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What We Know with Max Foster

Massive Russian Strikes Hit Kyiv Just Hours After Putin Agrees To New Peace Talks; Zelenskyy Tells CNN: Nothing Personal Between Me And Trump; Ramaswamy Under Fire For Ohio Ad With Acton's Mother; Senate Candidates Square Off In Michigan, Kansas Debates; New Ebola Cases In Nigeria And Kenya Amid DRC Outbreak; Websites Briefly Go Dark After A.I. Finds Security Flaw; U.S. Orders Some Embassy Staff To Leave Saudi Arabia. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired October 22, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:27]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Tensions with Donald Trump aren't personal, Ukraine's president tells CNN.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

Ukraine's president says Vladimir Putin is playing with people's lives and doesn't want to stop the war, despite agreeing to a new round of peace

talks. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia used ballistic missiles to respond to diplomacy efforts, attacking Kyiv in a wave of strikes overnight.

Ukraine says some missiles were loaded with cluster munitions. None were intercepted as Ukraine faces a critical shortage of air defenses. Ukraine

says at least two people were killed in attacks nationwide, whilst Russia says Ukraine launched hundreds of drones towards Moscow.

Mr. Zelenskyy says the strikes on Kyiv were launched by Russian humanitarians, a sarcastic reference to U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, who used

that same word to describe Vladimir Putin after meeting with him in Russia.

Now, President Zelenskyy spoke with our Christiane Amanpour about his deep rift with the Trump administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Mr. President, obviously there's been a lot of spotlight on the latest eruption in your

relationship with President Trump. He's blaming you. You're saying that he's on the wrong side of history with that diesel deal for Russia. Are you

stepping back from that personal criticism, have you been, you know, advised that this might not be the best way to be public about it, since

you need American help?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We have our partners. It's the United States. And we have -- we need to have strong relations with the

American administration, with Congress. And we need bipartisan support. This all is very important because it's not about days, it's not about

personalities.

My attitude to Putin is very clear. I think that if we will lift sanctions, we will make him stronger. And that's why I'm like a president. It's not

something personal between me and President Trump. And of course, I'm against of any lifting of sanctions.

I always said it to European partners and I said it directly to American administration. I'm, of course, I know what I do. I have to strengthen me,

my country, my people, my army, but not my enemy.

This is, I think, very clear and fair between us. That's why I know that if you give something to Putin, he will need everything. He will want

everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Kristen Holmes is at the White House.

Obviously, Zelenskyy trying to set a tone ahead of these negotiations. And one of them is that, you know, as soon as there was talk of talks, Putin

started bombing Ukraine. So, the background isn't effective, and that's because of Russia.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right. And President Trump had just said it wasn't just the fact that the peace

talks had come to light. President Trump himself had said that they'd never been closer to actually settling the war in the Ukraine right before all of

those strikes went off Russia towards Ukraine.

And it is interesting to hear Zelinsky talking there. He basically says that they do need to have a partnership with the United States, but that he

thinks that all of the things that President Trump is doing are a mistake. And of course, we know Zelenskyy met with Steve Witkoff himself before

Witkoff met for Putin for roughly three hours.

And President Trump has kind of started re-upping a line that he had used for quite some time, this idea that it's Putin who wants to and Zelenskyy,

who's keeping it going. And he used that when lashing out at a reporter just on Monday, the reporter said Zelenskyy says that you'll be on the

wrong or you are on the wrong side of history. And he went into how Zelinsky wants to keep the war going because he's getting all of this money

from Europe, et cetera, et cetera.

This has really been something that it appears he's hearing from Vladimir Putin and taking Putin at his words for it. The idea that it's actually

Zelenskyy who is pushing this war to continue and Putin who wants this war to be over. But I will remind you that when we've even gotten readouts of

what is happening between Ukraine and Zelenskyy of readouts by the White House or by the Kremlin, excuse me, of conversations between Trump and

Putin, it doesn't sound as though that's what the Kremlin is putting out, that Putin wants this war to be over.

So even that messaging itself is different than what President Trump is saying.

[15:05:01]

FOSTER: He's effectively saying, isn't he, that the way that Trump is talking about Putin is how he should be talking about Zelensky. I'm just

wondering if these optics are playing out with the American voters, because that must be clearly President Trump has front of mind.

HOLMES: I do think it's front of mind, but I also think President Trump doesn't think about Russia the way that most Americans think about Russia.

