country. translator: this is not a bluff. the citizens of russia can be sure that the territorial integrity of our homeland, independence and freedom will be ensured. and those who try to blackmail us with nuclear weapons should know that the prevailing winds can turn in their direction. of course these comments come against the backdrop of the u.n. general assembly here in new york. the war on ukraine dominating those conversations. president biden is set to speak in a few hours from now. ukraine s president zelenskyy set to address world leaders remotely later today. all of this as russia occupied regions in ukraine announced referendums on joining russia this week. ukraine and its allies dismissing that move as a sham driven by fear of defeat. we re covering all the elements. let s begin with barbara starr at the pentagon. frederick layton is in washington d.c. and matthew chance in london. matthew, what do we know this morning? reporter: this speech taking place at
this could be the storm that we have hoped would never come to our shores. the one thing i hear most common after these disasters is if i had only known it would be this bad. and so i think that s my message to them is we re trying to communicate to you that it can be that bad. okay. many in florida are heeding those warnings with long lines for water, fuel, sand bags and other supplies. schools and parks are closing and tampa s international airport is set to suspend operations entirely tuesday evening. hospitals meantime are transferring patients and putting up these large barriers to protect them from the potential storm surge. now the nags wall weather center has a storm surge in effect for large swathes of florida. they re bracin g for the storm s. people need to heed the warning and get out now especially where the storm-filled waters surge and affect them. we re not going to have the ability to come out and get them. then there are these images from the gran
trouble. plus, china nears a covid breaking point. an outbreak over stretches hospitals and pushes its precedent to take a new step in that country s fight against the virus, and how soon is soon? the committee investigating donald trump s taxes promises to release them any day. this is what we are watching at this hour. good morning, everyone. thank you for joining me. kate bolduan is off today. we begin this hour in western new york where a, quote, generational blizzard is pummeling the city of buffalo and all of erie county. the death toll has climbed to 25 and the county executive says that number is likely to grow. i just have to offer my deepest condolences to those that lost a loved one as a result of this horrible situation. i never thought i would face this. i thought the storm we faced in 2014 would have been the worst in which we had 14 deaths and this far surpassed it and there are probably more deaths that will be announced later today. the city of buffal
alert to southwest florida, president biden has just landed and is set to get a first land look at the devastation there unleashed by hurricane ian. the president will also be meeting with governor ron desantis of florida during the trip as the region faces what could be ears of rebuilding. hello, welcome, sandra smith in new york. and a big welcome to bret, i m sure you heard the voice and thought that s bret baier. bret: good to be with you, bret baier here for john roberts. one week since the category 4 hurricane ian made landfall with historic winds and storm surge. damage estimates are staggering, as high as $50 billion. sandra: the numbers continue to climb. the president expected to reaffirm the commitment to rebuild during remarks a short time from now. bret: the storm killing at least 109 people in the u.s. so far. sandra: so heartbreaking. alexandria hoff is in fort myers beach, what is the president s plan? yes, he s going to get a unique view of this off