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Saudi Forces Launch Major Offensive vs. Houthis; Dozens Quarantined Following Lab Worker's Death Caused by Pneumonia of an Unknown Origin. Aired 3-3:45a ET
Aired October 06, 2026 - 03:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome. I'm Lynda Kinkade, coming to you live from Atlanta, ahead here on "CNN Newsroom."
Saudi-backed forces launch a major offensive against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, seeking to recapture territory around a key strait.
In France, unions are joining students preparing for a national day of protest over education reform.
And dozens of people are quarantined after a young researcher at a Russian plague lab dies of an undisclosed illness.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: A major new battle is unfolding around one of the world's most important shipping choke points. Saudi-backed forces say they are pushing the Iran-aligned Houthis back from the Bab-el-Mandeb strait along Yemen's Red Sea coast. The U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia is warning Americans of possible missile and drone attacks.
With shipping through the Strait of Hormuz severely disrupted, the fighting threatens another vital route for oil and global trade. With Yemen's military spokesperson says global forces have succeeded in controlling the strait, a claim not independently verified. The strategic waterway has become increasingly important as the war with Iran has severely disrupted shipping through the strait of Hormuz.
Houthi-controlled media denies reports that Yemeni and Saudi-led forces are advancing. Yemen's military also claims it's regained control of a key road leading to the port town of Mokha. CNN has not independently verified any of these claims but if successful, the offensive would loosen the Houthis' grip along the Red Sea coast.
Well officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have convened for an emergency meeting where they agree to deploy military resources to Saudi Arabia as part of a Mecca defense pact. CNN's Leila Gharagozlou joins us live from Abu Dhabi with the latest. Good to have you with us Leila.
So obviously the focus has been on the Strait of Hormuz for many months and opening that key port and now there is this battle playing out on this new strategic port that's underway right now. What can you tell us about the war at this front?
LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, so the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, much like the strait of Hormuz, is another key waterway, a very vital path for ships, commodities and everything to kind of get through.
But unlike the strait of Hormuz, the Bab-el-Mendeb has for a very long time had its own issues, concerns and dangers. So it's not as often used as the strait of Hormuz, largely because of that Houthi presence. And we've seen attacks in that strait over the years on various ships going well beyond this current conflict.
So it is a really key waterway and it is one of those places that the Yemeni government forces is looking to be able to take control back. We already heard earlier this week that they were able to get key positions back from the Houthis around that key waterway, looking to solidify their control.
Now as you said, this battle has been moving very quickly throughout the last couple of weeks. The Houthis took a lot of territory earlier in September. Now we're seeing a lot of those positions reversed.
So it's moving very fast and everyone's looking to the Bab-el-Mandeb to see what is going to happen to this key waterway while the strait is still partially closed, partially open. So it's going to be a very interesting battlefront to see what goes on. Saudi Arabia has ramped up its attacks over the last couple of days and the Houthis in turn have ramped up their attacks on Saudi oil facilities, Lynda.
KINKADE: Leila, good to have you staying across the door for us from Abu Dhabi. Much appreciated.
We want to turn to Spain now where clashes broke out in Barcelona following a mass protest demanding housing reform. The unrest comes after Parliament rejected emergency housing decrees last week. Well now Spain's Prime Minister has called a snap election hoping to secure a broader majority in Parliament.
CNN's Pau Mosquera has the story.
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PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After two days of deliberation, the much anticipated outcome.
PEDRO SANCHEZ, SPANISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I have decided to convene an extraordinary Cabinet meeting this very morning to serve the Spanish Parliament and call a general election to be held on Sunday, November 29.
[03:05:02] MOSQUERA (voice-over): Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez cornered, forced into the decision after right-wing parties in Parliament struck down a last-ditch effort on Friday to tackle the country's housing emergency.
The face of that crisis is Maria del Carmen Abascal or just Maricarmen as she's known across Spain. An investment fund bought her flat, more than quadrupled her rent and at 87, Maricarmen was kicked out from the place she called home for more than 70 years.
For many, after years of price hikes and rent rises, that was the final straw. Sanchez is hoping to capitalize on the anger and frustration over a housing crisis, the measures he tried to pass and the economy where his party has done well. That would shift the gaze away from the corruption scandals that have plagued some of his close allies.
And migration, which exploded this summer when thousands streamed across the border in Spain's northern Africa exclave of Ceuta. But it's still a gamble. He trails the center-right popular party in opinion polls.
