i'm fredricka whitfield. thank you for joining us this saturday. right now 2,800 u.s. troops are on their way to the middle east, this as iran promises, quoting now, harsh revenge following a u.s. drone strike that killed their top general, qasem soleimani. this morning thousands mournes the commander during a funeral procession in baghdad. iraq's prime minister was among those in the crowd. iran's president, hassan rouhani met with soleimani's family. the general's daughter asking, quoting now, who will take revenge, unquote, for her father's death. rouhani replied, everyone. iran's ambassador to the united nations telling cnn's erin burnett that the strike on soleimani was an act of war. >> they started a military war by assassinating -- by an act of terror against one of our top generals. so what else can we expect iran to do? we cannot just remain silent. we have to act and we will act. >> meanwhile the u.s. is sending about 2,800 troops into the middle east and president trump and his administration are

. >> reporter: just across the cedar river, pastor frantz whitfield, the influential head of the mountmel baptist church is an outspoken advocatet for vice presioe biden. >> i think it's crucial you have to have the african american vote, if you're planning on winning the ite house. >> reporter: in 2016, pastor whitfield endorsed sanders, but this electio his priorities have shifted. >> one of the reasons why i decided to cnge my mind this go around is because we need somebody in the white house who' knows what t doing. someone o doesn't need on-the- job training, and i feel, again, that joe biden is that best choice. >> reporter: for whitfield and many democrats across the one priority numbe is beating trump. >> i'll accept any democratic selection, period. >> i will vote blue no matter who. >> i want whoever islectable. i want somebody who can beat donald trump. >> reporter: the problem is, no one really knows who that is. that's why many of this year iowa's caucus-goers are scared to commit. they're lookg beyond this state, stuck in the impossible calculus of figung out who can win

i'm fredricka whitfield. >>> we start with this breaking news from iraq where another iraqi air base, which houses u.s. troops, is hit with rocket fire just four days now after the last attack on the base in iraq. roughly 40 miles from baghdad. today's attack hit balad air base, which is about 47 miles away fromm al asad air base hit last week. the first attack was retaliation for killing qassem soleimani. arwa, neither of these attacks hit u.s. troops that we have heard of or contractors that are stationed there, but what is the latest on how this happened? >> reporter: well, look, first of all, it's worth noting that a attacks against these locations are fairly common. we do have official information of a number of mortar or rocket strikes happening at the al balad air base. at this stage no reports of casualties among u.s. forces or contractors there, but some injured among the iraqi security forces. remember, all of these locations also have iraqi security forces at them, and earlier we were up at the al

i'm fredricka whitfield. >>> right now house impeachment managers are meeting on capitol hill. the meeting comes as we're less than 48 hours away now before the senate impeachment trial of president donald j. trump. that trial is expected to get underway tuesday afternoon, but arguments are already being played out in the court of public opinion. last night house managers who essentially act as prosecutors in the trial delivered their brief, arguing why president trump should be removed from office, calling president trump's conduct -- i'm quoting now -- the framers' worst nightmare, end quote. the senate has to file their brief today, but some are already making their case. >> there is a reason for having impeachment, and those are we don't want to see presidents who are dishonest, we don't want to see presidents who abuse their power. that's all untrue. but when it comes up to creating the criteria for impeachment, we don't use terms like dishonesty or abuse or maladministration or malpractice. we have to focus in on specific criteria to avoid weaponization of impeachment. >>

i'm fredricka whitfield. the trump administration is still trying to explain why they killed qassem soleimani without congressional approval. mark esper still stands by the statement. >> i'm not going to discuss intelligence. what the president said he believed it probably could have been. he didn't cite intelligence. >> you said it was his belief but i guess the important matter here is, look, no one is disputing that soleimani poeds an existential threat to innocent people but the president came out and said he believed there was a threat to four embassies. were those four embassies alerted that there was a threat to them? >> all embassies were alerted. that's why we deployed additional troops to the region. i would rather be here, discussing this topic with you than going up to dover air force base and standing there while flagged-draped coffins come home and i have to explain to husbands and wives, sons and daughters why their service member died because i had information that could have prevented that fr

i'm fredricka whitfield. breaking news in hawaii.nding to a possible active shooter in diamond head, not far from waikiki beach on the island of oahu. according to our affiliate, two officers there have been killed. we'll have more on this in a moment. first, right now, in the nation's capital, house impeachment managers are meeting on capitol hill. the meeting comes as we're just now 48 hours before the senate impeachment trial of president donald j. trump begins. that trial is expected to get under way tuesday afternoon, but arguments are already being played out in

