The Final 5: October 22, 2026

But when it wouldn't come out, they sent in the robot equipped with lights and a live camera. The crawler gently nudged the kitten to safety, proving the little droid can do more than just inspect pipes and also help Princess Leia and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Star Wars. All right, hope you have a good night. A special birthday shout-out to Director Max. Happy birthday, man. The final five with our Sydney person starts now. If you didn't want this person, whoever she is, why don't you take that light out of my face? Sorry, Mr. President. Mr. President. I'm sorry, Mr. President. Yeah, who needs lighting anyway? Tonight on the final five, the DOJ defends indicting a state senator days ahead of election day. New numbers show how American feels about reigning in President Trump's war powers. And yes, President Trump talked about someone's ass this week. And yes, we are going to do the same. This is the final five. Let's do this. Welcome into the final five this Thursday night. Jim is off. We start with major developments in the federal case against Virginia State Senator Louise Lucas. A longtime Democratic lawmaker is accused of helping operate a multi-million dollar criminal enterprise. Today, the Trump Justice Department unveiled a 45-page indictment accusing her of drug trafficking, money laundering, and much more. That indictment also accuses members of her family. It involved FBI raids at a cannabis business connected to Lucas. And Lucas, she has not been shy about her support for cannabis. Back in April, some of her opponents made an AI image of her in a marijuana suit. She proudly reposted it, saying they should have used real images of her at 420 festivals that already exist. That said, right before a primary election day, she said, quote, it's 420 and I'm getting excited for a big win tomorrow. Along with an image that said, quote, I fill my bong with Republican tears. The very next month, things escalated for Lucas, seen here in one of her official 2023 reelection campaign photos. In May, the feds executed search warrants and court-ordered wiretaps. Lucas, she denies any wrongdoing and released a statement saying, quote, I grew up under Jim Crow. I've seen what happens when people in power try to silence those who stand up to them. I spent my life fighting back, and I am not stopping now. Virginia State Senate Majority Leader questions the timing of that indictment. I think a lot of people have questions about the Trump administration. I mean, they indict people for throwing sandwiches at people and for, you know, picking paint chips off the floor of the reflecting pool, but they pardon people that assault federal law enforcement officers with hockey sticks and flagpoles and bear spray. So, you know, this office just doesn't seem to be a credible office. Senator Lucas will remain free as her case moves through the courts. She's scheduled to be arraigned November 16th in Newport News and is expected to formally enter a plea then. Some, including Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, have criticized as Attorney General Todd Blanche on this case for rolling it out so close to Election Day. Often, but not always, the Department of Justice has observed a roughly 60-day rule when it comes to rolling out major investigations that might impact public perception of a political candidate. Blanche disputed that, though, pointing out Lucas is not technically running, just her daughter. I mean, I think you're referring to the 60-day or 90-day practice, which is not in writing. There's no, that's not part of the justice manual. The Justice Manual speaks very clearly about what the Department of Justice can and can't do. And we cannot bring a charge if our purpose is improper. And there's nothing improper about this purpose. Blanche, we know, was not the president's first pick for attorney general. He took over the role after the departure of former AG Pam Bondi, who was ousted over her handling of things like the Epstein files. President Trump also openly criticized her for failing to bring prosecutions against his political opponents. Previously, Blanche was President Trump's personal attorney defending him in several of the criminal probes he faced himself. For decades, the Department of Justice has publicly bent over backwards to avoid the appearance they are being controlled by the White House, but they are not doing that anymore. And it's not me that's making that observation, it is Todd Blanche himself. So there was this misperception that there's this separation and independence between the Department of Justice and the White House and everybody likes to champion that and they accuse me of not suffering from independence, I don't. I work for President Trump. One other case that just dropped on the Trump DOJ's agenda is that of a former top DHS aide named Corey Lewandowski. Lewandowski was a special government employee who gained notoriety, of course, for his service to former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. Noem, you'll