our interests and our efforts on something that is so important to so many people and so beneficial to the entire country. carlos and erika, thank you so much for being with me this morning. that wraps up the hour. i'm jose diaz-balart. i'll see you tomorrow night on nbc nightly news saturday. look at that picture. you can always reach me on twitter and instagram. thank you so much for the privilege of your time. yasmin vossoughian picks up with more news right now. good friday morning, everybody. i'm yasmin vossoughian in for craig melvin here at msnbc headquarters in new york city. a number of stories developing this hour. breaking right now, eyes on the white house. the president slated to meet with our allies about the crisis in ukraine any second now. the virtual show of force

includes the italy, the eu. >> we continue to see very troubling signs of russian escalation. we're in a window where an invasion could begin at any time. and to be clear, that includes during the olympics. >> it is coming as nbc news has new reporting on nine different routes russian forces could take if it decides to invade. plus any time now, we're waiting for the fda to release data on pfizer's vaccine trials for cages age 6 months to four years. and there's another big challenge facing our nation, inflation. it's the highest since 1982. you're feeling it, your extended family is feeling it and so are small businesses. ahead i'm going to talk with two

business owners about how they've had to adapt to keep their businesses open. we want to start with the crisis in eastern europe and president biden's virtual meeting with our allies right now. shannon pettypiece is at the white house, richard engel is on the ground. i've had the chance to talk with young ukrainians here about the united states. we've had a couple of breaking situations. we're awaiting the president with allies. talk to us on the heels of learning about a national security meeting yesterday evening as well. >> well, clearly ukraine is a central focus right now in the white house. the white house saying today the president is going to meet with some of america's closest allies, as well as countries in the region who are worried about what this may mean for their security. like romania and poland. a senior administration official

told nbc news the purpose of this meeting is to talk about the shared concern and to talk about diplomatic next steps and next steps when it comes to deterrence. i think a big question we all have is what those next steps could be so hopefully we'll maybe get some readout of what happens at this meeting. of course this comes after the president has been giving very grim assessments of his outlook of the situation there. he gave another one of those grim assessments to our own lester holt in this interview yesterday essentially telling americans in the country to leave now. here's a little bit more about what the president had to say. >> what scenarios would you put american troops to rescue and get americans out? >> they're not. it's a world war when americans and russia start shooting at one another, we're in a very different world than we've ever been in. american citizens should leave, should leave now. we're dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. this is a very different situation and things could go crazy quickly. >> and you can hear there the

wait that the president sees of the situation when we are talking about the potential of russian and u.s. forces shooting at each other and what in a would mean globally and the president seeming to draw a line there that u.s. forces are not going into that country, even just to evacuate u.s. citizens. >> a follow up as i was listening to that interview with lester, is the president essentially saying if russia invades ukraine and you are an american on ukrainian soil, you're on your own? >> that appears to be what the president is saying. the state department put out a similar warning saying there will not be the capable to rescue american citizens and they are urging people to get out of the country now. >> this is why the situation is so tenuous because of what

hearing from the russian minister of defense. "the military situation is becoming more and more tense. he said it's not our fault, we do not quite and do not always understand the reason for this tension but still we see it growing. he goes on. "for our part we would like to offer to contribute to reducing this tension and stopping the weapons in ukraine. it is not entirely clear why the kingdom sent special forces to ukraine and how long will it be there." so thinking about of course this virtual meeting happening with our allies right now, with nato as well, along the lines of what we're hearing from the russian minister of defense, how does that play in to resolving this thing diplomatically when they just don't see eye to eye? they see this completely differently. >> well, what russia is doing and with what russia has been

doing all along in all of this is playing chicken and egg. russia builds up its forces along the border and then the u.s., nato and other countries start to respond and then russia justifies its buildup along the border by the response. and now russia has about 130,000 plus troops and naval vessels and submarines and tanks and rocket launchers, artillery, et cetera, et cetera, on the border. as a result, the united states has been sending in more weapons. baltic countries have been sending in more weapons, including stinger missiles. so there is a buildup of weapons going on in this country. and special forces have also been infiltrating in to come up with contingency plans because they fear that this country could become an active war zone. so it is that chicken and egg. all of that is happening but it is happening because russia has

