>> all right, nikole killion, thank you. this campaign isn't only about who will occupy the white house, but also control of congress. cbs' scott macfarlane is here to break down that part of the story for us. scott? >> another cliff-hanger. the next president will need a senate to confirm his or her cabinet and potential supreme court nominations and help get all those promised policies passed. the final days of the control of thearily divided house has shifted heavily to new york. republican speaker mike johnson rallied through competitive districts there, trying to salvage republicans' narrow majority in three of his embattled first term new york republicans. tomorrow the house democratic leader hakeem jeffries is expected to make a last-minute push through a district for a two-term democrat trying to preserve a seat near west point. the playing field is so small, our cbs news review shows roughly 30 battleground districts in the u.s. house naionwide. that's fewer than 10% of all races, and you can see a group of potentia

cbs's nikole killion is in atlanta tonight, and nikole, voting in the area i understand was suspendedseveral credible bomb threats for a short time. are we learning? >> reporter: that's right, norah. as polls get ready to close in georgia there is a mix of excitement and cautious anticipation as we await the results. we are at a g.o.p. watch party where state republicans hope republicans flip the state. >> the route to the white house run through georgia, and winning georgia makes it very likely that he will be the next president of the united states. >> reporter: even though turn out at the polls has been steady, there have been several issues today, including a series of bomb threats in various metro atlanta counties. secretary of state brad raffensperger told reporters those threats appear to be from russia and were not deemed credible. some polling locations were extending their hours due to the delays. more than a million people expected to cast ballots, in addition to a record 4 million who early voted. i spoke with one woman who lives abroad and flew all the way back home to ge

nikole killion in west palm beach, thanks so much.e thanksgiving rush already underway with a record numer of americans heading to their holiday destinations. workers at charlotte's international airport went on strike today, calling for higher wages. and two planes clipped wings at boston's logan airport though no one was hurt. cbs's kris van cleave joins us from newark airport. good evening, kris. >> reporter: nancy, already 8 million people have passed through tsa checkpoint since the thanksgiving travel rush started friday, and those numbers are only going to grow from here. this as american airlines is trying to bring some order to the chaos of boarding. [sound effect] >> you're good to go. thank you. >> reporter: as american airlines rolls out a boarding system to 100 airports ahead of thanksgiving. [sound effect] >> are you able to assist in case of emergency? reporter: it is making a lot of noise. [sound effect] >> we have a new system. >> reporter: the subtle one [sound effect] causing all of the buzz. it alerts the gate agen

>> norah: all right nikole killion with those tough questions tonight, thank you.o the stormy weather impacting tens of millions of americans from coast-to-coast. tonight there is no relief from the dangerous conditions in northern california and the pacific northwest, while the drought-stricken northeast is getting much-needed rain and snow. cbs news meteorologist rob marciano is tracking it all. >> reporter: relentless rain pummeling northern california. turning the normally sunny state into a soggy mess. streets are flooded, roads are closed, and highways are backed up, as 911 calls are on the rise. >> on the fireside, they saw about a 25% increase over the past two das. >> reporter: in the city of eureka, we rode along with police commander leonard lafrance. so what kind of calls have you been getting? >> seeing issues with the roadways, trees that are down in the roadway or debris in the roadway. >> it was all pieces of the roof that came flying off. >> that is the roof. >> reporter: just north of arcata, powerful wind from the bomb cyclone tore the roof of th

norah. >> norah: nikole killion and caitlin huey-burns, thank you. let's bring in chief political analyst john dickerson. it's been exactly two weeks since election day. what is the pace of this transition, tell us about how donald trump plans to carry out his agenda. >> reporter: in 14 days he's done what previous administrations have taken roughly 50-70 days to do and what it tells us, he's not likely to rely on the traditional skills that have required for those jobs. he's named people who either have no experience or very little, and they had no experience particularly in something that's very important, which is organizational skill, running something as big as, say the department of justice, 115,000 employees. the reason that the challenges you can have all the energy and all the great ideas in the world but there is something called the execution gap. you have to actually make it happen and as michael bloomberg said, it's like skiing and expert ski slope for the first time. you're not likely to have a lot of success. >> norah: and let me ask y

