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Connect the World
Russia's War on Ukraine; U.S. Midterm Election Countdown; Zelenskyy and Witkoff Meet in Oslo, Kushner Joining Remotely; Protests across France as Country Struggles under Debt Crisis; Negative Market Sentiment against AI Shows No Signs of Easing; Alberta Votes to Remain Part of Canada; 2026 U.S. Midterm Campaigns to Be Priciest Ever; Ancient Turkish City Holds Origins of Santa Claus. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired October 20, 2026 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Christina Macfarlane here in
London, where the time is just after 3 pm.
All eyes are on Norway today, where Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is meeting with U.S. president Trump's top aides, Steve Witkoff and Jared
Kushner, who's joining remotely. We will be tracking whether this can patch up relations between the two countries that have hit an all-time low point
recently amid mutual distrust.
And we're just two weeks to go until the U.S. midterm elections. President Trump is using the French protests in a new pitch to voters. He's warning
that similar unrest could happen in the United States if Democrats win.
And with one week to go until Israel's elections, U.S. vice president JD Vance declines to follow his boss and endorse Israeli prime minister
Benjamin Netanyahu. We will unpack why.
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MACFARLANE: But first, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo, Norway, today in an effort to get
peace talks back on track. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is joining remotely.
The meeting comes amid growing tensions between Washington and Kyiv over intelligence sharing and how to end Russia's war with Ukraine.
U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio says he spoke with president Zelenskyy earlier today, insisting U.S. intelligence sharing remains unchanged. He
called claims that Ukrainians are dying because Washington is withholding intelligence as scandalous and outrageous.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The president made it very clear he's ordered no such changes. So none of that has changed, none of
it. And I see reporting that it has. But it's just not accurate.
I think at its core is the president is frustrated because he, first of all, he doesn't like to be blamed for things that aren't true, including
accusations that somehow he had ordered intel, intelligence sharing to be cut off. And that's not true. He's said that repeatedly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: And we will have more on reaction to Rubio's comments there later this hour.
President Trump's deepening rift with Volodymyr Zelenskyy comes with Election Day fast approaching, of course, in the U.S. And the crucial
midterms, which will determine the makeup of Congress, are now exactly two weeks away.
So does the president have voters in mind when he's making these harsh statements on Ukraine?
Let's bring in CNN Politics senior reporter Stephen Collinson to connect the dots for us.
So look, Stephen, it's been a busy time and a lot of rhetoric coming from the president in the past few days. We've seen this diesel deal and
sanction relief. And Trump is clearly trying to trying to give these economic lifelines to Russia as a shortcut now to try and bring prices down
at home.
But that has been receiving bipartisan condemnation on the Hill. Let's just take a listen to Republican senator Thom Tillis overnight, who put it like
this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Russians are lying. Putin is lying. Putin is playing president Trump like a fiddle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Do you think, Stephen, this could backfire on Trump?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I don't think it's going to backfire in the short term. Thom Tillis is a known Republican dissident
and he is leaving the Senate after the midterm elections.
It's true, there's been a growing amount of criticism inside the Republican Party about the diesel deal and Trump's general genuflection toward Russia.
That is something, I think, that could begin to build and could be difficult for the president if Democrats win both houses or one house of
Congress and couldn't hold hearings on the Russia issue.
I think what Trump is trying to do is first show Americans that he's being serious about trying to bring down diesel and gasoline costs, one of the
key issues in the election. He's casting about to blame Ukraine for the deficiencies of his own war in Iran and the impact that has had on
Americans in terms of rising energy prices.
So he's trying to deflect. But also, this is who he is. He sees the world, I think, very much like Vladimir Putin does. He is prone to, you know,
being flatter -- flattery toward strongmen.
There was something he said in the Rose Garden of the White House yesterday, was that Ukraine has done nothing for us. I think that really
sums up his world view and the breach that Trump has engineered with the foreign policy values of almost every other president since World War II.
[10:05:04]
MACFARLANE: Yes. And, Stephen, president Trump has been cutting deals closer to home as well. We saw at his Kansas rally last night that he
announced he's introducing an $8 billion aid package for farmers facing high diesel costs and fertilizer costs.
They, of course, make up a significant part of the constituency in so many of the tech states that he's going to be touring, that are falling behind,
like Iowa, Texas, Ohio. And it comes after he promised that $5,000 as well to every American should Republicans win control of Congress.
Are big promises like that going to move the needle for him, do you think still?
Or is it a case of too little, too late, at this stage?
