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Violent Protests Erupt Several European Countries; Midterms Two Weeks Away, Several Candidates Pitch In to Woo Voters; Trump Endorses Israel's Netanyahu Ahead of the General Polls. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired October 19, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome, I'm Christina Macfarlane in London, ahead here on CNN Newsroom.

France reeling from protests turned violent, leaving buildings torched and over a thousand detained. We'll speak to a journalist in Marseille.

And with only 15 days until the midterms, President Trump stays on the campaign trail, even as polls show voters aren't into him that much anymore.

But the Israeli Prime Minister finally has what he's craved from the U.S. President. An endorsement in his re-election campaign. We'll discuss why it's better late than never.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from London, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Christina Macfarlane.

MACFARLANE: Hello and welcome.

French President Emmanuel Macron is vowing to prevent a repeat of this weekend's violent protests as business owners and shopkeepers pick up the pieces from the looting and rioting. He spoke to the nation and said seditious elements from far-left factions will be held accountable for the violence. But he also said the majority of the protesters were simply calling attention to the legitimate grievances that the government cannot afford to ignore.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): Yesterday, several hundred thousand of our fellow citizens demonstrated with a desire to voice legitimate demands. We must never confuse them with those who destroyed, vandalized and looted. These demonstrators expressed concern about the cost of living and fuel prices, which stem from the conflict that began in the Persian Gulf, a conflict in which France has taken no part but whose consequences we are suffering.

I fully understand their concerns. (END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, some French citizens say they also understand how anger over the cost of living issues led to the violence in Paris and other French cities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAOLA FORMENTI, FRENCH CIIIZEN: It is normal that people that don't get answers by the government, that they struggle to live everyday life, they struggle to study, they struggle to eat and have a proper accommodation, then they get angry. And so I think the only way of actually avoiding this kind of violence is to answer to the protests of the people, to listen to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: CNN's Melissa Bell is on the ground in Paris.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A walk with the dog in Paris shows the now and then of widespread protests in France. Demonstrations that were largely peaceful but on Saturday night became incendiary.

The Interior Minister said that more than half a million people took part in nationwide protests over rising costs, complaints of government inaction and poor school conditions that at times turned quickly destructive. Rioters smashed storefronts, set fires and attacked public buildings, leaving the nation in shock.

French President Emmanuel Macron blamed far-left groups and criminals for the unrest and vowed to take action.

MACRON (through translator): Those who destroyed property must pay. Those who looted must reimburse the damage. Those who sought to bring down the Republic will be held accountable.

BELL (voice-over): President Macron held an emergency meeting with his ministers on Sunday, with more talks planned on Monday with French mayors to address public safety and the grievances raised by protesters.

Meanwhile, a massive clean-up operation is underway. In Paris, a task force was announced to support damaged businesses. French authorities say that looters ransacked hundreds of stores and supermarkets across the country.

Even the statue of Marianne in the Place de la Republique is covered in graffiti and its base is damaged after protesters scaled the iconic French symbol the previous day as clashes with police raged around it.

Some people say that parts of the French capital look like a war zone and are stunned by the destruction. MARGAUX EUDE, PARIS RESIDENT (through translator): I support the

mobilization. I was working yesterday, I couldn't come to protest. But I didn't think it would escalate like this.

Because it's the troublemakers who came. And it breaks my heart because it delegitimizes the movement.

BELL (voice-over): But Paris isn't the only place reeling from the riots. In Limoges, authorities say that masked rioters torched the historic town hall, a landmark that survived two world wars but not Saturday's chaos. And in Marseille, residents are picking up the pieces after a night of rampant looting and vandalism.

FARIDA, MARSEILLE RESIDENT (through translator): It's heartbreaking seeing our city like this. If every protest ends with all the shop windows smashed and stores trashed, this simply can't go on.

BELL (voice-over): On Sunday, there were still some skirmishes in Paris. But as the smoke clears, the underlying issues that sparked these turbulent protests will likely be key factors in next year's presidential poll.

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A race where Macron isn't running after reaching his two-term limit and one where both the far right and the far left are gaining ground.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Well for more on the protests, we are joined by journalist and author, Cole Stangler. Cole, good to see you.

I mean, the riots over the weekend have been described as the worst outbreak of disorder in modern French history. And that extended to where you are in Marseille. I mean, it's a level of violence that has really shocked many.

