hello, welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world, i'm michael holmes, appreciate your company. coming up on cnn "newsroom," final push to the iowa caucuses, a new poll, the state deals with historic winter weather. huge crowds gather in tel aviv calling for the release of the hostages, how israel is marking 100 days since hamas launched its deadly raid and the global protests against the military operation in gaza that has followed. and a historic win in taiwan, details plus a live report from beijing to see how china is reacting.

>> we begin this hour with brutal winter weather pummelling much of the u.s. iowa is the center, the state patrol has received calls for 86 crashes in under ten hours on saturday. iowa is set to hold a republican caucuses monday amid an arctic blast that has campaigns concerned about turnout. the high temperature in much of the state that day is forecast to be minus 2 degrees fahrenheit, that's minus 16 celsius. elsewhere, the nfl postponed the game between the buffalo bills and the pittsburgh steelers, it will now take place in buffalo, new york, on monday. according to flightaware.com, there were nearly 7,000 flight delays, more than 1,300

cancellations in the u.s. saturday alone. iowans will not be the only ones braving the brutal blast, americans are under winter chill alerts into next week, and frostbite could occur in as little as 30 minutes. our meteorologist breaks it down. >> the blizzard exits and arctic air is diving south. wind chills as cold as 45 degrees below zero, some of the coldest air this season. and it's coming right that time for the iowa caucus on monday. iowans waking up to wind chills as cold as 45 below zero. frostbite happens in ten minutes or less. monday evening, still as cold as 30 below zero, frostbite times 25 minutes or less. this is by far the coldest caucus on record.

most have been in the 30s and 40s. one at 16 in 2004. now it looks like this one will be much, much colder than that, probably not breaking 0 degrees in des moines, high of minus 2. very cold and factor in wind chill, even colder. subzero temperatures and wind chill, 30 below zero. it's not just iowa, the air temperatures for upper, northern plains, subzero temperatures through tuesday and wednesday for rapids city, omaha, chicago as well. minus 10 waking up on tuesday morning. that cold air gets as far south as texas. looking at temperatures in single digits and teens for lubbock, dallas, austin. teens by tuesday and wednesday

morning. as this spills south it impacts most americans. 80% of the lower 48 with temperatures below freezing by tuesday. 20% subzero. records falling, maybe 250 or more records, daytime tcold higs and overnight low temperatures could fall with the arctic invasion. upper midwest places are in the midst of the warmest winter on record. the red dots is the difference climate. but this has been a warm one. less than 48 hours remain before the first nominating contest of the 2024 presidential elections and a just released poll shows donald trump continues to keep his iron grip

republicans. the final des moines register/nbc news poll shows donald trump support at 48%. nikki haley second at 20%, ron desantis, third at 16%. extremely cold, blizzard-like conditions have forced campaigns to cancel or modify events in the crucial final weekend before the caucuses. candidates are still working to get people out to vote. >> monday is going to be cold. really cold. but what i'm asking you is if you will take the time to not just go to the polls, take people with you. wear layers, because you might be standing in line. take your i.d. but think of the fact that you might be making history in this moment. >> they can throw a blizzard at

us, and we are going to fight. they can throw wind chill at us, and we are going to fight. they can throw media narratives at us, and we are going to fight. they can throw fake polls at us, and we are going to fight. >> you have the worst weather i guess in recorded history, but maybe that's good because our people are more committed than anybody else, so maybe it's a good thing for us. >> cnn correspondent holmes is there in iowa with the latest on a brutally cold day of campaigning. >> reporter: former president donald trump and his team sending two messages. one is get out and caucus no matter how cold and it's cold, the other is tempering expectations. they've seen the polls that donald trump is up 30 points, they don't believe the margins are really that big. they want to set the expectation. they say anything over 12 points would be a historic win.

