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Five Men Arrested For Suspicion Of Terror Near Airbase; Nor'easter Lashes Communities, Affecting Thousands; Two Panda Bears Arrive In Atlanta; Trump To Host Anthropic CEO At White House; CNN Provides Updates On CA Governor's Race; Fat Bear Week Finale. Aired 5- 6p ET

Aired September 27, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Watch "The Detour with David Chang" tonight at 9 o'clock on CNN and streaming next day with an "All Access" subscription. Thanks so much for joining us today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. "CNN Newsroom" continues with Omar Jimenez right now.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to the "CNN Newsroom," everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. Tonight, an investigation is underway after British police arrested five men for suspected preparation of a terrorist act and explosives offenses. The men were arrested near an airbase in England used by U.S. forces, specifically B-1 bombers, involved in targeting Iran. CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson has more on this incident. Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: The five men were detained in the early hours of the morning, and it does seem to be as a result of a tip off from somebody who lived very local to the airbase here. Now, villagers have been telling us that the airbase had been on a lockdown. That's what they believe for the past week or so because there were there was nobody, they said, coming off the base into the village, and they're used to seeing people, you know, service personnel in the village all the time.

When I asked a local counselor here, who was involved in the evacuation of those eighty-five families who live close to the base, close to where these five men were arrested and these three white vans seized and then investigated by the army bomb squad, when I asked him about the base being on lockdown, he said, yes, that there was extra vigilance, there had been extra security around the base. In fact, he said that the IRGC, the Iranian high military command, had actually threatened RAF Fairford base by name just five weeks ago.

Now, certainly, the police are not saying that this is linked to Iran. They're not saying the five men are linked to Iran at the moment. They are saying that they're being held on suspicion of terrorism offenses. But the local counselor framing it this way, that it was very good that somebody in the village had been perceptive enough and had actually called in to the police when they -- when they saw something that was out of the ordinary. The investigation is going on. Because these five men are now being held on suspicion of terrorism charges, they can be held for up to two weeks. While we've been standing here now, I heard what sounded like a

controlled detonation coming from the direction of the airbase, but there's very little information about the nature of the explosives that the police believe that they seized from the vehicles or the five men who have been detained, but it does appear as if the security of this base was helped by one of the local villagers spotting something out of the ordinary in the early hours of the morning.

JIMENEZ: All right, Nic Robertson, appreciate it. A whole lot more to learn here. I want to bring in CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen. He's also vice president for global studies and fellows at New America and author of the new book, "All the Presidents' Wars: Twenty- five Years of America's War on Terror."

So, Peter, as you look at this incident, including trucks filled with explosives, it seems to have the hallmarks of a potential terrorist attack, though there's a lot we don't know. What do you see in the details that have come out so far?

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, if it acts like a duck and walks like a duck, it's probably a duck. I mean, we don't -- there's a lot of things we don't know. We don't really know who these people are.

The British police tend to be very tight lipped, you know, more tight lipped than the Americans might be in a case like this, the fact that we saw the robot looking at these white vans, looking for

explosives, the fact that Nic was reporting they're being held on terrorism charges.

And this, you know, really comes in the context of quite a number of incidents in the United Kingdom linked to Iran. There were a group of Iranian nationals arrested earlier who were planning to allegedly attack the Israeli embassy in the U.K. All of this is in the context, of course, of the February 28th war against Iran. The U.K. was not part of that war at the beginning, but did agree to allow some U.S. flights flying from this particular base.

And as Nic also reported, I mean, you know, the Iranians have actually -- I grew up in England. I'd never heard of this base. It's not a particularly well-known base but, apparently, it's a base where major American bombers do fly from.

[17:04:59]

But, you know, the context is a number of terrorist incidents plotted or actually happening in the U.K. Relatively small level incidents. There was an Iranian journalist who the Iranian regime doesn't like, who was stabbed in 2024. And so, we've seen this pattern of Iranian dissidents, Jewish targets being targeted in the U.K. in the past. And so, this would be upping the ante to try and attack a U.S. base with explosives, but it wouldn't be coming out of nowhere.

JIMENEZ: And as you were talking about it, Nic Robertson in his report talked about how in July, Iran had warned the British government that any base used to launch attacks on Iran is a legitimate target for Iranian forces. And you laid out some of the threat environment that we've previously seen between Iran and some threats or attacks that have happened on British soil. Again, still a lot we're waiting to find out in this particular instance.

