going to be an incredible response. ongoing. yeah. >> well, michael, i appreciate all your all you're doing. michael flood. um, really appreciate it. before we go, i just want to let you know, my new a new episode of my podcast on grief and loss. all there is has just dropped tonight. it's available wherever you get your podcasts. you can point your phone's camera at the qr code on the screen. right now. this week's guest is historian doris kearns goodwin, who remembers her late husband dick, who died nearly seven years ago of cancer. you can also watch and listen to all episodes of the podcast. watch videos of the interview at cnn.com. forward slash. all there is online are the. the interviews are also on youtube. you can also leave comments and share your experiences at cnn.com. forward slash all there is online. i hope it makes you feel a little less lonely in your grief. and if you'd like to help those affected by the los angeles area wildfires, go to cnn.com/impact. the news continues right here on cnn.

>> it's wednesday, january 15th, right now on cnn this morning, i think pete hegseth did a great job today. >> i think he's sailing towards a confirmation. >> confirmation fight. donald trump's choice to lead the pentagon gets grilled by democrats, but has picked up critical support and life threatening and destructive and widespread winds are already here. dangerous conditions. 6 million people under a critical fire threat in southern california as powerful winds provoke new concerns for firefighters. plus final steps. israel and hamas, the closest they've been in months to agreeing on a hostage release and cease fire deal. all right. it is 5 a.m. here on the east coast. this is a live look at capitol hill on this wednesday morning. more drama unfolding there today. good

morning everyone. i'm kasie hunt, it's wonderful to have you with us. donald trump's nominees to join his cabinet. of course, facing their senate confirmation hearings this week. pete hegseth the president elect's pick to be defense secretary, kicked off those proceedings before the senate armed services committee on tuesday. republicans on the panel were mostly deferential to hegseth, while democrats went on offense, drilling down on hegseth biography and past allegations of sexual misconduct and drinking on the job. >> are you saying that you would stand in the breach and push back if you were given an illegal order? >> i start by saying i reject the premise that president trump you've any illegal orders at all. >> mike, this isn't a hypothetical. >> you can't seem to grasp that there is no u.s. military as we know it without the incredible women that we serve, women who've earned their place in their units. you have not earned your place as secretary of defense. >> one of your colleagues said that you got drunk at an event at a bar and chanted, kill all muslims. another colleague, not

anonymous. we have this said that you took coworkers to a strip club. you were drunk, you tried to dance with strippers. you had to be held off the stage and one of your employees, in that event, filed a sexual harassment charge. as a result of it. now, i know you denied these things, but isn't that the kind of behavior that, if true, would be disqualifying for somebody to be secretary of defense? senator. anonymous. false charges. they're not anonymous. >> ultimately, senate democrats opposition isn't going to matter much. the gop majority seems ready to push back against those attacks on trump's nominees. >> senator kaine, or i guess i better use the senator from virginia, starts bringing up the fact that what if you showed up drunk to your job? how many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night? have any of you guys asked him to step down and resign from their job? >> the man may have a point.

one key republican senator on the armed services committee, joni ernst of iowa, had been on the fence about supporting hegseth late last year. that view apparently now changed. >> does he have your vote? >> um, i am breaking news, simon. >> i figured you would ask this. >> um, so yes, i will be supporting president trump's pick for secretary of defense. >> i know there was a couple other republicans that was looking at the way she was going to go, that they were going to follow her lead. i think, with her saying, absolutely yes, she's going to support him now all but confirms his ability to to be the next secretary of defense. >> all right. joining us now to discuss michael schnell. she is congressional reporter for the hill. michael good morning. nice to see you. so yesterday's hearing as i was sitting on this set watching it yesterday afternoon, it seemed to me it struck me that this was basically decided last month

when pete hegseth basically mounted a very public defense of himself to try to save a nomination that had been a little bit imperiled. what were your top takeaways from the hearing yesterday? yeah, last month it looked like he was doomed to be pulled from this nomination. >> folks were waiting as a matter of hours how quickly that would happen. pete hegseth stuck with it, and it appears to have paid off. i think one thing that stuck out, of course, is democrats brought the fire. we knew that this would happen. they went very deep on those 2017 allegations against him, those allegations of excessive drinking and his previous comments that women should not serve in combat roles. but really the main key moment was joni ernst questioning. yes, she did dig into some of those details, particularly this issue of sexual assault in the military and women serving in combat roles. but she didn't she wasn't it wasn't a fiery, contentious exchange. and at many moments, she referred to that pair of of meetings that she had with pete hegseth last month. so no real fireworks, nothing unexpected. and i think it underscores that he is likely to sail to confirmation.

