new famout as we come on the air. right now, u.s. intelligence officials preparing for a so-called damage assessment, basically trying to figure out if any of those documents found during the recent search posed any national security risks. the director of national intelligence writing, congressional lawmakers adding the assessment will not interfere with the doj's ongoing criminal investigation. also this hour, georgia's governor now responding to that new decision from a state judge. what he's saying about the order that he must testify to the fulton county grand jury, the one looking into potential 2020

election interference, what he's saying and when he might go under oath. developing news overseas, putting europe on edge. international inspectors on their way to that nuclear power plant coming under fire in ukraine. the fears growing over a possible radiation disaster. our team there on the ground with a live report for you. meantime, good afternoon to all of you. i'm alex witt, in for hallie jackson here in new york. i'm joined by ken dilanian, as well as msnbc legal analyst kelly, you're with us, as well. ken, with the doj with at least some of those seized documents contained some attorney/client privileged material. how will that affect the investigation going forward? >> probably not at all, alex. it's pretty routine when the fbi searches somebody's office and they grab all their files, they

may pick up stuff that's privileged. that's why they use what's known as a privilege or filter team, a group of independent prosecutors to go through the documents before they went to the agents investigates the mishandling of classified information. what this judge is suggesting is she's inclined to go one step further and ord ear special master, which is usually a retired federal judge, to go through the documents to make sure they didn't take anything subject to attorney/client privilege. but the doj said they've gone through all the documents and found a limited number of documents subject to privilege, and they would just hand those back to president trump as they did with his passport, which they deemed not relevant to the investigation. >> going back to the beginning, if these documents were privileged, does that give the former president the right to take them from the white house?

>> well, he has not claimed, alex, that all of those documents were subject to attorney/client privilege, a personal privilege of him getting legal advice from his attorneys. and i don't know that he could do that with a straight face. and what the department of justice has done today, we'll hear more from them later this week, but what's so smart is to try to take the temperature down on this civil action that he's brought about privilege and to say, you know, there's really not that much to talk about here. this request that he's made is a request for something routine in paper cases, where you have a separate team go through and pick out some privileged documents, and that we've already done it, as ken said. so i think that this is really taking the air out of the balloon of this argument that he wants to make about privilege and really trying to end it before it mushrooms into something bigger. >> well, air out of the balloon

or even in this case, has the horse already left the barn? because ken made that point about the federal judge on saturday saying she was leaning towards apointing this special master in that case. and that's before we found out the doj had already identified the privileged documents. but do you think that might affect at all a judge's inclination to have a third party step in? and thinking about all the time doj has had these documents, surely they've looked through a lot, if not all of them already. so the special master roll is what? >> exactly. at this point, what the doj is saying, and i think this is a good argument, a special master at this point would just be a superficial second look. and pointless because as the department points out in the filing that it just made, the search warrant itself said there was going to be a privilege review people, what we sometimes call a filter team, which is, again, entirely common in a

paper case. when you execute a search warrant, and you're looking for contraband like guns or drugs, you don't anticipate you might pick up some things that are attorney/client privileges. but when you're doing a paper case and taking boxes of paper out of a premises, that's something you anticipate before hand, and that team was already set up. so giving it a different title "special master" doesn't change the fact that this has already been done, and it's not going to really succeed as a delay tactic of any kind. >> so you have the dni's role in all of this, to look into the "potential risk to national security that could result from the disclosure of the relevant documents." so the risks aside here, how will investigators be able to find out if this stuff made it into the hands of an adversary? >> well, that is an interesting question, alex. because in terms of the three

crimes that are set out in the search warrant that at least give us some window into what the department was worried about when it went in there to get these documents, some solved just hoarding, mutilating, taking documents that you're not supposed to, interfering with or obstructing a government investigation. one of those charges contemplates exposing national security information to somebody else. and that is not something that they're necessarily going to be able to figure out just from looking at the documents, although they might. one of the things that investigates can do is a finger print scan to see who has touched these documents. we know they're talking to witnesses, so that might be one source of figuring out if there was a transmission that would invoke those other crimes. and we also know that they have asked twice for surveillance tapes to see who could have had access to the room where these materials were kept.