I think that he's made that pretty clear by taking Putin's side, by doing this deal with Putin for diesel. Even Republicans were kind of appalled at

the fact that President Trump had decided to make this deal. And then, of course, the next step was President Trump waiving these huge economic

sanctions for Putin.

And by the way, Zelensky, yes, had said he felt betrayed by that He felt betrayed by the deal for diesel. President Trump saying, well, this is

about America. We have to get this diesel. Obviously, the price of diesel is very high because of the war in Iran. That's really what triggered this

-- President Trump blaming it in part because of the strikes in Russia from Ukraine on those refineries.

But you know, Trump does not think that Americans are paying attention to Russia and Ukraine and the relationship there. That is not something that

he's super focused on and perhaps he is right. It's unclear how much Americans are paying attention to the war in Ukraine, but I can tell you

that politicians, including Republicans, people who do this for a living, people who are Russia experts, Ukrainian experts here in America, they

believe that what President Trump is doing is cozying up to a dictator who is killing people kind of at will.

FOSTER: All right. Kristen at the White House as ever, thank you so much.

Stephen Hubbard back now on American soil. Hubbard was held by Russia for four years after they accused him of fighting for the Ukrainian military.

U.S. President Donald Trump claims he did not give any concessions to Russia to get Hubbard release. But when questioned about that by CNN's

Kaitlan Collins, he appeared to say that his recent moves to ease some sanctions on Russia were part of why Hubbard is coming home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: And you said you didn't give Russia anything in exchange for his release.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If I would have done that, you would not have Mr. Hubbard coming back.

COLLINS: So you did give him something in exchange for the release?

TRUMP: Right now, and you don't know anything. I mean, your fake news, CNN. Look, right now you have a man that's beautifully flying from Russia

to wherever he's landing in the United States that I got out because I had a very good and very fast negotiation with President Putin.

If you were to put those sanctions on, or whatever you want to call them, you could forget about him. You'd never see him again. He'd be back in jail

for 25 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: To the U.S. midterms and the bitter governor's race in Ohio, specifically, the state's Republican governor, Mike DeWine, is calling on

Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to pull a controversial ad that's at the center of a political firestorm. In it, the estranged mother of his

Democratic opponent, Amy Acton, accuses her of lying about her very difficult childhood, which included sexual abuse charges against Acton's

stepfather.

She addressed the shocking attack ad on Wednesday at a campaign event.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY ACTON (D), OHIO GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I'd hoped he wouldn't sink this low, but of course he did. We had known that, as I

shared before my mother, has not been seen by me since I was 12 years old. I had a childhood of extreme physical abuse and sexual abuse. As a kid, my

brother and I, frequent flyers, and children's services finally removed after a grand jury saw evidence that was so -- it was so, so shocking that

we were removed from my mother's custody at the age of 12.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Let's get some more on this story then from CNN's Patrick Svitak.

Patrick, it's really hit a nerve, this story, hasn't it? Because it is so deeply personal. I'm just wondering how the public is taking this, because

we've heard so much from the politicians.

PATRICK SVITEK, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, I mean, this has been an explosive development in the Ohio governor's race. And I should note, the attack ads

in this race were already very personal and nasty, but this one has taken it to another level.

And as you've seen, it's divided even some top Ohio Republican leaders. You just heard from the governor there, Mike DeWine. He's a Republican. He said

Ramaswamy should take this down. The Republican Senator of Ohio, John Husted, said yesterday that he wouldn't run an ad like this.

And so clearly, you are not seeing Republicans unified behind this ad strategy, which is something that Vice President J.D. Vance said when he

was in Ohio yesterday. He basically said Republicans should close ranks here.

[15:10:00]

They should, quote, "stop whining" about this ad. Some of these Ohio Republican leaders are not taking that advice, and they're speaking out

instead.

FOSTER: In terms of where this goes from here, they don't look like they're budging on taking this ad down. President Trump seems to support it

as well.

How damaging do you think it could be to the Republicans?

SVITEK: Yeah, the Ramaswamy campaign and its allies, including President Trump, who's endorsed him, I mean, they are doubling and tripling and

quadrupling down on this ad. They're not backing away from it at all. And so, Ohio voters are going to continue to see it on the air, on their

computer screens and phone screens probably in the coming days. It is not going away.

