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CNN Headlines: Trump Heads To Iowa Tonight As Midterm Campaign Blitz Intensifies; Vance Weighs In As Ohio Governor Campaign Turns Personal; American Freed From Russia Heads To Specialized Facility In Texas. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired October 22, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:23]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: Closer than expected races has the president on a nonstop campaign blitz. More on his latest stops, the message and the protests.
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AMY ACTON (D), OHIO GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I had hoped he wouldn't sink this low. But of course he did.
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SMITH: That is Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton speaking about the controversial ad from her opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy. And now both the president and vice president had something to say about it.
And an American held in Russia for more than four years has reportedly landed in Texas. We're following the latest developments on his release from Russia.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Brad Smith, this is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Glad that you're with us today.
Let's get this started.
President Donald Trump is taking his midterm campaign blitz to Iowa tonight with Florida, Georgia and Michigan to come in the days ahead.
Last night, he rallied supporters in South Carolina hoping to boost Darline Graham's senate bid.
This is the sister of late Senator Lindsey Graham, and she's in a closer than expected race with Democrat Annie Andrews.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Darline, you're going to win big, Darline. You're going to win big.
Darline, I saw some good numbers for you. And as you'll see, you're going to see some very good numbers for me, too. I get good numbers, I get good polls, but I'm not running. But I am running, right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: The president facing a record low approval rating, also used an anti-transgender slur to attack Graham's opponent and push back on protesters at the rally, who interrupted nearly a dozen times calling them, quote, "serious losers".
Let's take you to Ohio now, and that controversial ad from the Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy is running against Democrat Amy Acton. You may recall his campaign aired an ad with Acton estranged mother, who calls her daughter a liar. The ad is drawing bipartisan criticism but not universal condemnation.
Vice President J.D. Vance, a former Ohio senator, weighed in on Wednesday.
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J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I'll be honest with you whether the ad was appropriate or not is not really my concern. But I have to admit that I'm a little bit disgusted when I see Republicans across the country who are whining more about that advertisement than they are about what the congressional Democrats and other Democrats want to do to the United States of America.
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SMITH: So far, Ohio Republicans have remained quiet on the controversy the ad brings to the forefront the abuse that Amy Acton said she suffered at the hands of her stepfather.
On the campaign trail Wednesday, she addressed the backlash that her opponent is facing.
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ACTON: You know, I'd hoped he wouldn't sink this low, but of course he did. We had known that as I shared before, my mother has not been seen by me since I was 12 years old. I had a childhood of extreme physical abuse and sexual abuse. As a kid, my brother and I, are frequent fliers. And children's services finally removed after a grand jury saw evidence that was so, so, so shocking that we're removed from my mothers custody
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: At that campaign appearance Wednesday, Acton got a show of support. A woman there telling her, quote, "My heart goes out to you" and giving Acton a hug.
President Trump also reacted to the controversy Wednesday before leaving the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: You know, it was about a Republican. I can guarantee you that. Let it go. So that's why you're asking. The fact is, I know nothing about it, but I heard the mother went very rogue on. The daughter doesn't have a lot of respect for the daughter. And I think the mother is a witness to things also.
So who knows? And you have to figure that out. It's a very unusual situation to have a mother hate a daughter that much, but I don't think that has anything to do with Vivek.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Voters in Kansas and Michigan, they got another chance to hear from their candidates for U.S. Senate. In a pair of feisty debates last night, incumbent Republican Roger Marshall and his Democratic challenger, Adam Hamilton, they met in Kansas.
Hamilton tried to claim the middle ground, saying, he's not someone who favors socialism. Marshall continued to align himself with President Trump on issues including taxes and the war with Iran.
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SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R-KS): I want this war to be over as badly as anybody does in America.
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Look, I served my brother, served my dad served. My son is serving. I want this war to be over just as soon as possible. But we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.
ADAM HAMILTON (D), KANSAS SENATE CANDIDDAET: The president said that we had taken out their capabilities last year, and they we're buried underneath rubble. They've had the desire for nuclear capabilities for a very long time. No other Republican president supported this course of action other than President Trump.
And I just want to say I'm not running against president Trump. I'm running against him. And he supported it again and again and again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: The candidates in Michigan also discussed the war with Iran. But the most contentious exchanges focused on Republican Mike Rogers' claims that Democrat Abdul El-Sayed was aligned with Democratic socialists and was bought off by the Muslim Brotherhood.
