so, he was always running away. and also, yes then gave up the crown when he could've gone the other way. and also, he was so presient -- he was the one who said political parties are going to be the death of us. once we get into that kind of factional thinking. and look at all these years later, that's really how it turned out. >> you can catch more bill during realtime with bill maher every friday night i-10 pm on hbo. and his post show segment, overtime, which airs right here on cnn fridays at 11:30 pm eastern. i'll see you back here tomorrow on the lead. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the united states and all around the world. i'm rosemary church. just ahead on cnn newsroom, epic snowfall in california,

measured in feet. so much snow, some ski resorts close. cars buried, roads shut down, some people trapped in their homes as another major system barrels towards the state today. a high-profile hearing on china's threat to america, a new host panel meets in primetime, as global tensions are rising amid the spy balenciaga. and fears china will provide lethal support to russian forces in ukraine. plus, at least 32 people are dead after two trains collide head on in greece. >> live from cnn center, this is cnn newsroom with rosemary church. >> good to have you with us. while, california under blizzard warning, parts of the golden state have been buried in up to seven feet of snow over the past few days, as a

freezing cold system moves inland over the u.s.. on tuesday, 23 million americans were under winter weather alerts, with many those in california. the surprise snowstorms also bringing high winds, streaming across the southwest. and more snow tracking up across the pacific northwest. but the storm system is not spreading just snow, it's also spreading panic as resources go scarce. cities in the san bernardino mountains are facing food and fuel shortages because of dangerous conditions on the roads. to more bouts of heavy snow are expected in the sierra nevada mountains, and across northern california, over the next few days. it will take some time for snow to melt in the city of truckee, where snow banks seem to be taller than vehicles. california highway patrol is warning residents to stay off

the roads if possible. >> i-80 is closed. it is closed, i repeat. and there is no way to get over. so, unless you've got one of these handy pieces equipment in front of you, do not even try it. >> cnn's meteorologist derek van damme has the latest forecast. >> heavy snowfall is paralyzing parts of the state of california. so much so, that communities have been cut off because the roadways are virtually impossible. snowfall is piling up to the tops of the first stories of from the homes. they have search and rescue helicopters going into just make sure that everyone in the communities are safe, they can get supplies. some people have actually been left no other option but to leave the car on the side of the vehicle, because they're simply too much snow in the area. just take this image for example. look at the snowfall piling up. that is a sliding glass window. that's coming out of the lake arrowhead, california, region. get this. there has been so much snow at some of the ski resorts in california, that they actually had to close the ski resorts.

i mean, that's incredible, right? isn't the purpose of a ski resort to have a lot of snow? we'll, too much is perhaps too much of a good thing, right. 38 inches of snow in the past 24 hours at palisades, near lake tahoe. and there's still more snow to come. you can see that digging in, with another trough, winter storm warnings, blizzard warnings blanketing the state of california. those alerts extend across the great basin. over 10 million americans feeling the impacts of this latest round of winter weather. and of course, as the system advances eastward, it will pile up more snow, the potential for another 2 to 3 feet on top of what they've already experienced. but unfortunately, it's going to encounter some warm air upstream and cause the potential for some severe weather. we have to have two different severe weather systems. today, we have severe weather across the deep south. but on thursday, that's the big show. we're going to watch over the potential for tornadoes across east texas into arkansas, louisiana as well as parts of mississippi but. a potential for flash flooding exists across the region as well.

