welcome to verified live, three hours of breaking stories and checking out the truth behind them. let s start in ukraine as we try to verify exactly what happended with the destruction of a major dam in southern ukraine. scientists have found evidence that there was a large explosion in the area of the kakhovka dam, close to the time when the dam was breached. a seismology team from norway found evidence of a blast by looking at seismic signals detected in romania. in a separate development, ukraine s security services have released a recording of what they say are two russian military figures discussing how the dam was sabotaged although the recordings can t be verified. ukraine has reported heavy fighting in the eastern region of donetsk on friday. officials said ukrainian forces had gained more ground near the city of bakhmut. there are also reports of heavy fighting in zaporizhzhia. military experts say the area will be the focus of ukraine s long awaited counter offe
special counsel jack smith calling on the supreme court to make a decision and make it fast. the former president, will he stand trial for the alleged crimes he committed while in office? and flight fallout, the white house slammed the texas governor for sending migrants up north. the administration, called it a political stunt, live in chicago where the influx of migrants is causing a crisis. nightmare before christmas along the west coast, how an atmospheric river in major flooding are threatening holiday plans for millions. following these major stories, coming in from cnn news central. no holiday break for the nine justices of the supreme court. there are three hugely significant disputes tied to donald trump that for their pocket. the latest special counsel jack smith reiterating that he wants to leapfrog the appeals court and have the supreme court way in now on whether trump can be prosecuted or if he has presidential immunity. the other two they are poised
action in what will be the biggest ever nhs walk out in england. we are still hopefully on track and getting waiting lists below a year at the end of march. the more strikes we have, the more challenging that becomes. at the moment, ourstaff challenging that becomes. at the moment, our staff are working incredibly hard to get the waiting lists down. let us know how the strikes are affecting you and do you support them? you can get in touch with your thoughts on this story and the rest of the days news by contacting me on twitter @annitabbc or using the hashtag #bbc your questions we re bringing you special coverage of breaking news this hour a powerful earthquake which has struck northern syria and south eastern turkey, killing more than 640 people. the tremor had a magnitude of seven point eight, and struckjust before dawn. the epicentre was in the turkish province of gaziantep but buildings collapsed hundreds of miles away, and there are also reports of many casualtie
hello, and everyone, welcome to cnn newsroom. right now there is a desperate search and rescue operation under way across turkey and syria after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake ripped through the two countries before dawn. the death toll now tops 2,700 and will like will keep rising as crews dig through the rubble. more than 120 aftershocks hit after the earthquake, including one almost as powerful as the earthquake itself. buildings crumbled to the ground. people feared trapped inside. others having to run for their lives. rescuers having to reach those who are stuck under piles of concrete and debris, like this boy in northern syria. you can just make him out buried under the wreckage. thankfully he was pulled the safety. rescuers also pulling this little girl from the debris in another syrian city. the u.s. and other countries are offering whatever help they can. and president biden said he has directed his team to provide any and all assistance immediately. cnn s juman
now, santos was completely denying the allegations. he also was making a reference to the fact that this prospective staffer who is a former reporter made some audiotapes, recorded conversations with santos and then leaked them. but this is just the latest serious allegation in a long string of allegations against the embattled congressman. a long string that keeps on getting longer. melanie, thank you. it is the top of the hour. just a short time ago the pentagon defended the president s choice to delay shooting town a suspected spy balloon from china. a fight jet brought it down saturday. after the balloon crossed the continental united states, multiple republicans have criticized it calling it a weak response. but commander at norad says the intelligence gathered will be of value. there was a potential opportunity for us to collect intel where we had gaps on prior balloons. this gave us the opportunity to assess what they were actually doing, what kind of capabilit