made this huge buildup on the borders. and diplomacy does not seem to be succeeding. there are two diplomatic efforts under way. one is the more broad stroke diplomacy about russia's security concerns and these letters that have been going back and forth, or at least went from the united states and a letter still expected from russia, those putin has made russia's position quite clear. and that's about the general concern that russia has that putin apparently feels quite deeply about, about nato encroaching into russian territory, moving into the warsaw pact nations. and then there's reviving the peace deal that ended fight hearing in 2014, the so-called minsk agreement or minsk 2

agreement. both of these tracks don't seem to be going well with the united states and russia clearly disagreeing on nato expansion and security concern and ukraine and russia not agreeing on how this peace agreement is supposed to be implemented. diplomacy micro and macro failing and russia continuing to blame the response to the military build up on the military build up. >> we have diplomacy failing and then -- >> i would say there's more than nine -- >> go ahead, please. >> there's nine routes -- it really depends on what russia intends to do. if russia's going to -- if you look at that map. and that's great reporting from

courtney at the pentagon. if they were to do an invasion, that smap essential if they were do an all-out strike in the country, how they could move in from the north and from the east. they could just come from the south, they could just come from the east. they could come potentially from the north, cut the armies off in the east while surrounding the cities. there are so many different possible military outcomes here that it is really impossible to know what putin -- what his plans are. because he has positioned so many troops in so many different places, it gives him a great number of options to act upon, if he chose to. one of the things that's most talked about is creating a corridor between russia and the crimean peninsula but there are

problems about that, including terrain barriers. >> one of the most troubling things about all this, though, is the reporting they could feesably reach kyiv in 24 hours. juxtapose the taliban and what they have behind them to moscow and putin's army. hence the reason why the president is saying this could literally turn into a world war. this is nor level versus dealing with the taliban. richard, if we have time, i'm going to come back to you. i do want to move to some of ellison's reporting. talk to us about the unique perspective you have gotten. you got ukrainians here in the united states that for the majority of their adult lives have been dealing with this conflict in union crane, watching from afar to a certain extent. talk us through what you've been

learning. >> a lot of times we'll hear people talking about things that happen internationally and say it so far from here, how does it impact me? new york city is home to the united states largest community of ukrainian immigrants with ukrainian ancestry. we went there to try to talk to ukrainian americans about what is happening? i talked to one man outside a meat shop and within 48 hours i was in touch with an activist in ukraine and a fighter on the front lines in eastern ukraine. i want you introduce you, milianya. that's video she took when she was in her teens protesting, fighting for a more democratic ukraine. in 2014 when we saw ukrainians flood the streets of kyiv because the then president backed away from a deal with the eu, young ukrainians were among the first to stand up and say, no, we do not want this and they have not stopped fighting for a

more democratic ukraine. on your screen that's dmitrio. he has been on the front lines with the ukrainian volunteer force since he is 18 years old. he is friends with melania, the activist we speck spoke to who lives in ukraine as well. she said what's happening now is an escalation and she also said she's not panicking. i asked why and she said it's interesting to see americans paying attention and said it been bad for eight years. listen to some of what we're heard from dmitrio. he sent us a video diary in the trenches in eastern ukraine and then also from melania. melania

>> how many friends have you lost in the last eight years? >> oh, i couldn't tell you. maybe -- well, people i knew at least up to 30 i guess. people i was friends with, maybe ten. >> when i asked melania what she wants americans to understand about all of this, she told me she wishes people understood that ukraine isn't a buffer state. she said at least that's not our identity. she won't on to say "that it seems that people gave us this focus that you're going to be a subject in this." we don't want that. when i talked to that and ukrainian americans about what they want the u.s. to do, they actually tell me they don't want

to see boots on the ground but they do because of that agreement say they want to see more resources, more money for weapons, sanctions. they want president biden, ukrainian americans say, to visit the country. >> it is so fascinating the mentality of individuals that persist inside war that, live their lives inside war and how you could literally take this story and what those people said to you and put it in so many other different countries that have been at war for so long. that's why so many americans can't necessarily understand the mentality because we haven't been, necessarily. >> richard engel, thank you. and so we're watching the fda this morning, everybody, for a potentially major update on when babies and toddlers could get the covid vaccine. and could rudy giuliani face a subpoena after he was a no-show at his deposition. >> and how the rising prices of

