we're a couple minutes in to the closing arguments in the defamation damages trial against donald trump. donald trump ambled into court late. why? and how will the judge instruct the jury in this case that could cost trump millions? and you could soon hear from the mother of a michigan school shooter testifying in her own defense facing charges as prosecutors say that she could have stopped her son from killing four students at his high school. rising tides along the new england coast, effects of

climate change on stark display. i'm kate bolduan with john berman and sara sidner. this is "cnn news central." right now closing arguments in the defamation case against donald trump are under way in a new york federal court. but here is some of the latest. court started ten minutes late with the judge asking is your client intending to be here this morning? he was talking about donald trump. my control room just got in my room saying that donald trump also just walked out of court in the middle of closing arguments as the prosecution is up first. carroll is seeking more than $10 million in damages from the former president. and before the jury walked in, there is a lot going on. the judge reminded everyone that they have to stay quiet during closings saying this, "there are to be no interruptions by anybody, no audible comments by

anybody else." and now trump we know has walked out. joining me now to talk more about this is former federal prosecutor, and there is a whole lot going on in these closing arguments. you've got habba being asked if donald trump was going to show up. he shows up ten minutes late. the judge warning everybody to not have disruptions. and i'm hearing in my ear that donald trump has walk ed out of court. are closing arguments normally this eventful? >> no. but i will say that one strategy, kate, that defense counsel uses sometimes even in criminal trials is to try to distract the jury when the prosecution is giving their closing argument. i think part of what is going on here is there is an attempt to create a circus, distract from the evidence, distract from all of the comments that trump has made in the past that are coming back to haunt him here. and so i think part of why he is

arriving late and he's coming in and out is partly to keep the jury focused on him rather than the arguments in a e. jean carroll's attorney is making. >> and he wanted the attention on him definitely yesterday for that -- i mean it was like a momentary period of time that he took the stand. what do you think he and his legal team got out of it, what do you think impact of donald trump being on the stand will be? >> he was being put on the stand to try to slip in some comments to say that essentially he did not do this, you know, he didn't actually sexual assault e. jean carroll and so on. that is not legally relevance. the jury in a prior trial already found that he did do that but nonetheless, there is an attempt here to almost try to nullify the law to have the jury return a verdict that is not

consistent with the verdict for example in the prior case. and the judge had no part in it. that was why it was so short and the judge shut it down very quickly. >> now to today and in this moment, prosecution is up first ma making -- i don't even know if we call it the prosecution. but they are up first, they are making their closing argument. what is the case that they need to -- how do they bring it home? >> so the plaintiff is going to be really focused, the e. jean carroll attorney will be really focused on donald trump essentially thumbing his nose at this process. you know, he claims he never assaulted -- sexually assaulted e. jean carroll. he was going after her riling people up against her. and once a jury found that he did so, he kept doing it again and again and again. and i actually think that her attorney is going to be really pointing to the fact that donald

trump continues to be essentially thumbing his nose at the process throughout the trial. she will use what he is trying to do, you know, his attempts to introduce his own private feelings about this against him and try to turn the tables on him and we'll see whether or not that works. >> so i'm getting a little more information about what came will -- what happened with the walkout. again, saying prosecution, i misspoke, it is plaintiffs. from our reporters, it is not clear why trump left the courtroom. when trump walked out, caplan was in the middle of telling the jury that trump did not respect the prior jury verdict, quote, not even for 24 hours. after -- this is roberta caplan by the way, not the judge, the plaintiff's attorney. after trump left judge cap llan briefly interrupted to say the record will reflect in trump just rose and walked out of the courtroom. all of this playing out in realtime is fascinating. >> absolutely.

