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Eleven People Shot Near Florida A&M University Stadium; Obama Blasts Trump While Campaigning For El-Sayed In Michigan; Trump Rallying GOP In Michigan Today; Trump Returns To Georgia To Rally For GOP Nominees; Ossoff Criticizes Trump At Campaign Event With Pete Buttigieg; Nearly 1,000 Detained In Latest Round Of French Protests; NFL Saints-Steelers Game In Paris To Move Forward Amid Protests; Kim Jong Un Visits China As Trade Ties Grow; New York Archdiocese Agrees To $800 Million Abuse Settlement; Six Flags To Add Seat Belts To Some Roller Coasters; First Lady Says She Spoke With Putin, Zelenskyy To Secure One-City Ceasefire; Musk, Ukraine At Odds Over Alleged Starshield Misuse; New York And New Jersey Begin Early In-Person Voting; Thousands Turn Out For First Day Of Early Voting In New York; Obama Campaigns For Democrats In Tight Ohio Races. Trump, Obama Rally Supporters To Vote As Midterms Near; Trump's DOJ Sues To Block Alaska Senate Results; Blanche Defends Justice Department Lawsuit Against California; Tracking Two Potential Flood Threats Into The Week; Artists For The American Way Launch Get Out The Vote Campaign. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired October 25, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:26]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. Here's what's new this morning. We are following breaking news out of Florida. Police in Tallahassee say 12 people were hurt in a shooting overnight. We have new details. We'll get you those in just a moment.

Also, a busy weekend on the campaign trail. Both Presidents Trump and Obama out rallying voters. What they had to say about the stakes of this election and each other.

More than a thousand people were arrested across France yesterday after another weekend of protests. It just so happens that two NFL teams are playing in Paris today. The steps officials are taking to secure that stadium.

And the Trump administration is hedging its bets in the midterms. The lawsuits the president has already filed to try to stave off losses and what lawyers have to say about them. It's all coming up on CNN THIS MORNING.

Sunday, October 25th, a brand new week. Welcome to it. I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you.

We're starting with that breaking news out of Tallahassee, Florida. Twelve people were injured in a shooting near Florida A&M University's campus. Police say the youngest victim was 11 years old.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF LAWRENCE REVELL, TALLAHASSEE POLICE: We know at this point that at least 12 individuals were injured during this incident. Eleven of those sustained gunshot wounds. A 12th victim was a grandmother of one of the victims and injured herself fleeing from the scene. Six of the victims are adults and six of the victims are juveniles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: One person is in critical condition. Three others have serious injuries. One victim was a student at Florida A&M and the shooting happened just hours after a homecoming football game at the stadium. Police say it started with a fight, but it's not clear yet whether the shooting had anything to do with that game.

Now to the midterms, which are nine days away. Final stretch here. People are already casting their ballots. So far, more than 26 million people have cast those ballots. Both President Trump and President Obama were on the campaign trail to rally for their party's candidates.

In Michigan, President Obama campaigned for Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. He condemned President Trump and his administration's policies. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: After 10 years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence, tomfoolery, nonsense, the likes of which this country has not seen in modern times, at least, you get to say, enough is enough. We're voting for change right here in Michigan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now, on the Republican side, President Trump will be campaigning in Michigan today on behalf of El-Sayed's rival, his opponent, Mike Rogers. This week, Trump will go to Mississippi on Monday, Texas on Tuesday, Ohio on Wednesday. Part of his midterm blitz.

Last night, President Trump was rallying his base in Georgia, and he slammed Democrat Jon Ossoff, falsely accusing him of taking some extremist positions like these.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's going to want to terminate your Second Amendment. He's going to want to do everything you can do. What the hell? How can Georgia vote for him? They can't vote for him. Including Democrats in Georgia. But Ossoff is an open border extremist who betrayed his most sacred duty in keeping Georgia safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Trump was trying to get his supporters to vote for Republican Senate candidate Mike Collins and Rick Jackson for Georgia governor. CNN's Rafael Romo has highlights from that rally.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the fourth time President Donald Trump has traveled to Georgia so far this year, and the second one in the last eight days, once again, to campaign for Republicans in a state where his party has held complete control of the governorship and both Houses of the legislature for over two decades.

