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Trump Travels To Ohio, Alaska, Arizona, Montana; Pope Leo Says He Needs Surgery To Remove A Lung Nodule; ICE Shooting Raises Questions Over Agents' Tactics; Tight Races 23 Days Until Midterms; New Strike On Saudi Airport; Extreme Weather; Midterms 2026; Cosmic Costume. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired October 11, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And like, always wanted to get to the point of having my own place. So it's doable here. Like with no money and no pedigree, you can do something here.

DAVID CHANG, "THE DETOUR WITH DAVID CHANG": Pittsburgh was not on the radar for me at all. Right? But it's a community that wants to support new and a lot of crazy ideas that we need. We need new ideas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And new sandwiches all the time. The episode of "THE DETOUR" is now streaming on CNN All Access.

Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. With the midterm elections now just 23 days away, the battle for control of Congress is ramping up as both parties hit the campaign trail in a mad dash to sway voters. President Trump rallied supporters in the deep red state of Tennessee on Saturday, and this week he plans to make several more campaign stops in the battleground states of Ohio, Alaska, Arizona, and also Montana.

Even as his approval ratings reach new lows, the president continues to urge supporters to pretend he's on the ballot November 3rd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we don't win the midterms, they're going to blame me. You know that. If we do win them, I will get no credit whatsoever. It's true. I won't get any. But I'm working my ass off. You better get out there and vote. Do you think this is easy?

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: On the Democratic side, Senator Bernie Sanders rallied for Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson in Maine, who is going up against incumbent Republican Susan Collins. That race could be a key to Democratic hopes of flipping the Senate. And House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries out on the trail last night in Pennsylvania, targeting a GOP held district that Kamala Harris won back in 2024.

CNN's Betsy Klein is joining us now from the White House.

Betsy, bring us up to speed on the president's campaign strategy for these final weeks before the election.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, that strategy, Fredricka, is going to take President Trump literally all over the map of the United States. And according to Trump advisers, the goal here is really to juice turnout among the president's MAGA base. They're not looking necessarily to find new voters, independent voters, and convince them. They are looking to turn out the voters that they have and get them to the polls.

And we are seeing some candidates play some strategic distance between themselves and the president. But there are others who are embracing him, including with this travel. So this week, on Monday, the president going to Youngstown, Ohio, where there is a competitive Senate and gubernatorial race. And we are seeing, according to CNN analysis, that there are some signs so far in early voting that Democrats have more enthusiasm in Ohio, including some of the very most red parts of that state.

Then on Tuesday, the president heads to Wasilla, Alaska, there stumping for Senator Dan Sullivan's reelection campaign. He is up in a competitive race against the Democrat, Mary Peltola. On Wednesday, he'll go to Bullhead City, Arizona. That's right on the border with Nevada, stumping for congressional and gubernatorial candidates there. And then to reliably red Montana, where he is looking to bolster the congressional candidate Aaron Flint, also in a tight race. And certainly plenty more to come.

But we are now 23 days out. The president is incredibly unpopular. His approval rating, according to CNN's Poll of Polls, is about 33 percent right now. And the war with Iran is really contributing to that. Gas prices now at about $4.35 a gallon on average. But the president has lots of other issues on his mind as we head into this consequential stretch, including the conflict in the Middle East after an attack by Iranian backed Houthis in Saudi Arabia.

The president says he is considering participating in retaliatory strikes. We'll have to see what he decides to do going forward there. And then separately, he announced this morning that there is an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine says they are awaiting more details from the U.S. but, again, all of this on the president's plate in this critical 23 day stretch -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Betsy Klein, thank you so much.

All right, we're also following a breaking news on Pope Leo's upcoming lung surgery this week. This morning, the 71-year-old pontiff told the crowd gathered at St. Peter's Square that he will have an operation in the coming days to remove a small mass from his lung. Catholic worshipers at New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral offered prayers and well wishes for Pope Leo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SOPHIA MARSH, WORSHIPPER FROM LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK: I would like to show with the Pope that we are with him, and we are praying for him like he does for us, and we believe in the Lord, and we believe that he will guide him through his surgery and that there is hope and there's a light at the end of the tunnel for him, and that there's a plan. There's a reason that this is happening, to show hope to the people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:05:00]

WHITFIELD: CNN's Stefano Pozzebon is joining me now with more details from Rome.

