all right. the next hour of the "cnn newsroom" begins right now. hello again, everyone. thanks for joining us. i'm fredricka whitfield. nato is pushing back. an international security conference this morning, dmitri m medyevev -- >> remains unfriendly and opaque. one could go as far as to say we have slid back to a new cold war, almost an everyday basis we ae called one of the most terrible threats either 0 nato as a whole or to europe or to the united states. sometimes i wonder whether it is 2016 we live in, or 1962. >> let's bring in cnn international diplomatic editor nick robinson joining me from munich. tell us more about nato's response and should the west see the prime minister's comments as more of a threat rather than a complaint? >>. >> reporter: viewed as russia's interpretation how it sees the situation and perhaps more of an indication about what russia does nap was certainly the opinion when i talked to the supreme allied commander of nato forces. u.s. four-star general philip breedlove. it is russia trying to not even rewrite the rules but create new rules, crossing international borders into ukraine, annexing crimea, developing increasing clusters of missile systems that are designed to target air, road and sea, potential sea attack, all the way from leningrad in the north close to nato, st. petersburg, crimea and now in northern syria. these are sophisticated missile stitches and nato sees russia developing and intensifying these clusters. it's a concern. so when i said to him, what about, medvedev says, you, nato, unfriendly, opaque and heading towards a cold war, he said no. that is not the case. that's not how nato sees it. this is what he said. >> isn't this by definition the cold war? arms buildup? >> well, they are entitled to their understanding of this, and their description of this. we in nato do not want to see a cold war. we do not talk about it. it is not what we want to happen or anticipate happening. we're a defensive alliance who are arraying ourselves to face a challenge we see. that challenge is a nation that once again decided that it will use force to change internationally recognized borders. so we take those appropriate actions to be able to assure, defend and deter. >> reporter: now, the russian prime minister's tone there, rather sort of defensive, if you will, came after a lot of criticism here in munich, and particularly right after the french prime minister had said nato has got to stop bombing civilians around aleppo. rather, russia has to stop bombing civilians around aleppo, that russia is continuing to bacon support by al assad, even though the russian foreign minister a couple days ago agreed to a cessation of hostilities in syria in less than a week's time now. so that's why i think we're hearing the russian prime minister is getting a little hot under the collar about the pressure he's taking here. >> all right. nick reportsson, thank ythank y and kim, you just heard the nato commander's response. should nato and the white house take this cold war rhetoric very seriously? >> i think they understand that it is rhetoric. russia watchers say they're less in a cold war than a hot peace. you don't have both powers pointing nuclear weapons at each other as they once did in the cold war. what you have instead is russia using force to protect its clients states or its client communities on the ground, and the u.s. and nato pushing back. only today secretary of state john kerry again called russia aggressive. so when you have that kind of language, you have to expect it to come back from the other side, yet in the background, there's still working quietly ahead on things, as you mentioned. on the syrian fighting, but, also, on nuclear deterrence. that new 2011 s.t.a.r.t. treaty, where each side reports to each other, how many nuclear mitchells it has, that's still holding. if stuff like that starts falling apart, that's when you really get worried. >> and then how might this impact what is taking place in syria? as it pertains to any commitments the west wants to make? what russia is or is not doing in syria? >> well, it's as if each side is messaging its audience that it's doing all it can to stop the fighting. but that -- russia has said it's very skeptical even a cessation of hostilities will hold and issais continuing to back its syrian forces and they're continuing to press forward encircling aleppo and russia will keep "targeting u.s. forces." the u.s. say you're targeting u.s.-backed rebels, legitimate opposition forces on the ground so you see the war of words still playing itself out on the ground. it's hard to see that stopping anytime soon. >> all right. kim dozier, thank you so much. appreciate it. all right. still ahead -- the six remaining republican candidates facing off tonight in south carolina. what will tonight's debate look like? we'll talk about it, next, in the "newsroom." oa, whoa. listen. i have to apologize, again. look, those were last years numbers. it says right here on the card. t-mobile doubled there lte coverage in the last year. and with more lte towers than verizon, t-mobile reaches pretty much everyone they do. i'm not taking responsibility on this one... uh-uh, verizon got it wrong... yes! not me! join the millions that switched. all across the state the economy is growing,arts today. with creative new business incentives, the lowest taxes in decades, and university partnerships, attracting the talent and companies of tomorrow. like in utica, where a new kind of workforce is being trained. and in albany, the nanotechnology capital of the world. let us help grow your company's tomorrow, today at business.ny.gov t...to help sense danger before7 was engiyou do. . because when you live to innovate, you innovate to live. the all-new audi q7. a higher form of intelligence has arrived. the six remaining republican presidential candidates will face-off on