laying out more detail of the plan to wipe out hamas as one of the top adviser is in washington today for some tough meetings likely with the top biden administration officials. starting in iraq this hour where we are learning that president biden ordered a series of air strikes targeting three facilities used by the iranian-backed hezbollah group kataib. this happened at the erbil air base. one of the troops was injured critically, and the u.s. government is calling the strikes hostile acts. we have oren liebermann joining us from the pentagon. oren, what are you learning from the strikes? >> you are getting a sense of the sensitive decisions of the united states to carry out strikes inside of iraq, but we will get to that in a second. this is beginning monday morning according to the u.s. when the u.s. forces inn erbil, rauk, an

where three u.s. service members were injure and one critically. joe biden was briefed on the attack, and then a series of options of how the respond. that response we saw early morning local time in iraq when the u.s. carried out three strikes against the kataib hezbollah and affiliated groups of kataib hezbollah which is a proxy group that operates inside of iraq, and the u.s. central command targeted the command targets which is weapons they used to target the u.s. forces. according to central command, a number of the militants of the kataib hezbollah were killed and according to the early assessments the civilians were not affected by the strikes. this is coming in the broader picture of the number of attacks of iraq attacks on u.s. forces in months. the number of those attacks have been about 100 since mid-october as of right now. iraq condemned the u.s. attacks

in iraq saying they were hostile acts that infringed on iraq's sovereignty. it is important to point out that they are there at the invitation of iraq, and so anything that upsets that is to infringe on that, and so the u.s. is trying to maintain the military relations even as they carry out the proxies here inside of iraq. they are trying to make sure that this does not escalate, but given the number of attacks on the u.s. force, it is hard to believe they will not stop the attacks on the u.s. force, and it is hard to calibrate how they will have those forces inside of the middle east with of course the ongoing war in gaza. >> and oren, this is a proxy group, but the attacks also came directly from iran in the region? >> yes. and what has been directed to

the proxies, and before it was the houthi proxies, but over the weekend, the iranian drone launched from iran targeted a ship in indian ocean causing a fire on the ship but not injuring the crew members and on the way from saudi to india where it docked, and the indian navy helped it in with a indian ship, and it is noteworthy that the attack was contributed directly to iran. there, too, we see the risk of possible escalation, and one more thing that u.s. central command has to keep an eye on as it is grappling with the entire unrest in the middle east. >> thank you, oren, for coming in, and great reporting as always. and now, as the crisis worsens and the war dead rises, we are told that there is a still a long fight ahead. one of the closest to the war cabinet is now in washington, d.c., to talk about the future of the war against hamas.

today, ron dermer is going to sit down with antony blinken and other top officials. we have priscilla alvarez at the white house for us. what is this meeting hoping to accomplish when we know in the background that the biden administration has been pointed with the israeli administration saying that you have to do better when it comes to trying to protect the officials in gaza. >> sara, you can expect it to be a serious point of discussion in the meetings. it is coming at a critical time, because the u.s. does want to see israel move away from the high intensity war that has led to thousands of deaths of innocent civilians. now, as you have mentioned, there ron dermer is going to be meeting with secretary of state antony blinken and national adviser jake sullivan and the confident of benjamin netanyahu of the war cabinet and israel's

ambassador to the u.s. up to this point, israel has assured the u.s. that it has moved to a lower intensity war, and targeting hamas leadership, but there is not a time line for when they will move into that phase. and u.s. officials have previously said they will expect the localized operations to happen in january, but again, when talking about this publicly, it is still unclear what the time line of this next phase looks like as the u.s. is trying to urge israel not to or at least take a more targeted approach to avoid the deaths of innocent civilians. this morning on cnn, a senior israeli official described the conversations between israel and the u.s. as very good even if they have their differences. >> we can have different discussions on this technical issue or that technical issue. we listen attentively to whatever washington says and they listen to what we say to

them, but ultimately, we are on the same side of this, and wasn't to see hamas destroyed. >> president biden has warned that israel's support or the international support could wane as their death toll in gaza continues to grow. we saw that rift play out publicly earlier in the month. so, this is all, of course, as the president is facing domestic and international pressures, and the question going into these meetings is what is the nex phase of this war, and when will we see the next phase of the war, and this is what the u.s. is looking for and a key part of of these discussions this afternoon. >> priscilla alvarez, and appreciate it. kate? and joining us for all of this is the middle eastern negotiator david miller. and for those who don't know, explain how close dermer is and how close he is to benjamin

