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Trump's Approval Rating Sinks in Iowa and Ohio; New Charges Expected over Detention of U.S. Citizens in Venezuela; Chances Increasing for Democrats to Win Control of Congress; Russian Strike Kills at least 33 in Ukraine; Evicted Elder Maricarmen, Symbol of Spain's Housing Crisis, Has Died; Former Prince Andrew's Search Warrants Were Granted Incorrectly; The Israeli Hostages Who Never Returned; U.S. Targets Alleged Abuse of Foreign Worker Visas; Mark Zuckerberg Deepens Ties with Washington amid AI Boom; New Bosses Praise CNN Chair Mark Thompson on CNBC. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired October 08, 2026 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): And welcome to the second hour of the show from our Middle East programming headquarters. I'm Becky Anderson
in Abu Dhabi, where the time is just after 6:00 in the evening, 25 days to go until the U.S. midterm elections.
And new CNN polling shows more headwinds for Donald Trump and his party. Republicans losing ground in two deep red states.
In Ukraine at least 33 people were killed when a Russian strike caused two public buses to catch fire, marking the deadliest attack from a single
strike this year.
I'm going to get you to Madrid, where Spaniards are mourning the death of the 87-year-old pensioner, whose eviction sparked a national protest
movement.
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ANDERSON: Well, we start with Republican prospects in the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, which are looking increasingly gloomy, dragged down by
president Donald Trump's sinking approval numbers.
New CNN polling shows he is underwater now in the red states of Ohio and Iowa. The biggest issue for voters in those states, the economy. About
three-quarters of respondents in Ohio and Iowa say that the president's policies have increased their cost of living.
Well, the Republicans are dimming chances of keeping control of Congress. Have the president heading out on the campaign trail to states that were
previously safe havens, like, for example, Texas.
He appeared there Wednesday for a third time over the past few weeks, supporting Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who was caught on audio
criticizing the president's policies. Have a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
KEN PAXTON (R-TX), U.S. SENATE CANDIDATE: It's the war, it's gas prices, it's diesel. I have no control over gas prices. So many of the factors in
this federal race are uncontrollable. I don't make the decisions. And I don't -- you know, I don't know what I don't know what's behind some of the
decisions.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ANDERSON: President Trump campaigning for Paxton in spite of that. He has repeatedly, though, mocked Paxton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Ken Paxton, you might not like the way he dresses and I say this, it's so insulting to him but I might as well say it. You might not like the
way he looks. You might not love his look. You might not love his television interviews.
He may not dress right. He may not talk exactly perfectly. And he may not be the best-looking guy I've ever seen.
I said, I don't really like the way he looks. I don't like it. I don't like any.
Ken Paxton was at my side more than anybody and I have to always remember that. Because he could be a pain in the ass sometimes, I'll be honest.
Is he here, by the way?
We got to get this guy elected.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, the latest New York Times/Siena poll shows Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico leading Paxton, who has been dogged by
personal and professional scandals.
So why is president Trump so reliant on someone he seems to have a degree of contempt for?
Well, because winning Texas is crucial for Republicans to keep control of the upper chamber, the Senate. We're going to have a lot more on this
throughout the hour. I do, though, want to turn to a CNN exclusive at this point.
Venezuela's former president, Nicolas Maduro, and first lady may face additional charges while in U.S. custody. Maduro and his wife were
captured, of course, during a U.S. military raid in January. But they may not be the only ones prosecutors are targeting. CNN's Kara Scannell with
the details for you.
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KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sources tell CNN that federal prosecutors in New York are expected to bring new charges against ousted
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, related to the alleged torture of U.S. citizens held in Venezuela.
Sources say these new charges could be announced as soon as Thursday and that it relates to the alleged detention and torture of more than a dozen
U.S. citizens in Venezuela during the period of time when the Maduros were in power.
Sources also tell CNN that investigators are considering bringing charges against others that were involved in the alleged conduct. Among the
Americans that have been unlawfully detained in Venezuela were this group known as the Citgo Six.
[10:05:00]
There were six Americans working for the Houston energy company, Citgo.
Other freed Americans have also filed lawsuits in which they alleged these brutal conditions inside a facility in Venezuela. They have alleged that
they were waterboarded, facing electrocution, threats of sexual assault, mind-altering drugs and solitary confinement.
A U.N. report on this facility said in the facility it took place, they were routinely resulted in torture. Now Maduro and Flores are currently
facing narcoterrorism and gun charges. They are being held in New York on those charges.
