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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson
Israel: Pilot Stabbing Was "Attempted Terrorist Attack"; Xavier Becerra And Steve Hilton Face Off Ahead Of Election; Becerra, Hilton Trade Jabs And Spar Over Policy Differences; Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton Face Off Ahead of Election. Paxton Expected to Attend Trump Event in Texas; Calls for Transparency as Cornell Agrees to Independent Probe. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired October 01, 2026 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[01:00:00]
XAVIER BECERRA, CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE: Office. You have to know how to do the job. And that's why I'm asking California voters to vote for me for governor of State of California.
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you both candidates. Appreciate it. Thank you. Our audience at home, this has been the CNN California governor debate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles, The Story Is with Elex Michaelson.
ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Story Is. I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles. Right now we are following two big stories.
We're following the latest on the fly, Dubai flight to Israel when the co-pilot allegedly stabbed the pilot and apparently tried to crash the plane. The flight made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. Passengers have since returned safely to Israel. We will go live to the region in a moment.
The other big story, you probably just watched it here. The candidates for California governor facing off in a CNN debate just over a month before voters will determine who will lead the nation's most populous state. Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton trading personal jabs a short time ago in a studio that usually houses us on The Story Is. They sparred over policy differences on affordability, artificial intelligence, and immigration.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BECERRA: What I wouldn't do, Steve, is try to convince the people of California that proposing Trump tax policies, promising Trump tax cuts, believing you're going to get better results than Trump has gotten so far to date. That is what isn't it the definition of insanity? You do the same thing over and over again expecting different results.
STEVE HILTON, CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE: Yes.
BECERRA: You're using Trump's --
HILTON: Like voting Democrats.
BECERRA: His promises, you expect different results. You're going to end up with Trump results if you follow Steve Hilton's plans.
HILTON: If you're Xavier Becerra and you're the candidate who is supported by the machine in Sacramento, the unions, big business, all these people that for 16 years have given us the highest cost of living in the country, made it impossible to build anything, given us the highest unemployment rate, the highest poverty rate, then we're not going to get the jobs in this state that we so desperately need. And that's why we've got to try something different this time instead of voting for more of the same and expecting a different result.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Moments after the debate ended, both candidates sat down with me here in our newsroom for their first post-debate interviews. Let's start with Becerra, then Hilton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Mr. Secretary, you just came off the stage. How you feeling? Even took off the tie. Biggest takeaway.
BECERRA: You know, there's a clear difference. I know Steve wanted to peg me to Gavin Newsom, and I think it's pretty clear he's still stuck at the hip to Donald Trump. And I think that's the difference is, there's a guy who's willing to have Trump policies, and there's a guy who's willing to try to move us with policies that I agree with quite a bit of what Gavin has done. Obviously not everything, but I do agree that California has to continue moving forward. But not like Trump.
MICHAELSON: I mean, because his argument is that the state is going in the wrong direction on homelessness, on high-speed rail, on all sorts of different things. What do you say to folks who feel like the state is too expensive and going in the wrong direction?
BECERRA: Well, first it is expensive. But tell me a state that isn't. Every state's expensive. How much are we paying for gasoline in California?
MICHAELSON: More than anywhere else.
BECERRA: More than anywhere else. But again, anywhere in California you go, you're paying about two bucks more than you were before Donald Trump started this war in Iran.
We're paying more for our groceries because of the illegal tariffs that Donald Trump is imposing around the world. We're paying more for our housing because he's made building materials more expensive.
Let's be honest. The cost of living was already big. Donald Trump just made it worse.
Interest rates are up, mortgage rates are up, inflation is up. Donald Trump said he was campaigning in 2024, saying he was in a lower cost. He's done just the opposite.
MICHAELSON: But could two things be true? That the regulations in California make it more expensive and the war with Iran make gas more expensive?
BECERRA: There's no doubt that in California we're going to trim back some of our regulations, cut some of the red tape, because we don't have a choice but to make sure that California families can survive here. But it's not the regulations that brought gasoline to over $6 a gallon. It's not regulations that brought diesel to close to $9 a gallon in California. That was Trump's war in Iran, and we've got to tackle that.
And Steve Hilton is unwilling to say anything.
MICHAELSON: What's the big takeaway from the experience?
