Welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper. This hour, oh, canada. The Standing Ovation that created scandal for our neighbors to the north. How a roomful of canadian lawmakers got a standing o for a ukrainian veteran who fought for the wrong side in world war ii. After he was found out he fought with the nazis, there was an apology from Justin Trudeau. Look at this video, a night in center city, philadelphia. Shocking images of lawlessness, prompting for ing more question basic safety in the cities in the united states. And leading this hour, yes, the election music. You know i love it. A critical night in the republican president ial race. Only seven will be allowed on the stage in this second debate instead of eight in the first round. Asa hutchinson, the one not making the cut tonight. Sorry, governor. The dominant candidate also will not be on stage, donald trump. Though that is voluntarily. Instead, hes going to michigan with a message for union workers, oddly hes chose on the do so at a nonunion plant. Jeff zeleny is in simi valley, california where republican candidates will take the stage in a few hours. Jeff, who made the stage . How critical of a night is this for candidates looking to break through, which is, to be honest, all of them . Reporter it is all of them, jake, a critical night for all seven of those candidates, who will be on stage. At center stage once again is Florida Governor ron desantis. He also will be surrounded this time by former South Carolina governor nikki haley, as well as ohio entrepreneur vivek ramaswamy, and the rest of the field goes out from there. Yes, this is a scramble for second place, a race to be seen as the trump alternative. Theres no doubt, a lot has happened since that last debate in milwaukee at the end of august. Certainly, theres a looming government shutdown. Theres a massive strike that is potentially creating economic head winds and waves in michigan. Abortion policy is also much more front and center than it was, even a month ago, because of Donald Trumps own comments. Those are some of the new issues. But many of these kidds, many of these campaigns want to have this night without donald trump to make their case, to make their introduction directly to the voters. Largely in iowa and of New Hampshire who are consuming a steady diet of trump news. So they are trying to get beyond that to make their own cases there. Former new Jersey Governor Chris Christie is going to go directly after the former president. That has been the center piece of his campaign. But what we are looking for tonight are some of the new cross currents. The race has changed a bit since the last debate. Nikki haley has been on the rise somewhat. The Florida Governor has high stakes here in terms of trying to hold his position as the leading alternative, if you will. And former Vice President mike pence clearly is on the end of the stage this time, still also trying to make his point as well and stay in this contest. Asa hutchinson is not on the stage tonight, seven are. The next debate will not be until november. So this could be one of the biggest opportunities for all of these candidates to break through. Jeff, i know you remember the last time i believe there was a Republican Debate at the Reagan Library was 2015. I got to moderate it for cnn. I talked about reagan quite a bit. It was 2015, the Republican Party was very different than what it is today. How much is former president reagans Legacy Factoring into tonight, if at all . Reporter jake, its extraordinary to think of the changes in just eight short years. We do all remember that debate and the reagan legacy was front and center. Donald trump was just beginning to commandeer the Republican Party. He became the nominee and so much has changed. Im told several candidates are still going to deploy at least the legacy and the memory of Ronald Reagan, particularly on foreign policy. Look for mike pence to invoke him, nikki haley, as well. But it feels entirely different, when you think of the history of Ronald Reagan. We did see several of the candidates go and pay their respects to the former president , who is interred here in simi valley. But this is clearly the party of donald trump, even if hes not. There remember reagans 11th commandment, do not speak ill of fellow republicans. Lets go now to michigan, where donald trump will be instead of the debate stage in california. Kristen, walk us through mr. Trumps plans, why did he decide on michigan instead of the debate . Reporter jake, this is the clearest signal we have had from the Trump Campaign that they are looking ahead to the general election, we might see them in South Carolina or iowa or New Hampshire. But instead, hes giving a primetime address to Working Class voters in the swing state of michigan. Now, a reminder, these voters and this state helped deliver him the white house in 2016 and helped deliver joe biden the white house in 2020. And trump wants to take some of those voters back. Obviously, were in a very different scenario that we were in 2016, because trump had a political record. And one that calls pro business, antiunion, but the Trump Advisers tell me they believe they can drive a wedge between the Union Leaders and Rank And File members and they want to show that tonight. Donald trump always one for optics. They are going to fill the place with Union Members all in support of trump, all holding up signs that say