top of the hour now. this thursday, i'm jim sciutto. >> and i'm erica hill. any moment president biden set to speak about the economy. this is on the heels of new data this morning that shows inflation on a downward slope. we'll bring you the remarks live. we're also watching to see if the president will make any comment or answer any questions

about his legal team discovering another batch of classified documents. >> the white house has yet to address this latest news. republicans certainly have plenty to say. we'll discuss both the legal and political ramifications facing the administration now. plus, in the next hour, the man accused of killing four idaho college students will make his second court appearance. it comes as a neighbor reveals what the suspect allegedly said about the killings just before he was arrested. first though, more on president biden's legal team finding more classified documents at a second location. >> cnn correspondent evan perez joins us now. what do we know about this latest discovery and i suppose the question is are they looking for more? >> reporter: the second question is very much an important one for the justice department as to what they do next, right. but what we know, jim, very limited information, which is that there was a second set of documents that were discovered

in a subsequent search. we heard the white house, they put out a statement this week in which they said that a set of documents that include classified documents had been found in a -- and turned over after november 2nd. this is the first time they addressed this. this didn't tell us complete story, which is that subsequent to that search they had done additional searches and found another set of documents. it's unclear why they didn't disclose that from the outset. and really what they've done is created a perception that they're hiding something. which is made it perhaps even more likely that attorney general merrick garland will have to appoint a special council which is something that you're hearing republicans already discussing. listen. >> where is the raid, where is the pictures, the special counsel, what is a batch and what does that mean. it is more than one. so is this two documents, 2,000 documents, what is the location,

the double standard is obvious and then the tons of questions that i think every american has. >> reporter: and look, for the justice department, the question for the attorney general is do you think that this is something that needs a special counsel because of the perception that has been created in part by the handling of this by the white house. just to make it clear, there is a big difference between this and the trump investigation where you had an obstruction according to the justice department, obstruction by the former president and his team who said they had turned over everything when they had not. >> and they resisted. >> and over a period of months. the white house here has said initially that there were fewer than a dozen. we've reported that there were ten documents of various classifications. but we don't know anything about how many documents are included in this second set that were found. >> understood. more to learn. evan perez, thank you so much. joining us now to discuss

former federal prescription ren ata mary. i want to pick up on something that we just heard. we heard jim jordan railing about this using the word raid. number one, there was no raid at mar-a-lago. when it comes to the question of a special counsel, he's calling for a special counsel here just bring us into the fold here. what would constitute a reason and do you see a reason in the case with what we know about these documents with the president biden, what would be the reason that a special counsel would be needed? what is that threshold? >> sure. so first of all, a special counsel is necessary when there is, in fact, a criminal investigation and they're at the stage where their determining whether or not there is any reason to open a criminal investigation. i think on the face of it, it

doesn't appear there is. and my colleague is investigating -- and john was appointed by president trump, that is part of the reason why he was given this responsibility. he's taken an initial look to determine whether or not there should be a criminal investigation. if there is, i do think a special counsel would likely be appointed because there would be a potential conflict of interest. the standard is whether there is a conflict of interest or other circumstances. i don't think there is going to be enough here to open a criminal investigation. >> let me ask you this. because there are so many things about this case that are usual, dealing with a current president and former president when it comes to trump. legally, when you have cases like this, when officials are found with classified documents, are they more likely to be charged for holding them, right, or resisting giving them back? because you have those two issues with trump. and many months of fighting

biden gave them back right away and he held them but shouldn't have. but what is the most likely path for a criminal indictment? >> very smart question, jim. and a good one. the issue is whether or not you're willfully retaining the documents. you mentioned there was an appearance of a double standard here a moment ago. both of these individuals, trump and biden were treated in the same way. trump was given every invitation to provide those documents. as erica noted. he was given a grand jury subpoena and there was letters written and a visit to mar-a-lago asking for the documents back. he refused the documents. that is willful retention. i refuse to return these documents even though i know they're the government's property. these are mine, i'm not not giving them to you, come and take them which they ultimately did. president biden, it is a very different situation. as soon as the documents were found, at least reportedly, he

returned them. he didn't want them. that is inadvertent so that is not willful retention. >> there is also -- and i think very important question of timing that is not being answered. so this did, right, this happened just before the election in the days leading up to the election in early november. would there ever be a reason for those investigating that they would ask that this not be disclosed? >> well it is a good question. i mean typically i will say that when there are ongoing criminal investigations, you shouldn't be disclosing details. i could understand a request for a period of time to keep this quiet. that said, i do think there are legitimate questions about the timing of this disclosure and i think it is -- it is hard for me to see why there needed to be a delay until this time for this fact to be revealed. >> thanks so much as always. >> thank you.

