on, you're making it sound worse than it was. i was like, holy [ bleep ], jon lovitz. >> we laughed for a half an hour, and nobody would have found that funnier than phil hartman. live from cnn world headquarters in atlanta, welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm natalie allen, and this is "cnn newsroom." next this hour, a twist in the battle over the upcoming impeachment trial. newly released emails shed light on exactly when aid to ukraine was frozen. one top democrat calling them explosive. bush fires continue to rage across australia. hear from residents who are defending their homes from fire. also a familiar face declares victory in

afghanistan's election. whatever another term for ashraf ghani could mean for the war and peace talks with the taliban. 2:00 a.m. here in atlanta, ja. thanks so much for joining us. our top story, the u.s. senate democratic leader is again pushing for white house officials to testify in the impeachment trial of president trump. this comes after newly released documents show that white house official mike duffey emailed other officials to freeze aid to ukraine just 90 minutes after mr. trump's july phone call with ukraine's leader. chuck schumer says the email demonstrates why administration officials need to testify. >> until we hear from the witnesses, until we get the

documents, the american people will correctly assume that those blocking their testimony were aiding and abetting a cover-up, plain and simple. so i'll close by saying this. president trump, release the emails. let the witnesses testify. what are you afraid of? >> for more on this development, jeremy herb is in washington for us. >> reporter: newly released emails reveal that the white house's order to freeze ukraine aid came roughly 90 minutes after president trump's call with president zelensky on july 25th. the emails provide new detail to our understanding of how exactly the white house held up the aid. in the july 25th email, white house budget official michael duffey ordered the pentagon to hold the aid. duffey wrote given the sensitive nature of the request, i appreciate your keeping that information closely held to

those who need to know to execute direction. -- pointing out that omb had previously notified the agencies the aid would be withheld. the emails are being released only now because a judge ordered them turned over to the center for public integrity in response to a freedom of information act lawsuit. we already knew the time line of the withholding the aid. the security assistance was first ordered held in early july and agencies were notified on july 18th. then the aid order was formally sent on july 25th, the day of the president's call. what we've learned from the new emails is the two actions occurred roughly 90 minlz apart. the president got off the phone with zelensky at 9:33 and duffey sent the email ordering the aid to be held at 11:4. the greater context of the email is unknown because he defied a subpoena. the question will now be forced into the senate as to whether to pursue duffey's testimony. senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has not signaled he

will accept any witnesses the democrats are pushing for, but the key number is 51. that's how many senators are needed to approve any witnesses for the trial. jeremy herb, cnn, washington. >> well, president trump is spending the holidays at his resort in florida. while he is there, he is also expected to continue preparing for the impeachment trial in the senate. cnn's kristen holmes has more on what the president expects from the process. >> reporter: ultimately it's not going to be up to the president even if he would like it to be. it's going to be up to the senators. what exactly this trial looks like. when we really break it down, it's going to be up to those republican senators. we have heard mitch mcconnell say time and time again that he's working in lockstep with the white house, but we also know that mitch mcconnell has a different idea of what he woo like this trial to look like than the president. president trump had expressed behind closed doors that he wanted to have a big trial. he believed that this would exonerate him. he wanted to have a lot of witnesses, and mitch mcconnell and other republican senators have really tried to steer the

president in a different direction, essentially saying that the more witnesses there are, the more likelihood there could be problems for president trump. now, we did hear from the vice president's chief of staff, marc short, who said that the president is actually looking forward to a senate trial. take a listen. >> he's frustrated with what he finds to be a completely unreasonable impeachment. so, sure he's frustrated by that, but he's also anxious to get not just acquitted but exonerated in the senate. so he's looking forward to his opportunity to have a fair trial in the senate. >> reporter: now, while short says he is looking forward to this senate trial, if you looked at the president's twitter feed, you may not believe that. he spent the day tweeting at nancy pelosi, calling her crazy, slamming democrats, bashing the process overall. but when it comes down to it, this is where we are. you have senate republicans and democrats and really overall democrats and republicans who have really dug in their heels on this process. democrats again wanting

