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white nationalist. the dinner was at former president trump's mar-a-lago resident, seated at the table with the former president, kanye west, now known as ye, and a white supremacist, nick fuentes. it takes a lot for news to break during the long thanksgiving weekend. this was pence earlier today. >> president trump was wrong to give a white nationalist, an semite, and a holocaust denier a seat at the table. i think he should apologize for it, and he should denounce those individuals and their hateful rhetoric without qualification. >> now, he's not the only republican willing to condemn trump's choice of dining companions. many republicans today, primarily in the senate, have done so. georgia governor brian kemp spoke with kaitlan collins. his full comments will air on

"cnn this morning." this is part of what he said. >> that was a bad decision. there's no place for that in the republican party. i know he's got his answer to that question, and i'll let him speak. but my views on that are very clear. >> again, you can watch governor kemp's full comments tomorrow morning on "cnn thunderstorming." donald trump is now running for a third time. missing from condemnations is senate majority leader mitch mcconnell. he said he will have his normal question and answer period with reporters tomorrow. also the man who hopes to be the next speaker of the house, kevin mccarthy, earlier this years after mccarthy dined, mccarthy condemned nick fuentes and anyone who would associate with him, quoting his comments to cnn at that time, there's no place in our party for any of this. that was then. mccarthy has yet to comment on

trump's dinner with nick fuentes this time. i'm joined now by two cnn political commentators. bakar ri cellar is a democratic lawmaker in south carolina, also author of the children's book "who are your people," and scott jennings, long time adviser to senator mitch mcconnell. we've heard some republicans come out. we've heard the former vice president, some governors, some senators. the one guy we haven't heard from is the guy who wants to be the speaker of the house. he wants to be the top republican in the country. where's kevin mccarthy? why is he silent on this? >> he's juggling a complicated deck over there. and i guess i'm mixing metaphors. he's juggling a complicated set of bowling pins over there in his quest to become speaker. he's taking the temperature of his conference, and i'm guessing we'll hear from him and mcconnell as well, after they have a chance to talk with their members. that's the one thing about these

guys in leadership, they do tend to take the temperature of the people they represent before they make comments. but i think the correct answer for any republican leader or rank and file or whoever is very clear. this was a terrible decision. this was wrong. and as a political matter, we're going to have a year and a half of this crap. and if we nominate trump, then we're going to have four or five more months of it. and then we're going to expect the american people to make him president again. it's not going to be. i think there's a moral answer, which is clear. there's a political answer, which is clear. and the number of republicans who have stepped out tonight and said the president was wrong, former president was wrong, to me, is heartening and shows he's losing his grip on the party. >> if you can clarify, what's complicated politically or morally in speaking out against white nationalism? >> there's nothing complicated about speaking out against it. but when you are the leader of a conference, you do have some responsibilities to talk to those people, listen to them,

and figure out because you're not just representing yourself. you're representing a whole large group of people, and you want to make sure that you get it just right. and you're as fully representative as you can be of that crowd. so, i suspect that's what's going on in the leadership ranks right now. >> bakarri then, what about that crowd that scott is referring to that kevin mccarthy has to be careful with politically right now. >> for me, i would rather just have the interview between you and scott because that's what most democrats want. there is no conversation that needs to be had with us involving ourselves in the fact that there's antisemites within the republican party. there is a portion, not all -- and i want to stress that as much as i can. there is a portion of the republican base that acquiesces to nick fuentes. marjorie taylor greene, for example. many others who go to his conferences. kanye west.

there are people -- i think he calls himself ye now. i don't know. black folk have disowned him for a period of time now, and now others are just getting around to it. look, there are people who grasp these individuals who are lightning rods, who are antisemite, who do not deserve a platform. and scott's absolutely correct. i would love nothing more than for the next year and change for we to be talking about donald trump and anti-semitism and kanye west and many others instead of talking about the bread and butter issues that we deserve to talk about. and that is what happens when you nominate somebody like donald trump. that's the fear, and that's also the balancing act that people like kevin mccarthy and mitch mcconnell have to weigh. >> do you think that he's right, that you are beginning to see republicans turning their back on trump by the numbers, that have come out so far, although not mccarthy? >> i mean, look, my heart wants me to believe that scott is right. i honestly don't think there's

