a beautiful shot of los angeles. 6:00 on the west coast, 9:00 a.m. on the east coast. welcome back to the fourth hour of "morning joe." we have a lot to get to this hour, including donald trump's legal team responding to the justice department's filing that

classified documents at mar-a-lago were likely concealed or hidden. arguing the former president was simply holding on to his own presidential records. in just a few hours, a judge is set to hear arguments on a request for a special master to review the seized documents. also ahead, president biden is set to deliver a major prime time address tonight on the the battle for the soul of america. we'll get a live preview from the white house coming up. and, the latest on the ongoing water emergency in mississippi. we will speak with the mayor of jackson on the crisis that has now triggered a political blame game. but the bottom line, willie, is people there don't have clean water. >> that is right. and they haven't for sometime. we'll talk to the mayor in just a moment. but let's begin this hour with former president donald trump's legal team and its response to

the department of justice latest filing on the classified documents seized during the fbi search of mar-a-lago. in the 18-page filing, trump's lawyer suggests by launching what they described as an unprecedented and unnecessarily raid on mar-a-lago, the justice department was criminalizing the former president's personal and presidential records in a secure setting. after the doj said it had evidence efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government's investigation and government records likely concealed and removed in the months before the august 8th search. in last night's response, trump's lawyers argued that the presidential records act has no enforcement mechanism suggesting the government has no basis to seize the files trump took to mar-a-lago and did not return even after those repeated requests about the national archives and a subpoena from the just department. trump's attorneys also argued privacy in response to the doj

writing, quote, it is the responsible expectation of privacy in one's home that triggered obvious standing of the homeowner to contest a search on those premises. joining us now, from west palm beach florida, is senior national correspondent kerry sanders outside of the courthouse where a hearing will take place in just a few hours in the trump legal team's request for a special master to review the documents fbi agents had seized. kerry, good morning. what do we expect to see today? >> reporter: well, unfortunately, the cameras are not allowed into the federal courthouse. and so we're not going to see what unfolds in the federal courtroom. but of course, there are the largest courtroom set aside here, courtroom number one on the first floor, there should be room for upwards of 50 reporters in there. so we'll be able to document what happens. we'll take some sketches, but up against the debate here is at the center, the judge who will make this decision. judge eileen mercedes-cannon.

now she was born in collie, columbia, came to the united states and has a long history, was a former prosecutor in the u.s. attorney's office. well respected by those appointed to the bench here. the federal bench by trump in 2020. and so now this becomes the largest case that she will ever have to decide in her very short career as a judge. and the big question is, should there be a special master appointed. there is all sorts of debates on either which way this will go. could it be simply perceived as a step of due process, or is it a special master unnecessary, i spoke to the former u.s. attorney for the southern district kendall coffee who said in many cases you might think that cows have already left the barn because the department of justice has reviewed all of the documents so why go through the process of having a special master go through and review the documents. and again, the special master has to be somebody with a

security clearance to determine whether these are privileged documents or not because the doj has already reviewed them. but what we will see here, at probably a little bit before 1:00, the attorneys for the former president, donald trump, trusty lindsay halliggan and evan cork ron, go into the courtroom. you mentioned the brief filed last night on the trump side here and this will all be sort of narrated and explained to the judge really reflecting what is already in the paperwork and then the judge could make a decision today on whether to apoint a special master, or take it under advisement. and there is one other sort of option that if indeed the special master would only be doing what has already -- as the former u.s. attorney said has been reviewed by the department of justice so we don't need a special master, it could go to a magistrate. and so a magistrate may be

assigned to look at it, which would be in many cases a routine step in the federal process. but all eyes on this and certainly we're going to see if the judge rules today, who that special master would be, and if there is a special master appointed, how quickly this process will take place. willie. >> nbc's kerry sanders outside of the courthouse in west palm beach, thank you so much. and so, joe, obviously, the justice department has said a special mast ser unnecessary and the filter teams have gone through the documents and another analyst say maybe it will grant a special master to give the appearance or the reality of donald trump getting a fair hearing in this matter. >> yeah. and by the way, a couple of things. first of all, i don't know a defense attorney worth anything, just to explain to the audience about the special master, i

