Return to Transcripts main page
Isa Soares Tonight
WTO Chief on "Resilience" of Trade; Trump's Greenland Gamble; Judge Says Trump Press Ban Likely Violates First Amendment; Cornell Faculty Senate to Begin Vote of No Confidence; OpenAI Employee Arrested. Ukraine Accuses Starlink of Restricting Some Military Internet Services as Russia Continues Attacks on Ukraine; New Polling Shows the Texas Senate Race Deadlocked Just 20 Days Out from the U.S. Midterms; Fire and Frustrations on the Streets of Albania as Students Join Anti-Government Protests. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired October 14, 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, caught off guard. Another brutal night
of Russian attacks. Ukraine accuses Starlink of restricting some military internet services. And Volodymyr Zelenskyy once again says Kyiv was not
given advance warning.
I'll discuss with a U.S. congressman on the House Intelligence Committee. Then, too close to call. New polling shows the Texas Senate race deadlocked
just 20 days out from the U.S. Midterms. And fire and frustrations on the streets of Albania as students join anti-government protests.
We'll go live to the capital, Tirana, for you this hour. But first, tonight, as we go on air, there are growing fears, of course, that the U.S.
is cutting off the critical battlefield support for Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham
right here in London, in an effort to shore up much needed support among Western partners.
Back home in Kyiv, authorities say at least ten people were killed in Russian missile strikes on energy facilities, leaving 600,000 people
without power. The attack happened just hours after President Zelenskyy said his country did not receive advance warning from allies prior to
recent Russian attacks.
All of this happening at a time of renewed tensions between Washington and Kyiv, particularly over the U.S. deal that would suspend sanctions and
allow Russia to sell diesel on the global market. Earlier today, a Putin aide said the agreement would go ahead despite, quote, "execution issues".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Let's just briefly review how terrible a deal this is. It only gets us less than a day of diesel. It violates our own
laws. It separates us from our European allies who are paying the cost of Ukraine's defense.
And it sends a strong signal encouraging both Putin and Xi Jinping to continue their aggression. So, frankly, it is a terrible deal, and it's not
going to lower prices. Trump is desperate to do anything to help improve his standing and the standing of Republicans running for the Senate in
these Midterm elections. But this won't work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Chris Coons speaking to CNN earlier. Well, Ukraine also facing yet another new challenge, authorities there are accusing Elon Musk's SpaceX of
restricting Starlink services. They say that's led to a major disruption in military logistics as well as operations. President Zelenskyy had this to
say before his meeting with the Prime Minister.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT, UKRAINE: It's a pity that we have also some difficulties. What I want to discuss with Andy about Starlink and
about Intelligence. I mean, a lot of different surprises on which you can't count when you have freedom, partnership, and we count on partnership with
the United States. We just want to be very honest, very clear and be strong partners.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, there is no word so far from the Trump administration on the latest Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy, despite President Trump's
announcement of an energy ceasefire, if you remember. Our senior national security reporter, Jennifer Hansler is with us now from Washington.
Jen, great to see you. Look, there are real fears across Europe and indeed Ukraine that you know, that it's been left vulnerable following, of course,
this restriction of Starlink access. Can you give us a sense of what your understanding what is behind the disruption, what we know this hour?
JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Isa, that's just the thing. Kyiv has not been given any information as to why these
restrictions were put in place. According to sources and officials, this caught them completely off guard when these restrictions were imposed
overnight.
One source told me that they found out because they reached out to customer service about issues, they were having with this military grade Starlink
system. It's called Space Shield, and it was then that they were told that these restrictions had been imposed.
And what these do is, they limit the speed at which any sort of asset that's connected to these Space Shield terminals can travel. It caps it at
100 miles per hour.
[14:05:00]
So, essentially, anything that is going faster than that is going to lose connection to these Starlink Space Shield terminals. Now, according to
sources, this is -- could potentially have very significant implications for the fight. This could stop them from being able to intercept drones
that are coming into Ukrainian airspace to be able to launch their own drones, and to be able to coordinate on logistics for the battlefield.
They say that this gives Russia an upper hand in the war. Now, according to sources, Kyiv has reached out to SpaceX to try to get answers as to why
exactly these restrictions were put in place, particularly because there was already an agreement through a U.S. government contract that laid out
what the conditions were for the use of this Space Shield system.
And our understanding is up to this hour, they have not gotten any answers as to why these restrictions were put in place, and they are calling for
them to be lifted. Isa.