So these will be new charges that they will face. Maduro's wife, Cilia Flores, is seeking bail. She's saying that she has a heart condition and
wants to be released. She will be in court on Thursday for that, though it's likely that they will be arraigned on these new charges in the near
future.
Both Maduro and Flores have pleaded not guilty to those charges. Their lawyers did not have any comment on these new charges that are expected as
soon as Thursday -- Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Let's get you to the oil price markets, because we are seeing quite a significant rise in oil prices, more than 4 percent. This amid a
record number of attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent crude at one point climbing above $105 on the barrel. Ten tankers attacked in just one week in the strait, sending traffic through that
critical waterway to a two-month low. And with a hurricane threatening U.S. oil production, fears are growing of further supply disruptions.
Meanwhile, Riyadh airport reportedly closed after explosions were heard. It comes as at least three people are dead and 36 others injured after Iran-
backed Houthi rebels attacked two airports in the kingdom.
The strikes targeted airports in the capital, Riyadh, and the southern city of Abha. Saudi forces say they have since destroyed a Houthi missile
launcher in Yemen's capital of Sanaa.
The attacks mark a sharp escalation in the conflict. The U.S. warning Americans of further strikes and possible travel disruptions. Nic Robertson
newsgathering on this story as we speak. We will get to him shortly on the very latest. Let's take a very short break at this point. Back after this.
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ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson.
We started this show with new polling showing Republicans struggling in two key states ahead of these U.S. midterm elections, just less than a month
away. David Sirota is the founder and editor of "The Lever"
Or lever, David, and I apologize for my pronunciation on that, you can correct me -- an investigative news outlet. He was a speechwriter in Bernie
Sanders' presidential campaign.
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And it's good to have you.
How do you pronounce the name of the outfit?
DAVID SIROTA, FOUNDER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE LEVER: It depends where you are. We call it The Lever.
ANDERSON: Let's call it The Lever. Good. Thank you very much indeed. It's fantastic to have you. Thank you. A lot to unpack here. So let's just start
with the big picture.
Democrats leading in seven of the top 10 Senate races, according to a CNN review, because they are making inroads with non-MAGA Republicans and
independents who are upset with Trump and his party.
So we're not suggesting that they are going to win, because that would be a real sort of a disaster for the Republicans and a very, very, very big
turnout for the books. Of course, the Republicans have control of the Senate at present but this is a really important, element. Just give us
your thoughts on the broader state of play at present.
SIROTA: Look, I mean, it's a Republican president in their second term. Usually the midterms go badly for the party that's in power. And I think
Donald Trump has exacerbated that with his presidency and with the state of the economy.
The idea that the incumbent party is going to do well when gas prices are where they are, when electricity prices are going up, when there's an
affordability crisis, when the country is at -- essentially at war, I -- there are so many headwinds for Republicans.
It's almost amazing that it's even close. And this is a huge opportunity for Democrats. I think we may be on the precipice of historic wins for
Democrats, the kind of landslides that we don't usually see.
But it's worth saying, I mean, anything can change in the last month. And the House races in particular, the House districts are now so gerrymandered
in the -- first, Republicans kicked off a gerrymandering war to redraw the lines.
And then Democrats competed with them -- that a landslide in the House because of gerrymandering may only mean a narrow majority for Democrats,
again, because the lines have been changed.
ANDERSON: I want to get your thoughts on, why it is that 25, 26 days out, we are where we are at. Clearly -- and let's remind ourselves, Donald Trump
is not, you know, is not being voted for. He's not on the ballot but he clearly is having an enormous influence on voters as we move toward these
elections.
They are clearly elections for the Democrats to lose. It is theirs to lose, to put it mildly.
What are Democrats doing to actively ensure that it is on them to win these races?
SIROTA: Yes, I think they're trying to make the election a referendum on Trump. And that makes a lot of sense. It's usually a referendum on the
incumbent party. I think the Democrats have rightly offered a critique of Trump's handling of the economy and the affordability crisis.
They have talked about Trump's self-dealing, self-corruption, the Trump family, the culture of corruption in Washington.
I think the open question, though, is what do Democrats actually themselves want to do?
What are they unified around doing?
And there's not a great answer to that because the party hasn't really put forward a clear, cogent and compelling proactive agenda. So I do think
where this race is still fluid is that there are a lot of voters who may still be wondering, well, OK, I don't like Trump. I don't like the
Republicans. I don't like the people in Congress who are enabling Trump.
But I'm not quite sure what the Democrats are proposing to do.