Union Members in support of trump. So clearly trying to give that visual there. We know that hes going to be focused a lot on the economy tonight. The big question is whether or not he can actually get these Union Members to vote for him in 2024. Trump is making a play for michigan voters amid the autoworkers strike, but, but, hes visiting a nonunion plant. Whats up with that . Reporter so the campaign will have you know that these parts that are made here are going to union shops, but it does appear theres another reason they chose this location. One of the things that donald trump has routinely hit biden over is electric vehicles. Essentially saying that it will kill american jobs. That all the jobs are going to go overseas. We heard from the president of drake enterprise, where this event is located at, who said on fox news, if electric cars take over everyone here would be out of a job. So the messaging there, and a preview to what we will hear in his speech tonight. Kristen, thanks so much. Lets bring in Ashley Alison and jonah goldberg, the cofounder and editor in chief of the dispatch. What do you think Ronald Reagan would make of todays gop . Umm, uhh, he would be upset, i think. If you listen very closely, you can hear his spinning right now. I think that you mentioned the 11th commandment thing. Its worth pointing out why he had the 11th commandment, he didnt want to relitigate watergate and nixon. It was a way to say were going to bring the party together. I think if trump were not on the scene, we would be in 11th commandment mode, because thats how you would get past trump is by getting past trump. But trump is this creature that is not going to leave the scene voluntarily. And that makes it very difficult to have any sort of norms and standards about party unity or anything like that, because he thinks hes more important than the party. There is something kind of reaganesque going on with trump, in that im old enough to remember his achievement in getting Reagan Democrats, these Blue Dollar Industrial Guys who would normally vote union, and going for reagan because their belief in strong foreign policy, strong economy, that sort of thing, and a lot of those guys just never came back to the democratic party. Yeah. I think thats why you see him in michigan today, thinking that he can pull some of the uaw workers who are currently on strike back to him if they voted for joe biden, knowing that michigan is a strong battleground state. But the irony is, that hes not even at a union plant. So how are you supporting workers that are in labor when you dont even go to a plant where they are working . And really, what is your policy behind workers rights . Trump is not a pro union president. The Republican Party is not traditionally a pro worker party. So while some of those Reagan Democrats might be moving over to donald trump, i think the issues that were seeing right now could keep them firmly in bidens camp, particularly when you see how joe biden was historically the first president to ever go through a Picket Line Yesterday and stood with workers. That is a telling sign that they may be on the biden camp for this election. Lets look at the debate tonight. There is a new piece out that suggests that this is do or die for ron desantis, who is still in the lead in several states and several polls. But one republican backing desantis says if he doesnt do well if he wants to drop out. That might be a little premature, but what do you think . He hasnt been exactly lightning in a bottle. No, but hes in the lead for second. Excellent point, excellent point. Yeah, look, the problem for desantis is that he spent a lot of time saying wait till i run, wait till i announce, then i will show you. Wait till this, wait till the first debate. The problem is that he just hasnt had the pop. In fact, hes sort of hes going down. I think one of the problems that we get into here in washington and a lot of the punditry, we can only talk about whats legal ible, whats visib to us. And we talk about the debates, which i dont think matter all that much. Ron desantis had a good debate according to the focus groups, but he didnt take off after it. Nikki haley had a good debate and she did. I think its because shes much better at Retail Politicking in New Hampshire and iowa than desantis is, and that really matters. It seems like desantis had a campaign designed for the very online right. Literally announced on twitter and that went great. It shows you that his instincts were geared towards a fox and twitter audience, and not the audience he needs to be good at. Thats why hes suffering. The other argument one could make is that desantis is running to trumps right and there suspect a lot of room there. In terms of there is some room there, but his supporters on his right are locked in on trump, really. Right. And, umm, nikki haley in some ways is leading towards the general election already a little bit. I think thats a smart strategy for her, particularly if she isnt going to aggressively criticize trump, which many think those in the republican field should do right now. Desantis is definitely running to the right of donald trump, because he is trying to be trump 2. 