reports were that there was a difference of opinion over his physical. the mets swooped in and are reportedly signing him to a 12 year $315 million deal, he agreed to this with the giants last week. the mets already had the highest payroll in baseball history before this, now it is way up there. >> $350 million, 15 -- we're in the wrong business. >> we're in the wrong bids. my pitching arm is not very good so i'll stay in this business. >> oh, boy. and cnn this morning is going to continue right now. >> i think he'll do okay, though. ♪ good morning, everyone. we say to you there's a lot to get to, it really is a busy wednesday. this is probably the busiest since we began the show in november, right? >> just historic. >> a lot going on. we start in washington because

it will be a massive day in d.c. president volodymyr zelenskyy will arrive in just hours. he's going to speak with president joe biden and congress after more than 300 days of war. we're on the ground in ukraine. plus here in the u.s. a bomb cyclone and blizzards set to disrupt your holiday travel across the united states. what airlines want travelers to know about their options. and the biden administration gearing up for the end of title 42, but officials say they're not quite ready for it to end. what they are asking the supreme court to do. we have all of that straight ahead. but we begin with president zelenskyy's surprise trip to washington d.c. it's his first trip outside of ukraine since russia's invasion and comes at a pivotal time as the u.s. prepares to announce nearly $2 billion in military aid for ukraine's defenses including patriot missile systems. and moments ago, zelenskyy was seen arriving in poland. you see the pictures right there.

we have learned that he traveled by train to a town near the polish/ukrainian border as part of his journey here. so it is under way. straight to will ripley in ukraine for us. will, hello to you. how important is this visit for ukraine? >> reporter: good morning, don. it's an incredibly important visit for ukraine and the ukrainian people who are celebrating the news that patriot missile defense systems will be arriving. although the reality is that the war continues. just hours after president zelenskyy tweeted that he was on his way to the u.s. to meet with president biden, the air-raid sirens sounded across ukraine, like every other day of this conflict since this began on february 24th. but the difference is that zelenskyy physically no longer in kyiv or actively in the country on his way out is the first overseas trip by the ukrainian president. it shows from the perspective of commentators here a level of confident that he's willing to go to the united states for this

major announcement, not any concern about the security of ukraine or his own security leaving. but the ukrainian people understand he has a big challenge ahead as he meets with lawmakers in the u.s. some of whom are growing skeptical that the war should drag on as long as the ukrainians say it needs to. they want to see a return to pre-2014 territory by ukrainian, which would include taking illegally annexed crimea. so from the ukrainian perspective, this war doesn't end until they get back everything russia took but he may find a different message meeting with lawmakers. he got different messages from nato with the french president calling for peace. >> the supplying of arms does not bode well for ukraine. what does his visit mean for the future of the war? >> reporter: it's viewed as

posturing by russia, empty or legitimate threats. russian bombs continue to rain down on the country, devastating the infrastructure and the ukrainians say they need the weapons, this assistance and they're going to need it for the long haul, including the patriot missile defense systems which they hope could be a game changer to stop the bombs coming from russian bombers that ukrainian doesn't have the ability to shoot down right now. but they know that russia and putin basically wants to put everything they have into this war. assembling troops up at the northern border in belarus. intense fighting to the east, south. and there's going to be increasing skepticism as the world pumps billions into ukraine and the lines are holding. ukraine isn't taking much territory these days but they're not giving it up either.

joining us is christiane amanpour, who interviewed president zelenskyy and the first lady last month. this is just incredibly significant. it's been 300 days, he has not left ukraine. and now his first trip outside during this war is to the united states. >> reporter: absolutely, kaitlan. and, of course, the united states is his biggest backer and he has thanked them over and again, including in my interview and thanked the american people knowing it is taxpayers' money helping ukraine with the weapons it needs. this is an incredibly important punctuation point because of where we are in the war. many have likened and pointed to winston churchill, the famous british world war ii leader as the epitome of a leader in wartime. and many in the last ten months in ukraine have compared zelenskyy and his wartime leadership to that of winston

churchill and most importantly in the rallying of international support for the defense of ukraine. so this is massively important. he will want all sorts of modern weapons. he'll thank for the patriot, the most sophisticated anti-air missile defense system he's got so far and that's available so far. and then they're going to want to have, presumably other things like more and more drones and sophisticated weapon systems to combat the air that russia controls with its missile attacks. so that's the important thing. zelenskyy is bringing with him, he said in his press conference, a flat from the soldiers on the front line of bakhmut, that's the key town in the east, on the eastern front that it is being pummelled and fought over by both russia and ukraine. the president of ukraine went over there, met with the troops, took a flag of ukraine, had it signed by the troops and said he

