Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Milton Strengthens Into Cat 1 Hurricane, Threatening Florida Coast; Interview With NC Woman Stranded During Hurricane Helene, Olivia Cooner; Israel Prepares To Mark One Year Since October 7 Hamas Attacks; Heavy Strikes Pound Beirut As Israel Issues New Evacuation Orders; Harris Gears Up For Busy Week Of High-Profile Interviews; Soon: Trump Holds Rally In The Battleground State of Wisconsin; Israelis Mark One Year Since Horrific Hamas Terror Attacks; Vanderbilt Stuns #1 Alabama In All-Time Upset. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired October 06, 2024 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:00:37]
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome everyone. Thanks for joining me.
I'm Omar Jimenez in for Fredricka Whitfield.
We're going to start today with breaking news because yet another hurricane threat is facing Florida's West Coast. Just moments ago, tropical storm Milton became Category 1 Hurricane Milton and could hit Florida as a Category 3 storm in just a few days.
Now, Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 51 counties ahead of Milton and it could bring devastating storm surge to parts of the state still recovering from Hurricane Helene.
CNN's Rafael Romo joins me. Now Rafael, Helene slammed into Florida just ten days ago. I know you were on the ground covering some of its devastation. Can you tell us what we're learning now ahead of this potential impact here.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Omar. Hi.
This is probably going to feel like a one-two punch for many Floridians. In addition to declaring a state of emergency in 51 states, you know, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has ordered management sites to be open 24/7, so that many areas covered by debris after Hurricane Helene can be cleared before the arrival of Milton, which is now, as you mentioned, a Category 1 hurricane.
More than 800 guardsmen are currently deployed for debris removal but DeSantis said there would soon be up to 4,000 available.
Governor DeSantis earlier said that Milton has the potential of causing greater storm surge than Hurricane Helene especially in the Tampa Bay area. That's why DeSantis says this is going to be on all- hands-on deck kind of effort to be as prepared as possible for the storm's arrival. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): We have instructed assets currently assisting in North Carolina and Tennessee to return the necessary equipment and personnel home ahead of Milton's landfall.
So State Guard, National Guard, FWC Highway Patrol, FDLE will be home, manned up, ready to deploy in Florida.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: Governor DeSantis also said that Florida is going to see a lot of power outages and that is something that people should prepare for adding that crews are already getting staged to restore electricity as soon as possible.
His emergency management director warned people that evacuations will be necessary at a level Florida hasn't seen in at least seven years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN GUTHRIE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, FLORIDA DEVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: I urge Floridians to finalize your storm preparations now enact your plan. I highly encourage you to evacuate.
We are preparing and I have the state emergency response team preparing for the largest evacuation that we have seen most likely since 2017, Hurricane Irma.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: At a press conference in Tampa, Florida, Attorney General Ashley Moody went even further, Omar, telling Floridians who ignore evacuation orders that quote, "you probably need to write your name in permanent marker on your arm so that people know who you are when they get to you afterwards."
Other officials say that in the same way that roads flooded with Helene, this new hurricane will probably have the same impact with the added challenge of strong winds, Omar.
JIMENEZ: While dealing with one hurricane is already difficult enough, but coming so soon after Helene, we're going to have to see how this develops.
Rafael Romo, thank you so much.
I want to bring in CNN meteorologist Elisa Raffa. So where is Milton right now?
ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is still sitting in the Gulf of Mexico and that's the problem. It's sitting over very warm ocean waters and that's why it's been able to rapidly intensify over the last 24 hours.
A Category 1 hurricane with 80-mile-per-hour winds, sitting 800 miles away from Tampa Bay. The track continues to keep it over the Gulf of Mexico, those very warm ocean waters, which will let it intensify again to a major Category 3 hurricane.
Then it takes its eyes to the West Coast of Florida somewhere -- landfall could be even somewhere from Cedar Key down towards Naples. We still need to kind of get that bull's eye a little bit closer and you can really determine that storm surge forecast where that eye goes.
