right now on "andrea mitchell reports," president

biden heading home after meeting with allies from european nations, bordering ukraine and russia and slamming vladimir putin's decision to suspend the new s.t.a.r.t. nuclear agreement. >> reaction to putin saying he is pulling out of s.t.a.r.t.? >> i don't have time. >> no time? >> no. it's a big mistake. president putin with china's top diplomat. they are considering providing russia with weapons for the war. joining me, samantha power about the humanitarian crisis from the war in ukraine and the earthquake zones in turkey and syria. this hour, stunning new comments from the georgia special grand jury foreperson about their recommendations. do they foreshadow potential

criminal indictments against the trump inner circle or even the former president? >> are there bombshells of who is -- >> i don't think that there are any giant plot twists coming. i would not expect you to be too shocked, no. >> that includes of the former president? >> potentially. >> blayne alexander joining us as former president trump criticizes the biden administration's response to the railroad issues. good day. i'm andrea mitchell in washington. president biden completing his trip overseas today following his dramatic surprise visit to kyiv on monday, a speech in

warsaw yesterday, confronting vladimir putin. today, meeting with the bucharest nine, nine leaders of the eastern european nations who have stood strongly against russian aggression. >> today as we approach the one-year anniversary of russia's further invasion, it is more important we continue to stand together. as nato's eastern flank, you are the front lines of our collective defense. you know better than anyone what's at stake in this conflict. >> joining me now, nbc chief white house correspondent kristin welker in warsaw and richard engel in eastern ukraine. the big headline today is the quick response that the president gave the press pool on putin's suspended russia involvement in s.t.a.r.t. for those who may not have picked it up, it was quick and off mike. bring us up to date. >> reporter: that's right, andrea. this is the first time we are getting president biden's reaction to that dramatic

announcement by president putin that he is suspending russia's participation in the s.t.a.r.t. treaty with the u.s. the president calling that a, quote, big mistake. this comes as you pointed out as he was meeting with the bucharest nine, that group of key allies in the region. they have a personal interest in russia's aggression given their proximity to russia. it's worth noting the group was formed in 2015 when russia invaded crimea for this very reason, to solidify and to unify in the face of russian aggression. this makes diplomacy with russia as the war in ukraine enters its second year that much more challenging. the fact that putin has taken this step as it relates to the new s.t.a.r.t. treaty. the rhetoric not helping. one of the top officials in russia threatening the potential use of nuclear weapons. a white house official telling me, quote, russia's rhetoric around the potential use of

nuclear weapons remains as unwarranted as it is irresponsible. the official adding that the president remains focused on unifying around and helping ukraine in this conflict. that is the messaging. another data point that we are watching, something you and i have been reporting on throughout the night, the fact that u.s. officials now tell us that russia alerted the u.s. that it was test firing an intercontinental ballistic missile before president biden's trip to ukraine. it is believed that that test was not successful. u.s. officials stressing they did not see that as a threat to the u.s. it's fairly routine. nonetheless, the timing not insignificant. president biden left just moments ago, departing poland. worth noting, he did lose his footing as he was boarding air force 1. quickly regained it, walked up the steps. he is heading back to washington. back to the united states. on the heels of this critical diplomatic trip.

>> during this trip, of course, we see wang ye in moscow. this does mark a potential pivot. china seems to be, first of all, telling us in munich that they have a peace plan they will unveil, which would certainly be helpful to russia because russia has been talking about peace but every time they try to have a diplomatic talk with vladimir putin, it was clear his envoys had no running room at all to negotiate on anything and that they weren't serious. the fact that we might have a xi visit to moscow. the fact the u.s. is warning, as you know, that there might be weapons to help rearm russia, specifically against what president biden personally told president xi a year ago march would be what approaches a red line.

>> reporter: that's absolutely right. of course, the united states is viewing any potential meeting between president putin and president xi with skepticism given the warnings by the setting of state that they believe that china is considering giving lethal aid to russia. that would be a major escalation. of course, the secretary of state telling chuck on "meet the press" there would be serious consequences for such a move. not giving any details. we have been pressing for them. what would those consequences look like? >> they have started briefing the allies on this this weekend in munich. i have been asking why they can't make some of this declassified and have it go public as well. richard engel, you have the best possible vantage point on the battlefield and what ukraine needs and what would be the impact of china rearming russia at this pivotal point.

