and then there were two. nikki haley and donald trump making therefore final pitches to voters in new hampshire before the state's pivotal primary. >> a divorce that could impact trump's election subversion case in georgia. the latest on this drama involving the district attorney and her lead prosecutor. the ceo of baby clothing company is under fire after apologizing twice for not letting this mom whose infant was in intensive care work from home. we are following the stories and many more coming in right here cnn news essential.

welcome back to cnn news essential. thank you for joining us this afternoon. the final push for new hampshire where voters in the republican primary are going to have a binary choice when they get to the polls tomorrow morning. do they pull the lever for donald trump or nikki haley? is there still a lever? >> i like to think of it like that. metaphorical lover. this is the face-off that haley has wanted. right now she is zigzagging through the state arguing she is the one fit to lead a new generation of gop leadership. later tonight the former president is also going to be in new hampshire. he will rally with the help of a few gop candidates who dropped out earlier in the race. we have our reporters all along the campaign trail. elaina and kylee as well. kailey to you first haley came directly take on trump now. what is her closing message in new hampshire? >> reporter: she is hitting the

campaign trail incredibly hard. we are here at a brewery where she just left. she was sitting in the pub here with voters asking personally for their boat. that has been what she is been doing the course of the last few days here going to coffee shops going to schools. pouring beers and holding babies. we are really seeing it all from nikki haley. her message is really a resounding memory of what she has been talking about over the last 11 months of her campaign. that she is the future, she is the next generational leader. we've seen her crank up some of her critiques of former president trump going after his mental fitness over the weekend. but also today telling voters on the campaign trail that he is talking about vendettas. he is talking about the past casting him as someone who brings chaos which he has also been saying throughout the entirety of the campaign. as there are folks who are

questioning the future of her campaign, because even though it is a one on one race there are questions about how competitive she could be with former president trump. she is downplaying any of that doubt saying this earlier today. >> i have watched the entire political elite yesterday and today. i've watched the entire media yesterday and today. say that i should drop out for the good of the country to support donald trump. we believe in choices. so let's get everybody out to vote. let's show all of the media class and the political class that we've got a different plan in mind. >> reporter: now her campaign for their part says in the last 24 hours or so since ron desantis dropped out of the race they have brought in half $1 million. and that is growing in terms of new support that they are getting from grassroots supporters. they feel like. to get some of his support. of course he did inboard endorse former president trump.

i talked to someone who was deciding between desantis and nikki haley. is now going for haley because this person wanted a younger option. wanted to vote for someone who is next generational. we will have to see how that 6% that ron desantis had in the state breaks down tomorrow and she competes in a state that is highly critical for her.>> i'm curious to get your perspective on something that haley said. it is interesting she is painting donald trump is the choice of the political and in her words media elite. but trump i think is welcoming all these endorsements as a -- what are you hearing from his campaign? >> reporter: they are welcoming it. it is pretty remarkable. in just the last 10 days you've seen 4 of donald trump's former presidential primary rivals come out and endorse him. in iowa last week and it feels like longer ago it was last weekend. doug berg, the north dakota

governor joint trump on stage and offered his endorsement. the next day or on caucus night in iowa. vivek dropped out and endorsed donald trump. he saw tim scott appear with trump on friday here in new hampshire. also offering his endorsement something the trump campaign played up and try to make a moment. obviously yesterday ron desantis is spending his campaign and immediately endorsing the former president as well. this is something the trump campaign -- we've her donald trump at a rally last night in rochester say that we are announcing the party unite behind me and this is the time for nikki haley to drop out. take a listen to how he put it. get your neighbors, get everybody. we have to win by big margins. we have to let them know if this is a movement. i the core thing then i come back and make a speech tomorrow night. hopefully that should wrap it up. we are so far ahead it is incredible. we have to win on tuesday. vivek just came with us.

