four major shootings over the holiday weekend left at least three people dead. dozens injured. we'll bring you the very latest. and we're taking a closer look at the southern u.s. border, where new numbers show that the number of migrants reached the highest levels in more than two decades last month.

and we begin this very busy hour with new attacks across leave. russia launched a series of cruise missiles into the city in the nation's western region this morning. nbc news cannot independently verify the death toll there, but nbc's ali arouzi was in lviv when those strikes hit. >> that was ant plane. that was a cruise missile. wait for one more. they fire them in 30-second intervals. smoke! stand by. three cruise missile, caliber -- stand by. five, six, eight, nine, ten, 11, 12 -- >> there's the smoke. there's the smoke. that's three. so three cruise missiles. >> yeah. >> stand by. >> also in the past 24 hours,

ukrainian fighters in mariupol are refusing to surrender as russia claims it is close to seizing the key port city. i would like to warn our viewers the video you're about to see is graphic and disturbing. the situation in mariupol growing more dire by the day. inside the city, bodies covered in blankets, lining the road. some are placed into makeshift graves with hand-written placards. those who have survived the violence are retrieving their violence from homes now decimated by this new round of attacks. joining us now with the very latest is nbc news foreign correspondent, raf sanchez from lviv. also with us, courtney kube and evelyn farkas, a former adviser to the supreme allied commander of europe. raf, what are you seeing on the ground there today? >> reporter: well, jose, you can probably see behind me, it's actually fairly calm here in lviv right now. people are out on the streets, but all morning here, the air raid sirens have been blaring as

vladimir putin's cruise missiles have rained down on this city. as you said, the governor of lviv saying seven people killed in the strikes, 11 wounded, including one baby. now, several of the missiles hit military warehouses on the side of the railway tracks, but we just came back from a car repair shop, an ordinary place that you would go and get your tires fixed that took a direct hit from one of these missiles. it is not at all clear why that shop was struck. it may be that the russians were going for the railway lines, just a few yards away. but jose, it could also be that they are just attacking civilian infrastructure, as we have seen them do in cities all across this country. as you said, these attacks have shattered the sense that lviv is a place of safe haven, all throughout this war, displaced people have been coming from the east by train. they've been arriving here in lviv, and they have either been seeking refuge here or using

lviv as a staging point to move further on into europe. and this is a reminder that nowhere in ukraine is out of range of vladimir putin's missiles. the russian defense ministry had said that they would target cities in the center and to the west of this country in response to what they said were ukrainian attacks over the border in are into russian territory. ukraine's government is not commenting on those claims. but i'll tell you, a lot of people here on the ground suspect what is really going on is vladimir putin is retaliate ing for the humiliating sinking of his flagship, the "moskva," out on the black sea, which was taken down by ukrainian missiles at the end of last week. and he is striking out at the civilian population of this country in retaliation. jose? >> raf, remember, last friday, when i was fortunate enough to have a conversation with you, you were on a train from kyiv to

lviv and you were talking about how in certain aspects, even maybe just short aspects, life seemed to be almost, almost normal for parts of ukraine. that all changed when just this morning, these missiles hit lviv. >> yeah, that's right, jose. just across the square here is one of the main churches in lviv. we were there yesterday, as hundreds of ukrainians were marking palm sunday. they don't celebrate easter until next week, it was a beautiful church service. people were in that building. this morning, just a few yards away, we watched people running across the same square into the bomb shelter that's nearby. so this has really turned things upside down here in lviv. people are resilient here, as they are all across ukraine. they're putting a brave face on things. i can see them walking through the square now. but i think this has been a shot. and this is one of the bloodiest attacks in this part of the

