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Blizzard Freezes 2024 Field In Final Weekend Before Iowa Caucuses; 80M+ People Under Wind Chill Alerts This Weekend; U.S. Launches Second Round Of Attacks On Houthi Targets; Texas Responds to Supreme Court Ruling After Blocking Access to Part of the Southern Border; Coastal Flooding Breaking Historic Records In Maine; Thousands Marching On The Nation's Capital Into Pro-Gaza Rally; Ukraine: 20 Russian Air Weapons Knocked Down in Latest Attack. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired January 13, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right. Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. It is icy cold on the campaign trail, frosty weather making for a challenging final stretch in Iowa. There are wind chills as low as 45 below zero in parts of the Hawkeye State with many areas under blizzard warnings right now.

And with just two days before the first votes of the 2024 presidential campaign, candidates are not giving Iowans the cold shoulder.

[15:00:05]

They are hosting events across the state.

CNN's Kylie Atwood and Jessica Dean are on the campaign trail for us.

Good to see both of you.

Kylie, you first in the elements. The weather is forcing candidates to cancel some of their weekend events, including Nikki Haley, but then she's back at it again today. They're getting creative, aren't they?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, they're creating new schedules effectively, putting new things on the schedule where they can fit it in, events that they can get to. Nikki Haley here in Iowa City today, this is her second of three events across the state today. It's interesting to note that Iowa City is in Johnson County, which just one of the more Democratic strongholds across Iowa.

That's important because Nikki Haley is someone who is known to appeal to more moderate Republicans. We'll see if there maybe even any Democrats in the room supporting her. I met some students from the University of Iowa who are out supporting her today. And as you said, the weather cannot be ignored.

All of her events yesterday had to be canceled. Former President Trump, too, excuse me, three of his four events across the state this weekend had been canceled because it's frigid here, because there are blizzard across the state right now. It's really quite frankly dangerous in some places. It's in the negative degrees, potentially negative ten, negative to 15 on caucus day. And Nikki Haley earlier today, reminding folks that they need to wear layers when they go out to caucus, that this is something that they need to be cognizant of, but encouraging them to show up with their friends.

Listen to part of her pitch from earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fellows are scared. I'm telling you. You can see our numbers going up in the polls. Americans just want to see if it's possible and you could have set the tone. This starts with Iowa. You all know how to do this. You take this responsibly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ATWOOD: Now, Nikki Haley, also casting herself once again as a next generational leader. This is something she's been doing throughout her campaign. And as she is making his pitch in person to voters here in Iowa, a super PAC who is supporting her in the state is up on TV with ads going after Ron DeSantis essentially claiming that he would be a mini Trump, that he has idolized Trump like a father figure and really making the case that he would be a return to the former president's ways of operating and that Nikki Haley is the person that they should caucus for on Monday.

WHITFIELD: All right, Kylie Atwood.

Jessica Dean, you're with Governor Ron DeSantis's campaign. How is he using these final days before the Iowa caucuses?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, probably nobody else in this race has more at stake in Iowa than Governor Ron DeSantis. He staked pretty much his whole campaign on Iowa visiting all 99 counties and making a point to spend a lot of time here. He and his campaign believed that this is a state that is tailor-made for his strengths, particularly the evangelical voters here, which is long supported former President Donald Trump. They've been trying to peel off some support there.

And he yesterday, as we saw a lot of people canceling all of their in- person events, forged ahead with a couple of in-person of events. And then today has continued a big schedule and aggressive schedule that puts him all across the state of Iowa. He's going to be here at West Des Moines, in his headquarters in just a little bit.

But here's what he had to say to supporters just a little bit ago at one of his last stops.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Never going to have an opportunity to cast a vote that's going to have more of an impact that on Monday. I mean, it's going to be a relatively small numbers people, you know, I don't know. They did 186,016. Some people think it will be less this time, who knows? But if you go out there and you bring friends and family with you, that's going to have an outsized influence as that is replicated by her supporters all across this state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And listen, this Iowa caucuses does have a bit of a different field. The former president has led -- had a commanding lead in most the local polls that we've seen come out of this state. And so what we've seen is this dynamic between Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor, and DeSantis, where they're really going at each other to try to emerge as the top alternative to Trump.