any place for anti-semitism, whether or not it's somebody like kyrie irving or somebody like donald trump or whether or not it's whatever it may be. i just fundamentally don't believe there's a place for anti-semitism because i think that when you see anti-semitism, you also see antiblack racism. i think you see transphobia. i think you see all these other things that rise at the same time. i totally agree with scott that we want to get to a place where we're having a conversation about inflation, where we're having a conversation about foreign policy, where we're having a conversation about immigration. one of the things that donald trump takes away from that is we are not able to have those conversations. that's not my problem though. that's the republican party's problem. and right now they need his base to win. i don't think scott's right, but i want to believe in my heart that we can get there. >> so, scott -- >> can i just respond to that? >> absolutely. >> i think bakarri raises an important point about this being

a republican issue. i think he's totally correct. the way you sort these out is in political -- and we're fixing to have one. donald trump is going to have a political opponent. this is where we're going to sort this out as a family. b bakar ri is right, it's for the republicans to sort out. and you have to ask yourself, do you want to put yourself, your party, your country, through all of this all over again? we did it once. he backed into the presidency. he's never gotten more votes than a democrat in his life. nothing's going to happen in the next two years that' than a democrat in his life. nothing's going to happen in the next two years that's going to make him look any better to the people that don't like him. and what will happen are episodes like this. ths anymore. and i think, you know, the more trump makes these kinds of mistakes, the worse his candidacy is going to look as we move on with the primary. >> when former presidents, national leaders are dining, breaking bread with white

nationalists, i think it's something that we all can gather around and speak out about. it's something that concerns everyone of every party. great to see both of you. i hope you both had wonderful thanksgivings. we should point out nick fuentes is not the only controversial visitor to mar-a-lago. the residence has been the site of many visitors most presidents and former presidents would not entertain. >> reporter: at mar-a-lago, former president donald trump has often hosted gop donors and foreign dignitaries. but other guests are more controversial. >> the incredible kari lake. >> reporter: that's former arizona republican gubernatorial candidate kari lake visiting trump at mar-a-lago just days after she lost her election, despite trump's endorsement. >> i will do everything in my power to make sure this man gets back in the white house. we need him now more than ever.

>> reporter: lake also dined with trump. lake has made baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen, and trump is pushing the false claim that arizona's midterm race was rigged and that's why lake lost. she's not the only election denier to visit mar-a-lago. rudy giuliani has been there as well as former national security adviser michael flynn. flynn pleaded guilty twice to lying to investigators about his conversations with russia's ambassador before trump pardoned him. georgia congresswoman marjorie taylor greene, who was also known for previously supporting qanon and spreading misinformation about covid-19, posted this video of her with trump at the club in march last year. >> it's great to be with marjorie, a very special person. she's out there fighting hard. >> reporter: at mar-a-lago, trump has also met with long-time confidant, roger stone, who trump pardoned. stone had been convicted of witness tampering, obstruction, and making false statements during special counsel robert mueller's russia investigation. stone posted video of their

embrace at the private club back in april. >> roger! how could i not see roger? >> reporter: another guest who garnered attention, mike lindell, the my pillow guy. a 35-minute clip was posted online. >> hello, everyone. i'm down here in mar-a-lago, and i'm going to be interviewing our real president donald j. trump. >> reporter: during the interview, trump called lindell brave and an incredible patriot. to this day, lindell continues to spin election conspiracy theories despite being sued by dominion voting systems for his baseless claims they rigged the election. and then there's kyle rittenhouse. in 2020, when rittenhouse was 17, he used an ar-style semiautomatic rifle to kill two men and wound a third in kenosha, wisconsin. it happened in protests after police shot a black man. the visit to mar-a-lago took place shortly after rittenhouse,

who argued he was acting in self-defense, was acquitted by a jury. trump called rittenhouse, really a nice young man, painting him as the poster boy for self-defense. >> he called and wanted to come over because he was a fan. >> reporter: at mar-a-lago it seems the door is always open for anyone willing to heap praise on the former president, no matter their own baggage. >> randi kaye, cnn, palm beach county, florida. still to come tonight, the u.s. tomorrow against iran in the world cup. a must-win soccer game if the u.s. wants to move on. but a new controversy beyond the pitch has enveloped this match. we have live reporting from doha next. also we'll speak to students at the university of idaho now returning to campus with police no closer to catching the person or persons responsible for those mysterious murders of four students. when you stay atat a vrbo... i call doing the door code! ...the host doesn't stay with you.

