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Isa Soares Tonight

European Leaders Rally Around Ukraine's President Zelenskyy As The Rift Between Kyiv And The White House Deepens; Authorities In Oregon Trying To Understand The Motive Behind The Deadly School Shooting That Killed Three Children And A Teacher; From France To Italy To Argentina To Albania, Student Protests Are Spreading Around The Globe As Anger And Frustration Over The Cost-Of-Living Spills Onto The Streets; Now: Trump On Midterm Blitz In Battleground Georgia. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired October 16, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, European leaders rally around Ukraine's

President Zelenskyy as the rift between Kyiv and the White House deepens.

Then investigations in Oregon, where authorities are trying to understand the motive behind the deadly school shooting that killed three children and

a teacher. We'll have the very latest for you. Plus, from France to Italy to Argentina to Albania, student protests are spreading around the globe as

anger and frustration over the cost-of-living spills onto the streets. That, and much more ahead for you this hour.

We'll get to those stories in just a moment. But we do begin this hour as you can see there with breaking news. And the breaking news that's coming

directly from the White House, advisors telling CNN. President Donald Trump has fired Katie Zechariah after less than a week, in fact, as White House

Press Secretary.

She had come under intense scrutiny over her one-on-one only rocky press briefing, I think that was on Tuesday. Our Kevin Liptak is at the White

House for us. And Kevin, perhaps not surprising, given, of course, how much pressure she's been under and scrutiny she's been facing following not only

that brief press conference, but then the interview she's done on "Fox News" since. Talk us through what you're hearing from the President.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and we heard from the President himself as he was leaving the White House about an hour ago. And

he made pretty clear that he had lost confidence in Katie Zacharia. He framed this as a decision that he was now putting to her.

He's saying that he thinks that she should reconsider whether she should be in this job. He says that maybe she's not up for it, says that maybe you

want to just go back to the life you were leading in California. And since then, we have confirmed from Trump advisors that he's fired her.

He's dismissed her from this position that I think it was clear now for days, she wasn't quite up to, frankly. And that's what the President was

essentially saying. It was a very rocky debut there at the White House podium on Tuesday.

You'll remember about an hour after that, she couldn't really answer when she had passed her bar exam, because she had been described as an attorney

since then. It turns out she had never passed her bar exam, and she had come up for these interviews on "Fox News", I think perhaps in her own

mind, expecting that they would be somewhat friendlier territory than they actually were.

You know, Sean Hannity, the conservative host, really kind of grilled her about that discrepancy in her legal background. And then this morning on

"Fox and Friends", those hosts as well ordinarily pretty friendly to the President, were questioning whether he still retained confidence in her.

And she suggested he did or otherwise she wouldn't be there. But actually, turns out he didn't, because he is now asked her to leave the job and she

will be leaving the job. Now, this was about a five-day stint. That is a very short amount of time it turns out that debut in the briefing room was

her only appearance in the briefing room.

And I think when you listen to the President, you didn't hear him throwing her under the bus in any way. He seemed to suggest that she had been

mistreated by the media. Perhaps, a feeling bad somewhat, that he had put her in this position at all.

Remember, when we first learned about her hiring, it was something of a surprise. She wasn't necessarily a candidate that many people had been

talking about after Karoline Leavitt left this job over the Summer. Her name sort of came up very suddenly because a number of other candidates

that people had been floating in the vetting that the President had been doing, he surfaced critical comments that some of them had made about him,

which disqualified them.

And Katie Zacharia is not someone who had ever been critical of the President. And that is essentially how she got this job. She also had been

frank that she had gone on TV to relay and talk about the President's record and agenda in a way that she hoped would capture his attention.

[14:05:00]

And it did just that. That's how the President became familiar with her. But it turns out that that's no way to hire the spokesman for the entire

federal government. And now she will be leaving the job. And so, perhaps, some lessons learned on the part of the president, but a remarkably short

tenure and tumultuous tenure for Katie Zacharia.

SOARES: Yes, and she's lasting less than time than Scaramucci, of course, which is quite something, five days. But two-pronged, really, question of

what you've just told us. I mean, is there a sense -- first of all, vetting process. I mean, one would assume that not only a CV, but also interview.

What is that like?

Does that still happen with this job under this White House? And this -- in these interviews she did for "Fox News", do we have a sense of whether, you

know, President Trump perhaps asked his buddies to interview her, to put her under pressure, to test her? What are you hearing on that front?

