britons were under lockdown. spotify and podcaster joe rogen respond to growing backlash in their role over spreading covid misinformation. and a very exciting nfl playoff season ends with the bengals and the rams punching their tickets to the super bowl. and we begin with the latest on the escalating tensions between russia and ukraine. at this hour, the united nations' security council will hold its first meeting on russia's threatening actions against ukraine. u.s. ambassador to the u.n., linda thomas greenfield talked with abc news about the u.s. expectations for this session. >> we're going to go in the room prepared to listen to them, but we're not going to be distracted by their propaganda. and we're going to be prepared to respond to any disinformation that they attempt to spread during this meeting. >> this comes as a russian news agency reports russian foreign minister sergey lavrov and secretary of state tony blinken will speak by phone tomorrow. days after the u.s. and nato delivered written responses to russia's security demands. on thursday, the house and senate will receive classified briefings on the situation. as democrats and republicans on the senate foreign relations committee say they're close to a deal on what is being called the mother of all sanctions against russia. committee chair bob menendez described what would be in the package. >> it's too include a variety of elements. massive sanctions against the most significant russian banks, crippling to their economy, meaningful in terms of consequences to the average and those accounts and pensions. more lethal assistance to ukraine. these are sanctions beyond any that we have ever levied before. >> right. >> with me now to talk about this, nbc news correspondent, erin mclaughlin in kyiv, ukraine, and nbc news senior white house correspondent, kelly o'donnell. >> kelly, the biden administration has threatened severe economic consequences, if russia invades. senator menendez also said that some of these sanctions could be imposed before any russian action against ukraine. where does the administration stand on that? >> jose, there are bipartisan voices making that argument, that before any further aggression by russia, that these sanctions would be a useful tool to make putin back down. now, the position of the administration has been that those sanctions are an important lever to stop vladimir putin, and if they were used early, before any incursion or military invasion, that that would, effectively, remove the penalty and give him kind of a nothing-to-lose approach. there could be a difference to that when the administration sees what congress brings forward, especially with bipartisanship behind it. and with the sort of dynamic nature of this conflict as the tensions and the diplomacy continue to move forward. but the position of the administration has been they want to have the weight of sanctions be a reason for putin to not move his troops into ukraine and not something that would be levied now, where he would have the approach of, they've done everything they're going to do. because clearly the u.s. does not want to engage in military conflict directly with russia. and so sanctions of a more aggressive type than we've seen before, at this point, appear to be the most potent stick that the west wants to use. so that's the position right now. what we will see at the united nations will be critical, and one of the interesting things about what will unfold and our ambassador to the u.n. will be in a very key position today, is simply a matter of the calendar. today is the last day of january, and leadership positions at the u.n. rotate and tomorrow, russia takes over the presidency of the security council and with that comes a lot of control over the matters before the council. so today's action at the u.n. is really critical to try to get a world forum for the west and russia to be able to thrash out these issues and to expose what's going on in a big, wide audience as one of the levers through diplomacy, through pressure, to stop putin. jose? >> kelly, so important, what you're telling us this morning. evelyn, could preemptive sanctions against russia really make a difference, make putin maybe think twice about invading ukraine, if that's what he has in mind? >> well, jose, thanks again for having me on. i would argue with the biden administration that these sanctions are so strong this time around, the economic sanctions, blocking banks from getting access to dollars and other things of that nature that i would say that they are right to dangle them as a, as a punitive measure later, after they invade. not now. there are other sanctions we could undertake now the german chancellor is coming to town this week to meet with our president. they could decide together to say, you know what, the in order streem 2 pipeline between germany and russia, it's done. it's -- they're just going to sanction that completely and it will never operate. there are things that can be done. the most important thing is this u.n. action, actually, by the administration. because this is putting the world on notice. the last time we did this at this kind of level was in 2014, when russia invaded and seized crimea. and frankly, russia has been conducting all kinds of illegal actions since then, and so they need to be held to task in front of the world. and this needs to be actually a sustained effort, i would say, at the u.n., as well. >> of course, in 2014, the united nations got together, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, and