hello and welcome to you if you re joining me around the world, wherever you may be watching in the united states, europe, asia. i m richard quest. together, we are in the cnn newsroom . president biden reveals that he didn t ask for a cease-fire in his long call, telephone call, with the israeli prime minister. at the same time, the military in israel is expanding its ground offensive in gaza. christmas eve for many, to be sure, as the war rages on in gaza. christians in bethlehem and around the world, it s a celebration much more difficult than in previous years. and at the cnn s weather center, some in the united states forget a white christmas. think rainy christmas, instead. it s an extreme ly busy morning, and i ll get to those stories in a moment. only after i ve updated you with one twor deve developments in d trump s legal battles. the former u.s. president has now asked a federal appeals court to throw out the criminal election subversion case against him. the