coming up next hour, the suspect charged with murdering four idaho college students expected back in court for a hearing today. >> and this comes as we're now hearing more from family members of the victims. and also from a neighbor. a neighbor who said they spoke with the suspect after the killings. josh campbell is in moscow, idaho this morning. so so, josh, there is this court hearing today. what could we expect to hear today. >> good morning. this is what is called a status hearing in the prosecution of 28-year-old bryan kohberger. this is expected to be largely procedural. we'll wait to see if there is anything of substance that comes out of this. but as we've been noting, this is a precursor to what is called the preliminary hearing where prosecutors may put forward more evidence, more witness statements as they try to build their case and move this on to trial. now an attorney for bryan kohberger expected his clients

to be exonerated after the authorities have unsealed a trove of potentially damning evidence including the matching dna at the crime scene, similarity there. police also tracked the suspect's vehicle movements and his cell phone placing those in the proximity of the house where the four college kids were murdered. a lot of damning evidence there. we'll see how this defense actually contends with those issues. now we're also getting some chilling new detail about bryan kohberger from people who knew them. one said after the murders actually brought it up in discussion and in his opinion he believed that police didn't have much evidence or many leads. he also said that he believed this was a crime of passion. of course, kohberger was a criminal justice major studyig for a ph.d. there are a lot of questions surrounding the motive in this investigation, the motive in this case and whether he had any connection to these four college students. waiting for those details to

come out. but again, he is expected to arrive here the at the court in an hour's time. i'll be inside of the court and we'll keep you updated as this continues. >> classes have resumed yesterday and so much fear on the campus. i wonder what the feeling is like now particularly since he's in court. >> reporter: certainly mixed emotions and students that we have talked with said that their sense of community was shattered following the four brutal murders. that incident causing many of them to change behavior in public. students saying they go out in groups, their more aware of their surroundings. and we're hearing from students and parents and teachers who say that although they continue to grieve the loss of these four college students, there is a palpable sense of relief that the plan police believe is responsible for this is now behind bars and facing prosecution. pointing out, we talked to an executive at the campus who said their heightened state will continue for the foreseeable

future, guys. >> josh campbell with the latest on the ground there in moscow. josh, thank you. so what more can we expect from that hearing and also as this case unfolds moving forward. >> defense attorney misty maris joins us now. and misty, i wonder, if you were kohberger's defense attorney right now given the charges and the evident that the public has been able to see so far, what would your view be of the case. >> the case seems very strong from what we see right now. but keep in mind, every case has vulnerabilities from a defense perspective. so as a defense attorney, i would expect kohberger's lawyer to really go after some of that cell phone data. go after -- you go after how it was collected but also you could talk about, hey, well he lived near this area and he went to school near this area. just because he was in the vicinity, how long is the range for a cell phone to ping. so there is all of the different avenues to undercut some of the

forensic evidence and that is what i would expect a defense attorney to do. it is like a puzzle being put together and it is largely circumstantial and it is always the prosecutors burden. >> and what -- some ofcomments a class where kohberger was a taa telling us he seemed preoccupied after the murderers and his demmeanor was different and we have comments with a neighbor. does any of that, do think that any of that will come into play? >> 100%. it all matters so much, not only to the investigation but ultimately to what will happen at trial. so, when you think about it, investigators, they're not just looking at the planning and commission of the crime, they're also looking for what happened after. was there a cover-up? what is the demeanor of this individual. how did he act. there is over a month of time where based on what we know right now, kohberger was going

