i'm fredricka whitfield. houthi rebels, now vowing to meet escalation with escalation after the u.s. and uk hit at least 36 houthi targets in yemen on saturday. those strikes happening just a day after the u.s. launched a series of air strikes on iran-backed militias in syria and iraq. and that was retaliation for last week's attack in jordan that killed three american soldiers. we're also watching the u.s. southern border, where republican governors from more than a dozen states, are meeting over a feud between texas and the federal government. >>> breaking news out of california, parts of four counties now seeing emergency evacuation orders. nearly 40 million people under flood watches. a deluge of heavy rain is starting to fall, increasing life-threatening flooding conditions. >>> let's begin with a vow by the u.s. to continue operations in the middle east after it carried out more strikes against iran-back t houthi rebels in yemen saturday. u.s. central command says the strikes were conducted in self-defe

i'm fredricka whitfield. thank you so much for joining us. new today, iraq is now summoning a top u.s. diplomatic official in protest of a barrage of punishing u.s. air strikes in the middle east. the u.s. says those strikes hit 85 targets linked to iran's islamic revolutionary guard quds force and affiliated militia groups in iraq and syria. the strikes a response to a drone attack in jordan which killed three american soldiers on sunday. iraq is claiming the explosions that just happened involving the u.s. killing 16 people, including civilians. u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin says the strikes are just the beginning of the u.s. response. iran says the u.s. has made a strategic mistake, while iraq and syria say the u.s. actions could inflame more conflict in the region. cnn has teams around the globe covering all of these developments. let's go first to cnn's ben wedeman in jordan. ben, these strikes were sudden, devastating. how are officials on the ground? how are those in iraq reacting? >> reporter: well, i'll start with syria, where

i'm fredricka width and we're watching several developing stories at this hour polls are now open in the critical south carolina republican primary voters there, deciding between former president president donald trump and former south carolina governor nikki haley as the next gop presidential nominee. it's an election being closely monitored around the moral especially in ukraine. today that nation is marking two years since russia's invasion, leaders from several western countries are in key if to reinforce their support as fears grow that crucial us military funding will come to light and new developments in russia, where a spokesperson for late putin, opposition leader alexei navalny's says his body has been turned over to his mother more than a week after he was found dead in a russian in prison right? let's begin in this country with a gop presidential showdown underway right now in south carolina, voters are heading to the polls and the palmetto state today for the high-stakes primary between former president donald trump and former south carolina governor nikki haley who is f

i'm fredricka whitfield. we continue to follow multiple breaking news stories at this hour. police just giving an update in houston, where they say shots were fired inside joel osteen's megachurch, lakewood. one of the victims is only five years old and now in critical condition. also at this hour, u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin is back at walter reed medical center. the pentagon says he had a bladder issue, emergent bladder issue. and at this point he has not been admitted to the hospital. all right. first let's begin in houston where jean casarez continues to follow the developments out of houston at joel osteen's mega church there. we just heard that press conference. help bring us up to date on everything. >> well, this happened mid-afternoon in houston at the lakewood church, joel osteen's church. it was all ready to begin the spanish language service. it had ended the afternoon service. and then suddenly what walked into that church, that is what began the events. i want us to listen to the chief of police of houston, texas. he will explain it from the beginning.

i'm fredricka whitfield in washington, dc and we continue to follow breaking news out of the middle east, the us military has conducted a new round of strikes against houthi controlled areas of yemen and targets in the red sea. these new strikes hit anti-ship cruise missiles and vessels, and also included strikes on the first unmanned underwater vessel, the iranian backed rebel group has used since the attacks and the red sea began, the houthi attacks have forced some of the world's biggest shipping an oil company for these to suspend transit through one of the most important maritime trade routes which could potentially cause a shock to the global economy. cnn's katie bo lillis is covering these developments since for as katie bo, what is the us military saying about these new strikes? >> fred, the us military carrying out five strikes against targets in houthi held areas of yemen. three anti-ship cruise missiles one drone boat, and one underwater drone. now the us military, in a statement saying that this is the first time that the scene, the houthi rebels employ one of these underwate

