good tuesday morning, i'm erica hill. >> and i'm jim sciutto. the january 6th committee officially handing its case against former president trump on in effect to the justice department. the big question now of course is what does the justice department do with this evidence as well as the evidence it's collected itself. for the first time in american

history congress has recommended criminal charges against a former president. the committee accused trump of four federal crimes including inciting an insurrection. those criminal referrals do not force the justice department to do anything but with doj investigations already under way and trump already a 2024 presidential candidate, the rule of law, american democracy, lots of things facing key tests just ahead. plus the biden administration facing a new deadline today to respond after supreme court chief justice john roberts puts a temporary hold on title 42. so for now that rule allowing officials to turn away migrants at the border because of pandemic era health concerns can stay in place, at least, that is, until justices decide on an emergency appeal filed by a group of republican-led states. we will keep you posted and take you live to the border. we do begin this hour, though, with the january 6th committee's blistering closing

argument against former president trump. >> cnn senior legal affairs correspondent paula reid joins us now. a big question throughout this has been did the president believe his own election lies because that gets potentially to intent. what did we learn from their final report yesterday? >> it's just a great question, jim, because when we see the reaction from trump camp we see what he's saying publicly, right, the political spin and then there are the arguments that his lawyers, his advisers are making behind the scenes. publicly he argues that, look, he says in a statement these folks don't get t that when they come after me people who love freedom rally around me. it strengthens me. what doesn't kill me makes me stronger. behind the scenes his advisers are hoping that he just will lay low, not say too much, but they're not sure he's actually going to follow their advice. i spoke with members of his defense team and they say they are not that concerned about this particular investigation, the one into his role in january 6th. they say prosecutors face an uphill battle proving, as you noted, that he didn't know that the election wasn't stolen. but what was so interesting was

yesterday we saw the house select committee try to blunt that defense by presenting a lot of these previously unseen clips of white house advisers testifying that they, in fact, told him this was not true. let's take a listen to what hope hicks had to say. >> i was becoming increasingly concerned that we were damaging -- we were damaging his legacy. >> what did the president say in response to what you just described? >> he said something along the lines of, you know, nobody will care about my legacy if i lose, so that won't matter, the only thing that matters is -- is winning. >> not helpful for his defense if they're going to try to argue that he had a valid, honestly-held belief that he had won the election. now, lawmakers, they have made their case in the court of public opinion.

let's see what the justice department does with it. >> in terms of the justice department, i know you have some new reporting on the special counsel and next steps there. what have you learned? >> that's right. so special counsel jack smith has been appointed to take over the january 6th investigation into the former president, his associates, as well as the investigation in classified documents at his mar-a-lago residence. he's already looking into this. he didn't necessarily need these new criminal referrals but it's interesting that he has been working remotely in europe after a biking accident, but a source familiar with his plans tells cnn that he is expected to be back in the u.s. by early january and that's significant because that will allow him to really finalize his office also set that up, get that machine sort of working because some of the former president's attorneys have argued, look, nothing has changed. we still talk to the same people, is this guy just a rubber stamp? this is his opportunity to return to the united states, continue these investigations a wrap them up. time is of the essence. there are concerns even by the attorney general how far this

will extend into campaign season after the former president has announced he is once again running for the white house. >> paula reid, thanks so much. the house ways and means committee is discussing to discuss what, if anything, they plan to do with trump's tax returns. the former president never made his returns public on the campaign trail you will remember. the committee has them and now has the ability to do just that. >> cnn's lauren fox joining us live from capitol hill. what is the latest? what are we expecting later today, lauren? >> reporter: well, this meeting really years in the making, erica, and such an important moment for the house ways and means committee as you know, richard neal, the chairman of this committee, has had access to the former president's tax information now for a couple of weeks, but new information that i got last night is that members have also begun to get access to this information ahead of today's meeting. what we expect to happen is that they will get together at 3:00 p.m. today. they will open the meeting then they will quickly vote to go into what is known as an executive session or a

closed-door meeting. that moons we won't be able to see pra transpires within that meeting. they will have a discussion, then, about what to do with the information that they have received about trump's taxes. that is going to be a decision up to the committee. we do not know what they plan to decide and whether or not they will release any of this information, but it is going to be significant. they will come out of that meeting and then they will have the formal vote where we will be able to see how members vote and whether or not they want to move forward with releasing some of this information. it's going to be highly, highly anticipated in part because republicans are arguing that this is unprecedented, that this is something that they think is being weaponized by the ways and means committee, but the chairman has been steadfast all along saying he wanted this tax information because he wants to understand how this presidential audit program has been working over at irs. that's a program that requires when a new president and vice president come into office that their taxes are automatically audited.

