in the game. i think it's a great way to show off the city of seattle, and how great of a franchise we have here. >> players able to take the ice yesterday with their families creating memories that will last a lifetime. so many of these guys grew up living the game on . it was so cute to see them out there with their families. >> you've got to love the two- year-old ice skaters, they are amazing. >> i have to go, college football back ends but i hope you have a great new year. >> we will be watching, thank you so much. frightening scenes coming out of japan on this new year's day, the west coast reeling after a powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake caused widespread

damage, cracked roads, highways are shut down, collapsed homes with people possibly still trapped under the rubble. we will speak to famed physicist about the fallout from all of this. remarkable resilience, that's how many experts characterized the usa economy in 2023. this, despite fears of a recession, so what should you be expecting in 2024? we will show you the optimistic signs and the challenges ahead in the new year. chicago's mayor says that the texas governor greg abbott, continues to sow seeds of chaos, saying this, after abbott has sent thousands of asylum-seekers biplane and we are following these major developing stories, all coming in right here to cnn news central.

it's the top of the hour. boris is off. president biden says he and the first lady are praying for the people of japan after an earthquake there. we are now learning it has killed at least four people, according to local officials. a 7.5 magnitude quake, with the usgs labels as very strong, it devastated the western prefecture of ishikawa and the surrounding areas, this is video showing the intense shaking in a neighboring region. another video shows people huddling together at a supermarket after the quake hit at 4:10 p.m., local time in japan, local outlets reporting that people are trapped including 1400 stranded on bullet trains. this quake crumbled buildings, like this home. it cracked open roads, left thousands in the dark without

power. >> it's not a particularly populated area, a lot of older people there. trying to evacuate people that may not have a lot of mobility, many problems with dementia, maybe not responding to orders to evacuate. >> mark stewart is tracking the story for us. what are you learning now about the people who have died in this quake? >> reporter: right, you know, japan has such an earthquake preparation culture but unfortunately, despite the best of intentions, these forces are very strong and very severe and as such, we are now getting official reports of ford up --

four debts. as the day moves forward, i think there's hope that we will be able to ask questions to government officials and emergency responders, to get an assessment of where the situation is. we know people are stranded and we know that people are trapped and at this point we don't have any kind of exact number or what the plan of attack maybe. we do know that the government is clearly trying to mobilize resources. we know that 1000 soldiers from japan's military have been activated with as many as 8500 other soldiers on standby, but even with that assistance of

manpower, there's this other issue of infrastructure. as we saw, the quake was strong enough to shake a house, literally down to the ground. we know that it has damaged five highways, as well as many other roads, one airport has a crack in the runway, the other airport is dealing with cancellations. so, it is going to be a challenge of getting rescue people to and from the areas, as well as supplies. we heard one story about doctors trying to help wounded individuals but they could not get to the hospital in order to help them, so that's going to be the challenge. sunrise is just before 7:00 in japan, out two hours, but we are hoping that we can ask rescue workers some questions. you did mention that the bullet train, 1400 people are stranded there. that's telling about the intensity of this quake because this is a system that japanese officials have vowed is strong

and secure. the fact that there is a disruption in service is very telling about the intensity and the scale of this disaster. >> a 7.5 magnitude is big, this is strong, only six miles below the earth's surface. do you know what they will do to rescue people off the trains? >> i'm not sure about how that will take place. one thing which is interesting about this rail system, is that unlike u.s. rail lines where we have crossings and we have different stations along the way, it is much more continuous, so it could be a bit challenging to get people. in some places, the track is elevated, so i think it'll have to depend exactly where they are. i mean this is a train system that's been around for 50 years, earthquake interventions or precautions is a big part of their dna but at this point, no specific plan or sequence of

events how this will be resolved. >> it's sort of a very unusual occurrence. let's hope they are safe. thank you for that report. want to talk about this with a professor of physics at the city university of new york. we are learning here, four people at least, have died. i don't know if that is surprising considering -- since we've seen some of these holdings pancakes and certainly people that you would expect to have inside. >> we are looking at the aftereffects where, there could be aftershocks and more casualties, and about the train that derailed, that caused 88 people to be injured.

now, believe it or not, there is a small silver lining to the disaster news. first of all, there was a nuclear power plant there. it was shut down before the earthquake took place. so there's no danger of another disaster there, next, tokyo, tokyo is about 180 miles away from the western part of japan, where the epicenter was. and that means that tokyo is spared. that's great news because of course, tokyo is one of the most densely populated areas on the planet. next, japan has one of the strongest programs to teach children and young people how to evacuate, how to deal with these earthquakes, and also, it's building codes are some of the strongest on the earth.