ALBERTO NUNEZ FEIJOO, LEADER OF POPULAR PARTY (through translator): Finally, Spain will speak its mind. And one crisis after another has left the far-right bloc's party as potential kingmakers.
SANTIAGO ABASCAL, LEADER OF VOX PARTY (through translator): We must reverse the migrant influx, which is having so many negative consequences for Spain's pockets.
MOSQUERA: But for those who have been camping here at the heart of Madrid, it's been a bit of a mixed feeling. Some do like Sanchez, others would prefer a new leadership. But what everyone really wants is a quick solution to housing emergency. And with this election, that feels a long way off.
Pau Mosquera, CNN, Madrid.
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KINKADE: The French government is calling for calm as students prepare for a nationwide day of protests. A local newspaper reports that one teenager lost his hand and part of his arm on Monday after picking up a police disposal grenade that detonated.
It's the third week students have been demonstrating against teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and run-down schools. More than 4000 teenagers have been arrested since the protests began. Students say the protests will continue until the government meets their demands.
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UNKNOWN (through translator): Today we're here trying to demonstrate in support of all public high schools, the ones with fewer resources, the ones that are disadvantaged. We here are privileged, we have more resources, we still have our share of problems. We're trying to show that we're here too to support everyone in disadvantaged communities, the suburbs and so on.
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KINKADE: Joining us now is CNN European Affairs commentator Dominic Thomas. Good to have you with us.
So, these protests, of course, began with students complaining about overcrowded classrooms, missing teachers, crumbling, you know, schools and budget cuts. A few weeks in, hundreds of schools have been disrupted. Some have been torched, thousands of people have been arrested, and of course, a teenager sadly has lost his hand.
How badly has the system deteriorated and why has it reached this breaking point now?
DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yes, well, all of this has got to be placed in the broader context of what is now almost 10 years since President Macron came to power. And as extraordinary as it sounds, it was eight years ago that we were having these conversations about the yellow vest movement, which was similar really in size and scope.
It was about cost of living issues, grievances, feeling like they were being left behind in a presidency that started off very quickly with favoring the wealthier segments of society with tax cuts and so on here too. And the students joined a protest here that was already there in the public sector, and it has burgeoned. And what has characterized this particular crisis, pension reform, and then the yellow vest movement, is the particular police brutality and pushback that has characterized the state response to this, which has led to escalation.
And at this particular juncture, there's no end in sight to this particular social uprest, social upheaval, particularly given the fact that we're just a few months away from a general election and individuals are taking to the streets in a long age-old French tradition to express their discontent with the way things are going in French society, Lynda.
Yes, so it's not just teenagers anymore protesting, unions have said they're going to join them. You're suggesting that this student protest is much larger. It's really a revolt against the French state.
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THOMAS: Yes, I think it is. It has to be characterized in that particular way. And you can see the response from the French state that the one political movement really that has spoken out to this is the far-left movement run by Jean-Luc Melenchon.
Now, they've been very careful in terms of positioning themselves on the use of violence. They'd rather see this be a peaceful demonstration. But there's tremendous fear on the French political landscape of the left.
We see this play out in other European countries as we move to this election. And Emmanuel Macron's party legacy is very much sort of up in the air. We see that the solidity of the far right and the left here is really sort of positioned to be the voice that is speaking to those that feel left behind in French society.
So this has taken on a particular political inflection, given the fact that the elections are just down the road. And also, let's not forget that Emmanuel Macron's second term was characterized by the fact that immediately after winning the presidency, he was unable to secure the legislative. He lost the parliamentary majority that he had.
So legislating, dealing with reforms and so on has been particularly difficult for him. And he's also, though, having said that, targeted these areas of society with pension reform, attempting to change the retirement age and so on. And when it comes to public sectors, the budget that is about to be passed in Parliament, which is actually unlikely to be passed, is targeting yet again a whole range of budget cuts to schools, to public sectors, to teacher pay, to pensions and so on.
And so all of this is coming together in society. It's not just students that are protesting, it's the parents as well. And many of these teachers, of course, are also the parents of children going to school.
And they're on the front lines observing the ways in which this educational system has been gradually crumbling over the past 15 years, Lynda.
KINKADE: Yes, no doubt, budget cuts, a big trigger for these nationwide protests.