will deliver it to the american people in the american congress as a message of thanks. when i asked him, even a month ago, and they still stick to this, whether it's enough already and they should bow to certain sectors of the international opinion who say they should negotiate, he said absolutely not. he said that's just what putin wants. here's what he told me. >> translator: the current military and political leadership of russia needs a pause in one form or another. just like an agreement or some other agreement they needed a pause. they would gather up their strength, money, weapons, they would get ready, they would lay out the information for their own society. and when all of that has been prepared, they start their offensive. because there is only one goal, to destroy our independence. >> reporter: and so, the ukrainians believe that the

russians are somehow preparing a new ground offensive, including keeping kyiv in play, or some time you know, during or after the winter, according to fiona hill, basically the kremlin wants to take ukraine off the map, and stop aid to ukraine. and ukraine wants to get the kind of weapons it needs to fight for the fight that america and the world said is all f our fight, the fight against autocracy and the fight for democracy. >> christiane amanpour, thank you very much. merry christmas to you. good to see you. thanks. >> and to you. this morning, ukrainian president zelenskyy highly secretive white house visit is coming under extraordinary measures. joining us now kylie atwood with

the latest in this. what kind of heightened security measures are being taken at this point? >> reporter: we'll know more about that after the visit has concluded because what the biden administration, zelenskyy is trying to do is keep close taps on all information about this visit because as you said it is risky. they tried to keep it confidential as long as they could. but we know there were security consultations between the u.s. and those around zelenskyy that started about a week ago. and president zelenskyy had conditions that needed to be met. once those were met, they did and then confirm the trip was going to happen. that happened on sunday. the biden administration, senior administration officials aren't saying how zelenskyy is flying here, coming on a u.s. military aircraft or not. but we're learning this morning new details from polish tv because they captured zelenskyy coming into poland over the ukraine border on a train, and

that is traditionally how u.s. leaders, leaders around the world have gotten in and out of ukraine on the train in the country, and on a flight out of poland. the other thing that's noteworthy, he was with the u.s. ambassador to ukraine and notably today, ukraine going to be a focus but we should note that the u.s. senate is going to be voting on lynn tracey. thaeps going to be the first female ambassador to russia, replacing john sullivan, her nomination went to the senate in september, they'll be voting on her today. it's significant because this is a day all about the united states standing with ukraine but of course it is noteworthy that the senate is also going to be sending a new ambassador to russia. >> and the world will be watching. thank you very much kylie atwood. >> for more perspective, let's bring in retired lieutenant colonel alex vinman and former

ambassador bill taylor. thank you for being here. you're two experts in the area. ambassador taylor i'd like to start with you on how critical the visit is and what you'll be watching for as president zelenskyy makes such a historic trip to the united states, his first time out of ukraine since russia invaded his country. >> you're right, kaitlan, a great visit, great opportunity. he will certainly -- president zelenskyy will certainly thank the american people, thank president biden, the congress, for all the support and it has been major. it's been significant. it's been overwhelming. it has been huge. the support that we provided. and the ukrainians really appreciate it. and president zelenskyy is going to reflect all the ukrainian views that appreciate all the support they've gotten and they need it to continue and to expand and that looks like it's coming. >> ambassador, just one more for

you before we get to lieutenant vindman. do you remember back in april when this -- almost at the beginning of the war, nearly two months in, and you had boris johnson walking around kyiv, visiting zelenskyy in kyiv. that was in country. and now you have this visit. people will compare these two visits. but the big difference is that one was on ukrainian soil and now this is on u.s. soil. that is a very big difference. >> it's a big difference. it shows, though, don, that president zelenskyy has identified the united states as a major supporter, the leader of the coalition, the leader of this broad assembly of nations supporting ukraine and opposing the unjustified russian invasion. so that is a strong signal of the cooperation and the importance of the alliance between the united states and ukraine.

