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U.S. Pulls All Bombers from U.K. Air Base after New Threat; Yemen Government Announces Major Offensive Against Houthis; President Lula da Silva, Senator Bolsonaro Face a Runoff Vote; Flydubai Hijacking Attempt Exposes Gaps in Aviation Security; Republicans Balancing Keeping Voters and Managing Trump Ties; Protests Target Cornell University's Handling of Alleged Gang Rape; Japan Investigating after U.S. Marine Accused of Murder. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired October 05, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Wherever you are in the world, you are now in the CNN NEWSROOM with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta. And it is so good to have you with me.

[00:00:37]

Coming up, the Pentagon pulls out its long-range bombers from a U.K. airbase. We'll tell you why and what it means for the American military there and beyond.

Yemen's government launches a new offensive against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Details ahead. Plus, a look at who is promising support.

And Japan's prime minister is expressing outrage after a U.S. Marine is arrested for the murder of a Japanese woman. We'll bring you a live report from Tokyo.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Ben Hunte.

HUNTE: Welcome. We begin this hour with a major redeployment by the U.S. Air Force. It comes as British authorities investigate the alleged plot that targeted a U.K. airbase used by the U.S. military.

CNN's Julia Benbrook has the latest for us from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We are still gathering information on this. But according to a source familiar --

BENBROOK (voice-over): -- the United States has moved its long-range bombers stationed in the U.K. back to their American home stations following an unspecified new threat.

A U.S. official tells CNN in a statement, quote, "We can acknowledge now that all U.S. bombers that were deployed to RAF Fairford have redeployed to their home stations in the United States." That official did not go into detail on why these planes were moved.

Now, this is happening just days after the British government arrested a number of individuals in connection to an alleged Iranian plot to target the U.K. air base where those planes were located. The arrests were made, but those individuals were quickly released on bail.

Iran has denied any connection to that incident.

Now, that air base had been used to deploy B-1 bombers used in the war against Iran.

BENBROOK: We have reached out to the White House for more information on this new threat. A source familiar referred to it as a real-world incident.

Julia Benbrook, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: An official familiar with the move says it is unusual that the U.S. brought the bombers home instead of deploying them to another base in the region.

Earlier, CNN national security analyst Alex Plitsas explained how the decision may be linked to a larger shift in U.S. firepower near Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It's unusual in the sense that we did move all of our aircraft from the base. There was probably several dozen bombers there, plus, that were there, deployed for quite some time.

So, it speaks to the credibility and the seriousness of the threat overall to the base that we're talking about.

But this also didn't happen in a vacuum. So, at the same time, the bombers were sent home, what hasn't been as well publicized is, of the two aircraft carriers that have been on station outside of Iran, the Bush has been going -- has been -- basically, is moving towards a port call and will be out of the region for quite some time, leaving only one aircraft carrier there, with the third one still inbound.

So, it's still several weeks until that second carrier will return, plus the third. And in the face of the ongoing threat, plus the long deployment of the bombers, in the face of that threat, it makes sense to redeploy those forces for right now for R&R back at home.

In the event that they're needed, they'll be redeployed or some other platforms will be redeployed. If the president decides that they need to commence combat operations against Iran again, which he has threatened to do, and potentially signaled after the midterms if the Iranians don't come to the table to make a deal in good faith.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNTE: A Saudi-led coalition is promising its full support for the Yemeni offensive against the Iran-backed Houthis. The rebel group has carried out a lightning offensive in recent weeks, taking a key port on the -- on the Red Sea coast and claiming several strikes on vital Saudi energy facilities.

CNN's Nic Robertson has the latest for us.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The internationally recognized government of Yemen says that it's moving from preparations operations to actual military action; that it is --

ROBERTSON (voice-over): -- going on the offensive to retake the whole of the country from the Houthis, whom the leadership calls terrorists.

Now, remembering that just in the past few weeks, the Houthis, in a lightning move, dashed down the Red Sea, taking control of the vital Bab El-Mandeb Strait, the narrow waterway of the Red Sea.

They've been fighting intensively in the Southwestern corner of Yemen, around the third largest city there, Taiz, particularly on the mountain range around that city.

[00:05:06]

And that is key territory that the Yemeni government, the internationally backed Yemeni government, has been trying to defend.

ROBERTSON: The leadership, the political leadership in Yemen is framing their operations this way.

