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Obama Hits Campaign Trail In Final Days Before Midterms; Melania Trump Says She Helped Broker Russia And Ukraine Ceasefire; DOJ Sues To Block Alaska Senate Results If Incumbent Loses; Dems Seize On Epstein Scandal To Attack GOP Rivals; A.I. And Data Centers Become Flashpoint In Midterm Elections; Milwaukee Brewers Ride Key Hits To Win Game One Of World Series. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired October 24, 2026 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN THIS MORNING. Here's what's happening today. President Trump and President Obama will be campaigning today. They're trying to boost their party's midterm candidates. The key races and issues shaping these final days are ahead.
Also happening now. Police in France are preparing for another round of massive protests. How they're hoping to avoid a repeat of the chaos that unfolded across the country last weekend.
Jeffrey Epstein is looming over several midterm races across the country. Democrats are trying to tie Republicans to Epstein. And is it really resonating with voters?
Also, the U.S. is quietly moving diplomats out of several Middle Eastern countries as fears of regional escalation grows. New this morning: the unclassified memo from Secretary of State Rubio laying out the threats to American's in the region.
Welcome to your weekend. It is Saturday, October 24. Good to have you along. I'm Victor Blackwell.
We are now just ten days -- ten days from election day in America. Both Republicans and Democrats are working to energize their voters to get them to the polls. Today, former President Obama will be campaigning for Democrats in key midwestern battleground states.
He's going to start in Ohio. Cleveland, to be specific, alongside former Senator Sherrod Brown and Amy Acton. She's the Democrat running against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy for governor. Then he heads to Detroit to rally voters for Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed in this high-stakes clash against Republican Mike Rogers.
Today, President Trump and the First Lady are expected to cast their ballots early in Palm Beach County, Florida. And then President Trump will head to Perry, Georgia, for a rally with his base in the contentious Senate and governors races there. CNN's Arlette Saenz has more on Obamas final push for Democrats before election day.
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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the campaign's final stretch, Democrats are turning to the most popular figure from their party's recent past to secure a Senate majority for the future.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm fired up. I am ready to go.
SAENZ (voice-over): Former President Barack Obama is reprising his role as a closer on the campaign trail for an election he's described as "On the razor's edge." Up first, on Saturday.
OBAMA: Hello, Ohio.
SAENZ (voice-over): Cleveland, Ohio, where Obama will campaign with senate candidate Sherrod Brown and Amy Acton, the Democratic candidate for governor who was thrust in the spotlight after her GOP opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, released a controversial ad featuring her estranged mother.
OBAMA: Amy understands that leaders should solve problems. Not create them.
SAENZ (voice-over): That same day, Obama heads north to Michigan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Barack Obama.
SAENZ (voice-over): Where he last campaigned for vice president Kamala Harris in 2024.
OBAMA: But I was feeling some kind of way following Eminem. I'm nervous, but on the surface, I look calm and ready to drop bombs. But I keep on forgetting.
SAENZ (voice-over): This time, he'll appear with Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, hoping to boost support among black voters in Detroit who could be crucial to deciding the election.
OBAMA: That's why I'm asking you to support Abdul El-Sayed.
SAENZ (voice-over): Obama rounds out his campaign swing in Georgia on Wednesday with Senator Jon Ossoff and Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic candidate for governor.
OBAMA: I hope you'll support my friend Keisha Lance Bottoms.
SAENZ (voice-over): The former president is promoting Democrats across the midterms map.
OBAMA: Troy Jackson, Deb Haaland, Sen. Roy Cooper to the Senate.
SAENZ (voice-over): Including with a stop in Texas, where Democrats have high hopes about turning a Senate seat and governor's office blue. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President.
OBAMA: Good to see you, Brother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice to meet you, sir.
OBAMA: Good to see you.
SAENZ (voice-over): 18 years after a win in Iowa, started his journey to the White House.
OBAMA: I got it. You ready for me, Josh?
SAENZ (voice-over): Obama offering a boost to Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek.
OBAMA: Let's go. We play in horse or what?
JOSH TUREK, DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CANDIDATE, IOWA: We're playing Iowa.
OBAMA: I know a little something about winning Iowa.
