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Hurricane Isaias Strengthens to Major Category 3 Storm; Personal Insults Fly in Three Heated Senate Debates; Police and Protesters Scuffle After ICE Shooting in New York City. Aired 10- 10:30a ET

Aired October 09, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, Cat 3 taking aim at the Gulf. Hurricane Isaias barreling toward the southeast. Officials are warning of life-threatening storm surge, even possible tornadoes.

Plus, outrage after an ICE shooting in New York City. Federal immigration agents shoot and injure a man from the Dominican Republic with a five-year-old child in the backseat, prompting anger from the mayor and sparking protests.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: And debate face-offs. Candidates in three critical Senate races make their pitches to voters with the midterms now only 25 days away. We're going to bring you the key takeaways. That's coming up.

And livestreaming an execution, the Pentagon now says the American public will be able to watch the firing squad execution of the Fort Hood mass shooter, causing bipartisan outlash.

And a homecoming more than 300 days in the making. We're going to bring you much more from my reporting -- from Pamela's reporting, I should say, aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, as service members reunite with their loved ones.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in The Situation Room.

And we begin with the breaking news, a major upgrade for the record- breaking and rapidly intensifying hurricane that is barreling toward the Gulf Coast right now. Hurricane Isaias is now a major Category 3 storm, packing winds up to 125 miles an hour. Forecasters are warning of potentially life-threatening conditions, up to 15 inches of rain, destructive storm surge, up to nine feet in some areas, widespread blackouts, and even tornadoes. It's expected to make landfall only hours from now.

BROWN: And states of emergency are in effect right now in parts of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. On the ground, grocery shelves are cleared out and gas stations are jam-packed as millions of residents race against the clock to prepare. Evacuations are underway in many coastal cities. If you're in the direct path, officials have a simple warning, leave now. Although that window to evacuate safely is slamming shut.

BLITZER: We're joined now by CNN meteorologist, Allison Chinchar, over at the CNN weather center. Allison, this storm is getting stronger and stronger.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and it may continue to strengthen over the next few hours. We don't necessarily know that this is the peak of the storm. Here, you can see a lot of those outer bands really starting to fill in with lightning, lots of reds and oranges indicating incredibly heavy rain. But it's not Florida that's the only target, you also have several of these showers creeping into Alabama and into Georgia right now, and that's going to continue as we go through the rest of the day today, and the storm continues to make its northward track.

You're starting to see some of the heavier bands begin to spread into Panama City. We even have some stronger thunderstorms across areas of Jacksonville right now, and that is well away from where the center of the storm is.

Now, when we talk about the winds, not too bad at the moment. Most of these are gusting up to about 20 to 30 miles per hour, but those are also going to start to increase here, 40, 50, even 60 miles per hour in the coming hours.

Here's a look at the forecast. It is expected to remain a category three storm as it continues to slide off to the north. But I want to emphasize, there's not really much other than the sheer in this area that's limiting this storm. So it's not out of the question that this could get another ten miles per hour stronger.

If it does, it would become a Category 4. For now, however, the forecast calls for it to remain a category three, and then weaken slightly just before landfall later on this evening as it continues to make its way off to the north.

Now, here's a look at the storm surge. Because the storm has strengthened, because it has increased its wind speed, you're also seeing an increase in the storm surge.

Six to nine feet for the area you see here in orange, and about four to six feet on the surrounding areas in the yellow color.

BLITZER: Allison Chinchar, thank you very much. The CNN weather app, by the way, gets all you, all the data you need before the storm and during the storm, for that matter. Get precise insights and expert coverage when you download the app on iOS today. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Happening now, the final push is on with less than a month until Election Day.

[10:05:02]

Candidates are making their final pitch to voters.

Last night, candidates in three critical Senate contests appeared on stages in their respective states for a trio of heated debates. In Michigan, Republican Mike Rogers went after Democrat Abdul El-Sayed questioning his credentials, while El-Sayed pointed to Rogers' ties to President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: You're going to find out that this guy is not what he says he is. He is actually selling the best con I think I've ever seen.

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: It's about whether or not you trust your next U.S. senator to stand up to Trump and Trumpism. But when you're running because Donald Trump called you and asked you to run, you can tell he's not going to stand up to anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And in Georgia, Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff challenged Republican Congressman Mike Collins' record and ties to a white nationalist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): Imagine running for the U.S. Senate while neo-Nazi propaganda is disseminated to an audience of millions from your home. That's Mike Collins.

