hey, everybody. good to see you this afternoon. i'm yasmin vossoughian, with an invasion looming at any moment, another crucial call today for president biden with the president of ukraine, who has been urging the white house to turn down its rhetoric. we are watching breaking news in canada as well. the dramatic scene as police are trying to end a blockade that has cost american workers millions of dollars. and then a major new development in the january 6th investigation with news that trump's right-hand man, rudy giuliani, is actually ready to talk. plus, a day before early voting begins in the state of texas, there's already chaos over new voting rules. what it could mean for the midterms. that's coming up as well. >> we want to begin, though, with the crisis in ukraine. with a full-scale russian invasion that could happen any day now, according to national security adviser jake sullivan.

the president and ukrainian president vladimir zelensky wrapped up an hour-long phone call, the white house saying the u.s. will respond swiftly and aggressively to any further aggression toward ukraine. their conversation coming one day after biden spoke with vladimir putin. the white house saying the call was professional but yielded no fundamental change as efforts to avoid conflict are stalling. all of this while multiple airlines halt and redirect their flights into ukraine. a spokesperson for president zelensky saying ukraine has not closed its air space. his officials there continue to urge calm. joining me now from the white house is nbc's josh lederman on the ground in kyiv is nbc's matt bradley, and also joining me, general barry mccaffrey, nbc military analyst and retired four-star general. thanks for joining us. josh, let me start with you. walk us through what we know about this phone call between

biden and ukrainian president zelensky. >> well, they were on the phone for about 50 minutes, while the president was at camp david today. that phone call taking place just one day after president biden spoke for a little over an hour with president putin in a conversation that the white house said really didn't change anything in terms of the underlying dynamics of the conflict. now, there's been a real difference between zelensky, the ukrainian leader, and the u.s. that has grown more and more apparent, frankly, in the last couple days. in terms of the way they're talking about the prospects of a russian invasion into the country and the balancing of wanting people to stay calm as opposed to the u.s. message of saying, everybody that's american citizen should get on the next flight out, and jake sullivan, the national security adviser, saying this this morning about why they think a military action is possible. >> we cannot perfectly predict the day, but we have now been

saying for some time that we are in the window, and an invasion could begin, a major military action could begin by russia in ukraine any day now. that includes this coming week, before the end of the olympics. of course, it could take place after the end of the olympics or it is still possible we believe that russia could chose the diplomatic path. the way they have built up their forces, the way they have maneuvered things in place makes it a distinct possibility there will be major military action very soon. >> and that has u.s. officials on high alert, especially as we get into these final days of the olympics where the u.s. has been pointing for some time and trying to make sure that nobody is caught off guard by the prospects of a russian incursion. we learned the president's ambassador to the united nations, linda thomas greenfield, who had been scheduled to lead a u.s. delegation this coming week to some ceremonial events taking place in the african nation of

liberia, she's not going on that trip anymore. the biden administration keeping her in new york to work on urgent diplomacy around the ukraine crisis add the united nations over the coming week. >> we're watching this all from afar, matt, and you're on the ground there. we know ukrainian leaders there still pleading for calm despite the continuing threats from russia and what we're hearing from our own government. now, you see the airlines pulling flights to the country. how are the people on the ground there feeling today? >> look, i mean, i would have to say, yasmin, there has been a mild shift in tone both from the government and from the public, but not a major shift in tone. those alarm bells really started going off in a big way friday night. i was with my team and we were talking about this. we changed our travel plans, everything got changed, because before it did look as though things were sort of petering out, dying down a bit. but as parts of the ukrainians are concerned, this isn't

necessarily the warning that we're hearing in washington and in other european capitals. they're still huing to this important line and the one they have had for the last several months that an invasion by ukraine is not imminent. we just heard from president zelensky. here's what he had to say about that. take a listen to this. >> we have to be ready each day, and it began not yesterday. it began in 2014. that's why we're here. it's not simple. it can be each day, like i said previously, from the very beginning. we didn't believe it at the very beginning of the war on the east of our country. we have a lot of information. because we are on this border. it is our border, our territory. and the truth is that we have different information, and now the best friend for enemies that is planning in our conflict, and

