World. Im kim brunhuber. Ahead on cnn newsroom we would enforce the law, close the border and make sure that we had a Legal Immigration system that worked and not let the traffickers control the border. Faith and freedom and border walls, republican president ial hopefuls vie for the support of Evangelical Christians in iowa with. U. S. Autoworkers stand firm in their demands entering a third day of their strike even as some lawmakers announce layoffs. Rescue operations turn into Recovery Missions as the Death Toll Climbs in libya. Well speak to the efforts to provide relief to the most vulnerable. Live from cnn centre, this is ccnn newsroom with kim brunhuber. President ial hopefuls are showing once again the influence iowa shows in the election cycle. Nearly all addressed the faith and Freedom Coalition banquet saturday four months ahead of the first votes being cast in the primary contests. All candidates except for former president donald trump. His absence gave more Breathing Room for the other candidates trying to win support from the deeply conservative evangelical activists. Here is what they are saying. In this day and age when you do anything that is worth anything, they will sling arrows at you, they will smear you, they will lie about you, and the question is do you have the fortitude to hold your ground and stand firm. That is what he with did when we stood up to fauci, that is when weve done when we fought against disney, it is what weve done. I would put a target on the backs of the Teachers Unions and break their backs, they are destroying our kids, trapping them in failing schools. Not on my watch. Hmy goal is how do we save a many babies as possible and support as many moms as possible pl the way we do that is to bring people together. I believe even as we work relentless to advance protections for the unborn in every State Capital in america, i believe that we owe it to the American People to elect a president who will fight for a minimum standard in washington, d. C. Jech zeff zeleny has the lat. Reporter with four months before the Iowa Caucuses, the field of candidates gathered to campaign over the weekend spoke at a dinner Saturday Night in des moines reaching out to evangelical voters. Of course former President Trump was not on hand. But his rivals certainly were. And mike pence tried to take aim at President Biden and the impeachment inquiry in the house. I dont want to jump to conclusions about this, but i must tell you, where there is smoke there is usually fire in washington, d. C. And the American People deserve the facts. And ill be out there championing and defending House Republicans as they bring the facts to the American People and hold joe biden and his family accountable. Criticism of President Biden was one thing candidates could certainly agree on, but there were differences on abortion, on education and on blocking Military Promotions in the u. S. Senate. Florida gorsuch ron desantis and nikki haley are increasingly competitive. Tim scott also in the race trying to reach out to these evangelical voters. Donald trump still in command of the contest, but the question is has the Iowa Caucuses become a race for number two or can one of these rivals rasp him by janby catch him by january 15th. Jeff zeleny, cnn, des moines. Lets discuss this with aaron murphy from the gazette oig. Thanks for being with us. I want to talk about the importance of iowa even though New Hampshire has the reputation of the launch pad for underdogs. It seems as many of the gop candidates are betting that voters there in iowa are most likely to help them beat trump. Is that where it has to happen . Well, it is certainly where they get an opportunity especially those candidates who maybe started this race not as wellknown as candidates like donald trump and ron desantis. Iowa gives them an opportunity to come here, campaign relatively cheaply compared to other states. You can get around the state easily, you can get on the tv a little cheaper and you can get in front of voters and maybe in being your Name Recognition and your visibility to a point where maybe people start to pay more attention to you. And if they start to pay more attention to you near here in iowa, that spreads out as well. Tim scott seems to do pretty well in iowa polls. Vivek ramaswamy has staged over 100 events. Who has the momentum in iowa right now . I dont know that anyone quite has yet. You mentioned two that im watching closely. Vivek ramaswamy and tim scott. I hear a lot of people say that, you know, when you talk to iowans, a lot of republicans have not made up their minds yet but they have a list of maybe three or five candidates that they are watching. Those two are on there and nikki haley often on those as well. While they havent surged in the polls yet, but there is time for that to happen. Those are three that i think are most poised do to do that. And with iowa, are there issues that the candidates there will focus on that are unique or different than possibly the National Stage . I dont know necessarily. Like tonight i just covered an event that was hosted by Christian Conservative organization, evangelical voters, a lot of talk about faith and religious liberty. And those things are important to Iowa Republican voters here. But when you talk to them and the people who went tonight, they still also say their top issues are Border Security and immigration policy. They talk about the economy. Ukraine support and Foreign Policy