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Isa Soares Tonight
Israeli Forces Imposes A Full Siege On The City Of Hebron After 2 Soldiers Were Killed At A Military Checkpoint; At Least Seven People Killed After Gunmen Opened Fire On Christians At A Funeral in Jordan; Estranged Father Of The Duchess Of Sussex Accused Of Possessing Child Sex Abuse Images In Newspaper Reports; Polls: Bolsonaro And Lula Da Silva Tied Ahead Of Sunday Vote; Gunman Fires From Car In Paris Suburbs, Kills At Least One; France Braces For Another Weekend Of Protests; Meghan Markle's Father Accused Of Possessing Child Porn; U.N. Climate Summit To Discuss Impact Of Extreme Weather; Prince William Makes Surprise Talk Show Appearance; Reports: Final Auditions This Weekend For Next James Bond. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired October 23, 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]
MAX FOSTER, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Max Foster in for Isa Soares. Tonight, demolitions and forced
evacuations in the occupied West Bank. Israeli forces imposing a full siege on the city of Hebron after two soldiers were killed at a military
checkpoint.
Then at least, seven people killed after gunmen opened fire at a funeral in Jordan. The nation vowing a harsh response as authorities search for those
responsible. And the estranged father of the Duchess of Sussex accused of possessing child sex abuse images in newspaper reports. Meghan says she's
deeply distressed over the claims.
Now Israeli troops are going house-to-house in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, forcing Palestinian residents out of a neighborhood as the
military imposes a full siege after a deadly attack. Israel says Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a military checkpoint near Hebron,
killing two Israeli soldiers.
The two gunmen were shot dead by troops. The attack comes amid a surge in settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. And just four days
before the Israeli election as well, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he warned several weeks ago that Israel's enemies would attack before the
vote.
He's vowing to destroy the area as troops search for anyone who may be connected to the attack. And already, we're seeing bulldozers demolish
buildings. In one video, an Israeli soldier tells residents, you have five minutes to evacuate.
Mr. Netanyahu is vowing to replicate IDF operations in several West Bank refugee camps, which led to the displacement of tens of thousands of
Palestinians.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER, ISRAEL (through translator): Our first step will be to destroy this place and transform it completely. But we are
going to do something that has not been done until now, implement the successful and aggressive model we used in the refugee camps, which are
essentially terrorist strongholds.
That is exactly what we will do here in a neighborhood in Hebron from which the terrorists came. We will evacuate the residents, go house to house,
remove weapons found there and address and destroy all terrorist infrastructure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Let's bring in CNN, Jerusalem bureau chief Oren Liebermann. Of course, a horrific attack on the soldiers here. But the reprisal appears to
be punishing the entire neighborhood where these attackers came from.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Israel is moving very fast here, and a harsh response here to a shooting attack that killed two
Israeli soldiers early Friday morning. And that seems to be the point here.
Four days before Israel elections, it appears as if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his hardline right-wing government are trying to move fast
and trying to have a harsh, large-scale response. Early Friday morning, two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on an Israeli military checkpoint, killing
two Israeli soldiers and wounding three others.
What's shocking about the attack is how long it lasted. We have seen attacks and incidents in the West Bank that last a very short period of
time, a moment or a couple of minutes. This, according to first responders and the security forces that came to the scene, lasted upwards of 20
minutes, and repeated exchanges of gunfire between the gunmen and Israeli security forces.
The two gunmen were killed by security forces that responded to the scene. That was on Friday morning, and within just a matter of hours here,
Netanyahu, as well as the far-right Finance Minister, vowed a harsh response.
They said they would shut down the city of Hebron. That's a major Palestinian city with Israeli settlements in the heart of it, and that they
would consider doing that for more cities. Initially, Netanyahu had said he would shut down the entire West Bank, but it seems that he backed off that
plan and kept it more localized, but still to a major city.
They then said they would evacuate the neighborhood from which the gunmen came and search it house-by-house, looking for anything that they deem to
be terrorist infrastructure, and then they would carry out demolitions. We are already seeing that take place.
In the past, we've seen Israel respond to an attack by destroying an attacker's home and searching the family's home.
[14:05:00]
This, the scale of the response, the speed and how big it is and how quickly it is, that's what's worth noting here, and it certainly seems
related to the election, that's in just a matter of days here. Netanyahu has for years styled himself as Israel's Mr. Security.
