.S. election and some of the discord, some of the ups and downs, that is one topic that the government does not seem to interfere with. Michael.

HOLMES: All right, good wrap up there. Thanks for giving us some insights in your new home. Marc Stewart in Beijing. Appreciate it.

Coming up on the program, Israel hammers Lebanon with a series of new airstrikes. We'll have details on that.

Plus, Spain hit with one of its worst weather disasters in decades. We'll get an update from Valencia on the deadly unprecedented floods. We'll be right back.

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[01:15:00]

HOLMES: To the Middle East and new attacks in Lebanon. According to Lebanese state media, the Israeli military targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut overnight for the first time in more than a week. That assault reportedly causing massive destruction with dozens of buildings leveled.

On Thursday, Israeli strikes hit near the historic eastern city of Baalbek for a second straight day. Also in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese caretaker prime minister says a deal to end the violence between Israel and Hezbollah could be in the final stages, perhaps this week. U.S. officials are making a big diplomatic push to halt the regional violence.

The CIA director has also been attending peace talks in Cairo, where it's believed they're discussing a new proposal from Qatar, Israel and the U.S. which calls for a month long ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the release of some hostages.

But sources say the U.S. doubts there will be any pause in fighting in Gaza before Tuesday's election as Israel wants to wait out and see who the next president will be.

Now, last hour, I spoke with the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. And I asked Michael Fakhri to describe what he's seen in Gaza in terms of hunger, Israel's responsibility for it and the growing humanitarian crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL FAKHRI, U.N. SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE RIGHT TO FOOD: What we're seeing in Gaza today is nothing less than horror and devastation. Israel announced its Starvation campaign on October 9, 2023. It's continued for over a year now, starving the Palestinian people. Not only does it deny and restrict humanitarian aid, Israeli forces have attacked humanitarian convoys and killed civilians seeking humanitarian aid. More so, Israel is destroying the food system in Gaza so that over 90 percent of the local food system has been destroyed over the last year.

HOLMES: Israel, of course, and I know you've spoken about this as well, Israel has had a profound, pretty much complete control of what gets into Gaza. But the thing is, it's not new. Israel has long controlled, and some say in a very calculated way, how much food is let in. Well before this war, right?

FAKHRI: Indeed. So Israel first started restricting the movement of goods and people in 1991 and starting in 2000 imposed a blockade. And so it's controlled very closely what goes in. Starting around 2007, what Israel started to do was actually count the number of calories it would allow into Gaza and then measure that against the number of adults and children in Gaza.

And what Israel wanted to do was to make sure everyone was hungry, but just hungry enough, but not so hungry as to raise international humanitarian alarm bells such that by 2023, October 6, 50 percent of Palestinians in Gaza were hungry and over 80 percent relied on humanitarian aid. This was all closely calculated by Israel for years.

HOLMES: And when we get today, now, what we see all throughout Gaza, and particularly in the north at the moment, in your position as rapporteur on the Right to Food, as you watch what's happening in Gaza when it comes to food and the apparent lack of influence the outside world has had on changing that, I mean, how frustrated are you? FAKHRI: There's nothing left to say. I mean, we raised the alarm of

starvation and genocide over a year ago. And we, me and other independent human rights experts in the U.N. system have appeared before the General Assembly. We've appeared before the World Committee on Food Security, before the Security Council, before the Human Rights Council. We've brought loads of evidence reporting. We've received witness testimony. We're watching children die from malnutrition and dehydration. We're watching the complete obliteration of Gaza.

And yet nothing is stopping Israel because its allies are allowing it to continue. Namely, the United States continues to send money and weapons to Israel, so Israel has no incentive to stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: That was Michael Fakhri, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.

North Korean troops are headed for the fight against Ukrainians in probably just a matter of days. That's from the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who spoke alongside U.S. And South Korean officials on Thursday. As Oren Liebermann reports, the U.S. says it is seeing clear signs that North Koreans are gearing up for battle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: In a meeting between the U.S. Secretaries of State and Defense and their South Korean counterparts, the U.S. went further than it's ever gone before in talking about North Korean troops and their involvement not only with Russia, but in the war in Ukraine.

[01:20:07]

In a matter of days here, the U.S. went from saying there were 3,000 North Korean troops training in Russia to saying there are 10,000, including 8,000 of those of whom are near or in the Kursk region of Russia, where the Ukrainians have conducted a successful offensive and seized some Russian territory there.

