. >> i'm richard engel in nbc news, los angeles. >>> i am richard engel in london, with tighter lockdown. >> the u.s. will see what the u.k. is seeing since the virus, it is more difficult to control, spiking some cases and deaths. mathematical biology and advise it has british government on >> reporter: neir ferguson, professor of mathematical biology and advises the british government on covid. >> this virus changes two ways, it is spread easily and more likely to die. >> how long will it take for it to spread to the rest of the united states or will it >> it will spread to the united states, we think between 40% or 50% of greater transmission. >> reporter: when and how does this strain spread faster than the original virus >> we just in frequent contact, meeting someone on the streets or stopping to have a coffee without wearing a mask the risk is low of transmission, that risk may have gone up by as much as 70%. >> reporter: new rules of the road for emerging strain, richard engel, nbc news, london. >> dr. john torres is joining us common sense to double mask. so should we all be doi

it may make the current vaccine less effective >> richard engel tonight thank you. more than 4,000 americans died from covid yesterday that's a new record. here is miguel almaguer. >> reporter: as the u.s. marks the darkest day of the pandemic, wednesday's startling death toll means one american dies every 20 seconds. the country surpassed 400,000 deaths states like alabama and lvania have the highest death rates in the nation. >> patients are scared >> reporter: brittany shilling have watched the virus destroyed families for months. >> it is heartbreaking to see patients going through what they are dealing with >> reporter: hospitals remaining over run there is measurable progress in l.a. county, the numbers are encouraging but still worrisome. >> the end is not yet insight. >> reporter: while americans know wearing a mask is for protection, only about half say they only comply when coming into close contact with others >> experts insist as americans defy precautions, the death toll will rise. >> we watch for a months now people losing their family members and shoc

richard engel is in london how's this playing out, richard >> reporter: lester, this was an absolute gift for dictators and strong men around the world, a way to show that they're no worse than the united states. a militia leader in iraq whose supporters in the past stormed iraq's parliamen had his followers out on the street denouncing what happened the president of zimbabwe who came to power in the coup said the u.s. does not have the moral authority to criticize him. iran said what happened showed that the u.s. electoral system is flawed russia which has a president for life criticized what happened so america's rivals saw what happene and they saw a opportunity and they're taking it. >> richard engel in london with a view from overseas tonight, thanks, richard. >>> no shocking many didn't find the assault on the capitol all that surprising. peter alexander reports. >> reporter: what we witnessed didn't look like america it looked like an insurrection rioters storming the u.s. capitol legislators hiding in fear and the president's angry loyalists occupying the houses of congress m

spreading here but also a south african variant now richard engel has more. >> reporter: the u.k. today rolled out mass vaccination centers in racetracks and convention halls health officials say the next few weeks here will be the worst of the pandemic so far. a new strain, up to 70% more contagious has taken over london's mayor warns 1 in 30 people in the city may now have the virus. a south af transmissible as the uk variant is now dominant there and already jumped to nearly a dozen countries. a japanese strain was just confirmed today. >> the virus has become much more efficient in terms of being able to infect people. >> reporter: this man leads vaccine trials in south africa. do you think this south african variant is already in the united states? >> i would be highly surprised if it hasn't been exported to the united states. i think it is just a matter of days, if not weeks. uk variants are genetic mutations of the original covi because the virus is so widespread. evolution is sped up by the pandemic. >> the larger issue is we will see more and more mutations. this is just

lester >> richard engel tonight, thank you >>> that highly contagious variant from the uk has now been found in georgia. that's the fifth state to confirm a case. it comes as hospitals brace for a post-holiday surge as miguel almaguer reports, california's now taking drastic steps. >> reporter: with california's health care system in critical condition, tonight at least one l.a. hospital has activated its crisis care standards, allowing the medical center to ration care. as covid cases cripple and overwhelm e.r.s, residents in southern california are being urged to only call 911 in an extreme emergency. and now in a stunning directive, ems teams in los angeles county are being asked to conserve oxygen as paramedics have been told not to transport patients who can't be resuscitated did you ever think your first responders would be faced with a situation like this? >> no. this is unprecedented for anyone who's been in this business >> reporter: california is reopening shuttered hospitals as the state lost nearly 4,000 residents in just 14 days and now doctors expect the newly detected an

