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Isa Soares Tonight
Europe Pushes Back Against Trump's Diesel Deal with Russia; Saudi Arabia Attacks Yemeni Capital; Children's Abuse Online; Six Flags Closes Nine Rides Nationwide After Roller Coaster Death; Duane Davis Sentenced to 40 Years to Life for Tupac's Murder. Aired 2:-3p ET
Aired October 13, 2026 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, nationwide protests across France as
thousands turn out to demand better conditions in schools. We are live from the streets of Paris in just a moment for you.
Plus, there are signs Russia and Ukraine never agreed to U.S. President Donald Trump's energy ceasefire before he announced it. How is Europe
responding to the pressure campaign? Romania's Foreign Minister joins me this hour.
And then an update from Rome, as the Vatican says, Pope Leo's lung surgery was successful. What we know about the condition of the 71-year-old pontiff
and much more coming up this hour. But first, tonight, it's exactly three weeks until critical Midterm elections in the U.S.
And Republicans appear at risk as they try to fight off a blue wave and retain control of Congress for Donald Trump's final two years in office.
The GOP is doubling down on its strategy of uniting and exciting the base. President Trump is leading that effort, heading way out west this hour to
Alaska.
It is the latest stop on his red state tour that will also take him to Arizona and Montana this week. All states he won in 2024. Mr. Trump spoke
to reporters before he left with his new Press Secretary, smiling over his shoulder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm doing a tour right now and I'm doing rallies. The level of enthusiasm for the Republican Party is
way up, not just where I'm doing them. I'm doing, on average, a rally a day. Do you think that's easy? It's not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, last night in Ohio, President Trump threw red meat to his base, especially on immigration. He attacked Somalian-Haitian communities,
at one point drawing chants of deport from the crowd. He also attacked two Muslim Democrats who aren't even running in Ohio.
Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El- Sayed. Democrats, meantime, are growing more hopeful that voters will hand them control of not just the House, but also the Senate, which not -- which
not that long ago seemed really out of reach.
Early voting is already underway in some states, including the battleground of Georgia, where all eyes are on a key Senate race. Democrat Jon Ossoff
has consistently led Republican Mike Collins in polls. And today, the top Democratic super PAC in Senate races canceled its ad-spending in Georgia
for the week, suggesting confidence that Ossoff will be re-elected.
He and Collins are scheduled to face off tonight in one of several Senate debates right across the country. A lot for us to talk about this hour. I
want to bring in our politics senior reporter Stephen Collinson. Stephen, it's -- I mean, as we get closer, of course, to this Midterms, you and I,
I'm guessing, and I have very -- many chats.
Let's start off, first of all, with President Trump and the splits that you and I have been talking about for days on end. We've got, you know -- he's
going -- we mentioned, on his way to Alaska, and I think we've got a graphic just to show voters just how busy it is.
On his way to Alaska, a state that he won by 13 points in 2024. Tomorrow, he's then traveling to Arizona, Montana, a state he won by 20 points. And
then Friday, he's in Georgia. I wonder when you look at this, what it tells you, this campaign blitz tells you, you know, about the strategy here.
Reliable -- these are reliably red and battleground states. What are the chances here for the Republicans?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: At best, from the President's perspective, I think it shows that the White House is sending
him to places where he can try to drive up his most loyal supporters. He's not going to Maine, for example, or North Carolina or some of these other
states where there are close races, because I think he could actually turn away more voters than he can actually get to vote.
He's exceedingly toxic with moderate voters, independents, even some wavering Republicans who don't like the way that his presidency has
proceeded in terms of his own conduct, and also the high prices for groceries and gasoline that many Americans are experiencing.
[14:05:00]
I was talking to someone in politics the other day, and they suggested that the President badly wants to campaign and to be part of this Midterm
election, and to be the center of attention. But the states he's going to are potentially the ones where he can do the least political damage to the
Republican cause.
SOARES: Yes, and we've seen in terms of the polls, the CNN poll polls put the President's approval rating -- last time I checked at 33 percent. You
and I have been discussing these comments. We heard from GOP, warnings of a bloodbath in Midterms.
The -- I think yesterday, we had one saying that Trump is dragging the party down. From the blitz -- of the campaign blitz we've seen already from
the President, how effective is that crisscrossing by the President? And what is your sense about the issues that he's covering? Is he hitting the
issues that matter the most to Americans, and that is, of course, the economy?