>> that makes sense. ken, i spoke with congressman ted liu, and he told me where he thinks this investigation should be at this point. take a listen to what he said. >> some of these documents, if they're marked as top secret or special access program level, they've got to be stored in a very secure, controlled location. only a few people know about what's in those documents. you can't just have them lying around in boxes at mar-a-lago where different people can just walk in and read those documents. so this is a very serious matter. anybody else would have been indicted by now. >> so the question is, ken, is the doj at all slow walking this investigation? would the doj allow politics to influence the pacing or is it just meticulous efforts that take time? >> i wouldn't describe it as politics. i would say the congressman is right. and people have gone to prison -- in one case, nine years for taking home classified

information from the nsa with no allegation they give it to an adversary. but the doj send being over backwards to be fair and meticulous in the case of a former president. the president, after all, once had lawful access to these documents. the issue is, once he wasn't president, he no longer did. some of these documents are marked in a way that only a tiny number of people in the government are cleared to see them. really sensitive stuff. it does raise a question, why did the doj take this long? they were -- the archives was negotiated all throughout 2021. the doj learned in january there were classified documents at mar-a-lago and it wasn't until august that they got a search warrant. but what doj officials would say is, look what's happened -- look at the public outrage among trump allies over this search. we had to be meticulous and go step by step here to establish a record. and that's what they think they

have done. now the question is, do they bring charges in this case? because other people who did stuff like this went to prison, alex. >> absolutely. guys, thank you so much. a judge in fulton county, georgia saying that state's governor brian kemp must testify in the county election interference probe. the ruling is still a partial win for the governor, who didn't want to testify at all. the judge saying he won't have to testify until after his november re-election battle. prosecutors are investigating what they call a multipronged effort from president trump's allies to urge officials to alter their election results. joining me now, nbc news correspondent blayne alexander in atlanta, as well as political reporter and msnbc political analyst greg bleustein. what does this ruling mean for the governor and the d.a.'s investigation, big picture? >> reporter: well, let's start

off with the timing of this, alex. it looks at the fact that we have an election coming up. as the governor's attorneys made the point in court last week, they say it's one of the most closely watched, if not the most closely watched gubernatorial race in the country. so they were saying listen, if he is required to testify, at least let him delay that testimony until after the election is over, because they didn't want what was happening to seen into the politics leading up into election day. and the judge said that's fair. the judge granted that, essentially said he doesn't want this to be influenced in any way, but he said as soon as that election is over, he has to go to the d.a.'s office and make arrangements to testify. now, it's notable that the d.a.'s office kind of pushed back on this. remember, she has this grand jury is impanelled until may of next year. so kemp's attorneys were saying there's no need for this to be done before the election. but the d.a.'s team was saying listen, what he has to say is so important, we want to hear from him as soon as possible.

the judge, of course, is delaying this until after november. i want to take a step back and talk about why they want to hear from the governor in the first place. remember, she's said she wants to hear from anybody who had any knowledge of the former president's actions, his mindset around possible efforts to overturn the election here in georgia, and he made very public pressures on governor kemp to call a special legislative session to overturn biden's victory in georgia, something he didn't do but something he will be questioned on. >> so this is a high of relief for the governor, at least temporarily. give me a sense of impact that his testimony could have had on his re-election campaign? i mean, what was at stake? what could he have been talking about that could have undermined the campaign? >> first of all, what she said is right, the governor is going to be asked about several phone calls that president trump and his allies made at the time in december of 2020 and january

2021 to get him to overturn the election. we know of at least one former phone call from president trump directly just as he was arriving in georgia for a rally. but for kemp, he's in strange spot right here. he's managed to reach an effective truce with donald trump, who has basically stopped calling for brian kemp's head after he won the republican primary. but supporters look like he's cooperating with an investigation into trump could risk antagonizing the former president and his supporter. 95% or so of republicans are backing his re-election campaign. he doesn't want to mess that up. >> the d.a.'s not only kemp, also recently announcing that she's seeking testimony from folks inside the trump campaign, that being mark meadows and others. why now? why is it happening now, greg? >> well, her investigation is

broadening at the same time it is tightening. it's going towards his inner circle. several of those people, including mark meadows, have been informed that it could be targets of the investigation and they could face criminal charges. and so this investigation has been going on for months. the d.a. said today she was looking to wrap it up by the end of the year to let the special grand jurors go about their business. the question, is does she subpoena donald trump, which she has not ruled that out. and does this result in challenges? the special grand jury can recommend whether or not she will make that decision, but it's up to the d.a. to make that decision. >> okay, thank you guys both for the conversation. meantime, still ahead for all of you, in ukraine, officials are handing out iodine tablets over fears of a radiation leak at a nuclear power plant. and after record rainfall, an update from mississippi officials on flood concerns and

