patriotism of nikki haley. we have it within our power to fix this country and turn it around. i'm asking for your support in the iowa caucus monday, january 15th. i'll be a president you can be proud of, and i promise i will get the job done and not let you down. thank you, god bless you all. >> thanks to governor desantis and governor haley, thanks for being here. thanks to the audience and host, drake university, for dana bash and the cnn team, i'm jake tapper. join us monday, january 15th, 4:00 p.m. eastern for cnn's coverage of the iowa caucuses. anderson cooper now has more on the debate. see you tomorrow.

hello and welcome to viewers in the united states and around the world, i'm michael holmes. appreciate your company. coming up, the final push ahead of the iowa caucuses. a new poll shows donald trump with a commanding lead as the state deals with historic winter weather. cnn investigates israeli strikes on hospitals in gaza, whether they were proportional given the potential for harming civilians. historic win in taiwan, the president-elect say it demonstrates a commitment to democracy. >> announcer: live from atlanta,

this is cnn "newsroom" with michael holmes. iowa's caucuses, the first nomination test ahead of the presidential elections. a just released poll finds donald trump continues to keep his iron grip on iowa republicans. the final des moines register/nbc news poll shows donald trump support at 48%. nikki haley second at 20%, ron desantis, third at 16%. but iowa is coping with a vicious winter storm which has brought blizzard conditions and brutal cold across the state, candidates forced to cancel many events before the push of the caucuses. the arctic blast will be in place monday and there are concerns about turnout. high temperature is forecast to be negative 2 degrees fahrenheit, negative 16 degrees

celsius. cnn's chief u.s. national affairs correspondent jeff zeleny is there in iowa with more on the results of the new poll of likely caucus goers. >> reporter: with two days to go for the opening of the presidential contest, donald trump remains far and away the frontrunner in iowa according to the new poll. the iowa poll has a storied history of capturing the final movements in this race shows donald trump at 48% in the poll. race for second place is fascinating, nikki haley edging out florida governor ron desantis narrowly, 20% followed by 16%. the rest of the field is far below, vivek ramaswamy 8% and going down from there. but donald trump still has an overwhelming lead of the race, his supporters the most committed. the reason this matters, weather

has been a central concern, blizzard warnings and dangerously cold weather, the committed supporters may be the answer to who shows up monday night. but haley is riding a wave of momentum. her supporters are not as committed or enthusiastic. a quarter of iowa voters have not made up their minds, there's still room for movement. but it's still donald trump's race to lose, no doubt. and it raises expectations. 28 points ahead of his leading rival, so his margin of victory should he have one on monday night should be judged against that number. cnn, des moines. >> ron brownstein is there in des moines, senior editor for "the atlantic" joins us live.

good to see you. before politics, do what normal people do, talk about the weather. snowstorms, biting cold. whose advantage for voters staying home. >> wind chill is 45 below in des moines, at the outer level of what i've ever experienced. i actually think it benefits desantis if anybody at the margin. maybe trump a little. i think the weather is the biggest problem for haley. by definition you see in the poll, not only in the poll but in general, her supporters tend to be the voters most alienated from the trump era republican party. poll shows half of her voters are either independents or democrats. do they feel strongly enough about her to show up on a night that may be historically cold.

this is the most snow since the early '40s. desantis has a serious organization, they will be at least contacting people, whipping them, trying to encourage them to the polls on that night. and trump has, you know, he has his maga base i suspect will show up as well. wouldn't be shocking if the weather led to a slight flip in the desantis/haley finish. but that won't likely change the big story coming out of iowa. >> you mentioned the poll, donald trump commanding 48%, haley 20%, desantis 16%, and ramaswamy is 8%. does anybody fall out after the iowa caucuses? who benefits if it happens? >> interesting and different questions. desantis has put in the maximum effort in iowa, visited all 99 counties, built this big

