Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Hurricane Isaias Closes in on Gulf Coast, Landfall Expected Tonight; Personal Insults, Attacks on Family in Heated Debates; Vance Signals Discomfort After Report on Guilfoyle Donor Request. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired October 09, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The breaking news, Hurricane Isaias, the National Hurricane Center now painting a more serious picture of the storm's U.S. landfall tonight. The storm is gaining strength as we speak.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And breaking overnight, protests erupting in New York City after ICE agents shoot a man in a car with a five-year- old in the back seat. New York City's mayor demanding the Trump administration release the man, who's now in ICE custody.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Happening now, 400 miles of the most dangerous kayaking imaginable. Why? To get clicks, and it seems to be working.

I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: So, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season is barreling toward the Gulf Coast right now. Hurricane Isaias is a Category 2 with winds topping 110 miles per hour, which means the storm is actually right on the edge of being a major Category 3, and it's still gaining strength at this hour. Landfall is expected late tonight into early tomorrow.

The Gulf Coast is bracing for impact. States of emergency have been declared in Florida, Alabama, Georgia. Evacuations -- look at these lines, evacuations underway, mandatory orders in parts of the Florida Panhandle. Store shelves, as you would be expected, are seen emptying out, and long lines are being seen at gas stations.

One of the big concerns here is people could see up to seven feet of storm surge in parts of Alabama and the Florida coasts, plus as much as 15 inches of rain in places.

CNN's Rafael Romo is live this morning in Pensacola, Florida for us as they're getting ready for it. What are you seeing?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate, good morning. One of the things that has already surprised me about Isaias is that I was not expecting the effects of this hurricane to be felt so early, because we are already feeling here in Pensacola the rain waves of wind strong winds, significant wind I would say. And we are probably 12 hours plus before the arrival, the actual landfall of Isaias here in this part of the country.

Now, in the last few hours, authorities have been making final preparations for this hurricane. What we know is that there have -- they have been issued mandatory evacuation orders for at least three counties in this area where I am, Walton County, Escambia, and Franklin, as well as areas where mobile homes are located and low- lying areas.

I can also tell you, Kate, that the Pensacola International Airport is going to be closed starting at 10:00 this morning. Of course, this hurricane is getting stronger and stronger by the hour. As you were mentioning before a higher Category 2 hurricane, it's expected to get to a Category 3 and weakens some before getting here.

I had an opportunity to talk to Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves, and he told me that he's got all personnel locally here ready, as well as help from the state, but he's also urging residents to take care of themselves and each other. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR D.C. REEVES, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA: That means having enough water, having flashlights and batteries, putting your prescription medications in waterproof containers.

We are doing our job to represent our citizens here, to make sure our city is ready to go. We are imploring our citizens to do the same. They need to make sure their family is ready to go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And the mayor told me that the state has deployed National Guard high-water vehicles in case we have major flooding in this area.

And just for context, Kate, normally during the month of October, they get 4.7 inches of rain. That's expected to fall here in just a matter of hours.

Now back to you.

BOLDUAN: Yes, that's a great point. And the way you're describing it is something we're hearing it seems from the Hurricane Center as well, which is there is a concern of how conditions are going to deteriorate pretty quickly with this storm, even though they're talking about landfall late tonight.

This is something to watch, well, starting right now, as you can see, with Rafael feeling the effects of it. Thank you so much, Rafael.

[07:05:00]

It's good to see you. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, Kate.

So where and when will Hurricane Isaias hit? CNN's Allison Chinchar has the latest track for this storm. Give us some sense of what timing looks like here for landfall.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. So, again, we're already starting to see some of those impacts, as you saw from Rafael's shot.

We have the sustained winds at 110 miles per hour right now. That makes it the highest category two it can be. 111 officially would make it a Category 3. So, we are right there on the cusp of that border there.

Now, the gusts are up around 130 miles per hour. It's also picking up speed, moving north northeast at about 15 miles per hour. That means that landfall will be later on this evening. Now, there is the potential it will get up to a Category 3, but we're hoping that it weakens, and quite considerably, maybe down to a cat one by the time it makes landfall.

The real question is going to be is how much does the shear that's in this environment really come into play in terms of weakening the storm before it finally makes landfall later this evening.

You have all of your watches and warnings in anticipation of when this storm is going to arrive later today, and in some cases, on Saturday, especially for those areas inland. You -- all this orange area you see here, that's where you're looking at peak storm surge of five to seven feet.

Keep in mind that some of these surrounding areas, you're still looking at three to six feet of storm surge. That is still plenty to cause some damage. And these areas are so flat, so low-lying, that some of that storm surge can creep half a mile or even more inland. So, you don't have to be right there on the coast to see the impacts from storm surge. There's also the potential for severe thunderstorms. Yes, we're talking tornadoes, water spouts, damaging winds.

Today, it is mainly going to be focused right there along the coastline, but once we get into Saturday, that really starts to spread inland. Macon, Augusta, Columbia, Atlanta, a lot of these areas have the potential to see some very quick spin-up-type tornadoes. We're not expecting long-tracking tornadoes, like EF-4s or EF-5s, but it's not out of the question to get some EF-1s or even 2s that can cause some significant damage.