SAENZ (voice-over): And before the 2026 midterms even end, Obama is already turning his attention to 2028, urging candidates to prioritize plans to address artificial intelligence in their campaigns.
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OBAMA: If somebody does not have a serious plan for how to deal with this, then they're not meeting the moment, and you should probably look for somebody else.
SAENZ: And this weekend well have dueling presidential campaign appearances as President Trump will rally voters in Georgia on Saturday before traveling to Michigan on Sunday to campaign with Republicans there. One day after former President Obama is in the state. And it comes as Americans view President Obama more favorably than any other living president.
A CNN poll conducted back in may showed that 57 percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of Obama, which was higher than President Trump and all the other living presidents as well. Now, Obama is a main motivator for the Democratic base. The question is whether these appearances will be enough to get his Democratic candidates across the finish line. Arlette Saenz, CNN, Washington.
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BLACKWELL: Arlette, thank you. And coming up. I'll break down all of the key races and issues, the latest on the midterms with political anchor for spectrum news, Errol Louis.
The Justice Department is now ordering counties across California to identify and set aside ballots from suspected noncitizens. Now, the DOJ is also warning elections officials that anyone who knowingly counts these ballots could be committing a crime. The department has said California authorities a list of alleged noncitizens, they say were sent mail-in ballots. The government claims it is trying to reduce voter fraud after baseless allegations of widespread election cheating by the president.
Happening now. Protests against the far-right have started in France with demonstrators. They are gathering in the city of Orleans as the national rally party opens its annual Congress.
The demonstrations are expected to grow throughout the weekend. And authorities are taking no chances. 70,000 police officers are being deployed across the country after the violent unrest last weekend that left two dead, dozens injured. French officials are expecting thousands of people at rallies, including a major rally planned today in Paris.
CNN's Melissa Bell is with me now. Melissa, more crowds than we saw the last hour when I spoke with you. What's happening now?
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the part of Italy where the authorized protest is due to set off. Victor, let me just show you the crowds gathering behind me. There's been some controversy this morning because the only protests that are going to be allowed this Saturday, given the chaos of last week, are the ones that are organized by the unions.
This is the one -- the start of the one organized by the union. It had been due to march through Central Paris. Instead, they've been relegated here to this sort of periphery of the city. We're still inside the city, but on its edge. And it's going to follow this route, which is not an ordinary one, closer to the edge of the city than they would normally do.
And that's caused a great deal of controversy. The union got involved, went to the judiciary, tried to get that overturned and failed. So in the end, reluctantly, they're going to set off from here within the next hour.
We've also been hearing from the head of the far left party, LFI. Of the fact of his disappointment that the rally couldn't happen where it was meant to happen, accusing the government of wanting to divide the movement and keep people off the streets, and urging his followers to come here to make their voices heard. So we do expect a pretty big crowd here, Victor, over the course of the day, to make its way on this authorized march.
But the fear is, of course, for authorities that there will be other unauthorized groupings elsewhere in the city -- elsewhere in the country. Bear in mind that we've not only seen in France these last few days curfews in a number of cities, including here in Paris. But many of these protests that had been planned for today actually banned in so many cities across France.
And it is that I think, that worries authorities more than anything. In fact, we've been hearing from the interior minister saying that they believe that there are far-left groups who will be seeking what he described as incidents with the police over the course of the day. As you say, taking no risks, though some 70,000 security personnel deployed across the streets of France today, Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right. Melissa Bell, we will check with you throughout the morning. Thank you.
Headlines for you now. The Trump Justice Department is taking preemptive legal action in a Senate race that could help decide control of the chamber. The Department of Justice is suing to block potentially Alaska from certifying the election if Republican Senator Dan Sullivan loses. They're arguing that another candidate on the ballot with nearly the same name could confuse voters. And President Trump acknowledged that he ordered that challenge.
In Mississippi, a police officer and an interim police chief are stepping down after state investigators cleared the officer in a shooting of that 1-year-old boy who was killed. We warn you that the video you're about to watch -- it is disturbing. Officers -- Officer Hunter Foster was pursuing two women suspected of shoplifting. This was in June.
