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tonight which candidate benefits when the road to the white house freezes over we are live in iowa. also, tonight after u.s. and british airstrikes on targets in yemen, fighters try to make good on their threat of revenge. later, investigating how even skeptical officials can face backlash. we begin with iowa. the state is being hammered by

winter weather. this is video of the capital, des moines, where the windchill is -13. a blizzard warning is in effect. jeff, how did we convince you to stand outside? how is it feeling there and how is the campaign being affected tonight? >> it is chilly, there is no doubt about it. the wind is the biggest issue. this is as warm as it is going to be between now and the caucuses. over the weekend it will increasingly become colder and colder. the snow is not a big concern, iowans are used to snow. it is the dangerously cold temperatures that are making the campaigns make backup plans for how to get supporters to the caucuses. excuse me, it is also hard to talk out here. the candidates are making big changes. we learned that president trump will not be campaigning tomorrow here in iowa as he planned.

he was planning four weekend rallies. he is now only having one on sunday. it has adjusted all the campaign planning. >> i don't necessarily come as a floridian, want to be in -20 degree temperatures, but i know it is a campaign that has built to turn out our people. >> this comes with a winter weather morning. >> i know it is cold on monday but i am going to be out there. >> reporter: a blizzard and a forecast for a record-setting cold spell are testing campaigns. >> pretend you are one point down. you u are one point down, you have to get out and vote, vote, vote. truck snow and the winds canceled rallies and speeches designed to build momentum heading into the final weekend. ron desantis dropped by a campaign office. >> everything we do between now

and caucus night is going to make a difference. >> please wear layers of clothes so that you are staying safe. please go in there and know you are setting the tone for the country. >> reporter: those rivals are locked in a bitter dual to become the leading alternative to trump. bill funk twice voted for trump. he spent the last year looking for a new choice. >> i think it is time for this country to come together. i think it is time to put a leader in that can put us forward and bring us together. we have had too much chaos >> reporter: his wife, connie, is an independent. now, they are both supporting haley. >> i am saying my prayers. i feel like we have this opportunity to show a different side to what we can be.

>> reporter: haley is hoping for a turnout in the suburbs . desantis is hoping for a broader approach to the state. counting on all followers, particularly in rural areas. >> we have got to get out and vote because bad things happen when you sit back >> reporter: she voted for trump and consider doing so again. late last year she had a change of heart. >> with the way the country is going right now, i think we are looking for something else. >> is it clear which candidate could benefit from low turnout because of the weather on monday? >> reporter: it is hard to know for sure, but it is not likely to have a record-setting turnout. republican officials have been projecting and predicting all year. the president just sent out a message saying he is going to benefit because his people are the most committed it is an

open question. a lot of the trump support is in rural areas. that means they have to drive further into their voting site. a lot of haley's voters are here in the suburbs so they don't have to drive as far. desantis has talked about his 99 county tour across iowa. at the end of the day, it is impossible to know which candidate is going to lose the most support. it is going to be incredibly cold on monday night, a windchill potentially of 45 degrees below zero. of course that will impact older voters, cars may not be able to start, et cetera. for now, at least, haley and desantis back on the campaign trail tomorrow. trump not coming back until sunday. again, it is cold out here as

you can hear me trying to talk. >> get inside, thank you. for a better idea of what to expect, let's go to the weather center with chad myers. what is the latest? >> six to eight inches of new snow over iowa and now it is going around. blowing across the east and west roads. the roads are being shut especially the rural roads that he was just talking about. this wind will continue all the way through the weekend. right now the wind chill is only 11 degrees below zero. like you said, this is about as warm as it is going to get. blizzard warning's are in effect. the winds are blowing 30 to 40 miles per hour right now. blowing that snow across the roadways and shutting some of those roads, themselves. the storm moves to the east and the winds die off from 40 to 30. but that 30 in 20 miles per hour will last all the way through monday into tuesday,

still blowing the snow around and still making very cold air as it comes into monday night into tuesday. i have more on that if you want. you might not want to hear it. >> 2004? >> 2004 was the coldest. 16 degrees was the high. we are not going to get above zero. the windchills will be closer to -40. there is your air temperature in des moines. the thermometer is going to say nine below zero. then you get into the wind, your windchill is going to be 28 below. i grew up in nebraska. when you are in nebraska and the windchill is blowing 30 and you have a farm, you're trying to keep your livestock alive. you have bigger issues to worry about than to drive to town will have to see how that might affect the rural vote. >> it helps to talk to someone who has been there before.

