rene marsh, cnn, washington. >>> coming up, this week's art is life. an artist inspired by the faces of black children use their work to make us reflect on how society sees them. >>>ier this hour, i told you the story of the 10-year-old arrested in mississippi, a child treated like an adult. debra robertss is influence floounsed by the stories of black children. or another shot in the head after ringing the wrong doorbell. she wants to remind us that they are children and we should not treat them like adults. >> i'm debra roberts. i'm in austin, texas. i'm a mixed media visual artist. i use a lot of found images, cut out pieces of paper, printed paper and i take those things and create a face from that. so it's like humanity makes meets humanity. use girls wean 8 and 12. we talk about all sorts of things. just identity politics, stereotypes, sexuality, everything. i'm influenced by what happened in the news. in particular, black boys and girls and how they are perceived in the world. a black child's face, that's someone they should shoot, i want them t

let's talk to cnn correspondent rene marsh about their argument against this new law. ne. >> penguin random house is saying this is a violation of freedom of speech under the first amendment of the constitution and a violation of the 14th amendment that calls for equal protection under the law. the publisher is saying, look, every book is not for every person. as a large publisher, they put out a wide range of books from a wide range of authors with diverse backgrounds, thoughts, and ideas. they say that's what democracy is all about, and that the government shouldn't be deciding about what eat appropriate for students to read. that should be in the hands of teachers and librarians. ohio's republican governor is responding to this lawsuit, and she says, quoting, "protecting children from pornography and sexually explicit content should not be controversial." but penguin random house might say that statement is a bit disingenuous. they point out in their lawsuit that a lot of books they have published has already, as a result of this law, been removed from schools or tar

as cnn's renee marsh reports, the delay has some critics crying foul. >> we are extremely outraged. >> reporter: anger and disappointment from the naacp directed at the biden administration for slow walking a ban on menthol flavored cigarettes. for decade, tobacco companies have aggressively targeted minority communities with marketing and it's been effective. more than 83% of black smokers choose menthol, and black people die at significantly higher rates of smoking related illnesses. >> if you don't ban menthol flavor, you're sending a clear message that black lives do not matter. it raises a real question, is this a discriminatory act by this administration to neglect the health concerns of the african american commute? >> reporter: government schedules show on november 20th, top administration officials met with prominent black leaders and representatives, including an executive with al sharpton's network and stakeholders and lobbyists, including former congressman g.k. butterfield, now a lobbyist. all opposed the ban saying it that lead to an illicit market. >> it's becoming a po

rene marsh for one. thank you very much.ll be right back. >>> finally tonight, one of the israeli military's biggest targets is a top hamas leader in gaza accused of being a mastermind behind the october 7th assault. brian todd has a look at his background. >> reporter: one of israel's top targets, the man they call the face of evil, hamas's highest leader. top official leaders have sounded very confident that they'll kill him saying their forces have encircled his house in southern gaza. >> translator: his house is not his fortress and he can escape but it's only a matter of time before we get him. >> reporter: without elaborating, israeli officials believe he is underground. such is the existence of the 61-year-old. analysts say as one of hamas's top masterminds of the october 7th attacks. >> he to israel is what bin laden is to the united states. i think the israelis will do the same and it will not end until they get sinwar. >> reporter: he was arrested by the israelis for the murder of two israelis and four palestinians

rene marsh, cnn, washington. >>> a top u.s. law enforcement official is sounding the alarm about the number of terror threats that are elevated right now. the director of the fbi chris christopher wray told a senate committee that the agency is following a drumbeat of foreign terror threats since hamas' attack on israel. >> we're working around the clock to identify and disrupt potential attacks by those inspired by hamas' horrific terrorist attacks in israel. i've never seen a time where all the threats or so many of the threats are all elevated all at exactly the same time. >> would you say that there is multiple blinking red lights out there? >> i see blinking lights everywhere i turn. >>> there are only a few weeks until the iowa caucuses, the very first event in the primary calendar leading up to the 2024 presidential election. jeff zeleny spoke with iowa republicans who voted for trump in the past but now are looking to someone different. >> reporter: sally hoffman has been thinking and praying about the republican presid

