Impact Of First Presidential Debate In Key Swing State
WARD: Welcome back, let's take a look at that hour's top stories. The southeastern U.S. is bracing for a direct hit from Hurricane Matthew as the death toll from the storm rises to at least 113 people across the Caribbean. An official with the aid agency CARE reports complete destruction in the Haitian city of Jeremy. He says 80 percent of the buildings are gone and all phone lines and electricity are down. We'll have more on Hurricane Matthew in just a few moments. British lawmakers, Steven Woolfe says he is feeling brighter, happier, and smiling as ever. After collapsing in the European parliament, Woolfe, and MEP for the UK Independence Party fell ill following an altercation at a meeting between party members. Also among our headlines, more warnings from Russia about potential U.S. military action against Syrian government troops. The Russian Defense Ministry says it would consider any U.S. missile or air strikes, quote, "An obvious threat to the Russian military." Time is running out for millions of Americans to get out of the way of a deadly hurricane. It's on course to hit the southeastern U.S. by Friday morning. Jennifer Gray joins me now from Melbourne, Florida. Jennifer, what are you hearing? What's the latest?</s>JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we are right between some of those rain bands. If we pan just off this mainland, you can see we are about to get another one. It's headed our way. I imagine it would be here in the next 30 seconds to minute or so. Beyond that you can barely see that is the Barrier Island. That's Melbourne beach that was ordered mandatory evacuation. Storm surge is expected to reach three meters in this location. So it will be above my head in the next 12 hours or so. That's why they want everyone in those low lying areas, all of those barrier islands to get up. But, the bridges that span, you can't even see it because of the rain now, but the bridges you do not want to be traveling across those in the next couple hours. Conditions are expected to continue to deteriorate. We imagine it could deteriorate quite a bit by the time we get into the overnight hours. It's expecting to reach the coast of Florida, but basically just brush up the coast. We're talking about 225 kilometer per hour sustained winds with gusts even higher. We could see conditions along the Florida coast that are extremely bad for at least 12 hours or so. It will just ride up that coastline. This could be the worst storm that this side has seen in a decade since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Officials are concerned about complacency. They have urged people to seek shelter, move inland. This is not a storm you want to mess with. This is a strong Category 4 storm and could remain a Category 4 for the next couple of days. So this storm is inching closer, and as we go into the overnight hours, wee hours of the morning, we will be able to tell the sheer strength of this storm. But I can tell you even just these feeder bans, the storm more than 100 kilometers away and the winds are extremely strong and it is only the beginning, it's going to get much worse than this.</s>WARD: And Jennifer, just quickly, are people heeding the warnings? Are they leaving? Are they evacuating?</s>GRAY: We hope so. We called one of the emergency official for this stretch of beach in front of us, and they said we really don't know how many people got out. The only way we will know is during the height of the storm if they start getting calls of people wanting to be rescued. That's the dilemma, once this storm begins and it gets really bad, they aren't going to be able to get to those people and so that's why they wanted them to get out. I can tell you the roads are pretty empty around here. Most of the businesses have shut down and boarded up. A lot of the gas stations are either out of gas or they have somewhat of a line. So those are signs that people are preparing. You can just only hope that people along this barrier islands right along this river are taking it seriously because we'll have to move, eventually, because water will be above my ahead by the time we get to midnight or 2:00 a.m.</s>WARD: Indeed, please do, move. Thank you very much, Jennifer, from Melbourne, Florida. While as the southeastern U.S. braces for the storm, Haiti is just beginning to assess the damage. The death toll from the hurricane has now risen to more than 108 people, but the country south is still mostly out of reach due to a bridge collapse and communications issues. So officials fear the number of casualties could rise sharply. CNN's Pedram Javaheri has the story.