back to you. >> thanks for that. well, for the first time since 1983, chicago has ditched an elected mayor. lori lightfoot conceded tuesday after failing to secure a spot in a top two runoff. she could not overcome a spike in violent crime and years of fights with police and teachers unions. lightfoot made history by becoming the first black an openly gay person to lead chicago. >> as we all know in life, in the end, you don't always win every battle. but you never regret taking on the powerful and bringing in the light. [applause] to my friends across the country and my fellow mayors, never fear being brave and bold. >> that's right. >> one of the two candidates advancing to the april runoff's longtime public schools chief paul vallas. on the right, he built his

campaign on a pro police tough on crime message. and he will face brandon johnson, a cook county commissioner, popular with progressives. but no candidate received more than 50% of the vote. but well, the u.s. supreme court heard oral arguments on tuesday and two challenges to president joe biden's student loan debt relief plan. demonstrators gathered in washington to back the presidents plan. it could potentially forgive federal debt up to $20,000 for some individuals. some of the more conservative justices on the court appeared skeptical. but an obama appointee signal mr. biden has the right away from congress. take a listen. >> what i think they argue that is missing is cost to other persons in terms of fairness, for example. of people who pay their loan, people who planned their lives around not seeking loans, and people who are not eligible for

loans. >> you know, this is an emergency provision. it's an emergency, it's an earthquake. congress used its voice. congress used its voice in an acting this piece of legislation. >> if the plan goes through, more than 40 million federal student loan borrowers would be eligible for some type of debt cancellation or forgiveness. the congressional budget office reported in september the plan would cost u.s. taxpayers around 400 billion dollars over roughly 30 years. there's a pause on payment requirements until the supreme court reaches a decision. a terrible train wreck in greece has claimed at least 32 lives, as rescue crews search for survivors. a passenger train carrying more than 350 people collided with a freight train near the city of love isa. dozens of people are injured, and more than 50 of them are hospitalized. authorities say the number of

victims is expected to rise. this collision happened shortly before midnight local time. the passenger train was heading from athens to greece's second largest city, that's the lucky. and cnn's eleni jarvis is tracking this for us. she joins us live from dubai. a lot of, what is the latest on this deadly and tragic train disaster? >> yeah, absolutely, absolutely deadly and tragic. and i've just been monitoring state broadcaster at, they've been giving incredible updates. and looking at some of the imagery in terms of search and rescue that is going on right now, i want to take you through the numbers. 32 people right now confirmed dead. the train itself, the passenger train, had 346 people on board. and this happened just outside of larry's, where a train collided with the pastor train.

the cargo train coming from the sluggish, the other train coming from athens. and it actually had picked up passengers in larissa. state forecast also saying for some reason the passenger train had been changed lines, at which point just outside of that city, the collision occurred. of course, authorities are investigating whether this was a technical fault, whether this was human error. but prior -- search and rescue right now. you can see cranes and of course metal cutting machinery. we're also hearing that the first two carriages caught alight. it took five firefighters a long time to put that fire out. the fatalities occurred in the third carriage. the theory is that in the first two carriages, there was still passengers. we can also see some rescue dogs as well. people on the ground. the first two carriages were where the restaurant was. and this is the major concern,

that there are more people perhaps trapped under the rubble. this is nine hours into the operation. and people talking about it being a marathon rescue operation that is occurring right now. but rosemary, many questions around this, how this happened. but right now, there are a big focus on search rescue. >> absolutely. eleni giokos, many thanks for keeping a very close eye on that and giving us all the updates. appreciate it. still to come, the battle for bakhmut intensifies. constant russian shelling and airstrikes are raising fears there may be nothing left of the ukrainian city when the fighting stops. and russian president vladimir putin makes a rare public admission about his country's losses on the battlefield. back with that and more in just a moment. hi, i'm lauren, i i lost 67 pounds on golo.

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♪ this feels so right... ♪ when the most trusted name in home security adds the intelligence of google, you have a home with no worries. brought to you by adt. >> the month long battle for bakhmut appears to be reaching a crescendo, as russian forces intensify their assault and ukraine's military holds on despite being outnumbered. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy said in his nightly message that the biggest challenge, the most difficult situation across the long front lines is in bakhmut. one of the presents advisers tells cnn ukraine's military will weigh all options, including strategically pulling back if needed.

