s. hello and welcome to our

viewers joining us this the united states and all around the world. ahead, on cnn newsroom -- the gloves were off at the fourth republican presidential debate last night. who swung at who and the man who was missing from the stage. plus, a shooting on the las vegas campus of the university of nevada leaves three dead and a fourth wounded. i'll speak to a gun violence survivor about the latest mass shooting in the united states. and benjamin netanyahu says israeli forces are encircling the house of a top leader of hamas in gaza. a live report with the latest. we're following two major

stories. in alabama, four presidential hopefuls met on a cage. six weeks before the contest in iowa. these clashed from electability, to the border and whether donald trump is fit to return to the white house. the former president chose to skip the debate. we're looking at the shooting on the campus of university of nevada. the gunman is a retired college professor. it's not clear what connection he had to the school. >> i can tell you, three of the victims are confirmed deceased. a fourth victim suffered a gunshot wound and is in sunrise hospital. people we moved from the scene

for panic attacks. two of our officers received treatment for injuries, while searching the last rooms and victims at unlv. >> we'll have more on the shooting in a moment's time. first, let's return to the story of the republican debate. each of the candidates are trying to set themselves apart from donald trump. >> reporter: nicki at the center of a firestorm in the fourth presidential debate in alabama. with ron desantis. they've been locked in a close race to be the leading alternative to donald trump. >> her donors, they make money

in china. she will cave to the donors. >> he's made because the wall street support ers used to support him and now they support me. >> reporter: desantis and haley tangled over the night. the foreign palsy views and much more. the biggest fireworks came from former new jersey governor chris christie and ohio entrepreneur ramaswamy. when they exchanged a battle over this. >> this is the fourth debate that you would be voted in the first 20 minutes as the most obnoxious blow-hard in america. >> your version of foreign policy experience was closing a bridge from new jersey to new york. do everybody a favor, and walk yourself off the stage and enjoy a nice meal and get the hell out of this race. >> reporter: in 40 days, iowa republicans will be the first to cast ballots in the 2024 republican nominating contest.

followed by the new hampshire primary. time is running out for these republicans to make their case against the fronter-runner in t race, donald trump. he kipped this debate but is driving the race. he was in the information. chris christie confronted him, saying he's not fit for office. >> do i think he was kidding when he said he was a dictator? all you have to do is look at the history. failing to speak out against him, making excuses, pretending he is a victim. these three guys on the stage make his conduct seem acceptable. he is unacceptable. he's unfit. >> reporter: throughout the course of the year a similar argument by christie has gone unanswered by republican voters. the former president is leading the way in iowa, new hampshire and nationally.

voters, of course, have not cast a ballot. he is hoping they listen to his argument. the question is, in the race for second, did haley or desantis make movements? the iowa republican voters we spoke to after the debate gave both of them high marks in different ways. haley, they said was presidential. desantis got his conservative record through. evangelical voters are important in iowa. donald trump was not on stage. but it was the smallest stage and the most consequential, the biggest of all. votes start in less than six weeks. jeff zeleny, us the ctuscaloosa alabama. thomas, it's great to have a chance to chat to you. it usually means there's been a presidential debate or political development.

let's talk about last night. i was saying to my producer, it's amazing, the candidates go to ivy league universities and this goes to kindergarten jabs. seems like trump did the right thing staying out of it. >> thanks for having me. it's great to talk with you. last night was more xative. you're right. the field had narrowed and there was a back and fourth with the candidates. there was more of a sense of urgency. haley and desantis are trying to be the trump alternative heading into iowa. it got negative. you had desantis and ramaswamy throws jabs at haley.

not sure if that works to haley's advantage, that christie is going hard at donald trump. i don't think there was a clear winner. the feeling i got from watching, is it's too little, too late for those not named trump. and trump had the right strategy, staying out of the fray. >> what did last night tell you about the potential of this field toconsolidate? >> i think you can bracket a trump win in iowa. there becomes three questions. who has second place? how much? and is it enough to force out some of the more marginal candidates? the gop is in a place where there's a clear openness for nontrump candidate. more than half of republicans say they would be open to voting for someone not named trump.

