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French Student Protesters Accuse Police Of Crackdown; Hundreds of Migrants Walking to The United States From Central America; Flavio Bolsonaro Wins Support From Right-Wing Ex-Rivals; Spanish Prime Minister Calls Snap Election as Housing Protests Grow; Students Protest as Cornell Faculty Weigh No-Confidence Vote; Attorneys Say Pike Conscious After Surviving Execution Attempt; Delta Plane Bumps Air Canada Jet at LAX, FAA Investigating; Messi Bids Farewell to Argentina in Final National Team Game. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired October 07, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:30]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, unrest in France as the country struggles to contain its biggest student protests in decades. More demonstrations are expected in the coming days. A journalist joins me live from Marseille.

Plus, we are tracking a new viral trend: debttok. TikTokers are using their platform to show how they're paying off their credit cards, student loans, and more. A financial advisor joins me to explain.

And it is a fairy tale ending for Lionel Messi. A look at his tearful finale with home team Argentina.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Well, more student protests are expected across France in the days ahead. Police fired tear gas and clashed with demonstrators across the country Tuesday. Protesters accused the government of ordering police to crack down on the movement, but France's prime minister denies the claims and has urged officials to listen to students' demands. CNN's Melissa Bell reports from Paris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): High schoolers in France, angrier than ever, and determined finally to be heard after more than two weeks of snowballing protests over school conditions. Wounding hundreds of policemen and women, teachers and high schoolers in scenes of unusual violence. Among those wounded, a teenager who lost his hand after picking up a crowd dispersal grenade and another who lost the use of his eye.

More than 6,000 people have been taken into custody since the movement began, most of them minors, with much of the students anger now directed at what they describe as police repression.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): You strangled me. I couldn't breathe. I'm 14 years old.

MANES NADEL, FORMER PRESIDENT, UNION SYNDICALE LYCEENNE: The strategy of the government since the beginning, without giving any answer, any political answer, any real discussion to the social movement, they are just creating violence.

BELL (voice-over): The difference this Tuesday, public sector unions joining the students ahead of marches across the country, saying that they are there to protect them. Lines of nurses, teachers and firemen positioned in front of the kids barricades and a new strategy from the police.

LAURENT NUNEZ, FRENCH INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): When there is a peaceful protest, the internal security forces do not intervene. To be clear, law enforcement intervenes when there is a threat to property or people, or damage to public spaces or the interior of establishments.

BELL (voice-over): For more than two weeks, the students have been demanding more funding, sharing the state of their classrooms on social media, no longer fit, they say, to study in. The answer from authorities has only incensed them further.

OCTAVE MARTY, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: We are young enough to be kicked, to be gasped, but we are not old enough to be listened. So, that's pretty crazy.

BELL: The problem for the government is it's in the process of trying to get closer to balancing its books for 2027 and to spend less, if only, to calm markets that are jittery about France's financial outlook.

BELL (voice-over): And for now, there is no sign of the movement dying down, with many grown-ups here now taking the side of the kids.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, joining us now from Marseille in southern France is journalist and author Cole Stangler. Good to have you with us.

COLE STANGLER, JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: So, we are seeing these unprecedented student-led protests spread nationwide, and they are being met with this overwhelming physical force from police. How bad did things get today, and how do you see these protests moving forward? STANGLER: Yes, you know we had hundreds of arrests today. I think we heard in that report pretty shocking violence when we're talking about high schoolers, people losing their -- someone losing having their hand basically blown off by a stun grenade, having someone you know being hit in the eye by rubber bullet, these are policing strategies that maybe people remember outside of France in late 2018 with the Yellow Vest movement. Those mass protests, decentralized protests over a proposed hike in the fuel tax. Of course, the difference is those were adults. Today, we're talking really about high school students.

