it warned americans not to travel to ukraine or russia citing, quote, increased threats of russian military action. they ran military drills over the weekend. and a new report from the british foreign ministry says the kremlin's end game could be to install a pro-russian regime in ukraine. sources tell nbc news that intelligence comes from the united states. a second delivery of american wep importance has been delivered. antony blinken met with sergei lavrov over the weekend. that did not result in a major breakthrough but secretary blinken tells nbc news an agreement is still possible. >> even as we're building up deterrents, even as we're building up defense for ukraine, we're also engaged in diplomacy and dialogue. that is preferably the preferred path. that's the responsible thing we'll do. we'll pursue it. we'll at this point to build up the defense and deterrence that is necessary. >> lawmakers are calling to sanction russia as soon as possible hoping that an economic blow to the already weakened russian economy will stop vladimir putin in his tracks. joining me now from ukraine is nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley. from washington mike memoli. from the pentagon, courtney kubi and from moscow matt bogner. let's talk about what the white house is doing. let's start with mike memoli. the president presented with options. what is the likely chances he'll be taking these options and when could that happen? >> according to white house officials, this all largely depends on what we see from vladimir putin going forward. that's why you're seeing the president convene with our european allies. as jen psaki put it, she's briefing reporters as we speak. this is about diplomacy and deterrence. the white house says in their view no decision has been made regarding any firm options moving forward but that what the president's call today is about is about refining some of the strategies that have been discussed over a period of months as this crisis has escalated. it's really important to look at today's call in light of two things. one is the president's comments last week in which he triggered a little round of cleanup on the part of the white house. he ultimately was discussing the ways in which potentially the response of the united states and our allies might depend on precisely what vladimir putin does and today that call might serve a purpose which is making sure allies are on the same page. no matter how minor an incursion it is, the response is in the view of the u.s. an especially powerful one. it is important to look at what the white house was saying more than a month ago when president biden and president putin had that virtual meeting. at the time white house officials were saying there were contingency plans that the white house, united states were willing to take should the situation escalate and should they be requested by our allies, those are precisely the points that are being laid out. >> let's talk about what's happening in russia right now. matt bogner, how are the russians reacting to the options being put forth from the president, nato building up troop levels in states bordering russia, nato states bordering russia, and what have you heard about this american intelligence that suggests that russia's end game is to install a puppet government in ukraine? >> i don't think they necessarily love hearing all of these things. they're definitely publicly unhappy about it. we're hearing kind of a very standard set of denials to each one of these developments and that is russia has no plans to invade ukraine. they're saying that this is entirely kind of a western media intelligence conspiracy that's meant to at the end of the day encourage, in their words, the hotheads in kiev to make a move on eastern europe. we heard that from dmitry peskov. there are indications that the ukrainians are preparing their own offense sieve on eastern ukraine, conducting their own military mobilization, something that isn't really evident. we're seeing the russian buildup on the other side of the border. this is the kind of statement we need to be paying close attention to as we move forward because if russia, if the kremlin does decide that it is going to make a move on eastern ukraine due to any extent at all, it has to be painted domestically as a defensive maneuver. we're seeing a lot of narrative preparation generally speaking about nato, u.s. is behind this, is instigating this crisis, is doing provocative actions so really pay close attention to those types of statements moving forward. that said, i think at this point, katie, in this game so to speak, nothing we're hearing from the kremlin matters too much. they've made it clear they're waiting to make their next move after they get this formal written response from the united states. i think the situation will be much clearer or easier to read into the rhetoric following that. >> matt, i've been watching you all day, matt bradley, in the ukraine. you've been talking about this interesting dichotomy. on the one happened there is all of this tension rising, fears of an imminent invasion but there in kiev where americans have told diplomats' families to leave, you say kiev seems normal? >> yeah, it does. we heard directly from the government about that development with the u.s. embassy. that's standard protocol for any embassy that