sexual violence against women. they don't want those women to be able to talk about what happened to them stand with palestinians and israelis for basic human rights. stand for all women. this election is a choice between results or just rhetoric. californians deserve a senator who is going to deliver for them every day and not just talk a good game. adam schiff. he held a dangerous president accountable. he also helped lower drug costs, bring good jobs back home, and build affordable housing. now he's running for the senate. our economy, our democracy, our planet. this is why we fight. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message.

a warm welcome to our viewers in united states and around the world. i'm paula newton. we are a day away from iowa's high stakes republican caucuses. and as one candidate closes in on front runner donald trump, dangerous temperatures threaten to derail their momentum. thousands take to the streets in tel aviv marking 100 days of war with hamas calling for the release of hostages. we'll take a look at where things stand in the live report. as russia ramps up attacks on ukraine, the u.s. explores how to send asset to the war ravaged nation. it is the final count down

to iowa's republican caucuses. a new poll shows donald trump holding a commanding lead. a poll of likely gop caucus ers shows trump support at an incredible 48%. nikki haley trails with 20% followed by ron desantis at 16%. but haley and desantis are working to build momentum. listen. >> you have a choice to make. this is go time. all eyes are on iowa. and you get it. you know the responsibility that comes with being first. you know that you are setting the tone for where the country is going to be. >> they can throw a blizzard at us and we are going to fight. they can throw windchill 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. >> hour, iowa has been blasted by blizzard conditions and brutal cold that will linger through monday night correspondent kristin holmes has more. >> reporter: former president donald trump and his team sending two messages. get out and caucus no matter how cold, and the other is really tempering expectations. they have seen the polls showing donald trump is up by a 30-point margin. they don't believe the margins are that big. so they want to set the expectation. now they continue to say that anything over 12 points would still be an historic win. and you have to remember that they are notlooking to just win. they are looking to set momentum and offset any momentum of his gop rivals.

it was clear nikki haley was still on the mind of donald trump during a rally event. take a listen to what he said. >> i know nikki very well. she was my ambassador to the united nations and she had a lot of weakness to be honest. she had a lot of weakness. >> reporter: as we have reported, donald trump's team is worried about haley in new hampshire. think have seen her rise there. they have spending $4.5 billion advertising against haley already on immigration. again, the big point here is to try to get a win that is large enough to set the momentum and offset anything that she has going into new hampshire. the other complication, they worry that the big poll numbers will keep people turning out who might just say donald trump, he already has enough support anyway so they are trying to stress. get out there and caucus on

monday. >> joining me now is jeff stein. in waterloo, iowa. we are so glad to have you with us. on what is nearly caucus eve here. you have been covering this such a long time. i want to start with what you heard from the latest poll results. and if you think there is a lot of movement there. >> what is interesting is how stable the numbers are regardless of which poll you look at. the numbers from the most recent poll virtually identical to those released not hang ago. all the polls have trump solidly ahead near the 50% mark and haley in second. but when you go beneath the raw numbers, you find trump support very solid. not as solid is the support for haley or desantis. that is why last minute comments or things that happen on the campaign trail or yes,

the weather, could impact that big race for second place monday night. >> and let's get to the weather. so many people have talked about it. said it would affect the turnout. what do you any? >> we are used to heavy snowfall and cold temperatures. we are not used to two snowstorms and the arctic last in one week, but this is something iowans take very seriously. as longs as all we are dealing with is below zero cold monday night. folks are used to this. and you are not traveling far. there are 1700 precinct sites for caucuses. that means you are in your neighborhood. you are a short distance away. yes, it is more of a problem in a rural area. but again, those of us who live in rural areas are used to it. so i do not think it will

affect the turnout that much. if it does affect one candidate as opposed to another, it might be nikki haley because her support is softer, certainly than president trump's is. >> and i am really interested in what you are saying there. because the weather has featured so much. as i said, if you don't have a four-wheel drive, somebody probably has one and will take you to where you need to go. they will get that all organized. i want to ask you if question look back at the next four months, this campaign has been going on for months. what has surprised you about it in terms of everything that has gone on the last few months? >> reporter: we are used to seeing candidates rise and fall. the flavor of the month if you will. i don't mean that disparagingly. they are popular and they drop back. vivek ramaswamy was the first who kind of spiked up there in the 15% range. now he has fallen back. haley has been the one with the