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welcome back, everybody. any moment we are expected to

get a major update from the fda on the pfizer vaccine for kids,ages six months to four years old. the data is the crucial next stop in getting kids their vaccine shots. dr. sheen, thank you so much for joining us. we appreciate it. let us play for you some of the interview between my colleague lester holt and the president talking about the importance of getting young children vaccinated. >> every day that goes by children are more protected. we're now on the verge of being able to have shots for children under the age of 7 and young children. >> talk to us about how -- just how important it is to get this young group of kids vaccinated and how it could help us get to this endemic phase of this pandemic. >> thank you so much for having

me on. you know, i just could not accentuate more firmly how important it is that we have an opportunity for younger children to be vaccinated, especially at this stage. what we have seen with the surge in omicron is the tremendous number of youner children who have not been age eligible for vaccination. >> let me tell you about a conversation i have with my mom friends, some with children under the age of 5. me not being one of them. we know pfizer for instance says this is eventually going to be a three-shot regimen but we're submitting now the data for this two-shot regimen essentially to get ahead of the game so when

the three-shot is done, they can administer the third shot and they're already two-thirds of the way there. what do you say to parents then when you don't have necessarily this complete, total picture of the protection their kids are going to get in order to get their kids vaccinated? >> yes, absolutely. great yes. and i think we have to think back to what happened with the adults as well. we didn't have a complete picture when the vaccines were authorized and subsequently approved for adults. so we learning so much in this pandemic but what really is important is acting on information we have in the current time. it's going to be difficult to predict what regimen exactly is needed in the beginning, but if we have a vaccine that has been shown to be effective, it's important that we begin to introduce that. also, there's the challenge with

the logistics of introduction of vaccine and access and so optimizing that and perhaps that is a key stage approach, to ensure those who basically need the vaccine the most will have the access that is so important. >> doctor, one last question. people are wondering do i keep my kids masked? we've seen cities, not necessarily in schools but cities like new york, going into private businesses. >> what is your recommendation, especially those who remain unvaccinated? >> that's great question. what we've really learned is preventing transmission and severe infection is a layered approach. vaccination being the foundation and then of course masking being the next step. and we're probably not at a point right now around the country, and we have to remember the different locations have

different rates of infection, where we can completely get rid of masking. masking has been extremely important in preventing the transmission of infection among children, and what we have seen is that children tolerate masks well and if this can help them to prevent them from getting infected, help them to stay in school and resume activities, then we need to continue the masking until we have a time that we are confident we can begin to peel back that strategy. >> dr. shane are thank you. we appreciate. the president is doing interview prep this weekend. what he said about finding a replacement for retiring supreme court justice stephen breyer. and gaps in the january 6th committee investigation. that's straight ahead.

. so this morning we're learning new details about the president's search for a supreme court nominee. in an interview with lester holt, the president revealed there has been a deep dive on four separate candidates and he expects there will be republican support for whom ever he chooses to replace justice stephen breyer. here's part of what he said. >> i'm not looking to make any logical choice. i'm looking for someone to replace judge breyer with the same kind of capacity judge breyer had, with an open mind, who understands the constitution and interprets in a way that is consistent with the mainstream interpretation of the

constitution. >> shannon pettypiece joins me now. we have seen a lot of names tossed around as to who the president is going to nominate to this seat. so walk us through the process the president faces this weekend and how he plans to focus on it. >> you mentioned there the first time the idea of needing to get public support and the president saying this isn't going to be an ideological pick, it's going to be on qualifications. that need to get republican support has obviously been increased of late because of senator ben ray luhan who is recovering from a stroke. without his vote, the senate does not have enough votes to get this passed. that's one of the big overhanging out there that you would keep reminding people of. the president we are told is going to spend time at camp