And so, DeSantis, certainly hoping that can be him, the pitch he keeps making to voters in these closing days here in Iowa, is that Trump is its running for his self-interests. That Haley is running to serve donors interests, and that he's running for the people now whether or not that resonates, we're going to find out on Monday.

One more thing keep in mind as we talk about the weather, is that it always comes down to organization here and ground game essentially, because you're not asking people to just go and vote and check a box.

Going to a caucus, standing in line, it's quite a process. You have to make a real effort and that's where the organization comes in. DeSantis in the super PAC that's aligned with him. Never back down, have made the case that they have unparalleled organization that they've poured millions of dollars. And many, many, many hours into the state of Iowa, knocking on many, many doors.

[15:05:02]

And that that is what's going to pay off on Monday, especially when we have these likely coldest conditions ever for an Iowa caucus with negative 40 wind chill. So, Fredricka, that's what they're hoping can carry them on to a really strong finish here in Iowa on Monday.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jessica Dean, thank you so much. And Kylie Atwood, thanks to both of you, ladies. Appreciate it.

All right. Joining us right now, former advisor to George W. Bush and John McCain, Mark McKinnon. He is the creator of the political docu- series, "The Circus".

So good to see you, Mark.

MARK MCKINNON, FORMER ADVISER TO GEORGE W. BUSH & JOHN MCCAIN: Great to see you. This is so much fun because we've -- I've always referred to Iowa as the American Disneyland of policies. It's just -- it's so pure, it's so interesting, is so entertaining and Ron DeSantis, its a very small number of voters are going to have a huge impact on the potential outcome of this.

Now, the storylines so far is that it seems pretty fixed and Donald Trump will lead fairly commandingly. But listen, I've done three of successful presidential elections there and there's always surprises. I mean, you could talk about Rick Santorum, you can talk about Ted Cruz. You can talk about Mike Huckabee.

So, you know, no matter what happens, I suspected something we will happen Monday on Iowa that will have us turning our heads.

WHITFIELD: Right, as a continuation of your, you know, I guess, analogy to Disney, it's like a Disney ride, right it's up and down, its like space mountain. You never know what's coming around the next corner.

(CROSSTALK)

MCKINNON: Maybe this is the frozen version.

WHITFIELD: That's right. So lets talk about this weather -- you know, I mean, here you are in Colorado, you know -- you know what the elements can do and the unpredictability of it. But as it pertains to Iowan, these blizzard conditions, and we talk about how it's a big investment for these Iowa caucus-goers. Its not just showing up, but its investing a lot of time and its the journey in getting there.

How much of an impact do you think its going to have on turnout?

MCKINNON: Well, this is the perfect acid test really for these candidates. As you said, I'm in Colorado, at 10,000 feet, with no electricity, so I'm in a hockey rink, so we can do this.

But in Iowa, this means that these -- these candidates, voters have to go out and brave, and, you know, chilling, bone breaking cold. And so that means there has to be real commitment on the part of voters and means there has to have been really successful messaging and campaign from the candidates. So it's a real test of which campaign is truly been effective at getting through, because people come out in this kind of weather are true believers.

WHITFIELD: Right. Hey, we appreciate thank you making that huge effort to get to a hockey rink in order to make this happen.

So, you know, in these final days there in Iowa, you know, for a minute, a number of the candidates, DeSantis, Haley, as well as Ramaswamy, had to cancel some in-person events because of the weather. Now they're back out at, they're being selective. Donald Trump back, you know, making his way there to Iowa?

So how much will that be a measurement that some of the voters take, like how diehard are you willing to be? You know, how -- you know, under what circumstances were you able to get here to have that FaceTime? Are voters calculating, you know, their picks that way?

MCKINNON: Listen, I think every little bit helps here in the final hours and I think that voters, particularly those who are going out in subzero temperatures, are going to look around and say, well, which candidates have made or making the same kind of commitment that I'm making. This is where a real bond forms is like who's toughest, who's committed, and then at the end of the day, who's going to, you know, who's going to really show? WHITFIELD: Yeah. Trump has dominated, you know, the polling in Iowa. There's going to be a more recent one, you know, later on this evening. I'll be interesting to see if he's able to maintain his lead.