>> reporter: it would be very significant. andrea, the real elephant in the room here that we have not talked about over the last year is the role of china. russia doesn't have very many backers in the war against ukraine. it has quite a few that support it from afar that are sitting on the fence, that are not voicing opinions, all across africa, latin america, india is sitting it out. it doesn't have very many supporters. is china changing its position and fulfilling a promise that was signed right before the war promising limitless cooperation? if you look back at the history of what has happened over the last year,ferential to china. he went to china during the olympics. he waited to launch his invasion until the olympic games in china were over so that he wouldn't overshadow the chinese leadership and the chinese event. then launched the war.

over the course of the war, russia has lost many, many troops, over 100,000 some estimates close to 200,000, significant casualties. now, like ukraine, russia is running low on ammunition. that was a statement today from the head of ukrainian intelligence, that russia is working overtime to produce ammunition. are we really seeing china intervening so that it can help russia turn the tide of the war? or does china have a different agenda and now we are entering the realm of analysis? does china want to see russia continue to be weakened, does it want to see russia become more dependent upon china? if you look at the historic role, the soviet union used to dominate over china and dominated the asian continent. now it's very much china with putin having weakened russia and turned it more or less into a

chinese gas station. >> there's other analysis that suggests that china wants to prop russia up because they like to tie us down as the main supporter and the head of the coalition helping to arm ukraine. so there are all kinds of perm >> and the ammunition. >> exactly. this is transformative. >> reporter: every round the united states -- we have a delay. sorry about that. >> go ahead. >> reporter: i was saying, to go to your point, others say that china is happy to sit back, support russia just enough so that it stays in the protracted war with the united states, that

the united states and nato deplete a lot of their ammunition, don't have the same manufacturing base that china does and that each round fired in the ukraine is one less round that could be used to defend taiwan. many different calculations. perhaps this is a bluff by china that he is trying to bring the two sides to the elusive cease-fire. the chinese role in all of this is still mysterious but pivotal. >> apologies for the satellite delay, richard. i look forward to the time when we can do this around the same table. one part of the world or another. thanks to both of you. as part of our special coverage of the war in ukraine one year later, richard engel will show us the ordinary civilians who joined an underground resistance to liberate kherson. watch it friday at 10:00 p.m. on msnbc and streaming on peacock.

joining me now, illinois democratic congressman mike quigley. thanks, congressman. you can see that a lot of us are focused on the u.s. warning china against supplying russia with lethal aid. that's what i was focused on among other things in munich this weekend. will they heed the message? if they don't on what the white house might respond to, because president biden was very explicit with president xi last march saying, after his embrace of putin, you better not rearm them. of course, they violated sanctions. arming them would take this to a different level. right? >> absolutely. your previous guest was talking about the mystery of what china is doing. i think it's contradictory. this isn't the first time putin and the russians have evoked the nuclear threat.

earlier nuclear weapons being used in this conflict. at that time, china pulled away and discouraged this publically. at the same time, recently, the u.s. and chinese president met. secretary blinken finally met with his counterpart. the balloon takes place. then this remark. which china are we dealing with? what are they trying to do? it's something we have to sort out pretty quickly. >> do you think there will be votes within the house in the new republican majority to continue funding ukraine? you have money in the supplemental to the end of the year or just about in september. there's going to be big needs for the military going forward. this war is not ending any time soon. >> no, it's not. the u.s. army just announced a 500% increase, a plan to build artillery shells. this isn't going away.

