even members of their own parties that may be reluctance to make that kind of commitment. >> exactly. we know biden's facing a general election, but the conservatives just got publicasted in local election this past may which means they have to call elections by 2025. they're probably going to do it next year. if the labor party comes in the uk is facing major economic issues, strikes, et cetera. it's likely that the british government will start giving less aid to ukraine, and u.s. might be doing the same thing. that's why other european allies right now are looking at this situation and going, who can we count on? and you know, kyiv is especially worried about that. >> that was the message that the prime minister was trying to send. he was saying that european partners and the u.s., that they're not going to tire, and that russia is counting on the fact that they will. he was basically saying they're going to be disappointed. >> right. he said that there is no point

trying to wait us out. we will be here as long as it takes. i think that is the view of these two principals, these two presidents. interestingly, of course, they're under pressure from their parties and the opposing parties most certainly. >> you get the impression that what they're trying to do is cognizant of the fact that they might be voted out, they're trying to frontload as much as possible and make things like once you've given ukraine a number of f-16s and the way to support them, that's not something that a next administration can reel back, like you can undo an executive order. >> a lot to watch for in that two and two. clear both leaders fond of each other. we'll see what it means when it comes to democracy and the war in korean -- in ukraine. thank you so much. right now, donald trump and a small group of his aides are huddling at his club in

bedminster, new jersey. there are more advisers who are expected to join him there in the coming days. and his team has also been reaching touts key allies on capitol hill, and here is why. sources tell us the justice department has officially informed the former president that he is a target in the classified documents probe. it's really the clearest signal yet that he could be soon indicted. >> yeah. we're told that his team is preparing for the possibility that he could be indicted on multiple fronts, and that trump himself now expects to be indicted. let's take you live outside the federal courthouse in miami where we find cnn's katelyn polantz. and another grand jury has been hearing witness testimony. bring us up to speed on what is happening there, and this news that the doj has informed trump that he's no longer just a subject of this investigation but now a target. >> reporter: right. so there has been grand jury activity now two days in a row in this federal courthouse in downtown miami. yesterday it was a witness coming in, testifying for just

under an hour. but a pretty substantial witness, someth someone close t trump who worked for him and still works for him but worked for him at a time where donald trump wanted to publicly declare he had turned everything over in his possession when the national archives demanded white house records be returned to them. of course, at that time he didn't turn everything over and was talked out of releasing such an explicit statement. so we do think that budowich would have spoken to the grand jury about that. it's a sealed proceeding. it's very hard to see exactly what is happening within a grand jury moment to moment. they are back today or at least were, at the very least. there are prosecutors here still from the special counsel's office in miami, the same folks that we've been seeing in washington, d.c., bringing witnesses there, bringing in evidence to the federal court there. and so the focus has shifted to here in miami, and this question of how close is the justice department to a decision.

that target letters is something that happens in the very final stages. it's not something that necessarily says outright what donald trump may be charged with, what sort of crimes the justice department is considering or how close they are, how many days we might be away. but it does signal the true end of an investigation where the justice department is ready to make a decision, and it is a very important time to be watching the grand jury. boris? >> and potentially a historic time. a former president looking at the potential for federal charges brought against him. katelyn polantz live from miami. please stand by and bring us the latest there. let's expand the conversation. wee kristin holmes, zachary owen. trump is huddled with allies in bedminster and openly acknowledging that he's going to be indicted. >> that's right. for the last few weeks we know that he had been asking people what they thought was going happen in these cases. now seems that he has pivoted

and believes that he will be indicted. it's not just him. his entire team believes that. they believe it's going to happen sooner rather than later. and they've been reaching out to allies on the hill trying to shore up their defense. as we know, donald trump believes in the court of public opinion. and that is something that he takes very seriously. he wants his most staunch allies, his most staunch defenders out there on the airwaves really trying to bolster his defense. they're going to call this political. they're going to call this election interference. now i will say, as you noted in bedminster, there are plans to go to two campaign events this weekend, one in north carolina, one in georgia. they say nothing's going to change if he is, in fact, indicted. we'll have to wait and see. they are preparing for this moment. >> do you need to pick that up? no? >> breaking news. >> it could be. you never know. >> if it's your mom, we're going to move on. we'll move on to zach here. so you've actually spoken -- you have no reporting about a witness who's been interviewed by prosecutors in both the trump