after flooding earlier this month in kentucky, it is the first day back to school for students in the eastern part of that state where the effects are still being felt. >> when we started to contact students, i think our last number of students who didn't have a home at all were 90 in this building. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. ♪♪ with hand-crafted steakburgers and chicken sandwiches. there's a perfect plate for everyone. great value for all your favorites only from ihop. download the app and earn free food with every order. tide pods ultra oxi one ups the cleaning power of y liquid.rites only from ihop. can it one up whatever they're doing? for sure. seriously? one up the power of liquid, one up the toughest stains. any further questions? uh uh!

one up the power of liquid with tide pods ultra oxi. kickstart your fall refresh with wayfair's labor day sale. shop indoor and outdoor area rugs up to 70% off. cooking must haves up to 60% off. and kitchen and bathroom upgrades from $19.99. shop our labor day sale now through sept 7th. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪♪ ♪♪ you had me at allison® 10-speed transmission. ♪♪ features available on gmc sierra heavy duty. premium and capable. that's professional grade from gmc.

hi, my name's steve. i lost 138 pounds on goloe. and i kept it off. so with other diets, you just feel like you're muscling your way through it. the reason why i like golo is plain and simple, it was easy. i didn't have to grit my teeth and do a diet. golo's a lifestyle change and you make the change and it stays off. golo's changed my life in so many ways. i sleep better, i eat better. took my shirt off for the first time in 25 years. it's golo. it's all golo. it's smarter, it's better, it will change your life forever.

the mayor of jackson, mississippi says water levels are dropping in the state. this is welcome news. this happened at a noose conference held this last hour, of course, after days of record rainfall in that state and concerns of severe flooding prompted many evacuations. in kentucky, it's the first day of school in one county. unfortunately, that county still recovering from the floods that hit the state just weeks ago. let's bring in some reporters on the ground covering this weather for us. welcome to you both.

so somewhat's the latest there in mississippi? >> reporter: alex, the water here was inches from people's homes, so they did expect that river to crest at 35.5 feet. first, they thought it could have been 36 feet, then 35.5. it ended up being less than that, only inches away from catastrophic levels where people's homes would have flooded. in 2020, we did have flooding at 36 feet. a few inches more than that. that's why they declared that state of emergency, preparing for the flooding. just a few inches can mean the difference between flooding what we are seeing in the streets or flooding that goes into people's homes. as you just mentioned, there is positive news for the residents here in jackson. here's part of the press conference offered by the mayor earlier today. >> in terms of water entering in homes, we were blessed that that came below projections. so we're fortunate for that. but we're still concerned with

the fact that the water may sit around for some time, and that may delay residents being able to return to their homes. >> reporter: now, there's also an issue with water service. this is something they had been dealing with before the rain here in jackson. some people have no water at all. others have very low water pressure. and with the flooding, things only got more difficult for that water plant, so the mayor sent a message out to the thousands that have no water service, or the ones that have very little water pressure, that they are working on fixing that problem as we see these levels go back to the normal place where the river should be. but, again, it will be slow, and if it rains again, things could get worse. but for now, conditions are improving here in jackson. >> you do look for silver linings. look over your left shoulder. is that car a goner? it looks like that car behind you was stuck in water? >> reporter: that car -- right,

so when we showed up earlier this morning, the level was a little higher. that's one of the cars that was trapped with the flooding. it it could stay there for another day or two, depending on how fast that water will return to the normal levels. so for people that left their cars in areas like these, they'll be stuck. fortunately, it wasn't too many. we saw two cars and a few houses that had the water up to their doorstep. again, it never entered people's home, at least in this part of jackson. good news. >> we appreciate that. thank you so much. let's ask you how the community there in kentucky is doing? they're dealing with weather and going back to school. >> reporter: hi, alex. that's right. so the community is responding by getting back to their routines. you see all these school buses behind me. a majority of the impacted 25 school districts in kentucky delayed their school. however, here they managed to august 29th.

