hey, everybody. good morning. it is 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. i'm yasmin vassoughian in for jose diaz-balart. we're going to begin with the very latest on the war in ukraine. at this hour, the president holding a call with leaders from france, germany, italy, and the uk, to discuss the russian invasion of ukraine. all of this after russia's defense minister announcing that they have decided to drastically reduce its military activity near kyiv and chernihiv. that announcement coming as russia and ukrainian officials meet in istanbul for face-to-face talks aimed at ending the five-week-old conflict. an adviser to ukraine's president saying his country's primary focus is on security guarantees. and british defense minister saying that ukraine forces are having some success with counterattacks against russian

forces in the kyiv suburb of irpin. local officials saying the russians have been driven out of the town. a claim that has not been independently verified by nbc news. meantime, the president sticking by comments he made over the weekend during a speech in poland, when he said, russian president vladimir putin cannot remain in power. >> i'm not walking anything back. the facts of the matter is, i was expressing the more outrage i felt towards the way putin is dealing and the actions of this man, which is just, just brutality. >> all right. with us now to start off the coverage, nbc news foreign correspondent, molly hunter is in the ukrainian port city of odesa. nbc news international correspondent keir simmons is in istanbul for us. and nbc news washington correspondent, yamiche alcindor, also the moderator of "washington week" on pbs is with us as well. so keir, get right to it for us. what are we learning from these

negotiations happening in istanbul right now? >> reporter: yasmin, the negotiations took place in the building behind me here, right about four hours, 10:00 until 2:00 in the afternoon. i'm just going to look down to take you through the detail, because we are getting a lot of news from different sides about results of those negotiations. i guess the headline is that there does appear to have been some progress. turkey saying perhaps the most progress that there have been in talks so far. so as you mentioned at the top there, the russian deputy defense minister saying that russia will now drastically reduce its combat operations in kyiv and chernihiv, in order to boost mutual trust. i think importantly, the kremlin also indicating that it may be prepared to see a meeting between president putin and president zelenskyy. that there may have been enough agreed in this building behind me, for that kind of a meeting to take place. now, president erdogan of turkey has always said that he believed

that those two leaders needed to meet in order for there to be a viable peace, a viable cease-fire. meanwhile, we are hearing from ukrainians. they are talking about the kind of agreement that they have been asking for, and saying that they would adopt neutral status, so that is, i think, partly, an agreement not to join nato. they would adopt neutral status, but what they want is a new security framework, guaranteed by nato countries like the u.s., the uk, turkey, here, of course, france, and germany. they want that to be legally binding. they want their own people to vote for it. they want those governments to ratify it in their own parliaments, and effectively, that would be a kind of, it appears, what they're asking for, a kind of nato article v, where those countries would agree to defend ukraine, in the event of more fighting in the event of more action from

russia. so, really, on both sides, indications of what they're asking for, what they're suggesting, and they have made some progress. notably, i think, yasmin, no progress on the question of territory. how much of the territory that russia has so far gained would it be prepared to give back, if any? and i think that's why turkey is being cautious in its statements today, saying that it is progress, but there is a lot, a lot ahead, a lot of negotiations ahead. >> two things i want to kind of pull on here, kier. two things that you mentioned here. the possibility of this meeting between zelenskyy and putin, what is the likelihood that would happen in the coming weeks here? are we hearing any timing on that? and secondly, the likelihood that they could get a -- you know, the security framework that the ukrainians are actually asking for? >> i think one thing important to say that any agreement made here clearly on the russian side

would have to be agreed by president putin. we know that he is absolutely in charge of frankly everything. so we're perhaps not quite at that stage yet, but you have to think that there's been messaging to him, even through today. there certainly is no date or suggestion of timing for a meeting between president putin and president zelenskyy. i think we have to see things written down. and of course, with all negotiations, things can easily fall down, particularly when the two sides try to get things down on paper. >> all right. with that, i want to go to yamiche, standing by at the white house for us. yamiche, let's talk through the phone call that we know is happening right now between the president and other foreign leaders. talk me through what we know so far? >> what we know is that the president continues to want to work with european allies to come up with a strategy, for continuing to defend ukraine, without getting into a military conflict with russia. we saw the president yesterday doubling down on the idea that he finds it outrageous that russia has invaded ukraine.

