than 1,000 migrants behind me waiting to be transported for immigration processing. a senior official telling me while the scene has changed the agency is not out of the woods yet. we learned from nonprofit organizations all along the border that hundreds of migrants are being transported to those areas from eagle pass to decompress. we learned from catholic charities in the rio grande valley that last week officials were transporting about 350 migrants per day. and poppy and phil, the organization there tells me that now they're receiving about 550 per day. that's just gives you a sense of the number of migrants who continue to pour in. >> rosa flores, great reporting. thank you. >> thanks for joining us. we'll see you back here tomorrow. cnn news central starts now. the u.s. strikes back.

president biden ordering air strikes on iran-backed groups in iraq after american troops are targeted and even critically wounded. new alarm over a series of violent threats as donald trump faces more legal challenges. the fbi joining an investigation in colorado into disturbing posts about the judges who removed trump from the state ballot. nearly 5 million people are right now under winter weather alerts. even some blizzard and ice storm warnings. where all this that you're looking at is headed next. i'm kate bolduan with sara si sidner. john berman is working the night shift today. this is cnn news central. new overnight, the u.s. military is carrying out rare air strikes inside iraq. and it comes as israel's prime minister is promising a long fight against hamas, a key confidante of netanyahu is

coming to the white house today for talks about the war in gaza. first, let's get to those new details out of iraq with president biden ordered air strikes on three facilities used by hezbollah and affiliated groups. the strikes were in response to an attack that injured three u.s. troops in erbil air base. an attack the iranian backed militant group claimed responsibility for. u.s. central command says the strikes likely killed a number of militants there. let's lead off with natasha bertrand in washington for us. what are you learning about these strikes and the fall-on effect? >> reporter: well, this is really coming as the iran-backed shia militias escalate their attacks against u.s. forces in iraq and syria. yesterday, we saw the iran-backed group attack a u.s. base that resulted in three injuries to u.s. personnel, including one critical injury. prior to this, most of the injuries that u.s. personnel had suffered had actually been

fairly minor. this was really something that the u.s. clearly felt they needed to respond to, and president biden was briefed on options by secretary of defense lloyd austin yesterday morning. and biden decided to go with the option to strike three facilities that are used by the group in iraq. and as you mentioned, central command has said it is likely that several militants were actually killed in this strike by the u.s. however, it is not known at this point or is unlikely there were any civilians injured because there were none in the area. the white house said in a statement that, quote, the president places no higher priority than the protection of american personnel serving in harm's way. the united states will act as a time and in a manner of our choosing should these attacks continue. i think it's important just for context here, there have been over 100 attacks by these i iran-backed groups on u.s. and coalition bases in iraq and syria since october 17th. they have been relentless daily

attacks. the attack carried out yesterday in iraq was carried out with a one-way attack drone, according to u.s. officials. and that is pretty much how they have been conducting these strikes via drones and rockets over the last several months. the question has always been, the u.s. responds, this is not the first time they have done so, conducting air strikes in iraq and syria, but it has not yet deterred these groups. now, the u.s. says they are optimistic that by degrading their infrastructure, hitting these groups. killing some of the militants, it will send a message of deterrence because the u.s. does not want to see this conflict escalate into a broader war. they say this is proportional, but is this actually going to work to deter future attacks? >> that is the fear this turns into a regional war. natasha bertrand, thank you for all that reporting. kate. today, one of israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu's advisers is heading to the white

house to talk about the next phase in the war with hamas. the prime minister saying the fight is far from over and it will, quote, end in total victory, no less than that. priscilla alvarez is at the white house for us. priscilla, what are you learning about the meetings today? >> reporter: well, kate, this comes at a critical time as the white house talks to israel about being more precise in not targeting innocent civilian casualties. now, of course, ron dermer is a close confidante to netanyahu, a member of the war cabinet. he's also previously israel's ambassador to the united states. now, u.s. officials have previously said that israel has assured them they're going to move from a high intensity war to low intensity, have more of a precise strategy in targeting hamas leadership, again, to contain the innocent -- the deaths of innocent civilians. also, the u.s. is saying that