Now Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying it is only a matter of days, quote, in the coming days that we expect to see North Korean troops involved in the fighting and the war in Ukraine. He also went further than that to talk about the type of training they have received. And that makes it very clear they are becoming part of Russia's war machine.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Russia has been training DPRK soldiers in artillery, UAVs, basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, indicating that they fully intend to use these forces in frontline operations.

LIEBERMANN: With the South Korean ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs here, North Korea making their displeasure obvious with the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile. The longest flight time we have seen, nearly 90 minutes from North Korea here. It's about a year since they last tested and fired off an ICBM here.

So it appears they may be showing one of their more advanced missiles and advanced missile launchers here. The U.S. and South Korea watching this very closely and making it clear there will be some form of response and deep intelligence sharing and cooperation on that front as well.

The U.S. and South Korea carrying out a large scale aerial exercise following that launch, more than 100 advanced fighter jets from the U.S., from South Korea. So making it clear there will be military cooperation when North Korea carries out these sorts of tests with South Korean officials here.

Both the U.S. and South Korea here said they'd like to see more engagement from the Chinese on trying to get the North Koreans to step back. But so far, all South Korea is saying is that China is waiting and watching. Oren Liebermann, CNN, in the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: More than 150 people are now confirmed dead in Spain after heavy rains and flash flooding. Incredible images there on your screens right now. This is all after a year's worth of rainfall came down in just a matter of hours earlier this week, causing rivers to overflow and course through entire towns, doing immense damage.

Emergency workers are working to rescue those still trapped, while operations are also now underway to recover bodies and clear that enormous amount of debris. Atika Shubert reports from the worst hit region.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATIKA SHUBERT, JOURNALIST (voice-over): A dramatic rescue in Spain's Valencia region, a young baby hoisted to safety from the floodwaters below. With the country still reeling from the worst flooding in decades, emergency services are still battling to find survivors. As the water subsides the scale of the damage here is only starting to be revealed.

The littered vehicles piled up like garbage, an indication of the ferocity of the floodwater that tore through these streets. A massive cleanup operation now underway as many remain without power or water. Many roads are totally blocked, hampering relief efforts.

As residents pick their way through what is left of their towns, now slick with mud, one question remains. How could this happen? So much water so fast, with seemingly very little warning from authorities.

SHUBERT: Now, this area, La Torre, is actually very close to Valencia City and it is also very close to the river. The water is just swept right through here. And many people here have told us they didn't get the alert until it was too late.

ADAN, RESIDENT OF LA TORRE (through translator): The problem is the alarm on the phone came really late at night. I saw on the TV the cars floating on a nearby street and I thought the water must be coming my way. I went out onto the balcony and I saw the wave coming.

SHUBERT (voice-over): The death toll here is expected to rise as recovery teams scour for bodies. Many, like this woman, searching the streets for their loved ones. The Spanish prime minister visiting the region Thursday warned the threat from the storm was not over yet.

PEDRO SANCHEZ, SPANISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): To the citizens who live in the provinces of Valencia and also Castellon, please, the damage continues and please stay home.

SHUBERT (voice-over): The severity of the flood seemed to catch everyone out, with a year's worth of rain falling in just a few hours in some places, according to Spain's meteorological office. But many still asking why in a developed and advanced country like this one could more people be saved? Atika Shubert, CNN, at La Torre, Valencia, Spain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: The deadly flooding was so intense that satellite imagery now shows parts of Valencia almost disappearing into the sea. CNN meteorologist Chad Myers looks at how it happened. What's next? And also tells us about a monster typhoon that just hit Taiwan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[01:25:07]

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely devastating pictures there out of Spain. Some spots in Spain picked up more rainfall in one day than they usually get in a year. It was a cut off low, a low pressure system that just sat over Spain and did not move. And if we had a desert over here instead of the Mediterranean Sea that would not have been a problem. The this happens all the time in California. But we don't have a warm Mediterranean Ocean, Mediterranean Sea to move all of that moisture from the water onto the land. And boy was there moisture almost 500 millimeters in just eight hours.

So a half of a meter, 18 to 19 inches of rainfall in eight hours. The before and the after. Closer to the cities here you'll see what is normally a dry river was certainly not a dry river. This was where the water was just pouring out of the mountains. Closer in here you can see the grass. Sometimes there's not any water in it at all. But then boy there was just a couple of days ago this water came roaring down.

And here you've seen the roads with the cars that have been clogged. Here's the road here. A little bit farther to the north is where all those cars were parked and the river finally going down a little bit. But all of that mud where those people were stranded.