[02:05:02]

So, the police violence has been a major issue that has been fueling the protests forward. We saw that in the -- in the report. I heard it on the ground. You know, I was talking to students last week in Marseille, on Tuesday I was talking to students in Aix-en-Provence. They talked about the violence, and they also talked about kind of the other core issues that we've heard about in this movement, which have been about the dilapidated buildings, students having to have long hours in buildings that sometimes lack A.C., oftentimes lack A.C. when we're talking about really hot temperatures. You know, France is coming off of a very serious heat wave. They're talking about staff shortages.

All these issues have brought the movement forward, and so too has the lack of a clear response from the government, a concession. I think that's something to keep an eye on in the coming days. Is the government prepared to make some kind of significant concession to the students here?

CHURCH: Let's look at that because student protesters, as you say, accuse the French government of ordering this police crackdown on their attempts to address teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, and insufficient resources. France's prime minister denies that claim and says he has told officials to listen to the students' demands, but that's not what we're seeing on the streets right now.

Why is the government responding with such overwhelming physical force instead of addressing the students' demands?

STANGLER: I mean, this is the French policing strategy. Like I said, we saw it in place in the in the Yellow Vest movement in late 2018. This is the standard French police response, which has been you know criticized actually internationally by human rights groups. You know, Amnesty International Human Rights Watch have criticized the use of really what are low grade kind of military technology, things like stun grenades, things like a lot -- a lot of tear gas, things like rubber bullets.

So, again, we're going to see if the government is willing to to make a concession. So far, I think yesterday was a big test. You know, in France, when we have social movements like this, everyone is very closely looking at the numbers, both the union estimates of protest numbers and the Interior Ministry's own numbers.

So, what's clear is that you have government officials looking at those protests, saying, where do they take place? What are the numbers? And are we prepared to make concessions?

So far, we haven't seen them. We saw the Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu yesterday talk about having a half hour, having some time in the classroom devoted to discussing broader issues in high school classrooms.

But again, that's not really a substantive kind of material concession because part of the issue is that the French government faces these budget problems that we heard about. They recently proposed a budget that includes some significant budget cuts, also some tax increases.

And so, having to find funds to address this crisis in education is not necessarily the easiest thing. Just to give you a final few numbers here, just to illustrate the situation here in the French education sector, you know, the protesters are complaining about what they see as stagnation, decline, and spending on education. The numbers are somewhat on their side. France spent about 7.6 percent of its GDP on public education in the late '90s. It's now down to 6.8 percent, salaries are quite low. But again, the issue is where is the government going to find the money in order to respond to these issues that the protesters have been -- have been talking about?

CHURCH: Yes, but of course, clearly watching these protests, these kids are not going to back down, and these are of course the biggest student protests in France in decades.

So, how is the government planning to deal with this national crisis, which is what it's become, beyond using physical force, and how far will they likely go to try to end these protests, do you think?

STANGLER: Yes. So, if we look at the next few days, like I said, yesterday was a big test of the movement. We look at the numbers. We had anywhere from 250,000 to 500,000 people protesting today. So far, the unions have called to continue. The high school student unions, the university student unions have called to continue the protests today. There's talk of another what they call Act Four, the fourth big day of protests on Thursday. Separate to that, we have labor unions who joined in those protests yesterday, where we announce their plans.

So, that's basically where we're at today. What's also another interesting development is that yesterday we had the prime minister. We were seeing some of those images speaking to the National Assembly. That's basically France's lower house of parliament, where he talked about having this kind of time of dialog in classrooms.

President Macron, who has so far kept the distance from this, remember he's the president, the head of state, but it's the French national government that is essentially in charge of this crisis. President Macron reportedly is increasingly concerned about the situation. He called for a meeting last night, and we might see Macron try to -- try to influence things here because I think he understands that this is now a crisis that's becoming very very significant. We've seen international coverage of the story. We've seen even President Trump weighing in.

[02:10:20] So, again, the real question I think that everyone has in their mind in France is at what point is the French government going to make a concession? Unfortunately, I don't have the information for it. We need to be inside those meetings.