momentum. desantis has not risen or fallen and despite all of the effort, despite all the endorsements, governor desantis is still hovering at only 20% and i have to tell you if the haley supporters, she has been the hot candidate over the last couple of months. if those supporters show up and she finishes second, no disrespect to governor desantis but i don't know where his path is to victory given haley's strong showing in the polls if you believe those in new hampshire. >> that is what they say about iowa. >> you do the job getting the field down to size. what can iowa teach us though about the choices that are in front of americans in this campaign? campaign 2024? >> iowans have a pretty good detecter for those who are coloring the truth. or those who are just blustering. they will ask follow-up

questions and so, our bull detector is pretty good. and that does help expose candidates who come in and are used to talking in sound bites. it is a way for people who are above average in terms of intelligence and education who take this very seriously to ask the candidates tough questions, require follow-ups, and give you, the rest of the world, our judgment on who we think could be qualified and who is nothing but an empty suit. >> certainly engaged and listening. and no bull sign. we all look forward to it and the results. jeff stein, thanks so much. really appreciate it. >> thank you paula. now, you just heard jeff and i talking about that weather. iowa has been the epicenter of course for that dangerous weather. and those conditions that we

have been seeing right across the united states. the iowa state patrol says they responded to 86 crashes in less than ten hours because of those terrible road conditions. but other parts of the u.s. are also dealing with dangerous rain, snow, and coastal flooding. in oregon, falling trees toppled power lines, started fires and shut down transit. officials in portland say there has been at least one weather related death in the city. more than 250 daily cold records, 250 could be broken across the country through tuesday. 75% of the country will experience temperatures below freezing over the next seven days as a blast of arctic air moves south and east through the central united states. today marks 100 days since hamas launched its deadly rampage in israel killing about 1200 people. now right now, a massive rally is underway in tel aviv to mark that attack.

it is set to last about 24 hours. now it is in fact the people there calling for the release of hostages still held in gaza. meantime, prime minister benjamin netanyahu has blunt words reacting to the accusations of genocide. he called the case brought by south africa a hypocritical onslaught which he said was brought on behalf of those who want to commit another holocaust. regarding the war's 100 day mark, mr. netanyahu said this. >> we today mark 100 days of war. 100 days since the terrible days in which our citizens were slaughters and kidnapped. we are continuing to the war to its conclusion. to total victory until we have achieved all of our objectives. the guarantee that gaza will never again pose a threat to

israel. we will restore security both in the south and in the north. no one will stop us. not the axis of evil nor anyone else. >> let's bring in our elliot who is standing by for us in london. 100 days now. can you give us son imsight just into israeli public opinion? because it is confusing at times when you see those families so forcefully asking for their loved ones to be brought home. at the same time, the prosecution of the war continues in gaza really with such brutal effect. >> if you ask most israeli ins an ideal world, they would say yes, destroy hamas militarily so it can never again repeat the atrocities of october 7. and bring all the hostages home. the problem is that sometimes, according to some israelis, those two objectives cannot be

achieved at the same time. certainly some of the people we spoke to in hostages square in the center of tel aviv saying that this should be the number one priority. bringing the hostages home should be the number one priority and should be done whatever the cost even if it means stopping fighting and not destroying hamas militarily. i suppose it is understandable that with their loved ones 100 days, probably deep inside hamas' tunnel network. we heard from the hostages released, eyewitness testimony to the lack of food. the lack of medication. female hostages being sexually abused as well. so, the perspective that they have. if you look at the data, opinion polls put out by the israel democracy institute published january 2, just over half of israelis think the intensive fighting should

continue. about a quarter think that all palestinian prisoners being held in israeli jails should be freed. in exchange for those hostages even if it means an end to the fighting. from the government's perspective and prime minister netanyahu has been consistent in this. he said it is the military pressure itself that leads to the release of the hostages or push hamas to come back to the negotiating table to get another truce which of course we saw for a week ending on november 1st. and there have been comments and talks about maybe talks happening which happened about around the new year. but they don't seem to be going anywhere right now. 100 days on, there is no sign of the war ending and no sign of the hostages being released. it is worth noting that in the 100 days of conflict, israel has only succeeded in rescuing one hostage female soldier. it tried numerous times to free other hostages, it has failed to do so. so it does seem a truce is