i mean, he really is thumbing his nose at the process and the judge. at one point today the judge even hinted that -- i'm hearing reports that he hinted that perhaps he will send trump's lawyer into lockup. this is an attempt to try to create this into a circus. because trump i think wants everyone, the public, the jury, to focus on the circus and the distraction rather than what happened here. because there is really not a defense. you know, if you find and the jury has already found in the prior trial that he engaged in sexual assault, the fact is he defamed e. jean carroll and essentially what her attorneys are arguing for is that punitive damages are necessary to hold him accountable and to deter him from doing this again. so very challenging from a legal perspective, but of course he is trying to turn this into a distraction rather than a legal proceeding. >> and part of his campaign strategy to the point of the quote that you just cited, i

have a reporting here from our reporters in the room, just before the jury went in, so back to the beginning of the morning again, trump's attorney tried to make a record to refute a ruling that defense cannot used a slide they planned in their closing presentation. the judge cut her off and said you are on the verge of spending some time in the lockup now. sit down. moving forward, the jury will get the case today. i think the decision was one hour, one hour for closing. how likely do you think they will return a verdict today? >> i think it is very likely that they will return a verdict today. it has not been a long trial. and it is very straightforward issue. if they take a long time, that is good for trump. in other words, this is pretty straightforward case. the issue is just purely, you know, how much in damages is she entitled to. there will be some argument about that for sure.

but i really think, you know, if a jury is just looking at the facts and law, they will return a decision today. if this drags on for days and days, you know, the trump team will be crossing their fingers and hoping for a good result. >> control room just told me that the judge just admonished the defense team once again in the courtroom. we'll be bringing you -- bringing updates as they come. very eventful closing arguments in this civil defamation trial. thank you for jumping on. >> seems like this is blowing up a bit. we're working to get as much information as we can. because clearly something is going on there. in addition, this morning the united nations top court is weighing in on south africa's allegation that israel broke international law and is committing genocide in gaza. nic robertson is in tel aviv. so what did the court say and what is the reaction there in

tel aviv? >> reporter: a couple things. i think the headline oig takeaway is this was not a final ruling from the court on whether or not israel is as south africa accuses it committing genocide inside of gaza. that ruling will take many years. this was an interim ruling to set some measures that would in essence protect the people of gaza. they said that israel must not injure civilians, must not harm them, must not harm them psychologically or physically, it must do everything it can to protect the lives of civilians and it must bring in more humanitarian aid. it was interesting that the judge also said it was important that hamas mist hand over hostages immediately without conditions, that that was a thing that the judge called for. now what south africa had wanted in these interim measures was to be -- for the court to call for a ceasefire.

this is the south african foreign minister here giving her verdict on how it went from south africa's view. >> i believe that in exercising the order, there would have to be a ceasefire. without it, the order doesn't actually work. i would have wanted a cease fire. >> reporter: now, again, the court has not made a final ruling on its view on whether or not genocide is being perpetrated against the palestinians. but it did say that it was the right forum and place to judge that and it would continue to do that, which was a jeeks rejecti what israel originally asked for. the prime minister benjamin netanyahu however is describing this essentially as a victory.

>> israel has an inherent right to defend itself. the vile attempt to deny israel this fundamental right is blatant discrimination against the jewish state. and it was justly rejected. the charge of genocide leveled against israel is not only false, it is outrageous and decent people everywhere should reject it. >> reporter: now, these rulings today are binding, but not enforceable. and prime minister benjamin netanyahu did say that under the rules, international law, israel is following international law. they said israel is already doing everything it can to protect the lives of civilians. so this is going to be increasing pressure international pressure on israel. and israel has to write a written report on what it is doing in a month's time and hand it to the court. >> nic robertson, keep us posted. we'll get back to you in a bit. want to bring in alex

marquardt. i understand that you've got new information on the status of hostage negotiations. >> reporter: well, john, what we've learned is that the cia director bill burns who has really been the biden administration's point person on hostage negotiations is going to be traveling to europe to meet with his israeli and egyptian counterparts as well as qatari prime minister. and these are really the main players when it comes to hostage negotiations. so this gives us an indication that the talks are progressing. this trip is coming on the heels of the top white house official brett mcgurk going over to also talk about hostage negotiations. we're told the meetings were productive, that they were sober and serious. but all of our sources are cautioning that we are not on the cusp of a deal, that nothing appears to be imminent. even hesitating to call the talks negotiations.

