lester >> keir simmons with that late update thank you. >>> in 60 seconds, u.s. diplomats suffering devastating brain injuries the growing mystery over havana syndrome three of the original victims speak out for the first time, exclusively to andrea mitchell >>> back now with our nbc news exclusive. five years after u.s diplomats and spies began suffering from so-called havana syndrome, the cause and the culprit behind the mystery illness remains unknown. now, however, for the first time on television, three of the original diplomats to be affected are breaking their silence about what they experienced with permission from the state department they spoke to our andrea mitchell >> reporter: in the winter of 2016, these diplomats were working at the u.s. embassy in havana, cuba their nights at home interrupted by a piercing noise coming from their background. >> i'll just play it for you so you can hear. >> there is a lot worse. >> it was persistent, kind of at the same level all the time very, very loud. it's nothing you could sit with. >> reporter: kate, did anyo

keir simmons, athens greece. >>> up next for us tonight, some reflections on colin powell, the american dream and the barriers he broke >>> finally, colin powell took great pride in his family's story, and he hoped in his achievements, others would build their own success. >> reporter: colin powell soared to historic heights. that journey from his childhood in the south bronx always with him. >> i'm a son of immigrants my parents came here on banana boats from jamaica. and all they said to me was do your very, very best and always make sure that you love this country of ours. >> reporter: and he did, breaking so many barriers along the way. the young man who went to still segregated georgia for basic training at fort benning, rising to become the first black national security adviser, chairman of the joint chiefs and secretary of state. >> they will say that colin powell, the first african-american to ever hold the position of secretary of state and i'm glad they will say that and i want it repeated i want to repeat it because i hope it will be give inspiration to young african-american

reports say the police believe the assailant tended to be walking around shooting people keir simmons, nbc news >>> today the advisory committee will start two days to discuss moderna and j&j boosters. >> they will discuss the second timing, the best timing for the single dose j&j. >> reporter: phil lip, good morning. what could yet be another sign we could potentially be fearing the end of the pandemic. the biden administration is lifting more restricts on border crossings. this all comes as later today an fda advisory panel is set to meet to discuss the moderna booster shots and tomorrow johnson&johnson shots. the fda is questioning the evidence johnson&johnson provided in its application for booster shots. scientists say there may be a benefit two months after the initial dose the agency noted the data is limited, saying a ke fda didn'te enough time to independently review much of the raw data from the trial. ahead of an advisory panel this friday it's not clear whether these concerns would be enough to delay emergency use authorization. >> we have the vaccine supply and we'll be r

keir simmons will explain coming up in our next hour. beautiful. >>> let's get to your headlines.sident biden and chinese leader xi jingping are expected to hold a virtual meeting by the end of the year. the u.s. has raised concerns with china about its recent military provocations with taiwan and beijing's efforts to suppress prodemocracy efforts in hong kong. the meeting is intended to serve as a follow-up to last month's call between the two leaders. >>> firefighters were hurt this week after a smoke explosion and the dramatic moments were caught on cameras. firefighters were battling a commercial fire when suddenly that huge ball of smoke and flames shot from the building. the firefighters were treated at the hospital and later released. thankfully, no one else was hurt. no word on what caused that fire. >>> let's move to baseball now. if you didn't catch the dramatic ending to the wild card game last night. dodgers, cardinals, all tied up. two outs in the bottom of the ninth. here's what happened. >> swing and a drive. deep left field! chris taylor! >> chris taylor with the t

>> keir simmons with that late update. thank you. >>> in 60 seconds, u.s. diplomats suffering devastating brain injuries. the growing mystery over havana syndrome. three of the original victims speak out for the first time, exclusively to andrea mitchell. inflammation in your eye might be to blame. [inflammation] let's kick ken's ache and burn into gear! over the counter eye drops typically work by lubricating your eyes and may provide temporary relief. those drops will probably pass right by me. xiidra works differently, targeting inflammation that can cause dry eye disease. [inflammation] what's that? [inflammation] xiidra? no! it can provide lasting relief. xiidra is the only fda-approved non-steroid treatment specifically for the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. one drop in each eye, twice a day. don't use if you're allergic to xiidra. common side effects include eye irritation, discomfort or blurred vision when applied to the eye, and unusual taste sensation. don't touch container tip to your eye or any surface. after using xiidra, wait fifteen m

