hours left in a fragile truce. secretary of state antony blinken is on the ground in israel right now trying to extend the pause as both israel and hamas say they are goring up ready to resume combat at a moment's notice. plus bullying and theater. that's how george santos is describing tomorrow's vote to kick him out of congress. will his fellow republicans keep him in his seat so they can keep their majority? and fu, that's what kevin mccarthy allegedly told donald trump after he refused to condemn the push to oust him as speaker. the reporter with that scoop is here with all the details. i'm dana bash. let's go behind the headlines and "inside politics." we start with breaking news out of the middle east. two hostages were just released from hamas captivity. the 21-year-old are finally free and safe in israeli territory. that's according to the idf. we are expecting more women and children to be freed from that terror group's captivity today. i want to go straight to a orrin lieber man, who is covering all the developments. >> reporter: interesting that today's release began fairly early in the evening. we have seen it play out much later generally, but this one, at least the first part of it with the release of the 21-year-old and 40-year-old, occurring even before 4:00 p.m., as we wait for the release of more women and children from hamas captivity. shortly after that, we expect to see, as we have, the release of palestinian prisoners, women and children, held in israeli jails. the key question here at this point with secretary of state antony blinken here, can this truce be extended anymore? are there enough women and children left in captivity to extend it for 24, 48 more hours, or does this require an entirely new agreement to release elderly men as well as soldiers, both men and women, from hamas captivity. that might be a much larger lift. one where there may not be enough tomb to get that in place. today's release took place in palestine square in gaza city, which is a symbolic square for gaza and for hamas. it also shows, apparently, or is a way that israel doesn't completely control gaza city as the idf has claimed. we'll look to see what has come out of these meetings between secretary of state antony blinken and prime minister benjamin netanyahu. one of the key focuses for blinken was was making sure israel knew the u.s. had its back and was defending its right to defend itself, but also on the importance of abide ing by international law in war, and the need for urgent humanitarian aid to continue flowing into gaza. even if the truce itself falls apart ask there's a resumption in fighting there. blinken also met with palestinian authority president. there he emphasized the need or the danger posed by extremist settlers in the west bank and the threat they mpose not only o palestinians, but to security in general. it's a very sensitive night as they try to extend the truce. >> it's the notion of releasing these latest two hostage inside gaza city and the symbolism of that. thank you for that reporting. let's go to the white house where mj lee is going to give us her latest information about the administration's push to extend this truce. what are you hearing? >> reporter: we already gathered that the negotiations to get another day of an extension in the pause had been very messy and had come down to the wire. we are now learning more ab the list of hostages to be released today. the proposal that the israeli government accepted yesterday, we are told by sources, includes eight new women and children to be released today. and then together with two iz are really russian hostages that were released yesterday would make in total the ten hostages that would be released today or counted towards the ten that would be released today. this is all pretty unusual given that the deal specifically says that every day of the truce, ten new hostages would have to be released. so we're seeing some moving around of numbers here. we are also learning that yesterday during the negotiations that were incredibly tense, hamas had made a number of other proposals that were just unacceptable to the israeli government, including the idea of seven women and children, plus three bodies, presumably they were men, now what are we to make of all of this? basically, as we see, negotiating with hamas has been incredibly challenging, and that means that the status of this pause in the fighting is incredibly precarious right now. we may really be nearing the point where hamas isn't able to produce anymore women and children, and that means that there could be a restarting in the fighting, a restarting in the war, in the coming days, as early as this weekend. >> mj, thank you so much for all of that reporting. as we have been mentioning just hours left in the current negotiated extended truce, so i want to talk about this with the idf spokesperson. thank you for being here. let's pick up where mj left off. is there any sense at this hour that hamas will be willing to extend one more day, under the current guidelines, which means ten more hostages in exchange for 24 more hours of a pause in fighting? >> thanks, dana. what i can say is we are taking it one day at a time. we're looking at how we are progressing, how we are achieving our goal of bringing people home. the sense today, and i can tell you for several hours already like every night for the last seven days is israelis are glued to the televisions, glued to their sets, watching in anticipation to see who comes home, what their situation is and seeing how the idf and health services are accompany ing them from border area to the medical assessment ask through to the hospital services that are later picking up and conning to embrace those families. this is a reality. we are instructed by the government to hold our fire. to conduct and implement an operational pause. that actually enables the freeing of the hostages by hamas. >> so the question is we're discussions going on as there have been for several days, each day as this has been extended day by day. we have only seen women and children so far under the current deal. do you see any possibility of men hostages being part of anything that could ha happen in the near future? >> we still have a few hours to conclude the hostage release. as you pointed out, two have been released. we have to see what happens throughout the course of the evening. this morning was very touch and go for some in a sense that