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McDonald's Begins Selling Quarter Pounders Again; Falling Gas Prices Boost Economic Confidence; U.S. Criticizes Israeli Airstrike in Gaza. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired October 30, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Jim, just so you know, we're going to see a filing come in this afternoon, and I expect that we will see a decision from the Supreme Court, either Thursday or Friday, that would affect, as you say, this big swing state of Pennsylvania and potentially other states as more disputes come up to the High Court.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: All right. Joan Biskupic, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

We will be right back.

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[11:35:00]

ACOSTA: New this morning, the U.S. calls the Israeli military strike on a building in Northern Gaza -- quote -- "horrifying." At least 93 people were killed, including 25 children, according to Palestinian officials.

CNN's Matthew Chance joins us now from Jerusalem.

Matthew, this, by all accounts, was just horrific. What's the latest?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely horrific bloodshed. Talking about 93 people killed, according to Palestinian health officials, 25 of them children, and absolutely appalling scenes of video coming out from the Gaza Strip of people pulling corpses out of the rubble.

This is all taking place in the north of the Gaza Strip, where there's been a real military focus by the Israelis to try and crack down on what they say is resurgent Hamas activity in the area. But I get the impression, speaking to Israeli military officials, that they were kind of surprised by how many people were killed in this strike.

What my military sources tell me is that they were actually firing on a Hamas spotter they had identified on the roof of a building in the Beit Lahia area of Northern Gaza. It was an airstrike, obviously a very heavy-handed sort of means of taking out a single person. But the building collapsed.

They said they didn't mean for it to collapse, but it did. And then all these bodies were brought out. Now, the Israelis say that they think the figure of 93 people is an exaggerated number. Nevertheless, there are dozens of people that they agree have been brought out. Many of them, they say, have been identified as Hamas members, according to their records.

And so even though there's an investigation going on right now, what the Israeli military say or my military sources in the Israeli military say is that, look one possibility is this was a gathering of Hamas, a Hamas gathering point that was struck in this attack on this single Hamas militant, and that may explain why this building had people in it in an area that was meant to be empty, an area that was meant to have been evacuated.

It's one of the things that the Israeli military is looking at right now to help explain this extraordinarily high death toll, Jim.

ACOSTA: And, Matthew, there were some hopes here in the U.S. that perhaps the Israeli military may be on the verge of winding down its military operation in Gaza after the killing of the leader of Hamas.

Apparently, that is not what's happening. It's not heading in that direction if you look at what happened just overnight.

CHANCE: No, exactly. I mean, look, I mean, a window of opportunity had opened apparently after the death of Yahya Sinwar, the killing by Israeli troops of the Hamas leader a couple of weeks ago now.

But that hasn't happened. In fact, if anything, Israel has been doubling down on its military operations, particularly in Northern Gaza. Hamas has proved to be somewhat resilient and resurgent in certain areas of the Gaza Strip.

And also, in Lebanon next door, the country to the north of Israel, Israel has been intensifying its campaign against the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah just within the last few hours. It's launched a campaign of bombing on the city of Baalbek in Northern Lebanon after ordering the entire population of the city to leave, the first time it's done that in northern Lebanon.

And so, yes, on all of these fronts, both in Gaza and in Lebanon, Israel seems to be intensifying, not pulling back on its military campaign.

ACOSTA: All right, Matthew Chance in Jerusalem, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

In the meantime, gas prices are on track to drop below $3 on average before Election Day, especially in battleground states -- a live report ahead.

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[11:43:09] ACOSTA: This just in, more government data coming in indicating that the U.S. economy is continuing to strengthen.

The Commerce Department says the GDP grew 2.8 percent over the last quarter. The report also showed that inflation dipped towards the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target to continue to lower interest rates in this country. Gas prices, meanwhile, are also dropping across the country. They're on track to hit a three-year low right before Election Day.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich joins me now from a gas station in Jersey City.

Vanessa, what's behind the drop?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS REPORTER: Yes, we're seeing falling gas prices and, as you mentioned, we could see sub-$3 gas before Election Day.

Right behind me here in Jersey City, gas is going for about $2.95. And we're seeing that throughout the country, but, today, the national average at $3.14. Compare that to a year ago, when gas was about $3.50, and then compare that to October of 2020, before the last election, when gas was $2.14. But, of course, that was during a pandemic.

And if you look at key battleground states, almost half of them have gas right now below $3 a gallon. Earlier this morning, we caught up with some drivers and two undecided voters who agree that falling gas prices is a good thing, but they have two distinct takes on the economy. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARL CZAPLICKI, NEW JERSEY RESIDENT: As gas prices go, so go their feelings about the economy in general. It's one of those subconscious indicators of how people judge the economy.

YURKEVICH: Yes.

CZAPLICKI: So...

YURKEVICH: And, for you, what's your subconscious saying?

CZAPLICKI: I mean, I actually think, statistically, the economy is doing pretty well overall, to be quite honest.

YURKEVICH: How do you feel like the economy is doing right now, the overall economy? How do you feel like it's going?

