hitting texas that s gonna be a big test for the states elector electric grid updates. d updates. as i got you all very good day from nbc headquarters here in new york. welcome everyone to alex witt reports. it is three pm eastern, two pm in iowa, which is when they left before the first round of iowa caucuses. we begin with a live looks at the frosty iowa city, where the temperature is hovering near minus ten degrees right now. those temps are forecast to warm up, though, sort of buy caucus time tomorrow night. they will still remain below zero. candidates are bundled up. they are out and about making campaign stops across the state, even as trump is projected to run away with a contest, that is according to the latest nbc news des moines register poll. and trump s die hard supporters are seizing their moment, trudging through the snow today just to catch a glimpse of their candidate. nothing bothers me. as long as i have some heat somewhere, i ll be fine. we have
to remove trump from their. ballots california says not so fast. why? well, i will as the california secretary of state. this is all happening as republican presidential contenders are gearing up for the first major test. the iowa caucuses and new hampshire primaries, there just a couple of weeks away. who has the most at stake in these early contests? we ll ask our political panel this hour. plus, our culture critics are here to ring in the new year. we are looking at the biggest moments of 2023, and what s in and out in 2024. i am symone sanders-townsend, i have something to say. in just over two weeks, all eyes will be on iowa. that s when the state republicans will caucus in the first nominating contest of 2024 for the president of the united states. now, these make-or-break races for republican presidential hopefuls, they will be happening against the backdrop of an urgent and unprecedented constitutional question. you are looking at the first seconds of donald tru
to be handed back to israeli officials. we know that 13 is really hostages are due to be released and would also be released is separate to that deal. 39 palestinian prisoners who are being held in israeli jails also being exchanged for those hostages. now as we continue to watch those live pictures, joining us now on the line, our correspondent lucy williamson. and the occupied west bank. lucy, we sawjubilant scenes and the occupied west bank. lucy, we saw jubilant scenes there yesterday as prisoners were released by this time yesterday. we ve had these delays, what is happening where you are now? right, this sounds like we are have communication problems here. we can t make contact with lucy at the moment. so we ll keep trying, lucy williamson our correspondent in the west bank. let s head tojerusalem with our correspondent tom bateman. it seems that the problems have been ironed out now, do we know what stage the release process is at? while we know it is due to take place
welcome both of you ladies. priscilla, you are in sioux city, there we, go i will get to you first after your whirlwind tour of the state. all these names of cities, here we go. our iowans fired up, priscilla? are they fired up enough about these candidates to break the frigid weather and the caucuses tomorrow? yeah, alex. many of them say they are. especially when you talk to trump supporters and you showed that map about what we are dealing with here. we are talking about sub-zero temperatures, wind chills that feel more like negative 37. very cold weather. the cold the state has gotten a lot of some cold over the last, week some of that turning into black ice as folks are headed to the caucuses. of course, the road conditions are the big concern here. in city centers like des moines and some of the suburbs, those areas are probably going to get plowed a lot quicker than some