But is the potential for an attack on a base like this something that is largely a part of the national security posturing, defense wise? Are there other targets that someone like the U.K., again, who's not maybe directly involved in the fighting, is having to consider knowing that they are allowing, in this case, U.S. forces to use an airport for attacks?

BERGEN: Yes. We also saw attacks on Jewish community ambulances in London earlier this year and a mysterious group that no one had ever heard of before claimed responsibility or assigned responsibility. It's the view of the British government officially that this -- that this group isn't really a real group, but it's a kind of organized by the Quds force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Iran.

And so, it's not simply just military targets, it's also the fact that Jewish targets have been attacked, you know, this allegation of an attack potentially against the Iranian embassy and also, more broadly, Iranian dissidents and Iranian media that Iran doesn't like.

JIMENEZ: You know, President Trump has said the United States and United Kingdom had these men under investigation for a long time, I'm talking about the ones most recently arrested here, and that they were looking to do big damage, as he put it. What more do we know about that? What does that characterization say to you, if anything?

BERGEN: Well, I mean, judging by Nic's report, that doesn't seem like totally accurate because Nic's report seemed to indicate that this sort of came from a tip that was pretty recent. Maybe there was -- again, the British are trying to be very tight-lipped about these investigations. So, I don't really know. I don't know. I don't really know what President Trump is referring to.

JIMENEZ: You know, Iran's hostile activity, as you've talked about, goes back decades in Britain, but it has escalated, obviously, since the Iran war began. You laid out some of those examples as well. But given that the war is unresolved to this point, how much does this incident speak to what could happen at U.S. military interests in the U.K. and elsewhere? Do you anticipate this changing again the counterterrorism posturing at hard targets in other locations?

BERGEN: Very possibly. I mean, the fact that this particular base was called out by name by the Iranians obviously indicates a very specific desire. From a sort of international legal perspective, it is a military target and it's carrying out strikes against Iran. So, from a sort of international law perspective, it's not unreasonable for the Iranians to say it's a military target and we plan to attack it.

Now, there are other, of course, plenty of other U.S. military targets in Europe that may not be directly involved in the Iran war or may be indirectly involved, and we've seen throughout all over Europe and lots of countries recently since the beginning of the war on February 28th this mysterious Iranian terrorist group trying to carry out plots in various European countries. So, you know, I think it's not unreasonable to expect that you might see attempts at other American military bases in Europe given what we've already seen since the war began.

JIMENEZ: Sure. Details still thin on this particular case, but Peter Bergen, really appreciate you being here and bringing us some good context here. Thank you for taking the time.

BERGEN: Thank you, sir.

JIMENEZ: All right. Still to come this hour as well, we want to keep you updated on the flooding across several states in the U.S. This is a live picture in Seaside, New Jersey. Does not look like a fun day at the beach, but several states are looking like this as this rare September nor'easter hovers. We're going to tell you when the rain is expected to finally stop.

[17:09:58]

Plus, the panda party is down in Atlanta. A FedEx flight carrying two pandas from China arrives at Zoo Atlanta. We'll bring you those cute details. And then later, following calls for A.I. regulations and guardrails, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is having dinner with the president tonight. We'll bring you details there. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:15:00]

JIMENEZ: We've seen powerful waves, daring water rescues, and even more rain ahead. A deadly nor'easter that has been drenching several states on the East Coast is slowly starting to lose strength, but its presence is still being felt.

In New York City, for example, one person was killed and four people, including two children, were injured Saturday in separate instances after high winds knocked down trees. You can see some of what we've seen in the New York City area there.

And then North Carolina has activated an emergency ferry service to move residents off Hatteras Island after damage to crucial Highway 12 left them with no access to or from the island.

And then off the coast of Massachusetts, the wind and rain were so strong wooden wreckage that was believed to be from an 1884 shipwreck, I'm talking the year 1884 shipwreck, washed ashore. Tens of thousands are also without power, you can see that they're pretty incredible, but tens of thousands, meanwhile, are without power and the storm is still disrupting air travel.

