>> hello and welcome to our viewers. in the united states, and around the world. i'm casey, hunt live in washington. u.s. senator raphael warnock says the people have spoken, after his second hard-fought runoff in the last two years, cnn projects he will win the election, and fuller term as senator. he repeats republican challenger herschel walker, it's a fitting end to a disappointing midterm cycle for the gop. gop only had minor gains in the house. they're actually in better shape than they were before in the senate. they hold the chamber 54 to 59. it was previously 50/50. that does give the majorities and every committee. why is that important? it helps them process

legislation, and specifically nominations much more quickly. supporters at his campaign headquarters in atlanta, nearly two hours. he pledged to walk with the people in the state, and recognize all georgians. >> after a hard fought campaign. [applause] or should i say campaigns? it is my honor to utter the four most powerful words ever spoken in a democracy. the people have spoken! [applause] georgia, i do not want to to miss what you had done. in a moment, where there were folks trying to divide our country and those forces are very much at work right now,

georgia did a very amazing thing! in 2021, it set its first african american senator and its first u.s. senator to the united states [inaudible] [applause] and you have done it again! thank you georgia! [applause] now, there are those who will look at the outcome of this race and say that [laughter] yes, you're right. we won! [applause] but, there are those who will look at the outcome of this race. and say that there is no folders suppression in georgia.

let me be clear. just because people endured long lines that wrapped around buildings. some blocks, logjams because they endured the rain and the cold! and all kinds of tricks, in order to vote. does not mean that voter suppression does not exist. it simply means that you as the people have decided your voices will not be silenced! >> and former president, barack obama, tweeted just a little while ago. he wrote, once again georgians have province when it is time to vote, they show up. and we will fight for them. congratulations, reverend warnock. let's turn to our cnn director david chalian who is back with us tonight. david, brad obama was obviously

involved in this race. he went down there and campaigned pretty hard. even michelle obama had a robocall for raphael warnock. they were trying to get democratic voters excited. what role do you think that played, and what other roles were to underscore tonight in terms of why warnock was able to bring this home? >> obama was down there before the general. four weeks ago. and he went back in for the runoff, that is something that joe biden was not invited to do in the closing days of the campaign there. so clearly, the warnock team thought obama could be helpful in getting some of that democratic vase vote out. take a look at this here, we've got -- percent of the vote. and votes will keep tripling in. but we've got 89,000 votes ahead of herschel walker. 59.3% to 79.4. percent i want you to take a look at the four largest counties in georgia. up in the atlanta harry here.

look at raphael warnock's number. look, that's today in the runoff. 76.5% of the vote, look at what it was on november 8th. he was at 73.5%. he overperformed here. okay? take a look next door, in cobb county, back in november in general, he had 56.8% of the vote there. today and cobb county he overperformed his general election performance. 59.3%. we can go over to gwinnett county, today he had 62.1%. back on november 8th? warnock was at 59.8%. you see, he overperformed where the voters were. and in three of those largest counties, herschel walker underperformed what he did just four weeks ago. this was a battle for suburban, independent voters in this critical area. in georgia. and the atlantic area, and the critical, suburban population here. and warnock show that he had the ability to actually

increase his performance, precisely where walker needed to do it. remember, brian kemp got some 200,000 more votes just four weeks ago than walker. his critical mission was to find some of the votes in this area, and bring them on board. he failed to do so, casey. >> and when you look at this, and you've been thinking about, and been studying these questions for a very long time. i, mean why is it do you think that voters were willing to say, i will vote for brian kemp and i will also were vote for raphael warnock especially in a world where, we thought, we were talking about this earlier. they were basically ticket splitters, that were dead. >> yeah, we don't live in a very area of polarized politics. and we do see the decrease in ticket splitting but the reality is that brian kemp was presenting to voters a different kind of republican than herschel walker was. herschel walker was tied to donald trump, georgia rejected

donald trump two years ago in those president race, in those two senate races. and herschel walker is going down the path where brian kemp, and donald trump's battle helped him and became a appeal to the voters where he would be a antithesis of trump in the republican party context. and a republican that was beholden trump. no doubt, that had to do with that 200,000 vote differential. >> yes of course. david chalian, thanks so much. great to have you here. and to discuss the senate runoff, is our panel of esteemed guests. -- alex stewart, and republican commentator, wilbur lopez is a commentator for the cnn hour, as well as uphill buckle -- and -- also a cnn political analyst. great to have you all back at the table tonight. >> good morning! >> at the table, i've lost track of time. we'll see how we're doing. it here in the united states

