>> yeah, fredricka. it does really feel like we were just here for the last government shutdown showdown last month, but what is becoming very clear is that johnson needs the democrats to get it across the finish line. the expectation is that the two-step proposal is not what the democrats were envisioning. it is a bill and a plan that does not cut the current government funding. it keeps the government funding where it was, and that is a red line for the democrats. they are open to the proposal, and maybe they will be able to open the door, and back it, but it is a big test for johnson, because it is a first fiscal crisis that he is coming to as a newly minted speaker, and how he handles the next couple off days and if he can get some democratic support is going to say a lot about the tenure and moving forward to govern both his own conference and make sure that the base of work of governing is going to get done up here on capitol hill. >> and lauren, what is the first hurdle that he is going to have to

i'm fredricka whitfield. and we're following several big stories at this hour overseas and right here in the u.s. u.s. secretary of state tony blinken continues his high takes meetings in the middle east. today he made an unannounced visit to iraq, as he tries to bridge the divide with america's arab partners in the region over the israel-hamas war. it comes as israel is resisting u.s. pressure for humanitarian pauses in the war and defending its air strikes against hamas and gaza, despite the mounting casualties. and all of this happening as former president donald trump prepares to take the stand tomorrow in his civil fraud trial that threatens his business empire in new york. >>> and new polling numbers are also giving us a snapshot into a hypothetical matchup between trump and president biden, exactly one year before the 2024 presidential election. >>> cnn's priscilla alvarez is traveling with the president and join us us live from rohoboth beach, delaware. priscilla, lay out some of these poll numbers fo

i'm fredricka whitfield. new today, israel defense forces are now responding, after questions about hamas weapons allegedly found inside gaza's largest hospital. video evidence analyzed by cnn had suggested that the idf may have rearranged weapons found at the al shifa hospital before international news crews visited the scene. the idf says the discrepancy is due to more weapons and assets being discovered throughout the day following a raid earlier this week at the facility, and it comes as israel defense forces are now vowing to advance anywhere hamas is found. there are growing signs that the idf may soon expand its operations into southern gaza. right now, families of hostages are gathered in tel aviv pleading with the israeli government to ensure their loved ones' safe return. that's where we find cnn's jeremy diamond. what are you hearing from people gathered? >> reporter: well, fred, thousands of families of hostages and friends and loved ones are here in tel aviv gathered to try to pressure the israel

fredricka? >> this morning, only one hospital of the 30 in northern gaza is able to receive patients according to the u.n. at al shifa, there is a moment of the babies taken off of the incubators and oxygen. the military has the incubator, but the it is not clear how they will be powered. and then at another hospital, hundreds of people are trapped inside as the fighting is raging just outside of the doors. the palestine red crescent society says they have not been able to reach the staff for six days now. now, they fear that they may be dead s. and t he al ren ran tee si children's hospital where they fear hamas has been held up underneath. and now, we would go to you for this report of how dire this situation is in gaza? >> well, we have been talking about the deteriorating situation for some time, and all of the hospitals are on the brink of total collapse, and one hospital left in northern gaza now able to provide the urgent care for so many in the region, but this is a situation of hospital

i'm john berman with kate bolduan, fredricka whitfield is in for sara sidner.nn news central starts now. >>> this morning, only one hospital remains operational and still receiving patients in northern gaza. according to a new report from the united nations, gaza's two largest hospitals are effectively shut down, they say, after saying that they have run out of fuel to power generators, which also, of course, powers important medical supplies like breathing machines. israel has been calling for these hospitals to evacuate as the idf pushes further in to gaza. the world health organization says evacuating critically ill patients now would be a quote death sentence, though. here's president biden's take yesterday. >> it was my hope and expectation that there will be less intrusive action relative to the hospital. the hospital must be protected. >> after that the white house did come out to clarify the president's remarks. spokesperson john kirby saying that the president was referring to the, quote, extra burden that faces the idf to preserve civilian life. compl

