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Suspicious Letters Sent to Election Offices; Saudi Aramco Headquarters Hit; Trump Cancels Live Execution. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired October 15, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:01]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news: President Trump announces, the livestream of the execution of the Fort Hood shooter will not happen.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Plus, a new CNN analysis: hundreds of reports in recent years of injuries and dangerous malfunctions on aging thrill rides for one of the nation's top amusement park operators.

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.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: And we begin this hour with the breaking news. President Trump has now canceled, yes, canceled, the proposed livestream execution of the Fort Hood shooter.

BROWN: The administration faced widespread bipartisan criticism over its plan to allow the public to witness the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan. In 2009, he fatally shot 13 unarmed U.S. soldiers at the military base in Texas and injured 32 others.

CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House.

What are you learning, Alayna?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, this is something I was told that initially, when the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, had confirmed publicly that this was the plan for them to move forward with the scheduled execution of Nidal Hasan by firing squad and then to livestream it, it was something that actually caught not only a lot of White House officials and others in the Pentagon as well off guard, but the president himself.

And I was told behind the scenes in recent days he had been debating the idea of wanting to call this off. One of the things I was told is that the president actually didn't even realize that Hasan, of course, the mass shooter who killed 13 people in 2009 at Fort Hood, been paralyzed during that attack when he was shot in the back.

This idea that perhaps the imagery, was what I was told, the president thought the imagery of that would not be something that people would want to watch. But then also, he had listened to arguments, I'm told, Wolf and Pam, from many people, many of his advisers, as well as many Republicans, who had initially really criticized this idea of livestreaming it.

They had told the president that, look, this is not something that is done in the United States, public executions, and they also argued to him that perhaps this is something that could serve as propaganda for terrorists abroad.

Now, I do want to read for you some of what the president said in this. He had pointed out, of course, that Nidal Hasan had committed horrible crimes and that he believes that he was a vicious killer and an evil man.

But then he went on to say that he believed that there are many very good and well-meaning people who would rather not watch him die through streaming or through any other visual device. He went on to say that Hasan will die by firing squad,move ahead with the schedule execution that is currently planned for December.

But, again, this is something that immediately a lot of people had told the president was likely not a good idea. He had debated it behind the scenes. I should note he has also commented in the past, and he did comment, Wolf and Pamela, in this announcement today in this TRUTH Social post that there are some, and some of them being the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, who had made the argument that by livestreaming his execution it could serve as a deterrent to others.

But, in the end, of course, the other arguments won out, the president making it official today that they will not be livestreaming this execution in December.

BROWN: All right, Alayna Treene, thank you so much live for us from the White House with that breaking news -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And we're joined now by our political panel, CNN senior political commentator and former Trump campaign adviser David Urban and former communications director for Vice President Kamala Harris Ashley Etienne.

And let me begin by getting a reaction from both of you to this news that President Trump has now called off plans to livestream the firing squad execution of the Fort Hood shooter, Nidal Hasan.

David, your reaction, first to you.

DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, Wolf, listen, I think it's the right decision. I think it was a really bad idea to begin with, and so I applaud the president's decision here, and I'm glad to see that common sense prevailed.

By televising this execution, it just -- it's something that's beneath America, and I'm glad we chose not to do it.

BROWN: Ashley, your reaction.

ASHLEY ETIENNE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: No, I would agree with David. I mean, it was a disgusting idea. I can't even believe it's been circulated and talked about to this degree and that it was considered by not just the secretary of war, but also by the White House.

I mean, it sort of is a deplorable action. And, to David's point, it's definitely beneath the -- beneath the country and the stature of the White House to do such a thing.

(CROSSTALK)

URBAN: Look at that. Look at that, violent agree -- look at that, Wolf, agreement between the both of us to start off. Pretty good morning.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Bipartisan agreement.

(CROSSTALK)

ETIENNE: That's an easy one. That's an easy one to agree, right.

BLITZER: Let me get your thoughts, David.

A new FOX News poll finds 36 percent of voters approve of the job President Trump is doing as president, with 64 percent disapproving. FOX News noted that the decline was notable especially among people under the age, low-income, white voters, and those without a college degree. So what does that tell you?

[11:05:16]

URBAN: Yes, that's -- those aren't good numbers, Wolf. You don't have to -- listen, I don't have to be Harry Enten to interpret those numbers. We -- every politician would like to see those flipped, right? You would like to see the 64 number on top.