but even with all this good news, we have to realize that yes, people have died, and bodies are still being recovered from the rubble and the accident is not over. >> it certainly isn't, and there are going to be injuries. no way around that. what is your main concern at this point, when you are thinking about aftershocks and people get overconfident and they think that they can go back to a normal life again and then an aftershock hits them. we've had so far, over six major aftershocks, and they are unpredictable. you don't know when they will happen and they could be as strong as a 7, so overconfidence is one danger. we have to be prepared for the unknown because earthquakes do obey the laws of physics but in this situation, there's so much chaos and, it's almost

impossible to predict exactly how many aftershocks there will be, and when. >> the when is really a question right because we understood there have been a swarm of earthquakes recently, some of them small, people may not have even felt them and there's an expectation that there could be earthquakes continuing up to a year after this? >> yes you have to realize that japan is one of the most vulnerable for these aftershocks and earthquakes. you have to realize that the japanese islands sit on top of a juncture of three major earthquake faults, so that's why japan is one of the leading centers for earthquakes and the possibility of another earthquake or another aftershock, it's quite high. and remember, and earthquake in tokyo would be an earthquake

beyond comprehension, in terms of the density of that town. and so, we are dealing with the unknown in this situation. >> we certainly are. it is a scary thought. dr. kaku, we always appreciate you being with us. happy new year. >> thank you. so now washington, and the first day, will it be a smooth ride for the economy? item and leaned into his economic message as 2023 came to a close. >> we brought a lot of jobs back to the united states. people are in a position to make a living now and they've created a lot of jobs, for over 14 million, and i just feel

good that the american people got up, they've been through a rough time from the pandemic and now, we are back. >> we have matt egan to talk to us about the economy. pretty optimistic there, classic biden, is his optimism warranted, matt? >> a resident fighting to get reelected, it's basically required to be optimistic. but economist are also bullish on america, especially compared to a year ago when it was gloom and doom and people assume that a recession was unavoidable. looking at 2024, there's reasons to be optimistic. first of all, inflation. a lot of people thought it would cool but very few thought it would cool this fast. one economist is praising it as a remarkable cooldown, and because of that, the fed is now preparing to cut interest rates, maybe as soon as march, that means lowering car loans, credit cards, all of this has fired up wall street, block

busters stock market returns in 2023. a lot of that is fueled by real optimism about the economy. despite all these warnings, the jobs market is historically strong, layoffs are low, hiring is robust, lastly, paychecks are finally catching up to prices, and that is important. none of this is the -- it's not saying that the economy is perfect. there are real affordability challenges but this economy is in a much better place than a year ago. >> what are the stress points that we should be watching? >> the last few years have shown us that we should pretty much just expect the unexpected, as economists have told me, basically 1 million things could go wrong, a few things on my list, look at the consumer debt, we know americans have been shopping aggressively but there's a question about how much is being fueled by credit cards and another concern is when the fed spikes rates it tends to

break things in the financial system. we saw that with the bank collapses, too soon to say whether or not there may be more cracks in the financial system. then you have to look at the geopolitical situation. everyone is watching the war in ukraine and the middle east because that has the potential to undo some of the progress on inflation and lastly, there's the election itself, of course, the economy will be influencing who wins the race for the white house but it's also possible that the opposite is true. moody's said they are concerned about a contested election that causes uncertainty or even social unrest, and that hurts the economy but it is amazing when you think about how many hits this economy has already taken whether it's inflation or the fed or the words and it just keeps going so really, anyone who has bet against the economy in the last year has lost money and it's a losing bet, so hopefully, some of these optimistic factors play out in 2024.

