mary bruce at the white house. rachel scott on the hill. >>> also tonight, what could be a dangerous nor'easter. this evening, the two now models just in. the two possible tracks and how much snow is possible? from philadelphia up through new york city and into new england. rob marciano timing it all out. >>> tonight, moderna now saying human trials of its omicron-specific booster are now under way, following the news from pfizer on this, as well. tonight, dr. fauci on whether this will be needed. and how soon before a universal vaccine for covid. what he said about that. and news tonight on this omicron sub variant now seen in the utz and more than 50 other countries. >>> tonight, your money and the federal reserve signaling a hike in interest rates is coming. how this will effect everything from your credit cards to your car loans to your morlg. but is it needed to slow inflation? rebecca jarvis breaks it down. >>> the rising tensions in ukraine. the u.s. ambassador to moscow delivering america's official respons

>> mary bruce at the white house again tonight. thank you, mary. >>> next, this evening here, there is new evidence tonight suggesting the omicron variant was here in the u.s. before the world knew it existed, days before it was announced it had been found in south africa. and now new science tonight that the omicron surge is slowing across parts of the country, the east, where it was the epicenter at the beginning, and what they're seeing now. but authorities saying hospitalizations still at a record high and deaths, which always lag behind new case numbers, still at about 1,700 deaths a day. nearly all the deaths, health officials say, among patients that are unvaccinated. here's abc's stephanie ramos on how long omicron has been here and how they figured this out. >> reporter: tonight, new evidence suggests that omicron was in this country before the world learned of a new variant. a cdc study confirmed omicron was detected back in new york city on november 21st, four days before the new variant was identified by south african sc

>> all right, mary bruce on the major and historic day from washington. mary, thank you. one more question on this tonight, before we move in. let's bring in rachel scott, she's live on the hill. and you always serve as a reality check for us and the folks at home. how many votes did the president need to get his nominee confirmed and is there any chance he will get some republican support? and can he count on every single democrat? >> reporter: 5 1 votes, david, a simple majority and democrats do not need any republican support to confirm president biden's supreme court nominees, but they do need to keep their own party united. they need the support of every single democratic senator. now, democrats certainly have their policy disagreements, but they have managed to stay united on president biden's judicial nominees. the president says he plans to reach out to both democrats and republicans. it's a sign he wants bipartisan support and tonight, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell says he will give president biden's pick, quote, a fair look. david? >> rachel scott, than

mary bruce live at the white house for us tonight. and mary, president biden defending his first year in office, saying there was a lot on his plate, but pointing out he's not complaining about that, but that that was the reality. he also promised in year two that he would get out there into the country to get his message out. >> reporter: yeah, david. the president conceding they have faced some communication challenges here and so he says, going forward, he'll be spending less time here in washington, more time out in the country, speaking directly to voters. and he says when it comes to the midterms, he is going to be deeply involved, highlighting what he says are democrats accomplishments and republicans failures. and looking ahead, as he told you in your interview, the president said, yes, he is running in 2024, and yes, kamala harris will be his running mate. >> and mary bruce making news today with her questioning of the president. mary, thank you. >>> all of this playing out with the voting rights showdown at this hour. the pre

>> mary bruce live at the capitol leading us off tonight. mary, thank you. >>> and as i mentioned at the top tonight, the only two republicans on the house floor today observing the magnitude of this day were congresswoman liz cheney, and in an unexpected moment, her father, former vice president dick cheney joining her. and what he told our jonathan karl. >> reporter: lawmakers gathered today to remember the attack on the capitol, but only two republicans showed up -- congresswoman liz cheney and her father, the former vice president, himself a longtime member of the house. they were front and center, surrounded by empty seats usually occupied by republicans, as the chamber paused for a moment of silence to honor the police officers attacked on that day. >> what are your thoughts on the fact that few other republicans showed up today? >> i think it's a reflection of where our party is. it's very concerning. >> reporter: in the days and weeks immediately following the insurrection, republican congressional leaders pointed the finger at donald

