good day to you, i'm peter alexander in for chris jansing. the democrats' push for the presidency is now officially a billion dollars campaign. the democrats crosses that threshold after kamala harris helped raise an astounding $310 million in the month of july. but banking those big dollars is one thing. the question now, how to use them most effectively. plus, the historic and heartwarming reunion of those three freed americans back with their families after being released from russia, a moment of celebration for the public and the president in the midst of a difficult and chaotic period. but even amid the joy, there is still also some pain particularly for the families of those americans still being held in russia. that includes marc fogel whose sister ann is going to join me in just a few minutes live. president biden tried to

salvage cease fire talks in israel even as the regional conflict there teeters on the brink of all-out war. the president making it clear to the israeli prime minister where he thinks things should go next. but is prime minister prime minister netanyahu listening? vice president kamala harris as we noted, is growing a now historic financial war chest. the harris campaign announcing that it raised $310 million last month bringing harris's total cash on hand to $377 million. the campaign says that it has now raised more than $1 billion this cycle, and we've still got nearly 100 days to go, marking the fastest presidential campaign ever to cross that threshold. this is, of course, a step ahead of donald trump's campaign, it raised nearly $139 million last month, it has a total of $327 million cash on hand, and these fund-raising announcements come hours after the former

president once again questioned the vice president's racial identity. but as "the new york times" puts it, quote, the reaction to his latest remarks had the feeling of a familiar routine. republicans mostly rolled their eyes in private and held their tongues in public. and joining us now, nbc's dasha burns, she is following this for us. eugene robinson, of course, columnist at "the washington post" and an msnbc political analyst. dasha, i want to get to you, and let's talk money if we can for a moment. i've been talking to those within the biden, now harris campaign. they feel terrific about the momentum they have seen and the pace in which they were to find that new energy. much of it cing from small donors. just 12 days ago that joe biden said he was out of this race. what are you hearing from the trump side in terms of the money war? >> well, look, he did not raise nearly as much as vice president kamala harris in the month of july, and that's something that the harris campaign is certainly

emphasizing. according to the trump campaign, they raised about 139 million in july having now about over 300 million cash on hand. but they are trying to sort of fund-raise off of the lack of fund-raising or off of the lag in fund-raising behind harris sending out an email saying to their supporters and voters that after leading a full-blown revolt against biden, liberal billionaires just hauled in nearly a quarter of a billion dollars and saying that he's putting together a massive response right now that leaves no doubt about our resolve. now, the harris team is emphasizing that much of that money that was raised, two-thirds, in fact, came from first-time donors saying that more than 3 million people made over 4.2 million contributions in july and that 94% of donations were under $200 with teachers and nurses among the most common contributor occupations. now, this split screen you're showing right here is pretty much a picture of the moment

right now with the harris campaign gaining this new momentum and the trump campaign trying to figure out a strategy for how they tackle this new opponent, peter. >> and eugene, i want to bring you into this conversation as well. obviously we have witnessed just this historic momentum. i was struck, i was traveling with the vice president who hopes to be future president when she was in atlanta earlier this week. this weekend donald trump will be in the exact same venue in atlanta. it's going to be a very different scene. i want to ask you specifically, though, about the way that donald trump and his allies are sort of leaning into these attacks on kamala harris's race, her racial identity right now. he has now reposted false claims made by the right wing activist, laura loomer about the vice president's birth certificate. we know harris has long identified with both her black and south asian heritage. she's not alone. "the new york times" points out that more than 12% of americans, a staggering figure, identify as

multiracial. how are these attacks being viewed in what is now such a diversified electorate and how it motivates those potential voters for harris? >> well, exactly, peter. i don't see how this can do anything but alienate mixed race voters, alienate black voters, alienate asian voters. this is crazy. why did trump do this? why did he launch this at the national association for black journalists convention on wednesday? just a couple of days ago in chicago. i really think it was just, number one, to get attention because he has been like in witness protection over the last couple of weeks as kamala harris has dominated the news cycle, and as we all know, donald trump cannot stand not being the center of attention. the other reason i think is that he would love to drag her down into a mud wrestling match over