He's refused to take any responsibility for the myriad failures that led up to October 7th, three years ago, and this appears to be him trying to
reinstate himself as Mr. Security by carrying out a harsh, wide scale response to a shooting attack in the West Bank this morning.
FOSTER: And operation after this neighborhood, will there be any sense of how long that will continue?
LIEBERMANN: It's a good question, especially because the Israeli military is moving so quickly here. It was unclear to us when a wider closure could
happen or would happen, it takes time to move forces. So, that was part of the question. It's also unclear if the closure on the city of Hebron will
go up to the elections or through the elections.
Right now, all that Netanyahu is promising is a large-scale operation like what we saw in Palestinian refugee camps in the occupied West Bank over the
course of the past few years. That's where a large number of Israeli military forces went in, displaced thousands or tens of thousands of
Palestinians, destroyed a large number of structures. And that may well be what we see in the city of Hebron in the coming days.
FOSTER: OK, Oren, appreciate the update, thank you so much. "The Washington Post" journalist who was beaten by Israeli settlers last week, has spoken
to CNN about the attack. She says it's becoming increasingly risky for media to cover the West Bank, but it's just a fraction of the risk faced by
Palestinians every day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEIDI LEVINE, WASHINGTON POST JOURNALIST: All the people I've met, all the victims are -- they have no place else to go. There's no way to keep their
families safe. So, it's very personal to me. And it's very personal -- it actually has strengthened my commitment to continue working to try to make
a difference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, we're going to take you to Jordan now where at least the seven people were killed in an unprecedented shooting at a church. Jordan's
Public Security Agency says gunmen opened fire during a funeral service attended by Christians.
You're looking at security camera footage showing gunmen near the church. It happened in Karak Province, south of the capital, Amman. Karak has a
sizable Christian community. Christians make up 2 percent of Jordan's majority Muslim population.
Sectarian violence is rare there. Jordan's King is calling the attack a terrorist act and says those responsible will be dealt with harshly. It's
not clear who the gunmen are or what motive they may have had. A manhunt, though, is underway. Jomana Karadsheh following developments for us. I
mean, this is an unusual type of attack for that region.
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I mean, as you mentioned, Max, authorities there are describing this as an unprecedented
terrorist attack targeting the Christian community in a predominantly Christian town in the south of Jordan, as people had gathered to mourn for
a funeral.
That is when these gunmen, as you saw in that video, that CCTV video capturing the moments these gunmen opened fire on people who had gathered
out in the courtyard. At least, seven people were killed, 27 injured, according to Jordanian authorities.
And you know, Max, we're starting to get more details about this horrific incident that has really not just shocked Christians in Jordan, but an
entire nation right now is in absolute shock, with officials describing this as an attack on the entire Jordanian nation.
I would like to share this really graphic video as well, warning our viewers that it might be disturbing for some. This is the aftermath caught
on a cellphone video, and it shows the immediate aftermath of the shooting where you see the dead and the injured inside that Greek Orthodox Church
lying in pools of blood.
I spoke with a survivor, a woman who was in the church as the attack unfolded, and she described it as a massacre. Max, saying she couldn't even
imagine getting out of there alive. Several eyewitnesses saying that the shooting went on for several minutes with these -- at least, three gunmen
attacking the funeral.
[14:10:00]
And as you mentioned right now, a manhunt is underway, a massive security operation to try and apprehend these gunmen.
FOSTER: Yes, we've got quite clear images of the gunmen as well, haven't we? So, presumably that's going to help the investigation. But any
suggestion about who they represented, what their motive was here?
KARADSHEH: Well, indications are right now, Max, I have to say, officials were saying they don't want to get into details, that this is an ongoing
investigation, but they are very clear in calling this a terrorist attack as we heard from King Abdullah II of Jordan.
He came out in a post on X describing this as a terrorist attack, and saying that, promising the harshest retaliation. He says to strike with an
iron fist. And a couple of hours after that, he himself visited the injured in southern Jordan, dressed in his military fatigues, very clearly, sending
a message there.