How serious a moment is this for France?

COLE STANGLER, JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR: Yes, it is very serious. I witnessed in Marseille what has been reported and similar to what we saw in Paris, which is you had this very peaceful protest, large mass march, but then we saw these scenes of violence that were quite stunning.

The police, so we saw in the morning before the mass march, you had basically masked people, individuals going after the police in the center of town and then later on the day, we had basically reports of looting.

And in fact, I saw looters. I was at the main march. And again, the main march was mostly peaceful and I think a lot of the people at the march were surprised to see essentially teenagers, I saw scenes of teenagers basically fighting over a PlayStation. People are, you know, stealing electronics. So I think a lot of people at the protest too were shocked to see this. But it is a very serious crisis.

The numbers given by the police are given upwards of tens of, they say tens of thousands of people took part in the looting. The mayor of Marseille says that's an exaggerated number. But still the mayor of Marseille, I think like many in the city, are frustrated at the police response.

And that's been one of the kind of paradoxes here, is people are asking how is it possible to have a police force that is both using force so aggressively against protesters, and we have numbers that can illustrate that, but at the same time seemingly incapable of protecting businesses and even city building. The city hall of Marseille was actually ransacked very briefly by looters. And so I think that's the question a lot of people are asking on the ground here, shop owners and local political officials.

MACFARLANE: Yes, understandably so. And, you know, we know these protests may have started with student unrest, but it appears now to stretch far beyond that. And the government has blamed the violence on hard left and ultra left groups, as well as criminals.

Is that true? What is your understanding of who is to blame for the violence we've seen?

STANGLER: I think we have to look at and see what the investigations are going to find. I think it's important just to be careful and not jump to conclusions. So there are going to be ongoing investigations.

Presumably people who engaged in looting will be held responsible. That's what the government says. So I think we have to see how those investigations pan out.

But I think it's also important to take a step back here. And in addition to, of course, the violence that overwhelmingly French people condemn that we saw on Saturday, I think there's a bigger question of how do we get to this point in France where we have these mass marches that are taking place alongside this violence. And I think for a lot of French people, the responsibility, and we heard it in those clips that you aired earlier, the responsibility lies on the government side, in the sense that they've so far been unwilling to make the slightest significant concession to student protesters.

Remember, this meeting began in mid-September, students complaining about dilapidated infrastructure, about teacher salaries. And the question is, when is the government going to make a concession? We might see this week, President Macron said that there are going to be discussions this week. Will there be a major concession? I think a lot of French people are asking themselves that question.

Can you just make the slightest concession in this movement to maybe calm down the temperature a little bit?

MACFARLANE: Yes, and there is, of course, a political element to this as well. President Macron, in his state of the address to the Union last night, said he plans to hold a meeting with political leaders this week to try and calm some of the rhetoric we've been hearing from the far-right and the far-left, who essentially are both blaming each other for these riots. What effect has that been having, you know, just, what, six months out now from these presidential elections?

STANGLER: I think we don't have polling since the mass marches and rioting took place on Saturday, so it will be interesting to see what the polling shows. But clearly France is in a very turbulent political moment right now, where each of the major three political forces that are in the National Assembly today, so the left, the Macronist center, and the far-right, each of these blocs is very fragile.

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Each of them has a very low support in the polls. We see this with, I think every French politician has very low support across the polls.

It's something maybe we forget to acknowledge outside of France, but President Macron has around, you know, he's below 30 percent approval ratings. Marine Le Pen, although she's projected to do well in the presidential election, is also very unpopular.

And the left-wing politicians are also themselves very unpopular. So it's a very kind of turbulent, combustible situation ahead of the presidential elections. I think French voters are wondering, is someone going to be able to sort of turn the temperature down and be able to come up with some type of majority? But, you know, so much can happen between now and the elections.

I'm sure that Marine Le Pen is watching the images. The National Rally is probably thinking that they're going to benefit politically for understandable reasons. At the same time, there may be some on the left saying, well, this is, you know, the cost-of-living crisis is shining light on these bigger issues that need to be addressed that Macron so far has been apparently incapable of addressing.

I think it's really too soon, I think, to start speculating too much about the political consequences. All these debates are going to be continued, I think, between now and the elections in April.