SOARES: Jen, I know you'll stay across this for us, thank you very much indeed. I do want to stick with this story, and I want to bring in and get
more insight, really from Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi; a Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
Congressman, welcome to the show. Let me just pick up where my colleague Jen just left off, and I'm really trying to get a sense of what has
unfolded over the last kind of 24 hours in Ukraine. We've seen these relentless attacks by Russia.
What is your understanding of what actually has happened? Because, you know, clearly, as we heard from Jen there in Washington, Kyiv was caught
off guard with the restriction, as she was saying, of Starlink. What are you hearing on this front?
REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): Well, what I'm hearing is that essentially, a threat was made to Zelenskyy, as reported by "NPR" and your
and other outlets, to the effect that if there were any further strikes on Russia's energy infrastructure or its oil economy, that Intelligence
sharing would be suspended.
And after that, not only was some Intelligence-sharing not done according to officials, but Star Shield, which is the military version of Starlink
was somehow disabled or throttled down. And commanders on the field essentially reported that they were unable to use it for targeting.
And so, that is, to me, outrageous and appalling. If it was done intentionally, which I have every reason to suspect it was, and it's yet
another reason why I'm deeply concerned about the Trump administration's kind of appalling kind of treatment of the Ukrainians and their kowtowing
to the Russians right now.
SOARES: Yes, and look, I remember when President Trump, I think he was going to Alaska yesterday, Congressman, he was asked whether Intelligence-
sharing is still happening. And he said yes, but I just want to go back to October the 7th, because -- October the 10th, pardon me, because when
President Trump commented on Ukraine and he said, you can do whatever you want to Russia, but don't hit the refineries because that's a world
problem.
Elon Musk then replied to that comment, and he said, Zelenskyy has gone too far. So, I do wonder whether either yourself or anyone on -- anyone else on
the House Intelligence Committee has reached out to Musk, and what kind of response, if any, you've had on this?
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, you know, basically we reached out collectively to the Trump administration because they are the ones who have the contract
for Star Shield with Musk. Not only that, but apparently some of our European partners have paid for that particular access to Star Shield.
And so, I saw that the Polish government also reached out to Musk, as they should. At this point, what we're doing just to foot-stomp this issue
because it's so important, is we're basically endangering our own national security at the end of the day.
We're endangering Ukrainian security. They have very little leverage over the Russians, and they should be able to defend themselves, especially at a
time when the Russians are mercilessly attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure as we speak, in a bid to leave the Ukrainian people without
heating as the Winter approaches. And so, that is kind of the stakes here that we need to all remember.
SOARES: And I know, Congressman, that you've seen for yourself with your own eyes what the challenges they face in Ukraine day in, day out.
[14:10:00]
I believe you were there over the Summer. So, let me get really what you think the strategy is from the United States because you heard probably
Chris Coons saying earlier on CNN, he called the diesel deal, a terrible deal.
He said it's not going to lower prices for American people. And then he said that President Trump is desperate. I mean, is this deal an act of
desperation, you think, by President Trump?
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Absolutely. First of all, it's illegal. Let's just make that very clear. It's illegal under U.S. law for Trump to enter into this
quote, unquote, "diesel deal" with the Russians, because we have an export ban -- I'm sorry, an import ban with regard to fuel from Russia.
Secondly, it's completely ineffective. The amount of diesel that Trump apparently bargained for is less than one day's diesel consumption in the
U.S. economy, which means that it's not going to do anything to lower prices, given the very little volumes that have been contracted for.
And third and finally, this is a complete distraction from the illegal and unconstitutional Iran war, which is really at the heart of what's driving
up prices of oil. Right now, the reason why the price of oil is over $100 a barrel --
SOARES: Yes --
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Is because of the Iran war, which needs to come to an end immediately.
SOARES: Yes, and I'm glad you brought it to the Iran war, because as you probably have seen, Congressman, many European leaders on this side of the
pond are incredibly worried. One said yesterday, I think it was a Finnish, said that there was huge disappointment in this deal.
Today, Meloni of Italy said that the surge in the fuel prices, basically that we're seeing is not due to Ukraine. It's more due to Iran. And then
she said this, let me play it out and we can speak afterwards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIORGIA MELONI, PRIME MINISTER, ITALY (through translator): A legitimization of Moscow while its bombs continue to fall on Ukrainian
cities, new revenue streams to finance the war and an implicit weakening of the sanctions leverage are factors that we cannot ignore.
