[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.

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. on friday, u.s. president joe biden attended the dignified transfer of the three american soldiers killed in the drone attack in jordan. the remains of sergeants william rivers, kennedy sanders, and breonna moffett were carefully carried off a military plane in delaware. president biden along with first lady jill biden met with their families. presidents don't always attend the solemn ritual, but this is biden's second as commander in chief. the dignified transfer happened on the same day that the u.s. retaliated for that drone attack in jordan, hitting 85 targets

linked to iran backed militias in iraq and syria. the syrian military says the u.s. air strikes have caused significant damage and killed civilians and military personnel in the eastern region of syria and near the syrian/iraq ca border. cnn cannot independently verify the number or nature of the casualties. the u.s. warned that this is only the beginning of its response. oren liebermann has more details. >> reporter: the u.s. carrying out strikes at seven locations across iraq and syria, more precisely four in syria, three in iraq, targeting 85 different targets and using more than 125 precision-guided weapons. that is an order of magnitude more powerful than the strikes we've seen the u.s. carry out in iraq and syria over the course of the past several months. it's also worth noting this is the first time we have seen the u.s. strike iraq and syria simultaneously. meanwhile, in a briefing following these strikes, the white house and dod say from

what they nationally know of the strikes, they were successful at hitting the targets they were going for, and that included a long list of facilities used by iran's islamic revolutionary guards corps quds force and associated militias here. command and control operation centers, intelligence centers, weapon storage facilities. you can really see the u.s. going after the types of weapons used to target u.s. forces in the region and all of the logistics and essentially command and control needed to carry out those sorts of attacks. the u.s. had made it clear it wasn't trying to start a war with iran here and very much trying to avoid that possibility. so no strikes in iran directly, but very much going after iran's proxies in the region and the ability of the proxies to carry out these ongoing attacks on u.s. forces. worth noting that these strikes, of course, come five days after a drone attack in the region killed three u.s. service members in jordan and wounded scores more. but it's not just that. there have been more than 160

attacks on u.s. forces in the region, and this was effectively a more powerful response to all of that. and yet there is no expectation that this is the end of it because president joe biden saying there could very well be more to come, and defense secretary lloyd austin even being more blunt about this in a statement afterward saying this is the start of our response. the key question here, of course, what does the rest of that response look like, and where does it play out? oren liebermann, cnn, in the pentagon. let's now take a look at the equipment used by the u.s. to conduct these strikes. it includes air force b-1 bombers, a defense official told cnn. it's a long-range heavy bomber that can deploy precision and non-precision weapons, and it can hold 24 cruise missiles. the u.s. says the b-1 bombers that flew from the u.s. made it in one nonstop flight. joining us now is mick ryan, a retired major general in the

australian army. now talk to us about this b-1. was this used for military reasons, for symbolic reasons, or perhaps both? >> well, the use of the b-1 comes on the end of its use in iraq and afghanistan over the last two decades. at the end of the day, the b-1 is a good platform to carry a whole lot of munitions. and when you're doing these planings, it's the munitions that are the most important consideration. it can kcar carry a lot of them >> in terms of symbolism, this is saying to iran, we can fly from texas. we can fly to syria, so we can fly to iran should we need to? >> yeah, certainly it's sending that kind of message. it's sending a message to the proxies to knock it off. they try and conduct these strikes to try and de-escalate the situation but also to respond to the deaths of these

three u.s. army sergeants six days ago to say, if you're going to kill our people, there's a large price to pay. >> in terms of the impact of these strikes, we're still learning exactly what was hit. we're hearing various things from various countries. what do you think that these strikes might have achieved? i mean they're not just hitting these militias. they seem to be hitting, you know, revolutionary guard facilities and perhaps trying to compromise the supply lines from iran to these militias? >> well, the initial round of strikes will have targeted command centers. they would have hoped to kill some of the advisers to send a strong message to iran as well as the supplies of missiles and rockets. at the end of the day, the really important thing these strikes will do will be to prompt a reaction from these militias that will probably unveil other targets for the days that are to come. >> what do we expect to see next? so you're suggesting that there

might be a response from these militias, which sort of gives their position away? >> absolutely. you'll see them squirting out all over the place potentially. now, they've had time to prepare. not just the last six days, but for months now as they've undertaken these attacks without a response from the u.s. so they'll be prepared for these kind of strikes. but inevitably they will now do things that will unveil them, that will allow the u.s. and the jordanians to strike them again over the coming days. >> but the u.s. is never going to be able to destroy these militias completely. they could degrade them, but they're still going to be there, right? >> absolutely. i mean the aim of this whole campaign appears not to be the total destruction of militias. it's about de-escalation. as your reporter said, there's been over 160 attacks on u.s. installations and people. what the u.s. is trying to do is de-escalate the situation while

saying to iran, please hold your militias into order. >> major general, thank you very much for your time. the u.n. says southern gaza's humanitarian crisis is like a pressure cooker as intense fighting thrives thousands of people to flee further south. that story and more after a quick break.

