it's a pitch. get way more into what you're into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. the polls are open. the stakes are high. from mississippi to rhode island, from kentucky to ohio and don't forget about virginia, and what you need to know about the important issues on the ballot today and the clues that tonight may offer for 2024. >> 241 hostages still held and now one month after the hamas terror attacks and new statements from the israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu and what he sees for gaza going forward. >> the republicans areo

take debate stage once again, and once again, donald trump is trying to steal the spotlight. sara sidner is off today. i'm kate bald win with john ber m berman and this is cnn "news central." it is election day in america, and the polls are open, and we are watching several key races that could not only impact lives today, but can also send some loud messages for the next year's presidential election. abortion rights are on the ballot today in ohio where the voters will decide whether to enshrine the issue in the state's constitution. it has been an issue since the overturning of "roe v. wade" and others are hoping it helps in west virginia where the chambers are up for grabs, but the

republican governor in virginia is trying a new approach to abortion approach is a model for republicans in virginia and far beyond. jessica dean is in virginia. jessica, the election in virginia is not just about at the lives in the commonwealth, but what are you hearing about today and the clues in virginia could go beyond in 2024? >> you make a great point, kate. i don't live in virginia, and how could this apply to me? so often what happens in virginia and what happens with the state legislature correlates with what we see in the following year in federal elections across the country. so in 2019, the democrats took the house and senate, and in 2020 joe biden won the state by ten points and in 2021 the republicans took it back, and that is what we have in the house of representatives up on capitol hill, and this is why we

like to keep an eye on here, and see what happens in virginia. this is ale polling site here, and i will say it is a slow trickle of voters here. let me set the scene here. in virginia every house and senate seat is up for election and up for grabs, so it is big across the state. the state's governor republican glenn youngkin is not on the ballot, and he is in the middle of the term, and this is a proxy battle for him, because he is pushing ahead with his agenda and what he wants to do, and he has been foiled by the state senate which is controlled by democrats right now. republicans want to flip that. they want full control of the state legislature, and here is youngkin earlier today. >> we are delivering. i think that the results matter. so, now it is time to put it in the hands of the voters to ask them to send a team to richmond to work with me and not against me. i think that we can have a fantastic two years if we can hold the house and flip the

sen senate. >> so that is youngkin, and he has been all across the state trying to push his message, and of course, the democrats are trying to hold the senate and flip the house. we have seen other national democrats here in virginia making the case as well, but, kate, you mentioned reproductive rights and abortion. virginia is the only southern state who has not enacted further restrictions since roe v. wade was overturned in 2022, and youngkin wanted to put a 15-week abortion ban in place, and the democrats in the senate stopped that from happening, and so, again, abortion and reproductive rights are central to the conversation here. a couple of interesting thins here. we don't hear youngkin talking about it on the stump at all, because he is talk about other initiatives and priorities for the administration. when he is asked about it by the media, he will talk about it as what he sees a compromise, the

15-week abortion ban. and what is a test for him and his view for the republican party going forward is will that resonate with the voters here in virginia which is made up of a lot of suburban voters which is key in 2024, kate. >> absolutely. great to see you, jess. thank you so much. john? with me now is cnn data reporter harry enten, and parents like to say they like their children equally, but we know that is not true, and we love some more than others, and what are you tracing today? >> i don't have children. so going into the kentucky trace, we will have the republican attorney general there, and so it is a tight race and only three gop republican governors there, and trump won kentucky by 26 points in 2020 and so it is an ancestral lean there in kentucky going up against the national tide, and

so there is a real question of what is going to ultimately win out here. >> it is a wicked red state at that point, and yet the democrats have been able to hold on to the state a lot, even though andy e beshear's race will continue. another race in mississippi. >> yes, another deep red state, so you have tate reeves the incumbent going up against brandon pressly, and even though pressly is elvis's second cousin, but there is a welfare scandal that the democrats are hoping to tie tate reeves to, and make the state more blue than it has been in recent elections, but we will have to see. >> and not only elvis, but brett favre, too, because he is connected to the welfare scandal. and ballot measures. >> yes, and starting with

marijuana in ohio which would be the state 24 to legalize it recreationally, and i will note that all of the states that have done so since 2012, you know, when john was a kid, marijuana legalization would be 10% wanted it legalization, and we are in a different era and harry's era, and now, we want it legalized. >> i am feeling very young, and what do you mean, harry. and now, abortion is literally on the ballot in ohio. >> yes, literally on the ballot in ohio and not literally in virginia. but in virginia, the question is if the gop wins control of the state legislature, they may try to limit it, and so abortion is something since dobbs and roe v. wade has been overturned on the ballot six times and all of the times it pass and in ohio, will it be number seven? there is a lot to see. >> there is a lot the learn tonight, and it may not be

