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Record Early Voting Turnout in Georgia; Trump and Harris Vie for Minority Support; Israel Strikes Hit Beirut Suburbs; U.S. Demands Israel Improve Gaza Humanitarian Situation. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired October 16, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beginning Tuesday, voters were able to head to the ballot box in Georgia.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This election affects the whole country and also the world. So, get up and get out there and vote.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Any African American or Hispanic that votes for Kamala, you got to have your head examined.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Ask Donald Trump what his plan is for Black America. Ask him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first Israeli airstrikes in days have hit the Lebanese capital.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When it comes to the scope and nature of the bombing campaign that we saw in Beirut, it's something that we made clear to the government of Israel we had concerns with and we were opposed to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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

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

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Christina Macfarlane. It's Wednesday, October 16th, 9 a.m. here in London, 4 a.m. in Atlanta, Georgia, where the polls will soon open for the second day of early voting.

FOSTER: With 20 days left to the U.S. presidential race, more than 5 million votes have already been cast nationwide. And things got off to a record-breaking start as well in Georgia on Tuesday, with more than 328,000 voters casting their ballots in that state alone.

MACFARLANE: Good to see. Now, meanwhile, a Georgia judge has paused a new rule that would require hand-counting ballots at each polling place to make sure they match the number of tallied-by voting machines. The judge criticized election officials for approving the measure so close to election day.

FOSTER: The same judge also ruled that county officials must certify results in the days after the election and they cannot exclude votes from the certification, even if they suspect error or fraud. Georgia's top election official says the state is ready.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: It's going to be free, it's going to be fair, and it's going to be fast. We think that's really important. Everything that we have done in the last six years has been for the voters, so they have results that they can trust. We're dedicated to serve the people of Georgia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, both Harris and Trump are stepping up their campaign appearances, looking to pick up new support in the race, but still too close to call. They're focusing largely on battleground states that are likely to determine the election's outcome.

FOSTER: Each wants more support from Black and Hispanic male voters who are leaning towards Trump in growing numbers. Amongst the surrogates hitting the trail for Vice President Harris is Joe Biden. The president made a visit to battleground state Pennsylvania, making the case that Kamala Harris is the right choice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every president has to cut their own path. That's what I did. And I was loyal to Barack Obama, but I cut my own path as president.

That's what Kamala's going to do. She's been loyal so far, but she's going to cut her own path.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Kamala Harris is slamming Donald Trump for threatening to deport scores of migrants, whom he's described as monsters and vile animals.

MACFARLANE: In a radio interview Tuesday, Harris said Trump's campaign is not about instilling hope or optimism, but about stoking fear. CNN's Ava McKend has more on Harris' message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EVA MCKEND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: In perhaps the most wide-ranging conversation so far of the campaign, the vice president addressing building wealth in Black communities, answering a question on reparations, saying it was an issue that needed to be studied, and saying that she understood that there are disparities in certain communities while pledging to be a president for all of America. She also pushed back against this sense of complacency coming from some corners. Take a listen.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We should never sit back and say, OK, I'm not going to vote because everything hasn't been solved. I share a desire that everything should be solved, by the way. I think it is what we should all want.

But that shouldn't stand in the way of us also knowing we can participate in a process that's about improving things. And by voting in this election, you have two choices, or you don't vote. But you have two choices if you do.

And it's two very different visions for our nation. One mind that is about taking us forward and progress and investing in the American people, investing in their ambitions, dealing with their challenges. And the other, Donald Trump, is about taking us backward.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The other is about fascism. Why can't we just say it?

HARRIS: Yes, we can say that.

[04:05:00]

MCKEND: When asked if she was essentially pandering to Black men by focusing specifically on their issues in a new policy platform, she said that these were part of her longstanding commitments, that even prior to running for vice president, these have always been policy views that she has espoused. The campaign, working hard here in Michigan. She's also going to make her case to voters this week, though, in Wisconsin and in Georgia.

Eva McKend, CNN, Detroit, Michigan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Well, with new polls showing Donald Trump gaining support among Black and Latino men, the Republican nominee is focusing some of his attention on those voters.

FOSTER: At a rally in Atlanta on Tuesday, Trump said he couldn't understand why any voters of color would vote for Kamala Harris, who has called him an unserious man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Any African-American or Hispanic -- and you know how well I'm doing there -- that votes for Kamala, you've got to have your head examined, because they are really screwing you. They are really screwing you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: CNN's Kristen Holmes has more on Trump's campaign efforts as the race enters its final stages.