CNN's Derek Van Dam is tracking the latest in Massachusetts with a look at what conditions are like right now. Derek, what are you seeing?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Omar, this is what we've been experiencing the entire duration of our coverage with this powerful nor'easter. It has pushed up the Atlantic Ocean with its powerful winds from the northeast that clocked at times 70 miles per hour in Barnstable County near the cape of Massachusetts.

We are in Hull, Massachusetts. This area is really no stranger to these powerful coastal low-pressure systems, but to have a nor'easter in the month of September is relatively rare. It has been so disruptive for so many plans, not only knocking out power for over 100,000 customers this weekend, but canceling music festivals, canceling concerts, relocating sporting events.

And also, the impacts on travel has been significant. I mean, we know trying to get in and out of airports here along the eastern seaboard, specifically into southern New England and into the mid-Atlantic, has been very challenging with cancellations and delays in the thousands.

Now, as we go forward in time, there's some good news out of this because we're starting to lose strength from this storm. So, as we go through future high tide cycles, I don't believe that we will have as impactful of a storm surge component from this because we're losing the wind component as the hours pass by.

But we still need to take this storm seriously. There's still a lot of energy in the ocean. Stay away from the coast if possible. Avoid traveling. Let's just kind of ride this one out together. Right, Omar? I think the worst is behind us. We'll say goodbye and good riddance to this storm once it finally moves off the east coast by the early parts of this upcoming work week. Omar, back to you.

JIMENEZ: Derek Van Dam, appreciate it. Yes, almost out of it, but still some very serious conditions in a lot of places, which is a lot of what meteorologist Melissa Nord is tracking, tracking the storm's latest movements as well. So, where is the storm right now? What are we looking at in the days and days to come here?

MELISSA NORD, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Omar, what's interesting is the center of this is actually on New Jersey shoreline and actually inland. So, I pulled up a new view, which is a picture from space from one of our visible satellites, and you can see the clouds swirling around. The center of this thing is actually right about here over lower New Jersey. So, we're tracking that right now.

The winds around it are going counterclockwise. So, it's on the northern side of this system through Philadelphia, New York City, Long Island where we have more of this onshore wind, and that's pulling in a lot of moisture. So, the Yankees game today and the O's was canceled. We've got wild card games starting on Tuesday, and they move the time of that game forward to try to get it in. Well, the rain moved in, the rain is not going to be stopping, so they had to cancel that game.

There's a lot more rain to come in the hours as we move towards sunset and overnight tonight. You can see some of the estimated rainfall amounts since first thing on Friday morning. Some of these places, four or five inches. I've seen some rain gauge reports of six and seven inches, but it was spread out over several days. For that reason, we didn't see the extent of flash flooding we could have seen with this nor'easter had everything come in a 12-hour window.

A lot of rain moving onshore. Really messy along Long Island as well. And big picture, the storm is going to be moving up the eastern seaboard, and that means by tomorrow morning, things are looking really wet and still gusty in a place like Boston, which has seen over 300 cancellations of flights, 300 delayed flights today. Current delay on average is over 200 minutes at Boston Logan Airport, LaGuardia. Over two hours of ground delays on average there.

Winds have come down a bit. So, our peak wind gusts, we saw some 70 and 80 mile-per-hour gusts. The winds this afternoon have been about 30 to 40 miles an hour.

[17:20:00]

We'll see those wind gusts for the overnight could top about 30, 35 miles an hour, but should improve into tomorrow as well. Omar?

JIMENEZ: All right. Good to see some improvements, but still a lot going on. Melissa Nord, really appreciate it. We will continue to monitor the storm throughout the hour. But if you get antsy in the meantime, you can check on it, too, 24/7. Just download CNN's new weather app. You can use the Q.R. code at the bottom of your screen, too, or you can find a link to the app at CNN.com/weather or the iPhone app store.

All right, also, Atlanta received a special delivery early this morning, two pandas from China. We're going to have details on the panda express flight. And the diplomacy behind it, also important. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:25:00]

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JIMENEZ: Two giant pandas, they've traveled halfway around the world in a 16-hour flight to arrive at Zoo Atlanta. The very special guests on loan from China got here this morning at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, and they are already stealing hearts. But what else did you expect?

