president was in helsinki standing side by side with vladimir putin defending the russian leader. we ll take you there live. also, right now, wild weather coast to coast from tornados in chicago to flooding in the northeast, and more than 100 million americans under the thumb of a historic heat wave. we have your forecast. plus, setting the stage for another hollywood strike, first writers, now actors, what it could mean for all your entertainment. good morning, it s 10:00 eastern. thanks for being here. i m ana cabrera reporting from new york, and we begin in helsinki where we are just minutes away from a joint press conference with president biden and the president of finland, nato s newest member. let s go there now with nbc news white house correspondent, monica alba. walk us through the presidents day there in finland so far. reporter: well, ana, this is really a historic cap to a week of critical meetings for president biden overseas, and he s here in finland m