organization, corralled the support of more of the state's political leadership than anyone else, including the governor and most of the evangelical leaders, which might be 65% of the total turnout. if he comes in third, it's hard to see a rationale for him to continue at that point. even if he narrowly beats haley for second, that probably is the end of the road. if he can't compete effectively against trump here, you have to ask yourself where would he. the problem haley has got, if desantis drops out, it's not clear she gets the bulk of those voters. they might end up with trump. haley's situation reminds me of john mccain in 2000 when he lost the nomination. initial surge was fuelled mostly by independent voters, gave him an opportunity to make a case to

core republicans against the frontrunner, george w. bush. he couldn't make a race of it. i feel like we're heading to something like that again this year. haley is likely to emerge after iowa/new hampshire as the last viable alternative to trump but done it mostly on the votes of independents. and to really make a race of this, she's going to have to give republicans a stronger argument than she's been willing to try so far. >> iowa is a deeply red state, a lot of love for trump, but is iowa a bellwether, does the result portend much? >> not really. iowa has had a poor record picking the republican nominee. last three iowa winners, none of them won a dozen states or the nomination. that trend may break this year with trump.

reason iowa has not been a good predictor of the eventual winner is because the last candidates won here in a similar way, focused on maximizing support among evangelical christians, but then they had trouble reaching out beyond that community in other states and couldn't make a go of it. a problem that was apparent immediately in new hampshire. one thing i'll be watching for on monday is in the exit poll, who wins the minority of voters who are not evangelical christians because that winner has usually won the nomination. the problem for haley, on track to be the last standing alternative to trump ten days from now after new hampshire, is that she has to peel away more republicans. to do that, she has to make a stronger case against trump.

almost all the arguments are value free, no value judgment, i'm a stronger candidate, we need generational change. she has to make a case to republican voters why not to go with someone they view as the incumbent in the race. >> make the differences more starker. good to get your breakdown. thank you ron. >> thanks for having me. sunday marks 100 days since hamas launched its deadly raid into israel, killing 1,200 people. and right now a massive rally is under way in tel aviv to mark the occasion. estimated 120,000 people are taking part in the event said to last 24 hours straight until sunday night, also calling for the release of the more than 100 hostages still believed to be held in gaza.

some hostage family members, as well as the french president calling for giving negotiations a chance. >> the best answer is a political solution, not a military one. there is no prize high enough, the israeli people know it, are unified with us. they know israel will never be the same if we give up on our loved ones. >> translator: it's been 100 days today, france does not abandon its children. this is why negotiations for their release must be resumed again and again. never give in, never give up. because we do not and will not accept any sacrifice. so we're going to do everything and you can count on me to bring them all home with you. >> controversial strikes in hospitals on gaza have happened often in the first months of the

israel-hamas conflict. here's an in-depth look at those attacks. >> reporter: inside an ambulance out of a hospital in northern gaza on november 9th. nearby, indonesia hospital the same night, sheer panic. the first two months of war decimated gaza's health care systemem. as israel launched an air, then land offensive on the north of the strip. out of 22 hospitals in northern gaza, cnn has identified 20 damaged or destroyed between october 7th and december 7th. imagery analyzed by cnn shows over half directly attacked. including the two largest, they were attacked directly by israel

defense forces. a a rocket from m gaza here waw likely resesponsible foror a de blasast but t appears to be tht exceptption. >> it't's called thehe qatari hospital. >> reporter: israeli intelligence says hamas uses the hospitals as command centers, a claim hamas denies. a hospital's protection during war is not absolute. >> there are instances where the protections can be lost. that's for such time as they're being used for military activities to further activities of an enemy. that does not give carte blanche to militaries to launch an attack however they want. >> reporter: this is gaza's second larargest h hospital. we modeleded out how weeks of israeli attacks around it caused

