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Trump Campaigns For Republicans In Red States; Interview With Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX); Tennessee Prison Chief Resigning After Botched Execution; Cornell President Breaks Silence Amid Rape Investigation Outcry; New York Governor Appoints New York A.G. To Investigate Allege Rate At Cornell; Al-Qaeda Images Posted On FlyDubai Suspect's Social Media; U.S. Adds A Disappointing 29K Jobs Last Month. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired October 03, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CHANG, "THE DETOUR WITH DAVID CHANG": If it was really, really generally in trouble, I would have the first person there as the first responder.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Yes, of course.

CHANG: But he was -- he was in a good place.

JIMENEZ: It just makes this idea of what I think you're looking for in terms of finding familiarity in all these places. It makes it that much more apparent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: I should have worn that hoodie today.

All new episode of the CNN Original Series "The Detour with David Chang" airs tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, and tomorrow with an "All Access" subscription. But for now, another hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts up.

Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM, folks. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York.

Tonight President Trump is out on the campaign trail to support his fellow Republicans, part of a blitz through some reliably red states. Right now, he's heading to Ohio, where the fight for Vice President J.D. Vance's former Senate seat is at a razor thin margin. The president is urging Republicans nationwide to get their ballots in with so many elections looking very close.

In Texas, Democrat James Talarico is leading Republican Ken Paxton, 51 percent to 45 percent, in new polling by "The New York Times" and Siena. But it's basically tied when you look at the margin of error in all of these polls. So it is a tossup in many, many locations, including in Ohio, where CNN's Alayna Treene is and where the president is set to speak tonight. So, Alayna, what are you hearing on the ground there?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Omar, the president has actually just recently landed here on Air Force One. He'll be at the venue site any moment now for his remarks. And look, I think what you point out about these races, including the Senate race here in Ohio, as well as the one in Texas, those are very tight and tighter than I think a lot of Republicans had initially anticipated.

I'd remind our viewers that the president won in Ohio and in Texas by double digits or more. I mean, those are states that have typically gone for the president. Now, in these races, they're finding some real difficulty, Republicans in these races. We did hear tonight from the senator that the president is stumping for, Senator Jon Husted. He is facing off against the former senator Sherrod Brown, who actually had lost his reelection back in 2024 to Senator Bernie Moreno.

And really, the president's goal here, Omar, is to really try and convince voters to get out and vote on election day. His team has, you know, members of his political operation recognize that it's an off- year election. A lot of time voters do not actually show up for the midterms. And so their key goal and what they are really having the president do with his aggressive campaign travel over the next 31 days or so, is to really focus in convincing them to show up to the polls and actually vote.

That is the real goal here, particularly because I know they recognize the president isn't going to be changing any minds at this point. His approval ratings are around 33 percent, the lowest across his two terms. And on some key issues, he's not winning over a lot of his own supporters as well. And I -- you asked me what I've been hearing in the room tonight. I mean, I did talk with some Trump supporters.

One woman named Amy (PH), she was telling me that she's been a big supporter of the president, but that she doesn't necessarily agree with what he's doing on the Iran war. That's actually something I heard a lot from people in the room tonight. Some of them saying they hope he'll figure out, others saying they wish he never went to war with Iran, that they're worried about gas prices.

So there are certain issues here that even among the president's, you know, we're at a Trump rally. These are the presidents fiercest supporters who come and show up to this. There's still a little bit of sentiment that, you know, they think -- they're hoping things will go differently after the midterms. But all to say the goal here is to convince them to show up on election day. They did say that if Trump is coming to Ohio to tell them to vote, that they will plan on doing so.

So that's a strategy that potentially could actually help these candidates on November 3rd.

JIMENEZ: And look, again, it's a state he won by double digits back in 2024. And I know you mentioned he's going to be there shortly now that he's on the ground in Ohio. Do you -- does it sound like that that is what is going to be the focus tonight, just trying to get people there on the ground to vote in what will be a crucial set of elections?

