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CNN Headlines: Attorney: Staff Worried About "Blown" IV Line In Pike Botched Execution; President Trump Urges Ramaswamy To Buck Bipartisan Calls To Pull Ad; "Clavicular" Pleads Not Guilty In Rape Case. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired October 23, 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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[05:30:45]

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

Staff administering a lethal dose of drugs during the execution of Christa Pike were worried the IV site may have ruptured. That's according to new court documents filed by her attorneys. A rupture vein would affect how Pike received the toxins. The documents also say that staff made multiple attempts before establishing a successful IV into Pike's arm.

And if President Trump wants his $10 million defamation lawsuit against the BBC to continue, he will have to sit for a deposition. A federal judge warned Trump that his lawsuit could be thrown out if he does not. Now, Trump filed the lawsuit against the British broadcaster last December and he alleges that he was defamed in a documentary on his political comeback that aired before the 2024 election.

Also, the president is defending Ohio Republican Vivek Ramaswamy's controversial campaign ad. That is the one that's featuring the estranged mother of Ramaswamy's Democratic opponent in the Ohio governor's race. Critics in both parties call the ad exploitative and inappropriate.

Here's CNN's Kevin Liptak with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Trump came here to this deep red part of Iowa to rally his supporters behind the Senate and governor's candidate here in this state, recognizing that they will need his supporters to turn out in big numbers if they are to win their closer than anticipated races in November.

But it was the president's defense of that controversial ad airing three states over in Ohio that really captured a lot of attention. The president vehemently defending Vivek Ramaswamy for airing this commercial that features his Democratic rival Amy Acton's estranged mother. The president recounting during his rally here in Iowa receiving a call from Ramaswamy asking what to do amid this bipartisan backlash to the commercial, and the president saying that she -- he should hold firm. That he should keep the commercial up.

And it reflects what I'm told behind the scenes was the president's frustration that so many Republicans were coming out to criticize this spot. He said that it could potentially damage their ability to win the midterms. Of course, the president has long complained that he doesn't think Republicans stick together when they need to in the same way that Democrats do.

Now, it put him in something of an awkward position. One of the candidates that he was here trying to rally support behind, Ashley Hinson, who is the Senate candidate, had just earlier in the day said that the ad should come down, and she called it ridiculous. So clearly, she is at odds with the president, as are a number of other Republicans in very tight races, including in Ohio. Jon Husted says that he wouldn't put that ad up. The state's Republican governor, Mike DeWine, also saying that the ad was out of bounds.

And so it's clear that not all Republicans are taking their direction from President Trump and from the White House on this particular issue. And you can already see how some of the battle lines are forming in what could become a Republican civil war over this very controversial commercial. Now, the ad is running in Ohio, but the president raising it here in Iowa clearly makes it into a national issue.

Ashley Hinson, the Senate candidate here, is walking a very fine line. She has one of the most difficult balancing acts of any Republican candidate in the country.

A lot of the president's policies are very unpopular here in Iowa, whether it's the tariffs that have made life difficult for farmers. Ranchers also oppose the president's decision to import foreign beef. The war in Iran, also very unpopular. This is a state that lost two service members as part of the Iran conflict.

And so Ashley Hinson, I think, really trying to walk a tightrope. And perhaps this issue with that ad in Ohio just contributes to some of that balancing act that she is facing as we get closer and closer to the midterm election.

[05:35:10]

Kevin Liptak, Sioux City, Iowa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: All right. Thank you, Kevin.

Now more on that reaction from Ohio and beyond. CNN's Lauren Fox picks up the story from there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like, why? Why? And I don't know what his angle was. Like, did -- who -- is that speaking to anyone?

DONNA ARTHUR, AMY ACTON'S MOTHER, RAMASWAMY POLITICAL AD: She is a liar.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): A brutal political ad from gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is dividing the Republican Party and voters in Ohio.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this point, with what I know, I would probably lean toward Acton.

FOX: Do you think that ad might backfire for Ramaswamy?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the ad is definitely going to backfire, particularly with women. I think there's going to be some problems for Vivek and also potentially the Republican Party across the board.

