let's go to cnn's, priscilla alvarez, who's at the white house for us. priscilla, what

priscilla, that part of the south is facing a risk of severe weather later tonight. >> reporter: that's right, jose. the city is at risk for damaging winds, hail, and a possible tornado with a watch in effect through midnight jose >> priscilla thompson in jackson, mississippi, thank you. and that same storm system is set to create major problems then north east in the next 24 hours. meteorologist anglei lassman joins me >> jose, the flood alerts are already up for 15 million people stretching from maine down to washington, d.c. as this system works a little farther to the east. as we get into your sunday, all that moisture arrives for the eastern third of the country bringing potential for heavy rainfall, some snowfall, and on top of that the winds. those winds don't really ramp up sunday night into monday, but they stick around for the beginning of our workweek, and they can be intense at times. rainfall rates impressive, and that lead us to the potential for 3 to 4 inches of rain by the time this is all said and done snowfall up state new york and vermont, 10 to 15 inches, and those w

priscilla alvarez. thank you very much, we appreciate it. in the meantime, a new report out this morning is the latest evidence that the feds fight against inflation may be working. let's look at the numbers next. >> wayfair ceo has a holiday message for his workers. maybe they should try working longer hours. the online reaction, not very merry, perhaps? not surprising? >> yeah. not at all. sounds a little bottom but to me. >> sure does. we will have that next. cnn news central. now to other headlines. we're watching the russian opposition leader, alexei navalny, has missed two more scheduled court hearings according to his team's. it adds to his fears further his health and safety. they're offering an award for information about his whereabouts. the putin critic has been missing for more than two weeks. the kremlin told reporters that they have neither the ability nor intention to monitor the fate of prisoners. prosecutors in idaho have proposed a summer 2024 start date for brian kohberger's murder trial. he's accused of murdering four stu

. >> cnn's priscilla alvarez joins me now. priscilla, trump is set to take the stage at this rally in nevada at any moment now. what is the white house expecting in terms of responding to this kind of rhetoric that we're seeing from trump? >> reporter: well, they're calling it for what they see it as, which is dangerous. and in a statement to cnn, a white house spokesperson said the following about trump's remarks just yesterday, saying, quote,ek koering the grotesque rhetoric of fascist and violent white supremacists and threatening to oppress those who disagree with the government are dangerous attacks on the dignity and rights of all americans, on our democracy, and on public safety. it's the opposite of everything we stand for as americans. this has been the message from the white house and from the biden campaign, and the president himself, in private events with donors, has condemned his predecessor's language on immigration as well, likening it to nazi terminology. and the white house and the biden campaign have repeate

our reporter priscilla alvarez is here. what specifically will the secretary asked of the mexican president? >> reporter: u.s. officials prepared a series of measures they want mexicans to take to drive down the number of border crossings at the u.s. southern border. for example, moving migrants out, at the mexico northern border to decongestant area as well as controlling roadways which are often used to more quickly get to the u.s. southern border. providing incentives like visas so that migrants remain in the country, and not travel up to the u.s. southern border. clearly it's an urgent issue not only because of the numbers but also because of who the president is sending to have these talks. this is an extension of the president biden call with mexican president andres manuel lopez obrador. last week both agreed that additional enforcement was urgently needed. eric kay of state antony blinken, homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas and homeland security advisor liz sherwood-randall in the talks that will happen

priscilla, let's begin with you. this is a strong rebuke from the white house. what else is president biden and the white house saying? >> it's a strong rebuke and it's in line with where they have been on the comments of making a stark contrast, as to the biden vision when it comes to immigration and that of his predecessor, former president donald trump. the white house released a statement this morning, and in that statement, white house spokesperson san drew bates said the following, quote, echoing the grotesque rhetoric of fascist and white supremacists and threatening to oppress those who disagree with the government, is a threat on our democrats and public safety. it is the opposite of everything we stand for as americans. this white house statement following that of the campaign just yesterday where they invoked, as you mentioned earlier, adolf hitler, kim jong un and vladimir putin. so making very clear here the campaign stance, the white house stance when it comes to the former president and what he's saying on immigration. it's not the first time that