But regardless you're looking at impacts when it comes to rain, when it comes to wind for the entire peninsula of Florida.
Now, like I mentioned, we're talking about sea surface temperatures in the middle and upper 80s, incredibly warm. And that's what's allowing Milton to continue to intensify as we've talked about, with so many of our hurricanes so far this season.
[14:04:50]
RAFFA: Now the oceans are so warm in part because our heat from our emissions gets trapped into the oceans, which again, which is what allows this rapid intensification because it's food and fuel for these hurricanes.
We've increased the winds shear with Milton more than 35-miles-per- hour in 24 hours. This happens with 79 percent of our major hurricanes but it's happening even more in recent years as our oceans are warmer. And again, this is that climate factor that we've been watching so closely.
Again, when it comes to the forecast, we're looking at it continuing to trek across the Gulf of Mexico. Its impact starts late Tuesday into Wednesday. Landfall looks like it'll be some time on Wednesday. But look at those winds.
And again it matters exactly where that eye is. If the storm surge comes up into Tampa Bay or recedes out of Tampa Bay, something that we'll need to watch incredibly closely.
Again, regardless of, you know, what category or what type of winds are, you don't need the winds to create the rain. We're talking about several inches of rain -- five to eight inches of rain across the peninsula. Some totals 10 to 12 inches of rain, which will cause flash and urban flooding again across the entire peninsula. You don't need to be on the coast to get the heavy rain, Omar.
JIMENEZ: And especially as some of this ground is already pretty saturated, it could just --
RAFFA: Oh yes.
JIMENEZ: -- make the impact of that rain even more significant. Elisa Raffa, thank you so much.
Now, while Hurricane Milton strengthens. residents across several states are continuing to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The death toll from the storm has risen to at least 227 people.
Nearly half of those killed were in North Carolina where either -- where entire communities have been wiped out. And officials say hundreds of people are still missing or stranded in the wake of the storm.
My next guest was stranded along with her boyfriend and dog for four days and she documented it. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Got it? Good job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: So literally getting in a boat to escape what she was going through there.
Olivia Cooner joins us now from Topsail Island, North Carolina. So Olivia, can you just tell us first how are you holding up right now?
OLIVIA COONER, STRANDED FOR FOUR DAYS IN TOPSAIL ISLAND, NC: Hi, Omar. Thanks so much for having me on. Right now, my boyfriend and I are kind of experiencing a little bit of shell-shock still.
What we went through was very traumatic. What we continue to go through with what we're seeing unfold in the community of Asheville and especially the rural areas surrounding Asheville, is absolutely devastating.
So much help is needed right now still, and we're just -- I mean, we're so lucky to be alive.
JIMENEZ: I can only imagine. Looking at the pictures of devastation and seeing how high the water was relative to your house there.
I mean, it's almost a miracle. It didn't -- you guys made it out in the way that you did.
And just for our viewers, can you just walk us through what happened and when you knew something was seriously wrong.
COONER: Yes. I will -- I'm going to just because I'd really like to touch on what's going on in Asheville right now too --
JIMENEZ: Yes.
COONER: It was terrifying. The Cane River -- we live about 30 feet above the Cane River and we're in a 500-year flood plan. We never expected anything like this to happen. We've only lived there for a year.
The Cane River is about four feet deep in front of the house and we watched it rise up 30 feet in a matter of four hours, right in front of our eyes. I've never felt that terrified before in my entire life. And quickly
into the flooding, we started to make a plan of just hiking up to higher ground, having a go-bag packed, and we watched whole houses float down the river.
We got -- we have (INAUDIBLE) little corner store about a block away from us. We watched that detachment float down the river in front of our house. We watched somebody get swept away in their truck right in front of our eyes. Nothing we could do about it. It was a harrowing experience. It was horrible.
And then right when the water started splashing up over the edge of our place, our basement was flooding. A power line had fallen on our house. All of our trees and power lines are on.
