i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. we are just over a month from donald trump's second inauguration. yet in many ways, washington is already back capitol hill grappling with yet another looming government shutdown after the president elect sunk a republican brokered deal to keep the government open. last weekend, speaker mike johnson was riding high appearing with trump at the army-navy football game. so too did elon musk. if johnson and musk discussed the imminent government funding deadline, it must not have been a productive conversation. >> i was communicating with elon last night. elon and vivek and i are on a text chain together, and i was explaining to them the background of this. remember, guys, we still have just a razor thin margin of republicans, so any bill has to have democrat votes. they understand the situation. they said it's not directed to you, mr. speaker, but we don't like the spending. i said, guess what, fellas? i don't either. >> so johnson unveiled his biparti

i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. just days before the start of the holiday break, tragedy strikes a madison, wisconsin school and another community is left in turmoil in the wake of a mass shooting, this time at abundant life christian school. police say the shooting started monday morning, leaving a teacher and a student dead and six others injured. the 15 year old attacker then turned the gun on herself. first responders were at the school within three minutes. after a second grader called 911. >> let that soak in for a minute. a second grade student called 911 at 10:57 a.m. to report a shooting at school the suspect has been identified as natalie rupnow. >> police say her parents are cooperating with the investigation and are not suspected of committing a crime. at this time, the school has about 420 students from kindergarten to high school. students as young as eight years old are telling their stories of coming face to face with gun violence at school. >> we heard them, and then some people started crying, and

i'm kasie hunt.s wonderful to have you with us. the long brutal rule of syrian president bashar al-assad is over. the question now is what happens next? the people of syria flooding the streets, celebrating the end of more than five decades of the assad family's dictatorship. but we are already seeing how this momentous shift for the country will further complicate the situation in the middle east. early this morning a cnn team on the ground reports hearing strikes in damascus israel's foreign minister confirming the israeli military struck weapons systems and chemical weapons capacity since 2011. syria has been fighting this civil war and this turning point catapulted by rebel forces who launched a sweeping offensive capturing key cities in just a matter of days. and with that came the end of assad's rule assad, fleeing with his family to russia, where he has been granted asylum on humanitarian grounds. he has held power since 2000. president biden, calling assad's downfall a fundamental act of just

you can make so much with kasie hunt, even ice cream. >> have you tried it?ke it. >> no. >> it's delicious and amazing oh, look at yours. >> oh my god, how do we do it? respect to omar. i have never seen so much cheese gobbled so fast. >> todo mi vida. >> yo estaba comiendo esto sin saber como pueden hacer. como esta? see, i always assumed it just came in this shape back in the city i want to check out how this local cheese is celebrated at oaxaca's hottest restaurants star chef celia florian loves innovating with traditional ingredients in her kitchen to create gastronomic magic. hola! hola! >> quÉ gusto. bienvenida un gran placer. mucho gusto. te voy a hacer el plato. tenemos aqui en las letras. esta es la hoja de santa. es muy bonita es aromatica y es muy deliciosa. >> yerba santa is a local herb that has flavors of anise, eucalyptus and mint. and since pre-hispanic times, it's also been used for medicinal purposes. >> tenemos un plato con con dos elementos importantisimo. quÉ es el cielo y los chapulines y bueno los chapulines aqui estan. si es tan. oh my

i'm paula reid in for kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us as we begin with the death and the legacy of jimmy carter, a former georgia peanut farmer who rose to the presidency, then cultivated a legacy of unprecedented service after leaving the white house. >> my name is jimmy carter, and i'm running for president. >> carter was the nation's 39th president. he served a single term from 1977 to 1981, losing his reelection bid to ronald reagan. now his term weighed down by a 440 day hostage ordeal in iran, along with an energy crisis and an economy crushed by inflation. at his inaugural address in 1977, carter laid out his vision for the presidency, a vision that defined his administration. >> i would hope that the nations of the world might say that we had built a lasting, peace based not on weapons of war, but on international policies which reflect our own most precious values. >> carter died peacefully at the age of 100 on sunday, surrounded by loved ones at his home in plains, georgia. he'd been under hom

