you can get two unlimited lines for just $30 each a month. there are no term contracts or line activation fees. and you can bring your own device. oh, and all on the most reliable 5g mobile network nationwide. wireless that works for you. it's not just possible, it's happening. wow. look at that. that is live. that massive volcano eruption erupting in iceland. lava spewing hundreds of feet in the air. this is just moments ago. now as you can see the haze of

fire. intense earthquake activity before this. it is, wow, magnificent to see. thanks very much for joining us. "ac 360" starts now. tonight on 360, is the gop okay with their presidential front-runner borrowing a notion and the words from hitler? some answers from 2023 not 1933. keeping them honest. also tonight, breaking news. a legal setback for his former chief of staff, mark meadows and rudy giuliani, who's getting sued again for repeating lies. later, more fallout in the case of the florida republican party chairman, his wife, the accusations of rape, a threesome and hypocrisy. good evening. pamela brown tonight. we begin with a return of the mostly tepid reaction to outrageous statements the former president makes that have slowly

been returning within the republican party since the shock of january 6th wore off. specifically reaction to this from over the weekend about undocumented migrants. >> they're poisoning the blood of our country. that's what they've done. mental institutions and prisons all over the world. not just in south america. not just the three or four countries we think about, but all over the world, they're coming into our country in africa, from asia. all over the world. >> clear to point out specific countries there. this is language poisoning the blood used by hitler as i noted earlier. and until recently, there would be shocking from any other candidate of any other party of any office. chris christie sharply condemned it telling jake tapper, quote, he's disgusting. ron desantis said this today. >> you give them an ability, the

opposition an ability, to try to make it about something else with some of those comments i think that's a tactical mistake. >> so as you heard there, florida's governor not condemning the words. only the tactics of saying them. republican senator john thune weighed in also gently saying quote, that's not a view i share. and here's a few more reactions. >> we're talking about language. i could care less what language people use as long as we get it right. >> it's campaign bravado. you get up on stage, you're feeding off the audience and you just let it rip. that's what he does. frankly, that's why a lot of people like him. >> i think it's unlikely donald trump's ever read -- >> cnn is also learning about the former president's defense along with don jr. of a social media influencer who has a

long -- andrew kosinski shares the byline on it. what more can you tell us about this influencer that trump is defending? >> that's right. both donald trump and donald trump jr. have been defending, praising a former influencer convicted of interfering in the 2016 election with a history of deeply racist and deeply antisemitic posts. his name is douglas mackie and he posted under the anonymous twitter handle, ricky vaughn. that's where he posted this meme which prosecutors say was meant to trick people into thinking they could vote for hillary clinton by text. they say that at least 5,000 or 4,900 people texted this number. now, mackie and the trumps have sort of claimed this was just a joke. that no reasonable person would believe that. but prosecutors allege a much more sinister plot to deprive people of their right to vote.

mackie was convicted in march. he was sentenced in october and now he's out as he waits for his appeal. flash forward to today and donald trump is using this as a case to say that joe biden's justice department is attacking the free speech of his supporters. take a listen to this. >> crooked joe and his hin ch men have tried to shutdown free speech with a massive government censorship operation to silence their critics. they're putting douglas mckay in jail for sharing a joking meme about hillary clinton seven years ago. nobody ever heard of anything like that. >> so even though he's mentioning biden pretty specifically there, we should note this investigation started under donald trump's own department of justice. this guy wasn't charged until just a week into joe biden's administration. >> and as we said, mackie was

known for his racist and antisemitic posts. it goes beyond that. what more have you learned? >> he was sharing extremely racist, extremely antisemitic content regularly on his twitter feed. it is so vile that we can't even show much of it on air. he used the n word and referred to black people as ferel. racist cartoons of pretty much every person color. there was a post where he joked about having a cake made that used a slur for jewish people and hailing hitler and take a look at this post right here. this is really one of the only ones we can show on air where he says the jews fear that donald trump is hitler because they

know they have done great evil in america and they fear that justice will be done. it's not like this stuff was really hidden. this was on his feed every time we checked in the web archive and just being a reporter at that time, i remember seeing it from this specific account. so now that you've sort of looked at that, listen to what don jr. said when he had him on his podcast in early december. >> you had an awesome account. it may be my favorite twitter account of all time. now i'll get in trouble for saying that because they'll say oh, he said something once. it was hilarious. again, like i said, maybe the best of all time. >> yeah. maybe the best of all time. that's what donald trump jr. said about his twitter account and we did reach out to mr. mackie's attorney before we did the story. he gave us a statement where he said he regrets the tone and substance of those posts. they do not reflect his current

