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CNN Headlines: Today: President Trump Stumps For Senate Hopeful Ken Paxton At San Antonio Rally; Calls For Accountability As Cornell University Students, Faculty Lash Out; U.S. Urges Russia To Share More Information About Plague Lab Death. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired October 07, 2026 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:30:50]

BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: It is half past the hour. Let's hit the refresh button on our top stories.

A town hall on campus at Cornell University yesterday, just one of several gatherings this week amid growing outrage. Students and faculty pressed for answers on that alleged gang rape from two years ago. In a separate webinar for faculty obtained by CNN officials verified that two of the men named in Jane Doe's civil lawsuit are still enrolled and attending classes.

Also, attorneys for Christa Pike are in court today to try to have evidence preserved in her botched execution in Tennessee. She survived two lethal injections last week. Her lawyers say that she is now conscious and speaking. Pike had been sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of a classmate.

Also happening today, President Trump hitting the campaign trail again and back to Texas he's going. He's hopeful that the visit to the ruby red battleground states will boost Republican candidates and the party's voter turnout.

And all eyes are on the high-stakes U.S. Senate race between Ken Paxton and James Talarico. New polling suggests that Talarico, the Democrat candidate, is leading Paxton by six points. Meanwhile, we're told that Paxton will be in attendance during Trump's San Antonio rally tonight.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has the latest on that race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): It wasn't easy to spot Ken Paxton in the crowd when President Donald Trump campaigned in Texas last week.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Is he here, by the way? Oh, there he is -- good. I didn't - I didn't even know he was here. LAVANDERA (voiceover): But there he was just offstage as Trump came to rally voters to support the Republican Senate candidate locked in a close race in a state that hasn't elected a Democrat to statewide office in more than 30 years.

TRUMP: Ken Paxton was at my side more than anybody, and I have to always remember that, because he could be a pain in the ass sometimes, I'll be honest.

LAVANDERA (voiceover): The latest pain comes from recordings obtained by The New York Times and Politico, where Paxton told a group of GOP donors that he has never felt having "less control over the campaign because it's all coming from D.C." and adding, "I don't control the message or what we're doing."

A Paxton spokesperson told Politico, "Campaigns don't coordinate with super PACs, and that's obviously what A.G. Paxton was referring to. But in audio obtained by The New York Times, Paxton also said Trump's midterm Republican convention event in Texas hurt him.

KEN PAXTON, (R) TEXAS SENATE CANDIDATE: So, to be honest with you, the numbers -- when we did that convention, it dropped our numbers. Everybody's numbers dropped. Um, right now, um, yeah, not good.

LAVANDERA (voiceover): The Paxton campaign called the leaked audio "manipulated nonsense."

With Republicans fearing the idea of losing a Texas Senate seat, campaign money has been pouring into the state to help Paxton.

KEN PAXTON POLITICAL AD: Stand up for families. Texas needs Ken Paxton.

LAVANDERA (voiceover): According to a CNN analysis of ad impact data, Republicans have spent more than $150 million on advertising so far, and another $38 million is planned before election day. That's about six times more than what Democrats are set to spend in the closing weeks as they hammer away at Paxton's checkered political career.

Impeached by Texas House Republicans on charges of bribery and abuse of power, he was acquitted by Texas Senate Republicans and remains the attorney general. But as the election looms closer, Paxton is getting the support of his estranged wife who is divorcing him on "biblical grounds" for allegedly having an affair.

ANGELA PAXTON, KEN PAXTON'S WIFE: Let's talk about the elephant in the room.

LAVANDERA (voiceover): Angela Paxton, who is a state senator, doesn't mention Paxton by name in this ad, but says she's voting for the Republican ticket.

A. PAXTON: It's not as much about the individual players on the team. It's about getting the whole team across the finish line.

LAVANDERA (voiceover): And State Rep. Jeff Leach, one of the Texas Republican lawmakers who led the impeachment efforts against Paxton, gave him a very public show of support at a recent campaign event.

STATE REP. JEFF LEACH, (R) TEXAS: From the great state of Texas, our Attorney General Ken Paxton.

DAN COGDELL, FORMER PAXTON ATTORNEY: In my view, respectfully, I think Ken has lost sight of his core mission, which is to represent the people of Texas.