i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. fbi director christopher wray reading the writing on the wall, announcing he will step down from his post when president biden leaves the white house next month, clearing the way for kash patel to take over the bureau if he is able to be confirmed. wray is leaving seven years into a ten year term. the director says he wrestled with whether or not to resign given president elect trump's desire to replace him. he ultimately decided to leave when trump takes office to facilitate an orderly transition. >> in my view, this is the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray while reinforcing the values and principles that are so important in how we do our work. >> trump called wray's announcement a great day for america, even though, of course, trump personally appointed him in 2017 after firing the previous fbi director, james comey. at the time, trump sang ray's praises. now, not so much. >> i believe that we will have thrilled with him. he invaded my home. i'm suing the co

i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. eyes on the skies.amping up pressure on the federal government as questions mount over the origin of the unexplained drones that have been hovering over new jersey. >> they should be shot down if necessary because they're flying over sensitive areas. >> the whole government, state police, department of homeland security, the governor, they need to take this way more seriously. >> it's a bit embarrassing that given the length of time and the number of sightings that we don't have information. >> reporter the federal aviation administration says the sightings began last month, with some people describing the aircrafts as big as bicycles or small cars. one new jersey mayor telling residents the mysterious drones seem to be surveilling the state's critical infrastructure. they have also been spotted near a u.s. military research facility and over president elect donald trump's golf course in bedminster, new jersey. those sightings, prompting the faa to issue temporary flight restrictions. and according to t

good morning everyone i'm danny freeman in for kasie hunt.so good to have you with us this morning. we begin with an argument over immigrants in the united states workforce among donald trump's supporters, which has now been spilling out online. in one corner, you have the doge leaders, elon musk and vivek ramaswamy, who are defending silicon valley for bringing in foreign engineers. in a long post on x, ramaswamy wrote in part the reason top tech companies often hire foreign born and first generation engineers over native americans isn't because of an innate american iq deficit. a lazy and wrong explanation. it's rather a key part of it. coming down to the c word culture, a culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ or the jock over the valedictorian will not produce the best engineers. ramaswamy goes on to blame 90 sitcoms like boy meets world and other media for celebrating average, saying, we need less of this. >> this is me, mr. average. my room here is a a shrine to my mediocre life. >> oh, let's stop right ther

i'm kasie hunt, it's wonderful to have you with us. anger and frustration boiling over on the hill as a new attempt to keep the government open went down in flames congressman marc molinaro, perhaps with the most visible symbol of the frustration he apparently broke that gavel, attempting to bring the house to order amid fierce debate, a debate made necessary after donald trump, elon musk and their allies killed the original bipartisan deal this week. >> you are the ones that are creating the shutdown. >> we will not be going back to the table. this deal stands as it is. >> all i've heard for the last couple of weeks about this giant mandate landslide trifecta. put on your big boy pants, pass your own bill. this side of the aisle is profoundly unserious about actually reducing deficits in the middle of the storm. >> house speaker mike johnson now trying to not only unify his party behind a new plan, but now trying to save his speakership in next year's congress. >> this is washington. this is how, the lawmaking is done. it's a long pro

i'm kasie hunt. >> it's wonderful to have you with us. another day, another tech titan making the trek to mar-a-lago. >> today it's amazon founder jeff bezos turn to meet with president elect trump at his florida estate. the ceos of apple, meta, tiktok, and more have already made the trip, prompting this observation from senator bernie sanders just 150 billionaire families spent nearly $2 billion to buy our recent elections. >> this is not democracy. this is not one person, one vote. this is not all of us coming together to decide our future. this is oligarchy for bezos, it seems the calculus is clear he could need help from the incoming administration in his space race against elon musk. >> and he's been publicly singing trump's praises since the election. here was bezos speaking at the new york times dealbook summit. >> i'm actually very optimistic this time around that we're going to see i'm very hopeful about this. >> his he seems to have a lot of energy around reducing regulation. >> and my point of view, if i can help him do that, i

