good morning, everyone. it is christmas. i'm phil mattingly with poppy harlow. thank you for joining us on this special edition of cnn this morning. we hope you are having a wonderful christmas morning. >> merry, merry christmas. best day of the year i think for our kids. >> definitely for the kids. >> little stressful for the parents. >> this is the point where you start to relax a little bit hopefully. >> it was a busy night for santa and the kids. we'll go through his naughty and nice list. >> it was also a big year for women, the year for barbie, taylor swift, beyonce, any way you spin it, powerful women left a remarkable impression on 2023. we'll take a look at that impact. >> robert kraft has been spearheading an effort to counter hate. we'll speak to kraft and why he says despite a rise in anti-semetic attacks, americans want to do the right thing.

>> the top stories of the day. good morning. merry christmas. i'm danny freeman. this morning israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu said the israelis are intensifying their mission inside hamas. idf says it is reviewing the incident at the camp. will ripley joins us from tel aviv. merry christmas first. i want to get to this news first. prime minister said the idf forces are intensifying operations. what are you learning? >> merry christmas. it is sadly another intense day. you have as you mentioned at least 70 people dying on christmas eve in gaza and the latest israeli expansion in their military operation. they have operational control of northern gaza after dismantling

a massive tunnel. they're getting it in central gaza. they might get notices being told to move. 80% of more than 2 million people are already displaced. some had to move twice, three times or more, and now they have to move again in order to avoid a potential death in an israeli airstrike. well over 20,000 people have died. the one christmas miracle is we have good weather after several days of thunderstorms and chilling, intense rain. cold wind. the kind of conditions that just make it miserable for you if you are living out in the elements. at least today in gaza the sun is shining and hopefully some people can find some semblance of comfort in that. >> you mentioned the idf has dismantled the northern underground headquarters.

how significant is that? >> it's pretty significant. this is the location where the idf said they recovered the bodies of five israeli hostages. after the bodies were recovered, the entire tunnel complex was essentially destroyed. they believe it was the headquarters for the apartments, offices, command centers they might have used to plan and carry out attacks. it's a significant step forward. they have a long way to go because hamas has a lot of tunnels and ways to evade the forces on the ground. >> will ripley. thank you very much. turning now to the southern border. it is seeing nearly 10,000 migrant encounters a due over the past week. that number is close to the highest ever recorded. border officials are telling cnn the situation is nearing a breaking point and continues to worsen. raphael row mow joins us from

eagle pass. you spoke to migrants over this weekend. what do they tell you? >> they are desperate to get to the united states. many left behind everything. they took great risks to be able to get here. many of them have been able to do so. on the other hand, we also have law enforcement authorities here telling us that they're under a lot of pressure because they have to deal with this huge migrant surge in addition to the regular duties of tackling crime and protecting the community. thousands of immigrants are spending christmas being processed here at the border while other law enforcement are trying to solve the new crisis. we've been traveling to different points along the border and we have seen how immigrants keep crossing even when immigrant officials and the state of texas are installing obstacles and barbed wire and

bowies serve as floating barriers. we talked with a mother who traveled with her 3-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter by land from honduras in central america. all three of them surrendered to immigration authorities at the border on christmas eve and were hoping to spend christmas day at a shelter. we were talking to a woman from cuba who said she was kidnapped as they traveled by land in mexico. her sister's young daughter after their family paid ransom, they were then robbed before getting to the border in spite of all of that, she feels blessed this christmas day. >> translator: i'm going to spend it with my family but i'm going to live in a free country that at least, i don't know, i'm going to be happy because i'm going to live in a free country where the rights of citizens are respected. that wasn't the case where i lived. i was under a lot of pressure. >> reporter: and, danny, while this is happening here at the