the final situation wasn't changed at all. >> well, what they did is they actually voted in the general assembly, not the security council, so it's all the nations and russia doesn't have as much control in that forum. and a hundred countries voted to condemn and declare illegal the annexation. that's on the books now. we could bring a similar vote to the general assembly, declaring what russia is doing right now, as a threat to international peace and security. it's the kind of thing the u.n. does all time. and then actually, we could threaten sanctions that are more global in nature. because right now, the sanctions that kelly talked about are transatlantic. we're doing it with the europeans primarily, not so much with other countries. >> erin, meanwhile in kyiv, diplomatic efforts continue. the ukrainian government seems to be urging people not to panic, but to prepare for what's next. what is next and is ukraine downplaying the russian threat? >> reporter: well, jose, with 130,000 russian troops amassed on three sides of the ukrainian border, it would be easy to see why washington is raising its eyebrows at the ukrainians' official response to this crisis. for the most part, urging people to remain calm. ukrainian officials see panic as a key enemy here, damaging to the country, damaging to the economy. over the weekend, we heard from the ukrainian ambassador to the united states, advising people to stay informed and prepare quietly. take a listen to what she had to say. >> in order to defend our country, we cannot afford to panic. we have to get ready, all of us, not only our military, our very capable military and veterans, but also all civilians. so, we know and we see what's going on. this is their reality, which we leave for eight years. this is the reality, this recent escalation since april. >> and that kind of rhetoric is in stark contrast to the dire warnings that we've been hearing from the united states, from washington. over the weekend, we heard from the u.s. undersecretary, victoria newland, saying that russia is showing no signs so far of backing down, pointing to the thousands of troops amassed at the border, 30,000 troops stationed in belarus alone, and that is just a three-hour drive from kyiv, saying that essentially all military options remain on the table for russian president vladimir putin, although she said she does see a window for diplomacy and on that note, there is a phone call between the british prime minister and russian president vladimir putin's scheduled for later today. jose? >> thank you so much. evelyn, what do you make of the ukrainian government appearing to act so calm in this moment? >> well, i think they have different priorities and as the ambassador said, they don't want to panic their people. they don't want to panic the markets. they've already lost considerable foreign investment, because, of course, as they say, capital is not courageous. so they don't want to lose more foreign investment. president zelensky has actually had a good last year economically speaking. and, you know, the u.s. in contrast, what we have to do is what we don't always do a good job, which is rally our european colleagues, make sure across the trans-atlantic, from western europe to eastern europe, everyone is allied, and that the world is paying attention to what russia is doing. that's really important in terms of getting the support that we need for the sanctions, for the military support to ukraine, for the beefing up of our deterrence and our defenses in nato. all of that requires our president to really point out the danger. but for the ukrainians, it's different. they have to remain calm and they're keenly aware of the danger. >> i mean, do you throw a rock at a lion who's looking at you, licking his chops, about to eat you, possibly, you throw a rock or just kind of hope for the best? evelyn fairks, evelyn mcdonald, and kelley o'donnell, thank you very much. the search for the next supreme court nominee to replace stephen breyer underway and the list of people reported to be under consideration is more than a dozen names long. this morning, senator wicker is facing backlash for likening president biden's decision to nominate a black woman for the role to affirmative action. lindsey graham is push back on, even praising michelle childs, the only potential nominee confirmed by the white house. >> there's no affirmative action component if you pick her. she is highly qualified. we've only had five women serve and two african-american men, so let's make the court more like america. >> with me now, nbc's ali vitali from capitol hill and melissa murray, an msnbc legal analyst and former law clerk to justice sonia sotomayor, who is also in consideration for a nominee. your reaction to those comments comparing president biden's choice to affirmative action? >> i don't know it's necessarily affirmative action, i think it's more in the vein of normalization, normalizing the idea that we should have a supreme court that reflects the diversity of this nation. as senator graham noted, there haven't been any african-american women appointed to the bench. there have been, of the court's members, only seven people who are not white men. that's 94% of the court that historically has been white and male. there have been 0% who have been african-american women. so this is really about normalizing what this looks like and making sure that everyone understands that the kind of excellence we expect on the court can be found in all facets