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merry christmas to you. it is a new, leak prison for alexei navalny. he has been found, but his new home maybe the worst yet. it is a penal colony. no public celebration in bethlehem as the death toll mounts with 250 killed in the last 24 hours alone. the israeli prime minister vowing to intensify the war. and the former president urging an appeals court for out a case against him. will accept his argument? following the stories and many more coming in right here to cnn news central.

vladimir putin's most famous critic has been found in one of the most remote prisons. alexei navalny is doing well despite being at a penal colony in siberia known as polar wolf. that is according to his legal team spokesman. it is nearly 2000 miles from where he was held before. the 47-year-old opposition leader has been missing since december 11th and his team said he was never hidden for so long. he missed two scheduled court appearances last week. his protest of vladimir putin was the subject of a cnn film that won an oscar this year. nada bashir is covering this. do we know why he was moved? >> reporter: there is no clarity on why he was moved and we are getting more details as to the conditions he's facing and how he was moved from a penal colony some 150 miles east of moscow to a location in

the northwestern siberian region in a colony known as polar wolf penal colony. it has been widespread concern over his safety and security over the last two weeks since his legal team lost contact entirely with him. we have now had confirmation from his spokesperson that his lawyer was able to meet with him today to confirm his location at this penal colony. we've seen a statement from the director of his anticorruption foundation giving details around the penal colony he's held in. saying he's is in polar wolf, one of the most remote colonies. the conditions there are harsh with a special regime in the permafrost zone. it is difficult to get there.

while it is a relief to know his location after two weeks of his whereabouts being unknown, there's deep-seated concern over the conditions he may face at this penal colony. he was sentenced in august of last year for 19 years in prison. the charges he has repeatedly denied. he's been serving 11 and half years for other charges he was accused of. these are charges and allegations that his legal team say have been put against him with political motivation. an attempt to stifle his criticism of vladimir putin. navalny is a prominent figure and has organized antigovernment demonstrations in the streets of moscow and been vocal in his blog and social media in outlining alleged corruption within the kremlin. he has been the most prominent

threat to vladimir putin's legitimacy as the leader of russia. this is been a huge focus for his team as to his whereabouts. they will ensure that he is safe but they continue to demand he's released.>> thank you so much for that reporting. a warning for you now. disturbing video we will show you in the latest update of the israel-hamas war. these are some of the victims after a deadly 24 hours in central gaza. the health ministry said at least 250 people were killed in israeli strikes. 70 victims were at a refugee camp on sunday. israel defense forces said in response to the barbaric attacks, the idf is dismantling their capabilities. benjamin netanyahu was in gaza, his second trip to the battlefield, vowing to continue the long fight a day after

promising to intensify the campaign against hamas. the idf said since friday at least 15 soldiers have been killed. will ripley is in tel aviv. tell us about what the prime minister said to troops today during that visit to gaza. >> reporter: he is certainly there to send them encouragement and say that this was one of the deadliest weekends in the 80 day work for the israeli military, just like it was one of the deadliest 24- hour period in gaza since this war began on leftover seven. you have more than 20,000 people who have been killed on the palestinian side with more than 53,000 injuries. even though israel's death toll is lower, they do say they are adhering to international law

that they are not indiscriminately targeting civilians, but they are going after specific military targets based on intelligence. they say they are targeting changes as different intelligence comes in. the fact that hamas is choosing to position itself in areas densely packed with civilians who are sheltering, that it makes hamas just as culpable for the skyrocketing death toll. this is the israeli argument. despite we had this un resolution last week that was quite watered-down from the original draft that the u.s. be towed and there were delays as they were rewriting it, israel said they will not stop until they obtain the objective, which is to illuminate the leadership of hamas and they have not been able to do that yet. in northern gaza they have maintained control and they said this will continue. president biden in a phone call with the prime minister of israel encouraging a slower more focused, streamlined technique and not such a large-

