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Trump DOJ Sues to Block Results If Alaska GOP Senator Loses; Obama Returning as Campaign "Closer-in-Chief" for Democrats; France Braces for Another Weekend of Protests; Russia, Ukraine Agree to Local Ceasefire in Oleshky; Trump Revives Idea of Military Intervention in Cuba; DNC Targets GOP on Epstein With YouTube Ad Blitz; NASA Lays Out Plan for Artemis III Moon-Lander Test Flight. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired October 24, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

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SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London. Let's go straight to our headlines.

President Trump on a final sprint to Election Day, with former President Obama also about to hit the campaign trail. We're going to look at some of the most crucial midterm races.

Plus the Trump administration preemptively files a lawsuit in Alaska's U.S. Senate race if the Republican incumbent loses. We're going to explain what that's all about.

And French authorities want to avoid scenes like these as they prepare for yet another round of major protests. Today, we're going to go live to Paris with the latest.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Salma Abdelaziz

ABDELAZIZ: American voters are now just 10 days away from Election Day. And in the coming hours, president Trump will vote early in the 2026 midterms. A White House official confirmed the president and first lady will cast their ballots in Palm Beach County, Florida.

This is according to data compiled by CNN, that more than 23 million early votes have been cast as of Friday. After he votes, the president will continue his midterm campaign blitz. He's going to be in Georgia later today, Michigan on Sunday, then heads to Mississippi on Monday.

And on Tuesday he will make two stops in Texas and then on to Ohio on Wednesday. Now as he was leaving Washington on Friday, the president said he's confident Republicans will win. But he does have a plan if Democrats gain control of Congress in the midterms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: I think the Republicans are going to win. But if there was, as you call it, gridlock, what happens is I veto everything. And then the Democrats come and they want to make a deal.

You veto, veto, veto and then they come and they say, how do we get it done?

And you make a deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: The president also says he told the Justice Department to file a lawsuit to block certification of Alaska's Senate election if the Republican incumbent loses. Senator Daniel S. Sullivan is in a tight race with the Democratic candidate.

But there is also a Daniel J. Sullivan on the ballot. Now Alaska uses a ranked choice voting. So four candidates are on the general election ballot. The DOJ lawsuit argues that the situation could confuse people and divert votes from the incumbent. The president talked about this lawsuit on Friday.

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QUESTION: Any thoughts on the Alaska lawsuit?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, I am the one that said do it. They have two guys running named Dan Sullivan running. So the Democrats put up a guy, never -- I don't think he ever voted before, all of a sudden he decides to run for the Senate and his name is Dan Sullivan.

One is Daniel S. one is Daniel J. The Daniel J. is the fake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Now the lawsuit is the latest attempt by the Trump Justice Department to insert itself into the administration of elections. According to the Constitution, elections are run by the state. Some legal experts say the lawsuit is baseless.

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EMILY WATERS, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA: Their claims that somehow the motivation behind Daniel J. Sullivan's entry into the election makes a difference in the campaign doesn't really give rise to a claim in my humble opinion.

Again, Judge Zeman addressed this previously in state court and said there's no problem if somebody enters a race to harass or distract. As long as they follow procedures, their motivations for being on the ballot are irrelevant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: In California, the Trump administration is focusing on alleged voting by non-citizens. The Justice Department is telling state election officials to identify suspected non-citizens on voter rolls and set aside their mail in battles ballots.

The DOJ's letter also says California officials could face criminal liability if they knowingly count a ballot cast by a non-citizen.

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Earlier this month, the administration sent the state a list of voters it believes are likely not American citizens. But the Los Angeles County clerk says his office has not received the verifiable information it would need to withhold those ballots from counting.

Now president Trump has been crisscrossing the U.S. for last-minute rallies ahead of the midterms. Many of his stops have been in areas that have long been Republican strongholds. And now even his own back yard of Florida is in play. Listen to this breakdown.

ADAM CANCRYN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, oil prices have been the dominant political story now, in the days leading up to the midterms.