And while authorities are not yet, you know, giving much information about these gunmen or their motives, this very much, Max, does bear the hallmarks
of Jihadist attacks that we have seen over the years in countries surrounding Jordan, but not in this country that is known for it is -- for
its safety and security, a stable country in a turbulent region where its Muslim and Christian population have coexisted peacefully for many decades.
And you know, this is the sort of thing that I personally have covered, Max, in places like Iraq over the years, where we have seen groups like al
Qaeda and ISIS after that, targeting the Christian population. And you know, to say that this is a shock is really an understatement here.
You know, so many Jordanians I've spoken to today still struggling to comprehend what has struck this nation.
FOSTER: Absolutely, Jomana, I appreciate it, thank you. To Ukraine and Russia now, U.S. first lady Melania Trump says she helped secure a
localized ceasefire in the Russian occupied city of Oleshky. Now, it is aimed at evacuating elderly residents and is set to begin on Thursday.
It comes as Ukraine says defenses remain hampered by restrictions on Starshield. That's the satellite internet system that has become Ukraine's
lifeline in the battlefield. Ukraine says Russia launched 176 attack drones beginning Thursday night, targeting Ukraine's energy grid and leaving more
than 500,000 people without power.
On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said Elon Musk had fully restored access to Starshield. Mr. Zelenskyy said today that is simply not the case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT, UKRAINE: And the speed limits on Starlink and Starshield are still there, the speed has not been restored. And the
delivery of interceptors to protect us against Russian ballistic missiles is still delayed. And we are waiting for interceptors that were already
agreed on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Later, President Trump said he'll speak to Musk about Starshield and get it taken care of.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Still are receiving a --
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If there is a problem, I'll get it straight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump, when you --
TRUMP: I've heard it was fixed, but if it's not, I'll speak to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: CNN's Kylie Atwood joins me now with the latest because there's so much confusion about this. I mean, from the Ukrainian point of view, there
is a restriction on the service. Musk has previously said he doesn't control the military part of this. And --
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes --
FOSTER: Trump suggesting the government doesn't control it either. And he's going to go to Musk, so, what do we know?
ATWOOD: Yes, I mean, what's noteworthy here is that President Trump is today committing that he's going to get this resolved. But the backdrop
being that yesterday the President said that this was an issue that had been resolved.
And as you played there, President Zelenskyy said, this is still a problem for the Ukrainians. They still don't have complete access to this national
security tool that relies on satellites that are owned by SpaceX. But this is a U.S. military Pentagon -- not a commercial product.
This is a military grade product. And so, sources that we have talked to do say that the onus would be on the U.S. military to actually control, to
turn down the access the Ukrainians have had, which has now lasted for more than a week.
[14:15:00]
We'll have to watch and see where this goes. It is a bit unclear as to whether or not President Trump even knows who was the one who ordered this
de-throttling of the system for the Ukrainians, because he said earlier in the week that he would like to know who did it.
Earlier today, he said that if he did know, he wouldn't be telling people. So, it does appear that the administration is sort of trying to hide the
ball here in terms of how this all played out, the backdrop being that lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans are growing quite frustrated
about this because, of course, the administration is pledging that the Ukrainians are going to get their access back.
First of all, they haven't. Then the administration is not answering exactly how this situation ended up in the first place. Who directed it?
And as you said, Elon Musk did say initially that Starshield is owned and controlled by the U.S. government and any limits on speed or usage are
decided by the U.S. military and ultimately, POTUS.
POTUS being the President. But he didn't count out the possibility of him influencing that decision-making that the administration has made over
Starshield and Ukraine's access. So, there are questions on the Hill over how much influence Elon Musk has had on this system, and the de-throttling
that occurred. And of course, we're all watching to see when the Ukrainians say that full access has been restored.
FOSTER: Yes, they just need it to get back, don't they? Kylie, appreciate it, thank you so much. Moscow's largest airport is recovering from a major
disruption. It had to be evacuated earlier over a drone threat. Restrictions have now been lifted at Sheremetyevo International Airport.
However, the airport is warning passengers to expect delays. Two other airports in the Russian capital remain under restrictions. Moscow's mayor
said three drones heading towards the city were taken down, and that emergency workers are at the crash site.