What can you tell us about the Pope's condition and what's ahead?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN ROME CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, we don't know exactly what prompted these unscheduled operation. Clearly was met with surprise here in Rome when Pope Leo made the announcement as he was wrapping up his speech that he gives every Sunday morning from the Vatican, from the apostolic palace. It's called the Angelus. And it's a message that the pontiff delivers to the faithfuls all around the world.

And he made the announcement almost as a matter of fact, just to let friends and families know that he was going to go on the operating table. Take a listen to that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO, CATHOLIC CHURCH LEADER (through translator): Dearest, recently, during some medical examinations, doctors found a localized nodule in my lung. It was detected at a very early stage and is well contained. The doctors believe it's advisable to intervene, so following their advice, I've decided to undergo surgery to remove it. The operation is already scheduled for the next few days.

I thank you for your spiritual support and entrust myself to your prayers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POZZEBON: And before going back into his private apartment, Pope Leo also wished everyone a very happy Sunday. It's not necessarily a malignant situation here. We spoke with several doctors in the last few hours who have told us, Fredricka, that a nodule in the lung can just be a benign condition, something that can be easily removed by a very easy operation. That could be the what is triggered these check from the Pope at the Gemelli Hospital, which is friendly nicknamed the third Vatican because of how many -- how much time pontiffs tend to spend there.

Playing in his favor of course, in Leo's favor, I mean, is the fact that he is relatively young as the spiritual leader of the church. He's only 71. But also that he is known to be a sporty person, someone who exercises regularly. We know his passion for tennis, for example, but also that he likes to swim when he takes his weekly retreat at the summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, which is about 40 kilometers from here, from Rome.

He will check in at the Gemelli Hospital in the coming days. We don't know from the Vatican exactly the day that Pope Leo will go through these unscheduled operations, but we'll be here, Fredricka, to bring you all the latest from the Holy See.

WHITFIELD: All right. His flock, his followers, his fans, indeed hoping that it is benign.

All right. Thank you so much, Stefano Pozzebon in Rome.

All right. Joining me right now for more insight is Katie McGrady, CNN Vatican analyst and host of "The Katie McGrady Show" on Sirius XM's Catholic Channel, which is operated by the Archdiocese of New York.

Katie, great to see you.

KATIE MCGRADY, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: It's good to see you, too.

WHITFIELD: All right. A top physician told my colleague Rene Marsh that a patient's activity level before a procedure like this is critical for their prognosis. And we heard from Stefano there how active he is as a swimmer and tennis player and all that. But what can you tell us about the Pope's daily routine and what he generally prioritizes in his schedule?

MCGRADY: It's a great question because he hasn't slowed down up to this point. I think that's why it kind of caught everyone off guard. He's been having meetings. He had his Wednesday audience this past week where he shook hands and kissed babies and did all the things that you expect the Pope to do.

On a standard day, the Pope starts his day with mass, starts his day with the Holy Hour, starts his day with a series of meetings. And we actually know who he meets with. We get a Bollettino at noon every day here in the States or it's Rome noon, we wake up to it here in the States, and it tells us, you know, what he's met with or who he's met with, what he's done.

What's going to be interesting with this is we haven't seen a slowdown. This announcement comes on Sunday. He had a few big things on the calendar this week that we now know he probably won't be at, but he's got a big trip coming up in November. And he mentioned that trip before he told everybody he was having surgery. So I think that's kind of Leo indicating it is full steam ahead. This is an ordinary procedure. No need to be worried, everybody. WHITFIELD: OK. That big trip, is that South America?

MCGRADY: South America, yes. Three countries, including Peru.

WHITFIELD: OK. Where he'll spend a lot of time. Right. OK. And then, so talk to me about, you know, how this strikes everyone that he would be so open. I mean, in his, you know, prayer there, he's like in three days. So he's letting it all hang out, letting everybody know in three days, I'm going to be taking surgery. And, you know, yes, it's going to be routine. It's OK. And I opted for surgery after being told about, you know, that, you know, nodule.

[16:10:03]

So is this refreshing, you know, that people would hear it from him like this? Is it, you know, surprising or perplexing? How is it landing?

MCGRADY: I can tell you, I can tell you I got -- I got a text this morning from my mom and she said, praying for Pope Leo. And I thought she was referencing the White Sox losing last night. Like I was completely caught off guard. And I was like, wait, what? What's going on?

