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What We Know with Max Foster

Christa Pike's Lawyers Speak After Judge Orders State To Preserve Evidence Of Botched Execution; Russia Urged To Share Information Amid Global Concern; Dozens Killed In Ukraine After Huge Russian Assault; Trump Heading Back To Texas To Rally Republicans; Hundreds Of People Walking To U.S. From Central America; Some Republicans Worried About "Bloodbath" In Midterms. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired October 07, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:31]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: She survived two lethal injections. Now Christa Pike's attorneys fight on in court.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

Attorneys for the Tennessee woman who survived an attempted lethal injection last week say the whole incident was foreseeable and foreseen. A

short time ago, a judge sided with them, ordering the state to preserve all relevant evidence in the botched execution of Christa Pike. She was given

two doses of pentobarbital last week, which should have killed her.

But Pike attorneys say the state of Tennessee ignored their warnings. One attorney requested that her hand be unshackled as she receives medical care

because of the extraordinary swelling of her hands. Another attorney recounted her shocking recovery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RANDY SPIVEY, ATTORNEY FOR CHRISTA PIKE: On Monday night, it was our understanding that Christa was brain dead and that life support would be

removed the next day. But on Tuesday, to the shock of everyone, including me, including her team and including the medical team, Christa woke up and

began talking. I do not have an explanation for what happened between Monday night and Tuesday morning, but what we do know is that Christa has a

long road to recovery.

All of this was foreseeable and foreseen. What happened to Christa is exactly what the state was warned would happen. And there are so many

questions that need to be answered, not by Christa, but by the state of Tennessee. But one of those questions has to be how much suffering is

enough?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: What we want to know is, will Tennessee try to execute Christa Pike again? Amy Lee Copeland is a criminal defense attorney and a former

federal prosecutor for the southern district of Georgia.

Thank you so much for joining us. The lawyers, her attorneys today saying this is the beginning of a long legal process. Presumably, they're working

towards the idea that the sentence should be commuted. But what does happen from here?

AMY LEE COPELAND, CRIMINAL DEFENSE AND APPELLATE ATTORNEY: Good afternoon, Max.

What happens from here are several things. Number one, the state court has ordered that the evidence be preserved surrounding the attempted execution

of Ms. Pike. That means that whatever the state collects, whatever photographs it has, the death penalty attorneys will have access to and get

those objects.

Number two, Ms. Pike probably has a long road to recovery. I know we heard the attorneys surprised that she was recovering at all. We'll see if she

has more than limited function. If the state intends to go ahead, at the hearing today, the state attorney didn't say that she wouldn't be executed.

It just said, well, it's probably not imminent.

And number three, Tennessee is reviewing its own policies and procedures about executions. The corrections commissioner has resigned, and Governor

Bill Lee has called for an independent third party investigation of the execution practices.

FOSTER: Why the focus on gathering that evidence? What does that form the basis of?

COPELAND: Well, the United States constitution prevents the imposition of cruel and unusual punishment. And people who incarcerate others are

responsible for not being deliberately indifferent to their medical care. So I've read accounts that they put in a total of about seven needles, or

tried to put seven needles into her arms, including one that broke off in a 90 degree angle.

And so, what the defense attorneys are going to try to do is show the cruelty of the attempted execution method. Apparently, press reports have

been that Ms. Pike began snoring after the second supposedly legal and lethal injection. And in the hospital, Ms. Pike has keen awareness that

they tried to put her to death and that that was unsuccessful.

So the combination of the physical evidence and others recollections will be used I'm sure out front in a claim that this was cruel and unusual

punishment.

FOSTER: Which may lead to a punishment, presumably of the people who oversaw this. But why would it affect the sentence she was given back in

her trial? Why might it affect whether or not she gets the death penalty again?

COPELAND: Well, it may be that she has already suffered such a great deal of punishment that they have tried to put her to death and they weren't

successful. And she was conscious of it. And that, you know, she may suffer some grave physical and mental impairments following the execution, that it

would then become cruel to execute her in that stage.

[15:05:07]

I know the defense attorneys are going to ask for commutation of the -- of the death sentence from the governor, given Ms. Pike's experience.