Trump was here in Georgia to support Republicans, especially Congressman Mike Collins, who is facing an uphill battle in his bid to unseat Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, the incumbent, and Republican businessman Rick Jackson, who's in a tight race for the governor's office with former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat.

[06:05:08]

The energized crowd, composed of the Republican base here in deep red Houston county, would chant USA often during the president's speech, especially when he spoke about what he described as his accomplishments during his nearly one hour and 40 minute speech, including securing the border, the U.S. relationship with Venezuela after the American military captured its former leader, and foreign investment.

As he's done in previous rallies, President Trump referred in a derogatory way to Senator Ossoff and criticized his physical appearance instead of focusing on his policies. Earlier on Saturday, Senator Jon Ossoff had strongly criticized the president in a campaign event in Atlanta with former transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): To wallow in his failure and disgrace, to remind Georgians of his failure as commander-in-chief and the reckless war he lied us into that he knows not how to end or how to win, to remind Georgians of his tariffs that have driven grocery prices to all-time highs, to remind Georgians that he cut your health care and doubled your health insurance premiums. For what? To cut taxes for his donors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Voters here in Georgia are very energized. The secretary of state says early voting has shown record breaking turnout. Georgia surpassed 1 million in-person early votes on Tuesday, compared to more than 894,000 in the 2022 midterm election. And on Saturday, more than 1.6 million people had already cast ballots.

Ultimately, the question is whether President Trump is just preaching to the choir, meaning the base of his supporters who are going to vote for Republicans no matter what, or whether he can move the needle with his rallies here in Georgia and elsewhere in any significant way. Rafael Romo, CNN, Perry, Georgia.

BLACKWELL: CNN has special coverage of the midterm elections. Kaitlan Collins hosts "MIDTERMS 2026 COUNTDOWN TO ELECTION NIGHT." That's tonight at 8:00 p.m. on CNN and CNN streaming live on the CNN app with all access subscription.

French officials say nearly 1,000 people were detained after a new wave of weekend protests in Paris and other cities across the country. More than 400,000 people joined in this call for greater investment in the country's education system and solutions to surging costs of living. But the Saints-Steelers game planned for today will still happen. It's the first ever regular season NFL game in France.

CNN Paris bureau Saskya Vandoorne, the bureau chief there, joins us with more from Paris. What can you tell us about the -- first, the preparations to secure the stadium and keep all those fans safe?

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PARIS BUREAU CHIEF: Yes. Well, Victor, there has been a lot of anxiety in the lead up to this game with some saying maybe it should be moved, were the fans going to be safe? But there is a heightened security around the stadium today. There're going to be extra checks on the fans as they make their way into the Stade de France.

But, Victor, yesterday was nothing like what we saw on the 17th of October. There wasn't the widespread looting. There wasn't extreme violence. There weren't buildings set on fire. And that's because the French government really did everything to make sure that these demonstrations yesterday went peacefully.

They deployed 70,000 police officers across France. There were curfews imposed in several areas across France, and there were protest bans in some of the cities.

Now, here in Paris, there was only one demonstration that was allowed to go ahead, and that ended in some scuffles. There were protesters facing off with the riot police. We did see some water cannons being deployed, but on the whole these demonstrations were very calm.

French President Emmanuel Macron had tried to ease tensions earlier in the week by meeting with the heads of student unions at the Elysee Palace, but he didn't offer any concessions. And I was speaking with a student Manes Nadel earlier this morning. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANES NADEL, STUDENT PROTESTER: It's about letting this movement win. We are asking for almost 10 billions to change our system, Parcoursup, to pay more teachers, and just to have daily basic minimal conditions for studying. It's about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VANDOORNE: So it started with a student movement, but it has gotten so much bigger now, with lots of groups joining in with different grievances.

[06:10:02]

And there are some who say that yesterday's measures, that were implemented by the government, yes, it did avoid these scenes, these chaotic scenes, but at the end of the day they felt infringed upon their sacred right to protest, that somewhere there was a denial of democracy.

So, that anger has not gone away. We expect more protests to take place on Saturday, and then there will be a big one on the 5th of November, the same day as the midterms, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Saskya Vandoorne for us there in Paris. Of course, we'll watch to make sure that that game happens safely. Thanks so much.

