Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Some Latino Voters Who Supported Trump Move Away from GOP; Rogers Distances Himself from Trump's Comments About El-Sayed; Macron Addresses Natio After Day of Violent Protests. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired October 18, 2026 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DAVID CHANG, CHEF: Are you thinking about maybe opening up a restaurant?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Too much work!
CHANG: You want some coffee?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I am good. Thank you.
CHANG: Some tea?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't drink coffee. I get drunk before.
CHANG: Drunk?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, high!
ERIC ANDRE, ACTOR: Hell yes! Put some cognac in your coffee? I know a true player when I see one!
Want something new, best friend?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You see. Caramel fish.
CHANG: What kind of fish?
ANDRE: More food is coming, babe! Thank God we didn't do our Ozempic this morning.
CHANG: Oh!
ANDRE: Here comes the airplane! Growing boy! Oh yes!
CHANG: Oh my God!
ANDRE: Yes!
CHANG: Oh, mangosteen! This is mangosteen!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No! No! No! Soursop!
ANDRE: Soursop, buddy!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Soursop is -- ANDRE: It is all over the Caribbean.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Oh, okay! Yummy! Yummy! Potpourri!
Watch "The Detour" with David Chang now streaming with an all-access subscription.
[15:00:55]
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me on Fredricka Whitfield.
We begin this hour with politics, just 16 days before the midterm elections, and we are looking at what is going on with the key group of voters who helped drive Donald Trump to victory two years ago. Then Latino voters gave him significant support, but now, many are having doubts.
Their reservations, fueled by economic worries and their dislike of President Trump's immigration policies.
CNN's Arlette Saenz has been looking at how this is playing out in South Florida, in particular, in a very competitive house race there. She joins us now from Miami live. What have you found?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, Latino voters could be a potential sway voters in this election, just as they were back in 2024, and it comes as there have been signs of President Trump's support among Latino voters slipping since he returned to office.
A recent NBC News-Telemundo poll found that only 27 percent of Latino voters were approving of the President's performance in office, and more Latino voters wanted to see Democrats win control of Congress than Republicans.
Now, the fight for Latino and Hispanic voters is playing out in places like where we are in South Florida, in Miami-Dade County. This is a county where Latino or Hispanic voters make up about 70 percent of the residents in this area.
President Trump had actually flipped Miami-Dade back in 2024 by double digits, becoming the first Republican presidential nominee to win this county since 1988. There have been movements in Republicans and conservatives' directions here in this area, and so that is why this will be so important to watch on election night.
We are Currently in Florida's 27th congressional district, and this is where Republican Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar is facing off against the Democratic candidate, Eliott Rodriguez. Both of them are former T.V. news anchors here in the area, so, they are very well- known to their constituents.
But we spent the past few days speaking to voters on the ground here, and there is a lot of frustration about the way that the economy has been handled, and also some of President Trump's immigration enforcement policies, which have really jolted this community.
You have a very large population of Cuban American voters, Venezuelan voters as well, who have been feeling some of the sting of those immigration enforcement actions.
Salazar actually, just last month had released an ad that pushed back a bit on the President's policies, saying that some of his actions have gone too far on immigration and that there are some of the Hispanic and Latino community who helped fuel his win in 2024 who are feeling betrayed.
So this will be one of those races to watch, particularly for the mood of Latino voters. Salazar did win this district by 20 points back in 2024. She is very well-known to her constituents here. But along with South Florida, there are also some very competitive races over in South Texas where Latino voters could also be key there, but certainly the big question will be if Latino voters are frustrated with President Trump, does that translate to the Republican candidates who are on the ballot? Salazar is hoping that she could survive some of that frustration towards the President in this race.
WHITFIELD: Yes, a very big question. All right, Arlette Saenz, thank you so much, in Miami.
All right, heading up the Atlantic Coast now to Maine, where there is another very close Senate race between the incumbent Republican Susan Collins, and her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson.
In an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" today, Jackson said he does not regret telling Senator Collins to shut up during a debate last week. Collins accused Jackson of setting up a protester to interrupt her during last Thursday's event. Here is what Jackson had to say about all of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: This week, there was a protester in the debate that you had with Susan Collins. She responded by saying, "This must be a Troy Jackson supporter." And you told the senator, "shut up."
Do you regret saying that?