FOSTER: One of the big issues here seems to be that there weren't the protocols in place to handle a situation like this, am I right? Because,

you know, if it doesn't work the first time, the injection, the protocol is to try another one. But there wasn't a protocol for dealing with what

happens next. And that seems to be a big gap in the process here.

COPELAND: You're right, Max. There were the protocols specifically planned for two attempts. Nothing after that. I was curious when I was asked to

speak with you today, how common of an occurrence is this?

So, according to "The Economist", since 2021, the United States has carried out 148 executions, 11 of which were botched. Other sources I looked at

between 1890 and 2010 show a rate of botched executions at about the rate of three percent.

So while it doesn't happen with every execution, you know, the most recent statistics are about eight or nine percent. So there will need to be

protocols. I'm glad that the governor has called into an investigation of how to -- how to implement this, because it happens at a rate that's higher

than it should be happening.

FOSTER: If they wanted to change the method of execution, how difficult is that for a state? I mean, is it -- it's clearly firmly decided what method

they use. There are other methods. Of course, the electric chair and we know about the shooting as well, that will, you know, we reported on last

week. But if they wanted to, you know, if they decided that injections weren't safe to use in Tennessee, would they have to change the law somehow

to find another way? I mean, what would happen?

COPELAND: I would, you know, I know Utah, I think was the last state to approve execution by the firing squad. But there would need to be studies.

There would be consultations with physicians, there would be consultation of United States Supreme Court and state Supreme Court precedent about

exactly what constitutes cruel and unusual punishment in the execution arena.

So they would look at kind of a medical legal host of information to determine how to execute someone humanely and not -- not affect

constitutional rights, not violate their constitutional rights.

FOSTER: OK. Amy Lee Copeland, thanks for talking us through that hearing that took place just a couple of hours ago.

Now, elsewhere, as Russian health officials insist there's no risk of an epidemic there, the World Health Organization wants to conduct its own risk

assessment after a mysterious death in Siberia.

Authorities say a 28-year-old lab technician at a plague research center died last week of pneumonia from an unknown origin. Russia's health

watchdog says it found no dangerous pathogens amongst people it tested, and that preventative measures in the region are winding down.

But the WHO director general says he wants to determine if there is a risk to public health as the organization looks into reports that another worker

from the lab is sick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: We have also sought verification of media reports of a

second employee with pneumonia of undetermined cause. WHO has offered technical support related to plague and lab biosafety and biosecurity, and

we don't yet have the full picture of this event, and we're not able to conduct a full risk assessment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The U.S. is also struggling to get more details from Russian officials. President Donald Trump today said the U.S. does not believe the

lab worker died from exposure to a bioweapon

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Is the plague in Russia a bioweapon?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we don't think so. Were going to find out soon enough, but we don't think so. And if you

listen to them, it's under control. But, you know, people have said that before about other things. So we hope it is a very sophisticated, very

smart. And they're saying it's very much under control. So we hope not, Peter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Jennifer Hansler joins us from Washington.

He was referring there, wasn't he, about finding out, presumably from this call he's due to have with Putin.

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah, Max, the U.S. is struggling to get answers from the Russians. And of course,

president Trump has teased this potential call with President Putin. Moscow today said that there was nothing on the books in terms of any sort of

call.

But, of course, with it being Putin's birthday, that may be an opportunity for the U.S. president to make that call and bring up this situation.

Beyond that, the U.S. is escalating the pressure on Moscow to give answers on what exactly happened in this anti-plague lab in Siberia. We learned

from a source last night that they have issued what's called a demarche.

[15:10:03]

This is a formal diplomatic communique, often done in protest, demanding more answers with regard to this situation. We know also that the U.S. has

been in touch with the Russian government as early as last Friday about this situation. But the answers that they have gotten are extremely

limited.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio alluded to some of the frustration around this dearth of information so far in remarks in Iceland yesterday. He said

that it was the obligation of the Russian government to share more information with the United States and the world so that they would able

to, quote, "react accordingly and appropriately". He also said it would be reckless to speculate on one what this may or may not be without that

information.

We also know the U.S. is in touch with other countries around Russia to try to find out if they are learning anything.