>> colonel vindman, this patriot missile system that the u.s. is going to send to ukraine, we heard from officials saying it's going to take a while, they have to train in a third party country to get them trained on how to use this. that is a huge focus, one of the most powerful weapons in the u.s. arsenal. do you expect president zelenskyy to ask for more given that -- this is not signaling that the war is coming to an end any time soon. >> to me the delivery or the announcement of the patriot missile system is important but frankly less important than a signal that the u.s. government is prepared to provide other advanced capabilities and the u.s. is going to start training ukraine on how to operate everything from aircraft, like f-16s, f-15s. tanks are in the mix. starting to train forces on the tanks. these are systems that are

complex and require training. one of the biggest challenges that the ukrainians face at the moment is they need an enormous amount of equipment and over the course of on ten months a lot of it has started to break down. so a broader more strategic relationship and a more strategic view on sustaining this war for the next six to nine months is going to be critical. i think that's exactly why president zelenskyy is make this trip now. he's -- it's halftime, he's run up the score real high. the end game is the spring and summer and he's going to push through until he liberates the entirety of his country and he's looking for the u.s., his strategic partner, ally, to wade in with the same kind of commitment. >> what's his message we know he's going to speak to congress and there are republicans who have been signaling possibly pulling back on support,

especially financial support for ukraine. he's expected to address congress at a time there's an additional $45 billion in ukraine aid on the table. so what message, lieutenant does zelenskyy need to really hammer home here? >> sure. so i think what the message is is that it is halftime, don. and you don't walk away from a game when you run up the score and cede the field to the enemy. so he's going to say the ukrainian forces are in position to liberate territory. this is going to be a brutal winter for the russians. not simply because the ukrainians are outgunning them, even in places that are challenging like bakhmut, but the winter is going to besiege the russian forces not prepared to operate under those conditions. and what he's going to say is that we need to help arm the ukrainians so they're in a

position to liberate territory sooner rather than later so russia doesn't cast about for fringe approaches to see if it can somehow, you know, do a hail mary and win the war. the hail mary in the case of russia could be disastrous. it's a recipe for spillover. he's going to make the case this war could end sooner rather than later and with u.s. support that could happen before there is a broader catastrophe that spills out of this massive war that's been going on for ten months. and i think he's going to be quite effective. >> lieutenant conlonel and ambassador taylor thank you both very much we appreciate it. >> thank you, don. to the midwest where a powerful and potentially dangerous storm is threatening millions of americans and their travel plans ahead of the holidays. a bomb cyclone has 70 million people under weather alerts. people are preparing for icy and

snowy conditions. nearly everyone in the lower 48 is going to see temperatures dip below freezing. alabama is seeing wind chill alerts and in the upper midwest, conditions could be life threatening. it's expected to hit on friday, as more than 100 million americans are expected to travel for the holidays. some cities will have their coldest christmas in year, atlanta, a high of 32 degrees, tying the second coldest christmas on record. new york a high of 27 degrees, its coldest in 22 years. >> let's bring in omar jimenez live from chicago o'hare airport, where he's warm and snugly, because he's inside. the impact is expected to hit the cities nationwide. how are they preparing and dealing for the weather? >> reporter: the one good thing ahead of the forecast is

airports are trying to prepare. in chicago, places across the midwest that typically deal with snow and ice this time of year are preparing their de-icing materials here, over 400,000 gallons, trying to clear the runways and taxi ways to make sure there's no issues there. where we have to look are in places like alabama, atlanta, of course, the world's busiest airport there as planes come in and out which has the potential to disrupt so much. so a lot of travelers we're seeing today are people trying to get ahead of those conditions like someone we spoke to a little bit earlier. >> i think my dad just saw on the news that's there's going to be a huge blizzard thursday, and my brother only has a few days off while we visit him so we didn't want to lose days with delays. so we moved it up altogether.

>> reporter: it'll be a lot of winter like conditions in the midwest, blizzard like conditions expected starting tomorrow night through friday night and the combination of all things that will affect some flights and people getting out on the roads as they run into potentially some whiteout conditions. >> can be very dangerous. thank you very much omar ji jimenez. a controversial border policy is still law for now but that could change any day. we'll ask a republican governor about what should be done about a potential surge of migrants. and how some members of a congressman's own party say he needs to discuss the discrepancies in his resume. to make critical d decisions a split second faster. palantirir.

