finally tonight, an update on brittney griner of the washington nba star held in russia. officials from the u.s. embassy in moscow met with griner today. the white house saying she is doing well under the circumstances. she was arrested in february, of course, at an airport in moscow on drug charges and sentenced to nine years in a russian penal colony. she's maintained that she accidentally put the cannabis videotape charges in her sui suitcase. the white house continues to press for her immediate release along with that of paul whelan who has been detained in russia for three years on espionage charges which he denies. thank you so much for joining us. "ac 360" starts now. good evening. a lot to get to tonight. just short of a week since he was attacked by an intruder who was trying to capture his wife,

house speaker nancy pelosi. paul pelosi sought of the hospital. neurosurgeon dr. sanjay gupta joins us to talk about what mr. pelosi's recovery from a skull fracture bhmight look like. also the president and two former presidents helping races for congress, not just within grabs, but within reach for either party. we begin with breaking news on cnn reporting on how the justice department could proceed with cases against former president trump if he decides to run. this as surrogates are again loudly hinting for president again. cnn's sara murray has the breaking news. she joins us now. what are you learning? >> anderson, our sources are telling our team that the justice department is considering whether a special counsel might be necessary to oversee the investigation surrounding donald trump if he decides to run for president in 2024, which as you've mentioned is a thing his allies are talking about, a thing that could be potentially an imminent announcement. and so they're looking at the mar-a-lago investigation, the

investigations surrounding january 6th, surrounding efforts to subvert the 2020 election, and trying to decide whether special counsel might be necessary. now no decisions have been made, but the idea, of course, is that if you are in a position where joe biden's justice department is interviewing who could potentially be the candidate he is running against, that is a potential political firestorm that the justice department wants to avoid. >> is it clear how likely an indictment against the former president actually is at this point? >> we don't know that at this point. obviously we know there are these investigations that have been swirling around the former president. we know they've gotten very close to a number of his allies, a number of people who have worked with him in the white house. we know he talked about how kash patel has been granted immunity to testify before a mar-a-lago grand jury. we just don't know how close this is going to get to the former president or if they are going to move forward with indictments against potentially his associates or against the former president. >> and what kind of timetable is the justice department looking at? >> well, this is an excellent question. what we know is even though they

have been in this quiet period, they have been moving pretty aggressively behind the scenes to try to subpoena witnesses in these secret court battles to get them to try to appear before the grand jury. we may know more once we get out of this quiet period after the midterms. we should also remind folks these are not the only criminal investigations surrounding the former president. there is also this criminal probe playing out in georgia, and we expect indictments there could come as early as december. anderson? >> all right. sara murray, appreciate it. some perspective now from law enforcement analyst and former fbi deputy director andrew mccabe, carrie cordero who served at the department of justice, and chief political correspondent dana bash, and cnn contributor john dean, who served as white house counsel in the nixon white house. i wonder your reaction. >> anderson, this one brings back a lot of memories. you know, the investigation of a political candidate, even if that person is a candidate for the presidency doesn't require the -- there is nothing that

protects you from investigation simply by being a candidate for office. and so certainly the justice department and the fbi wouldn't be required to appoint a special counsel during the campaign period. so if you think about that as any time after next tuesday until election day on 2024. however, after having lived through and had a role in the investigation of then candidate hillary clinton for the presidency in 2016, by the end of that experience, i believe very strongly and still do that the department and the bureau would have been better served had a special counsel been appointed to oversee that investigation during the period of the campaign. it's just very, very hard to protect those institutions from the claims of politicization that invariably come from those investigations by people who are opposed to them or frustrated by them. i would think that the department would probably look very closely at that decision in