netanyahu's thinking and why he would be sent over right now? >> yes, two reasons -- and thank you for having me, kate. he is the prime minister's closest confidant outside of his immediate family, and over the last decade or so, he has established pretty good relations both with the republican and democratic administrations. i think that a priority frankly on the republican side, but nonetheless, he is an authoritative conduit, and if dermer is in town, and what he is dealing with, and the biden administration is dealing with is expectations gap. the administration wants a lower intensity and change in tactics in a mt. atter of weeks. the prime minister whose forces are tethered to a longer war are thinking in terms of months. whether or not those two clocks can be synced, and if they are not, what the administration intends to do by the end of

january is what i would think, and i don't believe in moments of truth in the u.s./israeli relationship, because they do not materialize, but by the end of january, you will see a significant change of the israeli military tactics. >> so the prime minister, he wrote in a "wall street journal" editorial article published yesterday about his view of the prerequisites of peace, and throughout the article he writes, first hamas, a key iranian proxy must be destroyed. second, gaza must be demilitarized. israel must ensure that the area is not used as a base to attack it. and gaza has to be deradicalized. what are these prerequisites to peace, aaron? >> well, every time he weighs in publicly and certainly in "the wall street journal," it is political objectives in mind.

the prime minister is looking for a comprehensive victory, and he wants the destruction of the lawlessness above ground, and he wants to identify and find the three senior hamas officials who were responsible for the savage and brutal terror surge on october 6th, and he wants gaza demilitarized, a post conflict reality. we are now on the third month of this war, and by the look of things, the israelis may be making progress of illuminating the fighters, but they are nowhere near destroying hamas, and let alone finding and killing top three. i'd remind everybody that it took us a decade, ten years to identify and kill osama bin laden, and so the search for these three, the three architects of what happened on october 7th, that search is

going to continue. i just think that the prime minister's objectives and the biden administration shares a couple of them are extremely ambitious, and they have to be weighed against how much time it is going to take, and how many palestinian civilians will be killed, and what the humanitarian damage is going to be done to the infrastructure, but no doubt as we move into 2024, that think will be operating in gaza in some form in some military activities and operations. >> may i add a third part of this that i wanted to get your take on. when the idf takes out hamas, and leaves the palestinian cities, what is left behind remains a huge question. how big is the risk do you think that there is this vacuum created that we have seen before in other places where no one is in control, and people there are becoming more and more desperate to get aid, and what then happens?

>> i mean, that is the key question. remember, military operations is an instrument. it is an instrument to drive and achieve a political objective. that political objective should be a new reality in post conflict gaza to provide secure and prosperity to 2.3 million palestinians who have suffered is greatly over the course of the last three months. right now, to be brutally honest, the ideas for fixing that problem, i think they are light years away. the prospects of the palestinian authority returning any time soon, grim. the prospects of the united states cobbling together an international force to assume an international force to gaza are not likely. and the united arab forces to maintain security is a real stretch. the only thing that we can predict is that israel is going to be operating in some fashion

militarily in coming months, and hopefully, hopefully, the reduction of the intensity of that campaign will allow badly needed humanitarian assistance to surge in gaza. i hope so. >> aaron david miller, thank you. it is good to see you. >> thank you, kate. and still ahead, the serious threats that are being made against the colorado justices who ruled last week that donald trump could not be on colorado's state ballot. now, the fbi is stepping into the fray. also, no end in sight, and that what a nonprofit center taking in the migrants says about the situation along the u.s. border. we go there live later in the hour. parts of the central u.s. are facing this, blizzard conditions, causing all sorts of holiday headaches. sorry, but it is beautiful where all of that bad weather is. coming up next.

