>> and former president trump wrote she was an incredible woman. cause of death has not been revealed. she was 78 years old. "cnn this morning" continues right now. >> join with us and the best days are yet to come. >> being the underdog suits me better so i home people will estimate that we'll do well. >> and i'll make the decision on monday. and then there were two on the debate stage. tonight nikki haley and ron desantis one-on-one in the cnn public debate in iowa. in minutes we'll be joined by a top desantis campaign official as the governor of florida falls to fifth place in cnn's new hampshire poll. and donald trump returns to the campaign trail sandwiched between voluntary campaign appearances, his lawyers arguing that presidential immunity is

absolute even if ordering a political rival assassinated. >> and the u.s. repels one of the larn hgest attacks yet in t red sea and as we get new information about the cancer fight of the defense secretary. this hour starts now. good morning. so glad usyou're with us. it is the final republican debate before the iowa caucuses. and it is tonight for the first time nikki haley and ron desantis will go head to head alone just the two of them on stage in des moines. >> and this is their last chance, probably the biggest chance to close a huge gap with donald trump and change the dynamics of this race with only five days left until iowa voters pick their nominee. hail sli going into the debate with a surge of momentum after she cut trump's big lead in new hampshire to single digits. and we start with eva mckend. what is on the line tonight for

these two candidates? >> well, believe it or not, phil and poppy, there are still undecided voters here in iowa. so this 2forum allows the opportunity it solidify themselves as the clear trump alternative. policy differences, those will also come into focus. and it is remarkable to see just two podiums up on that stage tonight after covering this republican primary for so long when there were so many candidates at the outset. what i can tell you is things have really intensified on the campaign trail in the last few days. here are how nikki haley and governor desantis are thinking about tonight. >> i like being underestimated. so, you know, i could sit here and say this, but you know what, i think that being the underdog suits me better. so buckle up. i think that it will be an interesting ride. >> we've been waiting for this.

i've done 150 plus town halls and this has come to this moment. don't complain what happens in a general election if you don't play in this caucus. it matters. >> reporter: so i can tell you from being at some of nikki haley's town halls is that voters tell me that they were attracted to her as a candidate based on past performances. some people say debates aren't all that important. but from speaking to voters, that sort of proves otherwise. so tonight could be hugely consequential both for the former ambassador and for governor desantis. phil, poppy. >> and we'll all be watching. thanks so much for your reporting. >> and the iowa caucuses may be a make or break moment for ron desantis. david axelrod who knows his way around a campaign says in a new piece for desantis iowa is becoming a matter of political survival. he and his aligned super pacs

spends tens of millions on air, third-place finish in iowa would almost certainly mean a one way ticket back to tallahassee. and in new hampshire, desantis has fallen to fifth place in a new cnn poll. here is what chris sununu who is backing nikki haley told jake tapper yesterday. >> ron's put all his eggs in the iowa basket. he said he will win iowa. trump said he would win iowa. they set a love the expectations. so i'm not surprised that his poll numbers have plummeted given that he is putting all his emphasis in the midwest right now. >> joining us now is desantis deputy campaign manager, a long time veteran of iowa and the politics in that state. and i think that that is where i would want to start. given the ground operation, i know you guys and super pacs have spent a lot of time and money on. is if your firm belief that the polls are just missing what is happening in iowa? >> well, first, good morning,

phil, thanks for having me. absolutely. look, when we're facing temperatures on monday, historically low temperatures, probably going to be minus 13 or minus 17 degrees and that is not including the windchill, what matters most is having organization on the ground. and unlike president trump and unlike governor haley who is renting an organization to try to turn people out in the state, we have a strong 1500 person volunteer caucus operation that is going to be on the ground, driving voters out on a very cold night and we're super excited about that. that is what the investment in the state has been about. >> do you think the weather may be an advantage for you guys? >> well, i won't say it is an advantage or not. of course we wants a many iowans to come out on monday and participate in the caucus as possible. but what i'm saying is having an organization -- we've been saying this for months. we knew it would be a cold night regardless of the temperature. probably not this cold. but we knew it would be cold and it was important to have

volunteer, fellow iowans in place across every one of the 721 iowa caucus locations to be prepared to not just speak on governor desantis' behalf but help organize their neighbors and make sure that they show up that night. that is an advantage that no other campaign in this race has. >> it is always cold after the caucuses. seems to be a uniquely cold forecast ahead. interestingly, a month ago governor sddesantis said he expected to win iowa. how he's framed things have shifted. not that definitive, not saying he will get out of the race if he comes in third or anything like that. is that because you've seen something that has changed, because there is a longer term plan here? why the shift there? >> well, there is a longer term plan. this has always been a race for more delegates than anybody else in the battle for the nomination. that has always been our plan and it will be. in fact i think we've got a cnn town hall the night after iowa

