This Morning’s Top Headlines – Feb. 27

But we begin

this

morning

with the latest on a powerful storm system that is sweeping across the country, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Thousands of people in California remain without power after several feet of snow fell in the northern part of the state, closing roads. and leaving people stranded and there's so much snow. I've never seen so much snow fall so hard in 31 years and overnight tornadoes hit Oklahoma and Kansas destroying homes, overturning cars, leaving thousands of residents without power, so what's next? for

this

powerful storm as it moves east, let's bring in meteorologist Michelle Grossman now for the latest on this Michelle, good

morning

, good morning to you two and we'll see a lot of the same, we'll see some freezing rain. raining some very gusty winds so we could also see some power outages and we also look at the possibility of snow and that includes New York City so waking up this Monday morning let's get out the door we're seeing 56 million people affected. through winter alerts we have winter storm watches, winter storm warnings, even a blizzard warning in parts of California, so these watches extend from the west to the upper Midwest, the Great Lakes and the Northeast, and we are seeing snow accumulating in some places. alerts also 60 million people impacted again stretching from the west or center of the country to parts of the east also where you see the blue which is a wind advisory, a high wind warning is in purple so as we move forward in time here This is what we're seeing in terms of radar right now.

We are seeing a severe weather threat as we go through the day, not as strong as yesterday, which is decreasing, but still there are 6 million people affected by the severe weather threat. We can see with this where this low pressure area is in Spin and we're looking at Heavy Rain, that's where you see the brightest colors, now starting to see some purple and pink right on the northern edge of that storm, the brightest part. Cold from that storm. That's because we're seeing sleet and freezing rain and that could certainly happen in the Northeast as well, especially New York City, so here's what it looks like as we move forward in time.

Here we are looking at snow and ice stretching across. the Great Lakes and the Northeast, so we have a couple of areas of low pressure coming together and that will bring us winter weather and then on the warmer side we will see the threat of severe weather across Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, the main threat would be damaging winds, but we could certainly see some tornadoes as well. This will persist into the early hours of tomorrow and parts of the Northeast will notice all that blue in New England tomorrow, it's eight. Tomorrow sharp we still see 8 p.m.

We still see some snow falling in parts of northern New England, but it will be a windy day and the wind will be working on the back of the system with winds gusting up to 45 miles per hour, how much snow? here's what we want to know in a fairly snowless winter in the Northeast, we could see two to five inches in New York City, which includes a threat of sleet mix also 48 in Hartford four to eight also in Albany 2-4 in Boston and four to six inches in Augusta, we're also worried about some ice now, so it's going to be a rough ride in parts of the Great Lakes, the Midwest and even parts of the Northeast, as well as into Tuesday we could see up to a quarter of an inch of possible ice creating a lot of problems on the roads, creating problems with trees and branches falling in terms of power outages and then in terms of the threat of severe weather, 15 million people impacted , winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour could see a Some tornadoes and risk of hail, although it is low, we were able to see somehow that yesterday we had a lot of hail with the storms and the southern plains, but where you see the yellow that includes Indianapolis, also Cincinnati is where we expect that severe threat to return. guys, very good, Michelle, thank you very much, I thank you now for the latest developments in the Alec Murdock murder trial.

The disbarred South Carolina attorney is accused of murdering his wife Margaret and his youngest son, Paul, on Friday. Murdoch concluded his second day of testimony and faced tough questioning from prosecutors, who accused Murdoch of altering the timeline around the key moments in which the attacks allegedly occurred. How do you remember so many details about everything else but not remember what you were doing specifically to generate 283 steps while doing these? All of these phone calls in the same four minute period. I remember unequivocally, without a doubt, that I have the clearest mind I could have had at any time and that I never made up any alibi in any way because I did not and would not hurt my wife. and my son, the trial is now in its sixth week, the defense is expected to conclude its case soon, which means Murdoch's fate will be left in the hands of the jury.

