good to be with you. i'm lindsey reiser in for hallie jackson in new york city. kevin mccarthy predicting a good day tomorrow as republicans prepare to take control of the house. it is still not clear whether he will be the man leading them. over the weekend, kevin mccarthy moved into the speaker's suite, but when he spoke to reporters today, he stopped short of confirming that he had the votes needed to win the job. >> kevin mccarthy, do you have the votes for speaker tomorrow?

do you have the votes for speaker locked in tomorrow? >> i think we'll have a good day tomorrow. >> what are your conversations like with -- >> i hope you all have a very nice new year's eve. >> taking the shine off the republicans big day, new york republican congressman-elect george santos will likely be among the new lawmakers sworn in despite to admitting to a growing number of lies about his life and resume. we will dig deep near that and the multiple investigations into santos and his campaign. the latest on donald trump's taxes. what he paid and where that money went. we have details on the dozens of countries where he was making money and paying taxes. including china, india, and the uae we're going to start with the house republicans, taking control of the house officially tomorrow. but right now, what should be a

triumphant moment is perilously close to turning into a political disaster. the likes of which we haven't seen in 100 years. that's because kevin mccarthy, the clear favorite to be speaker, is still short of the 218 votes he needs to actually win the position. if he fails, republicans would have to keep voting until someone does get the votes but it is anyone's guess who that might be. i want to bring in nbc's garrett haake, basil smeilkle, executive director of the new york state democratic party and with us, former florida congressman and msnbc analyst. garrett, first to you. where do things stand right now? >> well, there is nothing about that exchange with my colleagues predicted a ton of confidence from kevin mccarthy and it is easy to see why that is the case, he has been moving backwards over the last 36 hours or so, he started this past week, or the new year, if you like, with about five republican hard no votes against him. the number that needed to get down to four. well, last night, a group of

another nine republicans came out as soft no's against him, pressing for further concession, further rules changes, that would empower run of the mill, rank and file, republican members at the expense of the speakers' power. and in the last hour or so, we saw the growth, the less influential than it used to be but fairly significant outside conservative group come out with recommendations that appear to be also urging members to vote against kevin mccarthy here. so there's not the sense of momentum that we would like to see if you are kevin mccarthy or one of his allies going into this vote tomorrow. but as you said, the vote will go on. and on and on and on. until someone can get to 218. he is still the closest of any member. just not as close as he needs to be to get across the finish line. >> so congressman, as garrett laid out, we have the hard no's and the soft no's, but how is it a win for any of the republicans to potentially throw the entire caucus into chaos? >> well, lindsey, this is the

recent history of house republicans. kevin mccarthy, it looks like he is going to have 222 republicans, when he walks into that chamber tomorrow. but in recent years, john boehner, paul ryan, with a lot more republicans, 247, 240, and in the 115th congress, they struggled to get enough votes. boehner, to become speaker, he was eventually driven out by some of these hard line republicans that are giving kevin mccarthy a hard time now. and paul ryan, even though he was elected more comfortably, he had trouble when it came to bringing legislation to the floor. so this is just the dna, the nature of the house republican conference these days, and we'll see if tomorrow, kevin mccarthy can convince some of those hard no's to switch. a lot of mccarthy allies, some that i have spoken to, as soon as a few, as recently as a few hours ago, are saying that they

think that best case scenario, on the second vote, mccarthy can get the 218 that he will need. >> i want to read a part of what a former aide of speakers boehner and ryan wrote in an op-ed, if republicans are unable to muster the votes for a speaker, it will make is very clear from the outset that they cannot be counted on to fulfill the body's responsibilities. the prolonged spectacle would leave the rev can majority hopelessly damaged from the start along with the institution of the house itself. do you agree? >> i absolutely agree. that is why it was so important on the democratic side for there to be consensus around elevating hakeem jeffreys to be minority leader and all of the comments that congressman jeffries has made since then, it is essentially fij finger points and the democrats gave you good public policy, we have our stuff together, look at what is happening on the right, and as long as that distinction and juxtaposition can be maintained,

which i assume that it will be, then americans will have a clear choice two years from now. so that's what democrats are counting on, it looks like that may be fulfilled, and the other thing that it is actually really striking here is the fact that should mccarthy actually win this position, he's going to do so, having made so many concessions that it makes him so weak, one wonders what kind of republican congress are we going to see. we already know they're intent upon investigating in a retaliatory fashion against democrats. we already know that. what else are americans going to be subject to in these next two years? and that's what i think the democrats are, that's the conversation that the democrats are setting up to have. >> i want to ask the same question. do you think this whole debacle is weakening the republican position but potentially the republican institution itself? >> it is, lindsey and the house republicans for some years now have been engaging in these