and the biden investigations. what have you learned here? >> yeah, i spoke to a former white house official who is unique in the sense that he's the only known witness who has talked to prosecutors in both the special counsel investigation into trump and the documents investigation into -- related to biden. he drew a really stark difference between the two investigations based on what prosecutors were asking him when he went in for this voluntary chat. and look, the prosecutors in the trump case were very aggressively focused on firsthand knowledge of the conversations with trump about declassifying documents, but the declassification process. and this official told them that trump knew the declassification process and followed it at times while he was in office. we've seen prosecutors really try to get more of that firsthand testimony from former senior trump officials, robert bryan has told the grand jury about conversations he had with trump about the process. prosecutors have tried to build more evidence around that declassification points. the biden thing, you know, the biden probe, prosecutors were

more focused on logistics. they're focused on how do documents get from the vice president's residence to his house in delaware, who packed the boxes, this official said that biden would not have been anywhere near the packing process. so really different vibe, different tone between what these discussions -- how they played out. >> interesting. >> yeah, and those details about the testimony regarding the trump case undercut claims from his lawyers that he either didn't know or could just think about declassifying documents. and i wanted to ask about something that kristen brought up, that is the fight in court of public opinion and the talking points that are being put out by the trump team to lawmakers, republican lawmakers on capitol hill. they're essentially trying to make the claim that jack smith, the special counsel, is a democratic operative who's going after conservatives. how might something like that impact the investigation itself? >> well, boris, in the height of the political season which is where we're headed, these kinds of claims are to be expected,

but i think that they're going to be tough to land on the classified documents investigation because people understand you are not supposed to take classified documents with you out of the white house. and it's not just the removal, it's the cover-up and the alleged obstruction of justice here, so it's a one-two punch. the volume of them, i think it's going to be tough to get out from under this one. this is probably the greatest legal jeopardy that donald trump faces. >> is this playing out as it would play out with any other person being a target? >> donald trump has gotten far more leeway than anyone else would get. i wrote these rules, helped write these classified document handling rules, when i was in the obama white house. and then as an ambassador i had to live by them and supervise hundreds of people who handled classified documents every day. if there was a whiff that i even

was hanging to a single classified document after repeated requests and a subpoena, i would have been prosecuted long ago. there's a long history of people, far lesser conduct, being very severely treated by the court. so donald trump is getting better treatment, but he's about to have that runway i think and face the same kinds of charges that others do in these situations. >> i'm curious to get your perspective about the multiple venues now for these grand juries. one in miami, one here in d.c. for jack smith, he's obviously considering a number of different factors when figuring out where to file charges, potentially if trump is indicted. >> under applicable law, you need to bring each charge, each count of the indictment in the jurisdiction where the so-called essential conduct occurred.

here there's some essential conduct in d.c. where donald trump removed the documents, other things happened. there's a lot obviously at mar-a-lago, particularly on that cover-up and alleged obstruction. the way you handle this to be safe is sometimes to charge in both places. that's what we saw in the paul manafort prosecution. why? because if you're wrong, the case is thrown out with prejudice. prosecutor's case is over before it's begun. sometimes you'll say to a defendant, will you waive venue so it can all be brought in one place, there may be a discussion about that. i wouldn't be surprised to see two separate cases here. >> it's going to be interesting if that is what plays out. you guys, thank you so much for the discussion and for the great reporting and for the analysis. we do appreciate it. still to come on "cnn news central," for the second day in a row, flights are grounded, outdoor activities canceled, and tens of millions of americans are being told to stay indoors

as smoke smothers the northeast. what precautions you can take and when we are expecting the skies to finally clear. >> you can hear it in everyone's voices even this panel. plus, joran van der sloot, the prime suspect in the disappearance of natalee holloway, is expected to land in the u.s. this hour. these are live pictures coming to us from the airport in birmingham. we're going to bring this to you once it happens, once he's here. and they are being attacked as they try to flee. ukrainian officials say that russia is shelling evacuation sites as civilians try to leave their flooded homes. latest is next. buy one footlong, get one 50% off in the subway app today. now that's a dedl worth celebrating. man, what are you doing?! get it before it's gone on the subway app. ♪ yeah,we love our house, but the cost of home ownership has been a struggle. with utility prices rising and... [ sad violin playing ] sweetie, can you practice that somewhere else?

anywaylike i was saying, it's getting harder [ somber music playi ] and harder to make ends meet and.. hon, dyou mind? well, the bright side, new customers [ angelic choir singing ] who bundle and save with progressive save over 20 percent on average. sorry, we let them practice here on thursdays! sounding good, friends!

i will be a travel influencer... hey, i thought you were on vacation? it's too expensive. use priceline, they've got deals no one else has. what about work?