that's where we find nbc news senior international correspondent keir simmons. , thanks for joining us. that's a nice backdrop. there have been reports that a lot of european leaders are still wary of the united states after former president trump's four chaotic years in office. we know some of america's closest allies were upset about how the withdrawal from afghanistan took place, and, of course, the deal the president made with australians and the uk, cutting out the submarine contract. how will he be received? what work does he have to do? >> reporter: hey, jonathan. congratulations on the new role there, my friend. listen, president biden wakes up in rome having had little sleep and multiple headaches. really this trip should all be about the fact that president putin and president xi of china aren't here, whereas, president biden is. but, of course, everything president biden faces is controversy. the europeans will have noticed that those troubles that he's having with his own party back there with progressives with the build back better act and when he me

joining us from moscow, nbc's keir simmons. keir, good to see you. jose, as you say, norway security agency saying this appears to be an act of terror but cryptically saying they've not identified a motive at this time, naming the suspect is 37-year-old danish citizen aspen anderson who converted to islam and there are fears that he had been radicalized. of course this was a bizarre attack using a bow and arrow, five people were killed in this norwegian town, four women and one man. a terrifying scene but they do not appear according to the police to be any other suspects so the norwegian prime minister telling people that they can feel secure. >> and you're in moscow, where undersecretary victoria nolan is wrapping up a three-day diplomatic visit. its u.s. calling the talks there constructive? >> that's right. president putin also saying that the talks were constructive. let's be honest, the relations between the u.s. and russia have been in deep freeze. i think the talks with victoria nolan looked at cyber and arms control, so very limited areas wh

keir simmons has more. >> reporter: 500 gone forever.ars, the alps internal ice has been washed away. these 150-year-old hotels were built what was then the foot of the glacier. now the area is reachable on steep winding alpine roads. today, scientists leads the team who monitor the retreat almost a mile in 120 years. >> this was about 2005. the glacier filled up the region. >> the water here is where this glacier was. >> yes, exactly. >> reporter: he saw the glacier. you can see it with your own eyes and lifetime? >> exactly. you can see it. it is much more obvious than seeing a graph of rising temperatures. >> reporter: desperate to save tourism and glaciers, they have white blankets slowing the thaw protecting the beautiful ice caves against all the odds. look. you can see it. you can hear it melting. but to see the most dramatic example, local guide andrew, takes me on a long trek further up. >> my grandfather was mountain guide. hundred years ago, the glacier came down to the valley. >> he saw that? >> 20 years ago, there was no lak

hans nick kols, keir simmons, michael memoli, father reese, thank you. you're right, hans. is wearing a smart suit. but your hair cut is nice too. >>> coming up, we'll talk about the filmset "rust" and breaking silence. miguel almaguer is there with the details. miguel? >> reporter: good morning. hannah gutierrez-reed's job was to ensure gun safety. she failed to do that. now she's at the center of the investigation. this morning, hannah gutierrez-reed, the armorer in charge of the props on set, breaking her silence. her attorneys releasing a statement overnight saying she's been falsely portray and slandered in the media, adding she fought for training, days to maintain weapons, and proper time to prepare for gunfire, but ultimately was overruled by production and her department. the whole production set became unsafe due to various factors including lack of safety meetings. with the set shut down and production halted on the movie, gutierrez-reed's statement comes one week after alec baldwin shot and killed cinematographer halyna hutchins with a gun he was told was safe t

keir simmons joins us live. what's it like?n msnbc on the top of a mountain in the swiss alps, the roane glacier is beautiful. it is also under threat. you should be able to see in the water pieces of the ice breaking off, but it's not just that, steph. if i walk this way and show you, these rocks are smoothed out. decades ago the glacier was here, where i am. i would have been underneath it and not just that, if you look down behind me there, where the waterfall is and across you can see all those rocks are smooth because the glacier was there, too, and if the cameraman pans across, the incredible thing the glacier ran 150 years ago right down into the valley, the buildings you can see in the distance are hotels they built at the bottom at the foot of the glacier. as dave pans back i'll explain that the glacier scientists say are a warning to the world. if the ice melts it won't cause a catastrophic rise in ocean levels but it will of course if the arctic ice melts, and the thing about the glaciers as i stand here, you can pic

