on the stand, former president donald trump, just finished testifying at his civil defamation trial in new york really going face-to-face with his accuser, eudene carroll, in court. what donald trump said very briefly taking the stand. attacked while waiting for aiding gaza. the crowd running for their lives, as gunfire reverberates in the background. the hamas run ministry, now accusing israel, killing 20

people at least. that number is expected to rise. a critical tool for law- enforcement, shutting down amazon. they are no longer allowing police to request footage from their doorbell users. some say it is a major step towards addressing privacy concerns. could it make you and your neighbors less safe? we are following these major stories and all coming more right here, to cnn news central. extraordinary moment in federal court today. donald trump, looking at his second defamation trial. this is about the time that it takes us to go to a commercial. in that brief time, donald trump still managed to get cut off by the judge. the big headline, is that he

mostly stuck to the parameters laid out by the judge before he took the stand. we have cnn's reporter at the courthouse in new york. cnn legal analyst, joey jackson, also with us. first, walk us through donald trump's testimony. >> reporter: he was on the stand for less than five minutes. he actually spent more time discussing what he could and could not be asked about. he was actually on the stand. he went up and took the stand. he swore he would tell the truth. it his attorney asked him three questions. do you stand by the testimony in your deposition? donald trump, said 100%, yes. they had access to the disposition. calling her a whack job. she is mentally ill. she doesn't know her. donald trump, saying yes, we are behind that. did you make this statement in response to the accusations that were made by eudene

carroll? yes, that was actually right. the judge cut him off, telling the jury that they just needed to hear from him was that he yes, did make his statements in response to her act stations. the third question, donald trump's attorney, did he instruct anyone to harm eudene carroll? donald trump, said no. i want to protect myself, my family, and the presidency. the julie should -- jury should only listen to what he said. walking a fine line. very much controlling what he said. e. jean carroll's attorneys, got a chance to ask him questions. they were only able to get one through, asking him if he attended. was he aware that there was a previous trial? he did know that there was a trial grade his attorneys came back to him, and asked him if he had an attorney representing

him at that other trial. he said he did. they want to ask another question. the judge cut that off. they kept this under control. a big contrast to what donald trump was on the stand a few weeks ago in the civil fraud trial. he was campaigning from the witness stand. that did not happen today. >> that could come down to the judge in this case. you mostly stuck to the parameters. he didn't entirely stick to the parameters here. we should be very clear about this. the parameters were crystal clear. the judge had repeated them time and time again. there was still some of donald trump's testimony that was struck down. >> sure. it was pretty small compared to what we expected read they had all been debating over the past several days. will he take stand? everyone seemed to have consensus that once he got a nightstand, he was going to be part of the 2024 campaign event. this is not what we saw here

today. a credit to the federal judge that kept the command of his courtroom. he committed to a plan ahead of time. kept her in her client to stick to that plan while he was on the stand. wrapping it up and moving it along. also, former president donald trump, they could've easily played more at the edge of this. try to say a little bit more before the judge cut in. people want sure if he was going to take a stand. everyone seemed he was going to make a scene. just two weeks ago in state court, it is not what happened. she got in her questions exactly as she told the judge that she would. he called her outside the lines a little bit. overall, it appears that it was a successful appearance on the witness stand and this is in terms of the judge's plan, and what they told people to do. >> what is the effect on the jury? how do they hear with the former president has said? how does the judge strike it? do they make it clear that this was not supposed to be part of

the record? >> they have obviously witnessed it come out of his mouth. >> this is something that happens in courtrooms all the time. during the jury instructions tomorrow, they will likely be reminded that those are not things that they can take into consideration when they decide the amount of damages that e. jean carroll will receive from the former president. of course, they are human, and they heard it. most of them take their obligations. they take the rules very seriously. in the grand scheme of this trial, it is unlikely that they are going to look at $5 million or so. >> what do you think they got out of this trial, considering they did not participate in any other sinful defamation trial? >> it was very significant testimony. it was brief, but very important. the question becomes wry --

why. this is the indication that you are acting in good faith. it was your view with the perception as to the statements and falls. number one, very important, get into the punitive issue of damages. trying to punish with this is all about. you pivot to other questions, for example. did you at all direct anybody to the pylon, or anyone else? the answer was no. you answer the question, which is previous to that. what is this about? you want responding. this was the nature of the comments that he made. this is in response to them defending them does. this is what other people have done on social media. that was not at the direction. he had should be held accountable. that's why the statements were important for the president

