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Trump Says Russian And Ukraine Agreed To "Energy Ceasefire"; Blue Wave Or Polling Mirage?; Immigration Crackdown Continues; America's Choice 2026; Democratic Senator Warnock Steps Up; Pope Reveals New Health Issue; Storm Rachel Deluges Southwest. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 11, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The "CNN Newsroom" continues with Jessica Dean. She is back.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR AND FIELD CORRESPONDENT: You're in the "CNN Newsroom." Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York. And today, President Trump announced Ukraine and Russia agreed to an energy ceasefire, news that took the Ukrainian president by surprise. Trump posting to social media today, saying -- quote -- "effective immediately, there is an energy ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it."

Now, a source close to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says that development was a surprise. Zelenskyy posted while Ukraine supports a ceasefire, he is -- quote -- "awaiting details from the American side."

Now, you'll recall, just yesterday, President Trump called for a new Ukrainian leader after Zelenskyy criticized the deal Trump announced to ease sanctions on Russian diesel. That's a deal that could ease the economic pressure that has been building on Moscow. Moscow has not confirmed Trump's new announcement either.

Knowing all of that, let's bring in CNN senior White House reporter Betsy Klein who joins us now from the White House. Betsy, there are a tremendous amount of questions around all of these. So, what exactly do we know about this ceasefire?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Jessica, so many questions about this so-called energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine as President Trump claims that both parties have agreed to this and that it would start immediately.

But since then, a lot of confusion. Ukraine's President Zelenskyy suggests that this announcement came as a surprise. There's a Ukrainian official saying that they found out about this from the president's post to social media. Zelenskyy also says that Ukraine supports a ceasefire and is awaiting details from the American side.

Now, Russia, meanwhile, since this announcement, continued to strike Ukrainian energy and infrastructure. And we have no word yet from the Kremlin as to whether they plan to accept this ceasefire deal.

Now, I asked the White House if they could provide any additional details beyond the president's post about how this came together and as well as any next steps we should be watching for. They referred me back to the president's post to social media. So, a lot of outstanding questions there.

But there is some important context, and that is that back on Friday, President Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two of them unveiled a controversial deal for Russia to provide diesel to the markets as diesel prices are so high here in the U.S. amid the war with Iran.

Now, Trump officials after that met with their Ukrainian counterparts in Miami, and Zelenskyy had criticized that diesel news. Now, he says that move would prolong the war. It remains to be seen at this point whether there might be something shaking loose here, Jessica.

DEAN: And Betsy, we also want to ask you about the attack on Saudi Arabia's major airport in Riyadh. It's the second time in two days it has been hit, a Houthi missile hitting the airport yesterday. That killed 12 people, including an American, and injured over 300 people. What is the president saying about what the United States plans to do?

KLEIN: Yes, Jessica, still a lot of questions about how the president plans to proceed here. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with Trump in the past multiple times, urging him to strike the Houthis, but the president had stopped short of doing so. So, it's unclear right now whether that development is going to change his mind. The president calling the attack terrible.

He was asked yesterday whether the U.S. planned to join Saudi Arabia in striking the Houthis. He said -- quote -- "we may." Now, if he chooses to do this, that would mark a major escalation in the Middle East at a moment where the president's war with Iran is very unpopular and has no sign of ending. Of course, you should note we're 23 days out from the midterm election. So, it's something that the president is weighing after this very deadly attack, Jessica.

DEAN: Certainly. All right, Betsy Klein at the White House for us, thank you so much for that. And we are joined now by Kira Rudik, a member of the Ukrainian parliament and leader of the Holos Party. Thank you so much for being with us tonight. I really, really appreciate it. I just want to start first with your reaction to the news of this ceasefire that was announced by the American president today.

KIRA RUDIK, MEMBER OF UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT, LEADER OF UKRAINE'S HOLOS PARTY: Hello, Jessica. Thank you so much for having me. This announcement caught me by surprise because, actually, Russia was attacking Kyiv today for the whole day. We didn't have electricity for half of the day. And as of right now, we still do not have running water. And this is the situation for the majority of Kyiv households. So, to hear altogether the air raid sirens and the announcement that there is a ceasefire was at least surprising.

[17:04:58]

And then we didn't see any confirmation from Moscow. And that would not be the first time when President Trump announces something and then Moscow denies it.

