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welcome to all you watching in the united states, canada, and around the world. i'm kim brunhuber. ahead on "cnn newsroom" -- iowa turning into a ghost town as a blizzard moves through. this is as canadianance try to get their messages out to voters days before the caucuses. we'll go to des moines for the latest. plus, the u.s. carrying out another round of strikes against houthis in yemen one day after hitting more than 30 locations. we'll look at the escalation in the region as the war rages on. and taiwan votes for a new president as fear grows over threats from china. we'll take you live to hong kong. only two days remain before the first nominating contest of the 2024 presidential race. the iowa republican causes.

gop candidates are working to make their final pitches before iowa voters make their decisions on monday. donald trump remains the overall republican frontrunner while nikki haley and ron desantis are pitching themselves as alternatives to the former president. powerful winter storm has brought blizzard conditions that are already impacting the contest. multiple campaign events have been canceled or rescheduled as virtual meet-ups. temperatures are expected to fall below zero, that's on the fahrenheit scale. monday night when the caucuses will be held, there are growing concerns the weather will have a negative impact on turnout. parts of iowa have already seen the snowiest week since 1942. additional accumulations could impacts canada's plans to barnstorm the state this weekend. cnn's jessica dean has more. >> reporter: with three days until the iowa caucuses the snow fell and fell and fell, and campaigns scrambled. >> you have to go and trudge through snow to earn the vote,

you trudge through snow. >> reporter: the snowfall is set to be followed by dangerously frigid temperatures heading into caucus day on monday. former south carolina governor nikki haley canceled all of her in-person events on friday, instead opting for teletown halls. >> i am so sorry we couldn't be in fort dodge. but i didn't want to miss the community to communicate for all of you planning on coming out to see us on this snow day in iowa. >> reporter: most of florida governor ron desantis' events were also called off, though he did add a last-minute stop to meet with volunteers in urbandale, iowa. >> we can handle the snow even though we're a florida-based campaign. >> reporter: the forecast calls for sub-zero temperatures in the coming days with monday expected to be the coldest caucus day ever in the hawkeye state. >> i've been doing radio interviews, i've been on the phones with voters. we're trying to make sure we do everything that we can and, yes, the weather is a concern. i'm concerned because i want people to be safe on caucus day.

it's going to be negative 28 windchill. and so what we hope is that they will wear layers, that they will bring their photo i.d., and that they will come out and caucus. [ applause ] >> reporter: the candidates are already beginning to try and account for the likely record-breaking cold on monday. >> got to make sure that everybody gets out, doesn't say, you know, it's cool out. >> reporter: former president and frontrunner donald trump's campaign is already adjusting expectations. his advisers have privately acknowledged to cnn his lead will likely be impacted by the weather on monday, with much of his strategy built on turning out as many caucus-goers as possible. desantis and the super pac aligned with his campaign have long touted their organization and ground game in iowa which will be put to the test on monday. >> the beam that kind of come in and spend tens of millions and that's it, they tend to underperform. on our side is probably the best that anyone's been able to put together. >> reporter: with a flurry of campaign events scheduled for the weekend, the weather could

cause further disruptions on the trail with the entire gop field planning to barnstorm the state over the next few days. in the meantime, a pro-haley super pac released a new ad to reach voters at home, mocking desantis for his past support of trump. [ cheers ] >> make america great again. [ cheers ] >> reporter: that is the dynamible we have seen unfold in last week on the ground in iowa. this desantis versus haley dynamic. to that end, we learned on friday that governor ron desantis plans to make a pit stop in south carolina before he heads to new hampshire. now that's nontraditional. typically the candidate go right on to new hampshire, the next state to vote. if you trust polling, that is coming down to trump and haley. not a state that's likely to be strong for desantis. instead he's trolling her, going to her home state of south carolina and hopes to perform

better there. that takes us ahead to monday. after the caucus here, we know that the florida governor making that unconventional stop in south carolina before he heads to nacew hampshire. jessica dean, cnn, des moines. joining me is ty rushing, senior editor for "starting line." thank you so much for being here. so many challenges on the ground. give us a sense of how bad the weather is there right now. can you sort of share any stories about what you're seeing so far on the ground there. >> it is bad. we got ten inches of snow earlier in the week. now we have a once in a decade blizzard coming down on us like on top of all of that previous snow. and then we're expecting record low temperatures on monday for the caucus itself. >> yeah. just terrible timing. we've already seen candidates canceling events in these crucial days leading up to monday. how big of a factor will that be