And frankly, they've been the dominant political story for the last eight months since the U.S. attacked Iran and started this war that has now dragged on with no real end that we can see in sight.

And you can see the political damage here now, both in the polling and in voters' frustration with the rising cost of both gasoline and everything else that relies on oil, whether it's diesel, whether it's just basic everyday goods that people are seeing prices go up.

And we've also seen it politically, just the fact that president Donald Trump has had to come here to southwest Florida, which is typically a reliably Republican district and Florida, a reliably Republican state.

Now, 11 days before the midterms, he's having to come here, try to juice turnout, convince Republicans that they should come out in a few days and vote down-ballot congressional Republicans in and prevent Democrats from taking back both the House and the Senate.

It's a real illustration of the uphill battle that Republicans and Trump are seeing. He's going to keep doing this right through the end of the tape. He's traveling near daily. But again, not to a bunch of swing districts, not to a bunch of states with tossup seats.

This is real dominant Trump country that he really just needs his MAGA voters to come out and vote. That's the main challenge here for the White House at this point.

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ABDELAZIZ: Former president Barack Obama is hitting the campaign trail in the final days of the midterm election cycle. Later today, he will be campaigning in Ohio and Michigan. Then he finishes out his campaign blitz on Wednesday in Georgia. To discuss this more, we have Mark Shanahan. He is a research fellow

at the University of Surrey.

Good morning to you, Mark. Thank you so much for joining us. As we just mentioned there right now, Ohio and Michigan are absolutely in the crosshairs over the next couple of days.

You have Obama heading there today. You have Trump heading to Michigan tomorrow.

What does that concentration of presidential firepower tell us about that battleground?

And which president is better placed here to turn out the voters that his party needs?

MARK SHANAHAN RESEARCH FELLOW, UNIVERSITY OF SURREY: Ohio, Michigan, the Upper Midwest will once again decide this election. It could be that it's the Senate seats flipping -- or not flipping in the case of Michigan -- that could bring the Democrats into power in the Senate.

There are a number of House races. There's probably only 20 House races in the country that are really, really competitive. But a number of them are in Ohio and Michigan and they are really important for the Democrats to win.

Trump is a bit of an anchor, a bit of a drag on his party at the moment. He is not on the ballot. he's never going to run for election again but. He has made himself the center of this race.

He really feels that he needs to shore up that MAGA vote, the Republican votes, in the Upper Midwest and in a few other places that he's hitting over the next few days, because even what we saw as clear red states are now coming into play.

Who'd have thought even that places like Kansas could be in a race here?

But it is. Obama, he has the legacy of being a past president. He is still seen as cool. He's not lagging hugely in the polls. His approval rating doesn't matter. Trump's is down in the mid 30s at the moment.

He is not being well regarded for this Trump 2.0 presidency at the moment, particularly this year with an unpopular war, with not seeming to understand the concept of affordability and really not getting that prices at the pumps and prices in the supermarkets are what really will define the outcome of this election

ABDELAZIZ: It's absolutely about the cost of living. We've seen that in poll after poll. But let's talk about president Trump's strategy here.

Because as he crisscrosses the campaign trail, is he actually giving Republicans an effective closing argument?

[05:10:03] Or is he making it more difficult to escape this as a referendum on his own presidency?

SHANAHAN: He's made this a referendum on his own presidency. He should be crisscrossing the country, talking about solutions, talking about what Congress can do in its next term to address the cost of living crisis, to bring the war to an end, to support him in sorting out the major problems that the United States faces.

But too much of the time he seems to be concentrated on riffing off his greatest hits as he has done and delivering much the same stump speech as he has since 2016. The difference now is that he'll talk about ballrooms and a triumphal arch and all that he's doing in Washington.

Excuse me.

This doesn't matter to most Americans. They want to know how they're going to afford health care. He doesn't seem to have an answer on that.

They want to know why their rural hospitals are closing. He doesn't seem to have an answer on that.