>> this morning, nearly 5 million people under winter weather alerts as a blizzard is sweeping across the plains into the rockies. conditions have reached a point where interstate 90 in south dakota had to be closed overnight. officials are warning white-out conditions could make travel difficult to near impossible. you saw that amazon truck there with all of the packages stuck. in nebraska, reports ovehicles and tractor-trayilers sliding of of the road. derek van dam is here with it all, and such a mild winter here in new york, and look at nebraska. >> yes, overturned semis and

jackknifed semis is not what you want to see the day after christmas as people are traveling home from visiting families and friends. and you will have to contend with the difficult travel conditions in the central plains. and that is where the worst weather is at the moment. it may not look like much, but as you see it traversing the roadways, you can see the visibility is dropping off quickly, because this wind is blowing around the snow, and that is of course, going to make it difficult the drive on the roadways. you saw the videos of the overturned trailers there, and this is a part of the larger expansion of the system going from the southeast to the upper plains. this is the low focused right over nebraska. what it is doing is actually driving down a significant amount of wind on the backside of the system, and this is what is whipping up the snow that is falling from the sky. so, that is reducing the visibility, and we have reached blizzard criteria for many locations. there is the half a million people or so under the blizzard warnings, but we have ice storm

warnings for south dakota and north dakota and even western minnesota and in these winter weather advisory stretching to kansas and nebraska as well. current wind gusts right now, cheyenne, wyoming, 55 miles per hour, and you are adding the falling snow from the sky, and you are going to reduce the visibilities across these locations, and that going to make it very difficult to drive. according national weather service coming out of the denver office, they are discouraging the travel along interstate 25 and i-80 and perhaps i-70 and some portions of that before the winds will relax overnight. then the snow will taper off and the conditions will improve there, but i told you sit a far-reaching system, because the east coast is getting the warm side of the storm. this is all rain, and we are focusing in on western south carolina and western north carolina where there are flood watches in effect, and the potential for two to three more inches on top of what has fallen. yeah, you are right, sara, it is a mild winter in new york city, and still going almost 680 days

without an inch of snow on the ground in big apple. incredible. >> i am not happy about it, but maybe i am the only one. derek van dam, thank you. >> all right. and the fbi is jumping in to help investigate a series of violent threats made against the state supreme court justices in colorado and the same justices that ruled that donald trump is disqualified from appearing on the colorado presidential primary ballot. and katelyn polantz is back with us, and what more are you learning? >> well, kate, this is something that law enforcement is interested in colorado and tracking since the ruling last tuesday, a week ago from the colorado supreme court saying that donald trump could not be on the primary ballot, because he had engaged in insurrection. that led to what we understand on thursday was a situation where the denver police had to go to one of the justice's homes because of what they call a hoax report that was made, and since

then, there are the names of the justices on the colorado supreme court being discussed on far right pro-trump web sites. one of the things that we had heard was written is that robed rats must hang is some of the language being used online by extremists, but those are nonspecific threats at that time. and so, at this moment, the fbi is saying that publicly, the fbi is aware of the situation and working with the local law enforcement, and we will vigorously pursue any investigations of any threat or use of violence committed by someone who is using extremist views to justify their actions regardless of the motivation. so no specific threats at this time that are requiring the law enforcement to make arrests that we know of, but it is a climate that we know that there are many, many people making general threats, and using violent rhetoric around the public officials especially the judges who are ruling on these heavily-watched, and

closely-watched political cases involving donald trump. >> this is absolutely not theor theoretical, because we have seen when the threats have been taken into action, and it is terrifying very much in realtime. katelyn, thank you for the update. next, we go to the u.s. border where the nonprofit centers are frustrated, overwhelmed trying to meet the resources needed for those massive surges. and also, what you need to know about the fees for those returns. and why some companies are increasing charges for returning things.

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two busloads of migrants were moved from texas to a chicago suburb and then into the city over the weekend. the city of chicago is reporting that it has received roughly 26,000 migrants from texas in the past 16 months. there are potentially more to come. the caravan of thousands of migrants is still on the move headed through mexico toward the u.s. border. it is the largest caravan seen in a year. the secretary of state tony blinken is headed to mexico tomorrow to try to hammer out new agreements to better control the flow of migrants. rosa flores has more for us joining us now. and rosa, what does this mean for where you are in eagle pass, texas? >> you know, kate, what we are seeing here is that nonprofit organizations are yet again filling in the gaps when the federal government fails. what i am talking about is all

