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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
American Imprisoned in Russia Lands in Texas; Interview with Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin; State Department Issues Mixed Messages About Latin America Safety. Omar on 'Very Bizarre' Search: 'I Take It Very Seriously'; Bass Pounces on Raman's Comments on Replacing Police Chief; Residents Rally Against Plans for Kentucky Data Center; France Braces for New Protests. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired October 22, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[00:00:11]
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Elex Michaelson, live in Los Angeles.
Coming up, THE STORY IS nothing to do with Vivek? President Trump defending the Republican nominee for Ohio governor while saying he knew nothing about the abuse allegations behind his controversial ad.
THE STORY IS loyalty to America? The debate between Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed got personal quickly. Democratic Party chair Ken Martin is standing by to react to both of those stories.
Plus, THE STORY IS very bizarre. Congressmember Ilhan Omar gives her first interview since federal agents searched her home, telling MS NOW she believes that this is voter intimidation. Is it? We'll discuss with our panel.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Los Angeles, THE STORY IS with Elex Michaelson.
MICHAELSON: But we start with live pictures from San Antonio, Texas. You're looking right now at the plane carrying Stephen Hubbard, an American who was imprisoned in Russia for more than four years. He is now back in the U.S.. It's just after 11:00 in San Antonio. We have not seen him get off that plane yet. We hope we will soon.
He arrived at a military installation in Texas there. The 74-year-old was seen above the American flag. He's expected to take part in a U.S. government program meant to help former detainees acclimate. This is that picture of him above the American flag. His release coming after a direct plea from President Trump. It was announced as U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff was in Russia for talks with President Vladimir Putin.
Witkoff met with Hubbard before he left for the U.S.. The retired teacher was accused of fighting for Kyiv. Charges both his family and the State Department said were fabricated. Witkoff had this to say to Putin after Hubbard was freed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian. You are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that. I commend you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So the word that Witkoff just used there, describing Putin as a humanitarian, drew backlash from several Republican lawmakers. President Trump, meanwhile, suggested that Witkoff's use of that term could have helped win Hubbard's release.
Now, all this taking place as Witkoff sat down with Putin for about three hours on Wednesday for talks aimed at advancing peace efforts in Ukraine. At Witkoff's request, Putin said that he'd be ready to resume trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. after November 10th. Ukraine's president said he'd like the meeting to happen by the beginning of November. He also pointed out that Russia has previously said it was ready to meet, only for plans to be canceled.
Again, though that breaking news, Stephen Hubbard back in the United States.
Now to more on the midterm elections. With less than two weeks of voting left, President Trump will take his campaign for Republican candidates to Sioux City, Iowa, in the day ahead. Tonight he was in Pendleton, South Carolina, urging voters to back Republican incumbent Senator Darline Graham. She's in a closer than expected race with Democrat Annie Andrews. The president firing back at protesters during his rally, calling them crazy and serious losers.
Meanwhile, the vice president of the United States, J.D. Vance, defending a controversial ad from the Republican candidate for governor in Ohio, Vivek Ramaswamy. He says politics is a tough business. People should stop whining about the ad. That ad features the estranged mother of Democrat Amy Acton, telling voters her daughter is a liar. Acton says she hasn't seen her mom since she was 12 when her stepfather was arrested for sexually abusing her.
He pleaded not guilty but was indicted by a grand jury. Records from the early 1980s show authorities were still looking for him, but there's no record of any further action in that case. Acton got a show of support at a campaign appearance earlier today in Ohio. A woman at the event said, my heart goes out to you, and gave her a hug. President Trump reacted to the controversy before he left the White House today. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know, it was about a Republican. I could guarantee you they'd let it go. So that's why you're asking. The fact is, I know nothing about it. But I hear the mother went very rogue on the daughter, doesn't have a lot of respect for the daughter. And I think the mother is a witness to things also. So who knows? And you have to figure that out.
[00:05:03] It's a very unusual situation to have a mother hate a daughter that much, but I don't think that has anything to do with Vivek.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Joining me now from Washington is Ken Martin, the chair of the National Democratic Party.
