morning. lindsey reiser picks up the coverage right now. good to be you this monday morning. i'm lindsey reiser at msnbc headquarters in new york. tens of millions of americans from coast to coast are waking up to some kind of weather alert after know, wind, even tornadoes. overnight at least nine tornados touched down in oklahoma and kansas, flipping cars, damaging houses and tearing down power lines. some of the wind gusts topped 100 miles an hour. meanwhile, a turbo charged cold front dropped unheard of amounts of snow on southern california in the last few days. mt. balding near downtown los angeles recorded a whopping 3 feet. >> never seen this much snow come down this long, this hard since -- 31 years. >> elsewhere in california, torrential rain led to heart

pounding air rescues like this one captured by the pasadena fire department. thisng an rv plunging into the santa clara river after teetering on the edge of a cliff. we're tracking where it's headed next. a fresh wave of violence across ukraine. overnight russia launching more than a dozen unmanned drones into ukraine exhausting air defenses according to ukrainian officials. now u.s. officials says china is weighing whether to send artillery and ammunition to help russia's campaign. the new response from china this morning. court is back in session in the alex murdaugh double murder trial. after blockbuster testimony from the defendant himself, how soon it could be in the hands of the jury. the extreme weather impacting millions of americans this morning. we're tracking damage in the central u.s. after reports of

several tornadoes touched down in oklahoma overnight. california faces the possibility of more snow. in the aftermath of historic winter weather that brought up to 7 feet along the sierra nevada mountains. nbc's morgan chesky is in norman, oklahoma. mora barrett in california and nbc meteorologist michelle grossman has a look at the threat that remains. morgan, what sort of damage are you seeing? >> reporter: an absolutely terrifying night across oklahoma with this fast-moving storm, unleashing a reported seven tornadoes here, another two in texas. we're seeing the damage firsthand today. debris scattered everywhere on this farm just outside of norman. you can see pieces of a roof thrown up into this tree. walk over here with me, lindsey. we know there are straight line winds topping 100 miles an hour in certain areas. in other areas hit by the tornadoes, officials are still trying to see the power of those winds. but this is the power witnessed

firsthand, lindsey. this was a horse riding arena here on the farm that has been absolutely flattened. scattered like match sticks here. trees knocked down as far as you can see, limbs ripped up. unfortunately, this is an all-too-common sight here particularly in norman, lindsey, from everything we've been hearing. this community took the brunt of this storm that just whipped through last night, unleashing a lot of rain, but devastating winds. officials say 12 people were injured. none of those injuries appear to be life-threatening today, but as the sun has come up today, the damage just heartbreaking to see from this derecho storm which is the straight line storm that all stemmed from the storm in california that dumped feet of snow and all of that rain. this is what it transpired to here in oklahoma where today a lot of folks will be picking up the pieces and see what, if

anything, they can recover here. >> incredible seen. mora, now to you. incredible weird weather already dealing with the impacts of this winter storm. now they could get even more snow. >> reporter: incredibly weird is right, seeing palm trees up against fluffy snow falling through downtown l.a. was an absolutely absorbed sight. if you looked further east near the big bear ski resort, they saw nearly five feet across the span of three days. snowplows working 12-14-hour shifts overnight to try to open the highways closed for the entire of the weekend. you can see people taking advantage in that video of these never-seen-before snowfall in the region. if you looked further north, up in the sierra nevadas, they've seen 10 feet and, pekting even

more. that could break a 40-year record. if you look in downtown l.a. along the rivers we saw over the weekend, torrential downpour where the weather was a little warmer. it wasn't exactly snow, causing all this erosion and mudslides. you saw the video of the rv falling into the river. apparently three rvs fell in that area. so they had to move those rvs further inland. that's the type of rainfall that l.a. needs but has not been used to. the infrastructure and the landscape hasn't been prepared for it. as we look ahead to the next couple days, another blizzard incoming into the sierra nevadas as well, through southern l.a. we could see 3-7 feet up north as well as more rain fall heading into wednesday. >> michelle, help us make sense what we're seeing here. i know here in the northeast we could get our first bit of measurable snow. >> unfortunately the snow in new york city is not going to be the