there in iowa where retail politics, in-person campaigning is so important? >> well, i mean, you have some candidate like vivek ramaswamy who was trying his best to make everything in person still, circumstances be damned. i think the day after we had our first big snowstorm, you had nikki haley having a 9:30 event in one of the suburbs still drawing 30, 40 people. folks are still getting out to see people if they get an opportunity to. i mean, you know, this is kind of our norm here. you know, bad weather isn't too much of a deterrent here for a lot of people. and they're expecting a big turnout monday even with record low temps. >> bad weather is one thing. it looks like what's happening could be potentially dangerous. and for the candidates, there are fears that it might impact turnout despite, you know, what you say, of course people are used to bad weather. cars might fail to start, they might break down. people going on their way to the locations and so on. people might not want to wait out in the freezing cold. the trump campaign had been hoping for a huge sort of

knockout win on monday. how do you think that the turnout might affect that or the other campaigns? you know, a low sample makes iowa, you know, could it make the iowa wild card possibly even wilder? >> i mean, it could. but i -- you know, i don't think it's going to be a low turnout. i think a lot of people are going brave the elements and find a way to get there -- especially trump supporters. his base and people are so passionate about him. the cult of personality around him is stronger than with any other candidate. they will find a way to get there and show support for him. at his rallies in iowa he's told people how important to say caucus and support him. he wants a big victory, he's like, we can't get it done unless we get it done in iowa first. >> you're talking about trump's enduring popularity. what's the move about the other candidates? what are people saying -- obviously trump has that huge lead. does it feel like nikki haley is really gaining momentum there,

or are we making too much about her, you know, sort of the momentum that we're seeing on the national side? >> trump is locked firmly into first place. that's a lock. that's been a lock for months. desantis and nikki haley are definitely battling out for number two. i mean, the cnn debate the other day, you saw those two trading barbs nonstop throughout the debate. you didn't hear much politics talk because they were too busy trying to battle over who was the bigger liar. the rise is real. when you see desantis go that way toward him, trump making more attacks to nikki haley in stump speeches, the rise is real. but i don't see her overtaking trump at the finish but a strong second-place finish could propel her. >> could mean the end for desantis. the democratic caucuses, they're basically just admin. i'm wondering what the mood is. obviously in national polls, biden's struggling broadly

speaking. polls suggest even democrats aren't -- there isn't much enthusiasm. that seems to be reflected in iowa where we've seen the relatively low numbers of ballots that have been requested. what are you hearing? >> yeah. obviously we'll find out the iowa results on super tuesday. but it's not a lot of buzz around it. you know, these caucus -- monday's caucus for the iowa democrats is pretty much going to be like what a traditional caucus is theis which is a part organizing meeting. there's not the same buzz. all the attention's been on the republicans, they've been traversing the state and pleading their cases. they're still -- we're still first in the nation for the gop. but yeah, you don't hear much about the democrats honestly in the caucus process now. >> all right. it will be fascinating to watch on monday. certainly hoping that it's safe for all the people there who are going out to vote and, you know, also for yourself, all the reporters out there covering it. really appreciate having you on,

ty rushing, thank you so much for speaking with us. >> my pleasure. thank you. more than 100 million people, nearly a third of the u.s., are under winter weather alerts, advisories and life-threatening blizzard conditions this weekend. the national weather service is warning that the extreme windchills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as ten minutes. let's find out what's in store for from chad myers. >> still snowing across the northern plains and parts of the great lakes. rain across parts of the northeast. that will change over and move away. the colder air much, much colder air, dropping 20 to 39 degrees by the -- 30 degrees by the time sunday rolls around. great lakes aren't frozen over yet, but significant snow coming in. big snow for the game, possibly in buffalo. we'll see how much snow and if they have to move that game. the winds are going to be 30 to 50 miles per hour, knocking down

