rachel will be back next week. and if you're interested, you can always catch my show, "the point," which airs sunday evenings on msnbc from 5:00 to 7:00 eastern. msnbc live is up next. good morning. i'm melissa rayberger. it is 7:00 a.m. on the east coast and 3:00 a.m. out west. new and explosive details about reports about senior white house adviser jared kushner and his contacts with russia. this comes on president trump's last day of his foreign trip. we'll get the latest on what he may have accomplished overseas. meanwhile, a team setting up a war room of sorts to set up to fight back against accusations. plus, some severe weather is expected across parts of the country. the holiday forecast is ahead.

we begin with new revelations of jared kushner's alleged contacts with rushing ya. "the washington post" reporting kushner and russia's ambassador to washington discussing the possibility of setting up a back channel between trump's transition team and the kremlin using russian diplomatic facilities here in the u.s. this is according to u.s. officials briefed on reports. this late breaking report that kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with the russian ambassador during and after the 2016 presidential campaign. kushner's lawyer is saying in part mr. kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period.he has no recollection of the calls as described. "the washington post" reporting that the senate intelligence committee now wants president trump's political organization to gather and produce all

russia-related documents, e-mails and phone records going all the way back to the to see campaign's launch in june of 2015. president trump on the final leg of his trip this morning is defending his first budget plans amid backlash from both sides of the aisle. here is part of his weekly address. >> we need a government that spends on the right things, the safety, security, and well with being of our people and stops the waste and xwoos abusive taxpayer funds, whether in america or in global projects overseas. we will balance the budgets without making cuts in social security and medicare. we will achieve our goals by doing exactly what you do in your home, setting priorities, cutting the fat and growing new opportunities. >> also new today, new orleans mayor mitch landrieu pushing back against critics against the removal of several monuments. >> the monuments that were in place were really are signs of

oppression for 67% of my cit that isorced to walk by them. and i found that mally offensive, so it didn't make any sense. this didn't have anything to do with politics. what a silly thing for a politician in the south to do something he knows most people disagree with. >> thank you for being with us. ozzie, let's start with you. reuters is reporting that jared kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with the russian ambassador, sergey kislyak. how damaging is that, if it is true.? >> it can be very damaging, not disclosing contact especially when asked about it could have impacts on his national security clearance and b, as you say, the questions about russia's involvement in the 2016 presidential elections is a question that is only perpetuating and continue to go grow. the white house is establishing

now a sort of war room to deal with this and have previously, those questions had involved people no locker working directly with the president or working in the white house. jared kushner is obviously very much involved in the operations of the white house and is very close to the president. these inquiries and these questions now related to jared kushner. bring that quinn read to donald trump who all along has said there's nothing here. let's talk about something else. >> jared kushner's lawyer says he has no recollectn of the conversation here as described. are the key words as described? >> right. you have to figure out exactly what the allegation is. but these allegations, the whole story about the trump connections, the most charitable version of it for the administration is these were people who were thinly attached to the campaign, who were maybe

amateurs, wasn't clear what they were getting into or what they were promising. if it's jared kushner directly talking to the russian ambassador and one of the allegations is talking about setting up some sort of secret back channel, none of that can be considered accidental, amateur work any more. now it's getting very serious and directly tied to donald trump and his inner circle. >> the russian ambassador discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communication channel between trump and russia. how reliable are these kind of intercepts? and what impact could they have on the fbi's investigation? >> so it's sort of known that people who believe that they are being surveilled will sometimes injekt into those surveillance communications information that

is not reliable. but when you have an attorney for jared kushner saying he doesn't really these conversations, he's had so many of them, it calls into question what kind of preparedness or what kind of security steps did he take dushg did xien and afterwards to protect those communications that he was having with so many peel. he has no government experience. he had very little, you know, campaign experience, if anything at all, before working with the trump campaign. so it is, you know, as the other guest said, it is very hard to accept the idea that this was an accidental or amateur iftd mistake with the purpose of setting up and discussion using the facility toes affect those communications. >> paul, same question to you. how reliable might this information be coming from the russian am bags door intercept? >> it's hard to know.

always there's a question of are the intelligence sources lying to their own boss toes make the connection look stronger than it actually is. in this particular kay case, of course, what thax in unique is the russians appeared to have been taken aback by the suggestion themselves. they thought it was weird, also. we have not seen any of this information firsthand, keep in mind. but it is completely weird. also weird, frankly, that before the administration took office, it was negotiating or having conversations with foreign governments directly. it's just odd. one president at a time is usually our premise here in the united states. >> paul, reuters has another report out saying that the trump administration is assembling a so-called war room to respond to the russian inquiry. what are are you hearing about this so-called war room? and will we be seeing a

different strategy coming out of the white house once we see it taking shape? >> yeah. i think part of the problem is tlvshl answers sort of all over the map. who knew what when and who was talking to who when. we call it a war room. i think honestly the administration has to get on one page and they can't have the white house spokesman coming out and making a statement that the president of the united states later changes in a tweet. they are talking now about having lawyers starting to vet some of the president's tweets. you have to control the story better than this white house has been doing. and i think that's what that's really about. >> the report says jared kushner, steve bannon and reince priebus are all involved in plans in the room. does that mean the latest revelations haven't caused kushner toall out o faf with the president? >> the president has been loyal to peopleho he been loyal to him. and the idea that there is going

to be to some type of agreement and consensus about what the president is saying, you know, between the president .even his spokes people has not been something the white house has been able to demonstrate. so to get everyone on the same page is going to be something new for this team. >> ozzie, if any of these stories prove true about kushner, and even if not, how much trouble could he be in? >> worst case scenario, it could be a lot of trouble. when you get security clearance one disclose a lot of money. i forgot. i didn't know. can have really big consequences. no one is saying that that may go all that fav, but to have jared kerr ner is only going to make his ability to do his job and the president's agenda that

much more difficult. >> others are calling for kushner to be prosecuted. what is the likelihood of any of this happening? >> well, it's hard to know. clearly, he is now caught up in this investigation. remember there's an independent investigation going on at the fbi being run by former director. ueller. both the house and the senate are investigating this matter. but it is true there is theoretical liability if you lied on those forms. but that's way down the road. the first problem is how does the administration execute policy when everybody in the white house is now under suspicion and under a cloud. that's the first problem. and how far and how quickly do these investigations go on?

>> many thanks to both of you. happening right now, a severe threat into the ohio valley and the southern plains and appalachians. strong winds caused some damage overnight. joining me now, weather channel's reynolds wolf. reynolds, what's going on out there today? >> good morning, melissa. it can be a crazy day in parts of the country, parts of the central plains moving into the midwest, the ohio valley. we could deal with potential rain, damaging wind, and at the same time maybe even tornadic activity. one of the issues in terms of the wind could be destructive stuff. we're going from the ohio valley, into st. louis, kansas city, tulsa, little rock, nashville. and the threat is going to continue into the evening hours and then for tomorrow. we see it down into the ohio valley, great lakes, any travel harness, please know you may

have some delays. we spill it on into monday and we see the showers moving from the northeast into the gulf coast. denver, seattle more of the same. los angeles, partly cloudy sky wes 76 fwres. melissa, back to you. still on high alert, the british are trying to stop fears of another terror attack after that concert attack this week. all as a busy sports weekend gets under way. e's nothing more important to me than my vacation. so when i need to book a hotel room, i want someone that makes it easy to find what i want. booking.com gets it. and with their price match, i know i'm getting the best price every time. now i can start relaxing even before the vacation begins. your memorial day weekend is very important. that's why booking.com makes finding the right hotel for the right price easy. find great deals now at booking.com. booking.yeah! you know how painful heartburn can be. for fast-acting, long-lasting relief, try doctor recommended gaviscon. it quickly neutralizes stomach acid and helps keep acid down for hours.

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it is the final day of president trump's first international trip. he is spending his second full day at the g7 summit in italy. the president heads back to washington later on today under a cloud of scandal. nbc's kristen welker is traveling with the president. she joins you now live. president trump has rattled some

allies, reassured some others, but he will return to the white house with a major new developments in the russian investigation dogging him, correct? that's right. and before he even gets to that, he's casting this trip as a success, melissa, today tweetinging that many nato countries have agreed to pay more in defense. but it does comes the controveies are only mounding at home and increasingly involving his son-in-law, jared kushner. as the president marks his final moments at the g7 summit, a bombshell report in "the washington post," the post reporting the president's son-in-law jared kushner and russia's ambassador discussed the possibility of seth up a secret mode of communications in december before mr. trump took office. the white house hasn't commented, this as a white house aide telling nbc news they're setting up a war room to deal with reports like this one led by reince priebus, jash occur

ner and steve bannon. while cukushner is not himself under investigation, it's believed he has significant information. president trump touched down in saudi arabia and took steps to reach out to the muslim world calling on all religions to step up and fight extremism. >> drive them out of your places of worship. drive them out of your communities. >> in jerusalem and bethlehem, aim to go restart his talks, his message to the middle east, the u.s. isn't here to judge. >> we are not here to lecture. we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to , who to be or how to worship. >> but a very different tone and welcome in europe where he was greeted by thousands of protesters ahead of the nato summit in brussels and didn't hesitate to lecture allies

standing next to him for not paying their fair share. >> this is not fair and on the people of the united states. >> and his long handshake with the newly elected french president, his push of the prime minister of montenegro and the first lady's brush of a hand. hillary clinton speaking at wellesley college comparing the president to richard nixon. we were furious about the past presidential election. of a man whose presidency would eventually end in disgrace with his impeachment for obstruction of justice. >> even a jab from former house speaker john boehner, saying foreign affairs have been a bright spot but, quote, everything else he's done has been a complete disaster. >> as for that latest controversy, the "new york

times" reporting this morning that kushner wanted to set up that back channel with russia to discuss syria strategy. nbc news has not independently confirmed that report. president trump heads home to grapple with all of this in just a few hours, melissa. >> kristin, thank you. a major american figure close to us here at msnbc has passed away. foreign policy expert brzeznski has passed away. he was president jimmy carter's national security adviser a took part in peace talks at camp david. he was part of the extended family of this network and we send our condolences today to our colleague and friend amika and her entire family. mika had this to say, my father passed away peaceful hadly tonight. he was known to his friends as zbig, to his grandchildren as chief and to his wife as the enduring love of her life. i just knew him as the most inspiring, loving and devoted

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sfwhoo on this memorial day weekend, nbc's tom brokaw presents the greatest generation. brokaw shows us what drove america's bravest forces to victory in world war two and why they were so determined to sacrifice for their family. the greatest generation tonight at 9:00 eastern here on msnbc. moments ago, uk prime minister theresa may downgraded that nation's threat level from critical to severe, this as investigators tb to chase down leads about more threats. nbc's bill neely is in manchester with details. bill, what can you tell us? >> good morning, melissa. downgrading the terror threat level to its second highest, it's actually quite significant because it would suggest that the police are confident that another attack is not imminent. meanwhile, also within the last

hour, more raids and police in south manchester have cordoned off an area and army bomb disposal experts are at the scene there. just as in the u.s., this is a holiday weekend in the uk. but, of course, it has a cloud hanging over it, not just the sadness that you can see written in flowers here, but also people's very real worry that there could be another attack. .all of that despite more arrests overnight and a police chief who is confident that he's got the terror network. >> early this morning, police used explosives to storm a house and arrest two men. police now questioning 11 men, most in their 20s about the bombing. >> we've got to understand everything around the terrorist, the network and how they manufactured the explosive device. >> just loose ends to chase down, he says. police now know how salman

abedi's bomb was made in its metal box packed with shrapnel like nails, a powerful battery triggering it. and they know about the phone call he made before the attack to tell his mother and brother good-bye and forgive me. last night, manchester's first big event since the bombing. athletics protected by dozens of armed police. all across britain, police have reviewed and in some cases increased security at more than a thousand sports events this weekend. >> we're continuing with life as normal. >> playing games. >> they will not defeat us. >> increased security, too, in london where 80,000 people will fill a soccer stadium today for a big final. the american pop star ariana grande whose concert was attacked has pledged to return. >> it has been an emotional roller coaster. >> medical staff at a children's hospital are overwhelmed.

but getting support from america and every day more tears, more vigils, more mothers and children remembered. a city struggling to recover. >> and just a little bit more about that reduction of the terror threat level. it was announced by the prime minister here, theresa may, just a few minutes ago. just one more thing she said. she said the public should be clear about what this means. a threat level of severe, and that's the second lowest level, means an attack is highly likely. so it's not as if the police are just suddenly saying don't worry about it, all finished. there are still hundreds of detectives investigating this, there are still a thousand troops on the streets backing up the police and the prime minister theresa may saying, is is an ongoing investigation and obviously the police and curity services are continuing to look into this attack. and with that in mind, as we were saying inside manchester right now, searches going on.

the army bomb disposal team is there. you but that is purely precautionary.. meanwhile -- >> bill neely, we have to go. >> continues here with the athletics as i said earlier going on. back to you. >> that does it for us. i'm melissa rayberger. (bell rings)

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good morning. coming up on msnbc's "your business," the kraert of this marshmallow shooter uses his background in the fashion industry to help his toy industry grow fast. the cofounders of instagram on what they learned to making the app a global sensation. we'll have that and so much more coming up next on "your business."