howard dean ran for the democratic nation. also with us in iowa, frank luntz. governor dean, voters could be headed for the coldest caucuses, ever. what kind of impact do you think it will have? >> it definitely has an impact. everybody talks about the screams speech. i lost iowa and i was supposed to win. one of the reasons i lost was because we weren't able to do the kind of organizing we needed to do to get people out. i thought the comment that older people might not go out from just -- jeff, that is a huge deal. this weather is much worse than it was in 2004. i think it is going to be a real problem. i sense a real haley surge. i think that would be good for the country. i don't support her, but i

think that couple who said they were going to vote for nikki haley, that is a real sign of hope . i think she can win this. >> frank, if the cold does end up suppressing voter turnout, who does win this? >> i think it hurts --. his votes are primarily 18-29 and i think it hurts donald trump. such a significant percentage of his vote is 75 and older. this is not even 2004, this is temperatures that even islands will find uncomfortable. >> you are saying you can see haley winning in iowa. that would be able to deal, not only for -- >> she is going to win in new hampshire. she is going to win in new hampshire. if she beats desantis, even if she doesn't beat trump, that

will be the end of desantis's campaign and then it is a two- person race. i am here watching all the ads. it is really stunning what is going on. i think haley is surging in new hampshire. iowa is going to be a big deal. if she happens to win or even come close to trump in iowa, this is a brand-new race. >> you are saying if haley beats desantis in iowa, it is over for desantis ? >> it is. that will be two states in a row and as a newcomer, that is tough. >> how well does -- have to do?

>> he has to get over 50%. that is the excuse he has used not to get into debates and, he would say i am getting the majority of the vote. he has to deliver that i do not believe that haley is going to become even close to him. however i agree with the governor that she is moving. there is the law of physics in caucuses. things in motion tend to stay in motion. if she is gaining 2% to 4% per week, it is likely she will outperform polling data on election day. desantis has dropped into single digits in new hampshire. please remember the phrase that sometimes people use. iowa makes a statement, new

hampshire makes a difference >> can you expect chris christie dropping out of the race to make a big significant change? his supporters in new hampshire said nikki haley was their second choice. >> i don't think it will make a difference in iowa, but i really do believe that haley will win in new hampshire. i can feel the momentum. it is amazing what is happening in new hampshire. >> is there any scenario that you can see donald trump not being the republican nominee in november? >> i would have said as recently as 10 days ago that i did not see, he has been so strong, the appearances, town halls, the money he has raised, even with everything against him, the indictments, the accusations, the challenges to

his leadership. however, she has been so strong over the last two weeks that you now have to say, never say never. for her, if she can win in new hampshire and do recently, do decently well in her home state, then it is a brand-new ballgame. >> i appreciate it, thank you. we have a live up date on the backlash after american strikes in yemen. also, the arizona election official found out that even election skepticism is not enough in a conspiracy fueled clinical world.

breaking news, a new round of strikes on iranian backed houthi --. what has happened? >> a second night of u.s. strikes in yemen. we have learned from a u.s. official that the u.s. carried out another set of strikes. these, much smaller than what we saw yesterday were that u.s. targeted 28 print houthi sites. also worth noting, last night's strikes were effectively a coalition. the u.s. and the uk carried out the strikes themselves but they

were backed by canada, netherlands, australia and --. this is the u.s. acting unilaterally. after the repeated warnings put forward by the u.s., the training team launched another ballistic missile. this was south into the gulf of --. it is unclear if this specific and much smaller strike is over a response to that ballistic missile warning the u.s. that for every launch against commercial vessels there will be a u.s. response, or if, following yesterday's strikes the u.s. had the opportunity to do a battle damage assessment and saw that there was a destroyer that had not been destroyed. it is worth noting that the u.s. said they weren't interested in escalation, still, a second night of strikes carried out against houthi forces. do they look at u.s. bases