[01:05:00]
HILTON: Which is very clear that Xavier Becerra has nothing specific, nothing concrete, nothing positive to say about how he would change anything about what we're experiencing in California. The highest cost of living, the highest poverty, the highest unemployment, the homelessness. On all of these things, it was a very clear message, more of the same.
So if you're happy with the way things are going in California, vote for me. That was his message, and I think it was very clear that there's an opportunity now for this state, as we get closer to the election, to really try something different. And that's what I was able to lay out today, and I was very happy with the debate. I want to see more.
MICHAELSON: Was there anything he said that surprised you?
HILTON: No, I was entirely expecting him to do exactly what he did, which is to blame President Trump for everything. You saw that. I mean, almost every answer was, Trump, Trump, Trump.
MICHAELSON: But there's a reason for that, because the polls show that a lot of folks in this state do not like President Trump, and because he endorsed you. There are plenty of voters that we've talked to who said they won't even listen to you because you're endorsed by President Trump.
MICHAELSON: But I've said many times, but --
MICHAELSON: What's your message to those people?
HILTON: Well, there are millions of moderate Democrats and others who I totally understand. They're not fans of President Trump, to put it mildly. But this is not about what you can have -- what you have to say about national politics. This is about our policies here in California.
And I say to all of those people that you don't have to change your politics. You don't have to change your party. You just have to vote for change in this election.
MICHAELSON: Steve, thank you so much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Joining me now live here on our set is Democrat Katie Porter, former U.S. house member from California, who ran in this race for governor, and Matt Klink, Republican strategist, as well as the owner and president of Klink Campaigns Incorporated.
Welcome back to you both. You know, it's a big night when the two of you are here, so we appreciate you being back. As somebody who has actually run in this race for governor before, who's done multiple debates in this race for governor, your big takeaway from what you just heard.
KATIE PORTER, FORMER CALIFORNIA U.S. HOUSE MEMBER: I don't think the policy conversation has advanced very far in the intervening months. So, I think that's one takeaway.
MICHAELSON: Has it advanced at all? Is there a policy conversation?
PORTER: I think that Becerra's main message is the policy of Donald Trump is a disaster. And I think that is, for me, that is a very strong message. I think it has the virtue of being true, and I think it will ring true to the majority of Californians.
I think where he's on less firm footing and where Hilton's able to give him a little push sometimes is what are you going to do about the stuff that was a struggle in this state long before Trump came along? So, you know, Trump, everything he touches, he does make worse. Gas prices, housing prices, inflation, all of those things. But we had a lot of these problems long before Trump appeared. And I think that's where Becerra is struggling.
But I do think this was, having been in debates with him, I think he was more relaxed tonight, stronger performance tonight than I have seen from him to date. And I think that's good news for him going into the home stretch.
MICHAELSON: Matt?
MATT KLINK, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes, I mean, look, Steve Hilton has a Herculean task. He -- he is. I have never seen anything, any poll that puts him closer than 10. So he needed to hit a home run, and he needed Xavier Becerra literally to walk out and fall over on stage. And Xavier Becerra didn't do that.
Steve Hilton had a -- he had a good night. I mean, he was sharp. He's good on TV. Xavier Becerra, he wins by the mere fact that he shows up and he didn't mess up. PORTER: And I think to give Becerra some credit here for showing up. We've done a number of these conversations talking about candidates who did not show up. Mike Rogers, famously, in Michigan. So, I think kudos to Becerra for showing up.
KLINK: Governor Hobbs -- Governor Hobbs in Arizona.
PORTER: In Arizona.
KLINK: Absolutely.
PORTER: And kudos to him.
KLINK: Yes, I know.
MICHAELSON: (Inaudible) not doing the debate in the Texas race and then --
KLINK: And bad on them. That's bad for democracy.
PORTER: So I think kudos to both candidates for showing up tonight. I think, you know, the Jake and Dana are pretty tough moderators, having been in front of both of them before. And I -- and so I think that's -- that's the good news for California here.
I think the next step is, voters across the aisles, no matter where they are on the ideological spectrum, need to push these candidates for specifics. So, I'm going to get her done for me at this point isn't enough to make my anxiety go away. I want to hear specifics.
KLINK: I agree.