severe damage and civilian harm. behind the hospital on october 29th, an explosion has just hit. the director spoke to cnn that day, saying there was bombing all around u us. on november 7th,h, idf publishea video of them conducting a strike 100 meters from the hospital entrance here, they claimed they were targeting a hamas weapons depot. this was november 5th. this video shows people being stretchered away from the scene and into the hospital. but inside already looked like this after days of strikes nearby. the idf say they repeatedly told people to evacuate. medical staff inside said it was just not possible. the idf legal adviser told cnn

they did not attack the hospital exexcept in mid-november when apparently returning fire from hamas militants, releasing this footage as evidence. 21 were killed. they said they were terrorists but acknowledged civilians were still inside. at alsharifa hospital, it was intensifying. again they said they didn't attack el shifa. a couple hours later, the maternity ward is hit, here part of an israeli tank missile is found. within a week, israeli forces entered the hospital. >> we can see them searching the

east part. >> reporter: one of the hospitals the idf and u.s. say hamas was operating in. when troops arrived, they appear to have found little evidence of this. publishing these videos of a network of tunnels. what the videos don't show is what was meters away, multiple graves dug by civilians forced to bury their loved ones in the hospital grounds amid the continued siege. who was in the grave? my mom, she replies. put to you a conversation i had with a legal adviser to the idf. they said end of the day, as long as hamas continues to use hospitals and facilities for military operations and our aim is to defeat hamas militarily, there is absolutely no choice but to go there. >> much of the death and destruction, damage to hospital

and health care facilities is known in advance and part of the calculation. that is absolutely a choice and to frame it not as a choice is to frame the death and destruction as an inevitability. >> reporter: the first two months of war are among ththe mt deadadly and destructive of any conflict in recent history. the question remains whether any military objective can justify this. cnn, london. >> cnn sent a full list of the hospitals we identified as damaged or destroyed to the israeli military. in response, the idf say they quote did not conduct any targeted attacks against hospitals in the gaza strip. and quoting again, they said that any strike expected to incidentally damage hospitals is approved by the highest echelons of command. israel's prime minister is denouncing the genocide case in

the international court of justice, south africa, calling it a war in self-defense despite the death toll and it is hamas who wants to commit genocide. >> translator: the hypocritical attack in the hague on the jewish state that rose in the wake of the holocaust for others who wanted to have genocide against the jews is an affront. >> thanked shulz who reject the allegation of genocide. many in tataiwan are celebrbrating the e effects ofo

historicic electction. china is seething.g. more whehen we come back.

china says that taiwan is still its territory and that will not change, as the ruling party celebrates an historic

election victory. the democratic progressive party clinched a third presidential victory saturday with 40% of the total vote. china warned taiwan that a democratic progressive win could increase the risk of conflict, but voters shrugged that off and made lai ching te their new president. >> translator: the taiwanese people have successfully ignored efforts from external forces, we believe we can choose our own president. >> mark, this was the result china did not want and activiel tried to prevent, right? >> indeed. we've seen efforts by china to try to dissuade the voters not to vote for the democratic processive party. we've had a big narrative that

beijing was trying to push saying selection was a choice between war versus peace, balancing doing too little to doing too much and creating more ill will toward mainland china. the results are in, response from beijing late last night, a forceable statement. that reads in part the basic fact that there's only one china in the world and fact that taiwan is part of china will not change. this was expected, very much according to script from the past. but the real question, is this just going to be a one-time statement and things will calm down for a bit? or will beijing want to flex its muscles, show that it is very much opposed to this idea of separation between the two, and perhaps do something more bold

in the very near future? >> its strategy is eventual unification, it made clear that's still very much the aim. what are its options? what is in its quiver for what comes next? >> right. china is in a very difficult position. as much as it would like to do something very bold and show taiwan where it stands, it also has to balance the challenges at home. right now, as we discussed many times, michael, the domestic economy here is struggling, xi jinping has seen leadership changes in his regime that he has to balance with the taiwan question. hes had a big toolbox, he can do things militarily, but also

