a giant pop tart that runs around the stadium andw winning team gets to eat it. i assume that there will be a person inside a real pop tart and i guess get out of it? we'll see. excited about it. >> that is terrifying. i'm just glad that the 6ers now don't have to have the designation of the worst losing streak. >> well, they do have the overall one, but it spanned two seasons. so pistons are going for that one too. >> andy, thanks so much. and i'm danny freeman. "cnn this morning" starts right now. gl. so glad that you are with us. it is december 27.

a big focus on the southern border today. top biden officials are headed to mexico to confront the crisis at the border, but more migrants are headed north. message that e is delivering. and fears are growing that american troops could end up on the frontlines of a wiredder conflict of the middle east. and a star of the film "parasite" found dead. "cnn this morning" starts now. we begin with the crisis at the southern border where president biden is sending some of his highest ranking officials as the largest migrant caravan since june of 2022 leaving southern mexico hoping to reach the united states. it includes 6,000 migrants and its leaders carrying a banner

reading exowe cuss from poverty. today secretary of state antony blinken and homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas will all meet with their mexican counterparts to try to reach an agreement to try to stem the tide of migrants in to the united states. >> and this is after president biden's call with mexico's president last week where they agreed more enforcement at the border is needed. meanwhile, there are more than 11,000 migrants still waiting in shelters and camps on the next cab side of the border as officials say that they are overwhelmed by the processing.n officials say that they are overwhelmed by the processing. >> our city here in eagle pass, we've been getting slammed with 2,000 to 3,000 people a day and it is just an unfair, unethical situation what is going on here in eagle pass. we feel ignored by the federal government. >> we begin this morning with

priscilla alvarez live at the white house. and you have new reporting on what the administration is looking to ask for in these meetings. what are the expectations? >> reporter: president biden is ending the year the way he started it, working with his mexican counterpart to try to manage the record migration in the western hemisphere. and the urgency of the moment is clear by who is heading down to mexico today. secretary of state antony blinken, homeland security secretary my aayorkas are going down to meet with the mexican president and members of his cabinet as thousands move north. these officials are going down with ask and including the following moving migrants south, those being migrants at the northern border now. and also controlling railways which are often used by migrants to more quickly get to the u.s. southern border and also providing incentives for them not to journey to the border to begin with. like for example visas.

and as you heard there from the eagle pass mayor, border towns are growing restless and placing more pressure on the biden administration to do more. and this is a step the administration is taking to try to provide some relief. and the u.s. has historically lea on mexico to stem the flow, but whether they can get a grasp on the unprecedented surge a still unclear. >> what is your read on what can actually get done? not just optics of all the high ranking people talking about the crisis, but what can be implemented soon? >> reporter: these are asks that i have seen from the u.s. before. they have pressed mexico to take these steps and mexico has done so. and when that happens, we do see some reprieve on the u.s. southern border. but the key questions are how long can mexico sustain that when they have limited capacity themselves. this is record migration across

the western hemisphere. that can't be overstated. and so this is what officials are contending with. and they may be able to get these outcomes in the short term, but the long term is still a steep, steep challenge for both countries. >> appreciate your reporting. we'll get back to you soon. and israeli military chief says the war is likely to go on for many months. >> translator: the war will go on for many months. there are no magic solutions. there are no short cuts in dismantling a terrorist organization. or determined and persistent fighting. >> the idf is continuing to use ground, air and naval forces for what it claims are terror targets in gaza. hamas controlled health ministry says more than 21,000 people have been killed. >> and meantime benjamin netanyahu's close confidant met with secretary of state antony

blinken yesterday and also jake sullivan to discuss more targeted phase of the war with fewer civilian casualties. will ripley is joining us again this morning live from tel aviv. and the humanitarian situation gets worse and worse every day. we're talking about now upwards of 20,000 civilians killed according to the hamas controlled health ministry. what is the reality on the ground versus whatever this next phase of the war is going to be? >> reporter: keep in mind you also have more than double that number according to the same health ministry injured, 55,000 plus. and you have a handful, literally a handful of hospitals that are still operating. so there are probably tens of thousands if not more people either sitting in hospitals unable to get treatment or they are just not even bothering to go and so having to endure the horrific conditions right now. this is what the world health

