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Global Protest Wave from New Delhi and Tirana to Paris and Rome; CNN Investigates French Police Excessive Force Claims; Trump Waives Some Sanctions under Lindsey Graham Act; WaPo Journalist Hospitalized after Israeli Settler Attack; Trump Fires New Press Secretary Five Days into Job; Winnie-the-Pooh Turns 100. Aired 3-3:30a ET
Aired October 17, 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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WILL RIPLEY, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello from Hong Kong. I'm Will Ripley and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
We're monitoring protests around the world with all eyes on France right now. Students and others are expected to gather there in the coming hours. It could be one of the largest nationwide demonstrations yet.
An investigation underway in Oregon as hundreds gather for a candlelight vigil honoring the victims of the Silver Rail Elementary School shooting.
And we're on the ground in California, watching those explosive fires, forcing evacuations and leaving thousands without power.
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RIPLEY: Protests and mass demonstrations are happening around the world this weekend. People are venting their anger and their frustration at their governments. We're watching protests from Paris, Rome and Madrid to Tirana, Buenos Aires and New Delhi.
Gen Z and student-led protests are surging globally, driven by a combination of factors like the crippling cost of living, the housing crisis, systematic corruption and deteriorating public services.
This has led to unrest in many of these cities, with young people openly brawling in the streets with police.
More protests are expected today in India. Police detained the leader of the country's Cockroach movement. Indian media are reporting that Abhijeet Dipke, a founder of the Cockroach Janta party, has been placed under arrest, preventative arrest.
Dipke called for a major rally in New Delhi on Friday, where protesters demanded the resignation of India's election chief. The youth-led movement believes he removed 130 million names from voter lists. Demonstrators say that favors the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.
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AANCHAL SINGH, PROTESTER: They don't want people to come out in a huge numbers. But people are anyway coming out, so there is no use of detaining them. They will come back again tomorrow, just like us.
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RIPLEY: Violent protests are also sweeping across Albania right now. Demonstrators are calling for the country's prime minister to step down. Students have organized rallies against the government, demanding education reform as well. Some of the protests devolved into violence between police and protesters.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators were on the streets of Tirana earlier this week, when some of them set a government building on fire. Demonstrators have expressed their contempt for the current government, saying they won't be happy until prime minister Edi Rama is gone.
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ENEA, ALBANIAN PROTESTER: To resign as fast as possible before everything burns down. That's the only message I can say. We don't want to negotiate anything. We have been protesting. We asked him peacefully. He didn't want to. We now have been going violently. They are -- they are pushing us to the limits.
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RIPLEY (voice-over): These are students in Italy taking to the streets on Friday. They're staging demonstrations in several cities, calling for more spending on public education and schools.
We saw students in Rome marching to the education ministry, some throwing firecrackers at the building with police standing guard.
This is the latest in a wave of similar student demonstrations across Europe, calling for more teachers and better schools.
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RIPLEY: Meanwhile, France is preparing for a weekend of mass protests. Student-led demonstrations are sweeping that country and it's been going on for several weeks. Protesters calling for education reform. More than 60 marches are planned for Saturday, with up to 100,000 people expected near Paris.
This comes amid allegations of excessive police force during many of these student-led protests. CNN is investigating these claims, focusing on teenagers suffering life-altering injuries.
Through video evidence, CNN examined the growing use of less lethal weapons and concerns over staffing shortages within the riot police. Here's CNN's Paris bureau chief Saskya Vandoorne.
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SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PARIS BUREAU CHIEF: This is the moment a tear gas grenade is fired at close range toward 14-year-old Eden during nationwide student protests in France, demanding more education funding. It strikes him in the mouth, smashing his teeth and breaking his jaw.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (from captions): He kept saying over and over that his life was ruined.
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His jaw has been wired shut. He has two metal bars holding it in place with just enough space for a straw to fit through. He worries about whether he'll ever able to speak.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Eden's mom wishes to remain anonymous to protect her family's privacy. Footage shared with CNN helps piece together what happened to Eden. This video first captures him sitting on a curb looking at his phone just meters from a high school protest outside Paris. One eyewitness told CNN Eden wasn't protesting.
The next video shows him being pushed by local police and Eden appears to argue back. One officer grabs him and pushes him head-to-head using his helmet's visor. This other camera angle shows what happens next.
The police officer first shoves, then appears to strike him with his tear gas grenade launcher. The second officer swings her batter. Eden kicks back and then this.