[15:05:10]
TROY JACKSON (D), MAINE SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: No. You know, she said that it was Troy supporter. I mean, she accused me of setting that up. I had no idea who it was.
I mean, I was surprised whenever he jumped up out of there. You know, I've had four debates with Senator Collins. I've shook her hand afterwards every time, but what I am not going to be is, talked down to by Senator Collins. I am not going to be accused of things like that. I mean, I am fighting for Mainers. And you know, I mean, I just think that was another situation where she was talking down to me and you know -- so I am not going to apologize for that, no.
BASH: Some Republicans are saying that there were stories when you were in the legislature of women who were there, who said that you were, I don't know about talking down to them, but you were sort of aggressive in your tone and that this is another example of that.
JACKSON: Some Republicans have been spending millions of dollars attacking me and my family, making untrue claims, things that they had to take off the air, and so it doesn't surprise me that some Republicans would be making any claims.
BASH: So, so again, the "shut up" thing, you're going to leave it as is. No apologies.
JACKSON: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Okay. There is also an incredibly close Senate race in Michigan where Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed are running neck and neck.
President Trump and Republicans have made El-Sayed a frequent target, accusing him of being sympathetic to interests connected to Islamic extremism. The President, going as far as calling El-Sayed a jihadist.
On CNN's "State of the Union" earlier today, Rogers distanced himself from Trump's attacks on El-Sayed, but still tried to tie his opponent to an Islamist political movement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: I've never called him a terrorist. I wore the uniform of the United States of America so people can pray any way they want, that is not the issue here.
What has become the issue is his relationship and his family relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned in five Muslim countries.
You know, he wants to play the victim. This is not about that. This is about the way you think, not the way you pray. This is about your ideology and how dangerous it is.
I mean, he has a long history of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: El-sayed had a heated exchange at one of his town halls last night on this topic, after a man shouted from the crowd asking if he would disavow the Muslim Brotherhood. Here is part of that exchange from last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you disavow the Muslim Brotherhood?
ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: Sure, yes, absolutely. You're asking the question because implicitly you assume that I will have dual loyalties, right? You assume that somehow I wouldn t disavow or that I will have some higher order allegiance than to the Constitution.
For me, that constitution is the guiding light.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, and then this breaking news right now, French President Emmanuel Macron is vowing to hold accountable those who caused damage in yesterday's massive protests.
Macron addressed his nation a day after violent demonstrations and riots swept across the country at a level not seen in recent years.
More than half a million people took to the streets to voice their anger over the rising cost of living, but scenes of widespread looting followed with store windows smashed and cars burned, officials said at least 2,000 people were detained and 600 police officers injured.
The 143-year-old town hall in the city of Limoges 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 senior international correspondent, Melissa Bell is in Paris for us.
Melissa, what -- are Macron's words resonating?
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was, Fredricka to a really shocked nation that the President spoke just an hour ago on French television, addressing so much of the criticism that we've seen from many parts of the right about the lack of a police response, the looting that left many hundreds of businesses across the country damaged or destroyed.
The fact that these protests have now turned deadly since we saw beyond the 600 policemen and women injured, one policeman killed by a car in Nantes during those protests. We've also seen one protester die as a result of cardiac arrest during yesterday's protest.
The extent of the damage, the scenes that we saw, the violence of the images, the clashes, the fact that it started as early as it did, I think, has left many people very critical of the government.
From the left, a lot of criticism about the lack of a government response that has seen these protests over the last few weeks escalate into what we saw yesterday with that, more than half a million -- nearly more than half a million people taking to the streets.
[15:10:09] So he had this sort of tightrope to walk, starting off very firmly on the question of security, explaining Fredricka that there would be meetings now between the prefects in regional towns and their mayors to ensure that this kind of thing didn't happen again, speaking of the need, perhaps to ban some gatherings over the next few weeks and praising the police's response.
But he also moved on to address what he described as the genuine demands of the protesters. The fact that the government needed to listen. Also speaking to the political polarization in France that has allowed and really amplified some of the anger that we've seen out there.
We are, of course, six months from the next presidential election. President Macron spoke to that. Speaking to the fact that we've seen -- we've heard criticism from the far-right and the far-left narratives that have really fed some of the anger out there and explaining that the government would be holding a meeting with all of the leaders, of all of France's political parties to try and ensure that the country returned to calm.
