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Sentencing Set to Occur in Tupac Shakur Murder Trial; Man Killed Falling Off Six Flags Roller Coaster Identified; Republicans in Danger in Midterms?. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired October 13, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Senate race struggles. The president now heading to Alaska to rally Republican voters, trying to keep a critical seat in the Republican column. But Democrats are growing more confident about their chances. We will explain.

And a tragedy at Six Flags. A man dies falling from a roller coaster, witnesses telling police the victim struck several other people before falling beneath the ride.

And we have new details on the arrest of actress Selma Blair, how she allegedly assaulted multiple people, including two flight attendants, and could now face years in prison if she's convicted.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

We begin this afternoon with the midterms, where, today, several key Senate races are heating up, as the candidates and President Trump have just 21 days left to make their case to voters. Right now, the president is making his way to Alaska to rally support for Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, while, in Georgia, voters are able to cast ballots starting today.

Just moments ago, Alaska's Senate race was seen as a safer bet by most Republican analysts. Now it seems it's anyone's to win. Meantime, a top Democratic super PAC making a bullish move in Georgia's toss-up race, canceling a week of ad spending for Senator Jon Ossoff, who is pulling far ahead of Republican Congressman Mike Collins for that Senate seat.

Let's go live with the White House with CNN's Alayna Treene.

She has more on the president's trip today. Alayna, the president headed to Alaska. What is his message for voters there?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's been a very busy day already here at the White House, Boris. And it's only getting busier for the president as he heads to Alaska, currently in air en route there to stump for the Senate incumbent Dan Sullivan.

And, look, his message in Alaska is likely to be very similar to the one that he's been giving in many of these red states that he's been visiting. I'd argue Republicans, I think, a couple of months ago were not anticipating needing to have the president spend his very precious resources, his time and his energy in states like Alaska, Alaska, of course, a state that the president won in 2024 by 13 points.

That is similar when you look at -- you have the map now on your screen -- of where the president is heading for the rest of the week and some of the stops he's been doing already in past weeks, going to the states where he won pretty handily back in 2024 and also some of the elections before that.

But, really, I think the goal here is, the president is on defense. He actually acknowledged that earlier today. I was out there on the South Lawn waiting for him to depart the White House to travel to Alaska, and one reporter asked him about his thoughts on the midterm elections, if he believes keeping the House and the Senate, which one might be harder for Republicans to hold on to?

And he said he thinks it's going to be equally tough and that he's acknowledging that it is going to be very difficult for Republicans to hang on to their majorities. So, the goal for the president continues to be to try and boost turnout. That is really the one word I hear repeatedly in my conversations with the president's -- members of his political operation, that it's all about boosting enthusiasm and energy for Republicans.

That's going to be his goal today and throughout the rest of the week, Boris.

SANCHEZ: And, Alayna, you mentioned a busy day at the White House. President Trump's new press secretary took only three questions at her first briefing today. It lasted about 15 minutes, and you were getting some new reviews from administration officials.

What are you hearing?

TREENE: Yes, look, it was a packed Briefing Room this morning. Trying to get through there earlier today was tough because so many people were eager to be there for the first press briefing of this new White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia.

But she only spoke, Boris, for 14 minutes. She answered questions for roughly five minutes, each of those from more friendly out -- more friendly to Republican outlets, Breitbart among them, FOX News, "Daily Mail."

All to say, it was -- from the conversations with advisers who were watching it in real time, they were saying it was a bit more awkward. It was briefer than they anticipated, that her introduction to the reporters in the room was more stilted than perhaps they were hoping for, one of them calling it brutal.

But I will say, on questions of whether you know what this could mean for her long term, many of them arguing this was her first time introducing herself to the press. They expect the president will give her the benefit of the doubt and see how it goes moving forward. The president, for his part, I should note, did say that he believed she did a good job.

But one thing that was really interesting, even though she spoke only very briefly, she did drop a big piece of news at the end of this press briefing. I want you to listen to what she said. It was an announcement on the U.S. ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle. Listen.

