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candidate cleanup, nikki haley taking heat for her answer to this question, what caused the civil war? her answer that confused voters failed to mention slavery, now she's on the trail trying to clarify her comments, a group not taking the fight to keep donald trump on colorado's ballot in the supreme court. the question remains, will the highest court way in? >> a very productive meeting in mexico, top u.s. officials hinting some sort of agreement has been reached between two countries to tackle illegal border crossings, could help slow the surge, we are following developing stories right here to siena new central.

>> today, republican contender nikki haley is trying to clear up or cleanup comments that she made on the campaign trail during a stop in new hampshire, a voter called haley now for not mentioning slavery when she was asked about the cause of the civil war, watch this exchange. >> i think the cause of the civil war was how government was going to run, the freedoms and what people could and couldn't do, i think it always comes down to the role of government. with the rights of the people are. we -- i will always stand by the fact that i think government was intended to secure the rights and freedoms of people, never meant to be all things to all people, government does not need to tell you how to live your life, or what you can't and can't do, they don't need to be a part of your life, they need to make

sure you have freedom, we need to have capitalism, we need economic freedom, we need to make sure we do all things so individuals have liberties so they can have freedom of speech, religion, free to do anything they want without government getting in the way. >> in the year 2023, it's astonishing to me you answer that question without mentioning the word slavery. >> what do you want me to say about slavery? >> facing backlash, nikki haley attempted to clarify remarks today. >> of course the civil war was not your slavery, we know that, that's unquestioned, always the case, we know the civil war was about slavery it was also more than there. it was about the freedoms of every individual. it was about the role of government. let's discuss with joseph, joseph, thank you so much for being with us, she has been

asked multiple times doesn't match up with how -- what she heard here, in 2010 when she was first running for governor, the state that started the civil war, she told a group in south carolina that it was about tradition versus change, that was the reason for slavery and for the civil war, she also was asked about the confederate flag about representing heritage, it was not something racist. >> why doesn't she want to say it out right? there is a reason politically why she is not being so clear as we know the answer here is actually pretty clear. >> south carolina is a conservative state, it is ruby red in order to win that primary, you don't want to step on toes when it comes to that issue, it's -- she did come out

bringing down the confederate flag until 2015, then after the shooting in charleston church that killed nine churchgoers, it is something that is still sometimes a sensitive issue, we have confederate memorials on statehouse grounds, it is still something that is sometimes a bit sensitive here in south carolina. >> it's interesting to me that when she's initially asked, she sarcastically remarks why don't you give me an easy question or something to that effect, for some folks it is an easy question, it was slavery that led to the civil war, i'm wondering how you think folks are receiving this news in south carolina. >> we saw from democratic national chairman jimmy harrison who is from south carolina and the state party chairwoman, they both were critical of nikki haley's comments for not saying slavery. a longtime political operative

in south carolina said it was a major misstep but there is some of her backers like state senator tom davis who said this is really people coming at her because she is climbing in the polls and she's even now a solid second place in new hampshire, she's a clear second place which is a key primary going into south carolina on february 24th. >> it says a lot about how she thinks she has to speak as she's navigating to try to attract as many voters as possible here, joseph, i wonder you mentioned the removal of the confederate flag from the south carolina statehouse, she does get credit for that when she was governor, that came after she had been opposed to it, this is -- it is tricky as you mentioned. her record on that has sort of been a little back-and-forth.

>> it is an interesting issue that was happening in 2015 after the church shooting, lawmakers eventually decide to bring down the flag, nikki haley herself could not unilaterally make that move, her coming out and saying she supported bringing down the flag did provide cover for some of the most conservative lawmakers to eventually vote to bring that flag down. >> joseph, it is great to have you, thank you so much for joining us. we now have the first official challenged two so far the only court ruling that bans donald trump for may 2024 ballot, the colorado republican party appealing the decision made by the colorado supreme court last week in a 4-3 decision, the state justices found trump could not be on colorado's ballot because of the 14th amendment which bans insurrectionist from holding any office.