about his daily life. he was going to class and he was interacting with people. aum of these statements are going to help investigators hone in on the big question, what is the motive. and then when it comes to the courtroom, the way that somebody acts after this in those type of statements made are likely to come in, in some capacity and it will show this is the change in demeanor and also what did he do in between that time frame. it is all going to be incredibly relevant and as for the investigation as well as trial. >> question on a different case, if you could. we've been covering the anna walsh case and latest development and it is coming out every day, surveillance video of her husband at dumpsters after her disappearance. i'll ask you to do this again as a defense attorney. based on the evidence you've seen so far, indicators, i'm not calling it evidence, he hasn't been charged with this crime, what does that case look like to you? >> so as far as from a defense perspective, there is a lot of circumstantial evidence and no body murder cases are really the

most difficult to prove. however, in this particular case, there is a lot of circumstance circum stan shall evidence that could be the basis for charges. a defense attorney is always going to go after exactly what i just said. the body tells the story. and it tells you an the when and the how and that is how investigators who backtrack in what they need to do to put together a case for the prosecution. but i could see charges coming with a no body murder case. a lot of circumstantial evidence but i think investigators will take their time. remember he's convicted in a federal case and he's going to be serving time. he's not going anywhere so there is plenty of time to hone in and get an air tight probable cause affidavit against him when the time comes. >> to that point there is the separate case but right now he's held on the charges of misleading statements. how long could they hold him on

that charge? >> it depends. right now he has a $500,000 bail set and he hasn't made it. but the federal charges are the one, he's already pled guilty, he's going to serve time. so he's going to be locked in that sense. the reason that you see this arrest on the misleading law enforcement is because you wan to get, if you suspect somebody of this murder, in this very suspicious disappearance, you want to get them in custody. so i see this moving towards that but i don't think we'll see an indictment soon. i think investigators are going to take their time. >> well ultimately two very sad cases for the families involved. misty maris, thank you so much. >> thank you. and president biden expected to speak on the economy at any moment as a key measure shows inflation continuing to cool. we're going to bring you those comments live. plus caught if a web of lies. em beatled republican congressman george santos said he is not going anywhere. moments ago he said he would step down but only if a very

specific number of folks ask him to step down. >> we have that for you. plus ripped from his mother's armed by raging floodwaters. it is just a heart-wrenching story. the search continuing this morning for this 5-year-old boy in california. >> i want to switch places with kyle. i don't want to be here. i want kyle to be here. i wish kyle was the one that was rescued. is the planning effect. this is how it feels to knknw you have a wealth plan that covers everything that's important to you. this is what it's like to have a dedicated fidelity advisor looking at your full financial picture. making sure you have the right balance of risk and reward. and helping you plan for future generations. this is "the planning effect" from fidelity. -what's he doing? -he's cleaning the trash cans. oh, boy. meeting a new young homeowner for the first time is a unique challenge.

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that was sparked abby a single corrupted file. pete muntean is live at reagan national airport. so this single corrupted file, do we have any information pete about how that happened? i mean, also the fact that that one file managed to bring down the whole network. >> it is incredible, erica. and it sorts speaks to the fact that what critics say is a need to update the faa system and to better fund the agency, the cause that one damaged data base file, according to the faa and the notam system, that provides critical data and information that pilots need before they take off. they must read it. the faa, according to multiple government sources, knew this was a problem on tuesday evening. they tried to reboot the back-up system and the main system. those were both infected. on wednesday morning, when they thought it would have the least impact on airline travel and

that failed and that led to a nationwide ground stop. airports paralyzed across country for 90 whole minutes. we have not seen a nationwide ground stop since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. want you to listen now to transportation secretary pete buttigieg. he's directed an internal review of this. the faa falls under the department of transportation and so it is interesting here because the faa really faced a lot of criticism from airlines after summer and winter cancellations. but now the faa is coming under a lot of scrutiny on its own. listen to pete buttigieg. >> these kinds of disruptions should not happen and my primary interest now that we've gotten through the immediate disruptions of the morning is understanding exactly how this was possible and exactly what steps are needed to make sure that it doesn't happen again. >> reporter: no doubt that this will come up in the faa reauthorization bill process that is just beginning now.