organization is warning about. and now even france saying that it is seriously concerned about the fact that the prime minister, defense minister, all of the israeli officials are signaling that the war will last for many more months. but in that meeting, a white house official saying that they did talk about among other things the transition of this war, focusing on high value hamas targets like yahya sinwar or his brother improving the humanitarian situation and another topic that they discuss minimizing harm to civilian, that is really crucial right now along with securing release of the remaining hostages. more than 100 of them believed to still be alive. but again, they will also plan they say for both conflict gaza. and this is the crucial question that at least publicly we haven't heard a particularly great answer to from not just

creating a whole other generation of people with so much hatred after experiencing this relentless bombardment that it is just a whole new crop of terrorists. if not hamas, then some other organizations. >> and a question about the near term though, i'm struck by a headline that israel will stop granting admission for u.n. officials except on a case by case basis. do you have any sense as to why and what the practical effect of that will be? >> reporter: remember the u.n. resolution passed last week, u.s. abstained from voting. but the wording in israel's view and view stared by the u.s. was simply unfair. no language to condemn hamas for starting this whole thing back on october 7, the attack that killed 1200 israelis that triggered this war approaching its 80th day. >> all right.

will ripley, thank you. joining us now, shelby talcott and also leah wright. and also scott dennings. thanks for joining us. you heard the reporting. high level officials have had these meetings before. there is a bit of relief at the border and then things go back to where they are. starting with you in terms of what biden needs to do here to not completely infuriate the progressive base, but also get something done here, how difficult of a task is that for him? >> it is a herculean difficult task in large part because what biden has to do is show desigh receiveness. and so this is all tied to the

funding for ukraine and really necessary for him to say that he's had a successful agenda. but it does mean compromise and republicans have been pushing for much more -- or much harder and severe consequences with regard to immigration and migrant crisis and just acknowledging the situation at the border. progressives, liberals, don't want that. they don't want i think the kind of hard line stance that we've come to effect from republicans, they want an intervention that is i think humanitarian, that is peaceful and that acknowledges the right of mobility for people in crisis. >> and let's listen to one of those talking about president biden and immigration. listen. >> if he does go to far at the trump direction, it will be felt at the ballot box next year no doubt. not to say that we don't have anything to do at the border.

we do. but we are to be thoughtful and smart about it and not just reactionary to terrorism's wish list. >> and i think that that is actually part of why trump's team sees this because they recognize how tense of a situation this is for president biden with the base and they understand that it is extremely precarious and anything that biden will end up doing is going to frustrate a portion of his base. so trump's team is really honing in on this border aspect. they see it as a political win and an opportunity. >> and the political incentives for president biden to strike a deal i think are pretty clear and i think his team acknowledges that. do those same incentives, are they clear for republicans? if you are a republican and you know you are winning this issue in poll of after poll, why woul

you agree to anything? >> it would be unusual for the republicans to have so much lnch in a fight this weekend big that is such a motivating issue. so why wouldn't you take advantage of it. republicans have been screaming about this issue and they have the american people behind them. huge majorities of the american people see the border as a real crisis. they think that joe biden has failed on it. and so if you were ever going to get most of what you want in divided government, now would be the time. so i do think that there is a lot of republican constituents out there who don't want to see this drag on prks they would love to see a solution today, they would love to see the republicans get most if not all of hr 2 which is the house immigration billsee a solution d love to see the republicans get most if not all of hr 2 which is the house immigration bill i think this has been lingering so long and the chance to score one here for the conservatives is too great in my opinion to let it go. and i think that if you were joe biden, i'd be up on capitol hill on my hands and knees begging for anything to sign here

