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Isa Soares Tonight
Environment Under Threat as Persian Gulf is Polluted by Conflict; Trump Campaign Blitz of Red States Hits Iowa Today; How Texas Turned from Republican to a Toss-Up State; Website Security Flaws. President Zelenskyy Says There's Nothing Personal Between Him and President Trump Amid Deteriorating Relations Between the U.S. and Ukraine; Democrats' Hope of Taking Control of House and Senate Runs High as Midterm Approaches; U.S. Orders Some Embassy Staff and Their Families to Depart Saudi Arabia Amid Intensifying Houthi Strikes. Aired 2:-3p ET
Aired October 22, 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, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, there's nothing personal between me and
Trump. President Zelenskyy telling CNN amid deteriorating relations between the U.S. and Ukraine.
Then 12 days and counting to the U.S. Midterms, Democratic hopes for winning control of the U.S. Senate runs high. But it's far from a sure bet.
We'll discuss which Senate seats are most likely to flip. And the U.S. orders some embassy staff and their families to depart Saudi Arabia amid
intensifying Houthi strikes.
That and much more ahead for you this hour. But first, tonight, it could be a clear message. Missiles speak louder than words. Just hours after
Vladimir Putin said he would be willing to resume peace talks with Ukraine, Russia then unleashed a blistering attack on Kyiv, and the strikes also
came minutes before U.S. President Donald Trump, and his administration -- "is the closest we've ever been", quote, "to ending the war".
Ukraine says Russia fired 21 ballistic missiles, some loaded with cluster munitions. None were intercepted as Ukraine faces a critical shortage of
air defenses. Ukraine says at least two people were killed in attacks nationwide, while Russia says Ukraine launched hundreds of drones towards
Moscow overnight.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meantime, says the strikes on Kyiv were launched by Russian, quote, "humanitarians". That is, of course, a
sarcastic reference to U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff using that same word to describe Mr. Putin, if you remember, after meeting with him in Russia.
Putin said he would be willing to resume talks with Ukraine and the U.S. next month. But there are no indications that Russia's budging on its
demands, including Ukraine giving up the entire Donbas despite recent U.S. overtures. President Trump agreed to buy Russian diesel and lift some
sanctions, if you remember, even calling Russia's actions in Ukraine, fine.
And that has led to a sharp decline in relations with Ukraine's President. Mr. Zelenskyy told CNN and our Christiane Amanpour, well, it's not a
personal dispute.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Mr. President, obviously, there's been a lot of spotlights on the latest eruption in your
relationship with President Trump. He's blaming you; you're saying that he's on the wrong side of history with that diesel deal for Russia.
Are you stepping back from that personal criticism? Have you been, you know, advised that this might not be the best way to be public about it
since you need American help?
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT, UKRAINE: We have our partners, and it's United States, and we have -- we need to have strong relations with
American administration, with the Congress. And we need bipartisan support, and this all is very important because it's not about days. It's not about
personalities.
My attitude to Putin is very clear. I think that if we will lift sanctions, we will make him stronger. And that's why I'm like a president, it's not
something personal between me and President Trump. And of course, I'm against of any lifting of sanctions.
I always said it to European partners and I said it directly to American administration. I am -- of course, I know what I do. I have to strengthen
me, my country, my people, my army, but not my enemy. And this is, I think, very clear and fair between us.
That's why I know that if you give something to Putin, he will need everything. He will want everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, let's talk about all these threats, of course, we're joined now by chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh. And
Nick, good to see you. First of all, look, this time yesterday, viewers watching, you know, we were hearing the U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, calling
Putin a humanitarian.
You heard the way that Zelenskyy responded tongue-in-cheek there. And we also discussed this time roughly yesterday, these trilateral peace talks.
Today, we've seen Kyiv -- Russia attack Kyiv, a barrage of missiles which none of which were intercepted. All of this tells us what exactly?
[14:05:00]
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think there is an extraordinary juxtaposition to Steve Witkoff's humanitarian
line and exactly the kind of missile that we've seen quite rarely fired, possibly the first time by Russia at Kyiv.
President Zelenskyy saying that three Iskander missiles were fired that contained cluster munitions. Now, these detonate in the air and scatter
anti-personnel tiny bomblets over a wide area, deliberately designed to kill as many people indeed as possible.
So, a stark difference there between the Trump administration's lead envoy on this and Russian actions in a matter of hours after, one that can't
really have been entirely by accident by the Kremlin. Also, you mentioned the trilateral talks.
Well, there's the possibility of that. There's also, it seems, a possibility of trilateral talks between Russia, China and the United States
about Ukraine without Ukraine. But Zelenskyy's comments about how this isn't personal marks.
