The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown

President Trump is now expected to get back the classified documents and other materials the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago. This as the new attorney general is carrying out Trump’s plans to overhaul the Justice Department. Also, as Trump’s plan for a U.S. takeover of Gaza sends shockwaves around the world, his administration is suggesting he didn't mean it when he clearly and publicly said he thought Palestinians should leave their home permanently. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump meets with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House after declaring Palestinians have “no alternative” other than to leave Gaza. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump is pausing punishing new tariffs on Canada just hours after agreeing to a similar delay for Mexico. Tonight, the Trump White House says both countries are bending the knee. Also, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says his department is taking control of USAID and reviewing its fate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the midair crash investigation, flight data appears to show the Black Hawk helicopter was 100 feet above the maximum allowed altitude and off course just before the deadly collision with the American Airlines jet. Plus, an inside look at the nation’s air traffic control system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An urgent search for answers after a midair collision kills 67 people in the nation’s capital in the first fatal United States airliner crash in 16 years. Dive teams are scouring the Potomac River for airplane passengers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The White House rescinds a memo freezing trillions of dollars in federal funds. It marks a major reversal for the Trump administration after the rule sparked nationwide outrage and confusion. Plus, after a heated Senate hearing, it is still unclear if RFK Jr. has the votes to win confirmation as the nation’s top health official. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A federal judge has just temporarily blocked part of President Trump’s plan to freeze all federal grants and loans. The controversial new rule is now on hold until at least Monday. Plus, the state school board in Oklahoma just voted to enact a new rule that would require families to prove their citizenship or legal status when enrolling their kids. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump fires more than a dozen Justice Department officials who prosecuted him as he orders investigations into prosecutors who tried cases against other January 6th defendants. Plus, Trump is hosting House Republicans at his Florida golf club as they strategize over his legislative agenda. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump just landed in Los Angels to tour wildfire devastation as he is now threatening to get rid of FEMA and warning that disaster aid from the federal government to California may come with strings attached. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth clears a hurdle towards confirmation despite new Republican opposition. This as new details are now emerging about a $50,000 payment Hegseth made to a woman who accused him of sexual assault. Also, President Trump loses the first legal test of his bid to end birthright citizenship. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump begins the process of wiping out diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across the federal government. All DEI staffers are ordered on administrative leave after the deadline passed just a little while ago. Plus, as more January 6th rioters go free, sources now say the Trump White House is in talks to host some of the convicts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President Trump is defiant tonight in defending his sweeping pardons and commutations of January 6th rioters including leaders of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys. Plus, the president intensifies his shakeup of the Justice Department by sidelining top prosecutors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A looming ban on TikTok could become a reality in just hours after the Supreme Court unanimously cleared the way. Donald Trump suggests he may step in to save the popular app. Plus, the Trump inauguration is moving indoors as the nation’s capital is threatened by frigid weather on Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

War ravaged Gaza awaits the next steps in the ceasefire-hostage deal as CNN is told the full Israeli cabinet is now expected to vote on the deal on Saturday. This as far-right members of the Netanyahu government are threatening to quit if the deal moves forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The new Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas is expected to begin Sunday after 15 months of war and bloodshed. Key Biden White House official John Kirby joins to discuss the path forward in the Middle East and the United States’ role in finally sealing this deal. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are getting a read on Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense. Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat and war veteran who took place in the hearing, joins to discuss the confirmation hearing. Plus, just weeks before the infernos in Los Angeles, local firefighters publicly warned they were at a breaking point. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Forecasters now say the return of powerful winds could lead to an explosive growth of the blaze that is still raging in the Los Angeles region, threatening progress made by firefighters. Plus, a look at California’s worsening insurance crisis. Also, the final report of the January 6th federal election subversion case against Trump could be released within hours. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Residents in Los Angeles are coming to grips with unimaginable devastation. Thousands of people have lost everything in an instant. According to a CNN investigation, widespread fire destruction was inevitable but damage could have been minimized. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