all this information that helps only for planning. it doesn't help us. >> so yasmin, i know you can kind of hear a little bit of that subtext. the president of ukraine is getting impatient or has been a little impatient with what, i guess if you allow me here, yasmin, with the kind of man explaining ukraine to him. which has been going on for quite a while. he says regularly y am the ukrainian president. don't tell me the risks that my country is facing. that's what he's getting from washington and other european capitals. we have been feeling this palpably in conferences with him. this alarmist reaction coming from outside the borders of a country that he governs. and he feels as though he is responsible for the fate of this nation. and he has not such a veiled resentment for those who would tell us he's not panicking enough. yasmin. >> you can't help but think he's speaking directly to washington in that speech to a certain

extent. i got to wonder if he's being as frank on the phone call with the president as he was there in that sound, matt bradley, that you just played. general mccaffrey, weigh in for me on this. on friday, you said you were hopeful this was a russian deception plan. so essentially, putin kind of telling the russian military, listen, we're going to invade. 100%, we're going to invade, which would increase the chatter at the border, hence some of the am intelligence we're getting at an invasion was imminent, but it was more to gain what he wanted, to get what he wanted in the diplomatic negotiations. considering where we are today, two days later, how do you feel? >> i don't have a clue. i have never seen anything like this. one thing we're good at, the u.s. intelligence service, both electronic and human, and an overhead satellite, we can count things. so putin has clearly put in place the air, land, sea force

to invade and seize ukraine in the coming weeks. 100 plus combat containers, amphibious opportunity to invade in the south is there. i don't think there's any question that capability is present on the ground. so what is going on? president biden and secretary blinken are understandably trying to give diplomacy a chance. although i might add, there is no u.s. ambassador to ukraine. we are now evacuating the majority of our embassy instead of re-enforcing our presence on the ground. so the diplomacy is somewhat odd. >> general mccaffrey, that is such a good point in that if you're talking about the fact you want to achieve a diplomatic solution here, evacuating the embassy does not necessarily seem like it's pointing in that direction. what do you make of the frustration also that we're hearing from zelensky with the u.s. government? how do you think that complicates things?

>> well, by the way, on the embassy, i have seen this before. it's astonishing. i think the biden administration right now is reacting to the chaos and the kabul evacuation. because it's bad optics to have us fleeing from the u.s. presence on the ground, but when it comes to zelensky, he's obviously trying to throw cold water on it. he may have gotten private reassurances, i suppose, from the russians. we're not coming in, that he finds credible. but it is unusual, his greatest threat isn't panic. it's russian artillery. so, you know, this kind of brave whistling in the dark kind of approach doesn't make sense either. putin is dangerous. he may go in. if he doesn't, this will have been one of the greatest deception plans we have seen in the last 50 years. >> so just want to get you on the record with this, general.

do you think it was too quick for the president, for the white house to order the evacuation of the embassy in ukraine? >> no question. if there is one building that the russians would not purposely target in kyiv, it would be the u.s. embassy. and during this period, we want people hand holding and collecting intelligence and understanding what's going on on the ground throughout ukraine, to every ministry in kyiv. it's bad mistake, but that isn't going to be how this thing plays out. the question is what is putin doing? he likes having most of europe tracking to moscow, to solicit his views. he likes being the center of attention. the russian enforcements can stay there for 90 days. so he holds all of the tactical cards at this point. >> i want to remind folks or tell folks, i'm going to be speaking with masha gessen in the next hour and we're going to

try to drill down on what putin is gunning for. >> thank you. >> we're also following breaking news, everybody, along the canadian/u.s. border. less than 30 minutes ago, canadian police in windsor moved in to secure routes and remove protesters near the ambassador bridge into detroit. that is where we find cal perry who has been reporting there for the last few days or so. cal. it's snowing now. i see. and it wasn't just a couple hours ago so i imagine you're quite cold covering these protests. we appreciate it, my friend. thank you. talk us through the latest developments this hour. where are we? >> so we are physically, if you can see two intersections away, two intersections away is the main road that runs to the ambassador bridge. that road connects route 401, which is a major thoroughfare in canada, to the ambassador bridge, which is the formally until this week, the busiest land crossing in north america. police have been moving up to try to clear what are at this

point a very small number of protesters. if i can get you to show that corner there. that's about half of what remains of the protesters. i'm saying about a dozen people remain. there are about two dozen members of the media, but the problem is a logistical one for the police here in windsor. the side streets, they're able to sort of move people back, but they're not able to actually get rid of everybody. they have finally started making some arrests, some forceful arrests. they do what is sort of known when the police come and snatch somebody and bring them behind the line and take them off. we have seen about half a dozen people arrested, but there is a legitical problem. no matter how far the police move folks back, people are here. they want to be heard. this is about all mandates. and there's this cat and mouse game going on here in windsor at the foot of the bridge that connects windsor to detroit. i don't know what the end game is here because the game seems to be kind of played over and over again and we're coming up on a week since the bridge has been closed. >> i guess my big question is

