Trump Blitzes Seven States as Approval Hits Record Low

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1:02Happening now, presidential midterm push. President Trump is blitzing seven states in seven days, but with a new poll showing his approval rating is at a record low. Will this help the GOP? Plus, reeling from fiery protests the French president demands those behind the chaos must be held accountable.

1:21Pamela Brown: Tragedy at a youth soccer field. A six-year-old child and a 35-year-old man were killed after a woman drove her pickup truck on the field. What officials are now learning about what led to this and why the driver has now been released. And later, deadly fire at a Canadian military base. Four Canadian service members killed and dozens more injured in a major fire during a training exercise. How a grass fire spread out of control. 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.

2:05Pamela Brown: Happening now, with just 15 days left until Election Day, President Trump's approval rating has hit a new low at 33%, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll. But despite these very low poll numbers, President Trump has headed out to rally Republicans in seven states this week, starting tonight in Kansas, followed by stops in North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, Florida, Georgia, and Michigan. All key states that Republicans need to win to keep control of the U.S. Senate. The campaign blitz comes as voters can now begin casting early ballots in person, starting today in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, North Dakota, South Carolina, and Texas.

2:54Pamela Brown: Let's go live right now to CNN senior national correspondent Ed Levandere. He's joining us from McKinney, Texas. Ed, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott is just moments away, I'm told, from casting his ballot. Polls show the Texas Senate race as a toss-up. How are the candidates trying to turn out their voters? Well, now with early voting starting underway, this is going to be the key, obviously, for these candidates to start focusing on their voters. Ken Paxton is starting a tour of the state. Tallarico is also doing much of the same, doing as many events as possible, we imagine, here in the last few days.

3:33Pamela Brown: We're in McKinney, Texas. And, Wolf, this is kind of a key location because this is Ken Paxton's home turf. This is where he lives. And there is going to be a great deal of attention, I think, focused on suburban voters, which have historically been kind of a Republican enclave here in Texas. So we'll be interested to see how these Republican voters, do they stick with Paxton? Do they switch over to Tallarico? Because we've seen so many polls here in the last few weeks suggesting that Democrats are in some of the better positions that they've been in in quite some time. Remember, it's been more than 30 years since a Democrat has won a statewide election here in this state.

4:10Pamela Brown: And interest obviously is very high. This is a library in McKinney, Texas. The line has been out the door. Polls opened just about an hour ago. So a great deal of interest. and a variety of issues that are top of mind among some of the Paxson voters we've spoken to. They say that they are not dissuaded by the charges and the accusations of corruption and that sort of thing. They say they believe that he's just better for them. But you can get a little bit of a taste of what these two candidates will be saying about each other here in the final days in their closing messages. A vote for James Tallarico is not just a vote for his radical agenda.

4:48it's a vote for Chuck Schumer to run the Senate. It's a vote for every dangerous idea that Democrats across the country are putting forward right now. This is our moment to draw the line in the sand. We can't afford gas or groceries or health care because the system has been rigged by billionaires and corrupt politicians like Ken Paxton. This election is about whether you want a senator who is for Texas or for himself.

5:20Pamela Brown: and wolf you know one of the other things we talked to voters about here this morning is that the intensity of the campaign ads uh here in this election cycle has been so intense that for the first time in a very long time many voters here feeling like texas is a true battleground this time around wolf all right at lavendera thank you so much and i want to note at the bottom of your screen you can keep up with to date with all the latest early voting numbers We also are having some breaking news just coming in. An Australian lawmaker is in critical condition after being hit by a car right outside of her electoral office.

5:53Witnesses rushed to help her and detained the car's driver until police arrived. The country's prime minister is calling this a deliberate act. Police say a knife was found during the search of the car. So far, they haven't offered any motive. And happening now, cleanup is underway in Paris following major nationwide protests this weekend. Over half a million people hit the street Saturday protesting education and the cost of living. Look at this. A 143-year-old town hall building in one city was heavily damaged after it was set on fire. More than 2 ,000 people were arrested. French President Emmanuel Macron is vowing to hold those responsible accountable, but also says those demonstrators have, quote, legitimate demands.

6:41These demonstrators express concern about the cost of living and fuel prices, which stem from the conflict that began in the Persian Gulf, a conflict in which France has taken no part, but whose consequences we are suffering. Those who destroyed property must pay. Those who looted must reimburse the damage. Those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable. All right, CNN senior international correspondent Melissa Bell has more from Paris.

7:11Here at Place de la République, where so much of the rioting and looting took place on Saturday night and again on Sunday, with those fresh clashes that involved rioters and police, the cleanup operation continues as it does in other French cities. A great deal of anger being expressed by the mayors of some of France's biggest cities this Monday, given the police response, or rather the lack of an adequate police response, and given the extensive damage that the country's seen. We've been hearing from the French president on Sunday night a great deal of criticism about what President Macron had to say and how few concrete concessions or solutions he was suggesting.

7:49Politicians from across the political spectrum have really turned on that address to the nation as really not meeting what people were expecting to hear, concrete decisions about what could be done. We've been hearing also this Monday from the Prime Minister about his fears for the next few months. This raises several questions for us.

8:09Pamela Brown: The first being how to protect this very democratic framework, the presidential election. There's no way we will allow violent minorities to impose an agenda of violence and prevent us from holding this election. For me, this raises the issue of candidate safety, personal safety. It raises the issue of safety at campaign rallies, regardless of the political parties. That election is just six months away. President Macron will stand down and it is the void really left by his centrist policies over the last few years that's attracted a lot of debate and a lot of anger. The rise also of the extremes, the fact that the far right leads the polls, The fact that the far left is making such progress in the polls is considered sort of fertile ground for a particularly polarized presidential campaign.

8:57And as authorities fear, potentially much more of these kinds of protests ahead already. The Yellow Vests who were here last Saturday are planning a fresh protest next Saturday. Melissa Belsien and Paris. All right, Melissa, thank you so much. Wolf.

9:15Pamela Brown: And still ahead, school shooting investigation. What officials are learning about why a 16-year-old former student forced his way into an Oregon elementary school and killed three children and a teacher. And then later escalating strikes and a growing rift. President Trump is now slamming Ukrainian President Zelensky as Russia and Ukraine trade more attacks. CNN's Kristen Holmes is following this. President Trump attacking leader Zelensky. We will tell you how we got here, what each of the leaders are saying, and what might happen next after the break.

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10:44With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your$1 per month trial at shopify.com slash special offer. Happening now, Ukraine is assessing the damage from an overnight barrage of ballistic missiles from Russia. And Ukraine's president is saying once again, his country received no advance warning from its partners. Tensions between Washington and Kiev are spiking. Over the weekend, Ukraine defied President Trump and launched one of its biggest drone attacks on Russia this year, hitting an oil terminal. And that comes after Trump suspended sanctions on Russia and buy diesel fuel from the regime that invaded Ukraine.

11:24President Zelensky has bitterly criticized this deal that benefits Moscow. can ukraine win this war without the united states president zelensky very difficult if it's without united states support it's very difficult but if united states will support putin i mean it's unbelievable it's tragedy it's historic mistake and big tragedy

11:55We are covering all the angles seen as Kristen Holmes is at the White House and Claire Sebastian is in London. Kristen, what are you hearing from the administration? Well, the administration is clearly not happy with Zelensky's words there. We saw President Trump lashing out overnight. I want to show you exactly what he posted. Now, it's a very lengthy screed, but I do want to read at least some parts of it. It says, my decision on Russia is a very simple one. And of course, Pamela, as he's talking about there, you mentioned this, invoking that waiver to really exempt Russia from these sweeping economic penalties.