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at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow, the u.s. men's nationals team fortunes at the world cup rest on a match against the u.s. to advance, the u.s. must win. a tie won't do. this has moved well beyond the game already and encapsulates all the decades of tension and strife between these two countries. now iran wants the u.s. kicked out after the u.s. soccer federation posted this image on its social media account. the picture shows an outdated iranian flag. it's missing the emblem of the islamic republic. iran has claimed this breaches rules governing the matches. u.s. said it made the change to show support for the women in iran fighting for u.s. human rights. we have two reports now on the controversy and the protests. dawn riddell is in doha in qatar, site of this year's world cup action. and -- is in istanbul with

reporting on threats to the iranian team made by its own team. the coaches from both teams addressed this controversy. what did they say? >> reporter: well, it was just the most bizarre and extraordinary press conference, john. this is the united states' biggest football match in eight years. and on the press conference on the eve of the match, there was hardly any discussion of football. the american coach found himself fielding questions about the u.s. naval fleet in the persian gulf and immigration policy. and he had to say, i'm not a politician, numerous times. the iran coach took the opportunity to throw an awful lot of shade at the country of the united states, highlighting the gun violence epidemic and the culture of racism in the united states. so, really not much talk about football at all. of course, the american players and the coach really wanted no part of this. they were keen to say that they do support women's rights, but they said that they had no knowledge that the u.s. soccer

federation was doing this. and the u.s. soccer federation's director of communications said, this was supposed to be a moment where we could show our support, but it's a moment that became a 48-hour diplomatic scandal. >> yeah, look, this is going to be a dramatic match in the first place, more so now because of the geopolitics involved here. you think that will factor in on the field tomorrow? >> i mean, the stakes are so high, of course everything is riding on the match. united states team have to win. nothing else is going to do for them. so, that's pressure in itself. but there's now all these other kind of factors that have been layered in. i would imagine this has been an uncomfortable experience for the american play plus. but even more so for the iranian team. they are no stranger to being involved in, kind of, you know, political side shows whenever they play. but you have to remember the pressure these guys are under. are they pro-regime? are they sympathetic with the protesters? everybody wants to know. it was a huge moment in the

opening game against england when the iranian players refused to sing the national anthem. but we understand that since then, they've come under increasing pressure, threats, as cnn have been reporting, even to their families. so, they appeared to mouth the anthem in the second game. what they do ahead of this, we don't know. but with threats to their families and all the other stuff going on, so hard for them to focus on a game of football. but the way they played against wales in the last game was impressive. so, these guys can deal with the pressure. it remains to be seen if a very young american team can do the same. >> well, the young american team did pretty well against england the other day. i will say that. i was reading from u.s. journalists, there was an incongruity where they were not allowed to ask questions to the iranian coach, but the iranian press was allowed to grill the u.s. coach and its players, including team captain, tyler adams. how did tyler adams handle this? >> reporter: i mean, he handled

it really well, given what he was having to deal with. we're going to play you a clip from a very bizarre exchange. they were pummelling him, asking him about racism in the country and how can he live there and all that. this question was preceded with, oh, my the way, you don't even know how to say our name. it's pronouned iran. many people in the united states call it iran. he was told pretty bluntly, it's iran. >> my apologies on the mispronunciation of your country. yeah, that being said, you know, there's discrimination everywhere you go. you know, one thing that i've learned, especially from living abroad in the past years and having to fit in in different cultures and kind of assimilate into different cultures, is that in the u.s., we're continuing to make progress every single day. >> yeah, i think tyler adams handled that situation very, very well.

