differing amounts for different people. but this is compared to people who abstain completely, which is about a third of americans who say they absolutely don't drink, not just the month of january, but all year long. >> sanjay, aside from social media, proponents of dry january claim it has significant health benefits. does it? >> the study that got my attention specifically was -- i have a family history of heart disease. just one drink per day will actually increase your systolic blood pressure, the top number of your blood pressure. just one drink per day. if you are somebody who doesn't even have hypertension, doing that one drink will be problematic. not drinking, beneficial. liver enzymes -- alcohol is metabolized by the liver. your liver enzymes will

increase. your sleep and diet and other bad habits, that improves as well. lots of good reasons. >> dr. gupta, thank you. "cnn this morning" continues right now. it's a rigged deal, this whole thing is rigged. election interference. >> trump is only there to create a political narrative. there's nothing that he can contribute to this trial as opposed to the last trial where he was found guilty of sexual abuse. >> we can't have a country in disarray and a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. we won't survive it. you don't defeat democrat chaos with republican chaos. >> good morning. top of the hour. glad you are with us. donald trump expected to head from the campaign trail to the courtroom within the next hour. it's a critical day in the e. jean carroll defamation lawsuit. will trump take the stand? we have new reporting on what we can expect today. >> texas refusing to back down on the border battle, ignoring a

supreme court ruling and reinforcing border barriers. a constitutional standoff possibly looms. alabama plans to use nitrogen gas for an execution. this hour of "cnn this morning" starts now. good morning. donald trump, will he take the stand in this city? he gets ready to head to court for the defamation trial. a live look at trump tower where his motorcade is expected to depart any minute. >> the jury is weighing how much he needs to pay for smearing his rape accuser, e. jean carroll. trump's lawyer says he wants to testify. trump lashed out at carroll and

the judge, making the comments that got him sued in the first place. he called the sexual assault claims a hoax, her lawsuit ridiculous and the judge hostile and a 100% trump hater. what are we actually expecting today? >> reporter: good morning. donald trump will be back in court today facing off against e. jean carroll. we are in the home stretch. she's expected to call her final witness, her former editor where she wrote the advice column for nearly three decades. then she's expected to show clips of a videotaped deposition trump gave in the case. one of the clips, he mistakes her in a f-- he thinks it's his former wife, marla maples. the jury will not be deciding the issues of defamation or sexual assault. this is just about damages. once carroll finishes her case, the question turns to, does donald trump take the stand in

his own defense? he says he wants to. the judge has said that trump can't testify about denying that he raped her, saying she's a liar, or suggesting she made up the story to boost sales of her book. he will not be allowed to testify about those things. it will be narrow questioning. it's just supposed to be related to the questions of harm and damage. that will be a fine line for trump to walk on the witness stand. we have seen him testify now in other cases just a couple months ago in the civil fraud trial around the corner. in that case, he didn't stick to the script. he got in trouble for campaigning from the witness stand. that will be the question here of exactly how much does trump test this judge overseeing this case? they clashed last week when trump was talking to his attorney and the judge telling him that he could forfeit his right to be here. this is going to be a tense moment if trump does take the stand to see how far he goes here. he does like to say -- to

deviate from the issue at hand and talk about the campaign to say this is a witch hunt, say that people are blaming him. he is on social media, called the judge hostile, and repeated statements that the previous jury found defamatory. does trump take the stand? how controlled is he if he does give some testimony? we will be watching for that. >> absolutely. joining us to discuss, david axelrod, alyssa farah griffin. based on what we saw, where he is trying to get ejected from court last week, do we think he testifies to try to get ejected from court this week? >> i'm guessing his lawyers don't want him to. but there's a chance that he is going to use the opportunity to campaign from the stand to show he is the tough guy. he is taking on people coming after him. take a moment to appreciate just the bizarreness of this moment in history.

this is the gop frontrunner, close to being the gop nominee, on the stand for defamation, for a woman a court has credibly decided he sexually assaulted. that's nuts. that's never happened before. we're glossing over it. i think it's pretty much a 50/50 chance he does testify because it's trump and he doesn't listen to advisors. >> david, what's your read? >> the whole week is mind boggling. he just won a big victory in new hampshire. it should be a great week for him. he went nuts on -- on what was supposed to be a victory speech and gave this incredibly nasty speech about nikki haley, which he continues to this moment. all he had to say was thank you, great campaign, shake her hand and we're on to the general. even if she ran, he deprived her of the oxygen she needed. now he's going to court in this case and add to it.

