military aid arriving today in kyiv. a plane load of other lethal items a javelin anti-tank missiles designed to stop russian armor. the administration today also sought to reassure allies like germany which relies on moscow for natural gas, announcing it's working with other suppliers to cushion the blow if russia cuts them off. it also issued this warning to belarus, ukraine's unfriendly neighbor and putin's ally to the north. >> just as we have been clear with the russian federation about the severe cost that would befall them were this to move forward, in recent days we have also made clear to belarus that if it allows its territory to be used for an attack on ukraine, it would face a swift and decisive response from the united states and our allies and partners. >> as for the view from ukraine, one source close to leadership tells cnn, the threat is from russia is, quote, depreciation, but not imminent, end quote, with more than 120,000 russian troops on the border, the danger is certainly clear, even if the eminence is not. we have live reports from kaitlan collins at the white house and clarissa ward in kyiv, and also a former cia operative chief of operations is here to talk about what drives putin and what sort of sanctions he may fear. first, let's go to kaitlan collins who got a chance to question president biden at length today. what did the president have to say? >> he spoke in pretty blunt terms, talking about if russia decides to move forward with this, which he did highlight the unpredictable nature of all this following a meeting with his national security team earlier today. but saying that if they do move forward with this, it would be the worst invasion we have seen since world war ii and talking about the 8500 troops he put on high alert this week, saying it could be in the near term that he moves them. saying he doesn't know exactly what that looks like, depending on what move putin does make. he did say, anderson, if putin does move and does decide to invade ukraine, he is going to face personal consequences. >> would you ever see yourself personally sanctioning him if he did invade ukraine? >> yes. >> you would? >> i would see that. >> what would it take to trigger the deployment of the 8500 troops you put on high alert? and what's your message to those forces that are on high alert? >> those forces on high alert are the part of a nato operation, not a sole u.s. operation. i made it clear to president putin that we would -- we have a sacred obligation, article 5 obligation to our nato allies and if in fact he continued the build up and/or was to move, we would be re-enforcing those troops. >> now, anderson, that first answer about talking about personally sanctioning president putin would be very significant. that's not something you have ever seen a u.s. president take that step before. it's not clear exactly what that would look like or what not, but the fact that president biden alone is saying it is something he would consider if he does make this move with ukraine, which we should note, as you said earlier today, the white house says they still do believe that's imminent, it would be very consequential. >> the white house has made clear that whatever decision that is made, it's going to be made by one person, and that is vladimir putin. >> i think that's probably one of the most notable things we heard from president biden today. this was just a mundane run of the mill stop at a small business highlighting that, not of course related to crew ukraine, but the president knew that was the topic everyone was talking about. he had just emerged from that meeting with his national security team, and he is talking about this saying really, it's anyone's guess what president putin is going do here. and president biden told us he doesn't even think the russian leader's top aides know what he is going to do. that was so consequential saying no one knows what the russian leader is going to do next except putin. biden was talking about the consequences, economic, military ones, ones that putin himself may face, but ultimately, above all, no one knows exactly what he is going to do next. >> catalan collins, appreciate it. now kyiv, ukraine international correspondent clarissa ward who spoke with ukraine's foreign minister. what did he have to say? >> well, anderson, it's no secret that there has been some daylight between the u.s. and ukraine in terms of primarily really the messaging around the handling of this crisis. the foreign minister was very open about the fact he was annoyed at the u.s.'s decision to withdraw families of embassy personnel here. he felt that that was premature, that it was unnecessary, and there's a widespread concern that it contributes to a sense of panic. but for the most part, he really wanted to give the impression that the u.s. and ukraine are working in lockstep, and he was particularly pleased to hear the news that of those up to 8,500 u.s. troops who are on heightened alert and could potentially be deployed if need be, take a listen to what he said about that. >> i think it's a message to putin that, listen, whatever you're trying to achieve, you get the opposite. if you want us to withdraw from central europe, to withdraw nato infrastructure from central europe, our response to your escalation is re-enforcing the eastern flank of nato. >> some have suggested, though, this shift might actually anger putin and escalate the crisis further. are you concerned about that? >> well, if we learned anything since 2014, it's that it's a flawed logic to handle president putin from the perspective that let's do nothing in order not to make him angry. no, this is not how it works. strength, resolve, deterrence. these are the three elements that work with putin. >> we also asked him about what political concessions ukraine would be willing to make in order to facilitate a diplomatic solution. and while there seems to be some openness to that idea, what he was very strong about, anderson, was