</s>PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): Hurricane Matthew was the strongest storm to hit Haiti in half a century and the devastation is just now becoming apparent. Many were killed by the falling trees, flying debris, and the swollen rivers. The disaster has left Haiti facing its worst humanitarian crisis since the devastating earthquake six years ago, you may recall, that killed over 200,000 people and where tens of thousands still lived in makeshift homes and tents. Entire villages have been flattened. Roads have been swept away by the floods, and there are now reports of a fresh water shortage.</s>UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: We are estimating upwards of about a million people have been affected mainly through flooding, collapse of houses, complete destruction, or partial damage, but we're also seeing a lot of crops and livestock damaged by the hurricane.</s>JAVAHERI: Internationally it is trickling in, but the hard hit southern region has been cut off from the rest of the country after a bridge collapse that prevented much needed supplies from getting through. Now in the town of Jeremy, residents were forced to sleep and cook outside because they're houses were either flooded or destroyed. According to the U.N., more than 350,000 people need assistance and Sunday's presidential election has been postponed. Another worry for Haiti is standing water. Aid agencies fear that mosquito-borne diseases and cholera could spread, which has plagued the country since the earthquake. Communications are still down in many areas so the full impact of the storm remains unclear. Pedram Javaheri, CNN.</s>WARD: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are gearing up to go head to head again as the second presidential debate fast approaches. Their running mates laid some ground work a few days ago in their only televised face- off. Most polls showed Trump's vice presidential pick, Mike Pence, won the match up. But Democrat Tim Kaine told CNN that he accomplished his mission.</s>TIM KAINE, U.S. DEMOCRATIC VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I was really very interested to see whether Governor Pence would defend his running mate or not, and again and again he refused to defend Donald Trump. So I think that is what I was hoping to get across in the debate, and I think folks watching it definitely understood that Governor Pence would not defend his running mate.</s>WARD: Pence has a different take and here is what he told CNN.</s>MIKE PENCE, U.S. REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Donald Trump's vision to make America great again won the debate. I could not have been more honored to have been at that table, to be articulating his vision and drawing a contrast with the campaign of Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine that simply want to continue the policies that have weaken America's place in the world, set areas of the wider Middle East literally spinning apart and has stifled the American economy in places like here in Pennsylvania.</s>WARD: Let's return now to the top of ticket and talk more about how Trump and Clinton are preparing for their next showdown on Sunday. We're joined by CNN senior political reporter, Stephen Collinson. Stephen, how are they preparing and what do they need to achieve here?</s>STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, Donald Trump in a few hours will be holding a town hall style event in New Hampshire. That is the format of this second debate on Sunday. It's a much different sort of (inaudible) the first gladiatorial sort of confrontation between Clinton and Donald Trump in the first debate. Hillary Clinton has been down off of the campaign trail for a couple days, on the positions of attacks she will use on Sunday night. I think it would be difficult to overstate how much damage Donald Trump's first debate performance did to his campaign in the swing states, Clarissa, that would decide this election. The polls have turned over the last week or so decisively in Hillary Clinton's favor. Bear in mind that many Americans are starting to not just think about voting, but actually voting. People are requesting absentee ballots. Early voting starts in some states in the next few days. So there's not really time for Donald Trump to have another bad debate and that's why it's such a confrontation on Sunday night.</s>WARD: So what is he doing, if anything, to turn it around? What's the logic between having this town hall tonight? Shouldn't he be focused on prepping for this debate?