And particularly troubling is, the president was really masterful in being able to put together a coalition of folks, black, brown people, working-class, white, just an incredible coalition that seems to be splintering. And I think that coalition is splintering for one reason, and one reason only.

It's the economy. It's that -- the proverbial $20 bill in your pocket I always talk about. You know, people are having a tough time making ends meet, and those are the people I think that are dissatisfied, and they're reflecting that in this poll.

BROWN: All right, so, Ashley, let's talk a little bit more about James Talarico. We had the town hall last night. We have learned that he has -- his campaign at least is saying that it has raised a record- breaking $64 million this summer.

Texas, as you know, is an expensive state to run in, and Republicans, they do have a cash advantage. So what do you make of this and what difference do you think it will make for Talarico? ETIENNE: I mean, what it clearly says to me is that Talarico has the

-- to quote former President Bush, he's got the big mo behind him. He's got momentum behind him. He's raising more money, which suggests that people have faith and confidence that he can pull this thing out.

And that bears out in the numbers. I mean, he's polling ahead of Ken Paxton. He's consistently been polling ahead of Ken Paxton. With black voters, who I think are going to make the difference in this particular election, he's up upwards of 91 percent approval with black voters.

So he's in a strong position. The other thing that I noticed last night with the town hall meeting that stood out is the fact that Ken Paxton is running scared. This is a guy who was indicted and impeached for bribery charges, for abuse of taxpayer money, and he doesn't want to be confronted by Texas voters on his record.

He's dodged a couple of -- I would say several asks from James Talarico to debate him. He doesn't want to be held accountable. And we have also seen that with our governor. Gina Hinojosa, who's running for governor right now, is outside the governor's mansion as we speak asking him to debate.

The Texas voters deserve to hear from these two guys about what their plan is and what their vision is for the state and for the nation. The reality is, they cannot answer for not just their record, but they can't answer for this economy and can't answer for how they have been trashing the state of Texas, my home state of Texas.

BLITZER: David, in the CNN town hall last night, as you noticed, I'm sure, Talarico seemed to side or at least compromise with some conservative issues like abortion, gender-affirming care, and ICE. Let me play one moment for you and our viewers. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STATE REP. JAMES TALARICO (D-TX), SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: We're both Christians, and the Bible is silent on the issue of abortion. It means you and I both have to look at different Scriptures to try to come to a conclusion.

But what I think we can do is actually come together on reducing the number of unplanned pregnancies and the number of abortions, because, if we treat this issue as a public health problem and not a culture war problem, then we can actually make progress together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And she later said she didn't agree with Talarico, but walked away, in her word, impressed.

Is this a problem for Republicans in Texas?

URBAN: Look, Republicans are pushing a big rock up a hill in Texas. But last night was the tale of two Talaricos, right? You had the previous Talarico, who said on the Joe Rogan podcast that

the Torah specifically mentioned how to -- gave some almost instructions how to perform abortions. He said that he supported oil and gas workers when he led the charge in the Texas legislature to do away with oil and gas, 650,000 jobs in Texas.

He was on one side and then on the other side. He tried to have every way but Sunday yesterday. And it's unfortunate, as Adrienne points out, that his opponent wasn't there to push back on these things and call him out, because that's what happens in a debate. Your opponent gets to say, hey, that's not what you really stand for.

So James Talarico is smart in that he's running to the middle. That's where people -- that's where people want to vote for people right down the middle. They don't want extremists. He distanced himself from his previous comments on God being nonbinary and six genders and...

BROWN: Well, we lost David.

But, Ashley, good thing we still have you, I think.

[11:10:01]

ETIENNE: Yes, we lost him right on time.

BROWN: Yes, I....

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: Right on time.

BLITZER: Near the end of his thought.

BROWN: Yes, he was at the end of his thought.

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: And we just want to note also, CNN did invite...

URBAN: I'm back.

BROWN: Oh, there you are.

But let me just, like, follow up with you with what you said about Ken Paxton not being there. CNN did invite Ken Paxton. At last check, he...

URBAN: Yes, no, 100 percent.

BROWN: So, like, you think he needs to be out there debating Talarico, like being more...

URBAN: Listen, I agree with Adrienne. I agree with Adrienne again.

Look, I hate to do this, keep agreeing with her, but I agree with her in that... ETIENNE: It's fine.

URBAN: ... the voters of Texas -- the voters of Texas deserve to hear from all the candidates. And, listen, last night, it would have been in his best interest to be there to push back on the different version of Jim Talarico that shows up.