witnesses. republicans not wanting a long trial. and now we have a congress that's not back in session until early january. >> here's a question for you. has impeachment hurt president trump? has it cost him supporters? are republican voters turning their backs on him? according to this weekend's polls, no and no. take a look at the numbers. according to the polling group 538, an average of polls shows the president this week saw his highest approval rating in more than 2 1/2 years, just shy of 45%. that happened on the day he was impeached. looking at the president's entire term in office, public opinion has held steady despite many scandals and his impeachment. analysts say the reason for that, the strong economy. now, the election. the latest cnn poll shows the president still trailing joe biden but by a narrowing margin. look at last weekend compared to two months ago. the president also closing the

gap when it comes to a couple of other democratic challengers. senators bernie sanders and elizabeth warren. keep in mind that this poll was done before the house impeached the president. and, again, we said the strong economy is the likely reason for president trump's steady numbers. that new cnn poll shows 76% of americans think the economy is good. we haven't seen that number that high in a poll 18 years. well cnn's martin savidge went to the key battleground state of pennsylvania to see what voters there think about the impeachment. >> reporter: in blair county, pennsylvania, the impeachment of donald trump isn't hurting the president. >> no. i love him. >> reporter: supporters say it's helping him. >> i think what they're doing is completely wrong, and i will vote for him in the coming election. >> reporter: voters here are

predominantly white, working class, strong in their conservative beliefs. what do you think this will do for democrats? >> i think just put a nail in their coffin. >> reporter: trump won more than 70% of the vote in this blue collar county, significantly outperforming mitt romney in 2012. >> to make america great again. >> reporter: but the republican county chair says had i asked him a year ago if trump do repeat his success in 2020, he would have said unlikely. now? >> i think he'll turn out that percent and more. >> he'll do as good as that, maybe even better? >> maybe even better. >> reporter: how is that possible? two reasons. trump voters we talked to here like the economy and loathe impeachment. they credit trump with the former and blame democrats for the latter. and how would you say the economy here is in altoona? >> it's good. you know, it's not people celebrating boom days, but it feels like the kind of long-term steady growth. >> reporter: at blair image elements, they make signs all of

us see, but what critics see as clear evidence of presidential abuse of power, the ceo sees as just the same old polarized washington politics that moved him to vote for trump in the first place. >> if it did anything, it would make me want to support him more. >> reporter: it's pretty much the same story down on the farm. >> this location, there's about 1,500 cows being milked. >> reporter: milk from the dairy goes into hershey chocolate and land o'lakes butter. >> now i work too many hours to pay close attention. >> reporter: the way culp sees it, voters should elect more like trump to congress. the impeachment process in any way going to change your outlook or support of this president in 2020? >> no. you know, it just makes me i guess more convinced that we need more outsiders in washington. >> reporter: not all the republicans i spoke to here say they support the president. some object to him, they say,

because of his personal faults and that they'll likely do in 2020 what they did in 2016, which is simply not vote because unlike other trump strongholds where i've asked if there are any democrats they might consider, everyone here was unanimous. no. martin savidge, cnn, altoona, pennsylvania. another boost to president trump's re-election would be to rein in north korea's nuclear ambitions. it was one of his 2016 campaign promises, but that could now be in jeopardy as satellite images show activity at a site linked with the country's long-range missile program. and pyongyang has promised a so-called christmas gift to the united states. but as our will ripley reports from the region, pyongyang may have something else in mind. >> reporter: despite all the activity we've seen as of late, my sources telling me the chances of a north korean missile launch around christmas

are actually very low and that the christmas gift is more likely to be kim jong-un announcing a new hardline stance when dealing with the united states and his intention to consolidate north korea's position as a nuclear state. so why do we see things like the engine test and this uptick in activity at a known missile production facility or at least a facility tied to the missile program and meetings with north korean military leaders? it's all designed to get us, the western media, talking and to continue to put pressure on the united states as we approach the end of a year that began much differently. 2019 began with so much promise. u.s. president donald trump, north korean leader kim jong-un brimming with confidence in february, their second face to face meeting in hanoi, vietnam. their first summit in singapore eight months earlier ended with a vaguely worded pledge and zero

