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Hamas Leader Killed in Lebanon; Donald Trump Files An Appeal in Maine; Russia Continue Its Attacks Against Ukraine; Earthquake Killed 62 People in Japan; Tokyo Runway Collision Under Investigation; New Year Car Crash in Rochester No Terror Links; Israel Supreme Court Strikes Down Judicial Overhaul; Deal Reached on U.S Military Base Extension in Qatar; Harvard University President Resigns; Republican Lawmakers to Visit the Southern Border; Disney's "Steamboat Willie" Copyright Expires. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired January 03, 2024 - 03:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead, a U.S. official says Israel was responsible for the strike in Lebanon that killed a senior Hamas leader.

Donald Trump appeals the decision to remove him from Maine's presidential primary ballot, accusing the state's top election official of bias.

And investigators begin their search into what caused that fiery runway collision in Japan.

UNKNOWN: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. A top Hamas leader has been assassinated, and a U.S. official told CNN that Israel carried out the hit. Senior Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in the suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon on Tuesday. Lebanese media report the strike targeted an office belonging to Hamas and several others were also killed including leaders from the Hamas military wing.

Earlier, an Israeli government spokesperson issued this statement about the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK REGEV, ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SPOKESPERSON: Israel has not taken responsibility for this attack, but whoever did it, it must be clear that this was not an attack on the Lebanese state, it was not an attack even Hezbollah, the terrorist organization. Whoever did this, did a surgical strike against the Hamas leadership.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Al-Arouri is the first top Hamas political leader to be killed since the October 7th terror attacks. He's also considered the mastermind behind the arming of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. His killing has sparked condemnation from key Hamas allies, like Iran and the Houthis in Yemen. Crowds of supporters also protested in the West Bank.

The U.S. Treasury had designated Saleh al-Arouri a terrorist back in 2015, and offered $5 million for information on him. But there is no word yet on whether the award will be paid and who might get it.

CNN's Nada Bashir reports from Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, this is a significant escalation, we're talking about the number two of Hamas's political bureau, somebody who is called one of the founders of the Al-Qassam Brigade, Hamas' military wing. And we have heard from the leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, earlier today, condemning the attack, describing it as a cowardly assassination carried out, in his words, by Israel.

And we have heard from the Lebanese national news agency was caused by what they described as an aerial strike using three missiles. And we have been speaking to locals here, one business owner just a few doors down telling us that he heard three loud booms at the time of the incident.

Now, of course there are still investigations ongoing. Authorities and forensic teams have been here throughout the evening. Important to note of course that we have previously heard from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that Israel would hunt down all Hamas leaders, not just in Gaza, not just in the occupied West Bank, wherever they are located.

However, CNN has reached out to the Israeli military. They have declined to comment. We heard a little earlier from a senior adviser to Benjamin Netanyahu, Mark Regev, he spoke to MSNBC, saying that Israel does not claim responsibility for this attack. But whoever did carry out the attack was clearly carrying out a very precise target. They were targeting a Hamas leader, not the Lebanese state, not targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

And we have heard from the Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, he has condemned the attack. He has accused Israel of trying to pull Lebanon into a new phase of confrontation. Of course, important to note that this comes off the back of weeks of escalating tension between the Iran-backed Hezbollah group and Israel.

We have seen continued exchanges of fire on the southern border of Lebanon. Israel carrying out air strikes from Lebanese villages. Some civilians have been killed, including journalists who are reporting by the border.

In turn, Hezbollah has targeted, what they have described as Israeli military targets on the other side of the border. There is mounting concern that this could escalate into a broader conflict that could spill over across the region.

[03:05:00]

We've heard last week from a member of Israel's war cabinet, Benny Gantz, he warned that time is running out for a diplomatic solution and that Israel could turn to take military action if needed. Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary general of Hezbollah is expected to speak on Wednesday evening. That speech was scheduled before this incident took place. But of course, all eyes will be watching, waiting to see what Nasrallah has to say about this latest attack.

Nada Bashir, CNN, in Beirut.

CHURCH: And we go to Tel Aviv now, and Shlomi Eldar. He's an Israeli journalist and filmmaker and the author of "Getting to know Hamas and Isles in Gaza." I appreciate you joining us.

