house says the face-to-face conversation was deadly serious. >> hello. >> good to see you again. we didn't get to see each other at the g20. i hope next time we meet we do it in person. >> while intelligence officials have not determined whether putin has made a final division to invade, nothing is being left to chance. the president has experience with vladimir putin. he was vice president in 2014 when putin's troops marched into crimia and. putin has called the 1991 collapse of the soviet union the tragedy of the century. putin has never accepted the loss of ukraine. but the big question here is does he really want to invade or does he want something else entirely in exchange from the u.s. and our european allies? the president is scheduled to brief world leaders about that call and we are awaiting word from the white house press secretary at any moment. joining me now is nbc chief foreign correspondent richard engel in ukraine, "washington post" bureau chief ashley parker and former u.s. ambassador to russia michael mcfall, he advised president biden before the first summit meeting with putin in june. everybody, welcome. ambassador, you know vladimir putin better than anyone. what is his goal here? >> you know, katy, i don't think he decided what his goal is yet. i think that's part of his strategy. he wants us all to guess. i don't think he decided he would invade ukraine. he put forth some very out of reach goals and objectives for this phone call today. he wanted a security guarantee from president biden that nato would not expand to ukraine. that's something president biden can't do. he doesn't want to do. the alliance doesn't want to do it even though i want to underscore there's no serious talk of ukraine ever joining nato any time soon. but now that he's done that from the read out so far, it appears that objective was not met. now we have to wait and see what his next move will be and i honestly don't think he's decided what that is. >> so, i guess, richard, when you're looking at the options on the table for western countries for nato, they're talking about sanctions, but sanctions haven't necessarily deterred putin in the past. so what's the feeling overseas? >> well, there are sanctions and there are sanctions. so far a lot of the sanctions against russia have been targeted. they have targeted certain banks and individuals and there are blanket sanctions that could potentially disrupt russia's economy in profound ways. cut it off like iran or north korea or syria had been cut off. and those kind of sanctions haven't rolled into play. there are costs for russia, if those sanctions were to be enacted. there are costs for europe because russia is also a major supplier of natural gas primarily to europe. so, if you, if the u.s. and europe wanted to get into an economic war with russia in response to a potential ground war from russia, it would certainly cause pain in europe and could cause, i don't want to say economic collapse, but certainly currently collapse in russia. so, it is to ambassador mcfall's point, nothing has been decided it seems at this point. they are still talking. today was this, this video summit. but, you asked what is happening sort of on the ground level just a short while ago, just a few minutes after the call took place even before this readout that we're expecting to get from the white house soon, a defense ministry, the defense ministry here put out a statement that even more military equipment, more snipers, more 122 millimeter self-propelled artillery pieces have been moved into regions in ukraine that are controlled by russian-backed separatists. so, it does not seem that the military build up is pulling back, according to this statement from the ukrainians even as the call is taking place or right before the call, the military build up was increasing. >> richard, the white house read out talks about other measures that could be taken. does ukraine want help in terms of arms from the white house? are they looking for weapons? >> they are looking for weapons. they are looking for advisors. there are some advisors that come here from the united states and the uk and just today also i think as a try, an attempt to show strength, the ukrainian military put out photographs of ukrainian soldiers working with american advisors, antiaircraft specialists in this country. and what the ukrainians want and their defense minister has said this, they want not just dozens of foreign advisors to come here, americans, brits, not flying a nato flag, but to come representing their own nations and flying their own individual country's flag and to be sent not in the dozens, but the hundreds along the border region to act as air forces so if that russia were to cross over, it would soon come into contact with american troops, nato country troops and even if those troops couldn't stop them, it would be an indication that russia is now in hostile confrontation with a superpower with the united states. >> ashley, any indication that the white house has an appetite to do that for ukraine? >> well, that's been sort of the area where the white house has been hedging. in the lead up to this call, you know, reporters basically put these questions to them. what is president biden's red line? how far is he willing to go? what threat beyond sanctions is he open to? is he going to express to vladimir putin on this call that just wrapped up and basically publicly and privately officials would kind of commit to strong sanctions and beyond that certainly not a lot of appetite to at least publicly promise that u.s. troops would be there and be willing to be deployed, if russia were to invade ukraine. >> what about putin standing in russia, ambassador mcfall? how is he politically right