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Hurricane Isaias' Strength Holds Steady at Category 1 For Now; New CNN Polls Show Economy Hangs Over Senate Races in Key Red States; USS Lincoln Strike Group Returns from Near-Record Deployment. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired October 08, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, record- shattering storm hurricane. Hurricane Isaias heads towards the Gulf Coast right now, folks in its path stocking up and preparing for landfall. We're tracking the storm that could potentially become the country's first hurricane to make landfall in some two years.

Plus, Mall of America terror plot. A Minnesota man is now facing charges for allegedly planning to carry out a mass shooting at the country's largest shopping mall.

And possible pickups for Democrats in a pair of red states, the new CNN polling just out about how voters in Ohio and Iowa are feeling about their big races and President Trump.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Pamela Brown on the USS Abraham Lincoln, and you're in The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.

And we're following the breaking news. Hurricane Isaias taking aim at the northern Gulf Coast, dead set for a weekend landfall as a possible category two, with up to 110 miles per hour winds by early tomorrow. Florida and Alabama declaring states of emergency in at least parts of the panhandle.

Take a look at this gas line in Pensacola. Mandatory evacuation orders are in effect as residents prepare for the powerful storm that could potentially bring up to ten inches of rain and destructive winds.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. So, I was running out of gas and realizing that the storm was coming up in a couple days. So, I just really wanted to be prepared and fill up. I got my generator some gas too. I took my dog, got her some food at Sam's as I was out today as well.

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BLITZER: Some Gulf Coast areas like here in Alabama, look at this, are already experiencing coastal flooding.

Let's go live right now to CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar. Allison, what is the storm's current path?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. So the current path is to continue to the east-northeast at about nine miles per hour before starting to make more of a due north track as it makes its way toward the Gulf Coast. Right now, we've got those sustained winds at 80 miles per hour, gusting up to around 100 miles per hour. It is anticipated that this will continue to strengthen over the next 24 hours, because over incredibly warm waters of the Gulf.

That is fuel for storms like this, likely peaking right around 110 miles per hour. That is a high-end Category 2. Keep in mind, 111 would be a Category 2, so it's going to be a close call as to exactly how strong this storm is able to get.

It will make landfall late Friday. You can see right here all of those watches and warnings in anticipation of that landfall later in the day tomorrow.

Storm surge is going to be a big concern for the orange-shaded areas here, essentially from Biloxi all the way over to Port St. Joe. We could be looking at storm surge of five to seven feet. But even the surrounding areas, both on the east and western side, could be looking at three to six inches of storm surge. Here's -- three to six feet of storm surge.

Here's a look at the forecast radar. Again, by 11:00 A.M., so even tomorrow morning, we could be looking at some of those first outer bands beginning to impact along the Gulf Coast. It will continue to get heavier throughout the rest of the day, peaking by Friday evening as we anticipate that landfall.

By Saturday, though, the concern isn't necessarily the coast, but a lot of these areas inland. Atlanta, Birmingham, Montgomery, all of these areas could end up picking up significant totals of rainfall accumulation. The maximum wind threat, we are looking at those hurricane force winds around Mobile and Pensacola, but even farther north, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, still looking at 40 to 60 mile per hour winds. We talk about the heavy rain, four to six inches widespread, with some areas as much as ten inches.

BLITZER: It looks like it's going towards New Orleans. Is that right?

CHINCHAR: No. So, it would be a little bit east of that, and then it starts to curve back once it makes inland, and then curves back again in the other direction. But a lot of those details will get fine-tuned as we get closer to landfall time tomorrow.

BLITZER: All right, Allison Chinchar with the analysis. Thanks very, very much.

And a note to our viewers, you can always keep up with severe weather in your area or anywhere else for that matter with the CNN Weather app. It's available in the Apple App Store right now.

Also happening now, new CNN polls offer a snapshot of crucial midterm races that are now less than four weeks away. [10:05:04]

And we're seeing that even in reliably red states, Democrats are riding a wave of economic wariness, and that includes the Senate battleground states of Ohio and Iowa. Here, three out of four likely voters say President Trump's policies have increased their cost of living.