the event that donald trump decides to announce his candidacy and they continue these investigations that we're aware of. >> carrie cordero, what is a special counsel -- why would it help the department of justice against appearances of partisanship? what does the special counsel do? >> the reason, anderson, that the justice department might appoint -- and it's entirely in the discretion of attorney general garland to appoint a special counsel in this matter, is the department has to conduct an inquiry as to whether or not there would be a conflict of interest or other extraordinary circumstances is what the regulations say. and so this is just entirely in his discretion, whether he thinks that the appearance of conflict of interest, the actual conflict of interest because he is appointed and a political appointee by the current

president, and if there is going to be a future campaign between the current president and the former president again, then there is a potential -- there is an argument that there is a potential conflict there. and the decision is whether or not appointing a special counsel would be in the public interest. so it's a wide amount of discretion for the attorney general. he has to think about as andrew describes the institutions. he has to think about the integrity of the investigation and what is the best choice to maintain the integrity and the conduct of an investigation to its rightful end. whether that end means an indictment or whether that end means that the investigation is passed. >> dana, if they do decide to move towards a special counsel, do you think it matters they do so before or after the former president announces his decision to run? is there a ticking clock here? >> no. no. there is no ticking clock, because as carrie and di were just talking about, this is very much -- there is no specific hard and fast rule book on any

of it. and if you add in the fact that even if there was a rule book, donald trump would completely blow through that, that's really the key here. andy is talking about what happened during the clinton campaign when they were investigating her and what was going on there. then you kind of fast forward to robert mueller. he was a special counsel, and it's not like it stopped donald trump from completely demonizing him and the investigation. it did not make it so that politics were not involved in or at least mueller and his team were not accused of politics. so when you're talking about donald trump and the way that he approaches these things, he will use it as much as he cannot just as a political weapon, but as a political shield within and by his own party. >> and john, if these politically sensitive investigations do pick up after

the election, what would you be looking for in the months to come that would indicate the doj is actively pursuing an indictment against the former president? what would the signs be? >> well, i think the first case they'll focus down on is the mar-a-lago documents case. that's a pretty clean basic case where documents are going to dominate with a few government witnesses. and so it's not a difficult witness-heavy case. and i think it's pretty black and white that will probably be the first indictment. and they will probably be a race between trump and the department of justice as to which happens first. trump may be still using his candidacy as a potential shield and jump in first and think that will make the department have second thoughts. i don't think that's true. so the much more complex case, anderson, is the overturning of the election. it involves the insurrection.

it involves the phony electors. it's very witness intense. the report of the january 6th committee is going to come out and shed even more light that we don't know. and maybe the department of justice won't know. so that's the least likely to be the initial one. and i think -- >> sorry. >> i think the documents case could come. >> andrew, other than a special counsel, there anything else that attorney general garland could do to try to keep the appearance of influence by the white house? >> you know what they can do, abdomen, is continue to do exactly what they've been doing. follow the facts and follow the law wherever they lead. i think john's absolutely right. right now the mar-a-lago case looks like the one that would come to some sort of a critical decision more quickly. and that's one they could actually make that decision of indict or don't indict before the election gets into its final phases.

the january 6th case way more complicated. a lot of additional considerations in there. it's hard to see that happening quickly. but it's pretty much they do it the way they're doing it now, according to the book, under normal procedures, or they bring in a special counsel. it's kind of a binary choice. and i think that once you add the intensity and the, you know, of the campaign, i think it leans pretty hard in the direction of a special counsel. >> dana, do you see the investigation having an affect on the republican presidential primary? >> oh, it absolutely could, because we have seen that whenever donald trump calls himself a victim and calls himself the kind of a martyr, then it helps to rally the base around him. one thing, though, i will say, just in traveling, i've been to five states since labor day, some key battleground states this midterm election, and it's

been striking to me that even though donald trump still has a big reservoir of support among republicans, i heard more republicans than maybe i anticipated say if there was another option for them inside the gop, they'd be okay with that. because this kind of thing we're talking about has become exhausting, even for some of his most staunch supporters. >> dthank you. paul pelosi out of the hospital after suffering that brutal attack. dr. sanjay gupta what mr. pelosi faces after skull fracture caused by a hammer blow. andrew griffin on police departments now monitoring ballot boxes. kesha at the aclu they might, quote, cross the line into intimidation.