now? given the grip he has on the country, does it matter what russians think of him? >> no, not really. he's, like you said, he's been in power for 21 years. a well-tuned authoritarian regime and public opinion is difficult in autocracies and he's well above 50%. that said other polling that shows russians are not anxious to have a war with ukraine. remember, there is a real paradox in putin's argument. on the one hand he talks repeatly how ukrainians are one nation with russians. he put out this long paper saying we're all from the same history and the same nation. if that's true, why are you threatening to kill ukrainians? remember, lots of russians living in ukraine and living in russia have lots of family ties with ukrainians so the idea that this will be a popular war, should he decide to do it, for this fictitious crisis of ukraine joining nato, i think putin has to factor that into his considerations to whether use force or not. >> michael mcfall, you're sticking around for us waiting for the briefing from the white house. hopefully we'll get more detail on that phone call. thank you, both, for joining us. and fears are mounting around the new omicron covid variant but dr. anthony fauci said it might not be the biggest threat. in an interview this morning he said the new variant is almost most certainly not more severe than delta. that is based from early research but an increase in concern from omicron is leading to an increase in vaccinations and officials think that is a good thing. shots are up 30% over the previous week. that is good news for the united states, but still only 71% of our population has received at least one shot. joining me now is msnbc lindsay rizer in trenton, new jersey and medical contributor dr. natalie azar. first to you, dr. azar, this news from fauci saying this does not appear to be as severe as delta, that is a big deal. >> it is. remember, it is to the virus evolutionary advantage meaning it doesn't cause more severe disease. if it does that, if it increases mortality, the virus will die off in the hosts that it infects. this is certainly good to hear. again, anecdotally and this is from a pretty broad spot of healthcare facility in southern africa. not yet peer reviewed, it's still early. hospitalizations and deaths could certainly lag behind infections, we know this now. this isn't a drill. it doesn't surprise me that we're hearing this right now. the big concerns, of course, i think we've established it is more contagious and we're really talking about now the protection that the vaccines will confer and how much evasion of that immune protection we're actually going to see. >> the discussion is still prompting a run on booster shots. that and the fact that delta cases are up all around the country and hospitals are feeling the squeeze. lindsay, what are you seeing down there as people line-up to get that booster? >> so, the white house did announce 2.2 million shots on friday. that is the highest single day of totals since may. as you mentioned in the intro, katy, they feel good about those numbers. we're seeing the numbers on the local level in trenton, new jersey, mercer county. november 72.8% of the population had one dose. that number jumped 6% in one month in the beginning of december. that is a significant increase. and one health clinic that i talked to said that boosters are mostly driving this. about two-thirds of their appointments are for boosters here at the local pharmacy. it is about 80%. seeing lines anywhere from an hour at this pharmacy last week on a friday. they did about 300 doses and that is about twice what they would normally do. i want us to listen right now to the chief medical officer for the health clinic here in trenton about this increase. let's listen. >> we've been seeing a big mix, a significant increase in boosters, but also still some people coming in for first doses, children, both aged 12 to 18 and also 5 to 11. that has significantly increased in the sense that about a month and a half ago we were seeing maybe 15 to 20 vaccines in the three hours that we'd be at a standing location and now we're seeing up to 100 or more at a time. so, definitely a big increase. >> so, the reason is multi-facetted. we have, obviously, rising cases and concern over the omicron variant, employee mandates and a decrease in hesitancy. this is not only what i'm hearing from health officials but people getting boosters and first-time shots. the first omicron case was detected in new jersey yesterday. the woman traveling to the state who had recently gone to south africa. i also talked to the american pharmacist association about what people should do if they're looking for appointments. people should be patient. a lot of people are beefing up staffing. for example where i am right here, katy, they'll open up on weekends so people can bring their kids if they're not able to do so during the week. >> check out in a pharmacy at the end of the day to see if they have any extra shots. that worked for me. dr. azar, how does this end? if it doesn't end when do we stop having it as one of our top stories? >> well, you know, what's interesting is as i was listening to lindsey explaining that healthcare provider sort of breaking down, you know, the two-thirds we're getting. two-thirds getting boosters and a third were getting their shots for the first time and the thought that crossed my mind was, well, because they perhaps these individuals finally realized that this is what life is going to look like. meaning that we're going to continue to have the variant and we're going to continue to be rolling out new therapeutics and antivirals and potentially, you know very specific vaccine boosters but for life to start to feel like normal and for us to stop