vladimir putin showing an increasing reliance on drones that russia is said to be getting from iran. or clarissa ward the only reporter seeing what ukraine has shot out of the sky. plus, roe v economy? president biden s midterm pledge today, if democrats can keep control of congress. he will get an abortion rights law on the books. but the reality check on that may rely on what is on the minds of most voters. and hunting the injured. protesters shot and breaten in iran. fear of going to the hospital, where police could be waiting to capture them. the desperate mrlengths some demonstrators are going to to get treatment. welcome to the lead, i m john berman, in for jake tapper. and we start with our world lead. today, a top ukrainian intelligence official predicted an end to putin s war. quote, russia s loss is inev inevitable. by the summer, everything should be over. that despite putin s attacks on ukraine s power plants. nearly a third have been destroyed. some of th
come drone attacks cause blackouts across ukraine. russia targeting more power plants and escalating the bloodshed and suffering of civilians. also tonight, a cnn exclusive on the trump tapes. stand by to hear some of then president trump s revealing recorded interviews with journalists bob woodward including trump boasting about the letters that sparked the mar-a-lago documents investigation. as early voting in georgia sets records right now, the high stakes midterm election is now only three weeks away. we re following flash points in the battle for control of congress including a new promise by president biden on abortion rights for women. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re the situation room. our top story this hour, wide spread blackouts across ukraine as russia strikes major power and water facilities. ukrainian officials warning that moscow s attacks have already destroyed nearly a third of their ener
battleground goes bionic? the lead starts right now. one of the most anticipated debates of the year. john fetterman versus mehmet oz as this political season kicks into overdrive for candidates nationwide. plus, distraction for democrats. the anger and outrage over a letter to president biden now retracted. and moscow shuts down an appeal to release brittney griner from a russian prison. is there any hope left to bring the wnba star home? welcome to the lead. we ll get to the midterms in just a moment. first, a significant step for the justice department and its investigation into the january 6th attack. sources tell cnn the doj is trying to force the testimony of pat cipollony and patrick philbin, the top two lawyers from donald trump s white house, and hear about their conversations with the former president. this is exclusive new reporting, so let s get right to cnn s sarah murray. this is an attempt to break through a firewall of sorts trump has used to avoid scr
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
we start with the breaking news. a jury has just awarded nearly $1 billion in damages to sandy hook elementary families and an fbi agent in the connecticut defamation trial against alex jones. eight families and a first responder sued the far right conspiracy theer orists for the lies he told. this is the second of three against jones, concerning the sandy hook massacre, comes after a texas jury decided in august that jones and his company should pay nearly $50 million. the connecticut jury, nearly a billion. let s go outside the courtroom. bryn, you were in there when the big figures were read out. walk us through the jury s decision. reporter: big figures leading up to the announcement of the numbers, even the jurors were taking a deep sigh. there was just so much pressure and tension inside that room. then what a release from these family members when those numbers were being read and tallied. i can tell you as we talked about, robbie parker, he received the biggest amou