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QUESTION: The president said yesterday to reporters that he is considering firing her. Do you know a timeline for that? And, also, potentially who could be on the short list to replace her if he does?

KATIE ZACHARIA, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We have asked Ambassador Guilfoyle to resign. She has been a wonderful asset to the team, and we wish her well.

QUESTION: OK.

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TREENE: I mean, I just love the reaction there from if you saw, on the bottom right-hand screen, a "New York Times" reporter, Shawn McCreesh, just kind of showing his disbelief at her answer, saying that they have asked, that the White House had asked Kimberly Guilfoyle to resign, a huge piece of news.

And later we did hear from the president himself on this, essentially saying that he didn't like what he was seeing with some of the text messages that were first released by "The Wall Street Journal," later also provided to CNN,showing that a Trump donor -- that Kimberly Guilfoyle had asked a Trump donor to pay off $100,000 of her Amex bulges days before her Senate confirmation, something the president was clearly frustrated by.

I know, from my conversations behind the scenes, a lot of people not happy with Guilfoyle. So she did drop a big bit of news there. So we will see. She is traveling, Boris, with the president to Alaska today. So I'm sure we will be hearing more from Katie Zacharia.

SANCHEZ: Yes, a bit unusual if the president didn't make the announcement himself, as he usually does on these matters via TRUTH Social.

Alayna Treene at the White House, thank you so much.

Let's get some perspective from Sarah Matthews. She served as deputy press secretary during the first Trump administration. She's also a contributor at The Bulwark.

Sarah, thanks for being with us.

So, how would you rate Katie Zacharia's first press briefing?

SARAH MATTHEWS, FORMER DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It was a rather underwhelming debut, if I do say so myself.

I mean, look, love them or hate them, Kayleigh McEnany and Karoline Leavitt came out swinging in their first press briefings. They set the tone for what type of press secretaries they were going to be. They were sharp, confident, always prepared, and they had command of the Briefing Room and weren't afraid to call on all the reporters in that room.

I think, when you look at Katie Zacharia's performance, it's clear that she was a little nervous. She relied on her notes heavily, and then she only took three questions, and they were from pretty friendly outlets to the White House.

And so I have to say I think that it was a mistake for them to rush her to the podium. If I had to guess, I think that President Trump wanted her out there as soon as possible because he wants someone out there defending him, especially when he feels the pressure right now with all these tight races in the upcoming midterm election.

So he wanted her probably out there, but I just think that they should have taken more time, let her settle into the job, and actually prep better for her first briefing so she could have made a stronger debut, because I will say, folks like Karoline and Kayleigh, they make it look easy. They go out there and make it look like that it's a seamless, easy job.

It's one of the hardest jobs in government, and I think especially for this president. And I think that, having been a deputy press secretary myself, one of my main responsibilities in that role was doing murder board sessions with the press secretary and prepping for hours ahead of briefings and anticipating all the questions that could be asked and going through how we wanted to answer those questions.

SANCHEZ: Sure.

MATTHEWS: And, clearly, it seems like Katie Zacharia didn't have exactly that prep.

SANCHEZ: To that point about President Trump perhaps wanting to put her out there just three weeks ahead of the midterms, I wonder what you think he expects from the person at the podium, given that he's acknowledged this is a tough campaign season for Republicans.

MATTHEWS: I think that he expects the person at the podium to defend him and to defend everything that he says.

And, sometimes, that veers on him wanting them to act as a campaign spokesperson, which you're not really supposed to do from the White House podium. And I think that he will try to put pressure on her. It's something I witnessed during my time actually in the first Trump administration in the aftermath of the 2020 election after he lost. He would put pressure on Kayleigh McEnany to go to the podium and talk about campaign-related matters, but we did not hold any briefings on those, but she would go on FOX News in her personal capacity and then talk about those things.

So I kind of expect that Katie Zacharia will probably do that, and he will he will put some pressure on her to do that. But we know that Trump looks at the job as of press secretary very differently than past presidents have.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

MATTHEWS: He expects that person to basically be a propaganda arm for him. And I think that, in this situation, Katie Zacharia is going to have a really tough time in this role, just because you look at the way the situation that Karoline Leavitt came into when she was functioning as press secretary.