needing to cover it every single day means that the virus has become endemic and part of our lives and with vaccination and with appropriate treatments, the vast majority of people should not succumb to this illness but that we can all live with it. and i think that's, you know, we all sort of felt like that sense of whiplash when we started talking about omicron because we were dealing with delta for so long. we talked about this. a matter of time in all likelihood before another variant comes and that's kind of the cycle we're going to see. but if it pans out that it is not causing more severe disease and that omicron or the vaccines give us roughly the same protection as they did against delta, that's starting to kind of see a very routine news story, right? that's starting to feel, that will start to feel more routine for us as long as i'm vaccinated and perhaps i need to be masking indoors in public areas where there's a lot of mixing of individuals, that's just going to be our new normal. and maybe we don't need to report on that so frequently any more then. >> here's the good news. we have naxinations. a lot of people vaccinated and boosters available and a number of therapeutics being reviewed. hopefully there is an end in sight for this. dr. natalie azar, a always good to see you. lindsey reise, are, thank you so much. the michigan artist whose studio was the hiding place for james and jennifer crumbley. later i talk candidly he was angry just as a lot of you are. we'll explain. and rain forest revival. how puerto rico is saving its own ecosystem. knocki oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! my zone... lowering my a1c, cv risk, and losing some weight... now, back to the game! ozempic® is proven to lower a1c. most people who took ozempic® reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. and you may lose weight. adults lost on average up to 12 pounds. in adults also with known heart disease, ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as heart attack, stroke, or death. ozempic® helped me get back in my type 2 diabetes zone. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® 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 vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. looking to get back in your type 2 diabetes zone? ask your health care provider today about once-weekly ozempic®. oh, oh, oh, ozempic®! you may pay as little as $25 for a 3-month prescription. bye mom. my helpers abound, i'll need you today. our sleigh is now ready, let's get on our way. a mountain of toys to fulfill many wishes. must be carried across all roads and all bridges. and when everyone is smiling and having their fun i can turn my sleigh north because my job here is done. it's not magic that makes more holiday deliveries to homes in the us than anyone else, it's the hardworking people of the united states postal service. where's mom? she said she would be home in time for the show. it's the hardworking don't worry, sweetie.e she promised she'd be here for it. ooh! nice shot! thanks! glad we have xfinity, with wifi speed faster than a gig! me too! woah, look! mom is on tv! she's amazing! (cheers) xfinity brought us together, after all! power your whole home this holiday with wifi speeds faster than a gig. click, call, or visit a store today. sing 2 with the accused michigan school gunman and his parents behind bars and the investigation into the school's actions continuing, today there are new questions about the place where the parents were found hiding. the lawyer for a commercial artist says he contacted and met with authorities after ethan crumbley's parents were located in a studio linked to the artist on detroit's east side. how did they end up there found holed up in the middle of the night? joining me now from michigan is ellison barber. what are you hearing from law enforcement? >> hey, katy. we reached out to law enforcement to try to find out what came, if anything, from that meeting yesterday. our crews saw andre walk into a police station with his attorney yesterday late afternoon. later in the evening, they were at his home as police executed a search warrant on his house. the attorney for that artist says his client has cooperated with investigators. his story has been that his client, this artist, did not realize the parents were facing any kind of charges. according to the attorney they had a bit of a relationship, although he says not super, super close and through one of their conversations the couple said they needed a place to stay because they were getting death threats. according to this artist's attorney, that is the only information this artist has. that is why he says he allowed them to stay in his studio. police had said, though, to them it very much looked like the couple had no intention of turning themselves in. the attorney for jennifer and james crumbley pushed back on that saying they were going to turn themselves in eventually just a matter of logistics. police have described the arrest of the parents as saying they were hiding in a locked room inside that studio and in terms of the law enforcement perspective, it looked like they had no intention to turn themselves in. they had taken $4,000 out of an atm. the sheriff here said they're still considering whether to add additional charges to the parents in terms of what they see as them evading arrest. katy. >> really interesting. it was all over the news. i wonder how that artist didn't hear about it. it was ever where. ellison barber, thank you so much. up next, mark meadows now says he will not cooperate with the january 6th committee after lawmakers subpoenaed a third party to verify with the former chief of staff was telling them. and the doj is suing texas. nbc news