he said after meeting with refugees, that he was moved by all of the different sort of destruction that he's seen, and all of the different problems and actions that he's seen that has really impacted people's lives. so here again is really the president is going to be talking to allies to try to solidify their support for nato, solidify their support for sticking together, but also, really trying to figure out how to help ukraine, because there is this frustration there, when you had a ukrainian official say that they were, quote, disappointed in the talks that came out of europe last week, because they're saying that they want specific kinds of weapons, specific kind of military aid, but they simply are just not getting at this time. >> hey, molly, give me a sense of what we're hearing from ukrainians on the ground, as we're taking a look and hearing the reporting from kier as to what's ongoing with these talks in turkey, are ukrainians confident that something can actually come out of these talks in the near future? >> yasmin, the short answer is absolutely not.

so talking to civilians, talking to military here, talking to analysts who are obviously watching very closely, over the last month that i have been reporting from here, whether it was negotiations over a humanitarian corridor on land or a negotiation over a humanitarian corridors on the sea, on the black sea, or president putin saying that he's going to now focus his oefr eff and efforts on the east, instead of lviv, which is just miles from the polish border, a nato country, of course. the fact that there's been so much headway and talks about the analysts i'm talking to in odesa, they think this is absolutely a russian play to get more towns to reorganize and refocus their efforts and continue their campaign to the west as well. >> what about, molly, this idea that ukraine is willing to abandon their nato aspirations? >> i think that's something

that's really weighing on people's minds, and i think when they look at pictures of mariupol, of course, that southeastern city on the coastal belt that we have focused so heavily on, when they look at cities that have been destroyed like that, when they look at pictures of kharkiv, they decide that that might be worth it. and that's something that people, that civilians are actually actively talking about, yasmin. >> that's one of the biggest concerns. a question that i poised to keir about these security guarantees, when you're a ukrainian living in these cities that are being completely and utterly destroyed, upwards of 100 children killed during this war so far, this ongoing war, how can security be guaranteed to these ukrainians that are suffering through this tragedy? >> that's exactly right, and i don't think they think that russia or their politicians could agree to that, necessarily, in istanbul. i want to give you a sense of where we are in odesa. we are on the southwest of the country, of the black sea. this is the country's most strategic port. but it's also of real historic

importance, both to ukrainians and to russians. so while people are nervous, while people are angst here, and they've been preparing for an attack for the last month, i just want to show you how the military is preparing. so you can see the sandbags, you can see the tires. i can't show you any military positions, i can't show you any military checkpoints. you see these huge hedgehogs. this is a city that is fortified and ready, and they have been galvanizing on this civilian effort, as well. they've been filling up sandbags. we spoke with a guy named nickolay who is running a huge humanitarian operation. not only are they supporting the 500,000 people who have decided to stay in this city, who have decided to stay and work and fight and live, but they're also taking direct orders from the east, from the army, from volunteers who are going east and sending essential goods out east. take a quick listen, yasmin, to get a sense of why he's staying here for his country. why are people staying? >> because it's our home. i stay here because i have to support our people, our army, our civilian, and it's my duty.