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Foster and the other officers trying to stop the car they were driving when bodycam footage shows the car moving toward them. And that's when Foster shot into the car and shot that 1-year-old Kohen Wiley. Wiley's family says the shooting was not justified, but Foster was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Police are patrolling outside a church in Jordan this morning, a day after a man opened fire during a funeral service there. At least eight people were killed. Dozens more were wounded.
The attackers are still on the run, and Jordan's king is vowing a harsh response to what he called a terrorist act. Now, this comes as the State Department, as we've reported, quietly removed staffers from their families -- and their families from across parts of the Middle East. This after a memo warned of Iran's effort to target U.S. personnel. And they say some plots are now considered to be in advanced stages.
Still to come. President Trump says Elon Musk has restored Ukraine's military-grade Starlink access. Why Kyiv says restrictions are still hampering its war effort. Plus, Jeffrey Epstein is everywhere in this election cycle, being used by candidates to cast their opponent as morally compromised. How the late convicted sex offender became a weapon in key races.
Also data centers. They're getting a thumbs down across the country. How the backlash against them has become a flashpoint in the state and federal races across the U.S.
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BLACKWELL: Israel goes to the polls on Tuesday in a critical general election with enormous stakes for the country and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This is the first major election since the October 7 attacks, a major flashpoint for voters and a challenge to Netanyahu's reputation as a security hardliner. Thousands are planning a mass demonstration today to call for an independent state commission to investigate the attacks.
Also happening in Israel. Netanyahu has shut down the occupied West Bank after two Palestinian gunmen allegedly killed two soldiers at an Israeli military checkpoint. President Trump endorsed Netanyahu just days before the election, but the latest polls suggest he still faces an uphill battle.
All right, from one war to another now. Ukraine officials say full access to Starshield has been restored. Kyiv confirmed today that conditions on the military-grade satellite and communications network developed by SpaceX are stable. But local officials have told CNN that restrictions are still limiting internet speeds in some areas.
Meanwhile, still not clear who ordered the internet slowdown, which severely hampered Ukraine's military defenses. The president and U.S. officials are denying making that call, so is SpaceX owner Elon Musk. And CNN has learned that First Lady Melania Trump may have helped set up a temporary truce between Russia and Kyiv in one city on the front lines of this war.
Julia Benbrook has been following this development. And she joins us with the latest.
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JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First Lady Melania Trump announced that she had helped secure a localized cease fire agreement between Russia and Ukraine, set to go into effect in a matter of days. Now, a member of her team says that she first became really plugged in to this specific city during private conversations that took place at her Fostering the Future Together event in New York City during the United Nations general assembly. In a press release, the First Lady's office said that she worked with both Russian and Ukrainian officials as an exclusive intermediary and really helped kick off discussions for this.
Now, in a statement, the First Lady herself provided some more information. She said, "The situation in Oleshky is dire. Oleshky is a front-line war city on the brink of disaster. Oleshky's remaining population is comprised primarily of elderly residents who urgently need medical attention, medicine, food, and clean water."
She went on to say, "The people of Oleshky have limited electricity, live amid mined roads, and endure regular military attacks. It was abundantly clear that without my intervention, the possibility to bring humanitarian aid into the city and to evacuate the elderly would be impossible. Now, the U.S. President, Donald Trump -- he commented on this as he left Washington to travel out here to Florida on Friday, and he praised his wife's efforts.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What you want to do is save children. And that's her focus. And both sides are cooperating with her. So doing a very good job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did that all come about, Mr. President?
TRUMP: Her initiative. And they contacted both sides. And both sides wanted to do it.
BENBROOK: When asked if the first lady would be a part of broader talks, potentially trilateral talks involving Russia and Ukraine, the president said no. But he went on to say that it's not the worst idea he's ever heard. Traveling with the President in Florida, Julia Benbrook, CNN.
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BLACKWELL: All right, Julia, thank you. Still to come. The Trump administration is suing to block certification if Republican Dan Sullivan loses his Alaska Senate race. More on the legal fight with the Senate control potentially at stake.
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BLACKWELL: All right. Welcome back. You see the number on your screen? More than 23 million votes already cast in the midterms. And now ten days away from election day, President Trump is trying to boost GOP turnout with a rally in Georgia today.
But the president's approval rating -- it's hit a new low. CNN's latest poll shows just 32 percent of Americans approve of Trump's handling of his job as president. 67 percent disapprove.
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Early voting kicks off today in Michigan. The president will be campaigning for Mike Rogers in his Senate race there tomorrow. And then the president heads to his Senate race there tomorrow. And then the president heads to Mississippi on Monday, Texas on Tuesday, Ohio on Wednesday, as we head into the final stretch.
Let's talk about all that's going on this weekend with Aaron Lewis. He's the political anchor for spectrum news and host of the Big Deal with Errol Louis. Errol, good to see you.
Let's start here with Alaska and the Justice Department now filing this lawsuit to potentially block the certification if Senator Dan Sullivan does not win with Dan J. Sullivan on the ballot, with also Mary Peltola, the Democrat. And the president -- I don't know if you'd say acknowledged or admitted that he ordered the DOJ to do it.
Two bites of this apple. The credibility of the lawsuit and then also the acknowledgment that he told his Department of Justice to sue.
ERROL LOUIS, POLITICAL ANCHOR, SPECTRUM NEWS: Good morning, Victor. The lawsuit is problematic and probably fatally defective to the extent that it was ordered by the president, it already has a problem because things are supposed to be done according to procedure and by the facts and the law, not a political directive from the White House. But more importantly, the Constitution clearly states that -- it states that control the conduct and the operation of local elections.
And this was already litigated. This went all the way up to the Alaska Supreme Court, which basically concluded that both Daniel Sullivans could appear on the same ballot. And because Alaska has a ranked- choice voting system, there's no risk of people voting for one and not the other. You could just rank both of them. So substantively, politically, legally, it really seems like a very far stretch to imagine that this could have any effect.
BLACKWELL: President Obama is going to Ohio and Michigan today. His first in-person rallies of the midterm cycle often comes out as the closer, final ten days. He does what Democrats need him to do.
He'll be in Detroit this afternoon with Abdul El-Sayed. Democrats are concerned that Dr. El-Sayed's numbers with black voters are a little soft there. So what is the case the former president needs to make for El-Sayed?
LOUIS: Well, the case he needs to make is that Democratic control of the Senate can change a lot of things, including Supreme Court appointments. The conduct of the war, possibly an end to the war, of questions about ethics in government, and whether or not there's going to be real oversight of this administration. There's a lot at stake.
And a lot of it is going to affect people. I mean, the whole issue of tariffs, much of that runs through the Senate. And so I think he can make -- without getting into the ins and outs of local Michigan politics, I think we can expect President Obama to go out there and make the case that Democrats have an alternative, that people should be thinking about at a time when, again, the president is at historic lows as far as approvals.
BLACKWELL: Maine now. Senator Susan Collins, obviously, in this tight race with Troy Jackson there for her reelection -- she announced the administration -- Trump administration will exempt some products from its tariffs on Canada. CNN survey last month showed that 70 percent of Mainers believe that the tariffs on Canada are a bad thing. Do you think that moves votes coming just a week and a half from election day?
LOUIS: You know, it gets -- it gets -- it gets a headline. It's going to happen. It's scheduled to happen on October 30. So that's like four days before the election is over.
But I think it does, in some ways, feed into the main argument that Susan Collins has made as an incumbent, saying that I can get stuff done, I can pick up the phone and they'll answer it at the White House. I can talk to agencies. I can make your life better.
Whether or not people believe that is another question. Because a lot of the tariffs that are going to be changed, Victor, are things like, you know, corrugated boxes. Things that are going to help potato farmers. Yes. It will make its way through the economy, and you'll feel it at the supermarket or perhaps at the pump. But, you know, it's going to take a little while. It's certainly not going to get done in the last four days before the election.
BLACKWELL: One more on rallies here. After the president and first lady -- they vote in Palm Beach in Florida. The president is going to rally in Perry, Georgia.
Initially this week, Rick Jackson, who's the Republican nominee for governor here in Georgia, said that he would not be at the rally with the president. Last week when the president was here, Rick Jackson was on stage for like 29 seconds, thanked the president for his work with foster children, but didn't mention any of the top seven or eight issues that voters say are most important.
