hi, everybody. i'm yasmin vossoughian in for chris jansing live here at msnbc headquarters in new york city. cue the dark side of the moon. the day is finally here. the first images of the eclipse that's got the whole country staring at the sky just a couple of minutes away, by the way. millions, they're betting on blue skies, but big parts of the

country may wind up with a washout or at least some cloudy skies. al roker standing by for us with the very latest on the forecast. plus, donald trump ends months of mixed signals by resisting calls for a national abortion ban. instead insisting states should make the call. how will that play with critical female workers, with abortion being one of president biden's biggest political advantages? at the same time the president headed to wisconsin to make his pitch to younger voters that he needs. we're going to explain what he's going to say coming up. and it smells like death. the words of one palestinian mother returning to the devastated ruins of khan younis after israeli troops pulled out. but are they clearing the way for a cease-fire or setting the stage for an even more devastating attack? we want to start, though, with the moment millions have been waiting for as one of nature's most stunning celestial shows is about to begin in just

about ten minutes or so. the center line of the eclipse is actually going to cross the rio grande into texas, officially kicking off the great american -- the great north american eclipse. from there it will last roughly 3 1/2 hours before crossing the border of maine and leaving the country altogether at 4:41 p.m. eastern time. between now and then roughly 31 million people in 15 states will get the full mind-blowing experience of the sun slipping completely behind the moon and in some of those places it's going to be their first full eclipse in more than 100 years. but pretty much the entire country's going to see some form of an eclipse weather permitting, of course. i want to bring in the "today" show's al roker who's in dallas. nbc's george solis on the deck of the "uss intrepid" in new york city here. and jesse kirsch who's in cleveland, ohio one of the cities directly in the path of the eclipse. hey, al, start things off for us

if you will because as we are waiting this eclipse to begin just minutes away, by the way, from where you're standing, there is a concern of some cloud coverage. walk us through what you're seeing. >> well, what's interesting, you look at all three pictures, everybody's got sunshine. looking good there. in cleveland and new york city. and here in dallas we've got sunshine. i feel like punxsutawney phil because i keep looking for my shadow because that's what we're excited about. and yasmin, as you mentioned, the last time dallas had a total eclipse it was 1878. >> wow. >> they used smoked glass to look up at the sun, which of course you are only going to be able to do safely if you use those special glasses like we've got right here. these are the official glasses that you have to have. now, we are here at the perot museum of nature and science. there's a big party going on

behind me. they're expecting 7,000 people here alone. almost a half million people in downtown dallas. and so everybody's very excited. so let's take a look at the map, show you what we're expecting as far as cloud cover. and again, this is just the path of totality. we're looking at totality about 3 minutes 51 seconds in dallas. we're going to have some high clouds. i think we're going to be okay. it starts at right about 1:40 central time, 2:40 eastern time. then as you can see we get our way into the gulf koefrkts the great lakes. cloudy skies. but things trying to break up. plains to the midwest going to be great. st. louis and places to the west going to be pretty good as well. even if you don't have totality you're still going to get a heck of a show. and then we move into the east coast. plenty of sunshine. look, you can see even if you get to denver, 60%. atlanta, 80%. tampa about 60%. so we are going to have a decent amount of sunshine.

here's the deal. this is the amount of cloudiness. we've got jay gray in junction, texas at 1:32 it starts. they're going to have some showers. priscilla continuous's going to be here in dallas with me. 60% sky cover but we think that's going to be high clouds. morgan chesky in kerrville, 80% cloud cover unfortunately for them. then we continue along the path of totality. chase cain is in little rock. should have a pretty good view. maura barrett in bloomington, indiana 50%. lester holt and tom costello going to be anchoring our nbc news coverage starting at 2:00 eastern, and they'll have pretty good weather. and then the best weather, kate snow, holton, maine, zero clouds. she's going to have a spectacular view as this thing gets the heck out of here, yasmin. >> yeah. kate snow got lucky as this thing exits the country. i've got to say al roker, very impressed as you took us through the rundown of where everybody is. with al looking directly at the sun, al, because you don't have your special glasses on right

now, we're about just under -- okay, put them on. 18 minutes or so from a partial eclipse beginning there. on the ground in texas. right? what's it looking like? >> yes. well, you know, i can see the sun now. the sun is full. we've got some clouds. and i'm actually looking through trees and i can see it. just before the eclipse starts we're going to move out a little bit so we can get a better view. but boom. i mean, i can see almost nothing else but i can see the sun, yasmin. i am so pumped for this. >> wow. as so many americans are across the country, by the way, al roker. and you're taking a look at live pictures of a partial eclipse in mazatlan, mexico on your screens. that's some of what we're going to be seeing across this country right now. and again, al roker just a couple of minutes away from seeing that partial eclipse beginning. the moment has arrived, folks. today is the day. jesse kirsch, i'm going to come to you now in ohio.