border, another migrant caravan is making its way from southern mexico. thousands of migrants departed on christmas eve, a city of mexico's border with guatemala. this is happening ahead of a meeting at mexico city between mexican president and two top u.s. officials, secretary of state antony blinken and homeland security head and it will take place on wednesday. danny, merry christmas to you. back to you. >> merry christmas to you. very challenging christmas for so many. thank you very much. let's get back to poppy and phil. it has been 79 days since hamas brutally attacked israel and the start of the devastating war that has caused far too much death and destruction. through all the pain some glimmers of hope have emerged. this is the story of three families intimately affected by the israel hamas war that we are anything about this holiday

season. >> reporter: thomas hand has been through hell and back. on october 7th his then 8-year-old daughter emily was sleeping at a house which killed roughly 130 people in a community of 1100. thomas was unable to reach his daughter and would go two days before receiving news that would destroy any daughter. >> i just said, we found emily. she's dead. and i went, yes! i went, yes! and smiled. because that is the best news of the possibilities that i knew she would be in a darkroom filled with christ knows how

many people and terrified every minute, hour, day and possible years to come. so death was a blessing. >> thomas says he planned to bury his daughter next to her mother who died of cancer when emily was just two years old. then almost a month after the attack he was told by the israeli army that it was highly probable emily was alive and a hamas hostage. a sudden flicker of hope but one overwhelmed by the realization of his greatest fear. >> extremely worried about her, obviously. what conditions she's been held in. the unknown is awful. the waiting is awful, but that's what we've got to do now. >> but he did more than wait launching a relentless campaign to keep emily's captivity in the headlines even traveling to new york to feature emily's picture on a billboard in times square. >> help us to get her back.

>> then about 50 days after she was taken, emily, also an irish citizen, was freed during a temporary truce between israel and hamas. the emotional reunion seen here. >> i'm not going to send her to school for at least a year. we're going to give her the world. >> 3-year-old abigail adal was taken hostage by hamas after her parents were killed in the october 7th attack. >> her brother and sister have survived. they hid in a closet for 14 hours after watching their parents murdered thinking abigail was murdered too. >> then after about 50 days, abigail, who turned four while in captivity, was released. >> she just landed in hospital and she's being checked and taken care of. >> now home in the arms of her aunt, uncle and grandparents. and this massachusetts couple and their almost 2-year-old son were visiting relatives in gaza on october 7th. >> first instinct is to run for

my son and my wife and try to see how we could scramble and get to safety, but the reality is there is no safe place right now. >> the family quickly headed south to escape the horrors of the war, but after several unsuccessful attempts to cross into egypt, they ended up staying at a house with about 40 people ten minutes from the border. they shared food, water, supplies, eventually running out of milk to give their young son. finally the family did cross into egypt and return to the u.s. >> we still processing what we experienced. i can't believe our short trip just turned into a nightmare. >> there are the stories of hope where there was so little hope but yet still a very long path ahead for them. >> i'm so glad you showed us that. also, 2023 will go down as the hottest year on record, and for certain months this year scientists say it wasn't even close. a look back at some of the climate disasters and a look ahead at what could come next year. and it's been a very busy

year in politics. we have a look at santa avlon's naughty or nice list. we'll share it with you next.

i'd like to think santa claus is back home. this year john avlon is not resting. he's making the list, checking it twice and he's here to tell you who in politics has been naughty and nice. we obviously need to start with bad news. >> you start with the bad news. who's getting the coal in the stocking. >> talk about the naughty. >> number three, this frankly could be much higher, but man named george santos and a senator named bob menendez. both have been indicted on bewildering array of charges. in santos case there's firm

accountability if not yet in courts, then among his colleagues. it's the sixth person to be kicked out, expelled from congress. really kind of stunning. menendez, a much more established figure. the story gets weirder the more you dig into it. accountability to come. z democratic colleague. >> a man named mark wayne holland. he's a senator from the state of oklahoma. you might remember this outburst from november. >> you want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults. we can finish it here. >> that's fine. perfect. >> you want to do it right now. >> i'd love to do it right now. >> stand your butt up then. >> stand your butt up. >> hold it. the. >> no, no, sit down. sit down. you're a united states senator. sit -- >> what -- i mean, physical altercations in -- under congress? it's not unprecedented.

