and hurting as a result of what occurred in the opioid crisis. the court issue here is one of immunity, and it's a very simple issue, quite frankly, for the supreme court. you have a bankruptcy judge who's essentially saying that because of what's called a not debtor release clause, a dealter, someone owing money. that would be purdue, and you have creditors who are owed money. the essence of it is the sacklers are not a party to the bankruptcy. why is the argument should they be immune from future liability as all. to the extent that the supreme court says that a bankruptcy court has the right for parties who are not in bankruptcy, who may be the millions and milli millionaires behind this, it sets a standard and precedent for not only purdue but for major corporations intfuture, a that is wholly significant. >> it was interesting to see the

catholic church write an amicus brief to purdue's position in all of this. you talk about real justice versus what you call billionaire justice. what do you mean? >> i mean that if this plan goes through, what's going to keep another family of millionaires that want to be billionaires from introducing a faulty product and finding a loophole in the bankruptcy system, which was not intended to give billionaires loopholes. there would be no deterrence going forward. >> beth, thank you for being with us, and for your excellent reporting on this in your books, and joey, your legal analysis as always. we'll follow it closely. and "cnn this morning," continues right now. good morning, everyone, here's where we start this morning. israel defense forces say it hit 200 targets inside gaza, and is calling for people in parts of southern gaza to evacuate,

leaving civilians scrambling to try to find thinker safe to go. the white house is warning israel to limit civilian casualties, and to come back to the negotiating table. the atlantic is releasing a special edition this morning, two dozen essays warning what a second trump presidential term will look like. we'll speak to one of the journalists who says if trump wins in november, the u.s. will withdraw from nato. >> and the chilling details from a "new york times" report that says air traffic reports, incidents of sleeping, drinking, doing drugs on the job, creating vulnerabilities in a crucial protective layer in aviation safety. we'll bring those details ahead. "cnn this morning" starts now. you are looking at live images. this is dark smoke ridesing over gaza. it is the afternoon there. israel announced it is expanding

the ground assault to the entire strip. in tel aviv, at least one rocket was intercepted. the military ramping up air strikes and ordering civilians to evacuate. we are tracking the growing threat of this war escalating into a wider conflict. >> in the red sea, the pentagon says the u.s. navy destroyer came to the rescue of commercial ships attacked with drones. the destroyer shot down multibillion drones launched by houthi rebels in yemen. we're keeping a close eye on the border near lebanon where israeli forces have been exchanging fire. mortar fire from lebanon injured three israeli soldiers. >> joining us, cnn political and foreign policy analyst, barak ravid, and policy reporter at axios. susan glasser joins us. you have some interesting new

reporting on what the u.s. is trying to do behind the scenes. they want israel and hamas back at the negotiating table but when it comes to humanitarian aid for palestinian individuals in gaza. what can you tell us? >> good morning, i think the biden administration has been sending for the last two or three days since the cease fire collapsed, very clear messages to the israeli government, telling them, listen, we understand that the negotiations over the hostages collapsed and we even understand that you're resuming your military campaign in gaza. but this does not mean that you can stop the humanitarian aid flows into the gaza strip, and the u.s. wants those humanitarian aid supplies to be at the same level they were during the cease fire and even more. and the last 24 hours, i think something moved on the israeli side and the israelis are ramping up the amount of trucks coming into gaza, and it seems like the amount of aid coming

into gaza will increase. >> on the idea or the concerns of the risk of an escalation in the conflict, those concerns seem to die down a little bit during the pause and during the hostage exchanges. very clearly back front of mind today. how real is the risk right now? >> i'm picking up an enormous amount of concern in washington, not only what is the nature of what appears to be a ground invasion near the south of gaza. what is that going to be like? again, you're asking civilians to flee the place you asked them to flea to. the question is very real, where are these people going to go, is israel going to conduct the war in the south on the ground any differently than the northern part of gaza. also hearing increasing concerns that this risk of an escalation regionally is not past us, that while the initial phase of the war seemed to have unfolded