views or the person he has been for the last several years but he is grateful that former president trump and his son and thousands across the political spectrums can see through these smears and recognize his case is about protecting the first amendment rights of all americans. >> andrew, great reporting. appreciate it. perspective now from cnn's senior data reporter, commentator, adam kensinger. congressman, these comments about immigrants from certain countries quote poisoning the blood of the country, are obviously vile. what do you make of the strong combination from other prominent republicans? >> so two things. number one, that's not a comment you just come up with unless you know what you're doing. now, steven miller writes a lot of his stuff i think so you

know, whoever -- but let's keep in mind. this isn't the first time he said poison the blood of america. he said it what a month or two ago. he got pushback on it because it's basely hitler, but he doubled down and did it get. frankly, that's what his people love, which is frightening. the frightening thing isn't just that. it's the fact my former colleagues, if you saw them behind closed doors, you'd see them trembling because they know they're going to have to answer to everything donald trump said and they're back to their old ways. of just saying like oh, that's just him. it's just words as lindsey graham said. it's garbage. these folks and i think anybody interviewing, any congressman or senator, has to ask them repeatedly do you or don't you agree. >> do you think they're just being cowardly? >> oh, 100%. they're just being absolute cowards. most of them obviously don't agree with how he says it but they don't want to tick off the

base. some may be up for re-election, have primaries around the country. instead of being leaders, they're followers. the entire movement is made up of a bunch of followers. >> as you heard graham say, those are just words but those words informed a lot of trump's policies. his policies when in the white house reflected that kind of rhetoric and if you heard the congressman say his supporters love it. i'm wondering what you say to that. do you see any of them choosing another candidate because of this rhetoric or does it just simply have the vagalvanizing effect on them and they may not care as much about other issues. >> so, no one comment can do anything like that. it's part of overall trend. overall trend, the former president has been saying this clear back to the first debate with hillary clinton. he said it on the trail multiple times. he's used this blood and soil

multiple times. regardless of what he means, you see support from him. there's been research about this on neo nazi sites where they pinpoint this language that's co coming from him. lastly, you heard adam talking about steven miller, the architect of many of trump's antiimmigration programs. the next round of this they hope to push in a second term would be mass detention camps for illegal immigrants. they haven't ruled out the child separation policy. they're talking about revoking birthright citizenship from people who are born to undocumented mothers. so there is real policy attached to the viciousness of any rhetoric that you're hearing. >> i think that's really important for everyone to remember. this isn't just rhetoric. this is backed up by reporting about what would happen if trump -- >> it feels like ground hog day, right? with the outrage cycle about this over and over again, but it has meaning which we've learned after january 6th. >> i remember when he was running for office before,

right, you know. talking about how mexico is sending their worst. >> and people explain it away. you heard that with lindsey graham. it's how he said it. we've heard all of that spin before. them not taking things he says seriously but at this point, i think most of the world does take the former president seriously. >> it's one thing to say that back in 2016 and another after we've already seen him in the white house and what he's capable of doing. harry, i want to bring you in because he made those comments about immigrants. many of whom are latino. where does the former president stand with latino voters? >> it's interesting. if you look at the polling right now and compare joe biden versus donald trump among hispanic voters, back in 2020, the final polls had joe biden winning hispanic voters by 26 points. now joe biden's still winning them today but only by six points. that margin has been shrunk down by 20 percentage points and i think there's some question you know on this issue of immigration and border security. is this an issue that joe biden

could potentially use as a wedge issue to win some of those hispanic voters back. but take a look here. a better job on border security and immigration. among hispanic voters, trump is favored by 12 points so i'm not sure these recent comments will have much of an impact on hispanic support for trump. >> what do you think about that, congressman? do you think that's a reflection of latino voters being more more worried about other issues they're faced with day-to-day living in america than this kind of rhetoric from trump? >> i don't think democrats understand how to attract latino voters. i think they've taken the base for granted. look, as republicans, we were always trying to figure out how to reach latino voters. the thing is, there's not just latino voters. there are people from mexico. from cuba. from venezuela. from central america. they vote differently in many

