john berman here in for anderson. the president spoke at the end of a tense and somewhat confusing day with mixed signals at every turn. on the one hand, vladimir putin claimed a number of russian troops are pulling out of the region. on the other, he accused ukraine of creating genocide against ethnic russians which many believe could be a pretext for invasion. on yet another hand his flurry of high profile diplomacy continued today. it was the turn of german chancellor olaf scholz and then the apparent cyberattacks today against ukraine's defense ministry and the website for two big banks. with all that to process, the president warned russia against any such attacks on the u.s. or nato allies. he said claims of a russian pullback have not been verified. and used a higher figure, 150,000, for the number of russian troops threatening ukraine. and invasion, he said, that remains distinctly possible. his words. which he also tempered with his appeal to the russian people. >> to the citizens of russia,

you are not our enemy. and i do not believe you want a bloody, destructive war against ukraine, a country and a people with whom you share such deep ties of family, history, and culture. 77 years ago, our people fought and sacrificed side by side to end the worst war in history. world war ii was a war of necessity. but if russia attacks ukraine, it would be a war of choice, a war without cause or reason. >> the president there doing what every cold war president once did routinely and ronald reagan once did so well, trying to go around the man at the top and here trying to appeal for whatever it may be worth to putin's superpower pretensions while reminding him of the responsibilities that come with it. >> two paths are still open. for the sake of historic responsibility, russia and the united states share for global

stability, for the sake of our common future to choose diplomacy. but let there be no doubt, if russia commits this breach by invading ukraine, responsible nations around the world will not hesitate to respond. we do not stand for freedom, where it is at risk today will surely pay a steeper price tomorrow. >> we will certainly talk about his remarks and bring you the latest on all aspects of this crisis. to that end, we have live coverage tonight as only cnn can from cnn's kaitlan collins at the white house. clarissa ward in kyiv, and nic robertson in moscow. kaitlan, i want to start with you. president biden said the u.s. has not yet been able to verify that russian troops are leaving positions near the ukraine border. what is the white house hoping to see that would indicate clear de-escalation, and how like do they believe at this point that an invasion is likely? >> well, when we talked to officials about what this would

look like if they thought an invasion was going to happen or if they thought russia was de-escalating, they said it would take some time, either direction that putin took to figure out what was happening, to make sure they could verify what was heard on the ground, to make sure the intelligence was correct, and make sure what they heard was right. they are proceeding with caution here, given the level of concern about what they have said about a pretext for invasion, concerns here. so when it comes to this, the president said today they haven't been able to verify this claim from russia that putin made earlier, that they are drawing back some of these troops that have been on the ukrainian border. for good reason, that claim from putin was met with a healthy dose of skepticism given claims he has made before that were not accurate or maybe they were moving the forces around but leaving the equipment, allowing them to come back at a later date. so i think two things that stood out really from the president today was saying they still haven't verified those claims that they do believe there is still a distinct possibility of an invasion happening, which they have been warning about

pretty loudly for several days now. and the president giving us an updated number of how many russian forces are there. previously, the u.s. assessment we had heard publicly was about 130,000. today, president biden said 150,000, and the white house said those words were chosen pretty carefully. >> so nic, we heard president biden speak directly to the citizens of russian, saying, quote, you are not our enemy. how was that message received? was it even heard? >> it hasn't really been heard yet. i mean, the speech came very late here in the evening. and typically, you know, what president biden is trying to do here with this message is clearly a very good way to try to communicate with the russian people, because what the russian people hear about the united states from the kremlin is the precise opposite. they hear that it is the united states that is ratcheting up the tensions, that it's the united states that is at fault here, that is the aggressor in this situation.

i find it highly unlikely that the russian government, state media, would run president biden's words as is. the independent media here have been all but crushed by president putin, particularly accelerated over the past couple of years. a lot of journalists have left the country, so while president biden has sort of tried to reach out around the kremlin, they have got a pretty strong guard on what people get to hear here. that said, a lot of people here don't want war. and a lot of people have easy access to the internet and will be able to pick this up in different ways. but there's a very heavy spin from the kremlin against president biden and against the united states here. >> clarissa ward in kyiv, we learned today a cyberattack took out services for ukraine's ministry offense defense and several state-owned banks. have those issues been resolved and any sense who is behind it?