remains to be seen how the players will handle it. remember the iranian team learned the other day, one of their former teammates has been arrested in iran for distributing propaganda. for those guys, this is becoming a life and death situation. they're all just trying to play a game of football out there and hope the best team wins. but just so much going on around this game. >> no question is press is there. thank you very much. now, you know, cnn is reporting that the families of iran's world cup soccer team have been threatened by the regime. what more have you learned about that? >> really disturbing information, john. this is reporting from our colleague, sam kylie, who spoke with a source who's involved in the security of the world cup. and this source has been also monitoring the activities of iran's security agencies that are operating in qatar during the world cup. and as dawn mentioned earlier during that opening match in

their game against england, the iranian team did not sing the national anthem. a lot of people took this as a show of support for the protests back home. so, what the source is telling cnn is that after that happened, the team had a meeting with members of the revolutionary guard corp. who essentially intimidated and threatened the team, telling them that they will, quote, behave, that they will sing the national anthem, that they will not take part in any protests against the government, or their families back in iran will face torture and violence. and what we understand from the source is that there's a large number of security forces from the regime that are present in qatar right now. they're collecting information and they're monitoring members of the team, according to the source. dozens of irgc members are monitoring the players who are not allowed to mingle with anyone outside the squad or any

foreigners. and possible hint as to what to expect tomorrow, john, this source is saying that during their last game with wales, of course, that's when we saw them singing the national anthem after they had been threatened, according to this source. the iranian regime had sent hundreds of actor supporters to try and show they have a lot of supporters amongst the fans. the source says they're going to be sending thousands to the match against the u.s. >> what is going on on the ground inside iran in terms of the protests? >> reporter: well, you know, john, it's very difficult for us to get information in a timely manner out of iran because the government continues to restrict communications with internet blackouts that make it very difficult for us to communicate with people, for activists to get video and information out to the world. but i can tell you, the popular

uprising has entered its third month. it shows absolutely no sign of stopping. the iranian regime has been using brutal force to try and crush these protests. they're continuing to dismiss this whole movement as some sort of a forei destabilize iran. they describe the protesters as rioters and thugs and mercenaries of foreign states including the united states and israel. and we heard from the united nations saying the situation on the ground right now is a human rights -- full fledged human rights crisis. we're talking about at least 300 people who have been killed, more than 40 of them children. and again this is the u.n. saying -- this is a conservative estimate. more than 14,000 people, men, women, children have been arrested since september. and at least six protesters have been sentenced to death in what's being described by human

rights groups as these sham trials. but, john, none of this seems to be stopping these protesters. what this crackdown is doing is making people angrier, more defiant, more determined to continue protesting to demand an end to the islamic republic. >> thank you so much for your reporting tonight. and as we sit here, still no suspect in custody or murder weapon found in the killings of four university of idaho students. and anxiety is running high on campus, as students begin to return from the thanksgiving break. with e have the latest next. introducing the new sleep number climate360 smart bed. the only smart bed in the world that actively cools, warms and effortlessly responds both of you. our smart sleepers get 28 minutesore restful sleep per night. proven quality sleep. only fm sleep number.

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so, tonight some university of idaho students are back on campus, as a killer suspected of stabbing four students to death, is still on the loose. it has now been more than two weeks since the students were killed in an off-campus home, and investigators are still on the hunt for the suspect and the murder weapon. cnn's veronica miracle spoke with some of the students who chose to return today. >> reporter: idaho state troopers slowly patrol the university of idaho campus, a visible police presence aimed at r reassuring students coming back. >> do you feel safe coming back?

>> with all the campus security and upping that up and the safe locks. i have a lot of friends here, so i never really go anywhere by myself. >> reporter: they honored the four students who were stabbed to death more than two weeks ago. there were no suspects in the case, which police still consider a targeted attack. >> i feel safe in my dorm. >> reporter: ava, like many of her classmates returned for end of semester tests. but others are taking the university's offer to finish their work online. >> one of my roommates is staying home. i don't blame her. she doesn't feel safe here. some of my friends, though, they agree, come back because they just like being around each other. >> reporter: on wednesday a vigil will be held on campus for the victims. since the murders, there's a sense of fear and anxiety on campus. several students tell us they've used the school's safe walk program, which provides escorts for students 24/7.

