of america s newsroom, i m claudia cowen. mike: i m mike emanuel. the act of retaliation coming after an anti-american sanctioned group launched a drone attack on erbil air base in northern iraq that injured three service members, one critically. former national security member telling us last hour president biden should have taken action sooner. i m glad that he finally hit back, but he should do it earlier in the cycle. his red line seems to be if a u.s. troop or a u.s. contractor gets hit, injured or killed, then the united states will hit back. i would rather us hit hard earlier in the cycle so that we can prevent someone from being injured in the first place. mike: right now black smoke rising over gaza as the idf ramps up attacks on hamas terror targets. israel s prime minister visited troops in northern gaza saying there can be no peace until hamas is destroyed. claudia: bring us up to speed, trey. good morning. overnight president biden ordered the u.s. mi
sites used by iran-backed mil militants. the pentagon says it s payback for attacks on american troops who are increasingly being targeted in the region. here s cnn s pentagon correspondent oren lieberman. reporter: rising tensions in the middle east with u.s. fighter jets carrying out a series of strikes in iraq against taiib hezbollah. mourners leading a funeral procession through the streets of baghdad as u.s. central command said the strikes likely killed a number of militants. president joe biden ordered the strikes after katayyib hezbollah, recognized by the u.s. as a terror organization, claimed responsibilior an attack clurring three u.s. service members, one in critical condition. the national security council said the president places no higher priority than the protection of american personnel serves in harm s way. the united states will act at a time and in a manner of our choosing should these attacks continue. u.s. forces in iraq and syria have been targeted a
fredricka whitfield. we ve got a lot to get to, including as the political season ramps up, the biden white house is continuing with focus on the president s opponents on the crisis at the southern border. former president donald trump s harsh rhetoric and the new contentious law and migrant arrests have reignited the interest of immigrants in the potential election, and elevating the fight over immigration policy to new heights. and now house speaker mike johnson is calling for biden to take executive action to secure the border. so joining me to discuss is kevin liptak at the white house. thanks for being back with us. what is the administration doing to help the situation at the southern border? reporter: they are urgently looking for solutions here. and the phrase that you hear from officials is breaking point, as they re describing what s happening on the southern border, and the numbers really do reflect that. in recent days more than 10,000 migrants unlawfully crosse
swept away while riding in their car. and tonight, the new storm now threatening holiday travel. rob marciano is here. the powerful house explosion. the home leveled, debris raining down on the neighborhood. four members of a family pulled from the debris, including the children, and rushed to the hospital. the warning tonight. victor oquendo on the scene in florida. breaking news as we come on tonight involving donald trump. will he be kept off the ballot in the key battleground state of colorado? what that state s supreme court just decided, and what, if anything, can donald trump do about it? the new images coming in, the volcano erupting in iceland. the fast-moving lava. concerns tonight about the possible toxic gas. marcus moore in iceland. tonight, the new attacks. iranian-backed militants launching attacks on commercial ships in the red sea. it comes just hours after the u.s. and several other nations revealed their new task force to try to protect these ships.
new concerns the reason could become a bigger tineder box. smoke rises over the skyline of gaza this morning. i m mike he manual in for bill hemmer. claudia, great to be with you. claudia: this is a special edition of america s newsroom. the u.s. going after hezbollah targets in iraq after a christmas day attack against american troops. defense secretary lloyd austin says his prayers are with the brave americans who were injured. that attack one of the more than 100 against our forces since the hamas massacre in israel october 7th. trey yengst is live in tel aviv with more. good morning, trey. good morning. overnight president biden ordered the u.s. military to strike a series of targets belonging to militants in iraq. we do know according to u.s. central command that three different strikes took place and destroyed the targeted facilities and likely killed a number of kataib hezbollah militants in response to a drone attack against the erbil air base that houses u.