here's why you should switch fo to duckduckgo on all your devie duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today. hello, everyone.

thank you so much for joining me this saturday. new developments in the middle east after the u.s. unleashed a series of strategic and punishing air strikes. the u.s. says it hit 85 targets related to iran's force and affiliated militia groups in iraq and syria. iraq claims the blast killed 16 people including civilians. leaders there are demanding to see the senior u.s. diplomatic official in baghdad as an initial protest. u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin is vowing these strikes are just the beginning of the u.s. response following a drone attack in jordan which killed three american soldiers on sunday. iran said the u.s. has made a strategic mistake. while iraq and syria and even russia warn the u.s. strikes could inflame more conflict in the region. we have teams covering these

developments. ben, what's the reaction in the middle east to these u.s. strikes? >> certainly we've seen angry reactions from syria, which as you said, warn that this would inflame the situation further. the syrians say that there was significant damage as a result of these strikes and there were civilian and military casualties although they didn't go into the details. now, iraq, which hosts 2,500 u.s. forces and bases in iraq, said that the attack was unacceptable in their words and that it's a violation of iraq's sovereignty and the foreign ministry in background has summoned the u.s. affair in background. there is no ambassador there at the time to submit an official protest. iran has also come out with the

essentially the same line. it's a violation of international law and violeatio of national sovereignty and integrity. beyond that, the reaction from government, particularly those who are friendly with the united states, has been fairly muted. >> and ben, a source tells cnn that jordan is taking part in this u.s. operations against iranian backed targets as well? what do you know? >> that's an american source that told cnn that. here in jordan, we've been trying to get some sort of comment from the jordanians. there has been shortly after cnn reported that jordan quote unquote participated in these strikes, petra, the official news agency, came out and categorically denied that the jordanian air force participated in any strikes on iraq. it didn't, however, mention syria, and the word participate leaves it open to interpretation

as far as the official in the u.s. who spoke to cnn. was it the use of jordanian aircraft? we simply don't know. keep in mind that during the war against isis, jordan was part of the anti isis coalition along with the united states, the u.k., and others and jordanian warplanes did participate in strikes on isis, but in this instance, the precise details of this alleged participation, we simply don't know and jordanian officials don't seem to want to talk about it. >> okay. and then ben, we're also getting details about several new u.s. strikes in yemen. u.s. says it targeted multiple houthi drones preparing to attack ships in the red sea and gulf of aden on friday. what is the latest on that? >> these were really targeted opportunities. we shouldn't look at them in the same context of those 85 targets

struck by the united states with things like b1 bombers in iraq and syria. these are drones, which has a carrier group in the area, spotted trying to strike navigation in the red sea and gulf of aden and they shot them down. some were shot down by reporting to the pentagon, u.s. f-18 fighter jets, which are of course based on the dwight d. eisenhower aircraft carrier. as i said, this is not really part of the broader u.s. surge of strikes that the administration is talking about and the, it's widely anticipated that after reiraq and syria wer struck overnight that perhaps yemen's turn is coming. >> thank you so much. the u.s. is vowing these strikes are only the beginning of its military response.

priscilla alvarez is in los angeles where president biden will be traveling this afternoon. what more are officials saying? >> fred, they're saying exactly that. this is the first in a series of strikes that we can expect after those three service members were killed in jordan and president biden was pretty clear about that in his statement yesterday afternoon. saying the following. quote, our response began today. it will continue at times and places of our choosing. the united states does not seek conflict in the middle east or anywhere else in the world. he degoes on to say if you harmn american, we will respond. sources tell cnn that president biden reached his decision on what to do after those three service members were killed on monday. now, part of the reason there was a gap in timing here according to officials is because of the weather. they wanted to make sure the weather had clear skies so they didn't have any unintended casualties and they could