ANDERSON: And in Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has dominated social media. He is due to debate his Republican opponent, Mike Rogers, for the
first time tonight. My colleague, Edward-Isaac Dovere, went to Michigan and spoke with El-Sayed, who projected confidence and defiance.
But Black leaders in Michigan told Edward-Isaac they feel neglected. Jewish leaders say they are concerned about his anti-Israel stance.
One rabbi saying, quote, "I can't vote for a candidate who won't affirm my basic core needs and values."
As we seek some understanding of who the Democrat party is in 2026 and, of course, you know, as we move toward the presidential campaign of for 2028,
how big a concern is it?
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That in a must-win state, as far as the Senate is concerned, for Democrats, and a state that often comes down to razor-thin margins, you have this
candidate, who is, to all intents and purposes, let's describe him at least as marmite.
SIROTA: Yes, I mean, look, I think Abdul El-Sayed has run a really strong campaign through a very tough primary. So I don't think we can discount the
idea that some of what's been seen here in -- that you're hearing about, that's being reported on -- is -- remains a residual echo of a difficult
primary.
But I also think that we have seen these races before, where there is a closure and a consolidation toward the end. I mean, Abdul El-Sayed has
Barack Obama coming in. Abdul El-Sayed has -- remains in the lead of this race. It's hard to believe that there will be a large, for instance, Black
vote for Republican Mike Rogers.
I mean, I -- we don't know what's going to happen but that -- we haven't seen that happen for a Republican in a state like Michigan really ever. And
so what I see here that you're going to -- that I believe is going to happen is you're going to see a real consolidation at the end.
ANDERSON: Former President Obama, due to campaign with El-Sayed, in fact, on October the 24th, he has been quicker than other establishment Democrats
to support progressive candidates like Zohran Mamdani in New York.
I want to talk about this tension in the Democratic Party. CNN's KFile found El-Sayed heavily criticized Obama in the past.
David, how much does all of this underscore this ideological tension in the Democratic Party right now?
SIROTA: Oh, I think there is a huge battle for the for the future and the soul of the Democratic Party. I think that those comments that you saw in
the past from Abdul El-Sayed, I mean, frankly, I think they speak pretty well of his character in the sense of somebody who is not just a straight,
generic, reflexive partisan.
Somebody who spoke honestly and candidly about the shortfalls of the Obama administration, I think, in these races, a lot of independent voters, a lot
of anti-establishment voters are looking for candidates who aren't just going to be a generic Republican or a generic Democrat.
Now I also think that Abdul El-Sayed answered the question quite well about Obama. He was asked about this, his past criticism.
And he handled it quite well, saying, look, I had criticism in the past. And essentially the party is still coming together. It is still a big tent
party.
And I think credit to Obama, who is willing to campaign for somebody who has criticized him in the past. I mean, Obama can read a poll. Obama also
understands the larger cause here, which is this -- winning the whole Senate is more important than holding a grudge about past comments.
ANDERSON: It's really good to have you, David. Thank you very much indeed for joining us. We'll have you back if you'll come. Thank you. There's a
lot going on less than a month to go to the U.S. midterms and then another couple of years as we move toward the presidential elections of 2028. Good
stuff. Thank you.
Right. I want to get us on to a deadly new attack in Ukraine. This is an important story. At least 33 people have been killed in what officials say
is the deadliest single strike in Ukraine this year, after two public buses were targeted by Russian attacks. CNN senior international correspondent
Fred Pleitgen is live with the latest.
Fred, You've been digging on this story.
What more have you learned about this attack?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Yes, first of all, what happened is obviously very important in all of this. And this
happened at 10 am in the morning in the town of Kramatorsk, with two municipal buses, as you put it, were hit by what appears to be a very large
munition.
That's one of the things that we could see from some of the footage that was released. It seems as though one of the buses was completely destroyed
immediately by that munition and the other one appears to have caught fire.
As you've noted, Becky, as of right now, 33 people have been confirmed to have been killed and many, many more have been wounded. Certainly the work
there of the crews continues at this point in time, as this is definitely a very big incident that took place.
But the other thing that's also significant is where this took place and this is in Kramatorsk, as we've noted. And that's a place that's part of
that fortress belt that the Ukrainian military and the Ukrainians continue to hold in the Donetsk area of Ukraine, which is obviously one of the main
areas that the Russians have been trying to take.