race and identity. i think he feels that would be favorable terrain for him. i think she has done the right thing in staying above that fray, not getting down in the mud, just letting him go ahead. you know, if your opponent is doing something that's self-directive, don't interrupt him. >> eugene, stay with us. dasha, i want to ask you, j.d. vance, donald trump's vice presidential pick right now tweeted not too long ago on what was formerly twitter, now x, criticizing kamala harris for her comments on the tarmac yesterday as they celebrated the return of those three freed americans saying kamala sounds like a third grader giving a book report on a book she didn't read. what strikes me in the sort of minuscule nature of that attack is how the former president and his now vp pick have really, it seems, struggled to find what they think is the most effective line of attack on kamala harris so far. nothing has stuck, and frankly,

they haven't really stuck to anything in particular. >> yeah, they're trying out a bunch of different stuff, but i think what we saw as trump sort of returned to kind of vintage donald trump that we saw in 2016 with these race-based attacks is he was planning to take on biden. they had a whole strategy. they had millions and millions of dollars into a strategy to tackle biden, and as part of that, he really felt bullish on winning over voters of color, black and hispanic voters. they had coalitions rolled out. they had allies in places like philly and detroit and atlanta. he was going to places like the bronx, and he felt good about it. the dynamic has completely changed now that you have a woman of color at the top of the ticket, and so i think that what you're seeing is a recalibration that we're watching in realtime, live on air as they try to figure out how to change this strategy, how to take on a new opponent that brings something completely different to the

democratic ticket. >> not only that you have a woman of color or a woman at all, but you have a younger candidate right now who sort of speaks in different terms and in different tone when she is addressing the audience right now. i've been struck about some of the things that kamala harris has said and democrats have echoed this same thought to me, eugene, that have things that joe biden said before but when harris says it, particularly as it relates to immigration, for example, donald trump trying to push strike down that border deal that was agreed to on a bipartisan basis, that it seems to be getting through in a way. let me ask eugene about what is coming up next including the discussion about a vp pick, the announcement to take place before tuesday when kamala harris will rally with that individual, yet to be named, in philadelphia. aides say that doesn't mean it's going to be pennsylvania's governor josh shapiro, but certainly he's getting a lot of attention. they have to use a football metaphor, a lot of opening running room before the convention in the middle of this month right now on the democratic side. >> they sure do. whoever the running mate is, whether it's shapiro or mark

kelly or andy beshear or jb pritzker, whoever it might be, they're going to have -- she's got rallies not just in philadelphia on tuesday, but in the swing states for the whole rest of the week through saturday she'll be with the running mate in a different swing state, so she's got that sort of lined up, and then they'll be getting ready to go in the convention, which i think they're going to orchestrate as kind of a celebration really. obviously there will be a fond farewell to joe biden, but i think there's going to be a lot of excitement in chicago, and they're going to hope to get a good bounce out of the convention. it's hard to see how donald trump really breaks in for the next two or three weeks. >> yeah, no doubt. i think you're right, i'll be on the floor there for that convention just a couple of weeks from now in chicago. monica alba, my colleague at the white house joins us from there.

you have been driving so much of the new reporting as it relates to a conversation about who the next vice president will be. walk us through what the weekend is going to look like for kamala harris. i keep asking, you've kept asking. sounds like we won't hear anything this weekend. that doesn't mean she doesn't have important plans. >> that's right, peter. this is going to be taking place behind closed doors, and that is by design, but we expect that vice president will be here in washington. she has no public events scheduled today or this weekend at this time, and that is because i'm told she is going to be having some of these face to face conversations with her short list of these final contenders to be her potential running mate, and this is really a process that was super compressed given when she now was thrust into this new position after president biden decided to leave the 2024 race, and so they knew they were always going to have to do this faster than in any other cycle compared to where we are right now. but the way they really put this

is they wanted to get through all the legal aspects of the vetting, so the firm that was in charge of going through that process, which was overseen in part by former attorney general eric holder, that part, we're told, is now over. that concluded as of yesterday, we understand it, so they were able to hand over all of their materials to the vice president and her team so they could continue to review it. they had already gotten some of those materials, we understand, and we know that senior aides that are part of the apparatus that is going to eventually help the vice president make this decision -- of course it's ultimately up to her -- they have met with some of these top contenders and potential running mates as well over the course of the last couple of days. and not everything is taking place in person. there have been some meetings that are virtual. we understand that that's a component that can continue as well. we're talking about this universe of sitting governors, sitting senators, a cabinet secretary and all of their schedules, of course, are difficult to manage and juggle. some of that has been happening

