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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Interview with Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) on Trump Stumping in Texas Again; Russia Says No Epidemic Risk After Anti-Plague Researcher's Death; Hearing on Maintaining White House Media Access; Texas Carries Out First Execution Since Failed Lethal Injection of Christa Pike; Judge Orders State to Preserve Evidence in Failed Execution; Attorney: Jane Doe Getting Death Threats in Cornell Case. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired October 08, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Remember, you can stream my show live or watch on demand anytime with an "All Access" subscription. Scan the QR code on your screen or go to CNN.com/Watch to learn more. And thanks for watching.
"THE STORY IS WITH ELEX MICHAELSON" is next.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles.
Coming up, THE STORY IS Texas three step. President Trump campaigning in the Lone Star State for the third time in less than a month. The Republican Ken Paxton facing a bruising Senate race. California Senator Alex Padilla live on set to discuss that and more.
Plus, THE STORY IS media access. U.S. district judge will once again hear arguments over President Trump's attempt to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. We break down the arguments.
And THE STORY IS death row debate. Texas carries out the first execution in the U.S. since the failed lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee. How their cases have now become a political topic ahead of the midterms.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS WITH ELEX MICHAELSON.
MICHAELSON: The top story is President Trump campaigning in Texas for the third time in less than a month. It is a clear sign that he is worried about Republican Ken Paxton's chances in the Senate race in a state that President Trump won by more than 13 points in 2024. The president urged Texas to vote -- Texans to vote for Paxton, but spent most of his speech repeating familiar attacks on Democratic candidate James Talarico.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The people of Texas are not going to let weak, gutless, self-hating, transgender-promoting freak shows destroy everything that we built.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: This latest Texas trip comes as Paxton appears to blame the president and some of his agenda for his struggles. In audio obtained by Axios, Paxton says that the Iran war and high gas prices are hurting his campaign. Paxton's team dismissed the story, saying that Trump is doing everything he can to bring down prices.
In his speech, Paxton also took aim at Talarico.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEN PAXTON, TEXAS REPUBLICAN U.S. SENATE NOMINEE: When I came in here today, we were on day 11 of James Talarico not showing up in public and canceling all public appearances. Where do you think they hid that little socialist? So I want you to help me because the media hasn't been really asking, where is he? They would be asking where I was after two minutes.
So I want you to help me. We're going to practice something. I want a little audience participation. And here's what we're going to ask the media. Because I'm going to do one, two, three, and then you say, where is James Talarico? All right? You got it? OK. One, two, three, where is James Talarico? Perfect. Maybe we'll get an answer for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: President Trump was interrupted by protesters repeatedly during his speech. Police escorted at least 12 people out of the venue, some in handcuffs, one wearing a MAGA hat. The president called them paid protesters and told one of them he needed to lose a lot of weight.
Meanwhile, Democrats are looking to flip the Senate seat in Iowa. Republican Congress member Ashley Hinson and Democratic state lawmaker Josh Turek met in their first debate tonight. Recent "New York Times" and FOX News polls show them running neck and neck.
There are three more Senate debates on tap for the day ahead. Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Mike Collins in Georgia, Democrat Abdul El- Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan, and a second debate between Democrat Troy Jackson and Republican Susan Collins in Maine. That's going to be something.
Joining me now here live in the studio is Senator Alex Padilla. He is the senior Democratic senator from California. He's also the vice chair of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, which means part of your job has been recruiting candidates, helping to strategize with candidates, fund these campaigns.
Welcome back to THE STORY IS.
SEN. ALEX PADILLA (D-CA): Thank you. Thank you. Good to be back in person. MICHAELSON: So I spoke with you maybe two years ago about that job,
and you -- and I said to you, there's really no way that the Democrats can win the Senate just based off of the map. The whole map was all of these red states that President Trump won.
[00:05:04]
It looked like it was impossible to imagine a scenario. That's changed quite a bit.
PADILLA: Right. It's changed from two years ago. It changed from a year ago. Changed even from the last six months. But that's where the world is right now. You know, you played clips of what Trump was saying in Texas, what Paxton is saying. They're talking about everything but what people care about.
Most people that I talk to, most families I talk to are worried about the cost of gas. Their health care is either too, you know, expensive or too expensive to afford. Cost of housing is going up, you know, cost of your electric bill is going up. And instead of coming forward with plans on how to address that, Donald Trump and the current Republican majorities in Congress are trying to change the subject, or they're trying to change the rules of how we register and vote or how we cast our ballots.
