peter alexander at the white house. left with threats if they do bailout russia militarily but more importantly financially, is what their talking about. what's their leverage? europe really wants to keep the chinese trade. so, are we really going to sanction china? we really going to punish them if europe doesn't go along? >> to be clear russia is still providing oil and gas being bought by the chinese. frankly, many european nations are doing the same thing. germany, even when the u.s. anournlsed the ban on oil and gas exports to the u.s., a lot of the countries in europe, frankly, they rely on it so dramatically. these are questions that need to be determined as this conversation continues. it's wrapped up today but the back and forth continues between the u.s. and chinese to see exactly what they will do here, especially given the fact that the united states is so concerned with the supply of military equipment, an out for vladimir putin getting the economic help from china could allow him to continue his grip of po

lester >> peter alexander at the white house, thank you. >>> just about everyone's feeling the growing economic consequences of this war, most notably at the gas pump, as you heard. jo ling kent has that story. >> reporter: tonight, record breaking prices at the pump nationwide >> it's actually killing my budget. >> you feel it, but you just got to keep going. >> reporter: the average for a gallon of regular is now more than $4.10, surpassing a previous record in 2008 prices skyrocketing nearly 50 cents a gallon over just the last 7 days. in california, drivers spotting an eye popping $7 a gallon in los angeles. across the country the biggest jumps are in rhode island, nevada, connecticut, kentucky, and alabama. >> i could go about two more weeks with this after this i'm going to park the car and jump on the bus. >> reporter: soon it will go beyond the pump experts warn rising gas prices will lead to more expensive plane tickets. overnight crude oil prices reaching levels not seen since the 2008 financial crisis. >> we are now in very active discussions with our european partners about

alexander with late details and highlights. >> reporter: tonight, judge ketanji brown jackson facing at times contentious questioning, nominated first black woman on the nation's highest court >> my record demonstrated my impartiality. >> reporter: accusations she was soft on crime noting her brothers and uncles served on law enforcement. >> i know what it's like having loved ones go off to protect and serve and the fear of not knowing whether or not they're going to come home again because of crime in the community. >> reporter: addressing criticism that her sentences in child pornography possession cases have been too lenient. >> as a mother and a judge who has had to deal with these cases, i was thinking that nothing could be further from the truth. >> reporter: republican ted cruz highlighted several cases where jackson's sentences were shorter than what prosecutors recommended. >> do you believe the voice of the children is heard when 100% of the time your sentencing for those with child pornography is less than what the prosecutors were asking for. >> yes, senator, i do, judges

ban on russian oil import, it could send record domestic gas prices even higher peter alexander at the white house with more. >> reporter: president biden striking at the heart of vladimir putin's economy, announcing a ban on all russian oil and gas. >> we'll not be a part of subsidizing putin's war. >> reporter: oil and gas production accounts for 40% of russia's revenue >> the american people will deal another powerful blow of putin's war machine. >> reporter: it's a major shift for the president who for weeks deliberately avoided sanctioning russian oil to kee u.s. gas prices lower. >> on our sanctions package we specifically designed to allow energy payments to continue >> reporter: president biden's decision follows bipartisan pressure to impose a ban. still the actual impact of the move is likely limited because unlike europe, the that relies on russia for roughly a quarter of its oil the u.s. gets just 8% of its imports from there the uk says it will phase out russian oil by the end of the year but germany that's heavily dependant on russian energy ruled out any change the presi

our peter alexander has late details >> reporter: for a second straight day, judge ketanji brown jackson facing heated questions from republicans charging she's soft on crime. >> why did you sentence him for half the amount >> you're not recognized, senator. >> reporter: pointing to cases where jackson handed out sentences for child pornography offenders that were shorter than prosecutors recommended. >> one of the most effective deterrents is one that i imposed in every case, and that judges across the country impose in every case, which is substantial, substantial supervision. any of these defendants -- >> wait, wait. you think it is a bigger deterrent to take somebody who is on a computer, looking at sexual images of children in the most disgusting way, is to supervise their computer habits versus putting them in jail >> no, senator, i didn't say -- >> that's exactly what you said >> reporter: jackson's sentences were in line with 70% of federal judges late last night republicans pressed jackson on cultural issues too including transgender rights >> can you provide a definition for th