12:27He says, I'm in the process of negotiating peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and I don't want to do anything that will drive foolishly Russia away from the bargaining table. He goes on to say Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help the Islamic Republic of Iran compared to what they could be doing. So that's interesting in itself. And I want to keep it that way and will unless stupid people get in the way. Lastly, Zelensky is using diesel refineries in Russia as a target, knowing these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States.

13:00Then he takes us to a whole other level, saying Zelensky doesn't care. And frankly, with all the money that Europe is famously giving him and crooked Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn't want this war to end and probably never did. Now, he's made accusations like this before, but you can just see this escalation. I mean, a reminder, on Friday, he was asked specifically about his relationship with Zelensky. And after first saying he was frustrated with him, then he said they had a good working relationship. Now we're back to this. And there has been bipartisan criticism, including from Republicans, on this effort to waive these sanctions for Russia.

13:31So you saw Chris Wright, the secretary of energy, trying to defend that over the weekend. Here's what he said. He didn't end the Lindsey Graham sanctions. He just suspended the enforcement of them for now. He had 30 days to look at it. Because there's a lot of moving parts in this conflict right now. Those powers are all still there for him to be used at the appropriate time. And just a reminder, Lindsey Graham had been a big proponent of pushing that bill while he was still alive. That's why he said he didn't end the Lindsey Graham sanctions. But if you're looking at President Trump's words and looking at what Chris Wright said, It appears that the reason is because he's trying to placate Russia by here saying that he doesn't want to do anything to rock the boat, particularly with the war in Iran, which is not going to be an answer that a lot of people want to hear.

14:20All right. So, Claire, I want to bring you in now because there were a lot of military strikes between Russia and Ukraine that are happening amid all of this. Tell us more. Yeah, look, in that Truth Social post that Kristen referred to, Trump talked about great progress that he's making towards ending this war. I think that is not how it feels on the ground to Ukrainians, or frankly to Russians in some parts of Russia.

14:42Pamela Brown: We saw another barrage against Ukraine overnight into Monday involving not only drones, including jet-powered drones, these incredibly difficult-to-avert new showerheads equipped with jet engines, but also ballistic and cruise missiles. And President Zelensky, as you said, claimed that he did not get early warning from his partners, as he has said several times in the past week. So we are in a situation now where this issue of U.S. intelligence is once again raising tensions between the U.S. and Ukraine. President Zelensky, as I said, claiming that he didn't get that early warning just hours earlier in an interview with NBC's Meet the Press.

15:17He had said that intelligence was blocked for a period of time in the past week and then de-blocked, in his words.

15:24Pamela Brown: And we heard Secretary of State Marco Rubio come out swinging against this and saying he doesn't know where Zelensky had got that from, that there was no pause. So that is one source of tension. Meanwhile, Ukrainian attacks on Russia also continue. We saw one of the biggest attacks of the war, or at least of this year, targeting St. Petersburg overnight into Sunday. Not only an oil terminal, but a data center, a logistics center. I think, look, it's clear that Ukraine tried at a point in the past week to abide by President Trump's energy ceasefire that he called unilaterally when it was clear that Russia was not going to abide by that.

15:57And we saw more Russian energy attacks also on Ukraine overnight. Ukraine had to resume these strikes despite the risk, of course, of incurring the wrath of the U.S. president. So we're back to this sort of tit-for-tat air war, both sides trying to hit each other economically and certainly in the Russian aspect to sort of break the resolve of the Ukrainian people. Pamela. All right, Claire Sebastian and Kristen Holmes, thank you both. Wolf.

16:21Pamela Brown: And coming up, President Trump's complete and total endorsement. New CNN reporting on what led the president of the United States to throw his weight behind the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, only a few days before Election Day in Israel.

16:43Pamela Brown: happening now with just a few days to go before the Israeli election. President Trump has come out with a very strong endorsement of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump said in part, and I'm quoting him now, Bibi Netanyahu has been a great warrior, prime minister, and an even greater partner for peace, end quote. Netanyahu also responded on social media saying, and I'm quoting him now, thank you for the extraordinary endorsement. Israel has never had a greater friend in the White House, end quote. President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu have had a rather rocky relationship in Trump's second term.

17:20Pamela Brown: Despite being allies in the Iran war, Netanyahu has drawn President Trump's anger over several issues, including Israel's strikes inside Lebanon and Gaza. Let's go live right now to CNN Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond. Jeremy, President Trump's popularity in Israel has softened dramatically. So is this endorsement likely to give Prime Minister Netanyahu's campaign much of a boost? Well, it's certainly been a temporary boost, at least for the Israeli Prime Minister with his own supporters. And it allows Netanyahu to continue to kind of make the case that he is the guy that's got the best relationship with the American president, a critical relationship for any Israeli prime minister.

18:03But as you point out, Wolf, it seems that the benefits of that endorsement will be relatively limited with the election now eight days away. And in large part, that has to do with the fact that President Trump's own favorability here in Israel has somewhat declined, even though he remains a broadly popular figure. You look at this poll from the Jewish People's Policy Institute in August showing that the number of Israelis expressing a great deal of trust in President Trump dropped to just 10 percent from 34 percent a few months before that. And a lot of that has to do with the kind of rift that eventually developed between the United States and Israel as the war with Iran dragged on and as it caused, you know, domestic and economic problems for President Trump back in the United States.

18:54But by and large, this election that's just eight days away now, Wolf, is going to be viewed as a referendum on the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on his handling of the security failure on October 7th, his handling of the wars that have engulfed Israel and this region over the three years since then. And right now, the Netanyahu government bloc and the opposition bloc are running basically neck and neck with maybe a slight advantage to the change bloc, as it's known, led by Gadi Eisenkot, a former Israeli military chief of staff who is running to replace the Israeli prime minister.

19:32But in Israel's parliamentary politics, Wolf, anything can really happen. It is going to be a nail biter of an election happening at the end of next week with certainly something that, you know, a minimal impact by President Trump's endorsement here, but not something that's going to shake up this race altogether. Wolf.

19:51Pamela Brown: All right, Jeremy Diamond reporting from Jerusalem. Thank you very, very much. Pamela. All right, Wolf, coming up here in the Situation Room, major fire investigation, how a grass fire spread and then killed four Canadian service members and injured another 39 people at a base. We're going to have details on that just ahead.

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20:57Pamela Brown: Officials say it happened during a combat training activity when strong winds caused a grass fire to shift rapidly. Here's how one witness described this truly horrific scene. I seen a guy run by me that had his pants blown off. all he was was in his blue underwear you know. I seen burns, I seen people that were getting unloaded out of the back of that military vehicle that were wrapped in pretty much tinfoil. I heard people screaming inside of those vehicles you know that will never end up being out of my mind. Like I said it was just a scene from a war movie. We're getting new video of the moment when a 34-year-old woman drove her pickup truck onto a youth soccer field, killing a six-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man.

