access hollywood tapes broke right before the election, i knew this would help him with certainly people, not hurt him. >> ruth ben-ghat, and lauren leader, thank you both very much for being on this morning. and that does it for us this morning. chris jansing picks up the coverage right now. hi there, live at msnbc headquarters in new york, it is wednesday, february 16th. we have got a lot to cover. let's start with the fast moving developments in the standoff over ukraine. defense secretary lloyd austin is in brussels this morning where he's meeting with his counter parts in nato as we speak, not giving up on diplomacy yet. he talked act the strength of the alliance just a few minutes ago. >> we're committed to article v and also the principles of collective security, and so you

can expect that that commitment will remain rock solid. >> vladimir putin continues the latest in an intense string of meetings with world leaders, sitting down with brazilian president today. it comes as the u.s. tries to determine if putin means what he says when he insists he's still open to negotiations or whether what the kremlin is describing as a military pull back from the border is real, and not an act. this morning, secretary of state antony blinken said there is no evidence a pull back is actually happening. and on tuesday, president biden said russia has increased the number of forces surrounding ukraine to 150,000 troops. >> if russia attacks ukraine, it would be a war without choice, a war without cause and reason. i say these things not to provoke but to speak the truth, but let there be no doubt, if russia commit this is breach by

invading ukraine, responsible nations around the world will not hesitate to respond. >> two other potentially troubling developments coming out within the past 24 hours, the first, a massive cyber attack on ukraine overwhelming that country's ministry of defense and armed forces web sites and temporarily disrupting two state-owned banks. the second, russian media is reporting they have stopped an attempted terrorist attack in the pro-russian section of ukraine, reportedly targeting a military rally. experts have indicated both incidents could be seen as a precursor to an invasion. nbc's matt bradley in central ukraine. julia founding partner and washington correspondent for puck, and retired army lieutenant general ben hodges is with the center for european policy analysis. thanks to all of you for joining us. matt wagner, let me start with

you, parts of biden's speech was aimed at the russian government, part of it at the russian people. what's been the react over there? >> good morning, chris, i guess it's no surprise this was a big topic of discussion agent the daily kremlin press briefing with the spokesperson. he started by latching on to biden's remarks that the united states wants diplomacy. russia wants to engage on positive proposals that have come forward, things like arms control, especially with missiles in eastern europe but they want to approach this in a way that couples their demands of the alliance with those discussions. we're really not seeing much movement on that. one of the interesting things about biden's speech was the appeal to the russian people. i have to say if that was said with the intention of kind of breaking through and actually reaching the russian public and

resonating with them i'm not seeing too much evidence of that this morning, but did play with that as well saying that it's nice that the american president cares about the russian people but probably the russian people would prefer if it wasn't -- if it didn't come with a series of threats about what will happen if they do or do not do something. he also said that they would really love to see biden make a similar appeal to the ukrainian people to stop shooting at each other. that's kind of some sharp language there. we take a step back, and kind of look closely at the core message we're getting here in response to biden's speech. really no change in russia's position in continuing to insist that ukraine is the problem, the united states is the problem, and they're not going to back off of those primary demands. >> julia, matt leads me perfectly to you because you wrote recently about threats against putin, and said he doesn't see sanctions as a deterrent, he sees them quote as overhead, in other words, the cost of doing business. what's your take on the u.s. strategy so far to get him to

back down? i think the white house recognizes it has a limited number of options to deal with this crisis. biden has said the u.s. is not sending troops to ukraine. that's off the table even though it's on the table for russia as you can see the encirclement of ukraine, even with the alleged draw down. sanctions, i think, limited efficacy and that the russians don't really care that much, and it's not that much of a deterrent. what they have left is essentially informational warfare, whipping up, keeping the public informed, focusing on this crisis and telling us to expect a war with russia, also unmasking their plans to defang them and make them less effective. if they say, hey, if the u.s. government says, oh, there's going to be a false flag attack

on russian-backed separatists, in the donbass, if there's an attack, i thought is this the false flag that the biden white house warned about. they're effectively playing a very weak hand but doing it pretty well in part through people like us in the media. >> so i want to go to that picture, if we can, and you're seeing it now. that's president bolsonaro from brazil. he is having that joint press conference with president putin. we don't have any translation, so we can't see what's being said. but symbolically this shows conversations ongoing, still maybe the possibility of a diplomatic off ramp. let's you and i talk military, though, are you buying russia's claims that they're pulling back from the border? what are you watching to see how this is going? >> yes, thank you. i was struck, though, the difference and distance between