So, right after this announcement, Russia attacked the power plant in Kharkiv, hitting it hard with a drone. So, we are very skeptical here on the ground that first, this ceasefire is real. Second, that Russia agreed to that. And third, that they will hold to it moving forward.

DEAN: And so, just to be clear, the president said this was an energy ceasefire and you are saying that power plants were hit as recently as today.

RUDIK: Correct. And it happened near Kharkiv. And this is why we are very surprised. And President Zelenskyy required additional information about what the energy ceasefire meant. Of course, one would debate that before announcing a ceasefire, there should be really proper negotiation and agreement what this means. However, right now, what everybody has is just President Trump's post on Truth Social, and I do not see that Russia is taking it as any direction to their hits.

DEAN: And there have been talks with some representatives of the U.S. government here in the U.S. over getting a broader deal. But is your sense that there were any negotiations over this specific ceasefire from the Ukrainian side? Are you aware of any negotiations that took place around this?

RUDIK: I will tell you this. Ukraine's energy system is hanging by a thread. And to have a real energy ceasefire that would allow us to go through the winter would mean a great deal. This is something that Ukraine wants, this is something that Ukraine needs, and we would definitely agree to that. That was the goal of our negotiating group that was coming to Miami.

Unfortunately, from what we have heard, they were not able to come to any conclusion. And we are absolutely sure that the diesel deal that President Trump was making with Putin didn't have any intention to influence the prices. The only intention this deal had, to pressure Ukraine to stop attacking Russia's oil refineries.

And so, because that created a real backlash from our European partners, from Ukraine, we see that President Trump moved forward, announcing the ceasefire. In my heart, I believe that he meant that Ukraine would not be attacking Russia's oil refineries and Russia will continue doing whatever they do. But that would not work with us, and I think we all stand together as Ukraine's politicians saying that we need definitely a real ceasefire.

DEAN: And to that end, energy infrastructure has been one of the key targets of these Russian attacks over the last four years in your country, especially, as you mentioned, during the wintertime months when it's extremely cold and you, you know, are now without power. Can you give us a sense of what that's like for the Ukrainian people who have lived with this for four years and what that's like? RUDIK: It's beginning of October and we already have energy outages. So, it tells you that it will be much, much harder in winter. The previous winter, we spent sitting in just one room of the apartment or the house because we were able to heat it with different heaters and people were putting tents in their apartments using candles to warm up their food. Without electricity, it's really impossible to live the modern life.

But, right now, the situation is becoming even worse because without the running water, without the proper sanitation, we will be facing the humanitarian catastrophe really quickly. And today is one of those days when we don't know when the running water will appear. So, it's really dramatic right now in Ukraine.

And especially, I feel for Ukrainian people who have heard this announcement for President Trump and have gotten hope. I'm very afraid that this hope will be shattered once we will hear from Moscow or we'll hear yet another air raid siren announcing the drones and missiles coming in.

DEAN: All right. Well, there are clearly a lot of questions still about how this will all go. Ukrainian member of parliament, Kira Rudik, thank you for filling us in. We really appreciate it.

RUDIK: Thank you.

DEAN: A blue wave or a polling mirage? It depends on who you ask. We're going to talk about why even political experts aren't quite sure what to expect with the midterms now just 23 days away.

[17:10:02]

Also, Senator Raphael Warnock on the campaign trail for his allies, but the Democrat may have his eye on a bigger prize come 2028. And the Pope reveals a new health issue. Why his doctors are concerned and planning a surgery for the leader of the Catholic church. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:15:00]

DEAN: We now have 23 days until the midterm elections. More than three million people have already cast their ballots. Ohio, which began its early voting Tuesday, is one of the states that could determine control of the Senate, and it could be showing some signs of trouble for the Republican Party.

Voter enthusiasm is up among Democrats in the Buckeye State. Even in the most Republican parts of Ohio, Democrats make up much larger shares of early voters than they did two years ago. This new CNN polling shows Democrat Sherrod Brown leading the incumbent Republican, Senator Jon Husted.

But it's not just Ohio. Iowa, another state that Trump won by wide margins in 2024, 2020 and 2016, is now also keeping the GOP on edge. The latest CNN poll there showing no clear leader in that Senate race.

But as "The Washington Post" reports, former President Barack Obama is warning that many of these races are within the polling's margin of error. Democrats could end up narrowly losing all of them.