i'm 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 zelenskyy said they hit a missile square into the second largest city i

alexander now with late details. >> reporter: tonight, judge ketanji brown jackson making the case on her own behalf, the start of a historic confirmation hearing to become the first black woman on the nation's highest court. >> i hope that you will see how much i love our country and the constitution and the rights that make us free. >> reporter: with her husband wiping away a tear and her daughter seated nearby, jackson also thanked her parents, both former schoolteachers, there with her today >> they gave me an african name, ketanji onyika, which they were told means lovely one. unlike the many barriers that they had had to face growing up, my path was clearer so that if i worked hard and i believed in myself in america, i could do anything or be anything i wanted to be >> reporter: the 51-year-old who was confirmed less than a year ago as a federal appeals court judge is likely to face tougher scrutiny now, including from lindsey graham, one of three republicans who voted to confirm her then. >> i want to know about your judicial philosophy because people on the left, the far extr

let's get you to peter alexander. it is unprecedented to release this much oil every day. >> -- the question is about pulling back. it depends on how you read about it. there is evidence that he is beefing up his troops. depending on your view of putin, i'm a little skept kal. it's an open question whether or not he is fully back and whether or not he says i'm not focused on this and i'm a skeptic, but i don't have proof that he is not -- that he is taking a pause and doing all he can to use all of the troops he has, and continue to keep an eye on and go through to the rest of the country. it appears so far, the idea that he is pulling troops and going south, there is no evidence based on that. >> we went back to the president because he turned around and came back out to answer another question. apologies for interrupting you. we can talk about what he just said, but let me start again with the oil reserve news and why not? >> this is not happening in a vacuum. people are unsatisfied with what he is doing and the pri

alexander is at the white house with more on all that >> reporter: president biden tonight delivering this blunt warning to vladimir putin. >> russia would pay a severe price if they use chemical weapons >> reporter: at a heated u.n. security council meeting russia accused the u.s. and ukraine of preparing to use chemical and biological weapons what the u.s. is blasting as lies a false russian pretext to justify a potential chemical attack >> i will say this once ukraine does not have a biological weapons program. >> reporter: it comes as the president is trying to further squeeze the russian economy, saying the u.s. would join allies in ending normal trade relations with moscow. that, once approved by congress, would allow the u.s. to raise tariffs on russian products >> putin is an aggressor. he's the aggressor and putin must pay the price. >> reporter: president biden's new sanctions also ban several russian imports including caviar, vodka, and diamonds. though putin today, hosting belarus's president, brushed off the escalating sanctions, saying the soviet union constantly lived w

richard engel is in kharkiv and peter alexander is at his post in 1600 pennsylvania avenue. a lot seems to be coming out of the talks this morning, including that potential change in russia's military posture near kyiv. also, the issue of security guarantees that officials said they want to see. what more can you tell us? >> well, that's right, craig. so russia announcing that it will drastically reduce its combat operations crucially around the capital of ukraine, kyiv. and that appears to have come from these talks in which it does seem, craig, as if some trust has been built where they began with the two sides not shaking hands. and you mentioned what sounds like ukrainians are asking for is they would agree, for example, not to join nato, not to ask to join nato but they would be given security guaranteed by countries that those countries would agree that if there were more combat operations from russia that they would be protected by the west if you like. so what we're seeing here, craig, is perhaps the easier things to agree on in the building behind me here. and that

and nbc chief white house correspondent, peter alexand aer. so, this morning nato supreme ally commander, todd walters, told a senate committee he could not verify whether those making the claims of the rapid deescalation were both the varsity team or the junior varsity team. so, what can you tell us about who's at the table and whether they represent anyone with any power and there's only one with any power and we know that's vladimir putin. >> reporter: that's exactly right, andrea. it's an interesting way to put it and we're hearing from the chief negotiator in the building behind me but he says he is going to take the proposals back to vladimir putin. and i think that just gives you a picture. that progress has been made here but that there's a long way to go, including, of course, in the end, for the russians anything agreed will have to be signed off by president putin. in terms of how far we've come, just think about this. at the beginning of the day, there was talk by the ukrainians that their negotiations were being advised not to dri

