plus with friends like these, a month until the iowa caucus and on the trail, donald trump is quoting dictators such as vladimir putin. it shows the rottenness of the american political system. in a month will he be his party s de facto nominee? chris christie is coming up. and israel reels after troops kill three of its own hostages waiving a white flag. will that change the way israel is waging war in gaza and affect crucial help from the united states? hello, i m jake tapper in washington where the state of our union is frankly stunned. watchs the leading republican candidate donald trump quote one of our nation s foremost adversaries, vladimir putin, as a sort of character witness while on the stump in new hampshire last night. vladimir putin, of russia, said that biden, and this is a quote, politically motivated persecution of his political rival is very good for russia because it shows the rottenness of the american political system which can not pretend to
Will we are following two major stories this morning, an update on the Mass Shooting in lewiston, maine. Robert card was found dead with a selfinflicted Gunshot Wound after a 48 hour manhunt. Our community can breathe a sigh of Relief Mister Card is deceased and no longer a threat to the community or any other community. They will continue to breathe and Law Enforcement officials worked tirelessly through the event to come to a good conclusion. Rachel card was found just miles from the crime scene accused of killing 18 people at a bar and Bowling Alley. Will is Relapse Military confirming one of its drones tried launching antitank missiles at the jewish state. The idf arresting a dozen operatives in the west bank as it continues to escalate Ground Operations in the area. The idf captured 700 Hamas Terrorists since october. Pete israeli officials confirming idf killed a senior military official. Taking out 150 Underground Hamas sites. Lets get to greg palkot with the latest on the expan
aviv. happening now, breaking news. israel appears to unleash a massive new air assault on northern gaza. flares lighting up the sky while rockets fly and explosions boom. cnn of course is on the ground as this powerful new israeli offensive unfolds. also breaking an ominous new warning from hamas as the israeli military says it has gaza city completely surrounded. a hamas political leader saying dozens of hostages are subject to the same, quote, death and destruction as others in gaza. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer reporting live from israel, and you re in the situation room. announcer: this is cnn breaking news. we re following the breaking news. we re live here in the middle east on a night of intense warfare in israel s battle against hamas in gaza. our cameras capturing truly extraordinary images in gaza as we follow this breaking story with our team of correspondents. first let s go right to nic robertson. he