freeman wrote a story showing 72 acts of blood on the congress floor before the civil war. just saying. it's not a good thing, people. grow up. >> things should be getting more civilized. >> you think. number one. >> numero uno, the donald. the way he's been campaigning. divided. think about the christmas season. peace, goodwill, kindness, and then there's this. >> weigh will rat out the communists, marxist and the radical left thugs that live like vermin. it's poisoning the blood of our country. people are coming in with disease. people are coming in with every possible thing that you can have. president xi is like central casting. there's nobody in hollywood that could play the role of president xi. the look, the strength, the voice. >> it's christmas.

let's remember the feelings that we all aspire to and the spirit of kindness and not demonizing people we disagree with and then people who are doing it right. >> how about the good? it is christmas. >> i'm a jimmy stewart kind of guy. give me "it's a wonderful life" every time. liz cheney. we're discovering her love for nancy pelosi. odd couple. >> i don't know that i had ever spoken more than a few sentences to her before she called me and asked me to be on the committee. i learned later that her staff put together for her a list of the top ten worst things liz cheney has ever said about nancy pelosi and gave it to her and she took one list at it and said why are you bothering me with things you don't matter. >> would you take back some of the ten? >> oh, sure. we've all said things about each other that we probably in hindsight wish we hadn't said. >> to me that's not only about

cross aisle friendships but it's also about grace. it's about not taking the bait when somebody, however well intentioned, tries to gin you up about what someone said and the grace to say, you know what, i said something wrong. that's an exemplary moment. >> what else? >> i like pop culture in my politics. strike force 5. this was the podcast put together by competing late night hosts during the writers' strike. what i love about it is these folks are all leading figures in their field. they're also competitors, direct competitors to one another but they got together in an enduring writers' strike in part to help raise funds to help raise their teams who didn't have the benefit. >> love that. >> number one. >> number one. >> nicist. >> this better be good. >> to me, this is the nicest. there are two governors you might not have heard of, colorado governor and spencer cox, republican governor of pole

lap -- poland. >> our nation was founded by people who profoundly disagreed so next time your uncle, your niece or anyone else brings up that one topic that just drives you nuts, take a deep breath. be curious. ask questions. if you still disagree, that's okay. you might find you aren't as far apart as you might think. >> this is good and important advice. this is part of an initiative governors are putting together to set an example how to disagree more agreeably and constructively. leading by example. that's an example on the holidays a reminder we're all one big family. we don't have to agree but we have to find the common ground. >> love that. thank you, john avlon. appreciate you. >> merry christmas. >> merry christmas. there have been a record number of weather and climate disasterers. each c costing morore thanan a n

dollarars. a lookok at t that andnd what w expepect in the e year aheadad.

you're probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. but what if we told you it's possible that comcast business mobile can save you up to 75% a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers? did we peak your interest? 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. good morning. merry christmas. i'm danny freeman. a large storm system is bringing rain and snow to the east. it could have significant impact for post holiday travel. your red tie, my green tie, we're a christmas picture. >> i have a green pocket square but i think that may be over doing it. >> good job. merry christmas. it is raining from minnesota all the way down to florida. this is a large storm system affecting so many people. the problem is that this rain

gets to the northeast on wednesday. a lot of people have flights out on wednesday. that's a big day to get back home. back out here, if you are traveling across i-90, 80, 76, this is the area that had a blizzard warning going on because that's where the snow is going to be. everywhere you see pink, that's a foot of snow or more. if that's blowing around, that's where your blizzard is going to come from. here's rain across parts of the gulf coast and the mid-atlantic. let's spell it out for you today. lots of driving going on. not a lot of flying, but driving. raining from 6:00 in chicago into florida and out into nebraska, dakotas, colorado. as we work our way into the beginning of next week. all of a sudden now, the rain tries to get up here, up towards the northeast, especially on wednesday. even at noon airports could be very problematic with wind, rain, low clouds all the way through the northeast. that's the real big problem. then the storm dies and moves