Look at it again. The second police officer raises his launcher and fires a tear gas grenade directly at Eden's face. You can see the gas canister circled in red. This is one of many incidents that have raised serious questions about how the student protests in France are being policed.
Since September, high school students have continued to pour onto the streets and tensions are escalating.
VANDOORNE: Instead of holding their ground, the riot police are going toward the protesters, confronting them directly head on. Some say this approach could risk escalating the violence.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): And it's not just police tactics that are being questioned. It's also the new weapons they are using.
According to sources within the riot police, officers began receiving the latest generation of what are considered to be less lethal weapons in 2025, including the dual-barrel Cobra grenade launcher, allowing officers to fire twice without reloading.
And they began using new types of stun grenades. In this same period, what we also see is an increase in serious injuries. And now in 2026, we're seeing cases like this one. A 16-year-old student who lost the use of his right eye after being hit by what appears to be a rubber bullet and a 15-year-old boy losing his hand from a stun grenade, prompting the interior minister to temporarily suspend its use. Both are being investigated by police.
Olivier Cappe spent 25 years as a French riot police officer. He says the protesters use of improvised weapons has intensified. And that staff shortages are forcing officers to rely more on crowd control weapons.
OLIVIER CAPPE, SPOKESPERSON, FRENCH RIOT POLICE UNION (through translator): We're short roughly 800 riot police officers. The principle of French crowd control is numbers. The more numerous you are, the more imposing you look. The more imposing you look, the less you intervene.
But if you're outnumbered by a hostile or very hostile crowd that's advancing, you're going to resort much more quickly to less lethal weapons, especially rubber bullet launchers.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): Police haven't responded to questions from CNN about alleged understaffing. The interior ministry says more than 900 police officers and 248 students have been injured since the unrest began. Figures that have prompted public skepticism.
VANDOORNE: Another teen, Eden, he had his teeth smashed in after he was hit with a tear gas canister.
How can you explain these life-altering injuries?
CAPPE (through translator): The people who first intervened in the high school movements weren't riot police. They were the local patrol sent because there was trouble. Those officers aren't experienced in crowd control or restoring order and aren't necessarily equipped or trained for it.
So sometimes there can be mistakes, problems, like the problem with the grenade you mentioned. That's a major problem.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): For Eden's family, what happened that day cannot simply be dismissed as a mistake.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (from captions): He's my baby. He's only 14.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): The family has filed a complaint for attempted murder. And despite what happened to her son, his mother believes students must continue to make their voices heard.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (from captions): What happened to Eden took place right at the beginning of the protests and clearly no one has learned any lesson from it. It's still happening and it's only getting worse.
VANDOORNE (voice-over): The officer has been placed under formal investigation on suspicion of assault by a public official resulting in permanent disfigurement. More than 30 investigations have now been opened into alleged police misconduct -- Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.
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RIPLEY: Russia is getting a break from some U.S. sanctions on its oil and gas just days before they were set to kick in. On Friday, president Donald Trump waived some of the sanctions under the Lindsey Graham Act.
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Which he signed into law last month. He said the waiver is in the national security interest.
The announcement coming hours after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy rallied support from E.U. leaders in Brussels. He called them "real leaders" in an apparent swipe at Trump.
Zelenskyy's relationship with the U.S. president has been spiraling lately. As Trump pushed Ukraine to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries, Ukraine paused the strikes for three days but resumed them this week as Moscow's attacks on Ukraine continued. And now the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is threatening even more strikes.
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VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): In response to strikes by the Kyiv authorities against our industrial and fuel and energy sector facilities, the Russian armed forces continue to carry out strikes against Ukraine's military industrial complex and infrastructure facilities.
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RIPLEY: CNN's Fred Pleitgen is following Zelenskyy's meeting with European leaders in Brussels.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You saw the European leaders there lining Volodymyr Zelenskyy also as he spoke in front of the press.
He did have the European Council President and the European Commission president by his side, all of them saying that the Europeans would continue to support Ukraine.
And it was very interesting for Volodymyr Zelenskyy to come out and say that he was lying by leaders who are sticking with Ukraine, as he put it from the beginning, from when they were attacked by Russia. And he said, until the end.
So he seems to believe and seems to hope that European support will continue. It was very interesting for him to go out and then say that.
I thought one nuance of what he said was extremely interesting about that diesel deal from the Trump administration with the Russian leadership where he said that not only does he not believe that this is going to move the needle as far as energy prices around the world are concerned but that, in fact, it would also line the coffers of the Kremlin.