but the parties are at the table. and that is really important. and what we understand, john, both the israelis and hamas separately have put forward proposals that now the main mediator, u.s., qatar and egypt, are essentially trying to find common ground. and so there are still major sticking points. but if a bill were to be agreed to, what it would likely look like is a long pause in the fighting. we know israel has proposed as much as two months, the longest proposal that they have made so far in this war, that we would see the hostages released likely in phases, first women, children and the elderly, followed by the idf soldiers both men and women and bodies of hostages who have been killed. and also palestinian prisoners who hamas of course wants to see released from israeli prisons. but we also know there are passeng major sticking points. hamas wants to see an end to the

war and a comprehensive deal to end the war while israel for now wants to see their hostages come home but they want to continue their efforts to try to dismantle and destroy hamas. >> alex marquardt, again generally speaking, the cia director would be brought in as something of a closer in hostage negotiations, which means that they may think that they are close. we'll see. we don't have that much visibility on that. but that is the speculation. great to see you, alex. and day two of the trial for a school shooter's mother is now back under way. and we're trying to find out exactly when we will hear from jennifer crumbley herself on the stand. potentially today. also back in the sky, today alaska airlines plans to fly a 737 max 9 for the first time since the door panel flew off mid flight. details coming up.

just this, we are hearing about a letter from house speaker mike johnson explicitly warning the senate that the emerging bipartisan border deal is, quote, dead on arrival if it reaches the house and does not have key provisions that he wants. lauren fox with the latest on capitol hill. what are you hearing? >> reporter: yeah, this pronouncement from speaker mike johnson was made in a letter to his republican colleagues. house of representatives scheduled to return next week. and in that letter speaker johnson says, and i want to read part of it to you" i wanted to provide a brief update regarding the supplemental and border

since the senate appears unable to reach an agreement. if rumors about the contents of the draft proposal are true, it would have been dead on arrival in the house anyway." a couple of important notes and caveats to make here. there is no draft right now of the senate deal on border negotiations. in fact leaders are telling us that they expect that they could have text early next week. however, johnson is warning here that if some of those rumors are true, that it would be dead on rifle arrival in his chamber. negotiators have argued that some of those leaks are not actually accurate and the full context of the legislation needs to be taken in whole. but i do think that it underscores a really important moment. because johnson is returning with lawmakers on the hard right very frustrated about his leadership related to the spending negotiations, this obviously a moment where he is saying that house republicans need to be unified behind their

own border policy that they passed last year. something that is dead on arrival in the united states senate. he also made some new news in this letter by saying that the house of representatives will move quickly after the homeland security commi committee moves d with articles of impeachment against department of homelandm. and that would make him just the second cabinet secretary to be impeached. so he is warning that not only the border proposal is potentially dead on arrival in his chamber if looks like some of the leaked reports, but he is also warning that they are moving quickly with efforts to try to impeach secretary mayorkas. >> lauren fox, keep us posted obviously. these things are developing all morning long. and many republicans you can see on capitol hill has been quick to line up behind donald trump for president. there is growing concern among

some conservatives about what a third trump run could mean for down ballot races. those fears now prompting conservative groups and donors to shift focus away from the presidential race and to congress as they fight to keep the house and flip the senate this election. kristen holmes has more. what are you learning about this? >> yeah, this is unsurprising because we know republican's goal in addition to taking the white house is to hold on to the house and flip the senate. and there is a group that believe that becomes infinitely harder if donald trump is at the top of the ticket. so now you are seeing some of the donors migrate toward the down ballot races particularly if they were given to nikki haley and it seems more and more likely every day that donald trump will be the republican nominee. we have to keep in mind there is a huge group of donors and organizations that still hold conservative values but don't support donald trump. and they want somewhere to put their money. and one of those groups is americans for prosperity. this is the koch group, they can

currently backing haley they were never going to give money to donald trump. but now they are saying that they will pour money into flipping democratic senate seats particularly in michigan, monday t 3407b tan montana, pennsylvania wisconsin. and the other part of this is a fear with trump endorsements we'd see a repeat of 2022 where the map favored republicans and they did not do nearly as well as they wanted to do, some of that because trump endorsed candidates kind of fuzzled out in the general election. we are told donald trump doesn't want to endorse as many people as he did in 2022, he wants to focus on his own campaign. he will obviously back certain lawmakers, he is already backing kari lake for example. but he will be much more length difference in that process. i do want to give one caveat.le difference in that process. i do want to give one caveat.