richard engel got rare access of how the variants are being tracked as they spread around the world >> reporter: covid is ravaging brazil. hospitals running out of oxygen, deaths rising, because of new covid mutations. today the uk already struggling with its own highly contagious variant, banned nearly all travel from south america. i went to the uk's main sequencing lab near cambridge, leading the world in hunting for variants robots here select covid positive tests, gathered nationwide. the virus is fed into machines that reveal its genetic code, and if the code has changed with a mutation doctor naomi park manages operations how often do you find anomalies? >> it's alarming they are quite rare >> reporter: are americans looking for variants and mutations closely enough >> honestly, no, not nearly sufficient to be able to doing the real time surveillance and monitoring all the variants as they arrive >> reporter: so americans might not know the real kind of variants that they're facing >> no, it might be they only realize once they see the effects of it and that is certainly too la

richard engel spoke about this with dr. anthony fauci. >> reporter: with at least two viral strains now detected in the united states, i asked dr. anthony fauci where we're heading. >> i'm in london right now. when this strain became dominant here, bad things happened. do you anticipate that's going to happen in the u.s.? >> now is the time for people to realize that there is a threat. and what you do when there's a threat is you look at what the countermeasures that you have against the threat one of them is to health measures that we talk about. the other thing is get vaccinated >> reporter: so it sounds like we are now on a path, in a race against the evolution of this virus. are we on track to win that race? >> i believe that we have the capability of doing that but i can tell you that this is going to be difficult this is going to be tough. because viruses have extraordinary capability of evading. >> do you think we need to go onto a more war-like footing why aren't there refrigerated trucks driving down the streets of

richard engel has the latest now from london >> reporter: the uk tonight acknowledged it's losing its battle against the new strain of the virus, up to 70% more contagious and needs to lockdown immediately. england is closing schools and universities and banning all but essential movement. >> you may only leave home for limited reasons permitted in law such as to shop for essentials, to work if you absolutely cannot work from home, to exercise, to seek medical assistance. >> reporter: prime minister johnson said the lockdown will last until mid-february by then he said the uk will have vaccinated all people over 70, all those in care homes and all front line medical workers as of today the uk began distributing its homegrown oxford astrazeneca vaccine which unlike the pfizer and moderna vaccines doesn't require ultra cold temperatures making it easier to store and distribute. >> why do you think this will change things >> this will change things because it is the light at the end of the tunnel. >> reporter: for the rest of europe the vaccine rollout has been extremely slow. france onl

nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel takes us inside the laboratory that discovered that one of the most important laboratories in the entire world. thismain genetic sequencing laboratory. they are looking for new genetic strains of the coronavirus. we talk a lot about the u.k. strain. almost all of it was detected in this laboratory. almost all the cases of this new highly contagious strain. and it is not an easy thing to do, to look for a new variant. you have to genetically sequence the coronavirus itself. you have to take samples, break them apart, and then amplify them and ultimately run them through one of these machines right here. the sequence takes 24 hours. they can each do about 1,500 samples at a time. and then after 24 hours, it spits out the entire coronavirus's genetic code. and the scientists look the see if it has mutated again and the great concern would be that it would mutate again to a point that it makes it more trans missible or even that it makes it resistant to a vaccine. that's what they are doing. they are looking but not all the countries aroun

richard engel is in london >> good evening. >> reporter: president biden want to engage on the worldocus on the security of washington, a way to show that the united states is -- it was more about healing our international relations. >> thank you, richard. >> up next is our final thought on this day. . >>> on this inauguration day, all of us together as one nation across the country. #. >> i am joe r. biden solemnlyswear. >> president biden, reminded us of our wounded country. >> he may or may not be the person you want to lead our country but he is the leader that we have and we desperately need him to be good this is the inauguration and in time of no others. that's "nightly news" on this wednesday, i am lester holt, thank you for watching everyone please take care of yourself and each other. good night >>> this is democracy's day, a day of history and hope, of renewal and resolve, through a the ages and america has risen to the challenge. today we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate but of a cause, the cause of democracy. >>> the news at 6:00 starts right now. good evening an