i'm kasie hunt, it's wonderful to have you with us.gin with the ongoing manhunt for the gunman who shot and killed the ceo of unitedhealthcare, right in the heart of manhattan, nearly 24 hours ago, before calmly escaping and i do want to warn you, before we continue, we're about to show you surveillance video of the moments leading up to the shooting. we're not showing the entire clip because it's just too disturbing police say that 50 year old brian thompson traveled to new york from minnesota for his company's annual investor meeting. he was walking to that meeting yesterday when the gunman emerged from behind him and opened fire immediately after shooting thompson, the suspect walked quickly across the street and then was picked up by surveillance cameras escaping on a bicycle into central park moments before the incident, the masked suspect stopped at a nearby starbucks providing police with the clearest images so far of his face every indication is that this was a premeditated pre-planned, targeted attack. >> we're reaching out to

i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. donald trump's pick to run the defense department. pete hegseth facing headwinds as some key republican senators are raising questions about whether it's possible he'll have the votes to be confirmed. since trump announced his plans to nominate the former fox news anchor to lead the pentagon, a number of misconduct allegations have been reported, including significant allegations about his treatment of women and his drinking. still, just yesterday, a top trump adviser told me there was nothing raising alarm bells for the transition team so when it comes to pete hegseth, there aren't any concerns and we feel very good about his positioning for being confirmed by the senate that did not last long because it doesn't still seem to be the case. assuming all democrats vote against hegseth, he'll need to limit his republican opposition to just three gop senators. but there are already more than three republican senators who are appear as though they are on the fence some of these articles ar

i'm kasie hunt, it's wonderful to have you with us.oncern, confusion and calls for military intervention. new drone sightings reported on the east coast over the weekend. and it's become a disruption to critical agencies drone activity, forcing officials to close airspace over one of the country's most critical air force bases. wright-patterson air force base is outside dayton, ohio, and it was closed for almost four hours late friday and early saturday and new york's stewart international airport was forced to temporarily shut down its runways friday to federal officials urging calm in the face of growing criticism about the lack of answers that they're providing. although they insist the sightings pose no security threat, there's no question that people are seeing drones, and i want to assure the american public that we in the federal government have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology to assist the new jersey state police in addressing the drone sightings. the lack of clarity about these drones, and who might be beh

i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. as donald trump prepares to return to the white house and joe biden prepares to exit. a stark contrast now playing out both domestically and around the world for donald trump. the once and future president is finding himself again at the center of world affairs with leaders like canada's prime minister making the trek to mar-a-lago just this past weekend and now he's also getting invitations to go abroad. trump will be in paris this weekend for the reopening of the notre-dame cathedral at the invitation of french president emmanuel macron. all of this happening while trump assembles a cabinet of loyalists preparing to carry out his agenda, backed by a party showing almost unanimous allegiance to their incoming leader the american people gave president trump a mandate and what they've delivered with the mandate in this election is a demand that we shake up the status quo. >> this is the president's cabinet. >> he's got to choose people who he has confidence in. >> americans elected a r

i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. we are hearing for the first time from the man whose search captivated the nation, 26 year old luigi mangione, the alleged killer fighting extradition back to new york, where he faces five charges, including second degree murder. these are new images from the moments before he was captured inside a mcdonald's. he was eating a hash brown mangione was in court in pennsylvania yesterday where he was denied bail on his way in, he shared this message. whoa, whoa, back up. >> and clearly out of touch and insult the intelligence of the american people and the experience. >> mangione is expected to insist on his innocence. according to his lawyer, he is pleading not guilty. >> i haven't seen any evidence that says that he's the shooter. so that's, you know, like i like i said earlier and i wasn't kidding around. a couple of things. if you're going to report something, report it accurately. and remember and this is not just a small thing, the fundamental, uh, concept of american justice is a p