i'm fredricka whitfield. right now, thousands of u.s. troops are making their way to the middle east. a tense 48 hours after a u.s. strike killed a top iranian general in iraq, mourners are pouring into the streets of iraq and baghdad to honor iran's qasem soleimani and nine others who were killed thursday in baghdad. iran's ambassador to the united nations telling cnn's erin burnett that killing soleimani was an act of war. >> they started a military war by assassinating, by an act of terror against one of our top generals. so what else can we expect iran to do? we cannot just remain silent. we have to act and will act. >> president trump says the strike was aimed to prevent a war and that escalating tensions between the two nations. he defended his decision to kill soleimani at a rally last night. >> he was plotting attacks against americans but now we've ensured that his atrocities have been stopped for good. they are stopped for good. i don't know if you know what was happening, but he was planning a very

i'm fredricka whitfield.t's an important day on capitol hill as the impeachment trial of donald j. trump begins to take shape. house managers have only six hours now left to file their impeachment brief, which lays out the facts, evidence and legal arguments members plan to present. the president then must respond to the secretary of senate by 6:00 tonight. today's deadline comes as democrats reveal new evidence in the case. photos released last night show more documentation of indicted rudy giuliani associate lev parnas meeting with president trump. the latest new evidence is the third released this week showing parnas in close connection with the president and his fa

thanks for joining us i'm fredericka whitfield. in a stunning admission, iran has confessed to accidentally shooting down a ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 176 passengers on board. the extraordinary confession comes just one week after we learned that president trump ordered a u.s. drone strike killing iran's top military commander, qassem soleimani. days later, just this past wednesday, iran, vowing harsh revenge, attacked two iraqi military bases, that were housing u.s. troops and coalition forces. however, they there were no u.s. casualties. and now, for the very first time, we're getting a firsthand look at the damage at those air bases. cnn senior international correspondent arwa damon is the first journalist to gain access to the al asad air base, on the ground there with an exclusive look. arw amend? >> reporter: these were living quarters, sleeping quarters, the troops lived here, lost everything, there was very little if anything that was salvageable because there was a fire that ended up raging here for a few hours

i'm fredricka whitfield. we've got some breaking news from iraq where another iraqi air base which houses u.s. troops is hit by rocket fire just four days after rocket attacks on two other bases. today's attack hit balad air base, which is about 70 miles away from al asad air base, the site of wednesday's attack which was retaliation for the deadly airstrike on qassem soleimani. arwa, when this happened, we do know it was retaliation, the strike at al asad. are we hearing any more about this strike at balad air base in iraq? >> reporter: well, first just to clarify a little bit about the nature of how these attacks occur here. this kind of a rocket attack at balad air base, the rockets attack that happen on a fairly regular basis in the green zone, this is the tragic norm of what happens in iraq. and in this particular case, when it comes to what happened in balad, eight were fired, four iraqis were wounded. as you were saying, no coalition or u.s. forces were at the base at the time of the attack. now, that'

i'm fredricka whitfield. thank you so much for joining me this sunday. >>> right now tensions are intensifying in the middle east. three days after a u.s. drone strike killed top iranian commander qasem soleimani, just moments ago iran announced it will continue uranium enrichment in an about-face to the nuclear agreement. this is in reference to the u.s. strike. u.s. tolerance seems to be wavering. this moment the parliament outlined a plan to end troop presence in that country. iraq's foreign ministry is also complaining to the united nations, calling on the u.n. security council to condemn thursday's bombings by the u.s. that killed soleimani and nine others. meanwhile, soleimani's body returned to his home country of iran today. thousands of mourners filled the streets, and outrage was also felt in iran's parliament. lawmakers were seen chanting, death to america, during a session in tehran. iranian officials are telling cnn that they are planning a response to the u.s. against military sites. this as pre

i'm fredricka whitfield. cnn now getting an exclusive firsthand look at one of the iraqi military bases that was hit by iran earlier this week. the attack came just days after president trump ordered a drone strike that killed iran's top military commander, qassem soleimani. there were no u.s. casualties, but damage to the al asad air base appears to be extensive. cnn international correspondent arwa damon is the first journalist granted access to that base in western baghdad. and here she is with a look at the damage. arwa? >> these used to be living quarters. this is where the troops would sleep, at least one of the areas. there's almost nothing left. nothing that was salvageable we were told. the crater itself impacted over here and it was one of ten impacts that happened. being here is truly extraordinary how anyone managed to survive, how there were no casualties when you look at the destruction and hearing all of the stories of the close calls of the heroics, what we are now learning is there was advanc