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with this great offer. plus, ask how to get up to $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. this is a dangerous moment in the middle east. we will continue to work to avoid a wider conflict in the region. but we will take all necessary

actions to defend the united states, our interest, and our people. >> welcome back. that was the pentagon chief on thursday, a little more than a day before the u.s. hit dozens of iran-linked militia targets in syria and iraq. the strikes are retaliation for the deadly attack on a u.s. base that killed three american soldiers. syrian media and iraqi officials have identified some of the locations that were hit with syria's military claiming that an unspecified number of civilians and soldiers were killed. it's not clear yet how iran or its proxies will respond. cnn international diplomatic editor nic robertson has the regional state of play. >> reporter: well, of course one of the big concerns for the united states going into these strikes is that it didn't trigger a further escalation in the region. the tensions already clearly very high. the northern border of israel

with hezbollah has exchange of fire every day. the idf is engaged with hamas inside of gaza. the question is could these strikes then trigger a misinterpretation of another move? could it trigger one of iran's proxies in iraq and syria to strike back aggressively and therefore escalate the situation. the first we've heard is from the iraqi government. a spokesman for the army there is saying it's a violation of their sovereignty. now, we've heard them say this before, so that in itself not necessarily an escalation. the biggest and strongest of the iran backed militias inside of iraq, kata'ib hezbollah, just before the strikes, minutes before the strikes on their telegram channel, they said they were waiting for hours about what to do next, an indication they're waiting for tehran, their main sponsor, to tell them how to respond to the events of the night. it's not clear yet how much damage has been done, how many

of the irgc members and how much of their weapons have been damaged and destroyed overnight. but i think perhaps looking to what the president of iran has said, he said we're not looking to get into a direct fight with the united states. but he's clearly hinting very strongly that there will be a response. he said, we will deal with bullies authoritatively. i think in the language of this region, that means the united states strikes, though there will be more, they certainly won't be the last word from iran's proxies in the region. nic robertson, cnn, tel aviv, israel. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken will travel to the middle east on sunday to continue hostage negotiations. the u.s. state department says he will travel to israel, the west bank, qatar, egypt, and saudi arabia to work on a deal

to secure the release of hostages held in gaza. the leaders of hamas and islamic jihad are calling for a, quote, complete end to the aggression and the full withdrawal of israeli forces from gaza as part of any deal. however, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has said as recently as this week that he would not agree to a full withdrawal from gaza until israel has completed its goal of eliminating hamas. the u.n. says the escalating fighting around khan younis is forcing thousands of civilians to flee further south. the u.n.'s humanitarian office says the surge of people into rafah has turned the city into a, quote, pressure cooker of despair. israel's military claims it killed dozens of hamas fighters in recent days. the health ministry in gaza said israel has killed 112 people and wounded 148 in 24 hours between thursday and friday.

the palestinian red crescent is calling for a humanitarian corridor to allow people to flee al amal hospital in khan younis. the area has seen some of the heaviest fighting in the enclave in recent weeks, and thousands had to take shelter at the hospital. israel's military claims it is dismantling hamas military framework in khan younis. more than 800 officials from the united states and europe have signed a letter criticizing their government's policies toward israel. they are calling on their governments to, quote, use all leverage to secure a cease-fire, and they accuse their governments of failing to hold israel to the same standards they apply to other countries. the international court of justice says one part of the genocide-related case brought by ukraine against russia can

proceed. ukraine filed the case just days after russia invaded. moscow had claimed their invasion was sparked by ukraine carrying out genocide in the east of ukraine where the two sides have been fighting since 2014. ukraine wants the court to declare that that is not so. the court will proceed on that, but the court will not rule on ukraine's claim that russia's invasion itself is genocide. meanwhile, ukraine's military chief is still attending top-level meetings despite reports that he's about to be fired. on friday, president volodymyr zelenskyy met with general valerie zaluzhnyi and other officials to discuss military matters. mr. zelenskyy later referred to zaluzhnyi as the commander in chief in a social media post. sources have told cnn that the general is expected to be out of his job by the end of the week, and his dismissal would be the

biggest military shake-up in ukraine since the start of russia's invasion. an unusual trial in the u.s. state of michigan. a jury will decide whether the mother of a teenage school shooter should go to prison for her son's crimes.