they don't really have a timeline they can share for that. u.s. officials have previously said that might look like localized operations by january, but they haven't said much more than that, and providing additional details into what this next phase looks like and when that will happen. that is going to be a topic of discussion going into these meetings today. when do we see more of that targeted, precise military strategy far from or move away from this high intensity warfare. in addition to that, the president has been warning that israel can lose support on the international stage if it doesn't move in this direction. we have seen the domestic pressure and international pressure build up. just yesterday, we saw protesters at the houses of jack sullivan and at the home of defense secretary lloyd austin. so clearly, the pressure is still there. and the white house is trying to navigate this really complicated

landscape by continuing to have conversations with israel, again, in hopes that they can start to see more of a targeted military strategy. now, senior israeli official said on our air this morning that they have been, quote, very good conversations with the u.s. the question is, what does that look like today and what is the aftermath and the outcome of those conversations? >> absolutely. pris priscilla, thank you so much. let's talk about all this with cnn national security analyst and former deputy director of national intelligence beth sanner. thank you for coming in on this holiday week. look, we heard from netanyahu. he has been in gaza for the second time visiting with troops and vowing for what he called a long fight in this israel/hamas war. he also said the military's intensifying operations and we're seeing the results of that. what do you make of this st strategy, and going forward, are things changing when it comes to how you see this playing out? >> i don't think we're at the

phase yet of them transferring over to this second phase of war. you know, this intensification we're seeing is going to continue for the next few weeks at least. mainly because, you know, israel just hasn't achieved military aims. and one of the things, you know, the head of hamas in gaza spoke out publicly for the first time this weekend. and said that they were winning. so we're going to see a lot more intensity here, and we had more israeli troops killed over this weekend than we have seen at any other 24-hour period. so things are going to continue to get rough. and i think that dermer is here more to buy time than to give a timeline. >> i want to talk about something that egypt has put forward, sort of a three-phase plan to try and end the war according to some media reports. it's unclear exactly how the

warring parties are going to receive something like this. you have got the war cabinet that convened yesterday. they were discussing the ongoing efforts to secure the release of hostages as well. when you look at the situation and it's a very complicated one, has any progress been made at, a, coming to the end of the war and figuring out what the next phase is, and b, trying to figure out how to release the rest of the hostages there? >> right, it is really complicated, sara. the egyptian plan, i think, is one of the early real proposals that is out there, and it has been rejected by hamas and by the palestinian islamic jihad as well as maybe israel not publicly, but there's no way israel is going to buy on to this plan. just because, you know, the two sides are not meeting yet. i mean, in terms of their terms for ending this.

and i think from the israeli public perspective, of course, they're really interested in the hostages. they are not as concerned about what we're seeing in terms of the devastation of gaza. and part of that is because they're literally not seeing the war like we're seeing it. they're not seeing the images on tv. but they are focused on the hostages. so i think they're going to be more rounds of this, and i wouldn't give up hope of a temporary cease-fire, but this calls for a temporary cease-fire leading to a permanent cease-fire, and that's not in the cards yet. >> i want to talk to you about the regional potential of all this. president biden directing strikes in iraq. and you have iran sort of threatening full-on threatening israel because of the death of one of its security members. i'm curious from your perspective as to whether or not you see this blowing up into a much bigger regional war.