i'm fredricka whitfield. it's an important day on capitol hill as the impeachment trial of donald j. trump begins to take shape. house managers have only six hours now left to file their impeachment brief, which lays out the facts, evidence and legal arguments members plan to present. the president then must respond to the secretary of senate by 6:00 tonight. today's deadline comes as democrats reveal new evidence in the case. photos released last night show more documentation of indicted rudy giuliani associate lev parnas meeting with president trump. the latest new evidence is the third released this week showing parnas in close connection with the president and his family. but despite all of that, president trump strongly denying knowing parnas. >> i don't know those gentlemen. now it's possible i have a picture with them because i have a picture with everybody. i don't know them. i don't know about them. i don't know what they do. but i don't know. maybe they were clients of rudy. you'd have to ask rudy.

i'm fredricka whitfield live in the nation's capitol for this special coverage of the impeachment trial of donald j. trump. right now president trump's legal team is finalizing plans for day two of presenting their case against the removal from office of a president of the united states. tomorrow's arguments followed an abbreviated session yesterday, outlining their plan to poke holes in the house democrat's impeachment case. but beyond the legal arguments, another battle is brewing. will witnesses be allowed to testify? the senate only needs four republican senators to break ranks to allow witnesses at the trial. this morning president trump is taking his impeachment frustrations out on the house's lead impeachment manager, seemingly sending a warning via tweet, calling congressman adam schiff a very sick man and saying he has not yet paid the price for his impeachment efforts. this morning congressman schiff responded. >> do you take that as a threat? >> i think it's intended to be. but look, it is going to be very difficult for some of these senators to stand up to this president. it

i'm fredricka whitfield.d look at one of the iraqi military bases that was hit by iran earlier this week. the attack came just days after president trump ordered a drone strike that killed iran's top military commander, qassem soleimani. there were no u.s. casualties, but damage to the al asad air base appears to be extensive. cnn international correspondent arwa damon is the first journalist granted access to that base in western baghdad. and here she is with a look at the damage. arwa? >> these used to be living quarters. this is where the troops would sleep, at least one of the areas. there's almost nothing left. nothing that was salvageable we were told. the crater itself impacted over here and it was one of ten

i'm fredricka whitfield in washington, d.c.ly sad news to report to you. 41-year-old kobe bryant has been killed in a helicopter crash in southern california. four others on that helicopter also died in this crash just outside of malibu. most recently cnn had a chance to sit down and talk with kobe bryant. it was with andy scholes in sports, and he was in los angeles just 11 days ago at a season launch event for major league soccer. let's listen in to that interview. >> you were one of the early investors into body armor. it's grown so much over the years. how cool is it to be a partner with major soccer? >> when we started, it was such a small company. we had a vision of doing big things, servicing athletes and educating them on nutrition, hydration, and to find ourselves here now in partnership with mls, mls is taking off, too, it's coming on 25 years now. the game has done nothing but grow, so to have this relationship together, we look forward to doing some big things. >> i know you're a big barcelona fan. how do you think

from centreville, illinois, it's the whitfield family. [cheering and applause] and from conway, arkansas, we got a returning family. it's the matkin family. [cheering and applause]ra yes! t

but the post was shared a staffing kayla school and apparently the last straw for whitfield academy. >>a few days later kimberly was contacted by head of school doctor bruce jacobson it was an e-mail expelling kayla from what filled immediately. due to a post on social media a field judge she feels judged. >>just devastating for us the private school claims the picture is the latest in 2 years worth of lifestyle violations in the email doctor jacobson said the picture quote demonstrates a posture of morality and cultural acceptance contrary to that of whitfield academies beliefs the code of conduct that does address orientation and says if the students off campus behavior isn't in line with the school's beliefs. they can be disciplined. but kimberly wants to know how the shirt brought them to that conclusion she loves to laugh and dance and that's just her. >>there was nothing intend and mind and even when i went back and got the receipt from the bakery. and in say anything about representation and dissent assorted colors. >>kimberly filed an appeal. she says the school refused to me

cnn's newsroom with fredricka whitfield up next.r happens out there today, remember, you have the hilton app. will the hilton app help us pick the starters? great question, no. but it can help you pick your room from the floor plan. can the hilton app help us score? you know, it's not that kind of thing, but you can score free wi-fi. can it help us win? hey, hey! we're all winners with the hilton price match guarantee, alright? man, you guys are adorable! alright, let's go lose this soccer game, come on! book with the hilton app. if you find a lower rate, we match it and give you 25% off that stay. expect better. expect hilton. actions speak louder than words. she was a school teacher. my dad joined the navy and helped prosecute the nazis in nuremberg. their values are why i walked away from my business, took the giving pledge to give my money to good causes, and why i spent the last ten years fighting corporate insiders who put profits over people. i'm tom steyer, and i approve this message. because, right now, america needs more t

