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i'm jose diaz ballart. with less than three weeks to the mid-term elections president biden is expected to make another major announcement today addressing gas prices. i also spoke with award winning artist lin manuel miranda and the importance of getting younger voters to the polls. >> it was really inspiring to hear from the young people, their bodies are on the ballot. gun violence is on the ballot. immigration is on the ballot. also breaking this morning, russia's vladimir putin declares martial law in the four regions illegally annexed last month. new explosions rocked ukraine's capital. we are live in kyiv. today former president trump is set to be deposed in a defamation lawsuit from a writer who alleges he raped her in the 1990s. this morning new york city is opening an emergency relief center that will house migrants seeking asylum. controversial effort meant to ease the overwhelmed shelter

system. and with 20 days left until the mid-term elections and president biden focusing today on an issue that is top of mind for voters these days. gas prices. the president will announce he is releasing more oil from the u.s. strategic petroleum reserve after a group of oil-producing nations announced they're cutting oil production by 2 million barrels a day. the strategic petroleum reserve is currently at its lowest level since june of 1984. with just over 400 million barrels of oil. earlier this year the president announced he was releasing 180 million barrels of oil from the u.s. stockpile to help ease rising gas prices. this comes one day after the president vowed they would codify the abortion protections

of roe versus wade if they hold on to control of congress. meanwhile, in one of the states that could decide control of the senate, florida senator marco rubio and democratic congresswoman val demings sparred over the issue in the first and only debate. there were a number of fiery moments like this. >> she's never passed a single bill. she's been in congress for over half a decade. not ppp, not a single bill. i'm proud of the fact we've saved millions of jobs. i'm proud we did it in a bipartisan way. >> that's not true. i know the senator. look, i'm really disappointed in you, marco rubio, because i think there was a time when you did not lie in order to win. i don't know what happened to you. >> and with us now to talk about all of this, nbc news senior white house correspondent kelly o'donnell, shaquille brucester and peter baker, and carlos.

what more do we know about the president's plan to tap more of that strategic petroleum reserve? >> reporter: well, jose, it is certainly an indication that the white house is well aware that gas prices remain a key indicator for voters who are thinking about what is happening with inflation. prices of all kinds, but gas is something people are using every day and are watching how that has changed. the biden white house took a lot of credit when gas prices went down over a period of a couple of months. now that has changed with opec deciding to cut its production and so today the president will announce that he will tap the strategic petroleum reserve for 15 million barrels. this is a part of a continuation of that 180 million barrels you referenced at the start of the program, and this will take the country through december. now republican critics say this

isn't going to do enough and that there should be more production. the white house says this is a way to bridge until there is more production. so they're calling it a bridge and in this case a longer bridge, they say, a continuation of what the president had done to release more barrels from this strategic stockpile to try to ease prices. there was some sense that there was a bit of an effect positive for consumers when he has done it in the past. historically this kind of an act has been done very rarely but this is a critical time when prices are top of mind for voters and certainly for the white house which says inflation is a top economic priority for the president. jose? >> yeah. peter, the president's plan to release 15 million barrels of oil from that stockpile, according to the energy information administration, the u.s. uses roughly 19, 20 million barrels a day. how is this going to make a

difference or will it? >> well, it won't make a huge difference in and of itself. it's a signal to the markets in part. look, actually, gas prices have started to come back down a little bit. ron clain tweeting about that repeatedly. that's one of his measurements he focuses on heavily. in fact, releasing this additional fuel is meant to keep that from going back up, especially in these critical last few weeks before the elections. very much a focus of this white house. they very much understand this is as pocketbook as it comes for voters as they go to the polls. very few things affect everyday life more than gas prices. they're exceptionally attuned to that. they want to counter any potential effect of this by the saudi-led cartel. >> and, peter, kelly was talking about the unusual nature of

tapping into that very large petroleum reserves that the united states controls. how large is it and what is it for? >> it is unusual. it's meant for more a shock situation, more quick emergency, not as a long-term solution to a long-term problem and it's been used obviously now for months in a way we've never used it before but, you know, it was created in order to try to address, you know, moments of problems in the market that affect american consumers and that's what biden's using. using it more aggressively than any president before him. there will be a moment where that stoorts run out and he'll have fewer resources to work with. at some point we have to replenish that if the price of oil does come back down. that will be a concern but that's something for another day. >> shaquille, meanwhile tlafs one and only debate for the u.s.