But what is -- what is of note is, despite those budget problems that they were talking about the, you know, France five percent over five percent of its budget, GDP is at five percent -- above a five percent deficit, which is a major issue. Despite that, the economy minister maybe suggested yesterday that there could be room in the budget.

So, I think what's going to be key over the next day or two is to see are we going to have again any concrete concession? Because certainly the anger isn't going away over the police repression, over the staff shortages, over the dilapidated buildings, over also the application process for high school students to get in the university. These are all issues that aren't going away.

CHURCH: Yes, indeed. We'll see if the president does indeed get involved. Cole Stangler, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your analysis. Appreciate it.

STANGLER: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: Of course. All right. Turning now to Israel, where memorials are taking place across the country to mark the third anniversary of the October 7th Hamas attack. Mourners gathered for a memorial at the Nova Festival site in Reim, where more than 370 people were killed and 44 others taken hostage on October 7th.

The anniversary comes at an inflection point for Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political future. In less than three weeks, Israel will hold a national election.

Now, this marks the country's first vote since the October 7th, 2023 Hamas attack. As Israelis honor the victims and survivors of October 7, 2023, Palestinians in Gaza continue to face deadly Israeli strikes in spite of a nearly year-old U.S. brokered ceasefire agreement.

There's a live view of a tent encampment in southern Gaza, one of several sites that serve to house the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have been displaced by this conflict. Israel's war with Gaza, launched immediately after the Hamas attack, has killed more than 73,000 people, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Well, Qatar says indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran remain active, but the White House says it is unclear who in Tehran is actually in charge. President Donald Trump says part of the problem is that nobody knows who is running the country and who to deal with?

Well, meantime, fighting is ramping up in Yemen as the Saudi-backed government forces battle to reclaim territory from the Iran-backed Houthis. The Houthi-run health ministry claims at least 83 civilians have been killed and dozens more injured since the launch of the offensive. Much of the fighting has been in the south near Yemen's third-largest city. Russia's transport minister says a Liberian-flagged oil tanker was

attacked by unmanned boats near the Black Sea city of Sochi. He says all 23 crew members who are Indian nationals were rescued. Video posted on social media shows a large plume of smoke rising from the water off the coast. Russian officials say oil is still burning on the water, and firefighters will begin to put out the flames when it's safe.

The Trump administration is seeking answers from Moscow about the scope of an incident at the Russian plague lab, President Trump says he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin very soon about the death of one of the lab's researchers. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also urging the Kremlin to be more transparent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: It's incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world, and the more we can learn about what happened, then the better all of us can be in a position of responding. And maybe, you know, there's nothing there, and maybe it's bigger than we thought. We don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A source tells CNN the U.S. has now issued a formal request to Moscow, known as a demarche, escalating efforts to get more information through official diplomatic channels. CNN's Fred Pleitgen has the latest on what Kremlin officials have disclosed so far.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Russian officials keep saying that they have the situation under control. In fact, the governor of that region once again said the situation is under control and that things are completely normal in that town where this happened, the town of Shelekhov.

[02:15:08]

But at the same time, the Russians do still have some very strong quarantine measures that are in place for the hospitals in that region and specifically, of course, for the hospital where that lab technician, that female lab technician died of what the Russians say was pneumonia of an unknown own origin.

And you mentioned the fact that CNN actually managed to speak to a couple of people in that place, including to one patient at a maternity ward that is under lockdown. And she said that, first of all, her relatives were not allowed inside the maternity ward. And at the same time, if there were indeed these screenings, these questionnaires that people had to fill out asking them about infectious diseases, including the plague. They also got health screenings as well and were asked to wear masks inside that maternity ward.

Now, The Kremlin has been getting questions about this and there is a regular scheduled call with the spokesman for the Kremlin Dimitri Peskov every day and he was asked about this once again today. And he said that all updates about this would only come from Russia's agency for infectious diseases, Rospotrebnadzor, but so far, there has been fairly little information coming from that agency.

