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hello and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm anna coren live from hong kong. ahead in the "cnn newsroom." the comments are troubling and inappropriate. >> the white house goes on the defense, slamming the special counsel's report that contest president biden's memory. and fear is growing in gaza as israel warns the war may soon escalate again with a new ground incursion into the city where more than a million palestinians are sheltering. we'll going to cairo for the latest. plus -- >> my first time seeing taylor swift and flying into an international country. >> taylor swift performing before she jets off to the super

bowl in las vegas. we've got you covered. we begin this hour in washington where the white house is in damage control mode, pushing back on language on a new report on the president's handling of classified information. the good news for the white house is the special counsel's report concluded charges against joe biden are not warranted. the bad news is it's suggested that age and lack of fitness caused him to forget some details during the interviews. cnn white house correspondent arl arl arlette saenz has more. >> reporter: biden ignoring questions about robert hurst's

explosive report. >> i've seen the headlines about my willful retention of documents. it's not only misleading. it's plain wrong. >> reporter: instead it was vice president kamala harris who came out slamming the special counsel suggesting politics was in involved. >> the way that the president's demeanor in that report was characterized could not be more wrong on the facts and clearly politically motivated, gratuitous. >> we should expect that there would be a higher level of integrity than what we saw. >> reporter: biden's aides noting the president fully cooperated with the investigation, including two days of interviews in the opening days of the israel/hamas war. >> he wanted to make sure he haddering he needed and didn't want to throw up roadblocks. >> the special counsel's investigation ending without

charges and harris talking about putting president's age in the spotlight. >> i'm a well-meaning man and i know what i'm doing. >> mr. president, for months when you were asked about your age, you would respond with the wo words, adequa"watch me." then they watched you. >> i'm finishing the job i started. >> reporter: herr's report about whether he's fit to serve a second term. >> yes, okay, we know. president biden is old, okay? yeah. it double sound like breaking news to me. >> reporter: it comes amid a string of slipups including thursday when biden mixed up the leaders of egypt and mexico.

>> the president of mexico cici did not want to open the gates to let them get in. >> reporter: he couldn't remember the age of his son's death from cancer. the fury even more direct, telling a group of democratic lawmakers, quote, how would i ev effing forget that. >> mr. biden said the name of the french president who led france in the '80s and '90s instead of the current president man yell macron. >> i went to the g7 meeting with all the nato leaders. i was in the south of england and i sat down and said america's back, and the leader of france looked at me and said

-- said, you know, how long you back for? >> mr. biden also misspoke during another event this week. he used the name of the german chancellor in the '80s and '90s when he meant the former german chancellor angela merkel. he's not the only one. trump had a few slipups when discussing nikki haley. >> deleted and destroyed all of it, all of it because of lots of things like anyky -- nikki hale in charge of security and viktor orban, he's the leader of

turkey. >> he's actually the leader of hungary. while nikki haley has taken aim at the president's, quote, mental deficiencies, she says the report should be a wakeup call for all voters. it paints a picture of a geriatric president with memory issues. she went on to say, i long said the first party to retire its first 80-year-old candidate will win the white house. candidates appear on their way to doing just that. trump runs just about easy with the feebled biden. the professor of government at the university of essex joins us now in england. tell us how damaging the special

counsel's remarks were about joe biden. >> that's a really good question. it was definitely a politically motivated report. it was fairly egregious in the way they felt they had to characterize him with memory issues, memory lapses, and by pointing out the fact he supposedly couldn't remember the year that his son beau died of cancer. there are questions whether many americans may think this is a little bit of an overreach. but republicans may see this as a real gift that they can hammer it again and again that biden is too old. an nbc poll revealed that some 76% of americans are concerned about biden's age, and that breaks down to 95% of republicans, 80% of in pen accidents, and 54% of democrats. in contrast, trump who has had

similar types of gaffes and is only four years younger, that is also of concern. they said you need to start calling out to the public that joe biden is a great president and start touting his accomplishments and stop making apologizes about the age issue and ask the question has there been anything that biden has done wrong because of age or memory lapse. you have to remember he's very experienced and he's surrounded by people that are very experienced. if you contrast that to trump, he tends to surround himself by sicko familiarities and family members and dangerous people and he is facing criminal charges.