types of games, this gamesmanship, the games of chick ton see who will blink first and drive the institution up until the point where the government gets shut down, or there's a credit crisis in the u.s., in terms of ratings, because of the u.s. being in danger of defaulting on its debt, so yes, this is hurting the institution, it's obviously hurting the republican party. it's hurting americans' trust and confidence in these institutions. so it is really important for kevin mccarthy to try to avoid what would be yet another embarrassing episode for house republicans tomorrow. even if it goes to a second or third vote, that would be, as you said, when you introduced this segment, 100 years, since the last time that happened. so this is a big deal. and look, if it goes to a second or third vote, i don't think,

you know, people two years from now are going to be talking about that. but certainly, as this new republican majority tries to make a difference, tries to make an impact on the government, and its policies, it certainly is going to set them back. >> garrett, is there any other person who could conceivably get 218 votes? >> i think there are potentially two, steve scalise, who is currently the number two house republican has broad support within the republican conference both among conservatives and among moderates and jim jordan who is set to be the chairman of the judiciary committee, has the deep credential with the far right, a lot of the same element that are opposing kevin mccarthy right now, the problem is both of those votes, they have pledged to support kevin mccarthy. now, somebody is ultimately going to have to blink here, whether it is kevin mccarthy, whether it is vowed to go as many ballots as it takes to win or the opponents who will go as

far as it is to stop them or the other candidates and it may be kevin mccarthy faultering and kevin mccarthy pulling back and jim jordan being out there or steve scalise, it might be enough for some of the members who don't like kevin mccarthy, as opposed to those who want the big rule changes. but again, as of right now, those men, the only ones i can think of who could conceivably get to 218 are lined up with kevin mccarthy. >> and congressman, i want to play a part of what congressman pat ballard, one of the kevin mccarthy supporters said on fox. >> the way i look at it is very simple. we have a conference vote and we all then pledge to vote for the conference nominee and kevin mccarthy won that vote 188-31. not to mention the fact that he helped raise nearly half a billion if he did get the majority and he has been leading, he hasn't done anything in the last two years since i have been in congress to lose my vote. >> so garrett's last point kind of lead moose toe this question we've been focusing on this handful of republicans who don't want kevin mccarthy, and there are still dozens of supporters

who strongly support him. how do you see them reacting as this process gets thrown into chaos? >> well, lindsey, that's a great question. and look, the congressman has a point, because traditionally, that's how it has worked. parties resolve these differences internally. and these secret ballot votes behind closed doors. and not on the floor of the u.s. house. but with congressman doesn't realize, because he has not yet served in the majority, is that that's not the way house republicans have operated for the last decade. they have purposefully and repeatedly undermined their leadership. and look, another possibility that i would think garrett was able to get to, i do think if there is enough failed votes, if no one can get 218, in the republican conference, any of the leaders, whether it is kevin mccarthy or scalise or stefanik. i believe something else historic could happen as a

result of this whole process and that we wee might, there is an outside chance that we could get a speaker that is elected through a bipartisan coalition. we could even get a speaker who is not a sitting member of the house if members have to come together in unique ways to find someone who they can elect. so a lot of questions going into tomorrow. certainly a lot more questions to ask. >> garrett, do you think it will come to that? >> look, stranger things have happened, but that would be among the strangest. there's never been anyone who wasn't a current member of the house to serve as speaker. whether we started in 2023, who knows, but it can be weird. >> we'll see. you got a chuckle out of it, garrett. carlos, thank you. garrett will stick around. because for kevin mccarthy to win the speakership, he needs every republican vote he can get including the embattled congressman-elect george santos, expected to be sworn in tomorrow, despite the growing list of outright lies he's told,