you're going to get the total eclipse there. taking that straight out of the song i will say. what are things looking like for you on the ground? >> yeah. they are literally rocking out here in cleveland. i want to show you. because i am right now down the block from the rock and roll hall of fame and they've turned this into something of a concert tour. all the cities. it's pretty sweet. we're becoming groupies out here. i'll do something a little different from what al just did. we're going to give you a check with our pinhole projector here. we also have clear blue skies right now. i'm just going to try to find the sun. yep. i can see. so i'm seeing the sun in my pinhole projector right now. i'm hoping we're going to see it. we're just under two hours from totality. i didn't like that cloud cover map we were just looking at. so hopefully it stays like this because right now it is pretty gorgeous out here right now. it's warming up. people are starting to flock here. this is one of the official nasa watch parties.

they're estimating 30,000 people could be over here. and cleveland is really the epicenter of this in many ways because again, the rock and roll hall of fame's doing something. this nasa watch party's going on here. and just a stone's throw that way about a home run's distance is the guardians ballpark. and it is opening day here in cleveland. they have pushed back the first pitch but they're still letting people into the ballpark, to be in the stadium at the moment of totality, which is about 3:13 p.m. here in cleveland, ohio. people are certainly flocking to the city to enjoy this. i actually met a family a short time ago from the united kingdom. they decided on monday they were going to come to the u.s. they were going to find a flight to pittsburgh. the mom claims it was a reasonable flight. i was like i don't know, mom-i think you just really love your kids because i can't imagine what it was like to book that just a couple of days ago. it's her kids' first time in the u.s. and what better way to celebrate your first trip to the u.s. by

being here for something we only get in such a rare moment. and hopefully we keep the skies looking like this because it is picture perfect right now, it is warming up. it's one of those days that can hopefully stay like this when we hit 3:13 totally in just a couple hours. >> you could not get luckier if you bought tickets to opening day and now you get to see the eclipse inside that stadium. excuse me naivete, jesse, but what is the pinhole projector you were just holding? >> what is the pinhole projector? well, this is a pretty easy way -- >> it looks like a cereal box. >> it's part of this complete breakfast. for anyone at home who doesn't have a pair of the awesome al roker glasses we have, you can take a cereal box, you cut out a square on this side, you cut out a square on the other side, you tape the middle pieces together, you take some aluminum foil and lay it over one end. i should also add you put a white piece of paper inside, a

cutout piece of white paper inside. tin foil. take a push pin, pop one tiny hole in the aluminum hole. one end is covered with foil which is one little hole and on this end i look inside there and you want the sun to your back. so this is for indirect viewing. and i am trying to find the sun. and i can see the sun's projection. and when the eclipse starts here, when the partial eclipse starts here, i should start to see more and more of the moon going in front of the sun here. we have an explainer. by the way, i'll make a plug here. go watch you are o'tiktok. go watch nbc news's tiktok because we have an explainer of how to make this at home. it's from a nasa tutorial. i can tell you, yasmin, it's remarkable to look at because again, it's just a push pinhole in this piece of aluminum foil and i'm able to see the sun through that. it's just remarkable to think people can experience a celestial event through something that simple. and again, i'll say it again, it's part of that complete breakfast. >> our nbc news high-tech correspondent jesse kirsch joining us live from cleveland, ohio. just putting it all together

with a cocoa puffs cereal box. george soelts solis, gosh, didn't you get lucky, on top of the "uss intrepid" waiting for it to happen as so many new yorkers are. walk us through what you're seeing. >> well, that's a tough act to follow. i don't have the high-tech equipment that jesse does. but we do have a great view here in the five boroughs. i mean, this is where people are going to be watching that partial solar eclipse. and we do have our nifty glasses here that we've been utilizing to get a good look at the sun. obviously, we're still a few hours away from that partial eclipse. but let me tell you, the magic of this, the pageantry of it, it's not lost on the people coming you out here. earlier i spoke with an astro physicist who told me this is their super bowl. and rightly so. we're not going to see another great north american eclipse like this for another 20 years. so people are lining up. they are coming here, getting their glasses ready. the museum here, the intrepid, historical sight in itself, great place to watch this historical moment. he this printed out about 6,000 or so of these glasses.

