right now on "early start," israel has a list of hostages that could be freed today. could the truce be extended. plus the pause allows more aid to flow into gaza pl weep have more on how much and from where it is coming. and nikki haley just scored a big endorsement from a group with incredibly deep pockets. will money help put a dent in donald trump's huge lead. good morning to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm kasie hunt. it is wednesday, november 29, pa:00 a.m. in washington, noon in gaza where the extended truce between israel and hamas is now in its sixth and possibly final day as negotiators work toward the release of more hostages. we're learning that talks in doha have been positive. a source telling cnn that they are in agreement to extend the pause in fighting. more hostages are set to be freed in the hours to come. sources say a list of names has been given to israel and families have been notified. hamas released 12 hostages at the rafah crossing on tuesday. 10 israelis and two thai nationals. this is as more clashes were reported in the west bank between palestinians and the idf and skirmishes in northern gaza as well. in gaza the health system has all but collapsed. there is limited to no full, water and medical supplies. the world health organization warns the death toll from disease will soar if infrastructure is not restored. scott mclean is joining us from istanbul with the latest. good morning. where do the talks in doha stand and what are the barriers to getting this truce extended? >> reporter: yeah, good morning kasie. barriers probably not that big to get this extended for a short period of time. a longer extension though is much more complicated. according to a source familiar with the talks happening in doha, the expectation is that if all goes according to plan today, hamas will likely agree to extend the truce for at least another day to get ten more women and children hostages out, but there are only enough women and children to last another two days. beyond that, we're talking about negotiations for civilian men and israeli soldiers, some of whom by the way are female. hamas says that there have not been discussions thus far about israeli troops releasing israeli troops held hostage right now. it has proposed the possibility of two deals, one a partial deal it is calling to focus just on civilians or another one it is calling a comprehensive deal to also deal with the israeli soldiers. but that would take israel effectively emptying the jails of palestinian prisoners, something that is not really likely to happen at this stage. we are also hearing from a member of the israeli knesset, former israeli boambassador to e u.n. who says the israeli government has signed off until monday to have this pause extended. but beyond that, the government would have to meet again to agree to a new deal or a tweaked deal and keep in mind as well that israeli military has made abundantly clear that it is gearing up for the second phase of the war. he has asked how long israel is willing to hold back on its continuation of its military campaign. listen. >> the military tell me it is not easy for us, it puts the lives of soldiers in threat. but if we can bring more hostages back, we are willing to pay that price. so if we need to wait another few days, another week, we'll do it. after that, the military will go south and continue with the war. >> reporter: remember this is quite delicate because -- this is quite delicate of course because both sides have been accused of violating the ceasefire yesterday in exchange of fire between hamas and idf soldiers. and so there are no guarantees that this goes on. about you obviously there are plenty of hopes that it will. >> scott mclean for us in istanbul, thank you very much. the white house says the u.s. military will fly three plane loads of critical aid. the first landed in egypt tuesday carrying more than 54,000 pounds of food and other basic supplies. direct are to much usaid says the truce has allowed about 240 trucks to enter gaza each day but that it is not enough. >> it will be ultimately inadequate without commercial traffic as well accompanying humanitarian traffic. >> larry madowo is in cairo for us. good morning. the director of the usaid says they are working to get commercial goods into gaza and how does it start given that the truce is currently set to expire? >> reporter: kasie, the plan and hope is that the commercial goods can flow into gaza even if the truce is not extended. because u.s. officials understand that from the president down that the current amount of aid coming this is simply not enough and it has to be complimemented by a flow of goods coming back into gaza. and this is why. when you think about the seven weeks of fighting, almost 15,000 people have been killed. 