no military might and no money kristen welker is at the white house with more on that and some breaking news. kristen? >> shep, good evening. that's right nbc news has learned an american ma osprey carrying four servicmbers we downnorthern norway it was a part of a inigation.ere, the news come the hitakes call between presid biden and his s counterpart. >> reporter: in a critical test, president biden held a nearly two-hour video call with chinese prent xi jinping, warning there would be support ussichina provides itvasion of ukraine, according to the white house. >> china has to make a decision for themselves about where they want to stand >> reporter: the backdrop to the call tense after u.s. officials accused russia of asking china for military and economic aid something both countries deny the secretary of state added to the urgency thursday with this >> we're concerned that they are considering directly assisting russia with tary equip to use in ukraine >> reporter: in an apparent apt t down concerns, chin r of call said prest xi told mr. biden thraine thn't wantth see, addinnflict

kristen welker is at the white house. kristen, the president not mincing words today. >> reporter: he isn't. that's right president biden called vladimir putin a murderous dictator tomorrow, he is going to have what's expected to be a really tough phone call with chinese president xi today, the secretary of state said the administration is concerned china, a key russian partner, is considering directly assisting russia with military equipment and earlier this week the national security adviser warned his chinese counterpart there would be serious consequences if china stepped up to help russia now remember, lester china hasn't condemned the invasion and just like much of europe they continue to buy russian oil and gas. meanwhile, an administration official says military aid to ukraine will be sent as fast as possible lester >> all right kristen welker at the white house, thank you. >>> we're following some breaking news now. let's get the late details. >> reporter: tonight stunning new details in the fiery collision killin

kristen welker on a day that's been decades in the making. >> reporter: a lifetime ago, but moment that haunted the family of emmett till and the nation nearly 70 years. >> you can't forget that you just can't. >> reporter: in 1955, till was only 14 years old, visiting relatives in mississippi when he was accused of whistling at a white woman, then kidnapped, beaten, brutally murdered. his killers never convicted, his mother insisting on an open casket so the world could see what had been done to her child. reverend wheeler parker, the oldest child seen with till is emmett's cousin. parker is the last living relative to witness the abduction. what do you remember about that moment >> i remember hearing the men talk about 2:30 in the morning i said, we getting ready to die, these people are going to kill us >> reporter: today, reverend parker was at the white house to bear witness once again, this time history being made in his cousin's name. >> i just signed into law the emmett till anti-lynching act. >> reporter: president biden signed the first law that makes lynching a federal hate c

lester >> kristen welker, thank you. >>> in ukraine, russian forces are surrounding a city in the north as new images emerge in that brutal missile strike on civilians sheltering in a mariupol theater ukrainian officials now saying hundreds were killed. richard engel is in ukraine. >> reporter: russia is tightening its noose around yet another ukrainian city this time it's chernihiv, which tonight is nearly surrounded and is fighting for its survival in this video, the mayor showed the furious russian attacks and called for assistance further south, the city of mariupol is already completely surrounded, and its ruins stand in tragic testimony to the cost of russia's siege warfare. today we saw the first images from inside a theater russia attacked nine days ago. ukrainians covered in dust who had been sheltering inside looked stunned as the narrator says a missile hit the center of the theater officials in mariupol said today around 300 people taking shelter in the building were killed nbc news cannot verify the claim. it would be the single worst atrocity since the war began. but russi

i am kristen welker live in warsaw, poland. it is friday, march 25th, and we start with breaking news this morning. president biden on his way to poland right now after meeting this morning with the european commission before departing brussels. he's set to arrive in just a few minutes where he'll visit u.s. troops helping to bolster nato defenses. poland is the epicenter of the humanitarian crisis triggered by russia's war in ukraine. taking in more than 2 million refugees in the last four weeks, more than any other country. many polish cities along the border with ukraine completely overwhelmed including the capital of warsaw, where i am. president biden is set to get a firsthand view of the situation when he's greeted by poland's president. the visit comes after a crucial day of high-stakes meetings of nato meetings in brussels, and there are several key take-aways including a short time ago the u.s. and eu announcing a joint task force, increasing supplies of liquefied natural gas to reduce european dependence on russian ga