LIPTAK: You know, I haven't heard that specifically, but in particular, Sean Hannity, who is the evening host on "Fox", is a confidant of President

Trump's, and they speak somewhat regularly. And I think even absent any evidence that the President asked Hannity to kind of grill her, I don't

think Hannity would be doing that unless he thought that, that would be useful for President Trump, who he knows is watching his program with some

regularity, and sort of putting Zacharia on the spot in that way.

I think was his way of communicating to the President that this selection may not have been the wisest choice. When it comes to the vetting for these

jobs, it's very different than how it happens ordinarily in these administrations.

We do know the President consulted with Karoline Leavitt about the job, but it wasn't a -- this is not someone that many of his advisors had encouraged

him to select, that someone that the President selected on his own and that sort of gained feedback about with his team after the fact.

SOARES: And very briefly, do we know who is going to be taking up the job now? The mantle, do we have a sense --

LIPTAK: Oh --

SOARES: From the White House?

LIPTAK: We don't. The President said that there was a long list, I'm not sure that that's actually accurate. There are plenty of people who want the

job, but for all the reasons I was laying out about what they had said in the past, it's not sure that the President would sign off on all of them.

We're now three weeks away from the Midterm election, and if I were to bet, the President will not be naming someone to the job before then.

SOARES: Kevin Liptak, as always, appreciate you bringing us up-to-date with the breaking news right there from Washington. Thank you very much. We are

going to turn our attention to Ukraine because feeling increasingly blindsided and abandoned by U.S. President Donald Trump as his country

fights for its survival, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took the stage today with what he called real leaders.

Those were his words, real leaders in Europe, top EU leaders rallying around Mr. Zelenskyy at a meeting in Brussels, pledging their continued

support. And he's trying to weather a crisis in relations with President Trump, who has taken a series of steps that could benefit Russia in the

war.

Mr. Zelenskyy says a surprise U.S. deal to buy diesel from Russia is putting money straight into Putin's pocket. President Trump told "Newsmax",

he prefers dealing with the Russian leader. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does that war end before you leave office?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It should end soon. I think they actually both would like to see it end. But I think I find Zelenskyy

to be more difficult to deal with than Putin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, President Zelenskyy is questioning how Mr. Trump can be friendly with Putin, calling the Russian leader evil. Ukraine is no longer

heeding President Trump's so-called energy ceasefire, saying that it halted strikes on Russian refineries while Russia continued its attacks.

Mr. Trump has blamed Ukrainian strikes for rising U.S. fuel prices. Listen to what President Zelenskyy said, or rather, didn't say when asked if he's

being used as a scapegoat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His personal popularity is very low. Diesel prices in the U.S. are very high, and the war that he started in the Middle East is

not going the way he wants it. Do you think you are being treated as a scapegoat for his own problems?

(LAUGHTER)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT, UKRAINE: This is my answer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, that says a lot, doesn't it? Now, let's break it all down with Fred Pleitgen who joins us from the European capital there, Germany,

in Berlin. Fred, good to see you. Look, we have been seeing these souring relations with U.S. all this week, right?

[14:10:00]

And in the meantime, what we have seen today is European leaders really rallying around President Zelenskyy. Just give us a sense of what the

message is coming out of Europe as we see Ukraine --

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes --

SOARES: Facing this intense bombardment and then these disruptions we've been reporting to the Starlink network.

PLEITGEN: Well, I think certainly rallying around Volodymyr Zelenskyy is exactly the right word here. You saw the European leaders there lining

Volodymyr Zelenskyy also as he spoke in front of the press. He did have the European Council President and the European Commission President by his

side, all of them saying that the Europeans would continue to support Ukraine.

And it was very interesting for Volodymyr Zelenskyy to come out and say that he was lying by leaders who are sticking with Ukraine, as he put it

from the beginning, from when they were attacked by Russia. And he said, until the end.

So, he seems to believe and seems to hope that European support will continue. It was very interesting for him to go out and then say that. I

thought one nuance of what he said was extremely interesting about that diesel deal from the Trump administration with the Russian leadership where

he said that not only does he not believe that this is going to move the needle as far as energy prices around the world are concerned, but that, in

fact, it would also line the coffers of the Kremlin.