i am fredricka whitfield in atlanta alongside wolf blitzer in tel aviv. >>> calls for a cease-fire growing as is really -- israeli forces move in. they are calling for an immediate cease-fire after summit with antony blinken. he had the position clear that now is not the time for israel to hold back. >> it is our view that the cease-fire now is simply going to leave hamas in place, able to regroup and repeat what it did on october 7. you do not have to take my word for it. a few days ago, senior hamas officials said it is their intent through october 7 again and again and again. >> across gaza, or scenes of destruction. israeli forces continuing the barrage on the enclave and we are watching significant developments along the border crossing. they say that hamas is blocked foreign nationals from exiting gaza until israel guarantees that ambulances from gaza can reach the crossing. a source says more than 700 people are waiting to cross into egypt, including nearly 400 americans. >> reporter: thank you. joined by the spokesperson. major, thank you for joining us. i first want to ask you abo

let's talk about this with jeff zeleny and cnn flnational political writer, fredricka scouten. take us through this point here. >> it confirms what we know, former president donald trump is still in the driver's seat of this race, in new hampshire as well. this is our new poll from the university of new hampshire and cnn, and let's look at these numbers. donald trump at 42%, up slightly from 39% just in september. also, nikki haley, 20%. that's up eight points from september. so she has the most movement, the most change in this race. we have seen that, of course, as her debate performance has really been one of thecandidacy. chris christie up a bit, up to 14%. and desantis at 9%. that explains why the florida governor is now putting essentially all of his campaign efforts into iowa, because new hampshire has stalled a bit. this is where we are a little more than two months before the new hampshire primary. they set the date of it yesterday. it will be on january 23rd. again, nikki haley having a good moment, but it's still donald trump's race to lose by a mile. >> definitely.

i'm fredricka whitfield. we begin in israel where families are desperate for the return of hostages who have been held by hamas for more than six weeks. right now families are gathered in tel aviv and they're calling on israel's government to do everything they can to bring them home safely. it comes as defense forces continue their battle in gaza. officials vowing to advance anywhere hamas is found, with increasing indications that could mean idf forces expanding ground operations into southern gaza. meanwhile, the humanitarian crisis is growing across the f at al shifa hospital, one official says six doctors remain to care for the remaining 120 patients too vulnerable to move. the palestinian authority's ministry of health says only nine of gaza's 35 hospitals are still operating. fuel tankers and other aid entering gaza through the rafah border crossing today, the israeli war cabinet agreeing to allow two fuel trucks to enter daily. the u.n. says the limited supply is far from enough to meet gaza's urgent

fredricka?>> with us now is cnn senior legal analyst elie honig, good to see you, don jr., the second time on the witness stand, two weeks ago he said i signed off on a document that our accountants prepared with intimate knowledge and as a trustee i have an obligation to listen to those who are experts, who have an expertise of these things. so, that was the statement then. >> right. >> is this likely to be an opportunity to add to that, or at the same time run the risk of potentially undermining his preface testimony? >> both of those things are happening, fred, and no, viewers, you're not seeing double, he's back, the same donald trump jr. who testified a couple weeks ago. the difference is now he's being called by his own defense team. they will have broader latitude to question him, and i think that quote sort of isolates what one of the key defenses will be, and has been, which is look, i'm running this organization at a very high level, as executive vice president, and i'm relying on our

i'm john berman with kate bolduan and fredricka whitfield is in for sara sidner. this is cnn "news central." >>> happening right now, donald trump jr. has just gone into the courtroom in manhattan and soon he is going to be taking stand, again, to testify, and this time, it is going to be as the defense team's first witness. still at stake, the fate of the trump business empire as you remember the judge in this civil case has already found the family liable for fraud, and so what is donald trump jr. going to try to do to tip the trial in favor of he and his family, and these are the live pictures that you are looking at of donald trump jr. sitting and waiting for the proceedings to get under way. this is the first and only look inside of the courtroom aside from the courtroom sketches before this gets under way. we go check in with cnn's brynn gingras with the strategy that will be under way in earnest? >> yes, the defense, kate, they are going to try to prove that the trump organization did not try to have this conspiracy to defraud the banks and the insurers to