david this weekend really digging into the candidates, reviewing their past rulings, their writings and backgrounds and histories. interviews could start then next week and the president has said and the white house has continued to say that they plan to have a nominee by the end of this month, which is quickly approaching, believe it or not. so things about to pick up really quickly here. the president this week laid some more groundwork in congress, met with democrats on that congressional judiciary committee to start feeling them out, trying to build support there and of course he has previously met with the top two, the democrat and republican on that judiciary committee. expect things to get interesting here in a few weeks. >> i'm sure it will. thank you. we are also keeping a close eye on the house january 6 committee this morning. the panel is meeting behind closed doors and this a live picture of the podium outside that meeting in case anyone wants to walk out and make a little news or something.

a top item of discussion is rudy giuliani's refusal to show up for his deposition. leann caldwell, jeremy peters. great to see you and congratulations on the new amazing book. leann, there's this closed door happening, what are they going to do next? while this is happening, we're getting this new reporting about essentially how the president went dark right after his speech during the insurrection at the capitol. what do we know about that? and of course what they're talking about behind those closed doors. >> what we know about that gap is that there is, in fact, a gap. so after the former president spoke at the rally on the ellipse, there's several hours where there are no phone call

records, despite the fact we know publicly that he spoke with at least two people. one of them is gop leader kevin mccarthy. the other was senator tommy tubberville. those phone records are not in the documents that the committee has received from the national archives. we don't know why. it could be because the president -- former president was using his cell phone and it was not documented in the archives. it could be because they just didn't send them over yet and that information is coming, or there could be something more nefarious. we don't know and the committee doesn't know. as far as the committee members meeting today, they do this periodically. they're talking about an update on the investigation. there are different teams of investigators who are dealing with the different angles of

this investigation, and so they will be updated on where things go from here. and of course they're going to talk about the things that are not yet resolved, including whether perhaps to subpoena members of congress or what to do with the people who aren't complying with subpoena, including rudy giuliani. >> so let's go with that for a moment, jeremy. i know you have covered giuliani extensively. him not showing up for his deposition is a major deal for the january 6 committee, working as the former president's attorney on all things election and trying to get things turned. what do you expect to see happen here? what next steps are you thinking giuliani will take? >> reporter: i think we've seen it. i don't think he's going to cooperate at all. i don't think any of the trump witnesses that have been called

that are on trump's team have any intention or any desire to cooperate and i really think that's kind of the end of it. >> why, though? at this point giuliani said he's not going to cooperate. what is the reasoning behind him not cooperating? to a certain extent they're just going to come after him even more and then it seems as if he's having something to hide. >> he doesn't have any incentive to cooperation as far as he's concerned, who is he pleasing, what constituency of his is he pleasing, what constituency of donald trump's who is what den grated this commission as illegitimate. >> what concession does rudy

giuliani even have. >> we've learned a lot over the last few weeks even about these different efforts to keep president trump in power. one of the sets of reports has been about other alternate or fraudulent electors. when did you become aware of that plan? >> that's not part of my remed or on my radar. >> a lot less talkative, jeremy, than he was the last time he was on ari's show. what's he doing here really at this point? he has put everything out there. he's laid it all out in public, on television over and over again and now kind of being more tight lipped, especially in an interview with ari melber last night. what's his strategy? >> well, in is a war as far as they're concerned. this is a war to try to get president trump another term and they are going to use democrats

on capitol hill and the january 6 committee as their opponents and use republicans like mitch mcconnell to show that trump is under siege, that he is being once again persecuted by these illegitimate committees and investigations. this is russia, this is ukraine. it's a continuation of the same type of playbook that we've seen from these people all along. as i get into in my book, this is very much donald trump's party, has been since before the days that donald trump was a republican and was still registered as a democrat because culturally the sense that these folks are losing their country or want their country back is very palpable. and that's what former president trump has given them. he's given them a battling to

wage on his behalf. now, the question is whether or not they continue to be loyal foot soldiers to him, these voters who have been unwaveringly loyal to him so far but have shown signs lately of peeling away. that's i think the real risk here more than any committee investigations into donald trump, it's whether or not he can keep his voters in line as he continues to wage what is really a battle for his own personal vindication. >> you know what would be fascinating to watch, if in fact we see voter support for the former president drop off and folks like giuliani and navarro drop off as well.