They also contradict what Western countries, including the United States, have done so far to push Putin to come to the negotiating table.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: So, she talked about the legitimization of Moscow. And I wonder then what your message is to America -- to America's allies here in Europe,
who are very concerned because, you know, at this moment, just before I came on air, just to give you a sense, Congressman, Volodymyr Zelenskyy,
President Zelenskyy did an interview here with Piers Morgan, where he said he felt betrayed, was the word he used, betrayed by the Trump
administration.
KRISHNAMOORTHI: I believe that he should feel that sense of betrayal because what's going on right now goes against what we have told our
Ukrainian partners that we're willing to do. It goes against not only Ukraine's best interests, but our own best interests.
We need to draw this war to an end. The only way to get the Russians to the bargaining table is to essentially squeeze their oil economy, which is
fueling the war machine in Ukraine, by removing that leverage, by entering into, quote, unquote, "diesel deals" with the Russians.
We're basically allowing them to continue financing this war. And we're basically undercutting the strategy of trying to draw this war to a close
by putting pressure on the Russians. We constantly put pressure on the Ukrainians, we don't put enough pressure on the Russians.
The net result is, this war goes on and on in Russia's favor, and you know, it's going to come back to bite us in a --
SOARES: Why?
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Big way, because --
SOARES: Congressman --
KRISHNAMOORTHI: At the end of the day --
SOARES: Very briefly, why doesn't the United States President put pressure --
KRISHNAMOORTHI: Look at the end of --
SOARES: The right pressure on Putin?
KRISHNAMOORTHI: This is one of those great unanswered mysteries and questions about Trump. Why does he have to curry so much favor with Putin?
Why does he try to kowtow to them at every turn?
I think at this point, our allies and friends and partners need to stay the course, even as we do everything, we can to put pressure on the White House
to do a course correction on this particular issue with regard to Russia and Ukraine.
SOARES: Congressman, really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us this evening. Thank you very much indeed, joining us there from Illinois.
Well, we're going to turn our attention to the United States because we're in the final stretch of campaigning for the U.S. Midterm elections.
[14:15:00]
Several key Senate races are in focus as Democrats battle to retake control, and they will need to hold every Senate seat they have and flip
four others held by Republicans. Texas is one of the fiercest battlegrounds. James Talarico is trying to become the first Democrat in a
generation to win a U.S. Senate seat there.
Republicans are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on campaign ads against him promoting his rival, Ken Paxton. Talarico will speak to voters
directly tonight in a CNN town hall co-hosted by CNN. Meantime, we have new polls that shows the race is too close to call. Have a look at this.
According to this Marist College survey, 47 percent of likely voters in Texas backed Talarico in the survey, compared to 45 percent for Paxton.
Another closely-watched race is in Georgia. Republican Mike Collins faces an uphill battle in his effort to unseat Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff.
They squared off in their second debate last night on everything from immigration to tariffs to even the Epstein files. And in a sign of just how
far Democrats are venturing into Republican strongholds as their hopes rise, of course, of flipping red to blue, Mississippi, the deepest of deep
south states may even be in contention.
Former President Barack Obama rolled out an ad for Democratic Senate candidate Scott Colom this week. Colom has had an ad of his own, trying to
capitalize on Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith's response to a question about high beef prices.
Let's get more now. Plenty for us to talk about. I want to go to Jeff Zeleny, he's in Fort Worth, Texas, where CNN, of course, will be hosting
tonight's town hall with James Talarico. Jeff, great to see you. Look, I think our viewers will be watching the show, would have seen us talk --
showing them a sense of where President Trump has been.
Just in the last few days, he's been to Texas three times I believe in a month. Yesterday, his VP was also in Texas and went after James Talarico.
We were not going to play that sound. It is horrible. It's immature in so many ways, but this just tells us what about this race?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look Isa, it tells us that Texas is at the center of the fight for control of the U.S. Senate, and that is
something that would not have been discussed or really even conceived of just several months ago.
But we are here inside the studio where the James Talarico town hall meeting will be tonight in Fort Worth, as you were saying, and he'll be
taking questions from Democratic voters. Yes, also, Republicans and Independents, and really trying to see if he can build a winning coalition
here in Texas.
As you said, the President has been here repeatedly, Vice President Vance was as well. What they're trying to do is close this broad enthusiasm gap
that Republicans have to Democrats. Democrats have an advantage -- isn't -- among enthusiasm.