. >> cnn's priscilla alvarez is in washington. this is a strong rebuke from the white house. what will is it appeared the president saying? >> reporter: that's right, fred. the white house saying it's similar to other authoritarian regimes, but the white house slamming the former president for his comments on immigration yesterday. in a statement this morning, a white house spokesperson saying echoing the grotesque rhetoric, and threat then not who disagree with the government are -- and on public safe. it is the opposite of everything we stand for as americans. that has been the resounding message from the white house, and from the biden campaign. in marking the stark contrast between president biden and his predecessor, former president donald trump on the issue of immigration. of course, this is all delicate as border security and immigration have been liabilities for president biden going into the 2024 president y58 election. in opportunities like this one, the white house making it chlorothat what the former president is saying here is dangerous. president biden had actu

priscilla alvarez is at the white house who talks to administration officials. priscilla just wrapped up what you can tell us about what took place? >> john, that's right. this was an hours long meeting. it ended moments ago. it came at a critical time as though moving question over these meetings were what does the next phase of the israeli hamas conflict look like, especially the ground operation that israel is engaged in in gaza. now, as you mentioned, ron dermer is a close confidant to the confidant to israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. he's a member of the war cabinet. he was also israel's ambassador to the u.s., previously under netanyahu as well. so, is you're up to this point has assured the u.s. that it plans to move towards a low intensity war. this means more precise military operations targeting hamas leadership. but, they have not offered a timeline as to what this looks like and. when, now u.s. officials have said that they have anticipated that localized operations would happen sometime in january. but, again, u.s. fiddles have not been ab

the election interference case as our new poll finds the former president surging in iowa here's priscilla thompson. >> reporter: tonight, special counsel jack smith asking the supreme court to decide if former president trump is immune from prosecution. for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election because he committed the alleged crimes while in office the high court agreeing to consider whether to hear the case on an expedited basis. trump, tonight, calling the case completely politically motivated. 2024, who's your candidate? >> trump, only trump. >> reporter: only trump? >> no other option >> reporter: insurance agent ken mason says trump's legal woes won't matter on election night even with all those legal challenges, you believe a majority of the country will vote for former president trump? >> i will, because of his accomplishments. >> reporter: mason is part of the 51% of likely iowa caucus goers who say trump is their top pick, up eight points from october, according to a new nbc news des moines register mediacom poll, it's the largest lead ever in this poll, this close to a comp

>> priscilla thompson for us, thank, you priscilla, appreciate it.er at the center of the renewed fight for abortion in texas spoke to nbc nightly news last night. just hours -- before she put on a judges order to allow her to have an emergency abortion. >> it's a hard time. even with, you know, being hopeful with the decision that came from the hearing this morning, they're still going through the loss of a child. there's no outcome here that i take home my healthy baby girl. so, it's hard. just grief. >> so, texas attorney general, ken paxton appealed that ruling to the state supreme court. that would've allowed cox to have the abortion. now kate's fight to protect her own health, it continues. we spoke to her lawyer, molly dwayne, in our last hour. she had this to say. >> what we heard last night is that they were temporarily putting the ruling on hold. while they considered more. the reality is, when we're talking about life sensitive, time sensitive health care like an abortion, every minute, every hour counts. so, she's trying to remain hopeful

we're going to begin at the white house with priscilla alvarez. priscilla, you can walk us through the details of this meeting between secretary of state antony blinken and amlo. >> that's right, boris. these are the highest ranking officials engaged in the meetings as the u.s. seeks more help from mexico. and they want to see a series of measures taken by mexico to drive down those numbers. officials tell me that that includes, for example, moving migrants that are in the northern border of mexico further south to did congest the area and controlling railways where migrants use to quickly get to the u.s. southern border and also providing incentives for migrants to remain in mexico and not make their way up to the border. now this all comes as an extension to the call that president biden held with mexican president andres manuel lopez obrador last week where the two agreed that additional enforcement was urgently needed. the u.s. has often leaned on mexico in moments of crisis to stem the flow. that's what they're looking for to provide relief t

priscilla, what's the latest there? >> alicia, where in madison, just ahead of nashville, and these are the scenes we're seeing here. this is one of the hardest hit areas. you see that home back there, the roof taken off, part of it, the walls gone, you can literally see into what was once a bedroom, perhaps, and this is some of the damage that we are seeing up and down this street. nashville officials say that there are 22 structures that were destroyed, and there are countless others that are very badly damage. you mentioned six people that tragically lost their lives -- just a few hundred feet -- one mobile home was flown on top of the other by this tornado. you mentioned that toddler, i actually spoke with the father of that two year old toddler who lost his son and his wife in one of those mobile homes. he told me that it all happened so quickly, that all he heard was a lot of screaming, and when he opened the door, he didn't hear his wife's screams. and he was worried that she may be gone. i want to play a little