Mr. Chair, welcome back to THE STORY IS.
KEN MARTIN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIR: Thank you, Elex. Thanks for having me again.
MICHAELSON: What is your reaction to this ad in Ohio and does it change the calculus for the Democratic Party in terms of how much to invest in the Ohio governor's race?
MARTIN: Well, look, we've been investing there all along. We've got a great candidate in Dr. Amy Acton. She's been ahead significantly in the polls in recent weeks and months. And the reality is, this is a desperate tactic by a man and his president who are desperate to hold on to power. Look, this woman was abused when she was 12 years old. She was raped by her stepfather. Her mother at the time decided to take the side of this man who abused her own daughter.
And it's shameful that this is, what, 13 days before a critical election that anyone would have the judgment to air such a despicable ad in this moment, right? Trying to take advantage of this woman's tragedy, trying to litigate the past in a way that somehow, you know, brings up and retraumatizes Dr. Acton. It's just shameful all around, but more than anything, it's a testament to the character or lack thereof of Vivek Ramaswamy. He showed that he doesn't have the character nor the judgment to be elected as governor of Ohio.
MICHAELSON: And interestingly, as he learned more about the backstory, his choice was to double down and invest more money in this particular ad, not apologize for it. Meanwhile, there is a very competitive Senate race happening in Michigan. It's hard to do the calculus of how the Democrats win the Senate without Michigan. Another debate tonight between Abdul El-Sayed, Democrat on the left, Mike Rogers, Republican on the right. Here's some of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE ROGERS, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE FROM MICHIGAN: 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? Well, 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, U.S. SENATE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FROM MICHIGAN: It's actually really quite beneath you, Mike. It's really quite beneath you.
ROGERS: It's not --
EL-SAYED: To call into question my loyalty to the Constitution.
ROGERS: It's beneath you not to own up.
EL-SAYED: I'm talking.
ROGERS: Own up to it.
EL-SAYED: I am talking.
ROGERS: All right, own up to it.
EL-SAYED: I'm talking.
ROGERS: All right. Own up to it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse me. Yes. Go ahead.
EL-SAYED: Can I have a few more seconds?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Go ahead.
EL-SAYED: Thank you. To bring into a question my commitment to the Constitution is really beneath you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So Abdul El-Sayed had problems with support from black voters and Jewish voters in the primary who largely supported Haley Stevens. What's your message to those voters who remain skeptical about him in the final days of this campaign?
MARTIN: You know, Dr. El-Sayed has said from the very beginning what he's focused on is actually getting big money out of politics and putting more money into people's pocketbooks, making sure that we focus on building an affordable health care system in this country that people have access to so no one is left behind. And with these rural hospitals closing, people are being challenged right now with their premiums doubling and tripling.
They need a champion for health care. And Dr. El-Sayed is going to fight for them. He's fighting for people to be able to actually afford their lives, to have a living wage job and to put gas in their -- in their tanks and to be able to go to their jobs. He's fighting to make sure that people achieve the American dream.
And you know what's shameful about the attacks on Dr. El-Sayed? Yes, he's Muslim American, but he has made it very clear that his number one focus is on Michiganders and fighting for his state and making sure that Michiganders have access to health care, making sure they have economic opportunity and that they can afford their lives.
This is, again, a desperate attack at the late hour by Mike Rogers because he's about to lose this race. Dr. El-Sayed has made it very clear who his priorities are, and it's Michiganders.
MICHAELSON: Do you think Mike Rogers is Islamophobic? MARTIN: Well, I mean, you're left wondering after the only attack that
they keep leveling at Dr. El-Sayed is somehow that he's priorities rest elsewhere, and not on Michigan or not on this country, Dr. El- Sayed has made it very clear that his oath to the Constitution he takes very seriously.
And unlike Mike Rogers and other Republicans on the ballot who put their oath to Trump ahead of the Constitution, Democrats, including Dr. El-Sayed, who made it very clear, their oath to the Constitution is more important than their oath to the political party or to any one individual.