They want to know why it's costing them hundreds of more each month to go to the supermarket. These are issues that he seems to be inured from. He seems to live in a bubble, surrounded by people who are not racing and certainly not raising solutions with him around this.

He loves campaigning. He loves being out on the trail. But he campaigns for himself, not for those Republicans in districts, in Senate seats, even in local elections. There are over 1,000 elections across the country that he should be supporting.

Unfortunately, this feels much more about him than about the good of the party to be able to deliver on its mandates.

ABDELAZIZ: Trump and Obama, again, will be in Ohio, in Michigan, to battleground states, making those final appeals, those final appeals, right before the midterms. Thank you so much for that analysis from Mark Shanahan. Thank you.

France is on edge and bracing for mass demonstrations in the coming hours. It is now shortly after 11 am in Paris. Authorities have launched a massive security operation to prevent a repeat of last weekend's riots.

Some 70,000 police officers and additional troops are being deployed all across the country. France's main student union is calling for a major demonstration in the capital this afternoon.

And one of France's largest trade unions says it will join. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected on the streets and the unrest extends beyond France. Mass protests are also expected in Rome and Milan. This is part of a wider wave of discontent across Europe in recent

weeks. Demonstrators are demanding action on the rising cost of living, dismal job prospects and other economic and social issues. For more on this latest wave of demonstrations, I want to bring in CNN correspondent Stefano Pozzebon. He is standing by live for us in Rome.

But let's first go to senior international correspondent Melissa Bell, joining us from the streets of Paris.

Melissa, this is extraordinary. It started as a student movement and it has now morphed, expanded into this broad coalition that includes trade unions, farmers, climate activists.

What can we expect today from such a broad coalition?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, authorities really couldn't have gone to any greater lengths to try and ensure that we did not see this Saturday any repeats of those scenes that so shocked not just France but the world on the streets of Paris but other French cities last Saturday.

Not just the 70,000 police officers, gendarmes, military personnel who are going to be on the streets of France today, Salma, but also this decision and these moves that we've seen over the course of the last week to ban -- to impose curfews on certain French cities, to ban most protests.

That is the case in many French cities today. Many protests, demonstrations have been banned, including the big Yellow Vest one that was planned here in Paris. What they have approved and what president Macron said they would only approve are those that were planned by the unions.

And yet even that one, the major union protests led by the CGT here in Paris today, was due to go from Bastille to Nation, which are fairly central Parisian points that are usual, the usual start and end on these kind of routes.

At the very last minute yesterday, that was banned by authorities, they say, in the wake of that attack that we saw on the outskirts of Paris yesterday, that saw someone, a man, go on the rampage with an automatic weapon, killing one person and leaving several others critically wounded.

Instead, they've moved it to here. This is the official union protest will be taking place here from the Place d'Italie going around the periphery really.

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Still inside Paris technically, Salma, but the periphery toward the Chateau de Vincennes, that is very much outside of the center and very much outside of the kind of routes that these protests normally follow. So a great deal of anger about that.

The unions went to the judiciary to try and get that overturned. That has just now been left in place. So this is indeed where that protest will start later today. We are expecting a lot of people here on the streets of Paris, of course, Salma.

But already on the streets of Orleans, which is a couple of hours drive to the south of Paris, there are pretty big crowds because what is happening there today is that the far-right National Rally is holding its annual congress, launching its six-month campaign for the presidential race.

And there are huge counter demonstrations that are planned there for the National Rally. We expect about 5,000 party members to be there this Saturday. That will be double on Sunday.

In terms of the counter protests, we're expecting many tens of thousands to take part, to say no to the National Rally. So that will likely be the focus of a lot of the activity that you'll see today, a lot of the crowds, a lot of the police effort, as will this part of Paris, as reluctantly, the unions lead a march here around the periphery of the city. Salma.

ABDELAZIZ: Melissa Bell there with a preview of that massive security presence behind you it's hard to look away from before these demonstrations take place. As you said, banned, banned, banned. That seemed to be the key word. So many protests that will not be allowed to take place alongside the ones that will.