we've got a lot of voters joining us from overseas tonight as well, but allison we've been talking about. and i kind of want to focus in on the state of georgia. and the landscape of how it is shaping. because of shaping up to be a critical state in the twin 24 presidential race. and if you pick up on what david chalian was pointing out. this was a vote for a republican, pretty much for any office. if in fact they present in a certain way, what does that mean as republicans look ahead? >> one thing, to follow up on david's numbers. i think what's fascinating, what we saw and where herschel walker underperformed in many areas. i attribute that to one thing, and one thing solely. is the fact that the control of the senate was not at stake. i've spoken with republicans ever since the midterm elections. they were ready to go all in on a runoff in georgia if control of the senate was at stake. big fundraisers, people doing bus --

across the state. they were ready to get out and vote. for this republican. but when that wasn't an option, enthusiasm just went out the floor. but that just wasn't up there. but if you look back at their landscape, and the color of georgia. it's still a conservative, state it's in the bible belt, it's a very conservative state. we have constitutional offices from georgia, lieutenant governor and attorney general, and secretary of state, all republican, the state legislature of the house and senate republican, the only time that it is leading to the blue, and a democrat is when donald trump is involved. and he lost the state, and went off with purdue and level are. we lost those races, we lost this one because donald trump does not work in georgia, trumpism is dead in georgia. conservative republicanism is alive in georgia. >> it depends on what part of the story. look at -- in georgia. straight up. >> i think we can say that the

suburbs of the atlanta area where many republicans, life they are not down with donald trump. rural georgia maybe another story. look at the state, is this a place where democrats could've been performing more strongly earlier than they have? what do you attribute this to? >> so, a lot of what al-assad is correct, but georgia's purple. let's just say it. i believe looking back at these last presidential elections, especially when hillary clinton ran for president against donald trump. if she kept going into georgia, like she did, she could have possibly won georgia. she had stopped talking about guns, so she could get more of a southern vote. but i believe that hillary clinton's run, set up the situation for stacey abrams, and raphael warnock to knock a lot of those barriers down. to change that red state blue. , okay,? and now we are in a purple moment. and i think it is kind of

synonymous with what is going on in the republican party. georgia is trying to find itself, just like the republican party is trying to sift out, and figure out who is in this moment. >> laura, april mentions hillary clinton but i also wanna ask her about stacey abrams. because i have democratic candidates, while they may have questions about their own personal, campaigns. they are very impressed with the organization she has built there. and the credit that she has done? >> yeah, that's something i was gonna bring up. which is the entire ground game that has changed for democrats in the state of georgia. really starting, a lot of people say, from 2016 on. so many of the groups that are base there, formed after 2016. in response to donald trump. but they, the black lead groups there. there are groups that are led by young voters, and young people. and i think that they're really trying to mobilize this change in georgia. these changing democrat -- demographics in georgia. and i think the yang vault,

about 60% or so for warnock in the general and black voters and asian american voters we've seen them grow as a bigger block that has appeared to go more democratic than republican so far in the past election, cycles and so that's what these groups have really harness, they knocked on someone when i was there that they were nearing potentially more than $3 million that they had locked on across the state. and we're engaging voters across the state, and anyone they could, find to tell them that they needed to go out vote in the election, and the other sat again, in the early vote. democrats have focused heavily on that early vote. focused heavily on mail voting in a way that republicans have not. partially because, former president donald trump has attacked mail voting. he says that he thinks that republicans should vote on election day. [inaudible] >> georgia's changing. i've worked for [inaudible] back in the day. he is one of my mentors.

he's the guy who introduced me to bill clinton, which created my whole career. i love him. but in the history, a decade ago. i'm working for barack obama super pac. he lost gwinnett county, one of those giant suburban counties you just showed. he lost gwinnett county by ten. barack obama, a talented politician. and he won by four. and for forsyth county, which was -- he got 17%. that's it. 17%. reverend warnock today got 34. >> even though it's only a change. and 4%. >> it's 4%! so the senate is changing, and the candidates are changing. of course, i love [inaudible] but he did a perfect job in reaching out. and adding to that, or beginning with a base of young people, african americans. it's a very hard thing to do. and a large party, but the state is changing. >> let's put a pin in this for

right now. because we're gonna come back from the break, and we're gonna keep talking about all of this. obviously, we have a ton to say about this critical race. our panel's gonna stand back, and we will be right back! liberty mutual customizes your home insurance, here's one that'll really take you back. it's customized home insurance from liberty mutual!!! only pay for what you need. ♪ libertyty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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>> u.s. senator, raphael warnock, is celebrating tonight. a major win in the final race of the 2022, midterm elections. cnn projects he will defeat republican challenger herschel walker in a very close runoff election. but not necessarily that closed by modern american political standards. his victory gives democrats a 51 to 49 seat majority in the senate. that is a pick up of one seat for president biden's democratic party. president biden did tweet of short time ago, he says, just called senator warnock to congratulate him on his win.