MICHAELSON: Well, and on that issue of homelessness, here's what Hilton said.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HILTON: The same policies that have given this state the worst homelessness, which you gave Gavin Newsom an A grade for unbelievably, the highest cost of living, the highest cost of doing anything, the highest unemployment rate, the highest poverty rate, it's impossible for regular working people to live in this state anymore. That's why 2 million people have left just in the last few years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:10:11]
MICHAELSON: That's fertile ground for Hilton.
KLINK: Oh, 100 percent. The homelessness problem. We've spent tens of billions of dollars, and the problem has gotten worse. And have a Trump. This is -- the Democrats --
MICHAELSON: Well, he can.
KLINK: Well, he can, but it won't work on this one.
PORTER: Pretty sure he did.
KLINK: Democrats rule the roost on -- I mean, this is Democratic policy failure across the board in California, and we're living in the epicenter of it in Los Angeles right now.
MICHAELSON: And the issue that Becerra may be the most comfortable talking about was immigration. Here's some of that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECERRA: Steve, you're running for governor of California, and you'll enforce Trump's laws at the federal level, but you won't enforce state laws at our level. But here's the problem I have with your policies.
You seem to welcome immigrants who look like you, but deport immigrants who look like me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That may have been his best line of the entire night.
PORTER: I thought that was incredibly strong. I think he's, you know, his personal story is powerful. The story of his family is the story of a lot of Californians. I think that is very comfortable ground for him leaning into that family story.
I thought that was a home run.
MICHAELSON: And a reminder that a lot more people look like Xavier Becerra than look like Steve Hilton. Steve Hilton can't convince people that look like Xavier Becerra to vote for him. He can't win.
KLINK: And that's a great line for Xavier Becerra until he starts giving illegal immigrants health care and we can't afford to pay for it.
MICHAELSON: Yeah. That's one way to look at it.
KLINK: But other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?
MICHAELSON: Well, and then -- and then the other thing that Hilton put back in his face is this story that the New York Times reported on of basically missing children who were in care of --
KLINK: Hundreds of thousands of them.
MICHAELSON: Of the HHS when he was in charge of that, and they, you know, didn't have a super clearance to that.
KLINK: He says it's a Trump plot, that it never happened.
MICHAELSON: And Hilton's response was, that's a New York Times story that was -- won a Pulitzer Prize.
KLINK: Yes.
PORTER: I mean, this was raised repeatedly in the primary. And look, every candidate in the primary, including myself, we all had flaws, we all had made mistakes, we all had weaknesses. I don't think Becerra ever kind of said, this is what happened. This was the thing I did well.
This is the area where I could have improved. Here's how I improved. I think to just say, well, that's a Trump -- that's a Trump talking point. It is actually a New York Times story.
I think Becerra was in a very difficult situation with regard to unaccompanied children. I think Trump left him in a very difficult situation when he took over. But I do think that's the right approach on that one is to dig in and lean into his policy knowledge and his expertise, show Californians that he understands the problem and he solved it.
And I think that's an opportunity that he just needs to lean into.
KLINK: Becerra knows that the label behind the name is more important than the candidate's name themselves. People aren't -- as you called it, people aren't even going to listen to Steve Hilton because of the R behind his name. You can't run and win in California if you can't even get people to listen to you from a decline to state or a Democrat. It's impossible.
MICHAELSON: And you're a Republican strategist saying that?
KLINK: Yes.
MICHAELSON: It's a tough business then.
KLINK: Well, I don't run -- yes, it's tough. But it takes a special candidate to be a Republican and run for governor in California like a megastar like Arnold Schwarzenegger who can jump over the top of it.
MICHAELSON: He's also at the time married to a Kennedy Democrat, which didn't hurt him in this state as well.
KLINK: Correct.
MICHAELSON: Matt, Katie, a lot more to talk about this. Plus, a big day nationally in politics. We'll talk about that a little later when you guys join us again.
But now let's turn to this nightmare in the sky, this extraordinary story on board that Flydubai plane.
Israeli authorities say they are investigating the incident as a terrorist attack. Remember this story is that passengers rushed into the cockpit, subdued the co-pilot, who allegedly stabbed the pilot. The airline says on-duty crew were able to regain control of the plane and then land it in Saudi Arabia. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with CNN's Jim Sciutto.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER: The amazing heroism here of the Indian pilot, the Israeli passenger, and his colleagues and those pilots managed to prevent a 9/11 disaster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: The prime minister met with passengers who eventually landed at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel, some of them still in their bloody clothes. He says authorities are questioning the co-pilot, who has not been publicly identified. He also says that there's no indication that Israel had any advance warning of the attack.