candidate is being becoming somewhat of a kingmaker or at least a figure head of the republican party. as people line up behind him, unclear whether or not this is going to change as he starts talking to more and more people, more people coming to his door asking for support. >> but as you've pointed out perfectly, his track record with down ballot races since he was elected president speaks for itself in terms of it is just losses. and that is what they are looking at. good to see you. thank you. and we have breaking news just coming in. israeli authorities have provided the united nations relief works agency with information that alleges the involvement of several members of its staff in the october 7 hamas terror attacks in southern israel. nic robertson is joining us with the details. this is a very big story. they have provided many different things in gaza for many years. this news cannot be good for

that agency or those who rely on it. >> reporter: it is very damaging. there are about 10,000 people inside of gaza who work for unrwa or were before october 7 and these allegations state that some up unrwa's employees were involved in the hamas deadly and horrific killings and brutal attacks on october 7. so this is very, very damning accusation. unrwa released a statement saying that they will urgently investigate this. they have identified the staff that were involved as far as they know so far, all of those have been suspended. they have spoken to the u.n. secretary-general who has expressed that he is horrified about this and asked that unrwa do everything that they can to fully investigate. and it appears as well also the state department has reacted to this now as well.

the state department saying that they are suspending for now the aid that they have been giving to unrwa in the past. and from their knowledge this report refers to 12 individuals from unrwa who were involved in the hamas attacks. this is very damaging for unrwa. as the state department goes on to say, unrwa provides an has provided for a long time important humanitarian support and aid, unrwa run many of the shelters, hundreds of displaced palestinians sheltering. this idea that unrwa is not fully impartial, that people sympathetic to hamas is within their numbers, something that israel has always considered a danger.

and now they have presented unrwa with this evidence. so in the meantime, before this fill review has been thoroughly completed, that question mark will remain. and that was something that antony blinken had spoken to the u.n. secretary-general about yesterday. talked about the importance that this full thorough and independent accounting review, if you will, of unrwa's practices, that the u.n. secretary-general says that he will call upon unrwa to put in place. so this is very fast breaking information and news, just beginning to digest this, but yes, this is certainly damaging on the reputation of unrwa at this moment. >> and it is a crucial moment as this war has gone on for this long. and the united states as you mentioned sent out a statement

from the state department saying that it is extremely troubled by the allegations of course. and we've also gotten word that the head of unrwa fired staff members who were allegedly involved in the october 7 attacks. there will be investigations, there will be a lot of talk about this for many, many days to come. thank you so much, i know you got it as we got it and you went through it for us. nic robertson in tel aviv, thank you. appreciate your reporting. and we're getting breaking news? no, am i teasing? okay. this morning a brand new report on inflation, what it is revealing about the u.s. economy.

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a whole lot going on all of a sudden inside the closing arguments in the defamation damages trial against donald trump. trump walked into the courtroom late. he walked out when the plaintiffs were delivering their closing arguments. at one point the judge had to warn defense lawyers that they were close to being thrown in the lockup. let's get right to kara scannell who ran out from inside that courtroom to give us an explanation of what was going on. what have you been seeing is this. >> reporter: yeah, an eventful morning that had nothing to do with even the closing arguments. it began when donald trump's team was already late which the judge noted when he took the bench. and then donald trump did enter the courtroom and they were

arguing still before the jury even got in there about a slide that the trump's team wanted to use in their presentation and carroll's lawyer said it included things not in evidence in the case. the judge said it was out. that is when trump's attorney stood up to challenge the judge on his ruling. he has made it clear throughout this trial when he rules he rules. she started to challenge him and he hit his limit and said you are on the verge of spending some time in the lockup. now sit down. then at this point we were moving in to closing arguments. the jury was brought in and carroll's team started their statements by telling the jury what this case was about, the statements that donald trump had made. and carroll's attorney roberta caplan was specifically saying at this moment that trump didn't respect the jury verdict last year and that he hasn't even respected it -- he didn't respect it for 24 hours because that is when went on the cnn town hall repeating the statements that the jury had just found to be defamatory. it was at that moment that trump