So, unless the candidates get to go toe to toe, voters don't get to see that. And I'm not I'm not here to defend Mr. Paxton. He needs to be out there defending himself. He needs to be saying these things, not David Urban.

BLITZER: All right, David Urban, thank you very much, and, Ashley, not Adrienne, Ashley Etienne.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: David had a late night last night. He had a late night.

BLITZER: Thank you very, very much.

Important to get your name right.

URBAN: I'm sorry. I was on -- I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

ETIENNE: Thank you.

URBAN: I'm sorry, Ashley. I apologize.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Good apology.

BROWN: All right, thanks.

BLITZER: Still ahead: new attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis on a key American ally in the Gulf.

BROWN: And just weeks before the midterms, election offices in several states report receiving suspicious letters with white powder inside.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:16:09]

BROWN: Happening now: Officials in Saudi Arabia say Yemen's Houthis attacked the headquarters of state oil giant Aramco. They say a fire resulted from that strike, but officials say no one was injured, fortunately. It was not immediately clear whether the building was directly hit or if it was damaged by falling debris from intercepted missiles.

This marks the latest escalation between the two sides following a week of deadly Houthi missile and drone attacks that shut Riyadh's main international airport down.

Let's go live now to CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson.

Nic, what more can you tell us about this latest attack?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, the very latest attack really seems to have been an effort by the Houthis to double down on their threats.

They said in the one afternoon that they would attack the international airport. Well, drones were intercepted north of there. Ballistic missiles also came in later in the day, intercepted as well. That was in the capital, Riyadh. They said that they would target an Aramco facility in the capital, Riyadh. Those seem to have been intercepted as well.

But it was in the east of the country where Aramco has a large sprawling headquarters. It's like a mini-town. I have been in there. It's absolutely vast. And that's where the Houthis also said that they would target. And then later, in the day, missiles intercepted over there, the Saudi government saying debris fell on an administrative building.

But images seem to indicate a lot of fire. The latest thing that we're hearing from the region is that the Houthis have targeted the seat of the internationally recognized Yemeni government in Aden, which is a sort of alternate capital, because the Houthis have control of the main capital in Yemen.

They have targeted there the -- what's known as the presidential palace, which is where the prime minister works out of. And according to the Yemeni government, a couple of security officials were injured there.

The bigger picture that I'm getting at the moment, talking to diplomats in the -- from the region, is not to expect a sudden rush of Saudi ground forces into Yemen, not to expect their international partners like Turkey or Pakistan to be doing the same thing. Think of the Saudis trying to sort of build a bigger, broader international coalition of support because of these strikes in the capital.

And we have just heard from the military spokesman in the past couple of hours saying 17 people total over the past week or so have been killed in Riyadh International Airport, the King Khalid International Airport there. So this seems to be where the conflict is at.

But all these diplomats I'm talking to are saying that the Houthis are absolutely not working directly for Iran here, but Iran wants them to heat up the temperature because the U.S. midterms are coming. They want to put pressure on the price of gas. They want to put that pressure on President Trump. This is why they say that the Iranians at this time are hitting more shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

So all of this is part of a much broader, bigger picture. But the big takeaway that I have got from the sources I'm talking to today is, don't expect this to be over by the midterms. Expect it to roll on through a lot more of President Trump's presidency, while the Iranians try to get what they want out of any deal that President Trump might strike with them. He may want it quickly.

The Iranians, from everything I'm hearing, absolutely don't and are willing to play this out over the long term.

BROWN: Nic Robertson, thank you so much -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Everything I'm hearing, this war is going to escalate big time in the coming days and weeks.

So, joining us now here in THE SITUATION ROOM is CNN military analyst retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.

Good morning, Colonel. Thanks very much for joining us.

How should the U.S. react to these escalations between the Saudis and the Houthis and what's going on, these attacks against the Aramco headquarters in Saudi Arabia? That's a big deal.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, it's a really big deal, Wolf. And good morning.

[11:20:03]

There are so many different aspects to this, but the key thing for the U.S., I think, is to make sure that they stabilize the situation, especially when it comes to Saudi Arabia, because, if Saudi Arabia were to collapse, it would be an absolute disaster for the United States and really for the Western world.