i'm fredricka whitfield in atlanta, alongside wolf blitzer in tel aviv. we're monitoring breaking news. cnn has learned a convoy of egyptian ambulances and a bus are now moving toward the gaza side of the rafah border crossing. they are set to transport 20 hostages expected to be released by hamas. the exchange is set to happen at any moment now. these late developments follow an anxious hours-long dispute that delayed the transfer of the second group of hostages. officials say the group will contain 13 israelis, including eight children and five women. qatari officials say an additional seven foreign nationals who fall outside the framework of the agreement between the two sides, will also be released. we're learning qatar, the u.s. and egypt helped to smooth over tensions, after hamas disputed the amount of aid being delivered from gaza and the selection of the 39 palestinian prisoners set to be released by israel as part of this brief four-day truce. let's send it over to tel aviv and wolf blitzer. >> fred, thank you very much. cnn has, of course, our

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i'm fredricka whitfield in atlanta along with my colleague, wolf blitzer, in tel aviv.ur breaking news coverage continues with alex marquardt and kaitlan collins.

thank you so much for joining us, i'm fredricka whitfield. wolf blitzer was in tel aviv. you'll see him again at the top of the hour. our breaking news coverage continues righ t now. >>> you are watching special live coverage, i'm alex marquardt and wolf blitzer. after hours of uncertainty, a second group of hostages are on their way home to israel. you can see several red cross vehicles leaving the gaza strip and making their way into egypt, and moments later, several hostages are seen exiting the ambulances and entering a building on the egyptian side of the border crossing. they will now be making their way into israel soon. qatari officials say among the hostages released today are 13 israelis who are being released. eight children, five women, four foreign nationals are believed to be in the second group released today. cnn's wolf blitzer is live in tel aviv. and brings us the latest on the significant next step in the four-day truce between israel and hamas. >> a dispute over the amount of aid going into gaza threatened to derail the whole thing earlier today. every

. >> hello fredricka. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken met with the palestinian authority today. president mahmoud discussed the need to bring an end to violent extremism against palestinians, particularly in the west bank. as you saw there, many of these settlers are now acting with impunity with the support of the israeli forces. and there is a huge amount of concern here amongst rights groups, amongst palestinians, that those acts of violence and aggression are only going to intensify. >> that's an incredible point of view. thank you so much for bringing that to us. >>> all right. coming up, fresh poll numbers out today showing donald trump leading president biden in four key swing statates. all l the detailils right aftet this..

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i'm fredricka whitfield in atlanta along with my colleague, wolf blitzer, in tel aviv. our breaking news coverage continues with alex marquardt and kaitlan collins. >>> you are in the "cnn newsroom." i'm alex marquardt in washington. my colleague, kaitlan collins, is in tel aviv. jim acosta is off tonight. thank you very much for being with us. we do begin with breaking news in what is now the third day of a temporary pause in the fighting between israel and hamas. hamas saying tonight that it does want to extend this temporary cease-fire into a -- beyond the original four-day deal. sources telling us that israel's war cabinet is discussing that possibility. today was yet another emotional day for families in israel. a third group of 17 hostages who were held inside gaza since early october were finally freed. these are the 13 israeli women and children released by hamas. they range in age from 4 to 84. and for the first time in this temporary truce, an american is also among the freed hostages. 4-year-old abigail idan. you see her right there. her family celebrating, s

