going wild yesterday not for football but for darts. the world championships going on last night in london. and a 16-year-old takeshas take tournament by storm. luke litler wasn't on anyone's radar but now heading to the final. he has already won $250,000 and he could walk away with 630 grand if he win it is all tonight. and you know whether litler wins it all, he will go down as the oldest looking 16-year-old of all-time. >> i had exactly the same thought. normally i see 16-year-olds and i feel terribly old, but, you know, hey, he can hang. you learn something new every day. andy scholes, thank you. thanks to all of you for joining us. i'm kasie hunt. don't go anywhere, "cnn this morning" starts right now.

good morning, everyone. welcome. this morning form president trump appeals a decision that the process was infect ed by bis as president biden prepares to do what primary competitors won't, attack him over january 6th. new corruption allegations for bob menendez. and happening today, house speaker mike johnson heading to the southern border putting pressure on the next hour we'll talk to the homeland security secretary. "cnn this morning" starts right now. good wednesday morning. i'm phil mattingly. poppy harlow is off today. donald trump is now fighting in court to keep his name on the ballot in maine insisting he did not engage in an insurrection on january 6th. in trump's appeal, he's accuse

ing the secretary of state of being biassed for disqualifying him under the insurrectionist ban. >> we are expecting trump's lawyers to appeal the ruling in colorado as soon as today. this all comes as new polling shows fewer and fewer gop voters believed trump was responsible for january 6th. a new "washington post" poll found 14% of republicans think trump bears a great deal or good amount of responsibility for the riot. that's a sharp drop from 27% just 2 years ago. >> new this morning, we are learning the president plans to mark the third anniversary of january 6th aattack with a major speech, a deeply symbolic site for the american revolution. he will be laying out the huge stakes for the election and for the country's democracy. let's start this morning with zachary cohen and trump's appeal in maine. we have been waiting for the appeal. what happens next? >> reporter: maine superior court has 20 days to weigh in on

whether or not trump should be removed from the ballot in that state. if that decision ultimately is appealed again after the court makes its ruling t will go to the supreme court which they will have january 31st to make its decision. in vacuum, this would dictate the final decision of whether or not trump will appear on the ballot, but this process has been very messy. we are still waiting for donald trump to appeal the ruling in colorado that would essentially supersede the maine decision. it's going to the supreme court. the supreme court will ultimate lu have the final say on this issue if it decides to take up the case. if trump does finally appeal that decision in colorado, but in maine, it's really interesting because we get a glimpse into some of the legal argument it's a hybrid of the political the arguments. he's been railing as being biassed say ing she's a liberal

and this is all a political witch hunt against him. the file ing last night reflect that undertone it. . it accuses the process of being tainted by bias itself. we're going to have to wait and see what happens with the supreme court, but as we are waiting, we see multiple other states that are i trying to figure out this issue for themselves. oregon has pushed back its deadline to make a decision on whether or not trump should be removed from the ballot in that state. it wants more information from both sides that have filed a legal challenge there. a lot of moving pieces, but we have an appeal in maine. now the countdown clock of january 17th has to weigh in. >> looking at the that federal election subversion case, we see the former president basically leaning into this immunity claim. can you explain a bit more about it. >> absolutely. donald trump has claimed he deserves absolute imty for immunity for any potential crimes. he thinks that presidents should enjoy this broad-sweeping i

immunity protection. jack smith has very forcefully pushed back on that claim. he says that claim itself threatens the foundation of our republic. so two very different arguments over whether or not donald trump should be immune from criminal prosecution. but again,s this is one of those tactics, one of those legal strategies that trump's team has employ ed it's resulted in speculation and the potential that his march trial date could be pushed back. take a look at this part from the most recent filing from trump's legal team. it does kind of put into context where they are coming from. they say the constitution's text, history, and policy support this conclusion. the 234-year tradition of not prosecute presidents for specific acts despite for calls to do so provides powerful evidence of it. so trump is arguing anything he did to try to overturn the 2020 election he was doing in his official capacity as president. jack smith disagrees with that. >> jack cohen, thank you.

joining us is legal analyst and former prosecutor elie honig. welcome back. >> good to see you. >> just to set this up. the former president and his legal team have tried a lot of different arguments in a lot of different places. which is most likely to be compelling in terms of something reaching a high court? >> if we're talking about the 14th amendment, what donald trump does in his brief that he submitted yesterday challenging the maine disqualification is he gives himself a lot of different ways to win. let me play lei out how he structures his argument. he focuses on the procedural side. that's where this is going to be decided. he says it's up to congress, not the states, to tell us how the 14th amendment works. congress has not done that other than passing the criminal law. but then he says, even if it is up to the states, maine did not the follow its own procedures.