MAGDY AHMED, NEW JERSEY RESIDENT: It's a mess all over, everybody complaining.

YURKEVICH: It's a mess?

AHMED: Yes. YURKEVICH: Why is it a mess?

AHMED: Because everything's going up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH: And despite falling gas prices, many Americans do feel the same way as that gentleman, that the economy is not quite in the best shape right now.

[11:45:07]

We know that, on average, Americans are spending about $1,100 more each month on the same goods that they did in 2021. And wages have risen, Jim, and they have risen in line with inflation, but that's not the case for every single person. So we're getting a mixed bag out here, some people saying that gas prices mean the economy's doing well, and others just still not so sure, Jim.

ACOSTA: And, Vanessa, what about some other key economic indicators that are out there that people are looking towards to check the temperature right now?

Unemployment obviously down, inflation coming down. What can you tell us about that?

YURKEVICH: Yes, jobs is a big one. Just this morning, we got ADP's report on jobs added, 233,000 jobs added to the private sector. The estimate was around 100,000, so that's significant.

Also, as you mentioned, inflation, 2.4 percent, that is close to the Federal Reserve's target. Also, GDP, 2.8 percent growth, that means that people are feeling good. They are spending. One thing to watch out for, Jim, is, yes, people are spending, but they're putting a lot on credit cards, $1.4 trillion in credit card debt for Americans. That's a record right now, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you very much.

In the meantime, McDonald's is back to serving burgers without the suspected culprit of recent E. coli exposures. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will join us in just a few moments to explain why we have seen so many food recalls lately.

That's coming up in a few moments.

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[11:51:10]

ACOSTA: It's official. Quarter Pounders are back on the menu at McDonald's.

The FDA now says onions may have been the cause of that deadly E. coli outbreak, ruling out beef patties after one person died and dozens of others became sick. The fast-food giant is keeping onions off the Quarter Pounder until they can officially confirm the cause of the outbreak.

An CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is on call today.

Sanjay, does it surprise you that the evidence doesn't point to the ground beef?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I tell you what, it does not surprise me, in large part because, when you look at these fast-food chains, Jim, they have to cook the meat at a certain temperature.

So, if you look at the temperature that is required to sort of kill E. coli, deactivate it, about 160 degrees, most these fast-food restaurants, McDonald's included, are cooking at a higher temperature than that. So unless there were a lot of restaurants that at the same time were having problems with getting to that temperature, it would surprise me that that beef would be the culprit here.

So, produce, especially if you have a single distributor, something we have seen in previous food outbreaks as well, that could be the potential problem, lots of potential sources of contamination there.

So, hopefully -- I saw you get pretty excited when you heard that Quarter Pounders were back on the menu. Hopefully, that stays the case.

ACOSTA: And, Sanjay, but the concerns over foodborne illness does not end there, waffles, eggs, deli meat all recalled this year. It seems like it's happening more and more. Is that the case?

GUPTA: I think we're recognizing it more and more.

I think with the ability to trace the sources of these outbreaks using genetics, for example, genomic sequencing, we have gotten a lot better at this.

But, Jim, if you look at the numbers overall, I don't think people realize how big a deal foodborne illness is. You have got some 48 million people who get sick, 128,000 hospitalizations, this is every year, and 3,000 deaths.

So, the vast majority of people, when you look at those numbers, that means they don't get that sick, they don't need to go to the hospital. They just -- sort of takes care of it on its own at home. But it is a pretty significant concern.

There are some top foods that are the most likely culprits here, and this is something that people have sort of collected more and more data on. Turkey, fruits, chicken, and pork, in particular, are the ones that seem to rise to the top when it comes to these illnesses.

ACOSTA: Yes, I mean, Sanjay, I had a bout with a foodborne illness a couple years ago from eating blueberries, and it just knocked me down. It was absolutely awful. So I sympathize with anybody who goes through something like this.

What are some of the best ways to stay safe?

GUPTA: Yes, I mean, I'm sorry that you went through that.

I think people forget that you can get quite sick. It takes just a little bit of the bacteria to actually make you sick, and if food is left outside, that bacteria can grow pretty quickly. So there's the basic supply here. You obviously want to make sure you're doing -- you're eating your food in a very clean way.

I think one of the things that struck me when we looked at the data, Jim, was that the majority of these foodborne illness outbreaks happen outside the home. They're happening in restaurants and delis, banquets and things like that.

And if you look at the data even more carefully, you find that they're sort of a danger zone in terms of foods most likely to cause foodborne illness in terms of their temperature, so, that danger zone, between 40 and 140 degrees.

And what that means is that if you're eating cold foods, blueberries, or whatever it might be, you got to make sure they're cold, that they're chilled, and food that is supposed to be served hot should come out basically steaming. That's a pretty good indication that your food's going to be safe, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, good tips.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much.

GUPTA: You got it.

ACOSTA: And don't forget to submit your questions. You can use the Q.R. code right on your screen right there. And we will have Sanjay back to answer them later this week.

Thanks so much for joining me this morning. I'm Jim Acosta.

Stay with us. "INSIDE POLITICS WITH DANA BASH" starts after a short break.

Have a good day.

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