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♪ top of the hour. good morning, everyone. so glad you're with us. i'm poppy harlow with phil mattingly in new york. congress preparing to vet on a republican resolution to impeach the homeland security secretary for failing to secure the border. meanwhile a bipartisan bill to secure the border may be doomed in the senate because of relentless attacks from some republicans and donald trump. prince harry on his way to the uk to see his ailing father this morning, king charles, pulling back from his public duties while he undergoes treatment for cancer. breaking overnight, toby keith died after a battle with stomach cancer. we'll look back at his life. "cnn this morning" starts right now. ♪ here is what we begin. we're about to see two very different votes on capitol hill as a crisis at the southern border continues to escalate. just hours from now, house

republicans will try to impeach homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas. the white house called it unprecedented, unconstitutional and political retribution with no basis in law or fact. at the same exact moment, donald trump and gop relationship launching an all-out war to kill the bill. it's on the brink of defeat before a key vote in the senate tomorrow. trump is issuing a new warning for republican senators who support the deal. >> i think it probably would mean the end of their career. this is a democrat trap. it's a trap for republicans that would be so stupid, so foolish to sign a bill like this. this bill can't be signed. >> and even if the senate manages to pass a border deal, that's a huge if right now, speaker mike johnson making it abundantly clear the house won't even consider it. >> we did read through it, laura. it did not take long to realize that this is dead on arrival. there's no way we could bring

this through the house. what it would do is actually further incentivize illegal immigration. the bill itself would do more harm than good. that's why we said it's a nonstarter over here in the house. >> let's bring in lauren fox. lauren, good morning. will the vote be close today? >> reporter: well, the expectation from republican leaders is they'll be able to get this across the finish line. we watching really closely. you have people like representative ken buck who are a posed to moving forward with impeaching secretary mayorkas. one thing is sure, senate democrats are going to have to make a decision if the decision is made in the house to impeach mayorkas as to what they're going to do in their chamber, specifically, are they going the try to move to dismiss this quickly. a quick trial in the senate. move this to a senate committee in order to clear the deck and not take much time on the senate floor which is very precious to deal with this impeachment. a lot of senate democrats that i

talked to last night said they think this is blatantly political. but at the same time, there are constitutional considerations, procedural considerations they have to make. so, we expect that this will be approved in the house tonight. where it goes from there i think is still a very open question. senate democratic aides are still reviewing past impeachments of nonpresidents to make a decision to look at the precedent and see whether or not they have any maneuvering, any room to really try and move this along pretty quickly. >> lauren, when it comes to the bipartisan border package, house republican leaders made very clear, they're not going to put it on the floor. that's a kill shot in and of itself to the legislation. my bigger question right now, are any republicans going to vote for it in the senate? a bipartisan deal negotiated by a republican, are they all going to vote no? >> reporter: well, it's really interesting. i'm standing outside of that republican conference meeting last night where they were talking about this bill. and inside that meeting minority leader mitch mcconnell does what we know him to do often, which

is he told members that they should vote their conscience if they feel like they aren't ready to vote to advance this bill on wednesday in a procedural vote, they shouldn't feel obligated to do so. they can vote against it. it's really fascinating because senator lankford worked for months on this was also talking about the fact that a lot of members aren't ready. phil, you've been around for a long time on capitol hill. you know, often more time does not make the political situation any easier. and i think more time is only going to do the inevitable which is to kill this effort that they have been working on for several months now. >> he's not that old, lauren. he's not that old. >> she called me old. >> i didn't say you were old. just that you've been around the hill. expert on the hill. >> thank you, lauren. >> thanks, bud. next hour, we'll be joined by the house minority leader hakeem jeffries about this upcoming vote to impeach secretary mayorkas. stay with us for that. there's more rain on the way

in california after an atmospheric river unleashed vicious storm and record rainfall. impacted travel and power. two people were killed by trees that toppled during that storm. flash floods and landslides sent vehicles down rivers of mud. 35 million people remain under flood threat right now. meteorologist chad myers is tracking all of it from los angeles. chad, what are you seeing right now? >> reporter: i'm seeing a place that picked up 11.81 inches as of 10:00 p.m. last night and it hasn't stopped raining all night long. that may be over a foot of rain. something else i'm seeing, this brick in the mud. don't know where it came from. hopefully it was a brick walkway and not something more substantial. this is the mess we're dealing with here as the water went up the canyons, down the rivers and even in the streets. some of the pictures are quite striking. on slaugt of rain pummelling california, killing at least three people and there's more rain on the way. >> it was like thunder.