determine their targets. now, of course, there's no belief among u.s. officials that this will completely stop the attacks by iranian proxies but their goal has been to diminish their capabilities and to deter them from these types of strikes. and of course, this also is part of a delicate balance that president biden is having to navigate here. he wants to deter these groups, make clear, make forcefully clear that there will be a response. especially when service members are killed, but he also doesn't want to see this conflict get any wider. notably, there were no strikes in iran. now that was unlikely going into these counterstrikes but notable because it speaks to the fact that the president biden administration does not want tensions to escalate further in a region that's on edge. >> thanks so much. let's get more on this story with spider marx, head of

geopolitical strategy for academy securities. >> thank you, fred. >> so the u.s. is saying this is only the beginning of this operation. what could potentially be next? >> well, the target set is certainly going to evolve based on the damage assessment that was done on the previous attack that took place last night. 85 points, very specific targets within seven i would say named areas of interest along the e euphrates valley. there were three messages. one is we will punish precisely and hopefully very brutally, the attacks that killed our service members. number two is hopefully this is going to achieve some level of deterrence. in other words, iran, this is unacceptable behavior. don't try it again. this is how the united states is going to respond.

and in the third thing is very strong message back to tehran in terms of its relationship with its proxies. you might want to reconsider how you're conducting your relationship with proxies and i think they will. i think the deterrence effect might be achieved in the near term in that iran is looking at the proxies. this was a very punishing blow. they lost capability. leadership. and they lost a number of their capacity to execute these kinds of terror attacks. so there might be a step back. now, also when you look at the houthis down in the red sea, again, this is a -- campaign plan of centcom, but i don't see it tied tactically into what we're seeing in iraq and syria. >> so while the u.s. is saying this is retaliation, iraqi government officials are calling it blatant aggression. a syrian foreign ministry representative says these

strikes, i'm quoting now, fuel conflict and quote in the region. you say it's deterrence or are you worried that this might further stir things up? >> well, first of all, without being flippant, let's not worry about what the syrians say, right? let's not worry about what the narrative is coming out of tehran that's incredibly predictable. i am concerned about what the iraqis say, but not entirely surprised. we've been with them and at their side for well over 15 years. if they don't want us there, they can disinvite us, and oh, by the way, iraq didn't do anything and has not done anything against the proxies that exist in iraq. you have the popular mobilization front in iraq, which works with the force, the irgc from iran. so this is a real cat's breakfast of relationships an we deal with the government and baghdad all the time and we confront them and we tell them

look, this is unacceptable and we have rights of response and we're going to take advantage of that. clearly it's what just took place. so bigger picture. if the iraqis have a problem with the u.s., they can say you're no longer invited and we'll depart. >> so the u.s. carried out these strikes by way of b1 bombers that flew to the middle east from texas. help explain you know why u.s. air assets would be used that are already in the region versus coming from the united states? >> great question. i think really two reasons. one is surprise. they're coming from the region. there will be eyes and ears and immediate detection. those rat lines and that communication takes place routinely. so it would be very hard to do that. second thing, if we used fighter aircraft, for example, it could achieve the same results with

the same munitions but it could also maybe get our enemies to think we're going to stick around and provide some type of close air support. in other words, if there are forces on the ground trying to achieve objectives working at our behest, that fighter aircraft would do that. a bomber from texas is not. and when it comes from dias, it can refuel multiple times. it carries an incredible payload. both your cruise missiles as well as gravity bombs, and it has that great element of surprise. >> well, it did indeed do that. so u.s. secretary of state blinken, he's going back to the middle east tomorrow. what kind of impact do you think these strikes might have on his diplomatic efforts to help bring an end to the war in gaza? >> well, again, great question. look, it's all connected. you can't separate what is taking place in the greater

mideast either in the bottom of the red sea coming through the suez, what's happening in gaza, hezbollah, and lebanon. what we're seeing with the proxies in both northern iraq and syria. this is all tied and the discussion goes right back to tehran. so, what may happen based on some initiatives trying to change the complexion of the fight in gaza, there could be a cease fire. prognosticating that there will be, but that's the discussion. could there be a multiple month cease fire? and if that were the case, you know, the israelis would continue to go after the leadership of hamas. that would happen. but it would be a far different fight. you could also increase the amount of humanitarian support. the momentum toward a cease fire may start to grow roots. if that's the case, then what you're going to see is proxies will go, okay, we may have a succession of hostilities in