The trouble is that there is already a protest called for the 5th of November, and we've seen these kinds of protests now over housing, the cost of living and anger at the inaction of centrist governments spread now to other European cities -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Yes, the impact is very great.
All right, Melissa Bell, thank you so much in Paris.
Still to come, Ukraine launches new strikes on Russia's energy infrastructure. This after President Trump's decision to defer sanctions against Russian diesel exports, facing strong opposition.
And later, a horror scene at a youth soccer field. Two people are dead and several others injured after a mother allegedly drove a pickup truck onto the playing fields.
The latest on the investigation and why it happened, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:16:44]
WHITFIELD: Russia is reeling from a fresh round of attacks in a massive series of overnight strikes. Ukraine launched more than a thousand drones at Russia. A major target was one of Russia's biggest transport hubs of oil shipments in Putin's hometown of St. Petersburg, and this comes as The White House is facing backlash over President Trump's decision to waive the upcoming sanctions on Russia, sparking pushback from some fellow Republicans as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Well, look, Congress voted on this decisively just several weeks ago, and we understand that Putin cannot be trusted. He demonstrates that over and over and over.
So I did talk to several of my colleagues yesterday who had concerns about that. Their own committees of jurisdiction, like Intelligence and Foreign Affairs. And I didn't talk to the President yesterday because he and I are both traveling nonstop, and we were on different schedules.
But I told The White House team that we need to talk about it, and I think carefully consider the unintended consequences that may ensue from that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Joining me now to talk more about this, Russia's war with Ukraine and all of these developments is John Herbst. He is a former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine.
Ambassador, great to see you.
JOHN HERBST, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Thank you very much for having me.
WHITFIELD: So this was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy today on "Meet the Press," responding to President Trump now waiving those sanctions on Russia. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Strengthening Putin's war against us because he feels success. He doesn't have any kind of success on the battlefield, especially this year, 2026.
He lost opportunities on the battlefield and all his operations, he lost. So, they are not successful and because of our Army, and they've been very strong, our soldiers have been very strong this year, then we really build -- try to build a defense shield to defend our civilians, but always big deficit with Patriot missiles and other kind of air defense.
But in any way, it is understandable that we have something, we have support of Americans, we have support from Europeans, but -- but now I think that this -- you know, this -- it is really a big support for Putin. He feels victory with sanctions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Ambassador, did the Trump administration just hand Russia's Vladimir Putin victory? A gift as Ukraine's President puts it?
HERBST: They haven't handed him victory, but they've given him several gifts over the past week, week-and-a-half. While Putin has done everything he can, not just to conquer Ukraine, but to counter the United States in the Middle East. So while Putin is warring against us, we are sending him kisses and that's a very bad look.
When I say several things, the most important thing is the cut off of the Starshield intelligence, which has been one very good element of support that Trump has provided and actually precedes Trump. But in his term, he has provided almost the entire time.
[15:20:05]
Cutting that off is very serious. It makes it much harder for Ukraine to stop the strikes that are killing civilians, going after Ukrainian energy, water infrastructure. So that's one, that's the most important thing.
Two, the thing that set off the war of words was the diesel deal, right? Us buying diesel fuel from Russia, which will have come in very small numbers and not have any real impact on gas prices, diesel prices in the United States. The third thing, of course, is this waiver, right? This was the Lindsey Graham Bill, which everyone signed because we need to be tough on Russia. And yet now, the consequence of that bill have been neutered by the President without one thing in return from Putin.
And this is why Russia continues to give intelligence to Iran, to murder American servicemen in the Middle East.
WHITFIELD: And now you have Zelenskyy summing really all of that up and saying, you know, it is disappointing, you know, that Ukraine cannot count on the U.S. as being a friend. Do you assess it that way? And if that is the case, can Europe be the only reliable ally for Ukraine?
HERBST: Certainly, the inconsistencies of Trump's policy on the war have raised eyebrows, especially now when he seems to be leaning very much in the Kremlin's direction. But there have been periods before where he has leaned in that direction and then leaned back towards the good side, the side that the United States should be pursuing, because it very much is important for our interests, because Putin considers us to be his principal adversary, which is international relations speak for enemy.
But I understand why Zelenskyy says that, and many of our allies are concerned. And as an American who wants a strong foreign policy, who believes very much in making sure our adversaries, that starts with China and Russia at the top, Iran, too, doesn't get an advantage. It is very disconcerting.