and then the sound of trees, i thought, snapping like twigs. and it was just this house. just completely disintegrating. >> reporter: the national weather service is calling this atmospheric river weather event one of the most dramatic weather days in recent memory in los angeles. >> it sounded like a plane crashing or freight train. something like that. just boulders and mud. >> reporter: in los angeles, mud slides left cars stranded in impassable streets and left homes destroyed. >> this is the foundation of 10334 caribou lane. and this is where the house sits now. >> reporter: 120 mud slides reported in this highly populated city, marking the third wettest two-day stretch on record. flooding was also a factor. after this massive rain event slammed into southern california, leaving roads like raging rivers. the los angeles fire department is seen here lowering down to grab a man from the flood waters

after he jumped in to rescue the dog. the dog was also rescued and is safe. president biden pledging his support for california during this state of emergency, by calling into a press conference with los angeles mayor karen bass. >> we'll get any help on the way as soon as you guys request it. >> reporter: downed trees were a concern in this santa cruz community, with one hitting a mobile home. luckily no one was inside at the time. >> we were just looking out the window. just start falling down. just kind of screamed and kind of hide. hoping it wasn't going to hit the house. >> reporter: and in this small community of boulder creek, one man was killed when this tree fell on his home. his neighbors heard the moment of impact. >> the thing we heard was somebody screaming. but then the screaming stopped. like, if you ever heard a wounded dog, like that. but it wasn't a dog. -human. >> reporter: this atmospheric river is reaching into the sierra nevada mountains where

heavy snowfall is helping the snow impact. >> we'll take it where we can get it. >> reporter: the heaviest rain right now this morning is headed down to san diego county. this is just light rain. this is not going to make more flooding. but there's just no place for this to soak in. any more rainfall is just going to run off. it literally sounds like i'm standing near a water fall. all the water rushing down the road still this morning. >> still the keyword there. stunning pictures. chad myers, thank you. breaking news this morning, sad news to tell you about, country singer toby keith died after a battle with stomach cancer. ♪ ♪ i should have been a cowboy ♪ ♪ i should have learned to roll around ♪ >> his family released a statement overnight saying he died peacefully surrounded by his family. >> keith was diagnosed in 2022. he fought his fight with grace and courage. toby keith was 62 years old.

he is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren. majority of americans want donald trump's federal election subversion trial decided before the november election. is that possible? we'll break down the new cnn polling. prince harry rushing home to see his father king charles as he begins cancer treatment. new details on the king's diagnosis ahead.

♪ britten's king charles stepping back from public duties after his cancer diagnosis. he was treated last month for enlarged prostate, but a royal source tells cnn that the king does not have prostate cancer. prince william, next in line to the throne l return to public duties after taking time to support his wife after her own surgery. prince harry also heading to the united kingdom to see his father. anna stewart joins us from london. i mean, everyone praying and hoping that he makes a full recovery and that he is okay. obviously there's a lot of privacy when it comes to health issues. but what do you know this morning? >> reporter: well, it was interesting actually to be given the information from the palace that this is a cancer diagnosis. because with the late queen, of course, we got very little information when it came to health concerns. to this day, we still don't know what the cause of death was for queen elizabeth ii. we had some information. the palace put out a statement yesterday and said they hope this information would actually

prevent sort of speculation in the public and in the media as to its condition. but, of course, it has really sparked even more questions as to what type of cancer this is, what stage it might be at, what the treatment plan will be. and we simply don't have that information. we know that the recovery -- the treatment plan is starting imminently. and so that's all we have to go on. the newspapers that we have here is from the tabloids show the shock of the nation. king's cancer shock from the mirror. and here in the daily mail, charles is so grateful they caught it early. now, this is a line that we didn't really have confirmed from the palace yesterday, but interestingly, the prime minister, she spoke to the bbc earlier today and also repeated that line that it has been caught early. so perhaps that's some good news for the public. >> anna, king charles won't be doing any public appearances, at least for the moment. but the question given the public nature of the role, what becomes -- if he's too ill to work, what happens? >> reporter: the public nature of the role but also the