>> well, i think everybody is trying from the united states perspective and from the iranian perspective, neither side sees it in their interest to have this war blow up into a full-scale regional war. but that doesn't mean that iran is standing or sitting on their hands. quite the opposite. there is this strike about on a ship right off the coast of india, which was struck by a drone, which the united states says was caused by iran. we have now the death of this brigadier general, irgc general, inside syria. the number one most important general in the region, kind of one of the lieutenants to sulmony, whom we killed in january of 2020. and this attack, so then we have

hezbollah also stepping up attacks from lebanon onto northern israel. so while, you know, i think the united states is really working to keep things calm, things can get out of hand. and it does take me back to that soleimani strike in january 2020 where it was this ratcheting up of strike and retaliation, strike and retaliation, to the point where the united states then decided to kill soleimani. in this case, we don't want to do that, but things can get out of hand. >> yeah, a really good point to make. i remember that. i was actually in israel at the time. there was a real fear there was going to be a major conflagration between iran and israel with the united states in the middle of it. beth sanner, thank you for coming on and have a wonderful rest of your week. coming up for us, the fbi now launching an investigation after multiple threats are made against the colorado judges who ruled that donald trump has disqualified from appearing on

colorado's primary ballot. what we're learning about those threats. and donald trump's christmas message included witch hunts, thugs, and yet another promise to repeal obamacare. why? and a russian warship goes up in flames after ukraine launches multiple strikes on crimea.

the fbi has announced it is now joining the investigation into violent threats made against colorado supreme court justices. the same justices who ruled last week that donald trump is disqualified from appearing on the state's 2024 primary ballot. katelyn polantz has more on that. what are you learning about these threats and now this investigation?

>> reporter: kate, just a week ago was that ruling out of the kaul colorado supreme court saying donald trump couldn't be on the primary ballot because he engaged in insurrection in 2020 and 2021 after the election. so just two days after that, the denver police had to respond to a justice's home from the colorado supreme court, responding to a hoax report, and then law enforcement was continuing to look into threats around these justices who took part in that decision, four of the seven voted to remove trump from the ballot, and learned there was a rise in the online discussions, especially among extremists, about general violence toward these justices. so then the fbi has gotten involved. we just heard yesterday from a public affairs officer at the fbi, they said the fbi is aware of the situation and working with local law enforcement. we will vigorously pursue investigations of any threat or

use of violence committed by someone who uses extremist views to justify their actions, regardless of motivation. so law enforcement is on high alert here. and it comes in a climate where there is an unprecedented rise in threats toward public officials, particularly judges, jus justices, especially ones involved in highly political cases. so law enforcement out in colorado is definitely tracking this now. kate. >> absolutely. thank you so much for the update. much more to come there. this message may go down in history as the grinchiest ever. donald trump spent his christmas airing his grievances to more than 6.5 million people who follow him on truth social. in a series of posts, donald trump went after some of his opponents including president biden and special counsel jack smith, you can read there. his message in the end, may they rot in hell. again, merry christmas. national politics reporter for

the associated press, meg canard is joining us now. i know i shouldn't laugh, but this was a torrent of fury and bitterness on christmas day. what is he thinking? >> hey there. good to be with you. i think that when we see these messages coming from the former president, he is using the opportunity, you know, to reach the audience that you just mentioned there from his truth social platform. also, he's keeping in mind these are messages to those already supporting him, the voters who will soon begin casting his votes who are taking all the cases against him and all this information in this very unprecedented election cycle and he's reminding them of everything he faces. those arguments that we hear him make on the campaign trail and speeches and other events. this was just his opportunity to reit reiterate that. when i'm on the trail talking to voters, i don't think these messages change a lot of mind. for folks who don't like donald trump or aren't planning on

voting for him, they see that and keep on moving. for folks who already support him, it's just a reminder of all the reasons maybe they do. these mean tweets as some people reference them to me, although this is truth social so i guess it's a truth, either way, i don't think they change the discourse among the voters getting ready to make choices. >> you make a good point. he is still the front-runner for the republican nomination. there's new reporting by politico and cnn is matching this reporting that trump allies are now urging him not to choose nikki haley for vp. why not? >> this is long been a conversation among those of us who have covered her. i have covered nikki haley since i joined the a.p. in 2005. as she went through her governorship and on to the u.n., oh, maybe she would be a good choice. and there are also people who have been inside donald trump's circle for a long time who kind of give reminders of the ways she stood up to him and the clashes they had when she was