ukraine says the city is not surrounded, though one commander says russia's constant shelling and bombardment are breaking the city into molecules. several thousand civilians are still believed to be caught in the fighting. and mostly cut off from humanitarian aid. ukrainian soldiers say the situation in bakhmut is hellish, and much worse than officially reported. but they are vowing to defend the city until the end, no matter what. and in a rare admission, russian president vladimir putin has acknowledged losses among the ranks of russian intelligence officers on the ground in ukraine. in a speech to members of russia's intelligence agency, the fsb on tuesday, he called on the agency's leadership to support the families of fallen agents. he also signed a law suspending moscow's participation in the new strategic arms reduction treaty with united states. though russia's foreign

ministry says the suspension could someday be reversed. more now on russia's push towards bakhmut, and vladimir putin fsb speech from cnn's fred pleitgen. >> russian war planes bombing bakhmut, this video posted on state media trying to show the advances the kremlin's forces are making. on the ground, mercenaries of the wagner private military company are leading the assault, the ukrainians say. these wagner footsoldiers say that they are close to bakhmut city limits. we're approaching -- it is the entrance into town. this district, our platoon has taken without a single loss. ukraine says the situation is tough for the troops in bakhmut, but that they are clinging on. while wagner boss yevgeny

prigozhin is recruiting even more people in an ad with a top russian propagandist. sign up for pmc wagner, he says, you learn a man's work and will be in good shape for the upcoming world war three. while prigozhin claims he is gearing up for world war iii, he is also involved in a social media stand off with the son-in-law of russia's defense minister, sergei shoigu, after the son in law alexey -- like an anti-war blockers comment on social media, which he later denied doing, prigozhin taking aim. we need to catch him and bring him to me, he says. i will train him for six weeks, since i am a z redneck myself. i will help him improve by sending him to combat operations. as the fighting in ukraine rages on, russia's president now acknowledges that operatives for the intelligence service, the fsb, are both on the front lines and allegedly behind ukrainian lines. >> translator: unfortunately, there are losses in our ranks. the leadership of the axis be must do everything to provide

additional support to the families of our fallen comrades. >> with fsb boss alexander bortnikov on the stage, putin also said russian intelligence needs to up its game. >> translator: we need to beef up our counter intelligence in general, because western special services have traditionally been very active in relation to russia, and now, they have put in additional personnel, technical and other resources against us. we need to respond accordingly. [sound of gunfire] >> the russian leader, yet again, casting the conflict as an existential battle for russia against those allegedly plotting to destroy it. fred pleitgen, cnn, moscow. >> joining us, now cnn selma abdul ab these, live from london. good morning to you, selma. so, what else came out of president putin's meeting with members of russia's federal security service tuesday? and what are you learning about reaction to this ongoing war in

russia? >> absolutely, rosemary. you heard a little bit there of the -- the fsb, this is of course the intelligence, arm the intelligence wing of russia. in that speech, he called on its fsb service to step up their, work level up their work in the face of what he says are growing espionage and sabotage attacks inside russia by western intelligence agencies. of course, in the context of the ukraine war. president putin had some very clear instructions for the fsb. i know here that president putin himself was director of the fsb in the late 1990s. so, very clear orders from him to his man. i'm just to summarize a few of them. he calls on them to stop what he calls sabotage groups from entering russia. he calls on the fsb to prevent what he calls again, illegal arms flow into russia. he says that western intelligence agencies are reviving what president putin calls terror cells, extreme

cells, essentially covert cells inside russia. and again, he wants the fsb to curtail those cells from what he calls being revived. and then he goes on to call in the fsb, to step up security in those four illegally annexed regions in ukraine. remember, those four provinces that president putin signed a legally into law as russian territory, that military, moscow's military, does not have full control of those areas. but some parts of those regions are occupied by russian forces. so what is this all mean, rosemary? in any conflict, in any war, of course, there is that very open war that we have seen happening on the battlefield. and then there's the covert war, a spy war, something that is happening in the shadows that is very difficult to report on. but we've seen more and more signs of that shadow war in recent weeks and months. just yesterday, russian officials were saying that covert drone attacks, and we have videos to show you that,

