♪ ♪ ♪ nikki haley, courting controversy after she was asked about the cause of the civil war and initially did not mention slavery. her campaign, struggling to silence the criticism. and a ballot battle, colorado's republican party calling on the supreme court to keep donald trump on the ballot as other states wrestle with whether the former president should be banned or not. >> plus, a border deal. u.s. and mexican officials reaching an agreement that would reopen recently closed border crossings with a bigger problem, the surge of migrants trying to reach the united states remains. we are going to get reaction from a border town mayor in just moments. we are following these major

development stories with many more y'all coming in right here to cnn news central. ♪ ♪ ♪ called out, now trying to clean it up. republican presidential contender nikki haley responding after facing criticism for comments that she made on the campaign trail last night. >> this is in new hampshire, where the former south carolina governor was confronted by a voter who took her to task for not mentioning slavery in her response when asked about the cause of the civil war. here's the exchange. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> i think that the cause of the civil war was how the government was going to run. the freedoms of what people could not hang could not do. i think that it always comes down to the role of government. and what the rights of the people are. i will always stand by the fact that i think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of the people. it was never meant to be all

things to all people. the government doesn't need to tell you how to live your life. they don't have to tell you what you cannot and can do. you don't want to be a part of their life. you have to make sure that you have freedom. we have to have capitalism. we have to have economic freedom, we need to make sure that we do all things so that individuals have the liberties and can have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do and be anything they want to do without government getting in the way. >> in the year 2023, it is astonishing to me that you answer that question without mentioning the word slavery. >> what do you think about slavery? cnn's jessica dean is with us on this story. how is haley responding now? >> breonna and boris, it was interesting to see that the first thing this morning, she was on a radio station doing a radio interview. she claimed this opportunity to clean this up and clarify her comments. then we saw her a little bit later when she got back out onto the trail in new hampshire,

bringing this up at one of her stops. i will let you listen to what she has to say, then we can talk more about that. >> of course the civil war was about slavery. we know that. that is unquestioned, it is always the case. we know that the civil war was about slavery. it was also more than that. it was about the freedoms of every individual. it was about the role of government. >> certainly, not the topic that she thought she would probably be talking about today on the campaign trail in new hampshire, boris and breonna, but the case remains that it is what has really grabbed the spotlight. her answer last night, of course the media has picked it up. the question is, how much will it actually matter to voters? will it impact the preferences? how they see her? of course, that is up for them to decide. now we are very close to seeing what they think, because voting starts january 15 that the iowa caucuses, and to remind

everyone, new hampshire is about one week later. >> jessica dean, thank you so much for wrapping that up for us. we want to discuss further now with ron brownstein, a cnn senior political analyst and senior editor for the atlantic. ron, thank you so much for being with us. we heard her clarification. she is trying to move on from this unforced error. do you think that it was a gaffe, or that she was thinking about primary voters that is still a bayou that lost cause argument? >> i think really the latter. as you pointed, out she has talked this way for a long time. there is a significant constituency within the republican coalition, and particularly in the south that is expressin i various ways towards the confederacy, and do not want to be reminded that the reason the confederacy existed was to preserve slavery. and also to defeat the majority rule in the country, since the secession was a direct result of abraham lincoln's election, and the awareness in the south

the states we're now going to move in ways to upend the future of slavery. to her credit, as governor, she removed the confederate flag on the state capital, and she did that only after defending its presence for years, and after a massacre at a historically black church in charleston. they deemed it untenable. the problem that she has here is not so much about the borders or going to be one way or the other based on your view what caused the war. this definitely plays into the argument that her critics make, that she is somebody who tries too hard to be all things to all people, and is unwilling to really take a stand in the party. chris christie is out there saying that i'm not getting out of the race because you cannot trust her to make a strong case against donald trump if she will not make a strong case against the role of slavery in prompting the civil war. he might have a point. >> i want to ask you about some of the responses that she has

been getting from chris christie and others on that questioning. i am curious. obviously she staked her ground in new hampshire. it is almost a must win state for her, or must come in closely in second place to donald trump's state. right after that is south carolina, obviously her home state. how much do you think that that's ways voters there with the argument that she is making? >> look, south carolina is and has been since the model primary system came into play in 1980. the winner of the south carolina republican primary has won the nomination every single time it cooked for once. it is obviously a critical state on the calendar. it haley is positioned to do competitively well in new hampshire. she is doing better in new hampshire than desantis is in iowa. after new hampshire, she will clearly be seen as the principal alternative to trump. the main reason that she is doing so well in new hampshire is her strength among independent voters. they can vote in new hampshire,

