injured. clashes escalated today as protesters broke oust the square and battled police on nearby streets. the fighting shattered a truce that had been declared just hours earlier. nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel was inside a hotel lobby where multiple protesters died. >> reporter: the injure ready still streaming. we've seen volunteers using bed sheets to try and treat the wounds. some of the injuries appear to have come from live ammunition. >> meanwhile, all of this inflamed tensions between the united states and russia with russia accusing the united states of meddling in ukraine and white house spokesman josh ernest saying just a few moments ago president obama is looking at all his options. >> it is fair to say that a range of sopgss is being actively considered at the white house, but i don't have any specific things, any specific decisions about those options. >> nbc's ayman has joined us. what can you tell us about the situation in kiev right now? >> well, to say the least it remains very tense. as you mentioned, it is night time there. there is diplomatic efforts being led by the european union and the rugs are getting involved to try to put an end to this crisis. there's the question of how to gain stability. the u.s. and the europeans are clearly putting that responsibility on the square of the ukrainian president, vic vi yanu yanukovych. protesters are increasingly becoming more violent. 13 ukrainian police officers have been killed. the government are alleging these protesters are using live ammunition and that's why they have to defend themselves. it's a situation that can spiral out of control very quickly if there is no end to the violence in the coming hours. >> the european union has now reportedly decided to impose sanctions on ukraine. we learned a short time ago, what more can you tell us about that? >> that's correct. both of the european union and the united states taking very similar measures. the sanctions that the european union have now imposed target individuals who they believe are responsible for the violence. now, what we understand from that is that these include officers, perhaps, members of the ministry of interior and all the way up to the chain of command, including possibly the president. we understand from the european union that the assets of these individuals have been frozen. and visas have been imposed on them, banning them from traveling inside the european union. we don't know who the individuals are yet. the u.s. has not released the names. they do say if in fact there is a truce that holds in a reversal of the actions on the ground that the names of these individuals can be reversed as well. >> ayman mohyeldin, thank you. i want to bring in the former governor of new mexico, bill richardson. always good to see you. european union foreign ministers are meeting in kiev, all of this while protesters are demanding that the president of ukraine design. how likely is that? i don't think he'll resign but i think the ultimate objective should be, craig, early elections, a reduction in the president's power, him sharing power with the opposition. most importantly an end to the violence this has gotten very, very bitter and violent. you recall the velvet revolution killed thousands of people. so ukraine is important, both to the rest and to russia. it was the last bastian where they had their weapons. it's strategically located between europe and russia. it's an important country. i think what the u.s. is doing is it's staging the punitive measures, first individual sanctions, which do bite, because it means that their leaders can't travel. they freeze their individual assets and then perhaps the next step, commercial sanctions. from the european union, from the u.s. >> you know, for folks who have not been following this story closely, how did we get here? how did this conflict that we have seen play out really in earnest over the past 72 hours, how did this conflict start? >> well, it started when it appeared that there was going to be a relationship between ukraine and the european union. the ukrainian people, a majority want to go with the european union. then putin and the russians stepped in and they put enormous pressure on the president saying you stay with russia. we don't want you to join the european union. it was a commercial relationship. we'll pressure you. we'll cut off your gas supplies, we'll on the good side, give you loans. it became a battle where putin is trying to keep control of the old soviet republics. ukraine is the big prize, the biggest, the most powerful. strong entrepreneurship in the ukraine. but the ukrainian people, the opposition, they want to decide where they want to go with the u.s., with europe. and they seem to have chosen europe but then within their leader yanukovych backs the russians and says we're going to stay with russia, that's what the conflict is all about. >> it sounds like an old cold war struggle. >> that's what it is, craig. you see putin in his last term, he wants to cement his legacy. he regrets soviet union losing all the soviet republics. but he wants to keep this one that i think is the biggest prize. >> all right. we'll leave it there. former u.s. ambassador to the united nations. former governor of new mexico, bill richardson. appreciate your insight, sir. >> thanks, craig. the department of homeland security is warning airlines of a potential new shoe bomb threat. airlines are specifically being urged to pay very close attention to flights coming to this country from overseas. homeland security citing, quote, they recent intelligence pointing to a credible threat. pete williams joins us live with more on what all of this means for travelers. hey, pete. >> craig, officials say this is based on new intelligence, renewed chatter about trying to attack passenger flights using explosives hidden in shoes. officials familiar with the warning say it applies to airlines that fly from overseas