scale casualty type of situation. president biden speaking with democratic donors used the word discriminate bombing, which would be a violation of international law. but the israeli said that one reference from the u.s. president is not reflective of the reality on the ground. so the fighting continues, and you have a christmas day where we've had some of the deadliest incidents since this war began 80 days ago. >> before we let you go, the idf has revealed new details about the hamas tamil network that they have been trying to destroy and penetrate. what can you tell us about that. >> reporter: this is a network of tunnels and they said they felt hundreds of miles of tunnels although the exact number is unknown and impossible to independently verify. but what israel said they discovered was a very elaborate

tunnel system with the capability to house weapons facilities, bunkers, command headquarters. and even living quarters for the hamas senior leadership in the recovered bodies of five israeli hostages. two were civilians and once those bodies were recovered and sent back to israel, the underground tunnel complex that was housing leadership operations was destroyed. it has since moved on to another location. israel trying to track them down but this is a fight that is likely to continue for many months to come because hamas is getting more resources funneled in from their supporters, amongst whom they have gained credibility for keeping this fight going. they will get more money and weapons in israel said they will have to keep fighting.>> thank you so much for that reporting. joining us now to talk more about this is market kamut.

i want to start with some of this reporting. we know that benjamin netanyahu has said that forces are intensifying. what do you think an intensification looks like at this point? >> i think it means putting more ground troops in to finish the fight inside gaza and more troops to finish the fight. it means that they may step up the attacks going into both of those cities. i think they recognize that international criticism cannot continue at this level, so the sooner they clean this up better. and candidly it saves lives by speeding up because you will not be finding as many days we

have casualties of over 250.>> the statement from benjamin netanyahu is coming after antony blinken said that this conflict needs to move to a lower intensity phase. you mentioned international support. what do you anticipate the u.s. support will look like as we continue to move forward? >> these types of operations consume a significant amount of ammunition and a significant amount of bombs and artillery. i think we will continue to provide those assets, which, by the way, we need to continue to provide to ukraine. i hope that part of those packages include precision guided weapons so that they can be more precise in their attacks. >> let's talk more about the tunnels that will talked about.

the idf has a new disclosure about what the tunnel network looked like in gaza, kind of where they have been able to go and reported the bodies they found of the five israeli hostages that were recovered. what are you taking away from this information about these tunnels and what the idf is finding? >> well, what it indicates to me is for many, many years, what has been provided by the united nations has been siphoned off to purchase the materials necessary to build these 300 miles of tunnels that had no other purpose than to fight wars. not only is it a criticism of the barbarity of hamas, but an implicit criticism of the un providing money. >> you're saying that that is where some of it has gone. >> i don't know how else these tunnels could have appeared without the funding necessary,

and there is no other source of funding inside of gaza, except the money provided by the un. >> before i let you go, they talked about the five bodies of hostages that were found there. we are now closing in on three months in this conflict. there are still dozens -- over 100 hostages that remain in gaza. does the rest rely on a diplomatic solution, or is there military intervention that you see coming down the road at all?>> i would be very surprised if at the highest and military soldiers inside the special operations community of israel would be capable of bringing back even a percentage of the hostages. it will depend on diplomacy. nonetheless, one of the messages that netanyahu gave is

to keep fighting. they need to focus on fighting because they cannot depend on diplomacy to fix this. they will keep fighting until this war is over.>> thank you so much, again. merry christmas to you. >> and to you as well. still ahead, former president donald trump asking an appeals court to throughout the election interference case against him, claiming his actions were part of his presidential duties. but will the immunity claim were? and a manhunt is underway after a man killed and a woman would it at a shooting at a mall in central florida. we will have more on that on cnn central.

former president donald trump is asking a federal appeals court to grant him immunity are being prosecuted for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. over the weekend his lawyers filed a motion asking them to toss the election interference case arguing he cannot be held accountable for things he did while in office. katelyn polantz is joining us. what can you tell us about be filing and where things stand right now? >> donald trump lost this attempt he made to toss the charges against him in federal court related to the 2020 election whenever the question was before the trial judge. now everyone is getting your legal arguments on paper for an appeals court that will consider whether there is immunity around the presidency. whether he can be tried for his alleged crimes after the 2020 election.