How important will that second place finisher be in your view?

MCKINNON: It's everything really. I mean, the storyline is not going to be so much Trump winning. It'll be who's second, and if so, by how much? Nikki Haley needs a second place showing, she could even run a strong third because she's gotten most of her eggs because in the New Hampshire basket.

But Ron DeSantis has to play second, if he doesn't -- I mean, he's invested everything in his campaign in Iowa and if he can't do better than third and then that pride push him out of the race. So it's really, it's a survival thing for both DeSantis and Haley.

WHITFIELD: Is the Iowa voter different in your view? I mean, do you see them as, you know, looking for some specific or very different criteria you know, in their candidate as they make their selections especially since it's a great honor for a lot of Iowans to say, hey, we're -- you know, we're the first to have this caucus. And so it's very meaningful.

But are they looking at candidates a little differently than saying New Hampshire, which is right around the bend?

MCKINNON: I think they look at dick candidates differently than anywhere. And that's again why I call it the Disneyland of American politics. It's just very special. They take this very seriously.

[15:10:01]

And the interesting thing about Iowa voters is that a lot of them will stay open-minded about their decision until the last 24, 48 hours, and they want to have all the information. They want to hear all the pitches and they don't want to make their minds up too early. So that's why we see a lot of surprises is because people make up their minds at the very last minute.

And again, that's why Iowa voters are so great. And that's why it's a great place to have the first contest in America.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, so it's really critical these last couple of days then.

All right. Then there is, you know, the issue of, say, Donald Trump. I mean, he spent a lot of time on the campaign trail, but he's also spending a lot of time in the courtroom, and he was in court again this week. He's facing a slew of legal challenges in several states.

I want to play something, Governor Chris -- Chris Sununu rather said this week, when asked if he would vote for Trump, even if Trump were convicted in these cases and keep in mind, Sununu is considered a moderate in the Republican Party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU (R), NEW HAMPSHIRE: I'm going to support the Republican nominee, absolutely. Yeah, that shouldn't shock anybody. That shouldn't be surprised to anybody that the Republican governor and most actually of America is going to end up going against Biden because they need to see a change in this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: It is kind of shocking though, isn't it? Because he's been, you know, throwing his support behind Nikki Haley and then he's talking about the hypothetical of this, and even if Trump were a convicted felon.

MCKINNON: Listen, I think it's just the -- all the evidence you need to see that Trump has taken over the Republican Party in wholesale fashion. I mean, not to be able to say that, you know, I will at least hold my hold my judgment until I see the evidence it, is a testament to the power that Trump has over the Republican Party right now.

And so, that's -- that's why he -- you know, I mean, a big part of Nikki Haley's pitch and others which has been to say, well, look at me because I'll be a stronger election in the general. I'll be a stronger candidate for Republicans general election because of all the legal problems that Trump has.

And yet all these legal problems have actually made Trump stronger, particularly among the base. So you see the Republicans, including people like Chris Sununu. It gets very tribal and they just say, whoever the leader is, we're going to salute.

WHITFIELD: All right. Mark McKinnon, thank you so much. Glad you could be with us. I don't know if he got some skates handy, if you get a little skating time in while you're there. Be careful.

MCKINNON: Will do.

WHITFIELD: All right, take care.

All right. Iowa isn't the only safe facing bone chilling temperatures this weekend. Over 80 million people are under wind chill alerts across central and northwestern U.S. as an arctic blast hits the country in a very big way. Some regions are all dealing with -- also rather dealing with severe flooding, including Portland, Maine, where the tide reach over 14 feet, a historic high for the second time this week.

More than 4,000 flights in fact, have also been delayed today and much of that is all because of how this weather is impacting things.

Meteorologist Elisa Raffa joining me now, live from the CNN Weather Center.

All right. So it's tumultuous. It's tough everywhere you look.