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six days after suffering life-threatening injuries at the hands of a hammer wielding intruder, paul pelosi left a san francisco hospital. in a statement today, his wife, house speaker nancy pelosi said he cons to progress on what she called, quote, a long recovery, and long recovery process in convalescence. joining us is cnn special correspondent jamie gangel as well as chief medical correspondent and practicing neurosurgeon dr. sanjay gupta, who has treated many serious head injuries such as the one paul pelosi suffered. jamie, first of all, what more can you tell us about mr. pelosi's discharge from the hospital? >> so, anderson, as you mentioned, mr. pelosi was released earlier today after recovering from that surgery last friday to repair the skull fracture that was caused by the assailant hitting him over the head. i am told twice, as well as serious injuries to his right arm and his hands. when he got home, i'm told that she's been there from the

beginning. his wife, speaker nancy pelosi is at home with him. other members of the family, his adult children. but considering the nature of the attack, that he was hit in the head with a hammer, knocked unconscious we're told for about three minutes, the extent of the injuries, obviously sanjay can talk about this much more. i think it's pretty remarkable that six days later he was able to be released. it's excellent news that the doctor felt he is ready to go home. i'm also told by friends of the family that he was pushing to get out of there as quickly as possible. >> so sanjay, what does it say about mr. pelosi's injuries, as jamie said, considering he was released less than a week after the attack? >> yeah, i think a couple things can be true at the same time. it was a very significant injury. we have some details thanks to jamie's great reporting on this about, about 2:30 or so in the morning is when this happened on friday morning of last week.

he was difficult to rouse, you know, maybe unconscious, as jamie said. and then later this morning, he was taken to the operating room. but we know a couple of things. one is he was able to speak to his wife ahead of time before the operation. that certainly was a good sign. also, anderson, the doctors were quite optimistic almost from the start, basically saying they expected even at that point that he'd make a full recovery. so as significant as the injury was, the doctors are pretty optimistic. and i just show you something, anderson. when we talk about a skull fracture, obviously the bone is broken. it can bend sort of inward. i think part of the reason the doctors be so optimistic is because they would do scans trying to determine if there was bleeding underneath the bone on top of the brain, or even within the brain itself. and those scans didn't seem to show those types of concerns. so, again, as significant as the injury was, the fact that it made him unconscious for a period of time, he was able to recover quickly, even before the operation. and i think it bodes well going

forward. >> is there a danger directly to the brain itself from an attack like this? does the skull actually crack open? that's probably a dumb question. >> yeah, no, no, not at all. the skull can crack open. it can be called an open skull fracture. that's what it would be referred to. in that case, you know, you have the outer layers of the brain potentially exposed. and that's why that operation has to be done. you want to repair that bone. you want to protect the brain. but the big question in these situations from a trauma perspective is right away you have to determine, did that blow also cause some sort of bleeding to occur. either on top of the brain or just underneath the outer surface of the brain. or even within the brain. and i'm sure cat scans were performed when we got to the hospital in the few hours before he went to the operating room to answer that question. given the doctors' optimism early on, i think it's clear that the scans did not show that bleeding which is obviously a good sign.