personal alarms like these are being given away to hundreds of women in sororities on campus. >> i placed another order for another 1,200 alarms that are going directly to the university to distribute to the students. >> the money raised by a former student, anything to make students feel safer, even if what they want most is a break in this case. >> seems kind of sad, upsetting. it's kind of quiet. most people are friendly, but now it's just kind of -- i don't know. people are kind of sketched out. >> reporter: and john, it has been days since there has been a substantial update to this case. the moscow police department says they are making progress. they've received about a thousand tips, about a third of those in the form of surveillance video and images. they continue to ask the public for help. and idaho's governor dedicating $1 million to continue to fund this investigation, as so many await answers as to who did this and why it happened.

john? >> veronica miracle, thank you so much for that report. let's get more perspective from former nypd director and commissioner for counterintelligence, now cnn's analyst. no suspects, no murder weapon. how do you explain what's taking so long? >> well, i think you have a case where they come in and they see, you know, here is a number of victims. here is a bunch of phone calls that were made in the early morning hours. here is an ex-boyfriend. and you know what they're calling a crime of passion. and then after a little investigation, they find out, okay, that guy's got an alibi. that's not the -- not going to be the killer. there's a mystery man by a food truck. he's identified. he's eliminated. there's a guy who drives them home. his alibi checks out. and all of this is backed up by technology and other evidence. and then you find yourself a couple of weeks into it really starting at the beginning.

so, you know, as you point out, what police don't have is a suspect who's identified with a clear motive. what they don't have is a murder weapon. what they do have is 113 pieces of physical evidence, 4,000 crime scene photos, and 488 tips in terms of video and technology that's been submitted. but you can also see they're taking a real step back. if you look at the area that they have blocked out and said, we want to collect all video from this area, that's an area bounded by everything surrounding the crime scene. and why are they doing that now? they said, even if there's nothing on the video, we want to get the ring doorbell cameras. we want to get the security cameras from the businesses. we want to get everything because if that video gets erased between one day or 181 days from when it's recorded, there may be something useful on it that they may find out about later. so, they really are vacuuming

all that up. >> yeah, they don't know what they don't know. it may be they need something later and if they don't get it now, it'll get erased. what about the fbi? i know there have been some asks for the fbi to come in and assist. what could the fbi's role be in this? >> i think when you look at the fbi -- as a former assistant director of the fbi, i know that when the fbi comes into one of these cases, it's not to take over the case. it's not to big foot the investigators and say, this is a federal matter. it's to bring the kind of resources that the fbi can bring to assist local law enforcement. and in this case, john, that would be c.a.s.t., the cellular analysis support team. they can tell you what phones were pinging in the areas at 3:00 in the morning and which phones were pinging at the same club that two of the victims were at beforehand. they can do analysis of where those phones went. and that could become a useful factor. there's also the behavioral science people, or as we call them, the profilers who can look

at the crime scene and tell you about offender characteristics by how the killing was done. there's also, of course, the -- system which can tell them, was there four other people or two other people or three other people murdered using the same m.o. four states away two years ago and can connect those dots. so, the fbi can bring a lot in terms of support to the moscow police department and the state the police. and governor brad little has pushed a million dollars from idaho to the state police to cover additional patrols, overtime, hotel rooms for trooper who is have been shipped up there to cover the police department while they focus on the murder. it's a real team effort. >> all right, john miller, thank you so much for helping us understand what we're seeing and not seeing there. up next, a dire situation in ukraine, with hundreds of thousands without heat, water, and electricity.

this is during the russian invasion. we'll speak to cnn's sam kylie next, who's in zaporizhzhia, where ukrainians are expecting russians to leave the nuclear power plant that provided a large amount of electricity to the country. what russian-backed officials are saying about that ahead. [ coughing/sneezing ] dude, you coming? alka-seltzer plus powermax gels with more concentrated power. because the only thing dripping should be your style! plop plop fizz fizz with alka-seltzer plus. also try for fast sinus and pain relief! ♪ kevin! kevin! kevin?