correspondent morgan chesky says the government says is unconstitutional. wn device, we'll pay off your phone up to $1000. you can keep your phone. keep your number. and get your employees connected on the largest and fastest 5g network. plus, we give you $200 in facebook ads on us! so you can reach more customers, create more opportunities, and finish this year strong. visit your local t-mobile store today. let's break down subway's new baja chicken & bacon. look at that coverage by that pepper jack cheese on that new rotisserie style chicken then boom! here comes the new baja chipotle sauce up the gut, and... great, now i can't even see what i'm calling! save big. order through the app. ♪ ♪ great, now i can't even see well would you look at that? ♪ ♪ jerry, you've got to see this. seen it. trust me, after 15 walks ...it gets a little old. ugh. i really should be retired by now. wish i'd invested when i had the chance... to the moon! 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>> well, what's unclear, katy, is if this was a new subpoena or something previously. we know that the committee has already asked these media companies, telecom companies, these third parties for thousands and thousands of pages of documents. the committee specifically is not responding and saying exactly what it is. but they are, you know, what meadows is saying is that this is this was something that was unacceptable to him. that there is things that would fall under that subpoena that would violate this executive privilege guard rail that he had put up. now, when meadow said last week that he was going to cooperate with the committee, he noted that there was going, he was going to do it within the confines of what he thought would not fall under executive privilege. so that is a very, very narrow scope, as far as meadows is concerned. and now it has come to, once again, where he says he's no longer going to cooperate. so now it's back to the committee on what they're going to do. are they, just like they did jeffrey clark and steve bannon, are they also going to recommend criminal contempt referral for the department of justice and we're waiting to see what the january 6th select committee is going to do, katy. >> big deal donald trump's former chief of staff and former member of congress. texas is preparing for a fight after the justice department announced it is suing over redistricting proposal created by the state's republicans. the suit alleges texas is drawing its new maps to maintain white voting majorities in their districts. discriminating against the state's latino and black populations. nbc morgan chesky is in texwise the latest. >> yeah, katy, good afternoon. at its core the doj is saying it is not reflective of the rapidly changing demographics here in texas. the lawsuit has two claims. number one, texas republicans did this to intensionally suppress the voting power of the population in the state. number two, even if it wasn't intentional, the effect was still discriminatory and the doj only has to prove one of those claims. texas-size fight over voting maps. on monday the department of justice filed a lawsuit challenging texas republicans' plan for redrawing congressional and state legislative districts. the new maps violate the voting rights act. >> as the supreme court has observed, a core principle of our democracy is that, quote, voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around. >> according to the doj, texas has grown population by 4 million people over the last decade and 95% of that growth is in black, latino and asian populations. the state allocated two more congressional seats after the 2020 census, but did not draw a single new district with a majority of black or hispanic voters. instead they have white voting majorities. >> the newly enacted redistricting plans will not allow minority voters to select their choice. >> reporter: they pave a safer path for the gop majority to stay in power. >> this was intentional, absolutely intentional attempt to suppress latino votes, black votes, asian votes. >> reporter: democratic state rep ramon romero says they hit his district hard. >> once you saw the new district, what did it do to you? >> 50% latino sir name voter registration to a 38% latino sir name voter registration. >> reporter: the state's attorney general firing back on twitter calling the suit absurd. he is confident that our legislators redistricting will be proven lawful. right now the doj is asking the courts to prohibit texas from having elections using those newly drawn districts. and they're asking the court to order the state to redraw them completely. katy. >> morgan reporting. coming up reddit former ceo is upset and why he wants senator joe manchin to rethink paid leave. what it is like to not be there when your wife needs you the most. our wife needs you the most a plan that gives you the chance to grow your savings and create cash flow that lasts. along the way, we'll give you ways to be tax efficient. and you can start, stop or adjust your plan at any time without the unnecessary fees. we'll help you go from saving... to living. ♪ play all day ♪ like pulsing, electric shocks, sharp, stabbing pains, or an intense burning sensation. what is this nightmare? 