Isaias Takes Aim at Gulf 

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1:04Happening now, breaking news. Cat 3 taking aim at the Gulf. Hurricane Isaisas barreling toward the southeast. Officials are warning of life-threatening storm surge, even possible tornadoes. Plus, outrage after an ice shooting in New York City. Federal immigration agents shoot and injure a man from the Dominican Republic with a five-year-old child in the back seat, prompting anger from the mayor and sparking protests. And debate face-offs. Candidates in three critical Senate races make their pitches to voters with the midterms now only 25 days away. We're going to bring you the key takeaways that's coming up.

1:43And live streaming and execution. The Pentagon now says the American public will be able to watch the firing squad execution of the Fort Hood mass shooter causing bipartisan an outlash and a homecoming more than 300 days in the making. We're going to bring you much more from my reporting, from Pamela's reporting, I should say aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln as service members reunite with their loved ones. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown and you're in the Situation Room.

2:25This is CNN Breaking News. And we begin with the breaking news, a major upgrade for the record-breaking and rapidly intensifying hurricane that is barreling toward the Gulf Coast right now. Hurricane Isaias is now a major Category 3 storm, packing winds up to 125 miles an hour. Forecasters are warning of potentially life-threatening conditions. up to 15 inches of rain, destructive storm surge, up to nine feet in some areas, widespread blackouts, and even tornadoes. It's expected to make landfall only hours from now. And states of emergency are in effect right now in parts of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia.

3:09On the ground, grocery shelves are cleared out and gas stations are jam-packed as millions of residents race against the clock to prepare. Evacuations are underway in many coastal If you're in the direct path, officials have a simple warning. Leave now, although that window to evacuate safely is slamming shut. We're joined now by CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar over at the CNN Weather Center. Allison, this storm is getting stronger and stronger. Yes, and it may continue to strengthen over the next few hours. We don't necessarily know that this is the peak of the storm. Here you can see a lot of those outer bands really starting to fill in with lightning.

3:47lots of reds and oranges indicating incredibly heavy rain, but it's not Florida that's the only target. You also have several of these showers creeping into Alabama and into Georgia right now, and that's going to continue as we go through the rest of the day today, and the storm continues to make its northward track. You're starting to see some of the heavier bands begin to spread into Panama City. We even have some stronger thunderstorms across areas of Jacksonville right now, and that is well away from where the center of the storm is. Now, when we talk about the winds, not too bad at the moment.

4:17Most of these are gusting up to about 20 to 30 miles per hour, but those are also going to start to increase here 40, 50, even 60 miles per hour in the coming hours. Here's a look at the forecast. It is expected to remain a Category 3 storm as it continues to slide off to the north, but I want to emphasize there's not really much other than the shear in this area that's limiting this storm. So it's not out of the question that this could get another 10 miles per hour stronger. If it does, it would become a Category 4. For now, however, the forecast calls for it to remain a Category 3 and then weaken slightly just before landfall later on this evening as it continues to make its way off to the north.

4:57Now, here's a look at the storm surge. Because the storm has strengthened, because it has increased its wind speed, you're also seeing an increase in the storm surge. Six to nine feet for the area you see here in orange and about four to six feet on the surrounding areas in the yellow color. Allison Chinchar, thank you very much. The CNN weather app, by the way, gets all the data you need before the storm and during the storm, for that matter. Get precise insights and expert coverage when you download the app on iOS today. Pamela. All right, Wolf, happening now. The final push is on with less than a month until Election Day.

5:35Candidates are making their final pitch to voters. Last night, candidates in three critical Senate contests appeared on stages in their respective states for a trio of heated debates. In Michigan, Republican Mike Rogers went after Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, questioning his credentials, while El-Sayed pointed to Rogers' ties to President Trump. You're going to find out that this guy is not what he says he is. He is actually selling the best con I think I've ever seen. It's about whether or not you trust your next U.S. senator to stand up to Trump and Trumpism. But when you're running because Donald Trump called you and asked you to run, you can tell he's not going to stand up to anybody.

6:18And in Georgia, Democratic Senator John Ossoff challenged Republican Congressman Mike Collins' record and ties to a white nationalist. Imagine running for the U.S. Senate while neo-Nazi propaganda is disseminated to an audience of millions from your home. That's Mike Collins. I've condemned racism, anti-Semitism, hate. I don't care where the source is. And I tell him that, too. It's wrong. We have no place in this world for that. and joining us now is cnn political commentator and former white house strategic communications director elissa farrah griffin as well as cnn senior political commentator and foreign trump former trump campaign advisor david urban so elissa let's start with you what stood out to you from what we saw last night listen there were some fiery moments um first off kudos to the candidates that showed up to debate There's a number of these competitive races where no debates are scheduled.

7:16And I think that's a shame for voters ahead of the midterms. But John Ossoff obviously showed up ready to play in Georgia. And I think a lot of Republicans, you know, Mike Collins wasn't necessarily their first choice to be the Republican nominee down there. And I think some of those weaknesses showed. But then you look to Michigan. This is a razor's edge, very, very tight race. And I think Mike Rogers really communicated his message as well as he could. He created a little bit of necessary distance from the administration when it came to the war in Iran. And listen, I could see these going just either direction.

7:50And finally, I should say Susan Collins is somebody who is an incredible political heavyweight. She has come back from, you know, bigger deficits than she has right now. And I think she really showed up ready to communicate her message and show her independence in Maine. David, as President Trump tells voters to pretend he's at the top of the ballot this November, a new research poll finds President Trump's approval rating at 30 percent. That is a second-term low in Pew's polling. Should more Republicans start to distance themselves from the president in these final days of the campaign cycle?

8:24You know, Pam, it's tough because if you heard, or if you watched any of these debates or parts of these debates, every Democratic person who's running in these races, every candidate says Donald Trump's name before they say the candidate's name. Right. So there is no way to distance yourself from Donald Trump if you have an R after your name. So, you know, John Ossoff, you know, with Mike Collins, he's saying, you know, Donald Trump, you know, when you saw El Syed said Donald Trump called you Mike Rogers. So Donald Trump is on the ballot here, whether candidates like it or not. Listen, I think the president is still wildly successful, excuse me, wildly popular amongst even the MAGA base.

9:07He's still in the 80s. Listen, he's not in the 90s, but he's still popular in the 80s. And that's that's important if you're turning out the vote. I think Alyssa was right during the debates last that were just most recently held last night and in the past past few nights. Republicans have done pretty well. Mike Collins is a good man, but obviously John Ossoff is a little more polished, a little slicker. I think Mike Rogers landed some pretty substantive shots with El-Sayed saying, you know, if you're a candidate for the United States Senate and you cannot, you know, denounce Iran as an enemy of the United States, it's pretty bad.

9:45And then, you know, hurt people, hurt people, comment. I mean, I think El Syed, I think it's not going to be as close as people think in Michigan. I think the same holds true in Maine. I think some of these races, you'll see some of these Republicans start to pull away a little bit. Some of them are going to be jump balls till the end. And, you know, Pam, you, myself, Alyssa and others will be up all night, Tuesday into Wednesday, trying to figure out who won. But the debates last night painted them some distinct differences between Democrats and Republicans. And I think, as Alyssa pointed out, it's important for voters to hear those differences.

10:21What do you think about the Michigan race, Alyssa, and how that debate went? Tell us a little bit more about that. Yeah, I think, listen, Mike Rogers is very experienced. You know, he served in the House for a number of terms. And he's somebody who I think when it came to answers on foreign policy was very prepared. And I think, to David's point, made that juxtaposition with El-Sayed. What he's trying to do is say El-Sayed is outside of the mainstream of Michigan. That's really, I think, the message that he wants to land. And I could see that working, frankly. The biggest knock and, I think, challenge he's going to face is questions around the tariffs.