we're going to see today what they decide to do and if we get any of this information after years of this fight by house chairman -- ways and means chairman richard neal. >> a lot of people waiting on that outcome. thank you. joining us now to discuss, elie honig, former assistant u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york and cnn political analyst john avalon. as we look at where we are now these referrals which were anticipated coming yesterday along with the executive summary, which was not short, let's be clear here, nearly 160 pages, the full report, transcripts coming later, coming tomorrow. in your mind as a former prosecutor what are prosecutors looking for in both the executive summary that they have now and then the other documents, the other information that will be coming tomorrow? >> so, erica, the executive summary that we got yesterday, i think, on its face is a fairly compelling document. i think they make a straightforward case and it's grounded in the facts that they presented to us during the hearings, but i think there's

also both more or less to what it appears on its face. former prosecutor's point of view. for one thing we are going to get more details tomorrow, we're going to starting seeing those transcripts. they left some conspicuous gaps in the executive summary yesterday that maybe they will fill in tomorrow. i think it's a fair bet that doj has information that the committee does not have. the committee clearly has information doj does not have and vice versa. but on the other hand we also have to keep in mind this has been a one-sided affair. yes, it's a bipartisan committee but there has been no cross-examination, there's not really been any examination of the underlying transcripts. count on the fact that the in the coming days donald trump and his team will scrutinize all of those transcripts, all of that evidence and look for any inconsistencies or any evidence that may be favorable to donald trump as well. >> elie, a specific legal question here. the report established multiple instances in which someone close to trump, and we saw in paula's report there hope hicks, told him that the voter fraud

theories were false, right, or, you know, witnessing instances like that. does that help establish intent here because that's a part of the issue, right, from a legal standpoint is you have to have intent to defraud. >> that goes exactly to the issue of intent, jim, i think you have hit on the key issue that i promise you prosecutors are struggling with right now. there is plenty of evidence that all manner of credible people from donald trump's own advisers to bill barr to all manner of advisers and people who donald trump himself chose told him you've lost, it's over. there also is of course evidence that some of donald trump's more sort of ardent loyalists told him, well, hold on, there's fraud and we are talking about rudy giuliani and sidney powell and others like that. we can roll our eyes at that and say who believes rudy giuliani? who believes sidney powell? i think there is some justification for that, but donald trump's lawyers will argue he gets to decide who he believes. if he trusts rudy and sidney powell and not other people

that's up to him. that's at the heart of what prosecutors are trying to drill in on. >> we heard from the former vice president mike pence in response. i want to play a little bit of what he had to say. >> i would hope that they would not bring charges against the former president. i don't -- look, as i wrote in my book, i think the president's actions and words on january 6th were reckless, but i don't know that it's -- >> criminal. >> -- criminal to take bad advice from lawyers. i hope the justice department understands the magnitude of the very idea of indicting a former president of the united states. i think that would be terribly divisive in the country. >> the "wall street journal" editorial board echoing what we heard from mike pence basically saying doj shouldn't indict because of the potential impact on the country, citing in the board's words partisan context of the committee's work. look, if we are -- you have talked so well about this, about the historical context here, the historical context of they say

you can't indict because it would be too political. not indicting would be political. as opposed to just following the facts. where are we at in this country now that that's the discussion? >> well, i don't think we can be distracted by that discussion because at the end of the day while you need to take in the impact of this unprecedented situation we are in there's a deeper principle at play. equal justice under law. you apply the law. if you look at the history of the laws that were invoked by the committee yesterday and particularly insurrection, these are laws that are rooted in some ways, you know -- certainly in the civil war. in the civil war generation putting the laws forward to try to stop future insurrection occurring, embedded in 14th amendment section 3. and so i think this idea that enforcing the law is divisive pales in comparison that the idea to overturn an election based on a lie is far more