>> can we listen to how haley is responding to trump? here she was. >> donald trump got out there and just threw a temper tantrum. i know that's what he does when he is threatened. he should feel threatened. >> that's how you deal with a bully. effective communication expert. >> incredibly effective. women in particular, but frankly any decent person who watched his so-called victory speech that night, a bunch of men on stage nodding, smiling and laughing as he mocks her, makes comments about her dress, that's so unappealing when what he learned that night is he is toxic with independents and women especially with college degrees. he stepped in what was a bad night for him showing his vulnerabilities. for her to just gloss over and call him out and move ton her message, she ended by saying, i'm here to focus on what the voters want. she's doing something.

it's hard for her to take off with how the decks are stacked for trump. it's important what she's doing. she's calling him out. >> i believe donald trump will be the nominee of the republican party. i just think the things are lined up for him here. one of the things you hear in focus groups among swing voters in the general, or persuadable voters, is concern about his behavior. they say, i like what he did, but i don't like the -- why does he have to be a jackass all the time? he does this on a week of triumph. this is the headache his team has to deal with. they do the rational things. they have done it well in the first two contests. between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., he can undo the whole thing. >> my question, you made a great point off the top of this moment of today at a defamation trial that is tied to an already -- a

court finding liability for sexual assault. he is going to be the republican nominee by all accounts. there's still a race going on. anything can happen. what i think we're trying to figure out if you are the biden campaign, you have loved the last three days. you wanted this opponent. he turned into the old trump. whoever thought he wasn't going to, you need to pay attention to something. if you are the biden campaign are you saying, let's chalk these days up as wins? >> probably. they need to identify who their killer messenger is. maybe it's not the president or vice president who will go out there and attack donald trump on the fitness question, on the way he talks about women, on the fact that he is on trial for this defamation case. they have wanted to not punch down in that regard and keep it more about policy, democracy, and abortion. they need someone who will be that fighter and remind voters of what's going on. voters don't attention. they need someone who will put it front and center. >> in campaigns you look for comparative advantages. one that worked for biden was

decency. people wanted decency. that contrast still works for him. trump is accentuating it here. he clearly has decided that a campaign from the courthouse steps is helpful to him. it has been helpful to him in the primaries. the question is, will it be helpful to him in a general election to wage this war of victimhood from the steps of the courthouse? >> do you think it will? >> i don't. i think it will galvanize his base. as we know, his base is not enough. it could turn other voters away. it's interesting, he has never -- trump never loses an election. he either wins or it's stolen. every judge who rules against him is corrupt, a trump hater. the pattern -- this is a man with patterns. these patterns are evidencing

themselves. >> there's an interesting piece about after trump's two wins where his vulnerability is. mr. trump's campaign is confronting enduring vulnerabilities. do they understand that? >> i think that they do evidenced by how he has been behaving since new hampshire. i don't think he expected nikki haley to perform that well. a lot of these were independents or people who were democrats but turned out for it. he cannot get elected in a general election. one of the striking takeaways was a fox news stat that 32% of republicans that voted could not vote for him. that number only goes up if there's a conviction, which very well may happen before the election takes place. >> i don't think those -- those numbers should be taken seriously, but not literally. we are so partisan that once you get into tribal choices between

republicans and democrats, most of those republicans are going to come back. this is going to be a marginal race. that small number that might not, that's a problem for donald trump. >> this is going to be close no matter what happens in any little bit of the margin. the frontrunner for the republican nomination, who the national party is coalesced behind, will be on trial today in a defamation lawsuit for being found liable for sexual assault. texas defies the supreme court ruling to grant border access to the federal government. why the state is claiming it has ever right to ignore the highest court in the land. an exclusive on the congressional ethics probe into congressman matt gaetz. they investigate claims gaetz had sexual relations with a minor. he claim he continues to vehemently deny.