10:55This is obviously the automotive industry is huge in Michigan, impacts a lot of workers. Steel tariffs and different things have had a very negative effect in that part of the country. And I think he had answers on it. He's been very good about distancing himself from Trump policies without making it a direct criticism of the president, because that also doesn't help him at this point. To David's point, you know, you have an R next to your name. You own Trump. I think it's very much could go either direction. But I think that Mike Rogers performed extremely well and landed some very good blows last night.

11:31Yeah. And just Pam, Pam, real quickly there, just to add, just to add, yeah, I was going to say real quickly to add on to Michigan. I don't think, you know, Al-Sayed did anything to, and you're himself, to African-American voters or Jewish voters where he is bleeding support. I mean, he's got former President Obama trying to come in to try to shore up his support amongst African-Americans. He's doing terribly. He's doing terribly amongst the Jewish vote in Michigan. I just don't I don't see at the end of the day. I know what the pollsters say. Pollsters are like weathermen. They're right about half the time.

12:01And in this one, I think they're way off. I mean, we don't really know, right? You were right. The polls have been off. It does seem to be a very close race. Listen, our own our own Harry and our own Harry and our own Harry and put out some statistics about the last several races in Michigan, Ohio and Iowa and how Republicans have outkicked their coverage six to nine points in the past three to four election cycles. So if that holds true, these races are way off. So I'm just citing our own Harriet. We'll see. Okay, our own Harriet. All right, thank you both. Appreciate it. Alyssa Farah Griffin, David Urban, have a great weekend.

12:45Thank you. Thanks for having us. And still ahead, Mullen slams Mumdani. The Homeland Security Secretary is attacking the New York City mayor who said he, quote, wants ice out of our city, end quote. All of this after ICE agents shoot and injure a man with a five-year-old child in the backseat. And next, we are live in Pensacola as the first signs of Hurricane Isaias are being felt as the storm barrels toward the Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm. You're in the Situation Room, and we'll be right back.

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13:55Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm. When it comes to my policy, Farmers gives it to me straight, so there's no surprises. It's your coverage. You should never be confused. You hear that? An insurance provider with a conscience. We're a choir, but yes, we have that too. Straightforward coverage you can literally understand. And that's what you get when you have farmers. Learn more at Farmers.com. Underwritten by Farmers Truck or Fire Insurance Exchanges or Affiliate. Products not available in every state.

14:28We are continuing to follow our breaking news at this hour. The major Category 3 Hurricane Isaias is just hours away from making landfall on the Gulf Coast. officials are warning of life-threatening storm surge, up to 15 inches of rain, widespread blackouts, and even some tornadoes. Right now, a state of emergency is in effect for parts of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, as time is running out for residents to prepare. We are joined now by CNN's Rafael Romo in Pensacola, Florida. Rafael, tell us more about the conditions there. Hey, Pamela, good morning. You were saying a moment ago that it's going to be hours before Hurricane Isaias makes landfall.

15:10But I've been surprised by how early we started feeling the impacts of the storm here in Pensacola. It was before sunrise when we started feeling significant winds and rain on and off. And now you can really feel it, Pam. And not only that, a big danger out of the storm is the surge. And just a couple of hours ago, the water wasn't even getting to the rocks. And as you can see, they're being covered by the water now. And one other thing, and we heard from Governor Ron DeSantis earlier, is that he's urging people to be very careful. Yes, because we will have torrential rains, which is already happening.

15:52And he said, yes, you have to be careful about the very strong winds. But the surge, the governor said, he emphasized that people should be mindful of the surge because if what's expected actually happens, we're talking about nine feet of surge that may impact businesses like those behind me. And so the governor says, think about all of those things when you make your preparations and protect yourself from the hurricane. Let's take a listen to what he said. The surge is really what puts a lot of people's lives in jeopardy if they haven't heeded evacuation orders and does the most significant damage from these storms.

16:36And so that is a possibility everywhere from Pensacola all the way into the Big Bend section of North Florida. You could see storm surge. So please take caution of that. And we always say, you know, you hide from the wind, but you run from the water. When the water's rising and things are happening, it's a very, very difficult conundrum, and you do not want to be caught in that. Run from the water, the governor said. To put it all in context, Pamela, this part of the country gets about 4.7 inches of rain during the entire month of October. However, that amount of rain is expected to fall in just a matter of hours today.

17:20Now back to you. All right, Rafael Romo bringing us the latest there. Thank you so much, Wolf. All right, Pamela. Joining us now is the mayor of Fairhope, Alabama, Sherry Sullivan. Mayor Sullivan, thank you so much for joining us. I know you guys got a lot going on right now. What's your biggest concern as this hurricane approaches where you are? You know, I think the biggest concern for us, obviously, is storm surge. We also had a lot of rain last weekend, so our ground is really saturated. So the amount of rain that we are expecting to receive, you know, in excess of five inches, that concerns me because of downed trees.

17:55We have a lot of mature trees here in Fairhope. And then, of course, that impacts the power. But the storm surge is going to be something that everybody's going to watch. We have a lot of low-lying areas, a lot of flood-prone areas here in Fairhope, especially along our coastline. So just want to make sure that people are taking the precautions that they need to. What's being done in these final hours to secure the town before the worst of the hurricane winds up hitting? You know, I think we have a plan and we practice that all year long. I'm very thankful that I have a seasoned team here in Fairhope.

18:29Folks who've been here through many hurricanes so they know exactly what to do. But we're really encouraging people to, of course, you know, do everything they need to at home. But to stay off the roads is the biggest thing to make sure that we can keep our employees safe, keep public safety safe. So they're not out having to rescue people if there are floods and again are fallen trees. So just really recommending that people, you know, stay inside and stay off the streets until the storm passes. We are expecting it to be a fast moving storm. And we're expecting by 7 a.m. tomorrow morning we're out assessing any damage.

19:02Is it too late for people to start evacuating your community? You know, most people are not evacuating. I have found that most people who live here in Fairhope or Baldwin County, they really want to stay if at all possible. They might move to a neighboring community that's more inland, specifically along Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. But most people will stay. So, again, the most important thing is to be prepared at home, have everything you need there, but don't get out on the roads if you don't have to. As you know, FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, says they're already positioning gear and teams to move in.

19:37Have you raised your hand for federal assistance already? We have not raised our hand for federal assistance. I think one of the things that I've learned throughout storms is to make sure you can take care of yourself for a little bit. So that's what we try to do here in Fairhope. Obviously, we know that FEMA's there and our local EMA, our Baldwin County EMA, and our neighbors. All of our state and federal officials have been great about reaching out. Right now, we've not told FEMA there's anything that we need, but we are always aware that they're there, and along with state EMA and Baldwin County EMA.

20:08Mayor Sherry Sullivan, good luck to you. Good luck to all the folks there. It's going to be a rough situation, but we're hoping for the best. Thanks so much for joining us. Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. Pamela. All right, well, coming up, anger in New York after ICE agents shoot and wound a man with a five-year-old child in the back seat. We're learning more about what led to that shooting, and that's just ahead.

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21:10Happening now, anger in New York.

21:18This protest erupted in the Bronx after federal immigration agents shot and wounded a 28-year-old man from the Dominican Republic. Video reviewed and verified by CNN appears to show him with a graze wound to the neck sitting up in the street. At least one ICE agent fired into the man's car while a five-year-old child was in the back seat. Minutes ago, we heard from the Homeland Security Secretary who blames the suspect. We wasn't aware the child was in the car, I can tell you that. But do you know who was? Oscar. Oscar knew he had a child in his car. Oscar chose to accelerate at a high rate of speed and ram two different vehicles as he appears to be going towards officers.