Trump had just won the popular vote. Republicans had control of the House and the Senate and the entire government. And that's not the case of what a Katie Zacharia is walking into. We're looking and anticipating a potential blue wave in November, and Trump will likely face countless investigations in the aftermath of the election.

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And so it's going to be really tough for her if she lasts in this role.

SANCHEZ: And, Sarah, before we go, are you surprised that the White House announced that Kimberly Guilfoyle had been asked to resign this way? Because, typically, it's President Trump that puts this news out there.

I can think of a number of Trump administration officials, including Kristi Noem, that were announced that way. What did you make of the press secretary making this announcement?

MATTHEWS: I think that they wanted to give her a little tidbit of news to drop, so that way it would distract from a rather short press briefing.

I think they knew that she wasn't going to take that many questions, and so they wanted to give her a little nugget of information to feed and appease the reporters in the Briefing Room, and so they did that exactly with giving her this nugget on Kimberly Guilfoyle.

But you're right. Typically, something like this would come from the president. He would announce it himself on his TRUTH Social. And it was kind of an odd way to deliver the news without taking any follow- up questions about what this meant for Kimberly Guilfoyle and whether she was going to resign.

But, obviously, we have now seen that she has announced her own resignation on her X account. SANCHEZ: Sort of. She said that she was going to challenge the

allegations against her and that it was an honor, but she didn't actually say that she was leaving the role, right? It was quite the statement.

Sarah Matthews, great to get your insights. Thanks for joining us.

MATTHEWS: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Still to come, we have now learned that a camera meant to take souvenir photos captured the horrifying moment a man fell out of a Six Flags roller coaster. What we have learned about the deadly accident.

Plus, Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton allegedly hit with another October surprise. "The Wall Street Journal" reporting there's a new video showing him partying in Dubai alongside wanted fugitives.

And, later, actress Selma Blair appearing in court after allegedly biting a flight attendant, leaving another with cuts.

We have details when we come back on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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SANCHEZ: New today, officials have now identified the man who fell to his death from a roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia.

Witnesses say they saw him fall from the Goliath yesterday afternoon, and it happened apparently in the final seconds of the ride. Here is how part of that ride looks. The roller coaster travels over three bunny hills before it reaches a small curve in the area where photos are taken of people on board.

And that right there is apparently where the man came loose from his seat and was ejected. Several investigations are now under way to figure out exactly how that happened.

Let's go live near the amusement park in Atlanta with CNN's Isabel Rosales.

So, Isabel, what are you learning about that portion of the ride and this passenger who fell?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, thrill seekers, they fawn over this sort of roller coaster known as a hypercoaster.

This is Goliath, where this happened, right here. This teal and orange ride, it goes up to a speed of 70 miles per hour, a 200-foot incline. It's a 210-second ride, just under four minutes. And in that video that you were showing there off the top, Boris, you're asking, what is it that is so liked about the sort of roller coaster? What do people think about it? The top comment is somebody saying that video doesn't do it justice,

that around every hill, even the little buddy hops, your butt goes flying off of the air. The comment was, it feels like you're flying. But it's one thing to feel like you're flying off the seat, and it's another for this to actually happen to a person and for a man to lose his life.

So the question is, how did this happen? Was this a mechanical failure, a human error? Was the restraint not there? We're asking these questions of the Cobb County Police Department, who says they are investigating, and also of the manufacturer.

This is Bolliger & Mabillard, a Swiss roller coaster manufacturer who says that they are investigating into this. And we did speak, by the way, with a roller coaster safety expert who says that company has a stellar record.

I want to show you right over here as we zoom in. You can actually see one of the cars still up on the incline. This is not the car where this man fell off from, but the one that was coming up behind it, that they hit the emergency brakes, stopped it, and you saw those videos, those images of people being evacuated down the maintenance steps.