Of course, we just heard Secretary of State Marco Rubio asking the Russians for more information and saying that that was very important. One of the other things that came out today, it was actually a press release from the European Agency for Disease Control. And they actually spoke of, when speaking about this case of the lab technician, a possible case, suspected case of pneumonic plague. But they also say that right now, the information coming out of Russia is very scarce.

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CHURCH: The former head of Germany's federal intelligence service has been arrested on treason and espionage allegations, along with his former aide. The country's federal prosecutor's office says August Hanning is strongly suspected of spying out state secrets to a foreign agency, the statement did not reveal who the two men were suspected of spying for.

Well, there is much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, including President Trump's campaign tour through a number of red states ahead of the midterms. How he's hoping to drum up support for Republican candidates, while touting his own accomplishments.

Plus, a new trend on TikTok is getting a lot of views and also helping people get their financial life on track. We'll explain the new debt top trend. That's after the break. Stay with us.

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[02:21:58]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is the golden age of America. We're doing numbers that nobody ever thought were possible.

Since starting the rally, it's brought a whole new awareness to how great the Republicans are doing, how great the economy is doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: President Trump there touting what he sees as some of his accomplishments with the midterm elections less than four weeks away. He'll be visiting Texas on Wednesday for the second time in less than a week as part of his red-state blitz, aiming to boost Republican candidates and the party's voter turnout.

The president spent part of Tuesday in Baltimore announcing a multi- billion-dollar investment partnership on a new shipyard facility, but his appearance there wasn't without controversy. CNN's Kevin Liptak has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Trump took a break from the campaign trail on Tuesday to come here to Maryland to reinforce his focus on manufacturing. This is a former steel plant that's getting multi-billion-dollar investment to turn into a submarine manufacturer. It will start with components for Virginia- class submarines. What the White House says is that it will create 3,100 direct jobs, 11,000 indirect jobs, and it serves the purpose for President Trump of showing American people and American voters that he continues to be focused on trying to restore the manufacturing sector in the United States at a moment when dissatisfaction with his handling of the economy is at an all-time high and is dragging down Republican candidates a month before the midterm election.

Now, the president has been trying to show voters that he is following through on his pledges. He said he wanted to talk more about his administration's accomplishments, sort of tacitly suggesting that that hadn't been talked about enough. And what you've seen him do on the campaign trail is go to these very red states to try bolster enthusiasm among his base of supporters, in part by trying to talk about what he had done that he had promised them two years ago.

Now, one person who was not at this event was the Democratic governor of Maryland, Wes Moore. He says President Trump actually blocked him from speaking at this, despite the. That he played in bringing these investments to the state. What a White House official said is that President Trump had quote graciously invited Moore as a guest to this event, and that he was now, "Throwing a tantrum because he wasn't allowed to speak." What Wes Moore said was that if Trump, "Wants to bring the circus in town," that he would, "Let the circus be conducted and that he would go back to work."

Kevin Liptak, CNN, Sparrows Point, Maryland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, Americans can't seem to stop watching TikTok videos of people who have a lot of debt and are working to pay it down. The trend is called debttok, and according to a company that tracks social media viewing, more than 28,000 debt-related videos were uploaded to TikTok in the past year.

[02:25:07]

33-year-old Rodney Morgan, in this video, racked up 1.5 million views when he posted about his journey to pay off more than $40,000 in debt. Morgan's best-performing post about his life as a flight attendant got about 100,000 views. Part of what draws people to debttok is that it focuses on a topic some consider taboo, and that people may feel they can't discuss with family or friends.

Joining me now is Douglas Boneparth, president at Bone Fide Wealth. Appreciate you joining us.

DOUGLAS BONEPARTH, PRESIDENT, BONE FIDE WEALTH: Great to be here.

CHURCH: So, we're seeing this new trend on TikTok called #debttok, and it's attracting millions of views. Turns out, videos of people paying down debt is gripping. Why is that?

