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Milton Strengthens To Category 1 Hurricane, Threatening Florida Coast; Israel Prepares To Mark One Year Since October 7 Hamas Attacks; Trump Holds Rally In Battleground Wisconsin. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired October 06, 2024 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Welcome, everyone. Thanks for joining me. I'm Omar Jimenez, in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with breaking news. Milton has strengthened to a Category One hurricane that's taking aim at Florida. Now, the state is bracing for yet another storm threat, just 10 days after Helene made landfall, and Governor Ron DeSantis is warning people in the hurricane's path to take this storm seriously.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): So please keep an eye on this storm. There's a bit -- I mean, the greater cone covers almost the entire west coast of Florida at this point, and so -- and even if you're not in the cone as it gets closer, certainly, if you're on that -- the dirty side of the storm, there's going to be surge that goes outside the cone, that's going to be significant.

So just prepare for that and understand that's something that is likely to happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And just moments ago, Florida officials warned that half -- more than half a million people could face evacuation orders as soon as tomorrow in just one county alone.

Let's get right to CNN meteorologist, Elisa Raffa who is tracking Milton for us. So what are you seeing as far as its path and what it is projected to bring here?

ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I mean, we're worried about it rapidly intensifying again, and as it heads towards the West Coast of Florida, that will bring storm surge up and down the coast, damaging winds and heavy rain.

It is, right now, a Category One hurricane, and already rapidly intensified from yesterday. We were dealing with a depression yesterday morning. It's got 80 mile per hour winds, now still sitting 800 miles west and southwest of Tampa, but it will continue its track in very warm waters here over the Gulf of Mexico, which will allow it to intensify again to that major Category Three hurricane. You heard the governor talking about the cone, yes, it doesn't include much of the west coast of Florida. We really need to focus on the coming days on where exactly that eye goes, because that will be really the determining factor for the worst of the storm surge. But regardless, the entire peninsula withstood the impacts of the wind and the rain.

Again, ocean temperatures, middle and upper 80s. That's where we are finding it, feeding itself and fueling itself time and time again, you know, and intensifying and these oceans are just continuing to get warmer.

So we see these hurricanes getting extremely stronger faster in recent decades, even surpassing the definition of rapid intensification. So it continues its track across the Gulf going into Monday and Tuesday.

We're looking at impacts, possibly late Tuesday into Wednesday. Wednesday would be when that eye gets on shore and you get the landfall. I mean, look at these winds, it would be incredibly destructive if it's a Category Three hurricane. And again, where that eye goes will determine where the worst of the storm surge is. You know, if it's north of Tampa Bay, then you're going to feed all that storm surge into Tampa Bay; if it's to the south, then that's a better scenario for them. But either way, again, we're looking at very destructive waves along the coast.

Now, it doesn't matter what the winds are, what category it is, it will squeeze out a ton of rain. We're looking at five to eight inches of rain, again, across the peninsula. You know, from Daytona Beach down to Miami. Some totals up to 10 to 12 inches are possible. So that gives you the urban and the flash flooding in communities even far inland for places like Orlando that are not as close to the coast.

When you look at Tampa, I mean, the forecast there is five to 10 inches. They've got a front there now that's dumping rain. And then Milton comes, that is over three months' worth of rain from Milton, the October average is just over two inches for Tampa Bay.

Again, you're talking about five to 10 inches in just a matter of days. On top of, you know, they already had flooding and storm surge from Helene last week. Again, this just is compounding factors here and insult to injury, you know, already with saturated grounds and with some debris still from Helene.

Flood watches in effect again, for the peninsula, as we get heavy rain from a front. And then, of course, Milton coming through with all of that rain.