divisive. without accountability insurrections are just practice. >> john, political question here because folks will pars whether the january 6th committee had a political impact before the doj make its decision. amy walter made the point yesterday that, well, if you look at the midterm elections you can argue that the january 6th committee's findings as well as other things that have been revealed by reporters and other revelations and so on already had something of a political impact in the election deniers did not fare well in the midterms. is that a fair connection? >> i think that is a fair connection. remember the election deniers did not do well in swing states which is of course where they matter the most. many so-called red states, conservative states, they won, but presumably won't be trying to overturn elections if their team wins. that's the problem of this. what was compelling about the testimony we heard is that it's coming from republicans. it's coming from within the trump white house. and that should, you know, blow apart this sort of process

argument that this was somehow a partisan committee. it could have been more bipartisan, it should have been more bipartisan, and i think that does reflect where we are as a country. we can't unite even after january 6. it's up to the republican party to repudiate donald trump if they want to diminish his power going forward. considering he's still campaigning on a lie that apparently nobody else believes. that's fundamental. >> there was a bipartisan plan for this committee it was abandoned. elie and john -- after they appointed someone, a republican to negotiate. elie and john, good to have you on. i'm sure there will be more to discuss. right now tens of thousands of people are without power after a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck humboldt county in california. one of the images of one of the homes. >> they have earthquakes out

there, folks get worried. veronica, san francisco not a place alien to fears of earthquakes. first of all, was it knelt there and what more do we know about the damage and the extent of this? >> reporter: well, jim and erica, not felt here in san francisco, however, there's a lot of communities in humboldt county dealing with the damage as they wake up this morning. the sheriff's office saying that people need to be prepared for aftershocks in that area and they're also asking people to check for gas and water line damage and asking people to be safe and cautious when traveling, partly because some of the roadways, there's debris on the roadways, also reports of a bridge that has been damaged, the fern bridge has been djd that's a connector there and they are assessing that as they look at the seismic issues. also reports of damages to people's homes, we're seeing videos of shelves knocked down, of china and glassware broken as people are waking up and

assessing the damage. as of last check about 70% of people in that area are without power this morning, that's about 70,000 people in the area waking up in the dark. officials are asking people not to call 911 unless there is an immediate threat, but they are saying at this point in time there is no tsunami threat. a lot of damage to go through and officials are working around the clock and around the area to make sure that everyone is safe this morning. jim, erica? >> and daylight will be important there, too, as the sun begins to come up. veronica miracle, thank you. still to come, the supreme court temporarily freezing the end of title 42. we're going to be live down on both sides of the border where now guardsmen are noble liesing this morning ramping up security ahead of a possible new surge. overnight on capitol hill lawmakers revealed agreement, a massive spending bill to avert a government shutdown, there is little room for error ahead of the friday deadline. plus a shocking security

failure, someone posing as an intruder able to gain access to a school in uvalde, texas, nearly eight months after that tragic massacre. ah, these bills are crazy. she has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she os a life insurance pocy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of ito coventry for cash. even a tm policy. even a term policy? even a term policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com.

♪ what will you do? ♪ what will you change? ♪ will you make something better? ♪ will you create something entirely new? ♪ our dell technologies advisors provide you with the tools and expertise you need to do incredible things. because we believe there's an innovator in all of us. 'twas a wintry day, and at ihop quite soon hot cinnamon apples would be coaxed with a spoon on the fluffiest french toast with red currants on top we wish you a happy holiday, only at ihop.

new gingersnap apple french toast, part of our new holiday menu. try all three flavors. vo: ferrari knows racing. palantir knows data. bonded by engineering excellence. palantir. data driven enterprise accelerator. power e*trade's award-winning trading app makes trading easier. with its customizable options chain, easy-to-use tools, and paper trading to help sharpen your skills, you can stay on top of the market from wherever you are. power e*trade's easy-to-use tools make complex trading less complicated. custom scans help you find new trading opportunities. while an earnings tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market.

lily! welcome to our third bark-ery. oh, i can tell business is going through the “woof”. but seriously we need a reliable way to help keep everyone connected from wherever we go. well at at&t we'll help you find the right wireless plan for you. so, you can stay connected to all your drivers and stores on america's most reliable 5g network. that sounds just paw-fect. terrier-iffic i labra-dore you round of a-paws at&t 5g is fast, reliable and secure for your business. the biden administration has until 5:00 p.m. today to respond to a temporary hold allowing title 42 to remain in place. that is a pandemic policy which allows border authorities to swiftly expel migrants seeking asylum at the u.s./mexico