Republicans have a spending advantage, there's no doubt. But as we've been talking to voters here, the Trump policies and the Trump administration
hangs over the view of the race for many of them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE NODECKER, TEXAS REPUBLICAN VOTER: The Republican Party has been hijacked. They're not the Republican Party that I was a member of for all
my life.
ZELENY: Hijacked by who?
NODECKER: Trump. Everything revolves around him and his ego.
ZELENY: Is this a vote for Talarico or against Ken Paxton?
NODECKER: It's a vote for Talarico in this case. He just -- he presents himself in a very positive manner. He is clearly a legitimate Christian. He
doesn't just talk the talk; he walks the walk. And you can tell the difference from a mile away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: So, James Talarico is running against the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton. He has a long trail of controversies. He was once impeached by
the Texas House of Representatives, not convicted in the Senate. But that helps explain some of this enthusiasm gap.
He won the Republican primary back in May, defeated a -- the sitting of four-term Senator John Cornyn here. And since then, it's become a very
complicated race. The White House, the President trying to pull it over the finish line.
But this is one of the close ones to watch, not just because of the potential history to be made here in Texas, because it is so essential to
the overall puzzle pieces for the fight of control of the Senate. Isa.
SOARES: Yes, and as we were going, of course, through that polling, it's just so incredibly tight, Jeff. And in terms of spending, it is eye-
watering to say the least. I mean, they've already spent what? Nearly passed, I should say $500 million. Where are they focusing that money?
Where is the spending? Give us a sense of how effective from what you have seen, it has been.
ZELENY: Look, half a billion dollars, that's the entire spending this year in this Senate race, again, to defend a seat in a deeply Republican red
state. So, Republicans do have a spending advantage. Just looking at a snapshot of spending from Labor Day through election day, they're spending
about three-and-a-half times as much as Democrats.
[14:20:00]
What Republicans are spending that money on, it's not really lifting up Ken Paxton as much as trying to define James Talarico as too liberal for Texas
voters. We will see about that. But the enthusiasm gap certainly is a big challenge for Republicans, not just here in Texas, but other places.
And a central question is, are all these travels by the President, whether he's in Alaska or Ohio or Nevada today, Montana tonight, is that actually
making a difference in closing that enthusiasm gap? Isa.
SOARES: Yes, quite a multi-state blitz. Jeff, great to see you, thank you very much indeed, my friend. Thank you. And a reminder, please --
ZELENY: My pleasure --
SOARES: Join us tonight when CNN and Jubilee Media host a town hall with James Talarico, that's where Jeff is right now, that begins in less than
six hours, at 7:00 p.m. in Fort Worth, Texas, 1:00 a.m. if you're still up right here in London.
Well, doctors say Pope Leo is recovering normally after Tuesday's procedure to remove a growth on his right lung that was determined to be cancerous.
They're now waiting additional testing to be sure it hasn't spread.
And the Pope's medical team is expressing confidence that he'll make a full recovery, reporting that he's walking around his room at the hospital, and
that he ate both breakfast and lunch today. It's a very good sign. The 71- year-old Pope is expected to spend about a week at the hospital.
Our Christopher Lamb joins us now from Rome. And Chris, I suppose many will be wondering to know any more details we have about the Pope, not only how
he's doing today, we saw he's eating, he's walking, but also about his prognosis. What more are you hearing?
CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isa, it is a waiting game here at the Gemelli Hospital, as we hear more about Pope Leo's
recovery, but also, crucially, we're waiting for the test results that will determine whether more treatment is needed for the Pope.
And if this cancer has spread, and I think that's really very crucial, and what we are all waiting for. In terms of his recovery, has been positive so
far as the Vatican has laid out that he is up and about. He's been eating normally, and also, we've been told that he took part in the celebration of
Mass at the Gemelli Hospital.
The Pope has a special set of rooms on the 10th floor of this medical facility. But I think the broader picture here is that, you know, the
Pope's diagnosis of lung cancer has come as a huge shock to people in the Vatican and across the Catholic world.
Because, you know, the view is that Leo is a relatively young Pope in good health, and this news really has come as a bolt from the blue, and there's
still a lot of processing that's going on of that information at the moment as they wait to hear -- as everyone waits to hear how Leo is doing and when
he might leave the hospital, Isa.
SOARES: Yes, and I suspect that bolt from the blue, of course, that caused so many by surprise, including where you are, raises uncertainty at this
hour over his trip to South America that you and I were talking about yesterday, which he's expected to face next month.