The water started to lower a little and we were -- we breathed a huge sigh of relief. You know, there's damage to the house, but we're still so lucky to be alive and unharmed.
And then we, you know, as time progressed, we realize how serious this was. We weren't sure if it was just our area or if it was the whole, you know, western North Carolina. we just weren't sure because we couldn't get into contact with anybody.
And we started to talk to locals and community members, you know. We didn't see any official help for three days and it was just a waiting game to see a single helicopter fly over us or a plane -- nothing.
[14:09:51]
COONER: It was just a silent waiting game. We're completely in the dark. It was -- it was terrifying. And you know, luckily, there was Facebook groups looking for us specifically because we were missing. Nobody could get a hold of us.
And somebody hiked in to check on their family, let our family know that we were alive and we were ok. And about 24 hours later, our family had hiked in to come rescue us.
And you know, in that time, my best friend from Asheville, Allison, she's a local business owner of pollen coffee and flowers. She hiked- in waist deep mud for three miles to try to see if we're ok just to be met with an official that (INAUDIBLE) that we were dead.
JIMENEZ: Wow.
Well, in a situation like this, you know Olivia, that there are -- there are so many people trying to find so many people, even you just mentioned that Facebook group, there's so many people trying to track down some of those and are resorting to trying to do it themselves.
And I want -- I want to talk about this point in particular because you said your friends in Asheville owns a shop, if I heard you correctly. As far as what you're hearing from people there what do people need -- what are you finding is the thing that people need most right now? COONER: Number one thing is money. Honestly, everybody lost their
jobs. My boyfriend and I don't have work right now. There's so many damages to the house that are not covered by insurance because we would need flood insurance, which we don't have. So I've got a GoFundMe up, donating directly to people, work relief funds like restaurant owners, business owners have funds up, GoFundMe just to help their employees.
We -- I mean we need so much right now. We need as far as materials, we need -- we need answers on when we're going to have running water again, because that is a dire situation.
Theres a health crisis. The mud is toxic, everything is toxic. We need PPE. Cold weather is coming up. We need jackets, we need blankets, we need sleeping bags, you know.
And there's always a death and destruction with a natural disaster of this size. But I think the topography of western North Carolina makes this a much more urgent situation because it is so hard to reach people.
I know also, you know, with any -- any natural disaster like this, marginalized folks who can't get on the Internet, who don't have as much access or privilege are hurting a lot more.
And local organization Beloved Asheville, they are doing so much work on the ground please donate to them as well as directly to people.
We have not seen a single Red Cross truck. FEMA is blocking some supplies too, so there's been a little bit of frustration with official help.
But the community is coming together, people are coming together helping each other, doing everything that they can to make sure that, you know, we're safe.
JIMENEZ: Yes.
COONER: Yes. We here -- we also need answers about the local jails. What's going on with those prisoners -- prisoners are being evacuated or transported. And you just really need to know what's going on with the water too, because the situation is really dire.
JIMENEZ: And I wanted to throw in one thing for folks watching as well. for people who live across Helene's 500-mile path of destruction and that you still need basic necessities, you can go to CNN.com/impact to look at some of those resources as well.
Olivia, thank you for being on. Really appreciate you taking the time. I wish you all the best. I'm glad you made it out. And of course, we'll continue to monitor recovery. Really appreciate.
COONER: Ok. Thank you.
JIMENEZ: Of course. Meanwhile, as Israel prepares to mark one year since the Hamas attacks
that sparked the war in Gaza, it's launching a new military operation saying Hamas was regrouping. We're going to go live to the region, next.
And with just one month left until the 2024 election, the candidates are racing to make their final pitch to voters including a major media blitz for Vice President Harris. We'll have more coming up.
[14:14:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIMENEZ: Welcome back.
New today, Israel's military is mounting renewed attacks on Hamas in Gaza. After launching airstrikes overnight, the IDF says it began a new ground assault after seeing signs the group is rebuilding.
You can see residents in the area packing up and fleeing as fighting broke out.
