>> hello and welcome to our viewers. you are watching election night in america. cnn's special coverage of the midterm primaries. we are closely watching the most important election night in the united states this year.

and those results in turn will determine if democrats lose their razor thin majority in the house and senate. the swing state of pennsylvania is too close to call. trump's pick mehmet oz was considered the frontrunner in a three-way contest and now is neck 1k3 neck.

>> we can see the path ahead. victory ahead. >> we are making a ferocious charge. everything about this campaign has been tight. cnn projects john fetterman will get the senate nod. pennsylvania's lieutenant governor suffered a stroke and just had surgery for a pacemaker with a defibulator. earlier fetterman's wife thanked supporters saying her husband is resting at the hospital and is on track for a full recovery.

charlie dent. good to see you both. >> great to see you. >> let's start with a race that is too close to call where trump candidate mehmet oz is locked in a tight race. >> i think dave mccormick would be a better candidate against john fetterman. i think dave mccormick a profile, west point, army during the gulf war. successful businessman. pittsburgh. i think he would play better in

the suburbs relative to john fetterman. i think he would draw a nice contrast and the wind would be at his back. it is a winnable race for republicans. >> whatever g.o.p. candidate wins, oz or mccormick it will be up against john fetterman. you know, we have to consider his health. what about in terms of support for him? >> hard to say how the health issue will play eight months from now.

he is a looming presence. wears shorts. outsider and he has cast himself as being authentic. i think if you are mitch mcconnell and you are looking at the senate races and the two that will be highly competitive in north carolina and pennsylvania, you are really happy that it is dr. oz and mccormick and not barnette. definitely a good night for republicans. it will be a tight race in november. >> i want the panel to stand by.

we will get back to you. the republican nominee will be doug mastriano. the state senator is a champion of the big lie that the 2020 presidential election was rigged and he would have control over the state's electors. his democratic opponent called him a dangerous extremist who would restrict the vote and spread conspiracy theories. >> actually their party, which the media stands and advocates for have gone extreme.

>> crt stands for critical race theory. let's bring the panel back in. this was a big win for donald trump in pennsylvania's gop governor race. could he end up being more of a liability for the party when he goes up against josh shapiro? >> yeah. his nom nation is a catastrophe for republicans. they will not be standing anywhere near him. you just saw it in that clip

that you showed us he does not have the capacity to pivot. he has to moderate. he is simply incapable of it. i think a lot of swing voting republicans will support shapiro. they did nothing. they didn't panic until fiech d -- five days ago. they played switzerland and did nothing and would not put their thumb on the scale. they left it to donald trump. he put his butt on the scale for mastriano at the end here.

look. trump jumped on there at the end. there was no loiyalty. they may notch a victory in the primary but they have cost republicans the governorship of pennsylvania. if he were to win and become the governor of pennsylvania he would have control over the states electors.

he led the efforts to overturn the free and fair lakz. it is also about abortion, right. the most pressing issues, r really. >> there is another part to this. madison cawthorn has lost his re-election bid. once naught of as a rising star he found himself mired in

scandal and controversy. chuck edwards now will be the republican nominee to fill the house seat in the general election. >> just as i expected he offered his support in any way that we can use him. i am extremely, extremely pleased we are able to enter the contest on that note. >> not great news for donald trump in the north carolina house primary with his encoursed candidate madison cawthorn conceding to edwards early in the night.

trump doubled down on his support for cawthorn. he certainly shares in the big loss. >> he does. madison cawthorn seems to be in crisis. of course he shouldn't be in the united states congress. he dealt with a serious accident eight years ago. his behavior is so bizarre. i hope his family and friends help the young man. you know he can't deal with it while he is in congress. i am pleased he is defeated. i feel that the man needs a lot of attention. >> of course all of those missteps playing out so publicly. what is your response to the

hilt trump a endorsement power lost. >> eight endorsements. five appear to be winning but he will often jump in late when he wants a win. in this case madison cawthorn was going down. the republican party used him as an example of what happens. he accused members of the party of having orgies and snorting cocaine. spoke out publicly against zelenskyy. it is a lesson of what happens when you go up against your party. they called it a drip campaign and we saw terrible self destructive behavior and he has

imploded his political career and life path that happened in a public way. this is someone is that shouldn't. >> just extraordinary. many thanks to you both for being our panel. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> razor thin margin in a key race that could shape the u.s. senate. we will breakdown the pennsylvania race for senate nominee as our primary coverage continues.