But that he also believed that it could create a precedent, that it could start with a diesel deal to export diesel by the Russian federation, not

just to the United States, but of course, also to global markets. But it then could lead to something like, for instance, a gas deal, for instance,

that it could set a precedent for sanctions relief for Russia.

The Ukrainians clearly believing that, that could be a threat to them and obviously bring Russia back further on the international stage. The other

big topic at that EU summit was, of course, Starlink and Star Shield and the Ukrainians saying that it appeared to have been slowed down over the

past couple of days.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy there saying that it is getting back up to speed, but isn't at the same speed as before, also making clear to the U.S.,

especially that the Ukrainians don't use Starlink to try and attack Russia to steer their drones that they launched deep into Russian territory, but

actually use it to detect Russian drones flying into Ukrainian territory.

Of course, a lot of those drones now jet-powered, moving a lot faster, making that early detection even more important for the Ukrainians. The

Ukrainians, of course, bracing for it could be one of the most, if not the most difficult Winter for the Ukrainians, as the Russians already starting

to attack some of that energy infrastructure.

Of course, the Ukrainians also attacking Russia oil and gas infrastructure. But the Ukrainians things could be a very difficult Winter. And so,

therefore, energy was one of the big topics on this day as Volodymyr Zelenskyy spent that day at the EU summit among friendly nations, as really

those relations with the United States and specifically with U.S. President Donald Trump, appear to be almost in freefall, continuing to deteriorate.

Isa.

SOARES: Yes, and Fred, look, President Trump, just before leaving in to Georgia and campaign that we've been seeing, he was actually asked about

the Starlink and he said he was not behind the Starlink disruption experienced by Ukraine. I'm going to quote him here. I didn't do that.

No, we didn't do that at all. He doesn't think Musk was either behind this. So, just to clarify that point that we've heard from President Trump that

he said he was not behind this.

But I do want to get your perspective and the perspective of what you're hearing from European officials, because the question I've been getting

here on this side of the pond is if Washington does turn away, right, from Ukraine, how does Europe -- does Europe have enough financial power to

really help boost Ukraine, given, of course, so many European countries, Fred, have elections next year.

PLEITGEN: Will have elections next year. A lot of them have elections coming up. And a lot of them, of course, also have forces within Europe who

are highly critical of aid to Ukraine. If you look at, for instance, here in Germany, the rise of --

SOARES: Yes --

PLEITGEN: The far-right alternative for Germany, they're very much against helping the Ukrainians. And also, one of the things to keep in mind is that

public sentiment seems to be going in that direction as well, where in a lot of European countries, a lot of these countries have debt problems.

A lot of these countries have a lot of problems with their budgets and worry about money that's being spent on Ukraine. As of right now, European

leaders, also the German leaders saying that, that Ukraine aid needs to continue, that it's vital also for the defense of Europe.

But there's really a lot of different facets to them. On the one hand, it is financial. And of course, if you look at countries like Germany, they

are by far the most important lifeline for the Ukrainians, not just as far as military aid is concerned, but also just keeping that state alive.

And at the same time, of course, it is also about military capabilities. And as far as that's concerned, the Europeans so far are able to help

Ukraine in many ways, especially now with that war, moving more and towards drone warfare, towards cheap drones that fly deep into Russian territory,

and of course, vice versa as well.

[14:15:00]

But there are capabilities that the U.S. has that simply cannot be replaced. And a lot of that has to do with intelligence. A lot of that has

to do with satellite imagery. But of course, one of the main big ones is those Patriot interceptor missiles that so far, the Europeans have not been

able to replicate.

The Ukrainians say they're working on something, but right now that is definitely the big Achilles heel of the Ukrainians, where they say when

they get attacked by ballistic missiles, they're out of Patriots. It's a very big problem for them, of course, for their population as well, Isa.

SOARES: Fred Pleitgen there for us this hour in Berlin, good to see you, Fred. Thank you very much indeed. I want to turn now to the United States,

the state of Oregon, the governor has ordered flags flown at half-staff after three children and a teacher were killed at an elementary school in

Bend.

Shots rang out on Thursday at the Silver Rail School, and police say a 16- year-old forced his way into the school by shooting at locked doors. Three children, ages five, eight and eleven were killed along with a teacher,

another child and teacher were also injured.

The shooter was killed by a bystander before police then arrived. Police are expected to give an update on the investigation in just a few hours.