At the same time, it does seem that Moscow has not really shared much of anything, even as the Kremlin is saying that they have followed proper

protocols, alerted the world health organization to what happened in that lab. The European Commissions own commission met earlier today also to

discuss this situation. So there is a huge call for transparency here.

Another issue at play here, Max, is the idea that even if there are answers that are given, whether those are full, transparent and the full accounting

of what happened. So there is a lot at play and they are counting on Russia to give any sort of answers on what happened here -- Max.

FOSTER: Let's wait to hear then. Thank you so much, Jennifer.

Meanwhile, a major Russian attack has claimed dozens of lives across Ukraine. Ukraine's president says Russia hit Ukraine with missiles, bombs

and drones in one of the largest aerial attacks in weeks. At least 27 people have been killed and more than 100 were injured in the overnight

attacks, which continued into Wednesday morning.

U.S. President Donald Trump heading back to Texas to stump for a Republican Senate candidate in a very closely watched race. He was asked about his

support of Ken Paxton today after recording showed Paxton privately criticized Mr. Trump's recent Republican midterm convention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Do you have any regrets about endorsing his candidacy?

TRUMP: No, no, no, not at all. He was a great attorney general. I think he'll be a great senator. Ken Paxton was a great. He was considered the

best or certainly one of the few best, but the best attorney general of the whole country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: President Trump in the Oval Office to announce an automatic enrollment for the federal government's new saving account for children. I

called the Trump accounts the tax advantaged investment program went live in July. Now, the government has enrolled all eligible children, but

parents still need to claim their accounts.

We're joined now by senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak.

I mean, it's going to be a popular move, presumably.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Presumably. And I think, you know, the president has been trying at various moments to refocus

attention back on efforts like this to put more money in the pockets of Americans. He's talked about the Trump accounts periodically over the last

several months. Today's wasn't necessarily a, you know, a huge step ahead, but I think it was more of an attempt to remind the American people of what

exactly he's been doing on the economy at a moment when huge majorities of Americans now say they're dissatisfied with how he has been handling that

very important issue.

You also hear him talk about sending rebate checks. You know, things for health insurance that have been going out. You hear him promising these

$5,000 checks for every American adult if Republicans retain the majority, really trying to pull out all the stops to get people to go out and vote

for Republicans.

But of course, whether this has that intended effect remains to be seen. You know, he's heading to Texas today. It's the third time he's been there

in the last month, which is really kind of extraordinary when you think about how red a state Texas typically is. It just goes to show the concerns

that the president and his advisors have about the Republican Senate candidate there, Ken Paxton.

You heard the president in the Oval Office saying, no, he doesn't have any second thoughts about endorsing him. But certainly, I think the president

is aware that if Ken Paxton loses, he will catch a lot of the blame, because you'll remember back in the spring, the president endorsed Ken

Paxton over the incumbent Republican, John Cornyn, despite some real concerns about Paxton's electability in a general election.

Now, you see the president really having to put in the work to try and carry him across the finish line.

Now, we are still a little less than four weeks away from the midterms. Obviously, the polls now show that the tide seems to be tilting towards

Democrats.

[15:15:03]

But when you talk to Democrats, I don't think you hear a huge celebration just yet. They are a party that have been burned, you know, they will say

many times in the past about polls showing them ahead, only to come around on election night and have them lose. And you obviously at this point also

have Republicans enjoying an enormous cash advantage over Democrats.

So this race is by no means finished yet. You will continue to see President Trump heading out on the campaign trail, including to a number of

Republican states, to try and get his supporters to go out and vote, whether its early by mail or on election day.

I think underscoring the anxieties that the enthusiasm at this point just is not on the Republican side. It's very much on the side of Democrats. And

that if the president's base of supporters don't cast their ballots, that this will not portend good things for Republicans in November.

FOSTER: Kevin Liptak at the White House, thank you so much.

And coming up, Donald Trump heading to Texas. We'll ask what the president is doing in a state that's usually safe for Republicans, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Just under a month to go until the U.S. midterms, and immigration remains one of the central issues. The Trump administration has cracked

down both at the border and in dealing with undocumented migrants already in the U.S. But it's not stopped people from Central and South America from

marching towards the north in the hope of finding a better life in the U.S.

