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Soon: Obama Campaigns For Dems In Tight Races In Ohio; Trump To Vote Early In Florida Before Campaign Rally In Georgia; CNN Poll Of Polls: No Clear Leader In Maine Senate Race; Collins Gets Boots In Maine Senate Races As Trump Admin Excludes Some Canadian Imports From Tariffs; Today: Harris Campaigns For Pappas In Key NH Senate Race; Clashes Break Out In Paris As Rioters Confront Police. Former Pres. Obama Set to Join Acton, Brown at Rally in Ohio; DOJ Sues to Block Alaska Senate Results if GOP Incumbent Loses; Netanyahu in Reelection Fight; Sources: Clashes Break Out in Paris as Protesters Confront Police. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired October 24, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

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[13:00:32]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we're just now 10 days away from Election Day in America. And today, both parties are bringing out their biggest stars on the campaign trail for dueling rallies as we enter this home stretch. Before rallying in Georgia later on today for Republicans in tough Senate and Governor races, President Trump is expected to cast his ballot in Florida along with the First Lady.

Also today, former President Barack Obama is campaigning for Democrats in two key Midwestern battleground states. He'll start in Cleveland, Ohio, just moments from now. And there he will campaign alongside former Senator Sherrod Brown and Amy Action, the Democrat, running against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy for governor.

Later today, Obama will head to Detroit to rally voters for Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in a high-profile clash against Republican Mike Rogers.

We've got a team of correspondents out on the campaign trail covering all of these critical races. Let's begin in Cleveland, Ohio, where former President Barack Obama will soon be onstage to campaign for Democratic candidates for Governor and Senate in Ohio.

CNN's Lauren Fox is there. Lauren, I mean, what do we know about Obama's closing message there? Something tells me he's getting close to entering the room because we're hearing the rousing applause.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this rally is just about to get underway in the critical battleground state of Ohio. And Democrats are hoping to turn back time here, Fredricka, because this used to be a place where Democrats could win statewide. Obviously, that has not been happening in the Senate race over the course of the last several cycles.

And right now, there's a huge question on whether that momentum is changing in the state of Ohio. We have been crisscrossing the state over the course of the last several days. And if you are a statewide Democrat in this state right now, you have to do a lot of things to win.

You have to make sure that the turnout in some of those rural counties doesn't go for Republicans in too big a numbers. You have to make sure the people in places that I'm standing, like Cleveland, get out to vote. And you have to ensure that you can bring back some of the counties in this state that have gone for Donald Trump, who have gone for Republicans in the last cycle, and turn those back to blue.

So that is part of why you have Barack Obama, one of the strongest closing messenger that Democrats have on their bench in Cleveland today, because that is exactly what Democrats are hoping to do. And, of course, over all of this is the very controversial ad that Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign has put out and stood behind, going after Amy Acton, that is featuring her estranged mother.

That has really struck a nerve with voters that I've been talking to on the Democratic side, on the Independent side, and even some Republicans making clear they are not happy with that ad. So I expect that that could also come up in today's remarks.

But we're going to hear from Barack Obama. They're going to hear from Sherrod Brown, who's running for Senate. And then, of course, Amy Acton, who is facing off in that competitive gubernatorial race. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Lauren. And tell me about the crowd there. I mean, is this a full house?

FOX: Well, it's certainly filling up. People are still streaming in for this event. And, obviously, this is a pretty big, sizable venue here. But it's also just about the enthusiasm, because people feel like the state of Ohio has not really been the battleground that it used to be for a couple of years now. And I think there's a sense that this year things could change.

So there's a lot of excitement in the crowd, a lot of enthusiasm. And, obviously, it all matters on who comes out on Election Day here. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll check back with you there in Cleveland. Lauren Fox, thanks so much.

All right, meantime, President Trump is starting his day in Florida, where he will soon join millions of other Americans who have already cast their midterm ballots. After voting, he travels to Georgia to hold a rally to boost turnout for GOP candidates there. CNN's Julia Benbrook is in Florida right now. Julia, the President has

been on the trail nonstop for weeks now. Walk us through his plans for today and the coming week.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He has been almost every day throughout this month. And he has been focused on turnout specifically. He is encouraging Republicans to pretend like he is on the ballot. He sees this as a way to motivate his base.

