Midterms Could Be 'Bloodbath' 

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1:02Pamela Brown: HAPPENING NOW, WARNING SIGNS FOR THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. THERE ARE SERIOUS CONCERNS RIGHT NOW WITHIN THE PARTY THAT THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS COULD BE QUOTE A BLOOD BATH FOR THE GOP. RUSSIA MEANWHILE IS PUSHING BACK THE NEW COMMENTS FROM THE KREMLIN AS U.S. OFFICIALS RAMP UP PRESSURE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT A POTENTIAL PLAGUES DEATH. PLUS A NEW TROPICAL STORM CHURNING IN THE GULF RIGHT NOW COULD TURN INTO THE FIRST Atlantic hurricane of the season. We're tracking the storm's potential impact and marking three years since the October 7th terror attack. I'll speak to the Israeli president Isaac Herzog that's just ahead.

1:42Pamela Brown: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer, Pamela Brown is on assignment. You're in the Situation Room.

1:57Pamela Brown: We begin with the march to the midterm elections. We're less than a month away from elections that potentially could completely shift the balance of power in Congress and the rest of President Trump's term. Today, he's making his third recent trip to Texas to boost Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who's struggling in the polls against Democrat James Tallarico. President Trump is projecting confidence in his party, but CNN's Kristen Holmes has new reporting from Republican insiders who are worried about his impact on the race and Democratic gains. Democrats, meanwhile, are targeting the state of Maine right now, where longtime Republican Senator Susan Collins is running for re-election.

2:40Pamela Brown: She sparred on the debate stage last night with her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson. The two debated about her relationship with President Trump, the war with Iran, and abortion rights. He helped overturn Roe v. Wade, and today she says she has no regrets. You said at the time that he said that he considered Roe v. Wade settled law. Do you feel at any level that Brett Kavanaugh lied to you on that day? I do not feel that he lied, but I think that he should not have said it was settled law because to me that meant that it would not be overturned. But to be fair, you cannot ask a nominee how he might vote on some hypothetical future case.

3:31Pamela Brown: CNN senior political analyst Mark Preston is here with me in the Situation Room. So, Mark, who do you think won that debate? Well, you know, Wolf, it was really only the first of four battles we're going to see over the next couple of weeks between Troy Jackson and Susan Collins. Two politicians who are very well known in Maine. Look, they both got in their hits on each other last night. But again, this is one of these races that's going to come down to the wire. And what we've seen in this race in Maine is we've seen Troy Jackson trying to turn this into a national referendum, trying to make it all about Donald Trump, saying that Donald Trump has been bad for Maine.

4:02And Susan Collins has basically abdicated her responsibility to stop Donald Trump from doing things such as putting these tariffs into place. Remember, Maine is right along that Canadian border and is getting hit very hard by the terrorists. At the same time, though, we have Susan Collins saying, I've been here for five terms now. Put me in for a sixth term. I've always defended Maine, and you can trust me.

4:23Pamela Brown: CNN has been reporting, as you know, on Republican concerns heading into the midterm elections, with some operatives worried very seriously about Trump's impact on those elections. Our Kristen Holmes has new reporting from one insider who says there are fears of a possible bloodbath among these Republicans. Well, not only do we see the reporting from Kristen, who has very great sources, but we're also seeing it in the spending. We're seeing money now from Senate Republican leaders that should be earmarked for other races to either defend some of their colleagues, such as Susan Collins in Maine, who might have tough reelections, and they're putting them into states that necessarily they shouldn't have to worry about, or Donald Trump is going to states she doesn't have to worry about.

5:04We've seen him go to Nebraska. You know, we see that Kansas has now been put on the board. He's going back to Texas. Of all states right now, he's going back to try to save the candidacy of Ken Paxton. Now, get this. I was talking to a Republican strategist last night just about South Carolina. South Carolina, Lindsey Graham's seat, his sister, was basically put into that seat by Donald Trump. She won a very contested primary. Now, there's concerns that she is not running a very good campaign. Now, again, a very Republican state, probably going to win. But the fact is that you have the Senate Republicans that have to start focusing, putting their focus on races they shouldn't have to.

5:40And that's why the bloodbath is being discussed.

5:42Pamela Brown: We'll see what happens. It's coming up, Mark. Thank you very, very much. Also happening now, new questions emerging over the death of a woman who worked at an anti-plague lab in Russia. The U.S. wants answers with President Trump, saying he has a phone call scheduled with the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. Several countries near Russia have implemented quarantine controls at border crossing points. Travel between China and Russia remains normal. CNN's senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen is joining us live from Berlin right now. Fred, Russian authorities have downplayed any global concerns of possible plague exposure.

6:21Pamela Brown: What are they saying? Yeah, they continue to do that, Wolf. And one of the things that's been happening over the past couple of days since this case has really snowballed, and gotten a lot of attention, obviously, in the U.S. and globally as well, is that the Kremlin has been asked about it pretty much every day, and today also was no exception as well. And there the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov came out and said that the World Health Organization had been informed by the Russians duly and according to established procedures, as he put it. Now, you mentioned the fact that President Trump, of course, yesterday, said that he had his call scheduled with Russian leader Vladimir Putin very soon to talk about all of this.

6:59The Kremlin was asked about that as well. They say at this point in time, to their knowledge, nothing is in fact scheduled. However, Vladimir Putin actually is expecting a bunch of calls from world leaders today because it is also his 74th birthday. However, when it comes to this case of this plague scare that's been going on in Russia, the Russians are strictly saying that any new information is going to come from their agency combating infectious diseases, which is called Rospatreb Nazor. And that agency really hasn't come out with very much in the way of statements. However, they do say that, as they put it, the situation there regarding any sort of epidermical anomalies is very much under control.

7:39They also say that some of the quarantine measures that they have been putting in place are slowly coming to a close or could slowly come to a close. They say that many people have already been tested for exposure, and so far, no exposure to the plague has been found. However, they also say that the quarantine measures are still in place. And CNN was actually able to speak to one woman who was inside a maternity ward, which is under lockdown, who said that her relatives can't visit her, but who also said that there was a questionnaire that she was asked to fill out regarding infectious diseases, including the plague, that also there were health checks and people were asked to wear masks.

8:17Now, Wolf, the United States is not the only country asking the Russian Federation for more information on all this. The head of the World Health Organization also came out and called on the Russians to be very transparent and also asked for more information about Russian media reports indicating that there could be a second case of someone coming down with pneumonia with an unknown cause, which is, of course, exactly what that lab worker died of a couple of days ago, Wolf.

8:45Pamela Brown: All right, Fred Pleitkin in Berlin for us. Thank you very, very much. Still ahead, and I'm quoting now, House of Horrors, investigators raiding a Los Angeles County home. Now the couple living there is facing child abuse charges tied to an alleged surrogacy scheme. And next, conscious and speaking, inmate Krista Pike remains in the hospital this morning as her attorneys are pushing to preserve evidence in her botched execution. seeing as Ryan Young is live for us in Nashville. Ryan? Yes. Well, if new details in this case on this botched execution, we'll have those details, and we're standing outside the courthouse where there'll be a hearing just this afternoon.

9:27Pamela Brown: We'll have more coming up in a live report.

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10:02Pamela Brown: Shaq here. What's it like to buy a car from Carvana 100 % online and get it delivered to your door. Let me tell you. Your car is here, Mr. Shaq. Thank you, Mr. Carvana guy. Can't wait to take it for a spin. Only the best for you, Mr. Shaq. Hey, have you always been so big, tall, and handsome? Not always. I was 6 '10 once. Seven days to love it or return it, Mr. Shaq. Not that I would. You never do. No, I never do. So buy your car today on Carvana. Delivery fees may apply. See our seven-day return policy at caravana.com. Happening now, lawyers for inmate Krista Pike, the woman who survived two doses of a lethal injection drug, say she has regained consciousness and is now speaking.