he's actively trying to subvert democracy, and yet we're having conversations about whether biden is too old while we don't have any evidence whether this has led to any sort of disaster. >> let's talk a little bit about that because obviously there's gaffes on both sides, joe biden as well as donald trump. but the perception is that joe biden is the one who has a problem with age. so what do democrats do to counter that? >> i think they need to focus on the accomplishments of the last four years. there's been improvement in the economy. we have 3.7% unemployment. unemployment has been under 4% for essentially years, and you've seen the stockmarket improve, the economic growth market taking place, and we're seeing prices start to go down, and there's been instability. the u.s. has improved in its standing in the world, that is

in large part due to joe biden's statements about diplomacy is back and trying to work multilaterally and with allies. not only did we have an insurrection with donald trump, we have someone making it very clear, i want to be a dictator for a day, and i want to go after my enemies, and who knows what happens after that. the democrats need to showcase that he thinks the president is some sort of king or some sort of autocrat that should be immune from any kind of prosecution and how dangerous this is for democracy. there are all kinds of weaknesses and flaws with a trump candidacy that the democrats need to high light along with some of the accomplishments from the last four years per the biden administration. >> they definitely need to work on their messaging.

the special counsel window was to determine will be or not joe biden had committed a criminal offense, not whether or not the president is see nigh. you believe this was politically motivated. do you see this as a gift to the republicans? >> so it is a gift in some ways. they're going to talk about this endlessly. nikki haley has already started to talk about this, interpreting this as biden is almost senile, that he is completely unable and incompetent to run for president, that he's too old, and he would be the oldest president. he would be 86 at the end of his term. so i see republicans talking about this nonstop, and i think that's why there are questions about what mr. herr, the special counsel, why did he need to talk about his memory, in particular some of these personal cases of memory losses and almost refer to him as this sort of elderly

decrepit person? it seemed a little bit personal, and there are questions whether this has really gone too far here, but we're going to see the republicans use this to the best of their abilities, and what would be best for the democrats would be to ignore it, move on, and focus on the competence of the administration. >> thank you so much for joining us. >> thanks for having me. there are new warnings about israel's plan to push its offensive into rafah. one aide group says fighting could turn it into a zone of destruction. it's an areaed that had a population of 2 54 million

before the fighting. the humanitarian chief said there's nowhere left to go in gaza. palestinians there are saying the same thing. >> translator: if by some misfortune there's an invasion of rafah, it means two-thirds of the population will die. everywhere else, there's always a way to get out and escape. we can't get out of rafah. we have no other alternative. either we die here or die in our homes. >> we have more on what's happening. talk us through the conditions that are there for the people on the ground and where they're supposed to go. >> well, look, anna, we're talking about some 1.3 million people, many of whom have already had to move and evacuate on multiple occasions. we've heard them telling civilians to move south. many are taking shelter in what

are sprawling tent cities in and around the rafah area, which is, of course, right by the border crossing, which leading into egypt, a vital way for aid. what we have seen in the last couple of weeks is continuous aerial bombardment in and around the area. now the looming warnings of ground operations by the israeli administration has raised alarm bells. those displaced have already gone through unthinkable suffering. they've been forced to move and evacuate on multiple occasions. in his words, there's simply nowhere left for the israelis to turn. they've ordered a mass evacuation of civilians from rafah. it's unclear where exactly they'll be evac yatesed to.

there's little to no detail on the israeli side. of course, what we have seen in four months of war in gaza, much of northern plains and central gaza has been completely decimated, and the south continues to face the daily bombardment. hospitals are completely overrun, and the fear is this will lead to even further blood shed in southern gaza. >> i believe you're receiving details about a young palestinian girl found dead in a car after it came under fire last month. tell us more. >> reporter: that's right. we've been following the story of the 5-year-old who disappeared or her whereabouts had been unconfirmed a little less than two weeks ago. she had been traveling with six other relatives who were attempting to evacuate northern gaza when their car came under fire. we had the audio calls of the cousin calling and begging them

to rescue. she described being surrounded by tanks before the phone went silent. later we heard from the 5-year-old herself asking to be rescued. they stayed on the phone with her for three hours as they dispatched an emergency team to try to rescue her before they lost contact. now, of course, the tragic devastating news to the team on the ground from her grandfather that she has been located, found killed. they claim there were two paramedics who were dispatched to rescue her and they were also killed. they were targeted deliberately. they coordinated with the israeli military in the rescue operation. they're looking into this incident. this is devastating and tragic news to many who have been following the story of the

5-year-old. >> many thanks. winter seems to be fading fast and parts of the u.s. could set some warm record temperatures today. details coming up later. ahead of the super bowl on sunday, we're taking a deep daesh into the taylor swift effect on the national football league and her boyfriend's team. that's ahead. plus, we're live in tokyo. taylor swift is closing out four nights of shows before she's expected to fly to las vegas for the super bowl. her whirlwind travel plans coming up.