now. there are, of course, a few outstanding republican senators who have not yet said where they stand mitch mcconnell, susan collins, lisa murkowski. but again, it's going to take more than three. right now, he looks like he's in a good spot. right. >> and i think there's also some question about, you know, whether ernst was she seemed to be have been looking for support. she didn't want to be the fourth person there. and she didn't really get any when she was, you know, talking about this back in december, you mentioned women in the military. and that was an issue where ernst decided to press hegseth as opposed to she could have pressed him on the sexual assault allegations. the nda that was signed. but let's look at what some of the women senators on the committee had to say. the questions they had for pete hegseth about women in combat. watch. >> why should women in our military, if you were the secretary of defense, believe that they would have a fair shot and an equal opportunity to rise through the ranks? we have hundreds, hundreds of women who are currently in the infantry,

lethal members of our military, serving in the infantry. >> but you degrade them. >> you previously have made a series of inflammatory statements about women in combat, about your views of women in the military. >> and i just want to know what changed in the 32 days that the song you sang is not the song. you come in here today to sing. >> so hegseth himself. how would you evaluate how he answered the pushback, answered some of these questions because what they're what they're referring to is the opening of some of these ground combat roles to women and basically saying, we haven't changed the standards for this. if they meet the standards, they should be able to do it. >> that's exactly what he said. and remember, this was he sent me these comments as recently as november, as folks had pointed out that women should not serve in these combat roles. as you mentioned, he referred to those standards, saying. and this was in the exchange with joni ernst saying that if women are up to the standards that are needed to serve in these combat roles, then they will be able to not

really explaining what changed on his view, not really explaining why he said what he said back in november. but again, it gets to your point. it seemed like joni ernst was looking for ways to support pete hegseth, right? it's tough for republican in this climate to go against president elect donald trump, especially to tank one of his cabinet nominees, one of the people who have been most foremost and most forefront and center. so it looked like joni ernst was looking for a way out of the box. and she appeared to get it, at least in her view. with these comments from hegseth that it had to do with standards. but again, and as democratic senators noted, a it doesn't explain why his thinking changed. and b, as we heard folks say, why should they believe him? he said this as recently as november. what is there to show that he is actually changed in this view, and that he won't change his mind once he's actually secretary of defense? >> 11th hour nomination conversion. i think some refer to it as michael. what are you watching for today as these hearings continue on the hill, pam bondi is going to be a big one. >> today. she kicks off, i believe, at 930 this morning, still a very important role

like donald trump has obviously levied a lot of threats against folks who prosecute him and some of his political opponents over the past four years that would fall under the purview of the attorney general. so i'm interested to see how pam bondi fields those questions. you know, she may not be a matt gaetz, and i think folks may be thinking, well, pam bondi for ag is not as bad as matt gaetz, but folks are still going to want to dig into her background, into her qualifications and how she would handle some of those issues. and then, you know, beyond that, also looking to see when tulsi gabbard's hearing is actually scheduled. it's been said that that was that has been delayed because of paperwork issues. she's seen among a lot of folks on capitol hill as the most in danger of being denied for for the dni position. interesting to see a when does that get scheduled? and b, what does that hearing look like? because there are a lot of folks on both sides of the aisle who are concerned about her. >> yeah. really interesting. all right, michael chanel, thanks for getting us started today. we appreciate it. all right. to join cnn as president elect, trump's cabinet choices face the senate in public hearings. who will get the votes to be confirmed? the

