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Ukraine Faces New Strikes as Trump Says the Two Countries Reached "Energy Ceasefire"; Houthis Strike Saudi Arabia Airport Again; Pope Leo to Undergo Surgery for Growth on Lung; Post-Tropical Storm Moves East from Southern California; Judge Orders Trump To Halt Taxpayer-Funded Ads; Source: Trump Considering Firing U.S. Ambassador To Greece, Guilfoyle, After Misconduct Reports; Economy Remains A Key Issue For Voters Ahead Of Midterms; ICE Vehicle Hits Man In Texas; Hundreds Detained In New Delhi Amid Anti-Government Protests. Aired 2- 3a ET

Aired October 12, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead on "CNN Newsroom," Ukraine faces new strikes from Russia even as U.S. President Donald Trump says the two countries have reached what he calls an "energy ceasefire," another deadly attack by the Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi Arabia's airport in Riyadh causing more damage to the kingdom's infrastructure, and a federal judge orders President Trump to stop airing ads paid for by U.S. taxpayers, that complication as Americans get ready for next month's midterm elections.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church."

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. And we begin this hour with President Trump insisting that his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts have agreed to an energy ceasefire, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later revealed that Russia carried out a new attack on energy facilities in Kharkiv after President Trump's announcement.

Well, meanwhile, Ukrainian officials say a separate missile strike hit a residential area in that same district. A warning, the next video you're about to see is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(EXPLOSION)

CHURCH: Authorities in Kharkiv say this footage shows the moment a village grocery store was hit. They reported at least three people killed and 20 others injured.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Now, those strikes reportedly came despite President Trump posting this on Truth Social early on Sunday, and I'm quoting here. "Effective immediately, there is an energy ceasefire in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it."

Well, the news appears to have surprised Ukrainian leadership. President Zelenskyy posted on X that Ukraine is still waiting for more details about the arrangement.

The Trump administration is also threatening to suspend intelligence sharing as well as European purchases of U.S. weapons for Ukraine unless Kyiv stops its strikes on Russian energy facilities. That is according to two European officials familiar with the matter.

President Zelenskyy says Kyiv supports a ceasefire and that it's important that Russia does the same.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translator): Today, there was a statement by the president of the United States that an energy ceasefire has been reached. This is good news for everyone. It is important that it becomes a reality. Ukraine is ready to refrain from striking Russian energy facilities, and we expect Russia to show the same readiness. We welcome such an agreement. Unfortunately, Russian drones were in the skies throughout the day today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Betsy Klein has been tracking developments on the energy ceasefire announcement. She brings us the latest now from the White House.

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BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, the fact that Russia continued to strike Ukraine's energy infrastructure after President Trump announced this so-called energy ceasefire is reason for skepticism that there is, in fact, a deal in place. President Trump claimed early Sunday morning that both sides had agreed to an energy ceasefire that would begin, in his words, immediately.

But Ukraine's President Zelenskyy appeared to indicate that he was caught off guard by this announcement. One Ukrainian official telling CNN that they found out at the same time that the president made that post to social media. Zelenskyy does say that Ukraine supports a ceasefire, but they are awaiting more details from the U.S. side. Now, there's no word from the Kremlin at this stage on whether they are in an agreement here, but if you're tracking their actions, there is not an energy ceasefire at this time.

Now, I asked the White House if they could provide any additional details beyond the president's social media post on how this came together and what the next steps are. They referred me at this point to the President's post. And there is some important context here, and that is that on Friday, President Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the two leaders unveiled what has proven to be a controversial deal, to allow Russian diesel exports, aimed at helping to provide additional supply there.

[02:05:00]

Now, that deal has drawn bipartisan criticism, including a new statement from a group of seven senators, four Republicans and three Democrats. They say -- quote -- "Congress explicitly banned Russian energy imports in 2022 to prevent American dollars from financing Putin's brutal war against Ukraine. Congress was clear. The U.S. should not import oil from Russia until it ends its aggression against Ukraine and ceases threats against our NATO allies. The United States should not provide Putin with a financial lifeline while Russia continues to kill Ukrainian civilians. The administration must immediately," they say, "reverse course."