for that to happen, there needs to be conconsolidation. there's a lot of parallels to 2016, when you had marco rubio and kasich. all making the case. they split the establishment vote and trump went on to win. the inventcentives might be. everyone is doing what's right for themselves and their own self-interests. that undermines the goal of beating donald trump. that's why i think this is a coronation, not a primary. >> when you were watching the debate, did anything stand out to you in particular? it sounds like nothing is moving

the dial significantly. perhaps, one of the candidates or a policy suggestion or debate? >> what struck me is how nikki haley conducted herself. she has all of the momentum. she's done well up until this point. she won the endorsement of americans for prosperity. they have big outreach xcapacit. she has electability on her side. she was taking most of the heat. i'm not sure how effectively she was able to defend herself. she was relying on chris christie and that's not the lineup that she wants. i think that desantis and ramaswamy were able to get decision on her. how that plays, not sure there's going to be a big effect.

she has to be expecting considerable blowback. she is the presumptive candidate to be second place. >> chris christie jumped in to defend nikki haley. the suggestion that she didn't know where the ukraine was on a map. and that his 3-year-old was smarter than her, just to para paraphrase. how do you think voters perceive the slugfest of a debate? does it have effect? is it a good idea to be participating in these? >> yeah. i think this debate had good moments. and ramaswamy going after nikki haley doesn't reflect well on him or the republican party.

at this point, i'm not sure how much of that is really moving the needle. and if there's anyone that feels more negative and more pejorative than anyone, is the man not on the stage and up by 30 percentage points. that's not dispositive of a candidate not doing well in the polls. it's disappointing when you see politics devolve into this. you tune in because you want to hear about policy and issues. an you get personal insults and attacks and so on. that's american politics right now. it's regrettable but that's the reality. >> thank you for joining us. the university of nevada in las vegas will be closed for the rest of the week, after three people were killed in a shooting. the suspected shooter is dead but police have yet to release his name.

the suspect was a 67-year-old college professor, linked to schools in georgia and north carolina. it's unknown how he was connected to the university of nevada. >> we received a call of an active shooter event at 11:45 this morning. officers immediately responded. engaged the suspect. the suspect at this point is deceased. >> the shooting happened just a week before final exams for the semester. the university posted a message online to evacuate to a safe area, run, hide, fight. students say they could hear the gunfire from the classrooms. >> we could hear the gunshots from where we were. about 200 kids all in one stays. i made it out okay. i'm just glad we're out here.

>> reporter: according to cnn analysis, this is the 80th school shooting in the u.s. this year. joining me now, a gun violence survivor at brady, a nonprofit advocating against gun violence. thank you for joining us. i'm sorry about the circumstances. it's a tragic and constant refrain in the university at the moment. this story is still developing. we're learning information. does it fit the standard pattern for these events? >> yeah. thank you for having me. unfortunately, what strikes me is the same thing we think about every time one of these shoots happen. how can it be that time and time again, we're here.

we're having this conversation. we have a campus at unlv of students who have grown up in they have identified as a lockdown generation. we're the only industrialized country in the free world, accepts this gun violence and accepts this as normal. there's an entire generation of individuals who are growing up defined by american gun violence. what strikes me about the pattern is that we have a pattern, we have a cycle, having this conversation, over and over again. there's really common sense solutions that can prevent it from happening in the first place. i'm thankful to be talking here about this. i'm horrified that we're here again. >> you and me both.

that must be frustrating for you and baffling for many international viewers. i spend most of my time in the united kingdom and from new zealand. when there were gun attacks, there were policy changes because there had been so many shootings. it feels normal sized. what needs to happen to get this to be a policy conversation? no matter how many victims there are, this is not shifting. >> yeah. i will say that what we have experienced since the horrific mass shooting at sandy hook elementary has been a sea change. every people regardless of where they live, stand up and demand change. we saw the first bipartisan bill

in the last 30 years move forward. it's incremental. what you are talking about in the other countries is the kind of response we need here. something that is meaningful and robust. we've seen the framework laid out when they experienced just one tragedy like the one we saw today in nevada. which is only miles away from the deadliest mass shooting where 60 people were killed and 400 others were shot and wounded in a horrific shooting throughout the 91 festival. people have to keep showing up. i think we're going to get there if we're willing to. >> what would be a political pathway to concerted federal action that's meaningful and would make a big difference.