pretty, fluffy stuff. it will be mixed with sleet, that's later today and into tomorrow. we have a new system coming into the west. that's going to bring feet of snow into the sierra mountains. we're looking at snow and sleet and freezing rain, and even plain rain in portions of the midwest to the great lakes and sneeft. even the threat for severe storms. that would mean we'd be in the ohio valley. so ohio, indiana, illinois. 55 million americans facing a winter alert today. we're looking at winter storm watches and warnings, winter weather advisories. a messy day today and tomorrow, lingering into wednesday for northern new england. you can see on radar it's pretty robust and powerful. the reds, oranges, yellows, that's the heavy rain throughout the great lakes and midwest. then you see the brighter colors, the pinks, the purples, that's where the frozen precipitation is falling. the blue is the snow. a messy commute for many with

ice on the ground, sleet and freezing rain. we could see power outages that won't help the situation. 58 million people impacted from the west into the southwest into portions of the tennessee valley, the ohio valley, into parts of the south as well. we're going to see winds gusting over 55 miles per hour at some point. this is what's going to happen, we have an area of low pressure. it's going to team up with another area of low pressure, bringing the chance of snow and ice stretching from the great lakes into the northeast. lindsey, we're also watching the threat for severe weather. that does include the chance for tornadoes. >> my thanks to all of you. the epa, fema and cdc are now in ohio as health concerns grow for residents near the site of the toxic train derailment. this morning we're hearing from people diagnosed with bronchitis and other conditions that doctors expect are linked to chemical exposure. health and safety worries are spreading beyond east palestine's borders. nbc's george solis is there.

george, some of the hazardous waste is shipped to other cities in ohio. what more can you tell us? >> reporter: good morning, lindsey. the epa over the weekend announced nor foling southern had to pause operations for some of the disposal they were doing at the derailment site. officials in texas say they were blindsided by some of the contaminated water. mind you, they were epa approved but officials felt they should have gotten more notice. the epa yesterday saying the two new sites they're sending this material to are in ohio, one in east liverpool, the other in vickery, ohio. this is where some of the dirt, water and soil will be going to. the epa saying they're looking at more sites, not just in ohio but around the country. we asked them what about the areas this has already been sent to. what about michigan and texas? they're saying they won't accept

more at this time but stressed those were epa-vetted sites. still, officials have concerns. take a listen to what the mayor of east liverpool had to say. >> you can see it from my back yard, and it's literally in some people's back yard. it's definitely a concern. >> not knowing that they're come, which way they're coming, how safe the trucks are that are coming is something that has got us all very, very irritated. >> reporter: that was warren evans, the county executive there in michigan where some of this material was going to. mind you, the ohio epa saying at the derailment site they'll be installing water wells to do further ground testing to see if there's any groundwater contamination. mind you this comes after officials have said repeatedly there is no threat to the public given the testing they've done to the water, air and soil. residents have been skeptical

about all this testing, wondering if there's more testing that needs to be done. the ntsb says all the rail cars have been gone. there's only 11 that remain. these are a part of the ongoing investigation. still, though, residents frustrated and demanding more accountability. >> george solis, thank you so much. for more i want to bring in dan cannon who served as the liaison between the epa and the white house during the bp oil spill. officials are encouraging people to take the questionnaires. is this an adequate response? >> i'm struck listen to your reporter talk about the complication with mish gand and other places accepting the waste itself. it's a reminder for me and for viewers as to how complicated these situations can get when you have contaminated water.

it's very hard to put toothpaste back in the tube. it's an emphasis on the need for prevention and strong safety systems overall. it really is difficult. you've got multiple states in the incidents of pennsylvania and ohio, mao michigan and other places being considered. you have the cdc looking at this data. you're going to have a long time before residents feel fully comfortable. what i would say to the cdc, the epa, any other jurisdictions presenting data to the public, it's important to be thorough, to be transparent, to understand the concerns and have the clear communication. groundwater is obviously a tremendously important resource. you have to take it seriously. i think the government is responding quite effectively. it's complicated. it will take time. i think the disposal site situation is the lester of that. >> these officials in texas and michigan are complaining they weren't warned about the truck

loads of contaminated waste being delivered to their kmurnts. how should something like this be handled? does the transportation and the innate arrival of this material, does this pose a risk? >> i think probably not. you're talking about an epa-approved disposal site and a very tight leash on the company at this point. they have a plan that they've reviewed and approved and every step of the way the government is there to make sure they comply with that plan. if they do not, epa steps in and not only fines the company up to $70,000 per day, but can impose a penalty on three times the cost of any cleanup if they have to take over those duties. there's a lot of oversight at this point in time. however, to the point of the gentleman from michigan, this stuff is scary, and i understand that people want to know what's happening. they want clear communication and transparency. it's very complicated. there's a tension the government