likely to be the only way to get the hostages back, but as i say, no sign of that coming to fruition any time soon. >> in fact, the idf has inadvertently killed hostages. there have been some confusion in those investigations. elliot thanks so much. in the meantime, protesters around the world are showing support for palestinians in gaza demanding israel stop bombarding the territory. in london, tens of thousands of people march from the financial district to the houses of parliament. protesters in naples italy laid out 5,000 symbolic tombstones to honor palestinians killed in the wariments according to the hamas run ministry in gaza, 23,800 people have been killed in the enclave since october 7. most of them civilians. 60,000 more have been wounded and thousands are missing according to the ministry. in washington, protesters gathered in front of the white house and elsewhere. many are calling for a cease fire and demanding u.s.

president joe biden withdraw support for israel. still ahead for us, while many in taiwan are celebrating the results of an historic election, china not happy at all. more on why after the break. and, president joe biden says major change is needed at the u.s. border with mexico. what he is ready to do and how it could k keep the governmentn fundeded. that's's next on c cnn.

china says taiwan is still its territory and that will not change as the island's party celebrates a historic victory. will ripley has the report. >> reporter: 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 brewing storm. >> the most important part is our relationship with china. we have been bullied for years on end. i just can't stand them meddling with our elections. >> reporter: to say china did

not want this result is the understatement of the month, the year. china despises lai ching te, they hate his vice president even more. she is banned from even entering china. diplomacy, forget it. ahead of the election, china did all it could to paint a dark foreboding picture of four more years of the democratic progressive or green party in power. taiwan has never seen an election like this before. in the end, it was a third historic term for the green party. a result that will likely help beijing see red. a bold familiar claim from the taiwan affairs office in beijing. taiwan is china's taiwan. the dpp does not represent the mainstream view on the island. they did capture 40% of the vote. turn out more than 70%. about 20 million taiwanese, more than 80% of the island's

population eligible for a vote. in taiwan, there are no absentee ballots. >> i'm very pleasant. >> reporter: some like this student from the u.s. flew 16 hours to cast their votes in person. >> were you afraid that taiwan would become similar to hong kong if there was a different result? >> for sure. especially for a more closer economic partnership. that means. >> reporter: when the buzz of victory wears off, a sobering reality. his party lost control of parliament. low pay, expensive housing, lack of opportunity. local issues have never been the ruling party's strength. it is why they lost the land round of local elections but they put taiwan on the global

stage like never before. lai ran on a continuity ticket. >> we are telling the international community that between democracy and authoritarianism, we still stand on the side of democracy. >> reporter: and he says safeguard taiwan from china's ongoing intimidation and threats. will ripley, cnn, taipei. we want to bring in cnn's mark stewart now live from beijing. china and taiwan. they continue to trade sharp words about this election. but in terms of action, what do you believe will be china's posture going forward at least for the next few months? >> for the moment, what we are seeing from china is very much out of its play book. very much out of along a script of predictact issuing the ability there is one china and taiwan is part of china. a lot of analysts feel that as we move into the spring, closer

to inauguration of this new administration, perhaps china could do something more bold, more assertive. it certainly has resources. first of all, militarily, we have seen these exercises, these drills before in the waters over the taiwan strait. that is something that certainly china could exercise. it also has some tools along diplomatic and economic realms biochip has to face a question. xi jinping is facing very serious issues in mainland china including an economic slowdown with very slow economic growth, youth unemployment. housing issues and changes within his leadership circle. big question is does he want to do something so assertive right now? is it really worth it to push the envelope further? at least at this moment? >> hopefully the back and forth will remain rhetorical at this point.

how does the u.s. play into all of this? given that taiwan counts on america's robust support? >> reporter: absolutely. and, the administration, the biden administration is very quick to send a message to this new administration that america is behind it. we are seeing a delegation expected to arrive tonight in taiwan. very careful to call it an unofficial visit so as not to dirty up these diplomatic waters but there are a lot of former government officials who are going to be there to taiwan that we support you. i was talking to one analyst from illinois state university. who said that this is a signal. a symbolic signal to taiwan that the united states still remains very much in supportover its mission.

