start your day with nature made. the #1 pharmacist recommended vitamin and supplement brand. good to be with you. i'm katy tur. what can money buy a campaign. ads, staff, rallies, it can do a whole lot to get you to november, but can it buy you a win? ask hillary clinton, ask the new york mets. while last night's $26 million haul for joe biden and the democrats is great news for them, it's not everything. the campaign's message matters. the candidate matters too. so how will that money help the

candidate's message, and what is the message? last night president obama tried to sharpen it for president biden, emphasizing what can be instead of what shouldn't, saying, quote, it's not just the negative case against the presumptive nominee on the other side, it's the positive case for somebody who's done an outstanding job. but who is that message going to? and is the campaign overlooking something or someone important? joining us now, nbc news white house correspondent mike memoli and nbc news correspondent, vaughn hillyard. mike, last night, giant fundraising campaign. a lot of stars, a lot of excitement, trying to build some enthusiasm for president biden, what is the message? >> well, it was interesting. i mean, it wasn't just lizzo and mindy kaling. this was a clear and coordinated effort with three presidents. we don't see that often. this was an unusual moment, trying to, frankly, address some of president biden's vulnerabilities. you had president bill clinton talk about the economy, talking

about the trends and this disconnect between what people feel and what the data shows us. you had president obama, of course, taking on the protesters. we know how much gaza has been a drain on the president's campaign and talking about biden's character. he's dealing with tough decisions, with empathy, compassion. that's the president i want. it's so interesting now, to see what the campaign is doing with that money. and we just learned today, the biden campaign putting up this 30-second ad targeting voters who voted for nikki haley. take a look. >> nikki haley has made an unholy alliance with rhinos, never trumpers, americans for no prosperity. >> she's gone crazy. she's a very angry person. >> she is not presidential timber. >> i don't need votes. we have all the votes we need! >> she's gotten haywire. >> there aren't that many never trumpers anymore. >> how do you bring in nikki haley voters?

>> i'm not sure we need too many. >> a cameo from garrett haake. it's interesting, the biden campaign says this ad is targeting zip codes where there were significant votes for nikki haley in battleground states. this was all hands on deck for democrats to take on donald trump, and trying to reach out for republicans. >> here's some of the messaging going to voters up for grabs, potentially, the haley voters. what about the people that will lead the voters somewhere. "politico" had interesting reporting, about how there hasn't been outreach to republicans, republican leaders who have said that they're not going to vote for donald trump. there hasn't been outreach to chris christie, there hasn't been outreach to larry hogan, the former governor of maryland, no outreach to mitt romney or susan collins or lisa murkowski, people that go out and say, yeah, support joe biden. they could soften their message. if you're going to try to get chris christie, chris christie is a bomb thrower and very eloquent, certainly effective on

the campaign trail. why not try to get him to campaign on your behalf in the sense he doesn't like donald trump and doesn't want donald trump to win. why hasn't there been outreach? >> remember the 2020 democratic convention, you had none other than john kasich, the governor of ohio, the republican giving a keynote address. he hasn't heard from the biden campaign, not only since the convention, but, you know, since the last few years even it's a big question of whether this is part of the strategy first to reinforce the democratic tent, make sure you've got the democrats in line before you spread out and reach out to republicans. >> joe biden is the guy that builds relationships. >> he got attacked in the primary in 2020 for having these relationships with republicans. i guess this is one of the things the campaign would say, stay tuned, there's time to do it. talking about messaging, the messaging on donald trump's side is he doesn't need all of that money to run. he was here in new york yesterday as well as you know, and he was attending the wake for an officer who was shot on the job earlier this week.

very different than what president biden was doing with obama and clinton. what is the message that he was giving while he was here? >> reporter: right. he was attending that police officer's wake there, and suggesting that joe biden was prioritizing campaign fundraising, said it had been a long planned fundraiser. we know president biden did place a call to new york city mayor, eric adams to express his condolences. donald trump using this as a moment to not only attend and meet with the family there, but also he came and addressed cameras as well as talking to fox news and making the suggestion that joe biden is anti, please listen to part of that. >> i think that politically he can't support the police. i think he's also making a mistake, but i think politically his base won't let him support the police. and i support the police.

