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Trump, Harris enters Home Stretch of the Campaign, A Week before the Elections; Egypt Proposes a Two-Day Ceasefire as Mediators Begin High-Level Talks in Doha. Japan's Ruling Party Loses Majority; Catholic Women Pressures Pope Francis for Equal Leadership Roles. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired October 28, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: And a very warm welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Paula Newton, ahead here on "CNN Newsroom."

Sowing fear and division, former U.S. President Donald Trump holds a massive rally at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Campaigning in the critical state of Pennsylvania, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris tells voters her path to victory runs through Philadelphia.

And a sharp rebuke for the ruling coalition in Japan. We'll have a live report from the region.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from New York, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Paula Newton

NEWTON: Just eight days and counting in the U.S. presidential race and already more than 40 million people have voted right across the country. CNN's latest national polling average shows, see it there, little to no daylight between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. It's a busy week ahead, of course, as the candidates crisscross the handful of battleground states expected to decide the election.

Now, on Sunday, thousands of people queued up outside New York's Madison Square Garden for a Trump campaign rally. The gathering featured a slate of Trump loyalists who used racist and profane language to attack Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, other Democratic leaders and even the island of Puerto Rico. During his disjointed and at times meandering speech, the former U.S. president used dark rhetoric and made false claims about his political opponent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Over the past four years, Kamala Harris has orchestrated the most egregious betrayal that any leader in American history has ever inflicted upon our people. She has violated her oath, eradicated our sovereign border, and unleashed an army of migrant gangs who are waging a campaign of violence and terror against our citizens. There has never been anything like it anywhere in the world for any country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, overall, Trump painted a bleak and frequently dishonest picture of the United States. Our Kristen Holmes was there and has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Former President Donald Trump spoke to a packed house at Madison Square Garden in New York giving what was his traditional campaign speech filled with quite a few falsehoods, particularly when it came to immigration, just to go over a few of the things that he said.

He talked about the fact that criminal migrants were pouring in across the border from prisons and in (inaudible). Just to be clear, that's something CNN has fact-checked on a number of occasions and found that even the campaign couldn't give any examples of that happening.

He talked about how Venezuelan gangs were taking over all of America, and in particular in Aurora, Colorado. I will say, somebody who was with him in that rally in Aurora, Colorado. There was an incident at an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. We have spoken to a number of state and local officials who have said that it was completely blown out of proportion. Actually, the rhetoric around it was creating more problems for the community.

He also talked about immigration in general in Springfield, Illinois, saying that a load of legal immigrants were dropped into Springfield, Illinois. One thing we can say, or should be Springfield, Ohio. One thing we can say that we know of the people who are on the ground in Springfield are here legally through a specific program, the Department of Homeland Security.

In addition to that, he talked about the hurricane response to Helene, something that he's talked about a lot, saying that there were no federal officials on the ground, that no one could be seen, nobody was helping, that we know not to be true for both Republicans and Democrats on the ground who have described it as a helpful response, particularly the federal response.

He also said that FEMA didn't have enough money to help with disaster response. They do because they had moved all of their money to help with migrant housing. That is not true. FEMA has multiple pots of money. One of them is for disaster relief. Another is for migrant housing.

But it's a congressional allotment, meaning that money from migrant housing cannot be taken and used for disaster relief and same not vice versa. So the other thing that he talked about is foreign policy. He said without any evidence or proof that neither Russia would have invaded Ukraine or was he in office on the October 7th terrorist attacks in Israel.

They said that both of those things would have never happened if he was in office. But all in all, it was his traditional campaign speech. And I will say that despite using this dark, fear-based rhetoric on immigration, the crowd here, a full house at Madison Square Garden, was incredibly receptive to this rhetoric.

[03:05:10]

It's unsurprising that we learned that Donald Trump, who believes that this kind of rhetoric helped propel him to the White House in 2016, is also of the belief that it could help him again in 2024. And if you base it just on this crowd tonight. He might have a point. People were standing up. They were using applause lines for several of these various points, particularly the darkest points when it came to immigration.