1.7 million displaced. the world health organization warning that everyone everywhere has dire health needs. we're talking about huge sicknesses, are we're talking about diarrhea, infectious diseases, respiratory illnesses, these are all things that they don't have the infrastructure right now to handle. listen to this warning. >> eventually we will see more people die from disease than we're even seeing from the bombardment if we are not able to put back this health system and provide basics of life, food, water, medicine and of course fuel to operate the hospitals. >> reporter: all those are essential items that have been coming in a lot more the last few days because of the pause in fighting. fo food, fuel, cooking gas but not to the extent that is needed. you talk about the mass displacement where people have nothing but the clothes on their backs. winter is coming and it is getting really cold and even more levels of displacement. that is why u.s. officials are talking to israeli officials to find a way to allow consistent flow of aid but also commercial goods coming back so that the market has things for people to buy when they have a chance to do so. otherwise this aid coming in over the past five days is simply not enough. >> larry madowo for us in cairo, thanks very much. and we've got breaking news out of japan where the coast guard says a u.s. military osprey aircraft with eight people aboard has crashed. a spokesperson says what is believed to be wreckage and a lifeboat have been found. at least one person has been killed. the osprey is a plane that can take off and land like a helicopter. and it also has a history of safety problems. three marines were killed in a crash in australia back in august. still ahead here, israel and hamas accusing each other of violating the truce in gaza. but neither side has pulled on out. we'll tell you why. and plus new demands from trump lawyers in his attempts to prove the 2020 election was stolen. it was not. and thousands are digging out this morning after arctic air dumped heavy snow across several states. israel and hamas clashing in northern gaza tuesday which both sides say violates the humanitarian pause in the fighting. skirmish broke out when three explosive devices were detonated in two different places and, quote, terrorists opened fire likely injuring some idf soldiers end quote. and hamas is accusing israel of clear violation of the truce. max foster is joining me. always good to see you. both sides accusing each other of violating the truce. i know when i saw it come out yesterday, i thought is this off. but it doesn't seem like it has derailed things. why not? >> it does show that there is a tense truce, things happening on the ground which could kick off at anytime. in this situation, it was dealt with on the ground and neither side escalated it doesn't sound like to the leadership who then s decided that the truce was over, it shows that the truce is sensitive and it could potentially break, but it also shows the will behind it on both sides. and we're into the second day of an extended truce. there is talk now on both sides about extending it even further. so i think actually what we need to look at it as a positive that there was a skirmish, it didn't escalate and the truce holds. >> right. i think that it does seem to line up with the reporting that we have that there also is consensus at this point that they want the truce to continue. i know we've talked about this the last couple of mornings. is this still the reality that there are women and children who can be released under the terms that have been agreed to in this truce and that that is still likely to change if and when hamas no longer has hostages that fit that profile to release? >> it is not entirely clear who is on the hostage list, we're waiting to see who hamas can deliver, as it were. they will certainly deliver women and children first. cynical eyes on this would say that that is because the really valuable hostages, the most valuable, are the men and the idf soldiers. so as the numbers of hostages held goes down, i'm sure we're looking at a situation where hamas will be asking for more in return for the release of those idf soldiers in particular. speaking to a former hostage negotiator early on this morning and he said that that will be the big, big test coming up, how they deal with that. and also whether or not there is a difference of opinion between the u.s. and israel on how to deal with that because ultimately you are talking about a price, how much is an idf soldier worth. hamas will want one thing, israel will want another and that creates tension in the negotiations. it has been i won't say easy up until now, of course it hasn't been easy, but a lot easier when you are talking about women and children being released than it is about the men and soldiers. so we're getting to the really tough part of the negotiations i would think. >> what is the difference between what the u.s. wants and what israel wants? >> just whether or not -- you know, when you start changing the rules. we know up until now, a certain number of palestinians for example have been released for every israeli. if they go into the next round of negotiations changing those parameters, then there will have to be discussions between the u.s. and israel. israel could say up to 500 palestinians being released, u.s. might say 500, israel might say 250, will there be tension there. so this needs to be negotiated between israel's allies. and hamas will be aware of that as well. >> very interesting. max foster, thank you very much as always my friend. see you tomorrow. cnn now has a copy of former congresswoman liz cheney's new book. what she reveals about the relationship between trump and house leadership, that is ahead. and the national christmas tree, no match for yesterday's gusty winds here in washington, d.c. wewe'll have a a weather u upda cocoming up. he 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. . quick hits across america now. family and friends will say a final farewell to former first lady rosalynn carter today. it comes after a memorial service tuesday where her grandson remembered her as someone who inspired