part of his cabinet for about those two years that she served in the trump administration. so when you look at a candidate like nikki haley, you know, certainly, she has been doing better in the primary, as you point out, that donald trump has continued to be far and away the front-runner, but as she is kind of creeping forward in some places, that conversation keeps happening. her name keeps coming up, but there are also those reminders, remember, if he is the nominee, donald trump may be looking for a running mate who he is 100% confident is going to stand behind all the choices that he would make as president. and there are some doubts among his circle that she would not necessarily be that candidate. >> that is one of the things that has sort of come out. loyalty for him this time around is the most important thing, not necessarily competence. i want to ask you about a "new york times" piece that's out that talks about desantis and what went wrong for desantis in 2023. i'm going to read you little part of it. it says, mr. desantis's long

time pollster and one of his closest advisers has privately said to multiple people they're now at the point in the campaign where they need to make the patient comfortable. yikes. what do you read from this? basically, his own sort of team is saying he's dead in the water when it comes to this race. >> yeah, that hospice reference i think was a little jarring for everyone reading that, but it does kind of paint the picture of this is a candidate who in some places i'm thinking iowa, has not necessarily been ascendant. has been somewhat stagnant and even going down. again, no votes have been cast. we don't exactly know how all these voters are going to be thinking and making their choices, but it does kind of give a little bit of a flavor behind the scenes of a campaign that hasn't necessarily gone how either the candidate or those around him would have hoped at this point. >> just to be clear, ryan tyson has denied saying it.

but a lot of people are watching that campaign. they thought it was going to be something very, very different, and it has turned into something that doesn't seem as viable as it did at the very beginning. let's also talk a little bit about some trips that biden is reportedly planning to make, to minority communities. he's really trying to get out and get the latino vote and the black vote. how is that going? >> he's going to be doing that and vice president harris is going to be doing that in nevada and also in south carolina where i live and report. these are efforts of outreach to community that strategists looking back the last two election cycles, 2016 and 2020, and perhaps are thinking these are communities that we as democratic strategists have to be looking at and cultivating and not taking for granted. honestly, that's what i hear from some voters when i'm out reporting on the democratic side of things. they feel like they're presumed to be democratic voters and they aren't necessarily anymore. i'm hearing that more and more

in south carolina where woo know black voters play an outsized role in the democratic electorate. perhaps this is intentionality we're seeing from the president and the vice president and others in his campaign circle that they're trying to be intentional about that outreach. we'll see how it goes, but that's the effort they're making right now. >> certainly, south carolina was huge for biden. black voters, particularly black female voters helped him rise to the presidency. thank you so much for coming in. have a great rest of the week. >> you, too. coming up for us, a massive explosion in crimea. the ukrainian military says it destroyed a russian navy ship. we have new details on why this ship was targeted. and the new message coming from alexei navalny. putin's chief critic and opposition leader has finally been found after missing for two weeks. resurfacing in a remote arctic prison. navalny's press secretary joins us to talk about what they know about hohow he's doioing now.

i'm a little anxious, i'm a little excited. i'm gonna be emotional, she's gonna be emotional, but it's gonna be so worth it. i love that i can give back to one of our customers. i hope you enjoy these amazing gifts. oh my goodness. oh, you guys. i know you like wrestling, so we got you some vip tickets. you have made an impact. so have you. for you guys to be out here doing something like this, it restores a lot of faith in humanity.

