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Erin Burnett Outfront

New Polls: Harris Gain Steam In 2 Battlegrounds, Tight Race In Wisconsin; WSJ: Trump Team Was Told Pet-Eating Migrant Rumors Weren't True; Pager And Walkie-Talkie Explosions Kill Dozens, Wound 3,000+. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired September 18, 2024 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:41]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

Moving up. New swing state polls tonight show Harris in the lead as a major Fed interest rate cut could give another big boost to the vice president. Trump tonight calling foul.

Plus, Springfield, Ohio, rocked by new bomb threats tonight, after Trump's false claim about Haitian migrants eating pets. Even the editor of "The Haitian Times" was targeted. What happened when she answered the door of her home? She's my guest tonight.

And the one and only Connie Chung is OUTFRONT. She doesn't hold back, from Barbara Walters, Dan Rather, and revealing a surprise when we thought the interview was over.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, a swing state surge, new polls this evening show the vice presidents campaign is picking up speed in crucial battleground states that includes Pennsylvania, where Kamala Harris has now opened up a six-point lead, 51 percent to Trump's 45. Now that is outside the margin of error.

In Michigan, 50 percent of likely voters right now back on Harris, 45 percent Trump.

The race razor thin, though, still in Wisconsin, just one point separating the two candidates. These three states are the exact same three that Harris is targeting this week. She was just in Pennsylvania. Tomorrow, Michigan. Friday, Wisconsin.

And today, a major move by the Fed that frankly could end up having implications of helping Harris, the Central Bank cutting interest rates by half a point, double what had been anticipated.

And this is why that could be really important, right? Interest rates go down, that has impacts for everyone, but after the Fed cuts rates on average, all the way back to 1974, the markets go up. Markets have gone up by more than 5 percent after three months on average since 1974, 10 percent after six months and 11 percent after a year.

And that may be why Trump is crying foul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I guess it shows the economy is very bad, they cut it by that much. So I mean, they're not just playing politics. The economy would be very bad, or they're playing politics one or the other, but it was a big cut.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURENTT: Well, do you happen to know where Trump was standing when he said that? He happened to be inside a bar in New York City.

So let me just go back to those swing state polls, including the one that I led the show with, Pennsylvania, that has him losing by frankly an overwhelming margin, a state that if Harris wins and is really, really hard for her to lose the election, maybe you'd think Trump would be in Pennsylvania or another one of those swing states. But he was there in New York City.

And as I speak, he's about to hold a rally in Uniondale, New York. Now, that area is a Republican stronghold but, of course, that's just one area. The campaign says it's given out 60,000 tickets, right?

So you can have a successful rally there, but here's the thing: Trump lost New York by 20 percentage points in 2020 and 2016, 20. So is he being delusional when he says this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I love New York, I always love New York and we're going to give New York a big play. And I leave here -- I mean, you see the crowds and it's so friendly. I love New York. I think we have a real chance of winning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Look, a 20-point spread, you know, maybe when Biden was at the ticket, that was actually -- they were starting to be some serious conversation. There really hasn't been any of that sense, but that may be why Democrats were all too eager to welcome Trump to New York.

The state party chair tonight saying, quote, I'd love to have him here because anytime he's in Nassau County, he's not in Pennsylvania, he's not in Wisconsin and Michigan. He's not in Arizona, Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina, so we can stay here. I think it's a real good use of his time.

Alayna Treene is at the rally in Uniondale where Trump is going to appear in a few moments.

So, Alayna, why is Trump in New York? ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, Erin, All of the questions that you are asking is exactly what I'm hearing, not just from Democrats and others, but Republicans as well. A lot of people are questioning getting why Donald Trump would just 48 days until Election Day is spending time in a state where his campaign recognizes that this is not a battleground.

Now, for Trump's part, he argues and insists continuously that he thinks he could win in New York. But in my conversations with Donald Trump's team, as well as his allies, they recognize that this is not, you know, a strategic move coming here today. Instead, they told me that a lot of this, what's behind this visit, is steeped in nostalgia.

Donald Trump grew up in New York. He loves New York and he's always wanted to hold a large rally in a big arena in New York City or in New York itself, particularly ever since he went to the Bronx and did an event there in May, and thousands of people came out to support him.

[19:05:13]

Now, I would like to remind you, Erin, that a couple of months ago, Donald Trump's team actually talked about trying to do something at Madison Square Garden, but, of course, the logistics of that, the size of Madison Square Garden just wasn't feasible. So this is kind of how they're settling here.

But at the same time, you know, look, they recognize -- they argue that this is close to a lot of media markets that it will get played in battleground states, that this is a town where there's a lot of blue collar union workers, small business owners. So, they're really going to be targeting Trump with that and talking about the economy tonight and immigration if Donald Trump can stay on message -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Well, we'll see what happens. Obviously, a big rally in Nassau County.