and now ron just came with us. they are all coming with us. >> reporter: they are all coming with us. that is how donald trump is putting it. they're going to be playing this up in a big way. tonight at his rally as well. you're going to see some of these candidates temps got all appear on stage with donald trump. we are told though that desantis is not going to be there. my colleague kristin holmes has learned while he is not expected tonight the trump campaign had reached out and offered him an invitation to join donald trump on the campaign in the future. so again they are leaning in on all of these endorsements. thank you both so much. some breaking news out of the supreme court. this is a major battle between the biden administration and texas. joan is joining us now. the supreme court here by a five-for decision allowing the

u.s. border patrol to remove the razor wire that was deployed by the state of texas at the border. this is while the legal challenge to this dispute now plays out in court. >> reporter: that is right. we've been waiting for this decision this is been going on for several weeks. the state of texas governor abbott has been blocking the biden administration border patrol at the border in texas. this is a long simmering immigration battle. it arose from a lower court judges blocking the administration from taking down the razor wire. and today by a 5-4 boat along ideological lines the supreme court has allowed the biden administration to continue having access to the border. and to take down that razor wire. let me tell you about the split. justices clarence thomas, samuel alito, neil gorsuch and brett kavanaugh all dissented from this order. this all started in december and since early january the

biden administration had been urging the supreme court to intervene and to block of the order that kept its border patrol agents from getting to stretch of a border along the rio grande and to continue taking down this razor wire. and we know how contentious this has been. but it has also been the situation that has caused a lot of injury and death in the middle of this controversy. a woman and two children drowned in the biden administration said it needed access to this area and to the river for safety reasons. answer frankly to carry out the border patrol's mission.>> and joan you said this is what is going to be in place -- this worked its way out obviously for the decision. how does this go forward? >> reporter: there is an underlying battle in lower federal court. a fight over

texas's effort to block the border patrol from doing his job at the border saying it wants texas is obviously trying to discourage migrants from coming to the u.s. and coming to its state. this is a battle that is played out in so many different ways. and this one happens to involve the razor wire. and so what happened in the middle of this litigation was the u.s. court of appeals for the fifth circuit issued an order that said the border patrol could not take down the razor wire. that habit administration insisted on putting up. that was it was a very discreet issue involving this razor wire. the danger it was presenting in the mind of the biden administration to its agents into migrants and many people right there in the border. litigation will continue but the key thing is that the

supreme court has sided with the administration at this phase of the case saying that the border patrol can continue taking down what it views as dangerous razor wire right there at the river. closely decided. >> reporter: we've been waiting for this for weeks. we presumed there was a lot of tension behind the scenes. because this had been going on for weeks with no answer. i think this vote today shows that there was some issue and maybe the 4 dissenters thought they could pick up a fifth vote and ended up siding with governor abbott in the state of texas to have its way right there on the border. >> notably justices amy cody barrett and chief justice john roberts siding with the liberals in this decision. one chapter a broader fight between the state of texas and the biden administration. thank you for the update. let's talk now with former

texas republican congressman and former gop candidate will heard. first off your reaction to this ruling. >> while my reaction to this ruling is very simple. the biden administration needs to be cooperating with the state of texas on how to secure our border. what a patrol does not have enough manpower to secure it. they should be working with governor abbott and his team on this. not trying to fight. also for your viewers this talking about a specific area of the border. it is not the entire border where this debate is coming in. ultimately this is a problem that donald trump started and it has gotten significantly worse under president biden. we need to be working together on this issue not fighting each other for political gain. >> it is a crisis at the border. we can agree on that. when you say they should be working with the state at the border, this particular shall be park area, the state officials have been keeping the federal officials out.

so is that an accurate representation of how they should be working together? >> reporter: >> this notion that the texas officials did not do their job is inappropriate. and in accurate. the reality is texas is trying to deter people from coming. the biden administration is attracting people to come. it starts with the biden administration has gotten asylum all wrong. they are reading the rules wrong. they are not recognizing that asylum you have to be part of a protected class. you have to be targeted because you are part of that class. come to the u.s. because you want a better paying job is not a reason for asylum. until that changes you will continue to see millions of people coming into our country illegally. by the way democrats in congress are not willing to work on streamlining legal immigration. which would be helpful for -- that need workers.