All schools and related activities in the region have been canceled today, and the school superintendent had a special message, pardon me, to the

parents in this community. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN COOK, SUPERINTENDENT, BENDLA PINE SCHOOLS: Please hold your children. Hold your loved ones tight tonight. Let them talk. Let them cry.

Let them know we are going to rally and care for one another in this community. We will get through this, but not yet. We must grieve for the

loss of our community members.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Let's get more from our Nick Watt in Bend, Oregon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Investigators we're told have searched the alleged shooter's home, have taken away electronics,

computers, trying to get some sort of idea of a motive here.

We're also told they interviewed the alleged shooter's parents, who were described as cooperative, and confirmed that their son did indeed at one

point attend this elementary school where the shooting took place Thursday afternoon.

Everything went down, we're told, in about three minutes. A teacher saw the gunman walking, carrying that rifle, saw him through her classroom window,

called it in, 9-1-1 calls. By the time police arrived three minutes later, three children were dead, a teacher was dead.

The shooter had been neutralized, shot by this community member who had followed him into the school, who had seen him and followed him into the

school. A seven-year-old and a 54-year-old teacher still fighting for their lives in the hospital.

Now, one line of inquiry is going to be, how can a 16-year-old get hold of a rifle like this in Oregon? It is not legal to buy a rifle at that age.

We're also hearing details that yesterday was picture day here at Silver Rail Elementary.

So, you can imagine kids dressed in their finest for posterity for the pictures, and then this. Some kids probably had their photos taken and then

their lives taken not long after. Now, one child on "ABC" this morning talked about locking the door of the classroom.

Now, in 2022, new locks were put on the doors here at this elementary school so that they can be locked from the inside. We're told that the

gunman came in and was shooting through locks to gain entry into the school. We don't know quite how deep into the school the shooter got before

he was killed, himself.

Seven-year-old, 54-year-old still fighting for their lives. People we speak to around here, around the school, just talk of an eerie quiet. We hear

about the sound of children playing being replaced by the sound of sirens during the event itself.

Then yesterday, when school would usually let out and you'd hear peals of laughter, kids playing -- silence. This morning when usually you'd hear

kids and parents walking to school -- silence. Yet another American community dealing with a disaster, dealing with a shooting inside a school.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Well, our thanks to -- our thanks to Nick Watt there. And still to come tonight right here on the show, a nation torn apart by gang violence.

CNN is on the scene in Haiti to get a firsthand look at a mercenary operation run by a U.S. security tycoon. This exclusive report is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:20:00]

SOARES: The U.N. Security Council has renewed sanctions against those fueling gang violence in Haiti, and the chaos forcing the indefinite

postponement of this year's elections. As the Haitian government struggles to regain control, a mercenary group has been called in to assist.

And a warning. The following video contains material that may be harmful or indeed traumatizing to some audiences. Here's our Nick Paton Walsh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Haiti is so stifled and tormented by gangs. The fight against them has

spread to hills outside the capital, Port-au-Prince.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WALSH: Here in Kenscoff, they were pushed out, but stormed back in again, killing and kidnapping dozens of locals in revenge. We joined police on a

day's long advance to reclaim tiny remote villages -- we're blurring faces for security.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WALSH: But as we move in with the police, the gangs use the fog and hills to keep shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WALSH (on camera): You can see that debris barrier there. I mean, another way the gangs slow the police down about 7 or 8 shots have kind of flown

over us. We've heard the crack. It's a sign that the gangs are still really close by and don't want the police to ever feel comfortable down here --

oh, there's another one.

(Voice-over): More barricades lie ahead. Locals eager on the road to get back to homes they've not seen for two years. The barricades dismantled and

burned so the gangs can't return and remake them.

(On camera): There's an extraordinary scene of locals just flooding in to kind of reclaim their own streets after the gangs have been pushed out.

(Voice-over): A ritual praising the heavens overshadowed by ruin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not free. It's not free.

WALSH: Hours earlier, two helicopters used a pause in the rain to land a police SWAT team in the hilltops. The helicopters are part of American

security tycoon Erik Prince's operation here, bringing new capabilities and the experience of foreign ex-special forces.

[14:25:00]

But not for free. And these are the first pictures of Prince's private security fighters in Haiti who led the push with specialized Haitian police

in what's called the Task Force.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hear a lot of things about you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is he up here?