22:04And so the public outcry should be also towards this criminal, this thug, this gangbanger, this possible murderer. That race should be with him for endangering the five-year-old. CNN's Bryn Jingrass is joining us now from the scene of the shooting. Bryn, what else are you learning this morning? Yeah, listen, well, people are still pretty angry how this went down. not necessarily why it went down, but how it went down, which, you know, you saw it there. DHS Secretary Markway Mullen fiercely defending the tactics of the ICE agents, essentially also highlighting the criminal history of the 28-year-old Oscar Belgao, who is now in the custody of ICE.

22:50Mullen not saying exactly where they have brought him, just saying that he is out of state at this point. But certainly those are the questions everybody around here has been asking this morning. Why did it have to go down that way? If he was being surveilled at the time, why did these agents fire into a car, not knowing that there was a five-year-old in the back seat? One of the women that our colleagues talked to here in the shop basically said she heard everything go down, ran outside, and was just trying to shield people from seeing this all happening right in front of their eyes. Now, like I said, Mullen going after the mayor and other city administrators, calling their sanctuary city policies, calling out their sanctuary city policies.

23:32Also, some of the things the mayor was saying, calling it shameful. The mayor has not yet responded to what Mullen was saying earlier today, but I do want you to hear from the mayor and what he was saying last night. Take a listen. For the past two hours, I've been on the phone with President Trump and Secretary Mullen negotiating the release of the man ICE agents shot. Those negotiations were unsuccessful. Just moments ago, ICE put the man in an unmarked vehicle and whisked him away. Let me say this plainly. What happened today was an outrage. This city wants ICE out. We want ICE out of our city, ICE out of our schools, ICE out of our hospitals, ICE out of our streets, ICE away from our kids.

24:19We want that because we want to keep the city safe. We do not need them to do so. All they do is terrorize the city. Now, Mullen saying in those negotiations with the mayor, they offered to let Belgal go into the custody of the NYPD, but that would not be agreed to by Mamdani. So it'll be interesting to hear what he has to say on that. Another thing authorities or administrators rather are calling for is the release of the body camera footage. Wolf, I can tell you we've just seen some NYPD officers go into shops around here to try to get their own surveillance footage. Of course, though, this is now a federal investigation or continues to be a federal investigation, Wolf.

24:57All right, Bryn Jindgrass on the seat for us reporting. Thank you very much. Pamela. All right, Wolf, coming up here in the Situation Room, now walking with assistance. Inmate Krista Pike's attorney says she is making improvements after a failed execution. We're going to have more details on this just ahead.

25:24happening now inmate krista pike is now walking with assistance after surviving a failed execution her lawyer says that she's also regaining movement in her arms but is having trouble with concentration as well as memory pike and her boyfriend brutally murdered 19-year-old Colleen Slimmer in 1995. And two men were arrested after breaking into an air base in the United Kingdom that was also used by the United States. British counterterrorism police are now investigating after two Latvian men were found inside the base. This comes just weeks after a suspected plot targeting another British air base used by the U.S.

26:05And this year's Nobel Peace Prize goes to human rights pioneer Navi Pillai. The South African lawyer fought against apartheid and recently led the United Nations Commission that concluded Israel committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel rejects those claims and called her win, quote, grotesque. Here's how she reacted to winning the prize. So, no, I don't know about this, so my question is, is it true? It's not a proof. Yeah. Did you name it? No, they called me. Christoph called me up now to tell me, and I said it must be a joke.

26:50She also said she was deeply honored and grateful to receive the award. Wolf? Also due this morning, the Pentagon says it will live stream the military's first firing squad execution in decades. The public will be allowed to watch the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting killer being put to death. The Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed this week to carry out Nidal Hassan's execution at the same base in Texas where he murdered 13 people. The Defense Department set Nidal's execution to take place December 3rd at Fort Hood. Let's go live to CNN's senior national security reporter Haley Britsky, who's here with me in the Situation Room.

27:32Haley, what more have you learned about this? Yeah, well, so this was just announced earlier this week that this would be a death by firing squad as requested by Secretary Hegseth. And Hegseth said in an interview that was released just yesterday that it would be public saying that he wanted people to be able to watch this to know the consequences of what Nadal Hassan had done in 2009. Pentagon official also confirming it will be live streamed. So there's a lot we don't know. We don't know how it will be live streamed or where. There are army regulations, Wolf, that specify who can witness an execution.

28:05And it specifies in the regulations that minors cannot, anyone under 18. Obviously, that's hard to, you know, police when it is live-streamed in that fashion. So how the Pentagon will deal with that is still a question. It's raising a lot of concerns. It's gotten bipartisan pushback. Joe Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center under President Trump, said that it was beneath the dignity and and decency of our nation, and said it gives terrorists free propaganda that they will use to radicalize and recruit more terrorists. And then Senator Tom Tillis, who's obviously become an outspoken critic of Secretary Hegseth, called it beyond disgusting and likened it to what happens in Iran and under the Taliban, saying it should not be happening in America.

28:49So there are a lot of concerns here, a lot of questions. Just a few moments ago, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also condemned this move, calling it a barbaric promotion of death. So we haven't heard more details of how this will be carried out, but certainly it's something that the secretary is committed to. And he was affiliated, I take it, with some terrorist organizations. And as he was shooting, killing all these people at Fort Hood, he was screaming out various pro-terrorist lines, right? Yeah, that's right. I mean, he was convicted of 13 counts of murder, 32 counts of attempted murder, said he was targeting soldiers who would soon be deploying to Afghanistan, engaging in what he called an illegal war.

29:28And so there's not a lot of concern necessarily about the death sentence itself, but the fact of how it will be carried out and the very public nature of it is what's causing concern. And the concern is that various terrorist groups will use the video that will be streamed for propaganda purposes to go ahead and kill more Americans. That's right. All right. Haley, thank you very, very much. Haley Britsky reporting. Pamela. All right, Wolf, happening now back home with their families here in San Diego. Service members on the USS Lincoln officially docked near Coronado, California, to cap the second longest Navy aircraft carrier deployment since the Vietnam War, a harrowing 322-day deployment for roughly 5 ,000 sailors.

30:13And it was an emotional reunion for these families, Wolf. I saw it firsthand, including what the captain says was 122 new dads meeting their babies for the first time. I caught up with one sailor as he prepared to hold his 10-month-old daughter, who he had only seen in pictures.

30:35Finally home! Mixed in the emotion on this Navy pier are 122 sailors who have never met their children. The only person my daughter knows is my wife right now. Joey Montemoreno's daughter, Madeline Grace, was born while he was away at sea. These images are all he knows of his 10-month-old child. What are you going to do, you think, when you see them? Probably cry a little bit. Probably try to hold back the tears while I kiss my wife, hug my wife, and meet this baby that I've never met before that I can't wait to meet and interact with. We met Joey and many more of the roughly 5 ,000 sailors at sea on the USS Lincoln as they headed into port.

31:18Most admit their returning home changed. This is the hardest one I had to deal with, so I feel like if I could do this one, I could do anything. It's the end of a harrowing 322-day deployment that faced scrutiny over the living conditions on board and low morale that included attempted suicides. The man overboard, that was a crazy day. Many confirmed the uncertainty around the extended deployment brought mental challenges. Just thinking about my family and things going on back home that you can't control. I would go to prayer service with the chaplains and that would help out a lot. Others we met confirmed food supplies ran low at times.