We've got NBC News correspondent Katie Beck and NBC News legal analyst Danny Savalo here to figure it all out. down, Katie, let's start with you there on the ground, can you summarize for us what's been going on? What were the main takeaways in court on Friday from Murdoch's second day of testimony? Yeah, it sure was an absolutely shocking and explosive decision for him to take the stand and then even more shocking when minutes into his testimony he admits that he lied to investigators now in cross-examination on Friday, prosecutors really insisted that they really looked into that timeline questioning Murdoch about the inconsistent statements he made to investigators, from whether or not he took a shower to the fact that he said he was never in the kennels to saying yes and then to that soundbite you just heard the phone calls he was frantically going 70 steps a minute minutes after these murders and he was on the phone making calls, he didn't really give much of an explanation as to why that was the case.

Murdoch on the stand the second day seemed a little more unstable than the first day, we saw a lot of emotion in him on the first day, a lot of personal concerns. It details a lot of changes and appeals to the jury on the second day, a more combative and aggressive Murdoch who really rejects those inconsistencies of the type of cross-examination that the prosecution was posing, so his main objective, I would say, in this The prosecution's case the Friday was telling the jury that he lied, lied, lied, and he does it with ease. I'm sure I met many of his legal partners.

I did it with Joe. I told them about the Kennels. Some of them again. Much of Friday's line of questioning was to solidify for the jury that he looks people in the eye. He lies easily, makes up stories, and admits it on the stand, but still maintains that he didn't kill his wife or son, so Danny, from your point of view, how did Murdoch do as a witness overall? Did it help your case or hurt your family? case by taking the stand from horrible to really horrible, I mean let's take a step back and understand that the only reason to put him on the stand is to get a fact that you simply can't get from any other witness, that's what makes worth it.

If he ever puts his client on the stand and what does he do, he gets on the stand and his explanation is that he was lying, so now he has additional credibility issues. I think he did terrible talking to other people, there are people who are on the fence. some think well, maybe you know that he did explain a little bit of what happened. I disagree. I think this is really problematic. It was just based on all the lies he told and nothing took away from the fact that he was the only one there that he had.

He has access to a firearm and he is a major drug addict, possibly going through withdrawals. I have known many cases, there are many fewer conviction events, so we have to ask Katie that it is a new week. Court resumes this morning, what can we expect? Well, says the defense. They have four more witnesses to call and then prosecutors will have a brief rebuttal period for them. They say it won't take long, so we expect them to close arguments by mid-to-late week. I think it's Thursday. They're more or less saying that maybe Wednesday I think is a little ambitious, but basically the jury will soon have this mountain of evidence to consider and they'll have to decide which version of this very Twisted story they think there's been a lot of discussion about. kind of theories floating around when Danny mentioned if he was involved with drugs, um, was that part of what drove this was the sympathy diversion angle that the prosecution has presented.

I'm not sure there is a clear prevailing theory that the jury is right on. now, hopefully, in the closing arguments they take all of those points that they made and connect them because that's what they need to convey to the jury right now. I think, like I said, there are a lot of ideas about what happened, but in my mind there is no clear story presented on either side and Danny, that's really the prosecution's job here very quickly. They have to connect those dots. What is your strategy? Do you think that for the final argument here look for the state to subtly move away and not in an obvious way? their whole distraction from the financial crimes theory, they probably got Twitter just like us, they probably realized this doesn't work for us, it's a distraction in itself from their circumstantial case, which I think is otherwise decent , so look for them to step away from that and say, well, yeah.

He had financial crimes but look he's the only one there and he lied about being there minutes before and he's a big liar and a drug addict who knows why he did it, maybe it was the financial crimes but the bottom line is the evidence No. It's a lie that he was there, the evidence tells us that the evidence doesn't lie, the only liar here is Murdoch, something like that, how did I do it? That's the jury, we'll see, we'll find out the accusation, we'll find out Danny Zavalo. Katie Beck Thank you both very much this morning, as the war in Ukraine enters its second year, the United States warns that China will again send military support to Russia.