joining us now is nbc news chief correspondent richard engel. wing navalny since the assassination attempt, his recovery in germany, inspired by german scientists but it was precisely that german agent, nerve agent only known to russia, that caused him to be deathly ill. now he went back and was arrested. what do these protests mean to you? >> well, this is a new phase for putin and navalny. he's been in opposition for several years now but he's always been -- i don't want to say fringe figure but he had been somewhat of a controversial figure, not all of the russian politicians, including the russian politicians were united behind them. and that helped vladimir putin, it helped the kremlin to say he wasn't important, that the media focused too much attention on him. but now that he went back into the lion's den, after having nearly died, he was in a medically induced coma after being poisoned with novichok, that he recovered in five months after being in excruciating pain, and went back, went back to russia knowing he would be arrested as soon a

nbc's richard engel, thank you, as always, for being here.>>> and still ahead, authorities are investigating hundreds of people in connection with the capitol riot, but there's new reporting that federal law enforcement officials are debating whether they should decline to charge some of them. we'll try to figure out why that is. >>> but before we go to break, we want to know, why are you awake on this monday? email us your reasons to waytooearly@msnbc.com or drop me a tweet @kasie. use #waytooearly, and we will read some of the best answers coming up later on in the show. w my plaque psoriasis... ...the itching ...the burning. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant™ with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your

erin mclaughlin and richard engel, thank you, both. appreciate it. >>> long lines, not enough doses, and crashing websites. those are just some of the reasons it is taking so long to get americans the coronavirus vaccine. we're going to take a closer look at the problems and one potential fix. that's next. l fix. that's next. over sixty-four thousand pets supported. over twenty-five hundred wishes granted. over two million meals provided. over four hundred national parks protected. in fact, subaru and our retailers will have proudly donated over two hundred million dollars to national and hometown charities through the subaru share the love event. (vo) get 0% for 63 months and subaru will donate 250 dollars to charity. so when you do, make it count with crest pro-health. it protects the 8 areas dentists check for a healthier mouth. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. crest. be right back. with moderate to severe crohn's disease, i was there, just not always where i needed to be. is she alright? i hope so. so i talked to my doctor about

joining me now from london, nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel. he secured access to one of those locations in england where some of the first doses of the astrazeneca/oxford vaccine were given. richard, good to have you with us. also as we mentioned, breaking news out of the uk. what more can you tell us about this lockdown that's being described as even more severe than the initial lockdown back in march? >> reporter: so, ayman, this is certainly not the kind of day that people in this country were expecting on the first working day of 2021. they were hoping that this would be the start of a new era, the start of a new vaccination program which began this morning, but then a short while ago, prime minister boris johnson came out and said that cases are skyrocketing, that they have been increasing dramatically over the last week, in particular. he said that the national health care service here could be overwhelmed if nothing was done. so he announced the start effective immediately of a new national lockdown for england. that means schools are cl

our richard engel lays out why these new strains are cause for so much concern. >> reporter: in londonave risen to nearly twice last year's peak, largely because of that new, more contagious strain of the virus 0 the cdc estimates could be dominant in the u.s. in march. it's not the only strain. a south african variant may have evolved to infect people more than once. >> this virus can spread a bit more efficiently from person to person. >> reporter: dr. richard lesles discovered the south african variant. >> we're worried this variant may be able to escape some of the natural immunity that's by the virus. that means that it's possible this variant is able to reinfect people. >> what about the vaccines we have now? can they stop the south african variant? >> we don't know yet and that's really one of the critical questions we're now addressing. >> reporter: while the data is still coming in a new study reports the south african variant's ability to evade antibodies may make current vaccines less effective. >> our thanks to richard engel for that report from london tonight. >>> coming u

richard engel, nbc news, cambridge. >> unbelievable. lesson of this new era of modern technology. this one is about optics. we can see you. someone learned that lesson all over again just today. >>> last thing before we go here tonight. it is on the bookshelf of any self-respecting history buff, the monumental book called "the wise man" written by walter isaacson and evan thomas and published a quarter century ago now. its subtitle is "six friends and the world they made." the book profiles acheson, bohlen, harriman, kennan, lovett, and mccloy. they were all bankers and lawyers and diplomats who counselled presidents from fdr to lbj and helped guide america to its post war place. if the two authors were to update the seminole work, they would be duty bound to include lindell. that would be mike lindell, the conspiracy theorists who makes pillows with chopped up foam. his commercials air on fox news every few minutes. that qualifies him for statesman status in the trump white house. he met with the president in the oval office today just