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump hoping to capitalize on voters' concerns over the economy in the final sprint to the White House.

TRUMP: The most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff.

HOLMES (voice-over): Sitting down with Bloomberg's editor-in-chief at the Chicago Economic Club for an, at times, contentious interview over his economic proposals.

JOHN MICKLETHWAIT, BLOOMBERG EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: The markets are looking at the fact. You are making all these promises. People like the Wall Street Journal, who's hardly a communist organization, they have criticized you on this as well. You are running up enormous debts.

TRUMP: What does the Wall Street Journal know? I'm meeting with them tomorrow. What does the Wall Street Journal know? They've been wrong about everything. So have you.

HOLMES (voice-over): The former president again refusing to commit to accepting the 2024 election results while continuing to falsely claim there was a peaceful transfer of power after his 2020 defeat.

TRUMP: And it was love and peace.

HOLMES (voice-over): Trump also would not say whether he'd spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin since leaving office.

MICKLETHWAIT: Can you say yes or no whether you have talked to Vladimir Putin since you stopped being president?

TRUMP: Well, I don't comment on that, but I will tell you that if I did, it's a smart thing.

HOLMES (voice-over): With just three weeks to go, Trump also seeking to broaden his appeal among women voters with polls showing a wide gender gap in his matchup against Vice President Kamala Harris.

TRUMP: Women love my policy, but they don't like me.

HOLMES (voice-over): The former president participating in a Fox News town hall with an all-female audience in Battleground, Georgia. Before holding a rally with supporters in Atlanta as early voting begins in the Peach State.

TRUMP: Let's not do any more questions.

HOLMES (voice-over): This comes after Trump cut questions short at a town hall in Pennsylvania, instead swaying to music on stage for nearly 40 minutes.

Shortly after Kamala Harris taunting Trump, the vice president writing, quote, hope he's OK. It's just the latest in the back and forth between the two candidates

as Trump faces public calls from his Democratic rival to release his medical records. After the White House released a letter summarizing Harris medical history over the weekend.

HARRIS: He's not being transparent. So check this out. He refuses to release his medical records. I've done it. Every other presidential candidate -- every other presidential candidate in modern era has done it.

HOLMES (voice-over): In an overnight post on social media, Trump baselessly attacking Harris's medical history, saying the vice president is, quote, dying to see his cholesterol, while claiming to have, quote, put out more medical exams than any president in history. Despite not releasing basic information that presidential candidates traditionally make public.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, Atlanta, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Turning now to Beirut, where Israeli airstrikes have hit the Lebanese capital for the first time since last week. The IDF says it was targeting a Hezbollah weapons stockpile in the city's southern suburbs. The strike follows criticism from the U.S. State Department about civilian casualties in Beirut. Hezbollah says it launched a barrage of rockets into northern Israel overnight, but the IDF did not report any injuries.

FOSTER: Meanwhile, one in five Lebanese residents, more than a million people, have now fled their homes, according to the U.N., and about a quarter of the country is under military evacuation orders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REMA JAMOUS, UNHCR DIRECTOR FOR MIDDLE EAST: In a country of that size, which is relatively small, and a population that's estimated around five million people, you can imagine how dramatic it is that over one million people are now without shelter and on the move. Or not, rather, without shelter, because they are being housed in collective centers, but are being forced to flee their homes in search of safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Cairo on Tuesday for talks with the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah el- Sisi. They're calling for ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon.

FOSTER: And the U.S. demanding that Israel take action within the next 30 days to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza or face potential restrictions on military aid.

[04:10:03]

The Biden administration says deliveries to Gaza have dropped more than 50 percent since May. They were low then, weren't they?

It wants Israel to allow at least 350 aid trucks a day to enter the territory and implement pauses in fighting so aid and vaccines can be delivered.

MACFARLANE: A hospital director in northern Gaza is imploring the international community to act before it's too late. The Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Jabalia refugee camp is running out of vital supplies amidst Israel's ongoing bombardment.

FOSTER: The director's plea comes just a day after the U.N. Human Rights Office warned that Israel is quite effectively sealing off northern Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. HUSSAM ABU SAFIAH, DIRECTOR, KAMAL ADWAN HOSPITAL (through translator): There are terrifying challenges facing the health care system at Kamal Adwan Hospital. There is a stark shortage of consumables and supplies have started to run out. Moreover, milk is running out, food is running out, everything available is depleting.

As a result, we are facing a humanitarian disaster, a very frightening one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Nada's with us. It's not the first time we've heard this. And we keep hearing from the U.S. that they're going to push for more aid to get into Gaza.