but not in south carolina. ultimately, she needs to show more appeal to core republicans, and particularly those that are open to trump but not web to trump. this is the kind of dance that she has done before in south carolina for many years. i know kind of speaking in this very opaque language to minimize the role of slavery until called out on it. i don't know if -- and again, this is a problem for south carolina. the problem is, she has to make a stronger case against trump if she is really running to beat him. that is the question that some people are asking around christie in particular. is she running for vice president? is she running for secretary of state? is she running in 2028? does she want to be seen as somebody who's taking down donald trump? she's going to have to make a fair case to voters why it's her and not him. >> the governor pointed out multiple times that she has not ruled out running as donald trump's running mate, something that florida governor ron desantis was quick to bring up haley's remarks. he actually launched a website

accusing her of trying to run to be donald trump's running mate. is that a fair accusation? >> i think that what we see with haley so far as what we've seen with a lot of republicans. she would go so far and no further in making the case against donald trump. look at the ad that she created with chris sununu in new hampshire. it's a terrific ad in most respects. it is energetic, engaging, it shows a lot of the enthusiasm. it is also a missed opportunity. sununu is the most star prominent starting candidate in this race, and probably will have in this race. the ad went out mentioning trump and all of her criticisms of him, they are obsolete and indirect. that's why you get that line of argument from chris christie. it is not so much that she rules out being vice president, it is that she is behaving in a way that would suggest she will only go so far in making the case against trump. if she wants to change that

impression, if she wants voters to -- believe that she is really in it to win it, as somebody else once said, then she needs to go out and do that. this incident, gaffes, there used to be a belief in politics that gaffes matter when they can form a pre-existing belief. i'll gore spelling potato, it would not have been a big deal if he would say he was tired. when dan quayle misspelled potato, he didn't know how to do it. that's what's dangerous about this for hailie. she is facing the perception already that she is trying too hard to be all things to all people in the republican primary, not taking clear hard stances, and particularly against the front runner. this is the kind of answer that feeds that perception, the ability to have it both ways. by the, way her new answer about that this is about the freedom, defending freedom, is she saying that the north was right to fight the south to free the slaves? is she saying that the north hinged on the freedom of the

south to keep slaves? her standard response raises more questions than answers. >> important to point that out. also, is there an easy in potato? that's a critical question when running for the white house. ron brownstein, we appreciate the perspective. thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. >> of course. we now have the first official appeal to that ruling in colorado which band donald trump from the 2024 primary ballot. republican primary party is appealing that decision made by the colorado supreme court last week. the recall on that for three decision, as state justices said the trump could not be on colorado's ballot because of the 14th amendment. >> which says that no person shall hold any office who should have engaged in insurrection or rebellion, or given aid and comfort to the enemies thereof. the colorado court said that trump engaged in insurrection with efforts that were

indisputably overt and voluntary. let's turn to marshall cohen for details on this appeal. marshall, tell us what the republican party in colorado is saying as they are facing some pretty tight deadlines here. >> reporter: here we are at the supreme court finally as we have been predicting for months now. not a lot of people realize that this was not just a case against donald trump. the colorado republican party is a party of this lawsuit as well. they were first out of the gate last night with their appeal. they're making some pretty serious arguments in their view that this colorado decision would be wrong, and would set a terrible precedent. let me read for you what they are telling the justices in their request for the supreme court to take this up and overturn the decision. they said that by excluding president trump from the ballot in colorado, the supreme court engaged in unprecedented disregard for the first amendment right of both parties to select their candidate of their choice. they went on to say that with the number of challenges in trump's candidacy now pending

in other states, there's a real risk that the color -- colorado supreme courts flawed and unprecedented analysis would be burrowed. the resulting grave error would be repeated. in other words, they are afraid that some of these other cases that are still lingering out there are now going to go against trump because of the decision in colorado, and they want the community to set -- step in and fix that. they might be worried for good reason. there is a pace -- case pending in maine right now, also a lawsuit that was withheld a few weeks ago trying to keep trump off of the ballot. look, mostly trump has succeeded. you see here and in other states, he hasn't mostly been able to preserve his spot. they will now move it to the supreme court and see what they will do. >> very pivotal. you hear other states, while colorado did, that means that we should proceed as well. we are hearing that from some. marshall, thank you for that, we appreciate it. let's get some legal expertise now on this. jessica levinson is a law professor at loyola law school. professor, do you think the