consistent, but there is a lot to learn. >> and we will delve into all of it. >> harry enten and old man berman apparently. took a turn. took a turn. i know. and now, joining us is john brownstein who is senior editor at "the atlantic." and jessica dean laying out the issues at stake and states to focus on, and what is your biggest focus on the elections today? >> i think that virginia is going to send the most important signals of 2024, because kentucky and mississippi and deep red states are anomalous situation, but virginia is actually going to encapsulate a lot of the dynamics and the ingredients that we will see in 2024. it is a state as jessica noted that joe biden won by ten points, but he is underwater with more people disapproving than approving with the job

approval results. republicans are giving a double digit advantage on the crime and economy for glenn youngkin and you would say that the republicans are poised for a big night in the legislative ra ces but it is a tossup for the democrats to hold the state senate and maybe the house, because too many of the suburban voters who are dissatisfied with the biden voters are reluctant to turn over the power to the republicans because of abortion and other cultural views. so it is seeming that virginia is going to test if the voters believe that the democrats are still going to be right for the

cultural beliefs. >> and you are referring to suburbans there. >> yes, that is the dynamics there where the dynamic is unfolding most powerfully, and we saw it in 2022 in detroit, atlanta and milwaukee where the democrats did unexpectedly well even though the people were dissatisfied with the economy and disapproved with biden's performances, because they are the ones most sensitive to the democratic arguments of the trump era gop is a threat to your rights. in virginia governor youngkin and though he is not talking about it right now, he has put abortion front and center, if he gets unified center, he will ban abortion after 15 weeks with the exception of rape and incest and the threat to the life of the mother, and that is the one big shield that the democrats have in an electoral environment

where the electorate trusts republicans more on economy and crime, and if youngkin wins control of the legislature, it is going to be an ominous threat of the singular line of defense is not enough to overcome the problems they have, but if they can hold the legislature, and particularly in the suburban areas, and particularly to see the areas in ohio vote overwhelmingly on the abortion rights tonight, it seems likely, then all of that would signal to me that the republicans face the same problem in white collar suburbs that frustrated them in the '18, '22 elections that too few of those voters regardless of the thoughts of what else is going on in the country to trust their beliefs for the country. >> is it safe that after tonight, we will understand how the political climate has shifted from 2020 to 2022 and

now into 2024? >> well, you know, i don't know if we have enough national races and in enough places to have a full place of that, but yes, virginia in particular is going to tell us whether we are still operating in a world like 2022 or if it is further deteriorating for democrats. abortion was not a silver bullet for democrats as we talked about in many of the red states that restricted abortion like texas, georgia and tennessee and red leaning where the legislatures got re-elected and not enough to overcome the resistance of the democrats on issues like crime and it was in pennsylvania and wisconsin and arizona. so i think that the virginia legislative races and in some extent the kentucky governor's race where beshear is counting on the same big numbers in the suburban communities is going to tell us whether or not this is

still powerful enough, and not completely overcome, but to neutralize those republican advantages on other issues which is interesting that the new york times and cbs and other polling is present at the national level. >> it is great to see you, ron. thank you so much. >> thank you for having me, guys. all right. she survived the hamas terror attack at the music festival, and how does she feel about the alarming rise of anti-semitism in the united states and around the world? donald trump is skipping the republican gop debate tomorrow night, and now, will the candidates on stage continue the play nice with him. we are less than two weeks away from another possible government shutdown, and how close or distant are they from a deal. >> talk about groundhog day. tonight, election night in

america sets stage for 2024, key races and top issues and which party has the momentum and realtime r reactions f from the cacandidates. . coveragege statarts tonighght a on cnn. .