Senior politics reporter for Axios, Marc Caputo, is joining us now. Marc, always good to have you on. You wrote a new piece this week about polling experts and why they're worried they're kind of flying partly blind here. Explain that to us.

MARC CAPUTO, SENIOR POLITICS REPORTER, AXIOS: Republican response rates are down on polls. And so, when pollsters are calling Republican households, they're not getting as much response from them as they are from Democratic households or independent ones. And it's a cause of concern. The concern, pretty simple, is pollsters are asking themselves, are we getting a representative sample? And some aren't really sure of that.

Now, to compensate for that, they call it weighting, which is essentially with the Republicans you have who have responded, you sort of guess what the electorate would be and kind of boost that response rate to kind of even things out and estimate.

But that's more of the art of polling than the science of polling. And the excess of art and the lack of science is always going to give a measure of concern to people who want to get it right.

DEAN: Yes. I wonder, too, what, if anything, they told you about the fact that Republicans aren't wanting to respond to these polls to the pollsters. Is it -- is it -- is it an enthusiasm gap? Is it that they just simply don't want to participate? Were they able to kind of glean why that is?

CAPUTO: No, I don't think anyone has actually studied. It's kind of how do you get a hold of people who don't want to get a hold of, right?

DEAN: Yes. Exactly.

CAPUTO: Now, this nonresponse has happened or its ingredients. But I think the answer generally, what I've found, is both. That is, Republicans are dispirited or more Republicans are dispirited now than they were two years ago or four years ago.

And in addition to that, more of them are just harder to reach. People are hard to reach in general. But there might be something particular about some types of Republicans who just don't want to deal with.

DEAN: Yes. And look, when the -- when President Trump has been on the ballot, polling has historically underestimated his support. We've seen that bear out many times.

But I think what is interesting, and he's even talked about this on the stump as he's been going through to some of these red states where he's trying to make sure that his candidates can get across the finish line, is that he isn't on the ballot and he's trying to convince people to still show up in the way they do when he does -- when he is on the ballot. What kind of factor is that playing?

CAPUTO: I guess we're going to find out. It is notable that he is sort of leaving it all in the field. And it is true that Trump is a turnout engine. Now, that's both for Democrats and for Republicans. And those times he hasn't been on the ballot, there's that class of voter, the sort of more disaffected voter, those who are a little less self- identifying as Republicans and more identifying as MAGA, who come out for him but don't come out when he's not there.

Now, the big experiment he's running is can he sort of re-energize people to have them come out? Obviously, there's a certain amount of doubts about that, and it just basically comes down to fuel prices and inflationary pressures.

DEAN: Yes. We are also seeing -- obviously, debates are happening right now in some of these key Senate races across the country. What's your sense of the impact those have on voters these days?

CAPUTO: I don't know. Speaking of polling and research, I would love to see that.

DEAN: Yes.

CAPUTO: About 20 percent of the electorate on both sides essentially already has their minds made up. And if you have early voting a month out, they know exactly what they're going to vote for. There's a class of voter, who knows, in the double digits or so, who make up their mind in the last minute. A lot of those people head to Google to look it up and look at the candidates. And recent events are going to be more likely to show at the top of a Google search, and that includes debates.

And, obviously, in some states and in some races, both Senate and gubernatorial, there has been sort of a rash of non-debating, which we've also written about at Axios. We're going to see how that plays out for those candidates who've decided not to debate, who are nevertheless sort of marginally behind in the polling.

[17:20:01]

DEAN: Yes. And I want to -- just before I let you go, we noted some of the early voting numbers we're seeing in Ohio, for example. At this point, we're still weeks out from the actual Election Day. Does that -- do those data points suggest anything to you or do you, you know, when you're talking to your sources, is this kind of how they were expecting this to go or are these numbers surprising people?

CAPUTO: I think what's important -- I don't think it's surprising. Everyone admits that there's a Republican enthusiasm problem. That's why Donald Trump is going to Kansas and states like that. That's why he's going to Alabama. He needs to sort of juice up his base.

So, if you combine the president's travel with the polling on enthusiasm, with the pollsters saying, hey, we're encountering a dispirited Republican base that's not even returning our calls or answering our calls or answering our emails or going on the web to take our polls, when you add the inflationary numbers, price of gasoline, you put it all together, yes, the picture looks like a Republican base that's less jazzed about coming out than Democrats are.

