♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. brook: these are people who are trying to change the world.

startups have this energy that energizes me. i'm thriving by helping others everyday. people who know, know bdo. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news". >> i am sumi somaskaw hampshire. this is a special bbc world news america. we're live in new hampshire as voters cast their ballots in the first primary of race. donald trump faces off against former south carolina governor nikki haley hoping to solidify his lead for the republican presidential nomination. >> you see a crowd like this and this is organic. this is organic. >> donald trump has shown he is

good at breaking me. you have to have somebody who can fix things too. sumi: the u.s. and u.k. carry out joint strikes against who the targets in yemen for the second time in two weeks amid growing tensions in the middle east. ♪ welcome to "world is america." we are coming from concord, new hampshire, where voters are casting their ballots in the first primary of the 2024 presidential election season. it is a two-person race for the republican nomination between former president donald trump and former south carolina governor nikki haley after ron desantis dropped out of the race days ago. tonight's winner could seal the republican nomination. if donald trump pulls off a resounding victory, leaving nikki haley's campaign with an uphill climb. she has been hoping to pick up independent voters, painting herself as a moderate alternative to donald trump.

mr. trump will be hoping for a repeat of his sweeping victory at the iowa caucuses last week. he is leading in the new hampshire polls by a wide margin. 57% to nikki haley's 38%. the candidates spent the day making their push to voters at campaign stops. in the granite state. mr. trump: i don't care if she stays in. i can just say that there has never been a movement like this. make america great again, in the history of our country. i stop here and figured i would see three or four people and maybe walk inside. and you see a crowd like this. this is organic. this is organic. ms. haley: donald trump has shown he is good at breaking me. but you have to have somebody who can fix things too. we have a lot to fix. i fight the political class. donald trump has the political class surrounding him. the political class has gotten us into this mess. we need a normal person to get us out of this mess. sumi: president joe biden is not

on the ballot in new hampshire after a disagreement between the state and democratic national committee. mr. wyden is the first incumbent president in more than half a century to not file in the new hampshire primaries. instead, there is a right and campaign to help him get votes over dean phillips. those are the two leading democratic candidates who are on the ballot today. new hampshire is one of few u.s. states to follow an open primary system, meeting 39% of voters who registered as undeclared can vote for either party on election day. there is plenty up for grabs in this important primary. let's go to our correspondent, carl nesbitt, who has been following the action on the ground. carl, good to see you. you have been visiting polling sites. tell us what the atmosphere has been like. carl: we are expecting a record turnout for this primary in new

hampshire. you can see behind me, a long line of people. we have seen a steady stream of voters coming into this polling station in manchester, new hampshire. this is the registration area. they will be getting their names checked. they will proceed over there to those voting booths where they will be casting their ballots. i was speaking with an election official earlier. he is a 30 year veteran of these primaries. he said, look, the interest and vibrancy is not as high as he has seen in the past. but already, some 50% of the voters registered have already cast their ballots. and more are streaming in with a few hours left to vote. the question is, who will they be voting for? will they go for donald trump or nikki haley? haley is leading and hoping for a big turnout among independents. i would favor her. donald trump is hoping to consolidate the republicans in this state. let's hear a little bit from what voters have been saying

today on election day. >> i cannot envision america with another donald trump presidency. he is just the threat to democracy, and that will affect the entire world, not only our country. >> i voted for trump. i think he did a great job. he is always outspoken, a lot of people don't like that. personally, i do like that. i like -- i don't like things being sugarcoated. he steps up and what needs to be done. these last three years have been a complete disaster. look room -- i'm looking forward for him to come back. >> voting for nikki haley, we need a woman president. >> it will give us in any opportunity to tell the rest of the country how we feel. >> no-trump. nikki haley. woman president. it's all good. >> something new and fresh. >> absolutely. sumi: clearly interesting to hear those voter voices there. we heard from the candidates earlier.