</s>COLLINSON: You would have thought that two days before this crucial debate, you know, he would not be holding his first ever town hall debate, but we understand that Donald Trump has actually watched back some of the tapes of the first debate and he is a little bit more open to criticism about his performance. Whether that changes his method of preparation seems to be anybody's guess. There is only two days left, he has been campaigning hard on the campaign trail. It's not like he is off to a debate camp like many politicians do before these big debates prepare. So it's really up in the air. The other thing is that Donald Trump doesn't have a lot of experience about town hall debates. He didn't do too many in his primary campaign. Hillary Clinton did a lot of them and it's a different scenario when you're sort of interacting with an undecided voter rather than just talking to the camera. Hillary Clinton also did many of these town hall events when she was secretary of state. Almost every foreign trip she would go in sometimes quite hostile environments in places like Pakistan, for example, and answer difficult questions about U.S. foreign policy. So I think it's clear that she has the advantage in terms of experience. It looks like Donald Trump is going to try to wing it again. We saw just over a week ago how badly that turned out for him in the first debate.</s>WARD: OK, we will all be watching. Thank you, Stephen Collinson. And there is a reason we talk so much about the presidential debates. They're not just entertaining to watch, but they can also sway votes and have a real impact on the election. CNN's Gary Tuchman talked to some voters who had a change of heart after watching the first round of Trump versus Clinton.</s>GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Robert Klein is a biker, Army veteran, and a registered Republican. He says he has never before voted for a Democrat for president. So why is the Nevada resident at a Democratic rally in support of Hillary Clinton? He says the first presidential debate is the reason. (on camera): Before you watch the debate, who were you going to vote for?</s>ROBERT KLEIN, NOW CLINTON SUPPORTER: Donald Trump.</s>TUCHMAN: And the debate ended and what do you think?</s>KLEIN: Totally convinced Hillary Clinton.</s>TUCHMAN (voice-over): Following the debate, polling indicated a dramatic shift in Nevada, a big swing from Trump to Clinton, one of the biggest turnarounds in the country and that's because of people like Cline now attending his first ever Democratic rally. (on camera): Are you disappointed that Donald Trump didn't convince you that he should be president?</s>KLEIN: Absolutely. I always admired the man.</s>TUCHMAN (voice-over): The 55-year-old says it wasn't anything Trump said during the debate that changed his mind.</s>KLEIN: It's the things he didn't say, you know? He never ever said he has a plan or he has some idea of what he is really getting into.</s>TUCHMAN: Shanis (inaudible) is a Nevadan who says she is an independent. (on camera): Before this debate, did you know for sure who you were going to vote for, for president?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.</s>TUCHMAN: And you know for sure today?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do. Yes.</s>TUCHMAN: And who is that?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will be voting for Hillary.</s>TUCHMAN (voice-over): She says Clinton answered questions directly. As for Trump --</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He kind of -- instead of answering, he kind of skirts around it.</s>TUCHMAN: Thomas Stark is a registered Democrat, but after Bernie Sanders dropped out, it was Clinton facing Trump.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wasn't enthusiastic about either one.</s>TUCHMAN: After the debate, he also decided yes for Clinton, no for Trump.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He reminded me of Richard Nixon and the reason being is that it just looked like he was hiding too much from the get go.</s>TUCHMAN: Donald Trump's Nevada campaign stops on this day are part of the effort to stop Clinton's momentum in the state. (on camera): And many Trump supporters here believe the upcoming debates can help do just that.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think if Trump talks about the issues then he'll win Nevada. If he goes like the first debate, he'll lose.</s>MICKEY WATSON, TRUMP SUPPORTER: I have to have faith in humanity and in people, and I think they will realize that she is crooked.</s>TUCHMAN: But Robert Klein says his decision is final. (on camera): Is it a weird feeling knowing that for the first time you will not vote Republican for president?</s>KLEIN: Yes, it is. I feel kind of betrayal.</s>TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN, Henderson, Nevada.</s>WARD: "The Atlantic" magazine has a long history of remaining neutral in U.S. presidential elections, but it says it must take a stand now to defend American democracy. "The Atlantic" is backing Hillary Clinton, only the third time in its 160-year history that it has made an endorsement. The magazine says concerns about Donald Trump compelled the move calling him the most ostentatiously unqualified major party candidate in U.S. history. This is THE WORLD RIGHT NOW. Up next, more secrets allegedly stolen from the NSA by a government contractor. Could this be another Edward Snowden scenario? Stay with us.