of our society. >> i mean, if i could ask, let's put up the graphic of the pictures of these women that are being considered. i mean, i wish we could put their bios. i mean, these are extremely qualified people. people, period. ali, coming out of the weekend, do democrats feel more confident that they can get any republicans onboard for whoever is the nominee? >> well, jose, there's definitely more tea leaves to read here, especially when you see people like senator lindsey graham going on another network on the sunday shows, and praising one of the 12 women who are on that graphic that you just showed on the screen. she is, of course, a judge from south carolina, graham's own home state. he didn't go so far as to say he would definitely support her, but what you heard in that sound bite that you played of him earlier is him speaking to her qualifications, as well as the qualifications of other justices who are listed on that list. i also think that it's important when you think about the ways that this could end up being bipartisan. democrats don't need republicans to get onboard with this, if all 50 of them manage to stick together and vote to confirm this nominee, but it would be nice, especially because president joe biden campaigned as someone who could bridge that partisan divide and bring republicans onboard with democrats. we see from people like graham, as well as senator susan collins, those are republican senators who have voted for more than 60% of biden's judicial nominees thus far. there's reason to believe that they could cross party lines again on this. what we saw from senator susan collins over the weekend, for example, saying that senator dick durbin, the head of the judiciary committee, already reached out to her, saying that he would offer up who this eventual nominee is, giving her extensive time to speak with that person and vet them in her own ways. clearly, there's outreach being made here, but at the end of the day, they don't need republicans to get onboard. i would add, the only other point here when you talk about the process that is framing this process of nominating the first black woman to the supreme court, this is a promise that other people have made in terms of laying out a mile marker. trump said that he would nominate a woman to fill the seat vacated by ruth bader ginsburg. president reagan also made this kind of a promise, trying to make the court look like what america looks like. this is hardly the first time that a president is making good on a campaign promise like this. >> that's an important point. and looking at the names under consideration, the ones we know about, it's a pretty wide net being cast. what does it tell us? >> well, i know many of these candidates, they're all excellent. and i think it shows that there's a really deep bench of legal talent here that may have gone untapped in past consideration and past nominations. so it's great to see them being surfaced, it's great seeing the american people getting to know them, and again, normalizing this idea that excellence can take many forms, can take many kinds of professional backgrounds, many kinds of educational backgrounds and can look different from what we have expected in the past. >> when we're talking about excellence, i know, melissa, you have been asked this a bazillion times, forgive me, bazillion plus one, your name is under consideration. have you heard from anyone involved in the process? >> jose, i am not getting measured for robes anytime soon. i love my job here at nyu, i love talking with you all at msnbc. i just want to say, it's really an honor to even be considered or have my name floated among this company of women, many of whom i have known for a long time and i admire a great deal. i'm just delighted that the array looks like this and i'm really excited for whomever is selected by the president to take this seat. >> melissa, we are delighted to be able to have a conversation with you anytime. i thank you so much for your time. melissa murray and ali vitali, thank you for being with me. we're just minutes away from uk prime minister boris johnson speaking to parliament, just after a report was released about his covid lockdown behavior. we're live in london with the update. plus, parts of the northeast still digging out from that massive weekend storm, while in florida, it is so cold, among other things, iguanas frozen, dropping from trees. here's a hint, don't do that. don't grab the iguana, because when he wakes up, he's going to be very upset-o. we'll take a look at where the next winter storm is headed. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." headed. you're watching "jose you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports. the journey is why they ride. when the road is all you need, there is no destination. uh, i-i'm actually just going to get an iced coffee. well, she may have a destination this one time, but usually -- no, i-i usually have a destination. yeah, but most of the time, her destination is freedom. nope, just the coffee shop. announcer: no matter why you ride, progressive has you covered with protection starting at $79 a year. voiceover: 'cause she's a biker... please don't follow me in. feel stuck with student loan debt? ♪ move your student loan debt to sofi—you could save with low rates and no fees- and feel what it's like to get your money right. mission control, we are go for launch. with low rates and no fees- um, she's eating the rocket. ♪♪ lunchables! built to be eaten. ♪ pepto bismol coats and soothes your stomach for fast relief and get the same fast relief in a delightful chew with pepto bismol chews. 