FOX (voiceover): Even in an era of hyper partisanship, the ad featuring Acton's estranged mother calling her a liar has struck a nerve.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I couldn't believe it, and the fact that he hasn't disowned it is beyond my comprehension. It really is. It's the ugliest thing I've seen in pretty much my lifetime.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's heinous and horrible, and I just -- I think -- I don't care if Ramaswamy's policies are the best. That shows just a judgment of character that I don't want to see anymore.

FOX (voiceover): Acton's mother lost custody of her and her brother when she was just 12 years old, and her stepfather was indicted by a grand jury of sexually abusing her.

AMY ACTON, (D) OHIO GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I had a childhood of extreme physical abuse and sexual abuse. As a kid, my brother and I. Frequent flyers and children's services finally removed after a grand jury saw evidence that was so shocking that we were removed from my mother's custody.

FOX (voiceover): The ad comes as voters here say they want their leaders more focused on the economy and less on personal attacks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Talk about the plans you have to make grocery costs go down, to make gas prices go down, to do something about the tariffs and how they're charging us more money at the grocery store. Don't talk about people's parents.

FOX (voiceover): One Republican operative told CNN that Republican officials in the state are furious at Ramaswamy for airing it at a moment when the party is trying desperately to guard against a Democratic comeback in November.

GOV. MIKE DEWINE, (R) OHIO: The ad on its face is deeply, deeply troubling. But when you know the rest of the story, when you know the back story, it makes it just more wrong.

FOX (voiceover): Governor DeWine is a Republican who is sticking with Ramaswamy, despite hating the ad.

Acton holds a six-point lead over her Republican rival, according to the CNN poll of polls in Ohio. "Republicans in the state probably couldn't be more pissed at him," the source told CNN. President Trump sees it differently.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know what it is, but I guess the mother said very bad things about the one who's running for governor, and I think you have to take that seriously.

FOX (voiceover): That message may be resonating with some Republican voters.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think it reflects well on Amy Acton, but I also don't think it reflects well on her mother. It's a messy situation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: As the fight for the House enters its final stretch, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is spending time on the ground in California, helping Democrats defend and flip key seats.

CNN's Manu Raju caught up with him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hakeem Jeffries is extremely bullish right now. He sees a Democratic majority well within his reach, and they're spending money not just in traditional battleground districts, but also deep into Trump country, places where Donald Trump won by more than 10 points. He thinks they can flip a number of those districts.

And he also thinks he can flip a district like this one. I'm in San Diego, the area -- a district that had been occupied by Darrell Issa, a retiring Republican, but that has been gerrymandered and Democrats have changed district lines to add five Democratic seats. He thinks they will add all five Democratic seats. He does not think Republicans will do as well when it comes to all the gerrymandering that we saw over the past year.

Now, I asked him to put a number about the percentage chance of a Democratic victory come November. He didn't want to go that far, but he made very clear that he thinks Democrats will take the House.

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): We're on the verge of taking back control of the House of Representatives. I don't want to attach any particular percentage point other than making it clear it's very likely we're going to get this done. We have extraordinary candidates. The issue environment is clearly on our side. We've made clear as Democrats we're going to fight for an affordable America.

[05:40:00]

RAJU: So there must be something in the back of your mind, though, that says that something could still go wrong on election night. Would you acknowledge that?

JEFFRIES: Well, you have to assume as we've done from the very beginning that Republicans are going to try to come up with any diabolical scheme to prevent November 3 from being a free and fair election. We've been planning from the very beginning to push back against all of the voter suppression efforts that they've tried to jam down the throats of the American people. Now, up until this point, we've successfully stopped their scheming.

RAJU: But are you saying that's the only way they can hold on to power?

JEFFRIES: I've said that from the very beginning.

RAJU: Now, Jeffries did not want to put a number on how big of a majority he may ultimately have if they do, in fact, win. But it's very likely if they were to win, it would be a narrow majority, meaning those Democrats winning in Trump districts could be butting heads against those more progressive Democrats, the ones backed by the Democratic Socialists of America.