elsewhere in the middle east, those are still some very much open questions here. we see another strike here or set of strikes by the u.s. against houthi targets in yemen. >> how much is known about how many viable targets are there actually in yemen for u.s. forces or any coalition forces to actually target text do we know much about the military capabilities of the houthis? >> the houthis are one of the strongest nonstate actors in the middle east. potentially one of the strongest in the world. sort of like hezbollah in lebanon. they are incredibly powerful. the houthis are not the nationally recognized government of yemen, and yet they are powerful. the u.s. tried to tailor yesterday and today's strikes to go after the weapons they use to target shipping in the red sea and the gulf. it was directed at that. this was not an attempt to go

after houthi leadership or facilities. the saudi's waged a year's long battle with the houthis. there certainly is a vast amount of capabilities that the houthis have , the u.s. not trying to go after all of it but what they use to target international shipping. >> thanks very much. nick, what do you make of these latest strikes? >> i think what we saw the houthis do today , we see them go south past yemen and hang a left and you are in the gulf, there. that is where they strike today. perhaps no surprise because the focus of a lot of u.s. and british airstrikes last night have been more focused down the

west side of yemen, more close to the red sea. this i think shows the potential adaptability of the houthis. they have got a lot of other option , or at least a number of other options for launching missiles. they have been taken out in one area of yemen but they are still there is a threat to the gulf. i think planners will be very aware of this. they have been helping saudi arabia with intelligence. all those years of airstrikes and all the criticism that saudi came under for the killings of civilians even during all of that, the houthis managed to maintain the

ability to fire complex, sis instigated -- sophisticated missiles. what is instructive about how the houthis have handled airstrikes before is, they have found a way to dodge and evade and still come back and attack. that is what we saw them do in a limited way today. i think that is what they are going to try to follow through with going forward. i would not be surprised if there is, if these follow-up strikes are not the end of it, certainly from the houthi perspective . everything they have been saying is they are going to come back and continue the fight. >> do we know how effective the u.s. thinks the strikes were yesterday? >> we know the u.s. believes they conducted significant damage against the targets they were going for. storage for drones and

ballistic missiles. as of earlier today, we had a briefing who said they have not completed the battle damage assessment. there is not a definitive, here is what we hit and here's what we hit were not, but not able to destroy. the u.s. may still be going through that process. that likely factored into the decision to carry out another strike after yesterday's far more expensive strikes. especially to carry this out unilaterally rather than using the coalition we saw yesterday. we are waiting for more information about the effectiveness of these strikes. one of the questions we asked, the strikes yesterday leaked pretty early from the uk. did that affect the efficacy of what you are able to do, were they houthis able to move any of their assets? that can certainly play into this. we did not get a definitive answer, but it was telegraphed quite blatantly that these attacks were coming. you can see a scenario that it gives the targets a heads up to

move. we will have to wait to get a better sense of that. >> general clark, what is your reaction? >> i am glad we followed up. we have got to do a better job of targeting. the way you do it is, you strike, you put the eyes and ears back on the area, you watch the reaction, you look at it carefully and you build your target packages. in every case, i would hope that we would try to achieve escalation dominance. if they fire one missile, we take out three targets. if they fire three muscles, we take out six targets. we try to stay away fromfor tat. if we cannot do that, we go to

assets they value more highly. >> what do you think it means for the prospects of a wider, lived in the region? >> it definitely increases the prospects and it has always been true that this is a conflict that is poised to lead to something larger. the reason is, iran has many allies. most of its allies are like the houthis. proxy fighters. hezbollah, the houthis, hamas , of course the houthis have done, they have found a way to inflict a cost on business as usual. so, the united states has to respond and it has to try to achieve escalation dominance. but, it also has to try not to

let this spread out of control. that is a very delicate balance. it is trying to reestablish deterrence, while at the same time, not producing a widening of the war. there is a lot of danger here because the united dates could get drawn into precisely the thing that washington was telling saudi arabia to be careful of if you drag yourself into a yemeni civil war, that could go into a long time. on the other side, you have to make sure the shipping can go through the persian gulf. this is the lifeline of much of the world. >> assuming the houthis are rational actors, what's in this for them? they are saying this is about israel's war against hamas and