buying a car, stocking up on groceries and paying your electric bill, all of it costs so much more with prices rising. so how are small businesses supposed to keep up? i'm going to talk to two restaurant owners about just that. we'll be right back. restaura ontwners about just that we'll be right back. what is this nightmare? it's how some people describe... shingles. a painful, blistering rash that could interrupt your life for weeks. forget social events and weekend getaways. if you've had chickenpox, the virus that causes shingles is already inside of you. if you're 50 years or older ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingles. we're hoping things will pick up by q3. yeah...uhhh... [children laughing] doug? [ding] never settle with power e*trade. it has easy-to-use tools and some of the lowest prices. get e*trade and start trading today.

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welcome back, everybody. so no matter who you are or where you live, you are paying more for just about everything. it's all thanks to the worst in inflation in seven years. look at these prices. 16 ounces of bacon up a whopping $1.24. of these skyrocketing food prices, it's hitting many small businesses particularly hard. i want to bring in two small business owners that have had to raise their prices to keep up. >> dina is the owner of a

plant-based ice cream plant in boston. welcome to you both. thanks for joining us on this. just talk to us about when you realized that you had to raise prices. >> yeah. i think it's been really challenging. we've seen prices increase and more costs increase throughout the pandemic, but in the last couple of months the quotes that we've been getting from some of our, you know, raw good suppliers have just come up astronomical, higher than we've ever seen in the past. we're in the plant-based industry and so one of our largest ingredients that we purchased is coconut cream and we were just quoted a 40% increase on material used. as you can imagine, that does create quite a challenge when it comes to pricing. if you put together some of

those other ingredients, a 7 to 8% increase on the others combined. >> and you're feeling it, too. menu items up 25%, even up 40% that that's astounding. small businesses, you guys thrive off of relationship in your community. i can't imagine this hasn't hurt your client base, folks coming in and saying i can't pay this anymore. >> absolutely. we fought the last two years to not make any increases whatsoever. we pride ourselves on having a product with a lot of perceived value. the last thing we wanted to do was increase prices. in the last six months increasing pork prices by an additional $2 per pound, which is almost a 50% increase, fryer

oil, same thing, about 50%. we just couldn't hold on any longer. we apologized to our following going this is why we have to do this and maybe one day we can return to less expensive prices but if everybody wants us around, this is what we have to do. >> so you actually were forthcoming with folks, brian, about why it is that you increased your prices? >> absolutely. we try to keep communicating with our clientele and making sure that they understand that this has nothing to do with greed or anything other than sustainability. and if we did nothing, then we wouldn't last. >> keeping the light on. and deana, how did you do that, not only because of inflation but just the pandemic overall? >> yeah. i think we're kind of wondering the same thing. a lot of it has just been smart

plays, making sure that, you know, we keep our costs down and do what we do best. think about, you know, where we do things well and where we make the most money and focus on that and just kind of stay skeletal. i think all we're trying to do at this point is look forward and look towards growth and hope that, you know, the public understands that real food costs money and that people will prioritize their dollars to support those small businesses, to support those purveyors are good local items and just kind of hope for the best going to the new year. but it's definitely been a puzzle. it's been a strategy game all along. every day, every month we've been thrown different challenges and we've had to be flexible and resilient. >> being flexible and resilient, the theme of this pandemic. thank you both, guys. and good luck to both of you.