in new hampshire where we'll see you there. but i think what he's laid the foundation for here in iowa, everywhere go, we are striving to win. whether that is iowa and beyond. but we're also understanding that we are in this for delegate accrual. we are in this for the long haul. iowa is the first on the calendar and we'll compete hard here. but it does not end here. it starts and begins a journey of a very long pathway through march and beyond to fight for this nomination and we're excited about it. >> the governor and his team sharpened the attacks on nikki haley over the course of the last week or two on the trail and on air. is that what we should expect tonight at the debate? >> well, look, i think what you have seen nationally where governor desantis has had $44 million in false negative ads dropped against him, which by the way is more than against

donald trump and against president biden combined, and $20 million from nikki haley and her groups here in iowa alone, so we've got a massive disadvantage in terms of what people are driving in a paid format. so events like this tonight gives us the opportunity to stand on stage not just push back, but force finally nikki haley to answer questions about her failed record in south carolina. finally make her answer the question that she has yet to answer, would she consider being donald trump's vice presidential pick, to questions about her unwillingness to admit what she said publicly and on camera, that hillary clinton was her, you know -- the reason she got into politics in the first place. there are so many unanswered questions. and as we talk about town halls, where nikki haley has stopped taking questions from voters and certainly from the press, tonight she won't be able to hide. and on this stage governor desantis will force her to

answer the tough questions and defend her failed record. >> is it not an interesting contrast though, sharpness of the attacks and what you are laying out, versus what wherd from one of the governor's supporters? take a listen. >> i've articulated all the differences time and time again on the campaign trail. >> i don't know that he is going to be able to pull this off unless he goes after trump. >> he's going after nikki haley quite a bit in ads. what do you think about that? >> that is fine, but nikki haley isn't the leader. donald trump is. >> it is one voter, there have been a couple not necessarily representative of everybody in iowa, but what is your response to that? >> i think ron desantis is the only candidate in this race that has taken the gloves off and directly challenged donald

trump. look, our view all along has been the pathway to the nomination is to go through donald trump. nikki haley's belief is it has always been to go around him. there hasn't been a candidate whether from the debate stage in the past debates so-to-going arou around the state that hasn't made a sharp contrast with donald trump. governor desantis is closing -- he has a closing pitch that is simple. he believes donald trump is running for the nomination on his issues. he believes that nikki haley is running for this nomination on her donors' issues. and ron desantis is running on the people's issues. and is that a pretty sharp con contrast. if you go across the state where we're the campaign that has outworked anybody in this race, this candidate has been in not just every one of the 99 counties but many of them multiple times over, he's taken tough questions, he has laid a sharp contrast with both nikki

haley and donald trump. and you will see him do that bit tonight and you will see him do it in the final push here. we're driving to win not just in iowa, but more importantly to win the nomination. >> it will be a huge night. fascinating night tonight. and the messages abz nd spin an all that doesn't matter. appreciate your time. tonight at 9:00, jake tapper and dana bash moderate the debate on cnn live from iowa. former pludresident trump w be back in iowa today. his legal team argued yesterday that he has sweeping immunity from criminal prosecution for actions taken as president including his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. they claimed in fact a president cannot be prosecuted unless he is impeached and convicted in congress first even if the actions include something like selling pardons or even assassinating political rivals. listen to this exchange.

>> i ask you a yes or no question. could a president who ordered s.e.a.l. team 6 to assassinate a political rival who was not impeached, would he be subject to criminal prosecution? >> if he were impeached and convicted first. >> so your answer is no. >> my answer is qualified yes. there is a political process that would have to occur under our constitution. >> and katelyn polantz is joining us. it was completely riveting. you were there. talk to us about what happens now. how soon could we hear which way the judges go? >> reporter: yeah, first big question is how soon indeed. we'll be waiting to see how quickly the judges move because timing in this case means a lot. it means a lot to donald trump. and it clearly means a lot to the justice department. they want a quick trial. trump doesn't want a trial before the presidential election. and so right now the case is paused as the judges are