welcome back. the department of homeland security demanding full access to a texas park along the u.s./mexico border by tomorrow. the blockade of shelby park left some migrants trying to cross the border actually trapped in the middle, stuck between layers of razor wire unable to turn themselves in to agents. the supreme court rules the biden administration does have the legal authority to remove that razor wire along the border. texas though defying the court, still blocking agents from accessing shelby park to do that, despite this ruling, texas is reinforcing barriers.

that's what this new video from the state department of public safety shows you there. texas governor greg abbott is vowing to hold the line on the u.s. border and claimed in a new statement that texas law is, quote, the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary. a source tells cnn the government has no immediate plans for a mass removal of the razor wire. joining us is lawyer steve pladick. thank you so much. i am completely riveted by this and fascinated. it has huge implications for the system that we live by and federalism. who has the right here? the supreme court said the biden administration, you can go in and do this. the state is saying no. >> yeah. this is really a mess. i think the mess is partly by design. i think this is exactly what

governor abbott wants, confusion only enables his ability to appear to be standing up to the federal government. it's worth stressing that the supreme court's decision on monday is actually very limited. the justices in this unexplained, unsigned 5-4 order only cleared the way for the biden administration to remove the razor wire along the border. they didn't say that anything governor abbott has done is unlawful. they didn't say he is going to lose this lawsuit. what this really comes down to, poppy, is whether governors like governor abbott have the ability under the federal constitution to claim that they are being invaded and to use that claim as a basis for not following federal authority. >> the word invaded is really important here. it's not only rhetoric that's been used by some on the campaign trail, it's really important because it's in the constitution. if you look at article 1, section 10, it says no state shall keep troops in a time of

peace unless actually invaded. that's the crux of the argument the texas attorney general is making. the texas governor is making it. do you read the constitution in this part of it to make this argument? >> no. there are two big problems with the way that texas is interpreting this long. the first is the obvious one, which is whatever you think of immigration, whatever you think of the influx of unauthorized immigrants along the texas border, that's obviously not an invasion as the founders intended it. even if there were ambiguity on that, even if there were doubt, the reason why this clause exists is because at the time the constitution was written, the federal military was tiny, congress was out of session most of the year. the idea was that if there was an invasion, british troops from canada, french troops from louisiana, spanish troops from

florida, states could react without having to wait for the federal government. it's not an open-ended invitation for states to take it upon themselves to do what the federal government either isn't doing to their satisfaction or is doing differently. >> what does this mean other states can do? you brought up other states. if texas prevails in this, an opposition to a supreme court order, other governors in other states would think we can on other issues. no? >> yeah. the real problem with governor abbott's position here is that it's basically a 21st century version of what's called nullification of the argument that every state can decide for itself which federal laws are and are not constitutional, which federal rules they are or are not bound by. folks might be sympathetic to texas taking that view or california taking that view on environmental regulation. our federal system is predicated on the idea that no one state is

allowed to usurp that claim, that no one state is allowed to basically decide for itself which federal laws they will or won't follow. there are remedies for those who think the federal government is not doing enough at the border, for those who are dissatisfied with president biden's immigration policies. those remedies do not include every state for themselves, otherwise, we risk not just a constitutional confrontation, we risk a physical confrontation between state and federal officials in and around eagle pass. that's something we should be avoiding. >> for sure. steve, thank you very much. >> thank you. donald trump going on a new tirade against nikki haley and her supporters. what he says will happen to anyone who is financially backing her campaign. that's next. your stories need to be told.

at contra costa college, you can become a leader in journalism and help shape world views with hands-on experience at the advocate, contra costa college's award-winning, student-run news publication. learn to use digital media to tell stories and gain the research skills needed to uncover truths while exploring careers in media. so what are you waiting for? the world needs you. start your career in journalism today at contracosta.edu we can't have a country in disarray and a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. we won't survive it.