what's going on in gaza, is it simply that or are they doing the bidding of iran, why would they be doing this? >> i think you have to view this in a broader, strategic context. iran has been trying to essentially assert that the american-led middle eastern order is not viable. that it contains and presses iran. iran has been put into a box. so, the iranians have been trying. they said, you will not be able to do this. we have ways of deposing the american-led middle eastern order. the whole idea that they are going to make a happy piece, that is what iran is trying to

prevent. in that sense, the houthis are part of this larger strategy. i don't think they come in a particular since gain something, a very good question. you think of it as the houthis , hezbollah, iran, these groups that are all opposed to an american-led strategic stability in the middle east. that is the big contest. >> given what was just said about the larger context of this, there are reports that the houthis fired a ballistic missile at a ship today, but missed. do you expect more of that, more attempts at retaliation trying to keep this game going? >> i expect them to continue to do this because iran wants them to do it. this is iran's quest for --.

this is why you cannot pay too much attempt -- attention to what you hear from the arab street. the leaders in saudi arabia, they know what the stakes are. they want america there, even in arrack, they want america there. they are looking to us for strength and leadership. when we strike back, they like it. also, no matter what we say about not wanting to escalate, they want escalation. our friends in the region, they want to see a strong america. they want to see us effective, so we, now we are engaged, we better do that targeting well. we have got to try to cap this loss. the alternative is, we go

closer to the source. iran is playing a very cagey game. they do not want the united states or israel to strike their nuclear facilities. they may be very close to a nuclear weapon. they are asking themselves, should they get it, should they tested, what will be the consequences? they are very clever dancers around this nuclear issue. we are saying, can we stop this without going to the source? >> the role of saudi arabia in all this is fascinating. their response to this latest round, but also, their war against the houthis, they bombed, extensively , a lot of civilian casualties and fatalities. they came under a lot of criticism for it what do you make of saudi arabia's role in all this?

>> you have put your finger on it the saudis waged a multi- year, very expensive war, a lot of bombing and, what they found was that the caitlyn huey-burns team were extraordinarily resilient. that they could bounce back and it was very hard to destroy them completely. eventually, the uae their allies pulled out because, essentially they thought it was an unwinnable war. that is what i say this is a delicate balance. you want to achieve some kind of escalation dominance or reestablish deterrence, but you do not want to get sucked into this. all the houthis have to do is survive. it is the classic problem with this kind of warfare. they win by not losing. we lose by not winning. that is a tough trade-off. establish escalation dominance,

show them they cannot do this kind of reckless attacks on ships, it makes a very interesting point. is there some way to convey a signal to the iranians. i'm not sure i would be in favor of military strikes, but in some way indicates, this is crossing lines you have not crossed before. otherwise this could really spin out of control. >> we will of course continue to monitor this story and bring you any developments. coming up, an election official finds out the hard way that once believing in conspiracy theories is not enough for some extremisists. or smack

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check last month we brought you a report. messages that friend lynchings and other forms of violence. there are just a few examples and the, an increasingly toxic environment. tonight we report on what happened to one election official who once believed the magaland theories. >> you should be in jail, you should be fired, 24/7. >> she was director of elections for six years.

>> we had to hire an armed security company because people who worked in the office are assessing ballots were afraid somebody was going to break the door down and take ballots. truck she had enough of the intimidation and threats. last year, she quit. >> your successor is a man named daisha >> bob bartels meyer. >> the election itself did not seem like it had in past elections. there was something off. >> he shared these facebook posts falsely claiming trump legally won by a landslide. >> it is hard for me to accept there weren't errors made. i am not sure that it was to the extent that it would've changed the election. >> reporter: bob's doubts about the 2020 election made him an ideal candidate to replace her.