>> jamie, democratic congresswoman zoe lofgren said on cnn tonight that the lack of condemnation from the republican party on the attack is creating a, quote, environment of permission. i'm wondering what you were hearing from sources on that ongoing discussion or debate. >> i think that unfortunately, this is the political climate that we are in, anderson. the january 6th committee has been talking about, quote, the clear and present danger of disinformation, of donald trump continuing the lie about election, about election deniers, about promoting violence. and so this is the place we find ourselves in. and paul pelosi was the very real victim here of a horrific attack, life-threatening. but we can't forget that the speak over the house nancy pelosi was the target of it. anderson? >> jamie gangel, sanjay gupta, thank you so much. coming up, what some have

been starting to call an alarming trend. local law enforcement becoming involved in the midterms, in some places with armed police officers questioning voters about their ballots. more on that ahead. [school bells] when pain says, “i'm here,” i say, “so are the” ♪ aleve - who do you take it for? at fidelity, your dedicated advisor will work with you on a comprehensive wealth plan across your full financial picture. a plan with tax-smart investing strategies designed to help you keep more of what you earn. this is the planning effect. where do we even start our house search? the house whisperer! this house says start with deep search filters on realtor.com.

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ron johnson is facing a tight race to keep his john. according to the senator, i sure hope i can, but i can't predict

what the democrats might have planned. along those lines, we learned that a top election official in milwaukee has been fired for allegedly obtaining ballots through fraudulent means and sending them to republican state lawmaker. yet now senator johnson's now trying to use the incident to make his own case. omar jimenez joins us with the latest. what about this milwaukee elections official? >> yeah, anderson, so this was the deputy director of the milwaukee commission, kimberly zapata. she allegedly got military ballots for fake voters through a public site called my vote and sent them to a republican state lawmaker. that state representative said that these ballots were all addressed to a woman named holly with different last names, someone who did not and had never lived at this particular address. and while the specific motive isn't known at this point, the executive director of the milwaukee election commission says she believes this since fired deputy was trying to point out that you could go to a public site, make someone up and

still request a ballot. this representative turned everything over to law enforcement, who has now turned things over to the district attorney's office, who now say they expect to file charges in the coming days. i should also point out a lawyer for zapata told me that they will litigate this in the courtroom, not the media. >> what was the reaction from the wisconsin elections commission? >> well, as you can imagine, they took this very seriously. they said that this was a violation of election law, and the administrator for the commission said she is stunned. however, she said the actions of the single individual were swiftly detected and will have no impact on the november 8th election. we recognize that the damage caused by the action is damage to public confidence. while this case understandably will receive a lot of attention, the fact remains that election fraud is extremely rare, and when it does occur, it's quickly discovered and there are consequences. they also said there are multiple checks in place to ensure just because you request a ballot, it doesn't actually

get counted, especially on the military ballot side, including potentially flagging if a military ballot is requested to go to an address that's not a military facility. they also went on the say that in total, on average, they make up about 0.07% of total ballots requested. so we're talking about a small sliver here. however, as you can imagine, there are going to be many forces who are going to try to use this to paint a picture of this coming election being not secure. >> omar jimenez, appreciate it. thank you. cnn's drew griffin has filed several reports over the last few weeks about the potential for election interference. tonight he looks at what happens when the armed individuals policing election ballot drop boxes are the police themselves. >> reporter: early voting in berks county, pennsylvania is under way. >> is that your ballot? >> reporter: where voters face a short questioning by an armed sheriff's deputy before they drop their early ballot in a secured ballot box. >> he just asked if those were our ballots and we said yes. >> reporter: you would think this is response to some sort of vote fraud that took place, but

it is not. >> it's about giving voters confidence that this is a safe place to vote. >> reporter: county officials said there were no security issues with drop boxes. yet by september they adopted a new policy of deputies questioning voters, spearheaded by county commissioner. >> if something negative was going to happen, some criminal activity may be perpetrated, a sheriff's deputy is trained to respond. >> reporter: election experts are concerned about the potential impact. >> any time that you have uniformed and armed law enforcement around places where people are trying to vote, that that raises the dangerous risk that you'll cross the line into intimidation. >> reporter: what's happening in berks county is part of an alarming trend of law enforcement becoming involved in elections across the country. some sheriffs say they plan to safeguard the midterm elections, even though that is normally the duty of election officials. >> we're going make sure that people are not coming over and over again putting ballots in the boxes. >> reporter: an arizona sheriff

