i m ann marie walker. i m alex march quart in for boris sanchez. the house of representatives finally elects a speaker. how kevin mccarthy gets the votes. remarkable progress for damar hamlin and the moment he face timed his teammates from his hospital bed. and new details on the horrific murder of four idaho college students. what we re learning from a recently released affidavit and the father of one of the victims tells cnn why he believes the group was targeted. plus, the fda grants approval for a new alzheimer s drug. the reported benefits and the concern coming up on cnn this morning. it is saturday, january 7th. thank you so much for waking up with us. thank you so much for having me back. alex, it s great to be with you. we re matching. we re in lock step together. good to be with you, alex. happy new year. and to you. thank you so much. who needs reality tv when you have cspan. cnn after days of deadlock, 15 ballots and a lot of deal making, republi
the football field last weekend. we ll be joined by a former basketball player who experienced the very same thing. we ll have his story and how he used that scary moment to help save lives. plus, the new study that says social media could be changing your kids dreams. that s all ahead on cnn this morning. it is saturday, january 7th. thank you so much for waking up with us, especially you, alex. good to be with you. great to be back with you. how late did you manage to stay up watching the drama unfold? about 8:00 p.m. that was the latest for me. how about you? 9:45. you got a little more in. it was quite dramatic as well as being historic and chaotic. kevin mccarthy finally won the race for speaker of the house after 15, 15 rounds of voting, which ended earlier this morningening. the next speaker of the united states for the house of representatives, kevin mccarthy. [ cheers ] [ applause ] mccarthy engaged in some intense negotiations and made some major
newsroom the next speaker of the 118th congress, kevin mccarthy. after days of drama, 15 rounds of voting and tense moments on the floor, the house elects a speaker. i never thought we d get up here. how the drama played out and what it means for the future of kevin mccarthy and the gop. we got our boy. excitement from buffalo bills players on safety damar hamlin. the latest on his condition and more on that moment when he facetimed his teammates. california slammed with heavy rain, flooding and mudslides and the danger isn t over. we re tracking the next line of storms as millions remain under flood warnings. it was really devastating and me not knowing exactly what the situation was, because all i heard was gunshots. shock and anger in virginia after a 6-year-old shoots his teacher. what we are learning about the moments that led up to the shooting. the fda grants approval for a new alzheimer s drug and it s a mixed bag of benefits and risks. could
the gentleman from the state of california and the next speaker of the 118th congress, kevin mccarthy. [ cheers and applause ] kevin mccarthy grabbing the gavel after 15 rounds of voting. it was the longest speaker contest in 164 years. despite sometimes contentions and negotiations with the narrow faction of his conference, republicans in the end rallied around mccarthy and his vision for america. i make this promise i ll never give up for you, the american people. and i will never give up on keeping our commitment to america. our nation is worth fighting for. our rights are worth fighting for. our dreams are worth fighting for. cnn s eva mckend is live on capitol hill. eva, what finally pushed mccarthy over the edge for these republican holdouts? reporter: well, he was able to convince those never-kevin lawmakers ultimately vote present and that is how he secured this victory on the 15th try, fred, but also by making some key concessions. so, for instance, those
speaker after four days and 15 rounds of voting. this was the moment that the longest speaker contest in 164 years came to a close. [ cheers ] but before the house selected its new speaker, the cameras captured a stunning political soap opera playing out on the house floor just before midnight. mccarthy and his allies thought they had the votes locked up in round 14, but florida congressman matt gaetz waited until the end of the ballot process to vote present even though mccarthy needed just one more yes vote to win. a stunned mccarthy walked up the house floor to confront gaetz. as he walked away looking dejected, enter arms services committee chairman mike rogers who lunged at gaetz and had to be restrained by fellow republican congressman hudson. many thought this was game over and the vote to adjourn until monday box office to pass be but then a breakthrough with gaetz was reached. mccarthy changed his vote on adjourning, and dozens followed. then the 15th time was the ch