RASHAD AL-ALIMI, PRESIDENT, YEMEN (through translator): Today, I announced the start of military operations to retake the remaining territory of the republic and extend the authority of the state and its institutions across all national soil.

We have issued directives to the armed and security forces and all military formations to begin executing their assigned tasks. According to approved plans, until the country is liberated from the grip of the terrorist militia.

ROBERTSON: The expectation of that internationally recognized Yemeni government that's backed by Saudi Arabia is that Saudi will continue to support it, will increase its support with a coalition that has been building with Pakistan, with Sudan, and other countries, bringing in troops and air forces --

ROBERTSON (voice-over): -- from outside of Saudi Arabia to bolster this offensive against the Houthis.

The Houthis over the weekend were saying that the Saudi Air Force had been having strikes in the capital, Sanaa. The Houthis, for their part, have been striking back at Saudi oil infrastructure around the capital, Riyadh. They say that they targeted Saudi Aramco there, targeted another Saudi Aramco facility about 100 miles --

ROBERTSON: -- East of the capital, Riyadh.

So, really, the tempo of this fight in Yemen has been heating up. The -- the sort of strategic gains of the Houthis have become -- been becoming even more significant in recent weeks.

And this does seem to be sort of pushing this Yemeni government, with its Saudi backers and others, to step up the action. And now they're saying, quite simply, they're going to retake the whole country from the Houthis.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Jerusalem.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Chancellor Friedrich Merz is doubling down on Germany's support for Ukraine as Russia escalates its aerial campaign ahead of winter.

Over the weekend, the Kremlin warned that foreign officials are not safe in Ukraine's capital. Despite that, Mr. Merz made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Sunday, where he was greeted by air raid sirens and explosions, as you're seeing there.

Moscow had targeted a key bridge over the Dnipro River that connects either side of the Ukrainian capital.

Several German defense company CEOs also joined the chancellor in Kyiv to further solidify the country's growing partnerships. In addition to finalizing a drone and missile production deal, Berlin plans to issue over $1.1 billion in military aid to Kyiv, as well as nearly $400 million to repair Ukraine's energy systems.

Brazil's presidential race will enter a runoff later this month. Neither of the top two candidates secured 50 percent of the vote in Sunday's general election. Right-wing Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro won 47 percent of the vote. Just days ago, polls showed he was behind sitting President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva.

The leftist incumbent is seeking his fourth term in office. He took second place with just shy of 45 percent of the vote.

The two candidates represent very different political directions for Brazil, both domestically and internationally, too.

Let's go now to Bryan Pitts, the assistant director of UCLA's Latin American Institute. He joined us from L.A.

Good to see you, sir.

So, Bolsonaro has significantly outperformed the final polls here. What do you make of that result? And what did the polls get so wrong?

BRYAN PITTS, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, UCLA'S LATIN AMERICAN INSTITUTE: Well, before -- before today, it looked like Lula led by as many as three percentage points in the first round. And of course, as you just said, the final result was that he was behind by two points. So, it was a swing of five percentage points that was different from the polls.

And this happened in the previous election in 2022, as well. There was significant underreported support for Flavio Bolsonaro's father, Jair Bolsonaro.

I mean, we've seen this in the United States, as well. A lot of times people don't admit to the pollsters they're going to vote for far- right candidates. And generally, these candidates in both the U.S. and Brazil have overperformed.

This puts a distinct advantage in a runoff, because out of the candidates who got the other 8 percent of the vote, they only --most of those are right-wing candidates, as well. And it's likely their support will go to Flavio Bolsonaro in the second round in three weeks.

HUNTE: Tell us a bit more about that, because there were 12 presidential candidates in the first round, but there are now just two. So, tell us more about where you do expect those votes to go.

PITTS: Well, this -- this election is actually rather different from most elections that have happened since Brazil's Democratization in 1985, in that it has been so clearly delineated. There have been two candidates, really, since the beginning of the campaign.

Everyone knew this was going to happen. It was going to be Lula and Bolsonaro -- and Flavio Bolsonaro. The only real suspense is -- is what -- is exactly what percentage of votes they would get in the first round of the election.

[00:10:09]

Most of the other candidates were fairly inexpressive figures without a lot of -- without a lot of reputation in Brazil.