Twenty-seven days left. I think this is baked in for accountability from the voters, not just in California, not just in New York, but in places like Texas and Iowa and Kansas --
MICHAELSON: I mean, did you really think this was possible a couple years ago?
PADILLA: Look, I always knew it was possible because we're sticking to our values and what really is impacting the American people. And for all the drama, for all the cruelty of the Trump administration, we've also seen the very real world impact of his unauthorized war with Iran, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, what it's meant for gas prices, what it's meant for food prices.
MICHAELSON: And Paxton himself said that on -- in terms of the private conversations suggesting that that was an issue.
PADILLA: Right. You call up the clip where he's saying that when they had this midterm convention in Texas, his numbers went down.
MICHAELSON: Right. So in terms of now, in politics, you know, resources are finite. And so part of what you guys do is figure out where do we put our money right now, where are our priorities. So from your perspective, sort of what's the one or two biggest priorities? What are the races that are most important to you all right now?
PADILLA: Yes. Well, look, the -- from the political talk of the Senate and trying to reclaim the majority, multiple pathways to get to the 51 seat majority in the Senate. So not revealing any strategy here tonight, but it is pretty telling.
MICHAELSON: Do something.
PADILLA: It is pretty telling that the Republican Party is pulling their money out of North Carolina. Have they given up? Is that the white flag waving? You know? $50 million or more for Paxton, who continues to lag in the polls? He won't talk about his campaign. He won't talk about his vision. He'll have these false attacks and lies about Talarico.
MICHAELSON: So to me, that sounds like you're not going to give much money to North Carolina, but money is coming to Texas.
All right, let's talk about --
PADILLA: Let's not forget Ohio and Maine and Alaska, Iowa.
MICHAELSON: OK. There you go.
PADILLA: Kansas.
MICHAELSON: Let's talk about California for a moment. The president while in Texas talked about California, the state that you represented. A couple nights ago he made some comments about California and talked about the idea of Iran potentially bombing California. That got a lot of attention. You criticized him for that. Tonight he doubled down on the concept of what he was trying to say. Tried to, I guess, clarify what he meant. Listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: And so when I said it the other day, let them hit a missile into San Diego or Los Angeles on the way. Let them hit -- you want to see a horror show? You want to see problems? Let them hit San Diego. Let them hit Los Angeles. And you want to see some bad things happen. You want to see a country that would be in freefall. We're not going to let that happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So his point there is we don't want to see this. We're not going to let that happen. Your response?
PADILLA: Well, I think two things. One, why go there to begin with, right? What kind of commander-in-chief says, take out San Diego, wipe out Los Angeles? That's a small price to pay. That's what he said a couple of days ago. Mind you, Los Angeles is home to the joint complex of the Port of Los Angeles, port of Long Beach, the biggest engine of international trade and commerce for the United States.
So you're going to do some economic damage there. San Diego, the largest naval base on the West Coast, is in San Diego. And Donald Trump is inviting attacks to those areas.
MICHAELSON: I mean, do you really think that, that he's --
PADILLA: Well -- MICHAELSON: That he's inviting attacks? I mean, I mean, maybe it was a
not well-said statement, but do you think he really wants a nuclear attack on Los Angeles?
PADILLA: I would like to think not. Poor taste and jokes, if that's what that was. But even his attempts to clean up. How can you believe this guy? One day he says we're this close to a deal with Iran, and the next day he threatens to annihilate. The next day we're this close to a deal again and the next day he threatens to obliterate. And by the way, didn't he supposedly eliminate their nuclear capabilities last year? But here we are in an unauthorized war that's gone months and months and months.
MICHAELSON: Let's talk about the issue of immigration. California in the news on that front, I want to put up a headline from CNN. A whistleblower says that Trump demanded FBI probe into protesters over a TikTok that he saw.
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The attorney for the whistleblower, her name is Dana Gold is the attorney. She was on with Kaitlan Collins explaining this story. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA GOLD, ATTORNEY FOR FBI WHISTLEBLOWER JILL FIELDS: She was saying that in two instances, there were directives from the highest levels to investigate people engaging in peaceful protest with no predicate for national security threats, violence, there was no evidence of criminal activity, which are the conditions that allow investigations of people, you know, into those threats.
