happening now, new fears that russia s war against ukraine is about to get a very serious boost from china. i ll acquit white house national security official john kirby whether beijing is actively considering sending lethal aid to putin s forces. also tonight, a new assessment on the origins of the covid pandemic is stirring up major controversy. we ll tell you why the u.s. energy department now believes the virus likely emerged from a chinese lab. and breaking news, new legal filings in the dominion voting systems lawsuit against fox news. the fox chairman rupert murdoch admitting underoath that popular tv hosts endorsed false claims about the 2020 presidential election. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world, i m wolf blitzer. you re in the situation room. we begin our coverage tonight with the war in ukraine. the deepening alliance between russia and china sending chills throughout the u.s. intelligence community. our senior national secur
neighborhoods in oklahoma and kansas in ruins today after tornadoes reportedly ripped through that region. and another astonishing twist at the double murder trial of alec murdaugh, the jury is going on a field trip just days before they re expected to start deliberations. our nbc news reporters are following all of the latest developments for us. we want to start with catie beck outside the courthouse in waltersboro, south carolina, as she has been throughout. first of all, some graphic testimony today, but also that block buster decision by the judge. they re going to take the jury to the scene of the crime. reporter: yeah, chris, that was a bit of a surprise. this jay way more often than not sides with the prosecution, and today he granted that defense motion to take the entire jury to moselle, to this hunting property, to the crime scene to get a spatial understanding of exactly how these murders happened. at least that s what the defense said they were hoping. separa
see the crime scene for themselves. we ll have a live report from the courthouse in south carolina coming up. at least a dozen people hospitalized, but no deaths reported after tornadoes tear apart businesses and homes in central oklahoma. we ll have the latest on the storms that made million z miserable over the last 24 hours and the problems they left behind. first, the challenges to donald trump. ideologically, financially and organizationally, all ramping up. case in point, ron desantis is gathering for more than 150 donors, a huge event over the weekend held less than a ten-minute drive from former president trump s back yard. the event was described as, quote, part of desantis increasingly open encroachments into the former president s long-term support base and ideological turf. that s just the tip of the iceberg with the florida governor set to extend his campaign with a national book tour that launches tomorrow. we should be clear. right nou desantis is still a
tyre nichols case has been relieved of duty. the lead starts right now. memphis police take another cop off the streets. what we know about this officer s role in the death of tyre nichols and what his body cam shows. new calls for calm in the middle east. a path to peace from the biden administration as america s top diplomat visits the region. plus, a woman kidnapped beaten and tortured. the man responsible may be using dating apps to find his next victim. welcome to the lead. jake tapper is assignment. a sixth officer involved in the arrest of tyre nichols has now been relieved of duty. memphis police say the officer has not been fired. he s on leave while the investigation unfolds. a source confirms that he was part of the same s.c.o.r.p.i.o.n. police unit as the other five officers who were fired and charged with murder and the local district attorney says this officer could face charges as well. his lawyer confirms this footage is from his body camera. it shows him
ukraine for what the kremlin expected would be a quick and easy takeover of the country. what they unleashed instead was the largest land conflict in europe since the second world war, and some of the widest spread killing of noncombatants since world war ii as well . [ bleep ]. shit, shit. shit. shit. all right. stay down. all right. no, no, no. [ bleep ]. come on! that video of a russian mortar attack on fleeing civilians in irpin came just two weeks into the invasion. since then we ve seen graphic evidence of other russian war crimes, including the summary shooting of civilians in bucha and elsewhere. upwards of 800 attacks on hospitals and other health care facilities, according to the world health organization, and the pummelling of cities like mariupol, where the russian shelling and air strikes reduced residential neighborhoods to moonscapes. according to the united nations, more than eight million ukrainians have been forced to flee the country. millions mor