they're expecting a lot of crowds here as we get closer and closer to that partial eke lps. and sure we're not in the path of totality so to speak but as al pointed out we have some great weather right now. so the viewing is going to be pretty spectacular. when i talked to that astrophysicist he really put it into context why this is so special, why this is so unique, why so many of us are referring to it as the cosmic ballet. take a listen. >> this eclipse is more observationally brilliant than other eclipse. the sun is going to be at its highest peak of luminosity and the light of the sun is going to be more overwhelming than we see it now. and the fact that the moon is going between the earth and the sun, this is a one in a lifetime event. >> and it's just really cool. and again, if you're going to be watching the eclipse, you're not in the path of totality, make

sure you're wearing the special sunglasses so you can look up, get the orb in and not damage your eyes. only those lucky enough to be in that path of totality will be able to look up for a little bit. but again, how cool is this, yasmin? what better way to take this historic moment in? >> so cool. >> so cool. back to you. >> i told my kids multiple times this morning when i dropped them off at school, guys, do not look directly at the sun when you get out of school this afternoon. i hope they take heed of my warnings and everybody does across the country if they don't have those special glasses. al roker, george solis, jesse kirsch, you guys are all in the best spots. thank you for joining me. by the way, guys, we've got a very excited katy tur. be sure to watch her special coverage. and she's going to speak with former astronaut mike mossimo about the excitement and the science behind today's solar eclipse. that's at 2:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. coming up, everybody, president biden set to arrive in wisconsin to tout a new student debt relief plan as he seeks to gain support amongst young voters. plus we've got some breaking news in donald trump's hush money criminal case.

with the trial a week away can the former president's latest move delay the start? that's in 60 seconds. we'll be right back. with powerful, easy-to-use tools, power e*trade makes complex trading easier. react to fast-moving markets with dynamic charting and a futures ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity. e*trade from morgan stanley.

all right. welcome back, everybody. we're back with some breaking news in one of donald trump's criminal trials. the former president's legal team has filed new appeals in his new york hush money case a week before jury selection is set to begin. msnbc's lisa rubin is following this for us and joining us now live on set. this is yet another tactic from the former president, from his attorneys as well to delay this trial. we're just a couple of days out. talk us through what we're learning. >> so first of all, yasmin, we haven't seen the filings yet. they're not publicly available. all we can see is a new case has been filed in other outlets, "the new york times" is reporting what this is. if they are correct, the former president has filed what's called an article 78 proceeding. that's a special form of appeal to challenge governmental action by a state or local actor. here the governmental actor would be judge juan merchan

himself. and the things they are challenging is the existence of the gag order and its breadth as well as the venue of the trial, meaning where it's taking place. the former president's claim is that here in manhattan he cannot get a fair trial, that the trial needs to be moved to somewhere else in new york city and perhaps richmond county. that's staten island. which the former president has suggested in social media posts would be the fairest place for him to be tried. >> which is more trump-friendly. is there any possibility this would have any success in delaying this trial which is set to begin next monday? >> i don't think so. and it's because we've seen this movie or a variant of it before. in the civil fraud trial trump also filed an article 78 proceeding against the gag order issued by that judge, judge arthur engoron. he did not succeed with that. he got the gag order stayed for two weeks, meaning paused for two weeks. but the trial was already ongoing. it continued and was never interrupted by that appeal. ultimately the first department of the appellate division, that's the appeals court over judge merchan and judge engoron,

denied the appeal. so i think on the basis of those experiences i don't think it's likely to succeed here. >> okay. we're going to be watching this obviously as we get closer and closer to that start date next monday. lisa rubin, as always, thank you. all right. in the next hour, everybody, the president is going to deliver remarks from wisconsin on a new plan to alleviate student debt for millions of americans. the move is the latest in a flurry of new developments impacting the 2024 presidential race. donald trump is now directly addressing his stance on abortion on truth social. he announced he thinks laws should be determined by the states. while a new nbc news analysis of the electoral college suggests biden is trailing by more, maybe much more than the national polls suggest. i want to bring in nbc's gabe gutierrez reporting for us from madison, wisconsin. also with us is mark murray and former republican congressman of florida david jolly and msnbc political analyst. gabe, if you will, start us off. give us the expectations of what we'll hear from the president today in wisconsin. >> hi there, yasmin.