10:45Pamela Brown: Pike was facing the death penalty after murdering her classmate, 19-year-old Colleen Slimmer, back in 1995. After surviving the botched execution just last week, Pike's attorneys are now looking to preserve relevant evidence from the failed execution attempt. They're set to appear in court later today. Let's go live right now to our senior national correspondent, Ryan Young, who's in Nashville. Ryan, tell us what more you're learning about what happened last week and Pike's current status. Yeah, 100 percent. Well, if we hope to have more information from those attorneys this afternoon, when we're able to talk to them after this hearing, we went up to the fourth floor where this hearing will happen to see what we can figure out, how this will move forward, how long it would take.

11:28Pamela Brown: So many people are saying this is unprecedented with the way this has played out so far. We also have calls out to the governor's office and other state officials to figure out where the investigation into what happened is moving forward. But let's talk about Krista Pike right now. Her attorneys did release a statement. We'll put that up on the screen for you so you can see it, which basically says against all odds, Krista Pike is conscious speaking and continues to receive critical medical care. Despite the severe damage she endured to her arms, She is still handcuffed and shackled to the bed.

11:57Her recovery is medically unprecedented. Her prognosis remains unclear, but at a minimum, we expect a long recovery.

12:04Pamela Brown: Of course, Wolf, we were talking to witnesses who said they watched over and over again as they tried to put needles in her arms. And in fact, she even tried to direct people to where to put those needles in her arm when this botched execution happened. But listen to her attorneys talk about what this whole situation has played out like and what they hope to have moving forward. Nothing that anyone can do will bring back Colleen Slemmer. Nothing that anyone can do will make this right for May Martinez, her mother. I can't give any better solution than the fact that Krista has been and may very well continue to be severely punished.

12:45I don't think that attempting another execution is going to bring justice.

12:52Pamela Brown: Yeah, moving forward, Wolf, I just got a statement from Representative Justin Jones here, and he told, basically, says Governor Bill Lee's suspension of the death penalty for the rest of the year must become permanent going forward. There's a lot of people asking for new steps in this state. Marshall Blackburn, who's also running for governor of the state, said they should bring back the electric chair. So this conversation about how things should move forward is not over just yet. Wolf. Hi, Ryan Young reporting for us. Ryan, we'll stay in close touch with you. Coming up, we're tracking the potential impact to the Gulf Coast as the latest storm could very well turn into the first Atlantic hurricane of the season.

13:36Pamela Brown: Happening now, a California couple is facing child abuse charges after investigators say they're behind a surrogacy scheme involving at least 21 children, ranging in age from a few months to 13 years. Los Angeles County deputies raided the home yesterday. 15 children were removed from the residence, which the district attorney said, and I'm quoting now, could only be described as a house of horrors for these young children. And according to prosecutors, the couple allegedly misled surrogates they paid to carry their children through their own surrogacy company. The couple pleaded not guilty and have denied all allegations.

14:15Pamela Brown: Also new this morning, the FBI is saying that a contractor's failure to implement a security patch led to a major data breach at the FBI. Last month, a cyber criminal group claimed to have stolen sensitive personal data on thousands of current and former FBI employees, and that included information like social security numbers and home addresses. The FBI says the contractor has been removed and all necessary steps have been taken to try to mitigate further risks. And in Chile right now, a stray dog swept up in a raging river prompts a major rescue operation. For hours, rescue crews and passers-by tried saving him by rope, by foot, even cornering him on a concrete barrier, but the dog was not having it.

15:07Pamela Brown: In the end, the dog saved himself, getting to dry land one paw at a time. A couple found him on a roadway and cleaned him up. Very nice. Also happening now, a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico is gathering strength. It's expected to intensify into a tropical storm and then a hurricane, which could be, it would certainly be the first of the Atlantic season. CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam is in the CNN Weather Center in Atlanta. He's monitoring all of this for us. So what's the potential path and the impact? Well, Wolf, just when we thought we were going to sneak past this entire hurricane season without a hurricane, now we are facing down our first Atlantic hurricane that will likely form.

15:52We've got Tropical Storm Isaias here cozying up across the Bay of Campeche. And at the moment, there is record warm water here that is going to help fuel the strengthening process. The National Hurricane Center has this just shy of a major Category 3 hurricane. We're talking about a degree or rather a temperature or so, or rather a mile per hour difference between a major hurricane. Regardless of that, this storm is expected to weaken on its final approach across the northern Gulf Coast. And we could start seeing impacts anywhere from Biloxi into Mobile, New Orleans and Pensacola with heavy rain by Friday morning.

16:27But the brunt of the storm comes in late Friday and into early Saturday morning according to most of our computer models. And I want you to pick up on what's happening east of the center of the storm. These are individual cells. We're concerned about the potential of isolated spin-up tornadoes within this region. That is called the dirty part of the storm. It is often a very big threat with a lot of wind shear with these systems. So the forecast rain accumulation, that will be a major concern going forward with flash flooding. But a big part of the story has been the wind shear. Budding hurricanes don't like wind shear.

17:00This happens to expand the wind field, but it also weakens the storm. That means impacts will be felt further away from the center. And this is something interesting to note here as well, Wolf. This is going to be passing over several oil and natural gas wells with the price of gas on Americans' minds. This is a concern going forward.

17:18Pamela Brown: Certainly is. All right, Derek Van Dam, you're going to be busy. Thank you very, very much. Coming up, the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, joins me live from Israel to talk about the October 7th attacks and where things stand in the region three years later. That's coming up next. you're in the situation world.

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18:11Pamela Brown: It was three years ago today that Hamas launched the deadliest terror attack in Israel's history. More than 1 ,200 people were killed in that massacre, with witnesses describing horrifying scenes of rape, mutilations, and sexual torture. Another 251 people were taken hostage, and survivors described their own ordeal of starvation and sexual abuse, among other horrors. Today, there is a day-long series of memorials, ceremonies, and protests across Israel. This was held at the site of the Nova Music Festival in southern Israel. More than 350 people were killed in and around that festival on this day three years ago.

18:53Pamela Brown: The Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, is joining us now from a community that was also attacked on October 7th. President Herzog, thanks so much for speaking with us on this important day. I don't know if you want to tell us, but can you tell us where you are right now and why this spot is so significant? Because this is Nativa Asara. It's a beautiful village which was attacked in the most barbaric way three years ago, exactly on the day, 7th of October. Twenty members of this beautiful community were slaughtered and murdered, some of them trying to save their children, some of them fighting the enemy.

19:34And I'm here at their orchid of olives as well as near their vineyard and the beautiful vineyard which is producing wine. And I can tell you that despite all the agony and pain that they've endured as well as so many citizens around this region and the country not far away, the Nova site. The country is rebuilding, and this community will double itself within no time. People are joining or going back right at the border.

20:04Pamela Brown: The Israeli prime minister, as you know, Mr. President, we're talking about Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister, they've warned that Hamas potentially could strike once again today or in the run-up to the Israeli national elections later this month. Do you share that concern? Look, we're a nation on alert, and we're also a nation with PTSD, meaning we had a huge wake-up call on October 7th because this was a tranquil, peaceful border, and where the biggest peace lovers and supporters of peace with our neighbors lived here. They were the first ones to be butchered and slaughtered and raped and taken hostage.

20:47And that is why it's a very big issue in our national discourse as we are going up to the elections on October 27th. We are now deliberating and dealing and speaking and, of course, agonizing and mourning today to remember and reminisce. And we're in a very solemn day where we think about what we've gone through and what the future should entail, including that, the possibility of the enemy trying again and again, because terrorists, unfortunately, never give up. But we should never give up to them in any way.