21 past the hour. a winter storm is set to strike the midwest this week after a weekend storm pummeled the northeast, delivering more than 30 inches of snow in parts of massachusetts. meanwhile, in south florida, the national weather service has issued a falling iguana forecast. joining us now with the very latest, meteorologist bill karins and in boston, nbc's kathy park. kathy, good morning. power outages were in the thousands in massachusetts yesterday. how are they today? >> reporter: jose, good morning to you. well, there is certainly a huge improvement from yesterday. last check, the number is closer to 1,500 outages, but really during the height of the storm here in massachusetts, that number was closer to 100,000 customers without power. and obviously, that is a bad combination, especially during these frigid conditions out here. eversource is the main utility company and they hope to get everyone restored by midnight. jose? >> kathy, i'm just wondering, in places along the water, like cape cod, where the blizzard was really brutal, what does cleanup there look like? >> reporter: yeah, i mean, you might have seen the incredible images on saturday. some of those areas saw wind gusts of 50, even 70 miles per hour. so they were not only slammed with these intense, powerful winds, but they got snow, some places like nantucket, also cape cod, saw flooded streets and obviously, with temperatures in the teens, a lot of that water froze over, so they are still dealing with that this morning. also, some scattered power outages. and also, an incredible scene that we saw just along the shore. some of the sea spray as the surf just got larger and the waves just got huge, you know, the sea spray was smacking the homes and it kind of froze over. a lot of these homes were just encased in a lay over ice, jose. >> and bill, when we look at these drone shots of today, it looks like the skies are clear, but what can we expect from this new storm? >> yeah, well, the cold, first off, and then we have this next storm coming. and we're done feeling bad for you, jose, in florida. because it's warmed up considerably. it was 28 degrees in ft. pierce this morning on the east coast, which is very unusual. it's already into the 50s and 60s, and then the rest of the week in florida is going to be like typical florida, getting back up into the 70s. we're done feeling bad for florida, and hopefully all of those iguanas are warming up quickly. this next storm, jose, has already set about 32 million people under winter storm watches. we are going to take this one south, too. we'll get some wintry weather all the way down into texas and we have a pretty good snowstorm heading your way into areas of the midwest. here's what we're looking at. we'll track the storm coast-to-coast. today it comes into the northwestern rockies. a weak storm, some windy conditions, not too much snow. but by wednesday, this thing explodes as that cold, arctic air reaches the south. all of that warm gulf moisture will be moving on top of it. and we're just going to get a mess out of this. we'll get a lot of freezing rain. we're going to get snow and even a lot of snow in areas near chicago, indianapolis, detroit, all areas. and then i-95, the same areas that just had the blizzard, we'll get rain to ice to snow. so what a big mess we're going to be dealing with. again, not so much today, jose, but by the time we get to wednesday, this is a weather map you do not want to be traveling through the middle of the country on. >> bill, i want to highlight something you said. not feeling bad for florida, because south florida will get hit with 70s. when there's been a cold front before 70s, 70s feels cold for us. so that's still two scarves and a hat, even though it's 70s, because you're still worried about what you just felt. just want to point that out. scientifically. >> good luck. i hope you recover. good luck. >> yeah. but the iguanas are happy. bill karins and kathy park, thank you so much for being with me this morning. still ahead, two sides to the pandemic. cities loosen covid restrictions, as some hospitals are still packed with covid patients. how the nation can navigate these two very different realities. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." g "jose g "jose diaz-baralt reports.f there's ar treatment than warfarin that's a trail i want to take. eliquis. eliquis reduces stroke risk better than warfarin. and has less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis has both. don't stop taking eliquis without talking to your doctor as this may increase your risk of stroke. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. while taking, you may bruise more easily or take longer for bleeding to stop. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, or unusual bruising. it may increase your bleeding risk if you take certain medicines. tell your doctor about all planned medical or dental procedures. the number one cardiologist-prescribed blood thinner. ask your doctor about eliquis. what happens when we welcome change? 