now leads a right wing group of 70 colleagues across the country. he has launched a controversial nonprofit that has trained poll watchers and pushed false claims of fraud. >> there is nothing more important than defending your vote. >> reporter: emails obtained show lamb has been reaching out to other sheriff, asking them to join his so-called election integrity efforts. documents show his group reynolds increased patrol activity around drop box locations and video surveillance, with access points directly on sheriff's department computers, warning if they don't do that, the opportunity for illegal activity is incredibly high. and lamb is far from the only sheriff spreading bogus election conspiracy theories. >> i saw 2,000 mules. it should open anybody's eyes. and if the federal government is not going the investigate that, i think the sheriff should. >> i caught this guy yesterday that actually showed the algorithm of the machines.

i think programmed in by some foreign entity. >> yep. >> and they're manipulating the vote. >> they get offended when you start questioning the election. and, folks, this has been going on a long time. this vote manipulation, the electronic and computerized voting. >> reporter: again, none of that is true. the fear of what could happen in this midterm election is based on what's happened in america's past. >> law enforcement meddling in elections throughout history in this country has been used for oppressing black voters, other minority populations. and the signaling there is we don't trust you. we think you're cheating. >> reporter: back to those deputies in berks county. pennsylvania's interim secretary of state warned the county to not station deputy sheriffs outside of ballot drop boxes in berks county and to refrain from stopping and questioning perspective voters. that didn't happen. fact is, this is a county that went for trump. there is no vote fraud. the deputies are nice.

voters don't seem to mind the deputies. >> because of everything that has gone on with the contentious things happening, that's perfectly fine. if it makes people feel better, great. >> reporter: but remember, people should have already felt great about the last election in berks county. it was secure. it was fair. unnecessarily having armed deputies guard this election may be sending an entirely different message. >> it sends this broader message that our elections aren't secure, that there is widespread fraud. we, the law need to be there to ensure that's not the case. >> drew griffin joins us now. guarding ballot boxes is one thing. there are fears the sheriffs might interject themselves in the election itself. >> that is the fear, anderson. remember, these sheriffs have been searching for this mythical fraud for two years now. so they are eager to find something and these election voter rights people are very concerned that in these small counties where these sheriffs

exist, they might interject themselves, get involved in the electoral process, and that could potentially impact the local voting there. >> all right. drew griffin, appreciate it. thanks a lot. just ahead, cnn's jeff zeleny following the former president who is on the campaign trail and hitting states that could be key for a another run the presidency. the flight atten. if they're not nervous, then i'm not gogoing to be nervous. fifinancially, i'm the flight attendant in that situatation. the relief that comes over people once they know they've got a guide to help them through, i definitely feel privileged to be in that position. ♪

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breaking news this evening, sources telling cnn that the justice department is mulling

whether to appoint a special counsel to oversee its investigations of the former president should he run again for president. no decisions have been made as far as we know, at least by the justice department. but the former president's now on the campaign trail, not only in key swing states for the midterm elections, but ones he'll need to win if he does indeed run again. our jeff zeleny is on the campaign trail talking with republican voters. ♪ proud to be an american ♪ >> reporter: to say donald trump is coming back to the campaign trail would suggest he has ever gone away. >> make america great again. >> reporter: but starting tonight, he is back in a new way, four rallies in five days in a sprint to election day. >> hello, iowa. >> reporter: iowa is hardly the hottest spot on the map of 2022 battlegrounds. but the state has something even more enticing. it hopes to ring the opening bell of the next republican presidential race. ♪ i'm walking on sunshine ♪ >> reporter: as republicans ride a wave of optimism in the final days of the midterm elections, the 2024 campaign is about to