gaza. they may stop their proxy terrorist activities. not sure how the houthis will respond, but it could be a change in the volume of escalation and violence in the middle east. which would be a good thing. >> of course. general spider marks, great to see you. thanks so much. >> thank you. still to come, south carolina is officially kicking off democratic primary season and president biden is hoping black voters give him a dominant victory in that state. again, we're live at a polling location. and later, the jury in the jennifer crumbley manslaughter trial is set to begin deliberation to decide in the mother is criminally responsible for the death of her son's victims.

democratic voters in south carolina are heading to the polls. democrats made south carolina their first primary state this cycle and it's the first time that delegates will be awarded 55 democratic delegates are at stake. biden is expected to win despite congressman dean phillips and author mary ann williamson also being on the ballot. eva is at a polling station in south carolina. i see a few people on a saturday. is it pretty busy there today? >> well, fred, it's relatively quiet here today. we're told just about 72 people voted so far at this polling site here in columbia. no doubt president biden and democrats are hoping for bigger numbers across the state. that's because south carolina is really an early test for the

president. of his support with black voters. 60% of south carolina democrats are black voters. they were instrumental in really resurrecting his campaign in 2020 and that is why he fought so hard for south carolina to now hold the first in the nation primary. we spent all week talking to black voters up and down the state. and a bit of mixed reviews about the president. let's listen. >> we need a candidate who's going to stand up and stand up strong for us. or we're going for the couch. >> so you're considering staying home and not voting? >> yes. and a lot fof us are. i think we have to step back and think more long-term. four years, eight years, feels like a long time in my lifetime, but we think about these changes and how they're hopefully going to be impacting the next generations to come.

>> so president biden at his election headquarters today in delaware, he said that this is not just a campaign. it's a mission. i spoke to the head of the dnc earlier this week and he told me that democrats are not only going to be running against trump, they're going to be making an affirmative argument as to why he should be elected. student loan debt, lowering the rate of insulin. voters feeling differently across the state. some excited. some sort of i think tired with their, where they are economically and feeling frustrated. but really at the end of today, we will have somewhat of a pulse of how a core constituency is feeling about the direction of the country. >> all right. we'll keep checking with you to see how the crowd flow goes throughout the day there. here to talk more about the

south carolina primary is elena schneider, a national political reporter for politico. also with me, national political reporter for the boston globe. great to see both of you. all right, i understand i can call uyou lisa. biden is expected to win big today, but there are questions about voter enthusiasm as you heard in those sound bites. your wrote a piece for the boston globe recently about how party leaders have been working hard to get south carolina democratic voters to turn out today. so how important do they believe voters turnout is? >> yeah. i mean, it's a huge deal. as you talk with biden's campaign surrogates, what you hear is that south carolina is a nod to black voters. that they are being very careful to do outreach to as a matter of

making sure there's continued outreach throughout this campaign rather than just swooping in at the last minute and asking for black voters' votes come november. but in some ways, the president is competing against himself though there are other people on the ballots because it turns out that his support among black voters is eroding. that's going to be something he needs to fix ahead of november. in particular in other states that will actually be battlegrounds for november. >> and elena, black voters make up half of the democratic electorate in south carolina and those voters helped propel biden to victory in the state and across the country in 2020. in eva's report, we heard from some black south carolina voters saying they may sit out the election if biden doesn't show a stronger commitment to them. is biden, you know, in danger of losing some of the african american voting block in south

carolina that voted for him in 2020 and now are on the fence or even sitting it out all together in 2024? >> so, look. that's part of what we're going to test here in south carolina today. is where is this core constituency as it relates to biden. so part of what the concern we're seeing not only on the ground that eva touched on with the voters she spoke to, but we're also seeing translating in polling. particularly in battleground states where we're seeing biden underperform his support with black voters by double digits. this is not to say we expect donald trump who's most likely going to be the republican nominee will suddenly win the majority of black voters, but losing points in pennsylvania, michigan, wisconsin, where there are smaller but really important representation of black voters there. to lose those by a couple of points could make all the difference for how biden is able to put together a win in this