unfortunately everybody is trying to use this is a political bludgeon because it is a political year. rather than try to solve the problem. i will say the republican bill in the house does not do a lot on that front either. to be clear. i want to pivot to the new hampshire primary to talk with you about that. you are backing nikki haley of course. she is 13 points behind in new hampshire according to the latest cnn unh poll. how are you believing that and you have concerns that trump has widened the gap?>> i don't have concerns. individuals voters make this decision not posters. even if you get into the details of the poll that you all did at cnn, you show shows the kinds of people they turn out nikki haley can win. nikki has ambassador haley has been saying this is a two- person race. she's showing it. she is barnstorming new hampshire for the last six or

seven days. the crowds we always talk about crowd size. her crowds there are more people at her events than donald trump. we are seeing the cognitive decline of donald trump. that is only going to continue. probably one of the reasons why he has been afraid to debate and why he is lying about ambassador haley so this comes down to turnout. the granite state know the role that they play. for the rest of the country. we are going to see them come out to vote. this is not decided. despite what polls say and despite what some of your friends and peers and the media say. this is about voters coming out and asking a question do we want chaos and drama for 4 more years or do we want a new generational leader looking to the future? >> i want to ask you we were talking about the border. we are talking about nikki haley. let's talk about how she would govern specifically on the border. she has said that trump is lying about if she wants a

border wall saying she does not want just a border wall. during your time in congress you described a border wall i think in the concept of how donald trump envisions one which is pretty much stretching along the whole border as a third century solution to a 21st-century problem. how do you think then that she would see this and it sounds like she still does want you all? >> in someplace any physical barrier make sense. put a physical barrier in those places. but you also need to do things like address the abuse of asylum laws. like you have to ensure that border patrol has the manpower and the technology to secure the border. you have to address the root causes in many of these places that historically has caused people to come here illegally. ambassador haley has made it very clear she wants to make

sure using all the tools in the toolkit which includes a physical barrier and technology. manpower. that is how -- >> a physical barrier like trump envisions you've been clear about how you envision is not a good idea. >> a physical barrier a wall whatever you want to call it we already have that in many places. there are some places where you need more of that. ambassador haley has been clear it is just use the right tool in the right place. and the problem is donald trump only talks about one tool. he only focuses on one tool. he doesn't talk about all the other elements that need to happen. ambassador haley talks about addressing the drugs coming into our country. the majority of that is coming in between our ports of entry. we have to address that issue as well. and so this is a complicated problem that requires a number of different solutions. and that is what she is advocating for.

that is why she is having so many people show up to her events because they recognize we want someone who is talking about solutions and not just complaining and crying about the past. >> former congressman will heard it was serendipitous that you as a texas republican former member of the house are with us is that decision came down. thank you for being with us ahead of this big day tomorrow. we appreciate it. >> still to come for county district attorney willis will not have to testify for now anyways. her deposition in the divorce proceedings of her lead prosecutor in the georgia election subversion case put on pause. we will tell you why. new hampshire democrats are holding an unofficial primary on tuesday. president biden's name won't be on the ballot. we will explain why when we come back.

we have some new developments out of georgia. a judge ruling that fulton county district attorney fani willis will not have to testify get anyways in the divorce case of special prosecutor nathan wade. the lead prosecutor on former president trump's election subversion case in georgia. >> he was appointed by williston 2021 and they are now being accused of carrying a romantic relationship. nick joins us live from atlanta. walk us through the judge's ruling here. >> reporter: fani willis has been given a pass in this deposition. she's not entirely in the clear just yet. her lead prosecutor will have to be deposed first in his divorce proceedings before the judge that he can make a ruling on decision one way or another if fani willis has unique information that is relevant to this case. another headline that emerged from today's divorce