cases and they vote on the same issue that any average american votes on and so i think when it comes to the rhetoric, they're concerned about it, certainly, but they also think of themselves not as latinos but as americans and therefore, i think it's better if the democrats because they have to win this year because this is, there's a lot at stake. if the democrats understand you need to speak to them as you'd speak to any blue collar american about the things they care about and the economy's number one. they have to do a better job of communicating the economy because it's not doing too bad but everybody feels like it is. >> yeah. that's reflected in many polls. audi, to end with you, we're only a few weeks away from iowa. hard to believe we're already there. and the former president, he continues to lead the republican field despite that kind of rhetoric. do you think any of his rivals have a shot at breaking through at this point? >> we don't know for sure, but we can say that desantis has really made a lot of sort of,

laid a lot of groundwork in iowa. he has very high hopes there. you see nikki haley has made so many gains in new hampshire trying to take advantage of momentum that comes from media attention and donor attention. so obviously they still see some kind of path though that path is not clear and they see some path through a certain subset of voters that they're hoping to get support from. >> yeah and like you point out. nikki haley is seeing her standing better in states like new hampshire so we have to wait and see. thank you so much. and we have breaking news on the newest lawsuit rudy giuliani is facing for the election lies he told and why especially in this case, he should have known better than to open his mouth. also tonight, a live report from israel where the calls from hostage families are getting louder and with it, the pressure on the isrsraeli goverernmentdo more is grgrowing.

well, two pieces of breaking news tonight. one is a federal appeals court rejecting mark meadows' attempt to get his georgia trial moved to federal court. the other will come as no surprise to anyone who heard giuliani continue to lie about election workers even after a jury awarded them more than $148 million for those very same lies. no surprise. they're suing him again. evan perez is here with more on

both stories. also with us, jessica roth, former federal prosecutor and currently professor at new york's cardoza school of law. evan, specifically, what are ruby freeman and shaye moss asking for in this latest suit. >> it's exactly what the judge warned giuliani and his lawyers about. she told the legal team and giuliani that he was opening himself up to more defamation claims and lawsuits and that's exactly what's mahappened is th these two women have now gone to the judge and they want the court to enter an injunction essentially against giuliani, preventing him from making these statements, defaming her. defaming both of them again. and you know, from going on his media, you know as you know, he has a podcast, other ways that he gets his word out. to not only making those statements because those are the things he said on the steps of the court.

he went out and said he stood by his claims. he said he had proof that he was going to show proof at some point although obviously for two years he hasn't shown any. and he said his claims were supportable. all of those things they're asking the judge to basically prevent him from broadcasting it, from publishing those words again. so now, if this is successful, a judge can enter an order that will now have a greater force. greater teeth, really, against giuliani making these claims. $148 million is not enough. >> i was going to say. how is it -- >> he doesn't have it. >> exactly. to you, jessica roth, to put this in sperspective. what can the court do to keep him from repeating these lies after he already owes from last week? >> so, injunction, here is a court order that directs a party not to engage in behavior that

the court has ordered the person to refrain from engaging in. if the court were to go ahead and grant that injunction as the plaintiffs have requested, then if giuliani violated the injunction, he could be subject to additional penalties, fines and potentially imprisonment for contempt of court. because that's the significance of an injunction issued by a court is that it has the force of a court order. >> evan, back to you. you've been a very busy man today because there's another case rejecting mark meadows' attempt to move the case to federal court. >> no dice. this is something he's been trying to push for his case to be brought to federal court. the play here is to get this case dismissed and so that meadows doesn't have to face these state charges but here, we have a conservative leaning panel on this 11th circuit which is a conservative leaning court and william pryor who wrote this

opinion says that what meadows was doing was essentially electioneering and doesn't fall within the four corners of what a chief of staff is supposed to be doing. he was saying everything he was supposed to be doing after the election with donald trump was essentially part of his duties as a federal officer and therefore, he should be immune. what he wrote here, he says whatever the chief of staff's role with respect to state election administration does not include altering valid election results and that is clear as day. so now we expect obviously that mark meadows is probably going to keep fighting. he's probably going to go to the supreme court and try his hand there. >> so jessica, given the court determined meadows' involvement was not part of his official duties raises the question. could that impact similar claims by the president? >> yes. so even though the former

president is not directly impacted by this decision from the 11th circuit today, the reasoning in the decision does not bode well for trump's claims of immunity. of course, no board has held there's such a thing as immunity for a former president from criminal prosecution. cases are only talking so far from the supreme court about immunity from civil lawsuits. but if the former president were to prevail on his claim, his argument, which is novel, that there is such a thing as immunity from criminal prosecution, then a court would have to decide what is the extent of it and in the civil context, it extends to the outer perimeter of the president's official duties. so tfollowing the reason from te 11th circuit today, if what meadows was engaged in today was not official because it was private and on behalf of the candidate trump, then similarly what trump is alleged to have

engaged in both in the january 6th prosecution in federal court in d.c. and in the georgia case, very reasonably could be seen as outside the, or not within the perimeter of his official duties. so i think the reasoning does not bode well for trump's claims of immunity. >> and pryor is very influential. a very influential judge. >> conservative. >> it is something that you're right, does not bode well for the former president at all. >> evan, jessica, thanks so much. up next, growing pressure for the israeli government to get more hostages freed from gaza after sickening details emerge about the brutality former hostages experienced. plus, a report from the front lines in ukraine with more aid at a standstill in washington, the mood on the babattlefield has become increasingly grim.

