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CNN International: U.S. Enters Final Stretch Before Election Day; Biden's Gaffe About Trump Supporters; Harris Pledges Unity, Looking Forward in Closing Argument; U.N. Condemns Appalling Strike in Northern Gaza; Israel Approves Law Allowing Only Embassies in Jerusalem; U.S., South Korean Officials Meet to Discuss Ukraine War; Super Typhoon Kong-Rey Heading for Taiwan's East Coast; Flash Flooding Claims at Least 62 Lives in Southeastern Spain; Yankees Live to Fight Another Day, Beat Dodgers in Game 4; Starbucks Scraps Olive Oil Coffees. Aired 8-9a ET
Aired October 30, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
SARA SIDNER, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": And then, when you look at this and when the FBI is saying like, who is getting targeted and who is getting caught in these scams, who is the most vulnerable?
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, one of the popular theories is that the elderly are the most vulnerable. We just did some great original reporting on CNN last week about people with dementia being targeted again and again, who don't remember they already gave, who are going through their life savings. But we find on scams like this --
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Hi, everyone, and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Amara Walker. This is "CNN Newsroom." Just ahead, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump try to drive their messages home with less than a week to go before Election Day. Walking it back, the White House trying to clean up comments from President Biden about Donald Trump's supporters. And the U.S. is calling an Israeli strike that killed nearly 100 people in Gaza, horrifying.
At the site where Donald Trump told the crowd to fight like hell on January 6th, right before the insurrection, Kamala Harris on Tuesday urged her supporters to look to the future. The Harris campaign says 75,000 people attended her speech Tuesday night on The Ellipse in Washington, which was billed as her closing argument. She told the crowd, Trump is unstable and obsessed with revenge. But she said it doesn't have to be this way and pledged to find common ground to bring more unity to America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: America, for too long, we have been consumed with too much division, chaos and mutual distrust. And it can be easy then to forget a simple truth, it doesn't have to be this way. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amen.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
HARRIS: It doesn't have to be this way. It is time to stop pointing fingers. We have to stop pointing fingers and start locking arms. It is time to turn the page on the drama and the conflict, the fear and division. It is time for a new generation of leadership in America.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Rather than basking in the afterglow of her speech, Harris and her campaigner are instead dealing with a new headache caused by President Joe Biden. Speaking to a Latino organization on Tuesday via video, Biden criticized a recent Trump campaign rally where a speaker, a comedian, called Puerto Rico an island of garbage. Biden appeared to say it's Trump's supporters who are garbage. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. Well, let me tell you something. I don't -- I don't know the Puerto Rican that I know, or Puerto Rico where I've in my home state of Delaware. They're good, decent, honorable people. The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latino is unconscionable and it's un-American. It's totally contrary to everything we've done. Everything we've been.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Well, the White House says what Biden really meant was that the criticism of Latinos was garbage. That the rhetoric -- rhetoric was garbage and that he was not attacking Trump's millions of fans and supporters, but Trump and his allies were quick to pounce on the comment and compared it to a big moment in the 2016 race when Hillary Clinton described some of Trump's supporters as a basket of deplorables.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R-FL): Just moments ago, Joe Biden stated that our supporters are garbage.
(CROWD BOOING)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: That's terrible. That's what it says. Remember Hillary? She said deplorable and then she said irredeemable. Right? But she said deplorable, that didn't work out. Garbage I think is worse, right? But he doesn't know. You have to please forgive him. Please forgive him for he not knoweth what he said. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: For some perspective on all this, we welcome in CNN Politics Senior Reporter, Stephen Collinson. Obviously Steven, this is not what the Harris campaign needs just six days before a very close election. How big of a gaffe did Joe Biden make? And did he throw a lifeline to Trump who's been struggling to clean up that Puerto Rico controversy?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: This is obviously not the biggest issue in this election, one which Democrats say is vital to the saving of democracy. But it is a real political matter for the Harris campaign. It's probably going to involve somebody -- a reporter today asking Harris if she believes that Trump supporters are all garbage. Whatever she answers, that will prolong the story. Whether the White House's explanation of the president's remark is correct or not, it doesn't really matter because what matters in campaigns is perception.
[08:05:00]
And as you see, Trump immediately jumped on this issue. He sees a way out of that controversy, as you mentioned, over the Puerto Rico joke (inaudible) told at his rally the other day. And to some extent, this is overshadowing that final closing argument that the vice president made outside the White House last night. So clearly, this is something that the Harris campaign, which has had a good run of media ever since that rally at Madison Square Garden at the weekend, really doesn't want to deal with.