power lines with this very cold air. arctic air, look at the morning low temperature in omaha for sunday morning. 21 degrees below zero. that's the air temperature. that's not the windchill. that's what the thermometer's going to say. that's what the dog is going to feel. that's what you will feel and your car, as well. by oklahoma city, by the end of the weekend the morning low will be 3. that's like take care of your water pipes type of weather there. we turn to iowa where at voting time the air temperature is going to be somewhere between minus five and minus ten. but the wind is also going to be blowing. the snow will still be drifting. and the windchill factors will be between 20 and 40 degrees below zero for those people trying to get to the polls. united airlines says it will ground its entire fleet of jets until the 16th. he says the planes won't fly until it's approved that the

planes are 100% safe. united typically has 200 max 9 flights daily. 171 are grounded in the u.s. as alaska airlines and united await updated guidance from federal authorities. united's announcement comes one week after a terrifying incident on an alaska airlines flight where a door-sized section blew off the side of the plane in mid flight. houthi targets in yemen take more fire from u.s. forces in the region. the latest on a new wave of strikes launched from this warship. houthi leader try to capitalize on streaks by bolstering political support at home. also ahead, israel rejects accusations of committing genocide against palestinians before the top u.n. court, the and final days of arguments over israel's's military y gain in g. stayay with us.

houthi targets in yemen have taken another round of pounding from u.s. forces in the region. the destroyed "uss carne" hit a radar site with missiles saturday according to central command. they reported air strikes in the capital. that came on the heels of a larger wave of strikes carried out by the u.s. and britain the day before. now this is the aftermath of one

of nearly 30 sites hit in those attacks. officials say they were in response to repeated houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the red sea. the houthis now vow to retaliate against u.s. and british assets. [ speaking in a non-english language ] >> translator: the american and british enemies bear full responsibility for their criminal aggression against our yemeni people. it will not go unpunished or unanswered. the yemeni armed forces will not hesitate to target threatening sources and all hostile targets on land and sea in order to defend yemen, its sovereignty, and independence. >> we have developments from beirut. nada, what's the latest on these new u.s. strikes and how the houthis might respond? ro >> reporter: as you heard the rhetoric from the houthis appears to be intensified. it remains to be seen to what extent they are able to retaliate. we've seen more than two dozen

attacks along the red sea by the houthis since late november. tuesday we did see 21 missiles and drones fired by the houthis from yemen being shot down, according to u.s. military officials. the express intention of those u.s. and uk strikes that we saw overnight thursday into friday were to diminish and downgrade the houthis' ability to carry out further attacks along the red sea. the houthis, on their part, have vowed to continue retaliating, to continue targeting vessels along the red sea so long as israel's attacks on gaza continue. but of course the target for the u.s. and the united kingdom has been attempting to diminish that possibilities. of course we have seen a further attack by the u.s. and united kingdom. one anti-ship ballistic missile targeting a vessel in the red sea. the hits, according to u.s. military officials, they believe, according to officials in the u.s., that their strikes overnight thursday into friday mean that the houthis haven't

been able to retaliate at the same intensity level that weaver seen in the past -- we have seen in the past. it remains to be seen how successful these strikes have been in diminishing that threat. we did see the u.s. carrying out further strikes overnight. these were unilateral strikes by the u.s. again, with the support of international allies, but not carried out alongside the united kingdom crucially. mounting concern around the potential for this to escalate tensions around the region. the houthis have vowed to continue retaliating. we've heard condemnation from authorities in iran, of course backing the houthi rebels. as we've seen in the past the houthis have been able to launch attacks against the likes of saudi arabia and the united arab emirates. there was concern around the broadening, potential broadening of this conflict, particularly as we continue to see tensions in the region mounting. of course we've heard from officials in the internationally recognized government in yemen, they have condemned houthis' attacks. they don't want to see a war break out. they don't want to be dragged

into yet another round of confrontation. as we begin to see that rhetoric intensifying, there will be careful eyes on the situation on the ground in yemen, and to what extent the houthis will be able to regroup and launch further attacks. >> all right. i want to turn now to how this is playing out here in the u.s. with president biden now calling the houthis a terrorist organization. sorry, could you hear the question? i'm asking about how this is playing out in the u.s. with -- we heard president biden calling the houthis a terrorist organization. i think we're having problems reaching nada. so we'll have to leave it there. reporting from beirut. thank you. want to bring in now the former editor-in-chief of "yemen post" newspaper, and he's also played leading roles in