[ applause ] you don't defeat democrat chaos with republican chaos. bring it, donald. show me what you got. >> that was nikki haley daring donald trump to go after her. it's like waving a red sheet in front of a bull. trump going full scorched earth on haley and her supporters. anybody that makes a contribution, we're not sure why, to bird brain, his name for nikki haley, from the moment forth will be permanently banned from the maga camp. we don't want them and will not accept them because we put america first and always will. >> this comes after cnn reported that trump was seething when haley did not drop out of the race. with us now, anthony scaramucci. good morning. >> i don't see myself as a trump critic. i'm a trump realist. >> give us your real take on nikki haley -- i wonder if she

can taunt trump effectively in a way that hurts him. >> she's hurting him. you have to look at the case that she's making against him, and then you have to look at the exit polling on the voters that are saying they're not going to cross over to donald trump. she is hurting him. he knows she's hurting him. if you look at the results in new hampshire, if you are on his campaign, you can pretend they were great but they're not that great. he got 50ish percent of the vote, which means that 50% of the republicans really don't want him. then when you do the exit polling, it was 43 in iowa, 70 plus percent of the haley voters in new hampshire said, we're not voting for donald trump in the election. that killed hillary clinton with the bernie sanders voters in '16. of course, barack obama got 75% of the hillary clinton voters in '08. this is really hurting donald trump. he knows that, which is why he is frustrated and why he is launching all these threats.

>> the irony of new hampshire is that almost for sure it locked up the eventual nomination for donald trump or made that very clear. and yet, it proved haley's theory of the case for this case is largely accurate on the donor side of things. haley can run as long as she has money. she's had it. people like her. people up here on wall street like her. what are you hearing when you talk to republican donors, big money guys who are watching this race? >> i think they're nonchalant to donald trump's threat about not being with his campaign. i don't think they care. guys like tim draper does not care. the koch family, they do not care. governor haley is doing a lot of smart things. she's setting herself up for 2028. she's making the case that this is a failed candidate. this is probably the only candidate that the republicans could put up that would lose to president biden based on the polling. i would submit to everybody listening, who is going to vote

for trump this time in 2024 that didn't vote for him in 2020? has he expanded his popularity? i would submit he hasn't. those exit polls show you he hasn't. of course, if you get a rock slide on the legal proceedings, he is in a lot of trouble. he knows that. he is not stupid. he knows he lost the election. he knows he is under the gun here as it relates to this campaign. he knows that the mosaic of the country, this beautiful, colorful mosaic of the united states has changed from 2016 to 2020 and now 2024. it's a different country from a demographic perspective. he is going to lose. he will win the nomination. but i think it will set up the republican party for a renewal in 2028. >> the political arm of the koch network, americans for prosperity, in their statement said, this is still an uphill battle, all eyes turn to south

carolina where she has a steeper road ahead. they are staying there with the money. i wonder how much -- i was with some liberals ish, that said they are fund-raising for nikki haley. how much of that kind of money can come to her now that would sustain? i wonder if you are hearing similar things. >> what i'm hearing from wall street people is that they are quietly giving to nikki haley. they are trying to stay out of it so they don't end up on donald trump's radar screen. i think she will get those donors as well. she will make a calculation how long to stay in the race. i think it would be hard for her to leave the race prior to south carolina, because she was the governor there. she was popular there. she may want to make a last political stand in '24 in south carolina. let's say she surprises in south carolina. newt gingrich surprised everybody in 2012 in south

carolina. then it becomes a real race coming into super tuesday. the money is there for nikki haley. the money is there because people really know the danger of donald trump. they know he is a threat to the institutions of the american democracy. most of that money is from patriots. they are taking a position they are patriots first and partisans second. they don't want donald trump. by the way, if you look at the people that have worked for donald trump, if they are not politically motivated, they have been extremely honest about his behavior and his lack of e executive capabilities. the dishonesty of his presidency. >> there's no precedent for what we have seen from folks who used to work for him. wall street guys also make money because they are good at business. >> some of them. most of them. >> at what point do they -- >> a lot easier than politics. >> yeah. you probably have experience in understanding that. when do they decide, i need to put money on trump because i