senate in florida. how did it go? >> well, jose, it was definitely a dramatic debate we saw last night. there were no shortage of interruptions, insults, dramatic moments for each of the candidates. marco rubio and val demings met for the first time. more than anything, jose, it was a clear contrast between the republican candidate and democratic candidate. val demings leaning in on the issue of abortion. attacking marco rubio for not wanting to support exemptions and saying she would be a fighter protecting women's issues. marco rubio painting himself as an established, experienced legislator talking about some of his bipartisan accomplishments. one other thing we saw at the debate last night, jose, was a conversation and a preview of this announcement that we're going to hear from the president. we got a sense what have republicans are going to say about it. we saw the release of the oil from the strategic reserves. how republicans are going to

criticize that. listen to a little bit of that response as we heard from rubio yesterday. >> oil reserves do not exist to win mid terms. they exist to help this country in an emergency. what we cannot do are crazy policies that are coming from the left that congresswoman demming has supported. >> of course, the senator who has never run anything at all but his mouth would know nothing about helping people and being there for people when they are in trouble. >> jose, that clip gives you a sense of not just how the economic message is making its way and being a focus in many of these debates that we're seeing across the country, but it's also a reflection of how contentious that debate was. there were pleasant bey of back and forth and plenty of tense exchanges we saw between the two candidates last night. >> carlos, how did you see the debate? it seems as though rubio in the latest polls has been in front

of the polls, but not by much. >> well, that's right, jose. this debate was particularly important for congresswoman demings because marco rubio has led consistently in the polls. this race has been very stable and a lot of people believe that she needed to jolt the race. she needed to create an aha moment. she needed to have marco rubio slip and fall. that certainly didn't happen. it was an aggressive debate. both candidates went on offense but i don't think that yesterday's debate is going to change the general trend of this race. on top of that, republicans have some structural advantages in the state of florida with registered republicans outnumbering registered democrats for the first time in decades if not ever going into a general election. it was a lively debate but it doesn't seem like it did much to change the general dynamics of this race. marco rubio still the favorite. >> and so, kelly, what is the

final 20 days of the mid-term campaign look like for the president? >> well, you're going to see the president out on the campaign trail more. there have been a lot of questions about where the president is using his time. one of the ways he's been able to do that is in funds raising, which is not as public facing as a campaign rally to be sure, but it is a way to help the democratic party because there are still donors who definitely want to have that direct access to the president but among the places we'll see him is campaigning for john fetterman in pennsylvania. that high profile senate race. the president is using his time, mindful it would appear, that the white house knows there are places where the president's popularity is not a value add to a candidate. for example, in ohio tim ryan in a senate race is keeping his distance from president biden. but john fetterman with, of course, the president's pennsylvania roots will appear with him. the president is doing that fundraising which does help the party and that is part of how he

will be using his time. 's been out on the road. expect much more of that in these final few weeks. jose? >> carlos, the associated press reports that only about half of americans have high confidence that votes in the upcoming mid-term elections will be counted accurately according to the associated press and nrlc. that's an improvement in four in ten before the 2020 elections. just 9% of u.s. adults think democracy is working extremely or very well. 52% say it's not working well. these numbers, what do they tell you, carlos, about the state of american democracy? >> well, jose, especially for those of us whose family, in some cases we ourselves came from countries where democracy failed, institutions collapsed, it's disconcerting. we can only hope that candidates on both sides of the aisle after this election will accept the

results and help restore some of that trust and confidence. it's not like inflation. people don't encounter it every day. it's there at the surface and it's eroding our democracy. it's causing our democracy to rot in many ways and, of course, that's what holds everything together. so we can only hope that on november 9th we'll have many candidates all over the country gracefully accepting election results unless they're close elections and then there's a process for, you know, addressing those close elections. but certainly we cannot withstand too many additional blows to our democracy like we've seen in recent zbleers carlos, kelly o'donnell, shaquille brucester and peter, i appreciate you all being with us. i appreciate your time. up next, following several breaking events from ukraine. several are lining up to

evacuate in one city as putin declares martial law in occupied regions. coming up, lin manuel miranda and his role. nothing to do with the big screen. you're watching jose diaz balart reports. ♪ will you make something better? ♪ will you create something entirely new? ♪ our dell technologies advisors provide you with the tools and expertise you need to do incredible things. because we believe there's an innovator in all of us. ever notice how stiff clothes can feel rough on your skin? for softer clothes that are gentle on your skin, try downy free & gentle downy will soften your clothes without dyes or perfumes. the towel washed with downy is softer, and gentler on your skin. try downy free & gentle. (vo) with their verizon private 5g network,