>> the car republican party says that ruling irreparably harms the party and its central committee wants the u.s. supreme court to weigh in, the state party chair spoke to us in the last hour, here's part of our conversation. >> it is up to a political party to decide who we want to dominate and move forward in the voters, it is up to voters inside on this issue especially when there is no charge were conviction -- the 14th amendment section 3 is not self- executing provision. >> cnn chief legal correspondent paula reid is with us, tell us what the appeal itself says about the deadline republican parties in colorado are facing. >> we are waiting for trump to file his appeal, the state republican party is filing an appeal because they had been involved in this case and they have been advocating for their right to list trump as a candidate in the election, in their appeal, they are asking

for the justices to resolve three questions, the first is the big question litigated across multiple states, can presidents be disqualified under the 14th amendment that bars officials who engage in insurrection from holding future office? they also want answers, if that is possible, are states the entity that should execute that or require congressional action? there's also asking are you depriving political parties of their first amendment right to select their own candidate if you allow this to happen? in their brief, they say by excluding president trump, the colorado supreme court engaged in an unprecedented disregard for the first amendment right of the political parties to select a candidate of their choice. they are asking the court to weigh in before super tuesday and if not by super tuesday, at least by the end of the term and that is understandable because this is a question that has been hanging out, we would love to laugh at -- have this

resolved, the entire country before the election because this is something that again has been litigated across multiple states, the question is still hanging out in maine and oregon, we do not have decisions there's a lot of people pressing the supreme court, there is increasing pressure for them to weigh in and right now because the gop appeal, even though trump has not filed an appeal, this is now this decision from the colorado supreme court on hold, that means trump will be on the primary ballot and that is the biggest deadline coming up, now we just wait to see if trump appeals, he said he will, also if the supreme court wants to weigh in, definitely a constitutional question that could use clarity. paula reid, thank you so much, let's discuss further with cnn political commentator adam kissinger, he served on the house alexa january 6th committee, thank you so much for being with us, what do you make of the colorado republican party going back for trump and appealing his band?

>> it's obviously no surprise, it's trump's party now, he owns all the mechanisms, they believe he was wrongfully taken off the ballot, i think what is obvious is that i think each side can make a compelling argument when they are speaking, it is just going to have to go to the supreme court, it shows a failure of our political system to an extent that we keep having to go out of the supreme court to answer these questions and we cannot do it in house within democracy, within our republic. we have to have the supreme court make a decision, that's what it comes down to and i have no idea which way they will go but ultimately, their word will have to be the final and we will have repercussions throughout america because that will determine what the 14th amendment judge -- does and does not allow. >> we were talking about nikki haley and how she's embroiled in controversy over her answer about -- initial answer about what caused the civil war and

her failure to mention slavery, what do you think about how she handled that and how she's cleaning it up? >> look, i think if she would have said it was a long day, we have all -- public speaking doing town halls, we have all been in positions where we lost her train of thought and maybe wandered a little bit or did not answer the question, if she came out and said something like that, it would be more understandable but i think the real question, i have no doubt that nikki haley knows the civil war was over slavery, the question here is did she simply cannot say it because she thought it was a given which is kind of what she's implying or was it a real attempt to say i would like to take a part of the republican base. that is my concern, she hopped back straight condemning straight -- slavery and saying it was what it was in the civil war what it was because she's afraid of losing votes in the critical state of south carolina for instance.

only she knows in her heart the truth, this was a very bad thing for her to say. i'm certain it will have an impact and i think she needs to do a better job cleaning it up then that being the democratic plan, it could have been a democratic plan, the question was simple, what was the civil war over and she could have said perceiving the union and slavery, it would have been a financer. >> congressman, the political group you found it has been a strong performer -- supporter of chris christie, he's been getting a lot of pressure to drop out of the race so that the anti-trump and moderate republican voters can rally around an alternative, most likely nikki haley who seem to be soaring in the polls is the given thought for some republican experts instead of dropping out, he just bought a new seven-figure set of ads in new hampshire, we want to play you a portion of one of those ads.