It will take him to Peru, of course, where he served as a missionary and bishop. What are you hearing about this? Or is it still -- are you being
told it's a wait-and-see for the time being?
LAMB: Well, the Vatican are saying, you know, it's still scheduled, but obviously there's uncertainty about the trip. And it is a very demanding
schedule that the Pope is proposing to take on in Latin America. It would include a trip to Peru, a country he knows so well from his years spent
there.
And in Peru, he would be going to some high-altitude places in the country. So, obviously, there's some concern or questions about whether that can
happen. And I think the debate is, you know, whether the trip could be modified in some ways.
There's been no indication yet of that from the Vatican. I think it is a question of seeing these test results and how the Pope recovers. But
obviously, he's had this surgery that has removed part of his right lung, how he recovers from that, and the results will, I think, determine whether
he embarks on this trip.
SOARES: Yes, and it would be the longest trip, I believe, to date for the Pope. We wish him, of course, the very best in his recovery. Thank you very
much, Chris, great to see you live for us this hour from Rome. We are going to take a short break, but we'll see you on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:25:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Catholic world. Pope Leo --
SOARES: Going to take you now to the Gulf where Yemen's Houthis are claiming responsibility for an attack on the headquarters of Saudi state
oil giant Aramco. A few details are coming out, but the attack is said to have caused a limited fire at Aramco.
The Houthis are vowing to continue attacking Saudi airports and oil facilities after already forcing the closure of Riyadh's main international
airport. Violence has rapidly escalated between the two sides. The Saudi- led forces, for their part, have carried out strikes on a key fuel depot used by the Houthis.
Well, the war in the Middle East is putting major strain on global energy markets, as you know, and those costs are already being passed on to
businesses as well as consumers. Speaking to Richard Quest earlier, the head of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, described the
scale of the disruption facing markets and why she says there's still cause for optimism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NGOZI OKONJO-IWEALA, DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION: Trade is facing the biggest disruptions it's ever faced in the 80 years
history of the GATT and the World Trade Organization. So, there is no doubt about that, and facing real disruptions.
But at the same time, Richard, what has really surprised us is the resilience of trade. And these are numbers, you know, you can just look at
the numbers. So, we have -- I'll talk of two things if you give me a moment.
The first is that in spite of the battering and the undermining and whatever is going on with the rules, we find that 72 percent of world trade
is still taking place on global rules of the WTO. We call them the most favored nation, non-discriminatory rules, 72 percent, because the private
sector business trades.
And they simply find that these predictable rules help them. So, that's the first thing. Almost three-quarters. Second --
RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Right --
OKONJO-IWEALA: Thing, Richard, is the growth rate of trade. We -- last year, we predicted 2.4 percent on the back of all the disruptions and the
tariffs and the war and all the things happening. It came in at 4.6 percent, we've just revised that a bit down now to 4.2, almost double.
QUEST: Right --
OKONJO-IWEALA: And this year, we projected 1.9 percent for merchandise trade growth. Guess what? First half numbers have come in, 3.5 percent. So,
we've had to revise our figures dramatically. We are now projecting 3.9 percent for this year. But what is driving it?
We try to -- I said to my staff, this is amazing given what is happening, decompose this. What is driving it is A.I., trade in A.I. goods.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Ngozi speaking there to Richard Quest. And still to come tonight, right here on the show, President Trump says massive oil and gas
exploration will soon get underway in Greenland, but Greenland says not so fast.
And we'll hear from voters in North Carolina, a state that may be pivotal for Democrats just weeks away, of course, from those midterm elections.
Both those stories after a very short break. You are watching CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. The U.S. and Greenland are at odds over oil and gas exploration. President Donald Trump taking to Truth Social to
announce that, quote, massive exploration is about to begin in Greenland. However, the country's government has refuted those claims, saying that in
reality it's, quote, "very far from happening." And the confusion is just the latest chapter in President Trump's fixation on the strategically
located island nation.
Anna Stewart's with me following all the details. Clearly, Anna, they are not on the same page. Just bring us up to date with the very latest.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And not for the first time, right? We seem to be going here rather a lot.
SOARES: Yes.
STEWART: This is to do with oil, gas, rare earths, you know, resources that the U.S. would like to explore in Greenland. And, yes, there are
projects there. And I think it was interesting that the Greenland deputy mining minister did say, you know, there are activities by U.S. companies.