COLLINSON: Well, he talks about the economy, but only in the context of the fact that this is a golden age that Americans are experiencing. The
economy has never been better. That's a very dangerous thing politically, because it's completely opposite to the way most people are feeling in
their lives.
You know, if you live in a rural state of the United States of America, outside the big cities, you do a lot of driving. You've seen your gasoline
prices double this year because of the Iran war, and the war is a very problematic thing for the President because it gives a way for voters to
look at his decisions and reason that he has actually made them worse.
And that is borne out in the polling. He also doesn't really give himself the best reviews, if you like, for his economic policy. I got an e-mail
just now, ten minutes ago from the White House, and they're talking about all of the things that Trump has supposedly done to improve the economic
life of Alaskans, including no tax on tips for bar workers, for example, in his big tax bill, bigger refunds for taxpayers, steps to protect jobs and
wages.
The President could talk about all of this stuff in his speeches, but he gets diverted by all sorts of peripheral things, trivia talks about himself
--
SOARES: Yes --
COLLINSON: And again, celebrates an economy that many people believe is not delivering for them.
SOARES: Yes, and that is something that we've been hearing day in, day out here on the show. I want to get your thoughts on something that I heard
from the Vice President, JD Vance. I think he was on his way already, pardon me, in Texas, and he was asked about kind of major donors, Stephen,
basically pulling funding from some of the key House races.
I think we have the sound. Do we have it, L? If we do, let's play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES DAVID VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, I think the nature of a Midterm election is sometimes these races have more of an
individual rather than a national character. We know that we're swimming against some serious historical trends here.
But I think that we have as good a chance as I've ever seen to really defy those historical trends. So, we're not giving up anywhere. We're just
trying to win the races that we can and focus where we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: What do you -- what do you make of that, Stephen? It's not overly optimistic. Polls are not always correct. But what do you make of what he
said there?
COLLINSON: Well, he seemed to be contradicting himself in that final sentence. He says we're not giving up anywhere, but we're going to try and
win the races that we can. You always see this shifting of resources in the final weeks of a campaign.
Politicians always say, oh, well, we're not giving up because they can't allow voters to think that this is already cooked. But they're clearly
sending money, for example, from the Senate race in North Carolina. The National Republican Senatorial Committee has pretty much given up spending
on that race because they believe that the Democrats, under former Governor Roy Cooper, are probably going to win there.
So, they're diverting money to places like Nebraska and Kansas, where they never expected to have to be competitive in the Senate election. So, just
by following where people are sending the money in the final days, I think that tells you a lot about how Republicans see this election.
They know they're on the defensive, not just because of historical forces, which J.D. Vance is correct about for incumbent Presidents in Midterm
elections. But they have a President with an approval rating, as you said, of 33 percent.
That is terrible for candidates across the country who are trying to win seats, retain their seats, and fight off the Democratic wave.
SOARES: Stephen, always value your analysis, thank you very much --
COLLINSON: Thanks --
SOARES: Indeed. Stephen Collinson for us there in Washington. We're going to leave Washington for just a moment, the Midterm elections and turn our
attention to France, because student protesters in France are showing no signs really of backing down as the demonstrations are now well into their
fourth week.
High school and university students marched through the streets of Paris, among other French cities earlier. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg joined
students, praising them for, quote, "leading by example." Our Paris bureau chief, Saskya Vandoorne, has more for you.
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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PARIS BUREAU CHIEF (on camera): We're in the fourth week of these high school student protests, and the momentum is still very
much there. We've been speaking with students all day who say their list of demands has not changed.
They want more teachers. They want fewer students in class, and they want billions more in education funding. They say that the concessions given by
the government just don't go far enough. And another major issue that has unfolded during these protests is the level of violence that we have
witnessed.
These harrowing videos of teenagers who have been injured. One teen lost an eye after he was hit with a rubber bullet, another had his teeth smashed in
after he was hit with a tear-gas canister. And all of these videos are circulating online and they're galvanizing support for the movement.
Students are saying that they're going to show up again on Saturday, that they're going to be joined by Yellow Vests, by taxi unions. So, they expect
Saturday to be even bigger than today. Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And our thanks to Saskya for that. Well, also in France, an investigation is underway into a cyber-attack that targeted hundreds of
supermarkets, raising fridge and freezer temperatures to as high as 50 degrees Celsius, and that is around 122 Fahrenheit.
The attacks spoiled food and even caused fires, leaving hundreds of shelves such as these really pretty bare the government -- the French government
says it's coordinating with European partners as other countries could also be affected.
