On this version of Hot off the Wire (posted Jan. 6 at 4 p.m. CT):

• House leader Kevin McCarthy is getting closer to victory in the grueling, hard-fought struggle to become speaker of the new Congress. On the fourth day of voting, 15 of the 20 conservative holdouts switched to him on the 12th and 13th rounds of balloting.
• U.S. health officials have approved a new Alzheimer’s drug that modestly slows the brain-robbing disease.
• America’s employers added a solid 223,000 jobs in December, evidence that the economy remains healthy even as the Federal Reserve is rapidly raising interest rates to try to slow economic growth and the pace of hiring.
• Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin's agent says the player is breathing on his own and able to talk after having his breathing tube removed. It comes four days after he went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated on the field. Hamlin also joined the team's morning meeting by videoconference.
• More than 1.3% of the adult population in the U.S. was displaced by natural disasters in the past year, with hurricanes responsible for more than half of the forced relocations.
• A flying electric vehicle from Aska called the A5, the size of an SUV that seats four, made its debut at CES in Las Vegas. It could become available in 2026.
• A new study calculates that two-thirds of the world's glaciers will disappear by the end of the century at current climate change trends.
• An explosive memoir reveals many facets of Prince Harry, from bereaved boy and troubled teen to wartime soldier and unhappy royal. From accounts of cocaine use and losing his virginity to raw family rifts, “Spare” exposes deeply personal details about Harry and the wider royal family.

—The Associated Press