i'm kasie hunt. we made it. it's friday. it's wonderful to have you with us. there are new clues this morning in the manhunt in new york. a flirtatious smile could be the mistake that trips up the man that police are calling a person of interest wanted for questioning in connection to the wednesday killing of the unitedhealthcare ceo this newly released surveillance footage capturing the man smiling after the clerk at the hostel he was staying at asked him to lower his mask, a source tells cnn he used a fake new jersey driver's license when checking in. that was on manhattan's upper west side, and there is also new video of the suspect suspected gunman on an e-bike escaping from the crime scene. and heading towards central park as far as his trip to new york sources tell cnn he got there by greyhound bus ten days before the shooting. the bus route started in atlanta, but it's unclear if that's where he first boarded the bus the words delay and depose were found on a live round and a shell casing at t

i'm kasie hunt.s wonderful to have you with us some of donald trump's more controversial choices for his cabinet. still fighting for confirmation on capitol hill. the president elect's choice for defense secretary pete hegseth meeting with lawmakers for a second straight week. looking to win over senators as previous allegations of sexual assault, alcohol abuse and financial mismanagement at veterans groups have emerged against him. allegations that pete hegseth claims are being made up to take him down this is what the left does. >> sean. it's the anatomy of a smear. they take something and then they add anonymous sources and contortions and flat out lies, and then they try to try you in the media before you can even get into the doors with senators. >> now, he is getting into those doors with senators he is slated to meet with moderate republican senators susan collins and lisa murkowski over the next two days. he's now also met several times with senator joni ernst, the iowa republican has been se

find it at walmart cnn this morning with kasie hunt next

now cnn this morning with kasie hunt today at five eastern. >> brazil's president luis inacio lula da silva, said to be doing well after undergoing brain surgery the government says he went in for testing late on monday with a headache which doctors say was due to a small brain hemorrhage linked to a fall at his home in october. they say the surgery was successful and the president is being monitored in the icu. they plan to provide an update on his condition in the next few hours. we'll bring you that the fbi is gearing up for detailed background checks on thousands of appointees for donald trump's incoming administration including his pick for defense secretary pete hegseth. but these investigations may have little bearing on whether hegseth and other controversial picks make it into the next trump cabinet. manu raju has more from capitol hill. reporter republican senators began to fall in line behind donald trump's most controversial picks including to run the fbi. >> that, of course, is a position that wouldn't necessarily need a nominee. but donald trump is signaling that he is r

i'm kasie hunt. news central starts right now. >> a turbulent family life and a t-shirt with links to the columbine massacre

i'm rahel solomon in today for kasie hunt. wonderful to be with you. drug use, sex for hire and allegations of violating state laws on statutory rape. all included in a house ethics committee report against former congressman and donald trump's first choice to become attorney general, matt gaetz. according to the 37 page report, the ethics committee finds that gaetz, quote, regularly paid women for engaging in sexual activity with him. they also claim that in 2017, gaetz, quote, engaged in sexual activity with a 17 year old girl and that the congressman, quote, used or possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy. now back up their findings. the committee also released pages of documents including text message screenshots between gaetz and unnamed women and one of the exchanges. the committee says that gaetz is asking a woman to get him drugs by referring to, quote, a full complement of party favors before asking her what will she be wearing to his hotel. another screenshot shared by the committee an unnamed woman and gaetz seemed to be argui

i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. the biden justice department has been politicized. that's the message the message this morning from no, not just donald trump, but from president joe biden himself. the president issuing a full and unconditional pardon to his son, hunter, after repeating insistently and repeatedly insisting in public that he wouldn't do it, and to defend his decision, the president adopted an argument that could have come straight out of donald trump's playbook. blame your political opponents and claim unfair persecution. president biden said this quote, the charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election. the president adding, quote, no reasonable person who looks at the facts of hunter's cases can reach any other conclusion than hunter was singled out only because he is my son, and that is wrong. end quote president biden pardoning pardoning his son not just for the gun crimes for which he was convicted and