this morning the ukrainian air force is claiming to have destroyed a russian ship in crimea and there is dramatic video of that reported attack. take a look. >> huge fireball there. that was video shared by ukrainian air force commander. russia has acknowledged an attack tuesday but said the navy ship was only damaged. cnn is joining us now. do we have an idea of what was on the ship itself? >> reporter: well, we have heard from a ukrainian air force commander saying when the strike took place the ship had been carrying iranian made attack

drones. as we know, those iranian made drones have been crucial to russia's war effort. they have been heavily dependent on these drones throughout the war in ukraine. one of the primary reasons of course why ukraine has pushed for further support when it comes to bolstering its air defense systems. now, according to the u.s. military, this vessel typically has a crew of about 87, can transport more than 200 troops, but it is unclear how many were aboard the vessel at the time of this reported strike. but this is being hailed by wr ukrainian military officials as a strategic win. we heard from volodymyr zelenskyy earlier today congratulating his military for the strike on the ship. take a listen to this statement from a spokesperson for the ukrainian air force. >> translator: this is such a powerful event for us. in fact, we destroyed both the ship and the occupiers through

well coordinated actions. >> reporter: as you mentioned, we did see that dramatic video emerging showing smoke billowing from the crimean port. we have heard a statement from the kremlin saying russia's defense minter reported the attack to president putin saying the ukrainian armed forces had carried out an attack overnight using what he described as guided missiles. of course, as you mentioned he did say the vessel was damaged b but didn't say the vessel had been destroyed as ukrainian commanders are suggesting. if that report from ukraine is confirmed this would mark the third instance of a major lauz of russian military hardware in less than a week. ukraine reporting they had downed war planes and fighting jets over the last week. president zelenskyy reiterating in his statement there will be no peaceful place for russian occupiers in ukraine. >> thank you for your reporting. also new this morning,

jailed russian opposition leader alexei navalny is speaking out for the first time since he disappeared, moved to a remote prison outpost in siberia known as the polar wolf. they described the 20-day journey from the jail near moscow as exhausting, but he also says he is doing fine. navalny, as you know, is a fierce critic of russian president vladimir putin. he is serving a 19-year sentence on charges of extremism, charges he denies and charges that the u.s. government has called baseless. joining us now is alexei navalny's press secretary. thank you so much for coming in. what is the latest you can tell us about what you're hearing from navalny, how he's doing, and what he's saying? >> well, hello. thank you for inviting me. the lawyers saw alexei yesterday in this colony above arctic circle. he was doing relatively well given the fact he was being

transferred for three weeks and it's a very physically challenging thing. so it is difficult to say the person is fine after that, but he was in good spirits, as always, and his health is not worse than it was before. >> not worse, i guess is a measure of you could call that a success considering what he's been up against for years now. from how it's described by navalny on twitter, it was a strange journey, as he described it to get there. by cnn's calculations, he covered over 3700 miles in the 20 days that his journey took. have you been able to get a straight answer, any straight answer as to why he was moved to where he ended up? >> of course no, but it is quite obvious, the reasons are quite obvious. he was transferred after 6 of december, this was the last day when the lawyers saw him in the region that is close to moscow. and on 7th of december, putin

announced he would run for president again. so this was actually a very obvious deliberate move to transfer him during this time to make him silent and not to prevent putin from doing his thing. so i think the idea was for us to look for him as long as possible and it was actually a miracle that we found him yesterday because i think the plan was for us to find him like, i don't know, mid-january or something like that. >> talk to me about that. why do you consider it a miracle you were able to find him yesterday? >> well, we filed 680 requests in different russian prisons trying to locate alexei. according to russian law, after the prisoner is being transferred to another colony, they have to notify his relatives. but we know very well there is no law that applies to him, and there will never notify anyone

about his whereabouts. so this was our job for him and this is what we were doing for three weeks. so yes, it was a miracle that we actually were able to find him, and alexey himself was very surprised. >> about the presidential election, things we know is that the election is scheduled for march 17th. and your team launched a campaign this month including putting up billboards, maybe even briefly, to urge russians to vote against vladimir putin. do you see this as payback or punishment for your efforts? if so, how does it impact how you all operate and the work you do? >> i think it wasn't a punishment, it was a move in advance. they tried to hide alexey so he wouldn't be able to unite all people in russia who are against putin. so of course, we knew they would