from his family to schooling to work history. outgoing texas republican congressman brady says he has doubts whether santos is fit to serve. >> i think this is troubling in so many ways. certainly he has lied repeatedly. at the end of the day, though, this is a decision, whether he resigns or stays, that needs to be made between he and the voters who elected him. he is certainly going to have to consider resigning. >> garrett is back with us and joining us is former federal prosecutor doug burns. garrett, we haven't heard anything from republican leadership. is there any reason to think santos won't be seated tomorrow? >>, no i think there is every expectation to believe that he will be seated tomorrow, in part because one of the few things he has said since "the new york times" first broke the story about him fabricating so much of his resume was that he was endorsing kevin mccarthy for speaker, and as we all just laid out, kevin mccarthy's margins are incredibly narrow so i think it is lily unlikely that he or the rest of the republican leadership insert themselves into his drama, santos' drama,

in the near term. i think the more likely outcome, in terms of something that might happen to santos are these, number one, i think it is almost certain that he will be referred to the ethics committee, which is something of a toothless body, but every now and then, they do come forward with recommendations of disciplinary measures against members, and the other possibility is that one of the federal investigations into him, federal or state investigations into him, could turn into an indictment, and an indictment would cause the republican conference to strip him of his committees and a conviction would potentially end up with him losing the conference all together but we're a long way from those things potentially happenk. >> let's talk to doug about that. as garrett mentioned, santos is facing investigations at the federal and state level. doug, do you foresee a potential criminal prosecution down the line? >> well, it is interesting, because one this story first broke, about being untugtsful about his resume, and the jobs that he held, that was one discussion, because constitutionally, of course,

they have to be 25 years old, and a u.s. citizen, and reside in new york state, and not out of district by the way and nothing to prevent him from being seated and i said right out of the gate and the nassau district attorney's office -- so to answer your question, there is a lot of talk. people are saying there are a lot of financial issues to look at, a big loan that was made on him to the campaign. deductions that were taken at the level of $199 to avoid a $200 threshold. when in fact it's clear that those deductions were, you know, those expenses, excuse me me, were much, much higher. so to finally answer your question, sorry, i think it's possible that there could be an indictment. it's possible. >> garrett haake, we'll leave it there. doug, you'll join us later in the show. a big news maker to watch out for tonight, incoming house

minority leader hakeem jeffries exclusive guest on the beat tonight at 6:00 p.m. eastern on msnbc. the only on camera interview today before being sworn in tomorrow. ahead, what we're learning from six years of donald trump's tax returns, about his foreign finances. the questions it's raising about potential conflicts of interest. but first, china's pandemic problem. what we're seeing on the front lines of a covid surge there. as hospitals brace for millions of new cases by spring.

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after abruptly ending the zero covid policy, china is seeing a new brutal wave of covid cases. hospitals are at or near capacity, as health care workers brace for millions more to be infected by spring. the surge comes as china's president acknowledged the pandemic's toll during his annual speech. janis mackey frayer has a look inside china's hospitals on the front line of the crisis.

>> reporter: china is being overwhelmed by a massive covid surge. hospital emergency rooms packed with patients who are mostly older, weak, and struggling. resources appearing to be stretched so thin, the sick often lying on lawn chairs, instead of hospital beds. they are here in the lobby, near the elevators, and the holways, they are running out of places to put people. the size and scope of covid infections remains unclear here, because of little credible information, and the way china's government counts covid deaths. there are too many, says this funeral provider, about demand. near one hospital, we've seen empty caskets stacked in an alley, officially china has recorded only 18 covid deaths during the past month. >> in the hospital, we are a little bit suspicious, we see the patients with complications and we know the icu and the

hospitals are full of patients. >> reporter: covid has been barrelling through the country for weeks. after widespread protests in november, over lockdowns and testing, china abruptly dropped its tough zero covid rules in december. border restrictions imposed nearly three years ago are set to be lifted next week. the whiplash changes here have seen cities going from harsh lockdowns to jammed streets on new years eve as people begin to recover from covid and hope the country's economy does, too. chinese president xi jingping acknowledging the pandemic's toll during an annual speech. >> translator: it has not been an easy journey for everyone. >> if a lack of data out of china has scientists elsewhere guessing about new and dangerous covid variants. >> janis mackey frayer thank you. the sub variant of omicron spreads across the u.s. raising some new concerns about a potential wave of cases here, following the holiday season.