good afternoon. well, air force one just touched down here in wisconsin a few minutes ago. the president on his way here to the madison area technical college where he's set to reveal details of his latest round of student debt forgiveness. now, yasmin, as you know, last year the supreme court struck down a more sweeping measure to try and bring relief to millions of americans. but over the past several months the president and the administration have been trying to get more student debt relief to more borrowers. and this announcement today is expected to be the largest one yet. all told, up to 30 million or so americans could be impacted in all of the student debt relief. most of it will target accrued interest. and some of those that will be eligible will be people who have been paying their loans for maybe 20 years for undergraduate loans, 25 years for graduate loans. the administration's trying to use a different legal justification here to be able to

get this through. but it's expected also to get legal challenges. some republicans think this is a bailout for people that went to college and racked up this debt. but the administration here is trying to fulfill a campaign promise as it tries to court younger voters ahead of the november elections. these -- this forgiveness is set to be -- is still being finalized but it's set to be implemented in the fall according to the white house. yasmin? >> and we're looking at live pictures of the president there arriving in wisconsin ahead of this speech. david, i want to talk about the president and how he's kind of looking to court young voters, as gabe just talked about. and particularly these two polls as we look at the npr pbs news-hour marist college poll showing the former president, donald trump, leading by two points amongst gen z and millennial voters. then you have this fox news poll showing trump leading bide binn 18 points amongst voters under the age of 30. but i want you to take a listen to some information we got from

a focus group i should say that we're conducting. in response to the president possibly moving on student loan forgiveness. take a listen. >> anything you like about president biden? >> student loan forgiveness. >> i was going to say the same thing as michelle. student loan forgiveness. >> okay. hold on a second. so if president biden comes through with student loan forgiveness, you might vote for him? >> mm-hmm. >> and i've got to tell you, david jolly, i have heard this repeatedly from young voters that i've spoken to out and about in the country as well, that this is a major deal for them and they have felt as if up until this point he hasn't necessarily delivered on these promises. right? whether or not it was in his control or not. which we know it wasn't necessarily because of a supreme court decision. how much do you think this could move the needle for young voters in this country? >> i certainly think it could move the needle and it needs to.

joe biden and certainly traditionally performing democratic groups, his numbers seem to be soft right now. i'm not sure that it moves the needle simply because it is a subsidy or forgiveness or a direct benefit as much as it makes the president relatable to young people's concerns. right? young people are looking at donald trump and joe biden and they see two people that perhaps they think just simply don't understand their current challenges. this directly impacts them and says on behalf of the president yes, i do understand your challenges. but i do think the other places it really helps, though, yasmin, is a lot of these people who would be eligible for this forgiveness are now adults with kids in college. and they are still paying their college loans. think about that. a 20 to 25-year burden. a 30-year burden for a 45-year-old person who's still working to pay off their college debt while they now have kids entering college, taking on their own debt. this says for joe biden, listen, i feel your pain. i know how badly this has burdened you and i'm trying to help you. >> that's a really good point.

mark murray, i want you to walk us through if you will this new analysis of the electoral college suggesting, quote unquote, biden is trailing by more, maybe much more than the national polls suggest. >> yeah, yasmin. it's in a debate. and it's worth noting that all the national polls that we've seen maybe show joe biden ahead a point or two or donald trump ahead a point or two. but they're essentially tied right now. but this is kind of a question looking back at the last two election cycles. in 2016 hillary clinton won the popular vote by two percentage points and still lost the electoral college. in 2020 joe biden won the popular vote by 4 1/2 percentage points and was able to win the same number electoral college votes that donald trump won in 2016. and if that trend continues, there is the thought that joe biden might need to win the popular vote by 4, 5, 6 percentage points to get to 270 electoral college votes needed to win the presidency. all of that said, yasmin, there is the debate, though, whether that electoral college advantage