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[ mittens squeaking ] want your clothes to smell freshly washed she's a diva. all day without heavy perfumes? now they can! with downy light in-wash freshness boosters. just pour a capful of beads into your washing machine before each load. to give your laundry a light scent that lasts longer than detergent alone, with no heavy perfumes or dyes. finally, a light scent that lasts all day! new downy light, available in four naturally-inspired scents. today we're introducing you to another dad sharing his story of life without federal paid federal leave. kevin denny is a dad of two living in selma, texas. he would not honor his request for paternity leave when his daughter was born two years ago but his wife was dealing with postpartum depression. so he took unpaid leave and became a self-proclaimed dadvacate for other dads like him. here is a day in the life of kevin denny. >> hello. my name is kevin denny ii. i have two amazing kids. one is 2. her is name is emma. >> hi. >> hi. >> the other almost about to be 4 on december 9th and his name is kenneth. it's about 7:00. late night last night. definitely exhausted because, well, she's putting in a lot of work with our daughter. our daughter actually has an ear infection and still breastfeeding. time to get these kids up for school. this is kind of typical, you know, on the dad side of things. got to do the dirty work. i'm a computer scientist and do mostly development and i've done that for the last 15 years. once my child was born, i was not really able to work from home at all. i even offered, hey, can i do some hours and some in from like 9:00 to 3:00 and start the morning early and then end up at home also a little bit earlier and that was heavily not looked upon. they didn't like that idea. if you want productive workers, then you have to understand that you should be caring about their families because if there's mess at home, there's going to be mess at work. okay. now you go. certain people are in privileged positions where they don't have to worry about making that choice because they can pay for a nanny and do this, okay, they just can take off work because they have savings or something like that. they can all be together as a family. other people, their paycheck if it goes missing by one pay period, lights are off. no food on the table. no house over their head. pig looks through a big telescope and the moon looks close enough to visit. it's about 10:30. everybody is finally down for the count. i'm just very, very grateful that we're moving forward and pushing and getting closer and closer to a national paid leave policy. so, good night, folks. i'm going to try to get some sleep because i have work to do in the morning. >> lots of families don't have emergency money for your car breaking down, yet alone emergency money to stay home for weeks on end to help a mom deal with postpartum depression which is a very, very serious issue. we thank you, our thanks to kevin for bringing us that story. right now the house version of the build back better legislation includes four weeks of paid leave, but opposition from west virginia senator joe manchin will likely mean that policy is stripped from the bill before it makes its way to the senate floor for a vote. that is exactly why alexis ohanian is so mad. i spoke with the earnest advocate for paid leave earlier today. >> alexis, good to see you again. how are you doing? >> likewise, katy. doing okay. could be better, though. >> yeah, last time we spoke two years ago after i came back from materny leave with my first kid. now just coming back with the second kid, still nothing has changed although bipartisan support and the majority of support of americans across the country. what is going on? >> yeah, well, it looks bleak because of one senator from west virginia and, yeah, we have something here in paid family leave that is good for american families. it is good for american businesses. it is good for american society. and yet, here we are and it looks like still going to get stumbled and it's pretty frustrating to say the least. i agree. this is something, you know, every one of my employees has been able to enjoy for, gosh, i mean, six, seven, eight years now. and so many folks who are lucky enough to have it thanks to the business sector, obviously, you know, we're still pushing them to take full advantage of it and pushing more businesses to realize that this is just smart business. but there are so many americans who are totally exposed. who just simply don't have access to it. and i am, i am tired living in a country where one in four american women goes back to work two weeks after giving birth. that is not healthy. that is not economically viable. there's no good argument for it, especially for a country that, you know, purports to really believe in family values. >> you talk about joe manchin and he's currently the one holding it up as part of reconciliation. have you spoken to him or his office? >> i haven't. i haven't. my phone lines are open. he can e-mail any time. i would love a meeting. i think, you know, look, i realize there are, there are all kinds of games that have to get played in the halls of washington. i just come from the business world and as a ceo and as an investor, i'm really just interested in solving problems, not playing politics. and here we have something in paid family leave that would solve very real problems for a lot of americans. and not just because it feels good to be able to spend time with your newborn and not because it's important to, you know, during this crucial moment in adding a new member to your family to be able to be there. because it's actually good for our economy. because it is actually going to turn out to be healthier for moms, for those children. and ultimately make us all more productive and we've seen it in states that have leaned in to paid family leave. we see it in businesses that offer this to employees and have higher retention and higher productivity. and candidly in a country that is seeing a declining birth rate like the united states is, i could argue this is one of the most important things for us to do in order to create more incentives and more opportunities for americans to