Next on CNN THIS MORNING, Kim Jong Un sends a message with a rare trip to China, just as President Trump pushes to restart talks with North Korea.

Plus, Six Flags announces a significant safety change after that fatal fall from one of its roller coasters. What will be different for riders when Goliath eventually reopens?

And the midterm legal battles are already beginning. The Trump administration is launching election fights in Alaska and California. What this means for Election Day and the days after.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:15:50]

BLACKWELL: And this morning's headlines, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is signaling closer ties with China. Yesterday, he crossed a newly opened bridge into a Chinese border city. The bridge is expected to boost trade between the longtime allies.

This visit comes as President Trump pushes to restart talks with North Korea. Although chances of a meeting with Kim this year appear to be fading.

The archdiocese of New York has agreed to an $800 million settlement with about 1,300 people who say they were sexually abused by clergy. It would be the second largest settlement involving a Catholic archdiocese in the U.S., ending the seven years of lawsuits here. The agreement is expected to be signed early next month.

Six Flags is making a major safety change after a man fell to his death from the Goliath roller coaster in Georgia. The company says it will add seat belts to Goliath and other coasters with similar restraints. Goliath and eight other rides at five other parks are closed as safety reviews continue.

First Lady Melania Trump responded, we will see, after reporters asked about her visiting Ukraine. This comes after the first lady says that she spoke with both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy as she worked to secure a ceasefire in a small Ukrainian city dealing with a deepening food crisis.

Meantime, Ukraine says its internet access was restored after accusations from Elon Musk that the country was using the system in ways it was not supposed to. Ukraine pushed back saying that it could not do that even if it tried.

Stefano Pozzebon joins us now with more from Rome. Stefano, what do we know about the ceasefire so far?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the ceasefire was apparently brokered by the direct intervention of the first lady, Melania Trump. And the situation in Oleshky is particularly delicate because, according to the White House between 1,700 and thousand people remain in this town out of an original population before the war of more than 24,000.

Oleshky is strategically important for Russia's invasion of Ukraine because it just sits on the other side of the Dnipro River, from the major city -- Ukrainian city of Kherson. And just yesterday, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, confirmed that the first lady brokered the ceasefire and that the evacuation operation could start very soon. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINE (through translator): There is also an agreement regarding Oleshky. Access to Oleshky should be unblocked soon. In the occupied -- temporarily occupied area in our Kherson region, the Russians have mined the roads, making the situation difficult, extremely difficult. We hope it will be possible to carry out this humanitarian operation to unblock access to Oleshky and allow food and medical supplies to be delivered, and for people to be able to leave this combat zone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POZZEBON: And after Zelenskyy spoke and -- Melania Trump was casting her ballot at the midterms down in Florida, and she said that a ceasefire should start on the 27th of October. So, next Tuesday.

The operation is extremely complex, as Zelenskyy was saying, because many of the roads leading up to the town have been mined in recent -- in recent weeks and in recent months by Russian forces. And Ukrainian authorities said that the last delivery of food and other aid to the city was back in May.

Ukrainian has previously accused Russia of deliberately creating a humanitarian crisis in this town. So, perhaps a glimmer of hope after the intervention of the Holy See here in Rome. And Pope Leo, who spoke about Oleshky to Vladimir Putin himself, and now the first lady of the United States, Melania Trump, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Stefano Pozzebon, thank you. Former President Barack Obama, now in the midterm fight, unloaded on President Trump in Cleveland as Democrats are battling for two critical races in Ohio.

[06:20:05]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: This administration's actions are directly responsible for rising costs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Voters in New York and New Jersey are now casting early in- person ballots. New York's 17th congressional district is a crucial race for Democrats in their effort to take back the House. Here's CNN's Mark Morales in New York.

MARK MORALES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTER: Voters we spoke to said they were excited to cast their ballots. We did notice a couple of common themes among them. They were concerned with voter safety, election security, and even whether or not the actual results would be accepted.

[06:25:04]

Now, we're outside of a public school in Manhattan. This is where day one has just wrapped up. We had about 1,000 people who came to this location and cast their ballots. Citywide, we had just over 86,000 which was a big jump from the last midterm election cycle.