ELISA RAFFA, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. For the third time this week, remember, we were talking about a nor'easter this time last week. That was -- we've been -- this is three storms now, just a very active week. This is what's left of that current blizzard that we were tracking for you yesterday. It's pumping lake effect snow across the Great Lakes. There are some showers leftover in New England.

The flood threat continues on those rivers and along the post where those rivers are still swollen from all of the other storms that we have this week, it's just been torrential downpour after downpour. And you can see those coastal flood alerts where you still have some of that onshore flow.

You see that orange. That's still a blizzard warning in effect for Iowa, not because were getting additional snow because the fresh snow that's on the ground will still blow around in 45-mile-per-hour gusts that we still have going on. And that could continue to drop visibility and cause some dangerous driving conditions.

A winter storm watch is in effect for parts of Arkansas and into Tennessee, starting to change over to warnings as we could get a punch of snow with all of this cold air that's diving southward. Wind chill warnings are in effect for a lot of the northern and central plains, wind chills could be as cold as 45 degrees below zero. You can get frostbite in ten minutes or less with wind chills that severe.

We're looking at much of the U.S. We'll have temperatures below zero, 17 percent of us, temperatures below zero, 80 percent of us we'll have those temperatures below freezing by Tuesday that we're looking at, 250 daily records that could fall record, cold high temperatures, and record cold overnight low temperatures as we go through the next couple of days.

Here's a look at some of the morning low temperatures, not either temperatures, not wind chills. There'll be well below zero from Bismarck, Fargo, Minneapolis, up in the Dakotas, this morning, they already had wind chills at minus 70 degrees below zero.

[15:15:07]

So incredibly cold, extreme cold, and I want to point out that this part of the country, this is the first time this year that they're even seeing any hint of winter cold. We've had the warmest winter so far on record for a lot of these places, including Des Moines, all those red dots that you see, its been quite warm since December 1st -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Okay. Elisa Raffa, thanks so much.

All right. Still to come, a Houthi spokesperson says their response will be firmed, strong and effective after the U.S. carried out a second round of strikes overnight against the Iran-backed rebels in Yemen.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The U.S. carried out a second round of strikes overnight against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

[15:20:02]

The attack launched by the U.S. alone was much smaller in scale than attacks carried out earlier in the week with multiple allies.

In a statement, a spokesman for the Houthis said they will retaliate for the latest assault by the U.S.

CNN's Nic Robertson is following developments from the region.

Nic, I mean, these new attacks -- were focused on a very specific facility, weren't they?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: They were. They were focused on a radar facility just outside of Capitol. This was sort of a second package of strikes. It's not quite clear if it was based purely on battle damage assessment or other information that came in.

But, of course, it's these radar sites that are vital for the Houthis to be able to see where to direct their anti-ship missiles that that's a key part of their operations. So, by taking that out, that denies them, it denies them an important part of their military capabilities.

But the Houthis are threatening to respond now, not just against the United States and the U.K. and others in that military coalition in the Red Sea. They've said that they'll hit other U.K. and U.S. interests.

But I think when you're trying to examine how are the Houthis is going to whether these this round of military strikes, look to their recent history. They had a ten -- well, I've been going through about a ten- year civil war the last couple of years, it's more or less been on truth and a lot of that involved Saudi coalition air force strikes trying to hit Houthi targets with U.S. support actually inside of Yemen.

And they were not able to destroy all those Houthi targets. One of the people attending a big Houthi parade right after those first round of strikes were spoken to in the crowd, just listened to what he has to say. Basically, they're not going to be afraid of these attacks right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): We condemn the criminal terrorist strikes on the Yemeni people by Israel, America and Britain, he says. We've been at war for eight years.

These strikes don't frighten us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Yeah, and that's the clue. Look, the people can say that there can be bravado and these -- it's not the people are being targeted. A military was being targeted, but I think the underlying thought there is that the Houthi military knows well how to hide its rockets and munitions. Have they been degraded? Have they been put off from retaliatory strike? It seems unlikely.

And, of course, that risk wider escalation and it's already very tense region

WHITFIELD: Nic Robertson, thanks so much.

Right now to the U.S. southern border, where the standoff between Texas and the White House is moving to court. The Biden administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on the dispute that stemmed from Texas blocking U.S. Border Patrol full access to a portion of the border.

