Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Obama to Rally for Harris in Pittsburgh; Hurricane-Spawned Tornado Destroys Homes in Fort Myers; Hurricane Milton Leaves 3.3 Million People Without Power Across Florida; Sean Diddy Combs' Sex Trafficking Trial Set for May 5. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired October 10, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Vice President Harris is calling an old friend for a little help on the campaign trail. Former President Obama, who is set to rally support for her in Pittsburgh later today. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is here with more on this.

All right, what does this move mean for the Harris campaign?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're going into high gear. This is the final stretch of the election, so they're willing to get all the help they can get, including from one of the party's most popular figures, if not the most popular figure, former President Barack Obama. So he is, last time we saw him was the Democratic National Convention, where he gave a rousing speech for the vice president, who, as you mentioned, is an old friend.

They have been acquaintances for over 20 years. And so now he's going to be hitting the campaign trail for her. He did do a fundraiser, but that was behind closed doors. He raked in millions. Then this will be in Pennsylvania, and it's going to be the first of a blitz, where he will be going to multiple states to try to rally voters and get out the vote.

This is the part of the election that we're in now. When you talk to Harris campaign officials, it's not just about the fundraising. It's also about getting people mobilized, energized to go out and go to the polls.

[15:35:00]

So that is partially why he is going out there. And it's not just for the vice president. This is also for down-ballot candidates. He is also going to be helping those candidates get their messages out. So this is really a mobilizing of the Democratic Party. His aides say it's a, quote, all-hands-on-deck moment.

So that is certainly what we're going to see, both with his appearance today and moving forward. And of course, it is Pennsylvania. That is a crucial state. Just about every pathway that they have looked at includes Pennsylvania. So him kicking it off there is notable.

And with news today as well that the Harris campaign has accepted to participate in a town hall with CNN later this month, too.

So certainly the focus here is going to be to get voters out to the polls, knowing that we are in the final weeks of this election season.

KEILAR: You certainly energized people during the convention. It will be really interesting to see how these events play out. Priscilla, thank you so much for the update. We appreciate it.

And ahead, for more of our coverage from Hurricane Milton, when we come back, we are taking you to a town just miles from where the monster storm made landfall.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Back out here live on Treasure Island, Florida. We are continuing to monitor the latest developments with Hurricane Milton and the extent of damage caused by this very powerful storm.

Again, going back to last weekend, we were talking about a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico. It wound up becoming a powerful Category 5 storm. One of the top 10 most powerful storms ever recorded in the Atlantic Basin as it got closer and closer to Florida's coast. It did slightly lessen in wind speed, but it still packed a very powerful punch, especially considering storm surge.

And this was an area that just two weeks ago had been hard hit by Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm that left damage from the Big Bend region all the way down to the southwestern part of the state. One that, as of two years ago, had to be rebuilding because of a powerful storm, Hurricane Ian, which decimated some areas, including where we will head to next.

Let's go live now to Carlos Suarez, who's in Fort Myers Beach for us. Carlos, you had been showing us damage there that had been caused not only by Hurricane Milton, but by Hurricane Ian years ago. Some adjustments that had been made to that community that now were again destroyed.

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Boris. So we are in the town of Fort Myers Beach, which just reopened to residents a few hours ago. A day after a 5 to 6 foot storm surge just pushed in from the Gulf of Mexico.

Piles of sand and debris really covered the area out here. And of course, a number of businesses were damaged by all of this, including this one right here. You can see this outdoor refrigerator where it came to a stop at the entrance of this restaurant. The owner of the place tells me that they got about a half a foot of flooding inside the restaurant, but that they're otherwise in pretty good shape.

Boris, the more intense, dramatic damage that we've seen in Lee County was in Fort Myers, where two hurricanes hit yesterday afternoon. We were in one neighborhood earlier today where we saw just home after home that had their roof torn apart, their windows blown out.

The good news at that location is that no one that we talked to, at least, was seriously hurt. That second hurricane, that second tornado, touched down in north Fort Myers, and there was some damage there.

But as you were talking about, Boris, this part of Fort Myers Beach, really, the folks here are breathing somewhat of a sigh of relief because two years ago, when Hurricane Ian made landfall here in southwest Florida, the storm surge was north of 10 feet.

And so folks were really concerned going into yesterday that we were going to see that kind of flooding. Remember that the initial forecast was calling for anywhere between 8 to 12 feet of a storm surge. That would have brought the flooding out here to the same levels that we saw two years ago.

And Boris, as you also made a reference, a lot of Fort Myers Beach remains untouched two years after Hurricane Ian because folks are still in the process of trying to rebuild out here, and now they're dealing with yet another hurricane, and they've got to figure out exactly what they want to do next -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it is a long road ahead for folks. Carlos Suarez, thank you so much for that update.

Here in Treasure Island, Florida, we were also fortunate to see less of a storm surge than was initially predicted. Just two days ago, we were talking about the potential for a 10 to 12 foot storm surge in this barrier island. This is right on the Gulf Coast of Florida, so you've got the ocean on one side, you've got a bay on the other. We're talking about again, over a foot of rainfall.

Fortunately, this community was spared from the worst, and some of this debris from Hurricane Helene appears to be relatively unmoved. There were concerns that some of this stuff might fly up and become projectiles. It does not appear that that has happened, and as you can see behind me, slowly but surely, residents and business owners are starting to come back in.