president putin and president bols -- especially given that bolsonaro has had covid before, an interesting change there. i have zero confidence in any statement about any sort of withdrawal mainly because they have no record of being honest on these things, but more importantly e i don't think there ever was going to be a massive attack anyway. i think this is all about pressure on ukraine, the deployed forces and navy, this is really like a boa constrictor that's wrapping itself around ukraine to choke the economy and bring about the collapse of the government so they can avoid another invasion and thereby avoid sanctions, but still achieve their aim. >> well, matt bradley, if it's about pressure on ukraine, in ukraine they have declared today a day of national unity. tell us what it's like there

now. i keep having in my brain the little conversation that our friend richard engel had with a great grandmother who was training with weapons saying she wanted to be able to shoot if there was an invasion. >> yeah, we spoke with a lot of civilians like that, too, and i have to tell you, chris, the mood here on the ground is the same as it was nearly a month ago when i arrived and probably before that, which is remarkable calm. everybody here seems totally cool, even though we're only a couple hundred miles from the border with russia, and i went to one of these events that was organized today for the day of national unity or day of unity as the president called it, as president zelensky called it, and it was a very small ceremony. it wasn't exactly fireworks on the fourth of july, we have seen people raising ukrainian flags, wearing blue and yellow, especially in the capital kyiv, and there is a lot of national pride here. there wasn't a huge outpouring of relief because there wasn't all that much concern to begin with. to the general's point, a lot of

people here i spoke with, the vast majority of them, even in government, never believed russia was going to make a large incursion anyway, and if they did it was going to be small and limited to the eastern regions that are already at war and have been at war with russian separatists for the past eight years. i spoke with one of the women who organized this very small rally here in the eastern city just now. here's what she had to say to us. >> we here in the city, we keep quiet and calm. i can tell there was no nervous situation because we are used to it for many years already. everybody should continue working and every day life. i think that's the biggest event to show and to demonstrate that we are not afraid, and we keep going on. we keep working and living. that's very important. >> i got to tell you, chris, a lot of people i spoke with, i wrote about this on our web site just today, a lot of people here are saying what scares them most

isn't russian, it's the bellicose western intelligence assessments that have damaged the economy and frightened capital away from ukraine. chris. >> i want to ask you about this cyber attack i mentioned on the ukrainian government in a couple of banks and the report that a terrorist plot was stopped in eastern ukraine, do these developments signal to you, including that electronic warfare as it does to some about where this standoff goes next? >> well, this is part of the playbook that the kremlin uses, cyber, disinformation, sabotage. the ukrainians have captured three different terrorist groups inside ukraine just in the last few weeks. so this would be part of anything that the russians would do here designed to create confusion, designed to blind kyiv from what's happening out at the front, if you will, this is entirely normal and believable. it also fits the narrative that

is emerging inside russia, in russian media that russians in donbass are being mistreated by ukrainians, i heard from a russian ambassador that 18,000 russians had been killed by ukrainians in donbass. this is the narrative that they want to put out there which i think is part of a pretext for them eventually having to come in. >> lieutenant general ben hodges, matt bradley, matt wagner, and julia yafey, thank you to all of you. up next, president biden giving the green light for more information going to the committee. plus, the brutal killing of a woman in her new york city apartment that is sparking a debate about bail reform, and how to keep our cities safe. that's ahead. that's aheadctive psoriatic art. some patients even felt less fatigued.

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we're following two developments for the capitol insurrection. ordering the national archives to turn over the trump white house visitor logs to the committee within 15 days, and the committee issuing new subpoenas for six people who it says were involved in organizing slates of alternate electors who would challenge president biden's 2020 victory. joining us now, leann caldwell on capitol hill, shannon pettypiece covers the white house, and geoff bennett is

chief washington correspondent for the pbs news hour. good morning to all of you, do we know why president biden took this action now, and are there any legal challenges left for former president trump left on this. >> we will see if the former president tries to continue fighting this, but the white house saying very clearly today as they have in past efforts by the former president to block release of records that the former president has no grounds to assert executive privilege now that he is out of office and the current president, the current administration, which the courts have clearly stated is the one who gets to decide which presidential documents are released. they have made the determination that there's a compelling reason for congress to get these documents and the white house top lawyer wrote in a letter today being very clear about how they feel about this, they said constitutional protections of executive privilege should not be used to shield from congress or the public information that reflects a clear and apparent effort to subvert the constitution itself.