[13:05:05]

And the White House has been adamant that there is no more effective messenger for the Republican Party than the President himself. His approval ratings, though, have hovered near career lows. So many are wondering, hoping within the party that that message will still resonate in the same way.

But he will be back on the campaign trail tonight in Georgia. Right now, though, he is here in Florida, in Palm Beach County. And a White House official tells me that he will be participating in early voting in a matter of hours. We expect him to cast his ballot today.

And Election Day is just over a week away now. But data shows that more than 23 million Americans have already cast their ballots. And we are seeing some trends there. In several key states, Democrats make up a larger share of early voters than they did at this point two years ago, highlighting a Democratic enthusiasm edge that has also been evident in primary turnout, special elections and in polling data.

But of course, this recent data only shows who is voting, not what they're voting for. And Republicans typically prefer to vote on Election Day. So when it comes to that enthusiasm edge that I mentioned, Trump is looking to dismiss that. When he spoke at a rally in Fort Myers just last night, he said that he believes that edge is with his party. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This time, I mean, I've never seen they have countdowns to the midterm. I've never seen anything like it. I've never seen anything like it. And, you know, they talk about the energy. They talk about the energy and the Democrats.

But, you know, it's the fake news. The Republicans have far more energy. I see their energy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: So, again, we expect him to vote here before taking off for Georgia. There he will be stumping for the GOP Senate candidate Mike Collins, who is facing off against the incumbent Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff. This is one of those seats that Republicans are hoping to flip.

Now, after that, Michigan tomorrow. Then early next week, we expect Trump to make stops in Mississippi, in Texas and Ohio. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Another very busy week. All right, Julia Benbrook, thanks so much.

All right, let's talk more about some of the races that we're watching this hour. With us now is James Pindell. He's a political reporter for the Boston Globe. Good to see you, James.

JAMES PINDELL, POLITICAL REPORTER, BOSTON GLOBE: Nice to be back.

WHITFIELD: OK, well, let's start with Maine, where the Senate race between incumbent Republican Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson, it's getting a lot of attention on the campaign trail. I mean, where does that race stand right now?

PINDELL: You know, in fairness, this race has been stuck for about two months now. They even had four high-profile debates in two weeks. But really, this is neck and neck. And while Troy Jackson, the Democrat, does have the slight advantage, if you want to do that, over so many polls, it's still over so many polls within the margin of error.

Look, the polling last time that Susan Collins ran in 2020 showed her losing by even more than she is now, and clearly she won. So the polls were off on that and surprised victory. But the truth is, Donald Trump is less popular now than he was six years ago. And Susan Collins is less popular now in Maine than she was six years ago. This is a different environment.

And Democrats are concerned that their candidate is not bringing it home to the degree they thought they should. So who knows on that race?

WHITFIELD: Wow, but it is remarkable that it's so tight with Troy Jackson being such a late add. So, you know, Collins in general, she did get a boost from the Trump administration on Friday, which said that it would exempt some products from its tariffs on Canada. And obviously trade, you know, with the neighbor to the north is a big issue for New Englanders. How much will that actually potentially move the needle toward Collins?

WHITFIELD: You know, when it comes to these developments, it's how do these news developments fit into the larger narrative? And here it's a perfect fit into the narrative. Look, the idea here during the campaign has been that Susan Collins says, look, I've never voted for Donald Trump. I've never endorsed Donald Trump. But I do have a lot of seniority.

She is the Senate appropriations chair, and she does have access to the White House. But she argues that no Democrat ever would. And down the line, particularly in the last two or three weeks, she has shown how on this issue or that issue, she can tweak things. She can get the White House to change. And that's why she's the only thing that can insulate Maine from the next two years of a Trump presidency.

So this fits right in line to it. But I got to remind you, early voting is already happening in Maine. WHITFIELD: Yes.

PINDELL: Heck, Susan Collins even voted before that announcement was happening. But she's been doing this trip, trip, trip, town by town. And here's more money coming to the town and where I stand.

[13:10:01]

But, you know, overall, and that is what -- and that's what polling says. Polling says that Mainers agree she'd be more effective. They also say that they wanted Democrats to control the Senate. And that's been the rub the entire time.