I think the third time in the last 48 hours in which we've heard Zelenskyy try and suggest that this episode potentially is behind them, to draw a
line under it, but also remind everybody exactly why this dispute was originally occurred.
Now, by saying this is not personal, I think he's ultimately reminding everyone how personal it seems to be for President Trump, who views this
issue and his failure to get a peace deal that he thought was going to be simple in the interpersonal lens.
Putin is always on the phone being nice and offering stuff. Zelenskyy is always asking for things and being problematic. It seems lost, I think, on
the White House exactly the different situations of Zelenskyy and Putin, the invader and the invaded.
So, I think today, we're seeing another attempt to try and suggest this is behind them. But I think ultimately, Ukraine has seized the situation here,
realize that they cannot depend on Trump. He will vacillate if not right now, be directly in Moscow's camp, and they have to treat the next year or
18 months of effective Trump presidency as something they have to survive rather than try and get benefits from, Isa.
SOARES: Yes, and we have seen Zelenskyy's language shift in the last couple of days vis-a-vis President Trump. But earlier this week, Nick, we
also heard him say the Intelligence-sharing had been restored. Do we know about where things are with Starshield, whether that has been restored?
What are you hearing?
WALSH: Yes, I mean, there have been indications that Starlink is back to where it was. That's ultimately a case of the speeds at which devices can
fly and still receive the signal. Starshield seems to be having some issues that might be improving.
This was the focus, it seems, of the phone call between Marco Rubio, the U.S. Secretary of State, and possibly a more rational voice when you hear
him talk on this matter than many in the administration. That was their focus of a 45-minute conversation over the past 48 hours or so.
There appears to be, yes, Intelligence-sharing resumed in full. It was never, according to sources, completely stopped, but limited in ways that
meant early warning for ballistic missiles like the barrage we saw last night didn't come through in time.
The outstanding issue is Patriot interceptors. Clearly, that's been a longstanding problem. They seem to be pretty much out. We never get a 100
percent read apart from a source telling our Victoria Butenko in Kyiv a few days ago that they were completely out.
But I think it's important to see here that Ukraine is scrambling for what was essentially the bare minimum from the United States, and then trying to
explain, well, of course, you see Zelenskyy there trying to explain, of course, I'm going to do the things I need to do to stop my country men from
being killed and to defend my country.
I think that's somewhat lost here. But I also think it's important to not lose sight in the extraordinary back-and-forth and obfuscation, gaslighting
at times of what's happened over the past two years. To note that Trump is now taking very clear pro-Russian positions, and Zelenskyy is essentially
accepting that and realizing they have to forge ahead with Europe only at his side.
SOARES: Yes, such a good point there. Our Nick Paton Walsh, thanks very much, Nick, good to see you. Well, Ukraine says its access to a crucial
communication system controlled by Elon Musk is still not fully restored. Nick and I were just talking about that.
Ukraine uses Starlink internet service, which Nick was talking about, and related military grade service Starshield, to both launch and prevent drone
attacks. And there is confusion, as we've been talking about over who ordered the recent slowdown, Musk or the U.S. government.
But it's causing growing concern in Europe. Listen to one British lawmaker during Prime Minister's Questions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ED DAVEY, BRITISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Musk says that the order came from the White House, but the Telegraph from the "Wall Street Journal" have
revealed that Musk put the idea to Donald Trump himself.
Now I understand the Prime Minister's reluctance to criticize the President of United States, but does he agree that directly aiding Putin in this way
is beyond the pale? And will he work with European allies to prevent Elon Musk getting the licenses he wants who would make our continent even more
dependent on his satellite system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:10:00]
SOARES: Sir Ed Davey there. Well, we're joined now by Michal Kobosko; a European Parliament member from Poland. He's also lead negotiator for the
European Parliament's Digital Networks Act. Michal, thank you very much for joining us on the show. Look, we heard from that politician there here in
the U.K., we are seeing growing alarm over Musk's restrictions or even slowdown of Starshield and Starlink and the impact of course, that is
having in their ability to fight back and defend itself.
This is on the back of what we heard yesterday from the "Wall Street Journal" saying that Musk is responsible for making the call to slow it
down. I mean, how concerned are you about Musk's influence and power over the communications in Ukraine?
MICHAL KOBOSKO, EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER, POLAND: We have obviously -- we have to be very much concerned about it. And we don't really know what
happened because it was -- it was really bizarre to see Elon Musk blaming the U.S. administration and administration blaming Musk.
So, it was bizarre. That's one thing. The other thing is that what really happened that suddenly Ukrainians were unable to use the full -- I would
say, functionality of the Starlink and Starshield. And they were unable to be effective defending the country against Russian drones and missiles.
So, this is exact and imminent effect of what Americans were doing. So, when you look from this perspective at the Starlink and Elon Musk position
in the -- in the satellites, in the communication systems, yes, you have reasons to become -- to be really worried.