CNN's Valeria Leon caught up with the caravan and spoke with some of them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSE CELAYA, HONDURAN MIGRANT (through translator): Have mercy, please. Today's ours, tomorrow, it could be you.

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's the plea from Jose Celaya, one of the hundreds of migrants traveling through Southern Mexico

hoping to reach the U.S., a journey that began in Honduras and comes as the Trump administration is clamping down on migration ahead of November's

midterm elections.

[15:20:10]

The group, calling itself "Faith and Hope with God," left Honduras on September 20th. Around 200 migrants are now continuing north through

Mexico, mostly on foot.

CELAYA: We are walking because we want to show the hunger and the hardship our people are facing.

LEON (voice-over): With blisters on their feet from the journey, they stop along the way to rest and regain their strength. They've already traveled

more than 90 miles through southeastern Mexico.

ALEX MENDEZ, HONDURAN MIGRANT (through translator): The plan is to get into the United States. For now, if God allows me, that's where I'm trying

to go.

LEON (voice-over): But crossing into the U.S. outside a designated port of entry could violate federal law.

Still, these migrants have a message for President Trump.

DAVID PAGUADA, HONDURAN MIGRANT (through translator): If he's listening, I want him to hear us. We need help. We need support. You can see how we're

suffering, sleeping on the ground with nothing, dealing with the cold, getting soaked.

LEON (voice-over): The caravan comes at a time when illegal border crossings into the U.S. are at historic lows.

In the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, southwest border apprehensions fell to their lowest level ever recorded for that period.

TRUMP: Make a plan to vote.

LEON (voice-over): With November's midterm elections approaching, immigration remains under intense political scrutiny, and the Trump

administration faces pressure to hold the line on one of its signature issues.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Republicans could be in for a bloodbath in the midterm elections. That's what someone described as a party insider told CNN today, as

Republicans are dealing with poll after poll that shows their candidates in big trouble.

President Trump heading to Texas today hoping his presence can boost struggling Republicans there. The party hasn't lost a Senate race in Texas

since 1988. Respected elections analyst Larry Sabato says Republicans are also in big trouble in Alaska. He's moved that reliably Republican senate

seat to leans Democratic in his ratings. Sabato says Republicans will likely need to win at least three of his four toss up races to remain in

control of the Senate.

So what we don't know is, are Republicans heading for a so-called bloodbath in the midterms?

Joining us, someone who might know has got a better chance of knowing than me, at least our chief U.S. national affairs correspondent, Jeff Zeleny.

Jeff, you've covered so many of these midterm elections. What is the vibe like for you?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, there's no doubt that the president and his party realize that they are in

trouble. The question is how much trouble? And history would suggest that the president's party almost always loses seats in the midterm elections,

with just two exceptions over the last century. One was after 9/11 and one was well before that.

But look, what we don't know is the extent of it. The House of Representatives, the lower chamber of Congress here in the U.S., is almost

certainly to fall from Republican control. Democrats just need to win a handful of seats. And there are many of them across the country.

I do not run into many Republicans who are at all optimistic about holding the majority. The question is, how big might a Democratic majority be? This

is not a wave election, most likely in the vines of 1994, when Bill Clinton was in office, or a 2006 when George W. Bush was in office, or when Barack

Obama was in office in 2010. All of those -- those years there, there are parties got wiped out.

It's different this year because of the redistricting, because of how maps are drawn. There's not as big of a competitive battleground, if you will,

but so the House is almost a certainly going to end up in Democratic hands.

The Senate, though, is very much an open question. There's no doubt that this is all playing out in Trump country, if you will. That's what's so

extraordinary about this, that the president is traveling to all red states, if you will, here in the U.S. a places that he won by double

digits. I was with him this week on Monday evening in Nebraska. That is a state he won by 20 points. Now they're fighting for a senate seat.

So all of this is playing out in places where he was popular. He's trying to juice up his supporters again to come out. And there's no doubt that he

could rescue some of these Senate seats. That's certainly possible. Republicans do have a big financial advantage. They're outspending

Democrats on television commercials in every state but one.

But the economic winds are blowing, and they are -- are really likely to punish the president's party here.