come monday morning, are trucks able to get across the bridge? >> i don't know. i don't know. i think the goal is to have it open, but if you look at that intersection now, what's happening is they're putting these jersey barriers in, these cement barriers. they're going to try to get that road that leads to the bridge open, but i don't know if they can put in three kilometers of jersey barriers. the mayor was saying that this morning, they just can't secure a three kilometer road with the forces they have if people are convinced to get in there and mess with them. >> all right, cal perry, we'll check back in with you later on. thank you. get warm if you can. we'll see you in a few. we're also following new developments from capitol hill on the investigation into the january 6th insurrection. "the new york times" reporting that rudy giuliani is in talks to testify before the january 6th committee. sources telling nbc news the panel is expecting him to, quote, cooperate fully. pretty surprising. giuliani was a key witness to

the insurrection and one of its chief instigators. several weeks prior to the attack, the former new york mayor peddled demonstrably false claims about election fraud, and on the day of the riots, infamously called for trial by combat. nbc's ali rafah and barbara mcquade are with me. ali, there's a lot to learn from testimony from rudy giuliani. what do we know? >> that's right, yasmin. this "new york times" story broke overnight, and at least two committee members have already reacted to this development, which in the grand scheme of things could be the committee's biggest breakthrough because as you said, rudy giuliani played a huge role in trying to overturn those 2020 election results. we actually heard from a committee aide in a statement reacting to this times report, saying, quote, mr. giuliani's appearance was rescheduled at his request. he remains under subpoena and the select committee expects him

to cooperate fully. we know hundreds of witnesses are cooperating with the committee's investigation, but people inside trump's inner circle, people like former aide steve bannon, former white house chief of staff mark meadows, have refused to comply and have been willing to face possible criminal charges for doing so. so it begs the question, why would someone like rudy giuliani, who is extremely close to the former president, be willing to now work with the committee? the times is reporting that some of those reasons could be he may be trying to avoid an expensive legal battle in fighting a subpoena, or it could be that he's trying to skirt contempt charges that he could end up with if he ends up not talking in the end. gop committee member adam kinzinger laid out his expectations of what will happen. >> our expectation is he is going to cooperate because that's the law, that's the requirement. regardless of when we hear from rudy or how long that interview is, we're getting a lot of information. and we're looking forward to

wrapping this up at some point, when that is right, showing it to the american people. but not rushing it. >> and kinzinger added in that interview that the committee's public hearings which members wanted to begin in the spring, could be pushed back to summer. committee vice chair liz cheney says that those public hearings will prove the legitimacy of the 2020 election. >> a lot of us have been asking in anticipation of these public hearings when they would actually happen. it seems as if they're going to be continuing to be pushed back, not necessarily great, especially considering there could be a deadline, the midterm elections. barbara, let me read to you from "the new york times" talking about the potential testimony from giuliani, one person familiar with the matter said that mr. giuliani was still negotiating over whether to give investigators an informal interview or a formal deposition. and that he had not yet determined how much information he might seek to shield from the committee by invoking executive

privilege or attorney/client privilege with mr. trump. how much of his testimony do you suspect rudy giuliani will invoke executive privilege and/or attorney/client privilege? >> well, we know the supreme court has rejected executive privilege over this matter, as a qualified privilege. what the court has said it must yield in the interest of even more overwhelmingly substantial information. and said that this investigation is. so that seems like a losing argument. i do think attorney/client privilege is one he could assert. there are exceptions to that as well for crime or fraud. and so i would at this stage in light of all of the things rudy giuliani has done and said, be surprised if he is completely turned over a new leaf and wants to cooperate at this stage, and sometimes we call it