But that he also believed that it could create a precedent, that it could start with a diesel deal to export diesel by the Russian federation, not just to the United States, but of course, also to global markets. But it then could lead to something like, for instance, a gas deal, for instance, that it could set a precedent for sanctions relief for Russia.
The Ukrainians clearly believing that, that could be a threat to them and obviously bring Russia back further on the international stage. The other big topic at that E.U. summit was, of course, Starlink and Starshield and the Ukrainians saying that it appeared to have been slowed down over the past couple of days.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy there saying that it is getting back up to speed but isn't at the same speed as before.
Also making clear to the U.S., especially that the Ukrainians don't use Starlink to try and attack Russia to steer their drones that they launched deep into Russian territory, but actually use it to detect Russian drones flying into Ukrainian territory.
Of course, a lot of those drones now jet-powered, moving a lot faster, making that early detection even more important for the Ukrainians. The Ukrainians, of course, bracing for it could be one of the most, if not the most difficult Winter for the Ukrainians, as the Russians already starting to attack some of that energy infrastructure.
Of course, the Ukrainians also attacking Russia oil and gas infrastructure. But the Ukrainians things could be a very difficult winter.
And so, therefore, energy was one of the big topics on this day as Volodymyr Zelenskyy spent that day at the E.U. summit among friendly nations, as really those relations with the United States and specifically with U.S. president Donald Trump, appear to be almost in freefall, continuing to deteriorate.
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RIPLEY: Fred Pleitgen there.
Pope Leo spoke with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday. The pope is still recovering from lung cancer surgery just days ago. The pontiff raised concerns about what he called the grave humanitarian situation in the Russian occupied city of Oleshky.
Authorities say supply routes for food and medicine into that city are blocked, with almost 2,000 civilians still there. The Kremlin says Putin supported the Vatican's efforts to help ease the humanitarian situation.
A photojournalist for "The Washington Post" is in the hospital. She's recovering from an Israeli settler attack in the occupied West Bank. Settlers targeted Palestinians during the annual olive harvest.
Video shows a group of masked settlers, some armed with clubs, hurling stones at a group of Palestinians and some of the Palestinians also throwing stones. Journalist Heidi Levine says settlers kicked her repeatedly while she was on the ground.
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HEIDI LEVINE, PHOTOJOURNALIST, "THE WASHINGTON POST": I was brutally attacked by -- I mean, we saw on the -- on the -- in the -- in the distance, in the hilltop, I would say, at least 50 masked men.
I was -- I had a 100-to-500 millimeter lens, that I could see the mask with sling shots. And when they came running down, I was -- I was attacked, pushed to the ground.
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I had -- luckily, I had my flak jacket and my helmet. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't even be here because they just kept kicking me and kicking me, like probably 50 times.
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RIPLEY: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Hong Kong.
After the break, new details are emerging in that deadly school shooting in Oregon. Two of the victims are now identified. Police say a teacher helped prevent a much larger tragedy.
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RIPLEY: Now former White House press secretary Katie Zacharia made her first public statement since president Trump fired her after five days on the job. She posted on X that working for him was an honor and she wished more Americans appreciated him.
After a rocky debut, to say the least, on Tuesday, Zacharia joined the president on a trip to Alaska. Sources say he told her she performed well but it soon emerged that she failed the bar exam and never retook it, even though she repeatedly called herself a lawyer, which ended her run.
Her exit leaves the White House without a press secretary just before critical midterm elections.
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We're learning more details about that deadly shooting at an elementary school in Bend, Oregon. Police say the shooter targeted a special needs classroom with all the victims in that one room. Police also say the 16-year old gunman previously attended special
needs classes at Silver Rail Elementary School. A father with two children at the school shot and killed the gunman. But police say that man was not the only hero at the school on Thursday.
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CHIEF MIKE KRANTZ, BEND POLICE DEPARTMENT: In addition to the 36- year-old man who bravely stepped in to stop the suspect, I want to highlight another person whose heroic action we need to recognize.
A teacher in the classroom threw her cell phone at the suspect and then tackled him and fought to take the firearm from him. She was not injured in that incident but she almost certainly helped prevent more bloodshed.
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RIPLEY: Take a look at this Toyota truck. Police say the shooter also fired at the truck and police say the truck driver verbally confronted the suspect. He shouted at him as he was climbing a fence onto school grounds.
The teen then fired at the truck, hitting it three times. The driver was not hurt and was able to drive away and call the police for help.
We now know the identities of two of the shooting victims, 25-year-old Megan Lambert, the teacher killed at Silver Rail Elementary School. Her family said she loved the children. She loved being a teacher.
