sans speaker. kevin mccarthy failing again on a fifth ballot to capture the necessary number of votes, the number of opponents among house republicans has actually gone up from 19 to 20, to 21. now republicans are looking for a way out, an exit strategy. is that tossing mccarthy to the curb? is that brokering a deal with democrats to lower the vote? they have to get these 23 rebels on board. me melanie zanona is with us. what s happening here? reporter: republicans are searching for an offramp as it s become clear that kevin mccarthy s efforts to win over his opposition not working. i m told republicans have approached democrats on the house floor and tried to feel them out to see, what would it take for you to vote present or not show up? we re told these are informal conver conversations. it s still early. democrats said they would not bail out mccarthy, but they would be willing to talk about a consensus candidate. we ll see. the fact that republicans are even thinking a
hello, and a warm welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i m max foster in london. just ahead. you think you re in an autocratic nation. why are you in camouflage? we re losing rationality. i am humbled and honored to have the support of my parliamentary colleagues, but there is no doubt we face a profound economic challenge. doctors across the country are warning of a triple threat. the big three of viruses. i ll be honest, i think we re in for a tough several months. we re seeing a high number of children who are getting sick who need support to breathe. announcer: live from london, this is cnn newsroom with max fo foster. it s tuesday, october 25th, 9 a.m. in london, 4 a.m. on the u.s. east coast where the nation s mid-term elections are just two weeks away. more than 7 million ballots have already been cast between early voting and absentee ballots. the new cnn polling shows the economy and inflation are the key items for voter
welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. it is tuesday, october 25th. i m christine romans. we begin this morning with the raucous face-off last night between ron desantis and charlie crist in the first and only debate of the florida governor s race. crist, the democrat, is behind in the polls, nearly out of campaign cash so he charged at the republican governor like a candidate with very little to lose. desantis mostly stuck to his talking points as the two tangled over a range of talking points like abortion and whether desantis will run for president. i would like to see everybody have a shot. i m proud of the 15 weeks that we did. i know charlie crist opposes that even though the baby is fully formed, has a heartbeat, can feel pain and can suck their thumb. i don t want to bana b abortion want to make sure we keep a woman s right free. i want to make sure we don t have a governor who wouldn t allow exceptions for rape or incest. yes or no, ron
a live reporting on fighting in ukraine, new developments in the biden documents case and the a bizarre twist in the saga of george santos in connection to ponzi scheme. we start with father who is mourning the death of his daughter who was murdered in moscow, idaho. her name is madison mogen. she was one of four at university of idaho, the students stabbed to death that their house in november. as you know, a 28-year-old man, bryan kohberger, is charged with the murders. now the new york times has uncovered disturbing online postings from alleged killer when he was a teenager. he writes in one, quote, as i hug my family, i look into their faces, sigh nothing, it is like i am look ac the a video game but less. he went on to write that he could do, quote whatever i want with little remorse. kohberger is in custody and maintains his innocence. now, these murders of these four students have gotten widespread coverage, but often lost in all of that is the quiet and isolating an
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