the secretary of state was biassed. then he goes on to say, well, even if they did properly follow their own procedures, that didn't give me enough due process. they had a hearing with a law professor. it doesn't comport with due process. even if all those other arguments fail, the president does not qualify as an officer of the united states under the constitution. and the beauty of this approach, the colorado trial level judge found that the president does not qualify as an official. that was a reverse by the supreme court. it gets into the whole dance that lawyers do. but what trump is doing is giving himself four or five different ways to win. lawyers like to do that. they like any competitive endeavor, you up your chances. >> as you read it, can you pin pint point what they think the most effective? >> i think they understand the

appeals courts are the not going to say we find you did not engage in insurrection. he understands that is up to the fact finder. i think he is looking for an argument that's going to take this out of the state's hands altogether, can which is one of two arguments. one is it's up to congress. in their absence to act, the u.s. supreme court finds that all these clims go away. the second one is that the president does not count as an officer argument. i'm not compelled by that myself if i were the judge. but it has gotten some traction. it's a way for the supreme court to dispose of all of these cases in one shot. >> have they shown any appetite to reach down and get involved? >> i think they are going to have to get involved in the colorado matter. here's the thing with the supreme court. they can rule on this if they take the colorado case one of two ways. they can rule in a narrow way that will invite 50 of these challenges. if they say it's up to the

states and we find colorado did or did not follow its own processes. colorado will stand or fall. you'll have 49 other challenges. i think they are going to be looking for a way to make one ruling and say, that's the end of this nationwide. s that's my guess. i have to say, we're all guessing here. uncharted territory. >> important to point out. >> thank you so much. breaking this morning, president biden is set to conduct off his 2024 campaign push with big speeches. one on january 6th and another on monday in charleston. phil is going to break down the significance of message and the location. >> the location is obvious. this is an important location. it's embedded inside the country's psyche for what it represents, but what's more important here, it's less than a political and campaign message. it's the fact they are doing it and what it connects to. we learned that president biden will travel to valley forge on

saturday. it's set for political attacks from donald trump. this saturday will mark three years since the january 6th attack on the capitol. that's the back trop for a moment that biden sees as critical to lay ing out the stakes of the bear knuckle political battle ahead. and i think that's important context here because when you think about how this is supposed to work, it's a final battle for biden when you talk to his advisers they acknowledge that point. that location of valley forge is something that everybody is aware of in terms of how it represents the country, the turning point in the revolutionary war. it's a clip call component of george washington and his legacy. stand ing on the brink to pass moments like that and figures that saw trials lead to triumph. >> the core values of this nation are standing in the world, our very democracy, everything that has made america

america is at stake. >> that's from joe biden's 2019 campaign launch video. if that message sounds familiar, it is. it's the animated feature from the start of his campaign straight through to today. that's also important to understand. these aren't just political messages for him. it's a gut feeling when you talk to eed a his advisers. it's set to build off a set of cornerstone moments. and they have grown dire in their view of trump. if you look at these map, these are places where the speeches have occur red over the last several weeks. in october of 2020, obviously, the backdrop of the civil war battle. >> here on this sacred ground, abraham lincoln reimagined american self. here a president of the united states spoke of the price of

division and the meaning of sacrifice. and he taught us this. a house divided could not stand. that is a great and timeless truth. >> just days before the voters went to the polls a second speech, this time in georgia. roosevelt's retreat a as he thought to steer a nation from a world on fire. >> this place represented a i way forward, a way of restoration, of resilience, of healing. in the years that followed, fdr would come back here often to think about how heal the nation and the world, and that's exactly what he did. lifting us out of a great depression, defeating tyranny, s saving. >> one year after the january 6th insurrection after boyden was elected, boiden standing th

scene of the shocking violence in the u.s. capitol building with a message. >> the former president who lies about this election and the mob that attacked this capitol could not be further away from the core american values. >> that message is one he then took to philadelphia's independence hall as the mud term elections were starting to kick into high gear and a clear recognition that the sway had not ebbed. the speech underscoring that the campaign predictions would break with the hold on the gop. that had been bourn out, one that elevated a political message that would resinate with voters just a few months later in the midterms. >> as i stand here tonight, a quality and democracy are under assault. we do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise. >> each of these speeches in the

