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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Trump Takes Campaign Blitz To Battleground Georgia; U.S. Midterm Elections Just Over Two Weeks Away; Trump Fires New Press Secretary Five Days Into Job; Zelenskyy Takes Veiled Swipes At Trump As Relationship Sours; Pope Leo And Putin Discuss Humanitarian Situation In Ukraine; Aired 1-2a ET

Aired October 17, 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]

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: And "The Story Is" growing protest, how a student led movement in France has sparked clashes and chaos in countries across Europe.

With just over two weeks until the midterms, President Trump is on a mission to fire up the Republican base, taking his campaign blitz to battleground Georgia. He traveled to Dalton on Friday, part of the state he won by 44 points back in 2024. It's a place that should be receptive to his message, but now he's contending with record low job approval ratings, rising inflation, and climbing oil prices. President Trump rallied for GOP gubernatorial contender Rick Jackson and for Mike Collins, the Republican candidate waging an uphill battle to unseat Democratic senator Jon Ossoff.

The President mocked Ossoff's appearance while praising Collins saying, "he's all man." And he again urged voters to pretend like he's on the ballot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're going to send Mike Collins to the United States Senate. And we're going to send a great friend of mine and an amazing an amazing man, Rick Jackson, will be your next Governor. In this election, I'm asking you to -- you have to pretend them on the ballot. OK. The story is this. We get 49 percent more vote when I'm on the ballot. When I'm not on the ballot, I guess it's a compliment, but people don't show up so much. So this is really, I think, the most important midterm election maybe we've ever had.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: All right. Let's bring in Rahul Bali, a Politics Reporter with WABE here in Atlanta. And, Rahul, you were at that rally today. I'm sure you've experienced others as well. How did this one hold up? Does the support for the President appear to be anywhere near the level it was when he had that 44 point win?

RAHUL BALI, WABE POLITICS REPORTER: This is Northwest Georgia you had mentioned where he's very popular. It's -- it depends on the issue with voters. When I was talking to voters and Trump supporters today at that rally, some of them brought up, were hoping -- the word that some of them used, I hope the President keeps his promises. I hope the President is able to get out of out of Iran. I hope the president -- so there was a -- you heard that word a lot.

So I think they were looking for motivation, and they were looking for hope from the President to get back on the polls. The thing is here in Georgia, we've seen the history, there is a big gap from when the President is -- his name is on the ballot versus when it's not.

ABEL: Yeah. We were just hearing the President mention pretend. Do voters here in Georgia, at least Republican voters, especially in MAGAverse, do they have that kind of imagination at this point, you think?

BALI: I think some do. The ones who are at that rally, obviously do. The question is, can they bring the rest on board? I -- it seems the one issue that there is a challenge on is the war and wrong. That is where I have talked to Trump supporters who have concerns, and that's dating back to a turning point event that I went to that Vice President Vance was at. That that seemingly the war in Iran is the issue that -- that's the problem with some voters maybe not wanting to come back, not coming back to the polls here in the next few weeks.

ABEL: And also, Rahul, the President, of course, here to try to put his thumb on a scale in favor of Mike Collins in this senate race that really has the attention of the entire political establishment, right? What are you hearing from voters when it comes to this race to try and unseat senator Ossoff? A race that's seen a very strong early voting turnout.

BALI: It has seen a really big turnout. We're somewhere over 600,000. And to put that perspective, that's 7 percent to 8 percent of voters have already cast a ballot just in this first week. I wanted to go back to when this race started and remind people that senator Ossoff is the only Democratic incumbent U.S. senator on the ballot this year in a state won by President Trump in 2024.

That's why there's been such a focus on this race. There has been a gap, though. There's been challenges and scandals and controversies around the Collins campaign. You mentioned Rick Jackson. There is a gap where Jackson is running ahead of Collins. And, again, going back to talking to Republican voters, there is -- there are concerns about those controversies, and those scandals around Mike Collins.

ABEL: And, Rahul, I know that you eat, sleep, breathe Georgia politics. So, between now and election day, what are you looking at? What are you looking for?

BALI: So here's what I've been trying to tell people because, when I'm not looking at Georgia politics, I do peek at the rest of the country. You're seeing these other Republican states that that are suddenly in play.