Now, after that diesel deal was announced, Trump officials met with Ukrainian officials in Miami, but Zelenskyy personally criticized that deal, saying that it would prolong the war. All of this likely to come up on Tuesday morning as the president's newly-minted press secretary, Katie Zacharia, holds her first press briefing at 930 a.m.

Betsy Klein, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The shifting U.S. approach to Russia's war in Ukraine is not happening in a vacuum. CNN's former Moscow bureau chief, Jill Dougherty, explains the range of factors impacting U.S.-Ukraine relations.

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JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, DISTINGUISHED FELLOW AT WOODROW WILSON CENTER, FORMER CNN MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Look, it is complex in a way that it's unfolded. But I think the message, you know, of what is actually happening is very clear. I think that Zelenskyy feels that he has been sold down the river by the Trump administration and specifically President Trump.

And if you look at some of the things that Zelenskyy has said, you know, he said the negotiating team was used as a smoke screen and that that's not fair and that's not how partners should deal with each other.

Essentially, what's happening is, you know, there's no question that energy prices are spiking around the world, and the war in Ukraine, Russia's war against Ukraine, does play some role. But the bigger role actually is what's happening with the Strait of Hormuz and the Iran war that President Trump launched.

So, I think Zelenskyy feels, at this point, that he is being used as a whipping boy for these prices that are not being caused specifically by what's happening in Ukraine.

And this is continuing. I mean, as we speak, in the last 24 hours, the U.S. has upped the ante. They're talking now about stopping intelligence for Ukraine or stopping the procurement for weapons that are provided to Ukraine. So, this is not over, and I think the punishment for Zelenskyy is continuing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: All right, turning now to the Middle East. Saudi officials say at least one person was killed and 11 others injured in a new strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport.

A warning, the images you're about to see are disturbing. Sunday's attack comes just one day after a Houthi missile strike killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 300 others. It's the deadliest attack in the kingdom in more than a decade. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have claimed responsibility for these attacks, saying they are in retaliation for Saudi air strikes in Yemen that have killed women and children.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is planning to speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. President Trump also says he is considering joining Saudi strikes against the Houthis in Yemen despite previously resisting the kingdom's requests for direct military intervention.

CNN's Oren Liebermann has details.

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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: The Iran-backed and armed Houthis in Yemen are showing they are ready and willing to fight and to escalate attacking civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. This matches the pattern of attacks we've seen on the exact same airport, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. It was on Saturday that a Houthi attack hit the airport, causing the deadliest attack on Saudi Arabia in more than a decade. At least 12 people were killed, including a U.S. citizen, and more than 300 people were injured.

That led into Sunday, where Saudi authorities say another attack hit the airport, striking a terminal building there and hitting a fire, and Saudi air defenses intercepted a cruise missile that was on its way effectively towards the same target here. So, the Houthis there are indicating that they're willing and very much able to fight.

Now, the Saudis have carried out punishing strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, trying to offer their support to the internationally- recognized government of Yemen, which has tried to push back against the Houthis.

But in much the same way we saw Iran fight, the Houthis are doing the same. They don't have the military capability or the weapons to match Saudi Arabia's military. What they do have are drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, and they're able to use those very effectively to cause the disruptions we're seeing here.

[02:10:05]

Now, why does this matter beyond the Arabian Peninsula and why does this matter beyond the Middle East? Take a look at this map. Just as Iran was able to leverage control over the Strait of Hormuz on one side of the Arabian Peninsula, and that sent gas prices surging and shocked the global economy, the Houthis may well be able to do the same to the Bab al-Mandab Strait on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, one of the world's most critical waterways through which traffic going to or from the Suez Canal has to pass.

That is the risk to the global economy here, and that is the reality the region and, frankly, the world are facing as the conflict between the Houthis and the Saudis escalate.

The key question, of course, now is what is the U.S. and what is President Donald Trump going to do? The Saudis have made clear they want the U.S. involved here striking the Houthis. In fact, it was President Donald Trump who said earlier during the weekend that he's considering his options and he may get involved, but it's unclear that he's really willing to do so.