would be in danger. here in kiev, they've told the ukrainians not to panic. that's the official line from the government. be prepared but don't panic. walking around kiev, the ukrainian capitol, everything seems pretty normal. everybody is walking around. the stores are open. i'm not seeing people packing their bags and trying to flee. i was speaking to some people who said this is more looks like an information war than a real war. there are a lot of people who just don't believe that vladimir putin is actually going to invade. they think a lot of this has been drummed up by western intelligence and the western media and they don't see this as an imminent disaster. the fact is is that one of the reasons why so many people here aren't alarmed is we've got to remember, they're eight years into their own war with russian-backed separatists in the east of the country. so it's not really new. this is not a new invasion. this would be a re-invasion if the russians were to enter into ukraine. for a lot of people here, this isn't a big surprise. they kind of believe they know what they're expecting. also, they simply do not have a purchase on the know dwoesh ghosh yagss and the diplomacy. they do not know how to get themselves out of this because all of these negotiations have been happening between the great powers, between the united states and russia. ukraine barely has a seat at the table, kate. >> i want to get more on that in a moment. courtney, i do want to talk to you about some of your new reporting which i found striking and complicated. on the one hand the white house is negotiating with vladimir putin trying to get him to pull back on ukraine. on the other hand, you have reporting that the united states is working with russia on sanctions for or the nuclear buildup in iran. explain to me how those two things can happen at once. >> yeah, that's right. so, i mean, on the one hand you have the u.s. grappling with the potential invasion of ukraine that would pit them, the united states and russia against one another, and then at the same time they are working next to russia to avoid a potential nuclear crisis with iran. a lot of our viewers may say, what are you talking about, nuclear crisis with iran? we haven't been hearing a lot about that. in recent months iran has been able to amass a stockpile of highly enriched uranium of 60% and the concern now is now that they have enough at 60% that they could begin to enrich to 90%. that's weapons grade uranium. if they get to that point they could within a matter of potential months, they could have a nuclear weapon. so that is -- has caused this new round of talks in vienna between the united states and iran to come to some sort of an agreement to stop iran's development of their nuclear program. now we found out according to some reporting by our colleagues, we found out that russia actually presented an interim agreement to iran that would offer limited sanctions relief in return to tehran reimposing some restrictions on their nuclear program. well, iran denied it. they turned down the deal, but what's fascinating again here, katie, is that we have these two opposing sides that are actually working, you know, next to one another to avoid this potential crisis. i should point out a number of former officials we spoke with said this follows a pattern for russia, particularly for vladimir putin. they pointed back to the boston marathon bomb in 2013, after that occurred, russia worked very closely and helped out specifically fsb, worked closely with the fbi to help them track down the marathon bombers. that was right before russia ip vaded crimea. there is this pattern where russia in advance of doing something very provocative like the invasion of ukraine, they'll work with or they'll help out the united states or other western powers as sort of a signal to say, look, remember, we can actually help you in some places so remember that when you're responding to what we're about to do in a kinetic way. it's a really fascinating dichotomy, katie. >> thank you all as well. with me now is former supreme ally commander at nato, admiral james defreitis. he is our chief diplomacy analyst. admiral, thanks so much for joining us. i want to ask you about what some lawmakers are demanding of the white house right now, which is they want the sanctions that could be levied against russia to be levied right now. an tow any blinken, the secretary of state, says, no, he's worried that that would be seen as an aggressive act and would potentially cause ukraine or russia to invade ukraine. how do you see this? >> i would probably hold the sanctions back at the moment. i would quietly be in back channel communicating to the russians that we are one inch away from unleashing these. they will have real bite particularly if we remove russia. if we go after oligarchs and their bank accounts. if we ensure the oil and gas sector comes under direct sanctions but secondary sanctions meaning anyone who does business with them is sanctioned by the united states. so it's a pretty lethal basket of economic sanctions, not quite the moment yet to let those rip but we're getting close. >> matt bradley was talking about the reaction in kiev and they don't believe russia is going to invade. they believe it's a narrative that's being 2kru78d up by western countries, western alliances. i know there