diplomatic and economic steps he could take. a number of analysts said wait until may to see something big, until the inauguration and we hear that speech from the new president-elect to set the tone for the future. but to expect beijing to sit back idle and do nothing is probably lofty thinking. >> mark stewart in beijing. now ukraine says russia launched dozens of missiles and drones across the country on saturday. the fourth such major attack by moscow since december 29, no reported injuries, fortunately. ukraine's air force says it destroyed eight of the missiles, but russia claims it achieved its goal of hitting military industrial facilities. president volodymyr zelenskyy

said on friday the country still lacks comprehensive air defenses. mr. zelenskyy said he discussed the defense needs meeting with the new french foreign minister and talked about joint weapons and strengthening air defenses. it was the minister's first visit since he was appointed. he says they will stand with ukraine. world sport is next for national viewers. for everybody else, more news after a break. to duckduckgo on all your devie

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welcome back, you're watching cnn "newsroom" with me, michael holmes. a devastating storm is pummelling parts of the united states. oregon, falling trees toppled power lines, started fires and shut down mass transition. officials in portland say there's been at least one weather related death in the city. more than 250 daily cold records could be broken through tuesday. iowa, the epicenter of the blizzard conditions with the caucuses on monday, forecast to be coldest on record. 75% of the country will be experiencing temperatures below freezing fahrenheit the next

seven days as a blast of arctic air moves south and east through the central midwest. more than 1,300 flight cancellations across the united states on saturday, more than 6600 days canceled for sunday already. a disastrous week for u.s. air travel. more than 200 united and alaska airlines flights were canceled each day due to federal officials grounding boeing 737 max-9 aircraft. in patterson, new jersey, officials had to rescue people trapped in flood warnings. >> reporter: another storm system cutting through the northeast, affecting millions of americans, leaving behind chilly

temperatures and also the constant threat of flooding. in patterson, new jersey, the water has overflowed the banks of the passaic river, one of the reasons the bridge is supposed to be closed but many drivers simply have driven through the barricades and others shifted into reverse and gone the other way. it's quite the inconvenience for many people, especially those who had to be rescued from their homes, about 20 according to officials. the governor was on ground to assess the impact. there are close to two dozen streets closed and we mentioned the bridge. this is after the storm last tuesday, a soaker that was one of the first to prompt the flooding concerns. nonetheless, officials pledging financial support, hoping to obtain some from local, state

and federal sources for people affected by the recent storms. cnn, patterson, new jersey. as the cold weather impacts many in the u.s., new data shows increasingly high levels of covid-19 cases across the country. u.s. centers for disease control says nearly 36,000 covid hospitalizations last week alone, nearly doubling since the start of november. the infections are less likely to cause severe disease thanks to vaccines, viral activity is still high. 1 in 5 adults and 1 in 10 children have gotten the latest covid vaccine. a cardiologist and professor of molecular medicine with scripps research is joining us. hundreds still dying from covid

each week in the u.s. world health organization says 10,000 around the world in december, yet not many people are talking about covid anymore. what are you are concerns now? >> they should be talking about it, it's raging as far as the infections, the spread. the wastewater levels are the second highest in the pandemic. we've got a problem with this jn.1 variant getting into people far easier than most we've seen since the beginning of the pandemic. >> i know a lot of people personally who have not gotten vaccine boosters, don't think covid is a big deal now. but cdc data says less than 20% of adults, 8% of kids have received the updated vaccine. what do you say to those ambivalent about the boosters now? >> it's a real mistake. this booster does help protect

against the current variant. and most importantly, it helps protect against long covid. this is a real bonus there. for people who are of advanced age, over 65, only 35% have had the booster, compared to 95% with the primary series. they're the higher risk of the we have got to get people with increased risk to get a booster. >> you mentioned something i want to cover with you, again for the complacent, speak to the impact of long covid, symptoms that persist. is enough attention given to long covid and its impacts? should people be motivated by that? >> i would hope so, michael. this is extraordinary how much we're not having enough respect for that potential. how we don't have any treatment for it. and the only preventions we really have are not getting