>> that's the question that keeps me up at night. when my parents were shot, when my mom was killed, with a single bullet to the back, it kept me up then, too. we started peeling back the layers and figured out how the shooting happened, we figured there's a lot we can do. 90% of americans support policies like universal background checks. still, 18 years after our shooting, that's a loophole that exists. we have to start with a foundation like that. how do we set the bar around a system that allows every gun law to work? we need comprehensive laws.

states with strong gun laws have low gun death rates. states with weak gun laws have high gun death rates. we need to address the system that's allowing a minority of senators to ignore the will of the american people. i think we're getting there. we will get there. it will require that americans will continue to show up. if we can't change the laws, we have to change the lawmakers. that's something we take to heart. we're hopeful there's a palt forward. but it requires sustained momentum and people not accepting today's shooting to be our reality. >> it's been so good to talk to you. so sorry what happened to your family. impress with your commitment to the work you're doing.

>> thank you. i appreciate it. in a tragic irony, the las vegas shooting took place as the 11th annual national vigil for victims of gun violence. the event honors those that lost their lives in one of the worst epidemics. it is sponsored by the newtown action alliance. and is held every year before the anniversary of the sandy hook elementary school shooting. there's been too many days in recent memory marred by gun violence. >> as we know, there's more acts of gun violence, mass shootings, than there are days on the calendar.

just this afternoon, we learned about another shooting on the campus of unlv in nevada. our prayers are with the victims. the prayers are with the families. we'll be right back.

it was two months ago today that hamas launched its terror attack on israel, killing about 1,200 people. and the israeli military is forging ahead to eliminate the militant group in gaza. israeli leaders say they encircum encircled the house of a hamas leader in the south. they did not say where he is but asserted he is underground. >> translator: last night, i said our forces can reach anywhere in the gaza strip. now, they circled his house. his house is his fortress and he can escape but it's only a matter of time until we can get

him. >> the defense forces blurred faces here. it has breached hamas defense lines and carried out raids in a hamas stronghold, as well. everyone in gaza is hungry as the access to food and water is limited. the red crescent reports that 80 trucks carrying humanitarian supplies crossed into gaza on wednesday. for more on all of this, let's bring in clare sebastian, joining me here in london. tell us more about the fact that the idf have him in their sights. what do we know about the specific terrorists they are talking about? >> he is the leader of hamas in gaza. as such, he is the prime target for this israeli operation. they don't have him yet.

they've been moving quickly into the second-largest city of gaza. this may explain why. they say they have encircled his house but believe him to be underground. it is very significant this moment. listen to the senior adviser of netanyahu, how he described this. >> i think it's a symbolic victory for israel. it will be a real victory very soon. it's only a matter of time that we get the man that was responsible for the massacre of 1,200 israelis on october 7th. we will reach him and justice will be done. >> you heard there, israel believes he is directly spopsible for instigating the

attacks of october 7th. he has spent many decades rising through the ranks of hamas. he was in prison for years, for planning the murder of two israelis and four palestinians accused of collaborating with israel. he was released inin a prisoner swap. and now, they believe he is responsible for the october 7th attacks. >> we heard in the last couple hours that secretary-general gutierrez has issued article 99. it's a global warning about the threat that the war in gaza presents to the rest of the world. tell us more about that. >> this has come under criticism and questioning. what is the point?

the u.n. security council has this drawn to their attention in gaza. there's been pushes for a cease-fire that haven't made it through. the way the u.n. spoke to it and described it, this is a way to push even harder. this hasn't been done in decades and hasn't been done by this secretary-general. we see the uae has responded and tabled a draft resolution, calling for cease-fire. we've seen in the past, it's hard to find consensus on the security council on the resolutions. >> certainly is. still ahead, new charges related to the efforts to overturn the 2020 u.s. presidential election. this man seen here with donald trump is one of six people indicted in nevada for their alleged roles. plus, an aid package for

ukraine's war effort hits a stumbling block in the u.s. congress.

first time i connected with kim, she told me that her husband had passed. and that he took care of all of the internet connected devices in the home. i told her, “i'm here to take care of you.” connecting with kim... made me reconnect with my mom. it's very important to keep loved ones close. we know that creating memories with loved ones brings so much joy to your life. a family trip to the team usa training facility. i don't know how to thank you. i'm here to thank you.