There was no evidence of that in either of these situations where she was basically the FBI was directed at the highest levels to open these investigations. No evidence of violence, no evidence of national security threats.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That whistleblower named Jill Fields. This was the time of some of the ICE protests happening here in Southern California. The White House statement put this up on the screen. "These allegations are false. The First Amendment does not protect violent rioting, obstructing law enforcement, and assaulting law enforcement. Assaulting and obstructing law enforcement is a crime. The administration has been clear anyone who assaults or obstructs law enforcement will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Your take on this story.
PADILLA: Well, look, we received that whistleblower report and it is absolutely alarming on so many levels. Number one, the activity that we're talking about here is protected. It's called freedom of speech. The report shows or tells us there was zero evidence of any crimes being committed. But Donald Trump wanted people identified and investigated or even arrested because he didn't like what they had to say.
And even when questions of legality and constitutionality about these investigations are raised within the FBI, the leader said, do it anyway. So they knowingly knew there was legal and constitutional concerns, and they went forward anyway. God bless Miss Fields and the DHS employee whistleblower from a couple of weeks ago and any other career professional with the courage and integrity to come forward because they know bad things are happening throughout this administration.
MICHAELSON: Is this the kind of thing that if there's a Democratic Senate is investigated in a different way?
PADILLA: Well, absolutely. We've already begun with the questions and the inquiries. How many people are they trying to investigate? Is there evidence of crimes that have been committed? This incident she's referring to is more than a year and a half ago. So how many other investigations have been opened up since then? Is it just protesters in Los Angeles? There's been protests across the country.
The department may not be completely responsive right now because our Republican majority is not making them accountable to Congress. When Democrats are in the majority, have gavels and the power to bring people with subpoenas and under oath, it's going to be a different day.
MICHAELSON: Yet another reminder of the major differences one way or another, depending on your perspective, if there is a Democratic Senate or not.
Senator Alex Padilla, who's been working on that issue for many years now. Thanks so much for being with us. Great to see you.
PADILLA: Thank you, Elex.
MICHAELSON: New York prosecutors are expected to bring new charges against former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Sources tell CNN those charges relate to alleged torture of Americans held in Venezuelan government custody in recent years. Maduro and his wife were captured by the U.S. military during a raid in January. They've pleaded not guilty to charges including narcoterrorism, conspiracy and more.
More than a dozen Americans were detained while Maduro was in power, and some have spoken out about the brutal conditions and alleged abuse they experienced. An announcement on those new charges could come as soon as the day ahead.
The Trump administration is pushing to get clear answers from Russia about the death of a lab worker at an anti-plague research facility in Siberia. The State Department says the U.S. has escalated its request for more information from Moscow. The president on Wednesday acknowledged that Russia has not disclosed many details so far, but he says he does not believe that the incident is linked to a bio weapon. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Is the plague in Russia a bio weapon?
TRUMP: Well, we don't think so. We're going to find out soon enough, but we don't think so. And if you listen to them, it's under control. You know, people have said that before about other things. So we hope it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: A Russian health watchdog said on Wednesday that there is no risk of an epidemic following the lab worker's death last week. But global health experts, including the World Health Organization, are still urging caution and asking for more transparency from Moscow. World Health officials say they do not have enough information from Russia to give an accurate assessment of if there's a risk or not. Still, Russian authorities are lifting some public health restrictions.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports.
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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Russians are saying that they're essentially starting to wind down some of those quarantine measures that we've seen in that town of Shelekhov, which, of course, is right next to Irkutsk, near the Lake Baikal area.
A lot of the hospitals in that area, of course, were under quarantine. And they say that's because some of the extensive testing that they've done, especially with the people who were in contact with that lab technician who died of pneumonia of an unknown cause, that those tests are wrapping up.
I want to read to you a bit of a statement that they put out. They said, quote, "As of October 7th, 2026, medical monitoring has been completed for 90 percent of contacts." Then they went on to say, "No health issues related to infectious disease were detected, and the results of nearly 5,000 laboratory tests revealed no dangerous pathogenic microorganisms."
So the Russians are essentially saying no plague was involved in all of this. No dangerous microorganisms. However, the World Health Organization is saying, look, they still want answers. They still need more information. And the key question for them is if this lab technician didn't die of the pneumonic plague, what did she die of?