yet it is also going to perhaps tread in some accomplishments from the past during the apex summit when xi jinping and president biden really made this big effort to restart this relationship. and encourage talks, especially along the military front. but we also expect to hear response from beijing the next few hours that to the united states, that this is an internal china matter and you should really keep a distance. >> they will likely see it as provocative. good to see you live in beijing for us. leaders have reportedly reached an agreement on a short term funding bill that will keep the government running into march. the new continuing resolution comes just days ahead of the first funding deadline of january 19th. a source tells cnn that house republicans will have a conference call sunday night to discuss the plan which reportedly includes $1.5 trillion in funding for the

next fiscal year with $886 billion in defense spending. far right lawmakers are pushing to include border policies in exchange for not shutting down the government. and now it is though a topic that has become a political flash point for the biden administration. president biden told reporters saturday that major change is needed at the border. and he is prepared to make significant alterations. priscilla alvarez has more from the white house. >> reporter: president joe biden saying on saturday that he is willing to make quote significant alterations in border. this as senate negotiators continue to try to hammer out a deal on border policy changes to past the white house supplemental request. that hinges on border policy changes and the president on his way to camp david having this to say to his republican colleagues. >> i am pushes for fundamental change for the border for a

long time. a long time. and so, hopefully let the negotiations play out. >> reporter: now of course this comes against the backdrop of the biden administration asking the supreme court to intervene as texas blocked a part of the texas mexico border from border patrol. blocking them from carrying out their federal enforcement duties. texas said they were trying to address the situation. but it was part of the ongoing dispute between president biden and texas governor greg abbott over the handling of the u.s. mexico border as the governor continues on with his border mission which has caused alarm within the biden administration. but again, it comes to show again, the challenges that the president faces in trying to navigate what has become a political vulnerability for the white house. and, the border policy changes that republicans are asking for to get billions through for israel, ukraine, and border security as the president has

requested. priscilla alvarez, cnn, the white house. now along the border itself, we are hearing three migrants, an adult woman and two children have drowned in the rio grande river in the texan city of eagle pass according to a democratic lawmaker there who is calling it a tragedy for which the state bears responsibility. he says border patrol learned that a group of six migrants were in distress in the rio grande late friday. but agents were denied access to the migrants by the texas military department. cnn has reached out to authorities for further comment. now, with u.s. and european aid packages stalled, the french morn minister on a trip to kyiv is promising to help. and the u.s. wants to seize frozen russian assets and funnel them to ukraine. how that could happen, next on cnn.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

ukraine says russia launched dozensover missiles and drones. no injuries reported. it destroyed eight missiles but russia claims it achieved its goal by hitting military industrial facilities. volodymyr zelenskyy said the country lacks defenses. he discussed ukraine's defense needs while meeting with the french foreign minister saturday. they talked joint production of weapons and strengthening air defenses. he promised france will standby ukraine for as long as it takes

and will push other european countries for more support. now top u.s. officials are trying to figure out how to divert about $300 billion in frozen russian money to cash starved ukraine. they said russia should be on the hook and pay for all of the damage it caused. to unlock the cash, u.s. allies in the g7 need to buy in. all of them. and a bill in the u.s. congress called the repo act would have to be adopted. the proposal has been discussed among senior leaders and will be reviewed again at their meeting in february. joining me now is nate sibley. a research fellow at the hudson institute and he is in washington dc for us. thanks so much for joining us so why do you think that the biden administration and the european allies as well have been reluctant to try and seize these assets?