And that's also just natural in a midterm, except for 2002, which is right after 9-11 when Bush's party, the Republican Party overperformed in the midterms. The occupant of the White House, especially if his party controls both chambers of Congress, loses one, if not both. And in Trump's orbit, there's a gradual and begrudging admission that, yes, we might lose the House.

Now, other people say they're definitely going to lose the House, to be clear. They still think they're going to keep the Senate. But there's a number of people who think they're going to lose that as well. You know, this is why we have elections. As they say in football, this is why you play the game, because what really matters is what happens on Election Day, what happens --

DEAN: That's right.

CAPUTO: -- when the game is actually played, instead of people like me are saying, right?

DEAN: Yes. We will wait and see what the voters say. Marc Caputo, always good to have you, though. Thank you so much.

CAPUTO: Thank you.

DEAN: Yes. Be sure to tune in tonight to a special edition of "NewsNight with Abby Phillip." "Midterms 2026: Countdown to Election Night." It's at 8 p.m. Eastern and streaming on the CNN app with an "All Access" subscription.

ICE agents facing criticism, this time for an incident in Houston. A man who was running away injured after he was struck by a vehicle that was being driven by an ICE agent. We will show you that video and tell you more details when we come back.

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[17:25:00]

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DEAN: A man is recovering from injuries after he was hit by a vehicle driven by federal agents. Officials saying that happened during an ICE enforcement operation near Houston yesterday.

It was caught on camera. We do want to warn you, some of that footage that we're about to show you is graphic. Surveillance video appears to show two men jumping out of a white pickup truck and running away. As you'll see, a black vehicle accelerates toward one of them.

Officials confirmed the man, identified as Miguel Parra-Hernandez, was struck by that vehicle. Authorities say he was taken to the hospital and treated for injuries to his lower body. And his attorneys say he will need surgery after breaking both of his legs. He's currently in ICE custody. The other man, who the spokesperson says was the target of this operation, remains unaccounted for.

CNN's Mark Morales is joining us with more on this. What is ICE saying about this incident, Mark?

MARK MORALES, CNN REPORTER: Well, Jessica, an agency spokesperson said the man that you saw on camera right there had ran in front of an ICE vehicle. Now, he's in ICE custody right now with an apparent broken leg. The other man that was in that vehicle, he was actually the target of this enforcement action. He, as you said, is not accounted for, but they said that he was a public safety threat, and that's why they were doing this enforcement action.

And this whole video really brings into perspective this idea of tactics. I mean, that has been a really big question, and not just this incident, but in other incidents, especially the one that we just saw in the Bronx in New York City not too long ago.

DEAN: And Mark, this comes days after a separate ICE incident in New York. In that case, agents shot and wounded a man in a car. His five- year-old son was inside that car as well. Officials are talking about that as well. Specifically, we heard from Markwayne Mullin today, among others. What are they saying?

MORALES: Well, he was on State of the Union today. He said that they would possibly release body camera footage that the ICE officers were wearing. That would be just another vantage point that we would see because, remember, we've already seen body camera footage from NYPD officers that responded and an overhead shot where you saw the very beginnings of this.

So, you're beginning to see what happened in the lead-up to this and the chaos in the moments afterwards. And here's Markwayne Mullin defending the tactics of the ICE officers. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, SECRETARY, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: Every single department, I don't care if it's state, if it's local, if it's county or if it's federal, they all have undercover divisions. And undercover divisions make arrests every single day in plain clothes. When they approach the vehicle, they had their badges out, you can see that their badge was out, and they were given lawful commands. So, the tactics that are used are the same tactics that are used by law enforcement from coast to coast, from local city, state, to federal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MORALES: Now, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani says that he spoke with both Mr. Mullin and President Trump, and has made the argument repeatedly that the city is less safe with ICE operating because of incidents like these.

[17:29:59] And now, with all this going on, the man at the center of all this, Oscar Belgal, he's in ICE custody at a federal detention center in New York. His legal team is still trying to get him out. Jessica?

DEAN: Mark Morales with the latest, thank you so much for that. Still to come, do debates make a difference? Senate candidates in several states will go toe-to-toe this week, but will those showdowns actually move the needle in some of those closer races? We'll talk about that next. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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DEAN: Democratic leaders are increasingly optimistic about winning back the House, but there's a growing debate inside the party over whether they're spending their campaign dollars to -- spreading them, rather, too thinly.