The pandas were transported to Zoo Atlanta in large crates, loaded into a FedEx truck properly decorated here with a police escort. They arrived at the zoo where they will be in a routine quarantine period of about a month. The male panda named Ping Ping and the female named Fu Shuang were sent to the United States as part of Beijing's long tradition of panda diplomacy dating back to 1972.

CNN's David Culver is with us now. And David, look, you've covered this back and forth diplomacy for a while now. The arrival of these pandas comes at really a crucial time for U.S.-China relations. How do the pandas actually help with diplomacy between the United States and China? DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's strange, Omar,

that you look at these creatures and you realize they tend to now be this strange barometer of where the U.S.-China relationship sits right now. I think the fact that two have arrived is indicative of a positive thing.

I go back to late 2023 and it was just after the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington had sent their three giant pandas back to China and it was looking like the U.S. was going to have zero giant pandas left, and that's down from a height of a decade ago, about 15 giant pandas, so we're now sitting about six. So, perhaps, if you want to equate that to where the relationship is between the two countries, you know, maybe it's on its way back towards more positive footing.

But you've got to take that aside and you have to look at the reality that this does not just happen overnight. I mean, I think folks were waking up and probably scrolling and saw the alerts and said, oh, my goodness, this is a surprise. But no, these are months, if not years in the making.

And we were there when the 2024 sendoff was taking place for the two pandas that are now at the National Zoo in Washington. And you get a sense of just how involved both sides are. I mean, it's not only politically heavily layered, but from a scientific perspective, you've got folks who are on both sides trying to make sure that, first of all, this pair is going to work, that they're going to get along, that genetically, there won't be any issues, that health wise, they're going to be OK, and that, hopefully, they can reproduce. Again, all of these for the sake of science.

But then from just a zoo perspective of wanting to attract visitors, giant pandas tend to be the number one attraction at zoos that are fortunate enough to house them. So, it's quite important for them to be able to sustain numbers and bring people in. From a diplomatic perspective, though, Omar, I think this is something that obviously suggests that the U.S. and China are in some sort of maybe stable ground footing at this moment.

When you look at how other countries have had it recently, take Japan, for example, they had to send back their two giant pandas earlier this year amidst some comments that were made over Taiwan, a sensitive issue for China and its sovereignty.

JIMENEZ: The panda barometer. I like it. I think we can find ways to incorporate that in because, to your point, it has fluctuated, the number of them, over the years. And for those that don't know, I mean, I mentioned it in the intro, you've lived and reported for several years in China. How do people there feel when China sends pandas to the United States?

CULVER: Oh, my gosh, it's incredibly emotional. I remember when we were doing our "Whole Story" documentary on Operation Panda. We were there at six in the morning at one of the camp bases, the research camps, and there was a massive crowd of people.

As soon as the base opened, you had people sprinting towards their favorite pandas because they have dozens to choose from at some of those locations. And it gives you a sense of just how prized and beloved they are amongst the Chinese population. And you also see that when there's a send-off, there can be a lot of emotions tied to it.

Interestingly enough, when I look at the pair that has just arrived in Atlanta, you have Ping Ping and Fu Shuang, both of them were born in 2020. Now, Omar, when we talk about the relationship between the U.S. and China, I think you could argue, and I was living there at the time, that it was at its lowest point because of the COVID outbreak.

Both of these pandas happened to be born in the midst of the outbreak. In fact, I think it was Ping Ping that was born on the same day that the final U.S. state announced its COVID case. So, it shows you just at the time what was going on.

And now, of course, you have these pandas here. They have done their time in quarantine as have many folks, myself included, across the globe. And now, they're in this space where perhaps they're echoing in this new era between the two countries. But too early to be too sure about that.

JIMENEZ: Sure.

[17:29:59]

It's incredible how much goes into what will be just a very cute experience for people just going to the zoo. So much leading up to those moments.

CULVER: Yes.

JIMENEZ: David Culver, really appreciate you taking the time. Good to see you. Everyone else, we'll be right back.

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JIMENEZ: President Trump will host the CEO and co-founder of A.I. company Anthropic tonight at the White House.

[17:35:02]

This will be the first meeting between the president and Dario Amodei, who is among the A.I. executives calling for a slowdown of artificial intelligence development after a series of A.I. security breaches. President Trump has criticized concerns over A.I. safety, calling them a hoax. Polling, though, finds that many Americans are turning against A.I. technology, with many expressing fear and concern about it.

