Jane Doe Threatened 

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0:44Stop it from ever happening. Plan starting around a dollar a day. Right now, get 70 % off your new system with professional monitoring at simplisafe.com slash Spotify. 30 seconds response time requires monitoring plan with outdoor protection starting at$49.99 a month. Visit SimpliSafe.com slash licenses for alarm license information. Breaking news. CNN has brand new audio of a phone call between Jane Doe and one of her alleged assaulters. This morning, as calls for accountability grow louder, her attorney says she is receiving threats. Jane Doe is receiving threats for coming forward. Also ahead, the culture of drugs on college campuses.

1:21We're digging deeper into the rise in the use of ketamine and kratom among students. Plus, unprecedented move, the U.S. is removing all of its Air Force bombers from a major UK base after a new threat. What we're learning. And suspected plague death. Dozens of workers at a Russian infectious disease lab are now in isolation after a researcher dies from an unknown illness. And 29 days to go, it's an all-out push for the midterm elections. The about face from President Trump on the issue of mail-in ballots. 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.

2:10This is CNN Breaking News. We're following the breaking news. Cornell University now faces growing anger over its handling of an alleged gang rape two years ago. The attorney for the accuser, who's identified as Jane Doe in court documents, says she has received threats, threats, if she doesn't drop her civil lawsuit. They're saying to Jane Doe, there are people out there trying to track her down. They've tracked down the wrong women, at least three of the wrong women that I've heard about. They said, we're going to shut you up. You're going to be still get hurt by us. You're going to pull this lawsuit out or we're going to do something to hurt you even more.

2:48She's received multiple threats. And women who aren't even Jane Doe have received threats about what they're going to do to her. And in fact, this morning I received a threat. And there's more breaking news. Portions of a recorded phone call with Jane Doe and a fraternity member surfacing this morning. That call took place about three weeks after the alleged attack. Let's go live right now to CNN national correspondent Jason Carroll. First of all, Jason, tell us a little bit more about this new audio. Well, Wolf, this information coming to us from ABC News, which reported this morning that there was some sort of a phone conversation that took place between the Jane Doe and this case and one of the Chi-5 fraternity members.

3:33Now, apparently, this conversation happened three weeks after the alleged assault. The phone conversation was secretly recorded by Jane Doe. And let me just go over just a little bit here of what ABC News has reported about said conversation. Again, at one point during the conversation, Jane Doe said, there's so much damage on my body and my brain. Apparently, she said that to the young man that she was talking to, the Chi Phi fraternity member. And it also at one point during the conversation said, if I wanted to take this somewhere, what y 'all did would be classified as gang rape. You already knew when I came in, I was 10 shots deep.

4:16Of course, referring to all of the alcohol that she had consumed that night. In addition to the alcohol, there are allegations that she also had received the drug ketamine, as well as marijuana during that evening. Now, through all of this, Wolf, as you know, there has been a lot of, a great deal of criticism on all fronts of this case. Criticism against the district attorney for his handling of the case. Criticism directed at the Cornell Police Department. I just want to get in from one of the defense attorneys here representing one of these students who has grave concerns, Wolf, about the special prosecutor who the governor has appointed to take this over.

5:00This is a defense attorney saying that Letitia James should recuse herself from the case based on previous comments she had made about the case. She, Wolf on Facebook, had said about Jane Doe, quote, we stand with you. And in the eyes of this defense attorney, this means in his eyes that she cannot be objective in terms of prosecuting this case. Now, just just a few moments ago this morning, we got a response from Letitia James specifically about that request to recuse herself, saying, quote, My office enforces our state's laws to protect all New Yorkers. I am committed to leading a comprehensive investigation they can trust, guided only by the facts, the evidence, and the law.

5:46Wolf? All right, Jason Carroll reporting for us. Jason, thanks for that update, Pamela. All right, Wolf, happening now. All U.S. long-range bombers that were stationed at a U.K. airbase are now back at their home stations in the U.S. The sudden move follows a new unspecified threat. That's according to a U.S. official. So they were at Fairford Air Force Base in England, these bombers. And that's where five men right nearby were recently arrested in connection with an alleged Iranian plot to target U.S. aircraft at the base. They were released, but a sixth person was recently arrested, a 25-year-old Iranian-British dual citizen.

6:21The bombers had been used to strike targets in the Iran war. So here with us to help us better understand how unusual this is, is CNN senior national security reporter Zach Cohen. What can you tell us? Yeah, Pam, I'm told that this move to move these bombers from this U.K. airbase back to the United States was prompted by what a source described as a real-world incident. So this is a threat that was verifiable enough to where the U.S. military quickly and abruptly, frankly, making a decision to transport all of its long-range bombers that were based in the U.K. back to the United States. And really the unusual part of this is that typically the U.S.

6:55will redeploy its assets to other bases around the region, whether it's in response to a threat like this or it's for need, like an exercise or some sort of other priority that might be happening in a different part of the world. In this case, moving them back to the U.S. is what Mysore has qualified as the unusual piece of this. And it does come as this is the base where this incident last week took place, where these five individuals were arrested and subsequently released over this, what officials have described as an Iranian-backed terror plot, both British and U.S. officials alluding to this threat last week.

7:29But Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State slash National Security Advisor, really downplaying any connection between the two decisions. this morning when he was asked about it. Take a listen to what he said when he was really emphasizing the cooperation between the UK and the US while minimizing the connection between the incident last week. The only reason why you guys are focused on how many planes are a fairfield is because of the threat that happened last week. But it's not unusual to see rotations happen and movement of assets to different parts of the world based on exercises, redeployments, people changing out and new people coming in, new planes coming in, old planes going out.

8:05We have confidence in the security of all of our bases because all of our bases are theoretically could be threatened at any moment. So while Secretary Rubio is correct that the U.S. does regularly move its assets around to different bases around the world, in this case, again, the fact that they're moving these bombers that are used to project power globally back to the United States is the unusual piece of this and does have an impact on the U.S.'s ability to project power. And it's also notable that this was a place where the U.S. was launching strikes against Iran. So all of that tied together, still raising questions as an investigation into the incident last week continues.

8:39And from what I read, there was one U.S. bomber who was recently deployed over there to be stationed, and then they pulled him back. So altogether, it is clear that this is an unusual move. Very quickly, do we understand why they released the five men and they made that other arrest? Yeah, British officials and U.S. officials are very cagey about the status of this investigation. We're hoping to learn more information as it comes out. But yeah, more questions than answers on that front. All right, Zach Cohen, thank you. Very worrisome development indeed. And still ahead, officials in Russia are now implementing what they're calling anti-epidemic measures after a researcher at an anti-plague lab dies from pneumonia that potentially could be linked to the pneumonic plague, how the U.S.

9:22is now monitoring. And up next, midterm blitz, why President Trump is now fighting to defend territory that's typically read as Republicans fear over next month's elections mount.

9:59Right now, get 70 % off your new system with professional monitoring at simplisafe.com slash Spotify. Outdoor deterrence plans start at$49.99 a month. Visit simplisafe.com slash licenses for alarm license information. This 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 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 a 12-month plan required.

10:32$15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. New customer offer for initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Happening now, President Trump is taking his midterm message back to the streets today. It's all part of an aggressive 32-day blitz to fire up voters in traditional Republican strongholds, places like Texas and Alabama, where the GOP has dominated for years. But recent polls show Democrats are gaining significant strength in these red bastions, even as the president publicly declares an incoming victory for the GOP. We need the votes, and I'm here for that, and I think we're going to win.