Our Anna Stewart is following developments and joins me now. And Anna, just to give our viewers a real sense of this, I mean, this was a pretty
significant and major cyber-attack. So, talk us through just the chaos as well as the cost that this has caused.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, chaos is the right word, sparking fires and the tonnage of sort of wasted food is really quite extraordinary.
When you look at some of the videos -- and in terms of the cost, we have no idea how much this would have cost yet.
We're talking about hundreds of supermarkets impacted. The CEO of Intermarche, one of the biggest supermarket chains in France told "BFM TV",
a French news network, he thinks tens of millions of euros nationwide was lost in a single day.
So, that gives you an idea of just how much food we are talking about. Now, how this happened --
SOARES: Yes --
STEWART: It's all to do with software that connects some of these fridges to the internet, which is, of course, very normal. Supermarket chains like
to be able to manage their fridge and freezer systems remotely. The software company that makes this software had issued an update in the
Summer, and it appears that those impacted hadn't actually updated their firmware.
That appears to be what happened here. Who did it? You know, there are so many questions at this stage that we don't have the answers to. I think
people are concerned, though, about what could happen next. You know, so many devices these days, Isa, are connected to the internet.
SOARES: Yes, and we mentioned there, Anna, the French government said it's coordinating with European partners. And there are fears, of course, that
other retailers could be at risk, given, of course, the software and how prevalent it is in many supermarkets across Europe. Is this what you're
hearing from others?
STEWART: Yes, we do think that some supermarkets and other European countries may have been impacted as well, but it appears to --
SOARES: Yes --
STEWART: Be mostly a France issue at this stage. As I say, no motives. No one has claimed responsibility for the cyber-attacks. I mean, no idea why
it has happened. It's raising concerns about the Internet of Things devices that are connected to the internet, how easy they may be to hack,
particularly in an instance like this.
So many devices, of course, now in our homes as well, Isa. I'm not sure about you, I think my lights, my doorbell, my thermostat, I have a nanny
cam all connected to the internet.
SOARES: Yes --
STEWART: And not only do we have to worry about sort of traditional hacking, which we believe this was, but the future of A.I. And actually,
just this week, Anthropic released a warning about devices they fear just in a few months, A.I. may be able to replicate itself on to individual
devices, hijack them essentially, and be very hard to control because it wouldn't be centralized.
It could be hacking each and every device. So, yes, lots to worry about in the future and something for cybersecurity experts to ponder over, let's
hope.
SOARES: Indeed, Anna, appreciate it, thank you very much. Anna Stewart there. And still to come tonight right here on the show, President Trump
hails a so-called energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. But was his claim of a deal a surprise to them both?
And the Pope is at a hospital in northwest Rome. We'll have the details about today's scheduled procedure. Both those stories after a very short
break. You are watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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SOARES: Breaking news for you this hour. We have gotten word that Pope Leo's lung surgery was a success. That's very good news. He was admitted to
a hospital in Rome earlier today to remove a nodule from his lung. It's expected Leo will need about a week to recover.
Our Christopher Lamb has the details for us. And Chris, very good news indeed, a success, it seems. What more are you hearing?
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Isa, it was a success. The operation, according to the Vatican, it was on schedule and as planned.
According to a statement just released and Pope Leo is back in his room in the hospital at the Gemelli Hospital here in Rome.
I think there will be a -- you know, a collective sigh of relief that this operation has been successful. We are expecting a more detailed update from
the Vatican this evening, where we'll hopefully be given more information about the Pope's condition.
The Pope himself announced to the world, to the crowd in St. Peter's Square that he was going to have this operation to remove the small growth on his
lung. That did come as a big surprise to people, even at the very highest levels of the Vatican.
One cardinal said it was like a bolt from the blue, because the Pope is seen as someone in relatively good health. He's 71 years old, but that's
pretty young for a Pope. And he is someone who keeps active and does not have any known underlying health condition.
So, it has been a worry that the Pope has needed to go into a hospital. It's his first hospital stay since his election as Pope. But the news,
initially tonight is encouraging. The surgery was a success and went according to plan, Isa.
SOARES: And that he's back. I understand he's back in his room. Do we know -- and I know we don't have all the details as of yet. This is breaking
news for us this hour. Do we have a sense of how long the recovery is, how long he will stay in hospital?