And it's been such an active season. Look at all the landfalls that we've had. This is this year alone along the Gulf Coast. You know, you had Beryl in Texas. We had Francine in Louisiana, and then two so far in Florida, it looks like we're going to add another one -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yes, we will see that we continue to monitor that impact. Elisa Raffa, thank you. And obviously, as we await that landfall, governors -- Governor Ron DeSantis is one, but also local mayors have also been trying to put their preparations into place. Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 51 counties ahead of Milton, including Hillsborough, which can includes the Tampa Bay area.

So joining me to discuss is Tampa Mayor Jane Castor. Now Mayor Castor, Miami, Orlando and Tampa are each forecast to receive four to eight inches of rain through Thursday. That would be the equivalent of an entire month's worth of rain for Miami, two months' worth of rain for Orlando and three months' worth of rain for Tampa.

I'm curious for you, how does Helene's damage complicate how you might be preparing for what Milton brings here?

[15:05:07]

MAYOR JANE CASTOR, TAMPA, FLORIDA (via phone): Well, first of all, thank you for keeping the viewers informed, Omar, and you know, you're right. We are saturated, just fully saturated, and to have a month's worth of rain in one storm is going to be difficult enough, not even to mention the storm surge and the wind damage.

Right now, we are still cleaning up from Helene. We have crews that are working around the clock to ensure that we have all of the household debris picked up from Helene. You know, we had six to eight foot storm surge that all of the residences, the majority that haven't been built to the new standards, the new code, you know, they had that six foot of water inside their homes, ruined everything.

So we're trying to pick up all of that now, so it doesn't become projectiles when Milton comes to visit.

JIMENEZ: And along those, I mean, obviously there's a lot of worries in many spots, a lot of things that you all are trying to keep an eye on and mitigate, but what is your biggest worry as we await this Milton landfall in a few days' time now, as it looks like it'll be.

CASTOR: Right. Well, I don't know that, you know, in the past, it's people just becoming complacent and not listening to the evacuation orders. Well, Helene was certainly a wake-up call for us, and so people are going to heed the evacuation notice.

Pinellas County, which is mostly coastal. They have to, for the most part, come through Hillsborough County to evacuate. So I started this afternoon telling our residents in the Zone A-Zone B, you know, just go now. Beat the traffic, and go now and just go to higher ground, as we say here in Florida that you hide from the wind, run from the water, so you don't have to go to another state, just get inland where you're not going to be susceptible to those storm surges.

No one's going to survive a 10-foot storm surge in a house that was built before the current storm codes, and we've seen a lot of those houses destroyed in these storms in the past year or so.

JIMENEZ: Yes, and look, I've covered hurricanes in Florida. I've lived in Florida for some time. I think it's fair to say there are many who, whenever we get storm forecasts like this, no matter the category of hurricane, who decide to stay rather than evacuate and I'm sure we're seeing some of that same or I'm sure we saw some of that same dynamic with Helene, of course.

But are you getting a sense with this impending threat that there are many more people who are actually listening to some of those evacuation orders and maybe understand that this might not be as survivable as you think it is.

CASTOR: Without a doubt, and we've had a lot of people move into the area. We're one of the fastest growing cities in the United States, so we have a lot of newcomers as well, but I tell you, Helene was a wake- up call, and when the order is given tomorrow to evacuate in specific zones, people are going to listen if they haven't already gotten out.

You know, as I like to say, you get in a fight with Mother Nature, she's going to win every single time. And so a lot of people don't understand the power of the water and the wind, specifically those storm surges, but we learned a very valuable lesson with Helene. I think people are going to listen.

JIMENEZ: We will see, hopefully they heed some of those warnings. Mayor Jane Castor, really appreciate you taking the time. Please keep us posted on what you may need and any updates as this comes in.

All right, still to come, Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina and left towns in ruins. You see some of the devastation there. We're going to tell you how some communities are coming together despite the adversity.

Plus, tomorrow marks one year since the October 7th terror attacks. Israel's conflict against Hamas and Hezbollah rages on. We're going to tell you how the country is planning to remember the grim milestone.