are people in this country looking at the situation and themselves wondering why are we getting involved in this? why do we care so much about what russia does with ukraine? is this cold war 2.0 all over again or -- 2.0 is not all over again but you get what i'm saying? explain why we have such an interest in getting involved with ukraine. >> let's start with people in kiev who i would say whistling past the graveyard thinking it ain't going to happen. it happened in 2014. their country was invaded. i don't really see the logic of, oh, they invaded us once, now they probably won't invade us? doesn't make sense to me. they invaded georgia in 2008. in their soviet incarnation, russian tanks rolled into romania, they rolled into hungary, they rolled into the czech republic. russia has a fair amount of history here. i would continue to be very worried if i were a ukrainian at the moment. in terms of why it matters to us, it's because we don't want an international system where nations decide what their neighbors are going to do under force of lethal weapons. what i mean by that is it's fine to have views about what your neighbors ought to do. you ought to communicate those diplomatically. you ought to incentive advise or deincentive advise but that is different than your tanks rolling across borders. i'll close on this. watch for cyber. watch for a significant cyber attack. courtney was correct to bring up this dichotomy. about a week ago you saw russia launch kind of a mild cyber attack at the same time russia shut down a group of these ransomware hackers that brought us the colonial pipeline hack. it's another example of that you can work with us or you can work against us. >> it's like the sour patch commercial, first they're sour and then they're sweet. how does that complicate the diplomacy? how does that play into what an tow any blinken is trying to do with sergei lavrov? >> what secretary blinken is doing, and i think quite effectively, is wrangling the allies. making sure that nato is on the same sheet of music here with us. let's face it, there are 30 nations in the nato alliance. not all of them have the same set of relationships with russia so i think secretary blinken job one, you see him on foot patrol all around europe, is to keep alignment in the alliance and then, secondly, going beyond europe, he and his team are working to get democracies lined up to be part of this sanctions if we have to go there. everybody from japan, to singapore, to south korea, to australia. it's not just nato. this one is going to be russia versus the democracies. >> there are still some questions about france about this. one police officer is dead, another is critically injured. what new york city's new mayor is now saying about how he is going to address the crime wave here. cooperating witness. january 6th committee chair bennie thompson said they have spoken to former trump ag bill barr. doesn't look like they subpoenaed him. a brand-new mom forced to go back to work while her baby girl was still in the nicu. pov, you have to return to work 12 days after having a premature baby at 27 weeks. t 27s it's three great things together. wait! who else is known for nailing threes? hmm. can't think of anyone! subway keeps refreshing and re... 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. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪upbeat music♪ transitions™ light under control. ♪upbeat music♪ transitions™ signature gen 8™ available now, in 4 vibrant style colors. transitions™ ♪[music]♪ available now, in 4 vibrant style colors. at aetna® we're shifting medicare coverage into high gear with benefits you may be eligible for when you turn 65. benefits that may include a $0 monthly plan premium. telehealth emergency coverage while you travel an over-the-counter allowance plus dental, vision, and hearing because the right medicare plan should help you feel...yeah, like that. aetna medicare advantage plans call today to learn more. aleve-x. it's fast, powerful long-lasting relief with a revolutionary, rollerball design. because with the right pain reliever... life opens up. aleve it... and see what's possible. a rookie police officer was killed over the weekend and another is right now fighting for his life. now new york city's new mayor eric adams is expected to announce a new plan to make the city safe again. adams, a former nypd officer himself said he will reinstate a plain clothes police unit to go after illegal guns. nbc's stephanie gosk has more. >> reporter: gun violence here in new york city is up 16% compared to the same time last year. governor hochul and mayor adams have promised swift action. mayor adams has called this latest police killing an attack on the whole city. this weekend police departments on edge after officers were shot in multiple cities. >> an officer got shot, male took off. >> houston police grieving one of their own after a traffic stop turned deadly. in d.c. police responded to a man acting suspiciously and he opened fire. one officer sustained non-life threatening injuries. all of this as new york is now a city in mourning. >> it hurts my heart. it really does. >> hundreds lining the streets as the body of 22-year-old officer jason rivera was escorted from the medical examiner's office. his partner, 27-year-old willburt morrah is in critical condition. >> we need additional