of the nonprofit organizations along the u.s. southern border that end up having to provide food and shelter and sometimes even transportation for migrants. now, here is what i mean. so if you are looking up behind me, you can see that the field has been emptied out. probably a few migrants, and these migrants arrived near the past 30 minutes. once the migrants are transported out and sent to the immigration processing, some of them will be deported, because title 8 is apply and others will be released into communities along the border, and to deco decompress, and deal with the surge, what the u.s. border patrol does is to transport the migrants to other areas like the rio grande area, or del rio or other areas to make sure they are processed more swiftly and able to take them through the process a lot quicker. what that means for these nonprofit organizations is that

they are getting hundreds of migrants here from eagle pass in their communities. just to give you the idea in the rio grande valley, the catholic charities there, last week they were getting 350 migrants from eagle pass every single day, and this week, it is 550. to give you the idea, in del rio in a week last week, they assisted 4,200 migrants, and that was last week, but in august, to give you the idea of the total number assisted for the month was 5,800. here's what the director of that respite center said. there is a level of frustration knowing that there is no end in sight. the number of migrants entering the u.s. southern border has long surpassed a breaking point. some arrive with only hope of reaching american soil, and once that goal has been achieved, there is no plan in place. kate, i can tell you by

experience what this woman is saying is true. i have talked to many migrants, and once they arrive in the united states, they realize they need documents to work here, there is no money or plan to go into the united states to other communities in the united states. they don't have family waiting for them. they don't have money for transportation or food. many a times, they end up with the controversial governor abbott buses to new york, chicago and other areas, because they have no other option, and they believe it is a free ride to another city in the united states, and that is the goal to figure out a way to not stay here on the border where they are too close to the border patrol, and again, they'd be afraid to be deported. they are trying to figure out how to stay, and that is what we are seeing on the border. kate? >> yeah. rosa, thank you so much. >> it is a complicated subject, but luckily the democratic

michigan member debbie dingell is joining us from washington, d.c. look, we have heard from our rosa flores on the border watcwatch watching what is a crisis according to all on the border. i know it is a huge issue, and joe biden has said he is willing to make some big compromises with the republicans to get a bill passed that would not only try to deal with the border, but also fund israel and ukraine. what is it that you think is the biggest compromise that you would be willing to make with the republicans including biden administration to get this done? >> look. we have needed a comprehensive immigration reform for decades in this country and not just a few years, so you cannot look at that report and not know that we have a crisis on the border. it is tough, and it is really hard. that is what the people elect us to do is to get to hard decisions. there are a number of issues to worry about and we have to keep our national security front and center, but at the same time,

there is so many people coming here with hope like many of our forefathers did, but they have to know that the real circumstances when they get here. i think that we have to do so many things, and tony blinken is going, the secretary of state going to mexico tomorrow, and we need the governments other countries to communicating the reality to those coming here, and we must not lose our humanitarian and compassion for those trying to escape horrific situations, but we have a mess. it is why we have not dealt with it for decades, because it is hard. but we can't put the hard aside anymore. so let's see what really comes out of the discussions in the senate. i am not willing to say what i am going to vote for until i know what is brought forward, but we cannot ignore this. in the midst of all of this, we also need to remember that there is a need by some. we have small businesses that need workers and care giving in this country is a crisis, but how do you protect the national

security all at the same time? it is not easy. >> and as you said, every administration for decades has gone through it, and each of them blamed in their own way, and so i wanted to ask you a specific thing that the republicans are going after the one thing, and this is the hangup, and the big hangup, and it has to do with the humanitarian parole where the humanitarian bypassing the regular migrant process if it is for humanitarian process and can cause significant benefit to the united states, and that is one of the big issues that the republicans don't want to see continuing. they want that parole issue to stop and not let people in even with the sticking points. is that a sticking point for you? do you want to keep that in place, the decision to be able to help someone if they are in a major humanitarian crisis?

