welcome to the lead. how about this for question of the day? fani willis, what are you thinking? exactly parks trisha murphy. murphy is a top opinion writer for the atlanta journal constitution asking that of district attorney fani willis who has yesterday to deny that she has a special relationship with a special prosecutor she hired, the stunning scandal revealed in legal briefs in georgia. donald trump was at the first hearing today since the allegations were revealed. plus inside the iowa caucuses, exactly how does this very american, very bizarre process work and why does iowa opt for this versus the more popular and easy primary process where voters just line up and vote in the polls? leading this hour, what could be a worsening global crisis for president biden, iranian-backed houthi militants warning of retaliation against the u.s. and its allies for strikes against houthis in yemen last night. the white house insists these were self-defense strikes intended to
sexual offender, died in jail while awaiting a trial. the lead, with jake tapper, starts right now. an horrific terrorist attack goes more than 100 iranians. who was behind it? the lead starts right now. four years to the bay since the killing of iran s commander, twin bombings near the grave site. the blast, one day after an airstrike in lebanon killed a senior leader. the conflict is feared to be potentially erupting into a larger war. naming names beyond john doe, exposing nearly 200 names on a list tied to pedophile jeffrey epstein. mike johnson will be here live from the texas-mexican border. that is ahead of a face-off with president biden on the border crisis. from iran to lebanon to the red sea and gaza, death, chaos, and fear of an all-out multi country conflict. in iran, a suitcase bomb, and a top iranian general s grave, tilling more than 100 people. that general was killed in an airstrike ordered by former president trump four years ago today. and there we
server room at trump s mar-a-lago, the same servers storing the security surveillance video from trump s resort. this as mr. trump s lawyers meet with justice department officials today. then, come on in, the water s fine. the 2024 race set to grow by three more candidates as governor nikki haley lands her sharpest blow yet on the republican front runners. plus military fighter jets going super sonic when a private plane doesn t respond while flying near the nation s capitol. investigators are trying to figure out what went so horribly wrong. welcome to the lead, i m jake tapper, apologies for my voice. we start today with the law and justice lead and serious questions as to whether donald trump could face his first federal indictment ever. today, lawyers for the former president met with justice department officials here in washington for 90 minutes, a possible sign that special counsel jack smith s investigation into how trump handled classified documents and whet
good thursday morning i m erika hill. i m jim sciutto. happening right now, house lawmakers on capitol hill receiving a closed door classified briefing on the chinese surveillance balloon. this as cnn has new reporting on when u.s. officials were first warned about the threat. all of it sparking sharp criticism on defense and intelligence officials who were not aware of the depth of that threat. live on capitol hill with the latest. plus, incredible stories of survival out of turkey, including an infant pulled from the rubble after 58 hours, small signs of hope there. rescue workers among so many things facing freezing temperatures, lack of water and power. the death toll hard to imagine. now surpassing 17,000. cnn is on the scene. back here in the u.s. on the road again today. cue the 2024 election music. president biden headed to florida, where he is expected to drive home his pledge to protect social security and medicare. we have a preview of the trip ahead. we want
. remember, the power in america lies where it always does, in your hands, the hands of the people. it s election day in america. the only thing that could get you singing at 5 a.m. i am a little delirious. it s 5 a.m. good morning, everybody. how are you doing? i m excited to see what happens today. me, too. we talk so much about the speculation, the day before the mid-terms is the worse and now we find out what s decided. this is a marathon. we re going to be here for a long time so get used to our faces, everybody. thanks for joining us. polls begin to open in less than 2 hours. 435 house seats and 35 senate seats are on the line. so, too, is democracy. with election deniers poised to win key races or refuse to accept losses. cnn reporters are on the ground in the key battleground states this morning and here in the studio, our team has our eyes all over these critical races as well. americans are not just choosing candidates today. they re also weighin