trump confirmation hearings, live coverage continues today. and coming up here on cnn this morning, powerful winds starting back up in the l.a. area as firefighters try desperately to save what they can. >> we worked all night. >> we worked really hard and. we tried. >> when will crews see a break in the conditions? plus, hope for a hostage deal between israel and hamas, where those talks stand this morning. and after half a century in politics, president biden preparing to give his farewell address to the nation tonight i said my name is biden, senator biden, he said, who in the hell is he? >> so i'm not at all offended that none of you have any idea who i am. this part changed my life. >> superman. crazy. >> just that simple little thing over the horse. >> chris wanted to change the world. >> people are literally walking because of him.

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the pragmatic, calculated, kind of boring. >> kobe, the making of a legend premieres january 25th on cnn. >> all right. more than 6 million people under a critical fire threat this morning in the l.a. area. the next 24 hours will be critical as firefighters try to get an upper hand against the flames. 25 people have died since the wildfires started. the eaton fire palisades fires, now the most destructive in southern california history. so many people have lost their homes and businesses. but this morning, a story of something found the eaton fire destroyed victoria desantis home of 20 years. she was especially distraught about losing her rings until a firefighter found her wedding band beneath the rubble. >> he said we accept hugs as payment, so i think i probably squeezed them so tight their heads popped off. >> pasadena firefighter chen yu had evacuated his family and was helping others, unaware that his own house was burning

to the ground. >> i promise you, all the firemen did their best, even though it might look like we were walking. we worked all night. we worked really hard and we tried. >> it's still a surreal. >> we lost everything. >> all right, let's bring in todd hall. he's the lead meteorologist for the national weather service in los angeles. todd, thank you very much for being here. can you talk a little bit about what the wind is like right now? we were expecting it to get worse overnight and to be tough for the next 24 hours. what are you expecting? >> so we are. move along through the morning. we're looking at winds between potentially between 30 and 45mph across our coastal and valley areas out here, and wind gusts up to 55, maybe an isolated gusts to 65

up in our mountains. as we move through the morning hours. so it's really critical we get through this, this this patch here this morning. we have critical fire weather conditions in place, continuing across much of of of southern california. >> where would you say is the biggest concern right now? is it one of the existing fires or are you more concerned about new fires popping up? >> i would be more concerned about new fires right now. so a lot of our the latest model data that just arrived here within the past 6 to 6 to nine hours is suggesting that that probably the, the, the the worst winds will be across ventura county this morning. and so there is some concern as far as as this fire threat continues where, where these winds will probably pop up. and certainly the palisades and eaton may still could still see some wind across it. and those dry conditions are still in place. but really the the

latest model solutions are pointing towards the strongest winds being across ventura county this morning. >> what would you say to people who are under these evacuation orders right now, about when you think some of that might be able to lift? if these winds do die down? >> we're seeing a really improvement in fire weather conditions for friday and saturday. if if some of the latest model projections play out, we're going to end up and we could potentially have a very deep marine layer in place with with plenty of low clouds across southern california. so we're we're hoping that that that forecast comes to fruition. um, it's still early yet. we're just getting these these this data at this point. and we're trying to really hone in on, on, on the next, really the next 48 to 72 hours thereafter. so we could see some local, uh, critical fire weather conditions continuing into

thursday. but by friday and saturday, it looks like fire weather conditions will really moderate allow for these these firefighters to get a good handle on on these fires and really put an emphasis on on putting building containment lines and establishing establishing some authority over these fires. >> all right. that's good to know. todd hall, thank you so much for spending some time with us this morning. we really appreciate it. >> thank you. >> all right. coming up next here on cnn this morning, president elect trump's pick for attorney general going before the senate in just a few hours. what do you expect when pam bondi appears? plus, could elon musk end up saving tiktok? we'll have more on that next. >> i've got good news and i've got bad news. what do you want first? the bad. the news is newsy even more than ever. >> what's the good news means we're doing another season of have i got news for you? >> have i got news for you