It's definitely one of those, you know, we weren't expecting health news from our relatively young, very healthy Pope. At the same time, the Vatican has certainly become much more open about how is the Pope doing both his scheduled day to day, but also health wise. We saw this when Pope Francis was in the hospital in the spring of 2025.

Once upon a time, the Vatican would say the Pope has a cold on Monday, and then the Pope was dead by Friday.

WHITFIELD: Right.

MCGRADY: So this is actually very refreshing that we have more details and that they're going to keep us posted. We know it's probably going to be Tuesday. That seems to kind of be the general consensus. It's about a week of recovery and then we'll see how is he doing in recovery ahead of the big apostolic journey to this side of the world.

WHITFIELD: Right. And then really quick, before I let you go, you know, full steam ahead, as you said, that's how he's planning it. So that trip to South America, what -- you know, what does that entail? Why is it so important, especially for him since he spent so much time there? I mean, there's real history there. But what does this mean to make this return trip as Pope?

MCGRADY: I think it's huge because it is kind of a hometown hero's return. He was the bishop of Chiclayo, Peru. He was a missionary in Peru as a young Augustinian. He loves speaking Spanish. His face lights up when he speaks Spanish at his various audiences, or when he gets to engage, especially with Peruvians.

So I think it means a lot for coming to this side of the -- this side of the world. Sets up potentially a U.S. visit at some point, too. And it's a long trip. It's 11 days. So it'll be interesting to see. Do they shorten some things? Do they remove some things from the calendar so that he has more time to rest? You know, we're hoping, of course, that the news midweek is he's great and he's good and there's no problems here. And we're certainly praying for that.

WHITFIELD: Yes, well, he prays for all of us. So we're praying for him, too, right now.

Katie McGrady, thank you so much.

MCGRADY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, an ICE shooting in New York caught on camera agents firing at a man in his car with his 5-year-old boy in the back seat. Now the Homeland Security secretary is defending the agents' actions, saying the blame rests on the suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: The last thing I would have done is put my son or one of my kids in danger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And later, the wild weather threat facing millions in the southwest of the country. How the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel could cause desert flash floods.

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[16:17:37]

WHITFIELD: Officials say an undocumented immigrant is recovering from injuries after being struck by a vehicle during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Houston Saturday. It was caught on surveillance camera and contains some graphic video. According to an ICE spokesman, agents were trying to pull over a pickup truck when two men jumped out of the vehicle and fled on foot.

The surveillance footage shows an unmarked vehicle hitting one of the two men. Officials say the man who was struck was identified as Miguel Parra-Hernandez from Mexico and is in custody. The other individual is still on the run. This incident follows Thursday's ICE agents in New York, shooting in the Bronx of a man who was in a car with his 5-year- old son in the backseat. That shooting prompted protests on the streets of New York Saturday.

Mark Morales is joining us right now with more details on all the fallout as a result -- Mark.

MARK MORALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, an agency spokesperson said that the man that you saw there running had run in front of an ICE vehicle. He is currently in ICE custody and has an apparent broken leg.

Now, the man he was with, he was actually the target of this enforcement action. He got away. They don't have him in custody, but they identified him as a public safety threat. And this video really brings back into the focus tactics. That's what we've been talking about since the shooting in New York, where the man was in his car with his child in the backseat when the ICE involved shooting happened.

I mean, the tactics here in this thing, it really comes to the forefront when you have everything that we've been talking about recently. And Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin was on with us today, and he spoke about the potential about getting even more video because as you remember, we not only saw body camera footage from the NYPD, but we also saw an overhead view where we could see what happened in the moments before that shooting happened. Here's what he said. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: So you said ICE agents were wearing body cameras during the encounter. The NYPD has already released its body cam footage with the --

MULLIN: Yes.

TAPPER: Is the ICE agent's body cam footage going to be released to the public as well? And if so, when?

MULLIN: I'm sure it will be. Right now, FBI and HSI are doing the investigation. So as it develops and we get all the information out correctly, we'll release information at due time.

[16:20:03]

One thing that we have learned for sure is that we never want to get ahead of the investigation. That's even with me and the speech or the conversations that I have about it. I want to be very clear that the investigation will go through, and when we find it, and we complete the investigation, we'll be very, very transparent with the public.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORALES: Again, footage has been critical in not just this instance, but in other situations where there have been ICE involved incidents.