we will see, as the faa provides more answers, what exactly comes out of all of this. a lot of pressure on the faa to make sure this doesn't happen again, erica. >> absolutely. the last thing they want. pete, thank you. appreciate it. some of these pictures that we are seeing out of california, i mean, just -- they really take your breath away. and look at this graph that you see here. the drought monitor. the intense rain over the past few weeks has eased the drought in the state. according to the u.s. drought monitor. but that doesn't mean it is completely gone away and as we know, this is not all good news from this storm. the storms have been deadly, the state is bracing for more atmospheric rivers on the way over the next several days. hundreds of national guard members right now are also searching for a 5-year-old boy ripped out of his mother's arms by raging floodwaters and apparently swept away. >> i'm just speechless from

seeing that. kind of just a rush of emotions. just a lot going on right now. >> cnn national correspondent camilla bernal is in san miguel, california, this morning. this new round of rain, i'm sure there are concerns that this could complicate the search, camilla? >> reporter: it is such a difficult search. it is the rain and the mud and the fog right now. it is the visibility. and it is the water. this creek here that is still running, you could hear it and you could see it, it looks calm in certain areas, but it is not easy to search. because of this terrain. this is the area where that 5-year-old kyle doan was last seen and so i talked to his brother yesterday who was here for the first time, it was so emotional for him to see his mother's car which is actually just a couple of feet up the stream. of course, it is impossible to

see with this fog at the moment. i also sat down with his father who is extremely emotional. he said he is in shock. he said this is so difficult to process. but he described and recounted what his wife told him happened on monday. here he is. >> he was telling her, mommy, don't panic, it's okay. so she got him out and as she was getting him out and trying to hold him, the current was there and it took him, bent her arm around and she kind of extended herself around the tree and that -- that thrust caused her to lose contact with him. so she couldn't keep ahold of him. >> reporter: and that father also telling me that she feels extremely guilty, that the mom wasn't even eating because it was so difficult for her. the entire family is really going through a lot right now.

but they say they will search. they're doing everything they can because they want kyle back home. and so they're going to be here throughout the entire time, whatever it takes. you talked about the national guard members. there are family and friends joining the search. everyone wanted to bring him back but it is going to be difficult. the father, erica, admitting that this could be a recovery. back to you. >> so tough. you're heart really just goes out to the family. camilla, appreciate it. thank you. this just into cnn. the white house releasing a statement on the classified documents found by president biden's lawyers. i want to go straight to cnn white house correspondent jeremy diamond who has more on this. what are we hearing and learning from this statement, jeremy? >> reporter: as you know, we reported yesterday that additional documents were found at a second location. additional to that initial batch found back on november 2nd. now the white house is confirming that in an official

statement from a special counsel richard sawber here representing president biden. and he noted that the additional documents were found at the president's wilmington, delaware, home. and all but one of the documents according to richard were found in the garage, a storage place in the wilmington garage and one page that was discovered among stored materials in an adjacent room. now, richard said in the statement that the lawyers searched the president's wilmington home and searches his rehoboth beach delaware home as well. no documents were found in that rehoboth beach residence. but notable that they conducted these additional searches following the discovery of these documents back on november 2nd at that washington, d.c. office

that president biden had in his post vice presidency, that office. now in a statement richard also said that this review and this search of the additional documents was completed last night and that is the wording here of richard and the white house knows that once again they turned over all of the documents to the department of justice. and making clear that they will continue to cooperate with the review by the department of justice. now, this answers some additional questions here. certainly in terms of where exactly these additional documents were found. it doesn't say exactly when they were found. and what we're still waiting to learn, of course, is what prompted this initial search of the penn biden -- they said they were merely packing up that office but there are still a number eof questions around tha and the time line. the white house proviting a statement in a clear sign that there are some questions that they needed to answer.

there have been mounting questions and criticism on capitol hill as well where both democratic and republican lawmakers have requested information from the department of justice and from the director of national intelligence about any potential national security concerns around these documents. but once again, the white house now officially confirming that a second batch of documents was found in president biden's wilmington, delaware, home. documents that did have classification markings on them. we don't know exactly how many documents or when they were found. but they do say that they've now completed searches of the president's wilmington home and his rehoboth home as well. erica. >> and just to clarify, the other locations were files from his vice president office might have been shipped in the course of the 2017 transition. so the office of the penn biden center and both of the residences in delaware. is there any reason to suspect that there is another location that would need to be searched or is this it, these only three