saying that nobody else will come and tell ukraine what concessions it has to make. those are decisions that will come from ukraine itself. and he went to the length of saying that if someone got on a plane and came here and said, you have to make these concessions, he said he would call the protocol officer and have that person escorted back to the airport. you do definitely have a sense here that ukraine, because it's not directly involved in these talks, feels it necessary to really project very strongly that it has its own ideas about how this should be handled, and that it will not simply go with the flow and accept whatever concessions other powers in outside countries decide for them. >> are ukrainian officials, to that point, are ukrainian officials and the white house on the same page as far as what they're expecting from the russian military and when? >> so this is another interesting and kind of unexpected update, anderson. this is a different official now, a source close to the ukrainian government who in response to that assertion that, you know, an invasion was, quote, imminent from the white house, chose to sort of phrase it a little differently and said the situation is, quote, dangerous but not imminent. this official said that they are poring over satellite imagery every hour of all those troops that are amassed along the border, desperately trying to ascertain what the next move will be. and in his words, quote, russia is not yet getting into combat mode or positioning themselves to attack. this official also said that if president putin does give the order to attack, he estimates it would still be a week or two before russia was able to do so. and there would be more preparations that were needed. again, slightly different messaging coming, and the feeling we're getting on the ground, particularly when you talk privately to officials here, is that there is a little bit of frustration with the u.s. messaging around this, because of the urgency there are concerns here that that's going to create panic, create anxiety, lead to a run on the markets. they're worried about foreign investment in ukraine. there's a sense, though, also, that they really want to have their cake and eat it too. they want the sort of strong language against russia. they want the sanctions, they want the u.s. troops on high alert. but they don't want to make it look like a full-blown invasion could be around the corner, anderson. >> clarissa ward, appreciate it. thank you. i'll get perspective now from retired cia chief of russia operations, steve hall. steve, it's good to have you back. based on what we just heard from kaitlan and clarissa, how difficult is it for anyone in this administration or any of mesh's nato allies to interpret what vladimir putin is going to do, what's going on essentially inside his head? >> anderson, that is really, really difficult. and it's not just the difficulty in collecting intelligence. it's not just the difficulty in trying to parse out what he's saying and what he's actually doing on the ground. it's also a matter of, you know, does putin himself know? i'm not sure he does. hinge's probably still doing a risk versus gain assessment. but also, i'm pretty sure that nobody sitting at a table with putin talking about this actually knows. he keeps these things notoriously very close to the vest. so we're trying to figure out what's this sign mean and what's going to be the west's response, and he plays it so carefully that it's going to be extremely difficult, i think, for us to know, until things are really far down the track and they're ready to go, if they are going to do that invasion. >> we heard the president say he may move american troops into ukraine, quote, in the near term. also, he didn't commit to doing that just yet. how important is that distinction when it comes to how vladimir putin will interpret it? >> i think it's pretty important because, again, vladimir putin is sitting back and trying to read all the tea leaves that are hanning in the west, just as we're trying to figure out what's going on in moscow. you have a couple different sort of messages that putin is hearing. in december, and i think as recently as either today or just a few days ago, this administration, the biden administration, has said no, there won't be american boots on the ground in ukraine. you have nato partners saying, well, you know, maybe we shouldn't be militarizing and mobilizing as quickly. maybe we should keep going harder with the negotiations and diplomacy and sort of avoid a war. and you have others, the americans primarily and the uk, saying we need to be more aggressive and assertive, and the ukrainians are saying the same thing. putin is trying to figure out what's going on as carefully as we are. and things are still just really up in the air right now. >> we have learned today the u.s. officials have still not sent a written response to russia's demands. why would that be? in the world of diplomacy, i mean, what is the significance of that? and how much stock do you put in this diplomatic process? >> well, to answer the latter question first, there just doesn't seem to be a whole lot of flex on either side of this, either from the west, who has denied the ridiculous requests on the part of russia, and russia has made those requests and said that's it, it's a package. you can't even pull it apart. i do have to say there is a word in russian, and it means basically, abnormally rude. and to sort of assign washington a homework project and say hey, we need these answers in writing back from you, double spaced by next week, is a little bit rude. and i think that the administration is going to try to take advantage of that and say look, we're going to make it very clear in black and white as you requested that these are our red lines. we do not let a power like the soviet union or russia tell ukraine, a free democracy, who it can and who it cannot associate with. i expect that's going to be the gist