[17:35:01]

Democrats have expanded their target list, adding six new pickup opportunities in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, New York, Nevada, and Tennessee. Party leaders argue the political environment is getting worse for Republicans, and expanding the map could force the GOP to defend more seats. But some Democrats want to play it safe by focusing on protecting more winnable races and vulnerable incumbents. Even the House Democrats' fundraising arm acknowledges expanding the battlefield would require more money, citing $38.5 million budget gap.

And joining us now is pollster and communication strategist Frank Luntz. Frank, good to see you. Thanks for being here with us. Democrats are competing in some districts right now that the president won by double digits just two years ago. Do you think -- how realistic, do you think, some of these seats might be for Democrats?

FRANK LUNTZ, POLLSTER AND COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIST: Not necessarily realistic, but it helps them raise money. In the end, if they show that they have a greater capability of capturing the majority, which is what their donors want to have happen, they're more likely to raise the money necessary to be able to compete effectively in the races that they actually do support.

And what's key about this right now is that the economy is struggling, that voters are anxious about themselves and about the country. So, you're trying to create the dynamic where people think that things could happen if they vote, they participate, if they donate. And so, the strategy makes sense, even if some people are going to be disappointed on Election Day.

DEAN: And, as we've noted, we got about three weeks now until Election Day. Do you think possibility of a blue wave or whatever we want to categorize it as, but Democrats coming out ahead, some people think that, OK, maybe they'll take the House and the Senate back, or do you think this will be a much closer fight than expected in some of these kinds of tight races? Because a lot of these are within the margin of error when it comes to the polling. LUNTZ: The key is for pollsters to be very careful about projecting what they think is going to happen. In the end, polling is supposed to teach you why things are happening, but not necessarily make the projection. There are a lot of pollsters who look pretty dumb in 2024 because they make conclusions that the polling did not back up.

In the end, it is essential for the public to know what's happening and why. But it is not essential for people who hold the position that I do to make prognostications. In the end, it used to be affordability, affordability, affordability. Now, it's turnout, turnout, turnout.

DEAN: It's this. And when you say that, you mean it is which party is going to get their voters out and convince them to not sit at home?

LUNTZ: Exactly. And in the end, that's what determines the election. There are plenty of closed states across the country. I'm looking at a place like Maine. If Republicans vote, if they participate, then Susan Collins is reelected.

But the question that I'm seeing is that there are a lot of Republicans who want to stay home, who don't feel like it's worth it for them to make the effort either because they're frustrated or because they're anxious or because they're angry. And the Democrats can't wait to vote because for them, 2026 is a starting off point for the 2028 elections.

DEAN: And that's where, when you're talking about an enthusiasm gap, that's where that could potentially matter.

LUNTZ: Make no mistake, there is an enthusiasm gap. And I was criticized for doing an interview on CNN maybe two weeks ago when one of Donald Trump's consultants, who has been very active across the globe, came at me because I see it, I can measure it. And almost every pollster shows that there is a difference.

So, guess what, viewers? It's our responsibility to ignore the pressure and the politics of the Republicans and the Democrats. It's our responsibility to tell you the truth, where the public is right now, that if you took every voter out there, Republicans might have a chance of keeping the Senate. But if you focus on just those people who are absolutely, definitely going to vote no matter what, whether it is -- no matter what hassles they have, the Democrats do have a slight, a narrow, slight advantage.

DEAN: And in these closing weeks, you know, as you're talking to people, what could potentially move the needle? I mean, we were talking in another segment about the debates that have been happening. Do people really pay attention to those anymore?

[17:40:00]

I mean, you know, even presidential debates have changed so, so much in just the last several cycles. Do people pay attention to debates? What are they looking to as they -- as we get closer to the very end here? LUNTZ: Is there a line? Is there a phrase that captures the emotion or the zeitgeist of the public? Is there something that is said where someone says, wait a minute, and they deliver a phrase that really captures the public's emotions? That can absolutely turn an election.

But I warn you that in America right now, 2026, debates matter less because voters have already made up their minds. I was warning, don't judge based on the polling in August or even early September. But we're now in the middle of October and people have decided who they're going to vote for. The question is, do they participate?

And the debate crystallizes that point of view. But only maybe in one out of 10 cases does a debate change the outcome. It could happen and it could happen in a number of states. But it's less likely to happen.

And the critical decision now is, is it worth it for me to take the 90 minutes or 60 minutes, whatever it is, to actually stand in line and cast my vote or to vote early, to take the time to do all the processes you got at home, look at all the initiatives and finally send in that ballot?