Now the Russians have been chipping away at that fortress belt, which also has three other towns in it. And certainly the front line has been moving
closer and closer to those towns. So if we look at a town like Kramatorsk 1.5 years ago -- or a year ago or so -- that would have still been the rear
echelon in the war between Ukraine and Russia.
[10:20:09]
Now that is pretty much the front line. And so it's well within the range of Russian drones. It's well within the range of missiles and aerial bombs.
And certainly life there has become a lot more difficult for the folks on the ground.
The local authorities have immediately stopped all municipal transport. And they're also urging people to actually leave Kramatorsk and go to safer
areas of Ukraine as the fighting there moves closer and closer.
Again, the Russian military continuously chipping away at that fortress belt and Kramatorsk is certainly one of the most important towns that the
Ukrainians still hold in that Donetsk area in the east of Ukraine, Becky.
ANDERSON: Copy that. Fred, thank you very much indeed.
All right. You're up to speed on what we know out of Kramatorsk in Ukraine.
I want to get us back to the explosions reported in Riyadh today. It comes as at least three people are dead and 36 injured after Iran-backed Houthi
rebels attacked two airports in the kingdom. Our Nic Robertson joining us from London.
You were recently in Yemen, also in Saudi Arabia, Nic, and you've been newsgathering. Further understand what has been going on in Saudi today.
What have you learned?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, Saudi joint command of their forces there have said that two missiles, two Houthi missiles, they
say ballistic missiles, were intercepted in the Riyadh area.
And this comes earlier in the day. There were reports of explosions around King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the main airport in Riyadh for
all international and many domestic flights.
So we know the Houthis have targeted that airport yesterday because we heard from Saudi officials, saying that one person was killed there at the
King Khalid Airport yesterday. Eight people were injured at that airport yesterday.
Today, the Saudis just saying that the Houthi ballistic missiles were targeted around Riyadh. But it's very interesting to see what the airports'
authority are now posting on their website for passengers, who are expecting to take flights out of King Khalid International Airport.
They're saying, before you come to the airport, please check with your airline that your flights are -- that your flights are still on schedule.
There have been some indication earlier today of disruptions to flights around that airport.
We know that the Houthis have, in particular, been targeting domestic airports for some time. And as you mentioned there, yes, just on Tuesday,
the Houthis hit again, with ballistic missiles, Abha airport, not far from the border with Yemen, inside of Saudi Arabia.
Two people were killed, 28 were wounded. These Houthi strikes, using ballistic missiles at their principal domestic airports, is clearly going
to raise the temperature of tensions that are already high between the Houthis and the Saudis. The Saudis, of course, backing a Yemeni government
push to oust the Houthis inside of Yemen at the moment.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Nic. Thank you.
Let's take a very short break. There's a lot going on as far as the news agenda is concerned today. Going to take this break. We'll get you back
after this.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD from our Middle East programming
headquarters. These are your headlines this hour.
New CNN polling shows voters in the heavily Republican states of Iowa and Ohio expressing deep dissatisfaction with president Donald Trump. The
economy and the higher loss -- lost of -- cost of living are the main issues.
Democrats running in key races in both states are leading or are competitive less than a month out from the midterm elections.
Former Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife could soon face new U.S. charges, according to CNN sources. Prosecutors are expected to
accuse them of torture connected to more than a dozen Americans wrongfully detained in Venezuela. The couple has already pleaded not guilty to other
federal charges.
Well, a Tennessee judge is ordering the state to preserve all evidence tied to the failed attempts to execute death row inmate Christa Pike. That
includes physical evidence, 9-1-1 calls and communications among state officials. Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old
Colleen Slemmer.
ANDERSON: I want to turn now to Spain, which is mourning the death of Maria del Carmen Abascal, known there simply as Maricarmen. She is the 87-
year-old lady, whose eviction from her Madrid home has sparked these widespread protests in Spain and triggered the prime minister to call
national elections.
Maricarmen was evicted last month from the apartment where she had lived for more than 70 years. After police broke down her door, she was carried
out on a stretcher and admitted to a hospital for exhaustion.
Well, her building was once rent-controlled but after a private investment company took over, her monthly rent soared from about $560 to $2,900, far
more than she could afford on her pension.
Well, the eviction touched a nerve among Spaniards, who are fed up with the country's ongoing housing crisis. Youngsters in particular are struggling
to afford rent as demand grows amid a boom in tourism and an increase in immigration and wealthy foreign buyers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): For me, Maricarmen's death means watching society failing completely. The state and social structures put in
place to protect us have failed because they've allowed an 87-year-old woman to be evicted from her home and forced to die in a hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It's true, there are many Maricarmens out there and many vulnerable people who get evicted. But the
visibility of Maricarmen has sparked the majority of people to react to this problem that has been going on for many years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: -- lawyer had reached an agreement that would have allowed her to return to her apartment once she was discharged from the hospital. But
as her representative said, the solution came too late.