of what's going on and what the paper that washington is going to give to lavrov and his negotiators back in moscow. >> the word is nagli? i vice president heard of that before. >> nagli. na nagli. >> i like that. the president has repeatedly said he's basing his decisions on what putin does or doesn't do. the idea of personal sanctions against putin, which kaitlan collins asked the president about, and he said, you know, he indicated that potentially that would be on the table, i mean, how significant is that, because that's clearly a line that has not been crossed heretofore? >> my assessment is it's largely symbolic. that doesn't mean it doesn't have its own power. putin, every time you hear him and his mouthpieces talk, they talk about the need for respecting russia for all of its greatness, and that translates to him personally as well. i don't think he likes to be personally slighted. that said, he has had a lot of years, decades in fact, to hide his ill gotten earnings he has stolen from the russian people in foreign banks and other places where it's extremely difficult. so it will have an impact on him, and it's very unusual to sanction personally a head of state, head of government like putin is. but i think the symbolism there is actually more important than the actual impact of vladimir putin personally. >> do you have a sense of what you think he'll do? >> you know, i think it's on a spectrum. on the far end of the spectrum, you have a full attack on ukraine, a full invasion. on the other side, a face-saving device that putin tries to use to get out of this. i vote for somewhere in the middle, if you force me to answer the question. i think that he might try something in the middle, like formalize the attack on the donbass region, the russian part. maybe send russian troops there and see what happens. but at this point, it's just really hard to tell in the cloud and fog of all of this. >> steve hall, really appreciate it. thank you. >> sure. coming up next, the former president is already on tape on the phone trying to coerce georgia's top election official into finding him votes he did not get. you have all heard that call. probably many times. a grand jury is about to look into it. the question, was it a crime? might not be as simple as you might think. we're going to hear from a former prosecutor and a georgia defense lawyer who believes the case may be thin just based on that phone call. >> also, what we're now learning about the mysterious figure at the center of the scheme that might have sent troops into polling places to actually seize voting machines. we're carvana, the company who invented car vending machines and buying a car 100% online. now we've created a brand-new way for you to sell your car. whether it's a year old or a few years old. we wanna buy your car. so go to carvana and enter your license plate answer a few questions. and our techno wizardry calculates your car's value and gives you a real offer in seconds. when you're ready, we'll come to you, pay you on the spot and pick up your car, that's it. so ditch the old way of selling your car, and say hello to the new way at carvana. some of my best memories growing up were cooking with mom. so when she moved in with us, a new kitchen became part of our financial plan. ♪ ♪ find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm.com cough cough sneeze sneeze... [ sneezing ] needs, plop plop fizz fizz. alka seltzer plus cold relief. dissolves quickly. instantly ready to start working. so you can bounce back fast with alka-seltzer plus. now available for fast sinus relief. one of my favorite supplements is qunol turmeric. turmeric helps with healthy joints and inflammation support. unlike regular turmeric supplements qunol's superior absorption helps me get the full benefits of turmeric. the brand i trust is qunol. hey lily, i need a new wireless plan for my business, but all my employees need something different. oh, we can help with that. okay, imagine this. your mover, rob, he's on the scene and needs a plan with a mobile hotspot. we cut to downtown, your sales rep lisa has to send some files, like asap! so basically i can pick the right plan for each employee. yeah i should've just led with that. with at&t business. you can pick the best plan for each employee and get the best deals on every smart phone. ah, i can't. ah, my toes! ah, how much further? turns out, it is hard walking a mile in someone else's shoes. and it turns out the general is a quality insurance company that's been saving people money for nearly 60 years. i can't, i gotta go, ah let's trade back. for a great low rate, and nearly 60 years of quality coverage - make the right call - and go with the general. forreal? they just need new laces. for people who could use a lift new neutrogena® rapid firming. a triple-lift serum with pure collagen. 92% saw visibly firmer skin in just 4 weeks. neutrogena® for people with skin. there's an exclusive new reporting on one of the two broad ways the former president and his allies tried to overturn the election. putting forward slates of bogus elector certificates in seven states that he lost. today deputy attorney general tells cnn federal prosecutors are looking into it, reviewing phony certificates with signatures trump supporters falsely claiming to be electors like this bunch of folks in michigan. they were being turned away from the state house where legitimate electors were certifying the outcome. more on this no doubt to come. tonight, we want to focus on another facet of the former president's attempt to overturn the results in one of those seven states, georgia. >> so look, all i want to do is this. i just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. because we won the state. >> so that, of course, is the former president's now infamous attempt to coerce georgia's republican secretary of state of to do his bidding which the secretary of state did not. now that a grand jury has gotten the go-ahead to look into whether