i'm kristen welker. welcome to a very special edition of "white house reports." here with peter alexander. >> we tried it yesterday. will try it today. we're here at the post with the latest from our sources and major news-makers, and right at this moment the right is on a collision course with history. in less than ten hours president biden will deliver his first state of the union address with what is a dramatic split screen. we're learning that he will discuss his efforts to combat inflation and to promote the improving economy at home but looming over all of it, of course, is the war in ukraine. >> a russian military armored convoy stretching dozens of miles is advancing towards ukraine's capital of kyiv, and the people in the ukranian capital are getting ready as we speak. >> they have no chance to get into our city and into our country, so that's why they should leave or they will be all dead. that's the simple reason. us or them. >> we'll be joined in a moment by our colleague richard engel on the ground there. it's not just the people. president volodymyr

here's kristen welker. >> reporter: after warning vladimir putin may use chemical and biological weapons in ukraine, tonight president biden at an emergency nato summit declaring the u.s. will take action if there is a chemical attack. >> we would respond if he uses it the nature of the response would depend on the nature of the use. >> reporter: but when pressed still no specifics on whether military force is on the table. >> it would trigger a response in kind whether or not you are asking whether nato would cross, we'd make that decision at the time. >> reporter: the president saying this summit with leaders of nato, the g7, and the eu is sending an unmistakable message to putin. >> he didn't think we could sustain this cohesion nato has never, never been more united than it is today. putin is getting exactly the opposite what he intended to have. >> reporter: mr. biden and nato announcing new penalties against russia, including new sanctions on russian lawmakers and $1 billion in humanitarian aid for ukraine. that money a part of recently approved funds. but ukraine's president zelen

here is kristen welker >> tonight, president biden on the cusp of a state of the union address that's the one he anticipated delivering just days ago before russia's invasion of ukraine. according to excerpts he will say putin's war was premeditated and unprovoked he rejected efforts of diplomacy. putin was wrong, we were ready, touting the u.s. response as he did recently nato was more united and more determined than other. >> today, mr. biden speaking with ukraine's president, but domestic challenges are also looming large with the president's approval rating plummeting a new poll today shows americans disapprove of his handling of crime, immigration, the economy and inflation. americans still grappling with soaring prices, seven months after the president insisted inflation would not last >> most of the price increases we've seen were expected and expected to be temporary. >> president biden will lay out plans to help including making more cars and semiconductors in america. judy mcnamara owns a pub in virginia and is struggling. >> i used to have savings. i don't have it anymore.

kristen welker is at the white house. >> reporter: tonight, as russia wages war against ukraine, the united states and its allies are unleashing an increasingly tough response, imposing unprecedented sanctions aimed at choking the russian economy and stopping vladimir putin, who put some of his nuclear forces on higher alert the russian ambassador to the u.n. today. >> so that is a kind of deterrence that we're exercising. >> reporter: the u.s. says it's not changing its nuclear alert level. president biden pressed by a reporter on the nuclear threat. >> mr. president, should americans be worried about nuclear war? >> no. >> reporter: today the u.s. targeting the country's central bank with sanctions, cutting it off from accessing u.s. assets and dollars. even neutral switzerland announced it will join in, imposing new penalties on putin it comes on the heels of the u.s. and its allies expelling some, though not all, of russia's banks from the s.w.i.f.t. financial system, effectively barring them from international financial transactions still, some want the white house to go even fu

i'm kristen welker. thank you for watching.go on shining ♪ ♪ why does the sea rush to shore ♪ ♪ why do the birds go on singing ♪ ♪ why do the stars glow above ♪ ♪ don't they know ♪ ♪ it's the end of the world ♪ ♪ it ended when i lost ♪ ♪ your love ♪ ♪ i wake up in the morning ♪ ♪ and i wonder ♪ ♪ why everything's the same ♪ ♪ as it was ♪ ♪ i can't understand ♪ ♪ no, i can't understand ♪ ♪ how life goes on ♪ ♪ the way it does ♪ ♪ don't they know ♪ ♪ it's the end of the world ♪ ♪ it ended when you said ♪ ♪ goodbye ♪♪ [cheers and applause] >> kelly: welcome to "the kelly clarkson show." to give it up for my band, y'all. "the end of the world." singing that sharon van etten song, what's your connection to that song? >> i have a relationship to that song. there has been a few times where i absolutely felt like it's been the end of the world especially with my first relationship. relationships can be really hard and really tough. he had gotten her pregnant and i was absolutely devastated. i definitely felt like it was the end of the