21:48Pamela Brown: Ten others were injured. I want to warn our viewers, this video is incredibly disturbing. You can hear the tires of the truck screeching. Listen.

22:07Pamela Brown: The driver of the truck has been released pending toxicology results and a mechanical examination of her vehicle. Other news, Pope Leo made his first major public appearance after undergoing lung cancer surgery. The 71-year-old pontiff led a prayer from the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square. He thanked his doctors and all those who prayed for him. Doctors say he has made a good recovery following his surgery. Next hour, we'll be joined by Father Edward Beck on the wider impact of all of this on Catholics. Pamela. All right, Wolf. The same economic frustrations among Latino voters that helped reelect President Trump could now cost Republicans control of Congress.

22:51CNN's Our Let's Signs looks at why one of the largest groups of swing voters is shifting toward Democrats.

22:58Pamela Brown: We had to make a difference. Mayumi Castro Fernandez is knocking doors in Miami for this election. But this time she's walking a different path after regretting her vote for President Trump in 2024. The gas, the food, everything go up. He don't make one promise that he did in that time. She's among the Latino voters who could decide the midterm elections, as an NBC News Telemundo poll showed only 27 percent of Latino voters approve of Trump's performance. President Trump flipped Miami-Dade County in the last election, the first Republican to win here since 1988, and that victory was fueled in large part by Hispanic voters.

23:53Domino Park in Little Havana sits in the 27th Congressional District, where two former TV anchors are facing off, GOP Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar and Democrat Elliot Rodriguez. USA! USA! We did not vote for this economy. Salazar won by more than 20 points in 2024, but is now facing deep voter anxiety over the cost of living and Trump's aggressive immigration enforcement. As South Florida feels the sting of Trump's immigration crackdown, Salazar pushed back with this ad. Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far. I think voters in this district are smart enough to see through this and see these crocodile tears.

24:41She voted for these policies. Carina Castillo, a Venezuelan American in a neighboring district, voted for Trump in 2024, but now regrets it, in part because of his immigration actions. I saw all the executive orders that he signed, and I start comparing to the Constitution of the United States. I saw all the violations of the law. At the time, I got scared. Kevin Cooper, chair of the Miami-Dade GOP, argues the Democratic alternative doesn't sit well with many voters who have fled socialist countries and may see similarities. Are we going to be free or are we going to continue to embrace socialism from the left?

25:20And the left cannot win. That's not an ideology that people are willing to accept. Castro Fernandez is turning her frustration into action, canvassing with her local union. We need to change. I change my mind. They can change too. Arlette Saenz, thank you so much. Wolf?

25:40Pamela Brown: To discuss how plummeting Latino support for Republicans could impact the midterm elections, joining us now is CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona and former National Republican Senatorial Committee aide Liam Donovan. To both of you, thanks very much for joining us, Maria. As you know, a recent Pew Research poll found that Democrats have a 27-point advantage right now over Republicans among registered Hispanic voters in a generic ballot for control of the Congress. 18 % say they haven't decided who they'll vote for yet. That's right, Wolf. And I think your story was very clear as to why the Democrats and the Republicans are in the position that they're in.

26:21Latino voters have always been a swing vote. I know a lot of times my party looked at them as a base vote, and I have always thought that was a mistake because we would take them for granted. It happened in 24. So now I am thrilled that all of our candidates and the party is focusing on Latino voters. They did that from the beginning of this cycle, not at the very end, not as a last minute. And they are focusing on those broken promises that Mayumi just talked about. Donald Trump promised to bring down the cost of groceries, gas and rent, promised to deport just the criminal, most violent, undocumented immigrants.

26:58And he has broken those promises across the board. For Latino voters, they have taken that extremely personal because they trusted him on the issue of the economy and they trusted him to take care of their families. And he is doing completely the opposite by separating families, deporting people to even countries where they don't they've never come from and they don't know anything about. And on the economy, you have failing businesses because people don't even want to come out of their houses. They don't have workers because they've been deported. People don't want to come out on the streets.

27:32They feel unsafe. And so for Latinos, that has been a major, major betrayal. And they are looking at Democrats for the solutions.

27:39Pamela Brown: As you know, Liam, the latest polls show just 24 % of Latino voters approve of President Trump's job. That's down 14 points for when Trump started his second term. Have Republicans taken this key swing group, especially in Florida, for granted? I think first we need to take a step back because these are important data points and interesting statistics. We need to compare that to the broader country. I think the good news for Republicans, particularly in recent cycles and particularly in the 2024 cycle, is Hispanics have become a swing group. This is a group that Democrats are used to, as Maria said, taking for granted they've been getting 60, 70 percent of the vote.

28:16That wasn't true in 2024. And so what you've seen over time is a sort of a depolarization from a racial perspective. It's happened in other groups as well, but Hispanics in particularly. So the good news is Hispanics are voting much more like just the rest of the country. They're being treated as voters, not just as a demographic group. The bad news is right now, Republicans are suffering all over the place. So as the country shifts against Republicans right now, I think it's about a D plus nine generic vote. Hispanics are at something like D plus 27. So if you have to look at that delta, that difference in 2018, Democrats won Hispanics by about 40 points.

28:51So actually winning winning or losing Democrats or Hispanics by 25, 30 points. That's not good. But I think you need to put that in historical perspective. So I don't think Republicans can afford to take Hispanics for granted. But I think the key is thinking about the whole country, thinking about the concerns of Hispanic voters that are the same as the entire country, speaking to those affordability concerns and keeping those margins as small as you can, particularly in key areas like Florida and like Texas.

29:18Pamela Brown: I want to quickly turn, Maria, while I have you guys, to the key Senate race in Michigan unfolding right now between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers. Listen to this exchange between al-Sayed and a voter over the issue of the Muslim Brotherhood. Listen to this. Will you disavow the Muslim Brotherhood? Sure, yeah, absolutely. But I want to ask the question that you're asking. Why are you asking the question? Well, because they're a terrorist group. You're asking the question because implicitly you assume that I'll have dual loyalties. Right? And I'm just telling you that for me that constitution is the guiding light.

29:58Pamela Brown: A former DHS spokesperson for the Trump administration posted this, quote, El-Sayed's campaign posted this thinking he somehow looked good trying to dress down a voter. Now millions are watching the candidate look like an angry, overly defensive jerk, end quote. El-Sayed did disavow the Muslim Brotherhood. So what's your response? I think El-Sayed is right. He did disavow the Muslim Brotherhood, and I think what he actually did was lay bare the strategy, I think the disgusting strategy on behalf of Mike Rogers and Republicans, to try to make this about race, to try to make this about religion, to try to fearmonger, which is frankly, it looks like the only thing they have left.

30:44I think that Mike Rogers is very concerned that El-Sayed will win this race, and he's not focusing on the issues, and this is exactly the point that El-Sayed was making. He is focusing on the issues. El-Sayed is focusing on the issues of the economy, of health care, of education, of everything that keep voters up at night. This is not one of the ones that keep voters up at night. It does keep Mike Rogers up at night because that's the only thing he has to offer.