has to deal with, which is an urgency to fix it as fast as they can, rectify concerns, be fully transparent and get the toxic material out there. at the same time you have other communities that also want to know what's going to happen. it's a burden on the government to be fully transparent, to be clear and coordinate with other entities. i think they're doing it. but it's a complicated and difficult task. >> a fine of $75,000 a day, that's fine. if i believe my bronchitis is related to what happened or if i'm a mother and i believe my child's rash is related. what do you say to those people where a fine isn't going to take those away? >> i completely agree. first of all, that $70,000 a day would no way be intended to cover those kind of catastrophic events should they come to pass and hopefully they do not. there are other mechanisms by which there can be litigation and penalties to the company. but no, i think water quality is sacrosanct, the company should

be held to account and more should be done in the long term to ensure this doesn't happen again. >> dan kanninen, thank you so much for joining us. still ahead, we're in south carolina where closing arguments could come in days. did his testimony help or hurt his case? new russian drone strikes overnight in ukraine as the u.s. warns that china is considering sending ammo and artillery to russia. how china is responding. low confidence that covid may have originated from a lab in china. the split this is revealing among our own intel agencies as lawmakers demand investigations. >> i think we need to have public hearings on this and really dig into it. really dig into it s my little m! [ 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

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russia launched a new round of drone strikes overnight, and most were shot down by ukrainian

air defenses. at least two rescue workers were killed in the strikes. meanwhile, china just responded to reports that the chinese are considering supplying russia with artillery and ammunition. nbc's erin mclaughlin is in kyiv, ukraine. also with us, former u.s. ambassador to russia michael mcfaul. erin, talk to us about the drone attacks last night. what do we know? >> reporter: lindsey, that's right. there was a barrage of drone attacks in the overnight hours killing at least two people in the western portion of ukraine, that according to ukrainian officials. they were able to shoot down 11 of the 14 iranian-made drones that had been launched. this as, over the weekend, we've been hearing from ukrainian leadership, president zelenskyy, vowing to reclaim all ukrainian territory saying he wants to put a ukrainian flag in every corner of ukraine and that includes

crimea, a definition of victory that ostensibly the united states supports. u.s. officials saying they're going to support ukrainian victory, whatever ukraine describes it to be. earlier i was speaking to an adviser to president zelenskyy and asked specifically about crimea, whether it was feasible for ukrainians to retake crimea. take a listen to what he had to say. >> saturday realistic for ukraine to take back crimea, given that the russians are thoroughly entrenched. >> translator: -- and lose dozens of thousands of its troops. that's why when i'm asked if something is realistic, i say undoubtedly. >> reporter: now, today all eyes on the russian-occupied port city of mariupol. according to the british ministry of defense, there were at least 14 explosions in that

city unexplained in the last six days. that including a fuel depot as well as the steel works there that the russians use as a military base. the british mod tweeting, quote, russia will likely be concerned that unexplained explosions are occurring in a zone it had probably previously assessed as beyond the range of routine ukrainian strike capabilities. the exiled ukrainian city mariupol confirming the explosions but not specifying what caused them. >> ambassador, last night the attacks were staggered over several hours, part of a tactic to wear out air defenses. can the air defense systems keep up? and if you want also to respond to the gentleman whom erin interviewed who essentially said i want a ukrainian flag staked in every territory including crimea. >> to your first question, can they keep up, yes, but they need

more that's why the west, nato, the united states is giving them more, especially this patriot system that's not there yet but has been pledged. they need more air defenses without question. second, with respect to crimea or not, there's a bit of a confusion i hear when i hear leaders from kyiv including, of course president zelenskyy and the biden administration, everybody says we support territorial integrity of ukraine, the 1991 borders and that includes crimea. but the ukrainians seem a lot more focused on taking crimea than the rest of the outside world. the disconnect comes in the fact that we have not given them the weapons, first and foremost, this long range missile system to try to attack sites inside crimea. i feel a tension there. rhetorically not, behind the scenes yes. >> china accusing the u.s. over

