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GOP & Dems Cut Ad Spending in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District; At Rally in Nebraska, Trump Signs Order Aimed at Lowering Diesel Prices; Russia Says No Work-Related Organisms Found in Lab Worker's Samples; U.K. Police Arrest Seventh Person in Investigation Into Suspected Fairford Airbase Plot; Thousands Arrested in Unprecedented Protests in France. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired October 06, 2026 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:31:21]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": We are just four weeks out from the midterms today, and we're getting a clearer picture about where the parties see a path to victory. Republicans are cutting ad spending in Nebraska's second congressional district, a seat that's been held for the last decade by moderate Republican Don Bacon, who is retiring. He's not running for re-election.

Democrats are showing more optimism about flipping that seat and are also pulling ad spending there. On Monday, President Trump campaigned in Nebraska, hoping to turn out voters for Republican senatorial candidate Pete Ricketts, and he made it clear the race will really come down to turnout.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: When I'm on the ballot, people show up and you always win. When I'm not on the ballot, 45 percent fewer people show up. So I'm asking you to do me one favor. Pretend I'm on the ballot, please. We got to go and win this. We got to win this.

(CROWD CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Joining us now is Senator Ricketts' opponent in the Nebraska Senate race Independent candidate, Dan Osborne. Dan, thank you so much for being with us. President Trump posted about you on social media this morning.

I'm not sure if you saw it, but he called you a sleazebag. You're shaking your head and rolling your eyes. I wonder what your response is.

(LAUGH)

DAN OSBORNE, (I) NEBRASKA SENATE CANDIDATE: Yeah, you know, he mentioned in that audio clip the word 'pretend.' I wish I could pretend gas was at $2.30 a gallon when I'm filling up my little beater car that costs $70 to fill up. I wish I could pretend it wasn't $300 to $400 a week to feed my family of five at the grocery store.

So, you know, we could pretend all we want, but the reality is life is definitely a lot harder for folks right now.

SANCHEZ: To that point, the president in your state signed an executive order allowing anyone to purchase red-dye diesel. Effectively, that defers the federal diesel tax, at least through the end of the year. Is that a move that you support?

OSBORNE: Yeah, absolutely, 100 percent. Any way that, you know, why our farmers are out in their fields right now filling up their John Deere's with diesel fuel, any relief we could get those guys, I'm absolutely 100 percent behind. I'm not sure how much red-dye moves the needle for these guys and how readily available it is to them, but hopefully it does give some relief.

SANCHEZ: What about this idea for a diesel export ban that Nebraska's governor requested President Trump install for at least 90 days? Economists, of course, warned that that could send prices higher for a number of reasons. Is that something you support?

OSBORNE: Yeah, you know, of course, right now during harvest season, we got to keep costs at a level that's not going to sink our farmers. I mean, in 2025, farmer bankruptcies are up 46 percent and they're going to continue to skyrocket unless we can do stuff.

But it does seem like a robbing Peter to pay Paul type scenario that we're going to have to pay for later. But we got to protect our farmers and, you know, but we also -- we need to get rid of this damaging blanket tariff policy also that is hurting our row crop farmers. It's shutting down markets for them. They just want to be able to sell their product, make some money and then be left alone after that.

SANCHEZ: You have been on CNN recently and other networks apologizing for this leaked audio conversation in which you refer to hypothetical Nebraska Trump voters as Billy Bob and his wife, Mary Jane. You've already sort of explained where you were coming from on that, suggesting that you should have worded it differently and said that you wanted them to understand that you felt their pain, especially economically.

[13:35:00]

But I want to ask about how your opponent is responding because Senator Ricketts during a campaign stop last night, handed out signs saying, quote, "I'm Billy Bob, and I'm Mary Jane." I wonder if you think this is something akin to Hillary Clinton's basket of deplorables comment from a decade ago, or even -- even President Biden when he when he said that Trump supporters are garbage.