Let's go live now to Jerusalem. CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is there. Nick, what a story.
[01:15:07]
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. And I think as we try to sort of imagine what was happening on that plane, and the bravery and heroism of the people that rushed the cabin, and the bravery and heroism of the -- of the Indian pilot who was stabbed and very, very seriously injured. According to, you know, one of the passengers, a dentist who treated him afterwards. He was losing blood at such a rate, his blood pressure was dropping, and they really got medical attention to him just in time.
He was able, it's believed, to sort of open, unlock the cockpit door which allowed those people to storm it. But imagine the scenario. This is a plane that's losing 17,000 feet in the space of barely a couple of minutes. So this is a plane essentially plunging to earth.
It's out of control, and yet people have the wit and ability to force their way in, rescue the pilot, to subdue the co-pilot. But for those on board, and we'll listen here to one of those people on board, 174 people on board, that's almost 200 terrified people. This is just one voice of all of those people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKA BAUMAN, FLYDUBAI PASSENGER: We just felt the plane drop completely and start spinning a little and everyone was screaming, there were children crying and it was just like death in front of our eyes moment. Like I was just sure I was going to die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: Yes. There's some pictures of that plane on the ground where it landed in Saudi Arabia, and you look at the tail fin there, and part of it is ripped away. And I think that really gives you a sense of just how violently the plane was thrown around. Again, an idea of what it would have been like.
And you heard the young lady there speaking of what it would have been like to be in the -- to be in the aircraft at that time. Now, what we don't know at the moment is too much about out the co-pilot. The Prime Minister Netanyahu said that he was an Omani national, but we don't know the weapon that was used at the moment. We don't know a motive for all of this so far.
And this is what the investigation is going to get to. And the Prime Minister, in the interview with Jim Sciutto, indicated that the investigation would be one that Israel is doing as well with the Emirates. Of course, it was the UAE that the plane took off from at the beginning of its journey.
MICHAELSON: Nic, how did they land this thing?
ROBERTSON: So that's again one of those amazing details that you just would think, here's the plane crashing to the ground. Here's the co- pilot apparently stabbing the pilot and what, you know, Israeli -- senior Israeli leadership officials are saying was attempted terrorism to crash the plane. And all of that going on as those passengers are wrenching out, wrenching the co-pilot off, the pilot, subduing him.
One of those passengers who -- who the prime minister described as a plumber. Prime minister met him at the airport, actually managed to sort of pull back the controls on the aircraft.
Okay, that's -- that's not going to land the plane. And this is the really fortunate bit. Not only did this plumber have the presence of mind and the wit to understand how to try to level out the aircraft. There was another air crew aboard the plane, another Flydubai aircrew that was going to fly another leg of the journey on that aircraft. And they were on board the plane.
So again, just luck, they were able to step in. The pilot there was able to step in and just get this plane stabilized again with parts, important parts of the aircraft missing, part of the tail fin.
MICHAELSON: One of the more remarkable stories in a long time. Nic Robertson, thank you for that. You'll be back with us next hour with more.
Also next hour, we're going to be joined live from one of the passengers who's going to tell their story live and what it was like to be on that plane.
Nic Robertson, thank you. We'll see you in a bit.
Another breaking story late tonight, and this is also a crazy story. A Tennessee death row inmate is still alive after state officials attempted to execute her. But that attempt failed. They couldn't kill her.
Attorneys for Christa Gail Pike says she was loudly snoring after being injected with two doses of a lethal drug. Here's how one reporter described it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CATHERINE SWEENEY, WPLN REPORTER: They went through two rounds, and she was still breathing at the end. It was very ragged. She lifted her head up and was looking around at one point. She said that -- she said that there was a spot that was burning and hurting and asked if that was normal. None of -- none of it was normal.
[01:20:14]
I covered all the executions last year, and most of the ones this year we haven't seen anything like it. It went really poorly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: So, this comes after an appeals court stopped the execution at the last minute, saying a delay was needed to consider whether Pike's allegations of childhood sexual abuse were fully considered at her sentencing. Hours later, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that stay, paving the way for what was supposed to be Tennessee's first execution of a woman in at least 200 years. Pike was convicted in the 1995 killing of a teenage classmate.