brokering political mediations in yemen. thank you so much for joining us here. so as we've said, there have been fresh strikes on the capital. you're there. tell us what you've been seeing on the ground. >> yesterday there were a lot in specific 73 attacks on houthi targets. >> sana there were attacks on military locations, targeting military targets. there have been casualties, all the casualties were military casualties, not civilian. but the houthis have vowed to retaliate these attacks, and for that they -- hundreds of thousands protested yesterday in the capital sana demanding the houthi-controlled government to retaliate at the u.s.-british attacks and asked to attack u.s.

warships, military bases in the region, and vessels. >> let me ask you about the protests. we're just seeing the pictures right now. so many people -- hundreds of thousands of people out there. who exactly were taking to the streets? who are they, houthi supporters, the average yemenese? tell us more about it. >> it's not a secret that these protests are led bithe houthi-controlled -- by the houthi-controlled government. because it's linked to the palestinian causes and yemenese are supportive to the palestinian cause. and because the houthis are supporting hamas and the palestinian cause it was very easy to gather hundreds of thousands in a one-day notice. so these protesters are not houthis, they were -- most of them are general yemenese who are sympathy to the houthi cause, and they are in support of the houthi, as well. >> and what generally was their

message here? >> their message was retaliation against the attack that took place in yemen over the last 48 hours, and the houthis have vowed to retaliate, and i do expect there will be retaliation on u.s. targets, could be in the next 48 hours or so. but it does not seem that the houthis will back down after threats to target u.s. positions in the middle east. >> do you gets a sense that by taking on the u.s. in the west more openly that the houthis are getting more support within the country and within the region? >> it was basically a gift to them over the last 20 years, the slogan has been deaths death -- death to america and death to israel. the attack on yemen was a gift to the houthis that finding -- making their call or slogan right, that the u.s. has been

behind the bar in yemen for the last nine years. so the latest attacks played completely in houthis' benefits. and they're using that to markets themselves and gain more fighters and support in yemen and especially in the region nafor their causes. >> what do you think the knock-on effects of this might be? is there a danger that this could derail ongoing peace talks or, worse, lead to greater escalation of conflict within yemen itself? >> i don't expect them -- the peace talks to halt or -- in any way because saudi arabia is basically a sideline in this war. they too not want to be -- they do not want to be involved in anything that deals with attacking the houthis because they're worried about their own interests in the region. so it will not halt these talks, but this war will not benefit the u.s., it will benefit the houthis more because the houthis have information to lose in this war.

yemen has -- little to no infrastructure that's what -- worth fighting for. they have nothing to lose. they have the military power. they have the missile power. and they will continue to attack vessels -- israeli vessels until the gaza war is over and they have nothing to lose. i do believe they have more to gain than to lose if the u.s. attacks. >> finally, we heard president biden calling the houthis a terrorist organization looking to perhaps redesignate them formally as a terrorist organization. what effect would that have, how would that change dynamics do you think? >> yeah. this will not affect at all. the houthis do not have bank accounts anywhere, they don't have any fighters abroad. all their fighters are in the country. their accounts are in the country. so branding them as terrorist organization will have little to no effect on them whatsoever.

>> all right. we'll leave there. great to have you on, hakim. thank you so much for being with us. on friday israel rejected accusations of committing genocide against palestinians in gaza at the top u.n. court. the israeli government calls the allegations, quote, grossly distorted and an attempt to pervert the meaning of the term. it's rejecting the petitions filed by south africa to stop the war in gaza. israel presented its defense to the international court of j justice in the second and final day of hearings. it says if there were acts of genocide, they were committed against israel by hamas. >> the genocide convention was a solemn promise made to the jewish people and to all peoples of never again. the applicant in effect invites the court to betray that promise. if the term genocide can be so diminished in the way that it advocates, if provisional measures can be triggered in the