>> reporter: and it's really interesting. he estimates about half the city has left, but the people who are staying, yasmin, like we have seen in other cities around ukraine, are fighting in all different ways. what's different about staying in odesa, for example, than lviv, that western city that i've been reporting from, here, they know this is on russia's target list. they know this is on russia's wish list. so we hear the shelling. there are air raid sirens every single night. it is an entirely different feeling than it was in lviv, yet people are staying and really digging in whether that attack happens tomorrow or in the next month. >> hey, kier, just quickly to you, do we know if there was any mention of the president's comments over the weekend at these talks in istanbul? >> the u.s. president's? i doubt it. i very much doubt it. i would have thought that they would get here, and frankly, they will have got here. they already spent four hours in these talks. you would imagine that they would get down to business. when negotiators meet, they get

down to the key issues, you know, the questions of territory, the questions of trust, and the questions of exactly what kind of security guarantees there should be. >> molly hunter, kier simmons, yamiche alcindor, thank you all. appreciate it. joining us now from kyiv is igor novikov, former adviser to president zelenskyy. thank you so much for joining us on this. yao just heard from our correspondents on the ground there, talking especially about the negotiations that are happening in istanbul. do you trust moscow when it comes to these negotiations. do you trust something is actually going to be coming out of these talks? >> the simple answer is "no." we had tens of thousands of civilians killed. there's no way that you can trust a country that did that. but at the same time, people on the ground are hopeful, but skeptical. that's what i would describe it like. basically, look, it looks like russia is trying to regroup, buy some time, and move its force

s to donbas, where they have been enjoying relative success, militarily. because in kyiv, they're losing, losing badly. so they need to sell it to their domestic audience, as well. that's why they're pretending to negotiate. that's how people understand it on the ground in kyiv. >> how does moscow, how does russia guarantee security in these negotiations. we know that's one of the asks coming from ukraine. how do you expect that to happen? what do you expect the ukrainians want, the zelenskyy government wants when it comes to these security guarantees? >> well, basically, what's being discussed is a very similar solution to nato's article v, to basically, there are a number of military partners, major western powers who agreed to three days of negotiations in case of another russian invasion. and then they agree to close down ukrainian skies and provide us with weapons. so it's not a question on sending soldiers in, but

providing us with weapons quickly and effectively. that's the kind of security guarantees that are being discussed at the moment. will russia agree to them? i mean, i have my doubts, because from certain russian movements that we're observing now, to the north of kyiv, and given them what their propaganda is saying domestically, i don't think we're near the end of this conflict, just yet. >> what do you make of ukraine seemingly being open to abandoning efforts to join nato? >> well, look, i mean, it's been 34 days of this war. i mean, we've lost tens of thousands of people, so, like, nato -- there's been a certain amount of disillusionment in nato as an idea, right? so people have become more pragmatic. they want security. so, if nato is ready to welcome ukraine, then we get that security given article v, that's great. if not, let's not waste time and

human lives. let's find another in the security architecture that would save our kids, civilians, and women. it's very problematic, but we've suffered enough to kind of expect that. >> you actually told my colleague hallie jackson yesterday that this war could be over in two weeks if ukrainians are given, quote, all the weapons we need to push russia back. can you expand on that a little bit? >> well, at the moment, militarily, ukrainian army is motivated, it's professional, and the only thing we're missing is weapons. like, look, my cousin is fighting, you know, the russians in the east, on the front lines, and he has a 40-year-old, 30-year-old weapon, if we got given planes and tanks and more sophisticated weaponry, the ukrainian army is more than capable of pushing russia back. what you're seeing now is being

achieved, you know, with a relatively small amount of javelins and that's it. and just ukrainian spirit. you know, just imagine what we could do to defend ourselves if we actually had modern weaponry. that's the most important part. and also, closing down our skies. like, look, russia, the first thing that russia tried doing was destroying our air force and our anti-aircraft systems. they failed. but, you know, if we had proper anti-aircraft systems, that would mean russia wouldn't be able to send those cruise missiles and those bombers. it wouldn't be able to kill our civilians, destroy infrastructure, so we would be able to defend ourselves way better. that's a far -- that's a far smaller cost, unfortunately. >> igor novikov, thank you so much. and please stay safe. we appreciate you joining us this hour. breaking news, everybody. a white house official has just provided an update to nbc news on russian troops' movement in ukraine. nbc news' carol lee joining us

