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tv   CNN News Central  CNN  January 12, 2024 11:00am-12:00pm PST

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>> a vow of retribution from houthi rebels after airstrikes by the u.s. and uk. they move to protect shipments from strikes from the houthis, but one that risks escalating the crisis in the middle east. i will speak, will be speaking to senator mark kelly about the attacks. it's a deep freeze fork presidential campaigns, republican candidates were already up against the clock and iowa with the caucuses just days away. a storm is putting campaign plans on hold. there could be a major problem
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on monday too. >> plus, an alarming rise and swatting. it's not a new phenomenon but it is increasing at a disturbing right. investigation now into the people in these calls against judges, potentially putting their lives at risk. we're following these developments coming into cnn news central. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> we start this hour with a volatile situation in the middle east taking another dangerous turn. last night, the united states and united kingdom, along with other nations, fired dozens of missiles at houthi targets and yemen. the pentagon officials say they destroyed a significant number of iran-backed groups, military assets. the white house says the strikes were in self-defense. they were a response to a string of houthi attacks on shipping vessels in the red sea and recent months. the houthis are armed and backed by iran. they control a large portion of
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yemen after some two decades of brutal fighting. a war that has lifted hundreds of thousands of deaths. what the u.n. says is the worst humanitarian crisis and the world. >> today, a huge demonstration and yemen's biggest city protests in the u.s. says, the capital city there, the attack. leading to condemnation from many countries and the middle east. president biden is warning for their actions could follow. let's go to the pentagon where we have samantha bertrand. we are learning more about how this attack was carried out. what can you tell us? >> this was a large, multi faceted attack carried out by the u.s. and uk. the u.s. actually used about 20 to fix bring fighter aircraft, including f-18 fighter aircraft that launch from the eisenhower strike. the eisenhower aircraft carrier that is currently in the red sea. they launched 80 missiles against targets across yemen that are controlled by the houthis, including command and
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control notes, and some weapons depots that they were using to store drones. they also, even on u.s. submarine, they were involved in these attacks on these targets and yemen. a big, complicated attack here that the u.s. was hoping would significantly degrade the houthis ability to continue to logic these drone attacks on commercial vessels and the red sea. we still don't know to what extent those capabilities have been degraded, and whether the houthis will need time to regroup. we are already seen signs the houthis are still able to launch missiles into the red sea. we saw earlier today, reports that they launched a missile into the gulf of aden near yemen, targeting vessels that were operating there. clearly, they don't see deterred. the question of whether they will have the capabilities to launch the kinds of attacks they have and the past, that remains, open. the question that the u.s. is getting, how are you going to respond if the houthis do continue to launch these attacks? obviously, the big concern is
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the escalation. particularly given the houthis are backed by iran. will iran join this conflict who try to defend them? here is what national security spokesperson said about that earlier today. >> we share that concern, we don't want to see this escalate. there was a huge diplomatic effort that preceded these attacks, i think it is safe to say, you can't expect to see the united states to continue those diplomatic consultations going forward. we know that people are anxious about escalation. we are too. again, everything we're, doing everything we're trying to do is to prevent any further escalation. >> the houthis are vowing to retaliate against this major joint operation by the u.s. and uk. they said an and new statement, american and british interests are legitimate targets, and the u.s., uk, and those allied with them in the red sea are unacceptable. they violate all laws. they will be dealt with inn
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appropriate manner. they say they will continue to try to prevent the passage of israeli ships. and carrying goods to the palestinian ports, whatever the cost. clearly, the houthis, there could be a lot of bluster, we'll have to see what they have the same capabilities they've had over the last several months. >> this was not a unilateral move by the united states. how did this multinational cooperation fall out of place? >> a lot of diplomatic work behind the scenes, as john kirby was pointing out for. as we saw secretary of state, anthony blinken, he was and byron earlier this, week about one day before this massive attack was launched by the u.s. and uk with the support of several other nations, this is really key because by rain is an arab ally of the united states. importantly, has one of the biggest muslim populations. their participation and thus, their support was key for the united states to get legitimacy and striking the houthis, as well as a number of countries that fought into this,
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including australia, canada, and the netherlands. the u.s. feels that this coalition was necessary in order to create legitimacy for these strikes. which they are saying we're very firmly in self-defense. >> natasha, live for us from the pentagon. thank you. now to the white house, where we have mj lee. mj, this played out with defense secretary, lloyd austin, in the hospital. what is the administration say it about his role in this? >> yes, breonna, we learned last night that president biden has a specifically directed secretary austin to oversee these airstrikes that we saw overnight. we were told that secretary austin basically followed everything, and monitored all of this and realtime from the hospital where officials say he had the full suite of communication access that he would have needed for all of this. we heard john kirby earlier today telling reporters that all of this had been executed
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seamlessly. that there was nothing different here than any other day with secretary austin might have been involved in this. the key difference was the location that he was doing this from the hospital. one senior administration official i spoke with earlier, who has spoken multiple times with secretary austin, told me that they had sounded normal, that he was very much in command of the issues. they basically argue that they didn't have any concerns with the idea of secretary austin executing all of this from the hospital. it is no difference from what they're, if he were doing this from the roads, for example, when he was traveling. there is no question, breonna, that there are a lot of questions right now, for the white house, and secretary austin, about the handling of his health situation, precisely the fact that he had been hospitalized. for so many days, officials, including president biden, did not know about it.