And so -- but some of the indications, right, that this could go poorly for Lula in the next round, also include the fact that right- wing parties did so well in the congressional elections today. Two- thirds of the Senate and the entire lower house of Congress were also elected today. Those results are still forthcoming, although they're coming into focus.

And Flavio Bolsonaro's party, the Partido Liberal, the Liberal Party, has about -- is the largest party in Congress. The Workers Party is in second, but significantly behind.

None of them have anything near a majority. There's any -- at any given time, there's between 20 and 30 different political parties represented in Brazil's Congress.

But the fact that right-wing candidates did so well in governors' elections, in Senate elections, and in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Congress elections, was an indicator that Lula is going to face a real uphill battle in the second round.

HUNTE: With so many candidates, what issues do you think ultimately drove voters' decisions about who to choose here?

PITTS: I think there's been a few different things going on.

Certainly, a recent corruption investigation -- recent corruption accusations against a variety of figures in government, Flavio Bolsonaro included, involving a disgraced banker who's currently under investigation.

But there were indications that he had a very cozy relationship with members of the Supreme Court, including members of the court who were instrumental in putting Flavio's father in prison. He's under house arrest now.

In addition -- and of course, Flavio Bolsonaro himself, though, is also accused of accepting millions of dollars from this banker, supposedly to create a biopic of his father's life. But it's not entirely clear what that money was for or where it went.

And so, it really seems like -- it really seems like Flavio Bolsonaro, you know, is standing in a pretty good position moving forward.

HUNTE: Let's talk about Donald Trump, because Donald Trump has been closely involved in the political debate around Brazil, with tariffs and allegations of U.S. interference.

How much of a factor could Trump be in the next round? And how seriously should we take those interference claims?

PITTS: I think very seriously, not just because we know that Donald Trump has wanted to have a more aggressive policy in Latin America than maybe some recent U.S. presidents, but also because as a -- as a historian myself who studies the Brazilian military dictatorship, this -- this is something the U.S. has done for a long time in Latin America, is attempt to influence electoral outcomes.

I think Trump is doing it a little bit more explicitly, you know, through things like meeting Flavio Bolsonaro in the Oval Office while he was still just a candidate.

But I also think that -- that this is something that fits very well with the pattern of U.S. behavior in previous elections. It's just a lot more out in the open right now.

HUNTE: So, that being said, with this runoff coming up, what do you think will ultimately decide this race, and who's going to win?

PITTS: Well, I don't want to venture a guess on who's going to win, although it certainly seems to favor Flavio Bolsonaro right now. But a lot of things could happen in three weeks.

I think that leading into the runoff, there's going to be a lot of debates around the extent to which Flavio Bolsonaro is a -- is sort of a reproduction of his father, or whether he is able to go -- or whether he's going to be able to sort of make his own name. Right?

He's already made it very clear that, if he's elected, he's going to -- going to seek amnesty or perhaps a pardon for his father in his conviction for plotting a coup after he lost the last election.

And for the part of Lula, the debate in the Brazilian press is already whether Lula -- whether Lulism, right, the political movement around Lula that's been around for well over 40 years now, whether that has exhausted itself, right? And whether there's going to be, you know -- and whether he has, really, any chance of reviving his candidacy, especially at 80 years old.

There's sort of this sentiment, at least in the Brazilian media that, you know, maybe Lula has already seen his better days.

And so, it seems to me there is a decided advantage for Flavio Bolsonaro in the runoff, particularly because, no matter how it polls, it's probably going to be underreported for what he is likely to -- for the votes that he's likely to get. But it seems to me that Flavio is in a very good position.

HUNTE: Oh, well, let's see what happens next. Bryan Pitts, for now, appreciate your analysis. Thank you so much, sir.

PITTS: Thank you.

HUNTE: Next, thousands of young protesters took to the streets of New Delhi and Mumbai on Sunday in yet another day of demands calling for India's election chief to resign.

Anger over changes to voter rolls is fueling the protests there. Demonstrators say the changes benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, and that the names of millions of eligible voters were purged.

The electoral commission says the changes are necessary to remove dead, inaccurate, and duplicate entries. On Friday, it directed officials to re-register eligible voters who were mistakenly missing from the voter rolls.

[00:15:03]

A day after tens of thousands of people protested all across Spain, demonstrators have returned to their base in downtown Madrid.