got up from his seat, turned and walked out of the courtroom abruptly. at that moment the judge interrupted saying for the record, for the court reporter to say that donald trump had just got up and left the courtroom and then carroll's lawyer continued her closing arguments. and they reminded the jury that trump is not above the law that anyone should be held responsible for statement, anyone else would. so they are asking a jury to award carroll more than $12 million in this case. >> did trump ever walk back in that you saw? >> reporter: no, trump hasn't returned. one of his lawyers, boris epstein, did walk back in at one point and was standing and the judge called him out by name to sit down. so the judge is not taking anymore interruptions in this case. and we have not seen donald trump appear. we also haven't seen the motorcade leave. it appears to be still in the

courthouse, but not the courtroom. >> so somewhere presumably inside that courthouse, maybe waiting for when his attorneys present their closing arguments? any sense of when that will begin? >> reporter: so carroll's team said they would go for about an hour and they had a little bit of a late start. so she probably has a bit more to go. but then we expect elena habba do her closing statement. and then the judge will instruct the jury. so we'll look to see if he does rush w return when his lawyer is giving his statement. but the judge said he didn't want anyone, not the party, no one in the courtroom to do anything to interrupt the closing arguments. >> we'll see how that has gone. obviously an eventful morning. terrific having you explain to us what you are seeing here. because it isn't unfolding i think as the judge was hoping. we'll let you get back inside. keep us posted.

>> and we'll continue to bring you updates on what is happening in that courtroom. right now also a jury in michigan is hearing more witness testimony and the jury is facing an unprecedented question. should a mother be held criminally responsible after her son committed the worst school shooting in the state's history? court today began with tension as jennifer crumbley's defense attorney argued with the judge over testimony. you remember she and her husband are charged after their son killed four of their classmates at oxford high school in 2021. their son, he will spend his life in prison after pleading guilty. let's go back to today now. jean casarez has been following this. and you've been watching all of these proceedings live. what is happening? >> a lot of argument in this courtroom too. it started out with a bang because the defense long time ago said we want to put our son on the stand. we want ethan to take the stand during the defense case. and now the defense is saying that they are understanding that

their son, jennifer crumbley's son, will plead the fifth, that he will not testify. but the prosecution is going to bring in all these texts, that he texted his friends saying i told my friend i wanted mental health treatment and they laughed and wouldn't help me, but he admitted to see you could i sigh die terroristpsychiatris a law. here is the judge. >> i think that it is disingenuous for the defense to say that they are surprised that the shooter would be taking the fifth. you are a very smart, very experienced attorney. and, you know, all this stuff is sitting on my desk. you can't put someone on the stand knowing that they will take the fifth and aside from shooter what is your favorite

color, what question could you ask him that would not implicate his fifth amendment rights? >> i'm sorry, this has to be a clear record. >> it won't an clear record now because the jury is sitting there.an clear record now because the jury is sitting there. >> so it appears as though the defense is also not going to get a win because they want the psychiatrists, the jail psychiatrists, to take the stand or to have the medical records where it is documented that he lied to his friends saying that he asked his parents for help. >> there is so much to this. and the text messages even beyond the ones that you are citing here, text messages between ethan and his parents around it, i mean, there is so much, this is such a tragedy what has happened. >> and the defense has a right to a fair trial. but you also have a privilege against self-incrimination. and ethan crumbley's attorneys are appealing the life in prison without any possibility of

parole. they want possibility of parole for him in michigan. >> and that is clearly a part of all of this. thank you so much. and this is continuing as we speak. she will be back with more up dates. we'll be right back.

