russia in crisis. the weekend mutiny by russian mercenaries exposes putin s vulnerability, forcing him to cut a deal with the man he had called a traitor just hours before. that man, hot dog vendor turned war lord yevgeny prigozhin was apparently allowed to flee to belarus. we re going to take a deep dive into what happens next for him and his wagner group. and it s becoming increasingly clear that republican voters don t care how corrupt their candidates are. donald trump s lead is actually growing in the crowded republican presidential field. make that make sense. but we begin tonight with a wild weekend in the unprecedented challenge to more than two decades of vladimir putin s grip on russia. the armed rebellion has ended, but the uncertainty it sparked continues. the russian war lord behind that attempted insurrection. wagner group leader yevgeny prigozhin remains out of sight, but he released an audio message today, claiming he wasn t seeking to overthrow putin. h
happening now, rescues are under way after another deadly russian missile strike in eastern ukraine. local officials accusing russian forces of deliberately targeting crowded civilian areas right in the center of this city. in russia tonight vladimir putin is attempting to show strength after the mutiny by wagner mercenaries. this, as we have a new satellite image suggesting the wagner chief is indeed in exile right now in belarus. and donald trump is now responding to the audio obtained exclusively by cnn in which he acknowledges having secret documents he did not declassify. stand by to hear the recordings and what trump is saying now. welcome to our viewers here in the united states. and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. we begin in ukraine with the new russian missile strike on a very crowded city center, the death toll now up to at least four, including a baby, and more than 40 injured. cnn s ben wedeman is joining us now live from
republican results out of the iowa, which show trump in the lead. as we were covering that night with rachel. but half of that red electorate open to alternatives. the top two alternatives, which are two individuals separated by just under 3,000 votes in iowa, are squaring off. there are high stakes in new hampshire. this is the more moderate independent state that could favor haley. its voters also will look more like the november electorate that the nominee will have to face. new tonight, desantis is not campaigning in new hampshire right now, having given up on the moderate-leaning state given the abysmal poll numbers, per the new york times. and while it is january, and let s remember the rest of the less political parts of the nation are probably a little more exhausted at the thought of turning back to campaigns and more focused on things like what we promised we d show you, christmas trees eventually coming down, and they re not so obsessed with new hampshire, but
things. and it may have been held up or may not, but that was not a document. i didn t have a document per se. oh, gosh. an audio recording undercuts trump s pathetic defense in the classified documents case as the doj reportedly barrels forward on its investigation of his attempt to overturn the 2020 election. also tonight, a supreme court victory for voters and democracy. in a defeat for republicans who wanted to strip state courts of any role in running federal elections and give politicians the final say. plus, ron desantis admits he wants to rewrite the constitution so that right-wing politicians can decide whether people born in this country can legally be considered u.s. citizens. we begin tonight with a frequent and losing strategy by the twice impeached, twice indicted former president. whenever he finds himself stuck in a perilous legal mess of his own making, he goes full orwell and just tells the world don t believe your lying eyes. stick with us, don t
tonight. about that turn out. if you re sick, if you re so sick you can t go there get up. tonight, the case for optimism. almost half of the base of the republican party showing up for this caucus tonight voted against donald trump. and the republican front runner liable for sexual assault returns to court for jury selection. plus should we expect to see you on the debate stage in new hampshire? is trump gonna be on the debate stage? nikki haley s latest move to squeeze out ron desantis. what it means from the biden campaign come november. and it s a serious point about conducting elections with zip lock bags and popcorn buckets. when all in starts, right now. good evening from new york, i m chris hayes. the very first votes of the 2024 election have now been cast. there are no big surprises in iowa last night is donald trump to cruise to victory. 51% of the total vote. florida governor ron desantis came in a distant second, earnings for 21% republican ca