[01:05:00] They're in play for some of the same reasons as Georgia. I've always argued with people that the state of Georgia is a Republican state, that in the right conditions, votes for Joe Biden in 2020, votes and elects John Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, reelects Raphael Warnock in 2022. And that is a mix of things. It is not getting enough Republican voters out, and then some Republican and independent voters either skipping certain races or even crossing over. And that's what you're seeing now in other Republican states across the country. We've been dealing with that here in Georgia for six years.

I'm watching for skipping and crossing over, with those handful of voters that are going to decide these races.

ABEL: We will see how all of these dynamics play out in due time just about two weeks from now. Rahul Bali in Atlanta, thank you so much for joining us.

BALI: No problem.

ABEL: Well, stock market is struggling in the run up to the midterm elections. The tech heavy NASDAQ fell some 2.5 percent on Friday. That brought its weekly losses to almost 5 percent. And the Blue Chip S&P 500 falling almost 1.5 percent, marking its worst week since June. Both indices set record highs just 10 days ago.

And looming over the U.S. midterm elections next month, the federal budget deficit rose to nearly $2 trillion for the past fiscal year.

Katie Zacharia, making her first public statement since President Trump fired her as White House Press Secretary. She posted on X that working for him was an honor and she wished more Americans appreciated him. Now the White House is now without a Press Secretary just before critical midterm elections as we've been mentioning. Zacharia had a rocky debut, but it soon emerged that she also failed the bar exam and never retook it while repeatedly calling herself a lawyer. CNN Senior White House Correspondent Kristen Holmes has more on the tumultuous week.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Katie Zacharia, the Press Secretary, has been fired. That is from sources familiar with the matter just five days after actually starting this job. Now we did catch up with President Trump to try and ask before we actually knew about the firing what exactly was going on. Did she still have his confidence? This is that exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I said, Katie, do you need this? I don't think you need this. And we're talking about doing something. We like Katie a lot. I think she's been really, really treated very unfairly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you saying you're talking about firing her or replacing her?

TRUMP: No. We're talking about I want her to have a good life. I don't want to have a life like she's planned in the last three days. She is being brutalized by the media.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now sources pointed to a number of various issues. It wasn't just the briefing, which President Trump had seen, but was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt on. It was also a number of other issues, including various interviews with Fox News in which it didn't seem as though she knew how to handle herself. She -- he was talking to allies and advisers, and many of them believed that she was in over her head, and President Trump tended to agree. And you hear there -- I mean, in Trump world, it's very rare that someone gets fired and then has that kind of words coming from President Trump, clearly trying to give her a soft landing, trying to transition her out.

Everyone I've spoken to at the White House, they had nice things to say as well, that she was a very nice person, but that she just wasn't ready for this job. It was interesting that President Trump ended up conceding this given that he is the one who personally hired Zacharia after watching her on TV, growing somewhat enamored with her Fox News appearances. That's what sources have told us. But yet he still was willing to cut ties or to let her loose after both the briefing and these various interviews, realizing that maybe she wasn't quite ready for prime time, as one source put it to CNN.

So right now, President Trump has says that he is not in a rush to fill the role of Press Secretary. Zacharia is going to be transitioning out of that role. He told me when we were on the lawn that there is a long list of people who want that job. We'll obviously see who he comes up with next. Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

ABEL: Still ahead on "The Story Is" the U.S. president suspends new sanctions against Russia just days before they would take effect. Plus, an alarming new incident of violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, a group of Palestinians attacked, and a Washington Post journalist hospitalized.

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ABEL: A photojournalist for The Washington Post has been hospitalized after an attack by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. Heidi Levine was on assignment for the paper at the time wearing markings to identify her as a journalist. She says settlers attacked her and a group of Palestinians during the annual olive harvest. A warning, the following video images show graphic violence.

This video here, it shows a group of mass settlers, some armed with clubs, hurling stones at a group of Palestinians, some of whom are also throwing stones. Journalist Jasper Nathaniel, who witnessed the attack on Levine, told CNN's Jim Sciutto that some settlers also fired machine guns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JASPER NATHANIEL, JOURNALIST: Barbaric is the word that comes to mind. I mean, there were maybe five or six surrounding her. They had, these are not sticks. These are clubs. I mean, these are weapons. And they were, standing over her, beating her over and over with these clubs. At one point, I saw somebody. I thought maybe he was helping her up. He, like, grabbed by her vest and pulled her up, and he held her there so another seller could then kick her and knock her back down.