any georgia laws were broken, the question is was what you heard in that conversation smoking gun evidence? a report last fall by the brookings institution concluded the former president's conduct left him at, quote, a substantial risk of state charges predicated on multiple crimes. we want today get some perspective legally. cnn chief legal analyst jeffrey toobin joins us and georgia criminal defense attorney don samuel. >> jeff, the fact that a special grand jury has been given the go-ahead, does that mean that automatically that the da's investigation is serious, that it's more than just this phone call? >> yes, it means it's serious. it doesn't mean there's a case that's going to be brought. it doesn't mean that president trump is guilty of a crime, but it does mean there will be subpoenas issued, testimony will be taken, documents will be collected, and this investigation will be more than the notorious phone call. whether it turns out to be anything legally more than that, we'll see, but this is a real criminal investigation. >> don, you were quoted in the atlanta journal constitution last month before the grand jury was requested, on the raffensperger call you said just the words themselves i find it hard to believe that someone can indict or ever get a conviction that was supporting either obstruction or perjury or election fraud. what do you make of the now that the grand jury is moving forward? >> it's going to depend on who is on the grand jury. this grand jury can't indict. this is a special purpose grand jury which just does the investigation and as jeffrey said, it subpoenas records, subpoenas documents and can take sworn testimony. but it cannot indict. it just does a report at the end, a maximum of a year, which would be may of 2023. so it won't indict. you know, whether the phone call to mr. raffensperger ultimately would lead a criminal grand jury to indict is questionable. and i find it even more questionable that ultimately a trial jury in fulton county would convict. jurors in fulton county reflect, you know, jurors throughout the country. there's the republicans on the jury are not going to shed their stripes and suddenly decide that they're going to be reasonable and find him guilty. and the democrats aren't going to suddenly on the jury decide, well, you know, let's be reasonable. let's give him the benefit of the doubt. they're going to reflect the same kind of animosity. and the lack of common ground that is just prevalent throughout our country at this point. >> jeff, what other kind of evidence would they be looking for? i mean, obviously, there is the phone call that's been recorded. is it other people in the trump orbit reaching out? is it other actions the president himself took? >> absolutely. it's other contacts between the election officials and people connected to trump. it's documents. it's emails discussing those -- discussing those possible contacts. and there's another side to this investigation, which definitely needs to be explored. which is why did the trump appointed u.s. attorney disappear from his job mysteriously in the middle of this whole controversy? all of this is grist for an investigation. i don't know where that investigation will lead, but it certainly is unusual, and that phone call, while not proof of guilt in and of itself, is certainly suggestive of the crime of suborning election fraud. and there's just a lot more that the district attorney can and should do. >> and don, obviously, we don't know if there were other calls, for were other people reaching out. if you were a former president's defense attorney, what would your -- what kind of an argument would you be making? >> i would be making the argument, if you look at what was said in the raffensperger call, as far as we know, the other calls, he's telling them that the words were find the 11,700 votes or 12,000 votes. and you know, it is certainly suggestive or it could be interpreted as i want you do something illegal, but it could as easily mean there's 159 counties in georgia. there's bound to be some mistakes in ballot counting. we have found mistakes since then, so it's conceivable what he's saying is please don't stop looking, keep looking until you can find under any rock that there's fraud or ballots that, you know, trump ballots that weren't counted or biden ballots that aren't valid. but he never said, mr. raffensperger, i want you and ryan and the other people in your office to sit down and create ballots and stuff the ballot box here in early january. or i want you to go back to the, you know, rooms where they're tabulating votes and start ripping them up. just to say i want you to find them sounds like a sloppy and, you know, maybe a trumpian way of trying to achieve an end, but it doesn't strike me that you're going to convince people who aren't inclined to find him guilty of anything to convict him. >> jeff, do you agree with that? just with the phone call, it's not enough? >> i don't think the phone call is enough. but the phone call is plenty. i mean, remember, it's not just find me those ballots. it's if you don't find me those ballots and look for them, you, raffensperger, could be prosecuted yourself. that certainly sounds like a threat. it sounds like intimidation from the president of the united states. again, it's not enough for a prosecutor to simply play the tape and say to the jury, the prosecution rests. but there is plenty of grist here for a serious criminal investigation. and that seems to be what's going on. >> jeffrey toobin, don samuel, appreciate your time. thank you. >> thank you. now more on someone who is sort of a mystery man who appears to be central to that utterly bonkers scheme to have the military seize voting machines in key states. his name is phil waldron. he's been subpoenaed by the house select committee, and according to politico, another member of the president's team has already told the committee that he originated that idea. more now from randi kaye. >> this