Still to come tonight on the show, only 11 short days remain until election day, and early voting is in full swing in many states. We'll look at where
things stand in this critical Midterm election.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:00]
FOSTER: Turning now to breaking news, and an unprecedented move by the U.S. Justice Department to potentially intervene in a critical Midterm race that
could decide the balance of power in the Senate. Donald Trump's DOJ is preemptively suing to block certification of Alaska's Senate results if the
Republican candidate doesn't win.
The DOJ says the presence of two Dan Sullivans in the ballot may confuse voters. Just moments ago, the U.S. President said he's the one who ordered
the lawsuit. Critics say it's an escalation of the White House trying to use the power of the federal government to interfere in the Midterms.
Gabe Cohen joins us from Washington. And I guess what makes some people suspicious here is that it seems to be only applied if the Republicans
lose, whereas the premise of it is that either side could move or lose because of this name confusion.
GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Max, that's right. And this is to be clear, one of the most talked about and hotly-contested Senate races
happening across the country with the possibility that the Democrat, Mary Peltola, could flip this seat and beat Dan S. Sullivan, the incumbent
Trump-backed Republican who is running.
So, this lawsuit, what it specifies from the Department of Justice is that it wants to block the state of Alaska from certifying the results of the
Senate race next month if Mary Peltola wins, and if the votes cast for this other Dan Sullivan, Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher, could have
potentially put Dan S. Sullivan over the top if he could have won the race, had every one of those votes being cast for him.
Because what they are saying is that his candidacy, this other Dan Sullivan, is really just intended to create voter confusion. Now, there are
a couple issues at play here. One is the federal government potentially overreaching its authority when it comes to election administration, which
is almost entirely given by the constitution to the states and with some authority given to Congress.
But then beyond that, Max, it's really important to note that this situation in Alaska is one we've been watching play out for months now, and
it's already been litigated by the state. We saw the state of Alaska and its top election officials challenge Dan J. Sullivan's candidacy a little
bit earlier this year, essentially saying that it was not in good faith.
And that as the Trump administration has said, was only designed to create voter confusion. But then in June, it went to the Alaska Supreme Court, and
the court ruled that Dan J. Sullivan could stay on the ballot, that there was no evidence beyond the belief that officials were claiming to have that
his candidacy was not valid.
And so, they essentially ordered him to be able to stay on the ballot until the state. What they could do was differentiate between the two Dan
Sullivans. So, if you actually look at how their names are being presented on the ballot, Dan S. Sullivan, the incumbent, is being listed that way as
an incumbent and as a registered Republican.
Whereas Dan J. Sullivan, and you can see it there on the screen. Dan J. Sullivan is just being presented on the ballot with his full name. But as
you said, this is part of this bigger saga and this bigger storyline playing out over the past 18 months of the Trump administration really
trying to exert more federal control over elections.
And it has raised a lot of concerns from officials and voting rights groups across the country who have said that it's setting the stage for Trump and
his allies to sow doubt in the election results. And this is really the first clear indication of the administration coming in before any of those
results are even tabulated, and saying there could be reason to force the state not to certify the election.
It's not clear if this lawsuit is going to be successful at all. The Alaska Supreme Court, as I said, has already ruled on this. I spoke to a former
Attorney General for the state of Alaska who said he does not see this case holding up, but again, Max, it raises a lot of questions heading into
election day.
And the bigger picture here is that officials across the country are already worried about federal overreach, and they're looking at this
lawsuit saying it is another step toward the administration, saying maybe certain candidates who win their races, maybe we need to question those
results and postpone certification until an investigation can be done.
Because in this case, as part of this lawsuit, they're saying, don't certify until we can investigate whether, you know, if every one of those
votes were cast for the other, for Dan S. Sullivan, could he have won the race? It's not even clear how that investigation would be done, how you
could prove that voters meant to cast a ballot for somebody else. So, we'll see how this plays out, but raising a lot of alarms across the country.
FOSTER: Yes, fascinating, Gabe, thank you so much. Meanwhile, early voting is surging ahead of the U.S. Midterm elections.
[14:25:00]
There are now just 11 days ago, of course, more than 20 million Americans have already cast their ballots, though at this -- and this weekend, early
in-person voting begins or expands in Florida, Michigan, New Jersey and New York.
President Trump stumping for numerous Republican candidates this hour. He is attending a rally in Fort Myers, Florida, in support of Republican
candidate Byron Donalds, who's running for governor against Democrat David Jolly.
This, as early voting data shows, Republicans may have a turnout problem with younger voters. Our Dianne Gallagher is in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Dianne, this turnout really is crucial, isn't it? For the Republicans --
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes --
FOSTER: And they've been pushing hard to get people to show up.
GALLAGHER: They have been. And I'll tell you, we are in North Carolina, which is a pivotal state in this Midterm election because of an open Senate
seat that Democrats believe they have their best shot at flipping. There are also several competitive congressional races here.
This is a pretty even electorate with Republicans and Democrats, unaffiliated voters. So far, more than 1,269,000 ballots have been cast
from the state of North Carolina, both by mail and early in person, which is what you kind of see the people back here doing right now, lining up,
waiting to cast those ballots.
Early in-person voting ends in North Carolina October 31st, but when you look at the data thus far, turnout is already up nearly 37 percent in this
state from the same point in 2022. And we have to be careful about extrapolating too much from this early voting data.
But there is an obvious trend in North Carolina, and that is that Democrats have an enthusiasm advantage. They make up about 42 percent of the ballots
cast so far. That is more than Democrats had cast in the 2024 and 2022 elections by this time.
Republicans, on the other hand here in this state, who again make up the same number around percentage as Democrats do. They've only cast about 23
percent of ballots so far. It lags behind what they did in '22 and '24.
And so, what we are seeing here is a marked sort of slowdown in those Republican votes. Now, I'm talking to GOP sources who say that they feel
like their party members tend to vote on or before election day, and they're trying not to get too worried or read too much into this
information at this point.
But it is something that Democrats say they feel pretty good about regardless, if you want to extrapolate information from this. Saying that
this enthusiasm is what they're hearing from voters on the ground, and they believe that is going to propel them to a -- you know, quote, unquote,
"blue wave", if you will, within the Senate and the House.
Now, again, this is a state that has pretty significant races that could determine the balance of either chamber. And if we continue to see this
pace of turnout for Democrats, we could be looking at a preview of what we could potentially see in other states across the nation.
Again, more than 22.5 million ballots have already been cast across the United States of America so far.
FOSTER: Thank you. Not long now, still to come tonight on the show, an election that's too close to call, how social media is driving the
presidential runoff campaigns in Brazil.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:31:40]
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Voters in Brazil head to the polls on Sunday in a presidential runoff that's a virtual dead heat at the moment.
Right-wing Senator Flavio Bolsonaro led the first round by nearly two percentage points. A victory would likely push Brazil closer to the Trump
administration in the U.S. But polls now show Bolsonaro in a virtual tie with left-wing President Lula da Silva, who is running for his fourth term.
CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is one of the most popular campaign ads in Brazil's presidential election. This one
too. Both are A.I. generated videos that have added to the cacophony of A.I. content in this presidential race. IRL, it has also spilled over
beyond Brazil's borders.
ZOHRAN MAMDANI, MAYOR, NEW YORK CITY: Such a pleasure to meet with President Lula.
JONES (voice-over): Both candidates making campaign stops on American soil. One boasting closeness, their sovereignty.
LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, PRESIDENT, BRAZIL (through translator): Brazilian democracy belongs to Brazilians.
JONES (voice-over): The incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rose from the factory floor to become the defining figure of Brazil's modern left. At 80
years old, he is seeking his fourth term. His opponent is almost half his age. Senator Flavio Bolsonaro is campaigning as the political heir to his
father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, now serving a 27-year sentence for plotting to overturn his 2022 election loss when his supporters rioted in
Brazil's capital, much like Trump supporters on January 6.
This election is also a test of whether Trump style politics can return to power in Latin America's largest democracy.
JONES: The United States are looming so large in these elections with supporters of Flavio Bolsonaro waving American flags in the street. Some
are even asking for a U.S. military intervention. And it was in defense of Jair Bolsonaro that Trump announced those 50 percent tariffs on Brazil. So,
why not endorse Flavio?
JAMES GREEN, PROFESSOR EMERITUS, BRAZILIAN STUDIES, BROWN UNIVERSITY: I think that they understand that this could backfire because when they
announced the original 50 percent tariffs, it gave a huge boo boost to his support. There's a very strong national sentiment in the country that goes
beyond the left, beyond the center. It's across the board. Now, Flavio is using this to say, well, I have good relations with Trump and therefore I
can negotiate the end of these high tariffs.