backdrops that go along with them is not to compare, but instead to emphasize a nation that has faced our moments and overcome them. now as trump continues to dominate the gop field, it's a message that biden's adviser say will become central as biden tries to dig out of historically low approval numbers. the core is biden, his views of the stakes of the moment. but the political context is important. biden's path to vikt visit to make the race about trump, not the incumbent and to remind the lagging coalition why they did so in 2020. >> when i ran for president four years ago, i said we're in a battle for the soul of america. we still are. >>s that was the reelection campaign launch video, which just happened to be the exact day to the day four years after he announced his 2020 election bid. >> thank you for had that context. that was really great. we want to turn now to other

news. a senior hamas leader killed in lebanon. what this means for the possibility of a wider conflict between israel in the region. plus bob menendez facing new corruption allegations involving a second foreign country. the new details including gold bars and luxury watches, that's ahead.

new fears this morning of a wider conflict in the middle east. after a senior hamas leader was killed in an a attack in the lebanese capital, four people were killed in the blast, which targeted an office belonging to hamas. israel has not taken responsibility for killing the leader, but in a vailed reference to the attack, the far right finance minister said all of israel's enemies will perish. cnn is live beirut with more. nada, can you talk more about this senior leader, what is known about him? >> reporter: we're talking about somebody who number two in the political the bureau, someone considered one of the founders of hamas' military wing. the strike just happening last night. authorities are still here clearing the debro from this office of where it appears to have been a very precise strike and explosion. the lebanese national news

agency reporting and describing this has been carried out by an a aerial strike using three missiles. we have heard from the leader of hamas' political bureau. he has scribed this as a cowardly assassination, pointing the finger squarely at israel. while the israeli government hz not claimed direct responsibility, we have heard from a u.s. official telling cnn this was indeed a strike carried out by israel, but the biden administration was not informed ahead of the strike. now it's important to remember that the prime minister has previously vowed to target not just in gaza, but wherever they may be located. and this is concern around the potential for this to cause and trigger a spillover of this conflict in the broader region. they are not just a senior hamas leader, but somebody well connected with officials in

iran, very well connected with officials in hez baa will. this comes after the back of mounting tensions between hezbollah and israel on that southern border over the course of this war. we have continued to see exchanges of fire. israel has repeatedly carried out strikes on that southern border region. as well as journalists, carrying out strikes on the targets as cross the border. and this evening, we are expecting to hear from hezbollah's secretary general. >> thank you. nikki haley and ron desantis taking shots at trump at the campaign trail but refusing to hit him on january 6th. what's behind that strategy. we'll be breaking down new polling saying few blame trump for the rye e the yachts a and it could m mean for ththe caucu and prprimaries. stay with h us.

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calling him a liar when it comes to attacks on her. but the truth is is not included much about trump's role january 6th or the attempts to overthrow the election. here's how ron desantis answered about trump. >> can one of you protect trump? when are you scared of? we had a few questions about this. are you scared of trump, that why you don't criticize him more. >> i take issue with that. i have rendered very sharp contrast between donald trump and myself with respect to policy. >> on policy, key framing there. it may have to do with this sentiment. captured in a new poll numbers from "the washington post," republicans are now even more likely to declir trump responsible for the attack on the capitol. 14% say now he bears a great deal of responsibility. that's down from 27% two years

ago. joining us now to discuss is the chair of the state democratic party, lee carter, and a communications for ben carsons presidential campaign. when i saw these numbers, i fought back to many things you have is said as we have discussed why republican candidates are or aren't doing x or y over the last several months. >> this is like a fats naughting change. less than half, fewer than half the people in the republican party blame donald trump for january 6th. this is a real reason you're seeing people not address the issue. i also see why you're seeing so much blowback on the decisions of colorado and maine. republicans are i saying it's completely unfair. they don't believe this happened. so it's a no-win issue for nikki haley or ron desantis. the ore thing it's so hard to take down donald trump. the attacks on donald trump seem to backfire. it's like he's rubber and they are glue.