richard engel has more >> reporter: in london covid deaths have risen nearly twice largely because of the new more contagious strain of the virus the cdc estimates could be dominate in the u.s. in march. it is not the only strain, a south african variant may evolve to infect people more than once. >> reporter: dr. richard discovered the south african variant. >> we are worried that this variant may be able to escape some of the natural unity of infection of the virus this variant is able to reinfect people >> reporter: what about the vaccine that we have now can they stop these south african variant? >> we don't know yet that's a critical question that we are not addressing. >> reporter: while the data is coming in, a new study to be peer reviewed. it may make the current vaccine less effective thank you. more than 4,000 americans die from covid yesterday that's a new record. here is miguel almaguer. >> reporter: as the u.s. marks the darkest day of the pandemic, wednesday's startling death toll means one american dies every 20 seconds. the country surpassed 400,000 deaths states like

richard engel has the latest >> reporter: the u.k. strain is 50% more contagious than the original virus. the spread around the world. it is expected to become dominant in the u.s. by march according to the cdc cases rise today in new york what we did not know british officials announced tonight. the mutant strain may also be more deadly. >> the new variant that was identified in london may be associated with a higher degree of mortality >> there is evidence that there is an increase risk for those who have the new variant compares to the old virus. now that evidence is not yet strong it is a series of bits of information that come together to support that. >> reporter: just yesterday the scientists discovered another variant in south africa told us that strain could evade antibodies >> if we don't do a good enough job controlling the spread of the virus, the virus will naturally evolve >> reporter: how many variants are out there now? >> probably in the time we have been talking, probably there is a new one popped up some where today

richard engel, nbc news london. >>> wish we had better news for you.were more villains than heroes during the looting of our capitol building, but at least one hero is being singled out. his story when we come back. a migraine hope from aimovig. to show up... ...for the sweet. the hectic. the tender. the tense. and the fiery. but for many, migraine keeps them... ...from saying... ..."i am here." we aim to change that... ...with... ...aimovig, a preventive treatment... ... for migraine in adults. one dose... ...once a month... ...is proven to reduce monthly migraine days. for some, by half or more. don't take aimovig if you're allergic to it. allergic reactions like rash or swelling can happen hours to days after use. severe constipation can happen. sometimes with serious complications. high blood pressure can happen or worsen with aimovig. common side effects include injection site reactions and constipation. it doesn't matter what each day brings. so long as you can say... ... i am here. aim... ...to be there more. talk to your doctor about aimovig. >

richard engel, nbc news, cambridge. >> unbelievable.n of this new era of modern technology. this one is about optics. we can see you. someone learned that lesson all over again just today. u ♪ ♪ be right back. with moderate to severe crohn's disease, i was there, just not always where i needed to be. is she alright? i hope so. so i talked to my doctor about humira. i learned humira is for people who still have symptoms of crohn's disease after trying other medications. the majority of people on humira saw significant symptom relief in as little as 4 weeks. and many achieved remission that can last. humira can lower your ability to fight infections. serious and sometimes fatal infections, including tuberculosis, and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptom

our report from london tonight o from our chief foreign correspondent richard engel. >> reporter: thet acknowledged its losing its battle against the new strain of the virus, up to 70% more contagious and needs to lockdown immediately. england is closing schools and universities and banning all but essenti essential movements. >> you may only leave home for limited reasons permitted such as to shop for essentials, to work if you absolutely cannot work from home, to exercise, to seek medical assistance. >> reporter: prime minister johnson said the lockdown will last until mid-february. by then, he said, the u.k. will have vaccinated all people over 70, all those in care homes and all front line medical workers. as of today, the u.k. began districting its homegrown oxford, astrazeneca vaccine which unlike the pfizer and moderna vaccines doesn't require ultracold temperatures, making it easier to store and distribute. why do you think this will change things? >> this will change things because it is -- it's the light at the end of the tunnel. >> reporter: for the rest of europe, the vacc