the physical damage cannot be understated. i've spoken with guidance counselors, parents and students, many are living in tents without access to power, water or food. 80% of the students here are on free and reduced lunches, which means they're an at-risk population in need of resources. beyond the physical effects we have seen on the buildings and heard about people's homes, there is also the emotional and psychological toll. i spoke with one high school senior who said this has changed his senior year. let's take a listen. >> it's sort of crushing us, because we've grown up here, we all made friends here, decided what we wanted to do and how we wanted to go on with our lives. and everything we've ever done here has been destroyed. >> reporter: and so it's been difficult. so while today was an exhale, the students just left, we were here this morning as the 800

shuffled in. there's still a long way to go, and that's very clear and palpable. teachers and the school staff rallied, they knocked on doors and called students to make sure they're okay. the governor announced $212.7 million in flooding relief, $40 million is going to the department of education. it will be a long road to recovery, but it is starting. >> i'm thinking about that -- going into senior high school year, which is supposed to be so special. this generation of high schoolers, think about all they have had to deal with. the beginning of high school, they had a couple of years of covid and remote learning. did he talk about sort of the big picture, how this is almost some tasteless icing on the cake? >> reporter: absolutely. we talked about the big picture. i asked specifically teachers and a guidance counselor what effect are you concerned about this having on your students? one pointed out that she's very

concerned about mental health and effects for ptsd. outside of the stresses of school, there is now worries about not having somewhere to sleep at night. not having wi-fi to do your homework. but the county is aware and are working on it. alex? >> all right. thank you so much for that story. we wish those seniors well. so you've heard the saying follow the money. new reporting from capitol hill how the january 6th committee is doing exactly that. plus, in just the last few hours, another proud boy who stormed the capitol, now sentenced to time behind bars.

i could've waited to tell my doctor my heart was racing just making spaghetti... but i didn't wait. i could've delayed telling my doctor i was short of breath just reading a book... but i didn't wait. they told their doctors. and found out they had... atrial fibrillation. a condition which makes it about five times more likely to have a stroke. if you have one or more of these symptoms irregular heartbeat, heart racing, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue or lightheadedness, contact your doctor. this is no time to wait. there's a monster problem and our hero needs solutions. so she starts a miro to brainstorm. “shoot it?” suggests the scientists. so they shoot it. hmm... back to the miro board. dave says “feed it?” and dave feeds it. just then our hero has a breakthrough. "shoot it, camera, shoot a movie!" and so our humble team saves the day by working together.

on miro. power e*trade's easy-to-use tools make complex trading less complicated custom scans help you find new trading opportunities while an earnings tool helps you plan your trades and stay on top of the market every year we try to exercise more, to be more social, to just relax. and eating healthy every single meal? if only it was this easy for us.

we reduce homelessness, address mental health, provide spaces for addiction to be broken, create spaces of healing and restoration. for the first time ever, prop 27 will provide permanent funding for organizations like ours. saying yes to prop 27 means more people get the assistance that they nee they get someone to partner in such a way to see transformation come to them. yes on prop 27, because there's no place like home. age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients

for immune support. boost® high protein. new developments today on two fronts in the investigations into the january 6th attack on the capitol. first up, we are learning the january 6th committee plans to dig into the money behind the riot and post election fund-raising by former president trump. commity member adam kinzinger says financing could be one of the missing pieces in the investigation. also today, a member of the proud boys, who still falsely believes the 2020 election was stolen, was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison for his actions on january 6th.

i want to bring in ali vitali and ryan. ali, you first here. what can we expect to see from the january 6th committee on this money front and when? >> reporter: alex, we have already heard a little bit from the committee about the money, specifically donations that were made to the stop the steal rally. kinzinger detailing on "meet the press" this is an issue that will come back around in september. but we know they've been working throughout the month of august and the people they have been meeting with give us a road map into what we could see in the hearings when they come back in september, specifically around the idea of more on those missing secret service text messages and because they have been doing interviews with other officials. it's cheer they're trying to delve into what the conversations were at the highest echelons of the trump administration after january 6th. because alex, look at the timeline the committee has laid

out already over the course of the summer. they brought us up from the election of 2020 through january 6th itself. that's where the committee hearings have paused at this point. now it seems like we'll continue along that timeline as the committee will show us what was happening in those intervening weeks after january 6th, possible conversations that were being had around the 25th amendment in light of january 6th. and then, of course, taking us up to inauguration day when joe biden assumed the presidency and donald trump left office. >> it is certain they will look to hear more about that in september, for sure. how about this proud boy sentenced today, ryan? can you confirm that he still believes the 2020 election was stolen? >> reporter: that's right. his name is joshua pruitt. he was a d.c. bar tender at a bar here in d.c. for a while. and sort of now kicked out of that community after his arrest. he spent the last several months