weighing it. they are looking at a couple things and we're expecting in that opinion for them to address a lot of different issues. can they even be hearing an appeal before trump face as jury. it is very unusual to have an appeal at this stage of a criminal case, so they are going to have is to come to a determination on that among the three judges on the panel. and they also are going to have to figure out the immunity around the presidency. where is that bible, what are tare -- the double, where rts lines, what is the test that they creative or perhaps borrow from other opinions out there in the law where they say this is what is part of the presidency and this is what is not. this is where the protections lie and not, if former presidents can be protected. one of the things that speaks to how they are thinking about what they do next, judge henderson asked about opening the floodgates on political prosecution, and she asked it of a justice department lawyer, but

she didn't just ask do we open the floodgates, she said how do we write an opinion that doesn't open the floodgates on political prosecution. here is the answer given by the assistant special counsel james pierce. >> this notion that we're all of a sudden going to see a floodgate, i think again the careful investigations in the clinton era didn't result in any charges. the fact that this investigation does doesn't reflect that we're going to see a sea change of vindictive tit for tat prosecutions in the future. i think this reflectses unprecedented nature of the criminal charges here. >> reporter: so this case is paused as we wait for the appeals court opinion. but trump has a lot of other things going on including showing up in new york at his civil fraud trial tomorrow for the closing arguments. >> thank you for the reporting. pentagon reveals the defense

secretary lloyd austin had surgery for prostate cancer. the new details about the pressure some white house officials put on the pentagon to reveal more about austin's health. and lawmakers are back on capitol hill this week, some republicans intensifying their push to impeach alejandro mayorkas.

u.s. navy shot down 21 houthi missiles and drones. one of the largest houthi attacks in the red sea in recent months. this means u.s. forces continued to be actively involved in

fighting overseas. secretary loudloyd austin in a serious city at home. >> and senior officials pushed to release a statement after learning of his status. and pentagon finally announced that he was admitted to walter reed for prostate cancer treatments. the white house was not informed at the time of the visit despite the fact that he was placed under general anesthesia. he was rushed back to the hospital with severe pain on january 1 caused by an infection related to the earlier procedure. >> and the white house not initially informed of that visit either and now calling for a review of protocols of how cabinet officials delegate their authority. but many still demanding accountability and answers. >> i mean, how the hell does that happen? right? so top secret you can't even tell the commander in chief.

point is that like what is the character of the secretary of defense. that seems to be pretty basic, right? you would do that with your own boss at your own job and you don't have the largest military in the history of the world under your control. >> joining us now, national security analyst and koerts for the correspondent for the "new york times" david sanger. that was a huge development to learn that secretary austin was being treated for prostate cancer before the fact that the president didn't know as john kirby said until yesterday that as well, where does this leave you? >> this whole thing is a pretty remarkable story. i think that we start with the fact that we hope very much that as secretary austin recovers quickly, many of us have known people with prostate cancer. it has head my family as well. and it is a hard thing to deal with. fortunately it has a very good

prognosis from what we're hearing from his doctors. you've got to set aside the prostate cancer issue from the movement of authorities now to deal with his central role. in a white house that cares a lot about process, and in a military where it is absolutely critical that you understand who has command of decisions, weaponry, at various moments, this is a pretty astounding story. it was astounding that he was under full anesthetic from the account of his doctor in the initial operation on december 22, and if the pentagon moved authorities to his deputy, they have not yet said so. >> and he is not a civilian or political leader of the defense department. he was a former general in the military. that chain of command is so engrained in them. do you feel like this peters out

after a time now that they have started to become more forthcoming, they are doing the reviews and internal investigations? usually tried and true mec mechanisms to try to put an end to something. or does it continue to build. >> i think that it will build. and i think the reason it will build is is that we keep discovering things about this story that we did not know. so for example, the account that the white house has given is that they did not know that he has prostate cancer even after the secretary spoke with president biden over the weekend. that is pretty remarkable. they have not been as i said before very clear about when it is that authority was given to kathleen hicks, his deputy. who was making decisions at moments that as you mentioned before you are having incidents in the red sea and obviously concern in lebanon. there are questions of nuclear

command and control here. obviously there are other ways that it can go direct areally from the president to the nuclear commanders. but the secretary of defense is supposed to be in that loop as well. >> just turning to secretary of state antony blinken in the middle east for the fifth time since the october 7 attack on israel, he met with netanyahu, high ranking israeli officials, today with mahmoud abbas. we had a fellow journalist on yesterday who said this about what is going on and getting less attention in the north between hezbollah and israeli forces. i wonder if you agree. here is what he said. >> i think, you know, we are -- you know, we are very careful of saying that there is a two front war. but honestly we have to admit that there is. what we've seen in the last few days between israel and hezbollah is more significant than what is going on in gaza.