The war with Iran is already unpopular and has driven up gas prices. Another unpopular war with the Houthis. Another shock to the global economy. This close to the midterms. It's not clear Trump wants to go in that direction, and that leaves the Houthis perhaps feeling emboldened as they carry out and continue to carry out these attacks on the Saudis.

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CHURCH: Well, joining us live now from Beirut, Lebanon is Adam Baron, future security program fellow at New America. Thank you so much for being with us.

ADAM BARON, FUTURE SECURITY PROGRAM FELLOW, NEW AMERICA: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: Of course. So, what are the Houthis trying to achieve with these deadly attacks on Riyadh's international airport? What's their strategy and how might this shift the direction of the conflict?

BARON: I think, fundamentally, these strikes are about providing -- excuse me, are about exerting pressure on Saudi Arabia in order to halt their support for the internationally-recognized government's offensive against the Houthis.

Now, we've seen internal fighting in Yemen increase quite substantially since the Houthis took Bab al-Mandab and areas around Yemen's Red Sea coast over the course of the end of the summer. So, effectively, these strikes are a message saying to Saudi, if you hit us, we will hit you back. This is a way of them basically exerting leverage in order to aim to get their demands which, if anything, have increased. Now, that's sort of an end to Saudi support for the internationally- recognized government, some sort of reparations, free and unfettered flights and traffic inside and outside of Yemen. But, at least, for now, these are things that the Saudis and I think many members of the international community view as impossible to get them on, especially after these most recent strikes.

CHURCH: And if U.S. President Donald Trump decides to join the Saudis in attacking the Houthis, we don't know if he will or not, but he's suggested he's thinking it over, what might direct U.S. military involvement mean for this conflict specifically and, of course, for the wider region, including the war in Iran?

BARON: I think there are two elements here. Obviously, the U.S. getting involved would provide a degree of capabilities into the fight that would potentially enhance what the Saudis and the internationally-recognized government's ability to hit the Houthis.

That being said, obviously, in response, the Houthis are going to expand their target list. At least until now, the Houthis have been quite strong in saying that they will avoid hitting the U.S. as long as the U.S. is not hitting them. There are these meetings in Moscow between the U.S. and Houthi representatives. You've seen it echoed by the Trump administration.

If the U.S. is getting directly involved, then, obviously, you'll see sort of potentially U.S. military targets being hit by the Houthis, US-tied ships being attacked in the Red Sea. There's a lot of different options.

But then, at the same time, if you're looking at it from an American interest perspective, obviously, what's happening in Riyadh, you know, the fact that Riyadh airport is under significant attack, what's happening in terms of government, these are substantial threats to wider political security.

So, it's not unreasonable to imagine that the Trump administration is now reviewing its options even though, obviously, we all know midterms are ticking up and a war in Yemen would most likely be quite unpopular.

CHURCH: Yes. Definitely. In the meantime, of course, Saudi Arabia is threatening to respond to these deadly attacks at the airport. How would it likely do that? And how will the kingdom protect its citizens from more attacks?

BARON: I think, for now, what has been unclear is whether you'll end up seeing more defensive maneuvers, ballistic missiles interceptions, etcetera. You did see that over the course of the recent attack against Damam airport in the east of Saudi Arabia, where the missile did appear to be intercepted.

[02:15:03]

That being said, I think we're looking at escalation on both sides. Even after this rather deadly attack on Riyadh airport, the third one, which led to 12 people being dead, of multiple nationalities, the Houthis have only increased their willingness to maintain these attacks, right? So, you have the Houthis saying, we're going to keep hitting Saudis. The Saudis are saying they have to fight back.

So, what we're looking at is an escalation spiral which, you know, in the context of a region that's already quite inflamed, underlines the unpredictability of the days ahead.

CHURCH: All right. Thank you, Adam Baroon, for joining us and, of course, sharing your analysis on this issue. Appreciate it.

BARON: Thanks so much for having me.