And this is where Republicans need to be focused on, turnout, and Democrats need to be focused on energizing and making continuing that passion that the voters have right now. It is too close to call, but the Democrats do have an advantage at this moment.

DEAN: All right. Frank Luntz, great to have you. Thank you so much.

LUNTZ: Thank you.

DEAN: And as Democrats focus on next month's midterms, some may also even be looking ahead to 2028, as Frank was just talking about. Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, who will be up for reelection that year, is making some high-profile campaign stops in New Hampshire and other key states. And he's delivering a message about faith, character, and moral leadership. That's sparking some speculation about a potential presidential run.

CNN's Isaac Dovere is joining us now with his new reporting on all of this. I was reading your piece. He's -- it's really interesting to hear about how Senator Warnock was performing in New Hampshire. Obviously, a state that's very different than Georgia. You're in New England. What -- what did you learn?

EDWARD-ISAAC DOVERE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes. Well, I spent part of last week with him in New Hampshire. Obviously, Jessica, New Hampshire is a state that politicians go to when they want to think about running for president, certainly get people talking about running and the possibility they run for president. And Warnock and I did some of that.

We also talked a lot about faith and where he is on that. Remember, Warnock is the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. That's Martin Luther King's old church. And he still, as a senator, every Sunday, is there delivering sermons, leading the congregation, and really thinks in those terms, whether he's in Atlanta or in Washington or in New Hampshire, how he sees himself as part of this larger battle against wickedness and evil. He sees that as part of his mission from the gospels. And he also sees Donald Trump as embodying some of those things that he is himself about.

So, he said to me, we were in New England, so we talked about Robert Frost. He talked to one of the crowds about being having to choose between the two roads diverging. And he said that he's got to figure out which one he goes for, but he is very much thinking that the presidential election might be that way.

DEAN: Yeah, it's interesting because he'll have to choose between running for his current seat or running for president. And I saw the quote he gave you, which is I'll be in a race one way or the other or something to that effect, which is -- which is true. But did he give you any kind of insight into how he's thinking about all that, what he's evaluating as he looks to make that decision?

DOVERE: Yes, and you can read this in the article that's up on our website on CNN.com right now.

We were standing in Nashville, New Hampshire, a small town in New Hampshire, but literally across the street from the city hall steps where John F. Kennedy announced that he was running for election in 1960 as president, and I said to Warnock, how do you think about all these things? And he said, you know, I've never talked to a reporter about this before, but there is a prayer that I have been talking -- that I've been praying since I was a boy, and it is that he just asks God to direct his path and direct his steps, that he tries to put his gifts towards whatever he can as he feels God is directing him.

And I said, OK, well, here we are in New Hampshire, that's where your path is taking you. And he said this isn't about -- hocus pocus is the quote he gave to me, but really a lot of analysis about what to do. That's how he is approaching this as he campaigns, even into this week, ahead into a number of other presidential primary states.

[17:45:02]

DEAN: Yes, that that primary is going to be something -- something to watch. Isaac Dovere, thank you so much. Great reporting. Good to have you on.

DOVERE: Thank you.

DEAN: A new health threat for Pope Leo. Ahead, what we're learning about the surgery the 71-year-old is expected to undergo in the next few days. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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DEAN: Pope Leo announced he will undergo a surgery to remove a small growth on his lung. The 71-year-old pontiff making that announcement to a crowd gathered at St. Peter's Square for a Sunday prayer service earlier today. The Vatican says that surgery is planned for later this week. [17:50:00]

Let's bring in CNN Rome correspondent Stefano Pozzebon, who has the very latest about all of this, the pope's condition and how the Vatican will operate as he's hospitalized.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, let's start with the Vatican, which is effectively an independent country that works in this type of situation very much like any other country would work if the head of state is hospitalized. That means that the Catholic Church will continue working and functioning as normal. However, those decree that need to be personally signed by the pope or the decisions that he himself must take will be postponed.

And we're talking here of a matter of days because when we talk about his condition, we understand that there is no real cause for real concern. Of course, this is a serious matter because we're talking about a 71 man that is going through under surgery for an operation on his lungs.

However, when we spoke with medical experts, two things stand out, that this is a very simple or could be a very simple operation. The second one, of course, is that Pope Leo is believed to be in good condition.