whatever they say about him sticks back to them. and in many ways, what they have to do is why they would be the better candidate, why they would be the fighter that americans are look for rather than them just trying to take down donald trump. i don't think it's a strategy that works. >> to that end, chris christie is going to be missing in action next week because he didn't meet the qualifications for the debate stage, and his whole campaign has been attacking trump and making that case. is his campaign at a dead end? >> i will haved when this topic was going to come up because i didn't realize he was still in the race. it's like asa hutchinson. the chris christie model for what he wanted to do in the campaign is reenact when he did in new hampshire last time around with marco rubio and ted cruz. the only thing that chris christie came into this race to do was attack donald trump. he felt he was in the best position to do that, but he had no policy around it or no base

to build on. he didn't have a base. >> you have been a campaign adviser. why stick it out then? the at a certain point? >> i love chris christie. i think he's great. but there's an egotlp. i'm trying to salvage a reputation from the damage that was done during the four years in the trump administration. and really kind of set myself up for the next time. but also he took another attack, i want to help the other candidates out there and h hopefully somebody else can get in. i think the best thing he can do is step out before new hampshire and help nikki haley or ron desantis. >> isn't there -- not to not be cynical, but i think it's a very fair point that you're making about christie, but maybe he thinks somebody needs saying these things about donald trump. that's why staying in the race. >> i think that would be a higher political the call ing than i think we see in chris christie. there's a big ego there.

although the he may want to help his opponents, at the end of the day, we have seen through chris christie's behavior in office, his primary focus is himself. so i don't see him out there running on a cause. i don't see him as a candidate who is pushing a cause over their own election. he's run ning because he though he could win, but he wanted to win. i think we're going to see his race or his campaign end very soon because the bashing trump, the vision he has, it's just not taking hold. and there's only so long you can hold on, when you're not making the debates. >> i have a footnote that's a through line about vivek ramaswamy. he's been endorsed in the republican primary by the form congressman steve king, who controversially had comments lament ing the term, because wh

has not theed to use that term. vivek ramaswamy was asked about this endorsement and whether he condemns white supremacy. here's part of what he had to say. >> this myth of white us suprem shs the closest you can find is jumping up and down over some false narrative. the best way to find that was a guy who was i paying his other people to be staging something that didn't happen. and so stop picking on this farce of some figment that exists of some small fringe of the american public today to open our eyes to the actual real threats that we face. >> i think this appeals to the same person who doesn't think slavery was the cause of the civil war. can you give me of a sense of what you're hearing? >> he's appealing to someone. but his polling numbers have dropped like a lead balloon. he's down at 4%. at one point he was as high as 14%. the more people are hearing from

him, the more ridiculous they think he is. kind of statement that's making him less and less popular. the more hear from voters, the less they like him. some remind him of the obnoxious kid in high school who always raised his hand with the answer but didn't have the answer. they really just don't like this guy. >> when they are trying to do with his statements with nikki haley's you outrageous nonstatements about slavery, i think they think they are going to get to trump voter if they make these really outrageous race-related statements. that's a way to do it without attacking him. and that is vile on their part, but on top of it, is not working. >> i think vivek ramaswamy is not -- the appeal with steve king, he's taking votes away from trump. if stooe king even has any votes. so i think when he's trying to

do is really just stir the pot again. it's not that he didn't have the answer. he gave a five-minute response and had no answer within it. but he sounded smart to himself. i think he's playing that. >> he's the perfect person for this era. five-minute answers that don't actually have the answer but sound smrt to yourself. >> also standing in front of a sign that says truth. >> that's a good point about steve king. stick around. ron desantis and nikki haley take questions directly from iowa voters in back to back events. the town hall moderated by kaitlan collins. that's tomorrow night. new corruption allegations against senator bob menendez accused of accepting bribes from qatar. how prosecutors say he tried to cover up his actions, next. plus house speaker mike johnson heading to the border as migrant crossings hit a new record. the homeland security secretary will join us live ththis mornin ahead.d.

this morning we're learning new details from an indictment against new jersey senator bob mainenendez that accuses him of helping another foreign country. federal prosecutors say he accepted race car tickets and in exchange for political clout to connect the royal family to a

real estate investor and securing that major investment. they point to the defendants attending a private event there hosted by the government in 2021 after which the developer said menendez an e-mail that depicted computer screen photos and asked about one of these. >> he pleaded not guilty for charges for acting as an unregistered agent as he and his wife were accused of accepting bribes the charges stemmed from a raid on the couple's home in september where gold bars, cash and a mer day these benz were. after that raid the couple tried to cover up their actions and repaid tens of thousands worth of bribes. that came in the form of payments for a home mortgage and towards that benz. lauren fox joins us live from washington. has there been any reaction on the hill? feel like it's been so divided

saying we've got to go, and chuck schumer and about how lawmakers are going to react when they return. there are really two separate issues. one of the issues is whether or not bob menendez should stay in the united states senate and truly he's the only person who is likely to make that decision. so far, he has said that he plans to stay. he has said he's done nothing wrong. meanwhile, you do have his democratic colleagues, dozens of them saying he should resign. and many of them really not letting that go, repeatedly pushing maenendez to step aside saying his actions were inappropriate. you also have a lot of questions about whether or not he should continue to be able to attend classified briefings. this is an issue that our colleague manu raju pressed chuck schumer about last month. because there was that briefing on ukraine. and senator schumer said it was up to menendez to decide whether