do something like that, soy i can't say it ruined our plans anyhow, but again, the fact that we find him so quickly is a good thing, and now he will be able to work more profoundly, even given the fact that he would be isolated in this new prison. we hope we will try to work out some way to connect with him. >> when navalny's name comes up, i often hear people wonder the same thing out loud, which is what keeps him going, even in the face of the very real threat that he may die in prison? what does? >> well, he's very confident in what he's doing. and this is why he's not afraid. he knows for sure he is doing the right thing, and all his colleagues, and his family, of course, knows the same thing. so it helps continue to do whatever we're doing because we

know that this is something russia needs. russia is oppressed by a dictator and it should be freed. and this is what he's trying to do, and this is what is keeping him going. >> thank you so much for coming in. thank you for the update. right now, parts of interstate 90 closed in south da dakota. look at this. blizzard conditions are plaguing the central u.s., and some areas are getting another six inches today. a live look at the forecast. that is just ahead. >> also, a judge rules that elon musk will face a lawsuit for not paying out bonuses that were promised to workers of his social media company, x.

million people are under a winter weather alert, including some blizzard warnings as a major winter storm is sweeping across the plains and into the rockies. conditions reached a point that a stretch of interstate 90 in south dakota had to be closed overnight. local officials there warning whiteout conditions could make travel difficult to near impossible, and you can sure see why. in nebraska, we have been getting reports in about vehicles and tractor trailers sliding off roads due to the icy conditions there. let's get to derek van dam, tracking all of it for us. that's what's happening now. what are you watching also with the forecast? >> yeah, overturned semis, jackknifed 18-wheelers, cars in ditches. we do not want to see that, especially the day after

christmas, people trying to travel home, and they're dealing and contending with this major winter storm. now, this is really focused in on the central parts of our country, the central and northern plains in particular. eastern colorado, they're getting hit pretty hard. this is an expansive storm system with flooding across portions of the southeast, but several hundred miles away to the north and west, this is where the winter weather is unfolding. you can see this low pressure system with its counterclockwise spin and it's drawing in a significant amount of wind and cold air behind it. that's allowing for the precipitation to freeze, and also the wind to just whip over 50 miles per hour across some of these low elevation areas. that's why we call them the plains. it picks up the snow, allows for the drifting that reduces visibilities. hence the blizzard warnings. you see here with the shading of red, rapid city, to the east of denver, we also have ice storm warnings for portions of south dakota and north dakota as well. just incredible storm system unfolding here. i want you to see these winds

because this is significant. we're talking about over 45 miles per hour, cheyenne, wyoming. look at colorado, 52 miles per hour. you combine that with the snow and the visibilities are redeesed, some instances, below a mile. the winds will start to relax as the system starts to weaken and move eastward, but there's another unfolding problem just on its front doorstep. this is the rain. the warm part of the storm. we focus in on the appalachians. this is where we have a flood threat. if you're located in greenville, this is where we have potential for 1 to 2-inch per hour rain bands for the next few hours. localized flooding certainly a concern, and that flood threat shifts to the northeast, the major metropolitans, new york, philadelphia, and washington for the day tomorrow. just a marginal risk but something to keep in mind because that's the last thing we need as we all travel home from grandma and grandpa's house. kate. >> keeping an eye on for everyone, derek, thank you so

much. also on our radar this morning, the powerball jackpot climbed to $685 million. you still have a chance to win after no ticket matched all six numbers on christmas day. some lucky individuals, though, did scoop up $1 or $2 million prizes apiece. the next big drawing tomorrow. all right, elon musk's social media website x will face a lawsuit over employee bonuses. a federal judge just rejected a motion to dismiss this case. they're accused of failing to pay employees promised annual bonuses after musk took it over in 2022 and completely restructured the staff. a former senior compensation director filed the lawsuit and is seeking class action status for current and exemployees there. and mng to celebrate. a zoo in atlanta, so cute, a baby southern white rhino is born on christmas eve. it's so sweet. >> so cute. >> you just want to pick him up,