country since the war began. it is a very small taste of what fellow citizens in the east have been suffering for weeks and weeks and weeks, as they endure vladimir putin's bombardment. jose. >> raf sanchez, thank you so much. evelyn, walk us through this change or the strategic changes that russia is carrying out in ukraine. we're seeing the bombing there in lviv, but mariupol is at a very critical position right now. >> right, jose. first of all, i would agree with raf's assessment that this is political messaging on the part of the russians. obviously, they can strike out if they want to, anywhere in ukraine, and they're angry at the ukrainians right now. they're also, by the way, angry at us. and the military shipments that are coming through may be coming through that area, as well. so there might be some targeting there, beyond civilians, that actually are military. i would say that right now, we're at a very interesting

point. obviously, mariupol, the fighters there, the ukrainian fighters are hanging on, you know, tooth and nail, literally. it's a horrendous situation. we don't even have a full -- the scope of it. and you know, we may not see that for a while, depending on whether the russians take it or not. but the ukrainians are holding the russian forces there, keeping them active in mariupol, so that they can't focus on the east. but the real battle is going to be in the east. and that's where, of course, ukrainians and russians are gearing up. we are ending $800 billion of assistance, the united states, to ukraine, to try to make sure that they can hold off the russians. but the russians are putting all of our artillery, all their tanks, everything they can muster, right there in donetsk, where they already are entrenched and they'll try to push forward and take more ukrainian territory. >> and that's -- then it would be a matter if they could even keep the territory that they would gain through this massive

campaign of destruction. i'm wondering, evelyn, the chancellor of austria recently met with putin and told nbc news that putin believes he's winning this war. he's going to say that. what is it that russia feels right now and when they look at the battlefield, which is what ukraine has become, what are they seeing? >> right. so, from the russian government perspective, first of all, they can manage the political pressure at home, even though sanctions are having an effect, which tells us that we need to continue to ratchet up the sanctions. but in the battlefield, they feel that they can push back, that they can maintain the territory they have, and take more. and until they make contact with the ukrainians, of course, none of us will know. but vladimir putin, even though his military, his army in particular is heavily weakened, he does not have the same amount of forces that he had before. he thinks that the combination of the artillery, again, that air power, that firepower, can

magnify the impact of what land forces he has left. and he does have the advantage of coming over the russian border in this case, not over belarus, not over, you know, other areas where they are more spread out. >> evelyn farkas, thank you so much for being with us this morning. joining us now, isabel, foreign correspondent for "the washington post". she is in the port city of odesa, thank you, isabel, for being with us this morning. ukrainians are bracing for what could be a major offensive by the russian forces, precisely in the eastern region. what are you hearing? >> yeah, i've spent a lot of time in the south, and you know, there you've seen mykolaiv, areas in the south that are closer to the front line. even there, they're bracing where all of downtown mykolaiv is covered in trench positions right now. they don't know if the russians are going to go through that city and attempt to take odesa,

but they're still fortifying. i think the more likely thing is that the fighting is going to be more focused in the donbas. but there is a lot of uncertainty about, you know, what kind of happens in the east, and what else russia has in its sights after, you know, it takes mariupol, which, you know, seems to be kind of a matter of days now. >> and of course, once it does and if it, indeed, does, take mariupol, would that, you think, be strategically important for the russians and for the ukrainians? >> yeah, the russians have a lot of forces tied up in, you know, kind of the last stand in that city. still fighting there. in that sense, it's pretty remarkable that the ukrainians have been able to have the fight last this long. but, you know, if and when that city does fall, that gives the russians a key land bridge, it links up their forces from mainland, russia, you know, through crimea, where they have, you know, forces on that annexed

peninsula. and they're able to kind of consolidate all of that in the east. and potentially start to think about moving south if they choose to do that. i want to head on over to odesa, where you are, after the sinking of russia's key warship, what's the mood there like? >> i think people, obviously, enjoyed that. you could go around the city and like others, you see a lot of signs and billboards of kind of the russian warship, you know, whatever the border guards had told that russian warship before, you know, that's not pg for your viewers. but i think that people were very excited about that victory, but they're still nervous, because, you know, obviously, they know that russia could rye to exact revenge on this in particular, since it is a naval hub. i would say that the moon -- you know, things have been still pretty normal here. a lot of restaurants are open. people are out on the streets.