let's get started with priscilla alvarez on the north lawn of the white house. what more are you learning about the strikes directed by president biden? >> reporter: well, the strikes followed earlier strikes in the day that wounded three americans in northern iraq, one of whom according to the white house is in critical condition. now, the president was immediately briefed following that strike. and later in the day, this was yesterday, the defense secretary presented the president options and that is when the president ordered the strike. now, according to a statement from the white house they said, quote, during that call, the president directed his strikes against three locations, utilized by kataib hezbollah and affiliated groups focused specifically on unmanned aerial drone activities. the statement goes on to say that the president places no higher priority than the protection of american personnel serving in harm's way. the united states will act at a time and in a manner of our choosing, should the attacks continue. now, u.s. central command has since s

here's priscilla thompson >> this is maple >> reporter: seven-month-old australian shepherd maple was a happy healthy puppy. until her owner adriana noticed a cough. >> she's coughing pretty much every other minute >> reporter: as maple's cough grew even worse, adriana panicked and rushed to the vet. >> i was really scared >> reporter: maple was sent home with antibiotics. the vet told adriana the symptoms were likely caused by the mysterious respiratory illness plaguing dogs across the country >> i would say that there's probably more that we don't know than what we know, which is frustrating >> reporter: at texas a&m college of veterinary medicine dr. kate aicher began studying the illness after seeing a rash of cases in the spring, including her own puppy. >> what should dog owners be looking out for? >> something like discharge with the eye, a soft cough, like actually just what he just did >> reporter: an online data base shows dog owners are now reporting suspected cases in 37 states, with at least a dozen deaths the cause of the surge in cases, experts say, could include a new

any progress on those talks, priscilla? >> that is going to be a topic of did us cushion with a senior u.s. officials and ron dernor today. so far no resolution on this pront and it's been difficult for u.s. officials to provide much clarity as they still do not know all the conditions of the hostages, nor where they are. israel had proposed another pause in fighting in exchange for the release of hostages similar to what was done before, and that would include women who are still held hostage by hamas in gaza. but that did not come to fruition. what we know is that u.s. officials and qatari officials have been in close touch. qatar serving as a mediator. the president speaking with the emir today. >> will, to you, there's this proposal from egypt and hamas is already rejecting that proposal, right? >> yes. according to righters, hamas and the palestinian islamic jihad have rejected an offer by egypt or proposal to end this war. basically it would involve a plan that would release all the israeli hostages, all the palestini

let's go to cnn's, priscilla alvarez, who's at the white house for us.illa, what is the biden administration expected come out of these meetings? >> well, two key issues at the forefront, that being the conflict that's unfolding in gaza, but also the release of hostages. as you mentioned there, it's a critical time, as the u.s. looks for israel to move away from its high intensity war, as that death toll grows in gaza. so, rhonda armor will be meeting with secretary of state, antony blinken, and national security adviser, jake sullivan, this afternoon. he is a close confidant of israel's benjamin netanyahu, and he's also a member of the war cabinet and previously israel ambassador to the united states. israel has assured the united states previously that it plans to move towards a lower intensity war, more precise strategy that targets hamas leadership. but there hasn't been a timeline as to when that will happen. u.s. officials have previously said that they would expect those localized operations to happen in january. but again, publicly, we haven't re

priscilla alvarez is at the white house where talks with administration officials just wrapped up. what can you tell us? >> reporter: this was an hours long meeting that ended moments ago and it came at a critical time. what is the next phase look like, especially, the ground operation that israel is engaged in in gaza, as you mentioned, ron dermer is a close confidant to the israeli prime minister , he's a member of the war cabinet and he was israel's ambassador to the u.s. under benjamin netanyahu as well, now, israel, up to this point has assured the u.s. that it plans to move toward a low intensity war, that means more precise military operations targeting hamas leadership. they haven't offered a timeline as to what that looks like and when. officials have said they have anticipated that localized operations would happen sometime in january but publicly, u.s. officials have not been able to offer much more in detail beyond that so going into these meetings, officials including the secretary of state and national security advisor sullivan, they were going into this, wanting to s

priscilla alvarez, we understand blinken will be in mexico.t that they're hoping to get out of the leadership of mexico? >> well, they want more help and that's what the u.s. does in moments of crisis. they lean on mexico to get them to help them drive down the number of border crossings into the united states and the urgency is quite clear here given who it is that's doing the meeting. secretary of state antony blinken and homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas meeting with the mexican president as well as some members of his cabinet. officials tell me that some of the requests that they'll bring to the table include, for example, moving migrants who are on the northern border, as you mentioned, south to decongest that area. controlling the railways which migrants use to the u.s. southern border as well as providing incentives like visas for migrants to remain in mexico and that continue to the u.s.-southern border and all of of this is an extension to the president where both agreed that additional enforcement is needed. over the las