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They continued beating her and clubbing her. They stole all of her equipment off of her cameras, her phone, her wallet. And, it was truly horrific. I mean, I was worried that she was going to be killed. So me and a couple others were trying to get back to her except, we were running through tear gas and stones and machine gun fire at this point. Again, think a young Palestinian men.

JIM SCIUTTO, ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Machine gun fired from where? You said soldiers came, but you had said earlier that they were standing by. Are you saying they were participating?

NATHANIEL: No. Sorry. So the initial machine gun fire was the settlers. Later, after the attack on Heidi, the soldiers, rather than going after the settlers who had just launched this vicious attack, went into the village and started firing their guns and shot a 54- year-old Palestinian man who works for the village municipality in the leg. The bullet shattered his femur. He's now in the hospital. going to need to have a major surgery tomorrow. So during the attack on Heidi and during that part of the attack, it was the settlers firing their machine guns. Later, it was the soldiers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: U.S. President Donald Trump moving to soften the blow of some upcoming sanctions against Russia. Hours ago, he said he's waiving a number of sanctions under the Lindsey Graham Act, which Trump signed into law last month. This announcement came just days before the sanctions were set to take effect, and the decision comes amid growing tensions between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The latest friction beginning after Trump cut a deal with Russia allowing it to resume diesel exports. On Friday, Zelenskyy took veiled swipes at the U.S. President as he rallied support from EU leaders in Brussels. He called them real leaders, an apparent dig at Trump. Zelenskyy also sent a message during his news conference by what he did not say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His personal popularity is very low. Diesel prices in the U.S. are very high. And the war that he started in the Middle East is not going the way he wants it. Do you think you are being treated as a scapegoat for his own problems?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: This is my answer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much.

ZELENSKYY: Thank you so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: We should remind people that he was also a comedian before being President. Meanwhile, Trump is denying any role in the slowdown of the Starshield Satellite Service in Ukraine. Reuters reported Thursday that the order came from inside the White House without naming anybody. Zelenskyy says the service is improving but is not fully restored. A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is pushing for an investigation into the slowdown.

And for more, let's go to Kyiv where we are joined by independent Ukrainian journalist Nataliya Gumenyuk. Nataliya, first, you are there in Kyiv. What's the atmosphere on the ground right now? How are people there reacting to all of these developments?

NATALIYA GUMENYUK, INDEPENDENT UKRAINIAN JOURNALIST: People -- if you really ask about atmosphere, I think they want to leave calmer through the next two weeks of the U.S. elections because those things are kind of connected because, Russia is terrorizing Ukraine, mainly attacking civilian targets while Ukrainian troops are advancing in the frontline. And Russia is kind of in a vulnerable position and understand that Ukraine in a stronger position. They try to overshadow the military gains, but also harms affiliates with all the opportunities.

So, of course, there are power cuts in some way. There is a way how the system is adjusting. We do understand the Russian aid to make Ukrainian cities unlivable, but it won't change much. Unfortunately, we concerned that within the next couple of weeks could be more unnecessary civilian deaths. And of course, there are these discussions that U.S. withdrawing its support. Specifically, the audience may understand that, there is a specific American capability, the interest -- the intercepting of the ballistic missiles, but also early warning about the ballistic missiles where Ukraine depends on it.

And concern is whether this leverage would be gained -- used against Ukraine. So, the life is kind of tense, but we all understand there is a specific mode.

ABEL: And it's, given that dependence on some of the U.S. intelligence and capabilities.

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I'm curious what you found in your reporting there in Kyiv of whether there's any momentum for any alternative plans if this relationship between Ukraine and the U.S. continues to deteriorate?

GUMENYUK: So first of all, Ukraine is the least dependent on the U.S. than it. All the gains of 2026, it's different thanks to the fact that for the past two years, with all these difficult relations which we have, Ukraine developed only drone capabilities, also dependent less on the American intelligence.