getting out. this was very important. they show some resemblance of respect for the process. they certainly took considerations before they were taking it down. >> real quick, what did you think about the cross? >> look. at the end of the day, crosses are important. this is what you want to do if you want to try to look at a person. you can really get at the fact that this is about going after someone maliciously. he can attack the witness. that is towards the gesture meant of the plaintiff. this is what you couldn't do. >> thank you so much, paul and karen. this is justin. donald trump's attorneys are getting dismissals from fulton county district attorneys. this is the 2020 election

subversion case. wanting to alleged misconduct between willis and her lead prosecutor. this is outside the fulton county courthouse with more. >> it is interesting. we were looking at not having sufficient evidence to this motion. they were formally adopting the motion that they were dismissing the case. not only because of the improper relations, but because of the statements after this alleged affair was first made public. the first injected prejudice in the co-defendants in this case. in their words, playing the race card. i want to look at a statement very quickly. donald trump's attorney, said in part to cnn. willis, violated her special responsibilities as a prosecutor under the georgia rules of misconduct. her prejudice against the defendants in order to divert

and afflict detention priorities, entered into dismissal and qualifications. earlier, they were subpoenaed to be level. they had members of their staff, as well as the current and former law partners, are looking at the attorney allegations of improper relationships. this is the evidential hearing that is scheduled for february 15th. it may not seem like that big of a deal. what it really does, is itself the potential for these details that this alleged affair can be broadcasted publicly. these hearings are broadcasted live. they have not directly addressed the alleged affair. she did say, however, that they were hired because he was the right man for the job. now, this is the latest news that donald trump and his defense team is trying to get dismissed for this affair, as well as what they said for injecting rates into this case.

>> thank you so much for the update. taking on his last remaining rival in the republican primary race, former south carolina governor, nikki haley, says that donald trump is now going after nikki haley's donors. this is a significant deal, as they try to narrow down the rest of the field. sources tell cnn that president joe biden's team is cheering on nikki haley -tran19 feuds. they are looking at resources before the general election. they are looking at this economy in a critical state of wisconsin. his campaign officials are setting the stage for one of the longest and most dreaded general elections ever. cnn's senior reporter, walking us through the latest on how americans see this president

joe biden and donald trump matcha. >> they are not exactly looking forward to it. take a look. both president joe biden and donald trump. 20% of the overall public has an unfavorable view. this is on par with what we saw in 2016. hillary clinton and donald trump had record labels -- record levels of ratings. 41% of them have an unfavorable view. my goodness gracious. you mentioned that word, dreaded. it was a great poll question that was asked late last year. we had feelings about a president joe biden and donald trump rematch. dreading it, or looking forward to it? dreading it wins the day with 50%. 40% of folks are looking forward to it. look at independence. they are key for elections. we are getting past the primary

season. 61%. they are dreading this potential matchup. compared to 35% that we are looking forward to. look at all of this data. my goodness gracious, americans are not exactly what looking forward to a potential match. that just seems like we are going. >> i can't imagine what the favorables would be. this would be potentially disastrous numbers. you are looking at this. does this potentially open up the possibility of a third- party candidate? >> maybe. let's look at a generic third- party. this is the leading candidate. in fact, this is the major party nominee. of course, this year, president joe biden and donald trump. it was bill clinton and donald trump. back in march of 2016, this number was at 30%, seriously

considering it. look where we are today in january of 2024. it is higher than that. up to 37%. one of the highest levels i have ever seen on a poll question like this. we are talking generic third- party candidates. maybe somebody we are not even thinking about. of course at this point, the major potential independent third-party candidate, is in the race. this number of support that he is getting, is a matchup between president joe biden and donald trump. 17%. this is the consent of the vote. 1992. does the fact that it is not just us saying that we are not going to vote for this third- party candidate. a lot of folks are saying we are making hits.

this is truly remarkable. this is a different track record. this is from all sorts of things. thank you for watching and walking us through the numbers. still had on cnn news it's over, the 2021 michigan school shooter will testify in her own defense. her attorney said that she will take the stand, in her trial. the very latest from oxford, when we come b back.

it's been and just now, an especially emotional day. oxford high school stabbers, -- staffers, remembering the day when an open shooter killed

students. >> i locked eyes. he did not hesitate. >> how long was that from the time that you saw the peripheral vision, and then the gun was raised? >> one second. if that. i jumped and turned my body this way at the same time. >> you are motioning to the right. >> i feel like my left shoulder moves back a little bit. i feel a burn like hot water had stopped me. i texted my husband, i love you, active shooter. i started feeling blood dripping down my arm. >> school shooter's mother, is now on trial. it she's facing involuntary manslaughter charges, along with her husband, who is being tried separately in a trial that will start here in several weeks.