[15:25:01]

So, the extent of the losses for Republicans is really the only question. And that will determine if Republicans hold on to the Senate or not. I

mean, I am not in the prediction business.

FOSTER: Yeah.

ZELENY: It's bleak for Republicans. But Democrats also have to thread that needle just perfectly and doing it in these red states is very complicated.

FOSTER: Yeah, absolutely. Well, we'll find out in just a few weeks now, won't we?

Jeff, thank you so much.

ZELENY: We will, a month from yesterday.

FOSTER: Coming up, Russian authorities say -- Russian authorities say there's no risk of an epidemic. But there are still global health concerns

around the death of a plague lab worker. We'll talk to an infectious disease expert for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Returning to one of our top stories, Russia's health regulator says there's no risk of an epidemic following the mysterious death of a

woman working at a plague research center. Russian authorities say 28-year- old lab technician Darya Shipilova died last week in Siberia of pneumonia from an unknown origin. They add that 90 percent of her contacts have been

released from quarantine after nearly 5,000 tests found no dangerous pathogens.

On Monday's program, one infectious disease expert told me that people outside the region in Siberia didn't need to worry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. AILEEN MARTY, PROFESSOR OF MEDICINE, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY: You're not going to be seeing people getting on airplanes asymptomatic and

showing up in England or in the U.S. or anywhere else, and not manifesting illness. So it would be very much of a contained situation. So I'm not

really worried about this spreading around the world. I am, however, extraordinarily concerned about the people in the town --

(AUDIO GAP)

FOSTER: Amesh Adalja is a infectious disease specialist and a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

Thank you for joining us.

What do you make of what we're seeing in Russia right now? Because we're not getting much information, but we are seeing the sort of effort to lock

down easing somewhat. So what -- what do you think is happening?

DR. AMESH ADALJA, SENIOR SCHOLAR, JOHNS HOPKINS CENTER FOR HEALTH SECURITY: It's still to me very unclear what happened there. What we saw was an

oversize reaction from Russia in terms of contact monitoring, in terms of what they were doing in the hospital. Was that just a precaution because

they were trying to go above and beyond what they worried about something specific? And they haven't told us what they were worried about.

This clearly wasn't something related to plague, but it was something that they thought was communicable, something that was dangerous. And they've

really not revealed their thinking on that. And that leaves us a lot of uncertainty.

FOSTER: You're saying clearly not a plague. How can you say that?

ADALJA: Clearly not plague, because the way that she -- the way that this whole process underwent, this isn't something that you would do for plague.

Plague is an eminently treatable infection, so long as it's something that is drug susceptible, it's not very communicable. You wouldn't have 200

people being monitored for plague.

There are things that are much worse than plague. That's what many of us in the biosecurity world were wondering. Is this something a novel virus? Is

this something that they can't define?

And this is a person that we're hearing now was vaccinated against all of the pathogens that she was working with at the institute. So this didn't

seem congruent with the response to plague. Plague is something that's manageable and easier to deal with than a novel virus. That's what we are

worried about. And we still continue to worry.

FOSTER: The WHO is struggling to get information from the region. So is the U.S. I know you're not a politics expert, but, what does that suggest

to you? Is this -- I mean, you would have dealt with Russians in your field. Is it just a different culture, the way they're dealing with it

there? Or is there a problem here

ADALJA: We know that the Russians and the Soviet Union before them, always lied about what was going on in their biological laboratories and any

country has a level of opacity when they have an outbreak or an infectious disease emergency on their hands. We saw that from China, with COVID. We've

seen it with bird flu and certain other countries. So that's to be expected.

But it's still not the norm that we want to have. We want countries to be very open and transparent about what's going on. We want them to

communicate freely with the WHO, and have good two-way communication.

I didn't expect Russia to be forthcoming. That's why the U.S. issued a demarche to get more information, and we're starting to get some of that

information that's trickling out. But all of this could be avoided with proactive information sharing so that you don't have this speculation and

that you can actually bring resources to bear if there's a need to bring resources, rather than this kind of tendency to hold everything very close

to the chest and not reveal things only in drips and drabs.

FOSTER: How concerned should people outside Russia be?