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victim, five years old. joining us now is nbc's guad venegas. guad, good morning. what have investigators learned so far? >> good morning, jose. it was a terrible accident taking place, like you mentioned, north las vegas, just a few miles from the famous strip. well, investigators say that speed was a factor, the driver of the car running that red light was killed in the accident. there was also the passenger in that car that died from the crash, as well. now, one of the vehicles that was struck was a toyota siena minivan. and in that vehicle, there were three adults and four children. as you mentioned, the youngest, five years old. all of them dying in the accident. police officers at the scene spoke about the dangers of speeding and driving while distracted, reminding everyone to keep in mind how deadly it can be. >> what a horrible tragedy, guad. let's turn now a different story. some dramatic rescue video. two separate hikers in different states, both rescued on the same day. >> right, two different rescues. in new mexico, an injured 50-year-old hiker that you can see in these images was rescued at 9,000 feet above sea level on a mountain just south of albuquerque. she was lying on her back over this rocky section of the mountain when she was airlifted by members of the new york state police. that is not an easy rescue at 9,000 feet on a helicopter. meanwhile, in california, an italian man who had gone on a hike for a few days was found after he was reported missing. now, this is in hakhumbu mountains east of san diego. the man said he survived by drinking water from a gorge and sheltering in old train tunnels. >> and guad, let's talk about something that is exciting all of us, los rams to the super bowl. >> reporter: right. the rams are going to the super bowl and they're going to play it at home. they get to play the super bowl against the bengals, this after defeating the 49ers in a game that was tied to the very end, then they got a field goal and the win. this is a dream come true for many, especially for matt stafford, who spent his whole career in detroit, unable to win a playoff game, then he comes to los angeles, his first year, makes it to the super bowl, and then there's the bengals with the young rising superstar, joe burro, the quarterback. what a run they've had. they had to beat the raiders in the wild card games, then took down the number one world ranked titans and then the chiefs in their own stadium. the bengals returning to the super bowl for the first time since 1989. >> the last time los angeles hosted the super bowl was '93, i believe, guad. >> reporter: '93, i don't have member of that -- >> what are you trying to say, guad? >> well, i mean, i can tell you that as a charger fan, i have not seen my team go to the super bowl, so -- but fans here are very excited, not only because this is a beautiful stadium, but they get to come back after winning the division championship. they're coming back and they are hyped to play the bengals here in los angeles, jose. >> the chargers' biggest fan, guad venegas, thank you very much for being with me this morning. thanks. turning now to the latest on the covid pandemic. san francisco, home to one of the most restrictive covid policy in the country are now loosening some restrictions as cases in the city continue to decline. tomorrow, san francisco will lift its indoor mask requirements for offices, gyms, and other venues, for those who are up to date with their vaccinations. joining me now from san francisco, nbc news correspondent, jacob ward and dr. irwin redlener at columbia university and an nbc news public health analyst. thank you for being with me. jacob, you spoke with the owner of a local gym. what did he have to say about these mandate changes? >> reporter: good morning, jose. well, as you can imagine, covid was a life-or-death scenario for so many businesses here in san francisco. and this was, as you mentioned, the first city to really lock down. well, we're seeing now a city that's reaping the benefits of that, as public health officials here are saying that people in stable cohorts, that means a regular cast of characters who come back, you know, at regular intervals, can take their masks off, as long as they can prove that they are boosted. and that is, of course, good news, because here in san francisco, the vaccination rate is above 80% and the boosted rate is above 64%. we spoke to one gym owner who says that it's really going to be the make-or-break factor in whether or not his customers come back. take a listen. >> the mask mandate, more than anything, will be a barometer of folks putting their memberships on hold or coming back into the gym. as they've come on and come off, anytime they have to come back on, we will always get a set of e-mails from members saying, i'm going to put my might be on hold until the mask mandate is removed or i can remove my mask again. so it is -- it's probably one of the biggest reasons that people are making a decision to come or not to come right now. >> and jake, let's go right to london. the houses of parliament, where uk prime minister boris johnson is speaking right now, after receiving an update on the investigation into his alleged covid lockdown party. >> which she said did not involve sufficiently to meet the demands of number 10, and we will do that, including by creating an office of the prime minister, with a permanent secretary to number 10. second, mr. speaker, it is clear from sue grey's report that it is time not just to review the civil service and special adviser codes of conduct, wherever necessary, to ensure that that i can account of sue gray's recommendations. but also to make sure that those codes are properly enforced. >> third, i will be saying more in the coming days about the steps we will take to improve the number ten operation and the work of the