More than 180,000 people are under evacuation orders tonight, as forecasters warn that ferocious winds are returning to Los Angeles County, adding fresh fuel to an already dire situation. Plus, former presidents pay respects to President Jimmy Carter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Southern California, catastrophic wildfires are ripping through the Los Angeles area, forcing thousands to evacuate, scorching entire neighborhoods, and killing at least two people so far. Plus, in Washington, Donald Trump is making final preparations before he takes the oath of office. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Donald Trump comes out swinging at special counsel Jack Smith as a federal judge blocks the release of the report on the president-elect's criminal investigations. Trump lays out his grievances and his plans for the Justice Department during a lengthy news conference. Plus, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announces major changes for both Facebook and Instagram. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Congress officially seals Donal Trump's presidential victory. Today's certification drawing zero obligations from lawmakers exactly four years after a pro-Trump mob stormed the US Capitol. Plus, Rudy Giuliani has just been held in contempt by a federal judge for failing to turn over information to those two Georgia election workers he defamed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A New York judge is ordering Donald Trump to appear for sentencing one week from today after rejecting the President-elect’s efforts to throw out his wish money conviction. Also, speaker Mike Johnson survived a dramatic vote on the House floor to keep his gavel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Exclusive new footage emerges of the New Orleans attacker unloading the truck used in the slaughter on Bourbon Street as authorities now believe he acted alone. The Louisiana state attorney general joins with an update on the investigation. We examine how ISIS remains a deadly threat around the world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Preparations are underway for the state funeral of Jimmy Carter. As we examine the legacy of the late president, we bring you the latest details on how Carter will be honored by President Biden just days before the Trump inauguration. Plus, what investigators are now learning of the deadly crash of a passenger plane in South Korea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Investigators dig deeper into the possibility that Russia may be responsible for the deadly crash of a passenger plane. A United States official is saying Moscow’s air defenses potentially misidentified the jet as a Ukrainian drone. Plus, Elon Musk is at the center of a new feud within President-elect Trump’s MAGA base. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A new United Staes assessment that a Russian anti-aircraft system may have downed a passenger plane in neighboring Kazakhstan. We provide an update on the deadly crash as questions swirl over who is to blame. Plus, President-elect Trump leaves a trail of provocative Christmas Day posts threatening and insulting United States allies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New details in the just released House Ethics Committee report on Matt Gaetz including texts and other evidence that the former Republican congressman paid tens of thousands of dollars for drugs and sex, including with a 17-year-old girl. Plus, Luigi Mangione pleads not guilty to New York State terror and murder charges in the killing of the Unitedhealthcare CEO. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The United States House of Representatives appears to be on the verge of approving a bill to avert a federal shutdown. President Biden was essentially nowhere to be found publicly during this debate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are standing by for a vote on a new deal to avoid a government shutdown. A plan was quickly cobbled together by Republicans after Trump blew up the previous bill. The new bill is expected to fail amid a conservative revolt and a Democratic opposition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

House Speaker Mike Johnson is scrambling to rescue his must past government funding plan from angry conservatives. Now Johnson’s fight just got more difficult with Donald Trump publicly trashing the bill. Plus, multiple sources now tell CNN the House Ethics Committee has secretly voted to release its investigation into former Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A New York grand jury has just indicted CEO killing suspect Luigi Mangione on multiple charges including murder in the first degree and murder in the second degree as a crime of terrorism. Also, police in Madison, Wisconsin are pleading with the public for information about the 15-year-old female suspect behind yesterday’s deadly school shooting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At least two people are dead after a shooter opened fire at a K-12 school in Madison, Wisconsin. Police say the suspect, a 17-year-old female student, is also dead. Plus, sources now tell CNN the United States government is sending drone detection systems to New Jersey after a series of unexplained sightings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The search intensifies for the source of unexplained drones rattling nerves in the Northeast United States. Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on what federal officials are doing to find answers. Plus, the FBI now says it received a tip from police in San Francisco about suspected CEO killer Luigi Mangione. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sources are telling CNN authorities have executed as many as three search warrants in the CEO killing investigation and ABC News is reporting a New York grand jury is already hearing evidence in the case against the suspect, Luigi Mangione. Plus, fear and frustration are mounting in New Jersey as mysterious drone sightings terrify residents. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Police are claiming two major forensic breakthroughs in the CEO murder investigation. The NYPD now says Luigi Mangione’s fingerprints match those found on evidence near the crime scene and that the gun found on Mangione matches shell casings found at the shooting. Plus, the FBI director, Christopher Wray, announces his resignation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The suspect in the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO is now in custody. We are standing by for the 26-year-old to be arraigned in Pennsylvania after being arrested in a McDonald’s following a tip by an employee. Plus, CNN is on the ground in the Syrian capital of Damascus one day after the shocking fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Police now believe the suspect in the killing of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO has left New York City. Plus, the jury in the trial of a man who killed a fellow New York subway rider with a chokehold deadlocks leading the judge to drop the top charge in the case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Intriguing new clues in the search for the gunman who fatally shot a healthcare CEO on a Manhattan sidewalk. Sources say police are looking carefully at words written on ammunition tied to the killing and whether they offer hints about a motive. Plus, Pete Hegseth holds a fresh round of meetings on Capitol Hill as some key Republican senators still won’t commit to backing him for defense secretary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A massive manhunt is underway for a suspect on the run after the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was shot and killed outside a hotel in New York City. We break down why the police say the attack was targeted. Plus, Pete Hegseth is ready to fight to salvage his imperiled nomination as sources tell CNN the Trump transition team could replace him with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

