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Mideast Envoy, Kushner's Firm Has Stake in Israeli Military- Linked Firm; Poll Show Majority of Americans Are Unhappy With Trump's Handling of Economy; Trump Campaigns in Stages He Won as Economic Pressure Mounts; Christa Pike in Critical Condition After Surviving Lethal Injections; At Least 12 Injured in 69-Vehicle I-95 Bridge Pileup; Rick Ross Arrested on Domestic Violence Charges. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired October 02, 2026 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[13:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One making gearboxes for Israeli tanks and another making electronic fuses for shells used in Gaza.

POLGLASE: An attorney for Kushner told us Kushner is not involved in Phoenix's decisions on where to invest. He's not on their board, and he's never held a management role at the company. But we found Kushner's relationship with Phoenix is actually a bit more complicated.

POLGLASE (voice-over): He told Forbes in September last year, he had a very active dialog with Phoenix, meeting with their team every few weeks. And an attorney for Kushner told us this was true at the time, and that Kushner regularly spoke with Phoenix about the company, broader market trends and potential strategic opportunities.

Here he is talking about how he's encouraged Phoenix to invest in the Gulf.

JARED KUSHNER, UNITED STATES SPECIAL ENVOY FOR PEACE: Phoenix, which is a monster company, is now looking at investments in Saudi Arabia, investments in UAE.

POLGLASE (voice-over): This encouragement, in fact, goes both ways.

KUSHNER: My investors from the Middle East are now looking at Israel and they're saying, wait a minute, maybe there's a benefit to having these wars done, and they're seeing a good example there.

POLGLASE (voice-over): Around the same time this podcast published, Kushner was working on Trump's 20-point Gaza peace plan. Kushner's attorney told us that Kushner has significantly reduced his interaction with Phoenix management since becoming substantially more engaged in volunteer public service and diplomatic efforts.

Nevertheless, Kushner's held this Israeli investment amid his diplomacy. In July this year, Kushner's firm cashed in a quarter of its stake in Phoenix for more than $340 million, a return of more than five times its original investment. Kushner's firm, Affinity, still remains Phoenix's largest shareholder.

POLGLASE: While Phoenix Financial declined to answer CNN's questions, but a spokesperson did say that the company is regulated and that shareholder value is derived primarily from operating performance rather than investment returns. None of the nine companies we identified commented for this report. And a spokesperson for the White House said that Jared Kushner's personal business activities have nothing to do with his diplomatic engagements.

Katie Polglase, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Our thanks to Katie for that report.

Still ahead, the last Jobs Report before the midterm elections comes in weaker than expected. We discuss the implications when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:36:26]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": The new Jobs Report is adding to economic pressures that Republicans are facing ahead of the midterms. Hiring slowed sharply in September. Employers adding just 29,000 jobs. That is well below expectations. And the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.2 percent.

A new Associated Press poll showing just 26 percent of Americans approve of the president's handling of the economy. 73 percent disapprove. And with midterm elections only 32 days away, President Trump is intensifying his campaigning for Republican candidates in red states.

The president heads to Alabama today after back-to-back stops yesterday in Texas and Oklahoma. And his message to voters is, pretend I'm running. We're joined now by Republican Congressman Scott Fitzgerald of Wisconsin, who is running for re-election here next month.

Congressman, thank you so much for being with us. We're looking at some of this new polling out of your state. The Marquette Law School poll of Wisconsin registered voters a few days ago. And the top issue by far is inflation and the cost of living. What do folks there want from the president and from Congress?

REP. SCOTT FITZGERALD, (R-WI): Yeah, I think representing one of the most purple states in the entire nation, been able to kind of judge exactly where voters are at when it comes to the money issues. But the unique thing in Wisconsin right now is the gubernatorial, which in the Marquette poll that you just mentioned, is very tight. So I think it actually means that turnout, specifically for Republicans, will be much better than otherwise anticipated, just because that race has become so tight and so close. Again, I think my colleague, Tom Tiffany, is doing very well. But I think you're going to see Republicans show up in November despite kind of what is the issue of the day.

KEILAR: What do they want, though, from Congress, from the president, when it comes to inflation, when it comes to just affording their day- to-day? What are constituents telling you?

FITZGERALD: Yeah, I mean, I'll be honest with you. I think the short- term consumer items are always going to be discussed. And whether it's gasoline or eggs or groceries, whatever it might be, those are going to be topics that are not going to go away soon, and they're not going to go away after the November elections are over.

But the one thing that really stands out, and I think it shows in the Jobs Report today, even though it missed the mark, is housing. The one thing that has been certainly frustrating, I think, for many families and those that have children between the ages of 25 and 35, who just haven't been able to afford a home, that's changing in Wisconsin.