0. If you dont like this guy, if you dont like what happened on january 6th, were not going to talk about it. If you believe donald trump lost the election, i dont want to talk about it in my campaign, but if you want the same policies, im your guy. And i think nikki haley realizes by some of her answers, thats not going to play well in a general election. You may fair well, perhaps in a republican primary, but will that be an agenda that can beat joe biden . Based on the way that the American People feel on those issues, its not. I dont disagree necessarily with that, but the issues in terms of labor unions and on the ron desantis 2. 0 strategy, that only works when you want to get rid of 1. 0, and i dont think the voters trump is going after tonight with the michigan speech, he will appeal to them. He will stay stuff about union work workers, but a lot of the politics is coded cultural war stuff. A lot of the voters arent voting on the issues. Its much more of a personality thing. Two undecided voters im going to run a clip on. The first is Cassidy Hutchinson. She was disappointed that so few candidates said they would not vote for donald trump if he were a convicted felon. The two were Chris Christie and asa hutchinson, who didnt make the debate stage tonight. Here is a little bit of that interview. I had a lot of hope with nikki haley. I thought that she had very well fleshed out answers on things. Even mike pence, i was disappointed when i saw mike pence raise his hand. So thats a republican who cares about democracy, and shes looking for a pro democracy republican. Now im going to play joe manchin of West Virginia who talked to casey hunt on her cnn show, i believe, and he has not committed to voting for biden. Lets run that sound. If the election were being held today, would you vote for joe biden for reelection . Well, i never thought about that, because ive not got on the that point. Theres a lot to be sorted out so youre not saying yes, that you would vote for him. Im not saying yes or no on this. Im looking at the state of my country, wri bhere i believe wed to be. Yikes. I think hes a patriotic guy. But hes looking at the fact he might run. And he comes from a state where hes the last elected democrat. He will be the last elected democrat. The state was the most Pro Trump State of any state in the union, and going out i think wyoming. Fair enough. But going out and saying youre all in for biden doesnt help him for running as a third party or for reelection in his own state, so he has to play coy. I dont think its much more complicated than that. And joe biden does this pro democracy thing. I think he does it for the Cassidy Hutchinson republicans out there. Absolutely. After you look at someone like cassidy, who really put it on the line by Denouncing Trump and testifying in front of the january 6th committee, for mike pence not to even say i wouldnt vote for donald trump after he certified the elections, sure, i was disappointed too, and thats who joe biden thinks he can bring over. Thank you both for being here. After the debate, turn to cnn for analyst. And a day in court for senator bob menendez of new jersey and his wife. Hes planning to address his colleagues on capitol hill i think its 30 democrats in the senate have called on him to resign. Well talk about that, next. Just in, some new comments from Kevin Mccarthy on capitol hill about this government funding fight, including the new strategy he is backing. A shortterm Continuing Resolution that sits on funding for border security. Here is what Speaker Mccarthy had to say. Dont think money solvie s t problem. What has happened is the president s policies that has made the border wide open. Ive worked with sinema and others. There are democrat elected members who want the border secure, as well. They see what is happening to their own states. This is why i dont understand why the president would ignore this problem and continue with this when both sides are asking for a resolution. You see the Countdown Clock there. Congress has less than four days to go until the government runs out of funding and a shutdown goes into effect. In our Law And Justice lead today, democratic senator bob menendez of the garden state pleaded not guilty to corruption related charges in a Federal Courtroom. The senator and his wife are accused of accepting hundreds of thousands in bribes. At least 30 of his fellow Senate Democrats have called upon him to resign. Cnns paula reed joins me now from new york across the river from new jersey. Paula, walk us through what happened in court today. Reporter well, jake, this was the first hearing for the senator and his wife since the charges were filed last week. They both entered pleas of not guilty through their respective attorneys, and they are both expected to relinquish their personal passports, but the senator can keep his official passport for any travel related to his day job as a senior lawmaker. They declined to answer any questions as they were in Federal Court today. But they are expected to be back here at Federal Court early next week for the first hearing before the judge, who will handle this case through what is expected to be a trial. And paula, a number of a growing number of menendezs democratic colleagues, 30 out of 50, are calling for his resignation. Hes going to address them tomorrow . Reporter yeah, could be a bit of an awkward meeting, jake. As you just noted, more than half of his Democratic Senate colleagues are calling for him to resign. So far hes remained defiant, even in the wake of calls to step down. We expect tomorrow that Senator Cardin will be named chair of the Foreign Relations committee, a post menendez