jansing. iran suffers its deadliest attack in decades. more than 100 people are dead after twin bombs exploded during a memorial for a revered general. we ll have the latest on that stunning scene and the implications for the entire region and the hostages. plus, with less than two weeks before the first votes are cast for 2024, donald trump s ability to stay on the ballot is still an open question in 19 states. the latest on the uncertainty surrounding critical court cases in colorado and maine. when will the supreme court step in and decide things once and for all? and a surprise at the southern border, just as house republicans show up to spotlight how bad they say things are, illegal crossings plummet to less than half what they were at the end of december. but relief both for president biden and authorities at the border may be short lived. lots to get to today, but we start with the intensity surrounding two hugely consequential legal cases that will have a major im
at the southern border as cbp sources tell fox news that december saw the highest monthly total of migrant encounters ever. this comes as another caravan of thousands of migrants is heading towards the united states just three days out from a new year. welcome to a new hour of america s newsroom, i m molly line. mike. mike: good morning. i m mike emanuel. bill and dana are off. new numbers from the southern border reveal agents stopped more than 276,000 migrants in december smashing the previous record of nearly 270,000 set back in september. that figure does not include the migrants who weren t caught known as gotaways. all of this as sanctuary cities say they are buckling under the surge of migrants arriving from the border. molly: we have fox team coverage on this. garrett tenney is live in chicago with the latest on the migrant crisis there. go to william la jeunesse on the record breaking numbers. to put that in perspective the population of pittsburgh is 300,000
starting with just weeks to go until the start of the 2024 presidential race. gop frontrunner donald trump just scored a major legal victory against special counsel jack smith in that the supreme court issued a one-sentence judgment yesterday bluntly rejecting smith s request to fast track arguments on the former president s immunity case. so what comes next? evan perez breaks it down. reporter: the u.s. supreme court rejected a request by federal prosecutors to skip the appellate court and have the high court decide whether donald trump has immunity from prosecution in the election subversion charges. the decision deals a significant blow to special counsel jack smith s effort to keep a march 4th trial date on track. that s a lot harder now that prosecutors will have to wait several weeks while the d.c. court of appeals weighs the same questions. trump argues he has immunity. he also claims because he was impeached by the house of representatives and acquitted by the senat
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
the world. a i m john avlon in for kasie hunt. four weeks from today, we ll be waking up to results from the iowa caucus, so this is crunch time in the land of cornfields and presidential politics. donald trump holding a rally there tonight while nikki haley is going on offense. i ve done well over 120 something, 140 town halls. and i never talk about my opponents. but today i am. the former u.n. ambassador and south carolina governor is sharpening attacks against her opponents calling out donald trump last night for his persistent praise of dictators. also the haley campaign and super pac both releasing new tv ads knocking ron desantis and president biden. i ll just say it, biden is too old and congress is the most exclusive nursing home in america. in a world consumed by chaos, ron desantis is another disaster. the desantis campaign, a dumpster fire. his style always trying to outtrump trump. phony and failing. a weaker nominee than trump. armed with those new ads