covert drone attacks were taking place across russia. one of those drone attacks hitting a gazprom facility, and causing that fire that you see on our screen now. there are further joining tax, again, a secret drone attacks, covert drone attacks, unclean drone attacks happening in december. those include hitting an airbase that damaged some of the weapons arsenal there, and lead to three service members being killed. i'm going to point to a couple other incidents that are larger. again, these are not things are appointed by president putin in the speech. but you can see could be perceived as intelligence failures by russia. another example, a key example, the kerch bridge blast. again, not claim by ukraine, but i made their attack on the one and only lifeline that connected crimea to mainland russia. that was a huge hit for russian security forces, a huge and major attack on them. and that one final example i want to give you here, the

assassination of the daughter of a man who is called the spiritual guide of president putin in his war on ukraine. all of these incidences point to, for president putin, a growing spy attack, a growing convert attacked by ukraine and western allies. again, these are not claim by ukraine, against russia. and what he's doing here is ordering his serviceman, to step up as he said on that speech. and you have to remember, president putin doesn't just clampdown on civilians. president putin has an iron fist inside and outside of government. he's been known to fire generals. he's been known to fire people if they do not act quickly, these orders will be taken very seriously, rosemary, by the fsb. >> all right, thanks to salma abdelaziz, bring us that live report from london. and still to come, u.s. lawmakers hold a hearing on china's support of russia and its suspected espionage activities targeting americans. we will ask an expert what this means for the fraying relations

between washing ten and beijing.

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focusing on threats u.s. lawmakers believe oppose by the chinese government wrapped up just a few hours ago at the u.s. capitol. it featured first person testimony from a chinese human rights activist, and several private -- several high-profile witnesses, including former president donald trump's national security adviser hr mcmaster, who had this to say about beijing's suspected espionage tactics. take a listen. >> i think the message is that we are intending to continue a broad range of surveillance activities. the balloon, i think is in many ways, a metaphor for the massive effort at espionage. >> former u.s. ambassador to china gary locke joins me now from seattle. thank you sir for being with us. >> my pleasure, rosemary. >> so, what did the new house select committee on china achieve at its first hearing

tuesday, as it highlights the threat china poses to america amid these rising tensions with the two nations over several issues, including concerns beijing may decide to send lethal support to russia for its war on ukraine? >> while, the first hearing of the congressional committee clearly points out the concern that the united states government, members of congress and the administration, have, on a bipartisan basis about the rising tensions between the united states and china, exacerbated by the balloon incident. and especially now with the intelligence the u.s. government has that china is considering, seriously considering, lethal aid to russia in the war against ukraine. the u.s. china tensions are at an all-time high. the relationships are all -- the relationship are at a all-time low. so, all of these activities, for the balloon incident to the

airplanes flying close together over the south china sea and the strait of taiwan, to what's happening in ukraine is not helping the u.s. china relationship. which needs to work together. i mean, yes, we have very significant differences between our two countries. at the same time, we must work together, whether it's to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons in korea, or trying to combat climate change. >> ambassador, the biden administration warned tuesday that anyone providing lethal aid to russia for its war on ukraine will be targeted. what might that signal, as prudent ally belarus president lukashenko arrives in china for a state visit? >> well, it's a clear signal to russia and to any of its allies, including china, that we are aware of these developments, that our intelligence is sound. so, it's really giving a warning to china especially,

and really encouraging other nations that might be dealing with china to also reinforce that message that there will be severe consequences if china were to provide lethal aid to russia. china really depends on trade with so many other countries. and so many other countries export needed supplies and equipment to china. and so, the response if china were to provide lethal aid cannot just be from the united states alone, has to be a multilateral coordinated effort, including our allies and the europeans. >> and as you mentioned, there's also considerable concern about china's spy balloon, as well as what beijing plans to do with taiwan. one of the witnesses who testified tuesday night was former deputy national adviser matthew pottinger. how convincing was his