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with us. in just a few hours, six more of president-elect donald trump's cabinet picks will appear before senate committees for their confirmation hearings, among them marco rubio for secretary of state, the transportation secretary nominee sean duffy, and trump's choice for attorney general, pam bondi. the president elect chose bondi after matt gaetz, his first pick, withdrew from consideration. bondi, the former florida attorney general and close trump ally, heads into today's hearing with strong backing from republicans. she's already let everybody know where her loyalty lies. >> thank you so much. >> the department of justice. the prosecutors will be prosecuted. the bad ones. the investigators will be investigated because the deep state last term for president trump, they were hiding in the shadows, but now they have a spotlight on them. and they can all be investigated. and the house needs to be cleaned out. >> and joining me now is john bresnahan. he's the co-founder of punchbowl news. good morning. wonderful to see you. thank you for being here. a lot going on on the hill today.

i'm curious what of these hearings that you are watching most closely. and if you think any of them actually have any, any real hurdles in front of them. >> listen, bondi is a big deal. um, of course you know that she was attorney general for florida for eight years, but she was also trump's lawyer and defended him in his first impeachment case. uh, and in fact, the trump foundation once, um, donated $25,000 to bondi, to bondi when she was attorney general, while there was a case pending against trump in florida. so, i mean, the ties between trump and bondi are very, very close on a personal level, on a professional level. i mean, you'll see the democrats on the senate judiciary committee try to sit, you know, try to pin down bondi on your on the clip you showed when you're prosecuting the prosecutors. she's going to go after jack smith. is she going to go after, you know, other people inside the justice department who took on the trump case. and i think this will be critical

for them. uh, and i think you'll see the democrats on that panel go after bondi pretty hard. >> perez, do you think there's any one of these nominees where you're going to see? i mean, i think it is worth noting. maybe it's quaint, but, you know, you've been at this longer than i have. i've been doing it a while. it used to be that these confirmations would be relatively bipartisan, right? i mean, many of these nominees would get, you know, dozens of of votes from the other party, if not be confirmed unanimously. we're so far from that. is there any place where you see democrats going along with some of these nominees or not? >> yeah, i think marco rubio, who you mentioned is trump's nominee to be secretary of state. he's a senator. he's part of the club. um, he's, you know, was intelligence committee chair. i think you'll see a lot of democratic votes for him. i think you'll see scott bessent treasury department. i think he's sean duffy transportation. i think there's some of them. you'll

see significant democratic support. i don't think you'll see any unanimous pick anywhere there. but i think, you know, bondi will be you know, maybe she picks up some democratic votes. i can't see a lot pete hegseth the defense nominees. i'm not sure there's any democrat out there who will vote for maybe fetterman. uh, so, you know, i just think some of these nominees are so controversial that, you know, that they're just. there's no way democrats could support them. and i do think, you know, you watch tulsi gabbard, who's trump's pick for director of national intelligence. democrats still hope to defeat that nomination. and kash patel the other one. i'm not sure how you know, the fbi director nominee. i'm not sure how many you'll get there. i mean, you'll see some, but it's i agree with you. it's not like the old days where, you know, there was so much more deference to presidents that they would get 100, uh, 100, you know, senators would vote for a nomination. you know, that just doesn't happen as much. it didn't happen with trump, didn't happen. you

know, didn't happen with biden. so, i mean, those days are past now. >> um, perez, you mentioned tulsi gabbard. i want to play something that john barrasso had to say over the weekend about the status of her hearing. take a look. >> i support tulsi gabbard. >> she is amazing in that she has been a member of congress and a combat veteran, a decorated combat veteran for work under fire in iraq. you're right. it's a paperwork problem right now with the office of government ethics. we had hoped to have the hearing later this week. it looks like it's going to be the following week. >> so, perez, is this just a paperwork problem or is this something more? and do you think she's the most endangered of trump's nominees? >> oh, i would say right now she is. um, i think i do think there is a paperwork issue. i don't think they're dragging this out. i mean, you haven't heard any sign that they're dragging this out indefinitely. i mean, this will be taken up by the intelligence committee.