21:25Pamela Brown: How much has the war in Gaza, Mr. President, actually weakened Hamas? It's weakened substantially. Actually, half of Gaza, you know, is still under Israeli control until the United Nations Security Council resolution, which was brought to a vote by President Trump through the initiative of the Board of Peace, will be implemented, which says, next step, bring in a government in Gaza, a new government of technocrats, subject to and prerequisite is that Hamas disarms. So the world community, international community, and everybody else who've all committed to this resolution should implement it. Disarm Hamas and give a future to the people of Gaza.

22:16We want to have our neighbors living well. Two million Palestinians. But they ought to live well so long as we are not threatened by terror. And for this, you have to disarm Hamas and move on with bringing a new government into Gaza and rebuilding this region.

22:35Pamela Brown: As you know, President Herzog, the Palestinian Ministry of Health says more than 74 ,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began. From your perspective, has this war in Gaza been worthwhile? PRESIDENT HERZOG, Palestinian Ministry of Health, President Herzog, President of Gaza We have to explain some of these data. First of all, we argue with a lot of the data. Secondly, you have to remember, we are fighting an army of terrorists of tens of thousands of terrorists. And thirdly, and most importantly, because this is the issue at stake, we did not want this war. We did not choose to go to war.

23:11We were attacked, and we have the inherent right, like any nation, to defend ourselves. The enemy picked and chose the terrain of war. They decided to have the terrain of war in people's homes, in their living rooms, in their dining rooms, in their kitchens, in their shops and mosques and what's not. And they have launched missiles from there and many terrorist attacks and took our hostages, hostage underneath through their homes. So we have to send soldiers in and we do it according, strictly according to international law, by alerting, announcing, threatening, sending messages and leaflets and moving population out in order to clear up the terrain and get the terrorists out.

23:56So that is the tragedy of this enormous calamity that has befallen the Palestinians in Gaza because of Hamas taking this horrific attack, barbaric attack, with an aim, by the way, to tilt the entire region in the Middle East. They've done so, and Israel has shown that it knows how to fight and change the region with enormous opportunities for a better future.

24:23Pamela Brown: Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly denied reports that he ignored various warnings before October 7th that Hamas was planning a major attack against Israel. Would you like to see a full-scale investigation of what was known and when, a complete commission of inquiry? So let me explain. First of all, absolutely, yes. And I've said it also in my speech earlier this week at the memorials, the first memorial service held on Sunday to the nation. It's a big issue which has been discussed in our elections. And as head of state who's above politics, of course, I won't deliberate about which solution and what type of inquiry.

25:07I can always say that I've spoken about it numerous occasions, and clearly, you know, a vibrant democracy like ours ought to investigate and understand exactly what led to it and what happened.

25:22Pamela Brown: In less than three weeks, Israel will hold its first national elections since that October 7th attack three years ago. How much will this be a referendum on Prime Minister Netanyahu regarding Israel's war against Hamas and the war against Iran, for that matter? So, first of all, I'm very proud of the Israeli political system and our democracy, celebrating democracy, meaning 50 parties at least running and presenting their opinions post-October 7, first time since October 7, with a huge variety of ideas and, of course, a huge variety of voices, claims, and debates. This is something enormous, not easy at all, a painful, agonized society with many questions about what happened and what's the future.

26:15And I believe that it will be a very important moment. I trust the Israeli voters to take their decisions. Following that moment, all the parties who are elected to the Knesset will come up to me as president of the state and recommend who they feel, who they recommend will be the head of the government, who will form the government, and I will have to delegate the authority to a member of the Knesset. So I won't deal with any topics that are debated. All I can say is that this is a very important moment, and I sincerely hope and I'm sure the Israeli voters will come in a major turnout.

26:55Pamela Brown: As you know, there's also been a very, very serious deterioration in the U.S.-Israeli relationship. The war in Gaza contributed to that. The war with Iran certainly did. In fact, many members of the U.S. House and Senate, especially a lot of Democrats, they want to withhold or eliminate very sensitive military aid to Israel right now. I've covered U.S.-Israeli relations for a long time. I haven't seen it this bad from Israel's perspective. I don't remember a time when the relationship was that bad and you had so many members of Congress wanting to completely eliminate military aid to Israel. What's your assessment of where the relationship stands right now?

27:38It is definitely disturbing, but I want to make a clear point. Look, three years ago, in July 23, as president of the State of Israel, I made a speech in front of a joint session of the House, and I got 30 standing ovations from both sides of the aisle, meaning that we have deep emotional relations. Our nations drink from the same fountains, the fountains of the Old Testament and the New Testament, and the great values of democracy, liberties, and freedom. We have a debate, and we have many arguments. I know it. And there is also anger. But one has to understand that Israel is a very close ally of the United States, which serves clearly the national security interests of the United States of America and its people.

28:28And I believe that we shall overcome this hurdle. We have to work on it. We have to discuss it in frankness. I invite every viewer and every American citizen to come and see this incredible country, which is doing good for the entire universe in so many fields, which looks to the horizon of making peace and joining with many Arab nations around us in developing this region for the well-being of humanity. There's a lot of things to do together. Rather than a blame game, I sometimes hear terrible things which are totally distorted, which are exuberant, which are disgusting at times, too. And I believe in my nation, and I believe in our friendship with the United States of America.

29:12Pamela Brown: Do you support what's called a two-state solution, Israel living alongside a new state of Palestine? So that is something that has been there for many, many years. However, it never matured. First of all, it never matured because of terror. I said it in front of Congress in July 23. Terror is what undermines peace in this region. We are fighting terror endlessly. And I must say that I commend President Trump. We are cooperating with him and his team in fighting terror all throughout. Because the main source of terror comes from Iran. This empire of evil with its proxies is trying to lock in on the entire region.

29:53And we've actually pushed back on them big time together. They are rushing to the bomb, the nuclear bomb. They spread terror. They have terror cells all over the place. And look at their proxy, the Houthis, who are trying to conquer Yemen in order to block one of the main arteries of international trade. If the world, the free world, doesn't wake up, the free world is in big trouble. And we in Israel are actually the ones who are defending the free world, defending Europe and defending the United States and interests in this region.

30:24Pamela Brown: I want to turn to the Fly Dubai investigation that is now ongoing. Investigators are examining how the pilot, who had reportedly raised security concerns in a previous job, was still able to end up in the cockpit on this flight with a lot of Israelis on board, bound for Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. What has the investigation uncovered so far about those failures? Well, it's under heavy investigation. And there's a lot of intel sharing and a lot of comparisons on issues that are vital to international aviation security. It's under a lot of, you know, security, and we can't disclose information yet.

31:09We work with many agencies. Clearly, the United States is very much informed about what's going on. We trust our Emirati partners that they will bring as much information as possible. We work with others. But it's also something to commend, to commend the heroes in that flight, Israelis who rescued that flight. Tomorrow I will be honoring them with the Israeli presidential medal of honor for bravery and courage. Fantastic people. We thank the captain of the flight, who was originally from India, Mitch Har. And, of course, we thank even the Saudis who hosted the passengers and the plane during that emergency landing.

31:55So it shows you that there could be cooperation in the Middle East and a great horizon. And I hope that the results will bring better safety and security for all of us.

32:05Pamela Brown: All right. Thank you so much, President Isaac Herzog of Israel, joining us on this very special day. We'll be right back. Clothes shopping really isn't my thing, but I still want to look sharp and feel confident. That's why I use Stitch Fix, the OG personal styling service. No more scrolling through websites or wasting my day at the store. My stylist sends pieces picked just for me straight to my door. Free shipping, free returns, no subscription required. Get started today at stitchfix.com. That's stitchfix.com. When you spend enough time around great companies, you notice that the best ones treat trust as a growth strategy, not a box to check.