And right now, one of the things to watch going forward is that tomorrow in Ohio, the entire Republican statewide ticket, including Vivek Ramaswamy, is

launching a bus tour together. So, they're trying to put forward a united front, even though this ad and the controversy surrounding it is still

following them, still dividing them.

So that's what we're looking forward to tomorrow.

FOSTER: I guess some people would argue it's been an incredibly successful ad as well, because we're talking about it. It's gone viral. Everyone's

been talking about it for days. Maybe it is pushing the message home that the Republicans want here. They're getting a lot of bang for their buck,

aren't they, with that one?

SVITEK: Yeah, I mean, if one of the goals of the ad was to get people talking about it, they've certainly achieved that. Now, how damaging this

ad could be politically to either Amy Acton or Vivek Ramaswamy remains to be seen. I'm sure there are plenty of pollsters that are in the field right

now in Ohio, you know, trying to complete surveys to see if this ad has changed the race at all.

It was a pretty close race beforehand. We'll see if again, we'll see once those polls come out, whether the race has changed at all. But right now,

it's a little too soon to tell. We just don't have the data to know whether this ad has had a major impact on the state of play in this race.

FOSTER: Patrick Svitek, appreciate it. Thank you so much.

Now, the outcome of two races could decide the balance of power in the Senate. In purple Michigan, the candidates are locked in a bitter contest,

whilst in Kansas, Democrats hope voters will send a member of their party to the Senate for the first time in nearly a century.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more on the final debates in both races.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: And you're going to hear a form of MAGA bingo because the thing about MAGA is whenever they're

talking, they are trying to distract you.

MIKE ROGERS (R), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: That's why he is so deceiving, and that's why there's this pattern of deception that he likes to pattern

on about.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: And that was the Michigan Senate debate one last time for Republican Mike Rogers and

Democrat Abdul El-Sayed to share a stage but little else in a ferocious and personal series of exchanges.

Now, in Kansas, it was a much kinder debate, but no less important. Either one of these races could control the Senate chamber.

Now, in Michigan, Rogers sought to discredit El-Sayed as too progressive, too liberal, and even too different for Michigan voters. The most

contentious moments came when he tried linking El-Sayed repeatedly to the Muslim Brotherhood, which El-Sayed angrily denounced.

ROGERS: If you are going to go to the United States Senate, we need to know, are you for America or are you for these terrorist groups overseas?

You can grin and you can smile and you can talk real pretty, but I'm going to tell you what, that is a risk to our national security.

EL-SAYED: To bring into question, my commitment to the Constitution is really beneath you. I am proud of America. I'm proud to be an American. I'm

proud of our Constitution that guarantees all of us the right to pray as we choose to pray.

ZELENY: Now, for his part, El-Sayed tried to tie Rogers to Trump, as he's been doing throughout the entire campaign, but Trump is coming to visit the

state on Sunday that give him a new hook, to say that, look, can you really trust this guy to stand up to the president?

But the debate in deep red Kansas featured much less conversation about Trump. Instead, Republican candidate Roger Marshall tried to tie his

Democratic rival Adam Hamilton to Chuck Schumer and saying his election would lead to a Democratic majority.

SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R-KS): You know, the interesting thing is, just like with my wife, I can disagree with her. My wife is always right, and

President Trump is not always right. But I do think that it's great that I have a relationship that I can pick up the phone and discuss with him the

pros and cons of what he's contemplating.

ADAM HAMILTON (D), KANSAS SENATE CANDIDATE: We've heard Chuck Schumer mentioned, I don't know, 50 times maybe, I'm going to exaggerate, maybe 20

times so far. I find that interesting. I've already said I wouldn't support Chuck Schumer for the Senate majority leader if the Democrats to control

the Senate.

ZELENY: So with the debate season largely over, now it is up to the candidates to persuade those undecided voters, but also get their

supporters out to the polls.

[15:15:01]

There is no doubt these Midwestern states hold the key to control of the Senate. All eyes will be on Michigan, Kansas and a few other states on

November 3rd.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Jeff Zeleny on the road there.

Now Nigeria, the latest African nation impacted by what the World Health Organization calls the fastest growing Ebola outbreak in history. Three

other African countries are also impacted. The deadly outbreak was reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo back in May. Uganda and Kenya have also

had confirmed cases now.

