now, santos was completely denying the allegations. he also was making a reference to the fact that this prospective staffer who is a former reporter made some audiotapes, recorded conversations with santos and then leaked them. but this is just the latest serious allegation in a long string of allegations against the embattled congressman. a long string that keeps on getting longer. melanie, thank you. it is the top of the hour. just a short time ago the pentagon defended the president s choice to delay shooting town a suspected spy balloon from china. a fight jet brought it down saturday. after the balloon crossed the continental united states, multiple republicans have criticized it calling it a weak response. but commander at norad says the intelligence gathered will be of value. there was a potential opportunity for us to collect intel where we had gaps on prior balloons. this gave us the opportunity to assess what they were actually doing, what kind of capabilit
quote, it felt like armageddon. the lead starts right now. a new baby, one of the thousands of innocent people killed earlier today in that catastrophic 7.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked turkey and syria. the scramble to reach the people buried alive beneath crumbles buildings. then, we re learning more about china s suspected spy balloon shot down over the united states, including the concern that it may have had explosives onboard. plus, arrests in a neo-nazi plot to completely destroy an american city by targeting electrical substations. the details coming up on the wild conspiracy. welcome to the lead, i m jake tapper. we start today with our world lead. the frantic search for survivors after the devastating earthquake that so far has killed more than 3,400 people. a number that tragically continues to grow, seemingly every hour. the earthquake striking turkey and syria earlier this morning. powerful aftershocks complicating the rescue efforts, making things
of her, i know her fans are disappointed. history being made last night, viola davis joining an exclusive list of egot winners, and lizzo dabbing record of the year following a spectacular performance. it was an incredible night. it really was. so much joy with both of them. of course, viola davis becomes only the third black woman to be an egot winner. she joins whoop pi goldberg and jennifer hudson. lizzo gave a wonderful speech. and she also beat beyonce and paid tribute to beyonce, saying when she was in fifth grade, she skipped school to go see beyonce. it s a wonderful night. a nice houston connection there, as well. lisa france, thank you, it was a magical evening. it was. thank you. the lead with jake tapper starts right now. thank you so much for watching.