>> mary bruce leading us off at the white house. >>> mary, as you know, the other major development tonight in this pandemic, president biden taking new steps to surge resources where they're needed most, deploying six more military medical teams to six hard-hit states. 1,000 personnel part of this effort. tonight, our kayna whitworth in one of those states. she's at dayton's children's hospital in ohio. what doctors are seeing there right now, as kayna goes down the list of states tonight, where military medical personnel are now on the way. >> reporter: tonight, president biden deploying six more military medical teams to six hospitals in hard-hit states -- new york, new jersey, michigan, rhode island, new mexico, and ohio. at least 1,000 hospitals across the country are facing critical staff shortages. dayton children's in ohio says it is short staffed and admitting more kids than ever since the omicron surge. >> because it is so much more infectious, we are seeing huge volumes of kids who are sick. >> reporter: doctors here say two-thirds of the kids admitted for covid have underlying c

let's bring in mary bruce tonight. and you said it there. the president not t-- saying th supreme court decision, quote, does not stop me from using my voice as president to advocate for employ years. he said to do the right thing to protect americans' health and the economy. >> reporter: david, the white house is keeping up this fight. and they do believe that despite the court's ruling, that this mandate for large businesses encouraged millions of americans to be vaccinated and drove large companies like united to take action on their own. and tonight, the president is urging other large bidses to step up, as well. >> mary bruce, thank you. >>> president biden taking new steps to surge resources where they're needed most, deploying six more military medical teams to six hard-hit states. 1,000 personnel part of this effort. tonight, our kayna whitworth in one of those states. she's at dayton's children's hospital in ohio. what doctors are seeing there right now, as kayna goes down the list of states tonight, where military medical personnel

let's bring in mary bruce, live at the capitol tonight. and mary, president biden, as we saw there, never once mentioned former president trump by name. and when he was done speaking to the american people today, reporters up there at the capitol asked him why. >> reporter: and david, biden said he didn't call out trump by name because he doesn't want this to turn into a political battle between him and the former president. but biden said what happened that day cannot be ignored. he said great nautions face the truth. they face it, deal with it and move on. david? >> mary bruce, thank you. >>> and as i mentioned at the top tonight, the only two republicans on the house floor today observing the magnitude of this day were congresswoman liz cheney and in an unexpected moment, her father, former vice president dick cheney, joining her. and what he told our jonathan karl. >> reporter: lawmakers gathered today to remember the attack on the capitol, but only two republicans showed up -- congresswoman liz cheney and her father, the former vice p

>> mary bruce in washington.y, thank you. >>> president biden, meanwhile, late today in georgia, issuing a call to action on voting rights in this country, urging the senate to get it done, saying he will support changes in the senate rules, changes to the filibuster on this issue. and telling senators, including reluctant members of his own party, history will judge you on this issue. our chief white house correspondent cecilia vega with the president in atlanta. >> reporter: in atlanta, the heart of the civil rights movement, president biden today visiting the grave of martin luther king jr., later calling this a defining moment in history, demanding the senate pass voting rights laws. >> i've been having these quiet conversations with members of congress for the last two months. i'm tired of being quiet! >> reporter: 19 states passing restrictive voting laws in the wake of former president trump's lies about a stolen election, taking aim at things like mail in voting. >> voting by mail is a safe and convenient

president kamala harris will join us live after these highlights from senior white house correspondent mary bruceod morning, mary. >> reporter: good morning, george. well, for over an hour and a half the president was grilled on his first year in office. he touted his accomplishments, but with his top legislative priorities stalled on the hill and his poll numbers lagging, the president also forced to play defense and admit he is going to have to make some changes. this morning, president biden conceding he has to break up his sweeping agenda if he hopes to get anything done. >> yes. >> do you need to be more realistic and scale down these priorities north to get something passed? >> no. i don't think so. i'm not asking for castles in the sky. i'm asking for practical things the american people have been asking for for a long time. >> so far that strategy isn't working. is there anything that you are confident you can get signed into law before the midterm elections? >> yes, i'm confident we can get pieces, big chunks of the build back better law signed into law. >> reporter: the president eventu

mary bruce at the white house, rachel scott on the hill, ian pannell in ukraine. >>> tonight, the coronavirus. how to get those free at-home test kits. tens of millions of americans already ordering theirs. also, what dr. fauci said about children under 5 and vaccines. an

mary bruce at the white house.scott on the hill. >>> also tonight, what could be a dangerous nor'easter. this evening, the two now models just in. the two possible tracks and how much snow is possible? from philadelphia up through new york city and into new england. rob marciano timing it all out. >>> tonight,

mary bruce at the white house tonight, rachel scott on the hill. >>> millions of americans

we go back to our senior white house correspondent, mary bruce. ed to fulfilling the campaign promise to nominate the first black woman to the supreme court. that latest polling shows the majority of americans question that pledge and wish the president would take a different approach. three-quarters of americans want the president to consider all possible nominees. some republicans criticizing the president's move saying it just underscores this is a political process. now the white house hasn't put out an official list of candidates. we learned that 14 women are being considered. biden said he'll announce his decision before the end of next month. up on the hill the senate judiciary chairman says they're ready to move as soon as biden makes his decision. >> they want to move quickly with the midterms coming up. thank you, mary. >>> coming up, we'll talk the tragic death of former miss usa cheslie kryst dying by apparent suicide. we'll tell you what we know now, and also talk to our dr. ashton about spotting warning signs. >>> "real housewife" sta