COLLINSON: I think, I mean, a lot of academic study says that people decide who they're going to vote for in elections weeks ahead of time.
It's possible that some of these things can mitigate some of the damage at the margins if you've got a close race, for example, as they do in Kansas,
which nobody thought it would be close in the Senate election there.
Perhaps that can convince a few Republicans not to peel away and save the seat for Republicans in a very tight race. But more broadly, what the
president is doing increasingly is paying off Americans for his own failures.
The reason you need a diesel bailout is because prices shot up because of the Iran war primarily. This mirrors very much what happened when he
decided to wage a trade war with China. He ended up having to announce big packages of aid for farmers in places like Iowa.
So this is very much, I think, a consequence of the way that the president is running the country.
And those decisions, the decision to go to a war with Iran, the decision to wage a tariff war, not just with the rest of the world but specifically in
recent months, Canada, that is hurting Trump clearly, in states like Michigan, Ohio, Kansas and Iowa, as you mentioned.
MACFARLANE: Yes. And Stephen, I just wanted to get your quick thoughts, too, on Donald Trump's comments last night about the French protests, which
are, of course, happening on this side of the pond. Let's just take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If you want to see what is at stake in this election, just look at what's happening in France. A once great nation that is being conquered,
looted and burned to the ground by migrants, jihadists and communists who hate Christianity.
And they hate, frankly, the Western civilization itself. This is what's happening to France. They want to happen to our country. It's never
happening here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: I mean, this isn't really a new tactic, is it, from Trump to seize on these protests, to stoke xenophobia?
I guess the question is, how effective is that going to be with his base?
COLLINSON: Right. Well, you know, disruption favors the (INAUDIBLE). And that's clearly, as you say, what Trump is doing there, using xenophobia,
trying to create fear.
He's done this ever since the first moments that he jumped into the 2016 election race in 2015, using immigrants to try and create the impression
that there is a threat from the outside.
I think that has proven actually quite effective in the past. In the 2024 election, when he won those seven key swing states, that was a key part of
his message.
The question now, I think, is whether, with the economy in the state it is, with Americans so angry about their personal financial circumstances, are
they going to blame outsiders?
Do they really think what's happening in France is going to happen in the United States?
Or do they look, when they fill up their gas tank or get their grocery bill, at the decisions Trump has made, the promises to lower those costs,
which he hasn't fulfilled, and put the blame where they appear to be putting it, with the president himself?
So I think it's an interesting backdrop to the campaign, what's happening in France. And, of course, one of the great ironies is one of the things
driving the protests in France has been high energy prices.
And that itself is a result of some of Trump's policies. But you know, demagogues, when they make extreme choices and they create disruption,
ironically, that often feeds to their own political advantage.
COLLINSON: And Stephen, while we have you, I just wanted to pivot to elections happening in Israel, because we saw vice president Vance appeared
to break with president Trump on Israel's elections by declining to endorse Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We have a sound bite from him.
Just take a listen to that.
[10:10:00]
J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I endorse American candidates and that's where I'm focused on is the midterms. So I'm not
getting involved in the Israeli elections.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you're not -- you don't want to say one way or the other whether you --
VANCE: I'm not anti-endorsing him. I'm not fully endorsing him. I'm not getting involved in Israeli elections.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: "I'm not getting involved."
Stephen, just break down why Vance is creating that distance from Donald Trump on this issue.
COLLINSON: Well, first of all, the idea that he doesn't get involved in foreign elections is not really true because, remember, he effectively
endorsed AfD leaders in Germany, the far-right party there, during a visit last year that caused a great deal of consternation in Europe.
Clearly, what Vance is trying to do is to remind Republican voters of his more, let's say, isolationist tendencies.
It's widely believed that, although he has been loyal to the president over the Iraq war, he was much more reticent about launching that war in the
first place because of the way his, you know, because of his own political philosophy, which is much more, you know, in line with what Trump used to
preach.
Which was that the United States shouldn't get involved in more foreign wars. That is one of the occasions, I think, when Trump, when Vance is
thinking about what's to come, his possible presidential run in 2028.
It's a clear signal to Republican voters who believe that the Israelis got Trump involved in this war and he would have been a lot wiser to avoid
going to war with Iran on the basis of Israeli intelligence and assurances. That's a strong theme in one wing of the Republican Party.
And that's something that Vance increasingly has to worry about as he contemplates his own political future.
MACFARLANE: Stephen, there's so much at play, isn't there, in these two weeks in the runup to these midterm elections. We really appreciate you
walking us all through it and giving us your thoughts today.