i'm fredricka whitfield in washington, dc, and we begin with some breaking news. we're learning that president biden just spoke with ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy, the white

it's great to be with you, fredricka. i think our democracy is at stake. and one of the biggest threats at ic is a polarization right now within our leadership, our senate or house, we need people who are willing to reach across the aisle, who are willing to be moderate voices, who are putting people over party to act and the time is now. so i'm also expecting my first child. i almost nine months pregnant, and i see as if it's a lot to take on it once, but her future and her generation teacher and right now, we are failing them wow. >> okay. you got to have a lot of stamina to do that. i'm as you said, that, i'm like recalling what it was like for me when i was at that point boy, that would be a very heavy load, heavy lift, but obviously you're very passionate about it. and what are you hoping your experience knowing? you. know. based on your former job, knowing your viewing audience, which will now be potentially your constituency. >> you know, what do you know >> about that constituency that you feel like you would be able to address that perhaps your co

>> great question, fredricka. obviously, israel said this before at various moments when they asked many of the palestinians, the residents of gaza, to move south as their operation began. now they are down in rafah where, as you heard from jeremy, there are in the region about 1.4 million palestinians. that's a good part of the population of the entire strip. they are kind of out of room, because south of them is the fence. so they can't get through that. and north of them is rubble from operations that have taken place already. it's not clear where they would have the space, where the israelis or someone else could set up the tents, the sanitary facilities, the food distribution. now the good news here is that it doesn't look like it's all that imminent. of course, if the hostage negotiations work out -- prime minister netanyahu sounded pretty skeptical of that -- then there would be this cease-fire that might at least delay and perhaps prevent the rafah operation. >> do you think this discussion out loud is rea

i'm fredricka whitfield we're following two big stories. this happened for noon, first in the middle east where sources say talks will resume in qatar tomorrow in an effort to free hostages held by hamas in exchange for a temporary humanitarian ceasefire in ukraine today. ukraine's president volodymyr zelenskyy remained defiant, telling the world that there is no option but to win the fight against russia. but in a rare admission, zelenskyy also said 31,000 ukrainian soldiers have died since the war began. cnn cannot independently verify that figure, but us officials estimate the death toll could be closer to 70,000 on the front lines, ukraine's weapons and ammunition are running desperately low. and right now, there doesn't appear to be much hope that more us aid is coming. any sun at a press conference earlier in kyiv, cnn's kaitlan collins asks zelenskyy about that it has been two years now, obviously since this war started. but for the first time since russia invaded us aid to ukraine as seriously in doubt that a total standstill in con

i'm fredricka whitfield and we're watching two major stories unfolding at this hour. our a solemn moment for ukraine, which today marks two years since the start of russia's brutal invasion. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy meeting with other world leaders today in kyiv and in an emotional message to his countrymen, zelenskyy urge hope in the face of

i'm fredricka whitfield in washington, dc. we're monitoring several new development as world leaders convened for a major security conference in munich, germany. one of the leading topics, the death of russian opposition leader alexey navalny and allegations that it came at the direction of vladimir putin. new today, navalny's team says his mother and lawyer arrived at the morgue where officials told them and his body was being examined only should be told his body was not there. navalny's family saying he was murdered in prison, and the global backlash ash surrounding his death is growing. officials at the munich conference are also discussing new revelations about russia's attempts to create a nuclear space weapon. cnn is learning exclusive new details about its capabilities to cripple global communications. all of this, as the wars in israel and ukraine rage on today, vice president kamala harris met with ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy, us aid for ukraine is on hold as house lawmakers go on a two-week recess withou