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17 past the hour. we were following breaking news in the war in ukraine. this morning's russia's vladimir putin declared martial law in four ukrainian regions that russia illegally annexed last month. one braces for a battle. officials in kherson plan to evacuate 50 to 60,000 people in anticipation of the fight. another series of explosions once again rocked the capital city of kyiv. ukrainian forces say they shot down 13 russian kamikaze drones overnight. they say they've downed 223 of

these iranian made drones to date. iran, however, says that they're not supplying these drones to russia. joining us now from kyiv is nbc news correspondent call and evelyn farkas. cal, what's the latest there in kyiv? >> reporter: so we had another wave, another swarm, if you like, of attacks today. this one was partly drones, partly rockets. at least ten drones fired from the north, from belarus we understand towards the capitol and eight cruz missiles. the air defense systems are working really well. they shot down six of the eight rockets and all ten of the drones. those two rockets hit somewhere. we think it's an energy infrastructure target. we're waiting for more information. it gives you another indication of the long-term strategy of russia. hit the energy infrastructure targets, knock the power out, do it before it gets cold and maybe

you force people to leave. we've been talking to people today, jose. so many people who have left and have come back are faced with a decision especially as schools are canceled, shops are closing, what do they do? do they stay or get out? that's what people here are trying to decide, jose. >> cal, meanwhile putin declaring martial law in the four illegally annexed regions. >> yeah. they're making their way now into that city. what is happening is russia is removing the citizens and moving them to basically towards mainland russia on the other side of the dnipro river. they call this mass abductions. the goal here seems to be if ukrainian forces push into kerr -- kherson, there won't be anybody to liberate. we are liberating them and giving them back their freedom

by basically abducting them. they don't have a choice in which direction to go. that's one thing to keep an eye on. the other thick to keep an eye on, zaporizhzhia. under occupation by the russians. fighting is fierce. the government calls it nuclear terrorism. they're worried they're going to divert that nuclear power to russia and shut it off here. >> cal perry in kyiv, take good care. thank you so much. evelyn, what does this move by putin signal about the status of the war, especially in the east? >> well, jose, first of all, you know, it's laughable that he's declared martial law, on the one hand, laughable, because as you said, he doesn't control first of all legally these territories and militarily he doesn't control them, he's about to lose control of kherson. on a human level he's going to take these ukrainians over the border, there are already hundreds of thousands of russians who have been taken

into russia including children who have been made to be adopted by russians so the whole thing is shocking but it also demonstrates putin is trying to clamp down, get more foot soldiers. he's going to make some of these people fight against their own country. this is all in an effort to try to win some time and intimidate the west from not increasing or providing assistance to ukraine, which is really what we need to be doing right now. >> evelyn, meanwhile iran denies that they're made in iran drones are being used by the russians, but -- in other words, is this something that the world is standing by and seeing what iran is doing on this specific issue? and not doing anything about it? >> well, of course the ukrainians and the international community has the evidence these are iranian drones because they've landed in ukrainian territory. we know very well they are

iranian. at the security council i believe today they're going to consider this, you know, roundly condemning iran for providing the kamikaze drones to the russians in order to target innocent civilians. this is being party to massive human rights violations. it won't go unanswered. the next question is what do other countries do watching this. israel, obviously, can't be happy watching iran support russia in this fashion and we've had already two israeli ministers raise the issue of why is israel sitting on the fence? why doesn't israel help ukraine? as you may know, israel has a very good defense system called iron dome which they use to keep them safe from rockets and other artillery coming from palestinian territory. >> yeah. evelyn farkas, great to see you. >> thank you so much, jose.

coming up, what former president trump is suppose today do today despite attempts trying to delay it. we'll explain next. you're watching jose diaz-balart reports.

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fanduel and draftkings, two out of state corporations and helping you plan for future generations. making big promises. what's the real math behind prop 27, their ballot measure for online sports betting? 90% of profits go to the out of state corporations permanently. only eight and a half cents is left for the homeless. and in virginia, arizona, and other states, fanduel and draftkings use loopholes to pay far less than was promised. sound familiar? it should. vote no on prop 27. naomi: every year, the wildfires and smoke seem to get worse. jessica: there is actual particles on every single surface. cooke: california has the worst air pollution in the country.