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that is why there is this ongoing government wide review to try to figure out what happened, and make sure that does not happen again. >> mj, there has been pushback from some democrats on the hill. they argue president biden should have sought congressional approval for those strikes. what is the white house response? >> the criticism has come from both parties, this is bipartisan criticism that we are talking about. the white house is simply saying that these airstrikes were completely justified. that, for one, this was done in self-defense. second, that the u.s. has an obligation to protect their u.s. personnel overseas, and protect the commercial birds that we are talking about. specifically in the red sea. the white house has said that there were some congressional notifications that were made, particularly to the heads of some of these key congressional committees. some in congressional leadership. they are also sort of trying to make clear the urgency of the
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situation, the reason we ended up seeing these airstrikes overnight. they say these attacks from the houthis were very persistent. they laid out the u.s. vessels, had been targeted. that there were some close calls that would have happened had it not been for the setup of this defensive coalition set up by the senate allies in the red sea, taking criticism but also trying to explain why we saw the airstrikes overnight. >> thanks for that update from the white house. thanks so much. let's dig deeper now with a member of the senate armed services committee. joining us is mark kelly of arizona. thank you for coming on with us. i want to point to the criticism that mj just walked us through from your colleagues on capitol hill, specifically some progressives, saying president biden should have sought congressional approval to carry out this attack. do you agree? >> no. he has a responsibility to notify us. we have a responsibility to
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protect our interests in our national security. the houthis have been attacking, attempting to attack global shipping. even putting u.s. personnel at risk for nearly a month now. these are iranian proxies, we have an obligation to respond. >> and wanted to look at the argument from congresswoman -- violence only begets more violence. are you concerned that an attack like this is what iran wants to drag the united states into a broader regional conflict? doesn't this increase the potential of that? >> i think the iranians want to use their proxies against us, and israel. we have seen that with iranian proxies in iraq and syria, with hezbollah, in lebanon. maybe not at the scale that they expect. the houthis, they have, in some sense, led, they are iranian proxy coalition here.
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against the west with their attacks on global shipping in the red sea. now, these attacks, they're starting to threaten u.s. personnel as well. we put together a global coalition, we have warned the houthis that this had to stop. it didn't stop. we have a responsibility to respond. >> whether the houthis, or hamas, or hezbollah, the root of these grooves is iran. they would not be able to carry out what they do without support from iran. this is, we should point out, according to international inspectors, have put its nuclear program on steroids. should the united states take a more aggressive stance against iran? >> we don't want a larger conflict with iran. that is clear. at the same time, the iranians have spent a lot of time, effort, money to get other groups like the houthis, or hezbollah to do their bidding in the middle east. and when it threatens our
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interest, we rely, as a country, with oceans on both sides, we rely on global shipping. our allies rely on it. we could not let this continue. this has becoming a dangerous situation. we responded in an appropriate way. my hope is that the houthis get the message. if they don't, they retaliate, i imagine there will be another response. >> to that point, there are a lot of americans who are weary of another conflict for the united states in the middle east, especially given the withdrawal from afghanistan. what we saw play out after the united states left iraq. to those who are skeptical about the united states been involved in the middle east, what is your message to them about why the u.s. has to carry out patrol over areas like the red sea? >> well, we, as a nation, rely on global shipping. our allies do.