the weather has been good. but, you know, there is always a tension. you see in lviv today in the west, there were missile strikes there. those same missile strikes at any time could come to odesa. no city is really safe from any of that. >> isobel, i know you have been covering the efforts by ukrainian officials, clearing unexploded bombs that are, you know, the russian forces are leaving behind. what are they seeing? >> yeah, there's a ton of them. you know, throughout my reporting, i've met so many people who have kind of unexploded ordinances in their backyards, in their gardens, at the zoo in mykolaiv, and that's not including land mines where we don't know where they are, especially around kyiv where russian forces have been occupying some of those areas. it's going to be a really, really long effort and it shows kind of the destructive,

dangerous elements that russians leave behind, even in the areas where they've been pushed back or they've withdrawn, this is a huge danger to civilians. and the miners i spent time with, you know, it's a morning-to-night kind of ordeal, where they're constantly fielding phone calls with addresses. whether it's people or train stations where they have to go and try to find the unexploded ordnance, detonate it, clear it, and move on to the next one. this is something that will match much longer than the war will. >> isobel, thank you so much for being with us this morning from odesa. very much appreciate it. >> thank you. and a programming note, chef jose andres will join andrea mitchell to talk about the attack on his restaurant facilities in ukraine. he's doing critical work feeding the victims of the war. that's today noon, 9:00 a.m. pacific, right on msnbc. there are new concerns

russia will escalate the war in ukraine and maybe even use nuclear weapons. we'll talk to an expert about how likely that is to happen, next. plus, what's causing the record number of recent border crossings? and a live look at the white house right now, where the annual easter egg hunt is about to begin. president biden due to speak at any minute. there you see them. they're speaking now. joe biden is speaking. two easter egg hunting rabbits on their sides. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." hello. watching "jose diaz-balart reports. hello. ♪ ♪ how's he still playin'? aspercreme arthritis. full prescription-strength. reduces inflammation. don't touch my piano. kick pain in the aspercreme. i'm greg, i'm 68 years old. i do motivational speaking don't touch my piano. in addition to the substitute teaching. i honestly feel that that's my calling-- to give back to younger people. i think most adults will start realizing that they don't recall things as quickly as they used to

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18 past the hour this holiday weekend. four separate major shootings left three people dead, more than 30 injured. the shooting in pittsburgh left two minors dead. in portland, oregon, authorities say one person was killed, three others injured in a shooting there. nbc news correspondent blayne alexander is following these stories and joins us this morning.

blayne, what's the latest this morning? >> reporter: jose, let's start with that shooting in pittsburgh. officials believe that there were several people who were responsible for opening fire on that house party. it was a house that was full of mostly teenagers, mostly underage individuals who were in the line of that gunfire. and this is just one of several incidents over what turned out to be a very violent holiday weekend. >> oh, my gosh! >> reporter: this cell phone video shows the frantic moments when gunshots shattered the peace of the holy holiday weekend. [ gunfire ] it happened at a packed house party in pittsburgh. officials say nearly 200 mostly underaged young people were crammed inside of an airbnb rental. the celebration turned to chaos when more than 100 shots rang out, injuring eight people and leaving two teenagers dead. >> we really have to figure out are these guns are coming from, especially for the youth.