you have to remember they're not looking to just win but set momentum going into new hampshire. really offset any momentum of his gop rivals, particularly nikki haley. it was clear that haley was still on the mind of donald trump in a telerally. >> i know nikki very well, she was my ambassador to the united nations, and she had a lot of weakness, to be honest. >> reporter: as we have reported, donald trump's team is worried about haley in new hampshire, seen her rise there. spending $4.5 million between the campaign and super pac advertising against her on immigration. the big point is try to get a win large enough to set momentum and offset anything she has going into new hampshire. other complication, they worry the big poll numbers will keep people from turning out who might just say donald trump has

enough support anyway. they're trying to stress get out and caucus on monday. >> sunday marks 100 days since hamas launched its deadly raid into israel, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 100 hostages. and right now a massive rally is under way in tel aviv to mark the occasion. expected to last until sunday night, around 24 hours, calling for the release of more than 100 hostages still believed to be held by hamas. nick has more. >> reporter: this rally in the center of tel aviv one of the biggest for a while. 100 days of hell it's called. estimated 120,000 people attended in the early part of saturday evening. it's expected to go on about 24 hours, and really is to draw attention to all those more than 100 hostages still being held

inside of gaza, to try to put pressure on the government not to let the idea of the hostages slip behind the military campaign. this is what people were doing. music, speeches. people at some points not part of the main rally but another point tried to stop cars on the central highway to make the point that the government needs to address the issues of getting the hostages back safely. also 100 days, we've heard a report from the top u.n. emergency humanitarian coordinator talking about the situation in gaza. 9 million people displaced at one point, 80% of the population. some of the other things were damning. u.n. workers in north of gaza had seen bodies at the side of the road, people on the edge of starvation. another u.n. group has a report

that says whole neighborhoods of housing are missing, there are no homes to go back to. griffith's report interestingly and perhaps presciently focusing on rafah where the ground offensive has not reached yet. there's an additional 1 million displaced people there. he said if the military starts there where people are already short of food, water and multiple families living in tiny accommodation, sharing homes, if there's a military offensive, it will cause real potential for push of people, desperate to get through gaza's border, desperate to get into neighboring countries. and he said in his report as well that some countries have already offered to take some of the citizens of gaza, and stressed it's vitally important

if that were to happen they have the absolute right to return. but clearly focusing concerns on that southern portion of gaza because that's the fear that the density of the displaced population, a military operation there, could have further and more dire consequences than we're seeing now. point from prime minister netanyahu saturday evening, this gets to the point that secretary blinken made in the region, a u.n. team would investigate when displaced people could get back north, and the prime minister said not until all the military operations are over. cnn, tel aviv, israel. protesters around the world are showing support for palestinians in gaza, demanding israel stop bombarding the territory. in london, tens of thousands marched to the houses of

parliament. in naples, italy, they laid out 5,000 symbolic tombstones to honor palestinians killed. more than 23,800 people have been killed in the enclave since october 7, most civilians. 60,000 more wounded, thousands missing according to the ministry. in washington, protesters gathered in front of the white house and elsewhere, calling for ceasefire and demanding president joe biden withdraw support for israel. while many in taiwan are celebrating the results of an historic election, china is not happy at all. more on why. unprecedented flooding from africa's second largest river has left a trail of devastation in its wake e and any hohope of relilief still weeks away.y.

when we e come back.k.

china says that taiwan is still its territory and that will not change, as the ruling party celebrates an historic election victory.

will ripley from taipei. >> reporter: snow rarely falls on the taiwanese capital, but on this night, a blizzard of confetti. thunderous applause on the winning side, on the losing side, calls for unity, as taipei braces for beijing's storm. >> the most important thing for me is our relationship with china. we've been bullied for years on end, i can't stand on kneeling down to their demands and meddling in our elections. >> reporter: to say china didn't want this result is the understatement of the year, they despise president-elect lai ching te and his vice president even more, she's banned from entering china. ahead of the election, china

painted a dark foreboding picture of the four more years of the democratic progressive or green party in power. three different parties vied for the president, but it was a third historic turn for the green party, a result that will have beijing seeing red. within minutes of the results, from the office in beijing, dpp does not represent the mainstream. they did get 40% of the vote, more than 70% turnout. in taiwan, there are no absentee ballots. >> i'm pleasantly happy. >> reporter: some like this student from the u.s. flew 16 hours to cast votes in person. were you afraid that taiwan would be the next hong kong if there was a different result? >> for sure.