what his lawyers argued in the filing is that trump should not be prosecuted for things he was doing while he was president and what he says is what was happening after the election as he was spreading disinformation and wanting to block the transfer of power, that was all part of his official duties as president. the special counsel's office has pushed back very strongly and courts have found that what was happening after the 2020 election was campaigning and not something part of the presidency. but this question has to be answered by the appeals court. and trump's team have been putting in their typical language that speaks to the politics of the moment as well. they say it is a plague on the nation to have a former president being accused of crimes like this and it is dangerous for the country for donald trump to go to trial. the trial is set for the

beginning of march, but it depends on how fast the appeals court works and the the supreme court gets involved later down the line.>> those are the things to watch. thank you so much. joining us now to talk about this is norm eisen. he served as house judiciary special counsel in the first impeachment trial. thank you for being with us. let's talk about what you make about this attorneys arguing that he has absolute immunity. that has been something across all his legal problems that he continues to try to make that case. >> it is a very tough argument in american law to say that a president is absolutely immune. there is no legal authority for this. and the trial court judge threw it out. looking at the prior history of the panel of the court of appeals, the d.c. circuit that is about to hear this on an extraordinarily fast

time line. it will be fully briefed and there will be argument on january 9th. that court is likely to throw this out as well. i think the supreme court will look at the argument that there is absolute immunity. but trump's focus is not just on succeeding, it's to burn as much time on the calendar as possible. >> let's remind everyone that all of these cases, this in particular, was scheduled to come up first where he is running for president. it is this unprecedented kind of situation. and we have seen him time and time again to try to delay. do you think he will be successful in doing that as you follow the parallel track with the primary calendar that will kickoff on january 15th in iowa?>> well, the odds are --

the likelihood is that donald trump will not be successful, although, we will not know for sure until the court of appeals decides, and then it goes to the supreme court. probably this march 4th trial date for the federal election overturn case brought by jack smith is going to slip. if you had to guess you would say 60 to 90 days. nobody knows for sure. but that case most likely will go to trial in 2024. the effect of that case slipping means there are other cases that michael first, and that starts with alvin bragg's 2016 election interference case, which is currently set for trial on march 25th, and if the federal case slips for 2020 election interference, the state case will move in new york

for 2016 election interference and their two more beyond that. i don't think donald trump is avoiding criminal juries in 2024. >> it's just a question of when. back to this particular case. trump lawyers have been claiming he cannot be prosecuted for election interference because he was never convicted by the u.s. senate, which did not impeach him in that impeachment trial. what to make of that argument? >> that is a silly argument. donald trump has two arguments. one is that a president is absolutely immune for official acts. that is wrong, but there is an argument to be had. the claim that the constitution , when it says that you can be prosecuted if you are a president after an impeachment means that you have to be convicted in the impeachment

trial before you can be prosecuted? that is turning the language of the constitution upside down. i handled the first impeachment and that is not what it said. the impeachment first argument is silly and frivolous and wrong , and that will not slow anybody down. >> more to come in 2024. i think you will be busy. thank you so much for being with us. i like your decor in the background. it is good to see you. >> special for today. when we come back, thousands of migrants are making away from southern mexico to the u.s. border in the largest caravan we've seen in over a year. america's top diplomat will be in mexico to address this. we will have a live report from the border coming up next. and a heartwarming story about a stray dog that survived in the wild after being missing

for 7 years was rescued. we will have that when we come back.

happening right now, thousands of migrants in mexico are marching toward the u.s. southern border. it is the largest caravan the u.s. is seen in over here and he could add to the crisis facing border officials. organizers are calling the exodus of poverty. rafael romo is watching what is unfolding in eagle pass. what you know about this caravan, and how our officials preparing for this? >> reporter: this is a caravan

that departed at the border of guatemala and mexico and it is thousands of migrants coming this way. like you said, these are numbers that we are already seeing in this part of south texas. you can see behind me how thousands of migrants have spent their christmas day so far. this is a holding area. once they cross the rio grande behind us and surrender to authorities, they are sent to this area. it was warm during the weekend, but it is cold and windy today and border control agents have given them blankets. you have border patrol in customs and border protection agents and local law enforcement who are overwhelmed and under a lot of pressure, and spending christmas away from family and loved ones because they are needed here.