MACFARLANE: Yes, and as you say, all of this sort of masking the legitimate grievances that many of these protesters have had over the days and weeks just gone. Cole Stangler, it's so great to have your thoughts this morning. Thank you for joining us.

STANGLER: Thank you for having me.

And it's not just in France. A wave of discontent has been spreading across other European cities as well. In Italy, chaos erupted in the streets of Milan for the second day during protests over the cost of living.

Police fired tear gas and used water cannons to try and contain several hundred people who broke shop windows and began looting stores. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has condemned the violence and called for a government meeting on Monday to discuss a response.

Joining us now from Rome is CNN's Stefano Pozzebon. So, Stefano, I mean, this unrest in Milan obviously coincided with national demonstrations in neighboring France over the weekend. How similar are the complaints of protesters and how bad was the damage this weekend?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Christina, it's a very similar situation in both countries, Italy and France. In Italy in particular, what stood out of these protests over the weekend are two things.

The first one is that they took place outside of the institutional protests that is still going on, just as in France. There is a protest movement that has been gathering steam in this fall in particular. For example, on Friday the Students' Union were out on the streets in Rome and other cities and on Saturday a big opposition rally by Workers' Union and the center-left opposition parties drew over 100,000 people here in Rome, peacefully taking to the streets according to its organizers.

However, once again, what we're talking about here is a few hundreds of rioters, especially in the city of Milan, where the damage has been intense. Some scenes that we haven't seen in Italy in a very long time. The second thing that is standing out, other than the fact that these are happening outside of institutional protests, the second thing I was saying is just how young the rioters were.

According to the national broadcaster RA.I., about 200 people have been stopped for identification in Milan and 80 percent of them, Christina, were underage, including people as young as 12, 13 or 14 years old. Really young, which makes, of course, the job of patrolling and controlling these protests even harder for the law enforcement and the police.

Now, Giorgia Meloni, speaking on Friday, before the scenes we have seen in Milan over the weekend, had said that she was in favor of peaceful protests. She remembered, for example, that Meloni herself made a name as a student protester back in the 1990s. She comes from that area of student activism, leading the youth wing of her party before becoming a national politician.

However, she asked the opposition and every force in Italy to formally condemn the violence. And, for example, just this morning she posted a photo of a head of the police up in Milan who had been hit by a rock, by a stone, thrown by the protesters with his face covering in blood.

So, clearly, a situation that risks, especially looking at the future, there is the feeling that the public order situation here in Italy could really escalate because the students have already called for another protest by the end of this month and then trade unions, workers' unions and the student unions have all called for a national strike on November 20th. So we have a few weeks of social unrest, likely, here in Italy.

[03:15:06] The issues that the social protester, the institutional protester are complaining of are similar as in France. The cost of living, in particular, with the cost of gasoline and diesel brought up by the price of petrol and the crude oil due to the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, but also the cost of housing. And for the students, in particular, the cost of housing is significant because, especially in the south of Italy, many students have to move to another city in order to attend university.

So that's something that is clearly felt by this generation. It's unfortunate, however, that sometimes these demands are hijacked just by people who simply want to throw a Molotov and make some mess of the streets. Christina?

MAFARLANE: Yes, there certainly seems to be a picture we're seeing mirrored across other capitals in Europe right now. Stefano, we'll continue to monitor this and see what comes out of that meeting that the Prime Minister is holding today. Thank you very much for now.

Turning now to the growing tensions between Ukraine and the U.S. Ukraine over the weekend launched one of its largest drone attacks of the year on Russia, hitting a key oil terminal. The strikes come in defiance of pressure from President Trump to targeting energy infrastructure, even as Russia has continued to hit Ukrainian energy sites.

In a Truth Social post, President Trump slammed the Ukrainian president saying, quote, "Zelenskyy is using diesel refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets. Zelenskyy doesn't care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him and that crooked Joe Biden has given him in the past, he doesn't want to end this war and probably never did."

Mr. Trump has also defended his decision to waive sanctions related to Russian fossil fuel cells just days before they were set to begin. In his Truth Social post, he said he didn't want to do anything to drive Russia away from negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Here's what Mr. Zelenskyy said about the importance of U.S. support for Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN WELKER, MODERATOR, "MEET THE PRESS": Can Ukraine win this war without the United States, President Zelenskyy?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRA.I.NIAN PRESIDENT: Very difficult. If it's without United States support, it's very difficult.