I want to go now to Stefano Pozzebon, who is standing by for us live in Rome.

Very similar to what we're seeing in Paris there, Stefano. There have been some intense restrictions that Italy has put into place, including tougher legal penalties which have just been put into place to quell some of these demonstrations.

Can you explain these new measures to me and how they could impact the demonstrations today?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, indeed. Salma the government drafted and then published on Wednesday this week a swift new law and order decree that, among its measures, include the deployment of 500 military troops.

So 500 members of the army to the city of Milan to support the local law enforcement and in particular grants the police new powers in dealing with underage protesters.

This is because the vast majority of the people that were brought in for identification last week during the clashes in the city of Milan, the capital of Lombardy and the economic capital of Italy that has seen the lion's share of the clashes in these countries so far.

The vast majority of those apprehended were underage. We're talking about 15, 16, 17 years old. And so from now on, the police will be able to detain, preemptively detain underage protesters to prevent them from going out straight after they have been brought in for identification. This is the first measure that the Meloni government has brought in.

The process here in Rome will gather far later today. So we'll bring them to you in the subsequent hours on CNN.

At least four different gathering points have been rumored to be active in the streets of Rome. One of them, for example, is indeed from Meloni's own supporter. So there could be also the potential for clashes between pro and against Meloni demonstrators on the street.

But one thing that is particular of the nature of the protests here in Italy is that these movements are gathering on social media. They're using Telegram chats, for example or encrypted boards to gather at the very last minute.

These, according to the organizers, is to avoid the police checkpoints that are already popping up here and out in the in the Italian capital. And this is why we're going to be far on the -- fast on the streets to understand where is that the protesters are gathering up.

I think it's fair to say, Salma, that the vast majority of the Italian public opinion was shocked by what they saw in Milan, that explosive anger on display, the violence, the looting in particular and that there is, at least from the government side, the firm intention not to allow those scenes to repeat again, Salma.

ABDELAZIZ: Discontent and frustration pouring out on the streets of Rome and many other Italian cities. And police and troops standing by. Stefano Pozzebon in Rome. Thank you so much for joining us.

There is much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM. After a deadly attack in the West Bank, Israel has started demolitions in the city of Hebron, saying it will destroy what it calls terrorist infrastructure. We are live in Jerusalem.

Plus a possible way out for residents that are stranded in a Ukrainian town occupied by Russia.

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ABDELAZIZ: We have breaking news out of Ukraine. The country's defense ministry is confirming that it is (sic) full access to the Starshield satellite service has been restored.

The statement says officials are recording speeds of more than 400 kilometers -- that's about 250 miles -- an hour. But at least some units say the speed in their region is still a bit lower.

The Starshield service is the military grade version of Elon Musk's Starlink internet service. It is crucial for some operations but it was abruptly slowed down last week. It is still unclear who ordered those restrictions.

Meanwhile, there is some hope on the horizon for people stranded in a Ukrainian town that is occupied by Russia. Kyiv and Moscow say they have agreed to a local ceasefire in Oleshky.

U.S. first lady Melania Trump helped secure this deal along with Pope Leo. He raised the crisis with Russian president Vladimir Putin after the pontiff's cancer surgery last week.

[05:25:00]

About 2,000 people, most of them elderly residents, remain in the town. They face severe shortages of food, water and medicine. The truce is expected to begin next week, with aid deliveries to follow. Residents will be given the option to evacuate either to Russia or Ukraine.

Now to the occupied West Bank. The Israeli military is demolishing buildings in the city of Hebron. Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a military checkpoint near Hebron on Friday, killing two Israeli troops and wounding three more. The assailants were shot dead in a gunfight that lasted some 20 minutes.

And all of this is coming just days before crucial elections in Israel. Oren Liebermann is live for us in Jerusalem.

Good morning to you, Oren. So we have these building demolitions and forced evacuations that are taking place in a neighborhood in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, as we just reported there.

Is this part of a wider military operation that will take place?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: The answer to that at this moment is that there is the potential for that.