Right here in my own district, there's a number of developments that didn't exist even two years ago that suddenly are building 1,400- square foot homes for young couples. That's something, I think, that's very encouraging and that a lot of people in Wisconsin are really focused on right now.

KEILAR: So you mentioned Tom Tiffany. There is a very close governor's race underway in your state. And this Marquette poll is showing that the president has a net negative of 22 points on his job approval among Wisconsin voters. That's three points worse than August. His job approval among Republican registered voters is 78 percent, but that is down five points since August.

[13:40:00]

So you're seeing a dip even in your base. Would an appearance from the president, does his messaging help Tom Tiffany? Does it help Republicans in Wisconsin?

FITZGERALD: Yeah, I'm sure if the president had the time to come to Wisconsin, there are certain parts of the state that would absolutely love to see the president do another rally. Listen, I've benefited from that in the past. It is certainly something that creates a lot of excitement.

You know, even when the president's numbers may be down in a certain part of the state, that doesn't always mean that from congressional district to congressional or state legislative seats, that he doesn't have an impact, he does. Turnout matters, and that's typically what the president does. He generates turnout for the party and for his supporters.

We need that in Wisconsin, especially in the northern part of the state, that for many years was kind of a very moderate split area that turned into Trump country. And so I would expect that if it makes sense, that President Trump will make his way back to Wisconsin. And I think there'll be a lot of people very energized by that.

KEILAR: His approval is down with Republicans writ large, of course, farming, beef, dairy, those are huge economic drivers in your state. One farmer in your district spoke to CNN affiliate, WDJT, in September about just the tough headwinds he's facing and so many farmers are facing with tariff and import policies changing, diesel prices so high, fertilizer costs so high. What do you say to farmers in your district who are being hurt by the president's policies?

FITZGERALD: Yeah, I think most of it comes back to the price of diesel. And, you know, that is an issue that has many different angles. And certainly, you know, when you listen to Scott Bessent, and he talks about, listen, by mid-October, we could see a much different scene when it comes to both gas and diesel prices. That'll be great if that happened.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: What do you mean that issue has -- what do you mean the issue has many different angles? Do you mean the cause of it?

FITZGERALD: I think right now, what we're seeing is the president continues to make the case that the Strait of Hormuz is open. It looks like 80 percent of those ships that are able to make their way through is going to continue to loosen it up. But it appears that there's other costs associated with the shipping now that didn't exist prior to the war in Iran. So it's complicated.

And with the economic constraints, I think, that we're putting on Iran right now, I'm very hopeful that this will all start to break sometime mid-October.

KEILAR: What's going to break in mid-October?

(CROSSTALK)

FITZGERALD: And hopefully, people and consumers and voters are all going to come together and see that.

KEILAR: What's going to break in mid-October?

FITZGERALD: I think that what you're going to see is the price of fuel come down. And certainly, as they continue to tighten the sanctions on Iran, I think both of those factors together could put us in a much different place. Hopefully, voters will be able to pick up on that and that'll reflect -- kind of support for Republicans and specifically for the president's overall goal, which is why he got into this war in the first place, is to change the dynamics when it comes to Iran.

KEILAR: All right, we'll look and see here in a couple of weeks. Congressman Scott Fitzgerald, thank you so much.

FITZGERALD: Thanks, it was great to be with you. KEILAR: Thank you. Still ahead, the latest on the fallout from that botched execution in Tennessee. We'll speak with a reporter who's covered the Christa Pike case from the beginning. Stay with us for that.

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[13:48:06]

SANCHEZ: Today, we're hearing growing calls from some Tennessee Republican leaders for using the electric chair after the failed execution of Christa Pike. Senator Marsha Blackburn, who's running for governor, said, quote, "Well, there should be a thorough review of what happened and why the process failed. The answer is simple. Bring back the electric chair and deliver justice to these victims swiftly."

Congressman Tim Burchett replying to Blackburn saying, quote, "I have a bill filed in the House," end quote. And Tennessee House Majority Leader, William Lamberth also chiming in, saying agree 100 percent.

While lethal injection is the state's primary method of execution, death row offenders can still request electrocution if the crime took place before the 1999 cutoff date. Pike, of course, was set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years for a 1995 murder.

John North from CNN affiliate, WBIR, joins us now live. John has been covering Christa Pike's case since the beginning and was in the room when the attempted execution took place. And I wonder, John, if you could walk us through from someone who was in the room what you experienced that night.