nbc's keir simmons now in london with a look ahead to the winter games. >> reporter: the opening ceremonying olympics stunned the world back in 2000 to date. now in just three months china will be back in the spotlight and so will the world's athletes nearly 3,000 from 95 nations one time wonder kid of snow boarding, sean white has three gold medals. winning a fourth in the same event would make history >> i know what that fire and drive and motivation can do to you as an athlete. >> reporter: team usa's nathan cheng, a gold medal favorite on the ice. both his parents born in china >> to be able to have the opportunity to go to beijing for an olympics is really meaningful >> reporter: 45% of the athletes will be female, a winter games record among them michaela chefren says she could compete in five events this winter games set to present another huge challenge for olympic organizers, too. just like tokyo last summer there'll be strict covid protocols. athletes must be vaccinated or face a three-week quarantine daily covid tests will be mandatory. athletes will be restricted to a closed l

keir simmons takes a look. >> reporter: across europe's world famous mountain range, glaciers are ine of ice now shrinking dramatically. in the past ten years, 20% of the alps' so-called eternal ice has been washed away. these 150-year-old hotels were built at what was then the foot of the rhone glacier. now the rhone is reachable only on steep, winding alpine roads. today, this scientist leads a team who monitor the relentless retreat, almost a mile in 120 years. >> so this was about 2005, i would say, the glacier still filled up this whole region we see here. >> reporter: the water here is where this glacier was. >> yes, exactly. >> reporter: he first saw the rhone glacier aged 11. >> it's so different than it used 30 years ago. >> reporter: you can see it with your own eyes in your own lifetime. >> exactly. you can see it and it's much more obvious than seeing just a graph with rising temperatures. >> reporter: desperate to save tourism and the glaciers, locals have spread uv reses tant white blankets to reflect the sun, slowing the thaw by up to 50%, protecting these beautiful ic

let's bring in our nbc news, keir simmons who's live in moscow for us. like between the two sides? >> reporter: very slow and only in small areas. back in june when i introduced president putin and he would sat down with president biden. it would take time. sitting down with the deputy foreign minister, those meetings are focused on cyber and arms control. it's interesting the know that we have not seen reports of russia hacking since that summit with president biden in the way we did before that summit. so both sides are suggesting that there is a sign of thoring in a deep freeze. . staffing of embassies and at the same time this week there is also this standoff between russia and europe over energy with europe facing an energy crisis and russia leveraging that opportunity to demonstrate they are an energy super power president putin in a panel today with my colleague from cnbc moderating and describing utter nonsense allegation that russia is trying to use their energy as a geopolitical weapon. you have that picture of russia flexing its muscles and at

go to msnbc's keir simmons joining us from rome. keir, welcome again.came out of this meeting? >> reporter: alex, i guess you could say important symbolism, unity between the europeans and the u.s. over the approach to iran. and i guess you could argue a little bit of hope. things have been incredibly difficult. we've been watching the nuclear brinkmanship between iran and particularly the u.s. develop over the months since president biden was elected, and elected saying he wanted to go renew the deal that president trump walked away from. president biden asked today whether there would be renewed talks. take a listen. >> do you propose and when would you like to talk to iran? >> definitely rerejoin. >> reporter: when those talks resume depends on iran. the joint statement from, alex, the europeans and americans kind of appears to offer a carrot, if you like. it says a return to the jcpoa nuclear deal compliance providing sanctions lifting with long-lasting implications for iran's economic growth. only positive if iran changes course. call upon the pres

disinformation that's originating in china but it's targeting millions of americans online. >> keir simmonsd morning. for years, russia has been accused of trying to influence americans through social media on our phones and computers. but now twitter has suspended more than 500 accounts after nbc news and oxford university uncovered what appears to be a propaganda campaign originating in china. >> reporter: in china the government controls what citizens can and cannot see on the internet this morning, new signs beijing is targeting the u.s. with its propaganda at the oldest university in the english-speaking world, an oxford university investigates disinformation campaigns. >> how much time do you spend sitting here >> often quite long, diving into hundreds of thousands of retweets, really, of -- >> reporter: working with nbc news, he followed those messages, uncovering a new phony claim that covid originated from maine lobsters an allegation maine's cdc told us was not true. saying there's no evidence backing it up. yet, online it was starting to pick up steam. >> what i found when i star