>> we have to define what that humanitarian crisis is? some people are coming here for the death of a relative or someone who is dying or needing help, but what we are seeing is the sensational of the criminals coming over, and have done something horrific, and we need a tight definition of what that is. that is why i am unwilling to say, i will support this or that, until i know what are we being asked to vote on, and this is not simple. anybody who thinks that this is simple, we would have voted on it decades ago, and we have not done it under democratic or republican presidents, and you can't look at the border and not know that something has to be done. >> it is a really good point. all right. representative dingell, i wanted to ask you about the new information that the fbi is now involved because of the threats to the colorado judges who ruled that donald trump cannot be on the ballot. i'd like to get your thought, because in your state, several

of the state leadership have received threats, and you, yourself, you have received threats as a public servant, and have you noticed that things are worse or have things changed? >> they are deteriorating and getting worse, and i am going to quite frankly tell you that it is one of the most pathetic christmas greetings that i have heard when a former president of the united states who wants to return tells people on christmas day that they can rot in hell. he is contributing to the divisiveness and division in the country. yes, i have had people and after he went after me, quite frankly, there were men outside of my house with assault weapons. i have had threats, but it is the hate and division creeping into our communities, far too easily. violence is becoming normalized, and every last one of us has to stand up. we can disagree civilly. we need to respect every human being with dignity. we need to treat them like

everybody is a human being and bring that civility back, because our democracy is in trouble if we start to let the kind of anger, violence and division that is creeping in be normalized more. it is not right. >> congresswoman debbie dingell, thank you for coming on, and it is not right. thank you for coming on today. >> thank you. and a brazen prison escape and manhunt and the answers in the death of tupac shakur, and the look of the crime stories that captured the nation's attention this year. and he has a history of anti-semitic remarks. kayne west is now apologizing in hebrew this morning. why? that is coming up.

from a daring prison escape, massive manhunt and to an arrest in a decades' old serial killing case, 2023 was full of high profile crime and justice stories. jean casarez takes a look back.

>> reporter: hundreds dead in mass shootings, cold case arrests and murderers are on the run, and all part of the top ten crime stories around the country in 2023. number 10 -- a young girl kidnapped and found alive. >> they have found her, and we are told that she is in good health. >> reporter: the upstate new york girl taken at a camp ground while riding her bicycle. >> we are leaving no stone, no branch, no table, no cabin unturned. >> reporter: fingerprints on a ransom note left in her family's mailbox led to her and the arrest of 46-year-old craig nelson ross jr. he has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and other charges. number 9, a daring escape leads to a weeks' long manhunt.

34-year-old convicted murderer da danielo from his prison yard. >> we will have a search by land and air. >> he is armed and still on the loose. >> he was on the run, and spotted on trail cameras and allegedly breaking into homes before being capture and returned to prison. >> our nightmare is finally over, and the good guys won. >> reporter: he is now facing 20 new charges. number 8, a 17-year-old las vegas high school student beaten to death by his classmates. authorities call it senseless, and ten students against one. this video very graphic. >> what you are seeing in the video though is approximately ten subjects kicking and

stomping and punching. >> reporter: police believe it is after school fight over headphones. >> he is on the ground and not defending himself to the point he is unconscious. >> reporter: eight students arrested ranging from ages 8 to 17 facing murder charges. number 7, an arrest. after more than a decade, unsolved killings on long island. dozens of setss of remains on gilgo island. >> this is a demon who walks among us. >> reporter: and the man is facing multiple murder counts involving three women, and he has pleaded not guilty. number six, a confession in the death of natalee holloway. 18 years after she disappeared on a high school graduation trip to aruba, the prime suspect in

the death, joran van der sloot admits to killing her. he was flown by fbi agents to the home state of alabama to face extortion and wire fraud charges. >> despite their grief, the holloway family kept fighting for justice for natalee. >> reporter: he plead guilty and sentenced to 20 year for his crimes. he is going to serve his sentence while back in peru where he is serving a murder sentence for killing a peruvian woman. >> it has been a very long and painful journey, but we finally got the answers that we have been searching for, for all of these years. >> reporter: number five, an arrest in the 1996 killing of tupac shakur. ♪ lost in hell ♪ >> reporter: the prominent rapper was shot and killed after leaving a boxing match in mgm. >> the family of tupac shakur

has been waiting for justice. >> reporter: dwayn ekeefie dee. it is said that no other suspects in the shooting are alive, and davis pleaded not guilty. number four, from crypto currency whiz kid to convicted felon. sam bankman freed is convicted of stealing billions from his company ftx. >> this kind of fraud and corruption is as old as time. >> reporter: before the company imploded bankman fried lived the high life. he could go to prison for life, but his lawyer maintains his

