winter tightens its grip from coast-to-coast. angie is tracking the arctic blast, bringing blizzards and icy conditions from california to maine a rallying cry ahead of the one-year anniversary of russia's war on ukraine president biden calling out vladimir putin directly, as he wraps up his trip to the region today we are live along the ukraine/poland border. the fire is out, but the outrage goes on. now the epa is setting its

sights on the rail operator responsible. a major blow to the mormon church the massive fine levied against the church of latter day saints after they were accused of hiding billions of dollars the is it time to make thursday the new friday the stud t t study that could usher in three-day weekends we begin their mis morning winter storm minneapolis could see record-breaking snowfall as the city braces for the biggest snowstorm in more than a decade. it could see between 18 and 35 inches by thursday >> reporter: the national weather service is warning that a historic winter storm is on

the move, already starting to pummel minnesota with what could be up to two feet of snow over the next three days. the governor issuing emergency executive orders to prepare the national guard >> we don't overreact, but we also understand that weather can be dangerous so we take it seriously. >> reporter: the winter wallop slogging across the country from north dakota where there was chaos on i-29. colorado and wyoming, whiteout conditions even in the twin cities, a region used to wicked weather, this snowfall could be one of the top five largest in history. you can see a lot of red on the map. that's major impacts from this winter storm over the next one to three days. the last time minneapolis saw this much show was in 2010 when the roof of the metrodom now the rush is on to prepare for the latest winter blast.

travel coast-to-coast could be impacted the rest of the week. >> weather is a bit unpredictable. so we're asking everybody to plan ahead >> our thanks to gabe for that report >> angie lassman is tracking this storm for us. >> it's really expansive and has a lot of impacts, not just for the northern parts of the country but even as far south through the ohio valley and into parts of the southeast there's setup. we're going to see this snow stretch from basically bismarck to buffalo, extending out a little farther into the northeast. that's where we'll see the heaviest of snow mainly focussed into the high plains but also the icy mix notice what's going on from chicago to detroit we'll see freezing rain working through a wintry mix there's that snowfall forecast can you see the highest amounts of course, closer to places like minneapolis where we could see a foot of snow, foot and a half or close to two feet by the time this is through. also rapid city.

anywhere between 8 and ad 4and 4 inches blowing snow always makes it worse on the roadways. this is something to watch for not just today but tomorrow. let's head to poland where president biden continues to shore up support for ukraine he'll be wrapping up a whirlwind four-day visit as he vows that the u.s. will continue to stand by ukraine as long as it takes jay gray joins us now from poland jay, good morning. what else can we expect from these world leaders today? >> reporter: yeah, and you're absolutely right, phillip. it has been a trip where he has reconfirmed the commitment by the u.s. to do whatever is necessary to support ukraine he will, in his visit, meeting with the bucharest nine, leaders from the eastern flank of the nato alliance, those on the ground and closest to ukraine.

he'll discuss the situation there, obviously, including new sanctions on russia that will be announced later this week by the u.s. and by allies the presidentduring his addres yesterday at the royal castle in warsaw stressing the u.s. and allies are committed and united in their support of ukraine. >> one year into this war, putin no longer doubts the strength of our coalition. but he still doubts our conviction he doubts our staying power. he doubts our continued support for ukraine. he doubts whether nato can remain unified but there should be no doubt our support for ukraine will not waver. nato will not be divided, and we will not tire! >> reporter: and the president returns to the white house this evening, just ahead of friday, which marks a full year since the russian invasion phillip? >> jay gray for us on the ground

at the poland-ukraine border, thank you. now to history made on the election front in virginia nbc news projects that jennifer mcclellan will win the special election for virginia's fourth congressional district the win makes mcclellan the first black woman to represent virginia in congress the democrat would fill the seat of of ton dona donald mcketcham. >> president biden made a statement, and ordered norfolk southern to cleanup the derailment site. >> reporter: the epa ordering the rail company responsible for the massive fiery derailment and the aftermath to pay for the

cleanup. >> norfolk southern will pay for cleaning up the mess that they created. >> reporter: if they don't, the company could be fined up to three times whatever that cleanup cost is this action tough enough? >> oh, it is. we're going to demonstrate that norfolk southern will be held accountable. >> reporter: they said they committed to safely and completely cleaning the site the company says it's reimbursed or committed $6.5 million so far. meanwhile, officials continue trying to reassure residents the air and water are safe and that testing will continue indefinitely even drinking the water themselves but many residents still worry about health problems. >> don't feel good, can't breathe, head's ringing, my teeth hurt >> i was advised that they were going to do a medical examination, ask questions, and it was simply just a survey.