now, real briefly, what we're talking about here are white house visitor logs, so this is basically documentation of anyone who requested to go into the white house on january 6th. unless you are a white house staffer with a special pass to get in every day and get out, you have to go through a certain process where you give certain information to the white house, to the secret service, to get cleared to go in. that's what information the committee will be getting, a list of who was cleared and approved to go into the white house on that day. and you know, these documents have become increasingly important to this committee as well because so many of the key players are refusing to cooperate here. so this could give the committee a window into who is coming and who is going from from the white house on this crucial day. >> yeah, geoff, when you look at the big picture, how important could this be? >> well, it's significant, on one level it's important. anytime a sitting president waves or nullifies the executive privilege claims of his predecessor, that is a major

precedent setting move. and the federal courts, even the supreme court have weighed this issue of executive privilege dating back to the nixon era. the supreme court has reasoned that the executive privilege exists for the benefit of the public, exists for the benefit of the country. it does not exist for any individual president, doesn't exist for the benefit of any one individual man and so a source familiar who confirmed this news as first reported by "the new york times" pointed to the letter that shannon spoke of by the white house counsel, dana reamus, president biden considered the executive privilege claims but decided he had no standing. it did not exist in the interest of the united states, and so the white house has now ordered the archives to make these documents available to congress within 15 days. citing what she sees as a compelling need and urgent

matter sitting before congress and the urgent matter she's speaking of is the work of the january 6th committee as they stitch together the tapestry of what was happening inside the wing. what was he doing, who was he talking to when he apparently refused or at least delayed for hours telling his supporters to stop the violence and go home. they're also trying to figure out who was involved in funding the rally that preceded the insurrection that then president trump told his supporters to fight like hell and trying to make all of the points of connection, connect the points between the rally organizers. >> we say it time and time again, follow the money. let's talk about those subpoenas, not a lot of big names, but some lawyers that i have talked to have said this could be one of the, if not the most consequential track the committee is taking. again, put this into context for us. >> chris, it's interesting that the committee is making clear that the sending of false

electors to congress was something that the committee is extremely interested in and that's what this batch of subpoenas is about, and this falls on the heels of a previous batch of 14 subpoenas, the top two electors in seven states who did send those false electors to the congress or to the national archives hoping they would get to the congress on january 6th. the states they are focusing on are michigan, pennsylvania, and arizona. for example, kelly ward of arizona, she's the current head of the republican party. she was also a false elector. so they want to talk to her. others, doug mastriano of pennsylvania, interestingly enough, a member of the state senate, also running for governor. another one they subpoenaed is running for office, mark fincham is running for secretary of state in arizona, and then

there's two trump officials who ran their election day operations and so the committee is saying that this component of trying to undo the elections by sending a false state of electors is very critical in their investigation, and there could be more subpoenas that come. chris. >> leann caldwell, shannon pettypiece, geoff bennett, thanks to all of you. the latest crime wave, including the stabbing of a woman inside her own new york city apartment and how that is causing new scrutiny over bail laws. we're digging into all of it, next. laws we're digging into all of it, we're digging into all of it, next hey, mom, have you seen m-- ew. because when you bundle home and auto with progressive, your home is a savings paradise.

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over christina's death is outraging. the video appears to show the 35-year-old secretly stalked by a man. he stabbed her 40 times inside her own apartment. nash is now charged with the murder, his 8th arrest since may of last year. the case is bringing scrutiny to the city's bail system. >> this is a horrific murder of someone who was in the prime of her life. >> reporter: should the suspect have been on the streets? >> no. >> two years ago, democratic lawmakers passed bail reform, which requires judges release defendants before trial, except for all of the most heinous crimes. police say it's leading to a surge in crime. new york city's new mayor recently told us he wants to change the law to give judges more discretion to keep defendants in custody. >> we can't continue to put dangerous people back on our