31:59I was in cargo for a while, the people that bring the food up. and I was in there during the tough times, not a lot of food was being brung up, but as we progressed, it got better. It was stressed, but we never shut anything down. Captain Dan Keeler, commanding officer of the Lincoln, tells CNN supplies were mainly affected when support ships under threat from Iran were forced to alter their movement in the region. We serve 14 ,000 to 16 ,000 meals a day, four times a day, so four meals a day. We never missed a meal, not for 10 and a half months. There were some sacrifices made. Maybe there was only one protein option instead of two, but there was always food.

32:36Some of the family members had a town hall with Navy leadership because they were really concerned about their loved ones on this ship. They were getting pictures of toilets overflowing and mold. What do you say to that? What I'll say to all the families is they were also amazing. You can't do what we just did without a lot of support. I think a lot of the reporting focused on some anecdotal things because we looked into all this stuff and there really were no systemic issues. It's a big ship. It's a floating city. We have, you know, a toilet gets clogged. It eventually gets fixed. Keeler acknowledges there were five suicide attempts on Lincoln itself and three others on its support ships.

33:11He says anyone with mental health problems had access to treatment on the ship. The most severe cases were sent home. We had zero suicides. We had zero casualties on the ship. Every single sailor that left is coming home. And they're coming home awarded with a presidential unit citation. the military's highest honor for a unit in battle. It's going to be pretty cool to be able to wear that and tell everybody why I'm wearing it and what I did to wear it. On board, you could feel the anticipation as we pulled into port. Moments later, among this flood of emotion, Joey Montemarino, a father who served on a ship at war.

33:49Who's that? Is this your daddy? Now with his daughter, together in peace. She's perfect.

33:59It just gives you chills watching that reunion, Wolf. It was just extraordinary to watch that and to see this father meet his little baby girl for the first time and just be there with all that emotion, all that celebration. It was just so special to witness that and to bring that to our viewers as well. It really was, and I'm so, so happy that you were there. You were there earlier in the year aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier. and that battle group in the Persian Gulf. And now you're back out there in California watching this reunion, the homecoming. It is so, so great. Excellent work as usual.

34:38Thank you very much, Pamela. Thank you. And I also just want to note, you know, it was also coming in, and I think we might have some video of this. When we were coming in on the aircraft carrier, there was so much celebration. And you can see these boats here. These are people who were using their personal boats, Wolf, And they were playing songs, God Bless America. They had American flags on. They were basically escorting the aircraft carrier into the dock. And it was just so special to watch that and to see these sailors manning the rails here, witnessing that, feeling that welcoming from the crowd after such a demanding, historically demanding deployment.

35:21They really got the welcome that they deserved. It was a truly remarkable day for thousands of the servicemen and women who spent all those months at sea dealing with those extensions, wondering if they would even return this year. Finally getting to do that was just, it was just a great thing to be able to witness. And once again, excellent, excellent reporting from you over the course of their journey. Thanks very much for bringing us all these really powerful, very emotional stories. And also, by the way, a very special thanks to the crew of the USS Abraham Lincoln for their dedication and service.

35:58Absolutely. And we're very appreciative to be able to go on board that ship for a second time to do that coverage. So we are very appreciative of that. We have some other news we're covering today. Wolf, coming up with mortgage prices rising, is the American dream of owning a home still alive? We'll make it make sense ahead.

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36:56Like by singing everything for emphasis. That and by providing you with coverage on a page, an easy to understand language, so you know what's covered and what's not. No confusing legalese that no one gets. In full transparency, we do have to put a disclaimer at the end of this ad, though. Just being honest. That's what you get when you have Farmers. Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum. Learn more at Farmers.com. Underwritten by Farmers Truck or Fire Insurance Exchanges or Affiliate. Products not available in every state.

37:25Well, new this morning, safety researchers at OpenAI say their terminations are simply not adding up. Three employees are speaking out after they say they were fired from the company under suspicious circumstances and are openly questioning their dismissals. So let's go live now to CNN AI correspondent Hadas Gold for more. What can you tell us about this, Hadas? Yeah, so all three of these employees worked on safety and alignment at OpenAI, and they say that they were all given different reasons for their firings, but they believe that it was because that they were routinely raising safety concerns and were working closely with outside third-party safety groups like Muter that were officially brought in by OpenAI to help investigate safety incidents, especially that incident where a swarm of OpenAI agents escaped their test environment and hacked into another AI company, Hugging Face.

38:14Now, OpenAI disputes this. They say it's not because of them raising safety concerns, but because of how the three handled sensitive internal information. But this matters because it's not just about an employment dispute, but there is a sort of fear that's pervading in the industry that there might be an effort by these companies to try and dampen some of these safety concerns after we've seen this sort of wave of AI safety panic. And employees are concerned that they won't be able to speak out as much. Now, the three that were fired have been posting extensively on social media, and one of them said that they were fired because they were told that they were talking essentially too much to third-party safety auditors.

38:53They said that it was implied that they were leaking some sort of company intellectual property, and they say that was not the case. In fact, one of them was the official point of contact for one of these third-party groups within OpenAI. Now, OpenAI has said these firings have nothing to do with them raising safety concerns. They say that they actually agree with a lot of the concerns that are brought up around safety and recommendations that these three have had for the company. They say in a statement, our investigation confirmed that these individuals mishandled sensitive information outside established company procedures, violating our policies and breaking the trust essential to our work.

39:29The three of them penned a letter that they posted openly and they also sent it to OpenAI leadership about their firings, including a list of recommendations for how to make sure that the work with these third-party groups continue. OpenAI, a research leader sent a memo to the entire company that was provided to me by OpenAI, where they say they actually agree with a lot of those recommendations. And OpenAI also says that they are continuing to work with these third-party groups. But there is a fear, these three say now, that there is a culture within the companies that now the employees will not speak up.

40:00This is what one of them posted on social media. He wrote, My former colleagues are telling me they are confused about what to believe. They also are afraid to speak and worry their personal phones will be searched for messages to us and third parties. I worry the pervading fear to speak up and engage with third parties will mean OpenAI will cut corners on safety behind closed doors. I don't think the story is open, Pamela. I don't think the story is closed yet. I think that we're still going to hear more from both these employees and from the company involved. Pamela. I would not be surprised.

40:33All right. Hadass Gold, thank you. Wolf? Also happening now for homebuyers, the American dream is starting to look less like a haven and more like a high interest tax. New data from the Freddie Mac organization shows the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate climbed to 7.4 % this week. It's the seventh straight week of rising rates reaching the highest level in three years. And with rising home prices and insurance costs, buying a house may be less affordable today than it was three years ago. Let's go live right now to CNN Business Senior reporter David Goldman to make it make sense. So David, what kind of trickling effect will these increases have on the overall economy, first of all?

41:18Yeah, I mean, this is the problem because everyone is just locked into their homes if they own a and locked out of buying a home. If they don't own a home, you raised a really good point that 7.4 % is only part of the story, right? Yes, it's the highest since November of 2023, but prices are higher than they were then. And tax and insurance, this doesn't account for all of that. So let's put this into real dollars and try to make sense of this. So 2020, remember 2020? not so fondly probably, but for the mortgage market, it was actually a pretty good time to buy a home. $400 a month was the cost for every$100 ,000 that you were borrowing for a home.

42:05Let's take a look at today, and yikes! $690 for every$100 ,000. So what is going on here? Well, I am going to draw a very accurate chart here. This is to scale. And this is COVID. That happened when we had all of the interest rates coming all the way down to record lows. But then remember inflation, that happened here and sent those rates back up. That's when in 2023 we had those historically high mortgage rates. Inflation problem gets solved, kind of, but then we have the Iran war and we are back up again. That is why we've been on this roller coaster. So what does it mean for you and your home?