units. >> police say 47-year-old lashawn mcneill fired on the officers inside his mother's apartment. at the scene police recovered a stolen glock pistol with an extended magazine that holds up to 40 rounds. >> violence against new york. that's the battle we're in right now. >> reporter: mayor eric adams pleading for federal funds to get guns off the streets. >> for every gun we remove from the street, five are coming in. >> reporter: knife nypd officers have been shot in the first three weeks of this year. in east harlem a 19-year-old burger king employee was shot and killed when the shooter tried to rob the restaurant. it was her last week on the night shift. just tase ago an 11-month-old girl was struck in the face by a stray bullet in the bronx. mayor adams will reinstate controversial antigun units. today the city remembers a young man tragically lost. >> jason, love you. you will always be remembered, always. >> reporter: officer rivera's funeral will be held at the cathedral on friday. what he wanted to do as a police officer is repair the relationship between the community and the police force. he barely got a chance to do that. back to you. >> stephanie, thank you. joining me now is retired nypd director mark claxton. stephanie named a few of the more notable gun violence instances in the past few weeks. there's also summer, a young girl shot in the head at a playground as toddlers were running around around her. those three suspects i don't believe are even in custody at this point, the people accused of shooting the gun. how does this mayor try to tackle this problem? and is reinstating these plain clothes units the right move? >> well, i think mayor adams has definitely put forth and has introduced elements of an ambitious anticrime public safety anti-violence program, and it will require the incorporation of local, state, federal funds and the resources in order for it to be successful. but additionally, it's going to require a shift in the mindset of how policing is done in new york city in particular. the mayor's introduced these -- reintroduced the plain clothes police units but most importantly has demanded that they conduct precision policing targeting the violent -- the handgun violence that has been perpetrated upon the citizens of new york. so i think they're targeted enforcement will have significant positive results in stemming the tide of violence. >> i'm going to put up some full screen graphics of the rise in violence in this city. in 2021 the tally for major crime which includes murder, robbery, rape, grand larceny, grand larceny of a vehicle topped 100,000 incidents. the first time since 2016. a lot of low-level crime. i don't have the numbers for you now. anecdotally anyone in new york can tell you about that lower level crime. there's push back from the manhattan da. alvin brag who said that he wasn't going to prosecute seven misdemeanors, lower level crime. he was quoted saying. he walked back a little. there was concern in the community that it sent a bad message to people that they could get away doing these more minor offenses. >> i think it's important that the head da did reshape and reform his messaging in regards to prosecutorial choices, but i think something very significant that mayor adams stated over the week end and that is we are not only dealing with the reality of crime and you can consider those statistics and the data points that you mentioned but you also have to deal with the perception of crime. people live their reality is the perception of safety or not being safe. you have to really instill in the community that there's an us against them mentality mindset. that means those people who are on the side of law and order and those people who operate outside of that. you have to really oppose them. you have to get the community's buy in, if you will. the significant messaging is going to be significant. most importantly, the cooperation of not only the community but the police force. they have to be willing to shift their priorities and focuses and follow the lead of the mayor. >> marq claxton, thanks so much for joining us. we appreciate your time. coming up, the january 6th committee says they have spoken to hundreds of witnesses, and we just found out one of them was former trump attorney general bill barr. and why is the country so pessimistic right now? steve kornacki is here with what americans worry about and what it could mean for both parties in 2022. in 2022. and not only make new discoveries, but get there faster, with better outcomes. with app, cloud and anywhere workspace solutions, vmware helps companies navigate change-- meeting them where they are, and getting them where they want to be. faster. vmware. welcome change. is now a good time for a flare-up? enough, crohn's! for adults with moderate to severe crohn's or ulcerative colitis, stelara® can provide relief, and is the first approved medication to reduce inflammation on and below the surface of the intestine in uc. you, getting on that flight? back off, uc! stelara® may increase your risk of infections, some serious, and cancer. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, sores, new skin growths, have had cancer, or if you need a vaccine. pres, a rare, potentially fatal brain condition, may be possible. some serious allergic reactions and lung inflammation can occur. lasting remission can start with stelara®. janssen can help you explore cost support options. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ it's still the eat fresh refresh™ so subway's upping their avocado game. we're talking just two great ingredients. perfectly ripe, hand-scooped hass avocados and a touch of sea salt. it's like a double double for your tastebuds. subway keeps refreshing and refreshing and refreshing... stewart rhoades, founder of the far right oath keepers appeared in a federal court today in texas. he had filed a request to be released from custody while he awaits trial. the judge in plano, texas, says he will decide whether to release him. rhoades is the most high profile defendant of the more than 725 people charged so far in the insurrection. rhoades has denied any wrongdoing. meanwhile, in washington, the chairman of the january 6th committee also investigating the insurrection says they have had multiple conversations with former attorney general bill barr. joining me is ken delania and paul buttler. he's also an msnbc analyst. i want to start with bill barr, ken. he resigned as the trump administration tried to figure out how to keep him in office. always been a big question as to the exact circumstances of his resignation. what more can you tell us? >> so, katie, the january 6th committee has divided the work into color coded teams. barr fits into the gold team. that includes the department of justice. we know from previous reporting barr didn't believe there was meaningful fraud but was trying to walk a fine line by placating trump. bennie thompson said investigators would ask barr about a draft political order that would have directed the defense secretary to seize voting machines. barr will be asked to allow the doj to -- >> ken, i'm so sorry to interrupt you. we have a pentagon briefing from the spokesperson at the pentagon, john kirby. given what's happening in ukraine, we want to listen in. >> altogether the nrf comprises around 40,000 multi-national troops. within the nrf is something called the very high readiness joint task force or vjtf. this nrf element, which is about 20,000 strong across all domains, includes a multi-national land brigade of around 5,000 troops in air, maritime and special operations components. i want to provide some facts on these preparations that will reinforce our commitment to nato and the nato response force and increase our readiness. secretary austin has placed a range of units in the united states on a heightened preparedness to deploy, which increases our readiness to provide forces if nato should activate the nrf or if other situations develop. all told, the number of forces that the secretary has placed on heightened alert comes up to about 8500 personnel. we'll continue to provide updates in coming days about these decisions, but specifically this will ensure that the united states and our commitment to the nrf is consistent with their readiness for rapid deployment, again, if activated. in the event of nato's activation of the nrf or deteriorating security environment, the united states would be in a position to rapidly deploy additional brigade combat teams, logistics, medical, aviation, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, transportation and additional capabilities into europe. again, i want to reinforce that as of now the decision has been to put them on higher alert. when i say heightened alert, some of these forces were already on a heightened posture, readiness to deploy posture and the secretary decided to make it even more -- shorten the tether even more. in some cases units would go from 10 days prepare to deploy, now they're at 5 days. that's not the case for every unit that is being notified that they are on a heightened alert. some are simply more ready and postured that way than others. the idea is that all of these units that he is putting on prepared to deploy will be ready to go on a shortened time frame. again, no final decision has been made to deploy. the secretary will continue to consult with the president and the united states will maintain close coordination with allies and partners as we continuously review our force posture and decide whether to move forces into and within europe. as always we will remain in close coordination as we continue to review our force posture as we make decisions regarding possible movements of forces into europe and as we review the disposition of u.s. forces on the cocontinent. we'll start taking questions. bob, i think you are on the line, yeah? >> yes. thank you, john. of that 8500 troops that you mentioned, are those u.s.