JOHN NORTH, SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, WBIR: Well, Boris, I suppose you could say I went from expectation having been through a couple of these executions that I've witnessed in the past to sort of being a little puzzled, to being in disbelief that this kept going on and on and on. And I'm listening to Christa breathing, snoring, breathing, snoring, and it goes on and on until 8:53 Wednesday night when the warden tells us we have to leave the room. The curtains are down. We can't see anything. And I know she's still alive.

SANCHEZ: You said that night that you heard activity behind the curtain beyond just her breathing, but you couldn't see what was happening toward the end of the process.

[13:50:00]

You weren't sure if that was appropriate or not, but there was activity, that the observers that were there to monitor this execution, you couldn't see what was happening. Have you been able to get more answers as to what it was that was going on?

NORTH: None at all. The state has basically shut down. That doesn't surprise me. As we were walking out, I was remembering that I had been told by TDOC folks that typically, at the same time as you're walking out of the building, we are releasing the press release saying that the execution has gone through. I was thinking to myself, well, I know they're not sending that out now. A couple hours later, they sent out something that essentially said, we think we did everything right. Obviously, Boris, they did not. There were seven of us in the room, journalists, who watched that. And we all said, well, that didn't go as planned.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, and there's obviously the question of accountability for this obvious error. It's not the first time that it's happened. Tennessee had another failed execution attempt in May, after officials failed to find the inmate's vein, apparently for more than an hour. The process has been under scrutiny, especially since significant changes were made a few years ago, given what drugs were administered.

It's led to questions, right, about the leadership of the head of the Department of Corrections. I wonder what your sense is about Frank Strada's standing as Commissioner right now.

NORTH: Well, I would say it's on pretty thin ice, but I don't know the Tennessee bureaucracy so well. All of what you say is completely accurate, and I want to just add one thing for you. We had a prison officer murdered by an inmate in February, and at the time, the state knew it had a problem with some of the cell door locks. Inmates were able to jimmy them open with paper.

At that time, there were some lawmakers raising significant questions about how that happened. That was at a prison called Morgan County Correctional. We've done a lot of stories about that. That's just about an hour away from us.

So you had that happening in February, and people saying, Commissioner, what's going on? And they had known about it since, I think, 2013, that that was a problem, still working on that. Then we had, as you mentioned, the botched attempt at Tony Carruthers in May at Riverbend, and then we had what you saw Wednesday night.

SANCHEZ: Yeah. I want to ask you about May Martinez as well. It was her daughter, Colleen Slemmer, that was murdered by Pike and her boyfriend all those years ago. She traveled to Nashville to see the execution carried out.

Did you manage to see her reaction to what was happening, to hear from her?

NORTH: So we connected with May Tuesday night, the night before the planned execution. You mentioned I've covered this for a long time, since '95. I first met May in '96. We've stayed in touch. She's been through a lot. She was kind enough to give us some time to speak to her Tuesday night.

And then I said, you know, May, you know, we'll see you when we see you. As you know, she witnessed it as well from a different chamber. And then we also talked to her last night. She and her husband, Marty, were on their way back to Florida. She called me by phone from her vehicle, and we talked, and she is incredibly angry.

SANCHEZ: Understandably. John, what do you think happens next? (LAUGH)

NORTH: Well, a lot of things going on, obviously, as you know. We're waiting to hear, hopefully, from somebody, maybe her attorneys, about her condition and if she's going to recover or if she's permanently injured. There will be, I promise you, because now there has to be, great scrutiny about what happened.

You mentioned that there had already been a review and questions about how Tennessee was carrying out the death penalty with lethal injection. They used to have a three-drug cocktail. I witnessed one of those. They decided, let's go to Pentobarbital. We're in the situation that we're in. You're looking at, Boris, easily -- I don't think it's an over-exaggeration to say years before anybody's put to death again here.

SANCHEZ: Wow. John North, thank you so much for sharing your experience. Appreciate your time.

NORTH: Yes, sir.

SANCHEZ: Ahead, first on CNN, we have new video of the arrest of Luigi Mangione that we had not seen before. See what happened at the end of the five-day manhunt for the admitted killer of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. Stay with us.

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[13:59:12]

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. A new video of the huge Multi-vehicle pileup in South Carolina that injured at least 12 people, authorities say 92 vehicles including semi trucks, you see some of them here, were on a congested I-95 bridge in thick fog when this crash happened. Most of them hit another vehicle or a guardrail, at least one car caught fire. Several people became trapped in their vehicles. One person was airlifted to the hospital and 11 others suffered minor injuries.

Also rapper, Rick Ross, is out on bond after being arrested Thursday in Miami on domestic violence charges He's facing one count of battery by strangulation and one count of battery. The charges come days after his former girlfriend accused him of physically assaulting her and posted a photo of herself with a busted lip.