i'm fredricka whitfield. we're following things in the middle east. russia is calling for an urgent u.n. meeting. the u.s. retaliatory strikes hit 85 area, all linked to the iran revolutionary guards force. it's in response to sunday's attack on u.s. troops in jordan which killed three soldiers. u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin is saying this is just the beginning of the united states response. iraq, syria, and russia are warning that the u.s. is fueling the conflict in the middle east. iran says the u.s. has made a strategic mistake. cnn has teams around the globe covering all of these developments. let's go first to cnn's ben wedeman in jordan. iran's defense force is denying any in involvement in the strikes but we're learning there was some cooperation. what more are you learning? >> reporter: the statement that was given to cnn by a u.s. official was that there was jordanian participation. now, what that participation might be is not clear. now, petro, which is the jordanian official news agency came out with a statement saying the jordanian a

but you know, fredricka, thugs and con-man, the only respond to one thing that is to fear and a show of force. and i really didn't get that sense coming out of the munich security conference that there is the unity that one needs right now and there was talk again of sanctions. well, i'm sorry, but the russian economy has been pretty impervious to many, many sanctions. i think what needs to happen right away that they can do quickly is to put into motion the billions that are frozen and russian sovereign funds and that money in the interim can go to ukraine to pay for the war, but also things like pensions and teacher salaries. but i think mr. putin is trying to run on the clock here and tell someone like mr. trump gets in and does an art of the deal on their own terms impervious to sanctions. and then as it as applies to navalny's death. and the blame being placed directly on vladimir putin by the president, us president, and others now, the widow of alexey navalny, she's posted a picture of the two of them on instagram i'm a friday, she attended the global security conference in mu

i'm fredricka whitfield smerkonish starts right now

i'm sara sider with fredricka whitfield and kate bolduan and john has officer today, this is cnn news central >> this morning, alexey navalny's wife, yulia blasting, russian officials in a defiant new video posted online. she says she is not afraid and she is determined to find out how the husband was killed. listen to this >> yet, but i sure we asked you to share your range, rage, anger, and hatred with me towards those would daring enough to kill our future, and i address you with alexei's words, which i believe it is not chained to do. it's not so shame to do little, but it's a shame not to do anything. it's a shame to make yourself intimidated. >> that cb as a pool guy. >> and there are many new developments this morning already navalny's mother and his legal team, they say that they have been blocked from seeing his body, but the kremlin now insist that the return of navaly's remains is not not their responsibility though. he was in their custody in a penal colony. people around the world continue to express their outrage over the activists, the opposition leaders, unexplained de

i'm fredricka whitfield big new developments today in the ongoing efforts to bring israeli hostages home from gaza sources. tell cnn negotiations are set to resume tomorrow and qatar, following progress made during talks talks in paris this weekend, the white house says negotiators have come to an understanding on some basic contours of a deal to bring the hostages home. but if officials warn there are still key hurdles that must be clear. hamas has not yet signed off on the potential deal. also this week, the us is sending its top humanitarian aid aid official to the region in hopes of improving critical supply shipments to gaza vulnerable population. cnn's priscilla alvarez is at the white house for us. so personal hello, what more is the white house revealing about this potential deal? >> well, fred, a senior us official giving this as an understanding of these broad contours of a deal that would include the release of hostages in exchange for a temporary ceasefire. now, these are talks that included the united states, israel, qatar, and egypt now separately, there have been conversat

i'm fredricka whitfield and we're watching two major stories unfolding at this hour. our a solemn moment for ukraine, which today marks two years since the start of russia's brutal invasion. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy meeting with other world leaders today in kyiv and in an emotional message to his countrymen, zelenskyy urge hope in the face of russia's relentless aggression. ukraine is in desperate need of artillery, ammunition, and supplies to keep up its fight. the recent retreat from a defka shining new light on the country's urgent need for international help. we're also watching a pivotal moment in this country on the presidential campaign trail republican voters in south carolina are voting today in a critical primary election we're president trump speaking right now at cpac in maryland. he's heading to the palmetto state where he will watch the results come in later on. his sole remaining primary challenger, nikki haley casts her ballot in the state. she once lead as governor,