Now, one thing I do just want to quickly point out is what happened before the rally because somebody who has attended dozens of these Trump rallies, the pre-show rhetoric before Donald Trump took the stage, was some of the darkest rhetoric I've ever heard at one of these rallies. They were name calling. I just want to point out some of the things that we heard from these speakers ahead of time.

One person calls Kamala Harris the antichrist and the devil. Another person said, referred to Puerto Rico as a floating island of garbage, something that has received massive backlash from both Democrats and Republicans.

Another person referred to illegal immigrants as (EXPLETIVE DELETED) illegals. Someone else said Hillary Clinton was a quote, "sick bastard," and that is just the actual specifics. We also heard a lot of nativist rhetoric talking about how America is for Americans only and that type of thing.

It is clear that this is the tone Trump's team, Donald Trump's campaign, is setting. Just keep in mind what this event was. This was the kickoff of the final week of the campaign before voters head to the polls on November 5th.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: In the meantime, Kamala Harris' running mate Tim Walz tried to link Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden to pro-Nazi gathering at that arena in 1939. It was organized by the German-American Bund and attended by thousands in the lead-up to World War II. Here's what Walz told a crowd in Nevada on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES: Go do your Google on this. Donald Trump's got this big rally going at Madison Square Garden. There's a direct parallel to a big rally that happened in the mid-1930s at Madison Square Garden. And don't think that he doesn't know for one second exactly what they're doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now while Donald Trump focused on the massive crowd in New York, Kamala Harris took a more grassroots approach to campaigning on Sunday. She spent the day in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, visiting several Philadelphia neighborhoods to push a message of unity. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday visiting battleground Pennsylvania as she tries to mobilize voters in the final push to Election Day.

The Vice President blitzing around the Philadelphia area over the course of the day, starting with a church service for a predominantly black church, then a barbershop, followed by a bookstore, and then a Puerto Rican restaurant. All of that intended to support black and Latino voters as her team tries to lock in her coalition.

But similarly, they are trying to fortify the Blue Wall, which includes Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan. What her team sees as the most favorable path to 270 electoral votes.

And here at a community center in Philadelphia, the vice president stressing the stakes of the election, saying it is, quote, "one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime." And then also talking about some of the broader themes of her campaign around unity, saying that her team has been trying to build a broad coalition to unify Americans.

Now, the vice president also speaking directly to young voters and young leaders. And then urging those in the crowd to vote and encourage those around them to do the same, noting that Pennsylvania holds extra significance and is the path to victory.

VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS (D), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm very excited about the reports that we're getting about enthusiasm here in Philadelphia. And to your point, Philadelphia is a very important part of our path to victory.

And it is the reason I'm spending time here, have been spending time here, but I'm feeling very optimistic about the enthusiasm that is here and the commitment that folks of every background have to vote and to really invest in the future of our country.

ALVAREZ: Now, Sunday's stop in Pennsylvania or multiple stops in Pennsylvania will kick off a blitz over the course of the week as the head of election day as her and her team try to hit all the battleground states and shore up support.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Philadelphia.

(END VIDEOTAPE) NEWTON: Caroline Hellman is a political scientist and democratic strategist, and she joins us now from Los Angeles. Really good to see you as this thing continues to really surprise so many.

Now, I caution everyone, look, we really have to throw conventional wisdom out the window and zero in on why such dark and divisive rhetoric would be center stage at Madison Square Garden. And clearly, Trump and his advisers believed that this kind of campaigning will work.

[03:10:01]

CAROLINE HELDMAN, POLITICAL SCIENTIST AND DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, AND PROFESSOR AT OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: And Paula, it just does, right? This is fear-mongering in politics. This works relatively well and certainly has been Trump's bread and butter. And I've been to a lot of Trump rallies. I've been watching his rallies, as we all have, for years.

I've never seen anything like the darkness and the vulgarity and the open racism and xenophobia of this rally. His warm-up speaker called Puerto Rico and island of trash, this is on the heels of Donald Trump now referring to the United States as a trash can meaning that immigrants are coming here. So what is the trash? Immigrants.