away. in the meantime, there will be snow across the upper midwest still on the ground. driving through that could be a problem. there's your rainfall up into new england. high temperatures though for today. who's ever heard of 55 and rain in chicago. danny, you told me you were in chicago and it was like 10 below zero on christmas and you were doing live shots outside, right? >> yeah. yeah. how would 65 degrees warmer feel? >> it would have been a much merrier christmas in that situation. >> i agree. we were tracking out. we found out santa delivered 7.8 billion parcels. >> oh, my god. that is wild. >> that's pretty good. >> fantastic. good. i'll be running back to my tree once we're done here to check if anything was left there. thank you so much, chad. appreciate it. >> you bet. now take a listen to this. ♪ ♪ >> closing out the year with a

huge accolade. the pop star superstar won "time magazine's" 2023 person of the year this month. no one else on the planet today can move so many people so well and she did something that we chalk up to the alignments of the planet and faiths. giving too much credit to the stars ignores her power and skill. it grossed $2.2 billion in north american ticket sales. her concert films raked in $96 million at the box office in the u.s. and canada. that is the highest grossing concert film domestically ever for an opening weekend. >> it's worth pointing out. she's not alone in helping boost the economy. she joins a list of powerful women making significant contributions including beyonce. a story renaissance topped the box office with $21 million in its opening weekend. >> this summer's greta gerwig's

"barbie" was the highest grossing movie in 2023. domestic haul of over $570 million. joining us katheryn rampall and rahel solomon. thank you for being here. what a year. obviously taylor swift, beyonce, so many other women boosting this economy. >> yeah. i mean, really boosting consumer spending at a time when we thought consumer spending would fall. what you have to understand, poppy, you did a good job going over numbers, these women have monumental fan bases. the women and the men who support them are spending a lot of money. colorado for its part said it expected taylor swift and its tour to pump $140 million into the colorado gdp. on average they expect that the average swifty who was attending to spend about $1300. what you have to remember is we're not just talking -- >> per person. >> per person.

that's more rent. not in new york but what you have to remember is we're not just talking about the ticket sales but we're talking about the flight to perhaps get to denver, colorado, or to philadelphia. the philadelphia fed has talked about taylor swift and the impact on the hotel occupancy. also the apparel. you have to look good once you go to see these ladies in concert. they are huge, monumental businesses. >> katheryn, to that point, it felt like various points of the year even economists said the one, two, three were lifting up the economies of various places on their own. is that an overstatement or is that close to accurate? >> i think in the near term, yeah, it had a big impact on local economies as rahel pointed out. it meant higher sales for hotels, for example. lots of other kinds of local spending. restaurants. local transit. that sort of thing. yeah, these amazing women not only generated likely billions of dollars for themselves and

for people who worked on their respective tours or other kinds of artistic projects, but also had some knock on effects for the local economies that were hosting them. >> even countries. remember we were talking about i think it was sweden and beyonce, right, rahel? >> i remember. blaming beyonce for the inflation. >> come on, come on, come on. you had an interesting piece, katheryn about the shecovery 2023. >> yes. so 2023 was the year of the working woman. not just famous women like the ones we've been talking about but regular rank and file white collar women around the united states whose numbers have hit record highs in terms of the share of traditionally working age people who are employed. you may remember that a couple of years ago there were all of these stories about the fear of the shecession, that the pandemic would disproportionately hurt women,

particularly those who had young children and that they might be knocked off their career trajectories for -- if not forever, but for a long time. scarring effects. in fact, the opposite has happened. working women have come back with a fierce almost like revengeful level of success that they are contributing financially to their households, they are somehow managing to make work and family commitments work out and i don't know if i would go so far as to say women are finally having it all, but they are really punching above their weight. if we manage to avoid a recession next year, as many had feared not too long ago, it will be because of america's working women, again, powering this economy. >> you know, rahel, to that point, can this be maintained? i know taylor swift and beyonce are touring forever and i have no idea how they're doing that. they're absolute machines. but their success, the success