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tonight hundreds of thousands across southern ukraine are without heat, water, and electricity, as russia

continues its attacks on infrastructure in the country. the u.n. says the humanitarian situation is dire and critical, although electricity supply is gradually being restored. one photographer captured just how ominous the situation is at a children's hospital in kherson. he says some nurses are working 48 to 72-hour shifts, often using the light from a lamp or flashlights. nurses are caring for orphan babies and children almost completely in the dark. and in this photo, a doctor tends to a four-day-old baby under the light of just a desk lamp. that's in the children's icu. over the weekend, the head of ukraine's nuclear agency provider say russian forces may be planning to lead the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, that's the largest nuclear power facility. it provided up to 20% of the country's electricity before the invasion. sam kiley joins me now. i want to talk about the nuclear power plant in just a moment.

but the situation in the hospital in kherson seems dire. and russia has continued to strike at the city, which they've recently pulled out of. what's the status? >> well, ironically, the situation is dire at the hospital i status? >> well, ironically, the situation is dire at the hospital in terms of the power supply, but it's better than it was a few days ago because in fact kherson has nearly got 20% power restored to it because the russians not only destroyed the local power station but also destroyed the lines connecting it to the rest of the country's network. the network, as you rightly point out there, itself has been under pressure nationwide right across the country as a result of what the ukrainian government, john, says have been seven different waves of attacks predominantly by cruise missiles. president zelenskyy has been warning his population to heed

air raid sirens. as far as ukraine is concerned, they have intelligence that there is likely to be another wave of attacks against the power infrastructure. john? >> and what about the power plant, the nuclear power plant? who is in control of it? how much longer will the russians stay? what do we actually know for sure? >> well, this has been a very real location in terms of a military strategic necessity or victory really for the russians, who captured it back in march. there have been lately the head of the ukrainian industry, who's in touch with the people in the neighboring town, has suggested, although provided very little evidence for the suggestion, that the russians may be preparing to withdraw. but he admits that it doesn't appear to be particularly imminent. i think this should probably be seen as part of the ongoing psychological warfare to go along side the hot war.

the nuclear power plant provides 20% of the generating capacity for the whole ukrainian electrical industry, an industry that the russians have been trying to systemically destroy. so, they're very unlikely to give that up. on top of that, it's a very important location in terms of if the russians pulled out, the ukrainians would move back in. that would give them a bridge head on the other side of the dnipro river to continue their campaign, which they're likely to do over the next few beweeks perhaps in the zaporizhzhia front line, which has been frozen for the past few months. the status of the nuclear power station retains tenuous, with the u.n. observers still there regularly reporting that they see the evidence of shelling, the results of shelling, which both the ukrainians and russians blame each other for in that very, very tense and dangerous location. >> sam kylie in zaporizhzhia. sam, stay safe. thank you so much. joining me now with more,

retired general wesley clark, now senior fellow at ucla berkal center and cnn military analyst. we've seen russia continue to carry out these huge missile strikes, drone attacks across ukraine. how long could russia keep up this kind, this level of intensity? >> probably several weeks more, maybe longer. we know that they're drawing down their inventories. we know they can't produce the most modern missiles, but they've got old stuff that can be thrown at the ukrainians. they're apparently now taking nuclear war heads off some of their missiles and just lobbing them in there either as decoys or letting the metal speak for itself when it hits the ground. so, they're going to keep this up for as long as they can. this is the russian strategy. they can't win on the battlefield. maybe they can pummel the ukrainian people into demanding a cease fire to get their grid restored, and that's what putin wants. he wants the fighting to stop.

wants some sanctions relief, wants to rebuild that military so he can kick this thing into high gear again and finish his mission of taking over ukraine. >> you say the russians can't win in the battlefield. they're trying to win in at least one city in the donetsk region. the russians claim that they're encircling this city. but the ukrainians say they are defending it even as russia tries to throw more forces at it. what do you think the russians are trying to get out of this very focused, what they claim to be, offensive on the city? >> well, look, the way you operate in the military is you do have to focus your combat power. so, they are focusing it on this point. and if they take bakhmut, it opens the door towards kramatorsk. it serves as a killing ground for grinding up the ukrainian forces. and this is what they want to do if they can put unbearable pressure on these ukrainian

