democrats lacking the vote to take action in congress. on thursday, nancy pelosi slamming the potential decision and firing up the democratic base ahead of the midterms. >> it did violence not only to women but to the constitution of the united states. we have to win the election in november so that we have a couple more senators who will be willing to set aside the 60-vote requirement. >> in the battle for ukraine, 90% of american-supplied howitzers are in ukrainian hands. russian progress remains slow and uneven with president zelenskyy asking for anti-ship missiles. the u.s. is marking a grim toll. 1 million covid deaths. hospitalizations in new york triple in a month with concerns of yet another wave. the governor of new york will join us shortly. abortion rights in the state of new york as well.

first, joining me peter alexander, former u.s. attorney and law professor barbara mcquid and susan page and dr. patel. welcome to you. thank you for joining us. peter, let me start with you. just kind of put it simply here. realistically, what options does the white house have? >> reporter: the options certainly are limited right now. obviously without the votes in congress, as you note, there's nothing that senate democrats will be able to do. they don't have the votes to end the filibuster. they don't have votes to guarantee abortion rights nationwide. the white house is right now working on, without indicating exactly what they will do, as we heard from the president. the president has tasked the gender policy council to try to look at options in case this leaked draft opinion is finalized right now. the president saying that we will be ready. we heard from jen psaki and

others that they emphasize this. some advocates for abortion rights have been pushing for a public health emergency to be declared by the president that would allow for federal funding and resources to go toward this crisis. of course, the long existing hyde amendment says you can't direct federal funds for abortions in most cases. they could also try to expand access to abortion medication and telemedicine as well. some advocates are pushing on the federal government to push back on some states and the restrictions they have that don't allow the provision of some of the abortion pills. there are things that we are hearing about from advocates. to be very clear about this, this is all very limited. none of it gets to the root of what the supreme court could do here unless they can codify roe, which the votes are not there to

do that. the focus on the election this fall. >> i'm not sure any avenue will satisfy the protesters i have been speaking to that want to see real-time legislation when it comes to codifying roe. let's talk politics. we will pivot and talk to the medical implications. politically speaking, if we are looking at democrats, we know it's obvious they will lean into this issue when it comes to the midterms, rallying the voters to the polls. republican-wise, it's more complicated here. it's conservative justices that, in fact, could overturn roe. they could campaign on that. it's not a popular move if you look at polling. people have a nuanced view of abortion rights overall, on both sides of the aisle. how do you see this playing out? >> it's a by risk for republicans who have been on easy street when they look at the midterm elections. a majority of republicans voters by double digits support letting

roe stand. you find even among white evangelicals, the core of the anti-abortion movement, split on the issue of letting roe stand. we hear republicans talking about how terrible they think this leak of the draft decision is, not about the substance of the decision, because it puts them at risk even with some of their own voters. >> you can expand on that. this is something they have been beating the drum on for decades, since the early '70s. they are now getting what they want. instead, focusing more on a leak, as you say, versus the substance of what's about to happen for conservative voters. >> the most energy the republican party has had in decades has been the anti-abortion movement. that's given them clout when it comes to supreme court

nominations that far exceed their numbers among the u.s. population in general and even within the gop. this has been okay with republicans so far, because they have had the energy of the voters without actually delivering on their demand. now they are about to have those demands delivered on. >> got it. that's fascinating stuff. barbara, let's talk about the legal implications and the options women have, especially inside some of the more restrictive states. this is not just about unwanted pregnancies but wanted pregnancies. can a woman, for instance, who has had a miscarriage, challenge a state's abortion ban to remove a fetus without a heartbeat from the uterus or a woman whose health is at risk, what tools are these women going to have? >> i think one of the things that is so disruptive about a decision here is that there's a lot of chaos in the legal landscape. one of the reasons we have the adherence to precedence is the

law is settled. there's a quote says better the law be settled than settled well. that's why justices are supposed to maintain the status quo. there's ground for people to file challenges for lawsuits when they have the extraordinary situations. i also think that there could be other basis. roe was decided on due process. there are other basis to challenge restrictions on abortion. religious freedom, anti-establishment clause could be a basis. the ninth amendment. the problem for somebody who neet needs an abortion quickly is they take a long time. other than traveling out of state, i don't think women can count on having the law on their side when they need it. >> wow. talk to me, dr. patel, about not only the physical implications of a situation like that, a

woman who had a miscarriage and has to wait until the fetus without a heartbeat goes through hur system and the emotional implications of something like that. >> yeah. i don't think this gets enough attention. in 2019, there were 629,000 abortions, majority were done in less than 13 weeks. about half were by medical abortion or some of the pills that we are talking about today. then half were done by procedures. as you mentioned, not only women who had abortions, but women with miscarriage have a higher rate of depression and an important study, five years, showed not only an increased rate in women turned away from abortion, that they had higher mental health affects, but children did as well as other household members. this is a ripple affect we see throughout families, not to mention other direct health

consequences such as worsening of other chronic conditions and new conditions that their children have, attention deficit disorder, the list goes on. often, these are done in states not with restrictive abortion laws but not expanded access. so they are denied basic health care rights even after the pregnancy. >> i want to talk more about that. i want you to expand on that. that's an incredibly important point. you talk about the women that will be affected by the overturn of roe v. wade, black and brown women. i saw it up close and personal when i was on the ground in louisiana. you talk about the fact that many of the states that will have these restrictive laws in place, if roe is overturned, do not have medicaid to provide women to get health care that are of a lower income status, paid parental leave, maternity leave for women as well. talk about that. >> yeah. let's take texas, my home state,

which did not expand medicaid. look at texas with previous laws that restricted reproductive rights, you see an 8% to 20% increase in maternal mortality. black women across the country are three times more likely to have an adverse maternal outcome death included versus white women. that gets across the spectrum which you include other racial and ethnic groups. this translates to higher maternal mortality and worse outcomes. think about this. what's happening inside of clinics and hospitals, it's incredibly personal. imagine that we have a workforce, including myself, no longer trained in dealing with these issues. we are working in these states where you might have faculty that no longer have training. this has huge implications that i don't think are getting enough attention. >> wait. that's huge as well. what you are saying, correct me if i'm hearing you wrong, is that you are worried about the fact there are medical

professionals, physicians, nurses, that would go through residency programs in some of the more restrictive states, if this decision comes down the way we expect it will, that will not be able to be trained in terminating pregnancies? >> right. let me say specifically, physicians, myself included, i was trained in understanding how to both counsel a woman and carry her through an abortion. if you have a hospital or clinic that's not allowed to do these services, you don't have patients to learn from as a student, fellow or resident. you have faculty that can't teach this. exactly what you are saying. national residency programs right now, the american college of obstetrics is meeting. it's women's health care that gets impacted. >> got it. thank you guys all to start me off. appreciate it this hour. joining me now, i want to

bring in new york governor kathy hochul. thanks for joining us. we appreciate it. we got a couple things to talk through with you. >> thank you. >> we are thankful you are joining us on this. new york seeing a slow uptick in out of state patients seeking abortion care. how prepared are clinics and the state for a surge? >> we anticipate this. unfortunately, we already have a shortage of health care workers resulting from covid. i put in $10 billion in our budget to ramp up all health care services. in light of what's coming down in this bombshell, this extraordinary development, which is so disturbing on many levels, that we are going to be preparing our health care providers and making sure people know these are services that will be available to new yorkers. we saw that when new york state became one of the first large states to enshrine these rights,

before roe v. wade, we had in 1970, the right to an abortion, we had over 200,000 women come to our state at that time. we fully anticipate there will be people who travel here. it's so unfortunate that this will have to be the situation where people have to flee their own homes, flee their families to get a basic human right. >> what is disseminating that $10 million inside new york state? where is it going? >> health care overall. shore up our hospitals, health care providers. there are many doctors who provide abortion services, reproductive services, counseling. we are going to be helping with our telehealth services, making sure that insurance companies cover this so we can make sure if someone wants to get a prescription for medication abortion, that's available. in the budget i passed, we have a requirement that insurance companies cover abortion as well as we are one of 15 states where

medicaid covers it. we enshrine the rights of roe v. wade into state law in 2019. we are looking at a constitutional amendment just to bolster our protections for new york women. >> i gotta say, much of the women i have been speaking to in washington, d.c. are not confident democrats can get something done legislatively if roe is overturned. do you believe this will drive voters to the polls come midterm elections? >> absolutely. absolutely, 100%. abortion is on the ballot now. seismic shift in people's attitudes and what's at stake on election day as they saw those who did not show up on election day in 2016 or those who voted for donald trump, these are the consequences. three supreme court justices who misrepresented their positions on what precedent really is when they came before the senate, now we have the collateral damage which is an earthquake across our nation.

people understand now. this is what happens when you don't elect democrats. i believe this is going to energize the base. this is going to shift the dynamic. republicans are now going to be running scared in states all across this nation, because 70% of americans, democrats and republicans, want these basic human rights left alone, like they have been for half a century. >> governor, what do you need from the federal government if new york turns out to be a place in which women are seeking out abortion services? >> we will need federal help. this is an area where the biden administration can help us financially. we would appreciate that support, because this is going to be an enormous cost to us. we want people to feel that this is a safe harbor. this is a fundamental right, under assault, come to new york, this is the birthplace of the women's rights movement. as the first woman governor, i govern the largest state in the nation.

new york is big. we have a lot of people. we have a lot of energy. it's a progressive state. we hold these rights dear. we will fight to protect them. >> new york governor kathy hochul, thanks for joining us. we appreciate it. coming up, breaking news on first lady jill biden's trip to europe. just hours before her departure, details on that coming up next. the russian barrage on mariupol is not letting up. the ukrainian military is getting a massive shipment of military aid from the west. we will talk to senator chris murphy of connecticut about that and more coming up next. this is "andrea mitchell reports" only on msnbc. we'll be right back.

san francisco is getting back on its feet. people are heading back to the office and out with friends across the city. prop a ensures that muni delivers you there quickly and safely. with less wait time and fewer delays. and a focus on health and safety in every neighborhood through zero emissions fleets. best of all, prop a won't raise your taxes. vote yes on prop a for fast, safe, reliable transit. under district attorney gascón, i prosecuted car break-ins. all repeat offenders, often in organized crime rings. but when chesa boudin took office, he dissolved the unit and stopped me from collaborating with the police on my cases. now home and car break-ins are on the rise because repeat offenders know they can get away with it. chesa boudin is failing to do his job. there's a better way to keep san francisco safe.

recall chesa boudin now. welcome back. turning to the war in ukraine. heavy fighting raging on at the mariupol steel plant. one commander said russian forces have broken in and heavy, bloody battles are being fought. civilians and fighters are trapped in the steel plant despite the evacuation this week. this is happening, of course, as the first lady is heading to the region. mike memoli will travel with her. joining me now is kelly cobiella and mike memoli. memoli, let me start with you. what do you got? >> reporter: the white house had announced this earlier in the week, that the first lady would travel to romania and slovakia. these are two of ukraine's neighbors and two of our close

allies who are dealing with the fallout of russia's invasion of ukraine. in the last few minutes we learned more details about the first lady's itinerary. it reveals that she's going to get a firsthand look, especially at some of the tragic humanitarian details we have been hearing about from some of our colleagues over there. including significantly a sunday visit to the ukraine border in east he were slovakia where she will be at a checkpoint where 10,000 refugees have been coming through on a daily basis. she will meet with some of the mothers and children coming across the border, also some of the aid workers who have been playing a key role. this trip is going to showcase her professional life as a full-time educator, she's a community college professor, across the river in virginia, and the work as a first lady and second lady supporting military families. she will by visiting schools in romania and slovakia where ukrainian students have been getting their studies.

she will be meeting with the first woman president of slovakia during her trip. we have seen a number of high level u.s. officials traveling into ukraine. the president's top diplomat tony blinken, secretary austin, speaker pelosi leading a congressional delegation into ukraine. the first lady is an advisor to this president. she will come back from this trip next week to be able to share with her husband some of the firsthand details of what she learned on this trip that will be so important in shaping his policy. >> kelly, take us inside ukraine, specifically mariupol. we were talking about this harrowing evacuation, getting 100 ukrainians out of the steel plant. i know that there are still people trapped inside with no resources, no food, no water as well. talk to us about what's happening there along with what it would mean for russia if they were able to capture this key port city.

>> reporter: ukrainian officials as well as the fighters inside the plant have said about 200 plus civilians are still inside that plant, and including about 20 to 30 children, as well as 600 wounded soldiers. there have been pleas today from a fighter inside the plant to allow for the evacuation of those people. he said there are bloody, heavy battles happening inside the plant. russian forces have managed to break through some of the defenses. we did hear from president zelenskyy's advisor today. he said that there was fighting there. there was supposed to be a cease-fire. we believed there was going to be a cease-fire. that's what the russians had said. that's clearly not happening. the president's advisor said in his mind, what he believes is happening is that the russians are trying to take over that plant by the key date of may 9. that's next monday. it's a key date, because it's

the day that russia celebrates its victory over the nazis in world war ii. the thinking is that these fighters want to hand president putin a victory for that day. the presidential advisor doesn't believe it's going to happen. he believes the fighters will hold out. no doubt, it's a very difficult situation for the people in that plant today as the fighting continues. >> mike, kelly, thank you both. appreciate it. 90% of the howitzers promised from the u.s. have been delivered. senator murphy, glad to see you

upand walk ingaroundand. you have folked stuck inside for weeks without food, water, resources. the fact that vladimir putin would carry on an attempt to starve children inside that plant is just increased evidence of the war crimes being committed every single day by the russian government. the reality is, even if the russian government success it willy takes this steel plant, they will never control mariupol. there will be a constant campaign to resist the occupation of the city. the residents that remain in mariupol will never accept a russian-backed government.

this is catastrophic for russia because they will never pacify the ukrainian people who are going to continue to fight even if it's through more informal mechanisms in these cities that have more and more russian control, more and more russian forces inside. i hope that they can hold out inside that plant for as long as possible. but i also know even if it falls, russia is nevereffective control over mariupol or any other ukrainian city. >> are you worried about may 9? >> i think putin has set himself up for massive failure. the world is expecting that there's going to be something to celebrate on may 9. in fact, as every day passes, it becomes clearer and clearer that ukraine is going to win this war. i think as every day has been an

embarrassment for putin, may 9 will be a particular day of humiliation and embarrassment for vladimir putin. he is not going to have anything to celebrate. this has been an ongoing nightmare for his forces, the credibility and reputation of his country and his standing in the world. nothing is going to change about that between now and may 9. >> two-pronged question. is the united states doing enough when we see what's happening in the south and east as it seems as if russia is moving the goalpost since 2014? is the united states ready for the long game financially speaking as we dole out these aid packages? >> we are doing enough, i would argue, the biden administration has been extraordinary in the pace of re-supply to the ukrainian forces. we are on the verge of passing a landmark 30 plus billion dollar new effort to arm the ukrainians

and backfill supplies we have sent to them. your question as to whether we are ready for the long hall, i hope we are. right now, my office is inundated with calls from constituents asking congress to do more. my hope is that ukraine stays on the front pages, that you continue to cover it and that those calls continue. my worry is that another crisis will dominate the news coverage and the american public may move on to other prioritys. i'm not going to move on. i know this town and this body sometimes loses interest in crises when the news media moves on to something else. >> it's fascinating. that's your worry from inside the capitol. when you speak to members of parliament inside ukraine, their

worry is that it will be politicized. if this continues to go on, looking ahead to 2024, the worry is if it will continue to be a bipartisan effort or politics will get involved and there will be fighting over ukrainian aid that will -- that's trying to save ukrainian lives. >> i think it's a legit in the worry. at some point, donald trump is going to be a presidential candidate again. he made it clear that he has great admiration for vladimir putin's conduct of the war in ukraine. he has been willing in the past to play politics with aid to ukraine. in addition, there is this element of republicans, many in the house who don't support continuing to flow arms to ukraine. they may become more vocal and powerful as time goes on.

the president of the united states is still the president. there are plenty of republicans in the united states senate who will support continued flow of arms to ukraine. as donald trump starts his presidential campaign, yes, there may be troubling days ahead for ukraine. better days for vladimir putin. for the time being, we have a good bipartisan coalition. >> while i have you, i want to pivot to the issue of abortion that has been on the minds of so many americans over the last few days since the leak. majority leader schumer taking steps to move forward to hold a vote next week that will guarantee abortion rights nationwide. the question is, do you have the votes? are your republican colleagues on board? a lot of americans are not optimistic. >> yeah, we don't have the votes. it's important to show the american public where everyone stands on this critical question that is now firmly in the hands of congress. once this decision becomes reality, it's up to your elected

leaders as to whether you as a woman, you as a family have access to abortion and the full range of reproductive health care. let's be clear, it starts with criminalizing abortion. this court is likely coming after birth control next. so i think it's incredibly important that we right now show the american public where we are, that right now republicans support the criminalization of abortion, democrats will support a woman's right to choose. that will help educate the decisions that voters make in the polls this november. >> senator murphy, thank you as always. great to talk to you. >> thank you. shock strategy. with six months to the midterms, democrats are hoping the expected overturn of roe will energize their base. you are watching "andrea mitchell reports" only here on msnbc. we will be right back. we will bc bonnie boon i'm calling you out. everybody be cool, alright? we've got bonnie right here on a video call. we don't take kindly to video calls. oh, in that case just tap to send a message.

we don't take kindly to messages neither. in that case how 'bout a ringcentral phone call. we don't take kindly to no... would you can it eugene! let's just hear her out. ha ha ha, i've been needing a new horse. we've got ourselves a deal. ♪ ♪ ♪ ringcentral ♪ this is not the stallion i was imagining. it's also temperature balancing, so you stay cool. ♪ ringcentral ♪ it's so smart it knows exactly how long, how well, and when you slept. sleep number takes care of the science, all you have to do is sleep. and now, save $500 on the sleep number 360 c4 smart bed, queen now only $1,299. lowest price ever! only for a limited time. to learn more, go to sleepnumber.com

you ever wonder why people are always on their phones? they're banking, with bank of america. look at this guy. he bought those tickets on his credit card and he's rackin' up the rewards. she's using zelle to pay him back for the hot dogs he's about to buy. and the announcer? he's not checkin' his stats, he's finding some investing ideas with merrill. and third as you know in baseball means three. digital tools so impressive, you just can't stop banking. what would you like the power to do? welcome back.

the draft supreme court opinion that would overturn the landmark roe v. wade decision is heating up a competitive midterm season. moments ago, texas governor candidate beto o'rourke. >> this is not about life. this is about control. this is about power. this is about controlling the lives of the women of texas and taking power away from them. the only way to get this back is to win political power. >> let's talk about this. garrett haake is with us live in austin. also with us, victoria soto-dean and michael steele, former change of the rnc. garrett, let me start with you. we are seeing abortion be a top issue for voters. how is this impacting candidates in the primaries?

>> reporter: beto is trying to raise this against the governor. it's playing out in the primaries in texas as well, specifically in a runoff southwest where i am right now in texas' 28th district where you have a self-described pro-life democratic congressman. he represented that district since 2005. he is the only congressional democrat to vote against the women's health protection act when that was on the floor last year. he is challenged by jessica cisneros who says he is out of touch. he is getting hammered by progressives. he told me they just don't get this district. here is what he had to say. >> the problem is that they in their own minds have an idea what a, quote, democrat should be. they want us to vote with the democratic party 100% of the time. i don't do that. i have an 86% voting report with

the democrats. it's important we represent the country, our district in washington, d.c. and not represent the party. >> reporter: his theory is that his work on border issues, the district stretches down to loredo, where he is well-known. not the abortion rights issue. cisneros and her camp disagree. they have been fund-raising on this issue. that runoff in two weeks will be a fascinating one to watch. >> we will be watching that. garrett, i know you have to get to it. thank you for joining us. victoria, let's talk about where he left off. >> we have known that henry has been a pro-life, the exception to the rule. i agree in terms of this is a reflection of his district.

let's go back to the recent election in 2020 where a lot of the nation were surprised when they saw this district flip and vote republican. something we had not previously seen. these are more conservative social and moral districts. this isn't to say that they are conservative in all realms. in certain aspects, they are. i think this is going to be the canary in the coal mine. this primary is going to show if the extremity of what we see coming out of the supreme court is enough to topple henry and bring in jessica cisneros and a more contemporary voice. >> michael, i talked about this with susan page. i want you to expand on it as well. we have been seeing republicans putting more attention on blaming this leak over the actual content of the draft. what it is achieving for them. this has been, as we know, the white whale for conservatives for decades. now they likely have it.

they are reaping the rewards. how does that impact the funding and what they are running on come midterm elections? >> it's not going to impact the funding negatively. they will raise hella money off of this over the next few months going into the fall. it's going to be one large victory lap, both in terms of the funds that will be raised and just a reminder to the base, see, we delivered on the promise. donald trump delivered on the promise of delivering the court. here is the rub. we witnessed it play out early this week. there is no plan here. the truth of this effort is becoming very real. when you say, we want all things to be anti-abortion, not supporting anything, whether

it's incest, rape, up and down the line, the question then becomes, so then what do we do? how do you plan to govern in that new reality? how are women -- what should women expect from you as a governor, as a senator, as a congressman, as a state delegate, legislator? you have to fill in the blanks for us. as you saw with mitch mcconnell, there are no lines to be filled in here. there are no words to put on those blanks. they don't want to talk about the fact that they are now going to have to spend more on local and statewide and national programs that address children, families, women, health care. the great lurch toward this great promise, absent a substantive and coherent discussion around abortion policy as opposed to just running against abortion, now

you are going to have to confront abortion policy. that's essentially what it is. there is no there there. to the first question about that texas race, a democrat other than the current incumbent is not going to win that district if they are pro choice. that's the conundrum for democrats as well on other side in looking at these districts where the democrat is the best fit in a conservative district because they are pro life or they are pro -- what works for that district. this is going to be an interesting test for both parties because of this one issue. >> that's putting it lightly. thank you both. we are taking a live look atwal street. wow. what is going on? we have seen some massive drops in the market today. the dow jones industrial average down more than 1,000 points.

obviously, a dramatic reversal from friday. the biggest hike in 22 years, all in an effort to curb inflation. joining me now is dom chu. what is going on? >> you are wondering, we are wondering. everybody is wondering what's happening. if we had this conversation two to three hours ago, i would have told you a different story. the narrative then as you said would have been about this maybe modest pullback after the big gains we saw. we are pulling back. as you witness right now, we have lost way more than we gained at this point yesterday and at the end of the close as well. this relief rally in the market pegged because maybe the fed and comments from powell indicated the fed wouldn't be as hawkish, wouldn't raise rates as quickly as possible was taken as a signal they weren't going to be aggressive in slamming the brakes on the economy.

all of those things were at play. the interesting part about this right now is that the biggest drivers of the downside are the big technology stocks. apple and amazon and microsoft, the companies that have a lot of runway to realize profits. the ones where people will pay larger amounts for stock price for future growth. they are getting hit the hardest. in an environment with zero interest rates, you can wait because there's no alternative. park your money for nothing and expect nothing back. put it in a stock that has a huge amount of growth. those are the stocks getting hit the hardest right now. >> i know you will watch it for us and trying to figure out what's going on. thank you. if you figure it out, report back. general intelligence real time information from the united states to ukrainian forces, how is it being used on the battlefield? this is "andrea mitchell reports" only here on msnbc. n m.

why hide your skin if dupixent has your moderate-to-severe eczema, or atopic dermatitis under control? hide my skin? not me. because dupixent targets a root cause of eczema, it helps heal your skin from within, keeping you one step ahead of it. hide my skin? not me. and for kids ages 6 and up that means clearer skin, and noticeably less itch. with dupixent, you can change how their skin looks and feels. and that's the kind of change you notice. hide my skin? not me. don't use if you're allergic to dupixent. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems such as eye pain or vision changes, including blurred vision, joint aches and pain or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor.

when you help heal your skin from within, you can show more with less eczema. talk to your child's eczema specialist about dupixent, a breakthrough eczema treatment. ben isn't worried about retirement his personalized plan is backed by the team at fidelity. talk to your child's eczema specialist about dupixent, his ira is professionally managed, and he gets one-on-one coaching when he needs it. so ben is feeling pretty zen. that's the planning effect from fidelity step up. prep up. to help keep you free from the risk of hiv.

descovy for prep. a once-daily prescription medicine... ...that helps lower the chances of getting hiv through sex. it's not for everyone. descovy for prep has not been studied in people assigned female at birth. talk to your doctor to find out if it's right for you. descovy is another way to prep. descovy does not prevent other sexually transmitted infections, so it's important to use safer sex practices and get tested regularly. you must be hiv-negative to take descovy for prep. so, you need to get tested for hiv immediately before and at least every 3 months while taking it. if you think you were exposed to hiv or have flu-like symptoms, tell your doctor right away. they may check to confirm you are still hiv-negative. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a build-up of lactic acid and liver problems. the most common side effect was diarrhea. tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking descovy without talking to your doctor. ask your doctor about your risk of hiv... ...and if descovy for prep is right for you. get help paying for descovy for prep. learn more at stepupprepup.com.

welcome back. "the new york times" is reporting the u.s. has provided intelligence that has helped the ukrainians target and kill many of the russian generals who died in action. nbc news has not independently verified that allegation. u.s. officias saying the u.s. prohibits providing intelligence about the most senior russian leaders. in a statement, a national security spokesperson saying -- the kremlin responding today saying the russian military is well aware that the u.s., great britain and nato transmission intelligence to the ukrainian forces. joining me now, retired admiral mike rodgers, who is now a spokesperson for the national council on election integrity,

and peter baker, chief white house correspondent for "the new york times." thanks for joining us. peter, let me start with you. i want to read this statement and get your response when it comes to reporting from your paper saying this, the united states provides battlefield intelligence to help the ukrainians defend their country. we do not provide intelligence with the intent to kill russian generals. was the reporting intent that the u.s. was actually providing intel with the intent to target generals? >> this is about word parsing. they are word parsing our article. the right word are with the intent. they are not denying they provide this intelligence. they provide intelligence about where the russian mobile headquarters are. there may be generals there. it's kind of a distinction without much of a difference. they don't want to be seen as

intentionally trying to assassinate senior military officials. there's a code internationally about that kind of thing. they are helping the ukrainians target mobile headquarters. senior officers might be there. the russian forward deploy generals in the battlefield in the way americans tend not to do. it's not foreseeable there might be generals who are killed there. there have been about a dozen russian generals killed in this war in three months. that's extraordinary. only one american general, if i remember correctly, was killed in the entirety of the afghan war. it gives you a sense how much they are impacting the russian chain of command. >> admiral, a few things. nbc has reported previously that the united states intelligence has been providing intelligence to ukraine for quite some time. that was reported weeks ago. respond first to this reporting we hear from the "new york times," and the way peter puts it, this word parsing.

>> i'm going to disagree with peter that to me as an intelligence professional, this is a distinction with significant different. it's a policy decision as to should the united states share intelligence with foreign counterparts, and in addition it's a policy decision as to what type of information should be shared and what, if any, restrictions should be placed on how that intelligence that we are sharing is being used. in my experience, having dealt with this before, we often would put restrictions on how intelligence is used and also we would -- if we were concerned, for example, about intelligence being used in direct kind of activities, we would often restrict the flow. i think it's important in this case to highlight, look, what we try to do as intelligence professionals, speaking from my former world, trying to provide battlefield insights that help ukraine achieve military advantage against the russians.

that includes providing insights as to where a higher headquarters are, disposition of forces are on the battlefield, what russian units are doing, what they intend to be doing in the future. that's not the same thing as saying, we are providing intelligence to spearhead a ukrainian campaign to kill russian generals. that's not the same thing at all. >> are you say, for instance, by providing intelligence to the ukrainians there are restrictions, here is your intelligence but you cannot target these certain individuals? >> that's not what i am saying at all. i am saying in some cases historically we have provided specific restrictions, if you will. in this case i am not aware of the specific policy direction with respect to the sharing of u.s. intelligence to ukraine in support of their efforts to forestall this russian invasion, and my point being with this specific situation --

>> got it. >> look, it's just not accurate to say the u.s. is providing intelligence for the ukrainian campaign to kill russian generals. that's just not accurate to me. >> got it. peter, do you want to respond to that? >> the admiral knows ten times or 100 times more about this than i do. it's a question of it may not be the intent and it's about the foreseeable result, and maybe there were restrictions that the ukrainians did not follow. >> what is helping ukrainians with this battle, and that is how important is the intelligence sharing with ukrainians in the fight against moscow? >> i think it's significant. ukraine has significant resources of its own, but the ability of the united states and other nations to provide additional insights here is very

significant and it's something that i know the ukrainian government has been appreciative and argued aggressively, saying, look, we need these insights and want these insights and please provide us with the insights. >> what do you think the motive is providing this type of information to journalists, for instance, to put it out there? is this calling vladimir putin's bluff, for instance? we know putin said his eyes are on nato forces and america as they continue to provide aid to the ukrainians? >> i don't know peter's sourcing. he will have to comment on that. >> what do you suspect is the motive here? go ahead. >> i want to make sure i understand, the motive of the release of the information? >> exactly, ie, why put it out there about this intelligence sharing if you are worried vladimir putin will target areas outside of ukraine? >> first, i don't know what the

sourcing is, but in general i would assume that the -- making this public is trying to highlight to the russians, hey, look, we are providing ukraine a significant set of capabilities. you need to be mindful of that. ukraine is prepared to use this information pretty aggressively. i think this is trying to communicate to the russians about, again, this is why you don't want to be involved in an invasion of ukraine. this is why a choice you made is so wrong. >> got it. got it. admiral, thank you, and peter baker, my friend, thank you as well. appreciate it, guys. 1 million americans have died from covid marking a horrific milestone of loss in this country, and one million is much more than a number, it's family members, neighbors, co workers all lost to this virus. joining me now is steve patterson from kirkland, washington, the u.s.'s first

major covid hot spot. we remember seeing the images of the care center early in the pandemic. how do those residents react now? >> reporter: this was a case study of the fear and unknown. i was here a little over two years ago and there were emergency workers and fire trucks carrying people out of this facility. it was a constant search for answers. family members looking for answers from the cdc and local hospitals and from this care facility, where 39 residents and seven more would end up dying. one of them, her name was carmen gray. you could remember the image of her standing outside her mother's window inside that facility kick with covid, before a lot of people knew what covid was, and they were sick and dying here from that virus.

we spoke with carmen about that fear instilled in her in the early days. here's what she told me. >> they gave me everything. i gloved up and i went in because i didn't know if that would be the last time that i could hug my mother. and i just really wish that in the beginning they would have told people, your loved one is going to die alone, you are not going to get to see them, you are not going to get to bury them or celebrate their life, maybe it would have made people react differently? >> reporter: haunting words there from carmen, and her mother would end up living and she's in assisted living and she's thankful for that, and like many ways in this community, she may never be the same. >> thank you. that does it for this

edition of "andrea mitchell reports." chuck todd with "mtp daily" starts right after this. 5g network. for every customer. current, new, everyone. to show the love. dove knows we damage our hair a lot my hair i curl it. i have to use a lot of heat new dove hair therapy shampoo & conditioner with ceramide & peptide. it nourishes at a cellular level to rescue damaged hair. discover 10 x stronger hair with new dove hair therapy rescue and protect.

homegrown tomatoes...nice. i want to feel in control of my health, so i do what i can. what about screening for colon cancer? when caught in early stages it's more treatable. i'm cologuard. i'm noninvasive and i detect altered dna in your stool to find 92% of colon cancers, even in early stages. early stages? yep, it's for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider if cologuard is right for you. consider it done. my moderate to severe plaque psoriasis... ...the burning, the itching. the stinging. my skin was no longer mine. emerge tremfyant®.

with tremfya®, most people saw 90% clearer skin at 16 weeks. the majority of people saw 90% clearer skin even at 5 years. tremfya® is the first medication of its kind also approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis... ...and it's 6 doses a year after 2 starter doses. serious allergic reactions may occur. tremfya® may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. emerge tremfyant®. with tremfya®... ask your doctor about tremfya® today. do your eyes bother you? because after all these emails my eyes feel like a combo of stressed, dry and sandpaper. luckily, there's biotrue hydration boost eye drops for instant moisture. biotrue uses naturally inspired ingredients. and no preservatives. try biotrue

if it's thursday, new reaction from republicans signals a growing unease from the gop as it faces a potential fallout over roe v. wade being overturned and right-wing activist are pushing for a nationwide ban on abortion. trying to hang out despite the self described, pro life stance. where we stand on day 71 on the war in ukraine as the white house denies giving ukraine intelligence designed to target and kill russian generals as bloody battles rage on in mariupol. ♪ good thursday to you. welcome to