colorado's republican party is going to win on appeal and get trump back on the colorado's 2024 ballot? >> i do think that they are going to be successful, in large part because i don't think that the supreme court wants to be the court to rule that trump is ineligible for the ballot. frankly, to make it look like they are deciding who the voters can vote on. i know that it sounds like the supreme court is basically going to come to a political conclusion and try to find a legal way to do that, but that is my sense. my sense is that they know what happens when they put their thumb on the scale of presidential elections. they still remember what happened after bush versus gore when it looked like they were the ones to decide the presidential election. not necessarily because the legal argument here to get trump kicked off of the ballot is weak, but because i just

think they are going to find a way to overturn this colorado supreme court decision. >> initially, trump's legal team said that they would appeal, does that mean that he doesn't have to? he's not going to? would it behoove him to still go ahead with that? >> i think that it would. the last thing i saw indicated that he says he will. it's not entirely unusual for him to see those other situations where he says i'm going to appeal right away. he waits for something else to happen. in this case, from the colorado gop to weigh in. maybe he wanted to see what those different arguments would be, something that's complimentary. let's remember that the delay of the game for the former president ended. there is no need for him to appeal before january 4th, for instance. we know that the u.s. supreme court has been asked to weigh in.

i suspect that he will say, here's my argument. >> how quickly does the court move here, do you think? >> i think the court will move quickly and this is one of the situation that screams out for resolution by the court. they are the only ones who can tell us what section three of the 14th amendment means. as you've just been discussing in the last few minutes, we have almost a patchwork of decisions. i think all of us are waking up to the fact that election laws really do vary state by state. and so, what the court does not want is this patchwork of different decisions where trump is eligible in one jurisdiction, but he's not, for instance, in another state. i think they will act quickly. that is a lawyer's way of saying, i'm not going to tell you days or weeks, but i don't think they can let this drag out for months. >> i do want to ask you about maine because the trump team is asking maine secretary of state to recuse herself as she

decides whether trump should be removed from maine's ballot, due to the 14th amendment. in this case, his lawyer cite some of her online comments about him in the past, but just more broadly, this issue of a secretary of state taking this action versus what happened in colorado, where you have the supreme court going through the court system. is that more vulnerable? how do the courts see that process, do you think? >> so, it really varies based on state law. so, i don't think that necessarily one decision is stronger than another because it was made, for instance, by a trial court as opposed to a secretary of state. what we're seeing is that, for instance, michigan dismissed one of these challenges because they said the secretary of state doesn't have discretion when it comes to eligibility. in maine, it's kind of the flip side of that, where it's only the secretary of state who, in the first instance, does have that discretion to determine eligibility and that's why she heard kind of the mini

evidentiary trial as to whether or not she was going to say the former president is ineligible under section three, again, of the 14th amendment. i think what we are looking at here is a bunch of different cases. again, sometimes it's a court, sometimes it's a secretary of state who makes that first decision. those cases are than appealed of the state court system and that is why we are really in this waiting pattern for the u.s. supreme court to give more guidance. >> yeah, we will see if that comes soon. jessica, great to have you. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> and still ahead on cnn news central, developments in the prices on the success of crisis on the southern border. the mexican president says, deals were made during high-level talks with u.s. officials, as a record number of migrants continue to cross the border. >> plus, a second american held hostage by hamas declared dead. this, at the israeli prime minister meets with the families of those still held captive. we are going to speak to the father of one of those hostages in a few moments.

>> in a house where four idaho college students were murdered is now being demolished. why the victims families tried to stop it.

>> u.s. and mexican officials say they are feeling good about yesterday's crisis meeting over the southern u.s. border. >> both sides, calling the talks, very productive and mexico's president saying today on agreement has been reached to reopen u.s. border crossings that had been shut down due to the migrant surge. but u.s. officials say there is much more work to be done and more talks are set for next month, when mexican leaders will come to washington to meet

with biden cabinet members. new cnn white house reporter priscilla alvarez here with more on what else came out of that meeting. all right, well that's refreshing to hear. so often, those are not the words that are used. tell us about this. >> well, they're underscoring how they're cooperating on this front and really, what this boils down to is -- that's what the u.s. was going to mexico to ask them to do more of. this doubling down on immigration enforcement in their own country, cracking down on smugglers who facilitate the travel to the u.s. southern border and the congesting the northern border. we know that there are thousands of migrants who are waiting to cross into the u.s., so the u.s. was looking for help from mexico to move them further south. more broadly, senior administration officials said they also wanted to talk to them about tackling the root causes of migration and also critically, u.s. economic, u.s. mexico economic partnership. these are two critical trading partners trading partners. what happened this month is that some key ports of entry where trade happens had to be suspended to move personnel to