>> so we know that the two banks that had been targeted, their websites are now up and running again. the ukrainian defense ministry website, though, appears to still be down. we don't know yet who is responsible for it, but really, what it underscores is this kind of perpetual state of confusion that ukrainians find themselves in. on the one hand, they hear a sort of positive sounding from president putin today, let's continue on the path of diplomacy. then on the other hand, they're seeing these cyberattacks taking place, which we don't know that they were perpetrated by russians, but obviously, one of the things that has been said over and over again is that the russians could try to use cyberattacks as a way, a prelude or an entree into a more significant altercation here in ukraine. so it gives the sense of anxiety. we talked about the troops as well. putin says he's withdrawing some of the troops. and then we hear from president biden today that they haven't seen any evidence of that yet or they haven't been able to verify

it. we heard also from nato's secretary-general that they haven't seen any signs of de-escalation yet. what that does is to leave people in this sense of confusion and anxiety, hoping very much that there is still a possibility for the diplomatic process to play out and there have been some real signs that that door has opened just a creak further. but also, the waters being a little muddied by things like these cyberattacks taking place. >> as we said at the top, mixed signals today, and probably deliberately mixed signals. kaitlan, the president had strong words for russia, warning against targeting american or nato companies with infrastructure -- sorry, those companies' infrastructure with cyber attacks. how worried is the biden administration about such attacks? >> i think they're concerned that could be part of what an invasion would look like. they're not necessarily saying it would just be kind of the traditional sense of an invasion. they have kind of been preparing

for all aspects, not just cyberattacks in ukraine that could destabilize the government there, but wide ranging ones maybe in response to if there are u.s. sanctions imposed in response to a russian invasion. what we have been told by sources is back since the fall when the national security council recognized that a russian invasion certainly could happen, it looked like they were preparing potentially to create the capability to have one, they started preparing for that outcome. that outcome of that happening. you saw president biden warning about that today, but also trying to make americans here recognize the consequences of what this invasion would have potentially on their lives. saying it would not be a painless invasion, just somewhere far away in eastern europe that wouldn't affect them. saying there could be cyberattacks on american companies. he's warned president putin about and warning what it could do the energy market. here and energy prices in the united states. >> so nic, to you in moscow. russian lawmakers today passed a resolution asking for vladimir putin to recognize the two regions in eastern ukraine as

essentially independent from the rest of the country. break away pro-russian regions. they have separatist movements there. they're agreed to be backed by russia. how likely is it that putin will recognize these regions and how would that change the military situation? >> yeah, i don't think it will do it in the short term because what he's saying at the moment is he wants to follow the minsk agreement, and that is to get the ukrainian government to speak directly to those separatist leaders, which they don't want to do for a number of reasons. and there are a number of reasons that both russia and ukraine interpret the minsk agreement differently. but president putin wants to put pressure on the united states, on germany, and france, and he said this again today, to put pressure on the authorities in kyiv to have those negotiations. now, that's, you know, something he says can't take too long, he wants it to happen.

you can see he's working an angle with the timeframe in mind. so by taking the vote today, there's a track opened up for him because that vote goes to his table. it will be up to him to sign off on it or not over a period of time. he'll sort of play it out. if he doesn't get what he wants perhaps through talks that are not forthcoming so far, then he can go that route. he's also saying today, accusing the ukrainian authorities of genocide committed against russian speakers in the eastern area of ukraine and that separatist area. without presenting evidence, something he has said before, the word genocide gets bandied around by russian politicians perhaps a lot more liberally than the context that we would normally use it in. but again, that helps create a narrative for putin at some point to say, okay, i have got to go in and protect the russian people in the east of ukraine. he's handed out 600,000

passports to them, by the way. so you can see all these different potential pretexts and quasi-legal ways he can develop a narrative to say i have got to go and do this. >> putin is trying to give himself more levers to pull here. and just to give people a sense of how this is all connected, clarissa, tomorrow, the president of ukraine zelensky is supposed to travel to one of those regions. any indication why he's making this specific trip? >> well, first of all, i think this has to be seen in the context of this holiday, national unity day, which president zelensky just announced and he picked wednesday the 16th and jokingly referred to the fact that this was supposed to be the invasion day. but we're going to call it national unity day. he will be traveling to the city of mariopol in the southeast of the country. one of the speculations has been that russia might try to