disinformation over warnings it could supply russia with artillery. i want to hear what national security adviser jake sullivan said about those warnings this weekend. >> i think it would alienate them from a number of countries in the world, including our european allies, and it would put them foresquare into the center of responsibility for the kinds of war crimes and bombardments of civilians and atrocities that the russians are committing in ukraine. >> do warnings like this dissuade them? could they? >> i think so. i think it's a statement about how bad u.s.-china relations are that the biden administration feels like they have to disclose intelligence that they have in public settings. the vice president did that at the munich security conference last week. it would be nicer if we could do it behind closed doors. the fact that the chinese are now calling it disinformation i see as a good sign. this would be a radical change in chinese foreign policy for them to send arms to russia

while they're fighting this war. i agree completely with national security adviser jake sullivan. i think they're containing this, the biden administration. like i said, i think it would be better if we could do this behind closed doors. but i think it's achieving the results they want. >> ambassador michael mcfaul, good to talk to you, thank you. >> thank you. new information about the potential origins of the covid-19 pandemic. the energy department has concluded with, quote, low confidence that the pandemic likely originated from a lab leak in china. that's according to two sources with direct knowledge of the classified report that the department hand delivered to the house and senate intelligence commit sees. there are still major disagreements within the intelligence community about the virus' origins with one source saying this new conclusion isn't being viewed as, quote, highly significant. joining us is nbc news and justice correspondent ken

dilanian. break down what this report says and why there's so much disagreement within the intel community. >> good morning. the evidence isn't strong either way. both the intelligence experts and outside scientists studying this question for three years say there isn't strong evidence for either case, either an accidental lab leak that caused this pandemic to october consider or it occurred naturally, that there was transmission from animals to humans. back in 2021 the biden administration released an unclassified intelligence assessment that said four intelligence agencies assessed with low confidence that this virus originated in nature. one, which we later learned was the fbi, express with moderate confidence said it was from a lab leak, and three, so divided that they couldn't issue an assessment either weighment now we have the energy department coming in on the side of a lab leak but with low confidence

which means there are problems with the sourcing or the nature of the intelligence. they're not saying what led them to that conclusion. my sources are telling me it's far from a smoking gun. the real problem here, lindsey, is the chinese government has never been transparent about things that happened around that lab in wuhan where they were studying coronaviruses or the wet market where there were animals. there are plausible theories on both sides of this. the u.s. intelligence community didn't begin spying on chinese scientists early enough. we may never have the answer fully to this question, lindsey. >> ken dilanian, thank you. next we're at the south carolina courthouse where the final witnesses are taking the stands. how soon we could see closing arguments in the high profile case. hundreds of newspapers are removing the comic strip dill bert after contraventional comments from its creator. the mounting fallout this morning. morning.

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investigators several times and to past drug use, but denied killing his wife and son. nbc's ellison barber is outside the courthouse. also joining me is danny seb ballas, criminal defense attorney and msnbc legal analyst. ellison, how soon can we get to closing arguments? >> reporter: it's possible that closing arguments could begin as soon as wednesday. we heard that from the defense and prosecutors this morning in discussions in court with the judge prior to the jury entering the room. the defense says they still plan to wrap their case today. they have a forensic pathologist testifying. they don't know how long the state will take on cross. they say the state has a couple more witnesses they plan to call, the state agreeing with that, both seeming to believe it is plausible they could be beginning closing arguments on wednesday. a witness could go longer than expected and that could change.

some have suggested maybe late tuesday, but most likely they seem to agree that they are on track to begin closing arguments on wednesday. one thing that came up this morning in discussions with the judge is the idea of whether or not the jury should be able to go to the murder scene and see the location of the hunting lodges in comparison to where the actual house was. there was some back and forth discussion on that. if that were to happen, it could add some time to this timeline. but again, we expect the defense to wrap today, looking at potentially seeing closing arguments likely wednesday morning. forensic pathologist on the stand right now, but arguably the biggest witness we have heard from is the defendant himself. he finished testifying on friday. there were a lot of explosive moments in the cross examination as he was taking questions from the state, he talked about what he thinks actually happened that night, who he believes the true killer is. he didn't get into specifics but suggested he thinks it could be some sort of vigilante that had

a vendetta against his son and his family because of that 2019 fatal boat crash that paul murdaugh was driving when 19-year-old mallory beach died. listen. >> i tell you the social media response that came from that was vile, the things that were said about what they would do to paul-paul. they were so over the top that the person or people who did what i saw on june the 7th, they hated paul murdaugh, and they had anger in their heart. >> reporter: the first thing out of the prosecutor's mouth after he made those comments, what evidence of this do you have, lindsey. and they hammered the defendant on that point in what the state thought was a ridiculous question. >> let's talk about what