republican congressman mike lawler joins me exclusively hello i'm kasie hunt in for jake tapper and dana bash in washington, where the state of our union is watching a new battle brewing. president elect donald trump is closing out his thanksgiving weekend by setting up another major political fight. he wants longtime loyalists and partisan firebrand kash patel to lead the fbi. it's a move that would require firing the current director, christopher wray, who trump appointed after firing his first fbi director in 2017. patel is a highly divisive figure. he's accused the so-called deep state of targeting trump and proposed a quote, comprehensive housecleaning end quote, of the justice department saying that under trump, it would go after members of the media. in his memoir, former attorney general bill barr said he had tried to block a move to install patel as deputy fbi director during trump's first term. barr said that he'd allow it, quote, over my dead body. and multiple sources familiar with the trump transition process had previously told cnn that patel's rise is deeply concerning. it

i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. new details, new images this morning of the suspect accused of killing the ceo of unitedhealthcare 26 year old ivy league graduate, luigi mangione arrested and charged with second degree murder after a daylong manhunt. police captured mangione at a pennsylvania mcdonald's yesterday. over 275 miles away from new york city. police say an employee tipped them off, calling authorities after recognizing the suspect. when police approached him and asked him if he'd recently been to new york. police say he had a, quote, physical reaction. he was visibly nervous and began shaking. police say that mangione was carrying a backpack at the time of his arrest, and in that backpack, they found a black 3-d printed pistol with a loaded glock magazine and a 3-d printed black silencer. as police official, a police official also telling cnn he had a handwritten document that expressed ill will toward corporate america but mangione himself well, he comes from a wealthy baltimore family that built a local

i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. the truth is out there, americans in new jersey would really like to know who is flying. sometimes massive drones over their homes and infrastructure. i think the creepy part is not that it's just a drone, that there's so large. now, some of the things that people are seeing on social media, posting on social media, they have been identified as normal things in the skies, planes, helicopters, but not all of them. one new jersey mayor says the drones have been flying over the state's critical infrastructure. the drones have also been spotted near a u.s. military research facility and over. president elect donald trump's golf course in bedminster, new jersey. and those sightings have prompted the faa to issue temporary flight restrictions. and according to the associated press, the coast guard says multiple low altitude aircrafts were spotted near one of their vessels. still, they weren't seen as an immediate threat and they didn't interfere with any operations. so what has the white ho

i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. we're going to have all of that and more that we just ran through ahead with our panel. but first, let's get a check of this morning's headlines. >> thanks, casey. i'm danny freeman in new york. a very merry christmas to all of our viewers out there. we're following breaking news this morning. dozens of survivors, but dozens more feared dead after a christmas day plane crashed near aktau, kazakhstan, in central asia. now, we want to warn you, some of this video may be disturbing. this right here. this was taken moments after the plane crashed as rescuers scrambled to pull people out of the burned wreckage. cnn's nadia bashir joins me now from london. nadia, you've been following this story all morning. what more do you know about this crash? >> well, we are still waiting to get more updates from the authorities clarifying the cause behind this crash. but as you mentioned, we have been seeing yet more video around the crash and the moments before the plane hit the ground. video showing

i'm rahel solomon in today for kasie hunt. great to have you with us. donald trump back on stage in his first rally like speech since the campaign trail. the president elect addressed a group of conservative activists in phoenix, and he offered a preview of how some u.s. foreign policy might change when he's back in office. >> you got to treat us fairly, and they haven't treated us fairly. if the principles, both moral and legal of this magnanimous gesture of giving are not followed, then we will demand that the panama canal be returned to the united states of america. >> panama's president, meantime issuing a strong rebuke of trump's comments como. >> president. >> as president, i want to express that every square meter of the panama canal and its adjacent areas belong to panama and will continue to belong to panama. the sovereignty and independence of our country are not negotiable, he said the canal will continue to be in panamanian hands as the patrimony of our nation, and guaranteeing its use for the peaceful and uninterrupted transit of ships of a