had to vacate after this indictment. But it is likely his colleague hs have a lot of tough questions for him. How does this case differ from some of the public Corruption Cases that we have seen in the past, ted stevens, governor mcdonald, another one against menendez, john edwards, all of which, all of which fell apart . Reporter exactly. Even when the Public Integrity section of the Justice Department was able to get a conviction, the Supreme Court overturned that and made it difficult for them to really get convictions when theyre accusing politicians of taking gifts or possible bribes in exchange for wielding political influence. This is something that menendez has pointed to, noting that he was previously charged and not convicted. One of the key differences with this case is that at the heart of this case is the accusation that the senator shared Sensitive Information with a Foreign Government against u. S. Interests. That is really a distinguishing factor from those other cases, and part of why this case is so serious and why so many of his colleagues are calling for him to step down. Paula, thank you so much. Police say this wild night of Street Lawlessness in philadelphia was coordinated. What else are they saying about the looting . Thats next. In our national lead, this is what downtown philly looked like last night when a crowd of people ransacked an apple store, foot locker, a lulu lemon and several other businesses in center city. The looting was so bad, philadelphia closed all of its Liquor Stores today after 18 of them were broken into. More than 50 people, including three teenagers, have been arrested in what Police Suspect was a coordinated crime spree. Cnns reporter is in philadelphia right now. This all happened about 30 minutes after some peaceful protests, apparently completely separate, had ended. Reporter thats right, jake. Because of that, it was really a frustrating and troublesome night here in philadelphia for so many people. Police reporting that there were more than 70 incidents related to looting last night. As you said, it was all after really peaceful protests concerning that Court Decision about an officer who killed Eddie Izzariy back in august. Police said they will continue to rest those responsible for the looting, and also that the looters were not protestors, they were, as Police Called them, criminal opportunists. Jake, heres how this started. Basically it started and 8 00 p. M. About 30, 40 minutes after the protest by city hall had concluded. Then looters descended on a foot locker behind me in center city. Police arrived, but then those people swarmed away. Then they went to a lulli lemon and apple store, and then other parts of philadelphia, as well. Police say that some of the people may have spread the word about looting last night over social media and suggested there may have been a caravan of a collect group of people going to specific spots in philadelphia. Police say incredibly disrespectful and disgusting acts against citizens here this the city. But, again, many arrests. And jake, we are seeing more Philadelphia Police resources tonight out in the city behind us. Jake . According to the philly police, there have been more than 820 retail thefts in the city in just the last two weeks, more than 820. Have police or city officials talked about how they plan to tackle this . Reporter yeah, jake. Retail theft has been something that Philadelphia Police have been dealing with, not just in the past two weeks but for a little while, especially in the center city district. Police were asked basically if they gave enough heads up to these businesses in center city, that there might be a concern about looting. The director acknowledged they could have done better to communicate that with the businesses and business community, but it is something they have clearly stated it is a priority for them moving forward. Danny freeman, thank you. The theft and organized in philly is why target will close at least nine stores in several major cities. Two in seattle, washington, three in portland, oregon, three in oakland and San Francisco in california, and one in new york city. Cnns Veronica Miracle is following the story. Is crime really the main reason target is closing these specific stores . Reporter well, jake, there is some skepticism whether big Box Retailers are using crime as an excuse to close down stores that arent doing well. But at least here at this San Francisco target, we spoke to a lot of regulars. They say they believe that crime is the reason for at least this Store Closure. I spoke with a man who has lived across the street for three years. He says on a regular basis, every day he sees multiple people running out of the store with stolen items. Take a listen to his first hand account. I see tons of Homeless People come here every single day. I cant say everyone is stealing but a majority of them come here just to steal to resell it, to do whatever with the money. Reporter target did give us a statement saying before they made this decision, they invested in strategies to prevent and stop theft and Organized Retail Crime by adding more security retail members, and implementing theft deterrent tools, but ultimately, it was not enough to stop the nine stores from being shut down. This all does align with new data just released by the National Retail federation, which reports that 28 of retailers are Closing Locations due to crime. Jake . Do we know how these closures in general impact the local economies for the surrounding communities . Reporter well, just like food deserts, these people are going to have to leave this area and go to other locations, theyll have to travel farther, and the remaining stores are going to get busier. And then were seeing an impact here. So these store hours have changed just today here. Its supposed to open at 9 00. They opened at 10 00. There was a line of cars of people waiting and being turned away. We understand that this is the same situation that happened in new york at one of the target stores, as well. Now, i did go inside. I spoke to an employee and asked her what she plans on doing. She said she just found out about this Store Closure last night, the same time as the general public, and that employees are being given the option to move to other store locations. Jake . Veronica, thanks so much. Canada has a problem. A growing international problem. It started with an embarrassing Standing Ovation for a ukrainian veteran, who, it turns out, had fought with the wrong side in world war ii. The resignation that followed andthe apology and what could be next in this grim saga, coming up. Back to our world lead. And an apology today from Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau for A Deeply Embarrassing Act by the canadian government. It started last friday when ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Canadian Parliament in ottawa during the ceremony. The speaker of parliament introduced a 98yearold ukrainian world war ii veteran, who was watching from the gallery. Hes a ukrainian hero, a canadian hero. He got a prolonged stand ovation from the crowd which, to be fair, presumably did not know anything about him at the time. He even got a raised fist gesture of respect from president zelenskyy, who definitely did not know anything about him at the time. Here is the problem, and its a doozy. In world war ii, he fought for what is fair to say the wrong side. He belonged to a ukrainian unit that swore loyalty to the nazis. A Canadian Human RightsOrganization Says his unit was responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable. Cnns paula newton is follow Thing Scandal for us, and the fallout, which is considerable and now has both political and legal ramifications fallout. I mean, o, canada, this is embarrassing. How did it even happen . It is beyond embarrassing, jake. Most people have attached the word shameful to this and for good reason. One was an error in vetting, but lets be clear. This wasnt just that they didnt vet him properly, but a matter of historical ignorance, and many people in canada are saying that, as well. The speaker himself resigned, but Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau coming out and apologizing. But more than that, jake, he made the point that this was incredibly troubling for ukraine itself. And it does not help their ongoing battle with russia. Listen. It is extremely troubling to think that this egregious error is being politicized by russia and its supporters to provide false propaganda about what ukraine is fighting for. Reporter this really gave russia a propaganda win, and since russia used the predense of denazi fieing ukraine to justify the invasion. And now poland wants to extradite him. Reporter been, poland confirmed to cnn that they are, in fact, looking at any evidence that they may have in order to finally bring this man to justice if, indeed, it proves to be true that he committed any war crimes and pledged allegiance to hitler. Whats interesting here, and jewish groups in canada, they have been fighting for decades to have the holocaust records made public. Listen. And so by not doing the right thing in the past, it led to this absolute International Disaster today, and so lets move forward and the government needs to show leadership on this, and it needs to be done yesterday. Its really unfair to everyone. And, again, least of all to the vets who fought against the nazis. He says look, if this had happened decades ago, we would have the evidence we needed to know that a man like this, perhaps a former nazi, was living quietly in Northern Ontario in canada. Ive asked the Justice Department here in canada. They refused to comment other than to say canada does not have an Extradition Treaty with poland. I dont know why thats relevant. But well continue to follow this story, especially where it concerns poland. Yikes paula, thank you so much. Coming up next, one of the most tragic issues facing the united states, i need you to hear this one. Well be right back. In our national lead, with numbers showing an average of 17 veterans a day dying by suicide here in the united states, 17, the department of Veterans Affairs has partnered with the ad council to produce videos encouraging veterans to reach out for help. The v. A. Got some help. These were directed by Catherine Bigelow, who won an oscar for the film the hurt locker. Here is a sample. Have you ever asked for help yourself . Its always touch, right . I always feel like i can solve my own problems, you eventually you cant deal with it on your own. Once you take the first step, theres so much support. Powerful stuff. So tell us how this particular program came out, how did you get Catherine Bigelow involved . I mean, thats shes a director of some serious stature. Our partners at the ad council made that happen. And i think that a person