taylor swift is closing out the japan leg of her blockbuster eras tour in tokyo. fresh off winning the wlum of the year at the grammys. experts say her four nights in tokyo may boost the entire economy. japan is one of only three countries she will visit in the asia-pacific region. the pop star is expected to perform in singapore and

australia later this month. she plans to head to las vegas to watch her nfl boyfriend play in the super bowl on sunday. a statement was put out for those who are worried she may not make it in time. swift's final concert at the tokyo dome is expected to end in about 90 minutes' time. despite the 12-hour time and 17-hour time difference she should comfortably arrive in time to watch her boyfriend tight end travis kelce take the field with the kansas city chiefs. we know how taylor will be moving in the next 24 hours. cnn is covering all of the latest including the super bowl and the taylor swift craze. coy wire is sitting down with

tom brady . first we go live to tokyo to our reporter. set the scene for us. >> reporter: anna, yes, i absolutely do. we're outside of the tokyo dome where thousands and thousands of fans are enjoying taylor swift perform a sold out concert. i am very jealous. this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many swifties. they get to see their favorite pop star dance and sing up on that stage. but it's also tyke to say good. fans have been urging her to come back. taylor swift is not out of the

spotlight just yet. all eyes are on her too see if she makes it backing in time to watch her boyfriend travis kelce play in the super bowl with the chiefs. fans are convinced she'll make it back in time for the kickoff. >> absolutely. >> absolutely. >> 100%. >> and the chiefs will win. >> are you guys manifesting they're going to win? >> yeah. we need a whole on the trowtry embrace. >> proposal. >> no, no, not yet. >> reporter: very fun vibes and atmosphere here. we know taylor swift has been to 12 games this past season, has been credited with boosting nfl viewership because more of her fans are watching. but it's not just the size of the audience she's commanding

but more and more women are watching. one game in october saw viewer ship among teenage girls go up 53% according to nielsen fast national data. even the nfl commissioner roger goodell had to tip his hat to taylor swift and the taylor swift effect because there are more women now watching the sport, anna. >> she might even upstage the players. my good finance, hanako montgomery, thank you so much. as the countdown rolls, we're taking a closer impact at the music star taylor swift has on football in the u.s. and the team. cnn's nick watt has the latest on what's being called the taylor swift effect. >> reporter: i mean the anti-hero song, that one's pretty sweet. i would say that. >> reporter: the into star

quarterback days before the big game answering questions about which of the teammate's girlfriend's songs he likes. more than 100 men will be on the field eclipsed by fans. the chiefs won nine of the 12 games she attended this season. you can now bet on what color shirt she'll wear sunday. red is favorite. she's reportedly added over $300 million in brand value to her boyfriend's team the chiefs and the nfl. >> what do you say to those who think it's all scripted by the nfl? >> i don't think i'm that good a scripter. >> reporter: to the jets/chiefs game october 1st she brought along 2 million new female tv viewers. the director reportedly cut to her 17 times. "new york times," all the news that's fit to print, took a deep dive on that stat.

how often is taylor swift actually shoupe at nfl games. their conclusion, less than many seem to think. still right wing tv talking heads are getting their boxers very punched. >> about four years ago, they floated turning taylor swift into an asset during a nato meeting. >> build them up, build them up, build them up, and at the moment of truth, that i ooh going to endorse biden. >> reporter: in 1989 george orwell had a prediction of the future. >> reporter: as predictions have shown, so swift predicted falling in love with a football player. in 2008, "you belong with me." whether she'll make it in time from a concert in tokyo to a

super bowl in vegas has generated acres of copy, even an assurance from the japanese legacy. is it only the 49ers quarterback who just doesn't care? >> they're going against pat mahomes and their great offense. that's how we're looking at it. we're not trying to get wrapped up in taylor swift or anything like that. >> reporter: perhaps brock purdy doesth protest too much. in the middle of all of this razzmatazz, they're two kids falling in love, getting to know each other, their pastimes and their professions. she said football is awesome it turns out. i'm just there to support travis. there. i said his name for the first time in this entire story. nick watt, cnn, los angeles.

well, just ahead, while the white house says a special counsel report on joe biden's handling of classified documents was politically motivated, donald trump tells supporters it proves he's being persecuted. we'll have those details after the break.