COLLINSON: Thanks.
MACFARLANE: Thank you.
Well, as we mentioned, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting right now with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo. They are working to
restart peace efforts to end Ukraine's war with Russia.
Well, let's bring in former U.S. ambassador Stephen Sestanovich, who is joining us now to discuss this as we look at these pictures of president
Zelenskyy here moments ago in Oslo.
Ambassador, thank you so much for joining us. Earlier in the show, we were talking about the comments that we've heard from secretary of state Marco
Rubio, denying that the U.S. deliberately withheld support for Ukraine when it came to their intelligence sharing and other things.
In fact, he called it scandalous, the idea that the U.S. would not be offering support. And there's been this blame game circulating for days now
over who's responsible.
What is true, though, is that the restrictions have been real and that they have cost Ukrainian lives. We know that one 6-year-old girl was killed in a
stroller on Monday by a Russian drone strike outside of Kharkiv. So I just wanted to ask what you make of Marco Rubio's defense of Donald Trump and
who is telling the truth here.
STEPHEN SESTANOVICH, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR-AT-LARGE: Well, we don't know. president Zelenskyy has said that one thing he is going to be pushing
Witkoff and other American officials to explain is what the nature of this cutoff has been and the origins of it and how to reverse it, because he
says it's still happening.
And you know what the president has been saying is kind of shocking when you consider the impact that you just mentioned, which is that Russian
attacks are continuing and increasing.
And the president has said to, you know, what Russia has been doing is just fine, I think those were his words today. So the Ukrainian determination is
to try to get this behind us.
Whether it's a question of Musk, Hegseth, Trump, others, we don't know the answer to that. They want to find out but, even more, they want to get it
undone.
In addition, it seems as though they're going to be proposing, more, you know, an adjustment in the delivery of Patriots and some kind of connection
between that and a ceasefire.
MACFARLANE: Yes, yes. And as we're speaking to you, we're seeing images here of president Zelenskyy arriving in Oslo for that meeting. And look.
[10:15:00]
The friction between these two leaders, Donald Trump and president Zelenskyy, is something we've seen before. We know, of course, of Trump's
dislike of president Zelenskyy. That's nothing new.
But as you mentioned just there, the language toward -- Donald Trump's language toward Russia of late has been very troubling. Let's just take a
listen to that moment you just mentioned there from Donald Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I would do it, not so much for Ukraine because Russia, frankly, has been fine on Ukraine. They haven't been doing much. And the same thing with
China. We would have it to talk about nuclear weapons.
QUESTION: Zelenskyy says you're on the wrong side of history on this one.
TRUMP: Zelenskyy said it?
Zelenskyy doesn't know what he's talking about. Zelenskyy is a man that should have had this war settled a long time ago. I think it's time for
somebody else to negotiate on behalf of Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: So Ambassador, the language there, as you mentioned, is troubling. What's also troubling is Donald Trump's increased determination,
it seems, to force a deal on president Zelenskyy.
With that in mind, what do you expect is going to be the message to Zelenskyy in Oslo today?
SESTANOVICH: Well, the American position is still to try to get the Ukrainians to cease attacks on Russian oil refineries. Trump claims this is
the big source of increased gasoline and diesel prices. Nobody else seems to believe that.
But they definitely want the Ukrainians to cease those attacks. The Ukrainian response has been to say, you know, we are prepared to cease
those attacks if the Russians will cease their attacks on our energy infrastructure.
And they're really now trying to make it a relatively short-term thing. Zelenskyy has said we can have a 30-day ceasefire on energy infrastructure
attacks from both sides, during which you will supply us with more Patriots.
And if the -- if that can be done, you know, then, after 30 days, the ceasefire might lapse. This is a position that apparently Zelenskyy laid
out in a call with members of Congress yesterday. But it's sure to be on the agenda when he talks to Witkoff.
MACFARLANE: Finally, Ambassador, I want to ask you about president Trump's behavior at this moment, because we have seen in the past the president
making overtures to President Putin, you know, signaling a potential thaw in relations and then abruptly reversing course.
You know, I guess we've called it TACO, right, in the past, TACO like.
With the midterms approaching, do you expect that we're going to see a shift again from the president?
Or do you think that something has fundamentally shifted now with the rhetoric we've heard from the president in his approach to Russia and
Ukraine, when it comes to how we'll move forward?