federal authorities reported a seven day average of more than 9600 apprehensions along the u.s. southern border in december according to an official, as we have previously reported, that is among the highest amount ever recorded. officials say that during the month of november nearly a quarter of a people were encountered by border patrol on the southwest border. i spoke with a woman from cuba, who said she was robbed and kidnapped in mexico before getting to the border. in spite of that, she said she feels blessed this christmas. >> that i'm going to spend it with my family and i will live in a free country that i will at least be happy because i live in a free country where the rights of citizens are respected. it was not the case where i lived. >> reporter: she was already

reunited with family and is in houston. he ran into another woman who was reunited with her husband for the first time in five years. they have a daughter who came along and hugged her father for the first time in five years. a very merry christmas for that family.>> you mentioned the federal agents that are there. what kind of an impact is it having a local law enforcement? >> reporter: it is tremendous. i was talking to a sheriff here from maverick county, which encompasses the area where we are. and he was saying he has 30 deputies for a very large area. he said that they have enough local problems to deal with when it comes to crime, when it comes to protecting the community. if you add the thousands of migrants that have come here and

-- is not enough. he was saying they are not getting enough help -- the help that they need from the federal government. and last week they had to escort a couple of buses -- cpb was transporting migrants and it was very difficult for them. >> the president has spoken with the mexican president about doing something about this, and they have agreed that more enforcement is needed. and the secretary of state is heading to mexico soon to talk more about this. thank you so much for that update. let's go to some of the other headlines we are watching. police in florida have issued an arrest warrant for a suspect in the weekend shooting at a mall in ocala, florida. he will be charged with premeditated first-degree murder and attempted premeditated first-degree murder for killing a man and injuring a woman. it will be

a merry christmas if somebody wins the powerball drawing. the jackpot is $638 million. three jackpots were won on christmas day. the last time was 10 years ago. so maybe someone will win pack and a stray dog was found roaming in an english village and was missing for 7 years. her owner said she went missing 10 days after they adopted her. they said they are happy and they hope she finds a good home. and they are receiving inquiries for those that want to make her part of their family. 2023 was the year that people realize that the climate crisis was real. but it was not the year that the world faced the reality of what it will take to solve the problem. could 2024 be the year we find real solutions? more on that coming up next.

from record-breaking temperatures to devastating wildfires and extreme storms,

2023 was an impactful year for the client. what some experts are describing as climate collapse, and what is being done to turn things around in the future. >> reporter: record-breaking wildfires in canada, deadly floods in parts of africa, and polar ice caps in decline. >> we are seeing climate collapse in real-time and the effect is devastating. >> reporter: even before the year was out, scientist declared with certainty that 2023 would be the hottest recorded year in human history. >> this year has been extraordinary, and myself and many climate scientists have another adjectives to describe the volume of records broken. >> reporter: in november the earth average temperature rose more than 2 degrees celsius over preindustrial levels.

a threshold that scientists say could have irreversible consequences. >> the evidence is clear. the more likely we are to have extreme events and those extreme events will be more intense and more frequent. >> reporter: with el nino warming temperatures in the pacific ocean, 2024 could be even hotter. given the scale of this challenge, many countries were hoping that global climate talks would deliver the action needed. in the end, it put a focus on the future of fossil fuels. for the first time in the history of climate talks, the word fossil fuels appeared in the final text of an agreement. but only referred to transitioning away and not phasing them out. >> the tricky thing is it's an agreement between countries by consensus. i think it is a significant

agreement. >> reporter: some countries who claim to take it seriously are looking to prove new fossil fuel projects. >> there is a lot of hypocrisy. the uk has backtracked on its policies. australia has moved forward to reduce emissions and not succeeding yet. it is a concern but it is proposing and supported large expansion to gas export projects. >> reporter: however, there are glimmers of hope. while china's coal infrastructure has grown, they have invested so much in renewable energy over recent years, that emissions could fall in the year ahead. marking the dramatic turnaround for the world's biggest polluter. >> there have been moments in the past where emissions are coming to a peak, and i think there is more confidence this time around that we are seeing

a shift in the economy. >> reporter: analyst say it could be game-changer not just for their domestic emissions, it could give the chinese leadership extra incentive to push for stronger global action. a former nba star's wife is taking on the mission of a lifetime to help inmates in one of the most nonotorious jajails we wilill have that story next cncnn newsws central.