essentially join russia to crimea by forming a land corridor. if they do that, they will be going directly through the city. of mariopol. it's a city of about half a million people, just about 25 miles away from the russian border. these are some of the first people who would know if there was any kind of a russian invasion. and so by traveling there tomorrow, it is a powerful symbol to the people of ukraine that, you know, ukraine remains uncowed by russian aggression. that it will continue to defend its territory. of course, the reality undergirding that which we saw for ourselves when we were there in mariopol is that the city is incredibly vulnerable, and if there were to be some kind of a potential invasion, it would likely be cut off from the rest of the country in very little time at all. so an important symbolic gesture. but you know, remains to be seen whether anything definitive will come out of it. >> clarissa ward, kaitlan collins, nic robertson, it's an honor to get to speak to three such terrific reporters in crucial locations around the world. thank you to you all.

>> perspective from cnn military analyst and retired army lieutenant general mark hertling. who joins us now. general hertling, you heard the president say the u.s. has, quote, not yet verified that russia has begun the withdrawal of some troops. so what did you make of that remark? wouldn't the united states know if the russian troops were really moving? we would be able to tell, yes? >> absolutely, john. and it's been a roller coaster of a day since we last talked at 6:00 a.m. this morning. what i would say is there are certainly ways to not only verify but to just see. it doesn't take verification. both satellite imagery and high flying aircraft would be able to pinpoint the movement and where these forces are going. and certainly, that intelligence feed has made its way to the president after the various members of putin's cabinet said this morning that they were going to start pulling back. they're not pulling back based on intelligence.

they may be repositioning, but are they repositioning from their motor pools to attack positions? are they repositioning to where they should be, if they're pulling back, and that's from motor pools to rail heads, to travel back into russia? that latter is not happening. they're still in the area and preparing the potential for attack. >> this is a knowable thing and i imagine the next 24 hours will be crucial to determining the posture there. how about president biden's new numbers, saying 150,000 russian troops are now encircling ukraine in belarus? what is the significance of that higher number? >> not a surprise, first of all. i'll give one example. you said your reporters who are in the south near crimea, and there's been constant reporting today about aviation access, excess helicopters. 60 helicopters landing in crimea that weren't there yet. that's about the size of a u.s. military aviation brigade or

helicopter brigade. coming along with that is at least 4,000 people, pilots, maintenance, crew, fuel. so you talk about expanding that to additional battalions, different artillery battalions, and you quickly go from 130,000 to 150,000. and i think that's what the intelligence community has been watching over the last several weeks, several days of an increase coming into different attack positions or different assembly areas that would contribute to that number that we're talking about now. >> even with this increase, general, as you have looked at this, your opinion has been that you are not convinced vladimir putin will attack. why is that? >> i'm not convinced he's going to attack on a large scale, john. i think he's going to continue to try to probe. i think the interesting piece to watch for is what happens in the southeast part of ukraine and additional forces rolling into the donbas.

the interesting thing about that, though, president biden and the nato allies have all said any additional incursion from the 2014 attacks into ukraine would be considered an attack. so he's looking to gain leverage, and as nic robertson just reported, watch very carefully two things. number one, the cyberattacks. and any kind of indicators that russian troops or actions in the donbas or in crimea are spiking a little bit. because that will give mr. putin an excuse in his mind to go in to protect quote/unquote russian citizens. nic said, made the statement about the 600,000 passports that have been distributed in the last four months in the donbas. intelligence counts that at about 700,000. he's looking to gain support from the world stage saying he's just protecting russian citizens in this area.

but that hasn't been the case since 2014, and it certainly isn't the case today. >> general hertling, i really appreciate it. i'm sure we'll be talking soon. maybe even within a few hours. thank you. >> okay, great, john. thank you. >> next, more breaking news. new subpoenas from the january 6th committee. who and what they're targeting now and what it says about the growing scope of their investigation, and later, another boot drops in the russian skating scandal. the olympic star in question who is still competing, by the way, and is just 15, had not one, not two, but three substances used to treat heart problems in her system. we'll be joined by the head of the u.s. anti-doping agency. ♪ i think to myself ♪ ♪ what a wonderful world ♪