cooperfakion, fake cooperation. we saw this with paul manafort. he came in and cooperated but he was still lying to them. i'll believe it when i see it, but if he is, i do think he possesses a lot of information that could be helpful to the committee. >> so it's interesting you bring up this idea of cooperfiction, because "the new york times" is reporting rudy giuliani it seem confrontational stance. he's taking a less confrontational stance here. there is this idea that some people are talking about, if he's going to be less confrontational in his stance versus someone like steve bannon, does that mean he's a more reliable witness? what do you make of that? >> yeah, i think giuliani is very savvy. sometimes i think he comes across as a bumbler, but don't forget, he had all those years a as federal prosecutor, including prosecutions against the mob, and i think he knows from that, that the way to receive lenient treatment for yourself is by

cooperating against others. i think he's at least going to engage with them to try to demonstrate good faith. if for nothing else, to delay any activity that might relate to criminal charges. i think he might be able to thwart that, but eventually at the end of the day, a decision is going to have to be made, does he want to cooperate or not. even if he doesn't want to tell the truth or if you don't want to rely on him as a witness and vouch for his credibility, just getting his documents could be very valuable. his text messages, his phone records. the justice department already has a lot of that material because of the search warrant that was executed at his office relating to his investigation over foreign agent failure to register as a foreign agent. it may be they have him in a position where they can confront him with some of that information and it's in his best interest to cooperate. a lot of factors to think about, but don't underestimate his sophistication in this arena. >> i gotta say, it's been through the document dumps we have learned so much as to what took place on january 6th and the hours leading up to the

insurrection. thank you both. appreciate it. still ahead, government issued crack pipes. the dangerous misinformation campaign aimed at the administration's effort to help drug addicts. >> first, show me the money. billions of taxpayer dull dollars earmarks to safely reopen schools in texas. so why are teachers digging into their own pockets? >> we have heard from a special education teacher who spent $100 of her own money on n-95s to keep her safe at work. inner voice (sneaker shop owner): i'm using hand gestures and pointing... ...so no one can tell i'm unsure about my business finances. inner voice (furniture maker): i'm constantly nodding... ...because i know everything about furniture... ...but with the business side... ...i'm feeling a little lost. quickbooks can help. an easy way to get paid, pay your staff and know where your business stands. new business? no problem.

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the nation begin to remove mask mandates as covid cases drop, they have received nearly $200 billion in funding from the federal government over the past two years to safely reopen. texas alone secured more than $2 billion. now, teachers who have had to dip into their own pockets for supplies are asking, where is all that money? where did it all go? heidi przybyla has been digging into this and how the money is being spent. it's great to see you. thanks for joining us on this. what did you find out? >> yeah, yasmin, like you said, it's been really a historic infusion of federal dollars into local school districts, but the decisions are all being made at the local level. congress basically didn't attach many strings. they just said, spend this and prioritize the first two tranches on the health and

safety of students and staff. but not everyone agrees that that's how it was spent. this week, nancy quit her dream job as a fifth grade teacher in mccalen, texas. i noticed earlier this year i was getting a lot more migraines than i am used to. this year had been so many more. >> already feeling overworked and underpaid, she contracted covid. for a second time, five days in, sick and without a negative test, she said she was pressured by the school district to get back to work. and that was too much. >> i started to get a reaction on my skin, hives. stress hives. so that's when i told myself, okay, my body is telling me slow down, take a breather. >> mccalen was given $50 million from congress to help teachers and kids return safely to the classroom amid the pandemic, but the teachers union said it's among a number of districts where billions in taxpayer funds still didn't get teachers the

basics, n-95 masks and paid time off for covid sickness. >> we heard from a special education teacher who spent $100 of her own money on n-95s koo keep her safe at work. members are not asking for the world to turn in a different direction. they're asking to be provided with n-95 masks, tests, and to be able to take leave when they're sick. >> the bulk of the spending, roughly $37 million, was tagged for student learning and students needs, according to the district spending plan given to nbc news. about $475,000 went toward ppe and other covid related supplies. other big ticket items, $12 million for a mariachi center and theater equipment and $4 million to expand a nature park. the mcallen independent school district says it cares deeply about the health and safety of staff and students, that all campuses have ppe and they have received no reports of ppe shortages. after the cdc recommended kn-95 masks on january 14th, they ordered more than 6,000, and all

schools now have them. they say all extra funds have been spent or earmarked appropriately with the focus on students and staff. mcallenulse said the board began discussing covid leave. but two years into the pandemic, there's little transparency around school districts' covid relief spending while a staffing crisis continues to take its toll. >> when i was saying my good-byes to a few of my colleagues, a lot of them hugged me and said, i'm so happy for you. i wish i could leave. >> and yasmin, what i found in researching this was that experts say there's little more than half of school districts that even have a process for finding out where they spent the money. this matters right now because the bulk of the money that congress sent out to states still has yet to be spent. it was that final tranche, so oversight right now is really important. yasmin. >> and they continue to not have the resources that they need. hida przybilla, thank you.

