hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the united states and right around the world. i'm isa soares right here on "cnn newsroom." >> there will be a gigantic mis

mistake. >> well north of 100,000 and it continues to grow. >> this is not alarmism. this is the facts. >> especially the united states. >> a push for diplomacy across two continents. u.s. president joe biden threatens to hit vladimir putin with sanctions and economic consequences over the ukraine crisis. plus, several states are rolling back covid mask mandates in public and in schools, but is it too soon? and a golden moment for eileen gu. the snow princess wins her first gold for china. we're live at the beijing olympics. >> announcer: live from london. this is "cnn newsroom" with isa soares. welcome to the show, everyone. it's tuesday, february 8th.

diplomatic efforts to ease tensions at ukraine's border are underway from washington to moscow and points in between. this as the european union's top diplomat said it's facing the most dangerous moments since the cold war. french president macron is headed to moscow. on monday u.s. president joe biden met with the new german chancellor schultz. mr. biden said he will shut down the pipeline but mr. schultz was hesitant to match that threat. have a listen. >> he knows what he's going to do and i think he has to realize it will be a gigantic mistake to move on ukraine.

he would pay a heavy price. i have been very, very straightforward and blunt with president putin both on the phone and in person. we will impose the most severe economic sanctions that have ever been imposed. there will be a lot to pay for that down the road. >> you can be absolutely sure germany will be with the allies. we will do the same. we say if you invade ukraine, this will happen, very high price for you, which will have high impacts on your economy and chances for your development and we are ready to take steps that will have costs for us. >> that was scholz talking exclusively to cnn. it will deliver natural gas from russia to germany which is crucial to meeting europe's energy needs.

it would be a big boost to russia's economy. meanwhile, new satellite images shared with cnn show new russian military buildup in belarus. here's more now from the pentagon. >> even just over the course of the weekend we saw mr. putin add to his force capability along that border with ukraine and belarus. not getting into specific numbers. he is -- he's -- he's well north of 100,000 and it continues to grow. >> nathan hodges is standing by live in moscow. we begin this hour with melissa bell in kyiv, ukraine. macron meets with president zelensky. what can we expect from today's

meeting, melissa? >> reporter: isa, the french president has landed here in the ukrainian capitol. he's looking to pursue what he believes was the progress yesterday in moscow. we've been hearing more from sources talking about the concrete steps that were achieved yesterday in moscow as a result of that bilateral meeting between the french and russian presidents, a meeting that lasted for more than five hours, isa. what they say is that progress was achieved on a number of points. first of all, what they say is that they've extracted from the russians a promise that there will be no further military buildup and that after those joint military exercises you just mentioned in belarus, the ones that have been happening all too close to kyiv for comfort, that at the end of the exercises the russian military will withdraw. that is an important concession. looking to the normandy format, talks that are to resume this week with a good deal of hope

about what they might achieve. most importantly, what they say is most important is that these negotiations about a new security arrangement around the european continent are possible. i think that is what emmanuel macron's strategy was going into this meeting with vladimir putin was to say, look. there was this deadlock. we've reached an impasse in terms of the requirements and the united states. what the french president did was arrive and say, look, we understand there have been incomprehensions between the french and russia. we understand there are fears on either side. let us sit down together and look at a new security arrangement, new security guarantees even using that word that was part of moscow's key requirements and focus and sit down how we can best achieve a joint collective security arrangement that is fit for the