>> reporter: it's the latest in a violent weekend on the east coast. three mass shootings within just 24 hours. >> i've got five cases waiting to be transported. >> reporter: in columbia, south carolina, police say 22-year-old jawayne price opened fire in a crowded mall saturday afternoon, wounding 12. price has been released on a $25,000 bond and placed under house arrest. and just hours later, another shooting in south carolina. this one at a lounge 80 miles west of charleston, leaving nine injured. all of it comes less than a week after a terrifying warning on a new york subway, when a gunmen threw smoke canisters and opened fire aboard a train in brooklyn, hitting 12 people. the suspect in that case has been arrested. and jose, if we can go back to that shooting in pittsburgh, we understand that, of course, that happened in an airbnb rental house. the company says that the person who rented that house has not received a lifetime ban for the platform for violating airbnb's

strict rules of no house parties. jose? >> blayne alexander, thank you very much. the number of people arriving at the southern border has reached its highest level in more than two decades. the homeland security department said in a court filing that authorities encountered more than 221,000 migrants along the border with mexico last month. this comes as the biden administration prepares to lift title 42, which has been used since the start of the pandemic to prevent migrants from entering the country, without even being able to request asylum. joining us now, nbc news correspondent, julia ainsley, who covers homeland security and the justice department. julia, good morning. what's driving the increase in the number of people showing up at the southern border? >> well, jose, it's not what we've seen in the past. you and i have both reported on people from the northern triangle in central america, el salvador, honduras, guatemala, coming to the border. now those people are largely blocked under title 42.

the nationalities now that we're seeing cross, especially last month, is mexicans who are by and large sent back into mexico, but also, cubans, and ukrainians. those are now the top three nationalities. that's very different from immigration trends we've seen in the past, and from officials i've spoken to from inside dhs, they said, because of cuba's policy of not accepting bad people who come to the united states, they instead are taking them in. it's not logical or logistical to push them back under title 42. so they're taking them in, and they say, that's driving more cubans, as well as political and natural disastes in cuba, that have led these people to come here. and of course, ukrainians, for people fleeing ukraine. and because the biden administration hasn't yet set up a very quick and expeditious way to get people here legally, they're crossing the border illegally instead. >> you know, it's amazing to see just the number of people that are leaving their country, their

entire life, their history, their background to look for a new life in the united states. i mean, cuba, the repression has been on the increase since after the july 11th protest, against that regime. venezuela, nicaragua, haiti is going through such difficult times. julia, i'm just wondering, with the government dealing with this reality, now, what about come the end of may when title 42 is lifted? does the government have any plans in place? >> well, jose, we will have more on that on "nightly news" tonight. but there are actually a lot of people crying out for more of a plan. we know from dhs, they want to work with local partners, add additional resources. they're surging more law enforcement to the border. but as far as a plan on who will get in first, that doesn't seem to be in the works yet or at least not made public. we know that there are over 170,000 people waiting in mexico, some as long as a year, in terrible conditions, where

they're often exploited because of their illegal status in mexico. so when you look at the lifting of title 42 at the end of may, that will let in not only those people, but could drive other migration from those countries, as well as the economic and political crisis happening throughout our hemisphere, let alone now, the world, when we have ukrainians coming here, it looks like this may could really be a perfect storm where we could get even higher numbers. we already know that the numbers hit in march overwhelmed communities. now it seems that it could be an even higher number. >> julia ainsley, thank you so much for being with us this morning. by the way, moments ago, president biden and first lady jill biden spoke at the annual white house easter egg roll. let's take a little listen in. >> my job is to keep it from raining for another two minutes. jill and i are excited to have

you at the white house. the -- we weren't able to host this easter egg roll last year because of the pandemic. but this year, this year we're finally getting together again. and it's so special. it means so much to see and hear the children and all the families show up to be here today. the joy, the laughter, and the occasional, at least with my young grandson, the occasional, there's easter bunny, a little startled sometimes. but the joy and the laughter is something that's been a wonderful tradition here at the white house for a long, long time. i especially want to thank the white house historical association, the national parks service, and america's egg board for all of their hard work to make this day possible. let's give them a round of applause. all of you, have fun today!