WALSH: He tells the police where to position. Nobody has seen their operations in Haiti before. And this drone footage shows gang members

fleeing. Erik Prince made his name and millions in Iraq with Blackwater, sullied and reprimanded over civilian casualties there.

His ties to Blackwater long severed, he is now selling a new idea, the private security mercenaries to their detractors can tackle security or

gang problems for failing states that can't.

ERIK PRINCE, FOUNDER, VECTUS GLOBAL: Yes, that's a bad city, right there. That's a bad part right there --

WALSH: Yes.

He was first sent to Haiti as a Navy SEAL 32 years ago. And now he gave CNN his first interview and access to his operation here.

PRINCE: When we started, a police truck like the one we rode in here on, pretty much one of those was lost every week, attacked, ambushed, burned

the occupants, slaughtered, butchered. That's done now because there's much better response, quicker air support, drones, whatever that prevents the

police from being overmatched. That's really why we're here.

WALSH: Over 2,000 drone strikes on varied targets in the past year, a Task Force source said here on what they said was a gang Molotov cocktail

factory. Prince wouldn't reveal his annual fee of likely tens of millions of dollars, but on top of that, he gets a 10th of any new customs revenue

generated if his leaner operation ends smuggling dozens of illegal border crossings.

(On camera): Could you put a number on what your contract is worth in terms of what the Haitian government pay you?

PRINCE: The previous U.N. force is that our cost is one sixth of what their annual camp cost was. So, it's a fraction of a fraction of a fraction.

WALSH (voice-over): He had aimed to free up key roads within a year here, but hasn't. Although the U.N. has said this year has seen the gangs spread

in the capital halted, even reversed.

(On camera): You haven't killed any major gang leaders yet. Have there been challenges in some of the operations you're doing? Is not killing top

leaders' part of your strategy?

PRINCE: Look, insurgencies are not defeated by taking out just leadership. And others have been an obsession of that in the United States. But wars

are won by taking significant numbers of enemy manpower off the battlefield. We are in the process of doing that and enabling sovereignty

to resume.

WALSH (voice-over): To grasp the enormity of the collapse and daily trauma, we head to the once vibrant downtown of the capital. So long gang-held

swathes of it are now overgrown, as though nature is tired of the violence and wants to take back control.

We patrol at dawn with the new U.N. mandated Gang Suppression Force here, soldiers from Chad first light, when those who live under the gangs make

their daily break for it to head out to the rest of the world on foot through rivers of sewage and trash to reach work or food.

A body lies abandoned in the road, likely dumped there overnight. We go back with them at dusk to see it all happen again for the home trip.

(On camera): We'll talk about how desperate life must be here to attempt this in the daylight must simply be terrifying. It's eerie being here

inside an armored personnel carrier, but they're risking it out on the street here in the dark, many of them carrying what looks like food for

their homes. Things back into gang-held areas.

(Voice-over): The promise of a quick fix at a price that's still out of reach. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Thanks to Nick Paton Walsh and his team for that excellent report. And still to come tonight right here on the show, the sprint to the finish

with a pivotal Senate seat race for grabs. President Trump campaigns for Republican facing sagging poll numbers. We are live at a rally in Georgia.

That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Welcome back everyone. Right now, in Dalton in Georgia, north of Atlanta, it's President Trump's latest stop on his 11th-hour midterm blitz.

And it's a state that could prove critical in the fight for control of Congress.

The president is scheduled to speak at a campaign rally just minutes in fact from now where he'll try to give a much-needed boost to Republican

Senate candidate Mike Collins. He's lagging well behind the Democratic incumbent Senator Jon Ossoff in most polls. It's a much tighter race for

governor between Republican businessman Rick Jackson and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Our Ryan Young, CNN Senior National Correspondent is at the rally for us and joins us now. And Ryan -- do we have him? Yes, we do. And Ryan, this is

unlike the recent kind of campaign blitz we've seen in Alabama, Montana, and elsewhere. I mean, this is a battleground state. I'm seeing everyone

very excited behind you waiting for Trump. Give us a sense of what we're likely to hear from him.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, an absolute battleground. I keep looking down because it's so loud here. It's very hard

to hear, so I'm trying to concentrate on what you're saying. But the thing is people started lining up here five hours before this event started and

we believe Trump will be here in the next hour and a half or so.