Keep in mind, the president won both states with double-digit margins, but economic concerns are now chipping away at the GOP's hold.

CNN's Alayna Treene is over at the White House for us. Elena, as Democrats clearly try to win back Congress, how is this voter dissatisfaction shaping the races in these two states?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, these are states, Wolf, that I think a lot of Republicans were not thinking they were going to have to spend so much -- so many resources and time, money, and energy. But you're seeing these poll numbers showing why they're so important with just 26 days to go.

I want to get into the numbers here, and specifically how the president is fairing here. Because I'd remind you, his message has been, throughout his time on the campaign trail, that he wants his voters to pretend that he is on the ballot. So, let's look at how that might work for him.

In Ohio, a state that the president won in 2024 by 11 points, only 36 percent of people approve of his the job that he has done in office. When you go to Iowa, a state that the president carried by 13 points, 41 percent approve of his handling of his job in office.

Now, the reason, you know, you're thinking, Why is this? Why are these the lowest poll numbers that the president is seeing across his two terms in office? And the reason really is the economy. If you look at the views that these voters have on the economy in Ohio, in Iowa the percentage of people who said Trump policies have increased costs for them, Ohio 76 percent of people are saying that versus 74 percent in Iowa. You get into tariffs specifically, 58 percent of people in Ohio saying they are bad for their state, 55 percent in Iowa saying the same. On the question of is cost of living and the economy a top issue, 49 percent saying yes in Ohio, 48 percent in Iowa.

So, clearly, the economy really dragging down the president's numbers and c- raising these concerns for Republicans across the board.

BLITZER: Alayna, President Trump appeared at his third Texas rally in less than a month. Tell us about that.

TREENE: Yes. Look, this is the same thing. I think, you know, we just walked through the poll numbers. I think they're important to keep in mind. I'd argue, you know, in my conversations with the president and the president's team, his political operation, some of his advisers, they'll dismiss these polling numbers. They say polls have been wrong in the past. But if you look at where the president is also spending his time, and a lot of the money from super PACs, in these red states, that shows exactly why they are really concerned about these places. He's been in Texas now three times in less than a month. Republican super PACs are spending more than $100 million on trying to get Ken Paxton across the finish line, and the president has been very vocal that Texas is important, that Texas is going to be crucial to the entire Senate map.

Now, the race there Paxton is running against the Democrat, James Talarico, is very tight. But this isn't just a Texas thing as well. We've seen the president spend a lot of time in a lot of other red states. If you look just over the past couple days, he's also been in Oklahoma, Alabama, Ohio, Nebraska. He's expected to go back to Alabama, weather dependent, on Saturday.

So, this is just showing where Republicans really in states where, you know, maybe six months ago, Wolf, strategists would argue, these are safe seats, don't waste your time here, they are needing to put their resources into these places, really seeing that the president playing defense right now with 26 days to go.

BLITZER: Alayna Treene at the White House for us, Alayna, thank you very much.

Also happening now, the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and the other ships that travel with it are now just hours away from returning home to California. This will end the second-longest carrier deployment since the Vietnam War. The strike group and its 6,000-plus sailors and Marines have been at sea since last November.

Pamela's joining us now from the deck of the Abraham Lincoln. Pamela, you did extensive reporting, as all of our viewers remember, from the strike group over the summer. When you're out there in the Gulf, the Persian Gulf, how has the energy changed between then and now?

BROWN: It's a totally different vibe on this ship. I can tell you there is a sense of just so much anticipation. This is the day everyone on this ship has been waiting for, and some of them frankly told me they didn't think they would get home even this year.

So, the fact that today is the day they're going to see their loved ones means so much to them. There are thousands on the ship right now, around 4,000. Some have already left. And you have new dads, about 122 new dads on the ship, including the air wing, and you have so many young sailors. The average age on this ship, Wolf, is around 23 years old.

And just to think about this historically demanding deployment for them, it started off as what was supposed to be a typical deployment with many port stops, and then the page turned, and they were at the center of combat on the frontlines, launching strikes, doing Iranian blockades really on the front lines in a way that you don't typically see from aircraft carriers.