the debate stage in south carolina tonight, exactly one week before the nation's second primary. let's go to cnn's ryan nobles in greenville, the site of tonight's debate. ryan, south carolina has seen a recent flood of attack ads among the republicans. how influential might that be? >> reporter: well, i think we probably will see a pretty testy debate here tonight, fred, and in fact, dr. ben carson just made a tour of the spin room, and he told reporters here that he's ready to interrupt to make his voice herd if need be. if ben carson is willing to mix things up that gives an idea how ugly things could get. of course, the big battle will be between donald trump and ted cruz. these two men running first and second in the polls here in south carolina. both have attacked each other on the campaign trail quite a bit, but seems as though every time they get on the debate stage they tend to play nice. "tough call," thouted crued cru throw personal things against trump pointing out he is not as conservative as he seems. meanwhile, trump continues to talk about trump's canadian birthplace suggesting he may file a lawsuit to settle this issue once and for all. no doubt, though, fred, things are, there is a lot at stake here in south carolina. of course, we are just one week away from voters going to the polls in this first in the south primary. >> right. this first in the south primary, you know, do we know whether these candidates will either go out of their way or are they counting on questions that will take them to the issues that may be top of mind, you know, in the south? like religion? race? >> reporter: yeah, well, what they're saying on the stump is, any indication of what could one come up here tonight at the debate, we should expect that. especially a play made to socially conservative voters, making up a very important part of the voting block in thas state and ted cruz in particular is honing in on that message, he played well with that group in iowa. part of the coalition that delivered him that iowa caucus win. one of the big distinctions he's making with donald trump. he is a true social conservative and donald trump is not. >> all right. ryan nobles, thank you so much in greenville, south carolina. all right. cnn, of course, has special krov ratch of tonight's debate. immediately following with cnn's erin burnett. around 11:00 eastern tonight. and up next, the u.s. state department just released a new batch of e-mails from hillary clinton's private server. this pundits say she shouldn't be confident about winning the upcoming nevada caucuses. we'll go live to nevada, next. i. and 500 calories or less. the clean pairings menu. at panera. food as it should be. stella artois' 600 year brewing heritage. that's why we've partnered with water.org to help women who spend millions of hours just collecting it. we can help change that and play a part in transforming their lives. ♪ each limited edition stella artois chalice helps provide five years of clean water for someone in the developing world. i'm here to get the lady of the house back on her feet. and give her the strength and energy to stay healthy. who's with me?! yay! the complete balanced nutrition of great tasting ensure. with 9 grams of protein and 26 vitamins and minerals. ensure. take life in! this is not a job for me, thbeing a part of helping thpeople in need is who i am. working at brookdale for me is not just a job, it's a life for me. i love it. i formed many connections with the residents. i feel like i am part of their family and they're part of mine. if you can get up in the morning, ya know, shake the dust and go up there and make somebody happy, when i go to sleep, i did my job. hillary clinton is in nevada right now. we're expecting a rally to begin soon in henderson. in 2008, clinton picked up the popular vote in nevada over obama. he got most of the delegates, but according to politico, by mid-january, sanders had hired twice the number of staffers on the ground there. let's talk more about this with cnn senior washington correspondent joe johns, who is in henderson. so -- joe, give us an idea of the mood there. whether there is a feeling that clinton has to work hard for support, or if she can feel fairly comfortable in that state? >> well, let me tell you, we are, fred, at an event for organized labor. it's a get out the vote event in henderson, north carolina. just got through hearing from randy weingarten, the president of the american federation of teachers, organized labor. so important to both of these democratic candidates in the state of nevada. so much so that the culinary union, probably the largest are and most powerful union here in this area decided not to endorse anyone, at least in this stage. focus on the general election. that's an indication that there could be a fight ahead for the caucuses, just seven days from today. right here in nevada. hillary clinton, also, today, putting out a fund-raising letter, telling people that she was outragised by $500 million, asking supporters to send her money to get ready for super tuesday in march, which is also not very far away. so -- everybody here is girding for a fight, and most people expect things could get a lot closer. fred? >> hmm. and then what about this u.s. state department release of a new batch of e-mails from clinton's private server today? the timing cannot be worse for her. our political teams are combing through them. do we know anything so far that's been gleaned from these e-mails? >> reporter: well, we know the number is about 550 e-mails or so, roughly 1,000 pages. nothing explosive that we've seen so far, but this is all part of the drip, drip, drip that's been a big problem for the hillary campaign, as she tries to say to people that she's an honest and forthright candidate, and every time you get another group of these e-mails, it just raises that issue once