streets. >> tonight loved ones are remembering yuna lee who worked at an online music company as a magical person always filled with joy. >> we as asian women are walking around in a level of fear that we have never had to before in my whole entire life. >> our thanks to gabe for that. i want to bring in paul butler, georgetown school of law professor and former federal prosecutor. he is also an nbc news legal analyst and author of "choke hold," policing black men. paul, it's good to see you. this is an important discussion. at the time of the crime, asamad nash had been arrested eight times since may of 2021. he was out on supervised release under this new new york city bail reform law. would a change in that law have stopped this crime? >> i don't think so, chris, the death of christina lee is a tragedy but it should not be exploited by politicians. just getting tough on crime doesn't work. we're all better off when we are smart on crime, when we use

evidence-based approaches to public safety, and chris, 2% is the number. last year only 2% of people who were released under the new bail reform law got rearrested for a violent crime. that means that bail reform worked 98% of the time. >> so if not withholding bail, how do we make sure that dangerous people are detained because you can understand, paul, to the average person they see somebody was arrested eight times in nine months and he's back on the street, and then he stalks, allegedly, and kills someone, how do we better assess situations like this. >> new york's mayor eric adams has advocated a public health approach which makes a lot of sense, what that means is working with community members, using proven strategies like violence interruption programs, and having interventions for people who are at risk for

getting arrested, people at risk of being victims or perpetrators of violent crimes. those successes, those programs work far more successful than trying to lock everybody up and throw them under the jail. we know those programs just don't work. >> we also know what is happening now isn't working, we're seeing these huge spikes, we're seeing people who live in cities, but not exclusively who live in cities are worried about it. in new york city alone, the nypd said early february major crimes were up 38%. so what's behind it, what do we do about it? >> so it's totally unsurprising that street crime is up this year because last year nobody was on the street. now with widespread vaccinations and the lifting of restrictions, there are many more people who are out. so in the last 20 years, we've had a historic reduction in crime. we're nowhere near where we used

to be back in the 90s. and chris, nobody wants to go back to those bad old days, but again, the way to keep families safe and communities safe is to use the approaches that we know make sense. people think that there's some dichotomy between equal justice under the law and social justice and public safety. that's a false choice. we can treat everybody fairly, and still keep communities safe. a lot of communities all over the country are doing that, including in the district of columbia where we don't send children to jail anymore, even when they're at risk for committing serious crime. everybody's better off. we haven't seen a big increase in crime because of those tragedies. it's so important that we don't let politicians exploit the crime rate in order to score cheap points with their voters because all that has done is brought us mass incarceration, the new jim crow and these vast

race disparities, we don't have to choose, we can be safe and have equal justice under the law. >> we're almost out of time. when we look specifically at rolling back bail reform, what's your concern about what the implications of that would be? >> you know -- >> giving judges more discretion, for example. >> so whether you get locked up for your trial shouldn't depend on how much money you make or if you come from a rich family. before bail reform, somebody like donald trump jr. could write a check and be released the next day, a young man like kalief, wrongly arrested, had to spend three years on rikers island couldn't make bail. that led to him taking his life. those are the tragedy that bail reform prevents. that's why the new york speaker of the house says that bail reform has worked, and he's not going backwards on this issue no matter how others want to

exploit it to score political points. >> paul butler, always good to have you on the program. thank you so much. and still ahead, we've talked about the growing tensions between russia and ukraine and the potential invasion, how could it impact americans. we'll break that down for you next. impact americans. we'll break that down for you we'll break that down for you nextd wherever you go. schedule your free covid-19 booster today. doesn't your family deserve the best? eggland's best eggs. classic, cage free, and organic. more delicious, farm-fresh taste. plus, superior nutrition. because the way we care is anything but ordinary. ♪♪

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now back to our top story, less than 30 minutes from now, a house oversight subcommittee will be meeting to talk about russia's threat to ukraine. we just learned that president biden will be speaking to the german chancellor this afternoon a day after the chancellor met with vladimir putin, and a day after president biden laid out the potential impact of a russian invasion for americans here at home. >> i will not pretend this will be pain less. there could be impact on our energy prices. we're taking active steps to alleviate the pressure on our own energy prices. >> i want to bring in nbc chief

white house correspondent peter alexander, joe reuben served as secretary of state in the obama administration, and has been involved in a number of briefings. peter, before we get to the impact here, obviously the administration has said it's still looking for a diplomatic off ramp for vladimir putin. tell us about this call. >> that's exactly right. obviously this reinforces what the president has said over the course of the last several weeks, and certainly highlighted in his comments yesterday. the president speaking at 2:30 in a secure call this afternoon with the german chancellor, olaf scholz, this is significant because scholz met with vladimir putin yesterday, and the president said he wants to give diplomacy every possible chance. chris, to the point you were making as we started this conversation, the president was talking about the energy prices yesterday and the potential impact on americans, how they could see a sacrifice. he's not going to pretend this will be painless.