have business interests that will be in front of the u.s. government? i have to hedge my beds. >> people are like, i have to stay out of trump's field of vision. he runs everybody over. the money i give him is not going to help me with him. they threw that kid out of the party. i don't know if you saw that. the kid was there taking pictures with one of trump's lawyers who said she was sick but she wasn't sick. they tossed him. he is out there on twitter saying, this is how trump people get treated by donald trump. they are objects in his field of vision. what's interesting is that he will always find people to join his movement. he has tim scott behind him or vivek ramaswamy behind him. they see a legion of people that have been wrecked by donald trump, but they don't care. that's the blindness of the political ambition involved. >> businessman doug burgum who said a couple weeks ago he

wouldn't do business with trump was behind him. >> they see him as a potential victor. they want to work in his cabinet. i got that. i've been there. i've been there, i've done that. >> how many days? >> i was there for 11. i did work for donald trump for eight months on the campaign. it was a fun experience. i wouldn't replace it. it was very humbling. there's a big message in what happened to me. it's going to happen to you. be ready for it. this is not the right guy to be president. >> always appreciate your time. we 285 diasay days away fro the election. this could be the longest general race in decades.

not just any whiteboard... ...katie porter's whiteboard is one way she's: [news anchor] ...often seen grilling top executives of banks, big pharma, even top administration officials. katie porter. never taken corporate pac money - never will. leading the fight to ban congressional stock trading. and the only democrat who opposed wasteful “earmarks” that fund politicians' pet projects. katie porter. focused on your challenges - from lowering housing costs to fighting climate change. shake up the senate - with democrat katie porter. i'm katie porter and i approve this message.

check data, this just in. gdp, how much our economy grows, it grew 3.3% in the last few months of 2023. that's better than people expected. it's a key data point for the fed as they get ready to meet next week. >> 3.3% on an annualized rate, that's stronger than expected. it's cooler than the quarter prior to that. if you look at just the last few quarters, if you look at even the last few quarters before the pandemic, about wothings happen

to the economy, this is a solid economy. if you look under the hood of the car and look at where we see the most growth, consumer spending, which is a huge part of u.s. gdp, it's two-thirds. consumer spending was strong for goods and services. we are seeing strong growth in spending in areas like accommodations. people are still traveling, going out to eat. we saw a positive and strong growth for government spending, for business inventory. you get 3.3% on an annualized rate. as you said, it's the broadest measure of the economy, of all the goods and services. it's a big picture look. the biggest picture of the economy. the other reason it matters, especially right now, is because of the fed. >> i wonder what you think it means for rate cuts. >> i don't think they're going to do anything differently next week. the first meeting of the year. there are eight meetings. they will hold rates steady, that's the by and large

expectation. then there's a question about the meeting after that, the march meeting. 40% of traders are expecting a rate cut at that meeting, if not then, then perhaps may. a report like this is the sweet spot. it's not an economy that's overheating. it's not rapidly cooling. it's right in the sweet spot. many economists say that's what the fed is looking for. >> just right. thank you. donald trump's momentum rolling through iowa and new hampshire. a biden/trump rematch is looking more likely. this general election right now feels like it is shaping up to be the longest in decades. joe biden didn't lock up the nomination until april. trump didn't nail it down until may. it took hillary clinton until june. why is this different? is it different? we got the man who knows everything, harry anton joins us now. how long are we talking about? >> look, this primary season isn't quite over yet, like my

buffalo bills' season is. we still have 285 days until the 2024 general election. to give you an idea of how early it is, the first primary contest in 2020 didn't occur until february 3rd. we haven't even reached the beginning of last cycle's primary season beginning. we still have a long way to go. nikki haley is still involved in this race. south carolina doesn't occur until february 24th. let's say for whatever reason she decided to get out at that point. the earliest that a primary season ended since 1972 was march 9 in 2000. that's the earliest. that's what we are potentially looking at. the average since 1972 is late april. we are way before that. we could be looking at a very long cycle with joe biden not having anyone going up against him at this particular point, no

serious challengers. donald trump having only one challenger left in nikki haley. >> given how excited people are for this rematch, just palpable enthusiasm, a long general election, how are people feeling? >> they are feeling awful. dreading -- more people dread this election than looking forward to it. among independents, more than 60% say they are dreading this general election, only in the mid 30s on looking forward. that might be one of the reasons why if you look at the choice for president, rfk junior getting 22%, 17% in a recent ipsis poll. i'm not sure these people are necessarily behind rfk junior, but there's a clamoring for a third option. it's going to be interesting to see whether one of those emerges. >> expectation is they will come home. will they? getting out in front on the bills, before i could chat with you about it, very impressive.