especially since the other parties want a closer economic partnership with china. that's the first step for encroachment, right? >> reporter: when the buzz of victory wears off, a sobering reality for the new president, his party lost control of the parliament, a sign of d dissatisfaction. the twoterm president tsai ing wen put taiwan on the stage. >> translator: we're telling the international community between democracy and authoritarianism, we stand on the side of democracy. >> reporter: and safeguard taiwan from ongoing threats.

cnn, taipei. >> mark stewart is live from beijing. china couldn't hate this result more. what can they do about it. >> before the election, they pushed the narrative of the election as a choice between war and peace, and not to do too much to dissuade or turn off voters from taiwan. we've seen a strong statement from beijing, the basic fact there is only one china in the world and taiwan is part of china will not change. will the statement be it, likely not. it has a host of options it can do to show its strength and

dissatisfaction of the result, military exercise, economic or diplomatic measures. it's far from established. >> how carefully will the new president tread politically? he's already choosing his words carefully. describe the tightrope he's going to be walking. >> tightrope is the best phrase. we've heard him in the past describe china -- he's been referred to by china as a troublemaker and warmaker. that's the response already from china even before the election. and then he has also kind of fought back. lai said he would like to have dinner with xi jinping of all

world leaders, he said at an event hosted by national taiwan university, that xi jinping should quote chill out a little, not be so stressed. beijing said the remarks were weird and accused him of putting on a cloak of good will. it's already a frosty relationship before he's been inaugurated. that will take place in may. >> mark, appreciate that analysis. mark stewart on the spot for us in beijing. months of flooding of africa's congo river has killed more than 300 people in surrounding countries and according to authorities destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes and the world health organization is bracing for the fallout of water-borne disease. >> reporter: homes submerged to their rooftops, murky water, plastic bottles, shoes and a

foul smell are flooding some neighborhoods that can be only navigated by makeshift canoe. more than 300 have died from the overflowing congo river, second longest river in africa after the nile. burst river banks and intense rains have left tens of thousands of homes destroyed. >> translator: we were born here, this is our plot with four shots that helps us with the children's school fees. this water overflows without it raining, often, but this time it overflowed badly. we have children and a plot of land but are homeless. >> in the democratic republic of the congo, 3,000 households have been affected in kinshasa and else elsewhere. in the neighboring country,

64,000 households have been destroyed or damaged according to the world health organization. small waterways that crisscross are sometimes open sewers, overflows. residents are resorting to shovels to paddle through the murky flood waters. >> referee: >> translator: the water used to come up to our knees, now it's up to our chests. now i have three canoes. the government is waiting for the water to recede before they build a bridge. >> reporter: flooding is common this time of year, but today it's up 6 meters, submerging ports along the river, a situation unlike anything many have seen in their lifetimes. >> translator: we've lived in this neighborhood since we were children, it's the first time since we were born we've experienced this situation.

so to get around, we have to use dugout canoes and we continue to live in this situation because we have nowhere else to go. >> reporter: the world health organization says it's responding to health threats like water and vector-borne diseases, maternal and child nutrition and food insecurity. rain is expected to lighten up but might not be until february that the water line goes back to normal. ukraine says russia launched dozens of missiles and drones across the country on saturday. the fourth such major attack by moscow since december 29. fortunately no reported injuries. ukraine's air force says it destroyed eight of the missiles, but russia says it achieved its goal by hitting military industrial facilities. ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy saying on friday that the country still lacks enough comprehensive air defenses.