BONEPARTH: Well, I think we're looking at something positive here, and we might need a little positivity watching people become more financially free and encouraging other people to do the same. It's nice to see that positivity is winning here in, you know, the personal finance space.

CHURCH: Yes, absolutely. And could this shift in social media influencers moving away from bragging about wealthy lifestyles to showing the reality of the high cost of living also have something to do with the generational shift do you think turns out Gen Z has the lowest debt level, while Gen X carry the most debt.

BONEPARTH: So, Gen Z is the most financially empowered generation out there. They've had a chance to learn from the mistakes of their Millennial, Gen X, and Baby Boomer counterparts. They have access to more information and financial technology than ever before. So, kudos to them for really embracing that and putting it to work.

CHURCH: And let's look at the numbers because America's total credit card debt, this is according to the Federal Reserve is $1.26 trillion. That's an average debt per cardholder of six to $8,000, and America's total student loan debt is about $1.86 trillion. So, what's your best advice to people carrying credit card or student loan debt if they have extra money? Should they pay down the debt or save it?

BONEPARTH: So, when it comes to credit card debt, this stuff is usually the most toxic debt that we have out there. We're talking 10- 20, plus percent. If you have free cash, you are going to want to attack this debt first. Get rid of that.

But when it comes to student loan debt, the answer is it depends. It depends on what the interest rates are, what the terms of those loans. You have income-based repayment options and things like that that do need to be taken into consideration.

So, again, credit card debt, get rid of that. Student loan debt, it really depends on how expensive that type of debt is.

CHURCH: So, what's your best advice for everyone to avoid accumulating debt firstly, going forward, or at least staying on top of it?

BONEPARTH: Yes, I mean, it comes down to your spending habits and your discipline. Look, I understand it's harder than ever out there, and people are trying to live within their means, and sometimes that's not possible.

But if it is possible, obviously focus on spending less than you make, so you can build things like cash reserves, savings, and then get to investments. That is what I would like to see people do first when it comes to figuring out the fundamentals of their financial lives. CHURCH: And you know, we were talking about Gen Z being on top of their credit card debt, but when it comes to the dream of buying their own home, a lot of them feel that that's never going to happen. How do you tackle that?

BONEPARTH: Right, I don't believe that it's impossible, right? I think it takes that much more discipline to come up with the money to buy a home, I know home prices are higher than ever before. I know rates have gone up just recently, making debt more expensive.

But I am an optimist here, and I think that when you have solid fundamentals in your personal finances, when you're spending less than you make, and you start building systems around savings and investment.

And something that doesn't get talked a lot about is focusing on income. How do we increase our income and keep our lifestyle expenses where they need to be in order to get to those big goals of ours, whether it's owning a home or achieving financial independence?

So, while again it could be more difficult than ever before, I do think that solid foundation in personal finances can help you get to those goals, like owning homes.

CHURCH: All right, Douglas Bonaparte, thank you so much for your time and for joining us. Appreciate it.

BONEPARTH: Thank you.

CHURCH: Hundreds of migrants are making their way from Central America toward the United States, many on foot. They plan to rest in Mexico before continuing north, CNN's Valeria Leon is in Mexico City and spoke with some of the migrants who hope President Trump will understand their suffering.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSE CELAYA, HONDURAN MIGRANT (through translator): Have mercy, please. Today's ours, tomorrow, it could be you.

[02:30:00]

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's the plea from Jose Celaya, one of the hundreds of migrants traveling through Southern Mexico hoping to reach the U.S., a journey that began in Honduras and comes as the Trump administration is clamping down on migration ahead of November's midterm elections.

The group, calling itself "Faith and Hope with God," left Honduras on September 20th. Around 200 migrants are now continuing north through Mexico, mostly on foot.

CELAYA: We are walking because we want to show the hunger and the hardship our people are facing.

LEON (voice-over): With blisters on their feet from the journey, they stop along the way to rest and regain their strength. They've already traveled more than 90 miles through southeastern Mexico.