>> that's nikole killion in west palm beach, florida. >>> we go now with to kentucky.lican senator rand paul, he is set to chair the homeland security committee next year, and he sits on the health committee. welcome back to "face the nation," senator. >> good morning. thanks for having me. >> well, you are a doctor by training. i want to ask you about some of these health picks. i know that you personally said that you have vaccinated all of your children, but vaccination rates in this country, as you know, are on the decline. are you at all concerned that elevating individuals who have been publicly critical of some particular vaccines, rfk jr., hhs secretary, the cdc director, that any of that erode trust in vaccination? >> you know, i think all of us can agree that there's an increase of vaccine hesitancy. i think it comes from people not believing what the government is telling them. the fact that the cdc committee for vaccines and the fda committee for vaccines said for covid boosters that you should take a booster if you're over 65, yet the biden administration,

nikole killion, cbs news, west palm beach, florida. >>> the menendez brothers, erik and lyle, set to make a virtual appearance in a california court today. the brothers, who are serving life sentences without parole for killing their parents, are hoping new information about their past could set them free. cbs' elise preston spoke with the brothers' attorney. >> reporter: erik and lyle menendez rose to infamy following the gruesome august, 1989, shotgun shooting deaths of their parents, jose and kitty menendez, at the family's beverly hills mansion. following a 1994 mistrial, the pair was convicted in 1996 after a short second trial where the judge wouldn't allow the jury to hear the defense's claim that the brothers acted in self-defense after suffering years of physical and sexual abuse. but now after more than 30 years behind bars, freedom may be near. >> we know that the menendez brothers are trying for clemency or trying for resentencing, and they're trying for a successful habeas petition. >> reporter: on monday the menendez brothers will appear virtually at the hearing that lo

>> norah: nikole killion on the hill with those new developments. nikole, thank you very much.ning now to the historic west coast bomb cyclone and atmospheric river funneling rain, wind, and snow to parts of the region, in the pacific northwest, gusts reached hurricane force. cbs's carter evans reports on the deadly storm from outside seattle. >> reporter: in the pacific northwest, powerful winds turned trees into lethal projectiles. huge limbs came crashing down on cars and buses overnight. they also killed at least two people in the seattle area, including a woman who was struck by this tree inside her home. her husband quickly called 911. >> i just had a tree hit my house, and i think it -- it may have fallen on my wife. >> reporter: heather wong is with the bellevue fire department. so she was showering at the time? >> she was in the shower at the time when the tree fell. >> reporter: firefighters have been unable to remove the tree to reach her. i can't imagine what that must be like for him, knowing his wife is still there, and you can't get to her right now. >> we're doi

cbs's nikole killion has more. >> former florida republican congressman matt gaetz and vice president-electvance huddled throughout the day in the capitol meeting with more than half a dozen gop senators about his embattled selection for attorney general. >> senators have been giving me a lot of good advice. i'm looking forward to a hearing. folks have been very supportive. they've been saying we're going to get a fair process. so it's a great day of momentum for the trump-vance administration. >> tennessee republican senator marsha blackburn met gaetz today. >> i asked matt what his expectation was, and he wants to be able to have a hearing. he says he will answer any question that anyone asks him. >> gaetz was under investigation by the house ethics committee for allegations wednesday, the panel met behind closed doors and did not reach a consensus to release its report. >> have you spoken to matt gaetz at all? has he had a chance to look at this report? >> i've had no conversation with mr. gates. >> gates is alleged to have attended 10 to 15 sex parties and had sex with a 17 year old min

. >> i'm nikole killion on capitol hill where former congressman matt gaetz's selection for attorneymed. >> i wouldn't bet my house on it one way or the other. >> reporter: gaetz himself has been calling senators to make his case and will meet personally with several of them, a courtship led by vice president-elect j.d. vance. lisa murkowski said gaetz should not be pushed through. >> let's take it seriously and let's give it the time. >> reporter: gaetz was under investigation by the house ethics committee for allegations of sexual misconduct, including attending sex parties and having sex with a minor. the florida republican has denied any wrongdoing. nearly 100 house democrats demanded the ethics panel release its report on gaetz to the senate. >> have a chance to look at the evidence and make a decision for themselves. >> reporter: speaker mike johnson has insisted the report should stay under wraps given that gaetz resigned his seat last week. >> gaetz is not a member of the body anymore. >> reporter: the house ethics committee meets wednesday. meantime, cbs news has learned oth