TREENE: I mean, that will be the -- that will be the overarching message. I'm sure you'll hear the president at one point, Omar, say, pretend my name is on the ballot. But I also think he's going to try to take a victory lap. You know, we did hear him speak briefly with reporters on his way before getting onto the plane to fly over here to Ohio. He was saying, I think my first two years in office have been more consequential than any other president, clearly sticking to this idea that he believes America is, you know, that he's been able to make America greater.

His whole campaign slogan, even as some of his supporters, as I mentioned in this room behind me, are saying there are certain issues, certain promises that he hasn't necessarily fulfilled. That will be the message.

We'll all be interested in hearing, though, is something that he doesn't normally do, but he has done in recent days, Omar, was kind of acknowledged that there are some tight and tough races that are ahead for Republicans, and also that perhaps some Americans aren't feeling some of the messaging.

[19:05:13]

You know, Republicans are maybe not doing as well with their messaging as they should be. If he acknowledges that tonight, particularly in a state like Ohio, where he's stumping for someone who's in a really tight race, I think that will be pretty notable to see the president making such a concession -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: Alayna Treene, appreciate the reporting there in Ohio for us.

We're also now joined by Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas. He serves on the House Intelligence and Foreign Affairs Committees.

Congressman, appreciate your time tonight. Look, President Trump, he's been campaigning, looking for support at the very least trying to drive turnout in traditionally red states like Texas, for example. Are you surprised that at this stage, so close to the actual election day for these midterms that he is spending time in a place like Texas?

REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D-TX): Well, it really speaks to the desperation of Republicans right now. And I'll tell you, there are three real problems and reasons that Americans are so upset and they're going to vote for James Talarico in the U.S. Senate race. They're going to vote for Gina HINOJOSA in the governor's race. One of them is cost, another is corruption. And then finally, cruelty.

You know, when you combine the bad decisions of the Iran war chaotic terrorists and a mass deportation campaign, the economies across communities in America have been devastated. I can't tell you how many times this year business owners have reached out to me. And these are conservative folks, restaurant owners, owners of home-building companies, farmers who have said, you know, I voted for this guy, but I mean, he's going to make me go broke. And we've seen that happen over and over. And so people are hurting.

Every time they go to H-E-B or Walmart or wherever they shop for groceries in Texas, they see the prices going up. They see the price of gas, you know, fluctuate maybe $0.10 or $0.15, but it's still too much for them. And then when you layer on top of that, candidates like Ken Paxton, Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in Texas and one of the most corrupt politicians in America.

And so I'm excited. I think that Texans are ready for a change. The leaders of this state, Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton, and others, have abused the people of Texas for too long. And there's finally enough people who have said, I've had enough.

JIMENEZ: Well, and you know, you were talking about hearing from some folks maybe who had previously supported the president. And the president's approval rating has declined steadily since the 2024 election, down to some of the lowest levels that he's seen across two terms. But recent poll or polling around the 2024 election had shown he had made some inroads with Latino voters, particularly there in Texas, some along some of the border areas as well, who really were supportive of something to be done along that southern border, feeling that Trump was maybe the person to get it done there.

That steam seems to have been lost a little bit among Latino voters. And I'm wondering, what have you heard specifically from your constituents or otherwise in Texas on why that switch or steam has been lost?

CASTRO: No, you're right. James Talarico, for example, is up 32 points against Ken Paxton with Latino voters. And I'll give you an example. The other day I was talking to somebody that I'd known as an acquaintance for years, and he kind of quietly confessed to me that he voted for Donald Trump. But he said, you know, as we were kind of parting, he said, you know, that guy fooled me last time, but he's not going to fool me this time.

So people feel like they were lied to. They were told that he was going to deport only criminals. And then what happens? He starts going after grandmothers and kids and men and women who are working hard every day. And so people think that he's a liar and he has been a liar.

JIMENEZ: And look, I mean, this isn't the first time a place like Texas has sort of flirted with the idea of getting -- of flipping a Republican Senate seat. Obviously, you go back to Beto O'Rourke. Also some high profile races for governor as well. Why do you feel that this time is different, either with Hinojosa or Talarico?