Obviously, a very traumatizing event for these people. We now know the victim here, 42-year-old Hassan Jihad Ibn Kariem. That's his name released from the Cobb County Police Department, who says that they found him there at the bottom of the ride, unresponsive and not breathing, saying that he got ejected from the ride and struck other riders before falling.

A witness tells CNN affiliate WXIA that he hit the car three times before falling down, and that it appeared he was riding that car with his son as his wife and daughter were looking down from below. And, in fact, another witness said that those pictures that you take on the roller coaster, the souvenir pictures actually captured his last moments.

Horrible for families and kids to have witnessed that. Let's listen in.

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SHERRY SUTTON, SIX FLAGS OVER GEORGIA VISITOR: Two of my children had just been on that ride maybe 20 minutes before. Whenever you go to amusement parks, whenever you get in a car, whenever you live your life, it's always subject to risk. So, you just never know when something's going to happen.

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ROSALES: I have a statement, actually. It's the statement.

And we also found out that Kariem worked for Atlanta Public Schools, who gave us a statement and said the following: "Atlanta Public Schools extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of Mr. Kariem. "He was a cherished member of the Wesley International Academy and APS

families whose presence and impact will be deeply missed by our students, staff, and all those whose lives he touched. Our thoughts are with everyone mourning his loss during this difficult time" -- Boris.

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SANCHEZ: Isabel Rosales, just a tragedy. Thank you for bringing us that report.

So, the only person ever convicted in the murder of Tupac Shakur could be sentenced to life in prison today. We will take you live outside the courthouse where Duane "Keffe D" Davis is about to appear.

And the pope undergoing surgery. We have an update on his condition.

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SANCHEZ: Today, in a Las Vegas courtroom, the man convicted in the murder of legendary rapper Tupac Shakur will learn his fate. Just moments from now, the sentencing hearing for Duane "Keffe D" Davis is set to begin.

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Davis, of course, was found guilty of first-degree murder back in August, 30 years after Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting. Prosecutors said that Davis ordered the hit and then used some of his own words to secure a conviction and prove it.

CNN's Nick Watt joins us now.

So, Nick, take us through how this hearing today is going to play out.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As you mentioned, Boris, the court session begins in about five minutes from now.

We expect there might be the statements from the prosecution, from the defense, maybe also from Tupac Shakur's family members. Many of them attended the two-week trial that led to the conviction of Keffe D for the murder of Tupac more than 30 years ago.

Now, the judge will decide the sentence. Keffe D at the start of the proceedings waived his right for the jury to decide the sentence. That jury, by the way, took just about three hours to deliver a unanimous verdict, guilty of murder in the first degree.

So, Keffe D is now 63 years old. He's the only person left alive in the car that tailed Tupac that night and on the way from a Tyson fight at the MGM Grand in Vegas to a club. Tupac Shakur was, of course, shot, died six days later from his injuries.

Now, it's taken 30 years. There was no weapon found. There were some unwilling witnesses. There was the omerta of gangland, and there was some pretty shoddy police work, frankly, that has led to this delay. Ultimately, it was Keffe D's own words that led to this moment.

He gave an interview to investigators in 2008 who were looking into the death of Biggie Smalls. And in that interview, Keffe D laid out his own involvement in the killing of Tupac Shakur. He also put out a book in 2019, "Compton Street Legend," that also detailed his involvement.

Now, nobody is saying that Keffe D actually pulled the trigger. Prosecutors say he was what is called a shot caller for the South Side Compton Crips. And they say that what happened is, earlier in the evening, after that Tyson fight, Tupac and others beat up Keffe D's nephew, and that was why he -- quote -- "hunted him down."

So we will hear very shortly whether Keffe D is going to face life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for this murder 30 years ago. Keffe D is 63 years old -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Nick Watt, thank you so much for the update. We look forward to learning more from that hearing.

You can follow along on CNN's streaming coverage of the sentencing. Just go to CNN All Access at CNN.com/watch.

So, the vice president is campaigning in Texas for Ken Paxton as the Republican Senate candidate faces a new scandal. That story is next.

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