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Six Days to go in the Race for the White House; What Black Voters are Saying in Battleground Georgia; "Political Technologists" Prepare for Election Interference; The U.S. Election Cycle Can Trigger Insomnia. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired October 30, 2024 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. Here are some of the top stories we're following today.

The Supreme Court has ruled that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will remain on the ballot in Michigan and Wisconsin. Kennedy recently filed an emergency appeal to remove his name, but election officials believe it was too late because early voting has begun. R.F.K. Jr., he dropped out of the presidential race in August, and he has endorsed Donald Trump.

And the polls are now open across Botswana for the general election to choose the next parliament, which will then elect a president. The ruling Botswana Democratic Party has held power there since the southern African country got its independence from Britain in 1966.

And the Chinese spacecraft blasted off earlier today with three astronauts on board. The crew is heading to China's permanently inhabited space station to conduct dozens of scientific experiments. China is now focused on landing a person on the moon by 2030.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are doing all they can to shore up support from undecided voters. On Tuesday, Harris chose a symbolic spot for what her campaign called her closing argument, speaking from the park where Trump rallied supporters before the January 6th Capitol riots. Harris told the crowd it's time for a new generation of leadership in America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: My presidency will be different because the challenges we face are different. Now our biggest challenge is to lower costs, costs that were rising even before the pandemic and that are still too high. I will make sure you have a chance not just to get by, but to get ahead.

(CHEERING)

HARRIS: Because I believe in honoring the dignity of work.

(END VIDEO CLIP) FOSTER: Trump, meanwhile, spent his day in Pennsylvania where he told supporters to get their votes in as early as possible, baselessly claiming his opponents have already started cheating.

MACFARLANE: And in the battleground state of Georgia, early voting is in full swing. FNM's new state poll finds Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are tied at 49 percent among likely voters in the state.

FOSTER: So far, early voting data shows 29 percent of Black voters in Georgia have cast their votes. That's a little lower than the 31 percent that had voted in the same time frame in 2020. CNN's Elle Reeve spoke with Black business owners and residents about how they plan to vote this time.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE WRIGHT, PET STORE OWNER: It's probably the hardest election decision I've ever had to make because I'm basing it off of not my personal self, but just my core belief of who Trump is inside is what's driving me towards Kamala.

ELLE REEVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Clayton County, Georgia, just south of Atlanta, where more than 84 percent of voters picked Biden in 2020. That makes Clayton the most Democratic county in all this year's swing states.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 2020, when Biden won, it was Clayton County who turned Georgia blue and got Biden the presidency.

REEVE: How so?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our people turned out. Clayton County turns out. We expect the same for Kamala Harris.

REEVE (voice-over): Almost 300,000 people live here and nearly 70 percent are Black. The campaigns are fighting hard for these voters. Kamala Harris was just here with Stevie Wonder.

We spoke to people at Black-owned businesses about what they were thinking in the last weeks before the election.

CHAI RICHARDSON, BARBER: I'm really not into politics, but Kamala Harris, her movement, I will say I support two things that she said and is doing. The $20,000 loan thing for the Black entrepreneurs, I really like that because it gives us a chance to, you know, get our businesses up off the ground. And another thing is she's trying to legalize marijuana.

You know, a lot of us get locked up just for our cars smelling like weed. It's a lot of synthetic weed out here, a lot of fake weed that's, you know, bad for us.

REEVE: You want it to be legalized and regulated.

RICHARDSON: Yes. And what gets me the most is it's banned in the South, where it's mostly African-Americans or Black people down here. But up in the other states, the union states, the blue states, whatever you want to call them, it's legalized.

REEVE: Well, who would you vote for if you do decide to vote?

VALERIE BURKS, HAIR STYLIST: I don't know. Maybe Harris.

REEVE: And why?

BURKS: Just listening to some of the stuff that she's said so far as far as, like, helping people. I'm big on helping.

REEVE: So why would you be undecided right now, then?

[04:35:00]

BURKS: I would have to say because this will be my first time.

REEVE: Yes.

REEVE: First time, like, ooh, OK. My mom, none of them, they've never done it, so.