>> to maybe some of the people, your critics, they were saying this is an election skeptic, election conspiracy theorist. >> denier. >> some would think that was a disqualification. there something this is our guy, he knows the election has been stolen. so, when you got there, some people were probably happy to see you coming. >> then something happened that he never expected. >> you weren't extreme enough. >> they found out that i was going to follow the laws and procedures and they were not happy about that. >> your actions are not that of a conservative. >> if i had the authority, i would fire you. >> at public meetings, some voters who believed conspiracy theories decided bob was not

enough and began demanding he overhaul the entire voting system. >> to do away with machines and mail ballots, those are things that have to be changed legislatively. it is not permissive, permissible for me to do that. >> we the people don't want any machines or mail in ballots. after just four months he quit. >> at my age, i don't need that, i need less drama. >> she left her job in another election county last year. >> i have never been treated so poorly, so disrespected. >> reporter: so much of the vitriol directed at these. >> i had a guy tell me that he could hack into our election

equipment for the power outlet. >> a lot of people believe -- >> it is nonsensical. they really don't care about truth or integrity. they just want their outcome. i think that's it. truck she has spent most of her life working in the court system as a county attorney. she says the abuse she received as an election worker topped at all. >> i have been treated better by murderers, child molesters, thieves, and the political parties. >> harassment is one of the main reasons election officials across the country have called it with. or than 160 top local election officials have left their positions since november 2020. >> we are asking a lot of our elections workers to deal with,

not only the general misinformation but generally people being attacked. >> reporter: he is one the board of supervisors. >> how concerned are you about election conspiracy areas the coming election officials? >> i am very concerned about that. we are seeing that in some mall counties. we are only as strong as our weakest link. >> we need experienced workers. >> reporter: fortunately for him, he returned to his old job in a different county where he says he is no longer being harassed. as for the conspiracy theories he shared in 2020 -- >> do you regret sharing this hosts? >> yes. the 2020 chapter should be closed. we should move forward. we have to believe the process of the certifications in each state of the secretaries of state. >> you think voters should

trust the 2020 election? >> yes. >> even if trump loses? >> yes. >> he says he hopes people will accept the result did he say he believes they will? >> i think he is nervous, like all of us. he thinks this year is going to be a bad year for the nation, hostile and brutal. i give some credit to bob, there. he has these doubts, personally, still about the 2020 election, he is an election official, but he did the right thing, right? he did not give into the extremists and the conspiracy theorists. to do those things, he could have damaged the integrity and safety and security. what is really fascinating about bob, he has another election job. he says his politics are not going to come into it. he said we should trust the process. but, he does have those lingering doubts about 2020 and

he could not articulate why, but there is that doubt he was pushing out different things about vote count and things like that. he still seems to be grappling with that and i encourage viewers to read a lot deeper into just how misinformation, perhaps, has influenced how this person views the integrity of american elections. next, allegations of an affair between ada and the man she picked as the lead prosecutor. he spent money that he made on the case to take her on lavish vacations. now the judge has set a hearing on it all. details had. to duckduckgo on all your devie

duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie.

and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. today, the judge in the georgia election subversion case that a february hearing to -- mr. trump's attorney brought up the topic today, mr. wade was in court as was discussed. earlier this week in a court filing aimed at getting his case dismissed, it was alleged that wade and willis were having an affair. truck when nathan wade was selected as a special prosecutor in georgia, many lawyers in cobb county wondered

why him. not only did willis have the biggest staff of any judicial circuit to choose from, she also had more experience, experienced felony prosecutors. a one time federal prosecutor says if the allegations are true, it is an unforced error and challenges the integrity of the case. >> cases are not lost because of some matlock moment, somebody finally finds the evidence. cases die by the death of 1000 cuts. this is a cut on the case. >> i was shocked and appalled. >> reporter: he faced off against wade. what stood out is not the alleged romance between weight and willis that is shocking, it is the exhibit in the filing

which showed some of wade's billable hours. he is earned more than $650,000 for his work on the case. >> he is doing things like billing 24 hours in a day.'s and why is that weird? >> attorneys work hard, and technically it is possible to build 24 hours in a day, i have never met an attorney, ever, and i don't anyone has ever billed 24 hours in a day. this isn't being billed to a private client, it is being billed to the taxpayers of fulton county. this has been fodder for gossip, noticeably missing any direct --. >> when she held a political fundraiser for one of the codefendants. >> i don't know if it is an actual conflict, but it's a thinking moment. thinking optics are horrific. >> reporter: persecution, not