i got you. looking great you guys! ♪ go to your happy price ♪ ♪ priceline ♪ for too long, big oil companies have bought off politicians so they can get away with ripping us off. that's changing now. joe biden passed a plan to jumpstart clean energy production in america. it's creating good jobs that can't be outsourced and will lower energy costs. $1800. that's how much a new report says the inflation reduction act could save just the average american family on energy costs. [narrator] learn how the inflation reduction act will save you money. you can't always avoid migraine triggers like your next period. qulipta® can help prevent migraines. you can't always prevent what's going on outside... ...that's why qulipta® helps what's going on inside. a 3, qulipta® significantly reduced monthly migraine days... ...and the majority of people reduced them by 50 to 100%. qulipta® blocks cgrp-- a protein believed to be a cause of migraines. qulipta® is a preventive treatment

for episodic migraine. most common side effects are nausea, constipation, and tiredness. learn how abbvie could help you save on qulipta®. ♪ tourists tourists that turn into scientists. tourist taking photos that are analyzed by ai. so researchers can help life underwater flourish. ♪ how can you sleep on such a firm setting? gab, mine is almost the same as yours. almost... just another word for not as good as mine. the queen sleep number c2 smart bed is now only $899 save $200. plus, 48-month financing on all beds. shop now only at sleep number. now to the smoke that is smothering much of the united states. 75 million people are under air quality alerts caused by this smoke that we are seeing from more than 400 wildfires that is burning in quebec, canada, in

some of america's biggest cities. officials say the air has become so thick with pollutants it is dangerous to breathe in. today the d.c. metro area here and also philadelphia are expected to get the worst of this. but new york's governor said every part of her state except the adirondacks is suffering from poor air quality. we have correspondents across the east coast covering this story for us. danny freeman is just outside of philadelphia in camden, new jersey. brian todd is covering our nation's capital from arlington, virginia, just outside of the city. and cnn meteorologist chad myers is in the weather center. he is tracking the smoke's path for this. we are going to begin the hour in philadelphia with our danny freeman. he's just across the river there in camden, new jersey, with a very nice view. what are you seeing there? what are you experiencing? >> reporter: yeah, nice view, i guess is a little subjective when things still look as hazy

as they do back here. listen, the reality is here in philadelphia that it is better than it was when it comes to air quality overnight and the early hours of this morning. it was really bad, we were this that hazardous zone. now we're in that unhealthy to very unhealthy stage right now. the reality is, i told you earlier that there was a press conference in the 1:00 hour by the city of philadelphia, and our health commissioner said clearly the city continues to experience serious air quality problems. and the thing that was mentioned and emphasized in that press conference is the air quality has fluctuated a lot over the past 24 hours, and we should expect the same in the coming 24 hours, as well. and they're still urging caution from residents. but we asked -- i should say reporters asked the health commissioner how bad it got overnight. listen to what she said. >> our air management services division tells me that the numbers peaked between 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. last night. we did have some monitors, i am told, that went as high as 500

at that time. well, the scale goes to 500. so this is terrible. that's what that -- i don't know how else to say that. but it just -- you know, just dense particulates, you don't want to breathe it in. and anybody who had to go outside last night probably knows what i'm talking about. if you looked at street lights, you could see the air. >> reporter: i can attest living here and having to make sure that my windows and doors were closed all last night it was bad last night. again, getting better throughout the day, a little bit today. like i said, the government is still urging caution, still urging masks for those who are sensitive and those outside all day. last thing i'll note, though, phillies just released their lineup for the game at 6:00 tonight. hopefully the air quality holds up in time for that game. >> yeah, let's hope, danny. let's hope. all right. let's head now to brian todd down the 95 corridor. he is outside of washington, d.c., in arlington, virginia.

tell us what it's like where you are, brian. >> reporter: well, i'll show you what it's like. you can really get a good view of that and kind of perspective when you look across the river from where we are. we are at the marine corps memorial in arlington. it's also known ads the iwo jima memorial. i'm going to step out of the shot. our photojournalist steve williams is going to take you past the iwo jima. on a normal day in a straight line, you can see from here, you can see the iwo jima memorial, right behind it the lincoln, behind the lincoln you see the washington monument, and right behind the monument you can see the u.s. capitol. but as steve goes in tighter, take a look at that. you can make out the lincoln memorial. and by the way, you can make it out better than you could a couple of hours ago. see if you can see the washington monument behind it. i don't know if you can see it from the camera, brianna, but in the naked eye here i can barely seat it. and the capitol, as steve is going to do his best to try to train in on the capitol. i can, again, barely make it out behind that.