way that it suggests, the convention becomes an aggressor's charter. >> the lawyer for israel went on to argue this a court order to stop its military campaign in gaza would reward and, quote, encourage terrorists who hide behind civils. south africa's legal team tried to head off the self-defense argument during its arguments thursday. it condemned the brutal attack by hamas but said no atrocity justifies genocide in response. south africa accuses israel of deliberately trying to destroy the people of gaza. every day there is mounting irreparable loss of life, property, dignity, and humanity for the palestinian people. our news feeds show graphic images of suffering that has become unbearable to warm. nothing will stop the suffering except an order to this court. without an indication of provisional measures, the

atrocities will continue with the israeli defense force indicating that it intend pursuing this course of action for at least a year. >> much more to come here on cnn including a look at monday's iowa republican caucuses. candidates are making their final pitches, and it appears that winter weather could suppress turnout. plus, we'll soon know who will be the next president of taiwan. a live report ahead on the island's crucial election as vote counting is under way as we speak. stay with us.

welcome back to all of you watching in the united states, canada, and all around the world. i'm kim brunhuber. this is "cnn newsroom." extreme winter weather is

aring an impact on the crucial weekend of campaigning ahead of monday's iowa republican caucuses. nikki haley and ron desantis are battling to present themselves as alternatives to former president donald trump who continues to dominate the gop primary. but they've all had to cancel or modify campaign events this weekend as a powerful winter storm brings blizzard conditions across the state. temperatures will fall below zero and remain there throughout monday. it's never been this cold during a caucus in iowa. republicans are growing increasingly concerned the weather will impact turnout. we turn to taiwan's crucial election. polls closed a short time ago, and vote counting is under way. the results will determine who will be the self-governing island's next leader. cnn has more from hong kong on the latest. so voting's over, counting results, when might we expect to see them? >> reporter: in just a few hours from now, kim. voting is, indeed, over. the tally is under way after

millions of people across taiwan went to the polls in these critical presidential and parliamentary elections. the ballots, as you see on your screen, are being counted in this famous lie efficient and transparent way. those yellow ballots represent votes for parliament, pink for president. and they are, as you can see, counted by hand. and each vote later are held up and put on public display before being tallied. and the result is due out later this evening. again, in just a few hours from now. the entire world is watching, especially china. i want to show you who is vying to succeed the president. there are three individuals. you have onelai ing te of the dpp,lso ho yu ih of the opposition kmt, the third, k wen je of the taiwan people's party or tpp. to talk about the candidate one by one, first up, the dpp's lai ching te. he is the vice president of taiwan, he says he would maintain the status quo and

would pursue peace through strength. his views have been denounced by china as separatist. his rival is ho yu ih of the rival kuomintang party party. he's mayor, longtime police officer. he says he will restart talks with beijing if elected. the party that traditionally favors closer links with china. the third candidate is ko wen je of the tpp. this is interesting. this is a party he founded just five years ago. and because the former mayor of ta taipei, before politics a surgeon. his focus on likelihood issues, on bread and butter issues like the high cost of living has really struck a chord with the youth vote. we are, of course, also keeping an eye on taiwan's parliament reap elections. remember the yellow ballots being counted and the parties have stressed the need to win a majority so that the president has a clear mandate. but that could be out of reach. now china, of course, is watching proceedings closely.

it has called this election a choice between peace and war. china claims taiwan as its own territory despite the fact it has never controlled it. back to you, kim. >> all right. so china obviously watching this closely. here in the u.s., as well, the stakes are very high, as well. >> reporter: yeah, stakes very high in the united states. also in china. and it's china's reaction that is going to be critical here because if there is victory for the dpp, this is a party that china has openly disparaged. how would china react? it is expected that china would react -- be not pleased about that at all. as for the kmt, this is a party that china has traditionally favored. that being said, both of these parties are parties that have focused and stressed the sovereignty of taiwan, saying the fate and future of taiwan is

determined by the people of taiwan. so a number of analysts, even officials inside taiwan say no matter who wins this election, it is expected that china will continue to make investments including military investments to put the pressure on taiwan which your a destabilize -- which would have a destabilizing effect on taiwan, the taiwan strait, on the region it would affect the global economy as it would affect trade, shipping, the global supply chain. don't forget that the world's biggest contract chip maker is based in taiwan. i'm talking about tsmc. back to you, kim. >> we'll find out in a couple of hours. thanks so much. u.s. launches a new wave of strikes on houthi targets in yemen. but as western missiles rain down, houthi leaders try to win political points at home. we'll explain that coming up. stay with us.