testimony in laying out the threat posed by china? >> while, i think everyone knows the very serious threat posed by china, in terms of its military, growing military presence, its military buildup, the amount of money they're spending on developing their military. but also their actions all around the world in soft power, trying to develop through foreign assistance allies and friends throughout the world. certainly, there are huge technological issues that we have between china and united states. the biden administration has imposed restrictions on exports of high technology goods to china that could ultimately be used by the chinese military. so, these concerns are very clear. and really indicated bipartisan concern about the security threat posed by china. >> gary locke, thank you so much for joining us. appreciate it.

>> my pleasure. >> and still to come, after a controversial election, africa's largest democracy has a new president. we're going to have a live report from lagos. back in just a moment. even if it received ppp, and all it takes is eight minutes to get started. ththen we'll work with you to fill out your forms and submit t the application; that easy. and if your business doesn't get paid, we don't get paid. getrefunds.com has helped businesses like yours claim over $2 billion but it's only available for a limited time. go to getrefunds.com, powered by innovation refunds.

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♪ ♪ ♪ >> nigeria has declared the winner of its controversial presidential election. mola akhmetov to new will now lead africa's largest economy, despite a growing outcry from opposition leaders an independent as there is, who say the vote was rigged. to nobu supporters celebrated his victory at party headquarters in abuja. cnn's stephanie becerra joins us now live from lagos. so stephanie, b.o.l.o. acne it to new lube -- tinubu declared the winner, but the latest report saying the election was rigged. what's the latest analysis?

>> so rosemary, nigerians are waking up to and i -- knew president. and as you, say it's been a controversial election cycle. but we have a president elect declared. and opposition leaders say they believe the results were rigged or manipulated. the only recourse available to them is -- . and in nigeria, elections central elections are not really overturned. so, they face a long legal uphill battle to challenge these. results tinubu, for his, apart his appeal for calm and has urged his opponents to come together so they can work for the unity of the country. let me read you a little of what he said during his acceptance speech. he said this is a serious mandate. i hereby accept it. i will be your servant, and not your leader, to work with you to make nigeria a great country.

i take this opportunity to appeal to my fellow contestants. let us team up together. it is the only nation we have. it is one country, and we must build together. we must work together to put broken pieces together. there are many broken pieces to be put together, rosemary. the country is divided along a lot of religious and ethnic lines. young people in particular will be waking up feeling very disappointed this morning, because their candidate, peter obi, who they believe is the former, the anti establishment reform or they thought would leave the country in a new direction has come in third in this election cycle. so, -- former lagos governor, he has a long way to go to bring a divided nation together, rosemary. >> all right, stephanie but sorry joining us live from lagos. many thanks for that report. iran's foreign minister recently sat down with our christiane amanpour front exclusive interview covering a range of topics, including the

alleged sexual abuse of government protesters and the custody of iran's revolutionary guard call. >> when you say the islamic republic of iran respects human rights, one female protester says that she was detained inside a revolutionary guard facility for more than a month, and raped by three different men. she went to a cleric, a mullah, afterwards, because she was having suicidal thoughts she was so upset. cnn spoke with that cleric. is that acceptable? is it acceptable for a woman, whatever she has done, to be arrested and raped? and there are many reports of sexual abuse in this situation against women and men. >> [interpreter] firstly, in the peaceful demonstrations in the, fall no one was arrested. >> so you're just denying that? >> [interpreter] however, in those protests that

have become violent, some individuals, some of whom entered iran from the outside and were using firearms and killing the police, were arrested. you do know that the supreme leader actually issued an amnesty. and all those who are imprisoned were released, with the exception of those who had killed someone who are being sued. regarding the iranian woman i mentioned, i can confirm it. there has been so many such baseless claims made on social media and media. >> okay, these are not baseless and they were not on the internet. cnn spoke to a cleric, a religious person inside our country, and got this. >> translator: we have seen some of cnn's reports that are targeted and false. >> that's not true. we report the facts, and we report the truth. and that's why you're sitting here with me, mr. foreign minister. >> tune in for cristiano altman 's exclusive interview with the iranian foreign minister.

covering topics including the crackdown on protesters, supplying russia with drones, and iran's uranium enrichment. that is wednesday at 7 pm in geneva, 6 pm in london, only here on cnn. and thanks for joining us. i'm rosemary church. for our international viewers, world sport is next. and for a viewers in north america, i will be back. more news after a short break. do stay with us.