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no answers the investigation now university of colorado, colorado springs, i'm kate bolduan with fredricka whitfield and sara sidner. this is cnn news central >> we begin with, developing news. president biden said just moments ago, the white house is considering and additional sanctions on russia after the death of russian opposition leader alexey navalny. while he was imprisoned in russia. let's get straight to cnn's mj lee, who was there listening to these comments. do we have any idea of when this decision was made and when these sanctions might be put into place. >> yes. sara, the president, just returned to the white house after over the weekend saying repeatedly that he believes vladimir putin is directly to blame for alexey navalny's death, and that this is just one more sign of the putin regimes brutality, the news of his death, of course, as you know, has really brighten the spotlight on congress as additional us funding for ukraine remain stalled. and a question that i just asked, the president is whether he would draw that connection between congresses inaction in navalny's dea

. >> that for you and much more, i'm kate >> baldwin with sara sidner and fredricka whitfield. this is cnn news central >> today, donald trump, heads of south carolina would just four days left until the primary race. >> there. >> trump is hoping for a dominant win in nikki haley's home state. and the polls are definitely in his favor, but if haley outperforms the polls, she could get a much needed boost heading into super tuesday. but if she does not, she will have to face a very tough question about the future of her campaign. cnn's kristen holmes is joining us now from washington, dc this morning. kristen, what do we know about donald trump's strategy heading into south carolina? obviously the poll numbers show that he doesn't have to do a whole lot >> yes, there that's actually exactly right now. donald trump and his team believed that south carolina is trump country and that saturday's primary is his to lose. and there is a reason for that. i actually want to pull up those poll numbers just so we can actually see what we're talking about here. this is the most recent cbs n

thanks, >> thanks, fredricka. >> all right, john. all right. donald trump's legal team gearing up for a new fight. now, challenging his classified documents, indictment sunday >> could there be an even wider conflict in the middle east fareed zakaria goes inside the store between the us and iran in the history of the divide, wire ran hates america sunday at eight on cnn. >> meet noodles. >> she's part of short hair and part ninja. >> meet the bissell cross wave hydro steam. it's part vacuum mom steamer and ninja nemesis this'll a new breed of clean, high. >> we've both got a big birthday coming up. so we have a lot of watches about medicare plans. >> we've got a lot of answers. how can i help? >> well, for starters, do you include hearing benefits? >> how about a plan with dental vision and hearing benefits? >> i sure. like the sound of that. >> then how does the zero-dollar >> monthly plan premium sound? >> if you're new to medicare, how 188865 edna will walk you through all your coverage and benefit options to help find the right plan for you

that's what fredricka wilson's life mission has been all about. that's what the commission on the social status of black men and boys is all about. intervention efforts that provide preventative programs and alternatives to juvenile person ration are critical to stopping the school to prison pipeline that are young people fought to confront. we must provide our young people with the opportunities necessary, academically as well as athletically, musically, and in every field of human endeavor to give them the opportunity to succeed. we democrats will continue to put people over politics and do what's necessary to lift up all of our children and young men. through the commission. thank you for your work and we look forward to our continued partnership. because of that partnership, i'm confident that the best is yet to come. [applause] >> hello. i'm chairman of the congressional black caucus. i want to thank congresswoman wilson and the commission on the social status of black men and boys for tremendous leadership. today, it's intolerable and unacce

i'm fredricka whitfield. president biden and prime minister netanyahu held a call today for the first time since mid january. it comes just days after biden delivered his sharpest rebuke yet over israel's military campaign in gaza, calling it over the top. the president is now pushing for a clear plan from israel as its military prepares to move its ground operations into rafah, where more than a million civilians are currently taking shelter. >>> on capitol hill, this afternoon, the u.s. senate in a key vote moved one step closer to passing a bill that would provide tens of billions of dollars in assistance and military aid not just for israel but also ukraine and taiwan. we have team coverage. jeremy diamond is live in tel aviv with more on israel's military offensive. priscilla alvarez is at the white house where we begin. let's talk about this call between these two leaders. what do we know? >> reporter: this is a call that comes amid tensions between president biden and israel prime minister benjamin net