Alayna, thank you very much.

All right. I'm joined by my panel.

So let's go first to the former Governor Tim Pawlenty.

And, Governor, you know, you've got Harris ahead of Trump in these new swing-state polls, and the Pennsylvania numbers, obviously, I just kind of hit a pause there. Obviously, its one poll, but they do sort of stop you in your tracks, Governor, because, you know, if she wins Pennsylvania, she's gotten most cases has to win it to win. She has some other paths. But if she does, when it is really hard for her to lose.

Are you worried, Governor, about polls like these?

TIM PAWLENTY (R), FORMER MINNESOTA GOVERNOR: Well, it does begin to show trend that she's opened up a lead in this race. Now, keep in mind, Trump traditionally under polls, most professionals would say by 1, 2, 3 or 4 percent. So that still puts him within the margin of error, but I think it's fair to say she has a lead, and going into this, he had an advantage on the issues that swing state voters care most about and swing voters in those state care most about, namely the economy, but really inflation and also illegal immigration.

And he's been unable to fully focus well and effectively on those issues and he gets distracted by a lot of other stuff.

BURNETT: Former Congressman Rose, those polls and I know, you know, people can cherry-pick polls wherever they want, but the governor is accurate, right? There has been a trend, and you're seeing it now. You're seeing it in swing polls. You're seeing it in more national polls.

Do you think she really has opened up a wide -- a wider margin here?

MAX ROSE (D), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: Absolutely. Look, it's not just about the actual margin in this one poll when it comes to polls, particularly at this scale, you have to look at the trend and the momentum is undeniably on the vice president's side. And the only assumption that one could make is that momentum will continue. So, the next poll, you see a potentially even wider margin.

But the governor also made a critical point there, which is in the past, President Trump has kind of underpolled, there has been this silent Trump voters that you can't even model.

BURNETT: Right.

ROSE: I would argue that this time around, that's going to be the case for the vice president. With her significant momentum and messaging to Gen Z voters --

BURNETT: Really young voters who aren't getting polled.

ROSE: Really, really young, they're not getting polled. They're not being -- they're not the models. They've never voted before. We could see the margin even larger.

BURNETT: And that -- well, that would be quiet something because that would be -- obviously, the U.S., the way the U.S. voter world is divided. That would be a huge victory.

Lulu, though, within the polls, the governor does point out immigration and the economy, right? And Trump is ahead on those issues, even in these polls, the economy voters say is the most important issue. Harris is still trailing, trailing Trump on that.

So, the rate cut and -- I mean, I just was putting market performance after rate cut on average, you know, you can delve into that in different ways. And Trump is correct when he says when you do a rate cut double of what is expected, sometimes that indicates economic weakness, that could also be true.

But this rate cut really might matter.

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah, it might matter. And I just want to note these numbers. I mean, let's think about where Kamala Harris was, where Biden was when we started all this and the race is really narrowed on these key issues.

You know, we're talking about the economy. She's only a few points behind. Immigration, I would argue her weakest issue, only a few points behind.

This does show that her messaging -- her outreach is actually worked. And so I think, first of all, they've got to be cheering this. I know it's only one poll, but, you know, this is -- it's going in the right direction. It's good news for them.

On the issue of the rate cuts, also good news. I mean, that is why Donald Trump is alleging that this is politically motivated. Of course, there is no evidence of that. The Fed has been very, very careful to the message the whole time that the only thing that they're looking at is the data and they're not looking at the politics of this. But of course, the politics matter. And this is something everyone's been waiting for, and it's going to have a big effect.

BURNETT: Max, it comes on the day that the Teamsters union says he's not going to endorse anyone, which is significant. It's the first time that the Teamsters Union has not endorsed a Democrat since 1988, okay? Ancient history.

And their internal data show members backing Trump over Harris 60 to 34 percent. OK, that's Trump over Harris. When it was Biden and Trump, Biden was winning.

[19:10:03]

I mean, that talk about a swing.

ROSE: Sure.

BURNETT: That is -- that is unbelievable. That makes all the rest of this looked like absolutely nothing chump change. What -- what do you see there?

ROSE: Well, certainly, for all the talk that we have, the euphoria around the Harris campaign, this does represent an area of potential improvement down the road, an area that she definitely needs to focus on. But this also speaks to something much larger than this election, which is politics in the age of Trump, where you have literally the teamsters union coming out, not against but refusing to endorse the party that saved their pension in the American rescue plan and refusing to oppose the party that opposed supporting their pension by voting against that very same bill. And it's a clash of economics and culture. And it's exactly what the Democratic Party needs to focus on.