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following the death of three israeli hostages mistakenly killed by the idf, they warn they may need to adjust its rules of engagement. this comes with a growing split over the u.s. and israel over the high number of civilian casualties. secretary austin says he discussed pathways for a future after hamas. meanwhile, there is pressure on israel to get more hostages out of gaza. here's jeremy dimon. >> the pleas are only growing more desperate. >> i begged the cabinet and we all warned the fighting would likely harm the hostages. >> recently freed hostages and the families of those still

captive are ramping up the pressure on the israeli government to reach a deal for their freedom after israeli soldiers mistakenly shot and killed three israeli hostages. their plea smeared on a white sheet. help, three hostages, read the h he hebrew hostages. former hostages now beginning to share their stories of captivity. >> the first day was foggy because i lost a lot of blood and they stitched my wounds on a sofa with the girls next to me. easy to understand that it was without anesthesia. >> in an interview on israeli tv, she revealed she and her two daughters spent part of their captivity not in a tunnel, but hidden in a hospital. >> we were in a 12 meter room. ten people, no beds. only a sink. and to go to the toilet, we had to knock on the door. they could open it after five

minutes or after an hour and a half. small girls couldn't hold it. >> cramped conditions but also unending fear. >> fear. fear that because my girls were crying or making a noise, they would get an order from above. be taken from me. fear. always fear. >> for 49 days, she shielded her daughters from that fear until the moment they were handed to the red cross on the streets of gaza where hundreds of people crowded their vehicle. >> it was the first time after a month and a half that roz said, mom, i'm scared. >> multiple former hostages also described the terrors of living under israeli bombardment in gaza. >> it was a bombardment on the adjacent house. it sounded like it was going to hit us. one of the guards was notified that his family member was dead. so you tell yourself, i hope he doesn't turn against us. >> nearly every single former hostage spoke of feeling

abandoned by their government while in captivity. now channelling that feeling into action. >> i think that everyone needs to understand that not enough is being done in order to free the hostages from the gaza strip. they need to come back now. you have to do everything you can to bring them back now. >> and tonight, hamas also appears to be attempting to ratchet up the pressure on the israeli government, releasing its latest propaganda video. this time featuring three elderly hostages. one of them urges the israeli government to secure their unconditional release, expresses concern about constant bombardment in gaza. they say this is a criminal terror video and says it will do everything to secure those hostages' release. >> thank you for that. and turning now to ukraine, the

white house is warning new aid for it will run out at the end of this month as they try to strike a funding deal with republicans and as the battle plays out in washington, it's already having an impact on ukraine. nick paton walsh saw from the front lines. first, a warning. some of the content is graphic. >> this was where the billions were meant to smell a breakthrough but when a counteroffensive was supposed to have kicked russia to the sea this summer, now it is mud, muck, deadlock. it's notably different mood here. dark, frankly. in the summer, they were feeling like they had the world at their back moving forward. now, it's slow, dangerous, and a real sense of well, despair, to be honest. 40 russian drones swarmed one ukrainian trench here in a day. down here in this tiny basement,

the rulers do not get seen. the other side are not so lucky. two russians spotted moving a load. they guide in a mortar strike. there are just so many russians now. the commander says sometimes their machine struggles to handle it and sometimes, they have success. batteries die fast in the cold and russian jamming seems to damage them, too. this is -- whose streets reek of crushed lives and how much who moscow is willing to bring to be seen to win. in a matter of months since you were here in the summer, how much more damage has been done? if you stop thinking about ukraine, be sure putin hasn't. at command, they watch a wasteland. tree lines now bare. the dead, the injured. it's unclear if russia treats

them differently. another ukrainian drone aims for a fox hole. what they've struggled with are the waves of russian assaults. dozens of russian prisoners, well trained and equipped, backed up by armor who they say are given a mix of drugs. they show us this graphic video of a wounds russia. his legs severed, seemingly high enough to smile through his fatal injuries. still, they claim they have held hard won ground but at a huge cost. as we say in the army, the counter offensive was smooth on paper but we forgot about the ditches. changes are taking place. they started making their own attack drones and outnumber ours. they use them badly. like a kid's toy.