CASTRO: No, you're right. I mean, look, for the last 25, 30 years, the state has been voting mostly Republican. But, you know, it's a process to kind of comeback as a political party. And I want to take a quick second to say thank you to Beto O'Rourke and also Wendy Davis, who ran in 2014, and others who were helpful in building along the way. And I think we're finally kind of at the doorstep of this change.

It does take a while, but we have excellent candidates this year. And like I said, too many constituencies, too many communities in Texas have been betrayed by Greg Abbott. They've been betrayed by Donald Trump, and by the people like Ken Paxton, who refused to stand up to Donald Trump, refused to say anything while they're tearing down Big Ben, for example, in west Texas. And so Texans are ready for a change.

[19:10:15]

JIMENEZ: You know, you were talking about some of the immigration enforcement tactics. You just had a hearing on mass deportations and a proposed ICE warehouse not too long ago. I want you to take a quick listen to what White House border czar Tom Homan is saying, defending the crackdown at this point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: But we're removing, arresting more people right now than we ever have in the history of this nation, and it's going to continue to increase. Could we still got about 2,000 more officers to hire? ICE still hiring about 2500 officers, another 5,000 officers. Wait until you see what we do next year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Are you worried that ICE operations could get worse?

CASTRO: Yes, I'm worried for the people of the state of Texas. ICE has become a rogue and abusive organization. They've engaged in racial profiling. I said in the last few weeks that how they arrested and how they treated Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, for example, in Austin, where they shot him in the back and then refused him the medical care that he needed, they really tortured that man. And that's not an exaggeration.

That's where our federal government has gotten under Donald Trump and people like Greg Abbott have been the number one partner in making that happen. And people like Ken Paxton are too cowardly to say a word about it. And so, yes, you know, for all the business people who have called me, for all the folks who supported Donald Trump because they thought he was going to do something else, who voted Republican in 2024, I would say this.

If you put these guys back in office, if you support them again in 2026, then you have no one to blame but yourself if your company goes broke, if you can't find labor to work in your restaurant or your home building company, or for the cattle ranchers or whoever it is because, you know, they fooled you once, shame on them. If they fool you again, shame on you.

JIMENEZ: Congressman, I want to shift gears slightly because as I mentioned, you're a member of the House Intelligence Committee, and I don't know if you saw today, but President Trump posted on social media the phone number of Republican Senator Tom Cotton, encouraging people to call him. It was part of a series of posts. He was criticizing Cotton, accusing him of holding up a bill that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent. But the reason I bring that up is because he is the chairman of the

Senate Intelligence Committee. And I wonder, does putting out that cell phone number raise any security concerns for you?

CASTRO: Yes. I mean, obviously, I disagree with Senator Cotton on a lot of policy issues. But I'll tell you, what he did to Tom Cotton today is dangerous. It's dangerous. I mean, you're really -- it's not an exaggeration to say that you're putting the safety, the privacy of a United States senator at risk, and you're putting him at risk of harm. But you're also putting at risk all of whatever information he may have on his cell phone.

I'm not saying he's got classified information on there, but, you know, the ability for China or Russia or some non-state actor to go hack into the senator's cell phone, really, all they need is your number. And then they're sophisticated enough to be able to do it. And remember, the president did a similar thing to Lindsey Graham, I believe, during the 2016 campaign. And of course, Senator Graham at the time had to get rid of his cell phone number and so forth. But this is reckless and it's dangerous.

JIMENEZ: Congressman Joaquin Castro, I really appreciate you taking the time. Thanks for being here.

CASTRO: Good to be with you.