ALEX MENDEZ, HONDURAN MIGRANT (through translator): The plan is to get into the United States. For now, if God allows me, that's where I'm trying to go.

LEON (voice-over): But crossing into the U.S. outside a designated port of entry could violate federal law.

Still, these migrants have a message for President Trump.

DAVID PAGUADA, HONDURAN MIGRANT (through translator): If he's listening, I want him to hear us. We need help. We need support. You can see how we're suffering, sleeping on the ground with nothing, dealing with the cold, getting soaked.

LEON (voice-over): The crisis (ph) comes at a time when illegal border crossings into the U.S. are at historic lows.

In the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, southwest border apprehensions fell to their lowest level ever recorded for that period.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Make a plan to vote.

LEON (voice-over): With November's midterm elections approaching, immigration remains under intense political scrutiny, and the Trump administration faces pressure to hold the line on one of its signature issues.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still ahead on this hour of "CNN Newsroom," Spain's government has approved two temporary decrees in an effort to ease the country's housing crisis. We will have the latest on the snap election as protests sweep the country.

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[02:36:50]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Rosemary Church. Brazilian Senator, Flavio Bolsonaro is winning endorsements from right-wing politicians who ran against him in Sunday's first round presidential election. Bolsonaro has advanced to a runoff where he will face leftist, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro, the son of jailed ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, performed better than expected in the first round and finished just ahead of President Lula.

Police in India broke up an opposition sit-in on Tuesday and briefly detained Congress Party leader, Rahul Gandhi, along with other lawmakers. Gandhi had led dozens of lawmakers on a march to the Election Commission of India headquarters before beginning the sit-in on mattresses under a tree. They're demanding the election chief's resignation over claims that voter lists were revised to favor Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

Well, Spain's government has approved two housing decrees as protests grow over the country's housing crisis. Parliament rejected the proposals last week, prompting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to call an early election for November.

CNN's Pau Mosquera has the latest reaction from Madrid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PEDRO SANCHEZ, SPANISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): One only needs to look ahead to understand that the world is facing a very complex era. You, the people of Spain, must decide what role you want to play in it.

PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Spain's prime minister's decision to call an early general election has come as little surprise. It was widely expected to happen, but what do people think?

LARA EZQUERRA, MADRID RESIDENT: I think it's the right thing to do because extending a government that is no longer working for us, young people especially, that's why we're here. And I think it was the right decision, but it was a decision made because of the pressure that we're making here.

BENITO, MADRID RESIDENT (through translator): I think it's the right move because they didn't really have another option. I think they were forced into it after Parliament failed to ratify the housing decrees aimed at people like me.

STEVEN, MADRID RESIDENT (through translator): Obviously, Sanchez has a political strategy behind this, but even though it may seem like a smart move, I think it could backfire on him.

MOSQUERA: The announcement comes with another development. The Spanish government decided this Tuesday to resubmit to Parliament the two royal decrees that lawmakers rejected on Friday. The reason, with Parliament dissolved, the permanent deputation, the body tasked with ensuring the legislature continues to function, could approve at least one of them.

Only 20 percent of lawmakers who sit in full chamber are represented on the body, potentially making it easier for Sanchez to secure enough votes for approval.

LUCIA, MADRID RESIDENT (through translator): The government has had years to pass measures like this. Now, they're trying to act and see what they can push through and what they can't. This could have been done a long time ago.

[02:40:00]

It's also true that other parties, just for the sake of opposing them, don't think about people, they think about themselves.

MARIA JOSE, MADRID RESIDENT (through translator): I think they need to pass something so people can buy homes or rent at an affordable price and live with dignity, because young people here right now simply can't afford housing.

EZQUERRA: I think the two degrees are not enough, but I think it's a good thing that they're going to come forward and they're going to reinforce them.

MOSQUERA: We still don't know when both decrees will be debated. The only thing we know for sure is that it must happen within the next month.