So this really unsettling dehumanizing language we know that dehumanizing a group of people as a first step of violence toward that group. So it is -- it was startling to hear his closing pitch but it really resonates well with his face.

NEWTON: We say it resonates with his base, but he has had some traction as well with voters of color, whether they be Latinos or African-Americans. This is different than 2016, isn't it?

HELDMAN: It's very different in 2016 but Trump still relying on low propensity voters meaning voters who don't commonly show up to the polls are showing up to the polls for him. And one interesting thing is he does seem to have a ceiling so that 83 million Americans have voted for him but about 91 million have turned out to vote against him in various elections.

And so, the question is whether or not Trump can get that turn out and what we're seeing in terms of the milk for Harris is not with Black and Latino voters writ large, it's specifically with mostly younger black and Latino men.

And I think, you know, we can very easily look at this and say that biases against women in leadership positions is driving this. We know that in general, there's about a 13 point bias or 13 percent of Americans say they are angry or afraid of the idea of a woman in the White House.

And with Kamala Harris being a woman of color, I'm always worried looking at the polls that they're not going to be accurate. As they weren't for Clinton, there were just a whole lot of folks who said, yeah, I'm going to turn out and vote for her. And they got on the voting booth and they didn't. It was very much driven by sexism.

NEWTON: You know, Melania Trump made an unexpected appearance at the rally today. She hasn't been really on the campaign at all. Let's take a listen to her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANIA TRUMP, FORMER U.S. FIRST LADY: This town has produced America's most fearless leaders, whose mark changed the course of the world. New York City and America needs their magic back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Needs their magic back. I mean, you had mentioned it as well, look, there is a gender gap here as well. Do you believe that she could help her husband in the next few days with conservative-leaning women who really do not admire her husband but may vote for him anyway?

HELDMAN: Yeah that's a great point. I mean they're definitely trying to write the end of this campaign that this is the first time she's spoken right that it's just surprising to see Melania. I think she's often (inaudible), she's an immigrant so maybe some of that anti- immigrant rhetoric. I'm certainly appealing to Republican women and Harris.

This is happening at a time where Harris is openly trying to peel off Republican women by saying look your vote is anonymous. Your husband's not going to know. And she's mostly using reproductive freedom and rights to do that. So I think it's a very wise move to put Melania on the campaign trail for this last push.

NEWTON: I want to go to Kamala Harris now. She's had some spirited rallies in recent days. That was after weeks of very little media exposure. I mean, she's out there now. But I have to ask you, do you believe that perhaps it came too late that she really should have put herself out there on all kinds of platforms much earlier?

HELDMAN: Well that's the big question right there being so careful and can curating her for the first month or so and she only had you know what just under three months to get this done. What we do know is that the more voters are exposed to Kamala Harris. Whether it is through a podcast, social media or a live, perform a live rally, the better they like her and this is consistent.

So, yes, I think in retrospect maybe getting her out sooner would have been better mostly because people like her when they see her they like what she has to say. And I think the hope and the optimism is a very stark contrast to Donald Trump's kind of doom and gloom.

NEWTON: Yeah, indeed it is. I don't have a lot of time left, but one thing that surprised me was the golf between the college-educated Americans voting for Vice President Harris. It really is a wide golf, even bigger than it was with Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden. Is that a group that she will really be counting on to show up and that might be what takes her over the line? [03:15:00]

HELDMAN: Well that's why this is so unpredictable gather high propensity voters versus college degrees and they do tend to turn out to go it rates over 90 percent so she's very much relying on that. So she's losing black and Latin male support. She's gaining support of independent Republican women and she's gaining support with more educated voters. So it is really anybody's guess as to what's going to happen on November 5th.

NEWTON: Yeah, and I think that's the one truism, right? If anyone tells you they know how this is going to go, they may just be lying to you. Yeah, Caroline Heldman, thank you so much. We'll leave it there.

HELDMAN: Thank you.