and why do you believe that might be changing now? >> it is important to remember ukraine itself as been pushing this idea from the beginning. ukrainians should not be bearing the entire murder. this would be an unprecedented step. they are concerned about financial stability and their attractiveness to other countries who might be deterred from investing their assets here. i think that calculation, was certainly the position that secretary yellen took until a few months ago and i think what it started to change people's minds, in western capital is that firstly, sanctions haven't been having their intended impacts. i think they are starting to

explore other ways to explore ukraine and damage the russian economy. >> i want to ask you potentially how could this work so that it would be a success? i'm looking at what you might suggest. as low hanging fruit where you wouldn't have the protracted legal battles over the assets. >> well, there needn't be protracted legal battles but there will need to be a few steps that are taken awe head of attempts to seize them. under international law, russia's responsibility is pretty clear. it started this war. it has a responsibility to pay for this stuff. in terms of the actual seizure of those assets by western governments, though, they rely on, they will likely rely on something called the principle of countermeasures. a third party can take temporary measures to compel another state to comply with its legal obligations. it is very wordy jargon. but under that justification. governments including the u.s.

and across the eu would then look to move from freezing assets which is what sanctions does. it simply means they can't be accessed or moved. they would move from freezing access to seizing access. from where i'm it ising that would be the united states government. and they would then be transferred for use in supporting ukraine. all countries have different approaches. systemming to do this. some more developed. the u.s. honed its ability to seize assets through the war on drugs. the war on terror. after it went after criminal adversaries assets very aggressively. many european countries don't have anything in the way of this. they are having to as much as they did when sanctions rolled in after they invaded ukraine. they have to do the same thing

with this. >> wouldn't the blow back carry some risk? >> there are obvious risisks associatated with this. competing considerations. russia has s said itit would retaliate. there was a presidential decree that empowered putin to seize western countries. countries that would be hostile to russia. it is russia that has set the precedent of seizing assets. the other consideration is these western companies are inside russia. they have been there a long time they know the nature of the regime. they bear responsibility for their continued presence and loss of profit and you have to balance the considerations. i don't think we talk enough about the risks of doing nothing. we are in a new era. if we want to avoid resorting to open warfare with regimes

that want to see our way of life come to an end, we need new tools to hold them accountable. so i think, you know, seizing russia's assets is not only proportionate, it is absolutely necessary so the risk of doing nothing completely outweighs the short term easily mitigate able risks of action here. >> as you say, we need new tools for a new era. the russian sanctions are not willing the effect many thought they would. nate, thanks so much, really appreciate it. >> thanks so much. in colombia now, more rain is forecast in the northwest region of choco as the number of people confirmed dead from landslides rises. just in the past few hours, the

prosecutor's office told cnn, 37 people died. more than a dozen bodies were transferred for forensic examination. she will not rest until everyone in the area has the information they need about relatives who may be affected. now months of flooding in africa's congo river has killed more than 300 people in the surrounding countries and destroyed hundreds of thousand of homes. well the world health organization is bracing now for the fallout of water born diseases. michael holmes reports. >> reporter: homes submerged their rooftops. murky water. plastic bottles. shoes and a foul smell are flooding some neighborhoods that for now, can only be navigated by makeshift canoe. more than 300 people have died in recent months from the overflowing congo river. the second longest river in africa after the nile. burst river banks and intense rains have left tens of thousands of homes on both

sides of the river destroyed. >> we were born here and this is our plot with four shops that helps us with the children's school fees. this water overflows without it really raining. water often overflows. but this time, it overflowed badly. we have children and a plot of land. but we are homeless. in the democratic republic of the congo, some 300,000 households have been affected by the swelling rivers chest high flood waters in the capital and elsewhere. in the neighboring republic of the congo. 64,000 households have been destroyed or damaged. according to the world health organizations. they can sometimes double as open sewers and are now overflowing. some residents resorting to shovels to paddle their way through the murky flood waters.

>> the water used to come up to our knees, now it is up to orexises. we are supporting the government because they are waiting for the water to recede before they build a bridge here. >> reporter: flooding is rather common this time of year. but today's water levels are up nearly six meters and submerging entire ports along the river. a situation unlike anything many residents have seen in their lifetimes. >> we have lived in this neighborhood since we were children. and it is the first time since we were born that we have 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 is responding to health threats like water and vector born diseases. maternal and child nutrition, and food insecurity. the rain is expected to let up

in the coming days but it may not be until february that the waterline will go back to normal. michael holmes, cnn. after three years on the job, john kerry plans to leave his post as the u.s. climate envoy. the 80-year-old former u.s. secretary of state is going to serve two more conferences. he was key in restarting u.s. climate talks with china. he intends to join the biden reelection campaign. a momentous moment for denmark and australia as crown princess mary is set to become the first aussie born queen.