then it's on to the senate and senior white house correspondent mary bruce is tracking the nominationng, mary. >> reporter: good morning, george. here at the white house president biden's search for a new supreme court justice is now under way. we're told he's already reviewing bios of potential candidates. the white house saying this will be a rigorous process. president biden this morning is looking to make history with his first supreme court pick and fulfill a key campaign promise. >> i've made no decision except one, the person i will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience, and integrity, and that person will be the first black woman ever nominated to the united states supreme court. >> reporter: biden saying he will announce his pick by the end of february. he's promising to look at a broad array of candidates and even though his nominee could be confirmed with just democratic support, biden is vowing to seek input from across the aisle. >> i'm going to invite senators from both parties to offer their ideas and points of view. i'll also

mary bruce standing by at the

mary bruce at the white house, rachel scott on the hill, ian pannell in ukraine. >>> tonight, the coronavirus get those free at-home test kits. tens of millions of americans already ordering theirs. also, what dr. fauci said about children under 5 and vaccines. and there is news tonight from

mary bruce at the white house.ott on the hill. >>> also tonight, what could be a dangerous nor'easter. this evening, the two new models just in. the two possible tracks. and how much snow is possible?

our mary bruce asking the white house today why they didn't act sooner, despite two years to prepare for the 5g upgrade. >> did the faa drop the ball here? >>you know, i think, mary, there will be lots of time to look back and see how we got here. >> reporter: and david, despite that rollout delay, we may still see some disruptions, especially among international carriers. david? >> all right, dee owe, thank you. >>> now to russia and ukraine tonight. the white house calling this an extremely dangerous situation, claiming military action by russia could happen at any moment, in their words. secretary of state antony blinken headed to ukraine. and our senior foreign correspondent ian pannell is there. >> reporter: tonight, an urgent diplomatic mission to stave off a potential war in ukraine, as the white house ramps up the retoric, claiming military action by russia could happen at any moment. >> this is an extremely dangerous situation. we're now at a stage where russia could at any point launch an attack in ukraine. >> reporter: today, more russian troops and hardware arriving in bel

here's mary bruce. >> reporter: at that hearing today, dr. anthony fauci fed up with republican senator rand paul. saying his repeated and false attacks are putting fauci's life at risk. >> what happens when he gets out and accuses me of things that are completely untrue, is that all of a sudden that kindles the crazies out there, and i have life -- threats upon my life, harassment of my family. >> reporter: today, detailing one of the latest threats against him. a california man arrested during a traffic stop in iowa last month. >> the police asked him where he was going, and he was going to washington, d.c. to kill dr. fauci. and they found in his car an ar-15 and multiple magazines of ammunition, because he thinks that maybe i'm killing people. >> reporter: investigators say the man had a hit list, including former presidents clinton and obama, and said he would kill president biden if he didn't comply with his demands. as the public face of the pandemic response, fauci has become a frequent target. he's previously described a terrifying e

senior white house correspondent mary bruce has the latest for us. morning, mary. >> reporter: good morning, robin. well, this was supposed to be a hearing about the urgent response to the pandemic. but when the republican senator tried to make it personal, fauci fought back taking on the senator for spreading false information that fauci said has made him a target. in a heated exchange dr. anthony fauci taking on senator rand paul accusing the kentucky republican of spreading dangerous lies about him for his own political gain. >> go to rand paul website and you see fire dr. fauci with a little box that says, contribute here. you can do $5, $10, $20, $100. so you are making a catastrophic epidemic for your political gain. >> reporter: fauci fed up saying paul's repeated false attacks are putting his life and his family at risk. >> what happens when he gets out and accuses me of things that are completely untrue is that all of a sudden that kindles the crazies out there and i have life -- threats upon my life, harassments of my family and my children

mary bruce starts us off. good morning, mary. >> reporter: good morning, george.ent with those tens of thousands of russian troops on the ukraine border and president biden saying a russian invasion is looking likely. the u.s. secretary of state and russian foreign minister are sitting down today to try to avert this crisis. both men saying this morning they are hoping they can make progress, but they are both already downplaying expectations. on the brink of a possible russian invasion of ukraine, the u.s. secretary of state sitting down this morning for a high-stakes face-to-face with his russian counterpart. >> we don't expect to resolve our differences here today, but i do hope and expect that we can test whether the path, diplomacy, dialogue remains open. we're committed to walking that path and to resolving our differences peacefully and i hope we can test that proposition today. >> reporter: emerging from their 90-minute meeting, secretary of state blinken looking for progress, but also warning russia. >> we're also committed if that proves impossible and r

