where he faces a possible life sentence and in ukraine, resistance forces are on the offensive as some analysts say the military s fighting capabilities are running out. we ll take you live to kyiv. but we begin with our top story right now, unfolding across the country, a travel nightmare for millions of people trying to get home after the christmas holiday as a monstrous winter storm barrels east. right now, more than 2800 flights have been cancelled. that s today alone leaving frustrated travelers strand ed i airport terminals. southwest will operate just one-third of its scheduled flights in the coming days representative from the pilot association says the airline s scheduling system is partly to blame. the death toll has climbed to 63 nationwide after this brutal storm blanketed parts of western new york with as much as four feet of snow and brought powerful wind gusts up to 70 miles per hour with more snow in the forecast, tishls fear the deet death toll could cont
puerto rico are still without power. many are waiting for vital fuel in the wake of hurricane fiona. the congressman who just visited the island will tell us what he saw on the ground. also we are taking a closer look at what to expect from tomorrow s highly anticipated january 6th committee hearing when the panel is set to clip from roger stone s new documentary. the obstacles are these weak-kneed bureaucrats in the white house council s office. now they must be crushed. meanwhile in russia as more military men flee the country, the kremlin now acknowledges issues with its latest draft in yet another blow to putin s military strategy in ukraine. the former president of ukraine will join us with more on that. we begin this hour with a very latest on hurricane ian, which made land falls in western cuba at 4:30 a.m. eastern bringing heavy rain and maximum sustained winds of 125 miles per hour. the latest tracking shows ian could reach florida s western coast as early as wed
they discount a congressman and a staff members new book about a call from the white house to rioters during the insurrection. we ll look ahead to the midterms just six weeks from now and bring you an exclusive from nbc politics on which are the 25 key senate, house, and governors races that could determine the outcome for this year s contest and for 2024. and i ll be joined by former cia director, john brennan, to discuss the warning to putin of a catastrophic american response if he carries out his threat to go nuclear. good day, i m andrea mitchell in washington where president biden has approved a federal emergency declaration that s postponing his trip to florida as hurricane ian strengthens. it is pushing northwest up towards florida s west coast where millions of residents from tampa to key west are preparing for hurricane force winds and destructive storm surge, but there s still a lot of volatility in predicting the exact path of the storm. bill, there are parts
mitchell reports, house republican leader kevin mccarthy 24 hours from the biggest moment of his political career and still no closer to securing the votes he needs to become the next speaker of the house. also this hour, i will speak to dr. zeke emanuel about a tough holiday flu season along with new concerns about a new strain of covid-19 in the u.s. and we will have a live report from rome as catholics travel to the vatican to pope emeritus benedict during the three days he will lie in state ahead of thursday s funeral mass. good day, i m andrea in mitchell. happy new year, everyone. well, the pressure is on republican leader in this in you year, kevin mccarthy has to win over the hard line house conservatives that he needs to become the next speaker of the house. tomorrow the new congress returns to washington with the speaker vote as the top item on the agenda. but at this hour no one knows how long it s going to take for republicans to secure the majority vote
damage national security if released. the department s court challenge again expected any moment would be an attempt to reverse cannon s restrictions. but there s another aspect of all this to keep in mind. the appeal we re talking about would be heard in the 11th u.s. circuit court of appeals where six of 11 judges happen to be trump appointees. all of this remains up in the air. another major advancement to tell you about in this story, judge cannon also appointed a special master to review those seized document. his name is raymond deariement a semi retired u.s. district judge from new york. he was originally suggested by trump s team. he ultimately was approved of by both parties. dearie s deadline is one week after thanksgiving, that s november 30th. weeks, of course, after the midterm elections and more than a month after the date doj had requested. and when we re talking about potential threats to national security, we all know at this point time is of the essence. jus