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CNN Headlines: Midterms Countdown: New CNN Poll Reveals Warning Signs For GOP; Trump's Midterm Blitz Weaves Through Carolinas; Ramaswamy Confirms His Campaign Is Behind Controversial Ohio Ad; Jane Doe Sends Letter To Cornell University Faculty Leaders. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired October 21, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:24]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: New CNN poll out this morning. What they reveal about President Trump's approval rating and the economy as we enter into the final stretch to the midterms.
And --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem. She's lied her entire life. My daughter needs help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Controversial political ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother. Vivek Ramaswamy now confirming his campaign is behind it. How Acton is now responding.
And new developments in the Cornell alleged gang rape case. How does Jane Doe say that she felt let down by the university's president in a letter sent to faculty leaders. We've got that coming your way.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Brad Smith. This is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Glad that you're with us today.
Let's get this started.
With less than two weeks to go until the midterm elections, brand new CNN poll out this morning shows some alarming numbers for President Donald Trump and the GOP.
Let's dive right into that. Democrats have a 10-point edge when it comes to voters own House district, 49 percent to 39 percent. Now, it is a sign of broader voter dissatisfaction. Nearly two years into Republican control of Washington, all three branches.
Meanwhile, President Trump's approval has fallen to a new low. Less than one in three voters approve of his job performance. Now it's down seven points from the 2018 blue wave midterms, 67 percent say that they disapprove.
And when it comes to the economy, its worse for Trump, with 73 percent of voters rejecting his performance and a surprising number of Republican voters are among those who say the president's economic policies are making things worse. About one in three, in fact.
More than three quarters of voters see this election as their chance to change things up in Washington, according to CNN polling. And some people are already casting their ballots, like here in Texas, or they're voting by mail in other places like Oregon.
Meanwhile, President Trump is in the midst of a campaign blitz across key states yesterday and today, headlining rallies in the Carolinas, with upcoming stops in Iowa, Florida, Georgia and Michigan.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm working like a dog. So I've done like about 10 rallies in about eight days, and now I'm scheduled to do -- I think I'm even scheduled to come back here in another week. Come back here for my man.
So we have like 15 days and I'm doing about 18 rallies. That's work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: And this year's midterms are poised to break records for ad spending. More than $11 billion projected by Election Day with billionaire megadonors of both parties fueling the surge.
Michael Bloomberg's team now says he will spend about $80 million to support Democrats through Election Day. And last week, we learned Elon Musk was supporting Republicans to the tune of $276 million, and the super PAC affiliated with Trump has stepped up its digital ad blitz, spending 3 million on Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram, over the last week alone.
The RNC says it has spent more than $50 million to help Republican candidates, with nearly $100 million in cash on hand entering October.
In Ohio politics, the race for governor is now getting very personal. Republican nominee Vivek Ramaswamy confirms that his campaign is behind a controversial new political ad. And the video, it features the estranged mother of his Democratic opponent, telling voters to reject her. Take a look
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not easy for a mother to say this, but Amy has a serious problem. She's lied her entire life. My daughter needs help and she can't help you if she needs help herself. Don't vote for people who lie. Don't let her become your governor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Many have condemned the ad, including the Democratic nominee, Amy Acton, says Ramaswamy's campaign is taking advantage of her birth mother, who is not well. She adds that she hasn't seen her mother since she was 12 years old, when her stepfather was charged with sexually abusing Acton and her mother stayed with him. The stepfather was indicted by a grand jury but fled the state and later died.
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VIVEK RAMASWAMY (R), OHIO GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: We're ready to do this.
[05:05:00]
Excuse me, excuse me. You're going to leave this room if you're --
PROTESTER: Why did you platform Amy Acton's mother, who let her husband rape her? She let her husband rape her as a child.
RAMASWAMY: Sir --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: A protester interrupted Ramaswamy during a campaign event Tuesday. He shouted at him over the ad and the abuse Acton suffered. Ramaswamy dismissed the heckler, but after the event, he defended the ad. His campaign is spending $4 million to run it in the lead up to Election Day.
CNN has reached out to Acton's mother for more information on how the video came together.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is defending the White House, saying President Trump had nothing to do with the slowdown of Starlink internet in the service that affected the Ukrainian military last week. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth appears to be shifting the blame onto the owner of Starlink, Elon Musk.