Now, New York City Mayor Mamdani has also spoken about this. He's been very critical about ICE and says that New York City doesn't even need ICE. He was also speaking out today about just the optics of what happened. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK: I implored both of them as to looking at the footage. You're talking about agents who are opening fire in broad daylight. Again, we're talking about around 4:00 p.m. on a Thursday. We're talking about people carrying their shopping bags, walking by a bodega, thinking they're on their way home. Then they hear shots ring out, and they don't even know whether this is from someone who is supposed to be a law enforcement agent, or just someone who is terrorizing the city.

And when it comes to ICE, there is no difference between those two things. And so in those conversations, I made very clear that this was making the city less safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORALES: Now, the man at the center of all this, Oscar Belgal, he's in ICE custody currently at a federal detention center in New York. He's got a team of attorneys, and they'll be arguing with prosecutors essentially about his deportation -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Mark Morales in New York, thanks so much.

All right. Still to come, the battle of the U.S. Senate is taking place in several traditionally red states, including Georgia, where a key debate is just days away.

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[16:26:14]

WHITFIELD: All right. We have just 23 days until Americans in all 50 states step into the voting booth for the midterm elections. And one of the more closely watched races is in South Carolina. Senator Darline Graham is running to keep the job that she got when her brother, Lindsey Graham, unexpectedly passed away this summer.

In just a few hours, she will face off with Democratic candidate Annie Andrews. She's on the right here. Annie Andrews is. And libertarian Casey Whitener will also be taking part.

So let's talk about the midterms with Rahul Bali. He is the politics reporter for WABE Radio in Atlanta.

Rahul, great to see you. So let's zero in on South Carolina and this race first because recent polls show that the Senate race in that state is actually closer than expected. What kind of pressure is Senator Darline Graham facing because her previous debates have not gone well? But it didn't stop her from now being, you know, the nominee here. So what are you expecting tonight?

RAHUL BALI, WABE POLITICS REPORTER: Very much I think the focus is going to be on, you know, bringing out more issues, talking about, you know, you know, where she stands on issues. You know, the assumption not being that she's automatically a copy of, you know, Senator Graham, who passed away.

WHITFIELD: Her dad -- I mean, her brother. Sorry.

BALI: Yes, her brother. So, you know, I think, I think you're going to hear more issues, more questions about where she stands on things.

WHITFIELD: OK. Here in Georgia, Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff going up against Republican Mike Collins, facing off in their second debate on Tuesday. I mean, there really is no shoo-in here. But when you look at the ads, obviously Ossoff is a big target. What do you see him spending his time on focusing on the debate. Same can be said about Collins.

BALI: I've been on the campaign trail with both of these gentlemen since this race started. And Senator Ossoff, the majority of what he talks about is the Trump administration and everything that's happening around it. In the first debate between the two a lot of focus on the war in Iran. a lot of focus on tariffs, and then what that means around affordability.

Mike Collins is one of those Republicans that we've seen who is sticking with the president. He actually defended, you know, policy. We've seen other Republicans kind of drift away. He stuck with the president on a number of issues, including Iran and the tariffs.

WHITFIELD: Do you see the president of the United States spending some time in Georgia, you know, stumping for Collins or perhaps even, you know, the gubernatorial Republican candidate, Rick Jackson?

BALI: That's what we're hearing. We are expecting the president to make at least one stop here in the state of Georgia.

WHITFIELD: OK. Meantime, there will be another debate, gubernatorial debate. You're going to be a panelist. We're talking about Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat up against Rick Jackson. Rick Jackson has had deep pockets. He's been able to spend a lot of money on ads. Of course obviously very negative toward Keisha Lance Bottoms. You don't see too many of her ads. She's trying to kind of take the high road when she does.

How does this set the stage for that debate? What will be your focus as a panelist?

BALI: So with that debate, our understanding is Rick Jackson will not be appearing on that debate. So it's going to be a single candidate debate. Last week, they appeared in what will be -- what was their first and probably only debate that they're going to appear in. I think -- I think the first thing you're going to hear Mayor Bottoms talk about is, you know, why her opponent is not out on the stage and then talk about her issues.

This is still a primetime audience for her to talk about her issues. As you mentioned, there's a big money gap for her. So, you know, this is, again, an opportunity for her to make her case.

WHITFIELD: Former mayor of Atlanta, how is it that Rick Jackson is able to avoid debates, avoid these arenas of showing up, representing himself, defending what his planned policies might be?