But it does feel now, with this letter that they've sent, that there's a bit of a lack of patience there, can I say?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. And I think it's the first time that we've really seen the U.S. publicly giving such a firm and stark warning to the Israeli government with regards to the potential for the U.S. to essentially cut off military aid to the state of Israel. Of course, this would all be in line with U.S. law, is how they framed it.

So essentially, if we don't see aid getting into Gaza, or at least more efforts to allow aid into Gaza within the next 30 days, Israel could be in violation of U.S. laws, which would prevent foreign military assistance.

Now, we've heard warnings from the U.S. in the past on a variety of matters in Gaza, from the incursion in Rafah, where, of course, so many were displaced from bombing Beirut. None of these warnings have been heeded.

And of course, what we've also continued to see over the last year is the U.S. stepping up military support, allowing yet more military funding to be authorized for the Israeli government, despite those warnings. Whether we see any actual consequences if Israel does not step up aid or allow more aid to get into Gaza, that remains to be seen. But again, as you mentioned, this is a slight shift.

We heard yesterday, of course, from the State Department's spokesperson, Matt Miller. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW MILLER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: What we want to see here is results. This isn't about making a rhetorical statement. It's not about making any kind of threats.

It's about seeing the situation reversed, and so that the civilians in Gaza who are not getting adequate access to food and medicine and other humanitarian goods today actually see, as a result of our efforts, a change in their daily lives. And that's what we're focused on achieving, and that's what we are trying to achieve through this letter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASHIR: It's understood that the Israeli government is reviewing this letter. Of course, in the past, what we've heard from the Israeli government is a denial they are preventing aid from getting in.

But this comes as the situation across Gaza grows more desperate, particularly in northern Gaza. As you mentioned, the U.N. has warned that it has essentially been sealed off. We've been hearing from civilians on the ground who have been trying to evacuate as per the Israeli military's orders, some of whom have come under Israeli fire and have been killed while trying to evacuate.

There is simply not enough aid getting into northern Gaza, almost no aid getting into northern Gaza at this stage. And, of course, as the U.N. has said, they believe this could amount to a war crime. So this is a very serious situation.

This comes as the U.N. tries to, of course, carry out its second phase of the polio vaccine rollout in Gaza. And really what we're seeing is the situation just grow worse and worse and worse. You mentioned, of course, that the U.S. wants to see now 350 aid trucks getting in every day. This is something that humanitarian organizations have been calling for, for months, and we haven't seen any movement on that.

MACFARLANE: Yes, and to your point, whether or not Israel will pay attention to that at this point, we just don't know. And perhaps another example of where the U.S. has been disregarded, even in the last 24 hours, is those strikes on Beirut. We heard from the Lebanese prime minister saying that he had assurances from the U.S. that the capital would not be targeted, and that's not what we've seen.

BASHIR: Yes, absolutely, and there had been a slight reprieve around Beirut. We had seen a kind of pause in the direct targeting of the Lebanese capital. That was believed to be because of an understanding, because of discussions between U.S. officials and their Israeli counterparts. Clearly, that has not held up. And in fact, following that pause, we'd also heard from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that Israel will continue to target Hezbollah wherever they are located in Lebanon.

But of course, this is a very densely populated country. It is a very small country. The areas of Beirut that we have seen targeted overnight, Beqaa and Dahiyeh. They are southern suburbs that are Hezbollah strongholds, but they are also areas that are densely populated with civilians. And of course, now about a million people in Lebanon are displaced.

[04:15:00]

We've been hearing from officials from the United Nations saying that at least a fifth of people in Lebanon have now been forced to flee their homes. So this is a real stark situation for civilians in Lebanon. Clearly, the warnings that we're hearing from the U.S., from the U.N., from other international organizations with regards to Lebanon as well as Gaza are not being heeded by the Israeli government.

MACFARLANE: Nada, thank you.

FOSTER: Ahead, the Pentagon takes a major step towards rectifying decades of injustice against LGBTQ plus military service members.

MACFARLANE: Plus, derailing hurricane relief efforts with misinformation. Why North Carolina's governor says the persistent lies are hurting those in need of help?

FOSTER: And later, the Tate brothers appear in court in Bucharest looking for a delay in their trial on rape, human trafficking and gang charges as well. Stay with us for details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Welcome back. U.S. President Joe Biden plans to convene a meeting of the so-called European Quad to discuss future support for Ukraine as its war against Russia moves closer to the three-year mark. President Biden and the leaders of France, Germany and Britain had been scheduled to meet with Ukraine's president last week, but it was postponed due to Hurricane Milton.