tell us what they have seen on polling day. carl: we have seen some of that last-minute campaigning here in new hampshire. both trump and nikki haley acted on the trump side. we have seen plenty of surrogates, lots of politicians who are coming out to support them. they are in the state, and we are talking about former rivals. evict ramaswamy, tim scott, a few days or months ago, they were running against the president. now they are advocating for him. what they say is look, if this is another big win for donald trump, then nikki haley should go ahead and drop out. they want unity within the republican party. they want to start that general election campaigning against president joe biden as soon as possible. on the nikki haley side, they say, we are expecting a strong finish in new hampshire. and they are signaling they want to continue this race much longer. there is a campaign event scheduled for south carolina. nikki haley's home state that

would be tomorrow, the day after elections here. nikki haley signaling she wants to continue on. she said there are states that she could be competitive in, but if this is a dominating win for donald trump, and the polls suggest he is up by double digits, then we will have to see what the message is after tuesday in new hampshire. sumi: exciting stuff. great to have you in the middle of it at the polling station. thank you for joining us. as the presidential primary is taking place here in new hampshire, we want to show you pictures of what resident joe biden is up to today. he is kicking off his campaign for reelection in the state of virginia, holding an event there. have seen him and his vice president taking an active part in the last few days, kicking off this reelection campaign. talking about reproductive rights, the economy, and what their campaign plan is moving forward. that is a split screen of joe biden in virginia, and the

primary election is taking place here in new hampshire. let's take a listen to what joe biden is saying. pres. biden: democratic house of representatives -- a bigger democratic senate. and we will pass a new log restoring the protection of roe v. wade, and i will sign it immediately. let's remember, it was donald trump and the supreme court who ripped away the rights of the freedom of women in america. and it will be joe biden and kamala harris and all of you who will restore those rights to women and america. -- in america. sumi: election season well and truly underway, as we can see the president holding that first campaign event in virginia. we want to come back to new hampshire and talk about what is happening here. we have the secretary of state david scanlan with us. he is joining us here in concord. thank you for being with us tonight. you predicted a record turnout.

what have you been seeing today? sec. scanlan: i have the opportunity to visit some polling places this morning. as usual, there was a surge of voters at the beginning of the day. seemed to lighten up a little bit midmorning. we visited a polling place first that had a lot of democratic voters in it. the turnout was steady, but lighter than you may expect. next, we went to a very republican polling place in the town of windham. the turnout there was steady and strong. the indication now seems to be that we will move -- we will have good voter turnout on the republican side. we will see what happens on the democratic side. sumi: that's interesting. some of the analysts we have spoken to say the move in new hampshire has been subdued. because donald trump seemed to build a lead in the polls after the victory in iowa. what do you think it is that is motivating people to possibly come out in record turnout? sec. scanlan: i think former

president trump has a very solid base of motivated supporters. and they are going to turn out. and the other side of that is that there is a large block of undeclared voters that are very excited and enthusiastic about this election. it looks like they are turning out. it is an interesting mix of voters. we will not know the results until the polls close and the results come in. it is an interesting election. sumi: we have viewers not just in the u.s. but around the world. some may ask, why is new hampshire important in this process? sec. scanlan: the national democratic committee has been trying to push new hampshire further back in the calendar. using the excuse that we are not a state that is racially diverse. we are predominantly white and there are other states that are more ethnically diverse around the country. there is no state that reflects the makeup of america. the reason why new hampshire is

important is because we are a small state geographically, population lies, it is easy for a person who is unknown and does not have a lot of money to be able to come here and run a campaign. that is why on the republican ballot, there are 24 candidates on the democratic side, there are 21. it is easy for the average united states citizen to get on the new hampshire ballot to run for president. this is their chance to experience a dream and they try to make it happen. sumi: i want to ask about what we just mentioned on what you were talking about with this dispute between democrats in new hampshire and the democratic national committee, having an answer go first. that means joe biden is not on the ballot. we have seen a ride in campaign. what impact do you think that has had on democrat voters? sec. scanlan: in new hampshire, i don't think it has made much of an impact. i know democrats generally are unhappy with joe biden's decision not to run on the ballot. but there is a very aggressive

campaign to have his name written in on the ballot. there are other candidates that are lesser-known, but they are actively running campaigns. in the end, we will see how many votes he gets. in a primary where an incoming president is running for reelection, you would expect the turnout in that party to be lower than otherwise would be. sumi: i want to ask about something we saw. there was this fake robo call from what sounded like the voice of president joe biden telling voters not to cast their ballots. the state attorney general is investigating. how worried are you about something like this impacting not just the primary, but also a general election? sec. scanlan: it is very concerning. it is a former -- a form of voter suppression. it is illegal. and it is coming about with artificial intelligence. and how it is becoming more