covid or not getting reinfected and getting the booster or vaccine, 40-50% reduction of the chance of getting long covid. as you know, it's a potentially suffering, disabling condition with tens of millions of people already affected. that's what this wave is doing now, adding to the burden of long covid, where we have no treatment. >> yeah, what is interesting, too, when it comes to death, i think half from the u.s. of the global deaths, which is extraordinary. it's not just deaths in the u.s. again, we're seeing around the world that cdc figures showed almost 35,000 people were hospitalized in the week ending december 30. so the deaths might be down, but hospitalizations -- that's a lot of people. >> exactly. and most of those people are people over 65, who didn't get a

booster since september when they were available. which is just amazing how we missed out there. of. >> yeah. or stupid. you covered this, we've talked many times over the course -- since covid began. are we ready for another pandemic should it come? have lessons been properly learned? is this pandemic over? >> no, not at all. we're going to be looking at this virus for years to come unless we develop an exit strategy, to block infections and spread. that's going to rely on oral or nasal vaccines, which we started to work on, but it's gotten a late start and not a big priority and resource. but otherwise we'll have variants, raging pandemics. for future pandemics we've not learned enough. we're in the fifth year of this

one and could face another one in years coming not taking the lessons we should. >> i can't believe the booster numbers are so low. is it a concern there's not as much danger around these days compared to the height of the pandemic? most people test at home these days, who knows the case numbers. a lot of it is out of public view and doesn't get as much attention. is that a problem? >> a big problem. that's why we have to rely on wastewater, our best metric. that's what has been so high in the u.s. and many other countries. this is a globally dominant variant now, it's really surged. and hospitalizations are helpful, but fortunately, michael, we have some population immunity built over these four years. that's why there's this gap between lots of new infections, reinfections, and not as much hospitalizations as in the past.

>> always great analysis from you, thanks so much. >> thank you. u.s. congressional leaders have reportedly reached an agreement on a short-term funding bill to keep the government running into march. the new continuing resolution comes just days ahead of the first funding deadline of january 19. a source telling cnn house republicans will have a conference call sunday night to discuss the plan, reportedly with $1.5 trillion in funding the next fiscal year, $886 billion in defense spending. as u.s. voters prepare to cast the first votes of the 2024 presidential race, election workers are bracing for new threats from conspiracy theorists, especially if donald trump loses again. more when we come back.

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on monday, republican caucus goers in iowa will be the first in the u.s. to choose who they want to represent their party in the next presidential election. as the november vote draws closer, there is concern about how donald trump supporters could react if he again fails to win back the presidency. we talked to election workers still shell-shocked from the way the 2020 vote played out. >> you should be in jail, you should be killed, you should be fired. just people screaming into the phone. i mean just rid -- 24/7. >> reporter: director of elections in arizona's cochise county for six years. >> we had to hire an armed security company because people who worked in the office processing ballots were afraid somebody would break the door down and take ballots. >> reporter: a lifelong republican, she had enough of intimidation and threats and

quit. your successor? >> bob. >> reporter: this is bob. >> the election itself just didn't seem like past elections, there was something off. >> reporter: in 2020, he shared facebook posts falsely claiming trump legally won by a landslide. >> sometimes it's hard for me to accept there wasn't some errors made in the election. but i'm not sure that it was to the extent that it would have changed the election. >> reporter: for some of the election conspiracy theorists who forced lisa out of her job, bob's doubts made him ideal to replace her. to some of the people in cochise, critics were saying this is an election skeptic an extremist, conspiracy theorist. >> denier. >> reporter: some would view that as disqualification, but

some people in cochise saying this is our guy, he knows the election has been stolen. so some people were happy to see you coming. >> yes. >> reporter: then something happened he never expected. you weren't extreme enough. >> no, they found out from the beginning that i was going to follow the laws and procedures. >> reporter: and they weren't happy about that? >> some were not. >> your actions are not that of a conservative. >> if i had the authority, i would fire you. >> reporter: public meetings, voters who believed conspiracy theories about the election decided bob was not maga enough and demanded he overhaul the entire voting system. >> do away with machines and mail ballots, things that have to be changed legislatively. it's not permissible legally for me to do away with this stuff.