Rick Jackson is on stage behind me and he's talking about the reasons why he believes he should be the next governor of the state. The current

governor, Brian Kemp, endorsed him, so he believes he will be the one to move the policies that are helping Georgians throughout the state continue.

And he's really hammering Keisha Lance Bottoms.

But I will tell you, the energy here is really surrounded by Donald Trump. There are so many people here who are excited to see the president. They

believe in him. This area is an industrial area. Dalton is known as the carpeted capital of the world. And a lot of people here are considered

MAGA. In fact, this is Marjorie Taylor Greene's old district. So, you understand there's a lot of push for people here to show the president some

love.

He's coming to the right place as you drive closer and closer to this venue. There are signs for Trump, for Mike Collins, and for Rick Jackson,

so you understand the excitement that's around here. And some of these people have been standing in the sun for more than hours. And they are

quite tired, but at the same time excited about the idea that Trump is coming to town.

SOARES: And I understand -- hopefully you can hear me with the applause. I understand that you've spoken to Mike Collins. Give us a sense of what he

told you.

YOUNG: Yes, I did. And of course, I hope they're cheering for us. But the whole idea here is when I talked to Mike Collins, he talked about he needs

this push from the president because he believes exciting these people and getting at least everybody to go take five of their friends to the poll is

the only way for him to win.

[14:35:11]

And in fact, if you look at this, I looked at the numbers just a second ago, 609,000 people have already pre-voted in the state of Georgia. Early

voting started just this week. So, almost a million people already and they're pushing to get more people to vote early. And then you heard them

just introduce Mike Collins. So, here's Mike Collins stepping to the stage, a man who's obviously had a tough few days on the campaign trail.

And when you look at the money that's being raised here, he's been outpaced by Jon Ossoff who's the incumbent. So, he really needs this final push to

get him across that goal line here. And he needs people like this to be energized to go out and do it.

SOARES: Ryan Young, I know you'll stay there for us. Thank you very much indeed. We're appreciate it. Live from Dalton in Georgia.

We're going to take a short break. We will see you though on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Well, anger, frustration, and solidarity. These feelings rife right across the world as we witness scenes of protests as well as mass

demonstrations. Leans, let me show you like these ones, from Paris to Rome, to Madrid, to Tirane, Buenos Aires, New Delhi, Gen Z and student-led

protests are surging globally driven by a combination of the crippling cost of living, housing crisis, systematic corruption, and deteriorating public

services.

And it's not just students, by the way, turning up. In France, nationwide protests are planned for Saturday, and they're expected to be some of the

biggest we've seen yet. And students won't be the only ones taking part. France's Yellow Vest Movement and trade union say they'll join.

And you'll remember scenes like these from Paris just in recent weeks. Police using tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons in an attempt to

control demonstrators. French lawyers and rights groups accuse the police of using force that has caused significant injuries to teenage protesters

while the government defends police action as an appropriate response to urban violence.

Our Saskia -- our Paris Bureau Chief Saskya Vandoorne investigates. And a warning, her report does contain graphic video.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PARIS BUREAU CHIEF: This is the moment a tear gas grenade is fired at close range towards 14-year-old Eden during nationwide

student protests in France, demanding more education funding. It strikes him in the mouth, smashing his teeth and breaking his jaw.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (text): He kept saying over and over that his life was ruined. His jaw has been wired shut. He has two metal bars holing it in

place with just enough space for a straw to fit through. He worries about whether he'll ever able to speak.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): Eden's mom wishes to remain anonymous to protect her family's privacy. Footage shared with CNN helps piece together what

happened to Eden. This video first captures him sitting on a curb looking at his phone just meters from a high school protest outside Paris. One

eyewitness told CNN Eden wasn't protesting.

The next video shows him being pushed by local police, and Eden appears to argue back. One officer grabs him and pushes him head-to-head using his

helmet's visor. This other camera angle shows what happens next. The police officer first shoves, then appears to strike him with his tear gas grenade

launcher. The second officer swings her batter. Eden kicks back and then this.

Look at it again. The second police officer raises his launcher and fires a tear gas grenade directly at Eden's face. You can see the gas canister

circled in red. This is one of many incidents that have raised serious questions about how the student protests in France are being policed.

Since September, high school students have continued to pour onto the streets and tensions are escalating.