WALKER: Well, let's talk about that closing argument from Harris on The Ellipse and let's listen to another sound bite, where she is making -- throughout the speech, she made comparisons between her and Trump and their policies. Here she is again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: This is not a candidate for President who is thinking about how to make your life better. This is someone who is unstable, obsessed with revenge, consumed with grievance, and out for unchecked power.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: Stephen, you know that there was this debate amongst Democrats on whether or not Harris should focus more on Trump's threat to democracy versus the economy and what she would do, because that is obviously the forefront issue on voters' minds during this speech. Did she strike a good balance there?
COLLINSON: Yeah, she tried to do both. She used the venue, the place where Trump gave that notorious speech on January 6, 2021 as a symbol of what Americans could expect going forward if the former president gets back into the White House. And she argued that she would spend her time in the White House not chasing vengeances and grievances, but by trying to bring down the cost of groceries, making housing more affordable, widening access to healthcare. I think in isolation, it was an effective argument if you consider who she was trying to talk to, that was wavering Republicans who don't like Trump, but are still on the fence about jumping to a Democrat, perhaps moderate voters who haven't decided yet whether they're going to vote and looked at what happened at the weekend and Trump's rage and anger, and think we can't go through all of that again.
But in some ways, Harris, I think would've been a more -- perhaps is not the best messenger for that. she talked about herself being the herald of a new generation of leadership. The problem is for American- Americans, they see her as an incumbent. She's the vice president of an unpopular Democratic Administration. The White House over her shoulder was a reminder of that. And I'm not sure that for many Americans outside the East Coast and across the great heartland of the United States, that this speech was quite effective as perhaps the Harris campaign would've hoped.
WALKER: Well, we shall see in six plus days from now. Stephen Collinson, great to have you as always. Thank you for your time.
In Nevada, both Trump and Vice President Harris are making last minute campaign stops in the coming days as they try to secure the Latino vote. Rolling Stone reports that singer Jennifer Lopez will speak at a Harris rally on Thursday to help with those efforts. A new CNN poll shows Harris currently has a slight lead over Trump, among likely Latino voters in Nevada and in Arizona.
CNN's John King finds out what Latino voters in Nevada are saying.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dawn in battleground Nevada, the Vegas morning rush, one week to Election Day.
ANTONIO MUNOZ, NEVADA RESIDENT: So it's very, very tense. It's nerve wracking, because you just don't know what's going to happen.
KING (voice-over): Antonio Munoz owns the '911 Taco Bar'. He's a veteran and a retired Las Vegas police officer, undecided and unhappy with his choices when we first visited 11 months ago, leaning Kamala Harris when we returned six weeks ago, now definitely Harris. Trump's weekend rally in New York removed any doubt.
MUNOZ: That was very, very upsetting. They spoke about Mexicans and having kids like nothing. It was like, where do you come up with this stuff? Why would you say something like that in an atmosphere like that? And that's very troubling.
KING (voice-over): Munoz is betting on a narrow Harris win here, but says the Latino community is more evenly split than in past campaigns because of housing and grocery costs.
MUNOZ: Inflation, it has affected a lot of people here in our community and they don't see their dollar going the way it used to go. I think they really think Trump's going to make it better which -- one person can't come in and just inflation is going down. It's a process.
KING (voice-over): Early voting here runs through Friday, and more than seven in 10 Nevada voters live here in Clark County. That's Las Vegas, and its fast-growing suburbs.
(APPLAUSE)
[08:10:00]
KING (voice-over): One big difference this cycle is the Republican embrace of early voting. Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton on hand in Vegas for a 'Veterans for Trump' event to kick off the final week.
One in five Nevada voters is Latino, and a big election year focus at Fiesta 98.1 is urging listeners to flex their political muscle. Rafael Cerros Jr. is one of the owners. Six weeks ago, he told us he was undecided and that Trump was running strong among Latinos here.
KING: Anything different from the last time we were here?
RAFAEL CERROS JR., NEVADA RESIDENT: A lot, a lot.
KING (voice-over): Cerros is now voting Harris, and he says the racist insults at the weekend Trump event exploded on social media, triggered listener calls, texts, emails.
CERROS JR.: That alone flipped a lot of people that were going to go for Trump now saying, hey, maybe I'm not too sure and maybe I'm going with Harris. The rhetoric whether directly from the candidate or not, it's kind of scary, especially for Latinos here in Vegas, specifically my Mexican people.
KING: He says, oh, he don't know -- he doesn't know who allowed those speakers to speak at his rally.
CERROS JR.: Oh, that's BS.
KING: That's BS?