Wow. Well, still ahead on The Story Is. We will bring in an expert to talk about the Flydubai attack. U.S. Air Force Reserve Colonel Josh McConkey, who has experience both as a pilot and as an emergency medic, will walk us through how they were able to pull this off. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:25:52]
MICHAELSON: We continue to follow this big story. Disaster averted. 174 People on board a Flydubai plane, now safe. The plane making an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia after one of the pilots stabbed the other.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the attacker, who has not yet been identified, was trying to crash the plane on purpose. The plane plunged thousands of feet in just two minutes before other pilots on the flight were able to gain control.
For more, I'm joined by Josh McConkey, a U.S. Air Force Reserve colonel and emergency physician. Thanks so much for being with us.
That nearly --
JOSH MCCONKEY, U.S. AIR FORCE RESERVE COLONEL: Thank you, Elex.
MICHAELSON: 14,000-foot descent is extraordinary. What will the flight data recorder tell investigators about who is actually controlling that plane?
MCCONKEY: Well, you talk about a 14,000-foot drop in over 30 seconds. Then over the last two -- the two minutes of that 17,000ft total. You talk about the worst carnival ride or roller coaster ride you've ever been on. I mean 30 seconds almost straight down.
The sheer forces of that, the one individual that was able to fight into that cockpit and pull up on the yoke. It's absolutely extraordinary. The -- actually damage to the tail portion of the aircraft kind of bears how -- how terrible that type of drop can be, and they're all very lucky to be alive. But yeah, and just medically the issues that happen, wow.
MICHAELSON: We know after September 11th in the United States, they changed safety on planes and the cockpits are now double reinforced. If something like that happened on a U.S. Airline, would anybody be able to get into the cockpit?
MCCONKEY: You know, that is a very good question, and likely not. So you know, I've been in the military over 25 years as a flight surgeon and critical care air transport doctor. I saw all the changes after 9/11, and this type of attack really echoes Flight 93 from 9/11 and the changes that happened afterwards to reinforce that cockpit door. Unless someone is able to open that from the inside, you are not getting in.
So that what's -- that is one of the things that makes this so extraordinary between the pilot himself, after being stabbed near death, bleeding profusely, is able to reach back and unlock that door, and then a random individual runs in and pulls up out of a dive that steep. It's a miracle.
MICHAELSON: So talk to us about sort of what happens now in terms of the investigation. What are you looking for most? What stands out to you most in looking at this story?
MCCONKEY: Well, for me as an emergency physician, I'm certainly curious about the depth of those injuries. You know, certainly the stabbing- was it the chest? Was it the torso?
You know, a lot of people don't realize that when you stab into a chest at altitude, and then you have those rapid changes, you know, the lungs expand and decrease, you can actually get a pneumothorax, and the lung will actually collapse and can cause death itself. So, the fact that he's still under medical care right now, I'm not sure if he had chest tubes. I'm sure he likely had some blood transfusions. You could see on videos and pictures all the massive amounts of blood all over the aircraft, all over people's clothing.
And then the flight data recorder is going to tell us a lot from the incident itself. I've done several aircraft investigations and, you know, a lot of questions to be answered. But this series of events, it -- luck having extra pilots on the aircraft as well. You know, we very well would be seeing a loss of hundreds of people's lives had this gone the other way.
MICHAELSON: Remarkable in every way. Josh McConkey, appreciate your military and medical expertise, and thanks for your service to our country as well. Thanks for joining us on the story.
MCCONKEY: Thank you.
MICHAELSON: Coming up next, we're digging into the California gubernatorial debate. CNN's senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, live to evaluate Steve Hilton versus Xavier Becerra here in Los Angeles.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:29:51]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[01:34:49]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE HILTON (R), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: But first of all, I just want to say thank you to CNN for bringing Xavier out of hiding. He's barely been seen in public since the primary four months ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Candidates for California governor there facing off in a CNN debate on Wednesday night. Republican Steve Hilton, Democrat Xavier Becerra trading personal jabs, sparring over policy differences.
There's just over a month to go before the election that will determine who will lead the nation's most populous state. Some folks just about to get their ballots in the mail.
Ron Brownstein joins me now on THE STORY IS. He's a CNN senior political analyst, Bloomberg opinion columnist, and proud Californian.
Ron, we couldn't do a night like this with hearing your perspective. So your big take.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: First of all, thanks for having me.