Shortly after the shooting attack that killed two Israeli soldiers, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he ordered the closure of Hebron. And then in Hebrew, he said he ordered the closure of the West Bank.

Well, that, it turns out, didn't happen. And in subsequent statements, basically Netanyahu and others left open the possibility of a wider military operation.

So from what we see now, the military operation that is evacuating a neighborhood in the city of Hebron, demolitions that we're seeing taking place, that seems isolated to a specific area.

But there is certainly the possibility for that to grow. Israel's response here in the hours after the attack was very quick. And the speed and the scale seems to be part of the message.

And given that we're just a few days here before elections, it seems like that message has a political aspect to it.

Netanyahu is trying to show that he remains Mr. Security. Obviously, that reputation that he had tried to build took a severe beating and hasn't quite recovered from the myriad failures of October 7th, 2023, for which he has failed to take any responsibility.

So this looks like it's part of trying to build that up. How quickly, how -- on what scale the Israeli military can operate after there is an attack and certainly one that kills soldiers in the West Bank.

Netanyahu said they're going to effectively replicate the model that they used in the Palestinian refugee camps in the occupied West Bank; that is, evacuate an area, displace thousands or tens of thousands of people and go in and destroy anything that they deem is terrorist infrastructure.

And that looks like what we're seeing right now play out here. This is coming from Netanyahu and his hardline right-wing government and it was implemented on a speed which, although we have seen demolitions before, of attackers, homes and family homes, this was implemented so quickly.

And that part of it very much looks like a political statement before the elections.

ABDELAZIZ: Oren Liebermann there on Netanyahu trying to maintain his reputation as Mr. Security, as you said, right ahead of those elections. Thank you so much for that update from Jerusalem.

To Jordan, where at least eight people were killed in an unprecedented shooting at a church. Gunmen opened fire during a funeral service. This was attended by Christians in the southern Karak province.

This is security camera footage showing the gunmen near the church. Now Jordan's king is calling the attack a terrorist act and says those responsible will be dealt with harshly. It is not clear who the gunmen are or what motive they may have had. A manhunt is now underway.

The father who shot and killed a gunman at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon, is speaking out for the first time. He says he followed the 16-year-old shooter into his daughter's school after seeing him carrying a gun. The gunman killed three children and a teacher before he was able to stop him.

In an emotional interview with Oregon Public Broadcasting, Kaylub Giamanco recalled breaking down in the aftermath on a call with his mom.

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KAYLUB GIAMANCO, CARPENTER AND MILITARY VETERAN: I called my mom. And I told her -- you know, I called her, and I was like, Mom, I just had to take the life of what I think might be a child, because he went into my daughter's school with a gun.

And she was just like, OK, baby, calm down. You know, you did the right thing. You're a hero. You saved lives.

And then I just kind of broke down at that point. And I was just like, you know, I didn't save everybody. I didn't get them all. And I kind of just broke at that point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, we'll take a look at how former president Barack Obama is pitching in to help Democrats gain seats in Congress this November.

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ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

France is deploying 70,000 police and additional troops across the country as authorities brace for major demonstrations planned for today. The government is trying to prevent a repeat of last weekend's unrest.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take part in these demonstrations over education, the rising cost of living, dismal job prospects and other issues.

Trump's Justice Department has filed a lawsuit to block the results of Alaska's Senate election if the Republican incumbent loses. Senator Daniel S. Sullivan is in a tight race with a Democratic challenger.

But the DOJ lawsuit argues that another candidate on the ballot, Daniel J. Sullivan, could confuse voters and divert votes from the incumbent.

The White House confirms president Trump and the first lady will cast their midterm ballots in Palm Beach County, Florida, today. After he votes, the president will continue his campaign blitz. He'll be in Georgia later today and Michigan on Sunday before heading to Mississippi on Monday.

Meanwhile, former president Barack Obama is also hitting the campaign trail as he attempts to drum up excitement for Democratic candidates.

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CNN's Arlette Saenz has the latest for us.