ADALJA: Right now, I don't think that this poses a major risk to the world. Obviously, we have a lot of outstanding questions. We don't actually

know what this woman died of. We don't know if there are -- if that report of second case is actually true, what we want is more information from the

Russians about what prompted them to take those measures.

Then I think we can take the temperature down, but it doesn't seem to be something that is spreading outside of there. And the fact that they're

lessening those control measures is reassuring that whatever it was, they seem to have gotten information that it's not something that is continuing

to spread or even communicable.

FOSTER: Okay. Appreciate it. Dr. Amesh Adalja, really appreciate you joining us from the diner it seems. Appreciate it.

Now, in the final moments of trade on Wall Street, stocks are down. Investors showing a little more caution today after recent gains. The Dow

down 300 points.

This is our Business Breakout.

Disney Plus will stream the Super Bowl next year for the first time. Super Bowl LXI will be available to Disney Plus subscribers in the U.S. and 55

other international markets. The games airing on ESPN and ABC in February, networks both owned by Disney.

The head of Delta Airlines says he doesn't see a slowdown in passenger numbers, despite rising costs for fuel. Ed Bastian tells CNN oil prices

will be around $6 billion higher compared to last year, as the war in Iran disrupts energy supplies.

[15:35:05]

However, Bastian says early bookings don't show a slowdown.

British luxury car maker Jaguar has finally unveiled its first electric car coming off growth in the U.S. market. Jaguar premiered the vehicle in New

York. Prices for the type zero one car start at over $170,000. Some big risks for Jaguar, which faced intense backlash, you might remember after

its rebrand in 2024.

The billionaire co-founder of OceanX tells CNN that artificial intelligence will be a test of human nature. Ray Dalio spoke to Will Ripley about the

future of A.I.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So do you think A.I. will be a net positive in your efforts to improve humanity? Do you think

the benefits of the technology will outweigh all of the risks that have been discussed?

RAY DALIO, COFOUNDER, OCEANX: Okay, for me and what we're doing, A.I. is going to be great, okay? Then -- no doubt. For humanity, you know, what the

greatest force is, is human nature. So it's a human nature question.

So I think there are two questions regarding A.I. First, how will man deal with mankind in terms of using this? Will it be a weapon that is used to do

damage to people, or can they work together to make a better humanity? That's a big question.

And then the interesting question, of course, about it is, it versus us? What will our relationship be with A.I. as it has an independent mind?

Okay, it's practically a new species. So that new species, we don't know, we -- this is a very interesting question. We don't know.

But at the end of the day, it's going to be human nature that's going to be most valuable. Because what we do right now, for example, to deal with

A.I., to -- do we slow down, do we study it? Or are we in a competitive race that doesn't allow us to slow down?

Because if the other side gets ahead of it quicker than we get ahead of it, that we are going so fast that we may cause great problems. That's a human

nature question. So I think A.I., most importantly, will be really a test of human nature. And to answer your question of what the future holds, it's

really in humans' hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Coming up, three years after the October 7th massacre by Hamas, Israel marks the deadliest day and the worst security failure in its

history

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:40:55]

FOSTER: For Israelis, the horror of October the 7th and the scars from it remain painfully fresh. The country today is marking the third anniversary

of the Hamas attacks with a mixture of memorials for the victims and protests of the government.

More now from CNN's Jeremy Diamond.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: As we speak right now, there is a memorial ceremony underway here in Tel Aviv organized by the families

of victims and survivors of that October 7th massacre, marking three years since that terrible day when more than 1,200 people were killed, mostly

civilians, and 251 people were taken hostage. But today also marks the first time -- the first anniversary of October 7th since there have been no

more hostages in Gaza, living or dead.

And that has also given more room for pushes for and demands for accountability about the security failures that led to that day of October

7th. A lot of that rhetoric has been aimed at the Israeli prime minister directly. We have seen today. Yes, commemoration and memorial ceremonies,

but also protests against this current Israeli government and demanding that an independent state commission of inquiry be established to look into

what happened three years ago.

The Israeli prime minister has so far repeatedly refused to establish such a committee, insisting that he believes it would be biased. But those calls

are growing louder and they are also becoming a key feature of the current election campaign, with elections just a few weeks away.