CERROS JR.: That's BS.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KING (on camera): Just two voters there, so we need to be careful not to draw sweeping conclusions. But we've been in touch with Antonio and with Rafael for months, and we know how plugged in they are, how active they are in the Latino community here. If they are right, and that weekend event in New York has even a modest impact on Trump's support here, well, a modest impact can make a big difference in a battleground that is so close.
John King, CNN, Las Vegas.
WALKER: Another fascinating look, John, thank you. The U.N. is condemning a deadly Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Northern Gaza and raising concerns about possible violations of international law. The U.S. calls the strike horrifying. Gaza's Health Ministry says at least 93 people, including 25 children were killed Tuesday. The Israeli military says it's "Trying to understand why so many people were in the area at the time of the strike as it had ordered civilians to evacuate."
Separately, a photo obtained by CNN shows a large crowd of Palestinian men as they evacuated a town in the north. Witnesses say they were detained and most men ordered to strip by the Israeli military. This could be in violation of the Geneva Conventions, which says any detainee must be treated humanely. CNN's Matthew Chance joining us now from Jerusalem.
Matthew, let's start with this airstrike on this residential building in Northern Gaza. I understand you have some new information.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, a little bit of new information coming to us from Israeli military sources here in Israel, basically saying that, look, an investigation is underway as to what caused such a high number of casualties as a result of this airstrike that took place on Tuesday. Look, there were 93 people killed, including 25 children. That's coming to us from Palestinian health officials. The Israeli military source that I spoke to said that that's likely to be an exaggerated number.
But, nevertheless, there is this investigation underway as to why so many people were inside a building in an area that was meant to have been evacuated they say. They said there have been evacuation orders for this part of the Gaza Strip, Beit Lahia in Northern Gaza for the past several weeks. The source said that normally, the Israeli military know if a building's being used as a shelter for civilians or being used by some other organization. They had no knowledge, they said that there were people inside this building before it was struck. But they hit it because they had spotted somebody on top of the roof who they identified was a spotter for Hamas. They carried out -- they fired against him. The building collapsed. They didn't mean to collapse the building, they say.
But nevertheless, there is high casualty toll and that sparked this investigation on the part of the Israeli military to try and work out why is there so many people who are confirmed dead. Here's a quote from our source. "Our investigation is ongoing, but we struck a confirmed spotter in an active war zone, and many of the names of the dead are known Hamas and Jihadi terrorists", the military source told us. So basically, they went on to say that this could have been some kind of a Hamas gathering point, but it takes nothing away from the fact that there are such appalling scenes being played out almost on a daily basis now inside Northern Gaza.
This is just the latest example of that, with Israeli forces really focusing their fire on what they say are resurgent Hamas militant activities in that area. And it's having a big toll on the civilian population with hundreds of people, if not more, confirmed by the Hamas controlled -- or what was the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Health Ministry, Palestinian health officials, hundreds of people being killed in that series of attacks. And again, this is the latest example of that. It's been condemned by the United States. It's been condemned by the United Nations and others as well. But nevertheless, Israel is keeping up its military pressure in that part of the Gaza Strip. Amara?
[08:15:00]
WALKER: And, could you talk a little bit about the Knesset passing this new bill, allowing only certain embassies to be opened and what the implication of that is?
CHANCE: Yeah, I mean, I think this is a bill, which is -- it's a new session of the Knesset, by the way, that just got underway within the past few days. And they've taken this opportunity to really push through legislation that is pretty hard line. It is pretty -- kind of tough legislation, stuff that's been sort of talked about for a long time. This is one example of that. It's a bill that prevents countries from opening consulates in Jerusalem. They want countries to open embassies in Jerusalem, to reiterate this idea and to underline the idea that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Many countries, of course have embassies in Tel Aviv and only consulates in Jerusalem. But it's part of a whole spate of legislation as well.
I mean, a couple of days ago, UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees was banned in a bill, went through the Knesset. There have been other examples as well of legislation being discussed, which would lead to the deportation, for example, of families of known terrorists inside Israel. They would be deported to Gaza or to elsewhere for a particular length of time. And so, look, in this new Knesset political season, the Israeli authorities, the Israeli government, which is a very hard-line, right-wing coalition, supported by very hard-line coalition partners is doing what it can to push through some very tough legislation politically while it can, while it has the majority in this country, Amara.
WALKER: Matthew Chance, appreciate your reporting as always. Thank you very much.
U.S. and South Korean security officials will meet at the Pentagon today to discuss North Korea's deployment of troops to Russia and Ukraine. Now, according to Western intelligence sources, a small number of North Korean soldiers are now deployed inside Ukraine, and that number is expected to rise. The U.S. estimates roughly 10,000 troops sent by Pyongyang are training in Eastern Russia and could soon be sent to combat zones inside Ukraine.