WHITFIELD: And, Mr. Ambassador, you know, Zelenskyy also said if Russia and the U.S. are working together, I am quoting him now, of course, we will not prevail and we will not be able to stand.
Is that the direction you see as happening?
HERBST: I think, it is too strong to say that Russia and the United States are working together. As I've said, Russia is working against our interests all the time, but right now, we don't look like a nation that understands our enemies and is taking care of our interests.
And so my concerns are first and foremost for the United States. This is a very bad look, but also for our allies in NATO and our partners and friends like Ukraine, because Ukraine by truly damaging the Russian military is helping the security of the United States.
WHITFIELD: Do you see Ukraine as potentially winning this war?
HERBST: I've said since 2014, when the war began and since 2022, since the big invasion, as long as there is substantial western support, there is no way Ukraine can lose this war. And right now, the United States has reduced its support in truly dangerous ways.
Europe has stepped up a fair amount more than I expected, and good for them. But our support is very important, first and foremost, for America's own interests, because you can be sure Xi is watching this, and if he sees Putin playing us the way he is, then that makes him more determined to take Taiwan by force.
So we need a stronger policy pushing back against our adversaries and Russia is clearly our adversary. And over 80 percent of the American public understands that and a majority of Republicans in Congress understand that, which is why, as President, President Trump is getting some pushback, but not enough, not enough.
WHITFIELD: Ambassador John Herbst, a pleasure having you. Thank you so much.
HERBST: My pleasure. Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Still to come, a boy and a man were killed when a pickup truck drove onto a youth soccer field in Kansas, several others were hurt. We will have an update on the investigation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:28:21]
WHITFIELD: With just 16 days 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 not 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.
In 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.
In Kansas, Adam Hamilton is not yet a household name, much beyond that state, but he could be if he becomes the first Democrat in nearly a century to win a Senate seat in conservative Kansas. The pastor who co-founded the largest United Methodist Church in the country, that's him on the right, is giving the Republican incumbent, Roger Marshall, a run for his money.
And in the final days, both sides now view the toss-up race as central in the battle for the Senate Majority.
CNN's chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju, talked to the candidates and traveled across the state.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Republicans are on a mission in Kansas, of all places, to rescue Senator Roger Marshall. It has been 94 years since a Democrat won a Senate seat in Kansas. The state has only had three Democratic senators in its history.
But the pastor turned candidate, Adam Hamilton, is seeking to change that.
MARILYN HARRISON, KANSAS VOTER: I don't think I've ever voted for a Democrat senator.
RAJU (on camera): You haven't. This will be the first time.
HARRISON: First time.
[15:30:03]
RAJU: A toxic brew is confronting Marshall here in Kansas -- high gasoline prices, high diesel prices, the unpopularity of the Iran War, the unpopularity of the President's tariff policies, and the President himself seeing his own approval sliding.
ADAM HAMILTON (D), KANSAS SENATE CANDIDATE: I watched in Washington, D.C. after the inauguration of our president, President Trump. I prayed for him. God, please give him wisdom. And I will tell you, just because you're a pastor does not mean your prayers are answered.
RAJU: Republicans are trying to nationalize this race, trying to make it all about Democratic control of the United States Senate if Hamilton were to win.
SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R-KS): Who do you want running this country? Do you want Chuck Schumer, the AOC, big government Democrats running this country?
RAJU (voice over): To avoid an historic defeat, Republicans are now in an all-out effort to save Marshall, launching attacks like these:
AD NARRATOR: Adam Hamilton isn't a moderate. He's a two-faced extremist.
RAJU: I caught up with Marshall in Central Kansas, a place that Donald Trump won overwhelmingly. And I asked him initially about the Iran War, instead, he pivoted to another issue.
Do you think that given the impact that it's having on fuel prices, that it's time for the President to end the war with Iran?
MARSHALL: You know, I think what you should be talking about is my opponent, that he's a child sex predator protector, that he's --
RAJU: He denies that. MARSHALL: It absolutely happened.
RAJU: What about Iran? What about Iran? I'm asking --
MARSHALL: No, I think you guys need to talk about something that Kansans want to be talking about right now.
RAJU: They're not talking about the Iran war? The Iran war?