MIKE COLLINS (R), GEORGIA SENATE CANDIDATE: I've condemned racism, anti-Semitism, hate. I don't care where the source is, and I tell him that, too. It's wrong. We have no place in this world for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And joining us now is CNN Political Commentator and former White House Strategic Communications Director Alyssa Farah Griffin, as well as CNN Senior Political Commentator and foreign Trump -- former Trump Campaign Adviser David Urban.

So, Alyssa, let's start with you. What stood out to you from what we saw last night?

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Listen, there were some fiery moments. First off, kudos to the candidates that showed up to debate. There's a number of these competitive races where no debates are scheduled, and I think that's a shame for voters ahead of the midterms.

But Jon Ossoff obviously showed up ready to play in Georgia, and I think a lot of Republicans you know, Mike Collins wasn't necessarily their first choice to be the Republican nominee down there, and I think some of those weaknesses showed.

But then you look to Michigan. This is a razor's edge very, very tight race, and I think Mike Rogers really communicated his message as well as he could. He created a little bit of necessary distance from the administration when it came to the war in Iran. And listen, I could see these going just either direction.

And, finally, I should say Susan Collins is somebody who is an incredible political heavyweight. She has come back from, you know, bigger deficits than she has right now, and I think she really showed up ready to communicate her message and show her independence in Maine.

BROWN: David, as President Trump tells voters to pretend he's at the top of the ballot this November, a new research poll finds President Trump's approval rating at 30 percent. That is a second term low in Pew's polling. Should more Republicans start to distance themselves from the president in these final days of the campaign cycle?

DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, Pam it's tough because if you, as you heard in -- or if you watch any of these debates or parts of these debates, every Democratic person who's running in these races, every candidate, says Donald Trump's name before they say the candidate's name, right? So, there is no way to distance yourself from Donald Trump if you have an R after your name. So, you know, Jon Ossoff you know, with Mike Collins, he's saying, you know, Donald Trump, you know, you saw El-Sayed said, Donald Trump called you, Mike Rogers.

So, Donald Trump is on the ballot here whether candidates like it or not. Listen, I think the president's still wildly successful -- excuse me, wildly popular amongst even the MAGA base. He's still in the 80s. Listen, he's not in the 90s, but he's still popular in the 80s, and that's important if you're turning out the vote.

I think Alyssa was right. During the debates last, that, that were just most recently held last night in the past few nights, Republicans have done pretty well. Mike Collins is a good man, but obviously Jon Ossoff is a little more polished, a little slicker. I think Mike Rogers landed some pretty substantive shots with El-Sayed saying, you know, if you're a candidate for the United States Senate and you cannot, you know, denounce Iran as an enemy of the United States, it's pretty bad, you know? And then, you know, hurt people, hurt people comment.

I mean, I think El-Sayed I think it's not as going to be as close as people think in Michigan. I think the same holds true in Maine. I think some of these races you'll see some of these Republicans start to pull away a little bit. Some of them are going to be jump balls until the end, and, you know, Pam, you, myself, Alyssa, and others will be up all night Tuesday into Wednesday trying to figure out who won.

But the debates last night painted them some distinct differences between Democrats and Republicans. And I think as Alyssa pointed out, it's important for voters to hear those differences.

BROWN: What do you think about the Michigan race, Alyssa, and how that debate went? Tell us a little bit more about that.

GRIFFIN: Yes. I think, listen, Mike Rogers is very experienced. You know, he served in the House for a number of terms. [10:10:01]

And he's somebody who, I think, when it came to answers on foreign policy, was very prepared, and I think, to David's point, made that juxtaposition with El Sayed. He's trying -- what he's trying to do is say El-Sayed is outside of the mainstream of Michigan. That's really, I think, the message that he wants to land. And I could see that working, frankly.

The biggest knock and I think challenge he's going to face is questions around the tariffs. This is obviously the automotive industry is huge in Michigan, impacts a lot of workers. Steel tariffs and different things have had a very negative effect in that area, in that part of the country, and I think he had answers on it.

He's been very good about distancing himself from Trump policies without making it a, you know, direct criticism of the president, because that also doesn't help him at this point. To David's point, you know, you have an R next to your name, you own Trump.

