norah. >> o'donnell: ed o'keefe, thanks. >> the cbs over night news will be right back. up at 2:00am again? tonight, try pure zzzs all night. unlike other sleep aids, our extended release melatonin helps you sleep longer. and longer. zzzquil pure zzzs all night. yu for really goostuf fall asleep. stay asleep. yw zzzquiultra hes yotuf it's non habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. new zzzquil ultra. when you really really need to sleep. with many school districts across the country playing covid whack-a-mole, between remote learning and in-person classes, some schools are taking classes outside. cbs' mark strassmann reports. >> reporter: with wind chill, ha when're a d fr wal t in this 9,000-acre preserve, this new kindergarten program embraces the benefits of outdoor learning. good morning!ng! >> reporter: and discovered a pandemic safe space. >> at the peak of an outbreak that we had, we had 28 active cases among students and staff. >> reporter: and how about in this program, how many kids? >> zero. >> reporter: none. coincidence? >> probably not. >> report

ed o'keefe, cbs news, the white house. >>> the roads are finally clear in virginia. some drivers were stuck for more than 24 hours after a winter storm. about 40 miles of traffic came to a standstill on interstate 95 just south of the nation's capital. a tractor-trailer jackknifed and caused a chain reaction of accidents. roughly a foot of snow left drivers stranded in the cold. among them virginia senator tim kaine who was on the road for about 27 hours. he said he ate one orange and drank a 16-ounce dr pepper during that time. other drivers posted messages on social media, as well. >> we've been in the car for about 17, going on 18 hours. >> i've been stuck just south of quantico, virginia, on i-95 for at least 15 hours. >> there's someone walking toward us. in is scary. -- this is downstairsy because they could be easily wiped out by a sliding vehicle. >> there were no reports of injuries or deaths from the traffic jam, though. >>> a criminal misdemeanor charge of forcible touching against former new york governor andrew cuomo has been dropped just days before he

cbs' ed o'keefe joins us now from the white house. vening, ed. >> reporter: good evening norah. the president said today he plans to make his choice by the end of february, but as a former chairman of the senate judiciary committee and a vice president who once helped interview supreme court nominees, he has been preparing for this moment for decades. president biden today, flanked by retiring supreme court justice stephen breyer, says he's already reviewing potential choices to succeed him. >> the person i will nominate will be someone of extraordinary qualifications, character, experience, and integrity, and that person will be the first black woman ever nominated to the united states supreme court. it's long overdue, in my view. >> reporter: cbs news has long overdue, mind you learned top contenders include federal appeals court judge ketanji brown jackson, a harvard law school graduate and former clerk for breyer, who spoke about that experience in 2017. >> it was an incredible experience just to be in the room while the justice gr

ed o'keefe is at the white house tonight with more. you tell us about these polls? >> reporter: well, jericka, good evening. several interesting findings in the survey, we should point out a majority of americans, democrats, republicans and independents overwhelmingly condemn what happened on january 6th. but as to why so many are fearful there could be more political violence, take a look at some questions. first we asked if ever justified for political candidates or officials to insult people, lie to the media or voters, or call for violence. while a majority of americans say it is never justified, 14 percent of respondents said if some elected officials or candidates might be justified in calling for political violence. second we asked what former president trump should do in 2024. a majority said he shouldn't run for president again, 26 percent say he shouldn't, 12 percent said he should be fighting right now to retake the presidency. mostly through legal challenges, but some believe through violence. while that is a small percentag

cbs's ed o'keefe will start us off from the white house. good evening, ed. >> reporter: good evening, norah, a major shift in the white house on russian shift with ukraine. leaders is discussing a diplomatic solution. europe is preparing for the possibility of a new war. >> i had a very, very, very good meeting with all the european leaders. >> reporter: president biden consulted with european allies in the situation room readying thousands of u.s. troops for possible mission in the region. >> it's very clear that russians have no intention now of deescalating. >> reporter: the pentagon placed 8500 troops stationed in the u.s. on alert ready to deploy to n.a.t.o.'s eastern flank in days if the situation deteriorated. >> we are not saying dihomesy is dead. >> reporter: but the administration ordered u.s. embassy families out of u.k. and ordered not to travel to russia as more troops were sent into belarus and military exercises in the baltic sea. >> after this weekend is he more or less concerned of the possibility of a russia invasion of ukr