The newest strain of Ebola has no approved treatment or vaccine. Since May, the disease has killed at least 4,600 people in the Democratic Republic of

Congo. Health officials fear misinformation and funding shortfalls could further fuel the pathogen's spread across borders.

Victoria Rubadiri reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VICTORIA RUBADIRI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. One of the main issues that came out in this briefing with the WHO was the fact that most of the

cases that have been confirmed are people who are dying from Ebola without ever reaching a treatment center. In the Democratic Republic of Congo,

where the outbreak began back in May, the WHO says around six in every 10 recent deaths have happened outside treatment facilities. And that really

points to the challenge of identifying infections early enough and getting people the medical care that they need. As far as the numbers, as you said,

more than 9,000 people have been infected in the DRC alone with over 4,000 deaths.

And what's making this particularly difficult to contain is the strain involved known as Bundibugyo. There's currently no vaccine specifically

targeting it. Now, one of the key things that the WHO clarified today was the issue of community transmission, whether the virus is spreading beyond

people already identified as contacts of infected patients.

Now, in the DRC, community transmission is already established. But here in Kenya, the WHO says that's not the case. Nine people have been infected,

including the first patient who traveled from the DRC through Uganda before arriving in Nairobi where he later died. The other eight cases are all

linked to that first patient and according to the WHO, they were already in quarantine when they tested positive. So, at this stage there's no evidence

of wider community transmission in Kenya.

As for Nigeria, which is the latest country to confirm a case, the WHO says a patient remains in hospital and is stable. But authorities are still

trying to establish just how she contracted Ebola and where, and that's important because it will help determine whether this was simply an

imported infection or whether there's any evidence of transmission within Nigeria itself.

And here's what some Nigerians actually had to say about the possible spread.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not seeing anybody wear those masks at the moment and people are making fun of me for wearing it and I'm just trying to take

safety precautions so If there are safety measures to be taken, people should take them and take them seriously.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm scared of it in earnest, because the last time it happened, there were lockdowns. So, I'm afraid that this case might make

the government to call for lockdown, which will drastically affect our business. Even most of all that have freedom of movement, our movement will

be restricted.

So, I'm scared. I'm really scared, and I wish the government should do something about it so that the case will not spread.

RUBADIRI: And hearing them, that really brings us back to one of the biggest challenges facing health authorities across the region, and that's

detecting infections before people cross borders. The WHO says though there is screening, it can miss cases, particularly when travelers haven't

developed symptoms or don't disclose their exposure history.

So, for now, the focus remains on getting people into treatment early and strengthening contact tracing, as well as preventing the virus from

spreading into the wider community.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Victoria reporting for us.

Now, major security flaws are found in websites all around the world. Still to come tonight, we'll speak to a cybersecurity expert about what this

means for personal data and what can be done to prevent cyberattacks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:22:44]

FOSTER: Dozens of high-profile websites briefly went dark after A.I. discovered a security flaw in a widely used programming language.

Government sites in the UK, France, and Germany were amongst those impacted. The two critical flaws affect PHP, the language that powers 70

percent of the Internet, including WordPress and Drupal.

The flaws in the language were uncovered by teams from OpenAI and two cybersecurity companies.

Ciaran Martin joins me now. He is the former chief executive at the U.K. National Cyber Security Center.

Thank you so much for joining us. Really appreciate it.

I mean, this is a complex matter, isn't it, for many people? A lot of people are saying there's some scaremongering going on around this.

But tell us how serious you think this incident is.

CIARAN MARTIN, FORMER CHIEF EXECUTIVE, NATIONAL CYBER SECURITY CENTRE: It's very serious. It's an alert, not an attack. The very fact of alerting

people to the problem does, however, lead to attacks. At the heart of this is a 30-year problem of insecurity in the Internet, going back to when the

original code that we all use was written. It was what we call open source. It was free to use. Nobody made money out of that part of it, and it's full

of mistakes.

So, for 30 years, people have been hunting flaws in the code. And every few years or so, we find a monster vulnerability, a really serious weakness The

last one I can recall on this scale was in 2021, and it was similar in that you can't fix it at source. You have to fix it at users.

And there are millions of users. And as you say, more than two thirds of the Internet's websites and many other systems run on this. So, look, in

terms of scaremongering and so forth, no one's going to die. Your heating and lighting is still going to work. The traffic lights are still going to

work. The power is still going to be on, hospitals will still function, but there's a real risk of data loss, of going missing that gives rise to scams

and fraud of gateway to disruptive cyberattacks.