JONES (voice-over): And it's not just Trump drawing attention from Brazil. Lula's campaign is also taking on Meta, accusing the U.S. tech giant of
tilting its platform toward Bolsonaro, a claim the company denies. The dispute has now reached Brazil's electoral court and the streets.
All of this with the race already extraordinarily close. In 2022, Lula won the first round by just over five percent. The runoff became the closest
presidential election in Brazilian history. This time, Flavio won the first round by less than two percent or just 2.2 million votes, setting up an
even tighter runoff. And while security, cost of living, and corruption are top of mind for voters, attacks have become quite personal.
[14:35:03]
FLAVIO BOLSONARO, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, BRAZIL (text): Lula, with you, crime has exploded in Brazil. In fact, can you explain why 73 percent of
inmates voted for you?
DA SILVA (text): I wish it were 100 percent, including your father. Your father can vote for me.
JONES (voice-over): A Flavio win could pull Brazil politically closer to Washington. But ironically, Trump's tariffs have made it more complicated
than that.
GREEN: Flavio will carry out a very close relationship with the United States, encouraging collaboration and the subservient role that Trump seems
to want to have in all of Latin America. But he has a big problem because exports -- Brazilian exports depend heavily now on China. It will be a
complex foreign policy, but it will basically revolve around Trump.
JONES (voice-over): Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: CNN Brasil International Correspondent Americo Martins joins us. He's been following every in and out here. I mean, where do we stand at
this point a couple of days before the election? Is there any sense which way it's going?
AMERICO MARTINS, CNN BRASIL INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi Max, thanks for having me. It's very ,very tight. The latest poll by Datafolha Institute,
one of the most respected in Brazil shows exactly 50-50. It's heavily divided in the country. But there is a tendency President Lula is growing
according to the poll. He's gain momentum in his campaign exactly because he's using the kind of tools that our correspondent just showed. A lot of
A.I. tools, a lot of engagement on social media. But this is going to be an election of rejection. The candidate that has slightly less rejections is
going to win.
FOSTER: In terms of the process, if it is very tight, what happens in terms of runoffs? How do they decide what happens on Sunday?
MARTINS: On Sunday, we're going to have the elections until 5:00 in Brazilian time. There will be a lot of votes outside Brazil as well. But
the key issue is abstention. In the first round of vote, one in five Brazilians did not show up to vote in a country where the vote is
mandatory. But now both candidates are trying to push some of those guys that did not choose then in the first round to vote now in the second
round. Abstention is going to be a key element of this dispute.
FOSTER: And in terms of Trump's role, we were hearing there in the report how he looms large in this election. How much has that helped Bolsonaro
with younger voters for example?
MARTINS: President Trump tried to sort of interfere a little bit in the elections right at the beginning when he imposed for example tariffs on
political issues against Brazil, the highest tariffs that any country had to deal with, 50 percent. That actually boosted President Lula's popularity
in Brazil because he sort of defended Brazil sovereignty. But now President Trump is silent on that. Flavio Bolsonaro seems to be more connected with
him, says that he's going to align Brazil much more closely with the United States.
In terms of the younger vote, most younger votes seem to be backing Flavio Bolsonaro, but not necessarily because of Trump's support or the
connections with the U.S. It's more of a age related thing. They want to see some changes in Brazil. President Lula is much more supported by the
poorest, by the people in the north of Brazil. There's a north-south division as well and by elderly voters older voters than Flavio Bolsonaro.
But it's a -- it's a very strong division throughout the country.
FOSTER: It's going to be fascinating to see back with you on Sunday. Americo Martins, I appreciate it.
Now, what happened today was a racist terrorist attack. That is how the French president, Emmanuel Macron, described a terrifying scene in several
Paris suburbs. That's when a man driving a car began shooting people along the road. At least one person is dead, four others wounded in what French -
- in what French authorities say was an attempt to commit a massacre. Macron says the victims were targeted due to their religion and the color
of their skin.
Melissa Bell has more.