proceedings was that nathan wade's records would be unsealed. this is significant because the attorney here in this case trump's racketeering case one of the codefendants made this allegation that wade and willis were involved in an improper relationship and emotion to get this case dismissed. that attorney actually said if her wish is granted for these divorce records to be unsealed she could further prove this claim it is still yet to be seen though. we are waiting for the records to be unsealed which could happen at any moment.>> how might this impact the election subversion case that willis and wade are prosecuting against trump? >> reporter: that has yet to be seen. at the least it is a distraction. the district attorney would much rather be talking about the infamous phone call made but the former president to the secretary of state after he

lost the 20/20 election. she would rather be talking about the fake electro scheme involving the former president and his operatives to subvert the electoral college and try to send him and qualify him as the rightful winner of the 2020 election. she would rather be talking about this alleged illegal data breach in coffee county by some of trump's operatives to voting machines. is that this is now the focus of this. there is still a hearing that is yet to be set the judge who is presiding over the trump racketeering case says he wants fani willis to address the allegations in open court and has signaled he's going to schedule a hearing sometime early to mid-february. thanks so much for the update. president biden's name will not be on the ballot for tomorrow's democratic primary in new hampshire. a group of supporters is trying to make sure that he wins anyway. a top new hampshire democrat will tell us about the write in campaign next.

one key name missing from the democratic ballot in tomorrow's new hampshire primary president joe biden. the dnc change the election calendar for 2024 moving the granite states first in the nation primary after south carolina. that angered many new hampshire politicians who decided to keep the primary where it is. even as the national party to clear the race meaningless. no delegates are being awarded for democrats tomorrow night. that is not stopping biden supporters from organizing a write in campaign to ensure the president scores a symbolic victory over some of his interparty challengers. let's discuss with a key official that is leading that

biden right in campaign. new hampshire house democratic leader matt wilhelm joins us. thank you for being with us. i first want to get your reaction to reports that cnn came across that fake robocalls imitating president biden are going out in new hampshire. trying to discourage voters from casting ballots tomorrow. we have a clip of one. let's listen. >> boating this tuesday only enables the republicans in their quest to elect donald trump again. your vote makes a difference in november not this tuesday. >> it is frightening because of how much it sounds like the president. i'm wondering what do know about these calls and are you concerned they could affect turnout? >> we've heard about these calls late last night. word was getting around that these calls were coming into cell phones. it is a deep fake disinformation campaign really an appalling attempt to suppress votes and damage our

democracy. probably a preview of what is in store for 2024. i trust that law enforcement will take this seriously. i know the attorney general in new hampshire and the feds are being notified. it is really a cynical attempt at voter suppression. i know it will backfire when voters respond by showing up to the polls and even greater numbers than expected tomorrow. >> let's talk about the why. tomorrow's primary for democrats is purely symbolic and that no matter who wins no delegates will be awarded. so why are you promoting this right in campaign for president biden press next >> i actually reject the notion it is symbolic. we take our participation seriously in new hampshire. from volunteerism to philanthropy to elections. no election is symbolic. our democracy is on the line. joe biden is the only person to defeat donald trump he did it in 2020. he would do it again this year. his name may not be on the ballot due to this intraparty

squabble. i'm disappointed the dnc has put us in this situation. i have an 11-year-old and eight- year-old. i'm not going to tell them that this election or any election is symbolic. it doesn't really matter. it is something we need to participate in. it is a rich tradition in the state. if we did not show up to the post tomorrow that would be giving in to cynicism. tomorrow we are going to write in the president and make sure that this critical campaign here in 2024 is off to a strong start. you mentioned the. you called it an awkward position that the dnc has put new hampshire voters and. i want to ask you about a remark about someone you campaigned with today saying it was a mistake senator maggie hassan described as a terrible mistake to exclude president biden from the ballot. do you agree with her -- >> i

think the dnc has made a mistake by adopting an nominating calendar that fails to acknowledge the importance of our small state. senator hassan knows what it takes to win here. she's done it time and time again. first state senator then as governor. now is u.s. senator. a swing state like ours it is a top target both the democratic legislative campaign committee the democratic governors association in 2024. and this grassroots biden right in campaign it is totally separate from the dnc. so we are really just educating our neighbors about the importance of taking off the presidents campaign with a win tomorrow. and making sure that the president is reelected in 2024. >> you mentioned something akin to threats to democracy. it is interesting because the union leader new hampshire's conservative paper of record they endorse president biden's principal challenger congressman dean phillips.