SHLOMI ELDAR, ISRAELI JOURNALIST AND FILMMAKER: Thank you very much. Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: So what is your reaction to this targeted attack on a senior Hamas leader in Beirut, and what's the likely strategy behind this, do you think?

ELDAR: A strategy to eliminate the Hamas leaders, especially Yahya Sinwar hiding in Gaza Strip. I think they are first targeting Israel, they announced that the targeting of Hamas leader is one of the missions of the Israeli operations, Israeli war in Gaza. And I think the most important man now to be caught is Yahya Sinwar. Yahya Sinwar, the head of the Hamas leader in Gaza Strip who claimed the terror attack in Israel on October 7th.

And Yahya Sinwar is hiding in one of the tunnels, huge tunnels that Hamas built in Gaza Strip. It's the most important for Israel to caught him to eliminate him. And even to declare this is a kind of ending the war in Gaza. Because I think that Israel from the beginning, Prime Minister Netanyahu announced and promised Israel to eliminate Hamas movement.

I think after a three months war in Gaza strip, I think the Israeli government, the Israeli leadership, even the IDF leader can understand that eliminate Hamas totally elimination, it's impossible. But the way to hurt Hamas, it's by hunting the leaders.

And I can give one example for 2004 during the second intifada, Israel assassinated two leaders of Hamas, the most important leaders in Hamas, the sheikh Ahmed Yassin who founded the movement, and his inheritance successor is Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi in three weeks, during three weeks in March and April 2004.

And this was the end of the second intifada. Hamas leader, the political group, Khaled Meshal offered Israel an understanding. So will stop the terror attacks, sending the terrorists and bombing themselves, suicide bombing in Israel. And you, Israel, stopped the assassination. And it was a deal. And the deal was kept by the two sides, and bring the end of the second intifada.

CHURCH: All right. I just --

(CROSSTALK)

ELDAR: And even now I think --

CHURCH: Yes. I do want to ask you, --

ELDAR: Yes.

CHURCH: -- because we are running out of time, Israel is not saying that they are behind this assassination in Beirut. But why not just say they did it, given Israel has been threatening to go after Hamas leaders since this war began on October 7th, can you explain that to us?

ELDAR: Yes, I also ask myself the same question. I think that Israel must say we targeting the Hamas leader, and we take responsibility for hunting Saleh al-Arouri, that he was -- he's a terrorist, he was a terrorist. He sent terrorist attacks against Israel from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

So this is a policy of the Israeli government. I can't explain it unfortunately. And I can just say if not Israel assassinated Saleh al- Arouri, who can do it?

CHURCH: All right, Shlomi Eldar, the thank you so much for talking with us. I appreciate it.

ELDAR: Thank you very much.

CHURCH: Former U.S. President Donald Trump is asking a Maine court to overturn a decision removing him from the state's 2024 primary ballot. Maine's secretary of state said last week she had a legal obligation to remove Trump from the ballot over his role in the January 6th, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, citing the same reason Colorado gave for removing him from its ballot.

Our Paula Reid has more.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: In their filing late Tuesday, the Trump team attacking Maine's Secretary of State Shenna Bellows. She is a Democrat, but its Maine's policy that the first stop for questions about whether someone is eligible to appear on the ballot go to the secretary of state.

[03:10:08]

But in their filing tonight, Trump's lawyers insist that she was, quote, "a biased decision-maker who should have recused herself, had no legal authority, made multiple errors of law, and acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner."

Her decision was based on section three of the 14th Amendment on the Constitution. Now, this particular piece of the Constitution and who should enforce it, this has been litigated across multiple states over the past several months, and we have seen differing outcomes.

Now most of the states, except for Colorado and Maine, have opted to keep Trump on the ballot. But those states mostly did so based on procedural grounds. They didn't get into the merits of the argument, but that leaves the door open for this to continue to be litigated through the 2024 election.

Now we're also still waiting for Trump to file his appeal on the Colorado decision. That appeal is expected to go to the Supreme Court. The Republican Party of Colorado has already filed an appeal there, but it is expected that Trump will also appeal that decision.

And what's clear is the Supreme Court has to weigh in here, give some clarity on who the section three of the 14th Amendment applies to, who is supposed to enforce it. And there is a desire by many parties and states to have some clarity on this before super Tuesday.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: Gold bars and Grand Prix tickets, those are just some of the gifts U.S. Senator Bob Menendez is accused of receiving from Qatar, and an alleged coconspirator, as part of a years-long corruption scheme.

