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Bodycam Videos Show Fatal Police Shooting Of 1-Year-Old In Mississippi; Controversial Attack Ad Roils Ohio Governor's Race; Vance Defends Ramaswamy Over Controversial Attack Ad; NYT Poll: Young Voters Move Toward Democrats; Virginia State Sen. Louise Indicted On Drug And Fraud Charges; Rep. Subramanyam Introduces Four Bills To Regulate Data Centers. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired October 22, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:30:58]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, newly released body cam footage shows how the deadly shooting of a toddler outside the Mississippi Walmart in June unfolded. A warning, the following video may be disturbing to some viewers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop! Stop the car! Stop the car right now! Let me in!

(GUNSHOTS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Kohen Wiley was the one-year-old toddler killed inside the car. His mother and her friend, who were suspected of shoplifting but were never charged, were also in the vehicle. The officer who opened fire has been accused of inappropriate use of deadly force, but the Mississippi Attorney General said his actions were justified.

Let's go live right now to CNN Senior National Correspondent Ryan Young. What more, Ryan, did you learn about this body camera footage? And where does this case go after the State Attorney General's decision?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the big question. Now, Wolf, in the next hour and a half or so, the family and their attorneys are going to have a news conference, and they're going to discuss how they're going to move forward. But there were a lot of people hoping that this would at least go to a grand jury. That will not happen.

And, of course, we will show you the video, and I will warn some of our viewers that this could be tough to watch. We'll show you it in its entirety. But what we know so far back in June, these women went to Walmart. At some point, someone indicated someone may have shoplifted.

There were some extra officers on site, and they ran out to that parking lot. And then you can see them sort of surround that car. And only one of the five officers fired. It was from that side on the passenger side, as you can see in some of the video that we've already shown you.

But let's take a listen to that 42 seconds that play this out so faithfully.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They ran it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop! Stop the car! Stop the car right now! Let me in!

(GUNSHOTS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop the car right now! Stop the car!

Get the car! Get the car! Get the car! Get the car! Get the car!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: So CNN was able to get this video from Darkhorse Press. And we know the family today will get a chance to look at all the videos. So this is not an official release from the state just yet. So there is a good chance that the family will see a video that we haven't seen yet and see how this plays out.

Now, of course, the attorney general making this decision means there will be no prosecution toward that officer. We've reached out to the officer's attorney. And basically in the statement, they said that they felt like that officer was in danger and they were trying to save the lives of other officers.

To also bring up the point here, when that car accelerates backwards, it does hit another car before lurching forward. So there was some thought there that a lot of times officers say a car can be used as a weapon. So obviously something, we'll have to pay attention to today as this news conference happens. But a tough situation as you see that face next to me. A life loss, Wolf.

BLITZER: Such a sweet little boy indeed. So sad.

Ryan Young, thank you very much for that report.

Pamela?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: All right, Wolf. Coming up here in The Situation Room, quote, "Stop defending the ad." Republicans in Ohio are speaking out and criticizing GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy after his campaign released a controversial ad against his opponent, Amy Acton.

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[10:39:10]

BLITZER: Welcome back to The Situation Room and let's get back to our top story right now. A very controversial attack ad is shining a national spotlight this morning on Ohio's governor's race. One of the most competitive gubernatorial contests in the country.

The ad from Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy features Democrat Amy Acton's estranged mother who calls her daughter a liar and urges voters not to support Acton. Acton says she has not seen her mother since she was about 12 years old when she says the man her mother married sexually abused her and faced criminal charges. The ad has sparked bipartisan backlash, but not necessarily from everyone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JD VANCE (R), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I've known Vivek for a long time. He's a very good friend of mine where I have watched the Democrats lie about his family, where I've watched the Democrats call him a murderer, where I've watched the Democrats throw every dirty trick in the political book.

Now the media and the Democrats in the state of Ohio are obsessed because guess what? Vivek Ramaswamy had the audacity to run a TV commercial which calls it out like it is and calls Amy Acton a liar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[10:40:25]

BLITZER: And joining us now here in The Situation Room is Republican Strategist Mark Williams and CNN Political Commentator and Former Director of Public Affairs for the U.S. Justice Department Xochitl Hinojosa.

Mark, let me start with you. Even after Vance defended Ramaswamy, Ohio Republican Senator Jon Husted, who was at the rally with Vance, distanced himself from the ad telling the Associated Press that he would not have run it. Husted is also in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. Is this what Republicans should be talking about less than two weeks before Election Day?

MARK WILLIAMS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: No. And Ramaswamy has put Republicans in this situation. You know, it's a huge unforced error in Ohio. And you only hope that it doesn't trickle down to the hugely competitive Senate race. You know, it wreaks of desperation from the Ramaswamy campaign.

And quite frankly, it brings Amy Acton into the forefront. And we're discussing her when -- you know, guys, I hadn't even really heard of Amy Acton until this controversy. And so now you've made her a hugely sympathetic figure and you're talking about something and talking about how, you know, her failures as the COVIDs are in Ohio. Instead, we're talking about this ad. So it's an unforced error of just massive proportions.