i'm fredricka whitfield. >>> we start with this breaking news from iraq where another iraqi air base,ter the last attack on the base in iraq. roughly 40 miles from baghdad. today's attack hit balad air base, which is about 47 miles away fromm al asad air base

i'm fredricka whitfield. breaking news in hawaii. responding to a possible active shooter in diamond head, not far from waikiki beach on the island of oahu. according to our affiliate, two officers there have been killed. we'll have more on this in a moment. first, right now, in the nation's capital, house impeachment managers are meeting on capitol hill. the meeting comes as we're just now 48 hours before the senate impeachment trial of president donald j. trump begins. that trial is expected to get under way tuesday afternoon, but arguments are already being played out in the court of public opinion. last night, house managers who essentially act as prosecutors in the trial delivered their brief, arguing why president trump should be removed from office, calling president trump's conduct, i'm quoting now, the framers worst nightmare. and now the ball is in the president's court. his legal team has until noon tomorrow to file their own brief, but today some already are making their case. >> there is a confusion between the reasons f

i'm fredricka whitfield. >>> right now house impeachment managers are meeting on capitol hill.ss than 48 hours away now before the senate impeachment trial of president donald j. trump. that trial is expected to get underway tuesday afternoon, but arguments are already being played out in the court of public opinion. last night house managers who essentially act as prosecutors in the trial delivered their brief, arguing why president trump should be removed from office, calling president trump's conduct -- i'm quoting now -- the

i am fredricka whitfield. new evidence coming forward as democrats try to make the case to impeach president trump. new documents and photos released last night show more proof of indicted rudy giuliani associate lev parnas meeting with president trump. this latest new evidence is the third release this week showing parnas in close connection with the president and his family. a connection president trump has strongly denied. this as more documents released last night show new text messages about the apparent surveillance of former u.s. ambassador marie yovanovitch while she was ambassador. it shows some of his fiercest supporters, including an aide for house intelligence committee ranking member devon nunes. meanwhile, there are only five hours remaining for house managers to file the impeachment brief on capitol hill which lays out the facts, the evidence, and legal arguments members plan to present as the senate trial starts next week. the president then must respond to the secretary of senate by 6:00 tonig

i'm fredricka whitfield.e this sunday. >>> right now tensions are intensifying in the middle east. three days after a u.s. drone strike killed top iranian commander qasem soleimani, just moments ago iran announced it will continue uranium enrichment in an about-face to the nuclear agreement. this is in reference to the u.s. strike. u.s. tolerance seems to be wavering. this moment the parliament outlined a plan

i'm fredricka whitfield.gue wolf blitzer continues our coverage right after this short break. i wish i had gone into aspen dental much sooner. when you're not able to smile, you become closed off. having to live with bad teeth for so long was extremely depressing. now, i know how happy i am. there was all the feeling good about myself that i missed and all of the feeling bad about myself that was unnecessary. at aspen dental, we're all about yes. like yes to free exams and x-rays for new patients without insurance. yes to flexible hours and payment options. and yes, whenever you're ready to get started, we are too. don't wait, book at aspendental.com or call today. a general dentistry office. >>> we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. we continue to monitor growing tensions between the united states and iran. the supreme leader said america has started a war and the u.s. should expect an appropriate military reaction against, quote, military sites. thousand

i'm fredricka whitfield live in the nation's capitol for this special coverage of the impeachment trialht now president trump's legal team is finalizing plans for day two of presenting their case against the removal from office of a president of the united states. tomorrow's arguments followed an abbreviated session yesterday, outlining their plan to poke holes in the house democrat's impeachment case. but beyond the legal arguments, another battle is brewing. will witnesses be allowed to testify? the senate only needs four republican senators to break ranks to allow

i'm fredricka whitfield. thank you for joining me this sunday. we begin with more on breaking news out of kenya. a terror attack on a base there has left one u.s. service member and two u.s. civilian contractors dead. we're told this has happened at a base in manda bay. two other americans were also wounded in the attack but are now in stable condition. cnn is covering all angles of this. let's go straight to cnn correspondent diane gallagher for more on this. what else can you tell us about what you're learning? >> reporter: yeah. fred, i can tell you that we've been told by a defense official that those two department of defense members were air crew members who were killed in this attack. now, what is especially significant about this in addition to the loss of life is the fact that this is the first known time that al shabab has penetrated a base that u.s. personnel is

