hold two classified briefings for congressional staff later today. we'll have more on that in just a moment. >> you'll hear the latest intelligence. also ahead here at home, extremism on the ballot. a new report released just moments ago shows that dozens of far-right candidates are endorsing qanon conspiracy theories ahead of this year's midterms. what we're learning about the connections those candidates have with white supremacists, anti-government exsttremists an the proud boys group on january 6th. >> an important conversation to be having now but we begin our top story. international diplomatic correspondent nic robertson and international correspondent sam kiley on the scene in ukraine. nic, we'll start with you. how is the kremlin responding to the news that u.s. troops are put on high alert and ready to go at a moment's notice? >> reporter: the kremlin claiming this is part of the informational hysteria over recent days but also saying this move raises the tensions, and i think you put this in the context of what the kremlin has been saying over the past few weeks which is, it sees this sort of gathering of nato troops and military hardware closer to their borders, russia's borders, as a sort of provocation, a cover for provocation. their line has been that the sort of more this build-up continues, the more it raises tensions, and the kremlin implies that nato is using this as some kind of cover to start some kind of issue along the borders. that's russia's position. and i think we just had a very interesting line from the russian federation council. this is something being reported by the state news agency here and this really gets to the heart of what the united states, european union, nato, all considering, all these capitals considering unifying on a plan of sanctions should russia invade ukraine and that is on the issue of swift, the sort of money, international financial system and the russian federation council in an interview with tas. saying if russia was taken out of the swiss system, we wouldn't be able to supply europe with gas, with oil, with other products. it would be, the financial system wouldn't work. he doesn't seem to be saying this is a threat. that's certainly not how it's being implied here but it's coming at this very sensitive time as we know where the international community is trying to get agreement. we know there are differences on that agreement, particularly with germany and some of the other european nations about what the sanctions should be. so, again, look at this as part of the kremlin's response. finding the divisions and exploiting them. >> no question. sam kiley in kyiv as well. so u.s. marines bolstering security at the american embassy in kyiv. president zelenski of ukraine is telling citizens to stay calm. understandably so, but i imagine u.s. experience here, they learn from what they saw in kabul and afghanistan. they're taking every precaution they can. >> reporter: well, jim, they're not alone either. if you look at who else is downsizing their embassies here in kyiv, that would be the brits and the australians and the germans. if you put aside the germans, that's three of the five of the exclusive five intelligence club, only missing from those two is canada and new zealand. not sure if they've got an embassy here. they share intelligence. there is unanimity it seems in terms of intelligence analysis that is definitely worth getting into a position in which you protect your start, get rid of the, or move on non-essential staff from your embassies because there is a strong feeling that vladimir putin may well order a russian invasion. that sends a very poor signal indeed to the citizens of ukraine for two reasons as far as the government is concerned. first of all, they're already enduring a russian invasion and have been for the last eight years, and secondly, as you mentioned, zelenski and others in the government issuing these calls for calm, reassuring their population. they don't want to see international diplomats sort of running for the borders, running through the airport at a time when they're actually trying to steady the ship and still try to find a diplomatic solution and also, critically, i think today, clarissa ward has had an interview with the foreign minister here in which they very firmly repeated this line coming time and again from the ukrainians, nobody must think of doing a deal behind our wbacks and that's because they're aware vladimir putin is seeking these schisms through different european partners. >> as sam was talking and showing footage from eastern ukraine, it looks like a war zone because it's been a war zone for some eight years. claimed the lives of more than 13,000 ukrainians. it's a reminder. this has happened before in ukraine. >> which is why president zelenski and others say, we've been a war for eight years now and now hotter in the coming days and weeks. nic robertson, sam kiley, thank you. today, the biden administration will hold two classified bipartisan briefings with congressional staff on the crisis with russia and ukraine. >> cnn congressional correspondent lauren fox on capitol hill with more. lauren, clearly, members of congress of both parties, they want to know more about just what the u.s. knows and what they believe next steps are. what are you hearing? >> reporter: there's a series of briefings that will begin today. if you remember, lawmakers are