to the united states. for flights at foreign airports that go directly to the u.s., passengers will see increased attention paid to their footwear. shoes that are warn and that are in carry-on bags, homeland security says, should be x-rayed. it's urging airlines to use the swabs that check for traces of explosives on passenger shoes as well. it will be a new experience for many foreign flyers. >> this is a change, unlike travelers in the united states who are used to taking their shoes off, at many airports overseas that is not required. this will, of course, require more screening of shoes both on people and potentially in their carry-on. >> officials say the threat information is not specific to any particular airline, country of origin or time frame and they say there's no indication of a specific plot. airlines that fly from the middle east, north africa and some parts of europe are being advised to be extra cautious. two weeks ago, authorities warned that terrorists might try to hide explosive in toothpaste tubes on flights to russia from the united states and other countries. this new intelligence, officials say, is not connected to the olympics. the idea of hiding explosives in shoes has been tried before by an englishman, richard reid, who attempted to blow up a flight from paris to miami just before christmas in 2001. his shoes had a powerful, high explosive hid innocent soles. he's serving a life sentence at the super max prison in colorado. this affects only flights from overseas to the united states. so officials say there are no plans to change security procedures here on domestic flights at home. they say they in fact have not been any such changes today, craig. >> pete, quick question here. at this point any idea how long this warning might last? >> no. you know, they do renew these things from time to time, they re-assess the intelligence and adjust the security based on that. they do it periodically. it will just be based on the intelligence. >> pete william for us from d.c. thank you. still ahead here, fallout from the miami dolphins bullying case, a coach fired, a trainer fired, both fired over the incident involving richie incognito and jonathan martin. >> there's a common decency that people need to have toward one another. when that gets violated, that's an issue. >> but do the firings go far enough? it's our "news nation" gut check. also, the shocking video out of russia today. members of this punk band, the footage is now part of the music video the group posted in which they slammed putt innocent winter games and well. couldn't the them, three severe weather headlines we're following involving blizzard warnings, tornado threats and the polar vortex that froze this country last month, here it is in a new picture from nasa. we're tracking it all. don't forget, as always, join our conversation on twitter. you can find us @newsnation. just like you can access geico anytime, day or night. there is only one way to celebrate this unique similarity. witness the cheesesteak shuffle. ♪ cheesesteak, cheesesteak ♪ ♪ it's the cheesesteak shuffle! huh! ♪ ♪ every day, all day, cheesesteak, cheesesteak! ♪ ♪ every night, all night cheesesteak, cheesesteak! ♪ ♪ 9 a.m. cheesesteak! ♪ 2 p.m. cheesesteak! ♪ 4 a.m. cheesesteak! ♪ any time (ruh!) >>geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. 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[ cellphone beeps ] this is the age of taking action. viagra. talk to your doctor. we know we're not the center of your life, but we'll do our best to help you connect to what is. through sunday, save up to $500 on beautyrest and posturepedic.e savings go on at sleep train. get a sealy queen set for just $399. even get 3 years interest-free financing on tempur-pedic. plus, free delivery, set-up, and removal of your old set. keep more presidents in your wallet. sleep train's presidents' day sale ends sunday. superior service, best selection, lowest price, guaranteed. ♪ sleep train ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ the miami dolphins head coach is vowing to change the culture inside his team's locker room, following that alarming report on bullying claims by an independent investigator. coach joe philbin publicly addressed ted wells' report this morning. that 144-page report found consistent harassment directed at at least two players. today philbin took responsibility of the scandal and said he would have intervened had he known what was going on. >> we're going to do things about it. we're going to make it better. we're going to look at every avenue and uncover every stone and we'll have a better workplace. >> philbin's comments coming a day after two were fired. we have a sports editor for "the nation." we have a coach fired, an athletic trainer who has been fired. it seems likely that richie incognito will not be joining that team again. philbin as you heard there, vowing to change the culture inside the dolphins locker room. this is what owner steven ross said in a statement about those firings. in part, the language and behavior as described in the ted wells' report are against the core values of our organization. he goes on to say, jim turner and kevin o'neil are good people who care a great deal about their profession and the players whom they serve but both exhibited poor judgment at times, which led me to this conclusion. this dismissal, dave zarin, marks the first punitive action the organization has taken since dave wells' report. is this enough. >> that's a good question. the question everyone is asking, craig, how is joe philbin still employed at this point? if you are taking responsibility for a locker room that over 140 gruelling pages, i read every page, it is not for the feint of heart, it displays a locker room that was a polar vortex of racism, sexism and homophobia. there's been a lot of talk in the nfl in the recent weeks about, quote, unquote, distractions. how is it not a distraction to have the head coach