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: An anti-terror investigation's been opened here in France after a man went on the rampage
in his car with an automatic weapon in a couple of small commuter town to the southwest of Paris. The man was driving the car himself, we understand,
was using a military-grade weapon or certainly an automatic weapon when he opened fire, targeting several random strangers at several stops that he
made with his car along the way.
One man has died, several other people are wounded, a few of them critically, including one 12-year-old girl who was shot no fewer than eight
times. That anti-terror investigation's now been opened with suspicions that this may have been a racially motivated attack.
We know very little more about the gunman bar that he was a 39-year-old man who is now in police custody.
Melissa Bell, CNN Paris.
[14:40:42]
FOSTER: France also bracing for another weekend of widespread protest. Police and government officials are hoping to prevent the violence we saw
last weekend. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to gather in Paris to demonstrate against the high cost of living and lagging education
resources. Extra soldiers and police have been deployed and curfews are in effect in some areas. All of this seen as a major test of the French
government as it tries to show it can keep the peace.
Now, Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has been accused of possessing a large collection of images showing child sex abuse.
The Duchess released a statement on Friday saying she's deeply disturbed by the accusations. Her brother said he found the images at their father's
home and on his computer in the Philippines. Thomas Markle denies all these allegations and he says he hasn't had access to a computer since 2025.
Anna Stewart joins me from London with more. Obviously we're getting lots of different sources of information on this. It's not entirely clear
exactly what has happened, but it's become a big headline here, hasn't it?
ANNA SEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And the news broke yesterday in the Sun newspaper with Thomas Markle Sr.'s son speaking to the Sun newspaper
and saying that he found -- he says, hundreds, if not thousands of child sex images in his father's home in the Philippines. He says they were in
storage boxes, on hard drives, and on an old phone.
As you say, Thomas Markle Senior has denied the allegations, speaking separately to a different newspaper, the Daily Mail. And he's actually
backed up by his daughter, Samantha Markle, who says, his -- her father couldn't possibly have done these allegations.
Meghan, on the other hand, Max, Duchess of Sussex, has released a very different statement saying she is deeply distressed by the news, although
perhaps not surprised. I mean, Meghan spoke about a letter that was sent to the Met Police back in 2018. This was the year where Harry and Meghan were
married. She says this letter was then shared with her and it made troubling and disturbing allegations against her father and she was given
assurances that these were being investigated.
So, she says this letter was sent in 2018. She doesn't actually say what those allegations were whether they were relating to child sex abuse for
instance. And also actually a met spokesperson has now told CNN that they are working internally to confirm whether a letter was shared with the
Duchess of Sussex.
But listen to this. Meghan also writes that she hopes it can now be understood that despite certain media publications distortion over the
years, that any distance from her father and her choice to not allow him to have contact with her children was for one reason to protect them. So
hoping, I guess, that with this deeply disturbing news about her father that perhaps people will better understand her. Max?
FOSTER: Yes, because this is -- because they were estranged and she was seen -- she was criticized, wasn't she, around the time of the wedding that
she didn't invite her father to the wedding. There's obviously some tension there. Is she implying that, you know, there's something here, some sort of
common link, some somehow grounds this separation that they've had?
STEWART: That is certainly how it feels. It's very carefully worded the statement because it doesn't say whether the letter that she saw had the
same allegations that we're talking about today. This is back in 2018. At that time, yes, as you remember, Thomas Markle Sr. was not invited to the
wedding of Meghan and Harry. That was big news. Thomas Markle Sr. spoke to several media outlets at the time and actually leaked a letter that was
handwritten by Meghan and sent to her father in which she begged him to stop speaking to the press and kept saying things like, "Please stop trying
to exploit my relationship with my husband with Harry."
So, that was the news at the time. Now, perhaps we're looking at it in a different light given today, but we don't really fully understand what the
Duchess of Sussex actually knew back in 2018.
FOSTER: OK. Anna, I appreciate it. Thank you.
Still to come tonight on the show, new analysis reveals just how many people died in Europe's brutal summer heat. So, what steps can leaders take
towards a clean energy transition? I'll speak with the mayor of a forward- thinking European city next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:47:32]
FOSTER: The intense heat wave that gripped Europe this summer led to the death of more than 50,000 people. That is according to a new analysis
making this year's heat, the region's deadliest on record. The stark death toll comes just weeks before world leaders gather in Turkey for the annual
U.N. climate talks or COP31. Europe is the fastest warming continent, but some cities are taking a forward thinking approach like Helsinki in Finland
which is aiming to reduce direct greenhouse gas emissions by 85 percent by 20330 compared to 1990.