i would say at the highest level of any president by far, maybe double or triple. >> look, this is, katy, what the campaign message is going to be from donald trump. you hear him repeatedly talk about violence in the streets of new york city. you can't walk on the streets without getting shot. that is not reality. in the tragic passing of this officer is of course notable, but for donald trump, he is using this as a political bludgeon, at the same point in time he's going on the attack against a new york state judge, the judge's family. of course he has all but ignored the five police officers that died in the aftermath of the january 6th attack. he has called for the release of january 6th defendants, who a great many of them assaulted what was more than 140 police officers on january 6th, on the capitol grounds. of course also violent crime around the country, statistically has dropped over the last year, but the reality is that donald trump is going to message around this, and is

hoping that he's able to make a dent into some folks who would otherwise vote for joe biden, democrats, in particular, cities across america, and would lead them to not vote at all. >> it's interesting, given what you said about police officers and what happened on january 6th, et cetera, that so many officers are still standing so firmly aside donald trump. i think that indicates something, vaughn, thank you very much. joining us now, former press secretary to to john boehner and president obama. there was january 6th, officers were violently attacked on january 6th, donald trump's talking about letting the january 6th convicts out of jail, the violent ones who went after the officers, and yet you see yesterday, all of the officers that are standing alongside donald trump, does that say to you that this is partisan politics and partisan politics wins, and people have pretty much decided on where

they stand on which side of that line. >> i think people know that donald trump is shameless, and hypocritical. the issue of crime and, you know, as he puts it, law and order is powerful to a lot of people right now, and he's always used fear to his advantage. that's not going to change, and as long as there are a lot of people and a lot of places in america where they feel like even if things are getting better, they're not as safe as they used to be, of course he's going to take advantage of it. that's right up donald trump's playbook. it's incumbent on the biden campaign, as it is with all of these issues, to call it out and be aggressive. i think january 6th was one of the most shameful days in american history. if biden campaign can't remind people of that every single day, what happened to those officers every single day. i think it's a huge missed opportunity. i hope they are bringing that into focus. >> a giant haul for the democrats. donald trump's money on the other hand is largely going to

his legal bills. $80 million spent so far on legal bills from campaign coffers. >> i appreciate your drive by at the new york mets earlier. >> my stage manager is wearing a mets shirt right now. he's none too pleased with me. >> donald trump has never suffered for the attention economy, and that's what money is ultimately for. it's ultimately to hire those staff to touch voters, buy ads so you can get your message across. donald trump is going to get his message across one way or the other. we can't stop from looking at him, and you know, he has resources. it's not as though he doesn't have any money. i think joe biden is going to need all of that money, frankly, to be able to find ways to connect with people. the earned media, the stuff you see on the news is ultimately much more powerful than what you can see in an ad. it's an advantage he has, and he

better take advantage of it. >> for the record, i love the mets. brendan buck, thank you very much. and the georgia state legislature passed sweeping new election rules into law, expanding access for candidates trying to get on the ballot, and perhaps limiting access for some georgians to vote. joining us now, political reporter at the "atlanta journal-constitution" and msnbc political contributor, greg bluestein. the candidates to get on the ballot, why does this make it easier for them? >> well, one of the biggest changes of this legislative package that governor kemp is expected to sign, it would grant any political party that is qualified for the presidential ballot in at least 20 states immediate access to georgia's ballot that could open the door for robert f. kennedy jr. or another third-party candidate to immediately get on the ballot, and republicans in georgia, at least, feel like that could hurt president biden more than it could hurt donald trump in november. >> why? >> well, they think these independent voters, you know, in

the suburbs and beyond, who are still up in the air about whether or not they like donald trump or joe biden will end up leaning towards donald trump. i don't see it myself. i have been to several robert f. kennedy jr. rallies, especially including one in georgia, and of the two dozen voters that i interviewed there, most of them were already leaning towards donald trump, but i think they think that the overall name brand of a kennedy name brand will end up hurting biden more. >> let me ask you about voting and the ability for voters to actually vote. what does this new change in rules do to that? >> this is other big part. this is the furthest reaching election law package since the 2020 election in georgia that really overhauled and rewrote georgia voting rules. this change reinforces how individual voters can challenge the eligibility of literally thousands and thousands of voters, an unlimited number of voters within their own county. we're not talking about just a