now with that. carol, talk us through it. >> sure, yasmin. a white house official says that the u.s. is seeing some russian troop movement away from kyiv. so the official says that this could be an indication of russian president vladimir putin having to change course, adjust his original plan, according to this official, but, this is a huge caveat, yasmin. the official says that no one should read too much into this particular adjustment. that should momentum build, russia could always change its plans again at any moment or this could just be a regroup. but for context, a senior defense official said yesterday that the u.s. was not seeing russia advance towards kyiv or put any efforts towards going into kyiv, but we're getting closer, but now they're saying that they're actually seeing some russian troop movements away from kyiv, yasmin. >> and we're going to be speaking to a correspondent on the ground in kyiv a little bit

later on this hour, as well. carol lee, for now, thanks for jumping on for us, we appreciate it. coming up, brand-new details about the gaps on president trump's official phone logs on the day of the insurrection. we'll break down what we know. and by the way, what the january 6th committee still needs to figure out. and later on, florida governor ron desantis signed into law the controversial "don't say gay" bill. we're going to talk with an openly gay kindergarten teacher about what this means for teachers across his state. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." we'll be right back. we'll be right back. once upon a time, at the magical everly estate, landscaper larry and his trusty crew... were delayed when the new kid totaled his truck. timber... fortunately, they were covered by progressive, so it was a happy ending... for almost everyone.

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all right. welcome back, everybody. we are learning more about what is and is not in the white house records that the national archives turned over to the house january 6th committee. internal white house records from the day of the capitol riot obtained from "the washington post" and cbs news show no notes about any calls then president trump made or received between 11:17 a.m. and 6:54 p.m., despite extensive reporting that trump spoke on the phone with republican lawmakers during that time. also during that seven-hour period, trump spoke to the crowd on the ellipse. congress convened to count the electoral votes. the rioters broke through and stormed the capitol. and trump tweeted a video telling the rioters he loved them and to go home. the new details coming one day after the house committee investigating the riot unanimously recommended that the house approve a resolution calling on the justice department to hold former trump aides peter navarro in contempt

of congress for refusing to cooper with its probe. steny hoyer saying the chamber will vote on the resolution, quote, as soon as the schedule permits. joining us now to talk more about this is jake sherman, founder of punch bowl news, and an msnbc political contributor. jake, as always, great to see you, my friend. let's talk through some of this stuff. how much ire, how much frustration here is focused at the doj from not acting on these contempt charges? >> a good deal, i would say, a really good deal, jasmine. it's been a long time, as members of congress continually note, including in that hearing last night, that they've had this information in front of them and they have not acted. and listen, congress, this is the separation of branches issues. this is not anything unusual or new. congress is going to, as steny hoyer says, as soon as the scheduled is, allows for it, the thing is, steny hoyer controls that schedule. so he will do this as soon as possible. and then it's up to the justice department to make moves, but i

mean, a couple of members made the point to me last night, a couple of members of the house, that if the justice department have not moved on this, they believe that there are some holes, there is some weakness in the case, that they have seen that would prevent them from moving on this. so, again, this is our system of government. >> we talked a lot about, obviously, supreme court justice clarence thomas' judge, ginny thomas, the text message exchanges she had with mark meadows. i know you spoke with chair bennie thompson about some of this. what are the plans here? are they going to subpoena here? >> a few things. i don't know if they're going to subpoena her. i think the first thing would be for her to come into a transcribed interview, voluntarily. that's how this committee typically operates, that's how most committees operate. they go soft at first, say, please come in and talk to us. if they don't or refuse or decline, they might then issue a subpoena to compel testimony. it just happened, actually, a couple of minutes ago,

congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez, during a closed house democratic caucus meeting, asked what the democrats are going to do about clarence thomas. nancy pelosi responded that it's up to an individual justice to recuse themselves if their wife was participating in a coup. but it's safe to say that there is a lot of consternation on capitol hill. and i can tell you from my own reporting, and we reported this yesterday, most republicans are just rallying around clarence thomas, almost everybody that i've talked to. john cornyn said that it's -- that family should be out of bounds. of course, there's a weakness in that argument in that ginny thomas was texting mark meadows about overthrowing the government and overturning the election. and furthermore, that's not how republicans have treated hunter biden, the president's son, when it comes to some of -- some questions about him. so a little bit of inconsistency there, as well. >> family should be out of bounds when they're on our side, it seems, sometimes. jake sherman, thank you, as always. great to talk to you. a white house official telling nbc news that the u.s.

is seeing the movement of russian troops away from kyiv. the officials say, while this could be an adjustment of putin's original plan, no one should read too much into this adjustment. this is coming as the pentagon says the u.s. is sending six u.s. navy ea 18 growler aircraft to germany, along with 240 air crew, maintenance personnel, and pilots. a pentagon spokesman saying that the planes are heading to europe to bolster defense capabilities, along nato's eastern flank, and not, key word here, not for action against russian forces inside ukraine. joining us now to talk more about this, rick stangl, former undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs. also an msnbc political analyst, and retired lieutenant general steph twitty, former deputy commander of the u.s./european command. welcome to you both. rick, let me start with you on this one, and kind of just get your sense on this news we're hearing now of russians pulling away, specifically, from the

capitol city of kyiv. what do you think this means? >> well, yasmin, i think it's positive. we saw the announcement a couple of days ago from the russian military, saying that they were consolidating their military plan around the east and southeast of ukraine, specifically, the donbas region and kind of a land trail to crimea. and now there seems to be some confirmation that that may be true. you know, i saw the white house caveat that, of course, putin can change his mind at any time, and he's mercurial and can and does, but i think it represents the reality on the ground that the ukrainians have been fighting valiantly, much greater and more powerfully that the russians expected. and it's also a kind of an outline of a potential agreement or a cease-fire, between ukraine and russia. where russia says, look, all we're really concerned about is this eastern and southern portion that we've been complaining about for years. and zelenskyy has given some

hints that he would be open to some compromise there, too. >> if you can, rick, entertain this next question for a moment. and that is getting inside of vladimir putin's mind. we have talked a lot about how this thing dials down and dias back, right? and some of that calculus involves vladimir putin feeling as if he's winning or he has, in fact, won. how does this play into that calculus? >> well, you know, lots and lots of people over the years have gotten it wrong, trying to get into vladimir putin's mind. and i'm, i'm one of those who thinks that he's a rational actor. but his goals and his motives are not democrat and not what we in the west would want. remember, he has multiple audiences. if he can sell a victory to his domestic audience, of his so-called special military operation, that gives him enough of a fig leaf to make compromises internationally.

you know, we always think that he's just thinking about us, or thinking about the international audience. that's not the case. he's thinking primarily and in the first case, about his domestic audience. and the even smaller concentric circle is of the oligarchs who keep him in power. >> general twitty, let's talk through this move by the united states, sending six, and i'm reading this because i want to make sure i'm getting it right, u.s. navy growler aircraft to germany, along with 200 air crew, maintenance personnel, and pilots, as well. what do you make of this posture? >> so i make of it prudent planning, is what i make of it. every single day that this war goes on, there's a possibility of this war spilling over in nato. this is not to say that nato is trying to provoke a fight. i think the president has been clear there. but this is posturing an event that nato has brought into this fight. these growlers bring tremendous capability, to disable an attack

against the radars, particularly the s-400 radars that the russians have, as well as air defense systems and communication systems. so, they'll be in germany, in the event. >> does this help or hinder current negotiations, that are happening in istanbul, or should it not matter from a military perspective. >> from a military perspective, this does not matter. what i think what really matters is the things that president zelenskyy is trying to lay out. if we think about this, zelenskyy, he's in a position of power right now, given that he's winning this battle. so a position of strength. and this gives an opportunity for the russians to save face, as well. and so, i hope to see some compromises come out of these talks, at any rate, what i'm seeing now is, where the russians are seeing a reduction