Gadi Eisenkot, the primary opposition candidate running to replace the Israeli prime minister, he has said that his first duty in office, the

first action he would take would be to establish such a commission of inquiry.

Now, of course, beyond that, October 7th also marks three years since that days events triggered the war in Gaza, where more than 74,000 people were

killed over the course of that war. And in fact, people are continuing to die in Gaza today as Israel continues to carry out near-daily airstrikes in

Gaza. Some of those the Israeli military says are aimed at targeting and killing some of the perpetrators of that October 7th attack. But many of

those strikes also appear to be in violation of the current ceasefire agreement

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Jeremy Diamond there.

Now in France, many students vow to keep blockading schools as they demand better resources and funding for overcrowded classrooms. These protests

marked the latest manifestation of public anger in a country where support for populist parties on the far left and the far right has surged ahead of

the presidential election next spring.

Our Paris bureau chief, Saskya Vandoorne, spoke to the mayor of Saint- Denis, a Parisian working class suburb home to large immigrant communities. It's one of the places where we've seen violent clashes between students

and riot police. He tells her why he stepped in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PARIS BUREAU CHIEF: Student protests continue across France today. Several blockades have been happening outside high schools

here in Paris, and after yesterdays significant turnout and violent scenes, it appears the French government is changing its approach.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): French President Emmanuel Macron is calling for more empathy from ministers and police in their handling of the protests,

while the interior minister has temporarily suspended the use of the type of stun grenade linked to a teenager losing his hand this week.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu is also trying to calm things down, giving students time during the school day to air their grievances. And that

change in tone comes after some extraordinary scenes, including the moment when a mayor from France's hard left party, LFI, physically stepped in

front of students during clashes with police.

BALLY BAGAYOKO, MAYOR OF SAINT-DENIS, FRANCE (through translator): We were clearly confronted by law enforcement officers who were, of course, fully

equipped with shields, helmets and, of course, tear gas.

[15:45:02]

They took advantage of a fire that had broken out in some shipping containers nearby to charge at us, and so they charged and I stepped in to

prevent them from hurting the students because I was mainly surrounded by high schoolers.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): So the government appears to be listening. But is it too little, too late?

Students say these measures don't go nearly far enough. They're demanding more teachers, smaller classes, and billions more in education spending.

And some have vowed to keep blockading schools until those demands are met.

VANDOORNE: Despite the government's softer tone, there's little sign this movement is going away and protests are already being planned for Thursday.

Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Still to come, an intense rivalry right to the end. Messi and Ronaldo's international careers are coming to a close, but while one is

farewelled a hero, the other risks a bitter end.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, it has been one of footballs greatest rivalries. Of course, the duo finally bidding farewell now to

international football, but their approaches couldn't be more different.

Messi played his final game for his beloved Argentina last night, bowing out a hero. He scored a penalty, of course, as Argentina defeated Benin

three-nil in Buenos Aires. Messi brought his country World Cup success in 2022 and took them back to the World Cup final just a few months ago.

But on the same day Messi left the pitch, a legend Ronaldo posted a lengthy statement explaining why he walked out on Portugal's training camp.

Ronaldo, now 41, is nearing international retirement. He appears to have fallen out with the coach of the national team in a dispute over his

playing time.

Don Riddell is with me.

I mean, there's a sadness to this, right? Because two great players ultimately.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORTS: Yeah. It's sad. It's odd. It's bizarre. And you know, Max, for pretty much the duration of their careers, these two men

have been neck and neck in terms of their accomplishments on the field with their teams and their personal accolades off it. And they've always been

measured against each other. And they were always considered to be great rivals of each other as well. But now, in the twilight of their careers, we

have this remarkable split screen view of how they are both going about it.

[15:50:00]

You've mentioned both. I mean, what happened with Messi last night really was just so special. He had announced his international retirement after

the World Cup, which ended disappointingly for Argentina. They lost in the final to Spain.

I mean, he's played for his country for 20 years. He's won the world cup. He's won two Copa Americas.

But they were able to tempt him to come back for this emotional farewell against Benin and absolutely packed stadium in Buenos Aires. And as you can

see, he scored a penalty. He had a couple of assists as well. I mean, it was just so emotional. Not a dry eye in the house.

And you can compare that with what Ronaldo is going through. And he's really put himself into this self-imposed exile. He's older than Messi.

He's 41 years of age.

We all assumed that perhaps the world cup would be his swan song. Like Messi, it was a sixth World Cup tournament that he played in, but he wanted

to continue. So he reported for duty with Portugal for their nation's league games. A couple of weeks ago he was benched in the Norway game,

which Portugal won. And he didn't come off the bench.

And so he really took exception to that. And he basically walked out on the team before their next game against Denmark. And then as you referenced

yesterday, he wrote this kind of essay putting forth his position.

And it's clear that he's not happy with the coach. He believes that the coach has broken promises to him. He wants the Portuguese FA to punish the

coach, which seems unlikely given that Portugal, in the last few games have been fantastic. They've won all of their matches. They do seem to be better

without him.

And this really kind of continues the narrative over the last few years that for all that Ronaldo has been so successful with Portugal and he has

accomplished so much with them in the last couple of years, it seems as though he's been reluctant to leave the stage, and because of his status,

he's really kind of got in the way and he's held his team back.

And now, because it's not going his own way, he's kind of sulking. He's off on the sidelines. And it is, as you say, to bring this conversation back to

your first point. It's sad. It's a shame because you see what Messi got last night, just a wonderful send off. And we're wondering if Ronaldo is

ever going to play for his country again.

FOSTER: Yeah. All right. Don, appreciate it. Thank you so much.

And elsewhere in the world of sport, one NFL player may be raising a glass of juice to toast an off the field victory. The league has decided to

rescind its nearly $30,000 fine of Kyle Juszczyk, after accusing him of doing an imitation of chugging a beer to celebrate two pass catches during

a game. He successfully argued that his nickname is juice and is pretending to drink a juice box.

Some sad new developments to bring you now from Spain tonight. The elderly woman, whose eviction sparked huge protests there, has died. Maria del

Carmen Abascal was evicted from the home that she lived in for more than 70 years after her landlord proposed a drastic rent increase. She'd been in

hospital since then. The Madrid Tenants Union confirmed her death a short while ago. Her story captivated people across the country, prompting

thousands to march through Madrid.

In the United States, a new study is putting a spotlight on the age of children when they get their first smartphone and the impact it can have on

their body image and eating habits.

CNN's Ivan Rodriguez has more on what parents really need to know.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: For many children, getting a smartphone is a milestone. But a new study suggests timing may matter. Researchers

found children who owned a smartphone at 12 were more likely than their peers without the devices to report eating disorder symptoms two years

later.

RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): A new study published in JAMA Network Open is shedding light on the potential link between smartphones and children's

body image and eating habits.

DR. JASON NAGATA, PEDIATRICIAN: Those who had smartphones at age 12 were associated with 67 percent higher risk of binge eating. They were about

twice as likely to tie their self-worth to their weight at age 14.

RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): Researchers followed nearly 9,000 adolescents across the U.S. and found 70 percent of them owned a smartphone at 12 years

old. By age 14, 24 percent of those kids reported at least one eating disorder symptom, compared with fewer than 16 percent of teens who did not

have a smartphone at age 12.

Those symptoms can include things like fixation on food and weight, distorted feelings about body shape and size, restricted eating or

compensating for calorie intake by throwing up or exercising.

Dr. Jason Nagata, the study's lead author, says social media combines both the pressure from mass media and from peers and delivers it right to kids'

phones.

NAGATA: Phones and social media can really introduce teenagers to a world of appearance-related content. Some of it can be algorithmic.

[15:55:02]

If someone is looking for dieting or fitness content, it'll continue to sort of feed that to them.

RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): He says parents should be thoughtful about when they get smartphones for their children. While there's no magic age,

parents should consider communication needs, developmental readiness and what guardrails they can put in place.

NAGATA: Parents can just stay involved in their children's digital lives, set age appropriate boundaries and keep conversations open about body

image, eating and what they're seeing online.

RODRIGUEZ: Nagata also recommends families have some sort of media plan that includes things like phone free time when going to bed or eating

meals. He says parents should try to stay involved in their children's digital lives.

In Atlanta, I'm Ivan Rodriguez.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. That is WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN.

END

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