the latest now from duncan golestani. >> reporter: for nearly a week there have been clashes in iraq's anbar province. the iraqi military struggling to regain control, fighting street by street. trying to recapture large areas that fell to al qaeda links. iraqi forces using their air power to attack the infamous radicals. but those same al qaeda linked militants boast they're also overrunning the city of fallujah. armed men claimed to have destroyed government vehicles. the two cities are mainly sunni muslim. and the shiite dominated government in baghdad. they say they'll punish those who are linked to the sectarian government. after the 2003 u.s.-led invasion of iraq, fallujah was the center of the insurgency. american troops fought hard to root out extremists. now the u.s. has pulled out of iraq so it is up to the iraqi government. >> the iraqis can retake fallujah but they'll have to commit a lot of resources to do it and even more resources to hold on to it. >> reporter: the iraqi prime minister says there will be no retreat until they have eliminated the militants. >> this is a f

here is nbc's duncan golestani. >> reporter: it is one of the presidential decisions that france has been waiting for. francois hollande has announced the end of his relationship with the first lady trierweiler two weeks after a tabloid reported he was having an affair with an actress. he called a french news agency to say i'm making it known that i put an end to my shared life with valerie trierweiler. two weeks ago, the magazine published photos of hollande apparently visiting his girlfriend on a motorcycle and staying the night. shortly there after, the first lady checked into a hospital for exhaustion, while hollande refused to confirm that trierweiler was still first lady. promising to clear up confusion before the state visit next month. >> she doesn't want to leave behind the role of first lady, in which she really has invested. >> reporter: the couple had been together for several years but never married. in relaxed france, that was okay. so too, it seems is even an affair. the big public debate is whether or not the public had a right to know. this woman says he can do what

duncan golestani joins us live from london with more. duncan, good morning. how credible are the threats? >> reporter: good morning, veronica. well, we haven't been able to verify the video, but it does appear on to be credible. posted on a website known to be used by islamic militants. the video shows the two men strapping on their suicide vests filled with explosives. wirz running down their arm to a trigger button. they claim responsibility for two bombings in volgograd last month, on a railway station and on a bus. they promise there is more to come during the olympics. they talk about tourists receiving a present. they say it will be revenge for all the muslim blood being spilled around the world. over the weekend, president putin was once again trying to reassure visitors the games in sochi will be safe. security is incredibly tight around the city, with airport style checks and more than 30,000 police and military push nell. but the fear is militant groups will try to hit targets elsewhere in russia, soft targets like transportation hubs, just like the

duncan golestani with the heads-up from london.istoric frigid temperatures sweeping the nation. a new winter storm is set to drop inches of snow from the rockies to portions of the midwest, great lakes and mid south this weekend. nbc's leanne gregg is in denver for the very latest on this new storm. >> hi, alex. 2 to 4 inches of snow expected here in denver before the system moves on. it is affecting air travel at denver international airport with some delays. possibly up to about an hour or more for desizing. and the roads, highways, bridges overpasses are slick in many areas. there are whiteout conditions because of the blowing snow in parts of the state. up in the mountains, up to 10 inches are expected. in various areas including the eisenhower tunnel along i-70. so this system is part of a massive air mass moving to the east to the south and the upper midwest bringing dangerously cold temperatures. and lots of snow. this snow will stick around in the denver area throughout the weekend and then move onto the east. back to you,

nbc's duncan golestani has more for us. >> hey, thomas.engers were in very high spirits after being taken over to their rescue ship. there were doubts the rescue would take place because of the bad weather that's blocked attempts. blinding snow, strong winds, and fog. but finally, around midday local time, the chinese helicopter began taking groups of around a dozen from the ice next to the academic ship. they then made the ten-minute flight over the ice to a smaller boat, which then took them on to the aurora, an australian ice breaker. that journey was repeated five times until all the passengers were off. now begins the two-week journey home. they're not expected to reach australia until mid-january. that's because the aurora has to first go to resupply an arctic base. so for these scientists, their adventure is far from over. spare a thought, though, for the crew of that russian research ship. they are staying until the ice flows allow them to maneuver out. they do have enough food on board. everyone has been incredibly upbeat. we've s

nbc's duncan golestani is joining me from london with the latest. duncan, what are the new concerns here, the newest ones? >> reporter: hey, alex. the latest we're hearing is that the militant group which claimed responsibility for last month's suicide bombings in volograd have told russians to rebel against president vladimir putin or face further attacks. the warning does not mention the games, but it is the same group which last week warned putin to expect a presence at the winter olympics. the statement was posted on the websites of dagestan, a group from the north caucasus region, where putin has been fighting an insurgency for over a decade. dagestan is a mainly muslim province, where militants want to create an islamic state. and it is just the latest in sort of a drip of messages that are creating such uncertainty about the sochi games. in the last few days, a video that was posted online early in january started to get more of an airing. it appears to come from a known branch of al qaeda, and in it, militants say violence is coming. russian