he acknowledged the impact on energy prices. to walk you through the way this would play out, russia is a major exporter of oil and gas. even though the u.s. gets little oil from russia just about 3%, an invasion in the fierce u.s. sanctions, frankly, european, western, and u.s. sanctions that would follow would likely drive up already high oil and gas prices in the global market. that fuels inflation worldwide and has a ripple effect for us here right now. for us, drivers, as you pass the pump, they are seeing the national average for gas prices at 3.50 a gallon. a dollar more than a year ago, and a war in ukraine would send that higher. all options are on the table to try to address rising oil prices. the u.s. has already released about 40 of the 50 million barrels it promised to release late last year, and officials have not ruled out temporarily suspending the federal gas tax, chris, that's 18 cents for every

gallon. several democrats in tight reelection races, kelly, hassan of new hampshire, they have pushed that idea. it's getting a cold reception in congress. >> i read that yesterday. you were in the room with the president as a reality check to americans. this is one of the reasons why you should care. talk a little bit about how the white house is approaching this messaging on, you know, a place, frankly that is a far ways away, and that a lot of americans don't really understand or many people don't understand the complexities of why this is so important. >> yeah, chris, this is why one of the questions that came up in the white house briefing that followed the president's remarks and it was also came occupy, jen psaki was asking why the president addressing the american people today, and she made the point, which answers your question, americans have been following the news, seen the drum beat of war, following the diplomacy and the updates

that reporters have been providing, official have been providing and this was the president making the case to them about why they should care and why this matters to them. there is of course the potential economic fallout as peter was outlining. americans could feel that in their pocketbooks and battles. we have seen gas prices hit an eight-year high and could be more repercussions to come. this is taking up energy on the hill. i want to share with you, we know there's unity among senate democrats and republicans that some kind of sanctions need to move forward but there is a big divide on how quickly, and how hard to go. and that's a tough place for the u.s. to be. we heard the president say yesterday he's united with the u.s. and nato allies. they have a package of crippling sanctions ready to go. we don't know exactly what those would entail. we know there are similar efforts they're trying to push through here in congress. but the president's message yelled was americans have to know not only could this impact them but this is important. defending democracy, liberty

around the world is necessary for the u.s. to engage in that battle. >> and putin continues to say on one hand, he's willing to keep talking. he's doubling down on what is his core demand which is to guarantee that ukraine never be allowed to join nato, something the u.s. says is a nonstarter. so where does this push for diplomacy go from here beyond what we just saw minutes ago, the report from the white house about the phone call with the german chancellor. >> well, chris, diplomacy has to continue as the president said certainly but in the case of vladimir putin, the approach has to be as robust going forward as it has been in the past several months. he needs to be condemned consistently and publicly, globally isolated as he has been, and understand that there's punishment down the road and this sanctions package being a core part of that, making that clear that there will be pain for russia if he does not withdraw his troops and engage in serious, real diplomacy, not

show diplomacy, not occasionally say some troops will be moved, that hasn't been verified to try to calm tensions and maybe do another maneuver militarily, pulling troops back from their posture on the border with ukraine, and this continued pressure on putin is critical to have real diplomacy. >> joe, tom freeman wrote in a piece for the "new york times" that for putin there's only one calculation, and he says quote, if i go ahead with a full scale invasion and it goes bad, wrecking russia's economy and resulting in russian soldiers returning home in body bags from a war with fellow slavs, could it lead to my own down fall. is that a worst bet for putin today than it might have been a week or even a month ago? >> well, the russian people certainly don't understand why this is happening. in report after report, engagements, and watching the reactions, russian people are being propagandized internally in their country by vladimir