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get the real deal, get xfinity. in the united states and around the world. i'm anna coren in hong kong in the "cnn newsroom." the fallout from special counsel robert herr's report.

it exonerated him, but language suggesting is age and lack of mental fitness causing him to forget detail has caused a great headache. kamala harris leading the fight, pointing out the interviews took place during a major international crisis. the white house says it's now considering whether to release a redacted transcript of the interviews. the portrayal of mr. biden's report is affecting the 81-year-old's re-election. >> reporter: the white house continues to deal with fallout from special counsel robert herr's report which concluded bide lab not face criminal charges but detailed several concerning conversations he had with is his ghostwriter and concluded observations about his memory and fueled attacks by

republicans and allies of donald trump. the white house pushed back, pointing out the current president never took any actions to on strength the investigation. >> he did not intentionally take classified documents. he understands documents like that belong with the government. he never, never made any attempt to obstruct. >> now, a spokesperson also criticized the special comments calling them gratuitous and wrong. >> in the pressurized political environment when the conclusion is the facts and evidence don't support any charges. you're left to wonder why this report spends time making gratuitous and inappropriate criticisms of the president. >> so the white house has noted it may release the transcript's biden of the prosecutors, materials the prosecutors are now seeking from the justice department. it ultimately remains to be seen

if and when those materials are released. meantime they're grappling with the political report. zachary cohen, cnn, washington. well, the likely republican presidential nominee discussed the report briefly at an nra event on friday. while trump spent the majority of the time in pennsylvania during a sharp contrast between himself and biden over gun rites, he did take the opportunity to claim that the report that shows essentially charges against him should be dropped. >> if biden is not going to be charged, that's up to them. look, if he's not going to be charged, that's up to them. but then i should not be charged. this is nothing more than selective persecution of biden's

political opponent, me. >> trump took advantage of the president biden's abilities as well. still ahead, italian farmers join the fight against eu restrictions. why they say they won't stop until their demands are met when we come back. plus, could the climate crisis cause key currents in the atlantic ocean just stop. how scientists are answering the question coming up after the break.

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mild, almost springlike weather is on tap across much of the u.s. temperatures will be 10 to 25 degrees above average in the northeast and mid mid-atlantic states today. it could reach into the 70s across portions of the southeast. but the warmth in the south will be coming with rain, stretching from texas to the tennessee

valley with a slight risk of flooding. there could be 1 to 3 inches, even 4 inches across the region between now until monday. scientists are warning that a crucial list of ocean currents could be on the point of collapsing. the gulfstreamo -- a part of it. cnn's chad myers has more. >> the warm water is transported to the south, cools off and comes back around again, but what happens if these transports, these currents stop? that's kind of a new study we had out yesterday. what happens if we dump so much

glacial ice from greenland getting in the way of the warm water that's supposed to come up from the gulfstream? what if we put so much fresh water into the system that things stop or could they stop? now we know that what was the basis of the 2004 movie "the day after tomorrow" with dennis quaid, it's not completely out of the question. and, in fact, this current may be slowing down already. how long would it take to ever stop, there's no way to know. but we think about 8,000 years ago when the ice age was over, the currents became chaos and things didn't work the way they were supposed to and we didn't get the transport of cold to warm and warm to cold like we were supposed to get. even now in the summer we see so much ice melt off of greenland that it gets in the way of what should be the warm current of the gulfstream. the ice water is fresh water and if the fresh water and salt

walter don't mix that well, there are some high outcomes. the models have said, yes, this is a possibility that those currents could get to chaos. now, will it happen tomorrow? like the movie? >> no. will it happen sometime? possibility. if it does, europe gets very cold because there's no gulfstream sending water up there. warming in the southern hemisphere. the wet/dry seasons in the amazon would flip and sea levels would be rising quite rapidly as the water continues to melt from the glaziers and all of the ice sheets. if you begin to see that get into the water, there would be a rapid rise of the ocean temperatures. this could take a very, very long time. but what the study said this week is that it's possible. >> chad myers with that sobering report. well, new images from the european space agency shows the extent of the lava flow from iceland's latest volcanic

eruption. the country's meteorological office estimates about 15 cubic inches had flowed on thursday. iceland's civil defense chief said the amount was much greater than initially anticipated. schools and facilities were closed late friday. at last report, no eruptions are currently underway, and seismic activity has now stopped. well, farmers across europe are stepping up their protests against eu regulations and what they say is unfair competition from ukrainian agriculture. they're even flooding highways and tractors to make their way. michael holmes has this report. >> reporter: tractors roll past some of rome's famed sites. but they're not out here for the scenery. it's a protest by farmers who are saying they're being