remember, was ousted back in March over a string of controversies, including things like these ads showing her on horseback, which cost the taxpayers more than $220 million. After that, DHS started investigating how Lewandowski might have been involved, and they just referred him to the DOJ for possible criminal charges, or as the president calls it, quote, my DOJ. All I know is I want my people to be honest. And if they're not gonna be honest, they have to be prosecuted. I don't know about specifically, but because I view if people are not honest, they're stealing from me as president. They're stealing from me. So I want my people to be honest. And if they're not honest, I'll have my DOJ go and do whatever they have to do. Meantime, there are new diplomatic efforts to try to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. President Trump's special envoy met with Russian President Vladimir Putin after talks with Ukraine's leader, Volodymyr Zelensky, in Norway. Putin claimed he wants new talks, but just hours later, he unleashed a massive attack on Ukraine's capital. This comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accuses the United States of blocking or limiting access to Elon Musk's Starlink internet service, which powers drones they use in their defense against Russia. Who do you think did it? I don't know. It can be, I mean, technically it can do, I think, SpaceX. But the decision comes by themselves or from some institutions. That's why, was strange. They limited us in Ukraine. It mean limited our possibility to defend. Earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that the White House had ordered Musk or SpaceX to slow down service for Ukraine. The president has nothing to do with the decisions that are made by Starlink and Starshield and by Mr. Musk. That's a private company. The president doesn't run that company and can't direct that company to do anything. I'm not aware of any foreknowledge or anyone. But again, the reporting was not about foreknowledge. I'm telling you, there was no foreknowledge. But beyond it, even if there was, we don't control what a private company, how they decide their product can be used. Well, President Trump, he was pressed on that very topic today. He didn't have much to say about it. I know it was a very interesting situation. So I don't want to comment one way or the other. But my relationship with Elon is a very good one. Go ahead. Yeah, I don't want to comment on it. You know, whether I called or whether somebody else called doesn't make any difference. Meantime, the State Department is now telling some diplomats and their families to leave Saudi Arabia and plans to do the same in other countries in the region. The New York Times reports the U.S. and Israel have drawn up potential plans to hit Iran hard after the midterm elections. The U.S. now has about 20 ships in the Middle East and a third aircraft carrier strike group is expected to arrive in the region in early November. Iran has warned that any new attacks from the U.S. or Israel will be met with devastating strikes. When the United States was flying wing to wing with the Israelis, that's actually when the president had the most support here at home, too, because you could see the military competency and what the United States military was able to do. We've got our military strikes warmed up in the bullpen, ready to go if we need to. And on the economy, stocks slid today as the markets react to concerns in the AI industry and oil prices keep on climbing. The Nasdaq seeing its biggest daily percent drop since early June and the S&P 500 also seeing its worst day since July. The Dow did end the day up slightly. Sustained high gas prices and diesel are having a major impact on political campaigns ahead of the midterms. What is dragging down your campaign? Is it Iran? Is it gas? Is it diesel? Is it all of it? Tell us. It's the cost of gasoline and the cost of diesel. No doubt about it that that is it. Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson is trying to get promoted to senator this year. As a congresswoman, she's voted repeatedly against war powers resolutions that directed President Trump to end the war in Iran. But on the campaign trail has said she wants the administration to end the war. NBC confronted her about the gas she's using on the campaign trail, which she is apparently asking voters to pay for. I just saw a report that said you were asking your supporters for gas money for your bus. Help give us a little gas money for our bus. Make sure we're showing up at the polls because there is more to do. I mean, is that how bad things are? No, I'm out there campaigning through the state on my bus, meeting with everyone where they are. And what I'm hearing from Iowans is that they want a leader, a common sense mom who's going to focus on their priorities. Most Republicans have continued their support of President Trump as the Iran war continues. They argue it's necessary to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon despite higher costs. Well, gas prices were coming down