SESTANOVICH: Look, you can never say that Trump is not going to take a different line tomorrow or even this afternoon. But this does seem to be a
kind of watershed in his attitude toward the Ukrainians.
It's far more serious than anything that we saw after the famous Oval Office blowup in February of 2025. it's been a sustained and public breach.
It's involved far more angry rhetoric directed personally by Trump against Zelenskyy, including calls for his removal from office.
It's been associated with a major breach of American policy on sanctions, even a violation of American law. And it's associated with new pressures on
Ukraine.
I think it's possible that, as the backlash against this emerges in the U.S., that Trump will back off. But I think it's equally possible -- and,
one, because Trump is unpredictable. One should not rule this out.
I think it's also possible that it will be associated with an intensification of American pressures on Ukraine, a deeper hostility toward
Zelenskyy personally, closer association with Putin.
Remember, Putin has now proposed a trilateral summit between himself, Trump and Xi Jinping, excluding Zelenskyy. That's exactly the thing that could be
part of a deeper estrangement from the -- from Ukraine by the United States and a closer alignment with Putin.
[10:20:12]
MACFARLANE: Yes. And I'm sure that will be a source of conversation today between president Zelenskyy and Witkoff there in Oslo. Ambassador, it's
really interesting. Thank you so much for giving us your perspective on all of this. despite the wobbly screen. Thank you very much.
SESTANOVICH: Thanks.
MACFARLANE: Now sources say that U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defense minister Israel
Katz Monday evening as part of an unannounced trip to Israel.
Representatives from the UAE were also at one of the meetings, according to an Israeli source familiar with the details. All this comes after Mr. Trump
endorsed prime minister Netanyahu in Israel's elections a week away. I spoke with senior national security reporter Zach Cohen last hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: This somewhat unusual meeting between the U.S. Defense Secretary and the Israeli prime
minister is almost certainly all about Iran.
At a time when the war carries significant political impacts potentially both for Netanyahu in his upcoming election in Israel and for the Trump
Administration as they look ahead to the U.S. midterm elections.
And as you mentioned, this follows president Donald Trump's endorsement of Netanyahu, where he did call him a great warrior prime minister and also
hinted at the possibility that the U.S. could resume combat operations against Iran if Iran doesn't quote, "change their ways."
And obviously we're at a point in this conflict when a diplomatic resolution really does not appear anywhere in sight and we've seen
indications that the U.S. and potentially Israel could restart those combat operations either before or possibly after the U.S. midterm elections.
And now this is something that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has really staked a lot of his candidacy on the war with Iran and
his partnership with president Donald Trump. He had originally, we're told by sources, expected president Trump to be a centerpiece of his campaign.
But over the course of this conflict, we've seen the two leaders' their relationships ebb and flow as president Donald Trump has become more aware
of the political consequences of what is a deeply unpopular war here in the United States.
And so, this visit by Hegseth really only going to raise further speculation about the possibility of additional strikes by the U.S. and
potentially Israel.
Netanyahu has dismissed the idea that he could attempt to escalate this conflict before his election in the coming days.
But Israeli sources have told CNN that he and president Donald Trump have discussed the possibility of renewed strikes somewhat recently and that
really does hang over this entire visit by Hegseth, who himself has been one of the loudest cheerleaders for resuming those combat operations
against Iran.
MACFARLANE: And Zach, just briefly, do we know why this trip wasn't announced?
Are there any benefits to keeping it quiet at this point?
COHEN: Yes, there's certainly some security considerations that are taken into account when a trip like this is not announced but also there is a
strategic ambiguity to it all as well. There's no official readout from Hegseth's meeting with Netanyahu. We do know that from sources, obviously,
that this meeting took place and Hegseth, after the news broke, posted photos of himself meeting with U.S. forces deployed to U.S. Central
Command's area of responsibility, which, of course, includes the Middle East and Israel itself.
So this is something that the administration is trying to walk a tightrope on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Now the United Kingdom will deploy fighter jets to defend Saudi Arabia against attacks by the Houthis, the Iran-allied rebel group in
Yemen.
The U.K.'s defense ministry says it will fly defensive counter air missions building on existing support and protecting Saudi cities and
infrastructure. Well, it comes as the Houthis intensify strikes on key Saudi infrastructure, including the capital's airport, in response to the
kingdom's support for the government in Yemen.
And here's now a quick check of oil prices for you. Trading for Brent crude, the global benchmark, topping $110 a barrel, now down to $108. And
ahead of the international agency warning that energy prices will remain elevated through all of next year.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Still to come, the measures French officials are taking to prevent a repeat of the violent weekend protests
and the challenges the governments there are facing to quell growing anger.