border. >> a judge ordered the government to stop enforcing the rule after wednesday this week, but a group of republican-led states appealed to the supreme court and chief justice john roberts issued that stay in effect for now holding the policy in place. cnn is on both sides of the southern border. david culver on the mexican side and we begin in el paso, texas, with ed lavandera. for now title 42 remains in place, allows border officers to basically expel people based on pandemic grounds, but the city still preparing for the lifting of that policy. what are you seeing? >> reporter: well, we are seeing a dramatic change this morning along the rio grande in el paso where national guard soldiers have been deploying fencer and barbed wire along the very area where migrants have been crossing for much of the last week. this is part of according to the texas national guard some 400 soldiers deployed to the area. this coming in the days after

the mayor of el paso had declared a state of emergency, but it's not exactly clear if this is the kind of deployment and the kind of efforts that city leaders and local leaders had wanted to see. so we have reached out to many of the city leaders trying to get a reaction to what we're seeing play out here on the river this morning, but officials here in the area have been saying that regardless of what is happening in the courts that they will continue proceeding as if title 42 is going to be lifted on wednesday. they say they are in the process of really trying to shore up shelter space, opening up perhaps several warehouses, even unused school buildings to house migrants and that they are more concerned with sheltering and transportation issues at this point, but right now officials are saying that they are going to continue moving ahead as if title 42 is going to be lifted tomorrow. >> ed lavandera with the latest in el paso for us. thank you.

as we mentioned just on the other side david culver joining us from mexico. david, many of these migrants have traveled thousands of miles, they have spent weeks just to get to this point to cross the riser. what are they saying this morning? >> reporter: a lot of confusion, that's for sure, they saw what we saw playing out around 4:30 in the morning local time and that is this bolstering along the border. you heard ed mentioning the barbed wire going up, that's what we see across the rio grande here. you have national guards members in place, state troopers from the state of texas, also here. they are keeping people from what was a very easy crossing from going over. telling them instead go down to the bridge, the formal crossing. that's the only way you can get in. the question is what happens once you actually get over and you become processed by cbp? that really depends on who you ask.

we watch as they step over a debris field of personal belongings, clothes and trash, reminders of the thousands who crossed illegally before them, most hoping for asylum in the u.s. in this very spot last month we introduced you to this woman and her husband and their 5-year-old son. like so many migrants chasing their american dream they waited for the right time to step across. >> are you scared? [ speaking non-english ] >> he said he's a little scared. it's always hard because you don't know what's going to happen. >> reporter: that was their second attempt to enter the u.s. they are now in indianapolis near his brother and staying with a friend. there's still the fear that they can expel us, franklin says. we don't want to do anything bad that will call attention. when they entered the u.s. border agents brought them in, no questions asked. a sign they say of the seemingly overwhelmed land crossing. they only told us what we needed

to do, go here, go there, she says. after seven days in immigration detention in el paso she says they were granted conditional release, now they wait for a january court hearing to determine their status and future in the u.s. rafael rojas shared with us his treacherous and deadly journey from venezuela to mexico, witnessing tragedy throughout. when we met him last month he held tight to his shoes and followed the same stone path others took just hours earlier. but unlike the prior family, rafael was handcuffed and immediately deported more than 700 miles away. in his last message to us he said he vows to keep trying until he makes it to the u.s. then there's this family. four weeks ago 9-year-old ruby told me all the countries she traveled to just to get to

mexico. their dream destination sketched out. we caught up with them still in mexico now renting a small home, no kitchen, no heating, ruby still without a school but determined. [ speaking non-english ] >> she wants to learn english. they no longer live at the encampment because those tents no longer exist. in this messy clash with mexican police late last month the migrants living here were forced to leave. tents and blankets burned as the space was cleared out. the mayor tells me the migrants were offered city shelters. >> it was dangerous for them to be there and we have place to offer them. >> reporter: he warns many migrants have become vulnerable targets of organized crime, a ran francisco desperately wants out. the family tried to cross twice before. i really don't like the idea of staying here he tells me.