NBC News correspondent Aaron McLaughlin has more on that as fighting intensifies in eastern Ukraine in the frontline town of Volhadar Ukrainian troops are defiant Ukrainians have no choice but to win this The soldier Says this disturbing video released by the Russians showing what remains of the area around Bak is a chilling sign that neither side is backing down in an interview broadcast Sunday. Putin tells Russian state television that the West has one goal: to dissolve the former Soviet Union and its core part, the Russian Federation, as the United States steps up its warnings about China. Three US officials familiar with the matter told NBC News that China is considering sending artillery and ammunition to Russia's accusations China denies it, we are sure the Chinese leadership is considering supplying lethal equipment.

President Zielinski vows to liberate Russian-occupied Crimea and return the Ukrainian flag to all corners of Ukraine, while the United States reiterated its support for the United States. Support Ukraine on the battlefield so that it can achieve the victory they defined, that is what we are determined to do. Ukrainian officials insist Crimea can be liberated. Is it realistic for Ukraine to take back Crimea given that the Russians are completely entrenched in Crimea? It seems realistic that in a year Russia will not issue any military results and will lose tens of thousands of its troops, so when I mask whether something is realistic I say without a doubt or some withdraw, some advance, the soldier says, but I have no worries, I think .

In our Victory to the end, the CIA director says that so far they have seen no evidence that China gave lethal aid to Russia and there is no evidence that China has made a final decision. Okay, Aaron, thanks for continuing the war. Just yesterday in Ukraine, the issue of China considering providing lethal aid to Russia was raised yesterday with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan on Meet the Press. Here's a portion of that conversation with moderator Chuck Todd as Ukraine enters its second year this week. On Meet the Press I spoke with President Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan about the administration's support for Ukraine and the intelligence they've been citing that suggests China is considering sending lethal aid to Russia.

Take a look at what I had to do. I don't think China is interested in doing this. I think it would distance them from several countries around the world, including our European allies, and put them squarely at the center of responsibility for these types of war crimes. and the bombings of civilians and the atrocities that the Russians are committing in Ukraine, their weapons would be usedmade for the massacre of people in Ukraine, so I think it would be unwise for China to move forward, but of course that is a decision that Beijing will make. have to do it yourself I understand you saying that the F-16s are not something they need right now, but to Congressman Golden's Point, why not start training the Ukrainians in this now so that when we inevitably do this or we probably will, are you ready?

To use them well first, Chuck, it is important for people to understand that Ukrainian pilots are currently flying day in and day out, they are flying their Soviet-era fighters, Mig fighters, sukhoys and the assessment of our military commanders, who give advice to the president Biden, they are that. What they need now are tanks, armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, artillery and air defense systems on the front line, that's what we're giving them and we're giving it to them fast. Give it to them in large quantities. and the question of the F-16 is really a question for another day, for another phase.

This phase is about ground combat and being able to have the tools in the hands of the Ukrainians to take back the territory that the Ukrainians The Russians are occupying, you can see my full interview and much more from Meet the Press at meetthepress.com. You can also get more Meet the Press here on NBC News now every weekday at 4 p.m. m. See you later, Chuck Todd, thanks. so much so that it's White House correspondent Carolee, so Carol explains to us what American intelligence is alleging about China and Russia here. What NBC News has learned well, what U.S. officials say is that there is intelligence that says China is considering supplying Russia with lethal aid, specifically artillery and ammunition, which is something Russia badly needs, so they say this is something that hasn't happened yet, that China hasn't made a final decision on it yet, but it's something that they've been talking about and are considering and the reason they're posting this, Joe, is because they're trying to deter China from taking that step and therefore by publicly shaming them beforehand, the hope within the administration is that it will prevent China from doing so now.