. >> cnn's priscilla alvarez is joining us now. heard those words, we feel ignored and you hear that from democrats and republicans who are leaders up and down the border. what is the white house hoping to achieve as their top officials are going to mexico? >> there's no doubt, sara, that this has been an incredibly complicated issue for the white house to navigate as they get heat from both sides. now they are going to mexico to try to get help from mexico to drive down these border numbers and the urgency is clear by who is going. secretary of state antony blinken and homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas will meet with the mexican president as well as some members of his cabinet. officials tell me they're coming with requests and those include, for example, moving migrants who are at mexico's northern border south to decongest that area, controlling the railways which are often used by migrants to get to the u.s. southern border and providing incentives like visas for migrants to remain in mexico and not to continue up

priscilla alvarez is at the white house for us. priscilla, what are you learning about the meetings today? >> reporter: well, kate, this comes at a critical time as the white house talks to israel about being more precise in not targeting innocent civilian casualties. now, of course, ron dermer is a close confidante to netanyahu, a member of the war cabinet. he's also previously israel's ambassador to the united states. now, u.s. officials have previously said that israel has assured them they're going to move from a high intensity war to low intensity, have more of a precise strategy in targeting hamas leadership, again, to contain the innocent -- the deaths of innocent civilians. also, the u.s. is saying that they don't really have a timeline they can share for that. u.s. officials have previously said that might look like localized operations by january, but they haven't said much more than that, and providing additional details into what this next phase looks like and when that will happen. that is going to be a topic of discus

priscilla alvarez is a at the white house. as we wait for the president, what are you hearing about the specifics of what he's going to say? >> he's expected to take an urgent tone and pushing for the supplemental request in making the play he's made from the beginning that this is not just about assisting israel and ukraine, but also is unhertzed for national security of the u.s. he's likely to make the warning that his officials have made over the course of the last few days. the office of management and budget saying that without congressional action, we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for ukraine and provide equipment for u.s. military stock. we're likely to see an extension of that in the remarks, which are expected momentarily. to refind viewers, the president has come out to push for the supplemental request to push for total breaking it down. it's $61 billion for ukraine and $14 billion for israel. he made a the call for the naugs in october when this was first introduced. he's gone to t

priscilla thompson, nbc news, college station, texas. >>> we have more to tell you about. coming up, saving the most vulnerable babies of gaza. the critical mission. >>> plus the deadly eruption of a volcano and the search for missing climbers. next. - oh, so many medicare plans. - that's why you're comparing all in one plans all in one place with ehealth. - oh, hey. - based on what we talked about, your doctor. - my pharmacy. - your budget. - my medications. - you have a match. - whoa, how is all this a free service? - insurance companies pay us to find you a match. - you really are a medicare matchmaker. - i'm gonna use that. - thanks for the help. - [announcer] call or visit ehealth.com. salonpas, makers of powerful pain relief patches for 89 years... believes in continuous improvement... like rounded corners that resist peeling, with an array of active ingredients... and sizes to relieve your pain. salonpas. it's good medicine. my mom's alzheimer's never changed how much we love her. but it did change her. she developed agitation that may happen with dementia due to al

and that is where we find nbc's priscilla thompson out with more on this. will, take us, what you are seeing, devastation the community has faced? >> reporter: yes, yasmin. let me give you a sense of that. you can see the devastation behind me. there's actually a tractor here that's getting ready to come through and clear all of this out. but let me give you a sense of where we are standing. there were three people who tragically lost their lives in these tornadoes here in madison, tennessee. last night, 37 year old joseph dalton, 31-year-old perez, and her two-year-old son anthony mendez. and this is where that happened. so, dalton's trailer, right there where you see those steps, actually rolled on to the perez home and that is how that two year old and that woman were killed. and this is sort of what is left of their home. and i just spoke to the husband of that woman and the father of that two year old. he says that there was a bunch of people in this home when that happened. they heard a lot of screaming, a lot of noise, as all of this happened. and he

joining me now from jackson, mississippi, nbc's priscilla thompson. , priscilla good to talk to you. what are you seeing so far and how are folks preparing for the storm? >> yeah, yasmin, right now things in jackson, mississippi, are fairly calm. that could change in the next several hours as this city is among the 13 million people across the south from kentucky to texas that are under the severe weather watches for a potential of damaging winds up to 70 miles per hour. heavy rain and also the golf ball sized hail. even tornadoes with, as you mentioned, tornado watches already in effect for arkansas, mississippi, tennessee and kentucky and certain parts of those states. so this weather is coming as we are seeing this video from the west, where they are digging out from massive snow that they got with parts of utah getting as much as 33 inches. you showed that video, the dash cam video, where that man veered into the lane of a state trooper and the two almost collided. thankfully they did not. those are some of the conditions that they were dealing with in places like utah, colorado,