BURNETT: Governor Pawlenty, when you look at this and Teamsters Union, I mean, the Biden was winning over Trump and now it's Harris. Trump is winning over Harris, 60 to 34 percent.

I mean, Governor, is this about race and gender? What is this about when you look at a swing that huge? PAWLENTY: Well, my dad as a truck driver, was a Teamster. I've been a former union member myself. And for a lot of years now, you can see the separation between these unions as organizations and the rank-and- file people who are the members of those unions.

And Trump -- for all of his other challenges -- has been successful in some political jujitsu in attracting labor, the rank and file laborers to his campaign. And in exchange, the Democrats have picked up folks who are more highly educated, more woke or whatever.

But if you talk to the rank and file people who are driving around in vans and trucks with ladders and doing the work of hard labor in this country. And you talk to them individually they are very skeptical of a leftward lurch in the country, one of them told me not too long ago after being -- working on his hands and knees his whole life with arthritic hands, he said, you know, I was in the military. I've worked my can off my whole life and I'm not voting Democrat this time -- as a lifelong a Democrat this time because they think I'm privileged just because of the color of my skin.

That's one little glimpse into how the Democrats lost rank and file labor.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I would disagree with that. I mean, nine out of ten unions -- of the major unions in this country have endorsed Kamala Harris. The Teamsters, I think stands apart from many reasons, it is a more conservative-leaning union.

And in particular, you know, Trump has been successful with men and, you know, not all members of union are men. If you think about in Nevada, you know, the union there, the culinary workers union and others -- I mean, there is this idea that laborers working with your hands, that's a very traditional idea of what labor is in this country.

But there are many service workers and others in this country that don't see things the same way.

BURNETT: All right. Well, thank you all very much. I appreciate it, and appreciate the conversation.

And next, you know, we were just talking about the Teamsters, Tim Walz is Kamala Harris's secret weapon with one key group of voters. Who are they? We're going to delve into this in the latest of our Voters OUTFRONT series.

Plus, Israel declaring a new era of war. Two-way radios exploding today after thousands and thousands of pagers blew up in peoples hands and pockets yesterday. How exactly did they do it? We do have some new details coming into night for you.

And the legendary journalist, Connie Chung, well, like you've never seen her before. We're going to talk about it, her career, role models, being fired from her job as Dan Rather's co-anchor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CONNIE CHUNG, LEGENDARY JOURNALIST: I think that if I were a man or a plant, he still would not have wanted that thing there to share.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:18:10]

BURNETT: Tonight, not tough enough. J.D. Vance questioning whether Kamala Harris can stand up to America's adversaries.

Here's how he puts it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How is she going to sit in a room with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping? How is she going to sit in a room with the adversaries of America if she won't even sit down for a friendly media interview?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: It comes as Harris is turning to Tim Walz to help cut into a crucial source of Donald Trump's support, men.

And Jeff Zeleny is in North Carolina for tonight's voters OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Cracks in the glass ceiling aren't enough. We need to make sure that that glass ceiling is shattered and Kamala Harris steps on.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tim Walz is hard at work on one of his most important assignments.

WALZ: If you thought Kamala Harris can take care of herself, our job is to do the blocking and tackling and cover her back.

ZELENY: He and his running mate rarely discussed gender, yet to gender gap may help decide the election.

Strong support from women has put Kamala Harris within reach of defeating Donald Trump.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When we fight, we win.

ZELENY: But with 48 days to go, her campaign is racing to win over another critical set of voters -- men.

ANTHONY HERNANDEZ, UNDECIDED NORTH CAROLINA VOTER: It'll be phenomenal to have the first female president. And that's exciting.

ZELENY: Yeah. HERNANDEZ: Also, Donald Trump is strong president, you know? He gets things done.

ZELENY: Sir, are you undecided?

HERNANDEZ: Definitely undecided. Yeah, I didn't know Kamala was so well-spoken, you know? That was a change from Biden.

ZELENY: Anthony Hernandez, a 36-year-old North Carolina voter, is among those at the center of an intense tug of war. His ultimate decision holds clues for November.

The Trump campaign is working to widen its advantage with male voters overall, particularly young men, with the former president deploying old school muscle.

[19:20:02]

HULK HOGAN, FORMER WRESTLER: Let Trump-mania run wild, brother.

ZELENY: As Democrats take a far different approach to chip away at Trump's edge, with Walz speaking directly to husbands and fathers.

WALZ: Do you want J.D. Vance deciding about your wife and daughter's help?

CROWD: No!

ZELENY: His frequent retort on abortion rights --

WALZ: Mind your own damn business.