over zoom like we conduct our normal business, but now it is going into a new phase, i understand, over the next 72 hours where there will be a sit-down. that is important to the vice president we understand, because a lot of this is a little bit of chemistry, a little bit of personality and how does that gel, and how do the two of them sit down and try to talk about a vision for the future together. that's something that's a little harder to do unless you can really have a moment in private to be together face to face, and so that is what the vice president is going to be focusing on, and then in terms of the time line, peter, really we know that that tuesday evening rally in philadelphia is sort of the last possible moment that we'll know who that person is who could be the vice presidential nominee. so we expect an announcement could come before then, perhaps some time on monday if she wraps up these interviews and is able to then make a decision on that time line and then they will figure out how to do it. but in terms of the momentum, i really am just told by all of the sources that i'm talking to,

the fact that she has been able to build on that monster amount of money and fund-raising that you were just discussing, the news of her really only 2 week old or so campaign, now the idea that they're going to be announcing the potential running mate and then going into the democratic national convention, they're trying to really use that as a sort of snowball effect to capture some of this democratic enthusiasm. >> thanks so much. before we take a quick break to share some breaking news with you that i'm just now reading to be candid with you, both monica and i were working on this news just moments before we had this conversation publicly. nbc news can report according to two sources familiar with the matter that the harris campaign has now hired some new members of its team. the campaign adding a number of staff members to the campaign. yamiche alcindor contributing to this reporting as well. further announcements expected to come, but we do know that one of those individuals is david plouffe, a name that's likely familiar to a lot of you, certainly if you've watched this

channel in the past. david plouffe obviously will serve as a senior campaign adviser and played a crucial role for barack obama in a not too dissimilar form during the 2008 campaign. eugene robinson, always a pleasure, monica alba, appreciate your reporting, dasha thank you so much, for your reporting as well. in 90 seconds, a triumphant moment for three american prisoners now released from russian custody and their families. what is next for them as they try to return to their normal lives? we're going to speak with michigan's democratic congresswoman haley stevens, the cochair of the congressional hostage task force who spent years pushing for the release of paul whelan. that's next.

right now three americans, evan gershkovich, paul whelan are in texas, san antonio to be specific, but now facing the daunting challenge of trying to transition back to their old lives here in the united states. that did take a backseat, of course, to the joyful reunions that we saw last night before midnight on the tarmac right there at joint base andrews. the pictures are fantastic. all three were greeted by the president, the vice president, american officials, and of course and most importantly, their families who had been waiting months. and in paul whelan's case, years for them to be home. the pictures do tell this story. that is evan gershkovich embracing his mom ella milman

after lifting her into the air. can you imagine. president biden giving former marine paul whelan the american flag pin right off his own lapel. and also kirma shayva, she was reunited with her husband and daughters, including her youngest, the one in the gray shirt there who turns 13 years old today, remarkably i was told by jake sullivan that she was supposed to be going to a taylor swift concert tonight in poland, but she was told she couldn't make that trip because there was a more important visit that would be taking place. as for president biden, it was a chance to bask in what he described as a wonderful moment after an extraordinarily trying few weeks. jake sullivan said this morning that biden's determination and personal diplomacy even as his own presidential bid was faltering was critical to ensuring that this deal got done. >> these are very tough decisions, and the president has to weigh as do the other leaders, has to weigh giving up criminals to get americans and other citizens home, but at the end of the day, the president

asked this question, am i going to let these people rot for life in a russian jail, and his answer to that question was no. >> i want to bring in jesse kirsch now, who is in san antonio there where those three americans are at brooke army medical center. i wanted to get your sort of understanding of what's happening there and what's next for these former prisoners. the program is called piza, post isolation support activities for them. what does that look like? what do their days now look like? >> reporter: yeah, and peter, by the way, those incredible images from overnight in maryland about four hours after those photos were taken, those three freed americans along with their loved ones touched down here in texas, and as you mentioned, they are now we are told at this facility where they're going to be going through, as you mentioned, post-isolation support activities. we're trying to get some clarity on exactly what that will look like. we're also curious to know if there will be any difference from person to person. as you mentioned, they were all being held for different amounts of time, paul whelan the longest

