love basketball, but you notice very little about it. thanks for joining us. krnk thi cnn this morning oig starts right now. . good morning, everyone, glad you're with us. big debate last night. lots of headlines to get to on thursday, november 9th. the third republican debate, critical issues and foreign policy, abortion rights, did it make a difference with about two months until the iowa caucuses. former president donald trump skipped the debate for a third time, rallying just down the road, taking on his gop rivals and president biden. we are back in action, the hollywood actor's strike is finally over after four months on the picket line. just in this morning, new video from iranian-backed houthi rebels showing them shooting down an american drone. this happened off the coast of yemen. the u.s. struck back launching an air strike on a weapons facility warehouse in syria. the new york attorney general's office rests its case against donald trump and its family business. ivanka trump said she couldn't recall details of the deal of the post office in washington, d.c. "cnn this morning" starts right now. if you're counting, 67 days left until the iowa caucuses. we just saw five republican presidential candidates go head to head on the debate stage in miami, and yet again for the third time, the republican front runner, donald trump, skipped it. >> donald trump's a lot different guy than he was in 2016. he owes it to you to be on the stage and explain why he should get another chance. >> we can't live in the past. we can't live in other headlines. we've got to start pofocusing o what's going to make america strong and proud. >> anybody spending the next year and a half of their life, focusing on staying out of jail and courtrooms cannot lead this country. it needs to be said plainly. >> donald trump held a rally miles away from the venue. he called the whole thing a waste of time. >> it's time for the republican establishment to stop wasting time and resources trying to push weak and ineffective rhinos and never trumpers that nobody wants and nobody's going to vote for. they're not watchable. you know, the last debate was the lowest rated debate in the history of politics. so therefore, do you think we did the right thing by not participating? >> jeff zeleny is live for us in miami. to that point from the former president, not showing up has not seemed to hurt him at all. the candidates seemed to be attacking one another rather than trump. why. >> reporter: look, they're attacking one another because they're in furious scramble for second place, trying to emerge as the leading alternative to donald trump. it was clear that time is running out, and tensions nearly reached a boiling point. on a raucous debate night in miami. >> don't lie to the people. >> reporter: florida governor ron desantis and former south carolina governor nikki haley scrambling to become the leading alternative to donald trump. desantis blaming the former president for presiding over a party that endured major defeats tuesday in virginia, kentucky and ohio. >> he said republicans were going get tired of winning. we saw last night, i'm sick of republicans losing. >> haley imploring republicans to turn the page. >> i think he was the right president at the right time. i don't think he's the right president now. i think that he put us $8 trillion in debt, and our kids are never going to forgive us for that. >> reporter: two months before the first votes are cast, the winner may not have been on the debate stage but rather a few miles away, hold ago cing a com rally in hialeah. with time running out to slow trump's momentum, a fierce exchange broke out on china, the middle east, abortion and more, with south carolina senator tim scott pushing his rivals to support a national 15-week abortion ban. >> i would challenge both nikki and ron to join me at a 15-week limit. it is in our nation's best interest. >> reporter: voters sent a clear message on abortion rights in ohio and virginia. haley called for a consensus. >> we don't need to divide america on this issue anymore. >> reporter: desantis pointed a finger at the antiabortion movement for failing to make its case. >> of all the stuff that's happened to the pro right cause, they have been losing the referenda. >> reporter: the debate was the first since hamas attacked israel october 7th. all candidates pledged support for the u.s.'s long time ally. >> finish the job once and for all with these butchers, hamas. >> america is here no matter what it is you need at any time to preserve the state of israel. >> reporter: haley and scot place blame for the brutal terror attack squarely on iran. >> we need to be very clear eyed to know there would be no hamas without iran. >> you actually have to cut off the head of the snake, and the head of the snake is iran. >> reporter: some of the biggest flash points came between haley and vivek ramaswamy who accused her of rushing to war. >> do you want dick cheney in 3 inch heels. >> i would like to say they're 5 inch heels, and i don't wear them unless you can run in them. the second thing that i will say, i wear heels, they're not for a fashion statement, they're for ammunition. >> with tensions inflamed in a discussion over tiktok and china, the attacks grew personal. >> she made fun of me for joining tiktok, her own daughter was using the app for a long time, so you might want to take care of your family first. >> leave my daughter out of your voice. you're just scum. >> former new jersey governor chris christie sought to rise above the fray defending the u.s. for taking an active role in israel ukraine. >> let's remember the last time we turned our back on a shooting war in europe, it bought us just a couple of years, and then 500,000 americans were killed in europe to defeat hitler. this is not a choice. >> reporter: for much of nearly two hours it was a deeply substantiative discussion on foreign policy, social security reform and more. the question is this merely an academic exercise. for all the familiarity of the exchanges back and forth, there was a very new moment at the debate last night. that came from south carolina senator tim scott who has been talking throughout the campaign about a girlfriend that he has. of course he's 58 years old. he's single, but after the debate he appeared on stage with in woman here. we have her picture. her name is mindy. she's an interior decorator from charleston, we're told. the campaign said he was happy to be with her at the debate last night. he has mentioned her occasionally, in fact, more often recently on the campaign