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>> tuesday's midterm u.s. election primary. in pennsylvania for senate it is still too close to call. trump-backed mehmet oz is against dave mccormick and kathy barnette. each predict ing victory once al votes are counted. now more on the republican senate primary in pennsylvania. >> here is what is happening. oz seems to be gaining. he is making incremental gains.

barnette and mccormick. mccormick could have an edge in mail-in votes. it could be not hours but days. i want to bring your attention to a democratic race. this house race in oregon is really key. look at this house race for district 5 in oregon, okay. why are we paying attention to this. a centrist kurt schrader against

jamie mcleod-skinner. he held this since 2009. the president's prift eej on the line. >> thanks. our election night coverage of the u.s. midterm primaries resumes in a moment. we will have the latest on key races to watch and how they might shape control of congress. those stories and more when we return. w to fill your space with lasting fragrance inspired by ththe scents of nature you love. air wick. connect to nature.

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welcome back, everyone. we are following the pennsylvania republican race for a u.s. senate seat. >> we love you. we are going to take back the state. we are go to take back the country. it is because of you. >> when all the votes are tallied i am confident we are going to win. robber those two men are separated by a razor thin market as you request see. mccormick trails oz by less than

3,000 votes. whichever republican wins will face john fetterman, pennsylvania's lieutenant governor in november's general election. we will take a closer look now at all of this. let's start with that very tight race with oz fighting for the lead with dave mccormick. how do you expect this to play out? >> several points. this is an indispensable race for democrats. midterm elections are tough for the party holding the white house.

democrats have four sent indumb bants. it will require them to win pennsylvania. this is going to be a close race. you know, pennsylvania is a close state. i think it will be a close contest and many democrats think they have a better chance of beating oz. mccormick might be tougher but fetterman is such an unusual profile.

the matchups are harder to predict with him than a more unpredictable candidate. >> we saw the former engine enjoying a big win when doug mastriano came out on top. but will mastriano extreme views help or hinder him in november when he goes against josh shapiro? >> i think the issue of who trump endorsed is less revealing than the question of which candidates endorsed trump. mastriano won pennsylvania.

he didn't in idea idea and a photo finish. even david mccormick trump called him a liberal republican. promising to go to washington to uphold that. that is what we are seeing. the trump wing of the party is clearly the dominant wing of the party. one impact is your question about mastriano. this is a very good environment for republicans.

there will issue trump-endorsed candidates. people that will be picked could be too extreme for this climate and environment. risk in georgia, arizona and certainly in pennsylvania with mastriano as an election denier and someone wanting to repeal state law and wants to ban abortion at six weeks without exception for rape and incest and that is a tough sell in pennsylvania. >> bad news for donald trump where madison cawthorn lost to chuck edwards. why do you think trump doubled down and how does it reflect back on trump?

he definitely have an affinity for celebrity. why pick oz in pennsylvania. for trump loyalty is a one way street. he is not about maximizing the party's chances in november whatever happens to trump's personal influence trumpism is consolidating sarah longwell

tweeted that i used to think the party could be weaned from trump. i no longer believe that employ big implications for small american democracy since so many of the candidates he is endorsing are threatening to undermine the election of 2024. >> one of russia's worst defeats has turned into a tank graveyard. a failed bridge crossing and whatat the ukrainians say was imperative to their victory. whoa... ...which leavess you feeling... ahhhhhhh listerine. feel the whoa!

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spurred on by russia's war in omicron, finland and sweden have landed in their applications after ukraine reported more missile strikes in the east. the ukrainians say russian

strikes wounded a 9-year-old child. the scene as crews raced to save his life and police say at least one person was killed. a retired russian military officer is breaking ranks with the kremlin on the war in ukraine and here is what he said on russian state media. >> i must say let's not drink information tranquilizers. the whole world is against us even if we don't want to admit it. >> cnn visited the aftermath of what could be the most crushing defeat for russia so far in the war.

>> a russian tank salvaged by ukrainian troops. russian pontoon bridges under ferocious artillery attack. the ukrainian commander casts an eye to the sky looking for russian drones. ukraine and nato claims russia suffered badly here. we are at the edge of where the russian armor was caught after acrossed the pontoon river, a destroyed tank, armored personnel carrier, another armored personnel carrier and another and another. the ukrainians were able due to their conspire reconnaissance and intelligence to work out where the russians were going to

cross and bring in devastating levels of artillery. this is the result. only the edge of it. >> russell shifted attacks elsewhere for now. >> when you see this how do you feel? >> super. >> great. i understand our artillery and our troops are working. there was artillery and ground fighting. the units were pushing the enemy across the river on foot. >> reporter: on the ground we can't move forward. the track is mined. >> a real disaster for the russians but something the ukrainians say the pressure is off this front and they believe the russians are focusing efforts elsewhere. >> the chilling truth is that many camrades ended up like

this. twhiel it is a success in the grinding war for ukraine, russia remains an immediate threat. they are worried that our cars are going to attract attention. clearly an extremely active area. ukraine says evacuations are still underway at the steel plant in mariupol. we know they are being taken to russian-controlled territory in eastern ukraine. ukraine said that was the only way to get them out adding officials are working on a prisoner exchange. on tuesday russia announced

plans to interrogate the soldiers for crimes against civilians and called them nazi prisoners who shouldn't be exchanged. still in his nightly address president zelenskyy called for continued pressure on russia. >> the investigation mission continues and it is led by our military and intelligence. we also spoke separately with the president of france about the european integration steps and considering ukraine's application for status. information pressure, dpip lo mattic as well as cultural is what we need. >> for more suzanne joins us

now. what are you learning about the situation in the city of mariupol and situations at the steel plant there? >> reporter: there is a great deal of concern with what happens to the prisoners and soldiers that spent weeks inside without food or supply, many severely wounded. 250 in that convoy of busses. they are now in russian prison. their fate is uncertain at this time. we heard from the ukrainian president zelenskyy. but there is a process that he says they will have an international mediator involved in the transportation and

looking over what the state is and in the future of the very severely wounded, 50 or so would be intended to be swapped for russian fridayers of war and we heard from the russians who expressed a great deal of concern and doubt whether some of those that would be passing the investigative process and that they have a committee to move forward to see if there were crimes committed against the russian friendly folks in the donbas region. ukrainian officials are saying it is intensifying. what they are trying to do is to

roll through the ukrainian defense line so they have escalated the air attacks in that area. ukrainian officials say now that 15 helicopters the russians are moving to push forward and keep the pressure. if they were able to do that in the days and weeks forward it would make the ukrainian military forces vulnerable from three directions and something the russians decided they would put more firepower behind in an effort that effect -- escalated. north of these small villages on the board everybody, essentially meant to distract the ukrainian military on the border missions, the skirmishes if you will and keep them from the main battle

that is taking place in the east. rosemary. >> all right. many thanks. do stay safe. all right. back here in the united states, an emotional day in buffalo, new york where president joe biden bet with grief-stricken families. mr. biden and the first lady paying respects and leaving flowers for victims of the saturday shootout. the president called the mass shooting an act of domestic terrorism and condemned the ideology of the suspected shooter. >> jill and i bring you the message from deep in our nation's soul. in america evil will not win.

hate will not prevail. white supremacy is a poison. it is a poison. those comments coming as we are learning troubling new details. the 18-year-old legally obtained an ar-15 rifle, the same he described modifying in a racist statement before the attack and there were no red flags to prevent him from obtaining the guns. last year he had a mental health violation but did not rise to the level of legal concern. discord said the suspect made his online chat logs visible to some people about 30 minutes before the shooting began.

the man accused of opening fire inside of a church in lagunna california faces ten charges including murder. the man was denied bail. investigators said they believed the shooting was politically motivated with the suspect upset about political tensions between china and taiwan. the latest test of the power of donald trump endorsement is still too close to call. we will update you on the primary in pennsylvania up next. i was printing out labels and saving moneyey. shipstation n saves us so much time. it makes it really easy and seamless. pick an order, print everything you need, slapap the label onto the box, and it's ready to go.

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more on the tight race to determine the republican nominee for a senate seat in pennsylvania. trump backed dr. oz is neck and neck with david mccormick and kathy barnette put in a strong showing but is out of contention now and who are wins is going to face off against john fetterman who won his primary on tuesday night. the november race could be one of the contests to determine who

controls the senate. the u.s. congress held a discussion on ufos. the question is not whether extra terrestrial life exists or whether russia or china was testing new technology in american air space. 144 spaces as what is referred to as ufos and were only able to explain one of them. thank you so much for spending part of your day with me. the news will continue after a short break. some home fragrances can be... overwhelming.

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all right. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. it is wednesday, may 18th, it is 4:00 a.m. in new york, welcome to this special early "early start." i'm christine romans. >> late night, early start. i'm layura jarrett. and we begin with the results of the most watched primary race which is its closest as well. the republican senate primary in pennsylvania still too close to call this morning. tv d