of the three americans who have now been freed. we're trying to get some clarity on exactly what those activities will look like for these individuals. this is, of course, them coming back into civilian life in the united states after having been held in russia. this is the same facility, the same general type of support activity that wnba star brittney griner went through when she returned from russia back in 2022, and i want to just note one other thing. when they touched down here in texas overnight, paul whelan briefly described how he was treated in russia. he described that years long ordeal as, quote, absolute nonsense from the russian government, peter. >> jesse kirsch on the ground for us in san antonio. i want to get to the rest of our reporters and team in a moment. we want to share some breaking news that's happening at this momentum, kamala harris's campaign now says that she has just crossed the threshold to win the democratic nomination. let's listen to the vice president. >> at the democratic national committee, the dnc has been extraordinary, and i know how

hard you work, so jamie, thank you for everything that you are doing, and to everyone on the call, thank you for your hard work and all you have been doing over these last many, many, many months, and i know that we are excited about the future, but we also know that we got a lot of work to get there, and we have a lot of work to do. it's good work. we like hard work, and i just want to thank everyone for joining this call. listen, i think we all approach our campaign with the same spirit including that this is truly a people powered campaign, and i would not be on this call right now and with you all were it not for your support and your trust, for which i am deeply grateful. i am honored to be the presumptive democratic nominee for president of the united states, and i will tell you the tireless work of our delegate, our state leaders and staff have been pivotal in making this moment possible, and your

dedication cannot be overstated. your dedication to our country. you know, i know we all feel this way so strongly. we love our country. we believe in the promise of america, and that's what this campaign is about, so of course i will officially accept your nomination next week once the virtual voting period is closed, but already i'm happy to know that we have enough delegates to secure the nomination. and later this month, we will gather in chicago, united as one party where we're going to have an opportunity to celebrate this historic moment together. and again, this campaign is about all of us coming together. people coming together from every walk of life, every lived experience, and being fueled by our love of country, knowing that we are prepared to fight for the best of who we are. we believe in the promise of america, a promise of freedom, opportunity, and justice, not

just for some but for all, and ultimately in this election, you all have heard me say many times, we each face the question. what kind of country do we want to live in? do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion, and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear, and hate? and the beauty of our democracy is we each, every one of us has the power to answer that question, and that is why i say and know the power is with the people. so here's the bottom line, i say to all the friends on the call, we are going to win this election and it is going to take all of us whether it is making calls, connecting with our communities, engaging online, or even talking with people, where we go every day, whether it be to the grocery store or church, we are going to talk with people about the fact that we are all in this together and we stand

together. and so let's let folks know that our campaign is about the future and it's about an expansion of rights and freedoms and for the opportunity of everyone to not just get by, but to get ahead. so november 5, november 5th is 95 days away, and north carolina, for everyone there, you're kicking us off with absentee ballots that are being sent in just 35 days. so we are in this, everyone. we are in this. we are on the road, and you know it's not going to be easy, but we're going to get this done, and as your future president, i know we are up to this fight, and when we fight, everyone will say in unison, we win. so thank you, everyone. please take care and i can't wait to see you in chicago. and thank you again, jamie. >> thank you so much, madam vice

president. >> you have been listening to the vice president of the united states, kamala harris there as part of what was a live stream from the democratic national committee conducting beginning yesterday into today what is its virtual roll call, they had to make sure they had their nominee secured ahead of their convention to make sure that that nominee's name was on the ballots in all 50 states. there had been some challenges that existed including in the state of ohio that if it didn't happen by then, it wouldn't occur. suffice to say they have until monday for the numbers to change, but it appears increasingly clear that is, kamala harris will be the democratic party's official presidential nominee. eugene robinson, monica alba, dasha burns joining me again right now. eugene, just to you, i know we've talked about this, remarkably it was only 12 days ago that joe biden dropped out of this race, and all of a sudden we have seen a party just coalesce in ways that no one imagined possible. 13 days ago here, your reaction to this effectively historic

moment? >> i was just going to say that, it's a historic moment, and the past 12 days, think about that. it seems like at least 12 weeks, maybe 12 months, and it's just moved so fast. it is remarkable that the democratic party coalesced around the harris candidacy as quickly as it has with as few fractures as it might have had, and, you know, we should look at history. this is the first time a major party will have nominated a woman of color to become president of the united states. these things are always sort of impossible and out of reach until they happen, and one of these milestones we reached in 2008 with barack obama, who knows.

