it has and not just once. >> another powerful piece of work by keir simmons.ue is with us right now. matt, i want to ask you about that, but i want to tell our audience we're getting live pictures coming from moscow. these pictures are from red scare. this is notable. you see putin and some of his top allies there celebrating the tenth anniversary of the russian annexation of crimea, a piece of land that ukraine still claims as its own. matt, i want your take on what we're seeing and also on that exchange that we had with putin from kier where putin breaks his silence on navalny's death, saying his name for what i believe is the first time. what do you take away from this news conference and from this moment we're witnessing in russia right now? >> thank you, peter. what we're seeing now, this is billed as a kind of tenth anniversary celebration of russia's annexation of crimea. of course, they use different wording to describe that. this is sort of the kind of cherry on top of the entire election. i think we're going to see all of the messaging that we've see

our keir simmons questioning putin late tonight. >> mr. president, is this what you call democracy?spected coast-to-coast murderer in a >> police accused of a shootout of killing a police officer days after allegedly murdering an emt in south carolina and parts of south carolina sheltering in place again this morning, one day after a killing spree there left three dead. this carjacking victim speaking out today >> i was sitting in my car, and someone banged on my window, and then he pulled the gun out. >>> and powerful volcanic eruptions in iceland with a state of emergency stunning images of lava flowing towards towns. and winter is not over yet. the dangerous cold snap about to send temperatures plummeting and on this st. patrick's day, the country has gone green. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt >> good evening. i'm gadi schwartz. tonight in moscow putin is celebrating what appears to be a huge victory how is this for a land landslide. putin is projected to win 88% of the vote giving him another six years. of course, elections in russia are not considered

keir simmons, nbc's keir simmons, thank you. we say our keir simmons. >> i'm yours. >> we appreciate you. >> coming up, the right clearly doesn't care about the economy or people's livelihoods because they're now complaining about using federal funds to replace the collapsed bridge in baltimore. and get the key port back running again. that's next. power e*trade's award-winning trading app makes trading easier. with its customizable options chain, easy-to-use tools and paper trading to help sharpen your skills, you can stay on top of the market from wherever you are. e*trade from morgan stanley power e*trade's easy-to-use tools make complex trading less complicated. custom scans help you find new trading opportunities, while an earnings tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market. e*trade from morgan stanley voices of people with cidp: cidp disrupts. cidp derails. let's be honest... all: cidp sucks! voices of people with cidp: but living with cidp doesn't have to. when you sign up at shiningthroughcidp.com, you

keir simmons asked the question that led to this. >> a very good question from keir simmons that hadm president putin. the big headline being that he says he was open, he accepted a proposal for a trade of alexei navalny for a non-specified individual or individuals in western custody. while he was answering this question, he actually for the first time on camera that apparently anyone can point to mentioned navalny by name. this is quite an incredible thing to hang on to when you consider just how long navalny had been his main opponent before his death last month in more than a decade. an interesting thing, he said other things, of course. the main takeaway from yesterday's speech was this message to russians and the world that this election shows pure and simple that russia is united behind him and behind the war. directly in response to keir simmons' question, he also mentioned that the opposition just isn't very good at politics. i want you guys to take a look at the question and hear more from president putin himself. >> mr. president, journalist evan gershkovich spent this ele

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also, keir simmons directly questions putin on alexei

>> keir simmons, thank you. >>> president biden issued a new warning to israel telling prime minister benjamin netanyahu that a ground invasion of rafah would be a mistake. the warning came after israel raided a hospital in gaza. richard engel now with late details. >> reporter: israeli troops today zeroed in on gaza city. this woman screamed. she went to get flowers and returned to find her home reduced to rubble with all her family inside. this was once gaza's most populous city. it's now a wasteland. before dawn, israeli oops stormed shifa hospital. the israeli army says hamas was directing attacks from the hospital while the gaza health ministry says 30,000 people were sheltering there. prime minister netanyahu and president biden spoke today for the first time in over a month. the white house says president biden warned against a ground invasion in rafah. >> a major ground operation would be a mistake, it would lead to more innocent civilian deaths. >> reporter: netanyahu told members of the pro-israel lobby group that victory is near. >> how do we define victory? we define it as

lester. >> all right, keir simmons, thank you. >>> here at home, republican front-runner donald trump was back in a federal courtroom for a hearing that will determine when the trial over his handling of classified documents will begin meanwhile, his last remaining republican primary opponent is speaking out "meet the press" moderator kristen welker joins me. kristen, nikki haley had some pretty sharp words for mr. trump. >> reporter: lester, that's right this is all happening as there are new developments in those legal battles surrounding the former president. the key question is how many potential criminal trials could he face before the election nikki haley told me she thinks they should all begin before november, and today i asked her about what she thinks mr. trump might do if he's re-elected >> do you think donald trump would follow the constitution if he were elected to a second term? >> i don't know. i don't know i mean, you always want to think someone will, but i don't know you know, when you go in and you talk about revenge, when you go and you talk about, you know, vindic

>> keir simmons, thank you. >>> president biden issued a new warning to israel telling prime minister benjamin netanyahu that a ground invasion of rafah would be a mistake. the warning came after israel raided a hospital in gaza. richard engel now with late details. >> reporter: israeli troops today zeroed in on gaza city. this woman screamed. she went to get flowers and returned to find her home reduced to rubble with all her family inside. this was once gaza's most populous city. it's now a wasteland. before dawn, israeli troops stormed shifa hospital. the israeli army says hamas was directing attacks from the hospital while the gaza health ministry says 30,000 people were sheltering there. prime minister netanyahu and president biden spoke today for the first time in over a month. the white house says president biden warned against a ground invasion in rafah. >> a major ground operation would be a mistake, it would lead to more innocent civilian deaths. >> reporter: netanyahu told members of the pro-israel lobby group that victory is near. >> how do we define victory? we define it

>> keir simmons, thank you. >>> president biden issued a new warning to israel today, telling prime minister benjamin netanyahu that a ground invasion of rafah would be a mistake. the warning came after israel raided a hospital in gaza. richard engel now with late details. >> reporter: israeli troops today zeroed in on gaza city. this woman screams she went to get flour and returned to find her home reduced to rubble with all her family inside. this was once gaza's most populous city. it's now a wasteland. before dawn here israeli troops stormed shifa hospital. the israeli army says hamas was directing attacks from the hospital, while the gaza health ministry says 30,000 people were sheltering there. prime minister netanyahu and president biden spoke today for the first time in over a month. the white house says president biden warned against a ground invasion in rafah. >> a major ground operation there would be a mistake. it would lead to more innocent civilian deaths. >> reporter: netanyahu today told members of the pro-israel lobby group aipac that victory is near. >> how do we define vic

lester. >> all right, keir simmons, thank you. >>> here at home republican front-runner donald trump was back in a federal courtroom for a hearing that will determine when the trial over his handling of classified documents will begin. meanwhile, his last remaining republican primary opponent is speaking out. "meet the press" moderator kristen welker joins me. kristen, nikki haley had some pretty sharp words for mr. trump. >> reporter: lester, that's right. this is all happening as there are new developments in those legal battles surrounding the former president. the key question is how many potential criminal trials could he face before the election? nikki haley told me she thinks they should all begin before november, and today i asked her about what she thinks mr. trump might do if he's re-elected. >> do you think donald trump would follow the constitution if he were elected to a second term? >> i don't know. i don't know. i mean, you always want to think someone will, but i don't know. you know, when you go in and you talk about revenge, when you go and talk about, you know, vin

joining us from moscow, nbc chief international correspondent keir simmons.t question. set it up for us. >> reporter: yeah. well, the reality is that vladimir putin will now serve for another six years, that the russian officials say he won 87% of the vote on a turnout of 77%. that would be historic if it really is how russians voted. certainly president putin is popular here in russia. is he that popular? perhaps we'll never know. what we do know, what was not on the ballot was the possibility of voting for a candidate who was against the war or against the jailing of journalists or the jailing of opposition figures, and that's effectively what i asked vladimir putin about straight last night. mr. president, journalist evan gershkovich spent this election in prison, wasn't allowed to stand against you, and alexei navalny died in one of your prisons during your campaign. mr. president, is this what you call democracy? >> translator: that's life. took part in this election campaign, and this is first of all, a result of his unsatisfactory work during the prepa

joins us is nbc's chief international correspondent keir simmons.s name in public. what more can you tell us? >> reporter: well, that's right. that news conference happened late last night in this hall. in response to a question from nbc news, president putin, ana, described the death of his opponent alexei navalny as, quote, an unfortunate incident and suggested that he had been agreeing to release alexei navalny just days before he died. he was speaking after those election results where russian officials say he got 87% of the poll and the turnout was 77%. pretty incredible, frankly. many western leaders are saying this election is, in fact, undemocratic. president putin beginning another six years in power after an election that saw dye poured into ballot boxes, arson attacks and drone strikes russia blamed on ukraine. putin won the biggest victory of his leadership, russian officials say, after years of crushing opposition leaders like alexei navalny and boris, who voted by writing his initials on the ballot. nbc news was the first news organiza

nobody in their rational mind will tell keir simmons what they think.living in a totalitarian dictatorship will tell a pollster that calls anonymously to say, hey, what do you think of vladimir putin, there's only one rational answer to that. when you look at other metrics, i think there's a lot more of an underbelly of discontent. look how the exiled russian journalists have booming information. look at the navalny administration, it's hard to get their information but the numbers are up. yes, maybe the majority of russians support putin, but a vast majority, there might be a very quiet minority, i don't know how to describe it, that do not. and there is a fierce minority, many of them living abroad, that do not as well. and i think small d democrats all over the world should support those people. >> i would answer what the ambassador says there, and just keep in mind, it's a country of eleven time zones. he's absolutely right. there are many russians opposed to president putin, and when you go out on the streets of moscow, for example, it's impossible

nbc news chief international correspondent keir simmons joins us live from moscow.rlier. what did you hear from him? >> that's right, mika. late-night news conference after his election last night. in response to a question from nbc news, president putin described the death of alexei navalny as an unfortunate incident. the result of this election, according to russian officials, is that president putin has been elected with 87% of the vote after a turnout of 77%. those are historic numbers, and they are going to be questioned by many russia watchers and critics from around the world. after a weekend of protests where we saw the attacks on police stations, drops into ballot boxes, and the drons on ukrainians, the election still went ahead. despite opposition leaders not being able to stand. nbc news was one of the first to question president putin after the election results. take a listen. mr. president, journalist evan gershkovich spent this election in prison. boris, who opposes your war in ukraine, wasn't allowed to stand against you. and alexei navalny died in on

we have keir simmons in moscow for us. keir, good morning. >> reporter: laura, good morning. it is turnout that most russians think the kremlin cares about and this morning, halfway through the election, the election committee says there is a 40% turnout. that, of course, will increase the incredibleness. without providing any evidence, this is suggesting that america is interfering in the elections. the winner of the election is clear. it will be vladimir putin after the weekend. there are still some surprises. we have seen arson attacks on polling stations and dye poured into a polling boxes. there are some opposition here despite the fact that many voters we have spoken to say they will vote for president putin. president putin appearing at a security council meeting yesterday furious after missile and drone attacks in the belgrade region. two people have been killed and they will close shopping centers here tomorrow. this election is another day and president putin is expected to win. that will mean six more years after 24 years. laura, take a look at this picture. one im

joining us now is nbc's chief international correspondent keir simmons.re was an outpouring of support for alexei navalny today. talk about the risk involved with publically showing support for navalny in russia today. >> there was a real risk. when you look at the pictures you are showing now and you have been showing in the introduction of people lining the streets of moscow as his casket came by, of people standing, more than 1,000 outside the church. every one of the people you see in those images is running the risk that they could be arrested. they could be fined. we estimate that the fullest extent of the law applied under their arrest or charge could mean a 15-year jail sentence. an extraordinary risk for each and every one of them. we are hearing from the monitoring service -- russian monitoring service that we use often that there are something like more than 60 arrests across russia at this stage. the kremlin had warned russians that any unauthorized gathering to mark navalny's death would be illegal. even those pictures of people standing outs

correspondent keir simmons. keir, what more can you tell us? ago that these images that we would consider ordinary in the u.s. are extraordinary in today's russia. that's even more so now. there is now an image of alexei navalny in an open coffin, inside the church. his parents among those gathered around him. the u.s. ambassador is there, too, with other diplomats. the russian authorities harassing supporters to the end. this morning, releasing the body later than promised. but the scenes outside the church are as stunning, frankly, as what we are seeing inside the church. as his coffin was carried into the church, as he arrived, we heard people shouting, calling out, "navalny!" i'm pausing there because you can hear them. just remember, every one of those people in that crowd and the organizers say that that is more than 1,000 people there. every one of them are risking jail, potentially a fine, but they're risking arrest, financial potentially a fine or jail. the kremlin making it clear it is against the law, as it said, to attend unauthoriz

. >> joining me now is keir simmons. one year has been stolen from evan.hite white house saying about the detention? is there a path forward? >> he is being held in pretrial detention. what that means is that he can be held for almost indefinitely. they are holding him while they investigate the espionage charges which his colleagues, the u.s. government, his loved ones all categorically deny. these hearings that have been taking place, including this week where our team in moscow -- nbc news team tried to go. no media was allowed. those hearings are about whether he will be held. it's that challenging. the second part of your question, what the white house is saying -- president biden actually issued a statement just in the past -- just recently, just today. he says, we will continue to denounce russia to use americans as bargaining chips, to evan, to paul whelan, to all americans wrongfully detained abroad, we will never stop working to bring you home. the latter part of the statement raises the question of whether there are negotiations to potentially s

joining us now is keir simmons. unfold today and just the fact there were people outside to begin with, even if they didn't say anything, but hundreds of them, maybe thousands of them on the route and then they were screaming his name, it is just so -- it is such an extraordinary act of strength. >> it really is. because as you watch the images, you look at the images, remember, that every one of those people could be arrested, okay, could be fined, but easily, though, the charges against them could be escalated, we estimate to 15 years in jail at the highest sentence. so, it is an act of defiance by those people. there are a lot more people clearly just looking at the pictures on the streets than even the organizers were estimating earlier today when they said they were just over a thousand outside of the church. they have been along the streets throwing flowers and chanting as you say, and really has been a day, jose, of extraordinary images, the kinds of images that honestly 24 hours ago we weren't sure we would

keir simmons. >>> two small aircraft lost engine power midflight last two weeks, all those on board areocket powered parachutes. steven romo explains. >> reports of a plane crash at 250 -- road. >> reporter: this is what first responders saw when they arrived at the scene of a small plane crash in northern california last week. a single-engine sr-22 aircraft split in two. and partially upside down. >> three occupants are currently code 4 on the ground. >> reporter: on board the pilot, his partner, and their 2-year-old daughter, who suffered only minor cuts and scratches, according to the mendocino county sheriff's office. >> oh, my god, oh, my god, oh, my god. whoa. >> reporter: and in washington state -- >> is anybody else seeing this? holy [ bleep ]. >> reporter: this sr-22 crashing in a busy bellevue neighborhood. >> we heard like a loud bang so we thought it was like dwusht gunshots or something. we got scared. >> reporter: neighbors saw two men climb out with no apparent injuries. >> i'm not surprised at all. >> reporter: former ntsb investigator point to the type of aircraft's bui

nbc's chief international correspondent keir simmons in a small town near moscow.t's the latest there? >> reporter: well, willie, they're just getting started with an election night event as the electoral commission says that turnout has now reached 66%. so this is the official picture. and then alexei navalny before he died called for people to stand up and stand silently. and now navalny's team and the non-state are putting out these pictures of people standing outpolling stations, many look younger than the kinds of voters we have seen. we've seen images of an election worker detained for wearing an alexei navalny t-shirt. earlier today i caught up with boris. he is the opposition candidate who was not allowed to run. he voted with his son and with his elderly mother. quite a contrast to president putin who voted on computer on his own in his office. >> reporter: you believe that one day? >> i hope i will be alive till the day of the free elections in russia federation. >> reporter: meanwhile, willie, the russian ministry of defense says that there are now 35 ex

joining me now is keir simmons who is in moscow for us at a polling place.you're right to say if you can judge it. it is impossible to be standing here in in middle school polling station in central moscow and make any assessment, but that being said, we have seen a steady stream of voters. you can see the paperle ballots are piling up and next to did you can see the electronic voting booths. russians are also being encouraged to vote online. president putin voting himself online. and that has observers wondering -- one here says he can't tell us what is going on when the electronic votes are counted. clearly president putin will win the election. the question is about how many people vote. 2018, 67.5. the kremlin will be aiming for something better than that. or something similar to that. because in the end, this is a referendum on president putin and the illegal war in ukraine. >> and alexei navalny's wife is questioning the legitimacy of it, authenticity of it, she's calling on the west not to accept the vote. not that the west really has anything to say

nbc's keir simmons joins us on the security preparations for the paris olympics.re back in 60 seconds. s for the paris ymolpics we're back in 60 seconds okay, so here's my most requested hack for stubborn odors. you'll need vinegar, a large salad bowl and... oh, hi! have you tried tide fabric rinse? it works after your detergent to fight deep odors 3 times better than detergent alone. i love that. try tide fabric rinse. >>> donald trump is being ordered to keep his mouth shut ahead of the hush money trial next week, judge juan merchan says he isn't taking any chances imposing a gag order on donald trump barring him from talking about witnesses, court staff, or their families, and potential jurors. joining us now nbc news correspondent dasha burns. so dasha, what's the reaction been from donald trump and his team for yet another gag order? >> look, the reason the judge imposed this order is because he laid out in that order the history of inflammatory remarks saying that the defendant has a history of threatening, inflammatory, and denigrating remarks writing that

keir simmons is live for us in moscow at a polling location.u hearing from voters there and from putin about his plans going forward? >> reporter: we have been at this polling station behind me for the past 12 hours, from 8:00 a.m. until it is now just after 8:00 p.m. here in moscow. as you can see, the gates are closed. voting has finished for the day. we did see a steady stream of voters arrive mostly older folks you've got to say. and that is perhaps not surprising because ultimately president putin will win this election when it is announced sunday or possibly on monday. and so younger people that we've spoken to, some of them, have said what is the point in voting. that kind of apathy is one of the challenges for the kremlin because what they want to see is a large voter turnout, a kind of affirmation if you like of president putin's leadership and of course his illegal invasion of ukraine. now, we are hearing from the russian electoral commission tonight that it says across russia there has been a 32% turnout. but of course if that was th

nbc's keir simmons.ow at a polling station hope hopes to get a higher percentage than years ago. not much opposition because they're either in jail or like alexei navalny, dead. >> yeah. bring in richard haass author of weekly newsletter "home and away" available on sub stack. a side note. vladimir putin does to his political opponents what donald trump says he wants to do to his political opponents and generals and others insufficiently loyal to him, and if he's given a second term, he promises that he will do just that. so, richard, the soviet union was, of course, in complete political and economic and cultural and military control of their empire until the moment that they weren't. i'm curious your thoughts about where vladimir putin is two years after this invasion. there have been some ups. some downs, but as keir said, a lot of russians, a lot of russians see him in a favorable light, and one suspects even if the election were fair he would most likely win. what's your thought on where he is right

talking about navalny, the embassy, our own nbc news foreign correspondent keir simmons did ask him about navalny at a press conference yesterday and vladimir putin for the first time mentioning navalny by name said that before navalny died vladimir putin agreed to a prisoner swap in which navalny was involved with russians in prison in western countries and then he said, well, then unfortunately he died and that was -- that's life, he said. well, now nbc confirmed with five sources that that kind of deal was being negotiated but it wasn't imminent when navalny died february 16th. frances. >> claudio, thank you for the breakdown. >>> new this morning more than 30 u.s. citizens were evacuated from haiti on sunday according to the state department. all of them were flown to miami, seen here. widespread gang violence has raised fears of civil war in haiti and there are more than 200 americans registered as seeking further information on how to get out of the country. a state department spokesperson said they are examining their options to evacuate those who remain. >>> this morning astonishi

joining us now from moscow, chief correspondent keir simmons. does he have any real challengers?t really. there are three others running. they won't win. president putin will win and we're likely to hear that sunday evening or monday, when the polls close after three days of voting. now, we know, that not only because president putin is popular here in russia, among many older voters. a 90-year-old woman told us today in a polling stition that she was there to view the fall of tallin and putin was there for that. and the widow of alexei navalny said they should not rise the elections and there is the media to ensure that the russian people view themselves as only wanting one leader, president putin. he will be elected for another six years on top of 24 years and at the end of that he will have ruled russia for 30 years and could stand for another six years and it is quite stunning, isn't it. and look, katy, ultimately, the big question here, this is not an election, it is a referendum on president putin and the real question is what will the turnout be and we've seen an increase

keir simmons, joel rubin, thank you very much.van gershkovich was taken by the russians and has been in pretrial detention ever since. >>> coming up next, breaking tradition, what easter will look like this year for the royal family. plus, the sonic rodeo courtesy of the new queen bee of country music. don't go anywhere. new queen be music. don't go anywhere. which is why downy does more to make clothes softer, fresher, and better. downy. breathe life into your laundry. ♪ students... students of any age, from anywhere. students in a new kind of classroom. ♪ using our technology to power different ways of learning. ♪ harnessing ai to plant new beginnings. ♪ so when minds grow, opportunities follow. my name's dan and i live here in san antonio, texas. i ran my own hvac business and now i'm retired. i'm not good being retired. i'm a pain in the neck. i like to be able to have a purpose. about three or four years ago, i wasn't feeling as if i was as sharp as i used to be. i saw the prevagen commercials. after a short amount of time ta

talking about navalny, our own embassy news foreign correspondent keir simmons did ask vladimir putin at a news conference in moscow about navalny, and putin replied, for the first time calling navalny by name, that he agreed that navalny would be part of a swap with western prison in western countries. but then he died. well, that's life, he concluded. well, now five sources confirmed that there was a negotiation of this kind going on, but it wasn't imminent when he died on february 16th. frances? >> okay, claudio, thank you. >>> jose andres and world central kitchen say they're working to dispatch a second aid boat from cypress to the gaza strip with another 200 tons of food. but the first delivery is still sitting in a warehouse amid desperate conditions in gaza. the ngo acknowledged they encountered logistical challenges in actually distributing the aid. the u.n. has warned of potential famine, especially in gaza's north where large areas have not received food support for weeks. >>> the cross-country manhunt for a suspected killer has come to an en. 33-year-old jaremy smith is no

talking about naval any, our own nbc news foreign correspondent keir simmons did ask about alexei navalny and putin for the first time mentmentioning navalny by name saying he, putin agreed before navalny died that he agreed with swapping for other prisoners in western continues. but after that, he died, unfortunately, concluding by saying, well, that's life. now five seriouses told nbc news that such a deal was being negotiated, but it was not imminent when navalny died on february 16th. frances? >> okay, claudio, thank you. >>> turning now to iceland, where there is a state of emergency following another powerful volcanic eruption. nbc's josh lederman has the astonishing new images. >> reporter: a blazing wall of lava is spreading across southern iceland. a volcano spewing bright orange smoke seen here in stunning photos from a coast guard helicopter for the fourth time in as many months. this time threatening iceland's most famous tourist attraction, the blue lagoon hot spring where bathers had just minutes to flee. >> we are evacuating. >> look at that. wow! >> reporter: american meli

keir simmons was just in paris. he flew here.. he flew here. he's here in our studio. >> great to be with you in new york. even better to be with you in a few months' time in paris. it is impossible to describe how incredible these games will be because paris will be part of the games. that will mean a massive security operation. get this, a million background checks. perhaps the best way to show you is from the air. when the spectacular olympic opening ceremony gets underway on the seine this summer, this may be the best seat. nbc was given exclusive access on how they are keeping athletes and spectators safe. including from the air. it's a bird's-eye view of an impressive open olympics in the heart of this impressive city. under the eiffel tower, there will be beach volleyball, as world famous landmarks become sports venues like fencing and taekwondo and archery. the heart of paris hosting so many olympic events officials say the security operation will itself make history. >> there will be 45 thousand security personnel across

nbc's keir simmons, thanks so much, as always, for your insights.appreciate it. >>> coming up next here, donald trump lashes out against the daughter of the judge presiding over his hush money case, calling her out by name by using a story that is a lie. we'll tell you about his latest comments coming just one day after a gag order was imposed on him. >>> plus, we have the first clip of the conversation between biden and former presidents barack obama and bill clinton on stage at radio city last night. we'll let you listen in with us. >>> and we'll speak with dnc chairman jaime harrison, live in our studio. he thinks the democratic party is headed now to where he'll tell us. "morning joe" is coming right back. ... of doug and limu. we help people customize and save hundreds on car insurance with liberty mutual. anyway, we got a bit of a situation here. ♪♪ uh-huh. uh-huh. ♪♪ [ metal groans] sure, i can hold. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty liberty liberty liberty ♪ ghostbusters: frozen empire. in theaters now. choosing a treatment for your chro

>> our chief international correspondent keir simmons on the ground for us there in russia thank you.ddy. teddy is one, and he's already taking it hard ♪ happy birthday to you ♪ ♪ happy birthday dear teddy ♪ ♪ happy birthday to you ♪ >> oh! his mom says the reaction was not because he was tired he already had a nap he's shy maybe a little overwhelmed. >> a lot of people singing at him, exactly. >> she said teddy did manage to perk up a little bit when she gave him from frosting. >> it's probably a lot you know what i mean happy birthday, buddy. >>> just ahead, harry smith st going to boston ahead of st. patrick's day to catch up with a celtic legend. the team's voice for 43 years. and this year's irishman of the year as well really looking forward to this one. >> we are. >>> plus, carson, he's got something special on "popstart" to get you ready for our concert with kacey musgraves but, first, these messages jo ♪ bum bum bum bum bum ♪ i feel good. skin-carving next level hydration? new neutrogena hydro boost water cream. a vital boost of nine times more hydration* to boost your skin's

keir simmons will have that story coming up. irish whisky in a very historical way hey, keir. >> reporter: hey, guys i often spend my mornings in the pub. explains a lot, right? top of the morning to you. listen, when you think of ireland, you often think of whisky, of course. but did you know that the ancient irish tradition of bonding, which is blending and boxing whisky actually died out a long time ago until a group of incredible irish women decided to bring it back ♪ reporter: i paid a ♪ the emerald aisle to meet a team of women reviving a lost art and a history lesson, ireland's tough past has been intertwined with whisky. the irish rebels used to hide here and i guess maybe take a little whisky on their way running from the british, right >> it was known as a safe house. so if you were on the run from whoever was chasing you, you would always find a warm bed, a glass of whisky and a warm fire to rest by by. >> she started eight years ago. >> she started eight years ago the process called bonding used to be the way whisky

nbc's keir simmons is joining us from moscow with the look of the vote and what it means for the couountry. keir, just run us through. >> reporter: that's right. we are in a school in central moscow where they are voting, as you can see. the registration to my left there. mostly, what we witnessed, steve, older folks coming to vote. not so many younger people. many using the traditional paper vote. there is a ballot box there and electronic voting. we know, steve, ultimately, president putin will win this election. it will be announced on sunday night. for the russian government, the question will be turnout. in 2018, the turnout was 67.3%. the kremlin will try to match that or do better than that. of course, there are many outside observers who will question if this election is entirely fair. the electronic voting in particular in a country of 11 time zones. here is the election motif. that v is a war-time russian motif. maybe a "v" for victory or "v" for vladimir putin. they should not recognize the results as the referendum of the war in ukraine. you asked about the economy, steve

during a press conference held earlier today, keir simmons asked putin directly about the death of oppositioned his death a sad event while noting deaths in the russian prison system do happen. yeah. he then implied the same things happen in america and went as far as to claim he supported a deal to swap navalny for prisoners in the west over that in exchange navalny never return to russia. joining us now, mark papadopoulos, security and national intelligence. good morning. there was a protest of dissent organized over the weekend. it was three days of balloting. voters were told to show up sunday at noon. there were pretty sizeable crowds even though he won by overwhelming margins. what does this tell you about the present and future of that country? >> well, jonathan, i think we can all kind of wreck size the notion that we're stuck with putin for six more years, until 2030. who knows if they'll try to extend his term furtherer than that. the election was certainly a sham. what's north worthy since this putin call to arms, in essence, was the amount of people who came out across russia in m

. >> nbc news' keir simmons.hank you. >>> coming up, we will have annette joining us for the general manager of the business for international sector. stay with us. that's right after the break. er up and running. i was printing out labels and saving money. shipstation saves us so much time. it makes it really easy and seamless. pick an order, print everything you need, slap the label onto the box, and it's ready to go. our costs for shipping were cut in half. just like that. shipstation. the #1 choice of online sellers. go to shipstation.com/tv and get 2 months free. do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy - even a term policy - for an immediate cash payment. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized we needed a way to supplement our income. if you have $100,000 or more of life insurance, you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit coventrydirect.com to find

. >> reporter: hoda, good morning international correspondent keir simmons joins us now. he's got the latest. good morning. >> reporter: hoda, good morning to you. the u.s. ambassador is there with other diplomats. this morning, releasing the body later than promised. the u.s. ambassador there with other diplomats and navalny's wife and widow, yulia, saying on x in the past hour, i don't know how to live without you, but i will try to make you proud up there. this morning, alexei navalny's mother kissing her son's head before a shroud was pulled over his face. one last good-bye from family and supporters who threw flowers at his hearse as his coffin was driven past. earlier inside the church, his parents among those gathering around his open casket. the name of president putin's strongest opponent who died last month in a siberian prison amid chants of his supporters. amid a substantial police presence, the kremlin warning any unsanctioned gatherings would be illegal. still, organizers say over a thousand russians have gathered at a church in moscow to bid farewell. this

. >> keir simmons joins us now. you asked president putin about his opposition or lack thereof, what did he say? >> reporter: that's right. actually tonight, kate, president putin is at a rally in red square celebrating his victory with russian flags waving. you're right. i did ask about that because while there were three so-called opponents on the ballot what wasn't on the ballot was a chance to vote for anyone against president putin's war in ukraine or against the jailing of journalists or opposition figures. take a listen. >> mr. president, journal evan gerk koe vits spent this election in prison. boris who opposes your war in ukraine wasn't allowed to stand against you. and alexei navalny died in one of your prisons during your campaign. mr. president, is this what you call democracy? >> translator: that's life. he has perished that's a sad event. we had other instances that people died in prison. has nothing like that happened in the united states? it has happened and not just once. >> reporter: so president

joining us now are keir simmons and richard stengel, msnbc political analyst.tands this morning? >> well, the u.s. ambassador has been able to have some access to him in the prison in moscow, former kgb prison, now an fsb prison. we're told because of that that he's holding up well. certainly we have seen him in court on a number of occasions. and he does look as if physically he's in decent shape. and you can't tell from images how he's doing mentally, of course, but it appears he is looking mentally strong. in terms of where his case goes, he's in pretrial detention. so, he's not even on trial. he can be held that way honestly pretty much indefinitely while the russian authorities claim that they're still investigating some of these hearings have been about whether he can be released while that process takes place and, again, and again that has been refused. >> following the death of navalny, we learned there were negotiations about a potential prisoner swap that could have released evidence as well as another american paul whelan. what do you think are the c

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today, putin called alexei navalny's death "a sad event, " and when asked by keir simmons about 's deathther call that "democracy," putin addressed judge merchan one by name , claiming he had agreed to a deal to swap alexei navalny for prisoners from the west in the days before his death, on the condition alexei navalny never returned to russia. let's be absolutely clear for a moment. these are claims and statements made by vladimir putin. we have no proof that any western nation was in talks and or agreed to a prisoner swap. we will update you and if we get any reaction from u.s. or western officials. >>> back at home, donald trump is working against his own defense team as he fights 40 felony counts related to his mishandling of classified documents. he admitted in a tv interview, point blank, to taking this document as he left the white house. watch. >> i took them legally and i was not hiding them. we had boxes on the front, and a lot had clothing, we were moving out, okay, unfortunately we were moving out of the white house and our country is going to -- >> this comes as the intelli

nbc's keir simmons spent weeks in the search zone. >> there is no sign of flight 370. >> this is an areafew people, very few ships. it is just a very, very remote part of our world. >> reporter: now, the american company, ocean infinity, is proposing a new search with the malaysian government signaling support. >> i'm very, very confident that the governor of malaysia and the cabinet will approve it. >> reporter: they already conducted a month's long search for the plane in 2018 but came up empty. though pieces of the wreckage have washed ashore, on reunion island thousands of miles from the search zone and further west off the coast of africa. >> it has no step on it. as written is on my aircraft wings. >> reporter: talk comes as many of the family members gathered to honor their loved ones ahead of the ten-year mark. >> the families really want closure to this. >> reporter: one of those family members, sara, who lost her boyfriend phillip ward. >> it is a real travesty what happened. >> reporter: she since married and runs a resort in panama. while she has doubts on whether another sea

joining me now is keir simmons from moscow.s voting been like a cross russia today and are the crackdowns, unrest? taken away? >> it's really split here in russia right now. we are here at any election night event that you can see is in full swing as they prepare for those results. there is no guessing frankly e what the result will be. we know that president putin is going to be declared the winner in an hours time. one of the questions the kremlin has been looking at has been the turnout and that is now according to russian authorities over 70%. 73%. more than in 2018. there will not be many western observers. we will question mark, as well. we've seen as you say, completely different from this official event, the op ex around russia after alexi novotny, whom, of course, died in prison during this election campaign, called for people to go to polling stations and would result in different polling stations around russia, people standing in line, not saying anything but it appears making their voices heard. hear. >> reporter: e

here with me now is nbc news chief international correspondent keir simmons, sam silverman is a close of evanger issue gershkovich. evan is in russia. we saw him in a courtroom just on tuesday. what's the latest on his situation? >> he had pretrial detention. it's appalling. he could be held almost indefinitely. according to the russians they're still investigating. he's not on trial right now. there's no trial that has started, and these hearings are about asking just at least that he can be released so that he doesn't have to be held in a prison in moscow, which is a former kgb prison, a chilling place to have to be despite seeing evan and seeing how strong he appears to be when he's in court. nbc news continues to report from russia. we have a great team in moscow who just this week tried to get access to that hearing that was held. the media were told they couldn't get that kind of access. we still don't actually know the details of the accusations against him beyond the fact that it is apparently espionage, which is absolutely denied by "the wall street journal" and the u.s. gove

we have keir simmons with more on this one. keir, good morning. >> reporter: laura, good morning to you. in washington, in kyiv and governments around the world, they will assess this morning what yesterday's impactful events mean for the future of russia. the overriding message will inn fewer rate president putin as they lowered navalny's casket into the ground and played the frank sinatra song "my way." in the open casket, the body of alexi navalny. putin's famous opponent. his family struggled to find a church willing to hold the service. outside, on the streets of moscow, thousands of supporters threw flowers as the casket passed by. each one risking freedom to be there. they chanted his name. openly calling putin a murderer. despite the heavy presence of russian police and dozens of arrests across the country, russian prison authorities say navalny collapsed while talking a walk. his wife, yulia, said he was poisoned. she did not attend the funeral over safety concerns. she posted a message of thank you for the 26 years of

keir simmons is here with that story. >> we're learning that kate's diagnosis was closely held withinh royal family. we're talking about the inner, inner circle. we'll tell you who knew coming up. >>> all right. and then a travel trend we're fully behind. an inside look at the rapid rise of sle business. it's not a nine-to-five proposition. it's all day and into the night. it's all the things that keep this world turning. the go-tos that keep us going. the places we cheer. and check in. they all choose the advanced network solutions and round the clock partnership from comcast business. see why comcast business powers more small businesses than anyone else. get started for $49.99 a month plus ask how to get up to an $800 prepaid card. don't wait- call today. >>> still ahead, a love story that's double the fun, or should we make it quadruple the fun? >> identical twins who married identical twins and now they're raising their families as next-door neighbors. they're all here live. i thought i'd have to settle for never stepping foot on this trail again. i became great at making excuses