burst from the shadows. and the former president is eager to solidify his role as the party's top leader, inching ever closer to announcing another bid for the white house. >> in order to make our country successful, safe, and glorious again, i will probably have to do it again. >> reporter: the question is whether potential rivals would join him or step aside. a parade of republicans with presidential ambitions have already visited iowa this year, including former vice president mike pence. former u.n. ambassador nikki haley, former secretary of state mike pompeo, senators tim scott of south carolina, rick scott of florida, tom cotton of arkansas, ted cruz of texas, and outgoing maryland governor larry hogan. >> aren't you glad you live in the free state of florida? >> reporter: florida governor ron desantis is eyeing an iowa trip of his own after his reelection campaign is complete, cnn as learned, further fueling an intensifying duel with the former president. while his loyal base of supporters is already lining up

behind him, a trump candidacy would test the full party's appetite for reliving the 2020 campaign and litigating a string of his legal challenges. susan steward is an iowa republican who voted for trump. >> there are republicans who never supported him in the first place. there are others who have mixed feelings about him. but by and large i would say there is more die-hard trump supporters than any of those other categories. >> reporter: conversations with republicans in other states reveal a myriad of hesitation. >> i am perplexed because i was trump supporter, and i don't know where i stand now. >> i feel like we got betrayed. especially when he attacked. you don't attack the capitol, that's for sure. >> reporter: so you wouldn't want to see him run again? >> oh, definitely not. >> usa! >> reporter: but many trump loyalists do. and the former president has repeatedly signaled he's poised to launch a new campaign built around false questions about the last one. >> may just have to do it again. stay tuned, everybody. stay tuned. >> and jeff joins us now.

is it clear how much of the campaign blitz by the former president is about boosting republican candidates versus stoking his own ambitions to return to the white house? >> anderson, it's definitely a mix. i mean, iowa is not the biggest battleground this year on this windy night as the former president takes the stage at the rally behind me. senator chuck grassley a short time ago praised the former president and thanked him for coming here. the reason is this. he is running for an eighth term. he was first elected in 1980. so there is some fatigue here for chuck grassley. so the former president smoothed some of that. but make no mistake, this rally here tonight is about donald trump. it's about his presidential ambitions. but as we talk to so many republicans, one thing becomes clear. even fans of the former president say they're open to a bigger field of contenders. the question, of course, is whether those contenders will jump in if trump does first. anderson? >> appreciate it. thanks, jeff. perspective from now from alyssa farah griffin, former

white house director of strategic communications for the former president. and cnn political commentator bakari seller, democratic former legislator from the state of south carolina. how much power, alyssa, do you think the former president has on the campaign trail for these candidates? >> there is no doubt that it will help bring out some turnout. but honestly, a lot of these candidates that are running at least in competitive races were generally shying away from appearing with him in the general election. he's somebody who he's the boost that you want in a primary. he is not necessarily if you're in a competitive race. but to the question that you asked jeff, this is about trump campaigning for 2024. he handpicked the states he is going to because they benefit him for a potential run in the future. if there is one thing i know about the man, he acts purely in self-interest. it's not about boosting republicans. in fact, i'm not even sure he cares that much about whether republicans take back the senate majority or take back the house. it's about raising his profile ahead of 2024. >> bakari, donald trump is not the only former president on the

trail. i want to ask about former president obama's closing message. here is what he said last night. >> i know folks throughout, including republicans may be thinking there is no wave. you may think that's too extreme for arizona, but we've seen -- folks can win if we don't do our part. and if you've got an election denier serving as your governor, as your senator, as your secretary of state, as your attorney general, then democracy as we know it may not survive in arizona. that's not an exaggeration that is a fact. >> i heard you recently say former president obama is the best messager in the democratic party. do you think he can close the deal, actually get people to vote? >> i think so. first of all, he is by far the best messenger we have.