progress on two key issues -- denuclearization and sanctions. the collapse of working-level talks did not seem to faze president trump. >> i think we'll have a very tremendous summit. >> reporter: or chairman kim. >> translator: if i'm not willing to do that, i won't be here right now. >> that might be the best answer you've ever heard. >> reporter: the white house even promised a joint agreement. but instead of walking away with a deal, trump walked out. >> this wasn't a walk-away like you get up and walk out. no, this was very friendly. >> reporter: the north koreans didn't think it was friendly. a source told cnn kim was blindsided. spring began with a flurry of weapons tests. the u.s. and south korea assessed them to be short-range launches, and as he did throughout the year, president trump seemed to shrug them off. tensions temporarily eased in june. trump and kim called this

historic, they claimed impromptu meeting at the korean demilitarized zone. their pledge to begin working-level talks within weeks yet another broken vow. nearly six months after that dmz photo op, another launch and the return of this infamous insult. >> likes sending rockets up, doesn't he? that's why i call him rocket man. >> reporter: north korea returned the rhetorical fire, calling trump's comments the dotage of a dotard, which means old, senile lunatic. that kicked off a busy december. north korea cryptically promised a christmas gift for the u.s. if the year ended without a diplomatic breakthrough. they published photos of kim riding a white house on the mountain, the place he's known to visit before making big decisions. not one, but two apparent engine tests at this known launch site sparking speculation of a bigger test to come. on the week before christmas, this appeal to pyongyang from president trump's point man on

north korea. >> let's get this done. we are here, and you know how to reach us. >> reporter: last-ditch diplomacy hitting an all too familiar dead end. a source also telling me that denuclearization is off the table for now and the north koreans say the bar is much higher to return to talks with the united states. as for dealing directly with the trump administration, i'm told that kim is taking a wait and see approach given the impeachment and given the fact that president trump is moving into a very sensitive and complex election year and the north koreans feel he may not even have the political capital right now to implement any agreement that they might reach. will ripley, cnn, hong kong. next here, destruction and devastation. thousands of firefighters are left battling deadly bush fires across the continent of australia ahead of the holidays. is relief in sight? we'll have pedram javaheri with us to talk about it. plus a highly anticipated

england premier football match is stalled. coming up, the events that left one team vowing to take strong action against racism. needles. essential for the sea urchin, but maybe not for people with rheumatoid arthritis. because there are options. like an "unjection™".

xeljanz xr, a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe ra for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. xeljanz xr can reduce pain, swelling and further joint damage, even without methotrexate. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections like tb; don't start xeljanz if you have an infection. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra can increase risk of death. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. as have tears in the stomach or intestines, serious allergic reactions, and changes in lab results. tell your doctor if you've been somewhere fungal infections are common, or if you've had tb, hepatitis b or c, or are prone to infections. needles. fine for some. but for you, one pill a day may provide symptom relief. ask your doctor about xeljanz xr. an "unjection™".

polo blue. the fragrance by ralph lauren. and, now introducing polo blue gold blend and your mother told me all her life that i should fix it. and now it reminds me of her. i'm just glad i never fixed it. listen, you don't need to go anywhere dad. meet christine, she's going to help you around the house. the best home to be in is your own. from personal care and memory care, to help around the house, home instead offers personalized in-home services for your loved ones. home instead senior care. to us, it's personal.

welcome back to newsroom. emergency teams are trying to contain an oil spill on the galapagos islands. this video shows the moment a cargo vessel overturned in san cristobal on sunday as it was being loaded with containers. you can see crew members jumping off the ship as it flips over. dramatic video there. local media report no one was injured. the galapagos islands are about 1,000 kilometers west of ecuador. they're regarded as one of the most ecologically important places on earth. firefighters in australia are struggling to control dozens of deadly wildfires with nearly 100 fires still active in new south wales. hundreds of people are left without a home this holiday. miley hogan with affiliate 7 news there is in black heat.