few people here and there, katy. activists have disputed more than 100,000 voter registrations in georgia since 2021. most of these challenges have been rejected. and elections officials say it's a tremendous drain on their already strapped resources in places, especially in rural areas, where they don't have a lot of officials to kind of wade through all of these complaints. >> what about the rule that's at the center of curb your enthusiasm right now, the rule about whether you can give people water or food as they wait in line. has there been any blow back to that in the years since it's passed? >> it's gotten a lot of attention since 2021 when it passed after the 2020 election. republicans said that liberal groups were giving out water and pizza and food and encouraging people to stay in line, and liberal groups were indeed doing that saying that, you know, there was hour's long lines in some cases. i would interview voters in 2020 who were bringing lawn chairs. they were bringing coolers so

they could fulfill their constitutional duty, their right to cast a ballot. it was frankly depressing. since then there has been very little, most of the time local officials have looked the other way if there's a group or people giving out water, giving out food. they don't want to get in a curb your enthusiasm type situation, but, you know, that 2021 law went much further than that, and i think some of the more onerous part of that law involved the georgia legislature being able to have direct oversight over local election procedures. >> it's been really interesting, just revisiting that law through that show, and for my prediction for what it's worth, i think curb this year, you're hearing me out there, is going to end the same exact way that seinfeld ended with a trial, and everybody coming in and telling larry how terrible he is. greg, thank you very much. thanks for letting me get in there. i have been harping on this for weeks. still ahead, a federal judge currently on the bench in d.c. speaks out against the climate

of threats and violence to the courts and where it comes from. what he said. plus, it's the biggest crane we have, and it's still not big enough. what it will take to start cleanup on the key bridge. we got an update a moment ago. and what the "wall street journal" was telling us with a blank front page today. we're back in 90 seconds. ck in s [both] because i said cologuard®! -hey there! -where did he come from? -yup, with me you can screen at home. just talk to your provider. [both] we'll screen with cologuard and do it my way. cologuard is a one-of-a-kind way to screen for colon cancer that's effective and non-invasive. it's for people 45+ at average risk, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider for me, cologuard. (♪♪) i'm getting vaccinated with pfizer's pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine. so am i. because i'm at risk for pneumococcal pneumonia. come on. i already got a pneumonia vaccine, but i'm asking about the added protection of prevnar 20®.

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judge, to work within a system that has to impose heavy penalties against sometimes violent and dangerous individuals. now what is it like to be a judge today in this era of political attacks and high profile threats? at a time the most influential person in the republican party seems to be trying to single handedly tear down that system. we got a candid firsthand account from one judge who currently sits on the bench in washington, d.c. he warned without a trusted and viable court system, we won't have a democracy. here's u.s. district judge reggie walton on cnn talking about the current climate, along with donald trump's most recently attacks on judge juan merchan's daughter. >> have you been on the receiving end of more threats since you've had the january 6th defendants in your court? >> yes, i've had more threats than what used to be the case, yes. i have received a greater number of threats as a result of that

incident and the fact that cases arising out of that incident have appeared before me. i mean, it was rare. i have been a judge for over 40 years, and this is a new phenomenon. i'm not saying it didn't happen before, but it was very rare that i would ever receive any type of a threat, regardless of what type of cases i was handling. and unfortunately that is no longer the case. >> i don't expect you to get political here, obviously, but do you think that's something that donald trump considers when he posts something like this? >> i can't get into someone's mind. to say whether they appreciate the impact that they're doing, but i would think that any reasonable thinking person would appreciate that when they say things, it can sometimes resonate with others, and i think that's particularly true when you have somebody who has status in our society, and they make certain statements, it can cause people to act on those