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we put together a coalition, diplomatically, we address this with the houthis. i would, i would tell those folks that the middle east right now is in turmoil. what happened on october 7th was unprecedented. the situation in gaza is incredibly challenging. we have a humanitarian crisis there. i was just there last week. i was in israel, jordan, and saudi arabia. meeting with our allies, talking about the situation. not just in gaza, but with the iranians as well. i mean, our allies, they do not want a larger conflict with iran. at the same time, we can't accept the iranians using their influence against us in a way that affects our national security. folks might not think that this has an effect on them today, but if a global shipping cannot go through the red sea,
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overtime, this will have a serious economic impact on our country. so, i am, i understand what the white house did what they did. they did notify congress, i don't agree with my colleagues that we have to get congressional approval. we had u.s. personnel who were at risk, and our allies were at risk as well. >> congressman, i want to dig in on what you mentioned about the humanitarian crisis and gaza, and your meetings, along with other lawmakers and the region, specifically part of a group that you were with met with israeli prime minister, netanyahu. from the conversations you had. are you confident that israel is doing everything it can as it says, to protect civilian life and gaza? >> we encourage them to do more. we met with netanyahu and the defense minister, we met with the head of mossad. i say, we encourage them, they
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have to do more to avoid this humanitarian crisis. that they currently have. that the loss of civilian life is so significant. it has to be addressed specifically. i address with them the use of unguided munitions. upwards of 50% of the what they are using is on guided. that is, they have to do a better job here. -- >> how was that message received? >> i think it is received well. they do, they seem to get it. i expect they are going to do better. we'll have to see overtime. they do a lot of notification before they conduct a strike and gaza. the problem is, they're dealing with a terrorist organization that intentionally colocates at self with civilians. with women and children. but israel has to defend itself. what's happened on october 7th, i don't know, boris, if you had
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an opportunity to see the 45 minute video that israel put together, but if you see that, you'll get a sense for the barbarity. and it is something that hamas wants to repeat. they have said, given the opportunity, they would do this again. israel needs to do a better job. i expect them to do a better job in reducing the civilian casualties. at the same time, they do have a right to defend themselves. >> candidly, senator, i have not seen that video, but i have read detailed descriptions of what is on, it from that, i do not want to see it. it sounds apparent. senator -- >> it is difficult. it is difficult to watch. at the same time, i think that it is important for folks in your position do, if you get an opportunity to take a look. understand the, you know, the barbarity of what happened on october 7th. >> senator mark kelly, we
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appreciate the time. thank you for joining us. >> thank, you boris. >> still ahead, weather alerts from coast to coast and north to south as well. strong storms, bitter snow, gusty winds, all of that sweeping a cross the country. record low temperatures expected in iowa for the presidential congress on monday. we are tracking, it and help the -- >> plus, genocide or self-defense? israel is responding to south africa's accusations about its war in gaza.