he is the sharpest messenger we have. he is the most articulate messenger we have about the issues of the day. just listening to the message that he just gave in arizona was a sharp critique of kari lake and blake masters. he is somebody who needs to be out tonight trail to, yes, close the deal. while we also have kamala harris who has been on the trail a lot, it's very hard to put joe biden on the trail that much with a 40% approval rating in some states, even lower than others. you do have the most universally popular elected official, former elected official in the country, and that is barack obama. so rolling him out at this point is a perfect time. do i wish he might have gotten out there sooner? maybe. but the fact is he is going to these states where this will matter. and we talked about whether or not donald trump will turn out voters in iowa. well, iowa, the cake is kind of baked. arizona, it ain't. and that is where barack obama is going. you've seen him in places like georgia. you've seen him in places like nevada. you've seen him in places like arizona. that's how sharp of a messenger he is.

and people still get excited to touch, quote, unquote, the proverbial hem of his garment. he was a superstar type president. and he still is a superstar type post president. >> alyssa, former white house counselor kellyanne conway said that she thought that president trump might announce a presidential run soon. he is being urged by some people to still have a november surprise. she said do you think that's for real? >> i've been hearing for some time that he was going to do it right after the midterms. and by the way, it took a lot of outside effort to convince him to wait until after the midterms because it could hurt republicans if he did it sooner. i anticipate he'll announce soon. i think he wants to be the first out of the get to announce. but i do think there will definitely be others who challenge the former president. >> you think there will? >> i think there will be. the desantis reporting that he may be reconsidering and putting that off, that rings true to folks i've talked to. listen, mike pence is gearing up to run. mike pompeo is gearing up too. i think nikki haley is considering it. i think people see the former president. yes, he is the leader of the

party, but he is incredibly vulnerable with all of his many, many legal issues. >> is that actually weird for mike pompeo, nikki haley to be running against? >> it's going to be completely weird. and it makes no folks why folks aren't distancing themselves from him now. i give pence credit that he is beginning to do it. it's inevitable. you have to explain why you're superior to him as a choice. so the sooner they distance themselves from trump, the more it will boost them as a potential contender. >> do you think he really wants to be president again? >> i think half the calculation, frankly, is just concern over his legal exposure. i think he probably misses the limelight more than he does the governing and the role and not coming to covid task force meeting, for example. but i do think he is going to run. >> did he go to those a lot? alyssa farah griffin, thank you. bakari seller as as well. up next, how badly the war in ukraine is going, in the words of commanders from the battlefield caught on n tape. unreal. the all-new lexus rx.

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tonight there are new signs of how bad it is for the russian military in ukraine. ukrainian intelligence say they've intercepted a call between two russian commanders upset that they have to raise money for the gear they need on the battlefield. here is a portion of the call. >> translator: so tell me, did you definitely receive a telegram for these shovels and all this other --? >> yes, yes. i already had three or four of them. >> four? this [ bleep ] [ bleep ] is starting to annoy me, to be honest. i'm not sparing any money for this [ bleep ]. it's just where do you get the money from? >> i spoke with four ensigns, and they're throwing in some money. >> according to ukrainian intelligence, they're talking about raising money through the social media seitel gram to pay for shovels for the soldiers. >> now the officers are starting

to look off to the side. they're showing their dissatisfaction, like is the war being paid for with our money or what? where is the government in all of this? this is the type of conversation going on. >> meanwhile, there are conflicting signs of a possible russian withdrawal from the strategic southern city of kherson. cnn's chief international anchor christiane amanpour joins us now from ukraine with more. christiane, there are conflicting signs of a russian withdrawal in the city of kherson. what are you hearing? >> well, you know, it is unclear. we even asked a couple of senators who here, senior senators on a bipartisan delegation, chris coons and rob portman, here to assure this country of america's continued support. they would not give out any intelligence details. but suffice to say the ukrainians are saying on the ground they see no evidence of a mass withdrawal from the city of