back to kristen welker with the latest in brussels. kristen? >> chris, thank you so much for that. arrive at the g-7. i want to bring in keir simmons, live in brussels with us, and admiral james stavridis, former nato supreme allied commander. as we look at these images, president biden arriving for this meeting of g-7 leaders, talk to me -- you have spent several weeks in moscow reporting on this crisis. and obviously one of the big issues is the disinformation campaign in moscow right now. we have been reporting that ukraine has been showing incredible strength, particularly in kyiv. how aware are the russian people of the reality on the ground in ukraine and what's happening? >> there's war-time censorship much as you've seen in previous wars, i guess, but not something the west is used to in modern times. president biden is controlling the narrative because he wants to tell the russian people that the war, the military operation as he calls it, is going well. frankly, we know about the setbacks that he is suffering from. i think it's important to say that there are always setba

so the story continues and kristen welker will be on top of it. i can't thank all of you enough for your thoughtful analysis this morning. melinda haring, general john allen, and of course kristen welker, and we appreciate all of you as well as richard engel in country. coming up, record shattering gas prices in the united states a direct consequence of the invasion in ukraine. what it means for the price you pay far beyond the gas pump. >>> we're going to take a look inside russia in our first report, since vladimir putin restricted what journalists could report about the war in ukraine under threat of imprisonment. >>> we're on the ground in poland where the largest european refugee crisis since world war ii is unfolding as we speak. don't go anywhere. d war ii is u speak. don't go anywhere. ething differ. oh, we can help with that. okay, imagine this. your mover, rob, he's on the scene and needs a plan with a mobile hotspot. we cut to downtown, your sales rep lisa has to send some files, like asap! so basically i can pick the right plan for eac

i'm kristen welker. thank you for watching. mess, that fiery crash involving a cal train and a work truck. >> i've been in the fire service 31 years, it's something i haven't seen in my career. >> we are live on the scene, what happened, the extent of the injuries, and when will cal tran fully reopen. >>> also baseball is back but with significant changes for the giants and a's. well tell you what to expect come opening day. >>> and a new look at the damage covid may be doing to our brains, even if you had a mild case of the coronavirus of the ♪ >> good evening, our covid

kristen welker is at the white house for us tonight. kristen, what's at stake on this trip >> reporter: well, lester, president biden will attend that high stakes summit with 30 nato leaders next thursday. a key goal will be the showcase the u.s. and its allies unified opposition to vladimir putin's invasion but the pressure on president biden to do more to help ukraine will likely intensify tomorrow when ukraine's president zelenskyy addresses congress virtually zelenskyy is expected to again plead with lawmakers for a no-fly zone and for those military jets that poland wants to give ukraine. but president biden has opposed both saying those moves could cause world war 3. now, no-fly zone is not widely supported in congress, but there is growing bipartisan support for giving ukraine those polish fighter jets the white house today saying the president still opposes it mr. biden will give his own speech discussing new aid to ukraine after president zelenskyy's address tomorrow lester >> okay, kristen, thank you. >>> tonight the story of t

joining us now, nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel and kristen welker. res innocence of that and after we saw him defiantly appearing in his own office, as though he was telling the russians which get me. here i am. and now appearing virtually at westminster and with all the echoes of churchill and speaking of world war ii and we will fight, we will not give up and reminding great britain and the world that this is the same kind of blitz that they experienced against the nazis in world war ii. richard. >> reporter: the hist o residence here is very profound. you have president zelenskyy, who, himself, is a target, whose country is under attack, who has been moving between his office and bunkers. who then yesterday and you're showing some of the video now, defiantly posted a video of himself in the presidential office in which he said i am not afraid. i am here. and then today speaking to british lawmakers, paraphrasing winston churchill's famous fight on the beaches speech. said we will fight on our shores and in the forest. we will not surrender and mad

kristen welker, the united states now in the middle of this rift with poland over fighter jets.learned that the pentagon believes that vladimir putin still has nearly 95% of the combat power that he started with. so what is the white house doing now to try and provide more military aid to ukraine? >> so first to the issue of the fighter jets, craig, essentially what happened yesterday is that poland announced that it would send fighter jets to make them available for use in ukraine and the white house essentially said it had been caught off guard. three diplomats calling this a surprise announcement. they are in touch with poland about the matter but adding, quote, it is simply not clear to us that there is a substantive rationale for it. we do not believe poland's proposal is a tenable one. why? the thinking inside the biden administration is this move could potentially escalate the standoff and the crisis with moscow and that is the concern. they don't want this war to escalate into a world war, particularly with a nuclear armed vladimir putin, who is increasingly isolated and