Because I remember you telling me yesterday, Chris, when you and I were talking about how not only is he relatively young, papal standards, but
like you said, he's quite active. I think you said he plays tennis, he works out. Do we have a sense in terms of his schedule, how much this
surgery impacts his schedule?
LAMB: Well, the Vatican has said he is expected to have about a week in hospital to recover. There may be a further recovery period after he is
discharged. The big thing for Pope Leo is an impending trip to Latin America. He's expected to go --
SOARES: Yes --
LAMB: To Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, in early November. And he really wants to be ready and well for that trip.
[14:20:00]
SOARES: Let's hope he is. But very good news indeed to hear the Pope is recovering after a successful surgery. Thanks very much, Chris, appreciate
it, live for us from Rome. On any new developments, of course, we'll bring it to your attention. But very good news there from the Pope.
Well, Bulgarian officials say 11 sailors are missing after a drone strike sunk a vessel in the Black Sea off Bulgaria's coast. They say it was one of
two attacks on merchant vessels overnight, and they suspect Russia was responsible.
A search and rescue mission for the missing sailors is still underway. Five other crew members on board that ship were rescued. Bulgaria's Prime
Minister says he has summoned the Russian Ambassador. And it appears U.S. President Donald Trump announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and
Ukraine without actually mentioning it to Moscow or Kyiv beforehand.
On Monday, the President seemed to suggest neither side was told about the ceasefire and without providing any evidence, he said he believes Russian
President Vladimir Putin is ready to make a deal to end the war, but doubts whether his Ukrainian counterpart is committed to a truce.
Meantime, President Trump says the U.S. has not stopped sharing Intelligence with Ukraine. That is, despite the White House warning over
the weekend, if you remember, that it could suspend European purchases of American weapons and Intelligence-sharing if Kyiv do not stop striking
Russian energy facilities.
Well, European officials are pushing back against President Trump's deal to allow Russia to sell diesel on the global market, that agreement really
runs completely counter to efforts by the West to isolate Moscow economically.
The EU and U.K. are trying to navigate a very delicate balancing act, supporting Ukraine without sparking any fresh backlash from the White
House. Brussels, for its part, just adopted its largest round of sanctions against Russia since 2022.
Well, Romania is a member of both NATO and the European Union. Earlier this year, it signed a joint defense agreement with Ukraine. I'm pleased to have
with us, Oana Toiu; Romania's Foreign Minister. Foreign Minister, really appreciate you being on the show.
I understand you're joining us this evening from Warsaw, from Poland, where you've been attending, I've been told the Warsaw Security Forum. So, let me
get your sense of what the reaction there in Poland at the forum to this drone attack that I was just mentioning just a few moments ago, attack on
this vessel off the coast of Bulgaria.
Several sailors have been missing. What has been the reaction to this? How worried are ministers there?
OANA TOIU, FOREIGN MINISTER, ROMANIA: So, thank you for having me. I'm here in the Romanian Embassy in Warsaw at the Warsaw Security Forum. The
reaction has been consistent on our unity to support the stop of the war at our border, to support increased sanctions.
But of course, we acknowledge the increased security risks at the Black Sea. On Romania's exclusive economic zone, there has been an attack on one
of the ships as well in recent days, the commander and one of the crew members have been killed, and other three crew members have been
transported to the hospital by our rescue Romanian team.
The Bulgarian rescue team has done a great work in making sure all of the crew members of the ship that you mentioned have been saved and are safe.
We consider our collective responsibility to protect the Black Sea, not just because it is our sea, but because it is a global artery for the food
trade, for the energy trade. And that is what we have done at United Nations, a request for a ceasefire at the Black Sea.
SOARES: Right, so, what is your understanding then, Foreign Minister? I mean, you know, clearly concerned. Your understanding of who is behind
this, because as I was mentioning, several sailors are still missing. Bulgarian officials have indicated it was likely connected to Russia. Do
you believe Russia is behind this?
TOIU: We supported Bulgaria's decision to summon the Russian ambassador. We believe it's the right decision. And as we speak, we are working with
Bulgaria on a common set of statements and common positions at the Black Sea.
Yesterday, we've had the meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs in the European Union. You mentioned as well the decision we have taken together
to list almost 1,600 individuals and companies that are supporting Russia's war, because we --
SOARES: Yes --
TOIU: Think that is our instrument to increase the pressure needed.
SOARES: Right, so that's not a no at this point. I didn't hear a no. You don't think it's not Russia. So, we'll -- you know --
TOIU: There are --
SOARES: Let me -- let me -- let me focus on Russia.