have children and then give those children the best chance possible to be successful. >> you hit a really interesting angle on that that doesn't get talked about a lot which is we currently can't support our systems as it stands with the taxpayers that will not be there because we're not having kids. social security is not necessarily guaranteed because we're top heavy right now in terms of population. so many people in their 20s and 30s say, look, i can't afford it or this country doesn't support families and it doesn't make sense for me to do it. when you have conversations about this, is that something that gets through to people, the ones that might not necessarily feel any empathy or really think it matters much whether moms or dads get paid time off? >> this is the thrust of my argument with most people. i think for anyone who had children, you know, you've experienced, you've experienced sleepless nights and you experienced all the disruption and you understand why it would be valuable to not have to decide between keeping your job and like staying in the nicu with your family. that, that part i think resonates with a whole heck of a lot of people so it's almost a given. it's almost obvious. that nonobvious thing is the fact that even if you don't care at all for the benefit it provides for american families, care about it for the very selfish, economic reality that we need more children in this country. and it should go without saying that plenty of politicians have made great campaigns about supporting children and thinking of the children. here is something that can really create a policy that incentivises and motivates american to not just have children which is an important need right now, in the long-term picture of the country. but also give them the best possible foundation to start. >> alexis, always good to talk to you on this subject. i hope next time we're talking about it with better news. >> you and me both, katy. thanks. coming up next, something of a miracle in puerto rico. rain forests once decimated by farming are back. voya doesn't just help me get to retirement... ...they're with me all the way through it. voya. be confident to and through retirement. instantly clear everyday congestion with vicks sinex saline. for fast drug free relief vicks sinex. instantly clear everyday congestion. and try vicks sinex children's saline. safe and gentle relief for children's noses. no one can deliver your mom's homemade short ribs. that's why instacart helps deliver the ingredients. and you add the love. if you're on medicare, remember, the annual enrollment period is here. the time to choose your coverage... begins october 15th... and ends december 7th. so call unitedhealthcare... and take advantage of a wide choice of plans... including an aarp medicare advantage plan from unitedhealthcare. it can combine your hospital and doctor coverage with part d prescription drug coverage, and more, all in one simple plan... for a low monthly premium or in some areas, no plan premium at all. take advantage of $0 copays on primary care doctor visits, virtual visits and lab tests. also get $0 copays on preventive dental care, $0 copays on routine hearing exams, and free yearly eye exams. plus, free designer frames and prescription lenses. now's the time to look at unitedhealthcare's variety of plans, and let us help find the one that works best for you. ask about ppo plans, too. they let you see any doctor who accepts medicare, without a referral. and pay in-network costs, at home or traveling, when you see doctors in the unitedhealthcare medicare national network. take advantage of $0 copays and deductibles on tier 1 and mail order tier 2 prescriptions. in fact, last year our medicare advantage plan members saved an average of over $9,000. and with renew active, enjoy a free gym membership - with access to the largest gym network of any medicare advantage plan. as always, you can count on unitedhealthcare to help you get the care you need, when you need it. we can even help schedule appointments or find a specialist. enrollment ends december 7th. call unitedhealthcare or go online today. we make it easy to enroll, too. enjoy all the benefits of the only medicare advantage plans with the aarp name. take advantage now. (kids playing) pnc bank believes that if your phone can help you track your pizza come on, cody. where are you, buddy? then your bank should help you track your spending. virtual wallet® is so much more than a checking account. its low cash mode feature gives you at least 24 hours of extra time to help you avoid an overdraft fee. okay, he's gotta be close. he's six blocks in the other direction. make a left, make a left, make a left! he made a right again. virtual wallet® with low cash mode from pnc bank. one way we're making a difference. the . the governor of hawaii has declared a state of emergency as an unusually powerful storm dumps tons of rain across hawaii. the seasonal storm system called kona low left thousands without power and left thousands stranded. people had to board their plane from the dark as the airport lost power monday night. who ill in higher elevations, the storm created blizzard conditions, snow, seen in this webcam video provided by the canada-france-half telescope. the state of emergency is in effect through friday as more rain and possible landslides threaten the archipelago. and all this week, the platforms at nbc news are bringing you special coverage around the globe as a part of our series rescuing the rainforest the rainforest investigations network. often referred to as the lungs of the earth, rain forests are under threat world wide. but it is not all bad news. one rainforest in puerto rico has come roaring back. it looks amazing, jake, have