[00:10:04]
They're fighting for the constituents that they're seeking to represent. Look, the question that Mike Rogers should be the same. Will you put your oath to the Constitution, to the U.S. Constitution ahead of your oath to Donald Trump? That is a legitimate question because the Republicans have shown a fealty time after time after time. When given the chance to actually stand up for democracy, given the chance to stand up for our Constitution, the Republicans would rather stand with Donald Trump than stand for democratic values.
MICHAELSON: Right now, basically every poll seems to indicate that the Democrats are going to win the House. The Senate is very much an open question, but Democrats know what it's like to go into an election with polls showing something and that it not turning out that way. Think about Hillary Clinton in 2016. On the day of the election, 90 percent possibility that she's going to win. She didn't win.
Beto O'Rourke in Texas. So much hope that he was going to win. He didn't win. Kamala Harris, a lot of folks thought she was going to win. She didn't win. You know, let's put up this headline from CNN, this question in terms of, "Do Democrats have inflated expectations for the midterms?"
Do they? And how do you keep people focused, motivated and realistically thinking about this in the final days?
MARTIN: Well, look, I've always said you've got to run like you're 20 points behind, even if you're 20 points ahead. And certainly we have a lot of positive momentum. It's good to have wind at our back finally, instead of wind at our face like we have in the past. We have been winning election after election for the last year. Record rate and 90 percent of the elections on the ballot, we have been winning or overperforming in.
But the reality is, is no one should believe any polls out there right now. The most important poll, of course, is the poll on election day. And we have 13 days left to turn out the vote. And so my admonition to everyone who wants change in this country and wants to throw these Republicans out is to get out there and work for the change because while we have momentum, for sure, you know what momentum doesn't do?
Momentum doesn't knock on doors. Momentum doesn't turn out the vote. Momentum doesn't protect the vote. If we want this to actually happen, we have to go out and make it happen. And so there's a reason I didn't lose a single statewide election when I was chair in Minnesota, and it's because I drown out all the noise. I didn't allow us to believe we were going to win. I made sure that people stayed focused on what we needed to do to win, and that's what we did.
We executed and we won because we didn't listen to all the noise around us. That's my admonition to folks listening right now. If you want change in this country, we got to get out there and work for that change. And we still have 13 days left.
MICHAELSON: And for a lot of people around the country who have ballots in their hands right now, today could be election day for them.
Ken Martin, the national chair of the Democratic Party, thank you so much for joining us from Washington. Great to see you.
MARTIN: Thank you, Elex.
MICHAELSON: Now, to this yet another international airport in Saudi Arabia has come under attack. Authorities say at least one person was killed in Dammam and eight others wounded. Damage assessment is still underway. No claim of responsibility yet, but Yemen's Houthi rebels have vowed to keep striking prominent Saudi targets.
And that has the U.S. State Department issuing new security alerts warning Americans to be aware of potential attacks on airports. Non- essential embassy staff have also been ordered out of the Saudi capital. The Iran-backed Houthis have launched a series of deadly strikes on the Riyadh International Airport in recent days.
Still ahead this hour, a new strategy by the Trump administration to make it tougher for certain asylum seekers to get into the U.S.. And an all clear for Pope Leo. The Vatican revealing new details about his cancer surgery and why doctors say he needs no further treatment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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MICHAELSON: Now, an exclusive reporting on conflicting claims coming from the U.S. State Department. According to internal documents seen by CNN, it is warning Americans about violent crime in parts of Latin America, specifically Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. But at the same time, the State Department is privately telling officers dealing with asylum seekers that the conditions in some countries are no more dangerous than in U.S. cities like Baltimore, Houston, and Memphis.
The goal seems to be getting more asylum claims denied. Experts worry that the new guidelines downplay the very real dangers people face in some Latin American countries.
Immigration analyst Raul Reyes is an attorney and CNN opinion writer. He's with us live from New York.
Welcome back to THE STORY IS.