It is worth noting here that the United States has not revealed how they know this, what evidence they have to support it. They're just saying that they have intelligence that says China could do this and they don't want China to do it, so they're coming out and saying that they have this intelligence, so first of all, what has been Beijing's response to these accusations? and then if China ends up buying supplies, buying lethal aid, how could the bite respond well? The Chinese administration has denied this, they have said that the US is basically spreading disinformation about China's intentions.

There is a spokesperson for China's Foreign Minister who said that the US is fanning the flames, accusing the US of essentially a double standard by saying that the US is the one who is fueling this fight in Ukraine and therefore Providing weapons to Ukrainians and calling this quote the very definition of hypocrisy demands a US response. You know, President Biden was asked this question and he said that he will not publicly reveal what he might do if China took this step, but what the United States would do. officials say and what we have seen in previous cases where countries have sided with Russia in this war is that the United States has adopted sanctions against them, so you could see the United States taking a step like that that probably However, the United States sanctioning Russia, for example, is very different from the United States sanctioning China: we have a much closer economic relationship with China and, therefore, the setback in the United States economy could be much more damaging than saying that US sanctions on Russia are undoubtedly a more complicated situation.

Carol, well, I got you. I want to discuss another important headline related to China. NBC News has learned new details about the potential origins of Covet 19. So help us understand exactly what is being alleged here, where this information comes from, and then what it's all about. The parties say it for sure, so this is a classified energy department intelligence report that was reported to the White House and members of Congress that says the energy department believes the covid-19 pandemic was likely due to an unintentional leak. From the lab in Wuhan, China, they now also say there is low confidence in this, meaning they think this is what happened, but they don't have the kind of evidence that would give them high confidence.

This is significant in the sense that This is another agency that came out and said that they are leaning towards the Wuhan lab theory, which has been kind of a fringe theory in the past and that they are siding with the FBI, who has also said that they probably believe that is what happened, but they are still inconclusive here, this is not something that all the intelligence agencies agreed on, in fact, most of them do not agree on this, but you can bet this will be part of the investigations in Congress, where there is a real desire to get to the bottom of where it all came from Carol Kelly, thank you so much now for the latest on the threat to the health of an Ohio community after a trained derailment involving hazardous material earlier this month, officials announced that contaminated waste from the site is being sent to other parts of Ohio today NBC News correspondent George Solis is the latest from East Palestine.

The EPA now says cleanup and disposal operations at the train derailment site will resume after temporarily halting operations. The two new sites examined by the EPA are here. Meanwhile, in Ohio, residents' frustrations continue to grow three weeks after the derailment. Ohio once again left us swimming in a sea of ​​doubts. Who can? Health and safety concerns continue to run rampant more than three weeks after the toxic Norfolk Southern train derailment. Our eyes were burning. Don't stop sneezing for half an hour Federal authorities announced that shipping contaminated waste from the site would resume to two new locations in Ohio.

This is all great news for the people of East Palestine and the surrounding community because it means the cleanup can continue. At a rapid pace, this latest development comes after officials announced they would halt shipments of the toxic trains to two EPA-approved disposal sites in Michigan and one in Texas. Well, what continues in any capacity is that the material is being examined, that material has already been examined, they are not. Warren Evans, executive of Wayne County in Michigan, still won't accept any more, saying he was shocked by the arrival last week of tons of contaminated soil and water.

The external effect seems as if we are being put into sandbags. East Palestine residents supplied with cases of free bottled water. Caravans rolling into town with other goodies, including air filters. Oh, there's four of us Meanwhile, federal agencies say outreach efforts to address residents' concerns will continue. Some here wonder if their city will ever recover. I have mixed emotions about all the hype, but in the same way. If we don't have the publicity that will hold Norfolk's feet to its arms, the Ohio EPA says they will install several water monitoring wells on the train to the Roman sites to see if there is contamination, meanwhile there are 11 cars. that remain at the site, those cars that remain are part of the ongoing NTSB investigation, George, thank you very much, thank you for watching our YouTube channel, follow today's top stories and breaking news by downloading the NBC News app .