and welcome to the white house. welcome to your house. welcome to the south lawn. thank you and happy, happy easter. >> who knew that the bunnies could not only wave, but they could also clap? still ahead, the fear that a key ukrainian city could soon fall. where this war could be going, next. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports. welcome to your world. your why. what drives you? what do you want to leave behind? what do you want to give back? what do you want to be remembered for? that's your why. it's your purpose, and we will work with you every step of the way to achieve it. at pnc private bank, we'll help you take care of the how. so tell us - what's your why? ♪♪ ♪simply irresistible♪ ♪ ♪

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the russian assault on that town. the mayor there says an estimated 200 to 300 civilians were killed before ukrainian forces recaptured the town late last month. with us now to talk more about the situation in ukraine, nina khrushcheva, professor of international affairs at the new school. always a pleasure to see you. it seems as though the u.s. has expressed worries that putin could possibly resort to using nuclear weapons. ukraine's president has asked for radiation pills in preparation for a possible russian nuclear attack. is that a possibility, do you think? >> the conversation about this has been going on for months, but we also see the russians essentiallily escalating all the anytime. and even when they escalate, they still end up escalating. so i don't know. i cannot predict that. but i cannot really exclude it

from a reality of unfortunate possibilities. i hope it doesn't come to this, but it is possible that tactical nuclear weapons, the way it was used in nagasaki in 1945 potentially may happen. >> if that possibility does occur, it would change. it would change everything, right? >> it will change everything. and of course, the russians would say -- i mean, once again, i hate to speculate, because i'm also afraid that once we talk about more, we're going to kind of bring it in. but russians, of course, will cite the example of the united states in '45, they need to plan the war, that's how we end the war. ukraine was asking for it. the west was asking for it. things have already changed. russia is at war with the world. that will make it infinitely

worse for the rupgss. i hope somebody there can calculate it still and will be able to exclude this scenario from happening. >> and it is difficult to even be talking about this, because it hasn't happened, and everybody is just, you know, hoping and praying that it never does happen. but when the ukrainian president, you know, mentions it. when even the united states has mentioned that's a possibility they fear, that's why it's important to bring these issues up, but this occurs just a few days after that flagship was sank in the black sea. there are different stories about how it sank, but we know it sank. how much of a employee is this to russia? >> i don't think it's any military problem, of course.

that was an outdated ship that was still going back to soviet times, and there was a committee before that whether they should be used or not. but it's a big one. and russia likes big. it kind of shows the grandiosity of russian military forces. i think militarily, it is not a problem. but it is a blow to now dragging on military campaign that i think in the beginning, it was supposed to end very quickly. in fact, mariupol has been not falling for two month. and now the next step would be to declare some sort of victory by putin on may 9th or the victory day parade in 1945. still may not be happening. so in this sense, the sinking of

the ship and kind of, no longer being there for show, it is a bit of a big deal. the thing about the russian propaganda, it can turn anything into victory. >> nina khrushcheva, thank you so much for being with us. always a pleasure to see you. as covid cases continue to rise here in the u.s., we'll speak to a doctor about how to best protect ourselves. so what's this whole thing with the new mask mandates coming back into some cities? we'll talk about that and a whole lot more after this quick break. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." k. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports. wayfair has everything i need to make my home totally me. sometimes, i'm a homebody. can never have too many pillows! sometimes, i'm all business. a serious chair for a serious business woman! i'm always a mom- that is why you are smart and chose the durable fabric. perfect. i'm not a chef- and, don't mind if i do. but thanks to wayfair, i do love my kitchen.