joining me now is msnbc medical contributor dr. vin gupta. first off, happy new year to you. i want to start off with china here. what do you expect to see in the coming months, and what is your top concern? >> lindsey, happy new year. thank you for having me. what we know, lindsey, in china, from projections from the university of washington, is that the peak in terms of their daily deaths will probably not peak until late q1. for march, very similar to what happened in india, where the delta wave, if you remember, may n-may of 2021, peaked, and ha that doesn't seem like a clear peak, greater than 3,000 deaths at least we're estimates right now across the country, at least a million estimated infections, you're pointing to the packages, unclear, because the inputs are not very clear, and oxygen is becoming in scarce supply as well. and you'll remember that same thing in india as well. that these countries don't have enough icu beds per 100,000

people, they don't have enough oxygen, easy ways to distribute it, as a result we will see a very high peak in daily deaths come march. >> a new strain of omicron is taking over here in the u.s., doctor, specifically the northeast. what should we know about this new sub variant? what you are watching for in the months ahead? >> one of the questions i get a lot from folks is why are we talking about it, a new variant, and what does this mean for us? the reason these variants are popping up new, lindsey, is that by definition, they're more contagious than the prior variants, that's why they're becoming dominant. more people can get it. they're stickier. if you breathe, in and get exposed. you breathe it in say an airplane and they stick to the cells lining our nostrils and fundamentally to our lungs. more can accumulate. so if you know somebody and you haven't been boosted or someone who is unvaccinated more of the variant can accumulate in your body and more virus in the body, more likelihood to get sicker

and see somebody like me a pulmonologist in the hospital and this is why this is something unfortunately we need to be talking about and this is why it is so dangerous. fortunately, as well, though, if you were boosted, especially in, within the first four to six months of receiving that booster shot, what we know is that the existing vaccines are still very protective against ending up in the hospital. we know masking works, of course, and especially in communities that have stressed hospital systems, so the tools that we still have will keep you out of the hospital but this is a concerning variant, especially for those who are not protected. >> it is pretty clear, doctor, that a lot of people maybe thinking what is the point in getting a booster shot if we keep getting the variants and we're only seeing from the cdc data that 15% of americans eligible for the booster have gotten it. how concerning is that to you? and how confident are you that this booster does protect against the new sub variant? >> well, we are confident that there is protection from the vaccines against ending up in the hospital, and lindsey, you bring up a really important

point, that we need to be talking about the covid booster the way we talked about the flu vaccine for decades which is that these vaccines will reduce the risk of ending up in the hospital and won't do anything else, they will give you time-limited protection four or five months and timing for the october november time frame moving forward. and it is concerning. that's why we're expecting 8,000 weekly deaths, week over week, starting in january, that's been on the peak. so covid isn't over. hospital systems will be stressed. particularly those in communities that are not well protected. which is why if you're watching, you have a family member who is watching who is not protected or you yourself, i get this all of the time those who are medically high risk for those who are boosted, what can you do to protect yourself? create a treatment plan. speak to your medical provider. i'm a big believer in standing prescriptions. you and i have talked about this, get a treatment plan in place, if in the event that you test positive, for flu or for covid, treatments exist, you don't want to be navigating a

health care maze once you're already sick. see if your doctor or your medical provider will issue a standing prescription for tamiflu for flu or paxlovid for covid. >> you told me that before and that is a good reminder. dr. gupta, thank you very much what donald trump's newly-released tax returns are revealing about his foreign income. we'll dig deeper next. with a reporter who won a pulzer prize for her investigation into his finances. prize for her investatigion into his finances r.com (in a whisper) if we use kevin's college fund, we can afford this house. the house whisperer! this house says use realtor.com to find options within your budget. good luck young man. realtor.com to each their home. (cecily) what's up, einstein? (einstein) my network has gone kaput! realtor.com (cecily) oh, you tried to save a buck on it? (einstein) i got what i paid for. not so smart. (cecily) nah, you're still a genius. but, there is a smarter way to save. (einstein) oh?! (cecily) switch to verizon! for a limited time, get welcome unlimited for just $25/line. (einstein) $25?! (cecily) and it's guaranteed for 3 years! (einstein) brilliant! (cecily) well, you would know.

