good evening, trace. the taliban is trying to isolate kabul so officials at the u.s. embassy there are destroying sensitive materials and documents as the first of 3,000 american troops hit the ground on a mission the pentagon admits is potentially dangerous. the movement of forces to kabul has begun. and the world is watching. afghanistan is spinning out of control. as reports flood in of executions and forced marriages. we re gravely concerned by what we are hearing and we are doing everything in our power to try to put an end to this violence and give some semblance of hope, security, stability to the people of afghanistan. [gunfire] president biden argued now is the time for the afghan military to stand up to the taliban three days ago. they have got to want to fight. they have outnumbered the taliban. and i am getting daily briefings. that was tuesday. by today, half of afghan s provincial capitals have fallen to the taliban. and that s raising eyebrows
farther off now than just a few years ago. or nearly 39 years ago when senator zwres he jesse helms of north carolina used the filibuster in his attempt to scuttle the bill making today a national holiday. that was broken with an overwhelming 78-22 vote in a republican-controlled senate. it is hard to imagine such a vote now. tomorrow, the senate will begin did he dee bait on legislation combining two bills already passed by the house, the freedom to vote act and the john lewis voting rights advancement act. john lewis, who marched with dr. king and nearly lost his life for the cause on a bridge in a state that on in very day still celebrates a joint holiday. honoring dr. king, yes, but also robert e. lee, the confederate general. the combined voting rights bill is opposed by republicans, and at least two democrats opposed measures to eliminate a gop filibuster. today in washington, martin luther king iii spoke to the moment. history will be watching what happens tomorrow.
good evening, we begin tonight on this martin luther king jr. day by first recognizing those who took a moment today to honor dr. king s life and legacy. also, to those who perpetuate that legacy in their day-to-day lives, whether by doing for others which is so vital now or by doing the difficult work of bending the arc of history, as dr. king said, toward justice. at the same time, it is hard not to notice the evidence these days his vision is far from complete. to some, in fact, its fulfillment might seem farther off now than just a few years ago. where nearly 39 years ago, when senator jesse helms of north carolina used the filibuster in his attempt to scuttle the bill making today a national holiday. that was broken with an overwhelming 78-22 vote in a republican-controlled senate. it is hard to imagine such a vote now. tomorrow, the senate will begin debate on legislation combining two bills already passed by the house, the freedom to vote act and the john lewis voting
we are taking a closer look at the state of our country. the threats to our political system and possible solutions for reversing the divisiveness that is tearing america apart. maybe look around our country right now and you don t like what you see. maybe it seems so bad at times that you re even tempted to look away. no one would blame you. but there are efforts under way right now to undermine american democracy and we can t just bury our heads in the stand. you know what a failed coup is. practice. and the masterminds behind the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election got their reps in and they are chipping away at the institutions that held to ensure former president trump would take his rightful place as an ex-president and president biden would enter the white house and get his chance to deliver on promises to the voters who elected him. what every president is entitled to. what voters are entitled to. this series isn t alarmist. it is a frank examination of
tomorrow is still up in the air. a brutal winter storm pounds the u.s. as millions prepare to assess the damage. the details from cnn s weather center. plus, north korea launches four missiles. we are live for you this hour in tokyo. and the australian open is finally underway without tennis star novak djokovic. we ll have a live report from melbourne on what this means for the tournament. announcer: live from london this is cnn newsroom with isa soares. welcome to the show. it is monday, january 17. a brutal winter storm battering much of the southern united states with freezing rain and snow is heading north. as many as 80 million americans were under winter weather alerts stretching from georgia to maine. the effects of the system could cause problems for days to come. states in appalachia region are seeing heavy snowfall and high winds. parts of north carolina got as much as a foot of snow. that s about roughly 30 centimeters. that means 25 counties declared a