>> reporter: do you think that the rail company is going to be held responsible >> if it's up to the politicians, no. because they're going to somehow, i think, get away with it >> reporter: ron allen, nbc news, east palestine, ohio another memphis employee is under investigation. it's unclear if there are specific accusations against the unnamed employee in fact, memphis' cleavehief lel officer says the employee in question arrived late to the site of the assault and provid aid and took nichols to the hospital the sec is fining the mormon church $5 million. in an order released on tuesday, the agency alleges that the lds

church and advisers failed to properly disclose investment holdings, hiding them behind multiple shell companies for over 20 years. documents first revealed in 2018 show that the church's investment portfolio reached $32 billion. ha in a statement, the church said it had settled the matter with the sec and regrets the mistakes it made. catastrophic rainfall slamming brazil, killing at least 46 people. the area took on more than 23 inches of rain, the highest ever cumulative amount. sao paolo's governor saying more than 800 people are homeless and 1700 are displaced officials are expecting the death poll to continue to rise with more than three dozen people still unaccounted for >> let's bring back angie, who's tracking the severe storms in the u.s.

>> we have wind alerts up. the winds could be anywhere from 40 to 70 miles per hour as far as the peak is concerned you see the areas it is impacting. really from california to kentucky, cincinnati in that, little rock as well. el paso and los angeles too. those are concerning, of course, because of power outages, downed trees, some things to watch for. and we're still going to see gusty winds in the high plains where we'll have snow falling. in addition to that, we also have the severe weather threat through the afternoon hours. 8 million people at risk, it does include places like st. louis, columbia, wichita falls and oklahoma city for the earlier part of the day. hail, wind gusts are the main threats, but we can't rule out a tornado orreveport to

jackson, montgomery, as far south as miami we talked about the winter storm, guys. we talked about the snow, ice, all of that, the winds and severe weather threat, but we've also got really warm temperatures in the southeast, potential records. we'll talk about that coming up. >> it's unplebelievable to hit when you look at casper with one degree around world, millions of christians will observe ash wednesday. you may see people with ashes on their forehead the tradition dates back to early roman times, a reminder of mortality. after listening to 21 days of painful testimony against his father, buster murdaugh takes the stand. , buster murdaugh tak the stand. being together.

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family members of malcolm x intend to sue the fbi, cia and nypd, claiming they covered up the assassination. two men were exonerated after decades in prison. the city of new york paid $36 million in settlements to these men. all three agencies have declined to comment alex murdaugh's surviving son took the stand yesterday in the double murder trial that has captivated the country the first wig wbig witness for defense. buster murdaugh telling his account about when he found out his mother and brother were murdered our catie beck is in south carolina following the latest. >> reporter: inside the courtroom for i21 days, buster murdaugh listening to painful testimony. tuesday, more than 60 witnesses

later, alex murdaugh's surviving son on the stand, describing his father on the night of the murders j what was his demeanor? >> his demeanor was destroyed. he was heart broken. i walked in the door and saw him and gave him a hug and just, just broken down >> did he speak? >> not really. >> was he crying >> yes, sir. >> reporter: showing little emotion, buster's testimony framing details that prosecutors highlighted as questionable as normal saying it was common for his father to shower and change clothes after working outside in the heat and routine to find guns left around the property. and offering a differing opinion on the "i did him so bad" comment investigators claim to have heard alex say in an interview referring to paul's murder >> i did him so bad. i did him so bad >> what did your dad say >> he said they did him so bad, they did him so bad. >> is that the first time you'd heard him say they did him so

bad? >> no, sir >> reporter: later on the stand, a forensic engineer, testifying about the upward trajectory of the bullets that killed paul >> just makes it very unlikely that a tall person made that shot >> reporter: prosecutors attacking his credibility as an expert witness >> don't even know the cone and the rate of expansion of a shotgun. how can you give that opinion? >> you don't need to know that >> reporter: buster murdaugh testified that he was aware of his father's opioid use and that he went to a detox facility in 2018 to try to get help. buster also testified to the fact that he had no knowledge of murdaugh's alleged financial crimes until after the murders back to you. >> catie, thank you. still to come, got to get down on friday why friday could be the new saturday at offices around the globe. plus home depot giving a boost to employees depot giving a boost to employees which may point to dry eye disease. millions of americans were estimated to have it. they also tell me they've tried artificial tears again and again, but the relief is temporary. xiidra can provide