ZELENY: -- struck a chord with Tobey Pierce, who saw Walz Tuesday night in Asheville.

TOBEY PIERCE, NORTH CAROLINA HARRIS VOTER: It's none of your damn business. It's my model now. It's a wonderful way to talk about the whole abortion right.

ZELENY: At a rain soaked rally, Alex Vigil and Kevin Miller said, they believe Trump exhaustion could help Democrats make inroads with men and women alike.

ALEX VIGIL, NORTH CAROLINA HARRIS VOTER: I've seen a lot less Trump flags in our parking. I'm seeing a lot more of my staff who used to be for Trump a little more excited or a little pushing Trump away.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm hoping that its going to be a surprise will be a lot more men than we think.

ZELENY: This T-shirt was a gift to Bruce Sergeant from his daughter, after Trump was first elected, he knows he's in the minority when it comes to how many men vote.

BRUCE SARGENT, NORTH CAROLINA HARRIS VOTER: We're going to rely on a lot of the women right now, that men just need you to stand behind those women and come out with them.

ZELENY: It's an open question just how many men will do that, even those here like Stanley Benedict, not fully enamored with Trump, plan to vote for him.

STANLEY BENEDICT, NORTH CAROLINA TRUMP VOTER: He's got a big ego. And sometimes it's too big to this horror lot. But I support him because he proved himself.

ZELENY: While the outcome of the Trump-Harris duel may turn on the gender gap or the balance of who men and women support, in this election, gender itself is far less apart the discussion.

WALZ: Kamala Harris isn't talking about the historic nature of this. She just puts her nose down and does the work.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: And Jeff Zeleny with me now.

So, Jeff, what more are you learning about the campaign strategies to target men? Because obviously when you look at these polls right now, I mean, this is -- this is a crucial group.

ZELENY: Erin, there's no doubt that women are the lifeblood of the Harris campaign and candidacy, but it is men who could put her over the top. That is why the Trump campaign is also aggressively going after I'm told, almost exclusively men, in terms of persuasion, in terms of trying to win over for some voters who may not have been paying attention to the race, and young voters, young men are at the center of both campaigns strategies.

There is no question about that. So, look for over the next seven weeks or so, some unconventional strategies in terms of advertising and reaching out to some of these young men.

But, Erin, of course, women are key for turning out and a certainly senior voters always come out to vote. The younger voters, not so much, but there is no doubt that women are powering this election, but men actually could be decisive -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much, in North Carolina now, a swing state.

And next, new bomb threats in Springfield, Ohio, tonight. Even the editor of "The Haitian Times", who doesn't live anywhere near Springfield, is being targeted. She joins me here next to tell me exactly what happened when her doorbell unexpectedly rang.

Plus, thousands of two-way radios now exploding one day after thousands of beepers blew up. And tonight, how Taiwan is now part of the mystery of how those explosive, I'm sorry, beepers ended up in Lebanon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:27:46]

BURNETT: Tonight, new bomb threats in Springfield, Ohio, the town at the center of false claims that Haitian migrants are eating people's pets, this time targeting several grocery stores in a Planned Parenthood, according our affiliate WHIO, said schools also under high security, dozens of bomb threats have been pouring in since Donald Trump and J.D. Vance began spreading the conspiracy theory.

But now, we are learning something very specific and important, which is that J.D. Vance knew that these claims were false before the debate. The Springfield city manager telling "The Wall Street Journal" that he talked to someone from J.D. Vance's staff saying, quote, talking about this conversation, he -- you know, the guy from J.D. Vance's staff who called him, he asked point blank, are the rumors true of pets being taken and eaten? The city manager replies, I told him no, I told him these claims were baseless.

But still, this viral tweet even now remains on Vance's Twitter page, quote, reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn't be in this country.

And I remember what I said at a timeline here, that J.D. Vance's staff called on the day of the debate to find out whether this is true. Still, we do know that Donald Trump went onto the debate stage after that phone call happened and said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats. They're eating -- they're eating the pets of the people that live there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Now this false story is now putting lives in danger even outside of Ohio, and editor of "The Haitian Times" has become the most recent target because of her coverage of what's happening in Springfield.

Macollvie Neel is OUTFRONT now.

And, Macollvie, thank you very much.

As I said, I'm sorry to be meeting you under these circumstances to even be talking about this. Our Reliable Sources first reported your story, so two days ago, you're at home and your doorbell rings. You go and you answer your door, you're thinking maybe this is a delivery of some sort and what happens when you open the door?

MACOLLVIE NEEL, SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR, HAITIAN TIMES: And thank you so much for having me and keeping a spotlight on this issue.

So to go back to Monday morning, I'm starting my day and I heard the door bell ringing a couple of times. I'm thinking, oh, it's a delivery I have to go pick up a package.