>> we could all use some more optimism. let's talk now a senior conservator for the hill, kevin, about the political impact here. so kevin, 2024, you have this economic message of biden's and he is continuing to persist with it. it seems like the strategy is that the sentiment may get more in line with some of these positive indicators, do you see that happening? >> it's all about momentum and biden is trying to project momentum heading into the election year but the last couple of months in washington have been dominated by geopolitics. a source i talked to, they are saying that once they are able to turn the conversation back to the economy, that they will be able to have more success in the polls. i was looking at the decision does 2024 polling and they are down in some of these battleground states like pennsylvania, for example, so they have to try to turn that around but they are hoping that

once the president is able to hit the campaign trail in states like ohio, arizona, pennsylvania, talking about the implementation of the chips act, for example, that they can have a winning economic message. the market is anticipating that powell will lower interest rates at the end of q1, and that is something that could used this economy as well. >> for biden, that's the hope, right, that this catches up with the indicators. if he keeps getting low marks, though, on the sentiment side of things, and at what point does he have to i don't know, break class, what you think? >> first and foremost, former president trump, when you look at the polls, he's beating biden on who americans trust more with the economy. that is a problem with the

white house. but secondly, republicans are continuing to hammer home this issue of inflation, inflation has been coming down but this is a tax on american that they can feel, that's a real taxpayer getting when they go to the grocery market but overall, i was looking at the indicators and you've got the s&p that was up 25% last year, and the nasdaq up 45% last year. but four in 10 americans aren't invested in the stock market, so the stock market, elizabeth warren has said, it's not always the best indicator of american sentiment on the economy. >> so here we are, two weeks out, from the iowa caucuses. i'm wondering how you are seeing things. i never liked, i like to be careful about having hubris about how things are going to turn out but these poll numbers for trump are pretty overwhelmingly in his favor. how are you viewing this primary season? >> when i was talking to

sources close to former president trump, they are disciplined, they have an operation that began in 2015, remember, he lost the iowa caucus to senator ted cruz in the 2016 cycle, i remember covering that and that launched them into new hampshire and they established a ground game in new hampshire but this time, they're leaving nothing to chance and they feel coming out of iowa, heading into new hampshire, that they will be able to pick up not just momentum but inevitability, and hopefully, from their perspective, and endorsement from the likes of someone like the >> ramaswamy or florida governor desantis but the desantis campaign, it's all on the line. >> thank you for being with us. >> happy new year. a deadly confrontation in the red sea, the u.s. military sinking three boats operated by iranian backed rebels as attacks on merchant ships continue.

what this means for rising escalations in the region plus israel intercepting several rockets fired from gaza minutes into the new year. why the idf is starting to draw down its troops in the region?

new dramatic developments in the middle east for the first time since the october seventh attack on israel ignited broader regional tensions the u.s. navy engaged and killed iranian backed rebels, this happened after the uss the militants launched an attack on a ship. rebels launched several attacks in this shipping channel over the last few months. i want to go to general wesley clark. this seems to be a little different here, what we are watching, how are you reading this action that the u.s. navy has taken?

>> i'm seeing it in keeping with a policy that the united states integrated. we said we would protect ships. they went out with four boats, intending to take command of this vessel, after the first instructed, it was something from a drone, so the vessel asked for help and the united states responded, in keeping with the mission that we've given the ships there, people from yemen, they are acting as pirates and they have to be repelled. >> you're saying this is very much in line with the policies, so nothing changing there. the white house doesn't want this to escalate. it's not up to just them, at what point could the actions of these rebels force in escalation? >> this is the interesting thing.

i don't quite understand the messaging from the white house. because, if you don't want it to escalate, then who are you telling that to? if you tell it to the houthi and the iranians, they will say let's do it again, if you are addressing the american people or congress or republicans who are accusing you, fine, i understand the message but if you want to stop the escalation, you are going to have to dominate the cycle of escalation. and in this case what that means is not only going after the ships are coming after you but, make a more dramatic move, capped the escalation yourself, dominate it going after the fleet, how many of these little ships they are, wherever they are, i'm sure we know them, take them out, that will stop it. at least it will put the onus of responding back and stop the

for tat. it'll put the onus back on the cooties. >> you are saying, there's so much at stake here. this is a huge shipping channel, mercer says they will pause operation there, you're saying the u.s. navy should actually be considering looking at where the houthis are launching from and attack that area, so that they never get off dry land, is that sort of what you are saying? >> take it out. take them out. be prepared to take out the launching sites for the drones. the factories where the drones are produced and so forth. we are holding targets on this, it's just a question of what the policy will be. and we have signaled clearly that we don't want to escalate, so if they wanted to avoid the escalation, they wouldn't keep doing what they are doing, so they must be inviting us to do something, and when we hold back and say no, please don't make us respond, we are actually encouraging more strikes, and that will