much more significant. >> is this a two front war? >> you know, poppy, i actually think that could very well soon be a three front war. you have the gaza operation which if you believe the israeli account is beginning to switch into a different phase. we hope that that is going to become more targeted and less overall bombing of the population. but as you can see from the pictures there, they are running out of targets to bomb. there is what is happening in lebanon where obviously there is significant fighting. and then the pentagon announced that they intercepted 21 drones and missiles in a pretty complex attack just overnight. and it was a very ex-police it warning issued by the united states and the 11 other countries last week that said if

it doesn't stop, they will take further action. but i would not be surprised if the action prompts action on the ground which the president has been trying to avoid because he doesn't want to upend the very delicate truce that is under way in yemen in its own civil war. >> and can i ask you what kind of action on the ground in yemen? >> well, they haven't said, but i think that the thing that the pentagon has planned for the most would be missile strikes against -- in placements where the houthis are launching these mis missiles. >> a question i've had all morning, officials saying that joint statement was the final warning. we'll have to see. david sanger, thank you as always. boeing ceo promising 100% transparency. also acknowledging in his words, quote, a mistake after part of a plane blew off mid flight

leaving a gaping hole in a jet.

we're learning more about the investigation into the terrifying incident on board an alaska airlines flight on friday when part of the plane blew off in the middle of the flight. we spoke to the woman leading the investigation, chair of the national transportation safety board. and i asked her if max 9 should be flying at all anywhere until the key questions are answered.

>> i would recommend that they not put those back in service until they absolutely know how this occurred. that will tell them what inspections need to take place and what repairs need to take place. >> this comes as boeing ceo as address the employees and he said that it would never happen again and he vowed complete transparency. pete muntean is joining us. what is the latest especially on what we heard from the head of boeing? >> you got to hand it to the ntsb chair for being the public face of the investigation. still very controlled response from boeing and david skal moon now acknowledging the company's mistake after the dramatic in-flight blowout involving the 737 max 9. here is the issue. calhoun did not say exactly what

the mistake is. and you heard the chair say she wants to talk to the boeing ceo about that, but testify not spoken yet. one question investigators will ask bo is whether they have had any previous problems with the door plug. that is the part of the left side of alaska flight 1282 that shot off with an explosive bank ig. remember, this is a door visible from the outside. and what is crucial here are the bolts that are essentially there to keep this part from shooting off like a rocket. both alaska airlines and united airlines say they discovered loose bolts as they prepare for faa than dated inspections. united noted possible installation problems. listen to part of the company provided excerpt from the boeing ceo after their all hands meeting yesterday and dave calhoun said employees are a huge part of the investigation and boeing will be a huge part of the investigation. listen. >> i got kids, i got grandkids,

so do you. this stuff matters. everything matters. every detail matters. we're going to approach this, number one, acknowledging our high school take. we are going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way. >> this is the latest black eye for boeing after issue after issue with the max line. remember, there are two crashes abroad that led to a 20 month grounding of maxes in the u.s. that was a flight control system issue. and since, the company has been dogged by quality control issues especially by spirit arrow systems which is the contractor that builds the fuselage. by the way, this was a new airplane that rolled off the factory floor only back in october. >> pete muntean, so appreciate all your reporting. thank you. in about 90 minutes house homeland security committee will start its first impeachment

hearing for secretary mayorkas over what they claim to be dereliction of duty because border crossings have reached record highs. priscilla alvarez is joining us live from washington. i think the threshold for impeachment for a cabinet second o secretary is different and new. what do we expect today? >> this is the start of a process that was a long time coming. secretary mayorkas has been a target for republicans really early on as someone that they criticized over president biden's border policies. and now senior republicans see it as the way forward as their probe into president biden has moved quite slowly. so this is what they are going to do now, move forward with impeachment proceedings against s secretary mayorkas on this defining issue. the committee said that the committee will ensure that the public is aware of the scope of secretary mayorkas' egregious

misconduct and refusal tone tors the law. but also that the process is completed promptly and accountability is achieved swiftly. now, to your earlier point, conservative scholars and legal experts have said and argued that just not agreeing with an administration's policies is not enough for impeachment. but that hasn't diswaded house republicans who will be laying out their case over the course of multiple hearings against the secretary. i'll also note the administration has been preparing for this, they knew that house republicans upon taking the house would do exactly this. so senior communication legal advisers, aides at the white house have been in regular communication with the homeland security officials and the secretary himself to lay out a strategy on all of this. >> priscilla alvarez, thank you. and so just a few hours away from the republican cnn debate in iowa tonight. how coming in second in the caucuses on monday could propel nikki haley or ron desantis.

and reunion that almost doesn't happen, a man trapped in a truck for six days meets the man who saved his life. stay with us.