putin under false pretense for launching a potential invasion of ukraine. and so the russian people will suffer immediately on day one. 40% of their revenues come from oil exports. that will be cut down. they will be isolated in terms of their economic engagement with the world, their financial sector. they're going to feel it immediately, and they're going to look around and say to putin, why did you put us into this position. this is on vladimir putin, this is not on joe biden, this is not on ukraine. this is on vladimir putin making a choice to do this, and the russian people certainly aren't going to look well on that. i do have to add as well that for vladimir putin, there's only one person that he really cares about, and that's him. and so if he feels that that pressure is too much, he's going to try to find a way to move out of this, but the pressure has to be consistent to get us to that place. >> joel, peter, amna, we have breaking news just getting in from brazil. take a look at images from local residents and rescue teams in

petropolis, sifting through the rubble after heavy rains triggered landslides. 38 people are dead, that number could rise. this is happening in the mountainous region of brazil's rio de janeiro. a woman who claimed prince andrew sexually abused her when she was 17. we'll go live to buckingham palace with the fallout. when she was 17 we'll go live to buckingham we'll go live to buckingham palace with the fallout. challenges. and a few surprises. ♪ but wherever you are on your journey. your dell technologies advisor is here for you - with the right tech solutions. so you can stop at nothing for your customers. these are the faces of listerine. the face of millions of germs zapped in seconds.

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some riveting new details this morning in the federal lawsuit against prince andrew. the son of queen elizabeth ii, reaching a legal settlement with a woman who says she was 17 when she was sexually abused by the bring dish royal after she was trafficked by jeffrey epstein and ghislaine maxwell. this development comes a month after a u.s. district judge dismissed prince andrew's bid to dismiss the lawsuit. prince andrew will make a substantial donation to giuffre's victims' rights groups. he said he never intended to malign her character. ben weeder is an investigative reporter with the washington

bureau who alongside julie k. brown of the miami herald has reported on this case extensively over the years. so ben, on one hand, this speaks to the societal change of empowering victims, right, one of giuffre's lawyers called it a victory for all survivors. on the other hand, a wealthy man has gotten away without directly admitting guilt. help us put this into some context. >> i think both of those things are true. while i don't know the exact amount of the settlement, you know, there are rumors floating around that we're talking about anywhere from 7 1/2 million pounds to 10 to 12 million pounds so we're talking about $10 million plus. one settlement that was made public in this case was giuffre's 2009 settlement with jeffrey epstein that was for $500,000. so the settlement, the fact that the settlement is many many multiples higher speaks to the credibility of the victims. remember, prosecutors in southern florida declined to put

victims on the stand, like giuffre when they first investigated jeffrey epstein because of concerns about their credibility. and i think the size of this settlement, you know, if it is, in fact, that high, and the recent conviction of ghislaine maxwell speaks to the fact that, you know, these voices are being believed and being taken very seriously, particularly when you contrast it to the original settlement, you know, more than a decade ago. so that is a significant, significant impact. although, certainly, you know, the public and other victims would have liked to have learned more about prince andrew in this case and about the allegations. >> yeah. and keir, i mean, if you look at the case, it was that photo, right, of the prince and giuffre that came in many ways to symbolize the larger story. what else can you tell us about this settlement and what's being said about it across the pond? >> well, chris, one thing you can say about the british tabloid press, and many people don't like them, but they will

keep pushing on this. and so just to show you some of the front pages of the newspapers here, they have different reports on how much money, exactly it is. the "daily mail" has $10 million pound humiliation. another newspaper, "the mirror," $12 million deal to halt sex claim. "the sun" newspaper, and all of the newspapers agree on this, chris, describe it as prince andrew's final disgrace. so clearly, there are two aspects to this. one is the legal side, and there are many, many details we don't know at this stage, and the reputational side. and there's a lot of conversation here, a lot of talk about why was it that this all suddenly appeared to change. prince andrew appeared to be prepared to go to court there in new york. suddenly, that isn't the case anymore. some suggesting that it is the queen, inside buckingham palace there, who just wasn't prepared to see the kind of damage that a court case like that would bring to the royal family. there is even talk that the queen may have used some of her