or not he should be attending those briefings, that he had the ability to attend them because he has a security clearance as a united states member of the senate. so i think thats there's a lot of questions right now about whether or not more skcrutiny comes on senator menendez when they return next week on capitol hill, but so far, we have not heard any reaction to this superseding indictment from chuck schumer's office. >> lauren fox, thank you so much. back with us now is jason osbourne and christine quinn. when you have another indictment that talks about gold bars and it seems a little old. i want to read what his attorney is saying. an all-time acted entirely appropriately with respect to qatar, egypt and the many other countries he routinely interacts with. it only exposes the lengths to which these prosecutors will go to poison the public before the trial even begins. >> the latest indictment is key

because in 2015, he was indicted for bribery and fraud at the time of those charges were d dropped. so is it the final straw? and why did democrats sound helpless in saying he should go? >> i hope this is the final straw. i can't imagine even more of this. it's not good for us democrats to have someone who has been in the senate for so long having more and more and more. i think there's been a resounding call, particularly from new jersey, if not from the united states senate, that he needs to go. after the prior indictment, the governor came out like that. cory booker came out very quickly. he is a very arrogant guy who got away with it. when you're a criminal and have gotten away with it, you think you're going to get away with it again. that's just the mentality. i think it really if he had any

concern for himself, for his wife, for the united states senate, he would step down today. i don't think that's going to happen. he's going to go down swinging, but i wish and hope he would step down today. >> it would be know ing there's no chance to do it. particularly in the wake of what you saw with george ity leader? that's the bigger issue. >> i thought about that in the sense this is different than the house. the house, if if you try to get santos out, you had to go through a special election. as soon as he's out, the governor appoints somebody. it would still be 51-49. but for the sake of the institution, i think he needs to step down. >> the public it seems like congressional. >> and let's not forget more than 70% of new jerseyans said the last indictment that he should go.

so i'm sure even more are going to say that now. when you look at people's trust in the federal government, 4% say the political system is working well. 16% trust the federal government to do the right thing. we need to see people doing the right thing. when you see something like this, trump's argument about a corrupt system that doesn't work for the american people takes up steam. >> gold bars, not good. >> because lawmakers are trying to show they are trying to function. house speaker mike johnson haeding to the boarder with othr republican lawmakers while they are still fight ing about the money for the border package. first of all, how does this set up the policy fight ahead? >> i think that immigration is going to become a huge center piece in this election. >> can they show they can do anything about it? >> these are the the fwie who spent the last year doing it. >> 75% of democrats are saying this is a huge issue. we're seeing a huge shift in sentiment. when you look at 30% of people

during trump's presidency is supported the border wall. and people want to see more action on immigration. and i think it's a big problem for joe biden. >> republicans here have done the smart thing. in years past, before they started migrants, they were having to deal with it. the rest ofcountry was saying is not an issue. but texas spent over $80 million the transporting migrants to cities that are spending billions of dollars to take care of them. texas is sitting back and saying, see, this is what we have had to handle. it's playing to the bases. the lead republicans in the state level are trying to take care of the issue as best they can without the federal government involved. >> we're thinking about playing to the base, the cities that these migrants are being sent to new york, chicago, that's the democratic base. although this should be about play together base, they may have a real backlash because they are going to be ginning up people in new york, chicago, who

are mad that the federal government has abandoned urban america in the middle of this crisis. >> there's no question it's a huge issue with weeks ahead and leading here. thank you. appreciate it. em beatled harvard president is out of her job driven by a fire storl of plagiarism and testimony over anti-semitism on campus. we'll tell you what's next for the university. >> plus dramatic rescues underway of the wreck aage in japan. 70 people have been pulled overnight. the plan to find those still missing, that's next.

the embattled president of harvard university is are resigning after a plagiarism scandal and anti-semitism on

college campuses. the'ses first black president had the shortest tenure in the history to just 6 months and 2 days. tensions have been running high since the attack in hamas with protests turning violent and claims of anti-semitism. harvard saw protests and reports of anti-semitism opt campus. la month gay testified before a congressional committee and say calls for genocide and bullying and harassment on campus. >> does calling for the genocide of jews violate harvard's rules of harassment, yes or no? >> it can be depending on the the context. >> again, later apologized for that response. matt egan has been covering this every step of the way. what's next? >> the last few months have been a nightmare for harvard and everyone who cares about harvard. the fact that she's resigned does no end that nightmare.