>> some people say i should drop out of this race, really? i'm the only one saying donald trump is a liar, he puts americans against each other, his christmas message to anyone who disagrees, rot in . he will burn america to the ground to help himself, every republican leader says that in private, i'm the only one saying it in public. >> chris christie has effectively backed off of iowa in that race but in new hampshire where he stands the best chance, how close to the race need to be for him to stay in and have a chance? >> it's his decision, i have not endorsed him but we thought it was important to make sure he's on the ballot, he has access to the debates because he's the only one telling the truth, i thought that was effective. if there should be pressure on anybody to drop out, frankly it is ron desantis. i forget he's in the race anymore, i think chris christie will stay in

because he's right, he's the one telling the truth, he's doing it aggressively, if he occupies a unique lane that there's frankly many of us in the party or used to be in the party need to hear from, wrinkly people brainwash need to hear from. the pressure should be on desantis, we will see what nikki haley ends up doing if that affects her or not, ultimately, i don't know if new hampshire will make the difference in this party, it's the one shot to take down donald trump in an early state primary. >> a lot of moving parts as we move in on that date, congressman, thanks for being with us. we appreciate it. >> still ahead, mexico's president says there is an agreement on one way to help address the migrant crisis at the u.s. southern border, we will have details on what that is and whether it will help curb the search. >> secretary of state antony blinken set to travel to israel next week to talk next steps in the war with hamas, this as

israeli forces expand operation into central gaza, you are watching cnn news central, we are back in a few moments.

the justice department has threatened to sue texas over its new immigration law senate

bill four, texas governor abbott sign this bill into law earlier this month, it gives local law enforcement the power to arrest migrants as a state offense and also gives judges the ability to issue orders to remove them from the u.s., the white house slammed the law calling it incredibly extreme, is expected to take effect in march. staying on the issue of immigration, u.s. and mexican leaders saying they are feeling good about their meeting over the crisis at the southern u.s. border calling the talks very productive, discussions will continue and mexican leaders come to the u.s. next month to meet with biden cabinet members, mexico's president saying today an agreement has already been reached to reopen u.s. border crossings that had been shut down due to the migrant search. >> cnn cameras captured the scene at the eagle pass border crossing, those massive lines of migrants from just days ago now gone, in the del rio

sector, border officials say they were more than 22,000 migrant apprehensions last week, 2000 apprehended yesterday, cnn's rosa floras is live in eagle pass with more of this new agreement bringing about a shift, what are you learning about that agreement? >> this agreement actually could make a difference, we could see the difference on the ground, here's how, whatever mexico decides to do or not do, it directly impacts the number of illegal crossings into the united states, there is no question. what we learn from a national security council spokesperson is that mexico has made significant law enforcement actions, now we do not know the details of what those actions are, but from experience, i can tell you what mexico has done in the past, sometimes they post national guard members on their border or they up deportations, or they move migrants who were on the border

further to central mexico or southern mexico, sometimes they install two points -- checkpoints in the trail rail system in mexico which is used by migrants to move very quickly from southern mexico to northern mexico, all of these actions have an impact, as to the number of migrants that get to the northern mexican border and then eventually cross into the united states, that is one of the things that is a clear signal of what could happen and we will see what else comes out of these deals and talks. you are showing pictures from today, if you look behind me you will see there is no migrants behind me, you may be thinking is there an actual crisis or not? the federal government has gotten good at something called decompression, they move migrants from a saturated area to an area that has processing

space, that's what we are seeing as you mentioned yesterday, there's about 7000 migrants apprehended on the u.s. southern border, about 2000 of them were here in the del rio sector which includes eagle pass, if you think about those numbers, about 2000 here just in this area, you still do not see any migrants behind me because this is the federal government moving these migrants to areas to process them as quickly as possible, mexico's president also said there was some sort of agreement to reopen ports of entry, we have been talking about this a lot, ports of entry are very important for legal trade and travel, that is what is snarled because of the response to this latest search, both countries now trying to figure out ways to make sure the number of illegal entries drop so they can free those resources and reopen the ports of entry. back to you guys. >> thank you for that look from