process migrants. that is not what u.s. and mexican leadership want to see and it's what prompted a phone call between president biden and the mexican president. and so, this was a key part of those discussions yesterday, making sure that all those are reopened and that they stay reopened. now, as far as the results. the big question here is, how long can any of this really be sustained? when mexico is also limited in their capacity. now, i've been talking to homeland security officials over the course of the week. numbers have gone down a little bit. tuesday was around 6000 encounters. yesterday went back up a little bit to 7000. both of those, still under what we saw earlier this week, which was 10,000 people a day. but this is still not sustainable. this is not where the administration wants to be. so, there are still going to continue those discussions with mexico come next month, to see where they are in their progress and what more can be done. but this has been an ongoing conversation since the president took office and also, every u.s. president before then. so, there's still a lot of work to be done on this front.

>> -- the senate deal that still coming together, we understand. they're having teleconference meetings with over the holiday to try to get it done. priscilla alvarez, thanks so much for the reporting. appreciate it. let's discuss further now with the mayor of laredo, texas. victor trevino. mayor, thank you so much for being with us. first, i want to get your reaction to that news that the u.s. and mexico reached a deal to reopen the border crossings at eagle pass and el paso. do you think that those closures ultimately gave the u.s. leverage for these meetings? >> well, i think all efforts are important and thank you for having me. we are seeing conditions affect humanitarian hurricane here locally in the making because as the largest land port in the u.s., we've been accustomed to see migrants being released in our community. but most of them get in a bus and go to another destination. but now what we are seeing is refugees from all over the world, not precisely from mexico. they come from south america and all over the world, stranded in our community with no money and no idea of where

they're going. so, even if 1% of those people who are referred from other border areas be released daily here, 1% would be significant in our streets. they would not be able to absorb the costs of sheltering or providing medical services. and i've been talking to border mayors and they are seeing the same thing. >> so, when it comes to the situation that you're seeing on the ground, how do you think these meetings between the u.s. and mexico, the ones that we have this week, the ones that are upcoming next month, how do you think they might change the dynamic that you're facing in your town? >> i think they will. it's primarily because mexico has the same problem that the u.s. has. these migrants come from south america, not from mexico. so, they're having to deal with the problem and they're looking at incentives, having asylum here in the u.s.. so, mexico says, how can we stop that if the asylum is

being given to them? what is the incentive for mexico for using their resources, just letting everybody in? for claiming asylum. we need mexico's help in intercepting these caravans and because of our current immigration policies, they are probably not working that well. but i think those meetings are important to get some solutions. >> u.s. officials have pointed to a recent dip in the average number of daily encounters at the southern border. it went down roughly 2500, 3000 encounters per day after it hit nearly all-time highs earlier this month. how confident are you that the numbers might stay at this level? are you expecting an increase in the new year? in other words, do you think this is sustainable? >> it is not sustainable for us and these coming waves, maybe we had a sudden decrease. but as laredo, being the largest port of entry, we have always managed migrants surges

without the need of a border wall. but what we are seeing is different. here locally, we don't have a pediatric icu. we don't have the resources to absorb the current numbers. now they are stranded or -- going to pose a problem for more homelessness. so, i think we have to be cognizant of these waves that are coming. sometimes they decrease, but sometimes all of a sudden, we have a big surge, so we have to continue working on this. now, laredo is a very safe border, the lowest amount of illegal crossings in the country. but we are being used as an overflow location and migrants are being released and have nowhere to go. >> mayor, quickly, i want to get your response to the new measures passed by governor greg abbott, including sb4. even critical of it. why are you against using local law enforcement to tackle the issue of immigration? >> this is a difficult situation for us locally because we need guidance of

what laws to follow. there is the federal laws, then there are state laws. and they're not on the same page, so what we're asking for is guidance to see what laws we are going to follow and furthermore, police, local police, don't have immigration instruction, they don't have immigration training. they don't do the same thing as immigration officers, so mexico is a trade partner also, we just can't start profiling people of on the way they look. so, these are all issues that are concerning and that's the reason we brought them up. >> mayor victor treviño, we have to leave the conversation there. very much appreciate your time. >> thank you, appreciate it. >> of course. still ahead on cnn news central, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu's meeting with the families of hostages held by hamas. we are going to speak with one father, who was in that meeting, speaking to netanyahu. and new numbers just in. mortgage rates dropping for the

ninth week in a row. we're going to break those numbers down and tell you what it means for home buyers.