[15:45:00]

We were watching some residents take off some boards that had been put up in front of their business. It appears that they are ready for things to return to normalcy. Obviously though, that is going to be a challenge across the state, given the devastation from Hurricane Milton.

Still plenty more news to come from the Sunshine State. Stay with CNN. We're back in just moments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRENDA COLEMAN, TAMPA RESIDENT: The hurricane and the water, it just kept rising and I've been here 14 years and I've never seen it get this high.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're a little emotional, yes. Stressful?

COLEMAN: Yes, a little bit. Sorry.

I've always, as the owners probably know, I always try to treat this like it's mine. See, this is hard. Sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are the customers here?

COLEMAN: Most of them have been good. I've had a couple that were kind of upset, but at the end of it, they're like, they know that there's nothing I can do that it is nature.

So, we just had to hold together and make sure everybody was safe and I got most of the guests that were on the first floor to a higher floor. So that everybody was safe. And then I had the couple that stayed here with my mom and I so that we wouldn't be down here by ourselves.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: New developments in the racketeering and sex trafficking case against Sean Diddy Combs. Just moments ago, the rapper was in court where the judge set a date for his trial, and CNN's Kara Scannell is outside of the courthouse. Kara, tell us what happened.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, Brianna, the judge has set a May 5th trial date for Sean Diddy Combs to face those charges of racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation, prostitution. Now, Diddy was in court today. He entered the courtroom wearing a jail-issued outfit, a khaki long-sleeved shirt, pants. He was also shackled at the ankles.

His family members were in the courtroom, his mother and most of his children. He had waved to them, blew a kiss to his mother, and one of his sons had raised and flexed his arm, his bicep, as though to show a sign of strength.

Now this hearing was mostly about procedural issues, working through some of the evidence in the case. Prosecutors said they collected 96 devices back in that March search of Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami, and when they searched him on his person, they said he'd begun going through them, encrypting some of them, and giving them back to the defense. That will take some time.

You know, there are going to be some motions in this case. One of those was addressed today. Now, if the judge does not need them back in court, the next time we will see Combs back in court will be in December -- Brianna.

KEILAR: And this comes after his legal team made some pretty stunning accusations, Kara, about that now infamous video of Combs beating his former girlfriend as she tried to leave a hotel room. What exactly are they saying?

SCANNELL: Yes, that was one of the issues that was teed up yesterday for this hearing today, and that's what they spent a lot of time on in the courtroom. Combs' attorneys had asked for an investigation into leaks, saying that they believe the government alerted the press, not only of the video, but also of the searches at his homes in March. But this video is something that prosecution said that there's no need for this.

They have said that they did not obtain this video until after CNN has aired it. Obviously, we're CNN. We have declined to comment on these allegations, but the prosecution said that they did not have this until after it was already made public by us, and that there's no need for an investigation. They said this is just an attempt to try to keep a damning piece of evidence out of this case.

Now the judge said he is not going to decide today on whether they should have a hearing. He's going to let the sides file their legal briefs and their legal arguments on this.

But one thing that Combs' lawyers did ask for is what they called a gag order. They want the prosecution to be stopped from talking about any grand jury evidence in this case or any non-public evidence. Now prosecutors never really discussed that publicly before a trial, and the judge said, in fact, that because that is the rule, he said, is there any harm in imposing this?

The prosecutor had asked us to make it reciprocal to stop Combs' lawyers from saying anything more about any of the evidence in this case. They cited an interview that Combs' lawyer had given to TMZ in which he suggested that the government was trying to -- he accuse the government of making a takedown of a successful Black man. They said they wanted him to stop talking about that.

Combs' lawyer said that if this does go into place, these restrictions on statements, he would abide by it. So the judge asked him to draft what this order would be, send it to him, and he would sign it. So we will learn in the coming days exactly the contours of what they're prevented from saying -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Alright, we'll look for that. Kara Scannell, live for us from New York, thank you.

And stay with CNN, we have much more of our special coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, live from Florida, right after this short break.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Welcome back to our breaking news coverage of Hurricane Milton. Florida officials saying the state was spared the worst of the storm, but deaths are being reported coast to coast, more than half of them from tornadoes. The roof of Tropicana Field, you see it here, it is shredded. That

stadium was actually supposed to be a base camp for emergency responders, and the flooding has been immense -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes, there's no question, Brianna, Tampa got upwards of a foot of rainfall in just about a day. Plus, on top of that, you got the storm surge in some areas. It made for some really impressive scenes, and also some impressive rescues, too.

The Sheriff of Hillsborough County posted this video to social media earlier, showing a 14-year-old boy that they rescued earlier today. The Sheriff, Chad Chronister, was on with us earlier and talked to us about saving this young man. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF CHAD CHRONISTER, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA (via phone): He was waving us down, flagging us down. Most people were saying hello. He was frantically wailing his arms.

We went over, and it literally was like a scene out of a castaway movie, how he's hanging on for dear life.

[16:00:00]

His mom evacuated him to a safer area last night. He was walking home. Didn't realize the water was going to get as flooded as deep as it did, and he's not a good swimmer, and hence the rescue. And he was visibly shaken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Yes, that young man, extremely lucky. Some 200 rescues conducted in Hillsborough County alone. Others, not quite as lucky. At least nine people confirmed dead from Hurricane Milton here in Florida.

We'll hand it over to "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper, which starts right now.

END