Do you think that this hurts your standing with voters that you'll need to get elected? OSBORNE: No, not even close. The ones I'm talking to, they're not offended. You know, I'm Billy Bob, too, right? What I'm -- what I'm referring to is the fact that through bad policy and bad legislation, people's lives are exponentially harder.

And I share that same sentiment with those folks. You know, maybe I shouldn't use such colorful words, but here we are. But yeah, the vast majority of people I'm talking to, they're not offended by that.

SANCHEZ: You have said that you won't caucus with either party if you're elected. I wonder if you think that's going to cost you committee assignments, whether you've discussed that with leaders in either party, given that you're an independent.

OSBORNE: Yeah, I haven't -- I haven't talked to any leaders of either party. From what I understand about the Senate rules is, you're guaranteed two Class A assignments and one Class B. So I will be on committees. But you know, my leverage is going to come from folks who are going to need my vote. Right?

The Big Beautiful Bill Act pass was -- passed by a tiebreaker, by J.D. Vance. You know, if I were to beat Deb Fischer in 2024, I'd have been the tiebreaker. So, you know, that's going to be leverage to be able to deliver for Nebraskans.

SANCHEZ: Dan Osborne, appreciate you joining us and sharing your perspective. Thanks.

OSBORNE: Yeah. Thank you, Boris. Appreciate you.

SANCHEZ: Of course. Cheers.

So hundreds of people are reportedly under observation and quarantine controls are being enacted along parts of Russia's border after the mysterious death of a lab worker at a plague research institute. We've got the latest right after this.

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[13:41:54]

SANCHEZ: The United States is pressing Russia for more information about the mysterious death of a researcher who worked at a lab that studies the plague. Here's Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: I think it's incumbent upon Russia to obviously share more information with the world. That's what they should do. That's what we hope they will do. And the more we can learn about what happened, then the better all of us can be in a position of responding. And maybe, you know, there's nothing there.

Maybe it's bigger than we thought. We don't know. But I think it would be reckless at this moment, given the limited information we still have, to speculate about what this might or might not be, or what this is or what this isn't.

Suffice it to say we're watching it very closely, and I think the whole world is watching it very closely, because depending on what we learn about it, we would know how to respond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Russian officials have downplayed the link between the researcher's death and her work in a plague research facility. They said, quote, "No microorganisms associated with the employee's professional duties were detected in samples taken from the patient. The epidemiological situation in the region was stable."

But regional authorities have launched emergency measures, including putting dozens of people into quarantine. And CNN has also just learned that a local maternity hospital is subjecting patients to comprehensive health checks, requiring them to fill out questionnaires about suspicious symptoms related to plague and other infectious diseases. At least two countries have now implemented quarantine controls along their borders with Russia.

Let's talk about all of this now with Dr. Celine Gounder, Infectious Disease Specialist and Epidemiologist. Dr. Gounder, great to have you here. How are you squaring that Russian officials are saying no microorganisms from her work were detected on her with these rather extraordinary measures that Russian officials are taking to make sure nothing's transmitted?

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST AND EPIDEMIOLOGIST: Well, a couple of things here. One, they're saying nothing related to her professional duties. That does not exclude other pathogens, other infectious diseases that the Anti-Plague Institute works on. And when we use -- we have different ways of using the word plague, it can be the very specific Yersinia pestis bacterial infection.

But plague can also mean more broadly deadly infectious diseases. And the Anti-Plague Institute that we're talking about did research on a number of deadly infectious diseases, also including tularemia, anthrax, cholera. People will remember Hantavirus.

And so could it be that she was infected by one of those other pathogens? Maybe not because she was working on that or that was not necessarily part of the purview of her job. That's one possibility here. Another possibility is she was infected with something that was in the community.

And we know that the Russian authorities have told WHO that her illness initially presented as a typical acute viral respiratory infection. So something like the common cold, presumably runny nose, stuffy nose, cough. And so, is this death a result of delayed diagnosis because she was presenting with something that looked like a run of the mill cold when, in fact, it was perhaps something worse?