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least the biden administration told the supreme court yesterday that the justices should reject an emergency bid by 19 republican states to keep the policy in effect while legal challenges play out. let's discuss now with republican governor of arkansas asa hutchinson a arkansas is not a state suing but you're a republican governor so i want to see how you feel. so glad you could join us. president biden wants to end title 42, the administration has plans to increase resources, processing at the border, and they want to target smugglers. do you think that's enough, governor? >> i mean, first of all, that should have been done six months or a year ago. we're waiting until now to surge our resources there and to put the additional emphasis on the border security. there's three things that really are important right now.

first of all, title 42 needs to be extended. now the president has given mixed cm mixed signals on this, most recently saying even though we want to end it, let's extend it through christmas. this is a humanitarian crisis at the border, puts migrants in a terrible position. they came here expecting the president to end title 42. it needs to be extended until april. the reason for that is that's when the president said we're extending the public health emergency for medicaid enrolees. so acknowledging a public health emergency ought to be in effect for one place, continue it to april. and go to congress with a board security bill, the republicans will have new leadership in place. let's have a tight border security bill that puts the

resources there for the processing that can reform our asylum laws. the third thing that needs to be done is to have an engagement with mexico to a greater extent to make sure they're doing more when it comes to the cartels, when it comes to the resources with the handling of the migrants. we need to be able to engage them to a greater extent to accomplish those objectives and reduce the influence of the cartel. those are the steps that need to be taken. >> listen, apparently you think this temporary thing is a band-aid. that's what you're saying. you mentioned the three things. i think one of the most important the buck stops with the administers. but the most poimportant thing u said a border security bill to congress, which means there has to be bipartisan action on that. do you think there's the appetite in washington right now, especially considering january 3rd it's going to change over and republicans will be in control of congress, do you think there's the appetite for some sort of border security

bill and for bipartisanship here? i do believe so. whenever you look at the democrat mayors of major cities calling out for relief and help. whenever you look at every state governor is impacted by this. i think there is room for bipartisanship. and what we've done before is we try to have a comprehensive immigration reform bill that can't get the support that's needed. and so, let's have simply a border security bill accomplishing some of the things that the president is trying to do, even though it's too late. let's increase the resources for the processing of asylum claims so it can be done timely. let's have more immigration judges there, so they're not caught and then released into our society and we don't -- are not able to whenever their asylum claim is denied we can't find them at that point.

so that has to be done. so i think there can be bipartisan support for border security bill. but we also have to have a replacement for title 42. it can't last forever. so let's have a replacement that can accomplish some of the same objectives and have a consistent message that our border is not open, that it's going to be difficult and we're going to look at those asylum claims carefully and not just release you into the united states. >> i'm glad you mentioned that it shouldn't be temporary. you answered my next question and now i can move on, i'm glad because this is important. i know you're possibly considering a run for the white house. it goes beyond border security. i want to ask what's happening in washington today, ukraine's president zelenskyy is set to arrive at the white house soon. support for ukrainian aid among republicans has waive erred, do you believe support needs to keep up? there are republicans saying i'm

not sure. they appear to be backing off at least as much financial support for ukraine. >> the answer is we absolutely need to continue our support for ukraine. i'm so delighted this president zelenskyy is going to be there to address congress. i look forward, the nation, hearing that message. and they're standing for their sovereign territory, their freedom, and they're fighting for a free europe. and so the united states' support has been critical in this. i think president zelenskyy is going to recognize that today. but our support needs to continue. and he's winning -- they've shown incredible courage in this, but it's a long struggle and we need to continue that support and give them the support they need. when i look at the republican side, i think there is still broad support but it's fair to make sure that the money is spent appropriately. and that we have the right checks and balances. but let's stand strong with ukraine. they're fighting a battle for

all of us in terms of freedom and sovereignty. >> i snuck in the considering a run for the white house there. i'm sure that did not pass you. where are you on that decision? >> you know, we only have one candidate in the race right now on the republican side, president trump. i don't think there's been a great deterrence for others looking. i know a number of them are looking at it, including myself. what america needs to understand is there are going to be options on the republican side. we'll be making a decision the first quarter of next year. so stay tuned. >> you're saying there's a chance. thank you, governor asa hutchinson. we appreciate it. >> thank you, good to be with you. so after a lengthy legal -- he's saying there's a chance maybe. >> the first quarter. set your calendar. >> there you see the former president up there. so how much resistance is trump getting to the release of his tax returns? some may be public. he's not happy about it. we'll speak to a member of the

house committee releasing those records. >> plus an incoming new york congressman accused of stretching the truth on his resume, quite a bit actually, could he face legal trouble? >> i don't know. i think he's going to do it. we don't even need an god eight-time all-star to tell you u about it. wait what? get it beforore it's gone on the subway app! you spend the holidays making everyone else smile, but what about your smile? it needs care too, and when it does, aspen dental is here for you this season, and every season, we oer the custom dental treatments you need, all under one roof, rit nearby. so, we can bring more life to your smile, and more smile to your life, fordably. new patients without insurance can get a free complete exam and x-rays, and 20% off treatment plans. ♪ for skin as alive as you are...