Texas responded to the court filing by saying it's working promptly to grant access to one section of the border.

Earlier, President Biden spoke to reporters about the situation as he headed to Camp David.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've been pushing for fundamental change in the border for a long time, a long time. And so, I'm hopeful. I'm going to let those negotiations play out. But other than that, I'm going to take action myself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's bring in CNN correspondent Priscilla Alvarez at the White House.

Priscilla, what's the latest on this fight over the border in Congress?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, it's still at a standstill. What's on the line here is $14 billion for border security, as well as aid for Ukraine and Israel. And for weeks, Senate negotiators have been working almost around the clock to reach a consensus on border policy changes, to have that supplemental funding at the White House has requested pass through Congress. This is an ask from Republicans who wants to see some changes on U.S.-Mexico border before signing off on this additional aid, again, both for Ukraine and Israel and for border security.

And you heard there from President Biden that he's open to changes. He's been saying this, but what those changes are have been very hard to nail down. Of course, this is a complicated issue. This being immigration policy and one that Congress has not been able to move on or make changes on for decades. But this, of course, is also happening against the backdrop of that ongoing dispute between the White House and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who has launched his own mission on the Texas-Mexico border, and escalated that dispute this week by blocking Border Patrol from enforcing immigration law and fulfilling their federal enforcement duties. Now, the Justice Department went to the Supreme Court, asking them to

intervene in Texas has since responded, saying that they're going to address the situation, but this is just the latest escalation in this ongoing dispute. And in all underscores that this is an issue that the White House can escape. It's a political vulnerability for them. And one that not only is when they're hurting too over come and work through on Congress for the president's foreign policy agenda, but also one that has caused tension with states and even Democratic allies who have been receiving migrants from Texas following yet another one of the governor's actions.

[15:25:11]

So, all of this coming to ahead this week as the president himself, since he's open to changes. But what those are still unclear.

All right. Priscilla Alvarez, thanks so much from the White House.

All right, straight ahead, a vicious storm creating historic coastal flooding along the northeast. We'll discuss with the lead meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. While much of the country is dealing with plummeting temperatures, Maine is contending with historic coastal flooding. The ocean level gauge in Portland already broke a record stood since its 1978. This is Wells, which is near Portland.

This morning, the waves are pushing water right onto the roads right there.

[15:30:04]

I'd like to bring in now, John Cannon, lead meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine, to discuss all of this.

So good to see you, John. So when you look up the window, what do you see?

JOHN CANNON, LEAD METEOROLOGIST, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: Well, when I saw this morning and just surveys this morning up to three feet of coastal flooding along the coast of Maine. We have waves hitting off the front porches of peoples homes just a lot of damage here and it's back-to-back storms, two in a week, two top five coastal flood events in the history of Portland?

That's 1912 to present. That's the -- that's the data. And that's just astounding, had that happened in one week.

WHITFIELD: It really is. And when looking at these pictures right now, and those houses that are right there on the coast and now kind of underwater, but, you know, thankfully some of them have stilts or built up pretty high. What are people doing? I mean, are they evacuating those areas? Are

people concerned about their structures being compromised? But that kind of water?

CANNON: People are really concerned about their structures. A lot of damage going on. We're hardy up here in Maine, but two storms like this in a week is ridiculous, and people are hunkering down.

And this was warned a couple of days ago, so people knew it was coming, but still, to have a record flood event in the portal when area in southern Maine is just astounding, right?

WHITFIELD: Right, two back-to-back storms like that, like you just describe what it -- what's around the corner? What do you expect next?

CANNON: We actually have acquired a period coming up. We have some cold wet weather coming up that all that cold in Iowa and Montana, that's moving our way, so it may be introduced with a line of snow squalls on Sunday and then cold and dry for the rest of the week, which will make some -- for some pretty icy conditions up there with all the leftover water hanging around some of the neighborhoods.

WHITFIELD: So what is behind these extreme conditions right now?

CANNON: So we've had an El Nino winter, which means we've had knock out, drag out intense storms moving over the Great Lakes, and moving into Canada. And when that happens, we get extremely strong southeast winds here along the coast of Maine.