statements even if they don't necessarily intend for someone to do so. so i think it's very important that people in positions of authority be very circumspect in reference to the things that they say so that they're not causing others to act on what they say and maybe cause injury or deaths to someone as a result of that. >> joining us now, legal correspondent lisa rubin. so, lisa, was it surprising to hear this judge speak so candidly? >> it was surprising to me to see reggie walton on tv at all. i want to underscore for you and our viewers how rare it is for federal judges to do press of any kind. to the extent that we see federal judges in the press, sometimes it's in connection with their work, a supreme court justice has a book on their judicial interpretive method, but we're not accustomed to seeing them on news or television, talking about their hobbies, much less ongoing

threats to judges across the system, whether in the federal system or the state. it was nothing short of shocking to me and others in the legal professional. >> he didn't directly address what donald trump was doing with judge juan merchan's daughter, and this doesn't necessarily violate the gag order. why wouldn't judge merchan impose that gag order on not just himself but his family members. >> let's take those two questions separately. when you speak to judges, many of them will tell you, they do not make themselves subjects of gag orders because they see it to be judicially improper. this is part of what they tell you they signed up for when they took the job. that's particularly true of judges in the federal system who not only have lifetime tenure but are entitled to the protection of the u.s. marshals service. there are legions of federal judges who have had to be provided around the clock protection from the marshal service due to threats against

them in ongoing litigation. let's take the daughter separate and apart from that. i think it's possible that judge merchan is already considering expanding his order or that the manhattan d.a.'s office has brought some of trump's posts about his daughter to his attention, to the extent that they have done so, we wouldn't know that because judge merchan has a policy of not allowing filings in his courtroom in this case to be public for at least 48 hours after they are made. is it possible that the gag order will change to include members of his family, particularly his adult daughter, who was the target here, yeah, that's certainly possible and something i'm looking for, katy. >> lisa rubin, thank you very much. and coming up, what divers are contending with in baltimore, and why exactly it will take so long it clean the key bring up. and what evan gershkovich's year in russian prison has been like and what the "wall street journal" is telling readers about their missing reporter. g r

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president biden now says hero will be travel to go baltimore as the largest crane on the eastern sea board helps clear the wreckage of the francis scott key bridge. it can't yet get to work. while it can lift a thousand tons at a time, the pieces of the bridge weigh a lot more. here's what maryland governor

wes moore just said on how challenging it will be. >> the big part, and one of the challenges is that the key bridge, which sits on top of the vessel right now, that that weight is somewhere between 3 and 4,000 tons. so our team needs to cut that truss into sections in a safe, a responsible and an efficient way before it can lift those pieces out of the water. >> joining us now, civil and structural engineer, norma jean matte, she sits on the national infrastructure council. norma jean, thank you very much for joining us. what is your advice right now as engineers start to contend with the effort it's going to take to get this thing out of the water? >> there's a lot of unknowns when it comes to bridges that are down. so we don't know what the conditions are below water. it's hard to tell.

and it's very big, and as you mentioned, katy, very heavy. with the crane that they have on site and its limitations, as the governor said, they're going to have to carefully take it into pieces and remove the pieces. and you've got a waterway where you've got the velocity of the water that may impact those pieces. so they may be moving. you've got your pieces moving. and at the same time, we still have four people, four missing workers. and their bodies have not been recovered. you have to be sensitive to that also. >> we have heard a little bit about the conditions underwater. the conditions are bed, though water is almost black. the pieces of the bridge, we're told, are shorn in such a way, twisted and broken off in a way that they can be razor sharp.

divers can't see more than a foot in front of them. at the same time, you have to saw parts of the bridge off in order to make it light enough for any crane, let alone, you know, the number of cranes that are going to be there to lift it. how do they do that? i mean, are their remotely operated vehicles, underwater vehicles that can go in and do the song for them so divers aren't potentially putting themselves in that danger? >> so they do have some underwater capabilities, autonomous, or directed. the problem is, you know, visibility is bad for them, too, so actually safely taking these things apart and then having them removed safely, it's going to be a challenge because they're also possibly interconnected, and baltimore harbor is an old harbor. who knows what was under there. it's often found that old ship

wrecks have moved down the waterway and there may be pieces of that bridge that have become entangled with something that we're not even aware of. >> wow. because it's tidal, right? . >> it's going to be a challenge. >> it's a tidal waterway which means that there's movement. i guess, what's realistic in terms of a time frame, norma jean, on getting this thing removed? when do you expect to see large pieces of it taken out of the water? >> they'll have to do that, again, they're sensitive to the four workers that still have not been found, so they might want to take a little bit of care and time until those are recovered. but the capacity of that one crane, do you know if there are plans of getting other cranes into the area? because that would be helpful. that would be helpful. >> thank you so much for joining us. i'm sorry, i had some