I want to listen in to what one top WHO official had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, DIRECTOR, WHO EPIDEMIC AND PANDEMIC MANAGEMENT: What we have been told is that they had no case of plague registered in this area, and that no high threat pathogens were detected. So clearly, we would like more information to understand which laboratory tests were conducted, which pathogens were evaluated, and if this individual didn't die from plague, then how did she die?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PLEITGEN: So that's one of the questions that's still very much out there for the World Health Organization. The World Health Organization also saying that they have experts and technicians ready in case the Russians need more help with all of this. However, the Russian authorities have been saying that they are on top of the situation and that the situation in that town of Shelekhov, where all this happened is, as they put it, stable.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Good to hear that. Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much.
Still ahead this hour, a judge gets ready to take another look at the White House attempt to ban CNN and two other news outlets. Will they keep their access?
Sara Fischer from Axios with us live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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MICHAELSON: The Democratic National Committee is suing the Trump administration over its taxpayer funded TV ads. Its complaint alleges the ads are illegal government-sponsored propaganda personally directed by the president. The ads have already cost $12 million to air. The Department of Homeland Security has allocated $20 million for the campaign. The White House defends the ads as public service announcements like previous administrations have produced, although none quite like that before.
In the coming day, a U.S. district judge will once again hear arguments over President Trump's attempt to ban CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House. CNN and the other news organizations are asking that judge, who President Trump appointed himself, to extend his earlier order restoring their access. That order expires on Thursday. It was a two-week temporary restraining order. The three outlets have long argued that the White House ban is unconstitutional, but the Trump team claims it's justified on the grounds of national security.
CNN media analyst Sara Fischer is a media correspondent for Axios. She's live in New York for us.
Sara, thanks so much for being here. I want you to break down the arguments of both sides. Let's start with CNN and the media organizations. What's their main argument?
SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: They argue that their First Amendment rights, Elex, were violated when the Trump administration unilaterally banned them and revoked their press badges. They also say that their Fifth Amendment rights to due process were violated because the White House did not provide them any notice. They're going to ask this judge, Judge Timothy Kelly, tomorrow to extend that temporary restraining order through a preliminary injunction that basically says, while this case is being litigated, you have to continue to order the White House to reinstate our access.
MICHAELSON: And in terms of the Trump administration, what's their main argument?
FISCHER: Well, they're arguing that the executive branch in the White House has the right to dictate which outlets get access to the White House and other aspects of the executive office, meaning the Oval Office and Air Force One. They've also made an argument through the Justice Department that there's a national security risk involved here, that these outlets were reporting things that they shouldn't have been reporting that risk the country's national security.
I think that's a weaker argument in court. But the former argument might hold up a little bit better, just considering the fact that we're actually still litigating a case with between the AP and the White House where that question of what -- to what extent the White House is able to bar reporters from specific areas within the White House, how far that goes.
MICHAELSON: Right. And there's this question over who's going to be doing pool duty and whether CNN is included in that. That's not really a part of this particular case. Right?
FISCHER: Well, I think one of the reasons that the outlets are asking this judge to do a preliminary injunction, meaning extending that temporary restraining order that forces the White House to reinstate access is because the president has continued to block some of these reporters from accessing events, especially those that are a part of the pool.
And the pool matters, Elex, because that's how everyday Americans like you and your viewers get access to the president's schedule, what he's doing, get, you know, to see what's happening in the White House. And so, no, the pool is not directly related here, but it is a motivating factor for why these outlets want further protections from this judge.
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MICHAELSON: And big picture beyond our network and the other two, why does this case matter? What kind of legal precedents could come out of this?
FISCHER: Well, it will establish to what extent the government can restrict outlets that it doesn't like. It will in some ways test the First Amendment and how that applies to reporters that want access to the White House.
And even broadly speaking, Elex, this administration has really tested the bounds of the executive power. And if they were to win this case, it would empower them even further as they look to continue to broaden that scope.
MICHAELSON: And potentially empower Democratic presidents to restrict conservative outlets potentially going forward because, as we know, things don't always stay the same in Washington.
Sara Fischer from Axios, thank you for the preview of the day ahead. We appreciate it.
Also in the day ahead, the leaders of Skydance will ring in the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange. It comes after Paramount Skydance completed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN's parent company, earlier this week.
This is a live look at the Warner Bros. studio lot in Burbank. This is literally outside of our window. The new Hollywood giant is called Skydance, the name of the production company CEO David Ellison founded a decade ago. If you look right now closely on that tower, it now says Warner Bros., a Skydance company. The bell will be rung in in a few hours from now.