But if United States will support Putin, I mean, it's unbelievable. It's tragedy. It's historic mistake and big tragedy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Up next here on "CNN Newsroom," U.S. midterm elections could turn on America's pocketbooks. We'll discuss how the economy and cost of living concerns will drive voters. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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MACFARLANE: Welcome back.

The U.S. midterm elections are now just 15 days away and Republicans are facing increasingly uphill battles in a number of states that went their way just two years ago with control of both the House and Senate at stake.

In CNN's latest poll of polls, Democrats leave Republicans 54 to 45 percent when voters were asked which party's candidate they would support. This comes with President Trump's approval rating still at or near his all-time low and with many Americans upset about the rising cost of living. We're hoping to turn things around.

President Trump is scheduled for campaign events every day this week, all of them in states he won in 2024. That includes Kansas on Monday, North Carolina on Tuesday, South Carolina on Wednesday, Iowa Thursday, Florida on Friday and Georgia on Saturday.

Joining me now from Atlanta is Republican strategist Katie Frost. Good to see you, Katie.

Look, we know that GOP candidates are really facing strong headwinds in this election cycle over inflation, high borrowing costs, fuel prices and, of course, the prolonged conflict with Iran. How concerned are you for what this could spell for Republicans in 15 days' time, especially in parts of the country that are suffering the most from high fuel and grocery prices?

KATIE FROST, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, it's great to be with you this morning.

Historically speaking, I think it's important to put things in historical context, a midterm after you win the presidency is always going to be difficult for the party that holds the White House. Over the last 100 years, only twice has the party in the White House gained seats in Congress.

So we always knew there would be historical headwinds going into this election. But when you look at the map and you look where President Trump is traveling, it makes a lot of sense. He is going to states that he won because there are voters there who showed up for him that do not typically show up in midterm elections.

That's what we call the low-propensity voter. They turn out every presidential election, but they're less inclined to turn out in the midterm. And they turned out for President Trump, so he needs to be the one speaking to them.

You look at where he's going also within those states. In my home state of Georgia, on Saturday, he'll be in my father's hometown of Macon. That is a part of the state.

There are a lot of people who support him, but they have lower turnout because they're far away from Atlanta in those midterm elections, and we need them to show up.

Michigan and Wisconsin, those are two states to watch because they are historically being hit with pretty high fuel prices. But the candidates there that the Democratic Party are running are just extremely flawed.

MACFARLANE: Yes, it's interesting you mentioned where he's headed this week because the trip to Georgia this week will actually be Trump's fourth stop in the state this year, which is another sign of the challenges they're facing in stronghold states. Can I ask, what do you make of his strategy, as we're seeing play out in this campaigning, about mobilizing loyal voters, loyal supporters, whilst also at the same time trying to limit his exposure in areas where his presence might actually hurt the vote? Do you think he's striking that balance?

FROST: He's doing a good job with that, and that's something we actually see in the Democratic Party as well. Former Vice President Kamala Harris endorsed Mary Peltola for the Senate up in Alaska, and not only did she not want her to come up and campaign with her, but the Peltola campaign was very clear that they did not seek out that endorsement.

[03:25:08]

So there are figures who can help you in certain parts of your state or in certain parts of the country when it comes to fundraising, but you may not want to emphasize that in other regions. And that's kind of where the President is, and I think he's been doing a very good job of that.

On Friday, he was in Dalton, Georgia, and that is up in the 14th District, a deeply red stronghold with an extremely high number of low-propensity voters.

And in the Senate runoffs in 2020, the 14th District and the 9th District in Georgia saw the sharpest drop-off in voter participation. So there's an incredibly high number of low-propensity voters that love President Trump in those regions. He's going there to turn them out, and that's going to be very helpful for the Republican ticket.

MACFARLANE: Given the sort of critical state we're in with diesel prices, how much is your sense that Republican voters are attributing blame for that and the downturn in the U.S. economy to Donald Trump's war with Iran and trade tariffs, which of course some are calling two self-inflicted wounds here?