and chief white house correspondent, kristen welker. when we cut in the news conference, we were uctag about the attack on the hospital in mariupol. president zelenskyy tweeting out horrific pictures, the aftermath. and you've been with civilian victims in a hospital in kyiv. there's no question that russia continues to attack civilian targets and corridors that had been negotiated for ceasefires and now reporting confirmed from the pentagon they're using dung bombs. long-precision weapons. which might explain some of this but not all the attacks on civilian targets including hospitals and nuclear plants. >> reporter: so, the attack a short while ago on the maternity and children's ward in maur opal -- maur opal has tweeted out video and showing the hospital significantly damaged. in the video you're showing, you'll see a tremendous amount of damage. room after room of devastation. but there do not appear to be victims. there's nots blood trails or bodies. a short while ago i saw a photo of a pregnant woman going down a stair case in wh

ken delainian with that new reporting, kristen welker with the new reporting as well here. a big thanks to both of you and, of course, our chief foreign correspondent richard engel on the ground in ukraine once again. >>> any moment we expect to see president zelenskyy speaking to the canadian parliament. that address comes one day before he addresses u.s. lawmakers. when president zelenskyy begins to speak, we'll take you live. >>> also a stunning movement on russian tv this, protesters interrupting a tv broadcast with a sign that reads no to war and in russian don't believe the propaganda. but what does it say about the mood inside russia? is the anti-war movement stronger than perhaps we may have realized? stronger than pery have realized? it's still the eat fresh refresh, and subway's refreshing their app. so you can customize your favorite footlong, set a pickup time, and jump the line! oh, here she goes! ugh, i thought she was actually gonna jump. subway keeps refreshing and refre- ♪ ♪ i'm getting vaccinated with prevnar 20. so am i. because i'm at risk for pneumococc

. >> and i am kristen welker. we're at the white house. we were listening to linda thomas greenfield at the u.n. making the case for why they should vote for an article to condemn russia, its actions in ukraine, its invasion in ukraine and it really underscores the extent to which this administration has tried to rally international support against russia and its actions. >> her key words, a message to the russian soldiers now in ukraine. she said, "your leaders are lying to you." she called on them to put down their weapons and return to their home country. >> reporter: yeah, she said don't commit more war crimes. pretty stern words there. the president just left a short time ago, following in a presidential tradition of a post-state of the union road stop. he stopped to speak to reporters on his way out. this is what he had to say. >> reporter: mr. president, how worried are you about president zelenskyy? do you think he should stay in ukraine or try to leave in. >> i think it's his judgment to make and we're doing everything we can to h

richard, thank you >>> president biden arriving here in brussels for that nato summit nbc's kristen welker joins us now what are we expecting to hear from president biden and the others >> reporter: good evening, lester. since the west's significant sanctions have not stopped russia's invasion so far, president biden has said there is a threat that putin may news chemical weapons. nbc news has learned the president may announce the u.s. plans to indefinitely maintain an increased number of u.s. troops deployed to nato countries. ukraine's president zelenskyy is expected to address the group virtually and again plead for more help. and as the refugee crisis mounts, president biden will end his trip with a stop in poland, lester a lot at stake >> kristen, good to have you with us tonight. >>> a different kind of devastation back home deadly tornadoes in the south. and it may not be over tornado watch in parts of florida, georgia, ohio, west virginia, pennsylvania, and kentucky sam brock is near new orleans where the scope of the damage is immense. sam? >> reporter: lester, immense but concen