comes up a lot. So at the end of the day, a lot of times it is the same types of issues that you hear from republicans anywhere. And on Foreign Policy, not normally one of the top issues, are republicans there in iowa hesitant to support ukraine to continue the level of financial support, is that the angle where they are coming from . Yeah, it is a very interesting thing that is happening within the party. A number of the candidates, president ial candidates, are supportive of continuing that. And even iowas u. S. Senate chuck grassley, a long time republican u. S. Senator here, has talked about the u. S. Needing to continue to support ukraine. But at the grass roots level within the republican party, there is a significant percentage of Iowa Republicans who do not want to continue to support ukraine at the level that the country has been. So a very interesting dynamic that is playing right here. And so some of the candidates seem as if they practically moved down there. Not donald trump. He skipped the faith and Freedom Coalition banquet you were talking about there. And which in comparison he hasn spent as much time in the state. Does it matter for donald trump . It hasnt yet. And it didnt matter eight years ago similar. In fact he was here less eight years ago than he was this year. So it hasnt yet. Will it at some point . I dont know that i have the answer. Current ramaswamy, ron desantis, mike pence have been here relentlessly. They are trying to put in the leg work and getting in front of iowa voters. It hasnt mattered yet. Again, still four months until the caucus, but as of now, it hasnt hurt trump. And speaking of mattering, how are trumps legal voters being viewed there, is it the same as elsewhere, expected to be a rallying cry for his base . There is definitely a lot of that, definitely a lot of again, as you noted, especially with the base that they cast it off, it is just a political apparatus coming after President Trump in their eyes. But i talked to more tonight, there are Iowa Republican voters who even if they believe that are Nudge Tonetheless uneasy ab that specter and are considering other candidates because of it. Again, even if they believe that donald trump is innocent, they see those issues as piling on him and maybe hindering him and are thinking should i be looking at other candidates because of that. So that is a fascinating element and well see how much that stuff continues to work through the Legal Process and continues to affect people here. Well have to leave it there, but great to get your perspective, appreciate it, aaron murphy. Thank you for having me. Reasonably productive discussions at least with ford, that is how the united autoworkers are describing labor talks on day two of its strike against the three top u. S. Automakers. Striking Union Workers picketed in wayne, michigan. Ford has responded by temporarily laying off some 600 nonstriking workers at that plant saying that the strike is causing a lack of parts. The union and companies are far apart. The union is demanding double the wage increasing the automakers are asking along with other enhancements. And hundreds out on picket lines say they are prepared to wait to get an agreement that suits them. Gabe cohen reports. Reporter saturday we saw the first small signs of any progress in these negotiations between the union and any of the three big automakers. This after ford met with union officials. A source for the union telling cnn, we had reasonably productive conversations with ford today. Certainly no deal but a big step in the right direction after hoile back and forth. Ford saying in a statement that they are committed to reaching an agreement with uaw that rewards our workers and allows ford to invest in the future. But were also starting to see the Ripple Effect from the strike with ford and General Motors announcing that the companies will layoff an additional at least 2600 workers at two other facilities in the days ahead because those factories complaint operate as long as these three are on strike. But still so many of the workers we have spoken with who were out here on the Picket Line Making 500 a beak in strike pay tell me they are ready to stay here for as long as it takes. Their 20 proposal is ridiculous. Six years and i have not had a raise in almost two years now. I cap out at 19. 28 so ive been making 19. 28 for two years trying to raise a family and with inflation, it is hard. Makes me hopeful that they are getting the message that were on strike and were ready for this and weve been preparing. And bringing a good offer to the table. Why did you want your daughter to be here . Just wanted to get her involved so that she knows what is going on with dad at work. Reporter and Shawn Fain Has said more of these factories could go on strike in the coming days depending on how negotiations play out. Gabe cohen, cnn, toledo, ohio. And one member back on the picket lines this week more than 50 years after he participated in an earlier uaw strike. Commissioner jesus is joining the picket lines outside a ford plant in michigan. He went out on strike in 1970 in a u after the w walkout and he says wages and benefits havent kept up over the years with the rising costs of living. Here he is. [ inaudible ]. To enhance quality of life. Tropical cyclone lee has hit new brunswick. The initial landfall was saturday afternoon in nova sc scotia. The storm surge caused coastal flooding, downed trees and knocked out power. But crews are making head way in resturing electricity. At last check some 160,000 customers were still in the dark. Forecasters expect lee to continue to weaken as it tracks across Atlantic Canada on sunday. More than 11,000 people in the libyan city killed by floodwaters according to a u. N. Report and they say the death toll will likely rise. So far workers have pulled dozens of body from the sea along the derna coast. And most of the victims are still in the water and soon the task of retrieving the bodies could become impossible without additional resources. Larry madowo is joining us with more. What is the latest on the grim Recovery Efforts . Reporter it is still ongoing. 