FROST: Well gas prices are certainly on people's minds. You know, gas is one of the only commodities that you see the price advertised every time you drive down the road. Grocery stores don't have big billboards out front talking about the price of eggs, which was at an extremely high in January of 2025 because of Joe Biden, we don't see that. But that is something that's definitely on people's minds. But there

are several other factors at play here. The real question is going to be voter enthusiasm.

And typically speaking, midterms are low-turnout elections. That's what we're seeing right now is going to be a low-turnout election. And the people that are motivated to turn out are going to be the people that are angry.

Right now there's an incredibly high amount of anger in the Democratic Party because they did not like the shellacking they received in the 2024 election. They want to get back out there, they want to show that they actually have an alternative for the American people.

But the problem is their messaging and their candidates are just flawed. They do not have the answers the American people are looking for.

What I would say is that here are the two things people always look at in elections. Some people think you can have a culture issues or you have economic issues, I say you have to have both. And the Republican Party has the potential to do that.

We can win on the culture war, but you have to have a compelling economic message. Republicans say we want to let you keep more of your money.

Democrats say we're going to give you somebody else's money. But the party that can figure out how we fix the dollar so that your dollar is constantly shrinking from your paycheck because of inflation, that is going to be the party that can dominate going forward.

MACFARLANE: Well, there are certainly a myriad of concerns for Republicans heading into this midterms. We'll wait to see, as you point out as well, how voter turnout will be in around 15 days' time. Another crucial point too.

Katie Frost, it was great to have your analysis, thank you.

FROST: Thank you.

MACFARLANE: Now, four service members have died after a large fire at one of Canada's busiest military bases. Dozens have been seriously injured.

Officials there say the cause of the fire is still being investigated. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney said the fire stemmed from a, quote, "serious incident without providing details."

The base is located in Wainwright, a town in eastern Alberta, and around 130 miles from the province's capital, Edmonton. The Prime Minister added that the incident is one of the nation's worst armed forces tragedies during peacetime and pledged to stand by the families of those who died.

Well, there's much more to come here on "CNN Newsroom," including Israel's critical election. How Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making his case to voters after getting a late endorsement from President Trump.

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MACFARLANE: Welcome back, I'm Christina Macfarlane. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

In Albania's capital, student-led anti-government protests turned violent for a sixth day as Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama refuses to resign. Protesters set fire to government buildings and have thrown Molotov cocktails, rocks and bricks at police. Young people are angry over high educational and living costs, but Rama has warned that protesters only hurt Albania's chances of joining the European Union.

Candidates across the U.S. are in the final two-week stretch for this year's midterm elections with control of Congress up for grabs. President Trump is set to visit a different red state every day this week, hoping to boost support for Republicans. Polls show many voters are frustrated over the President's war in Iran, inflation and cost- of-living struggles.

Pope Leo has made his first major public appearance since undergoing lung cancer surgery. The 71-year-old pontiff led the Angelus Prayer from the balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square on Sunday, with thousands of people gathered. The Pope thanked his doctors for his treatment and those who prayed for him, he also said he will gradually be resuming his duties.

President Trump has finally endorsed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with just over a week to go until Israel's Election Day.

The relationship between the two leaders has sometimes been rocky in recent months, but President Trump told CNN contributor Barak Ravid that it was always his intention to endorse Netanyahu, but he, quote, "didn't want to do it too soon." Netanyahu was quick to thank Trump for his tremendous support. The Israeli Prime Minister also cited the endorsement in a video released Sunday aimed at swaying undecided voters.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is joining us live from Abu Dhabi. So Paula, as we were saying, the relationship between these two leaders has become quite fraught recently. So how important an endorsement was this just days ahead of the Israeli election?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christina, it was not a given that this endorsement was going to come at all, but also it's not a given that it is going to give Prime Minister Netanyahu a significant bump when it comes to the polls and the eventual elections just over a week away.

Now, first of all, let's look at the Truth Social post. This is where the endorsement came from President Trump. He called Netanyahu strong, brave and brilliant, saying he is a great warrior prime minister, saying it is a complete and total endorsement of Bibi Netanyahu, he said.

But the fact is the popularity of the U.S. president in Israel has taken a hit in recent months. He was once extremely popular. We would see in the streets of across Israel billboards of Netanyahu and Trump together.