constitutional role that the monarch has in the uk. it's a moment like this that you remember that in the uk, the monarch actually gives royal assent to new legislation, new laws. appoints prime ministers. dissolves parliament. many constitutional roles. at this stage, the king will be able to perform all those roles. he is simply taking a step back from public-facing engagements and other members of the royal family will help fill those in. just so everyone is aware, there is the regency act in the uk, multiple acts actually. there is a line of succession. there is a way that monarch can appoint people to fulfill his constitutional roles, if he needs it. but he doesn't at this stage. >> okay. hoping for the best. anna, thank you for all that reporting. >> joining us now emily nash. thank you so much for being here. to pick up on what anna is talking about. processes in place. very few things that the royal household is not prepared for. what is the scale of preparation for a moment like this? >> reporter: well, look, people

are always prepared behind the scenes. we know that the heir to the throne is also privy to a lot of paperwork, for example, that goes to the monarch. that happened when the king was -- prince charles under his mother. i'm sure that's continuing with prince of wales now. the complicating factor, of course, is the prince of wales himself has been taking time out to help with the recovery of his wife, princess kate. he's now coming back to engagements this week and shouldering more responsibility than ever as a result. but there are, you know, systems in place. we have counselors of state who can step in should they be required if the king is incapacitated in any way. but we'll told that's not necessary at this point. and the king is going to continue with his constitutional duties. it's just the public facing activities that he carries out on a day-to-day basis that we won't be seeing from him until he's recovered. >> and we saw prince william

step back from those public-facing duties that he had while he was taking care of everything at home, while katherine was in hospital for two weeks. obviously we'll see a lot more of him now and he'll be joined, emily, by prince harry, his brother. do we know what that might look like? >> reporter: well, we don't have any information on whether the two brothers will be spending time together. but i'm sure there will be some communication here. this is a major event for the royal family. and like any family cancer diagnosis comes as a big shock and people will want to rally around and rightly the priority has to be supporting their father. but we would all like to see a healing of relations after very difficult period in their relationship as brothers. but i think, you know, primarily the duke of sussex will be here to spend time with his father. they have not been able to spend any meaningful time together for the last couple of years. i think it's really important. >> there have been no shortage of stories over the course of

the last several decades about how the country views king charles. what's their reaction been to the diagnosis? >> reporter: it's been one of concern and great sympathy, and a real outpouring of support from members of the public but also world leaders. we have seen, you know, it's easy to forget just how much of an impact he had on public life, even as heir to the throne, you know. he has earned this respect over many, many decades. and his first year, the first 18 months have gone very well. i think people expected there to be perhaps see change after the late queen's death. it hasn't really happened. he's been able to steady and has done very well and people are all really wishing him well here. >> emily nash, thank you. in a final attempt, donald trump is urging the supreme court to keep his name off of colorado's -- keep his name on colorado's ballot. find out what he is now accusing

of pursuing a, quote, anti-democratic case against him. also, nikki haley applied for secret service protection. we have details on what led to that request. stay with us.

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♪ welcome back. what a beautiful sunrise here in new york. good morning, everyone. new polling shows that a majority -- this is a new cnn poll of americans do want to see donald trump's decision in the federal election subversion case before the election. 45% of americans think trump's efforts toover turn the election were illegal. another 32% found his action unethical but not illegal. >> joiniing us now lee carter ad erol lewis and elie honig. i'm watching everything. not a lawyer. no offense. is there any way that case in particular will be resolved by the election? >> there is a way. it's going to be pushed back. it's been officially pushed back, right? so for months now that case the federal election subversion case has been on the calendar for

march 4th, which is four weeks from now. that clearly was not going to hold. for various reasons including the fact that we still have a pending appeal on the immunity issue now sitting with the d.c. circuit for a month since it was argued. and as a result, judge chutkan properly said this is not going to go forward on march 4th. can they still get it in? the answer is going to be dependent on how long this appeal takes. if it comes within the next few weeks, how quickly things move through potentially the supreme court, i still think they could get this trial in over the summer, maybe starting in may or june, carrying through july or august. that's tricky. conventions are in july. they'll be in the heat of the general election campaign. so far from idea but still possible. >> one thing interesting in the poll is lack of trust for supreme court's decision on these crucial issues since truly the future of all of this sort of hangs on the supreme court in