we're learning more about the university shooting where three people were killed in las vegas on wednesday. police say the suspect opened fire at the university of las vegas just before noon. he was killed as engaging officers on campus. the man was a college professor. it's unknown what his link to this university was. police are trying to find out what the motive was for the attack. this shooting, along with

another string of homicide by gun violence in texas prompted u.s. president joe biden to ask congress for fitighter gun legislation again. erin burnett spoke to a student that was part of the conversation. >> i was in my business law class. my professor was going over our lecture. i remember, we heard a loud noise. it didn't sound like a gunshot. to me, it didn't sound like a gunshot. but i heard a loud noise. one of my classmates interrupted and said, what was that noise? and everybody was wondering around. the officer continued back to

the lecture. five seconds in, that's when the alarm came on. i took my phone off. i never had herd an alarm like that before. we were calm. none of us were panicking or freaking out. we thought it was a false alarm. and we started to pack um nonchalantly. when we started walking, out of the class, that's when things got real. my teacher went to let us out the door. he was calm before opening the door. and it looked like he saw something. he kind of turned in to panic a little bit. he immediately told us to get back. get back. lock the doors and get on the ground. shaets when i started to panic a little bit. if the shooter came into the

building, in our classroom, we were sitting ducks. after about 30 seconds, my teacher opened the door again. he assessed the situation. he looked outside. he told us to run as fast as we can. i'm grateful for him. if we were suck in that classroom, we were shooting ducks. i had trust in my teacher. when he told us to run, we had to run. nevada's grand jury has those that schemed to hand the state to donald trump. the group includes the chair of the nevada republican party and all are now facing felony charges. nevada is the third state to bring charges against republican activists that claimed to be

representatives of the electoral college. >> that is six votes certified for president donald j. trump. >> reporter: this event, posing as an official ceremony is central to the indicted in nevada. they now face felony charges. >> donald j. trump receiving six electoral votes. declared the winner of the electoral votes for the state of nevada. >> that's a lie. trump lost tvnevada. joe biden won the votes. the document they signed, that was part of a charade. the fake electors face d scrutiy but did not face charges until today and have continued in republican politics. we found two of them.

in this reno, nevada, library. haven't spoken to anybody? >> you do understand it's -- >> if you would turn that off. we have nothing to talk about on that really. this is the vice chair indicted, and the republican national committeeman also indicted. >> don't have anything. >> what about your testimony in georgia? >> not going to comment on that. >> we've been making the road show around the state. >> reporter: crisscrossing the state, talking about next year's caucus. >> is there irony of you going around, to use your words, the road show. in 2020, you signed this document. >> i apologize. this is not something i will entertain. >> do you believe that trump won? >> that's irrelevant. the electoral college elects the

president. >> how do you explain what happened in 2020. >> again, no comment on that. >> reporter: we contacted all of the fake electors about the state attorney general's investigation. this is me han in 2020. in the investigation of the fake electors. >> you reached the office of michael j. mcdonald. >> reporter: trying to reach mr. mcdonald again. the leader of the fake electors, was just center stage last month. one of trump's closest allies in the west. mcdonald has been summoned by the january 6th grand jury and in the fake electors face. mcdonald is now indicted.

u.s. funding for ukraine is hanging in the balance. just as the white house warns that money for kyiv is drying up. senate republicans had a package for ukraine and israel. that's when they said the money will run out by the end of the year. but the reason for the republican oppositions has nothing to do with ukraine or israel. >> reporter: fears in the capitol that ukraine aid could be stalled permanently. republicans are demanding that aid to ukraine be paired with stricter border policies. and democrats say what the republicans are proposing is too much than they're willing to accept. the end result, a bill they

tried to advance that failed in the senate on wednesday evening. one of the key negotiators of north carolina, told me that he believes that something needs to be done now. there will be a migrant surge if donald trump becomes president. and they need to come over the border before 2025. >> you have a candidate who says he will close the border on day one. he said that in the next 48 hours. what do you think with the future next year? they will double over the four-time increase in the last year of trump. >> reporter: there's so much uncertainty how this will be resolved. mike johnson wants to deal with them individually.

ukraine aid, israel aid. democrats want everything tied together as a big package. they have to agree on the policy. nowhere near an agreement on that. there's a belief in the capitol that members will leave town without dealing with aid for ukraine, at a time when the house is warning that it will be kneecaped in its war against russia. as american lawmakers bicker over ukraine, they are getting increasingly worried about the future support. we'll take you to the battle lines.