Of course, the European alternative, they could be more expensive. It's also, its huge diplomatic work to -- work with Europe, which actually supporting Ukraine. The pity is in this time for Ukraine is a great moment to pressure Russia and put Russia into the real negotiating table when the Russia won't just demand the capitulation, but would be ready possibly either to withdraw or to discuss any type of cease fire, which is Ukrainian ambition, which is very different from the narrative we have in the news.

So alternative is growing. U.S. is losing the leverage, but we -- I should say, concerned about those next two weeks of unnecessary losses, while Ukraine, for instance, developed the capabilities to shut down jet powered drones, which was not the opportunity, two months or so ago. So it's slowly developing, but we want to save more lives during this period of time.

ABEL: And I know, Nataliya, that winter is approaching, so I am curious what you are hearing from people about their outlook heading into another winter season at war. And, also, is there still support for President Zelenskyy and still hope among Ukrainians for victory?

GUMENYUK: So very important that, like, of course, the winter is hardest. That's why the Russia using this vulnerable moment, but it doesn't change the situation in the frontline. It just makes some innocent, maybe elderly, maybe kids in some -- either Western Ukrainian town or Central Ukrainian town to die. And we understand that's not how you -- how Russia will lose the war.

The sad part of it that there is a moment of initiative where Ukraine actually is regaining the territory. So the disappointment that this moment can be held and the Russia won't be ready to negotiate. Ukraine will go through past this winter, but possibly maybe with a bit law -- more losses or less chances to regain some of the territories. But, of course, Ukrainians remain hopeful, and we should understand it.

There are a lot of political, and domestic issues in Ukraine. Ukraine like to keep their politician accountable. There is a vigorous criticism to President Zelenskyy on some of the domestic politics. But the President Trump is criticizing Ukrainian President, the Ukrainian rally, because they've also understand that what is happening, it's not about President Zelenskyy. It's about Ukraine. It's about Ukrainian army. Ukrainian army is maintaining some of the successful operation inside Russia, including undermining Russia's ability to wage this war, which is largely supported because we understand that escapes attacks Ukrainian lives.

So it's -- so therefore, Ukraine understand that in this regard, this rift is unfortunately more about Ukraine rather than President Zelenskyy, but he definitely has a support. And, yes, we do not have the capacity to have election during martial law. In order to have the elections, Russia can withdraw. And we understand also that, President, the Russian authorities were mocking Ukrainian call, like, give us this fire for 60 days, and we'll have the elections, but they were literally mocking this offer, this suggestion. ABEL: All right. Nataliya Gumenyuk, an Independent Ukrainian Journalist, thank you so much for sharing your reporting with us. And be safe.

Pope Leo spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, just days after the pope's lung cancer surgery, the pontiff, raising concerns about what he called the grave humanitarian situation in the Russian occupied city of Oleshky. Authorities say supply routes for food and medicine into the city are blocked with about 2,000 civilians still there. The Kremlin says Putin supported the Vatican's efforts to help ease the humanitarian situation.

Next on "The Story Is" some European countries are bracing for possible unrest this weekend as more student led protests are planned. Ahead, we have the latest on education reform demonstrations in Albania and France.

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And new floods in Nepal have swept away homes and bridges in a country still reeling from a deadly disaster, a -- and a war thousands of miles away that's making it even harder to rebuild. When we come back, how one crisis is feeding another?

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ABEL: Take a look at this red truck here. According to police in Bend, Oregon, the Toyota truck was fired upon by Thursday's school shooter before the shooting. Police say the driver of the truck verbally confronted the suspect as he was climbing a fence onto school grounds. The teen then fired at the truck, hitting it 3 times.

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The driver of that truck was not injured and was able to drive away and call police for help. And according to police, the 16-year-old shooter previously attended special needs classes at Silver Rail Elementary School. The victims in the shooting were all found inside of a special needs class at the school. CNN's Nick Watt has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They were so afraid. The looks on their faces was really hard to see.

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A 16-year-old shooter, once a pupil here, armed with a pump action shotgun, blasted his way through double doors into the school, into a classroom right by those doors.

STEVEN COOK, BEND-LA PINE SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT: That classroom was a special needs classroom, and the suspect was a special needs student in that school.