in force, and the ukrainians are asking for a full cease-fire. reduction does not mean full cease-fire. and so i am cautiously mystic that something will come out of here. but let's hope so. >> should we be, rick stangl, cautiously optimistic of something actually coming out of these talks. how likely is it, do we think, that vladimir putin is actually involved and/or having a direct line to people on the ground, involved in these talks in istanbul? >> well, to your first question, i'm always cautiously optimistic. that's -- optimism about a person's nature, not the reality. but speaking of the reality, i think, you know, putin does deal with reality. we've been talking for weeks about how insulated and isolated he is, but he knows what's happening on the ground. and he sees russian soldiers coming back in body bags. so, at the end of the day, any agreement he will have to sign off on, and especially in the

outlines of the agreement about ukrainian neutrality, about the southeast region, the donbas region, about recognition of crimea, and even that last thing that they threw in the negotiations of making russian an official language of ukraine again, he's going to have to sign off on all of those things if there is going to be an agreement. >> if the two of you can be cautiously optimistic, then, i too, will get on that boat and be cautiously optimistic as we look ahead as theet talks. rick stangl, thank you both. coming up this afternoon, president biden will sign into law the emmett till anti-lynching act. what till's family thinks about the significance of this moment, more than six decades after his killing. six decades after his killing. (vo) verizon business unlimited is going ultra! get more. like manny. event planning with our best plan ever. (manny) yeah, that's what i do. (vo) with 5g ultra wideband in many more cities, you get up to 10 times the speed at no extra cost. verizon is going ultra, so your business can get more.

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now, there's skyrizi. with skyrizi 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months, after just 2 doses. skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms such as fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches or coughs, or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. ♪ nothing is everything ♪ talk to your dermatologist about skyrizi. learn how abbvie could help you save. this afternoon, president biden will sign into law the emmett till anti-lynching act, the first law making lynching a federal hate crime in the united states. till was just 14 years old when he was murdered in 1955, lynched by white men in mississippi. now almost 70 years later, after 200 attempts to pass legislation, that crime will be punishable by up to 30 years in

prison. joining us now is nbc news's trymaine lee. trymaine, great to see you, as always. what is the reaction that you're hearing now from the family, from till's family? >> yasmin, this moment has been decades and decades in the making, but for emmett till's family, this is more than just a moment. it's a bet of closure. i had the chance to speak with the reverent wheeler parker, who is emmett till's cousin and was actually with him the night he was kidnapped. you can only imagine what this family has been through. but let's take a listen to what reverend wheeler parker had to say about this moment and what it means. even though you were young then, do you remember a moment when you realized like, this is bigger than just the murder of your cousin. that this came to be so much bigger. to fuel the movement. >> we didn't talk about it. remember, i never talked to emmett's mother about that. i never talked with my grandfather. and down south, it's like, hush,

hush. and i think some people kind of feel bad about my grandfather. somebody entrusted a child with you, you lose a child. a life. that's a big thing. >> this family had has to carry the burden of emmett till's murder for so long and fought for justice for so many decades. and for the signing of this bill today, it's like a weight lifted off this family. you can only imagine what they've been through and what this time means for them. >> we can only imagine. trymaine lee, as always, thank you for this incredibly important work that you're doing there. coming up, everybody. the latest details out of the ukraine/russia cease-fire negotiations. we'll go live to ukraine's capital, next. ns we'll go live to ukraine's capital, next.