[10:10:16] So, this has really pushed -- this deployment has pushed this ship and its crew to the brink. But I can tell you in talking to them, they have really been positive. They feel proud of overcoming the hardships and obstacles that we've been reporting on with the conditions and morale and of course those dark moments of the attempted suicides.

I was told that there were five on this ship alone during this ten- and-a-half month deployment, and then three others within the strike group. So, there has been a lot that these sailors have overcome.

And they want to be known for their resilience first and foremost. Here's what they told me about what this day means to them.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's really exciting. Like -- it's kind of like, oh, we're about to be there, really? Like because of, you know, how many times we've been extended. So, it's like, oh we're about to be there. But it's like normally, oh, I'm going one day at a time. It's like, oh, so tomorrow it's that day. We're actually going to head home.

AJANAE KELLY, SAILOR ON USS LINCOLN: Oh, it feels like Christmas. It feels like Christmas as like an 11-year-old opening gifts. You're just so ready to, like, get to it, just very eager.

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BROWN: I mentioned the dads who had never met their kids. Wolf, I talked to one of them last night, Joey. He has a now ten-month-old. His daughter was born while he was on deployment. And so I asked him about that anticipation, meeting his daughter for the first time today. Here's what he said.

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JOEY MONTEMORANO, SAILOR ABOARD USS ABRAHAM LINCONLN: It's a terrifying and exciting experience because it's the first child. She's been born December 31st Stateside. She was born December 31st. For me, she was born January 1st when we were in the South China Sea. So, I've just been meeting her through pictures. A couple FaceTimes I was able to get through. And, yes, absolutely terrifying because I've not so much as changed a diaper in my life.

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BROWN: And he joked with me, Wolf, that he thinks it'll be harder changing the diaper for the first time alone than this ten-and-a-half month deployment. In fact, for the new dads on this ship, they have classes that they go to where they learn to change diapers and learn how to take care of a baby, learn how to hold them.

So, there's a lot of preparation for this big homecoming today, and just so much excitement. They have earned it. They have worked so hard. They have done their jobs with courage and sacrifice, and it's just very exciting for them. Wolf? BROWN: Pamela, good to have you back out there on the aircraft carrier, and we'll be checking back with you throughout the morning, so don't go too far away. Thank you very, very much.

Still ahead, at least 30 people are dead in the deadliest single attack this year in Ukraine. A Russian strike targets a public bus, and now officials are warning people simply to leave.

And next, possible terror plot stopped. What we're learning about the teen suspect and his alleged plan to shoot up the nation's largest mall.

Lots going on. You're in the Situation Room.

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Happening now, an 18-year-old -- been arrested and charged with terrorism. Officials say in Bloomington in support of ISIS, adding he wanted to kill as many people as possible, maybe 60 people.

Let's go live right now to CNN Law Enforcement Correspondent Whitney Wild. Whitney, what more are you learning about this alleged plot?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the FBI says that this investigation actually goes back to December 2024 when this defendant, 18-year-old Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, was just 16 years old. And they say in this nearly two-year investigation, he exchanged hundreds of messages with a confidential human source where his desire and intention and planning of this, a terrorist attack, really came to fruition.

So, it begins with him discussing his interest in joining a foreign terrorist organization. At some point, he's sort of shopping for an organization. He liked Al-Shabaab, he was interested in Al-Qaeda, he was interested in ISIS, and then as time progressed, he was more and more committed to carrying out a mass attack in the United States at the Mall of America. At one point, he had planned to try to go to Somalia a, and work on behalf of a foreign terrorist organization there.

Then he realized he couldn't afford it, so he decided again to carry out this attack here on U.S. soil. Here's more from the FBI about the content of those messages.

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CHRISTOPHER DOTSON, FBI MINNEAPOLIS SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: The messages this defendant allegedly sent to others were chilling. They document the idolization of ideologically motivated violence, a callous disregard for the sanctity of human life, a blind hatred of people of other faiths, and a cold commitment to carrying out his vision of violence in our community.

According to court documents, Mohamud pledged his allegiance to ISIS leaders and claimed to have joined ISIS over a year ago. Mohamud allegedly sought martyrdom in carrying out his plans to murder innocent civilians.