behind bars because of a pretrial release violation. in court today, he did say that he still continues to believe the election was stolen. i caught up with his lawyer afterwards who said it's tough to convince him that this was not the case, if you want to take a listen. >> it is just a hopeless battle at this point? >> we have had many conversations about it and mr. pruitt is firm in his beliefs. >> reporter: it's something i've been fascinated with, this idea the defendants coming in and saying whether or not they still believe in these election lies, because of course, in this case, you have an instance of a defendant who will throw away years of his life because he believed this lie. and if he didn't think it was true, that's something that is tough to swallow. there have been some defendant s who said yes, i fell for these

lies. but in this case, he seems to be sticking with it there, alex. >> i think you were listening to the conversation i was having with my floor director saying some of these things you cannot believe that they haven't come around in the face of seeing fact versus their fiction. it's remarkable. this guy has 4 1/2 years to sit behind bars and see if he reflects more on that and changes his tune. many thanks to you both. as we head joef overseas, right now u.n. inspectors are on their way to ukraine, set to arrive at the russian occupied plant as early as wednesday. this as fighting in the area raises concerns of a potential nuclear disaster. it comes as ukraine launches an offensive to retake the russian held south today. the ukrainian spokesperson claiming russia has withdrawn from some of its positions but nbc news has yet to verify that.

josh, welcome. this counteroffensive is underway as we speak. what is happening on the ground? >> reporter: alex, the big question for weeks, as ukraine has been promising this counteroffensive, is it going to materialize? today, according to ukraine's military, it did begin what the ukrainians claiming they were able to breach some of the russian frontlines in the area of kherson, the first city to fall to russia in this war. in fact, there have been explosions reported today near a key bridge that the russians have used to supply their troops who are on the western side of the river. and so the ukrainians appear to be making good on this pledge to start trying to push russia out of some of the territory they seized early on in this war. the big question is, are they going to be successful? we've seen some western officials questioning whether ukraine had the military capability right now to carry this out. today, russia's military claiming that as they repelled

that ukrainian counteroffensive, they killed several hundred ukrainian troops. although that is a claim ukraine hasn't commented on and we can't independently confirm at this point in time. >> what can we expect from the u.n. inspector's visit to the nuclear power plant and can you confirm they'll arrive there on wednesday? >> reporter: wednesday is the earliest we expect them to get to the zaporizhzhia region, where they will meet with local officials and spend several days at the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. not only inspecting what damage has been done there, alex, but also trying to assess whether the backup power systems and other safety measures that you need to safety run a nuclear plant are still in tact. but there is a lot that they're not going to be able to do. i spoke with a nuclear expert at harvard about some of the limitations in this mission. here's what she said. >> it's also unclear, for

instance, how candidly will the staff, the ukrainian staff will be able to talk, or whether, after the mission leaves, these people won't come under some kind of pressure or intimidation for engaging with the inspectors. so i think the temporary nature of this mission is unfortunately going to be its limitations. >> reporter: so this is not going to be a panacea that will resolve this crisis. these are inspectors. they can't force the russians to hand over the plant or stop the shelling at zaporizhzhia that ukraine and russia have been accusing each other of being behind. but they will give the international community the first neutral objective look at what's happening on the ground there, and hopefully they'll be able to bring some stability to a dangerous situation that has local officials so concerned that they started dolling out iodine tablets to residents in

area. >> they can let europe and the greater world know if we're on the precipice of a nuclear disaster. josh letterman, thank you for that. nasa was hoping to take a giant leap forward. but this morning a step backward as the planned lunar mission has been grounded for now. we're at the launch site for when we could see liftoff. and what you need to know if you're traveling by plane this labor day weekend. weekend. 's un. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. ♪ ♪ we believe there's an innovator in all of us. ♪