senator tom cotton as the chair, intelligence committee. he's a big trump supporter. he's number three in the senate republican leadership. if he you know, he will move as much as he can to move gabbard forward. now. gabbard, we reported last week she's made some changes on fisa. this is a surveillance law, is unpopular on the left and the right. uh, she made some changes there. she used to oppose it. she wanted to get rid of it. now she's changed her position on this. so i think, you know, they're working through gabbard. i do think there's a lot of concerns here. a lot of concerns from really high up in the senate republican ranks about gabbard. i think, you know, if she's going to if she's not going to get through, they would draw her. i don't think they would vote on her. but right now it's she still seems on track to get a hearing and a vote. >> fair enough. i do want to talk a little bit about what we saw play out in the hearing room yesterday with pete hegseth, because democrats really did throw everything that they could at him, and he

had at least one, you know, somewhat embarrassing moment around. let's actually let's watch it. tammy duckworth asked him to name the asean countries, and he he sort of couldn't. let's watch. >> can you name the importance of at least one of the nations in the asean, in asean, and what type of agreement we have with at least one of those nations? and how many nations are in asean, by the way? >> i couldn't tell you the exact amount of nations, but i know we have allies in south korea and japan and in aukus with australia trying to work on submarines with them. >> mr.. hegseth, none of those countries are allies, and none of those three countries that you mentioned are in asean. i suggest you do a little homework before you prepare for these types of negotiations. >> so should a moment like that matter? it doesn't seem like it's going to. i mean, joni ernst came out after this hearing and said she's going to

vote for him. >> yeah. i mean, the exchanged that exchange. you saw the exchange between senator tim kaine and hegseth over the sexual assault allegations, uh, that he was involved in. he he was there was some a woman filed a sexual assault, uh, charge against him back in 2017. he reached a settlement with her in 2020. i mean, you would have thought that would be disqualifying. but like you said, you know, joni ernst a victim of sexual assault herself and a former military member came out for, for for hegseth afterward. i don't think there's i feels right now like that nomination is going to be confirmed. hegseth will be confirmed. senate majority leader john thune said he wants to step on the floor as early as next week. they're hoping to get him through next week. i'm sure they'll be able to do that may slide to the following week, but it feels like despite, you know, serious questions about his personal and his professional qualifications, that feels like

he's going to be confirmed. >> well, and of course, he got he was defended staunchly by republicans in the hearing, including by markwayne mullin who did it this way. let's watch it. right. >> senator kaine, or i guess i better use the senator from virginia, starts bringing up the fact that what if you showed up drunk to your job? how many senators have showed up drunk to vote at night? have any of you guys asked them to step down and resign from their job? >> perez, what say you? can you confirm? >> senators show up drunk on the floor, you know. yeah. i've been doing this a long time. you used to see a lot more drinking in congress than you do now. it's fair. it's a fair criticism. but, you know, listen, senators get voted on by the public. they go up every six years. um, you know, it's not the same thing. hegseth has not, you know, he's not run for office. this is his you know, this is his first public public position that he's held. i

mean, these are fair questions. there's fair questions to ask him that, you know, he has the right to defend himself. or was the were the allegations true? he did. they defended him. you know, i think there's a good it was a good applause line. you know, i do think again this is there were serious questions about hegseth that's been out in the open. he had to stand there and take the questions. i mean, this is what, you know, the advice and consent procedure is for. he had to take it. he had to respond to it. you know, and now senate will work its will. i mean, look, they're going to be responsible for putting this guy in office if he, you know, if he's confirmed. so you know, they'll have you know, they'll own this nominee once he if he's confirmed as defense secretary. so all those republican senators will have a piece of this. >> and of course, he hegseth being the one that has to take those 3 a.m. phone calls. you know, in the event of a national security crisis. so grateful to have you. thanks very much for spending some time with us this morning. i appreciate it. all right. ahead here on cnn this morning, ceasefire talks between israel

and hamas now in their final stages with the families of the hostages are saying. plus the home of another superstar athlete burglarized three championship rings stolen trump's cabinet picks. >> the candidates you've heard about for months go before the senate. who will get the votes? >> i think we have great people. >> follow the trump confirmation hearings. follow the facts. follow cnn. >> i wonder if this golf cart has hands free driving. >> way. it didn't, but my sketches slip into a completely hands free. i just step in and they're on kfir and ariel to support your brain health. >> mary. janet. hey, eddie. >> no. >> frasier. frank. >> frank. fred, how are you? >> fred. >> support up to seven brain health indicators, including