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and i was remembering the details that i was supposed to. prevagen keeps my brain working right. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. donald trump's newly-released tax returns from his years in the white house reveal several years in which he paid little or no federal taxes. they also reveal striking details about what taxes he did pay. and where he paid them. the a. p reports that quote in several years trump appears to have paid more in foreign taxes than he did in net u.s. federal income taxes. joining us is susanne craig, pulitzer prize winning reporter for "the new york times" and doug burns, a former federal prosecutor. you noted earlier on "morning joe" today, it is not unusual to hold a bank account in a foreign country, how unusual is it for a u.s. citizen let alone a u.s.

president to owe more in taxes to a foreign government than a u.s. government? >> obviously it is going to depends on your business mix, but with donald trump, it was really striking, both in the taxes that were just released, and we know, we did an investigation in 2020 that got 20 years of his corporate and individual returns, and we saw, you know, all of his corporate returns, so each corporation, and time and time again, it became, it has jumped out at us, that he in the countries that he's doing business in, he is paying typically more income tax overseas than he is in the u.s. and part of it is, he has the number, and properties in scotland and ireland, and licensing deals in a number of countries, turkey being one of them, the philippines, there is others, and he pays taxes in those countries. i think the big difference is, in those cases, for the most part, other than those particularly, those three golf courses, because they're properties, these licensing

deals simply are a check that are written to him and income tax owed in the u.s. and he has businesses, and for the most part those businesses don't pay taxes, because he loses a lot of money. but in, you know, in the overseas deals, you get a check and you pay some taxes and there is usually not a property attached to it. it is just a licensing deal. so that is kind the difference when you look at his u.s. praises versus his overseas operations. >> doug, do even the revelations that we've heard in the last few days, as reporters have been writing about these revelations, any of them potentially open up the former president to legal exposure? >> well, a lot of us have been saying, looking at the forms that -- [ audio difficulties ]. >> the tax returns, they contradict that, so that is one big area. from the standpoint of legal

jeopardy, i don't view the foreign situation as creating any big legal jeopardy. i mean the editorial there, that, you know, he had massive lost carry-forwards, which he used under u.s. law, and they may not have been available to him in those other countries, so to me, the main area was that -- [ audio difficulty ]. >> so unless i look through the returns line by line, i won't give any opinions whether he broke the law. the last point, real quick, you have tax owed, which is simply using the laws, the deductions, the complicated code sections to avoid paying taxes, and then we have criminal tax evasion, and they're not bright lines, they're gray areas, and it's complicated. >> gotcha. you noted over the weekend, that the irs assigned one agent to handle donald trump's

presidential audit. complicated stuff here. you had said over the weekend it took three of you reporters here, pulitzer prize winning reporters to do this, how surprising is that to you? and do you think the agency is, a, going to learn anything about this? or maybe even congress will look into this? >> well, i hope they learn something. i mean it's been incredibly embarrassing. i mean when you look at that presidential audit, at minimum, you would think that it would have been done, and it would have assigned a bunch of people to it. it was a breakdown in what happened and in reading the report that came out, that the ways and means committee released, it almost felt like they just wanted to look the other way. there was examples, we ran the story in 2020 and we had his tax return information and we flagged a number of things that looked very suspicious to us, and we couldn't take any more without a subpoena and bank records and a 100 of of other -- and a bunch of other things,

but that story and the findings that we had, the irs went through it, and it just looked, time and time again, like they wanted to look the other way. there was an example where we found donald trump's daughter, ivanka, had gotten consulting fees. she was also an employee of the company. that could be problematic when you're giving consulting fees to someone whose full time job is working at the company. and it looked, you know, and that was raised, in the ways and means report, they got irs auditor notes and the auditor said it would be too much trouble to go through everything for the potential return. and we saw that time and time again, there was one other distance, where they said donald trump hires professional tax accountants, so i'm sure everything is on the up and up. and line after line, it was quite shocking to read the report, that they seemed almost like they didn't want to investigate any further. >> you've noted earlier, there were questions, early in trump's candidacy, that he ran for president to essentially bolster his name, and profit off of it, are you noticing any parallels

to essentially what he's doing right now, and especially now, announcing the $99 digital trading cards. >> well, i have to say, it's interesting, you know, he, donald trump, i think you know, we talked about the foreign money at the beginning, he goes into a lot of countries where he is dealing with authoritarian regimes and i don't think that matters to him and i think he will tike take the opportunity to make money and the trading cars and hosting the liv golf tournaments at his courses and others wouldn't do that and he is seeing an opportunity to make money and he is doing that. i think with the licensing deals though, compared to what he is doing now, off "the apprentice" when he was "the apprentice," he took advantage of the period after to get licensing deals and there were so many from the tax returns that we saw that money coming in, it was a lot of money, it was impressive how much money he was making, that started to dry up when he ran for the presidency, and now he

is sort of doing a little bit different, some would argue that the trading cards are only great for his brand, but you're seeing somebody who, if he has an opportunity to get a paycheck, he's going to take it, and that hasn't changed. >> thank you. it's being called one of the war's deadliest strikes. what we're learning today about a new attack russia claims has killed dozens of their troops. killed dozens of their troops.