That was fairly diplomatic. But then he said we're very far away from massive exploration, which is what the president was saying.
Now, the issue with Greenland is, despite its name, it's largely white. 80 percent of Greenland is covered in ice. It's really thick, on average,
around a mile thick. That makes exploration very difficult. And so, much of it is really remote. No roads, no infrastructure. If you're looking
offshore, much of it can only be accessed in the summer. That's not to say there's not potential. And particularly with rising sea temperatures and
ice melting, of course, there may be more potential going forwards in the future.
[14:35:00]
However, how much oil are we really talking about here? Because that was one of the things that the president mentioned in his post. He said that
oil is far greater than that of almost any land. Now, that is simply not true. A U.S. geological survey did look at the east of Greenland Basin,
which is where they think most of the oil is. They've estimated there could be 31 billion barrels of oil there. It's an estimate. It's not proven, of
course. That is less than a tenth of the reserves of oil in, say, Venezuela, which has more than 300 billion barrels of oil. So, a lot of
confusion, I think, today as to what is being explored here and how much there actually is.
SOARES: And we're grateful to you, Anna, for fact-checking that social media post from the president. I mean, the timing is interesting too,
right? We're 20 days away from midterm elections. Clearly, the economy, inflation very much center in these midterms. But, you know, we also had,
was it a month ago or so, the U.S., Denmark and Greenland signed a deal. Where does this leave relations between them?
STEWART: Well, that's just it. It was only a month ago that that deal was signed between the U.S., Greenland and Denmark. And it actually gives the
U.S., you know, significantly more access in terms of the military, which is one of the key things that President Trump wanted. However, in that
deal, it very much acknowledges that Denmark is sovereign and that Greenlanders have the right to self-determination.
In the post today, the president describes it as our new and beautiful Greenland, which won't go down well at all. I guess we don't know what has
sparked this post, what exploration projects the president may be aware of, or whether, as you have suggested, it is in the run up to the midterms. And
this is a suggestion that perhaps there is more oil, more diesel could be processed out of this. Perhaps that's what we're looking at here.
SOARES: Yes. Well, I know you'll keep an eye on this. Thanks very much, Anna Steward, for us there.
Now, a federal judge appointed by U.S. President Donald Trump has sided with CNN and several other media outlets in their lawsuit against the Trump
administration. Judge Tim Kelly said Mr. Trump's attempt to bar CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House likely violates the constitutional rights
to free speech and freedom of the press. He ordered the Trump administration to grant access to the White House to the outlets while
their lawsuit plays out.
CNN's chairman says the network will never stop fighting for a free press. Take a listen to what Mark Thompson had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK THOMPSON, CHAIRMAN, CNN: I mean, this topic is one we're never going to back down from. And no matter how many court cases, investigations,
court appearances and all the expense that entails, we will fight this one to the end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, just a short time ago, the Justice Department filed a notice of appeal, an indication that the Trump administration has no intention of
backing down either. Well, the U.S. midterm election is just weeks away, as Anna and I were just discussing.
And one state we are watching is North Carolina. Over the weekend, the remnants of Hurricane Isaias caused flooding in some areas. They were
already recovering from Hurricane Helene two years ago. A tough economy has made it to recovery that much harder. Our John King met with voters in
North Carolina where a blue wave could take over a strong red state.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bigelow Brewery was among the first Hot Springs businesses to reopen.
AMY RUBIN, NORTH CAROLINA VOTER: It's beautiful.
KING (voice-over): Owner Amy Rubin is an independent who leans blue, calls Trump classless and corrupt, makes clear she wants big change.
KING: Have you ever been this close to an election in recent years thinking a Democrat could win this House seat?
RUBIN: No.
KING (voice-over): Why the Democrats have better odds even here this time is no secret. Higher prices make recovering from the flood even harder.
RUBIN: We had hoped for a busier summer this year than last year, and that didn't happen. I think the economy has been really hard on people for
travel this past summer.
KING: The history in North Carolina in recent years is overwhelmingly Republican when the winner of an election goes off to work in Washington.
Republicans, for example, have won nine of the last 10 presidential elections here. North Carolina last elected a Democrat to the Senate 18
years ago, back in 2008, and Republicans have easily won all seven elections here in the 11th Congressional District since the lines were
redrawn and the district was made more red after the 2010 census. Republicans in those elections here averaging 58 percent of the vote.