SOARES: Yes, and to what end -- just in your thought, you said it was bizarre. To what end would he do that?
KOBOSKO: Well, we don't really know what happened there, but at the end of the day, the functionality of Starlink was reduced visibly. And the real
question nowadays is whether it's going to be fully functional in the coming days. Is it stable?
Look, we are paying for the permit terminals. Also, my country, Poland is paying for lots of terminals being used in Ukraine nowadays. And we want to
see the service that we can rely on, that it's stable and it's simply effective because that was the -- that was the goal from the --
SOARES: Yes --
KOBOSKO: Very beginning. If we cannot count on Musk -- and he's a private entrepreneur, but he should simply serve his clients in the best possible
way and not to use any kind of political influence against --
SOARES: Yes --
KOBOSKO: Ukraine, which is unfortunately happening from the U.S. side recently to limit --
SOARES: Yes --
KOBOSKO: Ukrainians ability to defend themselves.
SOARES: That -- look, that's a very good point. And you're very clear there in your message, and I appreciate your clarity because, you know,
it's what we've been seeing here across Europe. It's certainly kind of accelerating, Michal, a debate about reducing European dependence on this
technology.
But I wonder if we take a step back, I mean, are there alternative satellite internet services in Europe? What are the options right now?
KOBOSKO: Well, the real truth is that right now, at this moment, we do not have other options because we were -- we were very late in upgrading our
plans and our initiatives, our business cases to introduce European satellites.
These programs right now are underway. There's a European program called Iris Square, the satellites, which should be fully functional and in the
orbit by 2030. So, this is just a couple of years from now. But at the moment, right now, yes, we are dependent.
And it's not only the satellites, but we are dependent in many other fields of the I.T. and I.T. infrastructure like the cloud computing, like other
options that are possible to be used, like applications, like business software.
We are dependent, and that just went too far in a polarized world of today. You have to really take care about your own sovereignty. You ask us this,
right? China has this --
SOARES: Yes --
KOBOSKO: Right, Europe has this right too. So, we feel responsible.
SOARES: Yes --
KOBOSKO: And let me be very clear. Our aim at the European Parliament, and my aim is not to reduce American business presence in Europe. We do not to
push American companies out of our markets. We just believe that we need to offer some help and support to our European companies, which are going or
are already offering alternative I.T. solutions, and they should be --
SOARES: Yes --
KOBOSKO: Offered a real market to grow and develop.
[14:15:00]
SOARES: I'm glad you brought up that point because of course, it's not just about technology we heard in the article with NIFTY, I think it was a
day or two ago or so. The ambassador, U.S. Ambassador to you, warning, of course, of European companies facing devastating retaliation if Brussels
then pressed ahead with plans to restrict American rivals.
You've just clarified that for us in your position. Incredibly grateful. Thank you very much, Michal, for taking the time to speak to us, really
appreciate it. A fascinating conversation --
KOBOSKO: Thank you --
SOARES: Well, clearly, Europe is not there yet, working on it. It will take some time -- I was looking just for our viewers, looking at shares of
France's Eutelsat, jumped something 23 percent just early in the month after reports of restrictions on Starlink in Ukraine.
But it seems Europe still far off from imitating anything similar to what Musk has right now with Starlink. Now, to U.S. politics. With record
numbers of early voters and campaign spending through the roof, the stage is set for a pivotal election day in the U.S., just 12 days from now, and
the stakes couldn't be higher.
Control of the House and Senate hanging in the balance. In the bitterly- contested Senate race in Michigan, which remains a toss-up, a final debate between Democrat Abdul El-Sayed and Republican Mike Rogers. The theme was
loyalty.
El-Sayed claimed Rogers remains committed to President Trump's agenda, while Rogers once again questioned El-Sayed's allegiance to the U.S.
Constitution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE ROGERS, MICHIGAN'S REPUBLICAN NOMINEE FOR U.S. SENATE: If you are going to go to the United States Senate, we need to know, are you for
America or are you for these terrorist groups overseas? You can grin and you can smile and you can talk real pretty, but I'm going to tell you what,
that is a risk to our national security.
ABDUL EL-SAYED, MICHIGAN'S DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR U.S. SENATE: To bring in the question, my commitment to the Constitution is really beneath you. I am
proud of America. I'm proud to be an American. I'm proud of our constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to
pray --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is your time, Dr. El-Sayed --
EL-SAYED: And the question that you would ask that -- I think is actually really quite shameful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, the race is also tied to Ruby-Red, Kansas, which hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate since the 1930s. And things got somewhat
personal in Wednesday's debate. Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton sparred with Republican incumbent Roger Marshall, who's a doctor, over ICE raids in
the state. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R-KS): Look, you know, half of the kids I delivered my last several years of practice, you know, their parents, one of their
parents was not documented. So, we have to -- we have to figure this out. It's not going to be easy, but we're certainly not going to have amnesty.