11:12We're worried about Michigan. We're worried about Texas. We're worried about a few states. You're going to think of me as on the ballot, right? Everybody promise. Just get out and vote. If you do that, we're going to win and we're going to win big. And we're going to shove it up their ass. And with Election Day now less than a month away, President Trump is making a major tactical pivot. He is now changing his tune on early voting and mail-in ballots, urging his supporters to vote early to secure the win. So let's go live now to CNN's senior White House correspondent, Kevin Liptak. What's behind this shift in messaging, Kevin?

11:51MICHAEL STERNEL, President, Minister of Industry Wore voisins, President Trump and Republicans know that they're going to need to find votes wherever they can get them if the midterm elections are not to be a bloodbath, as many polls are now predicting. And the president, encouraging his supporters to mail, to vote by mail, certainly is a shift. You know, he has spent the last several years claiming unfoundedly that mail-in voting is rife with fraud. He tried to make major changes to mail-in voting only to be stymied by the Supreme Court. And now the president is encouraging his voters to do just that.

12:24I think with a mind that in order for Republicans to win, they will have to rely in part on mail-in voting. And you see in the president's travel schedule, both last week and this week as well, some real concerns that Republicans will not fare well unless the president's supporters get out to vote and unless he can convince them to turn up at the ballot box in November. You know, Alabama, Texas, Ohio, all these states that the president was in the last several days are places that he won by double digits in 2024. Nebraska, where he's heading today, the president won by 20 points. So a real reflection, I think, of the concerns among Republicans that they will not fare well unless the president's base is motivated to go out and vote.

13:10Now, the president said over the weekend that the polls don't necessarily reflect that enthusiasm that will be stoked by his presence on the campaign trail. But certainly Republicans' concerns growing in this month before Election Day. All right, Kevin Liptec, live for us at the White House. Thanks so much. Wolf. And coming up, it's the drug at the center of the Cornell University case. We'll speak to an expert about the rise of ketamine and other substances on college campuses.

13:44happening now an emergency response is underway in russia after the mysterious death of a researcher at a plague laboratory in siberia russian health officials now say the 28-year-old worker died after being diagnosed with a severe pneumonia of quote unknown origin now investigators are working to determine if a dangerous infection like pneumonic plague was accidentally released CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen is following all the late-breaking developments for us. Fred, first of all, what are you learning about what's actually happening on the ground right now? Hi there, Wolf.

14:23Yeah, this is happening near the border with Mongolia, just south of Lake Baikal, a town called Shalikov. And you're absolutely right. The Russians are saying that a 28-year-old lab researcher there died of severe pneumonia of an unknown cause. Now, I do want to read from you a quick statement that was put forward by Russia's Infectious Disease Agency. They say, quote, no microorganisms associated with the employee's professional duties were detected in samples taken from the patient. So that's the Russian Infectious Disease Agency. However, the head of that agency did immediately go to that region.

14:56And the governor of the neighboring region came out and said that the person who died may have died of the plague, as that person put it. As you've stated, Wolf, there are some measures in place where the Russians are trying to quarantine a lot of that area, specifically hospitals. First of all, they're quarantined all the people that this lab researcher had contact with. They also say that the hospital that she was in, all the inpatients there have been quarantined and no new patients are being accepted. Some other hospitals in that region also under quarantine as well. We have had a reaction from the Kremlin already.

15:29They are saying that their authorities are on top of it and not to believe in what they call speculation and rumors. The World Health Organization also says that as of right now, the threat level seems to be low. U.S. Secretary of State also commented on this earlier today, saying that this was not cause for concern, but certainly cause for focus. However, Wolf, some people that we've been speaking to on the ground in that town obviously say that they do feel some concern for their situation. Wolf. Which is totally understandable. Fred Pleik in reporting for us. Thank you very, very much, Pamela.

16:00All right, well, coming up here in the Situation Room happening now, the Supreme Court is hearing its first case of the new term. A look at the major topics the justices will weigh in on up next.

16:16This 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 plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Happening now, the Supreme Court is kicking off a new nine-month term, and the justices are jumping straight into some highly consequential cases.

16:56They're starting today with the most significant climate change case to reach this court in nearly two decades, deciding whether state and local governments can sue oil companies for environmental damage caused by climate change. So let's go live now to CNN crime and justice correspondent, Caitlin Polance, right outside the Supreme Court. Caitlin, what are you watching for as you look at the cases already lined up for this new term? Well, Pamela, one of the things I'm watching for this term is what is not yet on the docket for this Supreme Court. How fast are cases going to move? There are already a couple big cases lined up for the Supreme Court to hear this term.

17:34Cases about immigration, cases about gun rights. Can the Supreme Court strike down assault weapons bans across the country? There are some other very notable cases, including one that already is being heard in oral arguments today. This is a case about energy companies and the ability of states, counties, cities to sue them because of greenhouse gas emissions that they say are hurting state, cities, counties, the people in those areas because of the effects of climate change. That it's costing states and cities and counties very, very much money. Now, the energy companies say that if the Supreme Court lets cases like that go on at the state level in state courts, it could be catastrophic for them as businesses.

18:24Exxon Mobil is one of the companies that's arguing. The other is the Canadian oil giant Suncor Energies. Already this morning, though, the discussion at the Supreme Court, Pamela, has not been about climate change. It has been about the role of the Supreme Court at this time. There's already been a lot of tough questions. And Justice Sotomayor during oral arguments was acknowledging what some of her other colleagues, including Chief Justice Roberts, have already been asking about as they're quizzing the lawyer for the energy companies. asking, you're not going to be successful in this case in getting our intervention if there isn't a way that you can argue successfully that the Supreme Court should be involved here, that this is a question of federal law rather than states potentially holding energy companies accountable.

19:17It's a big case. Arguments would come weeks or potentially many months from now. I also want to ask you about the rumors surrounding conservative Justice Alito and the fact that he might retire. He addressed those recently. What did he say? He did indeed. He said that he had potentially thought about retiring last term, and it's something that he has to keep reassessing. Here's a little bit more of Justice Alito speaking to CBS News' Jan Crawford Greenberg. I thought about it and you did you can say I will continue well it's something I think that somebody at my age has to think about every term but I thought that I could still make a valuable contribution which is why I became a justice and a judge in the first place so that was basically it so you'll be kind of reconsidering this probably every year rethinking it yeah I think I have to.

20:21Quite a pressing question for Justice Samuel Alito as we near the second half of this Trump presidency. But one thing to know, he's not going to be asked to rule today on this energy or climate change case. He has recused from this case. And so there are only eight on the bench hearing this major case this morning. Pamela. All right, Caitlin Polance, Thank you so much. Wolf. Also happening now, the U.S. made the sudden move to remove all of its long-range B-1 bombers from a British Air Force base following an unspecified new threat. That, according to U.S. officials. The bombers had been used to conduct strikes on Iran in the early days of the war.

21:02And this comes after five men were arrested right near the base in the U.K. just over a week ago or so on suspicion of planning a terror attack. The sixth person was arrested recently a 25-year-old Iranian-British dual citizen. Joining us now is retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark. He's the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Clark. Thanks so much for joining us. The threat is unspecified, but the fact that the U.S. moved so quickly, what does that tell you? It tells me we had good intelligence, and it's going to be something that MI5, which is excellent in the UK didn't feel comfortable in preventing.