They are calling for a general strike following the defeat of a housing bill, which was meant to protect some tenants from eviction.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez might call a snap election for November in the wake of the huge public anger there.

The outrage was sparked by the eviction of an 87-year-old woman in Madrid.

Reuters has obtained new video from inside the Tel Aviv-bound Flydubai flight that almost ended in tragedy. In the video, passengers can be seen helping the wounded captain. And a quick warning: the video you're about to see is graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) My head is -- No, you just ahead. Just ahead with the -- it is feeling -- it is hurting. It is hurting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me the pillow. Give me the pillow. Yes. No sleep, no sleep, no sleep.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My head is hurting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give the pillow. Take this, take this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Israeli sources tell CNN the copilot accused of attacking the pilot and trying to hijack the flight probably acted alone.

The United Arab Emirates and Israel are both investigating the incident, which has since raised serious concerns about the security failures before the flight and, of course, how this all happened in the first place.

CNN's Oren Liebermann has more for us from Jerusalem.

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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport is known worldwide for its vaunted security. In the past, aviation safety experts would come to see how it's done.

So, how did Israel's security safeguards fail so spectacularly with this Flydubai flight?

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Ten years ago, we got an inside look at Israel's aviation security system. Listen to this from a story we did as we went inside the Ministry of Transportation's security operations center.

Each flight, each passenger, each pilot, and each member of the flight crew is checked long before arriving in Israeli airspace. This room is staffed 24/7. There's never a moment without pressure. An off-course aircraft, a flight without security clearance, all of this is flagged immediately.

DVIR RUBENSTEIN, DIRECTOR OF AVIATION SECURITY, ISRAELI MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION: There is every day a situation that a flight can be, and we have such concerns about it. And we check that and verify that everything is secured, clear, prior to entering the Israeli airspace.

LIEBERMANN: That's Dvir Rubenstein, and he's the director of aviation security at the Ministry of Transportation. He's describing exactly the sorts of checks that should have stopped this event from ever happening before it started. But that clearly didn't happen.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): In fact, in a briefing on Saturday evening, the Transportation Ministry said it didn't know the names of the crew members on board the Flydubai flight.

Instead, the ministry said it's the country's security agencies that have access to those lists, which the ministry doesn't have.

LIEBERMANN: Those security agencies have yet to issue a public comment.

The Ministry of Transportation relies on foreign airlines and foreign authorities to do the background checks for the pilots flying into Israel.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): In 2023, Israel passed a law creating a passenger and crew member information database. It sits under the National Center for Passenger Data Analysis in the Tax Ministry.

Even so, that data about who's on each flight can be used for the quote, "detection, prevention, forestallment, investigation, and prosecution of members of a terrorist organization of a terrorist activity, or of a terrorist offense."

But in this case, it clearly wasn't.

One year later, Israel's watchdog issued a report warning that the country needs to conduct a thorough review of all aspects of aviation security, including incoming foreign flights. The warning was there.

LIEBERMANN: We have reached out to the Ministry of Transportation for comment. Much of the focus now in Israel is on the failures in vetting and background checks that allowed this to happen. So far, no one has taken responsibility.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: There is much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM. A U.S. Marine is accused of murdering a woman while stationed in Japan. Details on his arrest and how the U.S. is responding. Coming up in a moment.

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[00:23:47]

HUNTE: Welcome back.

There is less than one month until the U.S. midterm elections, and the numbers aren't looking too good for President Trump.

Recent polling shows more Americans disapprove of his work during his second term, which could have a terrible effect on his fellow Republicans come November.

An NBC/Telemundo poll shows the president losing critical support among Latinos. That is a bloc that helped propel him to the White House two years ago.

It also shows a larger amount of Latino voters say they want Democrats to win control of Congress. It continues a pattern of declining support for the president. CNN's

poll of polls, an average of several recent polls, shows President Trump's average approval rating at 34 percent.

The top issue for most Americans heading into the midterms is, of course, the economy, which could be thorny for Republicans. Polling from the Associated Press shows Americans disapprove of President Trump's handling of the cost-of-living crisis by 82 percent.

However, the head of the U.S. National Economic Council, appointed by President Trump, says bad polling isn't an accurate reflection of the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Ahead of an election cycle, the fact that there's possibly partisan pollsters telling us that the people are really, really depressed, it's a classic Democrat move. And I just don't buy it.