tonight our chief foreign correspondent richard engel brings us more on why the uk variant spreadings raising even more alarm. >> reporter: we already knew the uk strain has evolved to be about 50% more contagious than the original virus. the ease of transmission helping it spread around the world. it's expected to become dominant in the u.s. by march, according to the cdc. cases rising today in new york. what we didn't know british officials announced tonight. the mutant strain may also be more deadly. >> the new variant, the variant that was first identified in london and the southeast may be associated with a higher degree with mortality. >> there is evidence that there is an increased risk for those who have the new variant compared to the old virus. now that evidence is not yet strong. it's a series of different bits of information that come together to support that. >> reporter: just yesterday, the scientist who discovered another variant in south africa told us that strain could evade antibodies. >> and if we don't do a good enough job of controlling the spread of the virus, t

our chief foreign correspondent richard engel has more overseas reaction from london tonight. >> reporterense of relief. president biden said he wants to reengage with the world, to which our allies are responding, welcome back. china expects its confrontation with the united states to continue under the biden administration. russia today mostly focused on all the security in washington, a way to show that the united states is still sick. but around the world, among our allies, today was more about healing our international relations. >> our thanks to richard engel for that report from london tonight. another break and coming up, one last history-making moment from today, as the whole world was watching. [ thunder rumbles ] [ engine rumbling ] ♪♪ [ beeping ] [ engine revs ] ♪♪ uh, you know there's a 30-minute limit, right? tell that to the rain. [ beeping ] for those who were born to ride, there's progressive. at visionworks, we want you to feel safe [ beeping ] and we want you to see yourself in your new glasses and think, "ooh!" but if you get home and your "ooh" is more of a "hmm..." y

new variant we have been talking about, the virus is spreading here and be more deadly after all richard engel has the latest >> reporter: we already knew the u.k. strain has evolved to be about 50% more contagious than the original virus the ease of transmission spreading around the world it is expected to become dominate in the u.s. by march according to the cdc cases rising today in new york what we did not know british officials announced tonight, the mutant strain may be more deadly >> the new variant that was identified in london and the southeast associated with a higher degree of mortality >> there is evidence that there is an increase risk for those who have the new variant compares to the old virus. now that evidence is not yet strong it is a series of different bits of information that comes together to support that >> reporter: just yesterday the scientists discovered another variant in south africa told us that strain could evade antibodies >> if we don't control the spread of the virus, the virus will naturally evolve. >> reporter: how many variants are out there now? >> real var

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richard engel is in london >> good evening, lester here in europe among america's allies there is a sensepresident biden wants to reengage with the world which our allies are responding, welcome back russia today mostly focused on all the security in washington, a way to show that the united states is still sick but around the world among our allies, today was more about healing our international relationship >> rich card. thank you, up next, i will have some final th thoughts on this historic day two weeks left of this presidency, where is this going despite what we have been through, there will be a transfer of power at the u.s. capitol. >> on this historic not inauguration day all of us together as one nation finds ourself at across road >> we held our breaths for this day, not to celebrate the achievement of one man but to know that we can do it without interference that the constitution remains our guiding set of principles >> this is not how we wanted it. neither against the background of a capitol under sieged by a manmade threat of violence or above a national mall, empty of spect

joining me is richard engel. what are the next steps? what's moscow saying?othing. it's internal that the eu and the united states, the state department calling for his release, condemning the mass arrests, they should mind their own business, they are trying to stir unrest in russia. there is unrest now in russia. there was very large protests in dozens of cities from the east to the west to siberia over the weekend. now there's a possibility that this could become a recurring event. there could be a series of demonstrations in the days, weeks and months ahead. this is a real challenge for vladimir putin. navalny didn't have this broad support that he has now a year or two years ago. after he survived his poisoning, recovered in germany and then made the very bold decision, brave decision to go into the lion's den, he knew he would be arrested and he went back to moscow. that earned a lot of people's respect. >> richard engel live in london, thank you for bringing us that reporting. >>> we will be right back with what our sources are saying with the answer t