>> thank you. >> up next, a closer look of the legacy of the reconstruction area. our own tremaine lee will take us to the promise land. >> when people ask me where i'm from, i tell them i live in the promise land but i'm en route to the promise land. e land but i'mo the promise land there's a different way to treat hiv. it's once-monthly injectable cabenuva. cabenuva is the only once-a-month, complete hiv treatment for adults who are undetectable. cabenuva helps keep me undetectable. it's two injections, given by a healthcare provider once a month. hiv pills aren't on my mind. i love being able to pick up and go. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic

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save 50% on the sleep number 360 limited edition smart bed. plus, 0% interest for 24 months and free premium delivery when you add a base. ends monday. welcome back. so, as this black history month comes at time when the actual teaching has become a very contentious issue. we're seeing multiple states restricting how race is taught in public schools. but so much of the history resonates strongly today. we're taking a deep dive in the legacy of the reconstruction era in the united states and how it continues to shape this country. and tremain is joining us now. you took a look at two communities. one in south carolina and one in georgia. a link to the past and then the present. tell us about what you saw. >> what i found is, while over

time, so many hopes and dreams have faded, others have been passed from one generation to the next. and among those generations, dreams are literally owning a piece of america to call your own. owning land. here's more. along highway 10 in rural south carolina, is a town called promised land. was founded in 1870. a safe place for and by formerly enslaved people. after newly lected black lawmakers created legislation to block black people when others wouldn't. are willy neal norman jr. is a promiseland descendant. >> when people ask where i'm from. i tell them i live in the promiseland in route to the promiseland. >> finally free, determined to reunite with family and build new lives from scratch.

i know there was a big effort to reunite with family. >> absolutely. >> reporter: an exhibit at the african-american museum and culture explores their journey. this month, msnbc and the into america podcast are teaming up with the museum for a rare look behind the glass and into this special retelling of black history. >> what we have are some of the items part of history and reminds us these are every day people who are just trying to survive. >> from the late 1800s through the early 20th century, free black people created more than 200 settlements and towns across the deep south and southwest. >> a very much american creedo. you want land, a chance to make your own choices. >> reverend norman's wife is another descendant of

promiseland's early settlers. >> that longing to be able to have your own and that's what was instilled from the generations on down. >> about two hours southeast of atlanta, ashley scott is leading black families in modern-day black town building. >> we wanted to create a community where people are not just making it but being able to thrive, verses just survive. >> the dream is freedom georgia. the family's purchased 500 acres of old timberland that they hope to turn into a black mecca where all residents share an economic stake and instead of a traditional police force, a peace force offering social services first, handcuffs second. >> we hope freedom will be a foundation for building our own institutional structures so racism is not there from its origination. >> a new generation of black families, rooted in the hopes of

yesterday but reaching towards the promises of tomorrow. while freedom georgia may be years away from ushering its first residence, the organizers hope that by linking past with the present, they'll create a new black future. >> as always, thank you. such an important story. for more on the story, check out this weekend's episode of into america. this weekend's episode of into america. with a painless, one-second scan i know my glucose numbers without fingersticks. now i'm managing my diabetes better and i've lowered my a1c from 8.2 to 6.7. take the mystery out of managing your diabetes and lower your a1c. now you know. try it for free at freestylelibre.us ♪ limu emu and doug.♪ and it's easy to customize your insurance

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we are tracking breaking news in phoenix. this is the scene where multiple officers have been shot. phoenix police say they responded to calls of a woman shot early this morning. they say when an officer approached the house, someone inside shot the officer multiple times. that is when police say a man came out of the house holding an infant. officers detained a man. but police say the shooter opened fire once again. and hit four other officers. at least three officers, other officers were wounded by bullet shrapnel. officers saying they're eventually able to get the infant to safety and secure the scene. they found the suspect dead inside the home. that does it for me on this busy hour. you can catch me tomorrow from 3:00 to 5:00 eastern. "andrea mitchell reports" starts right now. ♪

good day, everyone. this is "andrea mitchell reports in washington" with the exclusive wide-ranging interview with president biden. on the crisis in ukraine. the president with another message for vladimir putin as he holds a call this morning, as the president holds a call this morning with nato leaders and president zelensky huddles about the invasion threat. >> look, i've spoken with putin, i've spoken to every nato leader. i've brought them together like i think they've never been so coordinated in modern history. the question is he has to know if he does, the entire circumstance for russia changes worldwide, changes overnight. the cost to russia both in terms of reputational cost and economic cost would be profound. >> on the coronavirus, the president stood by the cdc, which is sticking to