21:43So maybe something like a drone attack, maybe something like what the Ukrainians did with Operation Spider, where the drones are brought in by pieces, they're assembled, they're put into trucks somewhere several miles from the airfield and they make a coordinated attack. So it sounds to me like something like that that would have caused us to so quickly withdraw those forces. If Iran, General, is in fact behind some kind of potential terror plot, did they accomplish their goal without having to do any actual damage by forcing the U.S., in effect, to remove those bombers? Those planes are now much further away from potential Iranian targets.

22:29Well, maybe they did for a day, but in war and in this conflict, there's an action-reaction, counteraction cycle. So now we realize how vulnerable all of the NATO bases are in Europe. If they don't have the means to protect against something like a series of drone attacks from something like an Operation Spider that the Ukrainians ran, then we've got to get that in place right away. So in that regard, we got our aircraft out of there. We didn't take any losses. And we made a real impact on us. And I'm sure we're going to take rapid action to correct this. It can be corrected fairly rapidly. General, turning now to Yemen's government, backed by Saudi Arabia, as we all know, saying it is launching a major military offensive against the Iran-backed Houthis.

23:21Is there a growing concern inside Saudi Arabia right now over recent Houthi attacks. Well, yes, of course there is. And we have this growing concern here in the United States as well and all through Europe because this threatens the other access to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, access through the Bab al-Manda. And so, yes, we don't want Yemen to fall to the Houthis. So we should welcome this attack by the government backed by Saudi Arabia. All right, General Wesley Clark, as usual, thank you very much for joining us. Thank you, Wolf. All right, Wolf, happening now, there are new questions about the potential health risks of ketamine and kratom on college campuses following allegations by a former Cornell University student who says she took ketamine, a federally approved anesthetic, turned illegal party drug at a fraternity party during an alleged gang rape.

24:23Another drug under scrutiny on college campuses is Kratom, after officials found packages of Kratom derivatives right near two students at the University of Mississippi who died. Here in the Situation Room is addiction expert Jessica Steinman. She is the chief clinical officer for No Matter What Recovery. Thank you so much for coming on. So in the court documents, Jane Doe alleges that this was the first time she had ever snorted ketamine. She also says she consumed it with marijuana and alcohol. What are the dangers from mixing all of those substances? It's very dangerous to be mixing different substances.

25:02First of all, we don't know what was in the ketamine itself. If it was something they'd gotten in a street purchase, it could be cut with other substances. So that's very dangerous. We also don't know on any person having ketamine what their experience is going to be with it, what dose it is, how much they're using, and having it mixed with alcohol, marijuana, or other substances is going to worsen its effects. CNN is reporting that Cornell police responded and arrested an unnamed individual who overdosed on ketamine at the same fraternity a day before Jane Doe's alleged assault. Tell us more about what ketamine can do and what an overdose looks like?

25:45Well, ketamine is a disassociative anesthetic and used properly. It's used in medical procedures on people and on animals. As a street drug, as a club drug, it's also known as special K. And so people are using it to have an altered consciousness. They're wanting to feel euphoric sedation. And that's why it's become such a popular party drug. The concern is that when it's bought again on the street and is cut with other things. It can be cut with fentanyl, and that, of course, can lead to overdose and fatal instances like earlier at Cornell. Tell us a little bit more about how it can impact your perception of what is happening around you.

26:32I know different doses can do different things to different people, but help us better understand that. so what it's doing when you're taking it you still look awake you you are conscious and you are able to look like you're with it like you're functioning but you have way less cognitive abilities so you're going to have poor coordination you're going to have that altered sense of self you're not going to know really how to talk you're going to have difficulty standing and interacting It's also going to have a distorted perception of time, sound, touch. So someone who is high on ketamine is not going to really understand what's happening around them, but they are going to look conscious and awake.

27:14All right, I want to turn to Kratom. The recent deaths of two students at the University of Mississippi is really putting a spotlight on this drug and potent synthetic products sold under its name. This is a drug that is legal in many places. It can be bought in gas stations and smoke shops. Why is it so dangerous? It's so dangerous because it can cause someone to be almost like an opiate. It is very highly sedating, more so than ketamine. And it's going to cause them to nod off. It's going to cause them to, if overused, they're going to have lack of breathing ability. Their chest function is going to be a little altered.

27:54And so if they have a lot of kratom, they're going to possibly stop breathing. And if they're also going to have so much of it, they can also seize. And so they're having seizures and altered breathing. So it's a huge problem. And I assume that some people who use it aren't just using it in isolation. There could be drinking involved. How might that impact things? People are using it actually when it's in small doses. It acts like a stimulant in small doses. But what's happening is that people are starting to use more and more of it. So then it has the sedating factors. And again, once it's mixed with other substances like alcohol or marijuana, the heavy sedation will happen.

28:35And that's when their breathing will slow down even more. And it can be much more dangerous, especially if someone's alone. How addictive are synthetic products like 7-0? And what signs should you look out for if someone may have taken too much of the drug? They are incredibly addictive. Someone who is using them is feeling, again, numb and sedated. sedated, they're going to feel a sense of euphoria. So they're going to be really wanting to feel that to escape any difficult feelings or difficult issues going on with them. So they're going to want to continue to feel that on an ongoing basis. And what can happen, again, if you get addicted, it's also very scary to come off them cold turkey.

29:16Because if you stop using substances like that, that you are addicted to, that is when you may definitely go into seizures. So it's very necessary to go to treatment centers like ours or other detoxes. What are some other drugs that you're worried about circulating around college campuses? Well, unfortunately, a lot of drugs have become very available. Again, we're seeing an uptick in Kratom and 7-OH. We're seeing a very large uptick in ketamine. Also, you're going to have a lot of college kids addicted to Ritalin and Adderall. That's been a common theme for many, many years because it's such a high stimulant, but of course legal and prescribed by doctors.

30:01That's going to keep them up awake and studying and for partying when they're mixing it with other drugs. So do you think universities should be more involved in regulating drug use? What can be done here? Well, the problem is, is that a lot of these medications are, of course, FDA approved. or for some, they're like Xanax and Adderall and Ritalin. Those are prescribed by doctors. And of course, the kratom is sold at gas stations. So it would help if universities could help regulate it. But again, I'm not quite sure how they would if they had stricter consequences on it, maybe. But again, I think more education about it is really the way to go.

30:43All right, Jessica Steinman, thank you so much. Wolf? And coming up, AI trade-off. The CEO of OpenAI now says the risks are worth the benefits. We'll discuss when we come back.

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31:47happening now a trade-off for the sake of ai sam altman is taking heat for recent comments he made during a wide-ranging interview with politico the open ai ceo was laying out the differences between his company and rival anthropic when it comes to regulating the technology when he said this one of the biggest differences between us and some of the stricter let's say ai safety people is we believe that the world should accept some bad things happening for the benefits of this technology and people having the agencies. Joining us now to discuss is CNN contributor and tech journalist Jacob Ward.

32:24Hi, Jacob. So let's begin with Altman's warning here. What are we supposed to make of that perspective? Well, I don't know about you, Pamela, but we're not exactly getting asked about this. What he's saying here is that the world should be ready to make some trade-offs for the good things that are coming. But I'm not sure who he's referring to when he says the world, right? It's not you, it's not me, it's not the company Hugging Face, which was attacked by his products. The democratic inputs around this don't seem to amount much more to much more than this public, you know, speech that he's been giving.