again. so you're right. it couldn't come at a worse time with the nevada caucuses a week away, and the south carolina primary two weeks away. >> all right. joe johns, thank you so much. there in henderson, nevada. all right. so former u.s. secretary of state madeleine albright is now apologizing for comments she made a week ago at a clinton campaign event in new hampshire. albright used one of her most well-known quotes when voicing support for clinton. >> we can tell our story about how we climb the ladder and a lot of you younger women don't think you have to -- it's been done. it's not done, and you have to help hillary clinton, she'll always be there for you and just remember, there's a special place in hell for women who don't help each other. >> but those comments didn't sit well with many female voters and a conversation about which candidate best represented women, erupts on the campaign trail. so in today's "new york times," albright writes, "i absolutely believe that i, what i said that women should help one another, but this was the wrong context and the wrong time to use that line. i did not mean to argue women should support a particular candidate based solely on gender, but i understand that i came across at condemning those who disagree with my political preferences. if heaven were open only to those who agree on politics i imagine it would be largely unoccupied." all right. the pope is relentless in his message to mexico's leaders today. be courageous and fight the cartels. 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(announcer) over 400,000 businesses have already used ziprecruiter. and now you can use ziprecruiter for free. go to ziprecruiter.com/offer5 watching tvs get sharper, oh remotes, you've had it tough. bigger, smugger. and you? rubbery buttons. enter the x1 voice remote. now when someone says... show me funny movies. watch discovery. record this. voila. remotes you are back. the x1 voice remote is here. x1 customers get your voice remote by visiting xfinty.com/voiceremote. all right. welcome back. pope francis' first full day in mexico has been a busy one. beyond greeting the large, adoring crowds waiting for him for hours, the pope also spoke to the country's leaders about the serious problem of drug violence and organized crime. cnn correspondent shasta darlington is in mexico city. shasta? >> reporter: that's right, fredricka. we're outside the vatican residence with many people lining up holding signs like this. "i love pacito" thrilled because the pope just drove by here at his residence. a lot of cheering going on. organizers expect up to a million people to turn out along the papal route during today. a lot on his place. coming from a meeting with bishops and first had some tough words for the president where he talked about how a society which benefits a few can really lay the ground for things like drug trafficking. when he talked to the bishops, he also told them, they had to be courageous in the face of these dangers. take a listen. >> translator: i urge you not to underestimate the moral and antisocial challenge which the drug trade represents for mexican society as a whole, including the church. >> reporter: now, he's going to have a lot of this sort of tough love for mexico's establishment over the coming days, and a lot of love and faith and outpourings of these popular supporters as well. from here he goes to celebrate a mass at the basilica of guadeloupe and then the tougher parts of his journey. visit the poorest and most violent corners of the country, fredricka. >> and then on immigration, how is the pope expected to talk about that? >> reporter: well, fredricka, he has already started talking about it. he says that it's one of the, the ills that is, that current society has to grapple with, and he's going to try and illustrate that with his visit. he's going to -- the state of chapas along the southern border, where thousands and thousands of central american immigrants pour into mexico trying to get to the united states and he's going to trace their route really across the country ending in an area just across the border paso, texas. celebrate a mass, take the popemobile along the fence. no doubt making authorities on the u.s. side a little uncomfortable. we know, immigration is something he worries about. he worries about immigrants and doesn't smile on a lot of the immigration policy that we see coming out of the united states, fredricka. >> all right. shasta darlington, thank you so much in mexico city with the pope there. all right. take a look at our top stories now -- the entire northeast is dealing with record low temperatures today. very cold windchills in some areas of new england dropping to 40 to 50 below zero. officials in new york city are warning people to stay indoors or bundle up if heading out into the brutal and possibly life-threatening cold. and hawaii is launching a pre-emptive strike against the zika virus. launching resources expecting ma quitos carrying the virus to reach the island. the governor signed and emergency proclamation friday. in southern california, an enormous natural gas leak finally stopped. thousands of residents soon allowed to return to their homes. engineers are now preparing to fill the well with concrete to permanently seal it. thanks so much for being with me today. i'm fredricka whitfield. much more straight ahead in the "newsroom" at the top of the hour. right now, time for "vital signs with dr. sanjay gupta." ♪ getting your bell rung, or seeing stars. call it what want, but concussions are brain injuries, and it's time to start treating them that way. this is "vital signs." i'm dr. sanjay gupta. concussion comes from the latin word -- which means to violently shake it's exactly what happens to the brain inside the skull after a blow to the head, neck or body. the brain bounces off the skull bruising and tearing membranes