they say a drone has hit a trench and blown up a gas heater. the silence, the wait for news. agony. >> does it feel like the casualties are getting worse? >> every casualty makes a difference, he says. it affects everyone's morale. it's very painful for me. sergei, aged 48, was one of several ukrainians to die that

day and about 50 that week. they hadn't really had to talk about lose ng this war, but this is what it looks like. it's not just drones. this russian video seems to show a new threat. gas. caustic. flammable. the ukrainians have had nine instants on this front, killing one. here are two survivors. >> at first, i saw smoke. we ran out from the trench and the gas suddenly caught fire. the trench was in flames. this gas burns. blinds you. you can't breathe. shoots down your throat immediately. we didn't even have a second. >> you inhale it twice. then you fail to breathe. >> medical reports confirm the poisoning and a ukrainian official told them a form of cs geo gas. those injuries inside your mouth? >> my cheeks, everywhere. inside the mouth.

my face is swollen and covered in red marks. >> it is an ugly, savage world. even on a tv screen. where there seems little moscow won't do but too much the west won't. >> just endless horror at every turn there. is it clear how much ukraine would be able to turn the situation around if and when the u.s. aid does come? >> i mean, technically speaking, they haven't really run out of u.s. aid yet. there is still money that's supposed to be flowing but even there on the front lines, they complain about a lack of equipment. so we've never really had great transparency on what is in whose account but the morale is low. even in the last hour, they're not getting close to a deal and still, they're dealing with a russian force that's reinvigorated. there were apparently 13 assaults in the area we were filming in just today according to some ukrainian reports.

staggering how moscow seems to have got its momentum back and is pushing again and again. so, yeah, of course, there's going to be a serious impact when the american money finally dries up. remember, the european union, too, they're stalling as well on their aid contributions but you're already beginning to see the winter. the lack of morale. the counteroffensive didn't achieve what was thought it potentially might. that's beginning to impact kyiv and so yeah, i think as the money runs out, that's going to make a significant change for fast. pamela? >> thank you for the reporting. up next, more breaking news. a controversial bill just signed into state law in texas on illegal border crossings. plus, a closer look at the massive backlog of immigration cases in federal court. and the florida gop chairman accused of rape is refusing to step down despite the sex scandal allegations involving

him, his wife, and another woman. we'll be back.

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(♪♪) (♪♪) get exclusive offers on select new volvo models. contact your volvo retailer to learn more. more breaking news. texas governor abbott has signed a new bill into law.

it makes crossing from texas to mexico a state crime. the bill also gives police the power to arrest local migrants and gives judges power to remove them to mexico. this comes with a massive backlog with such cases in federal courts. migrants having to wait years to see a judge. more from cnn's ed lavandera. >> outside any american immigration court these days, you'll likely find long lines. people gathering in the middle of the night for court appearances that will determine if they stay in the united states or if they'll be deported. >> they are lining up sometimes at 5:00 a.m. i've seen them lining up the night before as well. >> some of these migrants will end up in this judge's new york courtroom. the president of national immigration judges. she's served as a judge for 17 years and has never seen the system under this intense strain. >> some days, i can see up to

100 different cases just in a morning. i've been a judge in los angeles, colorado and new york city and i've never seen the numbers we're seeing roight now. >> now for the first time, tracking data shows the immigration court backlog has reached more than 3 million cases. in 2012, there were over 325,000 backlogged cases. across the country, there are just 71 immigration courts and 7 734 immigration judges that handle this case load. the states with the largest numbers of case loads are florida, texas, california, and new york. last december, we met ta man, hs wife and their two children as they crossed into el paso, texas. did you think reaching this point was going to be so emotional?