CHURCH: Of course. And there is much more to come here on "CNN Newsroom," including Pope Leo's announcement that he will undergo surgery. Just ahead, the latest on the pontiff's health. Plus, a landslide triggers major flooding in central Nepal. We will have the latest on the damage and rescue efforts just ahead.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, Pope Leo is undergoing surgery this week after doctors discovered a small nodule on his lung. This is the first health scare since the 71-year-old American became pontiff. The Vatican says he is expected to be in hospital for a week to recover, and he will be visiting Latin America next month.

So, let's bring in CNN's Rome correspondent Stefano Pozzebon. Good to see you, Stefano. So, what more are you learning about the Pope's health? How will the Vatican operate while Pope Leo is in hospital?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN ROME CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, a lot of people here in Italy and in the Vatican commended Pope Leo for the decision to make the announcement himself. Yesterday, almost as a matter of fact, as he was wrapping up the weekly speech that is called the Angelus Prayer with the faithful on Sunday morning, a lot of people commended it because, of course, it gives the impression of a pope that is serene, that he's going through a standard operation.

We know that the pontiff has a nodule in his lung. That is a piece of dense tissue that needs to be exported before it could develop into a tumor or a cancerous situation. That doesn't mean, of course, necessarily that Pope Leo is already facing such a serious disease. It could be that this is just a check. And to remove the nodule will take a very easy operation and a week-long recovery, we understand, from the Holy See and the Vatican spokesperson, Mario Bruni.

Rosemary, in the meantime, the Vatican is essentially an independent country. The only difference is that you don't have a vice pope. That means, essentially, that the day-to-day operations at the Catholic Church will remain in place. However, all of those decisions that will require the direct engagement of the pontiff, of Leo himself, will have to be postponed.

We don't know at this point when Leo will go to the Gemelli Hospital, which is just a stone's throw from the Vatican itself. It's where most pontiffs receive medical attention here in Rome. On Tuesday, so tomorrow here in Italy, Leo already had the habit of spending the day at the summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, which is about 40 kilometers south of Rome. That is what normally would happen on a regular week. Perhaps, tomorrow is the day that he will go, indeed, under the surgery.

However, we don't really understand -- we don't know that. We understand, however, that there is a sort of like not a rush, but a feeling of trying to get this done sooner rather than later because, of course, the most important engagement on Leo's agenda at this stage is the trip to South America, upcoming in November. He will travel to Uruguay, Argentina, and then to Peru, where he spent more than two decades as a missionary and as a bishop between November 6 and November 17.

Perhaps the desire to not have that trip postponed and to be in full force for such an important engagement for him is what made the pope decide to have this operation this week as quickly and as possible. Clearly, the pontiff doesn't need to wait for a slot to become available at the local hospital to get this type of operation. So, we'll bring you the latest as soon as we hear from the Vatican when, indeed, the pope will receive attention at the hospital. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Of course, and we wish the pope a speedy recovery. Stefano Pozzebon, many thanks for that live report. I appreciate it.

Well, at least 139 migrants, including 15 children, have died after a boat carrying more than 300 people capsized while traveling from Djibouti to Yemen. The International Organization for Migration says around 84 people are still missing.

Video released by the U.N. agency shows parts of the boat floating at sea with shoes scattered along Djibouti's eastern shoreline and aid workers searching for survivors. The migrants were heading to Yemen, hoping to eventually make it to wealthier Gulf nations even as many nationals themselves flee the country amid escalating conflict.

Well, right now, Hurricane Simon is lashing Mexico's Pacific coast with dangerous waves like these. The U.S. National Hurricane Center warns the Category 4 storm is extremely dangerous even if it doesn't make landfall. Intense rain has already caused flooding and power outages in some areas.

[02:24:58]

And as the storm gets closer to west-central Mexico, it will continue to bring strong wind, heavy waves, and storm surge to parts of the coast through Monday.

Forecasters say Hurricane Simon's path is becoming harder to track after it changed course on Sunday. It's not clear whether it will make landfall or stay offshore. Mexican officials are warning residents to shelter until the danger has passed.

Well, itility workers in Alabama are working to restore power after Hurricane Isaias swept through the Southern United States last week. The storm knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of customers. Remnants of the hurricane drove rain, gusty winds, and severe storms across the East Coast on Sunday.