RAUL REYES, IMMIGRATION ANALYST: Hi there.
MICHAELSON: So break down sort of what's really happening here.
REYES: So what's really happening right now based on this CNN reporting is that we seem to be in a place of extremely inconsistent policies. On one hand, the U.S. government is warning citizens that it's too dangerous to go to places like Guatemala, Honduras, certain parts of Mexico, because they made it a level three risk, which means reconsider travel.
And yet at the same time, they are giving guidance to Homeland Security and immigration officials that it's fine to deport people back to these nations and these are people with asylum claims who fear persecution or face danger in these same countries.
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So it's hard to wrap one's mind around how these two policies can co- exist as part of an overall immigration or even foreign policy strategy.
MICHAELSON: So what's the practical impact of this guidance? What does it do?
REYES: Well, the practical impact of this guidance, I mean, it is -- this is very serious. It will make it much easier to deport people potentially, who have asylum claims and which goes against the reason we have asylum in the first place. Congress created asylum to protect people who were in danger. It's a system that has existed for decades.
And when I say danger, I'm talking about these countries in Central America, certain states in Mexico where we have transnational gangs, kidnaping, extortions, all types of horrendous conditions. And so we are looking at potentially sending back, sending people back to these places to harm, places them in harm's way, and really with grave consequences. It's -- we know that some people have been deported and have never been seen again, or their bodies were found in sugar cane fields. So we are talking grave consequences.
MICHAELSON: But in terms of the actual stats, is the government correct? I mean, are crime statistics in some of these countries the same as what we're seeing in some of these American cities?
REYES: Well, the government's position is that certain American cities like Baltimore, Memphis, and Houston are basically at the same level by certain metrics of violent crime as Guatemala or El Salvador. But this whole idea is completely unreasonable. It is illogical. Honduras is not Houston. And even if we accept the government's position about the crime rates in these cities, the big difference between American cities and these foreign nations is that in all American cities, no matter what the crime rate is, we have a functioning criminal justice system.
We have a law -- functioning law enforcement system. We have, most importantly, guarantees of human and civil rights. The same cannot be said for these countries in Central America and parts of Mexico. It is just completely detached from reality to compare American cities to these places. Honduras, for example, pretty much has consistently ranked -- been ranked one of the most dangerous nations in the world. It is not Houston by any metric.
MICHAELSON: Is there some truth, though, that at least some folks have abused the asylum system and maybe come in here when they really weren't threatened and use that as a loophole to get in this country and cut the line of others that are trying to come here legally?
REYES: Well, that is definitely a view among some on the right. But here's the thing. Asylum is not a loophole. It's not going around the law. It's a right available to all migrants. And that was a decision made by Congress in the post-war period. The way that we decide as a country whether or not asylum claims are valid is when people go through the process of establishing their claim, gathering evidence, facing an asylum officers and judges.
And for context, you have to remember that right now, the denial rate for asylum is 94 percent. So the overwhelming majority of people who are seeking asylum are not getting it. Now so the idea that hundreds of thousands of people are abusing this system is not borne out at the fact by the facts. And even in past administrations, the denial rate was always about 50-50. It was never over half in terms of being granted asylum.
MICHAELSON: And one thing you would think that there would be bipartisan consensus on, but there hasn't been, is that we need more courts and judges to speed up this system.
REYES: Right.
MICHAELSON: So that the people that actually need and deserve asylum can get it quickly and get the help they need. And the people that may be fraudulently suggesting this can get kicked out of the country faster. But the current system clearly is underfunded. Right?
REYES: Exactly. Right. The system is underfunded and there are tremendous backlogs. And in this second Trump administration, it has become basically impossible to get asylum. You know, if the system has existed for decades and under -- in under two years, this administration has almost completely dismantled it. And so we're looking at human rights violations and just tragic, needless deaths down the line, all that which Congress sought to prevent when it created this process to begin with, this form of lawful humanitarian relief.
[00:25:12]
MICHAELSON: Yes. Raul Reyes, sharing his perspective and insights from New York.