Well, still, her story has touched countless lives and sparked a wider conversation about the country's housing crisis. Protesters say they hope
her tragedy can help drive change as the prime minister seeks a broader mandate for housing reforms rejected by conservative lawmakers just last
week.
Well, CNN's Pau Mosquera joining us from Madrid.
And at this point, what chance that these housing reforms can be driven through?
I mean, you know, explain the atmosphere that you are witnessing there today on the death of Maricarmen and what you expect to happen next.
[10:30:00]
PAU MOSQUERA, CNN SPAIN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, the news came as a huge shock to many dozens that are camping out at Madrid's Puerta del Sol,
where we are right now, decided to spontaneously march to the parliament, which is located just 300 meters away from where we are, to blame
politicians for Maricarmen's death.
Because they believe that lawmakers did nothing at all, nothing in their hands, to try to prevent Maricarmen from being forced out from her
apartment two weeks ago. Others stayed behind and decided to hold a vigil here in Puerta del Sol and also organized a makeshift memorial for her.
And I can tell you that, over the morning, Becky, I have seen dozens of people, like right now, that have come here to this point, to bring
flowers, light up a candle, bring some messages in honor of Maricarmen.
One of the multiple messages that I'm seeing from here reads, "Thanks for your fight, Maricarmen," because, actually, many that are here
demonstrating still at this very central point of Madrid are thanking her for starting, igniting the demonstrations against the housing crisis.
And it is important to say that the organizers of this encampment, Becky, has actually been calling for another march this evening. They are planning
to go from Puerta del Sol to the building where Maricarmen used to live for seven decades.
And it's going to happen around 2 pm Eastern time. The idea of the organizers is to pay tribute to Maricarmen but also keep protesting for the
housing emergency, Becky.
ANDERSON: Thank you, Pau.
And Pau is reporting from Madrid in Spain, where it's 4:30 pm.
At the same time in France, where student protests are continuing today as anger over education funding and police tactics remain high, this is Paris,
where protesters are gathering this hour. And I want to get you to Melissa Bell, who is in Paris.
Melissa, just describe what you are seeing and hearing there.
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're here at the Place de la Bastille, which is one of the big focal points of today's
gathering. But there are meetings, gatherings, protests happening all around the country.
Again, there was, of course, this big march on Tuesday, when we saw 260,000 people, Becky, take to the streets. Those are the official figures. And it
was quite an astonishing turnout. So we'll see how many come out today.
Again, schools are blocked. We had this speech from the prime minister yesterday that has failed really to satisfy them. The government has
promised measures by the end of the month.
But as you can see, not enough to keep the students from the schools -- from the streets or back in school. I'm joined now by Chomette, who is here
to support the students.
Tell us why you're out here today.
CHOMETTE, MUNICIPAL SECRETARY: Well, I'm here to support the kids' movement because it's a beautiful and courageous movement. They are here to
defend public service. They are here to defend the common good and I totally support them.
BELL: There are these wider questions about France's welfare state, the health system, the pensions and so on. The government said it won't put any
more money into it.
How bad are things?
CHOMETTE: Well, our health system, we are proud of our health system and our public service. I am a public servant myself. I used to be a teacher
and I want to defend public service because it's our common good. It's the good of the people who don't -- who are not rich.
It's the good of the poor and I want to defend that. And Macron is doing -- he's leaving all the money to the rich and he's taking money from the poor.
He's taking money from old people. He's taking money from young people, from everyone that is vulnerable.
BELL: Thank you so much.
As you can hear, a lot of anger here. And it isn't just the students. It's what we saw on Tuesday, Becky, a lot of trade unions, a lot of teachers, a
lot of parents had come out in support.
The issue that they have is this creaking welfare state with so many grievances, not just the students but, as you heard, the health care
workers. There are issues over pensions as well.
And this determination that they have to try and get their books closer to balance by next year, their 2027 budget that they're trying to push through
even now involves trying to get public spending down, which is the opposite of what these guys want, Becky.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
Melissa Bell is in Paris. A lot of youngsters around there. Thank you.
OK.
What are we going to do?
Are we going to take a break at this point?
I think we'll take a break.