The allegations are part of a superseding indictment made public on Tuesday. This makes Qatar the second foreign country, following Egypt, that the New Jersey Democrat is accused of helping while in office. Menendez sits on the senate foreign relations committee. He has vigorously denied any wrongdoing, and his attorney says the senator acted entirely appropriately at all times.

Well, coming up, Ukraine says Russia's latest attacks are a case for more western support and more military aid. We'll show you what they're up against, that's next.

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CHURCH: Russia has been pounding Ukraine with missiles, as the war drags on nearly two years after a full-scale invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia launched at least 500 missiles and drones at Ukrainian territory in the past five days, including a massive bombardment of Kyiv and Kharkiv on Tuesday.

CNN's Clare Sebastian joins me live from London. Good morning to you, Clare. So what is the latest on Russia's relentless attacks on Ukraine?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary, this is really the sort of hallmark now of what we see going on as the year has turned, and Ukraine a very bleak new year where there has been a significant escalation in the air war that Russia is waging.

Now we now know that the injury toll from Tuesday's attacks is that 130 people. The death toll stands at five, just a measure of how bleak this new year has been. Not the Kyiv military administration has just said one more person has died in hospital as a result of injuries sustained on December 29th, which Ukraine says was the biggest aerial bombardment of a city since the beginning of the war.

So that fallout is ongoing. Meanwhile, this has been actually an exchange of aerial attacks, Ukraine also being accused by Russia of continuing its aerial assault across the border in the Belgorod region. Some dozen missiles, Russia says that it shot down this morning after a number of attacks on Tuesday. Where the governor of Belgorod said one person was killed by shrapnel and 11 others injured, three of which are still in hospital.

So that region is feeling the pressure as well. But Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for that. But Ukraine is also making it clear that it is not powerless against this Russian assault. Despite the hesitation the (Inaudible) that we see in Congress over more aid, it did manage to shoot down the majority of missiles that were fired at them on Tuesday.

Among them, 10 out of 10, it says Kinzhal, these are missiles that Russia calls hypersonic, they're some of the most vaunted elements of the Russian arsenal. And I think a measure of that is that General Zaluzhnyi, the head of the armed forces, came out and spoke to CNN exactly about that element. Let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALERII ZALUZHNYI, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE (through translator): Today, the air force of Ukraine has shot down 10 of 10 Russian X47M2 Kinzhal air defense missiles using Patriot surface to air missiles. This is a record. If these missiles had reached their target, the consequences would have been catastrophic.

I thank our serviceman for their work, and I think our partners for their air defense systems. There is no reason to believe that the enemy will stop here. That is why we need more systems and ammunition for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: No reason to believe the enemy will stop there. He's doing two things there, I think interesting he gives credit to the Patriots, trying I think to answer some of the criticism that we've seen certainly in Congress over where the money is going and how it's being used.

And secondly, I think using these attacks to really show the world, and especially Ukraine's allies, just how much more military aid is needed. Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right, Clare Sebastian in London, many thanks.

And joining me now from Kyiv is Andriy Zagorodnyuk. He is an adviser to the Ukrainian government and a former Ukrainian defense minister.

Good to see you. I appreciate you being with us. ANDRIY ZAGORODNYUK, FORMER UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER: Thank you.

CHURCH: So, Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine, just as President Putin vowed to do during a speech on New Year's Day, apparently emboldened by the stalled effort in the U.S. Congress to approve additional military aid for Ukraine. So where do you see this war going from here and how will Ukraine survive without more support from the U.S. and its allies?

ZAGORODNYUK: It will be extremely difficult to survive without more support. And let's be very realistic about that. Ukraine has been receiving billions of help from the West.

[03:20:01]

The western politicians were transmitting all around the world that it is in the strategic interest of the west to support Ukraine. And of course, if suddenly that changes and the United States, for example, is no longer going to support Ukraine, that would be catastrophic for the region, and obviously for Ukrainian people.

So, we need to just be very sober about that and then not diminish the fact that, you know, those decisions actually have a very direct impact on human lives. But we do have support from other countries as well, of course. So, we have support, some support from E.U., some support, significant support from the United Kingdom, and basically the whole western coalition.