And it comes as Israel prepares to mark one year since the October 7th Hamas attack sparking the war in Gaza.
CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv for us. So what more are we learning about the attacks in Gaza?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well Omar, this is the fourth time now that the Israeli military has begun to push into the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza. The fourth time that the Israeli military has had to go in there because Hamas has reconstituted in that area.
And of course, it is notable as it comes on the eve of October 7th, showing that even as the Israeli government and its military say that Hamas is effectively no longer a kind of solid command-and-control military structure or governance structure in Gaza that they still retain significant capabilities that the Israeli military is then forced to try and go and defeat once again.
[14:19:46]
DIAMOND: We saw airstrikes and artillery strikes overnight ahead of the entry of Israeli ground troops. Now, the Israeli military says that they have encircled that Jabalya refugee camp.
Hamas for its part, its Qassam Brigades, the military wing says that they have been engaged in fierce firefights with Israeli troops over the course of the last 24 hours. And we've also seen significant Israeli strikes in central Gaza as well.
But with this military operation in northern Gaza, we are also seeing the Israeli military issuing fresh evacuation orders for the majority of the northern part of the Gaza Strip. That is hundreds of thousands of people potentially affected by this. We've already seen hundreds of families begin to flee from Jabalya
early this morning following those air and artillery strikes. And so many of them expressing concerns about where they can go to find safety.
Even as they are being directed to this expanded humanitarian zone of al-Mawasi, we have seen that the Israeli military has carried out strikes there as well.
Now, as all of this is happening, the Israeli military and its government are also still currently deciding exactly how to retaliate against Iran for that barrage of ballistic missile attacks earlier this week.
I actually just spoke with the defense minister here Yoav Gallant. He told me that even as the United States has been urging Israel not to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, that everything quote "everything is on the table" as it relates to potential retaliatory actions directed at Iran.
He met today with a General Erik Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command. He's flying to Washington on Wednesday to meet with the U.S. Defense Secretary -- Yoav Gallant.
So that close U.S.-Israeli partnership, still very much happening. But also Gallant making clear to me that Israel will ultimately make its own decision about how and when it will strike Iran.
JIMENEZ: And look, I mean, we are now one year since the October 7th attack. Do you have a sense of how Israel is planning on marking that anniversary?
DIAMOND: Well, there are going to be a number of events throughout the country tomorrow. It's going to begin in the morning on the site of that Nova Music Festival at the time of the attack, which was around 6:00 in the morning. A commemoration ceremony there for the roughly 1,200 Israelis who were killed in that Hamas attack on October 7th.
Here in Tel Aviv, there will be events during the day and in the evening at Ha Yarkon (ph) Park.
Those ceremonies though, are being scaled down somewhat because of restrictions on the numbers of people who can gather as Israel is currently in a multi-front war.
The Israeli military also to telling me that they are preparing for the possibility of Hamas firing rockets at Israel on October 7 to mark that day. So certainly tomorrow will be a very sad day, very commemorative day here in Israel, but also one that is very much still happening during an active and ongoing war, Omar.
JIMENEZ: Yes. Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv, thank you so much.
As Jeremy alluded too, also happening today -- Israel once again pounding Beirut's southern suburbs with attacks. CNN crews saying they were some of the most intense since the current conflict began. And Israel says it is targeting Hezbollah's weapons, facilities and issued new evacuation orders for parts of Beirut.
We also learned just a short time ago that flights at all of Iran's civilian airports are being canceled overnight tonight and into Monday morning.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Beirut. So Ben, what can you tell us, one about the intensity of the latest strikes that our crews have been seeing?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes Omar, no question about it. Overnight from Saturday into Sunday, we saw some very intense airstrikes. According to the national news agency, their tally says it exceeded 30 strikes, all of them in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
And well throughout the day basically at least every hour there was a strike somewhere on the southern suburbs.
Some of those strikes did result in secondary explosions, suggesting that indeed there were weapons at some of those targets hits other targets.
Other targets however -- targets or rather, places we are familiar with have also been hit with no obvious military utility.
Meanwhile, down in the south, as you mentioned the Arabic spokesman for the Israeli military, giving more evacuation orders to villages in the south.
At this point, they've given these orders to more than 125 villages. They're telling people to go north of the Awali River (ph), which is well away from the border, more than 50 kilometers.
The suggestion is that even though the Israelis have made it -- has declared many times that they want to drive Hezbollah fighters north of the Litani River, the Awali River is well north of that.
[14:24:47]
WEDEMAN: We're basically talking about they want -- they're gradually telling the inhabitants of a fourth of the landmass of Lebanon to move north -- north of that Awali River, suggesting a possible repeat of the kind of mass displacement that we've seen so many times in Gaza.
The fear is that not only, given the intensity of the bombing campaign Israel has been engaged in for the past as two weeks plus these mass displacement, it definitely does smack of the Gazafication (ph) of south Lebanon, Omar.
JIMENEZ: Ben Wedeman in Beirut, thank you so much.
We're also following a lot on the campaign trail here in the United States where minutes from now, Donald Trump will make his pitch to voters in battleground Wisconsin, just one month out from the 2024 presidential election. We're live on the campaign trail next.
[14:25:42]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:07]
JIMENEZ: Now with just a month until the election, Vice President Kamala Harris is launching a media blitz this week in an effort to reach out to voters in the final sprint of this campaign.
Today, her interview on "Call Her Daddy", which according to Spotify is this top podcasts -- podcast among women, will be released. Then tomorrow, Harris will appear on "60 Minutes". Tuesday, she goes on "Howard Stern Show", "The View", and then "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert", and then on Thursday, she will be in Las Vegas for a town hall in Spanish-language Univision TV.
CNN's Julie Benbrook joins us now from the White House.
So, Julie, what can you tell us about the big week ahead for Harris and her running mate? Clearly, a strategy here.
JULIE BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, people have been calling on Vice President Kamala Harris to do more interviews and have more unscripted moments ever since she took over at the top of the Democratic ticket. And she is ramping up those efforts this week with a series of high profile interviews, each one looking to reach a different type of voter.
Her appearances range from the relationship-focused podcast, "Call Her Daddy". The moderator of that podcast has millions of followers, both on Instagram and on TikTok to a sit down with "60 Minutes", which, of course, has been around for decades and is be taught newsmagazine program in the United States. Now her "Call Her Daddy" interview is going to go live sometime today and it features an in-depth conversation about reproductive rights, abortion access, and a number of other issues that are important to women this election cycle.
Her 60 minutes sit down with Bill Whitaker airs on Monday, and that is the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel. And in a preview that we got today, Harris, stresses that she believes that the U.S. has had an influence on Israeli decision-making, even as that conflict continues to escalate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The work that we diplomatically with the leadership of Israel is an ongoing pursuit around making clear our principles, which include the need for humanitarian in aid, the need for this war to end, the need for a deal to be done, which would release the hostages and create a ceasefire.
And we're not going to stop in terms of putting that pressure on Israel, and in the region, including Arab leaders. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BENBROOK: Later on in that exchange, Harris was asked if the U.S. have a close ally in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She reframed with a question and said that the U.S. and Israel have a strong alliance.
Now, as you mentioned, this is just the beginning of her media blitz this week. She will also be appearing on "The Howard Stern Show", "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and "The View", and participating in a town hall hosted by Univision.
Her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, has a busy week as well. He was on "Fox News Sunday" earlier today. He'll be on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and has a series of local interviews lined up -- Omar.
JIMENEZ: Julie Benbrook, we'll see if that stems off some of the criticisms they've gotten. But it's 30 days to an election. So who knows? Julie Benbrook, really appreciate it.
In the next hour, former President Donald Trump is set to hold a rally in the battleground state of Wisconsin. Yesterday, he returned to Butler, Pennsylvania, for a rally, the site of his first assassination attempt.
There, he was also joined on stage by billionaire Elon Musk. And at that event, Trump honored the victims of the shooting, but also without any evidence suggested that his political rivals may have tried to kill him.
Let's bring in CNN's Steve Contorno joins -- who joins us now from that Trump rally in Wisconsin.
So, Steve, what -- what are we expecting to hear from the former president today?
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Omar, Dodge County is dozens of small rural counties across Wisconsin where Trump's campaign is hoping to run up the score in a state that was decided four years ago by about 20,000 votes.
He won here by about two to one margin in 2020 and his campaign has been working aggressively to try to match that margin or expanded going into this election. And Trump is clearly speaking much to his base and trying and trying to help that effort with his rhetoric lately. We've heard him make a lot of dark comments about immigration, about crime, about the economy, and democracy.
And yesterday he baselessly suggested that his political enemies might have been behind the assassination attempts on him.
Take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Over the past eight years, those who want to stop us from achieving this future have slandered me, impeached me, indicted me, tried to throw me off the ballot. And who knows? Maybe even tried to kill me. But I've never stopped fighting for you and I never will, never will -- never going to stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CONTORNO: Now, this is Trump's fourth visit to Wisconsin in just nine days, such a critical battleground.
[14:35:02]
And you can see why in this Marquette Law School poll that recently came out. It's one of the best pollsters in this state. And they put this race at 52 Harris to 48 Trump, in which is very close to within the margin of error and so, you're going to see both of these candidates competing hard for this state. We expect Donald Trump to make many more visits and he will be on this stage in just a few moments, speaking to this crowd here, which is quite large and quite sizable and ready to hear from him -- Omar.
JIMENEZ: In these battleground states, maybe sick of these two candidates by the time you get to Election Day. A lot of visits likely between now and the day itself.
Steve Contorno just bringing us the latest from one of them, thank you so much.
Now for more on this week, on the campaign trail, let's bring in a former Pennsylvania Congressman Charlie Dent and political reporter for "The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel", Jessie Opoien.
So, look, Charlie, I must -- I'll start with you. Trump was back in Butler yesterday, the site of his first assassination attempt, and we know this was a lone gunman, but Trump seems to suggest this may have been some sort of conspiracy.
So whether it's part of a grander political strategy, I don't know. But is there any political value to Trump doing this or floating that possibility even if it's based on no evidence.
CHARLIE DENT (R), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Well, it's not surprising that the former president would go off into another cul-de- sac, while he will make statements set are simply not supported by fact. He just does that. And that's how he is and I would expect nothing less.
We know in Butler that appears to be disturbed young man who attempted to assassinate Trump. It was a hideous event obviously, but it was -- it was -- it seemed to be disturbed young man, unlike the case in Florida where the FBI -- the FBI, excuse me, the Secret Service stopped that potential assassination attempt and that individual seemed to be politically motivated based on what we've all read.
But don't be surprised by Trump going into these dark places. You know, the conspiracy theories, eating cats and dogs in Ohio, and all sorts of other things that really aren't helping him speak to voters who can be persuaded. I think that turns a lot of them off.
JIMENEZ: Yeah, and that Florida would-be assassin had political motivations all over the place, seemed to be just very -- followed a lot of what was going on I think it's fair to say.
Jessie, now, look, Trump is campaigning in Wisconsin again today. We just mentioned it. We also saw Harris there last week, but it's not just the appearances in terms of ads, both campaigns are pouring money into what you know, is a critical battleground state.
I know Wisconsinites are probably used to being inundated around election day, but how is all of this cycle's attention impacting voters there right now?
JESSIE OPOIEN, POLITICAL REPORTER, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL: I mean, I think its more than were used to be honest. You know, I went to school at Iowa, so I was used to the caucus influx of ads and what I'm seeing here is kind of what it feels like, what it felt like an Iowa along a while ago.
It's ads -- you can't turn on the TV without watching one. You can't watch a football game without seeing an ad, and the Packers are playing this afternoon. So we're all going to be seeing them this afternoon. But, yeah, I mean, it's the constant presence.