>> hangen ing on to hope. maybe next year. we have new reporting on the house ethics probe of congressman matt gaetz. who the committee wants to hear from now ahead.

you are looking at images of trump tower on the left side of your screen. that's where donald trump just left moments ago. he is headed to the courthouse. on your right, that's e. jean carroll arriving at the courthouse. we are waiting to find out if trump will testify today. court sex pis expected to resum less than an hour. this morning,ny details about the house ethics committee investigation into republican congressman matt gaetz. according to a source familiar

with the committee's work, they reached out to the woman who gaetz allegedly had sexual relations with when she was 17, a minor, something he has not been charged with and has denied. >> sources say the committee reached out to the department of justice for materials relating to the investigation of gaetz. the federal probe was concluded last year and brought no charges against gaetz. joining us is paula reid. what have we learned about this ongoing investigation? >> reporter: this is a new round of outreach. they reached out to new witnesses, the most notable is this woman when she was 17 when she alleged had sex with the congressman. he was investigated for several years. it began until attorney general bill barr. it started out with these allegations about sex with a minor. then it expanded to look at a potential sex trafficking, obstruction of justice, lobbying violations. the probe ended last year. we broke the news they were not going to charge him. it is significant that now the

house ethics committee wants to go back and potentially try to review the justice department's decision and get access to some of the evidence they had. the congressman continues to deny these allegations and in a statement he said, this is not true. this has never been true. those who spread those lies have been exposed, indicted, and imp imprisoned. he is likely referring to greenberg who is in prison. he pleaded guilty to several crimes, including soliciting and having sex with that minor. >> talk about the politics of this. people will remember the ethics investigation when mccarthy was speaker and how that relationship went. >> it's interesting to look at the parallel here. the ethics probe began in 2021. it decided to yield to the federal probe. last year in 2023, when the federal probe wrapped up, the ethics probe was sort of re-upped. gaetz told people that he believed this was the fault of then house speaker kevin mccarthy. he couldn't believe he allowed

this to go forward. mccarthy said this is why gaetz backed the effort to push mccarthy out of the speakership. now, mccarthy is no longer speaker. not only is this ethic probes continuing, it appears to be escalating. >> fascinating. switching gears to what we were talking about at the start. the trump trial, what we expect today. there's a lot of question, is he going to testify? if he does, will he stay within the bounds. >> that's what he wants us to be asking, to drum up drama. this is a damaging trial. they are about how much he owes e. jean carroll for defamatory statement. he doesn't really have a lot to offer. the judge put strict restrictions on what he can say. to most people, probably not worth it. i don't have much to offer. really, what he wants to get out of this, his return on investment is getting into any kind of conflict with the judge. so far, they have had to work

hard to manufacture drama. there's no big constitutional question. he is getting in trouble for not following basic rules that all of us would have to follow if we're in federal court. don't be risdisruptive. follow the rules of evidence. trump and his attorney have repeatedly sparred with the judge over the basic rules that everyone else follows. they run outside the courtroom and say, this is unfair. this judge is biased. so the thing about testifying even though he doesn't have a lot to offer and it may serve the larger purpose which is to try to get to the judge and then say it is an unfair system. >> where do the criminal cases with the special counsel stand separate from today. >> these are the two big kram nal cases. arguably the biggest threats he faces and it is unclear that jack smith will bring either one of his cases. we thought the federal election subversion case would be the first one to go.