WHITFIELD: OK, well, still in New England. Former Vice President Kamala Harris campaigning today in New Hampshire with Democratic Senate candidate Chris Pappas. And he's gotten a lot of love from the party with visits from potential 2028 presidential hopefuls such as Gavin Newsom, Senator Raphael Warnock and Pete Buttigieg.

And a recent poll has Pappas up actually by about eight points. Does it look like Democrats, you know, are are buying that or are they still a little reticent? What's the feel?

PINDELL: It's a great question. Look, New Hampshire is a swing state. It has been for 30 years. For the last 10 years, the Statehouse has been completely controlled by Republicans and the federal delegation to Congress has been all Democrat. That's pure swing state.

And then you have two strong candidates in Chris Pappas and in John Sununu. But here's the reality. Because it's a swing state, where are the political headwinds? Currently, Donald Trump is at 32 percent approval rating in New Hampshire. 32 percent.

So there's really not a fair fight here for John Sununu. Chris Pappas has always long been the person who people thought was going to win. And what you're seeing in this activity is really a lot more to do with the New Hampshire primary in 2028. It's a safe place where these folks can go.

Look, South Carolina is supposed to start it. But I'm not sure a lot of Democrats want to be campaigning with some of these high-profile --

WHITFIELD: You think it's New Hampshire now?

PINDELL: -- Democrats in South Carolina. It's New Hampshire, and increasingly it's New Mexico, which has been an early primary state as well.

WHITFIELD: Also fascinating. All right, James Pindell, great to see you again. Thank you.

PINDELL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, less than two weeks now before the election, I mean, 10 days, the Department of Justice taking the state of Alaska now to court. More on the fight over certifying an election that hasn't even happened yet.

And next, clashes between rioters and police in France. Officers in at least one city using tear gas already to break up the crowds.

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[13:16:47]

WHITFIELD: We're following breaking developments out of France where peaceful demonstrations unfolded in several cities earlier today. And you see nightfall now, and it's raining. In Paris, like in other parts of the country, the demonstrations ended and were replaced then with clashes between groups of rioters and police who used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds.

And then on Friday, shops began boarding up their displays. Many popular spots like the Louvre are actually closed today. Again, live images right now. People still out on the streets. Some demonstrating, some onlookers, and certainly many of those who are considered demonstrators are meeting up with thousands of police officers who are also on the streets there.

Last weekend, as many as a million people actually took to the streets, and those demonstrations quickly turned violent with hundreds of people arrested. And then there was looting, and then there were fires of buildings and even of cars.

All of this unfolding now, today, on the eve of what would be the city of Paris' first ever NFL game. Tomorrow, the Pittsburgh Steelers are set to face off with the New Orleans Saints at the stadium.

CNN International Correspondent Clarissa Ward is joining us live now right there in the streets of Paris where there are a lot of people, demonstrators, police, all of them there. Give me an idea of what's happening there tonight.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, for the last couple of hours, it's been a pretty much constant volley of tear gas, stun grenades, the riot police, who you can probably see behind me. It looks like there's some kind of a charge happening there right now behind me (INAUDIBLE).

There's another stun grenade, and people are running. And this is the sort of pattern that we have seen playing out time and time over and over again over the last few hours. It had been very peaceful earlier on during the day. The march lasted a couple of hours.

More than 100,000 people reported to have attended here in Paris, more than 400,000 nationwide. But there have been these persistent clashes, as you mentioned, with the police, not just here in Paris, also in the city of Lyon, the city of Marseille, and elsewhere.

Now, one thing that's interesting, we're in a very different part of town to where the protests took place last Saturday. Last Saturday, it was really in a very central area. This week, in order to try to stop some of those scenes and the worst violence and looting that we saw last week, the police had -- I should say the authorities changed at the last minute the route of the protests and kind of pushed the protesters right out onto the very edge of central Paris.

So this is a very different area and has a very different characteristic. It's a much poorer area. We're not seeing, I should say -- I haven't seen any kind of looting. But we have been hearing constant chants of, everybody hates the police, and ACAB, ACAB, which is an acronym for All Cops Are Bastards.