31:08Pamela Brown: Listen, Liam, to what Republican opponent Mike Rogers had to say about that exchange of El-Sayed disavowing the Muslim Brotherhood. And this is what he said to CNN's Dan Abash. Listen to this. This is about the way you think, not the way you pray. This is about your ideology and how dangerous it is. He didn't disavow it. He goes on this word salad trying to get around the fact that he can't do it. So what do you think? Do you think voters in Michigan care more about this specific issue or overall the economy? I think it's a pattern. I think, you know, if Republicans right now, if they're running on the economy, they're having a tough time.

31:45But I think if you're going to win in individual races, it's making about that choice, that choice between Mike Rogers, who Michiganers know and trust at some level, and this new guy that kind of came and upset the establishment from Democrat side. I think they're very uncomfortable with this. And so if you can call into question - Oh, I don't think we're uncomfortable with that. You are? Okay. We're supporting him. Clearly we're supporting him. And I think that's a point of discomfort when you have the people that had extreme misgivings getting behind him. I think part of this is a function of on a good night, somebody like Abdul Saeed could win.

32:17He's going to run behind the ticket. But you have to make this a choice. You can't run on the big macro issues, particularly as the party in power that's trying to hold power. You need to make it about the choice that voters have, raise questions. And this is about a pattern. Like whatever you say about the Muslim Brotherhood, he has associations and he has things in his past that are not things that voters have heard enough about. And I think, you know, it's completely fair game to press him on those issues and make him defend himself. But see, Liam just admitted that this is the only thing they have left, is focusing on the fear, focusing on the division, focusing on what they believe will scare Michigan voters.

32:53And I think what El-Sayed is trying to bring this back to is that's not what Michigan voters care about. What keeps families up at night, not only in Michigan, everywhere else, is the economy. And Liam just admitted that they can't run on the economy. And this is the only thing they have.

33:08Pamela Brown: It's the economy stupid, I think. Exactly. Somebody once said, all right, guys, thank you very, very much. Pamela. Great to have you guys on. All right, coming up here in the Situation Room, a 25-year-old teacher who was working her dream job and three children ages 5, 8, and 11 all killed in a school shooting in Oregon. We're going to bring you their stories just ahead.

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34:50His father posted on social media that his family is broken and lost. The other two students were eight and 11 years old. Their families have requested they not be identified publicly. Megan Lambert was also killed. The 25-year-old taught special education, and she grew up in Central Oregon, the town of Bend, and her family says working at Silver Rail was her dream job. Caleb Jemanko is being praised as a hero. He has two daughters in the school and just happened to be passing by on a lunch break when he saw the gunman shoot a pickup truck in the parking lot. He grabbed his firearm and followed the shooter into the school, where a teacher had thrown her cell phone at the gunman and tackled him.

35:32Jamonco says the struggle and then fired his handgun several times, killing the shooter. He was involved in that struggle. Joining us now is former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe. He is a CNN senior law enforcement analyst. Andy, police have not released a motive for this attack by this 16-year-old boy who was a former student at that school. Walk us through the investigation and where police are looking for clues here. Yeah, Pam, I would expect that the police don't have a clear understanding of the shooter's motive at this point. But the work that they're doing now to get there is super important.

36:12As you know, there won't be a prosecution here. The gunman was dead at the scene. But it's so important to be able to deliver these sorts of answers to the community, to the family members of people injured and killed, to people who were there and experienced it with their children. So investigators are going to be looking for anything that this young man said or read or spoke to friends or wrote down or drew a picture of. They're going to look for every sort of artifact that could shine some light into what his mindset was in the weeks and days leading up to the shooting. And let's remember, he's only 16 years old.

36:52So unlike a mass shooter who's a fully grown adult and who is able to drive themselves and has a job and has lived a longer life, the record that they have that they'll be able to access about this young man's life is going to be considerably shorter. But nevertheless, they're going to talk to family members. They're going to talk to friends. Of course, only the parents of friends and associates first, because all of those sorts of witnesses in this case would also be minors. They're going to look at electronic devices to see what sort of things that this young man was looking at online, whether or not he had any social media accounts, that sort of thing.

37:32And then, of course, writings, drawings, artwork, anything that a kid might have done that would render some sort of self-expression. Police say the gunman opened fire in a special needs classroom and that the 16-year-old had attended special needs classes at that school. How unusual or not is it for a gunman to target his or her former school? You know, unfortunately, it's not unusual in this country at all. We have, you know, numerous, we have over 100 school shootings this year alone. Right now, according to the Gun Violence Archive, we've had, I think, 354 mass shootings in this country as of the end of September.

38:16So the end of the third quarter. That's an increase. We were at 327 at the end of the third quarter last year. So mass shootings are going up on the 292nd day of the year. So well over one mass shooting per day. And many of those shootings take place at school. We've seen in many occasions where especially a juvenile or a younger offender, a younger shooter, will go back to the school that they attended. We saw that in Tennessee. see. We've seen it in other places. So there are all sorts of assumptions I think that investigators are probably working with right now about this shooter's motivation and many of those are tied to the fact that he went back to his own school.

39:01But really you don't know with any clarity until you've gone through all the evidence. And it does raise the question about school security because this school apparently had the doors locked. It had a glass vestibule you have to go through, but the gunman was able to get around all of that. Yeah, that's really going to be very frustrating for people trying to learn lessons from this shooting because this is a place where, you know, according to gun safety folks, schools are really doing it well. They had modified the school to be more safe. They were, as you mentioned, keeping the doors locked in an effective way.

39:37Oregon is a state with very restrictive gun, you know, relatively restrictive gun laws. So there's not a kind of a glaring vulnerability there. Nevertheless, you know, a committed assault by a shooter wielding, in this case, a 12-gauge shotgun, you know, that's going to defeat a lot of security measures. I mean, just that's the sad reality of it. We're told that this shooter used that very significant load of the 12-gauge shotgun to basically shoot his way through a glass door on the side of the building and gain entry through that broken glass. So, you know, it'll raise all sorts of questions about should they start thinking about changing the glass to bulletproof glass?

40:21That's incredibly expensive. We have hundreds of thousands of schools that would need that sort of protection. So, again, we're making some very tough choices as a society. How do we protect our children as they're in school every day? And apparently this gun came from the mother bought the gun. We don't know all the circumstances around it. But what do you think this could mean for the parents? You know, it certainly could lead to a situation like we've seen recently in the last few years in Georgia and also Michigan where parents have been charged criminally. Now, in order to do that, prosecutors will need more than the simple fact that the parent purchased the firearm.

41:04They'll need evidence, actual proof that the parent knew that, let's say, the minor was in a vulnerable state and the parent, despite knowing that, basically gave the minor access to the firearm, knowing that they might be in a vulnerable position. Those are all hard things to prove after the fact. So we'll have to see what comes out of the investigation. But I would assume that the parents are taking this all quite seriously. We know they are cooperating with investigators. They were interviewed over the weekend. So we'll have to see where that goes. All right, Andy McCabe, thank you. Wolf?

41:42Pamela Brown: And here's what's coming up all new right at the top of the hour. The women's health issues coming up at the White House with the First Lady Melania Trump. We'll have details. Plus, seniors just got a bump in Social Security benefits. Is it enough? We'll make it make sense. That's ahead. And one-on-one with the former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Kurt Volker, will join us in the Situation Room on the growing rift between President Trump and Ukraine's President Zelensky and how it's impacting America's role on the world stage. That's all new in the next hour.