because failure to do so will drag him. this is one of his biggest political problems. the video we're showing thorn, you think the american people say that looks fine to me? it is not just his base he has to be worried about, it is the bulk of the american people. >> and that doesn't even include the caravan of 6,000 on its way. you think the biggest political beneficial of this crisis at the border in the 2024 gop primary is nikki haley and i wonder why. >> absolutely. so one of the things that they do want policy at the border, but not necessarily the policy is that we're seeing touted by somebody like donald trump. n.i.l. can step nikki haley can step in and say i'm calm, and i can see that there is a benefit and i have

solutions. and i have solutions that are in the vein of conservatism. but also to anybody watching, anybody who is independent, anybody who is perhaps liberal but maybe feels deeply uncomfortable with the policies and rhetoric that donald trump is proposing, she can step in in that moment and say i have the presidential view point. i think this is what she's using in her campaign. but we've seen her step it up in advertising especially in areas like new hampshire where these become the frontrunner in the primary and building herself up as a direct contrast to joe biden in this kind of decisiveness. but also to donald trump, right? >> it is a really good point and only 19 days until iowa. and we'll get in to that, so stick around. we'll be back in a couple minutes. and donald trump had made it clear what another term would look like, his supporters have choice words to describe it.

that is ahead. and an actor found dead in his car, the police probe he faced. that is next.

we're following the sudden death of an actor from the movie

"parasite." lee sun-kyun was just 48. >> and we're learning that lee was questioned as recently as last week about a drug probe he says that he was being blackmailed. let's go live to hong kong for more. very sad developments obviously. do we have anymore details? >> yeah,. the sudden death is shocking to many of his fans across the world. as you mentioned, he was very well-known within the united states and globally for his film in "parasite." but what south korean police have confirmed, they presume his death to be a suicide. but what we also know he was currently being investigated by the authorities for alleged illegal drug use. and this investigation has been ongoing since october of this year. and he was questioned by the

police three times. most recently december 23 when he was requested for 19 hours. he was released on christmas eve. now, it is important to note that throughout this investigation, lee's drug tests have all come back negative and he has denied ever knowingly taking any drugs. and he said that instead he was tricked and then subsequently blackmailed. he has filed a lawsuit against this alleged blackmailer. now, on social media, there has been an outpour of grief and tribute to the actor. internationally he was well-known for"parasite" which won four oscars and it went down as the first non-english language film to win that award. but domestically he was also a household name. he had a career that spanned two decades and starred in a number of tv shows and movies. and according to local police, there will be a small and

quietly held funeral for his bereached family members and colleagues. >> for people are trying to figure out what happened here, can you explain how strict drug laws are in south korea? >> reporter: in south korea if you are caught using drugs, sentences can vary from six months to even 14 years if you are a repeated offender. i do want to clarify that lee wasn't convicted of drug use. he was being very gate investig. so unclear whether they would find him guilty or not. but in a very heavy sentence, it can be 14 years in prison. south korean citizens can also be sent to prison if they use drugs abroad, not just within their country. and celebrities in the past have had to retire from stardom and their contracts canceled or movies releases withheld because they were found guilty of using

drugs. >> a very sad story. our thought rgs ws are with his family. thanks for the reporting. and what ukraine is saying it needs. and wait until you see this story, a man survives inside a mangled truck for six days. he might not have made it if two fishermen didn't see something shiny under a bridge. . >> eyei looked inside and movede white air dltd bag. and there was a body. and i went to touch it and he did ushed turned around. almost killed me.

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270 miles of road are closed across neb necraska after a powl blizzard tuesday. there was a foot or more of snow in south dakota. and derek van dam is tracking it all for us. what are we looking at? >> so that same storm system is moving to the east coast, but certainly too warm for that to fall in the form of snow. ahead of it though, we have a

lot of fog. here is a live look at the brooklyn bridge. a bit of low clouds settling in. but if you look towards long island, iceslip about a tenth oa mile of visibility. so keep that in mind if you are traveling. this is all in advance of the rain that will shift in. it is about to fall from the die in new york, philadelphia, d.c. already raining. boston just a few more hours and you will start to see it. it picks up in intensity overnight tonight and then morning hours on thursday, a bit of light snow toward the west that is part of the storm system that brought blizzard conditions across the plains yesterday and the day before. but again, too warm to snow. so i-95 will be a wet commute. when you put it all into perspective, we think about the millions traveling this week. and look out potential delays