that republicans had in the last two presidential elections is actually on the decline, actually due to some of the improvements that donald trump has actually made with some latino and black voters across the country, that those kind of improvements there at the expense of white working-class voters could actually kind of eliminate that electoral college advantage. and we're not going to get a full answer until that presidential election and we get all the results seven months from now. >> so david, one of the other big major issues right now i think for young people and women particularly is going to be abortion. and we're getting this new stance from donald trump, from this post on truth social. i want to play for you all part of the video message posted by the former president. >> my view is now that we have abortion where everybody wanted it from a legal standpoint the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both and whatever they decide must be the law of the land, in this case

the law of the state. many states will be different. many will have a different number of weeks or some will have more conservative than others and that's what they will be. at the end of the day this is all about the will of the people. you must follow your heart or in many cases your religion or your faith. >> so at one point, david, he teased a 15-week national abortion ban and now he's saying it should be in the hands of the states. and i want to be clear here, in juxtaposition to what we know from president biden and where he stands on abortion. he called the overturn of roe by the supreme court a fundamental right ripped away. in a statement released today saying, "i am determined to restore the federal protections of roe v. wade." and then moments ago i want to play an ad that was released by the biden campaign. >> this is the outfit she was going to maybe wear home from the hospital. all of these.

this is the blanket that she was in. and these are her little footprints. >> it's okay. >> my god, that is powerful. david jolly. so you think about that. and you think about the former president saying it's now in the hands of the states. and also what happens when it ends up in the hands of the states. and every single time across seven states we have seen voters turn out in favor of abortion rights.

>> yasmin, you could say that both presidential candidates have been on a journey when it comes to reproductive freedom. and i think joe biden's journey has been defined by understanding it's a deeply personal issue. so despite president biden's own faith and teachings he's reconciled that with a pro-roe position, a pro reproductive freedom position that recognizes the hurt, the anguish, the heartbreak, the hard decisions that you see reflected in that commercial. donald trump's journey has been a circular one where he continues to get lost. and i would say to donald trump, good luck with the follow-up questions from that video you released. because the anti-abortion groups are now upset because they want a national ban. they don't want states' rights. that's not what repealing roe was about. it was about positioning the federal government for a national ban. donald trump just said i don't think that's the case. so donald trump, would you sign a ban or veto a ban if it hits your desk as president? good luck answering that question. but fundamentally what he did is he positioned himself out of

touch with the majority of the american people as they continue to demonstrate their conviction on this issue after the dobbs decision every time it comes up on the state ballot, voters vote on this issue and they vote for democrats. >> every single time. former congressman david jolly, thank you. mark murray, gabe gutierrez, thank you guys as well. coming up next, everybody, we're going to take you to indiana, where first contact of the eclipse is just minutes away. we're also going to take you to maine, where preparations are being made in the last the city in the united states to experience the historic event. you're watching msnbc. we'll be right back. u're watchi. we'll be right back. here's to beating these two every thursday. help fuel today with boost high protein, complete nutrition you need... ...without the stuff you don't. so, here's to now. boost. it's payback time. all these years, you've worked hard. you fixed it. you looked after it. so, here's to now. maybe it's time for your home to start taking care of you?

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from chavez and huerta to striking janitors in the 90s to today's fast-food workers. californians have led the way. now, $20/hour is here. thanks to governor newsom and leaders in sacramento, we can lift workers out of poverty. stop the race to the bottom in the fast-food industry. and build a california for all of us. thank you governor and our california lawmakers for fighting for what matters. it's arrived, everybody. so the path of the solar eclipse, it's now currently making its way across the country right now. in the state of texas the great north american eclipse has officially begun. it's currently in the stage of first contact, which is a partial eclipse as the moon is passing between the earth and the sun. want to go to nbc's maura

barrett who's at indiana university in bloomington, indiana. and kate snow who's in houlton, maine, both situated in the path of totality. maura, if you will, start us off. beginning the partial eclipse around 1:49 eastern time, so just minutes away from now you're going to be seeing this thing up close and personal. you also i know sat down with star trek's captain kirk himself, william shatner, who has traveled there for this eclipse. what else are you seeing? >> well, yasmin, the atmosphere here is starting to buzz. a contemporary dance program doing a performance. their musical theater program just did a performance of "total eclipse of the heart." a lot of people calling this eclipse a cosmic ballet if you will. so this dance performance behind me very fitting. and this is something that people here have been looking forward to for years. on the football stadium -- or in the football stadium here at i.u. and a lot of people have been