mr. zelenskyy said he discussed defense needs meeting with the new french foreign minister on saturday, and they talked about joint production of weapons and strengthening the air defenses. it was the minister's first trip to kyiv since he was apointed. he promised that france will stand by ukraine as long as it takes and push other european countries for support. "inside africa" is next for international viewers, for everyone else in america, i'll be back with more news after the break. to duckduckgo on all your devie

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welcome back, you're watching cnn "newsroom" with me, michael holmes. as we've been reporting, republican voters in iowa head out for the first in the nation caucuses monday, and they'll have to brave brutally cold weather to do it. the wind chill could be feeling like minus 20 fahrenheit or minus 29 celsius. latest polling shows former president donald trump on the verge of a historic victory in iowa. des moines register putting him at 48%. former south carolina governor nikki haley at 20% and florida governor ron desantis 16% of likely voter support. cnn senior analyst ron brownstein is there and joins us

live. good to see you. before politics, do what normal people do, talk about the weather. snowstorms, biting cold. whose advantage for voters 0 who say it's too cold, i'm staying home? >> wind chill is 45 below in des moines, at the outer level of what i've ever experienced. i actually think it benefits desantis if anybody at the margin. maybe trump a little. i think the weather is the biggest problem for haley. by definition you see in the poll, not only in the poll but in general, her supporters tend to be the voters most alienated from the trump era republican party. poll shows half of her voters are either independents or democrats. do they feel strongly enough about her to show up on a night that may be historically cold. this is the most snow since the early '40s.

desantis has a serious organization, they will be at least contacting people, whipping them, trying to encourage them to the polls on that night. and trump has, you know, he has his maga base i suspect will show up as well. wouldn't be shocking if the weather led to a slight flip in the desantis/haley finish. but that won't likely change the big story coming out of iowa. >> you mentioned the poll, donald trump commanding 48%, haley 20%, desantis 16%, and ramaswamy is 8%. they add up to 44% to trump's 48%. does anybody fall out after the iowa caucuses? who benefits if it happens? >> interesting and different questions. desantis has put in the maximum effort in iowa, visited all 99 counties, built this big organization, corralled the support of more of the state's

political leadership than anyone else, including the governor and most of the evangelical leaders, in a state where they might be 65% of the total turnout. if he comes in third, it's hard to see a rationale for him to continue at that point. even if he narrowly beats haley for second, that probably is the end of the road. if he can't compete effectively against trump here, you have to ask yourself where would he. the problem haley has got, if desantis drops out, it's not clear she gets the bulk of those voters. they might end up with trump. haley's situation reminds me of a lot of john mccain's, not 2008 when he won the nomination but 2000 when he lost the nomination. initial surge was fuelled mostly by independent voters, gave him an opportunity to make a case to core republicans against the

frontrunner, george w. bush. he couldn't make a race of it. that was decided in south carolina. i feel like we're heading to something like that again this year. haley is likely to emerge after iowa/new hampshire as the last viable alternative to trump but done it mostly on the votes of independents. and to really make a race of this, she's going to have to give republicans a stronger argument than she's been willing to try so far. >> iowa is a deeply red state, a lot of love for trump, but is iowa a bellwether, does the result portend much for the next races? >> not really. iowa has had a poor record picking the republican nominee. last three iowa winners, none of them won a dozen states or the nomination. that trend may break this year with trump. reason iowa has not been a good

predictor of the eventual winner is because the last candidates won here in a similar way, they burrowehetate, focused on maximizing support among evangelical christians, but then they painted themselves into that corner and had trouble reaching out beyond that community in other states and couldn't make a go of it. a problem that was apparent immediately in new hampshire. one thing i'll be watching for on monday is in the exit poll, who wins the minority of voters who are not evangelical christians because that winner has usually won the nomination. the problem for haley, on track to be the last standing alternative to trump ten days from now after new hampshire, is that she has to peel away more republicans. to do that, she has to make a stronger case against trump. almost all the arguments are