[19:30:01]

I opened the door by then. I see police had surrounded my house on both sides. There were cruisers outside and when I asked, you know, why they were there, they were asking me, who am I? What am I doing in my own home?

And proceeded to tell me that they were looking for -- that received a call of someone -- that someone had had their throats slit in side my address. And so, they were looking for the potential perpetrator. And so that was the basis of what they called a wellness check.

BURNETT: So a swatting incident.

NEEL: Exactly, exactly. Meaning that someone had gone to the trouble of doing what's called doxxing, finding my documents and sharing it somewhere and that precipitated the call to the police to come and scare me, intimidate me because of the stories we had been doing in "The Haitian Times" and a community conversation we had had in Springfield, Ohio, just on Saturday.

BURNETT: Of course, you're the editor of "The Haitian Times". You were born in Haiti. You're a naturalized American citizen.

You had you been really scared in that moment though, Macollvie.

NEEL: So, yes. I was alarmed, but I kind of knew I had a premonition because we had been getting emails and just really vile racists --

BURNETT: Threats.

NEEL: -- emails and threats and messages on our stories and our comments. And so, we tried to stay focused. This is a story that we have been following now for at least three years, ever since we had a group of Haitians begin to arrive after the president's assassination, through all of the different TPS extensions that took place because of certain disasters that have been in Haiti.

We knew that these folks are -- brothers and sisters, would end up somewhere in America. That wasn't necessarily going to be in New York city or Miami, or Boston, which are traditional enclaves. And so, we committed to just following Haitians across the Heartland over the past year-and-a-half, almost two years or so. And we had heard these incidents of bullying, intimidation, you know, all of these nasty stuff. We have been covering it. I just didn't expect it to come and follow me home.

BURNETT: So, J.D. Vance, you know, we just laid it out, how that -- they -- J.D. Vance and Trump have been saying this and J.D. Vance's office called and was told it was untrue on the day of the debate. He continues to say it. Trump said it at the debate.

Here's how J.D. Vance defended himself when our Dana Bash asked him a question about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I start talking about cat memes. If I have to -- if I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that's what I'm going to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: If I have to create stories, it's worth it is what he's saying.

NEEL: Here's what he tells me, the fact that he says if I have to create stories to defend the American people is telling me that he doesn't see Haitians as people or as American people, whatever that means.

The fact of the matter is that Americans are immigrants. Every single person in this country came from somewhere else. And so as much as the right-wing Republicans, that entire machinery might try to deny it or reject it, or try to say, we have a specific person that's considered American, it's not going to stand because that is not the history of the country.

They can deal on alternative facts all they want, you know? But the fact is Americans built, immigrants built this country and we continue to build this country. My family helped build this country when we came here 35 years ago. I've seen it happen in Brooklyn, in New Jersey, all up and down the East Coast.

And now it's happening in the Midwest because that's where the need is. That's where we have the jobs, you know, to fulfill.

And so they can try to deny it, but this is the fact and I really hope that Americans who are good people, who are sensible people, like many of the folks in Springfield continue to engage with the newcomers in the ways that we've always engaged without all this extremism going into their hearts.

BURNETT: Right. Macollvie, thank you very much. I appreciate your taking the time. Like I said, sorry to meet you under these circumstances. But thank you for doing that.

NEEL: Thank you.

BURNETT: And next, more devices exploding, this time two-way radios. Israel calling it a new era of war, but how exactly are they doing it? We have a special report with new details next.

Plus, legendary journalist Connie Chung is my guest and she's telling all including how a battle between Barbara Walters and Dianne Sawyer affected her career.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUNG: They were battling each other for the big interviews and I had to stand down. (END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:39:09]

BURNETT: Tonight, Israel's, quote, new era of war, that's what the country's defense chief says, is now underway after a second day of devices exploded across Lebanon. Today, it was walkie-talkies. At least 20 people killed in these blasts, more than 450 more wounded after thousands yesterday. This was a sophisticated attack today, and it did come a day after those pagers simultaneously exploded, killing 12 and injuring nearly 3,000.

Will Ripley is OUTFRONT with the latest in the investigation of these stunning covert attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new wave of explosions across Lebanon, this time walkie-talkies being used for crowd control, the security source tells CNN, one of them blew up during a funeral.

On Tuesday, it was beepers blowing up by the thousands. The shocking attacks triggering global investigations from the Middle East to Europe, to Asia, in urgent race to find out how simple communication devices long abandoned by most of the world ended up in Lebanon, becoming explosive, deadly weapons.