with her stature wanting to make sure that shes involved in an effort like this underscores the fact that the whole country has a role to play, that suicide is preventable. And we just got to make sure that were exercising every option that we have to do that. But her willingness to do this speaks to the American Peoples dedication and make sure were doing right by our vets. So ive been a journalist for decades, been doing this show for ten years. That number of suicides by veterans has gone down. To what you attribute that to . A lot of things. A leading set of data is the fact that our communities recognize this is a challenge for all of us. Due to a lot of interest on capitol hill, we are now investing in community partners, places that know their veterans best, to make sure that theyre reaching out to where they can get scientifically proven interventions and knowledge now before a crisis. So that theyre ready. But the bottom line is communities, families, battle buddies, va. Everybodys looking out for our vets so were Getting Better at it but we have a long way to go. There was a Senate Hearing a few days ago of the Veterans Affairs committee and they talked a lot about and rightly so, a recent va Inspector Generals report slamming the handling in 2021 i believe it was of a suicidal veteran in texas who reached the Veterans Crisis line by a text. He was a patient with a history of ptsd, attention deficit disorder, alcohol use. The patient texted somebody at the va and the va responder did not notify anybody in the persons family or alert first responders. Didnt change from text to phone. Patient did die by suicide within an hour of the last text. The report brought the scathing response from your fellow democrat, senator jon tester, at the hearing. This is really frustrating for me to say but weve got to do better. Weve just got to do better. This is just, this isnt sailable. Its keeping more people out of our military. Its ruining lives and families. And so we all need to Work Together and make sure this happens. Im sure you agree. Youve got to do better. What are you going to do to make sure you do . First of all, were incredibly saddened by this incident and our heart goes out to the family of that veteran, the friends. The first thing that we are going to do is learn every lesson we can from this. Were really grateful for the Inspector General digging into this. We have concurred with each of his recommendations for us and weve begun implementing those with great urgency to insure we dont repeat that kind of incident. We are seeing some evidence that we are making Good Progress on the Veterans Crisis line. Since we shortened it to 988, as a veteran, if youre in crisis today, they need only dial 988 and press 1 and theyll with in touch with our crisis responders. Since we changed that number to just those three digits, 988, weve seen an increase in 15 of number of calls, texts, and chats at the veteran crisis line. The time to respond under ten seconds. So were Getting Better at this. We recognize every Second Counts and when an incident like this one as heartbreaking as it is occurs, we have to learn every lesson from it. One of the senators in that hearing said there was an individual at the va, a director, who tried to interfere in the Inspector Generals report and that person still works for the va. Might have been removed. You know what im talking about . Im very familiar and we take what the ig is a critical partner to the va and to our success at va. So we take his reports very, very seriously. So were digging into that report. As i said, weve concurred with each of the recommendations and were moving with urgency on them. Most importantly, if there is anybody watching rieght now who is a veteran or loves or cares about a veteran who needs help, call 988. Call 988, press 1. If you are in crisis and you want to see someone, under a new law, you can go to a va hospital or to any healthcare facility, whether or not youre enrolled and you can get emergency Mental Healthcare today. 32,000, more than 32,000 veterans have availed themselves of that opportunity since recently doing that earlier this year. Its a bipartisan law enacted by congress. Mr. Takano wrote that law in the house. 32,000 vets have availed themselves of it. Call us at 988, press 1. Visit any healthcare facility. Were going to squeeze in a quick commercial and be right back. Some Breaking News into cnn. The judge overseeing the special counsels 2020 Election Interference Case against donald trump here in washington, d. C. Will not recuse herself from the case. Cnns evan Pettis Is Standing by. Evan, another loss for trumps team. Thats right. This was a long shot case argument by the former president and his legal team. Judges almost never recuse themselves except in very extraordinary circumstances. Here, the judge said that the former president s case, arguments, is not really reached that standard. They say, the judge said her statements from the bench in previous sentencings does not really mean that she cannot be impartial in overseeing this case. This is something that former president and his legal team had said was the reason why the public needs to have confidence that this case was going to be handled impartially. Thank you so much. Our coverage continues with pamela brown in for wolf blitzer but still in the situation room. See you tomorrow. Happening now, Breaking News. The judge overseeing the special