ultimately result in tragedy, i think. so we have the superior power in the region. we have international law on our side, it's time to take decisive action. >> if the u.s. were to do that, do things more broadly get worse before they get better? >> i think, decisive action here, it's a good way to show ear on that it's time to stop the for tat escalation in for example, south lebanon, and as long as the united states is holding back to say oh please, don't do this to us, please, stop, it's like saying to the bully on the street, please don't hit me, he's going to hit you again. so at this point, with the houthis, there's no better opportunity than this, take decisive action against the

boats. >> we will be looking to see if that is what the navy does. general clark, thank you for being with us. >> thank you. israel defense forces say they will began to pull some of their troops out of gaza, this is a move that according to the idf is to help them prepare for prolonged fighting further into this year, and this comes just days after it the israeli prime minister said the war against hamas is going to continue for months. all of this happening as journalist try and capture the reality on the ground. among them, a nine-year-old reporter, who is documenting the challenges of being displaced and being under siege in gaza. meet lana. >> at just nine years old, lana is one of the youngest palestinians reporting the reality of life under siege in gaza. she and her family had to flee their home in gaza city because

of airstrikes. she has ms hundreds of thousands of followers online reporting on the daily challenges of living in the war which she shares on instagram. >> [ speaking in a global language ] >> from interviewing kids to documenting the difficult living situations, she's a voice for some of the most vulnerable in gaza, children. >> when the war started, we noticed she had something to say. she grabbed the phone and started making blogs to talk about the situation, the

bombardment and the displacement of people. >> her father told cnn he is very proud, adding we are suffering from the warlike other people in gaza and the message is clear to the world, please stop the war and returned back to normal life. >> children account for 8000 of the civilians killed since october seven, that's a third of the total dead. despite the conditions, she courageously continues to report to the world and inspire hope in a new generation. >> still ahead, another major drugmaker lowering the cost of insulin. new details on that plus, do you have your new year's resolutions set? worried you might break them as early as i don't know, today, did you already break them? how to stick by your goals, ahead.

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more americans with diabetes will get a price break on insulin this year. lowering the cost to 35 bucks a month. what -- meghan terrel is with us on this, this will be good news for so many people. >> yeah, you know, insulin can cost more than $1000 out-of- pocket if you don't have insurance coverage, so the fact that this is getting capped at $35 from all three major manufacturers, it should be a big help to everyone who relies on insulin. there could be complex ways of getting access, you may need to go to the drugmaker's website and get a coupon but this should be available now. more than 8 million people in

the united states rely on insulin to live at about a quarter of those folks according to the american diabetes association of had to ration their insulin at one point because of the high price. it's almost a poster child for drug price increases over times. if you think about the list price, that's the price before insurance coverage or any rebates paid back, if you look at this graph, it shows the price increases on two of the major insulins of the past two decades, and something else going to affect today is a reduction of 70% or more on those list prices as well which in some complexities of the pricing system, it's actually going to end up saving the drugmaker's money. >> explained that, so this saves them money which might explain why they are game for

this. >> yeah, exactly, it all goes into the way medicaid gets rebates, because of drug companies raising the prices of drugs over times. because drug prices have gone up so much, due to a eye change that goes into effect today, those drug companies would have to pay medicaid for insulin, so by reducing the list price by 70% or even more of these insulins, they are estimating to be saving hundreds of millions of dollars per year and avoiding the medicaid rebates. so well it's good that these price increases are decreasing, there's so much more going on. >> we know the language, but in the end, this is paying off for consumers. it's so important. thank you for that report hurts and my task is governor abbott sending a plane with more than 350 asylum-seekers to the chicago area over the weekend. we will speak to a chicago aldermen about how his community is dealing with the influx.

texas governor greg abbott stepping up his effort to send migrants to democratic led city. he's since more than 350 migrants on a private plane to illinois over the weekend and charted buses for them. >> in international and federal crisis that local governments are being asked to subsidize, and this is unsustainable. this is a matter of not just of our national security but it's the type of chaos that this governor is committed to administer. >> let's talk now with byron lopez, a member of chicago city council. aldermen, you have been a part of a push to get more federal involvement in caring for new asylum-seekers. can you tell us the conditions these migrants are facing as

they arrive in your communities? >> thank you for the opportunity. it's really dire. in communities like ours, we had a recent death of a five- year-old boy, because of the conditions, really poor conditions for the new neighbors in our community. we have to really congregate as many as 2500 people, in a matter of weeks because of the lack of support at the federal level and because of the tactics of human trafficking that are putting at risk the lives of our new neighbors and chicagoans across the city. we've seen these inhumane practices, there was a three- year-old little girl in transit from texas to chicago, we've seen the conditions worsening, because of the tactics that continue to be worsening, now we see governor abbott even

sending people by plane, which is putting the communities not only at risk but it's really putting our whole communities at the brink of collapse. so this is really an urgent call for government to take leadership on the matter. as we see a desperate attempt desperate >> aldermen, any mayor who is having a number of people shipped in, and it's costing local funds, you know, they're going to have an issue with that, that is clear. at the same time, this is a situation you are dealing with in the chicago area. your mayor was asked about whether he reached out to texas, and he didn't really answer the question on that.

