i'm philip mena. >> and i'm frances rivera. this morning, the fbi revealing more about the man who held a rabbi hostage and others >>> omicron cases appear to be leveling off in some areas >>> and the number one tennis player was deported and now is in dubai >>> nfl highlights >>> today would have been betty it

. >>> let's get a check of the other top headlines with frances rivera in new york with the latest good, frances. >> good morning. president biden is wading into the battle of the supreme court. the source confirming to nbc news that justice stephen breyer is scheduled to appear at the white house with the president the 83-year-old justice is expected to formally announce his retirement from the bench. as for who could take his seat ketanji brown jackson. she was confirmed last year for the u.s. court of appeals for the d.c. circuit also in the mix is judge leondra kruger who has served on california supreme court since 2015 she argued several cases before the supreme court. if confirmed, the 45-year-old would be the youngest justice on the bench by five years. >>> and the growing chrisis in ukraine. secretary of state offered russia the path forward, but rejected the ban for russia to join nato. the western intelligence official says russia has 120,000 troops on the border >>> and the record setting run of amy schneider met its match 40 straight victories came to an end after losing ou

. >> and i'm frances rivera. >> we begin with the eastern storm impacting parts of the country. the storm already had a major impact on the south. at least two people killed in north carolina when officials say their car went off the road. freezing rain also a seer yousz factor rain and ice left people without power from georgia to the carolinas. about 3,000 flights canceled up and down the east coast. almost all the flights canceled in charlotte yesterday >>> along the russian-ukrainian border, after failed talks remaining surrounded by troops the government websites got hacked according to microsoft, dozens of computers and agencies impacted >>> the number of daily cases in cities like chicago, washington, d.c. and new york, they are seeing some dips today, more than 65 million americans have contracted the virus and more than 854,000 have died some parts of the country are seeing bright spots, the u.s. surgeon general said on cnn state of the union that we are not out of the woods yesterday the next few weeks will be tough because omicron cases have not yet peaked nursing hom

fight live how old "it" girl is kicking off a busy season welcome to the end of the workweek, i'm frances rivera. >> i'm philip penna. >>> breaking fuse, it looks like novak djokovic is out of the australian open. the administration canceled his vaccination. they said the australian government is quote firmly committed to protecting australia's borders, particularly in relation to the covid-19 pandemic. djokovic's lawyers could go back to court to apply for an injunction to prevent him from leaving the country. if that fails, he would be unable to apply for an australian visa for three years. >>> after the supreme court ruled against the biden man day. our gabe gutierrez has the latest. >> reporter: three disdays after test mandate for private companies started to take effect, the u.s. supreme court blocked it, writing that osha, the occupation am safety and health administration, did not have the power to regulate public health. the mandate had acted some 80 million americans, including jamie crocker's employees, his florida company. >> i saw this mandate from the very beginning as perhaps the

. >> i'm frances rivera. >>> healthcare workers are overwhelmed with 82% of icu beds full president biden is sending medical teams to six states to help hospitals today he is expecting their deployment this as the u.s. races past 63 million covid cases, it's been more than 62million since the start of the pandemic. amid the chaos, one study offers a glimmer of hope. our chris pollone has the details. >> reporter: the nation now averaging three-quarters of a million new covid cases a day. hospitalizations and deaths also up over last week, but some encouraging news, a new study if california shows a substantially reduced risk from the omicron variant compared to delta. >> the risk of delta remains low, especially for people up to date on their covid vaccine. >> reporter: still the sheer number of cases is overwhelming businesses and schools, the nevada district pausing five days california and kansas speeding red tape to get teachers back into the classroom the white house is providing 10 million more covid tests per month, doubling school testing capacity over last november. >> we are doi

. >> and i'm frances rivera. >>> growing concerns russia could soon invade ukraine. u.s. is warned not to travel to ukraine. two officials tell nbc news that president biden was briefed this weekend on options for responding if russia does invade its neighbor good morning what actions have we seen so far from ukraine's allies? >> good morning, francis well, the u.s. promised financial and military aid to ukraine and kyiv just got its first shipment 200,000 pounds of lethal aid and ammunition for the front line. britain has provided them with short-range anti-tanker missiles and it's not just support that's being stepped up but rhetoric as well let's take up to what secretary blinken and deputy prime minister dominic raab had to say. >> if a single additional russian force goes into ukraine in an aggressive way, that would trigger a swift, severe, and united response. >> we will support them in defending themselves but also their international nay though allies and the u.s we're standing shoulder to shoulder there will be very serious consequences if russia tries to invade

