there are mixed messages coming out of north korea tonight where it is already monday morning and the start of that country s most important holiday the anniversary of its founding, which is why western intelligence analysts have monday circled on their calendars as the most likely time for north korea to back up some of its recent inflammatory rhetoric with a test launch of its most powerful missile. tonight secretary of state john kerry remains in the region still working the diplomatic options, but vowing once again that the u.s. will protect its allies. nbc s chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell is traveling with the secretary in japan and joins us now from tokyo. andrea? reporter: good evening, lester. john kerry has now opened the door to direct u.s. peace talks with north korea, appealing for a step back from the threat of war, even as though the north has flatly rejected south korea s offer of direct talks with them calling it a cunning ploy. the
kerry met with iraq s prime minister for what was described as a very spirited discussion. they talked about iraq s delicate transition to democracy, as the country prepares for upcoming elections. we all want to see iraq succeed. such an enormous investment of our treasure, our people, and our money in this initiative. the world has an interest in seeing iraq take a leading role in the world as a functioning democracy. the talk also focused on iraq granting iran access to its air space. u.s. officials believe iranian jets are carrying weapons and fighters to support the syrian government. iran and iraq have claimed the flights are for humanitarian purposes. the debate over same-sex marriage is headed for the supreme court this week, in not one but two cases. one of those cases is california s prop 8, of course. the other is based on whether the federal government can refuse to recognize same-sex marriages in states where they are legal. nbc bay area s brian mooar has t
reporter: while some made the best of this spring storm, millions in the northeast prepare for conditions that could make for a very difficult monday commute. while this storm is a concern here, the worry in central florida is tornadoes after a touch-down near cape canaveral early today. that tornado did not cause any injuries, but it did bring down a roof and also took down several power lines. janel klein in a snowy st. louis for us tonight. thanks. we continue to track this big storm. turn now to weather channel meteorologist todd santos. todd, good evening to you. good evening, lester. it is really a long haul trucker of storms. tracking right along i-70 and a good stretch of this area dealing with decent snowfall totals. a number of areas you re dealing with rain to the south, snow to the north. st. louis anywhere between 6 and 10 inches worth of snow. i did want to mention we have had the severe weather threat today. it will be diminishing as we get into overnig
now? alex, there aren t that many cities, other than grand forks, north dakota, that are used to extreme weather like this. this is putting the toughest people to the test. it started yesterday. freezing rain, first of all, left a thick coat of ice behind. and then 8 inches of snow, and then on top of that wind. gusts of up to 30 miles an hour. really people are having a tough time traveling and tough being out in the conditions. brutally cold. we re seeing windchill temperatures now under 30 degrees below zero. so you can imagine what it feels like this morning. pretty tough to be out here. okay. you know with that, i had say job well done, get back inside, my friend. janel klein, thank you very much. top senate democrats have sent a letter to the president urging him to bye pass congress and raise the debt ceiling if an agreement is not reached. my next guest reports that the u.s. could default on debt two
0 big ones is the cull newture in country that makes violence seem attractive. that s one they are looking at. yesterday, the vice president saying he might be looking into technology to help prevent some of the gun violence incidents from happening in the future, and the number of legislative proposals as well, alex. how do you regulate culture? an interesting thing to talk about. krist kristen, thank you so much from the white house. and joining me now, amy parmes and rachel smolken. good morning, girls. good morning, alex. go ahead to see you. the president accelerating withdrawal of u.s. troops. what did we learn from the news conference? when will the u.s. be out? the lust play a supporting role going forward, the president talked about training, advising, assisting afghan troops. the president is very eager to turn the page on this war. taken the temperature of public opinion. not a very popular war. people are eager to see the troops come home, and the president wants