without the worst case scenarios of drawing israel into kind of multifront conflict that there is a real ongoing concern about that northern border, which you mentioned, of course, these increasing attacks on u.s. military interests, the actions by the houthis and other iranian proxies in the region. so just a very powerless moment right now. never mind the politics in washington, which of course are very stressful for the biden administration. >> barak, susan brings up the north, and we have seen continued exchanges of fire over the northern border of israel, israel and hezbollah this morning. does the idf have the capacity to successfully defeat hezbollah, which is bigger and stronger than hamas, at the same time, it attempts to take out hamas. >> well, i don't think the israelis are trying to defeat hezbollah at the moment. the priority list is very very clear. at least publicly. that first israel will finish

what it's doing against hamas in the south, and maybe later on it will move to the north, but the posture in the north right now is to try and keep it below the threshold of an all out war, to continue those skirmishes, especially as long as hezbollah is shooting fire rockets into israel, but to avoid an all out war. >> you mentioned the domestic politics that this administration has had to grapple with, inside their own white house to some degree. my question has been how long can the president, who has been so steadfast and explicit about where he stands and the ability to conduct military operations in response to october 7th. does he have a time window, is he going to have to shift at some point, given those domestic political concerns? >> well, you know, i did think it was notable and interesting when the secretary of state made his recent visit just in the last few days to israel. you know, he's clearly talking

about a different time frame from the messaging you're hearing from the israelis, and, you know, wanting this to be wrapped up as soon as possible. i'm also struck by the extent to which biden and his top advisers are continuing to have to use enormous amount of leverage that they in theory have on israel for relatively minor ask. here we are weeks and weeks into the conflict, and you're talking about how many trucks can we get in, and senior levels of the administration worrying about trucks. it's not the big picture. right? and it strikes me that it seems there's an enormous amount of day-to-day negotiation going on for the u.s. administration. to what end is not clear. how much influence has president biden really purchased in effect with his enormous public support for netanyahu. >> barak, before we go, what is going to happen in a couple of hours at the united nations is there's going to be a special

session held on the sexual assault and the rapes that occurred from hamas to so many innocent israeli women on october 7th. sheryl sandberg is going to be the big face there. she used to help run facebook, she started lean in. can you speak of the significance of that, and the context of so much silent, really, from many progressive women's groups leading up to a lot of anger that this just has not been highlighted? >> yes, i think if you ask a lot of women in israel, especially women who are activists in women's rights groups and women's rights movement, they will talk about the betrayal of who they thought are their allies for so many years, and especially, international organizations like the u.n. and i think that as the days pass, with e see more and more evidence of sexual violence against israeli women during the october 7th attacks, and by the

way, there are still 15 israeli women held hostage by hamas at the moment, and there's a reason israeli officials think that there's a reason that hamas is not letting them go, and the reason, according to israeli officials is that hamas is concerned that those women will tell when they will get out of gaza, will tell about what happened to them in gaza, and i hear it from more than one and more than two and more than three israeli officials, and i think this is a very serious issue, and it's good that the u.n. is finally dealing with it. >> barak ravid, susan glasser, thank you. nikki haley is getting momentum. she's way behind donald trump but does she have a chance? we're going to map out the options. and ron desantis completed his tour, we're going to bring you the details just ahead.

there are just 41 days to go until the iowa caucuses. we've got a clock for you. the first major test in the republican primary. donald trump continues to lead every major poll of the race. nikki haley has some momentum to be the chief rival. harry enten is here. i think unequivocally, no one has run a better campaign than nikki haley. anyone with a dog in the fight would acknowledge that fact. is there any model to follow to overtake donald trump?