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that i'm more than what you see on paper. you gotta be so good they can't ignore you. it's the way my mind works. i have a very mechanical brain. analytics and empathy. that's how i gain clients. i am more... i'm more than who i am on paper. at a time when the united states is hoping to slow the number of people entering from the southern border, our neighbors to the north are pushing for a big increase in the number of immigrants in the coming years. facing nearly a million job openings across different sectors, canada is hoping to bring in about 1.5 million immigrants by 2025 to fill critical positions. nbc's julie ainsley has more on canada's pro-immigration push. >> reporter: the it's the most

diverse city in north america, more than half of toronto's residents are born outside canada, and that number could soon explode. shawn frazier is canada's immigration minister. >> the number of newcomers that we welcomed the year prior, is 240,000 annually, and by 2025, we'll be increasing it to 500,000. >> reporter: by 2025, canada's government hopes to bring in nearly 1.5 million immigrants to fill critical jobs. >> we are currently in a health care crisis and a significant nursing shortage. so we really need to get creative and innovative. >> reporter: at toronto's largest city hospital, the recruitment push is on. >> hello, how are you doing? >> reporter: 25-year-old anna core was a nurse in india and arrived in canada just as the pandemic began. >> i never thought that i would be at this place, like working in a world class hospital. >> reporter: we currently have between 400 and 500 vacancies in nursing alone.

>> reporter: toronto's a multi-cultural city, one of the most diverse in north america, but people here say they need even more immigration to fill key labor shortages. in 2022, immigrants made up 23% of canada's population. the largest proportion in more than 150 years. that is compared to just 14.6% in the united states. >> it is a nonpartisan issue in canada. all of the political parties support immigration. >> with the rapidly aging work force, business leaders have been pressuring the government to up the number of immigrants for years. >> we need more people. we don't care where they're from. if they have technical skills, if they're willing to work and able to work with numbers, bring them in. >> reporter: did you run up against any of that kind of opposition in canada, people saying that we should preserve canadian jobs for canadians? >> look, that narrative comes up every once in a while. we still have almost one million vacancies in the canadian

economy where businesses need workers. >> reporter: workers like annadee, who calls this country their home. >> personally, i've gotten all of the support, because i was a new one here, so i have gotten all of the support from all of the communities that are here. >> julia ainsley, nbc news, toronto. we're following a burst of deadly violence in ukraine on new years eve. russia's defense ministry said today that ukrainian forces killed 63 russian service members at a provisional base in russian-occupied eastern ukraine. using u.s. supplied artillery. ukraine has not taken responsibility for the attack and nbc news has not been able to verify claims from either side. we want to bring in nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley who is in kyiv for us. what have you been able to learn about the attack, and how significant of a blow is it to the russians? >> well, this was the himars, multiple launch rocket system, so this is a u.s.-provided rocket system.

so they've been used to devastating effect against the russians and this is one of the reasons why russia is so enraged by the way the west has been providing so many high-tech weapons. and one of the reasons why ukraine keeps asking for more. we saw that from president zelenskyy, when he visited washington just a couple of weeks ago. another really interesting thing about this, important element, is that these soldiers who were killed, they were mostly newly-recruited soldiers. these were people who were part of vladimir putin's most recent push to populate his military, and fill in some of the ranks that have been, you know, casualties of this war. his war has killed a lot of his army so far. and we've seen those casualty numbers, they're sky high, they recently, according to the ukrainians passed 100,000 in just ten months. so this just goes to show that these new recruits are not being treated well. they're being put in harm's way. even when they're sort of just in their barracks, at night, in the middle of the night, sleeping. so this doesn't bode well for

putin's war, going into 2023. even if he seems to believe that his recruitment efforts and his mass mobilization could turn the tide in favor of russia. lindsey? >> matt, what can you tell us here about the strategy on both sides, headed into the new year? >> well, it looks like with russia, you know, this was a really interesting new move, in the past couple of days, we've seen these sorts of attacks by drones, and missiles, targeting electricity infrastructure, and all across ukraine, for the last several months, ever since the fall, it started back in i think in september. but that was mostly once a week. now, we're seeing it every single day. for the past five days. so it is an up-tempo sustained attack with the self-exploding drone, that was sourced from iran, and we heard president zelenskyy say ton, he believes, or the ukrainian government believes that ukraine needs to prepare for a sustained attack like we've been seeing for the