maybe there will be another milestone this year as well. but the campaign's on now, it's on. >> i think you're exactly right. monica, i want to get to you for your thoughts on this because we just heard from the vice president moments ago saying that we're on the road. we're going to be on the road, while in earnest they'll be on the road like we haven't seen in quite some time over the course of the next week beginning tuesday in philadelphia, and that is the first of many stops that we are told by the campaign that the vice president is going to be making with her yet to be announced vp pick. what does that next sort of couple of weeks look like for kamala harris and co.? >> reporter: yeah, this already was a bit of a sprint to election day for the now harris campaign, peter. we really are going to see that in action next week once they do announce her running mate, and once they do kind of hit the ground literally running to those different battleground states over the course of the week, they're going to be basically having events every single day, and then they want to kind of use some of that

energy to start to build up to the democratic national convention in chicago. and we should point out that the way that this happened today is a little bit wonky, it's a little bit funny with a virtual roll call. as you noted that ohio ballot deadline was critical on august 7th. this was also something that democrats had used during covid four years ago during the dnc to try to kind of generate a little bit of enthusiasm virtually, and they felt like it worked decently well, so they said, okay, we'll do it again. never expecting necessarily that just days before this process was going to be taking place with president biden at the top of the ticket, there would be a complete change and scramble to now do that with vice president harris. so there were all these conversations among democrats in the last couple of weeks about potentially altering this or shifting it, and the dnc really wanted to be firm and say, no, we need to take care of this. we can still do it in time, but that is why you're seeing it happen today. so the harris campaign is

officially calling her the democratic nominee, but that won't be formalized until they conclude the actual entirety of the virtual roll call on monday evening, and then that will be even more ceremonially recognized once we get to chicago and the democratic national convention. so the next couple of weeks are all about the vice president continuing to lay out her theory of the case for this election. as you saw in those remarks there, she's talking about it may not be an easy road, but she has sort of coined her own motto, when we fight. she says, quote, we win. so that was her message acknowleding the democratic apparatus that have gotten her to this point and really trying to lay that out in terms of the momentum and enthusiasm they want to see keep building here in these coming weeks, peter. >> dasha, i want to ask you a question as well.

it was notable that kamala harris made clear to those who are on this virtual roll call with individuals around the country joining, and now a national news audience watching as well. just 35 days exist between now and the absentee ballots going out in the first state of north carolina, the tar heel state, and it's notable because north carolina has now changed its election law to require mail-in ballots to arrive by 7:30 p.m. on election day rather than within three weeks with a proper postmark. the democratic governor there roy cooper who had originally been on the list of possible vp picks tried to veto that package, called it a scheme to discourage young and minority voters here. we saw the way that donald trump addressed voting early and absentee ballots in 2020. has his position changed on that issue knowing how it failed him then? >> oh, completely. the trump campaign, all of their allies have now been pushing their voters, their supporters to vote absentee, vote early, or vote on election day if they like.

that's been a message he's actually tried to deliver at his rallies and throughout different advertisements. when i talk to voters, it's not necessarily landing. he spent years talking about how absentee voting is fraudulent, which of course is false, but his supporters have gotten the message. so when i go out there and ask people if they're opening to voting by mail, they're still incredibly skeptical of that, and that's something that the republican party knows could be detrimental. they're trying to change the framework there. i don't know if it's necessarily going to work. just another challenge for them as they try to figure out a strategy against this new opponent that presents a completely different dynamic, peter. >> dasha burns, eugene robinson, monica alba, we all saw a little bit of history here on msnbc. coming up next, the sister of a teacher still detained in russia, joins us to share how she feels about the fact that her brother was left out of this prisoner swap. stay with us. f this

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we turn back now to the release of those three americans spending their first full day on u.s. soil, one of them paul whelan home after spending more than 2,000 days in russian custody, and i want to bring in michigan democratic congresswoman haley stevens. she is the cochair of the congressional hostage task force, spent years pushing for whelan to be freed. she also led the passage of a house calling for paul whelan's release in the last three congresses. i appreciate your being here with us. our congratulations to you, as it is to those families for having their loved ones home. can you just walk us through what this moment, these last 24 hours have been like for you? >> well, i was tuned in to your very station at midnight last night watching that plane land, and it was the light in the sky,

in the very dark sky just descending down and we were waiting for the plane door to open. we didn't know who was going to come out first, and there was paul giving his salute. just such an honorable, dedicated, patient, stable human being. he's had a remarkable career. he is one of michigan's finest and has such a unique perspective as well. and just to see him give that salute, walk down the stairs, greet the president. that smile on his face, and then to see his beautiful incredible sister elizabeth just a few feet behind and then their embrace. it felt like a dream. it really felt like a moment that we couldn't believe until we saw, and we saw it last night. and paul has changed the world. his family has changed the world. we've passed legislation to create that hostage and wrongful detention flag that paul held up yesterday in san antonio.