Now that we have the border secure, we can absolutely have this conversation. But under Democrat control, under Chuck Schumer's control,
that we had open borders. And that's what we'll go back to if my opponent is elected.
ADAM HAMILTON, KANSAS DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE FOR U.S. SENATE: I do find it interesting, so, I'm just curious, with all of those undocumented children
that you delivered, did you also call ICE and ask them to be taken away? What did you do with these people?
You had compassion for them and delivering these children, but then you support quotas. They're going to have people taken away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Heating indeed. So, which Senate seats are most likely to flip for all things Midterms? I want to turn to our politics senior reporter Stephen
Collinson. I feel Stephen, we should give you a whiteboard or some sort of touchscreen to go through this --
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICS REPORTER: I've got my list --
SOARES: Don't know -- you and I have been discussing -- you've got your list, great. You and I have been discussing in the last several weeks, you
know, how Democrats are really hoping for a blue wave. Talk us through the reporting on the Senate seats and which ones are more likely to flip.
COLLINSON: Yes, this is like actually very interesting because this was for years seen as a really tough map for Democrats. A third of the Senate
seats are up in elections in the United States every two years. So, you can see if you get a set of seats that are, you know, favor the opposing party,
it's very difficult for you to win.
But what's happened this year, the popularity of the Republicans has slipped so far that a lot of Senate seats in Republican territory are
really looking dodgy. Let's start with North Carolina. That's a Republican- held seat. The Democrats have a very good candidate there, Roy Cooper, the former governor, most political professionals believe that is already going
to go to the Democrats.
So, they need a net gain of four seats. The next one perhaps most likely to go is Ohio, Sherrod Brown, a populist Democrat, he's trying to win back a
seat in Ohio. He lost his previous Ohio seat, which he'd had for years in the last election when Trump won that state by double digits.
So, you can see the -- in that race, particularly the way that Trump's slumping popularity has hurt the Republicans. Alaska, nobody thought this
would be on the table, but Democrats have got a good candidate. Issues like the cost of living are very high there.
Democrats think they can take that one back from the Republicans. Maine, very interesting seat. Senator Susan Collins has been a senator for
decades. She's funneled a lot of federal money back to her state.
[14:20:00]
She survived several previous tough re-election races this year. She's up against a logger, Troy Jackson, a real populist, conservative Democrat. It
looks like she could survive, but that one is again, too close to call.
And then another one, Texas, which has been a Republican state for many years, a Democrat has not been elected there since the 1990s in the Senate.
Who would have thought the -- one of the final battles over the survival of Trumpism would be held in Texas?
Democrats have thought they had a chance to win in recent races there. The state is getting a little bit more liberal with big cities and Hispanic
voters. But if they win Texas, you can tell that it's a terrible night for Republicans, and more than likely, Democrats will win back the Senate.
SOARES: Wow, it's pretty staggering when we look at that map, if I'm not sure if the system is working Laura(ph), if we bring that map up again, I'm
just going to ask my producer and just to see, what likely may come depending, of course, on the election day. But look at that.
It gives you a sense of the push that's been made by the Democrats, not only by the Democrats, but really, a referendum in many ways on the
Republicans. And you -- as you and I have been talking about. But let's focus for just a second on Michigan, because we played that little clip
there, Stephen, of El-Sayed responding, right?
Of this -- this is the debate; I think it was last night. This is a key debate that took place last night. And it got really personal. Just I mean
-- is this kind of issue, and I know you and I have talked about the rhetoric, how nasty it's getting. It's politics. But does this kind of
issue resonate with voters?
COLLINSON: I think it resonates, perhaps less than it did at the height of Trumpism in 2016 or even after the 9/11 attacks, and that era, that decade
of U.S. wars in the Middle East. So, I do think, though, what Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate, is trying to do there is he's trying to raise
doubts about the patriotism and the allegiance of El-Sayed, who is a Muslim, who was born in Michigan.
And he's trying to disqualify him as a potential senator because that pretty much is his only path to victory in a state that's been really hard-
hit by high fuel prices, the trade war with Canada. And what El-Sayed tried to do in that debate was to try and pin Rogers to President Trump. So, you
can see it's going to be very difficult for Rogers to --
SOARES: Yes --
COLLINSON: Escape that. But this seat is crucial because it's a Democrat- held seat. If they lose this one, and it's very close, their math gets a lot more difficult in that Senate race that we were talking about.