BLITZER: Xochitl, CNN's Eric Bradner spoke with voters in Ohio yesterday who said they've been turned off by advertising from both sides of the race. One voter who said they're voting for Acton said that, I'm quoting now, "They're both slandering each other horribly," end quote. What are your thoughts?

XOCHITL HINOJOSA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, there's one thing to run a political ad on record or just on, you know, the positions that candidates have taken. This is a new low. This is about a very personal story where Amy Acton was sexually abused by her stepfather and her mother, who is now estranged.

Amy Acton was actually taken from her parents for that reason. And that is off limits. And Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign should be over at this point. There is no room for this in politics. And what I will say is what we're seeing from Amy Acton is that this ad backfired on Vivek Ramaswamy.

If you look at the top three candidates that are receiving low dollar donations from all across the country, you have now seen Amy Acton surge as one of those top three candidates on ActBlue. She has seen a surge of resources. We saw that JB Pritzker -- Governor J.B. Pritzker's wife, M.K. Pritzker, donated $500,000 because Vivek Ramaswamy is too dangerous to serve in any political office now. And I am hearing similar things from women across the country.

One of the things I also want to point out that I don't think JD Vance realizes is that if Republicans would like to win this year, they need women. This does not help them. And it is pretty low for JD Vance to take a position of defending Vivek Ramaswamy if he would like to be the next president of the United States.

And if that is the case, then women will send a clear message, that he should not be elected in 2028. And I think this was a very bad political move and just a move from a human level on JD Vance's part.

BLITZER: Mark, a new poll from The New York Times shows young voters have trended in favor of Democrats. The poll shows 70 percent of young voters now say they identify or lean Democratic. And that's 15 points higher than before the 2024 election.

During the last presidential election, as you know, President Trump made notable gains with young men. What does this new polling tell you about that voting bloc?

WILLIAMS: It tells me that there are headwinds against Republicans in this election that we knew about. The political climate does not favor Republicans right now. And it's going to come down to kind of a case by case basis on who the candidate is and what their message is.

And if you're trying to appeal to those young voters, you better come up with a message that gets them to the polls. And right now, you know, it seems like Democrats are trending in that direction. But, look, we could spend 30 minutes on polling and whether we think it's accurate, whether we don't think it's accurate. And I don't I don't think we have that kind of time. So we'll see.

We're 13 days out. And I assume that young people will come out for Democrats. They historically have. But it is enough for -- to really overcome, you know, some of these bad Democratic candidates.

BLITZER: Xochitl, what do Democrats need to do right now to keep up this momentum with young people?

[10:45:04]

HINOJOSA: Well, I think -- well, that's a very good question. What we're seeing right now is that there is a surge of young people voting in this election. But a lot of it has to do not with the Democratic Party brand, which has been at an all-time low for quite some time. This is because the individual Democratic candidates have established a brand and trust with voters.

And so as putting the Democratic brand aside and assuming that it does not get any better leading into 2028, this should send a clear message. Anyone who's running for president in 2028 on the Democratic side, that they have to establish their own brand, continue to talk about the economy, make sure that they are authentic, there are authentic and have those real conversations with voters about the issues they care about and speak at them.

None of this culture war, distraction, all of the other things which we have seen in places like my home state of Texas are currently not working.

BLITZER: All right, Xochitl Hinojosa and Mark Williams, to both of you, thank you very much. Good discussion.

Pamela?

BROWN: All right. Coming up here in The Situation Room, data center dispute. It has become a flashpoint across the country, leading to protests and even a fistfight at City Hall. Up next, we'll be joined by a lawmaker working to regulate these data centers.

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[10:50:27]

BROWN: Happening now, city leaders in Memphis, Tennessee have rejected a plan to pause development on data centers. The directive would have halted construction of new data centers and the expansion of existing ones for 18 months. Residents there, they have been fired up. A meeting on this issue even led to a fistfight at City Hall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pause the data centers so we can get this right. Lies are at stake and blood is on your hands. So you need to make decisions to do what's right by the people that elected you in office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And this comes as a recent CNN poll found that 87 percent of Americans say they're concerned about the growing number of data centers. And when asked which party would do a better job of dealing with data centers and AI, 29 percent say the Democratic Party, while 49 percent say neither.

Here with us in The Situation Room is Virginia Democrat Congressman Suhas Subramanyam. He sits on the House Oversight, House Ethics, and House Science, Space, and Technology Committees.

Thanks for coming on. I know you're very passionate about this issue. We're going to get to that in just a moment. But first, I want to ask you about what came out of DOJ today.

Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas was indicted on drug and money laundering charges. You knew her. You served with her. What is your reaction?

REP. SUHAS SUBRAMANYAM (D), VIRGINIA: I mean, these are really serious charges and they must have had a lot of evidence to bring them. I do have to question the timing. We're two weeks before an election. And so you're going to be arresting the president of the state Senate two weeks before the election.