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>> listen to chasing life with me. >> doctor sanjay gupta, wherever you get your podcasts. >> closed captioning brought to you by book.com. >> if you or a loved one have mesothelioma, we'll send you a free book to answer questions you may have. call now and we'll come to you. >> 808 two one 4000. >> all right. welcome back. the cease fire and hostage release talks between hamas and israel have reached their final stages. according to both sides. if the deal is signed, the first phase of the plan calls for hamas releasing 33 hostages. hundreds of palestinian prisoners would also be freed from israeli jails. all of this during a 42

day ceasefire. president biden crossed his fingers when he was asked about the deal. the president is hamas about to say yes to the cease fire. all right. thousands of israelis gathered for a unity rally in tel aviv, some of them simultaneously hopeful and terrified as they wait for word about their loved ones as a mother >> i'm scared that he won't be back home. and it will take time until we get another deal done. and i don't know if there will be anyone to to bring back home. and it scares me. >> our next guest understands that anguish. her then three year old great niece, abigail arden, was taken hostage by hamas after her parents were killed on october 7th. abigail was ultimately released, and her story of survival is chronicled in a new book that her aunt wrote. liz naftali is called saving abigail, and liz

joins us now. thanks so much for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> good morning. casey. >> liz, let me let me start by asking you, how is liz doing today? i know she recently celebrated her fifth birthday. >> so abigail just had her fifth birthday. and as you remember, her fourth birthday was as a hostage in gaza. so her fifth birthday gave us this opportunity to really have this child celebrate and play and have friends. and you have children, and you know what a birthday is? and a birthday is about being with friends and family. and so she had that, and she's back to school. and while her parents were murdered, she is loved and she is being given all and she and her siblings, all that you could wish for. three little kids who witnessed the murder of their parents. >> well, i'm i'm really glad to hear she's at least trying to get back to some sense of normalcy. of course, we know it's never it's never going to be fully, fully that way for

her. liz, can you take us inside? i mean, this is both a time of great hope for these hostage families who are anticipating this deal. but also, as we heard from the woman there, one of great anxiety and great fear, because we still don't know who of these people is going to be released. what's it like to be in that position? >> i can tell you for 50, 51 days to be in that position. you don't breathe. you can barely, you can barely eat, you can't sleep, but you just keep going because this is your loved one. so for somebody and we are now at 467 days and there have been no humanitarian aid organizations that have gone in to see who's alive, how they are, or to check on them. so for these families, every minute of waiting, and we've heard for the last few days that we're so close to a deal, and for these families, there are seven american families, there's 98 families in total that have waited

467 days. each minute is painful. each minute is just broken. and so as i sit here, i can tell you what it was for 51 days. i can't even begin to imagine. and i'll just add this, casey, we talk about the families, think about the hostages. these people have been underground, not fed, no medical care, no air, no water. abused for 467 days. that's the perspective that i think people need to also understand what it is to be a hostage like that. >> just impossible to imagine. liz, one of the other things that you've done here, and one of the factors in this deal potentially coming together, has been the election of president-elect trump. the trump team has been involved with the biden team in these negotiations here. and i just want to share with our viewers something that you wrote back on november 30th. you said, president elect trump bring us hope by freeing the hostages. and you write this amid the tragedy, trauma and stalemate, i have a major reason for

optimism. your election. this is admittedly an odd thing for a lifelong democrat and party activist like myself to write, but it's true. you are the legendary deal maker, donald trump. you have an incredible chance to show the world what american diplomatic and moral commitment can accomplish with strong leadership. however, this chance may not be viable much longer. please take action now and make the hostage release deal that is not succeeded. for a year. you will show the world what we all stand for in america. freedom. you and only you can make the deal that will bring the hostages home to their families. do you give president trump credit for this deal? if it comes through? >> i give him a lot of credit. i give this change and his leadership, and he has called, even as the last few days, for both the israelis and hamas to make a deal. so i give a lot of credit. think about this. we have this deal that's been on the table for months that the biden administration has worked on, but hasn't been able to get over the finish line. and here we are with the election and the incoming. in a few days of president trump and his