prosecution is a theme the former president has tried to get to stick in all of his cases. after allegations of the willis-wade romance surfaced, trump seized at the chance to appeal himself as the victim of a witch hunt. >> and wonderful defense attorneys, a lot of them. >> i'm told to get out of the case. i really think this type of case, these allegations, this case is bigger than any one prosecutor. i think probably to preserve the case and to show what is most importance to her is the facts of the trump case as opposed to her political career if you will at this moment. >> reporter: if the world wasn't already watching fani willis' move, they likely are now. >> everyone that we have spoken to in the legal community says if these allegations are true, the optics are just horrible. when fani willis leveled this

indictment against the former president, the expectations of those around her, anderson, she would be flawless in her prosecution or at the very least not make unforced errors like this if they are true. anderson? >> nick valencia, thank you very much. we'll continue to follow that at the start of the nfl football season. excuse me. harry is here to take me through all the preseason hype, which i don't know much about. we're on the eve of the playoffs now. since i really don't know much about it, i thought we would bring harry back to explain just what i'm missing. i'm hoping taylor swift is somehow involved. we'll be rightht back in a a moment..

that massive winter storm hitting the iowa caucus is also playing havoc. possible blizzard conditions in buffalo and kansas city. here with an nfl playoff preview, our reporter, harry enten. >> and who knew. i didn't know. >> who knew. but because it's back by popular demand, we have to ask you some questions. >> you have questions for me? >> of course, i have questions for you. >> about the teams that are playing. you know this. let's start off with one right here. we have the logos for the team. who are these teams? >> one of them are the buffalo bills? >> no, no. i could see the red and the blue. that's kind of there. >> the new england patriots? >> no, they are not anywhere

close. >> the fighting torr rows? >> and that is the houston texans. i assume it's not princeton? >> it's not. and they do not play professionally. neither of us went to princeton, though we were ivy league men. it's actually the cleveland browns. they have an orange helmet. >> that throws me off. >> but they're complimentary to each other. another one, maybe you can get this one. there we go. >> the same one. that looks like the same to me. >> there we go. >> the l.a -- the rockets. >> the l.a. rockets, close. >> the galaxy? >> no, that's soccer. how about the l.a. rams? >> okay, the l.a. rams and the blue lions? >> they are lions. the detroit lions. >> yes. all right, good, we're making great progress here. >> i was in wisconsin this weekend at the airport, and i

didn't have a hat, it turned out to be a sport hat and some team that was playing another team and i was in chicago, and the whole reason i was wearing the hat, you know, cut down on interactions. and they came up to me oh, we have you people here. >> i wonder if it is our logo and number three, a third logo. >> that's the hat i bought this weekend, the g on it. what does that mean? >> green bay packers. >> oh, i don't know what that means. what about the other team there? >> the cowboys. >> the packers verses the cowboys. and everyone was like oh, making inside jokes, and i didn't know how to respond. >> if you learned nothing else from me during all of our appearances, do not wear a green bay packers hat in chicago. >> my lesson is do not buy a sport related hat. >> unless i give it to you. >> no, i don't know who the characters are. >> i'll explain the characters, the wonderful characters. >> yeah. >> you know, there is another game going on this weekend. >> i did not.

what's happening with the playoffs? who is going to win? >> here is a big one for you. perhaps the kansas city chiefs will win. they are, of course, playing the miami dolphins. it's going to be freezing. >> who is doing the half time show? >> there is no half time show for the wild card show. you'll have to wait for the super bowl. >> is taylor swift going to the game? >> actually this is a big thing. let's flip forward to this slide, guys. let's ask you the question of who does taylor swift date. we'll get to this, the coldest game of the season. who does she date? >> travis kelce. >> very good. i tried to throw you off. >> i thought you were going to play his brother on. >> yes, very good, jason kelce also plays. let me just say we have to wrap, but go bills. go bills. there we go. there we go. there we go. bills. >> thank you very much. >> we'll be right baback. you u wear it wewell.