[13:20:04]

And clearly, there is a lot of antagonism here from the people who are still out on the streets. And I should say as well, Fredricka, it's -- looks (technical difficulty) a lot of students, a lot of people (technical difficulty). Now it's still younger, but it does feel like the crowd is, for the most part, more antagonistic than they were earlier (technical difficulty) this is going to end.

But certainly, this was what Parisian and French authorities more broadly had really hoped to avoid today, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Clarissa Ward, we'll check back with you. Apologies, we have a little spotty signal there. But this is taking place right now under a lot of duress there just outside of central Paris, as Clarissa was explaining.

All right, for more perspective now on the regional impact, I want to bring in Jon Henley with The Guardian. He is a Europe correspondent based in Paris. Jon, great to see you, bonjour, or bonsoir, actually. It's evening there. But, you know, tell me, what have you seen -- right. What have you seen today, this evening, from your vantage point?

JON HENLEY, EUROPE CORRESPONDENTS, THE GUARDIAN: Well, I haven't actually officially been working today. I have a colleague who's been covering the protests. So I went about my normal day-to-day life in Paris.

And I think that is a -- you know, that's a point that's worth making, is that unless you're -- I mean, very often I think television viewers, you know, because the TV images are always the most spectacular ones, and kind of, you know, the car's on fire, and the rubbish bin's on fire, and the clash is with the police, and everybody gets the impression that, you know, the city, whole city of Paris, if not most of France, is, you know, is in a state of complete chaos.

It's really not the case. You know, unless you're actually on the route of the protest march, or you live around whichever square the protest march ends up in, then, you know, the city is completely normal. I went out and did my shopping. I had lunch.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

HENLEY: So, you know, I didn't see or hear anything.

WHITFIELD: Wow, that's fascinating. And Clarissa did explain that they kind of changed the route of the demonstrations, so it's, you know, just outside of central Paris, in the middle of a community, although communities are really everywhere, but I get your point.

But I wonder, even if you are on the outskirts of what's happening here, are you finding that residents and business owners feel rather conflicted, you know, wanting to push for lower prices, more affordability, and help the schools, which is central to these demonstrations, but also worried about whether their livelihoods, the livelihoods of so many people throughout France, can handle the intensity of these protests.

HENLEY: Yes, that's right. I mean, certainly, you know, shopkeepers and businesses who are on the actual route of any planned protest are, you know, are worried. And a lot of them today, as Clarissa was saying, have kind of boarded up their shops in, you know, in preparation for this protest. And, you know, some of them have been hiring private security. Some just completely shut up shop, completely.

And, yes, I mean, I think that the protests, the -- I think we really need to make a distinction between the demonstrations and the kind of, you know, the legitimate demands of the demonstrators, which are really to do underneath everything, are to do really with, as you were saying, the cost of living, you know, underinvestment in public services, budget cuts, government budget cuts, and just the general feeling, you know, that life has become more difficult.

And a lot of people in France obviously support that. What a lot of people in France don't support is what happens at the ends of these protests, which is a bunch of generally young people who are really don't share particularly the same demands or grievances as the actual demonstrators show up.

And they're really just looking for trouble. I mean --

WHITFIELD: So --

HENLEY: -- they're called casseurs in French. It means wreckers. And they come to look for a fight with the police and to do as much damage as they can.

WHITFIELD: So, Jon, you may not be able to see the live pictures that we're looking at right now while you and I are talking but, I mean, it is intense. I mean, we were just looking at what appeared to be, you know, law enforcement pulling, if not dragging, for lack of better words there, dragging someone who, you know, could have been a demonstrator or something. I don't really know what preceded that shot. And then now they're kind of surrounding the person.

I mean, it's very intense. It's very volatile. I mean, talk to me about the level of tolerance, shall we say, for the people there in France and what they're witnessing, whether it be on their live televisions or in person, and seeing this kind of clash, as you were describing, between people, whether they're demonstrators or people who are opportunists, you know, whoever they are, they are representing -- HENLEY: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: -- a clash with your law enforcement there. And it's very volatile --

[13:25:21]

HENLEY: I think -- it is very -- well, I mean, I would -- it's violent. I mean, it is very violent. And I think that can be really shocking for people outside France. I think it's worth saying the French are kind of used to these scenes, as shocking as it may seem to people outside France.