on their recess, so the briefings today will be held for staff members in both the house and the senate on leadership and relevant committees dealing with ukraine but this is really a sign of the escalating tensions there and yet another sign of the fact that as lawmakers have been dealing with the domestic agenda in congress, they are going to have to turn their focus to foreign affairs in the next several weeks. when lawmakers return next week, we expect that there could be all member briefings. both majority leader chuck schumer and house speaker nancy pelosi have asked for those briefings. we still don't have a timing update on when they would be held but we expect they will be held when lawmakers return from their recess. jim and biana? >> lauren fox on the hill. thank you so much. speak more with retired lieutenant general mark kurtling, former commanding general of u.s. army europe and seventh army, always good to have you on. >> great to be with you and biana. >> you see these moves the u.s. putting on alert really stand by for deployment. two forward facing nato troops. do you see these moves as a deterrent to russia because part of the intention is to say to russia, you think by threatening ukraine, you're going to push nato forces back, in fact, the opposite is going to happen. >> i absolutely see it as a response to russia and a further deterrent with military forces. jim, what i have to talk about is the fact that these forces are not going to be acting alone, these u.s. forces. they are going to join something called the nato response force, something biana mentioned earlier. that was established in 2014 as a result of the original ukrainian by russia and only used a few times by small missions. this is the first time as an operational level force, if ukraine votes on it. >> i don't want to spend too much time on if or when vladimir putin will decide to invade but i am curious to get your response to the timing of it all, given past history. russia went into georgia in 2008 after the olympics. russia went into crimea in 2014 after the olympics. i was struck by an interview that the foreign ministry spokesperson in russia yesterday gave to a russian journalist and when she was repeatedly refuting a report from, i believe it was bloomberg, that suggested that chinese officials, specifically, president xi, had asked vladimir putin not to do anything before the olympics. they were refuting that. now the chinese news sources refuting that as well. what is your take on anything about past or perhaps being prologued here? >> is anytime the russians vehemently refute anything, it usually means it's true but secondly, yeah, that's an important point that it seems to be a trend line after olympic games are held, especially by russian and chinese countries when they're holding the olympics but the other thing that's important to note, a conventional attack that the world stage would see is just one of many tools that the russians could use. i heard your conversation with general clark earlier and it's so true because we're talking about a range, a spectrum of covert and overt maligned actions that russia could use. i'm guessing, truthfully, based on past experience that some of them are happening right now. not being reported, as you said earlier, but certainly there. >> i suppose on the olympics thing with georgia in 2008, they were willing to act then. they certainly keep their options open. i wonder, are you confident, general hertling, there is nato unity on a firm response to anything on the menu of potential russian actions? i mean, this gets to biden's minor incursion comment which the white house has repeatedly walked back since then but did he expose disunity on what happens if russia falls short of a full scale invasion? >> i haven't e, even said in na meetings, never confident of the body. three countries that all see things very differently but i believe that's the value of what the biden administration in various parts are doing the last several weeks is trying to form that cohesion. it's a lot like someone pointed out the other day, this is like desert storm when bush won. tried to build a coalition to go in to counter the action by saddam hussein and kuwait. it takes a whole lot of cooperating and arm twisting for the 30 allies that see things very differently. having worked in nato a while, a huge set of countries like romania, the baltics, poland especially, saying we've got to defend the right for the country's sovereignty. there are certainly others who look at the economic impact and are saying, we've got to be very careful for fear of turning off our natural gas in the middle of wintertime in europe. >> again, as we talked about in the last hour, really raises the question as to why europe is still, after all of putin's incursions there, remains so dependent on russia for oil and natural gas. general mark hertling, thanks. still to come, pfizer announcing the start of clinical trials for a new vaccine specifically to target the omicron variant. how soon could it be available? plus, president trump, is it possible he might face criminal charges? atlanta area d.a. just been given green light to see a special grand jury to probe trump's efforts to overturn georgia's election results. promising a decision in the first half of 2022. a disturbing new report just in to cnn showing the rising number of candidates in this country with explicit connections to far-right groups and white supremacists. 