yes, this is whitfield, you. i wish everyone a happy great america again. -- whitfield, virginia. virginia turned all blue and they are taking guns. trump is actually draining the swamp and exposing all the democrats for the bad stuff that's went on. there's just been corrupt. they turned all blue. host: philip, minnesota, good morning. good morning, pedro. thank you for c-span. happy new year. optimistic, i really think president trump, if people just thathis books and realize he's a con man. i think he's waking up people in the united states and i hope they get out to vote republican and democrat. exercise your right to vote. that's the biggest thing we can do as citizens. host: specifically, why are you optimistic? caller: i really think people are starting to wake up in this country to where we are going to get a lot of people out to vote, which is good for the democracy. i don't care what party you belong to, as long as people get out to vote and pay attention to what's going on, get out to vote. host: arnold, tennessee, go ahead. caller: how are you doing? host: find, go ahe

fredricka whitfield. we begin with a tumultuous week ending in a stunning admission.board. the country is calling it a mistake, but world leaders are now commanding answers. the extraordinary confession is one week after we learned that president trump ordered a u.s. drone strike killing iran's top military commander, qassem soleimani. days later this past wednesday, iran vowing harsh ren

i am fredricka whitfield. with the impeachment trial of president donald j. trump set to begin next week, photos last night show more documentation of indicted associate lev parnas meeting with president trump. the latest new evidence is the third release this week showing parnas in close connection with the president and his family. the president repeatedly denied knowing parnas at all. >> i don't know this gentleman. now, it's possible i have a picture with him because i have a picture with everybody. i don't know them. i don't know about them, i don't know what they do but i don't know, maybe they were clients of rudy, you would have to ask rudy. >> i don't know parnas, i guess i had pictures taken which i do with thousands of people, including people today i didn't meet, but just met them. i don't know him at all. don't know what he's about. don't know where he comes from, know nothing about him. he is probably trying to make a deal for himself. >> meanwhile, other documents released last night show new text messages about the apparent surveillance of for

. >>> all right, and thank you so much for joining me, i'm fredericka whitfield, coming up next afterttack, cnn's arwa damon is the first journalist to visit al asad air base after this week's iranian missile strikes. cake in the conference room! showing 'em you're ready... to be your own boss. that's the beauty of your smile. crest's three dimensional whitening... ...removes stains,... ...whitens in-between teeth... ...and protects from future stains. crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life. just between us, you know what's better than mopping? anything! at the end of a long day, it's the last thing i want to do. well i switched to swiffer wet jet and its awesome. it's an all-in-one so it's ready to go when i am. the cleaning solution actually breaks down dirt and grime. and the pad absorbs it deep inside. so, it prevents streaks and haze better than my old mop. plus, it's safe to use on all my floors, even wood. glad i got that off my chest and the day off my floor. try wet jet with a moneyback guarantee breathe freely fast, with vicks sinex. my congestion's gone. i can breathe ag

happy 100th birthday to ma e bell whitfield of panama city, florida. country for 20 years in the navy as a chief petty officer. thank you for your service, sir. happy 102nd to martha boles of university park, illinois. she says the secret to longevity, staying active. dr. victor stern, 102 years, talented musician from cincinnati, ohio, enjoys playing classical music on the piano virginia shafer, 100 years old from west seneca, new york she's camped out in almost all the national parks in the united states how about that last but not least, happy 106th birthday to lee james, a world war ii veteran many mesquite, texas. i have used your wood, sir the secret to longevity, just being happy. if you know somebody turning 100 or turning 1, tell us all abou them at today.com/celebrate. >> all right i've got a big tease for you all for the fourth hour, on hoda and jenna, we have a legend in the house. do you know who it is? >> no. >> i can tell you she's making -- >> kathie lee gifford. she is in the house. are you trying to steal our guest? >> she's on the 3r

caller: this is whitfield, virginia. i am wishing everybody a happy great america again. i believe in trump. the democrats are taking our guns and firearms in virginia. is actually draining the swamp and exposing all of the democrats for the bad stuff that has went on. they have been corrupt. go to philip in minnesota. good morning. caller: good morning. thanks for c-span. happy new year. amazing listening to people call. i am optimistic because i think president trump, if people read books, they realize how he is being a con man. i think he is waking up the people of the united states. vote.se your right to host: why are you optimistic? caller: i really think people are starting to wake up this country and i think we will get a lot of people out to vote which is good for our democracy. youn't care what party belong to as long as people get out to vote. pay attention to what is going on. get out to vote. host: arnold from tennessee. go ahead. caller: how are you doing? host: fine, thank you. go ahead. caller: i am optimistic. today is the first day of the rest of this yea