So, organizations should take it really seriously. I only feel the need -- I only sign the alarm when I really feel it's necessary because there's a

lot of hype in cybersecurity, particularly in the age of A.I. This one deserves to be taken seriously.

But the good news is there are mitigations, there are fixes. There is a patch, a fix for this. So, there's something you can do about it. So don't

panic, but get to work fixing it across all organizations.

FOSTER: I mean, the system was working effectively, wasn't it, up to a point, because once this vulnerability was found, a patch was developed,

but that patch was embargoed.

Someone -- you know, that information was released to key people, as I understand it. They were meant to keep that to themselves until the patch

was developed, but somehow it leaked and there was this gap between the information coming out that there was a flaw and the actual patch coming

into effect.

So that was the window that the hackers were able to leap into. And am I right in saying that they can now control websites that they managed to get

into in that window?

MARTIN: So that's mostly right, but there's a key difference, which is mostly reassuring. Because of all the focus and attention around A.I., a

lot of people think this is a new issue. It's not, it's been going for many years.

As you say, there's this process that the tech industry and the cybersecurity industry with governments have developed over years called

coordinated vulnerability disclosure, where they get together in secret, in confidence, they share all the details and they work up a plan.

So, when you do go public with these warnings, you have a plan to fix it. Now that plan was breached 48 hours early and that's really reprehensible

and disappointing because these systems depend on confidence and trust. But even if that hadn't happened, there's always an important window because

when you publish a patch, a patch is a fix. So, organizations with whatever size, whatever they do, they can go and deploy this fix.

But there's no way of doing a patch that isn't also a giveaway to attackers about how to exploit the vulnerability. So, in a sense, it turns it into

two sides of a coin, who has patched because they're safe from this weakness, from this flaw, and who hasn't because now there's a toolkit for

attackers to go and exploit them.

And where A.I. comes in, A.I. is both the hero and the villain of this story because A.I. helped to find this flaw. And that's a good news story.

Once we fix this, we're safer than we were beforehand because the flaw has been there for 14 years and could have been discovered at any point. But

A.I. also helps hackers do faster attacks, do more attacks, and it can also speed up the process of telling the attacker who's patched, i.e., who to

stay away from, because you're not going to get in and who hasn't.

So, it makes those who haven't patched even more vulnerable. So, it's going to be harm, as a result of this is going to be harm for quite a long time.

As I say, no one's going to die and no one's going to get hurt. But this is going to be bad.

But ultimately, in this very complex and precarious world digital security and the age of A.I., we're going to be safer as a result of the events of

this week in the long term.

FOSTER: Thank you for bringing us the positives. Really appreciate it, Ciaran. Thank you for joining us today.

Now, coming up, opinion polls haven't made full happy reading for Donald Trump in recent days. Now his handpicked chairman of the FCC says it's fake

polls that are the big problem.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:31:35]

FOSTER: The U.S. is ordering non-essential embassy staff and the families to leave Saudi Arabia. The State Department says attacks across Saudi

Arabia by Iran-backed Houthi rebels are making it dangerous for Americans. Many of those attacks have been aimed at airports. On Wednesday, two people

were killed in an attack at King Fahd International Airport in Daman. Eight others were injured.

With more on all of this, let's bring in our U.S. security correspondent Kylie Atwood.

Obviously, when these movements were first reported, there was concern that this was because America was going to go on the offensive, but we now learn

that it's more about this tension between the Houthis and the Saudis, right?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right. So when the State Department spokesperson confirmed that there is going to be a

drawdown of nonessential U.S. personnel and their family members from the U.S. embassy in Riyadh, he very clearly articulated the Houthi threat and

how that is increasing those attacks from the Yemen based group backed by Iran, of course, against Saudi targets, specifically noting that those

strikes have been carried out against airports and critical infrastructure that is driving the State to draw down their diplomatic personnel in the

country at this time.

It has sort of become the hot front of the regional conflict. Obviously, the Iran war is ongoing. We haven't seen many strikes between the United

States and Iran lately, but these strikes from the Houthis against Saudi Arabia have been increasing. And it's also worth noting that yesterday the

State Department also put out a security alert that's for Americans who are in Saudi Arabia. It talked about those increasing strikes that we have, of

course, reported on, those deadly strikes against the Houthis.