21st century around you're vent. it all depends now and this is what vladimir putin said, it matters what happens with macron and zelensky today. >> we'll bring that press conference when it happens later. nathan, during that meeting in the last five hours, we heard president putin a hint i think it's fair to say of possible break through of president put bins continue praising the details. do we know of these proposals? >> well, isa, i think it's important to step back and say despite this flurry of diplomatic activity that we've seen at a very high level, the two sides, the west and russia remain quite far apart and yesterday we've ended up where

we were with the kremlin saying not to expect any breakthroughs. and he would have another phone conversation with him. to follow on and see if there are additional steps that can be taken. what we did see in this press conference was putin airing many of the same grievances that we first in recent weeks, recent months and in fact going back many years, basically about putin's long standing grievance about the expansion of nato after the fall of the berlin wall and the end of the cold war and this is one of the long standing complaints that he raised again in the press conference. this is what he had to say. >> translator: we are categorically against the expansion of nato through new members in the east because this poses a broad threat to us. to say that russia is acting aggressively at the very least does not correspond to sound

logic. did we approach a border somewhere over there? nato infrastructure has approached us. >> reporter: so this is where putin once again says it's nato that's the aggressor here, not mentioning of course that it's russia that's amassed well over 100,000 troops at the border with ukraine, it was also russia that entered crimea and annexed it and stoked the conflict in eastern ukraine. so still the two sides are quite far apart. while there seems to be a crack in the door at least leaving some room to diplomacy. >> perhaps not a breakthrough but progression of sorts. nathan hodge and melissa bell, thank you very much. now parts of the united states are looking ahead to a new normal and the end of covid restrictions. several states have now set time lines for the end of school or indoor mask mandates. the roll backs begin in the

coming weeks. the decision to lift those mandates is due in part to high vaccination rates and fewer infections. in california where an indoor mask requirement has been in place for two years now, the government cited a 65% drop in cases since the height of the omicron surge. numbers have dropped in the past two weeks and they're at 1/3 of the peek we saw three weeks ago. but more people are dying each day from omicron than during the delta wave. the former head of the cdc said it may be too early to lift mask mandates. have a listen. >> i think the best practice is what's called a risk alert level system. think of it like a weather report. how hard is it raining covid outside or a fire suppression report. if you're going hiking and there's a huge risk of fires, can't go camping, can't use a match, can't light a city cigarette because you might cause a forest fire.

the same with covid. the virus is spreading explosion civilly particularly with a deadlier variant. people need to be careful. where cases are decreasing or it's less severe, then it's possible to dial back precautions. meanwhile, workers in california could see some state mandate relief. they can claim up to two weeks of paid sick leave due to the virus. companies with 26 or more employees will be required to provide up to 80 hours of sick leave. canadian prime minister justin trudeau is calling for an end to the trucker protest of covid-19 vaccine. it's now in the second week by disrupting traffic and people's daily lives. they are putting up major blocks

like this going into the states. we are live from ottawa with the latest details. >> the trucker's protest in canada continues. well into the second week with the residents in this city, ottawa, the capitol. they are incredibly frustrated that police still have not been able to really ease the gridlock. now i remind you, this is a trucker's protest that started as a protest against vaccine mandates. it has now expanded to include mask mandates, any kind of covid-19 measures. they have been joined by other canadians that say they're fed up and frustrated with this pandemic. prime minister justin trudeau who has been in isolation for ten days after contracting covid. showed up after isolation in parliament. i want you to listen to what he

said to the protestors. >> individuals are trying to blockade our economy, our democracy, and our fellow citizens' daily lives. it has to stop. >> reporter: the question is, how do you do that? they are doing what they can to ensure this doesn't lead to confrontation or violence. this will take time. there doesn't seem to be anyone negotiating with the protesters. protesters saying they have fuel and food for months. the prime minister has no intention to give in. canadians, the stalemate will continue for some time. cnn, ottawa. ♪ ♪

an action packed day four of the winter olympics is underway in beijing. already we've seen one record broken by u.s. men's figure skating star, nathan chen. not only did he take the top spot in tuesday's program. his score also set a new world record. meanwhile, freestyle skier eileen gu notched a gold. she was born in the u.s. but she decided to ski for china. let's bring in cnn's coy wire. what a beautiful backdrop. what a beautiful morning. what a golden moment for eileen. there may be more gold up for grabs. >> you can imagine the pressure the 18-year-old must have been feeling. she was going to compete for her