we passed resources to support the families. we've created hostage and wrongful detention day, march 9th. and we're going to keep going here. he is really a remarkable human. >> congresswoman, i want to ask you a bit. first, have you had a chance to speak to paul or his family yet? >> well, i'm certainly in touch with the family, but i've given paul his space. he said he wanted that steak dinner, so, you know, steaks abound for paul. look, your viewers need to know, this is someone longest detained individual in russia over 2,000 days. he has lost so much. he's lost his home. his poor dog flora that was such a hard day in all of this, his dog was always waiting for him and just didn't make it to get reunited with him. his job and so, you know, we're going to take our cues from paul, though, now. he's a free man. >> congresswoman, let me ask you

about, that all the things he's lost, his job, his home, his dog as you noted there. what responsibility, if any, should the u.s. government have to help him recover those things he's lost? >> that's a great question, and that's the next phase of work that we are embarking on with our task force and with partners in the u.s. senate like chris coons and gary peters. we do have with the defense authorization that was passed last year support, medical that we're hoping that he can access, but paul's going to have an ally in me, and i'm going to help him today, tomorrow, and the tomorrow after that just as i would any michigander and any constituent. there's certainly a lot of awareness out there. we need to hear from him, and my line remains open and eager, and i'm just so very proud of him. he is a remarkable individual. >> we're rewatching some of those moments that you saw live on msnbc last night. president biden there sharing a handshake and part of an embrace

with paul whelan when he landed back on american soil at joint base andrews, here's part of what whelan said last evening. listen. >> what was it like to hug your sister? >> it was very nice, yeah. i hadn't seen her in a couple of years. yeah. it's nice to reconnect with family like that. she's done a lot. you know, my brothers too, my parents, you know, sometimes some harsh words with the government, having to keep them accountable for taking care of us, but in the end, you know, here i am. >> just to reiterate that thought, how big of a role did paul whelan's family play in making this reunion happen? >> well, that was certainly part of the motivation that we had to act legislatively because we saw how tireless they were. each family member served a different role. it's important to note that his parents are older. they're in manchester, michigan, they're living a quiet life. paul was one of their big caretakers, but elizabeth was really the face of this. her brother and paul's brother

david was working more behind the scenes, wasn't able to be in such a public-facing role. elizabeth winter went to the u.n. she stared down russia, and you heard president biden who's really such a hero in all of this as well, such an incredible leader, the biden/harris administration, and we know vice president harris played a key role as well. >> yeah. >> president biden was joking yesterday elizabeth, we're ready to have you move into the oval office because you were here so much. >> it was so powerful. just a quick last thought from you, i'm going to speak to ann fogel, the center of marc fogel who is still being held in russia right now. your message to her and the families of those still being held in russia and elsewhere. >> yeah, look, our line remains open and certainly for the fogel family and their ties to their member of congress and with our task force that's here to support as well as some of the bureaucracy that's going on. i know that they haven't received the full wrongful detention case, but mr. fogel

has lived a remarkable life in and of himself, educating in russia, and we want him to have justice and a fair and due process, which they are not pursuing in russia. >> haley stevens, democratic congresswoman from the state of michigan, congresswoman, we really appreciate your maing time to speak with us. thank you so much. in stark contrast to those moments of just relief that we have seen from the families reunited in yesterday's prisoner exchange in russia, we are also seeing the heartbreak from those families of loved ones still in captivity. president biden talked just hours ago about one of the americans still detained in russia, marc fogel as we were speaking about there, a school teacher from pennsylvania, and here's what the president said on the white house south lawn. >> marc fogel is still sitting in a russian prisoner -- >> we're not giving up on that. >> the philadelphia "enquirer" reports that fogel turned 63 in

prison on sunday, more than a thousand days after he was arrested for entering moscow with medical marijuana legally prescribed to him in america. he is serving a 14 year sentence for drug time, more time than some convicted murderers get in russia. the family wrote for the second time in three years we are completely heartbroken and outraged that marc has been left behind while the u.s. government brought other americans home. joining me now is marc fogel's center, and i very much appreciate you speaking to us, and hope by talking to us we can remind people about the urgency to bring your brother home here. can you tell us more about how you and your family are doing in this very moment? >> it's been -- it's been a lot of conflicting emotions. looking at alsu hug her daughters was just wonderful, and it made me cry, frankly, and you know, i just -- i want that for my nephews. and i want that for my sister-in-law and my mother.