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42:53Pamela Brown: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Will Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in the Situation Room. We begin this hour with breaking news. Right now, President Trump is over at the White House, about to make what's being described as a major announcement on women's health issues. With the First Lady in attendance, they're expected to sign a new executive order establishing a dedicated women's health arm of the National Institutes of Health. The goal is to boost research and fast-track cures. Now, this is the second major initiative the First Lady has spearheaded in her husband's second term, and it comes at a crucial moment.

43:32With just two weeks until the midterms, a brand-new ABC News, Washington Post, Ipsos poll shows that more and more Americans are struggling to afford health care. We're talking 65 percent. That is up from 56 percent back in February. And in a troubling sign for Republicans, polls show that voters trust Democrats more to handle the issue by 23 points. CNN's Kristen Holmes is at the White House. Kristen, what more are you learning about this new initiative? Well, they're going to be signing this executive order. And Melania Trump, the first lady, posted on X what she says her goals are for this executive order on women's health, which is going to create these two various entities that are meant to boost research and focus on women's health.

44:16So she says the goals are more research funding, using AI to speed up discoveries for women's health, accelerating drug approvals for women, as well as ensuring accessible and affordable care. That's obviously key to the polling that you just tapped onto right there. And then shifting stigmas on women's health. And what we know about it in general is, as I said, two separate entities. One is going to be creating this White House task force. The other is going to be creating a new division at the National Institutes of Health. One thing to keep in mind here, this isn't exactly a new effort. First Lady Jill Biden made this a centerpiece of her time when she was here as First Lady.

44:55And in fact, today actually repeals that executive order that Joe Biden had signed, that she had been a champion of, and replaces it with this new executive order. And most of what Jill Biden had done had been scrapped by the Trump administration early on in the tenure. So who's on this women's health task force? Well, it is going to be chaired by Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who obviously has a lot of input or could have a lot of input on this, given that she just had extensive treatment for cancer, and she has just been cleared on that. But it's also going to have the head of health and human services, Robert Kennedy, as well as Dr.

45:32Oz. And they are actually scheduled to have their first meeting later today after this announcement. All right. And you see First Lady Melania Trump and her husband, President Trump, walking there to the podium. We'll continue to monitor this. Kristen Holmes, thank you so much. Wolf.

45:48Pamela Brown: And happening now, we're only 15 days, yes, only 15 days away from the midterm elections. We're watching all of this very, very closely as President Trump is preparing to hit the road once again as part of his Republican campaign blitz. He'll be hitting a different state every day this week, starting tonight with a rally in Kansas. The push comes as his approval ratings hit a new low. But will his visits give Republican candidates a midterm boost? This comes as President Trump and Republican Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers ramp up their attacks on the Democrat, attempting to tie Abdul El-Sayed to the Muslim Brotherhood.

46:31Pamela Brown: But El-Sayed is firing right back. Here's CNN's Jeff Zeleny. With two weeks left in the midterm election campaign, the Michigan Senate race, which is at the center of the fight for control of the Senate, is taking on a decidedly negative and dark turn. Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate, spent the weekend criticizing his Democratic rival, Abdul El-Sayed, for not fully disavowing, in his view, the El-Sayed comments about the Muslim Brotherhood. But we caught up with El-Sayed in Flint on Sunday. He said he clearly condemns them, he is not a part of them, and he turned the conversation back to the economy.

47:09My name and my faith are not the reason you can't afford your gas. My name and my faith are not the reason you can't afford your groceries. My name and my faith are not the reason you can't see a doctor. I mean, chances are if you're seeing a doctor, they might actually have my name and my faith. There's no question that Michigan is at the center of this fight for control of the Senate because Democrats must hold on to their current seats, including the open seat here in Michigan, as well as pick up four additional seats. Now, Abdul El-Sayed would be the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate.

47:41He is not focusing on that. He is focusing on the economy. He said that is what voters here are concerned about and care about. Mike Rogers, of course, a former member of Congress, has been trying to distance himself from the president and the president's policies. President Trump has pledged to visit Michigan before the campaign is over. Abdul Sayed said he welcomes that visit. He thinks it shines a light on the Trump policies. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Detroit.

48:11Pamela Brown: And a special thanks to Jeff for that report. Pamela. All right. Well, former President Barack Obama is defending Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar on social media. He calls a Justice Department investigation of her citizenship, quote, appalling. In a lengthy post, the former president accuses the Trump administration of weaponizing the federal government, writing, quote, The full weight of the federal government is being brought down on a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president. So let's bring in CNN's Brian Todd. What more can you tell us? It's extraordinary that the former president did this, Pamela.

48:45He did this yesterday on social media. It could have to do with the timing of that search of Ilhan Omar's home. That search was conducted a week ago today on October 12th. I'm going to get to that and the timing in just a moment. But let's take a look again at some of the other comments that former President Obama made on social media regarding that search. Here's one thing that he said in addition to what Pamela just read. Quote, the fact that any president or any administration is willing to engage in such transparent efforts to intimidate someone should outrage all Americans, regardless of how they feel about Congresswoman Omar's political views.

49:19because if this becomes the new normal, there's no reason to believe it will stop with her or that future presidents in either party won't do the same, end quote, from President Barack Obama. Now, this CNN has previously reported that that search of Ilhan Omar's home a week ago had to do with an investigation into whether her father might have lied about her age when she obtained her citizenship in the year 2000. But she has vehemently denied that any wrongdoing occurred regarding her citizenship, saying that she got that legally in the year 2000. She immigrated from Somalia. Here is what her attorney had to say about the search and about this investigation.

49:58Quote, this vindictive, retributive and politically motivated criminal investigation into one of the president's chief congressional critics violates Representative Omar's constitutional rights and threatens the separation of powers. End quote. Now, this statement came from the Department of Justice to try to justify its search and to explain what it was doing there. Quote, our attorneys and law enforcement partners complied with all court orders and legal obligations as they always do. This is according to a spokesperson for the Department of Justice in a statement to CNN. Quote, leaking a letter to the press right after sending it is not good faith.

50:34It is a publicity play. So they're, again, accusing Representative Omar and her allies of leaking some of this material. But it is extraordinary that they conducted this search, Pamela, less than 60 days before an election. The Department of Justice usually avoids doing that to avoid the appearance of any political maneuvering here. But they did this on October 12th, less than a month before the midterms, when, of course, Ilhan Omar is running for re-election. Yeah, they typically don't, but I guess they got senior leadership sign-off to do this. How are other Democrats defending Congresswoman Omar?

51:07Well, the House Democratic leadership is saying that this is, quote, deeply disturbing. They are saying that this is a weaponization of the Justice Department. So they also are coming out in defense of Representative Omar. We're going to see how this maybe affects her standing in the polls back in Minnesota as she runs for re-election. But again, extraordinary. The former president of the United States calling out this administration in a Sunday post on social media gets a lot of attention and a lot of buzz right now. All right, Brian Todd, thank you so much for bringing us the latest there. And still ahead, what we know about the deadly repelling incident at a college football game where the military was being honored.

51:42Pamela Brown: And struggling seniors, food, health care, and gas prices are making things especially tight for so many senior citizens. And 2027 isn't expected to bring any relief. We'll make it make sense just ahead right here in the Situation Room.