VANDOORNE: Instead of holding their ground, the riot police are going towards the protesters, confronting them directly head on. Some say this

approach could risk escalating the violence.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): And it's not just police tactics that are being questioned. It's also the new weapons they are using. According to sources

within the riot police, officers began receiving the latest generation of what are considered to be less lethal weapons in 2025, including the dual-

barrel Cobra grenade launcher, allowing officers to fire twice without reloading, and they began using new types of stun grenades. In this same

period, what we also see is an increase in serious injuries.

And now in 2026, we're seeing cases like this one. A 16-year-old student who lost the use of his right eye after being hit by what appears to be a

rubber bullet and a 15-year-old boy losing his hand from a stun grenade, prompting the interior minister to temporarily suspend its use. Both are

being investigated by police.

Olivier Cappe spent 25 years as a French riot police officer. He says the protesters use of improvised weapons has intensified. And that staff

shortages are forcing officers to rely more on crowd control weapons.

OLIVIER CAPPE, SPOKESPERSON, FRENCH RIOT POLICE UNION (through translator): We're short roughly 800 riot police officers. The principle of French crowd

control is numbers. The more numerous you are, the more imposing you look. The more imposing you look, the less you intervene. But if you're

outnumbered by a hostile or very hostile crowd that's advancing, you're going to resort much more quickly to less lethal weapons, especially rubber

bullet launchers.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): Police haven't responded to questions from CNN about alleged understaffing. The Interior Ministry says more than 900

police officers and 248 students have been injured since the unrest began. Figures that have prompted public skepticism.

VANDOORNE: Another teen, Eden. He had his teeth smashed in after he was hit with a tear gas canister. How can you explain these life-altering injuries?

CAPPE (through translator): The people who first intervened in the high school movements weren't riot police. They were the local patrol sent

because there was trouble. Those officers aren't experienced in crowd control or restoring order and aren't necessarily equipped or trained for

it. So, sometimes there can be mistakes, problems, like the problem with the grenade you mentioned. That's a major problem.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): For Eden's family, what happened that day cannot simply be dismissed as a mistake.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (text): He's my baby. He's only 14.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): The family has filed a complaint for attempted murder. And despite what happened to her son, his mother believes students

must continue to make their voices heard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (text): What happened to Eden took place right at the beginning of the protests, and clearly no one has learned any lesson from

it. It's still happening, and it's only getting worse.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): The officer has been placed under formal investigation on suspicion of assault by a public official resulting in

permanent disfigurement. More than 30 investigations have now been opened into alleged police misconduct.

Saskya Vandoorne, CNN Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:45:07]

SOARES: Well, thanks to Saskya for that report.

Well, protests have also spread in Albania. There's been anger over the rising cost of living, education, healthcare. They're all among the factors

driving the unrest. There are more clashes in the capital of Tirana today with some protesters turning violent. Demonstrators are demanding Prime

Minister Edi Rama resign. He says he's not going anywhere.

Still to come tonight right here on the show, the two stars of a remarkable film. CNN sits down with the actors behind Tenzing, the new movie that

tells a story of the first mission to the top of Mount Everest. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: While scaling Mount Everest, the rooftop of the world is one of humanity's greatest achievements. The very first men to do it were Sir

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay back in 1953. A brand-new movie in theaters today and also streaming worldwide on Apple TV tells the story of

that remarkable client. But rather than focusing on the well-known Edmund Hillary, this film focuses on Tenzin Norgay, a figure really largely

ignored in the western world.

The movie is called Tenzing and our Christina Macfarlane sat down with its stars Tom Hiddleston and Genden Phuntsok.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM HIDDLESTON, ACTOR: The premise and the promise of this film is to put Tenzing Norgay at the center of his own story and to bring a figure who I

think has been in the background into the foreground and get to know him, his journey to the mountain, his heart, his mind, and his soul. He's an

extraordinary man and I believe that the expedition of 1953 would not have been successful without his extraordinary contribution as a climber as

someone with skill, experience, discipline, and vision, but also his spiritual relationship to the mountain and to the mountains.

GENDEN PHUNTSOK, ACTOR: So, can hunt. He sees Chomolungma as an enemy.

HIDDLESTON: I think the British see nature in general as something to be conquered.

PHUNTSOK: Maybe that's where they have been going wrong. They see mountains. We see ourselves. The mountains are the bones. We are the blood.

[14:50:08]

I think this movie is really movie is really -- I can say maybe the first movie to show the world from Sherpa people's perspective.