Here's a look at the forecast radar. By later this morning, you're going to continue to start to see more of those outer bands begin to lash at the Gulf Coast. Pensacola, Panama City, Mobile, all of those areas. By this evening, that's when we really start to see the winds ticking up along the coast, and some of those outer bands making it well inland. Macon, Montgomery, starting to see some rain bands begin to spread in.

Overnight tonight, this is when you're going to start to see the heavy rain for Atlanta into Birmingham, into Huntsville. That will last through the early morning hours, because as the storm comes in, it is going to slow down a little bit.

So, a lot of these areas are going to end up getting some pretty significant amounts of rainfall by the time this exits on Sunday.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you so much, Allison Chinchar. I appreciate it. We'll all be watching this very closely. John?

BERMAN: Overnight, Senate debates in some of the most closely watched races in the country, they got heated.

In Georgia, Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff tried to tie Republican Congressman Mike Collins to white nationalism, pointing to Collins' son-in-law.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): Imagine running for the U.S. Senate while neo-Nazi propaganda is disseminated to an audience of millions from your home. That's Mike Collins. And it's not just those around him, Mike Collins himself has amplified neo-Nazi propaganda online.

MIKE COLLINS (R), GEORGIA SENATE CANDIDATE: I've condemned racism, antisemitism, hate. I don't care where the source is, and I tell him that, too. It's wrong. We have no place in this world for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: In Michigan, it was a brawl. Republican Mike Rogers brought up Abdul El-Sayed's mother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: You're going after my mom?

MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm not going after your mom.

EL-SAYED: Yes, that's what you're doing.

ROGERS: What your mom was working at, I was going after that organization that was indicted for funneling money to Al-Qaeda. That's your mom. My mom worked at a law, small chamber of commerce. I'll put my mom up any day for that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. We'll give you a rebuttal and we're moving again from this subject.

EL-SAYED: Again, he wants this to be about anything but his own record. He's okay if the federal government spies on you, but he wants to make this about anybody else, going after my mom, my sister, got nothing to actually say about me.

ROGERS: Listen to this guy and what he's trying to sell here today. You're going to find out that this guy is not what he says he is. He is actually selling the best con I think I've ever seen. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The sparks went into commercial. The moderator said the candidates kept arguing during the ads when voters were not even watching.

All right, growing questions surrounding a Trump administration official, even Vice President Vance says he, quote, doesn't love it. Now, the man who says Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle asked him to wire $100,000 to her Amex account, he's speaking out.

In the announcement that shocked so many from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that he plans to live stream an execution.

And, quote, He wants me to lose, brand-new audio of Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton complaining about a lack of support from the Republican he beat in the primary.

[07:10:02]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: This morning, the White House is facing growing questions about Trump-appointed ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle and allegations that she engaged in a pay-for-play scheme.

A Trump donor is accusing Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece, of offering access to Trump officials in exchange for paying off her credit card. Eric Deters, a former Congressional candidate, claims Guilfoyle asked him to pay off her $100,000 American Express bill in July 2025, just days before her Senate confirmation hearing.

[07:15:07]

The Wall Street Journal first reported the allegations.

A reporter asked Vice President J.D. Vance about all this without mentioning Guilfoyle's name.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Do you have any reaction to a U.S. government official, in this case a U.S. ambassador, asking someone to pay off debt in exchange to access to other government officials?

J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Well, so with that hypothetical, Jen, obviously I don't love that. But, you know, I don't know who exactly who you're talking about, I don't know the full details. Of course, I don't like anybody selling access to another government official, certainly a high level government official.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: CNN's Alayna Treene joining us now from outside the White House this morning. Is there any other reaction to this from the White House? ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This is a remarkable story, Sara. And I'd remind people too that Ambassador Guilfoyle, who is now ambassador to Greece, of course, and all of this was happening, these messages that were shared with the Journal and then also shared with CNN just days before her Senate confirmation hearing.

Ambassador Guilfoyle was also Donald Trump Jr.'s former fiance. And she had spoken, Deters said, with him throughout the majority of last year. They were in regular contact. And some of these messages, I mean, I just want to read one of them for you. It says, honey, please, I need you to get this done for me today, referring to a $100,000 Amex bill that she needed to be paid off.

She went on to say later, it won't show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express. Please. And then later again, I can get you in for a meeting on the matter we discussed. Please get back to me ASAP.

Now, I will say Deters did go on CNN yesterday with Jake Tapper. He said he did not end up wiring Guilfoyle the money because he didn't have it in liquid form. But I want you to listen to what he told CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC DETERS, RETIRED LAWYER AND FORMER TRUMP DONOR: What I did is I told Kimberly, I said, Kimberly, if you help me draw attention to this, when the case settles, I'll give you a million bucks. And she said, Fine. And she said that she'd start doing all these things for me, but none of that ever happened.