it has been exactly one month since hamas terrorists attacked israel. today, israel has claimed it has secured a hamas stronghold in gaza. and today, idf said that the troops on the ground coordinated an attack that destroyed a cell that was a terrorist cell that was operating in the vicinity. prime minister benjamin netanyahu in a new interview is offering new signals of what may have to happen after the war ends. >> i think that israel for an indefinite period will have the overall security responsibility, because we have seen what happens when we don't have it. >> despite pressure from

humanitarian groups,en allies, netanyahu insists no cease-fire until all hostages held by hamas are released and though he says that tactical short pauses are possible in the meantime. let's go there. jeremy diamond is in sderot near israel and the border with gaza. what is the latest that you are hearing from the progress that israel is making in their operation in gaza? >> well, kate, in recent days, we have been hearing from the israeli military they have encircled gaza, and cut gaza between the north and the south, and that they were operating in areas around the gaza city. today, one month into this israel-hamas war, the commander of the idf is saying that israeli military troops are fighting, quote, in the heart of gaza city, which is obviously a significant development as we now understand that israeli forces are moving towards the

kind of the business of very deadly, very dense urban combat in the heart of gaza city. overnight, we were watching the israeli military operation in gaza city near the hospital, and obviously, this military operation is advancing. amid all of that, the israeli prime minister is admitting that he is not going to admit to a cease-fire unless the hostages are released, but he has admitted there could be some little pauses for people to leave, and the little humanitarian pauses is what the secretary of state has been pushing for when he was in the area. and what you also heard in the clip is that israel is planning to maintain the overall security over the gaza strip for an indefinite period of time, and the ideal minister is saying that they will have complete

action to respond to any action in the gaza strip. while it is not indicating that israel is planning to reoccupy the gaza strip, they plan to treat it much like they do parts of the west bank to go in to conduct the raids to thwart what they maintain is potential attacks. the united states is dancing a fine line, and we have heard them affirm israel's right to defend itself, and also looking at $320 million in precision bomb equipment is going to israel to continue the campaign against hamas, and also a nudge to israel to carry out the strikes in a more precise manner with the more precise guided bomb kits, and we will see if that makes a difference in how israel is executing war. >> thank you, jeremy diamond. and now, two women who have been working together since the

october 7th attack to share the stories of horror and survival that took place that day. myra is a survivor of the musical festival, and she is joining us. and another woman is working to bring maya and others together across college campuses. and first of all, we are so sorry for everything that you have been through, and one month has passed since that attack, and there is not a day that goes through that you do not think about it, but after one month, what do you remember most, and what haunts you most? >> first of all, thank you for having me. it has been a nightmare of reliving situation since what happened on october 7th. in the u.s., i flew for only five days and intended to plan to speak to congressmen and senators in the u.s. because of what i have seen on the campuses, and i'm a recent

graduate of myself on a campus here in israel, and to see the students not be supported without understanding this is not just an attack, and people were not just killed, you know. people went to have fun at a rave just like coachella or all sorts of festivals in the u.s., and they not only died, they were butchered, and they were massacred. and so see all of that horror and channels of the telegram channels to civilians broke my heart, because there is no other way for the family to cope with the loss of their kids, and they don't need to see the brutality in this way. when you ask me how i am feeling, i wish that i would say that i am better and just focusing on the war here, but i

cannot puts a side the october 7th. october 7th is nothing to do with the war that is happening here. it is just an excuse to massacre people, and i cannot go back to the way things were just like it was in gaza. and i cannot go back to see my friends, and that is something loud and clear. it is not political. i feel sorry for both ideal and palestinian lives being taken, but this is what happened to us on october 7th, this is something that happened by its own. this is just an excuse for barbaric people to slaugt ter jewish people, and it pains me to see right now, that people are justifying it. that is why i am coming back to the states, because i cannot sit around and feel like, feel like helpless. people need to understand that you have to separate what happens now which is a war and what happened on october 7th

which was an attack that just slaughtered many of my friends who were just like myself, just went to have fun at a party. >> avery, you have been organizing the events on college campuses to bring maya and others to tell their story, and why? >> i think that what happened in israel is so horrible and unbelievable, but it is almost happening here now, too, and it is a war in america and college campuses, and people are dying for what they believe. it is scary to see that the holocaust which i learned about in the textbooks and school and what i learned from my grandparents and it is like i am reliving the experiences that they said they lived when they were younger, and it is scary to see. kids feel hopeless on the college campuses especially. i read a crazy statistic that 48% of the individuals from 18 to 24 support hamas. i think that is the age range

where people feel hopeless, and i think it is important to bring people like maya to hear the real stories, and to hear what she went through, and it is going to bring the community closer. >> maya, you survived a terror attack one month ago and you had people killed all around you, and again just one month ago, and yet today, you are witnessing an alarming rise in anti-semitism in the -- since the terror attack. you know, in the united states and around the world. how do you explain that and how does it make you feel? >> first, it makes me feel scared, because everyone said during the holocaust days "never again." and just like avery said, we feel it rising. when it started in the holocaust people were like, don't worry, be silent and it is going to be pass away and people will do it, and it is anti-semitism and