it's going to get complicated. i think the opposition in congress can be overstated. 11 fringe members of the far, far right put out a resolution talking about ending this conflict or our funding for this conflict. i think it's more valuable to heed the words of chairman turner, very influential in the republican caucus, very powerful. talking about ongoing support for this conflict. my bipartisan trip to kyiv last july seemed to show that sort of support. i haven't heard anything from those who have traveled there other than ongoing support as the president talked about yesterday. >> we had the chairman of the intelligence committee on this program on friday in munich. i'm wondering whether you think that now this warning about china possibly going to -- up to

the line and maybe crossing the line of arming russia, whether some of that intelligence which has been briefed to the allies as i understand it, should be shared with the american people, should be declassified in coming days, as they did with the intelligence before the invasion? >> i thought the use of intelligence before the invasion on a public basis was a master stroke. it took putin's feet out from underneath him and made it more difficult for him to put false flags out there, for example. but every time we do that, there is an extraordinary risk involved, as you are aware. our sources and methods are important, not just for their own sake but for ongoing abilities to keep us informed and protect those who help our country and keep us safe. it's a tough balance. i think we probably classify way too much information. but on this one, it's going to be a test of that balance and keeping us safe into the future.

>> congressman, i haven't had a chance to thank you personally, because of travel. but i was in the ukrainian village in chicago the weekend before last and saw the extraordinary work of the st. nicholas cathedral and school and interviewed people there. you are -- they are grateful to you for everything you have done for the ukrainian refugees. i wanted to publically thank you. >> you know, when you travel there and you visit, this is very real. for them, it's not something they see on tv. it's texts and emails and calls they get from their friends and family and the suffering taking place. for example, when the maternity hospital was flattened and pregnant women and babies were pulled from the rubble, these were people they knew. it keeps us inspired and motivated to continue the fight. >> it's a real public service. thanks to you. >> thank you. no giant plot twists. the georgia special grand jury's

foreperson delivering a rare window into the panel's recommendations for indictments on election interference as donald trump strikes back. that's next on "andrea mitchell reports," only on msnbc. mara, are you sure you don't want -to go bowling with us tonight? -yeah. no. there's my little marzipan! [ laughs ] oh, my daughter gives the best hugs! we're just passing through on our way to the jazz jamboree. [ imitates trumpet playing ] and we wanted to thank america's number-one motorcycle insurer -for saving us money. -thank you.

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the foreperson of the fulton county, georgia, special grand jury investigating possible 2020 election interference is speaking for the first time. in her first television interview, she tells blayne alexander the grand jury recommended indictments for more than a dozen people. >> reporter: did the grand jury recommend an indictment of former president trump? >> i'm not going to speak on exact indictments. >> reporter: would we be surprised? are there bombshells of who is -- >> i don't think that there are any giant plot twists coming. i don't think there are any

giant -- that's not the way i expected had to go at all. i don't think that's in store for anyone. >> reporter: nothing that would surprise people who have been following this? >> probably not. i wouldn't want to characterize anyone else's reaction, of course. >> we should note, there needs to be another regular grand jury before any indictments can take place and the d.a. will decide whether to follow any recommendations from either. in the last hour, former president trump weighing in posting on truth social, quote, now you have an extremely energetic young woman doing a media tour revealing incredibly the grand jury's inner workings and court. george has special rules. we don't normally see grand jury conversations. this is a state grand jury with its own rules.

joining me now, blayne alexander, who conducted that extraordinary interview. it was a beautiful job. we were gripped by it. also with us, philip rucker and barbara mcquade. tell us more about the foreperson and why emily talked to you and what she said. >> reporter: andrea, thank you so much. this was a very interesting, fascinating interview. we talked for 45 minutes. a couple of things stood out. one, it was very clear she was kind of trying to walk a fine line. she wanted to talk, wanted to share information. she also wanted to very much comply with the judge's order that deliberations remain under wraps. you could her choosing her words carefully. i learned more about emily herself. she told me that she's 30 years

old. she volunteered to be foreperson. she wasn't assigned. she volunteered. you could tell she was really excited to be part of the process. it's something she expressed several times. she called it -- felt a sense of duty. she did grasp the severity and the depth of this entire process. also was somebody who seemed to be excited about meeting some of the more high profile members of the people -- witnesses who were brought in. a couple of things. she didn't vote in 2016 or 2020, which i found interesting. but is very interested in the justice process as a whole. >> she was candid about some of the witnesses. talk to us about that. she didn't seem to have followed the 2020 campaign. so she was -- had fresh eyes on people like rudy giuliani and

lindsey >> reporter: she confirmed mark meadows came in and testified and people we didn't know before. i asked her about ry giuliani. she said his testimony struck him as truthful. here is more about what she had to say about his testimony in particular. >> he would consider. there would be a question and he would go -- he would think about it before he asserted privilege. that, to me, meant a lot. you are not just blindly, the fifth, the fifth. at some point you are not listening. you know what i mean? you are just saying the fifth. no. he was genuinely considering each of his answers. >> reporter: did it strike you, when you heard from him, did it strike you as truthful testimony? >> yes. yes, it did.