JIMENEZ: All right. Still to come, the head of Tennessee's prison system steps down after a botched execution. We'll bring you those details. Plus, we're learning new details about the attempted hijacking of a Flydubai flight that was headed to Israel. We'll tell you what authorities are now saying about the suspect. And an underwhelming jobs report. But we'll tell you what that signals about the economy and your family's bottom line.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:18:44]

JIMENEZ: The Coast Guard is urgently searching the waters off the coast of Massachusetts, near Nantucket, for a missing medical transport aircraft with six people on board. Now the jet went missing early this morning as it was flying from Bermuda to Boston. After flying at an altitude of 24,000 feet for over an hour it plunged 13,000 feet in over two minutes, according to FlightAware data. An air traffic control got word of the air ambulance having some sort of issue before losing contact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger, you said you're coming in blind. Is that what you said? OK. You declared an emergency or no? OK. You're coming in a little weak. So you're -- I didn't hear what your response was if you were declare an emergency or not

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: The Bermuda government issued a statement saying, quote, "The government has been in contact with the families of those on board and remains in contact with the overseas authorities coordinating the search. We are praying that all six people will be found safe."

Now, according to CNN news gathering partner CBC, the two pilots and two medical staff on board are Canadian, while the two people picked up in Bermuda are not. But of course, we'll bring you more details as we get them.

Meanwhile, Tennessee's governor is tonight announcing the state's head of the Department of Correction is stepping down this month after the failed execution attempt of Christa Pike.

[19:20:02]

Now, Pike is currently in a Nashville hospital after surviving two doses of a lethal execution drug. In a court filing, her attorneys say she's critically ill, unconscious and on a ventilator. But the governor also says an independent review is underway to figure out what went wrong.

CNN's Rafael Romo joins us with more.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Omar, it's been three days since Christa Pike survived Tennessee's attempt to execute her via lethal injection on Wednesday, and there are still many unanswered questions about how something like this could have happened. In a statement, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced the head of Tennessee's prison system is resigning. In the same statement, Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada said that stepping down is, quote, "in the best interest of Tennesseans."

As for Christa Pike, she remains unconscious in a Nashville area hospital where she is intubated and on a ventilator. Pike's attorney said Friday that she is receiving lifesaving care after being injected with two ostensibly fatal doses of pentobarbital. In a statement, Pike's attorneys reacted to the announcement, saying that, "The resignation of Commissioner Strada is justified, but it does nothing to help Christa now. What happened to her Wednesday reflects a systemic failure that goes far beyond any one person."

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, announced the day after the state tried to kill her, a thorough and comprehensive review of Pike's case will be done by a third party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BILL LEE (R-TN): That investigation will be thorough, and it's going to take time, and therefore the last scheduled execution for this year will not take place. Tennesseans deserve a justice system that's fair, that's consistent, that is faithfully administered.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMO: And Governor Lee also announced he has halted the execution of death row inmate Gary Sutton, which was scheduled for December. Pike, who was set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years, was originally sentenced to death after being convicted of the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.

Randy Spivey, one of Pike's attorneys, said the governors call for a review of the execution protocol doesn't go far enough. He called for Lee to commute her sentence, saying Pike has endured punishment, quote, "greater," he said, "than any other person in the history of the American death penalty."

Omar, now back to you.

JIMENEZ: Rafael Romo, appreciate it.

Still to come, the president of Cornell University speaking out for the first time since serious allegations of sexual assault on campus surfaced recently. Hear what he had to say next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:27:09]

JIMENEZ: New tonight, the president of Cornell University is breaking his silence, speaking out publicly for the first time since allegations of a gang rape at the university sparked outrage and fierce criticism from students and the community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL I. KOTLIKOFF, CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT: You have my commitment that this will not be a moment that passes. We are listening. We are learning. We are committed to communicating more openly, and where we can do better we will. That is our responsibility and is one I take personally.

This is a defining moment in Cornell's history. We must lead the way. We owe it to Jane Doe and to survivors of assault to get this right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, Cornell's president is making those promises as details surface about the initial 2024 investigation by school police and their accounts of interactions with the local district attorney. Now, according to records obtained by "The New York Times," the Tompkins County district attorney's office had the opportunity in November 2024 to review more evidence gathered by Cornell Police.

But that office declined to see any additional evidence after deciding it wouldn't pursue criminal charges based on the accuser's statement. Now, that is according to a note obtained by "The Times," written by a police investigator about the conversation with the D.A.'s office.