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REPORTER: You said the U.S. policy on Ukraine hasn't changed. Does that include Starshield coverage? Has that been pulled back?
PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We haven't pulled anything back. There are terms of service that ultimately need to be complied to, and that's where -- that's where Starlink has the option to make those decisions, but nothing's changed from our view. We haven't made any directives or anything like that. And we wish the Ukrainians obviously success.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: In a statement on social media, Elon Musk says that Starshield is owned and controlled by the U.S. government. Starshield is Internet access meant for government and military operations? While Starlink is a consumer level product.
New reporting from "The Wall Street Journal" lays the decision to slow Ukraine's Internet on Musk.
Listen to what reporter Alexander Ward told CNN.
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ALEXANDER WARD, NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER, WALL STREET JOURNAL: There's a bit of a SpaceX led White House said. So what you basically have is once this was revealed by Ukraine, SpaceX calls the White House and goes, hey, guys, we're -- our messaging is a bit off here. There was coordination right between the White House and SpaceX on this. We need to come out and say that. And that was a bit of a revelation for folks at the White House who were surprised by the slowdown of the speeds of Starlink and we're looking for some kind of explanation of what it was. And it sounded like to a bunch of White House officials that Musk did it on his own.
But again, we can't exclude the possibility of a Musk-Trump conversation. And in fact, we do quote a person familiar with the situation saying that Musk and Trump had multiple calls, including before the slowdown order. So -- but we don't have details of that exact conversation. But we do know that Trump and Musk spoke shortly after the issue became revealed publicly, and they discussed the Starlink issue.
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SMITH: Trump's foreign envoy, Steve Witkoff, is in Russia today for a meeting with Vladimir Putin. And it comes just a day after meeting with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy in Norway to attempt to negotiate an end to the war.
New this morning, Pope Leo out in Saint Peter's Square, blessing babies ahead of his first general audience since having cancer surgery. The pontiff says that he will gradually resume his duties and so far, a planned trip in November to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru is still in the works.
All right, right back out there.
Lots more to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Why one of the defendants named in the Cornell University alleged gang rape lawsuit is being dropped from the case.
And a decision is expected today in the case of Nick Reiner. He is accused of killing his parents, Hollywood filmmaker Rob Reiner and wife Michelle. We have the newest details for you straight ahead.
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[05:13:07]
SMITH: One of the men accused in the civil lawsuit tied to an alleged gang rape at Cornell University is being dropped from the litigation. In the lawsuit, the woman known as Jane Doe claimed the defendant was president of the Chi Phi fraternity, where the sexual assault allegedly took place. He was never accused of participating in the assault. The man's lawyer says his client was not president of the fraternity at the time of the alleged attack. The woman, known as Jane Doe, has also sent a message to Cornell's faculty leaders.
CNN's Jason Carroll has a look at the letter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, let me tell you, as you know, the Cornell's faculty senate is considering this vote of no confidence. And so they're listening to people. A lot of people at the university, as you know, who have been very critical of Cornell's president. Well, Jane Doe also critical of Cornell's president in this letter, apparently saying that he said something during a meeting that she really took issue with and she wants the rest of the faculty to consider her words.
Now, in the letter, Jane Doe, that we've looked at the letter, it refers to a second hand account of a meeting that Cornell's president had with the head of her sorority shortly after she made the allegations that she had been raped by Chi Phi members back in 2024, and apparently during this meeting, he may have said something like, why did she take so long to report it?
Now, Jane Doe says in her letter, quote, "I felt unsupported and disbelieved by President Kotlikoff. It diminished my confidence in the administrations ability to approach my experience with the understanding, sensitivity and fairness I had hoped for and expected from -- from what had been my dream school."
Now, Cornell disputes this claim by Doe that he made this type of comment, "Why did you wait so long?"
[05:15:05]
She says that the president's words were not directed at her, according to the spokesperson.
I want you to hear what Cornell's saying here. The second hand account of the question asked by President Kotlikoff in January 2025 meeting in the letter is incorrect, based on a documented firsthand account. The question of why did it take so long for the assault to be reported was directed at bystanders who did not use Cornell's anonymous tip line. It was not questioning Jane Doe's reporting.
Again, Jane Doe wants her letter read to the faculty at large. It was addressed to two members there of the faculty. Again, the faculty could be taking this no confidence vote. It could come by the end of the month
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SMITH: Thank you, Jason.