areas. >> it seems they're saying there are three locations, the penn biden center and the wilmington home and rehoboth beach home. and we should note when they confirmed those had found the classified documents following multiple reports, they didn't say that there was the possibility of documents being found elsewhere. in fact, they very much left the impression that this was a comprehensive search that had been done and didn't leave the impression that anything else was going to come out. we know now, of course, that was not the case. that additional documents have indeed be found. and so this is the white house trying to put some kind of a bow on this. we will see if this time, if this is the final kind of comprehensive look at this search and the kind of potential documents that might be found. but as of now, they are indicating that they have completed a review of any potential locations where documents classified documents

from vice presidency could be found. >> maybe an attempt to put a bow on it, but there is still, as you have pointed out and we've been talking about, there is still a number of unanswered questions including what is in the documents and why the first tranche that was found in early november, why we're just learning about it now. jeremy, appreciate this update. thank you. more house republicans are putting pressure on george santos to resign. house speaker kevin mccarthy not among them, though. new reaction from the hill, next. i choose airborne. unlike some others, airborne gives you vitamin c and soso much more. itit's an 8 in 1 immune support formula. airborne. do more.

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just minutes ago, newly elected republican congressman george santos who has been under growing pressure to resign after lying about his job history, his education, his family heritage, said, after several days saying no, he said he would resign under very specific circumstances. take a listen. >> touf a response for those calling for you to resign. >> i will not resign. i will continue to -- >> what is your call -- if the voters ask for you to resign. >> i 142 people asked for me to resign, i'll resign.

>> in spresponse to that, don beyer is saying we could make that happen. and not surprising, manu, i've seen someone on twitter starting a petition. but what are republican lawmakers saying about all of this. >> there is growing pressure on him to step aside. after congressman santos made those comments i caught him in the basement walking back to the capitol and i asked him about his apparent web of deceit about his past and everything from having family that fled the holocaust to his past background to his educational background. he won't answer any of the questions despite putting that question to him for more than a minute. but you have hearing members of his own delegation, some incoming members saying he simply could not serve effectively and you listen to the call from back home to step aside. >> he's lost the confidence of people in his own community. so, you know, i think he needs to seriously consider whether or not he could actually do his job

effectively and right now it is pretty clear he can't. >> i don't think there is any way he could possibly perform his duty but the pan has to be honest with himself and his constituents and it is clear he can't do his job. >> so you're saying he should resign. >> there is no way i think he could fulfill his responsibilities and i think he needs to take that seriously. >> but you does have support from kevin mccarthy. saying it is up to the voters to decide and that is significant going forward. mccarthy is scheduled to answer questions in a matter of minutes. unlikely to change his posture because if santos were to resign this could be a pickup opportunity in a special election and that could tighten the margin in the house if democrats wither to pick that up. >> it is all about the numbers. that is certainly the game right now. manu raju, appreciate it. thank you. an impassioned plea from the wife of alexei navalny asking to get him medical care.

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home instead. apply now. we're going to bring you right now president biden speaking making remarks as expected on the economy and inflation. let's take a listen. >> good morning. today we have some good news, good news about the economy, for the sixth month in a row inflation has come down. measured over last 12 months it has fallen to 6.5%. that is down from 7.1% the month before. and it is down from 9.1% this summer. and inflation is now as lowest level since october of 2021. when we look at the last three months, we see that inflation fell to 1.8% on an annualized basis. it is down for more than 11% in the first three months of last year. so the data is clear. even though inflation is high, and major economies around the

world, it is coming down in america month after month. giving families some real breathing room and the big reason is falling gas prices. my administration took action to get oil on to the market and bring down prices. now gas is down more than $1.70 from its peak. that adds up to a family with two vehicles to a savings of $180 a month every single month. that stays in their pockets. and instead of being spent at the pump. food inflation is slowing as well. last month we saw the smallest increase in food prices in almost two years. and much of that increase was due to the avian flew outbreak which has driven up the egg prices in the united states. it is not just gas and food prices, though. when we look at what the economists call core inflation, which takes out energy and food, we see welcome news as well. core inflation is down to the lowest level in a year. over the past three months core inflation has come down to 3% on

an annualized basis. that is down from more than 6% at the beginning of 2022. the cost of goods is actually falling. as prices from everything from computers to used cars are coming down as well. and the core services is moderating as well. and as inflation is coming down, take-home pay for workers is going up. wages are higher now than they were seven months ago adjusted for inflation. wages for lower and middlin concome workers have added up to breathing room for families and more proof that my economic plan is working. when i came to office almost two years ago, the economy was flat on its back as you all remember. millions of people had lost their job through no fault of their own. millions, millions who kept their jobs saw the hours and paychecks cut. hundreds of thousands of small businesses permanently closed their doors.