we have legal analysts and criminal defense attorneys. the prosecution is making the argument here that she ignored all the warning signs. would it be making court today? >> she's going to be taking the stand. >> reporter: she explains that she did not have any warning signs. what led to her interactions with her son, we were having that harsh cross examination. today was so emotional. it started out with who you just played. molly darnell, was a victim of his rampage that day. she survived. also, his assistant principal. the emotion was so strong in the courtroom, but after the testimony, the prosecutor got so upset, she stood up. your honor, the defense attorney is sobbing during this testimony. listen during this exchange.

>> i understand the ruling. you are concerned about influence of the jury. i take no issue with it. it was a difficult thing. we are doing it. to have not just the defendant, but her lawyer sitting there sobbing, i just want to finish. if that is the instruction, we are trying really hard to respect the course instruction. i understand the reason for it. this is a very emotional situation for everyone here. >> if someone was sobbing in the audience, i hope to know the reason for it. i was not saying not to show emotion. >> the atf was just on the stand. they say that gun case in safe,

and the gun that was used for the murders, was found open in the bedroom of james and jennifer. right next to it, a very empty ammunition box. >> the prosecution is trying to prove that his parents were grossly negligent. this was a result of their own failure to act. do you think the state has enough evidence to prove that? >> a jury will make that determination. the ultimate question, is to what extent is a parent responsible? what preventative steps could they have taken knowing that there are warning signs to hallucination or mental health? giving him access to a weapon. the school indicating that he had these drawings, and not taking that seriously. the essence of the charge, was were you negligent? did you act reasonably? if the jury says that they did

not, then in this instance, she will have some problem as the guilty. >> thank you so much. we will continue to follow this very emotional trial. this is just in. a draft resolution circling among the republican national committee. it would formally declare former president donald trump the parties 2024 presumptive nominee. >> this is of course flying in the haze -- face of nikki haley's comment that she is going to participate in his race. what are sources telling you about this draft? >> this is really extraordinary. effectively, as you said, declaring donald trump the 2024 presumptive nominee. that means that they would be moving forward with donald trump. effectively, opposing the former governor from south carolina. this is a huge break in how this party has dealt with this nomination process. their remaining neutral.

it is not that surprising, given that just yesterday, the chairwoman was on television. essentially saying that it was time to unite behind the eventual nominee. this is donald trump. that in itself was shocking when she said that. that is usually a roll again where you remain neutral. here is what happened. you would have to still actually get the delegate count to be the party's nominee. you would get an extraordinary amount of access to these resources. access to the ground operations and the data programs. access to fundraising. again, a huge break from how republican national committee has handled the nominating process in the past. >> this is obviously something that would alienate any nikki haley supporters . the calculus would be that it does not necessarily matter. is the fact that it would give former president donald trump access to these resources. the interest of that, supersedes any possibility of

it backfiring. >> nikki haley has brush this off. who cares what they say? they were expecting something along these lines. they really have the republicans circling the wagon for the former president in recent days. a lot of endorsements and encouraging others to endorse. again, for this particular republican national committee, it essentially opposes another potential candidate. it is really striking. >> it certainly is. thank you for the report. still ahead, a leaked recording of prime minister banjamin netanyahu, and the fallout with qatar, looking at the mediator between israel and hamas. hohow they a are r responding,g how this c could threaten hosta negotiatioions.

this just in. a source tells cnn, that we are expected to meet with israeli, egyptian, and qatar leaders in the coming days to push for a hostage deal with hamas. this comes from the rising tensions with israel and qatar, after prime minister banjamin netanyahu, had leaked audio with the families of hostages. listen to this.