CHIEF MIKE KRANTZ, BEND POLICE: The teacher in the classroom threw her cell phone at the suspect and then tackled him and fought to take the firearm from him.

WATT (voice-over): Two other teachers were shot, one dead, the other now in critical condition. A dad with two daughters at the school happened to be passing, saw the shooter enter.

KRANTZ: The 36-year-old man who parked at the school took out a 40 caliber pistol that was legally secured in his vehicle and carried it towards the school. As he made entry through the forced open doors, he heard shooting and saw a teacher involved in a physical altercation with the suspect. He then went to the classroom where the struggle was underway and fired his weapon, striking the suspect multiple times.

WATT (voice-over): His name, Kaylub Giamanco. He is not seeking recognition, said his mom, but instead wishes to express his gratitude to the first responders, school personnel, and community for the outpouring of love and support. This could have been so much worse.

KRANTZ: In total, the suspect had approximately 44 remaining rounds of 12 gauge ammunition on his person or his backpack.

WATT (voice-over): This was all over in about three minutes. Three kids aged five, eight, and 11 dead, and a 25-year-old teacher also killed. A 10-year-old student described to ABC those several minutes of fright.

ALZEN, STUDENT AT SILVER RAIL ELEMENTARY: I locked the door, and I went back behind our lockers as all my classmates did the same. All of my classmates and my teacher were safe, but we were definitely scared, and most people were crying. And that was really hard.

WATT: Now one source tells CNN that the shooter's mom originally bought the shotgun that he used. Now we found her today sitting on her balcony, smoking, crying, clearly very, very distraught. She says, I'm sorry. She says she misses her son. We asked if she has a message for the parents of the kids who died. She said, yeah. I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could have done. She said that there were no warnings. There were no signs that her son was going to do something like this. I asked how he got the gun. She said she couldn't comment and walked off the balcony into her apartment. Nick Watt, CNN, Bend, Oregon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Violent protests sweeping through Albania as demonstrators call for the country's Prime Minister to step down. Students have organized rallies against the government demanding education reform, and Albania isn't the only European country witnessing unrest. France is bracing for nationwide protests planned for Saturday as well. Student led demonstrations have swept the country for several weeks as protesters call for education reform.

French Prime Minister Sebastien Letourneau says the protests no longer resemble a student led movement. Instead, he describes them as a movement of urban violence. Over 60 marches are planned for Saturday with up to a 100,000 people expected near Paris. Just six weeks after the devastating glacier collapse in Nepal, new flooding is wreaking havoc in the North Central part of the country. A dry landslide blocked a river about 60 miles west of Kathmandu causing floods to sweep away homes along its banks. Four bridges were damaged or destroyed and a hydroelectric site under construction was also damaged. There were no immediate reports of casualties as of Tuesday. Five people were missing from this round of floods.

And we are joined now by Jorge Moreira da Silva. He's the Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services, and he joins us from Bidur, Nepal. And, Jorge, first, just over a month since the incredible devastating floods. And now this, can you help us understand what it's like there now?

JORGE MOREIRA DA SILVA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNOPS: Well, thank you. I had a chance today to visit the most affected areas and the sovereign -- what I've been witnessing.

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In one hand, the resilience, the connectivity, the solidarity of the people, but at same time, the devastation. You mentioned the bridges. More than 37 bridges have been destroyed, which disconnect those communities. More than 30 percent of energy production has been lost. The reconstruction would require more than $4.8 billion. So this is a defining moment, not only for Nepal, but I would say also for the international community. Let's not forget that Nepal is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world.

It's still a least developed country. It contributes 0.08 percent to global greenhouse gas emissions. And despite that, have been affected by climate crisis. More than 1,500 lives have been lost, 5,000 are still missing for a climate crisis that Nepal is not responsible for. That's why, in one hand, we need, of course, to have a recovery and reconstruction that is climate resilient, but we also need the industrial community to ask themselves, what shall we do?

And this is the moment where the international community can't fail it's fundamental to provide support to Nepal for the early recovery, for the reconstruction. This is also a moment where the international community, the member states, the government, need to renew their commitment to climate action to ensure that 1.5 degrees is not an aspiration, is a reality. So I would say that this is a defining moment for Nepal, but also for the climate and development agenda globally.