is an attack by other countries, foreign countries, is what you're saying. >> i believe from what i have seen and the witnesses i have talked to that this is a coup. >> that's james phil waldron, a retired u.s. army colonel pushing his baseless claims of election fraud. waldron specialized in psychological operations during his military career and says he conducted electronic warfare and counterdeception. today, he owns a bar in texas, but just after the 2020 election, he was busy testifying before legislatures in battleground states about his now long debunked claims that voting systems were manipulated in the election. >> we saw numerous examples of numbers moving, numbers being flipped and switched. >> to be clear, then president donald trump's own justice department found no evidence of widespread fraud that would have changed the election results. but that didn't stop waldron from contributing to and circulating a powerpoint document detailing ways to undermine the 2020 presidential election outcome. the powerpoint baselessly claims china and venezuela took control of the u.s. election system, creating a national security emergency. >> the links that go back to china keep growing. >> the document also recommends that electronic voting in all states be declared invalid. it suggests u.s. marshals secure all ballots and provide a protective perimeter around the locations in all 50 states. in summary, the document says, if you count the paper ballots in each state, trump wins overwhelmingly. >> these systems all have back doors. >> this powerpoint document wasn't just shared among conspiracy theorists and those working to overturn the election results. it made its way to the white house and the halls of congress. and so did phil waldron. waldren didn't respond to our request for comment, but he told "the washington post" he visited the white house multiple times and spoke with then trump chief of staff mark meadows, maybe eight to ten times. the congressional committee investigating the insurrection at the capitol released this letter, saying meadows had turned over the powerpoint document to the committee. waldron told "the new york times" that he did not directly send the document to meadows but that perhaps someone on his team waldron also told "the washington post" that he briefed members of congress on his unfounded claims of election fraud. that group included ron johnson and lindsey graham, in addition to some house members. now the house select committee investigating the january 6 attack has also subpoenaed waldron. committee chairman bennie thompson saying in a statement the document he reportedly provided to administration officials and members of congress is an alarming blueprint for overturning a nationwide election. the select committee needs to hear from him about all these activities. randi kaye, cnn, palm beach county, florida. >> up next, covid, namely the desperate steps some school districts are taking to get substitute teachers and keep schools open during the omicron surge. your record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire (burke) this is why you want farmers claim forgiveness... [echoing] claim forgiveness-ness, your home premium won't go up just because of this. (woman) wow, that's something. (burke) you get a whole lot of something with farmers policy perks. [echoing] get a quote today. ♪ we are farmers. bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ no ink! uccch! i need you to print, i need you. please don't do this, i love you so much, i hate you. you think you're empty. i'm empty. do you suffer from cartridge conniptions? ucccccch! be conniption free. thanks to the cartridge-free epson ecotank printer. a ridiculous amount of ink! up to 2 years of ink comes in the box. the ecotank is the perfect cure for-- i'm sorry, i didn't mean any of that. i meant it!!!! you're mocking me! the epson ecotank. just fill & chill. does anybody have more cartridges?! available at. do your eyes bother you? my eyes feel like a combo of stressed, dry and sandpaper. strypaper? luckily, there's biotrue hydration boost eye drops. biotrue uses naturally inspired ingredients. and no preservatives. try biotrue! ♪"don't ya leave" by squeak e clean♪ [doorbell] ♪ [doorbell] ♪ [doorbell] all the delivery. no delivery fees. dashpass. realtor.com's draw a map feature helped us find what we wanted, where we wanted. so we could finally buy our first "big boi house." big boi house. big boi foyer! big boi marble. big boi quartz. word? realtor.com to each their home. another sign tonight of how covid is changing our lives with the omicron variant making up 99.9% of new cases. staff shortages are so bad at some schools that administrators are desperate for help. coming up with some creative ways to get substitute teachers to try to keep schools open. more now from cnn's ed lavandera. >> it's breakfast time, buddy. >> breakfast with the stone family is usually served with a side of chaos. >> kenneth, get off grandmother's sewing machine, please. >> getting their six school aged children out the door isn't easy. and on top of that, today, jan stone is starting a new job. substitute teacher. >> honestly, i don't know what i'm expecting. i am petrified. and excited at the same time. >> the latest covid-19 surge has caused extreme staffing shortages at school districts across the country. fighting to keep in-person classrooms open. >> where is ms. reed? >> i don't know where ms. reed is today. >> reporter: in hays county south of austin, so many teachers are sick with covid-19 or in quarantine, school district officials are asking parents to become substitute teachers. jan stone answered the call, and this morning, she's teaching second graders. >> good morning. how are you? i am mrs. stone. i'm going to be your substitute today. >> as you're sitting at home and watching this latest surge and teachers are calling in sick and staffing shortages, were you worried that your kids were going to be sent home? >> absolutely. i