I asked him about all those divisions that could happen if he were to become Speaker of the House. He downplayed all of that, but very clearly, that's an issue that he's going to have to deal with if he does become speaker. But at the moment, he's focusing on November 3 because he sees the majority within reach and he believes they will get there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: Thank you, Manu.

Today we're getting a clearer picture of just how much money Elon Musk has poured into this election cycle. He's now donated at least $445 million, making him the largest disclosed donor in this year's midterm races. A big share of that money is aimed at helping Republicans hold on to the Senate. And new federal filings show Musk added nearly $77 million more to his super PAC in just the first two weeks of this month alone.

The man accused of planting pipe bombs near the Republican and Democratic National Committee's headquarters the night before the January 6 Capitol riot is now set to go on trial in February. A federal judge scheduled the trial of Brian Cole Jr. to begin February 16. Prosecutors say the bombs diverted law enforcement resources as violence erupted at the Capitol the next day. Cole has pleaded not guilty to federal explosives charges.

All right. The so-called looksmaxxing livestreamer known as Clavicular is free on bail after pleading not guilty to charges that he raped a 17-year-old girl. The popular social media influencer, whose real name is Braden Peters, appeared in a Massachusetts court for his arraignment. Prosecutors accuse Peters of giving the girl alcohol until she was drunk and then sexually assaulting her at his family's Cape Cod home last year. The lawyer for Peters says the sex was consensual. CNN's Jean Casarez has the details for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The details are very serious. This is rape in Massachusetts, a maximum 20 years in prison, and upon conviction, you are a registered sex offender.

According to the criminal complaint, the accuser and Braden Peters had been communicating on Instagram. And so they were both in Massachusetts. She is at her grandparents' house. He is at his family home with his mother and his grandmother.

So he messages her "I'll send an Uber. Why don't you come over to my house? You can be on the livestreaming on my looksmaxxing." And so she did. And he ushered into the house. They go upstairs. It's actually his bedroom. He's livestreaming at that point and he says, "Look, don't say on the air that number one, you're 17 and number 2, this -- it's water. It's not alcohol."

So they start together on the streaming. He is having her drink the alcohol which she says, according to the complaint, was vodka. She said she had two to three shots of it. She said that once she got loosened up, she was a little flirty with him. They actually kissed on the livestreaming. But once he shut it off, she went to his bed, and she started to go to sleep. She woke up the next morning, the complaint states, and she is alleging she was being raped at that moment by him when she woke up.

Now, I researched the precedent case law in Massachusetts of what has to be proven to show that alcohol and plying of alcohol results in a lack of ability for someone to consent, number one, that the intoxication is present. Number two, prosecutors must show that the alcohol, the drug itself, made it so that the accuser was -- had the inability to consent. And number three, the defendant knew or should have known that the rendering of the alcohol would make it so they were not able to voluntarily consent to what was happening.

[05:45:00]

And the next hearing is in November. He's been released on bond. Had to give his passport. Not to associate with the accuser. And if he gets in any more trouble with the criminal law system, this bond could be revoked, and he would be in jail in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: All right. Thank you, Jean Casarez, for breaking all that down for us.

Still ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, the skyrocketing cost of healthcare. Maribel Aber breaks down how much more it's costing millions of Americans this year a little later in Money Express.

But first, talk about taking the plunge. The woman who just made a big splash into the history books with this iceberg dive. That's when CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS returns.

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[05:50:00]

SMITH: Let's go around the globe for some other stories that we're tracking.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the closure of the West Bank after two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on an Israeli military checkpoint there. At least five Israelis were wounded in the attack. The IDF says that both gunmen have been killed. It's not clear if the victims are soldiers or civilians.

A powerful earthquake strikes Tibet. You can literally see the camera shaking here as people rush out of a building on Thursday. State media reports at least 16 people were killed and dozens more injured. The extent of the damage across the region is still being determined. And the magnitude-seven quake is the strongest to hit Tibet in more than two years.