32:55And of course, from a regulatory perspective, this kind of lighter touch regulatory world that he seems to be advocating for, that very much seems to be what he's getting out of the government right now. I think you make a really important point, because as we've said on the show, like these leaders have tremendous power, and yet they are not elected officials, right? That's exactly right. I mean, we're not seeing any democratic inputs whatsoever. And in fact, you know, the old adage is that you should, in a functioning democracy, get either exit, voice, or loyalty. You should be able to walk away, you should stay loyal if you want to, or you should be able to speak up and make a change.

33:30You know, for those of us who work in a job in which AI has become a mandatory part of the gig, you're not allowed to walk away, and we're not getting a whole lot of voice in a world in which now the AI CEOs are the leadership of the safety council that President Trump has put together, not to mention the AI task force he just announced, which has almost no experts in anything except making money. So it is a very undemocratic moment we're in, just as it's becoming clear that AI is truly going to change all of our lives, our relationships, our jobs, and the rest of it, Pamela. Altman has some criticisms over AI dollars.

34:03You mentioned money being used in the midterms. He admitted that it hasn't helped the public's perception. He told Politico, quote, I don't think spending money on politics is what's going to make people feel better about it. The industry needs to figure out a way to address what the actual concerns are. And right now, a lot of people in the industry are being quite tone deaf. Does it seem political campaign spending falls under Altman's categorization of bad things happening? What do you think? I mean, I think his idea of bad things happening is probably much scarier than that. if you really put a glass of wine into him and got him going on it.

34:36I do think that political spending is, of course, an issue here, but it is weird, this moment we're in, where we've seen this just litany of scary headlines about what AI can accomplish and all the scary things people have been doing with it. And then President Trump's response to that has been to say that we're just going to start calling it superintelligence as opposed to artificial intelligence, as if the problem here is that the restaurant just needs a new management sign. So we're just in this weird moment where clearly the core issues here, that people are worried about the effect of AI on their jobs, on their relationships, on their price of energy, that stuff's not being addressed.

35:18And instead, we're at this sort of surface level where the branding and maybe the political campaign issues, that's as deep as we seem to be willing to go right now. I know there's no way to know this for certain, but Trump has downplayed the AI risks publicly. He said he wants to call it super intelligence, as you point out. But the bottom line is that the economy, so much of it is dependent on AI right now, right? So much money is from AI. So is there a scenario where publicly he's giving this message to try to calm concerns, right, to make sure the economy isn't impacted? But behind the scenes, he's taking more action, like forming this AI task force, for example.

36:05Well, I mean, I think you could make the argument that the economy is dependent on AI in one way. But I think what's probably more precise is to say that the stock market is dependent on AI, right? It is the financing of the trillions of dollars that these companies are on track to spend in the financing of these plans. That's what the stock market is sort of being held up by at the moment. And so, you know, I think that the thing that we're seeing in this task force, which in 120 days is supposed to issue some kind of recommendation for a national plan around this stuff. I mean, I think it's really telling that there are no labor leaders on there.

36:42There's no state attorneys general who are the vanguard of, for instance, suing the social media companies right now. There are no civil rights experts and there's no consumer advocacy groups. Those folks are maybe supposed to be consulted, but the only people who are seated on that task force that Trump put together, four of them are like venture capitalists and finance people like right now. You know what I mean? Like these people are deep inside the lines. And so when you look at Sam Altman saying that we need to take seriously people's concerns, I don't get the vibe that the president feels the same way considering who he's putting in charge of things because it's very much insiders in the industry or, you could argue, even worse, people who stand to directly make money off of that stuff because it props up the stock market.

37:29And so I think this moment that we're in where we're really going to have to figure out what is the long-term way to make the economy healthy in a world in which it's not clear that, you know, as many as maybe 20 or 30 percent of us might not have a job in 10 years. I think we're going to have to come up with something better than certainly just renaming it Superintelligence, Pamela. All right, Jacob Ward, always nice to have you on. Thank you. And here's what's coming up all new right at the top of the hour. A U.S. Marine arrested on suspicion of murder in Japan. It's the latest in a string of criminal allegations against U.S.

38:01personnel in Okinawa. Plus, we're going to hear directly from one of the media witnesses who saw the botched execution of Chris the Pike. That's all new in the next hour.

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38:33The Carolina Panthers outlast the Detroit Lions in prime time as Sunday night football returns to Charlotte for the first time in 11 years. Let's go live right now to see that sports anchor, Coy Wire. Coy, update our viewers. Good morning. The Panthers said, welcome to our house. And Bryce Young, their quarterback, looked like the one that Carolina has been missing. 329 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions. Terro McMillan, he was unguardable. Career high 14 catches 192 yards in two scores. Panthers put up 445 yards on Detroit. 32-26 win, they're 2-2. But forget the record for a second, Young and McMillan are starting to look like the duo that could make Carolina dangerous.

39:15Wolf, maybe these Panthers are finding their roar. Elsewhere, unbeatens collide. Raiders and Chiefs beating for the first time in their storied rivalry with both teams 3-0. Something's got to give. Raiders up 19-17 in the fourth. Patrick Mahomes hits Taequann Thornton. Career day for him. 111 yards, two touchdowns, but as he gets up, he gets right back down. Dislocated ankle. Kenneth Walker would punch it in on the next play. Vegas fumbled the ensuing kickoff. And just 19 seconds after that last touchdown, Walker again. Kansas City suddenly up 30-19 with under two minutes to go. But Kirk Cousins finds Brock Bowers.

39:51Touchdown. Two-point conversion is good. 30-27. Vegas with another chance. Interception. Chiefs defense slams the door shut. Kansas City survives the storm in Vegas 30-27. They are 4-0. Not sure which version of the Chiefs is scarier, Pamela and Wolfe. The one where Mahomes plays superhero or this version that can still beat you in different ways. There you go. What an amazing game indeed. Koi, stay with us very, very quickly. Listen to this. Over the weekend, I was able to catch the Buffalo Bills, my team, the Buffalo Bills-New England Patriots game over at the new Highmark Stadium in nearby Orchard Park, New York, that's just outside of my hometown of Buffalo.

40:30While it wasn't the outcome I was hoping for, it was certainly great to see the Bills play in their new home, which I was lucky enough to get a tour of on the Saturday before the Sunday game. It's certainly different from the days I first started watching my Buffalo Bills as they played at the old War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo. and something extra special. A pennant hanging inside the new stadium honors three Buffalo Bills fans, including myself. I'm in great company with ESPN anchor Chris Berman and the late NBC anchor and my good friend Tim Rusher. Before kickoff, I also took part in the Bills pregame show to talk about what's so special about being a Bills fan.

41:10Listen. I've been to a lot of cities, I've been to a lot of countries, and I've seen a lot of sports fans. But I think it's fair to say, and I'm an objective journalist, as you know, I think it's fair to say the Buffalo Bills fans are unique. They're fabulous. They're wonderful. They're devoted to this team. They're devoted to this area, to the city. And I'm so proud of them. Which is true. I also went Saturday night to the Buffalo Sabres hockey game. It was the home opener for the Sabres. They defeated the Chicago Blackhawks. So I'll leave you with these words. Go Sabres, go Bills. Corey, back to you.