Where it's going? It's very simple. Putin is going to intensify whatever he can in order to demonstrate that he has a chance to win. We don't think so. With the western support, we don't think he is going to win, because he actually has very little of the advancements in the front, if any. But with the bombarding of the civilian infrastructure in cities and so on, he creates an image of basically controlling the space.

CHURCH: Right, and President Zelenskyy says Russian forces are suffering heavy losses as well. What update do you have on where things stand right now on the frontlines?

ZAGORODNYUK: We have -- well, they are suffering tremendous losses. We are talking about hundreds of people a day. So it could be 600 a day, it could be up to 1,000 a day. Russian armed forces are experiencing a terrible basic attrition. And we are talking equipment, we are topping about people, we're talking about infrastructure, and so on.

So obviously they are supplying a lot to the front. But at the same time, the level of attrition is not comparable to the level of their production. So if Russia continues to lose the equipment in that rate and their people, we won't see much of them, you know, able to support that level in intensity in the end of the year. So what we need to do, we need to keep up destroying Russian vehicles and destroying Russian capabilities.

CHURCH: And we are seeing various reports suggesting that President Putin is looking for an off ramp in this war, but intends to declare victory all the same. What more are you learning about any effort to bring this war to an end and what's President Zelenskyy's peace plan for Ukraine?

ZAGORODNYUK: President Zelenskyy's peace plan has tens of countries which have already signed the declaration supporting it. So basically, president is mobilizing all diplomatic effort in order to create a coalition supporting that plan.

Putin obviously declares, you know, that they are going to continue the offensive and to continue the war against Ukraine. That's what he said during the recent speeches. And so, there's no doubt that he will do this until he can't. And so, the only way to stop the war is to make sure that Putin physically cannot continue that pace, and he starts to withdraw, like he did it in the end of 2022. So, we've been there already, we know what it takes. And we need to make sure that we have that capability in the future.

CHURCH: Andriy Zagorodnyuk, thank you so much for talking with us.

ZAGORODNYUK: Thank you very much. Thank you.

CHURCH: All right, time for a short break. When we come back, new details about that fiery plane collision in Tokyo and how the crew got more than 350 passengers to safety.

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[03:25:00]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. New details on the devastating earthquake that hit Japan's west coast on New Year's Day. A top official says search and rescue efforts are still underway, and 70 people have been rescued since Tuesday night. But the airport in the region is still inoperative, and roads are being cleared in the Noto peninsula to deliver food and essentials to impacted areas.

Meantime, officials say the death toll has risen to 62.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery has details.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been more than a day since the powerful quake. But for Minae and her mother, the impact is still very fresh.

MINAE AKIYAMA, EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR (through translator): Thinking about it now still makes me tremble. My heart was pounding. My mind went blank. We just scrambled, things like our wallets, and ran outside.

MONTGOMERY: Minae was visiting her family for New Years when the quake struck. Her mother's house now unlivable because of the powerful impact. The pair, luckily, able to escape unharmed. But with a constant aftershocks, they are still far from safe. AKIYAMA (through translator): I feel like even now the building is

shaking. Whenever an aftershock happens, I think of the main quake, and my body trembles.

MONTGOMERY: But it's not just the tremors that people here have to worry about. Other than a roof, there is little else.

There is no heating right now, so people are sleeping on mats. They're using thick blankets to stay warm. There is also no running water, so the Japanese self-defense forces are just outside this building handing out water to locals.

This water, a lifeline for dozens here and thousands across the region left without supply or simply without homes after Monday's powerful quake, the devastation difficult to comprehend at night but clearly visible from the sky.

In Wajima, the shock flipping multi story buildings on their side, and raising entire blocks to the ground. Tsunami waves forcing large vessels onto the shore and fires adding to the destruction.

[03:30:04]

YOSHIMASA HAYASHI, JAPANESE CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY (through translation): Prime Minister Kishida instructed us to once again put lives first, understand the situation of the damages, and make an utmost effort to save people in emergency rescue operations.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Urgent efforts slowed down by the devastating impact. The quake destroying access to the most impacted zones and making these already remote areas nearly impossible to reach. Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Nanao.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Airlines are reporting dozens of cancellations today at a Tokyo airport where two planes collided on the runway on Tuesday. Japan Airlines says its flight crew got clearance to land from air traffic controllers but minutes later it struck a Japan Coast Guard plane killing five people. CNN's Marc Stewart is following developments from Seoul. He joins us now.