Pau Mosquera, CNN, Madrid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And just ahead here on "CNN Newsroom," the investigation intensifies into the alleged gang rape of a Cornell University student. Plus, newly released audio reveals a phone call between Jane Doe and one of the men she accuses of sexual assault.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:42]

CHURCH: Authorities are charging a California couple with child abuse after investigating a surrogacy scheme involving at least 21 children. Prosecutors say the couple ran a surrogacy agency out of what they called a house of horrors.

They allegedly oversaw the abuse of children ranging in age from just a few months to 13 years old. At least eight women claim the couple aggressively pursued them to serve as surrogates. Their attorney says the couple's goal was to raise the children to become productive adults.

ABC News has obtained new audio from a 2024 phone call between Jane Doe and a Cornell University fraternity member who she claims took part in allegedly gang raping her. This comes as the New York attorney general's office says it's close to naming an outside legal team to handle the investigation into the allegations. And the university has launched its own inquiry into how the incident was handled by the administration.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cornell's Board of Trustees hiring former U.S. Deputy Attorney General, Sally Yates to lead an independent review of how the school responded to sexual assault allegations by Jane Doe in October 2024.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm kind of holding the administration accountable because there is a lot of discussion on, OK, so what do we do now?

PAZMINO (voice-over): This as students gathered in a town hall to voice their frustration over what they say is a lack of response by the administration.

The outrage continues to grow as we are hearing more secret recordings between Jane Doe and one of the Chi Phi fraternity members.

FRATERNITY BROTHER: I'm so sorry about all, like, the backlash you're getting from this, by the way.

PAZMINO (voice-over): About three weeks after the alleged incident, Jane Doe recorded a call with a fraternity member who she says was one of the men who snorted ketamine off her body and assaulted her at the Chi Phi house, according to ABC News.

FRATERNITY BROTHER: Oh dude, I'm -- I'm so sorry. No, I -- I'm very like -- I -- I feel so bad for you, dude.

PAZMINO (voice-over): ABC says Jane Doe then told the fraternity member, I was completely and totally intoxicated and then given multiple sedatives, and then I was surrounded by upwards of eight to ten men. This is classified as a gang rape.

That's when the fraternity member's tone changes, ABC reported.

FRATERNITY BROTHER: Why -- what's -- can I ask like what's -- what's the purpose for why you decided to call me?

PAZMINO (voice-over): According to ABC, that fraternity member was one of two students who was suspended. All this as Cornell faculty is considering a vote of no confidence against the administration at their faculty senate meeting in the coming weeks.

PAUL ORTIZ, CORNELL FACULTY SENATE MEMBER: Faculty have been approached by hundreds of students, alumni, staff, who are demanding that we do something. They want a resolution. They want a change now. Many women on this campus do not feel safe walking even during the daylight at Cornell University.

PAZMINO: And accountability and action is what many Cornell University students are asking for. They gather for a student town hall on Tuesday, where they shared ideas, shared stories, and came up with strategies to try and pressure the university administration to do more.

They see the issue of sexual assault as a campus-wide issue, not just Jane Doe's story. On Wednesday, they are asking the students to join a sit-in, and they are recommending that students do not participate in the local Cornell economy. They see it as a way to pressure the administration to do more.

Gloria Pazmino, CNN, Ithaca, New York.

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CHURCH: Attorneys for the woman who survived Tennessee's attempt to execute her say she's now conscious and speaking. They say despite the severe damage Christa Pike suffered to her arm, she is still handcuffed and shackled to a bed and continues to receive critical medical care.

The lawyers are expected in court in the coming hours as they seek a court order to preserve evidence of the failed execution.

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Pike survived two lethal injections during her planned execution last week in a chamber similar to the one in this video. She had been sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of a classmate.

Well, coming up here on "CNN Newsroom," it is the end of an era for Argentina's national soccer team. Still ahead, a closer look at superstar Lionel Messi's final match in Buenos Aires.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Messi, Messi, power, power! Messi, Messi, power, power! Messi, power!