mother's homeland china instead of team u.s.a. she says she's a hopeless romantic when it comes to fear. when you embrace it, the adrenaline and excitement can propel you to greatness. she took that leap of fate on landing a 1620. that's 4 1/2 rotations. she's the second woman to ever pull that off. she wins china their third gold of these games and leads the way in terms of golds tied with sweden. gu talked afterwards about trying to land that trick, isa, that she had never done before. listen. >> i think of all my tricks as a rhythm and music and like kind of motion. so in that sense the wind in my ears, the speed of my turn when i wrap the spin, it speeds up. so there's a change in tempo. so i was visualizing that, thinking about that going into the trick. i felt very confident that if i didn't land it, it would be safe

and that i would still be able to participate in my next two events. more than anything, i thought it was opportunity to represent myself and this message that i've always had of breaking my own boundaries. no matter if i landed it, it was a testament to my character and that is something i wanted to show the world. we're all out here together pushing the human limit when the other two athletes were going through their own emotions at the end, i really went over to them and i made it clear that i won because of them. >> why composing music? she's a piano playing prodigy. she plays beethoven. she has a chance to win two more go golds. team u.s.a. star nathan chen was a favorite for this one, right? looking for his first ever individual gold at an olympics. he has to outperform hanu. chen reminded the world why he

is the quad king. he scores a 113.97. that sets a new world record. three-time defending world champ taking a commanding lead ahead of the long program on his quest to win that coveted individual olympic gold, isa. >> thank you very much. coy wire there. exciting day. i loved reading an article from gu this morning. if you haven't read it, read it. it explains so much of what we did in that short clip. thank you very much, coy wire. great to see you. now a phone call to geo georgia's secretary of state is resulting in a grand jury probe. >> are you worried that former president trump could somehow be able to avoid, delay what's going on with your investigation? >> no. coming up, the investigation into donald trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. that's next.

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three former white house officials confirm to cnn donald trump used to routinely tear up official documents. the allegations lead to concerns about the preservation of presidential records as required by federal record. some republicans say they are angry over the party's censuring of liz cheney and adam kinsinger. >> right now there's just a few of us willing to tell the base voters the truth. there's a lot of people hiding in the sand because the truth is hard and it makes their life a little uncomfortable. i think we have to fight for the soul of not just the party but the country. we are in a real dire moment. if we don't wake up and realize this is more than performance art when we lie and tell people elections were stolen, this actually goes to the survival of

this country in the form we know it. it's that serious. it's worth fighting for. >> donald trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election are under investigation in atlanta. the district attorney isn't concerned about any of the former president's legal tactics. bonnie willis launched the probe last year after trump's phone call to the georgia secretary of state. he urged the republican to find votes to change the state's results. they approved willis's request for a special grand jury. the jury will be seated in may and willis will be issuing subpoenas to gather evidence. they're looking at the activities of trump's allies. we spoke with cnn's sarah murray. >> are you worried that former president trump could somehow be able to avoid, delay what's going on with your investigation? >> no. >> reporter: why is that? what gives you that confidence? >> this is a criminal investigation. we are not here playing a game.

i plan to use the power of the law. we are all citizens. mr. trump, just as every other american citizen, is entitled to dignity, he's entitled to be treated fairly. he will be treated fairly in this jurisdiction. i'm not concerned at all about games to delay this. >> reporter: have you given any thought to or seen his defenses in other cases that essentially what you do as president is protected because you're the president, doesn't amount to the crime? >> of course i've given thought that that may be raised as a legal issue. i don't think that that protection will prevent a prosecution if that becomes necessary in this state case. >> cnn political commentator kesha lance bottoms, she says willis wouldn't be investigating trump without good reason.