>> reporter: that was her take on rudy giuliani's testimony. she gave a window into mark meadows. she said he didn't share much. said that testimony lasted about 90 minutes. a lot of interesting insight there. >> phil, what new information did you pick up? you followed this closely. >> andrea, she didn't fully disclose who the grand jury recommended be indicted. she seemed to shed a little more light on the scope of indictments and the range of possible charges beyond just perjury. remember, we got a few pages of the grand jury's report that were publically released last week that made clear that they recommended charges. of course, we don't know who they are recommending the district attorney bring charges against. >> barbara, as a former prosecutor and law professor, is this a prosecutor's nightmare? she's describing rudy giuliani

and lindsey graham as truthful and engaging witnesses. couldn't that influence things down the road? >> yes. as a former prosecutor, i find it horrifying watching that clip of the interview. it made me twitchy. in the end, it's likely not to cause a serious problem for the investigation because of the structure of the grand jury in georgia. this is only a recommending grand jury and a new and separate grand jury will make decisions about charges. it can be cured with that process. i think it created problems. i think there's a potential that future jurors may be tainted by what she had to say publically. it's going to make voir dire more difficult. you will have to ask whether they heard this and were influenced by it in any way. i think that although she appears to have followed the letter of the rule by not divulging deliberations, she divulged a lot of other things that the secrecy process is

designed to protect. the identity of the witnesses, what they said, their credibility, protecting the reputation of people who are under investigation. i think that even if she didn't violate the letter of the rule, she violated the spirit of it. most importantly, she revealed some things that could be perceived as improper. she revealed she obtained a ninja turtle popsicle at an ice cream party thrown by the d.a.'s office. if they are socializing, this is a wake-up call to get the prosecutors in line and make sure they are treating grand jurors with appropriate professional arm's length. >> that's so interesting. phil, listen to what she had to say about lindsey graham. i want to ask you about this. >> reporter: senator lindsey graham, what was his demeanor like? >> he was personable. he was forthcoming.

he was very willing to just have a conversation. i can't characterize someone else's honesty, but he seemed honest. he seemed like -- i really liked him. i really liked talking to him. >> you know, lindsey graham tried everything to avoid having to testify using the speech and debate clause, congressional clause to say that constitutionally he could not be subpoenaed. clearly, his personality won over this grand juror. >> yeah. he is an engaging person. i can see why the jurors would enjoy talking to him. but this is a criminal proceeding. they are supposed to be making judgments about the witnesses based on the facts and the body of evidence that's been presented in front of this grand jury and gathered by this grand jury through these interviews. it's pretty striking to see the forewoman comment on his personality and demeanor devoid

of the facts of the case. >> it's all pretty extraordinary, barbara. i share all of your concerns when i first saw this. blayne alexander, the way you handled it was truly neutral. thank you for sharing it with us. >> reporter: thank you. the outrage in ohio. epa investigates digging into what caused the derailment and the toxic chemical spill. donald trump is arriving there today. will he explain his rollbacks of safety and regulations? you are watching "andrea mitchell reports." this is msnbc. ll reports." this is msnbc. no. he's making real-time money moves with merrill. so no matter what the market's doing, he's ready. and that's... how you collect coins. your money never stops working for you with merrill, a bank of america company. subway keeps upping their game with the subway series. an all-star menu of delicious subs.