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a wing of a Delta Airlines plane hit the tail of an Air Canada jet at Los Angeles International Airport. The planes are being inspected. Photos posted on social media show minor damage.

Almost 300 people were aboard Delta Flight 7, which was taxiing for takeoff to Tokyo. The Air Canada plane had just landed from Toronto. According to air traffic control audio, no injuries were reported.

Meanwhile, an American Airlines flight bound for Dallas, Texas had to make an urgent landing in New York after most of its lavatories stopped working. The flight from Madrid takes more than 10 hours and only two out of eight restrooms were working. According to tracking site FlightAware, the Boeing 777, with nearly 300 people on board, spent more than three hours in New York before continuing on to Dallas.

That would be nasty.

Well, a new study is putting a spotlight on the age children get their first smartphone and the potential impact that device can have on body image and eating habits. CNN's Ivan Rodriguez has details on what parents need to know.

IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For many children, getting a smartphone is a milestone, but a new study suggests timing may matter. Researchers found children who owned a smartphone at 12 were more likely than their peers without the devices to report eating disorder symptoms two years later.

RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): A new study published in JAMA Network Open is shedding light on the potential link between smartphones and children's body image and eating habits.

DR. JASON NAGATA, PEDIATRICIAN AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO: Those who had smartphones at age 12 were associated with 67 percent higher risk of binge eating. They were about twice as likely to tie their self-worth to their weight at age 14.

RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): Researchers followed nearly 9,000 adolescents across the U.S. and found 70 percent of them owned a smartphone at 12 years old.

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By age 14, 24 percent of those kids reported at least one eating disorder symptom, compared with fewer than 16 percent of teens who did not have a smartphone at age 12. Those symptoms can include things like fixation on food and weight, distorted feelings about body shape and size, restricted eating, or compensating for calorie intake by throwing up or exercising.

Dr. Jason Nagata, the study's lead author, says social media combines both the pressure from mass media and from peers, and delivers it right to kids' phones.

NAGATA: Phones and social media can really introduce teenagers to a world of appearance-related content. Some of it can be algorithmic. If someone is looking for dieting or fitness content, it'll continue to sort of feed that to them.

RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): He says parents should be thoughtful about when they get smartphones for their children. While there's no magic age, parents should consider communication needs, developmental readiness, and what guardrails they can put in place.

NAGATA: Parents can just stay involved in their children's digital lives, set age-appropriate boundaries, and keep conversations open about body image, eating, and what they're seeing online.

RODRIGUEZ: Nagata also recommends families have some sort of media plan that includes things like phone-free time when going to bed or eating meals. He says parents should try to stay involved in their children's digital lives.

In Atlanta, I'm Ivan Rodriguez.

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CHURCH: We have video of a remarkable animal rescue in Chile. A stray dog was trapped by floodwaters after heavy rainfall in Santiago. Local media says rescue teams spent more than two hours trying to get to the animal and finally rescued him after five separate attempts.

After reaching dry land, rescuers got to learn the dog's name. He ran up to his caretakers who embraced him in a big hug. They said he lives under the bridge and his name is Mocho. Well, soccer legend Lionel Messi bid an emotional farewell to Argentina in his final match playing with the national team. He ended his career there on a high note with Argentina winning 3-0 in an international friendly against Benin. Despite a slow first half and some narrow misses, Messi walked away with a penalty kick goal and two assists.

CNN's Cecilia Dominguez spoke to fans after the match.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But I love to watch this game.

CECILIA DOMINGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you like Messi?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love Messi. Of course, I have him on my back.

DOMINGUEZ: What do you like about Messi the most?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's so humble, he's so kind, and he's a really good technical player. He's very, very good. The best in the world.

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CHURCH: Fantastic. All right, thanks so much for your company this hour. Thank you so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Newsroom" with Lynda Kinkade is next, after a short break. Do stay with us.

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