multiple ways. looking at the polling only 11% trust the court a great deal on this, on the election decisions. 23% not at all. 31% moderately, i just wonder your thoughts on that for democracy, this country writ large. however they weigh. i don't think they're looking at polling day ta. >> how the public feels, whatever they decide. what do these numbers tell you what the public will do with that. >> whether or not the supreme court lost a critical amount of trust for a lot of different reasonings. some have nothing to do with this particular case. but the institution itself cannot be, must not be seen as an adjunct of the major parties or the candidates that are running for office. and to the extent they are, which is what this poll suggests how people are seeing this, they're a problem. the court is not supposed to be just one more institution, fighting partisan battles inside the beltway. to the extent that people think that's who they are, it becomes

impossible for them to really sort of do their work because ultimately we have all have to trust and believe that they're playing straight. that it's the rule of law is to be followed and that everybody down to election commissioners and all of the different thousands of counties understand that what they're doing is right and in accordance with the constitution . and 74% said no. 25% said yes. i'm questioning where they were in 2020.

the idea that 75% of americans think the guy who is almost certain to be the republican nominee, if he loses is not going to concede and you read by it because you're numb to it at this point. that seems bad. >> it certainly speaks to the support that donald trump has. and people say that they like him because of who he is. and this is people hate him for who he is, too. but this idea that he is defiant, a fighter, not going to go down without a fight is something that is really appealing to his base. and so the same thing that repels so many people is the very same thing that people love about him. and i think that's really, really confusing to understand. there are so many things about this poll that i find fascinating. when you look at only half of americans are saying -- only half of americans are saying it's very important we understand that a verdict is reached in this case before i vote for the guy. it's unbelievable. when you look at the polling shifts, there are other polls that came out this week, trump is ahead by biden by five points. if he's convicted, he only loses

by two points. that's within the margin of error. you can't imagine if he is convicted, he's not losing that much support, which is absolutely astounding. it speaks to the strength of his support. it speaks to how people trust the supreme court, trust the system. so many people believe is system is rigged and his message has really taken hold. >> talk about that and also where trump is in terms of the power that he wields. he's displaying it right now when it comes to any potential progress on the border. >> absolutely. he refers to himself as the president because he was the president. show's not running as just a candidate. he's running as president donald trump. >> let's listen to him on the border and talk more about that. here he was. >> this is a democrat trap. it's a trap for republicans that would be so stupid, so foolish to sign a bill like this. this bill can't be signed. and it's not only that, it's

massive amounts of money going out of town, as we say. going out of town. >> i mean, one thing to remember is that just because people are saying that they might not vote for trump if he's convicted, does not mean that those votes will go to biden. it is possible that we see those people stay at home. to me, that's a number to look at. who is going to stay at home? how many people are going to stay at home. it used to be thinking if i stay at home, i've wasted my vote. you've wasted your vote. i used to say this to teenagers as they're signing up to vote and talking to young students, you have to vote or else you failed to voice your feelings. this is an election if you don't vote, you are voicing your feeling. you're saying that i am tired of everything that you have offered me. i am being loud by staying silent. >> it's an important point. and the thing about trump -- part of that interview was he made very clear that if you vote for this bill, it's going to kill your career.

i'll go after you. his ability to use fear and retribution to keep people in line, i've seen people threaten it before. i've never seen the grip like him in terms of where the republican party is right now. but errol, he said that he kind of went after james lankford and said he never endorsed him. he had. he literally endorsed him. out of the blue, i never endorsed that guy and definitely will end his career. >> do you want to read it? dramatic reading. >> it is my great honor to give james lankford my complete and total endorsement september 27th, 2022. >> complete and total. >> wasn't just complete, complete and total. he just lies for no particular reason. i don't understand how he -- >> listen, he is in a position where very much is people will follow him wherever he goes. his base the day he was sworn in, he had 45% approval in this country.

i went and looked yesterday, he has 43% approval. it's a flat line. he hasn't added a lot. he hasn't lost too much. he has a base of support. they don't support him because he tells the truth. they'll believe whatever he says because they support him. in this case, he's threatening with some affect members of congress to sort of do his bidding. it will work out for him politically perhaps. will it work out for them in the long run? absolutely not. >> thank you, guys. that is an amazing stat. 2% change over all that time. thank you very much. up next, cnn's fred pleitgen met with a ukrainian drone unit responsible for sinking russian ships. >> reporter: asymmetrical warfare they call it and the ukrainians outmanned and outout outgunned say they need to do a lot more of it.