the world but also as a normal grandmother. >> she was like everyone else's grandmother in a lot of ways. almost all of her recipes call for mayonnaise for example. we all got cards from her on our birthdays. a $20 bill in it. when i was 45, a $20 bill. >> a love letter from former president carter to rosalynn was also read aloud by their daughter amy. alex murdaugh sentenced to 27 years after pleading guilty to nearly two dozen state financial crimes, he is now serving life sentences for the murders of his wife and son. and kansas governor halting license plate production after a strong response to the new design. people were upset. of course they would be. the colors are like the university of kansas' arch rival, the university of missouri. hello. obvious mistake. now to weather because cold air is stretching across the u.s. this morning. there is lake-effect snow impacting several states. and the national christmas tree here in washington, it was no match for the strong winds that we had last night toppling the norway spruce on the elipse near the white house. derek van dam is tracking it all for us. it is freezing here and across the country it sounds like. >> you have to think about what happened in d.c. yesterday. so you had winds over 40 miles per hour. you've got a 40-foot in essence sail with this norway spruce that is catching the brunt of the strong wind. and of course it will topple something that doesn't have the root structure anymore. so that was a danger. hopefully they get that uprighted as quickly as possible. the winds have relaxed across the east coast because the front responsible for the strong winds but also the lake-effect snow has moved offshore so the winds will relax. but the damage has already been done. not only with the norway spruce, the christmas tree falling over at the national elipse, but look at what it did here. this is the winds effectoff the lake. of course we get the lake-effect snow band that occurs downwind the lake erie and lake ontario and some of the snowfall totals were very impressive. but i want to show you cleveland. check out the treacherous roadways heading in to the city. no one wants to travel on that. . michigan also got in on some of that lake-effect snow action as well. this high pressure, there is the departing cold front off the east coast, but it is the pressure gradient, the squeeze that puts the windoff over the lakes. and this is just south of buffalo, north of syracuse, and they become thinner and thinner as time goes on. winds will change direction and the weather actually will improve greatly for much of the east coast. but we have to get through at least one more day of cold air. look at those single digit and temperatures in the teens, that is what it feels like on your skin. we all know it is cold. 'tis the season. but yeah, it is brutal out there especially with that wind. >> it is brutal. hopefully the christmas tree lighting i think is supposed to go off still. we'll see if it blows over again once that all goes up. fingers crossed. derek van dam, thank you very much. still ahead, critical talks in doha on hostage releases as gaza enters the final day of the truce. and disgraced congressman george santos still refusing to quit even as he faces expulsion from the house as soon as tomorrow. the extended truce between israel and hamas is now in its sixth and possibly final day as negotiators work towards more hostage releases. we're learning that ongoing talks in doha has been positive. a source telling cnn they are in agreement toward extending the pause in the fighting. more hostages are set to be freed in the coming hours. sources say a list of names has been given to israel and families have been notified. hamas released 12 hostages at the rafah crossing on tuesday. ten israelis and two thai nationals. here is israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. >> translator: we are committed to completing our missions. freeing all of the hostages, eliminating this terrorist organization above and below ground and of course to ensure that gaza not return to being what it was. will no longer constitute a threat to the state of israel. >> let's bring in our israeli journalist, author of "getting to know hamas." thank you so much for being here. can you help us understand how this temporary truce is being seen and viewed in israel? is there public support for it as long as hostages keep getting released? >> of course. this is the main mission for the israelis to release the hostages. but there is the dilemma. benjamin netanyahu promised the israeli audience that he can aim -- he can bring two missions, one of it eliminate hamas and releasing the hostages. and i can see this all targeting -- all target goes together. because the head of the hamas in gaza strip, he knows how to play the game. he promised israel, okay, release civilians, but he asked for ceasefire. and ceasefire and he try to get the permanent ceasefire. and this is the dilemma. if you declare permanent ceasefire, you can forfeit the limb na-- eliminate the hamas. >> and so far the hostages released have been women and children by and large. you've interviewed hamas leadership before. how much more complex will the negotiations be when this shift with different population of hostages to men and soldiers? >> yes, this is i think the main issue. when hamas will release all these civilians, childrens, women, old people. and then they have about 80 soldiers. i following hamas for many, many years and now researching