everybody else is talking about, letting the jury see the property of mozelle. >> judges hate jury visits. they're basically field trips. you've got to get a big yellow school bus. everyone has to get on and go there. i asked for quite a few jury visits, i've had 0.0 of them granted. in a high-profile case, you might see a different result. judges have a lot of discretion here. if i were betting on it, i would say the odds are no way on the jury visit. in a high-profile case, anything is possible. >> let's talk about closing arguments and what approach you think they can take. there have been moments when the jury has been bored. a lot of financial crimes that maybe have gone over the heads. who knows, in terms of motive, you say that could potentially with a reach. what are you expecting in the final days? >> every jury gets bored. they get bored any time there's financial evidence, whether a white collar case or a case like this.

no surprise there. i get bored during the introduction of financial crime evidence. it can be really boring. so look for the state to suddenly pivot away from this whole financial motive, pressure, i killed my wife and son because my walls closing in on me. if they have access to social media like you and i do, they're probably hearing and seeing what a lot of people have been saying which is this is a tough pill to swallow, that anybody would kill their wife and son to deflect away the pressure from pending financial prosecution. so you look for them to instead pivot away i feel like they already did it by hammering home his addiction and the fact that the evidence shows he was the only guy there so far. there's no evidence pointing to any other person being there. you might see them in the closing say, okay, financial crimes, but also he's a drug addict and he's a liar. data shows that he was the only person there minutes before the shooting. guess what else he lied about? being there.

>> let's put up -- i believe we have a graphic of some of the inconsistencies we've seen from murdaugh. it really just boils down to what you just said, three minutes before the murders, he was there. >> those are great bullet points. you look at stealing millions from clients and law partners, the state should focus on that a little in closing, but hit the fact that this is a man who has lied any time it suits him, including about where he was minutes before these shootings take place. he lies to get what he wants. by the way, do you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, think for a minute if we hadn't proven his life with the data and the onstar and the gps, and all the other things he didn't think about, the snapchat video, do you think he would have gotten on the stand? no. he would have let that lie lay.

look for that kind of argument. >> a different story until about five days ago. danny cevallos, ellison barber, thank you so much. now the backlash after comments of a popular comic dilbert. major papers have decided to pull the long-running comic strip denouncing creator scott adams for what they call racist and discriminatory statements. joining me is emilie ikeda. >> dilbert appeared in more than 2,000 newspapers worldwide. now its readers are rapidly dwindling. a swift and sweeping response to creator scott adams' comments that included labeling black people as a hate group. this morning hundreds of newspapers are stripping their pages of the widely syndicated comic dilbert after this live stream by creator scott at dams. >> if nearly half of all blacks

are not okay with white people according to this poll, not according to me, according to this poll, that's a hate group. that's a hate group. >> reporter: adams renchsing a recent poll during his youtube show wednesday and taking aims at black americans who disagree with the statement it's okay to be white, a hate slogan used by white supremacists according to the anti-defamation league. >> the best advice i would give to white people is get the hell away from black people. >> reporter: now dropped by a growing number of publications including "the new york times" and "the washington post" denouncing his comments as racist and promoting segregation. >> my reputation for the rest of my life is destroyed. >> reporter: after a barrage of tweets and multiple live streams, adams doubling down on his comments again on sunday. >> including the cancellations, this was all predictable, and i knew it when i said it, and i

was okay with it. >> reporter: the 65-year-old says the media took his words out of context and he was only advising people to avoid hate. now catching the attention of billionaire elon musk who tweeted the media is racist. >> are we sticking with our ban on useless greetings? >> yes. >> reporter: despite his highly successful comic, he's been no strange to controversy. months ago the "san francisco chronicle" stopped carrying dill best after his work made fun of reparations for african americans. >> newspapers have an opportunity right now to show who they want to talk to in this country, and i hope they think long and hard and pick the right ones. >> over might the company who distributes dilbert saying they're severing their relationship with adams. as for the cartoonist himself,

he said he'll liking lose income as a result of the comments that he continues to stand by. out of the shadows and into the partisan light. the new move by governor ron desantis with 2024 white house implications. what former vice president pence is saying about jumping into the presidential primary and how he's breaking further with his former boss and potential rival donald trump. oss and potential donald trump taking the shawl o. okay i did it. is he looking at my hairline? my joint pain isn't too bad. well, it wasn't this morning. i hope i can get through this. is plaque psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis making you rethink your everyday choices? otezla is a pill, not a cream or injection that can help people with plaque psoriasis achieve clearer skin. otezla is also proven to reduce joint swelling, tenderness, and pain in psoriatic arthritis. and no routine blood tests required. don't use otezla if you're allergic to it. serious allergic reactions can happen.