REEVE (voice-over): We found a little more ambivalence about Harris than we expected based on past voting here.

SHARON LOVE NELSON, PODCASTER: I'm just like, I'm going to be straight up with you.

REEVE: That's OK. Tell me more. Why?

NELSON: Because it's two of the lesser evils. They're all bashing each other and saying this and saying that. Then I take that and I go do research. When I research it, I'm like, but I do know one thing. Trump is so bold that if the aliens is coming, he's going to tell you.

REEVE: So in an Independence Day scenario, he would tell you to evacuate.

NELSON: I mean, he just can't keep his mouth shut.

REEVE: What are your constituents saying about the election?

ERIC BELL, GEORGIA STATE HOUSE DEMOCRAT: You get a mixed bag of peanuts. You get a lot of people that say, go Kamala. You get a lot of people say, I'm not into politics. And then you even have voices say that I'm voting for Donald Trump.

REEVE: Earling, voting numbers were really high. What do you think that means?

BELL: I think that means people have something to vote for. I think that people are impassioned, emboldened. They're excited to vote for something. I'm just hoping they're voting for Kamala Harris, honestly.

BRITTNEY TUCKER, REGISTERED NURSE: We are a house divided. At this time, my husband, he's more leaning towards the Trump side and I'm leaning more towards the Harris side. But I'm still trying to persuade him to come to the other side.

REEVE: And what is his objections?

TUCKER: Well, he just doesn't feel that, like, a woman is fit for the job, so to speak.

JAMAL SIMS, BARBER: What you getting, 10-8? And then we're bringing the top down? I'm going to be honest with you. During his time in presidency, a lot of money was flowing around.

REEVES: Yes.

SIMS: You know what I mean?

REEVES: Yes.

SIMS: So that was kind of like my reason for being like, hey, if you're going to do that again, you know, run that back. He does a lot of stuff for shock value, just to get you to look at him. You know what I mean?

So I don't really be taking none of that stuff. I'm going to take my time with it. But, you know, it's like the lesser of the two evils type of thing.

REEVE: One topic of conversation has been the idea that some men don't want to vote for a woman president. Do you think that's a factor?

CRICK THE BARBER, CLAYTON COUNTY RESIDENT: I hear that a lot.

REEVE: Yes. What do they say?

CRICK: Women are too emotional to run the country.

REEVE: What do you think of that?

CRICK: What do I think of that? I'm married. You think I'm about to answer that?

REEVE: What do you say to them?

CRICK: What do I say to them?

REEVE: Yes, when they say that.

CRICK: I tell them the same thing I told you. I'm married. And my wife run my household. So you know what? If they run a household like that, I believe they can do it. I just thought about it. I believe a woman can run the presidency. I believe that.

SHARESE BING, VOTED FOR KAMALA HARRIS: I've never seen a president tweet so much out of emotions. So to say a female cannot run the country because of emotions and then the person she's running against stay on Twitter all day reacting because of emotions doesn't make sense. There are some men that are very much emotional. Their emotions might come out in different ways, anger, rage, but it's still an emotion. If you all say a woman can't run the country because she's emotional, well then he can't run the country because he's emotional. And that's all we got.

It ain't like we got 10 candidates to pick. We got one and two. So you want the emotional female, so to speak, when I say and I'm quoting it, emotional female since women are emotional or do you want the emotional male?

REEVE (voice-over): Elle Reeve, CNN, Clayton County, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Russia has launched a new drone attack on the Ukrainian capital. According to Reuters. The mayor of Kyiv wrote on Telegram that several apartment buildings were on fire. He says at least nine people are wounded, including an 11 year old girl.

MACFARLANE: Meanwhile, Russia's defense ministry is claiming a new victory on the Eastern Front, saying troops have captured the Ukrainian town of Selydove in the Donetsk region. The town was crucial for Ukrainian forces in keeping Russian troops away from the city of Pokrovsk.

FOSTER: The teen charged over a fatal stabbing at a Taylor Swift themed dance class now also faces terrorism charges.

MACFARLANE: The suspect had already been charged with murder after three young girls were killed in a knife attack in Southport, England, in July. Another eight children were injured.