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>> welcome back everyone. ohio's governor will return to east palestine in the coming hours, where a train carrying hazardous materials derailed early this month.

he will visit the contaminant area -- he will visit contaminated areas for an update on the cleanup and soil washing. on tuesday, the head of the epa visited the crash site. his third trip there since the derailment. michael reagan marked the opening of an epa community center, where residents can reach out with questions. he also reassured residents that ongoing testing shows that both the air and water are safe. meanwhile, indiana's governor is complaining that he didn't know that some of the hazardous waste was being moved to a facility in his state. reagan was asked about that by cnn's miguel marquez. >> what i do want to do is be on the same page with all of our elected officials and those who feel responsible for answering some of these questions. >> so, you'll be talking to the governor of indiana. he says he heard third hand that this waste is coming to a state, and just has questions. nothing has questions, but he

-- >> any governor, any mayor what's have a conversation with me. i welcome that. we want this to be fully transparent, and we want folks to understand we are experienced in, this these facilities are experience in receiving this waste. and transparency is key. >> so far, more than 100 residents have sought help at a government run clinic that opened in east palestine last week. you are looking at video from the scene of a standoff in missouri, where police say a gunman wounded three officers tuesday night. the kansas city police chief says the officers were executing a search warrant at a home when they were met with gunfire. their injuries are not considered life-threatening. officers were able to return fire on the suspect, but it's unclear if the person was shot. we will of course bring you updates as they come into cnn. conservative allies of florida governor ron desantis are quickly shaking things up at a

small liberal arts college. the school's board of trustees, which include several members, had -- handpicked by the saddest voted tuesday to abolish all, diversity inclusion and equity programs at the school. the governor's critics say it's nothing more than a political power move, as he prepares for a widely expected presidential run. cnn's leyla santiago has our story. >> shame on you! shame on you! >> a fight for the future of a small liberal arts college in sarasota, new college of florida, a self-described community of free thinkers, a honors college nestled off the waters of florida's west coast. >> i hope you enjoy the blood on your hands. history will judge you harshly. >> i hope the kind of educational derailment and utter disrespect you're currently showing my student, my child, is never suffered by one of yours. >> this is probably what my favorite spots on campus. >> yeah, it's gorgeous.

>> alaska miller is a trans woman, and a second year student. >> the college really is this special place. i'm worried about, like, my future. i'm worried if i'm going to be able to graduate here, or have to move to a different institution for my safety. >> the public university of 700 students, the latest target in the education make over of governor ron desantis. the campus now at the center of a conservative takeover after desantis appointed six political allies to its board of trustees last month. >> i've been working on an exciting project to take over a public university in florida called new college, well known for kind of being a social justice ghetto, recruiting left wing ideologues. >> conservatives, like chris rufo, credited for leading the gop's battle against critical race theory. rufo and other desantis appointed trustees said they want to bring in more money to improve the campus and make everyone, including conservatives, feel welcome. but first -- >> florida's were woke goes to

die! >> -- was quick to make big moves. today, trustees voted to abolish the office that worked on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. this, after ousting the president during a previous board meeting in january. >> i do not believe that students are being indoctrinated at new college. [applause] >> she was replaced by former educational commissioner and speaker of the house, republican richard portman. and the board agreed to pay him more than doubled the based salary. >> first and foremost, i'd be remiss if i didn't say that, one, i think a tremendous gratitude and thanks to governor desantis. >> the overall in this camp is only part of the governor's agenda for education in the state of florida, and possibly beyond. >> why don't we just do and teach the things that matter? why is it always someone has to try to jam their agenda down our throats? >> why they considered to be a potential republican presidential candidate for 2024, the governor is battling the