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today former president donald trump is set to be deposed under oath as part of a defamation lawsuit brought by columnist e.g. carol who alleges trump raped her in the late 1990s. she says trump damaged her reputation in 2019 when he denied he raped her. trump's lawyer says they look forward to establishing on record that the case is without merit. joining us now is nbc news national correspondent gabe gutierrez. gabe, good morning. what can we expect? >> hi, jose. good morning. lawyers for both parties in this case are being very tight-lipped at this point, but "the new york times" is reporting that the deposition is set to take place today at mar-a-lago. these are the lawyer's offices for e. jean carroll. as you mentioned, jose, back in 2019 she sued donald trump for defamation after he denied allegations that she was assaulted in -- raped in a

department store, high-end department store in manhattan. she claims that donald trump in the mid 1990s threw her up against the dressing room wall and forced himself upon her. now the former president repeatedly has denied these allegations adding that, quote, she's not my type, but last week after three years of legal limbo, the judge in this case said that donald trump could not run out the clock on this case, that he had to sit for this deposition and something else, jose, trump's legal team had been trying to argue that the former president was acting in these official job, meaning the capacity of his official job as president when he made these denials and so that the federal government should be added to this lawsuit. that could potentially have thrown the entire case in jeopardy because of protections afforded to government employees, but the judge threw that motion out. he said discovery is set to move

forward in this case. the deposition scheduled for today. "the new york times" reporting it is in mar-a-lago. finally, the judge said mr. trump could not run out the clock on this case because of the advanced age. >> gabe gutierrez, thank you so much. up next, a new center to house migrants in new york city opening today. plus, conversation with lin manuel miranda and who he says really needs to show up at the polls in just 20 days. you're watching "jose diaz balart reports." i'm down with r. son tc: mom's a1c is down with rybelsus®. song: a1c down with rybelsus® anncr vo: in a clinical study, once-daily rybelsus® significantly lowered a1c better than the leading branded pill. anncr vo: rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes.

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of the deal with mexico. in mexican cities like tijuana, venezuelans are stranded. many having to sleep on the streets because shelters are full. yesterday mexican president spoke with president biden about immigration. joining us now from el paso is melissa lopez, the executive director of the migrant services in el paso. melissa, it's great seeing you again. i just want to ask you about these migrants that arrive in the united states, mostly from venezuela, are automatically being sent back. what are they facing? >> i mean, a lot of uncertainty. they're in a foreign country. they do speak the language but, you know, for those that speak spanish it's very obvious when somebody's from a different country because they speak spanish differently and so they do send out, it is quite

obvious, that they are not locals which puts them at a higher risk of being kidnapped and raped and facing other forms of violence in these border towns. and so it's a really unsafe, unsure place for them to be. >> melissa, talk to me about what your extraordinary work that you do and the service that you give to so many people. how would you describe the situation right now? >> you know, it's really tough. right now a lot of what we're doing is trying to help people get themselves into the united states so that they can seek asylum, so we're having to ask question about like, you know, what has the suffering been like? how bad has it been? have you been, you know, tortured? have you been kidnapped? i think it's a pretty terrible place to be in, to have to focus on the atrocities that people

have been through in order to have an effective way to really help them enter the united states. and so that is a lot of what we face. we hear a lot of really, really terrible stories of what people are going through just to try and seek asylum here in the united states. >> melissa, so this announcement that was made last week was implemented almost immediately. has there been any discussion or any plan, any agreement on how these people should be treated? >> no, and that's the unfortunate thing is that these decisions are made at a very top level, right? you mentioned the president, you mentioned president biden, so they have these diplomatic talks but then it falls on local communities. in tijuana we try to help people and many of these migrants really rely on the generosity of

someone giving them a place to stay. it's very scary. they don't know who's friend and who's foe. they don't know how to trust given everything that they have been through that's brought them to this point. >> melissa, i thank you so much for being with us and i thank you for all the work that you do. appreciate your time. >> thank you. appreciate it. we were mentioning this new migrant tent camp that's opening today. the mayor declared a state of emergency. the new center will serve only as a temporary port of entry in light of housing, food, medical care to about 500 adults when they first arrive to the city. joining us now is nbc news's stephanie gosk.