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democrats on the ways and means committee have unleashed a dangerous new political weapons that overturns decades of privacy protections for average taxpayers. >> after a long process, that this was not about being punitive, it was not about being malicious. >> welcome back to "cnn this morning." coming up in the show, a member of democratic led house ways and means committee will join us live after that decision. plus after more than a month of no suspect, no motive and no answer in the murder of four idaho college students could the investigation move in a new direction. and protesters who attempted to disrupt a drag queen story hour are taking their complaints

to a new york representative's door. and top republicans are calling on george santos to discuss the discrepancies in his resumes. a review of his biography found key parts were either contradicted or not supported by the evidence. democrats in the state are now calling for him to resign. in a statement to cnn, the nassau county chairman said the issues raised in the report are serious but santos, quote, deserves an opportunity to address the claims. his biography said he received degrees from nyu and beirut college, and worked at citi group and sachs.

citi group and goldman sachs told cnn they had no record of his employment. joining us now is criminal defense attorney joey jackson and anchor audi corniche. joey good morning to both of you. you're the legal expert here. we have been saying this is discrepancies in his resume but there's also the law and this ethics in government act. failure to file or filing false disclosure statements that are consequences for it. are we at that point yet? >> we'll see. there are a couple of issues, obviously the political issues. i think there's political trouble here with respect to lying to voters and obtaining your position under false pretenses but then we get into the legal realm. in the legal realm we're about facts and content and what you did. so i think there's two points to be made here. number one in terms of the law, people lie every day,

unfortunately. what is the nature of that? did you lie on a federal form? did you otherwise indicate when you were signing a form you were swearing under the penalty of perjury. that has to be investigated. the next step you talk about a congressional inquiry, an ethics inquiry. they'll investigate and make a determination as to the lies he told and what lies he made on forms. the answer to that, if he did, there is trouble here. if that didn't happen he has to explain to voters why he made up things concerning his education, employment, his philanthropy, his employees who died at the pulse nightclub. it could be a bigger story. >> don't candidates have to sign the forms? >> they do. that has to be produced. did he sign the form? show me the form. evaluate where he signed when he signed, the nature of how he signed, and then we're talking about the legal realm trouble and criminality.

>> what about the political aspect, though? voters don't like being lied to, they don't like hypocrisy, at least the last time i checked. when it comes to capitol hill, i saw democrats saying that kevin mccarthy should refuse to seat him in the republican majority he's supposed to enter in a matter of weeks but does that seem realistic? >> they can say that, it doesn't matter to kevin mccarthy or the gop caucus. i want to come back to something you said about campaign finance. it's not just about padding the resume. this is a person who reported a net worth of less than like $50,000 one year and two years later he was claiming 11 million. where did that money come from? what is the source of it? how did he get it? who is he leveraged too? these are the more serious questions that i think people should care about in a way. it's the same reason why people are interested in donald trump's taxes. it's not just this idea of like show us something because we

should see it. it's who are you leveraged to? who can have any kind of influence over you and your policy making? it's a very basic follow the money story. and i just want to give a shout out to the local long island paper columnist who paid attention to this prior to this, during the election. >> during the campaign, yeah. >> yeah. it underscores the need for local journalism and the people who can investigate these things before "the new york times" thinks they're doing a puff piece on a freshman and finds out the resume is full of thin air. >> in the environment of deny, deny, deny, they're smearing me because his attorney said the times was attempting to smear the congressman elect with defamatory allegations. they're saying he deserves the opportunity to respond to these claims but he's not directly responding to them. the response is, this is a smear campaign and "the new york times" is out to get me.

not saying this is untrue, here's my diploma. >> right. it's easy as journalists for us to get caught up in the tactics. so the tactic we're messing with right now is the end of shame. let me brazen this out, not answer any of the issues directly. let me just basically use the distrust that the public has in the media, which we know from many gallup polls against it, and maybe i ride it out. we're seeing politicians across the spectrum do that. it is the result of our own struggles as an industry the last couple of years. and it's easy to spend all of our time being what do you mean? instead of where is the information? where is the evidence here? >> it's called deflection. you deflect. the bottom line is he will have to answer to specific instances if those forms do come out -- >> before you finish that. this is his democratic opponent who lost, was on yesterday and responded to this.