priscilla thompson, nbc news, charleston. >> priscilla, thank you very much. >>> this week we highlightasa crew blasted off from florida's kennedy space center in the shuttle "atlantis." >> three, two, one, zero and liftoff. >> cleave was a flight engineer on that mission, operating the shuttle's robotic arm. a native of great neck, new york, cleave was fascinated by flying from the time she was a child. in fact, as a teenager, she got her pilot's license before her driver's license. after earning her doctorate, cleave was working as a research engineer in utah when she heard nasa was looking for scientists to go into space. in 1980 she applied and was accepted. three years later, she was in mission control communicating with sally ride as ride became the first woman ever to travel in space. two years after that, cleave was in orbit herself. less than two months after returning from that first flight, cleave lost her good friend and fellow astronaut judith resnick when "the challenger" exploded, but she was determined to go back into space. and in 1989, she did, on a four-day mission, a

welcome priscilla! how are things looking right there?'ve got short sleeves on so it's kind of warm? >> well, alex, it is warm. the sun was out earlier. it is looking pretty good here for now but that is going to change heading into the afternoon and the evening at the severe storms move throughout the south. we are expecting damaging wind gust, potentially golf ball-sized hail and the possibility of a tornado or two. that will be impacting lots of places across the south from kentucky to texas. some 13 million people at risk for the severe weather in places like memphis, nashville, little rock, in birmingham. as you mentioned it is coming as parts, cities, west are digging out from massive snowfall. parts of utah saw 33 inches over the past several days. it did cause a lot of havoc on the roads including that dramatic video you showed of this state trooper just narrowly missing that van as it slid into their lane. unfortunately there was also an 18 car pileup in colorado. certainly some safety concerns. thankfully, no deaths that we have

we sent nbc's priscilla thompson to iowa to find out.lso with us, matthew dowd, former chief strategist for bush, cheney, 2004. you went to a watch party. did voters see anything that would make them want to switch support? >> reporter: i watched the debate with two dozen iowa republicans and independents, and after it was over, that was the exact question i asked them. did anything you saw on that stage last night make you change your mind, and not a single hand in that room went up. it feels like at this point there are a lot of voters who are already pretty dug in on who they'll be supporting. i want to play a little bit of some of those conversations. >> i thought there were a lot of fireworks going on. it was interesting to watch the candidates interact, and trump is still the winner. >> vivek is the splashiest. >> trump wins again, but we love vivek. >> my ideal would be trump/vivek ticket because vivek would be the ideal assassination insurance for trump. if they took trump out, they would get trump squared in vivek. >> reporter:

priscilla thompson, and tara setmayer, thank you.ley parker you're going o'stick around. >>> we're following two big stories with potentially mass political implications. the former speaker of the house said he is leaving congress. >>> former president trump's legal trouble in georgia might just have gotten more complicated. that new report saying his former vice president is on the witness list. we'll explain in 60 seconds. list we'll explain in 60 seconds. a few years ago, i came to saona, they told me the no electricity on the island. we always thought that whatever we did here would be an emblem of what small communities can achieve. trying to give a better life to people that don't have the means to do it. si mi papá estuviera vivo, sé que él tuviera orgulloso también de vivir de esta viviendo una vida como la que estamos viviendo ahora. es electricidad aquí es salud. >>> former house speaker kevin mccarthy is leaving congress before his term is up and just two months after he was ousted as speaker. here's part of his announceme

. >> cnn's priscilla alvarez joins -- a very delicate issue for president, which means it's a very delicate issue for the white house and for his re-election campaign. >> reporter: exactly right, dana. when asked about this, they decline to comment, which has been their approach over the last few months. instead, the white house and the campaign have pointed to hunter biden's attorneys' statement. in that statement yesterday, the attorney said, if hunter's last name was anything other than biden, the charges in delaware and now california would not have been brought. now, these charges, these counts include, for example, failure to file and pay taxes, evasion of assessment, and filing a false, fraudulent tax return. now, president biden, when he's approached the issue of hunter biden, has been quite personal in saying that his son has his love and support. he's also kept him close. we have seen hunter at events at the white house as well as in family events. but the thinking inside of the campaign is really that this issue, this of hunter biden and these ongoing cases, doesn't resonate with

negotiations continue today at the white house. >> thank you, priscilla.ted. >>> and now, today, a win for the trump legal team as there is a pause on the subversioion cac against t him. what thahat could mean abobout case agagainst him. . first time i connected with kim, she told me that her husband had passed. and that he took care of all of the internet connected devices in the home. i told her, “i'm here to take care of you.” connecting with kim... made me reconnect with my mom. it's very important to keep loved ones close. we know that creating memories with loved ones brings so much joy to your life. a family trip to the team usa training facility. i don't know how to thank you. i'm here to thank you.