And later, we are a month out from the presidential election, and both candidates are racing to make their final pitch to voters. How Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are spending the next few days on the campaign trail. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:14:11]

JIMENEZ: New today, Israel's military is mounting renewed attacks on Hamas in Gaza after launching airstrikes overnight. The IDF says it began a new ground assault after seeing signs the group is rebuilding. You can see residents in the area packing up and fleeing as fighting broke out.

Now it comes though, as Israel prepares to mark one year since the October 7 Hamas attack setting off the war in Gaza.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv for us. So what more are we learning? Let's start with these attacks in Gaza. What more we learning there? JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar, the Israeli military is encircling the Jabalia Refugee Camp, carrying out a new and renewed major military offensive there. It is the fourth time now that Israeli troops have gone into the Jabalia Refugee Camp, just showing how a year after this war in Gaza began, Hamas is continuing to reconstitute in areas that had previously been cleared by the Israeli military, raising serious questions about the Israeli government's long term strategy in Gaza.

[15:15:12]

We are also seeing as this new military offensive is once again impacting the civilians on the ground, hundreds of thousands of people living in Northern Gaza facing new evacuation orders from the Israeli military and the majority of the area of Northern Gaza.

Already this morning, we saw hundreds of people following airstrikes and artillery fire directed at Jabalia overnight. Hundreds of people this morning fleeing that area, heading south and expressing their fears about whether or not they would actually be safer by going to this humanitarian zone, which we have seen time and time again, be struck by the Israeli military as well.

Now as all of this is happening, the Israeli military and the government are also preparing for this expected retaliation against Iran for its barrage of ballistic missiles fired at Israel earlier this week.

I actually spoke today with the Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who told me that everything is on the table as it relates to retaliation, that even as the United States has made clear that it does not want to see Israel strike nuclear sites inside of Iran, but Gallant saying that everything is on the table and that Israel will ultimately choose a time and place of its choosing for this strike, regardless of what any other country says.

JIMENEZ: Something I know you'll continue to monitor for us. But also, one thing we've been seeing plans of is, look, we're one year out since the October 7 attack, in just a few hours here where you are. How is Israel planning to mark that anniversary? And are there any added security measures that they're trying to put in place?

DIAMOND: Well, Omar, we expect tomorrow to be a very somber day in Israel. As we have talked about since October 7th last year, there is not a single Israeli who wasn't impacted by the massacre on that day, by the hostages who were taken by Hamas and those who still remain in captivity.

And so there will be events marking October 7 at the NOVA Music Festival site in Re'im by the Gaza border. At the time of the attack tomorrow morning, there will also be a big event here in Tel Aviv, marking the day.

We are seeing the Israeli military adding security in Southern Israel. The Israeli military told me earlier today that they expect that Hamas could potentially try and fire rockets into Israel, noting the fact that they have previously tried to fire during symbolic days.

And of course, we do have to remember that not only is this the anniversary of October 7th, but it also marks one year of war in Gaza, during which we have seen more than 41,000 Palestinians be killed. We have seen millions of people be displaced from their homes. And of course, that war, as we were just talking about, is continuing today, and in fact, intensifying once again in the northern part of the Gaza Strip -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: And displaced so many people.

Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much.

I want to bring in Daniel Flesch. He's a former paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces. And Daniel look, as Jeremy was just talking about, we are a year out from October 7th, which of course, shocked the world really with the violence carried out and how quickly it was by Hamas that day.

But a year out, when you look at the landscape militarily and politically in Gaza, Lebanon , and Iran and more, did you think that this is where we would be a year out.

DANIEL FLESCH, FORMER PARATROOPER IN THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES: Well, thank you for having me. I am going to start at home first and say a year from the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust, I do not think that antisemitism will be so rampant as it is, including recently released FBI statistics showing an over 300 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in the United States alone.