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where russian military officials said russian forces will reduce military activity near the capital city of kyiv. and secretary of state tony blinken just spoke at a press conference in morocco and addressed the ongoing developments in the peak talks between ukrainian and russian officials. he was asked the public should take these negotiations seriously. here's what he said. >> we're focused on what russia does. and what it should do is end the aggression now. top firing. close forces back. and of course, engage in talks. the fact that the ukrainians are having extraordinary encourage and willingness and determination not only to stand up for their country in the future, but to engage in these talks with a gun, literally to their head, i think, speaks volumes. but i would look to them to characterize whether there's anything there. >> joining me now from kyiv is a correspondent at large for "the

washington post" and msnbc news contributor. as always, it is great to talk to you once again. we have spoken periodically over the last month or so, throughout your coverage, your excellent coverage there from the capital city. we're getting word now from the white house that it seems as if russian forces are beginning to pull back from kyiv. that's, of course, on the backs of this new reporting from the russian foreign ministry, saying they are refocusing their efforts elsewhere inside ukraine, to the eastern part of ukraine, the eastern flank of ukraine. are you seeing that at all, feeling that at all on the ground there in the capital city? >> well, it's a bit difficult to tell, but certainly, i'm not seeing -- i don't think the russians are stopping as of yet. i was just up north of kyiv now, visiting some of the front line areas, and we were basically encountered a lot of shelling and artillery fire back and forth. it was -- the barrage was going

on for minutes. so there was no sign, certainly up there, that the -- of any slowdown in the fighting. now, in other parts around the capital, definitely, you know, there has been heavy fighting over the past several days in towns like irpin and others, but -- and it does seem like the ukrainians are pushing forward and mounting somewhat of a counteroffensive in some areas. but as of, you know, at least in the area where i was today, it seems like the war was still ongoing and there definitely was no signs of it slowing down. >> so, while ukrainians are mounting this kind of counteroffensive, you have also written extensively about how ukrainians that have remained in kyiv have grown to live with this war for the last five-plus weeks. that they've kind of figured out a routine amidst all the chaos that is happening inside their capital city. >> that's correct. i mean, it's sort of become the new normal here in kyiv.

especially in the past week or so, people are becoming a little more comfortable to go outside their houses, enjoy the air. i'm seeing more people walking around in the streets, in coffee shops. yesterday, i was in a restaurant in downtown kyiv, a burger place, where people were -- the place was full of people who were eating burgers and fries and other kinds of meals. it seemed very surreal, because just, you know, 20 minutes away, earlier that -- yesterday afternoon, i was in a place where there was shelling. so, it is -- it's a really a mixed picture in kyiv. and it can be a bit jarring after, you know, nearly five weeks of war to suddenly see people, you know, doing -- you know, going to get a haircut or jogging with their dogs on the streets. >> yeah, and probably wondering what tomorrow will look like. this is what today looks like, but what does tomorrow look like? >> definitely. >> during this war. because it seems day-to-day, this war is, in fact, changing. as always, we thank you for

being a very important voice on this. coming up, everybody. now that florida's "don't say gay" bill is signed into law, we're going to talk to an openly gay kindergarten teacher about what happens next. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." and happening now on capitol hill, as well, lawmakers are honoring their late colleague and friend, congressman don young of alaska. he was the longest serving republican in congressional history. he served in congress for 49 years until his death earlier this month at the age of 88. he will lie in state in statutory hall, where there will be a congressional hearing at 11:00 a.m. eastern. president biden will pay his respects in the afternoon. house speaker nancy pelosi remembering him as, quote, a serious legislature. always bringing people together to do the people's work. le toge to do the people's work. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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. welcome back, everybody. breaking covid news now. it seems the fda authorized a second booster dose of the pfizer covid vaccine and the moderna vaccine as well for people over the age of 50 years of age and immunocompromised individuals. you can receive this second covid booster after four months of that first booster. breaking news when it comes to covid and the second booster shot. all right. i want to switch gears and talk about ron desantis signing into law a bill prohibiting sexual discussions about sexual identity through third grade.