it was scheduled for march and right now they're litigating larger questionses about whether trump has immunity. legal experts don't think he'll prevail on these questions, but he has the right to litigate those and right now we're waiting for the court of appeals to give us an answer and then it can go to scotus and the timing is even more important. how long does it take to get a final answer? thumbs up, thumbs down here. because the longer it takes to get a final resolution the less that jack smith will bring that case. >> remind people if he's in the general and elected, how delayed? >> if former president trump is re-elected it is widely expected that he could make those cases go away. his attorney general could fire jack smith and the two cases could be dissolved. the two cases that exist outside of that is the georgia case and also the manhattan d.a.'s case lear, the hush money case that they argued deals with 2016

election subversion. >> somehow managing to keep track of all of that and break news on the ethics investigation. >> good job. >> that is remackable. >> alabama could become the first state to execute a death row inmate bity in rojen gas. critics call it dangerous. >> the man survived one execution attempt and how the state is reacting to the unprecedented second try.

you may know adam schiff's work to protect the rule of law, or to build affordable housing, or write california's patients bill of rights.

but i know adam through the big brother program. we've been brothers since i was seven. he stood by my side as i graduated from yale, and i stood by his side when he married eve, the love of his life. i'm a little biased, but take it from adam's little brother. he'll make us all proud as california senator. i'm adam schiff and i approve this message. not just any whiteboard... ...katie porter's whiteboard is one way she's: [news anchor] ...often seen grilling top executives of banks, big pharma, even top administration officials. katie porter. never taken corporate pac money - never will. leading the fight to ban congressional stock trading. and the only democrat who opposed wasteful “earmarks” that fund politicians' pet projects. katie porter. focused on your challenges - from lowering housing costs to fighting climate change. shake up the senate - with democrat katie porter. i'm katie porter and i approve this message.

just in to cnn the alabama death row inmate set to die by nitrogen gas has made one more appeal to the supreme court to halt his execution. the appeal comes a day after the supreme court and alabama's 11th circuit court of appeals refused to halt the execution of kenneth smith. anti-death penalty advocates expressing fears that the execution would be, quote, horrific and experimental. smith was sentenced to death in the murder for hire plot. this would not be the first time the state would try to execute him. the last attempt failed in 2022. smith described what that was like in this interview with npr. >> i was strapped down, couldn't catch my breath. i was shaking like a leaf. i was absolutely alone in a room full of people and not one of them tried to help me at all and i was crying out for help.

it was a month or so before i really started to come back to myself. >> isabell rosales is reporting from outside the prison where smith is set to be executed in alabama. can you tell us about this last-minute appeal to the supreme court? >> poppy, good morning to you. yeah. we're seeing the flurry of legal activity that we anticipate ahead of an execution. yesterday, smith's team received two legal rejections, one from the supreme court who denied a blocking of the execution and one from the 11th circuit court of appeals that one denied a blocking and injunction and also on the substance of their legal claims. now smith's team has gone to the supreme court, appealed and asked them to look at the actual substance of the cruel and unusual punishment claim. still, poppy, that does not appear to be highly likely being

that the supreme court has denied a temporary stay before, but that's still an open avenue for them. then there's also the governor, governor kay ivy who has the authority to grant smith clemency although she has said that she does not plan to do that. so that is two last-minute options right here for smith. in term of how the execution will work, i've been looking through the state of alabama execution procedures and a lot of them redacted like you see here and what we can expect is for smith to be strapped into a gurney and a mask to be put on him. the warden will read the death warrant and allow him to speak to make a final statement for up to two minutes and then that mask will pump 100% nitrogen gas in and they will be pumping that until he is deprived of oxygen until death. poppy? >> isabell, is this the way

executions will be done going forward or is this a one-time thing? >> right. critics are certainly claiming that this is going to open the door, that a lot of states are keeping an eye on alabama and that this will open the door to future deaths by nitrogen gas. so far there are three states that have approved nitrogen gas as a form of a death sentence. in 2009 we saw states struggling to get the drugs necessary for lethal injection after pharmaceutical companies denied selling that to prison. so a lot of states have been struggling to figure out how to put inmates to death. the state in this case they're saying they are ready to go and the plan here is for him to lose consciousness within seconds and die within minutes. not everyone agrees. >> no question about that. isa isabell rosales, thank you very much for the reporting and "cnn news central" starts right now. ♪ ♪