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BLACKWELL: Last week, when the president was here, Rick Jackson was on stage for like 29 seconds. Thanked the president for his work with foster children, but didn't mention any of the top seven or eight issues that voters say are most important.
What do you make of the reversal now from Rick Jackson, saying that actually, I will be at this rally this week? Anything?
ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, yes, Rick Jackson, he is -- he is dealing with the same dilemma a lot of the Republican incumbents have had to deal with, which is that being close to the president can be a blessing and also a curse.
You either try and stay away from him because he's got some popularity issues, or you try and embrace him and get every last Republican MAGA voter out that you can -- you can find on the theory that that will take you over the top.
So, it sounds like he's moving from one strategy to the other. And look, it never hurts in politics to try and turn out your base. I mean, that's what you are supposed to start with, in a lot of ways, that's what you're supposed to end with, and it sounds like that's what we are seeing in Georgia.
BLACKWELL: All right, all the players are on the move this weekend. Errol Louis, thanks so much for being with us.
LOUIS: Thanks, Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right. Final days now before the midterms, Democrats are unleashing an Epstein ad blitz. They are targeting Republicans who voted to block the release of the Epstein files.
CNN's M.J. Lee has more.
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M.J. LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein looms over the midterm elections in Ohio. You see it here in the Epstein reading room, where visitors have covered entire walls with Post-it notes encouraging people to get out and vote.
The emotions are most visible on the faces of Epstein survivors, who are taking in the installation's latest stop in Columbus.
WENDY PESANTE, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Reality that it's huge. Like I know it is, but to see it, that's where it starts. There are so many girls that still should have been found. People should know.
LEE (voice over): Rows and rows of bookshelves filled with volumes of the Justice Department's Epstein files. Wendy Pesante was barely 15 when she was abused by Jeffrey Epstein in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Now, an Ohio resident, Wendy says she never imagined that her abuser would become a hot-button political issue so many years later.
PESANTE: This one decision, the bad decision that I made when I was a kid, has been thrown in my face over and over and over again.
LEE (voice over): Epstein has been dead since 2019, but over the past year, the child sex offender has roiled American politics. One big reason: President Donald Trump's past friendship with Epstein. Trump has denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein, and here in Ohio, one local billionaire has also become a political lightning rod.
Les Wexner, the former Victoria's Secret CEO, was named an Epstein co- conspirator in government documents. Wexner employed Epstein as his money manager and has long denied any wrongdoing related to the pedophile.
Downtown, the Wexner name is everywhere you look.
KALEB DUARTE, STUDENT, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY: This building right here.
MURRAY KATKIN, STUDENT, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY (PH): Right there.
DUARTE: Yes.
KATKIN: This is the Wexner Center for the Arts, not to be confused with the Wexner Medical Center, which is over there.
LEE (voice over): Kaleb Duarte and Murray Katkin (PH) organized protests on campus, calling on the school to get rid of the controversial name.
DUARTE: The Epstein issue allowed folks in our generation to understand the broader impact of those in power and how they protect their own power.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jon Husted took more money from Epstein's co- conspirator than anyone in Congress.
LEE (voice over): Epstein has come up in the state Senate race, one of the marquee contests that will help decide who controls Washington after the midterms.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While Senator Brown took 100 grand from Epstein associates.
SEN. JON HUSTED, (R-OH): Fired me up.
LEE (voice over): At campaign events outside of Columbus, we pushed both candidates on the Epstein issue.
LEE: Do you think that the release of the rest of the Epstein files by the DOJ that, that should be a top priority for members of Congress?
HUSTED: Yes, I have always been supportive of releasing the Epstein files. What's out there is because of what that I made to make it happen.
You guys energize me so much.
LEE (voice over): But neither Jon Husted nor Sherrod Brown is making Epstein their top issue weeks out from Election Day.
LEE: If you make it back to the Senate, how high would the Epstein issue rank in terms of your top priority?
SHERROD BROWN (D), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE, OHIO: I don't -- I don't know. I mean, my first priority is how to bring prices down. And you wanted to make this interview about Epstein. My focus is way more than that.
LEE (voice over): On the first day of early voting, every person I speak to leaving the polling station says they care about Epstein survivors. But most of these voters I speak to here say Epstein is not a major factor in their vote.