it's not just happening in texas. it's happening across the country. >> sticking with the lone star state, everybody. after the break, confusion and frustration as texas voters head to the polls for the first time since widespread redistricting and voting laws were enacted across the state. we'll be right back. 'll be right back. liberty mu... line? cut. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. cut. liberty m... am i allowed to riff? what if i come out of the water? liberty biberty... cut. we'll dub it. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

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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 we're talking about texas once again. voters heading back to the polls for the first time since republican lawmakers redrew the state's congressional map. and passed voter restrictions that are already having an affect on texans. early voting begins tomorrow and runs through february 25th, but texans have just five days left to get in their mail-in ballot request before the primary on march 1st. the new laws have sown a lot of confusion. thousands of mail-in ballots being rejected at historic rates because they did not provide this id number that is now required under the new laws. want to bring in christina

ramirez, texan and president and executive director of next gen america, an organization that works to empower young voters. welcome. thanks for joining us. >> thanks so much for having me. >> let me remind folks some of the voter restrictions now in place in your state. i think that's part of the problem, people keeping up with the new laws. banning drive-through and 24-hour voting. new criminal penalties for election workers. id required for mail-in voting. checking voter eligibility monthly and new paperwork for voting assistance. so talk to us about how so many voters are still not even up to date on these new laws, these new restrictions and what your organization, what rur rr doing to make sure they know what to do to get their votes in. >> well, we have to first remember why these laws have been passed in texas in the first place. you know, texas is a very diverse and growing and changing state. we're the largest battleground state in the country and republicans who hold power

state-wide are trying to stay in power, not by winning on the merit of their ideas but by bending and breaking the rules in their favor. we have passed some of the most restrictive voting legislation in the country. texas makes it one of the hardest places to vote. and we are a state where the majority of the population are people of color. and across texas, election officials don't even know how to implement the new rules. there hasn't been proper guidance given by the state oftentimes or even until the 11th hour and not enough education to voters either. again, you mentioned increased penalties for election officials trying to help voters so people are also afraid or feel like they have their hands tied behind their back. they can't even fully educate the population, here at next gen we're contacting 2 million young people, mostly young people of color, to inform them about how, when, and where to vote in this upcoming primary. >> so i want to read for you from the brennan center on kind of this redistricting and how

it's skewed more towards the republican party. and aiding votes from the republican party. here's what it says. many of this round's biased maps attempt their skew with communities of color. republican map drawers have declined to draw new opportunities for these fast growing opportunities. in many instances, they have dismantled existing districts where communities of color won power or were on the verge of doing so. this is unprecedented in scale. it's not just happening in texas. it's happening across the country. your reaction to that. >> i know for people who aren't in texas, i think there's a view of our state as a state filled with good white cowboys and there are many great white cowboys but our population is majority young, brown, and black. the last census showed 95% of the state's population growth over the last decade by which we gained two new congressional seats, were from communities of color. yet, we lost as the latino population representation that

we were supposed to have in congressional maps. we have the largest black population of any state in the country. and now, there is not one predominant black congressional district of the 38 that texas holds. so we as the latino population that have been -- we outpaced white growth in the state by 11 to 1, we thought we were going to gain possibly two congressional seats where we would be able to really have a say in what the issues were across the state and what solutions we wanted at the federal level. didn't get that. so these maps and the gerrymandering we see, we have to understand, again, that these are the same old tools of literacy tests and poll taxes repackaged with the same purpose, to deny communities of color and my family from being able to determine what happens in our state. >> organizations like yours that are trying to get people to the polls in spite of all that's happening. christina, thank you. we appreciate it. coming up, an effort to save lives 93 a talk point for the gop heading into the midterms.