KING (voice-over): But the 11th district is a toss-up in the final days this year. This isn't the only North Carolina House race critical to the
balance of power in Washington. A second is 400 miles east along North Carolina's Atlantic coast.
[14:40:00]
KING: It's a big late campaign question because the president's poll numbers are simply so bad. A Democrat's going to have a good midterm
election night, or is there a big blue wave brewing? Well, where I'm standing right now will be a big part of the answer. This is North
Carolina's first congressional district. Democrat Don Davis is the incumbent. Back in 2024, Congressman Davis narrowly won re-election, but at
the same time, President Trump carried his district by three points.
So, Don Davis was going to be a top Republican target this year anyway. But then North Carolina Republicans redrew the lines. They took away from the
district several predominantly black Democratic counties, and they added a handful of Republican counties, like this one. Under the new lines,
President Trump would have carried the district by 11 points. So, by that new math, in 2026, Congressman Davis should be toast, right?
KING (voice-over): Laurie Buckhout is the Republican candidate.
NICK MCFERRAN, NORTH CAROLINA VOTER: It's a side chart.
BLITZER: Nick McFerran bought this gun shop in Moorhead City ten years ago, says business is pretty good. His politics could not be clearer.
KING: What is it you like about him?
MCFERRAN: What's not to like about him? I think he's straightforward. I like what he does.
KING (voice-over): He's confident Republicans will turn out and flip the House seat.
MCFERRAN: Constantly people talk about the election. I think definitely she will win.
KING (voice-over): Moorhead City is in Carteret County. Trump won 71 percent here two years ago. Local Democrats, though, insist that even here,
the midterm mood is change.
LISA HOLMAN, 1ST VICE CHAIR, CARTERET COUNTY DEMOCRATS: We're going to roll it blue. We are going to roll it blue. And what's interesting is the
people that we're talking to, we have a lot of unaffiliateds that in the past have potentially voted red. People are angry. They're ready for a
change.
KING (voice-over): Be skeptical, especially when it comes to this House race. But North Carolina hugging the Atlantic coast has two big pluses.
One, it's gorgeous. And on election night, it gives us a giant early test of the midterm blue wave debate.
John King, CNN, Moorhead City, North Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And now, to a new CNN investigation. In recent years, Cornell University found 16 students responsible for sexual assault. Only two of
them were expelled. The data concerns incidents between 2022 and 2024. Nearly half of the students found responsible for sexual assault were
punished with extra study programs and written reprimands.
Today, Cornell's Faculty Senate is holding a significant meeting, which will start the process for a vote of no confidence. The university's
president and provost are expected to address the Senate, the Faculty Senate. We'll stay across that story for you right across CNN here.
We're going to take a short break. We'll see you in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:00]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. Federal authorities in the U.S. have arrested an OpenAI employee for allegedly planting a sophisticated
recording device inside a company conference room. The suspect is a Saudi national who was employed as an engineer in OpenAI's San Francesco office.
He's since been fired by the company. Our Hadas Gold has been covering this developing story and joins us now with the very latest. So, Hadas, what
more are you learning about this suspect? And what is the DOJ, indeed the OpenAI, saying about this?
HADASS GOLD, CNN A.I. CORRESPONDENT: So, the suspect has been identified by the Department of Justice as 35-year-old Abdulrahman Alfozan. As you
noted, he's a Saudi national. He had been working as an engineer at OpenAI on their product team since last year.
This device that was discovered was hidden in the USB port in the back of a TV in a conference room that's used exclusively by higher-ups at OpenAI,
executives and the like. Normal employees do not have access or shouldn't have access to this conference room. This device, according to OpenAI,
monitored audio. It had advanced encryption and a mechanism for transferring data in a way that could evade monitoring.
OpenAI says that they have evidence that he planned to install more of these devices around OpenAI offices. They said that they found this device
during a regular sweep that their security team conducts throughout the offices. They contacted the FBI, and then they installed a hidden camera
where they actually found or discovered that he went back into the conference room and peeked behind the TV, capturing that on camera. He was
arrested last week.
Now, OpenAI says in a statement that the device had likely been installed for about two days, but they say they don't have any indications that he
managed to inappropriately access or exfiltrate things like model weights or source code or customer data.
Interestingly, Alfozan has worked in the tech space for some time. He previously worked at Meta for a while, and he is also actually a partner at
a Saudi-based venture capital firm called Raed. I've reached out to both Raed and the Saudi embassy for comment, and I have not yet heard back from
them.