NEWTON: CNN has learned that a new round of Gaza ceasefire and hostage release talks have now begun in Doha. This marks the first high-level talks in more than two months. Now, top negotiators from the U.S., Israel and Qatar will be working to reach a deal. Egypt, which has long played a key role as mediator in those talks, is proposing an initial two-day ceasefire.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is following developments and joins us now from Abu Dhabi. Good to see you, Paula. You know, Egypt's proposal for this very short truce with only a few hostages being released. It seems to be an admission that look a comprehensive deal right now is just not possible in the near term.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It seems to be, Paula. Yes, I mean, we know that those talks have started again in Doha. Really, the first time we've seen high-level talks like that for more than two months, showing just how stalled these negotiations have been.

Now, they're talking and negotiating towards a three-phase plan. There is a lot of detail in there, and of course, the devil has been in the detail as they are trying to convince both Israel and Hamas to sign on to this deal. It is proved extremely difficult.

So what we're seeing here from the Egyptian president, he gave a press conference on Sunday, was really trying to make this deal a lot easier in the short term. So it would be just a two-day ceasefire, he has suggested.

There would be just four Israeli hostages being released in return for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners. He didn't go into details about what that would look like. But then if those two days hold, he has said, then there could be another 10 days to negotiate a permanent ceasefire and then to allow that significant aid, which is so desperately needed, into the Gaza Strip.

Now, we haven't had public acknowledgement or public sign-up of this deal really from any side at this point. So it's unclear how far down the road of signing up to this that the U.S. is, for example Qatar, one of the other key mediators and Israel. We do know though that just last week there was an Egyptian security

delegation which met with a Hamas delegation in Cairo. So certainly there have been discussions between the two sides. We don't know if this has been formally proposed to Hamas, but it really does show just how difficult it is proving to be able to finalize the full deal, that three phase plan which would end with a full ceasefire, with all the hostages being released, thousands of Palestinian prisoners and the rebuilding of Gaza.

It does appear to just be too much at this point and of course the crucial point is it is so close to the U.S. election. We've heard U.S. officials saying that they believe that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will wait to see who he will be dealing with after the election has finished and after the results comes through.

So there isn't an expectation of any significant breakthrough over the next 10 days at least and we have heard that publicly as well. But there is a desire from the Biden administration to gain some momentum after Yahya Sinwar, the head of Hamas, was killed. Paula?

NEWTON: OK, well, you'll continue to keep an eye out for us. Paula Hancocks for us. I Appreciate it.

Lebanon's Health Ministry reports a deadly weekend of Israeli military strikes and its campaign against Hezbollah. The latest from Beirut, that's next.

Plus North Korean forces are about to join Russia's fight in Ukraine. We'll talk about what that means for that war and for the Korean Peninsula as well.

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[03:20:00]

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NEWTON: Israel is pushing forward with its offensive in Lebanon as it targets the Iran-backed group Hezbollah. More Israeli strikes hit parts of Lebanon Sunday, and that's including in the south, where the health ministry says at least eight people were killed and 25 others injured. The Israeli military says about 75 projectiles were fired into northern Israel from Lebanon on the same day. Some damage was reported and several people were taken to hospital.

Joining me now from Beirut is Nabih Bulos. He is the Middle East bureau chief for the "Los Angeles Times," and good to have you with us as we continue to take a measure of this Israeli campaign. And as we said, Hezbollah does continue to fire those projectiles into Israel.

You know, we're trying to check in here with you, given what's at stake for the civilian population, hundreds of thousands of people displaced, not to mention those that have lost their lives or those that are wounded. How's the country coping right now?

NABIH BULOS, MIDDLEEASTBUREAU CHIEF, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": Well, it should be said we're talking about 1.2 million people displaced, actually about a quarter of the country's population, roughly speaking. And obviously, the reverberations are felt. I mean, all across Lebanon, if you go to Beirut, you will see people sleeping on the streets, in public squares, on the beach promenade.