And there are kind of really longstanding kind of historical and political reasons for that. I think the first thing I'd say is that the role of the police in France is actually very different to the role, certainly, for example, in the U.K., where I come from, or from much of the rest of northwestern Europe. There, the police are seen really as, you know, the kind of the keepers of the peace, and their authority stems from the consent of the public.

In France, it's a very different tradition (ph). You know, the French police, it dates back to the kind of, you know, the Napoleonic state, which was really authoritarian and really centralized. And, of course, the Republic, the French Republic, which was born out of a revolution.

And the police's job here is to protect the state, right? It's to kind of maintain order, protect the state. And that's one side of the coin. On the other side of the coin, you have this extraordinary tradition in France of street protest.

You know, the Republic, as I said, was born out of an insurrection and a revolution. And since then, ever since then, French people have understood, and it's taught in schools, you know, that protest is your democratic right, and it's a completely legitimate (ph).

WHITFIELD: Well, Jon, we've lost some of your audio, but --

HENLEY: Yes?

WHITFIELD: Yes. It's a little spotty there, but you've made some incredible, beautiful points, and, you know, the historical relevance, which is really very important to grasp here. We know this protest and these demonstrations are not ending today and at this hour, so I'd love to have you back perhaps tomorrow or even next weekend if this is still carrying on. I want to hear more.

Jon Henley, thank you so much.

HENLEY: Pleasure.

WHITFIELD: All right, the Alaska Senate ballot might be a bit, a bit confusing. The Republican incumbent, Dan Sullivan, taking on Democratic challenger Dan Sullivan. But they've got different middle name initials. And now the Justice Department actually wants to get involved. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:30:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. Live pictures of Cleveland, Ohio, where very soon former President Barack Obama will be stumping for the Senate gubernatorial candidates there in Ohio. The crowd getting warmed up for a former president who often, when on the campaign trail, likes to ask them if they are fired up. We'll bring his comments live when he arrives.

All right. The U.S. Justice Department is now taking legal action in Alaska's Senate race before a single ballot has even been counted. On Friday, the DOJ filed a lawsuit to potentially block Alaska's results, but only if the Democrat there wins. The race features four candidates, including two with very similar names, incumbent Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan and independent challenger Dan J. Sullivan. The DOJ argues that similarity may confuse voters, even though the ballot identifies Dan S. Sullivan as the incumbent and lists him as a registered Republican.

Under Alaska's election system, voters have the option to rank candidates in order of preference. The Justice Department argues that, I'm quoting now, even if a majority of Alaskans wish to vote for Senator Sullivan, Daniel J. Sullivan's presence on the ballot will result in a victory for Mary Peltola, end quote, "the Democratic candidate." The president was asked about this lawsuit yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any thoughts of the Alaska lawsuit?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I'm the one that said, do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A spokesperson for incumbent Senator Sullivan said he will, quote, "Let the DOJ complaint run its course," end quote." While Peltola's campaign says this is an example of, quote, "The corruption Alaska is fed up with," end quote.

Joining me right now is Derek Muller. He is a professor of law at Notre Dame. Good to -- or Notre Dame, that's how we say it with the University of Notre Dame in France. We've been talking about these protests in France. All right. Professor, good to see you.

So, is this even in the jurisdiction of federal government since the state is to certify elections? What do you see the legal road ahead potentially for this DOJ challenge preemptively?

DEREK MULLER, LAW PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME: Yes, I think the legal challenge here is very weak. They cite a provision of federal law known as the National Voter Registration Act. By its title, you can tell that refers to voter registration. They cite the preamble to the act, which is sort of its findings and purposes, saying the goal is to protect the integrity of the election process. That is usually not a basis for striking down a law on a state or for enjoining the certification of an election in the state. So, they have one sort of legal hook that I think is very weak. Typically, this process plays out in the states.

[13:35:00]

In fact, months ago, there was litigation in the Alaska Supreme Court about this very problem of having a candidate who appears to be a sham candidate on the ballot with a similar name. The Republicans lost that case. And so, you know, as you've indicated, the ballot tries to distinguish the two candidates is the best way that the division of elections can here.