he fears the dangers of mild trafficking, cartels and more. once known as the murder capital of the world, still dangerous, despite the uncertainties at night hundreds lined the u.s. side of the rio grande lighting fires to keep warm in the freezing cold, hoping they will be granted asylum, a seemingly endless stream of migrants of different backgrounds but with the same goal. this family also getting ready to cross, making the difficult decision to leave behind their dog who has been with them from the start, staying with a caretaker in mexico. a tearful good-bye but francisco believes his family's future, a safer one, is on the other side. the family had planned to cross where everyone else was crossing, the stones right over there, but that is not possible anymore because of the infrastructure that's now in place. the barbed wire. you can hear some shouting that is some of the folks who are the migrants on this the mexican side speaking across to the

national guardsmen using a megaphone to tell them you cannot cross here, it's illegal, you have to go to the bridge. >> goodness. so much to witness there. david culver, thanks so much. just ahead here a shocking security failure at a uvalde school. an inspector posing as an intruder during a safety audit able to gain access to the school through an unlocked door. we are also just minutes away from the opening bell on wall street. market futures they're flat heading no into the day. the dow, s&p and nasdaq all ended the day down on monday, that's the fourth day in a row stocks have dropped amid continuing fears of a recession, big companies expected to release earnings like fedex and nike. we will keep on top of all of this. please stay with us. i rememember when i first started flying, and we would experience turbulence. i would watch the flight attendants. if they're not nervous, then i'm not going to be nervous.

financially, i'the flight attendant in that situation. the relief that comes over people oncehey know they've got a guide to help them through, i definitely feel privileged to be in that position. ♪ the holidays were awkward for romeo and juliet. ♪ thankfully, amazon had just the gift to bring the families together. ♪ shop legendary deals. two loads of snot covered laundry. only one will be sanitized. wait, what? adding lysol laundry sanitizer kills 99.9% of bacteria detergent alone, can't. ugh, this rental car is so boring to drive. let's be honest. the rent-a-car industry is the definition of boring. and the reason can be found in the name itself.

rent - a - car? you don't want a friend. you want the friend. you don't want a job. you want the job. the is always over a. that's why we don't offer a car. we offer the car. ( ♪ ) sixt. rent the car.

when they're sick, they get comfortable anywhere and spread germs everywhere. wherever they rest protection nothing kills more viruses, including the covid-19 virus, on more surfaces than lysol disinfectant spray. lysol. what it takes to protect. all across the country, people are working hard to build a better future. so we're hard at work, helping them achieve financial freedom. we're providing greater access to investing, with low-cost options to help maximize savings. from the plains to the coasts, we help americans invest for their future. and help communities thrive.

lawmakers have unveiled a massive government spending bill -- funding bill that must pass in order to avoid a government shutdown on friday. >> by the way, it's going to last for a few months. it is expected to go through. time, though, still of the essence. no one wants to threaten congressional vacations. manu raju joins us from capitol hill. a big one, $177 trillion i believe is the figure. what made it in. >> this is a massive bill. $1.7 trillion it was unveiled at 1:23 in the morning in the senate and they want to jam this through congress in just a matter of a couple days. very little time for most

members of congress to review it, very little time for the public to grasp it. we are starting to get some of the details on this proposal which is almost three months late, the original deadline was september 30th. they've kicked the can until this friday to avoid a government shutdown. now the pressure is on to get the votes and get an agreement both in the senate and votes in the house. this bill totals $1.7 trillion in funding across the federal government and has a whole host of measures including more than $44 billion in aid to ukraine. the measure also includes some key provisions. it has an overhaul of the electoral count act of 1887, something that is designed to prevent another january 6, try to prevent an effort by a president to pressure a future vice president to overturn election results. that cannot be done under this legislation. in addition secure act 2.0, a retirement package to make it easier for americans to save for retirement and would ban tiktok from federal devices, something

that is also included in this bill. there are key provisions not included in this bill, that includes something that is known as the safe banking act, that is something that was pushed by senate majority leader chuck schumer wanted to allowed cannibis companies to use the cash reserves, use the banking system that is not in this proposal. an expansion of the child tax credit, extension that have expansion, that was also not included despite democratic demands. there are a whole host of corporate and individual tax rates that were not included in this bill and also no decision on the fbi headquarters, whether to move that to maryland or virginia. a huge fight between the delegations in the final hour as they try to cut this massive deal. this bill includes $5 billion in funding for veterans who suffer from toxic burn pits, that was legislation improved earlier this year to include funding for that. $38 billion in disaster aid. there is a lot in here for a lot of members to like, a lot in here for a lot of members to not like and a lot of members want more time to review the process.