CNN's U.S. National Security Correspondent, Natasha Bertrand joining us now from the Pentagon. Natasha, this meeting of U.S. and South Korean security officials, what are they discussing? What might come from that?
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Amara, the South Koreans have been raising the alarm about this deployment of North Korean troops to Russia for quite some time now. And it took the U.S. a little bit of time to catch up with the exact number that the South Koreans were saying were actually deployed to Russia for participation in the war in Ukraine alongside Russian forces. The U.S. was not confirming for several weeks that these North Koreans were there and that frustrated the South Koreans.
And so what you're seeing today and through this week is the South Koreans coming to the Pentagon, coming to Washington, to try to convey the urgency of the situation to the Americans, to brief them on the intelligence that they have collected about what kind of North Korean forces are being deployed, which we are told they are actually special operations troops that are being deployed to Russia and to Ukraine. And also, how many -- the South Koreans still say that there are much more troops in Russia right now than the U.S. has estimated. South Korea puts it at around 13,000 North Koreans that are currently in Russia, whereas the U.S. and the U.K. put that number a little lower at around 10,000.
And so, this is really an all hands on deck moment for the South Koreans who were actually also just at NATO headquarters in Brussels, briefing them on the same thing because the South Koreans say that this is an urgent threat, not only to their own national security, but for the security of the entire international community. Here's what the South Korean president has said about this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YOON SUK YEOL, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (through translator): This illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea is a significant security threat to the international community and could pose a serious risk to our national security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERTRAND: Now, we're told that there is a small number of North Korean troops already inside Ukraine, and officials do expect that number to grow. And it really signals that the North Koreans do intend to engage in combat alongside Russian forces. And in fact, we're told that the North Koreans wanted that, that is part of the reason that they sent the North Korean troops there, is to get them combat experience because of course, North Korea has not actually been in a war for well over 70 years.
And so, this is obviously a very concerning development for the international community, for the U.S., for the South Koreans, and that is expected to be top of mind during the meetings this week, Amara.
WALKER: Yeah, and of course, lot of questions about how this language barrier will play into the effectiveness of the North Korean troops and their deployment. Natasha Bertrand at the Pentagon, thank you.
[08:20:00]
We are tracking severe weather around the globe, a super typhoon is barreling to towards Taiwan. We're going to look at how much power it' is packing and when it will reach the island. And in Spain, flood waters ravaged the country's southeast with deadly consequences. We're going to look at the damage it left behind.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WALKER: Taiwan's Eastern Coast is bracing for impact from Super Typhoon Kong-Rey. The powerful storm is moving northwest over the Philippine Sea with winds of 240 kilometers per hour. That is equivalent to a Category 4 Hurricane. Forecasters expect Kong-Rey to make landfall on Thursday, bringing rainfall across the entire island, and that's leaving villages in Taiwan's mountainous regions vulnerable to landslides.
And in Spain, flash flooding has claimed at least 62 lives.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER (voice-over): Yeah, this is rainwater cascading down through a neighborhood in Valencia. Parts of Southeastern Spain received up to 30 centimeters of rain in just a few hours, look at the powerful currents there. And after the floods, you can see the muddy mess left behind. One local resident described what happened when the flooding began.
ANTONIO CARMONA , RESIDENT (through translator): What happened here is that when we looked by here, we saw everything going down. It took cars, took down half of the house of one of our neighbors, and we had to come in. Look how we have our torn clothes because we were saving dogs. Dogs were around and near the river one hour ago. We were able to save the dogs. They're over there now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: Let's bring in Atika Shubert following the story in Southeastern Spain in Xirivella. Atika, tell us more about what the people there have gone through and what they're dealing with now.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what they're dealing with now is not only cleanup and unfortunately, in many villages searching for bodies, but also the threat of possibly more rainstorms. They've issued a yellow and red -- excuse me, a yellow and orange alert for this area, meaning there could still be heavy rains and high winds, and possibly even hail, which is what we saw yesterday, last night. It all happened very suddenly.
In fact, for most of the day, it seemed to be just sort of drizzling and then all of a sudden a huge downpour. And to give you a sense of just how unusual this is here, this river bed beside me is normally completely dry. It is now almost halfway full and last night, actually broke through the banks on the other side, and lines of cars had to be abandoned. That's why now here, you can see on this side of the highway, people are just trying to get out here and it's completely blocked off.
[08:25:00]
In fact, many of the highways here were completely unusable last night and as of this morning. So, it has thrown the entire area into a state of chaos. Not to mention, of course, those rural villages which found themselves completely inundated. As you point out, there have been a number of deaths, at least 62. Search and rescue, however, is still continuing, Amara.