>> let's map out where we are right now, and look, donald trump leads in iowa, he leads in new hampshire, he leads nationally. he leads by a ton nationally. all right, there is no precedent for anyone coming back from that large of a deficit nationally right now. nikki haley, she was 52 points behind in the latest nbc news poll. she's cut the deficit but down by 45 points. here's the key thing i want you to keep in mind. not only does nikki haley have some momentum, the deficit she faces in iowa and new hampshire are significantly smaller than nationally. that's key. we have a sequential primary process. the early states dictate potentially how the latest states will go. momentum is key. we're talking about a path. we're looking at history. any history to give hope to nikki haley, and the biggest one i would point to is the 1984 democrats. walter mondale's margin over gary hart.

look how far ahead he was nationally. 39 points ahead. he ended up winning the nomination in the popular vote by 2 points. how was gary hart able to do that. walter mondale, 40 points in iowa, 32 point margin, new hampshire, the momentum that gary hart got was able to catapult him, and that's, i think, the key. can nikki haley get momentum out of the early states. >> there has been some momentum, big endorsements, money, good debate performances, what carries that momentum or what could carry in new hampshire, iowa, and beyond. >> here's the thing i think to keep in mind. only 44% in iowa say their mind is made up if they're not voting for nikki haley. there are plenty of gettable voters. here's the thing, though, iowa, new hampshire, what's the third state. it's south carolina. right, where nikki haley was the former governor.

if you look at the primary vote choice, she's 30 points behind. viewed very favorably, she's down by 14. there's clearly more voters that are gettable for her there, and iowa and new hampshire, we'll wait and see what happens. >> you have a great piece on dot com that people should read about the pathway. josh barrow and cnn commentator, what do you think, an? nikki haley have a path? >> they were talking about how she has run the best campaign. that's relative. everybody else in the field has been awful. remember, when this all began, ron desantis, the governor of my state, sadly, was supposed to be the great non-trump hope and he has deflated like an old helium balloon. he truly is. watching his campaign is like one of those helium balloons

that was shiny at the beginning, and now it's hanging on by strings a sad looking thing. what is nikki haley's path? everybody else needs to drop out. her only path is if ron desantis comes to his senses, realizes there's no shot for him, drops out, chris christie realizes, okay, i've done what i'm doing but i'm not going to be the nominee, drops out s, and all o those pockets of votes go to nikki haley. >> the problem is not all the pockets of votes go to nikki haley. >> a lot of the ron desantis voters go to trump. >> you're right. >> desantis has run this more than trump campaign, which hasn't worked at all. to the extent he has support, a substantial number of voters, their second choice is trump. what's more similar to trump than trump himself. i don't see any signs in the polls that there is a majority that prefers nikki haley over donald trump in a head to head. you see donald trump beats nikki haley. >> his point about they have to drop out now before iowa,

essentially, right, is what you're saying? >> i can't imagine why ron desantis, who has, you know, now gone to 99 counties in iowa. >> why would he? >> why he would stick around to get beaten like a drum and humiliated, come back to florida like a lame duck. >> isn't this why? chris christie, you could make the argument, would he drop out, he doesn't want trump to get the nomination. desantis doesn't think that way. >> i don't think desantis would drop out before iowa. i think conceivably if deesanti which has a disappointing iowa, which i can imagine him dropping out after iowa. he's trying to rerun the ted cruz playbook, ted cruz won iowa in 2016. he needs to win iowa in this theoretical scenario where nikki haley, i think she needs second in iowa, and wins new hampshire.

he could drop out after iowa. chris christie, i don't know what's inside his head. my sense is he's here to stop trump. part of what he was trying to do is get the attacks out there on trump, so other candidates could pick up on him. he should drop out before the voters in new hampshire. his voters will all accrue to nikki haley, if that's his goal, i think he ought to do that, and maybe he will. i can imagine a scenario where nikki haley manages to eke out a win in new hampshire, as gary hart did. overall in this party in states where the electorate is more conservative, you don't have a ton of independent voters voting in the primary, i don't see her as preferred over donald trump by the voters. >> i don't either. i can tell you that in florida, he will thump everybody else, including desantis if he's still hanging around by them. i just, you know, i think nikki

haley has performed better than everybody else on the stage. it's this surreal dynamic, you have this primary playing out, and debates going on amongst people who are pushes in comparison to gulliver. it's like there's two parallel universes. you've got a primary going on, and the guy winning the primaries, the guy that's not engages in the primary, not giving him the time of day, he's focused on joe biden. >> that's been smart. the person who's running the best campaign in the primary is donald trump, in part because he's gotten out of the way. staying out of the debate is not only avoided elevating all the candidates in the primary. it's elevated joe biden in the general election that's favorable to joe biden. people aren't talking about donald trump. >> are we not defining competency, not participating in anything. >> isn't running the best campaign, making the best strategic choices available. i think the problem for everyone running against donald trump,