. >> reporter: richard engel, nbc news, london >> reporter: i'm miguel almaguer. tonight as the u.s. tries to stop and slow the spread of more contagious variants of the virus, restrictions in some of the nation's largest and hardest-hit cities are now being rolled back. >> we're at a new place now and we can start to adjust that valve and start to open up more economic activity >> reporter: roughly half the country including states like new york, illinois and california have already confirmed cases of the highly contagious and perhaps deadlier uk strain and are now bracing for dangerous mutations >> i want to remind folks we're not out of the woods. >> reporter: while case numbers nationally are improving, officials fear the virus variants can easily spread, triggering more hospitalizations and deaths still, in los angeles this week, where icus remain at full capacity, hair and nail salons were given the green light to reopen outdoor dining is back too. while in chicago indoor dining resumes. >> i am concerned about some of the lifting and rolling back of precaut

let's get right to nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel who was able to talk with dr. ony fauci. so, richard, curious what your angle was with dr. fauci, what did you hear? >> so, we just finished our conversation. we spoke for about half an hour and it was almost exclusively about viral mutations. what they mean and how they change the pandemic we're facing right now. in many ways, it is like we are restarting this fight against the pandemic. the next few months are going to be perhaps the most difficult ever. there are at least he said two known viral strains in the united states. the uk variant, which is doing so much damage here in london and in the uk. and the brazilian strain and he said the brazilian strain is quite similar to the south african strain and it appears to be both a fast spreader and has some ability to avade antibodies. this is a difficult time. but he said the main solution, the best solution is to vaccinate as soon as possible. that the best way to protect against these variants and other variants emerging is to vaccinate quickly. but then i press

. >>> in michigan, 90% need to be vaccinated to fight off the straight nbc's richard engel has the latest on the new variants. >> reporter: in london the coronavirus peaked because of the new strain the cdc estimates could be dominant in the u.s. in march. it's not the only strain a south african variant may have evolved to spread the virus more than once. >> we worry that this variant may be able to escape some of the natural immunity that's out there. >> could they stop the south african variant? >> we don't know yet that's one of the critical questions we're now addressing. >> reporter: while the data is still coming in, a new study yet to be peer reviewed reports the south africa's ability to evade new antibodies may make new vaccines less effective. >> that's tough to hear. >>> former president trump is mounting his defense for his second impeachment trial he made his first hire yesterday, south carolina attorney butch bowers will defend the president for allegedly inciting insurrection on the u.s. capitol. tracie potts joins us. we've got an idea when the trial will begin. >> report

richard engel is in london. >> good evening, lester.europe among america's allies there is a sense of relief. president biden said he wants to re-engage with the world, to which our allies are responding, welcome back. china expects its confrontation with the united states to continue under the biden administration. russia today mostly focused on all the security in washington, a way to show that the united states is still sick. but around the world, among our allies, today was more about healing our international relations. lester. >> richard, thank you. >>> up next, i'llave final h (coughing) hi susan! honey? yeah? i respect that. but that cough looks pretty bad... try this new robitussin honey severe. the real honey you love... plus, the powerful cough relief you need. mind if i root through your trash? new robitussin honey severe. strong relief for your severe symptoms. age-related macular degeneration may lead to severe vision loss. strong relief so the national eye institute did 20 years of clinical studies on a formula only found

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel joins us with the very latest.rning. there has been broad international condemnation this morning following the arrest of the russian opposition leader, alexei navalny. who is perhaps russia's most well-known opposition figure and of that criticism also coming from president-elect biden's own team, his incoming national security adviser calling on russia to release navalny immediately. alexei navalny kissed his wife, julia, good-bye before he was detained at passport control in moscow. he knew he'd be taken in. supporters say his return to russia was an act of brave defiance by vladimir putin's most determined critic. >> he's fighting not only against putin. he is fighting for being recognized as a leader of russian opposition. and you can't keep this place when you are abroad. >> reporter: navalny's flight home began in germany where he'd been recovering for five months after being poisoned. navalny and julia tried to show their calm on the flight, quoting a russian film, saying, "boy, bring us some vodka. we're g

nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel has the very latest on this.in years, in dozens of towns and cities they were in favor of alexei navalny, but also, against vladimir putin >> reporter: police in moscow started making arrests even before the demonstrators started protesting more than 1,000 people were detained in the russian capital alone, organizers say. 3,000, they claim, nationwide. >> we're going to fight and fine us ridiculous fines >> reporter: protests extended become moscow to the far east, near china, on the permafrost of siberia, in temperatures of minus 60, all to demand the release of alexei navalny, a putin critic who survived poisoning by a russian nerve agent five months ago. after recovering in germany, showing great personal courage, he returned home to russia last week, knowing he'd be arrested take to the streets, navalny said from detention. his supporters then posted a video claiming to expose putin's wealth, including his alleged billion-dollar vacation home on the black sea. the video was quickly viewed over 20 million time