WALKER: So Atika, the traffic behind you, where are the people headed? And tell us more about these search and rescue efforts that are underway.
SHUBERT: Yeah, well, what you have to understand is that the sheer amount of rain that came down in just a few hours was so much that many people were taken by surprise. So for example, in one town, somebody tried to go check on their car in the basement, but the elevator stopped, the waters rose, and this is when it was most dangerous. People found themselves suddenly trapped inside their basements or on the first floors and weren't always able to get to safety. Or in some cases, cars that had been left abandoned in traffic were simply picked up by the water and moved around. So, incredibly dangerous situations last night.
What you're seeing here is many people actually trying to get to some of those villages, get to relatives that have been stranded, mostly into the interior where the river goes. This river is actually a redirection because similar rains in previous years have actually been quite deadly as well. So, they redirected the river waters here. That's helped some, but clearly, it's still not enough to deal with some of the really massive downpours that happened last night, Amara.
WALKER: The traffic there behind you is not moving. You can see people getting out of the cars, obviously, trying to see what's going on. They are obviously concerned about friends and family. Atika Schubert, thank you for your reporting. It's great to see you.
Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joining us now with a look at both of these weather trouble spots. I mean, it's -- that's Southeastern Spain. The pictures are terrifying just to see the rush of water there through a neighborhood.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Amara, yeah, I think it's important we analyze this video a little bit closer because what you're seeing here is this torrent of flood water, but in this water, is an immense amount of pressure that has the capability of tossing vehicles, also starting to break down some of the walls of buildings. We've seen some of that in the footage that we've received and a lot of this is picking up debris along with it. So, you can imagine traveling at that rate of speed, you're going to have a considerable amount of devastation and destruction, so, which we have already clearly seen with the videos coming out of the region.
Now, to put this into perspective, this Chiva region which is in Valencia, the Province of Valencia, 491 millimeters in eight hours. That actually exceeds their yearly average amount of rainfall just in that eight-hour time span. So, there are no locations in the world that can handle that amount of rain in such a short period of time and there were other impressive rainfall totals coming out of the region. And as Atika just mentioned in her live shot a moment ago, we're not quite out of the woods just yet in terms of additional precipitation.
So what in the world is going on? So we've got this, what's called water vapor satellite imagery. And I want you to notice this swirling massive cloud across the Iberian Peninsula. That is the low pressure responsible for the rainfall. It's getting this feed of moisture from the Western Mediterranean Ocean. But I want you to notice this cloud band to the north of it, that's actually the jet stream. This is the typical weather patterns in the upper levels of the atmosphere that drive low pressure systems from west to east across the northern hemisphere.
Well, unfortunately, this low -- the responsible low for the flood threat across Spain is removed from that particular weather pattern. So the fact that it doesn't have anything to push it along means that it just sits and literally spins across Spain and the Iberian Peninsula for days at a time. So, this is going to just accumulate more and more rain into some of the hardest hit areas. Of course, we've seen the rainfall totals exceeding 475 millimeters already, but we do not like to see additional rain on this forecast. But that slow moving low makes this meteorologist believe that the flood threat has not quite waned just yet.
I want to take you to the other side of the world because we are also monitoring another major story. This is Typhoon Kong-Rey which has just been downgraded from a super typhoon to a typhoon, but still very powerful, very dangerous, and it's got its eye set on Taiwan, the third landfalling typhoon of the season. It's already being picked up on the latest Taiwanese local radar. This thing is gargantuan; it's massive. I mean, we're talking several hundred kilometers wide in diameter. The eye is huge as well.
So, there was actually a close-up visible satellite imagery I was analyzing earlier of these little spins in the cloud cover within the eye wall, just an indicator of a very intense tropical cyclone, so intense that it underwent this rapid intensification that we've been seeing unfold across the planet this year with our warming temperatures and the warming oceans as well.
[08:30:00]
So, when does this make landfall? Again, local time midday on Thursday across the Southeast Coast of Taiwan. It then veers away from China, but we still feel the impacts with heavy rain and wind. It does appear though that the eye wall will stay offshore, good news for Shanghai. But look at those rainfall totals. As the storm fall approaches Taiwan, it'll interact with the mountains there, squeeze out all the available moisture. We could see rainfall totals exceeding what they experienced in Spain from this latest heavy rainfall event. So, flash flooding in Taiwan, flash flooding in Spain.
WALKER: A lot to watch for. Derek Van Dam, thank you.