people were hurting badly. that is what we inherited. a pandemic that was raging and an economy was reeling. we acted decisively to rescue the economy from the pandemic downturn. at the same time, we laid the foundation for a stronger more resilient economy for decades to come. and an economy that grows from the bottom up and the middle out. now two years in, it is clear, clearer than ever, that my economic plan is actually working. here is what we've learned just last week, unemployment is the lowest its been in 50 years. i say that again. the lowest unemployment rate in half a century. my first two years in office were the two strongest years for job growth on record. we created nearly 11 million jobs and including 750,000 manufacturing jobs. and there were two of the strongest years ever for small

business creation as well. and today unemployment rate is near record for lows for blacks and hispanic. black and hispanic workers, near record lows. that is the lowest ever on record for people with disabilities. we're seeing american families breathe a little easier. more americans are health insurance than they did ever in our history. fewer families are facing foreclosures today than before the pandemic and we still have more work to do, though. but we're clearly moving in the right direction. and there is more breathing room in store nor american workers and families. starting last week, as of january 1, a months supply of insulin is now capped at $35 for seniors on medicare. some are paying hundreds of dollars every month for insulin. but not any more. starting last week, if big pharma raises prices faster than inflation they'll face big

penalties. starting last week americans get tax credits when they install energy efficient appliances like heat bumps or solar panels or buying electric vehicles. these are all pieces of what that big law that we passed last year. now they're kicking in. and americans are starting to feel the benefits and in their everyday lives. but that is not all. we're seeing historic investments into american manufacturing turning into new factories and jobs from arizona, ohio, georgia, new york, companies have aunnounced nearl $300 billion in manufacturing investments here in the united states since i became president. instead of exporting jobs like we did for decades, we're now creating jobs and exporting product. creating jobs and exporting product. that is the idea. now the house has elected a new speaker and i could call and congratulated him and i'm ready to work with him.

or any republican congress to make progress for the american people. but like many americans, i was disappointed that the very first bill that the republicans in the house of representatives passed would help wealthy people and big corporations cheat on their taxes at the expense of ordinary middle class taxpayers and add $114 billion to the deficit. they're very first bill. house republicans campaigned on inflation. they didn't say if elected they're plan was to make inflation worse. plus house republicans introduced another bill. blocking action that would help lower gas prices that help consumers. and on top of that, house republicans are preparing to vote on a national sales tax bill. national sales tax. that is a great idea. it would raise taxes on the middle class by taxing thousands of everyday items from groceries to gas while cutting taxes for the wealthiest americans and if i'm not mistaken, it also totally would eliminate the irs.

it feels good. except all is going to be sales tax. go home and tell your moms. they're going to be really excited about that. come on. is this how the house republicans are starting a new term? cutting taxes for billionaires? raising taxes for working families, making inflation worse. well let me be very clear. if any of these bills make it to my desk, i will veto them. i will flat veto them. i'm ready to work with republicans. i'm not -- not on this kind of stuff. they try to cut social security and medicare which americans have been paying into every paycheck since they got their first paycheck. i'll use my veto pen to stop that as welcome. if they want to work on solutions, create more jobs and bill an economy that works for everyone, i'm ready. let me close with this. today's inflation numbers are good news. good news about our economy. we have more work to do.