and men got off. we suspect the migrants. and the children are putting strain on a shelter system. the officials in a weigh station. laundry, showers, hot food. there will also be caseworkers who are here to help people start navigating the very complicated immigration process, but like we've been talking about all along, jose, this also becomes a symbol in this immigration debate that has fired up as we get close to

mid-term elections where you have republican governors, whether it's florida, arizona, texas bussing or in the case of governor desantis flying migrants up to places in the northeast and to specifically liberal cities and here in new york the mayor, eric adams, responding in kind with his own kind of message for d.c. by setting up these tents, which certainly serve a purpose but are also very much symbolic and the hope being that there will be some response from washington to help handle this crisis, jose. >> and, stephanie, i mean, the men, apparently men only that are going to be transferred here can only stay there for a couple of days. >> reporter: that's right. it is supposed to be just a transitional kind of place and then where they go from there is unclear. they obviously are just beginning what is maybe in some

cases applying for asylum, trying to navigate that immigration process. these are people who have family who are here in new york, but among the criticisms of what these governors have been doing is that there has been little done to make outreach on behalf of these people to wherever they're going to see if there are any systems in place to support them but, rather, putting people on buses and just sending them up. the mayor here asking for a bit more coordination but also committed, he says, to dealing with what he described as a humanitarian crisis, jose. >> stephanie gosk in new york, i thank you so much. meanwhile, u.s. authorities say they are trying to rescue more than 100 people dumped by smugglers on an island near puerto rico. customs and border protection says hundreds of people are stranded on mona island which is

uninhabited. the ap reports mona island has long been a dropping off point for human smugglers promising to sail haitian and dominican migrants to puerto rico and leave them there on their own. up next, my extensive interview with lin manuel miranda and his father and why they say it's more important than ever to get out and vote next month. >> when democracy is on the line, i think we all have to do our part no matter what role we play. >> what he's doing right now that he says is more important than anything. he is writing. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." will you make something better? ♪ will you create something entirely new? ♪ our dell technologies advisors provide you with the tools and expertise you need to do incredible things.

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where we are right now. >> miranda has also been very active in trying to get young voters engaged in the election. take a listen. joining us now, emmy, tony and grammy award winning composer, lir ri cyst, playwrighter and actor and luis who is an accomplished philanthropist and strategist, great to see you this morning. i know you're both in houston to engage with young voters to engage, what are you hearing about young voters, lin manuel, about why they are really concerned about the future? >> listen, whatever you're concerned about watching this show, they're concerned about, and particularly in texas which has some of the most restrictive voting -- barriers to voting in the country. it was really inspiring to hear from these young people. their bodies are on the ballot. gun violence is on the ballot.

immigration is on the ballot. they spoke so eloquently about turning out, not the most politically engaged of these young people but to grab their families, to grab their friends, those who aren't necessarily inclined to vote and educate them about it. so i left -- i'm leaving university of houston with a lot of hope because we saw some incredible young people who are driven to show up and show the united states what they can do. >> luis, you're one of the ambassadors for nextgen america. why is it so important for young people to get involved, to vote? >> you know, at some point when life began to change over the last five and six years and states throughout the country started approving the most anti-civil rights, anti-choice laws my wife and i were very

concerned that things that we thought we settled as a generation were still going on, but being here today you know there's a next generation that understands the importance of voting but understand the power of engaging day and day out. and that's what nextgen does. not only taking them to the polls but making sure they're involved in the daily struggles that we have as communities. >> a theme we heard over and over again today was election day is the beginning and how do you stay involved in your community on the matters that -- you know, on the matters that matter most to you? >> lynn manuel, the latino community is the fastest growing, you know, segment of our country. the vast majority born in the united states. it's so important that the latino community get involved, get involved to a deeper degree in our country's democracy.

>> 100% and we're seeing an historic election here with rochelle garza running to be the first latina governor of texas at a time when abortion is illegal in texas. it is so critical that she be elected as a firewall against the anti-choice laws that are in effect here in texas. these are -- these are issues that affect latinos. there's not an issue on the ballot that doesn't affect latinos. it's important to be here and show texas that the rest of the united states is watching and looking to see how going to vote. >> i think something that we have said all day long, it's that even though people ask us, what are you doing in texas? stay in new york. well, the election of rochelle garza in texas, it's a testament

to the fact that latinos are growing everywhere and that our political power, it's growing everywhere. she is a symbol of who we are as a community nationwide. >> and i know, guys, you're so involved and you've been so helpful in puerto rico, you know, two very strong hurricanes in just, you know, five years. what does puerto rico need and what are the -- what are the -- the short, medium and long plan and long-range needs of puerto rico today? >> the short-range needs are, we're still in recovery mode. not only are we still in recovery from the most recent hurricane, but we were in recovery from maria and irma before this hurricane struck.