i'm danny freeman in for kasie hunt is so wonderful to have you with us on this holiday week. let's start here with three and a half weeks to go until inauguration day. president-elect donald trump remains fixated on expanding america's territory at the expense of western hemisphere neighbors. in a christmas day post announcing kevin cabrera as his new pick for the u.s. ambassador to panama, donald trump once again claimed panama is, quote, ripping us off on the panama canal. and in recent days, trump has amped up tensions with panama by demanding control of the canal be turned back over to the united states, a proposal panama's president has called non-negotiable. but president-elect trump seems undeterred, taking aim at not only panama, but also canada and greenland in his christmas day message. in this post, he once again called canada's prime minister, governor and imagined if, quote, canada was to become our 51st state. and once again he eyed greenland, saying the danish controlled territory is, quote, needed by the united states for national security purposes. greenland'

i'm kasie hunt, it's wonderful to have you with us.ing weeks of his presidency, joe biden now going back on a promise he made while he was still the democratic candidate for president, on whether or not he would pardon his son, hunter. he said this as recently as june. >> let me ask you will you accept the jury's outcome, their verdict, no matter what it is? yes. and have you ruled out a pardon for your son yes. you have but the president has now had a change of heart. >> cnn learning that while his family, including hunter biden vacationed on nantucket for thanksgiving, the president felt hunter had been wrongfully targeted by his political opponents and that his son had endured enough. one of those political opponents crying foul over the pardon. house oversight committee chairman james comer, reacting with this statement sunday night, he said in part, quote, it's unfortunate that rather than come clean about their decades of wrongdoing, president biden and his family continue to do everything they can to avoid accountability before

i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us governing by tweet donald trump has yet to be sworn in, and already a day of tweeting posting derailed the funding bill that would have kept the government's lights on through christmas. what does that remind you of i haven't read his tweets, so i'm not going to comment on something i haven't read to find out. >> you've been fired by tweet is not exactly, you know, reassuring in terms of the conduct of government i don't know, i can't really comment because i don't know anything about it. >> well, i didn't see the tweet. i thought i saw the tweets this morning. i missed that one. >> i just saw the tweet and i know nothing of the episode scenes despite the highest ranking elected republican in washington scrambling to try to convince him not to blow it all up. here was house speaker mike johnson yesterday morning before everything collapsed around him. >> i was communicating with elon last night. elon and vivek and i are on a text chain together, and

i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. doge takes capitol hill. elon musk and vivek ramaswamy meeting with republican lawmakers as they begin to consider just where the so-called department of government efficiency will make cuts. to be clear, doge not actually a federal agency does not have the power to eliminate departments or slash budgets. but of course, congress does and the republicans, who will soon control both chambers seem to be on board. >> we are all excited. i know you're all excited that elon musk and vivek ramaswamy have joined us today. and let me be frank about this. government is too big. it does too many things and it does almost nothing. well and the taxpayers deserve better since joining trump on the campaign trail in october, elon musk has become a close advisor, inviting him to watch a spacex rocket launch even spending thanksgiving with him at mar-a-lago. >> and we now know that musk spent over a quarter of $1 billion in his effort to help trump win new fec filings show. the world's wealthiest man gave over $200 million to

take control of your finances with rocket money today, cnn this morning with kasie hunt. >> next. >>s a dark side. but you knew this. you don't have to look too hard. but renowned photographer maren saunier has been looking with a fixed gaze on people in the margins for decades. for over 40 years, he's worked diligently to capture the world's darker shades. its most marginalized people, the outsiders, the transgressive, the forgotten, the desperate and depraved. always in a non-judgmental, unblinking way these are some of the shots we can put on tv. many we can't. i urge you to find them. shot with a lot of hustlers, dope addicts. prostitutes. how did you approach your subjects? right up, right in picture? or do you establish relationships? >> we always depended on the situation. some were not aware of me, others were exhibitionists. i had fights, but most of the time i didn't have any problems because there were situations i knew. okay, now i better retreat or i get my kicked. i had a very good sense of how far you can go. up in recent years, miran has been making films as well, sho