it remains to be seen how this plays out and whether they can get this done by friday. >> 4,000 pages, eight hours ago. even the best speed reader, that is a challenge. manu raju, appreciate it. thank you. all right. to uvalde, texas, now. a disturbing revelation, cnn learned than inspector posing as an intruder managed to get into a school cafeteria through an unlocked door. >> the school superintendent said this was part of a safety you had audit it comes with the horror of the robb elementary school massacre understandably top of mind there. martin savidge joining us now. i mean, it leaves you speechless. >> it does. i was taken aback when i heard this information. let me give you a bit of background. it was revealed at the school board meeting in uvalde, texas, they had been undergoing a security audit, this was

essentially a test. never at any time were students or staff in any kind of danger, but this test was conducted as you point out just seven months after that horrific massacre that took place inside the elementary school in which 21 people, 19 students, two teachers were murdered. way it works is an auditor went to three schools, we don't know which schools, with he don't know if robb element elementary was among them. we around to the outside doors to see if the doors were locked. two of the schools passed the test, but a third school, again, we don't know which one, the auditor was able to go to a loading dock by the cafeteria where there was a door that was closed but with a lot of force that auditor yanked the door open. here is the superintendent talking about how this happened. >> there were no students in the cafeteria and he was stopped by staff in the cafeteria and so that -- that's what we're

supposed to do. but they gained access and that was disappointing. the delivery of goods into loading docks was just something, quite honestly, that i overlooked, but i won't overlook it next time. >> you can understand the deadly potential consequences there had this not been just a test but had it been the real thing, one door overlooked in a loading dock could have had horrific consequences. also at that meeting they plan for more security doors, more cameras and of course a revamped school police department. but still stunning to think of, again, seven months out. >> it certainly is. martin savidge, appreciate it. thank you. >> you're welcome. still ahead, new cnn reporting on u.s. plans to support an even upgrade ukraine's weapons supply. a tool that could turn a so-called dumb bomb into a precision guided munition. that's coming up. l, and physica.

and we know 80% of couples sleep too hot or too cold. introducing the new sleep number climate360 smarart bed. the only smart bed in the wowod that actively cools, warms, and effortlessly responds to both of you. our smart sleepers get 28 minutes more restful sleep per night. proven quality sleep. only from sleep number. the eat fresh® refresh juston't stop! now, subway® is refreshing their catering with easy-order platters and lunchboxes perfect for any party. pool parties... tailgates... holiday parties... even retirement parties. man, i love parties. subway keeps refreshing and refreshing ♪ ♪ i see an amazing place.

feels like a dream. a place of many wonders... and full of life. i open my eyes: earth is our pandora. ♪ ♪ my a1c stayed here, it needed to be here. ray's a1c is down with rybelsus®. i'm down with rybelsus®. my a1c is down with rybelsus®. in a clinical study, once-daily rybelsus® significantly lowered a1c better than a leading branded pill. in the same study, people taking rybelsus® lost more weight. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away

if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. need to get your a1c down? you may pay as little as $10 per prescription. all across the country, people are working hard to build a better future.

so we're hard at work helping them achieve financial freedom. we're proud to serve people everywhere, in investing for the retirement they envision. from the plains to the coasts, we help americans invest for their future. and help communities thrive. get refunds.com powered by innovation refunds can help your business get a payroll tax refund, even if you got ppp and it only takes eight minutes to qualify. i went on their website, uploaded everything, and i was blown away by what they could do. getrefunds.com has helped businesses get over a billion dollars and we can help your business too. qualify your business for a big refund in eight minutes. go to getrefunds.com to get started. powered by innovation refunds.

the biden administration is preparing its next round of security aid for ukraine. sources tell cnn the package will include weapons aimed at helping ukraine bust through russia's defensive lines. >> cnn pentagon correspondent barbara starr joins us now. of course this is her reporting. the u.s. is trying to help, you know, sort of achieve this balance here, help the ukrainians but not escalate to the point where they end up into direct conflict with russia. can you tell us what's in the new package and how it fits into that plan? >> well, we have talked a bit about, you know, the patriot air defense missiles and that's expected to come within days as part of the next package of assistance, but now sources are

telling cnn there's something else in that aid package and that is something called jdam. what she is are precision kits, kits that bolt on essentially to a so-called dumb bomb, a bomb that would fall off an airplane on to the battlefield and hit wherever it hits. these bolt on kits turn those so-called dumb bombs into precision guided weapons. it will have guidance, they will be able to aim at particular targets, at a particular point in time. and that could give ukraine's air forces a critical advantage that they haven't really had so far. russian troops dug in during the winter, they may be able to hit those targets once they get all of this in place. not so easy, no the so fast, because the kits have to get there and the ukrainians have to figure out a way, along with the u.s. and other allied partners, how to use these weapons on their soef yviet era fighter je.