that's to the west of sydney. she shows us the latest efforts to quash these out of control infernos. >> reporter: this is what firefighters faced in blackheath last night. staring down a wall of flames as it explodes from the valley. crews forced to retreat as the inferno quickly reaches the house. in nearby bilpin, similar scenes. a whirlwind of flames and thick smoke making visibility so poor, a firefighter was hit by a car. he was rushed back to his truck by colleagues. >> i'm all right. >> reporter: the blaze showing no mercy, taking the tutti fruity cafe. by morning it was a smoldering mess. crews on the ground calling this the black mountains. fears 20 homes are lost. this is one home that did not

stand a chance against yesterday's flames. recovery crews are now moving through the fire-affected communities, but it could still be days before they know the full extent of the damage. but many more are still standing. >> the roar coming over the hill is just like a freight train. the flames and the smoke, you just couldn't see a thing. just can't thank them enough. >> reporter: others defended their own homes. >> the smoke was horrific. my eyes were burning. my sons were wetting the house down. >> reporter: rows of homes burnt to the ground. one man was feared dead but this morning he was found alive in an evacuation center. experienced crews still shocked by the conditions they faced. >> pretty horrendous actually. i've had 39 years experience bush firefighting and that would probably go down as the worst day i've ever seen. >> reporter: now communities throughout the mountains face a rebuilding operation from homes to infrastructure. but the threat is far from over

as the blaze continues to rage. blackheath once again in the firing line today. >> we have crown fire behind the houses. the situation is critical. serious concerns for property loss, over. >> reporter: a reality the community will have to deal with for months. in blackheath, mylee hogan, 7 news. our meteorologist and my colleague, pedram javaheri joins us now. what that firefighter said, pedram, that he's never seen anything like this in 39 years, that speaks volumes of what they're up against. >> yes. you know, natalie, of course it's not just an event here that's taken place over a matter of a couple days. we're talking several weeks, several months and of course the drought situation several years in the works here. temperatures even at this hour into the middle 40s across portions of interior australia while up towards the coastline as you approach new south wales and enter areas near the coast, temperatures into the middle 20s. so certainly some relief is there in the current hours.

we do expect improving conditions in the forecast as well. some of the images coming out of sydney points back towards the west where the significant fires currently in place in much of eastern new south wales and breaking down the number of how much land was burned in 2019 across our planet. you recall we spent quite a bit of time talking about the amazon fires. about a million hectares of land consumed. the california fires going back to last year consumed almost 2 million hectares of land. you notice the new south wales fire is coming in with nearly 3 million hectares consumed and still ongoing. officials releasing some of the numbers saying a lot of land has been consumed but they've done an incredible job and a lot of efforts put in place because about 14 plus thousand properties and homes here have been saved because of the firefighting effort as cross this region. what we need is a storm system to bring in some rainfall. clouds on the hoar eisen storm system we expect on christmas eve to be some. >> reporter: around the northern

tier of new south wales. around christmas day, some of the the rainfall comes down on top of the fires. so beneficial rain in the forecast at least in the immediate future there natalie. >> okay. well, they'll take what they can get at this point, right? >> yes. >> pedram, thank you. here in the united states, a dangerous chain reaction led to a nearly 70-car pileup in the u.s. state of virginia sunday. state police say at least 50 people were injured. some were critical. both sides of the highway were closed, as you can imagine, for hours. some cars were so mangled, authorities had to step from car to car to pull people out. police say the cause of the crash is under investigation, but heavy fog and icy road conditions played a role. in sports, in the english premier, racist allegations are making another ugly appearance.