past several days, over and over again, on a daily basis with the drones. the ukrainians have managed to shoot down a lot of these drones using again weapons that were supplied by the west. so when it comes to the ukrainian strategy, they seem to be able to make good use of these weapons, high-tech weapons, that have been used against the russians, and the russian strategy, vladimir putin's really main weapon that he plans to use in 2023, according to ukrainian officials, is just throwing a lot of men at this problem, recruiting, he's already said he has 300,000 new recruits, 150,000 of them are already on the front lines, in places like bakhmut, where we've seen a sustained blistering battle for the past five months, vladimir putin seems to believe that his strategy can just be overwhelming force in the new year. lindsey? >> matt bradley, thank you. next, the people of color breaking barriers and making change, just two days into 2023.

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promises to be a big one. as we enter the new year, we want to look back on the change makers in 2022 who broke barriers for people of color and who are poised to make more of an impact on politics, the culture and courts in 2023. trymaine lee has more. >> reporter: in 2022, the winds of political power in america shifted into the vanguard of this new movement a diverse group of barrier breakers, politicians, policymakers and political upstarts who are not only making history, but making change. raphael warnock begins 2023 as the first black person ever elected to the senate from georgia. >> the people have spoken. >> reporter: house democrats ring in the new year with new leadership. >> new york democrat hakeem jeffries elected to lead house democrats in the 118th congress in january. >> replacing nancy pelosi.

>> stand on the shoulders of people like shirley chism and so many others. >> reporter: the first african american to lead a political party in either the house or the senate. >> reporter: more congressional firsts in 2023 as the demographics on capitol hill continue to evolve. there will be a record number of hispanic and latino members. 21 asian american and pacific islanders, more women, more openly lgbtq members, and congress is getting younger. 25-year-old maxwell frost, a democrat from florida with afro cuban roots is the first gen z member of congress. >> diversity in congress is about skin color. it's about experience. it's about where you come from. it's about the way you act, who you are. >> reporter: joining frost, summer lee, a pennsylvania democrat. she is the first black woman congressman from her state. the first indigenous person

elected to alaska's sole congressional seat, one of the five native members of congress. another democrat, robert garcia from california is the first lgbtq immigrant ever elected to congress. and increasingly, diverse republican caucus is heading to washington as well. >> we need black excellence everywhere. >> reporter: after winning a newly redrawn district, wesley hunt will be one of four black members of the 118th congress, the most since 1877. hunt and john james from michigan were the only nonincumbent winners among 178 black republicans who ran in 2022. an historic first in maryland when army combat vet wes moore is sworn in on january 18th. he'll not only be the state's first black governor, but just the third black governor in u.s. history. rounding out this historic ticket, aruna miller be the nation's first ever south asian lieutenant governor. >> thank you, los angeles.

>> reporter: voters also flexed on the local level. in los angeles, choosing democrat karen bass to be their next mayor. >> it took 241 years for the nation's second largest city to elect a female mayor. >> i am truly grateful. i have a seat at the table now. [ applause ] >> reporter: the supreme court kicked off a new term in 2022 with a history-making new associate justice, ketanji brown jackson. the first black woman appointed to the big bench. 2022 showed us the power of representation as a way of moving forward, like arianna dubose becoming the first afro latina to take home an acting oscar for her role in the remake of "west side story." she is also the first openingly queer woman of color to get an oscar. and one of old hollywood's brightest lights finally getting her due. >> chinese american actress anna

may wong will be the first to be featured on american currency. ♪ part of that world ♪ >> reporter: and rising above it all, one of new hollywood's youngest shining starks halle bailey starrings a ariel in 10 disney's remake of "the little mermaid." but not everyone is excited. >> forbes reporting the trailer has 1.5 million dislikes and racist comments from angry, quote, unquote fans. >> reporter: drowning out the backlash, pure joy. >> she's black! >> reporter: from pushing the social and political boundaries to breaking through america's most stubborn barrier, 2022 was a year that introduced us to those harnessing the power to change tomorrow. >> our thanks to trymaine lee. and thank you for watching that does it for me. i'll see you back here tomorrow

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hi there, everyone, and happy, happy new year. it is four income the east. when the clock strikes noon tomorrow, the 118th congress will convene for the very first time. in accordance with the 20th amendment ensuring