42:55Well, let's take an average or median$300 ,000 home. In 2020, you were paying$1 ,100 a month. That's$1 ,860 today. In February, that would have been$1 ,640. And that gives you a sense of what's going on in the market, Wolf. Gives us a good sense. All right, David Goldman, thank you very, very much. And we'll be right back with more news.

43:28Happening now, breaking news, running out of time. A major hurricane gets even stronger as it approaches the Gulf Coast. and officials in several states are ordering people to get out of harm's way now. Plus, insults and family attacks. Things get very personal and heated on a Michigan debate stage in a Senate race that potentially could have a major impact on control of Congress. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown and you're in the Situation Room.

44:08This is CNN Breaking News. And we begin this hour with the breaking news. Hurricane Isaisis has been upgraded to a major Category 3 storm. You can see just how big it's gotten from these satellite pictures taken at sunrise this morning. And it's now just hours from slamming into the Gulf Coast. The storm is packing very dangerous sustained winds of 120 miles per hour. and expected to come with it, life-threatening storm surge up to nine feet in some areas. More than a foot of rain, potential tornadoes, and widespread power outages. States of emergency are in effect in parts of Florida, Alabama, and Georgia, and you can see conditions beginning to get worse in Pensacola.

44:55Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for several of these coastal areas as time runs out for people to prepare. So let's check in now with CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar. What's the latest, Allison? Yeah, so the latest, we did get our brand new update. And again, the key thing here is just how strong the storm is. You're looking at the visible satellite. All these what look like bubbles developing on the picture. That is all of the convection, all the thunderstorms really starting to develop, showing signs of the storm strengthening. And we could still see it strengthen even further as it continues to make its way off to the north northeast right now at about 16 miles per hour.

45:30sustained winds have not changed in the last hour. They are still 120 miles per hour gusting up to 150 miles per hour. The big thing that has changed is the National Hurricane Center now saying we don't anticipate this to weaken all that much before it makes landfall. Maybe five miles per hour, maybe 10 miles per hour change here over the next few hours, but that's about it. Now, one of the big concerns then becomes a lot of the storm surge because the stronger the storm, the higher those surge numbers are going to be. All of the area you see here in orange, that includes Pensacola, Panama City, even all the way down to the Port St.

46:03Joe area, you're looking at about 6 to 9 feet of storm surge. The surrounding areas here, both of these areas you see in yellow, those are looking at 4 to 6 feet of storm surge. So again, you're talking pretty significant amounts of storm surge. One thing to note too, with some of those storm surge totals, is it's a very flat, low-lying area. So that water can spread as much as a half a mile or more inland. You don't have to be right on the coastline. So here's the storm as it continues to slide off to the north. We do still anticipate landfall will be later on tonight as it makes landfall along the Florida coast there.

46:38Here's a look at the forecast radar. Again, you can see it kind of sliding up right there in the extreme western portion of the state of Florida. And again, the key thing for the change for the top of the hour forecast, noting that the hurricane center does not think this is going to weaken all that much before it makes landfall. you're going to start to see a lot more of the rain expand into other states. So Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, even though they are not on the coast right where landfall is expected, they are looking at significant amounts of rainfall. Allison Chinchar, thank you very much for that update.

47:12Pamela. All right, well, joining us now is Tom Tyler. He's coordinating the disaster response in Baldwin County, Alabama. Thank you so much for your time during this very critical window just before landfall. What is your biggest concern right now? Well, I think Allison described the storm surge effects very, very accurately for our part of the country. Our topography falls very much what she just said. Five to seven feet of storm surge can have a very large incursion inland just because of how gently sloping some of our topography is, especially out on the Fort Morgan Peninsula. I'm concerned about the heavy, heavy surf.

47:52We have a very adventurous crew down here that likes to get out in the water and we want to strongly encourage them to stay out of the water. We're at double red flags right now and we really need our first responders not being put in harm's way, rescuing people that are taking unnecessary and, quite frankly, illegal risks. There's been an awful lot of preparation going into the event that we're starting to enter right now. And so we have got a long ways to go. Yeah, not not a good idea to be playing in the water right now over there. So how are your teams preparing in these final hours? Well, for instance, our highway department has a plan to reopen roads as quickly as possible after the storm passes when it is now safe to start that restoration.

48:42But another thing too is trying to affect the evacuation before the impacts are coming on shore. We have a mandatory evacuation order for non-residents, south and intercoastal canal, which is basically our coastal areas. That is ongoing. And for our residents who live in those areas, coastal areas, low-lying areas, we are strongly encouraging them to seek higher ground. As it becomes more of the impacts reaching our shores, it's going to be more difficult to affect these kind of evacuations. And at some point we have to just button down and do what we've got to do and wait for the impact to pass over.

49:27And then we can start working on recovery and reopening roads and so forth. The Baldwin County Commissioner said that since the last major storm, which was Hurricane Sally, an estimated 44 ,000 people, new people moved into Baldwin County. So what is your warning to those residents who may have not experienced a Gulf Coast hurricane like this before? Well, my first recommendation is to get your weather information from trusted sources. The Internet is full of people who make a hobby out of scaring others, and that's very unfortunate. But especially down here in southwest Alabama and the northern Gulf Coast, we have very, very competent meteorologists that understand the area and understand some of those problem zones that are most susceptible.

50:16And so use those trusted, reliable sources. The second thing is follow the instructions of local officials. If you're under an evacuation order, that's not a suggestion. and a mandatory evacuation order is exactly what it sounds like. A voluntary evacuation order, people have to use good judgment, understand their risks and how those risks relate to their safety and make informed decisions. And for those who have nowhere else to go, the county has opened up a shelter of last resort here in Robertsdale, Alabama. It's been open since 6 p.m. yesterday. I'm sorry, 3 p.m. yesterday afternoon. It doesn't have a large population right now, but we are prepared for more guests to start arriving in the next few hours.

51:01There's also a big concern of comparing this hurricane to Hurricane Sally from back in 2020. Why is that a potentially dangerous mistake? It's a mistake because every hurricane seems to have its own personality. You can compare them by what category is this one versus what category is the last one. But different size, different angle of attack, all the different characteristics of a storm make it unique in its own way. I like to say that when you've been through one hurricane, you've been through one hurricane. We have people who lived here during Hurricane Frederick in 1979 and then Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

51:42And then after they sat through Sally, they said, I'll never do that again. just in Hurricane Sally was just a category two. So it's very important to look at what the threats are and understand those rather than just focusing on the storm in what this category might be. All right, Tom Tyler, thank you. Best of luck to you. Oh, thank you so much. And we just want to know the CNN Weather App. Yeah, thank you. The CNN Weather App gets you all the data that you need before and during the storm. So download the app to get details and expert coverage. Wolf? And still ahead, tense and testy. Senate candidates in swing states go head-to-head on the debate stage for elections that potentially could make or break the rest of President Trump's term.

52:33And later, concerns about potential insider trading, what companies like Calci and Polymarket say they're doing about betting on the midterms. You're in the Situation Room, and we'll be right back.

52:48This holiday, all plans, even unlimited, are just$15 a month. A holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song, like All I Want. Right. Okay, we can't afford that. You know what? Forget the music budget. We're going to stick with whatever's in the public domain. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for 12-month plan required,$15 per month equivalent, taxes and fees extra, new customer offer for initial planned term. Only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Hmm, hmm, hmm, hmm.

53:20When it comes to my policy, Farmers gives it to me straight, so there's no surprises. It's your coverage. You should never be confused. You hear that? An insurance provider with a conscience. We're a choir, but yes, we have that too. Straightforward coverage you can literally understand. That's what you get when you have Farmers. Bum, bum, bum, bum, bum, bum. Learn more at Farmers.com. Underwritten by farmer's truck or fire insurance exchanges or affiliate. Products not available in every state. Happening now, just 25 days until Election Day and Senate contests are heating up dramatically. Last night, candidates in three major races faced off on the debate stage in their respective states.