. >> and i'm frances rivera. the u.s. is ramping up the pressure on russia they're looking at strict new sanctions against russia as they continue to amass troops along the ukrainian border brie jackson is in d.c. with the latest good morning this is a high-wire act for lawmakers. >> reporter: good morning, fra frances. there's no doubt about that. they hope to have a sanctions package by the end of this week. chairman bob menendez told cnn the bill is at the one yard line it would target the country's banks and southern everybody debt as well as provide more military for ukraine it will leave a lasting mark on russia. >> i would just say this to president putin. if you invade the ukraine, you will destroy the ability of future presidents to treat you and russia as normal you will long for the good old days of the cold war because every president in the future will pound you and every congress in the future will pound you if you dismantle this democracy. be careful what you wish for, my friend. >> strong words from lindse

. >> i'm frances rivera. >> i'm philly mena >> the white house saying a russian invasion in ukraine could be imminent. tony blinken arrives in ukraine. president biden sent his top diplomat it's a matter of time before russia invades >> reporter: good morning, frances. well, the situation along the ukrainian border is still very troubling. there are still around 100,000 russian troops amassed along that border in what can be described as one of the world's most dangerous flash points. but for its part, russia has repeatedly denied any plans to launch an attack on ukraine. but u.s. and european intelligence say that russian military buildup bears all the hallmarks of a full scale invasion an invasion that could spark off at a moment's notice that's why president biden has asked his secretary of state anthony blinking to embark on a shocking round of diplomacy to involve a dangerous situation. blinken will hold discussions with president zelensky in kiev before meeting with british and russian counterparts in berlin he will try to shore up support amongst western allies to impose what the u

i'm phillip mena >> good to be with you i'm frances rivera >>> chicago teachers return to school after their union has a new plan after five days, students will return to in-person classes tomorrow a proposal on when an individual may return to le mote learning was also improved. it includes the number of staff absence and students in quarantine or isolation as well as the level of community spread this as covid cases across the nation continue climbing to alarming new highs the u.s. reported over 1.3 million cases yesterday breaking the record our miguel almaguer has more. >> reporter: the new vaccine that specifically targets omicron may be just months away. but as new covid cases explode, our nation is likely weeks from reaching omicron's devastating peak with nearly every state a hot spot, the u.s. is closing in on 700,000 new cases a day, nearly triple last year's surge pfizer's new vaccine would target omicron and other variants already circulating >> this vaccine will be ready in march. i don't know if we will need it. i don't know how it will be used, bu ready. >> reporter: in

. >> i'm frances rivera. we begin this morning with new details surrounding the five alarm apartment fire in the bronx. 19 people were killed, including nine children. an investigation into the tragic blaze is underway. kathy park has more from the scene in new york.>> reporter: s of families are displaced after a horrific fire tore through this 19 story apartment building officials say it all likely stemmed from a malfunctioning space heater the five alarm fire ripped through this bronx high-rise just before 11:00 a.m., flames shooting out windows on the second and third floors. this woman was making breakfast when it all started. >> i just heard people screaming, help, help, help. >> reporter: the smoke spreading quickly to all floors throughou. >> this smoke extended the entire height of the building. members found victims on every floor in stairwells and taking them out in cardiac and respiratory arrest >> reporter: the emergency response was massive, roughly 200 firefighters, some fulling residents down

starts right now >>> good morning and happy friday i'm vinita meyer >> good to be with you i'm frances rivera a warning the video you're about to see may be disturbing authorities say the ordeal when the suspect who two senior law enforcement officials identify as 31-year-old roman cabalerro led them on a car chase and crashed. >> striking three officers the officers returned fire >> police say after the shooting and the suspect allegedly car jacked a woman and barricaded himself inside a home and continued to fire shots. he surendered to authorities after an hours like standoff the three officers suffering nonlife threatening injuries, one was shot in the foot, one in the leg and one in the arm >> the search for the next member of the supreme court has officially begun justice steven breyer hand-delivered his retirement letter to president biden. and in making his announcement at the white house breyer reflected on the changes still facing our democracy, what he called the great american experiment >> it's our next generation, the one after that, my grandchildren and their children, they'll

"early today" starts right now >>> thank for joining us i've steven romo i'm frances rivera breakinghis morning, we are mourning the death of america's dad, bob saget the comedian and actor passed away yesterday the circumstances surrounding his death are unknown. earlier on sunday he tweeted this photo from a show he did in jacksonville generations grew up with saget he hosted "america's funniest home videos," played danny tanner in "full house" and was a raunchy stand up comedian. >> what is dirt? >> dirt bad. >> i can't hear you. >> dirt bad! >> dad is really into spring cleaning, isn't it >> it may be spring cleaning to you and me, but to dad it's christmas. >> you're a wonderful audience you really are i'm not just kissing up. i swear. i'm slobbering all over you is what i'm doing because i have no life and no future i'm potato head. i talk real fast >> the news of his sudden death triggered a flood of tributes. his "full house" cast mates were shocked. john stamos wrote, i am broken i am gutted. candace barre tweeted, bob was one of the best human beings i've known in my life.

