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Polls Show Trump At Or Near Record Lows As Midterms Loom; Candidates Rally In Battleground Georgia; France Faces Major Cleanup After Worst Day Of Violent Protests In Decades; Pope Leo Leads Sunday Prayer Days After Lung Cancer Surgery; Record Early Voting Reported In Georgia Elections; Four Dead, Dozens Injured After Fire At Canadian Military Base; Two Killed After Mother Drives Onto Field During Youth Soccer Game; Colleges Grapple With Fraternity Culture And Safety. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired October 18, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:29]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: With the midterms just over two weeks away, new polls show who voters trust the most on the economy and health care. How this might impact the fight for control of Congress.

France rocked by violent protests with buildings going up in flames, widespread looting, and hundreds of police injured. Now, President Macron is set to address the nation as anger over the cost of living, schools and government inaction turns more violent.

And Pope Leo returns to the Vatican balcony, giving his thanks, following what he called a delicate phase just one day following his release from the hospital after lung cancer surgery.

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

With just 16 days until the critical midterms, brand new polls continue painting a gloomy picture for President Trump and his fellow Republicans as they scramble to hold on to power in Congress in the November elections.

CNN's new poll of polls now puts the president's approval rating at 34 percent. That number is hovering at or near record lows for Trump, with 65 percent disapproving of the job that he's doing.

CNN's poll of polls also shows voters supporting Democrats over Republicans on the generic congressional ballot by a nine-point margin.

The grim numbers coming despite a frenzied campaign pace for President Trump. He has been crisscrossing the country almost daily to rally for Republicans and urge his supporters to pretend he's on the ballot.

CNN's Julia Benbrook is joining us now from near the president's Florida home, where he is taking a rare day off on the campaign trail. Julia, what can you tell us about the president's campaign strategy in

hopes of helping Republicans in these final few weeks?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're right, he has been out on the campaign trail almost every day. He started off this month with rallies in Oklahoma and in Alabama.

And then kind of keeping with that theme of really focusing on areas that are more conservative strongholds. He was in Kentucky this weekend.

And so an RNC official tells me that that rally, as well as all of the others that he's done this month, are really focused on turnout. They are encouraging Republicans to go out to the polls.

And Trump has repeatedly said through all of these appearances that he wants voters to pretend like he is on the ballot, a message that Republicans hope still resonates as his approval rating has hit an all-time low.

He gave that same message yesterday, mentioning that a couple of times. But he also said, essentially that Republicans are kind of lucky that he's out and about, that he is doesn't have to do this. Instead, he's doing it out of the kindness of his heart. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't need to do this. I could sit home. I already won. Somebody said, good luck with the election. I said, no, I already won.

I don't need to do this. But I have to, because if they win the midterms, all of a sudden you're going to see a slide and all of the crap that we talked about, the incompetent stuff that we talked about is going to come back and we're going to go through the same process.

And I don't think our country can handle it again. I really don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: Now, of course, right now, Republicans have control of the White House, the Senate and the House. So any change in that would have a big impact on Trump's next two years in office.

A recent CNN poll of polls, which is an accumulation of several national polls, shows that his approval rating sits at just 34 percent.

And then taking a closer look at some of the big issues right now, an ABC/Washington Post/Ipsos poll asked voters specifically which political party do you trust more when it comes to the economy?

And those numbers showed that 37 percent said Democrats, compared to just 28 percent that said Republicans. On some other key issues, Democrats also showed an edge -- on health care, the cost of living and inflation.

[14:04:43]

BENBROOK: Now, some Republicans, specifically those involved in House races, have privately acknowledged to CNN that they are concerned about the growing frustration among some of those voters, especially in the working class, where they are seeing their gas prices and grocery prices just skyrocketing right now.

But Trump, he's going to be back on the campaign trail again throughout the week. We are seeing some stops in Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa. And then he is expected to end his week back here in the state of Florida, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Julia Benbrook, thank you so much for that.

So President Trump plans to make another campaign stop in the battleground state of Georgia this week with a rally in Macon, Georgia, on Saturday. He rallied supporters in north Georgia just a few days ago as he ramped up his attacks on Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, who leads in the polls against Republican Mike Collins.