all of this very much in progress, we're told and the announcement about all of it could come within the next couple of days, this week it's largely expected to be announced. erica, jim? >> barbara, before you go, far more important stuff. this is folks watching might not know this, but this is your last day at cnn. i have known you for a heck of a long time, maybe 20 years, and i'm really going to miss you and i'm sure our viewers will miss you, too, because you're damn good at your job and also happen to be a really good egg. so thank you for being a colleague and friend. >> that is so gracious of both of you. thank you. >> you are already missed, barbara, and to jim's point you are so well-respected, not only here at cnn, but in the broader community of journalists. i know how well-respected you are at the pentagon. your sourcing. you are also just a really great human and thank you for all the times that i have asked you for

guidance or help on something, you are always one of the first people to respond when somebody asks you for that. so we already miss you, but wish you nothing but the best and i hope you are not a stranger. >> i know for a fact that folks at the pentagon look up at the screen when you are reporting something to see what you have to say. i know for a fact. that's a sign of respect. >> thank you both very much. >> barbara starr. still to come here, winter storms posing a blizzard threat to parts of the midwest and there is a whole lot of holiday travel that could be caught in the crosshairs, already some airlines issuing travel waivers encouraging travelers to reschedule their flights. we have the latest forecast for you next. what will you change? ♪ will you make something better? ♪ will you create something entirely n new? ♪ our dell technologies advisors provide you with

the tools and expertise you need to do incredible things. because we believe there's an innovator in all of us. 'twas a wintry day, and at ihop quite soon hot cinnamon apples would be coaxed with a spoon on the fluffiest french toast with red currants on top we wish you a happy holiday, . new gingersnap apple french toast, part of our new holiday menu. try all three flavors. after years of chasing the big idaho potato truck... i finally caught it.

oh man. always look for the grown in idaho seal. power e*trade's easy-to-use tools like dynamic charting and risk-reward analysis help make trading feel effortless and its customizable scans with social sentiment help you find and unlock opportunities in the market with powerful, easy-to-use tools power e*trade makes complex trading easier react to fast-moving markets with dynamic charting and a futures ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity the ergo smart base from tempur-pedic responds to snoring - automatically. so no hiding under your pillow. or opting for the couch.

your best sleep. all night. every night. experience the mattress ranked #1 in customer satisfaction by j.d. power, four years in a row. lily! welcome to our third bark-ery. oh, i can tell business is going through the “woof”. but seriously we need a reliable way to help keep everyone connected from wherever we go. well at at&t we'll help you find the right wireless plan for you. so, you can stay connected to all your drivers and stores on america's most reliable 5g network. that sounds just paw-fect. terrier-iffic i labra-dore you round of a-paws at&t 5g is fast, reliable and secure for your business.

ugh, this rental car is so boring to drive. let's be honest. the rent-a-car industry is the definition of boring. and the reason can be found in the name itself. rent - a - car? you don't want a friend. you want the friend. you don't want a job. you want the job. the is always over a. that's why we don't offer a car. we offer the car. ( ♪♪ ) sixt. rent the car.

winter storms might cause some travel trouble during the holiday week. these storms, including what is known as a bomb cyclone up in the northeast, they're going to bring rain and possible blizzard condition as well. >> airlines issuing you travel waivers. experts say this is the time for you to change your plans. jennifer gray joining us now. so we know it is going to happen. so i guess the question now is how bad is this going to be? >> well it depends on where you are. if you're in the midwest or the northern plains, would you take advantage of the travel vouchers, it is going to get rately bad. this is just in the infancy but this will travel to the east and already winter weather alerts and windchill alerts out as well. we could see the windchills dip as low as 50 below zero and this is where the storm is going to

cause the most problems. tomorrow we could have blizzard conditions across the midwest and chicago will be in the blizzard conditions most likely and then it will lift to the north and east. this is where it becomes the bomb cyclone. really intensifying. we could have winds exceeding 50 miles per hour and we're also going to see the windy conditions across all of the northeast. it looks like the i-95 corridor is going to be all rain. but interior sections will get the snow and interior sections of the northeast and new england getting the snow. but windy conditions will remain for everyone. here is a look at snowfall totals. we could see about a foot of snow potentially across portions of the midwest. more widespread amounts will be from four to six inches. look at this. just east of chicago, picking up least a foot of snow adding to that the very cold temperatures. if you don't get the snow, i