. >> glad you're with us i'm frances rivera we begin with the fallout from a brutal weekend blizzard. the extreme weather is being blamed for at least four deaths in new york. at least a foot of snow fell from maryland to maine and it was the seventh largest snowstorm ever recorded in boston nbc's chris pollone is there >> reporter: boston, massachusetts apparently no worse for the wear after a record-setting day of snow nearly two feet falling in 24 hours. >> we have not only survived a historic storm, but really seen the incredible team work and collaboration to have the roads mostly clear at this point already. >> reporter: after several hours of blizzard, whiteout conditions caused even the heartiest new englanders to give pause at. >> this is a lot of snow for one time. >> reporter: the classic nor'easter dropped snow from the carolinas to canada, followed by bitter cold. tens of thousands of still without power in massachusetts, mostly on cape cod and the south shore. cleanup could take days. >> it's pretty bad it's not too heavy, but it's a lot. >> reporter: the region's airpor

2022 "early today" starts right now good morning i'm philip mena >> i'm glad you're with us i'm frances rivera a new subversion of the omicron variant has been detected in at least 40 countries including the united states. scientists are calling it ba2. it's also been dubbed stealth omicron because it has genetic traits that make it somewhat harder tals worry it can be more contagious but it's unclear if it causesal trials f targeted vaccine nbc's miguel almaguer has the details. >> reporter: announcing the start of their new clinical trial pfizer says it's testing if their new reformulated covid raxee vaccine will specifically target the omicron variant and to see how effective that new formula would be with the vaccinated and boosted already highly protected against hospitalization, the fda would then have to consider if the formula is even needed in a trial expected to take months, it comes as pockets of the nation emerge beyond omicron's peak >> how difficult is it to get ahead of a new variant with a vaccine? >> if a new variant emerges we can always build vaccines, but they can take seve

. >> glad you're with us i'm frances rivera more and more vaccinated people are getting infected in an axios ipsos survey 31% of americans who thought they were vaccinated got the virus 96% of the staff are inoculated. now to jay gray for more on the current surge. >> reporter: the hearing opens with a warning, omicron is spreading out of control >> in massive unprecedented surge in the united states >> driving case counts to unprecedented heights here in the united states. >> reporter: the seven-day average more than 750,000 new infections every 24 hours, a 53% increase over the previous week and a pandemic record. hospitals across the country again running short on beds and staff. >> every time you start to feel a little bit hopeful and really tried to build on your resilience as a nurse, as a health care worker, as a parent, as somebody, anybody in the community right now then here comes another surge. and that -- that's hard. >> reporter: difficult in the classroom as well where the surge is hitting students and teachers >> teachers want to be in the classroom with students and are

. >> glad you're with us i'm frances rivera strap in because it's going to be another roller coaster day on wall street. pointing to a steep drop after yesterday's wild swing the dow erased a 1,100 point deficit to finish in the green alongside the nasdaq and s&p >> unbelievably we are up across the board. >> reporter: it was a gut wrenching roller coaster ride on wall street with last minute buyers jumping in to pull the market out of a steep nosediveimate its lowest points the dow jones industrials down more than 1,100 before closing up 99. a 1,200 point swing. concern about a potential russian invasion about ukraine and the global economic fallout. while at home corporate earnings are coming in as inflation hits 40-year highs, driving prices higher from the grocery aisles to car lots. >> the president does not look at the stock market by a means to which the judge the economy >> reporter: after the s&p 500 went up the market has been sliding for much of this month with the federal reserve expected to raise interest rates as much as one percentage point this year to tame inflation.