I mean, truly every city actually, if you go from Beirut all the way up to Tripoli, you will see all the displaced, whether they are in tents, whether they're in shelters. And of course, this is causing a huge problem across the country because really the country is not really able to handle this amount of displaced people. It should be said the economy's already in shambles, and people can barely afford the stress of this additional problem right now.

[03:25:08]

NEWTON: Yeah. And for weeks, you know, we have heard from civilians in Lebanon that they fear that their country will look like Gaza in the months to come. Is their fate closely tied to those negotiations in Gaza that we were just discussing?

BULOS: Well, it should be said that first of all, if you look at parts of the South, we are already there. We are already seeing a repeat of the Gaza vacation or the Gaza doctrine, if you will, when it comes to South Lebanon.

In fact, I mean, I mean, over the weekend, we've seen social media videos of the entire villages being blown up en masse, just mind and blown up entirely. Right. And it seems that the intention is to ensure that these people cannot return home anytime soon.

And as for the issue of linking Gaza to Lebanon, now this has been a long-standing problem with Hezbollah, which is repeatedly linked or insisted, I should say, on the linkage between ISIS fire in Gaza and ISIS fire in Lebanon.

Now, we are starting to see some cracks perhaps in the facade over there, where we are hearing from various Hezbollah figures that there is a chance of them considering the separation of the two issues.

But at the same time, it's probably too late for that. I mean even the talk about the issue of using for example 1701, a U.N. resolution that's meant to cause like this engagement, even there we are not entirely sure what the Israelis want at this point.

It seems that the intention is for a deeper, more involved incursion that would lead to the destruction of Hezbollah, or at least its disarmament. And that will take a long, long time. So yes, indeed, there are many, many fears right now that this will lead to a gasification of the situation here in Lebanon.

NEWTON: And how do you assess the residual capabilities right now of Hezbollah? They lost their leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and many commanders and his allies, although we do continue to see the projectiles being fired in Israel and beyond.

BULOS: Well, it should be said that projectile firing in the south appears to be happening in a more decentralized fashion. So that's one thing. Now in terms of the actual, I guess, day-to-day running of the group when it comes to the fighting on the ground, that appears to have been reconstituted in some fashion.

But as for the higher level decisions, it remains unclear. I mean, if you consider the fact that right now you have a political arm of Hezbollah that is basically tied to the military leadership, and military leadership is very hard to reach, I mean, that alone raises issues about the notion of negotiating for a ceasefire.

And in terms of the groups, I guess, social and financial and political arms, those appear to be very much targeted and indeed in some ways in shambles. If you think of the bank situation there, there is a banking arm for Hezbollah that has been targeted quite extensively and this banking arm will have a lot of pressure in the coming months when people need to rebuild.

I mean that's just one example of the disruption we're seeing in Hezbollah. It's unclear how the group will come out at the end of this. In terms of fighting, I think it will remain able to fire rockets and missiles. That remains to be true and to fight on the ground.

Now, in terms of it's actually managing to reconstitute itself into the power it was before September 23rd or indeed even before last year, that's a larger question. I'm not sure it can be answered right now because it depends very much on its patrons and we don't know what's going to happen there.

NEWTON: Listen, we thank you for that assessment as we continue to watch what unfolds in the coming days and weeks. Nabih Bulos in Beirut. I Appreciate it.

BULOS: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now Russian missiles and airstrikes across Ukraine killed at least five civilians over the weekend. The mayor of Kyiv says a teenage girl was killed when a Russian drone struck this residential building in the country's capital, Friday.

In eastern Ukraine, as Russian forces press the front lines, Moscow is looking to supplement its ranks with foreign fighters. Ukraine's president says Russia is ready to send North Korean troops to the battlefield. He says it's proof that Moscow wants to sow chaos and has no interest in a future piece.

Georgia's pro-Russian president is calling for peaceful protests in the hours ahead over Saturday's disputed parliamentary election. Now, the former Soviet republic's leader says the election was a, quote, "complete falsification" and alleges a, quote, "Russian special operation" is behind it.

Now, the ruling Georgian Dream Party's leader, meantime, claimed victory even before all the votes were counted amid reports of voter intimidation, harassment, bribery and ballot stuffing. One former U.S. representative says there was an atmosphere of fear during the election.

Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are crisscrossing battleground states in the final stretch of the U.S. election. We will have the latest from the campaign trail that's next.

Plus one month after a devastating hurricane, a new development in North Carolina that has people marking a somewhat return to normalcy. We'll have that when we come back.

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: And welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Paula Newton and you are watching "CNN Newsroom."

We are only eight days away from the U.S. election and Kamala Harris and Donald Trump remain statistically dead even with polls still showing no clear leader. Now the candidates are making their final pitches in battleground states this week. This includes Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. That's where Harris met voters on Sunday saying the path to victory runs right through Philadelphia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS (D), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You who have only known the climate crisis, you are leaders in what we need to do to protect our planet. You who grew up with active shooter drills, you know what we have to do to fight for safety in our schools. You who right now know fewer rights than your mothers and grandmothers understand the importance of fighting for the right of a woman to make decisions about her own body. And not has her government tell her what to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Donald Trump, meantime, kicked off his final week of campaigning at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. He repeated many false claims, including that the Biden administration spent hurricane relief money on migrants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To his and her egregious hurricane response, the worst response in North Carolina and other states since Katrina, but I think it was even worse than Katrina.

[03:35:08]

They haven't even responded in North Carolina. They haven't even responded. There's nobody. They don't see any FEMA. You know why? They spent their money on bringing in illegal migrants. So they didn't have money for Georgia and North Carolina and Alabama and Tennessee and Florida and South Carolina. They didn't have any money for them. (END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: CNN's Dana Bash says Trump's messaging on Sunday was just a more intense version of the same rhetoric the Harris campaign has been warning about. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You've got to listen for yourself. You've got to hear what happens when Donald Trump speaks to his supporters. And this is, I think the way you just put it is perfect. This is that on steroids. Donald Trump has always wanted to quote unquote "play Madison Square Garden."

That's what he's doing right now. But he's doing it as somebody who is continuing to stoke the fears, play on the anger, and just flat out lie over and over and over again in order to whip up people who he, first of all, needs to vote.

But also people who get feel obviously that they are entertained by this kind of rhetoric and let you to be blunt about it and you have an entire iconic arena, Madison Square Garden that is filled with people there to listen to that kind of thing.

This is not the kind of rhetoric that is new for him, it is just amplified in a way and it is darker and more intense and for a lot of people more frightening than we have seen particularly because of where we are on the calendar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, one month after Hurricane Helene washed out roads and flooded some North Carolina towns, some schools in hard-hit Buncombe (ph) County are restoring power and water, and students are getting ready to finally go back to class.

CNN's Rafael Romo reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For some of the people that I've been in touch with, this is a sign of hope, although they realize full recovery for Asheville and all the devastated areas in western North Carolina is going to take much longer.

In the city of Asheville, classes resume Monday, but on a modified schedule and no after school programs. Asheville City Schools Superintendent Maggie Furman told CNN on Sunday that none of their schools were damaged in the storm and all have power, internet and running water.

Asheville is in Buncombe County but operates an independent city school system. Buncombe County students went back to school Friday. Schools are on a two hour delay and drinking water is being delivered just as Asheville schools are doing because what's coming out of the pipes is not yet safe for drinking. Another challenge is that many students and staff were personally

affected by the storm, as the superintendent told us earlier.

DR. MAGGIE FEHRMAN, SUPERINTENDENT, ASHEVILLE SCHOOLS: We had several students that lost family members. We have staff members who lost family members. I think the most tragic was one of our staff members lost 11 members of her family in the Craigtown area, and that is just completely devastating for her and for our whole community.

ROMO: North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper reminded people over the weekend that Helene was the devastating storm ever to hit North Carolina, killing at least 98 people. More than 100,000 people had their homes damaged, the governor said, and thousands of businesses that were damaged have yet to reopen.

GOV. ROY COOPER (D-NC): They're going to need our help collectively. They're going to need local government, state government, the federal government, the private sector, the volunteers, the nonprofits all pulling together so that Western North Carolina can build back in a stronger way, more resilient way.