FOSTER: Police say the new charges stem from a search of his home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF CONSTABLE SERENA KENNEDY, MERSEYSIDE, ENGLAND POLICE DEPARTMENT: The additional charges are number one, production of a biological toxin, namely ricin. Contrary to section one of the Biological Weapons Act 1974. And charge number two, possessing information, namely a PDF file entitled Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants. The Al-Qaeda training manual of a kind that is likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:40:00]

FOSTER: Well, the 18 year old suspect will appear in court tomorrow. So then his trial is expected to begin in January. And it's blown up into this political debate here because opposition parties saying, why didn't this information come out sooner? What are they covering up? And it started a whole conspiracy theory about that, which is, you know --

MACFARLANE: Again, an unnecessary burden on the families. FOSTER: Yes.

MACFARLANE: Who are at the heart of this.

FOSTER: And the police have their reasons for holding things back sometimes.

MACFARLANE: Yes, it's a terrible case.

Now, a man is dead and as many as nine other people are believed to be trapped beneath the rubble of a collapsed hotel in Argentina. Authorities say the 10 story building came down early Tuesday.

FOSTER: Emergency crews have been working to clear the debris and reach those who are missing. Amongst them are workers from a nearby construction site, which was allegedly operating without proper permits.

Sweden's Crown Princess Victoria has been busy preparing for her future role as head of state. Newly released video shows her taking part in a military training program earlier this year.

MACFARLANE: Is that required? I mean, I love it, but that's, that's interesting. A special officer training is designed to teach her about military tactics, science and strategy.

Her country became NATO's newest member earlier this year, ditching decades of neutrality after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

FOSTER: There is a lot of fear there about possible Russian attacks. But also, she is, you know, officially head of the military. She needs to understand it or she will be.

MACFARLANE: Yes.

FOSTER: Next, preying on fears, how misinformation and manipulation are being used in an effort to undermine the political process.

MACFARLANE: And if you're losing sleep over the election, you are not alone. A sleep specialist explains how to deal with "electsomnia."

FOSTER: It's a new thing.

MACFARLANE: Stay with us.

FOSTER: Maybe it's not new.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: The FBI has issued a new warning ahead of the U.S. presidential election about scammers trying to pull off election fraud schemes. In a statement they say names, images and logos from presidential candidates can be fraudulently used to sell items or confuse people in an effort to steal their personal information.

MACFARLANE: On Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris claimed Donald Trump is susceptible to the same kind of manipulation. She said world leaders would try to take advantage of his vanity in an effort to influence his decisions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: World leaders think that Donald Trump is an easy mark. Easy to manipulate with flattery or favor. And you can believe that autocrats like Putin and Kim Jong-un are rooting for him in this election.

I will always uphold our security, advance our national interest and ensure that the United States of America remains as we must forever be a champion of liberty around the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well to talk more about the types of misinformation and manipulation particularly coming from outside countries, we're joined by Professor Martin Innis.

[04:45:00]

He's Director of Cardiff University's Security, Crime and Intelligence Innovation Institute. Thank you so much for joining us, Professor. You've been monitoring government interference in, you know, elections for many years. You've particularly been looking at Russian interference in foreign, you know, systems. Can you just explain what we're talking about right now, how it's developed and what's going on?

MARTIN INNES, PROFESSOR, CARDIFF UNIVERSITY: Thank you. Nice to be with you. So we've been, as you say, we've been working on the disinformation problem for a number of years now.

And what we've seen over an extended period of time is in many ways that the sort of techniques that are pioneered by foreign state actors are becoming normalized. And so what we've got at the moment is lots and lots of people making lots of different claims. And in the context of an election, it becomes very, very important to try and understand where some of these are coming from and what their intended impact is.

And the research that we've done really has focused upon a particular element of Russia's strategy that we think has been overlooked. So we spent a lot of time looking at specific disinformation narratives. And we know a lot about what happens in the Kremlin.

But what we are interested in is who are the individuals who design and deliver some of these campaigns on behalf of the Kremlin.

MACFARLANE: So who are those individuals, Professor? Can you give us a bit more information of those findings?