maybe hockey capture just the top of the dome there. but just barely. i can tell you that just about every city-run entity from playgrounds to parks to athletic courts has been shut down. city officials getting the message out. they do not want people out engaging in any kind of strenuous activity. all the air quality readings are severe. it's code purple here which is very unhealthy for everyone, brianna, not just people with respiratory issues. >> i know. certainly not. steve has a very good shot. that is not easy to do, especially considering how hard it is to see those monuments and the capitol. thank you so much for showing us that. i want to go to chad myers in the cnn meteorology center with the latest on this. what area is going to gets the worst of the smoke tomorrow? >> it's when the wind is going to stop and those particles that are floating around in the wind above the surface will all begin to settle back down. that's d.c., philadelphia, baltimore, again. what i have in front of me here

is a p.m. 2.5 indicator, a detector. this is what all those numbers are based on, something that small. now there are different sizes. and outside the studio right now, out here in cnn atlanta, the number on this is 70. 70 2.5 parts per million. outside it says six. that's why officials say stay inside. it makes a significant difference. 90% less of those particles in this office now, but i'm about to change that. let me show you what one match will do to those numbers. they are going to spike. this thing will get probably all the way to 999. it's the particles in the air that you breathe that can get caught in your lungs. what does it say now? 999. >> like you knew that was going to happen. >> reporter: one match. i knew it was going to happen. i have this thing at home, and i watch it all the time. but one thing in d.c. that i notice now, you can see rosalyn, virginia -- roslyn, virginia, from the camera.

you could not see it all day long. those buildings were completely invisible. things are getting better. it is part of the mixing process in the afternoon, and in the morning hours all of that smoke, all those particles all kind of settle down to the ground. a lot of red, lot of yellow, lots of orange. and our people up in quebec, ontario, they've been breathing there for a while. it finally just blew down the northeast part of north america over the past couple of days. look at philadelphia, though. that was 999. philadelphia officially you are 431. not one match in one studio. this is a lot of smoke over a wide area. i can get away from that smoke. you can't get away from 400 parts per million. so here's where this smoke is now. notice the orange, that's the worst. push it into motion until tomorrow afternoon, and things are going to slide a little bit farther to the south. but d.c., you're still right in that area. we would call this a training thunderstorm because things aren't getting out of the way. like one train over another train over another train on the same track. i push you ahead until saturday,

especially saturday morning. and it does get better. there is much better air coming into new york city, belmont right there. then also back to the west, worst air into parts of michigan and indiana and also parts of ohio because of the fires that are up here into parts of western ontario. a mess for everyone, and there are -- we are now at a record pace without a doubt, even year to date or for any part of the year for these canadian wildfire acres burned. it has been a tremendous disaster for them. >> yeah. horrible for them. and we're seeing it so far away. i'll tell you, we've been having panels of people, we have a lot of news today, and they sound like they have smoked a pack of cigarettes which they have not. but it is unbelievable. even the indoor air quality that we're dealing with here today. chad, thank you for taking us through that and for that demonstration. we do appreciate it. boris? happening right now in birmingham, alabama, joran van der sloot has just arrived in the united states. the dutch national is the prime

suspect in the 2005 disappearance of 18-year-old natalee holloway. he's also accused of extorting money from holloway's mother in a plot to sell information about holloway's remains in exchange for $250,000. the 18-year-old's body was never found. we want to bring in cnn's jean casarez who's following this live from birmingham. jean, so what happens now? >> reporter: well, what happens now is that he has to get off the plane. we watched it together just minutes ago. that plane landed right here in birmingham, in custody joran van der sloot on an fbi executive jet flown from lima, peru, here to birmingham, alabama, the hometown of natalee holloway where she went missing. her friends last saw her with joran van der sloot in a car in aruba, and after that she was never found. he is coming here for charges of extortion, but i've got some reporting for my colleague josh

campbell on that executive fbi jet that just landed. first of all, it is a fleet of jets that is housed in the d.c. area, and they are used for counterterrorism missions as well as extradition transportation. this is for foreign transfer of someone in custody. now on that plane, josh campbell is reporting that there are two fbi pilots, there are three to five fbi special agents, and their role was to monitor and continue to monitor joran van der sloot on that plane security-wise for the entire duration. there is also another fbi member it's believed on that plane. they were watching him every moment of every hour that he was on that plane, approximately seven hours now they were in the air from lima to birmingham. even monitored when he went to the restroom. as is normal, he would also have been given a warning to not try to do anything of a dangerous

manner on board that plane, and they furthermore provided him with food and beverage because this was a long plane flight. so now he will set foot for the very first time in the united states in the custody of federal agents. he will be transported to a local jail here in birmingham where he will await his initial appearance, his arraignment in federal court, on the extortion and fraud charges which stems from 2010. there was a reward for anyone who would know the remains -- location of natalee holloway. he stepped forward, demanding that $250,000. he led the attorney, john q. kelly, of the family to a home in aruba saying she's buried under the foundation within the gravel. he later e-mailed them saying it was all a lie. and that's how these extortion and fraud charges were born. according to public records, he will be having a public defender.

that can change, but that's what it is at this point. and that public defender will most likely be visiting him before what we believe will be that initial appearance tomorrow. >> and jean, we are still watching the plane as it was just unloaded by a team of what i assume are folks affiliated with federal investigators. this is obviously a case that has garnered international attention. it's been nearly 20 years now since holloway's disappearance back in 2005. and for joran van der sloot, the prime suspect in her disappearance, this is only the latest chapter in this saga. he has a sordid history with law enforcement, right? >> reporter: he does. you know, he is a dutch national, so he is. dutch descent. he and his family were living in aruba. his father was a judge in waiting. and when natalee holloway disappeared, he was arrested several times. but he was always let go. his father was very connected with all the law enforcement and

all of the judges. and then when this alleged extortion took place, he had $25,000 in cash, and he admitted in interviews that he took that money and fled to peru for gambling, a poker tournament. that's where he met stephanie flores. and this case was international not only because he murdered stephanie flores and is in prison there, but when i was in peru for a month for joran van der sloot, there was dutch media there from all over, there was united states media, and there were aruban media. it was really a worldwide event because there were so many unanswered questions. and there have been. and beth holloway, beth holloway twitty has said in a statement that this is going to be justice for her. they still want answers. they still want to know the truth. and there is hope that in this process as he is zealously defended by an attorney that true answers, honest answers will come out as to what

happened to natalee holloway. >> and obviously the significance of him landing in birmingham, alabama, not far from where holloway grew up. that carries additional emotional weight for her family who's been locked in this struggle, as you well know, for so many years. >> reporter: absolutely. i went to her hometown which is a suburb of birmingham yesterday, and i talked with the people. they remember it like yesterday. and they're angry, and they're emotional. what they told me was this isn't justice because her family doesn't know where she is. they can't go visit her grave. they don't know anything. they don't know any more than they did 18 years ago. so the people that live in her community, mountain brook, they're very upset. and they want to see him in court which leads us to there will be defenses here, and one could be a change of venue because this is her hometown. this is where she was from. but this is where he is touching

down and will step foot for the first time on american soil. >> and we are anticipating that that may happen at any moment as we watch what appear to be federal agents getting back on the plane that has just brought joran van der sloot back to -- rather, to the united states to face charges on allegedly extorting the mother of natalee holloway for some $250,000 for information related to the whereabouts of her remains. jean, stay with us for a moment. i'm curious about your vantage points and what you're seeing from where you are. have you heard about the exact process and what this is going to be like for him over the next few hours? >> reporter: well, as is normal, i don't think it would be expected that he would get right off the plane because this is -- under the extradition treaties of peru and the united states, he's flown in from another country, so there is customs in this country. and most likely someone will go on the plane and do the customs

check that is mandatory of everyone on that plane. but i think it will take some time. and they may have more security checks. we do know that when he was taken into custody by interpol this morning, which is the international policing agency, that they had doctors with them, and they some medical tests including a covid test. and the president of the national penitentiary institute in peru spoke publicly and said that the fbi had doctors with them on board also. so we can believe that there was at least a medic or a physician on board this entire flight for any medical emergencies that could arise. >> and jean, a moment ago you touched on a potential defense that joran van der sloot's attorneys may use in this extortion case. have you heard anything else that might give us an idea of the arguments they will make in court beyond a potential move of

venue? >> reporter: well, change of venue would be a procedural issue, but as far as defenses, one potentiality is entrapment here because when all of in came down, where money was exchanged, contracts were signed, john q. kelly, the attorney for the family, went over to aruba, met joran, traveled to this home where joran said she's underneath the gravel. she fell and hit her head. i secreted her. my father buried her under the gravel. that was all recorded by the fbi, everything. there are still pictures. there are audio transcripts. there are emails which amount to the alleged wire fraud. so all of this forms the basis of the prosecution's case. but there's always a defense to something like that, and it is called entrapment. so there are other ways that are very crafted -- a crafted defense attorney could go also in this case. >> jean? i want to interrupt you for a moment because it appears that someone has been removed from

the jet and loaded into the back of an suv surrounded by what appears to be armed officers. obviously you have a better vantage point perhaps than we do. you mentioned that there was going to be a process of customs and entering joran van der sloot into the country. do we know if he has been removed from the plane? are you able to gather anything else from your vantage point? >> reporter: i think right now since we can't see faces up close, we have to assume that that what you are describing right there is something that is obviously very important, and it appears as though that that possibly could be the defendant himself. but once he is put into a vehicle, and there will be a convoy that is transporting him to a local holding facility in birmingham, so that is where they should be going directly from the airport. and there he will be processed. of course, this is his first

time with american juris prudence, talking about a mug shot, fingerprints, and the fbi will be there with all of this, and then ultimately we believe spending the night in this local holding facility. and by the way, in peru you can wear your own clothes. as we saw in previous video, he had his own clothes, he had a warm coat, he cannot do that obviously in the united states. we are going to see him for the very first time in jail garb when we do see him in that court appearance which should be tomorrow. >> a fascinating detail in the latest chapter of this ongoing saga. joran van der sloot once again arriving in birmingham, alabama, after 18 years of the disappearance of natalee holloway. he has been the prime suspect. at any moment that convoy is going to head to that holding facility that jean described. jean casarez, thank you so much for walking us through all of that. i know you're going to stay on top of this story and bring us the latest details from in

ongoing saga. thank you. brianna, over to you. coming up, u.s. officials telling cnn that ukrainian forces have lost a significant amount of troops and heavy equipment this their assault on russian lines in the east. why my next guest says the u.s. must provide ukraine with fourth-generation fighter jets. . cut the blue one. they're both blue! visionworks. see the difference.. with cpap for their sleep apnea. but stephanie got inspire, an implanted device that works inside the body. there's no reason to keep struggling. inspire. learn more and view important safety information at inspiresleep.com.

[ applause ] the day you get your clearchoice dental implants changes your struggle with missing teeth forever. it changes how you eat, how you feel, and how you enjoy life. it changes your smile and how others smile at you. clearchoice network doctors have changed over 100,000 lives with dental implants, and they can change yours, too. because a clearchoice day changes every day. schedule a free consultation. ♪ hit it ♪ ♪ it takes two to make a thing go right ♪ ♪ it takes two to make it outta sight ♪ ♪ one, two, get loose now ♪ ♪ it takes two to make a... ♪ stay two nights and get a $ 50 best western gift card. book now at bestwestern.com.

my a1c was up here; now, it's down with rybelsus®. his a1c? it's down with rybelsus®. my doctor told me rybelsus® lowered a1c better than a leading branded pill and that people taking rybelsus® lost more weight. i got to my a1c goal and lost some weight too. rybelsus® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't take rybelsus® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop rybelsus® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking rybelsus® with a sulfonylurea or insulin increases low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. need to get your a1c down? you may pay as little as $10 per prescription.

ukrainian forces have lost a significant amount of troops and heavy equipment in their assault on russian lines in the east. that is what a senior u.s. official is telling cnn, two of them actually. this is coming just days after ukraine's deputy defense minister said an offensive is taking place in several directions. my next guest is part of a bipartisan coalition that just sent a letter to president biden again urging the u.s. to provide ukraine with fourth-generation fighter jets, that's a move that russia says would bring enormous risks. we are joined by congressman jason crow, he is on the house intelligence and foreign affairs committees. he's also a former army ranger who served three combat tours in iraq and afghanistan, and he is now the co-chair of the bipartisan four-country caucus. a lot of stuff, but i think all relevant to what we're talking about here today. this letter, you're putting a lot of pressure on the president. the president has softened on f-16s a little bit. he has softened on these longer range missile systems. so what do you want out of this?

just for him to move faster? and what is the difference between him going at the pace he's going and the pace you want him to? >> good to be with you. i want to be clear that i think the president and this administration have done a remarkable job of building a coalition of over 50 countries, most of whom have contributed to the ukrainian war effort. that is the world's largest coalition in support of a partner at war. we have moved a massive amount of arms and munitions and equipment. we have trained multiple brigades of the ukrainian military. this effort has been significant. but in war, no day is like the last one. days change, weeks change. we have to evolve with the war effort. this letter is a bipartisan effort by the veterans caucus in the house, coming out and saying you have the overwhelming bipartisan support of the house of representatives to change the nature of our support, to move certain things faster, but also provide some longer range strike capability in the form of

aircraft and long-range rockets to help ukrainians win this. >> if they don't do that on the timeline that you're searching for, what's the risk? >> well, the risk is is that the ukrainians have a series of wins and battles, but they could lose the longer term war. the timelines are different. vladimir putin is playing a long game. he's looking one year, two years, three years out. he thinks that the west and democratic nations will lose interest, that we can't sustain the political support, and he can just grind this out. he's willing to send 100,000, 200,000 russians to their death in hope that's he can win this -- hopes that he can win this in the long term. we have to help the ukrainians win this in the short or midterm. help them destroy the russian capacity to wage war. >> let's talk about the longer term of supplying f-16s to the ukrainians. they need logistical support, maintenance. these are finely tuned machines. how would ukraine get that if they get f-16s from the u.s.?

>> that's what our letter calls for is an expedited all of government, all of alliance effort to train the pilots, find the f-16s, and transfer them either directly from the united states or a transfer from one of our allies, as there's f-16ings throughout the nato alliance in several countries might be able to transfer them much quicker than we could. but also train the maintainers. these are sophisticated aircraft. that's why they're so good. they require a tremendous amount of back-end support and sustainment. so we're going to train the mechanics, get the fuel supplies going. there's a lot of things that have to happen now so that six months, nine months from now these aircraft can be flying over ukrainian skies. that's what we're pushing the administration to do. >> the russian foreign minister said f-16s could accommodate nuclear weapons. he's clearly sending a message here. what is he really saying? as you see it, and does that dissuade you from pushing for this? >> fwirst of all, this administration and president biden have been very careful of making sure that we are not

escalating, that we're not doing anything that would give them a reason to do a catastrophic action like nuclear weapons, unconventional weapons. we've been very cautious and deliberate every step of the way. but another really important point is we should never allow dictators in rogue nations to dictate the terms of what we're willing to do to defend our partners. every time putin or lavrov has established some kind of red line, we have done things to support ukraine, and they haven't escalated from that point. so we should not give vladimir putin or anybody else for that matter a veto authority over what we're willing to do to stand by our friends. >> these attack -- the longer range missiles that would dramatically increase ukraine's capability, going to almost 200 miles distance, right? there was concern before the white house softened on this a little bit about this could take the u.s. into world war iii, you

would give the capability of ukrainians of going well into russia. how do you ensure that they don't do that? >> i just don't buy that because we have seen now 16 months into this war, zelenskyy and the ukrainians have shown their capability to actually be a good partner. they are not going to jeopardize aid from the united states by misusing our aid. we have asked for assurances that they're not going to use our weapons and our technology to strike into russia. they have kept those assurances, they have kept those promises. there's absolutely no reason to believe that they're going break that promise because it's not in their interests to do so. so they're going to do what they need to do to win. they'll use their own technologi, do cross-border strikes, their own weapons and equipment, but they're not going to use u.s. aid to do that. and i don't think we have any reason to believe that they would. >> we'll follow this and see what the reaction is from the white house to this request that this bipartisan group including yourself are making. congressman jason crowe, thanks for your time. boris? more and more republican states are passing bans to limit

what transgender people can do. and when it comes to kids, the debate has grown even more fierce. just last night republican presidential candidate mike pence doubled down on his stance during a cnn town hall. watch this. >> however adults want to live, they can live. but for children, we're going to protect kids from the radical gender idealogy and say no chemical or surgical gender transition before you're 18. >> joining us now is cnn anchor and host of "the lead,"ache tapper. jake -- sdjake tapper. the republican party touts school choice and curriculum. on this issue it appears they are limiting the choices that parents can make over their own kids' lives. >> that's right. they are proposing laws, and in some cases passing them, putting state government officials' opinions above that of parents and doctors in many cases when

it comes to hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and sex reassignment surgery for people under 18. we're going to talk to a guy named rick colby from ohio coming up in "the lead." rick colby testified recently before a committee in the ohio state legislature. he described himself as a republican, as a christian, and as anti-woke as you can get. but he also has a trans son named ashton. and we're going to talk to rick and ashton about their experience and why they view things differently than vice president pence. this is a relatively new issue on the political sphere. we heard from the vice president last night about his opinions about people like ashton, colby, and so we're going to talk to ashton and his dad, as well. >> looking forward to that conversation. on the comments from the former

vice president, he's obviously in iowa declaring that he's running for president. why specifically do you think that he staked this position? >> well, i think, first of all, he's a man of serious conservative christian faith. i'm sure he believes every word of what he said. i think also in terms of politics, there is an opportunity for him to win the votes of conservative christian evangelicals in iowa which is a sizable voting block. ted cruz won the iowa caucus in 2016 with support of those individuals. that is the lane that he is pursuing. as to why he thinks his opinion is worth more than that of parents and doctors, i don't know. >> yeah, pence putting a lot on that race in iowa. could make or break his presidential campaign. >> and also i should note, like that is a real opportunity to knock trump down a peg, iowa. we'll see what happens. >> yeah.

jake tapper, looking forward to "the lead." 4 p.m., of course. "the lead" starts at the top of the. don't miss it. >> we will not. a surprise decision we're talking about ahead. the supreme court says alabama likely discriminated against black voters. the justices are ordering the state to redraw its congressional map. we'll have details on that next. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ live your best day, every day with the power of the gelflex grid. sleep better.

live purple. narrator: the man with the troublesome hemorrhoid enters the room. phil: excuse me? hillary: that wasn't me. narrator: said hillary, who's only taken 347 steps today. hillary: i cycled here. narrator: speaking of cycles, mary's period is due to start in three days. mary: how do they know so much about us? narrator: your all sharing health data without realizing it. that's how i know about kevin's rash. who's next? wait... what's that in your hand? no, no, stop! oh you're no fun. [lock clicks shut]

if we want a more viable future for our kids, we need to find more sustainable ways of doing things. america's plastic makers are investing billions of dollars in new technologies and creating plastic products that are more recyclable. durable. and dependable. our goal is a cleaner, healthier planet for generations to come. for a better tomorrow, we're focused on making plastics better today.

-that's it? -yeah. progressive's homequote explorer makes it easy to compare home insurance options. man...i told my wife i'd be in here for hours. what do we do now? we live... ♪

save time and money with progressive's homequote explorer. what you do afterwards, is up to you. oh, whoa, i was actually just thinking i would take a nap. pretty tired. okay. .

he is a world cup hero and sen-time player of the here and a $400 million from the saudis and now he's taking his talents to south beach. living legend lionel messi shocking the sports world and going to inter mime, a surprise move to major league soccer. it's already sparking a massive surge in ticket prices across the entire league. get this. the average ticket price for a messi or for messi's potential debut game on july 1st, they just jumped 1,000%, a meager $1120 to $1,248, and it keeps going higher. this surge in prices applies to every single game that inter miami is now playing this season. >> look, it pays not to be a fair weather friend there to have gotten your tickets before. of course, this was just a huge coup for the league. they had to get very creative to close the deal. both apple and adidas coming in to assist on this. according to multiple reports, apple will give messi a percentage of all new

subscriptions to its mls pass and add das signed him already to a lifetime contract but the company is reportedly working on a new profit-sharing agreement and messi will also get an owner stake in inter mime once his playing career ends. up clear how much all of that is worth now. the saudis apparently offered the arm tine superstar $400 million, a lot of money for one season. he says it wasn't about the money. >> yeah, and especially in the midst of all the sports washing with the merger of pga tour and liv golf, it's surprising to see him doing that. brianna, huge miami sports fan. i've never watched an inter miami game. that's going to change. i'll get myself a messi jersey and may even wear it to the studio. >> are you going to shell out for one of those tickets? >> we'll see about that. i mean, soccer is a little bit slow for my taste, but if it's messi, maybe. >> yeah. i think that would be very, very exciting to watch. in miami. >> i think so no less. got to love it. >> yeah. >> playing some drums.

>> it will be amazing. >> amazing. >> thanks so much for joining us on this friday on cnn news central. brianna, always a pleasure. >> always. >> and jim. >> wherever jim is. >> we missed you jim, having a good to imsomewhere. >> "the lead" with jake tapper starts after a short break. thanks for being with us. (vo) consumer reports evaluates vehicles for car shoppers in... reliability, safety, owner satisfaction, and road-test evaluations... and the results are in. subabaru is the twenty twenty-three best mainstream automotiveve brand, according o consumer reports. and subaru has seven consumemer reports recommended models. solterra, forester, outbacack, crosstrek, ascent, impreza, and legacy. it's easy to love a brand you can trust. it's easy to love a subaru. i don't know how long it's been there. long enough to produce eggs, it seems. it would appear that it has begun moving towards us!

visionworks. see the difference. my most important kitchen tool? my brain. so i choose neuriva plus. unlike some others, neuriva plus is a multitasker supporting 6 key indicators of brain health. to help keep me sharp. neuriva: think bigger. subway's still upping their game. show us how stephen. italian style capicola brings sweet heat to subs like supreme meats. is it hot in here or is it just me? it's definitely not you.

no, it's me. try the subway series menu. their tastiest refresh yet. (vo) sail through the heart of historic cities and unforgettable scenery with viking. unpack once and get closer to iconic landmarks, local life and cultural treasures. because when you experience europe on a viking longship, you'll spend less time getting there and more time being there. viking. exploring the world in comfort. ♪ tourists tourists that turn into scientists. tourists photographing thousands of miles of remote coral reefs.

that can be analyzed by ai in real time. ♪ so researchers can identify which areas are at risk. and help life underwater flourish. ♪

so does the trump team flinch every time the dore bell rings? "the lead" start right now. donald trump has been told he's a target of a federal investigation ahead of what