[16:30:07]

BALI: Well, the first thing is the money advantage. he is all over television. People in Georgia, their mailboxes have been filled with those ads, so --

WHITFIELD: People feel like they've gotten to know him well enough that way?

BALI: They do. They feel like that. And he is on the campaign trail regularly shaking as many hands as possible. Most events that I go to with Rick Jackson, he makes sure he spends time with every single person in the room. So he's been doing that work just not appearing at least in this debate coming up.

WHITFIELD: All right. Good luck to you as a panelist on that. Well, are we going to still call it a debate appearance?

BALI: It's still a debate.

WHITFIELD: OK, all right. Rahul Bali, good to see you. Thank you so much.

BALI: No problem.

WHITFIELD: All right. The Texas Senate race will be the focus of a CNN town hall event. Democratic candidate James Talarico will answer Texas voters questions, join moderator Erin Burnett this Wednesday, 8:00pm Eastern here on CNN, and streaming live on CNN All Access, all right.

Coming up right now, a major hurricane is pounding Mexico's west coast along some popular beach resort areas. We'll have a live report straight ahead.

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[16:35:54]

WHITFIELD: All right. New today, Saudi Arabia officials say a strike on the Riyadh airport started a fire at one of the terminals. And later, Saudi air defenses intercepted a cruise missile near the airport. And all of this coming a day after a strike left at least 12 people dead, hundreds wounded. As CNN's Oren Liebermann explains, the situation is quickly evolving.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: The Iran-backed and armed Houthis in Yemen are showing they are ready and willing to fight, and to escalate attacking civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. This, although they haven't claimed responsibility for it, matches the pattern of attacks we've seen on the exact same airport, King Khalid International Airport, in Riyadh.

It was on Saturday that a Houthi attack hit the airport, causing the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia in more than a decade. At least 12 people were killed, including a US citizen and more than 300 people were injured. That led into Sunday where Saudi authorities say another attack hit the airport, striking a terminal building there and hitting a fire. And Saudi air defenses intercepted a cruise missile that was on its way effectively towards the same target here.

So the Houthis there are indicating that they're willing and very much able to fight. Now, the Saudis have carried out punishing strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, trying to offer their support to the internationally recognized government of Yemen, which has tried to push back against the Houthis.

But in much the same way we saw Iran fight, the Houthis are doing the same. They don't have the military capability or the weapons to match Saudi Arabia's military. What they do have are drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. And they're able to use those very effectively to cause the disruptions we're seeing here.

Now, why does this matter beyond the Arabian Peninsula and why does this matter beyond the Middle East? Take a look at this map. Just as Iran was able to leverage control over the Strait of Hormuz moves on one side of the Arabian Peninsula and that sent gas prices surging and shocked the global economy. The Houthis may well be able to do the same to the Bab al-Mandab Strait on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, one of the world's most critical waterways through which traffic going to or from the Suez Canal has to pass.

That is the risk to the global economy here and that is the reality in the region, and frankly the world are facing as the conflict between the Houthis and the Saudis escalate. The key question of course now is, what is the US and what is President Donald Trump going to do? The Saudis have made clear they want the US involved here striking the Houthis. In fact, it was President Donald Trump who said earlier during the weekend that he's considering his options and he may get involved, but it's unclear that he's really willing to do so.

The war with Iran is already unpopular and has driven up gas prices, another unpopular war with the Houthis, another shock to the global economy. This close to the midterms, it's not clear Trump wants to go in that direction. And that leaves the Houthis perhaps feeling emboldened as they carry out and continue to carry out these attacks on the Saudis.

WHITFIELD: Oren Liebermann, thanks so much. All right. Let's on to weather now, pretty damaging stuff. Powerful Hurricane Simon is bearing down on Mexico's west central coast.

People there are already dealing with flooding as the category four storm approaches bringing maximum sustained winds. It could near 140 miles per hour. This video just in to CNN shows people wading through nearly knee deep floodwaters in the streets of Manzanillo, Mexico. CNN's Valeria Leon is monitoring the situation from Mexico City. Valeria, tell us more.

VALERIA LEON, CNN REPORTER: Fred, all Mexico's Pacific coast is now on high alert as Hurricane Simon has rapidly intensified into a powerful Category 4 storm threatening coastal communities with destructive and also flooding. And Simon intensifies significantly since Friday is now moving dangerously close to some of Mexico's most popular coastal destinations, including Puerto Vallarta in the Mexican state of Jalisco and also Manzanillo in Colima.