[05:35:00]

LAVANDERA (voiceover): Dan Cogdell was one of the lawyers who represented Ken Paxton in the impeachment trial, and he's endorsing the Democrat in the race, James Talarico.

LAVANDERA: Why did you do that?

COGDELL: I think Ken is MAGA, MAGA, MAGA, Trump, Trump, Trump, and Texas has a lot of problems that the Republicans don't seem to want to address.

LAVANDERA: Do you think James Talarico has a legitimate shot at winning?

COGDELL: I think he's got a real shot. Republicans are worried and they should be.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: Thank you so much to Ed Lavendera.

Now, next week, CNN's Erin Burnett will host a town hall with James Talarico, the Democrat trying to flip the Texas Senate seat. Tune in Wednesday, October 14 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.

The governor of Maryland, Wes Moore, says that he was blocked by President Trump from speaking at an event in his own state. Trump was in Maryland Tuesday afternoon to unveil a new multibillion dollar investment in submarine manufacturing. Democratic Gov. Wes Moore played a key role in landing the deal that will bring a defense tech firm to a former steel plant near Baltimore. But Moore and other Maryland Democrats skipped Tuesday's event after the administration blocked the governor from speaking. A White House official said Trump had graciously invited Moore, but only as a guest.

Moore spoke with CNN last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. WES MOORE, (D) MARYLAND: We found out late last night, and this was -- this was after a year of working on this deal, where we were working on this deal because we knew the type of impact that it was going to have. That Maryland was involved in a very competitive process. That after we were selected and were ecstatic about it and were being told about the run of show, we then also got word that the president of the United States was trying to block me from speaking at an event that our work was the work that actually had made the project happen.

And so in the final day, the president decides to give a speech and take the credit, which is pretty par for the course where you don't do the work, but you get all the credit. That is the Trump way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: White House officials do not dispute Gov. Moore's account of being blocked from speaking at the event.

All right, now back to the campaign trail. If Democrats want to retake the Senate this year, then flipping Maine will be crucial. Republican Sen. Susan Collins is locked in a tight race with her opponent Troy Jackson. The two debated for the first time last night and Collins played defense most of the time, trying to distance herself from President Trump. But there's one issue in particular that Troy Jackson believes will really galvanize voters -- Collins' vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh later voted to overturn Roe v. Wade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TROY JACKSON, (D) CANDIDATE FOR SENATE: Eight years ago today, a Maine woman went to D.C. and begged Sen. Collins not to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, but she did it anyways even though they begged her. He helped overturn Roe versus Wade, and today she says she has no regrets.

DEBATE MODERATOR: You said at the time that he said that he considered Roe v. Wade settled law. Do you feel at any level that Brett Kavanaugh lied to you on that day?

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS, (R) MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: I do not feel that he lied, but I think that he should not have said it was settled law, because, to me, that meant that it would not be overturned. But to be fair, you cannot ask a nominee how he might vote on some hypothetical future case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: This race could not be tighter. Collins and Jackson both picking up 50 percent of the vote in the latest CBS poll of likely Maine voters.

All right. We've got some new details as allegations of a 2014 gang rape -- a 2024 gang rape at Cornell University rocked the campus. Students and faculty are demanding answers from university leaders what exactly happened two years ago? That's the big question and Gloria Pazmino explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Cornell's Board of Trustees hiring former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to lead an independent review of how the school responded to sexual assault allegations by Jane Doe in October 2024. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're kind of holding the administration accountable because there's a lot of discussion about, OK, so what do we do now?

PAZMINO (voiceover): This as students gathered in a town hall to voice their frustration over what they say is a lack of response by the administration.

The outrage continues to grow as we are hearing more secret recordings between Jane Doe and one of the Chi Phi fraternity members.

FRATERNITY BROTHER: I'm so sorry about all, like, the backlash you're getting from this, by the way.

PAZMINO (voiceover): About three weeks after the alleged incident, Jane Doe recorded a call with a fraternity member who she says was one of the men who snorted ketamine off her body and assaulted her at the Chi Phi house, according to ABC News.

FRATERNITY BROTHER: Oh, dude, I'm so sorry. You know, I'm very -- I feel so bad for you, dude.

[05:40:00]

PAZMINO (voiceover): ABC says Jane Doe then told the fraternity member, "I was completely and totally intoxicated and then given multiple sedatives. And then I was I was surrounded by upwards of eight to 10 men. This is classified as a gang rape.