. >> cnn this morning with kasie hunt weekdays at 5:00 eastern. >> welcome back to very scary people.btk had disappeared. no sign of him for more than ten years. but now he was back. the taunting, the cat and mouse games. the citizens of wichita are terrified. btk thinks he has the upper hand. but all that is about to change he was writing to the police department every once in a while, saying, i'm going to take out an ad in the classifieds, and i'm going to give you a clue. >> so lieutenant landwehr read the classifieds and would answer him in the classifieds. >> one of the communications that he sent us, btk, asked if we could trace a floppy disk. and in that communication, he asked us to be honest. >> he writes, be honest. i don't know what he was thinking. if he had bumped his head that day or what the hell he was thinking. so he asked us to put it in the paper. rex, it'll be okay. and so we put it in the paper. rex. it'll be okay. >> that was meant to be. oh, don't worry about it. we would never be able to trace that. so he sends it the amusing thing to me was, is that he told la

. >> cnn this morning with kasie hunt., everybody, and welcome to the johnson space center for today's briefing lisa stark with abc news. >> when you realized that you had this debris that had struck the shuttle and you started your analysis, what was the discussion about trying to take a look, either through satellites or these large telescopes, that the military has. and why was the decision made not to try that we certainly had that discussion. >> we believe that taking a picture, looking for tile damage, it does not show us the depth of tile that may have been shaved off. we cannot make a determination conclusively whether that represents a concern or not well, when you're reading through the transcripts, in hindsight were you sufficiently open to the idea that this was a really serious problem? >> you're asking 2020 hindsight or what my thought was? well then you were just kind of seeking reassurance that everything was okay as opposed to digging in and saying, how do we know this? i didn't have a preconceived notion

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>> com cnn this morning with kasie hunt weekdays at five eastern. >> closed captioning is brought to you by sokolove law. >> mesothelioma victims call now $30 million in trust. money has been set aside. you may be entitled to a portion of that money. >> call one 800 859 2400. that's one 800 859 2400. >> some key details of jimmy carter funeral plans coming into focus this hour, as our nation prepares to honor and pay tribute to the former president, who has died at the age of 100. we're now learning that he will lie in state at the u.s. capitol, and president biden will deliver a eulogy at carter's state funeral in washington, d.c., on january 9th, a day that biden has declared as a national day of mourning. today, carter is being remembered for the arc of his extraordinary life, from peanut farmer to the 39th president of the united states. he served just one term in the white house, but went on to redefine what a post-presidency could look like. today, many are honoring him for his humanitarian work and also for the deep love that he shared with his wife of 77 years, rosalynn carte

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. >> cnn this morning with kasie hunt. >> weekdays at five eastern. >> like the psalmists of old.ave asked god to create in me a clean heart. >> three months after he announced that he is gay and resigning, mcgreevey spoke of being a changed man. >> and so today, i still have a dream. thank you. >> i'll never forget the day after i resigned. before that, as governor, it was 14,000 calls, texts, calls and the phone goes dead. you can hear the birds in politics. it's boom. the day after, you're irrelevant. but it was. it was the beginning of. of god willing, crossing the abyss and beginning to rebuild the life that's authentic and and honest. >> so, charles kushner, what happened with him and his family? >> it was sad. i mean, he's a friend and he's been he's been nothing but supportive. very quietly. all i can do is reflect on myself. but, you know, you're in a very different place in the second half of life. >> was jim mcgreevey, a politician who dove clear eyed into the muck, who traded favors and influence with unsavory folks to make his way to the top. sure. was his resignation