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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the campaign's final stretch, Democrats are turning to the most popular figure from their party's recent past to secure a Senate majority for the future.

BARACK OBAMA (D), 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm fired up. I'm ready to go. SAENZ (voice-over): Former President Barack Obama is reprising his role as a closer on the campaign trail for an election he's described as, quote, "on the razor's edge." Up first on Saturday --

OBAMA: Hello, Ohio.

SAENZ (voice-over): -- Cleveland, Ohio, where Obama will campaign with Senate candidate Sherrod Brown and Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for governor who was thrust in the spotlight after her GOP opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, released a controversial ad featuring her estranged mother.

OBAMA: Amy understands that leaders should solve problems, not create them.

SAENZ (voice-over): That same day, Obama heads north to Michigan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Barack Obama.

SAENZ (voice-over): Where he last campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

OBAMA: But I was feeling some kind of way following Eminem. I'm nervous. But on the surface, I look calm and ready to drop bombs. But I keep on forgetting.

SAENZ (voice-over): This time, he'll appear with Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, hoping to boost support among Black voters in Detroit, who could be crucial to deciding the election.

OBAMA: That's why I'm asking you to support Abdul El-Sayed.

SAENZ (voice-over): Obama rounds out his campaign swing in Georgia on Wednesday with Senator Jon Ossoff and Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic candidate for governor.

OBAMA: I hope you'll support my friend, Keisha Lance Bottoms.

SAENZ (voice-over): The former President is promoting Democrats across the midterms map.

OBAMA: Troy Jackson, Deb Haaland, send Roy Cooper to the Senate.

SAENZ (voice-over): Including with a stop in Texas, where Democrats have high hopes about turning a Senate seat and governor's office blue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President --

OBAMA: Good to see you, brother.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice to meet you, sir.

OBAMA: Good to see you.

SAENZ (voice-over): 18 years after a win in Iowa started his journey to the White House --

OBAMA: I got it. You ready for me, Josh?

JOSH TUREK (D-IA), U.S. SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I'm ready.

SAENZ (voice-over): -- Obama offering a boost to Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek.

OBAMA: Let's go. We playing horse or what?

TUREK: We're playing Iowa.

OBAMA: I know a little something about winning Iowa.

SAENZ (voice-over): And before the 2026 midterms even end, Obama is already turning his attention to 2028, urging candidates to prioritize plans to address artificial intelligence in their campaigns.

OBAMA: If somebody does not have a serious plan for how to deal with this, then they're not meeting the moment. And you should probably look for somebody else.

SAENZ: And this weekend, we'll have dueling presidential campaign appearances as president Trump will rally voters in Georgia on Saturday before traveling to Michigan on Sunday to campaign with Republicans there, one day after former President Obama is in the state.

And it comes as Americans view President Obama more favorably than any other living president. A CNN poll conducted back in May showed that 57 percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of Obama, which was higher than president Trump and all the other living presidents as well.

Now Obama is a main motivator for the Democratic base. The question is whether these appearances will be enough to get his Democratic candidates across the finish line -- Arlette Saenz, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: Ohio's Republican governor is now joining bipartisan condemnation of a controversial ad by GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. It features the estranged mother of his opponent, Amy Acton, calling her daughter a liar. Now Ramaswamy says he disagrees with criticism of the ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIVEK RAMASWAMY (R-OH), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They are lying about an ad that is about lying. Our ad had nothing, nothing to do with childhood abuse, sexual abuse. We condemn that as forcefully as anyone. Our ad was about a consistent track record of Amy Acton telling lies including during this campaign.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ABDELAZIZ: Now Acton says she has not spoken to her mother or seen her since she was 12 years old, when her mother lost custody of her children. Controversy over the ad has been growing for days. President Trump has sided with Ramaswamy and says he supports the incendiary ad.

Coming up next, Democrats across the U.S. are targeting Republican candidates who voted to block the release of the Epstein files. Coming up, how the controversy is playing out in Ohio's midterm races.