Still ahead, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed's past criticism of Barack Obama resurfaces, and there's been a lot of them, just as they are getting ready to hit the campaign trail together in Michigan's Senate race.
Plus, an update on the health of Christa Pike days after she survived Tennessee's attempt to kill her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDY SPIVEY, ATTORNEY FOR CHRISTA PIKE: She is very aware that the state tried to execute her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: The state of Texas has carried out the first execution in the U.S. since the failed lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee.
[00:30:00]
Jamaal Howard was put to death just a few hours ago after a court denied two attempts by his attorneys to stop the lethal injection with the same drugs used in Pike's failed execution.
Howard was convicted of fatally shooting a convenience store clerk during a robbery back in the year 2000.
When asked if he had a final statement, Howard apologized to the victim's family, who watched the execution.
Texas has now put six people to death in 2026 and has two more executions planned before the end of the year.
As for the Christa Pike case, a judge has ruled that the state of Tennessee must preserve all evidence related to the failed attempts to execute her. That includes physical evidence, 911 calls and communications between state officials. CNN's Ryan Young has more from Nashville.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, all eyes were on this courthouse behind me on the fourth floor. The judge spoke very clearly about what she wanted the next steps to be.
Christa Pike's attorneys heard what they wanted to hear. They'll be able to get the state to preserve all the evidence that's left in this case, so they can go forward with their investigation into exactly what happened.
They're going to be checking the protocols from the state to see exactly what went wrong when it comes to the execution of Christa Pike. Of course, that didn't happen. It was a botched execution. She was given two doses and still survived.
On Monday, they thought she might have to be cut off from life support, but somehow she still survived, and she woke up. Listen to her attorney talk about that astonishment.
RANDY SPIVEY, ATTORNEY FOR CHRISTA PIKE: I was not in the room when she woke up, so I don't want to speculate too much. Our understanding was the first thing she said was, Where am I and who are you?
There's -- there's still a lot of cognitive confusion. And so, I will say that.
YOUNG: And that's not all the judge granted. In fact, she moved forward with giving the lawyers an opportunity to see their client more often, just like if she was at the prison.
So far, we don't know what her long-term aspects of health is going to be.
But if you believe that everybody is in Christa Pike's corner, that would be wrong. In fact, we heard from several different people who showed up to court to say they were upset that the state wasn't able to execute Christa Pike.
MICHELLE NOWELL, TENNESSEE RESIDENT: And the worst part is that Colleen has been forgotten. All we hear about is Christa, Christa, Christa.
Today in that courtroom, as I said in there and listened and then on the steps just a few minutes ago, the attorney talked about cruel and unusual punishment. And when is enough enough? I would say she doesn't know cruel and unusual punishment.
YOUNG: As far as next steps go in this case, it's still unclear whether or not the government will ever come forward with an explanation about what may have failed here. We know one state official has stepped down. The governor has
suspended executions for the rest of the year, but no one knows what will happen to Christa Pike in the long run.
Her lawyers hope that the governor commutes her sentence, but that's unclear whether or not that will happen, as the international eyes still pay attention to this story and everyone tries to figure out how will Tennessee move forward with executions in the future?
Ryan Young, CNN, Nashville, Tennessee.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Ryan, thank you.
Let's discuss with our political panel. Mike Murphy worked as a Republican political strategist for decades, currently hosts the "Hacks on Tap" podcast with David Axelrod; and Democrat Gray Davis, served as the 37th governor of the state of California.
[00:35:04]
Welcome back to THE STORY IS. Great to see both of you.
Governor, as the only person on this panel who has to -- had make the decision on whether to commute somebody's sentence, whether to stop an execution or not. You did not stop any executions while you were California governor. You allowed executions to be carried out.
Why? Why do you believe in the death penalty?
GRAY DAVIS, FORMER CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: I believe in the death penalty for extraordinary situations.
But let me say, the hardest thing a governor has to do is decide whether or not a case which has been litigated and appealed four or five times, there was an error. There was a flaw. There was a reason you should overturn the decision of the jury and all the appellate courts.
And we were very, very thoughtful about this. I had about two or three weeks where people -- the staff went through. I spent three full days asking questions. I could not find a mistake, a sense of unfairness, or some legal issue that wasn't already raised and appropriately adjudicated.