SOARES: It's getting very exciting indeed, 12 days away, Stephen, appreciate it, as always --
COLLINSON: Thanks --
SOARES: Thank you very much. And we are going to have much more on the Midterms just a little later in the show, we'll take you to one of the
biggest battlegrounds Stephen was talking about there, and that's Texas, a state that was not supposed to be up for grabs, but where Hispanic voters
have turned on Republicans. Have a little look at this little clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If we get united and we show up, I mean, we could flip everything. The reality is, is it going to happen? Will my people show
up? We don't know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Stay tuned for that. And still to come tonight right here on the show, the U.S. State Department telling staff to leave its Riyadh Embassy
as the Houthis set up their strikes on Saudi Arabia. We'll bring you the latest on the conflict.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:25:00]
SOARES: French President Emmanuel Macron is banning what he's describing as illegitimate protests this weekend. Mr. Macron is seeking to restore
calm after what we've been showing you really days of demonstrations last week and which have spiraled to the country's worst rioting in decades.
France's main student union is expected to return to streets of Paris, in fact, on Saturday. French students marched peacefully through the city this
afternoon ahead of the weekend's demonstrations. And it came after a last- minute decision by a French court to overturn a police ban on the protest.
Well, the U.S. State Department is ordering non-emergency staff and their family members to leave its embassy in Riyadh. And it comes as Yemen's
Iran-aligned Houthi rebels continue to fire on the kingdom, including a strike on an airport in Dammam in the east of the country, and that
happened on Wednesday evening.
Two people we're being told were killed and eight more were injured. Another drone targeted the Shaybah Oil Field, killing two people and
injuring two more. Now, Saudi Aravia(ph) -- Saudi Arabia, pardon me, is asking the U.S. for more offensive support.
So far, the U.S. has stepped up Intelligence-sharing, but Trump -- President Trump remains noncommittal, as we heard him a few weeks back
about joining its alley -- ally strikes. Let's get more on this. I want to bring in our senior national security reporter, Jennifer Hansler joins me
now from the State Department.
So, Jen, the timing, of course, of this of the non-essential staff and family members is interesting, given, of course, the rise and the speed of
which the Houthis have been attacking.
JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, that's exactly right, Isa, and they are clearly taking this threat from the
Houthis seriously, as they are calling on non-emergency personnel and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia.
We had already seen the U.S. State Department put some restrictions in place for its personnel that were on the ground there. For example, they
were prohibited from traveling to the airports, they required special authorization given the mounting Houthi attacks on the airports, including
one, as you mentioned last night, that killed a number of people.
So, they were already restricting movements, trying to protect the personnel on the ground. And now they have made that decision to send them
home. Now, we should remember that this embassy had already been put in what was called restricted operations.
That means it was not back to its full status as it was before the start of the war in Iran. Riyadh had been hit by Iranian strikes during the war.
They sent non-emergency personnel home on another ordered departure and had brought some of them back, and now they are sending them back amid concerns
that this conflict between Saudi and its Yemeni forces and the Houthis could escalate.
They had put out a number of warnings to American citizens on the ground there in Saudi Arabia, saying that the hostilities, quote, "have the
potential to escalate rapidly beyond that immediate area." So, a lot of concerns here that this could spread, Isa.
SOARES: Yes, I know you'll stay across it for us, Jen, appreciate it, Jen, thank you very much indeed. Our Jen Hansler there. Well, the U.S. and
Israel's war with Iran is taking a devastating toll on the environment. From contaminated, really, waters in the Persian Gulf to toxic as well as
acid rain, and the conflict really is impacting marine life and Gulf residents alike.
Some researchers say that surface oil in the Strait of Hormuz has doubled. Our Paula Hancocks reports on how the environment is in the firing line.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Persian Gulf is one of the most unique ecosystems on earth. Offshore islands and
mangrove forests provide critical breeding zones for sea turtles, hundreds of species of fish and dugongs, cousin to the manatee.
Only the hardiest of marine life survives in these waters, with sharp temperature changes from hot Summers to cool Winters. But even that life is
increasingly at threat from the U.S. and Israel's war in Iran.
The first two weeks of war created more carbon pollution than Iceland does in a year, according to the Climate and Community Institute. One group of
satellite oceanographers has been studying the effects of this war from afar, specifically the targeting of vessels in and around the Strait of
Hormuz, the key waterway at the heart of this conflict.
BRIAN BARNES, ASSISTANT RESEARCH PROFESSOR, COLLEGE OF MARINE SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA: Here's a ship that you can see smoke coming
out of and then a plume of presumed oil here.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Brian Barnes says satellite imagery can only show them what is on the surface, but even that limited information from March
2026 is worrying.
BARNES: Very roughly, based on our observations, what we're seeing is at least twice the amount of surface oil in the Persian Gulf area relative to
what we would expect in the absence of a major conflict.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): The Gulf is shallow, it is small, and there's only one entry and exit point connecting it to the wider ocean, so what happens
in the Gulf stays in the Gulf.