We're used to nor'easters. That's talked about quite a bit, but we do have something called southeasterners, where winds are onshore, sometimes gusting up to hurricane force that brings in. And when that times perfectly with the storm coming in, the highest winds for the highest waves, the highest storm surge reaching at one point in time, right, at high tide, and today was the highest astronomical tide of the month. When that happens in one moment in one place, you get a record flood in the Portland area.

WHITFIELD: It is unbelievable, some of the images that we've seen in the past week or so of the kind of damage done and people trying to salvage what they can. This is really dangerous, and very dangerous conditions.

John Cannon, glad you could be with us. Thank you so much and be careful.

CANNON: Thank you. You, too.

All right. Also happening right now, thousands are gathering at Washington's Freedom Plaza for a pro-Gaza rally. The message some rally goers want to send to the White House next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:37:27] WHITFIELD: Happening right now, thousands of people are marching in Washington, D.C. as part of a pro-Gaza rally. Organizers say the march for Gaza event will end its rally outside the White House later on this afternoon.

CNN's Gabe Cohen joining us now from the rally.

Gabe, what have been the messages?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, first off, what you're seeing behind me, this is the front of the march and they're about to get going as they make their way through the district ultimately ending at the White House just a few blocks from where I'm standing. They're going to rally and they're going to chant, and they're hoping it's going to get the attention of the Biden administration.

And the group you're seeing behind me, this is really just a small part of this rally around the corner. There's a huge crowd in Freedom Plaza where they're wrapping up speeches and getting ready for this march, which should get going any minute now.

And look, you mentioned, you know, what is the message? Well, I was here back in early November in this same exact spot during the last massive march for Gaza, a year in Washington, the crowd size today feels quite similar, another massive rally. The message, though it hasn't changed, it does feel a little bit more urgent.

Now, three months into this conflict in Gaza, the death toll rising and people here are calling for that permanent ceasefire. And again, continuing to try to put political pressure on Congress and really on the Biden administration and on moderate Democrats to call for a ceasefire, to end that unequivocal support for Israel and to put pressure on Israel to end its military conflict and actions in Gaza. They're hoping -- and look, the Biden administration has said it is engaging with and listening to progressives who are calling for a ceasefire.

But I spoke earlier to a Biden staffer -- there are several of them as part of this cease-fire effort who are out here today, and she told me she doesn't feel at this point that the Biden administration is listening. So, that's what today is all about.

We're about to march. They're going to be heading out, walking to the White House and we should again see that continuing rallies and chants. You hear the word genocide a lot in this crowd, pointed at President Biden and their hope is that the national and international opinion on this issue and sentiment is starting to shift.

But we saw the top U.N. court, Fred, just as we take up that genocide a case against Israel. So the hope -- you hear a lot of people talking about that, their messages -- that they should call for the president should call for a ceasefire now, that opinions are changing on this issue, and again, that message getting more urgent with everything that we're seeing in Gaza right now.

WHITFIELD: All right. Gabe Cohen, we'll keep checking with you as you leave the Freedom Plaza area, as demonstrators than march their way to the White House just a few blocks away. Thank you so much.

All right. The Anti-Defamation League has a new report out that confirms a troubling trend that we've seen in the United States. Antisemitic incidents are skyrocketing nationwide since the Hamas attacks against Israel on October 7.

CNN's Brian Todd has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outside a D.C. synagogue, a man is arrested for allegedly attacking a congregant with a foul- smelling spray and menacing others.

RABBI HYIM SHAFNER, KESHER ISRAEL SYNAGOGUE, WASHINGTON, D.C.: He was yelling "gas the Jews".

TODD: A Cornell University student was charged with threatening to kill Jewish students on campus. These are among thousands of incidents fueling a new report by the Anti-Defamation League, which says antisemitism has gone off the charts in the U.S. since the three months since Hamas' October 7th attack on Israel. The ADL says it's tracked nearly 3,300 antisemitic incidents in the United States between October 7th and January 7th, an increase of 361 percent compared to the same period the year before.

JONATHAN GREENBLATT, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: It is shocking to think that while the numbers were high before, they have skyrocketed to a level we've never seen.