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efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in georgia. this is a big development. the only known criminal case that focuses squarely on trump's election interference. >> we also have a timeline now because the d.a. said she expects to know whether to bring charges in the first half of this year. cnn justice correspondent jessica schneider joining us now. jessica, be clear on this if we can. what can the grand jury do and not do? can the grand jury, as it's set up in this case, indict? >> no, they can't. this is a special grand jury. so limited powers, in a sense. they can compel witnesses, they can compel documents but nonetheless, it is a significant step forward in this criminal probe and the d.a. here, fannie willis, will decide whether to bring charges to trump mid year. this is focused on whether they committed crimes when they convinced to hand the victory even though he didn't have the votes. you remember the call to brad asking him to find about 12,000 votes. that's really the centerpiece of this investigation and by impanelling this special grand jury, prosecutors will be able to issue subpoenas through the grand jury to compel witnesses to testify, that includes brad ra r and some refusing to talk and that's why this superb grand jury will be in panel. they'll start in may and that's really where this probe could ramp up because they'll be exclusively focused on this particular investigation. and of course, guys, it's just one of several investigations into trump or his business. we're seeing the new york attorney general's investigation ramp up. she called for testimony last week from trump and don jr. and ivanka trump and then there's a similar investigation from the manhattan d.a. into trump's businesses. so jim and biana, a lot swirling over the next few months a lot could materialize between now and may, possible criminal charges, out of georgia, maybe even new york. a lot swirling for trump and maybe even his allies to be concerned about here. guys? >> jessica schneider, thank you. of course, we'll continue to follow this. a crucial win for voting rights in alabama. a federal court has blocked the state's newly drawn congressional map. it says the new mapping only includes one district where black voters have the opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice. the state legislature now has just 14 days to draw a new map that includes, quote, two districts in which black voters either comprise a voting age majority or something quite close to it. the alabama congressional map is the second drawn by republicans to be struck down by courts this month. the other being ohio. if monday's decision stands, it will likely lead to democrats gaining a seat in the house from alabama this november. this other news this morning. a new report just released moments ago by the anti-defamation league puts a spotlight on a disturbing trend in american politics. the report has found there are more than than 100 candidates running who hold extremist vie, associate with extremists and/or spread dangerous conspiracy theories. at least 45 candidates have backed qanon and oath keepers. dozens have close ties to white supremacists. anti-semitic flyers tied to and attacking coronavirus measures that have shown up in both areas. joining me now to discuss, jonathan, the ceo and director of the anti-defamation league and the author of "it could happen here: why america is tipping from hate to the unthinkable." good to have you on this morning, jonathan. and i want, so folks understand how bad this is, show an image again of this flyer on american streets in the year 2022 targeting jews, claiming the covid agenda is jewish. we blurred out the more offensive stuff here. how offensive is this in your view, how worrisome? >> very worrisome. considering we're already living in a moment where we've seen a large rise in anti-semitic incidents. double the vandals and violence than we did just a few years ago and this weekend, we had these anti-semitic flyers drop in six different states. not just san francisco and miami beach, as you mentioned, but across texas and austin, houston, san antonio, denver, colorado, milwaukee, wisconsin, annapolis, maryland. there's a particular nasty white supremacist group through gab and their own sort of platforms and television. we watch them and monitor them. the fact they feel so empowered to do this, so emboldened is really quite frightening. >> no question. you talk a lot in this report about the number of candidates embracing qanon and other theories. folks often mistakenly will think of qanon as wac whack ado but out there. many have direct ties to white supremacist and extremist groups, accused and guilty of violent acts in the past. plain that connection. >> this report, i think, is really very important. the adl center on extremism has been tracking extremists of all variety for decades. we've never seen a moment like this, jim. we've tracked now a list that's ex-up and downing on a daily basis. over 100 candidates running for office across 32 states who have explicit extremist ties to groups like the oath keepers, the proud boys, the three percenters, exkkk, exmee owe g nazi. actors running for congress, state office, secretary of state. so that they can influence the ability of elections to be