In terms of the violence that you mentioned, the government says legitimate student grievances are being hijacked by violent groups, while protesters and riots groups say the police response in itself is excessive. What do we actually know about who's driving the violence?
THOMAS: Yes, well, of course, these are the kind of breeding grounds where there are going to be individuals, groups, elements that will benefit from these circumstances. But I think what we're looking at here is a situation that is really out of control, that the kind of level to which the police respond with what they're firing at students, the use of horses, batons and so on, is designed really to provide a context in which this can easily flare up. We see this in any kind of particular context, whether it's a standoff with the authorities.
Now, the streets in France are very particular. This is the place in which individuals go to express their discontent with policies and so on. It's part in so many ways of the DNA and of the ways in which the political system operates.
But unfortunately, this does lead so often to escalation. And in this particular case, we're seeing this playing out in this particular system, particularly around education and all the uncertainty that characterizes that. Lynda?
KINKADE: Dominic Thomas, as always, great to get your analysis. Thanks very much.
THOMAS: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, students and faculty at Cornell University are demanding change over the school's handling of an alleged gang rape by several fraternity members in 2024. Members of Cornell's faculty senate are introducing a resolution to take a vote on no confidence against the school's administration. CNN has reached out to Cornell for comment on that.
Protesters rallied on campus Monday, chanting shame and resign in reference to university administrators. And a seven-hour sit-in is planned for Wednesday in solidarity with the alleged victim. CNN's Gloria Pazmino has the latest on the renewed criminal investigation in this case.
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GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another bombshell in the investigation of an alleged sexual assault at a Cornell University fraternity house two years ago.
FRATERNITY BROTHER: -- want me to give my recollection of the entire night?
PAZMINO (voice-over): New audio obtained by ABC News reveals a phone call between Jane Doe and the fraternity member that she says invited her to the house the night of her alleged assault three weeks earlier. ABC reports that Doe secretly recorded the call in which she asked the other student for details of the night.
"If I just know what happened then I can feel a little bit better and move on and maybe be able to stay at this school," she tells him according to a recording of the call.
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FRATERNITY BROTHER: So you come in, say hi, we start dancing for like maybe three to five minutes and then I pop the question, you say yes, then I remember like we didn't know who else to bring so I go up to (expletive) who was on the dance floor too and I pop the question and he was like, yo, and then we go upstairs.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Jane Doe's lawyer has said that she was blacked out during portions of the alleged assault. According to ABC she asked on the call how she ended up in a threesome.
FRANTERNITY BROTHER: You did tell me you were sober by the way. You did, you said you hadn't been anywhere.
PAZMINO (voice-over): ABC does not use Jane Doe's voice in the clips it has released but says she responded, "that is not true, I never would have said that."
Documents reviewed by CNN show Cornell University campus police drafted letters seeking records from Verizon and T-Mobile just one week after Jane Doe reported her assault. It's unclear if investigators sent their requests and whether the Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten was aware of them.
THOMAS GIUFFRA, ATTORNEY FOR JANE DOE: If this was a normal investigation that was done in New York City for example, they would have gotten search warrants, they would have grabbed every single one of these phones of these guys, there were videos and you know where I think those photos and videos are now? I think they're in the bottom of Lake Cuyahoga because once they knew there was a problem they cleared everything out and they got rid of it and the fact is that the investigators let that happen.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Doe's attorney has said two of the men named in the lawsuit were expelled from the school. ABC is also reporting this Cornell University Police Department body cam footage from November 2024 when police told one of the suspended students that he was no longer welcome on campus.
UNKNOWN: Take a look at that (inaudible) temporary (inaudible). He is far from any of the grounds owned, operated, and maintained by Cornell University.
LETITIA JAMES, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: The governor has entrusted my office with this investigation.
PAZMINO (voice-over): Today an attorney representing one of the students is calling on New York State Attorney General Letitia James to recuse herself as special prosecutor based on a social media post from days earlier where James expressed support for the alleged victim.
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KINKADE: There's so much more to come here on "CNN Newsroom" including how health officials are reacting after the death of a plague researcher in Russia. What we know about the mysterious death when we return.
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KINKADE: Welcome back, I'm Lynda Kinkade.