[19:40:12]

BOB BAER, FORMER CIA OPERATIVE: Getting into thousands of pagers and planting explosives, detonators, switches, and the rest of it and not changing the weight of the pagers very much is a complicated operation and shows extraordinary technical ability.

RIPLEY: Lebanese security source says militant group Hezbollah bought the pagers in recent months using them ironically to prevent Israel and the U.S. from tracking their communications. Israel planted explosives next to each pager's battery, along with a detonation switch, "The New York Times" reports, citing U.S. and other officials.

Thousands of beepers blew up Tuesday, all receiving the same message at the same time. The pagers have the name AR-924, made by Gold Apollo, a Taiwanese company that calls its product extremely robust and durable, 85 days of battery life, fully charging in two-and-a-half hours, a senior Taiwanese security official tells CNN Taiwan has no record of Gold Apollo pagers being shipped to Lebanon.

Records do show Gold Apollo shipped about 260,000 pagers from Taiwan, mainly to the U.S. and Australia over the past two-and-a-half years.

CNN went to the company headquarters and New Taipei City. We saw investigators going in and out. We also talked to the CEO. He strongly denies making the explosive pagers bearing his company's name. HSU CHING-KUANG, GOLD APOLLO FOUNDER: I have been in this industry for a long time. I don't want this to ruin our brand.

RIPLEY: He blames this Hungarian distributor, BAC Consulting, claiming Gold Apollo sold them the rights to use its brand name. CNN tried reaching BAC, no response, as families of the dozen dead in Lebanon say goodbye.

I was luck to have you, my love, says the mother of 9-year-old Fatima. The pager went off as she was doing her homework on the first day of elementary school.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (on camera): Her parents were outside. They left the pager on the table. She heard the sound got off, checked it.

But overall, these attacks were really surgically precise. A lot of people were in the same room and survived even when this thing one off right next to them, maybe even killing the person next to them.

Disrupting enemy communications, Erin, is a key military tactic before an invasion, Israel now says they're shifting focus north to target Hezbollah. And these tactics, as you said at the top, they might change warfare as we know it, actually targeting communication devices instead of using traditional bombs.

BURNETT: It's truly stunning.

All right. Thank you very much, Will Ripley.

And next, Connie Chung is OUTFRONT and she has a surprise to tell us about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUNG: Can I just throw in one little special thing?

BURNETT: Yes.

CHUNG: That occurred.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:46:41]

BURNETT: Tonight, Connie Chung, the legendary reporters and a news anchor has reported the news for more than four decades, shattering glass ceilings, making history when she became the first woman to co- anchor the "CBS Evening News" and the first Asian to anchor any news program in the country.

She's my guest tonight here to talk about her new book, "Connie: A Memoir", reflecting on her barrier breaking broadcast career. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is CBS Evening News with Dan Rather and Connie Chung.

CHUNG: Good evening.

It is apparently the single deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil ever.

The response today in China that a major purge is ahead in the communist party.

Was Chandra Levy in love with you?

Why didn't you go to the authorities immediately?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I was afraid.

MAGIC JOHNSON, FORMER NBA PLAYER: Well, you probably don't know, Connie and I go way back to when she was with Channel 2 back in L.A. and I used to have a big crush on her.

Do you know why you do it?

TRUMP: Why? Tell me.

CHUNG: You love the publicity.

TRUMP: Oh, I hate the publicity.

CHUNG: Oh, come on. Get out of here.

TRUMP: Oh, no, I tell you, I hate the publicity.

CHUNG: Oh, please.

And that's our news. We'll keep you informed throughout the night here on CBS with any late developments. I'm Connie Chung in New York. I'll see you again next Sunday night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: And award-winning journalist Connie Chung joins me now. It's such an honor and this book is incredible.

So, I mean, we look at all those moments that you had and obviously you're a trailblazer, first woman to co-anchor "CBS Evening News', as I said, first Asian anchor, a major news broadcast.

And it is today, 2024, where we are for the first time seeing the first Black, first Asian woman to be on the top of a ticket for president in the United States.

Do -- are you thinking that -- are you surprised that it took this long or is this what you thought it would be?

CHUNG: I always am surprised when women make it up the ladder. It's always a big shock to me because we have not reached the level of parody and we'll see what happens. I don't -- you know, I -- you know, I don't -- you and I don't know sitting here what will happen, and it is fraught with danger for me to go there. You know that.

BURNETT: I know, right, and I'm not trying to force you to give a point of view on it.

CHUNG: OK, she's such a good newsperson.

Can I just say, Erin? I watch you every night and I think you're just rocking good. You're a good journalist and you're a very good broadcaster. And you're so fricking smart that you ask the right questions.