calling this their super bowl event. so people have been really gathering here. it's about a 50,000 student population here at bloomington but they're expecting hundreds of thousands to flock to central indiana today, whether it be day trips or longer trips. but the big draw here at indiana university is captain kirk himself as well as a concert from janelle monae following totality's conclusion. i did get a chance to sit down with shatner. he is very interested in space exploration, the universe beyond earth, and he really spoke to how learning and magnetic this eclipse is going to be. here's some of our conversation. >> for some reason this eclipse has caught the imagination of the nation. i mean, it's huge when you think about it. we've only in the last i don't know, 100 years, have a scientific explanation of what an eclipse is. but prior to that can you imagine what people were

thinking? the heavens are breaking, it's ominous, we're all going to die. and now we realize it's not as dire as that but it's more magical. i mean, celestial bodies are placing themselves in between other celestial bodies. and at this precise moment this enormous universe is located right here. right here in bloomington, indiana. >> reporter: and so this is expected to be an emotional, unifying experience as the chair of the astronomy department told me here. she just said for any advice if people are going to be able to watch is just put your phones down, put your cameras down and just look up and enjoy it and make sure you obviously have, yasmin, your safety glasses ready, as i do. we are prepped and ready to go. >> i love that. you've got to be in the moment, though. that's really good advice. kate snow, you're in that path of totality as well. and as al roker told me earlier on in the hour, you've got clear skies there. you are going to see this thing full on. how lucky are you?

and you're standing by with two folks as well who came there just to see it. >> reporter: yes. i'm going to walk over here and introduce you. this is houlton. the town plaza, it's a town of about 6,000 people, yasmin. watch your step there. about 6,000 people normally but right now they've got thousands of people who've come in from other places. and some -- oh. you should be on this mike for me. but this is the mike i'm going to use to talk to a couple of people. so some of the folks that have come here, yasmin, here's the thing. they were supposed to be somewhere else. so let me introduce you -- can i bother you? >> sure. >> this is kashik. >> hi. >> actually, you flew from your home in texas, right? >> yes. >> and you were there for a week and a half. >> correct. >> and then you said what, this isn't going to work? >> yep. i've been tracking the weather in texas. so i was originally planning to see it from kerrville or fredericksburg. but the weather forecast was

always showing cloudy. and then i was checking for places where the weather might be clear. and a lot of chatter happened on social media about maine being the next good spot. >> so what do you do, you find a flight to was it boston? >> yep, yep. so i was checking for flights closer to the east coast or somewhere to get to maine but then the flights to boston was somewhat reasonably priced -- >> so you ditched everything in texas and you came up here just over the weekend. >> that is correct. >> and now here you are with your camera all set up. he's got this sort of -- >> it's a very basic setup. >> you made the filter yourself out of eclipse glasses. >> yeah. back in 2017 eclipse in the last minute i didn't have a solar filter. so i made one by cutting -- >> it's got eclipse glasses. >> -- one half of the eclipse glass. and the bottom of a beer cup. >> good luck. aurun, are you available? i want to show off your telescope here. and your story is you live in cleveland. >> yes. >> and you were going to just stay in cleveland because cleveland has the path of totality. >> yes. >> and then you saw the weather

and said maybe this is going to work. >> i was looking at erie, pennsylvania and then indianapolis. even coming back we stopped at albany, to see if we can go to burlington, vermont because it's only nine hours from cleveland. >> you drove 12 hours? >> 14, 14 1/2 hours. >> and where are you sleeping? do you have a place? >> in the suv. yeah. because everything's booked up. >> there you go, yasmin. ingenuity, right? but what are you looking forward to the most? why did you make this effort to be here? >> this is my first time. so i've never seen one. so i want to see a total solar eclipse. and the next one in america is going to be 20 years. >> that's right. >> so you never know. >> 2045. 21 years. >> and that's in like north dakota and montana. so it's far away from here. yasmin, they're not going to have another eclipse, full solar eclipse here till 2079 in maine. people are taking advantage. all the locals are here too. i'll send it back to you. >> you've got to love that they live in the path of totality but because of that weather they