Ossoff held his own campaign rally last night with Democratic candidate for governor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is in a tight race with her Republican challenger, Rick Jackson.

CNN's Rafael Romo joining me now with more on the battle for Georgia.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Julia was just telling us how the president is going all over the country --

WHITFIELD: Yes.

ROMO: -- to campaign for Republicans.

Well, the president has visited Georgia three times this year, and he's about to return once more to campaign for Republican candidates, especially Congressman Mike Collins, who's facing an uphill battle in the state's U.S. Senate race against his Democratic rival, Senator Jon Ossoff, the incumbent.

That's probably why Trump campaigned in Dalton, Georgia on Friday, where he once again showed his support for Collins, who has built a national profile as a combative, Trump-aligned politician.

Trump is planning to return to Georgia next Saturday, when he will campaign in Macon to also show his support for Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson, who is running against former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat.

Next Saturday's rally in Macon will be the president's fourth stop in Georgia this year, a sign that Republicans feel they face a challenging 2026 midterm elections.

During his remarks in Dalton, the conservative northwest corner of Georgia, Trump took shots at Ossoff's physical appearance while complimenting Collins by saying he's all-man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The people of Georgia are going to defeat your weak, arrogant, hate-filled, radical-left senator who is really -- I call him Pee Wee Herman. Pee Wee Herman. Looks like Pee Wee.

His name is Jon Ossoff, highly-overrated. Somebody said he's a goodlooking man. I don't think he's a goodlooking man. I actually think Mike Collins is a goodlooking man. And he's all-man. He's all- man. I'm not sure about Ossoff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: How did Ossoff respond to the president? Well, he attacked the president's policies as he spoke yesterday during a rally in Cobb County.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): Now remember, they promised to lower prices on day one. Instead under the failed president, Donald J. Trump, it costs more than ever in American history to fill up your truck, stock your fridge, visit the doctor, or power your home.

They promised to drain the swamp. Instead, it's the most corrupt administration of all time, and everybody knows it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: The hotly-contested races for the U.S. Senate and Georgia's governor's office have energized voters who are flocking to the polls since early voting started in Georgia on Tuesday. More than 800,000 people have cast ballots in the state, including more than 91,000 on Saturday alone.

President Trump narrowly carried Georgia in 2024 after losing it in 2020, also narrowly. But again, and we were there yesterday. A lot of energy from those voters.

WHITFIELD: Wow. Yes. It is a tight race. It is hotly-contested, really throughout the state.

Thank you so much, Rafael Romo.

All right. Happening right now. French President Emmanuel Macron is addressing his nation a day after violent protests and riots swept through the country at a level not seen in recent years. More than a half million people took to the streets Saturday to voice their anger over the rising cost of living.

But scenes of widespread looting followed, with store windows smashed and cars burned. And officials said at least 2,000 people were detained.

The 143-year-old town hall in the city of Le Mans was heavily damaged after it was set on fire. In the light of day, you can see the extent of the damage while the building is still smoldering.

CNN's senior international correspondent Melissa Bell is in Paris for us. Melissa, what is Macron saying?

[14:09:47]

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's been speaking for a few minutes now, Fredricka.

First of all, vowing to make those who caused the damage that you mentioned a moment ago, and that has really surprised France. These protests really kicked off very early, violently.

There was, of course, the number of people on the streets. But then, of course, the fact that in so many parts they turn to riots fairly quickly that looting as well that we saw yesterday. And that has left many businesses, more than 1,500 by the count of our affiliates here BFM, damaged or destroyed.

So he began by speaking about the need to be firm, that the full force of the law would be brought to bear on those who had done damage to property, or those who had been involved in the rioting.

But then he also moved on to the genuine grievances of those more than half a million people who took to the streets. The numbers were really quite impressive in terms of the turnout.

There's been this amplification in the number of grievances. In the end, not just the need for better funding of Frances public services, but a lot of anger about the rise in the cost of living, the cost of gas, for instance.