this time it's sunday's match between london rivals chelsea and tottenham. the game was briefly suspended after chelsea defenders antonio rutiger was allegedly targeted with racist abuse from the crowd. cnn sports patrick snell has more on the match. >> reporter: it's once again the ugly stain of alleged racist abuse that's overshadowing sunday's tottenham-chelsea match. the issues have been well documented in recent months but there's no question england's top flight has its own problems to deal with. we saw that most recently as the manchester derby earlier in december. tensions were already high on sunday when the home team tottenham were 2-0 down. a raised boot on chelsea's german defender, antonio rutiger. that was just past the hour mark in that game. just a couple minutes later,

it's rutiger gesticulating he had received racist abuse. next, chelsea's spanish captain in dialogue here with the referee. the match official also having to stop the match in the second half after an object was tossed onto the field of play towards the blues' keeper capper. all of this against the backdrop of not one but three announcements from the stadium's system warning supporters in the crowd that racist behavior is interfering with the game. well, after the match, chelsea's captain spoke with reporters about yet another match tarnished by the ugly stain of alleged racism in football. >> it's very clear every time we have meetings in the premier league and with the referees before the game, we have been told to report if any incident with racism happens straightaway, to report to the ref. so tony came to me and told me

that he was listening some racism towards him. so i reported it to the ref immediately, and i left the ref to do his job because we are very, very concerned and very aware of this behavior and all together we need to stop. >> reporter: after the match, spurs releasing a statement which read in part, any form of racism is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our stadium. we take any such allegations extremely seriously and shall take the strongest possible action against any individual found to be behaving in such a way, including stadium fans. spurs have also said they'll conduct a thorough investigation. by the way, far overshadowed by the situation, chelsea won the match on sunday by two goals to nil. patrick snell, cnn, atlanta.

>> absolutely abhorrent behavior from those fans, and it goes on and on. well, as u.s. senators prepare for the impeachment trial of the president, a moderate democrat is voicing doubts about the matter. why he believes there are gaps in the case. that's coming up. so bob, what do you take for back pain? before i take anything, i apply topical pain relievers first. salonpas lidocaine patch blocks pain receptors for effective, non-addictive relief. salonpas lidocaine. patch, roll-on or cream. hisamitsu. denny's delivers for free whether it's celebrations. or silent night's. here... or there. now, get whatever your craving delivered to you for free. see you at dennys.com ♪ ♪

♪ everything your trip needs for everyone you love. expedia. for everyone you love. peroni italia. ♪ they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discounted postage for any letter

any package any time right from your computer all the amazing services of the post office only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again!

newsroom" live from atlanta. i'm natalie allen, and here are our top stories. turkey's president says about 80,000 syrian refugees escaping the violence in idlib province are headed to the turkish

border. president erdogan reportedly says his country cannot handle this fresh wave of people. he blames syrian and russian attacks on the province for the refugees coming his way. he's sending a delegation to moscow on monday to discuss the situation. india's prime minister is accusing opposition parties of misleading the public about a controversial citizenship law, and he's trying to convince muslims they will not face discrimination. but there were more protests sunday. the law makes it easier for non-muslim religious minorities from neighboring countries to become indian citizens. the u.s. senate minority leader is again calling for white house official mike duffey to testify in the impeachment trial. democrat chuck schumer cites newly released documents that show efforts to freeze aid to ukraine began 90 minutes after u.s. president trump spoke with

his ukrainian counterpart back in july. shortly after that call, duffey sent an email telling officials, hold off sending aid. a democratic senator says he believes there are gaps in the impeachment case against the president. doug jones, one of the more moderate members of his party, says those gaps were caused by mr. trump's refusal to let officials testify. jones says he's keeping an open mind when the impeachment trial begins. >> i think these are really serious allegations. i'm trying to see if the dots get connected. if that is the case, then i think it's a serious matter. i think an impeachable matter. but if those dots aren't connected and there are other explanations that i think are consistent with innocence, i will go that way too. what i really want to see, though, is to fill in the gaps. there are gaps. now, people can make up their mind with gaps in testimony, but i would like to see a full and complete picture.

in less than six weeks, the first major contest of the u.s. presidential election will begin. it is the iowa caucus, and it's considered a big indicator of where voters stand. several democratic presidential candidates toured the state this weekend, making their pitches to voters. among them, former vice president joe biden, who spoke about the impeachment process. >> the fact is that it's really hard in the country, impeachment. there's nothing to celebrate about it. there's nothing to celebrate about when a nation goes through an impeachment process. it really is a reflection of at least the concern if not a failure in our system. and the rest of the world looks at us and wonders, what's going on? but in this case -- don't get me wrong -- donald trump has brought this on himself.