>> she is one of the top prosecutors in the district attorney's office before she sought to become the district attorney. i've worked with bonnie in three different places, including her first job out of law school and she walked in the door fearless. so if she is pursuing this given her experience, given what she knows about what you need to move forward with a criminal case, i sure believe there's something there. i think that it's important that not only that they take a serious look and make a determination but also prosecutors across the country who may also have reason to believe that something was done inappropriately to interfere with the election because our democracy is about more than one person. >> trump is also under investigation in new york. the u.s. supreme court has

cleared the way for a congressional map drawn by alabama's republicans to remain in place. in a 5-4 decision, it kept the map. in florida governor ron de desantis appeared to voice support for a controversial bill that would impact what kind of language can be used in classrooms. opponents have dubbed it the don't say gay bill. the measure says school districts may not encourage discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students. the legislation is drawing fierce discrimination. practicing urban combat in a

ghost town. ukrainian forces are moving into chernobyl in case russia decides to invade. a first look at the drills. snow, snow go away. parts of the u.s. could be seeing even more winter weather today. >> not a bad setup for the first week of february. generally quiet conditions across the u.s. there is one spot we're watching for active weather around the northeast. wintry weather rolling in. break down the details here on snowfall coming up in a few minutes. wiwith fragrance that's always fresh, never overpowering. air wick. connect t to nature. johnson & johnsonn is building a future where cancers can be cured. strokes can be reversed. and there isn't one definition of what well feels like. there are millions. johnson & johnson is building your world of well.

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i'm isa soares. if you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories at this hour. several states are rolling back mask mandates for schools and indoor public places. they're making decisions due to high vaccination rates. the roll backs begin in the coming weeks. french president emmanuel macron has landed in kyiv where he will meet with ukraine's president vladimir zelensky. we'll have much more on both of these stories in "early start" in about 30 minutes or so. despite the diplomatic push to prevent a russian invasion, ukrainian forces are training for a possible war, chernobyl. the abandoned site is a space for drills after the world's

worst nuclear disaster. melissa bell has the story. >> reporter: through the forests of northern ukraine, it appears. the chernobyl nuclear reactor, a monument to humanity's ability to unleash uncontrollable forces. suddenly the apparent calm left behind by the 1986 soviet era accident is broken. ukrainian forces run drills in what remains a radiation exclusion zone free of any inhabitants. they're practicing urban combat. of course, this is also an information and propaganda war. everyone waits for russian president vladimir putin to decide even as ukraine questions an earlier u.s. assessment of just how imminent a potential invasion is. >> so we have the same facts but the different perception or different estimate. >> the difference is on

intention. you don't believe they intend to invade? >> i hope that in kremlin they didn't make their decision still. >> reporter: but chernobyl is only 10 miles from the border with belarus where russia has been holding joint military exercises. these, just some of the 30,000 russian combat troops that nato has warned are on their way. welcome to the bread and salt and open arms. to the east of chernobyl lies this neutral zone between ukraine, russia, and belarus. it's known as the three citrus crossing in honor of a time when they were all soviet republics. belarus is a staunch ally of russia while ukraine fears an invasion. barely visible through the freezing mist across the border in belarus, a soviet era monument to the sister nations. and at the three sisters cafe on the ukrainian side, there is

morneau stalling ga for that past than there is worry about that war. masha, a 64-year-old great-grandmother works here to supplement her pension worth the equivalent of $77 a month she says. >> translator: will putin go to war with civilians? he won't do that. i have brothers and sisters living in belarus. take them out of parliament, every last one of them. they should give people proper pensions so people won't be beg gars. >> reporter: the nearby village is only a three hour drive from kyiv but feels much further. this man won't tell us his name for fear of being labeled a separatist. he, too, misses the unity of the past and certainly doesn't appreciate visits to kyiv from the likes of the british prime minister. >> reporter: boris the uncombed comes here only whipping the tensions up. only a fool would start a war.