54:03In Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers got very personal with their attacks. Listen to this. You go after my mom? I'm not going after your mom. What your mom was working at, I was going after that organization, that was indicted for funneling money to Al-Qaeda. Look, that's your mom. My mom worked at a law, Smokell Chamber of Commerce. I'll put my mom up any day for that. All right. We'll give you a rebuttal, and we're moving away from this subject. He wants this to be about anything but his own record. He's okay if the federal government spies on you. But he wants to make this about anybody else, going after my mom, my sister.

54:41Got nothing to actually say about me. Recent polling shows a very tight race between Rogers and El-Sayed. A Fox News poll from late September showed no clear leader. CNN chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zelledy is here with me in the Situation Room. Jeff, did either candidate leave a mark on the race? Well, Wolf, once the screaming ended, it was sort of hard to know. I mean, it was a dramatically personal contest between both of those candidates in Grand Rapids, Michigan, even during the commercial break. Rick Albin, who's a veteran political reporter at Wood TV in Grand Rapids, told the audience that even during the commercial break, they kept going at it.

55:20So it's unclear if there were any points scored here. But what El-Sayed was trying to do is to avoid making this all about him. That, of course, is what Mike Rogers has been trying to do, make this Senate race a referendum on him. Of course, El-Sayed was trying to make this a referendum on Mike Rogers and his support for the president and the president's policies. But, Wolf, Michigan is exhibit A of the economic challenges that are really happening throughout the country, but even more specifically in the auto industry and the Canadian tariffs. And Mike Rogers has been trying to step away from that.

55:52So that was interesting to watch last night. But in the end, it's hard to know if either really scored a knockout punch, if you will, because it was a dramatically personal contest. But El-Sayed certainly held his own against this former congressman who ran for Senate in 2024 and narrowly lost. Yeah, and the polls show it's pretty tight right now. Very tight. There was also a debate last night in Georgia. Even though President Trump is not on the ballot, he was certainly a central figure in that debate. Democratic Senator John Ossoff used Trump's name 16 times, we counted, to attack Congressman Mike Collins.

56:26Listen. Mike Collins has brought dishonor to our state through his personal bigotry and his widely documented ties to white nationalists. And he's sold out Georgia in his pathetic, childlike devotion to Donald Trump. My opponent's a trust fund kid who's never had a job in his life. He wants to take control of this country with these weird and dangerous ideas with his radical friends. So what else stood out to you from this debate? Well, the congressman there said that Senator Ossoff has never had a job in his life. He's actually a U.S. senator from Georgia. And if everything keeps going in this direction, he's likely to be reelected.

57:07Republicans I speak to there in Georgia and elsewhere are pretty dismayed about this contest. This is one of the contests that Republicans just a year ago, at the beginning of this year, that would be one of the most competitive races. John Ossoff is the only Democrat who's up for reelection in a red state, if you will. But he has just been able to really hold a commanding position in this Senate contest throughout. The same happened in the debate. It's clear that the economy, the Trump policies are hanging over this. But even more, just the baggage that Mike Collins and members of his family have.

57:43So it was also deeply personal. But this was different in the sense that the president was hanging so heavy on this race. this race. We'll see if the president goes to Georgia. It's one of the places he's not really been spending a lot of time in. And it's an open question if that would help or not. So John Ossoff is almost certainly to be reelected. It looks like right now even Republicans are telling me that. Yeah, he's ahead in the polls. All right, Jeff Zeleny, thank you very, very much. Pamela. All right, Wolf, the Justice Department reportedly wants a criminal indictment of Cassidy Hutchinson.

58:19She is the former White House aide who gave that explosive testimony. You may remember it to Congress at the January 6th hearings back in 2022. Punchbowl News says prosecutors presented evidence to a grand jury this week and are seeking charges of lying to Congress. Hutchinson testified that she heard secondhand that the president became enraged when his Secret Service detail refused to take him to the Capitol with his supporters on the day of the riot. Let's listen. The president said something to the effect of, I'm the effing president. Take me up to the Capitol now. To which Bobby responded, sir, we have to go back to the West Wing.

59:00The president reached up towards the front of the vehicle to grab at the steering wheel. Mr. Engel grabbed his arm, said, sir, you need to take your hand off the steering wheel. we're going back to the West Wing. We're not going to the Capitol. Mr. Trump then used his free hand to lunge towards Bobby Engle. And when Mr. Renato had recounted this story to me, he had motioned towards his clavicles. All right. So let's bring in former federal prosecutor Barrett Berger. Good to see you. How likely is it that a grand jury would indict her on lying to Congress when she's recounting something that is secondhand?

59:44Yeah, perjury cases are historically very difficult to prove in the best of cases. Here, this is not the best of cases, exactly for the reason you pointed out. Cassidy Hutchinson was not recounting information that she had experienced firsthand. She was admittedly talking about things that she had heard hearsay, essentially. And so what prosecutors are going to have to prove is that number one, there was a false statement that she made this false statement intentionally, that she had the desire to deceive the committee when she was testifying here, and that the statement was material. That will be incredibly difficult for them to prove because essentially it's going to be a he said, she said, right?

1:00:27She says, this is what the person told me. It's not, did this actually happen? It's, did this person tell me that? So I think it is going to be a really uphill climb for them and a really difficult case for them to ultimately substantiate. All right, I want to ask you about Kimberly Guilfoyle, the U.S. ambassador to Greece. This was quite a story. A donor to President Trump is accusing her of offering access to top Trump officials in exchange for cash, a lot of cash. Here's how he described what happened to CNN's Jake Tapper. She says to me, I need$100 ,000 to pay off my American Express card or I'm not going to become Greek ambassador.

1:01:10This is embarrassing. And I said, Kimberly, you haven't done anything that I've asked you to do. I mean, just nothing. She hadn't accomplished anything. And I said, Kimberly, why should I do this for you? And she told me, it's in the text messages. I'll be your ride or die forever in the Trump administration. I won't keep track of how many favors, how big the favors. So that's what. So House and Senate Democrats are calling for an investigation into this. From what you know, do you see a possible crime here? What do you make of this? Yeah, I mean, we need a lot more information, but this is certainly something that should be investigated.

1:01:49We do not want our public officials offering access to the highest bidder. If these text messages are actually legitimate, the question is, what was she really promising in exchange for that$100 ,000 payment? Was she promising that policy decisions would go his way? Was she promising that he would get access to people like the president? public officials are not allowed to do that. This has all the hallmarks of a quid pro quo. So certainly in this investigation, the first question that I would say is, what was going to be on the other side of that$100 ,000 payment? But even if she didn't deliver it, but she offered it, is there a difference there?

1:02:37It's one thing to text it and say, I would do this for you. It's another to actually take that concrete action. Tell us about the distinction there. Yeah, so there has to be some sort of a material step that's taken, but certainly the fact that she was willing to offer this would raise the question, has there been arrangements in the past where she has given access or other type of public benefit to somebody in exchange for monetary payments? Is this the only person that this type of arrangement has been offered to? And were there actually any sort of concrete steps that were taken to help materialize this?

1:03:13So certainly at the early stages, but the fact that there's actually text messages that could lend support to that would be a really good building block for the start of this investigation. All right, I want to turn to something else, and that is President Trump's purchase of$5 million in SpaceX funds. It came just two days before launching an effort to slash red tape for commercial space transportation. Now, the White House insists Trump is not personally involved in the purchase year. A spokesman went on to say, quote, President Trump's stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by third-party financial institutions.