My big take is that it was a night with some tactical successes for Steve Hilton, but ultimately I thought it was a strategic failure for him. You know, he's more fluent than Xavier Becerra, and at times he carried the argument, especially as we've talked about before when he is making the case against Democratic governance and whether it's produced a state that is sufficiently livable in all sorts of different ways.
But ultimately, I thought he was unwilling to offer almost anything that would appeal to voters who were beyond those who are already attracted to Republican messaging and ideas.
And that included this time I thought not only his refusal, as we talked about before, to break from Trump in any way or to give any signal that he would stand up to Trump when Trump is demonstrably working against the state's interests, but also his policy agenda tonight was very much in a kind of conventional Republican vein on taxes, on sprawl rather than density, and even veering toward RFK Jr. On vaccines. So if your goal was to get elected governor of California, I can't see
how he advanced that very much. If your goal -- if you were really auditioning for some other role political -- in the political or media and kind of the conservative infrastructure, I thought it was maybe more effective at that.
MICHAELSON: Well, and you saw the two of them sort of having different strategies, right? Becerra's strategy try to blame almost everything on Donald Trump.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: Hilton's strategy, try to blame everything on Gavin Newsom and the Democrats. And that was at play when they discussed Hollywood and how to attract more production back to Hollywood. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
XAVIER BECERRA (D), CALIFORNIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: So long as we get more than $1 back for that dollar in tax credit, we're going to do it because Hollywood belongs here.
We don't want it to be in Sydney, Australia. It shouldn't be, Sydney- wood. It shouldn't be in Toronto, Canada, not Toronto-wood. It needs to be Hollywood. And we'll fight to keep Hollywood business in Hollywood and in California.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Mr. Hilton.
HILTON: Who's been in charge when all those jobs have gone --
BECERRA: Donald Trump.
HILTON: -- when this industry has collapsed.
BECERRA: Donald Trump.
HILTON: The Democrats -- the Democrats in California have run this state for 16 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: That to me seemed like the whole debate in a nutshell.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, totally.
Yes. You know, and the thing is, you know, as we said before, if you go back to the primaries, I mean, there was really no one across that crowded debate stage other than Becerra, to some extent himself, who was willing to say that, you know, things were re going well in the state on issues that people care about the most.
But just think about over the course of this debate, whether it was Trump withholding the $30 billion from California and wildlife relief. Trump's you know wild claims that he would have won California except for voter fraud. The Medicaid cuts that affected the state and other issues. It isn't
only that Hilton, you know, will not criticize Trump. It's that he gives every signal that as governor -- oh, and the ICE raids -- and in terms of Hilton's posture toward the ICE -- the militarized ICE raids in '25.
He just gives every signal over and again that he will not stand up to Trump under any circumstance. And I just think, you know, it's just very hard to get heard on anything else for voters in a state like this once they conclude that about you.
I mean, this is a state where Republicans routinely get 40 percent of the vote. And if you're really trying to get elected governor of California, I thought he would have used this platform. His biggest opportunity to address this broadest possible audience, to offer anything to voters beyond that usual 40 percent.
And I came away feeling it was -- it was pretty close to Larry Elder with a British accent.
MICHAELSON: Well, and there were two big opportunities, I think that Jake and Dana gave Steve Hilton to do that.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: One, when talking about immigration and those ICE raids that you talked about -- very unpopular in California. That was a moment where he could have spoken out against the president.
Another. They asked him about the 2020 election, which in the past --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
[01:39:47]
MICHAELSON: -- Steve Hilton has said that he disagrees with President Trump on how he handled it. But he didn't bring that up today. That wouldn't even have been news. He had an opportunity to do that on camera --
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
MICHAELSON: -- and to show voters, I'm not with him on anything. And it was interesting strategically, to your point, that he chose not to do that.
BROWNSTEIN: I mean, you know, it's hard to know what's going through anyone's head. But again, that -- it almost looked in this debate that, you know, he was not focusing on maximizing his chances of being the governor of California.
He was -- he was focusing on kind of maximizing his profile in the broader conservative political --
MICHAELSON: Yes. BROWNSTEIN: -- you know, media ecosystem. I mean, it was -- it was a strange performance because it was certainly tactically assured. He's very fluent.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
BROWNSTEIN: He's very good at making a case against Democrats. But I just thought he offered almost nothing to anyone who was not agreeing with him walking onto that stage.