the personality. and as i can understand, when he tried to negotiate the israelis, he ask two requests. one is permanentcond releasing prisoners from israeli prison. i don't see israel now can fulfill this request because when you declare ceasefire, permanent ceasefire, this is the ending of the war. and i don't see israelis release all the prisoners, the hamas prisoners from the israeli prison. for example, one his name abdullah, and he was sentenced for 46 life prison in the israeli jails because he murdered 46 israelis. i don't see israel just releasing all of them. for political reason netanyahu refuse for it because if he release all the prisoners and declares a permanent ceasefire, this is the end of his political career. >> right. yeah, it is really quite a dilemma for him. speaking of -- >> and also for us. >> yeah, for sure. do you think that the second -- we talked about the release of the hostages. do you think the second goal of eliminating hamas, do you think that it is actually possible? >> no, i don't think. and i was agreeing with the politicals figures in israel when at the beginning of the war they starting to say that we have to eliminate hamas and for permanently. and it is very difficult. it is very di difficult because that hamas is supported by many palestinians. and in qatar, there are two leadership of hamas. they can recover all the time even if you assassinate one, trying to target gistjust one, i don't think that it is possible. especially when you have missions. one thes who hostages and one to eliminate hamas. it is very difficult. i think israel started to speak about the day after the war and who will replace hamas. it is too early to talk who will replace hamas. because hamas is now the sovereign of gaza strip. and i don't see them going anywhere especially now. >> all right. thank you very much for your perspective, i appreciate your time. >> thank you very much. good morning. another boost for republican presidential candidate nikki haley. tuesday she got a pretty big endorsement from americans for prosperity action. that is an influential political network. it is backed by the billionaire conservative charles koch. emphasis on billionaire. haley did not xcomment on the endorsement at a town hall in new hampshire last night, but her competitors had a lot to say. the desantis campaign spokesman knocked it as a, quote, in-kind contribution, end quote, to trump. the trump super pac maga inc. saying that the koch group continues to light money on fire. let's bring in cnn national political reporter daniel strauss to talk more about this. good morning to you. let's talk -- i mean, the koch group is a sprawling one. it comes with a ton of money and also critically comes with organization. what kind of impact do you think that this will have? because on the flip side, supporters of jeb bush sent $100 million and they did basically light it on fire because his campaign went nowhere. there is no proof that this big money necessarily actually wins elections. what is your view? >> i mean, it is true that money doesn't always propel a candidate to elected office. at the same time, here with afp, you have to remember that this is a group of conservative activists. and those are the kind of voters that you want supporting you and backing you early or in the middle of a republican primary. that is the advantage. and what they are likely to do according to a memo that afp released is provide contact through voters and outreach on the ground and money to support haley. but beyond this, this is also just helpful to haley because it builds momentum and hype. this has been a major talker in political circles the last day or so, which is what haley needs. we're at a point in this primary cycle where the real danger for any candidate is to disappear into the back of a voter's mind and be forgotten. and that is one advantage that an endorsement from afp gives to haley. >> smart points. and i want to talk to you about donald trump as well because cnn exclusively obtained a copy of former congresswoman liz cheney's new book. suffice to say that we are getting some interesting tidbits about the dynamic between the former president and house leadership at the time. i'll read you the exchange about kevin mccarthy's infamous trip down to mar-a-lago in the wake of the january 6 attacks. remember before he did this of course he had condemned trump on the house floor. basically being sent into political exile. so cheney says to him mar-a-lago, what the hell, kevin. and mccarthy says they're really worried, trump is not eating so they asked me to come see him. cheney says what? you went to mar-a-lago because trump is not eating? mccarthy, yeah, he is really depressed. so let's pause there for a second. we learned mccarthy went down to mar-a-lago because trump is not eating. for context, this basically revived trump in the eyes of the gop. >> and it came after mccarthy pretty much denounced trump and connected him directly to the mob attack on the capitol on january 6. look, i think that it is clear from this excerpt that mccarthy -- that the critique of mccarthy as someone who tells colleagues what he thinks they want to hear has some juice to it. mccarthy did not have to go down there. it is conceivable that trump like many other presidential candidates who have lost an election was down after this one. but at the same time -- >> yeah, it is tough, but -- >> it is clear that mccarthy did not want to acknowledge the gravity of his beingactions