And the French president then moved on to that, saying that because of the troubles, there shouldn't be -- the government shouldn't be turning a deaf ear to the genuine demands of the people that we heard yesterday saying that there would be a meeting with the young, that the government would be holding an emergency meeting tomorrow with mayors to look at how to keep cities safe, and possibly to ban some of the future meetings that are planned, some of the future protests. But also a meeting of France's political classes next -- during the week.

And of course, this is important because we've seen -- we are entering this election period, six months from a presidential election.

President Macron just spoke to that, saying that anyone who wanted at this stage to cause this kind of damage was wanting to damage the Republic, rather than look ahead to the election.

So there will be this meeting to try and calm some of the rhetoric that we've heard from France's political extremes, specifically the far-left and the far-right who are doing so well in the polls.

So it was an attempt really at once to speak to the serious criticism there's been, not just from the far right, but some of the more moderate traditional right about the police response and the lack of its ability to bring order to the streets or protect property or protect the police.

But also an answer to those on the left who are asking for the demands, the legitimate demands, they say, to be met with a real government response. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Melissa bell, thank you so much for that.

All right. Still ahead, a major and devastating fire at one of Canada's busiest military bases. Officials say four service members were killed and dozens more injured.

Plus tragedy at a children's soccer game after a mother drives her car onto the field, striking multiple people, a six-year-old among those killed.

And just one day after leaving the hospital following lung cancer surgery, Pope Leo is back leading public prayers.

Our Christopher Lamb was there as it happened.

[14:12:54]

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WHITFIELD: Pope Leo says he is ready to gradually resume his activities, making his first major public appearance since his lung cancer surgery. The 71-year-old pontiff not only just appeared, but he led the Sunday Angelus from the balcony of the papal residence overlooking Saint Peter's Square. He addressed thousands of faithful gathered below speaking in a clear and strong voice, as you hear right there.

CNN Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb joins me now from Rome. Chris, I mean, the Pope, you know, took time to thank the doctors and everyone who has been praying and caring for him

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's right, Fred.

And there was a big cheer when the Pope appeared in front of everyone in Saint Peters' Square. It was, of course, the first time he's publicly addressed a crowd since his hospitalization for that lung cancer surgery.

The Pope had, I thought, a clear and strong voice. He sounded like he normally does, perhaps tinged with a bit of emotion. Of course, it has been a really tough time for him. But he is now back resuming his duties.

And he said when he addressed people today that he is going to slowly get back to work. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE LEO XIV, ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translator): Now that I have overcome this delicate phase, as you know, I will gradually resume my activities, always with God's help and your prayers (END VIDEO CLIP)

LAMB: Now, of course, the big question for Pope Leo is if he can carry out this planned trip to Latin America from the 6th to the 17th of November. His surgeon, who operated on him, said he can travel. However, the trip has not been officially confirmed since he left hospital.

There are people in the Vatican questioning whether he can do this. But the Pope, at least today on Sunday, resuming the public duties of his role and the crowd really happy to see him back.

It has been a very difficult time. And of course, the lung cancer diagnosis has shocked people in the Vatican.

[14:19:50]

LAMB: Perhaps they took his health for granted because he's relatively young for a pope and he's in good physical condition.

But I think in the coming days, we're going to see Pope Leo continuing his recovery and gradually take up his activities, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And how reassuring it is, isn't it, that he smiled so much. He's really making it look easy, even though, as he put it, you know, this is a delicate phase for him.

LAMB: Yes, that's absolutely right. I mean, we don't know exactly what the long-term prognosis is going to be for the Pope. We're not sure if he needs any treatment.

But I think that, you know, what he is showing to people since his hospitalization as well, that he does want to resume his work as much as he can.

I mean, on Friday, he had a phone call with President Vladimir Putin urging the Russian president to call a ceasefire in the southern part of Ukraine and a city there.

And I think that the Pope's mentality, how he is -- he is a very hard worker. And I think he feels a great responsibility in his role. And he wants to do his best to get back to what he feels called to do, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it certainly shows.

All right. Christopher Lamb, thank you so much. Keep us posted.

