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 safety.

plus, the remarkable story of this 9-year-old and how she's using her own voice for the first time all thanks to a rare and complex surgery. we're following these stories and more all coming right here to cnn central. we begin on the southern/u.s. border where thousands of migrants right now are making a very long trek by foot to the u.s. the caravan is called quote, the exodus of poverty. homeland security. p encounters with migrants at the border is averaging 10,000 nor the month of december alean. and border patrol agents say they've been 380,000. what's

unfolding from eagle pass, texas. what do you know about this caravan and how are officials preparing? >> jessica, they departed on christmas eve and they have spent their christmas day walking towards the united states. make no mistake about it, it's going to create an even more complicated situation. what we see and hear at the border, and, behind me it's a holding area that was empty when we arrived here this morning and now there are hundreds of migrants waiting to be processed after surrendering to immigration authorities once they crossed the rio grand. and all of those shiny spots that you see behind me are mylar blankets that border patrol agents provided them. it appears this search will be going on for awhile because of the new caravan that departed yesterday at the border of the mexican border with guatemala.

we're talking about thousands of migrants who'll be here at the u.s. boarder in the next few weeks in addition to the ones that have already arrived. we're in eagle pass, texas at the border with mexico, this is a community of less than 30,000 people that has to deal with thousands of immigrants arriving every week. the federal officials say the influx of migrants they're currently seeing across the southwest border is presenting a challenge to personnel. the migrant surge is also bringing pressure on local law enforcement. this is what maverick county sheriff had to say about this great challenge. last week, the border patrol called us to see if he could escort the buses. the immigrants who are apprehended and processing to bus them to larado, texas. so, i have two

vehicles escorting those buses to larado. >> in other words they have to reassign personnel to help with the surge. according to the latest figures released by customs and boarder protection, northeasterly a quarter of a million people came into the u.s. via mexico in the last month. >> thank you, so much. and that immigration crisis has already been a major issue in the gop primary race. we're now three weeks away from the first votes cast in the 2024 gop presidential nomination. the iowa caucuses take place january 15th, with new hampshire and south carolina primaries following right after that. donald trump remains the clear front-runners despite his legal troubles and all the other presidential hopefuls are racing to clear that gap. the state of the race as we enter the

holidays. well, jessica, the candidates for president are celebrating christmas, but, it's hard to imagine that christmas is the only thing on their minds with three weeks to go to the iowa caucuses. the "new york times" are reporting that one of ron desantis' closest advisors told his people that at this point in the campaign is about making the patient comfortable in reference to hospice care. and the times reported that the campaign about that statement was denying those remarks. but, the desantis campaign is one that has slid from initial expectations over the past few months or so. and we're now learning that the leading super pac supports the desantis campaign is cancelling t.v. ads in with iowa new hampshire, to instead focus on the ground game. so, there's a separate, outside group that is focussing

it's attention on tv ads. meanwhile, one of the candidates surging is nikki haley and is hoping to keep that momentum going after the holidays. that said, poll wise, she still trails former president trump who spent christmas eve raging against the legal cases about him. writing specifically on social media, that joe biden's thugs are coming after me in levels of persecution never seen before in this country, it's called election interference, merry christmas. he's, of course, facing multiple criminal charges and charges at the state and federal level for a variety of allegations, but, specifically in the election subversion or the undermining case ought of d.c. can trump's lawyers urged a federal appeals

court to throw out the case because he claims to be protected by presidential immunity. the next hearing on that case is january 9th, a week before the iowa caucuses. and that's separate, even, from the trump team waiting to hear over whether the u.s. supreme court takes up their case in colorado where the colorado state supreme court ruled he was ineligible on the ballot. because of what happened there, candidates have reacted and said they don't want to beat trump in the justice system. they want to beat trump at the ballot box. and now, when we get passed the holiday here, there's no events for any of the candidates scheduled today or tomorrow, really, wednesday is when things are going to get back going on the campaign trail. and candidates will be trying to make ground in

the final sprint to iowa. >> thank you, so much, and joining us to talk more about the state of the gop race as we head into the holidays, a cnn presidential historian. and, we've lost him. unfortunately. but, we're going to take a quick break. still to come, one of vladimir putin's staunchest critics found after weeks. we have details of where alexey navalny is now when we come back.