implemented effectively in the years ahead. >> a sad fact, we've seen these views bubble up to the national level, to sitting lawmakers, republican lawmakers, predominantly. in your view, has the gop been complicit in this, either through silence or through active support for these candidates or at a minimum, insufficiently aware of this and doing something about it? >> well, there is no question that neither side of the spectrum is exempt from intolerance. you can hear crazy anti-vaxxer holocaust distortions and from robert rfk jr. but to your question, yes, when people like bobert and marjorie taylor greene sit under the well of the house and espouse evil ideas about qanon, making ugly comparisons to the holocaust and literally, we're just in a moment where that silence, a conspiracy of silence has allowed conspiracy-minded people to affect the population, jim. >> and at times, cede violence. that's a concern. jonathan greeneblat, so folks are aware of the book, i believe we have an image. "it could happen here: an important tale of why america is tipping from hate to the unthinkable and how we can stop it." good to have you on, jonathan. >> thanks, jim. >> really important book and report. up next, pharmacies across the country are rolling out free n-95 masks. we'll tell you how to get yours, up next. okay everyone, our mission is to provide complete balanced nutrition for strength and energy. woo hoo! ensure, complete balanced nutrition with 27 vitamins and minerals. and ensure complete with 30 grams of protein. ♪ ♪ ♪ i'm gonna keep on lovin' you ♪ turns out everyone does sound better in the shower. and it turns out the general is a quality insurance company that's been saving people money for nearly 60 years. for a great low rate, and nearly 60 years of quality coverage, go with the general. like pulsing, electric shocks, sharp, stabbing pains, or an intense burning sensation. what is this nightmare? it's how some people describe... shingles. a painful, blistering 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schools must continue to follow despite the ruling. kathy hochul is working to reverse. you can imagine there's some confusion. pfizer with a clinical trial comparing covid vaccine trial to target the extremely contagious omicron variant. people who have received booster doses of the current vaccine are well protected against omicron but cdc numbers show only about a quarter of the total u.s. population is fully vaccinated and boosted. so joining me now is dr. colleen craft, associate chief staff at emory university hospital. great to have you on. thankfully, it looks like there are significant portions of the country, significantly in the northeast, where cases have peaked. we even heard this morning from new jersey, governor phil murphy announcing covid cases down two-thirds from where they stood just two weeks ago. given that and given how quickly people do come down with omicron and thankfully, the cases do peak, is this vaccine that useful given that we need it throughout the country and fluctuations right now? >> i think it's definitely useful. it's hard to know. i've given up predicting what's going to happen next. whether there's a new variant of omicron or whether there's a variant that comes after omicron that could actually be, this could be protective of, anything anything we're doing to sort of make therapeutics better, more helpful to the individual is really key at this point. >> i guess this could lead to some confusion as to people who have already been boosted. we clearly need to see more americans boosted but that having been said, those who are, does it mean they should go out and get a fourth vaccine, this vaccine that specifically targets omicron? >> yeah, so a year ago, i would have said we wouldn't have even needed a booster. but at this point, with the amount of people that are boosted and this high transmission rate, we are going to find ourselves needing another vaccine in the future. i don't know if that's news to everybody or, i think trying to get us through our grief denial cycle about additional vaccines is probably, this is probably the time to do that. i don't want us to continue to have every six month vaccines but at this point, for protection against severe disease, it's really critical and health care workers and hospitals everywhere are absolutely exhausted. >> i can imagine. obviously, we've been covering that at great length for over two years now. that having been said, there are many of your colleagues who are now looking at sort of the light at the end of the tunnel, and what comes next, assuming and it's a big if, we don't have another variant come up. what does the sort of return to normal look like to you? as we start to see hospitals sort of stabilize, right, that restrictions should be lifted, if for no other reason, to give people an opportunity to not live under restrictions and let them know they're not here for perpetuity if we don't have another variant down the road. what are your thoughts on that? >> aircrafi have a lot of thoug. i'll try to be concise. i think normal will look like many of these peaks and valleys of surges. we don't know if it will be a once a year thing like influenza but how we ramp up a little bit if we need to, hospitals certainly feel this acutely. the population may not at all except maybe their child has to stay home from school but we need to develop a sort of