♪ welcome back. sea drones have been a significant asset for the ukrainian military and its bloody war with russia. the drones are small but having a major impact sinking ships in russia's black sea fleet. fred pleitgen joins us live from ukraine. fred a lot of people might not know how this has actually all worked and how important it's been. how much of a game changer are these sea drones? >> reporter: well, i think for the ukrainians it could be a

real game changer. i just got numbers from the ukrainian military earlier today. and they say they believe that they have taken about -- taken out about 33% of russia's black sea fleet, either damaged or destroyed vessels. obviously not only using the sea drones but the sea drones are a very important part of that. now we met a really secretive unit of ukraine's defense intelligence director. they had just taken out a russian warship a couple days ago and they showed us exactly how they did it. here is what we learned. >> reporter: it was one of the most brazen and most successful operations by ukraine's military intelligence service. sea drones attacking and the ukrainians say sinking a russian warship inside occupied crimea. and he was one of those involved. his call sign is 13 from the elite sea drone unit named group 13. so secretive we had to hide his face and change his voice. we used ten drones in the operation, he says. six of them hit the corvette.

cnn cannot independently verify that it was sunk, but video provided by the intelligence agency seems to show the many sea drones evading fires from the ship and then massive explosions. their weapons are not designed to deal with such small sea drones, 13 says. in most cases they use anti-ship guns. ukraine barely has a functioning navy, but the drones pack a massive punch, around 500 pounds of explosives. these sea drones might not look like much and might not go very fast, but the ukrainians say they have been extremely effective at attacking russia's black sea fleet and sinking warships. >> reporter: the main thing is to feel the drone, 13 says. not everyone can hold a firm grip. if you squeeze a little, you can lose control of the drone. i would say it's like working with jewelry. asymmetrical warfare they call

it, and the ukrainians outmanned and outgunned say they need to do a lot more of it. after visiting the southern front this weekend, ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy telling italian media he not only plans to fire his top general, there could be a larger government shakeup. a front-runner to become the new commander in chief, the defense intel boss known for brazen attacks against russian military and infrastructure targets. the russians are wake up at night to explosions, he says. explosions in the air, explosions directly at the facilities. they see the real picture of war. they see burning oil depots, destroyed buildings and factories and so on. this is all beneficial. and the ukrainians vow to continue hunting russian military vessels in this battle of david versus goliath on the high seas. and that's really the way that the ukrainian military says that they are going to go now. try to make more of those sea drones, drones in general, try

to make a larger quantity of them but also to make them more lethal. that's all the more important because for them it's unclear if and when they'll get u.s. military aid, for instance, in the future, guys. >> it's an important cost benefit calculation for sure. fred pleitgen, thank you. donald trump says he wants to debate joe biden. what does the president say about it? that's next. the head of the federal aviation administration will testify today a month after a boeing aircraft just lost a door plug the middle of the flight. much more on how the agency plans to inspect our planes ahead. ♪

i would like to call for immediate debates. i would like to debate him now. we should debate. we should debate for the middle of the country. >> i'm ready to accept. do you accept? >> will you debate him? >> if i were him, i want want to debate him too. he has nothing else to do. >> president biden responding to reporters there in las vegas, learning in realtime, you've done that before, yelled questions to presidents. that was biden's response, sort of making jest of all of this if they would actually debate now. >> yeah. piece of advice, be a pool reporter when he's stopping for food, ice cream or i think that was bubble tea. he is more willing -- he talks.