nbc's leann caldwell and peter alexander there at his post, 1600 pennsylvania and michael mcfaul, former ambassador to ukraine and gabe gutierrez is in lviv, western ukraine. and you were there as lawmakers listened closely to president zelenskyy's speech. how did lawmakers react in the moment to the video we saw? >> reporter: as you can imagine, this was a highly anticipated speech by members of congress. especially when that video played, you could not hear a person breathe. there was just silence. it really captivated these lawmakers. there were a couple moments of applause and then at the end of the speech a rousing standing ovation. now, as far as if this is going to change how congress deals and thinks about ukraine, a little bit. congress is still opposed, as is the administration, to implementing a u.s. nato-enforced no-fly zone but there is a growing push to get ukraine every they need, including the mig and missile systems that enforce their own no-fly zone. let's listen to what senator romney told garrett haake. >> our country has to do more. in this case he was highly specifi

peter alexander at the white house for us, thank you. richard is in kyiv. richard, it looked like there had been some growing momentum to get these planes, to get these russian-made planes into the hands of ukrainian pilots. you heard peter's reporting that suddenly that seems logistically like a long shot. what kind of impact does that have? it seems like the ukrainian government was counting on the momentum of making that happen. what do you hear? what do you know? >> reporter: well, i still think they are hopeful that it could happen. there is still a lot of border that is open. ukraine shares a large board we are many nato allies, and that boarder is not a conflict area. you see all the refugees streaming across that border, so there are still logistics avenues available. of course, it's more complicated to move an air craft or many air craft than boxes of shoulder-fired missiles, but it is also difficult to defend your country against a russian attack. what you're seeing here is that officials believe that the worst has yet to come. the ukrainian force

i'm peter alexander. >> 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

i'm peter alexander live at the white house. we are following a lot of fast-moving developments as russia's brutal assault on ukraine enters its second week. richard engel just spoke to ukraine's president zelenskyy. the mayor of the city of kherson confirmed that russian forces now control that city. it could make it easier for the russians to move west to try to capture the country's entire black sea coast, which could effectively cut off worldwide shipping to ukraine. this is intensifying the massive humanitarian crisis across europe. the white house now asking congress to provided

peter alexander, thank you. let's go to our guru when it comes to the oil markets, at least who i turn to. hadley gamble, our friend at cnbc. hadley, 180 million -- i owe mitch mcconnell said it's a drop in the bucket, but this is the most we've ever done, which means we'll be spending money as a government to replenish it, obviously, as fast as we're emptying our reserves here. what is this going to do to the markets? >> okay. essentially what we know is that 20 million barrels per day is what americans generally consume. that's the number. this is going to add eventually 1 million barrels per day to that number. that's going to basically be free oil. but eventually the united states will purchase back around $80 a barrel to replenish the spr. but this is the biggest release we've ever seen in u.s. history. 180 million barrels per day. that dwarfs the last two releases, around 40 million to 60 million barrels per day. those releases, remember, they moved the market just slightly, what we would call a blip. thin

i'm 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

white house correspond peter alexander has the latest. >> reporter: judge ketanji brown jackson making the case on her own bow half, the start of an -- behalf, the start of a confirmation hearing to become the nation's first black woman on the nation's highest court. >> i hope you will see how much i love our country. and the constitution and the rights that make us free. >> with her husband wiping away a tear and her daughters seated nearby, jackson also thanked her parents, both former schoolteachers. >> they gave me an african name, ketanji, which they were told means lovely one. unlick the many barriers that they had had to face growing up, my path was clearer. so that if i worked hard, and i believed in myself, in america, i could do anything or be anything i wanted to be. >> the 51-year-old who was confirmed less than a year ago as a federal appeals court judge is likely to face tougher scrutiny now. including from lindsey graham, one of three republicans who voted to confirm her then. >> i want to know about your judicial philosophy, because people on the left, the far extreme p

chief foreign correspondent richard engel in ukraine, josh letterman in poland, peter alexander covering the white house, courtney kube at the pentagon and we're also joined by retired lieutenant general ben hodges, former commanding general for the u.s. army in europe. and, richard, i want to start with you in kyiv. with this widespread condemnation we're now seeing directed at russia, after this latest attack apparently hitting a children's hospital out east, what can you tell us? >> reporter: i don't think you need to say apparently, it hit a children's hospital. it is right in the center of mariupol, it is impossible to miss. we spent weeks in mariupol before coming to kyiv. and where we were staying was just a few blocks away from this hospital. mariupol is now completely surrounded, we're talking about firing into a captive population, there are 400,000 people or wore about 400,000 people in mariupol, some have managed to escape, but the vast majority are trapped in the city. they are running out of food, they are running out of water, and then this massive explosion, it dug a crat

