nbc nightly news with lester holt good evening and thank you for joining us we start off tonight with yet another late winter punch of severe weather across the country as we begin this week including multiple tornadoes confirmed today in illinois at least a dozen reported from the plains to midwest since yesterday. but we are also watching snow moving east tonight, potentially bringing new york city its first significant snow of the season. right now there are winter alerts affecting an estimated 42 million people. from wisconsin clear to maine for many high winds will make things worse. and there s no break for storm-weary california rocked by more rain and snow today al roker will take us through it all in just a moment but first let s go to morgan chesky in oklahoma where they are picking up the pieces from tornadoes tonight. reporter: tonight oklahoma facing a mangled mess homes shredded and cars tossed. from terrifying tornadoes striking overnight. there s possi
pounding air rescues like this one captured by the pasadena fire department. thisng an rv plunging into the santa clara river after teetering on the edge of a cliff. we re tracking where it s headed next. a fresh wave of violence across ukraine. overnight russia launching more than a dozen unmanned drones into ukraine exhausting air defenses according to ukrainian officials. now u.s. officials says china is weighing whether to send artillery and ammunition to help russia s campaign. the new response from china this morning. court is back in session in the alex murdaugh double murder trial. after blockbuster testimony from the defendant himself, how soon it could be in the hands of the jury. the extreme weather impacting millions of americans this morning. we re tracking damage in the central u.s. after reports of several tornadoes touched down in oklahoma overnight. california faces the possibility of more snow. in the aftermath of historic winter weather that brought u
it reporter: there s also some sweeping changes at every base except home. part of the effort to create more dynamism in baseball is the size of the bags this is 2022 this is 2023 the expectation is you can steal more bases and have fewer injuries with a larger bag. speedsters like jon berti are planning on a base-stealing bonanza. so you re looking at this bag right here. it s nice it s nice and big. so you like this. this is a good thing yeah. i mean, you know, hopefully it encourages more of, you know, old school type baseball, more athleticism, more base stealing reporter: it s america s pastime with an eye clearly on the future sam brock, nbc news, jupiter, florida up next for us here tonight, unfinished gestures of love strangers knitting loose ends and inspiring america.
rules. it will create more offense, more action so to speak. i like the speed of baseball. i like going out and making it an all day thing. reporter: other changes include those giant bases designed to promote more steals for players like john birdie. you ve lead the major league with 41 stolen bases. you re looking at this bag right here. it s nice. nice and big. so you like this? this is a good thing? yeah, i mean, hopefully it encourages more of the old school type baseball, more athleticism, more base stealing. reporter: it s a in era for a sport that owns a special place in american culture. and home plate remains the same size. the degree of subjectivity here, the umpire gets a buzz when that clock reaches zero, but the question becomes did the pitcher become his motion or not. the ball doesn t have to be in the air. he just has to start the motion. it s the same way for the hitters when they re in the batting box, are they engaging right here at eight seconds loo