but you can't. >> except you can't. >> considered near threatened which is why we can't be messing around and its population is declining. the calf is healthy and being well cared for by its mother. we don't know the baby's name yet. i think we can come up with a few. >> i also know we're not messing with it because kiazi will come for you. a new version of mama bear. >> a up am more dangerous one. >> coming up still for us, secretary of state dtony blinke heading to mexico in search of new agreements to try to control the surge of migrants at the southern u.s. border. we'll take you to eagle pass, texas, where migrants are overwhelming local officials and the communities, and they're being moved. miglrants are being moved to neighboring communities. from wildfires to devastating floods, the tangible effects of the climate crisis on

full display almost everything in 2023. we'll count down the ten biggest climate stories of the year. we'll be back.

from the devastating and deadly wildfires in maui to breaking record after record in term of the heat waves in the southwest, the past year has brought some of the most deadly climate disasters in history. meteorologist bill weir is going to walk us past some of the devastating climate disasters of 2023. >> reporter: starting list at number 10, the water whiplash that became a signature of 2023 in the american midwest. >> what you are seeing here is the attempt to try to get ahead of the storm that continues to pound california. >> reporter: after years of mega drought, rivers in the sky unloaded on california turning dust bowls into raging floods that took at a least 20 lives and filled the mountains with record snow, but not enough to end the drought.

at number nine is cop 28 in dubai. >> let the meeting be adjourned. >> reporter: it was to transition away from fossil fuels and 130 nations were hoping for a more ambitious phase out of oil, gas, coal, but petro states like saudi arabia would not agree. the scientists warned that to meet ambitious goals of the paris accord, emissions had to be cut a rate four times faster than current pace. at number 8, tropical storm daniel blasted greece on a way of drowning thousands in libya. >> everywhere you turn, it is apocalyptic scenes here. >> reporter: entire neighborhoods washed into the sea, and it is on a overheated

planet. at number 7, successful young people sued montana for ignoring their constitutional right for a clean and healthful environment by developing fossil fuels. for dozens of states and cities taking big oil companies to court for the climate change, it was a key win. number 6 is the summer of smoke brought by a record shattering scale of canadian wildfires, an area the size of missouri burned north of the border. if you get any glimpse of the sun at all here on these days, it is the apocalyptic ball of fire in the sky. they were closing schools and filling emergency rooms. number 5, the ocean water around florida warming in july bringing devastating levels of coral

bleaching and devastating wildlife. that is also jet fuel for hurricanes. number 4, the rapid intensification became a catch phrase for 2023. >> that water is coming over the seawall and we are being sprayed every minute or so s. >> reporter: the big ben, otis in the pacific, and hillary in southern california showed us how the modern storms are getting stronger faster. at number 3, phoenix, arizona, gave us a new definition of heat wave with 31 straight days of or over 110 degrees hot enough to kill cactus plants and took the lives of at least 100 people, and that is a grim new record and this is one facet of a new globe. and at number 2, the earth's temperature which is the highest of 120,000 years. we were a full two degrees celsius warmer than

preindustrial levels and if that is the new average, science warns of cascading collapse. and at number one, the maui wildfires. >> we are just pulling into lahaina now, and getting the first glimpse of hearing these nightmarish story, and it is worse than you can imagine. >> reporter: generations owater theft and invasive grasses have created fuel, and downed powerlines provided spark. hurricane winds fanned the flame until most of the beloved lahaina was turned to ash with around 100 souls lost, it is the deadliest fire in modern history and the battle of how best to rebuild has just begun. bill weir, cnn, new york. and still ahead, the fbi has now joined the investigation into threats made against colorado supreme court judges in the wake of the decision to block donald trump from that

state's ballot.

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.