All right. Coming up, Georgia is seeing record early voting. What the surge could signal for two key U.S. races and how much Trump may be shaping the fight in this battleground state.

[14:21:22]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: All right. With just 16 days now to go, President Trump is gearing up for another week on the campaign trail. He has seven rallies scheduled this weekend, mostly ruby red states ahead of midterm elections. Texas is on that list right now, but the president said he would go back to the Lone Star State to campaign for Republican Ken Paxton if needed.

And a CNN poll of polls out today shows just how close that Texas Senate race is. That's the average of the five most recent surveys of voters. Democrat James Talarico is averaging 50 percent of the vote, and Republican Ken Paxton around 47 percent. Very tight.

In Georgia, early voting began just last week and has hit record levels already. Take a look at this. More than 800,000 people have already cast their ballots, according to Georgia's secretary of state.

And in the Senate contest, Georgia voters are casting ballots for incumbent Democrat Jon Ossoff or Republican Mike Collins.

And for governor, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms is running against Republican Rick Jackson.

On Friday, Bottoms spoke about the turnout with Sara Sidner right here on CNN at "NEWS CENTRAL".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D), GEORGIA CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR: I believe that the turnout that we are seeing already in early voting is reflective of peoples just disdain for what Trump is trying to do and how he's trying to disrupt our democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Joining us right now is Bill Crane. He is a political analyst and founder of the communications firm CSI Crane. Thank you so much. Good to see you.

BILL CRANE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Always good to be here.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic.

Well, this is a really fascinating state and its races -- gubernatorial and Senate. I mean you heard Keisha Lance Bottoms, you know, talk about early voting. How much of an impact or how much of a barometer of this race is this kind of turnout, early voting -- 800,000 voters.

CRANE: It matters. We've got a lot of hot stuff going on politically here in Georgia. But since 2018, the Democrats have out polled at the early voting and advanced voting and absentee voting in 2018, 2022 and '24.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh.

CRANE: So that's consistent. There are some bright spots out state for Republicans. And there are three counties in the top ten in the metro area that the GOP consistently carries, that those numbers are also up high. Wouldn't be familiar to viewers, but Hall County, Forsyth County and Cherokee.

But in the core four that are so critical for Keisha Lance Bottoms in that governor's race -- Dekalb, Cobb and Fulton and Gwinnett. Gwinnett is a little flat. Fulton is leading the state.

But record numbers for that first week, they will drop off in the second week. But if that enthusiasm holds, that portends very well for Democrats who are also running whatever race they're running in against President Trump.

WHITFIELD: And why do you read it that way, especially when you have the president who's very invested in this state? He has been to the state many times already, at least three times in this season prior to midterm elections. And he's planning on coming back next Saturday to Macon.

How influential is his appearance and his drive to try and get out the vote?

CRANE: I would suggest that as critical as he is to Republican base turnout and MAGA voters, he's on the other side of the coin, turning out Democrats and giving campaign fodder, campaign commercials.

Images of those candidates tied to a president who is increasingly unpopular at a critical time when undecided voters are making up their minds and casting their ballots.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

CRANE: So I would say he could be a net negative, even for those top of the ticket candidates, because Independent voters have already left this president. He carried 66 percent of Independent vote in 2024, in all seven of the battleground states.

And now he's about 15 percent to 17 percent among Independents. And those typically are, again, the voters who will decide close contests.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And you mentioned ads. I mean, Georgia television viewers, you know, social media, they have been flooded with ads, particularly Rick Jackson, gubernatorial candidate, Republican businessman.

[14:29:44]

WHITFIELD: He likes to help remind people of his foster care background --

CRANE: Very humble beginnings, right.

(CROSSTALKING)

WHITFIELD: -- and his advocacy for it. He's also changed his demeanor. He came out at first as being very tough, and now he's kind of softened. You see him smiling a lot more.

Keisha Lance Bottoms, you don't see as many ads because perhaps the pockets aren't as deep.

(CROSSTALKING)

[14:30:03]

CRANE: And they moved dollars towards turnout.

WHITFIELD: Right.