I believe her daughter is on the ballot, too. And so, this is an administration that has pardoned very corrupt people, pardoned fraudulent people. And so it seems like there's a pattern of going after political enemies.

But certainly, you know, these are very serious charges. Apparently, the started investigation started in the Biden administration --

BROWN: Yes.

SUBRAMANYAM: -- too, so I want to make sure there's accountability where it needs to be had. I just -- I don't trust this administration. They have not earned the benefit of the doubt when it comes to politicizing these types of investigations.

BROWN: We should know we have reached out in that last check. We have not heard back.

All right, let's turn to data centers. You've recently introduced the National Data Center Plan, which is for bills aimed at regulating data centers. Explain what these bills would do.

SUBRAMANYAM: Yes. Tight now, we've got one side, mostly the President, saying we don't need to do anything when it comes to reining in data centers or any guardrails. And then we have another side that says, we should never build them anywhere in our country.

And I think there needs to be common sense ground here that puts forward a plan when it comes to citing them, like where to put them. Let's not put them next to homes and schools. Let's make sure that they're paying for their own power, because a lot of us, like in my community, we have a lot of data centers.

We see our power bills spiking right now. It doubled this year. I mean, that's incredible to think about how expensive it already was. And we want to make sure that communities around them are safe. They're taken care of and we're taking care of things like the environment and noise, too.

This is all common sense. It's all stuff that people agree on. And if you look at those pictures from Memphis, that was people across the political spectrum, too. And so this is a time where we need to unite as a Congress around putting reasonable guardrails around data centers.

BROWN: Do you have bipartisan support for this?

SUBRAMANYAM: We do, yes. And it's interesting, when the beginning of Congress, a lot of my colleagues didn't know anything about data centers. They barely knew what a data center was. I told about how I have the most in the country and that we need to have some guardrails around the build out of data centers.

And now many of them are coming to me now and saying, how can I be part of this plan? How can we push this forward? So I think it's a good development.

BROWN: So you introduced this package about two months out from Election Day. You say that this -- your region is home to the fourth largest concentration of data centers. But you've served Virginia for several years. Why now? Why are you proposing this now?

SUBRAMANYAM: I introduced a couple of these bills actually in the state Senate when I served there. And it went nowhere because, again, a lot of my colleagues didn't understand what was going on. They just got lobbyists telling them to kill these bills.

I like trying to underground the power lines and make the data centers pay for them, for instance. And so I didn't have any success at the state level. Now we're starting to see some momentum at the state and local level. At the federal level, I want to see us pass this. One of the bills is already passed through a committee. I want to see them pass all four, even by the end of the year, because this doesn't have to be partisan.

BROWN: We noted the polls and 87 percent of Americans say they're concerned about the growing number of data centers. But then you have 13 percent who say they're excited about the growing number of data centers. What is your message to them?

SUBRAMANYAM: I don't know exactly why they're excited, but I think it's probably because they're excited about the technology that's going to help develop, like AI, for instance. Also, it does bring revenue to a community. But we need to make sure that people understand the impact of them.

[10:55:04]

So, yes, it might bring some revenue to your local county, but then you'll also see your bills go up. If you don't have the data centers paying for their own power, you will see more impact on the environment there if you don't cite them in the right way or put standards around them in the right way. So we can build data centers in a certain way, but it has to put the community first.

BROWN: So if Democrats gain control of Congress with the midterms, what do you see in terms of regulation, not just on these data centers, but also AI in general?

SUBRAMANYAM: Yes, we've already talked to leadership about this. I think it's going to be a priority in the Democratic majority that we're going to have in Congress next year. We're going to also need to make sure we regulate AI. Even the companies are telling us to regulate AI, especially these frontier models, too.

And so we need to address all of this. We should have addressed it a long time ago, though. And the fact that we're seeing a crisis develop now needs to show us that Congress needs to act soon.

BROWN: Do you sense that there is urgency around the AI issue or, you know, there was, of course, Jacob Coxon who came out, who was the former Anthropic employee, raising the alarm, and there was a lot of talk about it. But is there still that sense of urgency since then, or has it sort of died down?

SUBRAMANYAM: There's not enough urgency.

BROWN: Yes.

SUBRAMANYAM: I mean, I was a White House technology adviser under Obama. And 10 years ago, we were saying we needed to do this 10 years ago. And so now we're at a point where even the AI companies don't know what they're building. They don't know what their models are capable of. And then they are escaping their sandboxes and doing damage like in the Hugging Face incident.

So even the people who are building these things say there needs to be guardrails. So let's put them, and Congress needs to act.

BROWN: All right, Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, thank you so much. Great to have you on.

SUBRAMANYAM: Thank you.

BROWN: Wolf?

BLITZER: And here's what's coming up right at the top of the hour, CNN's Christiane Amanpour's special interview with the Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. She'll join us. That's coming up.

Plus, website bugs. What we're learning right now about a cybersecurity flaw affecting 70 percent of the Internet.

And mutated flu strain. What you need to know right now to stay healthy. That's all new in the next hour.

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