he indicted himself on the white house lawn when he said we're left no choice. >> the iowa caucus will take place february 3rd. we turn now to afghanistan. a disputed vote there is prompting accusations of fraud. long delayed initial results put president ashraf ghani on track to win a second term, but it's not that simple. cnn's nathan hodge reports from moscow. >> reporter: preliminary results in afghanistan's presidential election show a clear lead for the incumbent, president ashraf ghani over his chief rival, abdullah abdullah. according to results released sunday by the country's independent electoral commission, ghani received 900,000 votes to abdullah's 700,000. but abdullah has also raised questions about what he sees as widespread and systematic fraud in september's votes, raising concerns in afghanistan about a reprise over the protracted political crisis scene after the 2014 presidential election. that crisis was only resolved

with the intervention of the international community and the u.s. as well as by then-secretary of state john kerry, who helped broker a power-sharing deal. the election results also come as the u.s. seeks an exit from afghanistan. approximately 12,000 u.s. troops remain in afghanistan, and president trump has made clear that he would like to see further withdrawal of u.s. troops. nathan hodge, cnn, moscow. the taliban claimed responsibility for killing a u.s. service member on monday. a taliban spokesman says u.f. and afghan government forces were targeted with ieds while conducting a raid in the northern province of punduz. the u.s. military said earlier a service member was killed in action on monday. hong kong protesters continue to risk arrest as they fight for more democratic freedom. ahead, i speak with a prominent activist about why protesters

refuse to give in.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ we need someone to lean on ♪ blow a kiss into the sun ♪ all we need is somebody to lean on ♪ ♪ ♪ sweden's greetings. enjoy your first payment on us when you lease a new volvo. now through january 2nd.

demonstrators in lebanon flooded the streets of beirut sunday to keep pressure on its government. it comes just days after hezbollah backed hassan diab was named as the next prime minister. since october, protesters have been clashing with police over corruption and government mismanagement as lebanon faces an economic crisis. now to the protests in hong kong which have been raging for more than six months. ever since the unrest began in june, more than 6,000 demonstrators have been arrested. many are students who have risked everything for democracy, including their freedom. cnn's anna coren looks at how their arrests are impacting the city's overburdened judicial system.

>> reporter: on a sunday afternoon back in october, thousands of hong kong protesters take to the streets shouting their demands in the pouring rain. among the crowd is matthew. it's not his real name. he's asked us to hide his identity. >> we are now here to fight for our freedom and most importantly to fight for our future. >> reporter: it's this sense of duty that's driving the protest movement, and for months he's been on the front line clashing with police. are you scared about getting arrested? >> yeah, of course. i don't want violence to happen, but the government just don't listen to us. so what are we supposed to do? there is only one single option for us, and that is a revolution. >> reporter: but a week later, matthew's fight comes to an abrupt end. undercover police dressed as protesters arrest him. he's charged with possession of offensive weapons, a crime that

carries a three-year prison sentence. out on bail, matthew agrees to talk to us again. we meet at his friend's cramped apartment. protest posters cover the walls. the enormity of the situation has sunk in, but he has no regrets about his involvement. >> no, not at all. the only regrets i have is not being careful enough. >> reporter: for the soft-spoken career professional, he knows the seriousness of his alleged crime means he may end up with a criminal record, but says that's a sacrifice he's willing to make for what he believes is a greater cause. >> i believe hong kong will have fundamental change, and my future is becoming insignificant compared to hong kong. >> reporter: over the past six months, 40% of protesters are students. and while only a small proportion of them have actually been charged, pro-democracy