CRANE: So instead of putting their last spend heavily on television and social media, they are actively working on getting people to the polls early.

WHITFIELD: And because of that then, ads -- are they really influential? I mean, does that give Rick Jackson an edge or perhaps does it give Keisha Lance Bottoms an edge because most of the money is going toward getting out the vote?

CRANE: Well, there's a two part answer to that. So you've got turnout that's being very heavily pushed. And in the early voting by Democratic Party. And that's not new, but it's being pushed by resources. Advertising is particularly effective when a candidate is not known. But at this point, Rick Jackson has probably equal ID name identification with our governor.

So but in the fact that he has unlimited resources, as he continues to try to hammer the governor, his opponents record as mayor of Atlanta, it's been cited time and again in the polling as what people are causing that aren't voting for mayor. Bottoms, remembering her record during her one term as mayor here.

WHITFIELD: What kind of Trump policies do you think are influential in this state that will help galvanize the Republican vote, or, as you say, you know, it also in turn sort of galvanizes Democratic vote.

CRANE: He still talks a lot about immigration. He still talks a lot about deportation. He's very big on national defense. Georgia has a lot of bases and a lot of military retirees. When you get beyond that, other than tough on crime, I don't know that there are issues as much as personality with Donald Trump moving the needle.

Conversely, by oil prices, energy prices, tariffs, the war in Iran, this new deal with Russia, there's a palette of Donald Trump, Republican Party issues that the Democratic candidates are using to club this president and the candidates on his side over the head with repeatedly.

WHITFIELD: Has this been a soft spot? You think you know that his lifting of the sanctions, Russian sanctions, we know it certainly undermines Ukraine in its war against Russia, but do you see that translating or, you know, hitting a soft spot for Georgians, especially farmers who -- yes, they've talked about --

CRANE: Farmers, truckers.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Diesel fuel up. Does this mean --

CRANE: Trains run on diesel.

WHITFIELD: Are they looking at that as advantageous?

CRANE: I think they also understand if they're realists and certainly farmers and truck drivers are, that if it's coming out of the pipeline in Russia today and it gets on a tanker by the time it gets to the United States before its refined, and then it gets refined, and then it goes to the wholesaler and the retailer, it may be Christmas. So we're not going to see those price drops anytime soon.

So I don't understand the president taking the timing, essentially looking like he's wrapping his arms around Vladimir Putin in Russia when we are in an active war in an Iran where Russia has been funneling arms and support, and we have supposedly been supporting Ukraine, where very clearly Russia will use the resources there in that conflict.

So I don't see where the win is, other than the optics of I'm doing something to lower oil prices.

WHITFIELD: Bill Crane, always great to see you. Thank you so much.

CRANE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. New today, four service members were killed in Canada and dozens injured after a fire swept through one of Canada's busiest military bases. The Canadian military said the fire began in the base's training area and then quickly spread.

Speaking a short time ago, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney credited emergency crews for their response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Military and civilian crews fought this fire throughout the night, and some of the worst conditions imaginable, risking their lives to protect their fellow Canadians

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN correspondent Paula Newton is with us right now.

Paula, what more are you learning about the fire, its aftermath, and these deaths?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Fred, it's really clear that both the military and the Canadian government, the provincial government, everyone just starting to come to terms with the scope of this. The prime minister had also said that there were dozens that were critically injured and perhaps even more than the military service personnel. I mean, Fred, look, we know this was a training mission Saturday

afternoon, and there was some kind of an incident. I also want to point out that given the fire, they were dealing with live ammunition training. It's something that they do at this base. And it is a reason that there was this fire that then spread in the prime minister's words, so violently after this incident.

And what happened after, Fred, was incredible because of the so many injuries. They had call outs not just to the local hospital, but really within a 200 mile radius to make sure the hospitals were prepared and triaging as some of the people that were injured, there certainly had significant burns.

I want you to listen now as well to the prime minister as he talks about what the people on the ground were doing there. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: And CFB Wainwright is where the women and men of our armed forces learned to do the hardest things this country can ask of anyone. Those we lost, those who were injured were training to defend Canada, to serve Canada.