value free, no value judgment, i'm a stronger candidate, we need generational change. she has to make a case to republican voters why not to go with someone they view as the incumbent in the race. >> make the differences more starker. good to get your breakdown. thank you ron. >> thanks for having me. while the polls indeed suggest donald trump could score a historic win in iowa, there are some votes up for grabs after former new jersey governor chris christie dropped out of the race. which candidate will benefit most from his exit? >> reporter: chris christie hasn't endorsed anyone yet, but there's one candidate most likely to benefit from his exit. cnn poll from new hampshire showed 65% of christie voters said they would pick nikki haley

as their second choice. you're one of the 65% who supported christie and are leaning haley. why? >> she's the best pathway to helping the country move forwards from trump. >> reporter: a dynamic he raised at a christie campaign event last month. >> would it not better serve the anti-trump vote for you to suspend but for nikki to have you as vp, declared before the january primary? >> no, i don't think so so. >> i was particularly pleased yesterday with the christie announcement because the timing was right. next best candidate is clearly haley, now she has an opportunity to gather and speak with and speak to that 65% of christie supporters like myself. her needle has moved a big jump now in new hampshire. >> reporter: other christie

supporters were ready to go all in for christie, now he isn't sure. >> i'm saddened by this. >> reporter: he's open but needs to see more. >> one candidate that i would like, if she would stand up to trump more, would be haley. >> reporter: johnson, a democrat who supported christie, doesn't see it the same way with haley. >> i'm a new hampshire democrat volunteering for a republican because he believes in the idea of working across the aisle. i'm going to work for the democrats starting tomorrow because no, i respect her, but no, i will not vote for her. >> reporter: others as young as 10 years old liked christie. >> say you weren't running and had no idea that that could even happen, who would you vote for? >> reporter: but hannah and her parents thought it was the right time for him to go. they attended campaign events

and hannah encouraged her parents to see more candidates and changed their minds. >> i give christie credit for telling me the truth about trump. i was a trump supporter two months ago, now i feel there's enough momentum behind new hampshire she's going to win new hampshire. >> i wasn't a full-on trump supporter, in general election on the ticket, probably would vote for him, but really undecided going in. hannah encouraging us to go to town halls opened my eyes and helped me decide. >> reporter: for christie's former supporters, this goes beyond the primary. >> you want to choose that voice that a greater proportion of the country is going to resonate than this. >> reporter: to you, that's nikki haley? >> absolutely. >> we'll have full coverage on

monday here on cnn. meanwhile, a quick break. when we come back, protests in washington to try to convince the white house to demand a ceasefire in gaza. you're watching cnn "newsroom."

huge crowds of people gather in the u.s. capital to demand a ceasefire in gaza, taking their demands to the white house. >> reporter: this was a huge rally that included a march through the streets of washington and a protest outside the white house. its size and program mirrored the last massive march for gaza we saw in washington, which i covered in early november. but the message on saturday felt even more urgent as the death toll in gaza continues to rise. these protesters calling for an immediate and permanent

ceasefire and really trying to put political pressure on the biden administration to send its unequivocal support for israel and end military aid for the war effort in gaza. i spoke to a palestinian american woman who has lost family in gaza since the conflict began, and she voted for president biden in 2020, but 2024 is a different story, she said. >> i have american family stuck there now. we have tried every avenue for their evacuation, they were shot at at the border. there's no circumstance in which president biden has my vote in the upcoming election. he's single-handedly funding the genocide of my people. >> reporter: there is one incident connected to the protest with u.s. park police arresting two people, they say, for disorderly conduct and assaulting a police officer. in texas, three migrants, an adult woman and two children,