so it's -- it's bittersweet. i mean, of course we're delighted that paul whelan is home after all this time. it's incredible. no one -- not any of them deserve to be there, but marc didn't either. marc does not deserve to be there and to have been left behind. it's been really -- it's been a very, very painful 48 hours. >> i'm sure, and if you can pull back the curtain a little bit for us. as i understand you had spoken to your brother, i think just yesterday, and that's in part how you learned that he was not a part of this swap. can you tell me about that, what he said and your reaction in that moment? >> well, i -- on tuesday morning we woke up to the news that paul whelan wasn't in penal colony any longer, so we all knew that

there were things that were moving and shifting, and we started calling our congressman and our senators and everyone that we knew that could help get marc on the plane. we didn't realize that that decision had been made i guess on the 21st of july. so that was -- so we were scrambling, and it was like all day long it was highs and lows of could he be coming home. cowl we see him. could this be over, and then of course when i talked to marc and he was still in ribinsk i realized that there was something really wrong and -- but i couldn't -- i really couldn't give up hope at that point because it was a four and a half hour drive from moscow,

and i thought there would be some way that they would be able to get him on the plane as if it was that simple, but they were never negotiating for marc. so that -- that's hard. it's really hard. >> i'm certain that it is. the u.s., of course, as you know, has not designated your brother to have been -- to be wrongfully detained. they are trying to secure his release on humanitarian grounds. do you agree with the assessment, with that assessment that he's not being wrongfully detained? and what reasons has the government given you for that? >> asking russia for a humanitarian release, there's no -- there's never happened in history that they've done that. there's no reason for it to happen now. it's almost laughable and insulting. marc needs to be designated as wrongfully detained today. jake sullivan was on national public radio today, and he said

that he was working for marc. he told me that to my face two and a half years ago in his office, but i heard it on the radio today. if he means what he says, he will be wrongfully detained today, and they need to put their money where their mouth is. it's hard -- it's hard to have trust right now. >> i'm sure. i can only imagine the emotions that you and your entire family is experiencing to say nothing of your brother. in your statement your family wrote that marc does not have the resources that some of the other prisoners have had. he doesn't have a major newspaper or sports team backing him. are you hopeful this will bring more attention and more pressure on this administration to get him home? >> of course, of course i am.

and i have to remain -- i have to remain hopeful, but i know that they have spent all their chips and i don't know -- i'm trying to have hope. >> anne fogel, i appreciate you being with us. the president said not giving up when asked about your brother. we hope that you can enjoy that reunion at some point. >> thank you so much for having me and sharing marc's story. >> thank you. coming up, new concerns of retaliation from hezbollah and iran amid growing calls for a cease fire in gaza. what the pentagon just announced about the movement of u.s. troops in the middle east. we are live in tel aviv, you are watching msnbc. watching msnbc hi, i'm sally. i'm from phoenix, arizona. i'm a flight nurse on a helicopter that specializes in trauma. i've been doing flight nursing for 24 years. i had a fear that i wouldn't be able to keep up.

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. we're back now live on msnbc. i'm peter alexander in for chris jansing. and just moments ago, the

pentagon announced that the defense secretary has approved additional forces moving near israel in the middle east. this comes after president biden spoke with prime minister benjamin netanyahu and reaffirmed america's support for israel's defense against iran and its proxies. hamas, hezbollah, and the houthis, but the president also warned last night about the ripple effects of israel's assassination of hamas's lead negotiator. >> chance for a cease fire ruined after the assassination of haniyeh? >> it's not helped. >> the head of hezbollah is vowing vengeance, warning israel has crossed a red line, and nbc's ellison barber is in tel aviv for us right now. ellison, what more are you hearing from israel israel about the status of the desire for a cease fire and the fallout from what we have witnessed over the last several days? >> reporter: peter, interestingly, we just got this.