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the front of the "wall street journal" is largely blank today, a reminder that the paper is missing something. the byline of evan gershkovich. as of today he has been in a russian prison for a year, in pretrial detention on charges of spying, allegations the u.s. says are made up. joining us now, nbc news chief international correspondent keir simmons, and former u.s. ambassador to russia, and msnbc international affairs analyst, michael mcfaul. keir, he has been in pretrial detention for a year. what do we know about his life? >> he was in a kgb prison, now fsb, successor to the kgb prison. people can see for themselves, he looks strong physically. the u.s. ambassador is able to visit him at times, and just reports that he is mentally strong. he's exchanging letters with his family and loved ones and others according to them, they have

told us today, and in terms of what's happening in terms of negotiations, we don't know. i mean, we know that there are indications from the russians that there are negotiations, things kind of bubble up, if you like. but the kremlin spokesperson, dmitry peskov saying clearly these things need to happen behind closed doors. the biden administration, evan went to russia to do his job as a reporter, he will continue working every day to secure his release, denounce and impose costs for russia, attempts to use americans as bargain chips, and goes on to talk about evan and paul whelan, americans held abroad. we are with you. >> paul whelan been in prison longer than evan gershkovich. >> what do we have to trade? are we worried about trading and how that might mean more americans in the future are

detained? >> well, maybe some people are worried about trading. i don't think the biden administration is because they have already done two trades. they have established that they're willing to do so. and i think that's right, by the way. i think these are hard questions, hard calls but the idea that by trading you encourage more kidnapping, actually, there's not a lot of data to support that, social science data on that in russia or around the world, by the way. that said, there aren't obvious people to trade. i think that's the real problem here. the person they really want is this assassin in germany, and allegedly they were trying to trade him for alexei navalny before he was killed. and when i look at who else is there, i mean, obviously i don't know all the people that are arrested, but i don't think there's a viable trade that looks attractive to the russians right now. >> so what are the conversations potentially like behind the

scenes? >> frustrating. ambassador tracy, who i know well, we worked together at the white house, these are the things that drive you nuts because he is unjustly arrested. he's wrongfully detained. there's been no evidence, one year, there's an absolutely no evidence that he did anything wrong, and yet you do not have rights, you know, and i think all americans should remember that when they think about traveling to russia. you have no rights, and that's very very frustrating if you're an american diplomat trying to do things for american citizens. >> it's a scary time to travel to russia. keir, you spend a lot of time there, doing a lot of important and potentially risky reporting while you're there. what's your sense of what the russians want out of this? >> well, despite the risks, nbc news continues to report from russia. we have a terrific team there. it's absolutely crucial in these times that we continue to try to tell people what it's really

like there. i will say this from my experience there, the revisionist history that president putin talks about and absolutely believes in is also believed by many many russians. it's pumped out by the state media and the economy there, you can see the militaryism on billboards, it's increasingly a military oriented economy. that should worry us, no matter what, with president putin, he likely has 12 years ahead of him, who knows. but the changes in russia are -- should be genuinely worrying to the west. so there is all of those reflections, and one thing i would just say, finally, is that it's important to point out that many russian journalists have been crushed. far, far more intense treatment, if you like, than anything that we have seen in our reporting from ourselves as nbc news. >> can you tell me from your conversations, how do regular russians feel about the united