police s priscilla alvarez, cnn, the white house. >>> former u.s.dent donald trump is once again lashing out to immigrants coming into the u.s. at a campaign rally in new hampshire on saturday, he railed against migrant crossing at the u.s./mexico border, cnn has the details. >> reporter: former president donald trump returns to the granite state for the first time in a month, continuing a ramp-up of political activity in the coming week before voters cast ballots in the presidential primary. during those months, president trump continued the dark and what civil rights groups have said about zxenophobia. >> they've poisoned mental institutions and prisons across the world, not just in south america, or the three or four we think about, but all over the world from africa and arab, they're pouring into our country. for former president trump who focused on the campaign visits have convinced his supporters not to be complacent. they know that they're leading in the polls. there's been a lot of coverage how much they're leading in the polls and they don

priscilla alvarez joins me now from the white house. what is the white house doing now to try to salvage this and make some kind of deal? is that even possible? >> reporter: put simply, it's trying to find some sort of some promiez, which the president is open torks according to his remarks yesterday. sources tell me that the white house telegraphed to negotiators what they might be open to. that includes two key issues raising the credible fear standard for asylum seekers, but also casting a wider net of undocumented immigrants for a procedure. that latter point being similar to what was attempted under the trump administration. this was unlikely to sit well with allies who see this as reducing the number of migrants who might be eligible for asylum and putting more migrants on track to be deported more quickly. but the reality of the white house is facing here is that the situation on the ground is dire. they are facing more than 10,000 encounters daily. and that alone stresses federal resources. so all of this just puts a very politi

priscilla alvarez, cnn, at the white house. >>> recent polling shows biden is way behind donald trump when it comes to immigration and border security resp, an issue could jeopardize the re-election campaign. a poll conducted shows biden trails trump by 23 points on better handling of immigration. >>> nikki haley held a town hall thursday where she tried to set herself apart from the other republicans running for the white house. including the former president. she was confronted by an iowa voter who called on her to more strongly criticize trump. >> i want to hear from you that you also think that this is not good for the country and not good for the church and i want to support someone who agrees with that. >> i wouldn't be running if i didn't think that he is not the right person at the right time. i have said multiple times i don't think that it is good for the country for donald trump to become president again. i've made that very clear. >> gop presidential candidate ron desantis believes trump's legal woes have done damage to the republican party. the florida governor discussed

priscilla alvarez is at the white house for us. these meetings could be underway at any moment. what are we expecting out of them? >> reporter: this comes at a critical time as the u.s. looks for israel to move away from the high intensity war as the death toll grows in gaza. this, of course, being a significant meeting with a close confident of israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. he's a member of the war cabinet and served as ambassador to the united states. secretary of state antony blinken and national security adviser jake sullivan are participating in the meetings as they seek answers on the next phase of the israel hamas conflict looks like. israel assured the u.s. it plans to move towards a lower intensity war. more precise targeting of hamas leadership. it's unclear what the timeline looks like. previously they believed the localized operations would take place by january. it's unclear if that is happening. and if the next phase of the war has kicked into gear. senior israeli if i recalls throughout the course of the day today maintained there's no daylight betwee

. >> and we start on with priscilla alvarez who has more reporting from what is going on inside the whiteouse in advance of these talks. what is the administration looking for? >> reporter: this is telling who is going to max comexico to mar meeting. secretary of state antony blinken and secretary alejandro mayorkas coming with specific requests to drop the numbers. and that is according to officials moving migrants south on mexico's northern border and controlling railways often used by my grants to quickly get to the u.s. southern border and also providing incentives like visas to keep them from journeying to the u.s. southern border to begin with. bordering towns have been overwhelmed by the number of people arriving at the u.s./mexico border. and that has put more pressure on president biden to do more to try to manage the situation. and that is what he is looking to mexico to help with. and the u.s. has historically done this, they have lean order mexico in moments of crisis to help them with the numbers at the u.s. southern border. and they are hoping that with these asks, they can