[03:35:04]

In fact, we heard from Israeli sources telling CNN that Trump was intended to be a centerpiece of Netanyahu's campaign. But these days we really don't see many photos of Trump with Netanyahu together, knowing that since, for example, the Iran ceasefire was put in place by the U.S. president, the popularity of Trump has waned in Israel itself. Just an illustration of that.

I'll give you one survey. This is the survey from the Jewish People Policy Institute back in July, saying that just seven percent had a great deal of trust that Trump would do the right thing, 45 percent said they had none.

Now, in recent years, we had seen Trump enjoying significant popularity in Israel. And as you mentioned, we also have seen a rocky relationship in recent months. We have understood that President Trump has cursed Netanyahu on more than one phone call.

There was a perception that the U.S. peace efforts when it came to Lebanon and Gaza were being undermined by what President Prime Minister Netanyahu was carrying out. And certainly we have seen that American public opinion of Israel has fallen sharply. Nevertheless, we have seen the Israeli prime minister welcome this endorsement by the U.S. President, thanking President Trump as well in a very full- throated fashion, obviously hoping that it will give him some kind of bump.

MACFARLANE: All right. Well, we will wait to see if that bump arrives for him. Paula Hancocks there, live in Abu Dhabi, thank you.

Okay, still to come here on "CNN Newsroom." LinkedIn says it's cracking down on A.I. slop. How the site is trying to reign in content generated by artificial intelligence.

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[03:40:00]

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MACFARLANE: Welcome back.

Now, the jobs networking site LinkedIn is cracking down on A.I.- generated posts and content. A report from July of this year showed that more than 40 percent of long-term posts on the platform were created using A.I. Now the company is using its own A.I. systems to help weed out what's

known as slob. Its A.I. model is trained by a former team of journalists and social media experts to help flag content it suspects was made by A.I.

The move follows earlier crackdown efforts from LinkedIn. In August, it introduced a button that lets users flag posts that seem like A.I. slop. It says these improvements have led to a 40 percent decline in views of content classified as being A.I.-generated.

It was a race to the finish line. Daschunds in Munich, Germany, competed in the annual sausage dog race on Sunday. Excited owners waved toys and treats to get the dogs to cross the finish line.

What started as a race with just 30 dogs four years ago has now grown to a full competition drawing dozens of attendees.

And now for our international viewers, "World Sport" is coming up next, and for those of you here in North America, I'll be back with more "CNN Newsroom" after this quick break. Stay with us.

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[03:45:00]

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MACFARLANE: The war of words between Abdul El-Sayed and his rival Mike Rogers didn't take off at the weekend. The two candidates for the Senate seat from Michigan took jabs at each other.

Rogers questioned whether El-Sayed has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. El-Sayed denied that insinuation and called Rogers a, quote, "non- playing character." A video game inspired jab to describe someone who doesn't think for themselves.

For more, here's CNN's Jeff Zeleny.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: With two weeks left in the midterm election campaign, the Michigan Senate race, which is at the center of the fight for control of the Senate, is taking on a decidedly negative and dark turn.

Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate, spent the weekend criticizing his Democratic rival, Abdul El-Sayed, for not fully disavowing, in his view, the El-Sayed comments about the Muslim Brotherhood. But we caught up with El-Sayed in Flint on Sunday. He said he clearly condemns them, he is not a part of them, and he turned the conversation back to the economy.

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: My name and my faith are not the reason you can't afford your gas. My name and my faith are not the reason you can't afford your groceries. My name and my faith are not the reason you can't see a doctor. I mean, chances are, if you're seeing a doctor, they might actually

have my name and my faith.

ZELENY: There's no question that Michigan is at the center of this fight for control of the Senate because Democrats must hold on to their current seats, including the open seat here in Michigan, as well as pick up four additional seats.

Now, Abdul El-Sayed would be the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. He is not focusing on that, he is focusing on the economy. He said that is what voters here are concerned about and care about.

Mike Rogers, of course, a former member of Congress, has been trying to distance himself from the President and the President's policies.

President Trump has pledged to visit Michigan before the campaign is over. Abdul El-Sayed said he welcomes that visit. He thinks it shines a light on the Trump policies.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Detroit.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Well, we're tracking a tight Senate race in Kansas, where recent polling shows Democrats Adam Hamilton and Republican Senator Roger Marshall running neck and neck with 15 days left until the midterms. If Hamilton wins, he could become the first Democratic senator for Kansas in nearly a century.