BURNETT: And, Connie, when I -- your words are incredibly kind, but this is about you and all these moments that you had that inspired me and so many others, and there's another incredible moment I want to play for you. The cameras are chasing you like they chased O.J. Simpson with the famous Bronco. On CNN, the cameras are chasing you and an anchor literally tracks your moves.

You, Connie Chung, let me play the moment we found it.

CHUNG: I think I know what this is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: As we continue here, you're looking at a live shot of a ranch outside Modesto, California, where the interview with Congressman Condit and ABC's Connie Chung is taking place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: All right. So they're tracking you.

CHUNG: It is amazing.

BURNETT: So, this is Gary Condit -- I mean, that was the get. He's speaking out about his affair with the intern Chandra Levy, who went missing, eventually is found dead.

[19:50:05]

And this was a huge moment for you.

I want to play one of the most important moments that interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUNG: Can you describe your relationship? What exactly was your relationship with Chandra Levy?

REP. GARY CONDIT (D-CA): Well, I met Chandra last October and we became very close. I met her in Washington, D.C.

CHUNG: Very close, meaning? CONDIT: We had a close relationship. I liked her very much.

CHUNG: May I ask you? Was it a sexual relationship?

CONDIT: Well, Connie, I've been married for the 34 years and I've not been a perfect man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: How important was that, that interview in that moment in your career?

CHUNG: Well, it was -- it was a -- it was a period in which I had been at ABC News and frankly, I wasn't allowed to go after big gets because there were two women -- happened to be women, strong women, Barbara Walters --

BURNETT: Barbara and Diane.

CHUNG: Yeah, and they were battling each other for the big interviews and I had to stand down. So, this one was a big one but I was told that if any interview went to Gary Condit, it would be Barbara. And so I said, okay.

And then when I called Condit's lawyer and said, I -- take me off the list, I'm -- I was a good -- good girl when it came to Barbara because I think she created a niche in her career that I should not touch it. She earned her diva-dom. She -- she could push me off the plank and I'd be fine.

So -- but the lawyer said, if you don't do the interview for ABC, I'm going to give it to somebody else. So, I marched up to the president of ABC News and said, near nobody. And he went, okay.

BURNETT: And you got it.

Now, all right, so Barbara Walters, I just want to ask you about her because you write about her and of course, as a journalist and watching all of this as I was growing up, I was eating that part up. But you write about always, quote/unquote, being under her, those were the words that you use. You're talking about it here. How did that affect you?

CHUNG: It was okay with me, because I really believe that she paved the path -- paves the driveway for all of us. And I respected her tremendously.

I did not want to try to take her off her thrown. If she didn't -- if she wanted to do something, I was okay. I -- for the millennial coverage, I was supposed to -- I was assigned to go to Paris and I was like, wow, rock it, Paris.

BURNETT: Paris.

CHUNG: Yeah, the Eiffel Tower and my whole family, Maury, and my daughters and our son, we were all going, and their husbands and their children.

And then a vice president came down to see and said, Connie, Barbara wants to go to Paris. And I said, so where am I going? And he said, Las Vegas. OK, there's a mini-Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas.

(LAUGHTER)

BURNETT: There is, you had to settle for that.

CHUNG: Yeah.

BURNETT: But incredible how graces you could be, that you could see that as something that was not something that you resent it. She also didn't have a lot of things in her life as she talked about later that she would have liked to have had and she made those sacrifices.

And, you talk about that in your own life. You know that you almost didn't have a child because --

CHUNG: I forgot to get married, then I forgot to have a baby. And you did it, right? You know, I don't know how you did it, I -- but you had babies and you had a career. How you do that?

BURNETT: You know, but I remember before I had the either a husband or children and his show was launching, I was engaged. And you came to the launch party, you and Maury?

CHUNG: Sure did.

BURNETT: And you came. And I remember that moment, Connie, I think about it often because when you wrote about your decision to get married, your struggles to have a child when you finally made that decision and you wrote of Maury, he has been my foundation, my support, being my partner, my love in every way.

And I actually loved this part I love more with all my heart, but sometimes, you know, I don't necessarily like him.

CHUNG: Yeah.

BURNETT: But I do remember that launch party and that was the part of you that sit out the most to me that I said, I want that, wasn't just that I admired you, of course. But it was, you know, you want the whole thing.

CHUNG: Yes.

BURNETT: What is the most important achievement in your life so far?

CHUNG: I have to say, it's -- it's my son. He's a good guy.

BURNETT: Matthew.

CHUNG: Yes, Matthew. It happened -- a serendipity. It was serendipity. I was dumped from the "CBS Evening News", and I felt like my life was left on the desk, you know? [19:55:05]

I had to walk away.