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>> millions of americans are in the path of a dangerous storm sweeping across the country. nearly every state, 49 out of 50 are under a weather alert. meteorologist is tracking the conditions, all ahead of the iowa caucus on monday. alyssa, forgive my pronunciation of meteorologists, that was terrible. how cold will it get? >> in iowa, on caucus day, we're talking about temperatures not reaching zero. wind chills, cold enough you could get frostbite in ten
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minutes or less. it's dangerous. we are looking at alerts. it will pull in that cold across the country. every state except arizona has some sort of alert, or wind, rain, flooding, you can see on the radar, things are visit, you've got that snow, it is from omaha to chicago. strong thunderstorms to the south. you've got light. name a threat, some damaging wind into the afternoon. that snow pops up over iowa and the great lakes. it also comes with some gusts into 45 miles per hour. that's why we have that blizzard effect in effect. that is eight inches of snow. plus the wind gusts, winter storm warnings stretch into chicago. as this moves east and northeast, there is a -- in the east. even the mid-atlanta, 1 to 2 inches of rain on top of saturated conditions and snow melt, a lot of flooding. here's a look at how this plays
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out, we continue to pull the snow into the great lakes with those gusts. you can see the heavy rain across the south, east linton to new england as we go into the day tomorrow. then it really starts to fill in that arctic air. that is what will make the caucus one of the coldest they have ever seen. these are overnight when chills, minus 45. that is the real feel. frostbite in ten minutes or left. that is dangerous, life-threatening. very extreme. we will keep, as we go into monday. here is a look at the caucus says. temperatures in the 30s and 40s for the most part. ahead, temperatures at 16. they are at a high temperature of only minus four. that is a temperature, probably not -- want to factor in the wind, wind chill values, like i said, minus 30, minus 40, five minus 40. incredibly dangerous. the forecast high temperatures
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are across the states, not breaking zero on monday. >> i am supposed to head there tomorrow. >> layers, layers. >> people are talking about how it might affect turnout of voters. i'm concerned about how it might affect my turnout. i might shelter in place. thank you so much. there are three days to go before the iowa caucus. concern is growing that this frigid weather is going to keep people at home. you see the countdown here. as a matter of fact, florida senator, ron desantis, called off the -- because of the snowy conditions. nikki haley previously canceled her in person events. she will hold peloton holes instead. >> you don't have a choice, boris, you have to do this. miami, man. just got dean is with us, braving the deep freeze in des moines. the three of us, we're used to slightly warmer weather. that's how we grew up. jessica, how are the conditions changing the candidates plans in the final push before the caucuses? >> boris, come on and, the
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water is fine. you'll do great down here. the candidates have been scramble in. the campaigns are making adjustments. this weather is serious. it certainly snows in iowa all the time and the winter. that is not new. as we walk through, what that weather forecast, this is extreme weather. this is extremely cold. blizzard conditions right now. so we have seen the campaigns adjusting. you have mentioned nikki haley canceled her events, she's been holding telethon halls. grant desantis was able to get in this morning. they have canceled. a slew of events. then added one that was closer to where they were, to get to see volunteers and urbandale, iowa. they are adjusting as they go. it is certainly very hard to get around here. there are not people on the streets. listen to what desantis said a little bit ago to the volunteers he talked to. >> i'll ask you for your support on monday. i know it will be cold, i know
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it will be not the most pleasant. i don't think you'll ever be able to cast a vote that has more impact given the circumstance. we don't know what the turnout will be, it could be smaller in the 16th cycle. that is possible. if you are going out, you bring four or five friends with, your family members, that is going to pack a punch and a way that voting and a general election simply would not. >> and that was him talking to supporters earlier today. so looking ahead to monday, wind chills of up to negative 40. it feels like that outside. we see the trump campaign. they are already starting to lower their expectations. they're saying in so many of the cold, the former president have had such a commanding lead that it might not be as big of a lead. not, if you or people might be getting out. we have heard again and again, from the desantis campaign and the super pac along with him,
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the months leading to this, breonna, they have a ground game that is unparalleled. it is unlike anything they have seen before. on monday, that will be put to the test. we will see, who turns out on caucus night. and a very cold iowa. >> i have been watching the snow pick up behind jessica as she is given that report. >> you don't want to do this? >> it looks like a good time. >> he's from miami, it's so funny. >> he goes back to miami all the time. he can hardly handle d.c., jessica. you look right. you are totally doing fine and this weather. >> i hope you get back and that car as soon as possible. >> still ahead, israel's back in court at the hague, responding to the unprecedented war crimes case against its government. what could come out of this international trial?