[00:25:09]

Because if it were true, if the polls were any value for thinking about what's going on with consumers, that we should look at the consumption data and say, geez, yes, that's right. People -- people aren't spending.

But in fact, the retailers are doing well. I talk to the banks all the time. They say that their consumers are happy. They're paying back their loans.

And so -- and so the data, the hard data are radically inconsistent with the polls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: A shaky performance from Republicans has put many on guard across the country. Traditionally, conservative states like Texas, Alaska, Ohio and Iowa are now pouring money into Republican campaigns, hoping to keep those states red.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny visited Iowa to speak with Ashley Hinson, the Republican nominee, in November's Senate race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Congresswoman, how are you?

REP. ASHLEY HINSON (R-IA), IOWA SENATE CANDIDATE: Welcome to Iowa.

ZELENY: Good to see you.

HINSON: Glad to have you here.

ZELENY (voice-over): We're back in Iowa to see Ashley Hinson, who's suddenly emerging as Exhibit A for how Republicans are trying to thread a delicate needle with the president here in Trump country.

ZELENY: As you know, President Trump won just two years ago here by 13 points. It was the third time he won in Iowa. How would you assess his popularity now versus those times?

HINSON: Well, certainly, in a midterm, everything narrows. And I think that's true, no matter who's in the White House.

ZELENY (voice-over): It's a remarkable balancing act to watch: from loyalty in the Oval Office earlier this week --

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: You're doing a fantastic job.

HINSON: We're working hard, and I appreciate your agenda.

ZELENY (voice-over): -- to creating some distance back home in Iowa.

HINSON: I've called for an immediate and successful end to the war in Iran, so that families can get some relief at the pump and the checkout line.

ZELENY (voice-over): Yet, she didn't vote that way, like two of her fellow Iowa Republicans in Congress, who switched their votes to help pass a resolution directing the president to end the war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One. Two. Three.

ZELENY (voice-over): But even at her own campaign stop in Waterloo --

HINSON: There you go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

ZELENY (voice-over): -- she saw that speaking out against an unpopular war can be unpopular with some Republicans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just saying stop and just walking away is not the answer.

HINSON: No. Successful ending.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Add that word to it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because when you say stop, it almost sounds like --

HINSON: A successful end.

ZELENY (voice-over): In the final month of the race, Republicans are on a red state rescue mission, pouring $20 million more in Hinson ads this week, which could bring the Iowa tally to more than $100 million, with far bigger investments in Ohio and Texas.

ZELENY: Why is this race so difficult?

HINSON: I don't think it's difficult. I'm out there in all 99 counties. I run every race the same. So, for me, it's always been going out and earning every vote, and running like I'm ten points behind, which I don't think I am. I think I'm going to win on November 3.

ZELENY: I mean, you were saying that same thing two months ago, running like you're ten points behind. But now, some Republicans actually are concerned you may be. And the Senate Leadership Fund, as you know, invested 20 million more dollars this week.

HINSON: When I talk about issues that are affecting families, we do need to bring prices down. We need to figure out how we provide relief to working families.

ZELENY (voice-over): She's locked in a tight race with Josh Turek, a Democratic state lawmaker and two-time gold medal Paralympian. We met earlier this year.

JOSH TUREK (D), IOWA SENATE CANDIDATE: Seat number 51, it's right here. It's Iowa, and this isn't pie in the sky.

ZELENY (voice-over): A year ago, Hinson tightly embraced Trump as she launched her Senate campaign.

HINSON: I am running to be President Trump's top ally in the United States Senate.

ZELENY (voice-over): But her tone has steadily shifted.

HINSON: I have a record of delivering that shows that I don't care about party labels.

ZELENY (voice-over): Now airing TV ads stressing bipartisanship.

HINSON: Working across the aisle isn't always easy, but it's how you get results.

ZELENY: How do you square that?

HINSON: Yes, I am a bipartisan fighter, and nothing changes about who's in the White House or who has the gavel. I'm still going to operate that way.

I think you can agree with somebody, or you can be a thorn in their side and always do what's right for your state. And that's what I do.

ZELENY: Have you gone to MAGA?

HINSON: Huh?

ZELENY: Have you gone to --

HINSON: I think I am pro-Iowa, and I'm pro-American. And that's what I will always support.