And it specifically said that even US government employees working in Saudi Arabia require special authorization from chief of mission to use any

airport in Saudi Arabia following these UAV strikes on the Kingdom. So warning Americans who are there that even if you know they should be

cognizant of taking any precautions that they can before going to the airport because even diplomats who are there have to have special

authorization to head to the airports before they're going to fly anywhere.

And, of course, the backdrop here always being what is the U.S. role in this conflict. We have reported extensively that the U.S. support to Saudi

in defending against the Houthis is very real in such that they're providing precision targeting for them. They're also providing intelligence

support to Saudi Arabia.

But there is still that key question as to whether or not the Trump administration would go with Saudi and carry out offensive against the

Houthis. That is something that Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince, has asked President Trump to do, but so far, he has not determined that the

U.S. would go ahead with that request.

FOSTER: Kylie Atwood in Washington, thank you.

U.S. President Trump, known for dismissing stories he doesn't like as fake news, now his friend at the country's top media regulator is trying to

raise the alarm about fake polls.

Brendan Carr, the chair of the Federal Communication Commission, claims there's been a surge of fake polls designed to interfere with elections.

Carr, who is a close ally of President Trump, said broadcasters who give airtime to those polls could even be punished. Carr didn't specify which

polls he was referring to.

His warning did come, though, on the same day that two well-respected national polls showed Mr. Trump's approval rating at all-time lows.

[15:35:02]

One of those was from CNN.

So, what we want to know is why is the FCC so worried about fake polls?

Our chief media analyst, Brian Stelter, joins me now.

I guess the word fake in this context only applies to the polls that aren't going in the president's favor. Am I right?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: That is certainly the overt statement, the overtone of this entire situation. Brendan Carr has, time

after time, tried to advance the president's anti-media agenda, using his bully pulpit to pressure local broadcasters. This one's really interesting

because it's less than two weeks until the midterm elections, and he's really getting deeply involved in the editorial content of these local

stations, or at least he's trying to.

Carr cannot stop a station from broadcasting the news. He cannot actually strip a station's license away without having a multi-year battle first.

But he is using his bully pulpit to try to pressure these stations. And a group of former FCC officials, including some past chairs, both Republican

and Democrats from the FCC, have denounced this effort by Carr, saying that it's part of a campaign of intimidation against the American news media.

But there's a couple of things going on at the same time, Max. You have all these really genuinely trustworthy pollsters who've been in business for

decades, who are signaling a likely blue wave, maybe a blue tsunami. People are trying to come up with different terms to describe just how big these

gains will be for Democrats in two weeks. And that's real. And the polls are all pointing in one direction.

But then there's also this real phenomenon of fake polls. It's totally separate from the trustworthy pollsters that have been around for decades.

But there are these startups that are popping up out of nowhere claiming to have polls to share, and then they turn out to be faulty or totally

fabricated.

There's a scandal about this actually unfolding this week involving a group that called itself Wedgwood polls. And it was taken seriously enough that

its polls were included in "The New York Times" database and a couple of other big news databases that came out this week and admitted it was all

made-up. It was totally fabricated.

And so, there is a very real problem about these kind of polls that come out of nowhere and mislead the public.

But Brendan Carr, the FCC chairman, did not specify what he was talking about in his post. And that nebulousness was probably his point, that he

wants broadcasters to beware of reporting on these polls right now, whether they're from the real trustworthy folks or these fly-by-night operations.

See what I mean?

FOSTER: Yeah, absolutely. And obviously we consider polls and there's a huge process that we go through right before we use one.

STELTER: Yeah.

FOSTER: But I mean, I guess what's important here is the intention. If they're implying that pollsters are intentionally misleading the public and

the media is aware of that, then clearly that is a problem. But you know, if it's a legitimate poll and we're just reporting it, then the intention

isn't there. I just wonder how ultimately a court would look at this.

STELTER: Right. Right now, this is mostly a pressure campaign from him. It's words, not actions. If he does try to follow through and punish local

stations for broadcasting what he deems as hoaxes, there will be a long legal battle, the kind that ABC is currently engaged in. ABC's parent

company, Disney, sued the Trump administration, sued the FCC because of a battle over its licenses in recent months.

So, legal experts believe ABC will prevail in that case. They say the FCC has very thin legal ground to actually stand on. But the punishment or the

process here is the punishment. The idea is that Carr wants to have a chilling effect on news coverage.