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from florida, now an msnbc political analyst. ron desantis's advisers say he's folk ud on florida, you say his shadow white house campaign is becoming more visible how so? >> reporter: think of it as walking and governing at the same time, all while chewing gum. for desantis, we're watching him build out a campaign apparatus, talking with donors -- for example, they had a retreat in his home state of florida, in palm beach this weekend, about 150 of their closest friends. then, of course, he's also taking the show on the road with a book tour happening over the course of this week and next week but also with stops we've seen him make to certain law enforcement groups in new york and chicago, playing that national politics game even as, you're right, advisers and people close to desantis have told me repeatedly he's focused on the governing legislative

session that's going to start in march in florida. for desantis, he's trying to make it that florida is the blueprint of what you get out of desantis leadership. it's the small example of how he wants to launch a more national campaign. all the legislating done so far, certainly that will be done this session. it all lends to the larger narrative of the he runs for president which, as i've been having conversations with people close to him, is probably not going to happen until summer. the month i keep hearing is june. even that is a little slippery if they want to wait. it's not a matter of imminent for desantis. he has work to do at home before he does anything. >> desantis is seen as the biggest threat to former president trump. there are folks that don't like trump and aren't sold on desantis either. you and i have talked many, many times and you have always said people want somebody who is trumpian but isn't trump. is he the guy? >> i think certainly he looks like it today. to ali's point, what the

legislative session in florida will provide him -- and that willnd in may, conveniently leading to a june announcement as ali is reporting, it provides a platform to further the trump-like governance style you'll see from desantis, more culture wars, more attacks on the media, frankly, going after some liability provisions that protect media. you'll see him move to loosen gun laws, remarkedly in florida going to permitless carry. the session will provide a trump-like platform. what you'll see that's difference than trump is an organization that will be a juggernaut. he's doing everything right to build out a massive organization you'll expect from a front-runner, like in 2000 when george bush 43, it almost looked like a coronation. that's what ron desantis is trying to strike here with the book tour and the speaking tour and the meetings with bill nairs. he's trying to show it's me and everybody else in this field.

>> a coronation, inevitablity. let's talk about mike pence, you sat down with him and he gave an idea on when he could make a decision on a white house run. >> reporter: this is the first time we've heard the unofficial vp say what his unofficial deadline is in making a decision to run for president. this is what he told me. watch. >> i do think we have time. the american people know me. they know the pence family. oh, i think by the spring our family expects to have a very clear sense of our calling. >> reporter: that puts him in the lineup of people where trump and nikki haley are already in the field. it means pence is likely to announce if he's going to run for president prior to desantis. in the interview he also was going after desantis on foreign policy. we're seeing the fissures form.

>> david, is pence a juggernaut? does he have a path to the white house? >> he's not. very interestingly, like nikki haley, everybody is looking for a way to overtake ron desantis, not donald trump. it's still a republican primary where you can't take on donald trump head on. there's no path to victory for a republican taking on the former president. ron desantis makes an appropriate foil. nikki haley says his don't say gay bill didn't go far enough. mike pence is challenging him on ukraine and foreign policy. mike pence has a tie to the evangelical movement. if he gets in and wants to try to court and shore up evangelical support, that's a strong constituency in today's republican party. >> ali vitali and former congressman david jolly, thank you both so much more 2024 news this morning. michigan's elissa slotkin is running for senate.

the democratic congresswoman announced her bid earlier today, highlighting her service in the cia and track record in national security. next, stuck on earth. what caught spacex and nasa to scrub a mission launch moments before taking off. a curveball for america's past time, the new rules complicating spring training and changing the game a month before baseball season officially starts. baseball season officially starts >> nice and big. >> you like this? this is a good thing? >> yeah. hopefully it cones more of the old-school-type baseball. the old-school-type baseball can mak. now ports can know where every piece of cargo is. and where it's going. (dock worker) right on time. (vo) robots can predict breakdowns and order their own replacement parts. (foreman) nice work. (vo) and retailers can get ahead of the fashion trend of the day with a new line tomorrow. with a verizon private 5g network, you can get more agility and security.