ed o'keefe, thank you.her roller coaster ride on wall street today after the federal reserve signaled it plans on raising interest rates as early as march in an effort to curb inflation. cbs' carter evans has a report on how the central bank's announcement will have a major impact on what you spend on the year ahead. >> reporter: the fed's announcement today is a signal you're about to pay higher interest rates on everything from credit cards to car loans. it's part of a fight to stabilize prices on everyday items like groceries and gas. >> we're prepared to use our tools to assure that higher inflation does not become entrenched. >> reporter: rates on home loans are already on the rise after the central bank began to slow down its bond-buying stimulus program, making it tough on potential buyers, like nathaniel sietz. >> as those rates increased our budget starts to go down. >> reporter: how much would that impact your monthly payment? >> so it's been about already $200 extra on the monthly payment. >> rep

norah. >> o'donnell: ed o'keefe, thank you so much. we wanted to put into context what happened here a year ago and what comes next for our democracy with cbs news chief political analyst and our resident historian john dickerson ( shouting ) john, it's incredible to think we're at the doors where we saw so many pictures of people on january 6th storming the capitol. >> reporter: and it's quiet now. this is the way this is supposed to be, a building where immediately you conjure up all the ideas of the men and women who came here to do the people's business, which makes the fact they were breaking through these windows all that much more of a defilement of what normally goes on here. >> o'donnell: i mean, this is the symbol of democracy worldwide. >> reporter: the stability of the structure itself is supposed to speak to the stability of the ideas at the heart of this democracy and at the beginning europeans looked at america and laughed and said there's no way you're going to peacefully transfer power, and that's what was attacked, th

norah. >> o'donnell: ed o'keefe, thanks. with many school districts across the country playing covid whack-a-mole, between remote learning and in-person classes, some schools are taking classes outside. cbs' mark strassmann reports. >> reporter: with wind chill, it's minus 7. >> all right, everybody have fun! >> reporter: a walk in the woods when you're a kid from la farge, wisconsin. in this 9,000-acre preserve, this new kindergarten program embraces the benefits of outdoor learning. >> good morning! good morning! >> reporter: and discovered a pandemic safe space. >> at the peak of an outbreak that we had, we had 28 active cases among students and staff. >> reporter: and how about in this program, how many kid? >> zero. >> reporter: none. coincidence? >> probably not. >> reporter: across covid america, 54 hun h teinclassg, not in paemic, and respothat phase onee for health and safety. >> reporter: 17 schools in portland built outdoor learning spaces, plenty of winter ghee and wifi. 6700 students k-12 spend part of their day

cbs' ed o'keefe will start us off from the white house. >> reporter: good evening, norah. a major shift in the white house on russian shift with ukraine. >> reporter: a major shift in the white house's approach to the russian stand to discuss a diplomatic solution planned for new military deployment, suggests much of europe is now preparing for the the possibility of a new war. >> biden: i had a very, very very good meeting, totally in agreement with all of the european leaders. >> reporter: president biden consulted with european leaders in the situation room. >> it is very clear that the russians have no intention right now of decalculating. >> reporter: the pentagon placed 8500 troops ready to deploy to nato's eastern plank within days if the situation deteriorates. >> we are not deploying them now. we are not saying diplomacy is dead. >> reporter: but the administration ordered u.s. embassy families out of ukraine and warned americans not to travel to russia, as vladimir putin sent more troops into belarus, and carried out military exer

cbs' ed o'keefe joins us now from the white house. ood evening, ed. >> reporter: good evening norah. the president said today he pans to make his choice by the end of february, but as a former chairman of the senate judiciary committee and a vice president who once helped interview supreme court nominees, he has been preparing for this moment for decades. president biden today, flanked by retiring supreme court justice stephen breyer, says he's already reviewing potential choices to succeed him. >> the person i will nominate will be someone of extraordinary qualifications, character, experience, and integrity, and that person will be the first black woman ever nominated to the united states supreme court. it's long overdue, in my view. >> reporter: cbs news has learned top contenders include federal appeals court judge ketanji brown jackson, a harvard law school graduate and former clerk for breyer, who spoke about that experience in 2017. >> it was an incredible experience just to be in the room while the justice grappled with some of