cnn's rene marsh has more. >> reporter: it is really a nice neighborhood. it canyon in migrant turned texas entrepreneur knew that this was a stream hold the moment he thought. it is a highly sought after school district that his son so desperately wanted to attend for its basketball program. how many homes did you look at before you found this one is that this was? it >> about sex. but this was the one that we all wanted. we were all praying to get this one. >> reporter: his first choice for his mortgage was navy federal credit union, its services military members, defense personnel, veterans, and their families and is the largest credit union in the country. >> i was ceo of my company, so ed pretty good income. >> reporter: your credit was in the 700, you had recently sold your health, you had $100,000 for the down payment, which was more than 20%? >> correct. what more could you ask for? >> reporter: cnn reviewed ohtani's financial documents. even out of letter from navy federal in hand. but two weeks before closing -- >> i got a denial. they sent me a l

rene marsh and her team is behind the reporting. what is behind this lawsuit? >> good morning, kate. it is filed by three law firms, including civil rights law firm attorney ben crump who is saying it is seeking broad range of plaintiffs including minority applicants who applied for federal navy residential loans from 2018 to present and had their applications denied, and proved at higher interest rates or subject to less favorable terms compared to non-minority applicants as well as those who had the application process drag on and take unusually long. one of the attorneys behind the suit says that the goal is to obtain justice for black and latino borrowers who were denied their piece of the american dream. since our report, we have learned that navy federal has hired a civil rights attorney to review the mortgage practices, and coming out of washington, d.c., here, congresswoman maxine waters who is the ranking democratic member of the housing services committee called on navy federal to explain both to congress and the members how such practices took place,

rene marsh brought us this story last week. this came after your reporting. tell me about the legal fallout. >> this is the largest credit union, three law firms filed this suit including civil rights attorney benjamin crump's law firm. they filed it on sunday in federal court in virginia. they are arguing in this lawsuit that navy federal credit union uses discriminatory practices against black and latino borrowers. this, again, a direct result of cnn's investigation found that this credit union had the widest disparity of many of the major lending institutions when it came to who they approved and denied for these conventional mortgage loans. now, within this lawsuit, they say that navy federal's claims of community support are meaningless in the face of its actions, systemic discrimination in housing in violation of federal law. those are the words within this lawsuit. navy federal credit union. we reached out to them today in light of this, have not heard back from them yet. when we reported the story last week, they said they are committed to fair lendin

joining me now is rene marsh. what's happening so far in the hearing? >> we're about two hours into this hearing. the goal today for lawmakers is really to hold these campus leaders accountable as these anti-semitic incidents explode on school campuses. now these three university presidents, as you mentioned, from harvard, m.i.t. and the univsity of pennsylvania, at times have felt like they were facing a public shaming from especially from republican chairwoman of the committee virginia fox. she told them, and i'm quoting, anti-semitism and hate are among the poisoned fruit of your institutions' cultures. here's more from fox to all throw of those university presidents just earlier today. >> you have the courage to truly confront and condemn the ideology driving ant antisemimichigan, or will you offer weak, blame-shifting excuses in yet another responsibility dodging task force? that's ultimately the most important question for you to confront in this hearing. >> as you know, harvard, m.i.t. and upenn have been criticized for condemning this rhetoric.

renee marsh, thank you so much. horrible. horrible story. >>> coming up next, one of the most daring assignments of any journalist in the israel-hamas war. cnn's clarissa ward and her team. the first western media to access southern gaza without being escorted by the israeli military. the overwhelming scenes she witnessed. that's coming up.. >>> welcome to "the lead." i'm jake tapper. this hour, $48 million. that's how much two georgia election workers want rudy giuliani to pay up for smearing their good names. jury deliberations are under way right now after giuliani abruptly declined to take the stand in his own defense. >>> plus, the planned attack for a mass shooting at a synagogue back in september. court documents obtained by cnn show the suspect was just 13 years old. >>> and leading this hour, we're about to show you the first look from an independent journalist, not one minded by the idf or living in fear of hamas, of what is actually going on in gaza right now. cnn's clarissa ward and her team gained access to bring