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♪♪ 39 past the hour. today, philadelphia restarted its indoor mask mandate in public spaces, including schools and day cares. new covid cases in philadelphia have increased by more than 50% over the last ten days. officials believe that the rise in cases is being driven by the highly transmissible ba.2

subvariant, which accounts for nearly 90% of new cases across the u.s. joining us now, dr. joseph varon, the chief of critical care at united medical memorial center in houston. dr. varon, always a pleasure to see you. this past weekend, you know, very busy. a lot of people at home with family, a lot of folks heading back home after spending the holidays with friends and family. there something you're fearing? is there something that could come of this very rich weekend? >> there's no question that people are going to get in trouble. just so you know, two weeks ago, i went to mexico city for a day with my family. every single one of my family members that went to a wedding got sick with covid. so the fact that we're going to have a lot of people that got together now this weekend, we're going to see people that are going to get sick. now, the good news is that this

variant is less lethal than delta and some of the other ones that you and me have talked about in the past. >> all right, so a couple of things that i want to touch with you. the first of all, that you had a day off is news in and of itself. i don't think you've taken a day off in years. but it's prevalent, i mean, it's -- that's pretty impressive, incredible, that you could go to a wedding and 100% of the people that you're with get covid. is it because of this new variant? is it the old variant? is it delta that's still there? >> no, it's the new variant. because, you know, even the symptoms, that every single one of my family members got were very, very mild. i mean, nothing like what we have seen before. >> doctor, what are you seeing on the ground in your hospital? >> well, believe it or not, we don't have a single case of covid in the hospital. however, in my office, in the outpatient office where upper, i'm seeing about 30 patients a

day, of which probably 10 of them have acute covid, new covid. and the rest of them, what i'm seeing is a lot of long-haul covid system. >> and so what is that -- what are the symptoms of long haul covid that you're seeing? >> just name it, i see it. i mean, people complain about losing their hair -- well, actually, i can talk about that myself. people losing their hair, tired, cough, exhausted, people that have new problems with their heart. i'm seeing a lot of it. >> you know, doctor, we're seeing some incredible figures out of los angeles, where the mortality rate for latinos increased by 48% during the pandemic. that's more than double then for african-americans and 40% higher than why is white people. what is going on? why that dramatic rise in our community, doctor? >> well, you know, early in the pandemic, you and i talked about this. what happened is latinos have this idea that if you go to a

hospital, you're going to get covid. so even if they had covid, they were concerned they would get covid. second, they also have this idea that if you go to a hospital, they're going to die in the hospital. so they go in late. the last one that they were very concerned about the financial implications of going to a hospital. that's why patients who were latinos had such a high mortality rate. >> dr. joseph varon, it's always a pleasure to see you. >> you as well. >> thanks. still ahead, my exclusive interview with the commander of u.s. southern command. the four-star general with her warnings about china's growing influence in latin america. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." in america you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports. you're pretty particular about keeping a healthy body. what goes on it... usually. ♪♪ in it... mostly. even what gets near your body. please please please take that outside. here to meet those high standards is the walgreens health and wellness brand.

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command, which oversees u.s. military operations and of course, diplomatic conversations in central and south america as well as the caribbean. we talked about russia's efforts to exert influence in the region and general richardson says she thinks we should be keeping a very close eye as well on china. >> the larger threat, she believes, is china, which is pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into the region to build desperately needed infrastructure, like dams, ports, and cell phone networks, but -- >> there's always strings attached. >> reporter: those strings mean china and the regimes they pop up can you track that information. >> what would that information give them? >> it allows them to possibly use health care, for example, if you didn't vote a certain way, you don't get health care, you don't get food. >> reporter: in their most ambitious move yet, cyan is building 29 new ports in 7 different countries.

>> absolutely alarming. i worry about dual use of all of the projects that they are putting in place. most of these companies from china are state-owned enterprises, controlled by the government. and so can easily be converted or transitioned into a military use, if necessary. >> reporter: a conversion like that would mean that china suddenly went from zero military bases in latin america to dozens. >> are we paying in the united states enough attention to latin america, and south mark? >> i call it our neighborhood and i think we could pay a little more attention to it. >> with us now, david ignatius and gordon chan, a columnist for "newsweek" and author of "the coming collapse of china" and "the great u.s./china tech war." gordon, let's talk about china's interest in latin america. why are they spending hundreds of billions of dollars in

investments in latin america? >> well, china believes that it should rule the world. and chinese leaders actually talk about this. so latin america is a critical part of it. and they want to be in our hemisphere. they want the military bases. and by the way, china is militay basis. by the way, china is putting $3 billion into the bahamas in freeport. that means there's going to be a chinese military base 97 miles east of palm beach. this is not just going back to deep in latin america. this is right on our borders, right on our shores. >> and dana richardson they think they can pay a lot more attention to this part of the world. why has america not been paying attention to latin america?