forces. before they can bring the other forces back from kherson to bear, if they can cause the ukrainians to blink, to request a cease fire, to ask for a breathing spell, putin wins. so, he's got a place where the ukrainians do have to hold. they are dug in. they are holding. but they're taking heavy losses. so, it's a meat grinder. >> the temperatures have fallen below freezing in some parts of ukraine, and it's only going to get colder. what is the onset of winter mean for both armies? >> well, traditionally it means that you can maneuver off road. you can still maneuver on road right now. you can still send infantry forward. you can still might in these builtup areas. so, we shouldn't make too much of this. in the 1940s, ukraine didn't have paved roads. so, the mud was a real problem. but there's a lot of paved roads there now. so, yes, it's a problem for off-road maneuver. but the other thing we saw at

least last winter -- and i watched the temperature all december, january, and february. the ground never really froze well, especially in the southern area. you might have a day or two below freezing. you could have 35, 40 degree weather. you could have snow mixed with rain. so, it wasn't like the hard freezes of 40, 50 years ago, where the temperature was 20 degrees and below for weeks on end. that could happen this winter, but it certainly didn't happen last year. if it does, then, yes, there will be a lot of opportunity for widespread maneuver if the russians have the forces to do it. >> aside from that, for the ukrainians, what's the best opportunity for them to push their offensive, or counteroffensive, as the case may be? >> they need to work reconnaissance attacks. they get to get across the dnipro. they need to move into crimea. crimea is the sweet spot. if you can move south of

zaporizhzhia, get your special forces in there, do your reconnaissance-led strikes with the himars, you can push that russian force back into crimea, threaten crimea, cut off the supply line that runs along the sea of azov. you've got a winning hand there. the donbas is maybe important in the old terms for political reasons, but the supply lines run alongside the sea of azov. and the sensitive territory is crimea, and that's where i believe the ukrainians are headed. >> general clark, thank you so much for helping us out tonight. >> thank you. so, after all this, we all could use some levity, some holiday cheer. stay with us. we're going to take you to the white house to see this year's christmas decorations up close. that's next. contestants ready? go! only pay for what you need. jingle: liberty. liberty. liberty. l liberty.

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many of you may be feeling all the spare the cyber monday. is definite begin to look a lot like christmas at the white house. earlier, first lady jill biden unveiled this year's holiday decorations, have a theme of we the people. 77 christmas threes and more than 80,000 lights. it now illuminate people's house.

more than 100 cuban tears decorated the public firms and attack the halls. there was mrs. biden thanking them today. >> some of you may still have a little glue gun residue on your fingers. or sore backs hanging up all that snow in the colony. and yesterday you might have got, if i have to tie just one more but i am out of here. but i also hope you made some lifelong fans. and felt the unique joy,the chaf the holidays. >> i'll stick stapleton's work best. kate bennett joins us now from the white house. and the first lady clearly put a lot of thought into this. i'm working to spot the official white house christmas tree? . i also understand as human or this celebration. >> the planning basically starts today after the easter egg world. and really get confirmed in the summer. so think of all those months of planning, that one in this. that goes into it every year

here at the white house. the christmas tree though, is pretty spectacular. it's an 18 and a half foot for from pennsylvania. it is decorated with all the state birds. so in the bottom of it is a giant nest. and when she said gun, it is really good. these are all papier-mâché birds, all over history. it is very intricate. very detailed. and the menorah is actually -- there's a mentor every year. but this is the first year that there is one part of the white house collection. that means was made here, it will permanently be in the collection. it is made of, at reclaimed wood from the truman renovation. which is the last significant renovation of the white house during the truman administration. so that block of what their was saved from that renovation. they used for this menorah. stella also be there in the cross all, which is pretty, cool and be part of a collection forever. >> how are willow and commander,

the first captain dog, how are they incorporated into the day? >> they've been papier-mâché it. they are papier-mâché all over the decoration. commander is about a year old now. and willow, the cat, is joe biden's constant companion. they are in different rooms. they pop up a couple of times in this year's decorations. i think it is nice to include some white house bats. michelle obama would do big things with both. sunny there was poll not for major the poor re-homed biden dog, who is the fighter. but commander is the new biden puppy. >> commanders, they're even the major is not. we will proudly eggnog for major. kate bennett, thank you, thank you very much, happy holidays to you. >> the news continues, cnn tonight with laura coats picks it up in just a moment. effortlessly responds to both of you.

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