this is his third presidential campaign. he's gotten better at it. he's made better hires. susie wiles who's running the campaign is a smarter operative than the people previously. >> who was ousted from the desantis world. something that i don't think helps nikki haley helps her in some ways is endorsements by people like paul ryan and the koch network. it gives her money, gives her credibility with donors, gives her credibility with people like me, but what are we to the republican base, rhinos, elitist. i think it backfires in certain ways. it lines her up with that sect section o. party. the office of management and budget director is warning the u.s. could kneecap ukraine when it comes to funding. we're going to tell you why the white house is raising alarms. a new edition of the

"atlantic," what could happen in a second trump presidency. >> ukraine, you got to pay up. why are we 125, 130, maybe more than that billion dollars, not million dollars, billion dollars ahead of you. why, and you're right next to it. we're an ocean away. wewe have a whwhole ocean n in n us.

he's told us what he will do. people who say, well, if he's elected, it's not that dangerous because we have all of these checks and balances, don't fully understand the extent to which

the republicans in congress today have been coopted. one of the things that we see happening today is sort of a sleep walking into a dictatorship in the united states. >> quite a warning from former republican congresswoman liz cheney on the dangers of a second trump presidency. and what they pose to democracy. she is not alone. "the atlantic" out today with a special issue filled with a series of essays argue ing that second trump presidency would be more damaging than the first. bill barr says trump will always put his own interests and gratifying his own ego ahead of everything else. mark esper says he puts himself bmp the country. >> former white house chief of staff john kelly says he is the most flawed person i have ever met in my life.

rex tillerson, his understanding of global events, global history, understanding ou.s. history was really limited. our next guest published one of those essays, american will abandon nato. anne apple balm, a staff writer at the atlantic. i think there is an important moment to pay attention to policy. a lot of people have been working on that eveover the cou of the last weeks and months, on this issue specifically, what convinces you this time will be different? he's always raised concerns since the convention in 2016, about nato that this time if he's in office, he will actually withdraw? >> well, famously trump told john bolton, i don't give a shit about nato, and bolten said the only reason trump didn't act on it is because he and rex tillerson, and mike pence, and mike pompeo prevented him from doing it.

none of those people will be in the white house or anywhere near the white house in trump's second term. all of them have criticized him since 2020. he will not rehire them. instead, he will have a cohort of officials who are either people who don't care about nato, and don't care about america's alliances around the world or are actively hostile to them. and so we will see a very different set of policies. remember, what's really important about nato, tit's not just a treaty. it's a treaty that says everybody who signed it should come to the defense of anyone who's attacked. why don't the russians attack poland, given that so much aid for ukraine is coming through poland. the reason they don't do it is because they think the u.s. would respond. once they don't believe the u.s. will respond, then why not do it. >> and your point about article v, when was that invoked, for

america, by the way, post 9/11. that explicit remarkable quote from trump that you start your piece out, i don't give an expletive about nato also harkens back to what you wrote for "the washington post" in 2016. here it is, right now, we are two or three bad elections away from the end of nato, the end of the european union, and maybe the end of the liberal world order as we know it today. that was then. look at now if trump wins. >> so we were saved in 2020 by the fact that trump los angeles. there have been a couple of elections in europe that have not gone to the far right who would also break up the european union, who would also threaten nato. you know, it's not as if that threat went away or disappeared or went into the ether. this time he will be surrounded by people who are much more serious about carrying out not just in foreign policy but in

domestic policy in all kinds of spheres much harshers and edgy constitution fall policies. remember, trump is now running explicitly on a policy of rejecting the u.s. constitution, of saying that the insurrection on january 6th was correct, was the right thing to do. he will then be a u.s. president who takes power, having explicitly rejected the u.s. constitution. s and that is not something we've had before. >> one thing is the how the international community watches u.s. politics, plans for u.s. politics, the embassy is trying to handicap u.s. politics and help their leaders prepare for it. when you talk to officials in europe, when you talk to u.s. allies around the world, how are they preparing for this moment? >> so the europeans know this is coming, and they have known for