Now we will get a little bit of rain. We're still going to get 50 to 100 millimeters more of rain, maybe an inch and a half. Some spots maybe up to 2 to 3, but not really centered on where the flooding was down here. A little bit farther to the north, maybe closer to Barcelona, a little bit to the east of there. All the way around the globe as we go to Taiwan. Here's Kong-Rey. A

200 kilometer per hour wind event that slammed into the east coast of Taiwan during the day. The rainfall came down, the eye came right over. The wind speeds were somewhere around 200kph.

Now the thing is dying off. As it hit the land obviously we've lost a lot of humidity, lost a lot of moisture and a lot of spin. But we talk about 500 millimeters in Spain. 1.2 meters already reported from this storm in parts of Taiwan. Now it will move away from Taiwan.

It'll even give a little bit of rain to Shanghai, maybe even some more rain on up toward Kyushu and toward. I would even say Tokyo could pick up a couple hundred millimeters mainly on the west side of Japan, but certainly not out of the question of more rainfall to come. Even if the wind is only tropical storm force, maybe even 50 kilometers per hour, it'll still be a rain event.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now thanks to Chad Myers there. All right, we'll take a quick break. When we come back on the program, with only days left until the election, new data continues to show the U.S. economy is strong. But will that make any difference in the voting booth? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:30:14]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: We are now in the final (INAUDIBLE) of course of the 2024 U.S. presidential race.

A short time ago, Vice President Kamala Harris, wrapping up her Las Vegas rally with superstar Jennifer Lopez. The event is part of the closing push to get out the vote as early voting ends in Nevada. CNN polls show Harris and Trump are effectively tied in the state.

During the rally, Harris continued to cast Trump as increasingly unstable and repeated her support for eliminating taxes on tips for service workers.

Meanwhile, former president Donald Trump, sprinted through the southwest on Thursday, speaking with Tucker Carlson in Arizona and holding rallies in Nevada and New Mexico.

At the event in Albuquerque, Trump said his rally was aimed at boosting his credentials with Hispanic and Latino voters. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I'm only here for one reason. They all said don't come. I said why. You can't win New Mexico. I said, look, your votes are rigged. We can win New Mexico. So I'm here for one simple reason. I like you very much and it's good for my credentials with the Hispanic or Latino community. You know, in the East Coast, they like to be called Hispanics, do you know that? On the West Coast they like being called Latinos.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, one of the top issues on voters' minds is the economy and we are seeing more positive signs that the economy in the U.S. is strengthening, getting better and better on multiple fronts. New data showing inflation continues to slow and has almost reached the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target.

Incomes are growing and Americans are spending money fueling economic growth in the third quarter. That's according to Wednesday's GDP report.

But despite all of that positive news, the majority of voters still say they're not happy with the state of the economy. And a recent CNN poll shows that likely voters still trust Trump more than Harris to handle the economy despite how healthy it is. The vice president getting 37 percent compared to 50 for the former president.

Earlier, I spoke with Justin Wolfers, a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan. And I asked him why there's the perception that Trump would somehow be better than Harris on the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN WOLFERS, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: It's important to put this in context. The context is that historically Republicans were the party of business so historically for better or worse, whether it's true or not, American voters have tended to think that Republicans will be better for the economy than Democrats.

What's striking actually is how narrow that differential is in this election. So another way of saying the exact same statistics is that Harris has done a far better job in closing that Republican confidence on the economy lead than any previous Democrat.

And I think part of what's happening here is people are listening to what Trump's policies are. It's absurd to be running for president, having been on the -- on the national political stage for nine years, and your health care policy is quote "concepts of a plan".

It's crazy to be running on a tariff plan and from one speech to the next say 10 percent tariffs and the next say that it's 20 percent tariff. This isn't a plan. This isn't someone who takes the economy seriously.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Our thanks to Justin Wolfers for his analysis. That was last hour. Now, Radiohead's lead singer left the stage during his concert in

Australia after a protest that brought the show to an abrupt halt. A man accusing Thom Yorke of being silent about the war in Gaza.

As Janelle Gonzalez reports, the star of the English rock band had plenty to say in return.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOM YORKE, LEAD SINGER, RADIO HEAD: Come up here and say that right here.

JANELLE GONZALEZ, CNN PRODUCER: During a solo performance in Melbourne, Australia Radiohead singer Thom Yorke walked off stage after being heckled by a pro-Palestinian protester.

YORKE: Come up here and say that right here. Come up on the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and say it to my face. Don't stand there like a coward. Come here and say it.