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joe biden's hhs are going to distribute crack pipes for free to addicts across the country. >> the latest idea is to pay black people to smoke more crack. >> his plan gives crack pipes to drug addicts. why? for racial equity. we're not sure if this was hunter's idea or joe's way of getting his cartel partners to trust him. >> my god. and it did not stop there, by the way. a first of its kind federal grant intedded to fight the opioid crisis quickly became the subject of a right-wing conspiracy campaign last week,

peddled by all of the usual suspects on fox news who claimed $30 million in federal funds are being used to buy crack pipes, as they said, the problem, it's all a toelt lie. it's not true. and now, it has spawned actual proposals that would ban what doesn't even exist. the use of federal funds to buy crack pipes. one example is legislation cosponsor bide representative lauren boebert, who reached new lows by dubbing her proposal, by the way, the hunter act. a reference to hunter biden's own struggle with drug addiction. making it personal to the president. with me now is jennifer plumb, founder and medical director of utah naloxone. thank you for joining us on this. we appreciate it. i have to say, it's astounding to hear some of the fox news host talks about it in the way they did, and blatantly lie to americans, but i can't tell you how many people have come up to me or asked me is the biden administration handing out crack

pipes? and i want to be clear with folks as we have this conversation what's actually happening here to aid in the opioid crisis. there are referrals to treatment, there are condemocrats, there are going to be providing vaccinations for hepatitis a and b, alcohol swabs, lip balms, and safe smoking kits. that's where the whole crack pipe comes in. mouth pieces, brass screens, and disinfectant wipes. that does not include, by the way, rubber mouth pieces. that does not include crack pipes. dr. plumb, talk to me about why it is so important to have an initiative like this when it comes to drug addiction in this country. >> thanks for the opportunity. this really has come out of the unexpected for those of us who work in this realm. this is an area, meat and potatoes harm reduction. these are ways to save lives. these are ways to prevent infections, and these are ways to find students of engagement with people who are struggling, with people who are victims of

the current opioid crisis. these types of things are happening in our cities and towns and counties across the country, and this grant opportunity really was the first kind of step in for the federal government to say, all right, we see that the evidence is showing harm reduction activities are successful. harm reduction activities are getting results. and as we have just crossed 100,000 deaths in a 12-month period, in the united states related to overdoses, it's becoming more and more clear that the strategies of the past aren't doing what we need it to do, that is to save lives. so for folks that work in harm reduction, for organizations like mine, this opportunity for this grant really provides resources. it provides the opportunity for us to do local needs assessments, see what our communities need, and then actually put a grant proposal in and potentially get funded. this reductive and stigmatizing and frankly pretty racist language that came out last

week, it's pretty jaw-dropping because this is the right next steps. these are the right types of programs and efforts to be funding, and it's a pretty new low to have it taken the way that it was. >> so i talked about lauren boebert's proposal. there's a north carolina republican congressman dan bishop who defended her proposal and went on to say the biden administration should not try and destigmatize, that this is not the successful way to do it it, to try to destigmatize drug addiction. what is your reaction to that? >> i just, you know, i think we have shown that stigma does nothing helpful for people. stigma does not support recovery. it does not support people feeling valued. if you're going to take steps to save your own life and do things to improve your health, you need to feel values, that you have worth. if we don't destigmatize, we're not going to get there for folks. my program operates a syringe

services program. we ever day engage with people who on one level or another are struggling with their substance use, and we try to provide opportunities, we make sure they have a sterile syringe for every time they inject. we make sure that they have fentanyl test strips. we make sure that they have naloxone rescue kits. because we want them here. we value them. we want them alive. we want them as well as they can be. and we believe in any positive change. the hero for me that brought that concept into my life, we believe every opportunity you have to engage with folks gets them closer to that step of wellness. the thought someone would say we should introduce more stigma, we should not stigmatize, i truly almost don't have the response to that. to me, that's completely inhumane, it's not evidence based and it's cruel. >> what i'm hearing from you essentially is if these

individuals, these folks that are addicted to drugs feel valued, as if somebody is looking out for them, their health and their wellness, for them to get better, then maybe eventually they will, and the numbers it seems are reflecting that, especially in the work that you're doing. jennifer plumb, such an important conversation, and we thank you for taking the time to talk to us. >> appreciate it. >> all right, making a change here. talking about valentine's day. you either hate it or you love it. it is valentine's day eve. up next, in our spotlight, the host of the datable podcast, from the apps to the awkwardness. why clear communication is key. >> excuse me, everyone. please check your emails. i just sent you the following message. coworkers, you may have received a valentine from me. please understand diz not not mean i like you in any way. >> you don't even like us as friends? >> phyllis, you guys are like my closest friends. i just mean i don't like-like