They offered me as something else, but I -- I had to figure out whether or not I wanted to stay. And so, two days after I was stumped, we got the call that our adoption was going to go through and I was, what? And my sister uttered the cliche one door closes, another door opens. She was so right.

He was in my arms when he was less than a day old like 16, 18 months. And, you know, he became a part of my arm forever.

BURNETT: What -- so when you talk about the firing from CBS and what that meant, but that opened up the greatest thing in your life.

CHUNG: It did.

BURNETT: Obviously, at the moment, it didn't feel that way.

CHUNG: No.

BURNETT: You were sitting there with Dan Rather --

CHUNG: Yeah.

BURNETT: -- for two years, daily tension. So that it all came to a head in Oklahoma City.

CHUNG: Yeah.

BURNETT: When you went to cover, you were the first one there, 168 people were killed in that horrific attack, and then you were fired?

CHUNG: Yep.

BURNETT: Soon after that, you write my very Chinese reaction was to feel I had lost face.

CHUNG: Yes.

BURNETT: All the joy of reaching my ultimate goal has evaporated in one instant and in that moment, I also recognized that my entire life had been wrapped up in my work and how much it was a part of me.

Now, obviously then you opened up the greatest thing in your life. But at that moment, it was clear to you that it was about your race and your gender. How did it change you when you were confronted with that, right in the face?

CHUNG: Hmm, you think it was -- I mean, it's hard for me to wrap it up and say, it was because I was a woman or because I was Chinese. I think -- I think the truth of the matter is, is that if Dan Rather -- he had own that seat, you know, he had been in Walter Cronkite seat by himself for that long, and he had to move over a few inches to give me half of the chair and -- BURNETT: Well, that would be hard regardless of who you were.

CHUNG: Exactly.

BURNETT: Yes. I mean, you know, to that point about gender, I think it would be unfair to say that's all it was.

CHUNG: Exactly.

BURNETT: Yeah.

CHUNG: I think that if I were a man or a plant, he still would have not wanted that thing there to share.

BURNETT: So, Connie, your family history is riveting. I said your book is -- it's history. It's personal everything.

CHUNG: You texted me --

BURNETT: You are your parents' 10th child.

CHUNG: Yes.

BURNETT: Your parents' tenth child and you talk about how making the family name something became a goal for your father. Then you find out that you actually did make your names something except for it wasn't the family name. It was your first name? An entire generation of Asian-American women now are named Connie and we have a message for you from one of them.

CHUNG: You do?

BURNETT: Uh-huh.

CHUNG: Oh my gosh.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONNIE: Hi, Connie. It's Connie. My parents immigrated to the United States. And your face on their television set was a real source of comfort and confidence for them. And I was two when thought you were really pretty aye (ph), but when it was time to come pick out a name, an American name for myself, there was only one real choice and that was Connie.

So on behalf of all the Connies that came after you and every person or woman who were moved by seeing you on their television sets, thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHUNG: I can't believe it, flabbergasted. Maury (ph) always told me I was the Jackie Robinson of news, and I -- no, I'm not. But he says, you see people named their children, Jackie and Willie Mays, Willie. They named Willie. That's you. And I thought oh, man, I hate it when you're right. BURNETT: Well, Connie --

CHUNG: Yeah.

BURNETT: -- the original, the one and only and so many ways to all of those Connies, thank you. It is an honor for me to be able to sit in a chair like this and be talking to you.

CHUNG: Erin, you know what? It's a real honor for me, too, because I really think you're the journalist who can carry the baton. You know, I think Barbara Walters always wanted someone to carry the baton and you are.

But can I just throw in one little special thing?

BURNETT: Yes.

CHUNG: That occurred. Erin, I have a strain of weed named after me, Connie Chung, weed. Yes. I mean, it doesn't get any better than that.

BURNETT: Have you tried it?

CHUNG: Oh, you have to go.

BURNETT: Oh, no --

(CROSSTALK)

CHUNG: You are so out of time.

BURNETT: Have you tried it?

CHUNG: Oh, my God, Erin, I have to go.

BURNETT: You're pulling a Gary Condit on me.

(LAUGHTER)

BURNETT: All right. Connie, thank you. It's wonderful.

CHUNG: But can I tell you? You can get a five pack pre-roll for only $22. Do you know if that's good or bad?

BURNETT: What -- you're trying to find out if I -- I actually don't know.

CHUNG: See, I don't either.

BURNETT: Well, we will try it. All right. I guess on that note, we'll leave this interview not where anybody thought it would go.

CHUNG: No.

BURNETT: And that's what happens when you have Connie.

Thanks so much to Connie Chung, and I hope everyone will read "Connie: A Memoir". It is out now.

And thanks so very much for joining us that conversation in our hour as always.

"AC360" begins now.