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former president trump is on his way to ohio right now as the epa orders norfolk southern to pay for the cleanup of the chemicals nearly three weeks ago. trump plans to donate cleaning supplies and water while ech administration's response. the trump administration rolled

back safeguards. one of the safeguards was an obama-era proposal requiring faster brakes on trains that carry highly flammable materials. we are learning in the last few minutes, transportation secretary pete buttigieg will travel there tomorrow. joining us now is ron allen. you have been there from the beginning. you have been talking to these people. they are increasingly suspicious of what they are being told about the air, water, ground. >> reporter: they are. they are here, very happy to see donald trump coming to town. this is a county that he won by 70%. there's a lot of support for him. a lot of people standing here on the street corners. we are down the street from a fire department where we believe the former president is going to deliver some remarks. his schedule has been kept very quiet. we don't know exactly where he

is going and what he is doing. the streets here are getting busy with people coming out to support him. they are critical of the biden administration. there are people who will tell you the federal government has let them down, even when you point out that the epa administrator was here and said they were here from day one. that is the thinking of many people here who are gathering for this event to see former president trump. yes, across town there are a lot of people -- we hear people complaining about health issues that either started back when the derailment happened and the controlled release of toxic chemicals or still to this present day. there's a lot of concern still as well about what's going to happen in the years to come down the road. a lot of anticipation of president trump here coming. we know secretary -- transportation secretary pete buttigieg is coming tomorrow. a lot of attention focused on the town. people are happy about that now and worry about what might

happen in the weeks and months ahead and whether it will be forgotten or the promises people are making will be followed through on. >> ron allen, all the action will be later today. thank you. the crisis zones. the u.s. taking a leading role in aiding ukraine, turkey and syria as the war and this month's earthquakes creating challenges. former u.n. ambassador samantha power joining me next on her agency's efforts to provide help where needed. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. hellc you can get your dream sofa for half the price. wayfair. it's always a big deal. ♪ wayfair, you've got just what i need ♪ [♪♪] 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

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samantha power has traveled to ukraine, meeting with president zelenskyy and the people and the aid groups, surveying the destruction, and talking with refugees. joining me now is samantha power, the former u.s. ambassador to the u.n. thank you so much for being with us. there's so much on your plate. you have been traveling nonstop for the last year or more. russia has been attacking, as you know, energy infrastructure in ukraine, using food as a weapon. these are war crimes. how can ukraine's people survive this long war now going into the second year? it's a war of attrition. i know we are helping. but fundamentally, the need is enormous. >> i think putin's calculation, of course, invading ukraine a year ago in the first place was this would be a cakewalk, that he and his proxies would be in

control of kyiv and control the whole country within a matter of days. here we are a year later, and putin has achieved the opposite of what he set out to achieve. he tried to divide nato. nato is more united than ever, is going to grow. the effects in russia proper of this war have been devastating, not least in terms of human life and the enormous number of russian casualties. as it relates to winter and energy and your question, it's the same version on the theme. he went into the winter wanting to weaponize the cold, wanting actually to imbed as part of his military strategy the destruction of critical energy infrastructure. the united states government has leapt in to provide everything from pipes to boilers to even, quite recently, a substation that powers 100,000 homes. our effort has been to keep up with this campaign of destruction, and the

temperatures will get warmer soon. i can't say the worst is behind the people of ukraine, because every day is a day in which the savage methods are employed. but i think just as putin has done consistently, these attacks are so brutal and grotesque that they have also had the perverse affect of strengthening unity. it's not just u.s. aid providing the support, helping repair pipes, bringing homes back online, providing heating. it's much of the democratic world. that's a really important aspect of this one-year anniversary is to take note of how rare that is actually in international conflicts that you can sustain this level of support. it is because of the manifest unjustness and brutality of this conflict imposed by putin. >> how do you convince the american people the importance of keeping u.s. aid going, keeping the assistance going as you now have a more skeptical

house majority, at least some members? you have to deal with that and the state department budget after this year's appropriations, starting next year. >> well, at the end of last year, of course, not only was the regular budget approved, which provides really important support for our efforts around the world, including to continue to be the world's number one humanitarian donor to deal with things like the risk of famine in the horn of africa, floods in pakistan, the earthquake we didn't, of course, know was coming but that we have been managing in turkey and syria. we have been provided generous support. that's going to carry us through much of the year. there was a supplemental passed, which is where we are able to provide up to $10 billion in direct budget support to the ukrainian government to keep the lights on for much of this year. the other thing i would say is