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MACFARLANE: Welcome back.
France's prime minister says local authorities will decide whether to impose a second night of curfews in several cities across the country. He
says the curfews help maintain calm after a weekend of protests across the country, some interrupting -- some erupting into violence.
Well, last hour I spoke to Stefano Pozzebon about the heightened security measures happening in France and in Italy, where troops are set to be
deployed to Milan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the local government up in France has given authority to the mayors and the prefects on whether to
impose further curfews.
In particular, the prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu said on Twitter that these curfews had been successful in calming the streets and granting this
authority to the local authorities.
At the same time, it's perhaps the moment where both France and Italy are counting the damage and coming to terms with the real motivation behind the
protest. So in France, for example, the justice minister spoke to local media and told us that about 3,000 shops have been looted and destroyed by
the multitudes.
Well, here in Italy, we had the opportunity to go down to a local university here in Rome to understand why the students are still on the
street despite the scenes that we are seeing over the weekend in Milan on Saturday and Sunday.
There were really some of the most disturbing scenes of urban guerrilla that have happened in Italy in a very long time.
And Christina, it's interesting to analyze the Italy situation because it's a bit of a mix between what happened in Spain last month with a lot of
massive protests over the cost of housing and the cost of living and what happened in France, where the students took the leadership because of the
high cost of education.
We went to this university and we found students pitching up their tents on the yard of their university. The faculty was of letters and literature,
but the way to pitch up the tent was exactly to bring attention to how expensive it is to live in Rome as a student coming from abroad.
I spoke with, for example, to one student Elisa (ph) and she had to wait for her younger brother to also go to university, so that the two of them
could share a room here in Rome because they're not from here. They are from about 100, 120 kilometers north of the Italian capital. This is what
else she told me, Christina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAMILLA MARCONI, MEMBER OF UDU STUDENT UNION: My brother and I decided to come to living here in Rome but we have to make a lot of sacrifices as a
family, because the rent is really high and we can afford it but like barely.
We will keep on trying to make us be heard from them but we don't feel like there's some kind of conversation with the government right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POZZEBON: There have been student protests here in Italy for a few weeks back and there is yet another one called up for the upcoming Saturday.
[10:30:00]
Meanwhile, the government of Giorgia Meloni said that they have invested money from the European Union in building new, for example, new student
housing in cities such as Rome but also the rest of the country.
And they've also called for an emergency for a council of ministers tonight to draft an emergency decree to give more powers through law enforcement to
deal with the protest and to avoid the repetition of what happened in Milan on Saturday and Sunday. So the streets are calm for now.
It remains to be seen whether they'll still be calm at the weekend, Christina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: I'm joined now by Adrienne Klasa, the Paris correspondent for the "Financial Times."
Thanks so much for joining us. Look, as Stefano was saying, there, France is obviously not the only country where the cost of living is driving
people to the streets. Protests and violence, we've seen, you know, erupting in multiple European cities now; Italy, Spain, Portugal.
Adrienne, how connected are these protests across Europe?
And is it the same underlying crisis that's driving them?
ADRIENNE KLASA, PARIS CORRESPONDENT, "FINANCIAL TIMES": I wouldn't say that we could say at this point that they are connected in terms of
organization. But you definitely see some common threads in terms of people being angry at a sense of stagnation.
Anger about the costs of living, which Stefano was speaking about quite eloquently there, about the -- about underfunding of public services and
about a sense of ineffectiveness, I think, that they perceive from their governments.
And a lot of the -- I think the underlying causes, at least economically, are common across Europe. You've had high inflation for food prices and now
especially energy prices due to the war in the Middle East in the past year.
But the triggers do appear to be slightly different.
MACFARLANE: I think where France stands alone perhaps is that its high public spending has seen its debt pile increase faster than that of its
European neighbors. And we know in the past that French people have responded very sharply to any attempt to erode their rights.
We saw this with the nationwide strikes over Macron's attempt to raise the legal retirement age.
So do you think is there any way the government can move to address that bigger issue, that debt crisis, without worsening or fueling more protests
and unrest?
KLASA: They are in a very tricky spot indeed on that point, because, as anyone who knows anything about French politics will know, you know, the
culture of protest and taking to the street is something that happens quite frequently here.
I mean, the violence that we've seen in recent days is exceptional but not unprecedented. We last had nationwide riots about three years ago. So the
common response that the government relies on is to open the purse strings, to spend more, to accede to demands.