promise you will get the cold. we're twbooing to see much couny in below zero temperatures in the pink and that arctic air moves to the south. every state in the lower 48 will at least be below freezing. but a large chunk of folks will be below zero. this is a dangerous cold. guys, in the northern plains, frost bite could set in as little as five minutes. >> wow! . >> jennifer gray, appreciate it. thank you. well to of the nation's biggest pharmacy, walgreens and cvs are limited how much over-the-counter children's pain medicine you could buy. i've been trying to find basic stuff like children's motrin. it is hard to find. >> certainly hearing about it from friends, and the products as you know, they're flying off the shelves if you could find one. this is being chocked up to the high rates of respiratory infections across country in addition to supply challenges.

to cvs is restricting to two pain relief products and walgreens limiting to six per transaction but there is no in-person purchase limit. well the shortage in medicines as well as increased rates of flu and rsv could make getting together over the flext co -- the next couple of weeks. they are worried about the triple threat. so people wonder how do i see friends and family and smake sue that everybody stays safe. tara narula is with us now. what could we do to reduce getting sick. >> i could attest to the fact that it stinks to get sick right before the holiday. so there are things you could do. you think about what erin burnetts are important to you in the next two or three weeks and count back about five days.

you want to start avoiding large indoor crowded spaces if you're unmasked. certainly try to travel at times when you're avoiding peak hours of being around these small crowded groups if you do have to go to a party or a big greep event, you wan to wear a high quality mask, n-95 or other. and we talk about on your flu shot or updated booster shot and then certainly whoever you're going to be gathering with, you want to make sure you're all following that same strategy or plan and making sure that if there are vulnerable people in the group, or with chronic health conditions, if you are sick and you want to stay home and stay away. >> so folks listening now, heck, i'm one of them, do we have to go through pandemic stuff again? are you talking about masking, are you talking about distancing? are you talking about taking tests before you have big holiday gathering events? what is necessary and what is recommending? >> i think it is a mix. i think if you are a healthy person who has been vaccinated, you're weighing the risk and benefits it is probably safe to

attend. but you think you want to take good measures so making sure you're in a well ventilated space if you have a hepa filter use it. you could open the windows and celebrate ouft doors. if you are higher risk, it may be appropriate to wear a mask in those smaller group settings. and then certainly the rapid covid antigen tests are necessary and providing them to guests, that is a great way to keep everyone safe. >> you started to touch on this. but it also brings up the question of, okay, at what point do you say we postpone what we have planned or move it to another day. is that based on numbers of people or age or perhaps whether they're immunocompromising. who should think about that. >> you're always weighing the risks an benefits and you have to look at your own threshold and what your health conditions are and make those decisions.

if you're healthy and vaccinated, these gatherings are probably safe. but if your more vulnerable, you want to stay in a smaller group or avoid or mask if you are going to attend. >> a lot to consider. i have to say in my family, because work gets in the way on holidays. it is not about the day. it is the quality of the time. so if you have to postpone it, maybe not the worst thing. thank you. wise words as always, erica hill. just a day after the january 6 committee referred criminal charges, they will debate whether to release his tax returns to the public. we'll be live at the capitol coming up. if you used shipgo this whole thing wouldn't be a thing. yeah, dad! i i don't want to deal with ththis. oh, you brought your luggage to the airport. that's adorable. with shipgo

shipping your luggage before you fly you'll never have to wait around here again. like ever. that can't be comfortable though. shipgo.com the smart, fast, easy way to travel. about two years ago i realized that jade was overweight. i wish i would have introduced the fresh food a lot sooner. after farmer's d she's a much healthier weight. she's a lot more active. and she's able to join us on our adventures. get started at longlivedogs.com because your lives are forever entwined. ♪ love entwined. exclusively at kay. ah, these bills are crazy. she has no idea she's sitting on a goldmine. well she doesn't know that if she owns a life insurance policy of $100,000 or more she can sell all or part of it to coventry for cash. even a term policy. even a term policy? even a term

policy! find out if you're sitting on a goldmine. call coventry direct today at the number on your screen, or visit coventrydirect.com. ugh, this rental car is so boring to drive. let's be honest. the rent-a-car industry is the definition of boring. and the reason can be found in the name itself. rent - a - car? you don't want a friend. you want the friend. you don't want a job. you want the job.

the is always over a. that's why we don't offer a car. we offer the car. ( ♪ ) sixt. rent the car.