new day starts right now. four ukrainian regions illegally annexed by russia under martial law this morning. the russian military does not even have complete control of the areas, in kherson, the russians are trying to accelerate the relocation or evacuation of some 60,000 residents in the face of ukrainian advances. vladimir putin perhaps struggling to maintain his grip even inside russia. introducing several levels of increased security measures. overnight a russian rocket struck a children s school in a village in zaporizhzhia. and destruction towards the south after another night of strikes targeted the energy infrastructure. here in the u.s. president biden weighing in on the declaration of martial law saying it reveals putin s dwindling options in the war. i think that vladimir putin finds himself in an incredibly difficult position. and what it reflects to me is, it seems his only tool available to him is to brutalize individual citizens in ukraine. the state
a new study laying out the real danger to your health when you do not get enough. this is what we re watching at this hour. thank you for being here. president biden is taking more steps to try to lower gas prices today, and it s no coincidence he s making these moves with the midterm elections less than three weeks away. this afternoon the president is expected to announce he s authorizing the release of another 15 million barrels of oil from the nation s emergency stockpile. gas prices have dropped significantly from the peak this summer, but they are still higher than this time a year ago, and they know it and are taking note. let s start at the white house. jeremy diamond is there. what are you learning that the president is going to say today? reporter: well, kate, president biden is expect to announce 15 million barrels of oil to be released from the u.s. strategic reserve. that would round out the 180 million barrels of oil the president had pledged to release last s
will his strategy work as many americans are more focused now on the economy. i ll ask the white house press secretary. and the cnn, cnn gets an exclusive, firsthand look now at a massive attack drone that s part of putin s arsonal. we ll go to kyiv where a critical situation is unfolding as russia strikes again and again. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world. i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. we begin this hour with our midterm countdown and the crucial choices facing voters. with just three weeks to go. three weeks before the election day. cnn national politics reporter, eva, is following some of the hottest races out there beginning in the key battleground state of georgia. with three weeks until the midterms, voters are already flocking to the polls in large numbers. in georgia, the state set a midterm turnout record for early voting with more than 130,000 voters casting ballots monday. on the trail today, republican se
we re still in the tlhroes of this life threatening situation. good morning, everybody, it s monday, december 26th. don and kaitlan are off, i m glad to have sara sidner with us. good morning. let s talk about the death toll rising in new york from the storm. thousands of delays and cancellations impacting many air travelers many failing to make it home for the holidays. in a cruel, dangerous and shameful stunt, the white house blaming texas governor greg abbott for sending residents to the home of vice president kamala harris on christmas eve. first, though, a storm for the ages in western new york state. at least 17 weather-related deaths are being reported this morning, most in the buffalo area. governor katy hochul has requested emergency disaster relief from the biden administration. a state of emergency remains in effect. this has paralyzed so many parts of the state and the country, bringing this region to its knees. more than 12,000 customers are still wit
was going to eventually happen. what is the taliban saying the reason for this is? reporter: you re right, sara, this was a huge concern for many women in afghanistan and internationally. now the concern is this is a vital bridge between afghanistan women and the international community providing life saving support for women and girls across the country. the taliban said they came to this decision, much as the ban last week, because of violations of islamic values, namely dress code regulations, which are very strict and also relations and activities of women between men and women across the university sector, education sector and now crucially in the aid sector. that has been the response from the taliban. they ve told the u.s. not to interfere in their international affairs. but we ve already heard the condemnation from antoney