Post-tropical storm Rachel is moving east from Southern California. It's now pushing heavy rainfall across parts of the U.S. southwest. Forecasters say it could cause flooding. More than 15 million people are also under strong wind alerts.

CNN's Melissa Nord tells us what to expect from what's left of that storm.

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MELISSA NORD, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're not done with the threat of flooding across the four corners in the southwest for Monday. We had, over the weekend, the remnants of Rachel move overhead. That prompted a daily wreck of rainfall in Las Vegas. The moisture went as far north as the Canadian border. It helped to aid in a dozen inches of snow in parts of Montana.

Well, now, this little upper low that's coming in is going to help to stream more showers and higher elevation snowfall. That will include the four corners and also the front range of the Rockies. We'll see a little bit of snow breaking out in those highest peaks. You can see that pivoting around the upper low counterclockwise Monday and again on Tuesday.

So, we'll be watching that rain and snow falling. Some places, like Las Vegas, will see their flooding threat winding down Monday morning. But still, across many areas in the Intermountain West, some flood watches remain in effect.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: A landslide-triggered flash flood has left a trail of destruction across central Nepal. Authorities say Nepal's army is working to evacuate those stranded by the flood. Homes and bridges have been swept away and at least five people have been reported missing so far. The disaster comes less than two months after catastrophic floods at the Nepal-China border killed hundreds of people and left thousands missing.

Still ahead on this hour of "CNN Newsroom," President Trump's multi- million-dollar, taxpayer-funded ad push has screeched to a halt. The latest on the case when we come back. And later, stomping for Troy Jackson. Senator Bernie Sanders travels to Maine in hopes of boosting Democratic voter enthusiasm in a critical Senate race.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

A U.S. federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to cancel any further airings of the controversial taxpayer-funded ads that promote the president's agenda. The judge granted a temporary restraining order requested by a nonprofit group that challenged the ad buys. The government was instructed to halt any further airings as of Sunday evening.

The Trump administration said in a court filing that it has already spent $19 million in taxpayer money on the ads. White House officials say that president Trump does not plan to reimburse the government for the money already spent on the ad buys.

A CNN source says President Donald Trump is weighing up dismissing Kimberly Guilfoyle from her post as us ambassador to Greece, following a string of misconduct reports. Trump has been monitoring reports claiming Guilfoyle accepted lavish gifts as ambassador and sought money in exchange for providing access to administration figures before she was sworn in. The source says Trump will decide soon whether to fire Guilfoyle, who was engaged to his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., for four years and has remained close to the Trump family.

Well, President Trump is facing another growing issue, voter frustration over the economy and the high cost of living. Polls show a significant majority of voters believe the president's policies are exacerbating the problem.

Just last week, CNN surveys found that 76 percent of likely voters in Ohio said Trump policies have increased their costs rather than reducing them. Meanwhile, in Iowa, that figure was 74 percent.

All that coming just 22 days ahead of the critical midterm elections as both sides battle for control of Congress. There are a number of competitive races, but perhaps the most surprising among them is playing out in South Carolina. That is where Republican Senator Darline Graham, Democrat Annie Andrews and libertarian Kasie Whitner took part in the only debate currently scheduled in the race. Graham is, of course, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who was picked to succeed him.

The debate was often contentious, with both Graham and Andrews taking aim at each other.

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ANNIE ANDREWS, SOUTH CAROLINA DEMOCRATIC SENATE NOMINEE: My opponent is the only one on this stage who had the opportunity to vote to end the war, but three times in a row, she voted to continue it. And several days after one of those votes, she had the audacity to walk out onto this stage and admit that national security isn't really her thing. SEN. DARLINE GRAHAM (R-SC): And why in the world would we stop now,

when they are still dangerous and we are close to ending the war? Again, I think the president wants to end the war. I know he does. We all want the war to end, but I support a strong military. I believe in peace through strength.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And in Maine, Democrats hope Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders can give a boost to Troy Jackson, their candidate in a tight Senate race against Republican Susan Collins. Sanders campaigned with Jackson just hours ago.