Now, again, we spoke with voters who told us some of the things that they were concerned about and some of the things that they hoped to see in this election. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SAPERSTEIN, NYC VOTER: The issue I feel most concerned about is the -- how shall I put this? The interference at the federal level.

ELISSA STEIN, NYC VOTER: I think that in New York City, with the amazing poll workers that we have and a Democratic government, we're pretty safe. In other parts of the country, I absolutely think that there's going to be voter intimidation. If not tampering, then definitely things to try to dissuade people or prevent people from voting

JUDITH RIVEN, NYC VOTER: In New York City, no. Outside of New York City, in New York, yes. I think everywhere in the country, people have to be very, very alert to making sure that their vote is counted, that nothing is interfering, and that we get the results that we're all looking for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORALES: Now, a lot has been made about federal authorities being deployed to polling sites, but it's important to note that federal law enforcement, like FBI, DHS, even ICE, they're not allowed here.

Now, circumstances could always change where something would actually cause them to be deployed here. But if nothing's happening, then they're not supposed to be here. But who is supposed to be here is the NYPD.

They've had strategic deployments at all polling locations. There was an NYPD officer here at this location the entire time that ballots were being cast.

Now, New York attorney general Letitia James actually spoke about what their plan was for voting irregularities. And her plan was similar to what other states are going to be doing. They're going to have people that are plugged in that know what's going on, and if they see something out of the ordinary, they'll tell the office, who will then tell their team of attorneys who will then file a lawsuit if they if it needs to go that way. Those lawsuits end up becoming one of the major ways that they fight against any sort of -- any type of voting irregularities.

Mark Morales, CNN, New York.

BLACKWELL: Former President Barack Obama excoriated the Trump administration during a campaign event in Cleveland on Saturday. He slammed what he called, quote, "two years of chaos, cruelty, corruption and incompetence."

He reprised his role as the Democratic Party's closer. The former president urged a fired up crowd to turn out for Ohio's Democratic slate. CNN's Lauren Fox is in Cleveland with more on the former president's message.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Victor, the closing arguments from former President Barack Obama is that the state of Ohio can be blue again. But his argument is that people have to make sure that they get out to vote, and then they call a couple of friends and make sure they show up on Election Day as well.

The underlying message from the former president was that, yes, the economy matters. Grocery prices, he says, were too high, gas prices too high, a war in Iran is making this case that prices are going to continue to go up.

However, he argued he also thought that what people in the state might be hungry for is not just lowering prices, but also lowering the political temperature right now. He argued, it is going back to basic human decency, and that was one of his closing arguments to try and inspire people to go ahead and get out to vote.

He also addressed what has become a very controversial ad in the state of Ohio from Vivek Ramaswamy's campaign that featured Amy Acton's estranged mother calling her a liar. Here's what he said about that ad.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) OBAMA: There's a decency that we should expect out of our public officials. And I don't know what's happened where the standards of behavior have gotten so low that somebody can run an ad like that. There's got to be something inside you where you just say, you know, no office is worth stooping that low. Because you know what character matters.

Amy has spoken movingly about her painful childhood and all she's experienced, and the abuse, neglect and homelessness. And she's never forgotten the people who looked out for her, who refused to look the other way when she needed a helping hand. And that's why she dedicated her life and her career for looking out for Ohioans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: Of course, Ohio used to be the consummate swing state across the country. The state that everyone was watching on election night. The last three election cycles, Donald Trump has won here.

[06:30:01]

The huge question, of course, whether or not having people like Obama come to the state fire up voters, whether that is going to make a difference, and whether that is going to send Sherrod Brown back to the United States Senate.

Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right, Lauren Fox, thank you so much.

Let's discuss this move to put the heavy hitters out front on both sides with NPR correspondent Miles Parks. Miles, good morning to you.

So, we heard from President Obama --

MILES PARKS, NPR CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: -- there in Ohio. Let me play a bit of what the former president said there in Michigan yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FMR PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: They will use lies and they will use fear and they will use division. And they may even use your name or your faith to somehow suggest that you are dangerous and less than trustworthy and less patriotic and less American than they are.

We have seen this movie before.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

OBAMA: I starred in it. I was -- I was -- I was -- I've got a long form birth certificate to prove it.