I'm joined now by Helsinki Mayor Daniel Sazonov for the second conversation in our series in the leadup to COP21 -- COP31, I'm sorry, to say -- sorry.
Thank you so much for joining us, Mayor. I just want to give you -- really get your reaction to this 50,000 figure -- 50,000 people dying in Europe. I
mean, obviously we reported a lot on the heat wave at the time but when we take stock of the impact this year, it's pretty unprecedented isn't it?
What did you make of that figure?
DANIEL SAZONOV, MAYOR, HELSINKI: Good evening from Helsinki. And yes, it's extremely big number. And I feel that it underlines the importance of
climate action. And that's the reason why also Helsinki has set ambitious climate goals and is really building also climate resilience in our city.
FOSTER: Coal use, you're entirely stripping out from energy production, am I right? This is one of your moves?
SAZONOV: Definitely. and this is our story that we have concrete actions to decrease our carbon gas emissions. Our emissions fell by 29 percent last
year because we phased out of coal, closed our last coal plant, and actually transformed our central heating to distributed electrificized
system. And what's great and we see that it's actually also reducing cost of living when we face out from fossil fuels to more sustainable energy
sources and that's a great thing also for everyday -- for everyday life of Helsinkians.
FOSTER: And I mean, the figures are pretty astounding. So you cut greenhouse gas emissions by 67 percent compared to 1990, but actually you
want to get to 85 percent, don't you, by 2030? So, what's coming next to get that figure even higher?
SAZONOV: There's still things to be done with energy production, with electricity production, with central heating but the most important thing
is traffic. We have to electrificize our car fleet. We are doing a lot of measures to do that. And also establishing especially for city logistics
emission zones that will support transition on that side. And then, actually, we have to go through all also smaller questions in everyday
business of city for example, electrification of bus fleet.
We have set the goal that by we will have 100 percent electric bus fleet in our public transport. And with these kind of measures we are certain that
those goals will be reached.
[14:51:00]
FOSTER: So, in terms of how you've seen temperatures change over the summers, for example, you've obviously seen an increase in warmth as well.
I'm just wondering how other cities can learn from your experience because obviously Paris, London, you know, these very high temperatures that they
experienced over the summer, but you're a much smaller city. So, what is the lesson for the much larger cities?
SAZONOV: I feel that actually those questions are really similar. Of course, there's those ambitious climate goals to really avoid the global
warming part, but then you have to build resilience inside the city, and that's something that should really also make people's everyday life
better. Those things go hand in hand.
For example, greening that we do inside the city's infrastructure and actually also those investments that we do to support for example
sustainable ways of moving from place to place. We just opened our new Kruunuvuorensilta Bridge, 350 million major infrastructure investment
connecting big neighborhood to city center. And that bridge is reserved only for pedestrian, cyclist, and public transport that I feel is a big
signal also to our Helsinkians that that is the way we want us all to move to.
FOSTER: OK. Helsinki Mayor Daniel Sazonov, I appreciate you joining us today ahead of that big conference which we'll be covering in some depth.
We'll be back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:55:18]
FOSTER: Britain's Prince William making a surprise appearance on a British talk show to promote his annual award for climate change innovation, the
Earthshot Prize. William stunned celebrity guests when he joined them on the sofa for an episode of BBC's Graham Norton Show, which is scheduled to
air very soon tonight. The heir to the throne has often appeared in less formal settings in recent years as part of a bid to connect with younger
audiences.
And finally tonight, we have news today about auditions, and that is the Bond auditions. I wasn't asked. Reports out of Hollywood say actors Jack
Lowden and Callum Turner are doing final auditions this weekend to be the next James Bond.
Other actors are reportedly in the mix, though their names haven't been revealed. The auditions will include stunt work as well as reading dialogue
to camera, we're told. This James Bond will be the first actor to take the role since Amazon MGN took the reigns of the iconic spy franchise in 2025.
Thank you for watching tonight. Do stay with CNN. I'll be back after the break with "WHAT WE KNOW."
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