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yemen. the "uss carne" hit a radar site according to central command. strikes were reported in sana, the second strike on houthi targets as n as many days. the before and after images show the damage at one of nearly 30 sites hit by the u.s. and britain. the strikes are response to houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the red sea. as nic robertson reports, the houthis are trying to use the situation to rally political support. [ chants ] >> reporter: iran-backed houthis whipping up anti-american and anti-israeli anger. chanting "death to america, death to israel, curse the jews." [ speaking in a non-english language ] >> "we condemn the strikes by israel, america, and britain," he says, "we have been at war for eight years. these strikes don't frighten us." a decade ago the houthis, a

minority religious sect, in this the poorest country in the arab world overthrew the internationally recognized government, seizing army weapons stockpiles, triggering a festering civil war and famine during in saudi and the uae backing the real government. hitting houthis with air strikes. i've been witness to some of it. the positioning of these valves on the side of the missile that convinced the saudis this is iranian manufactured -- the houthis backed by iran targeted saudi with iranian-made cruise missiles and hit the uae with drones. inside yemen, rag-tag saudi-backed government troops failed to ask the houthis from the cap -- oust the houthis from the capital. we're keeping low because the houthis might see us. government lines often on demand. fighters hired from local tribes. without money, few fought.

april, 2023, a fragile truce agreed. babacked by iran, the houthis could afford more fightersrs, , ready supplies of sophisticated drones, cruise missiles, and more as recently as last year, putting thousands of uniformed troops and weapons on parade. their truce and pause in regional aggression ending 12 days after hamas' brutal october 7th attack, launching missiles at israel. weeks later, escalating attacks on international shipping in the red sea that they falsely claim is connected to israel.new- and. >> this has them using iranian supplied weapons to go after international shipping in the red sea.a. >> r reporter: iraran and itits

reregional proxies including has and hezbollah accucusing the u. and the uk of escalating regional tensions to help israel. while america's regional partners, saudi and the uae, worry about escalation, a potential return to houthi attacks on them. and after the second night of strikes, an already tense region is going to feel even more fragile. the question now, not if the houthis respond but when. nic robertson, cnn, tel aviv, israel. still ahead, the buffalo bills are looking for some help ahead of sunday's playoff game in new york. cnn sports explains why they'll need to bring a shovel. that's coming up.

the crimson tide moves quickly to replace head coach nick saudi arudi -- nick saban. more now from new york. carolyn, he's going to have big shoes to fill.

>> reporter: taking over for a man who led alabama to nine titles and six dhips -- six championships. we'll find out in the washington coach is the right man for the job. he led the huskies to a championship and berth in the national championship last monday. the 49-year-old was named the ap coach of the year after mosting a 14-1 record in 2023 with the only loss coming to michigan in the e national t title game. in a statement, deboer said, quote,e, follolowing coach saba an h honor. he has been the standard for college football, and his succccess is unprecedenteded. i woululd not have left washingn na for r just any s school. the chance to lead the football program at the university of alabama is the opportunity of a lifetime. elsewhere, the playoffs kick off saturday with two games on the schedule. weather will be a factor for the chiefs-dolphins game in kansas city. the temperature at kickoff is expected to be around zero degrees with a windchill of minus 10 to minus 15 degrees. believe it or not, the players

are actually looking forward to this. >> what could be better? playing playoff job january at arrowhead stadium, going to be cold, kind of is what it is. i'd rather play a football game than chase my kids around the backyard. i'll have the adrenaline rush. excited for it. >> can't prepare for a game with that kind of weather. it will be new. i'll just -- just see what it feels like without gloves. but -- yeah. i think the whole thing is a mindset. >> reporter: kickoff is at 8:10 eastern, following the texans hosting the browns at 4:30. meantime, the forecast calling for snow in buffalo being measured in feet ahead of sunday's home game against the steelers. this is so bad that the bills are asking fans to help clear the field before kickoff. the fans, freelance shovellers, will be paid $20 an hour with complimentary flood and breaks provided out of the cold. you don't need to own a shovel.