and we have a bit of a technical glitch before the break. but we're back to talk

about the state of the gop race in the iowa caucuses. we're discussing with a cnn presidential historian. tim, it's always great to see you, but, especially great now that we have you and lost you and have you again. nice to see you on this christmas. look, if you look at the overview of this gop race. trump remains out in front in the national and the state polls despite all the legal troubles that we've covered on this program even just today. do you think that any of this has the potential to change as we move through the primary season and he's potentially convicted or even goes to trial in any of these cases? >> i think a lot of it will have to do with turnout. it's clear that former president trump has a hardcore group of supporters, if they haven't changed their minds now, they

are not. most of them are indeed all of them are convinced that these trials are some sort of political interference. the goals for nikki haley and ron desantis is to get other republicans out. who have been sitting on their hands, who might vote for the general election but not in the primaries, for them to get out and express what they think about a potential felon running the republican party. that's the key for president trump's adversariries. >> and as a presidential historian, i'm curious your thoughts on just the state all of this? the fact that we have a former president facing federal and local charges for threaten allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election. a whole litany of things that he's being prosecuted for, and yet, he is still, so far, again, just in polling, but, but, very far

ahead of any of his competitors. is this about the erosion of people's trust in institutions? what's driving this? because, it would seem, 20 years ago if you explained this to people, they would be like, wait, what's happening? what's going on? >> historically, i believe it's always been healthy for us to have a strong debate between liberals and conservatives. and, one of the things that both liberals and conservatives agreed on, was that they didn't want any part of our government to be too strong. what seems to have happened, is that due to the mistrust of washington, that so many on the right have these days. the right seems, not all of the right, but, a lot of it, seems comfortable with the idea of absolute power. the very fact that donald trump could be running for president and believe that making an argument for absolute immunity would help

him with conservatives is a sign of how the conservatives changed in this country and how we no longer have a healthy debate about the power of the federal government. historically, americans have been uncomfortable with absolute power. after all, that was at the heart of why we overview georgia third. so, historically speaking, we're not in a good place in terms of how the americans debate political choices at the moment. >> and do you know, how much of that is social media? is the internet, is people being able to kind of, like, all of this kind of it's all fractioned out. all of the information comes from different places and there's not one trusted place that people go to or agree on one specific set of facts. >> i think there are three challenges, remember, i'm a teacher by training and by spirit. i believe that each individual has the capacity to learn, all the time. so, there

are three parts, partly, yes, it's social media, but, number two, it's the fact that people don't trust experts the way they once did. and number three, it's a matter of education. a lot of us, lot of younger people don't learn political history in high school, and even in college, so, they don't have the organizing principles, the sort of, the framework to make sense of all the information that they're being pounded with everyday. they can't sort through it. it's not a matter of intelligencie, it's a matter of having a sense of political logic. there are things that people are being made to believe today that do not make logical sense. and unfortunately, folks don't always have the tools to be their own curators of information. there's challenges about they can be met, i'm an optimist still. >> as we look to the iowa caucuses, what are you watching

for are as we see the voting getting underway. we know that ron desantis is trying to pitch himself as president trump but without the baggage and we see nikki haley seeing a surge in iowa. what are are you looking for in a few weeks when iowians start to vote? >> margin. margin. margin. by how much president trump win, if it's a blowout, he makes this argument of this much easier. if it's closer than assumed. if president trump doesn't meet the expectations that the american people have, he begins to look weaker, even if he wins. that's what ron desantis and nikki haley are hoping the margin of victory is not as great in iowa. that's what we're going to be talking about caucus night.

>> well it's not far away now. tim, thank you so much. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. merry christmas. >> mer. vladimir putin's most outspoken critic is in a siberian prison in a penal collie known as the polar wolfe. the 47-year-old opposition leader is known world wide for his protests of putin which had he and his supporters suspect led to his poisoning in 2020. the lates on alexey navalny's new prison which is two thousand miles from where he was held before. well news of alexey navalny's where abouts are complete after communication was lost more than two weeks ago. but, there's still deep concern for the situation now that he faces when he was found in the polar wolf colony. the

statement on monday, the director of the anticorruption foundation said they were able to see him in the colony, it's one of the most restrictions and contact. alexey navalny was sentenced to 19 year in prison after he was found guilty in extremist related charges. he was already serving time in a ford and other charges. believed to be held in a penal colony 150 p miles east of moscow until now. these are charges that he and his legal representatives have denied. supporters believe that his arrests and incarceration is an attempt to stifle criticism of president putin. using his blog