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ABDELAZIZ: Welcome back. The U.S. president is hinting at the prospect of military intervention in Cuba. Donald Trump spoke at a rally on Friday in southwest Florida, which is home to a large population of Cuban Americans and Latinos. Now polls suggest that many Cuban Americans favor U.S. military action on Havana.

Take a listen to what president Trump told that crowd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We'll take care of Cuba on our way back from Iran. We'll just -- We'll do a little stopover. No, we'll do a little stopover. Actually, what we're going to do with Cuba is we're going to come back from Iran. Those beautiful ships will pass Cuba.

We'll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast, they'll raise up their hands and then we're going to send Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio also posted this saying, quote, "To those who seek to create positive change in Cuba, now is the time.

"The disappointment of failed promises, corruption and the privileged lives of only a few seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete partnership with the CIA."

Cuba's foreign minister is pushing back against the U.S. ambitions toward the country. In a veiled message on social media, he said that while Cuba's coastline has beautiful beaches, it also has razor sharp spikes, especially for those who come to the island with a, quote, "lust for domination."

It is just over a week until the U.S. midterm election wraps up and Democrats are unleashing an Epstein ad blitz, targeting Republicans who initially voted to block the release of the Epstein files. The issue remains a consistent theme in races across the country. CNN's MJ Lee has the story for us. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein looms over the midterm elections in Ohio. You see it here in the Epstein reading room, where visitors have covered entire walls with Post-it notes.

[05:45:00]

Encouraging people to get out and vote. The emotions are most visible on the faces of Epstein survivors who are taking in the installation's latest stop in Columbus.

WENDY PESANTE, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Reality that -- it's huge. Like I know it is but to see it. That's where -- there are so many girls that still should have been found. People should know.

LEE (voice-over): Rows and rows of bookshelves filled with volumes of the Justice Department's Epstein files. Wendy Passante was barely 15 when she was abused by Jeffrey Epstein in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Now an Ohio resident, Wendy says she never imagined that her abuser would become a hot-button political issue so many years later.

PESANTE: This one decision, the bad decision that I made when I was a kid, has been thrown in my face over and over and over again.

LEE (voice-over): Epstein has been dead since 2019 but over the past year, the child sex offender has roiled American politics.

One big reason, President Donald Trump's past friendship with Epstein. Trump has denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein.

And here in Ohio, one local billionaire has also become a political lightning rod, Les Wexner, the former Victoria's Secret CEO, was named an Epstein co-conspirator in government documents. Wexner employed Epstein as his money manager and has long denied any wrongdoing related to the pedophile.

Downtown, the Wexner name is everywhere you look.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This building right here. Yes, the Wexner Center for the Arts. Not to be confused with the Wexner Medical Center, which is over there.

Kaleb Duarte and Murray Katkin organized protests on campus, calling on the school to get rid of the controversial name.

KALEB DUARTE, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENT: The Epstein issue allowed folks in our generation to understand the broader impact of those in power and how they protect their own power.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Jon Husted took more money from Epstein's co-conspirator than anyone in Congress. LEE (voice-over): Epstein has come up in the state Senate race, one of the marquee contests that will help decide who controls Washington after the midterms.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): While Senator Brown took 100 grand from Epstein associates.

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LEE (voice-over): At campaign events outside of Columbus, we pushed both candidates on the Epstein issue.

LEE: Do you think that the release of the rest of the Epstein files by the DOJ that that should be a top priority for members of Congress?

SEN. JON HUSTED (R-OH): Yes, I've always been supportive of releasing the Epstein files. What's out there is because of what that I made to make it happen.

You guys energize me so much.

LEE (voice-over): But neither Jon Husted nor Sherrod Brown is making Epstein their top issue weeks out from Election Day.

LEE: If you make it back to the Senate, how high would the Epstein issue rank in terms of your top priority?

SHERROD BROWN (D-OH), U.S. SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I don't know. I mean, my first priority is how to bring prices down. And you wanted to make this interview about Epstein. My focus is way more than that.