the border, several big-city mayors say they need the biden administration to step up and help with their cities local migrant crises, chicago, new york and denver putting pressure on the federal government to figure out a way to process thousands of asylum- seekers being bused or flown to their cities by greg abbott, chicago's mayor says the situation in his city is quickly deteriorating. >> as buses continue to arrive in the city of chicago, and all over the country, the type of chaos that has been administered has left many of our local economies under a tremendous amount of duress. >> brian hopkins is a chicago alderman that says the migrant crisis is starting to create serious issues in his district. tell us what you are seeing. >> we are seeing this destabilize, we are seeing an influx of new residents who simply do not have a place to

reside, the impact of the local shelters is having a detrimental effect on the polity of life for local residents, we are seeing crime go up, property values go down, it is creating a political crisis as well as stress between communities and it is simply unsustainable, we need immediate relief from the federal government in the report we heard from the reporter in the field in texas using the term decompression to describe some of the areas under extreme stress, we desperately need decompression in chicago, we have 30,000 migrants and simply cannot handle anymore, we are not equipped for it. >> what do you think that would look like in chicago? >> i think first of all it will result in the agility -- ability to put some of them to work, some migrants plan to stay here, they would like to have permanent housing, the need to support themselves and get temporary work visas, that is something the federal

government needs to get out of the way for the people here and a traditional path to a better life that so many people in generations past came to america seeking, that would be the first step, the other step is the assistance in providing permanent housing, we have people living in bus terminals at o'hare airport, we have people living in the lobbies of police stations, we have tense which will not work, if you lived your whole life in venezuela, you're in for a shock if you think you can live in a tent in january in chicago and we have people that seem poised on the brink of having to do that, we need assistance to get them into permanent housing and jobs if they will stay here. >> we see people arriving in they do not have winter coat, that is not even accounting for living outside of course. you are asking for federal help, you see new york pressing for federal help. they did get some federal help and did not feel it was enough. do you want state help as well?

how much federal help do you need? >> we have had state assistance recently in this date of illinois, they have stepped up to the plate and they are providing assistance in some of the federal money we are getting are a form of state pass through grants, it was notable in this recent effort, our mayor of chicago joined with the mayor of denver and new york of course, home to ellis island for all those years , it bears mentioning right now you have these municipal government leaders from the state of new york talking about the fact that migration has never been a municipal responsibility, all those years that ellis island operated xt years, 20 million immigrants came through, not a single one of them got here in set all right, i need help from the local municipal city and need them to provide me with housing and cash assistance, and food. this is never been a city responsibility, for the government to advocate its duty

and make it one is unconscionable. >> you hear about these meetings, the biden administration officials are having with mexico. it sounds very promising. they're describing agreements coming out of this meeting, what is your mentioned -- message to them as they are meeting with mexico? >> you have to be optimistic, i'm a democrat but i will say the biden administration has absolutely dropped the ball, they have left us in the ditch and that is unacceptable to her what i'm hearing now is encouraging, we need to hear this a year ago when this crisis first started, we had a trickle that led to a torrent, now we are spending 300 million of our own funds, that is about 5% of our federal municipal budget to address a problem that did not exist a year a half ago, where has the federal government been? where has the biden administration been? every day that goes by while we let the border remain open and

cities addresses humanitarian crisis, it gets worse by the day and i've lost patience as you can tell. >> it's very apparent in the thing is you are certainly not the only one very apparent, brian hopkins, thank you for being with us today. the israel defense forces warning people in southern gaza to leave now while its operations against hamas continue, how the ongoing offensive could impact ongoing talks to free the remaining hostages. it