[16:40:07]

According to the US National Hurricane Center, Simon is packing maximum sustained winds of around 140mph and is moving northwest along Mexico's western coast. And even if the eye of the storm remains offshore, forecasters warned that its impact could still be devastating. Mexican authorities have issued their highest level of alert in 28 municipalities across Jalisco and Colima, and dozens of emergency shelters have been opened, and Puerto Vallarta's international airport has been closed.

Mexico's President, Claudia Sheinbaum, is now urging residents to remain indoors or seek shelter as the storm approaches. One of the biggest concerns right now is the heavy rain Simon has already brought to parts of Mexico, with even more expected in the coming hours, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Valeria Leon, keep us posted. Thank you so much.

And hundreds of miles to the north, what's left of Tropical Storm Rachel is flooding the Las Vegas Strip after the area was hit by heavy rainfall earlier today. And that's after his hitting the Southern California coast where in Long Beach, powerful waves have damaged oceanfront homes. This new video shows the extent of some of that damage.

Meanwhile, on the east coast, remnants of Hurricane Isaias is triggering flash floods. This video showing high water rushing across a road near Asheville, North Carolina. CNN meteorologist Melissa Nord is here.

I mean, these areas and especially Asheville, North Carolina area cannot get a break.

MELISSA NORD, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And this is not the same storm as Helene two years ago, but it's still, yes, it's, you've got all the elevation that goes into how the water goes after it rains. And that's why we had some flash flooding and landslides there, mudslides rather.

You can see, though we've also seen a severe weather aspect to the remnants of Isaias. In fact, yesterday and today combined, nearly two dozen reported tornadoes across the Southeast. And that tornado threat really got going again late this morning, early this afternoon across North Carol, North Carolina.

There is still a tornado watch in place, but I think at this point most of the tornadic activity is about done. We will be watching, however, though, all the moisture lifting north and that is making for a really soggy Sunday afternoon from Boston down the I-95 Corridor into DC.

In Philly, we've got just this widespread sheet of rainfall. It's not all that heavy in nature. There's a few pockets where it's moderate, but it still makes for a breezy, chilly, raw, damp day.

Lot of rainfall has come the last several days. Some isolated spots have gotten rainfall amounts in excess of 3 to 6 inches. Now we've been tracking these storms from coast to coast. Isaias is just about done. Watch the forecast radar clearing that rainfall, that steady rainfall by 10:00 tonight in New York, Boston still raining through the overnight.

But by first thing tomorrow morning, the last of the moisture finally exiting the coast and we will say farewell to Isaias. Hello to some dry weather for a couple of days.

WHITFIELD: Look forward to that. Melissa Nord, thank you so much. All right. Still to come, the increasing and often confusing influence AI is exerting over midterm voters will take a look at how this new technology could swing some elections. ] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:48:11]

WHITFIELD: Still hard to believe, but midterms are just 23 days away, and many voters are turning to artificial intelligence as they choose a candidate. Despite an overall negative opinion about the technology and its reliance on data centers, chatbots can give a faster route to becoming an informed citizen, at least that's what a lot of voters think. But there are questions about what role these tools are actually playing in influencing voters and the information that they are actually disseminating.

Joining us right now for more perspective is Yamil Velez. He's Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. Professor, great to see you.

YAMIL VELEZ, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: All right. So as someone who has researched the effectiveness of AI in convincing voters, what is important for people to know if we're asking AI questions about candidates, information about them?

VELEZ: So we know that chatbots can be persuasive, they can change people's minds, especially if they're in an exchange where the chatbot has been programmed or instructed to do so. I would say that some of these effects that we've seen, at least in terms of the research, are rare in the sense that people are rarely going out to get debunked, let's say, by a chatbot.

Where I see the most use of chatbots is in using them as sophisticated search engines. So instead of relying on traditional search like Google, going to your chatbot and saying, hey, tell me about the state legislative races that are happening in New York, for instance.

WHITFIELD: Do you like that?

VELEZ: So with local news shuttering across the country, I see it as filling a gap in terms of people seeking out information about down ballot races. It is certainly something we need to watch out for because as we've seen in recent reports, there are partisan actors who are trying to skew some of the local news that is introduced into the search results.