. >> fredricka he really did, and this is the first time that he had publicly spoken about the attack on him, and in fact, he said that outside of speaking with the prosecutors and the investigators at his bedside at the hospital, he has not talked to anybody about the traumatizing moments when he was attacked and all of the details leading up to it, and he has not seen any of the video leading to the body camera, or the 9/11 phone call, and he also told the family members not to do so, because he did not want them to be traumatized, but he went into great detail for the testimony, and he seemed quite jovial and making jokes. he did not seem emotional and he took the jury step by step through what happened. he said that he was incredibly shocked when he woke up in the middle of the night and he saw the suspect david depape standing by his bedside. he recognized that somebody had broken into his home, and looking at him with a hammer and ties, and he recognized that he was in serious danger, and so he tried to stay as calm as pos possible. throughout the ordeal, he was trying to negoti

i'm fredricka whitfield in atlanta, alongside wolf blitzer in tel aviv. we're monitoring breaking news in the middle east, tense moments as families in israel await the release of a second group of hostages, who have been held by hamas for an agonizing 49 days now. and just moments ago, we learned of a diplomatic scramble happening behind the scenes, as officials from qatar, the u.s. and egypt are pushing to sort out the current situation. right now hamas says there is a delay in the handover to the red cross, the handover was expected to happen hours ago. they say there is an ongoing dispute about the amount of aid being delivered into gaza, and the selection of palestinian prisoners set to be released by israel as part of their brief four-day truce. israeli officials had told cnn that they were preparing for 13 more hostages to be released today, but so far that has yet to happen. for more, let's send it over to wolf blitzer in tel aviv. >> fred, thank you very much. we have team coverage tracking all of these important late developments in this delicat

i'm jessica dean in for fredricka whitfield. and we begin with breaking news. israel defense forces just wrapping up a press conference a short time ago after releasing what they say is important new video from al-shifa hospital which has become a flash point of the war in gaza. the video shows what the idf says is a tunnel shaft on the hospital grounds. israel has long said that hamas uses the hospital to cover up what it says is an extensive terror network underground, something hamas and hospital officials have denied. oren lieberman entered gaza with the israeli defense forces last night to see the tunnel shaft for himself and what lies beneath there. and cnn reported from gaza under idf escort at all times as a condition for journalists, had to submit the footage for review. and cnn did retain editorial control over the final report. oren, we want to lay that out for everyone so they understand what they are seeing. walk us through what you saw there on the ground in gaza. >> reporter: of course. and all of that simply part of embedding with the israeli mi

>> reporter: fredricka, it absolutely s we've learned from an israeli source that the war cabinet is meeting tonight, this is a small group of people including prime minister benjamin netanyahu that has effectively the authority to run this war and make decisions related to this war. crucially this is the first time since the truce took effect and we have heard there have been discussions around the meeting of the war cabinet and possible extension of the truce. that wasn't so sure up until now that that would even be an option. and we saw how fragile the truce is, specifically with yesterday's delays and all the road bumps along the way to get to the point where it was implemented yesterday and late into the night, early into the morning even we saw the release of israeli prisoners in exchange for the palestinian prisoners from israeli prisons. that was a key moment, the deal at that point was very much on very thin ice, but due to an intense diplomatic effort it came the disagreement and the truce held in place. and it continued throughout the day to what we saw a much more, shall

i'm fredricka whitfield in atlanta. we're watching breaking news unfolding in the middle east. we're told a convoy of egyptian ambulances and a bus are moving toward the gaza sild ode of the rafah border krogcrossing. the exchange could happen at any moment now. we're standing by for word from the red cross that the transfer has, indeed, happened. and this latest movement follows intense hours long delay in the hostage exchange. hamas says it disputed the amount of aid being delivered to gaza and the selection of the 39 palestinian prisoners set to be released by israel as part of this brief four-day truce. wolf blitzer is joining us now from tel aviv. wolf. >> reporter: thanks very much, fred, we're watching all of these major developments unfold. cnn of course as a team covering all of the late breaking developments. matthew chance is with me in tel aviv. there's a lot of work that still needs to be done. there's some indication that things are beginning to move in the right direction right now, but we don't have that hard. >> reporter: we've got the military wing of hamas, t