CNN has reached out to Jane Doe's lawyer for comment.
If anyone you know or you are struggling after a sexual assault, you are not alone. Free, confidential, 24/7 support is available online at RAINN.org. It's rain with two N's. Or you can call 1-800-656-HOPE.
Federal investigators raided several adult daycare centers across New York City yesterday. The raids happened at businesses across Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island in connection with ongoing criminal investigations. New York Governor Kathy Hochul says the massive operations are related to health care fraud in the Medicaid program. Federal authorities are targeting providers they believe are engaged in money laundering, improper billing, and other fraudulent activities. So far, no arrests have been announced.
Well, the NBA is back and a new season is already delivering some big storylines. We begin in New York's Madison Square Garden, where King James and my Philadelphia 76ers came to play. LeBron James opened his record 24th NBA season with 14 points, nine boards, six assists helping the Sixers rally past the defending champion Knicks and Tyrese Maxey led the way with 28 points as Philly got the W, 106-100, spoiling New York's championship ring celebration. Got a lot of season ahead of us.
On to the Motor City, Detroit pulled off a stunner here. They raised a 22-point deficit to beat Boston 121-113. The Pistons took control with a 23-nothing run in the fourth quarter, and that took the shine off of Paul George's impressive Celtics debut with the nine time all star pouring in 38 points. The Celtics host the Knicks on Friday.
And in the nightcap, the Oklahoma City Thunder, they topped the San Antonio Spurs, 116-104. It was a rough opener for Victor Wembanyama. He missed his first 12 shots, then finally broke through with a spinning dunk right at the third quarter buzzer. He finished with 12 points, 13 boards and six blocks.
We got a lot still to come in the NBA this season and a lot still to come here on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Moving forward, Memphis City leaders push on with plans to continue. More data center development despite fierce backlash from residents.
And under investigation, an SUV driven by federal agents strikes and injures a pedestrian. What police are saying about the incident now? We've got that coming your way.
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[05:22:58]
SMITH: President Trump's foreign envoy, Steve Witkoff, is in Russia this morning. He touched down just a short time ago in Saint Petersburg, where he's been meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It's coming a day after Witkoff held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Norway. A U.S. official says the meeting produced meaningful progress and that the two sides are now in strong alignment at the working level on next steps.
The official says the goal now is to build on the progress made with Ukraine and Europe, and discuss the proposals with Russia. Now, Zelenskyy had this to say about a possible path to peace.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We are thankful that intelligence works. Now I'm speaking about early warning. What is very important for our people, for children and adults, civilians, because we can hear when ballistic is coming. So we are thankful to American side.
Now it works. It's great. Then, as I said, we will -- we also discussed with secretary not only intelligence. We discussed Starlinks and Patriot and he will come back. And I think that we will have good result.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Zelenskyy also held a call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and discussed a number of issues, including intelligence sharing, which he says is now working again.
Well, happening today, a Los Angeles judge will decide whether to unseal grand jury transcripts in Nick Reiner's murder case. Prosecutors say that he fatally stabbed his parents, director Rob Reiner and photographer Michelle, in December of last year. The district attorney is not seeking the death penalty. Reiner faces life in prison without parole if convicted.
Memphis leaders have rejected an 18-month pause on new data center development, despite community pushback. The proposed break was meant to give the city time to address concerns over noise, energy use and pollution from gas powered turbines supporting Elon Musk's A.I. operations.
[05:25:01]
The vote on the pause failed in a 6-6 tie on Tuesday.
Tennessee State Representative Justin Pearson blamed corporate influence.
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STATE REP. JUSTIN PEARSON (D), TENNESSEE: The truth of the matter is data centers are harming and hurting people all across this district and this community. But all across the state of Tennessee and the country, and we have a responsibility to protect our communities. But it is apparent that the Chamber of Commerce and Elon Musk has significant sway over some of these city council members. And it's the responsibility of the people in this city to see them for who they are and to vote them out next year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Earlier this month, Memphis Mayor Paul Young ordered a 90-day study to develop recommendations for regulating data centers. CNN has reached out to Musk's SpaceX A.I. for comment.
Straight ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, students in Bend, Oregon, prepare to go back to school after that deadly school shooting that happened just last week. We've got the latest there coming up.
Stay with us.
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