TOIU: It's quite clear --
SOARES: Go ahead --
TOIU: Let me be clear on this. We don't believe that the Ukrainians --
SOARES: Yes --
TOIU: Are the source of the attacks. The teams are still investigating proof, but it is quite clear who is responsible and who is typically the
aggressor on the Black Sea.
[14:25:00]
SOARES: I appreciate your clarity, it's so important at this juncture. Thank you very much, Foreign Minister. Let me stick with Russia because we
have seen relentless attacks in Ukraine just in the last few days. Kharkiv on Monday, Kyiv last night with missiles, five missiles, I think, hitting
civilian infrastructure.
And this is according to President Zelenskyy. And this comes, as you probably heard me there, Foreign Minister, talking about President Trump
and these claims that Russia and Ukraine have agreed to an energy ceasefire. Clearly, as we have seen from Ukraine, there's no ceasefire.
Suppose begs the question, where does this leave Ukraine? How long does it wait it out before striking Russia and defending itself? What is your
position vis-a-vis these comments from -- by the -- by President Trump?
TOIU: Well, I can share what we've discussed -- with what I've discussed with my Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha in Warsaw and yesterday in
Luxembourg. The good news is that the Intelligence-sharing between the United States and Ukraine is ongoing.
And that is a very important help that the United States is providing to the -- of Ukraine. Also, on the Ukrainian side, they are ready for the
ceasefire. But United Nations, for example, we've requested the ceasefire together on their side, they're ready to have an energy ceasefire, to have
a Black Sea ceasefire, to have a general 60 days ceasefire.
It's Russia that doesn't take into account the need for a ceasefire and the need for negotiations. And that is why we need to bring it to the
negotiation table through increased pressure, through sanctions.
SOARES: Right, sanctions, you know, further sanctions we're seeing from Europe with very -- seeing a very different playbook from the United
States. So, let me stick with this and let me ask your thoughts, Finance Minister -- Foreign Minister, from what I've seen in "Financial Times".
I read an article in the "Financial Times" yesterday that is reporting that a day before announcing this energy ceasefire, that U.S. officials had
spent the weekend calling European capitals and threatening to stop purchases -- stop Europeans, I should say, from purchasing U.S. weapons for
Ukraine if Kyiv did not stop its attacks on Russian oil refineries. So, let me ask you, I mean, is there any truth to this? Did Romania get a call
asking about this?
TOIU: We did not get a call to ask us to support just Ukraine being part of the ceasefire. The definition of any ceasefire is that it has two sides
to it. Ukraine has respected ceasefires whenever they agreed to it. This time the conversation needs to be with Russia.
The pressure needs to be in Russia. It's Putin and Lavrov on the side of not respecting the ceasefire. In terms of energy, procurement here, we have
to say clearly, Romania has stopped all energy procurement from Russia in 2022. And we support the idea that, we need to stop this overall, the
European Union has decided to also stop this dependency on Russian energy sources and will finalize this by next year.
We have decreased from 25 percent of our energy resources in the European Union to less than 2 percent-3 percent currently. So, I would say that's
very clearly not just the present moment picture, but also a long-term strategy --
SOARES: Yes --
TOIU: To be independent from Russian energy sources.
SOARES: Right, you're talking about pressure. And I wonder, Foreign Minister, whether you think, you are seeing enough pressure or the right
kind of pressure from the United States, because, given what we saw over the weekend with Trump's -- President Trump's diesel deal with President
Putin, this is what the President said just a few hours ago. Have a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: That's not being released to us. That's a diesel deal that's going to be released into the world for the world market, because the world
market suffered with high prices. And when you knock out diesel refineries, that's not a great thing. But they're not releasing that to us. They're
releasing it to the entire world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: So, you said the diesel, well, the diesel deal is not just for the United States, for the entire world. But I have seen quite forceful
reaction from many European leaders. I saw that the Finnish Prime Minister called the deal a huge disappointment and goes against everything we have
done together. President Zelenskyy as well, calling it a gift to Putin. How do you view this deal, Foreign Minister?
TOIU: Well, when it comes to us, we are not buying Russian oil. And I know many of the European countries share this decision. I know like-minded
countries as well share this decision. In terms of our partnership with the United States in increasing the pressure, I think I've seen here in the
Warsaw Security Forum, my bipartisan delegation from both floors of Congress.