CNN's Arlette Saenz has the details from Maine.

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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Senator Bernie Sanders wrapped a two day, three stop swing through the state of Maine as he is trying to energize Democratic voters to turn out for Troy Jackson in November. Jackson is in a very tight contest against Republican Senator Susan Collins, and Sanders had initially supported Graham Platner, who is running in this race, as the progressive candidate but was forced to bow out of the race after he had faced an allegation of sexual assault, which he denied.

Jackson entered this campaign in mid-July, giving him very little time to mount his campaign against Senator Collins. But what Sanders was trying to do with this visit is really juice up the turnout from the progressive voters in this state. Take a listen to a bit of his message.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Here in Maine and all over this country, we have got to stand up to Trump, and we got to make sure that we end this rubber stamp U.S. Senate Republican.

SAENZ: Well, Senator Sanders is a draw for progressive voters. There are questions about whether he can appeal to the moderates and independents that Jackson will need in this campaign. Now, Maine is a state that is key in the Democrats map to try to regain the Senate majority next year, Democrats will need to pick up four Republican held seats and hold on to all of their own if they want to win the majority.

Senator Susan Collins is dealing with a lot of the same anti-Trump sentiment that other Republican candidates across the country are grappling with in this race. But Collins has had a history of surviving very tough reelection battles in the past, something she's hoping to replicate here in the state of Maine. But Democrats are trying to do all they can in this final stretch, including having sanders come out to try to energize those voters, to turn out in just three weeks.

Arlette Saenz, CNN, Biddeford, Maine.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Joining us now is Natasha Lindstaedt, a professor of government at the University of Essex in England. Appreciate you joining us.

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX IN ENGLAND: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: So, Natasha, with just over three weeks to go to the midterm elections, most polling shows Republicans could be in trouble. But former President Barack Obama is warning Democrats the close races are all within the margin of error. What do you make of the numbers and where do you see this going?

LINDSTAEDT: Well, Obama is right that these races are incredibly close, and its going to matter which party can bring out their voters to vote. A lot of times you see with the midterms you have really low voter turnout. So sentiment might be really negative towards Trump.

But if the Democrats cant get people to come to the polls, then they're going to have a problem. And you see that state of Michigan, this is a crucial state. I know Obama is going to be campaigning alongside the candidate there, the Democratic candidate, Abdul El- Sayed. I mean, that is such an important race for the Democrats. And I think that's going to showcase how well the Democrats are doing. There's some other really tight races in the senate in Texas as well. That is in play for Democrats.

CHURCH: And I want --

(CROSSTALK)

LINDSTAEDT: A chance of winning.

CHURCH: I do want to talk about that because that is one of the close races. That is surprising everyone, isn't it? That contest between Texas Democratic Senate hopeful James Talarico and Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. That race is so tight that all sorts of conspiracy theories are being spread by a struggling Paxton and his supporters. How likely is it that Talarico could win Texas and end 30 years of Republican rule in that state? What do you think?

LINDSTAEDT: So he's ahead in the polls. Talarico is ahead in the polls. And again, there's always a margin of error. And there's all kinds of things that could happen. But typically Trump's Republicans don't do that well in the midterms. He doesn't seem to be able to get the base out like he normally does. And that's part of his strategy, why he's trying to campaign in some of these deep red states. He's trying to tell people, pretend that I'm on the ballot.

But the issue is Ken Paxton is a really bad candidate. And we've seen Trump aligned candidates when they're really bad, when they have these issues, scandals, corruption, these kinds of problems, they don't tend to be able to win. So we saw this with Herschel Walker before. You know, this is going to be a real opportunity for the Democrats. And I think they're seizing upon a candidate that is fairly moderate. And definitely, if you see what the polls are showing, he's ahead at the moment. And if they appear to be true, then he's going to win.

CHURCH: Wow. It's extraordinary, isn't it? And what could potentially move the needle in the next three weeks do you think? Is it political debates? Is it candidates suddenly capturing the voting publics imagination? Or could it be gas and grocery prices suddenly coming down? If president Trump's diesel deal with Russia results in lower prices? What do you think?