INNES: Sure. So there's a group of individuals called political technologists in the Russian political system. And they've been there historically for a very long time. But they've become increasingly important to the Russian system. So what we were able to show is that these political technologists are

responsible for designing and delivering country plans, basically, which is doing research, researching different countries to identify the wedge issues that you could exploit by putting particular narratives through social media. And we've been able to show that they both operate domestically within Russia, but they've also been quite influential in terms of Russia's approach to Ukraine.

We've identified them operating in terms of drawing up country plans for a number of European countries, in Latin America, and in Africa as well.

FOSTER: So are they separate from the state? Are we oversimplifying it when we're saying this is state-sponsored misinformation and interference?

INNES: That's absolutely spot on. What's really interesting about these individuals is that they are effectively commercial entities. So they win contracts to run information operations on behalf of the Kremlin.

So as commercial entities, they kind of come from different backgrounds than is typical for the intelligence agency. So you see them doing some quite creative kind of things. So one of the examples that we cite in our recent report is we show that in 2023, they built a monument on the gaming system Minecraft to a particularly influential Russian leader. And over 12,000 people visited that monument in one day on Minecraft.

So they're really quite important in terms of how and why Russia's information operations are evolving and adapting and becoming increasingly sophisticated.

MACFARLANE: So with regard to this election cycle, we know how close the margins are in this election, given how close these two candidates are in the polls right now. With the work you've been doing, how much of a threat are those individuals that you've identified to how the elections, this election cycle is playing out? Have you seen much interference being poured into that space?

INNES: We can certainly see lots and lots of activity going on. And we can also show that this wasn't just a sort of a response close to the election. So in November 2024, there was a political technology conference in Russia where they actually talked about and set out what their plan for the U.S. elections would be.

So they were identifying issues such as immigration, popular sovereignty, culture wars as being areas where they wanted to put their narratives in. And we can also show that they were engaged in some fairly detailed and sophisticated profiling of the different candidates to try and work out who might be the kind of groups of voters who would be good to try and target with their messaging.

FOSTER: We've only got a few days left, haven't we? If there's a feeling that the election isn't going in the direction that, you know, Russia, for example, wants it to go in, are you concerned there could be a flurry of misinformation and manipulation in the U.S. system coming from outside the country?

[04:50:00]

INNES: It's very difficult to know whether a short term effect is possible by sort of flooding the information system in a short term kind of way. I think possibly the more important thing and something maybe for after the election will be to look at just the long term strategic approach that has been taken to try and influence the issues that people think about.

So with a lot of these kind of narratives and a lot of these information operations, it's sometimes difficult to change what people actually think. But you can shape the issues they think about so you can define the agenda on which the election is being fought. And I think it is quite interesting to look at just how accurate some of the forecasting that these four political technologists were doing back in November last year, in terms of what have been the touchstone issues for the political debates that we're seeing in the U.S. at the moment.

FOSTER: It's fascinating, isn't it?

MACFARLANE: Quite scary, actually. Professor Martin Innes, we thank you very much. We will wait to see how this election cycle plays out. Appreciate your thoughts.

INNES: Thank you.

MACFARLANE: Now, if you've been tossing and turning in your sleep in the days or even months leading up to the election day in the U.S., you probably can't wait to put this issue to bed.

FOSTER: Mandy Gaither has the story why some Americans may be experiencing "electsomnia."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANDY GAITHER, CNN NEWSOURCE (voice-over): If this election is causing you to lose sleep, you're not alone.

MICHELLE DRERUP, SLEEP SPECIALIST, CLEVELAND CLINIC: We call it "electsomnia." So it's insomnia linked with the election season.

GAITHER (voice-over): Sleep specialist Michelle Drerup with Cleveland Clinic says in her clinical practice, she's seeing more people being triggered with election-related sleep issues. She says the election can worsen symptoms in those who already struggle with insomnia and can also trigger sleep issues in those who don't have chronic sleep problems.

DRERUP: The person has difficulty falling asleep, and they may be kind of thinking about the election or potentially what the future might look like, waking up in the middle of the night and struggling to fall back asleep or even just poorer sleep quality.