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how to navigate it when you're in a new relationship, and how to get through it if you are single. >> sure, it feels nice if someone surprises you with something, but i think that's something in the movies that it goes well. i would say more times than not, they're not a mind reader. there's no way they would know what you're looking for. the odds of them matching you where you want to be are slim. you're setting your sl up for failure. >> i'm reading that book, how to get the love you want. there's a chapter about when partners think they're surprising the partner with something, they're actually doing what they would want. >> right. >> it's always in line with what, if it were flipped, what they would want their partner to do for them. so you're not actually doing anything for your partner. you're doing this for yourself. these surprises don't usually go well because it's not in line with what your partner wants. it's much better to have a direct line of communication of saying this is what makes me

happy, this is what i want, this is what i expect. and your partner can act upon those requests. it just makes life so much easier. >> joining me are the cohosts of that podcast, datable, julie and eu. love talking about valentine's day. you talk about how you need to communicate about valentine's day if you're in a relationship. let go of expectations as well. i have to say, once you're marry and have children, expectations are out the window completely and totally, if you show up with chocolates, you're in a good zone. but talk me through that, if you're not someone like me. >> well, i think there is always going to be expectations around this holiday, because it's a holiday around love. and it's commercialized. but if you are not currently in a relationship, think about this holiday as a way of showing your love and giving love. instead of thinking what i can expect other people to give me, think about what can i do to show more love for the people

who i care about around me. >> julie, i thought was so great about the sound we played of your podcast was talking about the fact when you give gifts, it's often the gift that you want to give. it's often what you want, right? versus what you expect your partner wants. what is your advice for kind of flipping the equation on that? >> i think talking to your partner about it, like, we were mentioning the worst is when you're waiting for a surprise and your expectations are so incredibly high. also, knowing your partner's love languages and how they like to receive is so essential in putting yourself through their mind not your own. >> let's talk about fomo here. you guys talk about it in the podcast, want to play some of it. >> between february 1st and february 14th, the overall data gaps see the activity increase

across the u.s. so by 33%, which is no surprise. i think there's a lot of fomo. it's a reminder. i think the reminder is a big aspect. i remember when i was single, there was varying degrees of how much it affected me. i think if i didn't have anyone on the horizon and i was comfortable, i let it slide a little more. i just remember celebrating valentine's tay after a breakup on my own, and i -- i did not want to see anyone. i did not want to celebrate galentine's day. i wanted to pretend like this holiday didn't exist. >> which by the way, it doesn't really. this is a hallmark manufactured holiday, let's be honest. nobody should have fomo because most of us are just sitting on the couch or having dinner and it's not this romantic thing and so on and so forth, but i'll take the negativity out of it for one moment and just kind of talk about, for me, if you're a single person and you're kind of

watching this and thinking about valentine's day, what's best to think about? >> well, yasmin, i think there are so many expectations around this holiday because it's so visual. you walk down the street, you see people carrying flowers, or they're getting chocolate for their loved ones. if you're not part of that culture, you feel left out. so for singles out there, don't think about you're being ostracized from this holiday because you're not. you are in control of how you celebrate. and you can create these new traditions that don't necessarily have to involve a partner. it can involve just the people you love the most around you. >> get flowers for yourself, get flowers for your friends. galentine's day, as julie pointed out, celebrating with your girl friends or guy friends. celebrate every day these days, especially after what we have been through. julie and yue, thank you both. tune in to datable wherever you get your podcasts. everybody, so coming up in the next hour, we have a lot

ahead. inside vladimir putin's mind. what does the russian ruler really hope to gain with the standoff? or has he already won. what are his options. >> plus, we're continuing to monitor the protest in canada, the different way these demonstrations are being characterized by conservative outlets. >> now to that massive trucker demonstration. >> canada's freedom convoy. >> freedom convoy. >> freedom convoy. swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is the only medication of its kind also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them.

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hi, everybody. i'm yasmin vossoughian. thanks for joining us. a crucial call as ukraine faces an invasion, the white house says could come at any time. the president speaking with his ukrainian counterpart, trying to bridge a major difference of opinion between the two allies about whether russia is poised for an attack. >> we have good sources of intelligence and they're telling us that things are sort of building now to some sort of crescendo opportunity for mr. putin. >> the truth that we have different information, and now the best friend for enemies that is planning in our country. and all this information that helps only for planning doesn't help us. >> in a moment, i'm going to talk about this with representative jackie speier, member of the house armed