sources who have read it. there is debate on how serious to take this intelligence. is it a further sign of russian desperation and cause for their concern? or are these discussions being taken out of context? on cnn earlier tonight, top white house security official john kirby reacted to the latest u.s. intelligence report. there are lots of levels of concern, a heightened concern, about what is going on in ukraine right now that gives us cause to continue to closely monitor as best we can, russia s nuclear capabilities. now the intelligence report says that vladimir putin was not part of these talks. but putin has publicly dangled the prospect of using a nuclear device for months. today, russia s ministry of foreign affairs put out a statement, perhaps to try to ease fears that it remains kremlin policy to only use nuclear arms in a defensive response, declaring, quote, that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. also, today putin announced he must once
stumping in arizona warning voters that conspiracy theorists and election deniers are putting democracy on the brink, the former president using a heckler to make his case. watch this. this is part of what happens in our politics these days. we get distracted. we got one person yelling and suddenly everybody s yelling. you get one tweet that s stupid and suddenly everybody s obsessed with the tweet. we can t fall for that. we have to stay focused. obama is not the only former president on the campaign trail. form are president trump is also set to hold a rally in sioux city, iowa. he s not the only potential republican candidate in the state. mike pence, nikki haley, mike p pompeo have made appearances, maybe even testing the waters for themselves. jeff, a lot of airplane traffic that is happening there. reporter: there certainly is. iowa is not the hottest 2022 battleground but it s the opening bell of the 2024 presidential race. this republican wave of optimism is swe
democracy itself is on the ballot. plus on the trail, former president trump stumping across several states in the final days of the race, hitting ohio, florida, pennsylvania and iowa. we ll take you there. a cnn exclusive. new 911 audio in a uvalde student trapped inside the classroom as the gunman continued his rampage in the school. what her parents want us all to hear now. let s begin this morning with president biden s stark warning. cnn white house correspondent m.j. lee is on the north lawn. m.j., walk us through president biden s closing election. five days before the midterms he had some very harrowing words. reporter: yes, jim. president biden saying he thinks we re at a generational inflection point, that what we re confronting right now is so much bigger than politics. he said this is not about me, not even about the last election or the upcoming midterm elections. he said this is all about the future of our country. he began his remarks notably by talking a
hillary clinton, even donald trump. five days out from election day and the political heavy hitters are out in force. the major issues they say you should keep in mind, as more americans head to the polls. plus, setting expectations as the votes come in. why we may not know results on election night. and a biden we don t often hear from, dishing on her anger? hunter biden s struggle with substance abuse and donald trump. welcome to the lead. it is the final countdown. the midterm elections now just five days away. more than 30 million voters have already cast their ballots. today s campaign trail features a splashy lineup of political heavy hitters. president biden stumping in new mexico and california. former president trump on the trail in iowa. and vice president kamala harris with former secretary of state and presidential candidate hillary clinton, trying to boost democrats in new york. clinton slammed republicans on cnn this morning, saying it s, quote, frankly di
voters minds with six days to go. and republicans ramping up their panic based messaging, how to fight fear with facts. then, elon musk finding out owning twitter is not as easy as owning the lives, as the 11th hour gets underway on this wednesday night. good evening once again. i m stephanie ruhle. just six days left until election day, president biden is speaking directly to the nation about what s on the line, the future of democracy in america. the warning to not take democracy for granted came during his speech from washington, d.c. earlier tonight he laid out the risk from election deniers, political violence, and voter intimidation. we re facing a defining moment, a inflection point, we must with one overwhelming unified voice speak as a country. and say there is no place, no place, for voter intimidation and political violence in america. whether it is directed at democrats or republicans. no place, period. no place ever. i know there s a lot at stake in these midte