MARSHALL: I've given you my comments on Iran before. Look, I want this war to be over as quickly as possible. I don't want to lose any soldiers -- any more soldiers like Eisenhower. I hate war.
AD NARRATOR: Sex abuse at a fall church camp.
RAJU (voice over): Marshall now running ads accusing Hamilton of covering up a child sex abuse sex scandal from two decades ago.
And Trump piling on in a Truth Social post this past week, but Hamilton says the accusations are riddled with lies.
RAJU: This is the President of United States who just said that.
HAMILTON: Yes, the president is lying and he's -- and he's twisting the truth around. And every organization that looked into these claims four months ago said the same thing. This is a misrepresentation -- misrepresentation of what happened. It's what --
RAJU: You've done anything differently in that situation?
HAMILTON: Absolutely. Like we should have called the police immediately, but that was not our policies 21 years ago. This is desperate attempts to try to deflect from a horrible record Roger Marshall has.
AD NARRATOR: He sued more than 700 of his own patients for paying their medical bills late.
RAJU: But Marshall has faced a series of damaging stories, including billing practices associated with his medical practice. "The New York Times" reporting that he filed lawsuits against roughly 700 patients who had outstanding debt. Eighty-one of those patients later were arrested for missing court dates.
What about the billing practices? "The New York Times" -- they reported about that. When you look at those people who had about $100.00 in outstanding debt, was it okay to go after them?
MARSHALL: So why do you continue to repeat this lie?
RAJU: The story is not true?
MARSHALL: So why are we repeating the lie? You're repeating the lie.
RAJU: Did you guys do anything wrong? Did you guys do anything wrong?
MARSHALL: Can you -- of course we did not.
RAJU: Why?
MARSHALL: Okay. The Kansas Bill of Rights clearly says you cannot imprison or even arrest somebody because of indebtedness. I would want no one to ever go to jail because of anything they owe me. There were people being bused from other cities to us, knowing that I would take care of them for free.
RAJU (voice-over): And "The Kansas City Star" reported that Marshall's practice charged an unusually high 18 percent interest rate on unpaid medical bills.
RAJU: What about the 18 percent interest rate that's come out? Is that an appropriate interest rate to charge?
MARSHALL: Listen, I think what you're losing the real story here, right? So once this -- when and if this ever happened and we wrote off hundreds of people's of bills every month, some of those people by law have to go to collections, whatever interest rate they charge, I have no idea. This was the first lie of many from Adam Hamilton's campaign.
RAJU: Should the President end the trade war with Canada? Should he end the trade war with Canada?
RAJU (voice over): Marshall has shown little daylight with Trump, who won the state by double digits three times and relying on surrogates like Vice President J.D. Vance, who recently attacked Hamilton's faith.
VANCE: Ladies and gentlemen, that is not Christianity. That is left- wing radicalism dressed in the skin suit of our religion.
RAJU: When you look back at some of your past sermons, did you ever say things that were things that were outside of the political mainstream that you could have said differently?
HAMILTON: I'm a -- I'm a slightly left of center on some issues, slightly right of center on other issues. If you want to take a line out of a sermon, I preached 1,500 different sermons. Take a line or two words out of one paragraph, two words out of another, and you make something up, that sounds -- sounds that way.
But if it's sad and pathetic that both the President and the Vice President would attack somebody's faith, I guess I would ask the question, do you know, do the policies of Vice President Vance and Donald Trump, do they reflect the Jesus of the gospels? And the answer is no.
RAJU (voice over): Democrats have demonstrated some success here in recent years, including Governor Laura Kelly's two wins, and a ballot initiative reaffirming abortion rights in the state.
That makes Marshall's backers nervous.
[15:35:08] RAJU: Are you worried that Hamilton could actually win this race?
JAMES NELSON, KANSAS VOTER: Oh, he could because we have a bad reputation in this state of electing liberal governors and things.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Adam Hamilton.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
RAJU (voice over): To win the race, Hamilton has to woo Kansas Republicans and convince them he's a different kind of Democrat.
RAJU (on camera): There are some voters who undoubtedly have concerns about the fact that if you were to win, the Democrats are likely going to be the Senate, and Chuck Schumer is going to likely be the Democratic leader. What do you say to those voters?