until we had to deal with this situation. But, you know, that's that's life that's dealing with with world and the world we live in. But if someone's listening to you and they were paying two dollars and ninety eight cents a gallon of gas before the war started and now they're paying four dollars and fifty three cents. I mean, saying that's life might not, you know, make them feel better. Those are those are your words. Those are your words, not mine. I'm saying you said this is this is the situation. The White House claims Congress does not have the authority to demand an end to the war. But what do the people think? Dr. Stephen Cole is here with the latest polling when the final five comes right back. Once now, Congress has officially been on the record saying the war in Iran is happening without their consent or approval. That's because they passed at least one war powers resolution demanding the White House withdraw or get congressional approval for the conflict. The White House has said they'll ignore that, arguing Congress does not have the authority to limit the president's war powers. But new numbers show many Americans disagree. Dr. Stephen Cole is the director of the University of Maryland's program for public consultation, and he is up late with me on the final five to talk about it. Sir, thanks so much for joining us. Hi, thanks for having me. So let's jump right in, because in an increasingly polarized political climate, I know data from your new survey actually finds a lot of agreement between Republican and Democratic voters, specifically in battlegrounds, cities and states on several issues related to war powers and our role on the world stage. So let's start with your findings on support for restrictions on a president's authority to use military force without congressional approval. Yeah. Well, the president certainly has the right to go ahead and initiate military action. But after 60 days or within 60 days, he is supposed to get approval from Congress. And if he doesn't, then the question to the American people is what happens now? And large majorities of Democrats and Republicans said that Congress, the funding should be automatically cut off if he doesn't get that kind of approval. And that was true in 31 out of the 39 battlegrounds where we surveyed. Wow. Aid to Ukraine and continuing as part of NATO, I know, that was also favored generally by both Republicans and Democrats. And was that in every battleground you surveyed or the majority? Uh, the, uh, in terms of the, uh, aid to Ukraine, uh, once again, it was in 31 out of the 39 battlegrounds, you had, uh, uh, Republican support and you had Democratic support in all of them, uh, nationally 58%, uh, Republicans, uh, supported as well as, uh, uh, 75% of Democrats to continue to provide military assistance, Ukraine, including military equipment, ammunition, training intelligence and so on given your your research sir was that surprising to you either holistically or in a specific battleground city or state no it's in a another question we asked in general do you favor uh u.s foreign policy putting a high priority on upholding what's often called the principle of collective security which means that when uh there's when a country is attacked, then other countries should band together and provide them support, either through economic sanctions or through military support. And that principle gets overwhelming support, around 8 in 10. And Republicans are even higher on this nationally than Democrats. So that principle, I mean, it kind of goes back to World War II and Hitler and all that. If a country attacks, then others should band together. And that's related to NATO as well, that the principle of NATO is that an attack on one is an attack on all. And Americans support the U.S. continuing to be part of NATO and to make that commitment to collective defense. We are obviously, sir, just days away now from the midterms. I'm curious, when you look at all the data you collected in that time context, what sticks out to you most? Well, what stands out is that there's actually a remarkable amount of cohesion about America's role in the world. There's even consensus that the U.S. should continue to provide foreign aid in all kinds of areas. And there's also support for international cooperation through arms control and continuing to limit the U.S., as well as other countries, from testing nuclear weapons and so on. So the theme that comes through is a kind of readiness to cooperate internationally. And, you know, when it comes to using force, there's a sense that Congress should put the constraint on the president. And when it comes to one of the questions that we explore is whether when it comes to a nuclear strike, can the president initiate a nuclear strike on his own or does he have to get congressional approval if the U.S. has not been attacked? And on overwhelming majorities of both Republicans and Democrats, they know that to initiate a nuclear attack, the president has to get congressional approval. So, you know, basically there is this theme of