10,100 people are still missing just in the city of derna alone. And in that city more than 10,000 people at least so far confirmed dead. But those numbers are likely to rise. The u. N. Is warning. Because survivors are still being looked for. Volunteers and Search And Rescue teams are combing through collapsed buildings and the sea trying to pull out bodies from them. But this happened about a week ago sunday, so it has been about a week. The bodies are likely decomposing and some might never be found experts say and that is a problem here. The other ongoing tragedy is about 40,000 people have been displaced. They are exposed to Land Mines Oond Ordinances of war. Because of about a decade of conflict in the country, this is one immediate problem as people try to move away from derna which has become unlivable, they could be about opposed to land mines as well. And the other problem is that libya has two rival governments. There is the tripoli backed government and then in derna, the Eastern Backed government. And the u. N. Is asking them to work together. But ordinary libyans are rising to the Occasion Offering what they can, in some cases donating blood but also acutely aware of the divided nation that they live in. Translator we feel sorry for those who lost their lives and we ask god almighty that he take pity on the others. Unfortunately, we hate to admit that this catastrophe has highlighted the fact that we dont have a state capable of dealing with a cry he is is of t crisis of this scale. Reporter and a lot of international agencies, Foreign Countries have come into offer aid and support. It is loosely coordinated but they are doing what they can in this situation where catastrophic flooding swept entire neighborhoods into the sea and the International Group of people working in the effort here say many of the bodies still remain in the sea which finding them is becoming increasiningly difficult. Thank you, larry. Later this hour ill speak with a representative from unicef about the needs and risks they still face. California suing five Big Oil Companies over Climate Change. The state claims that they have known that burning fossil fuels would warm the planet and change the climate but they down played the risks and misled the public. The state says that the result was damaging wildfires, record breaking droughts costing tens of billions of dollars. Chevron has pushed back saying that Climate Change requires a coordinated international response, not piece Meal Litigation for the benefit of lawyers and politicians. Local courts have no constructive or constitutional Per Myselfable role in crafting Global Energy policy. Coming up, gritty video from ukraine showing soldiers fighting their way no a village. And plus iran ramped up security across the country but that didnt stop demonstrators from marking death of mahsa amini. Bye, bye cough. Later Chest Congestion. Hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours not coughing . Hashtag still not coughing . mucinex dm gives you 12 hours of relief from Chest Congestion and any type of cough, day or night. Mucicinex dm. Its c comeback season. Feeling sluggish or weighed down . Could be a sign youre not getting enough daily fiber. Metamucil capsules can help. Psyllium fiber gels to trap and remove the waste that weighs you down. Promoting digestive health, for a better you. Metamucil capsules an easy way to get more daily fiber. Im sholeh, and i lost 75 pounds with golo. I went from a size 20 to a size 6. Before golo, nothing seemed to work. I was exercising for over an hour every day. It was really discouraging. But golos so easy, the weight just falls off. Lysol is supporting schools by providing materials to teach healthy habits. Keeping kids together, here. [boy] Chicken Nugget man. Where they can share who they truly are. Lysol. Here for healthy schools. Russian military claim it is stopped five drone attacks earlier today. No casualtieor damage reported, but Airport Operations were disrupted. And russias Defense Minister is reportedly disputing that ukraine has retaken a village near bakhmut. It is the scene of fierce fighting along the frontlines. Newly released video here showing ukrainian soldiers taking cover after entering the village under constant incoming russian fire. For the civilians who once lived in the town, there is nothing to return to, but ukraine says the territory is strategically important and retaking it is a key objective. Lets get more now from Clare Sebastian in london. And some ukrainian gains there in the counteroffensive, but fresh criticism about the pace of weapons delivery. Reporter yeah, i think there is a realization not perhaps particularly new but now that were at this point where it is very clear that the counteroffensive is far from over, that i