CNN's Manu Raju travels to the state to speak to voters and the candidates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Republicans are on a mission in Kansas, of all places, to rescue Senator Roger Marshall. It has been 94 years since a Democrat won a Senate seat in Kansas.

The state has only had three Democratic senators in its history. But the pastor-turned-candidate, Adam Hamilton, is seeking to change that.

UNKNOWN: I don't think I've ever voted for a Democrat to be a senator.

RAJU: You haven't? This will be the first time?

UNKNOWN: First time.

RAJU: A toxic brew is confronting Marshall here in Kansas. High gasoline prices, high diesel prices, the unpopularity of the Iran war, the unpopularity of the President's tariff policies, and the President himself seeing his own approval sliding.

ADAM HAMILTON (D), KANSAS SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: I watched in Washington, D.C. after the inauguration of our president, President Trump. I prayed for him. God, please give him wisdom. And I will tell you, just because you're a pastor does not mean your prayers are answered.

RAJU: Republicans are trying to nationalize this race, trying to make it all about Democratic control of the United States Senate if Hamilton were to win.

SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R-KS), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Who do you want running this country? Do you want Chuck Schumer, the AOC, big government Democrats running this country?

RAJU (voice-over): To avoid an historic defeat, Republicans are now in an all-out effort to save Marshall, launching attacks like these.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Adam Hamilton isn't a moderate. He's a two-faced extremist.

RAJU: I caught up with Marshall in central Kansas, a place that Donald Trump won overwhelmingly. And I asked him initially about the Iran war. Instead, he pivoted to another issue.

Do you think that given the impact that it's having on fuel prices, that it's time for the President to end the war with Iran?

MARSHALL: You know, I think what you should be talking about is my opponent, that he's a child sex predator protector, that he's feeding his kids. It absolutely happened.

RAJU: What about Iran? I'm asking about Iran.

MARSHALL: No, I think you guys need to talk about something that Kansans want to be talking about.

RAJU: You want to talk about the Iran war?

MARSHALL: I've given you my comments on Iran before. Look, I want this war to be over as quickly as possible. I don't want to lose any soldiers, any more soldiers like Eisenhower, I hate war.

[03:50:08]

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Sex abuse at a fall church camp.

RAJU (voice-over): Marshall now running ads accusing Hamilton of covering up a child sex abuse, sex scandal from two decades ago. And Trump piling on in a Truth Social post this past week. But Hamilton says the accusations are riddled with lies.

This is the president of the United States who just said.

HAMILTON: You know, the president's lying and he's twisting the truth around. And every organization that looked into these claims four months ago said the same thing. This is a misrepresentation of what happened.

RAJU: Would you have done anything differently in that situation? HAMILTON: Absolutely. Like we should have called the police

immediately. But that was not our policies 21 years ago.

This is desperate attempts to try to deflect from a horrible record Roger Marshall has.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): He sued more than 700 of his own patients for paying their medical bills late.

RAJU: But Marshall has faced a series of damaging stories, including billing practices associated with his medical practice. The "New York Times" reporting that he filed lawsuits against roughly 700 patients who had outstanding debt; 81 of those patients later were arrested for missing court dates.

RAJU: What about the billing practices, the "New York Times" billing practices? They reported about that.

Looking at those people who had about $100 in outstanding debt, was it okay to go after them?

MARSHALL: So why do you continue to repeat this lie? That was in the story.

RAJU: It's not true.

MARSHALL: So why are we repeating the lie? You're repeating the lie.

RAJU: Did you guys do anything wrong?

MARSHALL: Of course we did not.

The Kansas Bill of Rights clearly says you cannot imprison or even arrest somebody because of indebtedness. I would want no one to ever go to jail because of anything they owe me. There were people being bused from other cities to us knowing that I would take care of them for free.

RAJU (voice-over): And the "Kansas City Star" reported that Marshall's practice charged an unusually high 18 percent interest rate on unpaid medical bills.

RAJU: What about the 18 percent interest rate that's come out? Was that an appropriate interest rate to charge?

MARSHALL: Listen, I think you're losing the real story here, right? So when and if this ever happened, and we wrote off hundreds of people's bills every month, some of those people by law have to go to collections. Whatever interest rate they charge, I have no idea.