Oh, no. Let me just get you to some other news just in. As I said, it is a busy news hour.
News just in: British police have agreed that search warrants secured in relation to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor before his arrest were granted
incorrectly and need to be quashed. The former prince has been taking legal action to question the lawfulness of those warrants.
[10:35:00]
However, a judge is still deciding whether any materials seized during February's raids need to be returned. The former prince was detained on
suspicion of misconduct in public office following revelations from the Epstein files. More on that, of course, as we get it.
You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Still to come, as Israel marks three years since the October 7th attacks this week, we remember the hostages who
never made it home alive.
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ANDERSON: Just 19 days to go until Israel's elections. As the vote nears, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that he brought all
the October 7th hostages home. My colleague, CNN's Jeremy Diamond, has the stories of those who didn't come back alive
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They were kidnapped from a music festival, dragged from their homes, forced at gunpoint into trucks. The
Hamas-led October 7 attack was the deadliest day in Israel's history, with more than 1,200 killed and by the end of the day, 251 people were hostages
in Gaza.
It took more than two years before they were all released, most in ceasefire deals. Israel's Prime Minister, who is facing elections this
month, has repeatedly taken credit for that outcome.
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We brought back every last one of them.
DIAMOND: But his statements don't account for this brutal reality. Of the hostages who were taken into Gaza alive, one in five died or were killed in
captivity. Hostages like Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American Israeli.
RACHEL GOLDBERG-POLIN, HERSH GOLDBERG-POLIN'S MOTHER: We hear some leaders, some leaders saying we got all the hostages home and I just came
from my home. Hersh never came back to my home. Like, please don't say that you brought him home, anyone.
DIAMOND: We spoke to dozens of hostage families and Israeli military and government officials to piece together what happened to these 40 hostages.
Five died in captivity from their wounds or due to a lack of care, including Odette Lifshitz, an 83-year-old journalist and peace activist. 11
were killed by Israeli strikes or ground operations, including these three young men who were shot dead by Israeli ground troops who mistook them for
Palestinians.
Nearly half of the hostages were killed by their captors, according to the Israeli military and forensic evidence reviewed by their families.
Nine-month-old Kfir and 4-year-old Ariel were killed by their captors', quote, "bare hands." The cause of death of eight others is still
unconfirmed, including these six hostages, who were killed in a tunnel in Khan Yunis following an Israeli strike nearby.
They are among 24.
[10:40:00]
More than half whose deaths we trace back to Israeli military actions, including Israeli strikes and ground maneuvers that prompted captors to
kill their hostages. The Israeli military's hostage task force worked to keep the hostages alive and secure their release.
BRIG. GEN OREN SETTER (RET), FMR DEPUTY DIRECTOR, ISRAEL MILITARY HOSTAGE TASK FORCE: Each and every operation was carried out only after people
from the hostages' unit have assessed the risk to hostages. Operations got canceled. Operations were changed because of that.
DIAMOND: Israel had laid out two main war objectives, releasing the hostages but first and foremost destroying Hamas'' military and governing
capabilities. Do you see those two objectives as having been in conflict with one another?
SETTER: They have been in, I'd say, very strong tension. Military pressure is necessary and it entails risks. We could see very vividly how, when
Hamas felt under pressure, it was more flexible in the negotiations and vice versa.
DIAMOND: But Setter said it was clear which goal was a priority.
NETANYAHU: Tonight, I want to speak to you about total victory. Total victory. There is no substitute for it.
DIAMOND: Alexander Dancyg, a Polish-born Holocaust historian, was one of six hostages killed in that Khan Yunis tunnel in February 2024. Bullet
wounds suggest they were shot by their captors after Israel struck a nearby tunnel but they may have also been killed by the bomb's toxic gasses, like
their captors.
YUVAL DANCYG, ALEXANDER DANCYG'S SON: They told us no one can, you know, can survive from this -- from this air strike.
DIAMOND: Who do you hold responsible for your father's death?
DANCYG: My government. The ones that responsible for what happened to them, first of all, is Hamas. But from what happened later, my government.
DIAMOND: The Israeli military's chief of staff at the time, Herzi Halevi, told Yuval the strike was a mistake and took responsibility.
DANCYG: But when you have a war with citizens underground and you decide that the war is the most important things, it's possible that hostages will
get killed.
DIAMOND: Amid protests here at Hostage Square, Israel and Hamas were on the verge of an agreement in July 2024 when suddenly the Israeli prime
minister issued a new demand that Israeli troops remain along the Gaza- Egypt border.