nbc news the chief foreign correspondent richard engel.e is stepping up their efforts to vaccinate the most vulnerable members of society. bring us up to speed on the latest. >> the latest is not good. they are trying to speed up this vaccination process. they want to get to 2 million a week. they're nowhere near that right now. today they just opened several mass vaccination centers. you still need an appointment to go to them so you can't just show up and roll up your sleeve. but they are clearly, and you can hear it in their voices when they give these medical briefings, trying to speed up this process, because they're worried. the hospitals are filling up. some hospitals here in london have twice as many patients in them now than they did during the peak, of the peak originally in april. and the chief medical officer not long ago warned that these next few weeks will be the worst so far in this entire pandemic. and it is because of this new highly contagious strain. up to 70% more contagious. the medical officer very flatly said don't

joining me is nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel in london. y situation in the uk, richard. >> reporter: it is an emergency situation. and i think americans should be watching what is happening here very closely. the officials here thought they would be in a very different situation. the people of this country hoped that 2020 would be a fresh start. but now they are facing this new variant which is, according to boris johnson, 70% more contagious. so they're in a race. this new variant was first discovered here, first noticed in september. but just in the last few months it has replaced, largely, the original coronavirus and is now the dominant strain. so if you have a dominant strain in a city like london and in other major parts of the uk, it pushed out the other variant and is continuing to spread rapidly. so there is a race between the variant, which is spreading, and the vaccine efforts which are trying to knock down the variant before it spreads too fast. and it's not the only variant. there is also a fast-spreading south african variant

our own richard engel sat down with the iranian ambassador at the united nations today.re watching msnbc. n adminisn you' wreatching msnbc. les. essential for pine trees, but maybe not for people with certain inflammatory conditions. because there are options. like an “unjection™”. xeljanz. the first and only pill of its kind that treats moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, or moderate to severe ulcerative colitis when other medicines have not helped enough. xeljanz can lower your ability to fight infections. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections, like tb and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. serious, sometimes fatal infections, cancers including lymphoma, and blood clots have happened. taking a higher than recommended dose of xeljanz for ra may increase risk of death. tears in the stomach or intestines and serious allergic reactions have happened. needles. fine for some things. but for you, there's a pill that may provide symptom rel

in november, johnson & johnson's chief global supply chain officer spoke with richard engel. >> what'sracking that second dose. >> reporter: but there are also new concerns this morning. "the new york times" is reporting federal officials have been told johnson & johnson has fallen as much as two months behind the production schedule. the company signed a $1 billion contract with "operation warp speed" promising 100 million doses by june of this year. in a statement they say in part, it is confident in the ability to meet our 2021 supply commitments signed with governments. the company's chief scientific officer told reuters it is on track to roll out the vaccine in march if the fda gives emergency use authorization. anticipation for this vaccine in particular is high. a major advantage of the single dose vaccine only requires basic refrigeration, making it easier to distribute and administer. nationwide, the initial vaccine rollout has been rocky. while both moderna and pfizer's vaccines were authorized late last year, distribution is behind schedule. >> it is going very, very badly.

richard engel, nbc news london. >>> wish we had better news for you.ing up, there were more villains than heroes during the looting of our capitol building, but at he's one hero is being singled out. his story when we come back. st y is waiting to be shared. at ancestry.com cranky-pated: a bad mood related to a sluggish gut. miralax is different. it works naturally with the water in your body to unblock your gut. free your gut, and your mood will follow. state of the art technology makes it brilliant. the visionary lexus nx, lease the 2021 nx 300 for $359 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. ♪ ♪ [ engines revving ] ♪ it's amazing to see them in the wild like th-- shhh. [ engine revs ] for those who were born to ride, there's progressive. [ engine revs ] a new era has begun so keep pushing forward... make a different future start different at godaddy.com nicoreyou get advice like: smoking is hard. just stop. get a hobby. you should meditate. eat crunchy foods. go for a run go for 10 runs! run a marathon. are you kidding me?! i