he tends to answer questions when he's in front of reporters. trump's challenge, of course, comes despite the fact that he dodged every single republican debate other the past year. in fact, he could debate nikki haley if he is so determined to debate and the rnc has withdrawn. that move, widely seen as a way to get trump out of having to take the debate stage in 2024. our panel is back with us now. i think i'm in the minority on our team in that i am convinced there will be debates. and i don't see any way there is not. am i wrong? >> look, since 2016 everything we're convinced of we need to throw out. >> that's a fair point. >> maybe it will happen. it will happen for different reasons than it used to. what's interesting, though, is that president joe biden said no to the traditional 60 minutes interview before the super bowl. and to me, him saying no to something that he's expected to do, a serious interview, he can really get his message out to an audience, just sitting, waiting for him, waiting for his message is telling. is it because he can't handle

it? >> he just did that interview with scott pelley less than a year ago for "60 minutes." do you have any sense of why no on this one at such a crucial moment? >> i have no idea. just look at that clip we just saw. if he is not able to follow the questions, if his staff is worried that he can connect the dots and find the word that he's looking for, that's a problem. >> i mean, i think -- my question to that point is, given the fact that those are issues that show up in poll after poll after poll, anyone is something that showed up in poll after poll, if you don't debate, doesn't that exacerbate that problem? >> absolutely. the narrative is already there. the only way to count balance the narrative is to prove it wrong. if he can't do that -- everything that he does will be interpreted negatively until he shows up and can prove otherwise. and so, i think it's a big mistake for him not to do the interview in the super bowl. last year he also elected not to do the super bowl of the

interview. that was different circumstances. then he was saying it was political opposition. he didn't want to go on to fox news. it was a different network. it is very critical time for this country and election. so much going on. so much uncertainty. people are feeling so negative. this is a moment that he could really stand up and stand apart. i'm not surprised by his response about donald trump and the debate. i don't blame him for that at all. >> that was funny. >> i thought it was great. but i think he should address -- >> look, the strategy that the white house is very likely going to follow is going to be about hitting individual markets rather than trying to talk to the whole world all at once, which what you'll have at debate or "60 minutes" interview. he cares what they're seeing in the market in phoenix and madison and pittsburgh and so forth. he as president can show up, cut ribbons, you know, open a new road, talk about the things that he's done, show up with all of the local officials that support him in that area. it's a much more efficient and

targeted way of doing things rather than a sort of high-risk kind of performance to try and amuse people in los angeles who are already going to vote for him. not a great idea. >> let's talk about number two on the ticket and how much that matters. nikki haley, trump have used the number two in the white house right now, kamala harris as a way to say, don't vote for biden. that's their view. trump was asked about it over the weekend in terms of where he is on a vp pick. listen to this. >> who is your running mate? >> well, i have a lot of good people. we have a lot of really good people. >> so you haven't decided who it is? >> off lot of good ideas, but i haven't -- i called tim scott, a lot of people like tim scott. i called him and said you're a much better candidate for me than you are for yourself. kristi noem has been incredible fighting for him. i would never run against him because i can't beat him. that was a very nice thing to say. >> kellyanne conway was crucial to his first win, posted a bunch

of stuff. one of the things that she said is i would suggest you choose a person of color as his running mate. also said any list would include mr. rubio, mr. scott, byron donald of florida, tv fire brand and perhaps representative wesley hunt of texas, dr. ben carson, vivek ramaswamy. what are your thoughts what he does here and how much it matters or doesn't for his ticket. >> i don't think it matters. >> you don't? >> this is one president versus another president. this is just about the presidents. i think the number two -- who votes on number two? who remembers the number two from 20 years ago? >> we also have older candidates now. >> i do think -- with donald trump, in 2016 a lot of people thought, oh. i can't do it. and then he had the perfect counterbalance in that moment which was mike pence. right now, he's running away with republican primary. the general election he'll have trouble. to have somebody who might give him a few more votes.

it has to be about addition at this point. he has to get more people to give him the benefit of the doubt. his number two, seems more reasonable, gives him some benefit on the abortion conversation, gives him some benefit on some of the other issues, gives him some more moderates or true conservatives who are never trumpers could help him. >> that's right. ideally it would be nikki haley, suburban woman, woman of color -- >> i think that ship has sailed, errol. >> or sunk. but somebody like her or somebody who does some of the same things. i think you're exactly right. if they don't do something -- this is sort of an existential problem for the republican party. they don't bring in new constituencies they are doomed to failure. this is the 20th anniversary of the last time the republicans won the popular vote in the race for president. and it's -- the numbers are going in the opposite direction. so they're going to have to figure this out. it's not just a donald trump question. it's really sort of a larger question for the republican party. >> on that note -- >> just quickly. >> you do this.