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>> today, new warnings from the palestinian people as the israeli military tells civilians to evacuate parts of central gaza immediately, including a refugee camp near waddy, gaza. this comes as the hamas-controlled ministry of health says that at least 50 people were killed by an israeli airstrike, or rather, several israeli airstrikes, all across gaza earlier today. >> and in the meantime, we're learning that another hostage taken by hamas has passed away. this time, israeli american judy weinstein, her kibbutz

confirming her death today, saying the 70-year-old was killed on october 7th, along with her husband. both of their bodies remain inside gaza. this means the six remaining american hostages are all men. >> meantime, secretary secretary of state antony blinken is set to visit israel next week. again, to push israeli officials on restarting hostage negotiations. today, families of some of the hostages met with prime minister benjamin netanyahu, who told them that talks to get their loved ones back or ongoing. joining us now is ronan neutral, he is one of the family members that met with prime netanyahu today. his son is one of the hostages still being held in gaza. ronan, thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us. we are wondering what you might have learned about your son's status or his condition during the meeting with the prime minister. >> yeah, unfortunately, there was no immediate or new news

that even netanyahu, prime minister, could share with us. there's a large group of hostages families that are sitting in the dark for 83 days without any information about their loved ones. very little is known as far as their whereabouts and medical condition. that's probably one of the toughest parts for us families, not knowing anything about the condition and any signs of life of our dear ones. >> and what did he say and what did family members say to him that they felt he needed to hear? >> well, our message to prime minister netanyahu was clear. it's his responsibility and his administration to bring the hostages back home. he needs to pull every lever to

bring them back. according to prime minister netanyahu, unfortunately, the problem continues to be hamas. hamas is refusing to come back to the negotiating table and to take out any offers. that is exactly the reason why we need all the u.s. allies in the region, particularly qatar, to do their part and get hamas back to negotiate, and get all the hostages back home. sooner rather than later. >> ronan, i imagine the news earlier this month of, that horrific tragedy with the israeli military accidentally shooting and killing three hostages, that had to have rattled you. i'm wondering if that came up in the conversations with the prime minister, if he said anything about that, how military perhaps plans to make sure that something like that does not happen again. >> well, obviously, our family,

as well as everybody in israel, here, and the prime minister and his administration, were horrified about that piece of news about a week ago. and we were told that the army is doing everything they can to try and avoid a situation like this. we don't think that, you know, there is any blame to be put on anyone else but hamas. the situation on the ground is very complex and we just have to make sure that, you know, negotiation comes back and the hostages will be freed, and we can't blame the army in making a mistake like this, which is horrific, but really, part of a very tough war that they have to go through and deal with. >> ronan, you have met, as well,

with president biden, -- of course is a dual israeli american. a bright, young man who took a gap year to go from new york to israel. are you getting what you need from you s officials right now? >> well, we definitely think the biden administration and the president, himself, thank them for all the efforts they are doing and their commitment to bring back our loved ones. the families of the hostages have protected conversations with the highest ranks in government, including the president, himself. we are trying to push every possible lever and make sure that u.s. government is also putting the pressure on their allies in the middle east. we are hoping that those efforts are going to bear fruits sooner, rather than later, because we know the

situation is bad. it's 83 days, we're close to three months. some of the hostages are wounded, bad medical conditions. even those that are not, under those conditions of starvation, lack of oxygen, what have you, it's a really tough situation and we are hoping that the remaining six american hostages will be brought back as well as all the other 130 hostages. the families are craving to see them and, of course, we do too. we miss him dearly. >> ronan, we will keep telling omer's story and we thank you so much for being with us. we will keep focusing on these hostages, as we know that your family and so many others are doing everything that you can to bring him home as well. >> thank you very much for having me. >> still ahead on cnn news

central, today marks five years since american paul whelan was detained in russia. cnn, speaking him today. plus, what we are learning about the efforts to bring him home.