there was fema money that did not reach the island from that last one because of the last administration. so, you know, to the extent that you can donate to organizations that are working with local organizations ton ground, whether it's world central kitchen, that's important. do you want to speak to the -- >> yeah, i think that the -- trump threw paper towels, lots of funds were appropriated. the next state, it's really now that the biden administration, it's allowing those funds to reach the island. it's for the government of puerto rico and mayors throughout the island, use those funds effectively to continue through that recovery process. we'll all be watching and make sure that when we rebuild, we are rebuilding for the next hurricane because climate change, it's teaching us that they will continue to reoccur and they will be stronger all

the time. >> lin-manuel, what project are you working on for the near future? >> well, honestly, i'm -- i'm here in houston today, we go to atlanta tomorrow. we're working on getting out the vote. that's really more important than anything i could be writing right now. i'm sure there's someone watching this tv who doesn't agree with my politics and says stay out of politics. stick to writing plays. i couldn't agree more. but when democracy is on the line, i think we have to do our part no matter what role we play. >> thank you both very much for being with us this morning. i really appreciate your time. >> up next, while the family of george floyd is considering a lawsuit against kanye west. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports."

you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports. rst time the other day... and forgot where she was. [buzz] you can always spot a first timer. gain flings with oxi boost and febreze. ♪♪ subway's drafting 12 new subs for the all-new subway series menu the new monster has juicy steak and crispy bacon. but what about the new boss? it looks so good it makes me hangry! settle down there, big guy the new subway series. what's your pick? ♪ ♪ i'm getting vaccinated with prevnar 20. so am i. because i'm at risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. i'm asking about prevnar 20. because there's a chance pneumococcal pneumonia could put me in the hospital. if you're 19 or older with certain chronic conditions like copd, asthma, or diabetes, you may be at an increased risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. prevnar 20 is approved in adults to help prevent infections from 20 strains of the bacteria that cause pneumococcal pneumonia. in just one dose. don't get prevnar 20 if you've had a severe

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56 past the hour. attorneys for george floyd's family have sent kanye west a cease and desist letter after they questioned the cause of floyd's death. play plan to sue for over $250 million. ye falsely suggested floyd's death was due to fentanyl use and not by derek chauvin who

knelt on floyd's neck for more than nine minutes and convicted of murder. the episode of the podcast is no longer available on the group's youtube page. joining us now is jacob ward. good morning, explain this case to us. >> well, jose, it is a very notable case. not just because of the amount of money the family is asking for, attorneys for george floyd's daughter saying yesterday in a statement they'll be filing for $250 million because of what they call harassment, misappropriation, and emotional distress inflicted on that daughter. but i think what's very interesting about this, jose, is the name that is not on the statement and that is alex jones. when i spoke to attorneys for george floyd's brother yesterday, they talked to me about how alex jones is essentially established a new precedent for a case like this. in the past it's been very difficult to get anything like an emotional distress case across a certain legal line and you cannot defame the dead under

u.s. law. but the fact that alex jones is facing more than a billion dollars in penalties for having openly basically harassed and drawn his followers into harassing the families of the victims of sandy hook is part of how that verdict came down against him. now attorneys for the george floyd family seem to be looking at that and saying we might have a shot at something similar. that's why that statement is full of mentions of kanye west by promoting his brand by this, seeking to profit from false statements. it makes it an interesting new precedent we could see for cases going forward. >> jacob ward, thank you so much. now to history being made. the u.s. mint announcing the first asian american will appear on u.s. currency. starting on monday, quarters will go into circulation with chinese american actress anna

may wong. her appearance is part of a program that includes other notable women on american quarters. that wraps up the hour for me. i'm "jose diaz-balart reports." you can always reach me on twitter and instagram at jdbalart. thank you for the privilege of your time. alex witt picks up with more news right now. good morning to all of you. i'm alex witt in new york. iran martial law in ukraine. that's coming from vladimir putin in the four regions that he has illegally annexed. it's part of the latest escalation of russia's war in ukraine that includes evacuations in some areas. more strikes across that country today. in the last few hours, our team in kyiv reported loud booms in ukraine's capital and kyiv's mayor