And I think that is a strong sign of the continuous support on our common goal. And I would say that goal has been shared in statements by President
Trump as well, which is to achieve peace at the border.
[14:30:00]
The only thing that needs to be clear, though, is in order for that peace to be achieved, we need to collectively ensure the increased pressure on
Russia and that we do not allow for the normalization of recovering commercial ties with it on the mid- to long-term.
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: But do you agree very finally here with President Zelenskyy that this is a gift to Putin?
?OIU: Well, I have seen that the decision that President Trump has announced has become a topic for internal debate and you have elections
coming very soon. So, I will not comment more on this because we believe each country has to have its own debates when elections are approaching is
the same on Romania side. Our citizens have gained their freedom and the right to decide in internal elections and we don't necessarily appreciate
any other country being part of that conversation. It's the same on our side when it comes to United States internal affairs.
SOARES: Right, but it goes counter. My point is that it goes counter to what Romania and many other European countries have been doing for months
with sanctions, with pressure campaign against President Putin from this. Does it take you back? Does it pull Ukraine further away from any sort of
deal? Because the pressure doesn't seem to be it seems to be easing, if anything, on Putin. That's my point.
TOIU: I do understand your point and I think you're making a very good point in posing that question. What I'm saying is that specifically on
President Trump's decision, it has become an internal debate in United States before elections.
And so, that's why I won't comment on that specifically more because on our elections as well, on our democratic processes, we want them to be
protected from any type of statements that might interfere with them. So, that's why I want to keep this bilateral respect to each other's internal
decisions. But from a foreign affairs perspective, here it's very clear that our strategy means increased pressure.
Whenever a country decreases the pressure, we need to increase it more with like-minded partners. So, we allow for what needs to be done, which is to
bring Russia for a consistent negotiation for a sustainable peace at our border, because we do feel the risks directly, as you have mentioned at the
beginning of the conversation, for example, at the Black Sea attacks.
SOARES: Yes. We'll see what happens. We have 21 days until the midterm, the U.S. midterm elections. We can speak, Foreign Minister, after the
elections and then maybe you can tell me where you stand on the U.S. position vis-a-vis this diesel deal. Thank you very much, Foreign Minister.
Really appreciate it. You're very welcome. You're very welcome. Thank you.
TOIU: Just to clarify, where we stand on diesel from Russia is very clear. We're not buying the European Union has a decision to stop any acquisition
by 2027 as well.
SOARES: Thank you for clarifying. Thank you very much, Foreign Minister. Appreciate it.
Still to come tonight right here on the show, tensions heating up between Saudi Arabia and Houthi rebels. We'll have Riyadh's latest warning to
people in Yemen's capital.
Plus, a CNN investigation uncovers a disturbing trade in the Philippines fueled by American demand. The victims, children. Details just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:00]
SOARES: Well, the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen is warning civilians to evacuate parts of the country's capital, Sanaa, ahead of a
planned special operation there. The capital is controlled by Houthi rebels, and the war is rapidly escalating between the signs we've been
showing you here all week. Houthis have been targeting Saudi airports for days. Saudi forces said they intercepted and destroyed three drones north
of Riyadh on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia's main international airport remains shut as attacks by Houthi rebels continue to really rattle the kingdom.
Nic Robertson has been in the story for us and joins us now. So, Nic, let me start off with first what we know about the special operation in Sanaa.
What are you hearing? Has it begun? And what shape has it taken?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: As best we can tell, at least what the Saudi joint command issued the warning to civilians to
evacuate the area, it was an area about six or seven miles southwest of the capital. It was an energy storage facility, oil, gas-type storage facility.
And it does appear, that operation did appear to be carried out. It was not in a densely populated residential area. The Houthis are claiming there
were casualties. That's not possible for us to verify.
The Houthis are also claiming that the Saudis hit another energy facility on the Red Sea coast. The Houthis are also saying that, today, the Saudis
have really ramped up their airstrikes. But when the Saudis issued that warning to civilians outside the capital, the Houthis then issued a warning
also for King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh, a warning for several Aramco facilities in the capital and in the east of the country, telling
workers and civilians to leave those areas.
And this evening, the Saudi early warning system was activated in the east of the country. Half-an-hour ago, half-an-hour or so later, the warning was
dropped. It's not clear precisely what was being targeted. So, the exchange of air power by the Saudis on Houthi targets, the Houthis continuing to try
to strike, as we saw today, Riyadh, with those three drones, this continues. We also saw air traffic disruption around the other principal
airport in the country, Jeddah Airport. No confirmation from Saudi authorities what that was about.