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

it restores a lot of faith in humanity. now to the latest in the war between israel and hamas, new video showing civilians searching for food in gaza. just aspiration, people swarming. two truck climbing on those trucks as they carry relief aid

in the northern part of gaza which has seen so little of the aid that has come in here. all of this as the israeli military is warning people to evacuate central gaza including a refugee camp. israeli airstrikes killed at least 50 people all across the territory earlier. >> the pressure is building on israel to scale down fighting and bring back the remaining hostages. for weeks, white house officials have been pushing israel to implement a target phase that includes restarting hostage negotiations, antony blinken is set to visit israel. let's dig deeper with kimberly dozier, thank you for being with us. how crucial is it for secretary blinken to make headway with israeli officials during his visit next week despite public

reassurances, it seems like this gap between the two sides remains. >> it probably is most important that he reassure them that the u.n. vote where the u.s. abstained and the majority of the u.n. passed a measure calling for more aid to reach the palestinians that this was not meant as a slight against israel. israel has gotten into a position where it does feel besieged on all sides in some ways, even publicly besieged by one of its few remaining allies, the united states. in that kind of situation in the past, israeli governments have gotten entrenched in whatever their current policy is, refusing to change and that is the last thing that the white house needs the israelis to do when it comes to the campaign in gaza. >> we hear from israeli officials, they say israel is not the one getting in the way

of getting aid into gaza, what is the reality of the obstacles of getting much-needed aid and gaza as people there are on the verge of starvation? >> that is the hard part if it comes, they said kind of situation, who do you believe? israel has spoken time and again about using that, they tried to deliver to hospitals. only to have that blocked by hamas, that is an israeli claim, the u.s. claims that israel because of its security checks is keeping aid from moving fast enough into gaza through the borders that are open, but israel says hey, we have already let a bunch of trucks through even though we know that some of that aid has gone to hamas to keep their war effort going. it >> excuse me, kim, i'm

wondering what you make of this meeting today between the family -- families of hostages still held inside gaza, he told them talks are still ongoing yet we see no real progress recently, how likely is it you will see hostage negotiations reach a stage in which we see a pause in the action and a return of hostages? >> no real progress publicly but both the qatari's and egyptians have been putting forth plans behind closed doors, they are reporting that the intelligence chief is about to present to the war cabinet one of those new qatari proposals, the problem is that israel has been willing to do even up to two weeks of a cease- fire in exchange for a trade of the women and elderly that hamas still holds for palestinian prisoners including those with: low blood on their hands, those who have been convicted of murder's but so

far, hamas's response has been we will not stop fighting until israel agrees to entirely lay down its arms and completely cease-fire, at this point they are at an impasse just as israel gets to what is going to be a really challenging and even more dangerous place for palestinians, the more it reaches the south of the strip, that is where all of the palestinians fled to, it's already densely populated so in some ways, israeli military analyst are predicting at the most tough part of the fighting is to come. >> kimberly dozier, we have to leave the conversation there, thank you for your time. >> ahead, while civil rights leader north carolina says he was kicked out of a screening of the film the color purple, and a bumpy landing to say the least for passengers on this american airlines flight, listen to the guy watching this. we will break down what happened as the plane touched

down, stay with us.

now apologizing to civil rights leader who was kicked out of theaters after was a dispute after of a special chair he brought to use in the decisional is disabled section. >> we are joining with details, tell us what happened here. >> hey there, this all unfolded in greenville, south carolina on tuesday afternoon, reverend barber on his way to see the "the color purple" screening with his 90-year-old mother. we know he has had some health problems, he as a result walks with two canes. it's that special chair he tried to set up in the disabled section of the theater. eventually, police were called and try to get him removed saying he was trespassing, she

left voluntarily and no charges were filed. he was deeply disappointed at how emc staff handled this, look at what he had to say. there was somebody recording the aftermath, the reverend say he tried to offer grace to the staff but they just refused to do the right thing. >> i have been in the white house with this chair, they called an officer of the law to an amc theater in greenville, north carolina. they would not make amends to simply do the right thing. >> that's greenville, north carolina. she plans to hold a press conference tomorrow, amc seems to agree they were disappointed with the handling of this. this is what they are saying, amc's chairman and ceo already telephoned him and plans to meet with someone. it to discuss the situation in the words, bishop barber is engaged in we are reviewing policies with our theater team to help ensure things like this do not occur again.