LINDSTAEDT: I mean, it's definitely the last thing. And if we just look at Trump's approval ratings, they're absolutely terrible. A recent "Financial Times" poll showed that 25 percent of Americans approve of the way he's handling the economy. Only 20 percent approve the way he's handling inflation, and he's got an approval rating, according to that poll of 34 percent.

So it's really about the economy. It's about affordability. It's about inflation. If he were to end the war in Iran, which he's probably not going to do, but if he were to do that, that would be that one thing that might change the trajectory of this race.

But otherwise, I don't see even this ploy to try to reduce gas prices at the last minute is going to work, because many people know that this is just a temporary fix, and this is really tied to Trump's fateful decision to go to war with Iran.

[02:40:05]

CHURCH: And how reliable do you think any of these polls are? And we've seen them really, they were wrong in the past, weren't they? How reliable do you think they are going forward for this, these midterm elections?

LINDSTAEDT: They tended to be more reliable when it comes to the midterms. The most hardest thing of polling is polling the Trump voter, in that they don't tend to agree to do polls, or you have some people that vote for Trump that are not honest about this. And so, while it's really difficult to project an election where Trump is actually on the ballot, you do have to take that into account by maybe even four or five points where the polls show that he's going to win.

That's not been the case for the midterms. We thought we saw with the 2018 midterms, actually, Democrats did even a little bit better than they thought they were going to do, winning 41 seats in the House. So this is something that could happen this time. Again, it could be a real bloodbath for the Republicans in the House. And the Democrats are even poised to possibly even take the Senate.

CHURCH: We'll see what happens. Natasha Lindstaedt, thank you so much for joining us. And of course, sharing your analysis and perspective on this issue. Appreciate it.

LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: Of course, we have much more coming up on the show. The latest on man injured during an ice enforcement operation in Texas. How the federal agency is defending their agents actions, and what the man's lawyer has to say. And India's growing youth led protest movement is refusing to back down after a sweeping crackdown by police. We will look at the growing challenge to Prime Minister Modi's government. That's after the break.

Stay with us.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Russell Brand will stand trial in London on Monday on seven charges of rape, indecent assault and sexual assault. The actor and comedian has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

[02:45:00]

The allegations go back to 1999, the start of his career and just before he became a household name in British television.

A man struck by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle in Texas was scheduled to undergo surgery on Sunday. We have video of the incident. We want to warn you, though, that the images are graphic and could be disturbing to some viewers. ICE officials say Miguel Parra- Hernandez suffered injuries to his lower body when the vehicle hit him while fleeing an enforcement operation near Houston. At last check, he was in stable condition.

CNN's Mark Morales reports on the latest.

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MARK MORALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: An agency spokesperson said that the man seen in that video, quote, "ran in front of an ICE vehicle". Now, according to his attorney, he has two broken legs and is currently in ICE custody. But he wasn't the target of this. ICE officials had targeted the man he was in the car with. That was the target. They were -- they deemed him to be a public safety threat. And he is the one who had a deportation order, but he was not caught.

So this video also really brings into the forefront the question of tactics. And as you've seen, this has been a hot button issue, especially in New York City after a man was shot inside a vehicle by ICE agents while his five-year-old son was in the back seat.

Now, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin was on "STATE OF THE UNION", and he not only defended the tactics of the ICE officers, but also said that their body camera footage would be released. Now, as we've seen that footage of those moments, either before the incident took place or after the incident, even during the incident, they all meshed together to really give a full picture of what's been going on.

Here's Markwayne Mullin. Take a listen.

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, DHS SECRETARY: 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 plainclothes. When they approached 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.

MORALES: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been very critical about the presence of ICE in New York, especially pointing to this incident, saying that it's a very good example as to why New Yorkers are not safe. Meanwhile, the men at the center of all this Oscar Belgal, he's currently in solitary confinement at a federal detention center in New York under ICE custody. Lawyers for him have finally got a chance to speak with him over the weekend. They say that not only is he in a lot of pain, but that he needs emergency surgery to deal with that bullet wound.