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33:15Pamela Brown: Happening now, threats against Cornell University's Jane Doe. Her attorney now says the woman at the center of a lawsuit alleging she was gang raped at a fraternity house on campus back in 2024 is now being targeted with threats on her life. Thomas Jufra says Jane Doe's family and friend were also involved in a SWATI incident where police drew guns on them. In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, he reacted to one of the threats. Just before I got on with you, somebody called her, made a threat to shoot up her house, shoot her, her mother, her father. She's calling the police as we speak now.

33:58I'm absolutely appalled that this has gone so far that people are doing this, but I see this fire of hate that's being fanned lately, and I'm just shocked.

34:10Pamela Brown: Thomas Jufra, Jane Doe's attorney. All this comes as frustrations clearly grow on Cornell's campus over how the university administration handled the sexual assault accusations. Students and community members have rallied around Jane Doe this afternoon. some groups are planning a seven-hour sit-in in solidarity with Jane Doe. University officials held a virtual meeting with professors and staff yesterday after some faculty members introduced a resolution calling for a no-confidence vote in the university's leadership. Here now is Cornell University faculty Senate member Ariana Kim. Ariana, thanks so much for joining us.

34:52Pamela Brown: Did you attend yesterday's virtual meeting? And if so, what did you hear from university officials?

35:01I did attend the town hall. It felt similar to a lot of the messaging that we've been receiving, where they're saying a lot of politically correct buzzwords, that there are intentions and recaps of making sure that they let us know that they did everything correctly and to the best of their ability. But there still hasn't been a lot of accountability. There weren't difficult questions answered. And so I think a lot of people are still hoping for more.

35:36Pamela Brown: What do you hope this resolution of no confidence potentially will achieve?

35:44So this vote of no confidence resolution is put forth by one faculty senator who was the author and then co-sponsored by about a dozen other faculty senators. It'll be presented at a meeting next week and then again two weeks after that while we've had time to confer with our constituents. And then a vote will be held. that vote will occur over the next week following the final meeting. We hope that though it's not a binding resolution where it would have actionable items, that it will inspire resignations, accountability, that we can finally make long-needed systemic change.

36:28Pamela Brown: What have you been hearing from your students at Cornell?

36:35It's a really, really difficult time. I work mostly with students one-on-one, and so I have the privilege of, you know, having more intimate conversations with them, and every person I've talked to is feeling the crisis, is feeling the fear, is feeling the sense of not understanding how to parse all the information that's coming at them, not really knowing how to feel safe, not knowing who to trust. And there's a sense of a lack of community, particularly being felt that's not coming from the top down.

37:14Pamela Brown: I want you to listen to what Julia Chang, an associate professor at Cornell University, told CNN about her trust in the current administration. Listen to this. I can't say that I have a lot of faith. Every piece of information that gets It's leaked to the press. The fact that we're finding out the same time that you all are about what's happening on this campus, about what happened in 2024, I think a lot of us have lost faith in this institution. And as I said, trust is just completely broken. So what do you think? How can the leadership rebuild that trust?

37:51I think the most important thing right now is a turnover in leadership. I think that's the best tool for starting that process. this won't be an overnight fix. There are layers of concerns that need to be addressed. And I think the only way to begin that process is to see resignations and a turnover in our upper administration.

38:13Pamela Brown: So do you think Cornell's president should resign over the handling of this investigation? I do. Ariana Kim, thanks so much for joining us. Good luck to all of the students and faculty, administrators, everybody at Cornell University. This is such a rough time indeed. Appreciate your joining us. Thank you so much, Wolf. And if you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, there is help out there. Contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline by calling 800-656-HOPE or by texting HOPE to 64673. and we'll be right back. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task unless you have a partner like Shopify.

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39:28Pamela Brown: As the Iran war sends fuel prices skyrocketing to new records, more airline leaders say they still expect a steady level of travel from the customers. It says airfares are up. They're up more than 23 % year over year, with the average ticket now costing more than$400. CNN's Randy Kay spoke one-on-one with Delta's CEO in a very rare interview. Just to have your voice with all that's going on in the world, I think it's really important. Ed Bastian has been CEO of Delta Airlines for 10 years and with the company for nearly 30 years. The Wall Street community had declared us dead. They had us DOA, that we weren't going to make it.

40:11He has seen Delta through bankruptcy, restructuring 9-11 and COVID. And today is dealing with the effects of the Iran war, energy shock and rising airfares. You have built Delta around this idea that taking care of employees ultimately takes care of customers. Take care of your people first and then they will take care of your customers who will reward you with loyalty and repeat business. And that virtuous circle that goes around is really important in a high touch business like we are. And you're building Delta now more around that premium customer. And I'd say today over 60 % of our revenues are not in our main cabin for the company.

40:51It's coming from the premium side, and that's growing double digits. We're focused on the upper end of the K. And our consumer demographic we talk about has household earnings, a minimum of about$100 ,000 a year, which is not an elitist definition. That's over 40 % of the households in the United States fits that definition. 95 % of our revenues come from that demographic. And that demographic, if you look post-COVID, has accumulated enormous wealth. What are you seeing from customers who aren't at the top end of the K? We still see those consumers spending and investing. It's younger folks. It's our Gen Zs, our millennials, that see Delta and travel as an aspirational brand.

41:35When you look at the Iran war, it certainly has sent gas prices higher, jet fuel prices higher, airline tickets higher. Which of your customers would you say are absorbing most of that increase? I'd say they are across the board. We expect oil prices to be about$6 billion higher than they were a year ago. And that's a substantial shock to have. We're not meeting any resistance long way. Consumers understand why prices are up. At some point, do you expect you would see resistance? We can see the holidays already. We can see kind of the first part of next year through advanced bookings. There's no slowdown in sight.

42:13Delta Airlines began as a Georgia crop dusting operation in 1925. Last year, Delta celebrated its 100th anniversary, the first U.S. airline to do so. The promise of the next century of flight to me is exhilarating. We're walking under the spirit of Delta airplane. Well, this is the airplane in 1982 that the employees of the company purchased and gave to the company. Three flight attendants took up a call to action to all of their colleagues and raised$35 million. The very first 767-200 that we ever flew was at the core of our relationship with our people. It means everything to me. Sometimes I'll just come down to the museum and walk around.

42:57I'll kind of speak to the spirit. I'll speak to the airplane. What do you think? It just helps me get settled on priorities. priorities. As Bastion looks ahead to the next century, that includes figuring out where AI fits into Delta's people-first playbook. Our people will always be at the heart of whatever AI provides in terms of benefit. Is there any part of you that's worried that we're moving too fast with AI? Yeah, of course it does. When you hear the stories about what the AI inventors say it could do. How will AI change the Delta experience? I think it'll make our people smarter, more efficient, be able to get answers to customers sooner, be able to solve tough problems because our company, 100 ,000 people, 1 ,200 airplanes, 5 ,000 flights every day.

43:43It's like a Rubik's Cube trying to always get the perfect answer and response. What about AI in the cockpit? There will never be less than two pilots in a Delta cockpit as long as I'm here. And I think that's going to stand true for a very long time. You want to use the technology to make our pilots' jobs as easy as possible and as safe as possible. Bastian makes a point to stay directly connected to passengers. When I reached out to you for this interview, I was surprised to find that your email is publicly available. I'm guessing you get a tremendous amount of email. I get a lot. I hear from everybody about everything every day.