made their way to maine. that is true dedication. >> she's saying you live in the path and yet here you are. >> oh, yeah. here i am. because it's cloudy everywhere. and this seems to be the best place. >> i mean, i don't want to jinx it, but the sun -- can you see how bright that sun is on me? it's amazing. >> that is incredible. >> absolutely no clouds. >> we are all jealous, guys. >> i'll send it back to you. >> enjoy it. thank you so much, kate snow. appreciate it. maura barrett, thank you as well. by the way, as a reminder keep it here after our show. special coverage of the total eclipse, katy tur is going to speak with a san antonio councilwoman who planned a trip for hundreds of school children to see the total eclipse as millions gather to see it across the country. that's coming up 2:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc. but up first, six months into the war national security adviser jake sullivan is set to meet with families of some of the hostages being held by hamas. we're going to have the latest on the cease-fire hostage talks under way in egypt. plus, congress returns from

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all right. welcome back. we've got some developing news out of israel. prime minister bibi netanyahu has confirmed israel is planning to go ahead with an offensive in the southern gaza city of rafah, the last refuge for more than a million palestinian civilians. he said victory over hamas requires it and that they've even set a date for the mission to begin. remember, the biden administration has been pushing

hard against this. the president warning netanyahu that going into rafah would be a, quote, mistake. it's also coming as negotiators are meeting right now in cairo trying to hammer out a cease-fire hostage deal. i want to bring in nbc's matt bradley who's been following this for us and standing by. matt, thanks for joining us. the united states as i mentioned has been trying to convince israel and the prime minister not noto do this. what should we make of what we're now hearing from netanyahu? >> reporter: well, in many ways, yasmin, this isn't ma tha much of a change of netanyahu's position. he's been saying he wants to go ahead with this rafah operation just as he said here. he's saying that the last bits of hamas, its main leadership, are hiding out in the tunnels underneath rafah and that the israeli military needs to go in to complete one of the two main missions, as the israelis have it, of their operation in the gaza strip, the one being the destruction of hamas and the dismantling of its leadership. so this is still unfinished business as far as netanyahu is

concerned. but this was also a statement that was clearly made in response to one that was made by john kirby of the white house just a little bit earlier where he said, he told reporters that there was no date for an invasion of rafah. so this is something the united states, as you mentioned, has been pushing off the israelis, trying to get them to delay an invasion of rafah and trying to present some sort of hostage negotiation, some sort of pause, a cease-fire as also delaying this what looks like for the israelis an inevitable invasion of rafah. we've also been seeing some different things from the israelis. just today we saw that the israelis, the idf mostly withdrew just about all of their troops from the southern gaza strip. so this has been so far today the longest real pause that we've seen in the fighting. it wasn't some sort of peace deal. it wasn't a truce. but it was still a laying down of arms because the israelis withdrew from that part of the gaza strip. that gives an opening to these

negotiators whoo who have been working furiously over the past several months to try to ink a deal that would not only halt the guns over the gaza strip but also free those israeli hostages that are still remaining in the gaza strip as well as freeing a lot of palestinian prisoners currently being held in israeli jails. this is a deal that could be good for anyone -- for everyone involved. and while it looks as though we've been close to a deal before over the past several months including negotiations in cairo involving bill burns from the cia and other major intermediaries like the egyptians and the qataris, this looks like it could hold the germ of some kind of fruitful negotiations, something that could get this over the line and maybe save hundreds of thousands of lives. yasmin? >> here's hoping. matt bradley for us, thank you. appreciate it. so congress is returning this week from a two-week break with a whole lot to tackle. in the house speaker mike johnson needs to navigate through a series of divisive issues including ukraine aid and funding for the baltimore bridge while working with a slimming majority and the threat of a motion to vacate. and then in the senate lawmakers

this week will be presented articles of impeachment against dhs secretary alejandro mayorkas. nbc's ali vitali is joining us from capitol hill. wow, do they have a lot on their plate as they return from two weeks off, ali. walk us through it. >> reporter: a lot on their plate, yasmin. the senate comes back this afternoon. house comes back tomorrow. i admit i think a lot of us are probably going to take a pause, try to go outside in a little bit and see what we can see with the eclipse. i have my themed moon and sun earrings on just in case so we're in the spirit here. but the to-do list is lengthy. put it back up on the screen. we can walk through each one. you've got ukraine and military aid, which has a million different threads baked into it. renewing the surveillance program, fisa, that's going to be a focus early part of this week. reauthorizing the faa. funding for the baltimore bridge recovery. the senate impeachment act on mayorkas, though that's probably going to be quickly dispensed with on thursday once the senate actually takes it up. schumer is not going to spend much time there.