Raul, thanks so much for being with us.
REYES: Thank you. MICHAELSON: Some good news here and encouraging update on Pope Leo's
health. The Vatican says he's not going to need any more treatment for lung cancer after successful surgery last week. Doctors say the cancer was localized and the all-clear arrives ahead of the pontiff's planned South America trip next month, which we know he really, really wants to go on.
Pope Leo held his first general audience on Wednesday at the Vatican since surgery. The 71-year-old pontiff waved to crowds, blessed babies, while riding in the Popemobile through St. Peter's Square. Looks pretty good, doesn't he? Here's his message to the crowd.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE LEO, CATHOLIC CHURCH LEADER (through translator): The first thing I would like to say to you is thank you. Thank you for the support of your prayers. Thanks be to God for his generosity. Let us all renew our trust in the goodness and mercy of God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Still ahead this hour, controversy is swirling over the Ohio campaign ad everyone is talking about. Our political panel, Brian Tyler Cohen and John Ziegler, here to discuss that and more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: Welcome back. I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories.
[00:31:15]
President Trump is defending an incendiary ad from Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. The ad features Democrat Amy Acton's estranged mother calling her daughter a liar.
Trump says he doesn't know anything about sex abuse allegations against Acton's stepfather. He says it's an unusual situation, but he doesn't think it has anything to do with Ramaswamy.
Voters in Kansas are getting another look at their candidates for the Senate. Incumbent Republican Roger Marshall and Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton took the debate stage tonight.
Marshall defended President Trump's tariffs, and Hamilton was pressed on his handling of child sex abuse allegations against a volunteer at a church camp two decades ago.
Democratic Congressmember Ilhan Omar says federal agents took more than a dozen items during the search of her home in Washington last week.
Omar says some of the items taken include phones, notebooks, and her husband's vintage camera.
The search was related to an immigration fraud investigation against Omar, who is an outspoken critic of President Trump.
Our panel is here to discuss that and more. Brian Tyler Cohen is host of the "No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen" podcast and author of "The Day After: How to Wield Power in a Post-Trump World." And John Ziegler is the host of the "Death of Journalism" podcast. Two of our favorites. Welcome back, both of you to THE STORY IS.
Let's play a little of the Ilhan Omar interview with Chris Hayes on MS NOW a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ILHAN OMAR (D-MN): They made this huge promise that there was somehow this massive illegals that were, you know, sort of, like, undocumented people that were voting in American elections.
And so, they -- you know, they're going to try to gin up this sort of, like, frenzy. And -- and I think ultimately, their -- their goal is to intimidate and, like, scare people from -- from wanting to participate and vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: John, as a conservative who's not a big fan of President Trump, what do you think of the concept of a raid? As people have already started voting in Minnesota and making this so public, and then not arresting anybody?
JOHN ZIEGLER, HOST, "DEATH OF JOURNALISM" PODCAST: Yes, I'm not a fan of the timing of this. It looks terrible. I'm no fan of Omar, as a conservative. I think there's probably something there.
But this is a situation where some discretion should have been used. You don't do this right before an election, because it's so incendiary.
MICHAELSON: Your thoughts?
BRIAN TYLER COHEN, HOST, "NO LIE WITH BRIAN COHEN" PODCAST: That's the whole point. I mean, Trump wants to use every lever of government that he can to try and dissuade people from voting, to try and chill people into submission.
And he's been perfectly content to use the -- the DOJ as his cudgel against any Democrat that he doesn't like. That's why he's engaged in these prosecutions against Jerome Powell, Letitia James, James Comey, and, you know, those six Democrats who dared follow the Uniform Military Code of Justice.
And so, this is par for the course for Donald Trump, which is bad enough unto itself. But even worse, given the fact that this is an entire Republican Party that at least used to pretend that they were against the weaponization of government, only up until the moment that their leader, their god king, started using it for his own political benefit. MICHAELSON: And then for a long time, there's always been sort of
guidelines, at least a time period before the election, to not have this sort of thing. And we see this happening.
