Welcome to the News Hour. Our coverage tonight begins overseas in Kazakhstan, where at least 38 people are dead after the crash of an Azerbaijani airplane.

The passenger jet carrying 67 people was en route from Baku, the nation's capital, to the Russian city of Grosny this morning.

The airline said it diverted and tried to make an emergency

landing in the Kazakh city of Aktau. That's where an eyewitness caught this video of the

Embraer jet rapidly descending. Rescuers rushed to the scene of the crash where they found

at least 29 survivors, some seen walking

away from the wreckage on foot.

Azerbaijan's president has sent a commission to investigate the cause of the crash.

The reasons for the crash are not yet known to us.

There are various theories, but I believe it is premature to discuss them.

The matter must be thoroughly investigated. The Azerbaijani public will be regularly

informed about the results of the commission's work. He also said Azerbaijan's prosecutor

general's office launched a criminal case regarding the crash, but did not provide further

details.

Turning to Ukraine, officials say Russia launched an extensive missile and drone attack

on the country's energy infrastructure, disrupting heat services for 500,000 people in the

country's north and east. It sent residents in the capital Kiev underground to shelter

in metro stations. Ukrainian officials say most of the missiles and drones were shot down or jammed,

but one person is dead in Denepro. Meanwhile, in Russia, an official says debris from a Ukrainian drone

started a fire in a shopping mall which killed one woman.

President Biden signed scores of new bills into law just before Christmas

as he pushes forward with his final priorities with just a few weeks left in office.

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