BERNHARD RIEGL, PROFESSOR, NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY, FLORIDA: If we take a drop of oil and we put it into the water on the Iranian side of the
inflow into the Gulf, a year later it will be in Kuwait, two years later it will be on the Omani side of the Gulf and float out there.
HANCOCKS: Widespread contamination in the Persian Gulf would also have a devastating impact on millions of Gulf residents. Desalinated water
accounts for almost all of the drinking water in both Bahrain and in Qatar. In the other Gulf nations, it accounts for the vast majority. Now,
desalination plants did become a target during this war, threatening to trigger humanitarian and economic shocks.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Oil facilities were hit in and around Tehran early March, exposing millions of residents to thick black smoke with reports of
toxic acid rain. Reminiscent of the 1991 Gulf War, as retreating Iraqi forces set fire to hundreds of oil wells in Kuwait, that impact was felt
throughout the Gulf.
RIEGL: The shorelines were devastatingly affected. There was massive mortality of intertidal biota, of mangroves. In fact, in many areas in
Saudi, if you go and you dig into the sand, there's still old oil in there.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Experts worry this war could also undermine our understanding of climate change. Warmer waters in the Persian Gulf are
considered a natural laboratory to see how marine life in oceans elsewhere might adapt as they warm. Another war with a toxic legacy. The environment,
once again, the conflict's silent victim.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Dubai.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: And still to come right here on the show, the Texas toss-up. How a state that has not voted for a Democratic
senator in almost four decades is suddenly up for grabs in the midterms. We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:00]
SOARES: And we return now to one of our top stories this hour, the race to the finish line as we are 12 days from the U.S. midterms. President Donald
Trump will again venture into deep red territory today in an attempt to rescue endangered Republican seats.
And he travels to Iowa, a state he won by more than 13 points in 2024. But where polls show a very tight race for a key Senate seat, as we heard from
our correspondent earlier, Stephen Collison, Democrats also appear to have a good chance to win the governor's race in Iowa, something they have not
done in 20 years. While there may be no contest across the U.S. generating as much attention as a Senate race in Texas, I kind of agree with that.
Most polls find Democrat James Tallarico with a small lead over Republican Ken Paxton. And that is fueling Democratic hopes of winning a Texas Senate
seat for the first time in almost, get this, 40 years. Republicans are funneling huge sums of money into race, more than $380 million so far, just
for context. John King visited Texas to find out what's driving the change in a traditionally Republican stronghold. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Corpus Christi Bay, southeast Texas, a spot on the map that was supposed to be a
safe harbor for Republicans this year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm calling on behalf of James Talarico, Gina Hinojosa and Democrats down the ballot.
KING (voice-over): Supposed to be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're asking for your support for your vote.
KING (voice-over): It's crunch time and Nueces County Democrats are bursting with energy, believing even ruby red Texas might be part of a
giant midterm message.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Connect with each other, figure out what we do, need to do ahead.
KING (voice-over): The governor's race is tight. So is a nasty Senate clash. And the House race here in Texas 34, a toss-up, too, despite
election year redistricting Texas Republicans thought would paint it red.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm so grateful for Texas.
KING (voice-over): This picture does speak a thousand words. The Speaker of the House trying to save his narrow majority, looking out at the very
reason he is on the road nonstop. Yes, it's a hot sweltering weekday, but still a tiny crowd. Republicans are worried about enthusiasm, worried about
turnout, worried about a big swing blue from Latino voters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody's watching what you're going to do. They say that Texas is going to turn blue. Is that true?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where did all the money go? It's like who's getting rich and where is it going? Is it the oil pipelines that are all getting
rich?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody's getting it.
KING (voice-over): The politics bar is in the slice of Corpus Christi added to the redrawn 34th. Four friends around the table, two Democrats and
two Republicans.
KING: So, let's skip the parties and the names for a minute. OK, raise your hand if you think things need to change. So, that's everybody at the
table.
KING (voice-over): Republicans Milton Reyna and Richard Contreras in a very different mood from our first chat here eight months ago.
MILTON REYNA, TEXAS VOTER: I don't trust what's being said right now. I think we've been told the same thing over and over again, and we haven't
seen any results, any action from it. And yes, I am disappointed.
RICHARD CONTRERAS, TEXAS VOTER: Our war is the problem, to be honest with you. I think we're struggling with that and we need to get out of that. We
need to finish it and move on.
KING (voice-over): Still on Team Abbott for governor.
CONTRERAS: I like Abbott.
REYNA: I like Abbott too. But Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton turns their stomachs.
KING: You're a Republican and you're having a hard time in a race that could determine which party controls the United States Senate.