norah. >> o'donnell: ed o'keefe, thank you.tonight, there's some good news after an epic travel nightmare on one of the busiest corridors in america. after a dire 27 hours, virginia transportation officials say the road is clear of drivers and no one is stuck on i-95. cbs' errol barnett has all the latest reporting. >> we've been in the car for about 17, going on 18 hours. >> reporter: this was the nighmare on i-95. >> i have never been this frightened on the road before. >> reporter: 40 miles of virginia interstate came to a standstill, after more than a foot of snow blanketed the region. >> there is nothing moving on interstate 95. it is a parking lot. >> reporter: among them, virginia senator and former democratic vice presidential candidate tim kaine, stranded for over 26 hours. >> the only thing i ate was one orange, and the only liquid i had was one 16-ounce dr. pepper. >> it's been 21 hours. >> reporter: stephanie rodriguez kept her six- and 11-year-olds warmed by covering them with clothes packed in their luggage. >> th

cbs' ed o'keefe will start us off from the white house. good evening, ed. >> reporter: good evening, norah. a major shift in the white house on russian shift with ukraine. leaders is discussing a diplomatic solution. europe is preparing for the possibility of a new war. >> i had a very, very, very good meeting with all the european leaders. >> reporter: president biden today consulted with european allies in the situation room readying thousands of u.s. troops for possible mission in the region. >> it's very clear that the russians have no intention now of de-escalating. >> reporter: the pentagon placed 8,500 troops stationed in the u.s. on alert ready to deploy to n.a.t.o.'s eastern flank within days if the situation deteriorates. >> we are not deplying, we are not saying diplomacy is dead. >> reporter: but the administration ordered u.s. embassy families out of u.k. and ordered not to travel to russia as more troops were sent into belarus and military exercises in the baltic sea. after this weekend is he more or less concerned of the poss

cbs's ed o'keefe joins us now from the white house. ed, the president's going to make an official announcement about breyer's retirement tomorrow. and the timing of all this is very significant. >> reporter: that's right, norah. while it was widely expected that breyer would announce his retirement later this year, by the end of the court's tomorrow, the fact it leaked even before he was able to tell some supreme court colleagues, gives the white house and senate more time to consider potential nominees, make the pick and hold hearings. it also gives them more time should the president's first choice get rejected or withdraw. and by nominating a black woman ahead of midterm elections the president will hope to motivate his party's base and show them he made good on a campaign pledge. >> and ed, what are you hearing from the hill about how quickly they want to move forward on this? >> well, it depends on the president. we know he has blown through self-imposed deadlines before, especially when making big decisions. sources tell us that

>> ed o'keefe, thank you. >>> well, just three days before former new york governor andrew cuomo waset to appear in court to answer the misdemeanor charge that he forcibly touched and aide, the charge has been dropped. cbs' jericka duncan explains what happened. >> reporter: the latest criminal investigation into former governor andrew cuomo has come to an end. the albany county district attorney's office found the accuser brittany commisso to be cooperative and credible, but said after a review of all the available evidence, we have concluded that we cannot meet our burden at trial. back in august, commisso, a former executive assistant to then governor cuomo, publicly accused him of groping her in an office in the executive mansion. >> he put his hand up my blouse and cupped my breast over my bra. >> reporter: cuomo was scheduled for his first court appearance this friday to face the charge of forcible touching. cbs news legal analyst rikki klieman. >> the fact that it was dismissed by the district attorney, despite the credibility of the accuser is monumental news. >> reporter: bu

ed o'keefe takes a closer look at mr.omplishments and setbacks. >> my whole soul is in this, bringing america together, uniting our people. >> reporter: during his first speech as commander in chief, president biden promised to tackle the nation' many challenges. but unity quickly proved hard to find. racial justice protests continue while teachers, parents and students bristled at plans to keep schools safe from the coronavirus. the new administration ramped up vaccine distribution and passed trillions of dollars in financial relief. >> we're closer than ever to declaring our independence from this deadly virus. >> reporter: over the summer, the pandemic took a temporary back seat to foreign policy as a controversial decision to end america's involvement in afghanistan sparked chaos. >> i was not going to extend this forever war, and i was not extending a forever exit. >> reporter: the administration succeeded in enacting major infrastructure legislation. >> let's believe in possibilities. let's believe in one another. >