41:44Wolf, as a former Bills player, and now being able to call you my teammate, this absolutely warms my heart. That city, that fan base means so much to me. And to see your name hanging up there in the rafters with other legends, it's absolutely awesome. So happy for you. And go Savers, go Bills. As you say, Wolf, that's awesome stuff. You look so happy, Wolf. You were right in your element, weren't you? I just wish my Buffalo Bills would have won the game. They could still go all the way, though, right? We could go all. I say that every year. Every season. Happy for you, Wolf. Koi, thank you very, very much.

42:20By the way, you looked very comfortably being a sports announcer. Yes. Don't come get my job, Wolf. Do not take my job. You're doing just fine where you are. They were really nice. It was a great interview. I enjoyed it a lot. And the next hour of the Situation Room starts right now.

42:39Happening now, countdown to November 3rd. Democrats and Republicans are on the stump. New information about an important voting bloc that could impact the outcome of the midterms. Plus, brand new information in the Cornell University rape investigation. CNN has new audio from a phone call between Jane Doe and one of her alleged assaulters. Welcome back 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.

43:15We begin this hour with Republicans' urgent battle for the political map, with the midterm elections now less, less than one month away. President Trump is back out there on the campaign trail today trying to shore up support in red states, red states where Republicans are in unexpectedly very tight races. And this comes amid major warning signs for the White House. New NBC polling shows Democrats with significant gains among Latino voters. You'll recall that voting bloc was key to putting Trump back in office. Right now, 59 % of Latino voters say that they prefer Democrats to win control of Congress.

43:57And with midterms fast approaching, President Trump is telling his base not to abandon the party. We've defeated every hoax. We've overcome every threat and now we are on the cusp of beating the communists, socialists, radicalized lunatics and villains once and for all. We're going to put them down once and for all. All right, let's go to CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak. Kevin, with Election Day less than a month out now, the president is clearly changing his message on early and mail-in voting. What's the latest? Yeah, he's encouraging his supporters to do both of those things, despite saying in the past that they were rife with fraud, which I think gives you a sense of how Republicans are coming to recognize that they will need to find votes wherever they can get them if this November selection is not to turn into a bloodbath, as many polls are now predicting.

44:53Listen to what the president told his supporters about mail-in voting over the weekend. If your state has early voting, do not wait. Go out and vote. Vote early, vote by mail, or vote in person on Election Day, November 3rd. Now, that sounds a lot different from what the president has been saying over the last several years about mail-in voting. Remember, he tried to change the rules for how mail-in voting could occur before he was stymied by the Supreme Court. Here's just a sample of what he's been saying about it before this weekend. The cheating on mail-in voting is legendary. Mail-in ballots are inherently corrupt.

45:37Mail-in voting means mail-in cheating. I call it mail-in cheating. You can never have a real democracy with mail-in ballots. Mail-in ballots are a big fraud. Gives people more time to vote illegally, let's say. We as a Republican party are gonna do everything possible that we get rid of mail-in ballots. Anytime you have mail-in voting, you have corrupt elections. So this has been a complete reversal, and I think it gives you a sense of the anxiety here at the White House and in the Republican Party that the president's supporters will just not go out and vote in November. That's part of the reason you see the president now hitting the campaign trail in earnest.

46:18But the places he's going, you know, Ohio, Alabama, Texas. Today, he's in Nebraska. These are all places that he won by double digits in 2024. And so he's really trying to shore up enthusiasm among his own supporters, just as Republicans and as polls paint an increasingly grim picture for that party in November. All right, Kevin Liptak, thanks so much. And with the midterm elections just four weeks from tomorrow, we have a lot of ground to cover. So let's continue this conversation. Joining us now, Maria Cardona, the CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist. She's here in the Situation Room with us, along with Liam Donovan, a former aide at the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

47:04Maria, Latino voters, as you know, could hold incredible sway in these upcoming midterm elections on November 3rd. This NBC Telemundo poll shows 59 % right now prefer Democratic control of Congress to 35 % who prefer Republican control. Do you believe Latino voters are motivated enough right now to turn out in very strong numbers? I absolutely do, Wolf. And I have been, as you know, working on the Latino vote for many, many years in politics. And what I am seeing this year, and interestingly enough, it didn't just start this year. It started last year. is a huge movement from supporting Donald Trump and Republicans to supporting Democrats.

47:47And there's two reasons why. Latino voters feel a deep-seated betrayal on behalf of Trump and Republicans on two issues. The first one, the economy. They heard during the 24 elections that Trump and Republicans were going to focus on bringing down the cost of groceries, gas and rent, bringing down inflation, helping their families make ends meet. That's why so many, and in my view way too many Latinos, went and voted for Trump. They trusted him on that. On immigration, they trusted him when he said, we're going to go after the criminals. We're going to go after the most violent. And what they're seeing is they're going after their family.

48:24So many Latino families know someone, even people in their own family, who have either been detained or deported. To them, those are two issues on which they feel completely betrayed. So they are focusing on coming out to vote, protesting Trump and Republicans, and focusing on what Democrats are saying, which is they are the ones that are going to help them make ends meet, and come up with a fair and humane way on carrying out immigration enforcement. So Liam, is it too late for Republicans to win back some Latino voters? We're in crunch time here, and I think the reality is, whether you're talking about Latino voters or just voters at large, they are tuning in right now.

49:01So the good news is, there is still time. We haven't gone to the polls yet. The bad news is it is not good. The facts are not great. I think to Maria's point, affordability and cost of living is top of mind for all voters, Latino or otherwise. The reason it hurts with Latino voters is the significant gains that Republicans have made, particularly in the Trump era and Donald Trump himself has made. So I think the key there is convincing them that you have used this power that you've given over the last two years, reminding them of the accomplishments you've made, but pivoting hard to look at the Democrats and who they've put up.

49:32The candidates are at a step with what Hispanic voters are looking for, what they've tried to reward over the last several cycles. I think that's the key is you tell them about what you've done. You don't try to fool them into thinking things are better than they are. But you have to say, look, the alternative is worse. The alternative is the progressive left, the DSA, the out of step out of the mainstream candidates they're putting out. You know, it's interesting about what Liam is saying. He's right. Republicans are really trying to smear Democrats, especially in Latino communities, with communism, socialism.

50:09But it's not working. We are seeing in polls that that message is completely falling flat because what these voters care about is when they are at the kitchen table, they can't afford their groceries. They can't afford to put gas in their cars to go to work. There are Latino businesses that are falling apart because there are no customers. Why are there no customers? Because in Latino communities, people are afraid to even come out of their house because of the thug ice agents that have come out to terrorize the communities. And so I think it's way too late for Republicans to try to fix this with Latinos.

50:43What I will say to my own party is that once we win the House, hopefully the Senate as well, we have to demonstrate not just to Latino voters, but to the American electorate in general, that we will know how to govern and meet the promises that we're talking about now. Every vote counts, right? There's been already a lot of early voting. And now you have President Trump flip flopping on mail and ballots. I mean, he had been bashing this voting option as fraudulent. Now he's telling his supporters go out and vote early by mail. I mean, do you think his supporters will listen to him after he has so vigorously discredited mail-in ballots?

51:23I welcome this kind of flip-flop. This is exactly the kind of flip-flop that every Republican president wants. But, like, is it going to work? It is the kind of thing where you always, I mean, the president is not burdened by the things he had said yesterday. If it advantages him and his party, he is going to say it. He's willing to do it. That is a good thing. It might be overdue. But this is the moment. I think we talk about Latino voters or any sort of swing voters. Right now, if you think about where the map is and where the majorities run through, it is red turf. So you need to get out the base.