>> i'm sure even you brain dade rhinos and democrats can understand, we the people don't want any machines or mail-in ballots. >> reporter: after four months, bob quit. >> at my age, i need less drama. >> reporter: a former trump supporter, jeri also left her job last year. >> never been treated so poorly, disrespected. >> reporter: so much of the vitriol directed at election workers is fuelled by false believes about voting machines, ballots and election workers themselves. >> i had a guy tell me he could hack into our election equipment through the power outlet. >> reporter: what people believe. >> nonsensical. it's never been like this before. it's not stupidity, they really don't care about truth or integrity. they just want their outcome. i think that's it.

>> reporter: jeri spent much of her life in the court system as a county attorney but abuse as an election worker topped it all. >> i've been treated better by murderers, child molesters, thieves, rapists, than the political parties and elected representatives. >> reporter: harassment is one of the reasons officials have called it quits. more than 160 top election officials have left their positions since november 2020. >> we're asking a lot of elections workers to deal with the general misinformation but directly being attacked. >> reporter: republican bill ga gates is on the board of supervisors of the county. how concerned are you with conspiracy theorists becoming

officials? >> i'm very concerned. we're seeing it in some small counties. we're only as strong as our weakest link. >> it's sad, we need experienced election workers. >> reporter: bob returned in a different arizona county where he is no longer being harassed. for the election conspiracy theories of 2020 -- do you regret sharing the facebook posts? >> yes, the 2020 chapter should be closed. we should move forward. we have to believe the process of the certifications of the secretaries of state. >> reporter: voters should trust the election, even if trump loses? >> yes. >> thanks for that report. when we come back, as people clear their homes of christmas trees, one organization is proving one family's trash is another fisher's treasure. we'll be right back.

in colombia, at least 37

people are confirmed dead after landslides in the northwest, according to authorities. governor of the department says more than a dozen bodies have been transferred to medin for forensic information, and she will not rest until everybody has information. john kerry plans to leave his post as climate envoy. the 80-year-old former u.s. secretary of state is expected to attend two more major conferences before stepping down. he led u.s. negotiations in three international climate summits and was key restarting talks with china. he intends to join the biden re-election campaign. with yuletide over,

christmas trees are no longer gracing our homes but heading to sidewalks for trash collection. one swedish organization is giving discarded trees a new environmentally friendly purpose. >> reporter: the lights are gone, decorations put away. but there is one organization in sweden trying to stretch that christmas spirit into the new year. since 2016, the swedish anglers association has been collecting recycled christmas trees and tossing them into the bays and waterways around stockholm. may look like a cold and icy grave but it's a new beginning for the trees. >> we tie them together, three or four together, then we tie them to a weight. in this case, rocks in a bag. everything is biodegradable. then we throw them out into the water, and they will sink down

to the bottom. >> reporter: there the trees will settle into their new role, providing habitats for marine wildlife. environm environmentalists say there's a lot of boat traffic and not enough vegetation for the fish to thrive. the trees come each year like christmas to help make up for the loss. >> there are plenty of places to hide in here. all these branches and pine needles as well. >> reporter: since the start of the initiative, more than 1,000 trees have been deposited in the waters. scientists hope that makes for a lot of happy fish, and humans like it, too. an ecofriendly way of recycling part of the holiday season. >> in sweden, you give the christmas a personality. you choose it very carefully and live with it. >> reporter: it's a gift that

keeps on giving for inhabitants above the surface and below. >> thanks for spending part of your day with michael holmes. follow me on social media, stick around, i'll have more news in a moment.