from laguardia northward toward boston logan. >> derek, thanks. >> yeah, no one likes rain. new this morning, an indiana man surviving for nearly a week inside of his mangled truck after a crash. he is found by two curious fisherman. and the 27-year-old was severely injured but he is alive after being pinned inside his vehicle and unable to reach his cellphone to call anyone for help. >> the vehicle crashed and landed in a spot where no one could see it, but luckily two men scouting fish saw something shiny that caught their attention. >> couldn't have thought it was a truck, but it caught our curiosity. and i moved the white airbag and

there was a body in there. and i went to touch it, and he turned around. and that just -- almost killed me there because it was kind of shocking. >> quite frankly, it is a miracle that he is alive in this weather. we've been lucky enough here this christmas season that our temperatures have been as you all know above normal. >> get this, he survived by drinking rainwater. he is now in a hospital. no word on his condition. but we'll keep you updated. and the u.s. fending off attacks by iranian backed groups for ten hours in the red sea. ahead, the effort to stop the wired war. and why vivek ramaswamy calls tv ad spending idiotic as his campaign makes a pivot.

this morning a battle highlighting the growing concern about a wired war in the middle east. u.s. navy says it fought off drones and missiles that the new houthis fired. >> and this is just after president biden ordered airstrikes on the militants in iraq. they allegedly attacked a base and injured three u.s. troops. cedric leighton is joining us. what happened yesterday? >> a lot of things that went on in that ten hour battle. so this is a broader middle east of course. and this battle that we're talking about here occurred right here in the red sea. so this is about 1400 miles from here to here. like d.c. to el paso or so. but the big thing that occurred

here is really several different efforts occurred with the navy. and they ended up going after a ter -- shooting down 12 one way attack drone, three anti-ship ballistic missiles and three land attack cruise missiles, using a combination of fa 18 fighter jets and a destroyer. and they were very busy doing this for over ten hours. but they were able to knock all that down because when you look at the different things that they took care of here that protected all of the shipping going throughout red sea, em this their rove point here, that is only about 20 miles or so wide. that one of the narrowest choke points in the world that we have to deal with and that is why the u.s. a protecting it. 12% of all commerce goes through here. >> and one thing that we've been talking about a lot is what happens if in these attacks the u.s. service member dies? what does that do in terms of

the escalation? we've seen a number injured, three injured, one critically on the last couple of days which is what prompted the biden administration to go after the iranian-backed hezbollah militants in iraq. but i just wonder how much you think it changes if indeed there is a u.s. service member casualty in all of this. >> it definitely makes a difference. one of the things to keep in mind here is when you look at the kinds of things that occurred, the initial attack against u.s. personnel occurred up here in the north at erbil air base. and so the u.s. basically responded by going in after this attack here and making sure that they could go after the houthi -- excuse me, the hezbollah forces. this is an iranian proxy. and what they decided do is go

after this at three different points. so there were three different attack areas in iraq. and they accelerated the process here because it became really important for the u.s. to l actually make a statement. so risking ratcheting things up because there are so many different u.s. forces about 3500 in both iraq and syria and the very fact is that these areas here are important for the fight against isis and so we have u.s. personnel in the area. but anytime american service member is injured, the u.s. feels that it is necessary to respond. and that is why the administration did what they did. >> there have been counter strikes in both syria and iraq. there have not been counter strikes specifically target houthis in yemen. why not? >> well, big thing here i think when you look at the broader middle east is there are several different factors here. this is a very difficult area for us to go after.

and there is still a possibility that there may be counter strikes against the houthis in yemen. one lreason it hasn't happened yet, the intelligence picture is not as good as forces in iraq. also keep in mind when saudi arabia had their war with the houthis, they didn't do so well and we don't want to get in to that same quagmire. >> interesting points. colonel leighton, thanks very much. and revenge, dictatorship, power, words some voters associate with donald trump and he appears to be giving them his seal of approval. and check before you charge. the down side to popular buy now pay later purchase plans.

donald trump seems to like said word cloud and front and center in a survey, his plan for a second term the words revenge and dictatordictatorship. so he shared it on truth social. the word and themes are been a part of his campaign. >> he says you won't be a dictator, are you? no, no, no, other than day one. we're closing the border and drilling, drilling, drilling. for those who have been wronged and betrayed, i am your retribution. >> back with us, scott jennings, leah and shelby. and scott big on that word cloud if you can pull it up again, economy, power, and revenge. dictatorship pretty big there as well. >> three out of four ain't bad.