So I want to bring in CNN's Mark Morales, who joins me now. So, Mark, obviously, we're hearing from the Cornell president for the

first time. Can you just lay out how significant it is to hear from the president at this point and what we've seen and what else you're learning?

MARK MORALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you said, this is the first time we're hearing from him since this whole thing really started. And it's important to note that this message comes as the pressure continues to mount. Now, students at the university have largely been very upset with how the university has handled this, how the local district attorney has handled this. There's even a press -- there's even a protest scheduled for Monday.

But even like parties that were supposed to happen that were going to be centered around Greek life, like different fraternities, all that's been canceled this weekend. And it really points to the growing anger from the university as to what happened.

Now, we talked about the evidence that was coming -- reported by "The New York Times." This is supposed to include more interviews, even a deeper look at chat messages and campus university police was trying to give this to the district attorney, but they decided not to even look at this. They refused to even look at the evidence because they said that they weren't going to pursue charges based largely on that six-page statement that Jane Doe had signed on about.

There's also a new reporting from ABC News that says that two of the alleged attackers had messaged Jane Doe in the days after the incident, and even apologized for what happened that day. And all of this is pointing to the growing sense of anger, not just from the campus, but also from New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who appointed Attorney General Letitia James to be the special prosecutor in this.

[19:30:08]

So, now, we hear this message from the University president and it is important to hear him thread the needle between not just accountability, but also support for the investigations that are going to be happening, not just from the Attorney General Letitia James, but also from a special independent counsel that is going to be announced next week. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL I. KOTLIKOFF, CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT: I believe we, as an administration and we as a community must do better. We must do everything we can to prevent what happened to Jane Doe and everyone before her and anyone after her from ever happening again.

I welcome the independent review by an outside law firm into all aspects of Cornell's handling of the 2024 matter, which the board will announce next week.

We also support the Governor's decision to turn the criminal investigation over to the New York Attorney General.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORALES: Now, we also talked about taking a longer look at fraternities on campus and fostering a sense of accountability amongst the students themselves. Just so that there is more of a sense of see something, say something where students can be the sort of the first line of defense where they would see something happening and actually step in.

But he also wanted to address the culture so that there wasn't this scenario where you would have these parties that often lend themselves to these types of scenarios -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: And Mark, will, the District Attorney's handling of the case be included in New York Attorney General Letitia James' investigation?

MORALES: So these would be two separate things. Letitia James is just focused on the criminal aspect of this case. So she is going to be reviewing evidence specifically related to the alleged attackers involved in this.

The other side of this where we look at how the District Attorney moved, how the University moved, who knew what, that is going to be done by a special outside counsel. That's something that Kathy Hochul had pushed for and something that the University had ultimately agreed to.

JIMENEZ: All right, Mark Morales, appreciate the reporting there for us.

Still ahead, some alarming new details about the FlyDubai copilot who attacked the captain in the cockpit mid-flight. We will tell you what officials are learning about his past that's raising some major red flags. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:37:05]

JIMENEZ: Video posted on the LinkedIn page of the suspect in the FlyDubai cockpit attack includes a photo of a former top al-Qaeda leader. Now, CNN analyzed two videos along with thousands of tweets from a deleted Twitter account believed to belong to the suspect. CNN's senior investigative reporter, Tamara Qiblawi has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(PEOPLE speaking in foreign language.)

TAMARA QIBLAWI, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE WRITER (voice over): This is the bloody aftermath of the FlyDubai cockpit attack that nearly downed the plane en route to Israel. CNN can reveal the identity of the copilot, the alleged attacker, Hamam Al Hammami, an Omani national whose views were so extreme our source says that he was removed from a position with Oman Air before joining FlyDubai.

Hammami appeared to have posted two social media videos. The first post is a compilation of videos showing multiple planes belonging to El Al, Israel's national carrier, both on the tarmac and in the sky.

We geolocated one of these videos to Dubai. It was filmed in 2023 from inside the cockpit of an Oman Air flight from Dubai to Muscat.

You can see here that day and flight number tracks with Hammami's time at Oman Air. The video ends with a tribute to al-Qaeda's former leader, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden's successor, as well as the suicide bomber who killed nine people at a CIA outpost in Afghanistan in 2009.