44:20I mean, literally thousands a day. So you actually respond to some? Oh, many, many, many, many. Do you ever sit and coach? I do. I do. I want to make certain I'm seeing the product. I'm seeing all aspects of our business. I know our customers, when they see me back there, they're first puzzled. They're kind of curious why I'm back there. But then they actually enjoy that I'm back there. Do they talk to you, your fellow customers? Oh, 100%. They talk to me wherever I am. Ed Bastian is one of the most recognizable CEOs in the country, and he's still writing Delta's next chapter. There's a whole other world waiting for the next generation.

44:57Speaking of future generations, the grandkids. Yeah. Do they have medallion status yet? They're building it. My older grandson, Miles, he'll turn four in December. He's already had like 50 flights. He loves traveling and I love that. Does Miles understand when the safety video comes on that that's his grandfather? He does, he does. He finds it pretty odd. He calls me big man. And he'll have half the plane saying big man's quiet, tells everybody quiet, listen to the big man. And Wolf, as Ed Bastian looks ahead to Delta's next century, he's excited about new international routes, but he's also excited about their investment.

45:38They've invested millions of dollars in Joby Aviation. That's this electric air taxi. And he's hoping that makes travel to the airports easier. He envisions people getting in the air taxi, landing on the roof of a Sky Club, going down, hanging out a little bit, and then making their way to their flight wolf. So that is the future, it seems.

45:56Pamela Brown: Well, it certainly is. All right, Randy Kay, excellent interview. Thank you very, very much. Always good to have you with us in the Situation Room. And the next hour of the Situation Room starts right now.

46:14Pamela Brown: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. Pamela Brown is on assignment. You're in the Situation Room. We begin this hour with a warning from a White House ally who tells CNN that Republicans are concerned that midterm elections next month could be a, quote, bloodbath for Republicans. This comes as five-term Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine faced Democrat Troy Jackson in Maine's Senate debate last night. That race potentially could decide which party controls the Senate. Joining us now, Democratic strategist Julie Roginski and Liam Donovan.

46:54Pamela Brown: He worked for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. To both of you, thanks very much for joining us. And Liam, President Trump is headed to Texas once again today. It's his third trip in a month to campaign in the longtime Republican-held state. Do you have any serious concerns right now that the midterm elections that are coming up on November 3rd could be what one Republican insider described as a bloodbath for Republicans? Look, Wolf, at this point, if you're not running scared as a Republican, you're doing it wrong. You have to act as if you're behind. That's the only way you have hope to win.

47:32I think the blessing for Republicans is the reason you can send the president to states like Texas, states that the majority for the Senate is going to run through is the terrain favors Republicans. So even as the polling doesn't look great for Republicans, running the majority requires Senate Democrats to win states where it's very, very difficult to beat incumbents and to even win open seats when the party, you know, Republicans typically win by 12, 13, 14 points. It's very easy to imagine a scenario where Democrats have a very good night, as they are likely to, and it comes up just shy of the four seats that they need, particularly when you look at a state like Maine, where Susan Collins might hold serve.

48:11If you keep Maine in the Republican column, it requires Democrats to win at least three seats in our plus 12, 13, 14 states.

48:21Pamela Brown: Julie, I want you to listen to this exchange from last night's Maine Senate debate when Troy Jackson pressed Senator Susan Collins on her vote to confirm the Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh. Listen to this. He helped overturn Roe v. Wade, and today she says she has no regrets. You said at the time that he said that he considered Roe v. Wade settled law. Do you feel at any level that Brett Kavanaugh lied to you on that day? I do not feel that he lied, but I think that he should not have said it was settled law, because to me that meant that it would not be overturned. But to be fair, you cannot ask a nominee how he might vote on some hypothetical future case.

49:11Pamela Brown: So, Julie, what did you make of that answer? You know, it's interesting because I think Democrats are just fed up with Republicans saying, oh, this is inappropriate to ask a nominee something. It's inappropriate to tell the Justice Department to intervene in any particular political case when the leader of Susan Collins' party, Donald Trump, does that all the time. I mean, this is, you know, he has transformed politics. And it seems like Susan Collins is living in 1996 Maine, which is when she got elected. I actually worked up in Maine on a political campaign that year. And I can tell you that is a very different time than the one we're living in now.

49:47And so it seems like Susan Collins is once again kind of shaking her head and saying, you know, I'm disappointed. I'm deeply disappointed in the way things are happening right now. Well, this is the reality, friends. I mean, this is the party and the situation that her party has wrought, and she's got to own it. And if she doesn't own it and she doesn't acknowledge that everything has changed and she's giving answers that are still answers from 30 years ago, she's not going to win.

50:11Pamela Brown: We will find out soon, to be sure. Liam, Senator Collins highlighted issues she disagrees with President Trump on, including tariffs and the Iran war. Trump has suggested he may make a campaign visit to the state of Maine. Here's what Susan Collins, Senator Collins, said when asked if she would campaign with him. Listen to this. I don't think that President Trump is going to come to Maine. I've heard nothing from his office, and I'm not exactly his favorite senator. So yes or no? Do you have a yes or no to that? I would say that he is not coming to Maine. Okay. You think, Liam, it would be a mistake for Trump to campaign in Maine?

51:00I think it's a waste of his time. I think the political operation in the White House understands that sending Donald Trump to the states that he is very popular in and wins handily, that's where he has his highest and most best use. But in Maine, you have to remember, in Maine, too, up there in the area that Susan Collins is from, that is not a deep blue area. It is the sort of place where you do need to bring out those Trump voters. It's a place where Paula Page is likely going to win, I believe, and Republicans will take back that seat. So, you know, he will not he will not go up there. I don't think it's a good use of his time.

51:32But you have to remember that the state of Maine and part of why Republicans are competitive up there is there is a vestigial populist Republican element in the northwest.

51:42Pamela Brown: Liam, speaking of President Trump, I want you to listen to why he thinks Republicans are struggling just ahead of the upcoming midterms. Listen to this. We're doing an extremely poor job of promotion and an extremely great job of running the country. The only thing we're doing badly at is public relations. In other words, we're doing a phenomenal job, but by a combination of maybe we're doing a bad job in selling it. Liam, do you agree with him? I mean, I think this is just a function of this is the way midterms work, particularly in what is the second term of president. You know, the six year itch is something that we see quite frequently.

52:23I mean, messaging is part of it. And I think Republicans should do a better job of it to sell what they've done and frankly, to make the argument against what Democrats will do if they have power. But the fact is that people are dissatisfied because that is the mood of the country. And that is a function of how things are on the ground. And so I think, you know, if you're not grappling with how people are really feeling, then you're going to, as a candidate, miss the opportunity to maximize your opportunities.

52:49Pamela Brown: Julie, how do you think Democrats are doing with their messaging for the midterms? And is it resonating, the Democrats' messaging with voters? You don't really have to message when people can walk into a grocery store and see that the price of everything is up. You don't need to message much when people can't fill up their gas tank up in northern Maine that Liam just spoke about. You don't need to message when tariffs are killing you if you're somebody living in Maine, too. Or they're killing you if you're living in places like Iowa where people can't power their combines because the price of diesel is through the roof.

53:23Or they're getting killed on the border in Texas because there are tariffs that are coming in that are impacting them in that state. I mean, over and over and over again, the reason Democrats are competitive in places like Iowa and Texas and Ohio with Shera Brown and even places like Kansas is because Republican policies are killing their own voters. And when you have something like that happening, Democrats just need to step back and let reality take its course. It's not just that we're in the sixth year of a second term, which would be bad enough anyway. It is that we have a president with historically low, historically low approval ratings because of the policies that he's endangered because of the engendered because of the war that he's decided to get us into because of tariff policies, because of his economic policies, because he cannot stand up to dictators around the world and tell them that American ideals trump whatever that they want to do to put money in the pocket of him and his allies.