Police also identified 5-year-old Rhoam Summer as one of the children killed in that shooting.
A fourth grader at Silver Rail Elementary is speaking out about what it was like to be in the middle of that tragedy, something no 9-year old should ever have to experience.
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QUESTION: When you started to hear gunshots, do you remember what went through your head?
KALANI JOURNEIGH, 4TH GRADE WITNESS: Kind of like that we might die. It was kind of a weird feeling and all of us were screaming and we were all like really scared.
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RIPLEY: In Southern California, an explosive new wildfire is now the size of 340 football fields and it's already burning several homes there. The fire began in Orange County around noon on Friday and then quickly grew to more than 450 acres. It's one of several fires breaking out since Thursday, spread by fierce winds hitting Southern California.
Evacuation orders are in effect for around 16,000 people. Officials are also advising people in the area to protect their homes by doing things like clearing away dry vegetation, trimming trees and removing flammable materials.
New flooding is devastating north central Nepal. Just six weeks after that devastating glacier collapse, a swollen river about 60 miles west of Kathmandu swept away homes along its banks. The floods damaged or destroyed four bridges and a hydroelectric site under construction. There are no immediate reports of anyone hurt or killed.
But the national disaster authority says five people are missing. A typhoon is getting stronger and rapidly and it's expected to pass close to Guam this weekend. Typhoon Champi is now east of the island, with sustained winds of about 100 miles per hour or 160 kilometers per hour. That's as strong as a category two hurricane.
It's expected to be the equivalent of a category three hurricane when it passes closest to Guam late Saturday or early Sunday. The island's weather service has issued a typhoon warning. A high surf warning cautions coastal residents about waves up to 35 feet or nearly 11 meters. A flood watch is also in place right now.
There's also a hurricane warning along the Mexican Pacific coast for Hurricane Trudy. The storm is downgraded to a category one but it's expected to gradually grow in strength over the next three days. Still, it's no longer expected to make landfall or even approach Mexico as a major storm.
But Trudy could bring plenty of problems like heavy rain, flash flooding and mudslides along Mexico's Pacific coast, even if its center does stay offshore.
Some big news for romantic fans. Showbiz outlets are reporting that Amazon is close to locking in the leads for its highly anticipated adaption (sic) of Rebecca Yarros' book series, "Fourth Wing."
Esther McGregor, the daughter of Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, and Emilio Sakraya are expected to star as dragon riders Violet and Xaden. The pair would bring the book's enemies-to-lovers romance to life at a brutal war college for dragon riders. CNN has reached out to Amazon for confirmation but it has not yet confirmed the casting.
A centennial celebration for none other than Winnie-the-Pooh.
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The beloved bear turned 100 this week and looks great. CNN's Anna Stewart reports on Pooh Bear's legacy.
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ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Winnie-the-Pooh first floated into bookstores on October 14th 1926, 100 years ago. British author A.A. Milne and illustrator E.H. Shepard introduced Pooh Bear in a collection of short stories about the iconic character and his animal friends, including Piglet and Eeyore. NEIL REED, OWNER, POOH CORNER MUSEUM, GIFT SHOP AND TEA ROOM: It's now gone on to sell tens and tens of millions of copies around the world.
Every generation, it's something that there's fans and families take it with them and it's so beautiful to see how many families and different generations that have carried on the tradition of bringing Winnie-the-Pooh into their lives.
STEWART (voice-over): The stories also feature Christopher Robin, a young boy who Milne modeled and named after his own son and his toy bear. Many of their adventures take place in the fictional Hundred Acre Wood, a place inspired by Milne's walks with his son in England's Ashdown Forest. Neil Reed runs a nearby Pooh museum.
REED: The amazing thing is Milne works so hard to bring the forest into the book, so by reading the book you really get a sense that the Ashdown Forest which is part of the story. So the forest really is the glue of the piece, it's the reason the book exists because it makes sense to allow the characters to have that freedom of the location.
STEWART (voice-over): Visitors can now walk through the forest and see sites that inspired Milne, such as Pooh Sticks Bridge, Galleon's Lap and the Enchanted Place.
REED: And it's such an important thing that we maintain this landscape and we hope that it's something that people are visiting in another hundred years time.
STEWART (voice-over): The story has been a success since its initial release 100 years ago but Pooh gained a whole new following after Disney acquired the story rights in 1961, turning the character into a worldwide phenomenon and a beloved Disney staple -- Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
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RIPLEY: Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Will Ripley in Hong Kong. "INTELLIGENT FUTURE" is next.