cabinet office, to strengthen cabinet government and to vital the vital connection between number 10 and parliament. mr. speaker, i get it and i will fix it. >> and i want to say to the people of this country, i know what the issue is. yes, mr. speaker. yes. yes. it's whether this government can be trusted to deliver and i say, mr. speaker, yes, we can be trusted. yes, we can be trusted to deliver. we said that we would get brexit done, mr. speaker, and we did. and we're setting up free ports around the whole united kingdom. i've been to one of them today, which is creating tens of thousands of new jobs, mr. speaker. we said we would get this country through covid and we did. we delivered the fastest vaccine rollout in europe and the fastest booster program of any major economy. so that we've been able to restore people's freedoms faster than any comparable economy. and at the same time, we've been cutting crime by 14%, building 14 new hospitaling and rolling out gigabit broadband mr. speaker, and delivering all the promises of our 2019 agenda, so that we have the fastest economic growth of the g-7. we have shown that we have done things that people thought were impossible, mr. speaker. and that we can deliver for the people. mr. speaker, i remind the bench is opposite. the reason we're coming out of covid so fast at least partly because we doubled the speed of the booster rollout. and i can tell the house and this country that we are going to bring the same energy and commitment to getting on with the job, to delivering for the british people, and to our mission to unite and level up across this country, mr. speaker, and i commend this statement to the house. >> the leader of the opposition. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i would like to thank sue grey for the diligence and professionalism with which she's carried out her work. it's no fault of hers that she's only been able to produce an update today, not the full report. the prime minister repeatedly assured the house that the guidance was followed and the rules were followed. but we now know that 12 cases have reached the threshold for criminal investigation, which i remind the house, means that there is evidence of serious and flagrant breaches of lockdown, including, including the party on the 20th of may, 2020, which we know the prime minister attended. and the party on the 13th of november 2020, in the prime minister's flat. there can be no doubt that the prime minister himself is now subject to criminal investigation. the prime minister must keep his promise to publish sue gray's report in full, when it is available. but it is already clear that the report disclosed is the most damning conclusion possible. over the last two years, the british public have been asked to make the most heart-wrenching sacrifices, a collective drama, endured by all, enjoyed by none. funerals have been missed, dying relatives unvisited. every family has been marked by what we've been through. and revelations about the prime minister's behavior have forced us all to rethink and relive those darkest moments. many have been overcome by rage, by grief, and even guilt. guilt that because they stuck to the law, they did not see their parents one last time. guilt that because they didn't bend the rules, their children went months without seeing friends. guilt that because they did as they were asked, they didn't go and visit lonely relatives. but people shouldn't feel guilty. they should feel pride in themselves and their country, because by abiding by those rules, they've saved the lives of people they will probably never meet. they have shown the deep public spirit and the love and respect for others that has always characterized this nation at its best. our national story about covid is about those that stood up when it was tested, but that will be forever tainted by the behavior of this conservative prime minister. by routinely breaking the rules he set, the prime minister took us all for fools. he held people's sacrifice in contempt, he showed himself unfit for office. his desperate denials since he was exposed have only made matters worse. rather than come clean, stemp of the way, he's insulted the public's intelligence and now he's finally fallen back on his usual excuse. it's everybody's fault but his. they go, he stays. even now, he is hiding behind a police investigation into criminality into his home and his office. >> there you see the leader of the opposition speaking directly to boris johnson after the prime minister had some comments to make about this partial report that was just released today. joining me now from london is nbc news senior international correspondent, keir simmons. keir, what does this mean? clearly, the prime minister is not going anywhere, at least not now. >> that's right, and according to, as you heard there to the leader of the opposition, just issuing desperate denials, i think boris johnson came out fighting there. he apologized and talked about all of the changes that he plans to make in his office, that famous office, number 10 downing street. let's just go through, jose, what that report says. because despite the fact that there are many parts that have not been published because there is this police investigation, there are also many damning aspects to it. the report talks about the excessive consumption of alcohol, which is not appropriate, it says, in a professional workplace. it says, some staff wanted to raise concerns and didn't feel able to. it criticizes the leadership