51:49You need to go out. The people that otherwise do want to vote Republican, do want to put that jersey on, you need to tell them whatever mode is, it's safe, it is reliable. And, you know, if that means contradicting yourself, I don't think that's something that bothers him too much. will it work, we'll have to see, but they need every single vote they can get. This is a coalition that needs high turnout to win. That's the party that Republicans have turned into. You need to motivate these low-propensity voters and get them to do it. But I think it's fair to say that this flip-flop on mail-in ballots by the president of the United States indicates how worried he is right now.

52:21What will happen on November 3rd? Certainly right. I think he's getting counsel from his political team who know how this works, and actually they understand. Historically, Republicans, particularly in the states where they've figured it out, are very, very good at voting by mail. I also think the flip side is there's an asymmetry here. I've heard among Democrats there's actually concerns because Donald Trump and his administration control the mail that maybe they're concerned. This is actually a place where Republicans could have an advantage that we haven't seen in recent cycles. Quickly, before we let you go, this 90, what is it, a$90 check that the president says he's going to send to millions of Americans right now.

52:55What do you think? You know, that's interesting because we talk about how Trump is losing support among Latino voters. He's actually losing support among so many blocks of voters, including seniors. That used to be a reliable Republican block. He's losing support among seniors, which is now he's trying to bribe them with his$90 check. I'm still waiting for all of the other checks that he promised so many people since the moment that he took office. $90 checks to 20 million senior Americans to rule in Medicare. Very quickly, as we wrap up, Liam, which traditionally red states are you most worried about for the midterms?

53:28I think the ones you need to be concerned about are in the Midwest where they're feeling the pain of the tariffs and, you know, diesel costs are high. How hard are you in Kansas, the race with Roger Marshall? I don't worry about Kansas. I think the moves into Kansas, you have to remember diminishing returns. There's been so much money spent on the states we knew were going to be competitive to spend a few million in a cheap market like Kansas. That's a good, smart, efficient use of resources. But I'm looking at the middle of the country. You're looking at Iowa. You're looking at Ohio. Those are places where Republicans should win.

53:54And I feel good about it if they can run through the tape, but that is the place where the mood is sour and frustrations abound when it comes to cost a living. The fact that we're even talking about those red, red, ruby red states. Including Texas. Red is my blazer. Shows you just what big trouble Trump and Republicans are in. Alright, Maria Cardona, Liam Donovan, great to have you both on. Thank you. And happening now, growing anger toward Cornell University over the way it handled an alleged gang rape some two years ago. The accuser's attorney now says his client, Jane Doe, is getting threats if she doesn't drop her civil lawsuit.

54:33With that, per the temporary dispensing, she is barred from any of the grounds owned, operated, and maintained by Cornell University. And breaking news, portions of a recorded phone call between Jay Doe and a fraternity member are surfacing this morning. And I think our Jason Carroll is standing by, hopefully, to bring us the latest on all different kinds of fronts here in the Cornell case. Jason? Well, Pamela, what you were talking about, of course, is coming from ABC News, which this morning reported that they have a phone conversation that took place between Jane Doe and one of the accused fraternity members.

55:14This call secretly recorded. And in addition to that, took place about three weeks after the alleged attack took place at the House that night back in 2024. And I want to just read some of it to you, some of this conversation. Apparently, Jane Doe said during this conversation, there's so much damage on my body and brain. At another point, saying, if I wanted to take this somewhere, what y 'all did would be classified as gang rape. You already knew when I came in, I was 10 shots deep, of course, referring to allegations that she had been drinking heavily that night. In addition to that, had been given the drug ketamine and also marijuana.

55:57I also want to let you take a quick listen to some of the other recorded conversation. Again, this coming from ABC News this morning. You did tell me you were sober, by the way. You did. You said you hadn't been anywhere. I have wrecked my brain for this ministry. You know, it's possible that both of us remember this and it's not true. That's great. And again, in addition to the recorded conversation that you just heard there, Pamela, in addition to that, at one point, another part of the conversation went like this. I remember looking up and being like, that is too many people. Again, this coming from Jane Doe, also saying, do you remember how many of these guys walked into the room?

56:47So, again, this audio coming from and these transcripts coming to us from ABC News. As you know, throughout this case, there's been a lot of criticism coming from the Cornell community directed at the university, directed at the district attorney, the Tompkins County district attorney for his initial handling of the case. much of that criticism saying there has not been a lot of transparency in terms of how this investigation has gone forward. And now it seems as if in terms of transparency, you're getting some of these leaks that are coming out about some of what was said and some of what was recorded.

57:25Pamela? Jason, it's Will. Thank you very much. Jason Carroll reporting for us. Still ahead, the U.S. is pulling its bombers from a key base in the United Kingdom after an unspecified threat. So what could this mean for the war with Iran? We'll speak with Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer, who's standing by. And Tennessee death row inmate Krista Pike is still in a ventilator after a failed attempt to put her to death. We'll talk with one of the people who witnessed this botched execution. You're in the Situation Room, and we'll be right back.

58:27We'll be right back. We don't just alert. We help stop crime before it starts. Plans starting around a dollar a day. Right now, get 70 % off your new system with professional monitoring at SimpliSafe.com slash Spotify. SimpliSafe, ahead of crime in real time. Outdoor deterrence plans start at$49.99 a month. Visit SimpliSafe.com slash licenses for alarm license information.

58:51Happening now, Tennessee's head of corrections is resigning after the botched execution of Krista Pike last week. Pike was given two doses of a drug meant to kill her. She survived and is now in the hospital on a ventilator. Here's what her lawyer told CNN. At the very least, the governor should commute Ms. Pike's death sentence to a life sentence. At the very least. We had already asked that the governor commute her for many good reasons. I think she's spent over 30 years in prison, most of that in solitary confinement, only to be taken out and not executed, but tried to execute her. CNN has learned that Frank Strada from the state's Department of Correction had a history of execution missteps before Krista Pike.

59:37With us now is Tori Gessner. She is the state capital reporter for WKRN-TV in Nashville. She was also one of the media witnesses at the attempted execution. Thanks for being here with us. If you would just bring us up to speed first off on how Krista Pike is doing. What's the latest with her? Well, thanks for having me. And really, we don't know much about her condition other than she was rushed to the hospital after that failed execution, put on a ventilator. She was unconscious. Her attorneys say she's in critical condition. But really, that is all we know up to this point. And you are one of the witnesses to the execution.

1:00:13Can you take us through what that experience was like? Yeah, I mean, where do I begin? In the morning, the execution was supposed to start at 10. Then we got word about an hour before that, that there was a stay issued in the court. So we were waiting inside the prison without our phones, without anything, for hours until up until about 6 p.m. local time, we got word that the execution would go through. So we're taken into the chamber about an hour later, and we are sitting there with the curtains closed. We can only hear a little bit. There was like a little whimper maybe once or twice. But at that time, my understanding is the medical team is trying to insert the IV.

1:00:53The media does not get to see that part. So normally that takes 10 to 15 minutes. It took almost an hour. The curtains finally open. We see Krista Pike lying there with her spiritual advisor. She is singing, smiling at times. She says her last words. She talks about how she spent her life in love and that's how she'll go out. And she mentioned her haters. And then the process gets underway and typically it takes about 20 minutes. And then, you know, the death time is pronounced and 30 minutes pass. And I'm kind of looking around at other media witnesses who have seen executions in the past. And we are just whispering, this is taking a while.