I think it very much could go either direction, but I think that Mike Rogers performed extremely well and landed some very good blows last night.

URBAN: Yes, and just, Pam, real quickly there just to add --

BROWN: Go ahead. Yes.

URBAN: I was just going to say real quickly to add onto Michigan, I don't think, you know, El-Sayed did anything to inure himself to African American voters or Jewish voters where he is bleeding support. I mean, he's got former President Obama trying to come in to try to shore up his support amongst African Americans. He's doing terribly. He's doing terribly amongst the Jewish vote in Michigan. I just don't -- I don't see at the end of the day.

I know what the pollsters say. Pollsters are like weathermen, they're right about half the time, and in this one I think they're way off.

BROWN: I mean, we don't really know, right? You were right, the polls have been off.

URBAN: No, we --

BROWN: But it does seem to be a very close race.

URBAN: Listen, our own Harry Enten put out some statistics about the last several races in Michigan, Ohio and Iowa, and how Republicans have outkicked their coverage six to nine points in the past three to four election cycles. So, if that holds true, these races are way off. So, I'm just citing our own Harry Enten.

BROWN: Well, we'll see. Okay, our own Harry Enten.

All right, thank you both. I appreciate it. Alyssa Farah Griffin, David Urban, have a great weekend. Thank you. URBAN: Thanks for having us.

BLITZER: And still ahead Mullen slams Mamdani. The Homeland Security secretary is attacking the New York City mayor, who said he, quote, wants ICE out of our city, end quote. All of this after ICE agents shoot and injure a man with a five-year-old child in the backseat.

BROWN: And next, we are live in Pensacola as the first signs of Hurricane Isaias are being felt as the storm barrels toward the Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm.

You're in the Situation Room, and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:00]

BROWN: We are continuing to follow our breaking news at this hour. The major Category 3 Hurricane Isaias is just hours away from making landfall on the Gulf Coast. Officials are warning of life-threatening storm surge, up to 15 inches of rain, widespread blackouts, and even some tornadoes.

Right now, a state of emergency is in effect for parts of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, as time is running out for residents to prepare.

We are joined now by CNN's Rafael Romo in Pensacola, Florida. Rafael, tell us more about the conditions there.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Pamela, good morning. You were saying a moment ago that it's going to be hours before Hurricane Isaias makes landfall, but I've been surprised by how early we started feeling the impacts of the storm here in Pensacola.

It was before sunrise, sunrise when we started feeling significant winds and rain on and off, and now you can really feel it, Pamela. Not only that, a big danger out of the storm is the surge, and just a couple of hours ago, the water wasn't even getting to the rocks, and as you can see, they're being covered by the water now.

And one other thing, and we heard from Governor Ron DeSantis earlier, is that he's urging people to be very careful, yes, because we will have torrential rains, which is already happening, and he said, yes, you have to be careful about the very strong winds, but the surge the governor said. He emphasized that people should be mindful of the surge because if what's expected actually happens, we're talking about nine feet of surge that may impact businesses like those behind me.

And so the governor says, think about all of those things when you make your preparations and protect yourself from the hurricane. Let's take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): The surge is really what puts a lot of people's lives in jeopardy if they haven't heeded evacuation orders and does the most significant damage from these storms. And so that is a possibility everywhere from Pensacola all the way into the Big Bend section of North Florida, you could see storm surge. So, please take caution of that. And we always say, you know, you hide from the wind but you run from the water. When the water's rising and things are happening, it's a very, very difficult conundrum, and you do not want to be caught in that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Run from the water, the governor said.

To put it all in context, Pamela, this part of the country gets about 4.7 inches of rain through the entire month of October.

[10:20:00]

That amount of rain is expected to fall in just a matter of hours today.

Now back to you.

BROWN: All right, Rafael Romo bringing us the latest there. Thank you so much. Wolf?

BROWN: All right, Pamela.

Joining us now is the mayor of Fairhope, Alabama, Sherry Sullivan. Mayor Sullivan, thank you so much for for joining us. I know you guys got a lot going on right now.

What's your biggest concern as this hurricane approaches where you are?