(END VIDEOCLIP) BLACKWELL: Miles, there are some Democrats who are concerned that Abdul El-Sayed is underperforming with black voters. And so for the former president to go there to Detroit and connect the birther lie to what we're seeing, the attacks in against Abdul El-Sayed likely resonates with black voters there.

PARKS: Yes, absolutely. And I think this is the biggest thing for Abdul El-Sayed having Barack Obama there, having Ayanna Pressley, the representative from Massachusetts there. Kamala Harris has been in Michigan in recent weeks. There is clearly an effort from the campaign to connect Abdul El-Sayed's life experience to the life experience of black voters in Detroit. Right.

And I would say this is the number one variable that is going to decide this race. When you look at polling right now over the last couple of weeks in that Senate race in Michigan, you know, you have Abdul El-Sayed winning something like 80, somewhere between 80 and 90 percent of black voters, it seems like in Detroit, which might sound great.

But then you think about 2012 when Barack Obama, you know, won across the country. He won 98 percent of black voters in Detroit in 2012. And so, there is clearly a lot of work to do.

And El-Sayed has mentioned this. Some of this is trying to connect with voters personally. But many black voters in Detroit talk about the inherent tensions between the black community and the Arab community there.

So in some ways, it's an uphill battle. But obviously, having leaders from the black community there and speaking and sort of a bridge between their two experiences could potentially make a difference.

BLACKWELL: Yes, there was also in 2012, El-Sayed wrote Obama was not the right choice. He just wasn't the wrong one. And he had some making up to do as well.

Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D-MI) SENATE NOMINEE: His legacy, it continues to offer a guiding light and fitting lessons for the work that is yet to be done. And that work is not just about getting elected, but using your seat to make a difference in the lives of the people you serve.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: And so, as you said, there's still some work to do. There's still some hurt feelings, some frustrations over his criticisms of Kamala Harris in the 2024 campaign as well.

Let me take you to Georgia. And President Trump, who was there in Perry, Georgia, announced that Georgia will be getting an Audi plant there, essentially 4,500 jobs. This is the get out the vote phase of the election. Do announcements like this matter at this phase? Do they change votes?

Any indication this late?

PARKS: I think if this was a year, a year and a half ago, maybe. But we were at a point where voters across the board just do not believe the President when he says almost anything.

I mean, I think one of the things that's been striking to me is how little news coverage has been over the last couple weeks about Trump's promise to give every American $5,000 if Republicans kept control of Congress, right? And that's because the reason no one is focused on that in the final days of the campaign is because voters, by and large, don't believe it. Something like 20 percent, 25 percent of voters think that is a real promise, that they will actually see money in their checking accounts as a result of the election results.

And so I think when you have a promise about an Audi plant, when you have a promise about anything from this president with historically unpopular ratings, I mean, we NPR monitors focus groups with swing voters every month. And one of the things we've heard consistently, these are voters who voted for President Biden in 2020, and then switched to vote for President Trump in 2024. And one of the things we hear from them consistently is this sense of disillusionment, that they thought they were voting for one thing, and they got something else.

And so I think when you have that sort of baked in on the Iran war, feeling like this was a president who was going to be against wars more broadly, I think it's really hard then to convince them that you are going to bring an Audi plant, that you are going to give them $5,000 when they clearly feel like you haven't kept your word and all these other ways.

[06:35:12]

BLACKWELL: Yes. President Trump said and Perry that it would be a shocker that Mike Collins, the Republican nominee. They say he's going to deliver this shocker that he's going to win in Georgia.

And it's really, I mean to step back a moment a year ago. Jon Ossoff was the most vulnerable Democrat incumbent who's going to be on the ballot. And now both parties are pulling money out of the race because they think that Collins cannot catch up to him.

Is that a consequence of the national climate? Is it Ossoff's campaign? Is it Collins as the nominee?

PARKS: It's probably a mix of all of those things. I think the one thing that I keep coming back to when I look at the way Jon Ossoff has run this campaign is he seems to be the leading face of we heard a little bit with the way Obama talked about Trump in Michigan as well earlier, is just the way Ossoff has connected this idea of personal corruption with people's pocketbook issues.