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten runs the numbers. Harry?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Hey there, Omar. Happy Sunday to yet another rainy day in here in New York City. What is going on? Why is a nor'easter happening this early? Anyway, I'm going to put aside my weather camp days back from State College, Pennsylvania.

We're talking about A.I. today. And, you know, one of the most interesting sorts of developments of the 2026 campaign is the emergence of A.I. as an issue and many politicians going against A.I. And there's a clear reason for it. And that is because of the voters, the voters. The American people are changing their minds on A.I.

I mean, just look at this trend line just over the last two plus years or so, back from 2024 to now. You know, back in 2024, A.I., you know, wasn't so hot to trot, but it wasn't so negative either, right? It stood at minus three points in terms of its net favorability rate. That's favorable minus unfavorable. But look at this decline in just over two years-time. Now, negative 23 points. That's a movement against A.I. of 20 points, Omar. That is no bueno.

But how did this happen? How did this happen? Well, when you dig in by party, you really see an interesting trend developing and one in which we've seen a complete switcheroo. Take a look at this. OK, if you look at A.I. by party, the net favorability of A.I. by party, back in 2024, Democrats were 22 points more likely on the net favorability scale to view A.I. in the positive than the negative. The net favorability among Democrats stood at plus seven points among Republicans at minus 15 points.

Now, look at this. Democrats have completely gone the other way on A.I. Their numbers have absolutely plummeted more than six feet under. Now, it's minus 36 points in terms of the net favorability among Democrats. That is a shift, Omar, if I'm doing my math correctly, of 43 points in the negative direction.

Republicans, on the other hand, while they're still in, well, my case, I drew it as purple, the minus eight, they're in the negative. You can see, though, that the number has actually shifted more towards the positive territory. Republicans are slightly more likely to view A.I. positively now than they did back in 2024. Now, this is, I think, partially because of President Trump sort of embracing A.I. and, normally, Republicans, of course, will follow the leader on this particular issue.

But this dramatic drop among Democrats, what is going on there? Well, you take a look at the broader measure in terms of how Democrats view A.I., either good or bad for society. I really think it's illuminating. OK, take a look, Dems thoughts on A.I. for society. You know, you go back to 2023 and Fox News polling, the plurality of Democrats said that A.I. was, in fact, good for society, 46 percent, bad for society at 38 percent. But that good number, that good percentage absolutely plummeted.

Now, it's just 28 percent who say that A.I. is, in fact, good for society. That bad percentage rocketed up. We're talking about a jump of 25 points, some 38 percent to 63 percent. So, the bad has gone from a minority to now a clear majority of Democrats who say that A.I. is, in fact, bad for society.

Now, if you've been following along, my dear friends, you might have noticed that I didn't cover independence. And, you know, I don't actually have a slide for independence. But you know what? I have it up here, anyway. How have independence changed on A.I.? Well, you know, back in 2024, net favorability among independence for A.I. was zero. That is as many -- as many independents viewed it favorably as unfavorably. Now, it's minus 31 points among independents.

So, what we've seen is Republicans actually becoming slightly more favorable towards A.I., but independents and Democrats running away from it, and I think that's why we're going to see those independents playing a key role in the general election and politicians, how they're going to maneuver around A.I.

Well, looks to me, again, Omar, my time is up, but happy Sunday. Go Bills.

JIMENEZ: Honestly, I thought you were just going to keep going. I wouldn't have stopped you if you did. Harry Enten, good to see you, as always.

All right, meanwhile, it's going to be one of the most closely-watched races this November. After the break, we're going to talk about how California voters feel over the two people running to be their next governor and what those candidates need to do to sway those voters. We'll get into it. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

[17:40:00]

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JIMENEZ: We are just 37 days from Election Day. It's coming quick, folks. One of the most closely watched races is happening in the nation's most populous state. California Governor Gavin Newsom is ending his second and final term at a pivotal moment for the Democratic Party. And the running to replace him, Democrat Xavier Becerra, a former Health and Human Services secretary during the Biden administration, and Republican Steve Hilton, a British-American politician and former Fox News host.

[17:45:03]

Then you look at the polling. New polling out this week from UC Berkeley shows Becerra widening his lead over Hilton. It shows Becerra with a 25-point advantage, which is an increase of seven from his 18- point lead the poll showed in August.