and social media to expose corruption in the kremlin. the white house earlier this month reiterating it's call for alexey navalny's immediate release. cnn, in london. >> thank you, so much, we'll discuss with with steve hall who served as chief of russian operations for the cia. thanks for making time. let's talk about why they wanted to move him to siberia? >> you know, these campis lik the one that alexey navalny's is moved to are some of the most harsh conditions to find in russian prisons. this is like the present in the soviet system. some of the camps are so remote there's no walls or fences on them because if you manage to get out from the warmth and food in a prison of minimal sense, you cannot

escape. these are plot places to order a deli sandwich, very, very, dangerous locations. they have special winter protocols and it's horrible and getting worse and worse for alexey navalny. it'sing interesting because it shows how much of a threat and concern that putin is with a guy like alexey navalny that they have to move him that far away to siberia to make him less interesting to somebody. >> clearly, putin sees him as such a threat to continue to have to make things worse or put him in a remote place than he was before. >> yeah, it's interesting, i mean, the only other guy that comes to mind that you could compare this to, is the russian who is now in exile in london, who also decided, you know, many, many years ago to go up against putin. but, he didn't do it as effectively as navalny

did. he is known for exposing putin's corruption which is a weak spot we have elections in march in russia. these are sensitive times for putin and he doesn't want people taking to the streets and navalny not be far away to egg them on. >> and the director of the anticorruption foundation said it seems that the colony was prepared for his arrival in advance. does it tell you anything about the times at all? >> well, you know, there was an interesting things that went on. it took awhile for navalny's people to find him. if the russian government doesn't want you to find something, you almost never do. a lot of times they're moved via trains as opposed to air planes,

so, it takes a long time to travel to get to these places. but, if i were the director at this prison, i was be nervous, this is the prisoner that everybody's concerned about. you got to get it right. it doesn't surprise me if the government gave them a head's up to make preparations to be sure that alexey navalny is absolutely insulated and kept apart from any part of the russian system at all. >> you described incredibly horrible conditions a the a prison like this. we know that putin is very threatened by navalny's, and we've seen the threats that people get just by getting in putin's way. what is keeping putin from killing nevalny alive at this point? >> nothing. as you said earlier, the about security service tried to poison him and

nevalny managed to get to germany to be healed from the toxin against them. he's now at the mercy of the russian government and putin. there are different methodologies here. they're concerned if he's simply is a stabbed or somehow, people would say, well, that was putin's doing. it's almost like putin wants to wait him out, wait until his health deteriorates, and picks up a he disease and that's an unfortunate demise. >> and there anything that navalny's team can do to protect him at all? >> not really. the only thing that they could do and they're doing it, is try to keep nevalny in the limelight. that may moderate putin's actions against

him if he knows there's going to be international price to pay. at this point, putin's relationship with the international community is so low, you wonder what that representation is. >> thanks, so much, we appreciate it. >> my pleasure. when we come back this afternoon, close to a million people are under blizzard warnings, heavy snow falls and conditions, it's a white christmas that could prove to be a bit of a problem in places. this is cnn central.

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which makes you free to explore all the incredible opportunities unleashed by higher learning. start your future and apply today at contracosta.edu/free pressure is continuing to mount on harvard university's

governing body in response to the president caughting congressional testimony and ensuing plagiarism scandal. two members of the harvard corporation met with current and former faculty and faced a grilling on how the court was handling the controversies. what more can you tell us about this meeting between faculty and the members of the harvard corporation? >> so, jessica, you remember in early december, harvard issued a statement fully supporting the president in facing these allegations. "new york times" reports there's certainly more pressure about the board members about the fate of this president. according to this "new york times" article two members of the harvard corporation met privately in a restaurant with current and former faculty members they quote faced a grilling according to the report. at this dinner,

board members were told that they had to do more to face the controversy that's loomingory harvard. the time's quotes jeff liar, the former harvard med school team as saying, quote, you need to be more out front of this, if people are saying that the university's making mistakes, they're talking about you. i should note that my colleague has been able to confirm that quote with flier. the times also reporting that palangin shared with the group that replacing gay may not be enough to get the school back on course which she called generational change would be needed according to this article. the publication is quoting a harvard spokesman describing the dinner as constructive about the importance of civil freedom and discourse and diversity. and the discussion about the