So, Marc, an investigation is underway in the wake of this tragic runway collision. What more are you learning?

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Rosemary. Let's talk about that investigation. Japan's transport agency is heading it up. And among those who will be participating in this broad investigation will be certainly Japan Airlines. But we've also learned that French authorities are sending their aviation sector to Japan as well, to Tokyo, to take part in all of this.

This was an Airbus A350, a European-made aircraft by Airbus. So, it does make sense for France to have a role in all of this. Among the different task that will likely take place in an investigation like this are interviews, interviews with people in the control tower, interviews with people on the flight deck, but also members of the cabin crew. As we have been hearing since this disaster unfolded, a lot of credit

is being given to the flight attendants who quickly evacuated that aircraft. And if you talk to flight attendants, they will tell you during their training, it is certainly rigorous, it is certainly intense, but it's so there is no hesitation that in the event like this, their response is almost instinct, almost second nature.

As we have been reporting, after the plane came to a stop and flight attendants tried to initiate this evacuation, there's problems with the public address system. So, these flight attendants used megaphones and they shouted using their own voices. These are protocols, procedures that likely came from their training. So that will be a big part of this discussion through the safety investigators.

Obviously, they want to know how things happened, exactly what happened, but also a big takeaway from this disaster will be guidance for the future. What can be learned from all of this? And you know as we look at this video, as we look at you know the smoke, we look at the flames, it is amazing, Rosemary, when we hear some of these accounts from people. One person told us they heard a big bang while others, Rosemary, said at first and for a while, they didn't even realize anything was wrong at all until they were told to evacuate.

CHURCH: An extraordinary outcome, isn't it? Marc Stewart joining us live from Seoul, many thanks.

U.S. federal investigators say they have found no links to terrorism in the car crash which killed two people in Rochester, New York, early on New Year's Day. Police say the driver responsible for the collision has died but they're still looking into whether his actions were intentional. CNN's Brynn Gingras has the latest on the investigation.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A fiery crash outside a New York concert hall, after a car rammed into another vehicle, setting off an explosion.

UNKNOWN: It was crazy to see that kind of fire. The flames were probably still like 15 feet high.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Killing two people, injuring nine others, including one critically hurt nearby, and authorities say it appears to be intentional.

GAYLE SHALVOY, CONCERTGOER: You saw the carnage of the cars and the one car burnt up and car pieces everywhere, and it was surreal to think, wow, this happened right here.

GINGRAS (voice-over): It wasn't even an hour into the New Year when hundreds of concert goers exited the Kodak Center in Rochester, New York. That's when police say 35-year-old Michael Avery, driving a rented SUV packed with gas canisters, drove towards a pedestrian crossing and collided with a rideshare vehicle, killing the passengers inside. Avery also died later at the hospital.

DAVID SMITH, ROCHESTER POLICE DEPARTMENT: Investigators are still combing through evidence recovered from his vehicle, but nothing thus far has been recovered that provides any additional insight into why this occurred.

GINGRAS (voice-over): What investigators do know is Avery traveled in his own car from Syracuse to Rochester on or around December 27th and checked into a nearby hotel.

[03:35:03]

On December 29th, police say Avery picked up a rental car. And on December 30th, images like this one show he was alone when he bought gas canisters and filled them.

ANDREW MCCABE, FORMER FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR: It's a very highly organized, structured, planned attack by this person for whatever reason. The only question for investigators at this point is why did he do it and was anyone else involved?

GINGRAS (voice-over): To help answer those questions, authorities with the Joint Terrorism Task Force and FBI executing search warrants at various locations.

SMTITH: Additionally, we have not uncovered any information leading us to believe that the actions of Michael Avery on New Year's Eve were motivated by any form of political or social biases.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Avery's family telling authorities they believe he suffered from an undiagnosed mental illness.

MALIK EVANS, MAYOR OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK: I think for us as we go into the New Year is to remember the victims of this horrific accident. They were expecting to be able to ring in the New Year and have a good time. But instead, we have individuals that are now going to be burying family members and we have people who have now life- altering injuries because of the choices that this suspect made.

GINGRAS (voice-over): Brynn Gingras, CNN, New York.