south carolina's democratic primary gets under way in the coming hours. it's the democrats' first official nominating contest of the 2024 presidential race. and while it's not competitive,

it's expected to provide a snapshot of where president joe biden stands with voters, especially black voters, a core constituency of the democratic party. state republicans won't hold their primary until february 24th while nevada's gop will choose their candidate in the coming week. but republican presidential candidate nikki haley remained in south carolina friday, working to pull off a long-shot win in her home state and taking aim at democrats. >> they're trying to get everybody that they know to vote in the democrat primary so that joe can get whatever he is going to get. and, you know, i've always spoken in hard truths, and i'm going to speak to you in hard truths again today because that's what i did as your governor. we will have a female president of the united states. >> but the odds are against haley. a new monmouth

university/"washington post" poll finds her trailing former president donald trump in the state by more than 25 points. amid trump's growing court cases, the federal overseeing his election interference case in washington, d.c. has postponed that trial. proceedings were set to start on march 4th, but as cnn's katelyn polantz reports, the delay is zhu to trump's appeal on his claims of presidential immunity. >> reporter: donald trump's first criminal trial will no longer be about the 2020 election and the end of his presidency. that is because a federal judge on friday said it couldn't begin on march 4th. the reason is because the law hasn't been worked out yet. there are questions about presidential immunity, whether trump even can face trial, that are before an appeals court. that appeals court hasn't ruled in weeks, and so as the wait for the opinion continues day after day after day, that means that trump's team is not preparing

for trial and that the trial is not going to be able to go forward as scheduled. this is the trial in washington, d.c., a federal case against trump. but he is still set to go to trial in march, in the end of march, in fact, is when the manhattan district attorney, alvin bragg, is set to put on his case against trump now as a defendant related to a hush money scheme and the falsification of business records. so right now that is supposed to be the first criminal trial against trump on the calendar. there is a lot of moving parts here. trial dates do move, and this case with judge tanya chutkan, there is much anticipation of when the appeals court will determine what the law is here, when it will go back to judge chutkan, and when that 2020 election case could be put back on the calendar, and especially whether it will happen before the presidential election of 2024. something the justice department very much wants to happen no matter when the manhattan d.a.'s case and other cases against trump go forward.

so we will wait and see that. trump, of course, doesn't want this trial to happen before the presidential election in november. it would shine quite a light on the end of his presidency, how he managed his white house. there would be formal officials called to testify against him, very possibly his own former vice president, mike pence, and it would put a spotlight on how donald trump viewed elections in a critical moment where he's still running for the american presidency. katelyn polantz, cnn, washington. now to the latest in the georgia 2020 election subversion case against trump and more than a dozen of his allies. fulton county district attorney fani willis and her lead prosecutor, nathan wade, have acknowledged in court papers they have a personal relationship in addition to their professional one. but they strongly deny claims by one of trump's co-defendants that willis benefited financially from hiring wade.

willis says the relationship should not disqualify her from the case. willis, wade, and some of their colleagues could be forced to testify at a hearing on the matter in about two weeks. she has called for the hearing to be canceled. trump's team says she should be dismissed from the case. jennifer crumbley, the mother of a high school shooter, wrapped up testimony in her manslaughter trial in michigan on friday. the jury is expected to begin deliberating on monday whether she should go to prison for her role in her son's actions. cnn's jean cazares has more on that story. >> we actually saw the last day he was practicing to kill four of his classmates, and there was only one person with him, ladies and gentlemen, and her name is jennifer crumbley. >> it was unforeseeable. no one expected this. no one could have expected this, including mrs. crumbley.

>> reporter: attorneys making their final pitches to persuade the jury in this historic trial of the mother of the oxford, michigan, school shooter. >> she walked out of that school when just the smallest, smallest of things could have saved, could have helped hannah and tate and madison and justin. just the smallest of things. and not only did she not do it, she doesn't even regret it. >> the crumbleys son was a skilled manipulator, and they didn't realize it. he's not sick. he doesn't have a mental illness. no parent would purchase a weapon if they believed their child had mental illnesses. >> reporter: before closing arguments began, jennifer crumbley faced cross-examination, testifying she knew her son was acting depressed after his only friend moved away just one month before the shooting. >> but you knew to be true in

november of 2021 that he had no peer support. >> i don't know what he had in school. he had told me he had friends in school he talks to. >> okay. you never met them, though? >> no. >> and he didn't have any clubs at school he was a part of? >> no. >> reporter: jennifer crumbley is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter. she has pleaded not guilty. the prosecution pressing crumbley on her actions the day of the shooting. that morning the school called in jennifer crumbley and her husband after discovering a violent drawing their son made on his map worksheet. >> what about the thoughts won't stop, help me, does that ring out to you? >> yes, that was concerning to me. >> blood everywhere, and there's a bullet, and actually you were the one who bought the bullets on november 27th. >> correct. >> you later came to learn those bullets were used in the shooting. >> i did. >> >> reporter: in the meeting at school, crumb bley did not mention the gun purchased for their son.