the chief white house correspondent peter alexander has more on how his domestic policies also took center stage. >> reporter: entering a claim better filled with yellow and blue, the colors of the ukrainian flag, president biden forcefully condemning vladimir putin. >> he has no idea what's coming. >> reporter: denouncing the russian invasion as premeditated, totally unprovoked and a mistake of historic proportions. >> miscalculated. he thought he could roll into the world and the world would roll over. instead, he met with a wall of strength he never anticipated or imagined. he met the ukrainian people. >> reporter: ukraine's ambassador to the u.s. receiving a standing ovation and an embrace from first lady jill biden. while the president emphasized u.s. troops would not fight in ukraine, he delivered this emphatic warning to russia. >> the united states and our allies will defend every inch of territory that is nato territory with the full force of our collective power. every single inch. >> reporter: with russia are ready facing crippling economic sanctions, the president announcing a

at the white house chief white house correspondent peter alexander. in kyiv, ukraine, nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel. garrett, we'll start with you. set the scene for us. what do lawmakers expect to hear from president zelenskyy? >> reporter: members are just starting to arrive for this address that should happen right at 9:00. we expect it to be only about 10 or 15 minutes. we expect it to be person. you played the applause line to the canadians. in that speech to canada, president zelenskyy pushed them hard and in personal terms to do more to save the lives of people in his country, whether through the no-fly zone or providing weapons or fighter jets. he referred to dear, justin, justin trudeau who was in the room and asked canadians to think about what they would do if it was vancouver or toronto bombed every night. by the way, it largely has been congress who has been out in front offering to provide more weapons, offering to push sanctions further. you'll hear zelenskyy draft off that effort. members of congress are ready to r

peter alexander has more. >> reporter: tonight from vice president kamala harris on the ground in poland, concern and condemnation, denouncing the strike on a ukrainian maternity hospital. >> we have been witnessing for weeks and certainly just in the last 24 hours atrocities of unimaginable proportion. >> reporter: and now one of america's top diplomats becoming the first senior u.s. official to accuse russia of war crimes. >> they constitute war crimes. they are attacks on civilians that cannot be justified by any -- in any way whatsoever. >> reporter: though u.s. policy calls for a thorough international investigation, harris tonight reinforcing the u.s.'s commitment to its european allies. >> the united states is prepared to defend every inch of nato territory. >> reporter: the vice president dismissed any disconnect after the u.s. rejected poland's offer to hand over fighter jets to the u.s. to transfer to ukraine. but ukraine's president and top republicans are demanding the jets be delivered now. >> they're better at running their own war. they know what the conditions on the grou

alexander peter, good morning to you >> president biden slamming vladimir putin's war and saying he is more isolated from the world than ever. and that the u.s. and allies are inflicting pain on moscow before looking to revive his stalled agenda here at home. entering a chamber filled with yellow and blue, the colors of the ukrainian flag, president biden forcefully condemning vladimir putin denouncing the russian invasion as premeditated. totally unprovoked and mistake of historic professions. >> badly miscalculated he thought he could roll into ukraine and the world would roll over instead, he met with a wall of strength he never anticipated or imagined he met ukrainian people. >> ukraine's ambassador to the u.s. receiving a standing ovation. while the president emphasized u.s. troops would not fight in ukraine, he delivered this message. >> the united states and allies will defend every inch of territory that is nato territory with a full force of our collective power every single inch. >> with russia already facing cripple willing economic sanctions, the president announcing a n

americans said the economy and not the war overseas >> peter alexander, thank you. >>> as for the fighting inside ukraine, russia appeared to be shifting its strategy and both sides are set to resume peace talks this week. our richard engel joins us now for the latest hi richard >> reporter: good morning. we are now on the out skirts of the city of kharkiv. there is incoming russian fire overnight and into this morning. we heard out going ukrainian fire and small arm fire. this is once again an active combat zone as the russian military claims to be shifting their focus here to the east of the country. >> they're protecting what they can in kharkiv fearing russia may again try to capture the city volunteers in casing and sandbags a monument to ukraine's most beloved poet a symbol of this nation that russian president vladimir putin says does not and should not exist. it is too late to save downtown kharkiv which russia bombed relentlessly for weeks the main focus so-called operation is focused on the east a shift after russian troops failed to encircle the capital kyiv pushed back by ukrai