. >>> good evening, i'm kristen welker in tonight for lester.ar in ukraine is reaching a barbaric new level as russian forces are now just ten miles from kyiv's city center, as the death toll mounts. top diplomats from russia and ukraine held urgent talks but failed to reach a breakthrough. and in the wake of th d

i'm kristen welker. welcome to a very special edition of "white house reports."he latest from our sources and major news-makers, and right at this moment the right is on a collision course with history. in less than ten hours president biden will deliver his first state of the union address with

ali arouzi is in ukraine, kristen welker at the white house, josh lederman in vienna and leigh ann caldwell on capitol hill. ali, a lot to get to here. there is a new curfew in kyiv, another round of cease-fire talks, and the new update from the pentagon just in the last couple hours from a defense official that there are other continues -- other cities sill stg heavily bombarded, among them mariupol. >> reporter: that's right, hallie. a new curfew going into effect in kyiv. the mayor klitschko put that in. such a dangerous place there. the russian troop have pretty much overwhelmed irpin. journalists being shot, children caught up in that. they want people to stay at home, to stay safe. the only time they're allowed to come out is when those very eerie air raid sirens go off and they're meant to go into underground bunkers. they want people to stay at home. we saw the devastation that the russians caused there late last night early in the morning. they've terrorized the civilian population. those two residential buildings got bombed. at least three people have been killed. dozens of other

lester hold and kristen welker will lead nbc news coverage as president biden and the biden administration joins the international effort to form a united front against russia. that begins at 7:00 a.m. right after "today in the bay." >> and this morning help could soon be on the way for those trying to make it in the bay. in fact, $400 could soon go back into your pocket. that's what governor newsom is planning for californian drivers to ease the pain at the pump when it comes to the high gas prices. now this all comes in the form of a relief package that would cost the state $11 billion. each driver will get a $400 debit card for each car, up to two cars. even people who drive electric cars will get one. >> anything will help at this point because the $10 and $20 here that used to take us a lot further takes me like a mile down the street. >> governor newsom will meet with the state legislature in the coming days. this is to negotiate the proposal f.approved, drivers would get that debit card in july. there's relief for those who don't own a car as well. the package includes $750 million

president biden's state of the union speech today the president took his message on the road here's kristen welker. >> reporter: president biden taking his economic message to battleground wisconsin. >> don't tell me we can't be a manufacturing center again. we can >> reporter: it comes after he saw rare bipartisan support while delivering his first state of the union address where he touted the unified, global response against russia. >> he has no idea what's coming. >> reporter: the chamber filled with yellow and blue with the ukrainian ambassador looking on as the president condemned putin. >> he met with a wall of strength he never anticipated or imagined he met the ukrainian people. >> reporter: but while there was unity on russia, the president's domestic message was met with deep division. in the face of record-high inflation and his own sagging poll numbers, the president cited a painful reality for families >> with all the bright spots in our economy, inflation is robbing them of gains they thought otherwise they would be able to feel. >> reporter: and he called on congress to pass elemen

joining us from brussels right now, nbc news chief white house correspondent kristen welker. hi, mika. well, it is so good to be with you from brussels. the president could not be under more pressure, frankly. this is the most consequential foreign trip of his presidency so far. because he is under pressure to really try to announce or deliver something consequential that will deter vladimir putin. as you know, as you have reported on extensively so far, putin has been undeterred by all of the actions that the west has taken, all of the rounds of sanctions. so the president departs in about an hour from now, as you say, and tomorrow he is going to be attending an emergency nato summit. this is going to be with 29 other world leaders, and they are going to discuss what exactly they can do, what next steps will be taken. so we expect them to announce a package that will include more sanctions, more military and humanitarian aid. and nbc news has learned overnight, my colleagues courtney kube, carol lee, josh lederman, and myself, saw there may be an announcement of an increased

kristen welker is at the white house. what have they announced today? >> today the biden administration announced new sanctions on eight russian oligarchs who are close to vladimir putin, but the president is stopping short of taking the tougher step of banning russia from selling its oil, which would strike at the heart of the russian economy. despite mounting calls from both parties to take that step including house speaker nancy pelosi just today the white house said blocking russian oil sales would send already skyrocketing gas prices higher and could help putin profit more. blking russi >>> now to an nbc news exclusive, the man w >>> now to an nbc news exclusive the man who stood at the center of some of the storms that engulfed the trump presidency is breaking his silence tonight. former attorney general william barr in his new memoir "one damn thing after another" opens up about his relationship with the former president and ahead of the book's release he opened up to me. >> people really started going after me when they saw that i was not going

let's send it back to my colleague kristen welker in brussels. kristen? >> thanks, chris, so much.ay. hallie jackson picks up our coverage next here on msnbc. -we. ♪ oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! ♪ ♪ oh, oh, oh ♪ ozempic® is proven to lower a1c. most people who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. and you may lose weight. adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. in adults also with known heart disease, ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. ozempic® helped me get back in my type 2 diabetes zone. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin

. >>> good day and welcome, i am kristen welker in for katy tur.d it's a critical moment on the world stage for a president now at the center of the worst conflict in europe since world war ii. during the trip the president may also announce plans for a new and more permanent presence of u.s. troops in nato countries, in eastern europe. according to sources familiar with the discussions, an administration official said there is no final decision yet. and president zelenskyy said peace negotiations are moving forward step by step and russian forces continue to attack ukraine's capital, and rockets have caused extensive damage and it's believed several people died in that attack. richard engel remains in kyiv where they are monitoring the movement of russian forces as well as the counter attacks in ukraine's defense. >> this is kyiv here in the center. these russian areas, the red areas are all russian-controlled territory. you see just to the north of kyiv, there's a big russian area, and to the northeast

i am kristen welker reporting. >>> jose diaz-balart reports pick up our coverage. >> good morning, on a busy friday morning. moments ago president biden arrived to poland where he'll be meeting with service members, stationed alongside our nato allies. the president will meet to millions who have fled the war. tomorrow, president biden is expected to deliver a major address. we'll bring you a live report from poland and we'll talk to senator jack reed. >>> in ukraine, mariupol officials said at least 300 people were killed in the strike of the theater as being used for shelter. >>> mitch mcconnell will vote against confirming judge ketanji brown jackson. >>> senator hirono will join us to discuss judge jackson. >> we begin this friday morning with president biden in poland, a key u.s. ally is playing a key role in this humanitarian crisis as a result of russia's invasion into ukraine. president biden touched down in poland where he'll be meeting with service members and receiving a briefing of the broad humanitarian response of the growing number of refugees fleeing the violence in uk

." >>> good morning, everyone, i'm kristen welker. my partner, peter alexander is on assignment.

nbc's chief white house correspondent kristen welker join us with more details.d morning to you. what can we expect to hear from president biden in a few hours. >> reporter: hi, craig, good the president is expected to call for an end to russia's "most favored nation" status, which essentially means ending normal trade regulations. the implications of this the u.s. will be able to raise tariffs on many russian product, caviar, vodka and even plywood the president needs congress to take this action but lawmakers so far on both sides of the aisle have expressed support. it is important to stress, russia is not a major trading partner with the u.s but other ally, eu, canada and japan are all expected to make similar moves this morning of course it comes after a series of sanctions punishing and alienating russia and its economy, craig and savannah. >> and still on the topic of russia and sanctioned. washington also just made a big move to help fund and aid ukraine with the humanitarian efforts. >> exactly right help for ukraine may b the one thing many people here i

nbc chief white house correspondent kristen welker already in brussels where the president will arriven good morning. >> hoda, good morning to you. this is the most consequential foreign trip of president biden's presidency. he's attending an emergency nato summit thursday where he'll meet with leaders of 29 countries. ukraine's president zelenskyy is expected to join virtually. as he left, the president told reporters the possibility of putin using chemical weapons is a, quote, real threat. white house officials say the president and allies will announce a package that will include more sanctions and more aid, and nbc news has learned overnight the president may also announce the u.s. plans to permanently maintain an increased number of u.s. troops deployed to nato countries. the president's final stop will be in poland, to thank them for sheltering refugees. hoda? >> all right, kristen welker, thank you so much. >>> we turn now to craig, we have the confirmation hearing of judge jackson, it will be the third day today. >> yes, good morning. judge jackson will be sitting for her secon

thank you very much for all of that and joining me in brussels, chief white house correspondent, kristen welker and chief white house correspondent, kelly o'donnell. great to have my colleagues and pals here. we'll be hearing some good news from kyiv. they're holding them off. but mariupol in the south is a disaster. what the nato secretary general said is we can no longer take peace for granted. that's what he said at the news conference. >> how unsubtle. >> nato has, for 70 years, been the guardrail against war in europe for the most part. and here you have nato standing guard but ukraine falling piece by piece to russia. >> and that's why there's so much pressure on president biden and thenatedo allies to announce something significant when they hold this emergency meeting. tomorrow we know they're going to announce new sanctions. we know they'll announce new hume an teargen and military aid. how far will they go? based on reporting overnight, we anticipate the president may announce that there will be a permanent increase to u.s. troop levels innato countries. he wants the polish migs and y