So, right before her Senate confirmation, she says to me, I need $100,000 to pay off my American Express card, or I'm not going to become Greek ambassador. This is embarrassing. And I said, Kimberly, you haven't done anything that I've asked you to do. I mean, just nothing. She hadn't accomplished anything. And I said, Kimberly, why should I do this for you? And she told me, and it's in the text messages, I'll be your ride or die forever in the Trump administration. I won't keep track of how many favors, how big the favors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, look, Sara, I can say obviously this creates a lot of different conflicts. And even Kimberly Guilfoyle herself had been saying in these messages with Deters that she wanted to ensure that they -- not a lot of this was in writing, that they were doing this in a way that could've -- you know, it wouldn't come up on a paper trail, that they were using Signal.

But to get back to your main question about how are others reacting to this, you obviously played that clip of the vice president saying he obviously doesn't love this. Any kind of scheme to have people sell access to high-ranking officials is not a good thing, of course, for this White House.

But also, I would remind you of President Trump, who -- one of his biggest things, one of his key things that he really hates is people close to him, people who work with him profiting off the use of his name and his likeness.

I spoke with a lot of different advisers yesterday, and also a lot of people who are close to Donald Trump Jr., the president's son, who was previously, as I mentioned, engaged to Kimberly Guilfoyle, who said that this is very concerning. There's definitely a lot of frustration behind the scenes, but we'll have to see what this actually plays out and looks like in the long run for the president's ambassador to Greece.

SIDNER: It doesn't look great. Alayna Treene, thank you so much for your reporting there from the White House. Kate?

BOLDUAN: ICE agents in New York shoot a man inside a car with a five- year-old who's inside that car. The shooting has sparked protests, and now there is new information coming in and a lot of big questions about how it unfolded.

Plus, a bus slams right into a house. This morning we have some new detail on what caused this mess and this crash.

And for more of the stories you need to get your day going, my show, 5 Things with Kate Bolduan, is streaming right now on the CNN app and All Access every morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: All right. Breaking overnight, protests in New York City after ICE agents shot and wounded a man while a five-year-old was in the car.

Now, DHS says it was a targeted operation. A law enforcement source tells CNN shots were fired into the car of a 28-year-old man while a five-year-old child was in the back seat. New York's mayor calls the shooting an outrage.

We want to get right to CNN's Brynn Gingras, who is at the scene this morning. Bring us up to speed, Brynn.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, you know, much quieter morning than what we were seeing last night in the wake of this where, you just said it, there were tons of protests that were breaking out on the streets here in the Bronx.

And actually, my colleague, Mark Morales, just talked to a shopkeeper here who said that she was trying to shoo people away from the scene because she didn't want anybody to see what was happening. She was terrified for that 28-year-old man.

Now, this is actually where he was basically surrounded, we've seen from video, by ICE agents.

[07:25:01] He's been identified, a 28-year-old Oscar Belgal. And we know that he was inside his car basically backing out into this area with his five- year-old son, we believe, inside the back of that car, when several ICE agents, some according to the mayor who were wearing construction vests, carrying large weapons, fired into that car.

We know at least one officer fired -- one ICE agent rather, fired seven shots, and Belgal received a graze wound underneath his ear on his neck. We know he went to the hospital, and he is expected to be okay.

Mayor Mamdani came out here yesterday basically saying he was on the phone for several hours with the president and DHS Secretary Mullins negotiating the release of Belgal to, no, he -- it didn't work. Basically, he is in the custody of ICE at this point.

I want you to hear more about what the mayor had to say though about the chaos that ensued and that happened here basically just yesterday afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D-NEW YORK CITY, NY): When ICE agents opened fire, a five-year-old child, a five-year-old child was in the backseat of the car. Thank God that child is physically unharmed.

For the past two hours, I have been on the phone with President Trump and Secretary Mullin negotiating the release of the man ICE agents shot. Those negotiations were unsuccessful. Just moments ago, ICE put the man in an unmarked vehicle and whisked him away.

Let me say this plainly. What happened today was an outrage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: Mamdani calling for ICE to be out of this city, along with other elected officials. Governor Hochul saying she wants the body camera of those agents to be released at this time.

Let me quickly read to you what DHS has said about this incident. In part, it says, ICE officers were conducting a targeted enforcement operation in the Bronx, New York, to arrest a criminal illegal alien from the Dominican Republic with a prior criminal conviction for grand larceny and multiple prior arrests for assault, robbery, possession of drugs, and weapons possessions.

He has association to the Trinitarios gang, which actually NYPD has not confirmed he has an association. Did confirm, however, there were some previous arrests for assault and robbery and such in the last couple of years.

So, certainly, this -- again, a calmer morning, but outrage as this is the first incident since the Trump administration has boosted its enforcement, immigration enforcement, but the first incident to happen in New York City during that time. John? BERMAN: All right. A lot of questions, we may get some answers at least as the morning develops.

Brynn Gingras, great to have you there. Thank you very much. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, John. Ahead, questions arising after the thought of livestreaming an execution. The Pentagon plans to hold its first firing squad execution in decades, allowing the public to watch.

And a CNN exclusive, quote, he wants me to lose, new audio obtained by Texas Senate Candidate Ken Paxton getting frustrated with a member of his own party.

Those stories and more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]