54:17I mean, all of these things add up to people in the real world. That's all Democrats need to do is just let people live their lives and they understand that they are much worse off now than they were two years ago.

54:29Pamela Brown: Julie Roginski and Liam Donovan, thanks to both of you very much for joining us.

54:36Pamela Brown: And still ahead, today marks three years since the October 7th terror attacks, the deadliest day in Israel's history.

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56:05Pamela Brown: Happening now, Israel is marking three years since the October 7th, 2023 day. Day, that's the deadliest day in its history, with somber memorials and silence.

56:26Pamela Brown: Earlier today, people stood still at sights of the attacks, marking the exact time when the Hamas-led terrorist assault actually started. About 1 ,200 people were killed, while 251 others were taken hostage. And all this led to Israel's war against Hamas and Gaza. It ended with a so-called ceasefire last October. The Palestinian health ministry says Israeli military operations killed more than 74 ,000 people in Gaza, as the enclave right now is still facing a humanitarian crisis. Less than a month after the October 7th attacks, I went to Israel and spoke with Gali Idan, an Israeli advocate whose husband was kidnapped and daughter was killed by Hamas in Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

57:13Pamela Brown: Here's what she told me. Listen to this. It was a closed casket, of course. You couldn't see it. And they wanted to hug her. And they wanted to, you know, just pet her hair, her curls, and hold her hand. And they couldn't. They were older sister. Yes. And they admired her. She was a loving kind. She was a ray of light. She was pure, pure good. Seriously, she was so good. I don't understand how can you kill. It's like killing a unicorn. You can never kill a unicorn.

57:52Pamela Brown: It was so sad indeed. Seeing as Jeremy Diamond is joining us now from Tel Aviv. He's been covering the terror attacks and the conflict that followed for three years now. Jeremy, beyond all the memorials today, how are Israelis reflecting on the tragic events of October 7th? And how is it impacting the political climate right now in Israel? They're getting ready for elections for the Knesset, for the Israeli parliament, what, at the end of this month. Well, Wolf, that duality really is the right way to frame this day today and how this day feels in Israel three years on. It began with very somber moments of reflection as many Israelis marked that 6.29 a.m.

58:35start of that Hamas-led attack on October 7th with a moment of silence, commemoration ceremonies that took place along the Gaza border and many of those kibbutzes that were hardest hit by those Hamas attacks. But as the day has gone on, Wolf, what we have also seen has been public protests and grassroots organizations' efforts to call attention to another issue here, which is the lack of accountability internally in Israel for how one of Israel's worst security failures of all time managed to transpire and why there still hasn't been an independent commission of inquiry established. Prime Minister Netanyahu has resisted calls from many of the bereaved families and survivors of that day to establish such a commission.

59:24But it is now a central issue in this electoral campaign slated to take place with elections in just a few weeks time now. Now, Gadi Eisenkot, the leading opposition candidate running to replace Prime Minister Netanyahu, has vowed that that will be his first act in office, if he is elected as Prime Minister, to step into office and establish that independent commission of inquiry. But again, by and large, Wolf, this is certainly a very, very somber day in Israel. It is also the first time that Israel is marking the October 7th anniversary without any hostages still being held in Gaza, a moment that has brought joy to many families whose living hostages came out, but also a difficult moment for the families of some of those, such as Hirsch Goldberg Polin, an American-Israeli who was captured alive but was killed in captivity.

1:00:16I spoke with his mother, Rachel Goldberg Polin, just last week, and she told me that she is still living with that grief. She described it, Wolf, as living in a cage of suffering. Wolf.

1:00:26Pamela Brown: All right, Jeremy Diamond and Tel Aviv for us. Thank you very, very much. More than 40 Americans were killed in the October 7th attacks, while Hamas took some eight other Americans hostage, many of them dual American-Israeli citizens. At the time, Brett McGurk was the White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa under the Biden administration. He was at the forefront of negotiations to release the U.S. hostages. And now he gives a firsthand account of these efforts in a brand new book entitled Brink. There you see the cover. Inside the Race to Free, the October 7th Hostages. Brett is also a CNN Global Affairs Analyst.

1:01:05Pamela Brown: He joins me in the Situation Room right now. Brett, you've written a really amazing book. You can't put it down once you start reading it. Thanks very much for writing it because you lived through it personally. You led a lot of these talks, which involved ongoing Biden administration and Trump administration discussions that were taking place. take us inside the talks and the cooperation between the various political rivals at the time. You know, if it's great to be here, I'm reflecting on the time. I was probably in the Oval Office at this hour three years ago as this was all unfolding. And President Biden said to us, you know, very early on, he had a meeting with all the missing, the families of the missing Americans, and we still don't know who was alive, who was dead.

1:01:48And I'll never forget this one woman. she left the screen, she came back wailing because she learned over the course of the call that her loved one was actually confirmed dead. And the president said to me at the time in the Oval Office, we've got to do everything we can to get the hostages home. And that began what was really an intertwined process, Wolf, between trying to stop the war with the ceasefire and release the hostages. They were both connected. And you had irreconcilable positions because Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, the mastermind of October 7th, he had a demand on the table. He said, we will stay in power.

1:02:24We'll go back to the October 6th status quo if you want the hostages back. That was their core demand. Israel, of course, after October 7th, then what happened three years ago this day, said Hamas will never be allowed to stay in power in Gaza. And the story is kind of how we try to bridge that as best we can. And a month into the war, wolf we got us we had a ceasefire people forget this all women and children have to come out that was very difficult to negotiate it's in the book all women and children for eight days in november of 2023 the war stopped uh hasa just started coming out a month after the war and on the eighth night december 1st about midnight here in washington i describe it in the book because hamas said you know we're going to hold on to the younger women we're not going to release them these are the women from the Nova music festival many taken from their homes let's just maybe skip to the older men start talking about the older men and you have this moral quandary it's the perversion of hostage negotiation what hostage takers do what do you do you keep the ceasefire going you say okay well let's talk about the older men who are also in bad shape including an American Keith Siegel who's in the book or say no you broke the deal and the Israelis are unanimous if we skip the younger women who are being treated horribly we'll never get them out and the war started again that night and I go through that moment just one of many moments in the book because you know I did not anticipate at that moment it would take another 14 months to get back to a deal but that you know that is the the diff almost impossible challenge of this horrific crisis and I tried to just put it down in the book wolf so readers are in the room, you know, you are overseas, you're with Netanyahu, you're with the intelligence chiefs, with Hamas downstairs, Israel on another floor.

1:04:13And it just, I try to put the reader front and center to live through this, what it was like.

1:04:19Pamela Brown: One of the most compelling elements of Brink, you were in the room with President Biden during very sensitive phone conversations he had with Prime Minister Netanyahu. They were very sensitive indeed, and sometimes very tense. Can you tell us a little bit about that. Yeah, the two men have known each other for decades. And as Joe Biden used to say about Netanyahu, you know, Bibi, I love you. I don't agree with anything you say, but I love you. And but, you know, this this all all these conflicting objectives and aims came together at key moments. I tell one in the book in April of 2024. President Biden is just frustrated.

1:04:55Hostage talks have stopped. The war is getting worse. There was a strike against eight workers from the Jose Andres World Central Kitchen. At the same time, we know Iran is about to launch 100 ballistic missiles or more at Israel, unprecedented events. And we are so in the same moment of that frustration, the president is deploying U.S. military forces to help defend Israel. And so what do you do? How do you use power leverage incentives to try to get out of something like that that also then presents a path to try to ending the war, getting the hostages home. And that story is there because what we did, you know, the president said to Bibi on that call, look, I'm going to help defend Israel.