And now they're really hitting up against the limit of that in terms of spending. I think one of the pieces of the conversation that is entering
into the public sphere more and more now, I hope, is that, you know, the pension issue is really an underlying cause of all of this.
So I mean, one of the -- the main complaint that set off this whole sequence of protests in recent weeks was high school students, actually
protesting about underfunding of education here -- so crumbling schools, teachers not paid enough, bad facilities, test scores that were
floundering.
And if you look at the education budget relative to the OECD in France overall, it looks actually quite good. But recent figures released show
that about 30 percent of that budget is eaten up by paying into pensions.
As you pointed out, in previous years, attempts to raise the pension age here have resulted in huge social upheaval and huge opposition, including,
I should note, from young people.
But I do hope that the understanding, that there needs to be some reckoning, in order to be able to find more public spending for these
services that people need, will need to take place.
But again, it's going to be, you know, it's going to be very fraught. And we're heading into very difficult elections here in France next year, where
you have the far right gaining as well as the far left. So it's a very tricky spot for the government of president Emmanuel Macron.
MACFARLANE: Yes, for this government or whoever comes next. Look, there's an interesting tangent that we've seen to these protests. We're learning
that the looted French goods that we've, you know, seen taken from shops in recent days are apparently popping up for resale on sites like Vinted.
[10:35:00]
Both the company and the French authorities apparently are pulling down listings where they can.
But it does underscore, doesn't it, just how much is on the government's plate right now about their ability to deliver accountability, which Macron
has said they, you know, they are set to do?
I mean, how do they go about doing that effectively, do you think?
KLASA: I mean, first of all, the justice minister, Darmanin, has said that justice will be swift and firm here. You know, that remains to be seen. But
they've already started. I mean, thousands of people have been detained so far.
The first hearings for people involved in rioting or attacking law enforcement have already started today and tomorrow.
And then as you mentioned, there is this operation taking place with cooperation from resale platforms, including Vinted but also eBay and Meta
and TikTok, to identify listings for stolen goods, to take them down.
And then to help law enforcement not only trace who the sellers are -- so likely perpetrators, people who stole things during the looting and rioting
but also for people who try to buy them.
So they are attempting to deliver accountability. But you know, it's going to be a long road. And given the level of destruction and the level of
public anger about what was allowed to happen, there's going to be a lot to do.
I mean, the other thing that they're talking about doing is for businesses that have been destroyed or, you know, badly damaged in this looting and
rioting, that there would be emergency financing and other supports available.
We're still waiting for the details of what that's going to look like to come through. But there will be a lot of public pressure for the government
to deliver something concrete.
MACFARLANE: Yes. And how costly all of that is going to be, of course, we've been hearing accounts of people losing hundreds of thousands worth of
goods from their shops.
Adrienne, it's fascinating. Thank you so much for coming on and telling us what the picture is there in Paris. Thank you.
All right. Still to come, more questions around AI spending and data center demand.
Is the shine coming off AI as investors retreat?
A closer look just ahead.
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MACFARLANE (voice-over): And you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. These are your headlines this hour.
The U.K. says it will send fighter jet help to defend Saudi Arabia against Houthi attacks.
[10:40:00]
And as the Iran-backed rebel group in Yemen intensifies its targets on Saudi Arabia, the U.K. will fly defensive missions to protect cities and
infrastructure, building on its existing support.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is meeting with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo in a bid to put peace talks with Russia on a more
constructive path.
The meeting comes amid a widening rift between president Donald Trump and Mr. Zelenskyy over intelligence sharing sanctions, Ukrainian attacks on
Russian energy and the path to peace.
Now a rough market debut for AI data center provider Elice Group. Shares in the South Korean tech giant plunged on their first day of trading. Elice
raised $150 million in its IPO. The company provides AI cloud services as well as an AI-based education and business software.
MACFARLANE: A shocking debut for the Elice Group comes as AI fears are shaking markets more broadly. Investors appear to be taking a closer look
at data center demand and AI spending. CNN's Anna Stewart has been looking at all of this for us.
So Anna, just break down what has been happening here for the Elice Group.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, for the Elice Group and market sentiment more generally, I guess for AI, I think investors right now are
looking at several factors.
One is bond yields, which are at multi-year highs for many advanced economies. That means the cost of debt for lots of these AI companies has
increased.
And also, of course, inflation is high. So we're looking at potentially more interest rate hikes as well.