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forced spacex to call off the overnight attempt to launch four astronauts to the international space station. the scrub as you saw there it was called with just minutes remaining until liftoff from kennedy space center. the problem involved the rocket's engine ignition system. nasa just announced in the last few minutes it is aiming for just after midnight thursday for its next launch attempt. with the new baseball season only a month ago spring training is introducing new rules. players now have to keep their eye on the ball and the clock as new time regulations are coming into play this year. even the size of the bases is getting a makeover. sam brock is in jupiter, florida, at the spring training home of the marlins. we know change is hard. what are you hearing from folks? >> reporter: change is hard. this is an adjustment period, lindsey. your talking b about spring training right now. it's the best. baseball is in the air. you see all the families behind me right now out here for spring training. it's the great unifier. these rules have changed. the idea for major league baseball is to make this a more

dynamic product for the fans. last year the average game was more than three hours long. this is 2022, this is 2023. look at the difference in the size. the idea is this is bigger. you'll see more stolen bases, fewer injuries. 15 seconds between pitches unless there's runners on base, then it's 20 seconds. this has already created so much conversation on the first day of spring training. the start of spring training is usually reserved for tweaking swings and perfecting pickoffs. but this year has already featured quite the curve ball. >> and now one, he's out. >> they've called strike three. >> the red sox/braves preseason game saturday ending when a braves hitter wasn't considered ready with eight seconds left on a pitch clock. >> the pitch clock, a lot of people early on talked about it affecting the pitcher.

what you're seeing is it affecting the hitter. >> all star jazz chism jr. worries the new rule could be challenging to apply. >> i feel like it's going to happen because it's the determination of the umpire. he doesn't know when you're engaged unless he sees you looking at the pitcher. >> it's 30 seconds between batters and only 15 seconds between pitches. unless there's a runner on base, then you get 20. sandy alcantara is the raining cy young award winner. >> which ones are coming up the most in conversation? >> the clock, the clock. because most of the relievers take their time. >> their whole routines are thrown off completely? >> yeah. >> reporter: enforcement is no walk in the park either. the pitch clock isn't automatic. it's run by a pitch clock manager who's got to be paying attention to exactly when the ball goes back into the pitcher's mitt. >> fans are reacting to the new

rules. >> it will create more offense, more action so to speak. >> i like the speed of baseball. i like going out and making it an all day thing. >> reporter: other changes include those giant bases designed to promote more steals for players like john birdie. >> you've lead the major league with 41 stolen bases. you're looking at this bag right here. >> it's nice. nice and big. >> so you like this? this is a good thing? >> yeah, i mean, hopefully it encourages more of the old school type baseball, more athleticism, more base stealing. >> reporter: it's a in era for a sport that owns a special place in american culture. and home plate remains the same size. the degree of subjectivity here, the umpire gets a buzz when that clock reaches zero, but the question becomes did the pitcher become his motion or not. the ball doesn't have to be in the air. he just has to start the motion. it's the same way for the hitters when they're in the batting box, are they engaging right here at eight seconds looking down or up.

what they want is this to be evenly applied. all they're asking for is that it's done fairly. >> assignments for reporters should be done fairly as well, 80 degrees, sunny, sam, you're doing something right. thanks so much. >> this is the gig. thank you. >> that does it for me this hour, i'll be back here tomorrow. "josé diaz-balart reports" starts next. ts" starts next. the monster, the boss. if i hadn't seen it in person, i wouldn't have believed it. eating is believing steph. the subway series. try subway's tastiest menu upgrade yet. if rayna's thinking about retirement, she'll get some help from fidelity to envision what's possible and balance risk and reward. and with a clear plan, rayna can enjoy wherever she's headed next. that's the planning effect, from fidelity.

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good morning, 11:00 a.m. eastern, 8:00 a.m. pacific. i'm josé diaz-balart. coming up this hour, severe weather blasting large parts of the country. >> hello? everybody okay? you in there? >> new video this morning of the aftermath of damaging tornados that tore through the plains overnight. at the same time, california's reeling from being hit with historic snow and rain forcing water rescue. now almost 250,000 people are without power all over the nation. in south carolina, the defense continues its