notwithstanding the vocal minority that's out there, of course, may be questioning some of the assistance, you see strong support in the polls. there was a poll taken last week by gallup that shows 65% of american adults favor continuing providing support to ukraine to resist this aggression, even if it means that the war drags on, or even in the face of a longer conflict. you actually still see a very sturdy foundation here. it's because of the justice of the cause and the recognition of what it would mean to walk away from providing this support when a country was minding its own business and attacked like this and what it would mean for putin and his sense of impunity to do other reckless and deadly things. >> of course, a major effort by the u.s., the u.n., by you and others to unlock the embargo on grain getting out through the black sea.

turkey was helpful. this is a continuing issue. there is less food around the world, especially in africa. china is competing with us and despite nato support and european support for the war, we are facing india, china, brazil and other countries much less supportive. larger populations are not siding with us. china and russia are making inroads. how do we compete there? >> i think we can disaggregate some of the aspects of what you described. it's essential that china not provide lethal support to russia. we have seen worrying signs in that direction, and that is absolutely imperative. that would be catastrophic for china's standing in much of the developing world, because there is broad recognition of who the aggressor is and who is at fault in this conflict, even if russian intimidation tactics occasionally can cause people to

want to sit out a hard vote. the vote has been overwhelming, including from the global cell. when it comes to grain, food prices go up everywhere when there's less grain on the market. actually, it was voices from that of prime minister modi to brazilian officials that convinced putin to allow some of the grain to leave. unfortunately, russia has begin the slow roll, exit of the grain and basically do fewer inspections, it is costing ships and they idle in port, $20,000 a day. ukrainian farmers earn less money and have to invest more in terms of input and transport. ultimately, that's going to affect how much grain gets produced and how much is on the open market. we are involved in a big diplomatic push along with the u.n. turkey has been a key partner in the push but has its hands full dealing with the heartbreak that

has occurred in the wake of the earthquake. the renewal of the black sea grain initiative so-called, is coming up. it's critical that more ships be allowed to leave and more grain brought on the open market. as you note, the effect on global food prices, wheat prices in particular, which so many developing country -- the developing countries rely on. >> you were welcoming home searchers who had gone to the earthquake zones. what can you tell us about this catastrophe and how they can rebuild and refugee camps who had no housing? >> well, i think the viewers have seen the images out of turkey and read the stories. we know for every unbelievable miracle of a rescue that occurred late last week, all of the people that weren't rescued because they were killed as soon as the earthquake struck or

because even with all of the outpouring of rescue support, just the scope of the earthquake was like nothing turkey or syria had seen. to say a word about the rescuers, because i think i take tremendous pride in leading an agency that sends these search and rescue teams out when an earthquake strikes, this team that i greeted whether they came back was based in fairfax, virginia. they answer the call when it comes. haiti, turkey, you name it. to see the families greet their loved ones to know what ambassadors they are for the compassion of the american people and the confidence was heartwarming. it doesn't divert from the tragedy that unfolded. we are in it for the long haul. >> ambassador samantha power, thank you. you are traveling to these crisis zones and bringing u.s.

aid and we appreciate it. >> thank you. the record breakers. two extreme weather patterns. hot temperatures in the south and historic blizzards. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" on msnbc. this® boxing class. thank you aetna. yeah? well, i'm loving that zero dollar monthly plan premium. thank you, aetna. ah-ha. smartest move we ever made. well, it sure is. and by the way did you finally make that appointment with your dentist? i sure did. gotta keep this million dollar smile. if you're turning 65, call 1-888-65-aetna to learn about the benefits you may want. and let's make healthier happen together. think he's posting about all that ancient roman coinage? no. he's making real-time money moves with merrill. so no matter what the market's doing, he's ready. and that's... how you collect coins.