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52:30Pamela Brown: Way fair, every style, every home. Still wearing those old cargo shorts? If your wardrobe's due for an upgrade, but you don't know where to start, you need Stitch Fix. Your stylist learns your size, your style, and your budget, then sends a box pick just for you. They always nail the fit. No store, no hassle, no subscription required. Get started today at Stitch Fix dot com. That's StitchFix.com.

53:04Pamela Brown: New this morning, the U.S. Supreme Court is rejecting an appeal brought by alleged 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants accused of plotting the terror attack. Justices are backing a Pentagon decision to throw out plea deals for alleged conspirators. CNN Crime and Justice Correspondent Caitlin Politz is with us right now. What more can you tell us, Caitlin? Well, Wolf, the question before the Supreme Court and other courts has been, can there be a trial for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the two other defendants that have been accused of plotting the 9-11 terrorist attack?

53:41These men have been in detention by the U.S. since 2003, and they have been facing criminal charges in a military court since 2008. So it's been 20 years of long-running issues here. The reason that this question went before the Supreme Court just now, and the Supreme Court says we're not going to take up this case, is that there had been a plea deal that was possible for these men that would have taken the death penalty potentially off the table for them. That plea deal was rescinded by the former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and the courts were going to get involved. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other defendant wanted the courts to uphold that plea deal.

54:25The courts have said that's not going to be the case. It's OK for the defense secretary to unwind any plea deal to put these men back toward the path to trial. And so what the Supreme Court did today is that they're backing the Pentagon decision to throw out those plea deals. And they're sending things back to the military court to say, head towards trial. The trial date is 2028 for these men, but it has been long running. And the question of whether that will hold is is a big one, one that we really don't know how it will play out.

54:56Pamela Brown: See what happens. All right. Thanks very much. I appreciate it very much. Pamela. All right. Wolf happening now. We are taking a closer look at the cost of living for older Americans in 2027. Senior citizens and other Social Security recipients will get a three point six percent bump in their monthly payments next year. It is the largest cost of living adjustment since 2023. But with annual inflation at 3.7%, that increase may not be enough. So that's where we turn to CNN Business Senior Reporter David Goldman here to make it make sense. David, today's question, seniors are getting a bump in Social Security benefits.

55:31Is it enough? Yeah, it doesn't look like it right now, does it? I mean, if you have a 3.6 % benefit and inflation is 3.7%, well, that is not enough to make up for the difference. And this is a common occurrence in Social Security benefits. We know that in 2026, we had a 2.8 % increase. But so far this year, inflation is up 3.1%. And so, you know, we haven't closed the books on 2026 yet, but it's not looking good. Now, if you have, you know, an average paycheck that you're getting, an average benefit check that you're getting, it was about a$56 per month increase this year and that got you to around$2 ,100 and that's pretty good and you're gonna get$75 in an increase on average next year and that's around$2146 and that sounds pretty good except remember that's not the only thing that you have to consider.

56:37Inflation is something that you really need to take into account. And in 2022, inflation was 8 % and you only got a 5.9 % increase. In 2025, a 2.6 % increase in inflation. Social Security benefits grew 2.5%. There are some years where you beat inflation, but overall, you're really losing out over the course of the past decade. It's not the only thing that you need to consider. Also, Medicare premiums are going up. another$17.90 this year, that ate 32 % of your Social Security increase this year. A third of your Social Security benefit increase is going to that increase in Medicare. So, you know, the buying power of those benefits is really decreasing around 14 % according to the Senior Citizens League, that isn't fun.

57:36And at 13.7%, well, you know, that works out to around $296 over the course of 10 years per month. That means that you have around$300 per month of less buying power than you had in 2016. That's on average. That is not what any senior wants to hear. Now, another thing that they don't want to hear is that this fund that is allowing people to get so much in their benefit increases is going to dry up in 2032. And if that happens, the average benefit for seniors is going to decline 22%. What does that look like? Well, with a projected 3.5 % increase in benefits, you'll have in 2032 around$2 ,500 per month.

58:37Without it, it's going to be less than$2 ,000. That's less than people are getting on average this year. And so this really needs to get addressed by Congress. Right now, there's not a ton of political will to do it, but this is why seniors really have to be concerned about 2032 coming around, Pam. All right, David Goldman, thank you so much. And if you need David to make it make sense, email or send a selfie video of your question to makeitmakesense at cnn.com. We're gonna have more news after this break.

59:14Experience the Blackhawks like never before this season with a membership plan. Create a game schedule that works for you with full, half, and partial plans available. See all the details and talk to a representative today at tickets.blackhawks.com. All right, we have a warning up front about this story right here. Viewers may find the video disturbing. Military investigators are trying to figure out what went wrong after a service member died in a fall from the Alamo Dome rafters. It happened Saturday just before a college football game honoring the armed services and veterans and was part of a pregame repelling demonstration.

59:52But something went terribly wrong and the service member died at the hospital. A National Guardsman in the nation's capital is expected to be okay after getting shot last night. Police say several guard members saw a fight breakout and they were trying to break it up when one of the people fighting pulled out a gun and started shooting. The suspect was also shot but is expected to be okay. And the mystery of Amelia Earhart lives on. An expedition to find clues about her fate has apparently come up empty. Researchers went to a remote island in the South Pacific where satellite images had detected an object that could have been her lost plane.

1:00:31But the search team found nothing. She and her navigator Fred Noonan disappeared in 1937 during her attempt to become the first woman to fly around the world. Wolf.

1:00:42Pamela Brown: And happening now, Ukraine assesses the damage from an overnight barrage of Russian ballistic missiles. And Ukraine's president, Vladimir Zelensky, says once again his country got no warning at all from its so-called partners. Tensions between Washington and Kiev are clearly spiking right now. Over the weekend, Ukraine defied President Trump and launched one of its biggest drone attacks on Russia this year, hitting an oil terminal. And that comes after President Trump signed an executive order to suspend sanctions on Moscow and buy diesel fuel from the Russian regime that illegally invaded Ukraine.

1:01:19Pamela Brown: Joining us now is the former U.S. ambassador to NATO, Kurt Volker. Ambassador Volker also served as the U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations during President Trump's first term. Thanks so much for joining us, Ambassador. The president says this waiver on sanctions is in the U.S. national interest. Do you agree? Well, he hasn't explained how it's in the U.S. national interest. And I would say that it's certainly going to put money in the Kremlin's coffers. It's going to prolong the war in Ukraine because Russia can continue that. And we have every reason to think that Russia will continue to assist Iran as well.

1:02:02So I don't see how this is actually helping the U.S., and it hasn't been explained.

1:02:07Pamela Brown: The president, President Trump, is defending the deal by saying, and I'm quoting him now, I am in the process of negotiating peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine and don't want to do anything that will drive foolishly Russia away from the bargaining table, end quote. Does that strike you as a valid reason to waive these sanctions? Quite the opposite. If there's any indication that Russia is actually at the bargaining table, which I doubt, it's because of the pressure that they feel. It is the finances. It is the economy. It is Ukraine's long-range strikes that are hitting their refineries, their energy capacity, and it is their losses on the battlefield.

1:02:51Without that, Russia would have no incentive whatsoever to end this war.