1:05:38I'm going to deploy U.S. military forces to help do that. We built a coalition of Arabs and European states. It's an extraordinary sequence of events. General Carrillo, the commander of CENTCOM, very central to this. And we did help defend Israel that night. And then President Biden said to Bibi, you know, he used some colorful language, I won't quote on air, but let's get back to the, we're going to get back to this deal and try to get the hostages out and the war. And within a few weeks, we had a deal on the table. And it goes back to this point I mentioned from the November talks, Hamas, once again, they don't answer.

1:06:11Israel's accepted a deal. We wait five weeks for an answer. There's a number of moments like that that I go through, again, bringing the reader inside the process. It's an important, especially on this day. It's just I'm honored to be here.

1:06:24Pamela Brown: One of the most fascinating details, inside information you give us in this book, Brink, is that in the days leading up to October 7, three years ago, there were ongoing talks with Arab countries to further improve relations with Israel, including even Saudi Arabia, that potentially was on the brink of establishing formal diplomatic relations with Israel. But there are these reports that the United Arab Emirates, the leadership, gave Netanyahu advance word that Hamas was planning an attack. Was the U.S. aware of that? And did the U.S. get that advance word that Hamas was planning an attack? Well, you're right.

1:07:04On October 6, I had the Saudis in my office talking about this deal with the Israelis just hours before the attack started. I say in the book, we had no warnings or indicators in our system. And the Israelis did not from what they told us. I was not aware of a pre-warning. But this gets to what you had President Herzog on earlier in the show. Israel has to have a commission of inquiry about what happened, what was missed. That's very clear. We had it after 9-11. Israel desperately needs that.

1:07:32Pamela Brown: Yeah, I totally agree. All right, the book is entitled Brink. Here you see the cover right here. Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages. Brett McGurk is the author. Thanks very much for writing this important book. Thank you. I appreciate it very, very much. And we're going to take a quick break, and we'll be right back.

1:07:53Pamela Brown: New this morning, the Associated Press is reporting that shock gloves in the works for immigration agents to use were found to cause intense pain and fear. Those findings are from a previously unreleased U.S. Army study. It was announced in August that ICE signed a nearly$20 million contract for 6 ,000 pairs of these shock gloves. CNN's Brian Todd is here with me in the Situation Room. What are you learning this morning? We have an update on this case, Wolf. As you remember, in August, we were here in the Situation Room reporting that ICE had planned to spend between$10 to$20 million to purchase these gloves.

1:08:31The gloves are called CTG5GLOVE for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter. They are manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC. The company says the gloves are intended to de-escalate confrontations and encounters with people. Now, there is new reporting from the Associated Press that a previously unreleased study by the U.S. Army found that the gloves worked so powerfully during a military exercise that participants who used them felt intense pain, that they stopped fighting immediately, and that they feared additional exposures. The shocks, according to the Associated Press, had a profound impact on Army employees who played the roles of combative prisoners during the exercise, which took place at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas in October of 2024.

1:09:21It's important to note that time because, according to the Associated Press, Because ICE leaders, leaders of ICE, were aware of those findings before they signed a$16.7 million contract to purchase 6 ,000 pairs of the shock gloves. Again, that was back in August when that was signed, when we first reported on this. They were aware of these findings before they signed that contract. That is according to documents obtained by the watchdog group American Oversight and shared with the Associated Press. Again, these gloves, you see an image of them there. They're called CTG-5-GLOVE, Generated Low Output Voltage Emitters.

1:09:59They are manufactured by compliant technologies. They apparently, according to experts, can deliver a maximum voltage of up to 380 volts that, quote, inhibits and distracts the subject from performing coordinated muscle movements. The manual says no more than two gloves should be applied to a person at one time, and they would have to, as these demonstrations that you're seeing on camera right now that we showed you previously. as they show you, those gloves have to come in contact directly with the skin. They don't work through clothing or other items there. So that's another important thing.

1:10:31Now, these gloves do have critics. The National Immigration Law Center, again, this is when we reported this in August, said, quote, this is a rogue agency with an$80 billion slush fund that allows them to concoct and fund new ways to visit cruelty upon our communities. And they called it, quote, disgusting and barbaric. But again, the Department of Homeland Security and other advocates for using these say that they can conceivably safely de-escalate situations and can do it very quickly without using more dangerous, non-lethal methods of subduing people.

1:11:04Pamela Brown: But again, Wolf, the headline now, again, new reporting from the Associated Press, this previously unreported, unreleased study by the U.S. Army found that the gloves worked so powerfully during military training exercises that participants felt intense pain that they stopped fighting immediately and that they feared additional exposures. And they tested these on Army employees who were playing the role of combative prisoners in these tests. So, again, does that mean that they're dangerous? That means maybe they need more testing. We don't really know. We're going to continue to dig on this. All right, Brian, I know you will.

1:11:37Pamela Brown: Thank you very, very much. Also happening now, we're watching to see if and when the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool right here in the nation's capital is filled up again. Its renovation over the past several months has been plagued by problems. But now President Trump says the fixes are done. Listen. Well, we had vandalism there, and we have it about as vandal-proof as you can get. But only sick people do that. And we have their pictures. We have them. But sick people do that. Yes, starting, I think they're going to fill it up this week. The reflecting pool is totally complete. And we changed the old pipes.

1:12:17We wanted to get open for July 4th. And now we went and got rid of all of the old pipes, which we were going to do later or during the winter. We did it. And I think it's almost complete from what I am.

1:12:28Pamela Brown: The Trump administration blamed vandals for destroying the reflecting pool, but a filing from the U.S. Justice Department pointed to what was described as hasty and botched work. Let's go to CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak. Kevin, what's the latest on these renovations? Right. And it's clear from what the president is saying there that he thinks that this saga is coming to an end. Remember, this is now months and months behind schedule. They had hoped to get this open by July 4th. That went completely awry when you saw those algae blooms, when you saw the liner that the president had ordered up for the reflecting pool start peeling out.

1:13:08And the president is not backing off his claims that that was due to vandals, despite evidence to the contrary, including from his own Justice Department. Remember, the U.S. attorney for Washington, Janine Pirro, had to pull back her indictment of an individual who she initially accused of vandalism after the Justice Department said it had gotten additional information from the Interior Department saying that this was caused by a botched installation by a contractor. And now the man that was initially indicted before it was being pulled back, his name is David Hearn. He's a former Olympian. Now his lawyers are asking inspectors general for both the Interior Department and the Justice Department to investigate senior officials there, accusing them of knowing that the renovation of the pool was failing when they brought those indictments.

1:14:04He is accusing them of incompetence and wrongdoing and saying that, quote, anything less than a full and fair review would be a betrayal of your mission.

1:14:15Pamela Brown: All right, Kevin Liptak with the latest on the Reflecting Pool. Thank you very, very much. Coming up, a front row seat to history, the man behind some of the most iconic photos standing by to join us. What he's learned by being in the room for 60 years.

1:14:37Pamela Brown: HAPPENING NOW, ISRAEL IS REMEMBERING THE DEADLIEST DAY IN ITS HISTORY. IT WAS THREE YEARS AGO TODAY. MORE THAN 1 ,200, 1 ,200 PEOPLE WERE KILLED WHEN HAMAS-LED GUNMEN STORMED ISRAELY COMMUNITIES ALONG THE BORDER WITH GAZA. MORE THAN 250 PEOPLE WERE ALSO TAKEN HOSTAGE THAT DAY. AMONG THE CAPTIVES WAS OMER SHEMTOV. Hamas kidnapped him and took him into Gaza, where he was held captive for 505 days. In February 2025, he released during what was then a temporary ceasefire. Omer is joining us now. Omer, thanks very much for joining us. First of all, I know you're now in the United States. How are you choosing to mark this day?

