cnn this morning starts right now. good morning, everyone. i m phil mattingly with erika hill in new york. poppy is off today. there s a lot of news on this thursday, december 21st. starting with a new delay tactic from donald trump and his legal team. trump asking the supreme court to stay out of a key case for now as the justices face several issues that could reshape the entire race. and the political fallout continues from colorado s top court banning trump from the ballot. and hamas growing worldwide influence since the brutal attack on israel. u.s. intelligence warning hamas credibility has expanded dramatically not just in the middle east but beyond. and ten americans freed from venezuela, six who were wrongfully detained, what they had to say after arriving back on u.s. soil. cnn this morning starts right now. the u.s. supreme court could soon decide the fate of donald trump and the fate of the 2024 election. but the former president is turning to a favorite
a rush to judgment. the special counsel jack smith urging the supreme court not to wait to decide a critical question concerning donald trump. is he entitled to immunity for crimes he may have committed as president? and growing influence. two months of war brought on by hamas s attack on israel hasn t hurt the terror group sway over gaza. in fact, maybe the opposite. and under fire again, harvard s president now facing questions over whether she committed plagiarism, this after avoiding calls for her to resign over her testimony on antisemitism. can she survive another controversy? following these major stories and many, more all coming in right here to cnn news central. the special counsel prosecuting donald trump wants to fast-track a key dispute in the case right to the supreme court. today, jack smith again urged justices to weigh in now on whether a former president can be prosecuted for alleged crimes committed while in office. it is an issue that has never been test
with real questions and answers. not scripted. peter: no big kickoff rally today. so far all we have got is this very short teaser ad. courage? is it worth the sacrifice? america has been worth it every single time. peter: as usual, white house officials say they don t want to weigh in on elections because of the hatch act. but they are happy to speak about ron desantis florida. lawmakers, republicans in florida, have attacked diversity. they have an attacked inclusion efforts. they have limited the teaching of black history. and they have launched attacks on the lgbtq youth, immigrants, educators and women s reproductive freedom that s what you have seen from lawmakers in florida. desantis is not clearing the feecialtiond the primary field of other trump challengers. glenn youngkin, rumored to be considering a run. his top staffer says glenn youngkin is focused on virginia. anyone who anonymously says otherwise probably isn t as close to the governor as they wan
welcome to bbc news. here in the uk, preparations are well under way for the coronation of king charles iii this weekend. hundreds of thousands of people are expected to line the route. it s only a shortjourney, but people are already camping out to get the best viewpoints. a royal correspondent tells us more. the route would be a familiar one, past some of london s most famous landmarks. and for the king and queen consort, the most significant 1.3 miles they will ever travel. along the way, flags have been raised and finishing touches added for a ceremonial event not seen in this country for seven decades on saturday morning for thousand specially invited people seated here will get the first glimpse of the queen and king as they depart buckingham polish through the centre gates at 1020. the couple will travel in the diamond jubilee state coach. electric windows, air conditioning, and hydraulic stabilisers should make for a bump free, comfyjourney. there will be space for te
tales of traumatic atrocity. and the most difficult years of his career. the billionaire businessman sir richard branson tells the bbc he thought he was going to lose his entire empire in the pandemic. hello, i m sally bundock. a new wave of russian airstrikes is under way in ukraine, with reports of explosions in kyiv and the southern cities of zaporizhzhia and odesa. the raids come a day after russia accused ukraine of carrying out a drone attack on the kremlin it what it claimed was an attempt to assassinate president putin. ukraine has rejected accusations that it was responsible. vincent mcaviney reports. flying in from the left, what appears to be a drone, then an explosion over the kremlin. this footage is explosion over the kremlin. this footage is unverified explosion over the kremlin. this footage is unverified but the kremlin says early on wednesday morning, two drones targeted the residents of the president. moscow quick to blame ukraine saying that no one was inj