So, what they have to do is, as -- while we look at some of the lesser desirable aspects of the Saudi regime, they are a bulwark against the Iranians, and they also are bulwark against Iranian proxies such as the Houthis. So, one of the things that has to happen is, they definitely have to beef up intelligence sharing with the Saudis.

They also have to find a way to get more interceptor missiles to the Saudis, so that they can basically protect all of the areas, and especially something like the Aramco headquarters. As you mentioned, that is a huge deal. It is also of note that the Iranians attacked it using cyber means several years ago with the Shamoon virus.

And so they know that Aramco and similar installations are going to be targets either kinetically or non-kinetically by the Iranians and their proxies. So that's the kind of thing that we have to be prepared for.

BLITZER: Like you, I have been to Saudi Arabia. They have an impressive military, the Saudis, a very capable air force, a lot of offensive military equipment. Can't the Saudis simply go into Yemen and destroy the Houthis?

LEIGHTON: Well, it's one thing to have the equipment. It's another thing to actually have the tactics, techniques, and procedures that are necessary to actually defeat an enemy like the Houthis.

So the Houthis are fighting an unconventional war. They are basically masters of asymmetric warfare, and they're doing it in a way that is rather unique. It's basically tailored to the Yemeni environment, the high mountains, rugged, austere terrain. And they're very good at that.

The Saudis are not willing to commit ground troops at this particular point in time, as Nic was mentioning in his report. They're going to try to do things via airpower. But it's...

BLITZER: But can't they destroy the Houthis simply with airpower, enormous bombing campaigns?

LEIGHTON: It's very unlikely. They can destroy a lot of things. They can destroy some of the main installations that the Houthis are using, but the Houthis will then just basically go underground, literally in this case, because they have a lot of tunnels. They kind of borrowed that idea from the Iranians.

And so it's going to be a much more difficult thing for them to do to dislodge the Houthis via airpower alone. They can use airpower in concert with special operations missions, ground forces, things like that. But if they want to actually go in militarily, that's going to require a lot more than just airpower.

BLITZER: I also want to turn to what's going on in Ukraine, because it seems to be escalating over there big time.

The president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says he will resume strikes on Russian oil refineries following what he calls a -- quote -- "dangerous withdrawal" of U.S. intelligence sharing. What are your top concerns right now with President Zelenskyy's plan to resume targeting Russian oil facilities?

LEIGHTON: Well, one of the things that is really important is precise intelligence in cases like this. So, if the Ukrainians don't have as much precise intelligence as they have had up until this point, it's going to create a real potential targeting problem for them, and there's a risk that they will hit civilian targets on the Russian side.

So that's one concern that I would have. The other thing, of course, is that the Ukrainians are running out of munitions. And that is something that we have to be very careful of because the Ukrainians are actually defending the rest of Europe from a Russian onslaught.

And the unfortunate thing with this dispute between President Trump and President Zelenskyy is that this dispute is not really helping matters. It is not creating the kind of front that really needs to be created against Russia. Russia has not really changed its desires from the old Cold War days, when they really tried to occupy a large portion of Europe, especially in the immediate post-World War II era.

And now they're really exercising some of the capabilities that they have used, both conventional and unconventional, to do that. And the Ukrainians are the ones that are basically standing in the way of that.

BLITZER: Colonel Cedric Leighton, thanks so much for joining us.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Wolf.

BLITZER: Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, up next here in THE SITUATION ROOM: The FBI and postal inspector is now looking into reports of suspicious letters at election offices in several states.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:28:55]

BROWN: Well, new this morning, wholesale inflation jumped last month by the most in four years. That is a measure of how much businesses pay for goods at wholesale prices.

According to the Producer Price Index, prices rose 1.3 percent in September, and those prices are up 6.3 percent over last year. Both were much higher than what economists were expecting. And it is the fastest monthly increase since March 2022. Energy prices led the surge in prices.

BLITZER: That's disturbing.

Also new this morning, a scare at election offices in several states with the midterm elections only 19 days away. The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are working to try to identify who's responsible after multiple offices said they received suspicious letters in the mail this week containing a powdery white substance. There are no reports of anyone harmed, at least not yet.

CNN cybersecurity reporter Sean Lyngaas is here with us in THE SITUATION ROOM.

What do we know, Sean, about these letters, at least so far? And do investigators have any leads on who's sending them?

SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: So, to your second question, I don't believe investigators have disclosed any leads. I'm sure they're looking. This is a very familiar tactic, unfortunately, that we see around election season, where mass mailings go out containing a powdery substance.