the problems continue, including pressure from congress, the house committee that is investigating this plagiarism scandal. they made clear they are still want that mountain of documents from harvard. harvard is still very much on the hook to turn over this mountain of documents. we also know that there's an anti-semitism investigation from that same house committee. there's also a federal probe from the education department looking into allegations of anti-semitism and islamophobia. they have to find a new president of this school, one who is going to repair the reputation that has taken a big hit. i also think how all of this has gone down the last few weeks ha has raised questions about thehorse vard corporation. that's the powerful top board at harvard. it's chaired by the billionaire former obama official, and there's a lot of questions about what happened here. how do they go from saying they are unanimously behind her and

then accepting rez i guess nation. how is it so incomplete? that is all going to have to be answered. i talked to former facebook executive who is a venture capitalist and a harvard grad. he said he would give the corporation a d over how they handled the situation. gay's resignation is just the beginning. it's the first step that demonstrates that harvard is not lost and can change, but harvard still needs to address the deeper leadership and governance failures that came to ahead. so she is gone as president, but the pressure on harvard remains. >> definitely political pressure on capitol hill. thank you. turning now to the urgent rescue effort underway in japan. first responders are still pulling people from the rubble of monday's deadly earthquake. the country's chief cabinet secretary saying some 70 people were rescued overnight. efforts are underway to deploy more rescue dogs to hard-hit

areas. the number of people still missing remains unclear. at least 64 people killed in the new year's day quake shaking the peninsula is on the western rural coast of central japan. the quake triggered tsunami alert, sparked fires and destroyed buildings. photos as we're seeing across the region show entire multistory buldings have fallen on their side. there are piles of rubble where houses once stood. more on the rescue efforts throughout this morning. >> here in the u.s., a winter could bring snowfall to northeast. some areas for the first time in nearly two years. and new polls show republicans are likely to clear donald trump despite his actions in the january 6th insurrection. we'll discuss it's impmpacting e race foror the whitete house, ts justst ahead.

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♪ ♪ a storm on the west coast bringing rain and snow to the region. also some heavy snow expected in the four koerns, but the bigger story it's been two years without any snow in some parts of the northeast. but the storm on the west coast could change that. eric van dam is tracking all of it.

you have been disappointing winter-enthused children for weeks now on this show. are you about to deliver? no pressure. >> this is important stuff. and so you're going to have to humor me on this one. we're going to do a little wish casting instead of forecasting. there's definite ly a tangible reason to get excited. i'll explain why. this is the storm that's going to bring the energy to the east coast. you can follow it as it traverses the deep south, pulls in moisture from the gulf of mexico, brings rain to atlanta. and then has its eyes centered on the east coast. exactly where, that's still to be determined. we know these are a game of miles in terms of the path of the snowstorms that potentially bring snow to the populated areas. but certainly, a chance. will it bring snow to the coastline, new york city, philadelphia, yes, i'm excited about that. but will it happen, we need to iron out those details it's not lost on us that new york city has not received over 1 inch of

snowfall in nearly 700 days. philadelphia, you had your least amount of snow in 2023 ever. only .3 inches of snowfall. we talk about that exact path that's so important. a few scenarios here, focus your attention on this black dot. we call that the 40 west benchmark. where the low pressure system ends up depends on who will get the snowfall and who will get the rain. you can see the european and the american model showing some differences there. that's the difference between rain and snow for our kids. >> you have been joking about how we can't use our sleds, but many u.s. cities saw the heat records broken in 2023. it's been hot. >> it's no secret, 2023 will likely be rewrite ing the histo books. we are more than certain that 2023 will be the hottest year on record. that has translated to some of

the warmest years on record for central park, newark, theist lip area, miami, new orleans, san antonio and houston. you guys were scorching under record-breaking heat. the fingerprints of climate change combined with an el nino season all working together to create that extreme warmth that's brought the lack of snow. hopefully we'll change that this weekend. >> fingers crossed. for our kids. thank you. appreciate it. "cnn this morning" continues right now. the former president's legal team appealing the decision that keeps him off the ballot in maine. >> they are attacking arguing she was a biassed decision m maker. >> this case is crying out for the supreme court to get involved. two weeks until the iowa caucuses and three candidates will qualify for the iowa debate. >> voters do not care that trump is not participating. ron desantis