but we're an oon on the right t. roads and bridges are being built and factories arm coulding online. people back to work again. families breathing a little bit easier. that is why i could honestly say and you've heard me say this before and i mean it from the bottom of my heart, i've never been more optimistic about american's future than today. we have to remember who in god's name we are. you've heard me say it many times, this is the united states of america. there is nothing, nothing beyond our capacity if we work together. so god bless you all and may god protect our troops. >> mr. president -- classified material next to your corvette. what were you thinking? >> let me -- i'm twgoing to get chance to speak on this god willing soon. and as i said this week, by the way my corvette is in a locked garage, it is not like they're

sitting out on the street. >> it wasn't a locked garage. >> yes, as well as my corvette. but as i said earlier this week, people know i take classified documents and classified materials seriously. i also said and we're cooperating fully and completely with the justice department review. as part of that process, my lawyers reviewed other places where documents from my time as vice president were stored and they finished the review last night. they discovered a small number of documents of classified markings in storage areas in file cabinets in my home and in my personal library. this was done in the case of the biden penn -- this was done in the case of the biden penn center, the department of justice was immediately -- as was done, the department of justice was immediately notified and the lawyers arranged for the department of justice to take position of the document. so, you're going to see -- we're

going to see all of this unfold. i'm confident -- >> mr. president -- >> mr. president. >> thank you very much. thank you. >> how is the first lady? >> she's doing really well. she was under a long time for five hours because what they were doing is they take out -- remove what they thought might be cancerous and then they have to go back and test it and see what it was. but she's doing really well. she's up. we had breakfast this morning and she's recovering. and she's going to be sore for a while because of the work they did on her eyes and but that is for one of these were, but she's -- zero to 1% chance of ever returning of any cancer and so thank god she is doing really well. thank you for asking.

president biden there answering two very different questions. one about the first lady's health after we learned she had two cancerous lesions removed and a question about the classified documents, additional documents that were found at the president's home in delaware. let's bring in cnn white house correspondent jeremy diamond and cnn chief business correspondent christine romans as well. so jeremy, i'll start with you. this was a pre-planned moment for the president to talk about the economy, to talk about the -- the cpi numbers, and perhaps not surprisingly the first question that he was asked was about these documents and this comes on the heels of a statement that you just brought us a short time ago from the white house about what additionally was found. i'm curious, what do you make of his answer there, jeremy? >> well, you saw the president attempting to read at times. it seemed from the same statement or very similar

statement from the one that we saw from the white house special counsel richard saber on these documents. the president was asked how he could be so careless to as leave classified documents in his garage at his home. he said it was a locked garage. that doesn't mean there is an appropriate space for classified documents to be but a point the president wanted to make there. he reiterated wh t news confere week in mexico city after that initial batch of documents was revealed to have been sound and the president said repeatedly, people know i take classified documents and classified terms seriously. and he reiterated that they're cooperating with the department of justice. the second batch of documents dovered in his wilmington, delaware residents, was handed over to the department of justice. notably initially that batch of documents you may recall, erica, they had notified the national

archives and turned it over to them. but now we know that there is some justice department review that has been underway. and it seems like they went straight to the department of justice in this case. again, a number of questions that the president was not answering there as well. but he did try and address and address the fact that these documents were indeed found and provide a little bit of context around where that was. >> well i know that you will keep digging along with our entire white house team on those questions. christine, let's dig deeper on the cpi data, it is a break for consumers and touting the decline in inflation and gas prices saying my economic plan is working. there are also fed rate tikes coming. >> there will be more this year but he's trying to pull it together talking about the cap of insulin prices and ev tax breaks that are live and now things that are part of his agenda that the american people will start to feel this year. but the headline, of course, is

that those inflation numbers that have been too, too high for too, too long are starting to curve and he pointed that six months of slowing headline inflation and he zeroed in on this super core rate of inflation when you strip out shelter and used car and over the last three months that is more like a 1.8% annualized rate so it is the first half of last year and turning the page into 2023 here. >> and now we wait, we have 15 seconds left but the fed is meeting again next month. but we could see another rate hike. >> it will be less aggressive but a fed is still trying to tackle inflation this year, yes. >> we'll watch and continue drilling down the numbers with you. christine and jeremy appreciate it. thank you both. thank you for join us today. aim erica hill. stay tuned. "at this hour" with kate bolduan coming your way after a real quick break.

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>> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. hello, everyone, i'm kate bolduan. we're going to begin with breaking news. the white house just confirming details of another batch of classified government documents. this time at president biden's home in wilmington, delaware. we're also jut learning that attorney general merrick garland will be making a statement at 1:15 p.m. eastern time at the justice department. the justice department just putting out a press release announcing that. we're working on details of what exactly that aunnouncement woul include. let's start with paula reid,