that's why we build technology that makes it possible for every business... and every person... to come to the table and do more incredible things. announcer: type 2 diabetes? discover the power of 3 in the ozempic® tri-zone. in my ozempic® tri-zone, i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. announcer: ozempic® provides powerful a1c reduction. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. and you may lose weight. adults lost up to 14 pounds. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® 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 ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. join the millions already taking ozempic®. ask your health care provider about the ozempic® tri-zone. announcer: you may pay as little as $25 for a 3-month prescription. >> tech: cracked windshield? trust safelite. we'll replace your glass and recalibrate your vehicle's camera, so automatic emergency braking and lane departure warning work properly. don't wait--schedule now. >> singers: ♪ safelite repair, safelite replace. ♪ the tenth pick is in the new all-american club. that's a “club” i want to join! let's hear from simone. chuck, that's a club i want to join! i literally just said that. i like her better than you the new subway series. what's your pick? ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ are you tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? what if your clothes could stay fresh for weeks? now they can. downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters keep your laundry smelling fresh waaaay longer than detergent alone. pour a cap of downy unstopables into your washing machine before each load. and enjoy fresher smelling laundry. if you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks make sure you have downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters. shop for downy unstopables online, including our lighter scent. hepatitis c? don't just treat it. crush it with mavyret. conquer it with mavyret. cure it. with mavyret. mavyret cures all types of hep c. in only 8 weeks. the virus multiplies daily and can damage the liver over time. mavyret stops hep c and cures it. if you've had hepatitis b, it may flare up... ...and cause serious liver problems

during and after treatment. tell your doctor if you've had hep b, a liver or kidney transplant, other liver problems... ...hiv, other medical conditions... ...and all your medicines. do not take mavyret with atazanavir or rifampin. report right away yellow skin, stomach pain or swelling... ...confusion, and bleeding or bruising. hep c? crush it with mavyret. conquer it. cure it. in only 8 weeks. see hep c gone with mavyret. ask your doctor about mavyret. abbvie could help you save. nasa's long-planned kickoff to lunar explorations scrubbed this morning's artemis launch after discovering an engine issue. it would have put into lunar orbit nasa's new space-launched system and orion capsule. nasa is eyeing this coming

friday or monday as windows for a launch. so let's bring in jacob, put into perspective what has been put on hold. what all goes into when to schedule another launch? >> reporter: well, alex, it was really just a question of wanting to be safe rather than sorry. that's how nasa is describing its decision to hold off on today's launch. and it's because they could not get the engines cool enough. they couldn't get hydrogen to move across the engine to bring it down to the proper tension. this is an engine that went up on several missions. it's just a monstrous mission. it goes from 0 to 17,000 miles per hour in 8.5 seconds. now the question is, how long will it take before it can go up again? we can't launch it this week because there's a lunar eclipse,

so september 2, this upcoming friday, possible labor day could do that. the thing that will determine that is if it comes off that launch pad and has to be rolled back to the assembly building. if they do, it could be a launch in mid september or october. >> i can't believe how fast that thing goes. but here's a question. why go back to the moon? let's face it, there's an american flag already staked. there it's not like you're going to start growing crops, at least i don't think you can. maybe there's something about moon soil. but why go there again? >> reporter: it's a very, very good question. certainly when you look at the extraordinary costs of this, at this point this rocket program is overbudget. an audit found it's going to cost just shy of $100 billion, that's a figure nasa disputes, but it's more than we ever expected. but when you look at the cost compared to past missions, it's

not that much. the original apollo cost in today's cost is over $250 billion. here's why we're doing it. fundamentally, alex, what we are trying to do is get back on the moon, because the last time we went there, just a handful of rocks, the few hundred pounds of rocks that people brought back at that time, were transformative in our understanding of what the moon and the earth is. we found out they were one in the same and something broke off the moon. we know that because human beings have the curiosity, the innate ability, the creativity to find those things on there. when we spoke to experts, they say you want a human being as a geologists. they're just more curious. they find things a robot they have could. you can't preram the capability of human inquisition. so that is the ultimate point, of putting people back. that's not describing the

long-term goal of fueling future rockets from the water we might find. there's ambitions built into nasa's ideas and budgeting here. so suddenly, you think maybe one scrub and maybe $90 billion, maybe that is a cost we can all bear to try and take a step forward toward that goal. >> maybe even using that as a launching pad to mars one day. jacob, there's a lot on the calendar, that's for sure. good to see you. thank you so much. if any of you have any plans to travel, buckle up. because air travel complaints are soaring. up 270% in june, compared to 2019 before covid hit. nbc's sam brock has more from miami international airport. >> reporter: the mid year report card for passengers confirm twhas a lot of us already believed to be true, june was a travel nightmare. so much so the department of transportation is looking at new rules to hold the airlines accountable.