." >>> good morning, everyone, i'm kristen welker. my partner, peter alexander is on assignment. we are following the global alarm and what comes next as russia attacks the largest nuclear power plant in ukraine. right now it's still under the control of russian forces. it has prompted the united nations security council to call another emergency meeting. that is expected to happen in about 30 minutes from now around the same time president biden is expected to talk to the president of poland by phone. here's blinken speaking just over an hour ago. >> we are faced together with what is president putin's war of choice, unprovoked, unjustified. >> in moments i'll go one on one with jill hruby. she spoke with president biden last night as the world was learning of the nuclear attack. and meanwhile the russian assault on kyiv appears to be intensifying today. explosions and air raid sirens exploded this morning. also ahead this hour, we'll go in to dig into those jobs numbers released this morning, 678,000 jobs added just last month, much more than economists were expecting. what thi

saturday, march 12th 2022 >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with peter alexander and kristen welker >>> welcome to "today. thanks for joining us on saturday morning the calendar, you may have seen, says we're a week until spring the forecast doesn't look like it with freezing temperatures and snow for a lot of folks. >> it is hard to believe we are talking about a bomb cyclone in march. how is that possible we will delve into that in a minute. >>> the eyes of the world on ukraine and the fast moving developments there as russia steps up attacks across the country. overnight video released of a mayor in the city of the south kidnapped by russian troops. ukraine's president zelenskyy calling the move a crime against democracy. >> in russia, another social media crackdown. russians officials announcing monday that starting monday, instagram will be blocked in the country. the move coming after instagram's parent company, meta, that also owns facebook said, it would allow users in some countries, including ukraine, to call for violence against russian soldiers >>> we will have more from

i want to go to chief white house correspondent kristen welker who with our friend peter alexander brought this breaking news. kristen, first of all, a tremendous amount of pressure, right, from bipartisan groups of members of congress but ultimately, what can you tell us about this and what we're expecting to hear from the president? >> reporter: well, chris, we are going to hear president biden announce that the u.s. will ban russian oil imports. this is the most punitive measures that the u.s. has take on the date. of course, they have announced a range of other sanctions against russia including against its large financial institutions and oligarchs. but this goes a step further. in terms of whoo we are going to hear, the president will announce that the u.s. is acting unilaterally. in other words, that means its european allies and partners are not taking the same step, and this is significant, chris, because it means it's not going to have the same bite, the same impact on russia's economy if this were being done in lock step with european partners and allies. so, what is the preside

i'm kristen welker in for chuck todd. thousands of civilians are trying to flee. russian forces are on kyiv's door step leaving the u.s. allies contemplating their next moves, all amid europe's worst refugee crisis since world war ii. they bidn administration said it's in discussions on the energy market and at the same time are having talks with poland to send fighter jets to ukraine as putin warns western stations against involvement. a pentagon official tells msnbc news, more than 1.7 million people have fled the war-torn country, with more than 400 civilians killed since the full-scale invasion began less than two weeks ago. there are reports of russian forces opening fire on some civilians and ukrainian officials have characterized a prosed russian cease-fire as a farce. the president this morning spoke with french president emmanuel macron, olaf schultz and they will discuss moscow and a potential ban on russian oil imports. >> officials meeting in an effort to de-escalate the situation. secretary of state antony blinken, who is meeting today with his counte

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. >> announcer: from nbc news this is "today" with peter alexander and kristen welker. >>> welcome to "today," thank you so much for joining us this saturday morning. peter, as we say good morning to everyone, we are learning new details about the crash in norway. >> this is days before president biden is scheduled to head overseas, visiting with america's nato allies, and now loss of american troops side by side with allies. >> that's the backdrop to the top story. four american service members killed in norway during a nato training exercise. courtney kube joins us with the latest. good morning. what can you tell us? >> reporter: that's right, kristin. the norwegian prime minister, the first to announce that four u.s. service members on board that mv 22 os pray were killed in the crash. the aircraft was initially missing a number of hours before the u.s. could find it. and that underscores how difficult and dangerous the weather conditions were in the area. there's an exercise going on, a nato exercise, cold response 22. it has been long planned, has nothing to do with the ongoing t