LEE: Was that issue an important one for you when you were deciding who to vote for -- the Epstein issue?
BETTY COX, VOTER, OHIO: Yes, it was one of them. But you know, with our gas, food, and everything going up in the war --
LEE (voice over): Back in the reading room, Epstein survivors say they hope the midterm elections will show that voters are on their side.
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SHARLENE ROCHARD, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Which should be at the forefront of any voter's mind, really. I think we are changing hearts and minds along the way.
LEE (voice over): M.J. Lee, CNN, Columbus, Ohio.
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BLACKWELL: Still to come: Data centers are booming. The backlash against them and how it's impacting communities where they are built. And if you are heading out, remember you can stream our show from anywhere in the U.S. right now from the CNN app. You can also go to cnn.com/watch.
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BLACKWELL: Artificial Intelligence has triggered a pretty big political battle in these midterms. Candidates in both parties are turning giant tech data centers into national campaign villains. Across the country, attack ads are blasting candidates' ties to tech infrastructure and warning voters about environmental impact and the rising power bills.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meet data center David Crowley.
DAVID CROWLEY (D), GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE, WISCONSIN: There is an opportunity for us to really become A.I. and a data hub for not only for the entire country but for the entire globe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he wants you to pay for it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is been called the face of data centers in Ohio. Why? Because Jon Husted spent years aggressively recruiting data centers to the state.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Josh Shapiro's data center scandal keeps growing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Joining me now is Hannah Wiseman. She is a law professor at Penn State University, who focuses on the elements of law surrounding data centers. Thank you so much for being with me this morning.
There are so many ways in prepping for our conversation in which we are seeing how data centers, A.I. overlapping with this political cycle. There is a new Pew Research poll that found that eight percent of adults say that they use A.I. chatbots for information about elections.
And I wonder, you know, eight percent is a small number. Are you comforted that the number is only eight percent, or do you think eight percent of people turn to the chatbots for information about elections, are you alarmed? Are you concerned? What's your reaction to that number?
HANNAH WISEMAN, LAW PROFESSOR, PENN STATE UNIVERSITY: I think it's somewhat concerning, although it's understandable. With the rise of A.I. and increasingly accessible information, people are turning to a variety of sources. But the eight percent also shows, to some degree it's low, and it shows that perhaps not as many people are using these A.I. technologies that digital companies hope they will. BLACKWELL: Not only has A.I. emerged as an issue this midterm election cycle, it's also a tool. $137 million have been spent on political A.I. ads this cycle. How are these ads and this technology changing the landscape?
WISEMAN: They are -- they are adding a large amount of information from a news source. And to some degree, I think it makes it harder for voters to discern the -- where this information is coming from. Is it from a person? Is it from a computer? Is it from a large language model output?
BLACKWELL: There is a new ABC News, Washington Post, Ipsos poll that shows, and this surprised me. I wonder what your thoughts are, being a professor that younger adults, those under 30, were most likely of any age group to say that A.I. is bad for society. 65 percent of them. What's your thought?
WISEMAN: That is correct. On the whole, there are growing concerns about A.I. The American public has expressed discontent and concern, especially about the adequacy of government and regulation of the safety of A.I.
But it's understandable that the younger population is most concerned because they are the ones looking at their job future, and I think they are especially concerned about the prospect of having their jobs displaced by A.I.
BLACKWELL: There is a lot of talk about regulation of A.I., just like we see in social media from some lawmakers. They don't understand it sometimes enough to regulate, even if they are inclined to. And so, what's the expectation, or what's within reach for regulation if these anti-AI or data center candidates get into office?
WISEMAN: It's true that it's difficult to understand A.I. itself, particularly the large language models, the generative A.I. Behind that server, there is so much going on.
But I think the public expects regulators to do a lot more. Regulators are already familiar with the Internet and with the privacy issues associated with the Internet. There is growing concern about the intellectual property aspects of A.I., potentially drawing from many people's protected content, and regulators and policymakers have access to experts who can help them with those types of concerns and can additionally regulate them.
[07:45:01]
With respect to data centers, these are a form of warehouse, but a very different form of warehouse. They use a lot of water and a lot of electricity, and this is certainly an area where environmental regulators have the expertise needed to address these issues.