That's when the fraternity member's tone changes, ABC reported.

FRATERNITY BROTHER: By the way, what's -- can I -- can I ask, like, what's the purpose for why you decided to call?

PAZMINO (voiceover): According to ABC, that fraternity member was one of two students who was suspended.

All this as Cornell faculty is considering a vote of no confidence against the administration at their faculty Senate meeting in the coming weeks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Faculty have been approached by hundreds of students, alumni, and staff who are demanding that we do something. They want a resolution. They want a change now. Many women on this campus do not feel safe walking even during the daylight at Cornell University.

PAZMINO: And accountability and action is what many Cornell University students are asking for. They gathered for a student town hall on Tuesday where they shared ideas, shared stories and came up with strategies to try and pressure the university administration to do more. They see the issue of sexual assault as a campus-wide issue, not just Jane Doe's story.

On Wednesday they are asking the students to join a sit-in, and they are recommending that students do not participate in the local Cornell economy. They see it as a way to pressure the administration to do more.

Gloria Pazmino, CNN, Ithaca, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: And if you or anyone you know is struggling after a sexual assault, you are not alone. Free, confidential 24/7 support is online at RAINN.org. That's RAINN with two N's or you can call 1-800-656- HOPE.

A 30-year-old in Washington State was arrested in connection with Canada's deadliest school shooting in decades. James Cody Bryant is charged in the U.S. with conspiracy to murder persons in a foreign country. The shooting happened in February in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. Eight people were killed, including six children. The U.S. attorney on this case says Bryant was in repeated contact with the Canadian shooter to offer advice and money and agreeing to livestream the attack.

A former senior CIA official who was accused of stealing $40 million in gold bars pleaded guilty. David Rush was accused of using his position to try to make himself rich through Florida real estate and those gold bars. The court filing alleged that he lied about his education and military background and created a fake classified program to funnel millions to a company that he controlled. Rush faces up to 20 years in prison with sentencing set for January.

Well, if you've been waiting to know when you can go see those new giant pandas at the Atlanta Zoo, we've got the answer for you. Fu Shuang and Ping Ping will make their public debut next month. The animals are on a 10-year loan as part of an agreement with China -- their Wildlife Conservation Association. All right, cuteness overload. Get ready for it if you go see them.

Next up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, memorials are taking place across Israel as the hundreds of victims of the deadly October 7 Hamas attack are remembered three years later. Stay with us.

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[05:47:52]

SMITH: The Trump administration is urging Russia to answer questions about the scope of a deadly incident at a Russian plague lab. President Trump says he will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin very soon about the death of one of the lab's researchers.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also urging the Kremlin to be more transparent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: It's incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world. And the more we can learn about what happened, then the better all of us can be in a position of responding. And maybe, you know, there's nothing there. Maybe it's bigger than we thought. We don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: CNN's Fred Pleitgen has the latest on what Russian officials have disclosed so far.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Russian officials keep saying that they have the situation under control. In fact, the governor of that region once again said the situation is under control and that things are completely normal in that town where this happened, the town of Sholokhov. But at the same time, the Russians do still have some very strong quarantine measures that are in place for the hospitals in that region and specifically, of course, for the hospital where that lab technician -- that female lab technician died of what the Russians say was pneumonia of an unknown origin.

CNN actually managed to speak to a couple of people in that place, including to one patient at a maternity ward that is under lockdown. And she said that first of all, her relatives were not allowed inside the maternity ward. And at the same time that there were indeed these screenings -- these questionnaires that people had to fill out asking them about infectious diseases, including the plague. They also got health screenings as well and were asked to wear masks inside that maternity ward.

Now the Kremlin has been getting questions about this, and there is a regular scheduled call with the spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, every day, and he was asked about this once again today. And he said that all updates about this would only come from Russia's agency for infectious diseases, Rospotrebnadzor. But so far, there has been fairly little information coming from that agency.

[05:50:00]

Of course, we just heard Secretary of State Marco Rubio asking the Russians for more information and saying that that was very important.

One of the other things that came out today was actually a press release from the European Agency for Disease Control and they actually spoke of, when speaking about this case of the lab technician, a possible case -- suspected case of pneumonic plague, but they also say that right now the information coming out of Russia is very scarce.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: All right. Thank you to Fred Pleitgen for that report.