>> john edwards and dick cheney. >> it took you a minute. >> no, i waited for other people to talk. >> before we go, i have a special treat. take a look at this, guys. lee carter wore some very special shoes. let's uncross your legs so everyone can see. tell us about your shoes. >> well, we have a donky and an elephant. the right and the left, but they're on the opposite feet. >> i appreciate they are going the wrong way. >> they're going the wrong way, exactly. which seems appropriate in this moment. >> that is everything. i needed that this morning. thank you very much. coming up next hour, we'll be joined by house minority leader hakeem jeffries ahead of today's impeachment vote. a lot to talk to alejandro mayorkas about. antony blinken the middle east to discuss post-war plans for gaza. what we learned about his meetings. that's ahead.

i think he's having a midlife crisis i'm not. you got us t-mobile home internet lite. after a week of streaming they knocked us down... ...to dial up speeds. like from the 90s. great times. all i can do say is that my life is pre--

i like watching the puddles gather rain. -hey, your mom and i procreated to that song. oh, ew! i think you've said enough. why don't we just switch to xfinity like everyone else? then you would know what year it was. i know what year it is.

♪ well, it is officially super bowl week, which is good, because a weekend without football is awful. the kansas city chiefs are now preparing to battle the san francisco 49ers this weekend. it's the first-ever super bowl in las vegas. the fes tities kicked off yesterday with media day. thousands of journalists asking the players the burning questions ranging from very serious to extraordinarily silly. cnn's coy wire is in las vegas. hi, coy. what was the best part? >> reporter: the best part was walking through the casino this morning to get to here. and people were still going

strong. they haven't gone down to sleep yet. last night, opening night is incredible. you never know what you might see. and for this first-ever super bowl in vegas, 23,800 fans. you don't get to get close to the players just to watch this media frenzy. we got a sen of just how awesome this matchup is going to be. >> i'm living the dream. >> in las vegas for super bowl lviii! >> reporter: extra hype. being the first-ever super bowl in vegas, baby. a place known for putting on a show and making memories. >> there's nobody that has a better show than las vegas, right? it's like the mecca of the world for entertainment. >> reporter:less than a decade ago, the nfl would have scoffed at the idea of holding a super bowl in sin city. oh, how the craps tables have turned. >> am i allowed to talk about winning money?

>> i have a bad track record in vegas. >> winning. >> we come out here for labor day weekend and just get ridiculous. that was -- i mean, the people that were involved in that know who they are. >> there's this great restaurant. and just the food there was absolutely phenomenal. >> reporter: the chiefs looking to double down and become the first repeat champs in nearly 20 years. the 49ers are looking to parlay a win into an nfl record tying sixth super bowl title. but there is that one aspect of the game that the players just can't seem to -- ♪ shake it off, shake it off ♪ >> she's a part of chiefs kingdom right now. it's fun seeing her enjoy the game of football knowing it's new to her life. >> we're not trying to get wrapped up in us against taylor swift or anything like that. >> which taylor swift album title res nates with your character or persona most. >> "red". >> why? >> because i get sunburned a

lot. >> fearless, lover -- >> fearless lover. you're combining the two? >> the anti-hero song, that is pretty sweet. so i would say that. but, i do love "love story" it gets me every single time. >> it might bring in nfl money. they show her more than the players sometimes. >> so, we have more questions asked about taylor swift i think probably than the actual game that's about to be played last night. it was pretty awesome to see. and we know that mattingly is a fearless lover of their 49ers. will they get their first super bowl win in nearly 40 years or chiefs back-to-back for first time in about 20 years. >> the answer is yes to your first question. >> are they envious, coy? did i hear some player envy there of ms. swift? >> reporter: ms. swift?

>> of taylor swift. of taylor swift and all the air time she's getting. that's all i was saying. >> oh, yes. i know. i mean, it's -- they're very aware of it. it did seem a little bitterness from the last player there. but also other players really embracing it and loving it. >> coy, thank you. have the best time. >> thanks, buddy. >> you got it. >> "cnn this morning" continues now. these are people making decisions on our national security. these are people making decisions on the future of our economy. we need to know they're at the top of their game. >> nikki haley, not backing away from her argument that the american president shouldn't be in their 80s. good morning, everyone. top of the hour. i'm phil mattingly with poppy harlow in new york. what it comes to what we're watching, it's clear. a border crisis, a presidential campaign and clash on capitol hill all captured in the split screen of two votes over the course of the next two days. today house republ