i'm fredricka whitfield. the white house is grappling with the fallout of that damaging special counsel report with characterizations of president biden. democrats are hailing the decision not to bring any charges against the president for willingly retaining classified documents but they are stunned special agent robert hur said biden was elderly and decisions were poor. and kamala harris said it was inaccurate. priscilla, how is the white house positioning itself to dispel hur's characterizations. >> they're reminding people there were no criminal charges here a distinction from former president trump and his misuse of classified documents. but it points to one of the defining themes of this presidential season, his age and fitness for office as it talks about his memory and recalling how these classified documents were moved around and stored after he left the office of the vice president. president biden's aides have said, since this report was released, the president is sharp and tireless when describing

>> well, fredricka, i think it's important to note the military is working on a plan for evacuations and i'm less concerned about that evacuation plan than i am about where those evacuees will go. i don't think they will storm rafah city when there is still 1.4 million people in there, which came from other parts of palestine. let's hope it will be delayed until the military could come up with a plan, hopefully in coordination with the ngos and the u.n., but i think it would be ridiculous, if not, militarily unsound to be attacking into a city of that size with 1.4 million people stuffed in there. >> who would be involved in an evacuation plan? that's a lot of people. we are talking about hearing jeremy describe it. if people who sought refuge in the south and the rafah crossing, they left northern regions where it has been virtually bombed out. there isn't any place in which to evacuate them to, is there? >> well, there really is. they have the space. the question is do they have the facilities? do they have the tents or the other forms of shelter? do they have the third? do they ha

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i'm fredricka whitfield. we begin in the red sea where u.s. central command announced today it has carried out more strikes on iran-backed houthi targets in yemen. the strikes happened friday and were aimed at drones and missiles getting ready to launch against nearby ships. last week the u.s. along with the uk launched strikes on more than a dozen houthi locations. cnn's nic robertson is following the development from tel aviv. what more are you learning about this latest round of strikes? >> reporter: you know, these were a number of strikes from the early hours of friday through to the mid evening hours on friday. and they were targeting different targets to strikes against unmanned surface vehicles. these are like small speed boats packed with explosives, no one driving them. they're directed at ships. at eater the -- either the navy ships or container vessels going through the red sea. also, four cruise missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles, were targeted, as well, by the coalition, as well as one mobile cruise missile launcher. now what we

. >>> thank you for joining me today, i'm fredricka whitfield, the news continues with alex marquardt right now. and don't forget keep watching throughout the evening because tonight gayle king and charles barkley are geet getting real on the top stories make sure to tune in to "king charles" tonight. >>> u.s. response in the middle east as president joe biden vows to send a clear and forceful message to iran-backed militias. the u.s. now says it hit 85 targets linked to iranian backed proxy groups in iraq and syria overnight. iraqi officials claim the blast killed 16 people including civilians. the u.s. hopes to destroy the militant's capabilities or at least degrade them while they can while avoiding a broader conflict. but iran saying the u.s. has made a strategic mistake. u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin said that this is just the beginning the u.s. central command said it struck six houthi cruise missiles in yemen earlier today as they continue to launch attacks against shipping in the red sea. orrin lieberman is live at the pentagon with the latest. what are you learning abou

i'm fredricka whitfield, cnn newsroom continues with jim acosta right now >> you're live in the cnn the newsroom. i'm jim acosta in washington tonight, startling images out of the ukrainian city of abdullah illustrating in stark terms what could be the reality of america failing to continue aid to the war torn country in this new video released by the russian government, soldiers are seen raising the russian flag over that key city after ukrainian forces were forced to withdraw. this comes as authorities have reportedly detained hundreds of people across russia for paying their respects to alexey navalny, the prominent critic of russian leader vladimir putin. look at how police take a look at this, how police shoved this detainment fans face into the snow simply for paying his effects to navalny. and while leaders of democracies around the world are mourning navalny's death, former president donald i'll trump remains silent. trump has not spoken about yvonne publicly since the opposition leaders death. when cnn asked his campaign for a response, aides pointed to a tree social post in wh