states right now? >> i was in moscow just a few weeks ago, went out and talked to people. there's absolutely no question that there is a negative view. there's also -- there's always been the russians, an admiration, there is an admiration around the world for all of the things about the u.s. its drive, it's freedom, all of those kinds of things, but the messaging about america in russia is very very negative, that america wants to see russia fall, if you like, and many russians believe that. and i think president putin, frankly, believes that, too. >> ambassador mcfaul, what does that mean for the future of russia and the russian people. how concerned should the biden administration and future administrations be about sentiment about people in russia? >> first, i just want to thank keir for continuing to report in russia. that's a brave thing to do, and we need to know what's going on inside russia. we have fewer russian

journalists today in moscow than we did during stalin's time. that's dangerous. we're going to have disagreements with the kremlin and mr. putin. i did when i was ambassador. we can't have disagreements based on bad information and misperception. second, i think we should be very careful about generalizing about what the russian people think. nobody in their rational mind will tell keir simmons what they think. nobody rationally living in a totalitarian dictatorship will tell a pollster that calls anonymously to say, hey, what do you think of vladimir putin, there's only one rational answer to that. when you look at other metrics, i think there's a lot more of an underbelly of discontent. look how the exiled russian journalists have booming information. look at the navalny

administration, it's hard to get their information but the numbers are up. yes, maybe the majority of russians support putin, but a vast majority, there might be a very quiet minority, i don't know how to describe it, that do not. and there is a fierce minority, many of them living abroad, that do not as well. and i think small d democrats all over the world should support those people. >> i would answer what the ambassador says there, and just keep in mind, it's a country of eleven time zones. he's absolutely right. there are many russians opposed to president putin, and when you go out on the streets of moscow, for example, it's impossible to do that and get a picture of what people living in that broad a country actually think. and in some ways with russia, we're back to the ideas of the soviet union where you just didn't know what was going on until something happened. and now, i guess, from the west's point of view is positive but it's also dangerous, unpredictable.

>> scary potentially. keir simmons, thank you very much, ambassador mike mcfaul, thank you as well. coming up, what some migrant women say happened to them as they tried to cross the border. r if you have moderate to severe ulcerative colitis or crohn's disease... put it in check with rinvoq... a once—daily pill. when symptoms tried to take control, i got rapid relief... and reduced fatigue with rinvoq. check. when flares kept trying to slow me down... i got lasting steroid—free remission... with rinvoq. check. and when my doctor saw damage,... rinvoq helped visibly reduce damage of the intestinal lining. check. for both uc and crohn's: rapid symptom relief...

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you why they need it. >> so we just crossed from brownsville, texas. right now we're in one of the most dangerous places in mexico, more than anything because of the cartel violence taking place right here. every single person we have talked to on the ground is telling us that the rate of sexual violence against migrants is escalating, increasing, getting worse by the day. we're on our way to a refugee shelter to understand the impact it's having on the migrants that are crossing from these border towns into the united states. maria, her husband and their two children say they had to leave guatemala last year after receiving death threats from the same gang that had already killed nearly half of her family. they traveled north, hoping to

be near the u.s. border. as they waited for their official immigration appointments, a crucial part of seeking asylum. they had no idea the worst part of their journey would take place just feet away from texas. [ speaking in global language ]

>> reporter: many of the migrants in the shelter have endured similar situations.

>> reporter: what's happening to these women might not be a coincidence. cartels have developed a systematic organized method to kidnap and collect ransom from migrants on their way to their immigration appointments. >> reporter: doctors without borders has seen this crisis up close. from october to december of 2023, they recorded a 70% increase in consultations for

sexual violence compared to the prior three months. the first two months of 2024, they have already seen nearly 70 cases. i just got back from talking to three asylum seekers, and at least two of them have been sexually assaulted. is that what you guys are seeing on the ground too? >> yeah, it's true. i mean when we have the consultations, our patients also tell us their stories, which are quite traumatizing. >> reporter: the violence is creating a new crisis for many migrants -- unwanted pregnancies. >> do you offer pregnancy tests? >> it is part of the protocol that we follow. it's actually the first medical treatment. >> and does doctors without borders also offer access to abortions or abortion pills? is that something that's part of the work that you do? >> they're actually very concerned all over the world. wherever we operate, we are very concerned about the unwanted pregnancies. we try to ensure that services are being offered to the women and also to ensure that they --