HAMILTON: Well, I say to them, it's possible that that's going to happen no matter what. But here's the question I ask, are you better off as Kansas if we have two Republican senators representing Kansas in -- on the Republican side of the aisle, or if we had Jerry Moran who seems to be doing a pretty good job on the Republican side, and I'm working as a moderate Democrat on the Democratic side?
RAJU: I saw you had said that you had spoken to Chuck Schumer about how he's making this race harder for you? What do you mean by that? Is it just how toxic the Democratic brand here is in this state?
HAMILTON: Yes, I think the Democratic brand is in trouble everywhere across the United States.
And Chuck Schumer becomes the sort of archetype for that, whether it's deserved or not, that's how he's seen. So what I've said is I'm not going to vote for Chuck Schumer for, you know, the Senate Majority Leader, if -- or Minority Leader, whichever it is. No -- no disrespect for him, but we need new and fresh leadership and the Democratic Party needs that desperately.
They need new and fresh leadership, new ideas. And I think I'm a part of that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:41:05]
WHITFIELD: Tragedy at a youth soccer game this weekend in Wichita, Kansas. Two people are dead and multiple others injured after a mother allegedly 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 are going to play now for you a video just moments leading up to this tragedy and a warning, the audio in the clip is very disturbing.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
WHITFIELD: CNN's Mark Morales joining me now. Mark, what do we know about the victims and just how this even happened?
MARK MORALES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTER: Well, that question as to how this even happened is something investigators are still trying to comb through, and when we talk about the driver, it is important to note that she has been released pending the results of a toxicology report and a mechanical review of the car.
And again, this doesn't necessarily mean that she is out of the woods. This means that investigators are still looking at what happened because, again, the evidence really dictates what the charge is if there are going to be charges, what those charges might be, and you need to get the evidence first, because that will tell you what you can do with as far as charges go.
Now, investigators have been combing through every piece of surveillance footage. They've been asking the public's help, asking for any type of video that they have. They've been interviewing people that were at the scene. They've talked to as many as 30 witnesses who saw this whole thing unfold. That includes the driver's two children who were in the vehicle. That's part of the way that investigators were able to figure out that the car was parked a short distance away from that field, with the two kids in the car before she drove onto the field.
Now, witnesses also described to investigators how crazy this scene was yesterday, and first responders arrived and actually found people that were there giving first aid to some of the victims.
Now, other witnesses spoke to our affiliates, and they actually described some of the chaos that they saw yesterday. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISAAC, WITNESS: My dad 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 not have stopped and more people could have gotten hit.
BRYANT GAZA, WITNESS: I was just shocked. You know, when you see a car driving over a bunch of people, you're just like -- you're just in shock. I was scared, obviously, I 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: There was a six-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man who were both killed in this. In all, there were about 10 other people that were injured, taken to local hospitals, that includes five children.
And again, the investigation is not over. Local police department are going to be doing what they're calling an initial case presentation to the local district attorney. That happens at some point early next week -- Fred. WHITFIELD: All right, keep us posted on that.
Mark Morales, thank you so much.
Straight ahead, a new coastal storm bringing the threat of strong winds, flooding and dangerous waves along the East Coast. Evacuations for parts of the Outer Banks.
The forecast straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:49:05]
WHITFIELD: All right, turning to the wildfires burning in Southern California, evacuation orders for the fast moving Norte Fire have been lifted. The blaze started Friday morning and has burned more than 500 acres. It is now 50 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.
Firefighters say at least six homes have been damaged or destroyed. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
And on the East Coast, we are watching a system off the coast of the Carolinas that will bring a wet and windy start of the workweek. CNN meteorologist, Allison Chinchar explains why this storm could linger for days.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is going to feel like fall with those cool, drier conditions. The exception is going to be this low pressure system sitting right here off the coast, and it is just going to meander there for days, and that's really what is going to cause the biggest issues.
You'll see, we have had some rain showers across the outer bands off and on throughout the day today. Those will continue through the evening hours. By Monday, that low really gets its act together, starting to have that spin, bringing more of those outer bands right there along the Eastern Seaboard.
[15:50:11]
We are not expecting tremendously heavy rain. The bigger issue really is going to be the wind from this storm. Those wind gusts up around 35 to 40, even as high as 45 miles per hour up and down much of this area. What it is going to do, though, is its going to bring a lot of that water from the ocean and push it inland. So, this means roughly about 40 gauges here of rivers, creeks and streams could reach minor or even moderate flood stage, many of which, by the way, do not even peak until Tuesday or Wednesday of this week.