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markets trying to bounce back today after the dow's worst day of 2023. the index dropped nearly 700 points, as inflation and higher interest rates weigh on wall street the nasdaq also took a big hit, falling 2.5% is it time to make thursday the new friday i think we all agree, yes. >> of course >> a new study found that a four-day workweek is wildly popular with employees, i know, shocker. let's bring in jeff cutler good morning, jeff >> hey, very good morning to you. i guess whether dolly parton talked about 9 to 5 and stumbling to the kitchen to make coffee, she was probably thinking about that five days a week and a 40-hour workweek. but under this british study, 61 companies gave their employees the chance to do a four-day week as you point out, it seems to have been wildly popular with the employees who reported better mental health

surprisingly, the employers also said they felt there was no drop in productivity. 2,900 workers were involved with this study, so it's a relatively small-scale study. but i think those involved felt it was important enough that something like 90% of the companies involved say they may seriously take up the idea of a four-day working week. i don't think there were many broadcasters among those companies, but i am hoping that the idea catches on. >> and i hope that they bring it across the popped here to the u.s. >> you got a job where you're able to get all that in, why not. >> absolutely. jeff, thank you. >> coming up, angie has the tale of two forecasts record warmth for some, and bitter cold for others and is this the next big coffee craze get ready for a drizzled olive oil with your starbucks. zled ole oil with your starbucks. they're banking, with bank of america. see cousin jimmy over there?

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cheers everyone, today is national margarita day at bahamas breeze, it is $2.22 chili's $5 and a souvenir cup. and on the boerrder for $5. >> it will be to warm you up or cool you down, right >> the frozen margarita sounds pretty good if you live in the southeast where we have record breaking temperatures. and meanwhile, an arctic winter blast. you can see cincinnati today, tomorrow, into the low 70s more than 20 degrees above normal for this time of year atlanta, new orleans, 77 in raleigh. these 70s temperatures are going to be record-warm temperatures potentially for the entire month of february. so it's really impressive that they're dealing with it in the

south. >> thank you, angie. still ahead, we're hitting the slopes with a brotherhood of skiers who hope to inspire diversity? the sport. inspire diversity? the sport. lood pressure. the coughing, aching, fever, cold and flu, for people with high blood pressure, medicine. think mom's mad about her favorite shoes? nope, because bank of america lets her switch her choice cash back category to online shopping, so she earns more on a replacement pair. with the bank of america customized cash rewards card, you just can't stop getting rewarded. ♪ focus on what matters in life... being together. celebrating together. ♪ ...without letting anything keep you apart. walgreens pharmacists are here to help you stay well. and stay...together. ♪

in today's quick hits, starbucks is rolling out some new drinks with a spoonful of olive oil in every cup it's launching in italy first and making its way to the u.s. this spring. >> the annual mint-flavored shamrock drink is back on the menu at mcdonald's >> and home depot is investing a billion dollars in their hourly worker, bringing the starting salary to $15 an hour.

now to a 50-year legacy on the slopes the brotherhood expanding access to winter sports and helping young athletes chase olympic dreams here's steve patterson >> reporter: watching a troupe of talented skiers shred up the mountain is a great sight. 89% of visitors to u.s. ski areas identify as white. a problem ben and art set out to solve half a century ago, starting the national brotherhood of skiers to advocate for greater representation in winter sports and dispel the idea that black people don't ski >> we are skiers who happen to be black people sometimes get us confused are you black people who happen to ski no, we are skiers who happen to be black >> reporter: every year, they bring thousands of black skiers

together >> what we planned to do was make it all a party. hey, while we're out here partying, why don't you try some of these skis. and it worked. >> it's a brotherhood, sisterhood it's all good. >> reporter: groups from denver to detroit >> wonderful we lov love te it >> reporter: their groals are growing. they hope to see a black skier on the olympic podium. >> it's one of the best thing ever >> reporter: he's one of several of the sponsored athletes with ambition and talents >> i at any tdidn't really havel models growing up. >> reporter: now he has plenty of them. vail, colorado >> are you a snowboarder or skier? >> snowboarding over skiing.

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right now at 4:30, whipping winds wreak havoc across the bay area, toppling some trees and knocking out power. an update on the outages still in effect and the timeline for colder temperatures. >> and breaking ground. plans for a new south bay behavioral healing center take a big step forward. the impact leaders say it will especially have on one segment of the community. this is "today in the bay," streaming live on roku, amazon fire, and online. a very good wednesday morning. thanks for starting your day with us. i'm laura garcia. >> i'm marcus washington. >> we are following breaking news.