a long time. they have been -- it's almost as if they're in a kind of sleep walking, you know, it can't really happen, we don't really think it will happen. it's slowly beginning to dawn on them that this could be real. i mean, remember that u.s. support, i'm sorry, european support for ukraine is actually about the same size as american support for ukraine. it comes in different forms. some of it is financial rather than military. it's not as if europe has been doing nothing. it's still the bulk of the ammunition, much of the military aid and intelligence is coming from the u.s. that's how nato was set up. that is how it has worked from the beginning. i don't think they're really ready. remember that u.s. allies in asia are also watching this with the same amount of trepidation. i mean, if trump would abandon ukraine, would he save taiwan? would he save south korea? you know, these will

immediately, everywhere in the world where the u.s. has any interest or any stakes, and by the way, this is true, you know, even if trump loses if the republicans refuse to give aid to ukraine, this could also have a similar effect. >> yeah. >> everywhere around the world, there will be an immediate crisis, an immediate sense. the u.s. isn't coming, we need to adjust and change our policies. >> this on the same warning the budget director just said, we're basically out of money for ukraine, if you don't reauthorize money. there's no magical pot of funding available. anne applebaum, your article is important. the whole magazine that comes out today, people should look at it. thank you very much. disturbing new reports as air traffic controllers were drinking, sleeping and doing drugs on the job. we're going to bring you more ahead. this just in to cnn, border talks hitting a major snag, keeping aid for israel and ukraine in limbo. we'll have the latest from the hill next.

this just in to cnn, senate negotiations about the border hitting a major snag as democrats claim republicans are

pushing for policies that too closely resembled the house's immigration ball, hr 2, this crucial impasse in negotiations leaves aid to ukraine and israel that have been tied to the border in blimbo. lauren fox, good morning, this is not promising for what senators thought they could get done by the end of the year. >> reporter: yeah, and this has been a major sticking point for moving forward in the house or senate with ukraine aid. as you remember, the house speaker made very clear last week when he met with republican senators that he needed robust border policy changes in order to move forward in the house of representatives with additional aid for ukraine. and poppy, the sticking points really are the fact that democrats are arguing that republicans are pushing for policy that too closely resembles the house passed immigration bill earlier this year, arguing that this policy isn't really a negotiation at this point. they're saying that republicans

just want to have it their way. there was supposed to be talks over the weekend but the last time this group had a conversation in full was on friday night. after that, it became clear, according to democratic sources that republicans were just pushing too hard for pieces of hr2, and my sources said that you can never say never in the senate, oftentimes with these tense negotiations, things will break down before talks get better again. but for now, things are really at an impasse, and the reason this is so important is you saw that letter earlier from omb arguing that there's no secret pot of money. there's nothing left for ukraine, and that's why it's so critical for congress to pass more funding by the end of the year. right now, that's looking seriously in doubt, poppy. >> lauren fox, thanks for the reporting. well, a new report in the "new york times" details a pattern of quote, glaring vulnerabilities in america's air traffic controller system, including controllers drinking

on the job, sleeping on the job, and drug use. the work force has gotten dramatically smaller due in part to high turnover in lack of funding. the times reports that quote, some controllers say they fear that a deadly crash is inevitable. pete pete muntean is following this story fors. this is an ominous and scary story to read. >> the faa is trying to debunk the story, and saying it's not reflective of the high standard of safety in the national airspace system. the bottom line is something we have been reporting for months, the air traffic control system is stretched to the limit, controllers say they are over worked and under staffed and it was highlighted just again last week in a massive release of data from the national transportation safety board about a close call in austin in february. the air traffic controller in that case said he was working an overtime shift on a six-day week. in that incident, a landing fedex flight departing southwest flight came within about