general election. the hope here is to not only win some in south carolina, but to also test the messaging here to see what cracks through and breaks through to some of these voters to get them excited. you know, i spoke with half a dozen south carolina lawmakers about these concerns with black voters and they said when they talk to voters, they hear that you know, basically the people aren't aware of what biden has done in terms of student loan debt. lowering healthcare costs. so that's what they're concerned about but the message is not reaching those voters and if it did, it would excite them to show up and vote. >> and lisa, south carolina's p primaries which means voters can choose to vote today or in the republican primary at the end of the month. so do you think it's likely that some democrats will choose instead to vote in the gop primary to influence the race? are they even willing to say it out loud? >> that's a good question. i was at a nikki haley event in

conway last weekend and i remember coming across this voter. we were having this conversation and it took a minute for me to realize that she identified normally lean democrat, but she was planning on hanging on to her vote until february 24th when the republicans will go to the polls because she actually felt that her primary vote would count more then in influencing the republican primary. now, it's a good question. how many people will actually do that. and this voter that i was speaking to to use her as an example, she said come november if her options are biden or trump, that she was going to vote for biden again. but we'll see how much of the turnout for democrats ends up nothing being present today just because they decided to wait for a few more weeks to try to affect the republican primary and maybe give nikki haley a boost if they're strongly anti trump voters. >> biden is not even in south carolina today. we saw him in delaware earlier.

he's going to be traveling out to california to meet with donors there. you wrote a piece for politico talking about how this will likely be the longest general election season in modern political history. i think a lot of people are feeling that already. so how important will fund raising be you know n, in the interim? >> hugely important. because to reach those black voters that we're talking about here. to have them hear this message. not one time, but many times. and not just on tv ads, but on their phones. and at their doors and in their mailboxes. that takes money. that takes cash. and so it's going to be incumbent on the president to spend probably a good significant amount of time going out there and fund raising or sending out surrogates to do that work. it's not something we know he particularly enjoys but something that's going to be a key part of what is going to keep this campaign running and what they want to do in terms of going up against donald trump who has a pretty strong, small

dollar fund raising machine they're going to be up against. >> lisa, the president got another good jobs report with the u.s. adding 350,000 jobs in january. nearly double what was forecast. the dow is at an all-time high. polls show the economy has been one of the president's biggest liabilities, however. is the president biden campaign confident they can turn the economy into a strength going into the november election because the numbers say one thing and then people will express their feeling another as it pertains to the economy. >> yes. on the ground while you're talking with voters, do look good for biden. what you're seeing from the biden campaign, what they have accomplished. as i spoke with the chair of the south carolina democratic party, she said that any lack of

enthusiasm has to deal with the information gap that voters are feeling. that once they hear what all the administration has accomplished that they'll be happy. so the economy is something they're going to be talking a lot about. they're also hearing about the caps on insulin prices, investment in hbcus and you're hearing them go all in on these accomplish. s. >> all right. we'll leave it there for now. thanks to both of you. appreciate it. your name made me really nervous but it's a beautiful name. coming up, it's a case that will test the limits of who is responsible for a mass shooting. the jury in jennifer crumbly's manslaughter trial will begin deliberations on monday. we'll discuss next.

in order for small businesses to thrive, they need to be smart, efficient, savvy. making the most of every opportunity. that's why comcast business is introducing the small business bonus. for a limited time you can get up to $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet. yup, $1000. so switch to business internet from the company with the largest fastest reliable network.

give your business a head start in 2024 with this great offer. plus, ask how to get up to $1000 prepaid card with qualifying internet.