WHITFIELD: The lawsuit for the Alaska Senate race says, quote, "The United States likewise suffers an injury when the certification of the election for a federal office is tainted by a frivolous candidacy because that undermines confidence in the makeup and workings of the federal government." But don't they also have to prove that this was a frivolous candidacy?

MULLER: Well, right. So, the theory here is if the Democratic candidate wins and wins narrowly, they would want to get in there and try to show that there was some confusion that voters had between these two candidates. I think it's going to be very hard to show for one. I don't know the margin will be that close for another is a lot of technical things turn on how these candidates might be ranked. If you rank the two Dan Sullivans next to each other, it actually shouldn't affect anything in the outcome. If the Democratic candidate wins.

And then finally, it's really hard after the fact to sort of say, well, we're voters confused. We think that when voters communicate their preferences on the ballot by filling in a bubble for a candidate or ranking a candidate first, that's the best way of indicating what the voters actually want. It would be essentially impossible to come up after the election and say, well, let's dig around and try to figure out what the voters really wanted.

So, again, this is the kind of challenge that really should have been handled months ago. And Alaska Supreme Court considered many of these arguments hard to do in federal court now.

WHITFIELD: All right. Professor Derek Muller of University of Notre Dame, thank you so much.

MULLER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. The U.S. is not the only country getting ready for pivotal elections in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fighting to hold on to his job with voters heading to the polls Tuesday.

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[13:40:00] WHITFIELD: Right now, families of October 7th victims and former hostages are leading a mass demonstration at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv. They're gathering three days now before one of the most critical elections in Israel's history and demanding an independent commission of inquiry into Hamas' attacks three years ago.

CNN Jerusalem Correspondent Jeremy Diamond is watching this protest, this demonstration, joining us right now with the very latest. So, set the scene for us. What are you seeing and hearing from people?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, thousands of Israelis have come out here three days before the election for what many people here hope will be the last anti-government, anti-Netanyahu protest that they will have to come out to.

We are here in Hostage Square, which, of course, for the first two years of the war, of the hostage crisis, became the site of weekly Saturday night protests demanding a hostage and a ceasefire deal, demanding the release of the hostages, and in many ways protesting against the Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu. And tonight, three days before these critical elections, Israelis have come back out here tonight to demonstrate not only against the Netanyahu government, to raise their voices, but also to demand a national commission of inquiry, an independent commission that will look into the security failures that led up to October 7th.

This event tonight is sponsored by the October Council, which has been demanding for the past three years now that that commission be established, but Netanyahu and his government have refused to establish it over the course of these three years. Every single opposition candidate, however, has vowed that if they come into office to replace this current Israeli government, they will establish that national commission of inquiry.

And, indeed, tonight we have seen many of those candidates coming out here. Gadi Eisenkot, the chief rival to Benjamin Netanyahu, the man best positioned to replace him and to form a new government, came out here tonight. I asked him briefly how he's feeling about these elections. He said that he believes that they are going to win. I also saw Yair Lapid, another member of the opposition, who also told me that he feels confident in victory.

The polls, though, are very, very tight for these elections, Fred. Neither the opposition bloc nor the Netanyahu government right now showing that they are going to get a majority, a 61-seat majority that's necessary to form a majority government. But Eisenkot has indicated something else. He has said that if they do not reach that majority 61-seat threshold, he is prepared to form a minority government, a very potential scenario in these elections here. We will see whether it indeed comes to that, whether his party gets the largest number of seats in these elections set for Tuesday.

But, again, we've also seen many Israelis here who have flown in from abroad as well to come in and vote in these elections. They could be a critical factor in helping to defeat Benjamin Netanyahu if indeed that comes to pass. Fred. WHITFIELD: All right. Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv, keep us posted. Thank you so much. All right. We're also learning that the U.S. is racing to relocate some diplomats and their families from the Middle East as concerns grow about a new flare-up in the war with Iran. Sources familiar with the matter described the departures as, quote, "frustrating and chaotic." Many families affected just moved back to the region after being evacuated during initial hostilities with Iran.

[13:45:00]

An unclassified memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio says U.S. intelligence found that Tehran has ramped up efforts to target U.S. personnel and that plotting efforts have reached what it calls advanced stages. The move comes as President Trump has suggested that he could relaunch strikes against Iran after the midterms.