idea about how we go back and forth between protecting ourselves, protecting others and kind of keeping the good habits going if we want to have sort of a new normal. we want to continue to have surges, our behaviors right now of maybe getting vaccinated, sometimes wearing masks, sometimes mitigating our risk. in my opinion, really doing things to protect myself and protect others has been what my new normal. i'm not sure i'll change from doing that, so i'm sorry that people feel pressured to do something they don't want to do but it's also sort of a public health emergency that's been going on for a long time now. so i think trying to figure out how you can be creative in how you wear your mask and predicting when you're going to be in a situation you may want to be more careful, i think that's part of what natural life should look like going on. >> and a reminder, right, doctor, the ultimate goal is not to inundate the hospital systems because regardless of whether you have covid or not, there are other reasons you may need to go to the doctor and if they're inundated and overwhelmed with covid patients, you're not going to get the aid you so desperately need. >> yeah, i don't know how to be more clear about the tragedy that unfolds at the hospital during these surges, both for health care worker burnout. i've said it a bunch of times. it's really hard for me to explain this to colleagues and friends who don't see this everyday, and that don't experience this at all. they may have mild covid or friends with mild covid but this really is crippling our health care systems and i'm not sure that's only going to be now during the surges. i think i have worried about more long-term effects of the quality of our health care if we continue to just burn through our health care workers, burn through our supplies, et cetera. >> an important point, dr. colleen kraft. that's why we have you on here for our viewers to remind of that, thank you. the first free n-95 masks started arriving and free test kits in the mail. good news, jim. >> popular move. 84% of all americans approve of mailing at-home tests anyone who wants one. 65% of those who are unvaccinated say they approve of the move. cnn's jacqueline howard. a few things in country with covid, interesting numbers. the biden administration had taken some flak for not doing enough to slow the spread. tell us what the importance is of this. >> this seems like the biden administration's latest effort the really curb the spread of the omicron variant. what they're doing, rolling out free stuff. free n95 masks and free at-home covid tests. so when it comes to the free n95 masks, the main location these masks handed out are local pharmacies and community health centers. here's a look at in-store pharmacies where you might see mask. that hy-vee and meijer locations are already handing them out. cvs, walgreens, kroger expect to receive masks later this week and then winn-dixie, for instance and how this works, some of these locations are setting up tables where they have a greeter handing out the masks. they're handing three masks per person and, again, community health centers also will play a role here. this is all happening at the same time as we're seeing the rollout of at-home tests. remember, last week, the white house launched its web site, households can order four tests per household. they're already arriving in the mail. i ordered last week, waiting for mine but some are arriving. >> i ordered mine as well. i've been looking for it. jacqueline howard, thank you so much much. ahead, a first in the nation proposal to require gun owners a fee, insurance. some opposing the proposal as a tax. we'll see what it's intended to do. a first look at other events we're watching today. for people who could use a lift new neutrogena® rapid firming. a triple-lift serum with pure collagen. 92% saw visibly firmer skin in just 4 weeks. neutrogena® for people with skin. people everywhere living with type 2 diabetes are waking up to what's possible... with rybelsus®. the majority of people taking rybelsus® lowered their blood sugar and reached an a1c of less than 7. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. tell your provider about 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said this is the reaction to the shooting in may and other gun incidents since. he said after this has incidents, there's thoughts and prayers and then there's no action. hoos hoping to change that. there's two parts of this proposal. the first is that annual fee and it would require gun owners to pay $25 a year. so that money would then go to a non-profit and that non-profit would then give the money to victims of gun violence and also use the money to prevent gun violence. the other aspect is the liability insurance and that would essentially pass the burden financially to the insurance and that insurance would be the one responsible for paying any damages related to that gun. and so, a lot of it revolves around these measures because what the mayor says is that it would essentially be like a car insurance and he says that police officers would be able to go and ask for proof of that insurance, but already, so much opposition. there is the national foundation for gun rights who says they will see them in court. they say this is a test, essentially, on a constitutional right and that's where you're going to see a lot of that back and forth. jim, biana? >> a novel approach for sure. we'll see what happens with it. camila bernal, thank you. well, michael on trial for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from his client, stormy daniels. why the former celebrity lawyer calling the former federal case a joke. that's next. my psoriatic arthritis, made my joints stiff, swollen... painful. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®, adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...can uncover clearer skin and improve symptoms at 16 weeks. tremfya® is the only medication of its kind also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant® with 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record label is taking off. but so is your sound engineer. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matching your job description. visit indeed.com/hire any parent will tell you the second you have a kid, it's like your heart is living outside of your body, which means you never, ever stop worrying. that's why we got health insurance and for way less than we thought was possible. the kids' doctor and dental check-ups are free, and i get screenings for my cholesterol and my blood pressure. don't get me wrong, i still worry. just a little less. covered california. this way to health insurance. enrollment ends january 31st at coveredca.com in manhattan this morning, lawyers for michael avenatti are cross examining the first witness in federal trial for fraud. >> avenatti is charged with allegedly stealing nearly $300,000 from adult film actress stormy daniels from "full disclosure." daniels expected to also testify in the trial. cnn's kara scannell with more. what has the first witness said so far? >> reporter: well, biana, the first witness is stormy daniels' book agent. laying out the book deal and all the payments that the prosecutors say is key part of this fraud here. avenatti redirected payments owed to daniels' account in his name, the book agent testified that when avenatti asked him to do that, he asked him what authorization he had when avenatti provided him with a document that was purportedly signed by stormy daniels and said he forged her signature. that's the basis of this fraud case. now, interestingly today, on cross-examination, avenatti's lawyers spent 45 minutes asking the booking agent numerous questions, continuing from two hours of cross-examination yesterday. about 43 minutes, the judge abruptly stopped the lawyer from asking questions and told him to sit down. then outside the presence of the jury, the judge said to avenatti's lawyer he thought he didn't ask one single relevant question but his involvement in getting the book deal signed and trying to hshow how involved avenatti was. stormy daniels because of the work he did but the judge had it, told him to sit down and said they would move on to the next witness and they took a short break. another lawyer came into the courtroom and judge may want to represent in the case. would take it up later at the lunch break and expecting ave avenatti's office assistant and testifying remotely and getting under way right now. a lot of dwevelopments in the case with a significant turn if they represent themselves going forward in the case. jim, biana? >> court mellow drama for sure. thank you very much. all right, so this next scene. not from james bond. that's real. a real car. just got approved for flying. up next, when you might be able to get behind the wheel. >> how cool is that. r vending ms and buying a car 100% online. now we've created a brand-new way for you to sell your car. whether it's a year old or a few 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saves a lot. like a lot, a lot. the house ethics committee is opening a review into two lawmakers of allegations improper use of federal resources. panel claims it has, quote, substantial reason to believe republican congressmen doug lambord misused resources and marie newman promised employment to a primary opponent to get political support. both denied the al a gas stations allegations saying it was political in nature. a flying car has received an official certificate of airworthiness, potentially, potentially opening the door to mass production. there you see the video of it. air car approved by the slovak transport authority after completing more than 70 hours of test flights, including more than 200 takeoffs and landings. it still is just a concept car and you will need to be a qualified pilot to fly one. jim, no word on what insurance will cost for that as well . sun shield the size of a tennis court to protect its massive gold mirror from the sun's rays. the web telescope taking of exo planets or worlds outside the solar system. the first new images this summer. about 300 times more powerful than hubble. >> can't wait to see those images. >> thank you for joining us. i'm jim sciutto. >> i'm bianna golodryga. at this hour with kate bolduan starts right now. hello, everyone. i'm kate bolduan. here's what's we watch at this hour. high alert. thousands of u.s. troops on standby to deploy to europe as russia builds up its forces at the border with ukraine. raising fears of an invasion at any moment. a new booster. pfizer announcing it could soon have an omicron-specific vaccine as a new study shows just how crucial the current booster is to protect against it. >> and blockbuster cases from abortion rights to affirmative action,