all right. back to our top story. the u.s. says its forces hit 85 targets linked to pro iranian militia groups inside iraq and syria. iraq say it is blasts killed 16 people including civilians in an attack that according to the white house lasted about 30 minutes. iraq denounced the attacks and iraq is now demanding to see the senior u.s. diplomatic official in baghdad as an official protest. lloyd austin says the strikes are just the beginning of the u.s. response after an iran-backed drone attacked in jordan which killed three american soldiers on sunday. and jury dleliberations begn next week in a case of a mother for the first time charged for a mass shooting committed by her child. jennifer crumbley faces involuntary manslaughter charges for the shooting by her son,

ethan. closing arguments wrapped up yesterday with both sides laying out their cases for the jury. >> she could have stopped at home on the way back to the meeting. she goes right by her home to see where the gun was. she could have stopped on the way back to work. she could have searched the backpack. she could have asked her son where the gun was. she could have locked the ammunition. she could have taken him home. to work. he could have gone with dad. he was door dashing. she could have told the school that they just -- this clearly was not foreseeable to mrs. crumbley because there's no one in the world including mrs. crumbley who would have let a school shooting happen and let what happened on november 30th take place. not only ruining the lives of so

many families and victims and taking the lives of four young people, but also ruining her own son's life and ripping his life right from her as well. >> i'd like to bring in defense attorney, misty maris. what's your take on the closing arguments? >> two diametrically different points of view, of course. now, the prosecution did a really good job of narrowing in on that fateful day. the day of the shooting. and talking about all of the different actions that could have been taken by jennifer cru crumbley. she goes to a meeting with the school. there's a very disturbing drawing that depicts a gun and disturbing statements and a decision is made to not take ethan out of the school. defense taking the other side and saying you could be her.

this was not foreseeable. there's parents on the jury. all of this has context. she had no idea that her son would be capable of such a terrible act. and to do so, the defense attorney really focused, actually a lot on herself, but tried to really connect with parents who would feel that basically this was not something that jennifer crumbley would have ever seen coming. >> this is a case. if you're the defendant, you really need to connect with the juror. jurors, right? you need to somehow convince them you know to take a walk in your shoes. do you think that the defense attorneys were able to successfully do that? >> yeah. i actually think the prosecution's cross-examination brought up some, went a little too far, fred. i say that because the prosecution in their cross was

really focused on her hobbies. jennifer crumbley spending time and money on a hobby. her time at work. that's not a legal standard. reasonable minds are going to differ on how much time you should allocate to your family. the defense attorney took that a step further in the closing and described her own life saying sometimes i don't answer my kids' text messages. to me, some of that might have been too much focus on the defense attorney herself. however, the point was made this was a situation where the prosecution is cherry picking these text messages and you're not looking at it from the full context of a situation in your life that it wasn't so obvious that jennifer crumbley would believe that ethan was a danger in this way to others. fred, another point that the defense did a really good job on was talking about that meeting

at the school. the school also did not see a risk. the school also did not escalate this and search ethan's backpack. so all of those factors are going to be incredibly important as the jury deliberates. >> and the prosecution is trying to exhibit or try to show that there was real willful negligence here by crumbley. they begin deliberations on monday. thank you so much. >> thank you, fred. up next, california bracing for severe weather. a new and more powerful storm will bring flooding and heavy mountain snows in the next couple of days. how state officials are preparing. straight ahead.

the second of two powerful atmospheric rivers is set to soak california this weekend, bringing torrential rainfall. nearly 40 million people are under flood watches across the state and as the storms threaten to bring flash flooding, mudslides and damaging wind gusts, it's hard to prepare for any of this. severe conditions leading to terrifying situations like this. a man trapped in a storm channel had to be rescued by firefighters. he was taken to the hospital in stable condition. cnn national correspondent is joining us from sherman oaks neighborhood of los angeles. camilla, how are californians preparing? >> reporter: hey, fred. officials are saying there are a few easy ways to prepare. avoid travel. maintain at home if you can. keep informed. have an emergency kit just in case. and go out to your local fire