does he need to be in direct communication with the governor? >> i think it's upon the federal government to make sure that state government, federal government, work together to save lives. i was part of the delegation to go to the border, we saw a lot of willingness to collaborate, when we have the state government, especially governor abbott, determined to sabotage this collaboration, defying federal mandates and international law, it becomes a task. we've done everything we can to show our willingness to collaborate. >> what is the communication like? we've heard from folks in rockford, they are in touch with texas emergency management. you went down in this delegation, what is the communication like sweet chicago officials and texas. is there any? >> unfortunately, we have seen less and less willingness to collaborate, even cutting all lines of communication.

they are sending people in planes and it's hard to have communication with a governor that does not see the immigrant community as human beings. we can't negotiate for humanity. we have governors like abbott who does not see us as human beings and we have mayor johnson, that are trying to stand up for what is right. >> what does a long-term solution, sustainable solution look like to you? that's something you called for. >> for us, it starts with the federal government taking leadership. it is essential and critical that we do that by investing in people, we are asking for the

expansion of the work permits. we just passed a unanimous resolution to expand the work permits and we also need to make sure that we have the same policies that resettled 29,000, but the people from the mobile south are treated differently. quite frankly, this is not in line of the needs and the communities on the ground. we need collaboration at the border, we need to make sure that we are respecting international law and respect human rights and we need investment, collaboration and unfortunately we don't have a coordinated effort. it is nonexistent because of the lack of willingness for

governors like abbott. >> we appreciate you being with us. we are keeping an eye on what's happening in the chicago area. thank you. >> thank you. >> we will be right back.

it is day one of 2024. many people are beginning ming -- beginning new year's resolutions. 77% of americans plan to make resolutions and the top ones include exercising, spending more time with loved ones, dieting, and eating better. making the resolution is the easy part. how about keeping it? let's talk about this with wendy walsh. she is a psychology professor at cal state university. professor, what are your tips for making an achievable resolution? >> the first thing goes, you need to dump the idea that willpower will do anything.

eating feels good and taste good . it is part of survival. being a couch potato serve preserves energy but the survival instinct can lead to compulsions, bad habits, and other issues. so dump willpower. and change only one behavior at once. it is too much to say you are going to lose weight, stop vaping, and save money. when you achieve one new goal it makes it easier to achieve the next one. secondly, building a reward system. well, first, figure out your triggers. one of the things with quitting smoking for example, and you come home and use it in your favorite chair and you automatically light up, how about rearranging the furniture . it so you have to stop and be mindful of what am i doing and where am i sitting?

put some sneakers by the front door and go for a walk instead. identify the triggers and then make sure you put in a reward system. quitting vaping is a great example. let's say you are able to go three days. treat yourself to a stress reducing massage. some people put money in a savings account every day that they don't smoke. so get support and don't do it alone. understand you will have setbacks and that does not mean you have fallen off the wagon forever. it just means you have to get back on. >> falloff, get back on, and don't be too hard on yourself. can you describe the difference between a good resolution and a bad one? >> a bad resolution is one that is too general. like, saying i will get healthy

this year. instead you can say, i will reduce my intake of sugar by getting rid of bread, pasta, and dessert. or i will exercise 30 minutes four times a week. those are concrete and they have a better likelihood of success. >> so, specificity is important and stick with one thing. >> one thing at a time and then move onto the next thing right after that. you should look at setbacks not as a failure but an opportunity to understand where the vulnerabilities are and where you might have problems so that you have strategies for the obstacles when they come up. every time you have a setback, who was i with, what was i eating or drinking at the time that caused me to do that and figure out what your triggers

are. >> those are some great tips doctor walsh. thank you for taking us through that. >> my pleasure. >> happy new year to you. the lead starts after this break.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ a powerful day right off the top of 2024. the lead starts now. japan rocked by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake and