his terror thanks to a young woman and a little dog who fought for her life and won. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline." i'm natalie morales. thanks for watching. good morning. i'm dara brown in no, sir at msnbc headquarters. it's 7:00 in the east, 4:00 out west. here's what's happening. khashoggi officials now say the "washington post" journalist is dead. 17 days to go. the president ramping up his media blitz and going after dems and the one issue he's using to whip up enthusiasm. >> anybody who votes for a democrat now is crazy. when you look at what's coming up, crazy. democrats produce mobs. republicans produce jobs.

plus, paul manafort in court and sentenced while still cooperating are robert mueller, what this tells us about where the russia probe is headed. new this morning, president trump stumps in arizona. with 17 days before the midterm, the president is returning to his rhetoric on immigration in an effort to gin up his base and rev up supporters. >> democrats want to raise your taxes, impose socialism in the country, turn us into a venezuela, turn us into another venezuela, take away your health care, destroy your second amendment, and the democrats want to throw your borders wide open to deadly drugs and ruthless gangs. come on in, everybody. come on in. you've got some bad people in those groups. you've got some tough people in those groups.

and i'll tell you what. this country doesn't want them. we don't want them. >> now for a closer look at the president's rhetoric on the road, here's nbc's hallie jackson. >> reporter: less than 200 miles from the border in arizona the president is pushing immigration as a top midterm issue. he's pointing to a caravan of migrants escaping poverty and violence making their way to central america. >> they might as well turn back. they're not making it into this country. >> that's part of his closing argument. >> democrats produce mobs. republicans produce jobs. >> reporter: the white house does acknowledge the historical headwinds are against the gop. after all, with just two exceptions since world war ii, midterms are typically bad news for the party controlling the white house. that's why the officials want to energize it as the president

makes it about himself. >> a vote for dave, for cindy is a vote for me. >> reporter: part of revving unhis base is going after the media. he praised the attack on a reporter last year of congressman greg gianforte. >> any guy who can do a body slam, he's my kind of -- >> reporter: now, despite criticism, no grregrets. it is confirmed jamal khashoggi was killed in istanbul, blaming it on a fist fight. overnight officials said it led to multiple firings and arrests. here's what the president had to say. >> do you consider it a credible explanation? >> i do, i do. again, it's early. we haven't finished our review or investigation, but it's -- i think it's a very important first step, and it happened

sooner than people thought it would happen. >> joining me now, julia manchester. what do you make of the president's latest response, and where do things go from here? >> his response is still very measured. it is a step away from the rogue killers line he had on monday, but he is still very hesitant to kr criticize the crown prince. we know he's a key allie for past administrations, but that's not to say president trump can't use that bully pulpit to condemn an act as violent as this one. i think the president is being hesitant to krit seitz a key allie of his he's worked hard to cultivate, but it's changed a little bit. he's starting to, i spoerks open

the door to criticism. >> julia, do the saudis find it credible and what do they want to see happen? >> we're hearing from a group of bipartisan lawmakers pushing back against this allegation. blumenthal, those in the foreign relations committee obviously pushing back. also many of the president's key allies are pushing back. lindsey graham, bob corker has also pushed back on this. so i think the president's response may be slightly more responsive than the rogue killers because he's facing pressure froms he own party and he realizes he needs the allies of capitol hill and the optics are not that great for the president at this point. the saudis don't look gr in a public light with how kahashogg

has all played out two week ago. and now we're getting the explanation he died in a fist fight. however, one thing i'd like to point out, this death of khashoggi isn't anything new. they've been viola creating hum rights violations. in that area the u.s. has had to acted. with the recent war in yemen and their behavior in that, even the saudis had ties to 9/11, you know, several administrations including the trump administration v had to act as allies. i think the president is acting as past administration have. >> the objects are very important because president trump is making his final sprint on the campaign trail and he was in arizona talking about among other things immigration. let's take a listen.

>> the democrat party is openly inviting millions of aliens to break our laws, violate our borders, and overwhelm our nation. the democrats don't care that a flood of illegal immigration is going to totally brunt our country. >> emily, recent nbc news/wall street journal poll ranks economy as the number one concern, not immigration. so why is the president focusing so much on it and blaming democrats? >> soo so when it comes to the sweeping tax code overhaul that he passed and was a major victory at the start of his presidency, i feel many americans are not quite feeling it in their pockets yet. analysts will tell you that a motivating issue, the way to get republicans to the ballot box is in grags is national skurkts

border security. that will get these voters -- especially since voter turnout is so key in this election, the issue to get democrats on the other side to the polls is, of course, health care. very much i expect to see presidents and a lot of candidates expect to speak about immigration and the tletzing they might be making to border security and the southern border. >> emily, in that speech he was pointing to the caravan of migrants making their way to central america. who stands to benefit the most from it? >> it's definitely got to be the republican party. we were talking earlier about the visual. you have the caravan making its way toward the united states and seeminglyer -- seemingly looking like a threat, something the

president would allow into the country, to which the president would say and has said he would stop. >> julia, you've been doing a lot of reporting ahead of the midterms. can you highlight some of your findingings. >> what we found when we see that carats have pushed. we've seen a flip. republicans for decades have depended on that senior vote. but medicare and previous conditions have come into the limelight in the last couple of weeks because democrats have been driving that. we've seen seniors in several situations. it's probably politically convenient at this opponent because it's a way for them to drive out these voters and maybe try to peel off some of those senior voters that will leaning

democrat and try to excite that bait. i think the issue for republicans is politically convenient at that time because democrats have been pushing health care. and also we've been hearing a lot about the cavanaugh bump. i don't know if it's going sustain itself roughly two weeks after he was confirm and two weeks before the midterm. so the republicans need something to be angered about and moetz vatzed. >> real quick. we heard the president at his rally say dep -- democrats create mobs, republicans create jobs. what have you seen? >> joe biden is very popular in the democratic party. we're seeing a lot of voices. time will tell us as the pool narrows who will ultimately represent them in 2020. >> the ultimate time in that

line will tell. thank you for coming out on this saturday. thank you. >> thank you. a russian woman charged with trying to interfere with the upcomi upcoming midterms. and how john kelly and john bolton drew a nighttime laugh. >> one of the men might leave the white house. ooh, oorh, ooh. please, please, please let it be trump. oh!

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17 days before americans decide the future of congress. it's looking better for democrats democrat s to winning the house. the new forecast gives democrats another seat for a total gain of 40. 538 cites the democrats fund-raising advantage over the republicans for its rosier blue outlook. >> republicans will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions. while president trump is addressing health care, republicans overall are shying away from the issue. however, democrats are making it a top priority. meanwhile top issues to you, health care is an important factor. and it's a top issue for voters aside from party affiliation. new today, confirmation that journalist jamal khashoggi is

dead. it comes from saudi arabia 17 days after he appeared in turkey and vanished. bill neely joins us. president trump is reacting from the saudi's statement. tell us. what's the latest? >> reporter: yes, good morning, dara. for over two weeks saudi arabia denied having anything to do with the disappearance of the journalist. now it's changed to a story of a fight inside the consulate and blames the victim for a kidnapping gone wrong and suspects who covered up something wrong. nothing to do with the royal family. president trump has spoken. he said he finds that explanation credible. but critics both in congress and overseas are already calling it another saudi coverup. overnight a stunning reversal from the saudi government, now

admitting that jamal khashoggi was assaulted and killed inside the saudi consulate in istanbul. they say he was last seen walking into the consulate to get papers for an upcoming wedding. they say he got into a fist fight and god rest his soul. a powerful aide to the crown prince earlier pragz the reformer l-- reform earlier. >> we want to spend time. we need to live it. >> reporter: the saudis say he went to istanbul to bring him back to riyadh. discussions didn't go as

required. after khashoggi's death, they say the men covered up what happened. khashoggi's fiancee tweeted through grief where is his body. they haven't revealed that. police are still searching a forest near istanbul, a possible dumping ground. it doesn't match turkish claims he was tortured, killed, and dismembered, and it protects the crown prince who it was announced will now head a reform of intelligence services. the royals have chosen their fall guys. the truth has yet to emerge. president trump calling the saudi explanation credible, an important first step. he's hinted at sanctions as he'll work with congress on that but is basically dismissing the idea he would cancel the important u.s. arms deal.

the saudis have, of course, given no evidence to back up their explanation. in particular, if it was just an accident, why was a forensic scientist with possibly a bone saw inside the consulate when that journalist walked in? one thing is clear. the saudis are backing up their crown prince and his power as a result of the one-month-long inquiry into the intelligence services. his power will be consolidated there, not diminished. dara? >> thank you so much for that report. up next, paul manafort back in court. what to make of his february sentencing date and his conversations with robert mueller. and a programming note. look for live reports from politicon analysis. joy will have more coming up at

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believe it or not, no one won last night's mega millions drawing. we'll take note of the winning numbers -- next tuesday's jackpot soars the a record $1.6 billion. oh, it is nice to dream. well, new development this morning in the russia investigation as president trump's former campaign chairman prepares for his february sentencing on the eighth and his eight counts of tax and bank fraud. paul manafort arrived in court in a wheelchair on friday. he was to address his ongoing cooperation with robber mueller and investigation. joining me now is nbc legal analyst danny cevallos. how clear is it? it's not clear when his

cooperation will conclude. if he's still collaborating with special counsel, will this minimize the leverage he had over manafort? and how soon before they complete the process? >> it's never clear how long a defendant needs to cooperate because that information is wholly within the realm of the federal government and prosecutors. they do not like to be rushed when questions a witness. it would only occur when they have completed their investigation and the witness has completely cooperated. in the case of paul manafort, this is no ordinary cooperation. this is a white collar-type case and it's very broad. for the government, for being bamboozled is equally broad. not don't they have to debrief him and get all the information,

they have to vet every single piece of information they get from him. for that reason, the federal government was ndoes not want t rushed. >> what does that tell you about his importance in the investigation? >> the fact that manafort has met with the government multiple times and for a long period of time just tells us that the government is doing its standard vetting process. as i said before, manafort may have a lot of information to give him. and even in cases where manafort says i don't know, they have to vet that as well because if manafort deceives while cooperating as to what he knows and also what he does not know, then the deal as they say is going to be off. >> danny, prosecutors have charged a russian national for atelting to interfere with the upcoming midterm elections by

running illegal campaigns. there were topics like conspiracy, gun control, race alakes is to nasignificant. how significant is it? >> it's very significant. the reason mueller was probably not attached to this indictment is his mandate is attached to the 2016 election and mueller is a ving tim as a way of speaking because he's mentioned in the accuse of the campaign. there's reasons why mueller himself and his team was not involved in this particular case, this kblanlt, not yet an indictment. going forward the government probably considered it critical

to get information out there in advance of the 2013 election. >> certainly an interesting weekend ahead. danny cevallos. thank you so much. thank you for watching. next up, "up" with david guerra. but first "your business" with j.j. ramsey. ibrance plus letrozole was significantly more effective at delaying disease progression versus letrozole. patients taking ibrance can develop low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infections that can lead to death. before taking ibrance, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection, liver or kidney problems, are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant.

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