Now, it is also contributing to the cooler temperatures in this area, and they are actually going to stay for the next several days, really look at the eastern half of the country seeing those temperatures either at or below average. All of the heat focused well out to the west.
And you look at the temperatures, we are going to start to see things warm back up, but it is going to take a few more days.
New York, D.C., Pittsburgh, all looking at those temperatures either at or below normal, but once we get to Tuesday, that's when we finally start to see things go back up to the upswing.
WHITFIELD: All right, Allison Chinchar, thank you.
All right. Saturday saw a historic shakeup in college football. Five of the top seven teams were beaten, including the top two teams in the country. And now there is new team on top of the college football poll, and who else would know that, but CNN's Don Riddell. He is here with a whole lot of upsets, a lot of changes in the new top 25.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT HOST: A lot of --
WHITFIELD: Oh boy!
RIDDELL: A lot of upsets, that has to be the biggest understatement.
WHITFIELD: Understatement.
RIDDELL: It was an absolutely wild Saturday --
WHITFIELD: Huge!
RIDDELL: Top ranked -- let's start here. Top ranked Georgia absolutely stunned in Athens. They were hosting unranked Auburn. They blew a 14- point lead last minute tight game. Dogs driving to try to win it. But Gunner Stockton ran into his own lineman and fumbled. Auburn recovered. The Tigers then got in position to kick the game winning field goal 27 to 24. That's Georgia's first defeat of the season, their first defeat to an unranked opponent since 2019. And honestly, nobody saw it coming.
Also, huge Top 10 matchup in Provo between eighth ranked BYU, second ranked Notre Dame with under two minutes to go, Bear Bachmeier to Walker Lyons, giving the Cougars the lead. Notre Dame, though, drove the field four seconds left. CJ Carr's pass incomplete, but the ball hit the ground with a second on the clock, so the Fighting Irish got one more play, right?
WHITFIELD: No!
RIDDELL: Right?
WHITFIELD: Yes!
RIDDELL: No, they didn't review. That as all the BYU students rushed the field. Cougars winning by 28 to 24.
There's more. An absolute thriller in Miami between the Hurricanes and the Seminoles. This one went to double overtime. FSU down eight. It is fourth and 21. So they had to go for a Hail Mary. Ashton Daniels caught for a touchdown. Seminoles celebrate. But there was a flag offensive holding the call. Florida State then tried another Hail Mary. No bueno! This time, so Miami survived by 43 to 35. They are now the top ranked team, reigning champs, Indiana.
They won 22 games in a row before their huge match up with fourth ranked Ohio State. The Hoosiers were down by 19 to seven in the fourth. After that, Jeremiah Smith touchdown, but they rallied down 19-15 with under 90 seconds to go, fourth and goal. Josh Hoovers going for Nick Marsh. He caught it! But he didn't position his feet in bounds. So instead of a touchdown, it's a turnover, on down to Ohio State holding on to win. Indiana's long winning streak is over.
So as I mentioned, the Miami Hurricanes are number one in the AP Top 25.
WHITFIELD: Wow!
RIDDELL: For the first time since 2002, BYU up to two, marking the Cougars highest ranking since their national championship season back in 1984.
Ohio State, Notre Dame and Georgia rounding out the top five --
WHITFIELD: That's a list!
RIDDELL: And just the times are a-changing. Transfer portal, NIL, like nothing is predictable anymore.
WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness! Not at all!
All right, Don Riddell. That was fun. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.
And we will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:59:00]
WHITFIELD: Hello again. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I am Fredricka Whitfield and we are entering the final stretch ahead of the critical November midterm elections and brand new polls show President Trump and Republicans facing an uphill battle to hold on to power in Congress with 16 days until the election. 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 is doing.
CNN's Poll of Polls also shows voters supporting Democrats over Republicans on the generic congressional ballot by a nine-point margin. The bleak numbers coming despite a frantic campaign on pace for President Trump. He has been crisscrossing the country almost daily to rally for Republicans and urge his supporters to pretend he is on the ballot.
CNN's Julia Benbrook is joining us now near the President's Florida home, where he is taking a rare day off from the campaign trail. Julia, walk us through President Trump's campaign strategy to try and get these numbers in Republicans' favor.
[16:00:00]