[14:35:00]

And now, Canada serves them.

We'll be there for their families for as long as they need. We will care for the injured through every step of their recovery, and we will stand by the women and men of our armed forces as they bear the weight of this loss. They will not carry it alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: You see the grim demeanor there, Fred? I mean, it is, like I said, more news to come. That will be incredibly tragic for so many families. And the prime minister, in fact, called this one of the worst tragedies for the forces on Canadian soil in peacetime.

I want you to see some video right now that is of training that goes on in this base year in, year out. There are incredibly tight procedures to make sure that any live ammunition is handled properly. But clearly something went wrong here.

The RCMP have not indicated that they're doing any kind of extensive investigation. The defense department saying that, look, they do not believe that in any way, shape or form that from what they know so far, that there was any terrorism involved here, they will continue to try and investigate. But still dozens of people that are critical care at this hour, the extent of their injuries so far not known.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Very tragic and tenuous for those in their recovery. Thank you so much, Paula Newton.

All right. Still ahead, two people killed and nearly a dozen injured after a woman drove her car through a children's soccer game. Our Mark Morales has the latest.

MARK MORALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A key update in the case. The driver in this situation has been released pending a toxicology report, results and a mechanical review of the vehicle. I'll have more next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:41:25]

WHITFIELD: Tragedy at a youth soccer game this weekend in Wichita, Kansas. Two people are dead and multiple others injured after a mother drove a pickup truck onto the field yesterday. Police say the driver has been released from custody and no charges have been filed at this time.

We're going to play for you now a video showing kids playing on the field just as the tragedy happens. And a warning, the audio on the clip is very disturbing.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

WHITFIELD: Very frightening moments.

CNN's Mark Morales joining me right now.

Mark, what do we know about the victims and how all of this unfolded?

MORALES: Well, it's really important to note right now that the driver in this situation has been released. And again, this is pending the outcome of not only a toxicology report, but of a mechanical review of the car.

So, she has been released from custody. If you remember, she was in police custody cooperating with police. She's out now. But it's important to note that she's not out of the woods. There could still be charges because this directly points to evidence. If you look at this from very basic level, you need evidence and that will dictate what you can charge.

So they're still trying to find the right evidence to figure out what exactly the charges are here. Now, investigators have been combing through any surveillance video. They've been asking for footage. They've been interviewing people that were at the soccer field.

They've interviewed more than 30 witnesses, and that includes the drivers, two children that were in the vehicle. They've also determined that the driver was in a nearby parking space at the complex, with both children in her car before this took place.

Now, you -- you just played that that clip, that just sort of sort of that chaotic scene. And, we heard from local law enforcement officials who told us that first responders raced to that scene and actually found people from the community stepping up to help. And some of them were performing first aid duties. But even other people jumped into action in other ways.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISAAC, WITNESS: Went to the truck, took the person out the truck. So they don't hit any more people, shocked he did that because if he didn't do that, maybe the car would have stopped and more people could have gotten hit.

BRYANT GAZA, WITNESS: I was mainly just shocked, you know, when you see a car driving over a bunch of people, you just like, you're just in shock. I was scared, obviously. Didn't know what to think. Just ran out the way, hoping it didn't follow me. Hoping I didn't get hit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORALES: Ten people were injured in this directly from the vehicle. That includes five children. And again, although the driver is not in custody, the police department will be doing an initial presentation of the case to the local district attorney. That happened at some point early next week -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Okay. Mark Morales, thank you so much for that.

Coming up, after allegations of sexual assault, Cornell is cracking down on Greek life. We'll take a look at one university that made major changes after its own problems, and whether it's at all made a difference.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:49:21]

WHITFIELD: The disturbing allegations of sexual assault at the Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell University has provoked campuses around the country to examine what guardrails should be put in place to help prevent bad things from happening. The president of Cornell recently banned fraternity parties and social events in an effort to address students growing concerns on campus following those gang rape allegations.

CNN reporter Brittany Shammas examines how colleges and universities are grappling with the challenges that sometimes Greek life can bring. She has an article on CNN.com, and she's joining me right now.