you got on the go there? >> i'm sorry, jacob soberoff is there. i assume everybody knows who you are. >> i would be there, it's incredible. this is really good news, you guys know this, scientists agree ethe disruption of tropical rainforest are an urgent rainforest norway earlier this year, over two-thirds of tropical rainforest exacerbates species lost and climate change. in puerto rico, there are signs of hope in the tropical rainforest, the planet and humanity. tropical rainforests cover only 7% of the earth's surface. but they're home to more than half of the planet's biodiversity, on puerto rico. one of the smallest rainforests and the only one managed by the u.s. forest service. exactly so, this type of vegetation has been growing and live. we hiked deep into the rainforest to its highest elevation more than 3500 feet above sea level with dr. gonzalez arc scientist for the forest service so this is untouched natural forest in the. >> yes. >> wow! >> reporter: in these mountains, you'll find thousands of native plants and hundreds of small an pam species, many found nowhere else on earth. to think this is so unbelievably spectacular and we just stand here and listen? >> yes. >> reporter: it's pretty cool. over a century ago, much of puerto rico used to look just like this. almost 70% of the island was covered in forests. but beginning in the 1,800s, land was clearedered to make way for farming. at the low point in the 19 foertsz, only 7% of the island was forested. today it's as if a miracle has happened. was this really some of the only remaining rainforest on the entire island? >> yes, at the top of the mountains. >> reporter: now, what's the status here? >> if you look at the latest description of forests covering the island, with are about 65% so we are back full circle. >> reporter: to understand that full circle, we traveled to a mountainous region known for coffee exported all over the world. that's changed. puerto rico's farmers moved to jobs in the mainland u.s., today wanda perez works to help remaining farmers after seeing thousands leave. >> they have looked for better opportunities. >> reporter: that migration gave the forests an opportunity to grow again. then four years ago, hurricane maria devastated the farms that were left. a third generation coffee grower. is it easy to be a farmer here in puerto rico? >> it's been very, very hard. we can look at that mountain. that used to be two things that were grown there, coffee and citron, now you only see the forests. you survived maria? >> reporter: today they work with puerto rico's remain farmers, making sure their crops and the rainforest can co-exist. it helps other countries impacted by deforestation. it seems like people left the land generations ago, i they did so because it didn't seem there was economic opportunity left? are you saying, economic opportunity and deforestation are not mutually excludes sniff. >> we are promoting an education between agricultural and forest if possible and lucrative for the family. >> reporter: we looked down at the line where new forest that grew on the ancient farmland meets the ancient untouched rainforest. >> when you see the darker line of vegetation, you see the recovery of the forest. >> reporter: in other words, if you want to understand what it looks like to see a rainforest come back, you are looking at it. >> this is amazing. because if this rainforest completely regenerated because humans got out of the way. >> they left. >> they left. we see these sorts of issues all over the world. we are seeing issues at home in the united states. we're not just going to leave our farmland, though. it would take something terrible happening for everybody to raise the land. >> it raises the question, is this possible so many places else? so many left to the mainland u.s. or into the cities. the answer is, yes, if you look at the climates evidenced in scotland, all the nations promised to endeforestation by 2030 and with land management policies were basically farming and reforestation can co-exist. it is possible. it takes the policy makers. >> it takes an investment. >> in order to do it. >> i want to listen to the sounds in the studio right now. >> are you making fun of me? >> a little. >> why don't you come next time? >> i was on maternity leave. >> it's our first time back together. >> it is good to see you. thank you so much for bringing us that story. it is amazing what nature can do when humans get out of the way. that will do it for me today. hallie jackson picks up our coverage next. r coverage next. >> eggs with more fresh and delicious taste. plus, superior nutrition. which is now more important than ever. ♪♪ look! oh my god... i want my daughter riley to know about her ancestors and how important it is to know who you are and to know where you came from. ♪ we're discovering together... it's been an amazing gift. ♪ ♪♪ thousands of women with metastatic breast cancer are living in the moment and taking ibrance. ibrance with an aromatase inhibitor is for postmenopausal women or for men with hr+, her2- metastatic breast cancer as the first hormonal based therapy. ibrance plus letrozole significantly delayed disease progression versus letrozole. ibrance may cause low white blood cell counts that may lead to serious infections. ibrance may cause severe inflammation of the lungs. both of these can lead to death. tell your doctor if you have new or worsening chest pain, cough, or trouble breathing. before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are or plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding. for more information about side effects talk to your doctor. ♪♪ be in your moment. ask your doctor about ibrance. 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