The second video he posted is A.I. generated. It shows Islam's three holiest sites from the sky. The videos appeared on LinkedIn and Instagram nine hours after the incident, well after Hammami was detained.

We don't know if the posts were scheduled in advance or if they were published by someone else. CNN has reached out to LinkedIn and Meta for comment.

We looked at earlier posts more than 3,000 tweets from a deleted account bearing his name. They were published between 2021 and 2022. These portray a murkier mindset, one obsessed with women.

Nearly half the posts reference women, including this one. The post brags about putting women through "slut tests." In other posts, he refers to them as "banging machines."

QIBLAWI (on camera): Now, it is still too early to tell what the possible motives were, but the findings raise many questions, namely, how did Hamam Al Hammami pass the security checks, and how did he end up flying a plane on one of the world's most sensitive routes?

QIBLAWI (voice over): These are questions security officials in the region will be asking as they try to understand what happened.

Tamara Qiblawi, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Thank you.

We are also joined now by CNN national security analyst, Alex Plitsas. He is also the Director of the Counterterrorism Project at The Atlantic Council.

So, Alex, how do these social media posts help build a picture about the motive in this attack?

[19:40:04]

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So between the posts and the videos, it actually adds a little bit more, you know, murkier status to it, I think, it was the word that was used earlier in the sense that the President had sort of alluded to the fact that maybe Iran was involved. The Israelis have been more circumspect, but releasing that video with Ayman Al-Zawahiri at the end of it, who was an al-Qaeda leader who has been killed.

Now, that's a Sunni group, right, whereas the Iranians are Shia, so that adds a little bit of more murkiness to it, right, because it is not the same religious sect, is he just, you know, radicalized overall as a lone wolf and was just mad at the Israelis for Gaza or is it the war, you know, going on in Iran? It really doesn't provide enough clarity and adds more questions at the moment.

It is clear he was radicalized, but the real question here is what was the motive? And well, if people hear that? They kind of think, that sounds ridiculous. It is a planeload of Israelis flying back from the UAE into Israel. They tried to crash it. Clearly, he was either trying to kill or take Israelis hostage. But was he acting as a lone wolf, or was there a state sponsor or group? So far, there has been no claim of responsibility, which is the only way terrorism works. It is politically motivated violence against civilians.

And if you don't let the politics be known, your reason for the violence is not known at that point. And again, the last reason that is important is, if there was a state sponsor or a group behind this, there is going to be a policy response from the Israelis or anybody else that happened to have victims that would have been on the plane.

So getting that right and ensuring that you hold the actors accountable or getting it wrong and potentially causing an issue is a very serious decision to make. And so the Israelis and the U.S. are working through that methodically at the moment.

JIMENEZ: And obviously, look, this is being analyzed from a number of different perspectives, from a security perspective, from a motive perspective, geopolitically as well. I wonder just from how exactly this played out, where do you see the weak points in the system that this person was allowed into the cockpit on a flight bound for Israel?

PLITSAS: So it looks like the physical security measures worked in the sense that he didn't bring a weapon onto the aircraft, at least, it is alleged at this point that he used an emergency ax that was in the cockpit for pilots to use, you know, to break out and then post 9/11 security measures actually locked the door, you know, so that way you can't get an outside threat into the cockpit. Thank God the pilot was able to open it and let people get inside, otherwise they would have had no access to the cockpit and the plane would have crashed. So, it wasn't the physical side of it, it appears to be the personnel security side.

So he had been terminated from a previous airline for having extremist views. Clearly, he was demonstrating stuff online. You know, the Israelis are supposed to be checking the background check for people coming into Israel. You know, FlyDubai, if they did their background checks, you know, where did they miss all this? If he was active on social media? And then if he was terminated from an airline, you know, for extremist views, there is no real international database to record that.