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senator douglas mastriano. our gary tuchman caught up with him during a rally last year pushing for pennsylvania to conduct a similar so-called audit to the one he had just been down to see in arizona. >> would you like them to come here and over turn your vote? >> you're afraid of transparency. >> i'm not afraid of nothing. >> you're terrified. he's afraid. >> are you afraid of democrats coming here? >> he's afraid of a proper forensic. i wonder what are we afraid of here? >> the truth. >> why did the democrats ask for it? >> there -- >> there have been two recalls. >> i mentioned in my speech, i have seen better elections in afghanistan. >> for more on all this, we're joined by ryan nobles at the capitol. tell us more about who these people are who are getting subpoenas and why the committee wants to talk to them. >> well, it's interesting, john, because these are the folks that were behind the scenes in this

effort to coordinate a group of swing state republicans that were going to offer up a fake set of electors that they sent to not only the vice president but to the united states congress with the hopes that they would be the electors that would ultimately give donald trump back the white house. and among them, michael roman and g. michael brown. these were two of the officials that were responsible for the election day activities for the trump campaign on that day. then these state level officials who played a big role in all the activity that took place after the election to sow doubt in the results in these key swing states despite any evidence whatsoever. what it shows here is that the committee believes this effort was part of a much bigger scheme to try and circumvent the will of the american people, and ultimately, it led to the violence that we saw here on january 6th. john. >> so ryan, a number of these individuals are electled officials and some are running for higher office. are any of these responsible for election integrity.

>> no doubt about that, john. douglas mastriano, the man you just showed there in pennsylvania, he is one of the leading republican candidates for governor of pennsylvania. and then another name, mark finchum from new mexico, he's running to be the secretary of state in new mexico, that office is of course responsible for conducting and overseeing elections in the state of new mexico. this is part of a trend we're seeing across the country where folks who are aligned with the former president, donald trump, and who support and continue to peddle his big lies about the election results are now seeking offices where they would have direct responsibility over administering future elections. john? >> ryan nobles, thank you so much for being with us. >> and because of the arizona content of tonight's subpoenas we're joined by arizona's top election official, secretary of state katie hobbs. secretary hobbs, first of all, what do you make of these subpoenas and what does it say to you about the committee's investigation? >> well, this is an investigative body and i'm glad action is finally being taken.

we have been calling out the actions of state republican party chair kelli ward and mark finchum who is running for secretary of state in arizona, not new mexico, for the last year plus. so i'm glad that something is finally being done. the actions of everybody involved in this large coordination have to be -- they have to be held accountable. >> and finchum, as you noted, is actually running for your job. as secretary of state there, and kelli ward is the chair of the arizona republican party. not only is ward one of the fake electors, the arizona republican party actually released video of her and others in december of 2020 signing the fake document, so what do you hope the committee is able to learn from these individuals? >> well, i think what we're seeing is that what's coming out is that more and more of these election subversion activities have been coordinated at very high levels from the former

president and his allies down to the level of these folks at the state that were trying to convince people to overturn the will of the voters. >> so last month, the committee served subpoenas for state and local republican officials who they alleged had knowledge of the fake electors, but now, we see two trump campaign employees seemingly accused of being directly involved here. so how big of a deal is that if there was coordination from the campaign itself? >> well, i think it's a very big deal. i think we have known from the beginning that these seemingly chaotic and uncoordinated attacks actually were coordinated, and that these folks who were just trying everything they could, throwing everything against the wall to see what stuck. but there is definitely coordination and thankfully that is starting to come more and more to light through the activities of the commission. >> as we noted, several of the people subpoenaed today and are

allegedly involved in the plot are running for higher office, positions that control elections. what kind of impact do you think this would have on the integrity of elections? >> well, we know that democracy prevailed in 2020 because people on both sides of the aisle, people with integrity did their jobs to uphold the will of the voters. what we're seeing now is an attempt to install trump loyalists at every level so that those checks and balances that exist will be removed, and quite honestly, that's why i'm running for governor, because we have to have people at every level that are going to continue to uphold the will of the voters, regardless of whether or not they're happy with the outcome, and we need those checks and balances. and i welcome folks to join me in that foyt at katiehobbs.org. >> we appreciate you being with us tonight. thank you very much. >> thank you. so coming up, a landmark victory for some of the families of sandy hook families as he

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these were the innocent people who were gunned down and killed senselessly in the sandy hook massacre that left 20 children and 6 adults dead in newtown, connecticut in 2012. now nine years later, some of the victims' families are finally seeing a victory, a $73 million settlement against the now bankrupt gunmaker of the ar-15-style weapon used in the attack was announced today, and the agreement also provides access to thousands of remington documents which is the parent company of the gun used in the shooting. a hard fought emotional victory as cnn's erica hill reports. >> you have these moments when there's any kind of a victory or forward progress that you want

to celebrate? and then it just kind of hits you like a gut punch that, you know, daniel is still gone. it's a strange psychological dynamic. >> yeah. >> that continues to beat the crap out of us. >> caller is indicating she thinks there's someone shooting in the building. >> daniel barden was just 7 years old when he was murdered at sandy hook elementary, one of 20 children and 6 adults killed that day in 2012. >> what has happened, what has transpired at that school building will leave a mark on this community and every family impacted. >> overnight, memorials blanketed this small connecticut town. images of angels, messages of strength for 26 families, now faced with an unimaginable horror. >> one moment we had this dazzling, energetic 6-year-old little boy. and the next, all we had left

were echoes of the past. every day is a realization that he should be here. yet he's not. >> the shooter that day, a deeply troubled 20-year-old, killed his mother before opening fire at the school with a bushmaster semiautomatic ar-15 style rifle. two years later, the families of nine victims filed a lawsuit against the makers of that gun, bushmaster, and its parent company, remington. a move seen widely as an uphill battle given the federal protections that shield gun makers from most legal liability in wrongful death cases brought by family members. >> this victory, this landmark historic victory sends a forceful and compelling message to manufacturers and to the insurance and banking industries that support them. this is a high-risk market. it's not profitable. and you will be held accountable. >> that historic victory, a $73

million settlement with remington and its insurers. which also allows the families to make thousands of internal company documents public, according to the plaintiffs' attorneys. >> we wanted to make sure that they found everything that had been going on behind closed doors. >> this settlement is a tremendous risk for gun manufacturers because it allows the plaintiffs and the public to lift the curtain and see how guns are marketed and to whom and why and how much is spent on that. >> while the settlement is a clear victory, the families insist it is not justice. >> it's very emotional. it's just connected to our little daniel, the whole reason we're here, and it's because he was murdered as a direct outcome of some of these -- some of what was going on. >> true justice would be our 15-year-old healthy and standing next to us right now. but benny will never be 15.

he will be 6 forever. because he is gone forever. and erica hill joins me now. those faces break my heart even to this day. these internal company dumes documents from remington that were so important to the families to make public, any indication when they will be released? and what do you think is in them? >> we don't know exactly what is in them nor when they will be released. cnn has reached out to remington and its insurers. we have not yet heard back. but as you point out, john, it's those documents that are so important. jackie vardon who you heard from there, her son daniel was killed. she said to me, those documents were almost more important to her and her husband mark. this wasn't about the money. this was about the documents. they needed to see what was going on there. and they also, john, they look at this as honoring their son. this fight for this information, this fight to make sure that no other family has to go through

what they live day in and day out, that is part of how they honor daniel. >> and they would not give up. these families fought and fought for years for this. erica hill, thank you so much. so we have new details tonight on russian figure skater kamila valiyeva's december drug test and what she's saying caused her positive results. cnn sports analyst christine brennan and the ceo of the u.s. anti-doping agency join us next. bath fitter into their homes? it just fits. bath fitter. call now or visit bathfitter.com to book your free consultation. ♪ (delivery man) that's for you. (mail recipient 1) these are opened. (mail recipient 2) and it came like this? (delivery man) i don't know they're all open. this one's open too. privacy is important to you? (mail recipient 4) yeah. privacy is really important to me. (mail recipient 5) it is! to everybody! (mail recipient 6) privacy is everything! (mail recipient 7) whose been reading our mail? (delivery man) i don't know whose been reading it, i just deliver it. (mail recipient 5) this is my family here! (mail recipient 8) this is a picture of me and my wife.