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we'll be right back cnn this morning with kasie hunt tomorrow at 5:00 eastern. >> daughter. >> i hope you know that being selfless does not mean forgetting about yourself. i'm so proud to see who you've become. and i know that when i need you, you'll be there. but it's okay to accept a little help. so you can be my daughter, not my nurse or my caretaker. just you. this is where i belong. home instead. for a better. >> what's next? >> like a relentless weed. moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. symptoms can keep coming back. start to break away from uc with tremfya with rapid relief at four weeks. tremfya blocks a key source of inflammation at one year. many people experienced remission and some saw 100% visible healing of their intestinal lining. serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections may occur. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu like symptoms, or if you need a vaccine. healing is possible with tremfya. ask your doctor about tremfya today i had eight utis in one year. >> this inspi

i'm kasie hunt. don't go anywhere. cnn news central starts right now. with the word from the white house this morning on those mysterious drone sightings over new jersey. >> there's no problem. don't tell that, though, to local lawmakers and residents who still don't know who's behind the aircraft hovering over their communities. they want answers and action from the federal government. >> one of the suspected killers last known messages to friends now surfacing as police reveal new details about the search warrants just executed in the case. >> and this morning, a 125 year old rivalry. >> that's me, john and sarah. just kidding, is now getting ready for the next big battle. army, navy. the game is about to go down. i'm kate baldwin with john berman and sara sidner. this is cnn news central this morning, the white house is downplaying concerns over a growing mystery in the skies. >> scores of drones spotted flying at night over new jersey, sparking growing fear and outrage. so far, there are no explanations as to what they are or where they are coming f

. >> cnn this morning with kasie hunt tomorrow at 5:00 eastern. >> brand new tonight.ge juan merchan denying president elect donald trump's request to throw out his 34 felony count conviction for falsifying records to cover up a sex scandal. saying the evidence presented in the case was not related to trump's official conduct and therefore not covered under the supreme court's immunity decision. keeping trump's criminal conviction that is, for now, at least. joining me now, cnn senior legal analyst elie honig. elie, good to see you. look, the trump team is saying in a statement that it's a direct violation of the supreme court's decision on immunity to hold this way. is it? >> well, we don't know, laura. i mean, it's not a surprise that judge merchan came out this way. he's really ruled against donald trump on virtually every issue of importance. but the important thing to keep in mind is the immunity decision actually came down after the whole trial was over. so what we are trying to do here, what the judge and the parties are trying to do here, is apply that supreme

i'm kasie hunt. it's wonderful to have you with us. pete hegseth defiant in the face of an uncertain confirmation fight in the senate. >> so do you feel confident after your meeting today to be confirmed? >> great meetings on that. with all the senators today. >> i feel confident. >> we feel confident every day that confidence set to be tested again today as trump's pick to lead the pentagon returns to capitol hill later on. >> pete hegseth vowing to fight like hell as he tries to win over republican senators made skeptical by multiple reports alleging that he engaged in sexual misconduct financial mismanagement and abused alcohol. pete hegseth has denied all wrongdoing. yesterday mounted a public defense in an interview with fellow former fox host megyn kelly i've never had a drinking problem. >> i don't i'm never no one's ever approached me and said, oh, you, you should really look at getting help for a drink. never. i've never sought counseling, never sought help. >> last night, the washington post reporting this quote at fox news,

your list when you want up to 60% off gifts that say, i get you, etsy has it cnn this morning with kasie hunt. >> tomorrow at 5:00 eastern. >> tonight the tweets, the next white house press secretary did not want donald trump to see a kfile investigation finding karoline leavitt deleted two posts involving january 6th, one praising capitol police and another praising mike pence, praising mike pence for upholding the 2020 election results. andrew kaczynski joins me now. all right andrew, tell me more about what you found. >> well, that's right, we found multiple posts that she had deleted on january 6th. >> in the aftermath of that riot that she had sent. one of them praised vice president mike pence for certifying the election. the other praised a capitol hill police officer. and i want to run people through both of them and talk about the significance of it. now, let's take a look here at this pence one first, where she's retweeting someone. this is on her feet. she took it off. it says, love him or hate him. he kept the wheels of democracy moving and pushed forward to certify his own l