CONTRERAS: I need to be an American first. I think, honestly, and I have to make that decision based on character. And right now, Paxton's
character, it's just not doing it.
[14:40:00]
KING (voice-over): This side of the table is excited.
KING: Does this time feel actually different that it's possible as opposed to a dream?
RAMON HERRERA, TEXAS VOTER: It does. It does.
ANNALITA CAVADA, TEXAS VOTER: I think it's different.
HERRERA: It does.
KING (voice-over): Ramon Herrera is betting on a big swing in the Latino vote.
HERRERA: You need to stop trying to promote everything that he's doing. It's not working out.
CAVADA: Yes, I'm saying.
KING (voice-over): And Annalita Cavada sees another positive for Democrats.
CAVADA: I've seen young people more excited this time, on the line, in person.
KING (voice-over): The new 34th stretches 150 miles from Corpus Christi to the Mexican border. Kingsville is conservative, working class, more than 70
percent Hispanic. The lines for the Kingsway Family Church food bank keep getting longer.
PASTOR STEVE MARTINEZ, TEXAS VOTER: You know, the economy right now has been hard. Like from people, we ask people right now, food is getting
expensive, gas. And then in our community right now, lately, our electric utilities have gotten really expensive.
KING (voice-over): Pastor Steve Martinez votes his values. Abortion, gay, and transgender rights matter most to him. And he will vote Republican. But
at the moment, prices matter most to many of his congregants.
MARTINEZ: Just a while ago, I was like, one guy just wasn't lying. He's like, man, I'm just struggling. The economy is hard. You know, it's like,
what do I do?
KING (voice-over): Plus, a lot of anger at ICE enforcement. Even Trump supporter Martinez says he's too aggressive and is reaching way beyond the
bad guys.
MARTINEZ: A lot of people's decision is going to be now because of the big, ICE has been just hard on a lot of families.
KING: And if their decision is made by that, then they're voting for Democrats? They're voting against Trump, right?
MARTINEZ: Yes.
KING (voice-over): Cristina Alvarez, among the campaign workers walking door to door in working class neighborhoods, vital to Democratic hopes.
CRISTINA ALVAREZ: I'm here on behalf of Vicente Gonzalez for Congress.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's my man.
ALVAREZ: Sorry?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's my man.
ALVAREZ: Oh, he's your man. Awesome.
KING (voice-over): That's good to hear. But a few doors down, a reminder every vote matters.
ALVAREZ: OK. I'm excited.
KING (voice-over): This neighborhood is a bit more upscale. Daisy Alcazar and her husband bought here eight years ago.
DAISY ALCAZAR, TEXAS VOTER: This is home.
KING: But you say at the moment, home doesn't always feel like home.
ALCAZAR: There's a lot of fear in the community.
KING: Even here?
ALCAZAR: Yes. People are inside their houses, not going outside unless they need to for survival.
KING: 10 or 12?
ALCAZAR: 10. Your reading skills are not working.
KING: I didn't even look at the box. That's the box.
KING (voice-over): Lapale is Alcazar's business. Traditional Mexican ice cream treats.
KING: This is what most people would think of as the American dream. A family with immigrant roots, starts a business, employs people, makes their
community richer in every way.
ALCAZAR: I'm proud. I'm proud to be Mexican. I'm proud to represent our culture. I'm proud to grow and scale the business. But we have never seen
this before. We have never been seen our community being hunted down in the streets. And that is the reality of what's happening.
KING (voice-over): Alcazar had to close a couple of shops during COVID. She will continue to sell to grocery stores and to restaurants. But this
last storefront is closing soon.
KING: This right now is worse than the pandemic?
ALCAZAR: Oh, a thousand percent times. Because when there's fear in the community, it paralyzes you. You don't eat and we don't have customers. I
sell ice cream for the love of God. We sell paletas. We are the cherry on the top where it's joy. And the experience here should be joy. It should be
happiness. Where the reality is we don't have customers.
KING (voice-over): Alcazar is voting blue in every race she can, hoping to send a message to the president and to the governor. She urges everyone she
sees to vote and to take along family and friends. But she worries that fear will keep people home, or the belief it just won't make a difference.
ALCAZAR: If we get united and we show up, I mean, we could flip everything. The reality is, is it going to happen? Will my people show up?
We don't know.
KING (voice-over): John King, CNN, Brownsville, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Incredibly insightful. And that's the case in Texas. Our thanks to John King and his team for that.
And still to come right here on the show, serious security flaws have been found in websites all across the world. We'll tell you which ones were
impacted and what is being done. Our Anna Stewart joins me next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:00]
SOARES: Well, dozens of high-profile websites briefly went dark after A.I. discovered a security flaw in a widely used programming language. Now,
government sites here in the U.K., in France, Germany, and many others among those impacted. The two critical flaws affect, just for perspective,
70 percent of the Internet, including WordPress and Drupal. Now, the flaws were uncovered by teams from OpenAI and two cybersecurity companies.