FOSTER: Now we're told the Quad meeting is expected to be held this week in Berlin. The four Western allies are the top arms suppliers to Ukraine, delivering around $90 billion in direct military aid to Kyiv since the war began. The Ukraine's president will meet with EU leaders in Brussels this week.

The European Council president says he's invited Volodymyr Zelenskyy to present his victory plan and discuss the latest developments in the war. Mr. Zelenskyy has been travelling throughout Europe, seeking more military aid from Western allies.

MACFARLANE: Ukraine is facing its third winter at war with Russia, and the country is pleading for more help as Russian forces continue to make gains in the east and Moscow targets Ukraine's power grid. CNN's Clare Sebastian has been following the latest. So, Clare, this

victory plan, I believe, is set to be unveiled today. This after Zelenskyy has been touring Europe, shoring up support.

What do we know about what's been called the blueprint for victory?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we don't know the sort of granular detail of it yet. This is what he brought to the U.S. to present to Biden and the two presidential candidates. And today he is going to be presenting it to the Ukrainian parliament, and we expect after that that some of it, not all of it, we think some will remain classified, but some will be made public.

Obviously, I think there is some tension in Ukraine around the fact that it was presented to foreign allies first, but that's an aside. What we know about the plan is that it is very likely to include a request for permission to use Western long-range missiles on Russian soil. It's interesting that this Quad meeting, three out of those four countries are the suppliers of those long-range missiles, so it's very likely that topic will come up.

More military support, of course. This is about strengthening Ukraine so it has sort of a greater hand to play in negotiations. And then I think security guarantees, NATO-style security guarantees that would rise to the level of a deterrent against future Russian aggression.

[04:20:00]

Critics of the plan in the U.S. have described it as fuzzy, a bit lacking in detail and concrete benchmarks, but it's clear that for President Zelenskyy right now there is a very serious level of urgency, not only because of the political calendar in the U.S., but because we're seeing there are signs of slippage in Western resolve, creeping in, words like compromise have been coming through, and I think he really is now sort of racing to rally support.

Last week, for example, he met with four European leaders and the Pope, and then again we're going to see more of this diplomatic blitz this week.

FOSTER: And the Quad, what's the vibe in the Quad right now for supplying more, you know, as we get to this three-year mark?

SEBASTIAN: I think Biden has not ruled it out. This is the -- this is the vibe that we're getting from those meetings in Washington. He's sort of vaguely open to the idea. And I think it's clear at this point that while there are not obvious technical reasons why the Europeans couldn't go without the U.S., they are looking for that kind of political cover, as we've seen at various stages as these weapons red lines have been crossed in this conflict.

FOSTER: OK, Clare, thank you so much.

MACFARLANE: Now at least six killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine since Sunday. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Tuesday that the records

of more than 800 service members who have been kicked out of the military under the federal Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy have been upgraded to honorable discharge.

FOSTER: Yes, it does matter. In 2011, Congress repealed the policy that banned openly gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals from serving in the military. Under Don't Ask, Don't Tell, thousands of troops were separated from the military with less than honorable discharges and denied veterans' benefits.

MACFARLANE: Over the past year, the U.S. Defense Department has proactively reviewed more than 800 of those cases and changed the status of some 97 percent of them.

Nearly three weeks after Hurricane Helene battered the U.S. state of North Carolina, more than 90 people are still unaccounted for. That number was more than 1,000 immediately after the storm, and Governor Roy Cooper says the current number of missing persons will likely fluctuate. Emergency workers from 38 states responded to assist in North Carolina's recovery efforts.

FOSTER: But the governor says a flow of misinformation is affecting those critical efforts. Cooper says the majority of the one million power outages have been resolved, and FEMA has paid out nearly $100 million in assistance. He says the only thing not helping is the lies being spread.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. ROY COOPER, (D) NORTH CAROLINA: Over the years, we've seen social media get more and more extreme, filled with disinformation. This is happening in the middle of an election where candidates are using people's misery to sow chaos for their own political objectives, and it's wrong. And this is a time where we all need to pull together to help the people of western North Carolina, and it's disappointing when candidates, knowing full well what they're doing, are continuing this kind of disinformation filled with lies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: The multiple extreme weather events in the U.S. have wiped out funding to a disaster relief program for small businesses. The Small Business Administration says it received 37,000 applications from those impacted by Hurricane Helene and has made $48 million worth of loan offers so far. And now the agency has received more than 12,000 applications due to Hurricane Milton as well.