1:02:56Pamela Brown: So in order to get to an end of the war, and that's what President Trump says that he wants, he wants to end the war, we need to see more pressure on Vladimir Putin, not less. What does a move like this say to our European allies who are also trying to pressure Russia right now to end the war? Yeah, it says very much that you're on your own. And in fact, the U.S. may be undermining what the efforts are that you're taking. They are trying to ratchet down any consumption of Russian oil and gas down to zero in 2027. They are funding Ukraine's state budget. They are buying American weapons and ammunition to supply them to Ukraine.

1:03:38They are borrowing against Russia's frozen assets to provide that money to Ukraine. They're doing everything that they can. The U.S. has not put any money into assisting Ukraine since President Trump took office in the second term. So they are doing a lot. And then to see that the U.S. is adopting a posture that will actually provide money to the Kremlin,

1:04:01Pamela Brown: And that is really rather dismaying for our European allies. It certainly is. A source is telling CNN, Ambassador, that Ukraine has now run out of missiles for the U.S.-made Patriot Air Defense Missile System. And that leaves Ukraine clearly much more vulnerable to these ongoing Russian ballistic missile attacks. And just a short time ago, President Zelensky posted this on social media. Quote, there are also delays in certain types of vital supplies at the level of the U.S. Department of War. Zelensky also says it would be very difficult to win this war without U.S. support. Is President Trump essentially prolonging this war?

1:04:41Pamela Brown: Well, definitely prolonging the war. There is no way that Putin will end the war without pressure to do so. And by lifting that pressure, it is encouraging Putin just to keep going. Ukraine, defending their lives, their country, their people, they don't have a choice. They have to defend themselves. So they will continue to do so, and they have proven to be far more innovative and capable than anyone expected. Just as an example, all of the gains that Russia made on the battlefield since last fall have been erased by Ukraine's counteroffensive, their return advances, eliminating those gains. And it has come at an extraordinary cost in lives to the Russian military, probably 300 ,000 plus soldiers removed from the battlefield.

1:05:33So Putin is not able to win this war.

1:05:36Pamela Brown: He needs to stop it. And the best way to get him to stop it is to apply pressure to get him to do so. Like U.S. sanctions, which have now been lifted. The Secretary of State Marco Rubio says there could be a meeting between President Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the Chinese leader Xi Jinping on ending Russia's war with Ukraine. Ukraine's foreign minister says that meeting would actually encourage Putin to continue this war. What do you think? Well, several things. First off, it makes President Trump look rather weak to agree to a meeting like that, because it is Putin and Xi ganging up on Trump to say, do something about Ukraine.

1:06:17Second, there shouldn't be any meeting like that about the future of Ukraine without Ukraine being there. So it needs to be with President Zelensky. You might as well ask, why don't you have a Xi-Trump meeting to decide the future of Russia?

1:06:33Pamela Brown: Yeah, important point. Ambassador Kurt Volker, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you. Pamela. All right. Well, President Trump just signed a new executive order with a big focus on women's health. We're going to get reaction from someone who was invited to the event up next.

1:06:59All right, happening now. President Trump and the First Lady just announced an overhaul to how the federal government approaches women's health. The First Lady spearheaded the new executive order, and it creates a brand new division at the National Institutes of Health dedicated exclusively to women's health issues and a White House women's health task force. The goal here is to boost research and fast-track cures. Joining us now is Jennifer Weiss-Wolf. She is an attorney and author of Generation Menopause, a user's manual and citizen's guide. Jennifer, thanks for coming on. You were at the forefront of advocating for women's health just last month.

1:07:36In fact, you testified in Congress's first ever hearing on menopause, pushing for this exact kind of research. What is your immediate reaction to this announcement from the White House today? I'm relieved that it is a very reasonable executive order. The call for much deeper investment in women's health research, in particular midlife and older women's health research, is absolutely needed. And I welcome them to the fight here. As you said, it's been taken up in Congress. It's been addressed by state legislatures across the country. This is definitely a moment. So as we've been noting, Jill Biden had a similar effort.

1:08:16It closely resembles what she did in terms of women's health. You have previously been critical of the Trump administration on this issue. Back in August, you wrote that the administration has exacerbated an already dismal status quo. Does this announcement change anything for you? No, I mean, not particularly. There's absolutely credibility to be mindful of. I'm sitting in my New York City office right now. I'm not in Washington, D.C., though I was invited to be there. I did not have the faith to be present in the audience with, you know, given the Trump administration's history on women. That said, the objectives about investing in women's health research are critical.

1:09:01I will welcome them when they come, as they just have this morning. And I'll note that even with the Biden administration's executive order, we've really faced a paucity of investment in women's health research over almost all of history, and neither political party has absolutely gotten it right. Yeah, I was reading this morning again, just 10 % of the NIH budget goes towards women's health research. And so we'll see if this changes anything, this new initiative today from the White House. From what you observed during the Biden administration, did anything tangible materialize from that initiative on women's health?

1:09:37And how do you think this time could be different? Well, I mean, the Biden administration had overall a very different approach. But the particular executive order from 2024, one thing that's different about it is it had actual dollars attached to it, to objectives and outcomes. Some of those actually materialize. The Department of Defense had announced a$500 million investment in menopausal women's health and have just recently even dispersed some of those funds. So I think that executive orders are hard. Generally, they don't have too much teeth. And so, you know, we will see what comes from this one.

1:10:16It's a little hard to measure, I guess, because it speaks broadly about women's health research, which I appreciate. And it forms a task force and we shall see what the task force comes up with and who's on the task force. But a little hard to say right now if we're headed towards something different. As far as we know, there are four members of the task force. Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is part of this panel serving as a co-chair. I'm assuming that's what you were talking about. Maybe you're talking about a different task force. She's been through some of her own women's health challenges recently, as you probably know, with breast cancer.

1:10:51How significant do you see her presence being in this group? I think that, you know, the chorus of voices here will be interesting. It's also headed by, you know, our junior secretary of HHS. So there's there's upwinds here in terms of, I think, overall vision for women's health. But I think, again, I feel like I invested in being optimistic that they joined the fight here and want to be part of this broader conversation about investments in women's health, especially for older women and midlife women. In your eyes, Jennifer, what are the most urgent issues that need this funding right now or need this attention in women's health, in the women's health space?

1:11:35You know, so my main focus has been on menopause and the complete dearth of research that has clouded the entire ecosystem when it comes to understanding menopause. So better understanding how we are addressing long-term cardiovascular health, bone health, brain health, and prevention of Alzheimer's are key concerns of mine. Yeah, I mean, Alzheimer's is a big one, right? It disproportionately impacts women over men, and so much of it could potentially be linked to that mid part of our lives, right? And, you know, there needs to be more research done on what can be done to prevent that, right? Yeah, and an interesting factoid, just as you compare research in women's health research, is that we have an abundance of studies showing the Alzheimer's protective capacities of Viagra and zero about estrogen.

1:12:34Well, that's all you need to know. We're going to end it on that note. Clearly more to be done on this space. also in the reporting space as well, which I'm trying to do on my end. Jennifer Weiss-Wolf, thank you so much. And if you want to learn more about some of the most bafflinging and isolating aspects of women's health, check out my new series on CNN Body Language. The first four episodes and topics ranging from breast reductions to perimenopause to GLP-1s are available to stream for free on CNN.com slash body language. Wolf?