private funds in order to reach this settlement. that, in itself, will be controversial. look, i mean, prince andrew in that statement, he doesn't admit anything, but neither has he cleared his name, as he has again and again said that he has wanted to, and there seems little doubt, frankly, on this side of the pond, that this -- for prince andrew, in terms of his status within the royal family, he's pretty much done. >> wow. so, obviously, prince andrew was one of the most high-profile names in this, ben. but what about the other people in jeffrey epstein's sphere. ghislaine maxwell, obviously, already a convicted child sex trafficker. but could this mean anything to empowering other victims and prosecutors to move forward against some of these other folks who have been named. >> well, absolutely, because, i think, you know, the legal system is all based on precedent. and for lawyers to take up these cases, it's a commitment of time and resources and so seeing a result like this, a settlement, even if it didn't go to trial,

and seeing, certainly, ghislaine maxwell's conviction, has to have lawyers and other victims feeling like they may get a fair shot, if they do take this, if they do take this to court. i would not be surprised to see additional lawsuits against some of the many high-profile men who have been linked to jeffrey epstein and who have been alleged to have abused women like giuffre and other victims. >> ben weeder, keir simmons, thank you both for your great reporting. appreciate it. coming up, the cdc is expected to loosen indoor mask guidelines as a early as next week. what it means for our new normal as covid cases fall, next. r newl r newl as covid cases fall, next. mike's bike shop! downloading up to 10 times faster. whoa! is that already... (mike) yeah. (vo) hello business on the go. bye-bye public wi-fi. 5g ultra wideband is faster and safer. would you look at rhea's real estate game? closing in low lag, crystal clear hd. it's a new day for more businesses! 5g ultra wideband is now in more and more places.

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developing this morning, as new covid cases continue to decline nationally, below what they were before omicron hit, nbc news has learned the cdc may soon loosen its indoor mask guidance. the white house covid response team is expected to discuss that when it holds its latest public briefing in little more than an hour. but some folks are already making that move, signaling that the return to normal americans have been waiting for is getting closer. in florida, disney world says it will make masks optional for fully vaccinated guests, starting thursday. organizers of outdoor music festivals, coachella and stagecoach, announce they will not require attendees to be masked, vaccinated, or tested for coronavirus. the mask debate, however, is still playing out in cools across the country. let's go live to heidi przybyla

in virginia. that state poised to become the latest republican-led state to ban mask mandates in schools as soon as this week. talk a little bit about the battle that's playing out there. >> reporter: chris, virginia really does illustrate the new normal here, which is the pallet over how we're going to live with this long-term. you have a localized battle here going on, because decisions will be made at the local level about masks. and the question is, whether that's going to be made by schoolboards or parents. we talked, chris, to two mothers who are engaged on legal battles from the first side of the issue. first we heard from tasha whose son, jack, has cystic fibrosis, and she says if you take away the power of local school boards to protect him, you could put his life in danger during the next surge. here she is. >> when we say, well, we're just not going to mask anymore depending on each individual parent. what we're really saying is that your children with disabilities, your high-risk children, don't matter. if they're too sick or if their

disables make them too high-risk, they just need to stay home. which is effectively segregating and excluding children with disabilities. everywhere in this country right now. >> reporter: and chris, we also heard from a mom who is suinging on the other side of this, because her sons were suspended for not wearing masks. take a listen to stephanie, who says, we're just not considering the long-term downsides of masks. >> my sons were really -- they were really upset. it felt like a loss to them. and i said, this is a germany -- because they were sick of wearing masks. they get headaches for them. they felt like they couldn't effectively communicate with their friends. and i completely understand that. because i, when given the opportunity, i also choose not to wear my mask. so they were upset. >> reporter: and chris, stephanie says that she believes masks have become a political statement and unless you give parents the power to decide that

the kids could just permanently stay in masks, at least that's how she feels. >> the debate continues. heidi przybyla, thanks for that. that's going to do it for this hour. jose diaz-balart pix up breaking news coverage right now. i'm jose diaz-balart, and happening right now, u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin is meeting with nato allies in brussels, as ukraine marks its unity day against the threat of russian invasion. and vladimir putin is sending mixed messages, while president biden still warning that a russian invasion of ukraine is still very much a possibility. congressman john garamendi from the armed services committee will join us to discuss the latest. also breaking this morning, president biden ordering the national archives to release white house visitor logs from the trump administration to the january 6th committee. what could the panel learn? meanwhile, on the pandemic, as covid cases continue to plummet,