>> for me, this is in essence no difference from the red cross. more problematic. i was very angry recently. i did not hide it from the americans. they renewed the contract from the military base that they have with qatar. >> cnn is not trying to confirm whether that is banjamin netanyahu's voice in that audio. the qatar minister was quick to condemn these remarks. quote, these remarks are irresponsible and destructive to the efforts to save innocent lives. they are not surprising. we are discussing this and more. a spokesperson for israeli prime minister, banjamin netanyahu. thank you for spending time with us. was that banjamin netanyahu's voice? >> is a leaked audio. i'm not going to confirm this or deny this as you just said.

we are not commenting on such a report. >> what about the substance of the criticism? is there a feeling from the prime minister that qatar is problematic? are they hindering negotiations to get hostages out? >> we welcome any kind of efforts to bring to the release of more hostages. we are working with international mediators. united states, qatar, egypt, are all involved. there is no secret than any country that is harboring terrorist masterminds, is problematic. qatar, says that it's relationship with the terror master heads, and the hamas leadership that have been there for years, and are still there, is something that can benefit the civilized world. we say okay, let's see it. burden of proof is on them. at least 136 morehouse's are

in gaza right now. around 100 of them, we believe, are still alive. we want to see all of them returning back to their families. >> to that point, officials in the united days believe that it was instrumental in getting the previous hostages released. they were harboring hamas leaders back then. isn't that relationship to a degree, beneficial? >> indeed. we saw the release of some hostages. it worked back in november. it was a combination of two things. the pressure on the ground that we were exerting pressure hitting hamas hard , is what created the conditions to reach this framework that saw the release of some of the hostages. hamas terrorists on the ground, they wanted a breather. we said that they would agree to a humanitarian pause in the fighting. we would facilitate the release of hostages.

we still stand by it. hamas, or the ones that broke the other framework on day eight. we have every possible avenue that would bring the release of hostages. we have more pressure. we have a lot of reports out there. we have offers that are on the table. some of them are incorrect. we are not counting about the nature. i'm looking the more quiet that we keep these talks. the better chance of success we have. >> how does the prime minister feel about the airbase

agreement? it should be open for at least another decade. >> as i said before, i cannot comment specifically about this leaked audio. we are a constant communication with one symptom. -- washington. this is a different trade. at the end of the day, we want to see the end to the swarm. hamas, surrendering. all hostages need to return to their home. as we do this, we want to see minimized civilian casualties in gaza. we don't have to agree on everything with partners. we are looking at different concerns. >> we have a pretty public daylight. i want to go back to the

suspense, and the sustenance of this. does he feel disappointed that the united states is extending this agreement with qatar to keep the base open? >> i told you what i can do at this point. >> i'm curious about how he feels. aside from the audio, this is the news that the united states has reached this agreement. >> he wants to tell it to washington. i'm going through a lot of them. he did say recently that his public have been communicated. they have members of president joe biden's administration, specifically when it came through. this was specifically being open to a two state solution. banjamin netanyahu, has been open to a two state solution.

this this is a matter of agreement? is this kind of a miscommunication? >> it is a matter of semantics. cnn quoted trenton over the weekend, telling reporters that there were different types of solutions. we say no to the type that would mean that it would just be nice, that would jeopardize the palestinians down the road. we have a collective suicide from the state of israel. this is not what peace is about. peace, would mean that invaders contents on palestinian soil. we have weapons shipments from iran. we have this in the area west of the jordan river. that is unacceptable, and not

real peace. you and i will continue to have these conversations again. maybe one year or five years down the road. we said that this should be the last round in order to achieve a real, durable peace. the right conditions have to be in place. gaza, will be demilitarized. that formula that the mind and -- prime minister talked about, was that it was explicitly written in this book. even after, all of the powers of the palestinian governments, are looking to frame israel. that is how we are looking at things. >> we are looking at the complete eradication of hamas, and whether that is possible. there are criticisms from key members of the war cabinet, including a former chief of staff for the prime minister. his son was recently killed in gaza. he said that the idea of the absolute defeat of hamas, is a

fantasy. whoever spread that message is quote, not speaking the truth. we should not tell stories. do you believe that the complete eradication of hamas is to post ? >> we certainly believe so. they have been making great advancements on the ground. more than 9000 terrorists have been eliminated or arrested. we arrested 2300, and injured many more who are immobilized. there is progress. as we progress in the war, we see the number of civilian casualties that are decreasing as we moved to the war target. this is in great speed from the war. in every opinion, we have these discussions. we believe that it is indeed impossible to bring to the elimination of hamas. this is an organized war machine in gaza. >> we have to leave the conversation right there. looking forward to advancing this conversation with you at

some point. >> thank you. >> stay with cnn. we are back in just a few moments.

the ring doorbell on front doors across america, is probably on your door, or in your neighborhood. they have probably helped police. they have the authority not to let authorities request footage from users. they are now looking at this.