structures in downing street. the leadership structures in the prime minister's own office, jose. and it says that at least some of the gatherings in question represent a serious failure to observe not just, it says, the high standards expected of those working at the heart of government, but also the standards expect of the entire british population, jose. so, this is a pretty incendiary report. as you heard there, the opposition will be making a lot of it. the big question is how boris johnson's own party, his own members of parliament, his own politicians, how they read it, and whether they think it does serious damage to his reputation. damage enough that they move to unseat him. that is the big question. some think here that he has won something of a reprieve by that police investigation, because inevitably, it will take time, and it means that the aspect of this report can't be published. as you heard there, though, the opposition saying, hold on a second, you, potentially, prime minister, are subject to a criminal investigation. we don't know, but that's what the opposition suggested there. how on earth can you stay in office? i mean, jose, frankly, the list of parties -- remember, these are alleged parties happening while the country, at times, the british public are in lockdown, not able to meet relatives, just as you heard the leader of the opposition say there. the list of parties is stunning. there is a full list in this report, to the 15th of may, 2020, through the to the 17th of december, 2020, on to the 16th of april, 2021. people are focusing, in particular, jose, on an alleged party in the prime minister's own flat, in downing street, saying, well, how can that be a work event? and is that the event that will pay for the prime minister that may bring down the prime minister? we don't know. boris johnson is the great survivor, jose, but these are stormy water for him. >> and i'm just wondering, keir, legislatively, if the prime minister doesn't resign, you know, what could or could not, the parliament, either the opposition or even his own party do? i mean, you know, a vote of no confidence, that's not something that is being talked about. >> that's right. so it takes a certain number of his own party to want a vote of no confidence, but things can move pretty fast. for those who have studied british political history, margaret thatcher, of course, was brought down by her own party. the way the british system works, it's a bit like congress. the way the british system works, you are in power because your party puts you there, as the prime minister, and if your party withdraws its support, basically, you're a goner. and things can move fast. i mean, the removal trucks can be at downing street within a day if the prime minister loses the support of his own party, loses the support of parliament. it doesn't take a national vote, it doesn't take opposition from the official opposition party, it takes the prime minister's own party. and of course, jose, the british conservative party are a ruthless bunch. and if individually they think that their own political careers at risk, then they may think that they need a new leader. we're not there yet, but that is the risk for boris johnson. >> it looks like it's not just the conservative party that is a ruthless bunch. i guess in order to be in parliament, either in power or in the opposition, it takes a certain qualification, right? keir simmons, thank you so much for being with me this morning from london. really appreciate it. >> you bet. >> let me get back to the issue that we were having a conversation about before we went to that breaking news out of london. the situation with covid in our country and dr. erwin redlener, the founding director of the national center for disaster preparedness at columbia university and an nbc news public health analyst. doctor, thank you. and i apologize for interrupt, when i did. but right now, we're seeing a split, right? and let's look at that. it's also a split in the pandemic. many families looking to move past covid, while thousands of families are seeing their loved ones hospitalized. even some dying from covid. how do we get past these two realities? >> and jose, the realities are actually what characterize the united states of america. and in some ways, always have. and in this particular case, with the pandemic, we definitely have spots in the u.s., including where we're sitting right now in new york, where things are definitely getting better. but other parts of the united states, where hospitals are absolutely overwhelmed, there's serious nursing and other staff shortages. and we have these two opposing views, which is why i think that we need to be cautious about how we understand this transition period. hopefully, this will end with -- we're never going to eradicate covid, but we may get down to a livable level. we'll have to see. on the other hand. we have the possibility of some pretty vicious variants, or mutations in the wings here. so it's a wait-and-see time, but certainly cause for optimism in many parts of the u.s. >> do you see a future where we will be seeing different types of covid? one after another in a wave pattern? >> well, jose, it's really difficult to say that we won't see that, let me put it that way, in the kind of double negligent form. let me explain. we have too many parts of the world, you know, sub-saharan africa, parts of south america, et cetera, where there's extreme undervaccination. there's part of countries in africa with less than 5% of its population being vaccinated. and what happens in those places is that the covid virus continues to mutate and create new variations. and the time it takes to from an outbreak in africa, as we saw with omicron, by the way, to the united states and other parts of europe is very, very short so we have to be cautious about what we're seeing. our interpretation has to be conservative when it comes to saying, where are we? because we're not really done and we have to wait and see what happens next. >> dr. irwin redlener, it's always a pleasure to see you. thank you so much, sir. appreciate it. still ahead, what joe rogen is now saying about the spotify controversy now surrounding him. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. g. you're watching "jose you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" on msnbc. . 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[limu emu squawks] he'll be back. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪ your shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. 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 one prilosec otc in the morning blocks heartburn all day matching your job description. and all night. prilosec otc prevents excess acid production that can cause heartburn. so don't fight heartburn, block it with prilosec otc. which is the number one podcast on spotify last year. some musicians are removing their music. rogan overnight defended himself, saying he would try harder to give a more balanced approach on his podcast. joining me is new york city's technical columnist. how big of a deal is this? >> it's a fairly big deal and it's getting bigger with every passing day. i mean, this is not the first time the platform has gotten into controversy after one of its big stars said controversial things. we've seen this with people with alex jones and on spotify is their popular podcaster. they paid him more than $120 million in 2020 for exclusive treatmenting. -- treatment. >> $100 million deal is significant. and he was also the number within podcast on spotify. how do you think it played into their decision to let johnny mitchel and young leave? >> every social platform wants to be seen as a neutral platform where they aren't responsible for policing earn says but they also want to pick their own stars and promote them. they have promoted joe rogan so heavily inside the spotify app for years now that they do have a greater responsibility for what they put on his show. that's the fine line they're struggling to walk and we'll see what happens in the next few days. >> joanie mitchell, neal young, legends, legendary. is that having -- i mean, how big of an impact is joanie mitchell and neal young and others having? >> it's not a big impact yet. these are two of many, many, many top artists on spotified spotify. a lot of musicians can't pull their music, they're controlled by the label. it's not like there's going to be a mass exodus of artists but i think it's an important protest because spotify needs to have popular music on its platform. it's an industry-dominant streaming platform and if stars start pulling their music and popular podcasters start pulling their shows off the platform, they could be in trouble. >> and celebrating joanie mitchell's 50 years, what a career, what a lifetime. >> make sure the follow the show online at jdbalart @msnbc. craig melvin picks up after this quick break. balart @msnbc. craig melvin picks up after this quick break. that's your great grandfather. it's like opening a whole 'nother world that we did not know existed. you finally have a face to a name. we're discovering together... it's been an amazing gift. (vo) for me, one of the best things about life is that we keep moving forward. we're discovering together... we discover exciting new technologies. redefine who we are and how we want to lead our lives. basically, choose what we want our future to look like. so what's yours going to be? it's been nearly two years since the pandemic started. our students and teachers tried their best, but as a parent, i can tell you that nearly 18 months of remote learning was really hard. instead of helping students get back in the classroom, the school boards spend their time renaming schools and playing politics. schools that weren't even open. on february 15th, please recall school board members collins, lópez and maliga. our kids cannot wait any longer for new start. ♪ life can be a lot to handle. ♪ this magic moment ♪ but heinz knows there's plenty of magic in all that chaos. ♪ so different and so new ♪ ♪ was like any other... ♪ before you go there, or there... start here. walgreens makes it easy to stay protected wherever you go. schedule your free covid-19 booster today. and a good monday morning to you. craig melvin here. right now all eyes are on the white house because any second president biden is set to meet with the national governors association. when that meeting starts, we will take you there live. and it comes as we learn some major developments in the president's search for the next supreme court justice. a source telling nbc news that president biden is now weighing more than a dozen names to fill justice stephen breyer's seat once he retires. that looming confirmation is one of several critical challenges facing congress as it returns from recess today. in just a few moments we'll dig into how republicans are reacting to president biden's pledge to nominate a black woman. it includes some interesting comments from south carolina's senior senator lindsey