>> but he is playing into this and feeding right into it. >> yeah, and i think that he feels like it is trolling, you know, the press and trolls the democrats and the people who don't want him to come back. this is what he does and he has gotten very good at it over the years. and so whether the dictator line or whether the poison line or, you go through some of the different things lately that have gotten people all bent out of shape, he leans into it because he sees that all the people who hate him the most are the angriest. so tale as old as time, donald trump trolling the people who like him the least and i expect it will be a major part of what he does the rest of the campaign. >> yeah, tale as old as the last eight years, but the last eight years have felt like the entirety of time. i think what he says is really

important. i have to give him credit because the point is spot on. trump sees the reaction to it, he seizes on it and a continues to tease it out further. >> yeah, he leans into it. and part of the reason is exactly what scott said. and the other part is because there is a huge base republicans who like that, they like that he is leaning into this, they like that people freak out over his comment and he trolls them and leans in further and becomes more aggressive in his commentary. and so we've seen historically these things which with any other presidential candidate i think it is fair to say would negatively affect them has been a positive at least from a primary perspective for donald trump. >> kristen sanderson has an interesting op-ed and she is basically arguing that trump ran as the chaos candidate, but he

is also saying this time i'm the one who can restore order. but it was this line of hers actually talking about biden winning over trump and how people feel now that vehicle me. she i wheres americans had voted to put the adults back in charge and began to wonder if the control room was simply empty talking about the risk for biden. i wonder what you make of that. everything he promised to stability, this and that, where is it for many people on economy, et cetera. >> so i think for a lot of people, they are looking for biden to be a decisive leader. and i think that it is especially important given that the chaos of really not just the last five years but like the last eight years has been so preva prevail lent on american lives. so they are looking for the person who will bring order back into the american not just economy but the american population.

no on society. remember biden said i'll be boring, you weren't hear about me. and i think part of the problem that we're running into as we move into campaign season is that donald trump doesn't want to play on those grounds and the american people are also realizing that perhaps this idea of having a really boring president or having a president who is not in the news or not in kind of the headlines is not necessarily what they want. and i actually think that it is not trump who benefits, although certainly with the trump base, but it is again somebody like nikki haley and somebody like nikki haley who can step in and say i can be the adult in the room. i can be competent, i'm young, quick on my feet, i have the experience. and oh, i'm not an angry dem going aoig and i'm not trying t gain revenge on the country. so is this this is an

interesting pace for somebody like nikki haley to put her foot in and make an impression with the country. >> thank you as always. and major reversal, the convictions against former republican congressman jeff fo fortenbury are overturned pe he stepped down after being charged with three felonies for lying to the fbi. but a federal paappeals court h decided that the case was tried in the wrong jurisdiction. he was charged in los angeles where the investigation began instead of nebraska or washington, d.c. where he allegedly lied to those agents. forten berry has argued that it was politically motivated. and cnn investigation into scams masquerading as legitimate investments, americans have lost

millions. >> what did i do? that is 30of my wife and my life building up this wealth. >> and also the battle over moving migrants from the border to other cities. the mayor of chicago will join cnn morning oig ahead.

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a new cnn investigation into so-called pig butchering scams involving cryptocurrencies. americans will be cheated in a scheme out of forced labor camps overseas. ivan watson reports.