23r5izs like a big win, strong second or even a close third, we've heard them tossed around repeatedly ahead of iowa caucuses. donald trump of course urging his supporters to help him run

up the score board. and meanwhile ron desantis and nikki haley will try to come from behind with respectable numbers. but what does a big win or strong second actually look like in iowa and can either candidate actually do it? we asked the man who would know, harry enten digging into that data and the historical races. he is here with some answers. expectations for trump in iowa are sky high. if he doesn't hit them, i'm sure he will just change the expectations. but any doubt that he can meet where they currently sit? >> these are sky high expectations. look at these polls from december. 36 point lead. 34 point lead. 32 point lead. my goodness gracious, all three high quality pollsters. and they give you an understanding going back histo historically, these are the biggest below outs. 13 points, 11 points, the points. and trump leading by over 30 points. so can he meet the expectations? we'll have to wait and see. but the fact is no republican has ever come anywhere close.

>> so expectations are high. >> expectations are high. >> so when governor sununu says a strong second would be a threshold for nikki haley, what does strong second mean? desantis and haley both poll below 20% in iowa. so i think it is about exceexceeding expect saation expectations. because after iowa, it is new hampshire. and of course would you can in a and hart came in second place. so you don't is to finish first. butcan in a and hart came in second place. so you don't is to finish first. but if haley can overcome the deficits, she's only down by seven points, so the question for ron desantis, if he can't win in iowa, where can he win.

new hampshire, south carolina. i think that there will be some real questions about ron desantis and his campaign going forward. >> expectations are important even if they seem a little morphus. and new this morning the "wall street journal" editorial board posting if mr. trump is such a strong candidate, why is he afraid of ms. haley? joining us from iowa, shelby talcott. they write the former president is clearly afraid that real alternative is gaining on him. how does it feel on the ground there? >> it is interesting on the ground depending on which event that you go to, you will hear from iowa voters who are interested in nikki haley, who are interested in ron desantis and of course who are interested in donald trump. so from a voting perspective, when i talk to voters, i've heard all three. i've heard a lot of interest

from all the main presidential candidates out here. the polls are saying something differently. and certainly nikki haley is saying something different to her voters. yesterday morning out here in iowa, she essentially argued to voters that she was the one that they should vote for because it was time to move on from the chaos that donald trump brings and they need a new generational leader, they need somebody who will look forward, not backwards. so we'll see in a few days if that is the message that will resonate. >> and you make an interesting point, one that you sometimes hear from campaigns and people on the ground. we're seeing polls particularly in the caucus state that they don't think will translate, do you think people are more open, the race is more wide open in the state of iowa than what people have been framing it as the last couple months? >> it is a really good question and any answer i give you is obviously going to be a fess. but when i talk to voters on the ground, they are interested in

other candidates. and that is the argument i'm hearing from nontrump alternatives. the polls are wrong, just wait and see. i was talking to the influential evangelical leader here in iowa who has endorsed ron desantis. and that is what he was arguing, that the polls are wrong, ron desantis is going to have a really strong showing. and we're just all going to wait and see in a week. >> what about the "journal" article pointing to the new cnn poll that shows seven point spread now only between trump and nikki haley in new hampshire. what about that? she has more leeway to not do as well as desantis needs to do in ohio, right? given how she is surging at least in the polls in new hampshire. >> and remember ron desantis previously said he plans to win iowa. so you talk to his opponents, they have noted that that is the bar for ron desantis. and again, when i talked to bob last night, he said no, the bar is the polling. and so as long as he does better than the polling, that is his

bar that he needs to exceed. nikki haley's team has been much more vague here in iowa and even in new hampshire, their goal is to just do really well. chris sununu said she could have a surprise second place finish here, but she has not put the pressure that others have put on herself. i think her goal is to do really well in iowa, which means either very tight third place or ideally a second place finish. if she has second place finish, they believe that she will propel her into new hampshire where she's already doing much better than anyone else depends donald trump. >> shelby talcott, thank you very much. up next, ashley judd opens up about life and loss after the death of her mom. what she said to her mother in her final moments. . >> my mother's death was traumatic and unexpected because it was death by susuicide. and i found heher.