The programming is so common, it could now allow attacks on websites that host booking platforms, marketplaces, delivery apps, ticketing sites, and
subscription services. I think you're getting the picture of really the magnitude of this.
Our Anna Stewart joins me now live from London with more. So, Anna, I mean, this is quite something. Just talk us through the hack itself and the areas
that, you know, of PHP, I think it is, you and I were talking about earlier, were found to be vulnerable.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, not the sexiest name, is it? PHP, but it is a very common programming language that is used, as you say, by
around 70 percent of websites all around the world.
So, the vulnerabilities found had the potential to cause absolute havoc when it comes to practically anyone who has any kind of online presence
whatsoever. The bugs weren't new. These were bugs that had existed in all PHP that had been released over the last decade.
And what was so interesting, of course, was this was found preemptively by artificial intelligence. And at its core, the vulnerabilities could have
allowed hackers to gain access to sensitive information, including things like passwords. It was a combined effort from OpenAI, Wiz, which is a
Google-owned cybersecurity company, and another one called Caliph. They work together. And finally, Isa, we have a story about A.I. coming to the
rescue when it comes to cybersecurity.
SOARES: Yes, not all doom and gloom, hurrah. But look, what about the hackers and kind of what role, you know, success did they try to exploit
this bug, this vulnerability? What are you hearing on that front, Anna?
STEWART: Well, what was so interesting, I think, about this vulnerability was it was actually discovered all the way back in August. It was only
disclosed publicly yesterday because that was when PHP Foundation, which manages this programming language, were able to put out a patch,
essentially a fix for all the websites that use the version that has been released over the last decade. They were keen to not do that anytime soon
because of the risk it would pose.
[14:50:00]
The CEO of CloudFlare, which is a cybersecurity company, had this to say on X. In the 10 hours before it was publicly announced across the CloudFlare
network, we saw thousands of attempts to exploit it. And that jumped to tens of thousands in the 45 minutes post-announcements, hundreds of
thousands within two hours and millions now.
We have no reports of successful hacks at this stage, but that just goes to show how important it was that a patch was released at the same time as
disclosure. The cat was clearly out of the bag with some attempts even before that announcement came.
SOARES: I mean, that is staggering. And you're talking about a patch there, Anna. I mean, how easy is it, viewers watching would probably want
to know, how easy is it for companies and providers to try and create this patch, implement a fix here?
STEWART: Well, I think for any business that has an IT department or even just one IT employee, this should be fairly simple, particularly if you
have any kind of website which you're updating regularly. However, if you are a small business, you set up a website years ago, maybe they use
WordPress, maybe they use something else, that will be much more complicated. And many people have websites managed by other providers. And
it's so important that every website owner contacts anyone who manages it to make sure that that patch has been implemented, because until it has,
they are vulnerable.
SOARES: Indeed. Anna, appreciate it. Thank you very much.
And still to come tonight on the show, an update on Pope Leo, what doctors as well as the Vatican, what they're saying about his post-surgery
recovery. That's after this very short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Well, the Vatican reports Pope Leo won't need further treatment for lung cancer. The pontiff surgery last week was called a success, if you
remember. An analysis of test results has been completed. And with promises that he would slow down, as you can see, he was back on the job on
Wednesday at St. Peter's Square, tending to his flock from the Pope Mobile.
Pope Leo left the hospital on October the 17th. The surgeon who operated on the pontiff told Vatican News that he sees no clinical reasons for
cancelling upcoming travels. And if you remember, the Pope is scheduled to visit South America next month.
And speaking of a legend, football superstar Lionel Messi is being honored with one of Spain's most prestigious awards.
[14:55:00]
The Argentine World Cup winner and Inter-Miami captain has been named the recipient of the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports. The honor
recognizes outstanding achievements and contributions to sport. He is the first individual footballer to receive the honor. A ceremony is set for
Friday in Spain. Congratulations to him.
And finally, for you tonight, bad boyfriends, cringeworthy encounters and a diary full of disasters. Could you be the next Bridget Jones? Well, thanks
to a new comedy writing award, you might just get the chance. In her own words, author Helen Fielding is looking for, comic voices of people who
aren't famous, just living their lives, being quietly hilarious.
The prize is aimed at providing more creative opportunities for the North of England, where Fielding grew up. The winner will receive $2,600 and
mentorship for Fielding's literary agents. That is quite something. If you are creative, if you enjoy writing, do it. What a great, great idea from
her.
That does it for us for tonight. Do stay right here, "What We Know" with Max Foster, as always, is up next. Helen Fielding
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