don't know a criminal defense attorney who would take the government's word for anything. that is not about this case. that is about any case. if a prosecutor says to the court, hey, there is no need to have a special master in there. there is no need to check what the government is doing. it just -- the way our system works, criminal defense attorneys is going to say, wait a second, why should i trust the prosecutors, i'm going to ask the judge to move forward and put a special master in there. and just because the government is saying we don't need one. that is not how the system works. you hire criminal defense attorneys because your trying to push back against the government. and that is not just in the trump case, that would be in just about every other case. and i just want to say this, i understand that this judge, this federal judge is a trump appointed judge. so were the 63 federal judges roughly 63 federal judges who pushed back on all of his bogus

election rigging claims. >> ahead of the fbi. >> so, is the head of the fbi. he was appointed by donald trump. so, too, are the majority of the supreme court justices who brushed all of this away. you know, i just, and it must be the old ex republican in me, i get tired of hearing about what judges are appointed by what presidents, only when it is a republican president that is appointing the judge in question. you rarely hear, oh, there is an obama appointed judge and i understand trump is in office, or trump's at issue here. but i've got to say that until we're -- things are proven other wise, we should listen to chief justice of the united states. and our approach should be especially given the 2020 election and how the federal

judiciary actually did their job in protecting madison democracy that we don't have democratic judges and we don't have republican judges, we like to think at least we aspire to have a judiciary that just has federal judges. and let's hope that is the case here. >> so let's bring in former acting solicitor general, neal katyal. i'm curious what the role of the special master would be and what the intention here and what impact would a special master have on how the doj moves forward, any decisions to move forward or a potential indictment? >> first, let me just thank joe for his remarks about judges because i think they are so important. and one legacy of president trump's time in office was to attack judges for being obama judges and things like that. that is not the way -- i practice in the federal courts every day. that is not the way to think

about them. it is not right. it is not appropriate. so let's see how judge cannon evaluated this today and not malign her for being a trump appointed judge. donald trump has asked for a special master which is someone to review the documents seized at mar-a-lago and determine whether any are protected by privilege. and i disagree a little bit with joe here on his first set of remarks. ease absolutely right, criminal defense attorneys shouldn't take the government's word and should make filings that explain why a special master is needed over the government's objection. the problem here is that their briefs haven't done that. the justice department filed this long 36-page brief when told a compelling narrative on both the facts an the law about how donald trump stole these documents, he kept them hidden, he lied about keeping them hidden, he was repeatedly asked to return them, and he didn't. and so then they found -- then they authorized the search with a federal magistrate judge

signing off and they found all of the goods at mar-a-lago. in response, they were afforded, the trump lawyers were supposed to file a reply brief last night. that means you're supposed to reply to what the government said. it didn't reply to what the government said. there was virtually no discussion of the facts whatsoever. and with respect to the law in need for a special master, they never explained what a special master would do at this point besides simply delay the investigation. so joe is right, the defense attorney should be making arguments but the problem here for donald trump is there aren't any arguments. this brief was incredibly hard to follow. it was barely written in english. it should have been left in the drafts folder on their computer. >> so, neal, another thing that was not addressed in that filing from the trump attorneys was the question of obstruction, which was laid out pretty clearly in that extraordinary document from the justice department just a few days ago.

based on what we've radar into justice department filing and everything that has been made public, does that look like to you where perhaps merrick garland, where justice is headed here, at least as a first step, that, yes, donald trump obstructed our ability to get these documents back. >> yes and no. so, yes, i think obstruction is simple and easy to prove now. the government's filings a couple of days ago lays out a really clear case for obstruction of grand jury proceedings. donald trump was subpoenaed by the grand jury, not for classified information but documents bearing markings of classified documents and that picture, which we all saw, showed that those goods were found at mar-a-lago. and i know trump's defenders like kash patel has said he has a standing order to declassify all documents which has got to be bogus. but even accepting that, the thing is the obstruction case doesn't depend on classification

at all. the grand jury asked for certain documents and you said you gave them, you didn't give them. and we found them in the execution of the search. that is simple and clean. i don't think that is where the buck stops, though. because this information and in the picture itself reveals it, they show cords words like sci, and hcs, human controlled sources. this is the most important the secrets the nation have. livers in the field are resting on our ability to protect these things. i don't think this is just an obstruction case because if i brought these documents home and you i used to be national security adviser, would you be in jail. there is no question i would be in jail. >> no doubt about it. >> i don't think garland just charges obstruction. >> no doubt about it. i'm so glad you said that. i nove as a member of congress who is on armed services committee, i understand when we got classified briefings,

