you just heard from a former israeli hostage negotiator highlighting the mounting pressure that is facing israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. this as defense secretary lloyd austin is on the ground in tel aviv right now. he is pressing israeli officials for more clarity on the war efforts as the civilian casualties in gaza continue to mount. and will the election lies change things. a judge ordered rudy giuliani to pay $150 million. we ll talk to one of the attorneys that represented the workers about that impact. and just as airports prepare for millions of people flying for the holidays, the transportation department fining southwest airlines $140 million for last december s historic travel meltdown. what transportation secretary pete buttigieg just told cnn about that fine. this hour of cnn this morning starts now. and we begin with the defense secretary lloyd austin in israel, preparing to meet with prime minister benjamin netanyahu at any moment. his trip t