[14:50:00]

Brittany, good to see you.

I mean, this latest incident at Cornell really has prompted a whole lot of concerns, not just on campuses but in families, you know, who are worried about their kids at school. What have been some of the discoveries you made that helped provoke your article?

BRITTANY SHAMMAS, CNN REPORTER: Yeah. So when tragic things happen in Greek life at universities, it often prompts a lot of reflection and talk of whether things should change. And whether there's ways to reform these organizations to prevent this sort of thing from happening. And some claim that perhaps we should look at doing away with this entirely.

WHITFIELD: And in the article, you look that you really kind of zeroed in on a specific incident at West Virginia University, a student died as a result of hazing in 2014. What did the university do in that case to respond or to make changes or avert something like that from happening again?

SHAMMAS: Yeah. That's right. So there was a freshman student who died during a pledge event in 2014. And after that happened, the university tried to ask everybody to work hard, to change the culture. But when they felt like not enough change was happening, they decided to do this pretty sweeping change approach where they actually took students from the Greek life organizations and administrators and they sat down and decided to try to raise the standards for membership in these organizations.

And another thing that they did is they put a pause on most of the activities of these organizations, and then they went over them one by one, and they looked at their histories to decide, should we allow these organizations to continue operating on our campus? Are there changes that should be made for them? And they spent about six months on that and came out with this sweeping plan.

They tried to, you know, really raise the standard, raise the GPA requirements and, really usher in what they considered transformative cultural change.

WHITFIELD: And really across the map, when things have happened involving fraternities, it seems to also provoke a conversation among many circles about, well, what about just banning them all together? You explored that and, and the response, on some campuses to why it was still important to protect these fraternities and sororities from continuing their traditions on campus, but with certain things in mind. What did you discover?

SHAMMAS: Yeah. So there are examples of private institutions that have gotten rid of Greek life on their campuses for public universities, it's really a different story. It's not so simple.

When this idea has been brought up, they will point to the freedom of association. And that's, you know, that's a very fundamental American value. And so it can be a very persuasive argument.

And of course, you know, we do have these, tragic incidents that are reported to occur in Greek life, but there are also many people who really credit the Greek system with lifelong friendships, with learning leadership values, with volunteerism. So there are quite a lot of people who will come out in defense of these groups.

WHITFIELD: What do you suppose these campuses are examining as it watches Cornell and the journey that its on and how it continues to address some very serious allegations of gang rape?

SHAMMAS: I mean, I think that for universities, the question of the role that the Greek organization should play on campus and how to manage them to make sure, you know, good things are happening and, and bad things are not happening is challenging. I spoke to administrators who reflected that, you know, it is a difficult balance because they have some oversight abilities. But at the end of the day, these are student organizations that the students, you know, feel strongly are important to them.

WHITFIELD: It's a fascinating read. You really, you know, went in very deep, did a lot of research and got a lot of supporting information in your article.

Brittany Shammas, thank you so much for being with us.

SHAMMAS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And if you want to read more, you can find Brittany's article on CNN.com.

All right. Coming up, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says the U.S. is giving Putin a sense of victory. We'll talk to a former Ukrainian ambassador about what this means for Ukraine's fight and whether Europe can fill the gap.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:59:23]

WHITFIELD: In an all-new episode of "THE DETOUR" with David Chang, Chef Chang hits the road with actor and comedian Eric Andre to showcase Florida's best eats from Miami to Key West.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CHANG, HOST OF "THE DETOUR": What's this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is kind of like ground pork. And we wrap it with seaweed, eggs. And inside there's vegetable.

CHANG: Very filling, but delicious.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This used to be just for royalty.

ERIC ANDRE, COMEDIAN: Me, Meghan Markle.

CHANG: Are you thinking about maybe opening up a restaurant?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

ANDRE: Do you want some coffee?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. I'm good. Thank you.

ANDRE: Some tea?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't drink coffee. I get drunk before.

ANDRE: Drunk?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. High.

ANDRE: Hell, yeah. Put some cognac in your coffee. I knew a true player when I see one.

What's up, new best friend?