MAYOR SHERRY SULLIVAN, FAIRHOPE, ALABAMA: You know, I think the biggest concern for us, obviously, is storm surge. We also had a lot of rain last weekend, so our ground is really saturated. So, the amount of rain that we are expecting to receive, you know, in excess of five inches, that concerns me because of downed trees. We have a lot of mature trees here in Fairhope. And then, of course, that impacts the power.

So -- but the storm surge is going to be something that everybody's going to watch. We have a lot of low-lying areas, a lot of flood-prone areas here in Fairhope especially along our coastline. So, I just want to make sure that people are taking the precautions that they need to.

BLITZER: What's being done in these final hours to secure the town before the worst of the hurricane winds up hitting?

SULLIVAN: You know, I think we have a plan, and we practice that all year long. I'm very thankful that I have a seasoned team here in Fairhope, folks who've been here through many hurricanes, so they know exactly what to do.

But we're really encouraging people to, of course, you know, do everything they need to at home, but to stay off the roads is the biggest thing, to make sure that we can keep our employees safe, keep public safety safe so they're not out ha- to rescue people if there are, you know, floods and again, or fallen trees.

So, just really recommending that people, you know, stay inside and stay off the streets until the storm passes. We are expecting it to be a fast-moving storm. And we're expecting by 7:00 A.M. tomorrow morning, we're out assessing any damage.

BLITZER: Is it too late for people to start evacuating your community?

SULLIVAN: You know, most people are not evacuating. I have found that most people who live here in Fairhope or Baldwin County, they really want to stay if at all possible. They might move to a neighboring community that's more inland specifically along Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. But most people will stay.

So, again, the most important thing is to be prepared at home, have everything you need there but don't get out on the roads if you don't have to.

BLITZER: As you know, FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, says they're already positioning gear and teams to move in. Have you raised your hand for federal assistance already?

SULLIVAN: We have not raised our hand for federal assistance. I think one of the things that I've learned throughout storms is to make sure you can take care of yourself for a little bit. So, that's what we try to do here in Fairhope.

Obviously, we know that FEMA's there and our local EMA, our Baldwin County EMA, and our neighbors. All of our state and federal officials have been great about reaching out. Right now, we've not told FEMA there's anything that we need, but we are always aware that they're there and along with state EMA and Baldwin County EMA.

BLITZER: Mayor Sherry Sullivan, good luck to you. Good luck to all the folks there. It's going to be a rough situation, but we're hoping for the best. Thanks so much for joining us.

SULLIVAN: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.

BLITZER: Pamela?

BROWN: All right. Well, coming up, anger in New York after ICE agents shoot and wound a man with a five-year-old child in the backseat. We're learning more about what led to that shooting, and that's just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:25:00]

BLITZER: Happening now, anger in New York.

This protest erupted in the Bronx after federal immigration agents shot and wounded a 28-year-old man from the Dominican Republic. Video reviewed and verified by CNN appears to show him with a graze wound to the neck sitting up in the street. At least one ICE agent fired into the man's car while a five-year-old child was in the backseat.

Minutes ago, we heard from the Homeland Security secretary who blames the suspect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, DHS SECRETARY: I wasn't aware the child was in the car, I can tell you that. But you know who was? Oscar. Oscar knew he had a child in his car. Oscar chose to accelerate at a high rate of speed and ram two different vehicles as he was -- as it appears to be going towards officers.

And so the public outcry should be also towards this criminal, this thug, this gang banger, this possible murderer. That rage should be with him for endangering the five-year-old.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: CNN's Brynn Gingras is joining us now from the scene of the shooting. Brynn, what else are you learning this morning?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Listen, Wolf, people are still pretty angry how this went down, not necessarily why it went down, but how it went down, which you know, you saw it there, DHS Secretary Mark Wayne Mullen fiercely defending the tactics of the ICE agents, essentially also highlighting the criminal history of the 28-year-old Oscar Belgal, who is now in the custody of ICE. Mullin not saying exactly where they have brought him, just saying that he is out of state at this point.

But certainly those are the questions everybody around here has been asking this morning. Why did it have to go down that way? If he was being surveilled at the time, why did these agents fire into a car not knowing that there was a five-year-old in the back seat?

One of the women that our colleagues talked to here in the shop basically said she heard everything go down, ran outside, and was just trying to shield people from seeing this all happening right in front of their eyes.

Now, like I said, Mullin going after the mayor and other city administrators calling their sanctuary city policies -- calling out their sanctuary city policies.