But air tracking -- aircraft tracking systems clearly showed a period of time earlier in the day and then more significantly later in the day, when
aircraft were not coming in to land in Jeddah. And President Trump has also weighed in on this, sort of upped his language a little bit, saying that
the Houthis are being bad, that they're not -- haven't learned their lesson from a year ago when the U.S. was striking them, and President Trump
pointed out in his Truth Social that the Houthis had actually asked the U.S. to stop. He says that he believes Iran is behind this and that the aim
is to try to drive up oil prices.
So, that's an indication of what President Trump is thinking, although he's yet to make a decision about whether or not he's going to increase his
support to the Saudis in this unrest.
SOARES: Yes. He does seem very much still noncommittal about this when he was asked before leaving, of course, to Alaska.
[14:40:00]
Nic, I know you'll stay across this. This is escalating rather quickly. Appreciate it. Nic Robertson there for us.
Now, to a CNN investigation into the live-streamed sexual abuse of children in the Philippines. Nearly half a million children there have been
exploited as U.S. buyers send millions of over-encrypted apps for images and live sessions. Hanako Montgomery's report contains graphic descriptions
that some viewers may find disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE, CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE SURVIVOR: He told me that when he goes to the Philippines, he will bring one of his guns and then put it inside me.
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One of the fastest growing crimes online is live-streamed child sex abuse. The Philippines is
a hotspot for this content. Up to half a million children a year are put in front of cameras, usually by people the kids trust most.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): That's my child. I don't use other children, sir.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): For Kate, who was 13 at the time, it was her adoptive sister.
KATE: Instead of thinking, why is she making me do this? I just kept thinking if we don't do something at all, we won't be able to survive.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Kate can't remember the number of men she had to perform for, but a lot of them, she says, were American, exploiting
families desperate for money.
JOHN TANAGHO, IJM CENTER TO END ONLINE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF CHILDREN: A lot of the perpetrators in the Philippines are women, are people in their
20s and 30s. And they're not sexually motivated.
The only reason they're abusing a child and live streaming it is because somebody in the U.S. is willing to pay for that abuse.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): For over a decade, the U.S. has been the number one buyer of child sexual abuse materials from the Philippines, according
to the country's Anti-Money Laundering Council.
This material was harder to find, traded largely in hidden corners of the dark web. But in recent years, sellers have moved to encrypted messaging
apps like Telegram. Private channels let horrific abuse material fester unchecked, making it just a few clicks away.
We entered some of these groups.
MONTGOMERY: I mean, it's just video after video of naked girls in extremely compromised positions with their genitals out.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): We try reaching out to a few sellers advertising content. Almost all got back to us within minutes.
MONTGOMERY: It's only taken us three exchanges with an anonymous user to be offered pre-teen child sexual abuse content. This is how easy it is for
people to get this type of abuse of thousands and thousands of Filipino children.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Hanako Montgomery reporting there. We're going to take a short break. We'll see you on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:00]
SOARES: Well, inside the Middle East sits down with Emirati equestrian Ali Khalfan Al Jahouri who's fresh off his Asian Games performance and he
shares what it means to represent the UAE on the global stage. Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Khalfan Al Jahouri has worked with horses almost his entire life. Now, aged 51, he is dreaming of Olympic glory in an equestrian
discipline that very few people in the UAE know about.
ALI KHALFAN AL JAHOURI, EMIRATI EQUESTRIAN: Dressage is one of the most difficult sports. I would say that the mother of equestrian and riding.
Dressage is not very famous in UAE but it was my country, you know, they want to have team doing this sport because it's Olympic sport. We're really
good supporting from Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed. He want to have one team to present UAE. So, we start to do that and now we are improving year
by year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ali has competed around the world and his love affair with the sport shows no sign of slowing down.
AL JAHOURI: The sport chose me, I didn't choose the sport. This kind of relation when you do with the horse is coming from, like I would say it's
coming from you, from inside you. When you see this animal you want it. Like from when I am a child when I see this animal I feel like I have
relation, I want to be with this animal. So, it's coming from inside you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Traditionally used for hunting and transportation in the desert, horses have long played a crucial role in Emirati culture. More
than a skill for surviving the desert, riding was an art, mastered and passed down through generations. Today that tradition lives on in modern
forms like flat racing or other equestrian disciplines. And for Ali and Lotus, they are planning on taking things to the next level.