innocence. number three, a disgraced attorney, descendent of southern prestige found guilty of murdering his wife and son. alec murdaugh practicing law in the low country, beautiful family and secretly stealing clients' money and covering up murder. >> we cannot bring it back, but we can bring justice. >> reporter: he has filed for a new trial. and number 2, tyre nichols beat b en by the police. he was beaten by the traffic officers and short footrace. he died three days later and the death rule d a homicide. >> i know that i will never see him again, but we have to start the process of justice right now. >> reporter: the five officers

charged in state and federal court and initially all pleaded not guilty, but however, one later agreed to a plea deal. number one, mass shootings kill hundreds of americans. >> so much loss in this community. >> reporter: from the lewiston, maine, mass shooting where 18 were killed in a bowling alley and restaurant. >> there is a deep sadness here. >> reporter: to the covenant school in nashville where three adults and children died. a bank employee in louisville killing five of his colleagues. >> clearly this community is clearly shaken. >> reporter: an asian american celebrating the lunar new year in january with 11 shot dead. 2023 was the year of more than 600 mass shootings in this country according to the gun violence archive. and that is our jean casarez.

thank you, jean. and coming up the end of the free return, and why the retailers are pushing toward pushing the cost of shipping things back, back to the consumer.

also on our radar this hour, kanye west issued an apology to the jewish community. he posted the message in hebrew to instagram. he apologizes for any, quote, sbnd the outburst cause d by hi words and actions. he does not intend to, quote, hurt or disrespect anyone. it is not clear what prompted this apology now, but west has a long history of making anti-semitic statements, including tweeting last year he was, quote, going defcon 3 on jewish people. the antidefamation league responded saying this maybe the first step on a long journey toward making amends towards all those he hurt that actions will speak louder than words, but this initial act of contrition is welcome. there's new research out this morning pointing to some

surprising new risk factors for early onset dementia. researchers found that being socially isolated, live ing wit hearing loss and having low vitamin d levels can lead to a higher risk of cognitive decline. the study suggests on what can help, including getting your hearing checked as well as your vitamin d levels during primary care visits, starting in your 30s. the powerball jackpot has climbed to $685 million. so you still have a chance to win the big prize since no ticket matched all five numbers. a very, very slim chance, but still, the next drawing is tomorrow. >> i'm ready. got a sweater in the wrong size? more than one of the same item or don't like the gift you're given. if you return it, it cost you. here with all that information now is business reporter nathaniel myoerson.

>> pethe stores are charging fo free returns. this era is ending. 81% of retailers are now charging for returns for at least one return method. it's typically for online. you can still return for free in stores, but look at some of these fees from the retailers. i'm a j. crew shopper. $7.50 by mail, no thank you. so even amazon, amazon is charging a $1 fee for customers who are bringing back their returns to the ups store when there's a closer whole foods store or kohl's. returns are expensive for retailers. they have to pay for you to ship it back and restock it. and we have seen the return rates jump 8% in 2019, 16% last year. >> so i'm still mad at the $ $9.99, but i'll get over it. what other trends are you seeing? there are some places, i'm not going to say it out loud, but north stroms, people have been

returning things forever and you just know you can. >> you know you can. >> without paying. >> it's an interesting industry that's really blown up. especially as more people are i buying online. that's where we're seeing a lot of the returns. it looks good in person, but not as good online. so retailers are tightening the return windows, at least we can bring it back without a box and the prepaid label. some stores are even offering discounts. you go to staples. you can shop for about 10% off. then this one is really interesting. keep it. rather than return it, stores are just letting you keep it because it's too expensiexpensi. >> i moved away because i was upset and didn't want to lash out at you. it's not your fault, but thank you for bringing that us to. we have to watch out when we do the returns. >> there's no such thing as a free return, but it's going to be a hard thing to transition back to paying for the shipping fees. we can't have nice things. we bought too much stuff and

returned half of it. thank you all for joining us today. this is "cnn news central." "inside politics" is up next.

today on in"inside politics there are grg