i want to hear what you had to say but it's important to hear from him. i think. >> of course. >> this man is a fraudster. the allegations of fraud and corruption are well documented in the time's story. there has to be a house ethics committee investigation into him and a department of justice investigation. first he has to resign because of the pressure of the investigation, the exposures of the corruption and fraud that clearly is defined in the media or for that matter congress removes him. there won't be a special election until either step is taken. >> here's the point. when you have campaigns you have opposition research and your opponent should be doing due diligence on you such they can make the determination or the case to the voters that you're lying, you're not being truthful with the voters, you're lying, fabricating. to the extent you don't do that and then come back and say what happened here. what happened here is you had an

obligation as an opponent to expose this and it wasn't exposed until now. so stand by, in terms of the investigation, if the forms come out and the signatures start being unearthed where he signed things that are false. you're looking at federal crimes potentially. >> you can guarantee every political opponent is going to make sure that so and so went to college and has an irs tax exempt nonprofit. >> do you have a podcast this week? >> reporter: we're talking about the objectivity wars in jou jour journalism, and talking abilout the ways the media has struggled the last couple years with the administrations. >> perfect topic for now. >> yes. thank you both. the newest episode that she was talking about will be available on thursday wherever you get your podcast. ahead live to the mexico border where we've been talking

about what's happening there as the biden administration is asking the supreme court what to do about title 42. plus what the capitol police chief is saying about the attack on speaker pelosi's husband. >> i'm told by a house aide for speaker pelosi there hadn't been a security assessment at her residence in san francisco since 2018. is that true? ♪ ♪ 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. ♪ ♪

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this has never been about one person. this has been about the office of the presidency and separate from every one of us that files our taxes and may go through an examination under the mandatory review procedures of the irs. >> we are just days away from seeing former president trump's taxes finally, after years of legal battling in court, the

house ways and means, which is led by democrats, voted to release six years of his taxes to the public. they are expected to be redacted and released within a matter of days, giving us new insights into his financial standings, including that he paid zero taxes. they did not audit trump during his first two years in office. joining us is is stacy. i know you spent four hour behind closed doors with your committee yesterday. what did you see? >> well, first, thank you for having me and happy holidays to you and to all of your viewers. you know, first let me say that i think that chairman neil conducted a very civil discourse

between both sides and the discussions and the staff was absolutely amazing with the amount of detail and the care in which they went about this process. we've been trying to do this four four years. what chairman neal wanted do was to see if the mandatory presidential audit, which has been in place since 1977 was working and we needed it to work because, as you know, president trump was the first president who not released his taxes in many years. there was no way for us or the american people to be able to ascertain whether or not he had conflicting interests, whether he was using fund as financial chief that had pecuniary benefits for himself.

none of the audits had been complete but only began when the chairman sent a letter asking them about it. >> they had this responsibility to audit his taxes and they weren't auditing them. are you satisfied for the irs's explanation so far for why that wasn't happening? >> no, we are not. we're not satisfied at all with that but let's also that for some time now the republicans when they were in power in 2014 and moving forward were taking money away from the irs. and we know that the irs has not been able to do audits, particularly on very complex individual's taxes and we recognize that regular americans are much more likely to be audited than the very rich, the very wealthy who have more complex taxes and need assistants, special agents, who are able to audit those taxes. >> the irs is saying it's more of a manpower issue, which is

why this were delayed in doing that. my understanding is they're still not done conducting that audit, is that correct? >> that's correct. none of the president's audits during his time in office have been completed. >> i know your committee and chairman neil want to codify into law that this has to happen but are you concerned given republicans are about to take over the majority of the house in just a matter of days the democrats have run out of time to get something like that passed? >> well, i know that the chairman has spoken with the senate side about how important this is, but we have gotten signals from some of our republican colleagues that this is important to them as well. the mandatory audit of presidents alone is something that they may be interested in supporting also. delegate stacey plaskett. thank you for joining us.

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drag story hour for children. >> how come you don't have firefighters reading to the kids? >> officials say there were no arrests during the story hour and the event went on as planned. they say the ladies made vulgar graffiti on the walls of his apartment and the sidewalks. >> he said that's what their goal is is to stop it and they're not going to stop it. >> that's what the goal is. >> good morning, everyone. it is the top of the hour.

you don't see poppy harlow because she is off and we have a lot to catch up. we'll start with the five things cnn wants you know about this morning. six years of former president trump's taxes are set to be released. the democratic house ways and means committee says it will release trump's tax returns in the last couple of days, which ends a nearly four-year legal battle democrats waged against the president after they took control of the house in 2019. >> also, the taliban has suspended all education for women. women can no longer work in most places and they are ordered to cover their faces when in public. >> and musk says he will step