tonight, cbs' ed o'keefe shows us the fiery debate already playing out in michigan. >> stop the count! >> reporter: the chaotic scene in detroit the day after the 2020 elections. >> the 2020 election is indeed behind us. but the war over the future of our democracy continues to escalate. >> reporter: michigan democratic secretary of state jocelyn >> we're facing an uphill pen battle, given the real coordinated, concerted strategy to lie to individuals to achieve political gain. >> what's the biggest lie they're being told? >> that the 2020 election was not accurate. when indeed it was. >> reporter: two-thirds of republicans believe the 2020 election was fraudulent. and cbs news has found at least 31 people who rallied in washington on january 6th are now running for state or federal office. six of them are here in michigan, including jon rocha, who's been endorsed by donald trump. >> on the grounds, we saw people climbing the scaffolding. >> what compelled you to go to washington in the first place? >> i felt there were enough irregularities in the 2020 election, there needed to be re

joining us live from washington is our cbs news senior white house political correspondent ed o'keefe. what are some of the successes he touched on? >> sure. good to see you. the president touting the fact that unemployment sits at 3.9% after creation of 6 million jobs, something he said at the beginning of last year most would have thought would be unfeasible, pointed out that hundreds of millions of americans have been vaccinated. when he took office, there were only 3 million. he talked about trillions sent to cities and states to get the country out of the pandemic and reboot the economy plus passes of the bipartisan infrastructure bill. >> it's also been a year of enormous challenges for the president. what did he have to say about that? >> he conceded there had been setbacks for sure. one thing, he said the new testing program that is underway and ability of americans for example to order tests online should have been launched sooner, conceded there is great frustration with a lot of americans as we continue through wallow through the pandemic, was asked about families with youn

and then, this from longtime political reporter ed o'keefe. he is with cbs news now. looking at how the president used his words in his speech saying, over the course of the past year, the president has made passing references to his predecessor. several times today, speaking much more expansively than before about donald trump, blaming him for stoking the january 6 protests and doing nothing to stop them. we heard the vice president kamala harris mention house-senate staff had to makeshift barricades on capitol hill. here's a picture from a former harris staff are saying, that day, january 6, turned out to be the last time i staffed then senator kamala harris at the capitol. it was also the first and hopefully last time that my work required me to mciver a cable and coat rack to jam a door shut to buy time in case we had to escape from a mob. this tweet from a congressman saying that he is going to be giving the republican response to the anniversary of january 6 alongside congresswoman marjorie taylor greene. that is happening at 2:00 p.m. eastern. we are going to b

but we'll start here in washington with cbs' ed o'keefe at the white house.e in good evening, ed. >>d evening, norah. the white house continues to believe russia could invade ukraine at any time and today went further than ever before to make clear, vladimir putin will face economic sanctions if he invades and u.s. troops could be headed to the region sooner rather than later. a russian military show of force today on the country's western border with ukraine, and no signs that vladimir putin plans to back down. that's why president biden, shopping today at a small business in washington, says he may soon deploy to eastern europe some of the almost 9,000 u.s. troops he's put on heightened alert. >> i may be moving some of those troops in the near term, just because it takes time, and, again, it's not provocative. >> reporter: several thousand u.s. troops already in europe also could be repositioned, but the growing allied response force is still no match for putin's roughly 100,000 troops on the ground. at this point, almost completely encircling ukraine. the white house says an inva

but we'll start here in washington with cbs' ed o'keefe at the white house. od evening, ed. >> reporter: good evening, norah. the white house continues to believe russia could invade ukraine at any time and today went further than ever before to make clear, vladimir putin will face economic sanctions if he invades and u.s. troops could be headed to the region sooner rather than later. a russian military show of force today on the country's western border with ukraine, and no signs that vladimir putin plans to back down. that's why president biden, shopping today at a small business in washington, says he may soon deploy to eastern europe some of the almost 9,000 u.s. troops he's put on heightened alert. >> i may be moving some of those troops in the near term, just because it takes time, and, again, it's not provocative. >> reporter: several thousand u.s. troops already in europe also could be repositioned, but the growing allied response force is still no match for putin's roughly 100,000 troops on the ground. at this point, almost completely encircling ukrai