Another part of this interview that is making headlines tonight is this question about is she some way related to her husband? And Chris Hayes asked her that. And her answer was, "Not to my knowledge."
Now, there's been some inaccurate reporting, suggesting that the question she was asked is, is your brother your husband?
ZIEGLER: Right.
MICHAELSON: That was not the question she was asked: In some way, are you related to your husband? But "not to my knowledge" is also sort of an interesting answer.
[00:35:09]
ZIEGLER: I'm in a very weird spot here, defending Omar again, because what she said was idiotic. I mean, if someone asked me whether or not my wife was related to me, I would be able to say definitively, no.
But I don't think she meant to imply that he might be related to her. I think the way that this went down was she thought he was joking and she -- she, I think was joking back with him.
And to your point, which is a really important one, it was not about whether or not he's your brother. It's is it possible he's, in some way, distantly related.
And she said, I think, half-jokingly, half to protect herself, "Not to my knowledge," because after all, you could be related, you know, several generations down.
MICHAELSON: And one of the really frustrating things about the way sort of X works is that oftentimes influencers -- frankly, often on the right --
ZIEGLER: Right, yes.
MICHAELSON: -- inaccurately quote stuff.
ZIEGLER: Right.
MICHAELSON: People only read the caption that's wrong, and then report off of that; don't watch the video.
ZIEGLER: Right.
MICHAELSON: And so, that is a completely different story --
ZIEGLER: Right.
MICHAELSON: -- than what is being reported. But yet, people go with that, including tonight the president went with that. COHEN: I think it is a sad state of affairs for the Republican Party
that, less than two weeks before the election, this is what they're focusing on. And the fact is, this is why they're losing.
I mean, people are worried about actual issues that impact their lives. They're impact -- they're worried about high prices. They're worried about high gas costs. They're worried about this war that's costing $1 billion a day. They're worried about the cost of groceries and electricity bills that are going through the roof.
And all the Republican Party can do, as their closing message, is to fearmonger about some Democrat that they don't like.
And I think that puts on full display why the Republicans are now pulling money out of places like North Carolina, so they can defend Senate seats in Kansas, a place where they haven't won [SIC] the U.S. Senate in almost 100 years.
And clearly, they haven't learned any lesson, because this is the closing message. This is what they're doubling down on.
So, if you're wondering why they're in the position that they're in, they're basically broadcasting it to you.
ZIEGLER: But "not to my knowledge" is still really bad. Let's be clear about that.
MICHAELSON: Let's -- let's talk about, you know, Ilhan Omar, one of the most progressive members of the House. There's been a lot of energy this year, a lot of writing about the Democratic Socialists of America, some of whom are now starting to win elections in blue cities and lead cities where they have to oversee the police department.
Zohran Mamdani, that happened with him.
Nithya Raman is running here in Los Angeles to lead the second biggest city in the country. She would oversee the police department.
She has said that she wants to get rid of the LAPD chief. I asked her about that yesterday. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: You said you want to get rid of the police chief, Jim McDonnell. Briefly. Why?
NITHYA RAMAN (D), L.A. MAYORAL CANDIDATE: You know, I think he has not met this moment of ICE raids on our streets and fear among our immigrant communities.
MICHAELSON: Who's an example of a police chief that you really respect or admire?
RAMAN: Oh, I don't -- I don't know. I -- I don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MICHAELSON: So, that is going viral tonight, as well, including Karen Bass, who she's running against, the mayor of Los Angeles, posted on X, "'I don't know' is not an acceptable answer when it comes to keeping 3.8 million people safe."
She wants to keep the current police chief, Jim McDonnell, ahead of the L.A. Olympics in 2028, as the world comes to Los Angeles.
Josh Barro, a national commentator, his response to her answer was "not great."
What do you make of -- of this moment as the big question for Nithya Raman? She says that public safety is her No. 1 priority as mayor.
ZIEGLER: As a conservative, Nithya Raman choosing the head of the LAPD is about as scary as Donald Trump picking the head of DEI would be for a liberal.