later today, crown prince frederick of denmark an his wife the australian born princess mary will become king and queen of denmark. cnn's max foster brings us the details of their modern day fairy tale and what aussies back home think about one of their own becoming queen of denmark. >> reporter: queen magrethe's son will get the crown. and his australian born wife. crown princess mary of denmark was once mary donaldson of tasmania, a world away of 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 and she was asking about it. i worked at the pub where they met. she said daddy do you think i

could meet a prince at a pub? >> reporter: back then, justin teinen was the manager of the slip inn. a sydney watering hole popular with tourists. mary said she didn't know she was in royal company. when she started chatting to a handsome man at the bar. >> she is quite a striking woman. but you know, the focus i suppose was on frederick, because you know. >> reporter: mary on a night out with friends literally met her prince charming. the slip inn has kept a danish flavor. just as princess mary has worked hard to integrate herself into copenhagan's upper crust. it didn't take long for her 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 in her. i think we have a very good relationship indeed. >> reporter: in 2004, mary and frederick married in a grand ceremony. in copenhagan cathedral. the slip inn showed it live. many australians remain infatrated. >> i'm very proud. i'm very excited. it is wonderful. yeah. i think she will make a great queen. don't you? >> yes. definitely. >> reporter: but mary is more than a mascot. for denmark or for australia. in 2007, the mary foundation was formed to help fight bullying, domestic violence, and loneliness. princess campaign has also campaigned for lgbt rights and equality. >> i have gained a better understanding of the reality of what too many people are forced

to endure because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. >> reporter: australians will celebrate when mary becomes the queen of denmark on january the 14th. two countries linked by chance encounter at a sydney pub and a royal romance. max foster, cnn. okay, coming up for us is people throw out their christmas decoration, one organization is proving that a family's trash can become a playground for fish. we'll explain.

soap opera fans in the united states are mourning the loss of a very familiar and beloved actor. bill hayes, a mainstays on nbc's days of our lives for more than 50 years died on friday at the age of 98. hayes created the role of doug williams on the daytime soap opera way back in 1970. his character was best known for being the father of hope

williams. one-half of the show's legendary supercouple beau and hope. but it was on the show that he met his wife susan and their characters even married on the show. now, they won lifetime aemmy achievement awards. his last appearance on air if you can believe this was just last month. now, with the yuletide season over, christmas trees are headed to the trash bin. but one swedish organization is giving discarded trees a new environmentally friendly purpose. look. >> reporter: the lights are gone. the decorations put away. but there is one organization in sweden trying to stretch that christmas spirit into the new year. since 2016, the swedish anglers association has been collecting recycles christmas trees and tossing them into the bays and waterways and stockholm it may look like a cold icy grave but it is a new beginning for the

trees. >> three or four together are tied together. and we tie them to a weight. in this case, rocks in a bad. everything is bio degradable. then we throw them out into the water and they will sink down to the bottom. >> there, the trees will settle into their new role providing habitats for marine wildlife. environmentalists say there is a lot of boat traffic in this waters and not enough vegetation for the fish to thrive. but the trees come each year like christmas. to help make up for the loss. >> there are plenty of places to hide in here. there are all these branches and there are the pine needles as well. >> reporter: since the start of the initiative, more than a thousand trees have been deposited in the waters. scientists hope that makes for a lot of happy fish and humans like it too. the eco friendly way of recycling a special part of the

holiday season. >> in sweden, a christmas tree has a personality. you take it in and you choose it carefully. then you live with it. >> reporter: it is a gift that keeps on giving. for inhabitants above the surface and below. >> lovely there. i'm paula newton. thank you for your company. we'll have more news room in just a moment.

in order for small businesses to thrive,

they need to be smart, efficient, savvy. making the most of every opportunity. that's why comcast business is introducing the small business bonus. for a limited time you can get up to $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. yup, $1000. so switch to business internet from the company with the largest fastest reliable network. give your business a head start in 2024 with this great offer. plus, ask how to get up to $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet.