"today in the bay." we'll be back with a live local news update at 7:25 this morning. >> and we'll have much more for you during our midday newscast coming up for you at 11:00. want to leave you with a live look. this is kyiv, the capital city of ukraine. more on the "today" showch and the invasion of russia. good morning. breaking news, under attack. russia unleashing a massive military assault on ukraine. the biggest in europe since world war ii. chaos on the streets of kyiv, a miles long traffic jam as thousands attempt to flee. vladimir putin warning the u.s. and other nations not to interfere. president biden condemning the attacks as unprovoked and unjustified pledging even harsher sanctions and preparing to address the nation today. complete coverage from washington, moscow, and the

front lines. plus, the major impact on fuel prices and wall street straight ahead. all that plus "today" exclusive, halyna hutchins' husband opens up for the first time since she was shot and killed on the set of the "rust" movie" voicing anger and outrage at alec baldwin for not taking more responsibility. >> seeing him cry about it, i just feel like are we really supposed to feel bad about you, mr. baldwin? >> this morning, his pursuit of justice, matt and halyna's touching love story. >> you knew right away? >> it was pretty magical. >> and the special way her legacy in hollywood and as a mother will now be honored. and packing a punch, the second of back-to-back winter storms now racing east. alerts posted for 112 million people from texas to new england bracing for a dangerous mix of snow, ice, and rain. al has your full forecast straight ahead today, thursday,

february 24th, 2022. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with savannah guthrie and hoda kotb from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. >> welcome to "today." it's a thursday morning. 7:00 a.m. on the west coast. thank you so much for joining us. >> good morning, everybody. we do have breaking news. russia launching strikes across ukraine overnight, the first coming just minutes after vladimir putin gave a speech authorizing military action and during an emergency meeting of the u.n. security council. >> take a look at this map. it's showing the targets in multiple cities that were hit with cruise and ballistic missiles including kyiv. that's where military headquarters and airfields were targeted. >> and that has led to this scene in the ukrainian capital this morning, thousands taking to their cars after officials imposed martial law there. you can see traffic on one road

out of kyiv at a complete standstill and just this morning, chilling perspective from the nato inspector general saying, peace on our continent has been shattered. we now have war in europe on a scale and a type that we thought belonged to history. >> from ukraine to russia to the white house and wall street, we've got it all covered. let's start out with nbc's foreign correspondent richard engel. he's been covering the attacks all night. hi, richard. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, hoda. people are trying to escape the bombs but don't know where to go. ukraine has been attacked from the north, south, and east and army and government are still holding strong. they are still in place and they still control the major cities. russia overnight launched its long anticipated attack on ukraine striking military posts across the country. an unprovoked war in europe is now under way.

the assault began with an angry message from president vladimir putin broadcast in the middle of the night. russia cannot feel safe, develop, and exist with a constant threat emanating from the territory of modern ukraine, he said, describing the government in kyiv as a junta of neo-nazis determined to build nuclear weapons. as putin spoke seemingly on cue, russian bombs started falling. cruise and ballistic missiles, ukrainian officials said, along with attack helicopters striking military installations including air bases near the capital kyiv. and more military targets in several other ukrainian cities including kharkiv, the biggest city in eastern ukraine. russia claimed to have eliminated much of ukraine's defenses but the russian reports appear exaggerated. several videos show what they describe as columns of russian tanks entering ukrainian territory. a potentially devastating war in

ukraine has just begun. but so far it appears to be a gradual assault. putin, who said he does not want to occupy the country, may be trying to take ukraine without having to fight hard for it, appealing to the military not to resist. but there are no signs ukrainians are raising the white flag. president zelenskyy in a predawn appeal told ukrainians to stay strong and calm as he announced the start of martial law. while some ukrainians in kyiv were heading out of the capital, many are determined to stay and resist. in mariupol, people this morning were stocking up on cash with long lines at the atms. >> how are you feeling? >> i'm nervous, and i'm trying to keep my children calm said helen. putin says he's doing ukrainians a favor by trying to get rid of their nazi fascist government. what do you think about that?

"we don't need his protection," she said and dismissed putin's claims as lies. supermarkets were flooded too, 45-minute waits for checkout. this is our ukraine. i'm staying, i'm calm. i'm even smiling. ukraine has mobilized its forces and begun to defend its cities. the government is calling for urgent blood donations to treat the growing but still unclear number of casualties. this is one of those military facilities that took a direct hit. it is a radar dish on the edge of mariupol near the airport. for now it's been primarily military targets but as you can see it is starting to get dark here. people are getting more nervous, and they are wondering what the night will bring as they face another potential night of russian shelling in this city now at war. >> richard engel for us there. richard, thank you. >> president biden immediately responding to russia's attack saying vladimir putin has chosen a, quote, premeditated war that

will result in a catastrophic loss of life, and this morning the president is meeting with key allies. nbc's chief white house correspondent kristen welker with that part of the story. kristen, good morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning to you. president biden is condemning the russian invasion in the strongest terms, and in a statement overnight said he and the first lady are praying for the people of ukraine. the president will speak to the nation about the crisis later today after monitoring the situation here at the white house late into the night, and in an urgent call with the president of ukraine, mr. biden vowed to rally global leaders against vladimir putin and to hold russia accountable. overnight as the first explosions rattled parts of ukraine, an extraordinary split screen, the u.n. security council, which russia chairs, convening a rare emergency meeting, its second this week in a failed last-ditch effort to deter vladimir putin. the u.s. ambassador to the united nations sounding the alarm.

>> this is a perilous moment, and we are here for one reason and one reason only, to ask russia to stop. >> reporter: and in a chilling moment during the meeting, the ukrainian ambassador confirmed russian military options were underway directing these scathing remarks at his russian counterpart. >> it is too late, my dear colleagues, to speak about the escalation. too late. the russian president declared war. should i play the video of your president? >> reporter: president biden who will announce another round of sanctions against russia today denounced the russian aggression overnight calling them unprovoked and unjustified adding, president putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering. the world will hold russia accountable. senator mark warner, the top democrat on the intelligence committee, writing, the russian people will pay a steep cost for putin's reckless ambition in

blood and in economic harm. republican senator mitt romney writing, america and our allies must answer the call to protect freedom by subjecting putin and russia to the harshest economic penalties. and former president donald trump, who broke with most republicans and praised putin just two days ago -- >> here's a guy who is very savvy. >> reporter: -- overnight also blamed the biden administration for putin's decision to invade. >> he sees the weakness and the incompetence and the stupidity of this administration, and as an american i'm angry about it, and i'm saddened by it. >> reporter: the president has imposed initial rounds of sanctions on russia this week, but a number of republicans and even some democrats have been calling on the administration to deliver an even bigger blow to putin. now, president biden will speak with key allies in a virtual meeting of g7 leaders later this morning, and will then announce new sanctions in coordination

with other world leaders. now, putin has not been deterred by any sanctions so far. so how harsh will today's penalties be? the white house has not ruled out taking russia out of a global banking system or even sanctioning vladimir putin directly, savannah. >> all right. kristen welker at the white house, thank you. let's move from the white house to moscow and a closer look at how russia's attacks are being received there. "today" international correspondent keir simmons joins us from there. >> reporter: president putin made his televised announcement before 6:00 a.m. here in moscow but russians woke up to find it playing on loop on morning television and to find the value of their currency crashing. hoda, there have been lines at banks of russians trying to withdraw dollars from banks and people coming up to us on the streets to tell us how upset they are. one man told us he supports president putin. many, many others told us they do not including one woman who says her partner is ukrainian and how frightened she is for him. >> i don't like it, and i don't

want it to be like that at all. >> do you know people in ukraine? >> yep. i'm actually in love with one. so i don't know what to say. it's a tragedy. >> i'm afraid that something will happen here, and i'm afraid of people who live in ukraine. >> you're afraid for them? >> yes. >> reporter: and president putin has canceled his public appearances today. we're told that he is meeting with oligarchs as russia faces those huge sanctions threatened by the west, savannah. president putin, we are told, is making the decisions with a small group around him inside the walls of the kremlin, savannah. >> all right, keir, thank you. we want to turn to michael ambassad stavridis, the former supreme allied commander, now an nbc n mning. i wish it were under better circumstances.

i'll start with you militarily as an opening salvo, i heard you earlier call this shock and awe. what about this -- what does it tell you about putin's ultimate ambition here? >> i don't think we have to guess about his ultimate ambition, savannah. as you heard from keir a moment ago, he gave a speech on national russian television and said he is going to change the regime. he is going to go full-bore. i think we're looking at an extensive campaign here. the front edge of it is exactly what you would see, military war college 101, start with assaults that take out the air defense, take out the command and control. back it up with a cyberattack. move your shock troops forward, your tank columns, all that's in place. it's been building for months. there's really no mystery here. i think he's going to go full-bore, get to kyiv, try and capture zelenskyy. we've got to protect zelenskyy, figure out a way for him to have a government in exile.

arm a ukrainian resistance. we've got a lot of work ahead of us. >> let me turn to you, ambassador mcfaul, there have been threats of severe u. needs to drop the hammer, in other words, the entire load, throw everything we've got at vladimir putin? >> absolutely, savannah, there's no day like today. there's no saving sanctions for some bigger intervention or some bigger invasion. it's happening right now, and so i hope that president biden will lead the free world in doing the most comprehensive sanctions that they can do, and i want to be clear about this. i have no illusions that that's going to change putin's calculus. it's not. it doesn't matter if we sanction the oligarchs or the people close to him. he's still going to move forward, but over time hopefully those sanctions will incur some costs within russian elites and within russian society and sometimes you just have to do the right thing, savannah.

this whole cost benefit analysis of sanctions, are they working or are they not, this is an atrociously evil, awful thing that vladimir putin did last night. it demands a major response. >> and just put that into perspective, like both of you on this actually, i'll start with you, admiral stavridis, what we saw, we haven't seen very much in the last 80 years. you have a country rolling over into another sovereign nation. what does it mean strategically if russia takes ukraine? what does it mean for europe? what does it mean for us? >> for us it would mean that the nato alliance has seen yet again a third time vladimir putin cross a border in anger, did it in georgia in 2008, did it in ukraine 2014, he's doing it again in ukraine now looking to go the full package, and,

savannah, that matters to us because ukraine is a big, strategically important country. it has stood with us in military operations. i've commanded ukrainian troops in combat in afghanistan, and above all, it's a democracy. this is a country that deserves our support. they are not in nato, and i'll conclude by saying, you know, if you're a european, it's a pretty good morning in europe to be inside the nato alliance. that is the safe zone, great danger ahead for ukraine. >> and last for you, ambassador mcfaul, it is wishful thinking, isn't it, to think that this ends with ukraine in terms of vladimir putin and his ultimate ambitions? >> it's hard to say. i would just remind everybody that wars start when leaders think they're going to be small, little, independent, you know, small things. they're going to be done in a few weeks, and we know from history that, one, wars can go a

lot longer than leaders promised and they can expand. and, you know, in my opinion this is equivalent to september 1st, 1939, the beginning of world war ii. it doesn't mean it's going to blow up to be a world war, but this is the largest conventional war in europe since 1939, and that has consequences, not just for europe, not just for ukraine, but for the future of international stability writ large. >> it is a grim morning, indeed, ambassador michael mcfaul and admiral stavridis, thank you for your time and we'll be checking in with you often. thank you. here at home, those russian attacks are having a major impact on fuel prices and also the stock market, so what does it all mean for you? let's bring in nbc senior business correspondent stephanie ruhle. good morning. >> good morning to you. the three things, the stock market, oil and inflation. stock markets in the u.s. and europe taking a tumble after the

military operation that took place overseas. one thing that investors do not like is unpredictability and that's exactly what we're getting from vladimir putin right now. it's got stocks across the board down. one place we're seeing things up, oil, that is not good news. oil now around $100 a barrel, the highest we've seen since 2014. this is not good news for the american people. right now gas is around $3.50 a gallon. it could go to as high as $4 a gallon and the big thing we're worried about is inflation. something like this impacts the supply chain around the world and even though russia isn't a big trading partner for us, wheat and other commodities, we do get a lot of that here in the united states, so you could see prices go up at the grocery store and we've all talked about these supply chain issues impacting inflation. it means inflation is likely going to be here longer than we expected. not good news.

at least not for now, hoda. >> all right, stephanie ruhle, stephanie, thank you so much. >> we want to turn now tom llamas in for craig, another story we're following this morning. >> hey, guys, good morning to you. back here in the states we are tracking the second major cross country storm of the week. it's now spreading snow and and causing major travel issues as it races east al has stayed busy all week fo us with all these storms mr. roker, good morning. >> good morning, guys, here we go we've been talking about this, 112 million people from the southwest, texas, all the way to the northeast in new england where we are looking at winter weather advisories we're already seeing icing from little rock up into nashville, back into pennsylvania this system as it makes its way to the east is going to cause slick travel from iowa to maryland heavy rain, storms for the southeast, and then as we move into tomorrow, secondary storm moves off the coast. we've got much colder air coming in heavy snow, though, and wind developing for parts of new england. we start off with the rain, heavy rain and flooding for much of the mid-atlantic states on into the tennessee river valley. saturated soil from recent

storms going to cause some flooding there what we're really concerned about, icing, stretching from interior sections of the northeast across the great lakes and down into texas, damaging amounts. we could be talking about a half inch of ice in some spots and the snow generally light, 1 to 3 inches from madison, green bay, chicago 2 to 5 inches, detroit, 1 to 3 but the heavy snow interior ne england, boston, we could be looking at 8 to 12 inches of snow 4 to 8 for hartford, 8 to 12 inches in albany. here in new york right now we're looking at maybe an inch, but we're going to continue to monitor this as it develops. we're going to get to your local forecast in the next 30 seconds. adjusts to where her spending is trending. just ask wait, was this the right wall? i'm putting a bow on it! wow... ...even sneaking away for a vacay rashida. shhh! i've earned this, okay? earn 5% cash back in your top eligible spend category,

up to $500 spent each billing cycle. with the citi custom℠ card. good thursday morning. i'm meteorologist carry, hall. the temperatures has dropped down to a bitterly cold 23 degrees in fairfield right now. we are subfreezing for a lot of our inland valleys as you're heading out on this morning, and as we go into today, temperatures into the inland areas will reach into the upper 50s. it will also be cold again tomorrow morning, but then starting to get milder for those afternoons going into the weekend. we'll be watching out for slight rain chances for the middle of next week. and that's your latest weather, guys. >> all right, al, thank you. straight ahead a "today" exclusive, matt hutchins speaking out for the first time since his wife halyna's tragic death on the set of "rust." >> justice won't bring halyna back but maybe the memory of her can help keep people safe.

>> our candid and emotional conversation his message for alec baldwin and

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it's my woke-up-like-this migraine medicine. it's ubrelvy. one dose can quickly stop my migraine in its tracks within 2 hours. don't take with strong cyp3a4 inhibitors. most common side effects were nausea and tiredness. ask about ubrelvy, the anytime, good morning. it is 7:2. i'm marcus washington. the big story today, the russian invasion of ukraine, and it's creating a new sense of urgency for leaders here in california. >> i'm bob redemocrat as russia invades ukraine, governor newsom's office of emergency services tweeted out last night that it's closely monitoring the developments there, and i'm quoting here. in our role as california's homeland security lead, we are proactively working to ensure the state is closely coordinated with local and federal partners and able to act swiftly to address any threats that may occur. it should be not, it must be noted we have no reports of any

threats against the state or bay area related to the russian invasion of ukraine. >> i'm kris sanchez in santa clara county could meet its final benchmark for dropping the indoor mask mandate today. this is what we're talking about. the county has a expectation of 550 or fewer cases per day for a full week in order to drop the man day. the county already met the target of low and stable hospitalization numbers and an 80% or higher vaccination rate. santa clara and l.a. counties were the last in the state to keep indoor masking requirement which l.a. will drop tomorrow. >> time to get a look at that forecast for you. starting out nice and cold this morning. meteorologist kari hall has a look at those temps. >> yeah. we are in a microclimate weather alert. as we've seen some record low temperatures in santa rosa. we were very close in other spots as our current temperatures are holding below freezing in many areas, and then as we go into today we're headed for the upper 50s. it will be cold tomorrow morning but mild for the weekend. marcus. >> thanks, kari. >> going to have another local

news update coming up for you in 30 minutes. i'll see you back here then.

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we're back at 7:30 with the sights and sounds of war, something unfathomable russian helicopters attacking targets in ukraine this morning. ukrainian forces firing back this is the most significant fighting in europe since world war ii. >> and of course that's our top story. president biden set to deliver an address on the situation later today. it will be watched around the world to see how he responds to vladimir putin's aggression. >> nbc's erin mclaughin is in kyiv where emergency sirens and explosions have been heard throughout the night, she has

been reporting since they started. erin, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, tom, ukraine is now under assault by air, land, and sea, in the small hours of the morning here in the capital, people were woken up to the sounds of explosions followed by sirens a number of missiles have hit a variety of different military installations here in the intelligence headquarters, which is just four miles from where i am standing. now, 20 miles from the capital is the town of hop samah, we are now hearing that russian helicopters an the belarusian border, they were met by russian tanks, 50 of them into ukraine they were met by ukrainian

military, a fight is under way with heavy casualties on both sides. that acording to the former ukrainian defense minister now martial law has been declared across the country. there is a heavy police presence here in kyiv people are being told to shelter in place, but many are choosing to evacuate with a large traffic jam seen leaving the city heading in the westward direction towards the polish border. tom. >> yeah, so many trying to escape the capital right now erin, thank you, you and your team stay safe we'll have much more live coverage of the situation there in ukraine our teams are spread throughout the country. we're going to turn now for the moment to a "today" exclusive. hoda, you sat down with the husband of halle berry >> the cinematographer, she was fatally shot on the set of alec baldwin's movie. it was an unthinkable tragedy. there were so many questions, how did this happen? who was responsible? well, matt hutchins is now seeking answers and justice. he filed a wrongful death lawsuit, and this is his first interview.

he opens up about that, about his anger, about his heartache, and his 16-year marriage to halyna >> when do you miss her the most >> i saw a picture of her smiling the other day, and i just thought, you know, she'll never smile again, and that's really hard. >> i didn't know her, but i know you loved her. i mean, that's apparent sitting across from you in this moment when you first met halyna, was it, wow? was it like fireworks? what was it like >> pretty much. >> was it? you knew right away? >> it was pretty magical meeting her. >> it was love at first sight, matt hutchins traveling 2,000 miles to ukraine, halyna's native country, to propose getting engaged only three months after they met. >> well, i like to trust my intuition on matters of the heart, and i was like, well, i can just get on a train and go 2,000 miles and get there.

>> that's what love does wow. >> it was along the way where i decided to propose and i got down on my knee and said let's get married. and it was way too fast for her. she said, i don't know about this so i had to convince her, and we met up and i gave her a ring. >> that ring he gave halyna he now wears. matt and halyna were happily married for 16 years raising a loving son. there was a picture that struck me so deeply, and it was she and andros nose to nose and when i saw that, i thought that's pure. >> she just felt that connection and just loved him so much. >> reporter: and halyna calling every night from the "rust" movie set to wish him good night. >> what were their conversations like >> well, they would get on video, you know, and she would just do everything that she could as a mom to reassure him, you know, just give him kisses. >> and how did that make him feel when he saw her on video

like that? >> i think it helped him get to sleep every night knowing that she was thinking about him. >> i feel like in life we expect certain things to happen we expect the sun to rise. we expect the sun to set, and we expect our loved one to come home at night. >> well, we certainly expected her to come home and to be there with us in our new home. >> reporter: matt hutchins describes the horrifying moment he learned his beloved wife was shot and how he shared the heartbreaking news with their 9-year-old son andros. >> how did you learn that something was wrong? >> i remember the production team told me that halyna had been shot, and my heart sank right away, completely inexplicable to me that it could have happened at that moment, and the first thing i thought, i sat down, and i said, i have to get my son because i had to be with him i rushed home, and on the way,

decided we had to go t santa fe, and when i got to the doctor and spoke with him and he detailed exactly what had happened and that she didn't survive, i mean, i was heartbroken, and i knew that i had to tell my son right away when i saw him, just had to be very direct and blunt, because going to pick him up and go to the airport to go to santa fe, i didn't want him to think we were going to be seeing her and having fun together and getting his hopes up i told him sitting together that his mother had been shot and died and of course he didn't believe it right away. he didn't want to believe it so you know -- >> what did he say >> well, you know, i think that that kind of news you just have to say multiple times so that it can be believed. and so he believed it, and we cried together then, every holiday, christmas, new year's,

our anniversary, my birthday, valentine's day, i mean, every holiday is difficult without her and for me and andros. >> alec baldwin called you afterwards, and it was an embrace and a meal tell me what that was like >> well, i feel like to understand that moment you have to remember the shock we were in and i spoke with mr. baldwin and was just looking for a way through the storm. >> did he seem distraught during that time? >> there were a lot of emotions for sure on both sides. >> hutchins, who's filed a civil suit against baldwin and other producers and crew members on the film, now expressing outrage with baldwin's recent interview where he says the actor shifted blame over the death of his wife halyna.

>> i feel that someone is responsible for what happened, and i can't say who that is, but i know it's not me. >> but watching him, i just felt so angry, just so angry to see him talk about her death so publicly in such a detailed way and then to not accept any responsibility after having just described killing her. >> he said essentially he felt grief but no guilt >> almost sounds like he was the victim and hearing him blame halyna in the interview and shift responsibility to others and seeing him cry about it, i just feel like are we really supposed to feel bad about you, mr. baldwin? >> so you think that the majority of the blame lays on alec baldwin? >> the idea that the person holding the gun causing it to discharge is not responsible is absurd to me every individual who touches a

firearm has a responsibility for gun safety, but gun safety was not the only problem on that set. there were a number of industry standards that were not practiced, and there's multiple responsible parties. >> the suit, which alleges at least 15 safety practices were disregarded on set, claims there was a wider culture of cost cutting that ultimately led to halyna's death in a statement, baldwin's attorney says, any claim that alec was reckless is entirely false. >> in your mind's eye, what does justice look like? >> yeah, we're pursuing justice every way we can, you know, with the lawsuit seeking to hold accountable the people who are responsible for halyna's death, which was totally preventable. in the end, you know, justice won't bring halyna back, but maybe the memory of her can help

keep people safe and prevent something like this from ever happening again. >> the american film institute afi where halyna received a graduate degree in cinematography established a scholarship in her honor >> you feel her spirit in here at afi >> oh, she spent many hours here. >> yeah. >> and, yeah, afi has been wonderful. i also want her legacy as an artist to liveuld ha afi has created the scholarship in her name. i think that's part of her legacy you know, she would have been mentoring fellow female cinematographers as a guiding light for others. >> there's a beautiful inscription on her -- i guess you would call it a tombstone. what is written there, and why did you choose that? >> so her light shapes our lives, keep chasing your vision.

you know, thinking about how her light just permeates our lives and to be inspired and ambitious and that really embodied her spirit >> and matt has had so much tragedy. he just lost his parent from covid a couple of years ago, and i was just thinking about breaking news today in ukraine her entire family is from ukraine and in the capital of kyiv, so he's carrying a lot he also obviously had a lot of anger for alec baldwin, and also he just wanted people to know his wife he felt like nobody knew her, so i think that was kind of his moment >> yeah. and how is his little boy doing? >> he wasn't speaking for a couple of days after it happened, and he finally got him -- he said he recently got him to laugh, and he said that was something, and, in fact, he just came to the interview after dropping andros off at school and he came there, so he's trying to keep it as normal as possible for that little boy. >> he seemed so composed i mean, it's incredible after what they've gone through.

is he confident they'll get justice because alec baldwin is so rich, is so powerful? >> he just hopes he will he's an attorney himself, and he is measured in how he speaks he says he's convinced that justice will be done i asked him point-blank if he thought there should be criminal charges filed. he said that will be something up to the district attorney to decide, but he feels like justice should be pursued down a lot of different avenues >> he may be measured but there is no mistaking the message he had. >> that was clear. >> hoda, that was an incredible interview. thank you. >> we're going to hear more from matt in the third and fourth hours, and, you can se our in-depth interview tonight on our streaming channel today all day. you can learn more about that scholarship honoring halyna hutchins at the american film institute, go to our website today.com. she'll be helping a lot of people. >> and a real inspiration, a female cinematographer, she was really paving the way. we're back with a lot more on a busy thursday mornin including an update from al on those powerful winter storms we'll get that right after this. l winter storms after this

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yesterday. 29 degrees colder in new york city, 24 in johnstown, 40 degrees colder in washington, d.c., and of course that sets up the cold air and that brings in the snow ahead of the front, atlanta today, you're going to be 77 80 in montgomery but behind the front 10 degrees colder in chicago. tulsa, 29, dallas, a 29-degree temperature difference back there, and then you can see these cold temperatures stretching 10 to 20 degrees below average from minneapolis, cincinnati, buffalo, boston, but look down to the south, richmond, charlotte, and charleston all warmer than average looking pretty good, but temperatures stay cold right through the weekend. >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. it's still very cold out there, but temperatures are headed for the upper 50s for today with a mostly sunny skych we will see a few more clouds moving in tonight, and that will keep our temperatures from dipping as cold as it is this morning, but we're still looking at some

freezing valleys in some spots, and then we're headed for the low 60s for friday afternoon. the weekend is looking pretty nice with our inland temperatures reaching into the upper 60s, and rain possible for the middle of next week. while san francisco will have highs in the 50s through friday. >> and that's -- >> and that's -- oh, wow. >> roker, kiss me, al, i'm vaxxed it's my birthday >> well, you know what >> pucker up, sweetie. >> better get some chapstick ready. >> blew an air kiss. >> there we go [ laughter ] >> you are so crazy. al's crazy >> tune in for that. still ahead, sheinelle introduces us to the actress and the casting director behind a ground breaking first for "the phantom of the opera," how they're working to change broadway for the better. but first these messages t behind "phantom of the opera" and working to change broadway for the better first, these messages. the groom's parents? they just found out they can redeem rewards for a second honeymoon. romance is in the air. like these two. he's realizing he's in love. and that his dating app just went up.

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good morning. it's 7:56. i'm marcus washington, and here's what's happening now. >> i'm bob redell. as russia invades ukraine, governor newsom's office of emergency services tweeted out last night that it is closely monitoring the developments there, and i'm quoting here. in our role as california homeland security lead, we are proactively working to ensure the fate is closely coordinated with local partners and work to address quickly to address any issues that may occur. we have no knowledge of any threats against the state due to the russian invasion of ukraine. >> time to get a look at the forecast with you with meteorologist kari hall who has been tracking that. kari? >> yeah. we're waking up to some extremely cold temperatures for the bay area.

we've dipped down to 23 degrees in fairfield, and we're seeing subfreezing temperatures for a lot of our inland valleys. it will slowly warm up today. we're headed for the upper 50s, and it will most likely freeze again tomorrow morning in a few spots, and more clouds will move in. we ear going to see our temperatures head for the upper 60s for the weekend. we'll have a chance of showers in the forecast for next tuesday and wednesday. today san francisco will be in the mid-50s, but we'll see some upper 50s for the weekend and heading up for that to about 62 degrees to start out early next week. marcus? >> thanks, kari. we'll have another local news update coming up here in 30 minutes. i'll meet you back here then.

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it's 8:00 on "today. coming up, breaking news, under attack, russia launches a full-scale assault on ukraine carrying out a series of missile strikes across the country dozens of ukrainian soldiers now confirmed dead residents looking to escape caught in miles of traffic vladimir putin warning countries to stay out as president biden gets set to announce another round of sanctions we're on the front lines with a live report. plus, iced out, freezing

temperatures slamming much of the u.s. this morning causing dangerous driving conditions the west coast hit with extreme lows and heavy snow, the northeast getting ready for its own blast of bitter cold so what can you expect as the weekend gets closer? al's tracking it all then breaking barriers on >> broadway ♪ one love, one lifetime ♪ >> "phantom of the opera's" first black female lead making history. >> did it ever cross your mind that you could be christine? >> no. >> it didn't >> i think my mind-set was so this role is not for me. >> how the star is advocating for more diverse casting and the difference she's hoping to make on and off stage. and a very brady movie, weeks after retiring from the nfl, tom brady sets his sights on hollywood, set to produce and

appear in a new feature film starring some unlikely leading ladies. inside the project that has him dusting off an old jersey, today thursday, february 24th, 2022. ♪ >> on a bucket list trip from sugarland, texas >> from san jose, california >> and surf city, north carolina ♪ >> for our daughter megan. >> we can't wait to meet baby harper. >> we love you, grammy. >> hey, savannah and hoda, we're from virginia. >> celebrating jalen's 16th birthday >> jalen, 16 looks good on you happy birthday welcome to "today," we've got a very busy thursday morning ahead. >> yeah, nice to have you along with us as we get to the news here at 8:00 casualties are mounting in ukraine where russia has launched a full-on attack. it happened overnight, an attack by land, sea, and air, targets including the capital and other

major cities nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins us from ukraine with the latest richard, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. there had been an anticipation that russia would attack and that it woo -- would attac with a single knockout blow. instead we've seen russian forces primarily attacking the ukrainian military and for now, the main population centers, the big cities are still in government hands >> russia overnight launched its long anticipated attack on ukraine, striking military posts across the country an unprovoked war in europe is now underway the assault began with an angry message from president vladimir putin broadcast in the middle of the night. russia cannot feel safe, develop and exist with a constant threat emanating from the territory of

modern ukraine, he said, describing the government in kyiv as a junta of neo-nazis determined to buil nuclear weapons. as putin spoke seemingly on cue, russian bombs started falling. cruise and ballistic missiles ukrainians said along with attack helicopters striking military installations including air bases near the capital kyiv. this military base has just been hit, and it seems like the main target was that communications satellite which is now smoldering and tipped over to the side several videos showed what ukrainian officials described as columns of russian tanks entering ukrainian territory a potentially devastating war in ukraine has just begun but so far it appears to be a gradual assault. putin, who said he does not want to occupy the country, may be trying to take ukraine without having to fight hard for it, appealing to the military not to resist but there are no signs ukrainians are raising the white flag

president zelenskyy in a predawn appeal told ukrainians to stay strong and calm as he announced the start of martial law while some ukrainians in kyiv were heading out of the capital, many are determined to stay and resist in mariupol, people this morning were stocking up on cash with long lines at the atms. >> how are you feeling >> i'm nervous, and i'm trying to keep my children calm said helen. supermarkets were flooded too, 45-minute waits for checkout ukraine has mobilized its forces and begun to defend its cities the government is calling for urgent blood donations to treat the growing but still unclear number of casualties putin seemed to have a particular message for the united states reminding the world that russia is a nuclear power and saying that any country that attempted to stop russia's actions would face, quote, terrible consequences savannah. >> all right, richard engel, thank you very much.

ukraine's ambassador to the united nations confirmed that his country was under attack during an emergency overnight meeting of the security council. the president will respond today with a new round of sanctions. nbc's chief white house correspondent "weekend today" co-anchor kristen welker joins us with more on what's expected from the white house today, kristen, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you. there is global condemnation of vladimir putin and russia this morning. that unified outrage was on display during the emergency meeting of the u.n. security council overnight, which you just mentioned it got under way just as explosions started to ring out in ukraine, which created just a stunning split screen. the u.s. ambassador to the u.n. imploring putin to back away from the brink the ukrainian ambassador did confirm the attack in realtime president biden denounced the russian aggression overnight calling it unprovoked and unjustified, adding, quote, president putin has chosen a premeditated war that will bring a catastrophic loss of life and human suffering. the world will hold russia

accountable. now, mr. biden will speak with key allies in a virtual meeting this morning and will then address the nation that's when he will announce the tough new sanctions. the white house has not ruled out kicking russia out of a global banking system or even sanctioning vladimir putin himself. savannah >> thank you we're joined now by nbc news national security analyst, jeremy bash, former chief of staff at the cia as well as the pentagon and, jeremy, i was so struck by what the nato commander said this morning, jens stoltenberg where he said we have now seen a war in europe the likes of which we thought we had banished to history. what do you make of this latest development? >> i think the secretary general is exactly right the post cold war era is over. savannah, ukraine is the largest country in europe. it's a country about the size of texas with a population of 40 million people this wasn't just some small territorial action by putin's forces

this was a massive military invasion, a complex attack against military command, and i think the key thing here is that we're going to see over the next days and weeks a slow and steady onslaught by russian forces against the ukrainian military to drive the zelenskyy government out of kyiv, and i think we're going to be settling into a very prolonged standoff between the united states, our allies and russia with its now partner china. >> and there's so much to unravel here, but let's just talk about the sanctions that are expected to be unveiled later today. even if the u.s. hits russia with everything it's got, clearly vladimir putin is not going to be deterred so what options do we have does the world just watch as russia rolls over ukraine? >> yeah, i think there are two ways we can try to impose costs on putin both are imperfect one, as you said, is to try to cripple the russian economy, make them feel the pain, not just in the immediate days and weeks, but over a very long time so that the russian economy

continues to stay in free fall but, second, i think we're going to be arming, training, and equipping the ukrainian forces so they can launch an insurgency, they can fight back to defend their own country. >> all right jeremy bash, a busy morning. thank you for your time. back here at home, we want to turn to weather, more than 100 million americans are now under a winter weather alert from texas all the way to maine as another major storm races east this was the scene in dallas yesterday. take a look. icy roads, look at that, leading to a chain reaction pileup, and in oklahoma, snow and sleet bringing treacherous condition there. today areas of new england could see more than a foot of snow meantime, flood watches are in effect across the tennessee river valley. al will be back with a full forecast in just a few minutes i think we've earned this morning boost today. it is time, let's do it. all right, so a baby boy named jude has an adorable laugh it's full of both joy and a little mischief, so what he left is a little surprise in hi mom's shoe and she couldn't help

but laugh along. >> jude, you puked in my shoe. [ laughter ] aww. [ laught [ laughter ] >> you puked in my shoe. [ laughter ] >> okay. you know what? we all need a little jude this morning. jude enjoyed that a lot. so you know, let's hope he doesn't have a repeat performance. his mom captioned the video, not even sorry >> no. >> he's got those boss baby teeth. hysterical >> cute. up next a new face of an iconic role. >> sheinelle introduces us to the history making actress now shining in "the phantom of the opera" and the casting director bringing a new perspective to broadway right after this. er th. r spending is trending. just ask overly confident diy rashida... wait, was this the right wall? ...or last-minute gift shopping rashida...

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together we rise, our special network wide series celebrating black history. >> we are featuring trail blazers in the black community, and asking them to shine a light on a person or cause they feel strongly about. >> and sheinelle is here with more on that. >> good morning to all of you. emilie kouatchou made headlines around the world when she became the first black woman to play the iconic role of christine in broadway's "the phantom of the opera," and she decided to highlight the casting process itself, and a good friend who's trying to change it for the better it was a ground-breaking debut emilie kouatchou becoming the first black woman to play christine in broadway's longest running show, "the phantom of the opera. ♪ one love one lifetime ♪ >> when people come to new york,

they want to see broadway magic, and i think that's what "phantom" is. >> the illinois native first got a taste of that magic as an audience member back in high school. >> i read that your first broadway show, was it this >> yeah, yeah. >> was "phantom of the opera"? >> it was, yeah. crazy. >> kouatchou took in the show from the balcony seats. >> i do remember like the mask at the end of the show and like the light on the mask and how beautiful like that image was. >> reporter: but she never pictured herself on that stage >> did it ever cross your mind that you could be christine? >> no, it didn't i think my mind-set was still that this role was not for me, which is just a sad reality, and it took a lot of unlearning to just be able to say, like, no, i can do this. >> emilie auditioned for the show after graduating from the university of michigan in 2019. >> i knew i could sing the heck out of christine. >> reporter: when she walked into the audition room, she spotted a young casting intern, joseph hayes.

>> what does it mean to walk in and audition and see another person of color? what did it mean to even see him? >> i remember seeing you because i was like, oh, my gosh, a black person is up there i just felt really like safe with you being there. >> i think the thing is, you know, our job as casting directors is to create a safe space for actors to come in and give 110%, and when they're not represented, it's never going to be a safe space no matter what you do to make it that way. >> reporter: after graduating from ball state, hayes saw a chance to bring a new perspective to the largely white casting agencies on broadway. >> so for me casting i advocacy. >> advocacy that moved to the forefront after the death of george floyd. >> that was the turning point for us being like we jus can't keep going the way we're going. >> broadway actors marched [ crowd chanting ] demanding more diverse casting >> i think a lot of the time us getting these roles makes people feel like we're taking away from them, but there's space for everyone

there's always been space for everyone. us stepping into this light isn't taking away from anyone else. >> reporter: now a casting associate, joseph pushes for actors on stage and screen that better reflect the audience. >> when we talk about diversity, it's more than just the color of your skin, isn't it? >> yes, that is one thing i will shout from the rooftops. you know, diversity, yes, is race, but i feel like right now on broadway, that's kind of where it stops you know, there's body diversity. there's people of different -- like differently abled people coming to these roles, you know. diversity is so much more than race ♪ >> how important is it for someone to see themselves on a stage sometimes in a show? >> i think it makes all the difference you know, i grew up seeing people like audra mcdonald and heather headley on stage being excellent. they were the people that gave me hope that i could have a career in this if they hadn't done what they had done, i probably wouldn't be here >> reporter: emilie made it here

after several rounds of casting, first becoming an understudy before taking on christine full-time this january. >> when did it hit you that this was going to be your role? >> well, there was a moment when i got to sing with the orchestra for the first time it was when i sang "think of me" with them. i just remember getting so like choked up i couldn't finish the song. >> do you think the people around you felt that moment as well >> i think so, yeah. i think so >> reporter: the significance of her casting not lost on one masked man in the audience that day, alan lampell, the head electrician who has been with the show since it began. >> so you've been at this show since it opened 34 years ago. >> yes >> and now here we are talking about the first black christine. >> it's taken some time. >> i hear there were a lot of tears that day >> yeah, yeah. i lost it with her myself. my sister had arrived, you know,

somebody had showed up and was going to represent, i guess. >> and has she >> oh, yes oh, yes. ♪ love me, that's all i ask of you ♪ >> oh, my gosh >> during the pandemic when everything was closed, the show started tweaking certain lines to make it more inclusive. i want to give you an example, there's a line where someone says your face, christine, it's white, and now she says, christine, are you all right little changes like that, so any girl or boy can dream of being on that stage playing those iconic roles >> wow >> so important. >> that was beautiful. >> every level >> so many parts of that story, beautiful. >> there's so many layers. >> we're just getting started. >> yeah. so important. >> thank you so much let's get a check of the weather. >> all right really quickly show you what we've got going on of course we got that storm bringing icy conditions into the m midplains. we've also got snow up in the great lakes, record highs down

through the southeast. record lows out in california with some snow out as well . that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. we have had record lows this morning, especially in the north bay. we're still below freezing there as well as the south county, and our temperatures head for the upper 50s for this afternoon. we will see a mostly sunny sky, a few clouds moving in tonight may keep the temperatures from freezing as much as of the widespread area we've seen this morning, but there will be some spots cold and our temperatures are milder for the weekend into early next week as we watch far chance of rain. >> don't forget "today" show >> don't forget "today" show radio, sirius xm channel 108 on your way out the door, but right now -- >> what time is it, al >> best time of the morning. >> let's raise that energy >> cough it up >> pump it up. >> first up tom brady just weeks after retiring from his 22-year career in the nfl, the superstar quarterback is coming off the bench. this time he's suiting up for

the big screen and has the film and sports worlds buzzing. nbc news now anchor joe fryer has got more on brady's first foray into movie making. joe. >> good morning. nbc news has learned that brady will produce and appear in a movie based on a real life story and that means dusting off an old jersey for the role tom brady is taking his talents to hollywood, the long-time quarterback will produce and appear as himself in an upcoming comedy called "80 for brady. the football legend will be joined by a who's who of hollywood legends, "grace and frankie" co-stars, jane fonda and lily tomlin will reunite again for the flick, along with rita moreno and sally field. the award winning women will play best friends and new england patriots fans on a life changing road trip to the 2017 super bowl number 12 will once again sport a patriots jersey to play their hero >> we're bringing this sucker

home >> brady himself is calling it the collab you never expected. while it marks the first feature film for the football player he's no stranger to acting some of his credits include "ted 2. >> yeah, can i help you? >> reporter: and "entourage, the movie and the show >> why don't you use this club, works pretty good for me. >> reporter: going from the field to film is nothing new other greats like howie long, michael jordan, lebron james, kareem abdul-jabbar have all tried their hand at acting. >> you're kareem abdul-jabbar. >> i'm sorry, son, but you must have me confused with somebody else. >> reporter: as he moves from actor surrounded by an award winning cast, perhaps brady is hoping to add some statues to his trophy case. nbc news has also learne production on the movie is set to begin this spring it will be a while before we get a glimpse of tom brady on the big screen clearly, the seven-time super

bowl champ is not someone who does well with downtime. back to you guys. >> joe, thanks for that. still unclear exactly what the plot of that movie is going to be. >> it was a good tease. >> maybe he'll play a loser. that would test his acting ability. >> oh, there you go. >> he loses at everything. next up dolly parton, the queen of country is set to release "run rose run," her first novel with best-selling author james patterson and a new preview for the audio book on spotify. dolly is giving fans a tease of the story's companion soundtrack here's the latest. ♪ run away, run to freedom ♪ ♪ break old habits you don't need them ♪ ♪ you have some choices ♪ new a ♪ you can stay or run ♪ >> dolly's new album, "run, rose, run" is out next friday just a few days before the book will be released on march 7th. that is your "pop start" today good seeing you, folks. >> good seeing you. >> all right, straight ahead, cue the sound, calling all "law & order" fans, the great sam waterston. >> yes yes!

[ applause ] >> tonight's long awaite return of one of tv's most beloved franchises good morning. it is 8:26. i'm marcus washington. san francisco school board members meet later today to vote on proposed layoffs. district leaders postponed the same meeting tuesday citing failure to give proper notice. they may approve 300 layoffs and raises for teachers and substitutes. the district is facing a massive budget shortfall. kari hall is standing by with the forecast. >> yeah. we have those freeze warnings that will be up again for early friday morning as our temperatures today reach into

the upper 50s. we are looking at a slight warming trend going into the weekend. but notice it will still be dry. there will be some rain chances in the forecast by the middle of next week as our temperatures reach into the upper 60s in the inland areas. san francisco is in the 50s today and also for the first part of the weekend. by sunday, it starts to feel nicer with highs reaching 61. monday also a little bit more seasonable for this time of year, but once those rain chances come in, we may see those temperatures coming back down. but it is nice to see we will have a chance of rain in the forecast next week. another local news update in 30 minutes.

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♪ hey, everybody, we're back it's 8:30. it's a thursday morning, the 24th day of february, 2022, and it's a special day for "law and order" fans. >> yes >> 32 million -- >> wait, whoa, whoa, whoa. hold on. hold on.

it's your birthday what's your name >> lisa. >> lisa's got a birthday today sorry, but -- >> happy birthday, lisa. okay, "law & order," 32 years after its debut -- since its last episode, the iconic show is back on nbc tonight, and we're going to talk all about it with one of its most legendary stars. sam waterston is here. >> pretty cool seeing him hanging out. the home edit team is here to do what they do best, help us get organized just in time for the upcoming spring cleaning season. they're sharing their favorite secret weapons plus, this will warm us up we are bringing our celebration of black history into the kitchen with a southern style fish fry looking forward to that. love a good fish fry >> after that great story we just had from sheinelle in our last half hour, coming up in our third hour another history maker on broadway, joining us live, brittney johnson who just became the first black woman to take on the role of glenda the good

witch in "wicked." and then tomorrow on "today," a fun and inspirin story from harry smith, a winter adventure to an ice rink that's brought a community together in unexpected ways. >> mr. roker, signs are blowing away it's very windy. this is for you and happy birthday to you, happy 16th. got a check of the weather >> let's show you what we've got going on whoa got a little nervous there march outlook is colder than average out west, warmer than average for the western -- the eastern two-thirds of the country. that's pretty good precipitation wetter than average in the pacific northwest. the upper mississippi and ohio river valleys drier than average in the southwest and on into the southeast. for today, record highs through the southeast, record lows along the west coast, snowy conditions in the upper midwest, icy in the mid-mississippi river valley with wet weather making its way into the an la anticipations. that's what's going on around the country. here's what's happening in your neck of the woods. >> good morning. i'm meteorologist kari hall. it's a very cold start this

morning as you're getting ready to head out the door. some spots still below freezing and it's going to be slow to warm up today. but we are headed for the upper 50s for a lot of our inland valleys. we are going to have cold temperatures near freezing again tomorrow morning, and then we do see temperatures warming up especially for those mornings into the weekend as well as early next week. more sunshine in the forecast. we may have some rain chances for the middle of next week. >> that's your latest weather. coming up next, we're >> that's your latest weather. coming up next, we're going to get you ready for tonight's return of "law & order" with jack mccoy himself, the legendary sam waterston. but first, this is "today" on nbc. waterston. but first, this is "today" on but first, this is "today" on nbc. oh, wow, barbara corcoran! good morning. sorry, we don't need any business help now.

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♪ who's happy right now? >> we are. >> we are. that sound, you know what it means, 12 years after the last original "law & order," the iconic show is back tonight. >> yeah, and it includes the

return of one of the show's most iconic stars, sam waterston. we're going to talk to him in a moment, but first a little look at the new season. >> i agree with ms. marrone. the jury wants to acquit irrespective of the fact, irrespective of the law. too bad we didn't have a damn confession it's okay to play the hero as long as you win, and right now that appears highly unlikely >> how good is that? >> stop it >> sam waterston, you have not missed one beat. what was it like to step back into this role after ten years is it like putting on your favorite pair of jeans >> it's absolutely wonderful, and i'm so glad that they let me be part of it coming back because it's a whole new old

team, anthony anderson and i are old, but camryn manheim an jeffrey donovan and adelia levy, and hugh dancey playing my old position it's just great. when you see these people, you're not going to -- let me toot their horn. they're just wonderful >> i love how you said they let me. i feel like you define "law & order" for us when you walked in we're like there he is. why do you think this is the right time to bring this back? >> it's always been the right time he's been wanting to bring it back ever since it went off the air. it's coming back because the audience kept on watching even after we stopped making them so thank you for watching, and there seems to be quite a lot of enthusiasm out there >> oh, yeah. >> the guy who drove m down here was out of his mind. >> i know. you walk on the scene and people

are like, da, da, all the time >> pretty much. >> or they shout, hey, "law & order. i just love that >> i mean, when you started, you signed for one year. >> yeah. >> think of your trajectory and what tasshhiow h spun off and what it's meant, and what it's done and what it's meant for the culture. do you ever sit there and marvel at that? >> and what it's done for the education of my children. >> yes well, you know i went to law school and my criminal law professor the first year, "law & order," they're right on the law >> wait, what? >> she did >> wow >> yeah. it is a good educational show. >> and i apologize, but i think we made a lot of lawyers we did people have come up to me repeatedly and said, hey. >> as savannah said, it started off as a one-year deal did you imagine back in those moments where you were just getting started that it would turn into this juggernaut? >> no, not at all, and it wasn't just the first year. i did it year after year, one year, okay, i'll do another year okay >> did you do it year by year, like you just keep them on the --

>> somewhere towards like th 15th or 16th season, i said, oh, okay, maybe i'm going to be here for a while. >> and you did a lot of -- i mean, "law & order" is obviously how a lot of people know you but you also made your mark on broadway and other places do you miss that, or do you still get to do that >> well, the theater, yes, i kept on doing the theater all through the time that i was doing "law & order" and after. yeah, that's my first love >> wow it's just a delight to see you back in this iconic role. >> it's great to be here >> we're so excited. >> honestly, without you it wouldn't be "law & order." it would just be like law and -- just that's it >> i'm really the front man for the new gang >> but you're the heart and soul, so thank you >> we appreciate it. >> we can't wait right here on nbc, you can catch the originals return 8/7 central right here followed by all new episodes of "svu" and "organized crime." >> get the popcorn >> don't have to worry about anything.

>> thank you, sam. thank you so much. >> coming up next, we're bringing some order to your messiest rooms with the brilliance of our friends from the home edit team, but first the home edit team, but first this is "today" on n

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we are back. we are so thrilled to finally have these special guests with us in the studio zooms just don't get it done when it comes to our friends from the home edit team. >> yeah. the master organizers, stars of the netflix show "get organized" helping celebrity clients like reese witherspoon, eva longoria and neil patrick harris al conquer their clutter. >> we have some exciting news, season two of their show will be available starting on april 1st. plus, clea and joann are releasing a special edition magazine >> who are you people? >> ladies, let me get righ to it. you also have been acquired by reese witherspoon's company hello sunshine i guess you're just moguls now. >> we just don't know what to do with ourselves >> what happened >> do you remember when you were here when you were just kind of getting started?

>> yes >> so what happened? how did you get to this point? >> we can only thank you guys. that's what happened we came here and then you guys did it. >> it's incredible the explosive growth all based on what you guys have started. it's incredible. how is this going to change your life >> well, we're here. i mean, we are a part of the hello sunshine family and we're so excited and honored to be with them. we've been partners for a long time. they're going to help us elevate and continue doing what we already do. >> we're going to do more stuff. >> we're going to do more and more. >> bigger and bigger. >> what's the magazine all about? >> our magazine, which we are so excited to launch, it will be on newsstands march 4th it's available online now as of today at magazine.store. >> yes >> and we are so thankful to be partnered with meredith publishing who did this. >> it's a special edition magazine, and it's all about tips and tricks and our favorite places in nashville, and all kinds of amazing things about our company and our organizers and behind the scenes things from the show. >> because you guys made this

work, i bet you people at home are thinking, wow, if they can do it, i wonder if i can because you really did it. >> two girls from nashville. >> take us to it >> let's give you some tips because that's what we're here for. so in a pantry, this is kind of our pantry station setup we always use a three-tier riser. it's a great way to take advantage of vertical space. >> i love this. >> it's excellent. >> easy. >> yep >> and we love having clear canisters. you can get rid of all the packaging and see exactly the amount of product you have left. so you know when to buy new things >> it's not going to go stale or anything >> it lasts longer. >> i know you guys live for the lazy susan >> we love -- >> we love it. we're such nerds. >> i know, but we love it. >> i mean, it's kind of mesmerizing. >> it is i did it in my cabinets because of you guys. >> you can do spices, everything. >> absolutely. >> it's magic, easy access to all of your items. >> do not leave the spices in the spice containers they come in you put them in their own special ones >> why do you do this? >> because it makes you feel like an adult, and it's pretty.

>> you don't have to, but it feels good >> you guys have labels? like for your spices. >> we can label the lid, the side you can put a lazy susan in your fridge maybe even. >> absolutely. >> you've done that? >> we're crazy like that you know i'm into this. >> so drawers, the easiest way to tackle a drawer from a junk drawer, kitchen drawer, bathroom drawer are drawer inserts. divide up all your categories and you can use clear putty to adhere them down so they don't slide around. >> another smart pro tip >> very important. >> look at these cute scissors very cute. >> i know. >> what's this >> we love having different baskets and bins to make zones we say zones a lot. >> it's always zones. >> remind me, i forget what zones are. >> we love having different zones for different categories so that kids or adults can easily put things away >> for example, the kid zone. >> what is that? >> it's like toys. >> animals, they label everything >> we label everything and then like art supplies you know, having those zones is really great >> you all are cute. >> i'm telling you, i really try

to do your things. it's all a mess now. can you come over and do another -- >> this is amazing tell us how you organize this thing. >> this is zones within zones. right? >> zones within zones. >> because it's fun. you have your art kind of station here and you hav your inserts for your colored pencils, your paint, this slides out of the drawer. >> look at that, the drawer is brilliant for the paper. >> finally, last but not least. >> did we mention lazy susan >> this actually works great not just for spices and things like that that you would normally think of, but this works great under the sink this is something where you can keep all of your products. it's a great way to get around pipes for under a sink in the bathroom or put it on top of the counter. >> remember when you went to hoda's closet and fixed it [ laughter ] well, you need to come back. >> i have a feeling. >> season two of your netflix show coming out. >> april 1st you heard it here first. >> i know. bone to pick i wanted to be in your series. i want you to come do my something, anything. season three >> season three, call me >> you all haven't changed a

bit. i got to say you haven't changed one little bit. we're happy for you. >> we can't. >> we are so happy for you we're proud of you these are great ideas. the home edit feel good organizing if you want to get into this whole scene, the zones, is availabl online today, you'll also find it on newsstands march 4th. coming up next, a lesson on southern history along with some great food we're throwing a fish fry right here in 1a, we're celebrating chef kevin mitchell but first this is "today" on nbc

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there's always something new to discover. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ come be a part of it. plan your next vacation at iloveny.com welcome back, welcome back, guys, a special edition of "today" food, this morning we are celebrating black history with a southern specialty. think about it fried fish and grits that's called perfection. >> that is perfection. kevin mitchell is an instructor at the culinary institute of charleston at triton technical college where he educates young students about the historical significance of southern food. chef, good to have you give us for the people watching what is one great example of the historical significance of

southern food? >> well, i always think abou the ingredients, right so where they come from, if you're talking about black eyed peas and okra and things like that, you always have to go back to the african diaspora and how those ingredients actually make it to this country through the transatlantic -- alway always starting with the ingredients and also technique, and you know, with anything, especially with cooking food, it's all about love. >> love. >> cooked with love. by the way, your cookbook speaking of love is gorgeous it's a gorgeous book we're starting with fried fish, and you can't beat that. you must do something that's secret that you're not going to reveal take us through, what kind of fish do you like to use? >> i always like to use catfish. you can use any other type of fish >> what do you like about catfish? >> just the flavor it's a really meaty fish, and it takes on a lot of really good flavors. it takes really well to the marinade. >> carson just loves to eat. what do you soak it in

>> we have some buttermilk in here, and i'm going to add a little bit of hot sauce. you can use whichever brand. i like to use durkee or cholula, onion powder, garlic salt and add your catfish. >> how long do you let that sit in there >> i usually let this go two hours to overnight. >> stick it in the fridge, let it go. >> seal this up, pop this in the fridge and then let that go and then you have your marinated catfish, and i also have a nice little cornmeal breading here that i'm going to use, a little salt and pepper. right? and i have some cayenne pepper here. >> it seems real basic, right? >> it's real basic but you can also throw any other types of seasonings in there you want, thyme, oregano, i like to use smoked paprika, it gives it a nice smoky flavor. we'll mix this up together, and then -- >> you know, tom's a new orleans guy so he knows about his fried fish. >> how do you like it, tom >> good. i have question, we grew up doing fish fries chef, it's always hard to

overseason but to get it just right, how do you not oversalt >> it takes practice >> culinary school >> not necessarily culinary school, but you have to kind of know the flavor profiles of fish and how it takes well to different types of seasonings. >> that catfish is good, right >> now you got to put it in the hot oil. what kind of oil do you got? >> i just use canola oil, vegetable oil, some people use peanut oil it just depends. at the school whenever we're frying things, we don't use peanut oil because we do have to be mindful of allergies. but we drop it in the oil. >> drop it in? >> yes >> go right ahead. >> careful careful, hodi. >> look at that. >> sizzle. >> we usually go five to eight minutes depending on how big the fish is. >> can you stick it all in there? >> you don't have to do anything, right? you don't have to turn them over >> just let them go. >> you don't want to put too much in the pan because the fish will bring down the temperature of the oil, and it will render

it not really good for frying. >> now what are we making? >> so we have the tomato gravy >> so good. >> we start off in a pan with some onions, some fresh herbs, and some bay leaves in there we saute those onions so they become really nice and brown and translucent. then we add some flour the flour is going to help thicken the sauce. in french terms, we call that a roux, right, so once we have the roux and it's cooked down, we add our liquids so we have some tomato sauce here >> what do you got, a beer >> carson is -- >> come on come on. >> i'm instructing you. >> he said this is the way to do it i am going to be your best student ever >> so we mix that together, we let that cook for a little while until it starts to thicken a little bit >> this has a kick to it. >> yeah. >> got a kick. >> there's some cayenne, there's some smoked paprika. it really gives it that nice kick i like a little spice. >> crushed tomatoes? >> speaking of beer, the food and wine festival in charleston, what's going on down there >> we're getting ready for the festival i actually have a couple of

events there's a lot of parties, a lot of dinners i'm doing a dinner called the roots of rice where we're going to celebrate rice culture throughout the world, so whether it's from the african diaspora, from our latino countries, we're going to celebrate rice. >> all right so we got some grits cooking an you put it right over the grits? >> very important. always got to use -- thank you you have to always use coarse ground grits >> coarse ground. coarse ground. >> do not put a bowl of quick grits in front of you. it's not right so what you do -- >> this is one of the best meals. >> soak these overnigh because they do take very long to cook, right so if you soak them overnight, that cuts down the cooking time at least by 30 to 45 minutes if you don't soak them, it will take about an hour and a half. if you do, it's about 45 minutes or so. >> kevin, this is heaven >> thanks so much. >> kevin, it's heaven. who caught you how to cook

>> my grandmother taught me how to cook. >> she did good. >> i'm sure she's watching and probably crying right now. >> what's her name >> her name is doris >> all: doris! >> we love you, you did good >> and my mom is also -- i have to give props to my mom. i wouldn't be here without her >> what's her name >> her name is cora. cll cora >> all right, kevin. >> you started the segment by saying the southern food -- >> kevin, you did good thank you so much. we appreciate you being on this show we'll see you again coming up in the fourth hour. you've got more cooking to do. >> he's on the fourth hour you're on every hour >> that's fine >> filling in for lester holt tonight, too [ laughter ] >> you can get these recipes at today.com. we're back with a third hour of "today" after a check of your local news, weather -- >> and beer. >> see you soon, everybody >> announcer: today is now a podcast available every morning. get it wherever you get your podcasts

good morning. 8:56. i'm marcus washington. a live look at the invasion on ukraine having a big impact on the stock market this morning. the dow down close to 2% at times.

it's down 600 points. nasdaq is trading right around bear market territory. invasion is putting new pressure on oil crises. crude crossed $100 a barrel for the first time in more than seven years. it's trading closer to $105 a barrel. happening now, we're following developments in ukraine. russian troops this morning breached a critical checkpoint about 100 miles from the capital and are said to be on the move. the white house national security council is meeting in the oval office.

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this morning on the third hour of "today," under attack overnight, russia launching a military assault on neighboring ukraine, the largest in europe since world war ii. we are live on the ground as thousands try to escape to safety amid new warnings from vladimir putin. how president biden is responding. plus, a "today" exclusive, halyna hutchins' husband opening up to hoda speaking for the first time since the fatal shooting on the set of the movie "rust," sharing their love, his pain, and pursuit of justice. then later, black history in the clasoo