kherson. it's massively important, it's the first one that russia actually occupied on the first day of the war. and there are some fears that it could just be a faint and that ukrainians have to be very careful before they launch their highly anticipated counteroffensive to retake that city. >> you talked about to two senators. president zelenskyy, i know, met with them. what came out of that meeting? >> reporter: well, they said that they were continuing to give absolute support because, you know, with the midterms coming up where you are just under a week, there's been some chatter that there may be a little bit of wobbleness ahead gechb the economic cost of living, the inflation, and the like. and perhaps according to kevin mccarthy, there wouldn't be, quote, unquote, a blank check for the ukrainians anymore. the senators were clear america

would stand behind ukraine, and it's democracy. they're absolutely convinced this fight is also america's fight. >> this is not the time for us to back off. in fact, it's time for us to redouble our efforts because the ukrainians have shown through their bravery, their courage on the battlefield, that they are making progress, have made tremendous progress in the last two and a half months. it's because of that, out of desperation, that vladimir putin is doing what we see behind us here tonight. we can't win on the battlefield, so instead he's turning to att attacks on the civilian population. >> i think the overwhelming majority bipartisan members of congress respect the ukrainians have fought fiercely, have fought bravely. americans have stood for democracy at here and abroad for decades and decades and i find it hard to believe we would face the ukrainian people as they face the most challenging test of this war. >> and this challenging test, as you can see behind me, is this darkness that this city and others are being plunged into.

rolling emergency blackouts because as they suffer their defeats and setbacks on the battlefield, the russians over the last couple of weeks, as we've seen, have been attacking civilian infrastructure, which basically means the heart of the energy infrastructure, which is designed to really try to get the people here to essentially cry uncle. i've been speaking to them. they're nowhere near that. they're absolutely clear that whoever's responsible for their pain is in russia, not here. and they say they're going to stand firm until they win. that's the feeling here. >> it's going to be a very cold winter in so many places. really tough. great to see you there. up next, the top ten cnn heroes of 2022, everyday people changing the world for the better. you'll meet them.

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richard casper uses art to heal the wounds of war. he's helping fellow veterans share their stories visually and vocally. nelly cheboi is bringing technology to young people in her native kenya. recycling old computers, she provides tools and education for brighter futures. north carolina innovator nora el-khouri spencer is training women for well-paying careers in construction, while helping seniors age safely at home. from south philadelphia, after spending five years in prison on drug charges, tyrique glasgow is now providing his neighborhood safety and opportunity. alaskan nurse teresa gray leads volunteer medics into global hotspots, delivering global care and support to those in need. meymuna hussein-cattan is helping refugees transition to

life in the u.s. while sharing their culture with the l.a. community. aiden reilly brought together a nationwide network of young volunteers to tackle food waste and insecurity. they're rescuing tons of excess produce from farms to feed the hungry. from chicago, debra vines struggled to find supportive resources when her son, jason, was diagnosed with autism. now she's providing services and education to african american families and first responders. and atlanta's bobby wilson is feeding and healing his urban community by teaching thousands of people how to plant, grow, and prepare their own healthy food. these really are ten amazing individuals, each of them proof that one person can make a difference. these are people who didn't have access to money or people of influence in their communities, but they saw a need and they rolled up their sleeves and just started working and getting things done. you can help decide which one of

them will become cnn hero of the year. each of them will be awarded $10,000. the person who wins gets enough of your votes to be the cnn hero of the year will get an additional $100,000 to continue their work. you can go to cnn heroes.com. you can vote up to ten times a day. be sure to join me and my friend kelly ripa, as we celebrate all the honorees sunday at 8:00 p.m. during the cnn heroes. once again, congratulations to top ten cnn heroes of 2022. i hope you go out and vote for them. the news continues. i want to hand it over to jake i want to hand it over to jake tapper and "cnn tonight." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com welcome to "cnn tonight." i'm jack tapper in washington. and tonight the united states of america versus a far right militia accused of trying to overthrow the government, perhaps its biggest test yet. federal prosecutors today rested th