1:13:01Pamela Brown: And coming up, how Pope Leo now says his recent lung cancer surgery will affect his schedule, including his upcoming trip to Latin America.

1:13:18Pamela Brown: Happening now, Pope Leo is back at work just days after surgery for a cancerous growth on his lung. He led Sunday prayers at the Vatican after his release from a Rome hospital. I would like to thank all those who in these days who have prayed for me. I would like to thank you for your support. Thank you. I thank you. Particular gratitude must be conveyed to the doctors, the nurses, and all the staff of the Jamili Hospital where I was being treated. This experience made me experience nearness of all those who suffer from this condition. The 71-year-old Pope was diagnosed with lung cancer, but doctors say he made a good recovery from the surgery and cleared him for an extended trip next month to South America.

1:14:04With us now is CNN religion contributor and Catholic priest, Father Edward Beck. Father, how important was it for the Pope to lead the prayer yesterday? Well, I think it was really important because it gave people confidence. I mean, this was caught early. It was treated fast. The nodule was found on routine tests. And I think the fact that the Pope saw the possibility of returning that soon, I think was a good sign for everybody. It was very reassuring to see him out that window.

1:14:41Pamela Brown: Doctors say the Pope has recovered well from the surgery, at least so far. But what do we know about his prognosis beyond that? Well, right now, his prognosis is very good. As you know, they are still doing tests, though. to see if the cancer has spread. We don't know yet if he needs chemotherapy or any kind of immunotherapy, so that still remains to be seen. It was interesting to me that they were supposed to remove only a nodule from the lung, but they took the whole lower lobe, and that may be just precautionary to make sure that they got everything, or it could have been larger than they thought.

1:15:21We won't know that, Wolf, until more tests are done, or at least the conclusions of those tests are revealed. So he has this extensive trip across South America planned for next month. Tell us more about why this trip is so important to the Pope.

1:15:40Well, I think it's important for a number of reasons. First of all, one of the places he's going is Peru. And you'll remember that he was a missionary there for two decades. He actually has citizenship in Peru. So that would be a great homecoming if the pope was able to go to Peru and return there. So that would be celebratory. Also, Argentina is on his list. And no pope has ever visited Argentina, Pamela. I mean, Pope Francis, who is from there, never made it back. I think intentionally he didn't want to show favoritism to his home country. But I think for this pope to be able to go to Argentina, the homeland of Pope Francis, would be very special.

1:16:26And I know the Argentinians would appreciate a papal visit, which they've never had before. And Uruguay is the other country he's scheduled to visit. It's the longest of his papal voyages thus far. And so we'll see if he's up to it. As you know, with Peru, there's varying altitudes that he would have to travel. And so with lung surgery, that may be a little, you know, not advisable. But right now, all systems are go, and the plan is for him to do so.

1:16:58Pamela Brown: The diagnosis, as you know, seems to have surprised so many people, 71 years old, and everyone thought he was in very good shape. What has been the reaction, as far as you know, inside the Vatican?

1:17:13Well, initially it was real concern because even inside Vatican people did not realize that it was cancer. I mean, the Pope suspected it. And when he said from the window when he announced it, which was historic, by the way, I mean, Popes don't usually reveal stuff like that to the public before it happens. Pope Francis didn't even do that when he had to be had a surgery for diverticulitis. So the fact that this pope told everybody was great, but he didn't say it was cancer. We didn't find out that until after the surgery. And so people were surprised. And the fact that the prognosis is good, that they seem to have gotten the cancer, as I said, we're waiting more tests.

1:17:57But I think that people were surprised and concerned because he seemed kind of this young, vigorous 71. And now we see, like everybody else, there's a mortality. I mean, we never know, right? We never know if the Pope's going to survive. We never know if we're going to survive. So that's all up to God. But I think the prognosis is good and people are very confident.

1:18:19Pamela Brown: And so many of us have been praying for a speedy recovery for the Pope. Let's hope that happens. Father Beck, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you, as always. And coming up, there's more breaking news coming into the Situation Room. Sidelined indefinitely the condition that could end the season for the Philadelphia Eagles star quarterback, Jalen Hurts.

1:18:46Pamela Brown: Breaking news. The same injury that kept Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts out this past weekend could keep him off the field for a lot longer. All right, let's go live now to CNN sports anchor Coy Weyer. Coy, what more are you learning? Hi, Pamela. Hi, Wolf. Frightening health update here on Jalen Hurts. We previously knew that doctors discovered a blood clot in his calf in London before the Eagles played the Jaguars. He still played that game just over a week ago. But now the team and his agent, Nicole Lynn, revealing that further testing showed the clots moved to both lungs. Hurts is now receiving blood thinners, cannot participate in any football activities, of course, during treatment.

1:19:22The Eagles say the initial clot was caused after taking a cleat to his calf in a game against the Rams October 4th.

1:19:29Pamela Brown: Now, Hurts missed yesterday's game, of course, on injured reserve. Multiple reports say he may miss the rest of the season. The encouraging news, though, the Eagles and his agents say he's stable, expecting a full recovery, and anticipate no long-term effects. Football can wait. His health comes first. Now, let's get to some of the highlights from Sunday's action, and we will start with our Buffalo Bills, Wolf. Facing the Raiders in Vegas, Josh Allen is the magic show. He's about to get sacked. He escapes. And then how'd he do that? I mean, he just flicks that thing like a shot put to Keyon Coleman.

1:20:03Allen's second touchdown pass of the day. Tied Hall of Famer Jim Kelly's Bills franchise record of 258. Buffalo outblasting the Raiders 33-30. Great time to be a Bills fan. Not so great of a time to be a Rams fan. Their new kicker, Blake Group 8, rocked out of the game. Rams just cut their previous kicker last week, so punter Ethan Evans has to come in to kick an extra point to give L.A. the lead with 47 seconds to go. You think the game was over? It was not. Jacoby Brissett finds Jalen Brooks to get Arizona within field goal range, and Chad Rylund connects from 43 yards out. Rylund goes 6-for-6, scoring all 18 of Arizona's points, beat the Rams without scoring a touchdown.

1:20:4518-16, Rams were favored by 13.5 this game. They were preseason Super Bowl favorites for many, but now, for now, they have a 2-4 record, just like the Cardinals. With that, Wolf and Pamela, we will send it back to you.

1:20:59Pamela Brown: All right, Koi Weir, thank you very, very much. Before we go today, our chief, chief international anchor, Christiana Amanpour, just announced that she will leave CNN in June. Christiana has spent 43 years with all of us here at CNN, bringing the world exclusive interviews with leaders and covering international conflicts and humanitarian crises. She is the very definition of determined and dogged journalism, and she began as a news desk assistant in our Atlanta newsroom many years ago. In a statement, she said in part, she looks forward to interesting new projects down the line and will always be rooting for CNN and maintaining its history of independent journalism.

1:21:45Pamela Brown: Remember, she says, always be truthful, not neutral, end quote. And on behalf of the entire Situation Room family and indeed all of us here at CNN, I want to thank Christiane for her decades of critical reporting. We wish her all the best in her next chapter. She really is an inspiration. I've worked closely with her for so many years. We all love Christiane. I've looked up to her since I was a little girl. Wow. Well, best of luck to her. She is an icon. And thank you all so much for joining us this morning. Inside Politics with our friend and colleague, Dana Bash, starts now.

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