1:01:32Then the curtains close when she is very much still breathing. She's making that snoring noise. And a lot of people have said it's agonal breathing. I'm not a medical expert, but to me it sounded like consistent snoring. The curtains open about three minutes later, and they start the process again, which is very rare. I mean, pentobarbital given in this dose should be lethal. And we understand she got two doses. The curtains close again, and she is consistently snoring. We're sitting there in the room with the curtains closed at this point for almost an hour until 8.53. then were escorted out.

1:02:07Wow. So much to process for you as a journalist who is there witnessing part of this. Do you have any idea of what the state plans to do now? Well, Governor Lee has issued a pause on all executions for the rest of the year. There was just one scheduled for December. He's also called a third party review. The former U.S. attorney Ed Stanton out of the Western Tennessee District will be conducting that investigation to figure out exactly what went wrong. But as far as a future execution date for Krista Pike or for any of the inmates on death row, that is to be determined. And Strada was brought in to actually reform the state's execution system, right?

1:02:50How much is this a problem for the governor there who brought him in? Well, Tennessee has had a history of some issues with the execution and the lethal injection. Back in 2023, I believe, the state was caught not testing the lethal drugs before administering them. And there was an inmate set to be executed. I mean, he was on the gurney ready to go. And the governor hit pause. The state took years to rewrite their death penalty protocol. and they came out very confident with this pentobarbital protocol, saying that this is consistent, it works, it's essentially foolproof, and this will be a good way moving forward to execute inmates.

1:03:32And then back in May, you have what some people call another botched execution in Tennessee with Tony Carruthers. Medical staff could not find his vein, so that execution was called off. And then you have Krista Pike in late September. There are a history of issues. And then, of course, that T-Doc commissioner resigning. But yes, he was brought on to repair all of this. All right. Tori Gessner, thank you for coming on. Thank you. She knows her stuff. Up next, what's next for Caleb Flynn, the former American Idol contestant, who's now a convicted murderer? We'll have the latest on his sentencing just ahead.

1:04:14happening now a former pastor prepares to be sentenced in court today for the murder of his wife last week in ohio a jury found caleb flynn guilty of murder and nine other charges prosecutes argued that flynn fatally shot his wife ashley and staged the scene now he faces a life sentence without the possibility of parole. Let's go to CNN's Gene Kassaris. Gene, the jury deliberated, what, for about two hours before reaching a verdict. What do you expect from the judge later today? Well, the judge has a couple of options. It's not automatic that it's life without any possibility of parole. This is the highest offense in Ohio.

1:04:54It's a capital murder conviction, essentially. And it is aggravated murder. And the judge has, we'll hear argument on the aggravating and mitigating factors, we believe. And, you know, this murder that he committed, two bullets in the back of the head to his wife as she slept, this was an ambush. She didn't have a fighting chance. She couldn't have stopped this at all. So that will be taken into consideration as an aggravating factor. And of course, the defense will be that he didn't have a criminal record. And he should be afforded 30 years from now to go before parole board to try to be able to redeem himself and seek life.

1:05:34But today is also about Ashley Flynn, because this was a mother we heard through the evidence that she loved her two preteen daughters. She nurtured them. She was a substitute teacher. She was the seventh grade volleyball coach in Tip City, Ohio. and she was so active in her church, participating and also leading the Bible camp every June. I want you to listen to some testimony of what her mother, Jill Smith, said about the person that Ashley, the victim, was. We were best friends. We talked every day, encouraged each other every day. and her whole life we just had a wonderful relationship. She was an excellent daughter.

1:06:23And this sentencing hearing will be emotional because the family of Ashley Flynn and victims' rights are codified in Ohio under Marcy's law. They, we believe, will give statements of who Ashley was, what she will not be able to experience in her life. She was only 37 years old. And that will come first and then ultimately after we believe some arguments, the judge will pronounce the sentence. But this is also Ashley Flynn's day. All right, Jean Cazares reporting for us. Jean, thank you very, very much. All right. Wolf Vice President Vance says the U.S. relocated U.S. Air Force bombers from a major base out of, quote, an abundance of caution.

1:07:03We'll be joined by Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer, who is a member of the House Intelligence Committee, to discuss the major move.

1:07:18happening now. We just heard from Vice President J.D. Vance about the U.S. removing all of its long-range bombers from a British Air Force base, removing them and sending them back to the United States. So what you saw there is the Secretary of War out of an abundance of caution trying to protect our guys. We do feel with some confidence that the Iranians are, you know, they're trying to do what the Iranian state has done for 49 years, which is engage in acts of terrorism against the United States and against a lot of other people as well. So we are being extremely cautious. This comes just days after British authorities arrested six people in an alleged Iranian plot targeting that base.

1:07:59One of them has dual citizenship in Britain and Iran. Joining us now is Democratic Congressman from New Jersey, Josh Gottheimer. He's a key member of the House Intelligence Committee and just returned from leading a bipartisan delegation to Lebanon. Congressman, I'll get to Lebanon in a few minutes, but let me get your sense. First of all, what do you know about the level of this threat that forced the U.S. to remove those bombers from that base in Britain? Well, I don't want to speculate beyond what's been in public. I've asked for a classified briefing, but we know, as the vice president just said, that Iran has historically target our bases, our servicemen and women, attacked our bases.

1:08:43These are not our friends. And so the Iranian government continue to do what they do. And I think our goal is to protect our servicemen and women and ensure that our bases are safe. So I think that this seems to reflect that objective, as always, to protect our people. And again, And I think, Wolf, no surprise here. The Iranians have long targeted our servicemen and women under the banner of death to America. And obviously, we're in a very intense conflict with them right now. How unusual is this for the U.S. to remove these sensitive bombers from a facility in Britain, a close ally, a NATO ally?

1:09:21How unusual is this out of potential concern that it could be targeted by Iranian terrorists? Well, without getting to the specifics of this particular instance, I'll say, Wolf, we know that historically, if we believe there are plots and our servicemen and women and our bases are at risk, we take action. And given that we have across the region serious military presence to both defend America and our allies and also for offensive purposes, we look at the map broadly. and if we see there's a threat to a particular base, obviously we make decisions accordingly. Our objective is to make sure that we can protect our country and at all times and to protect our assets.

1:10:03And if we see a threat, obviously we take action. Again, we're not pulling out of the region. We have a lot of forces across the region, but we will protect our servicemen and women if we see threats. On this issue of Lebanon, I know you just returned from a visit to Lebanon to press Lebanese leaders to fully disarm Hezbollah in Lebanon and to follow through on a U.S.-brokered agreement with Israel that was reached back in June. What was the result of your trip, this bipartisan trip you led to Lebanon? Exactly, Wolf. I mean, there's a trilateral framework that dates back to June and an earlier one, an MOU in April, and it's between the United States, the Lebanese government, and Israel.

1:10:46And the focus is to disarm Hezbollah, to defund Hezbollah, to return Lebanon to the Lebanese people. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization designated by the United States. They also have members of the parliament who are there on the political side of the House. So it's a complicated, tricky situation there on the ground. But I'll tell you, the government officials we met with, including the president and the habit of Lebanese armed forces, all have one objective, which is to disarm Hezbollah. We know they've had a significant presence in the south where they've sent missiles and drones attacking Israel over the last years.