>> today marks five years since american paul whelan was detained in russia. the u.s. marine corps veteran was in moscow for a friend's wedding back in 2018, when he was arrested on espionage charges, allegations that he vehemently denies. considered wrongfully detained by the state department, whelan has spent recent days placing phone calls to news outlets, expressing a sense of abandonment by the u.s.. >> cnn's jennifer hansler is one of the reporters who's been speaking with him. jennifer, you actually just recently got off the phone with him. what is he saying today? >> well, boris, today, paul whelan's message is he does not want to be left behind again. he is urging president biden to pull out all the stops to bring him back. i just want you to listen to his exact words that he told me just an hour ago. >> i'm more than passed ready to return home and i'm counting

on the u.s. government to call for me in -- the time is now to take this -- bring this debacle to a close. -- please use every resource available to secure my release as you would do if your own son had been taken hostage. >> so, quite a striking plea there from whelan. of course, he has spoken numerous times over the past several weeks and months, and i've spoken to him over the past two years, and the sense of his desperation and frustration has grown over the course of those years. he said he's concerned he's not going to see his parents who are in their 80s alive again. he has already lost friends, he's lost beloved pets, and he is concerned that his plight continues to go on. he said it's surreal that he's marking five years in that russian prison and that he is struggling with depression. however, he says he starts every day singing the national

anthems of the four countries to whom he has citizenship, and he tries to keep his spirits high. but he's urging the u.s. to keep fighting to bring him home. u.s. officials, of course, have said that they are working every day to try to get whelan home. secretary of state antony blinken put out a statement last night saying they would not rest until they do so. the special envoy for hostage -- carson said this isn't something that they sat down and -- a couple weeks later. this is something they're working on diligently to bring back both whelan and the wall street journal reporter, evan hearst college. we know that a serious proposal was put forward to russia to bring both of them home and that proposal was denied by russia. boris, breonna? >> jennifer hansler, thank you so much for your reporting today. still ahead on cnn news central, more good news for potential home buyers. mortgage rates are falling for the ninth week in a row. the average age of a home buyer, though, is way up. we will break down the numbers and what they mean in n just a few minunutes.

>> now to some good news for home buyers. we just learned that mortgage rates are down again this week, dropping to the lowest level since may. >> that's right.

cnn's matt egan with us now to talk about those beautiful numbers. matt, what are you seeing? >> well of course -- this is very good news. it's exactly what home buyers were hoping for. just two months ago, mortgage rates were flirting with 8%. but now they are down nine weeks in a row to 6.6%. this is really more of a plunge than a drop. now, rates are, of course, not low. there were much lower three years ago, but this is a big step in the right direction. remember, rates spiked when the fed launched this war against inflation. but now, the fed is preparing to cut interest rates as soon as march because inflation has cooled off. so, this is very important. let me show you what it means for the typical home buyers. so you're in the market to buy a 500,000 dollar home. you plan on putting 20% down. your monthly payments are $319 less now at current rates than they would've been if you bought in the peak back in october.

that's permanent. that is really helpful. less money on interest means you can spend more money on childcare or saving for college. and this really adds up. over the lifetime of alone, we're talking about saving over $100,000 just because rates have dropped. >> so, obviously, this is good news if you're looking to buy a home. there's also new data, matt, about the average age of an american home buyer. >> right, boris. the average age has gone up over the years and this is partially because of what we were just talking about. mortgage rates. so, if you look at the typical repeat home buyer, it's around 58 years old now. that is up from 52 years old a decade ago and back in the early 80s, when my parents were buying in new jersey, the typical repeat home buyer was just 36 years old. we've also seen the median age of the first time home buyer increase as well, so why is this happening? well, part of it is because a lot of young people, they can't afford to buy right now and

this is the least affordable housing market since 1984 because home prices are at record highs, because borrowing costs are being elevated. it's also a reflection of some demographic shift, right? people are getting married and having kids later than they used to, they're also trying to pay off student that. hopefully, though, breonna and boris, this average age will come down in 2024, as affordability improves. because we know that home ownership is the ticket to wealth generation in america and the fact that a lot of young people are on the outside, looking in, is not a good thing. >> no, it is not. matt, thank you for taking us through that. so, still ahead on cnn news central, the house were four idaho college students were murdered is now being demolished. we are live from the scene. plus, why the victims families tried to stotop this.

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>> walking it back. nikki haley, now working to clarify her own remarks after she is asked about the cause of the civil war and does not mention slavery. she's responding to the backlash. plus, new developments in the battle to keep donald trump on the ballot in the colorado primary. find out who is now pushing the supreme court to issue a ruling and soon. >> and a warning from doctors

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