1:03:49All holdings are maintained in discretionary accounts and invested through computer-based model portfolios that automatically replicate recognized indexes, such as the Schwab 1000, end quote. As a former funder prosecutor, does that satisfy you? Yes. So we're in a really sticky area here, and it's an area that's haunted the president for both Trump's second presidency, but also his first. So generally speaking, government officials can't use their public office for any sort of private financial gain. However, there's a carve out. The president and the vice president legally are exempt from some of the most key conflict of interest statutes and rules that we have.

1:04:31So, for example, members of Congress are barred from trading on stocks based on nonpublic information under the Stock Act. But that law doesn't apply to the president. So historically, it's been very difficult for people to sort of pin some of these conflict of interest, I mean, crimes or violations on the president because of some of these exemptions. So while sort of the through line here is that people might find this incredibly distasteful and not want their president to be able to profit personally based on some of these policy decisions that he makes or public decisions that he makes, I don't know that it actually would be illegal per se.

1:05:12All right, Bear Burger, thank you so much. Wolf? All right, Pamela, up next, what a newly released Army report tells us about the deadly collision between one of its helicopters and a passenger jet over the Potomac River right here in Washington.

1:05:36All right, we're following that breaking news this hour. Hurricane Isaias has grown into a major Category 3 storm. Officials warn of life-threatening storm surge, up to 15 inches of rain, widespread power blackouts, and even some tornadoes. Right now, parts of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida are under states of emergency, and time is running out for people to prepare. So I want to go straight to Rafael Romo in Pensacola, Florida. How are the conditions there right now, Rafael? Yeah, let me tell you, Pamela, rapidly deteriorating here where we are in Pensacola. an hour ago I was telling you about the fact that we are already experiencing surge let me show you the water those rocks earlier were completely dry now as you can see they're almost covered by the water these are the first signs that that surge that authorities have been talking about for more than 24 hours now it's already happening originally it was expected to be seven feet now they're telling us it can be as much as nine feet and that's definitely going to put at risk a lot of the dwellings a lot of the businesses here along the coast as you can see behind me all of those businesses are on the water so the impact can be severe one thing that i also wanted to tell you pam is that governor ron desantis earlier called hurricane isaias a major event for the state of Florida.

1:07:05That means that major impact is expected to happen. And one of those impacts, he said, has to do with power. A number of people, the governor said, should expect to lose power for several hours up to a day. And he said that they need to be prepared for that possibility. That's how the governor explained it. Let's take a listen. Assume you're going to lose power. Assume that some of these services aren't immediately going to be available and so make sure you have what you need gasoline any prescriptions non-perishable food water to be able to get you through this particularly 72-hour period make sure you and your family have what you need now and panel officials say that they had they have already made plans for that possibility by getting on standby 16 ,000 linemen that can be deployed at a moment's notice in case a line needs to be repaired.

1:08:10Also, Governor DeSantis says 5 ,000 members of the National Guard are on standby, ready to go in case they need to help people, they need to help with anything else, clearing debris, clearing roads, once the storm is gone. But yeah, the conditions here are rapidly, rapidly deteriorating. Now back to you. All right, Rafael Romo, thank you so much. More when we come back.

1:08:39We have breaking news coming in from New York right now. That's where federal immigration agents shot and wounded a 28-year-old man from the Dominican Republic. At least one ICE agent fired into the man's car while a five-year-old child who's in the back seat. We are now getting our first look at body camera video from the scene. CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller is in New York and Bryn Jindrass is over at the scene of all of this in the Bronx. Bryn, first of all, what does this new video show? Yeah, well, this is basically the aftermath after this incident already took place, after the shots were already fired after the 28 year old Oscar Belga was already grazed by one of the bullets.

1:09:24So we want to show you the NYPD officers. This is their body camera. They're the video that's captured on their chest, at least one of the officers who was responding to the scene. Take a look.

1:09:58And you can sort of see the chaos of this scene unfolding, how people were starting to respond, take videos themselves. I think you can actually see one NYPD officer putting on gloves, trying to start rendering aid to Belgal there while he is handcuffed on the ground. And then the NYPD, from their perspective, we see them actually take him and put them in the back of a vehicle to bring him to the hospital. Take a look at that.

1:10:43Now, we know that he was brought to the hospital. He has since been released, and we know, according to DHS, that he is in their custody out of state at this point. I can tell you guys that there have been NYPD officers all around this area where this took place yesterday, collecting video of their own from the shops around this area. So an investigation certainly still underway just on their end of what they are collecting. But certainly this gives a perspective as to what happened after the fact and why so many protests were starting to break out almost immediately afterwards. guys and to John what stands out to you from this video well one of the remarkable things is as they're approaching the suspect who's handcuffed on the ground and they see he's bleeding from what appears to be a bullet wound to the head they make a very fast decision which is you hear them saying wolf rush the bus rush the bus that's NYPD parlance for tell the ambulance to hurry up but But the officer makes a command decision there and says, we're not going to wait for the ambulance.

1:11:45Let's put him in the police car. We don't know how far into his head this bullet may have gone. It turns out it's believed to be a graze wound. But at that point, they didn't know how serious this was. They didn't want to wait for the ambulance to have to find that difficult location. They threw him in the police car and took him to a hospital that was very nearby within a few blocks. They knew they could close that distance. What unfolds after this is kind of the more interesting part that is unseen, which is the frantic hunt for the five-year-old who witnesses told police had been in the back of the car.

1:12:21Where was he? Was he injured? How could he be located? And that meant detectives going door to door, talking to friends, trying to find relatives, finding a relative, getting on the phone. ultimately they were able to locate that child, the five-year-old, unharmed, with an aunt at a beauty parlor in Yonkers, New York. But until they had eyes on him and knew he was okay, that became NYPD's top priority after getting the suspect to the hospital. Totally understandable. All right, John Miller and Bryn Gingrass with the latest. Thank you very, very much. Also happening now, new ethics filings show President Trump made a multi-million dollar purchase of bonds issued by SpaceX last month.

1:13:08But the timing is raising some serious questions about potential conflicts of interest. Reports show it happened just two days before he launched an effort to slash red tape for commercial space transportation. A White House spokesperson told CNN the president's stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by a third party. Joining us now, the former U.S. Ambassador to Japan, former Obama White House Chief of Staff, former member of Congress, Rahm Emanuel. Rahm, thanks very much for joining us. Do you think this kind of purchase is a smart look just ahead of the midterms? Rahm Emanuel, Wolf, is that a trick question?

1:13:47It's not a smart move any time. And as reported, I think just two weeks ago, the President of the United States has made more trades in the stock and bond market than every member of the House and every member of the Senate of both parties. And this is why when I think there's gonna be a change this November, the first order of business is a total complete power wash of Washington. Ban on all stock trading, ban on all participation in the prediction markets, mandatory blind trust, a mandatory retirement age at the age of 75, and the Jared Kushner rule. Two years after leaving public service, no sovereign wealth money, no foreign money, so you can lobby against or work against the United States of America and their interest.

1:14:31This is just a tip of the iceberg. And I also put part of the blame here at the Supreme Court Justice Roberts, a country that nobody's above the law, made a ruling that the president stands above the law, and this president is operating as if he got a get-out-of-jail card in the old game of Monopoly. And you can see that. This is outrageous, not just before the election, at any time. And the President of the United States has treated the Oval Office as a, basically, eBay on steroids. Punchbowl News, Ram, is reporting that the U.S. Justice Department presented evidence this week to a grand jury in an investigation into former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson.