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WILD: Wolf, his plan was quite simple. He wanted to buy an AK-47 and hundreds of rounds of ammunition and then go to Mall of America where he had hoped to kill between 30 and 60 people sometime this month.

Here's how he was eventually arrested. An undercover FBI employee sold him an inert AK-47 and up to 200 rounds of live ammunition.

[10:20:06]

Shortly after that deal, Wolf, that's when the FBI moved in, guns drawn, to arrest this man.

He was in court yesterday. He now has a public defender. We've reached out to that public defender. For now, he will remain in custody. Wolf?

BLITZER: And explain in the documents that the FBI released, they said he was wanting to have this shooting done at the Mall of America because it was owned by a Jewish family. Is that right?

WILD: That's right. He believed that it was owned by -- he said it -- because it's owned by Jews, and that was blatant in the text messages, and he said it twice actually. And he thought that if he carried out this attack at the Mall of America, people would stop going there, Wolf.

And, actually, the affidavit, this 23-page affidavit from the FBI, shows that he was inspired and really admired other terrorist attacks, including the attack in New Orleans January 2025, but also the Australian Bondi Beach attack, which targeted Jewish Australians. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Whitney Wild reporting for us, thank you very, very much.

Coming up, CNN exclusive reporting, ICE agents told to ramp up daily immigration arrests just weeks before the midterm elections. We have details. That's next.

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BLITZER: We have new exclusive reporting this morning, sources telling CNN Immigration and Customs Enforcement leadership has instructed agents to ramp up the number of daily immigration arrests. This comes as the Trump administration doubles down on immigration crackdowns despite some Republican hesitation just ahead of the midterm elections.

Joining us here in The Situation Room with me is CNN Correspondent Priscilla Alvarez, who's been doing excellent reporting on all this. What more are you learning about this new guidance about ICE arrests?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, my sources tell me that the instruction here is not to let up. In fact, it's the opposite, to ramp up the arrests that they're, they've been doing. To give you a sense, the average daily arrests so far have been around 2,000, and they want to up that to 3,000, and 19,000 weekly.

Now, another comparison with that 19,000, in June, the high point, according to federal data, was around 12,500 in a week. So, these numbers indicate a ramp-up across the board, both during or daily and weekly.

Now, if you're doing the math there, you may see that there's a bit of a delta, and the reason for that is because typically arrests will slow down over the weekend because it's slower and because there are fewer officers on the field.

But, generally, what I'm being told is that they want to double down on this crackdown, and officials are describing this to me as a goal. They have repeatedly denied that there's any type of quota and that agents would be -- or would face consequences if they don't meet these numbers. But it is another signal and indication of the pressure that agents are under.

Now, in a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said this, quote, there are no quotas on arrests. Under President Trump and Secretary Mullins' leadership, ICE has been supercharged to find, arrest, and deport illegal aliens from the United States using every lawful tool available.

Now, they have been on the up and up. They hit monthly record highs over the summer. Around 46,000 people arrested in July, 51,000 in August, so there has been a trend here. But even with all of that, the instruction that they were receiving, they, the agents, receiving from leadership this week is we want more. And what's interesting in that, of course, is that it comes against the backdrop of some Republicans being uneasy, both publicly and privately, over the way the administration is doing this.

And just one more data point in all of this. In a contract solicitation that we reviewed here at CNN, the department was asking for temporary facilities to basically attach to agency offices around the country for detaining and interviewing immigrants. So, that is yet another indication that they are building out the infrastructure as they are delivering this message to agents to pick up on their arrests.

BLITZER: All right. Priscilla, thank you very, very much. Excellent reporting, as I say to you all the time.

ALVAREZ: Thanks.

BLITZER: I appreciate it very much.

And our Pamela Brown is aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln right now as sailors and Marines are just hours away from returning home. Pamela? BROWN: That's right, Wolf. I'm here on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, and as the sun rises right near the San Diego Bay, so is the excitement here on board for the thousands of crew members getting ready to see their family members they've been so anxiously waiting to see for ten and a half months in just a few hours from now.

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