the team says they amy provide one for -- they'll provide one for you. and lastly this morning, kim, the chicago bulls celebratesed their first-ever ring of honor class at halftime of friday's game against the golden state warriors. the festivities did not come without controversy. >> he was a six-time nba champion, two-time nba executive of the year. represented by his wife, thelma, basketball hall of famer and former bulls general manager jerry krause. >> jerry krause who is credited with building the '90s dynasty with michael jordan passed away in 2017 and the crowd booing brought his widow to tears who was in attendance. after the game, warriors head coach and former chicago bulls player steve kerr who won three titles with the team spoke out against that kind of behavior. >> shameful. it's absolutely shameful.

i cannot believe -- i'm devastated for thelma and more the krause family. what -- what can we possibly be thinking? i cannot believe that the fans -- and you have to understand, when you hear boos, it's not all, right? the fans who booed, they know who they are, and that's -- to me is absolutely shameful, and i'm -- i'm devastated by that. >> all right. go ahead -- >> reporter: i was going to say, krause, he was the architect of that '90s dynasty but in many people's point of view responsible for its undoing. they came out of the stand. that factoring into fans sort of gut, visceral reaction. to boo -- with his family in attendance, certainly classless. >> yeah. hard to understand. all right. thank you so much. there may be a shortage of

seats on the elvis express, but there are plenty of sequinned jumpsuits and wigs as thousands made their way from sydney to the ahn outback for one of the -- australian outback for one of the largest tributes to the king. lynda kinkade has that. central station for a special service, we can confirm -- ♪ >> reporter: on their way to a celebration fit for the king or many kings -- ♪ -- elvis fans and impersonators shook their hips through sydney's central station thursday. wearing fake sideburns and glittering jackets they headed to the town in south wales that's hosted the annual elvis festival since 1993. >> he's been gone for, what, 46.5 years. he thought he'd be forgotten. that's the thing. going to be bigger than ever. fantastic. he's back in the building. >> reporter: the elvis festival was born from a pair of

restaurant owners, a local newspaper editor, and their burning love for the king of rock and roll. and now in a town of about 10,000 people, it's a little less conversation and a lot more celebration. with organizers estimating the five-day event will draw a turnouts which is over double the population. many participants looking to fulfill their own dreams of a better land. >> everyone's got so serious. the world, everyone's painting their house gray. the world's gone gray. we need a bit of color and bit of fun. just get out there and have a laugh, i say. >> reporter: in tune with this year's theme, jailhouse rock, jailbird elvis impersonators at the central station platform dancing to "the jailhouse rock." the six-our pilgrimage after a train packed car to tar with people dancing, singing, and

paying tributes to mr. policely. >> it's a lot of fun. we gave -- go in carriage to carriage. they're all there to have a good time. i guess that's what makes it some. ♪ >> reporter: the 2024 elvis festival will rattle and roll through sunday featuring competitions, workshops, and live performances. the perfect place to break in your blue suede shoes. lynda kinkade, cnn. >> music legend elton john is known for his bold fashion choices which complement his stage presence, and now some could be yours. ♪ it's going to be a long long time ♪ ♪ not the man they think i. at all ♪ ♪ no no no ♪ >> the rocket man's unique wardrobe is large in part due to versace. he designed many of his more

flamboyant looks. so next month john's vintage versace will be up for auction along with others one of a kind pieces from his home in atlanta as part of the collection of sir zelton john "good-bye peach tree road" at christie's auction house. and another auction fans went crazy for. two scripts from "friends." ♪ ♪ no one told you life was gonna be this way ♪ ♪ your job's a joke ♪ >> scripts were for "the one with ross' wedding parts one and part two." they were filmed in england and the scripts were supposed to be destroyed but were found in a garbage bin more than 25 years ago and kept in a bedside table. up to $1,000, the auctioneer said bidders jacked up the price, sold for $28,000. all right. leave it to louis vuitton to

reimagine lunch with their sandwich bag purse. it was designed by for thatle williams who's -- farpharrell wil williams, inspired by the brown paper sandwich bag with cow hyde leather and a blue fastener sure to keep your sandwiches secure. louis vuitton has been inspired by everyday objects including trash bag purses. that wraps this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm kim brunhuber. for viewers in north america, "cnn this morning" is next. for the rest of the world "african voices play makers."

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