Not only do you have Harris here, you have Trump here, you have Tim Walz here, you have Gwen Walz here. You have J.D. Vance here. It's nonstop.
JIMENEZ: Yeah. And, look, Charlie, Trump brought Elon musk on stage with him yesterday. We've seen a lot of celebrity endorsements for both campaigns lately, but in a new Marist poll, 86 percent of voters polled said there was nothing that could change their mind about their pick for president.
Do you think celebrity endorsements, including Musk, can still have an impact on this race? I mean, what do you think might get that remaining 14 percent to make a decision one way or another?
DENT: Well, Omar, I never -- I've always been one who's never believed that celebrity endorsements really mean that much. I, you know, I always kind of thought there like consolation prizes.
Now I might make an exception for Taylor Swift because she is a cultural icon. So she might have an impact. But by and large, I'd say absolutely, there's no real benefit. There's a small number of persuadable voters out there, many of whom are being motivated, we think by economic issues.
And so to the extent that candidates can speak to those concerns, all the better. But in the case of Donald Trump, you know, he really has a hard time staying focused on a message and I also caution people in these battleground polls, remember in 2016 and 2020, Donald Trump perform better than the battleground state polls would suggested.
Now, also this is the first presidential election post-Dobbs. So in the course, Harris has a lot of energy and momentum behind her. Women are motivated. So anybody could tell you they're going to how they're going to handicap at this thing right now in states like Pennsylvania, I don't think they really know for sure. It is so tight and right now, it's I think it's still a jump ball.
JIMENEZ: And Jessie, I want to bring you on this because Melania Trump is on Fox News this morning and she talked about how her views on abortion seemed to be at odds with her husbands. But bottom line, we know abortion is such a major issue in Wisconsin in particular.
[14:40:01]
They've been in the middle of this -- of this state political fight. I know the state Supreme Court is going to take up a few issues on it there.
How -- do you believe it's as motivating factor politically as it is from when Roe v. Wade was first overturned?
OPOIEN: I think it's still significant. So, you know, here in Wisconsin, we have a law from 1849 that effectively bans all abortion unless the mother's life is in danger. That's been put on pause based on some court rulings. And like you said, it's coming before the state Supreme Court.
So, abortions have resumed in some in some respects here, but I think, you know, doctors are still concerned. I think women are still concerned. I think it's still a salient issue, maybe not as pressing as it was when it was first overturned, but we saw the way that that motivated voters in our state Supreme Court race here. I think it's still motivating voters in the presidential race in the U.S. Senate race.
I think it's still very much an issue probably more for Democrats at this point that Republicans, but it's definitely still a salient issue.
JIMENEZ: Yeah. Well, as far as polls go, we get the ultimate poll in just about 30 days when people actually, when the votes are actually tabulated and counted.
Jessie Opoien and Charlie Dent, really appreciate you both. Thanks for being here.
DENT: Thanks, Omar.
JIMENEZ: All right, everyone. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:42]
JIMENEZ: Tomorrow marks one year since the horrific Hamas terror attacks on Israel, one year of sadness, grief, and despair as more than 100 hostages taken on that day remain in captivity. CNN's Bianna Golodryga spoke with families of some of the hostages and
a warning some of the images you're about to see, you may find disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's any parent's nightmare, not being able to protect their child. Yet that's exactly what happened one year ago on the morning of October 7 when then 19- year-old Naama Levy was dragged by her hair at gunpoint by a militant. Her pants soaked in blood in one of the first harrowing videos that Hamas release of that fateful day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You dogs, we will step on you.
GOLODRYGA: She was abducted alongside several other Israeli female soldiers at Nahal Oz military base in near Israel's border with Gaza, seen here in another chilling Hamas video.
Among them was her friend, Liri Albag, who was 18 at the time. They were all working as IDF observers, a role that involves monitoring border security, military service is mandatory in Israel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are beautiful.