congressional constraint, international cooperation and so on. So the and all of this has been really in place. So there is some sense that people want some kind of shift away or some change from the way the U.S., the U.S. foreign policy has been for some decades. And basically that's not true. They basically support that kind of continuity in U.S. foreign policy. Well, let me ask you, sir, before we go, we only have a couple seconds left, but again, days away from the midterms. I mean, how much do you expect these issues, despite all this agreement in these battlegrounds, to really sway voters when we know, obviously, the economy and affordability are really at the top of people's priority list heading to the polls? Absolutely. Right. You know, foreign policy is very rarely, maybe around 9/11 or so, it was prominent or preeminent. But that's that's quite unusual. This is just a secondary issue when it comes to elections. Absolutely. The question of cost of living and so on. The economy, jobs, all that is are going to be more than number one considerations when making decisions about who to vote for. Timely issues, no doubt. Sir, thank you so much for staying up late with us. We do appreciate it. The final five is back right after this. Welcome back in and let's get to the third block. President Trump has spent much of the past several weeks on the campaign trail stumping for Republicans in battleground states. A lot of that time has been spent in states like Texas, Georgia, Michigan, where there are competitive battles for Senate seats that very well could wind up deciding which party controls the chamber in January. At every stop, the president gives a speech to supporters, sometimes for two hours or more. And with so many speeches, there's bound to be some repeated content. CNN put together a montage of the president making a few particular observations. I examined his ass and then I looked at his shoulders. I looked at his feet. This guy walks through the door. I said, look at this beautiful guy. I actually think Mike Collins is a good looking man. Rick Jackson's a very handsome, distinguished, beautiful looking guy. Always a good looking guy. You're not allowed to say that about women or men anymore at the end of your political career, but he is a good-looking guy. I wish Tim didn't look that good, he's a very handsome guy, I don't like handsome guys. I started examining his body, I watched up and down, I looked at his ass. CNN really seemed to have fun with that whole thing, even adopting the president's commentary or complimentary attitude with some of their own. Thanks to my panel, I really appreciate having all of you, especially you, the handsome David Urban. Thanks to all of you for watching as well, don't go anywhere, Jake Tapper is standing by for the lead. Also, handsome Hi Jak. Sorry, we were joking earlier. Never mind. Never mind. Casey, we'll see you back in the arena tomorrow. But CNN is not the only outlet taking part. Fox News has been discussing the president's comments as well. Did Ronald Reagan talk about other Republicans' asses? You always outdo yourself. To the best of my knowledge, and I knew Reagan pretty well, he was not an ass man at least not about guys I'm not going to go any further than that do you feel like this how do you come up with it I'm just playing off Trump this would be a good time to point out that Fox 5 is in fact owned and operated by Fox but we should also point out that has nothing to do with what we apparently put on television every night I said his ass is like a pile of muscle why thank you Mr. President don't worry i'm not i'm not talking about john houston's ass but i looked at his ass it's like a pile of muscle i i mean we had to play the clip again you know for for context right we're sorry about that up next on the final five who's sleeping soundly and who is tossing in Turnin' tonight. Sleeping soundly tonight, Amy Acton. You know this story by now. The Ohio gubernatorial candidate's opponent, Vivek Ramaswamy, aired an attack ad that featured her mother this week. In it, her mom called her a liar. Her mom, we know, stayed married to Amy's stepfather, who was charged of raping her when she was just 12. Acton's campaign has now surged in donations. Tonight, she has jumped to second place in the entire country on a Democratic political funding site's trending campaigns. Morales has decided one should be in his office. Why? We don't know. But instead of the ordinary and deliberate process to move an important historical item by trained curators, the Post reports Hegseth's staff dispatched its own team to grab the globe. What could go wrong? Well, they dropped it, sent it crashing on its base, and impaled its fragile shell near Antarctica. That episode apparently has become a joke inside the Pentagon. The brashness of the incident, more or less a metaphor, as the Post says, for some employees who see it as Hegseth's tenure as defense secretary. That does it for the Final Five tonight. The morning crew is here at 4 a.m. Thank you so much for watching. Go to bed or don't.