lawmakers and activists fear that hong kong will lose a generation of future leaders. >> with people with heart or with ideals and really values what they believe, these are people with quality. they are the future of hong kong, and the hong kong government is treating them -- damaging them, putting them into rooms. >> reporter: almost a thousand protesters have been charged with offenses ranging from unlawful assembly to the more serious crimes of rioting, assault, and arson. a third of them are students. legal experts believe the court system is not equipped to handle the sheer volume of trials. the first schedule to start early mention year. and if the majority of protesters are convicted, there's concern the prison system will be overloaded. the hong kong police tell cnn they want to see further prosecutions and say the only thing holding them up is the slow speed of the courts. >> at the moment, we don't know

how many more will be charged or what offenses they will be charged. this is not just the court, but even the police and the prosecutions are not ready. but it just shows this is not only the strains on the judiciary, but the prosecution and police are not even prepared to handle all this mess. >> reporter: we catch up with matthew just before his court appearance. he's feeling nervous. but while he and hundreds of property line front liners like him might end up behind bars, he's confident the fight will continue in his absence. >> after six months, we have already given so much on the protests. so many people got arrested. so many people got beaten up, and life has been sacrificed. we just cannot stop right now. >> reporter: anna coren, cnn, hong kong. coming up here on "cnn newsroom," it can look like just

about everyone feasts and bra s celebrates christmas. what about families that go hungry? in britain, some santas have a plan for that, next. mornings were made for better things than rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis. when considering another treatment, ask about xeljanz xr, a once-daily pill for adults with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis or active psoriatic arthritis for whom methotrexate did not work well enough. it can reduce pain, swelling, and significantly improve physical function. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections like tb; don't start xeljanz if you have an infection. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra can increase risk of death. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. as have tears in the stomach or intestines, serious allergic reactions, and changes in lab results. tell your doctor if you've been somewhere fungal infections are common, or if you've had tb, hepatitis b or c,

or are prone to infections. don't let another morning go by without asking your doctor about xeljanz xr. ♪

more now on the pending impeachment trial of president trump in the u.s. senate. but before that happens, house speaker nancy pelosi has to send over the articles of impeachment, which she says she won't do until a clear and fair path forward is presented. so how does impeachment work in the senate? cnn's victor blackwell explains. >> reporter: house democrats and white house officials are spending the holidays prepping for the president's senate trial. here's how it will all work. the rules were written for andrew johnson's trial in 1868. everything is minutely choreographed. the sergeant at arms kicks things off, and you'll be seeing a lot of him. >> hear ye, hear ye, hear ye, all persons are dmacommanded to keep silent while the president united states is sitting for the

trial. >> then senators take an oath of impartial justice in weighing the arguments presented in the trial. >> do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of william jefferson clinton, president of the united states now pending, you will do impartial justice according to the constitution and laws so help you god? >> i do. >> reporter: at least two republicans, senate majority leader mitch mcconnell of kentucky and senator lindsey graham of south carolina, have already declared that they are not impartial jurors. >> i'm not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here. >> i'm not an impartial juror. >> reporter: justice roberts can be overruled. if a senator disagrees with him, he or she can ask for the full body to vote. >> i want the whistle-blower, who put in a false report, to

testify. >> you know by now that president trump has talked about calling witnesses like hunter biden, adam schiff, the whistle-blower, but he'll need 51 senators to agree. the witnesses cannot just be called at will by the prosecution or defense. and if a senator wants to question a witness, they have to put that in writing and give it to chief justice roberts. so don't expect much of the show boating we've seen so far. then we get to the vote. it takes 34 senators to acquit. there are 54 republicans, so let's do the math. that means that 20 of them would have to side with the democrats and two independents, assuming that all of those members will vote to remove him from office. now, all 100 senators then stand at their seat to cast their decision as either guilty or not guilty. that sounds easy enough, but it isn't always so cut and dry. senator arlen specter confused clerks in the final moments of the clinton impeachment by saying, not proved, therefore not guilty. he decided to borrow a line from

scottish law, and he was making the point that he didn't necessarily think clinton was innocent, just that it had not been proved. but it didn't make much of a difference. his vote was still counted in the not guilty column. >> let's take a pause from impeachment now to think about the holidays. how about that one? some workers in britain are putting a new spin on the secret santa tradition. instead of giving gifts to colleagues, they're making sure vulnerable families aren't left with nothing on their christmas table. cnn's scott mclean has our story from london. ♪ >> reporter: it all started with a letter to santa from a 7-year-old girl in england who wished for a house, a doll, and something to eat. her heartbreaking message went viral. >> she wasn't asking for much and, you know, a bit of food on the table. >> reporter: alexaldry posted the letter on a social media page for his company, great western railway.