-based only? and would they -- are they intended only for deployment as part of activation of the rapid response force or might they be sent for other reinforcement purposes in eastern europe? lastly, why did the secretary -- president decide to do this now? what's changed just in the last few days? on friday you mentioned, as you had many times before, that the u.s. was prepared to reinforce in eastern europe if there were a russian incursion only. >> okay. i think i remembered all three so let me try. first, yes, up to 8500 and i want to stress it's up to 8500. again, no decisions to deploy has been made. this is about getting units on an advanced heightened alert. that doesn't mean they're necessarily going anywhere. of the up to 8500 we talked about they are all u.s. based. bob, your second question? >> are they intended only fortunate tow rapid response force or could they perform other reinforcement functions? >> the bulk of them are intended fortunate tow response force. the vast majority of. but as i also said in my opening statement, the secretary wants us postured to be ready for any other contingencies as well but the bulk of them are aligned fortunate tow response force. the third question was on timing. i think, you know, we've been watching this very, very closely. i also said that right at the top. it's very clear the russians have no intention right now of de-escalating and because not every one of these units that we are notifying are in -- all of them are not in a heightened state of alert, it made prudent sense for the secretary to want to give them as much time to prepare to be on a shorter tether as he can just in case. again, i want to stress, particularly with the nato response force, it has not been activated. it is a nato call to make but we have contributions to that response force, as do other nations. you know, as i said, 40,000 some odd strong. our contributions don't come near the 40,000 number. other nations are going to have to contribute as well, but for our part unilaterally we wanted to make sure in case that call should come. that means making sure the units that would contribute to it are as ready as they can be on as short a notice as possible. barb? >> three quick things. what specific military capabilities do the u.s. troops bring to europe, these 8500? >> there are a lot of moving parts. this is a pentagon briefing. the pentagon saying that they are not making a decision yet on troop deployment but they are keeping them on a heightened alert. that's the headline from that briefing. let's go over now to the state department where a familiar face that you know, ned price, is now giving a briefing on what state is doing. >> and participate fully in an inclusive u.n.-led peace process. the yemeni people urgently need a diplomatic solution to the conflict, a diplomatic solution that improves their lives and allows them to collectively determine their future. with that, i'm happy to turn to your questions. i'll start back there as i promised. please. [ inaudible ] are we going to see an acceleration by the administration on the terrorist a snack. >> to -- sorry -- >> oh, to enlist them. >> activation was the result in the same acceleration in the consideration process that's been taken care by the administration. >> so your question is about the status of the houthis. the president spoke to this last week when he spoke to the nation in its press conference last wednesday. he said that the question of the redesignation, potential redesignation of ansrala, the name for the houthi movement. >> ned price talking about what's going on with the conflict in yemen. we're going now to msnbc analyst barry mccaffrey. we're going to listen in on the state department briefing to see if they turn to ukraine and the unfolding crisis there. what do you make of what john kirby just announced from the pentagon about not necessarily deploying the troops quite yet but keeping them on heightened alert? >> i was very impressed. we've got a very competent team in the department of defense. i was concerned we were going to have a symbolic tiny doe employment in europe which wouldn't signal much of anything. i think this is a sizeable statement of deterrence. it doesn't spend a lot of money. it's not provocative so i think it was a really good outcome. in the short run, the russians have 120,000 troops poised to come in from russia and belarus. they could take down ukraine 90 days. tactically. there will be a big fight. the ukrainians are going to fight. it's not clear what putin is going to do. the larger purpose is to shatter nato and to run the u.s. out of europe. so i think these -- secretary blinken, secretary austin and the president's purpose right now is to try and keep the allies together, to fracture the group. the germans have no combat-ready forces that could realistically affect it. the french are independent and not committed to nato as much as they could be. so we're not in a very good position in the short run, but in the long run putin is making it on the edge of a terrible mistake. if he goes into ukraine and gets involved in a high intensity fight, it's going to rebound to russia's serious disability. >> let me ask you, kelly o'donnell flagged this from joe biden's news conference, president biden's news conference last week when he was asked about ukraine. he said the cost of going into ukraine in terms of physical loss of life for the russians, this he'll be able to prevail over time but it's going to be heavy. it's going to be real. and it's going to be consequential. the administration has not said that they are willing to send in u.s. troops to ukraine to do the fighting but that they're going to heavily arm them. >> well, we're not really heavily arming them. $200 million is a tiny drop in the bucket. some small arms ammunition and javelin tank missiles. the consequence to russia that are most severe is if they enter even in a modest kind of biting off a land bridge between crimea and the donbov, if they carry that out, it will put everybody's teeth on edge for a decade in eastern europe. very plausible