BROWNSTEIN: Ron Brownstein, thank you.
If you're watching us on CNN International, "WORLD SPORT" is next. Here on CNN Domestic in North America, I'll be back with our panel.
Stay with us.
[01:40:54]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.
Let's take a look at today's top stories.
Israel says it is investigating the stabbing of a FlyDubai pilot as a terrorist attack. The flight had to be diverted to an airport in Saudi Arabia.
Passengers described complete chaos as people rushed to the cockpit to subdue the attacker. The airline says on-duty crew took control and landed the plane.
Paramount says its merger with Warner Brothers Discovery will take effect on October 6th. That's next week. A U.S. federal judge has approved the settlement of an antitrust lawsuit that was blocking the deal.
The merger will create one of the biggest media companies in the world. And, of course, Warner Brothers Discovery is the parent company of CNN.
Texas attorney general and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton is expected to join President Trump at an event in Texas on Thursday. Paxton's expected attendance comes a day after "The New York Times" reported that he criticized the Republicans' midterm convention. In leaked audio, Paxton said the event, quote, "dropped our numbers".
Let's bring back our panel -- Katie Porter and Matt Klink. One of the most interesting senate races in years, this Ken Paxton versus James Talarico.
So this is what Paxton had to say on the campaign trail today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KEN PAXTON (R), TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL: A couple of weeks ago, Texas hosted a historic Republican convention before this year's midterms. Republicans came in from every corner of this country.
They came to the Lone Star State for one reason. Everybody in America understands the same thing -- Texas is the battleground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Ok. That's a little different than the message behind the scenes that was leaked. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAXTON: To be honest with you, the numbers indicate when we did that convention, we dropped our numbers. Everybody's numbers dropped. Right now, yes. Not good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAELSON: Matt, President Trump does not like that.
MATT KLINK, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, President Trump doesn't like it. But here's the challenge that that the -- that the candidate faces right now is the MAGA Republican base. They're energized and motivated to vote. I've seen polling data that says that across the board.
The Republicans, who are the more traditional Republicans, those are the people that need the enthusiasm. So, go to a Trump rally for Mr. Paxton right now, great. But it doesn't turn out the people, the Republicans, that -- if the Republicans turn out, he wins.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
KLINK: But the people that he needs, he's not motivating because he's going just to a MAGA rally. So that's his problem right now. Leaving aside the fact that he's talking out of both sides of his mouth.
MICHAELSON: Well, when he's accused of being a criminal and a liar, I mean, this looks like not exactly straight talk, right?
KATIE PORTER (D-CA), FORMER CONGRESSWOMAN: Yes. No, this is not a great -- this is not a great look for any candidate. Anytime you have the words leaked, with any story with a candidate, I think that's bad news.
MICHAELSON: We know about --
(CROSSTALKING)
PORTER: I know a little bit about that, but I think the harder thing here is just that, you know, Paxton and the Republicans writ large are struggling to come up with who are they if they're trying to put space between themselves and Trump.
So we saw this with Steve Hilton tonight. He doesn't want to be just tied to Trump. But then there isn't very much room in Trump's Republican Party for people to stake out their own territory.
KLINK: Yes but Texas is so different than California, and these are conservative people that they just don't consider themselves MAGA. So he needs -- he being Paxton -- needs to figure out how to energize those folks because he motivates them, he will win over Talarico pretty easily.
MICHAELSON: Because there's just more Republicans.
KLINK: There are more Republicans. California is the anti-Texas in this case.
MICHAELSON: Right.
PORTER: Yes.
MICHAELSON: It's the -- it's the opposite of --
KLINK: Yes.
(CROSSTALKING)
PORTER: But I have to say I think Talarico is running a strong campaign. I think he is one of the most savvy candidates, the best -- the best fit for the moment that we've seen.
[01:49:44]
PORTER: He's avoiding a lot of the things that have tripped up Democrats time after time in these. We're on the cusp of taking Texas, say the Democrats, and then we don't even come close.
MICHAELSON: Right.
PORTER: I think this one could be close.
KLINK: Oh, I guarantee you it will be.
MICHAELSON: Do you think that President Trump is regretting this, this Paxton endorsement? I mean, he had the opportunity to endorse John Cornyn, who's sort of safe, boring, generic Republican who had won that state multiple times. He goes for Ken Paxton.