woke agenda, as he calls it, in classrooms, rejecting a proposed advanced placement african american studies course, saying it lacks significant educational value. mandating closer scrutiny of books at schools, and endorsing candidates running for school board of florida, a non partisan position. >> two years from now, people will say, wow, what governor desantis led at new college with the new trustees and the trustees choosing the new interim president, during that interim period, that was a wonderful whatever that might be, three months, six months, a year and a half. >> a political wrote that students like alaska miller say they're losing sleep over. >> it breaks my heart to see they want to destroy a place that so special and has been so successful in providing a wonderful education for so many people. >> in a statement to cnn, the governor's office said there is concern over declining enrollment numbers at new college. when i spoke to the interim president about some of the criticism that came out in that border trustees meeting, he

told me that he is optimistic about the future of new college and remains fairly confident that he will be able to bring in more money to help the public university. but i have to tell you, in my conversations with people on campus, that provided little comfort for the admitting lee progressive community now concerned about academic freedom. leyla santiago, cnn, sarasota, florida. >> transgender minors in mississippi can no longer receive gender affirming care. the states republican governor signed a bill on tuesday that prohibits those under the age of 18 from getting hormone treatments or surgical procedures. >> this dangerous movement attempts to convince these children that there are just a surgery away from happiness. it threatens our children's innocence and it threatens their health. >> but lgbtq advocates argue the treatments can be life

saving, because they reduce emotional problems and depression that could lead to suicide. one nonprofit responded to the new law by saying decisions around medical care should be up to parents, patients, and doctors, not politicians. we are learning more about the american israeli citizen who was killed in the west bank on monday. his death is the latest in a series of escalating violence between israelis and palestinians and recent days. cnn's hadas gold has more. >> elan ganeles was in the wrong place at the wrong time, his friends say. the 27 year old connecticut native, the latest victim in the uptick of violence between israelis and palestinians. moved to israel several years ago, studied hebrew at a kibbutz before joining the israeli military. one of his former teachers telling cnn, he was the kind of guy you would want your daughter to date. but in 2018, after he completed his service with the israeli

army, he moved back to the u.s., to attend columbia university, where he studied sustainability. >> hey guys, my name is elan. i'm going to talk about how we measure sustainability. >> returning recently to visit for a friend's wedding. but as he drove along a popular route that cuts through the occupied west bank, often used by tourists on their way to the dead sea, the israel defense forces said attackers shot at several cars. ganeles was struck in the upper body, medics said. the attackers fleeing to nearby palestinian villages, burning their cars in the process. echoing a similar attack that killed two israeli brothers on sunday, near the palestinian town of huwara, south of nablus, followed by revenge attacks by dozens of israeli settlers that killed at least one palestinian man and left dozens of homes and cars burned. the u.s. government expressing alarm over the recent events. >> we condemn the horrific killing of two israeli brothers near nablus and the killing today of and israeli near

jericho, who we understand was also an american citizen. we express our deepest condolences to all of the victim's families and their loved ones. >> now a massive manhunt underway for all the attackers. and the israeli military is sending in extra battalions, placing checkpoints in the nearby palestinian city of jericho. as the region remains on edge, worried about what will come next. hadas cold, cnn, jerusalem. >> the u.s. federal aviation administration is investigating a incident monday that is now the fifth close call this year involving a commercial airliner. it says air traffic controllers at boston logan international airport stop a departing private jet, which you can see here in red, from running into a jetblue flight as it was coming into land on that runway. the jetblue flight is the one in yellow. now, according to flight radar 24, the planes came within 600 feet of colliding. a plan luminary review indicates the pilot of the

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