And still to come on the same night Kamala Harris delivers the most important speech of her political career, U.S. President Joe Biden unintentionally injects himself into a razor-thin race with a comment reminiscent of a major political faux pa. Then, Donald Trump is trying to recapture the crucial swing state of Georgia after losing it four years ago. Ahead, CNN speaks to black business owners and residents about how they plan to vote.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: A closing argument with a clear message of unity and a vow for a better future. Kamala Harris delivered her speech Tuesday night at the very same spot where Donald Trump incited an angry mob nearly four years ago. She warned about the former president's threat to democracy, also laying out her vision for America and promising to walk in with a to-do list on day one.
Trump meanwhile continues to push unconfirmed allegations of voter fraud, this time in Pennsylvania. And the White House is in damage control mode today after U.S. President Joe Biden made a remark reminiscent of Hillary Clinton's 'deplorables' comment. At least that's how the Trump campaign and their allies are trying to compare it. CNN's Arlette Saenz joining me now live with more.
I mean, we're just six days before the election. This is not a situation that the White House wants to find itself in.
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, it's not. And that is why the White House was very quick to try to clean up President Biden's comments that have really created a political opening for Republicans and a political headache for Vice President Kamala Harris in these closing days before the election. The Trump campaign quickly seized on the President's comment, sending out a fundraising email saying, "You are not garbage. I love you. You are the best our nation has to offer."
Now, just to recap how this all came about, President Biden was speaking on a virtual organizing call with 'Voto Latino' as they were trying to mobilize Latino voters and he had referenced that joke that was made by a comedian at Trump's rally on Sunday calling Puerto Rico an island of floating garbage. I want to play for you what President Biden said in response last night.
[08:35:18]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: And just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable and it's un-American. It's totally contrary to everything we've done, everything we've been.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: Now, the way that he talked about Trump's supporters there really created a political firestorm in the immediate aftermath, which was coinciding with when Vice President Kamala Harris was delivering that speech on The Ellipse. Now, the White House really tried to quickly clean this up, a spokesperson pointing out and arguing that when the president was using the word supporters, that he -- there was an apostrophe in there, saying that he was specifically referencing that joke that was made at the Trump rally.
But then they realized they needed to do more to try to get out in front of this. And President Biden posted from his political account writing, "Earlier today, I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump's supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage, which is the only word I can think of to describe it. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That's all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don't reflect who we are as a nation."
But even those clarifications did not stop Republicans from really seizing on this moment. J.D. Vance, the vice presidential candidate on the GOP side, posted on X, "This is disgusting. Kamala Harris and her boss, Joe Biden, are attacking half of the country. There's no excuse for this. I hope Americans reject it."
Now, the Harris campaign, this morning, has come out to defend President Biden. They've said that he has clarified his remarks, but tried to stress that the vice president is running her own campaign. Governor Tim Walz, this morning, said that he and Harris are focused on being open to all people. But certainly, this serves as a major distraction in the final days of this election, at a time when every word, every statement, every move is carefully dissected, and we'll see if Vice President Kamala Harris decides to respond to this directly, even as the White House has tried to clarify the President's remarks.
WALKER: All right. Arlette Saenz, appreciate it. Thank you very much.
To the battleground state of Georgia now, and early voting here is in full swing. So far, the numbers show 29 percent of black voters there have cast a ballot. That's a little lower than the 31 percent who voted during the same timeframe 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: This is probably the hardest election decision I've ever had to make because I'm basing it off of not my personal self, but my -- 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 get our businesses up off the ground. And another thing is she's trying to legalize marijuana because you know, a lot of us get locked up just for our car smelling like weed. There is a lot of synthetic weed out here, a lot of fake weed that's bad for us.
REEVE: You want it to be legalized and regulated?
RICHARDSON: Yes. And what gets me the most is, it is 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 (inaudible) 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?
BURKS: I would have to say, because this will be my first time.
REEVE: Yeah.
(LAUGH)
BURKS: First time, like, woo, OK. My mom, none of them, they -- they've never done it. So --
[08:40:00]
REEVE (voice-over): We found a little more ambivalence about Harris than we expected based on past voting here.
SHARON LOVE NELSON, PODCASTER: Am I decisive? I'm going to be straight out 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. And when I research it, I'm like, but I do know one thing. Trump is so bold that if the aliens is coming, he is going to tell you.
(LAUGH) REEVE: Yeah. So in an Independence Day scenario --
NELSON: Yes.
REEVE: He would tell you to evacuate?
NELSON: He would tell -- so I mean he just -- he can't keep his mouth shut.
REEVE: What are your constituents saying about the election?
ERIC BELL, GEORGIA STATES 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: Early 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.
BRITNEY TUCKER, REGISTERED NURSE: We -- our house is divided --
REEVE: Really?
TUCKER: -- 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? (Inaudible)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
SIMS: And then, we bringing the top down?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
SIMS: I'm going to be honest with you. During his time in presidency, a lot of money was flowing around.