the airlines would say their performance in july improved marketedly, as the next big test is waiting, labor day. with summer travel winding down, a new report reveals significant elevation in travel complaints. the department of information found airline complaints sored to sky high levels in june. up 35% from may, and almost 270% from before the pandemic. in the first six months of 2022 alone, there have been more complaints than all of 2019. the new numbers, no surprise for those who took to the skies this summer. >> it's been the worst experience ever. >> reporter: with airline reliability, or lack thereof, topping the list of gripes. the report zeros in on which airlines were the most punctual. alaska, deltsa and hawaiian airlines landed on time most

often. while frontier, jet blue and aleegiant bringing up the bottom three. adding they are actively working to mitigate the problem. on the cancellation front, american, delta and united also had the highest cancellation rates this june, though they also offer the most flights. american and delta say they have since improved their operations. >> june was the worst month of the year when it comes to flight delays and cancellations. >> i think things have improved significantly, but it underscores just how bad things got with air travel. >> reporter: one key tip ahead of the holiday travel boom, book early flights. the report finding those flights were about 25% more likely to be on time than those at the end of the day. and if you're caught in a travel nightmare with a delayed or canceled flight, ask the airline for compensation. >> everything is on the table,

and it never hurts to ask. >> reporter: still, some hope for travelers heading into the fall. in experts expect ticket prices to drop after the busy summer season. of course, if you take to the road instead, gas prices are still falling. good news for drivers over labor day weekend. so a look at why things might be smoother, airlines have added staffing across the board, knowing that the status quo is not acceptable. the department of transportation opened up this 90-day of public comment before it implements rule changes. the only way to get your money refunded is if the flight is canceled or there is a significant delay. the proposed rules would say a significant delay is three hours or more for domestic flights. sam brock, nbc news. >> thank you, sam for that

report. coming up next, the ugly truth facing donald trump's truth social platform inside the reported money problems piling up, as questions about the former president's future grows. . ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

(dad) we have to tell everyone that we just switched to verizon's new ♪ ♪ welcome unlimited plan, for just $30. (daughter) i've already told everyone! (nurse) wait... did you say verizon for just $30? (mom) it's their best unlimited price ever. (cool guy) $30...that's awesome. (dad) yeah, and it's from the most reliable 5g network in america. (woman) for $30 a line, i'm switching now. (mom) yeah, it's easy and you get $960 when you switch the whole family. (geek) wow... i've got to let my buddies know. (geek friend) we're already here! (vo) the network you want. the price you love. only from verizon. ♪ any way you want it ♪ ♪ that's the way you need it ♪

♪ any way you want it ♪ ♪ any way ♪ ♪ any way you want it ♪ ♪ that's the way you need it ♪ it's back america. applebee's all you can eat boneless wings. just $12.99. ♪ ♪ this is the moment. for a treatment for moderate-to-severe eczema. cibinqo — fda approved. 100% steroid free. not an injection, cibinqo is a once-daily pill for adults who didn't respond to previous treatments. and cibinqo helps provide clearer skin and less itch. cibinqo can lower your ability to fight infections, including tb. before and during treatment, your doctor should check for infections and do blood tests. tell your doctor if you've had hepatitis b or c, have flu-like symptoms, or are prone to infections. do not take with medicines that prevent blood clots. serious, sometimes fatal infections, lymphoma, lung, skin and other cancers, serious heart-related events, and blood clots can happen. people 50 and older with heart disease risk factors have an increased

risk of serious heart-related events or death with jak inhibitors. this is the moment. but we've only just begun. speak with your doctor about cibinqo today. an innovation from pfizer. speak with your doctor about cibinqo today. when our daughter and her kids moved in with us... our bargain detergent couldn't keep up. turns out it's mostly water. so, we switched back to tide. one wash, stains are gone. [daughter] slurping don't pay for water. pay for clean. it's got to be tide.

former president trump's social media platform is facing money problems. right now truth social doesn't have a guaranteed source of income and if it doesn't get any it could go bust. a new sec filing from the company planning to take truth social public is warning of damages to the already slowing business if the former president, quote, becomes less popular or there are further controversies that damage his credibility. this comes as the platform has reportedly stopped paying its web hosting service, and now owes it more than $1 million. this according to fox business. let's bring in nbc news senior reporter ben collins. here's why we're bringing in ben because you're an expert on the internet and my next question is you on popular or not popular is truth social. does the president have reason to be concerned?