Mark Morales, CNN, New York.

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CHURCH: India's youth-led Cockroach political party is vowing to press ahead with more protests against the country's top election official. The CJP is demanding his resignation over changes to voter lists that they say favor Prime Minister Modi's ruling party. Hundreds of demonstrators were detained in New Delhi over the weekend after a large scale security operation to curb planned protests. Among them was the Cockroach movement's founder, who has since been released under orders to keep the peace for a year.

Well, for more on this, I want to bring in CNN correspondent Gage Goulding. He joins us live from Seoul.

Good to see you. So what is the latest on this story? And of course, what has happened to the hundreds of detained demonstrators.

GAGE GOULDING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. From what we know, everybody has since been released, including the leader of the Cockroach Janta Party, the CJP, Abhijeet Dipke. He was released after being detained on a plane, police boarding the plane and detaining him, along with several other people, on Saturday as they landed in New Delhi ahead of this protest. And this is one that he called on the youth and expecting some 10,000 people to pack into central New Delhi.

They were met with opposition from the government, about 1,000 police and paramilitary members also meeting them there in central New Delhi, the government turning off mobile internet on Saturday through the evening hours. In preparation for that, and even on Sunday. And then again, you know, going into today, on Monday, they have been prepared for any sort of protests.

And the videos there, you can see the clashing and you can see that people were detained while protesting against the election board there, if you will in India.

The allegation is, is that they've removed tens of millions of people from the voter rolls, the government saying that they're going through ineligible voters, voters that have since passed away or duplicate voters, opposition groups, including the CJP, say that they're removing eligible voters, people that should be able to vote. And as you said there, people that may disagree with the party that's in power.

So there's a lot of opposition there. But, you know, it was very clear that there was powers from the government that did not want this protest to take place.

[02:50:06]

And they worked very hard against that. Even closing down some 50 metro stations was reported by local media there in the New Delhi area. Now, the CJP, they've been working very hard as a grassroots, youth led movement. And it all started as an internet meme after an Indian government leader called the unemployed youth cockroaches. So it started as an internet meme earlier this year, and in July, they had really affected their first change.

They protested earlier this year against the education ministry, who was accused of leaking or even selling results for tests. They were able to actually get the education minister to step down. They were looking for that same effect with the election ministry. But we're not necessarily seeing that here.

But I will end on this. The leader of the CJP saying that the protest will continue. So we'll see exactly how that all shakes out, Rosemary.

CHURCH: We certainly shall.

Our thanks to Gage Goulding bringing us that live report. Appreciate it.

And there's much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM right after this short break.

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CHURCH: The Milwaukee Brewers upset the Los Angeles Dodgers in Sunday's NLCS opener. The Brewers bullpen rallied to shut down the Dodgers Sunday night, clinching a two one victory at home against the league favorites, the Brewers last and only World Series appearance was in 1982. They're one of five teams that have never won it.

Meanwhile, the dodgers are hoping to become the first three-peat champions since the 1998 to 2000 New York Yankees. Game two is on Monday in Milwaukee.

Well, in the NFL, week five featured two teams on the rise on Sunday night football. The red hot Atlanta Falcons hosting the Baltimore Ravens. Atlanta led for much of the game until a late touchdown pass by Baltimore's Tyler Huntley helped to tie things up at 23. It went to overtime, where Huntley stayed hot, leading the Ravens to a 30-23 victory.

Well, earlier, the Seattle Seahawks hosted San Francisco in a big divisional match up. This game was close from start to finish late in the fourth quarter, with the 49ers leading by three. Seattle had one last drive to either tie or take the lead, but they came up just short on this fourth down play. San Francisco wins 32 to 29 and stays undefeated at 5-0.

Well, a London suburb is proving you don't need snow to go skiing. Who thought it? Organizers staged what they called a downhill skiing event in Surbiton on Sunday. Since there was no snow, participants strapped blocks of ice to their feet and other objects and slid along, a ski run made slippery with water and detergent. Why not?

Thanks so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. CNN NEWSROOM with Christina Macfarlane is next after a short break.

Do stay with us.

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