So, let's talk about all this with CNN's Elex Michaelson, correspondent and anchor of "The Story Is with Elex Michaelson." Good to see you, man. So, let's start with Becerra. He's leading in the poll pretty handily at this point, but it still shows that 40 percent of voters view him unfavorably. So, how does that impact his chances of becoming governor? What that actually looks like if he gets that job done?

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, it might not because the number that matters the most is that the state has twice as many Democrats as Republicans. So, in order for Steve Hilton to win as governor, he's got to convince Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents to back him over the Democrat in the race.

Now, there's no question that Californians are not thrilled with the status quo. The state has the highest gas prices in the country, the most homeless people, among the worst cost of living issues. The question is, who's to blame? Is it the Republicans in Washington who control every branch of government in Washington, the federal level, or the Democrats at the state level who control every branch of the state government and have for about 20 years? And right now, voters seem to be blaming the federal government and the Trump administration who, frankly, is on T.V. way more and in people's social media feeds way more than the state government.

JIMENEZ: And it's an interesting dynamic and breakdown. Some of what -- I know you've spoken to him before. Congressman Kevin Kiley was talking about last week or yesterday, we had him on the show, sort of who are people going to blame more, the state government or the federal government, for what I think is fair to say is a lot of unhappiness generally in the voting base. You were at a Hilton rally, though, yesterday, and you got the chance to speak to some of the voters there. What did they tell you?

MICHAELSON: Well, it was interesting because we saw this very dynamic at play. We went to a Hilton rally and then, afterwards, we went to a farmer's market where we talked to more Democrats. So, the first two folks you're going to hear from are more conservative, leading Hilton supporters, and the last individual is a Democrat. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: I'm looking for someone to clean up the city, clean up the state. I mean, I see a lot of problems with high taxes, continuing to get high taxes. I see a lot of uncertainty as to where our future is going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: I think California is in a heap of trouble. You know, I'm really concerned about my children, my grandchildren. And as one of the largest economies, you know, in the nation, I'm really concerned about California and California's future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: I can't buy into it. It just sounds too idealistic. And I'm not happy about Becerra either. But, you know, it's again, you know, we get to -- you got to pick one or the other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: And at that farmer's market, when we talked to the Democrats, they all said that because Hilton was endorsed by Donald Trump, that's a deal breaker. They can't get beyond that, and it doesn't matter what else he's saying.

JIMENEZ: It's fascinating, especially as Republicans across the country are wrestling with that very dynamic as the president's approval rating has dipped. It's something Republicans and voters are having to deal with on the campaign trail. You know, we've got the California governor's debate hosted by CNN on Wednesday. I guess we heard some of the issues there. But what do you expect the big issues that will be addressed will be once that debate starts?

MICHAELSON: Well, our current governor, Gavin Newsom, likes to talk about the fact that the future starts here and that California is the nation's coming attractions in terms of issues. So, let's think about the biggest issues the nation is grappling right now. You've been talking a lot this hour about A.I. All the A.I. companies are based in California.

And what will the state regulation be that could influence other states around the country? That's one of the biggest issues. Cost of living, one of the biggest issues around the country. Housing affordability, how do we build? That's likely going to be one of the most important issue. You see that as the top issue among California right now.

But you also see that number, 37 percent, the second most important issue, fighting Trump administration policies. That's the big challenge for Steve Hilton because that shows that there are a lot of folks, despite all of the state issues, that are driven by that national issue. And unless Steve Hilton can make major inroads on that, he does not have a good chance at being the next governor of California.

[17:50:00]

JIMENEZ: Elex Michaelson, the best at home setup at the network, appreciate you being here. Good to see you.

(LAUGHTER)

And be sure for all of you to tune in and catch the CNN special event, the California governor debate, moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, Wednesday at 9 p.m. Eastern and streaming live on the CNN app with an "All Access" subscription. It should be good.

Meanwhile, though, it's the final countdown of the race we've all been following, and we are not talking about the midterms, countdown to the crowning of the 2026 Fat Bear champion. Yes, you heard that right. We got details on who is in the finals, next. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:55:00]

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JIMENEZ: We are now just two days away from crowning this year's champion of Fat Bear Week. The annual competition organized by explore.org and Alaska's Katmai National Park celebrates brown bears as they gorge on salmon like this and pack on essential pounds. This is essential for the winter. This year's contest is now down to four chunky contestants. The final two will be chosen tomorrow after hundreds of thousands of votes have been cast and a defending champ has been dethroned.