AL JAHOURI: I'm thinking my horse is ready to move up and also me. I want to do a Grand Prix, the high level. And also, I want to have a bigger goal
in future to be one Emirati rider to be in Olympic.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:00]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. In the wake of gang rape allegations made by a former student, Cornell University says it is suspending fraternity
events, and that includes parties, for the rest of the academic year. Cornell's president says the school is also taking steps to better support
victims of sexual assault. A woman known as Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit against seven members of the fraternity, accusing them of gang raping her
at a party in 2024. We'll stay across the very latest lines from Cornell for you.
We are learning this hour new details about a deadly accident at an amusement park in the U.S. state of Georgia. On Monday, a 42-year-old man
from Atlanta was killed when he fell out of a roller coaster at Six Flags. In response, the theme park has temporarily closed nine rides at its parks
across the United States. And the tragic accident comes just two weeks after Six Flags permanently shut down a ride in California, following a CNN
investigation that documented life-altering injuries and deaths.
Our Isabel Rosales joins me now live from Georgia. Isabel, I mean, this is just horrific. Just give us a bit more information of what you're learning
and about this gentleman. What happened? Talk us through it.
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Isa, the park, Six Flags over Georgia would have otherwise been closed because during the month of October, it's
only open during the weekends. But because this was a holiday here in the United States, Columbus Day, they were open yesterday. So, this is also the
time where a lot of families are celebrating fall break. So, as you can imagine, it was packed at the park, full of family and kids.
And the victim is 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kareem. We just got the name here in the last two hours from the Cobb County Police's Major Crimes Unit.
But yes, absolutely terrifying for these kids, these families to witness this.
I want you actually to push in a little bit because this is the ride right behind me, Goliath. This is what's known as a hyper coaster, reaching
speeds of 70 miles per hour. This incline is 200 feet, and the whole ride lasted just under four minutes.
And what you're looking at right now is not the actual cart where this man, sadly, Kareem, fell off of, but this is the cart that was coming after them
that got emergency pause, like somebody hit the button to break it. And that's the videos that we've seen of riders being evacuated and then gently
guided down those service steps to safety.
Witnesses, by the way, telling our affiliates, our CNN affiliates, that they've witnessed the man falling off of Goliath. Sissy Nelson (ph) told
CNN that her stomach dropped after she saw the cart coming back to the station, and she witnessed that empty seat and all the riders in a panic,
understandably, and hysteric, some of them with blood on them. And a different witness told our CNN affiliate, WXIA, that she saw this man
hitting the cart, the cart where he was at, three different times before falling down into a ride right below him into the roof of a haunted
attraction.
The man, that witness told our affiliate, appeared to be on the ride with his son next to him, his wife, and his daughter looking down from below.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two of my children had just been on that ride maybe 20 minutes before. Whenever you go to amusement parks, whenever you get in
a car, whenever you live your life, it's always subject to risk, so you just never know when something's going to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSALES: And horrifyingly, Isa, this man's last moments that were actually captured on picture, because you know that some of these roller coasters,
including Goliath right behind me, have those cameras that take a picture toward the end of the ride. And unfortunately, it did capture this man's
last moments. But his loved ones, his co-workers, he worked at an Atlanta public school system here, they want him to be remembered for somebody who
was kind and cared about education, and was so cherished and will be tremendously missed. with the entire family.
[14:55:00]
SOARES: Isabel Rosales, thank you very much indeed, Isabel, right there from Georgia. And we have some great news to bring you. Just in the last
few minutes, in fact, the sentencing has just dropped up for the man convicted in the murder of 90s hip hop legend Tupac Shakur. I'm going to
give you a live look from court proceedings in Las Vegas, if we have the images, let know live pictures, so we'll try and get them to you.
But we have been told in the last few minutes that Duane Davis was given 40 years to life in prison. I'm being told that these are live pictures, I
want to double confirm, these are live, right? These are not live, OK. Davis, we're told, waived his right to be sentenced by a jury. He was given
40 years to life in prison. And he did waive his right, as I was saying, to be sentenced by a jury. And that basically means he had sole discretion on
the punishment he faces.
Davis was found guilty of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon in the 1996 death of Tupac Shakur. The rap star was in a car off the Las Vegas
Strip when he was ambushed and he was killed. Davis is the only person ever charged in the murder of Shakur, but sentenced to 40 years.
Max Foster, with "What We Know," has much more on this breaking news after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