have drowned in the rio grande river according to a democratic lawmaker who is calling it a tragedy for which the state bears responsibility. this comes days after authorities blocked the u.s. border patrol from accessing miles of the u.s./mexico border. cnn has reached out to authorities for further comment. we're hearing tragic stories more and more often lately as an unprecedented number of asylum seekers flock to the u.s. southern border. officials in texas say it's more than they can handle, but impossible to deter those desperate to reach the united states. >> reporter: a small boy's abandoned shoe, a jacket stuck in barbed wire, a pile of recently discarded clothes. along the rio grande, not far from eagle pass, texas, signs of

human presence are everywhere. this honduran mother with her son and daughter says the reasons for crossing are more powerful than the measures intended to stop them. she says she decided to leave honduras after her daughter was kidnapped. >> this has spiralled out of control. we're at the point of no return. >> reporter: a local official says an influx of 1,000 migrants a day in december was way more than they could handle at eagle pass, texas, town of less than 30,000 at the border with mexico. >> power to take care of the local business, criminal elements, immigration problem. >> reporter: new york and chicago have made headlines because of the resources and money they've had to divert towards care for asylum seekers transported to them from texas. >> $12 billion in addition to what we already need to run the

city. >> reporter: but the impact is also felt in smaller cities. the federal emergency management agency has granted nearly $12 million in funding to atlanta since 2022 to offset coasts associated with migrant arrivals. maricopa county allocated money in may for funding agencies serving refugees. costs in pima county, arizona, has been more than 65 million since 2020. denver spent over 33 million between december 2022 and the same month last year to shelter more than 32,000 asylum seekers, projecting cost of $180 million for 2024 if arrivals continue at the current rate. and more migrants are on the

way. including a 33-year-old domestic worker from colombia who risked everything to give her daughter a better life. we witnessed an emotional reunion, a family of cubans who hadn't seen each other for five years, two sisters who risked everything for the american dream. she said she were kidnapped in mexico, had to pay ransom. now her motivation is her son she's hoping to bring to america once her asylum request is, she hopes, approved. a momentous day for the kingdom of denmark, and australia's crown princess mary is said to be the first aussie born queen.

later today, crown prince frederick of denmark and advertise wife, the australian born princess mary will become queen and king of denmark.

max foster brings us the details of the modern day fairy tale and what aussies back home think about one of their own becoming a queen. >> reporter: the crown will pass to the queen's son, prince frederick and his australian born wife. crown princess mary of denmark was once mary donaldson of tasmania. a world away from the royals of old europe. until the world converged on sydney for the 2000 olympic games including crown prince frederick. >> my daughter and i were watching the news the other night and she was asking about it. worked at the pub. >> reporter: justin tinan was the manager of the slip in, a sydney watering hole popular

with tourists. mary said she didn't know she was in royal company when she started chating to a handsome man at the bar. >> i recollect her. she was a striking woman. but the focus i suppose was on frederick. >> reporter: mary on a night out with friends quite literally met her prince charming. the slip in as kept a danish flavor. just as princess mary has worked hard to integrate herself into the upper crust. it didn't take the senior royal long to become fluent in danish. and fluent in the customs of one of the oldest monarchies in the world. as the outgoing queen told me in a 2011 interview. >> i feel very confident. i feel we have a very good

relationship indeed. >> reporter: in 2004, mary and frederick married in a grand ceremony. in copenhagen cathedral. many australians remain infatuated. >> i am very proud and excited. i think she'll make a great queen. >> definitely. >> reporter: but mary is more than a mascot. in 2007, the mary foundation was formed to help fight bullying, domestic violence. and she advocates for the lgbt. >> i understand the reality of what too many people are forced to endure because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

>> reporter: australians will celebrate when she becomes the queen. two countries linked by a chance encounter at a sydney pub and a royal romance. max foster, cnn. >> we are all very proud. thanks for spending part of your day with me, i'm michael holmes. you can find me at holmes cnn. stay with us. cnn newsroom with paula newton continues after a break. to duckduckgo on all your devie

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