| "I can't think of a better person for President Biden to consider for the Supreme Court than Michelle Childs." - South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham offers his full support over the possibility of federal district judge Michelle Childs being President Biden's Supreme Court nomination. Welcome to the "Face the Nation" Five at Five newsletter. Scroll down for your five takeaways from today's broadcast of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on CBS. Did someone forward you this? Sign-up at cbsnews.com/email. 1. Graham: Childs is "one of the most decent people I've ever met"  Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina praised federal district judge Michelle Childs, a possible candidate to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court, on Sunday. What we asked: "As you know, coming up on this program, Congressman Jim Clyburn, he has said repeatedly in interviews that South Carolina federal district judge Michelle Childs, not only as someone he likes, but that both South Carolina Republican Senators will support her. So he's talking about you. Did you tell him you're a yes vote on Childs?" What Graham said: "Here's what I'll tell him and the nation, I can't think of a better person for President Biden to consider for the Supreme Court than Michelle Childs. She has wide support in our state. She's considered to be a fair-minded, highly gifted jurist. She's one of the most decent people I've ever met. It would be good for the court to have somebody who's not at Harvard or Yale. She's a graduate of the University of South Carolina, a public education background. She's been a workers comp judge. She's highly qualified. She's a good character. And we'll see how she does if she's nominated. But I cannot say anything bad about Michelle Childs. She is an awesome person." Why it matters: The White House confirmed Childs is among the contenders under consideration to fill the vacancy that will be left by Breyer, who announced last week that he will retire from the high court at the end of this term if a successor has been confirmed by the Senate. 2. Clyburn: Black woman SCOTUS nomination would show children they deserve to benefit from America's "greatness"  House Majority Whip James Clyburn offered his reasons on why it is important for a Black woman to hold a Supreme Court seat. What we asked: "You had just shared that you'd spoken to President Biden months ago with Michelle Childs, a candidate we know for this potential spot on the Supreme Court. More broadly, you were the man who really exacted this promise during the campaign from President Biden. What do you think putting this kind of diversity on the court the first Black woman does for the country?" What Clyburn said: "Well, it says to every little child up there growing up under moderate circumstances, needing the entire community help raise it, getting scholarships to go up to school because she couldn't afford to go otherwise, going to public schools because you didn't get an offer from one of the big private schools. It says to them, you've got just as much of a chance to benefit from the greatness of this country as everybody else. As you probably know, I have made it the motto of my service; making America's greatness accessible and affordable for all Americans. And that's what this will do. That's the kind of conversation I had with candidate Biden way back when he was running for president. In fact, we had those conversations when he was serving as vice president that he came up under modest circumstances: Scranton, Pennsylvania, then in Delaware. And look, he should have as much opportunity as everybody else." Why it matters: President Biden made it a campaign promise to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court, which helped him garner strong support among Black voters. 3. Ukrainian Ambassador Markarova: We "cannot afford to panic" over Russian aggression  Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., joined to discuss the ongoing crisis with Russia and its military buildup along Ukraine's borders. What we asked: "The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley says he hasn't seen a military buildup like this since the Cold War: artillery, ballistic missiles, ground air forces. He said the impact would be horrific if Russia uses these. But President Zelensky stood up and said Russia may simply be applying psychological pressure. Why is your president downplaying the risk?" What the ambassador said: "We are not downplaying the risk. We actually see the situation the same way and we see the build up and we also know what Russia is capable of because they have attacked us already. Since 2014, for eight years, we are at war and we are defending our country. At the same time, in order to defend our country, we cannot afford to panic. We have to get ready. All of us, not only our military, our very capable military and veterans, but also all civilians. So we know and we see what's going on. This is the reality with which we live for eight years. This is the reality of this recent escalation since April. So we monitor it. We assess it. We share the information with our friends and allies. We're very grateful for the United States, for very strong relations, strong relations and strong response this time." Why it matters: While the Biden administration and U.S. allies have warned a Russian invasion of Ukraine is "imminent" given the build-up along Ukraine's borders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called the escalation by Russia an act of "psychological pressure." 4. Nuland: "We have to be prepared for all options" with Russia  Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland spoke with Margaret Brennan about how the U.S. is viewing the Ukraine-Russia crisis. What we asked: "We heard from the chairman of the Joint Chiefs this week that Russia has given itself the capability if it wanted for a full invasion, not just an incursion. What is the U.S. assessment at this point? Has Vladimir Putin made a decision on what to do next?" What Nuland said: "Margaret, we don't believe he's yet made a decision, but as he has done in the past, he's given himself every option, including, as the chairman said, a massive potential invasion of all of Ukraine, including cyber attacks, including incursion from Belarus, where he is moving up to 30,000 troops there as well. So we have to be prepared for all options." Why it matters: Ukrainian President Zelensky told reporters this week that the West needs to tone down the rhetoric of a possible invasion. 5. Gottlieb: New COVID variant doesn't appear to be more virulent  Former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb says the latest COVID-19 variant does not appear to be more dangerous but it could extend "the tail on the decline that we're seeing across the country." What we asked: "There is a new variant of concern, BA.2. The CDC says it's already here in the United States. How concerned do we need to be?" What Gottlieb said: "You know, the question is, does this change the decision space? I don't think it does. I don't think it really changes the narrative. It maybe, perhaps extends the tail on the decline that we're seeing across the country. There's some critical questions. Is it more contagious? It appears to be more contagious. Data out of Denmark from the Serum Institute suggests it's about 1.5 times more contagious than the strain of Omicron that has made it around the U.S....Does it evade our immune system? Does it evade the immunity that we've acquired from Omicron infection or the vaccines? Most of the evidence so far, it's preliminary, suggests it does. And in fact, there's data out of the U.K. that suggests that a fully boosted person may be more protected against this new variant than they were against the original strain of Omicron. And then the final question is, is it more virulent? Is it more dangerous? And so far, based on what we've seen out of Denmark and the U.K., which are collecting very good data on this, it doesn't appear to be a more virulent strain." Why it matters: The latest COVID variant is said to be 1.5 times more transmissible than Omicron. With hospital systems still under strain from the last coronavirus wave, the future of the pandemic is unclear. Margaret Brennan's Watch Magazine cover story  Margaret Brennan is on the cover of the January/February 2022 issue of CBS Watch Magazine, out now. Celebrating her fourth anniversary as moderator of America's #1 Sunday morning public affairs program, Brennan talks about the keys to her success, her top moments on the show and a bit about her life at home. Leaf through the digital edition here. | 
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