ukraine says one person was killed in the latest round of russian drone strikes across the country. the ukrainian effort says it shot down 15 of 18 drones

thursday morning. but the drones that went through hit infrastructure in the edesa region, killing a truck driver. along the front line of eastern ukr ukraine, russia is increasing its attacks, where ukrainian forces worry about fighting for weapons and eroding u.s. support. its owners left some time ago. but it has new residents. these are soldiers from the 47th brigade. >> that's where we keep the missiles. >> reporter: they are part of one of the most fiercely contestcontest ed battles on ukraine's front.

this is a rocket launch system from the soviet era. outgoing artillery fires in the fields, they wish they had more modern weapons. >> when you're hit with the modern weapons, they are more accurate and bring more damage. to the enemy. >> reporter: in the past two months, russia has been sending waves and waves of troops as they try to recircle the town. but these soldiers know this war could be more difficult if u.s. aid, now under threat, suddenly dries up. >> all the delay, the cost of the lives of the best people. we have the spirit. we will continue. but we need support. >> reporter: if the u.s. congress does not pass the aid

package, then ukraine will not receive the weaponry it needs to fight this war. that means it will have to rely more le on the weapons. a sobers reality for the soldiers almost two years into this war. >> i'm i frade that ukraine won't be able to stand without our partners and allies. as simple as that. >> weighing heavier, is last week's alleged execution of two unarmed soldiers. drone footage shows the p.o.w.s climbing out of the dugout, arms above their head, before being shot at close range. the prosecutor general calls

this a gross violation of the geneva conventions. >> every event brings pain and offering to us. it will not make us weak. it will not scare us. we will continue doing what we have to do. >> reporter: that's fighting an almost endless war. >> if we let ukraine go and putin win, who will feel themselves safe here? i think no one. russia's upper house of parliament has announced the country will hold a presidential election in 2024. the russian federation approves that election. vladimir putin has not announc ed if he will run. it is expected he will.

former british prime minister boris johnson just arrived for a seconds day at the covid inquiry. it's examining how he and his former government implemented lockdowns and other measures. he tried to apologize on wednesday, but hecklers were not having any of it. some protesters held signs that said, the dead can't hear your apologies. wewe'll be rigight back.

the new york yankees are adding a powerful bat to their lineup. the bronx bombers have acquired juan soto in an exchange with the san diego padres. he hit 35 home runs last season. he is a three-time all-star and was part of the nationals when they won the world series in 2019. in exchange, the padres are getting four pitchers and a catcher. in u.s. college basketball, iowa start caitlin clark was the

15th player in the ncaa division of one women's history to score 3,000 career points. the 21-year-old came in against the rival cyclones just 22 points shy of the milestone. she surpassed it on three-point shot in the third quarter, getting a rousing ovation of fans. the player of the year became the first player in division i history to 3,000 points, 750 rebounds and 750 assists in a college career. before we go, the television world has lost an icon that reshaped the industry. norman lear has tie died at the of 101. he had massive hits that found ways to make us laugh and raising awareness of issues like racism. his biggest defining hit was

"all in the family." ♪ those were the days ♪ >> "the jeffersons" was the first show to depict wealthy african-americans that were still struggling to be accepted in a white community. ♪ ♪ moving on up to the top ♪ >> norman lear was a figure in progressive politics, speaking out against the influence of religion in politics. he remained active in film and tv production well into his 90s. norman lear died at the age of 101. that wraps up this hour of "cnn newsroom." we'll be right back after this short break.

first time i connected with kim, she told me that her husband had passed. and that he took care of all of the internet connected devices in the home. i told her, “i'm here to take care of you.” connecting with kim... made me reconnect with my mom. it's very important to keep loved ones close. we know that creating memories with loved ones brings so much joy to your life. a family trip to the team usa training facility. i don't know how to thank you. i'm here to thank you.

a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the united states and all around the world. i'm bianca nobilo. just ahead for you on "cnn newsroom" -- >> i love all the attention, fellas, thank you for that. social media companies need to show us their algorithms. >> only person more fascist than the biden regime is nikki haley. >> the idea that we'll put someone up there that is almost