. >>> cnn's priscilla alvarez is at the white house.omeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas was part of negotiations earlier today on, you know, a package deal that would involve immigration, aid to ukraine, as well as israel. what's the latest? >> reporter: well, these negotiations are still ongoing. the secretary having spent part of his time on the hill this week, including today to try to reach some type of consensus on border policy changes to be attached to this supplemental request. to remind viewers, this is a supplemental request the white house sent to capitol hill in october. it includes, for example, $61 billion for ukraine, $14 billion for israel, as well as funds for border security, among other priorities. and the president has repeatedly said to americans that this aid is critical not only for the security of these countries but also for u.s. national security. saying that without this aid, republicans are essentially kneecapping ukraine at a critical juncture. but what the president has also said is he's open to c

priscilla alvarez, cnn, the white house. >>> former u.s. president donald trump is once again lashing out at immigrants coming into the u.s. at a campaign event in new hampshire on saturday, he railed against migrant crossings at the u.s./mexico border which hit new highs in september. >> they are poisoning the blood of our country. that's what they have done. they have poisoned mental institutions and prisons all over the world. not just in south america or the three or four countries that we think about, but all over the world they are coming into our country from africa, from asia, all over the world they are pouring into our country. >> president biden's campaign reacted to that rhetoric saying trump is parroting adolf hitler. trump also quoted russian president vladimir putin and praised hungary's authoritarian leader viktor orban. >>> meanwhile the u.s. is experiencing its highest level of homelessness since the government began conducting its annual point in time count back in 2007. cnn correspondent camila bernal has more on this gr

priscilla alvarez is in washington with those details for you. >> reporter: senior u.s. officials meeting on tuesday with a close confidant of benjamin netanyahu. the hours long meeting comes as the u.s. looks for israel to move away from its high intensity war. now, ron durmer met with antony blinken and jake sullivan. the big question, what does the next face of the war look like. up until this point israel has assured the u.s. that it plans to transition to a low intensity war with a more precise military strategy, but they haven't offered a time line. so u.s. officials were looking for more information on that again as that death toll continues to rise in gaza. over the course of the day, officials were expressing confidence about the nature of the conversations between the u.s. and israel describing them as good and saying that the u.s. and israel are on the same page. but president biden is under increasing pressure over the destruction and devastation in gaza. and he said earlier this month that israel risks losing support on the international stage if it doesn't

we have priscilla alvarez at the white house for us. what is this meeting hoping to accomplish when we know in the background that the biden administration has been pointed with the israeli administration saying that you have to do better when it comes to trying to protect the officials in gaza. >> sara, you can expect it to be a serious point of discussion in the meetings. it is coming at a critical time, because the u.s. does want to see israel move away from the high intensity war that has led to thousands of deaths of innocent civilians. now, as you have mentioned, there ron dermer is going to be meeting with secretary of state antony blinken and national adviser jake sullivan and the confident of benjamin netanyahu of the war cabinet and israel's ambassador to the u.s. up to this point, israel has assured the u.s. that it has moved to a lower intensity war, and targeting hamas leadership, but there is not a time line for when they will move into that phase. and u.s. officials have previously said they will expect the localized oper

. >> priscilla, tell us a little bit about president biden's conversation with the president of mexico>> going into that call, the president needed to put pressure into the -- to drive down the number of migrants at the u.s. mexico border. we are learning just moments ago from national security council spokesperson, john kirby, that in that call, the two agreed that additional enforcement's who also noted that the secretary of state, antony blinken, homeland security -- alejandro mayorkas, and homeland security,, liz sherwood, randall will also go to mexico in the coming days to have further discussions with mexican officials. the u.s. has historically leaned on mexico for assistance when it comes to stemming the flow of migrants. that is what the u.s. is looking for here. additional assistance. as you heard from chicago, republicans are seizing on this on the u.s. mexico border. the texas governor has been sending migrants to democrat led cities. escalating nauta flying them to chicago. democratic officials have blasted the texas governor for doing this, as has the white house, it is

priscilla alvarez is live outside of the white house this morning, and this is something that the bidendministration can do without congress to help fund the war in israel and ukraine at the same time, and so, tell us more about what is actually in the order and how it might work. >> well, as you mentioned there, sara, the focus is on the secondary sanctions to go after the financial institutions, and the resounding message there being to disincentivize the type of behavior that furthering russia's ability in this war in a way that the senior administration official characterized it is that it is going to provide the u.s. a way to target institutions, goods, financial services in a more quote surgical way. so, again, it is strengthening the sanctions, but trying to fine tune them enough to crank it up on russia. the national security adviser jake sullivan said this in a statement. he said that the new sanction authorities will make clear to foreign financial institutions that facilitating significant transactions to the military bases will expose them to the sanctions risk, and we are s