And now every time he talks about Ken Paxton, he says that he's unattractive, that he's boring, that he dresses bad, but he's a great attorney general and you should vote for him.
I mean, do you feel like the president is thinking maybe that wasn't the best call?
MATT KLINK: In Donald Trump's mind, Donald Trump never makes a mistake. No, this was the right move. He's going to -- he's happy with his decision. We were just talking about this. You know, John Cornyn is someone -- it's not like he was a moderate Republican. This was a very conservative Republican. You know, in the 90s conservative Republican. And yes, I mean, Donald Trump will never admit that he's wrong.
MICHAELSON: Yes. And we'll see what voters have to say in this very, very important race.
KLINK: To lose a state like Texas. If Paxton goes down, I don't -- I think that everybody would point fingers and say, Donald, you're really called this one badly.
MICHAELSON: Yes.
Matt Klink, Katie Porter, we'll see you at the top of the hour to talk more about what's happening here in California.
But now to this story out of Cornell University. They have agreed to an independent investigation into how the school handled an alleged sexual assault case from 2024.
CNN gained access to a statement the accuser gave to university police about the night that she claims that several members of a fraternity assaulted her.
Jason Carroll has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More details emerging about what Jane Doe alleges happened to her at the Chi Phi Fraternity house in 2024. CNN obtained the six-page statement she gave to Cornell police two years ago, saying, she consented to some sexual act but repeatedly refused others including a foursome proposed by one of the fraternity brothers.
The 20-year-old then says it got to the point where it, quote, "had become extremely uncomfortable with how this night was turning out. So my thought was, if I do ketamine again, maybe I will pass out. My thought was that if I passed out and these men had sex with me, then they could be charged with rape."
In the six-page statement, she said, "Two Chi Phi members were asking me to have sex so many times that I finally gave in. To me, that felt like coercion."
Also telling Cornell police, "I remember being totally disgusted at the situation and I felt tired and intoxicated. I would say it was the most intoxicated I have ever been in my life. I felt like I was unable to make any decisions because of how intoxicated I was."
This month, Jane Doe filed a civil lawsuit against Cornell University and seven members of the Chi Phi Fraternity. That lawsuit also included a screenshot of Snapchat messages between the fraternity members on the night of the alleged incident, inviting others to join in.
The district attorney's office, facing criticism by some on campus who question why charges were not filed in 2024. Despite the disturbing details, the Tompkins County D.A. says he is bound by New York law.
MATTHEW VAN HOUTEN, TOMPKINS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The voluntary intoxication of someone is not a basis to claim or to prove that they are incapacitated to the point that they cannot consent to sexual contact.
So as much as I'm emotionally-repulsed and morally-repulsed by the events, I can't prosecute cases based on emotion or based upon moral standards or moral repulsion.
CARROLL: The D.A. later pointed out while he did receive Jane Does six-page statement, he says his office did not receive a separate transcript of Jane Doe's interview with campus police. Quote, "We never received it and still don't have it. It was not part of what Cornell provided to us. We got the six-page statement and nothing more, except for the Snapchat video."
In that transcript, exclusively obtained by WCBS, the young woman told police, "I can say with 100 percent confidence I was raped." That comment does not appear in her six-page statement to Cornell police.
Well, a spokesperson for the university tells CNN that Cornell police shared a, quote, "lengthy investigative report with the D.A.'s office. And if there are any further questions about that report that needs to be addressed with the D.A.
Many on and off campus have called for more transparency in the investigation. Though it is not required, Ithaca's mayor says campus police should still have alerted Ithaca police about their initial investigation.
[01:54:51]
ROBERT CANTELMO, ITHACA, NEW YORK MAYOR: Our officers are specially- trained to respond to the level of trauma-informed care that is often required when dealing with a survivor.
Why not work with the municipal police department to try and help find justice?
CARROLL: Jason Carroll, CNN, Ithaca, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAELSON: Our thanks to Jason Carroll for that.
This is usually the time when I say good night, thanks for watching THE STORY IS.
But on this night, you're getting a special extra hour of THE STORY IS. When we come back, we will have more on the California governor's debate.
Plus the story out of Israel, the miraculous landing of a plane. We're going to talk live to one of the survivors of that FlyDubai flight. That's coming up when I join you after a quick commercial break. Thanks for watching THE STORY IS. Time for overtime.
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