[13:45:00]

SANCHEZ: Doctor, when Secretary Rubio says that Russia should share more information, what specifically would be helpful?

GOUNDER: Right, well, it would be helpful to know, first of all, what testing was done because that would tell us, OK, this is what you've ruled out, this is what might still be on the table. How thorough was that testing?

Let's say it was the plague, Yersinia pestis plague, in which case you would want to know was it susceptible to antibiotics, in other words would the routine antibiotics have worked? What was the timing of her coming in? How long had she been ill beforehand? How soon after she presented did she receive any kind of treatment? We understand now that she was put on a ventilator.

You know and at the same time, I would also say the American government has not been fully transparent. I don't think anybody has learned the lessons of COVID, which is that you should be transparent. You should be sharing information with one another and you should be honest with the public as well.

And I've reached out to the State Department and HHS to ask what measures they're taking under international health regulations to request more information and there are actually official channels procedures doing this, and they did not answer any of those questions.

They responded with boilerplate about what we know about plague and how to control it.

KEILAR: Yeah. I mean based on what we know how would you assess the public health risk to general -- to the general population right now?

GOUNDER: I'm not worried about the risk to the general public. I'm not worried about another pandemic. I am concerned that there's a lack of transparency that this is going to lead to more rumors more conspiracy theories. When people don't behave in a trustworthy way, that is what happens and there are still questions about could there be bioweapons research at this facility.

The U.S. by the way had that kind of research going at Fort Detrick up until the 1960s. We disbanded that program but the Soviet Union and we believe Russia has continued some of that work, including on plague, and so it becomes all the more important to have some transparency and honesty about what's happening.

SANCHEZ: So that point about honesty and transparency, I mean perhaps more of a foreign policy question, but would you trust the information that's coming from the Kremlin?

GOUNDER: I would really like to see the Russian government open up the facility for inspection, investigation not just by their own internal scientists, but also by WHO scientists which had -- well, had the U.S. still been part of WHO, would normally include U.S. scientists. That's one of the doors we've closed to ourselves.

But that's what you would really want. And unfortunately, when we had COVID, the emergence of that in China, it took a very long time for WHO scientists to be allowed in and by then, you know, the Wuhan market had been disinfected the animals cleared, you know, a long time ago by that time. And so, you have a very narrow window when you want that kind of thing to be happening.

SANCHEZ: Dr. Celine Gounder, appreciate you sharing your expertise. Thanks for joining us.

Pivoting now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour, once prominent televangelist, Jim Bakker, who was brought down by a 1980 sex scandal, has died. Baker and his then wife, the late Tammy Faye Messner, built a multi-million dollar empire around their 'Praise The Lord' or PTL ministry. Their television program reached millions of viewers but Baker resigned from the ministry in 1987 after admitting he had paid a secretary to keep quiet about a sexual encounter.

Two years later, he was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 45 years in prison though he served just under five years. An Oscar-winning film about Baker and his wife called "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" came out in 2021. Baker was 86 years old.

Plus, British police have now arrested a seventh person on suspicion of terror offenses as part of their investigation into a suspected Iranian plot targeting the U.K.'s Fairford Air Base. He's identified as a 22-year-old British man. Meantime, we're learning the U.S. moved all of its long-range bombers stationed in the U.K. back to their American home bases this Sunday after an unspecified new threat.

Several media organizations reported that concerns about a drone attack ordered by Iran prompted this move. CNN has not yet independently confirmed that reporting.

KEILAR: And dramatic video shows the startling moment that a hayride tractor lost control and flipped over multiple times in upstate New York. Authorities say the tractor was pulling a wagon carrying members of a church youth group. On Sunday, when brake problems sent it speeding down the road, there were 21 people on board. They were ranging in age from four to 19 and about a dozen of them were injured, including the 16-year-old driver who remains in critical condition.

[13:50:00]

The others have since been released from the hospital.