REEVE: Yeah.
SIMS: You know what I mean?
REEVE: Yeah.
SIMS: So, that was kind of like my reason for being like, hey, if you are going to do that again, we'll run that (ph) 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 serious. I'm going to take my time with it because, 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: Yeah. What do they say?
CRICK THE BARBER: Women are too emotional to run the country.
REEVE: What do you think of that?
CRICK THE BARBER: What do I think of that? I'm married. You think I'm about to answer that?
(LAUGH)
REEVE: What do you say to them?
CRICK THE BARBER: What do I say to them?
REEVE: Yeah. When they say that.
CRICK THE BARBER: I tell them the same thing I told you. I'm married, so -- and my wife runs my household. So, you know what, if they run a household like that, they could -- I believe they can do it. I just thought about it. I believe a woman could run the presidency. I believe that.
SHARENE 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 stays on Twitter all day, reacting because of emotions, it 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 a country because he is emotional and that's all we got. It ain't like we got 10 candidates to pick. We got one and two. So it's you want the emotional female, so to speak, when I say and I'm quoting, emotional female since women are emotional, or do you want the emotional male?
REEVE (voice-over): Elle Reeve, CNN, Clayton County, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: What a fascinating look. Our thanks to Elle Reeve. More news after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:45:35]
WALKER: When it comes to sports, there are a few athletes who can compete with gymnast Simone Biles. Fresh off a record-breaking Olympic performance, our Coy Wire spent time with Biles and her teammate Jordan Chiles. They discuss the importance of mental health and how being vulnerable can inspire others. It's part of a series called "Visionaries."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In 2021 at the Delayed Tokyo Olympic Games, all eyes were on Simone Biles. The expectations were through the roof, the pressure immense. It seemed a done deal, Simone would go home with the gold and no one would even come close. And then this happened.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": It is Wednesday, July 28th, the breaking news this morning. Simone Biles, perhaps the greatest gymnast of all time and maybe the best athlete on earth right now, announced moments ago that she will not compete in tomorrow's all-around gymnastics competition for Team U.S.A. at the Olympics. U.S.A. Gymnastics says she's withdrawing to focus on her mental health and she has their support.
WIRE (voice-over): It was a stunning moment. On the world's biggest stage, Simone stepped away from her sport, but not from the spotlight. She used her platform to speak openly about mental health, putting it squarely at the forefront in real-time.
WIRE: I think people love sports more than just the physical feats that they witness. It's the story.
SIMONE BILES, AMERICAN GYMNAST: It's the stories to be told as well.
WIRE: Yeah, it's the underdog story. It's the comeback story. And Simone, you've been such a champion for mental health.
BILES: Yeah.
WIRE: What's been the result of that? Of everything you've been through and how you've become --
BILES: Yeah.
WIRE: -- a champion for your own wellbeing, representing all those out there who might be struggling?
BILES: It's the people that I can help along the way and just know I'm not the poster child for it, but I'll support your mental health journey. And everybody's mental health journey is unique, so I want you to just take your time and be patient with that, and be patient with yourself. And there is beauty in being vulnerable and yeah, I think it's really nice because now people come up to me and they're like, I've been in therapy for the first time in my life and thank you so much. Like, there's power in that. And so I really -- I just know I'm helping people out there. JORDAN CHILES, AMERICAN GYMNAST: She's helped me.
(LAUGH)
CHILES: Yes.
(LAUGH)
BILES: I'm like, (inaudible).
CHILES: Yes.
(LAUGH)
BILES: You got (ph) the therapy.
CHILES: She's like, come on now. Get it together.
BILES: Yeah.
(LAUGH)
WIRE: The strongest steel burned in the hottest coals, right?
BILES: Yeah.
WIRE: And Jordan --
CHILES: Which is very -- I'm very thankful actually. Like for her to be able, when being in that position that she was in, during that timeframe, and her being vulnerable, it just made it even better for not just me, but everybody around. Not just in our sport, but just people in general.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: And we will continue the "Visionaries" Series on Thursday.
Still to come. Baseball's World Series. Did the Yankees fold or fight after L.A. Dodger Freddie Freeman hit a homer early in Game 4. We're going to have that straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:50:20]
WALKER: The New York Yankees may be down, but they are definitely not out of baseball's World Series against the L.A. Dodgers. The team rallied back in style Tuesday night with Anthony Volpe's Grand Slam Homer in the third inning. That sparked put the hometown crowd into a frenzy, giving the Yankees a 5-2 lead. New York never looked back, winning Game 4, 11-4. So the Dodgers now up three games to one in the Best-of-Seven series. Let's bring in CNN's Andy Scholes.