But I would say in this particular case, because the execution failed, and then a similar one failed, that the governor, Lee, should take very seriously the report he's going to get back on how the execution process should go in the future, and maybe give some consideration to not having this particular defendant subject to execution once again. It's a very traumatic experience to have to go through, to say the least.
MICHAELSON: Morally, how did you live with yourself allowing executions to go forward? DAVIS: Because I -- you know, I was in the military. I was in Vietnam
in the late '60s. And I got involved with missing children, which got me involved with the parents of missing children. I became very victim-centric.
So, my first bias all the time was, is this fair to the victim? Is this fair to the family of the victims?
So, remember, the victim is no longer with us, in most cases. That's a lot of pain and agony. And maybe people agree with it. Maybe they don't.
But remember in the '90s, we had the Golden State Killer. We had all these serial crimes. Crime was much more prevalent, and there were many more deaths.
And I think one of the reasons why -- Mike can speak in more detail on this -- the support for the death penalty, while still barely over 50 percent -- used to be 80 or 90 percent in the '90s -- because there's a lot less crime now.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And the politics of this has changed, Mike, so much so that the -- the candidate for governor of Tennessee, who -- on the Democratic side, Jerry Green, was running against Republican U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, said in a statement, quote, "As a public defender who has seen the devastating flaws in our justice system firsthand, my stance remains unshakable. True pro-life values means rejecting the death penalty entirely. And as governor, I will enact a moratorium on all future executions."
That is something that our current governor of California, Gavin Newsom, implemented back in 2019. Here's his explanation as to why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): She says, what you're saying to us as adults that it's not right to kill; yet, that's exactly what you're doing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: He was talking about his conversation with a young girl who asked him about this. And he said, from a moral perspective, he was not comfortable with going forward with it. There has not been an execution in California since he took over. How has the politics on this changed?
MIKE MURPHY, CO-HOST, "HACKS ON TAP": It has changed. I remember the '90s, like Governor Davis was talking about, and I was influenced.
I had a client who ran a long-shot campaign for governor of Michigan and won, John Engler, and he was anti-death penalty, and he was a pro- life Republican, and he would be criticized for it.
But he said, look, state can't take life. You're either in or you're not. And that really influenced me. So, I've personally opposed the death penalty ever since. But luckily, I'm not an elected politician. I don't have to look the
victims in the eye. Because you understand the frustration and the need for some kind of closure.
Back in the '90s, it was a big issue in governor campaigns, because there was so much crime, and there was a lot of anger about there's no justice.
With crime down, I agree with the governor. There's less. And I think also, it's one of these things that on paper, you're for the worst ought to be punished in the worst way.
But then you have situations like Tennessee, where you look into the actual doing of it. And I think some people who are excited about it --
MICHAELSON: Right.
MURPHY: -- maybe get a little less excited.
MICHAELSON: How the sausage is made.
MURPHY: Yes, yes, yes.
MICHAELSON: And that is not -- is not pretty.
You mentioned Michigan. The Michigan Senate race, perhaps the closest or second closest one to watch.
MURPHY: See, I was setting you up for the smoothest transition --
MICHAELSON: Thank you very much.
MURPHY: -- in the history of CNN.
MICHAELSON: You're a good broadcaster. Because getting out of that conversation is challenging. Abdul El-Sayed --
MURPHY: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- is about to campaign with Barack Obama. But our colleague Andrew, the K-File, came up with lots of comments that he's made over the years that were critical of Barack Obama: in 2012, another in 2018. In 2020, here's what he said at the University of Michigan.
[00:40:03]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: I appreciate the fact that we don't give him credit for what he did for the economy in the short term.
But the structure of the economy did not change under Barack Obama. The solutions to actually thinking about making sure that our healthcare system was -- was -- was equitable and sustainable, that did not change under Barack Obama.
And unless we're willing to admit that, then we're at risk of going right back to the edge of the cliff we fell off in 2016.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: I mean, how do you see this race and some of a long list of criticisms of him in the past?
DAVIS: Look, first of all, I think Obama did a lot of great things. The Affordable Care Act, which helps people in red and blue states, directly because of him.
And secondly, he authorized the Navy SEAL's to take out bin Laden. Bin Laden was the architect of the 9/11 attack on America. I was governor then. I remember that distinctly.