generational change occurred in that context. now, finnigan confirms a meeting de happen to cnn but referred us to other people that he said participated in that meeting. we're in the process of those reachouts a and cnn reached out to the harvard spokesman for comment. this comes as donors for the ivy league school have severed ties until the university ensures that jewish students feel safe. that is still swirling around gay who still enjoys support from various institutions and harvard. it's certainly not the end of this and after the holiday break, it's absolutely going to be one to watch. >> thanks for that update. turning to headlines this hour, israel prime minister was

interrupted by whhostage. somef the signs that family members held up said quote we trust you to bring them home and 80 days, each minute is like hell. mean tim, netanahu just returned from gaza and commander ohs on the ground said they need more time to complete the operation. the prime minister told party members, it's going to be a long fight and quote is not close to ending. in serbia, antiprotesters storming the hall using rocks to break into the building saying that the government manipulated the election which was won by the party. police used pry i don't tell shields and tear gas to bring the situation under control. and back in the u.s. to the central plains where it's a white christmas. but, heavy snow fall, strong winds and icy

conditions are threatening travel there. more than 725,000 people across nebraska, south carolina and parts of colorado are now under blizzard warnings. still to come, she was born with a rare condition that rendered her unable to speak until now. how this surgery helplped this s young girlrl fi voice.

how's this for a christmas present, a 9-year-old born with a rare condition that left her unable to speak. but, a complicated procedure is helping this young girl find her voice for the first time. meg terrell with more. 9-year-old is practicing how to use her new vocal cords. she was born with a rare disorder which causes problem throughout the body. her doctor at oregon health and science university shows us with this model. this area just below the vocal cords were not formed normally. the vocal cords were present but telphers no opening

between them. >> she learned to communicate using her tongue and cheeks to make sounds and form world series known as buckle 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 her and her family decided to go ahead with a complex and rare reconstructive surgery to open her vocal cords. her mom was nervous. >> i thought she was not ready yet. but, she was. >> the surgery took eight hours. >> the bottom part of the voice box and the top of the wind pipe, had to cut that part out and drill out the opening between the vocal cords here. and add more cart ledge borrowed from her ribs to make this part wider and connect up the bottom part of her windpipe to reconstruct the voice box. >> she was unable to speak with her vocal cords right away. but, after months of therapy,

her new voice emerged. >> that's fantastic. i think that's the fist time i heard you say a sentence with your normal voice. >> she's working hard to improve her voice. >> can you see, e.e.e. >> eeee. >> ooooo. >> oooo. >> something that for the rest of us is unconscious, for her, she's had to learn to use her vocal cords. >> and she still often uses what she and her mom call her squeaky voice because it's easier. >> though, she's been through a lot, she has a message for other kids who maybe facing challenges. >> she said, don't be scared. that everything is going to be okay. >> after years without working vocal cords, she can now use her's to say some of the most important things. >> love you. >> i love you too.

>> meg terrell, cnn, reporting. yeah, an amazing story. thanks so much for bringing that to us. well, 2024 has the presidential election. but, 2023 did not lack for political drama. ststraight ahead, , we' counting d down the totop 10 popolitical ststories of 2 2023

>> well, 2024 may have the presidential election and 2023 didn't lack from drama with plenty with allegations of corruption and the fight over the house speaker gavel and here are the top 10 political stories of the year. >> reporter: when it comes to the top 10 political stories of 2023, this was another big career with unprecedented chaos in washington, courtroom spectacles and accusations of brazen corruption. at number 10, senator bob menendez faces corruption related charges. >> you're accuseded of aiding a

foreign government. why is that appropriate to go into a classified briefing? >> the bottom line is i'm a united states senator. i have my security credentials and an accusation is just that, not proof of anything. >> reporter: he and his wife are accused of to accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, including gold bars, cash and a luxury vehicle in exchange for the senator's influence. the indictment led menendez to step aside of the powerful foreign relations committee, but the new jersey democrat and his wife maintain their innocence and have pleaded not guilty. he's pledged to remain in his seat despite calls from many lawmakers to resign, including from some of to his fellow senate democrats. at number nine, a moving tribute to rosaslynn carter, the former first lady, humanitarian and advocate and jimmy carter

emerging from hospice care to attend the memorial service paying tribute to his late wife that also brought together the first ladies club. the carters were internationally known for their humanitarian work. after carter's stinging presidential defeat in 1980 they have the longest marriage in presidential history at 77 years. number eight, hunter biden's plea agreement with prosecutors fell apart. >> the prosecutors came forward to us and said can there be a resolution short of a prosecution? >> reporter: now, he's facing three federal firearms charges and nine new tax charges. the case could pose another challenge to president joe biden's reelection bid with house republicans investigating the president's son and pursuing an impeachment inquiry into the