ABEL: I hear you saying that you need global help. What specifically is needed? And then also, I'm thinking of the families of the dead and missing from those incredible floods. How are they coping, and how are communities connecting with them to help carry the burden?

SILVA: The communities are traumatized, and I have a chance to right to engage, and I will continue to engaging with families, with the community. And, obviously, there is trauma they not only lost their members of the family, but there are still more than 5,000 people missing. So obviously there is trauma. There is solidarity among the families, among the community, and that's why this is a moment where everything must be done quickly. The recovery must be fast, and the reconstruction must be kind of resilient.

The place where I'm speaking, where I'm standing, it used to be the second floor. Now it's ground floor. So what the population told me is the flash flood is not like a snake moving fast with more than 200 meters high in terms of water, moving fast and devastating everything. And now we have more than 2.2 million tons of debris and sediment. So what used to be ground floor, now it's second floor. And this is happening in all this valley. That's why it's fundamental to bring all aid that is needed for the recovery.

To reconstruct the bridges, one of the most important elements here is the communities used to be connected, and now all those bridges, 40 -- 37 bridges disappeared. So if you ask me what's the top priority rebuilding, reconstruction of the bridges, creating all the conditions to equip the families with the houses that they need. But also behind me, you see what used to be a water dam, hydro power, which destroyed. So behind this building, there is the pipes of the water dam to produce electricity.

13 water dams -- hydro power water dams were devastated. So 30 percent of all electricity in Nepal is gone. So you see that it's houses, it's bridges, it's schools, it's hospitals, it's roads, it's everything. And it's the moment where we have to ask where is the solidarity? Net values could get only $1.5 billion of ODA every year. Now they need 5 billion immediately to reconstruct. So I think it's really a defining moment. The glacier is obviously melting. What used to be an accident is becoming, unfortunately, more and more normal and frequent.

The country needs to adapt, but adaptation and resilience has a cost, and the country can't afford it to do it alone. So I -- my call is let's bring all the solidarity. United Nations family is ready to support the country. We are on the ground. The country is doing an amazing job, the communities, the government, the civil society, and that's why I think that we can miss this responsibility.

[01:40:00]

ABEL: All right. Jorge Moreira da Silva, thank you so much for joining us.

SILVA: Thank you.

ABEL: Well, these here are scenes from Los Angeles where a new wildfire has exploded in size and has already burned several homes. The fire beginning in Orange County around noon on Friday before quickly growing to more than 450 acres. It is one of several fires that have broken out since Thursday spread by fierce winds hitting Southern California. Evacuation orders, they've been issued for multiple areas affecting around 16,000 people. And officials have warned local residents to put defenses up to protect their homes and to not try to take advantage of the situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANTHONY MARRONNE, FIRE CHIEF, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPT.: I urge residents to continue to monitor high risk weather conditions, implement home hardening, ensure that they have defensible space around their homes.

ROBERT LUNA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF: I'm just putting out this warning right now that we have also augmented on top of everything I've talked about undercover operations in both the areas that we've had evacuation orders in and where Edison is doing power shutoffs. So if you think you're going to come in and take advantage of these four poor folks who have been asked to evacuate or don't have power, you're going to run into probably deputies, who aren't in uniform and who are just out there specifically looking for that challenge. So that's a warning that's out there for everybody. Don't do it. Do not come into these evacuated zone areas. If you don't need to be there, you're going to be challenged.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Stay with us on "The Story Is." We'll be right back.

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ABEL: New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez putting $1 million behind Michigan Democratic senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed. It's an unusually large contribution from a House Member backing a senate candidate in another state, and a sign of just how much AOC wants to see El-Sayed win in upcoming midterms. Here's what she told the crowd on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: And I want to let you all know if you hadn't yet seen, I was so inspired by seeing how hard you all are working? How exhausted everyone is? How much extra time everyone is putting in anyway, that we decided this morning that I was going to transfer a million dollars from our coffers in New York here to Michigan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Third quarter fundraising and cash on hand numbers hint at how the final weeks before election day may play out. In 10 senate races rated by CNN as most likely to flip, Democrats significantly outraced Republicans, but some spent those funds aggressively leaving them with less cash on hand than their opponents.