>> it's not popular. donald trump is the primary user and he only gets a few thousand likes or re-truths or posts there. it can be screen shotted and poefed on to bigger platforms. facebook and twitter, places that he has been banned from. he wants to be able to tweet and which is his way to tweet with different kinds of branding and there are people that go on there and follow his every word. for example, that guy who went into a cincinnati field office, fbi field office and tried to shoot a nail gun through it. that guy was posting on truth social. there are people that exist that really like donald trump and his plan and go to truth social, but the numbers are dwindling in part because there are websites that better suit their purpose, websites like gab or fortune and patriots.win. they are better-serving communities for donald trump's base right now than truth social is. >> so as i look at the details here, 1.6 million is what's owed. this is an internet

infrastructure company. it's also for conservatives or the ones that use this particular one or all of these pre-back dated payments, right? if he doesn't pay they can take it off the cloud. it goes away? this is where you actually want to put your money to keep at least this going? >> yeah. i mean, you would want that, i'm assuming if you run an app and that's where the communications xhring and i don't think $1 million for donald trump shouldn't be that kind of problem, but if it gets down from the internet, if it loses its hosting it would no longer be available on the internet. most people use the app, so i think the download numbers here are fuzzy and funny. it's very unclear how many people use the site and it is relatively unmonetizable and it is very hard to monetize based on this specific message right now over the last day. please don't put me in jail or

else people will be out in the streets protesting that. that is not a particularly popular message for, you know, people trying to sell pots and pans or something. it's a hard business to sell. when you look at this uncertain path forward for truth social. how do you think that says something about the future popularity of donald trump? do you see a connection? >> well, it's difficult for him. he's facing reinstatement at facebook in 2023. he can get back on there and thinks he can get back on the track for social media for him, but who knows where he'll physically be in the world. >> who knows what will actually happen with that movement? >> his movement is very much right now focused on finding clear enemies that they can point the mob to. the last couple of weeks ago it was the doctors and teachers and people aligning themselves as pro trans and public. that's where this is headed now.

it's not really around donald trump himself and it's around what he stands for and it's targeting liberal ideas and people who support them. i don't know where that ends up on the internet and usually it ends up on 4chan and websites like gab. it doesn't end up on truth social. >> okay. well, we'll see if truth social even continues and they have to pay this particular bill. ben collins, thank you so much and thanks to all of you for watching this hour of msnbc. i'm alex witt. "deadline: white house" is right after the break. "deadline: white house" is right after the break. 38 million mem bers and said, "enough." enough of the highest prescription drug prices in the world. together, we forced the big drug companies to lower prices and save americans money. we won this fight, but big pharma won't stop. so neither will aarp.

ever wonder what everyone's doing on their phones? but big pharma won't stop. they're banking, with bank of america. the groom's parents? they just found out they can redeem rewards for a second honeymoon. romance is in the air. like these two. he's realizing he's in love. and that his dating app just went up. must be fate. and phil. he forgot a gift, so he's sending the happy couple some money. digital tools so impressive, you just can't stop banking. what would you like the power to do? hi, i'm eileen. i live in vancouver, washington and i write mystery novels.

dogs have been such an important part of my life. i have flinn and a new puppy. as i was writing, i found that i just wasn't as sharp and i new i needed to do something so i started taking prevagen. i realized that i was much more clear and i was remembering the details that i was supposed to. prevagen keeps my brain working right. prevagen. healthier brain. better life.

hello, everyone. it's 4:00 in the east after weeks of hunting down any minute detail having to do with the fbi's search of donald trump's mar-a-lago club today, but feels embarrassing to that like a quantum surge in new information. new facts, new details which collectively posed some very serious questions, unique in american history. we'll start with all that we learned today from the justice department's response to the ruling. over the weekend, the trump-appointed judge signaled her inclination to appoint a special master, a court-selected third party to review the materials seized by the fbi earlier this month. it was seen as an unusual move at the time given that judge hasn't yet heard arguments from the doj. she set a court date for this thursday and asked the government to produce a more detailed list of what they took. in its response today,