CHURCH: Still to come, Harvard University is on the hunt for a new president. We will break down how a firestorm of controversy led to its current president announcing her resignation.

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[03:40:00]

CHURCH: A far-right Israeli lawmaker is coming under fire for his social media post about the Supreme Court's judicial overhaul ruling. Zvika Fogel of the Jewish Power Party said, quote, "First we will destroy Hamas, then we'll take care of Hezbollah, and for dessert we will sort out the Supreme Court." Well, Israel's interior minister responded, saying there is no place for including the Supreme Court in the same sentence as our worst enemies. Elliott Gotkine has more on the court's ruling.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, REPORTER (voice-over): It was a bombshell. In an 8-7 ruling, Israel's Supreme Court struck down legislation that removed its powers to throw out government decisions on the grounds of reasonableness. It rejected the amendment because of the severe and unprecedented blow it represented to the core characteristic of Israel as a democratic state.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had argued the change was required to restore the balance of power between the executive and the court. The law was the first of a multi-pronged government plan to weaken the judiciary to be passed by the Knesset last year.

The Supreme Court's decision could now reopen the deep divisions in Israeli society. That saw the country convulsed by months of protests and even fears of civil war. With Israel now almost three months into an actual war, after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks of October 7, those divisions had felt a lifetime away.

Indeed, Justice Minister Yariv Levine, the architect of the government's judicial overhaul plans, assailed the timing of the court's decision, saying it was the opposite of the unity the country now demanded. Strange as the timing of the Supreme Court's decision may appear, it had no choice. Two of its justices officially retired three months ago but had until this month to submit their final ruling.

When the reform was introduced last year, massive crowds regularly took to the streets to decry Prime Minister Netanyahu's plans, which they saw as a serious threat to the country's democracy. In Israel, which has no written constitution, the Supreme Court serves as one of the only checks on the executive and legislative branches of government.

In an interview with CNN in July, Netanyahu rejected the notion the overhaul posed a threat to democracy, but declined to say whether he would abide by a Supreme Court ruling that went against him.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: We'll go into uncharted territory and I really would like to believe that they won't do that. And the reason is that, first of all, we're all subject to the rule of law. The prime minister is subject to the rule of law. The Knesset, our parliament, is subject to the rule of law. The judges are subject to the law. Everybody is subject to the law.

GOTKINE (voice-over): The court's decision marks a major loss for a prime minister still facing a corruption trial and outrage for failing to prevent the Hamas-led massacres of October the 7th. But with no end in sight to the war in Gaza, Netanyahu has more pressing concerns than another spat with the Supreme Court. That fight will be for another day. Elliott Gotkine, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The U.S. has quietly reached an agreement with Qatar to extend operations at America's largest military base in the Middle East. That is according to three U.S. defense officials and another official familiar with the deal. The Al Udeid Air Base has been a pivotal hub for the U.S. Central Command's air operations across the region. The extension is set to cover another 10 years.

The deal has not been announced publicly, but it highlights Washington's reliance on the top tiny Gulf country that has recently played a central role in mediating the release of Americans from captivity in Gaza and Venezuela. And it comes as Qatar is under growing scrutiny for hosting senior Hamas leaders.

Harvard University President Claudine Gay is resigning from her position just six months into her tenure, the shortest in Harvard history. It comes after weeks of controversy involving a plagiarism scandal and her testimony on Capitol Hill about anti-Semitism on campus. CNN's Miguel Marquez has more details.

[03:44:59]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A second Ivy League president out in less than a month. Harvard University President Claudine Gay's tenure just six months long was mired in controversy. The weight of multiple allegations of plagiarism following a poor performance in a Capitol Hill hearing about anti-Semitism resulting in her resignation.

In a letter to the Harvard community, Gay wrotes that "Her exit came with a heavy heart. It has become clear that it is in the best interest of Harvard for me to resign so that our community can navigate this moment of extraordinary challenge with a focus on the institution rather than any individual."

Harvard announced that Alan M. Garber, who currently serves as provost at the university, will step in as interim president while acknowledging Gay's commitment to the school. "It is with that overarching consideration in mind that we have accepted Gay's resignation," the Harvard leadership wrote, adding, "we do so with sorrow."