nbc news can confirm that according to a source with the prime minister's office here in israel, the israeli negotiation team is planning to head to cairo, egypt this weekend. they say it could either be saturday evening or even sunday. of course the big question, and president biden asked about it on the tarmac, what does the assassination of haniyey mean, is there a true hope for a cease fire and hostage release in the coming days given what has happened inside of iran, given the vows from iran, hamas and hezbollah. there's no doubt there will be some sort of retaliation in the coming days or the coming weeks. the question is exactly when will it come and how big will it be. remember back in april, iran fired over 300 missiles and drones at israel, all largely intercepted, some intercepted by

arab countries. we have seen such an intense reaction to the recent spate, if you will of high profile killings, particularly when it comes to haniyey, and the role he played in hamas and negotiating the cease fire all up in the air. cities like tel aviv and jerusalem, they have been reiterating protocols for people who live here clearing out their shelters, making sure they're stocked up on supplies in the event they seek shelter for hours or days. we got the latest news that there is an israeli negotiating team planning to head to cairo this weekend. exactly what will happen in the talks and whether or not a hostage deal, a cease fire is salvageable in the next coming days or weeks that remains to be seen. but we do know that there is a trip that will be taking place this weekend.

peter. >> ellison barber on the ground. one of the hostage families whose great niece abigail was taken and released writes an op-ed trying to put more pressure on benjamin netanyahu. she writes 300 days later, netanyahu must be brave and bold for the hostages. five american families who believe their loved ones are alive in gaza, and three others hoping to get their remains or loved ones home. thank you for your reporting. stocks, we should know, fell sharply today after new numbers showed a weaker u.s. job market than expected. the dow jones fell more than 2%, and companies like amazon and intel saw some seriously steep losses. it comes after the july jobs report. out just this morning included a drop in the number of jobs added and a rise in the unemployment rate. let's get to our business and data correspondent, brian cheung at the wall for us. what do the numbers tell us and

what does this mean about the trajectory of the country's economy? >> this report sending shock waves through the financial world. when it comes to what we're seeing on main street. the pace of job rates is slowing. 114,000 jobs added in the month of july. that was well below what economists had been expecting going into this morning's job reports. they were expecting 185,000 jobs. well short of estimates and a lot of attention specifically on what's happening with the unemployment rate. it does rise to 4.3% in the month of july. that was also the unemployment rate around the pre-pandemic time before the pandemic did spike the unemployment rate to 15%. you can see 4.3%, not necessarily a spike but it is on the rise, which is something we're going to have to continue to watch in the jobs reports to come. now, when we you think pack the support and take a look by industry, what we're seeing is for the most part, blue collar

job industries are adding jobs at a healthy clip. when you look at construction, leisure and hospitality, these are jobs at bars and restaurants, adding 20,000 jobs in the month of july. health care adding a strong 55,000 jobs in the month, but there were some industries that caught a lot of attention like, for example, information, where we saw a contraction in the numbers of job in july, losing 20,000 in that month. information is the government agency that collects the data. tech, jobs in media. we're going to have to continue to watch that as well. the unemployment rate likely to catch the attention of the federal reserve, which decided to hold interest rates steady, now pricing suggesting they could cut interest rates in september. >> we'll be keeping an eye on all of that in the days, weeks and months ahead. thank you very much. minutes away, the u.s. secret service is set to hold a

news conference today, specifically on the attempted assassination of former president trump. we are going to take you there just as soon as that begins. you're watching msnbc live. nbc e (man) mm, hey, honey. looks like my to-do list grew. "paint the bathroom, give baxter a bath, get life insurance," hm. i have a few minutes. i can do that now. oh, that fast? remember that colonial penn ad? i called and i got information. they sent the simple form i need to apply.

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but it's under siege from big out-of-state media companies and hedge funds. now, california legislators are considering a bill that could make things even worse by subsidizing national and global media corporations while reducing the web traffic local papers rely on. so tell lawmakers, support local journalism, not well connected media companies. oppose ab 886. paid for by ccia.

investigations with the july 13th failure being done by congress, the department of homeland security's office of the inspector general, and the independent review directed by president biden. additionally, the secret service's office of professional responsibility is currently conducting a mission assurance review. as i stated, i am not waiting

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