e early today starts now i'm phillip mena >> i'm frances rivera. millions under winter weather alert. nbc's emily akayed a with more on the conditions. >> reporter: a crippling cold across the country >> i have my boots, scarf, everything >> reporter: the arctic blast plunging temperatures from parts of the midwest to new england. feels like negative 24 degrees in minneapolis and a bone chilling negative 6 in chicago more than 20 million americans under winter weather alert a messy commute along i-95 as rain and snow hampered the northeast as people headed into work >> it's a little slippery. hopefully people are taking it easy out there >> reporter: in burks county, pennsylvania, this car sliding 0 of the road into a ditch severe weather packing a winter wallop heavy sleet and snow hitting arkansas and kentucky. strangers to the snow are bracing for a winter weather beat down. texas activated its state operation center >> on a freezing night, the level of crisis changes, and we need to do our part to come together really as a city and make it poss

i'm frances rivera >> and i'm cori coffin super bowl lvi is set after a conference championship sunday that left fans on the edge of their seats. >> third down and one. stafford, end zone, got it, touchdown rams >> the rams erased a 10-point deficit and took a late lead with field goals one last chance for the 49ers with jimmy garoppolo's pass was picked off the rams win 20-17 and will become the second team to play super bowl in who are stadium. for 13-year quarterback matthew stafford, a super bowl appearance was a long time coming >> i feel blessed to be able to play in this league for as listening as i have. but i sure am happy for this opportunity for not only myself, but really so many guys in that locker room that deserve this too. >> the defending afc champion chiefs had an 18-point lead in the first half but the upstart bengals managed to tie the game up by the start of the fourth quarter. even up to 24 heading into firstme, the chiefs had the only for gave the bengals the opportunity to end the game on any score. >> 31 yards. mcpherson, and cincinnati is heading to the super

i'm frances rivera president biden is about to make a choice that could have decades long consequences. steven breyer preparing to tell the white house he'll retire this june. nbc's brie jackson joins us live from washington. the president expected to make history with his choice for the court. >> reporter: good morning, frances. that's right the white house is signaling president biden will stick to a campaign promise to nominate a black woman to the supreme court. so far the president has nominated eight black women to federal appellate courts so far, and one of the women from that list is emerging as a front-runner for the lifetime appointment to the supreme court. ketanji brown jackson was a clerk for justice breyer president biden nominated her last year to the u.s. court of appeals for the d.c. circuit she was confirmed by 50 democrats and three republicans. another leading contender is judge leondra kruger she's argued several cases before the u.s. supreme court. at 45 years old if confirmed she would be the youngest justice on the bench by about 5 years now, justice steven brey

frances rivera is in new york with more. give the super bowl to the chiefs or bills. was insane, frances >> all of the yelling in my house. >>> let's start off with the uae which intercepted two ballistic mis missiles fragments of the missiles fell in different areas. >>> option sening statements ben today in the civil rights trial of the three ex-officers over the death of george floyd. king and tao are failing to intervene in may of 2020. >>> and to the action. there were four. a wild weekend in the nfl with divisional round games coming down to the wire >> from the 19 17 seconds down the middle to the end zone. there it is! >> a fourth quarter fall of lead changes. bills ahead with 13 seconds left and forcing overtime kansas city did not get low. the chiefs now on the way to the fourth straight afc title game with the 42-36 win earlier in the day tom brady and the bucs erased a 24-poin-point lead, but left to much time. matthew stafford led the team downfield and the game winning field goal here is the playoff picture. the chiefs could go to the third straight supe

frances rivera is here with more good morning >> good morning, brian a brutal weekend blizzard slammedhe northeast. extreme weather is blamed for four deaths in new york. a foot of snow fell from maryland to maine. thousands are without power in massachusetts and on cape cod and the shore. it was the largest snowstorm recorded in boston. >>> north korea with the latest missile test the intermediate range missile reached 1200 miles before it fell in the ocean. the u.s. has condemned the test which is the sixth so far this year. >>> super bowl lvi is set after a conference championship sunday for the ages >> third down and one. stafford end. kupp touchdown, rams. >> rams erased a 10-point def deficit. jimmy garoppolo's pass picked off and the rams win 20-17 they will be the second team to play a super bowl in their home stadium. for matthew stafford, the super bowl appearance was a long time coming >> you know, i feel blessed to play in the league for as long as i have. i sure am happy for the opportunity not only myself, but so many guys in the locker room that deserve this. >> the defe

frances rivera, thank you very much >>> some of the other top trending stories out there we'll talk about some bad news for facebook, yet another nft platform and some sporty super bowl spuds i got that out somehow lay out the top trending stories for us on this wednesday >> yes, it is wednesday. yeah yeah so glass door releasing its annual best places to work list which shows meta platforms dropping 36 spots compared to last year after a year of public relations crises, employees described unwanted public scrutiny and lack of option from leadership nvidia named as the top place to work followed by hot spot and bane >>> the associated press is the latest company to announce they will be starting a marketplace to sell nfts of its photojournalists work. the news outlet saying the system will be environmentally friendly it will launch january 31st. >>> and lays is telling chips made from potatoes that were grown from dirt from 29 different nfl stadiums to mark the company's return to super bowl advertising the company is producing 200 lays golden bags per nfl team. the team on the bag corres