prevalent. i'm not the only secretary, i believe all secretaries of state in the country that run elections are very concerned about artificial intelligence, how it can be negatively used in campaigns. we have to figure out a way to address it. i don't know what the answer is. but i'm sure that will be the topic of major discussions moving forward. sumi: just with the 10 seconds we have left, you are expecting we will have a solid result at the end of the night. sec. scanlan: we will have results at the end of the night tonight, and we will know won the new hampshire primaries. sumi: thank you for joining us on bbc news. . great to get perspective on what is a busy day for you and your team. thank you so much. let's take a closer look at the issues most important to voters in the granite state. right at the top is the economy. 27% of new hampshire voters polled said that was the most important issue followed by immigration and government spending. 24%.

lastly, national security at 10%. another key issue featured on the campaign trail is the fentanyl crisis at the u.s. the void epidemic stretches worldwide, accounting for 80% of drug overdoses. asked year, more than 110,000 people were killed by overdoses from 2022 through 2023 according to the centers for disease control and prevention. new hampshire alone saw a double in drug overdoses in the past 10 years. state officials are struggling to crack down on the distribution as it has become a hotspot for fentanyl. most of the fentanyl consumed illegally in the u.s. is made of sources from china. the chemicals go from other countries, often mexico, before entering the u.s. through the southern border. i went out and spoke to people impacted by this crisis in new hampshire, and they say it does not matter where the drugs come from, they just want the resources to solve this crisis. >> i've got water, foil,

condoms, narcan. sumi: the day is getting started for andrew warner. >> the other day i could not believe what i found a met doorway. i thought you were dead. sumi: he is manchester's overdose prevention director. >> same-sex kids. that has narcan in it and gloves. sumi: right socks, warm hats, a friendly touch. and narcan, medication to counter the effects of opioid overdoses. >> yesterday, he thought i was dead. i was like, god give me a second chance. sumi: this is america's fentanyl crisis. the u.s. has more opioid deaths than anywhere else in the world. it has become a central part of the primary campaign in new hampshire. >> if it has not affected you, personally, i would say that is definitely yet.

sumi: the state saw its number of drug deaths more than doubled since 2013. >> the amount of people who have been affected by this, other family members or themselves or coworkers, there is not a place in america that is immune to this crisis. sumi: the overdose epidemic has made its way onto the campaign stage here in new hampshire. nikki haley has compared opioid deaths to war deaths. and she talked about fentanyl as a national security issue. >> we have had more fentanyl cross the border last year that would kill every single american. number one cause of death for adults 18 to 45, fentanyl. and don't think for a second china doesn't know what they are doing when they send it over. mr. trump: biden and the radical democrats do nothing at all to stop the death and devastation caused by this invasion into our country. instead of doubling the number

of irs agents, we should double the number of ice and border patrol agents. >> shouldn't be handled as a criminal crisis. i believe this should be considered a health crisis. sumi: jenny and kelly are cousins. they both lived on the streets, addicted to fentanyl, and other opioids. both were in and out of treatment for years. now, they are sober. >> lots of families like ours are they just don't talk about it. i was the kind of addict where you put me in a boat in the middle of the ocean and i would find the fish that got a high -- got me high. sumi: it started with legal medication and devolved into a spiral of addiction. >> normalizes the abnormal. it makes things that sober people would not be ok with ok. living in a car is not that bad if you are high. but then when you are not hi

anymore, it is the anxiety that starts to take over and it is either use again or get home. sumi: seeing her now, it is hard to believe. but this was jenny a few years ago in the grips of addiction. >> you know how to make it. then i will show you. sumi: a mom of four children, including teen-year-old laura, jenny is now a recovery and prevention counselor. kelly is not just her family, they have been ending in go part of each other's recovery. we asked jenny and kelly about the promises they have heard from the campaign trail. >> flow of drugs at the border does not affect me. i got drugs when fentanyl was not a thing. >> they are focusing on the wrong thing. i think they need to be focusing on the mental health of our country. i think they need to be focusing on the recovery aspects and the resources that are available. sumi: resources that are direly needed here.