1:15:14Additionally, the White House announced it was establishing what's called a Committee of Inquiry into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Is this the kind of thing voters want to see the administration focusing on right now? They don't want to see this of 2020. They don't want to see rewriting of what happened during Watergate. And, you know, the president of the United States, Wolf, his entire term is about his greed, his grievances, and his grandeur. That is what it's about. And this is just another indication of his grievances. They don't want to look back. They want to look forward. And the President of the United States is stuck in that.

1:15:52I mean, the other day they were opening up and looking about Watergate and Nixon. Really? We have all these challenges across the country, and all the challenges as it relates to the competition with China and winning the future. And these guys keep driving forward 55 miles an hour, 70 miles an hour, through the rearview mirror. No, nobody's interested in this except for a President who's vindictive. And that's not the use of the Justice Department. And the reason, what's even weirder, why is this coming out of the Civil Rights Division? I mean, it's nuts. The whole thing is nuts. And the American people are going to issue, thank God they're the thin blue line, this election.

1:16:28The American people are going to issue a verdict. And the Republicans are going to be the victims of what they should have been doing, which is holding the President of the United States in their oversight capacities of the equal branch of government accountable. They have failed in that as a rubber stamp. And they're going to pay the price for it, which they should accordingly. When it comes to the actual midterm races, CNN is now reporting that there are some House Democrats who are worried that campaign resources are too focused on pickups and not enough on races where Democrats are on the defense.

1:17:00What do you think? Well, look, I mean, unlike when I ran this in 06, I don't know all the races, but you have a major, major wind at our back. and they should be playing offense, not defense. And the incumbent members should have spent the years preparing for actually this type of offense by making sure all resources go on offense. I'm not going to sit here and from cheap seats second guess how they're deploying resources. But, you know, look, I would take a larger point if I could. Well, in this November, and thank God, as I said, the American people are the thin blue line are going to protect us from this president and from a lackluster Republican Congress, I will say that this November, the president and the Republicans are going to lose.

1:17:51What the Democrats do when they get the majority, which I'm confident they will, is determine in 2027 whether they have won, whether they deliver on the change, a comprehensive ethics review, not review, rather, legislation that cleans up all of Washington, whether they will finally, after 20 years, deliver a new minimum wage for the American people so they can actually start to make ends meet. The whole point here for the Democrats is to deliver on the promise of change. If they do that, they'll have won. November election night, the Republicans will have lost. The question open for Democrats is we understand what the message is.

1:18:34It's anti-Republican. It's not an affirmation. We have to earn that affirmation in 2027 by delivering change. That's the key part of this election. It's going into 2027 and then into 2028. All right. Rahm Emanuel will continue this conversation down the road. Thank you very, very much. And we'll be right back with more news.

1:19:02All right. We have some breaking news. The Associated Press is reporting that NFL legend Mike Ditka has died at 86 years old. He led the Chicago Bears to their only Super Bowl title back in 1986. In 1961, he was drafted by the Bears and won Rookie of the Year. He also played for the Philadelphia Eagles and then the Dallas Cowboys, winning the Super Bowl with them. I want to bring in CNN sports anchor Andy Scholes. Andy, Coach Ditka, as I think all of us agree, was truly a giant in the football world. Yeah, certainly, Wolf. You know, you think football, you certainly think Mike Ditka, right? He embodied everything that is and was football in his career.

1:19:43He's the first tight end ever to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. But most remember him as the head coach of that 1985 Bears team, which was considered one of the best teams we've ever had in the NFL. And he had those fiery press conferences, all those interactions with reporters, and then he was just such an awesome personality on TV. Here's a look back at the life that was Mike Ditka. Some of you may remember that back in 2004 when I was running for the Senate, some people were trying to draft Ditka to run against me. I will admit I was a little worried because he doesn't lose. Coach, I'm glad you didn't run because I have to say I probably would have been terrible on ESPN.

1:20:32One of football's original tough guys, Mike Ditka built a career few people can match. a legendary football player and coach turned broadcaster who was known for his fiery temper. See that? That's your IQ, buddy. Zero. And Dicka was one of the few to win Super Bowl rings as a player, assistant coach, and head coach. Nicknamed Iron Mike, Dicka was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1961. The tight end would play five seasons with Chicago and briefly with the Philadelphia Eagles before helping the Dallas Cowboys win their first Super Bowl title. Ditka retired as an NFL player in 1973 and returned to the Bears as head coach in 1982, ultimately guiding the team to six conference title games and a victory in Super Bowl XX.

1:21:16What you do in life by yourself means nothing, but what you do with a group of people like this, it's something you'll cherish forever. After leaving the Bears, Ditka tried to recapture the magic in 1997 with a new team, the New Orleans Saints. We're going to win the Super Bowl.

1:21:35Get him out of there! While he coached with the same intensity, a questionable blockbuster trade for Heisman Trophy winner Ricky Williams in 1999 and three straight losing seasons ultimately sealed his fate in the Crescent City. Will you coach again? No, never. Ditka successfully made the transition from the sidelines to the television studio as a football analyst. Dumb bears! The coach's outspoken personality made him popular beyond the sports world. thanks to Saturday Night Live skits. Live from New York, it's Saturday night. Ditka also appeared on late-night talk shows as well as cameos on TV and film.

1:22:15Hey, shut up, you little rat! They're just showing their appreciation. Hey, forget the appreciation. I want to win a soccer game. Always the competitor, football was more than a game for Mike Ditka. It was his lifeblood. Football doesn't owe me a thing, but I owe my whole life to it. yeah you know you just think football coach you certainly think uh mike dick there will never be uh anyone like him wolf and now you know growing up i always remember those saturday night like saturday night live skits where they go dub bears and when dick appeared on that one episode uh it certainly was special there no one really could do a press conference or tv quite like mike dick uh he's certainly one of a kind it certainly was our deepest deepest condolences to his family may he rest in peace.

1:23:00And as we say, may his memory be a blessing. Andy Schultz, thank you very, very much. Pamela. All right, Wolf. Well, it was a homecoming on another level. That's what I was told by people on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. I had the honor of following along as sailors from the Lincoln pulled into port into San Diego yesterday, bubbling with anticipation and emotion. I'm so excited to see all that family they're waiting for almost a year almost a year my daughter is waiting for me too. How old is she? So she's 13 years old I love you Paula Valentina Peixoto I love to all my family and finally USS Abraham Lincoln finally we're home.

1:23:41How are you ma 'am? I'm emotional. I sure am yes. Tell me about how you're feeling right now. I'm definitely relieved to come back home. Did you think you are going to make it back this year.

1:24:08You can see so much emotion as they just took it all in. And this moment, one that felt so uncertain and far off for many, many months was finally happening and seeing the sailors manning the rails and their crisp white uniforms hearing the cheers from the water and on land I couldn't help but feel that emotion and the tears didn't stop there I also disembarked from the boat with those service members and watched beautiful homecomings in every direction take a look

1:24:41Oh my god! Oh no no no!

1:24:46No! Oh my god! Oh my god!

1:25:00Oh my god! Is this your daddy?

1:25:08So sweet. That sailor was meeting his baby daughter for the first time, and he is not alone. The captain of the ship says 122 sailors became fathers or had a child while on deployment. And today they are waking up and they're getting to hug those babies and wives in person, probably changing some diapers. They actually took classes on board to learn the basics of being a parent, changing diapers, feeding a baby, holding a baby. So now they're putting that into practice. Thank you to the Navy and to the crew and officials aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln for following me to share some of your story, allowing me to share some of these really important stories for people to understand.

1:25:48From back in July when I first was on the Abraham Lincoln to now, Wolf. Wow, how this story has shifted. Now they're home. Beautiful work. And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning. We'll see you back here Monday morning, 10 a.m. Eastern, Inside Politics with Danabash Starts right now.

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