nikole killion reports.orter vice president elect jd vance played host to defense secretary pick pete hegseth on capitol hill, just as the news broke of a graphic, newly released police report that detailed hexum's involvement in an alleged sexual assault in 2017. >> did you sexually california? i have, as far as the media is concerned i'll keep this very simple. >> the matter was fully investigated and i was completely cleared. and that's where i'm going to leave it. >> according to the report, a woman referred to as jane doe pete hegseth during a conference at the hyatt regency hotel. both were drinking with a group at the hotel bar when doe said things got fuzzy. a nurse who treated her later said doe believed something may have been slipped into her drink. she then recalled being in a hotel room when hegseth took her phone from her hand. when she got up to leave. hegseth blocked the door with his body. her next memory was when she was on a bed or a couch and hegseth was over her. his dog tags were hoveri

we begin with cbs's nikole killion covering the trump campaign in henderson, nevada. le, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, maurice. former president trump lost nevada back in 2020, but tonight his campaign is out with a new memo expressing optimism about the overall state of the race, although they acknowledge it will be very close. former president donald trump detoured from the battlegrounds to blue territory in albuquerque, new mexico. >> the people that have voted, if you voted against me, shame on you. >> reporter: but he steered clear of controversial comments he made last night in green bay, wisconsin, vowing to be the protector of women. >> and my people told me about four weeks ago, i would say no, i want to protect the people, i want to protect the women of our country, i want to protect the women. sir, please don't say that. and i said, well, i'm going to do it whether the women like it or not. >> reporter: vice president kamala harris made clear she did not like it. >> it actually is, i think, very offensive to women in terms of not understanding the

. >> reporter: i'm nikole killion on capitol hill where former congressman matt gaetz's election for attorney general could be in jeopardy a some senators raise doubts about his ability to be confirmed. >> i wouldn't bet my house on it one way or the other. >> reporter: gaetz himself has been calling senators to make his case and will meet personally with several of them tomorrow, a courtship led by vice president-elect j.d. vance. alaska republican lisa murkowski said gaetz should not be pushed through. >> let's take it seriously and let's give it the time. >> reporter: he was under investigation for allegations of sexual misconduct, including attending sex parties and having sex with a minor. >> we are creating a false crisis because the reality is all that information is going to be on display at the hearing. the to nearly 100 house democrats demanded the ethics panel release it's report. >> they should have a chance to look at the evidence and make a decision for themselves. >> reporter: speaker mike johnson -- >> matt gaetz is not a member of the body anymore. >> reporter: other

cbs' nikole killion has that part of the story. >> reporter: good evening, jericka. president-elect trump has now filled most of his cabinet positions putting him on pace to do so by thanksgiving. at his mar-a-lago estate, president-elect donald trump solidified his cabinet with new picks for housing, labor, agriculture, and funding, tapping scott bassett, who could be the first openly gay member to lead the board. the president-elect also tapped russell vought to reprise his role as white house budget director. and he selected a trio of doctors from federal health agencies, including david weldon, a vaccine skeptic, to head the cdc. >> it's about choice and getting rid of mandates. >> reporter: a cbs news poll finds most of trump's well-known designees have support like senator marco rubio to robert kennedy and pete hegseth and he faces allegations of sexual assault. >> it's frankly an insult and really troubling that mr. trump would nominate someone who's admitted that he's paid off a victim who has claimed rape allegations against him. >> there was no crime commit

i want to bring in our congressional correspondent nikole killion in atlanta, georgia. o close to call at this hour. what are you hearing? >> reporter: that's right. echoing what bob is saying, trump campaign operatives here in the state are feeling pretty good about their positioning here as well as the head of the republican party who we spoke to, ahead of some of these returns. here's why particularly in some of these outlying counties, outside the greater metro area here in atlanta, places like forsyth county, cherokee county that are typically part of that northern redwall was we get closer to the tennessee border. they are over performing particular in forsyth and that's notable. that's where former lieutenant governor geoff duncan is from and as we know the former lieutenant governor actually endorsed vice president harris. in that particular county, lee trump team is seeing much stronger numbers there than they did in 2020 and 2016. overall some of the broader points you've been making, their focus has been on these rural counties, trying to drive the turnout the