craig and hoda. >> peter alexander, thank you. >>> on the heels of his address to congress, president zelenskyy joins our own lester holt for an exclusive one-on-one, lester is joining us for that interview. >> good morning. president zelenskyy challenged the u.s. and the nato allies to do more to help his country speaking candidly through a ukrainian government provided an interpreter about what greater u.s. involvement would signal to the rest of the world. >> once again you renewed your call for a new-fly zone but you made the pitch for an alternative and that's fighter planes. do you think that president biden is inching closer to perhaps reconsidering a transferring fighter planes to ukraine? >> translator: this is the choice for president biden to take and hopefully that choice would coincide with the choice of the ukrainian people because currently russia has an advantage in the air. >> reporter: president biden has been very clear he's worried about provocations that could trigger world war iii, do you understand his concerns there and do you agree it would not take much to en

i want to go right to nbc's chief white house correspondent peter alexander. peter, good evening. >> lester, good evening to you and savannah. president biden's aides say there is no question this is a different speech than he would have been giving just a couple of weeks ago, punctuating one of the most consequential periods of his presidency. in the midst of the russian invasion, only days after announcing his pick to be the first black woman on the supreme court. this is a high stakes balancing act. ukraine, i'm told, will be a dominant theme. the president will try to demonstrate his leadership in one of the greatest threats to liberty since world war ii and what the president will call an premeditated and unprovoked war. the u.s. will close airspace to russian aircraft. the president's job approval is at an all-time low, americans dissatisfied with his handling of crime and inflation. look for him to express empathy with those economic struggles, detail how he will be cutting costs to help families. i will be watching his tone tonight. officials are previ

my partner, peter alexander is on assignment. we are following the

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and its allies' continued efforts to defend its country savannah. >> all right, peter alexander at the white house for us, peter, thank you. >>> 7:14 overnight we heard from chris since the oscars >> good morning to you as well all eyes were on chris rock as he returned to the stage, a pair of sold-out shows in boston. meanwhile, back in hollywood, the academy has started disciplinary proceedings against will smith and is now revealing that the actor was asked to leave sunday's ceremony and he refused. nbc national correspondent miguel almaguer is in boston, he was at chris rock's show last night. miguel, good morning. >> reporter: craig, good morning, we were able to attend the first of several series of sold out shows inside that theater behind me now. security inside was tight. we were not allowed to use our cell phone, and security even told us we couldn't take notes inside the building, but what happened inside was memorable. chris rock only briefly addressed that slap given by will smith at the oscars on sunday, but the crowd hung on every word he said, and they also loved every

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

i'm peter alexander live at the white house. we are following a lot of fast-moving developments as russia's brutal assault on ukraine enters its second week. richard engel just spoke to ukraine's president zelenskyy. the mayor of the city of kherson confirmed that russian forces now control that city. it could make it easier for the russians to move west to try to capture the country's entire black sea coast, which could effectively cut off worldwide shipping to ukraine. this is intensifying the massive humanitarian crisis across europe. the white house now asking congress to provided $10 billion in humanitarian and defense funding. the number of people fleeing ukraine has skyrocketed to 1 million. >> translator: in my heart it's painful. i'm missing ukraine already. i just want to cry. >> in just moments we're going to go to a warning, the situation in ukraine could get much worse, they say. plus the options president biden is weighing in preparation for potential dark days ahead and we're following significant new developments

today, 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

peter alexander joins me now with more details on this. what more can you tell us about it? >> initially we knew they were considering this plan. now it's official. the president, we are told, will make it official when he speaks at 1:30 today that he is announcing the release of 1 million barrels of oil each day on average for the next six months, a total of 180 million barrels of oil, which is significant. it's the largest release of oil reserves in u.s. history. the administration telling us this would be a bridge until the end of this year when domestic production can ramp up and production by other countries that the u.s. imports right now. the u.s. did try this, the biden administration did try this only a matter of months ago back in november announcing the release of 50 million barrels of oil. clearly that only had a very limited impact on the price of gas. americans are paying 60 cents more per gallon than they did just a month ago. the white house says about $1 more than they did when president putin began his ramp up of troops outside ukraine. this is an effort to