1:11:29We know that. The key is for Lebanon to succeed long-term, Lebanese people and Lebanese government to be part of the region. They've got to push Hezbollah to disarm. They've got to make sure they defund them from having resources. And I think that's really what the focus of our trip was. And of course, we're on the Intelligence Committee. We have our goal on the ground in the United States is to make sure we disarm Hezbollah and disarm the threat. These are it's an Iranian Hezbollah is an Iranian proxy going back to Iran wolf. Right. Again, these are they have proxies throughout the region, like Hamas and Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

1:12:07Hezbollah has been a huge proxy of Iran and Iran has been funding Hezbollah for many years. There are reports that Lebanon and Israel potentially could hold yet another round of direct talks, this time in Tampa, Florida. And maybe that could happen later this month. Is that an indication that an agreement between Israel and Lebanon formally establishing relations, if you will, along the lines of the Abraham Accords, Israel establishing various diplomatic relations with a bunch of other Arab countries, is that possible that President Aoun of Lebanon and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel could both meet together and work out some sort of new deal?

1:12:46Well, I think the goal is to keep that moving forward, Wolf, which is to keep the trilateral framework and these conversations moving forward. There was a lot of momentum in the beginning, the key and part of why we were there, and I was there with Congressman LaHood, both of us serve on the Intelligence Committee. Our goal is to keep the pressure on all the parties to make sure that they stay at the table, they find an agreement that Lebanon not only agrees with pushing Hezbollah out, but the Lebanese Armed Forces moves in after Hezbollah moves out. That's happened in three regions. They call them pilot zones in three regions in southern Lebanon to make sure that the Lebanese armed forces moves in where Hezbollah moves out so that Hezbollah doesn't come back in.

1:13:30And also, Wolf, it's key that the Lebanese government provides education and health services and other support to the Lebanese people so that they don't turn to Hezbollah for support as they have in the past. These are all the kinds of topics that are key for conversations, for these trilateral discussions. And yes, there's been talks. The key is to make sure those talks continue moving forward at all levels of government here. Yeah, trilateral talks, the U.S., Israel, and Lebanon. Let's see what happens on that front. You're also a member, Congressman, of the House AI Caucus, and you've called for AI guardrails.

1:14:09What's your reaction to President Trump creating what he calls a super intelligence task force and naming National Intelligence Director Jay Clayton to lead it? Well, I think very highly of DNI Clayton, and I'm hoping that this turns into serious discussions and outcomes with the major labs and obviously others who were part of the ecosystem. You know, Wolf, especially on the national security front, it's critically important, and I've said this, that there are pre-deployment testing before a model is released to the public. The government should be involved in a very time-constrained review of the latest models.

1:14:54We saw OpenAI actually pulling back their model before release in the last weeks, which, by the way, is an indication that if left to their own devices and there aren't checks, you could have a lot of downside threats to the United States, to our national security, to our critical infrastructure, to our biosecurity. So to me, what's very important is that we actually have very clear rules of the road and guardrails to make sure that we both innovate, that we win, that we're able to make sure against China that we remain, we can continue to be in the lead, but that we do so in a way that protects the country, protects Americans, protects our biosecurity, our national security and our critical infrastructure.

1:15:38This has to be done well. I hope that the White House brings all the parties to the table, including, by the way, Congress, their first bite at the apple. They put out a framework. Their first bite at the apple was more of a leaflet wolf. It wasn't serious. So I'm hoping now that actually they take serious action. And I'll tell you, as co-chair of the AI Commission in the House, under Hakeem Jeffries' leadership, we are very focused on putting forward smart rules of the road that let us innovate and win, but do so in a way that protects our country. This is such a critically important issue. Congressman Josh Gottheimer, Democrat of New Jersey, thanks as usual for joining us.

1:16:14Appreciate it. Thanks, Wolf. All right, Wolf, coming up, dozens of workers at a Russian lab or in isolation after a researcher dies from an unknown illness. How concerning is this? We'll discuss with an expert up next.

1:16:34Happening now, dozens of people are in quarantine after an unknown illness killed a researcher at a Russian lab that studies the plague and other infectious diseases. Russian authorities say the 28-year-old researcher died after being diagnosed with a pneumonia of unknown origin. And now investigators are working to determine if a dangerous infection like pneumonic plague was accidentally released. And now officials in the region are taking anti-epidemic measures. Joining us now is virologist Angela Rasmussen. Angela, around 200 people are reportedly under medical observation now. What can you tell us about this?

1:17:13So this is actually, I think, a pretty reasonable response to an exposure like this. The pneumonic plague is transmitted by the airborne route and you get it from inhaling a lot of the bacteria that causes the disease. this usually doesn't happen unless you are in a household or a hospital type environment. It's actually not that transmissible. So when you have somebody who has full blown or at least symptoms of full blown pneumonic plague, because I don't think that it's been confirmed that this person had the plague, but there was a very high risk exposure. It's very reasonable to trace the contacts of that person and then make sure that they're under observation or quarantine to make sure that they haven't been infected.

1:17:55because if they have been infected, it would be very important to start them on antibiotics as soon as possible. Plague is treatable with antibiotics, but it's critical that those antibiotics be administered as soon as possible after exposure. But bottom line, how easily does it spread? So, you know, there's a lot of information that is not completely detailed and confirmed about this situation. There have been reports that there was a test tube of Yersinia pestis, which is the type of bacteria that causes plague that was broken that the researcher was handling. Now, that would be a very, very high risk exposure because you would be exposed to aerosolized bacteria and a large quantity of it.

1:18:39Potentially, that's what you're going to be handling in the lab. In the real world, it's a lot less easy to do that because when people have pneumonic plague, they actually are shedding bacteria in their lungs, but they're not shedding it the way that we would shed COVID, for example. So if you have COVID, you're constantly exhaling virus all the time. When you have pneumonic plague, you are not constantly exhaling a ton of bacteria. So people have to be in really close proximity to you. And that's why it doesn't usually transmit very much outside of these household and hospital type environments.

1:19:15Just for context, as we try to piece this together, one official said that the employee possibly died from the plague and noted that there had been no outbreak of the disease in the region. In your view, what verifiable data should the international scientific community demand from the Russian agency in charge to independently verify the threat level here? Yeah, I think it's really important to understand more about the circumstances under which this occurred. I mean, to me, this reveals possibly the presence of a number of biosafety failures. So when you're handling a dangerous pathogen like this in the lab, you should always be wearing secondary protection.

1:19:55You know, you would have you would be handling this inside a biosafety cabinet, which would reduce your exposure risk. You should be wearing a respirator any time you're handling this pathogen at all. You should be using secondary containment, for example. So if you drop a vial, it's already contained somewhere else so that if it breaks, it's not going to get out and potentially expose you. And what it sounds like to me is that there were a number of failures in these standard procedures for handling dangerous pathogens in a containment laboratory. In addition to that, the reports say that the person who died reported to clinicians when she showed up at the hospital for treatment that she had been exposed this way a week earlier.

1:20:36So that to me suggests, and again, this is unconfirmed, but it suggests that it perhaps wasn't reported at the time of the exposure, which could have led to the person taking prophylactic antibiotics and being alive today and not actually getting sick. So it's really important to understand the containment and biosafety procedures that are being used at this institute, make sure that something like this never happens again. Yeah. Angela Rasmussen, thank you so much. Thank you so much for having me. And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us. We'll see you back here tomorrow morning, 10 a.m.

1:21:11Eastern. Inside Politics today with Manu Raju starts right after a quick break.

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