Conservative media had been unearthing multiple examples of plagiarism in Gay's past works, including an entire paragraph being lifted almost verbatim in her 1997 Ph.D. dissertation without citation, after she, along with the presidents of UPenn and MIT gave an answer that was widely considered too legal in a December 5th congressional hearing about anti-Semitism on campus.

REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY): So, the answer is yes, that calling for the genocide of Jews violates Harvard code of conduct, correct?

CLAUDINE GAY, PRESIDENT, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Again, it depends on the context.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Fallout from the hearing also resulted in the resignation of UPenn's president, Liz McGill. House Republican caucus leader, Elise Stefanik, wasting no time responding to today's events.

STEFANIK: As a Harvard graduate myself, we have seen a failure of leadership from Claudine Gay, a failure of moral leadership. This accountability would not have happened were it not for that congressional hearing.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Stefanik underscoring that her investigation will continue.

JACOB MILLER, HARVARD HILLEL PRESIDENT: Only when it comes to anti- Semitic hate speech that, you know, the school tolerates it and gives these kinds of lawyerly equivocal answers. And so, I think this is kind of the bigger issue that we've got to deal with.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Gay's tenure as president was the shortest in Harvard's nearly 400-year history. She was also the school's first black president and only the second woman at the helm. In her resignation note, she wrote that it has been frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(On Camera): Now, Dr. Gay will remain a member of the Harvard faculty. And the school says it will begin a search for a new president in due course. And some conservatives on Capitol Hill say they will now start looking at MIT's president, who was also at that congressional hearing, as well as leadership and faculty at other universities that they consider too woke. And some African-American leaders now saying that all of this has the stink of racial bias in the way this was handled at Harvard and say that they will begin protesting some of those donors who targeted Claudine Gay. Back to you.

CHURCH: Still to come, U.S. House Republicans set to visit the U.S. border with Mexico as the Senate tries to reach a compromise on a border security bill. Details just ahead.

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[03:50:00]

CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. The Biden administration is turning to the U.S. Supreme Court in its latest dispute with Texas over border policy. The state installed razor wire along the banks of the Rio Grande at the border with Mexico. And the federal government now wants the high court to allow the border patrol to remove it. The matter has been tied up in lower court since last year.

Texas argues that cutting the wire amounts to illegally destroying its property and that its removal reduces security by helping migrants illegally enter the U.S. A group of Republican lawmakers will get a close look at that border today. The visit to Eagle Pass, Texas, coming amid negotiations over a potential new border security bill. CNN's Ed Lavandera reports.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: On Wednesday, a group of Republican lawmakers, including the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, will tour the border here in Eagle Pass and get a briefing from state authorities. Of course, Eagle Pass has really become the flashpoint of the border migration crisis that we have seen unfold for months and months now. Lawmakers here will be visiting from the House side. This as Senate

lawmakers, Democrat and Republican, have been negotiating through the holiday break trying to come to terms on the framework in a possible deal in a border security bill. Senator Chris Murphy says that it is not likely that a deal will be in place by next week, but that they hope that there will be some sort of progress made that they will be able to update each side, Republicans and Democrats, on what kind of deals and issues might come up in this border bill.

Republicans are pushing for more expedited removals of migrants who cross illegally as well as pushing the Biden administration to adopt something similar to a Title 42 plan that they believe was used to keep migrants from crossing the border. Of course, that has been very controversial, and many Democrats say Title 42 did not work as well as Republicans like to think it did. But those are some of the issues that both sides are continuing to work through.

Here in Eagle Pass, where we have seen over the last few weeks large numbers of migrants crossing. In fact, according to Homeland Security statistics, in the month of December, more than 225,000 crossings were seen along the U.S. southern border, but in recent days it has slowed down dramatically here in Eagle Pass. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Eagle Pass, Texas.

[03:55:00]

CHURCH: Steamboat Willie, the earliest version of Disney's beloved mascot Mickey Mouse, is now part of the public domain, meaning it's fair game for anyone to use, and it didn't take long for filmmakers to give the iconic character a new role as a horror movie villain.

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And that is the trailer for "Mickey's Mouse Trap," a live action slasher film about a group of friends terrorized by someone in a creepy mouse mask. And because Disney's 95-year-old copyright on Steamboat Willie expired New Year's Day, it is all perfectly legal.

And thanks so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day. "CNN Newsroom" continues next with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

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