ZELENY: In the final month of this campaign, Republicans are trying to defend their own turf. Democrats are trying to pick up four seats to win control of the U.S. Senate. It is clear the battle for the balance of power in Washington runs

straight through Trump country.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Des Moines.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: There is much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, including growing frustration at Cornell University over the school's handling of an alleged gang rape. We'll have a look at the protests, the renewed investigation, and the legal questions surrounding that case ahead. See you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:34:10]

HUNTE: Welcome back.

Pressure is building at Cornell University over the school's handling of an alleged gang rape by several fraternity members in 2024.

Protesters held a rally off campus on Sunday in support of the accuser, and 20 student organizations have planned on-campus protests in the day ahead.

CNN's Mark Morales has more on the growing demands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK MORALES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: A large number of demonstrators gathered about a mile away from campus today, in just the most recent show of frustration with how this case has been handled.

MORALES (voice-over): Now, they spoke at large about how unhappy they were with how the university and the local district attorney has handled this case.

But also, their message was one of support. They supported Jane Doe, anybody that's in a similar situation to her, not just at Cornell University, but at universities all over.

MORALES: And they're not the only ones that have been expressing how unhappy they were about this investigation.

[00:35:04]

MORALES (voice-over): We've heard from New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who has since put in the New York attorney general, Letitia James, in charge of the criminal investigation on this side.

But we also heard from Jane Doe's attorney. His issue from the very beginning was how the district attorney's office was looking at the evidence that they had already had. MORALES: And they based most of their decision not to pursue charges on a six-page document that Jane Doe signed. But the attorney says that that document was severely lacking in a lot of real key parts of evidence that it did not have. Take a listen.

MICHAEL KOTLIKOFF, CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT: I communicated enough about what the university did after the assault was reported, which has led to distrust.

There are real legal and privacy limits on what we can say, but we will make a greater effort to explain what we can to provide context about the actions Cornell has taken, and to be more transparent.

This message is the beginning of what we hope will be an ongoing, constructive and dynamic conversation with our community. In the coming weeks, we will create additional opportunities for members of our community to ask questions and hear directly from university leadership. That will include opportunities for Cornell leadership.

MORALES: Now, remember, there's going to be two separate investigations happening here. There's the criminal side. That's going to be done by the attorney general --

MORALES (voice-over): -- and her office. And she's going to have the power to go through and conduct interviews, search for evidence, whether that's search warrants. She's going to have the full prosecutorial power that's going to be given to her to find out what happens.

But on the other side, there's major questions for how the university handled this. How did local university police handle this? And that's going to be done by an independent investigator that's going to be hired by the university to do that forensic analysis --

MORALES: -- and to basically figure out what went wrong.

Mark Morales, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: All right. For more, let's bring in Areva Martin. She's a civil rights attorney and legal affairs commentator.

Good to see you, Areva.

This is a huge and such a complex story. So, with Letitia James now taking over this investigation, what does that actually change about where the case goes from here?

AREVA MARTIN, LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Well, when you think about it, Ben, when the attorney general has to step in, that's not a second opinion. This is a vote of no confidence, as it relates to that local prosecutor.

And so many questions to be answered. The D.A. never, ever interviewed Jane Doe before declining prosecution. How do you decide that a person hasn't been raped without ever talking to the person themselves?

And what we know about this case is that the university itself conducted over 50 interviews with 32 different witnesses and then had 12 days of hearings. So, if this case rose to that level that required that level of investigation by the university, the fact that the district attorney did nothing is just appalling.

It's hard to imagine reaching the conclusion that this district attorney did, given the limited, very limited investigation that was done.

And as it relates to the university, too little, too late. It took a lawsuit, a private lawsuit by this very brave Jane Doe to force this university's president to make the statement that we just heard; to hire this independent law firm to do this investigation.

But where was all of this during the time that this young lady was making this report to the university?

HUNTE: Some big questions there. We have heard a lot of conflicting accounts about what everyone knew and when they knew it. So, how do you get past the "he said, she said" of all of this and establish what actually happened here?

MARTIN: Well, you start with some subpoenas, which the district attorney two years ago could have used. He could have utilized the subpoena process to get phone records. We are now seeing screenshots.

And again, this civil lawsuit filed by Jane Doe's attorney of this Snapchat conversation that was going on between members who are now -- members of this fraternity, who have now been identified in this lawsuit.