I mean, this is something that is a massive conflict of interest for someone like this. She clearly doesn't have any knowledge, and she clearly doesn't have any belief in the entire system or in the LAPD. And that does not invoke any kind of confidence.
It's bizarre to me that we're now in a world where Karen Bass is somehow the moderate in the race to be the next mayor of Los Angeles. But this is where we are.
MICHAELSON: She did say that she does not believe in abolishing police like some folks in the DSA, and that she wants to keep LAPD levels at the current levels, not increase cops.
But -- but your thoughts on this and sort of the challenge for -- for Democrats in blue cities across the country, as they -- as they govern.
COHEN: Right. Well, look, it's -- it's not like she's not going to have a police chief, first of all. So, we're going to get to a point where either she's going to pick somebody who has to --
MICHAELSON: If she wins.
COHEN: If she wins, who has to retain the confidence of the broader police force, and certainly, keep the city safe. But, you know, it's not like there's not going to be anybody in that position.
But I think more broadly speaking, I mean, you know, speaking about L.A. specifically, we had a situation where George Gascon was a very progressive district attorney, and -- and he was ousted from his position, because he wasn't tough enough on crime.
[00:40:06]
And there was -- there was the rules regarding these smash-and-grabs were too lax. And -- and, you know, the people of Los Angeles kind of pushed back against that. So, that's going to be on somebody like Nithya Raman's mind, as well.
This is, you know, yes, a liberal bastion. But at the same time, people still do value safety, just like in every other city. And so, that's going to be the tightrope that she's going to have to walk.
ZIEGLER: Elex, I think what happened here was that Raman is confused, as are many members of the DSA, with what their brand is supposed to be. Are you DSA enough?
And so, if she tells you that she has someone in mind, it's almost as if she's pro-LAPD, which is somehow verboten.
They put themselves in a position that's untenable and puts them into situations where they're saying nonsensical things and not able to answer simple questions that the mayor of Los Angeles ought to be able to answer.
So, I think this is a problem of the DSA's own making. They've gotten so extreme, they don't have a place to go.
MICHAELSON: Well, and it is an interesting challenge going forward, because there's a big difference between campaigning and governing.
ZIEGLER: Right.
MICHAELSON: And there are real challenges, when you're in the job and have the responsibility. And we've seen some of that with Zohran Mamdani in New York, although he's very, very popular --
ZIEGLER: Real life hits hard.
MICHAELSON: -- in the way he's gone -- he's gone about that.
COHEN: Very popular. But he kept the police chief.
MICHAELSON: He kept the police chief.
John Ziegler, Brian Tyler Cohen, you guys are coming back at the top of the hour to talk about what's happening in Ohio and other places around the country. A lot to get into.
Also still ahead, residents in a deeply red Kentucky district are fighting plans for a massive data center in their town, and they know exactly who should pay the political price.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Do you think this issue is going to hurt Republicans in the midterms?
DELSIA BARE, KENTUCKY FARM OWNER: They I hope it hurts them.
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[00:46:29]
MICHAELSON: Researchers say they've used A.I. to discover and fix security flaws that could affect more than two-thirds of the Internet.
Teams from OpenAI, Wiz, and Caliph say the flaw could allow hackers to steal sensitive information, including passwords.
The researchers say A.I. helped them identify and fix the bugs across multiple applications in a matter of hours. We'll do a deep dive into that in our next hour.
But now to this. A mother and daughter team is pushing back against plans to build a massive data center in Kentucky. It's happening deep in Trump country, where Meta wants to build a so-called hyperscale data center.
But as Donie O'Sullivan reports, residents are rallying against the facility and second-guessing Trump's A.I. policies.
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BROOKE MCGOWAN, HUMANS FIRST ACTIVIST: We're responding to this huge data center overreach. What looks like an invasion across our country, this explosion.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Here in Maysville, Kentucky, a Trump stronghold, activists and locals have gathered to protest the building of a massive A.I. 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 A.I. centers want to stay backward or something like that.
MCGOWAN: I did -- I did hear that.