democrats stood up for democracy, ultra maga -- and send them back to the senate. here's to six more years. and now to -- who was starting to get out there. so let's pick it up where we left off. you know, paul was talking about forsyth county. we were talking about how that had changed, and whether or not the state, how deeply it may or may not be changing in democrats favor. >> so one thing we have to remember, and you guys brought it up on the other side of the table earlier, people need to feel seen and heard. and one part of the problem is, and you brought this up, alison, a minute ago. you said that being in the center. sometimes that center leaves all the other sides out. and these are some of the reasons why we are finding such extreme behavior in politics now, because people are feeling like i'm not seeing, i'm not, heard you're not talking to me. now, what raphael warnock did,

what he did for the credit for his when is he not only focus in on his home base in atlanta, where he pastors and is, centered he went to rural, georgia, he talked to white, rural, georgians. who may have had some neighbors who might not have wanted to talk to him because of his race. but he went into territories in georgia that herschel walker was walking, and let's talk about this too. character. the character issue. we did not bring that up. i was in atlanta twice over the last month and a half. with my book tour. and i couldn't even leave the room for watching those nasty attack ads. and those who voted, were very repulsed by the ads they were seeing. so there are several issues that were colliding. character, i feel scene, and character again. >> you know, one of the things that is so interesting april,

and allison would be interested in your take on this, to since your name was invoked. but, i, warnock is not the only candidate, the democratic candidate in the cycle to do this, he was much more than herschel walker. the way that he framed his arguments was more inclusive. was more focused, in, i don't even want to say a bipartisan way. he spent more time talking to and framing it as i'm talking to all people. the other candidate that comes to mind. for me. is john fetterman. who spent a lot of time in places where donald trump won over a lot of union voters, and he talked about the fact that just because we don't think that these people are going to vote for, us that doesn't mean that you can't talk to them and make them feel included in the process. and i don't see republicans doing that than some of the democrats who are successful, we're into it this more. >> raphael warnock was terrific,

and also had the power of incumbency. being a cynic senator, he had a pulpit. >> he had authority from his actual pulpit. honestly. >> exactly, and he was able to demonstrate a message of working across the aisle, building a bridge as he talked about this evening. i wanted to tell him hands off to natasha brown, and black lives matter. to working tirelessly and getting out the vote for him. as long as she's working, georgia is in good shape. >> she was singing while she was getting people to the polls. >> yes, hats off to her. i'm excited for her. but here is the thing, while raphael warnock was taught out there talking about building bridges, you had governor kemp reminding georgians that raphael warnock is a rubberstamp for biden's policies. and that did it work for many people in georgia. when you have the economy the way it, is crime on the rise,

parents concerned about their children's education. those are policies that did not work for a lot of people in georgia. but the point being, while he is talking about building bridges, we had republicans on the other side trying to remind voters that his policies are not working. clearly, his message of unity and working across the aisle resonated with more georgians. >> i think it did it work, simply, because even though cam. he was only out there during the runoff for walker, he was not really out there tying himself to walker for the general election. >> he didn't want to. he wanted to avoid. it >> while it may have run on the economy, and all the policy issues you just talked about, alison, walker, watching his stump speech multiple times. he did not talk about the akana me at any real consistent way. he talked about making america energy independent if you times. but he really focused on transgender athletes, he talked about i don't know what a

pronoun is, and he repeated over and over and over again. >> it was very trumpian. >> it was very trumpian. and he said do you want a person like me to play sports against your daughter. and he also talked about heaven and a lot, and basically acquainted for democrats going to. so for all of that, he did not talk about any type of policies that he would vote for, or the economy at all. >> right right. to that point, so walker loses. saying all those things. kemp winds. and i have to ask you, you're the democrat sitting at the table, how do you think that president biden played into this, or not. he was not, they didn't really wanted to have him down there. there was a lot of animosity. but they were like, keep his distance. and he did. he potentially won't be on the ticket for democrats in 2024. >> and he won georgia in 2020, and it would be wise not to go in there. he's not popular right now. it's pretty simple. and barack obama's, it's pretty