TODD: And the ADL broke it down into types of incidents targeting Jews during that period, including 60 acts of physical assault, 553 incidents of vandalism, 1,353 cases of verbal or written harassment. Who is committing these acts?

PASHA DASHTGARD, POLARIZATION AND EXTREMISM RESEARCH LAB, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY: Mostly these are white supremacist groups. They are able to use the Israel-Hamas war to both condemn and villainized Jews and the Jewish community and Israelis.

TODD: And analysts say the same groups also target Muslims, Muslim institutions and individuals have also seen a dramatic uptick and threats and incidents of biased since the Israel-Hamas war started.

JONATHAN LEWIS, PROGRAM ON EXTREMISM, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: It is certainly one of the most dangerous times to be a Jews or Muslim in the United States.

TODD: One monitor of extremism is worried about where this war will take the level of hatred from here.

DASHTGARD: What I am most worried about is the way the Israel-Hamas conflict can be used to recruit young people into extremist groups in the future.

TODD: But experts say what makes the Israel-Hamas war unique is that it's motivated not just white supremacist and other extremists to target Jews and Muslims, but also many who otherwise might not act out.

PETER BERGEN, AUTHOR, "UNITED STATES OF JIHAD": The emotional reaction to what is going on in Israel and Gaza is very, very strong. This is not just a news story for a lot of people. This is a story that they feel very strongly about emotionally.

TODD: It's led to a pervasive climate of fear. The rabbi of that Washington synagogue says people have asked him if it's safe to go to that synagogue, or even to walk around with a head covering.

SHAFNER: We are a country where you should be able to worship freely, everyone should, whether Jew, Muslim, our question. And it's going to a point where we're worried about harassment, more worried about violence, what does that say?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Brian Todd, thank you so much for that.

All right. Coming up, Russia, unleashes another barrage of missiles and drones against Ukraine. It is the fourth major attack in two weeks. The latest on Russia's invasion of Ukraine after this.

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[15:47:55]

WHITFIELD: Voters in Taiwan today shrugged off warnings from China and re-elected the ruling DPP for historic third consecutive presidential term. It's a vote that could have major consequences for U.S. relations with China. The islands president elect vowing to protect Taiwan from threats and intimidation from China.

Taiwan's opposition party, which is seen as more conciliatory to China, did make important gains in the vote. A spokesperson for China's foreign ministry said, the election results don't change their view that Taiwan is part of China.

Search and rescue operations are underway to find two missing U.S. sailors off the coast of Somalia. U.S. Central Command says the two sailors were boarding a vessel when one fell into the water due to eight foot swells and the second jumped in after that person, according two protocol, a U.S. official tells CNN. CentCom has not released information about what the sailors had been doing when they went missing, other than to say that they were forward deployed to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. The U.S. maintains a small military presence in Somalia, which focuses on the threat of the al-Shabaab militant group.

Russia today launching a fresh barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine. It's the fourth major attack since December 29, and it's raising concerns that Moscow is trying to overwhelm Ukraine's air defenses. Ukraine says that more than 20 of the air attack weapons were stopped by countermeasures. The U.S. has stopped contributing to Ukraine's air defenses after dispute between Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill cut off funding.

Let's bring in now, Anne Applebaum. She's a staff writer for "The Atlantic", a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and the author of several books, including "The Twilight of Democracy" about the polarization of politics.

So good to see you, Anne.

ANNE APPLEBAUM, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So Russia continues to pound away at Ukraine's air defenses, is Moscow's shifting -- is it that Moscow is shifting its strategy, and the goal for now is to erode Ukraine's air capabilities

APPLEBAUM: So, Moscow has been unable to win a conventional war. They can't defeat Ukraine's forces. So what they're trying to do is wear out Ukraine and also wear out Ukraine's alliances. They're trying to persuade us that they can keep going, they can keep bombing Ukraine. Nothing is bothering them. Nothing will stop.

And that's, of course, not true. Russia is facing all kinds of problems of its own. There are blackouts actually all over the country today, you know, heating is going down, you know, many financial and other difficulties but they're doing a good job of convincing us not to give them money. And what we need to do is face the problem, you know, work together, remember what's important and hold out -- help Ukraine and make sure that they win.