his christmas wish? instead of secret santa or giving gifts to colleagues, he asked rail workers to donate to food banks. >> the response has been amazing, overwhelming. what started off as a small thing in one office has now spread across the network. >> reporter: now thousands of workers in 30 depots along these tracks have donated to help children facing hunger. >> we see that around a third of people referred to food banks are children. so it's a huge number of families and children who are having to live in what we would also consider to be unacceptable destitution and poverty. so it's something which becomes even more clear at christmastime because that's really the time that we expect families to be happy and be able to have presents, but often that's exactly the time when families feel the pinch the most. >> reporter: the trestle trust, an organization that aims to end hunger in the uk, says most people who need food banks survive on just an income of about $65 a week after paying for housing.

the need increases in winter when families struggle to pay higher heating bills and children stop receiving free school lunches over the holidays. >> it's so important to be able to give people more than just food. it's really important to be able to give people hope and support during this time and help get them back on their feet. >> reporter: the organization recommends calling your local food bank to see what items they need most this christmas or donating money to pay for food deliveries and support services. >> a mince pie, you know, a bag of fancy flavored crisps. who knows what? it will make a small difference. in a way you are still a secret santa. you just won't know the person you're giving the food to. >> scott mclean, cnn, london. someone asked the uk government why thousands of families are relying on food banks this christmas. a spokesman for the government said this. the reasons for people using food banks are complex. we spend over 95 billion

pounds -- that's $123 billion a year on welfare and have simplified the benefits system through universal credit. people can get paid urgently if they need it, and 95% of payments are paid in full and on time. the artist banksy is again turning heads with his latest work of art. it is called the scarf bethlehem. behind baby jesus is concrete barriers with a bullet hole representing the christmas star. those barriers represent the ones separating israel and the west bank. the art is on display at the waldorf hotel in bethlehem which itself overlooks the barrier. thanks for watching this hour. i'm natalie allen. please stay with us. i have another hour of "cnn newsroom" right after this.

so bob, what do you take for back pain? before i take anything, i apply topical pain relievers first. salonpas lidocaine patch blocks pain receptors for effective, non-addictive relief. salonpas lidocaine. patch, roll-on or cream. hisamitsu. they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps.com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the amazing services of the post office only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4-week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps.com/tv and never go to the post office again!

al alex just because we're super hungry... ...doesn't mean you got to spend a lot! because denny's brought back the super slam™. with eggs, hash browns, bacon, sausage and pancakes. all for just $5.99. the $5.99 super slam™ is back!

see you at denny's! i'm craving something we're! missing. the ceramides in cerave. they help restore my natural barrier, so i can lock in moisture. we've got to have each other's backs... cerave. now the #1 dermatologist recommended skincare brand. peroni italia. ♪ what are you doing back there, junior? since we're obviously lost, i'm rescheduling my xfinity customer service appointment. ah, relax. i got this. which gps are you using anyway? a little something called instinct. been using it for years. yeah, that's what i'm afraid of. he knows exactly where we're going.

my whole body is a compass. oh boy... the my account app makes today's xfinity customer service simple, easy, awesome. not my thing. alex live from cnn world

headquarters in atlanta, welcome to our viewers here in the united states and all around the world. i'm natalie allen, and this is "cnn newsroom." next here, a twist in the battle over the upcoming impeachment trial. newly released emails shed light on exactly when aid to ukraine was frozen. one top democrat calls these emails explosive. now to australia where bush fires continue to rage across the country. we'll hear from people who are trying to defend their homes from these infernos. also many are praising comedian eddie murphy's return to "saturday night live." but now we're hearing from disgraced actor bill kocosby. he disagrees on that sentiment.