1:15:20Pamela Brown: And what is most important to you to remember about this day? Hi, Wolf. Thank you for having me, first of all. for me the best way to mark this day is first of all share and speak about my story and share the story of those who unfortunately did not make it we've lost so many lives we've lost so many friends and I'm here to spread their story I'm here to shout their scream How have you been navigating, Omer, the transition back to your daily routines, your family life, and coping with the dual life so many former hostages often describe between leading a life of freedom and the lingering memories from their captivity in Gaza?

1:16:17It's been very hard for the last year and eight months now. I've been really something like that. And it's, so from the day that I came back home, I started to advocate and to share my story. I was all over the US and I can share with you that I was, at some point I was really stuck in just sharing my story, going over from place to place. And at some point it felt like really automatic in some way. And I kind of lost myself. I'm suffering from PTSD like many, many other of my friends the Israelis and it's been hard but it's day after day and it's work and for me I gotta keep moving I'm not giving up on myself and not on any other not on any other one

1:17:16Pamela Brown: Since your release you've not only traveled in the United States you've traveled in many places around the world you've met with world leaders You've been speaking about your time in captivity. Tell us once again why it is so important to you to share your story. Has this helped you and other hostages? And I know you've spoken with many of them to cope following that horrible, traumatizing experience during your days in captivity in Gaza.

1:17:46Well, more than just sharing light and experience from what I've been through. it's also for people to understand a bit about us, about Israelis, to show the other side that at the end they were humans. I've been in many, many college campuses. I've spoken with every side, with every color of the rainbow. And I can share with you that sometimes when you speak with someone and you also listen to them, you can come to somehow to an agreement. So for me, I became somehow an ambassador for maybe my state and also for the remaining hostages, released hostages, sorry, and Israelis.

1:18:45Pamela Brown: I know that last March you had a chance to meet with President Trump inside the White House. Can you take us a little bit inside? We're showing our viewers a picture of you inside the Oval Office with the president. Yeah, I can share that the president was very, very caring. He listened. He cared. He really wanted the hostages to come back home. I told him personally that I believe that he has the power to do it. And if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here today. He made the deal happen. And I'm very thankful for him. And yeah, he was very caring, very thankful for that. And I see him shaking his hand at that time.

1:19:32Pamela Brown: Omer Shem Tov, thanks very much for being with us on this very, very sensitive and important day. We'll be right back. Happening now, we're just a few weeks away from the next big election here in the United States. the midterms could determine which party controls Congress after November. Of course, every election is impactful, and my next guest has seen his fair share of them firsthand. David Hume Kennerly is a veteran and Peelitzer Prize-winning photographer. He's covered presidents going back to Lyndon B. Johnson, documented a dozen presidential campaigns, and worked in dozens of countries.

1:20:09Pamela Brown: Now he's revisiting some of the most iconic moments he's captured in his brand new book entitled In the Room, 60 Years on the Front Lines of American History. It comes out the week of Thanksgiving. And right now, David is with us in the Situation Room. You and I go way back. I cover the White House. You were there all the time. You were getting all this access in the Oval Office, getting all this access on Air Force One. It was pretty amazing what was going on. It was fun. I mean, I'm a kid from a little lumber town in Oregon, and every time I'd go through the gates of the White House, it was just kind of stunning for me, really.

1:20:50Pamela Brown: What has it taught you about our country, the fact that you were there to witness really historic, powerful moments? Well, part of, obviously, the guy I worked for, Gerald R. Ford, is the official photographer. White House official photographer and was an incredible situation for me because as you know as a reporter and with me as a Time Magazine photographer we kind of have our nose pressed up against the window wishing we could be on the other side to find out what's really going on and that's what happened to me President Ford gave me that opportunity to go inside show what's really going on and you determined what you would put out there what you would release it was not up to the White House right?

1:21:38Yeah pretty much I didn't like releasing photos as much as I liked having other photographers from the outside come in to take their own pictures that you knew a lot of like Dirk Halstead, Wally McNamee and all these people I just never felt like a PR guy and I would only put out pictures if no one else could get them if it was a bit of classified meeting or something like that.

1:22:03Pamela Brown: And as I said you had access inside the Oval Office aboard Air Force One for decades. Is there anything special that stands out to you from all of that ability, that coverage? Well, what really stands out is it's better to be on the inside than the outside, where I spent most of my time. But the outside could be good, too. When Reagan was meeting with Gorbachev in Iceland. I got a picture from the camera stand that was the cover of the magazine. It was a moment, it was a real moment where the Star Wars issue came up and all that. But I've had really good luck with almost every administration access-wise.

1:22:47Pamela Brown: It was really amazing. I spent seven years as a White House correspondent, and I always saw you, and I was wondering, how come I'm not allowed to do what you were doing? You You had incredible access during all of the years I was a White House correspondent for CNN. Well, reporters, it's just different because your job is to write down what people are saying and my job is to take pictures as they say it. And President Ford said my tombstone should read, here lies the worst source in Washington. And I'm sure you could verify that I never gave you any inside info because photographers, not just me, depend on trust as our currency.

1:23:26Pamela Brown: And I'm going to show our viewers, this is your book. It's the heaviest book I've ever had. It's a very heavy book, a lot of pages, a lot of pictures, a lot of great photography in this book entitled In the Room, 60 Years on the Front Lines of History. Thanks so much. Is there one specific consequential moment that always stands out to you? Photographing Anwar Sadat in front of the pyramids for Time magazine's Man of the Year. After he made peace with Israel. That's right. A subject that's near and dear to your heart. Yeah. I was there when Jimmy Carter was negotiating the Camp David Accords and then they went to the White House, signed the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty.

1:24:07Pamela Brown: Egypt was then the major military threat to Israel and it was pretty amazing what President Carter had managed to do during his—you were at Camp David too, right? Yes, when it ended. But the best shot, which is in the book, is Prime Minister Begin and President Sadat with Carter doing a three-way handshake in the East Room. And that was a real moment, even though it was in front of the cameras. It was so important. It was really a powerful moment indeed. Smartphones have nowadays, as you know, made it increasingly easy for ordinary people like me to capture our own images. Where do you see the role of the press photographer in today's environment?

1:24:46Well, I think you hit it on the nose. Ordinary people taking ordinary pictures. Like me. So I get paid for the way I see things. And I think professional photographers, the iPhone is never going to get in the way of what we do. I think we are school trained experience and catching the right moment.

1:25:08Pamela Brown: It was really an amazing time for you. I know you enjoyed every minute of it, right? Not every minute. I would say... Every other minute. David, this is the book. I'm going to lift it up once again, show it to our viewers. It comes out November 24th. It's really an excellent, wonderful book. I recommend it highly. Thank you. I appreciate it. Brought back for me a lot of memories, too, and I'm sure for you. Well, this is Rizzoli Publish Set. They're one of the best, if not the best, art book publishers in the world. and this is a little bit off track for them as a photojournalism book. Of all the presidents you took pictures of, which one stands out to you the most?

1:25:49You mean after President Ford, of course. You know, they all are so unique. Richard Nixon, and I've been at the big history moments where, like, Nixon waved goodbye after resigning the presidency, and Ford because I knew him the best. but Bill Clinton was great to photograph Reagan all of them really. Yeah, Jimmy Carter. Jimmy Carter, although he beat my boss I didn't like him for that.

1:26:21Pamela Brown: Thank you for that. Thanks very much and to our viewers you'll enjoy the book. Thanks very much for joining us. We'll be back here tomorrow morning every weekday morning 10 a.m. Eastern for two hours Inside Politics with Dana Bash starts after a quick break.

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