>> you didn't tell them you had gotten that christmas gift. >> i didn't think it was relevant, no. >> you acknowledged you didn't go home to look for that firearm after the meeting at the school. >> we wouldn't have a reason to. >> reporter: her son used that gun to kill four of his classmates. after that meeting on november 30th, 2021. the prosecution asking crumbley whether she neglected her son, pointing to how often she spent time with her horses. >> your son could have been with you those three, four, five times a week when you were at the barn. >> he could have, yes. >> and on november 30th of 2021 at 12:51 p.m., could you have been with him. >> i could have, yes. >> and you didn't. >> no. >> reporter: in closings, crumbley's lawyer dismissing that argument. >> just because she spends money and time on horses doesn't mean she doesn't love her son. >> reporter: closing arguments

concluded late friday afternoon. the jury will return on monday, where they will hear instructions from the judge, and then they will begin their deliberations. jean cazares, cnn, new york. thousands of sheep and cattle have been stuck on a ship for nearly a month. we'll tell you what australia is doing with them. that's next.

an update on a story we've been following from australia. thousands of sheep and cattle stranded aboard an israeli-owned ship off the coast. the australian government started off-loading several hundred cattle from the ship friday night. the ship had originally left fremantle january 5th, bound for the middle east. it turned around 15 days into its journey due to what australia is calling a worsening security situation in the red sea. dozens of french farmers say they'll continue to protest because the government has not addressed their concerns about climate change. more than 100 farmers blocked a supermarket in western france on friday. elsewhere in the country, many other farmers started lifting blockades after the government announced concessions. to the north, dutch and belgian farmers joined together in a border blockade the same day, complaining in part about eu regulations.

>> translator: my message to europe is that they should think very carefully. we have very nice products here in the eu, and we want to continue to make those products. >> translator: people are fed up. we can see it clearly. given the scale of the mobilization, we know the level of being fed up has reached its maximum. >> translator: why are we carrying on? because lots of us farmers think we haven't been heard. we think sustainability matters. >> farmers have been protesting for weeks in many european countries about competition from ukraine and other issues. california is bracing for a new storm system to hit the state on sunday. it's expected to bring more flooding and heavy mountain snow into early next week. cnn meteorology chad myers has

the details. >> another very heavy round of rain in store for central california from the bay area all the way down to southern california. after what we saw just a couple of days ago, record-breaking rainfalls across socal. even l.a. picked up 2.49 inches in one day. the total for the entire month of february should be around 3 inches. so almost an entire month's worth of rain in just 24 hours. the next atmospheric river is on the way for southern california. it will make significant rains from the bay area down through monterey and all the way down even towards santa barbara and eventually into l.a. it's going to take a while to get there, but something else that's going to happen are significantly gusty winds here along the central coast. we are going to see wind gusts 50 to 75 miles per hour. that will bring down trees. that will bring down power lines, all of those things that happen, and especially in places that already have saturated ground from the rain we picked up three days ago. so here it is. the storm does come into san francisco first. snow in the sierra.

then all the way down even toward about santa barbara by the time we work our way into sunday morning. it gets into l.a. later in the day and into the night. then it pushes to the east. how long this heavy band of rain stays over southern california before it moves inland is going to be the big question mark. how much of this forecasted rainfall actually comes down before it moves away. if this storm or if this frontal little system here begins to stall and it rains for hours and hours and hours, there will be a significant flood event for socal. all the way up even towards san francisco. certainly along the coast where from monterey all the way down even toward pismo beach, in the mountains could pick up a dozen inches of rainfall. not along the coast as much, but when you start to push that air up into the mountains, all of that water has to run back downhill, and we know what happens to the highway when that happens. so, yes, we have only 53% of the

snowpack in the sierra, so we'll take the snow. but it's that heavy, heavy rainfall that is going to run off, possibly with mudslides, all the things that could happen. it just deat just depends on wh storm stalls, if it does, over california. tez la is recalling 2.2 million vehicles in the united states. regulators say the font size on the warning lights for functions such as anti-lock braking is too small. they say that can make critical safety information difficult to read. even though it's classified as a recall, the problem will actually be fixed with an over-the-air software update. tesla owners won't have to take their vehicles to a service center. take a look at outer space as you've never seen it before. the webb telescope captured these images of 19 spiral galaxies in unprecedented detail. they showcase the stars, gas,

and dust within the intricate structure of each galaxy. it features clusters of old stars or super massive black holes. astronomers say they are excited to study the newest, most massive stars in the galaxies. they say they hope to learn how galaxies nurture and cease the formation of stars. thanks for joining us. i'm nick watt in los angeles. i'll be back same time tomorrow. "cnn newsroom" with kim is next.

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