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the unprecedented genocide case against israel is now in the hands of the judges at the international court of justice at the hague. today, during a three hour rebuttal israel vehemently denying the genocide accusation. saying the claimed presented a grossly distorted story. >> south africa is accusing israel's leadership of intending to destroy palestinians in gaza. it wants the united nations highest court to order the country to suspend military operations against hamas. in the final day of the hearing israel defended its actions, saying it's evacuation orders approved that it is trying to keep palestinians from harm. it argued that if you have the right to protect people. >> it is respectfully submitted
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that the application and request should be dismissed for what they are, a liable. designed to deny israel the right to defend itself according to the law from the unprecedented terrorist onslaught that it continues to face. and to free the 136 hostages hamas still holds. >> let's discuss now with david chef, or if former u.s. ambassador for war crime issues during the clinton administration. david, thank you so much for being with. us what did you make of that rebuttal today from israel? >> it was a very powerful one. they had three main points. number one, south africa is ignoring the fact that there is a war between israel and hamas. that means combat. that means israel has a right to self defense and to use military force in that context. and it's not just attacking
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gaza for the, as south africa would claim, committing genocide against the palestinian people. it is actually engaged in warfare. secondly, they stressed that even in the context of warfare they're taking every possible step to protect civilians by giving them evacuation orders, temporary evacuation orders, under international law, of course. and a lot of other notification and places to go. obviously, in gaza. and third, israel is deeply engaged in the humanitarian assistance effort. all of those can be contested in one way or another but i think the one that cannot be very credibly contested is the fact that it is a war. i think the weakness in the south african application, which is pointed out today, is it is oblivious to that context. that israel is actually engaged in a combat situation with an enemy that uses human shields
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and has no respect for the law of war. it is in that context that a lot of civilians are actually being killed. >> hamas is not subject to this court, ray? you have to keep that in mind. we have heard, and to your point, about the issue of aid getting in. israel making the case it is very involved in it. we know there is not enough a getting in. a former icc prosecutor had said it is hard to make that case about the bombing. but when it comes to what many sees as a blockade of goods, water, fuel, and food getting into gaza, it is really hard to make a case against that. could you see anything change? there are a lot of issues to confront israel with in terms of how it is conducting the war. day-by-day, strike by strike, you nation by munition. there is a lot to talk about with israel.
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i think what israel is trying to say today is, yes, let's talk about the issue of war crimes. let's talk about the issue crimes against humanity. if you want to talk about genocide, you are way off base. that requires the specific intent to destroy all or part of the palestinians. they are saying that the evidence simply doesn't show that. it does not go there. i might add, breonna, hamas actually is subject to all of this. they are citizens of the state of palestine. the state of palestine is a state party of the genocide convention. even before the international criminal court, as nationals of palestine when they confronted israelis on october 7th committed to truth, including, probably, dan aside on october 7th the icc has jurisdiction over hamas for those crimes.
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>> david, when do you expect a decision by the court? this process could take years, right? >> i think you will probably get a decision on what was at stake today and yesterday, the provisional measures, an injunction, where the court will decide whether it tells israel to do something or anything. we can go down that checklist. in terms of the merits of the case, the south african charge that israel is actually committing genocide against the palestinians, we could weigh 2 to 3 years for that particular judgment. i might just add a kicker here, south africa has brought israel to court under the genocide convention on the charge of genocide. neither south africa nor any other country has yet done what it could do which is to bring
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the state of palestine to the international court of justice under the genocide convention for committing genocide on october 7th. that is -- not that specific issue but that is what israel is confronting. the double standard that relates to, what are the obligations of hamas as citizens of palestine under the genocide convention? >> david chef or, we will have to leave the conversation there. we appreciate your perspective. >> thank you. >> still to come on cnn news central. police say the judge who presided over donald trump civil fraud trial has now also become a swatting victctims. we will lookok at the spikike in these dangngerous pranank when e comeme back.
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the politics of the moment as we have been discussing our dreamily divided right now. we are seeing a surge of threats and hoaxes across the nation that has led to people like judges and politicians fearing for their safety. we are talking about swatting. just yesterday police responded to the home of judge arthur enron over a bomb threat. he, of course, is overseeing the trump civil fraud case in new york. >> the judge presiding over the trump criminal case, judge chutkan, has also been the victim of swatting in several death threats over the past two weeks. this as the intense election season is exposing the nations growing political divide. here to talk about this is cnn correspondent, raheem march, who has been covering this story. >> why are we seeing this rise? >> as you said, the political environment, extremely divisive, very intense. i spent time this week speaking to high level political figures
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who have been spotted, as well as law enforcement officials tasked with protecting them. it is clear that they all are very worried that as we get deeper into this political cycle, things are only going to get worse. >> reporter: they claimed that i had shot my wife. >> reporter: ohio's attorney general, dave yost -- >> i had shot their spouse. someone else was tied up. >> reporter: georgia lieutenant governor, brick jones. both, police say, targets of a dangerous trend on the rise, called swatting. it is a hoax where caller makes a pain eight false report to 9-1-1 about a violent crime in progress at their targets home, triggering a large police response with armed officers. like the one georgia state senator, clint dixon, experienced when he says he was wanted on christmas day. >> i want to the front door, open the door, i answered the door and was met by six officers carrying a ours.