[ crying ] >> please help me! please help me! >> reporter: it has been a living hell. in northern california, this man piecing together his life after losing more than a million dollars in a crypto scam. >> i can never forget or forgive myself losing that kind of money. >> reporter: he is one of tens of thousands of victims of a fast growing new form of financial fraud called pig butchering. he asks to remain anonymous to protect his family. it started in october 2021 with a text message from a stranger. what was the name of the person you were communicating with? >> she claimed her name was jessica. >> reporter: the two quickly became friends. she shared photos and he talked about the pain of caring for his dying father. after nearly a month, the conversation turned to money.

>> she started to introduce me into cryptocurrency. trading gold, using cryptocurrency. >> reporter: and jessica showed him how to invest by installing a trading app on his phone that he says looked legit. little did he know he was a victim pumping money into a sophisticated con for the scammers a pig fattened up for the slaughter. >> i log back in, the account is gone. what did i do? that is 30 years of my wife and my life building up this wealth. >> reporter: wealth that had suddenly disappeared. panicking, he begged jessica for help. >> please help me! i don't know what else i can do! i don't have anymore money, i lost everything! >> reporter: but jessica disappeared and probably never even existed. >> this is the professionalization of fraud services. >> reporter: the fbi has seen growth in losses due to the pig butchering scams.

>> the bad guys are getting good and better. >> reporter: and an organization representing scam victims tracked crypto transfers halfway around the world to this border region in myanmar. u.s. scam victims say they have been able to trace their money to places like this, this walled compound across the river, just inside the territory of myanmar. and that is where we're learning about the conditions inside, that some people who work there, they say that they were forced against their will to try to scam americans out of their hard earned money in conditions that they describe as amounting to modern day slavery. >> reporter: this compound is where an indian man named rakesh says he was forced to work for 11 months without pay for a chinese criminal gang. the guards spotted us. until they recently released him back to thailand. >> and they told me that --

>> reporter: he too was the victim of a scam. rakesh says he threw to thailand for what he thought was an i.t. job instead he was tricked to crossing the border into myanmar where a chinese gangster told him to work or else. he threatened to kill you? >> he warned me like that. >> reporter: and the job? spend 16 hours a day on social media targeting americans with a fake profile. >> using a russian tech profile. >> reporter: and posing as a salt lake city based investor, he flirted online with potential targets. >> 70% to 80% fell. >> reporter: and he shows secretly filmed images where at first glance seemed to be an ordinary office but he says the bosses routinely punished workers forcing them to do hundreds of squats and beating them if they didn't produce.

and you helped rescue people who were trapped inside behind the barbed wire of that very compound. >> yes. >> reporter: and michelle moore is one of a group of aid workers based in thailand who have helped rescue hundreds of victims of trafficking like rakesh over the last 18 months. she drives me along the border. request >> there is the guard tower just there. >> reporter: and showing compounds where she says trafficked victims are forced to work as online scammers. >> this is modern slavery right under everybody's nose. >> reporter: satellite images show rapid construction of the compounds on the border territory of men a mar over just three years. thailand's minister of justice labels these facilities as hubs

for criminal scamming activity. >> translator: these scammers have to use telephone signals to communicate that is why they base themselves near the thai border so they can use thailand's telephone network. >> reporter: but he says thailand has no jurisdiction to crack down on suspected criminals operating across the border in myanmar. cnn asked the military government in myanmar why it hasn't taken action against alleged criminal gangs operating on the territory and did not receive an answer. so for now, it looks like no one is going to stop this poisonous cycle of exploitation. ivan watson, cnn, on the thai border with myanmar. what a story. "cnn this morning" continues now. g phil mattingly with poppy harlow. a top israeli military official says the war in gaza will last many more months. what came from an hours long

sitdown between u.s. officials and a close confidant of benjamin netanyahu. and revenge, dictatorship, some of the top words people chose to describe a potential second trump term. so why is the former president shrugging it off and showing it off? "cnn this morning" start aa starts right now. ♪ just hours away from a critical meeting in mexico. secretary of state antony blinken and my arrest and the goal is to help ease pressure on the u.s. southern border. >> and new reporting that the two u.s. cabinet officials will turn up the pressure on their mexican counterparts to play a bigger role in driving down border crossings. the mayor of eagle