But the president has tried this before. President Trump has talked about fake polls for years. He's even sued a pollster in Iowa. He recently lost

that lawsuit. So, if his goal has been to chill news coverage of polls, he has not succeeded.

We are continuing to see outlets like CNN and "The New York Times" and many others go out in the field, do these polls, understand what the electorate

is thinking, And that has been really invaluable in this midterm election cycle, as we are seeing many data points indicating the Democrats are going

to have a pretty good night 12 days from now.

FOSTER: Brian Selter, as ever, appreciate it. Thank you.

Elsewhere in the Trump administration, the Justice Department is investigating one of Donald Trump's former campaign managers over his

recent role in the Department of Homeland Security. Corey Lewandowski is being investigated for alleged contract misconduct. This was whilst he was

the de facto chief of staff for the last secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem. He left the role when Noem was fired in March. The DOJ

declined to comment.

In the final moments of trade on Wall Street, stocks are struggling. The Dow has been in the red for most of the session, whilst there's been some

big losses for tech stocks.

This is our Business Breakout.

Meta shares are dragging down the tech stocks as a whole. The company revealed it's planning to spend as much as $145 billion this year as it

looks to ramp up its A.I. business.

[15:40:03]

Analysts are concerned those investments won't pay off. Meta shares have been down more than six percent in today's session.

Oil prices are rising after those fresh Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. Both Brent crude and WTI were briefly trading at more than $100 a barrel.

Stocks have fallen in response, with the S&P 500 giving up all of its weekly gains just in today's session.

If you're staying at an Airbnb soon, you no longer have to worry about doing the dishes. The company is changing its rules about which chores

guests have to do at the end of their stay. Hosts can no longer ask guests to do any chores, which require, quote, significant efforts such as

stripping the bed, doing the dishes, or taking out the trash.

Coming up, mapping marsupials, a technology originally designed to detect sharks, is now being used to spot a far friendlier-looking target.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Australia's koala population is under threat. Koalas now face multiple risks from deforestation, bushfires, and climate change.

Today on "Call to Earth", we look at how drone technology is being used to help keep track of one of Australia's most beloved species.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): In Australia's northeast on Magnetic Island, a team of drone pilots take to the sky as part of a

pioneering initiative. They're searching for one of the country's most iconic and elusive species.

JASON YOUNG, MANAGING DIRECTOR, RIPPER CORPORATION: So that didn't take long. Yeah, wow.

KINKADE (voice-over): Using drones equipped with cutting-edge imaging technology, the Great Magnetic Island Koala Count aims to complete the most

comprehensive survey of the island's koala population ever undertaken.

YOUNG: We've now completed Phase I of that project and detected 46 koalas in a specific area, and a really important area for the research.

[15:45:05]

KINKADE (voice-over): Ripper Corp. originally designed their drones for identifying threats to swimmers as well as for search and rescue efforts at

sea. As their technology advanced, so too did their opportunity to aid conservation efforts.

YOUNG: We started out in looking for sharks and crocodiles, and used that technology to move into the bush. So looking for endangered species,

especially koalas.

KINKADE (voice-over): In Queensland, the Australian government has listed koalas as endangered since 2022.

YOUNG: Oh wow, a little joey on its back.

KINKADE (voice-over): The koalas that roam these canopies were introduced to the island back in the early 20th century to protect them from threats

on the mainland. But the island's terrain, combined with the difficulty in spotting individuals from the ground, can make population counts

challenging and expensive.

YOUNG: People often say, oh, there's a couple of koalas up in the hill or there's a few koalas there. But yeah, with our drones, we're able to really

count how many are there, provide their exact GPS location and take some great imagery of the koalas without disturbing them in any way.

(MUSIC)

KINKADE (voice-over): Dr. Ali Bee of the Magnetic Island Koala Hospital, which is a partner of the survey initiative, rescues sick or injured

koalas.

DR. ALI BEE, HEAD VETERINARIAN, MAGNETIC ISLAND KOALA HOSPITAL: This is Axel (ph) when he first started having difficulty breathing.

KINKADE (voice-over): She sees promise in the drone's capability to also monitor and track the population after treatment, especially the joeys.

BEE: For me, when we release the hand-raised babies or releasing any of them, it's good to track them where they go after that. It's watching that

they can also disperse properly into safe areas.

