growing and renewing concerns about his age. on the other hand t could be that the guy it could be that the guy misspoke. the white house later clarified he was merely referring to a previously-scheduled interview. oh boy. so, um, you know, i i think we ve got a lot of work to do. i m and i m doing a major press conference this afternoon, so, um, i love you all, but i d like to ask you to leave so we can get down to business. reporter: when he said that, literally everybody in washington was like, say what? now, biden did that previously-scheduled interview, as expected, and in it, he touted his decades of washington experience as a great reason to support his re-election bid, despite the fact that he s 80 years old. i ve required a hell of a i ve acquired a hell of a lot of wisdom and know more than the vast majority of people and more experienced than anyone that s ever run for office. reporter: in the meantime, the latest jobs report gave the president a
Mitchell reports, House Republican leader Kevin Mccarthy 24 hours from the biggest moment of his political career and still no closer to securing the votes he needs to become the next speaker of the house. Also this hour, i will speak to dr. Zeke emanuel about a tough holiday flu season along with new concerns about a new strain of covid19 in the u. S. And we will have a live report from rome as catholics travel to the vatican to Pope Emeritus Benedict during the three days he will lie in state ahead of thursdays funeral mass. Good day, im andrea in mitchell. Happy new year, everyone. Well, the pressure is on republican leader in this in you year, Kevin Mccarthy has to win over the hard line House Conservatives that he needs to become the next speaker of the house. Tomorrow the new Congress Returns to washington with the speaker vote as the top item on the agenda. But at this hour no one knows how long its going to take for republicans to secure the Majority Vote needed to appoint a le
we ll go live to the capital of ukraine and get the latest from inside moscow in just a minute. plus, does the future of the war in ukraine hinge on the midterms in the u.s.? the republican victories in the house and senate mean less money or less military support? we ll dig into that, plus get a gut check on a couple of big races you haven t heard a whole lot about. finally, jury selection just getting under way in the second sex crimes trial of harvey weinstein. the stakes have been raised exponentially after he was given a chance to appeal his new york conviction. what are the chances he could be allowed to walk free? we start with the brutal attacks in ukraine and apparent return to tactics that russia used early in the war to try to terrorize and kill civilians. it represents the biggest, most widespread attack in months. russia claims that it was going after energy and military command facilities. but the vast majority were civilian targets, including an apartment
lowest level in almost four decades. white house correspondent peter doocy starts us off tonight live from the north lawn. good evening, peter. peter: good evening, bret. the president is saying he wants to increase american energy production without delaying the transition to green energy and clean energy. officials are calling the move a bridge but now we know it s a bridge that leaves the strategic reserve to its lowest level since 1984. strategic petroleum reserve is more than half full. peter: still too low for critics concerned with national security. it s strategic petroleum reserve. it s not the political petroleum reserve. it s really for a time of war that we need the energy. peter: that i it s not politically motivated at all. 400 million barrels of oil that s more than any energy drawdown. peter: still blaming on russia. putin s war caused price hikes. calling on companies to pass savings on to customers. ramp up at ease. my administration has no
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