We can get -- we meaning this -- this attorney general, Letitia James, can use the subpoena process to get the phone records from everybody that has any information about this case.

So, we don't have to rely on what people are saying today or the finger pointing that's happening today. The attorney general can get actual records and documents that will give us a clear picture of what was happening as this young lady has alleged in this lawsuit, this gang rape that she said took place over several hours in this fraternity house.

HUNTE: The newly-released transcript includes the woman telling police that she was 100 percent confident that she was raped. How important could that evidence be to the new investigation?

[00:40:07]

MARTIN: That's critically important. And again, we've heard this local district attorney said he never had access to that document.

But again, I have to go back to how are you making a conclusion about a rape case without talking to the victim, never hearing for yourself her make that statement? That's a very, very important statement. And no matter what the circumstances were about her drinking before

she got to the fraternity house, drinking while she was there, using drugs while there, she had the presence of mind to state very clearly that she believed she was raped.

And this -- this whole conversation about the New York statute, which I'm glad to see the governor is also not just appointing Letitia James but also looking at this statute in New York that somehow penalizes a rape victim if they were drinking or may have been intoxicated before the rape occurred.

So, this case is giving the state, like New York and about 18 other states who have similar laws, an opportunity to revisit those laws and really ask, is this protecting individuals who've been raped, and is -- or is it really protecting predators?

HUNTE: The original prosecutor has faced intense political and public pressure over how this case was handled. How difficult is it for a prosecutor to make an independent decision when there's so much anger around a case like this?

MARTIN: Well, I think, again, this independent investigator, this independent attorney, the attorney general will have an opportunity to look at all the facts, all the facts that were not investigated by this local prosecutorial office.

She'll have an opportunity to talk to witnesses that have information. She'll have an opportunity to get records and documents and come to a conclusion and present all of this information to a grand jury that will be able to determine if criminal charges should be filed.

And we can't forget: the university on its own, in its own investigation, determined that two of these students should be expelled. So, you have to imagine that they found some very egregious conduct in order to expel two of their students.

So, the fact that the district attorney did not investigate this case thoroughly and comprehensively, we get a do-over now, with the attorney general having been appointed as special prosecutor in this case.

HUNTE: So, stepping back just a little bit here, what do you think genuinely happens next in this case?

MARTIN: I think Letitia James starts her criminal investigation, which is what she has been charged to do by the governor.

I think the university will conduct its third-party investigation. And there may be so much pressure on this president, the president of this university, that we see him stepping down.

I think these student organizations, I think the student protests, they're not going to end. Because, again, this -- this -- let's do an investigation. Let's talk to our students. Let's be transparent, is happening two years after these allegations were made. And students around this country, not just at Cornell University, are

-- are sick and they're tired of having to stand up in this way and fight for someone who said that they were gang raped by seven fraternities [SIC].

I think it's going to call into question how fraternities are policed and governed on college campuses, and whether there should be more oversight. This fraternity apparently has been suspended from Cornell, but it begs the question about other fraternities and the lack of oversight.

And others, I think, will come forward and talk about their own experiences, similar to Jane Doe's.

HUNTE: There's some awful stuff. Let's see what happens next. Areva Martin, appreciate you sharing your perspective. Thank you so much for now.

MARTIN: Thanks, Ben.

HUNTE: Tennessee Death Row inmate Christa Pike is still critically ill and unconscious in a hospital after surviving a failed execution attempt by lethal injection.

Her attorneys say she is now on a ventilator after the state gave her two doses of the typically fatal drug, pentobarbital. And her medical and legal future still remain unclear.

One of Pike's lawyers spoke to CNN about her condition and what obligation he thinks the state has to her now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN FERRELL, CHRISTA PIKE'S ATTORNEY: At the very least, the governor should commute Miss Pike's death sentence to a life sentence, at the very least.

We had already asked that the governor commute her for -- for many good reasons, I think. She's spent over 30 years in prison, most of that in solitary confinement, only to be taken out and not executed, but tried to execute her.

And that we don't know right now -- and we may never know -- what sort of torture she endured during that process: where her consciousness was, what physical pain there was, what mental torture she went through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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HUNTE: There is much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, including a U.S. Marine is arrested in Okinawa, accused of murdering a Japanese woman. And now, Japan's prime minister is protesting as tensions over the U.S. military rise again. See you in a moment.

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HUNTE: Welcome back.

An investigation is underway in Japan after a U.S. Marine was arrested on suspicion of murder.

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HUNTE: Police say a 20-year-old American allegedly killed a 39-year- old woman in her hotel room on Okinawa island, where he is stationed.

The Japanese government has filed a rare protest with the U.S., calling the alleged incident extremely brutal.

U.S. officials say they are communicating and cooperating with the Japanese authorities.

For more now, we are joined by CNN's Hanako Montgomery.

Good to see you. What is the latest over there? What are you hearing?

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ben, we're getting some more details about this gruesome killing in Okinawa.

Police now have a suspect. They've arrested 20-year-old Lance Corporal Devin Jacob Ballard, a U.S. Marine stationed in Okinawa. And we're told that he was arrested on Sunday on suspicion of killing 39-year- old Ana Yagi.

Now, police have also told us that Ana was found collapsed inside a hotel room in the early hours of Saturday and that she died from strangulation.

And they're also investigating this case as a potential robbery, given that some of Yagi's belongings were taken from the room and then later found discarded near the premises.

Now, investigators have also told us, Ben, that security camera footage shows a man, allegedly a foreign national with a shaved head, entering the hotel room with Ana Yagi, but then later leaving the hotel room on his own with Ana's belongings.

Now Ballard, the suspect, has denied these allegations, according to the police, but an investigation is, of course, ongoing.

Now, separately, both the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. embassy in Japan have expressed their condolences, with the U.S. embassy also saying that the U.S. is cooperating with Japanese authorities throughout this investigation.

And, Ben, just for some context, this case has stirred a lot of anger in Japan, where, as you mentioned, the prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, has lodged a rare protest against the United States. She's also called for the, quote, "fullest possible cooperation with the investigation, thorough discipline among U.S. military personnel, and measures to prevent the recurrence of crimes and accidents." And Ben, I should also note that for people in Okinawa, this stirs up

very painful memories of 2016, when. Similarly, an Okinawan woman was found murdered. This victim was also raped, and later a former U.S. Marine was sentenced to life in prison over these crimes.

And many in Okinawa, Ben, point to the fact that a majority of U.S. military facilities in Japan are actually based in their prefecture, and they argue that having so many bases in their home prefecture means that they have an unfair burden of shouldering, essentially, a lot of issues involving U.S. military servicemen, including, of course, potentially sexual assault, and also murder.

So, again, Ben, lots of anger here in Japan over this crime and also calls for greater accountability.

Back to you.

HUNTE: OK. Hanako Montgomery, live for us in Tokyo. Thank you so much.

There is much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM. In our next hour, Britain's Green Party draws anger from Israeli and Jewish groups after voting to classify Zionism as a form of racism. We'll break down that story and so much more in U.K. politics in a moment.

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HUNTE: A man in Egypt is being hailed as a hero for saving a child who fell from a balcony.

[00:55:07]

The remarkable rescue is caught on video, and it shows a man standing outside his shop. A boy runs up and points to the falling child. He got tangled up in a clothesline, giving the man a split second to run underneath and catch him.

The man later described how nervous he was, but thankfully, he was in the right place at the right time.

The 2026 Nobel Awards will be announced this week, kicking off with Monday's prize in Physiology or Medicine. It recognizes major discoveries that transformed scientific understanding and greatly benefit humankind.

Last year's prize went to three scientists whose discoveries paved the way for new approaches to treating cancer and autoimmune diseases, plus improving outcomes for organ transplant patients.

The world's largest beer festival, Munich's Oktoberfest, has wrapped up with its biggest turnout yet.

Organizers say a record 7.4 million people attended. That is nearly a million more attendees than last year. Officials say, while most visitors came from Germany, Americans, Italians and Austrians made up the largest share of foreign visitors this year. Hundreds of dachshunds strutted their tiny legs through Paris for the

city's annual Sausage Walk. Onlookers from across Europe were delighted as pups in a wide variety of costumes paraded down the street.

It is Fashion Week in Paris, so the models in town had some canine competition. From dogs dressed in berets to pint-sized cowboys, the dachshunds turned plenty of heads in this iconic city of Paris.

That's all I got for you. Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. I will be right back with more of the top headlines. See you in a moment.

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