FOSTER: President Biden says the fund will be replenished when Congress meets again in November, and the people should continue applying for those loans. In the meantime, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, has its own disaster relief fund, but it's already spent more than $11 billion from that fund in just the last two weeks.

Florida police have identified and arrested a man who allegedly abandoned his dog as he evacuated to the safety of Hurricane -- ahead of Hurricane Milton. Authorities say Giovanni Garcia is now facing a charge of aggravated animal cruelty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUZY LOPEZ, FLORIDA STATE ATTORNEY: You don't get away with doing what this man did in Hillsborough County. Not under my watch. No one should ever commit an act of animal cruelty, but you should especially not do so, one, in Hillsborough County, and two, during a state of emergency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, the suspect was released from jail on Tuesday. Authorities say he told them he left his dog named Jumbo because he couldn't find anyone to pick the dog up.

FOSTER: State trooper found Jumbo tied to a pole on the side of a highway in Tampa. Look at him. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says the dog was renamed Trooper and he'll be adopted.

MACFARLANE: Very good.

[04:25:00]

FOSTER: The U.S. Climate Prediction Center forecasts a 60 percent chance La Nina could emerge through November.

MACFARLANE: It could make this winter in the Northern Hemisphere feel much different than last year's, which was dominated by El Nino. Meteorologist Chad Myers breaks it down for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, there's a big switch in the pattern already with 64 million people with frost and freeze advisories. Now, this is not La Nina just yet. It hasn't really developed, but temperatures are significantly colder, 10 to 15 degrees colder than you should be for the morning low temperatures.

Still a couple of rain showers across the Ohio Valley right now. And if you get into the upper elevations of West Virginia, there could be a snow flurry or two.

Let's get to La Nina. This is when there is a cold pool of water in the Pacific Ocean that bumps up against South America. What it does is deflect the jet stream a little bit, and it affects the weather. So rather than having weather coming in from the west, like El Nino, now all of a sudden it's coming in from the northwest, keeping things cool, but as it makes a turn here in the Midwest and the Great Lakes, it gets fairly wet.

There could be some tornado activity here in the spring as we get closer to that warm, cold clash. And I don't really see that with El Nino, but it's certainly possible with La Nina. So this is where we've been, warm, dry across the upper Midwest, cool across the deep south, and that's all about to change. Here's the forecast now that will officially come out on Thursday, but I'll give you a peek at what it's going to look like. Above average temperatures in the winter and then below average in the Pacific Northwest. Depending on where you are with the storm here in the Great Lakes, that's where the above normal precip will actually be. If it's 28, it's a snowstorm. If it's 34, 35, 36, it'll be a cold rain event.

Now, it affects the United States and Canada more than it affects the rest of the world, but La Nina still has some global impacts, depending on where you are.

From wet across parts of Indonesia, Micronesia, also into parts of Africa, to dry into parts of China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Now, federal regulators in the U.S. are launching a probe into near collisions on major airport runways.

FOSTER: Just last week, safety officials released their preliminary findings on a September 12th incident in Nashville. An Alaska Airlines flight had to abort its take-off as a Southwest Airlines flight taxied across the same runway. Nobody was hurt, but the Federal Aviation Administration says it is auditing the potential for near collisions known as runway incursions at the 45 busiest airports in the U.S. The FAA says its audit will be completed sometime next year and it'll include recommendations to improve safety, thankfully.

MACFARLANE: Now, the Tate brothers are looking once again to avoid a criminal trial in Bucharest, Romania.

FOSTER: They appeared in an appeals court on Tuesday, seeking to overturn the decision to proceed with their trial on charges of rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang. Former kickboxer and self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate was placed under house arrest back in August.

MACFARLANE: He and his brother Tristan were arrested in 2022 and indicted last year. Both men deny all allegations against them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRISTAN TATE, SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER: I could leave if I wanted to, illegally. I could have fled. I have stayed here because Romania is my home, it's my country. I've showed nothing but respect for it and all of the system that's tried to destroy my life.

But the people who wrote this accusation and the prosecutors who took it seriously have some serious questions to answer, whether it be in a trial or whether it be in some type of inquest after this fog is dismissed. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: The next hearing for the brothers is scheduled for October 29th. FOSTER: Trapped in the nightmare that is Gaza, more than 100 hostages and huge numbers of civilians, many fear time is running out, coming up.

MACFARLANE: Plus why Wisconsin voters and officials are at odds over the ballot drop boxes in this key swing state. Stay with us.

[04:30:00]