chief white house correspondent, peter alexander was first to break the story and joins us now. what else is is the plan? >> reporter: this is the largest release of oil reserves in history. 1 million barrels a day a, each day for the next six months. that's 180 billions in all and comes after earlier this month, the president announced the u.s. would be banning imports of russian oil and gas. and the u.s. has taken a similar step before, not of this magnitude. the president announcing the release of 50 million barrels and 30 million more but in both cases, we're still witnessing the relief was only temporary right now. just for context here, there's about 580 million barrels of oil in the strategic reserve. this would draw it down about a third. and we're told by senior administration officials the president will invoke the defense production act to try and speed this country's transfer to clean energy; that he will support the processing of materials and minerals for large capacity batteries, lake those used in electric cars and electric vehicles, lithium and nickel and the li

. >> 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

and let's go to the white house and peter alexander, host of "weekend today." we just heard from slovakia, the s 300s are going to go from another nato allies and if other countries want to send jets, they can do that. >> reporter: this is notable because we heard from the president yesterday, when he detailed the arsenal of new military equipment sent to restock their supply; that the u.s. was working with allies to acquire some of the longer range mobile air defense systems to get to ukraine. that refers to these s 300s. these missile defense systems that help countries like ukraine target russian aircraft or those incoming cruise missiles. president zelenskyy saying they've been hit with a thousand so far. right now the u.s. defense secretary is in slovakia. he was just speaking publicly with the minister who said they had a proper replacement. a relennishment of their supply. there's logistical work that needs to continue. but it is one way the u.s. is helping or trying to help ukraine in lieu of providing those polish fighter jets to that country. try to g

alexander. >> putin's war, putin's war has caused enormous suffering and needless loss of life. putin seems determined to continue on his murderous path no matter the cost. he's already turned 2 million ukrainians into refugees. ukraine will never be a victory for putin. putin may be able to take a city but he'll never be able to hold the country. >> so, talk to us about the oil ban that he is announcing. almost unilaterally because the brits are doing it but in a delayed phase and the rest of europe not complying. doing this under considerable pressure because there's a bipartisan agreement in congress and they're about to pass legislation. >> reporter: you're absolutely right. the bipartisan agreement turned up the heat on president biden to make this announcement, even though the president will act unilaterally without congress. i think the language you played is significant. president biden really trying to make vladimir putin own the price hikes we're seeing in the u.s. today the president announced a ban on russian oil. that is significant because it's really the most puni

. >> and joining me now is nbc senior capitol hill correspondent in haig and peter alexander. what do we expect the president to respond after the powerful speech and appeal again for a no-fly zone. >> reporter: it was searing, pointed and certainly powerful. weect pect to hear from the president. was supposed to happen at 11:45 eastern, now closer to twivl:30. and we expect the president is going to lay out $800 million in additional security assistance to be delivered to ukraine. that would make a total of $1 billion over the course of the last week. $2 billion in total since the president has taken office. that most recent price tag coming as part of the government spending plan the president signed into law yesterday. part of close to $14 billion in total aid. so, this is the latest in a continued round of sufort from the united states to ukraine. but the real question is what specifically will president biden lay out? we're told he's going to focus on what the u.s. has done so far and has been effective so far. the antiarmor, antitank missiles referred to as javelins and

. >> peter alexander joins us and nbc's national security analyst clint watts. good to see both of you. peter, the crux of president zelenskyy's speech to congress was about what they need in the air and obviously he showed that moving video. we saw tears from members of congress. so i guess the question is all about that line, right. is there a line that putin would cross that would make the president change his mind? talk to us about that pressure and what the discussions are like inside that building behind you. >> reporter: that pressure is clear. you're hearing it from lawmakers on both sides. there's no better evidence than that than just yesterday when volodymyr zelenskiy, ukraine's commander in chief, delivered that impassioned plea to the members of congress, that gripping and graphic video emphasizing what president biden himself acknowledges is the appalling devastation and horror that the u.s. is witnessing take place, the world is seeing take place in ukraine right now. while the white house isn't going to discuss hypotheticals and red lines and wha