trail. last night we got a glimpse of her on stage. phil and poppy. >> we did. thank you for the reporting from miami, jeff. >> let's bring in cnn political comment commentator, margaret hoover and former national coalitions director of the biden-harris campaign, i'm pro love. that's all i have on this. seeing the girlfriend thing. i hope they're happy. there was a lot of substance in the debate, a lot of back and forth. particularly there were a number of exchanges between ron desantis and nikki haley seemed to be battling for the second place role at this point, including this on china. take a listen. >> then we will go and end all formal trade relations with china until they stop murdering americans from fentanyl, something ron has yet to say he's going to do. >> ambassador haley said somehow i wasn't doing, she welcomed them into south carolina, gave them land near a military base, wrote the chinese ambassador a love letter saying what a great friend they were. >> yes, i brought a fiberglass company ten years ago to south carolina, but, ron, you are the chair of your economic development agency that as of last week said florida is the ideal place for chinese businesses. >> credit where it's due. solid in the files that they had prepped for that. china was a winning issue for the former president in 2016, clearly an issue that's top of mind for americans right now from a foreign policy perspective. do you think their differentiated from one another in that battle? >> i think in that moment, nikki haley went on the attack. she defended herself from an attack, and then counter attacked and had all the receipts to show it. in that moment, she won the point. >> what it does also show is the country has moved in the last ten years on china. we have had a total paradigm shift in foreign policy as a country. biden's policy on china doesn't look anything like his predecessor president obama's policy on china. the nuances of where all the individual candidates are may not stand out to the voters but what stood out in that moment is ron desantis had a cheap hit on nikki haley and she came back at him with something quite substantial. >> yeah, i think that's right, and i think tying it to fentanyl is fascinating. we saw all the candidates on stage digging into a substantiative way an issue hurting a lot of folks, and that's about bringing foreign policy home, and that's an important thing to do. this was a foreign policy debate. that's where the world is right now, and that placed nikki haley's strengths overall. she's the one that's got the most foreign policy experience on the stage by far as a former u.n. ambassador, and lest we forget, the presidency is largely a foreign policy job. i think that played to they are strengths, but people were laying out their markers, particularly that divide in the republican party, between the defiant internationalists, defending ukraine, as well as israel, and neo isolationists. >> a substantive important conversation on abortion, after big wins on the abortion front across the board for democrats earlier this week. let's listen to a few of the sound bytes from last night on this. >> we need a 15-week federal limit, 3 out of 4 americans agree with a 15-week limit. i would challenge nikki and ron to join me at a 15-week limit. >> as much as i'm pro life, i don't judge anyone for being pro choice. there are some states going more on the pro life side, i welcome that. there are some states going more on the pro choice side. i wish that wasn't the case but the people decided. >> you have republican senators like john thune saying this is going to be an issue for republicans. j.d. vance saying we've got a lot of persuasion to do as a party. if you don't see that, you're missing the issue here. abortion is not the top issue for voters. it's about 6%. doesn't mean it doesn't matter. how much can this help democrats going forward? >> i think people look at abortion ass an economic issue, one, but with tim scott saying he wants to do a 15-week ban. it was like he didn't realize what happened the day before when glenn youngkin was saying 15-week ban, and virginia senate and house went dem. nikki haley and ron desantis are like i'm not touching that with a 10 foot pole because that's not where the american people are. >> do you think nikki haley is where the american people are? >> no, but i think she gave a good -- i think she gave a good answer for a republican primary debate, but the reality is where the american people are, they don't want a weak number, they want the government out of choices they're making. women want bodily autonomy in the doctor's office with themselves and their families, not with politicians. whatever republicans want, it's out of touch with the american public. >> we have a lot to get to over the course of the hour, a lot more to get to. donald trump rallies down the street. who he's floating for vp, that's next. the strike is finally over, 160,000 actors can return to work today after four months on the picket line. why the union president is calling the deal historic as actors celebrate. >> back to work, holollywood.. finanally, actioion. biden's not too old. that's not his problem. he's too incompetent. >> we're back with mark avalon, marvin cooper, it was a late night last night, and ashley allison. his numbers have gone up, the former president, after skipping every single one of the debates. when he talked about whether or not it was a good strategy, the crowd roared and cheered. was there ever a reason to attend a debate, the three prior or going forward? >> he should. the field is winnowing, there are five candidates on the stage. you have to live in iowa to get iowans to vote for you. new hampshire is the same way. voters want to be shown the respect of somebody showing up. and while you say his numbers have gone up, his share of the base hasn't expanded and when you look at these -- we don't have national primary elections, we have early primary elections and maybe 25 relevant states and those states include iowa in which the plurality is against trump. if the field can winnow around an alternative, a single alternative, trump can lose, and trump owes it to the voters to show up and if he doesn't, you know what -- >> i think he went to the state fair for like 45 minutes or something and now desantis has the endorsement of the governor. >> kim reynolds. >> nikki haley said something about what's happening on college campuses, that was striking. i want your take on that. listen. >> this is what i would say about our college presidents is if the kkk were doing this, every