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we're following new twists in the saga surrounding teenage russian skating star kamila valiyeva. a newly released document says before the olympic games she had tested positive for not one but three heart medications in her system. two of the substances were not banned. one was the banned drug at the center of the controversy. an international olympic committee official said today valiyeva is blaming the doping violation on a condamnation from her grandfather's medication. all of this as valiyeva was back on the ice for the first time today since a ruling allowing her to continue competing in the olympics. she appeared emotional after racing into the lead.

of the women's singles skating competition. joining us is the ceo of the u.s. anti-doping agency, travis tygart, a legend, a towering figure in the anti-doping movement, and also cnn sports analyst christine brennan, a towering figure in her own right. travis, i want to start with you. you told "the new york times," there's a trifecta of substances found in this skater's system. explain what you mean by that. >> yeah, well, the document that was out there is that she declared not only l-carnitine, which we saw in the nike oregon case and found a violation, but also hypoxen. and importantly, those two by themselves are not prohibited, but then of course the positive for the tmz. and those three are all aimed at increasing performance and helping reduce stamina, tiredness, oxygen carrying capacity. it's pretty incredible a 15-year-old would have those three declared as one positive, but the other two that she was

apparently taking she declared at the time of the test. it raises alarm bells of who is behind her, where are the resources, the finances, to obtain these substances, two drugs and one supplement, all an effort clearly to enhance performance. >> travis, the mixture of it tells an even clearer story to you. is there any reason in your view that these additional substances would be in an athlete's system, especially along with the third? and could enough of it, i know you also said this is no trace amount here, this is more than would just be picked up by touching a glass that her grandfather used. >> yeah, the other document, you know, indicated 2.1 nanogram level which is an amount clearly consistent with a therapeutic use dose or potentially an intentional dose. but these substances and the use of them obviously are there to enhance performance. young athletes obviously sometimes take supplements and other, you know, substances to

help recovery and nutrition, whatever it may be, but having these three, two declared and one obviously testing positive that wasn't declared, the one that is prohibited, raises significant red flags and alarm bells that there is someone behind whether it's a coach, doctor, the state, that's helping this young athlete and teaching this young athlete to use these substances in order to ultimately increase and enhance performance. >> she did compete for the first time since the controversy came to light. the fact she was caught doping and yet continuing to skate, what are the other athletes at the games saying about this? >> john and travis, you know, they are talking -- they're careful. this is their moment, right? this is something that travis talks a lot about, these athletes with fair play and the opportunity to reach the heights of their career. so that's their focus. but mariah bell, who finished 11th, ten places behind kamila valieva, she was talking

eloquently about drug testing, about how important it is to her, how she might miss something if there's a knock on the door. what these athletes go through for the privilege of representing their country. i think a lot of people, travis you and i have talked about this, don't know this, what's going on in michael phelps, michelle kwan, allyson felix, on and on, katie ledecky, what they do every day to be ready to be tested to prove that they are clean athletes. so mariah talked about it a little bit, also expressed sympathy for her opponent, obviously valieva, and i think that's a feeling now, especially with what you were just talking about, you know, are we talking about child abuse here? you know, this is a 15-year-old. and while this story, of course, has just swallowed up the olympics and made this olympic experience something less than it otherwise would have been for these great athletes, the focus also on russia and what they're doing to these young girls, they put them on the discard pile before they hit 18, they move on to the next one, and now we're getting an inside look at the netherworld that is really appalling.

>> i have spoken to a number of former olympians and they're all appalled. they feel more free to speak about it. they are appalled by what's happening and the fact she's competing. travis, do you have any faith in the election going forward from the world anti-doping agency, from the russians, do you have faith about where this is headed, travis? >> no, not at all. i mean, russia strikes again. if you play with fire, you get burned over and over and over. in the world of anti-doping agency was the organization that the world was supposed to trust to scrutinize individual russian athletes to insure that they were clean prior to coming to the games. if you remember, the russians today aren't competing on behalf of their country. they're technically under a quote/unquote ban which is actually a farce of a consequence, but they're competing for the russian olympic committee. that was on the promise that wada was going to insure that every russian athlete that did compete on behalf of the russian olympic committee was going to be clean and had passed their drug tests and they obviously dropped the ball on this one big