>> reporter: nobody will come out a winner, he says, nobody. melissa bell, cnn, ukraine. the pandemic's threat on the u.s. economy appears to be fading but two problems do present. that's inflation and supply chain shortages. ford is the latest to take a hit. they're slowing production at several of its factories because of the computer chip shortage. ford's earnings are also hurting because of that very issue. meanwhile, u.s. stocks struggled on monday from early in the day. the s&p and the nasdaq sought moderate look. if we have a look and see how tuesday is going to open up, green arrows and we look at the dow futures expected to open up .3 of a percent. amazon is digging deeper into its pockets to attract and

retain talent. the ecommerce giant announced it's more than doubling its salary caps for u.s.-based salary technology and corporate employees. it will jump from $160,000 to $350,000. it's not clear how many amazon employees will directly benefit from the increase or when, in fact, it will begin. americans were on the move in 2021. a new report from the brokerage site red bin found phoenix, arizona, gained more residents. some 85,000. other areas are dallas, texas, orlando, florida, and atlanta, georgia. the sunbelt was the most popular a area. austin, texas saw rent increase

40% from 2020. parts of the northeastern u.s. are bracing for more winter weather today with snow and ice advisories stretching from connecticut to maine. meanwhile, a far different story in parts of southern california where excessive heat can be a problem. pedram javaheri with a look at the forecast. good morning, pedram. >> good morning, isa. the pattern across the united states generally quiet. around the northeast there is a problem exiting stage right. again, it's across the northern portions of new england. even the major metro cities, just a little too warm which is the way we like it. we have excluded those areas. you'll notice portions of new hampshire, into areas of maine and portions of connecticut and massachusetts getting some of these winter weather alerts. boston, work your way south

ward. washington, 36. beyond that we do see a dryer trend. otherwise, here's what's happening elsewhere. across the portions of the dakotas. high wind alerts for 65 miles an hour. weather alerts because there's plenty of fuels in place. any fires ignited and you could see that take off dramatically. the other big area, portions of southern california. santa ana winds sending it up into the middle 80s. more than 91 degrees. right there into southern california today and the trend again in the upper 70s and 80s

in los angeles. seattle, only 47 degrees. chicago is in the upper 30s. down around tampa, chilly air still filtering into the south. >> thank you very much, pedram. still to come on cnn. the parents are looking for a big policy change to ensure other parents don't suffer the same heart break. we'll bring you that same story next.

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police in washington state say they've arrested the suspect in monday's deadly shooting in a super parkt. aaron christopher kelly was taken into custody without incident. he was arrested in spokane more than 100 miles from where the shooting took place in the

tri-city. he was previously described as armed and dangerous. police say kelly shot two people killing one and wounding another. in the coming hours jury selection is set to resume in georgia in the federal hate crimes trial of three white men convicted of killing ahmaud arbery. gregory mcmichael and travis mcmichael were convicted of murder. the minneapolis city council is reviewing policies on no knock warrants after a fatal shooting of a 22-year-old black man last week. he was sleeping on his couch when a s.w.a.t. team busted in with no warning. he was holding a gun he legally owned. to make matters worse, police say locke wasn't named in any of the warrants they were serving. omar jimenez sat down with

locke's parents who are demanding a change in the police policy. >> do you blame the officer or the system that put this officer in this position in the first place? >> the no knock warrant is what caused amir's death. >> the whole system. he wasn't killed, he wasn't murdered, he was executed. >> the parents of 22-year-old amir locke want to end what led to their son's killing, no knock warrants. which let police enter a location without first knocking and entering their presence. as police barged into an apartment where he was sleeping shouting commands, he started to get upholding a gun he legally owned and police opened fire. his parents see it as a failure in law enforcement. >> they are professional people that carry guns and are supposed to protect and serve a community. they didn't protect my son that

day. they chose not to do that. and they took him from me and i am angry. >> the love that i have for my b boy, my boy, was taken. >> reporter: the issue extends beyond minneapolis and has for years. >> in july 2019 officers executed a no knock warrant based on bad information barging in on anjanette young who was naked and later handcuffed as officers searched her place guns drawn. in 2021 the city limited no knock search warrants only on situations where knocking and announcing would be dangerous to the life and safety of another person. young wasn't killed. in louisville it was a different story. breonna taylor was shot and killed after a botched raid