it tell us about this restriction about this video sharing program. >> the ring doorbell system has this app called neighbors. this way, neighbors in a given area, or a couple of blocks, can share video with each other. they have notes on suspicious activity. there is also a function in that application were police can send out a request for assistance. they can send it out to a wide area, or small area. this crime, the suspicious activity, i had a murder or robbery. attempted child molestation. of course, we have seen all of those videos of crimes that were caught on camera. people who were caught attempting burglaries, bears on people's porches. lots of things. police were able to send out these requests. they are giving them the video where they saw suspicious

activity. now, amazon and ring have removed that function. they don't say why. interestingly, privacy advocacy group, out of washington, is on their website. calling it a major degree from this long battle to reduce the network of police surveillance. they say it permeates across the country. >> very interesting. so many questions remain on this. we will be following up on this. still ahead, did scientist just to save an endangered species? we are going to talk about that. i will tell you how.

celebrating ivf in rhinos. scientists used the process to impregnate an animal. the aim is to create future descendents for these two rhinos. >> they are the only living

northern white rhinos in the world, just the two of them. they are under strict guard in kenya conservancy to the ivf that was successfully done was in the southern, they are hoping to do this procedure for rare northern counterparts within 2 1/2 years which would be exciting. joining us to talk about it is the host of wildlife nation, jeff corwin. just two northern white rhino left, how big of a scientific >> is this? >> this is a very exciting moment but they have a long journey ahead before they say this eclipsing species, this incredible animal, the northern white rhino for all purposes are extinct.

they were very old and not very productive at this stage of their rep productive cycle. northern white rhino has population of 15,000 and through in vitro fertilization implant an embryo created from the material, reproductive material that still exists today 12 individual specimens from the northern white rhino. this is the sunsetting on this species and we are in a fight to save them from extinction. >> to that point, how did the northern white rhino get to this point? >> greed and avarice, the story around the world. the black market trade in wildlife is $20 billion a year industry. these animals were destroyed for their horns which has a value of 40,000 or $70,000 per

get one rhino horn has tremendous black-market value, used with medicinal trinkets and the creation of ornamental things first beers -- for skiers . i have a personal connection to the species. in 2009, we were there to help move the rh new home and to see the species get reduced to only two is sort of heartbreaking but to know there is hope but a long journey ahead. that gives me a bit of pause that maybe we can pull this off but there's a long way to go pay it >> talk a little bit about that because the cells to create the northern white rhino embryo may not come from living rhinos, is that right?

>> for example, with human beings, we can freeze our reproductive material and use them to create an embryo far into the future, freeze, fertilize eggs many years at a time. we have a reservoir of thousands and thousands of species today that we have cryo- frozen for a time in the future where we may try to reproduce them when we are kinder species and make the planet more habitable for these species. in australia, they are losing all of their corals. they are in a race against time to save corals so they are resorting to freezing the embryos. it is a same thing with the species. there is a number of examples we have taken animals that are biologically not here anymore, we find that close

enough cousin, we are able to implant the embryo and revive that species. >> i think i saw a documentary about this month, it did not end well, there were dinosaurs. do you think we will see other endangered species eventually get the treatment of ivf like this as you alluded to with coral reefs, for example? >> i think it is an important tool in the toolbox for conservation. it also has a fantastical element to it. i think the most important thing we can do are the things we do today, stop the black-market trade of wildlife, to protect habitat to work with the species we have today there are species thinking of doing this with that tasmanian tiger looking at bringing back mammoths. all sorts of wonderful things to explore but still we have urgent problems today with species on the brink. we have lost 75% of all nature in 100 years yes, this is very important and very exciting but

this is one small example of the great challenges we face protecting nature >> a sad note but a glimmer of hope jeff corwin, thank you for joining us for >> you have to have a a glimmer >> statay with cnnnn, wewe are in a few sececonds. my sport propels me forward.

contra costa college saw potential in me that i didn't know i had. focus. determination. drive. contra costa college helped me blaze the trail. now i'm a comet, and there's no stopping me. come on, this is your shot. take it. join the team at contra costa college. start today at contracosta.edu

stunned the golf world becoming first amateur to win pga event in 30 years and the youngest since 1910. >> do not call nick dunlap amateur anymore, the sophomore from alabama is turning pro. the 20-year-old won american express event in california last weekend he could not take him $1.5 million prize because of his ama it did give dunlap pga tour exemption through 2026 where he can haul any prize money he wins moving forward. he makes his first start as a probe next weekend pebble beach, not a bad place to start. >> that is amazing, all the best to him that was an amazing show and he had, really good to the lead with jake tapper starts now.