look at the thing, like okay, not their class this week. not this class. so yeah. i'm very concerned about that. that totally derails life for us. >> one day last week, school officials here say they needed 455 substitutes but could only fill 40% of the spots. the staffing shortage sends school administrators scrambling to figure out where to put kids without a teacher. hayes consolidated school superintendent eric wright said they're doing whatever it takes to keep the doors open. >> i talk to kids a lot, and they just tell me that the quality of education is so much better in person than it was remote. >> how close has it come to the point where, hey, we need to shut everything down. we don't have the staff to keep going. >> pretty close. but we have been able to keep our head above water. >> it sounds like you're on the razor's edge. this could go either way on any given day. >> yes. you're correct. >> in oklahoma, school resource police officers help fill in when teachers were out sick. to keep schools open, the oklahoma governor is allowing state employees to work as substitute teachers. in new mexico, the governor is expected to work as a substitute this week, as she's pushing state employees and national guard members fill staffing shortages as well. >> there we go. >> there you go. >> bryant mckinnie owns this world war ii themed miniature golf course in beauta, texas. this is almost like a classroom. >> right. >> mckinney has two children in hayes county schools. he signed up to be a substitute teacher starting this week. after a year of learning from home, he wants to do whatever it takes to keep his kids in the classroom. >> it was a pretty rough year last year. yeah. >> so the idea of going back to virtual learning is not something you want to see? >> no, no. definitely not. i don't want my kids to not be at grade level next year and decrease, you know, their education. so clearly, it's important to me as a parent. >> you're going to be the most popular substitute teacher in the entire district. >> i don't know. we'll see. we'll know in about a week. >> anderson, school district officials there in hayes county tell us about 40 people have signed up to work as substitute teachers. and officials also say that they're hoping that things are starting to trend in a better direction. today, for example, they needed 260 substitutes, far different from the 455 that were needed last week as we just reported. and they filled about 63% of those spots. so they're hoping things are now starting to trend in a better direction. but it is still far from normal. >> so tough. ed lavendera, appreciate it. thank you. attorney michael avenatti is representing himself in a criminal trial against him. he's expected to cross-examine stormy daniels soon. i'll have the latest details on that next. you happen to be a dog. inner voice (kombucha brewer): i'm dramatically holding this bottle, so the light hits it just right, and people think... wow... ...he knows what he's doing... ...when i'm actually pretty lost with my payroll taxes. intuit quickbooks helps you manage your payroll taxes. cheers. 100% accurate payroll tax calculations guaranteed. one of my favorite supplements is qunol turmeric. turmeric helps with healthy joints and inflammation support. unlike regular turmeric supplements qunol's superior absorption helps me get the full benefits of turmeric. the brand i trust is qunol. ♪ it wasn't me by shaggy ♪ you're never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your discover card. feel stuck with student loan debt? move to sofi and feel what it's like to get your money right. ♪ ♪ ♪ move your student loan debt to sofi- you could save with low rates and no fees. earn a $1,000 bonus when you refi- and get your money right. attorney michael avenatti is now representing himself at his own criminal trial after a judge approved the move this afternoon. avenatti is charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft after being accused of defrauding and impersonating stormy daniels out of $300,000 in book fees when he served as her attorney. after leaving court today, he elaborated why he made the choice to defend himself. >> mr. avenatti, can you tell us about your decision to represent yourself? >> i'm a trial lawyer. i have been a trial lawyer for 20 years. it's what i do. it's my -- >> we can't hear you clearly. >> i'm sorry. i'm a trial lawyer. it's what i have done for two decades. it's my arena. it's where i'm most at home. and i think it gives me the best chance of winning. and it gives the best chance for the truth and the evidence to come out. i am completely innocent in this case. it should have never been brought. and i'm hopeful that the jury at the end of the day -- >> joining us now is cnn correspondent kara scannell. what can you tell us on the judge granting avenatti's request to defend himself? >> anderson, it was just after lunch that avenatti told the judge there was a breakdown in the relationship with him and his court appointed counsel. he told the judge that he wanted to represent himself, that he had the best course of action would be for him to represent himself. this was not long after the judge had just cut off that court appointed counsel who was cross-examining the government's first witness. that was stormy daniels' book agent. after the jury left the room, the judge said he did that because in 43 minutes of questioning, he said that the attorney did not ask one relevant question. so avenatti told the judge that he could represent himself, that he actually did represent himself in a criminal trial this past summer that ended in a mistrial. the judge told avenatti he wanted to have his eyes wide open. the stakes in the case were very high, but he found avenatti was competent to do so. he told him he would need to abide by the decorum of the courtroom, and he said that court-appointed counsel would be on standby. >> do you know whether or not avenatti has decided to take the stand in