A year out, I did not think that over 101 hostages would still remain in Hamas terror dungeons underneath the Gaza Strip, including five Americans, we must always remember that, and I don't think also that that for the number of 40,000 casualties would be parroted, even though it is a Hamas talking point and not actually verified statistics.

But I do think that Israel would achieve its goal of defeating Hamas militarily, which it said it did about a few weeks ago, and is shifting its operations from kinetic more towards counterterrorism in Gaza and I did think that would be turning north towards Hezbollah to engage that far greater strategic threat.

But of course, we saw twice now that Iran has launched ballistic missile attacks against Israel, first in April and now just about a week ago, we saw that 200 missiles, as was mentioned, but Israel now is going to be responding.

Of course, in the last month or so, Israel certainly turned the tables against Iran and its regional proxies, and this is something we have to look forward to, to Israel taking the offensive.

JIMENEZ: Now you mentioned the hostages as well. I mean, look a year out, we still have, as you mentioned, more than a hundred Israelis believed to be still held hostage. And are you surprised at this point that there are still that many that haven't come home? FLESCH: I don't think it is a question of surprise, it is a question of capability and will, and part, effectively the United States and that Israel has been trying to achieve these two goals of defeating Hamas militarily in Gaza and also rescuing the hostages.

[15:20:08]

But unfortunately, this administration has slowed Israel's offensive throughout this year as it seeks to achieve both goals.

So a year out, 101 civilians who were brutally abducted and taken from their homes and now have been living languishing, including we must remember and must recall, a nine-month-old baby, Kfir Bibas who was nine months old, who is now one year and nine months old who was taken.

It is tragic and the international community and these international organizations, the UN and others, have turned effectively a blind eye to these hostages. We must be doing more, not only to recall and remember their names and their situation, but to pressure Hamas, Qatar, Iran and Turkey to release them, to negotiate with Israel to release them.

JIMENEZ: Now look, I want to bring up to speed to today, because Israel is now conducting limited ground operation in Southern Lebanon to clear out Hezbollah, and you spent time in that area as a soldier.

Do you expect the IDF will achieve their goal in the near term? Or do you expect, as sort of what we've been talking about here, in terms of Gaza and Hamas, that this could end up being a little bit more of a prolonged situation?

FLESCH: So Hezbollah is a much more capable foe than Hamas. It is a standing army, and it is a terror army, numbers in the tens of thousands and has special forces for which they were actually planning their own October 7th style attack for years, to attack Israel from the north into the Galilee, the northern area of Israel.

Not to mention they have a stockpile of 150,000 plus missiles, rockets, and other airborne projectiles, so they present a strategic threat to Israel.

In mid-September, Israel's government stated that their new war aim is to return the 80,000 residents that have been internally displaced from their homes to the northern communities. That's another thing we cannot forget. On October 8th, Hezbollah started launching rockets into Israel unprovoked, and since then, 80,000 of Israelis have been forced to leave their homes along the northern communities.

So his war aims to be able to restore security for those residents to return home, which is admittedly a fairly limited war aim, and it is trying to achieve that by pushing Hezbollah north to a topographical feature called the Litani River, about 20 miles north of the border.

So I believe certainly it can achieve that, but it still leaves the question of Hezbollah being in power and in control and as a capable force in Lebanon, whether Israel will advance and try to defeat Hezbollah as a force remains to be seen.

JIMENEZ: And of course, all this comes as we await Israeli retaliation for the rocket barrage, I should say, from Iran that came in recent days.

Daniel Flesch, thank you so much for the time. Really appreciate it.

FLESCH: Pleasure to be here.

JIMENEZ: All right, ahead in the world of politics in the United States, it's the final month of the presidential election campaigns. We're going to tell you what Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, what they're doing these last weeks, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:27:26]

JIMENEZ: Happening right now, former President Donald Trump is holding a rally in the battleground state of Wisconsin, and with just 30 days until the election, both candidates are campaigning hard in the crucial swing states that will decide the next president.