that finland and sweden would then enter nato. clearly the baltic states, poland -- by the way, poland has a very substantial military force which will fight so i think the consequences to putin of an actual brutal land invasion of ukraine will be significant. in the short run, you're quite right. not a european union nation, not a nato nation, they're on their own. >> general barry mccaffrey, thank you so much for joining us. john kirby is still talking at the pentagon. ned price is still talking at state. we are monitoring both of those news conferences for any developments. but we're going to take a very short break. coming up next, mass the british public finally had enough of british prime minister boris johnson? coming at a precarious time in europe. >> a new mom's tiktok video. what millions are angry about. k. what millions are angry about. mm, smooth. uh, they are a little tight. like, too tight? might just need to break 'em in a little bit. you don't want 'em too loose. for those who were born to ride there's progressive. with 24/7 roadside assistance. -okay. think i'm gonna wear these home. -excellent choice. ♪ ♪making your way in the world today♪ ♪takes everything you've got♪ ♪ ♪taking a break from all your worries ♪ ♪sure would help a lot ♪ ♪wouldn't you like to get away? ♪ ♪ ♪ sometimes you want to go ♪ ♪where everybody knows your name ♪ ♪ ♪and they're always glad you came ♪ trelegy for copd. [coughing] ♪ birds flyin' high, you know how i feel. ♪ ♪ breeze driftin' on by... ♪ if you've been playing down your copd,... ♪ it's a new dawn, it's a new day,... ♪ ...it's time to make a stand. start a new day with trelegy. ♪...and i'm feelin' good. ♪ no once-daily copd medicine... has the power to treat copd in as many ways as trelegy. with three medicines in one inhaler, trelegy helps people breathe easier and improves lung function. it also helps prevent future flare-ups. trelegy won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. take a stand and start a new day with trelegy. ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy, and save at trelegy.com. this year's mid-term elections are only a blink away. a new nbc news poll suggests an overwhelming majority of americans believes the country is headed in the wrong direction. the most popular words used to describe are downhill, divisive, negative, struggling, lost, and bad. that is across both parties. with me now from the big board is nbc news national correspondent steve kornacki. steve, this is across both parties. what does it mean for the election? >> yeah, let's take a look at some of the numbers inside our new nbc poll that point maybe towards where the mid-terms at least right now may be headed. start with this one. this is the generic ballot question. would you rather in the rather midterms democrats have control of congress or republicans. we do see the republicans up a point, 47-46. but the context on this is comparing this to the last midterm election cycle. think back to 2018, donald trump was president. republicans controlled congress. and our generic ballot poll in 2018 looks different. the democrats were up six points in the midterm cycle. of course that six-point lead we saw polling throughout 2018 that consistent lead for democrats in 2018 is what lead to the 40-seat gain they got in the 2018 midterms. so, they are up a point on generic ballot, but in context, this is a much different, a tighter, narrower midterm climate for the democrats than it was in 2018 when they had a clear advantage there. the other key difference, we can show you this, has to do with enthusiasm. you can folks, how enthusiastic are you, with enthusiasm, about 51% of all respondents had a high level of enthusiasm for the midterms. but look at the gap here, among democrats, that high level, less than 50% of democrats. among republicans, a little bit more than 60%. so, there's an enthusiasm gap there. again, if we compare it to basically this point in the 2018 midterm cycle it was completely the opposite. back then it was the democrats who had a 60% high enthusiasm score. republicans with the lower number. again that was the climate in 2018 that produced that wave for democrats. you can see a tighter generic ballot we just showed you and enthusiasm gap, this time favoring republicans that favored democrats last time. those are two key indicators we look at midterm cycle. 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, you look at all of the recent elections, we've seen gaps like this in the polling leading up to those. and those gaps have translated we've seen in recent midterms results for a party that had the advantage on enthusiasm. early on here, in 2022, those are the numbers republicans like to look at and democrats get nervous. >> we'll see what happens, steve kornacki thank you very much. turning to a pennsylvania mom. rebecca's baby was 13 weeks early 2 pounds 1.9 ounces baby eden was immediately taken to the nicu, and if having a premature baby was not stressful enough, mom rebecca had to make the frankly impossible decision to go back to work just 12 days later. >> you have to return to work 12 days after having a premature baby at 27 weeks, so that when she's eventually discharged from the nicu, you can spend what little maternity leave you have with you. she posted about the struggle on tiktok. and donations poured in to help