Then there's the debt held by some of the companies, which is frankly vast. There's a lot of attention on another company as well today, called
CoreWeave, which is a newer cloud company. It's one of those companies that essentially invests in Nvidia GPUs and then rents out compute to other AI
companies.
Investors are really concerned that it's simply borrowed too much and it won't ever generate the profit needed to pay that debt back. And that is
the case for many, many different companies right now. The share price for that company is down 30 percent this month.
And then there is this big question, Christina, around valuations. As a result of everything I've just said, investors are just questioning whether
they are willing to finance AI at any cost. And they're also perhaps being a little bit more picky, picking the winners and the losers on the market
right now.
And that's what we're seeing. And that's certainly what we saw with Elice today, a big flop on day one, certainly not what they want to see for their
first day of trade.
MACFARLANE: No, certainly not. We'll wait to see if there are others that follow. Anna Stewart, thank you very much.
Now following Monday's vote, the province of Alberta will remain a part of Canada. Why a fringe movement gained so much momentum and where this
decision leaves it now.
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MACFARLANE: The Canadian province of Alberta has voted to remain a part of the country. Voters cast their ballots Monday on a secession referendum.
[10:45:00]
Separatists argued that the liberal-led federal government has constrained the conservative, oil-rich province through environmental policies.
Prime minister Mark Carney, who grew up in Alberta, campaigned for the Remain side. Paula Newton is joining me on the story live.
Paula, this could have all been quite embarrassing, I guess, for Mr. Carney. Just explain to us why calls were being made for Alberta to leave
Canada in the first place.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, this has been a movement in Alberta and many are familiar with the movement in Quebec,
where we actually now have a provincial government that continues to support separatism.
And the issue is that they feel that the central government, the Federalist government of whatever description, has too much power in Alberta. Also,
the energy-rich province that it is felt that, you know, the central government, other parts of Canada were taking too many of the spoils of
those resources away from the province of Alberta.
Now look, Christina, we'll start with the good news for Canadians. It is good news. It's 3:1, the margin that Albertans voted to not begin a process
of separation. OK. So far, that was what was expected. There were other questions on the ballot, Christina.
And our viewers will recognize the populist strain that is running not just through Alberta but through so many democracies. The questions deal so much
with immigration, lowering the levels of immigration and also keeping public funds away from people who do not have permanent status in Canada.
The prime minister here, Carney -- and as you just pointed out, he is -- he grew up in Alberta. He spoke very eloquently to really spread the news that
Canada was still a good country to be a part of.
Having said that, he also got the message that people are not turning away from the issues that they want addressed. I want you to listen to him now,
specifically making the point that he will work with the province of Alberta and other provinces to deal with immigration. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Believe, for example, on the issue of immigration and cooperation between the federal government and the
provinces for sustainable immigration system that works for Canadians, works for our economy, works for our society.
And treats those who come to our country, choose to come to our country, with the dignity and standards that that they deserve.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: And so, Christina, the point is here is that about 50 percent -- not all the results are in -- but about 56 percent of Albertans voted to
have more control over immigration. And so this negotiation begins.
But I want you to kind of spread this out a little bit, Christina. Right. Donald Trump himself had a lot to do with why the vote so backed Canadian
unity. When you have that kind of threat coming from the southern border, it is significant.
And Mark Carney himself has been a leader, not just on the international stage, speaking out against the United States, but also in Alberta itself.
I want you to take a look of some video from him in 2025, skating with the Edmonton Oilers. It is not often that you get a substantial, significant,
separatist movement.
But then you have a prime minister in office. You see him there with his Carney shirt, practicing with the Alberta team. And that was significant.
He could go into that province with authority during the rallies and really make the case to keep Canada together.
That is not over, though. His work is not over, Christina, and I will tell you why. I want you to look at some video from 2022. Many of our viewers
will remember the Freedom Convoy. They basically shut down Ottawa for a matter of weeks.
And that was against a lot of the rules and regulations during COVID that many had felt had gone on too long. And this was a significant protest. And
the Mark Carney government has gotten the message here that they must work with those strains of populism, with different parties, to change the way
they govern.
And I think, Christina, you can see the throughline even to the European protests there. No longer will Canadians understand that a centrist
government really speaks for them. And that really is a problem not just in Canada but something that we see throughout so many democracies around the
world.
Again, kind of fortunate, I think, for Alberta and Canada, if you support Canadian unity, that this prime minister was raised in Alberta and could
speak to that. But also Donald Trump was certainly a factor.