Yesterday, Trump returned for a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the site of his first assassination attempt. There, he was also joined on stage by billionaire, Elon Musk, and at that event, Trump honored the victims of the shooting, but he also suggested, without evidence, that his political rivals may have tried to kill him.

CNN's Steve Contorno joins us now from today's rally in Wisconsin.

Steve, what is Trump talking about today? As I understand he -- it sounds like he's taking the stage.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Yes, he is speaking right now, just behind me, Omar.

Donald Trump picking up right where he left off, criticizing the Biden-Harris administration for the response to Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and Georgia. He is continuing to spread what some have said are baseless attacks about the response from FEMA. But other than that, it's been pretty standard Trump rally fair.

He's been criticizing the administration's immigration policies and attacking Vice President Harris' competence. He said, "I've been on a mission to rescue our country and to give you back the country that you live in, the country you were born in." He said, nothing will stop him, "not even in the face of death," clearly referencing the multiple assassination attempts on his life.

Now, he is delivering this message in Dodge County, Wisconsin. It's one of dozens of small rural counties in this state where his campaign is hoping to run up the score in this election. He won this county by about a two to one margin last time, and his campaign has been working aggressively to match that margin. And if you look at the polling in this state, you understand why they are concerned. He is well -- the latest poll from Marquette shows this race at 52 to 48 with Harris having the slight edge. Donald Trump is working hard to reverse that. He has been here four times in the last nine days, and I expect he'll be here quite a bit more -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: I expect you will be right.

Steve Contorno, thank you so much.

Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris is launching a massive media blitz this week, starting today, and over the next several days. She'll sit down for interviews with "60 Minutes," "The View," "The Howard Stern Show," "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert, and today, the top women's podcast, according to Spotify, "Call Her Daddy" will release an interview with Harris that will be followed up by a town hall in Las Vegas later this week with Spanish language, Univision TV.

So joining me now to talk about this and more on the race for the White House is Ron Brownstein. He's a CNN senior political analyst. I'm also joined by Brian Stelter, CNN's chief media analyst.

[15:30:08]

So Brian, I want to start with you and this media blitz, because obviously Harris has been criticized for not doing enough media interviews. Do you think that the slate that she has right now will satisfy some of that criticism, and what do you make of this sudden turnaround?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Well, let's get one thing out of the way, the bad faith actors, including the Trump campaign aides who want Harris to give press conferences and want her to be grilled by journalists every day, they are never going to be satisfied. That's never going to happen to the degree that those critics want. Let's just be honest.

The Harris campaign is going to do what it believes it needs to do in order to win the race, and that means going on Stephen Colbert's show. That means going on "The View" on Tuesday. That means going on shows where she's going to be welcomed, where she's not going to be interrogated and that is just the reality of campaigning in the same way that Donald Trump usually mostly goes on right-wing shows, like on his friends at Fox News shows.

So that's the reality here, but I do think it's notable that Harris is going out and doing a lot of TV this week. It is a sudden change in her strategy, and it aligns with the early voting schedule.

She is now out there talking about registering to vote, getting your ballot early, and having a plan to vote, and that's the reason why she's doing all these TV appearances. By the way, that "Call Her Daddy" podcast just came out. That podcast is a very big deal, even though it usually is about sex and relationships. This is a 40-minute conversation where Harris talks about reproductive rights. She also opens up about her mom. So a lot of people, including from the Trump campaign, are going to ridicule Harris for going on a sex podcast, but it actually is one of the most in-depth interviews of Harris this year.

JIMENEZ: Yes, and that just the podcast form alone has the opportunity to go into much longer form than she'll get the chance to on, say "60 Minutes" or even on "The View."

STELTER: Yes.