time, and it's now thrown a grenade in the middle of the olympics and stolen the moment, as christine just so eloquently said, from clean athletes from around the world, both from the u.s. and other countries, that want their moment and want their sacrifice to do it the right way to be rewarded and we can all know and hope that they are the stars and inspirations that we want and so desperately need them to be. >> travis tygart, christine brennan, thank you both so much for what you do. we appreciate it. >> thanks for having me, john. >> just ahead, a look at a high profile murder tonight. what it says about hate crimes in the u.s. and the overall rising crime rate. vitamins to help energize and replenish. dayquil severe is a max strength daytime, coughing, power through your day, medicine. new from vicks. (vo) what makes my heart beat? having everything i want in the place i love. jamaica. heartbeat of the world.

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. there are worries tonight about whether this year we'll see a similar sharp rise in violent crime to the one we saw last year. according to one recent study released by the major cities chiefs association, homicide

rates and aggravated assaults were all up in 2021. one of the cities that saw a large rise, new york, also reported that hate crimes almost doubled last year. miguel marquez has the story about the latest high-profile murder that has alarmed the city while questions still remain. >> reporter: christina yuna lee, 35 years old, yet another asian american woman brutally killed. >> it's happening every time you turn around. the news is showing yet another victim, and it's hard to catch a breath. >> reporter: christina lee was stabbed more than 40 times, say prosecutors, found in her bathroom naked from the waist up. while it's unclear whether lee's race or ethnicity played a role in the attack, the killing conjures fear all too common for asian americans and women everywhere. >> the guard is up all the time, and it's been for a while. >> reporter: so christina yuna lee's apartment is right next to a subway station, but officials say she took a taxi that night

or a car, something that happens a million times in this city. jumped from the car to the door of her apartment. police say that her alleged killer pushed into the door as she went in, followed her six floors up, staying one floor behind her, and then when she opened her door, he pushed into her apartment. neighbors heard calls for help, dialed 911, and then those calls went silent. >> it could have been me. it could have been anybody in the building. >> reporter: police responded quickly. police say the alleged killer inside the apartment spoke to police through the closed door, pretending to be a woman and telling them to go away. it took over an hour to get into the apartment. by that time, lee was dead. prosecutors say her alleged killer, 25-year-old assamad nash, was found hiding under the bed. >> you didn't kill her because she was asian? >> i didn't kill nobody. >> reporter: nash has so far

been charged with murder and burglary. more charges may be coming. the legal aid society representing him has declined to comment. the killing, another fear-inducing chapter adding to concerns over anti-asian hate crimes growing for years. in 2020, an asian man sprayed with a cleaning product, febreze. a filipino man's face slashed last year. last week, a korean diplomat punched in the face in what the nypd says was an unprovoked attack. and last month, michelle alyssa go was shoved onto the subway tracks directly in front of an oncoming train. >> there's a vulnerability there and a sense of perceived weakness towards asian american women and asian american seniors that perpetrators tend to be pulled towards because we're seen as easy prey. >> reporter: won, a new york

city council member says the rise in intensity in crimes against asian americans comes as little surprise. she blames an increase in homelessness, a strain on mental health services, and the words repeatedly used by the former president, blaming china for the pandemic. >> kung flu. >> we had a national figure calling this pandemic the kung flu virus or the chinese virus and continued to inflame racism of trying to personify something that has hurt every single one of our lives into something that's tangible, where you can scapegoat and say it's their fault. >> reporter: miguel marquez with us now. could nash face hate crime charges? >> reporter: it is possibility. the district attorney here in manhattan says they are still investigating it, so that is certainly possible. they're trying to figure out whether her identity, her race played a part in this. i also want to show you the small memorial that is growing to christina yuna lee in front

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♪ ♪ ♪ the news continues so let's hand it over to laura coates and "cnn tonight." >> i'm laura coates, and this is "cnn tonight." amid all of the confusion, all of the uncertainty about whether russia will really invade ukraine, i guess perhaps it's fitting that president biden had announced to america today that we are prepared for anything, quote, no matter what. so what exactly does that mean? does that mean prepared to be proactive? reactive? and what would be a russian war with ukraine actually cost the united states? and what would it cost russia in the end as well?