in situation. >> it kind of plays into jack smith's argument that perhaps donald trump knew that he lost the election. he at least knew enough to be depressed. >> yeah, i don't really know how incriminating depression via elections can be. >> i'm largely joking. >> being on. but, yeah, i mean, look, this is clearly something that will go into the further legal proceedings that trump faces. and it is telling that af ter s much time we're still learning about january 6 and the aftermath. >> and we also learned from that book about how now house speaker mike johnson and his interests in the former president's circles. daniel strauss, thank you very much. always great to have you. and up next here, hunter biden says he is willing to testify on capitol hill next month in public. we'll have more on that. the clock is ticking for embattled consc congressman geo santos after resolutions tuesday to expel the new york lawmaker. and this now means that the house has to act on it within the next two days and santos' gop colleagues seem increasingly willing to give him the boot. >> oh, i think that the ethics committee, you know, if you read the report, i think that says it all. and i like the chairman a lot. it was unanimous and i think it is the right thing to do. >> i think george santos is toast. >> does that mean that you are a yes? >> that is a yes. >> toast. let's bring in our congressional reporter for the associated press. thank you for being here. santos survived a couple attempts to remove him this year, but now this report which is incredibly damning could make it different. we know that they have been trying to convince him behind the scenes to resign. part of why we see most of the time people get pushed out before they get a chance to be thrown out. santos seems to be different. do you think that he can survive the vote or not? >> i think it is tough. if you look at what the parameters republicans had put around expelling santos, a very rare rebuke that happens once in a century is that they wanted to wait for a conviction, they wanted the legal process to play out. and then this scathing and in some parts shocking ethics report comes out. and suddenly republicans' tune completely shifts. they don't want to wait for the legal process to play out, they want to be done with george santos well before any of the caucuses that begin early next year. they want both for moral reason and political reason to be done with george santos before the end of the year. >> so kevin hern, congressman, told reporters that speaker johnson spoke to santos yesterday about his future and hern told reporters that it is our understanding that speaker and george have had conversations up until recently even an hour ago about the right thing possibly for him do is examine the position and resign. what does this say about johnson that this pressure is not working or does it say more about santos than johnson in ear shame-free politics? >> yeah, i was one of the reporters in that gaggle and it is pretty stunning if you look at the power of the house speaker. they put out a statement, they put out a tweet, they talk to reporters and things usually get done in most situations. and johnson is learning on the job that you have to have -- you know, there is a level of respect and authority that you have to have, that your word has to mean something. and in some ways i think this is more about santos. i think that he really wants for them to expel him, i think he wants them to take this extraordinary rebuke and make a case out of him. and unprecedented case of waiting before someone is convicted in a criminal court. it will be interesting. at this point it will be a large bipartisan vote. but the precedent and damage that it could potentially do to the institution is something that santos and johnson are arguing for in this case. >> and it really kind of underscores how a lot of the members look outside congress to the ways that they will make money once they leave, becoming a martyr in many ways honestly probably furthers george santos' bank account in the along rlong run. which is not really good. new strategy from trump's legal team late monday night. the lawyers representing him in the doj election subversion trial are requesting thousands of classified documents from the justice department. they are arguing that the records which would come from several past government investigations into trump's conduct could help him try to prove that the 2020 election was fraudulent. they write trump's fraud claims were not criminal but, rather, plausible and maintained in good faith. let's bring in cnn legal analyst joey jackson with more on this. always great to see you. i'm going to set aside the fact that now we know that trump was depressed when he went to mar-a-lago. he wasn't eating and kevin mccarthy had go talk to him. seems like he did know that he lost the election. however i'm interested in your view on the legal strategy here. what are they trying to do, is this a delay tactic, could it work? what is going on? >> yeah, good morning to you. so what happens in any criminal case is you want -- you are defending your client so you want anything and everything that could possibly shine light on the potential innocence of your client. so as a practical matter, number one, there is something called brady material. what is that? it is named after a case that says anything that helps the accused must be turned over by the prosecution. so step one is prosecutors if they have something that