WHITFIELD: Is it your feeling that Russia right now is benefiting from the eyes of the world, kind of shifting to the conflicts in the Middle East right now?

APPLEBAUM: Russia is benefiting from it and even encouraging it. There's some evidence that Russia has been encouraging antisemitism. There's actually evidence of that in France. It's trying to create more division. It's trying to draw attention into that part of the world. Of course, Russia's ally, Iran is playing a big role in spreading the conflict and an amplifying the conflict. So, yes, absolutely. That's part of the story.

WHITFIELD: Uh-huh. Ukraine, you know, has said and continues to say its not going to negotiate anything. I mean, what's it going to take for Vladimir Putin to respond to global pressure of withdrawing or ending what they're doing altogether?

APPLEBAUM: So the question isn't that -- whether, you know, Ukraine should negotiate. Ukraine has no one to negotiate with for there to be negotiations, there have to be two partners and right now, as I said, the Russians are trying to show they're not going to negotiate, they won't negotiate, they're going to hold out. They're going to wait for us to give up.

And so, really, the best response we could do -- really, there are two responses. One, Congress and in particular the Republicans who've been brought blocking aid to Ukraine should get its act together, renew the -- renew the funding, renew the deliveries of weapons that we've been doing so successfully for the last year.

And secondly, the White House, and together with other Western countries, should look at using frozen Russian assets. This is money that was frozen at the beginning of the war to begin paying reparations to Ukraine. So that Ukraine can rebuild itself and continue fighting.

WHITFIELD: And, in fact, we learned yesterday that top Biden administration officials have spent the last year quietly trying to figure out how to divert billions of dollars in that frozen Russian money to cash starved Ukraine. I mean, you wrote about this in "The Atlantic" last month, that it is -- it has made -- the Biden administration has made that effort quietly. Has there been any progress do you believe quietly in that years' time?

APPLEBAUM: Yeah. I understand there has been progress. I mean, part of the problem is that not all that money is in the United States. In fact, most of it's not. It's in Europe.

And so, this has to be an allied effort. And, you know, there are pros and cons. There are -- you know, there is a risk that freezing Russian assets could affect other -- other kinds of financial transactions. But I really think that at this point, the situation is urgent, both the -- both the military situation, but also the psychological situation.

As I said, this is a kind of game. The United States needs to win the game. It needs the West to win the game. And one of the ways we could do that is by taking those frozen Russian assets, giving them to Ukraine and showing Russia that we are in this for the long term, and that will sooner or later convince the Russians that the war is not worth their time. It's not -- they aren't going to win.

They're losing tens, hundreds with thousands of people, millions of dollars worth of equipment, and we need to continue to show them that were willing to stay with Ukraine until they make that decision to leave.

WHITFIELD: All right. Anne Applebaum, great to have you. Thank you so much.

APPLEBAUM: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Next, why the FDA could move marijuana into a lower drug classification. And what that would mean?

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[15:58:54]

WHITFIELD: All right. In a review by the Food and Drug Administration, rescuers (ph) say the evidence supports reclassifying marijuana to schedule -- to a schedule 3 substance. Currently, it is classified as schedule 1, along with the most dangerous controlled substances like heroin and LSD. But the researchers said marijuana has a lower potential for abuse and is currently accepted for medical use in some parts of the U.S. The National Institute on Drug Abuse agreed with the FDA review.

And, finally, today, a remarkable rescue caught on camera.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unlock the car. Can you unlock the car? Unlock it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Break it, break it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Pretty remarkable, new body camera footage showing police in a Chicago suburb rescuing a family who was trapped inside their SUV that somehow careened into a retention pond. And it was sinking as rescuers arrived.

CNN affiliate WLS reports that two adults and a child were pulled out of the vehicle as you see there. The Naperville police had to break open the windows in order to reach the family.

They are all said to be okay. As you see right there, pretty shaken up. All three were later taken to the hospital.

Thank goodness for that rescue.

All right. Thank you for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

"SMERCONISH" starts right now.