whatever, and so, why is it different when it is african-american or other people, and just because i am jewish, and why can't i speak at my homeland. i was just speaking at maryland university when one of my friends ran away crying, and we thought that it was hearing of my story, but what happened is cornell sending threats to jewish students, and that is something that made people scared in their homes, and i knew because i was locked in a home of not myself but of strangers in the gaza strip, but i didn't know them and i had to stay there for 24 hours just

waiting for my turn to die, and to hear that is happening in the u.s., and students who are supposed to be the next generation of leader, and why are you so quick when it is coming to the jewish people? i don't want you to take my word and, you know, treat it as whatever, but study. it does not make sense that people justify slaughter of a genocide by protecting another. we should condemn all sorts of terror, and condemn all sorts of violence and when people kidnap in 2023, people should wake up to see, like would i be okay if my kids are taken by some idea or lost losing their body parts or being film and joyfully paraded through the telegram? this is wrong and separated, because the wake of a conflict is not by killing another. if people condemn fear and see

israel as i don't want to say, but why can't you see it on the other side? why do we have to suffer and continue to defend ourselves after going through what has been in october 7th. many of my friends did not have the same luck as i had when i was just meeting the terrorists and managing to escape. many of my friends were raped, abused and killed and not just by a shot. they were really butchered and we can see all of that proof, but for some reason people are like, oh, i don't believe it. i don't want to believe it as well. i wish this were all a big dream, and i wish i didn't have to stop and suddenly run for my life, but it happened. and to hear that people are saying it is not real or they deserve it, and let's clean the ethnicity of the jewish people. what is wrong with you? this is 2023, and people need to condemn violence and people cannot solve one nation saving

by killing another. i did nothing wrong when i decided to go dance at a rave party and that needs to be said out there. and none of the people killed or kidnapped were soldiers at the time. they were just civilians and either asleep in their homes or dancing at a party. this is not something that people can just, oh, move to the next story and today, what happens in gaza, but sorry, in world war ii, people were not saying, oh, look at this poor story in germany. people need to respond for the fact that 1,400 people were slaughtered that day. this is comparing to the size of israel, that is a great amount of people. and the fact that 240 are kidnapped. >> maya parizer, i appreciate your being with us, and your courage speaking out and not just in your home, but near the united states, and avery, we

appreciate your being with us and bringing story. >> thank you for having us, and telling my story. >> thank you. we will be right back.

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home internet. catch it on the xfinity 10g network. the stage is set. tomorrow night five republican presidential hopefuls are going toe-to-toe in miami for the third gop's debate. but odds are that the front runner is not going to be in attendance as donald trump is

not going to be in attendance and holding his own rally in south florida. joining me to talk about this is mark shore, former consultant to mike pence, and so, by the third debate, what should they need to do if they have any hope for survival? >> well, you will have a lot more of a contentious evening between nicky and ron desantis. i think that the two of them seem to have been separated from tim scott and vivek and chris christie, and that is where the fireworks will be. some of them may try to engage more in debate, but i think that as time goes on, president trump's decision to avoid the debates is unfortunate for the voters, but politically, it counts to look like the rest of the debates are somewhat of an undercard, and it has played to his benefit thus far.

>> do they have to go guns blazing, and i hate any analogy like that, but at trump at this point, because they are making the distinctions or have been trying to make distinctions or trying to, but if they are seen playing nice at all against trump even if he is not there, and how do you get it right against any candidate not named trump if he is not on the stage? >> well, it is a conundrum, because the primary voters don't want you to take trump on head-on, but how do you get traction if you don't. so it is certainly a challenge, and something that we discussed last time, kate, i still think there is a conventional wisdom that says what we need to do is to get down to one candidate to go mano a mano against trump, but that conventional wisdom is not true in this case, because as more and more candidates are dropping out, it is the bigger inevitability that trump is the nominee, and the simplistic

notion that there is a trump vote and anti-trump vote, but it does not apply. because if desantis were to drop out, then it goes back to trump, so there is a notion that says that the candidates need to drop out, and the donors want the candidates to drop out to find out who to solidify against does not really apply to this year's election, because it applies more to trump as the field narrows. >> i have been thinking more about that analysis. i have to run, because we have more news from capitol hill. and marc, we will talk soon, because i am being told that hostages taken by hamas on october 7th are on capitol hill talk talking. >> i am hearing that america is israel's best allies, and i am proud to be an american and

israeli as well, but i need you now. there is nothing helping me now. i pray, which i didn't do before. please help me. oh, and one other thing, if i can, and i just forgot. this is guy. okay. his best friend is a hostage, too. this is -- his best friend, so -- that's it. thank you for the opportunity. >> thank you. we pray for both of them, and thank you for sharing your story. would you like to speak? >> hello, everyone. and thank you for having us.

this is my brother, and we used to live in israel for 30 years. i live with my wife and 3-year-old daughter, and my parents live in a kibbutz a couple of houses from me. and our brother was kidnapped from his house in the same kibbutz. t saturday, my wife woke me up to the sound of the alarms. as we were to the safe room, i managed to grab my birthday cake of my daughter and some water. and we locked ourselves in the safe room. meanwhile, sending me a message that he was in the safe room in his kibbutz, and they called him up to take the guns and fight.

in that point, we realized that we were under attack. so, out of the saferoom, i left my wife to be with my daughter and i said that i would guard the door. as soon as we locked the safe room, we got messages from all around the kibbutz that the terrorists were going inside of houses and starting to kill people. families. babies. around 10:00 my younger brother alone wrote me a message that there was a terrorist inside of his house. and he sent me a heart emoji,

and that is the last time that we spoke. and then in the last time of the safe room, we have been an absolute nightmare. i can stress and you can imagine what does this feel like to be in the safe room with your seven-month pregnant wife, and with the 2-year-old daughter when you hear all of your friends have been slaughtered inside of the beds, and when you are hearing all of the terrorists inside of the kibbutz and inside of the civilian's houses and wiped out families.

and working with us, because we have a family business and we do everything together. we do everything together and i miss him a lot. but now this is a call for action. it has been 32 days now. hamas, just to remind you, they butchered our families. they raped our women. they beheaded our babies, and they burn ed people alive. this is the organization that take and kidnapped children. 9-month-children.

3-year-old children. they kidnapped elderly women and men who are sick. this barbarian organization kidnapped 240-plus civilians. and every day now it's that you never know what you can do to them. i want to talk to everyone here to have the american government help us, but it is not enough. we need help now. we don't know what is their condition. this is a call for action. and this is the wake-up call not only for israel, not only for the jewish community, but it is a wake-up call for all of you

here, all of america, all of europe. you are next. you are next. and we should do everything that we can to stop this atrocities to come ever again. remember 7th october, and do whatever you can to stop this. sorry. thank you, again. 30 days is how long these families have been waiting for any word on their loved ones. these are the families of hostages being held by hamas. and you can hear clearly their plea as they are standing hosted

by house republicans on capitol hill right now. we need help now. and the mother before, please help me. 30 days these families have been waiting. 240 people being held hostage by hamas in gaza right now. be right back.

all right. new this morning, a government shutdown looms at the end of next week and we have a report on where things stand on that right now, and also new

reporting on the possible censure on democratic congresswoman rashida tlaib over comments she made over israel, and manu raju is up on the hill, and what are you hearing? >> well, a lot of things are moving at the same time and ten days to avoid a government shutdown and no word on how that is going to be resolved, and so a lot of questions there. also, we expect a vote this afternoon to censure rashida tlaib. and she is a sharp critic of israel, and making anti-semitic phrases called "from the river to the sea" which is comments that many democrats are concerned about what she says, many democrats are not going to vote to censure here on the floor of the house today.

>> reporter: are you concerned about the use of the phrase "from the river to the sea." >> we are concerned about that. >> and extreme maga agenda has nothing to do with the american people. they want to default on the debt and shutdown the government, and crash the economy and censure democrats and avoid holding their own members accountable. this is who they are. >> well, i am concerned about it. it is a terrible comment, and i will certainly vote against the censure. >> reporter: so last week the motion to censure was not voted for by marjorie taylor greene, because it was said to be too wide, and now it is tailored but now it is expected to pass. it is increasingly used these issues of censure even though it

is a rare thing to publicly reprimand a member, but expect it to be happening on the floor of the house today over tlaib's comments. john? later today, and we will be watching that closely, manu. kate? a jewish man is dead after dualing protests in california. what police are saying about the investigation. we will be right back.

police in california are investigating the death of a jewish man who died after an

altercation at dualing pro-isreal-palestinian demonstrations. police were told that the man fell backwards after an encounter with another protester and then he died from the injuries. the medical examiner has labeled the death a homicide. the sheriff's department is still investigating and it is not ruling out a hate crime. yet no suspects have been name and no arrests have been made. much more on this as we get the news. and polls are open across the country, and we are watching a few races that could give us key insight into the 2024 election year.