could be helpful to the defendant need to turn it over. i'm presuming that the prosecutors have done that. or you have a continuing obligation and you will continue to do that if you uncover it. separate and apart from that is that the defendant and their attorneys' responsibility to try to get anything else that may potentially be helpful. so the distinction between a fishing expedition and something that may be relevant and material to your defense, a judge will ultimately conclude if there is any relevance at all with respect to this request, but i'm one for broad discovery, give me everything and anything and we can make a determination as to whether it assists. last point, and that is that if you don't do it and if you are the judge, it leads to the narrative that this is a witch hunt, i told you that they are being unfair. so you have to be very careful assessing if you are the judge whether you should attend to this obligation or not. >> clearly they are trying to push that narrative every chance they get. joey, while i have you, hunter biden offered back in december to testify before the house oversight committee into his actions, but only if he could do it publicly. the chairman james comer has rejected that idea. he argued that hunter was trying to play by his own rules by asking for a public hearing instead of this closed door deposition that is scheduled for december 13. what is the strategy here on the part of the hunter biden team? >> yeah, i think the strategy is let's face this, right, face forward. let's go right into this and why should we do it in private. why sgbtdoesn't the word hld ha right to know. why can't i keep from the spin coming out that would suggest that i was evasive or anything else. so i think the strategy is clearly embrace it, state your peace but don't do it in darkness, do it in the light of day. and i have nothing to hide. i know i'm under various clouds but i'll be forthcoming and i'll be honest and forthright. why wouldn't you let me testify in public. so it is a strategy i think that they are embracing, that is hunter biden's team, and that they think that they can pull it off. i think indications are that he will testify in private first and then at a subsequent time in p public perhaps. >> trying to control the narrative is a big part of what is going on here. joey jackson, appreciate your time. and up next, palestinians hoping that the israel-hamas truce will become pearlrmanent. we'll lookok at that l likelihon "cnn t this mornining." you're probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. but what if we told you it's possible that comcast business mobile can save you up to 75% a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers? it's true. plus when you buy your first line of mobile, you get a second line free. there are no term contracts or line activation fees. and you can bring your own device. oh, and all on the most reliable 5g mobile network nationwide. wireless that works for you. it's not just possible, it's happening. welcome back. nba in-season tournament bracket now set. andy scholes has the "bleacher report." >> good morning. so a little refresher for you. to make it to the quarter finals, you had to either win your group, there were three groups in each conference, or have the best record with the best point differential to grab the one wild card available in each conference. and the kings and warriors playing last night to determine the winner from group c in the west. steph curry helping golden state get out to a 24 point lead, but kings rallied all the way back. under a minute to go, malik hits the three off the steal to cut the lead to one. and then after another warriors turnover, he gets this circus shot to go. kings win in a wild comeback 124-123 to win their group. bucks meanwhile clinching the top spot in the east last night rallies to beat the heat. damian lillard getting two big threes in a 16-6 run to close things out. he and giannis combined for 65 points. bucks will head to the quarter finals. so celtics knew they had to beat the bulls by at least 23 points to win their group. and they made sure they did. head coach joe missoula even apologizing to billy donovan for running up the score. boston would win that one 124-97. the knicks also running up the core against the hornets winning 115-91. an due to point differential, they grab the eastern conference wild card spot. so quarter finals are now set and you will see all four games on sister network tnt. monday pacers and celtics followed by the kings and pelicans. and then it is the knicks and bucks followed by the suns and lakers. reminder, final four will head to vegas in two weeks. championship game is december 7. finally second to last college football rankings were announced. headline is that florida state despite losing jordan travis are still in there at number four. seminoles play louisville in the acc title game saturday night. georgia one, michigan two, washington three. pac-12 title game is friday. best of the games are saturday. and this is the last year for only four playoff teams. here is hoping we get chaos and biggest thing to make the chaos happen would be for alabama to beat georgia and then the decisions would get really tough for the committee. >> all right. fair enough. although i have to tell you, i can't roll tide, i can't do it. can't do it. go blue. that is all i have to say. andy, thank you. really appreciate it. thanks to all of you for joining us. don't go anywhere, c"cnn this morng"