but fredricka, the biden ministration, is making clear that they believe one of the best ways to counter russian aggression is to pass that supplemental funding bill for ukraine, israel, and other and elsewhere. but some 60 billion there for ukraine, which of course is being held up by republicans in congress. fred all right, alex marquardt. thank you so much. sara. >> all right. thank you for joining me now, president and founder of eurasia group and gzero media and brehme thank you so much for being here, sir you look at these sanctions. what, if anything, will these new sanctions? due to vladimir putin, we know that they can hurt the economy. they can do other things. but is this any, is there any chance they're going to stop him from going forward with the things he's been doing including potentially killing one of his opposition leaders and the war in ukraine. >> absolutely not. >> what we have found is that the only thing that is slowing down vladimir putin is the provision of additional military support directly for ukraine essentially a proxy war, allowing nato to give the ukrain

fredricka officials are watching that election very closely as the solemn two-year mark is also a turning point. today, the ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy, urged his country people to remain hopeful in the face of russian aggression. but weapons and ammunition are running dangerously low on ukraine's front lines. the nato secretary general jens stoltenberg, called the situation, quote, extremely serious and vowed more nato aid meantime, russia's defense minister chose this day to meet his troops inside parts of eastern ukraine that they now occupied. the extent of russia's atrocities were clear right from the start back in april 2022, the world saw evidence of mass murder in bucha. this marked a critical turning point in the four hardening ukraine's determination to defeat russia and showing the rest of the world exactly how putin operates. now, almost two years later, i went back to bucha, and of course, some of the images you're going to see are indeed disturbing. but here's my report. further, andriy halloween of st. andrew's church walks me through gooch's grisly place in his

i'm fredricka whitfield smerkonish starts right now so what would. happen then? i'm michael smerconish in philadelphia. we know the front runners, but is there november showdown a certainty among the looming questions is what if what if donald trump is convicted? well, this week ended with the judge in trump's civil fraud case dunning him for nearly $355 million and preventing him from doing business in new york for three years. and we're waiting on more potential explosive legal outcomes. the supreme court immunity decision the georgia interference case, the january 6 federal prosecution, the classified documents found at mar-a-lago, and now the stormy daniels business records case scheduled for trial next month for most candidates in most election years, that would surely be a big bump on the road. but what's the alternative? he's light years ahead of the sole remaining gop contender. and this comes one week after biden took a hit regarding his age and memory from the special counsel's report on his own classified documents case, which explains why despite how

i'm sara sider with kate baldwin and fredricka whitfield. john berman is on assignment this is cnn news central >> if money talks, president biden's campaign has a lot to talk about right now this morning the campaign is touting a historic amount of cash on hand after a big january hall they're reporting more than $42 million. was raised last month. and there are now jumping in through february with $130 million of cash sean hat biden's about to also leave the white house for another fundraising swing out west. let's get over to cnn's arlette sayyed. she's at the white house for us arlette, talk to me more about what the campaign is reporting out this morning and what it means for what is very, what it means today and also what is most definitely assured to be a very tough general election fight. >> yeah, kate, the biden campaign is really building up a sizable campaign. war chest is they are preparing for a very pricey race against what they expect to be there gop opponent former president donald trump, those numbers that you ran through $4

i'm john berman with sara sidner fredricka whitfield is in for kate today this is cnn news central at this moment, house republicans are questioning president biden's brother, james behind closed doors as part of their each been row, not behind closed doors. the fact that the now indicted informant at the center of their probe says he got false information from russia the lead democrat on the house oversight committee moments ago, hit back at republicans still pushing impeachment >> now, we know that russian intelligence operatives were behind creating the propaganda and disinformation at the very foundation of this investigation. so i think it's time for chairman comer and the republicans to fold up the circus tent. and we should get back to work from american people. this impeachment investigation is nothing but a wild goose chase that is based on russian disinformation and propaganda. right? >> cnn anchor and chief congressional correspondent manu raju, in the middle of where it is all well happening this morning on capitol hill, manu, what are you here >> yeah. this is the first t