he told voters about this delicate situation, what was done to you all is one of the most egregious affronts to democracy i've ever known in my lifetime. do you think voters feel that way? >> i think a lot of granite stators my neighbors my family my friends share the opinion of the union leader being disappointed that the dnc refuses to recognize are more than 100 year tradition. a state law that requires the secretary of state to set that person the nation primary date ahead of any other similar contest. the president is going to be the nominee. he has unprecedented levels of support. the party is largely unified behind him and the vice president. i know this is the most important election of my lifetime. we are going to have a simple choice in november. a choice between democracy and dictatorship. i will be had proud to have my name on the ballot alongside the president in the general election. a lot of my democratic colleagues in the new hampshire

house and the senate we overwhelmingly feel the same way. >> very quick yes or no. should dean phillips dropout after tomorrow? >> i think it is really important that granite stators have -->> just a yes or no. >>'s thank you so much. appreciate your time. thank you. coming up mounting international pressure on israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu for his opposition to a two state solution. while the eu's top diplomat is calling his fans unacceptable. that story next.

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the white house says president biden is keeping an open mind about what a two state solution would entail in the middle east. he will hold what is being described is very frank discussions with israeli prime minister benjamin at yahoo about the formation of independent palestinian state. it is a proposal netanyahu is flatly rejecting time and again. today the eu's top diplomat called his stance unacceptable. as israel faces mounting pressure internationally to embrace it two state solution. in the meantime top white house advisor is visiting egypt and qatar this week hoping to strike a deal to free more than 100 israeli hostages still being held in gaza. here with us now we have political and national security analyst david sanger. he is the white house and

national security correspondent for the new york times. david the biden demonstration really seems to think or at least tried to be communicating or i don't know trying to create the netanyahu may be open to a two state solution. you have heard some verbal gymnastics in your time when it comes to diplomacy. and that is a backwards somersault followed by a front handspring. translate what is going on here.>> this is pretty simple. we've got no illusions about where prime minister netanyahu is on this issue. he has been consistent on this issue for a long long time. he has been opposed to a two state solution. he has been opposed to a palestinian state. at some moments he suppressed those words so that he could get through on meeting with you may recall this came up often with president obama. but not just with president obama.

but now after the october 7th attacks, he is being very clear. he is saying if there is a separate augustinian state it will be used as a base to attack israel again. president biden has also been clear. he has been clear that even before october 7th there was no way they were going to get a recognition of israel by saudi arabia sort of the next step in peace accords with the arab states. unless there was an agreement to a two state solution. so they are stuck wound at yahoo is there. >> they are stuck while he is they are. is there a hope on the part of the biden administration that may be he will not be there ultimately and that is the path to the two state solution? >> it could be. certainly he has made it clear he is trying to cling to power here. he's been through a huge

embarrassment that october 7th happened on his watch. and the further embarrassment that the israeli defense force was so slow in responding. the key to netanyahu's political message over the past number of years has been that he is the one who has kept is really safe. there seems to be a widespread view in israel that when the war is over and there is a chance for an election or a change of government he is out. but we also have an increasing sense of war is not ending any time soon if you define the wars goal is eliminating hamas. so he is trying to hold on. he's probably betting that if former president trump comes back into office his problem on this is solved. >> president biden's middle