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learn how abbvie could help you save on botox®. ♪♪ the only thing i regret about my life was hiring local talent. if i knew about upwork. i would have hired actually talented people from all over the world. instead of talentless people from all over my house. a tale of two countries today with an historic winter storm expected. well, for the south it's a february heat wave, across the south things are heating up from texas to washington, d.c., where records could be met or broken this week. in the twin cities of minneapolis and st. paul, there could be as much as two feet of snow. drivers already being warned to slow down and play it safe. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in minneapolis. >> the twin cities now bracing for one of their top five snow storms ever.

overnight, we got snow from that fist wave of this winter storm. just several inches here, about 3 to 5, but we're expecting a second, much more intense wave starting this afternoon and contining through tomorrow. that could bring more than a foot of snow in this part of minnesota. other parts could see up to 2 feet of snow. the national weather service saying this could be potentially historic, even for a region that is used to wicked weather. the governor here in minnesota has issued executive emergency orders putting the national guard on standby, and local officials are urging people to stay indoors because travel across much of minnesota over the next day or so could be impossible. now, we're already seeing significant weather impacting other parts of the country, more than a thousand flights have been canceled just today, and that number is expected to grow in the coming hours. parts of california are also dealing with significant weather

events, not far from los angeles. there are blizzard warnings in effect, and overnight, hundreds of thousands of people lost power because of a high wind event there. other parts of the upper midwest and also places like montana, north dakota dealing with treacherous icy conditions, all the while southern states are dealing with near or record temperatures across much of the south. so incredibly wild weather this week. again, here in minnesota, the worst forecasters say is yet to come. over the next few hours, we're expecting the winds to intensify up to 40 miles an hour gusts hear, and we're expecting much more snow that should continue well into tomorrow. back to you. >> gabe gutierrez, thank you, and so let's get a forecast now from bill karins. bill, give us the bad news. >> bad or good, you're going to have your air conditioner on tomorrow in d.c. it's wild. let's get to the bad stuff. now we're at the peak of this massive winter storm, it's

massive in size and intensity. the freezing rain, no one wants to be in freezing rain. you don't want to lose power when it's cold and wet outside. you don't want to drive in it either, slip and falls on the sidewalks and driveways, sending people to the hospital. that's likely from areas north of chicago towards milwaukee up to madison is and all through the southern half of michigan. we've also got a nasty mess of snow, then sleet changing the rain through central pennsylvania. that's treacherous driving too. and that will be heading through new england in the northeast as we go throughout this evening. here's the ice forecast. when you get above a quarter of an inch of ice on trees, that's when they start to snap and break. this area from ke detroit just north of chicago, those are the greatest areas of concern. as far as how many people are involved in this, california all the way to maine, 72 million people. that's roughly like one out of every four people in the country is under some winter headlines, and the blizzard warnings, the worst of it will be tonight in areas west of minneapolis and through south dakota. the minneapolis forecast, by the

way has come down a little bit. yesterday we were looking at 17, maybe 22 inches of snow. they got 4 with the first batch, at the most they'll end up with 16 inches. still a huge obviously snowstorm for them in one of the biggest that a lot of people will ever remember. you saw how cold it was where gabe was. in the northeast, northern new england will get some snow,ab isolated case of severe storms towards st. louis. we've got it all, record highs, record lows, snow, sleet, freezing rain, there's not much we left out. >> records everywhere, bill karins, thank you. and a postscript, in my interview last friday with vice president harris, i was imprecise in summarizing governor desantis's position about teaching slaveries in schools. governor desantis is not opposed

to teaching the fact of slavery, but he has opposed the teaching of an african american studies curriculum as well as the use of some authors and source materials that historians and teachers say makes it all but impossible for students to understand the broader historic and political context behind slavery and its aftermath in the years since. and that does it for this edition of "andrea mitchell reports". thanks for being with us. follow us online and facebook and on twitter. "chris jansing reports" starts right after this. eports" starts right after this they need windshield wipers, it's not too late for another treatment option. to learn more visit treatted.com. that's treatt-e-d.com. (woman 1) i just switched to verizon business unlimited. it's just right for my little business. unlimited premium data. unlimited hotspot data. (woman 2) you know it's from the most reliable 5g network in america? (vo) when it comes to your business, not all bars are created equal. so switch to verizon business unlimited today.

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