nbc news' keir simmons is outside buckingham palace.ot being told by buckingham palace what is wrong. i am told it is fought covid. in fact, the queen has been holding multiple meetings over zoom with ambassadors. she even went to the race last weekend. she has been seen recently walking with a cane, but she's been looking pretty well in her appearance, buckingham palace releasing a statement saying her majesty is in good spirit and is disappointed she will no longer be able to visit northern ireland, where she will no longer be able to visit engage. s. they will have news that the 95-year-old isn't feeling fighting fit. i guess it is one of those aspects of royalty and monarchy there is a slightly obsession with the health of queens and prince and princesses, but the queen according to some report, not confirmed, were seen out today walking her corgi. so i guess she isn't feeling too bad. >> let's hope so i'm not one of those wondering why we care. i care, we care about queen elizabeth. it's good to see you, keir, thank you very much f

keir simmons has been following the case in the newest development.k us through what happened in the hearing today and what comes next? >> well, craig, a horrible day for the families in the courtroom. they are wiping tears from their eyes, hugging each other as, indeed, nikolas cruz, 23 years old, admitting the guilt in 17 murders and 17 attempted murders of students at marjory stoneman douglas high school on valentine's day in 2018. for the families, this was something they knew was coming, but then they heard nikolas cruz lower his mask, lean down into the microphone, and made what sounded like a rambling apology. listen in. >> i just want you to know i'm really sorry, and i hope you give me a chance to try to help others, if i believe it's your decision to decide where i go, and whether i live or die. not the jury's. i believe it's your decision. i'm sorry. >> reporter: and so as he was speaking, he spoke for about a full minute. didn't have a script. again, portions of it were rambling. he talked about drugs. in the courtroom family members were

joining me now is mike memoli and keir simmons.ould love to know what they're eating, by the way. i'm always fascinated by the menu at these things. what type of cuisine are they accommodating with, or is it, of course, italian cuisine. that aside, mike, let's talk about the ambitious timeline when it comes to the vote. tuesday, right, they're talking infrastructure, build back better, to get it over the finish line come tuesday. are there concerns the deadline could once again be pushed back if house democrats don't find the votes? >> reporter: as we saw the pictures there, the italian prime minister, the italian president welcoming president biden and the first lady to the presidential palace here in rome. there's a very full plate for the president both domestically and here overseas. yes, while the president has been working hard here to repair some of the alliances here and strengthening them, on a key security issue, white house officials have been behind the scenes remaining in close touch with democratic allies on capitol h

one other thing we'll go to keir simmons in rome. sometimes these are grim and grin, sometimes it's just the american president meeting the pope and rome and not much more comes from it. but there are times when history moves, the foundation of history moves, you talk about the relationship where dr. bryziky was a friend and knew him well and there was among many people, a small group of leaders who worked with john pope ii and had a dream that the soviets collapsed. had a dream of a free poland and john paul ii along with -- well, dr. bryzinsky and when margaret thatcher and others helped bring that reality to life and pope john paul ii was at the center of that. >> absolutely. one of the greats, it was george wagal that preached before arguably more human beings than any other time in world history and one of those mass meetings was in poland and behind the iron curtain in the late '70s that year of three popes when he's elected and those remarkable figures who came to power at the same time, reagan and thatcher and john paul ii al

coming up in a little bit, our friend keir simmons, always has these amazing assignments.

. >> keir simmons joins us with a look at the hope and some of the challenges facing thousands of the that the ice rinks are open again for the holidays hard to believe that we were only just in tokyo and now very soon will be in beijing. honestly, beijing is set to be tougher than tokyo there's all of the policies surrounding the chinese government, policy towards the world and internally but talking to some of team usa's best, it's really impressive the way they stay focused on the sport >> reporter: the opening ceremony of the beijing olympics stunned the world back in 2008 now in just three months, china will be back in the spotlight and so will the world's athletes nearly 3,000 from 95 nations shaun white has three gold medals winning a fourth in the same event would make history. >> i know what that fire and that drive and motivation can do to you as an athlete. >> reporter: team usa's nathan chen a gold medal favorite on the ice. both his parents born in china >> to be able to have the opportunity to go to beijing for an olympics is really meaningful >> 45% of the athletes will