He is a person who is relatively young to be the head of the Catholic Church. We're talking about a 71-year-old person but, at the same time, is quite active. He's believed to be in good health. We know that Leo is a fan of tennis, but he also swims or walks around the gardens whenever he goes up to Castel Gandolfo, which is the summer residence that is about 40 kilometers from here, from Rome.

And even when he made the announcement earlier this Sunday, the pontiff, Jessica, made it almost as a matter of fact, as if informing his friends and brothers in the faith that he was going to go for medical checks. He announced that he had this nodule, which we will need to understand whether it could bear some cancerous complication. It doesn't seem to be as of now.

We understand that in the coming days, he will be hospitalized at the Gemelli Hospital, which is about a stone's throw literally from where we are close to the Vatican. We will bring you the very, very latest as he will make, hopefully, a speedy recovery. Jessica?

DEAN: All right. Stefano Pozzebon, thank you so much for your reporting. We really appreciate it. The remnants of a tropical storm in the west fueling a dangerous flash flood threat in the southwest. It has already caused damage to oceanfront homes in Southern California. We're going to have the latest on Rachel and the damage to these homes still ahead. You're in the "CNN Newsroom."

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) DEAN: It is a soggy Sunday in Las Vegas right now. The remnants of tropical storm Rachel moving across the Southwest. This video shows a flooded street near the famous Las Vegas Strip. And several cities in the region are facing the threat of flooding. Rachel's impact on Southern California could be even worse. This is video from today showing oceanfront homes in Long Beach, California. As you can see, they are damaged by powerful waves generated by the storm.

CNN meteorologist Melissa Nord has the latest on the storm. Julia Vargas Jones is in La Jolla, California near San Diego. Melissa, let's go first to you and what you expect to see from these remnants of Rachel.

MELISSA NORD, CNN METEOROLOGIST: They're wide-reaching, Jessica. We've got rain that has been falling in Las Vegas today. In fact, so far, over an inch of rain since midnight. That's a new daily record and tied for the all-time wettest October day for them.

And Las Vegas, you saw those flooded streets. That water flows into their, you know, drainage system. They have over 600 miles of drainage system underneath the city. That's where a lot of the flooding video that you'll also see coming out from today.

The heaviest rain this afternoon has been east of Las Vegas, though, closer to Lake Mead, traveling towards the Grand Canyon as well and up towards St. George in Utah. That's where we have a lot of these flash flood warnings that are in place. But in green, those are the vast stretch of flash flood watches, flood watches that are in place through tonight, expiring tomorrow.

As we still track these remnants of Rachel overhead, so, moisture streaming northward and it is getting picked up in places where it's colder air. So, a foot of snow has fallen today in Great Falls, Montana.

You can see the flood threat still in this moderate range from Las Vegas up through St. George. That will run through tonight. I think, as we go into tomorrow, it's not as high end of a flood threat but, still, some rain is going to be falling on and off tomorrow as well for parts of the Great Basin. And down towards Las Vegas, you can see that rain finally wraps up through Tuesday.

DEAN: All right. Thank you so much. Let's go now to Julia. Julia, it's clearing up and the sky is over La Jolla, but the waves, I'm told, are pretty rough still. What are you seeing?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are. There's a little sliver of a blue sky behind me here, Jessica, but it really doesn't mean that much. All of that warning is over. But the waves are very strong, and this is because some of it is Rachel fueling what was already at a higher sea level than usual because of some other -- we got some other factors. I'm sorry.

We've got just a little gust of wind picking up here. Those winds are about 20 to 40 miles per hour here where we are on the coast and can get even stronger as it goes inwards. But this is the major concern here, is for these coastal areas of California that have been getting a beating already this season as we are looking at a super El Nino year. This could be just the beginning. The worst of it could be over, yes, but these are still condition that authorities are saying can be still pretty dangerous.

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And I just have to know, Jessica, how unusual it is to have something like a tropical storm warning in this part of the world, in the southwest of the United States. It is only the second time that San Diego has gotten one of us. The first one was just three years ago with tropical storm Hillary. We saw how that went. So, we're hoping that this is -- that the worst is over. Those pictures, those dramatic pictures of those coastal properties getting those big waves, that this is now going down and going back to a more normal level on the Pacific Ocean.

DEAN: All right. Julia Vargas Jones and Melissa Nord, our thanks to both of you for this. A new hour of "CNN Newsroom" starts right now.