turned into a hail of gunfire. the fallout eventually led to a total ban on no knock warrants in the city known as breonna's law. in minneapolis the locke family and others are fighting for the same. even now the mayor has said there's a moratorium on no knock warrants except in these situations. we have to challenge them not to put a band aid over no knock warrants. why are we not making changes preemptively that stop amir locke before amir locke ever happens? they need to take the step and completely ban no knock warrants. it's not safe for either side of the door. >> the city's current moratorium still allows for the warrants if there's an imminent threat and approval for the chief. secondly, locke's legal gun puts him a among the roughly 24% of

adults who say they own a gun. >> i know my son lying on his stomach like he sleeps with the cover over his head. he didn't see what was coming. he couldn't see who took his life. >> there's something at the heart, at the root of minneapolis that has to change. >> when you talk about knowing how your son sleeps, i know how my children sleep and i know what's going through their mind at that moment. >> nothing that they can do can bring our son back but the best thing that they can do at this point with no knock warrants and prosecuting the officer who decided to play god, fire him, prosecute him and just tell the truth. we messed up. >> this is just sad. i -- my son is a hashtag. >> omar jim men nez, cnn.

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♪ ♪

with an army of international journalists in town to cover the winter games, beijing is limiting the movement. to control the narrative during the olympics. cnn's celine na wang and david culver show us how hard it is to move around in the city. >> reporter: it's been a long time since there were this many foreign journalists in beijing but we're strictly controlled under covid rules. i can't just walk out of the hotel. and my driver can't just take me wherever i want to go. we have to stay in our lane literally. this, the closest we can get to beijing residents. he said the police will take me if i were to walk out of the gate. it's really hard to get into china as a journalist. to cover the olympic games we can get in without any visa

issues. the catch is we have to stay strictly confined into the closed loop. >> other than our hotel, the only options are the olympic venues. the authorities know where we are at all times. >> translator: restrictions, lack of access, daily occurrence. >> i'm from the u.s. but i live in beijing. >> reporter: cnn has regularly had run-ins with the chinese police, around tianamen square and throughout my first coverage of the covid outbreak in wuhan. oftentimes our reports on subjects deemed sensitive by chinese officials are censored in mainland china. the international press core based here have been forced to leave. >> not a particularly good experience. >> reporter: an australian

citizen detained based on an accusation of spying. we don't know where she's being held. >> reporter: journalists like me who live here joined by hundreds of new faces albeit separated by barriers. >> translator: but our sources in china live with much greater risk like human rights activist, a prominent critic of the communist party. speaking to me from house arrest, he said authorities are frightened he might stage a demonstration during the olympics while the world is watching. he tells me he'll be locked in for months. they've threatened to stop him from seeing his elderly mother if he doesn't comply. he's used to getting a knock on the door from police who he says have visited him four times in the past eight days. the security of the closed loop as more cases are registered but also keeping journalists from

telling their stories. celina wang with david culver, cnn, beijing. u.s. internal revenue service is putting its plan for new facial recognition software on hold after objections from lawmakers and privacy groups. the new system would have required taxpayers to take a picture of a photo i.d. to sign on to its website. the software would compare that with a selfie from the user. the irs says it's working on other ways to authenticate taxpayers' identities online. good news looking for cheap u.s. flights. spirit and frontier airlines have a deal worth $6.5 billion. it will be the fifth largest airline in the united states. two budget airlines have both taken significant hits since the pandemic began. both registering hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.

spirit ceo says the plan is to create an aggressive ultra low fare competitor. here in the u.k. a pub that claims to be the oldest in brittain has been forced to close down after more than 1200 years of business. you're looking at ye old fighting cocks. it may not be the end of the road. the owner says they're working to reopen it under new management. and that does it here for me on "cnn newsroom." i'm isa soares. our coverage of diplomacy and tensions in ukraine continues on "early start" with christine romans and laura jarrett. i shall see you tomorrow. bye-bye.

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good morning. tuesday, february 8th. 5 a.m. exactly. thanks for getting an "early start" with us. i'm christine romans. >> i'm laura jarrett. welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. we begin with a showing of unity with a few cracks. president biden and olof