. this morning a new episode of anderson cooper's podcast all there is out and it is a conversation about grief with ashley judd. she opened up about the death of her mother by suicide in 2022. >> and ashley judd is the one who found her mom right before she died. she talks about what that was like for her personally and the impact of suicide on a family.

watch this. ♪ >> reporter: on april 11, 2022, naomi judd and her daughter winona, one of the biggest country duos of all-time, performed at the country music television awards. the song co-written by naomi was "love can build a bridge." this was naomi judd's last performance. she died 19 days later by suicide. her daughter ashley, actress, author and mental health advocate first spoke about it in this interview 12 days later. >> because we don't want to be a part of the gossip economy, i will share with you that she used a weapon. mother used a firearm. >> reporter: ashley judd has never spoken publically in-depth about those final moments of her

mother's life and the trauma and grief she's been living with until now. i sat down with her a few days ago for my podcast. >> my mother's death was traumatic and unexpected because it was death by suicide and i found her. my grief was in lock step with trauma because of the manner of her death and the fact that i found her. i held my mother as she was dying and there was blood and i just needed to like process the fact that i was with my mother's blood. i'm so glad i was there because even when i walked in that room and i saw that she had harmed herself, first thing out of my mouth was, mama, i see how much you've been suffering. >> you said that to her. >> and it is okay. it is okay it's okay go. i am here.

it is okay to let go. i love you. go see your daddy. go see papa judd. go be with your people. >> and she heard you? >> oh, she heard me. and i just got in the bed with her and held her and talked to her and said, let it all go. be free. all was forgiven long ago. all was forgiven long ago. leave it all here. take nothing with you. just be free. >> extraordinary blessing you were able to do that. >> oh, it was -- i'm so thankful i was there. >> one of the reasons i wanted to talk with ashley for my podcast was that i still struggle with my brother carter's suicide 35 years ago. >> one of the things that -- i'm

sorry -- >> i'm here, anderson. >> one of the things i have found so hard -- one of the things i've found so hard about losing my brother to suicide was i get stuck in how his life ended and the violence of it, and he killed himself in front of my mom, and also the realization that in my shock over it and the realization that i didn't really know him, and i'm wondering if the manner of your mom's death made you question how much you knew her? >> thank you so much for sharing that. all our stories are sacred.

i really honor the place in you that that's coming from. and i think we all deserve to be remembered for how we lived and how we died is simply part of a bigger story. >> my conversation with ashley judd about grief, trauma, and how her mother's spirit is still very much alive in her life is available wednesday wherever you get your podcasts. >> you can listen to it all right now. we thank anderson for his very powerful, personal, meaningful and important conversation with ashley judd. if you are struggling or someone you love is struggling, help is available. >> anyone can call or text the nationwide suicide and crisis lifeline at 988. again it's 988. we'll be right back. .

call it luck or call it coincidence, matt reum is forever grateful for two good samaritans who stumbled upon his truck wreck and saved his life. we told you a couple weeks ago that's reum pinned inside his truck for six days when mario

garcia and nivardo delatorre found the truck. it took firefighters and police to pull reum out. >> i was in shock at first, but right away that sends you into another mode. we see somebody in distress like that, as a human being that's an instinct we have. this would be a better place if we all loved each other. >> days later reum reunited with the two men and the first responders who saved his life, and he broke multiple bones and had to get one of his legs amputated above the knee. that hasn't stopped him from having a positive outlook at life now. >> there are so many things that we take for granted in life, and now i can't take it for granted. you have showered me with love, and you have shown me so much kindness and -- that there's not enough, there's no way i can ever start to repay you guys or

just say thank you enough. >> what a wonderful guy. >> i love the story. >> that's right. >> and i love that we had the update to the story. >> reunited. >> it's been awesome to watch. also, finally, one lakers fan had one heck of a night. fidell owe mows with a chance to win $100,000 if he could make a half-court shot. wait for it. that's $100,000. he said it's only the third time in his life he had made a half-court shot. the man, the timing is good on your ability to cash in on that. i love the half-court shots, full-court shots, people winning money for doing things. >> how many half-court shots have you made? >> so many. are you kidding me? >> can't do, folks. >> in front of a crowd like that, that's awesome. >> we will be up late. don't forget cnn debate tonight 9:00 p.m. eastern time. "cnn news central" is now.