KINKADE (voice-over): Working alongside her daughter Izzy, they're also collecting genetic information to provide crucial insight about the

island's koala population. And they believe the drone surveys will be critical to their research.

BEE: To track the genetic health, we need to know the numbers.

KINKADE (voice-over): A previous ground survey taken more than 10 years ago placed the population between 600 to 800. But after more than 20 years

working here, Ali believes the total today is much higher.

BEE: We've had an awful lot of them in if that's the case. We've had nearly 500 in care and a lot of those aren't repeat offenders. So yeah, I

think there's a far more accurate way of doing it and I think the drone is the way to go.

YOUNG: I think truly knowing how many are there to begin with and then providing that information beyond universities and research groups and

getting it out to government agencies so they can make better decisions, certainly around development sites or adjustments to roads.

And again, that research and the data around where the koalas or other animals are feeding or are living can make better choices around the

rehabilitation programs as well. And there's another koala just relaxing, having a sleep in the tree.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Do let us know what you are doing to answer this call with a hashtag #CallToEarth.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:51:05]

FOSTER: A popular social media livestreamer pleads not guilty to a rape charge. Braden Peters goes under the name Clavicular and is known for the

Looksmaxxing trend. Thursday in Massachusetts, he was arraigned on the charge of raping a 17-year-old girl in 2025. He was given bail and ordered

to surrender his passport.

Jean Cazares joins me now with more.

We heard a bit more about the accusations from that night. Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is very serious because this is out of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The number one charge, there

are three charges altogether, but it's rape. And the maximum incarceration is 20 years. You are a registered sex offender if convicted.

But here is what the complaint is alleging are the facts. It happened allegedly in May of this year. May of 2025, actually. And there was a young

girl, 17 years old, who is the alleged victim here.

And she had been communicating with Braden Peters, that's his real name, on social media. And so suddenly, they were both in Massachusetts. She was at

her grandparents' house. He was at his mother and grandmother's house, both at their family home.

So, he says, look, I'll get an Uber, come on over to my house and maybe you can do some live streaming because I'd love for you to get more publicity

here to maybe be the female face of my looksmaxxing site.

So, she did. She went in the house. He ushered her upstairs. It was his bedroom. The live streaming was going on.

He said, look, there's two things before we go on. you don't tell them you're 17 and you do not tell them that what is right there in the cup is

alcohol and it was vodka. You say it's water.

So she goes on the live streaming she starts drinking the vodka and she said she had at least two or three shots she calls it two or three cups

even in the complaint and then she said I started feeling in a certain way and I kissed him on the livestreaming. The livestreaming ended she said I

went to his bed I went to sleep and I woke up the next morning and she alleges she was being raped.

So those are the basic facts right there. He is saying it's consensual, but this case is in its infancy right now is the arraignment. He pleaded not

guilty today. You saw him there in court, but there's a long road ahead.

And I looked up the case precedent law for Massachusetts in regard to plying someone with alcohol before sexually assaulting them. There are

three things that the prosecution has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Number one, that there was intoxication. Number two, the fact that plying

with alcohol rendered the accuser so she was not able to consent, and the defendant knew or should have known that that alcohol would create a

situation where consent was not a viable possibility.

FOSTER: OK. Jean, thank you. Back with you as you get more from that trial.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

FOSTER: Now, they've been a staple of New York's Central Park for more than 150 years. Now, the iconic horse-drawn carriages may soon take their

last trot. New York City lawmakers are set to vote today on a bill that would ban horse-drawn carriage rides by June 2028. The move was spurred by

the death of a teenage tourist last spring and after decades of opposition from animal rights activists.

Fearing for their livelihoods, carriage drivers are unclear as to what comes next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: City Council has never, ever once voted to ban a lawfully regulated industry. It's not just that they haven't come to a vote

on a carriage ban. They've never tried, you know, this has never been done before. You know, this bill is deeply defective, it's offensive, it's a

bill that will hurt people and it will hurt horses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, finally tonight, an Australian reporter rescues a man from his car just moments before it was submerged in flood water.

Will Murray, a journalist for Australia's public broadcaster, was reporting on floods north of Brisbane when a man drove through the waters, as you can

see, car stalled started to sink. Murray and another man swam out, pulling the driver from the vehicle.

Approximately 170 millimeters of rain actually hit the town of Murrayfield on Thursday, where this incident took place.

I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Stay with CNN.

END

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