her, as nice as it was to get all that help, it was not the help that she says moms like her actually need. >> it is absolutely not the responsibility of generous people like you to take something like this on, and to give back. i do think that our country needs to realize that this is a problem. that six weeks of maternity leave, six or eight weeks, depending on whether you have a vaginal birth or cesarean session is is not enough. no, it's not, joining me is mom rebecca schumot. congratulations she was discharged after 72 days, how is she doing now? >> she's a rock star, every time we go, it feels like she's gained all the weight in the world, she couldn't be happier. >> it's wonderful to hear. i know what it's like to go in with a small baby and they say, she's got to eat. how much maternity leave did you eventually get when you were able to take it? >> so, i get six weeks paid or and not all that much considering you have a newborn around seven weeks. you know, two of those weeks, i used during her birth. and i went back after the 12 days, so, i was still healing, of course, from her. and then the rest of that time i used now, when she's home. so -- >> not to be graphic, let's be honest, after 12 days you're still bleeding a lot. your body is still very much in shock from the delivery, whether it is a vaginal birth or c-section, to go back to work after that period of time is awful. i'm sorry for that. donations poured in. you made the point to say it's not on regular people being generous and nice because they found somebody individually that they want to help, that's not the way it should work? >> absolutely. i felt so grateful. to this day, i still do, i probably would not be at home with her had it not been for those people and tiktok itself. what a wonderful platform. again, it's not their responsibility. this isn't something that should be a case-by-case basis like this. we should be able as americans to get some leave, some parental leave that we can depend on. because the family unit is something so important to america, but yet, we're not taking care of it when it comes down tooth and nail. >> is this going to influence how you vote in 2022? >> absolutely. i'm definitely going to be looking at who is supporting that parental leave bill. who is going to be really here for the american people, and the american family unit. and that's going to drive my influence, certainly. >> you are in pennsylvania. that has an open senate seat, a lot of people running for it. do you have a candidate you that like right now? >> i'm still looking. there's a lot of stuff -- you know, i'm kind of overwhelmed with the baby and everything, but -- >> that's a fair question. my brain could not handle that question either. rebecca shumard, thank you so much. congratulations on your baby. i'm so sorry that you had to go through what you did. it's not unusual that there's so many moms out there that have to deal with the same thing. it's truly tragic and a failure of our country to come together when so many agree it's necessary. rebecca, thank you so much. good luck out there. and good luck figuring out who you want to vote for at the end of the year. >> thank you and congratulations to you. >> that is going to it for our coverage, hallie jackson, another mom picks up the coverage. coverage we walk three to five times a week, a couple miles at a time. - we've both been taking prevagen for a little more than 11 years now. after about 30 days of taking it, we noticed clarity that we didn't notice before. - it's still helping me. i still notice a difference. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. ♪♪ i still notice a difference. things you start when you're 45. coaching. new workouts. and screening for colon cancer. yep. the american cancer society recommends screening starting at age 45, instead of 50, since colon cancer is increasing in younger adults. i'm cologuard®. i'm convenient and find 92% of colon cancers... ...even in early stages. i'm for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider if cologuard is right for you. yep, it's go time with wireless on the most reliable network. ok, that jump was crazy! but what's crazier? you get unlimited for just 30 bucks. nice! but mine has 5g included. wait! 5g included? yup, even these guys get it. nice ride, by the way. and the icing on the cake? saving up to 400 bucks? exactly. wait, shouldn't you be navigating? xfinity mobile. it's wireless that does it all and saves a lot. like a lot, a lot. it's still the eat fresh refresh™ and subway's refreshing everything like the new honey mustard rotisserie-style chicken. it's sweet, it's tangy, it's tender, it never misses. you could say it's the steph curry of footlongs. you could, but i'm not gonna. subway keeps refreshing and refreshing and re... we gotta tell people that liberty mutual customizes car insurance so you only pay for what you need, and we gotta do it fast. [limu emu squawks] woo! new personal record, limu! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪ ♪♪ we have breaking news as we come on the air with the white house, the pentagon and the state department all focusing right now on russia and ukraine with up to 8500 u.s. troops now on high alert in case they're needed as part of the nato response. that's what we just heard from the pentagon spokesperson, you see him on the screen, net