[16:50:17]

I do think that it can be a useful tool so long as it's grounded in curated high quality sources. So if people are opposing questions, they're getting information from credible outlets as opposed to, let's say, fly by night, or outlets that were just established for the election.

WHITFIELD: So what are you hoping voters keep in mind if they do defer to, you know, bots for information, you know? What would be your best instruction to them about trying to have a better handle of what the sourcing of the information is before you get to that point of it being so influential?

VELEZ: So I think the major platforms provide, you know, sources that correspond to what they're relying on when providing the summaries. And so it's worthwhile if you're a voter to check on those sources, and make sure that they're from credible outlets that you trust and you recognize. When you start seeing some of these outlets that you've never heard of that seems seem to be pushing in a certain direction, I think it's worth being skeptical of the results.

We trust these models for a lot of things, at least many do in terms of writing or summarizing information. But as I think people start giving away too much of their thinking to these models, I think that poses a serious challenge.

WHITFIELD: OK. So now that's a great answer for those who are seeking out, right, the AI and trying to extrapolate information. Now, what about for the voters where the AI is coming at them? We have seen during this campaign season a lot of ads, and it depends on what state you're in. Some states require that there be disclaimers that AI was used to generate, you know, information or images.

But then there are some states where there's no disclaimer. So now you've got voters who are watching these ads and they're really not sure what's real or what is. So what do you do or what isn't?

VELEZ: So some of what you know from the broader literature on manipulation and persuasion is, that it's less effective when we know that it's coming at us. And so knowing that, you know, it is election season and that various political actors are trying to persuade us is very important. It can, in some ways, inoculate us against these attacks.

And so, I would say that it's helpful to know that we are currently in a fairly competitive setting and it's only going to grow more competitive as we go into 2028. So just be mindful of what you're watching, is it trying to tug at your heartstrings? Is it trying to get you to support a stance that you normally would not support in part because it's providing you with a lot of emotional language and, you know, trying to instill fear in you.

I think, you know, keeping an eye out for those kinds of markers can be really helpful. Underscoring your point earlier, always be a critical thinker, all right. Professor Yamil Velez, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

VELEZ: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Columbia University, all right. Still to come, just in time for Halloween, a community comes together to make one boy's Star Wars dream come true.

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[16:58:007]

WHITFIELD: In Minnesota, 11-year-old boy living with a rare muscular disorder is getting a special surprise from a galaxy far, far away. It's a gift that's sure to make this Halloween one to remember. CNN affiliate WCCO's Jason Rantala was there for the big reveal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON RANTALA, WCCO REPORTER: What is under this blue sheet?

DASH STANTON, LIVING WITH A RARE MUSCULAR DISORDER: I feel like this is going to be very, very cool.

RANTALA: Eleven-year-old Dash Stanton.

STANTON: I recently finished watching every Star Wars movie.

RANTALA: Has at least an idea.

STANTON: I just cannot wait to see what you all have made for me. I am so stoked.

RANTALA: What his surprise Halloween costume will be.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKERS (in unison): 3, 2, 1.

STANTON: Whoa.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this is the N-1 Starfighter.

RANTALA: Even baby Yoda is included. The ship serves as an add on to Dash's power wheelchair.

STANTON: It was way cooler than I thought it would be. Like, honestly, it's very, very sick.

RANTALA: It was built by Magic Wheelchair. The Oregon-based nonprofit builds wheelchair costumes free for families.

ERIC STANTON, DASH STANTON'S FATHER: Incredibly exciting. Just kind of blew us away.

RANTALA: Ten years ago, Dash's parents noticed their son wasn't meeting the physical milestones of most kids.

AMANDA STANTON, DASH STANTON'S MOTHER: So after, you know, neurologists and physical therapy and all this, we ended up finding out that he had SMA, which is something we had never even heard of before.

RANTALA: SMA, or spinal muscular atrophy, is a rare disorder that affects muscle movement. It hasn't stopped Dash from thriving in musical theater and sports like power soccer, that soccer with power wheelchairs.

A. STANTON: We've hit a much more stable point. He's doing really well.

RANTALA: Dash's goal in the immediate future to be the coolest kid out trick or treating.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKERS (in unison): This is the way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Now he's definitely going to be the coolest kid out trick or treating. Jason Rantala with CNN affiliate, WCCO, thank you so much for bringing that to us.

And thank you for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues with Jessica Dean. She's back.