An ominous sign for Trump’s pick for defense secretary Pete Hegseth. Senator Lindsey Graham just now calling the allegations against Hegseth disturbing and telling reporters that his confirmation fight will be difficult. Plus, major political turmoil is shaking a major United States ally as South Korea’s president declares and then rescinds martial law. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New fallout from President Biden’s controversial pardon of his son Hunter. That decision is sparking bipartisan backlash as sources tell CNN the president bypassed the United States Justice Department when he made the call. Plus, Donald Trump’s picks for attorney general Pam Bondi and defense secretary Pete Hegseth hold meetings with Capitol Hill senators today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stunning developments out of Syria where rebels have just entered the major Syrian city of Aleppo for the first time in eight years. The surprise offensive is catching Bashar al-Assad’s government forces off guard in a drastic escalation in the country’s civil war. Plus, we are tracking new threats of political violence, this time against Democrats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some residents are returning to their homes in Lebanon as the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah seems to be holding nearly 24 hours after taking effect. Plus, the Trump transition team says some of the president-elect’s cabinet picks and appointees have been targeted with bomb threats. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After an 11th hour round of attacks, a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is expected to take effect in Lebanon within just hours. President Biden is touting the United States backed deal and promising a new push for a pause in the fighting in Gaza as well. Also, fears of a global trade war are rising as Trump vows to slap big tariffs on goods from Mexico, China, and Canada as soon as he’s back in the White House. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A judge has just granted special counsel Jack Smith’s request to dismiss the 2020 election subversion case against Donald Trump. Smith is also seeking an end to the classified documents case. Also, the Israeli cabinet is preparing to vote on a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

New reporting on Trump’s choice to be the nation’s next top intelligence official. Plus, Trump’s second choice for attorney general is winning praise from key Senate Republicans who will consider her confirmation. We take a closer look at Pam Bondi and what the former Florida attorney general would bring to the Justice Department. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Matt Gaetz is out and Donald Trump’s search for the next United States attorney general is back on. We have new reporting on a phone call with Trump that prompted Gaetz to withdraw. Plus, a newly released police report reveals graphic details about a 2017 sexual allegation against Trump’s pick for defense secretary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Republicans on the House Ethics Committee vote to block the release of the panel’s report on Matt Gaetz. Trump’s embattled choice for attorney general has been on Capitol Hill trying to shore up support among GOP senators. Plus, the United States just reopened its embassy in the Ukrainian capital where fears of a significant air attack by Russia briefly prompted it to close. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

President-elect and Elon Musk are standing by for the splashdown of the most powerful rocket ever built. We are tracking the SpaceX test flight as well as Elon Musk’s growing influence over Trump and his incoming administration. Plus, someone gained unauthorized access to confidential files including a deposition from a woman who said she had sex with Matt Gaetz when she was 17-years-old. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices