right now on msnbc, breaking news out of the middle east. israel says that they have just rescued a hostage from gaza, a 52-year-old man who was abducted by hamas on october the 7th. we're on the ground with the very latest on his condition. plus, will he or won't he? two weeks out from the first debate between former president trump and vice president harris. trump puts the status of that face-off up in the air. and later, special counsel jack smith tries to revive trump's classified documents

case. and he's quoting a conservative supreme court justice to make his point. good morning. 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart in for ana cabrera. and we start with that breaking news overseas. israeli forces say they have rescued a 52-year-old hostage from a southern gaza location. he had been abducted by hamas on the 7th of october massacre and is in stable condition. let's get to matt bradley in tel aviv with the very latest. what more do we know about this? this operation and who this hostage is and how he's doing? >> he's 52 years old, as you mentioned. he's a member of the bedouin arab minority here in israel. and he's been held since october 7th, well more than 300 days.

and he was rescued by special forces from a tunnel in the southern gaza strip. now, this is a man who has 11 children. he was a security guard at a kibbutz in southern israel. he's from a bedouin arab community in southern israel. so this man now, he's in stable condition, according to the idf. he's at a hospital, where she's undergoing observations by doctors. but we've already seen pictures of him convalescing at the hospital. his family members have come, they're surrounding him. so, you know, it looks like he's in pretty good health. we don't really know exactly how he looked before. we have these pictures. he looks a bit thinner than he does in some of these images, but it looks like in some of these images he was maybe a younger man. so it's hard to know exactly what kind of conditions he was in and how he was feeling. that's all going to be coming out in the coming hours and days. but this is a situation that is going to be obviously, you know, a cause of celebration here in israel. we've already seen, as we have

in the past, when these three hostages were released or rescued a couple of months ago, you know, we saw this image here of one of the lifeguards broadcasting this out on one of the beaches this time in southern israel. that's kind of becoming a common tradition here in israel, whenever they're seeing a hostage being released or rescued, and we heard celebrations. but at the same time, there's still a lot of information we don't have, which, for instance, how many people were killed in this operation or whether anyone was killed at all. if you remember, when those three hostages were rescued a couple of months ago, there was something like 200 palestinians who were killed in that operation. and the israelis said there were only 100, but that number, those 200 from health officials in the gaza strip was an enormous number nor the number of people who were rescued. we don't have that information here yet. but this is the kind of information that's going to be coming out as the hours and days go out on.

but right now, for israelis, this is a time to separate. important to note, too, jose, this is only the eighth hostage who has been rescued by force, and there's still thought to be well more than 100 left. some 30 of them are thought to have already been killed or died during those more than 300 days, ever since those october 7th terror attacks back last year started this latest round of conflict. but there are still ongoing negotiations in cairo to try to free those remaining hostages. we heard from the white house yesterday. they said that these negotiations are now in smaller working groups, they're still ongoing, despite the fact that we've heard really strong notes of pessimism from those involved, including the israelis, the negotiators themselves have been trying, the united states has been pouring huge amounts of diplomatic resources into this. the secretary of state antony blinken, has just recently made his ninth trip to the middle east, for these negotiations, in the past ten months, if that gives any indication of what a

priority this is for the biden administration. so we're still hearing a lot of frustration about the fact that here in israel, these remaining hostages have not been let go. we heard from the family's hostages forum, they were celebrating. this is the group that represents the remaining hostages. they were celebrating the news of this hostage who had been released. but at the same time, reminded that this was only -- this is only the eighth hostage to have been released in a military operation. and that what is really needed, they said, is some sort of successful hostage negotiation deal to release the rest of them. jose? >> matt, i know this information is just coming out, but i want to underlying where this hostage was rescued from. and you know, there were two kind of points there that you mentioned. one, in tunnels and two, in southern dpauz. >> that's right. in the southern gaza strip, that's some of the information we have. again, this is a part of the

gaza strip that has been the site of repeated israeli incursions for the past several months. we don't have any specifics on where this was, exactly. but we know that there have been evacuation orders that have been released for many, many different places over the gaza strip, really in just the past week. it's going to take a little while before we find out exactly more information information. you also mentioned, yes, he was rescued from a tunnel. we don't know this for sure, but it sounds like this is the first time we've heard of a hostage who's -- a live hostage who's been rescued from one of those tunnels underneath the gaza strip, which are thought to be vast and also run underneath some of the borders of the gaza strip, and have been a proprietor concern of the idf during their ongoing operations in the gaza strip. jose? >> matt bradley, thank you very much for bringing us the very latest on this breaking news story. really appreciate it, matt. and joining us now by phone, retired idf colonel, mary eisen. thank you for being with us this

morning. and i know that the information is coming out as this story evolves. what's your immediate reaction and what are your perceptions of what happened there in southern gaza, from the information that we've been able to gather so far? >> jose, as you were saying before, we're 10 1/2 months, almost 11 months. you know, these people have been inside these impossible conditions, so when i look at it from the intelligence points of view, first and foremost, it's that we knew where the hostage was. in a very exact way now. that takes a lot of information gatherering that can no just be from technology. it has to be eyes, ears, i mean, i'm even going to say nose. you have to know where the person is. that's the first thing you have to know. and that's one, and there's still another 108. and i want to hope that we know where they are, too. but when you know where they are, that doesn't mean you can just sweep in and bring them

out. that is only in hollywood movies. i wish life was like that. the way that the idf put out the statement, it was a combined effort. they put out that there were special forces, that there were engineering forces, which is why i do think that we're talking about something underground in tunnels. they talked about tank forces, and that means that there must have been something above the ground that had to contain the area. when you go in for a rescue kind of event like this, you want to be sure that all of the shoulders that are going into rescue come out just like the hostage, everybody alive. so you have to be sure of the way in, the way out, and where the hostage is. that is incredibly complex. kudos to those who could do so. god, i wish we could do the other 108, but we still need to do diplomacy. i don't think -- as i've said before, eight were done this way, but we neefrd 50 were done

in an exchange. we'll have to do another exchange to get back the rest. >> there are so many questions about this operation. and i think when you mention that there were different branches of it -- we're seeing these pictures that are just coming into our offices flout medical center in israel, where you see that the hostage is now freed and he is receiving medical care. what is it like to be 300 plus days in what could be, an existence underground for the entire time? >> so one of the things people don't realize is how unhealthy it is to be in an underground arena for so long. the air there, the lack of light, what it does to your eyesight. there are all sorts of things that most of us know, you have to get sunlight, it's part of things that the human body needs. so i'm just talking about the

basics of no sunlight and the air itself, which is condensed underground, it isn't easy to breathe. in addition, you realize that they are -- i mean, when i say jail, you know, not that jail is nice, but they are held in captivity, brutally held in different ways. i don't know specifically about family. i haven't heard yet in the pictures that i've talked to. first and foremost, you're seeing somebody who's looking at you, he's alive, he's smiling. in israel, it's mainly a sense of relief. and it's the understanding that "a," they didn't starve him to death, but he looks very thin, fragile. let's hope that he does well. >> you mentioned that among the different forces that were utilized by the israeli special forces engineering and you know tunnel experts and tank forces, does that tell you that this could have very much been a very

deadly operation for many people that weren't directly involved in holding this person hostage? >> i'm going to ask you a question, jose. at the end, that was always the question. that was the question after we brought back three israelis a couple of months ago and everyone was very harsh on israel for an open day operation. so we shouldn't do anything? so we shouldn't try to rescue our hostages? so it's like we're supposed to just stand still. the tanks are going to be backup. they're the heavy duty. and they were used. i mean, as i've seen what's been coming out, because i've been reading the arabic side. i want to see what they say about it. and they're not talking about -- they don't know where it happened either. meaning that here, it was in an area where you had overt israeli troops, which is all over the place in the gaza strip, but the action itself of going in to

retrieve our hostage seems to have been done in a way where there was no confrontation, so nobody knows where that happened. and i think perhaps some of the secrecy, maybe there were more people there. maybe they can bring out more. i don't know. i want to hope, but i think that's part of the secrecy. the tanks are there for the just in case. you want to bring out the hostages and the soldiers and bring them all back. and you know, they can bring all of that. 108 right now and this would be over, as we all know! hamas took these people. so the operation is our way to get in and to do it on our terms. there is no easy way about it. this one is, for at least this 52-year-old man, a happily ever after. >> well, and we have to underline the fact that that october 7th, when these hostages were taken, was also a day that will live in infamy, when more

than 1,100 israelis were massacred inside their homeland. mira eisen, i thank you very much for being with us. always appreciate your time. >> thank you so much. when we are back in just 90 seconds, the race for the white house, just 70 days left for trump and vice president harris to make their pitches to voters. plus, special counsel jack smith wants a classified case against stroimped. the new argument his team made after a judge dismissed the case. but it's what's not in the request that may surprise some. e request that may surprise some (aaron) i own a lot of businesses... so i wear a lot of hats. my restaurants, my tattoo shop... and i also have a non-profit. but no matter what business i'm in... my network and my tech need to keep up. thank you, verizon business. (kevin) now our businesses get fast and reliable internet from the same network that powers our phones. (woman) all with the security features we need. (aaron) because my businesses are my life. (kevin) man, the fish tacos are blowing up! (aaron) so whatever's next we're cooking with fire.

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the buck's got your back. 14 past the hour, with 70 days to go in the 2024 race, former president trump tries to break through democrats' blue wall this week. he's hitting the campaign trail in michigan, in wisconsin, and pennsylvania, three states that were key to president biden's 2020 victory. for vice president harris, she'll start a bus tour with governor walz tomorrow in georgia, another crucial battleground. while the candidates get face time with voters, the big question is, when will they face off against each other? it's supposed to happen on the 10th of september, but trump has recently indicated that he may back out, as the two campaigns bicker over debate rules. i'm joined now by nbc news garrett haake in washington.

amie parnes, senior political correspondent for the hill, and in new york, republican strategist susan del percio and basil smikle. so where do things stand with this debate? >> to hear the harris campaign tell it, the debate over the debate is over. this all stemmed from a rule change that the harris campaign wanted, which would allow both candidates' microphones to stay open the entire time. that's a change from what the debate rules had been when it was biden versus trump. the harris campaign wanted this, trump's campaign didn't. but when he was asked about it yesterday, he said, it was basically fine with him, although he was annoyed about the idea that the rules were changing. trump's campaign has said nothing more since, so it's a bit of an open question about where we'll land. but the bottom line is this debate will certainly go forward, because both candidates want to see it happen. trump remains supremely confident in his abilities a as a debater. he thinks it was his debate skills that knocked joe biden out of the race in the first place. and he told our colleague jake

trailer yesterday that he's not even really preparing, he's just kind of riffing the way he likes to do as he gets ready for this showdown on september 10th. here's a little of what trump had to say about this yesterday. >> i'm not spending a lot of time on it. i think my whole life, i've been preparing for a debate. so you know, there's a little debate prep, but i've always done it, more or less, the same way. you have to know your subject, and i think i know my subject. i think i know it better than anybody. >> knowing his opponent is also key for trump. he's worked with republican congressman matt gaetz in the past, and he's preparing to face off. tulsi gabbard is involved. i do not see trump backing away from that stage. >> garrett haake, thank you very much. another big question mark is, when will vice president harris sit for a lengthy interview? she said she would do one by the end of the month. that's this weekend. do we know any -- if there's

been any movement on that front? >> so people inside the campaign, shay, tell me that it's going to happen. it's just a matter of when, it's not if. and i think they're trying to plan that, obviously. they're trying to decide who would be best. she needs to be very purposeful in this interview. i think that's part of the delay. she has to go in there with intention and talk about certain issues. it's not just being on the defensive. i think she wants to go on the offensive. and that's part of what the calculus is right now. but she certainly needs to, the pressure is on, obviously. i think people were waiting until after the convention. and she's been riding this high. and she needs to continue to do that and use all the tools possible to continue this momentum that she has right now. >> yeah, i mean, basil, obviously, reporters are clamoring for that sit-down, but it's been a line of attack from trump. today he sent out a campaign email saying it's been 37 days since biden exited the race and

still no harris interview. to be clear, she has taken questions from the press, just not in a lengthy televised sit-down. do you think this matters to anyone other than journalists? >> i think it matters to some, but vice president harris has to be very intentional about what she does do. the biggest task at hand, maintain the momentum, get voters to trust her. she's got to maintain that -- she's got to do this with a tremendous amount of intentionality. but i also acknowledge that this line of attack from donald trump with respect to her not having thus far done this sit-down debate is part of this larger strategy of seeding the ground with doubt. if you think about the press conference where he talking about the debate, he also said that vice president kamala harris didn't want to debate him. and that she wasn't smart. so all of this is sort of feeding into this larger line of attack where he would say, and republicans would say, that she's not good at this, she's not smart enough.

that's why she's ducking the issues and ducking him. that's clearly not the case, but it's part of this larger strategy of his, to see the ground with that type of doubt and attack against her. >> susan, meanwhile, more than 200 former bush/mccain, romney officials have just endorsed vice president harris. is that wing of the gop able to persuade the republicans of 2024? >> jose, as you know, i worked with the lincoln project in 2020, and back then, it was a permission structure for republicans who were not happy with trump to support joe biden. at this point, i think we're seeing that again. this is all about telling republicans and right-leaning independents that it's okay. you're not a democrat if you support harris over trump. but at the same time, i don't think it has the same power that it did in 2020.

so what we're probably going to see is a lot more republicans sitting on the couch instead of coming out to vote. which works for team harris. that's second best. >> and basil, robert f. kennedy jr. endorsed trump. they once floated the prospect of him being trump's running mate. what does that tell you about the trump campaign? what kind of planning and organization is there long-term in this campaign, when you see now, the rfk jr. factor? >> yeah, you know, i've always felt that rfk's entry into this race early on was going to be a problem for the trump campaign, rather than the biden campaign. there was always that conversation. but i have to imagine that the trump folks are just sitting back and saying, well, we don't even really need to talk to him unless he shows a lot more fealty than he already has. i just don't know how additive this, you know, endorsement is

to the actual campaign, to whatever ground game the republicans might have. i don't know that he brings anything -- especially when rfk's family has come out against him. i mean, there doesn't seem to be tremendous value added. whatever rfk is going to the trump campaign, asking for or even demanding as a result of endorsement, i have to think that the trump folks themselves saying, well, thank you, sit over there. and we'll call you when we need you. >> amy, do you think that the rfk endorsement could play a factor in trump world? >> i mean, this is a race on the margins, shay. so i think anything can sort of factor in here. i mean, when you think about the last race, it was joe biden won 40,000 votes over three states. and so i think anything here matters, for both campaigns. i agree with basil's point. i don't know how much -- he

would need someone else beyond an rfk to kind of expand his base. and i don't know what it gets him. >> and susan, meanwhile, trump has been hitting vice president's harris over president biden's afghanistan withdrawal, leaning into this after trump had some issues with comments on military families. but hr mcmaster had recently suggested that trump laid some of the groundwork for america's chaotic exit. here he was today on "morning joe." listen to this. >> i think president trump put into place for the first time a really reasoned and sustainable approach to afghanistan, but then abandoned that. and entered into negotiations with the taliban, without the -- without the afghan government present. >> susan, the vice president says that biden made the courageous and right decision to end the war in afghanistan. some critics say it wasn't ending the war, it was how much

the war was ended. how much of a liability is this for her going forward? >> i don't see it as a significant liability, only because it was biden who was president at the time. and as much as trump tries to link everything that biden has done to harris, it doesn't stick. let's be clear, the afghanistan withdrawal was horrible. it was operationally a mess. and it would have been something that would have been a viable attack on joe biden. but i don't see it happening, putting it on harris. as a matter of fact, it gives harris a way of defining herself a little bit on the issue. but trump's -- trump has to realize, he's not running against joe biden anymore. and until he does that, harris will just continue to run her own agenda. >> amy, meanwhile, the vice president is hitting trump on the economy, saying his agenda will be a deficit bomb. most polls show that on the economy, voters prefer trump. how does the vice president turn things around on this issue? >> she's trying to make inroads,

jose, you're seeing this over the last couple of weeks. she has an add right now talking about the economy. she's leading in a couple of polls on the economy. she's doing a little bit better, but i think the campaign needs -- they know that they need to move the ball on this issue. this is the issue more than any other issue that voters care about. and so they need -- she needs to continue to make the case to voters to put out policy ideas, to talk about the future. and to talk about some of the accomplishments of the biden administration that have kind of been glossed over and haven't been communicated articulately. and i think she's going to do that. i think they know what they need to do in the next 70 days. and that's the issue that they're going to focus on. >> amy, susan del percio, and basil smikle, thank you very much for being with us this morning. >> up next, trump's legal woes back in the spotlight. new filgs as they try to get the

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30 past the hour. special counsel jack smith is urging an appeals court to restore the classified documents case against donald trump. in a court filing yesterday, prosecutors pushed back on aileen canon's bombshell

decision to dismiss the case in july, arguing that the ruling ignored decades of special counsel appointments and could cause catastrophic ripple effects across the federal government. joining us now, criminal defense attorney and msnbc legal analyst, danny cevallos. great seeing you. so special counsel's office says that there could be lots of unintended consequence if canon's ruling is upheld. what do they say could happen? >> sure, if there are special counsels that have been improperly appointed, that could potentially upend any convictions achieved by those special counsels. and in fact, the potential ripple effects could even be beyond that. in the way that canon interrupted these relevant statutes. because the argument essentially by canon in her decision is that there is no federal statutory authority for the appointment of jack smith. even though there are four separate statutes and subsections that appear to grant that authority, and despite the

fact that decades ago, in a case called nixon, the supreme court established or at least established in a way that we've all operated under the assumption for several decades now that, yes, in fact, these statutes do authorize the appointment of special counsels and really attorneys like special counsels, because the creature of special counsel, itself, has evolved over time. >> so the way special counsels are appointed, does it differ in different cases or is it always the same kind of road they follow to establish a special counsel? >> well, jack smith is unique, in that he wasn't working in government and the defense would be arguing that he wasn't working in government, and therefore was not senate confirmed. there have been other special counsels that have slightly different facts. for example, they may have already been u.s. attorneys. but at the core of the argument is this.

there are two kinds of officers. principle officers and inferior officers. the presidents appoints these principle officers, but jack smith is an inferior officer. and that doesn't mean that he can never be appointed as special counsel. it just means that there has to be a congressional statutory source of authority for that appointment. and what the defense here argued was that this statutory authority didn't exist. and it got into some real nitty-gritty. let me give you an example. it came down to a distinction between the word "retain" and "appoint." judge canon interpreted the word "retain" to mean, no, you can already appoint someone already retained. the special counsel is now arguing as "retain" is the same as "appoint," and this statute authorizes the appointment of people like jack smith. >> and the team isn't asking for canon to be removed from the case. does that surprise you? >> no, it doesn't. i think that's the right move. this is so difficult to get a

federal judge removed from the case by someone other than the federal judge. you can make motions to recuse. they're so rare that i can't think offhand of it ever happening in any of my cases. it's not something that is normally done and the standard for removing a judge is very high. i think jack smith's team made the right choice, focused on the important issue. just deal with this judge. sometimes you get a judge that is good for your case, sometimes you get a judge, and i've been there, where you feel like every decision is against you. i get it. i understand, but i still think that jack smith made the right choice, not looking to get her removed. >> danny cevallos, thank you very much my friend. appreciate. this morning in the small town of ketchikan, alaska, dozens of families forced from their homes wile another grieve after a devastating landslide buried parts of a neighborhood, killing one man and injuring three others on sunday. the threat may not even be over. at least a quarter of the town

faces another potential slide. nbc's morgan chesky joins us with the very latest on that. morgan, what's going on here? >> jose, the concern very much real in ketchikan, alaska, where you mentioned, that landslide threat continues, despite the tragedy that played out on sunday afternoon, when a massive portion of the hillside gave way, tearing through a hillside neighborhood. the mayor tells me as of right now, there is risk for a secondary slide, immediately to the south of that original location. and that is why as of this moment, evacuations remain in place. frightening new glimpses of an alaskan town partially buried after a hillside collapsed. the devastating landslide crunching entire homes. >> we were just at that house for a garage sale last week. this is terrible! >> sunday's tragedy unleashes a deadly wave of snapped trees, toppled power poles, pushing a mountain of debris into a hillside neighborhood. the slide sideswiping the town

of ketchikan, a seaside destination on alaska's famed inside package, and a frequent stop for cruise lines. officials kiring confirming one person was killed while driving when the slide swallowed their vehicle. >> i was stunned because in my 65 years here, i have never seen anything of that kag. >> the mayor calls the loss of life heartbreaking, but stresses the current damage zone could spread even further. >> there's about a quarter of the town currently at risk for yet another slide? >> yes. >> how frightening is that? >> it's very frightening. >> to be honest, i don't think any people in ketchikan walk about their daily lives thinking, hey, that mountain is going to come down, and now we have to. >> as for any cause, officials say the landslide struck following an unusually dry august. >> look at that! >> when a weekend storm left conditions soaked. >> it's definitely heartbreaking to see and it's traumatizing, for sure.

>> leah canfield one of several whose homes were damaged, all tell aware this this may not be over. >> so two primary concerning factors here, shay. the fact that there is rain in the forecast for the next several days in ketchikan, combined with the fact that as you saw many images of the town, it's located smack dab up against that hillside. there are hillside neighborhoods built on top of one ood, and that is what made that area so susceptible when that hillside gave way. the whole town, about four blocks wide, but it runs long along the water's edge in alaska. he's telling people to stay away from the area as much as possible. also keep in mind, shay, this is a popular tourist stop. they're turning tourists away, because as you heard from the mayor, it is simply too dangerous to go into portions of that town right now. shay? >> morgan chesky, thank you very

much. meantime, extreme heat is expecting to boil much of the country this week, with forecasters warning the high heat and dangerous humidity could push tens of millions of americans into what will fool like triple-digit temperatures. take michigan. several schools have already been canceled, classes for today are ending the day earlier to give students a reprieve from their nonair conditioned classrooms. things should be cooler tomorrow in the midwest and great lakes. thursday for the northeast and mid-atlantic. coming up, remember the u.s. soldier who bolted into north carolina last year and was brought back to the u.s.? the charges he's pleaded to now. plus, president zelenskyy vows a response after a massive wave of russian strikes hit ukraine. what that could look like and what it could mean for the war, next. ike and at it uld mean for the war, next it. the feeling of finding psoriasis can't filter out the real you. so go ahead, live unfiltered with the one and only sotyktu,

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42 past the hour. a guilty plea for the u.s. soldier who fled to north korea last year. travis king, the 23-year-old u.s. army private from wisconsin who ran across the north korean border last year will plead guilty to desertion and several other charges. courtney kube joins us now with the very latest. courtney, good morning. can you explain this deal to us and bring us a little bit up to speed of what's been going on

since then? >> right, yeah, so we don't have all the details of the plea agreement, but travis king was charged with 14 different offenses. as you mentioned, desertion, also assault, conduct unbecoming, and even solicitation of child pornography. as you mentioned, as part of his plea agreement, these agreed to plea guilty to five charges, chief among them being dissergs, but also the conduct unbecoming and the assault of a noncommissioned officer. as part of the agreement, the additional charges will be dismissed. but we don't exactly know some of the details. specifically, the charge themselves do carry the possibility of jail time, but we're not sure yet if he will face jail time. and, they do carry the possibility of additional adjudication within the u.s. court of military justice, specifically things like being discharged under dishonorable conditions, also being reduced in rank. he has a hearing september 20th at ft. bliss, where we will find

out a little bit more about that. of course, you will recall, he was the soldier who last summer was supposed to be coming home from his assignment in south korea when he was at the airport, he slipped away, went on a tour bus to the demilitarized zone, the dmz, where there is video of him running across the line, where he was immediately intercepted by north korean officials, taken into custody. it began this weeks-long diplomatic back and forth to try to get him released. ultimately in september, he was turned over to swiss authorities, who took him across the border into china, where he was turned over to u.s. officials. jose? >> courtney kube, thank you so very much. appreciate it. ukraine is sifting through the aftermath of yet another round of overnight strikes from russia. the second in just two days. ukraine's air force says at least 91 drones and missiles were fired at the country in this latest assault. the hotel in eastern ukraine was one of the sites hit in the attack, killing at least two people. according to ukrainian officials. in his daily address, president

zelenskyy says ukraine will, quote, definitely respond to the latest surround of russian aggression. here's nbc's erin mclaughlin with more. >> this is the road to the russian region of k rerks sk. the russian border is a straight shot that way, where ukraine tonights its invasion, taking more and more russian territory, with each passing day. overnight, there were russian air strikes on a number of ukrainian cities, including the city of sumi, where i am now. you can see this building was completely taken out by a prior strike. proof that when it comes to russia's invasion of ukraine, no city is spared. >> overnight, more russian air strikes on ukraine. this time, a russian missile hit a city, killing at least two, according to ukrainian officials. on monday, the embattled country's air defense in overdrive, intercepting, it says, 102 of 127 missiles fired by the russians, according to the ukrainian air force. >> it resulted in the deaths of

ukrainian civilians and targeted more than two dozen critical injury sites. >> including this critical dam in the kyiv region. if breached, officials estimate at least 10% of the ukrainian capital could be underwater, while only lightly damaged in monday's attack, the strike is part of russia's latest attempt, the ukrainian president says, to terrify his people. president biden vowing that russia will never succeed in ukraine. all of it coming just days after ukraine marked 33 years of independence, with a party in the kharkiv. the u.s. embassy had warned of an attack tied to celebrations. metro stations once again doubling as safe havens. but within hours, life returned to normal. a show of just how much this ongoing war has become a part of everyday life. two years ago, we met colonel

ehor oboelynskey. since then he fought in the battle for bakhmut, one of the bloodiest of this war. >> you think you're going to win? >> we not go away. we stay and protect our country and protect freedom. >> they're still assessing the damage from this latest round of russian air strikes, but i'm told by officials that it hit the power grid pretty hard. now we're seeing today rolling blackouts in a number of ukrainian cities, include here in sumi. >> erin mclaughlin, thank you for that report. coming up, the fate of what would be the biggest supermarket merger in u.s. history. a $25 billion deal facing scrutiny from the federal government. what it might mean for your grocery list. t mean for your grocery list 1) all right, heree go. uggggh. (man 1) oh no, no, no, no, no, no! (man 2) what's my next step? oh! ugh.

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52 past the hour. right now we are following a massive merger in the supermarket world. the federal trade commission is asking a court to stop albertson's and kroger, two of the country's biggest grocery chains, from becoming one. the case now being considered by an oregon judge, could have implications for food prices and thousands of workers across america. joining us now to break it down for us, nbc seen you're business

correspondent, christine romans. thank you for joining us. what are the possible impacts of the merger? >> they say you put these two giants together in the biggest surgeoner ever in the supermarket arena, and that makes fewer competitors, right? competitors keep prices low. that's the position of the government. the government very skeptical of putting these two together, and they are the second and fourth largest grocery store chain. they say they need to compete against walmart and costco. the largest grocery store in america is walmart, a super store. they say the whole playing field has changed and they can have better scale together to compete against costco and lower prices for consumers. josé, two very different interpretations of bigger is better, bigger is not better, in

this courtroom. >> what are the possible implications for the everyday consumers? >> there are 700,000 people that work for these stores, many unionized and you have the consumers and workers here. the companies are saying they are not going to cut jobs or sell stores, and they may have to sell-off several hundred stores to make regulators happy, and they are happy to do that, but they promise they will lower prices right away, and the government is very skeptical. it has looked at the history of supermarket myrrh juries and seen prices only rise. grocery prices up 20% over the past few years, and the government is skeptical these companies can promise lower prices to consumers. >> thank you very much. we appreciate it. democrats sue over new election rules in georgia, and what they are alleging about the state's election board. plus, new questions swirl

around ken paxton and a series of raids on democratic latino voting activist, some people in their 80s. we're back after a short break. and a futures ladder that lets you place, flatten, or reverse orders so you won't miss an opportunity. e*trade from morgan stanley

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