LEE (voice-over): On the first day of early voting, every person I speak to leaving the polling station says they care about Epstein survivors. But most of these voters I speak to here say Epstein is not a major factor in their vote.

LEE: Was that issue an important one for you when you were deciding who to vote for, the Epstein issue?

BETTY COX, OHIO VOTER: Yes, it was one of them. But you know, with our gas, food and everything going up in the war.

LEE (voice-over): Back in the reading room, Epstein survivors say they hope the midterm elections will show that voters are on their side.

SHARLENE ROCHARD, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Which should be at the forefront of any voter's mind, really. I think we're changing hearts and minds along the way.

LEE (voice-over): Wendy, the Epstein survivor based in Ohio that we interviewed, did tell me that she had never before really paid attention to politics but she is planning on voting for the first time this year and she will be voting for the Democrats.

She said, because she does believe that they have been better than the Republicans on the Epstein issue -- back to you.

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ABDELAZIZ: German police say that a suspect has been detained after a fire at the Eagles Nest. This is a favorite retreat of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

The fire broke out Friday. Around 200 firefighters and emergency crews battled the flames at the historic mountain guesthouse in the southern region of Bavaria. An investigation is now underway to determine if the suspect was connected to that fire. Authorities have not yet determined the motive behind the blaze.

Still to come, NASA plans to test two lunar landers next year as part of its Artemis III mission. After the break, the race between SpaceX and Blue Origin to get their spacecraft ready in time.

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ABDELAZIZ: Welcome back.

NASA is racing to get two lunar landers ready for a crucial test mission next year. Blue Origin and SpaceX are developing the spacecraft, which will be tested in low Earth orbit. CNN's Pete Muntean has the latest for us.

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PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: NASA on Friday gave a major update on the Artemis III mission. That's the critical test flight, planned for next summer, that's designed to pave the way for American astronauts to return to the moon on Artemis IV in 2028.

And a big part of that mission involves testing two privately developed spacecraft in what's becoming a battle of the billionaires. Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin are both developing lunar landers for NASA.

And the space agency on Friday said it is still not decided which one will carry the first Americans back to the lunar surface though NASA did lay out new details about how each company plans to get there.

SpaceX is developing its version of its enormous Starship rocket that could actually help propel NASA's Orion spacecraft toward the moon. Blue Origin is developing its Blue Moon lander using a series of rocket powered stages to make the journey. NASA says right now it is keeping all of its options open. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEREMY PARSONS, MANAGER, ARTEMIS PROGRAM: We intend to wait as long as possible to make a decision about which provider is ultimately going to provide the first American astronauts back to the moon in 2028.

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MUNTEAN: Here is what's especially interesting about the Artemis III test flight next summer. Four astronauts aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft would dock first with Blue Origin's lander, actually go inside it, then undock and rendezvous with SpaceX's starship.

All of that happens in Earth orbit. Essentially a dress rehearsal before either spacecraft attempts to land American astronauts on the moon. Remember, all of this is part of a much larger space race. NASA is trying to return Americans to the moon before China lands its own astronauts there -- back to you.

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ABDELAZIZ: Now to sports and Major League Baseball's World Series. The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 in Milwaukee on Friday night to win game one of the best of seven series. Now both teams are vying for their first-ever franchise title.

The Brew Crew came out swinging, putting two runs on the board in the first inning. The Rays tried to mount a comeback and nearly got there in the ninth inning with a double play overturned. But the Brewers' bullpen shut it down. Game two is tonight in Milwaukee.

The Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders have unionized after years of fighting for better pay. The NFL team has agreed to voluntarily recognize the union, clearing the way for collective bargaining with the most valuable sports franchise in the world.

The cheerleaders' pay has long been a source of controversy. It was highlighted in the Netflix series, "America's Sweethearts," before receiving a major pay raise last year. Some cheerleaders reportedly earned just $500 per game.

Thank you so much for watching. I'm Salma Abdelaziz. For our viewers in North America, "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. For the rest of the world, it will be "AFRICAN VOICES."