SETTER: We knew that the price could be the life of hostages and the fact that it materialized in such a painful and almost immediate way after the
crisis negotiations is just made it more -- even more tragic.
DIAMOND: In late August, Hamas executed six hostages, including Hersh Goldberg-Polin, after Israeli troops operating in that tunnel system
unknowingly closed in on their location.
Hersh and four others from that tunnel would have been released as part of that July framework agreement, according to Israeli officials. But that
deal wasn't signed until January. The terms nearly identical.
Was that delay worth it?
SETTER: In my personal judgment, it was not worth it. Given that the current situation is that Hamas has not been fully defeated and is still
governing at least a part of Gaza, realistically, I think the war could have ended the beginning of 2025.
GOLDBERG-POLIN: For me, pointing fingers and blaming doesn't bring Hersh back and doesn't ease my pain and so I think of it as I -- I live in a cage
of suffering and I'm trapped in this cage and it's where I live. So that's how I am.
DIAMOND: Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: And we will be back after this quick break.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:45:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
ANDERSON: Well, a new crackdown on alleged abuse of U.S. work visa programs.
Excuse me.
This is a live look at a news conference, led by the U.S. vice president, JD Vance. Also involved are the Trump administration's fraud task force,
the U.S. Labor Department and the U.S. Justice Department. And they are detailing new findings involving H-1B for highly skilled workers and J-1
visas.
Well, senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak back with us this hour. He's following developments from Washington, D.C.
And this one will be particularly important for our international viewers.
What came out of this and what would it mean for foreign workers and employees?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And what the vice president is claiming is that both of these visa programs, the H-1B and the
J-1, are essentially rife with fraud. And he is claiming that both companies and middle market purveyors of these visas are using them to
replace American workers.
That's sort of the underlying claim in what the vice president is saying here.
And when it comes to H-1Bs, he was making one specific announcement, which is that the U.S. will now cut off two companies, Microsoft and Adobe, from
a government program that allows these firms to transition H-1B visa holders into permanent green card holders, allowing them to work in the
United States permanently.
They also announced an investigation into a number of universities, who they claim are abusing the J-1 visas, claiming that they are bringing in
low-paid graduate students and underpaying them when they could, in fact, be using American workers to fill some of those positions.
Listen to a little bit of what the vice president said about the overarching theme of what he's trying to do here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a fundamental insult to the American worker and to the American way of life.
We cannot allow visa programs that were designed to ensure that American corporations had access to the best and the brightest, to use them to
undercut the wages of American workers.
Now it's one thing if you want to bring in a person like Elon Musk. I think 99 percent of American citizens look at somebody like Elon Musk or Lisa Su,
the CEO of AND, and they say, obviously, if that person wants to come in and build something great in the United States of America, we support that.
But if you're bringing in an accountant who's making $40,000 a year and you use that foreign indentured servant making $40,000 a year to replace an
American worker who is making $70,000 a year, you're not bringing in a genius to build a great American corporation. You're committing fraud
against the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIPTAK: Now I think the bottom line here, for anyone who is watching and is, for example, trying to get an H-1B visa or a J-1 visa, unless you are
trying to work for Microsoft or for some of these universities that they listed, it doesn't seem as if anything is changing at this point.
But what it does seem to signal is directionally the way the administration is moving here. They are trying to crack down on some of these visa
programs that have been used extensively by foreign workers for many, many years.
At this point, it doesn't seem as if changes to the visa programs themselves are in the offing. And the administration has tried to make
changes along the way over the last two years. Some of them have been blocked by courts.
But at least for now, it suggests that the visa programs themselves will remain intact, even though some companies and some universities are now
getting extra scrutiny for how exactly they're using them.
ANDERSON: Yes. Makes sense, what you are saying. It's good to have you with us to explain exactly what is going on. Thank you so much.
The U.S. president is set to join tech leaders at an event commemorating the so-called golden age of American innovation and it is shining a
spotlight on Silicon Valley's evolving relationship with Washington. Well, nowhere is that clearer than with the Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg.
[10:50:00]
He has gone from temporarily banning Donald Trump on Facebook and Instagram to -- well, let's just describe it as cozying up to Washington.
Or as one insider told CNN, "Zuckerberg is very good at being a political chameleon. He's a survivor in terms of his relationships in D.C."
Hadas Gold with us out of New York, our AI and advanced tech reporter or correspondent.
Hadas, good to have you. This is a political --
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: -- a political moment, a chameleon, as it were.