still there who is in charge of a locker room that had clearly gone off the rails. >> in your column last week after the wells report was released, you cited the portion of the report that outlines coach philbin and the front office knew nothing and about that you wrote, quote, i have never understood why being ignorant acts as a shield of blamelessness for those in power. if philbin did know what was happening, then he looks ignore and the. he says he wants to change the locker room culture. if he really did have no idea, do you see him ever being able to effectively change the locker room's culture? >> no, because where's the credibility then going to come from for him to do so? and the part of today's press conference that was so distressing is that for those who watched it, joe philbin was attempting to have it both ways. i was saying i didn't know what was happening. that's the old george h.w. bush i was out of the loop approach to scandal. he was also saying it was on my watch, i take responsibility. so it's like does the buck stop with you or does it not? that's a very tough message to send if people want to take you seriously as the person who's going to lead this team going forward. >> switching gears slightly here. philbin made those comments at the nfl combine which kicks off today. i want to read something else to our viewers at least. this is something else you mentioned in your column. the timing of this report also comes just as the nfl is attempting to show the world that it is a save space for michael sam and any player who tells the world that he is gay. instead, we get a glimpse of a locker room that seems to be steeped in racist and homophobic violence, a bigoted gay barber's paradise. your words. >> yes. >> how does this look for the league as a whole to be talking about these allegations? >> just so people -- viewers know the context of me writing that, if you look at the wells report, there's descriptions of things that wouldn't be called bullying. they'd be called results. the actual putting of hands of other players. i'll tell you why this is so bad for the nfl. every single nfl player i've interviewed about this says, whoa, whoa, whoa, that is a locker room run amuck. in a poll, 60% of fans said they believe every single locker room was like the miami dolphins locker room. the nfl is trying to break that perception. one way to do that is look like they're giving michael sam an honest shake, an honest opportunity to make the league. >> dave zarin, you always shoot straight, sir. enjoy having you. thank you. >> thank you, sir. parts of the country are in for severe weather tonight. the national weather service warns that a powerful storm moving across the central part of the country is going to bring heavy thunderstorms, even tornadoes from the ohio valley all the way down to the golf coast. you can see it there. the greatest risk is going to be in tennessee, in kentucky and mississippi as well. those tornadoes are expected to be weak but still capable of bringing down trees, bringing down power lines as well. now, that same storm will also dole out yet another wallop of heavy snow to the upper midwest and new england, including some dangerous blizzard conditions to minnesota and iowa. next week, forecasters say we can expect yet another blast of serious cold air. the last time we saw temperatures this cold was when the polar vortex seen here in this new animation from our friends at nasa, with enthat polar vortex brought temperatures down to arctic levels all over the country with temperatures as much as 40 degrees below average. the nonstop winter weather also taking a toll on the airline industry, forcing a record number of flight cancellations this season we'll have more on what exactly goes into the decision to cancel a flight. it's very fascinating. also, governor chris christie talking sandy during a town hall meeting in new jersey this morning. nothing about the latest bridge scandal developments and his former aides refusing to cooperate. we'll talk to one of the republicans on the committee investigating the scandal, next. turbocharged engines against...engines. best in class rear legroom against other-class legroom. but then we realized. consumers already did that. twice. huh. maybe that's why nobody else showed up. how does one get out of a death cage? 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[ male announcer ] and we do. it's how edward jones makes sense of investing. ♪ a legal showdown over constitutional rights. that's the latest road block in the investigation into the bridge scandal involving new jersey governor chris christie. the issue, former christie aides bridget kelly and bill stepkin refusing to hand over documents, citing their fourth amendment rights. meanwhile for the first time, the chair of new york and new jersey's port authority is apologizing to the public over the shutting down of lanes on the george washington bridge last september. >> recently, there have been many comments and concerns about how the port authority operates. i cannot allow this agency to be mischaracterized by the actions of a few individuals when the day-to-day work of so many, including with this board, is so important. on behalf of the board of commissioners, we are deeply sorry for inconvenience caused to our travelers. >> all of this as governor chris christie just wrapped up his first town hall today, since the bridge scandal broke. that was a short time ago in port monmouth, new jersey. here with me now, state assembly wom woman. thanks for stopping by. you held a news conference aimed at port authority reform. correct? >> correct. >> what was put forward. >> we put forward proposals to deal with all of the bistate agencies as well as in new jersey agencies and to be pro-active. certain things occurred that we can't allow to happen again. we won't know how, in particular with the fourth and fifth amendment issues and subpoenas and that moving to court. we decided i