with tears, they told the they never thought the journey would be so painful. the family is now in new york. navigating the immigration asylum process. their journey captures the dilemma of the overwhelmed system. it's been a year since we met you. you just had your first hear in in the court, correct? they say it's been very difficult to find an attorney. in fact, after a year, they still haven't been able to get an immigration attorney. the same tracking data shows close to 100% of the migrants who have lawyers show up to the court hearings. the data is less clear for migrants who don't have lawyers. they attended their first court hearing last week and have another date set for prescription of next year. the biden administration has added more than 300 immigration judges to help handle the massive backlog of cases but the judge also says there aren't enough interpreters and law clerks to move cases along. >> the focus has been on hiring

more immigration judges, which makes sense, but you cannot hire your way out of this problem. because even an immigration judge really can only handle maybe about 500 cases a year. >> as you mentioned in your piece there that the average wait time for a hearing is four years. so can the people who are waiting work in the meantime? >> they can. they need a work authorization to do that and depending on what country you come from, what your individual circumstance is, it could take quite a bit of time to get that. so after these migrants get that, they can start taking on jobs legally here in the u.s. in the meantime, other migrants simply try to find ways to make ends meet. working under the table in various locations. immigration judges and reform advocates say one of the things that could speed things up in the court process is if the whole system was moved out from underneath the department of justice and the executive branch

and into an independent judiciary branch and they say that would give judges more discretion to move through these cases much, much faster. >> ed lavandera, thank you so much. up next, the new steps taken against the florida gop chairman accused of rape and who is facing other allegations involving his wife and another woman. also, a volcano eruption in iceland after weeks of warnings. more incredible pictures just ahead.

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tonight, new details on that sex scandal involving the florida gop chairman, his wife who is a cofounder of conservative group moms for liberty, as another woman. the chairman is refusing to tep down, as he faces the allegations that has led his own party to take drastic steps against him. carlos suarez has the story. >> unanimous vote is in there. he needs to move on. >> reporter: a sex scandal involving christian ziegler leading to calls for his resignation. >> he needs to resign. >> reporter: he's been accused of raping a woman in october. according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by cnn, ziegler and his wife had a prior three-way consensual sexual relationship with the woman he's now stripped of all of his duties and salary reduced to $1. >> we asked him to resign

immediately. he's still not resigned. >> ziegler tried to defend himself at sunday's private meeting of party leaders but he was hekkckled by party official. >> he did a stupid thing and has to suffer the consequences. >> even if the sexual assault allegations are not true, the details of ziegler's private life becoming public is too damning. >> you cannot lead the republican party with the charges standing in front of him. admissions he made in the affidavits. you cannot morally lead the republican party forward. and that's, i think, the end of the day, we wish christian well in his legal endeavors if he did not do it. >> reporter: zegler who has not been criminally charged, said the sex with the accuser was consensual and denied reports of seeking a payout in the neighborhood of $2 million for resigning his post. writing in a text message to cnn, quote, i have not asked for anything. again, 100% fabricated lie. >> i would not be in favor of a payout. >> the party plans to meet in

three weeks to officially remove him. while his fate with the gop seems certain, his wife's political future is not. bridget ziegler, the cofounder of moms for liberty, refused to resign from the sarasota county school board after fellow board members asked her to do so, telling her the sex scandal was a distraction. >> voluntarily resign. >> reporter: ron desantis has called on christian ziegler to step down, but won't go that far with bridget. >> i have called on christian to step down as the rpof chairman. my understanding is he's the one that is under the criminal cloud. clearly, i think bridget, and this is somebody i have worked with and have really liked the work she's done, she's going to have to look to see how effective she's going to be able to be in those circumstances. >> reporter: removing the zieglers is one thing both democrats and republicans agree on, even if for different reasons. >> in order for them to attempt

to salvage what is left of their party's so-called values, they have to give off the impression of accountability. >> carlos joins us now from orlando. carlos, as you said, christian ziegler has not been criminally charged. do we know the current status of that investigation? >> reporter: well, right now, pam, we do not. the sarasota police department really has not said anything about this case officially. we know that police have -- we know the investigation at least according to the search warrant affidavit began over two months ago and that police have reviewed text messages and other messages on social media between christian ziegler and the accuser. we also know that police have reviewed surveillance video showing christian arriving at the house of the accuser on the day of the alleged sexual assault. we're also told at least according to the document that christian told police that he recorded this sexual encounter,

which again, he says was consensual and that police are still in the process of trying to obtain that piece of video. pam. >> all right, carlos suarez, thank you. up next, more breaking news. the latest from iceland which is living up to its nickname of land of fire and ice with a volcanic eruption tonight.

well, more breaking news tonight. first an earthquake and now a volcanic eruption is under way in southwest iceland. hot lava and smoke spewing into the air. it is not unexpected. after several weeks of seizemic activity, the eruption is less than two miles from a town that was already evacuated. cracks in the ground no stretch toward the town. the nearby blue lagoon geothermal spa popular with tourists was also shut down weeks ago. we'll bring you any new developments right here on cnn. the news continues. the source wit