ROMO: Governor Cooper also said the total damage caused by the storm is estimated at $53 billion. He made those remarks at a press conference before the beginning of a benefit concert, highlighting some of the country's biggest stars like North Carolina natives Eric Church and Luke Combs and others like Sheryl Crow and Keith Urban. All proceeds from the concert will be used for storm relief efforts.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: McDonald's is ready to start selling quarter pounder burgers again after the recent E. coli outbreak that killed one person and left a dozen sick across 13 states. A statement from Colorado's Department of Agriculture said beef patties it tested were negative for the bacteria. Federal agencies are still investigating the source of the deadly outbreak.

[03:40:01]

McDonald's says some 900 restaurants that -- onions from Taylor Farms Colorado Springs facility will resume sales of quarter pounders, but without any of those slivered onions.

Still to come for us, Japan's new prime minister says he won't step down after a snap election delivers bitter results for his ruling party. More on that, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: Japan has been plunged into political uncertainty after the ruling coalition lost its majority for the first time in 15 years. But new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishida is standing firm, signaling he won't step down from his position, but will work on internal reforms for the party before any broader, more drastic political moves are made. CNN's Marc Stewart has been following this story for us, and he's live

from Beijing. Now, Marc, the ruling party really suffering this kind of defeat. A bit shocking, although certainly voters had been dissatisfied even with the new prime minister. It is a watershed moment in some ways.

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is about 50 percent of the Japanese population went and voted in this election still seen as low but it is as you said a watershed moment.

This is a political power party that has been such a power force for as you mentioned more than a decade and the current prime minister, Ishida, he really has been outspoken he's almost an outlier not afraid to criticize -- to criticize the party but he does have this big task of trying to win over support when this whole coalition is very bruised.

Before he does that though he is also made it clear it's time for some introspection and some reflection on the current state of affairs if you will in Japan and really take seriously this vote of the people in fact when he was speaking a short time ago.

[03:45:06]

He said that the party received extremely harsh judgment from the people, and the party needs to take this seriously and solemnly. And once he works through that, if you will, there are some big tasks to tackle. Number one is the Japanese economy. Right now the yen is weak, inflation is high, and there's been a lot of turbulence in recent months about the markets.

So that is something he has to tackle because it is impacting Japanese citizens and their everyday lives. And then there is this credibility question. There has been a big scandal unfolding in Japan of which lawmakers have been accused of taking kickbacks, not properly reporting their income. And this is a big deal, especially in a society that focuses very much on conformity and regulation.

So he has some legislative tasks, but in order to do that, he needs to win the support of other lawmakers other than those who are in the coalition. So perhaps that's why he's taking this moment of self- reflection. The markets seem to be liking this. The Nikkei at one point was up close to 2 percent, which in market speak is a lot. And it's not just Japan that is paying attention to this.

Obviously, China has a stake in this. South Korea and of course the United States, which obviously has long military and diplomatic relations with Japan in particular. So Paula, we will have to see if the Prime Minister, the relatively new Prime Minister who is bound to stay in his job is able to master the art of political persuasion coming up.

NEWTON: Yeah, but certainly good news that the markets believe in their -- could be some reforms upcoming there in Japan. Marc Stewart for us, I appreciate it. Now the Catholic Church has just wrapped up a three year long global

meeting focused on the church's future, but Catholic women say there will be no future if their voices are not heard. As Christopher Lamb reports, women are pressuring the Pope for equality in an institution that will not let them serve in leadership roles.

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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Many women impatient for reform, calling on the Pope to take action.

KATE MCELWEE, WOMEN'S ORDINATION WORLDWIDE: The time is now to open all ordained ministries to women.

LAMB (voice-over): Finding a greater role for women in the Catholic Church has become an urgent issue. The all-male clergy continue to dominate decision-making roles in the Church, even more so in the Vatican. Women are barred from ordination as priests. And like previous popes, Francis has upheld that ruling. But this pope has opened a door to reform, appointing women to senior positions in the Vatican, recognizing the role women are already playing in the church, seeking to give them greater visibility.