college president would be up in arms. this is no different. you should treat it exactly the same. anti-semitism is just as awful racism. and we've got to make sure they're protected. >> yeah, that line jumped out to me because of its moral clarity. and i thought it was particularly strong, you know, if jewish students are being menaced on campus, there's not a lot of room for hand wringing and wondering how this should be dealt with. it should be clear, right? you protect students. you stop discrimination based on identity, and we apply the same standards across all our society, and nikki haley was very strong on that. and it's the kind of thing that right now, there's elements of the democratic party that seems tied up in knots about this issue, and it really should be simple. >> it's interesting because there has been that clarity, too, from president biden on this. >> absolutely. very much so. >> i think it's clear that we should not support anti-semitic activity or language on college campuses, on the street, in government. but i will say on a democratic side, the gaza and israel issue ini i think has taken a toll on the biden polling. the numbers that came out on tuesday, joe biden with young voters, with voters of color, he was not where he needs to be to win in 2024. what i do think, though, he needs to go out and make his position very clear. we support free speech. we think that innocent civilians should not be killed in gaza. we want to end terrorist organizations, hamas, and all alike, and we don't support anti-semitism, and i think the biden administration has been very very clear on that, but this is a very heartfelt issue, and, you know, i will just say, as a millennial who grew up during the iraq war, i think and was on a college campus, and lost a friend to that war. >> i'm so sorry. >> millennials have a different position on how we are engaging on international conflicts, and i think that is what you're seeing right now in the democratic party, but we are a big tent party, and we have the ability to compromise, and i think that if we just go out and make it very clear with a moral compass and where our values are, i think we land in the right place. >> i think that's the key. it's about applying consistent principles consistently and calling out hate and discrimination. >> and standing up to the extremes in your own party as someone who is from a party that hasn't for too long. >> as a republican. >> a republican. i mean, you say, look, i think there's moral clarity in the center of your party, i think that's right right now. there used to be in the republican party too, and for too long the people in the center didn't stand up to the extremes and the voices on the extreme have taken it over. pushing back on the extremes from the left, from the center left position is important for the sustainability of the country. >> generally. >> the best advice. >> always. always the best answer. >> 14 years. >> happy belated anniversary, you guys. >> thank you. >> john avlon, margaret hoover, ashley allison, always great to have you. i don't recall, i don't recall, i don't recall. that's not avalon when margaret is asking him something. what the judge heard from ivanka trump over and over and over again, what it actually means for the case. also. >> i am so happy. i am so happy, oh, my god. >> recognize her? how hollywood is responding to the end of the actor's strike. that's ahead.. you want to be able to provide your child with the tools or resources they need. with reliable internet at home, through the internet essentials program, the world opened up. fellas, fellas. that's how my son was able to find the hidden genius project. we wanted to give y'all the necessary skills to compete with the future. kevin's now part of this next generation of young people who feel they can thrive. ♪ ♪ celebrations, that's what you're seeing across hollywood and beyond, as the actor's union reaches a tentative deal with the big film and television, vanessa yurkevich following it with us now. i think busy phillips' elation that we showed before the break shows it all. we don't know what's in the deal yet. >> we don't know the specifics. we know people are incredibly relieved by this. this was the last piece of the puzzle to get hollywood back to work. you had the writers and directors that had come to deals. this was the key part to get everyone back in studios. this deal is worth a billion dollars in value, three times what their current contract is worth. we know a little bit from sag. these are the biggest gains that the union has seen in history. we know that there are increases in minimums for workers who are -- for actors who are just starting out. not the cuba gooding jr. and george clooney, we're seeing increases in pensions and health care, and the provision and language around artificial intelligence. if you remember, this is really what the union has been advocating for, and even this weekend when the studios put their best, last and final deal on the table, the union came back and said, hold on, let's just tweak a little bit of this language. they were able to come to an agreement on that, and that's what ultimately got them across the finish line. >> and what about, i mean, today we were saying, do we expect delays in projects. i know they were trying to salvage some of the winter season for tv. >> they were trying to salvage that. some of that is lost. however, there is an opportunity to get folks back to work as soon as possible. they can go back to work before they ratify the deal, but of course what's important is the 160,000 sag members really hold the key to whether or not this deal becomes lost, so to speak. we know shows have been delayed. we know the studios were pushing to get the actors back into the winter production season, so that we all have something to watch next year and into the summer. but more importantly so the folks who have been out of jobs for four months now, the actors and then all of the employees that have supported the actors in other industries can get back to work. when you push the winter season production off, just prolongs how long people were out of work. this deal came at the last possible minute to make sure we have a show season and a movie season for people to act in and us to enjoy. >> important to remember what the average actor makes. >> not a lot. >> thanks vanessa, appreciate it. new video from houthi rebels shooting down an american drone. and a video from the idf showing israeli forces seizing weapons in northern gaza, plus an update on thehe hostage negotiatations next.t. thi