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
hackers stole from one of the agency computer networks. and researchers show the program that kept millions out of poverty is expiring. plus the biden administration is reacting after several reports revealed how migrant children are being exploited for cheap labor here in the u.s. and as the defense rests in the alex murdaugh trial. we begin at the u.s. supreme court. right now the justices are hearing arguments on whether president biden has the authority to wipe out more than $400 billion in student loan debt. the president s plan is being challenged by six states that say only congress could act on that. the plan was announced last summer, but lower courts put it on hold. the high court is expected to announce a decision later this year. with us now to talk about this, nbc news washington correspondent our reporter outside the u.s. court, and lindsey reiser. reporter: essentially what you have is two parties arguing that the biden administration didn t follow the pr
solve the problem of million of moms out there with the lack of affordable child care. how businesses may be part of the solution coming up. but we begin with the battle for the soul of the republican party amid new signs of momentum for ron desantis. his book, hitting number one just hours after going on sale, but also new signs of the challenge he and the rest of the potential republican field face. a poll out showing donald trump holding a 20-point lead. all of that coming ahead of two conservative events that will demonstrate the choice the party has ahead of it. one for cpac bound tightly to the maga crowd and the club for growth which mostly severed ties with the former president. while trump headlines cpac in d.c. nearly every republican hopeful will be at the donor retreat in florida, ron desantis, mike pence, estimate cot, trump very pointedly wasn t even invited there. but anyone ready to declare the end of the trump era needs to take a look at this new morning po
casting ballots for one of nine people running for mayor, but it could be weeks before we find out who wins. growing fears in east palestine, ohio. the head of the epa is there now taking questions directly from residents who say they will caught in a political fight. the gang of eight getting its first briefing on classified documents. found at the properties of joe biden, donald trump and mike pence. what they will and won t be able to find out. and a rare live report from inside russian occupied crimea. a critical area russia annexed back in 2014. ukraine s president says the war will not end until his country gets it back. our nbc reporters are across the globe following all of the latest developments. we start with nbc s chief international correspondent, keir simmons, in crimea. you re the first western journalist to enter since the invasion. talk to us about what you re seeing and finds out. reporter: there s a lot of talk about crimea, that russia and ukraine will
it s 10:00 a.m. in new york, i m lindsey rise e and we are following a whirlwind of breaking news this hour, including on capitol hill where norfolk southern s embattled ceo will be in the hot seat at a hearing that begins in moments facing tough questions from senators about the toxic train derailment in ohio. what he plans to say about the numerous derailments, cleanup efforts, and his promise to a community in fear from the toxic fallout. also breaking overnight, 81 senator mitch mcconnell, the longest serving senate leader ever is in the hospital this morning after a fall. what we know about how he s doing. and more breaking news overnight. a fiery onslaught across ukraine as russia launches its biggest missile and drone attack in weeks. reporter: these are targets that were largely civilian infrastructure, and he s trying to knock out the lights. he s trying to turn off the heat, and he s trying to do it all over the country. why there are new concerns about euro