>> we want to give you updates on other headlines. watch lists. -- this. sadly, no sound. i hope you can -- i wish you could hear the guy filming this, no, stop it which is what i would be saying on that claim. -- plane. >> stop it. >> close, very close. this is an american airlines flight touching down in london, stiff crosswinds leading into that wild landing. in the airport, they reported as high as 40 miles an hour.

in the meantime, they are urging airlines to inspect all of their 737 max jets for a possible loose bolt in the rudder control system. this comes after federal regulators say the issue was seen on two separate 737s, taking action against boeing if there's more discoveries of this loose hardware. you have 760 million reasons to get a powerball ticket, no one won last night's jackpot. there has not been a grand prize winner since all of october 11th, the jackpot now carries a lump sum of $382 million, the next drawing is on saturday night, icb rihanna looking at me like we should pull our resources together. there is a cultural flashpoint, at the center of the debate, chick-fil-a long-standing policy tuesday closed on sunday. details on this contentious debate coming up.

a consistent frustration among fans of chick-fil-a, a

new bill could change that in one state, there is legislation in new york aiming to ensure those traveling along the threw a can answer -- excess every restaurant seven days a week, that could force chick-fil-a to remain open on sunday at this location. >> some republicans are seizing it to say democrats are targeting chick-fil-a with christian conservatism. nathaniel meyerson is with us, a lot of noise about this bill nathaniel. let's great down some bills and do some facts here. it requires restaurants across the new york threw a which is about 500 mile stretch, will take you from new york city up to buffalo. requiring to stay open seven days a week, it requires facilities at state owned authority locations like jfk.

it will applied for a future contract. how many chick-fil-a locations might be impacted here. seven, boris a total of seven. you think we are talking about hundreds of locations around the state, it would just potentially impact seven locations that are open. it may not even impact those seven because again, it will applied to future state contracts that new york has with food concessions and restaurants, there has been a lot of noise about this and talk, maybe not more nuanced than some of the statements we are seeing. >> we will keep an eye on this because people will keep talking about that, a parable

of game celebrations has us wondering would you rather get doused by mayo or eggnog? i know my answer. it we will settled the great debate right after this.

from a debacle to the potentially disgusting, there are a lot of shaking headlines -- headshaking headlines in the nfl, the green bay packers suspended one of their top players, nearly costing them the game. >> the ball game celebrations and hilarious fashions, andy

scholes has all the details. this packers situation is rather wild, alexander was not one of the captains on sunday against the panthers. since he's from charlotte, he decided he's going to be a captain for that coin toss. he went out there midfield with the rest of the captains and he made the call on the coin toss and got it right, got tales. we want to play defense by saying that, that means the packers would have to play defense to start the game and the start to the second half. you are supposed to say we do for meaning you want to receive the ball, luckily the packers coach had a really -- already told the officials their plan, the referee asked alexander you mean you want to do for her? he said yeah. after the packers win, alexander was asked about the whole ordeal. >> i don't think coach knew i was from charlotte, i just had that on my own. it was like a -- the guys back me up, i told them i said i

want their defense to be out there, they all looked at me like i was crazy. it is pretty simple. it you need it for? i'm like yeah. i guess. >> not really apologetic about the gap, he is the highest paid quarterback in the nfl, coach leflore called his actions a big mistake. he suspended alexander from the game against the vikings. >> it's never for one thing, like i said i think there is a lot of lessons along the way from everybody involved. hopefully we learn from them, i think we will. >> we have four follow -- college football ball games there was some fun postgame celebrations, usc won the holiday bowl and celebrated with eggnog. that certainly looked like a lot of fun, maybe not as fun as west virginia, the dukes mayo bowl where they poured a bucket of mayonnaise

on coach neil brown, the question is would you rather be covered in eggnog or mayo? >> andy scholes, thank you for leaving us with that question. duke says mayo, i'm going with eggnog. >> i'm going with eggnog especially if it has a little bit of rum. it's got to be rum, bourbon? >> i would go with -- it's that puerto rican holiday drink. i would be doused in that any day. >> that sounds better than gatorade. >> there has to be more eggnog on that guy, there is not enough. >> the mayo state where they put it. >> add a little bit of tuna. jake tapper starts right now. fl p