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ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: If you send this man to the U.S. Senate, do not be surprised when we fight more wars, we accrue more national debt and he does not stand up for you or the price of your gas or the price of your groceries. Why? He's bought off by the same weapons manufacturers. AIPAC, we just heard, is going to put, what, 9 million into this campaign in the next two weeks alone. Well, that's what you get when you have an AIPAC brought and bought politician.
MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: So being bought off by the Muslim Brotherhood, having donors to his campaign from Hamas, that support Hezbollah is not a problem? 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?
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SMITH: All right. We are continuing to track this as the American who was freed from Russia after four years, will go to a specialized facility in Texas. It's meant to help former detainees re-acclimate to life. Stephen Hubbard was freed yesterday, and president Trump posted this photo of Hubbard along with his family.
His attorneys say that he is, in, quote, fragile health, but that he's excited to see his family.
Here is what is believed to be Hubbard's plane landing in Texas last night. He was accused of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine, but his family and the State Department say that was a fabricated charge. Several other Americans still remain imprisoned in Russia.
Officials in Toledo, Ohio, say a tank that leaked a hazardous chemical across the area on Wednesday has cooled down. They say it's almost done venting. That's the process that allows air and vapors to flow out of the container.
The leak, though it forced hundreds of residents to evacuate or shelter in place and sent dozens to the hospital. According to health officials, about 30 people we're treated for symptoms potentially related to the leak, and most we're released, the fire department saying that the chemical may cause a burning sensation in the eyes, nose, mouth and on the skin. You can see how much the smoke impacted drivers who we're on the road.
And here's what it sounded like when emergency officials scrambled to respond.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) that there's a tank, a trailer that's leaking and venting unknown chemical. There is a cloud of the chemical in the air.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Engine three in a row.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No one is near the tanker. You have two people on site, but they are in the corner of the property.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Engine 19 dispatch and all the crews responding.
Engine 19 is approaching this area. This is a large plume of smoke. We can smell some type of chemical and we're nowhere near this plume. We can see it, but we're actually going to move a little farther away and try to get downwind. Upwind. Battalion three what I was going to suggest is that you might want to
activate the hazmat team for this.
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SMITH: The mayor of Toledo says drones that we're monitoring the site showed conditions that we're improving and less gas was being released. Officials initially feared that the leak may cause an explosion. The incident is under investigation. We'll keep you updated there.
We've got lots more to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, including this:
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REP. ILHAN OMAR (D-MN): I think ultimately their goal is to intimidate and scare people from wanting to participate and vote.
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SMITH: Congresswoman Ilhan Omar opening up about why she thinks feds raided her home. More of her first interview since that raid, and what she says agents took from her house, straight ahead.
Plus, we now know when that controversial construction of President Trump's 250-foot arch could start.
And a little later on, good news about Pope Leo's battle with lung cancer.
That's all as CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS continues.
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SMITH: Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar says that federal agents seized more than a dozen items of hers in the search of her Washington, D.C., home last week, including phones, notebooks and her husband's vintage camera. The search was related to an immigration fraud investigation against Omar, who is an outspoken critic of President Trump. Omar believes the raid on her home was meant to intimidate and scare people from voting.
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OMAR: They made this huge promise that there was somehow this massive illegals that were, you know, sort of like undocumented people that we're voting in American elections. And so they, you know, they're going to try to gin up this sort of like frenzy.
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And I think ultimately their goal is to intimidate and scare people from wanting to participate and vote.
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SMITH: Meanwhile, a law enforcement source says that investigators have interviewed Omar's sister. CNN has reached out to lawyers for Omar and attempted to reach her sister for comment.
Construction on the president's controversial 250-foot triumphal arch could begin just days after the midterms. That is what the Trump administration told the judge on Wednesday.
In a court filing, the Justice Department says a federal commission is set to meet November 5th and could approve the plans that same day. Final authorization will come from the Interior Department. The timeline was disclosed in one of the lawsuits trying to stop the project.
Well, questions are mounting over the medical care that Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts received after a blood clot was discovered before he played in London. He was later diagnosed with clots in both lungs. And now the players union wants the case investigated, and the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, says he welcomes that.
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REPORTER: The NFLPA said last night that they called for an investigation into the medical care received by Jalen Hurts. What's your view of an understanding of what happened with Jalen Hurts and the care they received, and what your reaction to the NFLPA calling for an investigation.
ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: Well, we welcome that. That's part of our processes. That's fine. We have chief -- our chief medical officer has been through the protocols that we're followed. So we welcome that. If that's what they do, they have that right. We're welcome.
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SMITH: Hurts is expected to miss the rest of the season. The loss for that team.
Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, New Mexico's attorney general leveling a civil lawsuit at two of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's closest advisers. We'll hear from an Epstein survivor straight ahead.
And another American college rocked by accusations of sexual assault at a fraternity house. New CNN reporting coming up here on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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SMITH: New Mexico's attorney general has filed a civil lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein's longtime attorney, Darren Indyke and accountant, Richard Kahn, two of the convicted sex offender's closest advisors. The state accuses Indyke and Kahn of having, quote, "facilitated and concealed Epstein's crimes" and wants to prevent both men from getting any money from his trust.
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez had this to say about the two.
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RAUL TORREZ (D), NEW MEXICO ATTORNEY GENERAL: People need to understand that they're not just co-executors of the estate, they're beneficiaries of the estate. And when you look at their conduct and what they knew or should have known about Jeffrey Epstein's behavior all over all of those years and the structured payments, the creation of corporate entities, we believe that there's a clear case to be made to a new Mexico jury that they knew about and had an affirmative obligation to prevent and not involve themselves in the facilitation of human trafficking here in our state.
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SMITH: My colleague Jake Tapper discussed New Mexico's civil suit with Epstein survivor and anti-trafficking advocate Liz Stein.
And here's part of their conversation.
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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Anouska De Georgiou was one of two survivors at today's news conference having to do with this new civil lawsuit out of New Mexico. Take a listen to what she had to say to fellow survivors.
ANOUSKA DE GEORGIOU, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: I feel really reassured that survivors' best interests are being prioritized here, and that's not something that I've experienced in the six or so years that I've been involved publicly with this case and surrounding cases. They're taking steps to protect anybody who chooses to come and be involved and, and offer information.
TAPPER: What do you think?
LIZ STEIN, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: Well, I think that what we've seen today is a good start. And as survivors, we appreciate, you know, the action that the New Mexico attorney general has taken today, but it's going to take a lot more than just bringing Indyke and Kahn into New Mexico. It'll be interesting to see how they answer the questions.
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SMITH: Both Kahn and Indyke have denied knowing about or participating in Epstein's sex trafficking operation. New Mexico authorities are also investigating allegations of criminal activity at Epstein's former ranch in the state.
Well, Meta was ordered to pay $25 billion after it was found to have misled Facebook users about its privacy practices. A judge in New Mexico announced the penalty, saying the deception was central to its business model. The state had sued the company after it was revealed that political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica obtained private information on up to 87 million Facebook users back in 2018. Meta says it plans to appeal, accusing New Mexico's attorney general of conflating privacy and speech issues.
Well, President Trump is once again denying that he had any role in the decision to restrict Ukraine's access to Elon Musk's Starlink satellite network. The president's denial came amid finger pointing between Musk and the U.S. over who ordered the disruption. Ukraine has said the disruption has hurt its ability to defend against Russian attacks.
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But President Trump says he wasn't involved.
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REPORTER: Starlink slow down in Ukraine, is that something Elon Musk personally ordered for Starlink and Starshield for its slow --
TRUMP: I wasn't involved. I wasn't involved.
REPORER: Did Elon Musk -- did Elon Musk order it?
TRUMP: I don't know who did it, but I was not involved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Despite the denial, the Trump administration has yet to offer a clear sequence of events for how the disruption happened.
Well, we do have an encouraging update for you on Pope Leo's health. The Vatican says that he will not need any more treatments for lung cancer after his successful surgery last week. Doctors say that the cancer was localized and the all clear arrives ahead of the pontiff's planned trip to South America next month.
All right. Smooth travels there. Straight ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, there's this.
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ACTON: I'm not stunned in the era we live in.
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SMITH: Ohio Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton talks to CNN about Vivek Ramaswamy's controversial campaign ad featuring her estranged mother, how she says voters are reacting, straight ahead.
And a little later, the moment a TV reporter rushes to rescue a man trapped on top of a sinking car as raging floodwaters surrounded him. More of this jaw-dropping video when CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS returns.
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