In Ohio, a controversial campaign ad in the governor's race is drawing criticism from both sides and we're now learning more about the troubled past of the woman doing the talking, the candidate's mother. That story is next.

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[13:50:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. Back to the scenes just outside central Paris where volatile protests have become even more heated. You see there, water cannons being used against the demonstrators. Look, these protests started out as demonstrations against deteriorating schools throughout France, and they have since grown into demonstrators talking about and showing their sentiments about the overall high cost of living, and they've come out in big numbers. We heard our Clarissa Ward reporting earlier how these demonstrations have kind of been cordoned to an area just outside of the central Paris.

So, this is not happening all throughout Paris, but there are demonstrations like this dotted around the map of France. But right now, you're looking at these scenes just outside of central Paris just moments ago. We'll keep you posted on these very volatile and heated demonstrations.

Meantime, in this country, in the heated race for Ohio governor, new details are emerging about the troubling past of Democratic candidate Amy Action's estranged mother. She was featured in a controversial ad for Republican Vivek Ramaswamy calling her daughter a liar.

But in court records obtained by CNN, Acton's mother was the one charged with fraud multiple times. Acton's stepfather was indicted for sexually abusing her when she was just 12 years old. Acton's mother, who has not spoken to this candidate in decades, fled with this candidate's stepfather until he passed away as a fugitive. CNN's Brian Todd has more on the disturbing past of this woman now in the middle of a midterm firestorm.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have new information from court documents which shed more light on the troubled past of Amy Acton's biological mother. Court documents from a case in Pennsylvania in the spring and summer of 2021 say that Donna Arthur was found guilty of neglect of animals. News reports from that time, which cited court documents, say that Arthur was arrested after four five-day-old kittens were found locked in her, quote, "filthy vehicle" with the windows rolled up and the temperatures inside reaching about 120 degrees.

The reports say a Humane Society police officer who responded to the call described feeling a, quote, "wave of heat" release when he opened the door. And they say a staffer at a local animal rescue nonprofit testified that one of the kittens later died from heat exhaustion. Donna Arthur at the time disputed that the car was dangerously hot. She was given a fine and sentenced to probation. Arthur appealed the conviction, which was later vacated, we should say, because of a procedural error.

But the appellate court did not overturn the conviction on its merits. CNN has also obtained court documents regarding the alleged rape of Amy Acton by her stepfather. One document from July 1978 says Amy Acton's biological father lodged a formal complaint then against the stepfather, alleging that the stepfather engaged in, quote, "sexual conduct" with someone who was less than 13 years old.

The documents say the stepfather pleaded not guilty to rape charges on July 18, 1978. They indicate that he was indicted by a grand jury in September of 1978, but that the following month, October of that year, he vanished and became a fugitive. The stepfather never stood trial. He died in 2004.

We also have documents from three fraud cases involving Donna Arthur. She was charged with fraud three times in Pennsylvania, in July 1995, January 1996, and March 1996. She pleaded guilty in the 1995 case and was found guilty in the January 1996 case. In that last case, though, in March of 1996, she was declared a fugitive. CNN has attempted several times to reach Donna Arthur for comment on these matters. We have not been able to get a response.

And there is also new sound resurfacing of Donna Arthur saying in a 2020 interview that Acton's stepfather was accused of rape by another child, his own daughter. Donna Arthur gave that interview to the extremist anti-abortion group Operation Rescue. In it, she indicated that one of the stepfather's biological daughters had accused him of rape. Here is a clip from that interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNA ARTHUR, AMY ACTON'S ESTRANGED MOTHER: Him and his wife were divorced, and his oldest daughter lived with him, and he was -- he always made her do her homework, do this and that, and she wanted to run around. She had accused him of rape, and -- but that was dropped too, because it never hap -- "

(END VIDEO CLIP) [13:55:00]

TODD: Never happened is presumably what she says there. The audio drops out there at the end of that Operation Rescue interview. CNN has reached out to Donna Arthur for comment on the audio. She has not responded.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Brian Todd, thank you so much for that. All right. It's a busy day on the campaign trail all across the country with presidents, former presidents out trying to energize voters. We're live in the battleground states.

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