We got a lot of analysis here, though. So, I want to bring in founder of Fat Bear Week, Michael Fitz. So, Michael, lay it out for us. What are the standings right now? What are we looking at?

MICHAEL FITZ, FOUNDER, FAT BEAR WEEK: Well, tomorrow, there are two semifinal matches. We have Bear 132, who is a mother, who is raising three first-year cubs, and then she's paired up against number 910, who is another female bear, but she didn't have cubs this year. So, two successful moms at Brooks River.

On the other side is a competition between two very large adult males. One happens to be number 89 Backpack. He's about a 20-year-old adult male. The other one is not even 10 years old, but he's one of the largest and most dominant bears on the river. He's often nicknamed Bucky, and he's one of the upcoming young bears at the river.

JIMENEZ: Yes. You know what? Let's just lean into the full sports analysis vibe of this because -- let's talk about Bucky because one of the biggest surprises of this year's contest, too, I think, bear 164 Bucky, as you just talked about, but shocked everyone by dethroning last year's champion, Chunk. Did you see this upset coming? Was there anything in the tea leaves leading up to it?

(LAUGHTER)

FITZ: You know, each year, Fat Bear Week gets more unpredictable. It wasn't so much as a surprise that Chunk lost, but I thought that match would be more competitive than it was, certainly.

JIMENEZ: Look, anything can happen. It's not quite March Madness, but it got similar vibes here, upsets all around. And, you know, look, this is a contest. It's a fun way to sort of celebrate these cute bears. But at its core, this is about survival. So, can you just explain a little bit about what's happening literally as the bears are preparing for winter here?

FITZ: Yes. Bears hibernate in winter. So, the brown bears in Katmai National Park, they're not active year-round, they go into their dens, they survive on their body fat. So, the fuel that powers their winter survival is body fat. So, they need to eat about a year's worth of food or in around six months' time in order to survive that period of starvation essentially.

It means different things for different bears. You know, a big adult male that we talked about, we talked about Bucky, we talked about Backpack, they need to come out of the den healthy because they might be looking to compete for mating opportunities come late spring.

They need something different for those mother bears. One, three, two, she she's going to have three yearlings probably going into the -- into the den coming out next year. She's going to need body fat reserves to nurse those cubs coming out of the den. And then number 910, she could actually give birth in the den this winter and lactate. So, that's an amazing feat of brown bears, the only mammals that can give birth and lactate while they're hibernating. So, she needs those fat reserves not only for her own survival, but potentially because she's going to bring a new family into the world.

JIMENEZ: See, that's why I had to make sure I got that question in, so people can know the seriousness behind it. And there are some real processes going on. But I'm going to get back to a sports question, a sports style question on this, because voting gets back going tomorrow and, look, anything can happen. I think we've established that already. Who are you watching to take home the crown Tuesday and why?

FITZ: Oh. You know, it's -- I think number 910 just has the edge just because, you know, she's at least on that female side because she didn't have cubs this year. But I do want people to consider number 132 because her success is reflected in the size of her cubs. So, it's just not like she mama bears there and we should only consider her story, we have -- she probably has 200 pounds of cubs trailing behind her. So, that's something that people should consider in their vote.

Then on that, you know, with the males, I don't know if Backpack will win. I would like him to, though. He was really the first bear that taught me about toughness and resilience in bears. He had a tough go at it when he was a yearling. He had a severe sprain or fracture. We don't really know.

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But he limped all summer as a yearling cub back in 2007 when I first saw him, and he powered through that. Now, he's a very big, successful adult male at Brooks River. His before and after photos look great. He's not the biggest bear in the river. But Fat Bear Week isn't just about body mass, it's also about considering the stories of those individuals.

JIMENEZ: Honestly, you could plug this right into any college football playoffs, any basketball playoffs. The metaphors are all there. It taught you about toughness and resilience. You taught me a lot, too. Michael Fitz, I appreciate you taking the time. Good to see you.

FITZ: You're welcome. Happy Fat Bear Week.

JIMENEZ: There we go.