katheryn was just talking about, can this hold over a longer period of time? >> it's an interesting point. for the time being, you think about beyonce having the documentary and movies which is boosting sort of movie ticket sales. i think certainly as long as they are offering a product. beyonce is also now selling perfume in addition to her production company, in addition to her ivy park line. there's always a way to cash in on being a beyonce fan and taylor swift. >> how have i made it through this year going to neither of those. >> especially when you know i've been to the beyonce concert. >> multiple times. >> you still have times. >> best husband. >> she's on tour. reminder, phil surprised his wife in paris with beyonce. >> in paris. >> my husband, isn't that amazing? >> yeah. >> it's amazing. >> we've got to go. >> thank you very much. rahel solomon. >> the 9-year-old who could not use her vocal cords for her

entire life. her inspiring story is ahead.

there have been no shortage of extreme weather events according to noaa. there have been a record-breaking 25 separate weather and climate disasters

through early november each with losses exceeding $1 billion. from the deadly wildfires in hawaii to hurricane idalia to months of flooding in california. the now power of mother nature been on full display. >> the past decade was the warmest decade on record. for much more perspective on what is happening and what is ahead, let's turn to bill weir. it's good to see you. it is the end of the year. almost the beginning of a new one. but, how is the climate faring? >> reporter: not good, poppy. this is a red letter year. shattering previous temperature records. we're off the charts headed in the wrong direction. compared to decades past, compared to anomalies going back to the 1850s. this year really set it. the natural el nino warming cycle is just kicking in. the more grim news is this is one of the coolest years

unfortunately for the rest of our lives. what did that look like on an over heated planet. you mentioned the maui wildfires which was a combination of drought and hurricane winds out in the pacific there as well. in phoenix, 30 days out of 31, over 110 degrees. the overnight temperatures will take a toll. record number of deaths there evidenced but there was flooding in libya. weather whiplash, droughts around the world. here it is. this is what climate change looks like, guys. >> bill, not to minimize the neg negative, of which there is a lot, but we have spoken about the positive element. that's what's been done to invest in a greener future. what accelerates that in 2024? >> well, the amount of private investment money that is pouring into, you know, green technology, alternative fuels, power storage is off the charts. we are in the middle of another industrial revolution that a lot

of people aren't paying attention to right now thanks in large part to the inflation reduction act. joe manchin, the coal state senator changing his mind. since that has been passed, over half a trillion dollars in investment has gone in. ev sales continue be to ramp up. congress says we've passed a tipping point of market saturation there as more and more states make it mandatory. there's still some supply chain issues and glut of cars and that's changing. this was the first year that more electricity was produced with renewable energy. texas is the greenest energy state. they produce more wind and solar power these days despite fierce ideological resistance. >> you do see people adjusting to the new normal. i wonder what sticks with you as people brace for a more uncertain world. >> well, poppy, i just left. i've spent yesterday filming in paradise, california, which of course was almost completely

burned to the ground by the camp fire five years ago. about 1/3 of the town stayed and rebuilt. the people who really want to be there. i met a woman named heidi lang and her emotion, just minutes after meeting her, as i asked her about the decision to stay in a place like paradise or go somewhere else. listen. couldn't get you out of here even with the biggest fire? >> no. i considered it when i was deciding whether i was going to rebuild. i had to look at my options, but i kind of took an inventory of, you know, everything that was still here and my community and my -- my neighbors and my friends and my church and my job was all still here so my little village, my little village is here in paradise and i'm happy to be here. >> reporter: there are a lot of young people moving to paradise

there. a lot of kids are filling the schools there. there's a lot of life and hope in that town that was nearly burned to destruction. so the take away, phil and poppy, here at the holidays, community is everything. the strength of neighbors who are prepared for the worst, they're to take care of each other if the worst happens is everything in this new, warmer world. >> i think that is something we can all agree on. bill weir, as always, thank you. heartwarming holiday story after being born with an often fatal congenital condition. 9-year-old eliza diaz has spent most of her life not able to speak but now a new surgery is helping her continue to defy all of the odds. our meg terrell is here to tell us how she's finding her voice. >> good morning. eliza is an amazing little girl. she was born with her airway almost completely blocked. they were able to perform surgeries in the first days of her life that allowed her to