HIDDLESTON: Yes.

PHUNTSOK: And I think this is really important because I think many people don't know what they are doing in the value of the Himalaya and like all

the world focus on they know Himalaya or Mount Everest but they don't know about Sherpa people.

I also really hope after this movie there are more people pay attention to Sherpa community and Sherpa people and also have more attention on the

mountaineers who love mountain, who love nature, and I think there's something really important is whatever who you are, more respect our nature

and protect -- you know, just you know love the nature and make the nature more clean.

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: That's such an important point, Genden, because I mean, look, every year we hear and see how

overtourism is threatening Everest's environment, and this movie pitches the race to the summit as more of a spiritual quest rather than something

to be conquered.

And before you started filming, I heard that you both actually experienced Everest together for the first time by trekking to Everest Base Camp. I

just have to ask what that experience was like and whether it was a spiritual experience for you too.

HIDDLESTON: Well, it was completely unforgettable. We -- it was an inspired suggestion by our director Jennifer Peedom. I arrived in Kathmandu and

within 15 hours I was in Lukla Airport which is really a strip of concrete cut into the mountain where all treks to Everest base camp begin.

Mr. Amazing was waiting for me and we shook hands and we embraced under a sign which said the Tenzing-Hillary Airport. And Genden said to me, hey,

Hillary. And I said, hey, Tenzing. And we -- and we hugged and we began this extraordinary trek following in the footsteps of Tenzing and Hillary

and experiencing the beauty and the majesty of that landscape for ourselves.

MACFARLANE: Look, one incredible thing in the film that really stood out to me was just how little technical equipment and gear those mountaineers had

to climb Everest. I felt like a small pair of swimming goggles and ropes and a sturdy pair of boots. Which leads me to how physically demanding was

it both for you to film this. And did you have any difficult moments in the mountains?

HIDDLESTON: We did this for real. We did this for real in the real mountains. Everything with snow on it was actually in the southern Alps of

New Zealand in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park and Hillary on the expedition -- this is a detail in the film -- they were climbing back to

camp one night and he fell into a crevasse and Tenzing saved Hillary's life.

It really happened to Hillary and it really happened to me and I they dropped me into a crevasse and Tenzing was -- Genden was on the other side

of the rope and I was suspended dangling there for a time and this sheet of ice came -- fell from the lip of the crevasse onto my head and then I had

the small or as Hillary called it the routine mountaineering issue of trying to climb up a wall of ice.

Amazing.

MACFARLANE: I just wanted to know Gendon because it seemed to me this film has been made with a great deal of care for the Tibetan community.

Tenzing's son, Norbu Tenzing, is an executive producer on the film and many of the Sherpas who we saw in the movie are real mountaineering people. How

important was it for you, Genden, with your Tibetan background yourself that there was that authenticity when making this movie?

PHUNTSOK: When I experienced the life I went to Shergau in a village and then I living with (INAUDIBLE) and that's the guy who led us to the to the

village. And we also got many experiences. I speak dialogue with them in Sherpa and even every strangers in that village I can practice with them

because they are all from Shargau and their dialogue is 100 percent very good accent. And then they will also correct my dialogue or something. And

sometimes I'm like a crazy -- I practice my dialogue to the yaks and sheep and horses, anyway.

HIDDLESTON: But just worth saying, Christina, that Genden he learned two new languages to make this film. He learned Sherpa and he learned English

as well as learning how to be a mountaineer. Your -- the extraordinary responsibility that you took to do this authentically is such an

inspiration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Just brilliant. I can't wait to watch it. Thank you very much, them both and to Chrissy, too.

And finally, tonight, some very exciting news for book fans, including members, may I say, of my own team. Showbiz outlets are reporting that the

casting is being locked in for Amazon's hotly anticipated adaptation of romantasy book series Fourth Wing. It's understood that Esther McGregor,

the daughter of the Scottish actor Ewan McGregor and Emilio Sakraya will take the lead roles as dragon riders violent and Xaden.

CNN has reached out to Amazon for confirmation, and we will of course stay across the story important for so many of you as we get more developments.

And that does it for us for what has been not only a busy day but indeed a very busy week. Do stay right here. "WHAT WE KNOW" with Max Foster is up

next. I shall see you on Monday. Have a wonderful weekend. Bye-bye.

END