Let's go around the globe to see what else is making headlines today.

We begin in Israel where memorials are taking place across the country to mark three years since the October 7 Hamas attack. More than 1,200 people were murdered and over 250 taken hostage. The milestone comes at an inflection point for Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political future. In less than three weeks, Israel will hold a national election, the country's first since the 2023 Hamas attack.

Today also marks the third year of Israel's war with Hamas, which launched immediately after the attack. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, the conflict has killed more than 74,000 people in Gaza.

More student protests are expected across France in the days ahead. Yesterday police fired tear gas and clashed with demonstrators across the country. For weeks, students have been protesting for better school conditions. France's prime minister has urged officials to listen to students' demands.

And soccer legend Lionel Messi bid an emotional farewell to Argentina in his final match, playing with the national team, and they won last night. Messi has played for 21 years and scored 126 goals with a World Cup championship under his belt too. Messi told fans after the match he will miss them all, and he's proud to be Argentine.

Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, Nature's Own Hawaiian bread is being recalled. We'll tell you what the problem is next.

And take a look at this wild video of a driver doing donuts in front of a county courthouse. What exactly prompted this? We'll tell you on the other side of the break. Keep it right here.

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[05:56:40]

SMITH: In today's Money Express, McDonald's has been hit by a lawsuit over its AI-powered menu price fixing.

Maribel Aber joins us from the NASDAQ MarketSite with more details. Say it ain't so for my hash browns, Maribel.

MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, MONEY MATTERS: Oh Brad, let's walk you through. McDonald's facing a federal lawsuit over allegations that its AI-enhanced pricing tool violates antitrust laws. So this lawsuit was filed Friday in Illinois and McDonald's pricing tool uses artificial intelligence to collect data that competing franchises wouldn't normally share, like store-level sales. OK, that's the allegation. The Chicago-based fast food giant said it lets franchisees use the tool to set prices at their individual restaurants while the lawsuit blames the tool for rising prices. The company says the lawsuit is fraught with inaccuracies and said the tool -- AI tool doesn't set menu prices; the individual franchisees do.

OK. Flowers Foods has issued a voluntary recall for select packages of Nature's Own Hawaiian bread due to an undeclared milk allergen. The recall impacts the bread company's 20-ounce and 40-ounce bags that were distributed in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. The press release says people who have a milk allergy or severe sensitivity to milk may run the risk of an allergic reaction if they consume this product. Affected products should be discarded or may be returned to the place of purchase for full refund. No illnesses or incidents have been reported to date. For more information, visit fda.gov.

Hey, the Emmy Awards are leaving broadcast TV next year and going streaming only. The Television Academy has signed a new six-year deal with Prime Video after decades of rotating the awards between the broadcast networks. And you don't need a subscription to watch. Prime Video says the ceremony will stream on its ad-supported platform.

So hope you have some great Wi-Fi, Brad.

SMITH: Yes, indeed. Maribel Aber, thank you so much.

Well, now to some of the other stories that we are tracking this morning.

First up, we got to go cross country here and start in New Hampshire. That's where a firefighter was slightly injured after catching fire while rushing out of a burning house. That's firefighter, Mike England, running out of that house that we've seen while he's on fire. England says he thought someone was still inside, and he made it out just in time. England called himself the luckiest unlucky guy.

All right, now to Florida, where a school bus carrying high school students crashed, killing two people. And we do want to warn you that this video may be difficult to watch.

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Bus crash.

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SMITH: Authorities say the driver of a Chevy Malibu clipped the back of the school bus, sending it swerving into another lane. Officials say the bus then slammed head-on into a Jeep and overturned. A 10th grader and the Jeep driver were killed. Thirty-five others on the bus were taken to the hospital.

All right. Let's stay in Florida. You are looking at a massive sinkhole. We're told that it was caused by an underground electrical fire. It forced multiple road closures in Tallahassee. No word on what caused it, though.

And watch this crazy video coming from Indiana. Donuts on a courthouse lawn. The Jennings County Sheriff's Office says that they arrested a 68-year-old woman for drunk driving. Officials are encouraging citizens to use designated drivers if you have been drinking.

[06:00:05]

Um, look, don't do this at the end of the day. That's all I can say about that.

That does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.