BLACKWELL: And communities are fighting back too. Washington Post reports that Amazon backed down on a plan to in Loudoun County, Virginia, to open this massive data center, 122-acre site that will be used for mixed-use retail, residential, and they are donating 25 acres for an art center.
How often are communities successful in rejecting or tamping down these A.I. data center projects when regulators -- when local officials are not?
WISEMAN: Communities are the linchpin of this movement. We -- you can't have a physical data center, which is necessary for A.I., without the approval of the local government. There has to be land use approval and other permits issued at the local level. Without that, the data center cannot move ahead.
So, this is the key area for the approval for rejection of a data center, and a growing number of communities are finding ways to use their pre-existing land use regulation to slow down these projects. Say, wait a minute, let's take another look. Let's take a look at the impacts of these data centers on the community, which is exactly what land use regulation has always been about for any form of industrial development.
BLACKWELL: Hannah Wiseman, we know that this will continue to be a hot issue over the next 10 days and beyond. Thanks for helping us understand it.
So, the World Series got off to an exciting start in Milwaukee. The Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays are both looking for their first World Championship. We have got Game One highlights, next.
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[07:51:24]
BLACKWELL: Former President Barack Obama hits the campaign trail today. He is rallying for Democrats in Ohio and Michigan. His spokesperson says he will focus on candidates' plans to help voters and bring accountability to Washington.
His Detroit stop comes one day before President Trump campaigns in Michigan for Republicans.
Sources tell CNN, the U.S. is rushing diplomats and their families out of the Middle East. Fears of a regional escalation is ramping up.
And intelligence memo warns Iranian plots targeting U.S. personnel have reached advanced stages. Many who are leaving had just returned after evacuations during the height of the Iran War.
France is bracing for another weekend of protest after last week's riots. The Interior Ministry says 70,000 police officers will deploy across the country. A major demonstration is planned in Paris today, with French media reporting that hundreds of thousands of people are expected to turn out.
The Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays three to two to take Game One of the World Series on Friday, and fans who suspected this matchup of small market teams had the potential to produce a thrilling World Series were right. CNN's Andy Sholes has more from American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Well, Victor, the excitement here in Milwaukee for Game One of the World Series was just off the charts.
This was just the second World Series in more than hundred years between two teams that had never won it all. And the get-in ticket price for Game One of the World Series was around $2,400, setting a record. It cost a lot to be in this building for Game One, but it was well worth it for the fans.
Now, this was the first World Series game here in Milwaukee in 44 years. The crowd was hyped, and so was Brewer starter Jacob Misiorowski, The Miz, breaking a World Series record, firing in a fastball at 103.5 miles per hour on the very first pitch. The Miz went five innings, giving up just one run in this game.
Now, all the fans getting the chance to explode in the bottom of the first inning. And Christian Yelich, their captain, rips this ball into the right center field gap.
Jonny DeLuca dives, but he is not able to come up with it. Yelich gets a triple. The Brewers are on the board. They go up 2-0 after the first. Fast forward all the way to the ninth, and we had some high drama. The Rays down two. They load the bases.
Liam Hicks, then hits into a game-ending double play. But on review, Cooper Pratt's foot was off the bag in second, so the Rays get one more chance, but Trevor Megill able to come up with the game-ending strikeout. Brewers survive to take Game One by a final 3-2.
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JACOB MISIOROWSKI, PITCHER, MILWAUKEE BREWERS: It was amazing. You know, just to have this city behind me is -- it means the world, and behind this team, it's -- we couldn't ask for anything better. And I just want to say thank you.
PAT MURPHY, MANAGER, MILWAUKEE BREWERS: Our fans, that's what -- that's what makes a difference. You guys like the crowd? Was that amazing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was awesome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was sick.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: And the win, great news for Brewers fans because 23 out of the last 28 Game One winners have gone on to win it all. Now, Game Two is going to be later on Saturday.
And Victor, it's once again going to break the bank for Brewers fans because the get-in price is hovering around $2,500.
BLACKWELL: It isn't cheap. Andy Scholes having a good time there in Milwaukee. Thanks so much.
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