And for the first time, giving women the right to vote at a Vatican synod assembly, which concluded on Sunday. One of those voter participants is a 23-year-old studying theology and physics in Philadelphia, the youngest woman to take part in such an event.

JULIA OSEKA, STUDENT, ST. JOSEPH'S UNIVERSITY, PHILADELPHIA: There is definitely an urgent need to not only realize and accept that women have an equal baptismal dignity to men in the Catholic Church, but also to take action. And our Synod is discussing issues on how to better make women visible, give them leadership roles, give them the same platform of action as men in the Catholic Church.

LAMB (voice-over): Nevertheless, Francis has faced criticism for expressing conservative views on women's roles. The Pope also knocking back a proposal for women to become deacons, an ordained church position. But the Vatican assembly insisting this topic must continue to be looked at, and for women to be given leadership roles.

Francis accepting their proposals, recognizing the need for more reform.

HELENA JEPPESEN-SPUHLER, SYNOD DELEGATE: If we don't take a strong stand, it's contradicting our own message inside our own institution. We also have to do more steps.

LAMB (voice-over): In the face of a male-dominated Vatican culture and centuries of inequality, change won't come overnight.

AUSTEN IVEREIGH, PAPAL BIOGRAPHER: I think the Pope has opened a window for women. There's no question. Under his pontificate, we've seen women occupy really important senior roles here in Rome in the Vatican, but also increasingly across the church and we've got women voting in a synod of bishops for the first time. LAMB (voice-over): What may seem like small steps to those on the

outside are in fact leaps for many within the church.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Okay, now even if you're not a fan of American football, you got to see this fantastic finish from one of the games. A rookie quarterback heaves the ball into the air as time runs out, and what happened next changed everything. You want to see this.

[03:50:10]

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NEWTON: Fantastic finish from Sunday's NFL matchup between the Washington Commanders and the Chicago Bears. Washington's Jaden Daniels put up a 52-yard Hail Mary pass as time ran out and you saw it there. Wide receiver Noah Brown snagged it in the end zone.

I want you to have another look at this. Rookie quarterback Daniels held onto that ball for 13 seconds before, there it goes, launching it. Quite a show for the home crowd in Landover. Maryland. In fact, you could call it the miracle in Maryland. I just did it. The final score, Commanders 18, The Bears 14, painful loss for them.

Now, L.A. Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is expected to play in game three of the World Series on Monday, despite injuring his shoulder during game two on Saturday. Ohtani was hurt while trying to steal second base in the bottom of the seventh inning. Team manager Dave Roberts says he doesn't see a reason to bench Ohtani if he could play through pain. That's what he said.

[03:55:06]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE ROBERTS, MANAGER, LOS ANGELES DODGERS: He's got to still go through the workout and swing the bat. But again, today feels better than yesterday. And our assumption is tomorrow is going to feel better than today. And so with that, you know, that's what I'm banking on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Might have been bad news for the Yankees. The Dodgers currently have a 2-0 lead over the New York Yankees in the best of seven series.

Okay, there was a special guest in the crowd for Adele's Saturday night concert in Las Vegas. The Embrace, there it is. Check out the emotional hug between Adele and Celine Dion. It brought the two powerhouse singers to tears. You can see them there and it brought the crowd to its feet. So Adele is in the final weeks of her Las Vegas residency. She's performing in the Caesars Palace venue that was specially built more than two decades ago to host Celine Dion's own residency. Give that embrace again.

Okay, thousands of people gathered in central London ahead of Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights. This was the colorful scene in Trafalgar Square Sunday. London Mayor Siddique Khan joined the celebrations. He said Diwali marks the victory of light over darkness and good over evil. This year Diwali falls on October 31st and of course that lines up with the American tradition of Halloween, which they also in fact do celebrate throughout parts of the U.K. as well.

I'm Paula Newton, in New York. And that does it for this hour. There's more "CNN Newsroom" after the break with Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane in London.

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