campaigning in chicago while governor ron desantis is speaking in florida after months of rallies and handshake lines and fundraising evens, candidates are no longer in a marathon. this is now a sprint. control of congress hangs in the balance. senate could be decided by three key tossup rates here in georgia and nevada and pennsylvania. there are other crucial swing states in play. but the importance of pennsylvania was on full display this weekend as three presidents past and present stumped for party nominees in that state. more than 40 million people have already cast their ballots outpacing early voting in 2018. let s take you to new york and florida where president biden will land soon to headline a rally and donald trump will be speaking in about an hour from now. jeremy diamond is in jonkers with the president. but let s start with kristin holmes in miami. the rally there is competing with events starring governor ron desantis. a one-time trump ally and a potential ch
top of the hour, i m erica hill. good to have you with us this morning. election day, two weeks away exactly. today there is a major focus on pennsylvania. voters gearing up for a key senate debate tonight. republican mehmet oz and john fetterman will face off in the first and only debate. this is a new poll showing fetterman leading with a narrow margin. we re on the ground in harrisburg with a preview of tonight s debate. plus overnight in florida, governor ron desantis vying to keep his job facing off against challenger charlie crist in their debate, the two trading barbs, insults, on a number of topics. charlie crist will join me in just a moment. but let s begin with what is expected to be the fiery debate tonight in pennsylvania. jessica dean is on the trail in harrisburg. and it is important, this is the only debate for voters between oz and fetterman. what are we expecting them to tackle tonight in addition to the expected fireworks? right. well we re going to see
especially tonight. and adidas cuts ties just now with kanye west over his anti-semitic rants. that is what we re watching at this hour. thank you for being here. i m kate bolduan. brittney griner was again before a russian court today and received no mercy. the court upholding griner s nine year prison sentence rejecting the nba s star plea for leniency. she was convicted in august after russian authorities say that they found vape can sifters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at moscow airport. this was swift reaction after the appeal that didn t go anywhere, slamming the court proceeding as a quote, sham, vowing the biden administration is doing everything it could to bring her home. kylie atwood is live at the state department for us. what are you hearing about this now? reporter: the conviction has opinion upheld. meaning that she is still found guilty of smuggling drugs into russia. this trial essentially brings the end of the judicial process for brittney gr
ready to face-off. cnn is live in pennsylvania for the debate showdown between john fetterman and dr. mehmet oz. also tonight, president biden is warning russia that it would be a serious mistake to use a tactical nuclear weapon, vladimir putin raising new fears about his war plans as moscow doubles down on its disputed claim that ukraine is planning to deploy a dirty bomb. and corporate america turns on kanye west for his antis-semitic remarks. we ll take a closer look at the impact as adidas and the gap cut ties with the controversial rapper also known as yay. welcome to the viewers in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re the situation room. let s get straight to the midterm countdown right now. we re just, what, two weeks, two weeks out from election day. candidates in a slew of pivotal contests preparing to clash in high stakes debates tonight with millions of voters already casting their ballots early. cnn congressional correspondent jes
constant contact with russia to try to secure griner s release. and donald trump is firing back as author bob woodward is sharing his recorded phone calls with the former president. woodward joins us to break down the trump tapes and take us behind the scenes of their extraordinary conversations. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world, i m wolf blitzer and you re in the situation room. this hour, we re counting down to the pivol u.s. senate debate in pennsylvania as well as the bigger midterm battle playing out across the country over the next 14 days. cnn correspondents are out in force in critical swing states. and here in washington covering the fight for control of congress. first, let s go to jeff zeleny in harrisburg, pennsylvania. the senate debate begins two hours or so from now. what do we expect? reporter: wolf, this is the marquee senate debate. when they go head-to-head for just an hour this evening. the first time they ve ev