the number of overdose deaths fell by 24% in manchester last year. a testament, andrea says, to a whole community approach. in the streets, they can only save one life at a time. sumi: we will have more on the new hampshire primary later. turning now to the war in the middle east. the u.s. and u.k. have carried out joint strikes against houthi targets in yemen. . the pentagon says they destroyed more than 25 missile launch sites and 20 missiles. the officials have said they will respond to the stress which targeted eight different locations in yemen. these included missile launchers, raider sites, and underground weapons stores. qatar has set escalation in the red sea represents a big danger. here is our defense correspondent. reporter: is this to become a recurring mission? raf jets loaded with guided

bombs flew from cyprus last night for the second time within a fortnight. the aim once again to prevent the houthis from launching drones and missiles at merchant shipping in the red sea. the prime minister making clear that if necessary, they will do it all again. >> you are not seeking a confrontation. we urge the houthis and those who enable them to stop these illegal and unacceptable attacks. but if necessary, the united kingdom will not hesitate to respond again in self-defense. reporter: it is a u.s. led operation. the bulk of the fire power coming from an american aircraft carrier in the region. britain was the only other nation to directly participate. the impact of the strikes soon visible from the ground. this is what they have been trying to stop. video posted on social media,

believed to show the moment a houthi missile hits a cargo ship in the red sea. they have damaged several others. so far, airstrikes are not halting these attacks. the pentagon said they conducted airstrikes at several locations overnight aimed at degrading the houthi's military capabilities which included bombing a weapons storage bunker underground. this is the second set of strikes the u.s. and u.k. have conducted. what has been the impact so far? this graph shows houthi attacks on merchant shipping. they started in november, the houthi say, in response to israel's war in gaza. the black dotted line marks the moment when the u.k. and u.s. carried out joint airstrikes nearly two weeks ago. look since then. the houthi attacks have only increased. there have been another eight. even president biden admits they will not stop the houthis.

pres. biden: when you say working, are they stopping the houthis? no. are they going to continue? yes. reporter: airstrikes may have destroyed some of the arsenal, but by no means all. this could be repeated again. with no clear end. jonathan beale, bbc news. sumi: israeli troops have encircled the largest city in southern gaza as they continue their offensive against hamas. there has been fighting around hospitals in the area. it comes as israel's army reports its biggest loss of life in a single day, after 24 israeli troops were killed. mark lowen sent this update from jerusalem. reporter: israeli troops have encircled the biggest city in southern gaza, closing the last road out for the hundreds of thousands of people still estimated to be sheltering there. the israelis believe some of the top hamas commanders are holed up in the city. health officials have reported

israeli troops have stormed -- they are blockading others, there have been reports of fighting close to the hospitals that are preventing health-care officials from being able to bury bodies in symmetries, -- cemeteries. meanwhile, the first of the 24 israeli soldiers killed in those attacks in gaza on monday has been buried in israel. and they were said to have been killed, 21 of them, when they were next to a building that they themselves had mined for destruction. a rocket propelled grenade was fired toward the position, detonating those explosives. israel's president has called it an unbearably difficult day. an well, there have been -- meanwhile, there have been reports that israel has proposed a two-month truce which would

involve the release of hostages and palestinian prisoners being released from prison's here. in israel's government has not denied it has proposed that truce. there are already reports hamas has rejected it. hamas delegation is in cairo, but there are sources being reported saying hamas has rejected it and hamas has always demanded a permanent cease-fire, not a 10 for everyone. sumi: mark lowen reporting there. christopher nolan's oppenheimer has come out on top in this year's oscar nominations. the film received 13 oscar nominations including for best director and best picture. box office hit barbie received eight nods. the awards will be handed out in march at a ceremony in los angeles, hosted by jamaican. -- by jimmy kimmel live. . let us offer our show. let's show you pictures from our polling station in new hampshire. the first in the nation primary. . voters have done going to the

polls for several hours. the polls will close at 7:00 and 8:00. the last ones at it :00 eastern time. we will have live results throughout the evening. water set -- watch our special coverage and check out our website for the latest there as well. i am sumi somaskanda from concord, new hampshire. thank you so much for watching "world news america," and do stay with us. ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. on the "newshour" tonight, nikki haley hopes to gain ground on former president donald trump in new hampshire, where republicans are deciding which candidate should be their party's presidential nominee. amna: the war in gaza sees one of its deadliest days yet for israeli forces as a brutal ground offensive grinds on with civilians caught in the crossfire. we speak to the united nations' top human rights official. >> the central aspect of the tragedy of gaza, in my view, is