We know that the leading issue that is going to drive people to vote this midterms is this idea of affordability. And Ossoff has done, I would argue, the best job of any Democratic candidate running this election cycle, being able to connect the way that President Trump has made money off of the presidency in the last two years with people kind of feeling like they are falling behind. To me, that is the biggest reason that he is running so far ahead in this race.

BLACKWELL: Nine days to go. Miles Park of NPR. Thanks so much for being with me.

PARKS: Thanks (ph).

BLACKWELL: Our votes are being cast. Lawsuits are being filed and the Trump administration has opened new election legal battles in Alaska and California.

We'll discuss what's next in both cases.

And if you're heading out, remember, you can stream our show from anywhere in the U.S. right from the CNN app. Also, go to CNN.com/Watch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:41:45]

BLACKWELL: Well, Attorney General Todd Blanche says the Justice Department did not coordinate with any campaign when it filed a lawsuit tied to Alaska's Senate race. The case asks a court to block certification of the election if Republican incumbent Senator Dan S. Sullivan loses.

In a statement on social media yesterday, Blanche said this, the Department of Justice did not seek to stop any ballot from being cast or to stop a certification of Alaska's election. This litigation seeks to ensure that after Alaskans cast their ballots, they are preserved in a manner so that only Alaska's governing officials have the information necessary to make a determination as to whether Alaskan voters were confused or mislead.

Now, let's go to California. The DOJ wants roughly 20,000 ballots pulled because it says the voters may not be U.S. citizens.

Now, California election officials question the data behind those claims, and they say they surfaced after voting had already started.

With me now is Richard Pildes, constitutional law professor at NYU School of Law. Professor, good to have you.

So, let's start with Alaska. The incumbent is Republican Daniel S. Sullivan. There's the independent Daniel J. Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola on the ballot.

When you look at this case in Alaska, this has already been adjudicated on the state level all the way through the Alaskan Supreme Court. Are the feds trying to make a different case? Basically, what are they claiming here that would be different than what the state's already decided? RICHARD PILDES, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR, NYU SCHOOL OF LAW: Well,

they are trying to re-litigate under a different theory what the Alaska Supreme Court has already decided. So the concern here, as you described, is that there are two candidates on the ballot with fairly similar names.

The incumbent senator is Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., and he's actually listed on the ballot as Republican incumbent. And then, I'm sorry, the incumbent is Dan S. Sullivan, who's listed as the Republican incumbent. And there's gadfly candidate Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. So, the concern is voters could be confused about who they're voting for.

But as you say, the issue was taken to the Alaska Supreme Court. The Alaska Supreme Court said the candidates have a right to run under their names, and the federal government is now trying to come in. And it's actually quite puzzling what they're trying to accomplish here. I've said this is the weakest election lawsuit I can recall seeing.

For one thing, the only basis the federal government asserts for coming in here is a federal voter registration statute. And that statute has nothing to do with the qualifications of candidates.

And then, in addition, even if one goes down this path, how in the world would the courts determine which people voted for the wrong candidate inadvertently? How do we even know which of those people are who voted for this candidate, let alone how would we probe the reasons for doing it? And the suit also comes way too late in the day, in the middle of the voting process. There's so many problems with this lawsuit.

[06:45:02]

So, I think this lawsuit has no chance whatsoever of being accepted.

BLACKWELL: Yes. I mean the question of can voters keep the Daniel Sullivan straight. We have an issue of doing it. I heard you have to fix it in your answer.

The way I do it is Daniel S. Sullivan. The S is the one who's already a senator. So that's how when I'm just having a conversation. I keep it straight.

Speaking of late in the day, let's talk about California. Because California says that this now requests to set aside ballots from about 20,000 voters. There comes after voting is already started.

So how does that influence the ability to even comply and the merits of this effort from DOJ?

PILDES: Yes, I mean, this is one of the several problems with both of these lawsuits. The government could have brought either of these suits many months ago and courts in general are extremely reluctant to allow lawsuits late in the day in the election process, particularly when they could have been brought earlier.

So here in California, the government is claiming that it's looked at the voter rolls in California and found 20,000 people that it claims are likely to be non-citizens and what it wants the courts to do because most people in California vote by mail is to set aside those ballots from those 20,000 individuals. So that disputes over whether they are in fact citizens could be litigated after the vote takes place.