So the firing airline didn't disclose it in a way, if there was background checks that didn't come up. They missed the social media. So it is clear that that's the weak point on the on the pilot's side, because there are usually two things we've seen, in recent years, we saw a crash where a pilot was suicidal and took the plane into the ground. And now we've seen a case where you've got a radicalized individual flying a plane. In either of those cases, unless they're demonstrating outward signs of distress or radicalization, it is really hard to find if there is no criminal background check.

So whether that means social media checks now or things of that nature, it is clear that there is a break in that part of the process.

JIMENEZ: You know, before you come on, I always like to check your X, to see what you're talking about, see what is catching your interest right now. One of the things you said recently, one, you just listed these out. You said there has been the attack on the Saudi oil pipeline, the Houthi advance along the Red Sea coast, this foiled plot, or the foiled plot to attack an air base in the U.K. and now this FlyDubai incident.

Did you put all those in a row? Because -- you see connections between these or are you just sort of listing them out? Why are those significant to you?

PLITSAS: So the first three are definitely connected in the sense they've got ties to Iran. The fourth one there being this attack. The President had made a statement, President Trump that is, that potentially Iran was connected. So if that was the case, it would have been seen, you know, more as part of a pattern.

So we've seen again, the Iraqi militias hit the East-West Pipeline; in Saudi Arabia, it meant to rise the increase the price of oil after the U.S. had successfully helped to get a significant amount of oil transiting through the Straits, through navigational support from the Navy on a daily basis. We are up to like 13 or 14 million barrels a day now out of the 21 prewar levels, and that's part of their overall strategy.

And then it looks like the cell in Fairford in the U.K. that failed in that attack against the U.S. Air Base that, you know, were the B-1s and B-52s are launched out of for strikes, appears to have a nexus to Iran as well, although the direct relations, the U.K. is holding back until they get more evidence.

It is evidence of Iran using an asymmetric strategy to fight back against the U.S. because they're at military overmatch. So that means potential terrorist cells, like we saw in the U.K. And then, you know, the attacks on the Saudi oil pipeline and then also attacks against Saudi Arabia itself, all meant to pressure the U.S. and oil markets, because that's where they think they've got it in the run up to the U.S. midterm elections.

So it doesn't appear any more than the President's statement, there is a connection here. And again, as you rightfully asked the question, now that more information has been released, those social media posts, including a Sunni jihadist group that doesn't really line up with Iran, doesn't give us any more clarity right now.

So more questions than answers related to this attack is the motive and if anybody else was responsible.

JIMENEZ: Yes, still a lot to learn on the FlyDubai incident in particular. But as you look at sort of all of these individual incidents, they're not happening in a vacuum here. So situations to monitor on many fronts.

[19:45:04]

Alex Plitsas always appreciate you being here. Thanks for stopping by.

PLITSAS: You too. Thanks.

JIMENEZ: All right, we will be right back.

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JIMENEZ: Some choppy waters for the economy. Let's start out with the newest sign of weakness in the job market. For example, the Labor Department says 29,000 jobs were added last month. For context, before the pandemic, the job market was running nearly ten times stronger than that, routinely topping 200,000 jobs every month.

[19:50:10]

But perspective and timing is everything, and that's why we've got economist, Justin Wolfers, who joins us now. He is a Professor of Public Policy and Economics at the University of Michigan and writes "Platypus Economics" on Substack, which I was reading before the show, and you wrote that the economy is really doing okay, technically, despite these lower numbers.

Why do you say that?

JUSTIN WOLFERS, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN PUBLIC POLICY AND ECONOMICS PROFESSOR: Well, there is one side of politics that wants to tell you, everything is going magnificent and they will tell you that no matter what the truth is. And I do also talk to a lot of people who feel a lot of doom and gloom. But the reality, as always, it is somewhere in between.

We are creating far fewer jobs than we had hoped. We had hoped or thought that we'd create 90,000 jobs this month. So 29,000, a lot fewer than that. We also got revisions that told us the recent history, last time you and I talked, I was like, so excited because we got some good numbers. Those numbers have been revised. We've got a little bit more information. I shouldn't have been as excited last month. So that is why I am going to be a little more sober and somber for you right now.

JIMENEZ: Yes, very measured right off the bat.