So, but he's also a bigger person not to -- he's not going to hold grudges. He knows the control of the Senate is at stake. And that's huge for confirmation and appointments, judiciary and otherwise.
And so, we're going to have to be a big tent. We're going to have -- you know, we have a conservative, essentially, moderate or conservative running in Kansas, a preacher. We have some people with military backgrounds, and we have Abdul in Michigan. And we need all those people to win in order to control the Senate.
MICHAELSON: Mike, you're an ad guy.
MURPHY: Yes.
MICHAELSON: You've spent a lot of years doing ads. Your protege, or one of your proteges, has a new ad for Mike Rogers, who's the Republican candidate, backing away from President Trump. Watch.
MURPHY: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: And here in Michigan, we know that Canada is not our enemy. We need to end this tariff war. Now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Recently, Mike Rogers also reiterated the fact that he's against the war with Iran, which at the beginning --
MURPHY: Right.
MICHAELSON: -- he was not so much against the war with Iran. What do you make of this from an ad perspective? And from a -- yes.
MURPHY: Yes, sure. Yes. Trent Wisecup, who made the ads, a very good Republican media consultant. He's from Michigan. He grew up there. But they need more than a well-crafted ad. They need a time machine.
Because this is not the kind of thing when the building is on fire, you say, you know, one thing I've always hated is arson.
You know, Rogers was along for the ride for a year.
Now, the old Mike Rogers we all knew, this is the new, improved MAGA Mike Rogers. And not so improved.
And Michigan, because of the tremendous trade and relationship with Canada -- I've loved Ontario, having grown up in Detroit because the age to buy beer there was lower than 21 in Michigan.
So, Trump -- Trump was kind of sticking his finger in a light socket on this, politically. And now I think it's too little, too late for -- for Mike Rogers on this thing. And for a lot of Republicans who have tried this backing off.
MICHAELSON: You think El-Sayed wins Michigan?
MURPHY: I think he is likely to win Michigan, though there -- you know, in the primary, there is some trouble.
And by the way, the K-File strikes again.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
MURPHY: We consultants live in fear of what Andrew's going to dig up.
And I guarantee you two things are happening. Haley Stevens, who narrowly lost the Democratic primary to El-Sayed, is yelling at somebody now. Why the hell didn't we have this in a Democratic primary where it could have done something?
MICHAELSON: Yes.
MURPHY: Obama could care less, I believe, about how much he likes or dislikes El-Sayed. Because El-Sayed came from kind of the bomb- throwing, Bernie wing of the party.
MICHAELSON: True.
MURPHY: There's something about Democrats where the left wing loves to attack whoever's in power in the Democratic Party.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
MURPHY: But El-Sayed could be a cinderblock, and Obama would campaign for him to get that Senate seat, because the majority is at stake. It's politics.
So, it'll be an embarrassing two days for El-Sayed, when he'd rather be pounding on Trump.
MICHAELSON: Sure.
MURPHY: So, not great for his campaign. But the big wheel will turn. Obama will bury this. We'll be on to something new.
And I do believe he has the edge in the race. Not because El-Sayed is that great, but because Trump has done so much damage to Michigan and people know.
I was there last week. I heard it everywhere.
MICHAELSON: Yes. Yes. And Haley Stevens was just here in this chair a couple days ago saying that, you know, we're part of this big tent, as well.
All right. You guys are coming back in the next hour to talk about the president talking about California once again tonight.
MURPHY: Yes.
MICHAELSON: That's in our next hour.
And still ahead this hour, students at Cornell University stage a sit- in over the school's handling of the investigation into an alleged gang rape, while Jane Doe's attorney says his client is now getting death threats.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:49:10]
MICHAELSON: Welcome back, I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories.
A court hearing will be held in the U.K. in the coming hours, after King Charles' younger brother challenged the legality of police search warrants issued before his arrest earlier this year.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has asked for a judge to determine if actions taken against him by the police and central criminal court were lawful.
He was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office following revelations from the Epstein files in the United States.
Protesters in Spain are mourning the loss of an 87-year-old woman who became a symbol of the country's housing crisis.
Maricarmen, as she was known, was evicted from her home of more than 70 years after her rent increased by more than 400 percent.
Madrid's tenants' unit [SIC] -- union says about 950,000 people have joined mostly peaceful protests across the country in recent weeks.
Student protesters are expected to rally across France on Thursday over a lack of staff and resources in schools.