maybe it won't happen. the idf is preparing itself for the next stages of the war. we have two goals. to bring home the hostages, every last one of therges but also to dismantle and make sure hamas never has the power to attack us, to butcher, to come into our homes and abduct people. so these two operate hand in hand. i would say we wouldn't be in a situation where hah smas releasing hostages were it not for the military power that we have used. >> let's talk about that. assuming that the truce is not extended, the military operation rums, will southern gaza be the idf's first focus? >> i don't know if it will be a first. obviously, hamas are present in the north of gaza and in the south of gaza. to dismantle their system, to dismantle their infrastructure, it's systemic. it has to take place strategically. and it has to take place step by step, and more importantly, strike by strike. i wouldn't rush into any conclusions. i would not determine we are going to go here or there. we are and we have approved our operational plans for the next stages. but the ultimate goal is to make sure that hamas never govern the gaza strip again as a staging ground for terrorism. >> we are seeing these beautiful babies, boys, that were abducted into gaza on the 7th of october. understands that hamas has this speedometer. they initiated this attack, this ruthless attack against us. and hamas has to go. >> you brought up the family. hamas is claiming that the family, including the babies, were killed in an israeli airstrike. can you rule that out as a possibility? >> we are looking into these claims. we have to be cautious in how hamas is trying to manipulate public perception. >> of course, they are. but does the idf think? >> we are looking into it. we are looking into it with our intelligence services. and i would just say caution with regard to what hamas is saying. of course, it is concerning. the family is symbolic of everything we have endured from hamas since the 7th of october. that's why i brought it to the front. these babies that were abducted, their mother, they have no place in being in gaza to begin with. hamas intentional ily abducted men, women and children, babies, elderly, they have to come home. we have to bring themselves home. what's them home. >> thank you so much for your time. we appreciate it. >> thank you. coming up back here in the united states, he's trying to make his case. >> if i leave, they win. if i leave, the bullies take place. this is bullying. >> scandal plagued george santos speak ing from the capitol step or right outside the capitol moments ago. he says he isn't packing his bags just yet. another pulgs vote hangs over him. more after a break. congressman george santos is speebing out on the eve of a vote to expel him after a damning ethics committee report dethe tail ing extensive fraud allegations. santos was defiant and accusing the ethics committee of bullying. >> they go ahead and release this report littered in hyperbole, littered in opinion that would have no decent cop would bring this to a prosecutor or a da and say here's our report. go ahead and charge him. because if i leave, they win. if i leave, the bullies take police. this is bullying. the reality is it's all theater. it's theater for the cameras. it's theater for the microphones. it's theater for the american people at the expense of the american people. no real work is getting done. do you like digging up stuff on me? dig up on other members. it's out in the open. >> manu raju is on capitol hill with the latest on the efforts to oust him. one of my favorite details of this morning's event was him rolling up in a jaguar. but you can take it from there. >> reporter: that's right. it's still an open question about whether there are enough votes to expel george santos. even in the face of all these allegations and evidence and findings that the bipartisan house ethics committee found alleging fraud that santos was involved with during his campaign, as well as all the criminal indictments and charges he's facing. spite pleading not guilty and about the concerns of his conduct getting to 290 vote for expulsion is still a tall order. in large part, the speaker indicated he has real reservations about the precedent it would set. the republicans supporting it say it is time for him to go, calling him a con man. >> george santos is going what every con man and 4-year-old does, which is to ignore the truth, take no responsibility, and point at others and suggest they are worse. there was a bipartisan, k comprehensive ethics report. that is his due process. it is concluded. it is comprehensive. it proves thhe's a con man, a fraud and a criminal. he shouldn't be a member of congress. >> having hum here is unbecoming of the house. and frankly, if republicans aren't willing to police their own, how can we possibly look at the american people in the eye and tell them we are willing to police folks on the other side of the aisle as well. >> reporter: it's a question about whether they can get there. a lot of republicans say they don't want to set the new precedent here. this will be the first time ever someone has been kicked out of his seat, even despite not being convicted of a crime. the others expelled, three others were members of the confederacy is. he would be the sixth member ever. and not lost on many republicans is the fact if he is kicked, it will narrow their tight majority in a district that joe biden carried. >> thank you so much. appreciate that reporting. here to share their reporti ing jeff zeleny, leigh ann caldwell of "the washington post." nice to see all of you. let's start by adding to the reporting that our esteemed colleague manu did from capitol hill. let's play what mike johnson said about whether or not this is a vote that people in the republican conference should take. >> there are people who say you have to uphold the rule of law and allow for someone to be convicted in a criminal court. there are others who say, well, upholding the rule of law requires us to take this step now because some of the things he's alleged to have done, the house ethics committee having done their job, are in fractions against the house itself. so what we have said as a leadership team is to allow people to vote their conscious. i have real reservations about doing this. i'm concern ed about a preceden that maybe set is for that. >> so vote your conscious, but here's my view. >> trying to tip the scales a but. if