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The Situation Room

Candidates Make Final Pitch in Michigan Senate Debate; Data Center Fight Heats Up in Kentucky; Mutated Virus Driving U.S. Into Early Flu Season. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired October 22, 2026 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. Here's a look at some of the top stories we're watching here in the Situation Room. A judge has denied a request from Lindsay Clancy's lawyers to question the lone holdout juror and her triple murder case. The trial ended with a hung jury. Clancy's lawyers wanted to get his phone records, jury questionnaire, and some background information. Prosecutors have not said if they plan to retry Clancy.

Construction on President Trump's controversial arch in the nation's capital could start just after Election Day. Trump says the 250-foot structure is needed for national security, which is why it includes drones and sniper nests. But the actual plans describe the project as a ceremonial gateway to Washington, D.C.

A mega-fine for Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. A New Mexico judge says it must pay $25 billion for lying to users about privacy. In 2018, the company admitted that a political research firm obtained private info for up to 87 million users. New Mexico sued over the scandal. Meta says it plans to appeal. Wolf.

[11:35:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Pamela, the final debate in Michigan's very tight and very tense Senate race happened last month -- last night, I should say. And candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers got very personal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: If you are going to go to the United States Senate, we need to know, are you for America or are you for these terrorist groups overseas? You can grin and you can smile and you can talk real pretty, but I'm going to tell you what, that is a risk to our national security.

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: To bring it to question, my commitment to the Constitution is really beneath you. I am proud of America. I'm proud to be an American. I'm proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to pray. And the question that you would ask that I think is actually really quite shameful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Meanwhile, El-Sayed tried to weaponize President Trump against Rogers. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EL-SAYED: You're going to hear the MAGA vision where you stand hip to hip with Donald Trump on all of his worst policies, the policies that are raising the price of your gas, making it impossible to afford your groceries. And you're going to hear a form of MAGA bingo because the thing about MAGA is whenever they're talking, they are trying to distract you.

ROGERS: He wants to make this about Donald Trump. The bingo game ought to be how many times can he put the word Trump in any answer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The latest CNN poll of polls shows no clear leader in this race that's key to controlling Congress. Joining us now is Beth LeBlanc. She's the political reporter over at the Detroit News. Beth, thanks so much for joining us. What stood out to you at last night's debate?

BETH LEBLANC, POLITICAL REPORTER, THE DETROL NEWS: Well, you know, surprisingly, there were a lot of personal attacks. There was mention of MAGA bingo and barbs traded on that front. But this, the second and last debate of the U.S. Senate race in Michigan, this actually got into more policy details than we've seen in the past. The first debate between these two was an all-out brawl. It was a lot of personal attacks. It was difficult to get into policy and see where they stood.

But on this one, they definitely had differences on a variety of issues from education to, you know, border policies to Iran and to tariffs as well. And so, we kind of got a better taste or, you know, voters in Michigan, I think, got a better taste for where these candidates stand on those issues.

BLITZER: Do you think these personal attacks are resonating with the voters in Michigan right now?

LEBLANC: You know, it's hard to say. Right now, voters --

BLITZER: I think we just lost Beth's audio. We'll try to reconnect with her. Sorry about that. Pamela, over to you.

BROWN: Fortunately, we have our David Chalian standing by here, Wolf, because we want to talk more about the midterms. Across the country, more than 18 million voters have already cast their ballots. So, what can we learn from the early voting data? Let's bring in our CNN political director and Washington bureau chief, David Chalian. What stands out to you, David, from this data?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR AND WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Pamela, as you noted, the first thing that stands out is that overall number, more than 18 million people have already cast ballots in this election. So, when we talk about Election Day is 12 days away.

Remember, Election Day has happened and is happening for a lot of Americans. More than 18 million have cast their vote. And the other thing I want to point out is that we're seeing the Democratic enthusiasm that we read about in polls show up in the early vote.

So, what you're looking at here is across some of the key states where we have information about party registration of the ballots that were cast. Of course, we don't know how they actually cast their ballot. They haven't been tabulated and counted.

But just in terms of registered party registration, what you see here is Democrats are making up a higher share of the early vote in these states compared to this point two years ago in 2024 at the presidential election. You see that Republican voters registered with the Republican Party casting early ballots are actually a lower share of the overall early vote in the state to date again at this point compared to 2024.

BROWN: So, later today, David, President Trump heads to Iowa for a rally. Are there any indications from data that you're receiving about early voting there?

CHALIAN: There are. I first wanted to show you we split up by method. When we talk about early vote, there's early in-person voting and there's vote by mail. This is all the pre-election vote here. At this point in the state of Iowa, the early in-person vote is 73 percent of what it was in 2024 as an overall picture.