much a larger arsenal. we don't just have mr. trump. >> so how do you fix that between now in 2024? >> you do a good job, but more importantly, you push off against their extremism. voters do not want extremism. you know my favorite piece of political [inaudible] , this is the first time since citizens began electing said senators in -- that every single incumbent senator of each party, who sought reelection, one. it's never ever happened in america. why? it's such a volatile time. you think they throw them all out. it's because ron johnson won by categorizing the democrat as too extreme. he won -- he said it was too extreme. eisen, and now warnock, they republican -- characterize the republicans as too extreme. voters don't want extremism. the democrats need to learn that to. my party needs to understand that they did it marry the democrats, they just dump the

republicans. [laughter] >> you're actually right but i think. >> final word. >> there are actually some layers in this moment. it is not just about what you just said, but let's talk about the issue. voters don't want people telling them what they cannot do. let's talk about how you go to the polls. or when you can go to the polls. i can't stand in line and have someone give me food, or i will go to jail. people do not want that, and also right now, the stakes are so high. i had a bunch of people send me pictures of the long lines that they had stood in for hours in early voting, because they were rebelling against what was told that they could not do. so, it is the spirit of the human spirit came out i believe. in this moment in georgia, as well. >> okay paul, anna stewart, laura barrón-lópez, april ryan, everyone is gonna stick around into the early morning hours on the east coast of the united states. and still to come. the house committee investigating the house capitol riot plans to make criminal referrals to the justice

department. what the chair of that committee says about who could be on the list. plus, a jury finds that guilty of tax fraud. and will it hurt donald trump's chances of getting back to the white house? so the internal question. we will discuss it up next! [ coughing/sneezing ] [ door knocking ] dude, you coming? because the only thing dripping should be your style! plop plop fizz fizz, with alka-seltzer plus cold & flu relief. also try for fizzy fast cough relie all across the country, people are worki hard to build a better future.

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>> the final race of the midterm election. finally over. and against the odds it seems, democrats have boosted their hold on the u.s. senate. that's after a comment raphael warnock hung on to win reelection in the georgia senate runoff. former president donald trump's handpicked candidate herschel walker who conceded with grace. a new york jury has found to trump organizations guilty of multiple bouts of tax fraud.

it was a scheme by top executives that kept lavish perks, and -- off the books. they pled guilty to 15 different felony charges. a admitting he failed to pay taxes on a least 1 million worth of income. they are -- and well he and his family were not charged in the case, the verdict could of course have further impact on their businesses. attorneys for the trump organization said that they will appeal. and we are tracking major developments into the investigation into the u.s. capitol riots. the house committee plans to make criminal referrals to the justice department. cnn's sara murray has more from watching ten. >> the house committee investigating the january 6th attack on the capitol will move forward with criminal referrals to the justice department. that's what chairman, benny thompson had to say about where

the committee's work stand. so they wouldn't say who they are planning to refer to the department of justice, but sources are telling cnn that the committee is weighing criminal referrals for president donald trump, as well as a number of his allies. their focus, we are told, and the main organizers and leaders of the attack. the criminal referral is not binding when it comes to the justice department. it is up to the doj, up to merrick garland to decide how they will proceed. and they've already been proceeding with their own criminal investigation, but it is a significant combination of the committee's work and, it is a -- that they believe that they have gathered enough evidence to conclude that crimes were committed. we're waiting for more details from the committee, a list of folks that they may refer for practical prosecution for the justice department. as well as the acts that they are referring for potential prosecution. cnn, sara murray. >> our thanks to sara murray from that report. joining us now from allentown, pennsylvania. cnn political commentator and

former house republican, charlie dent. and democratic strategist, caroline heldman joins us from los angeles. thank you both from being here. and charlie, let me start from you since this is your political party. the, i'm not sure necessarily if i want to call him the leading figure i guess he only declared republican presidential candidate in 2024. so we will go with that. but what is your take on how, this pair of developments will or will not impact the presidents political plans and aspirations? >> well clearly casey, there is no good news for president trump out tonight and to trump organizations were found guilty of tax fraud. well the former president himself, doesn't seem to be immediate legal jeopardy over this battle. this is a really bad political headlines. your company's been convicted of political tax fraud!