The prime minister says Parliament will debate a budget proposal on November 12th that includes more than $71 billion for education, a slight increase from last year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It ends here!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It ends here!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It ends here!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It ends here!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One in three!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One in three!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One in three!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One in three!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It could be me!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It could be me!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It could be me!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It could be me!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Students at Cornell University held a seven-hour sit-in on Wednesday to protest the school's handling of the alleged gang rape of the woman known as Jane Doe.
She has filed a lawsuit claiming that she was sexually assaulted by several fraternity members back in 2024. Her lawyer says she's now been receiving death threats. And he shared audio of a harassing phone call with CNN.
Here's Gloria Pazmino.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can hear you. I can like -- can hear your breathing. And instead of speaking out, you're just sitting there quiet.
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A chilling phone call, just one of the many threats sent to Jane Doe and a swatting incident where Doe's attorney says police drew guns on her family and a friend.
Doe's attorney tells CNN he is concerned for her and her family's safety.
THOMAS GIUFFRA, ATTORNEY FOR JANE DOE: Just before I got on with you, somebody called her, made a threat to shoot up her house, shoot her, her mother, her father. She's calling the police as we speak now. PAZMINO (voice-over): This as calls for the Cornell University
president to resign over the administration's response to sexual assault allegations by Doe in October 2024.
ARIANA KIM, FACULTY SENATE MEMBER, CORNELL UNIVERSITY: There are layers of concerns that need to be addressed, and I think the only way to begin that process is to see resignations and a turnover in our upper administration.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Faculty and Cornell administrators met during a Tuesday virtual staff meeting. In audio obtained by CNN, school officials acknowledged tensions are running high, and emotions are raw.
MICHAEL KOTLIKOFF, PRESIDENT OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY (via phone): This is just an enormously difficult time for our community. We all recognize it.
A lot of serious questions and important questions that we need to answer.
PAZMINO (voice-over): For more than an hour, administrators read from prepared remarks and vetted questions. President Michael Kotlikoff addressing concerns about Greek life and party culture on campus.
KOTLIKOFF (via phone): This is obviously an absolutely horrendous and inexcusable situation that occurred in a fraternity as part of a fraternity party.
But I have to make the point that this doesn't only occur in fraternities. I worry about pushing this into the shadows, into houses which we don't own, which are private houses, which have parties in which things can occur beyond our purview.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Faculty members raised concerns about two accused students who remain on campus.
KAVITA BALA, PROVOST, CORNELL UNIVERSITY: We have our multiple vice provosts are working with the faculty who are running the classes that have two of the respondents in the classroom, and they are working on figuring out the dynamics.
PAZMINO (voice-over): As two separate investigations into the school get underway, video obtained by ABC News shows an interview between a Chi Phi member not involved in the alleged assault, but who was in the house that night, being interviewed by Cornell Police.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a consensual act that took place (AUDIO REDACTED). And that's -- it's -- yes, that's really what the general rumor that was going around, was that there was a -- you know, there was a consensual thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In college. I wouldn't have been, like, Oh, that was a sick consensual act last night. Right? Like, I guess where -- how do they know it was consensual?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, I can't recall exactly what was said, but yes. I mean, they -- they said that they had sex with her, I guess.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Protests have cropped up all over campus, with students airing frustrations over what they say is a lack of response by the administration.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It ends here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It ends here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It ends here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It ends here.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Including a seven-hour sit-in this afternoon held in solidarity with Jane Doe.
PAZMINO: I've just gotten off the phone with an attorney for one of the seven accused Cornell University students. He tells me that his client describes the sexual activity between him and Jane Doe as consensual. He describes her role as an active participant.
That same attorney filing an Article 78 motion with the court to have New York state Attorney General Letitia James removed as special prosecutor from this case. They're citing James's statements on social media, where she expressed support for the victim prior to her appointment as special prosecutor.
Gloria Pazmino, CNN, Ithaca, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Gloria, thanks.
Still ahead, we are tracking what has now become the Atlantic season's very first hurricane.
[00:55:00]
The latest on Isaias and where it's expected to make landfall.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: We are getting live pictures right now from Mobile, Alabama, as residents along the Gulf Coast are now on alert as Isaias has rapidly intensified into the Atlantic season's very first hurricane. Yes, it is very late in the season for that.
At last check, the storm has sustained winds of 75 miles per hour, making it a Category 1 hurricane.