Or is he just a billionaire opportunist?
Or is he both?
Is Zuckerberg a case study for what we can expect from Silicon Valley going forward, at least while president Trump is still in office?
HADAS GOLD, CNN AI CORRESPONDENT: We've seen all of Silicon Valley turn toward president Trump and turn toward his MAGA movement since the
inauguration.
I mean, remember at the inauguration, we had, you know, the who's who of tech executives sitting front and center there.
But for Zuckerberg, the transformation has been very drastic. He's gone from being threatened with life in prison by president Trump, in his book
that was published in 2024, to this past week he was literally at the center of the table, sitting next to Jensen Huang, who's next to president
Trump.
And he was actually the one who drafted the accord that all of those executives and president Trump signed. According to our sources, he was one
of the driving forces, along with Jensen Huang, to get those words on paper and get everybody to agree and sign them.
And this transformation started a few years ago. It started right around the summer of 2024. Mark Zuckerberg was talking about how he was sort of,
you know, burned by politics, burned by the previous administration.
And then after that assassination attempt on president Trump's life, Mark Zuckerberg called, you know, the view -- seeing president Trump raise his
fist in the air, all -- he had the bloody face -- calling it badass.
And soon Meta started really engaging with the new administration. They donated to the inauguration. They donated to the ballroom. They pulled --
they did things that made the administration happy. They pulled back on content moderation.
They hired people like president Trump's former deputy national security adviser, Dina Powell McCormick. Even his fashion and how he started getting
more into mixed martial arts began impressing president Trump, according to our sources.
And this has paid off. Not only did we see him author, essentially, this White House accord the way that he thinks that AI should be self-regulated.
But also earlier this summer, the White House intervened when, on Congress, there was talks of having Mark Zuckerberg come testify on youth safety.
Mark Zuckerberg was also, according to our sources, somebody who personally counseled Trump against setting up this AI regulatory similar to the
financial industry system that Google's Demis Hassabis had suggested.
Mark Zuckerberg called president Trump and pushed him against that. I want to read to you a quote from a former public policy director for Meta.
She said, "Mark saw that Elon Musk made a high-risk/high-reward decision in backing Trump before the election and saw how much influence he was having
on the administration.
"He realized that, if he wanted to have the same influence for the company, he was going to have to figure out how to repair relations. And what we saw
at the White House AI meeting is a definite symbol that, for the moment, he has."
Of course, there is a question of whether this cozy relationship with the White House could potentially turn around and burn him if Democrats win
Congress.
And, of course, if they win the White House in the next presidential election -- because we've already seen inquiries from people like senator
Elizabeth Warren saying, hey, give me all this information on how much money you've given to the Trump administration, because I don't like the
way that looks -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Before I let you go, I do want to just get your thoughts on the motivation for the gathering later today, Trump set to address tech leaders
and top officials at this event, commemorating America's golden age of innovation, as it's been described.
GOLD: Yes. I mean, you see right there on the screen, these are all the people that are going to be awarded national medals. Some of them are
getting the National Medal of Science. That's Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, Jensen Huang and Lisa Su.
And the National Medal for Technology and Innovation is going to go to Michael Dell and Satya Nadella.
And when we were talking about you know, Silicon Valley turning toward president Trump, a lot of these people have done exactly that. I mean, Elon
Musk is another one, who, we've seen his relationship definitely go up and down throughout the years. Now he's firmly back in the good graces of
president Trump and the White House.
And this is actually the first time from either of president Trump's terms that he will be awarding these medals. So notable to see who he chose for
these distinctions, Becky.
ANDERSON: Hadas, always a pleasure. Thank you very much indeed.
And before we close out this hour on CNN, some comments from the leaders of CNN's new corporate parent in support of CNN chairman, Mark Thompson.
Skydance CEO David Ellison and his co-CEO, Ynon Kreiz, said they sat down for an interview on CNBC early this morning before they rang in the opening
bell on Wall Street.
[10:55:04]
Last hour Ellison said the corporate leadership will stay out of editorial decisions at CNN and will run CNN and CBS News as two separate businesses.
And finally, genre-bending Canadian writer Anne Carson just won the Nobel prize in literature. Carson is an accomplished classicist, known for her
works that fuse the classical and modern. She's behind works such as "The Beauty of the Husband" and "Nox," an elegy written after the death of her
brother.
It is Nobel week this week. The peace prize expected Friday, of course.
That's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. You can find me on social @BeckyCNN on Insta and X. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up next.
END