and he's gonna say that he didn't know about? it okay, well at least from a political standpoint this is extremely unhelpful. and of course the january six committee is issuing a report, they're making this criminal report. and of course the doj's doing their own investigation like sarah murray. but the bottom line is. this is just a big vote that the january six is wrapping up. read page ten line six. and telling personal people who they are investigating for criminal acts. so the doj may not complete this referral. but again, if you're donald trump. this is not helpful. donald trump, and many of his candidates cannot defy political gravity. what just happened tonight in georgia. a race thrown away because of candidate issues. he's got all kinds of problems here, his announcement was

[inaudible] at best. he has a lot of republicans speaking out forcefully against him, chris christie and others are speaking out against him. so i don't think he's gonna have an easy pass this time around from his challengers. >> so, caroline, let me get you to weigh in on this because you are a democratic strategist and you've also study these things, the reality was that donald trump for a long long time to find everything that we thought we know about the laws of the political gravity. and the way that voters were gonna react to things. but it does seem that that is all catching up with him. how do you see these developments in the context of what is set to happen in the 2024 race? >> that is a great question. and i think for a while, things have actually been pretty toxic for the republican electorate. in 2018, he lost 40. it's 2020 he loses the election.

2022, he handbags a lot of candidates. mitch mcconnell, the senate minority leader gets really mad at him. be as he knows he is a weak candidate. this is the last of the week candidates. once again, trump handpicked any law. so i imagine handing into 2024. we're not there, something interesting with a democratic senate. i don't hear a lot of folks talking about. and it relieves pressure of joe manchin to take more democratic or liberal conditions. position. he can take those positions now, the head if you, well in order to get reelected the next time around. so actually, this election happening right now with we're not going into the senate helps the democrats in the last couple of years. hold on to seats it also courts keeps them control over committees instead of sharing up with republican so donald trump? i mean the republican party is certainly starting to recognize that he is not helping the

party electorally. >> yeah, i'm glad you actually mention that about joe manchin because i do think it is important, you can literally vote no on anything joe biden ever wanted, and democrats can still pass things, and nominate people if that is what they wanted to do. charlie, let me, also ask you about georgia specifically. tonight. because herschel walker made some pretty know where their comments. and what my colleague, jeff zeleny, seems to be an ad libbed concession speech. there was no visible teleprompter being used, or something like that. but the reality he's he still said what he said. let me show you the herschel walker speech such stood out to me and welcome. back watch! >> one of the things that i want to tell all of you. is never stop dreaming. i don't want any of you to stop dreaming, i don't want any of you to stop believing in america. i want you to believe in america. and continue to believe in the constitution, believe in our

elected officials, most of all. continue to pray for them. because all the prayers you're giving me. i felt those prayers. >> believe in the constitution! this is something that donald trump of course, said, that none of us should do. he said that we should terminate the constitution. what do you make of walker's remarks? and the make a picture that he graciously conceded this race on election night, which is not something that, you know, was a guarantee from a lot of republican candidates going into this midterms? >> well, i do believe that herschel walker's concession speech is the not the best thing that he did during this campaign. he was gracious, and articulate, and coherent. which he wasn't during the campaign. let's be honest, he was a terrible candidates. he had issues of domestic abuse allegations against him. abortion, hypocrisy. not taking care of his children per his son. he went very public about that. his children. the residency issues.

general incoherence on a number of policy issues. and of course there's the werewolf, vampire debate. so many things. so, i'm glad he gave the speech that he gave tonight. i think that is helpful. but i just can't get back to this issue of how republicans are losing winnable seats. not just here, but in pennsylvania, in arizona, and it's not just that the bad candidates that donald trump selected. or the weaker candidates. in the worst-case. it's the candidates who chose not to run. in arizona. like governor doocy. who was very popular. or governor sununu in new hampshire. this is what donald trump has done to the party. he has, when has losing become okay? as caroline pointed out. 2018 a disaster, 2020 was the presidency. 2022, here we go. dramatic underperforming. largely because of donald trump's unhelpful intervention. so the party needs to get its head straight about winning. parties are designed for one

reason. to win elections, and until the republican national committee. and others determine that their role is to elect the better candidates and not just be loyal to a deeply flawed individual. who company was just convicted today for criminal tax fraud. the job is to nominate good quality candidates. who don't just pledge allegiance to this man. we're gonna continue down this road. so, when does winning become the primary consideration for the party. they need to get back there, they're not there. they lost their way. top to bottom. >> yeah, it's a very good point. and it's something that mitch mcconnell saw on the wall, the writing on the wall along time ago. i think you're poignant about the fact that better people did not run because of donald trump. is a very important. one and also the fact that he's got the loser label now. i think it matters a lot for the 2024 race of coming. charlie dent, caroline heldman.

thank you very much for being up late with us tonight. we really appreciate your time. and still to come here, is georgia now a true purple battleground states? a closer look at the political fault lines! all across the country, people are working hard to build a better future. so we're hard at work helping em achieve financial freedom. we're proud to serve people everywhere, in investing for the retirement ey envision. from the plains to the coasts, we helamericans invest for their future.