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>> reporter: congresswoman marjorie taylor greene says she was targeted the same day. the police report said a caller told an emergency dispatcher he shot his girlfriend. greens home was the intent of the crime. >> it is to harass the individuals, subjects of the swatting call. there are serious consequences, potentially. officers responding briefly to the scene. thinking there are some major crime in progress which puts the person who is a subject of the swatting at risk. >> in a divisive attacks they political environment, both republican and democratic political figure seem to be increasingly the targets. many of them viewed by trump supporters as political opponents. this sunday, d.c. police responded to a 9-1-1 call for a shooting at the home of the federal judge in donald trump's election interference case. the police report says once units arrived they realized the judge was not injured and there was no one in her home.
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last month, jack smith, the justice department special counsel overseeing two federal cases against donald trump, was swatted. a law enforcement source tells cnn. so as main secretary state after she ruled trump ineligible to appear on the state's ballot. just hours before thursday's closing arguments, a bomb threat at the home of the judge presiding over trump civil trial. >> these threats of violence are unacceptable. they threaten the fabric of our democracy. >> in may, the fbi set up a database to track swatting cases since the first time. since then, the agency says it has received more than 500 reports. finding the perpetrators who often mask their color i.d. data can be difficult. that is why political figures who have fallen victim to the crime urging congress to act. >> if there was a federal law on the books, given that this portion is going from another state, you would have that jurisdiction. hopefully the elder apprehend those folks more effectively.
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>> as elections drawn the, air states are doing what congress has not. last year ohio passed a law making swatting a felony. georgia has drafted similar legislation. >> it is not just these high profile political figures floating victims responding. it is religious institutions, government buildings, schools, election workers. members of the military. certainly something lawn forsman is concerned about. they stress, it is not a prank. one case in kansas actually ended with a death of an individual. it can turn deadly. >> you can see how it is poised to do that. very serious. rene, thank you so much for that piece. we really appreciate it. still ahead, the economy booming. of course, not everyone is enjoying. it ahead, why more americans are struggling with the bird in the credit card debt. why economists see this as a warning sign ahead on cnn news central.
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this is why we fight. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message. quite >> more americans buckling under the weight of mounting credit card debt. there is a new report showing credit card delinquency is have surpassed pre-pandemic levels. these rising delinquencies are coming at a time when debt is especially painfully expensive. interest rates are the highest they have ever been in two decades. vanessa joins us now, what is behind the delinquency is? excesses concerning, but not altogether surprising, because we know consumers have been spending very robustly and they have been putting that spending on credit cards, but in the
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third quarter of last year, credit card delinqencies rose. that is people who cannot make payments over 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days, and that is now surpassing pre-pandemic levels, it is also approaching a record number of americans who are not able to pay their credit card bills, since the philadelphia fed started tracking this data in 2012, and as you mentioned, credit card debt in general is breaking records. you see about $5 trillion in consumer credit card debt, and a lot of that recently has been driven by a really robust consumer spending. for example, in the month of november, analysts expected that americans would put about $9 billion in spending on credit cards. look at that number, it was actually closer to $24 billion, that is about 2 1/2 times what analysts had expected. and rihanna and boris, this doesn't even encompass something called by now, pay later, when you are shopping
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online, you can decide to pay for your items in a couple in dominance, something called -- it is by now, pay later essentially, but it is phantom debt. because people don't know exactly how much americans are using this payment system and it is also not really tracked and not really regulated the same way in which credit cards are. so, consumer experts are really concerned about mounting debt for americans, but also really concerned that we don't actually know how much americans are in debt. you know, it is a lesson for americans to try to spend what they have, but you know, people have been feeling really good, despite high inflation. in spending is just going on credit cards at the end of the day. >> that is a serious concern, vanessa, thank you so much. still ahead, the middle east on edge after the u.s. and uk carry out multiple air strikes on iran backed targets in yemen overnight.
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we are digging into concerned that this could widen the conflict in the region, when we come back. >> [ music ]
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>> [ music ] and new phase of military activity in the middle east has leaders across the globe on edge once again. last night, the united states and britain hitting dozens of military groups in yemen. the air strikes are self- defense, according to the biden administration

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