democratic incult. so far, the g.o.p. probe has struggled to uncover wrongdoing of the president. >> i'm here to make sure the house committee's illegitimate aggressions did not proceed with disportion, manipulated evidence and lies. >> reporter: number seven, foreign wars create political fractures at home from the halls of congress to college campuses. president biden calling on americans to unite behind israel and ukraine in their respective conflicts. >> american leadership is what holds america together and keeps us safe. >> reporter: but the president facing skepticism from republicans on providing more aid to ukraine. >> the republicans are not sure of the way to go forward. >> reporter: and biden's own party over israel. >> president biden, not all of

america is with you on this one, and you need to wake up and understand that. >> reporter: number six, the republican race for the white house takes shape. >> we're going to win the iowa caucuses. >> reporter: donald trump closes out the year as the commanding front-runner for the g.o.p. nomination as his rivals battle to emerge as the leading alternative to the former president. after entering the race as the top threat to trump, florida governor ron desantis' rise was slow amid a shaky campaign launch and a series of campaign resets. >> we're going to have this debate in iowa before the caucus. i will be there. donald trump should be there. >> reporter: meanwhile, former south carolina governor nikki haley gained momentum late in the year after several strong debate performances. >> where have ya'll been? >> reporter: amid trump's

dominance, several g.o.p. hopefuls dropped out before 2024 including vice president mike pence and tim scott and north dakota governor burgam. number five, the potency of abortion rights in a post-roe america more taken a year after the supreme court overturned roe vs. wade to help deliver victories for democratic candidates for offyear election years and voters in ohio passing a ballot measure to ensideline abortion rights insideline abortion rights. and setting up a potential rematch with donald trump. >> it's time to finish the

job -- finish the job. >> four more years! four more years! >> reporter: biden's bid for a second term is imperilled by low approval ratings and persistent questions about his age and his campaign leading on his legislative record and drawing a contrast with his 2020 rival. >> the extremist movement does not share our vision. >> reporter: and biden is expected to face little resistance in winning the party's nomination in 2024. drawing long-shot challenges from minnesota congressman dean phillips and author marianne williamson and several third-party candidates announced like robert kennedy.

number three, embattled congressman george santos expelled. voted to expel him after a scathing report in a year long swirl of controversy in his litany of lies. santos becomes the fifth to be expelled from the third since the civil war. after winning a battleground house district, major pieces of santos' biography fell apart. he was later indicted on federal charges including wire fraud and money laundering but pleaded not guilty and has denied the allegations. >> i'm not really commenting on the ongoing investigation. >> reporter: santos re-emerged soon after being removed from office on the celebrity video message site cameo. >> well, happy, happy birthday! >> reporter: number two, kevin mccarthy becomes the first house

speaker removed from the post. mccarthy's ouster came 10 months after claiming the gavel following a floor fight that took five days and 15 rounds of voting that divided the g.o.p. and saw the california republican bend to a series of concessions to hard-line conservatives. in the end, eight house republicans join ared with democrats to depose mccarthy. >> all the democrats will ruin the reputation of the republicans. >> reporter: the move sparked weeks of chaos and infighting among house republicans as they struggled to coalesce with a successor and little known indiana senator mike johnson taking over as speaker. number one, the country's 45th

president and leading presidential candidate is the first former president to face charges. >> i won't be able to go to iowa or new hampshire today because i'm sitting in a courtroom. >> reporter: trump is facing 91 criminal counts ranging from conspiracy to obstruct justice, to rackateering across four separate jurisdictions, in new york, washington d.c., georgia and florida. trump denying all those accusations. >> an indictment was unsealed charging donald j. trump with conspireing to defraud the united states, conspireing to disenfranchise voters and conspireing and attempting to on truck a official proceeding. >> the defendant engaged in a criminal rackateering enterprise to overturn georgia's presidential election result. >> reporter: the actualton county, georgia indictment resulting in this historic image, the first mug shot of a

former u.s. president. the former president regularly turning his courtroom appearances into campaign-style events. >> this is a witch opportunity which nobody has ever seen. >> reporter: in a preview of 2024, when the political and legal calendars are set to collide. eva mckend, cnn, washington. >> eva, thank you. two weeks after disappearing while in a russian prison, kremlin correct has been located in a penal colony in siberia. ahead, why that's not goodod nes for r him. ththis is "cnnnn news centntral. "

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