>> it's a great question. cuba seems to be the one issue perhaps with venezuela that gets people excited. i think the general is trying to speak about the growing chinese presence in part as a way to get more attention in general focused on latin america. the chinese are opportunistic. they're moving everywhere, seeking facilities, relationships, arms supply relationships, across the middle east where i've just been. the chinese see themselves as a dominant power by 2030, 2050 and they're putting in all the infrastructure to project power and we need to take is seriously. >> a couple of countries in south america have signed up for china's belt and road initiative. is this part of what they should

be doing in latin america? >> it is. the chinese have a coherent grand strategy with mercantile relationships that will build infrastructure that will use chinese product and give certain security advantages. but it's a coherent, broad scheme. i think that the most important thing that's happening now is that in ukraine, ukrainians with our help are showing the world that authoritarian states don't always win. there's been this growing feeling that democracy, the alliances that the united states has are on the back foot. ukraine shows the opposite and i must say that china's problems in shanghai in controlling covid are also showing the limits of an authoritarian state. that's a little bit of evidence that i help will encourage our friends around the world.

>> as a matter of fact, i do want to talk about shanghai with you both in just a second. gordon, on the china investments in latin america, i was struck by, for example, china that has been been really behind, for example, the telecommunications structure, the cell phone towers, the internet access. in cuba it's all primarily chinese. so there is some information that china was able to tap into, forbes, last july 11th when the protests against the cube and regime broke out throughout the island, china was able to utilize their information on cell phone usage and on internet to help the cuban regime strike down against those protests. >> and general richardson is right. once you control the cell phone network, you get a lot of data, which china needs into its

artificial intelligence networks and it wah-wei has deeply penetrated the caribbean and is the dominant telenetwork provider. this is important. this means the region is very closely tied to china. last year they had what was called the electoral way. this is really an important development as we neglect what we call the neighborhood but which we really should call the region that we live in. >> and, gordon, we've seen some just extraordinary images from shanghai in the past couple of weeks as the city has been effectually locked down, people being told to stay indoors, tested regularly, families split apart, people not able to have

access to basic food, ware and medicine. what does it say about the chinese government and how they're acting in shanghai? >> as david pointed out, this shows a fatal flaw in hard line governance. right now we're seeing the dynamic zero covid policy, which really doesn't make sense and which in many ways is spreading the disease among people in shanghai. this is being done for political reasons. ping as identified with zero covid. he can't allow any criticism of it and also because china last year made its control of covid a critical test of regime legitimacy. it said because it controlled better than democracies, that it was a superior form of governance. i think the communist party is paranoid and hysterical.

>> it is a pleasure to speak to you both. i thank you for your time. i'll be back in an hour with more news, including an interview of the founder of a group that rescues americans from places like ukraine. rescus from places like ukraine ...is her reality. nexium 24hr stops acid before it starts, for all-day, all-night protection. can you imagine 24 hours without heartburn?

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i'm jose diaz-balart. we're following more a fast-moving stories. in ukraine, new air strikes across the country and the psychological warfare attached to it. nowhere is safe. earlier missiles hit the city of lviv. not only is the city home to fleeing ukrainians but it's a critical hub for maintaining supplies and logistics. >> that wasn't a plane, it was a cruise missile. >> that was a cruise missile. wait for one more. they fire in 30-second intervals. cruise missile, caliber. stand by. five, six, eight, nine, ten, 11, 12, 13. >> there's the smoke. >> that's three. >> a major focus for russia's