GONZALEZ: Radiohead has previously come under scrutiny for the band's decision to perform in Tel Aviv in 2017.

[01:34:49]

YORKE: Come on.

Ok. It's true. Go ahead then.

GONZALEZ: Yorke later returned to the stage to perform the 1997 hit Karma Police, according to social media reports.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Janelle Gonzalez reporting there. Radiohead has previously come under scrutiny for the band's decision to perform in Tel Aviv.

Well, a global pop icon is turning 50. Say hello to this Kitty. Just ahead the cute face behind a multi-billion-dollar global franchise getting older.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, James Bond movies are full of cars that played starring roles right along with the actors like this Rolls Royce Phantom from "Goldfinger".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Many people have tried to involve themselves in my affairs, unsuccessfully.

SEAN CONNERY, ACTOR: Remarkable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: You think that's remarkable. Check out this new Rolls Royce Phantom called Goldfinger.

The company created the one-of-a-kind modern vehicle to honor the classic movie's 60th anniversary. It took three years to complete for an anonymous client. The car, full of Bond-worthy gadgets, most of them in gold, of course.

No word if you could get your hands on one or how much gold that would set you back.

And a pop icon is turning 50 today and this superstar is still as cute as the day she was born. Hello Kitty ushered in a half-century of kawaii culture, which is Japanese for, what else, "cute".

CNN's Hanako Montgomery has more now from Tokyo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In this sea of Hello Kitty, it's hard for superfan Asako Kanda to pick a favorite.

Like many fans before he2re Kanda was drawn to Hello Kitty as a child. Her collection's grown a bit since then.

So this Hello Kitty is a special Hello Kitty that's celebrating her 50th birthday and she's wearing a tartan because Hello Kitty herself is actually British.

She loves them all like family. Getting rid of any is out of the question.

ASAKO KANDA, HELLO KITTY SUPERFAN, (through translator): She's the one constant in my life. My love for Hello Kitty has never wavered.

MONTGOMERY: With her iconic red bow and (INAUDIBLE) charm Hello Kitty has captivated generations of fans. In her 50 years, she's been a United Nations ambassador, met global stars, and even picked up some sports.

[01:39:49]

MONTGOMERY: All while taking Japan's kawaii or cute culture from niche to worldwide.

And her hard work paid off. Worth $80 billion Hello Kitty is the second highest grossing franchise in the world according to TitleMax. Not bad for a little girl -- yes, you heard that right -- that only weighs three apples and is five apples tall.

But Hello Kitty hasn't always been this popular. After her 1974 debut on a small coin purse, Hello Kitty merchandise sales slumped until parent company Sanrio hired designer Yuko Yamaguchi six years later who turned to fans for help.

YUKO YAMAGUCHI, HELLO KITTY DESIGNER (through translator): They told it was only the same stuff and that she wasn't stylish anymore. So I added new trends and made her more like everyone else and gradually sales started to improve.

MONTGOMERY: Since then, she's expanded Hello Kittys World, giving the character new clothes skills, and broadening her fan base to adults.

After decades together Yamaguchi says her bond with Kitty has evolved from friend to alter ego to talent to manager.

YAMAGUCHI: Now, I feel like the two of us are working together to bring happiness to others. It's our way of giving back to all the fans who love and support Kitty.

MONTGOMERY: As for their striking resemblance, Yamaguchi says Kitty is the copycat.

YAMAGUCHI: Because I was born before her.

MONTGOMERY: Hello Kitty may be small, but her impact on the world is anything but.

Hanako Montgomery, CNN -- Tokyo.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, a scary creature visited the Nasdaq Stock Exchange after the market closed on Halloween and it came straight from the horror flick "Terrifier 3".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How can you be sure it was really him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can feel it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who's the Santa? He's scaring my kid.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. He's scaring me too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Santa came with no present.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Does he ever (INAUDIBLE) really? Where's the fun in that. "Art the Clown" as the movie character is called, rang the closing bell on Thursday along with actors Lauren LaVera and movie promoters. Earlier Art roamed the trading floor in his silent but creepy way just like he does in the movie.

The promoters say they were invited to Nasdaq to celebrate the movie's box office success. I've never heard of it. It's raked in more than $50 million apparently since its release in October, becoming the highest grossing unrated movie to hit theaters.

There's so much I don't know.

I'm Michael Holmes. I do know that.

Kim Brunhuber is going to be along at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. I know that as well.

I also know that "WORLD SPORTS" starts after the break. I'll see you tomorrow.

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