MACFARLANE: And as you say, Paula, I mean, if Mark Carney and the government don't listen, this is a movement that is likely, you know, could
come back around again for them. So we will watch this space. Paula, appreciate you breaking it all down for us. Thank you.
And we are back to the U.S. now, where this year's midterm election campaigns are on track to be the most expensive ever in terms of
advertising. Billions upon billions of dollars are being spent to steer American voters.
So where is all of that money going?
CNN's David Wright has taken a look
[10:50:00]
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DAVID WRIGHT, CNN POLITICS PRODUCER (voice-over): Wow, $12 million behind this ad. This looks like it's run 600 times in Cleveland, you know, just
since mid September. Record amounts of campaign cash are pouring into red states in the final weeks of the midterm elections.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Houston gave data centers billions.
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WRIGHT (voice-over): As Republicans fight to hang on to their Senate majority. I'm David Wright, a CNN Politics producer, tasked with tracking
ad spending. And here's where the parties are placing their bets in the final weeks of the 2026 midterm elections.
According to AdImpact data, of the top five most expensive races, the top four are actually states where Trump won in 2024. And in the top three, he
won comfortably. For example -- and these numbers are still climbing -- Ohio ranks number one on this list, set to see more than $150 million worth
of advertising over just the final four weeks.
Number two on that list, one of the reddest states, Texas, which is set to see more than $100 million worth of advertising. Look at this ad in Texas,
more than $23 million worth of airtime just since early September.
There, Republican Ken Paxton faces a surprisingly close race, with Democratic state rep James Talarico, even after Republicans spent tens of
millions on ads trying to stop Paxton from becoming their nominee.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Conservatives who trust Ken Paxton get burned.
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WRIGHT (voice-over): Republicans have not lost a statewide race in Texas in 30 years but now the GOP is on an urgent rescue mission for Ken Paxton.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): James Talarico, too loco for Texas.
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WRIGHT (voice-over): Spending skyrocketed in September amid growing concern about this race. And over the final month, Paxton and his allies
are set to outspend Talarico and Democrats more than 4:1.
Democratic outside groups, on the other hand, have remained reluctant to invest heavily in a state that's repeatedly frustrated them.
But no race will see more ad spending over the final four weeks than Ohio, where former Democratic senator Sherrod Brown is attempting a comeback
against Republican senator Jon Husted.
With more than 150 million booked over the final four weeks, this is another red state that has emerged as a huge draw on Republican resources.
By November, the 2026 midterms are projected to be the most expensive of all time, with more than 11 billion spent. So if you're sick of the ads,
you're not alone.
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MACFARLANE (voice-over): Eleven billion spent. And we still have two weeks to go.
We'll be right back with more news. Stay with us
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MACFARLANE: Now the legend of Santa Claus has roots far from the North Pole in what is now southern Turkiye. That's where a 4th century bishop
named St. Nicholas lived in an ancient city of Turkiye's Mediterranean coast. CNN's Leroy Ah Ben takes us inside the ruins of the ancient city he
once called home.
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LEROY AH BEN, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): So what does Santa have to do with this ancient city in Turkiye?
Well, long before he was the guy delivering Christmas presents, he was a bishop who lived right here. Crazy.
Welcome to Myra, an ancient city on Turkiye's Mediterranean Coast that's packed with giant rock-cut tombs, a huge Roman theatre and a direct
connection to the man who inspired Santa Claus. Myra was one of the most important and powerful cities in ancient Lycia but I mean, just look at the
place.
See these here?
They look like houses but they're actually tombs and people carved them directly into the rock more than 2,000 years ago.
[10:55:00]
Myra is also known for this well-preserved Roman theatre.
Could you imagine what it must have felt like being here 2,000 years ago watching a performance?
And I've got the best seat in the house.
It's only when you step inside the church of St. Nicholas that the story starts to feel real. So it's pretty wild to think that St. Nicholas was a
bishop in this very church and I'm standing here right now.
Here we are with a statue of St. Nicholas behind me and over the centuries, stories of St. Nicholas' generosity spread across Europe and eventually
evolved into the Christmas figure that millions of people around the world know about today.
So what does Santa have to do with this ancient city in Turkiye?
Well, it turns out a lot. You might come here to look at the remarkable ancient archaeological site but you end up learning about one of the most
famous figures in popular culture.
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MACFARLANE: I certainly did not know anything about that.
That is it for CONNECT THE WORLD this hour. Do stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is coming up after this short break. Thank you. Have a good day.
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