i'm press secretary jen psaki tell my colleagues, peter alexander on monday that president biden will make it clear that american voices will not go on the ground in ukraine and fight a military war against russia. and it is vitally important for him to be clear about that. with the american people, that being, said he will also highlight the unified response by the united states and our allies in confronting vladimir putin that the u.s. and nato have been in lockstep every step of the way. so, he hopes to present that unifying message. joe? >> you, know folks who are watching at home are going to be worried about gas prices, energy costs, so as we, know is president biden going to adjust? what's going to say about possible economic crisis with what's happening in ukraine. >> absolutely. it's all connected. all related. and president -- gem psaki said she will be using the word inflation. but he will also have optimism for the american people and the plan for the administration to tackle costs. president biden came into the office kind of an empathize or-in-chief. so he is going to re

nbc news chief white house correspondent peter alexander has the highlights >> reporter: judge ketanji brown jackson facing at times contentious questioning vying to become the first black woman on the nation's highest court, describing the kind of justice she would be >> my record demonstrates my impartiality. >> reporter: jackson was pr preemptively asked by democrats by allegations she's soft on crime, noting her brothers and uncle served in law enforcement. >> i know what it's like to have loved ones who go off to protect and to serve and the fear of not knowing whether or not they're going to come home again. because of crime in the community. >> reporter: and address criticism that her sentences in child pornography possession cases have been too lenient. >> as a mother and a judge who had to deal with these cases, i was thinking that nothing could be further from the truth. >> reporter: republican ted cruz highlighted several case where is jackson's sentences were shorter than prosecutors recommended. >> do you believe the voice of the children is heard when 100% of the time you

alexander put it, a tale of two speeches. ukraine at the top but the rest of what they plan to do all along. >> mike, do you get a sense there's a little bit of -- i don't want to say a dispute inside the west wing, but maybe a debate about whether what's going on in europe is going to change this presidency and transform this presidency in a way that 9/11 changed the bush presidency? >> well, i think they see that there's an opportunity for this to be an opportunity for the president to showcase that his view, his world view, his approach to international politics, is right. but i think one reason you didn't want to see the wholesale rewrite of his state of the union speech about the situation in ukraine is because, frankly, they don't know where this movie ends, right. vladimir putin might have more to say about h resolves than anything the west can do and there's an sort of m a ukraine speech when the movie might not have a anchor on this presidency than anything else. >> mike memoli getting us started in superior, wiscons

and then our colleague peter alexander confirmed that he is expected to actually talk with the committee. now, remember that he was not subpoenaed. he was asked to participate. and so was his wife ivanka trump who we don't think that there has been an update there. but jared kushner's role is kind of a mystery. he is not in those call logs that the "washington post" reported out today. his name has not been mentioned a lot in the january 6 discussions with the former president. so it will be interesting to see what the committee gets out of him and what they want out of him if he decides to, once he show, provide any answers or plead the fifth. we'll have to wait and see. >> jackie, i want you to talk about what we have heard from members of the select committee, which is on the part of some, concern, right, displeasure if you will with merrick garland at the department of justice for not for example moving forward with charges against mark meadows. now the committee is teeing up two more criminal referrals for peter navarro and dan scavino. >> yeah, the frustration was palpable, this is

with reporters richard engel and peter alexander. can you watch their full reports coming up in just moments right here after "today in the bay." >> state lawmakers are looking to alleviate some of the pain that we're all feeling at the pump. a new proposal will get everyone hundreds of dollars in the form of a gas rebate. "today in the bay's cierra johnson live in the bay. the drivers could certainly use some of the help. >> reporter: they definitely could. here in mill valley the cass is 5.99 for a gallon of unleaded and that gas is on par with what the rest of the bay area is seeing. taking a look at your screen. a breakdown of the average prices in each county here in the bay area. according to aaa, 5.76 is what to expect to pay in solano county, folks in san francisco closer to 5.94, 5.88 in sclauria county and in light of those prices, later today about a dozen assembly members will roll out a proposal to give every california taxpayer, even those who don't drive or own a car, a $400 rebate to ease the pain at the pump. the fun