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>> democrats will have more leverage in the u.s. senate next year, now that raphael warnock has won reelection in a tight georgia runoff. during his victory speech, he warnock spoke about his georgia roots, voting rights, and bipartisanship. adding that for everyone who doesn't agree with him, that is okay, our tent is big. let's bring in michael genovese, author, he joins us live from los angeles. michael, i'm glad it's not quite so late there on the left coast of america. we really appreciate you being with us tonight. you study this stuff for a living. you watch how these things evolve. you've been debating at this table why it is that georgia has been moving the way that it has. what does the outcomes say to you? >> you, know i don't think we should read too much into the

georgia outcome. if we look two years back, 2020, donald trump gave the democrats victory in georgia by saying don't vote in the early voting, it's a fraud, everything is a mess. so, he just depress the republican vote in 2020. he did the same thing in 2022 in a different way, by endorsing and pushing for herschel herschel walker, a deeply flawed candidate. to say herschel that walker was a flawed candidate is like saying the atlantic ocean is moist. so, donald trump gave georgia to the democrats. i don't think we should read a lot into it. the two parties are so close numerically, so divided ideological, i do not see anything that can break that logjam in the next two years. >> what is your -- i absolutely take your. point and if you look at -- we are talking about this too, people did not throw very many incumbents out. the numbers in the house and senate are incredibly close.

yes, the house changed hands, but it was basically by the same margin from democrat to republican, a very small one at that. but this election did seem to underscore, and i've talked to a lot of sources that run campaigns, who say, you know what, i thought the median voter, the voter that's kind of in the middle, does not exist or does not matter, and that is actually not true based on what we saw in these midterm elections, that the candidates who did not embrace the extremes, but who tried to embrace independents, swing voters, talk to a more broad constituency, where the ones who won. do you agree with that? how do you square the polarization in the ideology that's being demonstrate on the one hand, or the fact that these voters are still the ones that seem to be deciding our elections? >> you are right. electoral success means getting those people in the middle on your side. many of them are independents, soft democrats and soft

republicans. and that's been the case for decades. it is not going to change very much. as the parties have split more and more, you've got more democrats -- more republicans rigidly voting for republicans. but that leaves a chunk of voters in the middle. and the contest in many many states, i think nationally in the 2024 race, is going to be who wins over those people who are not strongly committed ideologically, not strongly partisan. there are a chunk of voters, and says the parties are so evenly divided, they will make the difference. >> all right, michael genovese, thank you very much for being with us tonight. we really appreciate you bringing your insights to us. >> thank you. >> all right, i will be back with much more on the georgia senate runoff at the top of the hour. but first, john vause picks up our top international headlines right after the break. (whispering) hello hello anybody there?e? ♪

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seen above a russian airfield about 60 miles on ukraine border. russian officials say a drone strike sent fuel storage tanks and fire. officially, there was no comment from ukraine. but this would appear to be the third attack in two days on military bases inside russia. these drone strikes on russian soil come amid month-long russian air offensive on ukraine's power, which has caused widespread blackouts. during a press briefing tuesday, the un secretary of state was asked if the ukrainian strikes were morally justified. >> we have neither encourage or enabled the ukrainians to strike inside of russia. but the important thing is to understand what ukrainians are living through every day with the ongoing russian aggression against our country. and our determination to make sure they have, in our hands, along with many other partners around the world, the equipment that they need to defend themselves, to defend their territory, to defend their freedom. >> and what appears to be yet another setback for moscow,

western officials say russia has exhausted its supply of iranian-made attack drones. officials in washington kyiv have noted the -- in particular has not been used by the russians in the past two weeks. argentina's vice president has been sentenced to six years in prison on corruption charges. christina kirchner was found guilty of fraudulently -- after awarding a public roadwork contract to a family friend for personal benefit. on jail time, the vice president has been disqualified from holding public office again. fernandez lashes out at the voting, calling it judicious mafia. i'm john vaughan at the cnn center. kasie hunt we'll be back tomorrow special election coverage right after this. ne? yup, i just got the new iphohone 14 with its amazing camera at t-mobile. wow! at t-mobile, get four iphone 14s on us. and 4 new lines s for $25 bucks a a line.

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