The Yankees, they proved they're not going down without a fight, but do they have it in them to win three more in a row? What does history say?
(LAUGH)
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, history says not going to happen, Amara.
WALKER: Right.
SCHOLES: No one has ever been able to do that. The Yankees are just the fourth team ever down 0-3 in the World Series to even force a Game 5. No team has ever forced a Game 6. So will the Yankees be the first ever to do it? Tonight, we will see. But in Game 4, I mean, Freddie Freeman once again just letting the air out of Yankee Stadium. He had another first inning home run. Freeman has home run in all four games this World Series. He has home run in six straight, dating back to when he was on the Braves, which is a new World Series record.
And the Yankees offense, it would finally come alive though in this game. It was the bottom of the order coming through in the third inning. Anthony Volpe, the New York native, got a hold of that one for a grand slam, setting Yankee Stadium just into a frenzy. Put Yankees up 5-2. Yankees were then at five in the eighth, and they would go on to win 11-4 to stay alive in this series.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANTHONY VOLPE, NEW YORK YANKEES SHORTSTOP: I pretty much blacked out as soon as I saw it go over the fence. But, now, we just want to keep putting pressure on them and I think everyone had confidence in everyone in the lineup that someone was going to get the big hit.
AARON BOONE, NEW YORK YANKEES MANAGER: Look, we just showed up today, ready to play and we're trying to get one and trying to get it to tomorrow. You don't even get ahead of yourself and start thinking about the series. It's like our guys were ready to play.
SCHOLES (voice-over): Now, the first inning, Gleyber Torres fouled out to Mookie Betts in the right field. And as Mookie made the catch, a Yankees fan grabbed his glove and pried the ball out while his buddy grabbed Mookie's arm. Yankees fans want to help the team win, but you just can't do that. Umpires, they called it an out, both fans ejected from the game. Here's what Mookie had to say about the incident afterwards.
MOOKIE BETTS, L.A. DODGERS OUTFIELDER: When it comes to the person in play, it doesn't matter. We lost. It's irrelevant. I'm fine. He's fine. Everything's cool. When you see the game, we lost the game. And that's what I'm kind of focused on. You got to turn the page and get ready for tomorrow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHOLES: Yeah, Mookie definitely taking the high road there, Amara. But if the Yankees somehow pull off a miracle and come back and win this series, all their fans are going to point to that moment right there, that turned things around. WALKER: I can't believe what the fans did there. I mean, they were holding onto his other hand as well. I mean, but wow.
SCHOLES: Wow.
WALKER: Yeah, he was very diplomatic there. Andy Scholes, thank you.
So it is all over for Starbucks, all Otto Coffees, the iconic coffee chain is scrapping its olive oil -- olive oil infused drinks in the U.S. and Canada from early next month. The part coffee, part olive oil, those drinks divided even the most committed coffee lovers and were on the menu for less than a year. That's still a long time. It comes as part of a bigger menu shakeup at Starbucks with the new CEO pushing to reign in the chain's famously varied menu. Oil -- olive oil in your coffee? That's a no for me.
Well, "CNN Heroes" is back. For the last 18 years, the campaign has shined a spotlight on everyday people changing the world. "CNN Heroes" an all-star tribute will air across CNN platforms on Sunday, December 8 at 8: 00 PM Eastern. CNN's Anderson Cooper introduces us to the top heroes of 2024.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: In Gothenburg, Sweden, Conductor Ron Davis Alvarez and his dream orchestra give hundreds of refugees, immigrants and native Swedes, a chance to learn an instrument, connect with others, and build better lives. From Dallas, Stephen Knight was in addiction recovery when he fostered a friend's dog, so she could go to rehab. Today, his program provides free pet care and peace of mind to help dog owners succeed with their sobriety.
Idaho native Payton McGriff is helping girls in the African country of Togo stay in school. Her non-profit provides tuition, tutoring, and an innovative uniform made by local women. It's designed to grow with the students.
[08:55:00]
From Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, immigration attorney Rachel Rutter is helping unaccompanied migrant children heal from trauma, start new lives in the U.S. Her non-profit provides free legal support and helps fill in gaps in housing, food, and education. And a New York City MIT graduate, Yamilee Toussaint's unique program is using dance to empower and educate girls of color in science, technology, engineering, and math.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALKER: Five amazing individuals, all of whom prove that one person can make a difference and you can help decide which one of them will become "CNN Hero of the Year." Just go to cnnheroes.com and vote every day for the hero that inspires you the most.
And that's my time here. Thank you so much for joining me here on "CNN Newsroom." I'm Amara Walker. "Connect the World" with Erica Hill is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