we, ourselves, adhere to the laws and norms of the country. >> reporter: what many migrants don't know is that once they cross that border, a line that represents security, dreams, and opportunities, they're walking into the realities of post-roe america. >> joining us now, msnbc contributor paula ramos. it's going to see the second part of this to understand why they're searching out the abortion pill. remind us again why it is so jarring for them to cross the border to find that it's not readily available here or can be harder to find here. >> i mean probably every single person that i talked to had absolutely no idea what awaited for them on the u.s. side of the border, right? and very quickly, katy, they realized this perception they have of the united states and

the so-called american dream, that perception is then so quickly shattered the moment that they understood that they couldn't even get their hands into abortion pills in texas. and so i think that was also very jarring for me as a journalist. the difference between perception and reality. >> i was also struck by the willingness of the woman that you profile in this to talk to you and be so blunt about what she experienced. who else did you encounter, or did you encounter anyone else that had such awful stories to tell? >> the majority of the people that we talked to. i'd say that at least 80% of the folks we talked to had been kidnapped, had been held hostage by the cartels, and had also been sexually assaulted. i think that's the sort of new pattern of violence that you're seeing at the border. it used to be, like i said before, it used to be you just the cartels with money. now you also have to pay them with your body. paola, thank you very much. and we're following breaking

news out of fulton county. donald trump and eight of his co-defendants have appealed the decision to keep fani willis on the georgia election interference case. back with us season legal correspondent lisa reuben. explain what they're arguing. >> so they're arguing, katy, that what fani willis in giving that speech is a form of what's called forensic misconduct. that by giving that speech and implying that the defendants here were both racist and guilty, that she violated certain norms expected of the district attorney that are themselves disqualifying independent of the romantic relationship that she and nathan wade admitted that they had. >> lisa rubin, thank you very much. and we will be right back. when i was your age, we never had anything like this. what? wifi? wifi that works all over the house,

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let's end the week on a happy note, shall we? cowboy carter dropped today, and in the words of our senior executive producer here at msnbc, this album proves, quote, beyoncé is the artist of our generation. and at a time where we need more love and joy and beauty, we are blessed with this masterpiece. beyoncé is her own genre, and we are not worthy. nbc news correspondent emilie ikeda has more. ♪ this ain't texas ♪ >> reporter: this morning, the beyhive is pulling on their glittery boots to celebrate beyoncé's highly anticipated eighth studio album, "cowboy carter." fans already loving the innovative record. >> this is such a beautiful album. >> reporter: with some of country music's biggest names joining the track list. like pioneer linda martel, willie nelson, and the queen of country, dolly parton. >> hey, miss honey bey, it's dolly p. >> reporter: who introduced the

interpretation of her own iconic hit, jolene. ♪ jolene, jolene, jolene ♪ >> reporter: one of a few new twists on old favorites. beyoncé also collaborating with miley cyrus on most wanted. ♪ i'll be your shotgun rider till the day i die ♪ >> reporter: and featuring rising black country artists on the record. >> that night of the super bowl when she dropped those two songs, i was just fingers crossed, you know. oh, maybe this could be an opportunity for me to work with beyoncé. ♪ i'm at the mini-mart ♪ >> reporter: she's featured on beyoncé's cover of the beatles "blackbird." >> i'm just blessed in this moment that she saw me. >> reporter: ahead of friday's release, beyoncé told fans she's reclaiming a genre of music

she's historically felt unwelcome in, writing in part, the criticisms i faced when i first entered this genre force the me to propel past the limitations that were put on me, which some see as the reference to backlash she faced after performing at the 2016 cma awards. ♪♪ the houston native highlighting the immense historical impacts black artists have had on country music. >> it's almost a 200-year reclamation she is attempting and succeeding at pulling off. >> reporter: now with "cowboy carter," beyoncé looks ready to conquer yet another musical frontier. >> again in the words of casey dolan, our senior executive producer here, every song is perfect. not an exaggeration. that's going to do it for me today. happy friday, everyone. "deadline: white house" starts right now. ♪♪ hi, ever