team. and as you mentioned, they have been collaborating with the biden team with jake sullivan and brett mcgurk and tony blinken and all of them. and and that's been amazing. but here we are. we need a deal. we need that final deal. and that is what donald trump is famous for. and i still believe that it's going to happen. and he can help us get over the finish line. and i'll just add this, casey, we've had incredible bipartisan work done by the u.s. government and by congress, and we've kept this issue of hostages bipartisan. and here we are at this incredible moment where we can bring home these hostages, and we have that moment where we have biden administration, outgoing, but in collaboration with trump's administration coming. and so whatever will get through the finish line. and it looks like that is the election of president trump and his putting in all the pressure for hamas and israel to sign this deal. >> liz naftali, very grateful for your perspective. thank you very much for spending some

time with us this morning, i appreciate it. >> thank you. casey. >> and of course, you can read more about abigail's story in saving abigail, which is out now. all right. time now for sports. the pittsburgh penguins star, the latest athlete to have his home targeted by burglars in recent months. coy wire has this morning cnn's sports update. good morning. hi, casey. >> a few hours after the penguins game against the senators ended on saturday night, a 911 call came in. evgeny malkin's home had been broken into. malkin's three stanley cup rings are missing. the alarm system cameras at his home in sewickley heights were down at the time of the break in. this, according to multiple reports, several athletes homes have been targeted in recent months, including those of nfl stars joe burrow, patrick mahomes, travis kelce and nba star luka doncic. the nba. >> the fbi has warned leagues about crime organizations targeting pro athletes homes. >> to the nba, where the nuggets are once again starting to look like a team that reached the conference semis

last season, crushing the dallas mavericks on their home court last night thanks to a monster game from jamal murray. he scored 32 points in the first half alone. he finished with a season high 45 in a 100 1899 win. denver has now won eight of their last ten games, all by double digits. the pacers hadn't lost a game in 2025 going into last night. well, the cavs dropped the ball like crystal ball in times square. 127 117 cleveland star donovan mitchell torching indy for 35 points, going 52% from the field. two steals for spite as well. he played like he wasn't happy about losing to the pacers. on sunday, the cavs improved their nba best record to 34 and five. finally, tiger woods is back. kind of. the 15 time major champ making his debut in the tgl, the indoor golf league he helped to create. even though he has more majors than everyone else on the course combined. tiger couldn't rally his jupiter

links golf club to a win, falling to l.a. golf club 12 one. that's his son charlie there. tiger said he was having fun, even if charlie looked like he was a bit embarrassed. >> we were entertaining and we hit. >> we hit a lot of shots. >> i think the people here, they got to see how bad pros can be. um. it was just a boat race. oh my goodness. but we had a great time. they're all like standing in that pose. >> did you notice that, casey, you know reviews are kind of differ on this. some people are loving it, some people still learning it. we'll see how it goes. >> it's amazing. >> coy wire thank you so much for that. really appreciate it. all right. coming up in our next hour on cnn this morning confirming a cabinet, fiery moments on the hill with pete hegseth in the spotlight. donald trump's former defense secretary mark esper, who was named in this hearing, namechecked in this hearing, is going to discuss it with us. plus, dangerous winds ramping

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plus, the department of justice, the prosecutors will be prosecuted next in the spotlight. the president elect's pick for attorney general, a trump loyalist who, if confirmed, will shape his justice department. and this is a great day for women in america. an uncertain future a bill banning transgender athletes in women's and girls sports passes in the house. where will it go in the senate? and then later remain alert as danger has not yet passed. a dire warning as another round of fierce winds hits southern california and firefighters battle to control deadly wildfires all right. just a few seconds before 6 a.m. here on the east