But the Department of Justice in the United States is taking this very seriously, and they say it's a matter of national security. What's not
clear yet, though, is if this is a case of sort of corporate espionage, trying to steal, you know, trade secrets and the like, or if this is
actually an intelligence operation of some kind. If you remember, about 10 or 15 years ago, there was an operation, a Saudi intelligence operation
that they were accused of at Twitter, what was then Twitter, of trying to use engineers who were there to try and get information about different
accounts that were posting things about Saudi.
Alfozan now is in federal custody, and he's expected to appear before a judge in California next week. Isa.
SOARES: Hadas, thank you very much indeed for keeping us abreast of this developing story. Thank you.
Turn our attention now to Albania, because we've seen fire, tear gas in the streets, as well as frustration reaching boiling point in Albania and
Tehran and the capital as a wave of student activism is continuing to spread in Europe, inspired by the protests we've been seeing and we've been
showing you in France.
These are the scenes outside Albania's education ministry. This was earlier, where demonstrations threatened to turn violent, and then students
threw rocks and projectiles at the building, as you can see, in anger over government corruption and the cost of higher education.
Ervin Koci is a political reporter at Albania Network A2, and he joins us now live from Tirana. Ervin, really appreciate you being with us. Just give
me a sense of what you are hearing from the protesters. What change do they want to see? What are they calling for?
ERVIN KOCI, REPORTER, A2: Good evening, Isa. It's been 10 hours now that the protest is still going on the street of Tirana, the capital of Albania,
and we can tell by sure that these protests are different than before, because the way that the youth is protesting is escalated, like they have
done in the several months.
During the last two days, the students are demanding more conditions, far better conditions, far better education programs and more financial support
by the government. Otherwise, there are still some political demands by the youth. They are requiring for the resignation of a prime minister, Mr. Edi
Rama. That means that the demands of the students during the last two days are going from the education demands to the political demands that are
still, as I said before, ongoing on the street of Tirana.
[14:50:00]
I am right now in the main boulevard of Tirana, and you can see by the image that you can see by our cameraman that what has been done during the
last hour that the protest has been here. The importance of this part of the city is because near the main boulevard of Tirana is the prime
minister's office, and that's why in the last few hours here was the clash between the students, the protesters and the police officers.
SOARES: Ervin, talking about what the students want to see from an educational point of view, first of all, are conversations being had
between the prime minister and the students or student unions, is there a communication and they're sitting down and talking this through, or what is
the prime minister saying about this?
KOCI: So, far it's no communication between the students, the representative of the students of the Albanian government. Today was a
meeting of the Albanian government, and during that meeting the prime minister has said the request of the students should be taken into
consideration by the Ministry of Education. That means that the government is open to talking with the representative of the students, but in the last
few days we cannot say for sure that there is any kind of connection between the students and the government. So, far we can talk only about the
clash between the protest and the police officers in the street of Tirana.
SOARES: Yes. I know you'll stay across this for us. There are concerns of course over allegations of police force against protesters and journalists
coming from the European Union delegation to Albania. We've also seen very violent episodes. I think six police officers have been injured. I know
you'll stay across it for us. Thank you very much, Ervin. I really appreciate it. Live for us from Tirana in Albania this hour.
Still to come tonight right here on the show, images that seem out of this world, but can you spot the video that used A.I. to win a contest? The
cheater that got caught when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:55:00]
SOARES: Well, from heartbreak to whimsy and wonder, the 2026 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition captures it all. The overall winner is
this picture named after -- named, I should say, the aftermath. And it features is beautiful. A female elephant carrying a dead calf in Namibia.
The competition's jury said the photograph poignantly shows heartbreak among animals.
The photo of this dung beetles received the young wildlife photographer award, named Labor of Love. It was captured by lying flat on the ground as
the beetle moved past the lens. Winners were selected in more than a dozen other categories of record-breaking. 65,000 entries were received from 121
countries and territories right around the world.
And finally, A.I. and cheating. Nikon's prestigious Small World in Motion contest is a competition for the best video of microscopic organisms and
structures. Nikon initially awarded first prize to a video from Singapore that showed hair-like structures found in human lungs. But scientists
immediately raised questions about the video. And its maker now admits it was enhanced with A.I. Nikon has revoked the prize and is revising its
guidelines for future contests.
That does it for us for a very busy hour. Do stay right here. "What We Know" with Max Foster is up next. I shall see you tomorrow. Have a
wonderful evening.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