JIMENEZ: And Ron, I want to zero in on the timing of this, because what do you make of the Harris strategy to launch a media blitz right now 30 days out. Is there anything that sticks out to you?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think Brian's point about people are voting, you know. And, you know, election day is not kind of the moment of our election, it is kind of the end of our election now, right? I mean, it's kind of a rolling process for several weeks.

You know, Harris' campaign has been a pretty cautious one in a lot of different respects. As you said, they have not done a lot of conventional media appearances. Her messaging has not been that edgy.

I think the underlying assumption of the campaign, as articulated to me by some people involved in it, is that particularly in the states that matter most, there is -- they believe there is a majority that does not want to reelect Donald Trump, does not want to put him in power for four more years, even though they thought he was good on the economy, they are resisting him as a threat to their rights and their values and to democracy.

And that therefore her job is less to make the case against Trump than it is to reassure voters who are already inclined to vote against them, that she is an acceptable alternative.

Now, there are Democrats who aren't easy with that approach, but I think this media strategy, by and large, reflect -- continues to reflect that. She is putting herself in front of audiences that they are hoping, obviously they can move over to their side, but I would be surprised if she is on "The View" with a really slashing message about Donald Trump.

I think a lot of this is about introducing her and reassuring voters she thinks just need enough confidence not to vote for Trump again.

JIMENEZ: And Brian, I want to bring you in on the little bit of the Trump media strategy side of things, because, as I mentioned earlier, Trump withheld a rally at the site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania yesterday. He was joined on stage by the owner of the platform, X, Elon Musk, who jumped around on stage, called himself Dark MAGA, painted what I think is fair to say, a grim picture of the future of democracy if Trump loses. Take a quick listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, OWNER, X: President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution. He must win to preserve democracy in America.

Text people now, now and then, make sure they actually do vote. If they don't, this will be the last election. That's my prediction. Nothing's more important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Look Elon Musk has an unbelievably huge platform, especially online. How do you explain his transformation from someone who voted for Democrats and Obama in the past to what we see now, Dark MAGA, and especially in terms of the context of the platform that he presides over.

STELTER: The phrase Dark MAGA is interesting and people might not be familiar with it. This is a meme, an online idea that has taken root over a number of years. Think about the Batman movie, "The Dark Knight," the dystopian view of Gotham.

When you hear the idea of Dark MAGA, it is referring to this idea of an unleashed, unhinged version of Trump, a second Trump administration with no limits on its power.

[15:35:08]

The idea of Trump saying, I'm your retribution, a more authoritarian version of Trumpism. That's the idea that drives Dark MAGA. Even though some of the memes, some of the jokes might be sarcastic or edgy, there's a very real idea behind the idea of Dark MAGA.

So when you hear someone like Elon Musk say he is entirely on board, even with the moral authoritarian impulses of Trump, that says something. That says that he has been radicalized over the years in his politics.

Musk is also using his platform, X to drive support to Trump. I noticed when I logged in yesterday during the Trump rally, the Trump rally was always at the top of my feed. It almost felt as if he was forcing it up algorithmically to make sure everybody was watching the rally.

So we're going to see that kind of support from Musk in trying to tip the scales in Trump's favor and I just think we should take a moment to talk about what he said at the end there, that this will be the last election if Trump does not win. That kind of rhetoric, right? And we do hear some of that from the left as well.

That kind of rhetoric is going to make it very hard for all of us to be Americans, to be neighbors next year, right? We're going to have elections in the future. We're going to have elections after this year.

We love to find a way to live together in 2025 and beyond, but the rhetoric from someone like Musk saying, this will be the last election, it is going to have dangerous consequences next year.

JIMENEZ: And Ron, we've only got a few seconds left. Sorry to put you in this position, but I saw you react to a little bit of what Brian said on the last election. Is there something you wanted to get in?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. I mean, this is the Flight 93 rhetoric that we saw from Republicans, from Trump, before January 6, the idea that if Democrats win, America as we know it will cease to exist. This is our country, and we're taking it back. That kind of language that Trump used before January 6, if you, in fact, believe that a Democratic win means this is the last election, or a Democratic win means America will be disfigured beyond recognition, then any means necessary are justified to prevent that outcome.