he's expelled, it will be a short-term challenge for this speaker. you have to think that that is underlying some of this. the votes will be so few. but it's likely a long-term advantage. george santos would no longer be an issue in house races next year in new york, which were so critical to building this narrow house majority. but this is one of those votes where you're not exactly sure how it's going to go because there's so many other dialics at play. but it is just extraordinary. you mention ed the jaguar. for all of the ridiculousness that's happening in the house in recent years, members are embarrassed by it. they are just ready for him to be off the stage. >> you mentioned how tough it is to figure out where the votes are assuming that this happens tomorrow. one of his fellow republicans from new york yesterday said that he thought 150 republicans will vote to expel him. here's what he is now saying. he said people are telling us different things as to where they think the vote count is out. i have spoken with a decent amount of people, and i feel like we'll get to two-thirds, but it might be close. translation, they have no idea. >> i think that's right. and i think that the precedent setting is something that sp speaker johnson mentioned and is causing some members heartburn. no one has been kicked out of ft house before they have been convicted. santos is charged with 23 federal crimes, but he hasn't been convicted yet. so we'll see. we know that the democrats are going to vote. we know the new yorkers are going to vote to kick him out. they. want to not be associated with him anymore. but it could be a close vote. it is happening the day that speaker johnson is heading to new york for a major weekend of fundraising. he's introducing himself to all these big new york donors. so there could be some -- it might be good news for him to go dl with george santos no longer in congress. >> this has just been -- i think we have run out of words to describe how this episode has progressed. i do think it's lucky for mike johnson that the speaker of the house doesn't actually traditionally vote on legislation, so he can say what hes at a press conference, but he doesn't have to take a position. that's why you see him trying to acknowledge, obviously, the concerns that he's getting from his moderate republicans, and many republicans in the conference who are just sick of this guy and want him to leave the congress. but also acknowledging the concerns. we have a fellow louisianan pointing out the precedent issue in a detailed letter to his colleagueses. he's trying to appeal to that part of the conference as well. the one thing that johnson and other republicans can't ignore that for george santos, for all his drama, he's been very reliable conservative vote. he's not someone who gives leadership a heart ache when it comes to close votes. >> everybody, standby we're going to go back to politics. the 2024 politics of it all. there was a big, big endorsement, several big endorsements for nikki haley this week. she just launched her first television ad from inside her campaign. plus donald trump is once again setting his sights on obamacare. but are the former president's allies happy with his latest target? i'll give you a hint. new reporting, next. 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. nikki haley's presidential campaign is launching its first television ad of the primary season. the spot called "moral clarity" is part of the massive $million ad campaign that will air in new hampshire and iowa. listen to part of it. >> a president must have moral clarity and know the difference between good and evil. it's time for a new generation of conservative leadership. we have to leave behind the chaos and drama of the past and strengthen our country, our pride, and our purpose. >> our panel is back here with us. jeff zeleny, you have been out on the campaign trail. you have been talking to voters and you have been on the trail even this week with nikki haley. it seems a as though our friend david chalian said we wish we had a week like nikki haley is having this week. she's certainly feeling the wind at her back. the question is what she going to do with it? this is one of the first answers. >> she will be happy to have a good week in january, not november. that's the whole point of this. what does it matter. but it matters in the sense that she is certainly getting hot at the right moment, when people are paying attention. we're sitting around here thinking, how can this be her first tv ad. it's almost december. but she has struggled throughout the here. they have been very careful spending money. now is the time when voters in iowa and new hampshire are paying attention. she's introducing herself. i'm struck by one thing. she asks people in her rooms and rallies how many of you are seeing me for the fist time. more than half of the crowd raised their hands. i was struck by that. just on tuesday evening at opera house, we have been to so many events, so people are just t tuning in. she's try og to introduce herself, but she's also making the point, it's time to leave behind the chaos and the drama. the translation is donald trump. she's trying to walk this tight rope, again, between appealing to anyone but trump republicans and sounding okay to those who actually like donald trump. >> we should say this is the first ad from her own campaign. her campaign, she, like all the other candidates, have superpacs that have been airing ads and doing all kinds of spending. we talked about her good week. a lot of new donors, the biggest are the koch brothers. and there are also some very important names who are coming out for her. wall street titan jeremy dimon said, even if you're a liberal democrat, i urge you to help nikki haley. get a choice on the republican side that might be better than trump. >> really fascinating words from jeremy dimon there. another huge endorsement is the endorsement of the koch brothers, which is not just pick ing up the backing of massive conservative organization, but what i think is really key for nikki haley here is just the organizational grass roots power that the koch brothers have particularly and they are going to deploy in new hampshire on her behalf. so i think that we have all been kind of presuming or thinking that donald trump is on the way to getting the republican nomination, but it is still too early to count nikki haley out. and as jeff said, she