. >>> welcome back i'm frances rivera with your news update.n with breaking overnight, mourning the death of america's dad bob saget. he passed away in orlando yesterday. the circumstances surrounding his death are unknown. generations grew up with saget, he started hosting america's funniest home videos in 1989, played the beloved dad, danny tanner in full house, was a stand up comedian. his cast mates were shocked. john stamos tweeted i am broken, gutted and candace wrote my heart is broken i have no words. >>> novac djokovic is staying in australia for now after a successful appeal of his visa being cancelled. a federal judge ordered his passport be returnedt novac djokovic was present with his lawyers. court documents confirm that he was unvaccinated and his lawyers argued a positive covid test last month led to the organizing group, tennis australia, giving him a medical exemption. >>> overnight chicago leaders announcethat public school classes will be cancelled for a fourth dayfials rejected the union's request to go back to remote learn

. >>> let's get a check of the headlines with frances rivera in new york good morning >> good morningwe start in houston where three police officers are recovering after being shot officials say it happened last night as they responded to a family disturbance call. a car chase and crash and the shootout erupted with officers the suspect carjacked a woman and barricaded himself in the home after an hours long standoff, he surrendered. >>> in new york, a tribute to a fallen nypd officer. the casket of 22-year-old jason repres rivera he and his partner were fatally wounded in the shooting last week services for officer mora is set for wednesday. >>> tens of millions are in the path of the winter storm that could overwhelm cities this weekend. a nor'easter is intensifying as it pushes on to the coast. warnings from north carolina to maine and new england is bracing for 20 inches of snow plus the risk of damaging wind gusts that could leave people without power and in the freezing cold dom, it is the weekend all we are thinking about with the kids is wanting to play in it >> i don't know a

it says shares of crypto derivatives was just shy of $3 billion >>> frances rivera is in new york with other latest headlines. >> president biden is setting medical teams to six states where hospitals are overwhelmed by covid-19. he is expected to announce their deployment to new york, new jersey, rhode island, ohio, michigan and new mexico and he's expected to meet with democrats to look at voting rights legislation. chuck schumer said he will force a procedural vote on two separate bills saying, quote, once the bills are filibusters we need to change the senate rules as has been done many times before mitch mcconnell opposes the bills and says states should set their own election rules >>> this morning the music world is mourning ronnie specter who died after a brief battle with cancer she was 78 >>> coachella is rocking back this year after covid cancellations in 2020 and 2021, the festival is back with a star-studded lineup, harry styles, billie eilish are the big names headlining the festival others will help celebrate the comeback in california this april. so a lot of fans keepin

frances mena. >> i'mfrances rivera. >> i'm phillip mena. >>> we have details, good morning, thiswill be an uphill battle for democrats. >> reporter: that's right, today the senate will begin debating two bills, the john lewis voting advancement act and the freedom to vote act. the base could be as far as it goes the legislation faces full republican opposition. while democratic senators, joe manchin and kyrsten sinema back the bills but neater support the filibuster to change lawsuit yesterday thousands called for action on martin luther king day. president biden passed the two bills while pop republicans pushed back. >> it's no longer just about who gets to vote it's about who gets to count the vote and whether your vote counts at all. it's about two insidious things, voter suppression and election subversion it's time for every elected official in america to make it clear where they stand. >> the founders didn't have that vision in mind they didn't want an autocrat to pull a lever in one place and change all the election laws >> if passed, the bills would expand voter registration, allow univer

rivera has the latest on the developments from washington. a senior russian government representative arrives in paris for high stakes talks with advisers from ukraine , germany and france. they're pushing for a diplomatic breakthrough to deter russia from invading ukraine, even as the kremlin steps up military drills in the region. president biden warning of severe consequences, including potential personal sanctions. against russian president vladimir putin. if he invades this would be the largest if he were to move in, with all those forced to be the largest invasion since world war two. it would change the world. the president suggests some of the 8500 troops on heightened alert may soon moved to eastern europe to support nato allies. though he insists no forces will be moving into ukraine. meanwhile shipments of us weapons continue to arrive in kiev, the latest military aid landing tuesday. different ballgame today. there the world is fired up about this . a fox news poll shows 62% of voters are concerned about escalating tensions with russia . russia denies planning an attack but is warning of retaliatory measures if the u. s and its allies rejected security deman