And I think again, this kind of rhetoric is laying the groundwork for another post-election period of unprecedented strain and potentially violence.

JIMENEZ: And look, this conversation could go on for hours because we didn't even get into the information ecosystem that will likely be tested even more as we get toward Election Day. We're already seeing Carolina --

STELTER: Yes, it will. Yes, it will.

JIMENEZ: But I've got to leave it there. This is TV platform. I'm constrained, you know.

Ron Brownstein, Brian Stelter --

BROWNSTEIN: Good evening to you.

JIMENEZ: Thanks for being here.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

STELTER: Thanks.

JIMENEZ: All right when we come back, more than a week after Hurricane Helene left a path of destruction across North Carolina, some residents are working together to recover and rebuild their communities. Next, I'm going to talk to a small business owner in Asheville whose store is now gone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:42:34]

JIMENEZ: The death toll from Hurricane Helena is still rising. More than a week after the storm hit, authorities confirm that at least 227 people were killed. Nearly half of those who died were in North Carolina, where entire communities and countless businesses have been completely wiped out.

Joining me now is Dema Badr, owner of Scout Clothing Store in hard hit Asheville, North Carolina. Thank you for being with us.

Now, I want to show our viewers some before and after pictures of your store in the historic Biltmore Village. This is the before, it looks incredibly beautiful, and this is the after. It seems completely destroyed, at least damaged significantly.

But I just want to ask you, personally to start, how are you holding up? What has the past week been like?

DEMA BADR, OWNER, SCOUT CLOTHING STORE IN HARD HIT ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA: Honestly, Asheville is a really strong community. We have a really strong sense of pride when things are awesome, you know, not just when we have to come together to solve a problem. I feel really fortunate. I mean, yes, I've lost my business, but there are so many more vulnerable communities around us that we're really worried about.

Everyone is banding together. I don't know. I feel really grateful to be in the position that I'm in. I am hopeful because of all of the support and kindness from our community members, but also just really anxious all the time, because, you know, we have very poor cellular connectivity most of the time. We're not really seeing the news. We're not understanding what's happening in real time, but what we are hearing is really positive.

And you know, the city, our neighbors, the state, everyone's just banding around us, and it feels really wonderful. I have no doubt that we'll rebuild as a community, and we'll be strong again.

But there are areas that I don't know how much coverage they receive, but our true WNC neighbors, like Black Mount and Marshall Bat Cave, entire roads have been washed away. We don't know if people are stranded there.

So I guess beyond the loss of my business and anybody in my community, in Biltmore Village, which is a charming historic commercial district associated with the Biltmore Estate, we worry about our businesses. We're working around the clock to get it cleaned up and try to salvage what we can.

[15:45:05]

But I think when our hands are rested for a few minutes, we're worried about everybody else and trying to be, you know, as much help as we can to others.

JIMENEZ: And as you alluded to, I mean, for people who haven't been to Asheville, I've been there many times. It's situated where the Blue Ridge Mountains are, and so yes, Asheville is the city, but as you were talking about, there are many communities throughout this mountain area that are just difficult to get to, regardless of cell phone service.

And so we've seen a lot of those efforts, even volunteers taking to the air to try and help find some of these -- some of these people, but obviously a really difficult process.

For you, do you feel like you are getting the help that you need, or that your neighbors are getting the help that they need right now?

BADR: I would say that even though we're really not sure what the future is for the business community, we are definitely receiving resources.

You know, Biltmore Village has flooded in the past, and they rebuilt it and brought it back to life. The neighborhood is really helping one another. We are all there.

Today. I help my neighbors, you know, try to salvage anything that they could out of what was dragged out of the building. They are tearing everything out, treating it for mold and bacteria.