i'm fredricka whitfield, cnn newsroom continues with jessica dean right now >> you are in the cnn news good evening, everyone. i'm jessica dean in washington and we begin tonight with uncertainty hanging over ukraine as the war torn country marks two years since the start of russia's full-scale invasion. today, president zelenskyy warning russia could attempt to a new offensive that could start by late may. in a rare admission the ukrainian leader revealing at least 31,000 of his soldiers have died in the war. now, cnn cannot independently verify that number, but us offici estimate the toll could be closer to 70 thousand. ukraine is running low on critical supplies like weapons and ammunition as russian forces gain control of key areas, seeing an anchor, kaitlan collins is in kyiv and got a chance to ask zelenskyy about the $60 billion of aid stalled in congress. here's a clip >> it has been two years now, obviously since this war started. but for the first time since russia invaded us aid to ukraine green is seriously in doubt that a total standstill in congress. do you still have fai

i'm fredricka whitfield big new developments today in the ongoing efforts to bring israeli hostages home from gaza sources. tell cnn negotiations are set to resume tomorrow and qatar, following progress made during talks talks in paris this weekend, the white house says negotiators have come to an understanding on some basic contours of a deal to bring the hostages home. but if officials warn there are still key hurdles that must be clear. hamas has not yet signed off on the potential deal. also this week, the us is sending its top humanitarian aid aid official to the region in hopes of improving critical supply shipments to gaza

the alternative, the us is now proposing, i'm fredricka whitfield with sara sidner and kate baldwin. this is cnn news central >> i historic whole for the biden campaign president biden's reelection team is reporting new fundraising numbers. this morning and they say in january alone, they raised 42 million dollars, meaning he now has $130 million cash on hand perspective? yes, that's a lot of money for any of us. but no other democrat running for president it has ever posted that kind of number at this point in the election cycle. and biden today is leaving the white house and washington behind for a multiday fundraising swing out west, hoping for more money ahead. let's get over to the white house. cnn's arlette seinz is there are, let the campaign co-chair was just on with us and he says that one way you always measure enthusiasm is through contributions. we know they say that and hope that. but what does that all mean for this campaign right now? >> well, kate, the campaign is really hoping that they can continue this fundraising momentum heading into november as they've really se

hitting the trail in south carolina, live during our show today, i'm kate bolduan with sara sidner and fredricka whitfield. today this is cnn news central >> this morning alexei navalny's widow is vowing to continue his fight to bring change to russia. as she urged supporters of the late opposition leader call on the russian government to mediately release his body. yulia navalnaya met with eu foreign ministers this morning. she also posted a new video online promising to find out who carried out the alleged crime. a spokesperson says, navalny's mother and lawyer were denied access to this more where his body is allegedly being held health official state of one died friday after losing consciousness, after a walk, but his cause of death and exact location of his body remained a mystery. free at this hour, cnn's matthew chance is joining us now from moscow. matthew the kremlin has said that an investigation is underway. what are you seeing as a response and what do we know about where alexei navalny's body? the >> will that that's good question. >> i'll come to it in a minute, but first, let me s

i'm fredricka whitfield, our special coverage of the south carolina republican presidential primary all right, starts right now with wolf blitzer and erin burnett >> welcome to cnn special coverage of the south carolina republican primary i'm wolf blitzer in washington. erin burnett joins us from new york we're just three hours away right now from the polls closing. donald trump is expected to dominate in nikki haley's home state where she was twice elected governor. but haley says she's quote, not going anywhere and plans to continue until the very last person votes. south carolina's primary, erin pick up our reported its open wolf, as you know, it means democrats and independents can cast ballots in the gop race, which is a significant thing, the trump campaign at a weak showing among independent voters as you'll remember in new hampshire, the real question though is whether that will be enough to close the gap between haley and trump in south carolina. whereas well, you've been saying that the gap seems insurmountable. >> but we >> will see when the numbers come in. of course, we've