Meanwhile, President Trump and Vice President Vance have been barnstorming across the U.S. Texas alone has seen multiple campaign appearances in the last few weeks. It is key senate race that has Republican Ken Paxton facing Democrat James Talarico that has brought them there. Election day is November 3rd, but it's possible that a majority of all midterm ballots will be mailed in or cast during early voting. Democrats have been much more likely to vote ahead of election day. Republicans typically prefer to vote in-person during early voting or on election day itself. And here's Tom Foreman with a deeper dive into those early voting trends.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Even as we turn to those numbers, I can tell you the message is simple enough. If Republicans hope the Democrats are losing momentum and they're picking it up, they better keep hoping because it's not happening yet. Look at these numbers. This is what we're seeing right now in this rate. The Democrats are vastly in the first day of in-person voting yesterday. There's been mail in voting for several weeks.

In the first person -- first day of mail of actual in-person voting. Look at this. Vastly outpacing the Republicans over here. Massive difference. 47 percent here, 20 percent there. Compare it to the bigger picture of 2024. There was almost no difference there. But the difference here is not just that Democrats are increasing their numbers, but critically, that Republican numbers have cratered here.

Now maybe they'll catch up, but this is a state where they register by party when they do this so we really can know who's voting. In other places, we just base it on geography and likelihood of who they're voting for. But here, you have a much better picture, and it looks bad for Republicans. If you look at bigger key senate races, you see it all over the place. Alaska, that's the closest one. 26 percent, 24 percent, but a lot of people here who are either unaffiliated or no party. Maine runaway there at the moment, Nebraska, North Carolina, which we just talked about, Ohio. And if you look at the U.S. map, Iowa, for example, is behaving very much like North Carolina is with their early voting going on now.

Again, as we said all along, does this tell us how it's going to end? No. In some places where Democrats started off very strong, now it looks like it may be a little bit softer, but they're still basically showing a much bigger advantage in this enthusiasm gap that we're talking about so much. So there's time for the Republicans to still come back and do better and maybe on election day. But right now, we're closing in on 7 million votes already cast pre-election here, and it's not as early as it was. So the time is beginning to run out.

ABEL: Tom Foreman there. Coming up on "The Story Is" a theme park reopens days after a deadly accident. Will park goers think twice about getting on the rides? We'll hear from one woman who was there.

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ABEL: Welcome back to "The Story Is." I'm Brian Abel. Let's take a look at the top stories we are following today. President Trump is pushing ahead with his midterm blitz as he rallies support for Republican candidates across the country. He's heading to Kentucky in the coming hours where Mitch McConnell's senate seat is up for grabs. And it comes after a stop in battleground Georgia where Republicans are hoping to oust Democratic senator Jon Ossoff.

More protests are expected Saturday in India after police detained the leader of the country's cockroach movement. The youth led Cockroach Janta Party and student organizations have held almost daily protests this month demanding the resignation of India's election chief. For the protesters say he removed 130 million names from voter lists, which they say favors the Indian Prime Minister's party.

And baseball's game four of the American League championship series has been postponed because of weather. The Cleveland Guardians, they were set to host the Tampa Bay Rays for Friday's game. Well, it's now been scheduled for Saturday night at 8:00 P.M. Eastern. Game 5 will now be played on Sunday.

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Cleveland leads this best of seven series two games 2-1.

A theme park in the U.S. state of Georgia has reopened just days after a man fell to his death while riding a roller coaster there. On Monday, a 42-year-old teacher from Atlanta fell out of the Goliath roller coaster mid ride and died. The ride remains closed as an investigation into what went wrong continues. Multiple investigations actually. Officials say they'll share more information, "When it's appropriate." One park goer says the fatal accident has not scared her away from rides.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Weird. It's right night. I mean, I'm a honest to god, if the Goliath was open tonight, I will ride that Goliath.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Really? OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you're not afraid of going back on the Goliath?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. I'm a dare devil. I'm not scared. If it was meant to be, it's meant to be, but I don't teach my kids to be scared of anything if it's something they like.

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ABEL: Thank you for watching "The Story Is." The news continues right here on CNN after the quick break.

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