GAITHER (voice-over): Drerup says to prioritize sleep before you even go to bed by limiting social media and election news exposure, which can worsen stress and add to sleep difficulties. Also, be aware of your negative thoughts and challenge them.

DRERUP: Just try to stay in the moment of where things are at right now.

GAITHER: Finally, Dreher says not to focus on the election what-ifs. Instead, zone in on things you can manage.

DRERUP We have survived many elections. We'll get through this. Right. It's only four years. Trying to figure out what I do have the ability to control. I'm going to go out and vote. I'm trying to, you know, do things to support others to vote. So thinking about what I can do versus a lot of what's out of my control.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: How much sleep are you going to lose over this election?

FOSTER: Actually, while I was watching that, I do think Americans particularly have more stress because it just goes on for so long. It's months and months and months of worrying what might happen in future. You get closer and closer. And then even now, we don't know if it's going to be resolved on the evening. There's uncertainty.

MACFARLANE: I think it could go on for many days.

FOSTER: Yes, which increases anxiety.

MACFARLANE: Yes. Yes. So, you know, good advice, I think, really, in that in that piece.

FOSTER: Luckily, we're not actually fronting our coverage. I think I'll definitely be having an "electsomnia."

MACFARLANE: So it is going to be a very late night --

FOSTER: Yes it is.

MACFARLANE: -- one way or another.

FOSTER: Now you can soon own a piece of horror movies history. Coming up, a piece of horror goes up for action just in time for Halloween.

[04:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Of course, that's a clip from the horror film Nightmare on Elm Street. And just in time for Halloween too, a treasure trove of classic horror movie posters are going on the auction block on Thursday.

MACFARLANE: And among the items being sold by British auction house Eubanks are posters from A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Wicker Man, Friday the 13th, and for the 1972 production of Dracula A.D.

FOSTER: Is Wicker Man a horror? MACFARLANE: Oh yes, very much so. I mean, I'm not even going to watch

it because it looks terrifying.

Now in Times Square, three new structures are helping New York City celebrate the Day of the Dead. During this Mexican festival, families gathered to honor ancestors who passed away and celebrate the continuity of life.

FOSTER: Yes, a very positive festival actually.

MACFARLANE: I like that, yes.

FOSTER: The sculpture in a blue and white outfit was created by artist Hady Andrew. And the one with a headdress was created by artist Carrie Black.

According to traditional belief, the dead returned to Earth to visit their loved ones on the Day of the Dead.

MACFARLANE: Really like that sentiment.

Now, London Zoo is getting into the Halloween spirit this week. Animals big and small are given special jack-o'-lantern treats.

FOSTER: The lion cubs in particular seem to enjoy it, don't they?

MACFARLANE: She knows.

FOSTER: (INAUDIBLE) their encloser.

MACFARLANE: I actually saw those very lion cubs just last week.

FOSTER: Did you?

MACFARLANE: Yes, I took my three-year-old. They've just been born, they're very sweet. Anyway, they're enjoying it, aren't they? And apparently this is for their well-being.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY MCKILLOP, ZOOKEEPER: The pumpkins mostly don't have anything. We put a little bit of spice, I think I put a little bit of cumin in today. They seem to really enjoy that.

Otherwise, we try to leave it as it is, just so the cubs have got something they can really grip onto and play with. It's really good for their kind of learning. So it's really good for them to kind of get those hunting skills. They have something they can grip onto, they can learn to pounce.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Did she really think she was going to end up on TV talking about it? More cats getting into the fun as well. One's named Dracula, of course.

MACFARLANE: Oh, there you go. Bit of a reach, isn't it? But, you know, it's Halloween tomorrow, so stay tuned for more Halloween.

And thank you for joining us on this edition of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Christina Macfarlane.

FOSTER: I'm Max Foster.

MACFARLANE: And it is Max's birthday.

FOSTER: Happy birthday to me.

MACFARLANE: Stay tuned. CNN "THIS MORNING" up after a quick break.

Should have put that at the top early, shouldn't I?

FOSTER: Not really.

[04:30:00]