Now, that was a presidential campaign. This is a midterm year. I don't expect this to get maybe to 100 percent of what it was in 2024.

[11:40:00]

But 73 percent in-person shows there is a big sort of surge in people participating in early vote by showing up and doing it in person, whereas by mail is only at 42 percent right now in terms of a run rate, a total here of people participating of where it was in 2024. And when you look at those methods by party, I think this is going to be something that we're going to be talking about. You're going to be talking about, Pam, on election night.

Look at Democrats among in-person ballots, 90 percent of where the 2024 Democratic in-person early votes were. Democrats are making far more use of early in-person voting in Iowa than they were at this point two years ago. And they're dramatically doing more so than in mail ballots.

And you see similar with Republicans, but not as broad of a disparity, whether that has to do with Democrats being concerned in everything they've heard about mail balloting or President Trump saying that he doesn't trust in mail balloting or thinking that maybe somebody will interfere with mail balloting. But Democrats are showing up in greater numbers now in Iowa, at least in in-person early vote, Pam.

BROWN: That's really interesting. All right. David Chalian, thank you. Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Coming up, a mutated virus means an early flu season. And there are serious concerns right now that the current vaccine may not necessarily offer enough protection. We have information you need to know. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:45:00]

BLITZER: As -- happening now as the midterms zoom ever closer, one issue taking hold is data centers. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan asked some voters in Kentucky why they are breaking with the president on this sensitive issue. Here's his Situation Room special report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROOKE MCGOWAN, HUMANS FIRST ACTIVIST: We are responding to this huge data center overreach, what looks like an invasion across our country, this explosion.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Here in Maysville, Kentucky, a Trump stronghold, activists and locals have gathered to protest the building of a massive AI data center by Mark Zuckerberg's Meta.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not all progress is good, all right?

O'SULLIVAN: President Trump recently -- I think he said, you know, communities that don't want AI centers want to stay backward or something like that.

MCGOWAN: I did -- I did hear that.

O'SULLIVAN: When you hear that, how'd you feel?

MCGOWAN: I said, well, I guess I'm going to be backwards and poor. But I also want to reiterate that not everything the president does do I agree with, but not everything my husband does do I agree with.

MAX MORAN, MASON COUNTY, KY ROSIDENT: I'm Republican, but due to his stance, I feel he's going to cost the Republicans the House and the Senate. Maybe by not big margins. It might be very slim margins. But he needs to reverse his stance.

O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): Max Moran is among the locals who have organized to oppose the data center.

MORAN: So, that is Delsia Bare. She's actually nearly blind in her eyes. She's one of the landowners we have been helping since last year. They felt coerced into signing these contracts to sell their land.

DELSIA BARE, MASON COUNTY, KENTUCKY LANDOWNER: Zuckerberg and Meta should have never walked out of that courtroom with a dime left in their damn pockets. Amen. O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): Delsia and her mother, Ida, live on a 1,200- acre farm a few miles outside of town. The pair made headlines around the world when it was reported they turned down $26 million to sell their land.

IDA HUDDLESTON, MASON COUNTY, KENTUCKY LANDOWNER: They come through the door around May the 2nd, 2025 and said, "We wanted to buy your land for $35,000 an acre."

O'SULLIVAN: Technically, on the contract, you don't know who's trying to buy your land.

HUDDLESTON: Nope.

BARE: It's a nondisclosure agreement.

O'SULLIVAN: But people here believe it's Mark Zuckerberg. It's Meta.

BARE: Mom goes through the contracts, really, with a fine-tooth comb and says I don't care what you do but get out of this.

O'SULLIVAN: What does the land mean to both of you?

BARE: Freedom.

HUDDLESTON: Yes, life and freedom.

BARE: Should I choose to live totally off of this land that we've got, I could. I wouldn't have to be beholden to anything out there.

O'SULLIVAN: Did they tell you what they wanted to do with the land?

BARE: No, they did not tell us what they wanted to do with the land. They were just in a very big hurry to get it off you as fast as possible.

O'SULLIVAN (voiceover): Trump won this Kentucky county in the last election by a 44-point margin.

BARE: I voted for Trump.

HUDDLESTON: I have every time he's run. I would go questioning it now.

O'SULLIVAN: Trump said if you're against data centers, you're going to end up backward and poor.

BARE: And that sort of pisses you off when you're from Appalachia anyway. You have always been backward and poor.

O'SULLIVAN: Do you think this issue is going to hurt Republicans in the midterms?

BARE: I hope it hurts them. They need to be voted out.

HUDDLESTON: Voted out. O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): In this Bible Belt Household, this fight is spiritual.

O'SULLIVAN: For you, it's about more than land. It's --

BARE: It's about humanity. If we don't stop this, there's not going to be a future for humanity. That's anti-human. That's what AI is. Oh, let's let it make the decision. But it doesn't have any morals. And it can't be held to God's standards.