priscilla alvarez joins me now. what's the white house saying about this dark rhetoric. >> reporter: the resounding message is that it's dangerous. we heard that from a white house spokesperson who said, quote, echoing the grotesque rhetoric of fascists and violent white supremacists and threatening to suppress those who disagree with the government are dangerous attacks on democracy. it's the opposite of everything we stand for as americans. president biden in private events with donors has also condemned his predecessor's language as he campaigns and said that his rhetoric is likened to nazi terminology. so we've heard this before from the president himself. and the white house and the biden campaign have repeatedly gone after and blasted the former president for his controversial immigration proposals should he take a second term. so far, the president himself issued his first statement through his re-election campaign condemning trump's travel ban on predominantly muslim countries, calling it, quote, cruel. but,

cnn's priscilla alvarez joins us now.do we expect the president to say potentially as he leaves knowing that some of his cabinet members are in mexico now trying to deal with this unprecedented crisis? >> reporter: well, the president has been coming under increasing pressure from border towns who are simply overwhelmed by this unprecedented surge. his senior u.s. officials will be going down to mexico with specific asks to have them drive down or at least help drive down the numbers at the u.s. southern border. it's clear just how urgent this is by who is going. his highest ranking officials including secretary of state antony blinken and homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas. now, officials tell me that these requests include the following, for example, move migrants in the northern border of mexico further south, also controlling railways used by migrants to more quickly get to the u.s. southern border and also providing incentives like visas for migrants to remain in mexico and not continue to regularly migra

cnn's priscilla alvarez is at the white house. what's the latest? >> reporter: the devil is really in the details. that is what they are still trying to hammer out. some negotiators, as you said, finishing their in-person meetings, but signaling there some progress. but work still needs to be done. earlier in the day, alejandro mayorkas met with those negotiators to continue to discuss all of that. now, sources tell me that there are main buckets here that they are working on, that includes raising the standard for asylum seekers, and expulsion authority without the chance to seek asylum, mandatory detention, a fast track deportation procedure sk and a parole authority that allows migrants to live in the u.s. temporarily on a case-by-case basis. these are all incredibly complicated issues, and it's a hard sell not only for republicans but also for democrats. members of the president's own party have taken issue with some of these concessions, saying that they echo the trump administration, but they're being pushed to embrace and support these polici

joining me now is priscilla alvarez from the white house. you covered this as closely or closer than anyone i know. you basically have been the one to explain everything to me about what's been going on at the board ere for the better part of several years now. when you talk to administration officials in washington in that building behind you, do they have a sense of anything they can do in the near term to deal with this? >> reporter: a lot of it is shoring up resources. that's the patchwork process they go through. but then in addition to that, it's looking for help from the regional partners. that's been the through line over the course of the biden administration is looking to partners to the south to help stem the flow of migrants, which come from multiple countries. there was a time when we were only talking about migrants coming from guatemala, and el salvador, not anymore. they come from venezuela, colombia, and that creates a lot of difficulty for this administration. so last week president biden called the mexico president to get

we have cnn white house reporter priscilla alvarez joining us with her new reporting .an you tell us about this and growing tension over his border concessions? >> reporter: these measures are testing his key allies who are going to be hitting the trail to sell his agenda, but what happens if that agenda starts to look like some of the trump era policies in tightening asylum or expelling migrants who are encountered at the u.s. southern border without the chance to seek asylum? but we knew going into 2024, and the campaign knows this, that the border security is a political liability for them. the polls show there is a dissatisfaction among voters over the president's handling of the u.s./mexico border, and the reality for the president over the last three years is is unprecedented migration in the western hemisphere but has landed at the u.s. southern border and strained federal resources and created challenges for his officials, but this leaning toward stricter measures is not sitting well with his progressive base, and you just have to look at some of what they are s

priscilla alvarez, thank you for that. let's talk more about this with retired army major journalist. i general, i want to talk to you first. we're going to talk to you about what is on the table with these discussions between the biden administration and this key confident. can they get somewhere, do you think, on having a sense of the next phase of the war being lower intensity and that being sooner as the u.s. wants it to be? >> i think so. look, israel is listening. especially to one party, and that's to the united states and this administration. they admire and respect israel. they admire and respect and are thankful for the support the united states has provided israel in this ongoing support. however, there are limitations, as we've seen. what israel is trying to do, is achieve an objective where they can go forward publicly and say mission accomplished or at least mission accomplished close enough. and then realizing there is work to be done. to stop the campaign that we've seen to date, which is heavy use of air s