100 feet of colliding on the runway. it was the pilots of the fedex flight that saved the day. the air traffic control staffing system is a huge issue that the faa is scrambling to fix. the department of transportation says that it is 3,000 workers short, and when you factor in retirements and attrition, the work force has grown by only single digits, a net gain of six employees. former air traffic controller union head paul rinaldi tells me there is no doubt that workers are stressed. listen. >> the shortage is a big problem, the fact that the secretary has come out and said we're 3,000 short, and if you look at how long it takes to get a certified air traffic controller from the academy to certified in the facility could take two to three years, and you look at the attrition rates that we're looking at, it's going to be many many years to catch up, unless they do something different. >> new faa administrator, mike whitaker says his focus is on getting new controllers through

its training academy without lowering standards. when it comes to controllers drinking, sleeping and using, the faa says it's dealt with those problems on a case-by-case basis. the union of controllers insists the group is extremely professional, the controllers i know take the job extremely seriously, but they say the staffing problems need to change yesterday. >> and you have done a ton of reporting on this over the course of the last couple of months. keep us posted. five things to know this morning, the supreme court will hear arguments over a $6 billion bankruptcy plan for the maker of oxycontin. the justices will determine whether that legal shield that br bankruptcy provides can extend to the sackler family. a special session at the u.n. today to address sexual and gender-based violence. the uss carney shot down three drones in the red sea. those drones part of four attacks launched by

iranian-backed houthi rebels in yemen. a stark warning to congress, just heard about it from fox, shalanda young says cutting off the flow will put the gains that ukraine has made at risk. the los angeles man suspected of fatally shooting three men experiencing homelessness is expected to appear in court today. jared powell was arrested in connection with a deadly shooting of a man during a robbery. there are the five things to know this monday morning. don't forget to download the five things podcast. it may go down in history as one one of the greatest snubs in sports history. florida state university has been shut out of the playoff despite an undefeated suspect. we will bring you all the reactions ahead. p . five things, brought to you by carvana, cacarvana, thehey'l drdrive you hahappy.

i'm sure there is a lot of anger in tallahassee as a result of this. >> it was an unprecedented mome in college bachairman a bi was the team without their star quarterback jordan travis who broke his leg last month. >> florida state head coach did not mince words, quote, i'm disgusted and infuriated with the committee's decision. he added a team that overcame tremendous adversity and found a

way to win doing whatever it took on the field is a sad day for college football. washington and michigan will compete as will one loss teams alabama and texas. the seminoles will play in the orange bowl. carrie champion is here. >> good morning. >> i have decided how much i care about this story after phil's email to me yesterday. seriously. for people who woke up to this headline and we are like, what? i don't get it? how does this happen and why did you see it matter. >> the essence of sports is if you win you get to move on. you lose, you go home. we have an undefeated team that doesn't get to play in the game that matters the most. it's unheard of. the college playoff system is supposed to reward the best and most deserving. let me ask you this, who should be in? the most dee servings or the best team? when you hear that what do you think? >> they are not the same thing? >> shouldn't they be? this is the first time in this particular era in this system in

which it works with the college football playoff system the most deserving and the best don't match. i'm going to be honest, i am not a fan of either team, i don't have -- i don't have a dog at all in this race, but alabama is the better team, but florida state is the most deserving. and the committee had to make that choice. >> it's an almost impossible choice to make. someone was going to be really angry no matter what. i agree having watched alabama they are pretty darn good. >> you were there. >> kaitlan collins probably agrees. first off, i'm an ohio state guy. in 2014 we lost our starting quarterback and guess who won the national championship, ohio state. granted they beat wisconsin by 59 points to get to the championship game. >> we're good, phil. >> i think the tough thing for me was reading the jordan travis tw tweet, the quarterback, has had a sensational career, saying, quote, devastated, heartbroken and so much disbelief right now. i wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y'all could see this team is much more than the