unrwaunrwa. new data shows big progress toward the federal reserve inflation goals. the central bank's favorite inflation gauge pca index held steady at 2.6% in december. that is 0.6 percentage points

from the fed's goal of 2%. the report comes as new pew research poll shows american's view of the economy has gotten a little brighter. but president biden's approval rating still remains low as he embraces the improving economy on the campaign trail. priscilla alvarez is at the white house with more. people are spending more, people seem to be pretty happy with the gas prices. prices have dropped some. and yet biden doesn't seem to be getting any of the credit for this. is that what you are hearing? >> that is the challenge for the white house and for the biden campaign, making the connection to voters that what they are feeling is connected. the white house says to what president biden has done for the economy. and just moments ago, he touted this pce report saying that it is an important milestone, that means more breathing room for work families. the way the president will try to convey this message by hitting the road. and clear example of that is his pitch in wisconsin yesterday where he made the connection

between his legislative accomplishments on infrastructure and transits point between wisconsin and minnesota and the fresh round of funding that was going to that bridge. that he called a vital link for the u.s. economy. and so that is what he will be doing over the months to come, visiting different places including battleground wisconsin to make the connection to voters that what they are seeing and feeling on the ground is directly correlated to what he's done in washington the last three years. polling has shown that has not quite resonated yet. so this will be a challenge. but you can expect to hear from the white house over the course of today and in the months to do that there are positive indicators in the economy that voters will feel and perhaps feel a little brighter about moving into november. >> priscilla, thank you so much for all your reporting. coastal storms this winter have washed away businesses that have food for generations.

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(kaz) smooth. (vo) fargo puts important information at your fingertips. (dad) fargo, what did i spend on groceries this month? (son) hey dad, can the guys stay for dinner? (dad) no... (vo) want to see everything fargo can do? you can, with wells fargo. the state of maine is bracing for sea levels to rise by a foot and a half in the next 25 years. rising 4 feet by the year 2100. but way before then, the coastline is already seeing the real damage in real time. bill weir goes to new england to see just how fast things are changing from the climate crisis. >>. >> reporter: on a planet warmed to record highs by fossil fuel pollution, the gulf of maine is among those corners of earth

overheating the fastest. this is driving lobster and cod further offshore making it harder to make a living off of the sea. but then warming climate brought another devastating blow this month. two of them actually. back to back freakishly wet winter storms that came not from the typical northeast, but from the south. and at record high tide, combination that brought down wharfs and docks that has been part of the landscape for generations. so this is what that was? >> yeah, the whole building. >> no way. >> just generations and generations of stuff. a lot of memory down this. >> reporter: meanwhile in south portland, the storm surge took three iconic fish shacks built on willard beach 136 years ago. >> pretty obvious they are gone. if you've never been here before -- >> you wouldn't know. >> and didn't leave any

impression up there either. there is no trace of them what whatsoever. only impression we have is an emotional impression. >> reporter: the storms buried the last high water record literally. >> down there in the hull is the 1978 blizzard high water mark. it was covered by sand in this most recent storm. >> reporter: but all of this is what happens after just 72 1/2 inches of sea level rise in the last 100 years. and science is telling maine to brace for much more in the next 25. >> maine is preparing for a foot and a half of sea level rise by 2050 and 4 feet by 2100. so there are people experiencing devastating intentergenerationa loss right now and recognizing the realities of climate change and say, how high and how strong do i need to rebuild or do i rebuild at all. >> were you ensured? >> no. it is so expensive for insurance

for anything over the water. so like me and whoever, we can't afford it. >> reporter: monique advocates for fishermen. which these days include sounding the alarm of a growing mental health crisis. >> you have memories there, you learned to fish there, your kids learned to fish there. and then these storms come along and it is completely gone. that coupled with your community changing because now there is more mansions than there are fish houses, that takes processing. that is a sense of loss and grief and a way of life that is sort of fading. and we're in a precarious position in the industry right now. but fishermen are some of the most resilient people i know. they are stubborn which is a blessing and a curse. and they are really good problem solvers. so if anybody can build back after storms, if anybody can contend with climate change, i think that it is those guys. and gals. >> reporter: so next time that you have a lobster roll, spare a

thought for the families up here. another an norabnormally warm winter storm. also a blow to the winter sports towns of new england thinking about inter-generational loss. >> and we say this over and over. we're showing the video again of the fishing shacks built 136 years ago you said. and wiped out in minutes. it is not the coming crisis, it is the current crisis. forget where it will be in 25 years or beyond, what you are seeing and showing is things need to happen right now. >> reporter: it is here. >> bill, thanks. breaking news, relief workers for u.n. agency fired after stunning allegations that they were involved in the october 7 hamas terror attacks.