Demonstrations in France have forced hundreds of schools to close, led to the arrest of thousands of people, and at least one person has lost a hand after grabbing a grenade. Next, why students and teachers are protesting.

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[13:55:16]

KEILAR: We are witnessing unprecedented protests in France today. What started as a small demonstration in support of teachers striking at a single high school north of Paris has just rapidly exploded into violent unrest across the country. Thousands of students and teachers have now taken to the streets, clashing with police in riot gear.

Hundreds of schools are now closed. More than 5,000 people have been arrested, most of them minors. We're told one student lost a hand after they picked up a grenade. Another is said to have lost the use of an eye.

President Donald Trump reacting to the protests earlier, writing, quote, "What's happening in France is nothing less than out-of-control mass migration. This isn't about schools. This is about Islam wanting to take over a once-great country."

CNN's Melissa Bell is in Paris. Melissa, the situation on the ground seems extremely tense. What is this about, if you can speak to President Trump's claim there?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, just ahead, I'll show you what's happening around me. Paris is (inaudible), Brianna. Just a fact check, President Trump. This is neither a protest movement about Islam nor the result of mass migration. It is about the French state's inability, really, to finance itself.

What we have here in France is a very generous welfare state, free schooling, very generous health care, generous pensions and, increasingly, that's been hard for them to fund as the population gets older, with high borrowing costs, et cetera.

Let me just show you what's happening here behind me. This is where the protests headed earlier today, and you can still see some of the students are on the other side of that police line. The police are trying to clear them now.

There's still a lot of tear gas in the air. Earlier, there was a lot more. You can see there on the ground the result of the scuffles between police and protesters.

Earlier, there was a lot of projectiles in the air, a lot of back-and- forth between them, and, again, a lot of violent scenes here this evening. The problem for authorities, Brianna, is that, as you mentioned, this began as a single school protest, then ballooned into something much bigger. Very angry high school students with longstanding grievances about the fact that their classes aren't fit, the teachers are not enough for their classes, or if they're absent, they're not replaced.

That then ballooned with what they say was an inadequate government response. They simply weren't listening to them or meeting their demands. And then what they describe as this heavy-handed response that has seen some of the violence that you mentioned over the course of the last week when the thing escalated.

Today, what happened is that the grown-ups turned out to back these high schoolers. So parents, teaching unions, public sector workers that turned out massively. The figures are absolutely astonishing of the people who were out on the streets today. These are government figures, Brianna. More than 250,000 people across France. That is huge. We're talking like the height of the Yellow Vest movement. So that speaks to the anger that is out there. No longer just the high schoolers, but the unions as well. And it's going to be very difficult for the government at this stage to get it back under control. Brianna?

KEILAR: Yeah, I mean, how are they reacting at this point in time? Where do they go from here?

BELL: Well, we have this meeting that's taking place tonight. President Macron is having this emergency meeting to meet with his prime minister, the education minister, to try and figure out what to do. So far, they had provided nothing. They're essentially trying to balance their budgets for 2027 to cut spending.

They said there was no more money. One has to consider what they're going to try and look for, given that these students have said they're going to be back out on the streets on Thursday and again later this month until their demands are met. There's also now the question of what the justice system does with so many of these now 5,000, mainly minors, that have been taken into custody, most of them with no previous criminal record. Brianna?

KEILAR: Yeah, astounding. Thousands of people, mainly minors. Melissa Bell, thank you so much for that report from the streets of Paris.

And a new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

SANCHEZ: Soon, President Trump will head to Baltimore as new polling offers a new look at the most important issues to voters. Top of mind with the midterms just four weeks away, high prices. Plus, New York Governor, Kathy Hochul declaring a statewide disaster emergency over measles, the first such action by any state since cases of the disease began surging last year.

And an on-court controversy, tennis star Coco Gauff firing back after receiving what she calls an insane amount of racist comments on social media after a disputed point in her latest match. We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."