O'SULLIVAN: When you hear that, how did 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 RESIDENT: I'm Republican, but due to his stance, I feel he's going to cost the Republicans the House and the Senate. Maybe not by big margins; it might be very slim margins. But he needs to reverse his stance.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): 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've been helping since last year. They felt coerced into signing these contracts to sell their land.
BARE: Zuckerberg and Meta should have never walked out of that courtroom with a dime left in their damn pockets.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): 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.
BARE: They come through the door around May the 2nd, 2025. They said we want to buy your land for $35,000 an acre.
O'SULLIVAN: Technically under contract, you don't know who's trying to buy your land.
BARE: Nope. It's a non-disclosure 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. She 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.
IDA HUDDLESTON, KENTUCKY FARM OWNER: Yes. Life and freedom.
BARE: Should I choose to -- I 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 of you as fast as possible.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Trump won this Kentucky county in the last election by a 44-point margin.
[00:50:06]
HUDDLESTON: I voted for Trump. I have every time he's run. I'd 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've 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.
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 A.I. 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.
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)
MICHAELSON: Officials in Toledo, Ohio, say a tank that leaked a hazardous chemical has cooled down. They say it's, quote, "almost done venting," which is a process that allows air and vapors to flow out of the tank.
That leak forced hundreds of residents to evacuate or shelter in place, and sent dozens of people to the hospital on Wednesday.
Health officials say about 30 people were treated for symptoms potentially related to that leak. Most of them, thankfully, released.
The fire department says the chemical may cause a burning sensation in the eyes, nose, mouth, and on the skin.
You can see how much smoke impacted drivers on the road.
The mayor of Toledo says drones monitoring the site showed conditions were improving. Less gas was being released. Officials had feared the leak may cause an explosion. The incident, now being investigated. Ahead, hugs and handshakes during a surprise visit. We have details on deeper cooperation between France and Saudi Arabia.
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[00:57:30]
MICHAELSON: The French president back home after a surprise visit to Saudi Arabia.
Emmanuel Macron met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss energy, security, pledging solidarity with Saudi Arabia in the face of Houthi attacks.
According to the French presidency, the leaders reached an agreement for Saudi Arabia to provide France with more diesel supplies to help ensure its energy security.
Thousands of students and teachers have filled the streets of Athens, Greece, demanding higher pay for teachers, more funding for education, and relief from the rising cost of living.
CNN Greece reports the demonstrators were inspired in part by a similar student movement in France and elsewhere in Europe.
CNN's Stefano Pozzebon reports.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The situation is gradually returning to normal in the streets of Europe after some of the worst clashes we have seen in recent years --
POZZEBON (voice-over): -- took place over the last weekend, in particular, in France and in Italy.
In France, several areas of Paris woke up on Wednesday under curfew for the second night in a row, while the prime minister, Sebastien Lecornu, told the lawmakers that the law enforcement deployment ahead of the Saturday's protest will be massive.
In Italy, instead, the government on Tuesday approved a new law-and- order decree where police will be able to detain protesters for several hours, even if they are underage.
However, protests remain, in particular, in the South of the Italian Peninsula, where truck drivers are setting up blockades on highways as a way to protest the cost of living --
POZZEBON: -- and the cost of petrol, with the price of diesel up more than 30 percent --
POZZEBON (voice-over): -- from before the Iran War broke out, and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Several supermarkets, according to Italian media, have started to see shortages in basic products as a consequence of these blockades.
POZZEBON: Now, with the protesters already calling for new gatherings ahead of this weekend --
POZZEBON (voice-over): -- especially on Saturday, the 24th of October, it remains to be seen whether these new measures drafted by both governments will be enough to calm the streets or if, indeed, Europe is heading towards more protests --
POZZEBON: -- towards the end of this year.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Stefano, thank you.
Sports now. The Atlanta Dream have taken a 2-to-1 lead in the WNBA finals.
Angel Reese put up 21 points and 12 rebounds as Atlanta cruised over Golden State, 97 to 71.