for older students, instruction on those topics cannot occur, quote, in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate. critics have dubbed it don't say gay bill. joining me now from florida is sam brock. good to see you. what more can you tell us about this law? >> reporter: good to be with you. certainly there has been no shortage of reaction about this. the governor saying it was absolutely necessary to pass this bill because he thinks parents need some agency or discretion over what their parents are exposed to. whether you support the law or oppose the law, one thing is very clear. it is extremely vaguely written. you mentioned a second ago, for those between kindergarten or third grade, they can't receive any instruction on that. beyond that, age appropriate or

developmentally appropriate. what that means would have to be figured out by the court, so we're not there yet. in terms of the underpinning of the law, based on this idea that kids are exposed to discussions about those things might change who they love or how they feel or how they self-identify. not only has that been debunked by science but one of the reactions why you're seeing such a visceral reaction to this law. i spoke to two same sex parents. i asked do they believe this is an example of unadulterated bigry. here is their response. >> absolutely. absolutely. we were told, be ready for the

opposition. be ready. in this situation in feeling that in the schools when kids are involved. come on. children. >> jasmine, there is very little doubt this will end up in the court. there is a parallel here between this piece of legislation, what we just saw in texas, abortion restrictions because the enforcement mechanism comes from regular people who are suing in this case the school district over what they believe are violations of this policy. so that's the parallel here. i will say it is a high stakes discussion. 15 other states right now because tennessee, oklahoma, generally the southern portion of the country looking at similar laws that affect textbooks, curriculum, what teachers are even allowed to say on these topics. >> sam brock for us. thank you, sam. joining us is a kindergarten teacher in parish, florida. he's openly gay spoken

about how this new law will impact his classroom. thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> just your reaction to the florida governor signing this into law. >> yeah. you know, two-fold it hits hard in my heart professionally and personally both. professionally it truly makes me feel like i am not trusted as a professional. i know my kindergarten standards through and through and nowhere in our curriculum does it have anything about teaching sexual orientation or sexual identity. so for them to say that that's happening that, you know, it is kind of crazy, but we should be able to have discussions and that's what we're encouraged to do in kindergarten. personally because my kids do have discussions. they want to know who my partner is and pictures outside the

classroom and i should be able to speak to them. >> do you worry you can't talk about your personal home. i know my child has two teachers. one of which has a daughter at home and is single. the other is married and has four children. i know everything about their lives because my kid tells me. >> absolutely. you are 100% correct. that's what we do as educators, we build relationships with our kids. you talk about your home life, what you do on the weekends as building community. it scares me that i am not going to be able to have these conversations with my children because they're going to ask about what i kid on the weekend. i don't have to hide that my partner and i went paddle boarding this weekend. they will ask, what does partner mean? can i tell them what they mean. i have a little girl that has two moms and the kids are curious about her two moms.

if they go to her and ask her about her two moms and they don't know what to say, they're going to come to me and ask me. it opens up for parents to take legal action against the school and i am afraid for my colleagues, myself and my students. >> as a parent of a young child, i want to celebrate difference, and i want my child to celebrate differences as well and to learn about them. >> absolutely. you know, it is hard to navigate, especially when you have words that are injecting, indoctrinating. those words, those are synonymous with some very hurtful words. so when i think about navigating this bill, you know, i am going to be mindful, but i'm going to

follow my kids' discretion and what they want to discussion. i will be true and honest with them because that's who i am. >> we celebrate who you are. thank you. >> thank you. >> absolutely. craig melvin picks up the coverage after a quick break. uik for copd, ask your doctor about breztri. breztri gives you better breathing, symptom improvement, and helps prevent flare-ups. breztri won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. it is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition...

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[♪♪] if you have diabetes, it's important to have confidence in the nutritional drink you choose. try boost glucose control®. it's clinically shown to help manage blood sugar levels and contains high quality protein to help manage hunger and support muscle health. try boost® today. good tuesday morning to you. craig melvin with you here where we are following a number of developments this morning including breakthroughs in today's peace talks between ukraine and russia happening right now in turkey. a white house official said they are seeing signs russia is moving away from kyiv. that comes after russian