The World Health Organization says it's seeking answers from Russian health authorities about the death of a worker at a plague research lab but they say the risk to public health appears to be lower based on the information currently available. CNN's Fred Pleitgen tells us what we need to know.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Russia is facing a possible plague scare and all of this comes after a 28-year- old female lab worker working at a lab dedicated to combating the plague died of what Russian authorities call pneumonia with an unknown cause. The Russian Agency for Combating Infectious Diseases is cautioning and saying it's completely unclear whether or not this lab worker died of the plague. In fact, in a statement they say, "No microorganisms associated with the employee's professional duties were detected in samples taken from the patient."
However, the governor of the neighboring province did say that possibly the patient died of the plague and the head of Russia's Agency for Infectious Diseases also rushed down to that region. The Russians have also started what they call anti-epidemic measures. That includes first and foremost quarantines and that means isolating people who had contact with this patient.
They also say that they've essentially shut down the hospital where the patient died and that as of right now inpatients in that hospital are not being allowed out and of course no new patients are being admitted to that hospital. Some other hospitals in that area apparently also in a state of quarantine.
Now the Kremlin also has commented on all of this. They said they didn't want to say too much but they did caution against believing what they call rumors and speculation and the World Health Organization says they believe as of right now the risk of all this spreading and becoming a bigger problem is low. Nevertheless, folks at CNN spoke to in that region said they were somewhat uneasy.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.
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KINKADE: Garry Kasparov, the chairman of Renew Democracy Initiative and Putin critic and world chess champion, is revealing that he was quote "very likely" the target of an alleged Russian assassination attempt. He writes on his Substack page, the next move, that he and his longtime associate were warned by security services in Lithuania and the U.S. that their lives were in danger and they should take precautions.
He told CNN's Erin Burnett how he learned about the alleged plot.
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GARY KASPAROV, CHAIRMAN, RENEW DEMOCRACY INSTITUTE: I was never told explicitly that I was a target but I was invited to meet an FBI agent a few days before they released the indictment who bluntly told me that you know about the indictment and also that I would have to be very cautious. Again, without naming me specifically because if you saw the indictment it has victim one, victim two. But the way he presented it so left no doubts that I'm one of them, one of these two.
And also the indictment talked about Lithuania where this is the capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, where my longtime associate, someone who has been working with me for more than 20 years and also moved to exile and was a co-founder of Free Russia Forum there.
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He was directly warned, I mean it was known, was known maybe by Lithuanian intelligence service that his life is in danger, he's a target.
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KINKADE: Kasparov and the other alleged target in the plot, Ivan Chutrin founded the Free Russia Forum in which advocates support for the Ukrainian military and organizes anti-war conferences.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears to be following through on his plan to escalate attacks on Russian oil facilities. Earlier an oil depot near Moscow was engulfed in flames after Ukraine reportedly launched about 650 drones towards the region overnight. It comes as Russia continues to strike Ukraine's north-eastern city of Kharkiv.
The regional governor says their bombs, three bombs hit different parts of the city on Monday killing at least five people and injuring more than 50 others. A garment workshop seen here was among the buildings struck.
Well, there's much more to come here on "CNN Newsroom." We're learning more about the FlyDubai co-pilot accused of attempting to hijack the plane. We'll have more on what was his likely target next.
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KINKADE: Welcome back, I'm Lynda Kinkade. Let's take a look at today's top stories.
The French government is calling for calm as students prepare for a nationwide day of protest on Tuesday. It's the third week students have been demonstrating against teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and run-down schools. More than 4000 teenagers have been arrested since the protests began.
The World Health Organization says the risk to public health appears low after the death of a plague researcher in Siberia. The 28-year-old female lab technician died after being diagnosed with pneumonia of an unknown origin. Russia's infectious disease agency says it's found no evidence linking her death to her work at the Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia.
Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces are claiming a number of key victories in their offensive against the Iran-backed Houthis. Yemen's military spokesperson says their forces have succeeded in controlling the Bab el-Mandeb strait and regaining control of a crucial road leading to the port town of Mokha, CNN has not independently verified these claims. Sources tell CNN the co-pilot of the accused trying to hijack a
FlyDubai flight last week was likely targeting Israel's Ben Gurion airport. We're also learning from a regional diplomatic source that FlyDubai didn't reach out to his previous employer Oman Air before hiring him.
CNN's Tamar Qiblawi did a deep dive into the suspect's social media. We need to warn you some of the images you're about to see are graphic.