[11:50:00]

O'SULLIVAN: Is there any amount of money Zuckerberg can give you to get the hell out of here?

BARE: Nope.

HUDDLESTON: No.

O'SULLIVAN: Really?

BARE: Really.

HUDDLESTON: Her last words to him was, you may get it, but I'll have been a -- you have brought me out of here feet first. You can bring the bulldozers if you want to. You'll have to bulldoze it down around my head.

O'SULLIVAN: You're really going up against -- it's David and Goliath here.

BARE: But I'll remind you, it only took one stone to bring down a Philistine. One itty-bitty little stone in the right place can bring down any giant that there is on this planet.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, Kentucky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And our thanks to Donie for that report. Happening now, experts say that a mutated virus is driving the country into an early flu season. It's coming more than two months earlier than usual and hitting states on the west coast first, which is unusual.

So, what does all of this tell us? We're going to go to Dr. Peter Hotez from the Baylor College of Medicine to better understand what's happening. He's also the co-director of Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. Good morning to you.

So, experts say this virus has picked up a gene mutation that helps it evade immunity. What does this mean for people who have already received their flu shot this year?

DR. PETER HOTEZ, TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL CENTER FOR VACCINE DEVELOPMENT AND PEDIATRICS AND MOLECULAR VIROLOGY PROFESSOR BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE: Well, the flu shot is still working, Pamela. So, the story is this. This is -- you know, the vaccine, the flu vaccine has three virus components. One of them being what's called H1N1. And it looks like the virus that's arising a little bit early, but not that unusual in October in the west coast is H1N1. And it's a sub- variant known as D3.1.1.

And we know from the CDC studies and others that the vaccine should protect fairly well against D3.1.1. But within that group of 3.1.1, there is a subset that has a mutation to make it somewhat more resistant to the vaccine. But we don't know how widespread that particular mutation is going to be and if it's even going to be a major factor in this epidemic. So, that's a long way of saying, get your vaccine and get it now because flu seems to be rising a little bit earlier than we would have expected.

BROWN: What does that tell you about what we could see in January and February, given the fact that you're already hearing from doctors that they're seeing January levels of flu now?

DR. HOTEZ: Well, I think that it's still fairly localized in those areas. So, it's hard to really predict whether this is going to be a bad flu season. What do I mean by a bad flu season? Influenza virus kills on the average between 12,000 and 53,000 Americans every year. So, that's a big span. So, is it going to be more like 12,000 or more like 50,000? Last year, the last flu season split the difference. It was 24,000 deaths. So, it's a pretty bad flu season. We'll see what this was like.

But the other really important component, Pam, is we've had about 200 kids die the last -- each of the last two flu seasons. And we're not getting the word out about the importance of vaccinating our children as well. So, for me, the two most important messages are get your kids vaccinated if they're over six months of age, number one. Number two, people often forget that in adults, influenza causes heart attacks. There's been a number of studies now showing a link between heart attacks in the first few weeks after your flu infection. And people have not heard that message. And that's really important to get out.

BROWN: So, what is your advice to people then as we enter flu season? What should we be doing? And how should parents be thinking about this for their kids?

DR. HOTEZ: The single most important thing to do right now is if you've been holding off on getting your flu vaccine, don't hold off. Now's the time to get it if you haven't already gotten it. There's several choices out there for adults, including the traditional inactivated virus vaccines. That's what I happened to get.

But there's also a brand-new mRNA influenza vaccine from Moderna, which I don't know how widely available it is yet. So, we're still waiting to learn more about that and vaccinate your kids as well. And unfortunately, the Health and Human Services made the tragic decision or they attempted last year to take influenza vaccine for kids off the recommendation list. But now it's still back on. And so, it's really important that you do that.

BROWN: All right. Dr. Peter Hotez, thank you so much. Wolf. BLITZER: And before we go, Pamela, we want to share that former longtime CNN Correspondent Bob Franken has died. Bob started his career at CNN back in 1986 as a general assignment correspondent and then as a congressional correspondent. He also spent several weeks on the ground covering the Persian Gulf War.

[11:55:00]

Bob's daughter posted on social media that he passed away peacefully after a battle with dementia and aphasia. We want to send our deepest, deepest condolences to his family. He was a good friend, an outstanding journalist. May he rest in peace and may his memory be a blessing.

And thanks very much for joining us this morning. You can always keep up with us on social media, @wolfblitzer and @pamelabrowncnn.

BROWN: And we'll see you back here tomorrow morning and every weekday morning at 10:00 Eastern for two hours. Inside Politics with our friend and colleague Dana Bash starts after a quick break.

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