breathe. she could never speak. now she has major reconstructive surgery and shea's learning to speak using her vocal cords and her voice for the first time in her life. >> you want one scoops or two scoops? >> one scoop. >> reporter: she's practicing how to use her new vocal cords. derek lamb, her doctor at oregon health and science university showed us with this model. >> this whole area from here to here, including just below the vocal cords, was not formed normally. the vocal cords were present but there was just no opening between them. >> she learned to communicate using her tung and cheeks to make sounds and form words called bucchal speech. >> she was thriving like any other little girl except, of course, that she had no voice through any of that time. >> but last year she and her

family decided to go ahead with a complex and rare reconstructive surgery to open her vocal cords. her mom woessner vows. >> i thought she wasn't ready yet but she was. >> the surgery took eight hours. >> the bottom part of the voice box and the top of the windpipe, had to cut that part out and then drill out the opening between the vocal cords here and then add more cartilage in borrowed from her ribs to make this part wider and then connect up the bottom part of her windpipe to the reconstructed voice box. >> she wasn't able to speak with her vocal cords right away, but after months of therapy her new voice emerged. >> fantastic. that's the first time i've heard you say a sentence with your normal voice. >> she is working hard to improve her voice. >> can you say e.

>> e. >> o. >> o. >> something that for the rest of us is unconscious, for hershey's had to learn to use her vocal cords. >> reporter: she so often uses what she and her mom call her squeaky voice, because it's easier. though she's been through a lot, deliza has a message for other kids who may be facing challenges. >> she said don't be scared. she's going to be okay. >> reporter: after years without working vocal cords, she can now use hers to say some of the most important things. >> i love you. >> i love you, too. >> guys, her dot tore, dr. lam, told us her positive spirit is a big reason why she's been successful through all of this. as you saw, she is still working on learning how to use her voice. he said the fact this surgery could be done shows that it's

possible even with somebody born with so many complications and challenges. >> such a great story and great news about so many others. meg terrell, thank you. >> gift for the holidays. still ahead, the number of anti-semetic acts rising around the world and the fbi director warning the number has increased to historic levels. new england patriots owner robert kraft spearheading an effort to counter hate. our interview with him next.

welcome back. there's been a very disturbing rise in anti-semetic attacks and threats across the world.

earlier this month christopher race said the bureau is working, quote, around the clock to disrupt potential threats here in the united states. many people have jumped into action to help, including new england patriots owner robert kraft. recently i spoke with kraft who was spearheading an effort to counter hate. this year he launched a $25 million campaign, stand up to jewish hate. here's our conversation. >> it's really disheartening to see what's going on in this country. you know, when i started this foundation four years ago i saw signs in this country what was going on in germany in the 30s and that's why we started the foundation to try to educate and help all people understand that we have to stand up to jewish hate, but all hate. and we've tried to do that through a sense of commercials.

and if we don't do a good job controlling it, i think hate leads to violence. and what we're seeing going on in this country now is really scary to me and it's something we want to work very hard to try to prevent. >> one of the approaches you take that i think is interesting and different is you try to reach non-jewish audiences, but you say some of the approaches are too academic or too adversarial. your team is trying to use empathy. how do you teach people how not to in a moment like this? ? >> well, i don't know if you've seen any of our ads. we had a group of ads that went out over nine weeks. and we reached two-thirds of the american public seven to ten times. and this is the greatest country in the world. i know myself, i went to school on a scholar ship.

i was able to live my dream. i want to keep it that way. and i see things that are going on internally that are change it. and that's why we started this foundation, to try to educate people, good people in america, most people are good. but when you start seeing hate and it starts with jewish hate, there'll be hate against all minorities. you're next. and i just think of, you know, what's going on with hamas and what -- that's a terrorist organization that in their charter calls for the eradication of israel and all jewish people, wherever they are in the world. and then also, all infidels. and to see the kind of support they're getting, it's really disheartening to me. and i think a lot of that is what's going on on social media. you know, 25% of social media are bots.

and there's a lot of misinformation that young people are taking in and believing. and we have to push against that. >> you know, in fact, in this new ad that we've been playing for folks, it says, hate moves faster. and i believe you guys are talking about that. can you address specifically what you're seeing happen on tiktok and how worried you are about that, for hate and spreading it? >> well, yeah, we've seen statistics that show us that 25% of all of the data that's coming out through there are bots and then it is being reposted by another 25%, so that you get 50% of what's being spread is lies and not accurate. and young people, unfortunately, are believing, and they're very sophisticated.

they've done a good job, but these are bad people. these are terrorists. these are people who cut off babies' heads in front of mothers and do things, just think about, if mexico came here and went to one of our music festivals and killed people and raped women and paraded them on the street, beheaded the little babies, how would we accept that? and these people -- people are out on the streets marching in support of that. it's just a lack of education. and we have to do a better job educating. >> and we should note the difference between supporting the palestinian people, right, and supporting hamas. robert, you're wearing the blue square. and that is a boll of fighting all hate. you're a powerful voice in this conversation and i wonder if you could share with people your own experience. i know it was when you were young with anti-semitism.

what you went through. >> yeah, well, i had people who didn't want to do business with me. they thought i had horns in my head, they never met someone from my background, and you know, it just allows you to work harder. i mean, think of people with different skin color or people of different regiligions, they have all experienced it. and when hate goes in one direction, it doesn't stop. i mean, you're next. and any minority should feel that and understand it. and we have to keep the fabric of this country the way it's been for all of us that have lived our dreams. and what's going on now is very, very concerning. and that's why this symbol of the blue square, which is a symbol of unity and solidarity and having all people understand

how our neighbors really think and walk arm in arm, pushing back against hate. and we're going to continue fighting it. you know, i'll just tell you, i had the privilege of being in gaza about 30 years ago and met with gazan fishermen and israeli fishermen. these are great people. i feel bad for them. and i think if you took a vote, 90-odd percent wouldn't want these terrorists running their property. >> yeah, the majority of the polling does show that the majority of palestinians do not support hamas. but before you go, if you could speak to -- i know you've put a lot of your personal wealth to this cause, a lot of big donors, corporate and individual, but i'm struck by the amount of people that have been giving very small donations, robert, like $11 to you guys, since october 7th, right? >> yeah. you know -- well, thank you, poppy, for -- one of the things

that's been amazing, when you start something like this, we have a website. in the last five months, we have had all over 11,000 people coming in with gifts of $10, $50, $100. just small people, that we don't solicit. and most of them are not jewish. we can tell by the names. and it really made me feel good and just motivates us more, because it shows, americans just instinctively want to do the right thing. and we have to continue to support them. we are going to continue our education campaign, and i think -- i don't think most people in this country understand the way this hate has grown. and we will continue to educate and try to get people to build bridges. >> as a foundation -- >> and that's what the blue

square symbolizes. >> and as the foundation says, when one hate rises, they all do. robert kraft, thank you for the work that you and your team continue to do. >> thank you. and can i just say, if we don't control it, i think we see violence erupt. and that's what we all want to protect our people against. >> robert -- >> thank you, poppy. >> such important work that he is doing and continues to do. i'm grateful for his time. >> absolutely. well, union workers from hollywood all the way to michigan rising up to fight for their rights. our 2023 reshape the labor movement, that's ahead. and from kevin mccarthy losing his speakership to george santos getting expelled from congress. it was a chaotic year on capitol hill. we'll break down some of the most important political movements and what's ahead in 2024.

the power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. and that's a good thing? great in my book! who are you? no power? no problem. introducing storm-ready wifi. now you can stay reliably connected through power outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery back-up to keep you online. only from xfinity. home of the xfinity 10g network.