east coordinator as i mentioned is meeting with officials both in egypt and qatar trying to work on this hostage agreement. what is he hoping to achieve and what can he realistically achieve here? >> i think his hope is that now that the pace of bombings in gaza has been reduced, and it has come down a fair bit as american officials have insisted it should. that there may be an opportunity to get a choose again. maybe not a full cease-fire. and get more of a release of hostages as you may recall happened a month and a half and two months ago. that would certainly be there hope because if the bombing continues and there are no talks the chances of the hostages survive diminishes putting rapidly. that is what brett mcgurk is working on. it is not clear that hamas will agree to that. it is certainly not clear at this point that prime minister

netanyahu will agree. hamas wants a permanent cease- fire. in other words an end to the bombing that would mean that israel would basically give up on its objective of eliminating hamas. and netanyahu of course is caught between these two contradictory objectives. getting the hostages back and defeating hamas. >> hard to see netanyahu doing that. david sanger it is great to have your insights. thank you so much. >> thanks briand it great to be with you. ceo apologizes twice for a decision that ignited backlash. an employee who requested to work remotely was turned down despite having a newborn baby in the nicu. in intensive care. we will have that after a quick break.

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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 clothing company facing harsh backlash after denying a request to work remotely, melissa hughes' adopted son was born barely weighing one pound, at 22 weeks he needs to stay in the hospital until possibly april, the story went viral after he woman claiming to be her video posted a tiktok video claiming she was fired >> what she calls a terrible decision and how her request was handled. the apology is being slammed for its perceived lack of empathy. and that prompted the ceo to

apologize a second time. our cnn correspondent is with us. what is the latest with this controversy camilla? >> reporter: [ pause ] >> it sounds like we are having some audio issues, with that. >> this is a great story. that we have been following, because so many people have been reacting to what is really just an incredible backlash from this company, when it seemed like it was a pretty clear decision about what should be made. >> is a big deal, and whatever you have to apologize twice as the leader of any kind, never mind the ceo of a company like this, it is not a good thing. we will work to get camilla off

a single backup, we will take a quick break and on the other side we will give you this and other stories.

all right, we resolved our technical issues, we can bring you this story, camilla is with us, take us through this controversy involving this company, tight baby and the decision to get rid of a mom whose baby was in the nicu and had requested accommodation? >> despite these 2 very public apologies, the mom thinks it is

appropriate to return to work but it started in december, when melissa hughes and her husband decided to adopt a baby, it was born prematurely and had to remain in the nicu because of health concerns. the company policy is for a person like marissa, she would get two weeks of maternity leave and would have to sign a contract saying she would return to work at least six months after the leave and she said i can't sign the contract because my baby is still at the nicu, so the company essentially said she was not allowed to work remotely despite her proposal to do so. that is what her story spread of social media and that's with the company ceo had to apologize and tiktok, the first video she posted, people didn't like it, they said it was scripted and wasn't genuine, so the ceo had to post a second video on tiktok apologizing again. i want you to listen to part of that apology.>> this was a terrible decision, i was

insensitive, and selfish, i can't imagine the stress she had to go through, and i fully realized, the impact of by action and by decision and by shortsightedness. >> now the company is revising their policy, marissa posted that she's encouraged by the changes but the key thing here is that this is not illegal, there are no protections when it comes to parental leave in the united states, so it is a discussion about parental leave and also about a company that essentially makes baby close is not allowing this girl marissa hughes to essentially take the time out, or at least work remotely while she takes care of her baby guys. >> camilla, you mentioned the public response to the apology, what was marissa's? >> she posted a video, thanking people for praying for her but for her baby, addressing the

controversy, should knowledge the apology, and she did find it appropriate to return to work and she was encouraged by the changes, she has been fairly private, she did not respond to our request for comment, but you see her there of the video and continues to ask people for prayers for her baby because of course that is your priority. >> of course, what a tough time for that family, but our hopes to them that everything is going well, thank you very much for that. >> thank you. >> the irony, if you make baby clothes in this day and age, and you're not going to be baby family-friendly, it might come back to bite you. >> it seems counterintuitive that they would be more sensitive to someone who decided to adopt a baby that clearly has special needs. nevertheless, we hope the best for the baby and