You know, we are fortunate. We are receiving resources. It's just, you know, time will tell, and unfortunately, when you're a business owner, insurance plays such a large part in what's really going to happen in your future. So those questions are still wide open, and we won't really know right away.

JIMENEZ: Yes, and as you know that that's a process that sometimes just takes time, and every day you're still trying to figure out what's next for you.

Last thing I want to ask before we go, we've got just a few more seconds here is what do you want folks to know about your store, but even more broadly about the community there in Asheville?

BADR: Not specifically my store, to be honest with you. I just think that if Biltmore Village can rebuild itself as a commercial district, and our restaurants and our shops can come back like it is, a community of just independent businesses.

Some are, you know, over 20 years old, 30 years old. You know, it's a special place when it's up and running to come and see it. But also, please don't take your attention away from our neighbors who need our help more. I think we can rally and build each other up, but I don't know what we can do for places where roads are washed out, and mules are carrying supplies right now.

You know, just zoom out much larger. I think we'll help one another, we always. You know, western North Carolina needs a lot of support right now.

JIMENEZ: Yes, well, Dema, I appreciate you even taking the time here, and you're connected with us. So as you see things, always feel free to reach out if there's things you think we should be covering a little bit more closely. Really appreciate the time.

BADR: Absolutely. I appreciate you so much. Thank you.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

And people who live across Helene's 500-mile path of destruction still need basic necessities, some of which you heard right there. And for ways you can help. Go to cnn.com/impact and you'll be able to have a few options there. We'll be right back.

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[15:03:06] JIMENEZ: A surprise announcement today from the Vatican. Pope Francis is revealing that he has now chosen 21 new Cardinals in a move that could reshape the Catholic Church, cardinals who will eventually decide who will succeed the 87-year-old pontiff after his passing.

CNN Vatican correspondent, Christopher Lamb is live in London for us now.

So Christopher, I mean, how are these new Cardinals expected to impact the church going forward?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar, choosing Cardinals is the closest thing a Pope has to succession planning, because, of course, it is from the Cardinals that the future Pope will be chosen, and the Cardinals will be electing Pope Francis' successor, and they hold a very influential role in the Catholic Church.

And the Pope today pointed Cardinals from across the globe, including the Archbishop of Tehran in Iran, a very significant decision that shows the Pope's desire for dialogue with Islam, for pushing peace in the region.

Before announcing the names of the Cardinals, he called for a ceasefire across the Middle East, including in Lebanon, and of course, commemorated the seventh of October Hamas attacks, the one-year anniversary of them.

So using his appointments of Cardinals to try and influence things on the world stage. But more broadly, the Pope has really reshaped the body that will choose his successor. He chooses Cardinals from across the globe, from far-flung peripheries, if you like. He chose Cardinals today from Indonesia, from Japan, Ivory Coast, and Algeria.

Now in the past, it was assumed that Bishops in certain parts of the world, mainly in Italy, would become Cardinals. That's no longer the case. The Pope has really reshaped it. It's almost as if he wants to choose the unsung heroes of the church to become Cardinals.

Now that's very significant when you think about who might come after Pope Francis -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yes, all right, Christopher Lamb, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

We're also following more news, but I want to show you this really terrifying new video before we go.

[15:55:10]

It shows flames and smoke coming from underneath a Frontier Airlines plane that made a hard landing in Las Vegas. You can see it smoking there after those flames came through.

Now, Frontier says the flight was arriving from San Diego yesterday when pilots noticed smoke in the cockpit. The Airbus 321 then made an emergency landing, and fire trucks approached the aircraft once it came to a stop to extinguish the flames.

All 190 passengers and seven crew members were safely evacuated. No injuries were reported, but still a scary scene and the FAA has opened an investigation into the incident.

Next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, Milton just became a hurricane, and it's expected to strengthen to a Category Three. We're going to tell you where the storm is headed and where it will hit, next.

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