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TAMAR QIBLAWI, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIONS REPORTER AND WRITER (voice- over): CNN has exclusive video that may give us insight into the mindset of the co-pilot who, sources say, allegedly tried to down a FlyDubai plane en route to Israel.
Hammam al-Hammami, whose views were so extreme, two sources said, that he was removed from a position with Oman Air before joining FlyDubai. Hammami appeared to have posted two videos to his now-deleted LinkedIn and Instagram pages on the day he allegedly attacked the captain with an axe.
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 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 date 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 to a suicide bomber who killed nine people at a CIA outpost in Afghanistan in 2009. The second video he posted is AI-generated, showing Islam's three holiest sites from the sky.
The videos appeared on LinkedIn and Instagram nearly 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 3000 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 quote-unquote slut tests. In other posts, he refers to them as quote-unquote banging machines.
QIBLAWI: Now, it's still too early to tell what the possible motives were, but the findings raise many questions. Mainly, how did Hammam al-Hammami pass his security checks, and how did he end up flying a plane on one of the world's most sensitive routes? These are questions security officials in the region will be asking as they try to understand what happened.
Tamar Qiblawi, CNN, London. (END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, there's much more to come here in "CNN Newsroom." The Supreme Court is weighing a critical climate change lawsuit against big oil companies. What emerged from Monday's oral arguments after the break.
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KINKADE: Welcome back, I'm Lynda Kinkade. Here are your business headlines this hour.
President Trump is attempting to appeal to voters ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, with a new executive order aimed at bringing down the cost of diesel fuel. Those prices, along with the cost of other fuel, have surged since the start of the war with Iran. The President claims the order he signed will reduce the cost of all goods for Americans, especially groceries.
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President Trump is also busy trying to secure Republican victories in the midterms, but his own performance could spell trouble for the party. New CNN polling shows just 27 percent of Americans approve how he is handling the economy. Two-thirds of voters also say the economy is extremely important, and say they agree more with Democrats than Republicans when it comes to the issue.
Bidding has started on a piece of computer history, a rare Apple I computer, it was Apple's first product and sold as an assembled circuit board. Buyers had to get their own monitor, keyboard, and power supply in case. This computer is signed by Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and comes with a letter signed by Steve Jobs, it's expected to sell for between $500,000 and $800,000.
The Supreme Court appears conflicted over a major climate change craze as it begins a new term. On Monday, justices heard oral arguments about a lawsuit from the city of Boulder, Colorado, which claims two oil companies are responsible for the worsening effects of climate change.
CNN's Karen Kaifa has more on what lies ahead for the high court.
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KAREN KAIFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first day of the new term at the U.S. Supreme Court brought arguments in a blockbuster climate change case.
KANNON SHANMUGAM, REPRESENTING EXXONMOBIL AND SUNCOR ENERGY: The Constitution bars the application of state law to certain inherently federal areas.
KEVIN RUSSEL, REPRESENTING BOULDER, COLORADO: The structure of the Constitution places residual authority to preempt state laws with undesirable nationwide effects in Congress, not the courts.
KAIFA (voice-over): At issue, whether cities and states may sue fossil fuel companies for monetary damages.
STEVE VLADECK, CNN SUPREME COURT ANALYST: The ultimate question they're being asked to decide is not who's right and who's wrong about climate change. It's really rather about whether state law, whether it's Colorado law, whether it's California law, can provide a remedy.
KAIFA (voice-over): The climate case, the first of a number of this term, centered around hot button topics. In December, the justices will hear challenges to specific bans on AR-15 rifles in Connecticut and in Cook County, Illinois, and whether those bans violate the Second Amendment.
VLADECK: This is about a very particular type of weapon that is at the heart of a lot of the, you know, more problematic episodes, more horrifying shootings that we've seen.
KAIFA (voice-over): Another case has religion at its core in Catholic schools in Colorado that wants state preschool funding but the right to decline LGBTQ families.
GLORIA BROWNE-MARSHALL, PROFESSOR OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: The church is saying we should be allowed to prohibit people that we want to prohibit, and that should not keep us from being part of this preschool program.
KAIFA (voice-over): It's also possible the court will end up with election law on the docket. Lawsuits around closely contested midterm races could end up at the court after election day.
In Washington, I'm Karen Kaifa.
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KINKADE: Well, thanks so much for watching, It's been great to have your company. I'm Lynda Kinkade. "World Sport" is up next, and I'll be back at the top of the hour with much more "CNN Newsroom."
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