WOLFERS: So, I am just trying, mate, I've got to make up for those past sins.

JIMENEZ: Well, I was going to say that, you know, one of the interesting things that you also wrote as part of that Substack was just, okay, the gains here are not spectacular, but they're under expectations. But sort of combining that with population growth and projections that this might sort of be the new normal kind of, can you just bring us into that perspective a little bit?

WOLFERS: It is a really important issue that no one else is talking about. So on behalf of your audience, thank you. Look, here is the idea. There is an idea called break even jobs. But let me go back and explain it.

You know, when you're on a treadmill, there is a certain speed you've got to run just to stay in the same place. Well, the job market is like that too, because the U.S. population is always growing. And so, if we want to make sure there are always jobs for folks who finish school, then we need to create a certain amount of jobs just to keep everyone sort of employed still.

But what's happened over the last year and a half is the trump administration has made big adjustments, reductions in immigration. So they are deporting thousands of people, and they're granting a lot fewer visas, very few people are coming.

And so for the first time, probably in yours or my life, we have no population growth -- very unusual for the United States.

And so that means that rate at which we have to create jobs just to stand in the same spot has probably fallen. So we've seen, yes, less than spectacular numbers, that was the point that you made, but by the same token, we might not need spectacular numbers in order to keep folks in work.

JIMENEZ: Important perspective, and that's why we have you on, you see the big picture.

Look, among them, paychecks are rising, but they're not keeping up with inflation. It has been months -- four months straight at this point-- here we are just a month before the midterms. What is your outlook for the cost of living squeeze here and what it is going to take for that relationship between those two dynamics to flip?

WOLFERS: Yes. So look, if you wanted to feel miserable or I think if people are feeling miserable, this is a big part of the story. So what you've seen is wage growth has fallen absolutely relentlessly now year after year for three, four, five years in a row; wage growth right now is a mere three 3.0 percent, which is just not very much. But worse than that, that's occurring at a time when prices are growing 3.5 percent.

What that means is, for the average American worker, the amount of stuff they can buy with their paycheck is actually going down. That's not how economies are meant to work.

Economic growth is meant to be that we are growing the pie and we are growing the pie, but the slices that workers are getting are actually getting smaller because the price on the slice is going up faster than their ability to afford that slice. And so as long as inflation remains a problem, and as long as we have disruptions like tariffs and disruptions, like what is happening in Iran, those are things that reduce people's purchasing power.

JIMENEZ: Justin Wolfers, appreciate the measured, but great perspective tone. Good to see you.

JIMENEZ: Appreciate you, mate.

JIMENEZ: All right, meanwhile tonight, actor, Dave Foley and political strategist, Ashley Allison joined the crew on "Have I Got News For You." Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROY WOOD JR., COMEDIAN: Hegseth was very eloquent in explaining his methodology.

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SECRETARY: We are no longer the woke department or the weak department. Simple translation of that: No fatties, no trannies, no beardos, no weirdos, no wimps, no radicals.

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: What is a beardo?

AMBER RUFFIN, COMEDIAN: I've been thinking about the same thing, and this is the conclusion I've come to.

ALLISON: Please.

RUFFIN: Okay, so I think that sometimes White people are thinking about White hippies, right, with the long beard and they're like, yes, but I don't know. But, you know, like, like Ben & Jerry, like those would be like, beardos.

ALLISON: Beardos.

[19:55:08]

RUFFIN: Is that true?

MICHAEL IAN BLACK, COMEDIAN: It is General Ben and General Jerry, thank you very much.

RUFFIN: You're right!

DAVE FOLEY, ACTOR: Or that old queen, Abraham Lincoln.

ALLISON: Got it!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Maybe they get to the bottom of it tonight. You're going to have to find out if you tune in at 9:00 Eastern only on CNN and streaming tomorrow with an-all access subscription. And thank you all for being with me this evening. I am Omar Jimenez. Remember, if you're in the U.S., you can now stream CNN whenever you want on the CNN app. Just go to cnn.com/watch for more.

"Real Time" with Bill Maher, up next.

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