station and start grabbing the sandbags if you're one of those people that lives in an area prone to flooding. people have told us their garages have already flooded in previous storms so this is what they're doing now to prepare ahead of this storm that officials are saying could be one of the worst of the season. now, during the storm, officials telling people to be very vigilant and especially in those areas that normally flood. they're telling people those currents can be very deceiving and so they say priority should be to keep yourself safe during that storm. and officials saying they are also getting ready for that during the storm time. take a listen to what the l.a. fire chief had to say. >> we've got our swift water rescue apparatus boats. we also have our teams that will be fully staffed. ready to respond to any water related emergency. now these teams are highly trained in swift water technical

rescues. they stand ready to respond on a moment's notice. we've also bolstered our air apparatus, our helicopters, our air resources, adding skilled pilots and rescue teams to our helicopter fleet. >> and officials just saying take this seriously because it could be dangerous, fred. >> oh, yes, very potentially dangerous. thank you so much. appreciate it. we'll be right back.

on the big screen, and creed, black panther, to name a few. well, he has made big moves on the hard court as well. he's the brain child, the creator of the third annual invesco qqq legacy classic bringing together four top men's basketball teams of historically black colleges and universities to compete and today, in jordan's hometown of newark, new jersey in the one day doubleheader, gramling versus jackson state and at 4:00 p.m.

eastern, one of the most auda audacious rivalries, hampton university versus my alma mater, howard university. the games will air on tnt. what you will experience if you attend today, lots of entertainment, battle of the bands and a college fair. jordan designed this to be an event, one of uplift on so many levels. joining me now is taylor rooks. taylor, great to see you. >> great to see you and i hear you're incredibly invested. i'll catch the back end of it. >> how has this become so special that other hbu teams want to be there?

>> absolutely. big and special are two perfect ways to describe this event. this is my third year i've been a part of it. it feels like it gets bigger and better every year and the teams are always so excited to come to new jersey, have these experiences. see michael b. jordan play on a platform like tnt. you can see how much this means to them when they're on the court, when they're interacting. it's a truly special event to be part of. >> it sounds fantastic. i got to get court side one of these days. how has this perhaps helped elevate hbcu basketball or even the student body? >> yes. so many of these teams aren't getting the highs or support they deserve. that was one of the reasons michael b. jordan wanted to create this event. he always says he wants the hbcu students and athletes to feel

seen. you're going to see amazing basketball today. a lot of passion both on the court and in the stands. as you know, there's nothing like hbcu fan base at a game like this. i just think every single year, you see how much the students feel seen and that truly was the mission that michael wanted when he created this classic. >> wonderful. what will you will watching for? a particular team you like? >> okay, so i like all the teams. i know my audience, but my favorite part of this is the bands and being at an hbcu game is such a fun and specific experience. i'm up here dancing and wondering if i can go down there and join them. i love the bands, the entertainment and mingling. there's so many people that look just like you rooting for their teams, having fun. that's always the treat. >> nothing like the battle of the bands and you know i have a favorite in all this.

and i am wearing, i'm not you know pulling up my shirt, i am wearing now a commemorative medallion for howard university's 2023 men's basketball championship. but i like to think it also represents for the other hu, championships in men's football. sorry, in men's golf, women's volleyball, track and field and the howard swim and diving northeast championship. so for the teams that win today, what's the prize? bragging rights or something else? >> i mean, so many things. of course, it is bragging rights but we always want to make sure we also giving resources and so many benefits to these students. there's always some sort of philanthropic element of this, too. it is a completely holistic approach to this game today. >> all right. taylor rooks, thank you so much. of course, you know, howard

football is on the way. it's on the way. all right. the legacy classic kicks off minutes from now on tnt. cannot wait.

two leading candidates for senate. two very different visions for california. steve garvey, the leading republican, is too conservative for california. he voted for trump twice and supported republicans for years, including far right conservatives. adam schiff, the leading democrat, defended democracy against trump and the insurrectionists. he helped build affordable housing, lower drug costs, and bring good jobs back home. the choice is clear. i'm adam schiff, and i approve this message.

hello, again, everyone. thank you for joining me this saturday. new developments as the world react to a blistering u.s. air assault in the middle east. russia is now calling for an urgent u.n. security council meeting over the strikes. the u.s. says it hit 85 targets linked to iran's