our senior white house correspondent mary bruce will be there. good morning, mary. >> reporter: good morning, george. yeah, the president is going to be facing tough questions here today. one year into his presidency we expect him to tout his accomplishments like the massive covid relief package, his bipartisan infrastructure bill and vaccine rollout. the president is also well aware he is facing some real challenges right now. his top two legislative priorities, that big social spending plan and voting rights package we just heard about both stalled on the hill facing pushback from his own party. inflation, we know is soaring and the president's approval rating is hovering around 40%. under water there. the white house admits they know they have a lot of work to do here and today is a chance for the president to try and reset. but, george, with the midterms coming up in november there is not a lot of time for the president to finish his to do list. >> no, there is not. mary bruce, thanks very much. we will be broadcasting president biden's press

mary bruce, abc. >> thank you, mr. president. you mentioned your republican colleagues but your top two legislative priorities, social spending package and voting rights legislation are stalled, blocked by your own party after months of negotiation. you are only guaranteed control of washington for one more year before the midterms. do you need to be more realistic and scale down these priorities in order to get something passed? >> no. i don't think so. when you say more realistic, i think it's extremely realistic to say to people, because -- let me back up. you all really know the politics of this country and your networks and others, you spend a lot of time, which i'm glad you do, polling this data, determining what the american people's attitudes are, et cetera. the american people overwhelmingly agree with me on prescription drugs. they overwhelmingly agree with me on the cost of education. they overwhelmingly agree with me on early education. they overwhelming -- i can go on the list on child care. and so we just have to ma

for now not deploying them to the region, so let's bring in our senior white house correspondent mary bruceis still marks a major shift for the administration. >> reporter: yeah, cecilia, good morning. no question putting these troops on high alert is a major pivot for the white house. so what changed? as the pentagon says it was clear that russia had no interest right now in de-escalating. as for what comes next on that call yesterday with european leaders, the president and these leaders discussed economic costs on russia. now, the white house and the president continue to underscore their desire for a diplomatic solution but it's just not clear if compromise is achievable or if putin has any real interest in diplomacy, cecilia. >> i want to ask about another moment at the white house. you were in the room for it. the president responding to a question from a fox news reporter with a profanity. let's watch. >> do you think inflation is a political liability? >> it's a great asset. more inflation. what a stupid son of a bitch. >> the white house, the president trying to clear the air overn

our senior white house correspondent mary bruce has more from the white house. 've been talking about, this is a major setback for the white house covid response team. >> reporter: yes, this is a really big hit for the white house and their efforts to fight the pandemic. the court blocking its vaccination or testing requirement for large businesses. it's a policy which would have impacted more than 80 million employees, requiring that they get vaccinated or wear masks and undergo weekly testing. but the court's conservative majority argued that the federal government overstepped its authority here. now in a smaller win for the white house, the court is allowing a vaccine mandate employees at federally funded health care facilities to continue. that will impact more than 17 million workers. the president praising that decision saying it will save lives, but biden says he is disappointed that the supreme court has chosen to block commonsense lifesaving requirements for employees at large businesses which were grounded squarely in science and the law. cecilia. >> it

senior white house correspondent mary bruce, senior congressional correspondent, rachel scott, and maryme begin with you. we saw that promise from the president during the campaign to nominate a black woman to the court. who are the list of leading contenders? >> reporter: well, george, whoever the president picks she will be making history. the front-runner this morning is believed to be judge ketanji brown jackson, she's a former clerk of justice breyer's, and she has already been through the confirmation process. last year she earned the support of three republican senators, and she was confirmed to the powerful d.c. circuit court of appeals. also believed to be high on the list this morning, leondra kruger of the california supreme court. judge leslie abrams gardner and judge j. michelle childs of the district court of south carolina. the president as you said is expected to formally announce justice breyer's retirement at an event here at the white house later today, nominating a black woman means that for the first time there will be four women and two black justices serving on th

let's bring in mary bruce at the white house. what are you learning this morning from your sources?reporter: good morning. we know sending more u.s. troops to the region is an option that the president is considering. "the times" reporting that the white house is considering sending up to 5,000 troops to eastern european countries. along with warships and aircraft, but i'm told no decision has been made yet. the president this weekend of course, sat down and met with his national security council to discuss these potential options. the president is promising, of course, if russia does invade that the response will be swift, severe, and united. also on the table, crippling economic sanctions and possibly restricting russian access to microchips. it's a move that could deal a major blow to russian industries and even restrict and deprive russian citizens to access of tablets and smartphones. >> mary, thank you. >>> overseas now to that alarming prison break. in syria, using children as human shields. our foreign correspondent james longman tracking the latest. good morning, james. >>