And in France, a man has died after becoming the first known human case of the Shamonda virus, which is usually found in livestock. Authorities believe that he was bitten by a tiny fly-like insect that was infected, but the World Health Organization says that there's no sign the virus is spreading between people or poses a broader public health threat.

France is banning some protests as the nation braces for mass demonstrations expected tomorrow. Curfews are in place in parts of Paris and other cities after some of the worst rioting in years. Some businesses, museums, and cultural events will shut down this weekend. Officials say more than 2,700 people have been detained since last Saturday.

And talk about taking the plunge. In Canada, Molly Carlson dived backwards off an iceberg nearly 50 feet into the freezing Atlantic. She faced ocean swells, rough weather, and became the first woman to dive from a free-floating iceberg. She calls it the scariest thing she's ever done and the best day of her life. What a feat.

Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, caught on camera, a river rescue. The moment when help from above swooped in to save this man holding on for dear life. That's straight ahead.

And police in Lincoln, Nebraska may be one step closer to solving the 26-year-old mystery of a missing woman. What led them to this house when CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS returns.

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[05:56:36]

SMITH: In today's Money Express, health insurance is getting more expensive, most likely for you and your employer. Maribel Aber joins us from the NASDAQ MarketSite with that and the

rest of your top Money Express headlines. Maribel, what do we know here?

MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, MONEY MATTERS: OK, Brad, rising healthcare costs a major concern for millions of workers and their employers, according to a new survey from health policy nonprofit KFF. It found that the price of employer-sponsored health coverage topped $28,303 this year. That's up five percent from last year. Now, workers paid an average of $7,471 for family coverage in 2026, an increase of more than nine percent in one year. The increased costs for both the employer and the employee have outpaced wage growth and inflation over the last five years.

Amazon says it plans to hire more than 300,000 workers for the holiday season. It's the online retailer's first increase in holiday hiring in three years and comes with higher pay and expanded benefits. The company said for the first time, seasonal employees who work at least 30 hours a week will be given access to healthcare starting on January 1. It added that this season's -- or this year's seasonal workers will earn an average of $20 an hour.

Hey, Wheaties is releasing a limited edition cereal box featuring three-time heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. It's all part of a celebration of the upcoming prime video series "The Greatest" premiering November 4. The series follows Ali's life and battles both inside and outside the ring. The collectible box comes -- becomes -- goes on sale October 26 exclusively on shopwheaties.com.

Brad, for me and the fam, looking forward to watching the thrill in Manila.

SMITH: Yeah. I'm looking forward to watching that and a vocal person in the civil rights movement as well. So we'll see how --

ABER: Yeah.

SMITH: -- they highlight that work.

Maribel Aber, thank you so much.

Now to some other stories that we are tracking.

We start in California, where a man clinging to a bridge had to be rescued from raging floodwaters. Take a look at this. He's barely holding on as waters rise around him. This took place Thursday in Los Angeles. Firefighters -- they used a ladder truck and a crane to hoist him from the water. Authorities say they rescued another man and a woman earlier in the day. All right, stay safe out there.

To Lincoln, Nebraska, we take you. That's where police dug up the basement of a home. They were looking for human remains in connection to the case of a missing woman. Police say that they got a tip months ago that the previous owner may have had a connection to her and the bar where she was last seen in 2000. That previous owner has passed away, and the case is the department's oldest unsolved missing persons case.

And this 86-year-old is still putting the pedal to the metal, staying young. He set two speed records this summer in his souped-up 1966 Barracuda, at one point reaching 310 miles an hour. You thought you'd go fast? You want to see some speed? He's got some. And he's not easing off the gas. He's looking for a rocket-shaped car called a Streamliner with his sights set on 400 miles an hour.

And in Nevada, two flight medics are being honored for helping deliver a premature baby in the middle of a flight. The baby arrived shortly after takeoff, giving the crew little time and even less room to work. But they had already talked through what to do if the mother went into labor. Both mom and baby Lacey came through safely, and today the medics will get a chance to meet them again. Excellent work there, above and beyond.

[06:00:15]

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