cnn's remit rene marsh has more. >> >> bob --, a kenyan immigrant turned texas entrepreneur, knew thishis dream home the moment he saw it. it's in a highly sought after school district that his son so desperately wanted to attend for its basketball program. >> so how many homes did you look at before you found this one and said this was at? >> we look at about six. but this was the one that we all wanted. we were all trying to get this. >> -- his first choice for his mortgage was navy federal credit union. its services military members, defense personnel, veterans, and their families. and it is the largest credit union in the country. >> i was the ceo of my company. so, i had a pretty good income. >> your credit was in the seven hundreds. you had recently sold your house. you had $100,000 for the down payment, which was more than 20%. >> correct. i mean, -- >> cnn reviewed -- financial documents. he even had a pre-approval letter from navy and hand. but just two weeks before closing. >> we got denied. >> they sent me a letter saying we are sorry, but your application has been denied. >

are rene marsh joins us with more. what's happening? >> good morning, poppy and phil there is this anger and outrage from groups like the naacp and a long list of public health organizations after this delay was announced despite the fda's and the health and human services support for this men that will ban. the cdc says that menthol flavor makes cigarettes more addictive. the tobacco industry has aggressively marketed to minority communities. 80% of black smokers chauz them and black people die at significantly higher rates from smoking-related illnesses. so the naacp says failure to enact this ban would be discriminatory and they say that is the case because this had such an outsized health crisis in pact on the black community. take a listen. >> if you don't ban menthol flavor you are sending a clear message that black lives do not matter. if it's not banned it raises the question is this a discriminatory act by this administration to neglect the health concerns of the african american community. >> meantime, republicans see this as

joining us now is cnn's rene marsh.s new complaint alleging because that is a staggering disparity? >> it certainly is. -- >> reporter: this lawsuit, one of the attorneys behind it, a civil rights attorney benjamin crump, he is one of several firms involved in this suit filed in federal court in virginia over the weekend. the lawsuit says that navy federal essentially violated federal housing discrimination laws. this class action is aiming to represent a wide range of potential plaintiffs. people and minorities who try to get a loan, anywhere from 2018 to present, who may have been denied. who may have gotten a higher interest rate than was normal compared to others. for others -- or perhaps the process was delayed or dragged out unusually long compared to other applicants. this lawsuit says, and i am quoting here, while describing its corporate values, maybe federal claims it champions the community, but the claims of community support are meaningless in the face of its actions. the systemic discrimination in housing

cnn's rene marsh and her team's reporting led to this. what do we know about the class-action suit?> phil and poppy, these three law firms, including civil rights attorney ben crump's firm filed this suit in federal court in virginia this weekend. the lawsuit accuses navy federal of violating federal housing discrimination laws and the class-action suit is seeking to represent a broad range of potential plaintiffs, including minority applicants who applied for navy federal residential loans from 2018 to present and had their applications denied, approved at a higher interest rate or subject to less favorable terms compared to similar non-minority applicants as well as those whose applications were maybe processed at a much slower rate. one of the attorneys behind this suit says that the goal here is to simply obtain economic justice for black and latino borrowers who, in his words, says -- he says were denied their piece of the american cream. >> drum /* dream. >> how are he they responding? >> navy federal has not comment odd then lawsuit. when we first reported this story, the cre

cnn's rene marsh has this exclusive investigation. >> really a nice neighborhood, you know. >> reporter: bob atandi, a kenyan immigrant turned texas entrepreneur knew this was his dream home the moment he saw it. it's in a highly sought after school district that his son so desperately wanted to attend for its basketball program. so how many homes did you look at before you found this one and said this is it? >> we had about six. but this was the one that we all wanted. we were all praying to get this one. >> reporter: his first choice for his mortgage was navy federal credit union. it services military members, defense personnel, veterans and their families, and is the largest credit union in the country. >> i was ceo of my company. so i had a pretty good income. >> reporter: your credit was in the 700s. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: you recently sold your house. you had $100,000 for the down payment, which is more than 20%. >> correct. i mean, what more could you ask for? >> reporter: cnn reviewed his financial documents. he even had a preapproval letter from navy federal in hand. but just