overregulated and going broke from high costs and they want to know what the government is going to do to help them. this protest deliberately kept low key. >> translator: we did not want to disturb the roman citizen because there's a connection between us and the citizen who's also a consumer, the one who consumes our products. basically we didn't want to create discomfort or make strong demonstrations. >> reporter: but it's around in poland where they blocked borders. the farmers say they're losing money competing with ukrainian exports which aren't subject to strict eu regulations. many of ukraine's products avoid import duties. the agriculture minister says there could be more bans in the future, something that pole live

farmers say is only far. >> translator: we as agricultural producers and fruit growers must meet millimthese requirements. >> reporter: 00 fwarian farmers joining the protest movement also upset over cheap ukrainian groups. spanish farmers shut shut down roads across the road wince again, stranding hundreds of vehicles there. meanwhile farmers in pamplona were outside the building to protest the red tape that they say is eating their profits. >> reporter: the young people will not join the sector. they just don't join because it's not profitable. things are not okay under my point of view.

>> reporter: they made a plan to scrap a plan for a target 50% cut in the overall use of pesticides by the next decade, something that agriculture groups say would have guttered their businesses. with more farmers taking to the streets, there will likely need to be more concessions to come before they go back to the field. michael holmes, cnn. still to come, cnn speaks with nfl legend tom brady. we'll get his take on super bowl lviii, plus his thoughts about taylor swift and travis kelce of cho kansas city. that's next.

it's super bowl weekend in the u.s. and from tv ads like that cosmetic commercial to celebrities in the stands, the action is not just on the field. taylor swift is one of the biggest stars assuming she gets

back from her concerts in japan. fans will be watching her as she watches her boyfriend travis kelce and the kansas city chiefs fight for supremacy. a 30-second spot will run you $7 million. companies willing to shell out, making the most of their investment by showing those ads early. >> every little detail about our family will be on tv. who would watch that. >> let me twist on it. hope you can keep up. wait a minute. >> a spot for or oweeo cookies out last month. it's their first super bowl ad since 2013. beyond the ads there's the big game. super bowl lviii is a rematch

between the san francisco 49ers and kansas city chiefs. coy wire is in las vegas. he was able to speak with newly retired nfl star tom brady. >> yes, caught up with the greatest tom brady with founta fountainebleu. along with loads of other iconic sports activists i asked about that and the big game too. blue, this new hall of excellence, seven super bowl rings here. what does this signify? is it like vegas, the new mega sports capital of the world? >> i think it is. there's the nfl draft, f1, a baseball team coming, a basketball team coming, a women's basketball team here that i'm a part of, mma and ufc

fights all the time and boxing eventing all the time. it's an incredible sports capital. when you think of them coming through every year and doing it in the fountainebleu casino, which is the most beautiful hotel i've ever seen in my life, it's a destination to come. >> what does the g.o.a.t., the greatest quarterback of all time have to say about the matchup? >> well, patrick has been a great player since he came in the league and so is brock. both coaches, both organizations are doing it the right way. i was part of organizations doing it the right way. i love when i see matchups that are true will i the two best teams. one's going to get one of those rings and the other one's going to be looking for answers like the other 32 teams that aren't in the game. >> what do you make of all the added hype of the taylor swift media for this super bowl?

>> for me, i'm happy for them. they should -- that's their perm journey. to me this is really about a great football competition and the magic that's created on the field, and these players have all worked their entire lives to get to that moment. being in the locker room, i know exactly how they're feeling on the friday before the big game. and to have them go out there and prepare for two more games and to try to put that outside and be a leader on the field so you can try to win a championship. >> reporter: brady, all business. locked innd a focused just like when he was a player. anyone who says patrick mahomes nearing g.o.a.t. status with his two super bowl rings dunce understand how far they have to go to compete with tom brady. las vegas is known for weddings like this one.

>> don't get married because you're travis and taylor. >> get married because you're really in love and want to spend the rest of your life together. >> now they're offering a special offer to anyone named taylor and travis, a free wedding. >> we've obviously offering taylor and travis to come and get married with us if they're so willing and we have major plans for them once they arrive. if that doesn't happen, we've offered any couple that wants to come down named taylor and travis, they're free to also get a free wedding with us. >> well, so far four ore couples have expressed interest. turning to some news just coming into cnn. prime minister benjamin netanyahu says the israel defense forces in rafah must be complete by the start of ramadan on march 10th. an israeli official tells cnn

that was his message to his war cabinet. netanyahu's office said in a statement friday he had directed the military to plan for the evacuation of the population from rafah, adding that the idf would soon go into rafah, hamas' last bastion. the united nations says 1.3 million are believed to be in gaza, the others displaced. that wraps up this hour of cnn in hong kong. i'm anna coren. "cnn newsroom" is next. iffer the rest of the world, "af "african voices" is next.

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