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pachula city in gout guatemala and mexico. and like you said, eagle pass. we have numbers that we're seeing here in this part of south texas you could probably see behind me how thousands of migrants spent their christmas day so far. once the migrants cross the rio grand behind us, and they're sent to this area. it was worm during the weekend but it's cold and windy today and that's why border patrol agents provided them with my lard blankets. a mylar blanket. in spite of all that, she told us she feels blessed this christmas. >> i'm going to spend it with my family. that 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 degree robbery. lewis says the program has helped the way he sees himself and his future. >> test not just because i was in jail, even when i got here, i was ready to just lash out and act like another inmate. but, it was a promise that showed me, that i don't have to be

expected. everyone's expecting me to be bad and ruthless, but, i don't have to be like that. >> raise your hand when you felt like at some point you were in jail. i tell them this is a part of your life, this is just a chapter in your life and what you do with this chapter will determine your life. i never make excuses for them. they have to have accountability and own up to whatever it is that they did. and they have to pay whatever price it is for what they did. but, during that, understanding having compassion for others. >> and we're honored to have you with us today. >> on this day, lala led a it discussion group where participants expressed what lead them to riker's. >> were you surprised that there was the buy in from riker's to do a program like this? >> prior to this, you only hear the negative. and it took

me really being here to see so many people that care so much about the population here and cares so much about wanting these young men to change and do better with their lives. >> for a lot of people, they know riker's for notorious reasons. it is difficult. i know what i'm capable of doing. i'm glad that the kids in my program have me as a resource to talk to when dealing with mental health or struggles. listen, this is jail. this is jail. there's nothing great about being in jail. and they need outlets to express their frustrations and emotions. i can't change the world or every single person. i can't change every bad thing that's ever happened, i can only do my part. looking bring solution to a place better known for their problem. writing in a report that quote high levels of lens and fear among people in custody

and staff remain a fact of daily living. and just last week, the department of correction was held in civil contempt for failing to tell the monitor about the opening of a restricted housing unit for inmates accused of setting fires. in response, the department's new commissioner said while the court found us in contempt, there's an opportunity to purge and we remain committed to ensuring people are safe and secure in our facilities. i spoke to the commissioner, during my visit to riker's. >> how are you trying to guard against or to inform the public? when there are moments when the department does not live up to what you want it to live up to? >> you know, a recently named commissioner herend a one of the things that i pride myself on is transparency. and i think that if there's something that, you know, doesn't fall in line with what we should be doing, we're

going to be very transparent about that. >> it's not just about putting in the work but celebrating the progress they've made so far. >> slowly opening up, that's taking awhile but slowly starting to trust me. >> gathering for a special holiday meal brought in from the outside. >> thank you for blessing us with this meal and thank you for blessing us with lala and everyone that came through and come he together add a family and showing us that family is here. >> i think a lot of times people don't realize all the good work that's being done here, from this program, we've seen a lot of people transform. they're excited about the future, they're eager to go to school and get a job and do better. and i want them to be in a mindset to understand there is a future, and so, you have to plan for that. >> lewis is already looking towards that future. >> before this program, i don't know what was in store for me in

life, like, i never could see ply self doing anything. >> i don't see myself doing nothing at all. >> do you feel like the community that you left and the family that is waiting for you can relate to you as you are now? >> they they're going to be surprised. >> really? >> yeah. they're definitely going to be surprised. because, i'm definitely not leaving the same way i came. definitely not at all. >> and that was cnn's laura coats at riker's. >> a prayer that god will give them a miracle of crossing. thousands like her leave be southern mexico for the u.s. border. the latest on their journey and the crisis at the border after a quick break.

thousands of migrants are walking hundreds of miles toward the u.s. right now. this new caravan comes as a record surge of new arrivals is pushing federal and local resources to the limit. we're live at the u.s./mexico border. plus, the where abouts of russian opposition leader, alexey navalny has been found but in place that's only adding to the fears for his