his own self-defense? >> so he hasn't said yet, but in court filings in december, his attorney said there was a strong likelihood that avenatti would testify in his own defense. of course, that raises a lot of issues here. how would that actually happen? i covered a civil trial in federal court where a person represented herself. she actually sat on the witness stand and asked herself a question and then answered it. it will be up to the judge to decide how that would take place here and whether avenatti would do the same or one of the other attorneys would do the questioning. anderson? >> do you know when stormy daniels might testify? and under this scenario, would avenatti be the one cross-examining her? >> yeah, i mean, this is quite a showdown. these two were the dynamic duo who were taking on former president trump. now they will be sparring in the courtroom. the prosecutors say that she is going to be their big witness. she's the one that was allegedly defrauded. they say it's not likely she will testify tomorrow, but it is possible. seems like it's more likely she'll be on the stand on thursday. anderson? kara scannell, thank you. a scene you might find hard to believe in the united states after package rob rays from a train left tracks completely trashed. it's a scene that has many in los angeles if things are completely out of control. cnn's nick watt joins us next for a look at the rising crime in los angeles. ...and our md safety system—ever. ♪ my mental health was much better. my mind was in a good place. but my body was telling a different story. i felt all people saw were my uncontrolled movements. some mental health meds can cause tardive dyskinesia, or td, and it's unlikely to improve without treatment. ingrezza is a prescription medicine to treat adults with td movements in the face and body. it's the only treatment for td that's one pill, once-daily, with or without food. ingrezza 80 mg is proven to reduce td movements in 7 out of 10 people. people taking ingrezza can stay on their current dose of most mental health meds. don't take ingrezza if you're allergic to any of its ingredients. ingrezza may cause serious side effects, including sleepiness. don't drive, operate heavy machinery, or do other dangerous activities until you know how ingrezza affects you. other serious side effects include potential heart rhythm problems and abnormal movements. it's nice people focus more on me. ask your doctor about ingrezza, #1 prescribed for td. learn how you could pay as little as zero dollars at ingrezza.com. for rob, it took years to find out why his constipation with belly pain just wouldn't go away. despite all he did to manage his symptoms... day after day. still came the belly pain, discomfort, and bloating, awful feelings he tried not showing. finally with the help of his doctor it came to be, that his symptoms were all signs of ibs-c. and that's why he said yess to adding linzess. linzess is not a laxative. it helps you have more frequent and complete bowel movements, and is proven to help relieve overall abdominal symptoms belly pain, discomfort, and bloating. do not give linzess to children less than two. it may harm them. do not take linzess if you have a bowel blockage. get immediate help if you develop unusual or severe stomach pain. especially with bloody or black stools. the most common side effect is diarrhea, sometimes severe. if it's severe, stop taking linzess and call your doctor right away. other side effects include gas, stomach area pain, and swelling. could your story also be about ibs-c? talk to your doctor and say yess to linzess. learn how abbvie and ironwood could help you save on linzess. i always dreamed of having kids of my own. ♪ ♪ now i'm ready for someone to call me mom. at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. the alarming images of empty boxes scattered over train tracks in los angeles county is just one sign of the crime wave hitting america's second biggest city. shipping companies say they've seen a dramatic spike in railroad theft in one of the nation's biggest railroad companies says they may avoid operating in los angeles due to the spike. that's all reinforcing what many feel is a city where crime is out of control. cnn's national correspondent nick watt has the story. >> reporter: downtown los angeles, packages are being stolen from trains. that trash is the aftermath. >> what the hell is going on? it looks like a third-world country. >> reporter: what the hell is going on? well, union pacific blames in large part l.a.'s new-ish, woke-ish district attorney, elected in the wake of george floyd's murder and flanked for his one-year anniversary presser by progressive d.a.s from around the country. >> we have set a path for ourself to turn around the criminal legal system in this country. >> reporter: gascon has ordered his deputy d.a.s, no under-18s charged as adults, no more three strikes, and in many cases, do not even prosecute most misdemeanors like trespassing, and don't seek more prison time if guns or gangs are involved. all, he says, to make the system -- >> more humane, more equitable. >> reporter: but union pacific is now actually asking the d.a. to rethink his reforms because of this. they claim more than 100 arrests have been made, but apparently not one prosecution. >> they did not present 100 cases to us. that's misleading. >> reporter: gascon also taking heat after a spate of smash-and-grab robberies before christmas. >> whether it's fair or not to point the finger at him, the finger is being pointed. >> reporter: also for some headline making murders. a well loved beverly hills philanthropist shot dead in her home. a 70-year-old nurse murdered at a bus stop. a young clerk stabbed to death in a furniture store. >> you've really got to wake up to what's happening all over los angeles. >> reporter: the d.a. easily survived one recall attempt last year but now faces another. >> he has abandoned all of us victims in favor of criminals. >> reporter: the union that represents gascon's own deputy d.a.s is suing him. >> yes, it is rare. >> reporter: claiming the directives are not merely radical but plainly unlawful. >> he has created this environment where there's no accountability. criminals are arrested, and within 24 hours, they're back on the street committing crime. >> reporter: latest stats from the sheriff show robbery, burglary, and arson have actually fallen since gascon took office. unclear why. could be covid. but like many places, murder is way up. >> most crime is down except for homicides. that's a pretty big exception. >> yes. >> people are scared out there. >> yeah. >> reporter: the sheriff calls gascon's tenure god-awful and -- >> i can say it's been an absolute disaster. >> reporter: gascon's comeback. >> my dad used to say that when you wrestle with a pig, you both get muddy, and the pig likes it. >> reporter: what is going on with you and sheriff villanueva? >> he's running for election. he's got very strong opponents. >> reporter: for now, gascon's reforms roll on. >> if at some point the voters decide that this is not the direction they want to go and they want to go in a different direction, that's what a democracy is all about. >> reporter: by the way, he just wrote back to union pacific about all those stolen packages, passing the buck back to them. u.p. does little to secure or lock trains, he wrote. >> so how does the district attorney want misdemeanors to be handled, and what is being done to secure the union pacific trains? >> reporter: well, anderson, on the misdemeanors, what the d.a. wants is this. if it's a nonviolent offense and if the perp is suffering from a mental illness or substance abuse, gascon wants that person, quote, redirected towards rehabilitation rather than punished and thrown behind bars for what he says could become an endless cycle of recidivism. now, i mean in terms of what happens with the trains, as you mentioned, union pacific is now considering changing their routes in order to just simply avoid los angeles county and avoid this issue altogether. anderson. >> nick watt, i appreciate it. thank you. officer wilbert mora, the second new york police department officer who was shot while responding to a domestic incident in harlem last week died today. officers mora and rivera were both shot and killed after a suspected gunman opened fire in a harlem apartment. the suspect tried to run away but was confronted and shot by a third officer who was on the scene. both men were just two of five new york police department officers who have been shot in the first month of 2022. we'll be right back. you're a one-man stitchwork master. but your staffing plan needs to go up a size. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire like pulsing, electric shocks, sharp, stabbing pains, or an intense burning sensation. what is this nightmare? it's how some people describe... shingles. a painful, blistering rash that could interrupt your life for weeks. forget social events and weekend getaways. if you've had chickenpox, the virus that causes shingles is already inside of you. if you're 50 years or older ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingles. are you taking a statin drug to reduce cholesterol? it can also deplete your coq10 levels. i recommend considering qunol coq10 along with your statin medication. the brand i trust is qunol. to be a thriver with metastatic breast cancer means asking for what we want. and need. and we need more time. so, we want kisqali. women are living longer than ever before with kisqali when taken with an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant in postmenopausal women with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer. kisqali is a pill that's significantly more effective at delaying disease progression versus an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant alone. kisqali can cause lung problems, or an abnormal heartbeat, which can lead to death. it can cause serious skin reactions, liver problems, and low white blood cell counts that may result in severe infections. tell your doctor right away if you have new or worsening symptoms, including breathing problems, cough, chest pain, a change in your heartbeat, dizziness, yellowing of the skin or eyes, dark urine, tiredness, loss of appetite, abdomen pain, bleeding, bruising, fever, chills or other symptoms of an infection, a severe or worsening rash, are or plan to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. avoid grapefruit during treatment. ask your doctor about living longer with kisqali. this is the planning effect. if you ask suzie about the future, she'll say she's got goals. and since she's got goals, she might need help reaching them, and so she'll get some help from fidelity, and at fidelity, someone will help her create a plan for all her goals, which means suzie will be feeling so good about that plan, she can just enjoy right now. that's the planning effect, from fidelity. don't miss full circle, our digital news show with in depth conversations. you can catch it streaming live at 6:00 p.m. eastern on mondays, wednesdays, and fridays. you can watch it on the cnn app at any time on demand. you can also listen to our podcast. go to cnn.com/podcast or any of the major platforms. just search for anderson cooper 360. the news continues here on cnn with jim acosta and "democracy in peril." thank you very much. i'm jim acosta, and this is "democracy in peril," our special series to sound the alarm that american democracy is still very much in danger. tonight we will dig into how former president donald trump's forces are purging across the area. it's happening at the national level too as trump is picking and choosing his favorite peddlers. that's happening under the watchful high of mitch mcconnell. i'll have a lot more to say about how mcconnell's words are too little, too late, coming up in my hold on segment. the big question, though, is what happens if our midterm elections late