quarterback. i thought results matter. >> results should matter. you know what, here is the thing, this is the last year of the four-team playoff, next year it goes to 12. that committee, that committee of people who sat in a room in grapevine, texas, decided ratings matter most. >> expand on that. i think it's an important point. >> this is not so much about the most deserving team. they felt that without jordan they weren't going to be able to look as good on television, wouldn't be able to have that many ratings. i honestly believe that is exactly why they picked alabama. alabama is a powerhouse. the s.e.c. the conference in which they are in is arguably the best that there is in college football and so is nick saban in terms of a coach. i felt like if there was another coach perhaps that wasn't as decorated, they wouldn't have made it in. alabama absolutely is the best team and the better team because michigan now knowing that they have to face alabama feels -- >> you watch that on the video, the video of their team watching the announcement. >> they are like, oh, not

florida state? but the reality is that this isn't fair. they were robbed in plain sight and if i was coach norville i would be disgusted as well. >> i know we go to 12 next year so this won't -- this can't happen again, but people are mad. rick scott tweeting his disapproval, democratic congressman jared moskowitz of florida going so far as to say he will introduce a resolution to condemn the decision. >> he's serious. >> he's serious. >> i think he's serious. can the way these are decided change because it is so subjective. >> it is subjective and i'm glad you said that. i wish i could tell you that it's fair but it's subjective. it's four or five people sitting in a room who have the most influence who decide this is what's going to happen. these are the people we care the most about. if we are just honest just on a pure eye test it's going to be subjective. florida state undefeated, they should definitely be there. i can't lie about that, but i do agree that the team is different without their quarterback. they are not as exciting, not as fun or flashy. i'm sorry, folks, this is show

business with the introduction of nil, name, image and likeness. >> money. >> these kids are making millions of dollars and this is a business. i know we thought it was amateurism but this is a business. >> we see character in the worst moments, right, and i think jordan travis showed his character through and through and i'm a huge fan of his after learning who he was yesterday. >> i was very impressed. you got really into this story. >> i'm really on it. >> on your interest meter -- >> i'm at like a ten. >> really? >> she goes all in. >> i had to google every line of mattingly sent yesterday and now i'm into it. >> do you think it's fair? >> no, i'm on team you. >> yeah, you get it. >> but then i want alabama for kaitlan, not michigan for phil. >> alabama needs more fans. that's what they need. >> a lot of emotions. >> thank you, carrie. >> thank you, guys, for having me. new this morning, a former harvard disinformation researcher says she was pushed out of her job after the university faced pressure from

facebook. why she is claiming harvard wanted to protect their relationship with mark zuckerberg. that's next.

new this morning, a former harvard researcher on online disinformation claims she was pushed out of her job after the university faced pressure from facebook, now meta. in a disclosure sent to harvard last week and made public this morning joan donna van says the university began restricting her work after the chan zuckerberg initiative run by mark zuckerberg and his wife donated $500 million to harvard. a correspondent donie o'sullivan all over this story and covering it now. quite an accusation. >> this is serious. dr. joan donna van is pretty

much one of the biggest names in this important space of disinformation research and especially as we go into an election year next year. really just how these social media platforms are affecting our lives, our perception of reality and our perception of politics. so the timeline is like this, she said that there are former facebook people and influential people at facebook who have different connections to harvard, whether they were graduates or involved in the university in some way and of course there is this half a billion dollars from the zuckerberg chan foundation which she says essentially got her forced out of the university and shut her research down. we should of course mention that her research was of course quite critical of facebook. >> has there been a response? facebook usually will be very aggressive in these moments. facebook, harvard, are they saying anything? >> no word back from meta this morning, facebook's parent company. we are also still waiting to hear back from harvard. the "washington post" who first broke this story earlier this

morning, harvard telling them that they essentially the accusations here are totally false, that funders, donors, don't have a say essentially in these academic research pursuits. just pulling back for a second, i will just say joan when she left harvard or as she says she was pushed out of harvard last year, that raised a lot of concerns in the community that monitors this sort of stuff, disinformation, because in their view they're getting attacked on all sides. they are getting pushed from a republican house of representatives, researchers in this space are getting sued, it's all kind of setting up a space as we go into 2024 where people who are calling out disinformation in these campaigns in the past could be muzzled. >> by the way, some of these platforms are allowing more of that disinformation. >> a lot more of it. >> back on their platforms. thank you, donie. and thanks for joining us this morning. >> "cnn news central" starts right now. >> thank you, guys. ♪