it is 4:00 here in new york, 3:00 p.m. in des moines where in just a few hours, the doors will open at caucus locations across the state. and the first votes will be cast in the 2024 election. voters going to the polls today in 1600 precincts across all of iowa s 99 counties will do it in some of the most brutal conditions imaginable. tonight could be the coldest iowa caucus ever. windchills could gets a low as 45 degrees farenheit, that is freezing. that brutal cold is putting a damper on what is normally a frenzy of campaigning. trump campaign and haley campaign canceled three events, but it doesn t mean candidates aren t asking people to get out and vote. ex-president said even if you vote and then pass away, it is worth it. yes? he really said that. there is no early voting and no mail-in ballot, so all of it comes to turnout tonight. the last nbc des moines register poll released last night shows trump with a commanding 28 point lead. if he wins by anything close to th
good evening. i m bret baier. middle east powder keg as iran seizes control of a tanker in the gulf of imam and iranian backed proxy groups have launched 130 attacks on u.s. troops in the region as the world awaits a response. senior national correspondent hitch edson has the latest from the pentagon, good evening, rich. good evening, bret. this is the same ship that last year the u.s. justice department seized for violating sanctions. it was carrying iranian oil then and iranian state media outlet says bordering the ship today is retaliation for the u.s. seize it s a year ago example of iranian maligned activity threatening security and stability in the reasonable. we call on iran to release the tanker and the crew immediately. the pentagon says the tanker flagged to the marshall islands. for weeks iran backed houthi rebels have been attacking commercial shipping on the red sea. on tuesday they launched their largest, most complex attack yet. the pentagon says f-1s fro
starts right now. martha: thanks very much. good afternoon. i m martha maccallum. live in des moines, iowa. this is the story. we re just hours away from our third big event of this week. tonight we will speak with former president donald trump as he heads in to caucus week, monday night, very important night for him. he will take the stage here this evening with me and with bret baier. that will happen at 9:00 p.m. eastern, 8:00 p.m. here in iowa. we have a lot more ahead on tonight s town hall as we prep and get ready for all of that. we re looking forward to it. first though, a shocker on capitol hill this morning. hunter biden showed up at a hearing, no one was expecting him. it was his contempt of congress hearing that was getting underway after he defied a subpoena from house republicans to testify behind closed doors. that s the general procedure before you do a public hearing. so here s how that went over both sides of the aisle. watch. you re the epitome of whi
i m bret baier. we are just a weekend away from the first voting in the 2024 presidential election cycle. we will check in on iowa ahead of monday s caucuses. and we ll speak with iowa senator joni ernst. plus, how iran s so-called ghost armada is helping skirt sanctions as americans endure a tax from iranian taxies. and plenty of complaining from congress after uneventful briefing on ufos. but, first, breaking tonight, president biden says iran backed houthi rebels are terrorists. this goes against current u.s. policy changed by the biden administration. the houthis have already responded to yesterday s airstrikes against facilities in yemen with new attacks today. white house correspondent peter doocy starts us off tonight life from the north lawn. good evening, peter. peter: good evening, bret. pentagon officials believe there will be some sort of retaliation for last night s strikes. we know the houthi rebels have already launched at least one ballistic missile toward
as donald trump makes a third bid for the white house and is the the first votes are to be cast in iowa in just under two weeks. trump s lawyers say the 234-year unbroken tradition of not prosecuting the presidents for official acts, despite calls to do so from across the political spectrum, provides powerl evidence. no president prior toth donald trump tried to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power. had his attorneys point to the likelihood of mushrooming prosecutions. and future cycles. the ex-the president snlt prolsing retribution. his al lies aren t the ones plotting to end the independence of the justice department. the most audacious argument, one yesterday. on this program donald trump cannot be tri a criminal court for role in the january 6th insurrectn because heas acquitted by the senate during his second impeachment the new york times reports both legal perts have disdegreed with that position. not least because the federal charges he s facing are not analogous