and then of course the bipartisan data priefrs bill. all of that going to be baked into this week. but it's that top item on the list there, the ukraine military aid package, that has wrapped into it israel aid as well as taiwan aid. there are questions about if ukraine aid is going to be taken up in solitary capacity or if it's going to be another look at that larger senate supplemental package that has really been sitting lying in wait for several weeks now there. and it's ukraine aid that might be the thing that costs mike johnson his job and the speakership. listen to the way some lawmakers are talking about it, including congressman adam smith, who told me over the weekend he would back johnson up even as a democrat if they get a vote on ukraine aid. watch. >> i think speaker johnson is a good guy. but if he brings up a foreign aid package sending billions of dollars to ukraine without doing anything on the southern border, it will be a disgrace and a massive betrayal not just of republican voters but of the entire country. >> if speaker johnson gives us a vote on ukraine, i and a whole

lot of other democrats will not support that motion. >> i don't think he's at any risk. i think what people have been referring to as the chaos caucus, those individuals who are seeking attention for themselves and trying to stop all of the important work in congress, are now seen as merely disruptive. >> so yasmin, the first guy that you heard from there, senator j.d. vance, not involved in the house process at all but indicative of the way that some more right-wing house members are talking about the role of speaker johnson here. they don't want to see a vote on ukraine aid. and in large part that's why congresswoman marjorie taylor greene is dangling this idea of a motion to vacate in the first you've got the dynamics in the more establishment wings and the majority of the republican conference, people like congressman mike turner saying i don't think this is going to go anywhere. i think the convention on the motion to vacate is that but there could be democrats to back them up too. >> you're going to have to replace the eclipse earnings

with a gavel and dollar bill earnings. >> reporter: i don't think i have those. coming up next, everybody, we're going to take you to texas where the eclipse is going to enter the totality phase in just moments after a very quick break. quick break. the only migraine medication that helps treat and prevent, all in one. to those with migraine, i see you. for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura and the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults. don't take if allergic to nurtec odt. allergic reactions can occur, even days after using. most common side effects were nausea, indigestion, and stomach pain. it's time we all shine. talk to a healthcare provider about nurtec odt from pfizer.

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texas is going to enter the totality phase of the eclipse, the moment when the moon completely blocks out the sun. nbc's priscilla thompson is on the ground for us in dallas, texas, at the pearl museum of nature and science, just miles from the center line of totality. priscilla, take us there. moments away. you're going to experience this thing for 3 minutes and 51 seconds of totality. what is happening. >> reporter: yeah, yasmin, a lot of excitement on the ground here. you can see everyone is set up on the grass. folks have their glasses. a lot of folks laying down already looking up at the sky right now. we're already in the partial phase, that total eclipse will happen in just a short while here, and there are thousands of people here from all around the country and around the globe to see this. i've spoken to some folks about that, and coming from nashville, new jersey, all over the place, and they're just really excited to be here and experience this once in a generation, once in a

lifetime experience with family members. i met a mom and a daughter who met. one was from the west coast, one was from the east coast, and they met here because they wanted to have this beautiful experience together. we're also right near the highway so we're keeping an eye on traffic. the last time an eclipse happened here, traffic actually stopped along the highways. people getting out of their cars to watch it. so lots of excitement here as we're almost to that moment of totality. >> the juxtaposition, it's so sunny there right now. but just in about 40 minutes or so, it will be darkness in the path of totality. priscilla thompson, thank you. enjoy it. and thank you guys all for watching this hour. stick with us, coming up, a mass eclipse wedding ceremony. nearly 300 couples will tie the knot in russellville, arkansas, the next hour just as the eclipse crosses special coverage of the total eclipse starts after a quick break. eclipse st after a quick break.

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