NAAMA LEVY, OCTOBER 7TH HOSTAGE: I have friends in Palestine.
GOLODRYGA: Naama tries to tell her captors that she has Palestinian friends. She had taken part in an Israeli Palestinian peace initiative.
Liri and Naama's mothers are still stuck on that day.
AYELET LEVY SHACHAR, MOTHER OF OCTOBER 7TH HOSTAGE NAAMA LEVY: This terror attack is ongoing for a year now. Our girls are in the same terror attack.
SHIRA ALBAG, MOTHER OF OCTOBER 7 HOSTAGE LIRI ALBAG: Liri and Naama, little girls, young girls, that one years are there in hell.
GOLODRYGA: Hamas's rampage left more than 1,200 people dead. Another 250 were taken hostage. Over 100 are thought to remain in captivity to this day, according to Israel's prime ministers office, but it's unclear how many are still alive.
The attacks triggered Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed more than 41,000 people.
For these two women, a ceasefire deal is standing in the way of their reunion with their children.
ALBAG: People in the world forget them. Our government and the --
SHACHAR: The media.
ALBAG: The media and all over the world, they forgot that they are still there.
GOLODRYGA: In July, the families decided to release this updated photo of their daughters in captivity, saying that time is running out.
SHACHAR: People made this for her, yeah, it's for when she comes.
GOLODRYGA: What does this say?
SHACHAR: We missed you. You are our sunshine.
GOLODRYGA: When I visited the Levy home earlier this year, I was struck by how Naama's bedroom looked more like that of a preteen in a nearly 20-year-old.
For now, they hold on to the memories, and the hope of embracing their girls again.
SHACHAR: We are hoping -- hoping that they are together there and helping each other survive. You know, we're trying to be strong for one another here.
GOLODRYGA: Lives upended and as the conflict continues to widen, there are seemingly no end in sight to their anguish.
Bianna Golodryga, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: Thank you for that reporting, Bianna.
We're following a lot of breaking news today as well, including just days after Hurricane Helene made landfall, the coast of Florida is now bracing for another potentially major storms.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:53:41]
JIMENEZ: All right. If you missed it, Saturday in college football turned out to be another day of upsets.
CNN's Coy Wire joins us now with the highlights from one of the biggest shockers in recent memory.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Omar. It was upset Saturday in college football. Five that a top 11 rank teams going down, four of them losing to unranked teams. Maybe it's perfect time to have that new 12 team playoff on bail this season.
Now, Alabama fresh off of beating number one Georgia last week -- well, last night, they were on the other end of it, the top rank tie going down on the road to unranked Vanderbilt 40-35. Bama was favored by 22-1/2 points. Commodores ending a 40-year drought against Bama fans were rushing the field as their first ever win over a top-five team in Vanderbilt's history, let alone what a number one. Quarterback Diego Pavia completed 16 of his 20 passes for 252 yards, two touchdowns. Let's just say he was pretty amped in his interview afterwards.
DIEGO PAVIA, VANDERBILT QUARTERBACK: It's really all God's timing literally from the jump. God gave me a vision when I was a little kid and he don't let back any promises. It's God's time. I'm super thankful. Super thankful to guys like (INAUDIBLE). Man, that's incredible.
Look at this. Look at this. Vanderbilt, we are (EXPLETIVE DELETED) turnt.
[14:55:03]
WIRE: And then absolute pandemonium in Nashville afterwards. Students turned down a goal post, then took on a nearly three-mile journey, paraded them down the main street Broadway, then dropped them into the Cumberland River.
Some members of Nashville fire department had to fish them out of the river.
Omar, it's safe to say, not many of those students at Vanderbilt slept last night.
(END VDIEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: Yeah, for good reason. Coy Wire really appreciate it.
Now, for everyone else, in case you missed it, "Have I Got News For You" with Roy Wood -- Roy wood Jr. Excuse me. Can't forget the junior. Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black airs again tonight with special guests, political commentator Ana Navarro and comedian Andy Richter joining the show. Catch the replay at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