But as you say voting has started in California. I don't know if any of these people have voted already, but they may well have. California responds in part by saying it's logistically impossible at this stage to do what the federal government is asking for in this suit because it requires changing the software for the election process in order to try to segregate these ballots that could create significant glitches in the election infrastructure more broadly.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PILDES: And then there are underlying problems with the very assertion from the federal government here that these are likely non-citizens. We can talk about that if you like.

BLACKWELL: Yes, I mean we heard from California where they say they question the data that was used to even make that decision. So, we'll see how far these lawsuits go.

Richard Pildes of NYU School of Law. Thanks so much for being with me.

And be sure to be with stay with us for "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning. Attorney General Todd Blanche will be among the guests joining Dana Bash. She will also sit down with Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro and Congresswoman Haley Stevens. That's at 9:00 a.m. Eastern on CNN or on streaming on the CNN app.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:52:18]

BLACKWELL: We're tracking two flood threats across the country, one in the southwest and another on the east coast.

Meteorologist Melissa Nord is joining me now.

I know there were some evacuations, but what's on tap for today?

MELISSA NORD, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, there was a lot of flooding near the four corners the last couple of days, Victor.

We're going to see that threat slide a little further east. Also, the east coast dealing with coastal flooding. Thanks to king tides building in.

Let me first start off in the west.

BLACKWELL: OK.

NORD: So we've got this rain that's been kind of inundating some areas on and off the last couple of days across the four corners. Well, that slow moving system is moving a little bit further towards the east.

So main flood threat today, eastern New Mexico to the panhandle of Texas. We're seeing that rain lifting to the north.

What's interesting is this system is slow moving. But as we see it getting going today and tomorrow, eventually some snow breaking out in some areas on the northern side of this. Check out the future radar. We can see the rain continuing that risk of flooding throughout today, tomorrow, lifting into the central and northern plains with a little bit of snow breaking out there across Kansas and also into South Dakota.

So you can see here, though, the east coast, we have coastal flooding alerts on the map all the way from the outer banks of North Carolina down to Florida. We've got king tides coming up the next couple of days and an onshore flow. So that's more gravitational pull. Thanks to the alignment of the sun, the moon, the earth, all of that.

And so, this is going to lead to two threats. Dusty conditions with onshore rain coming in, plus those higher coastal floodings at high tides as well. Rain is moving onshore there across the Space Coast. And the main flood threat today really ramps up across the Treasure Coast and down to the southwest of there. You can see future radar, more of that rain coming on shore today.

So we're watching flooding threats coming from the water, flooding threats coming from above as well. Victor, something to watch here as we head to the end of the weekend.

BLACKWELL: All right. Thanks so much. We'll watch it.

More than 26 million ballots have already been cast ahead of Election Day on November 3rd. Artists are using their talents to encourage people who may be on the fence or the sidelines to head to the polls and vote.

I spoke with artist Vincent Valdez about how art can fuel people to get to the polls.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VINCENT VALDEZ, TEXAS-BASED VISUAL ARTIST: My name is Vincent Valdez. I am in San Antonio, Texas, and I am a visual artist.

This effort, this nonpartisan effort is led by People for the American Way Foundation, which seeks to collaborate, partner with various artists scattered across the country, in this case within the state of Texas, to create images that serve as a reminder to the good people across the country to exercise their right to vote.

I originally created my small drawing, Vote, around 2023. It portrays that iconic, powerful symbol of Lady Liberty's hand bearing that torch. The flame that's normally ignited over that torch is extinguished.

[06:55:12] Its purpose was to remind the viewer that it is up to each one of us to continue to become active, willing participants engaged in our own democratic histories. Some of the images that struck me the most speaks to the majority of we the people as a tool to remark on how important it is that we as both citizen and non-citizen work together on a united effort.

Texas is a major important part of this nation and its future economically, culturally, and socially. To be able to bring this campaign and these images to a city like Houston that serves to remind the populations of the importance of getting up and speaking up and activating your civic discourse.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Ahead in the next hour, President Trump and former President Obama hit the campaign trail with just over a week until the midterm elections.

Their messages to voters, next.

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