This was the first lie of many from Adam Hamilton's campaign.

RAJU: Should the President end the trade war with Canada? Should he end the trade war with Canada?

RAJU (voice-over): Marshall has shown little daylight with Trump, who won the state by double digits three times, and relying on surrogates like Vice President J.D. Vance, who recently attacked Hamilton's faith.

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Ladies and gentlemen, that is not Christianity. That is left-wing radicalism dressed in the skin suit of our religion.

RAJU: When you look back at some of your past sermons, did you ever say things that were outside of the political mainstream that you could have said differently?

HAMILTON: I'm a slightly left of center on some issues, slightly right of center on other issues. If you want to take a line out of a sermon, I've preached 1500 different sermons, take a line or two words out of one paragraph, two words out of another, and you make something up, that sounds that way.

But if it gets sad and pathetic, then both the President and the Vice President would attack somebody's faith. I guess I would ask the question, do the policies of Vice President Vance and Donald Trump, do they reflect the Jesus of the Gospels? And the answer is no.

RAJU (voice-over): Democrats have demonstrated some success here in recent years, including Governor Laura Kelly's two wins and a ballot initiative reaffirming abortion rights in the state. And that makes Marshall backers nervous.

RAJU: Are you worried that Hamilton could actually win this race?

UNKNOWN: Oh, he could, because we have a bad reputation in this state of electing liberal governors and things.

RAJU (voice-over): But to win the race, Hamilton has to woo Kansas Republicans and convince them he's a different kind of Democrat.

RAJU: There are some voters who undoubtedly have concerns about the fact that if you were to win, the Democrats are likely going to be the Senate, then Chuck Schumer is likely going to be the Democratic leader. What do you say to those voters?

HAMILTON: Well, I say to them, it's possible that that's going to happen no matter what. But here's the question I ask, are you better off as Kansas if we have two Republican senators representing Kansas on the Republican side of the aisle, or if we had Jerry Moran, who seems to be doing a pretty good job on the Republican side, and I'm working as a moderate Democrat on the Democratic side?

RAJU: I saw you had said that you had spoken to Chuck Schumer about how he's making this race harder for you. What do you mean by that? Is it just how toxic the Democratic brand here is in this state?

HAMILTON: Yes, I think the Democratic brand is in trouble everywhere across the United States. And Chuck Schumer becomes the sort of archetype for that.

Whether it's deserved or not, that's how he's seen. So what I've said is I'm not going to vote for Chuck Schumer or for the Senate majority leader or minority leader, whichever it is. No disrespect for him, but we need new and fresh leadership.

And the Democratic Party needs that desperately. They need new and fresh leadership, new ideas, and I think I'm a part of that. Now, Hamilton is seeing a surge of Democratic support, including fundraising.

In the previous quarter, just reporting 11 times more money hauled in than Marshall himself.

[03:55:06]

Marshall relying instead on President Trump, who plans to campaign with him in Wichita, as Marshall and the GOP try to nationalize this race and warn about a possible Democratic Senate if Hamilton were to win.

Manu Raju, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Now, a documentary about disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is breaking box office records. "You Can See Everything" from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim made more than $15 million this weekend. It's the biggest documentary opening in more than 20 years.

The film follows Holmes and her partner in the weeks before she went to prison in 2023. She was convicted for defrauding investors in her company, which claimed to have revolutionized blood testing.

A Japanese space mission is preparing to head to Mars. The Martian moon's exploration, as the name implies, will survey the two moons of the red planet, Phobos and Deimos.

The journey is expected to take about 10 months, and then the plan is to collect soil samples from Phobos that scientists hope will explain the origins of the two moons. Japan is hoping this will be the first time a spacecraft travels to the Mars system and brings a sample back to Earth.

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Thousands attended the Lord of Miracles procession in Peru's capital Lima on Sunday. It's one of the country's largest religious celebrations and is held every October. This year, those marching in the crowd expressed their hope that Pope Leo would make a good recovery after his cancer surgery, so he would be able to make the visit to Peru next month.

And that is it for this hour. Thank you for watching, I'm Christina Macfarlane in London. I'll be back with more at the top of the next hour with "CNN Newsroom," stay with us.

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