when -- i could still remember 1998 when we got classified briefings about north korea nuclear program and people coming in and telling us what was going to happen over the next 15 years which they got exactly right, everybody on that committee understood what was said remained in this room. when we got a top secret briefing in 1999 about nuclear weapons in suitcases, that might be sent across the globe and that threat, i remember where i was. i understood, we all understood nothing was to be said and if we took any of that information outside of the room, that we -- the fbi would be knocking on our door and in a couple of minutes. so, i mean, this is -- this is so clear-cut. that is why when lindsey graham is saying things like, oh, if donald trump is held to the same standard that you or i would be

held to, or lindsay or any member of congress would be held to, they're going to be riots in the street by republicans. that just makes it all the more outrageous because lindsay knows, i think he's on the armed services committee, he's known, he's never been able to do this one time or else he would have been in jail. >> absolutely, joe. and if you and i did bring any of those documents home, the first thing the fbi would do is say, why are you bringing these, what do you need them at home for? the thing about trump, he's tweeted or whatever it is on his social media, truth social, he's repeatedly made statements, his lawyers are on tv every day, and he's made all of these court filings, not a single filing or a single tweet or a single word answers that simple question, donald trump, what are you doing with these documents in your golf club? why did you bring them home? >> yeah.

so, finally, neal, i'd love to talk to you again, this is something that mika and willie and i have avoided, because there is always been so much speculation about donald trump and legal consequences to his actions and most of the speculation is over-shot the mark. so if you don't feel comfortable answering this question, i completely understand it but i'm going to ask you any way because you brought up something that reminded me. it seems to me, based on the people that i've spoken with involving this case, not in the doj, but just people that are sort of gaming this out, that merrick garland and the doj are likely working on a much larger case against donald trump, seeing if there is in fact a more significant case. but they moved in on -- on this

because this was a clear-cut case of obstruction. and they believed this was a building block. this was -- this was basically an ace in their back pocket that they could have to start the building of the case. but the fact is they're actually working on a much larger case. this is just the first step in that case. >> i guess i disagree a bit with that. i'm not sure what more significant or larger case means. i definitely think that the justice department has been evaluating donald trump's royal in the january 6 insurrection. but joe, i think that these allegations here, of taking our nation's most sensitive material home with you, and then lying about it, being asked by the fbi repeatedly and the archives to return the information, saying no, and then saying we have returned everything but turning out not to return everything,

the government's filings two days ago pointed out that more than twice as many documents were found in the execution of the search than were ever turned over by donald trump. all of that to me is a really, really serious by itself and i think that the way the department would evaluate this is two separate criminal inquiries, not one big ball of wax. it is two separate things. reason this one has moved so fast because of the urgent need by government to recover these documents do a national security assessment of whether our spies in the field our sources and methods including our electronic ones have been compromised in some way. but based on what i've read from the justice department filing two days ago, i don't see how merrick garland could not indict donald trump. it is impossible to look the other way at this point. so i do expect an indictment to president for these crimes. >> well, i agree with you there.

whether he wants to or not, i know he could have the debate as-n his mind as whether he should or not since he's a former president. given the pleadings an the evidence, i don't really think he has any choice at this point. as far as more, let's say more significant case, i'm talking of course about sedition against the united states of america as a sitting president but you are right, this is an extraordinarily important case in its own right. msnbc legal analyst neal katyal, thank you so much. >> thank you. >> we greatly appreciate you being with us. >> so the office of the director of national intelligence is reviewing materials taken from former trump's florida estate for the potential national security risks. that review was requested in part by intelligence committee chair adam schiff. and the democratic congressman from california joins us now. thank you very much for being on this morning. if you could further explain

that request. >> well, you know, as neal was saying, these documents were marked sensitive compartmented information and there was confirmation that human sources may have been involved and the danger is not just the information that is in the document but even more so the source of gathering that information. if that was compromised, people lives could be put at risk. if it is a technical source and some of our best sources are technical means of collection, and the adversaries is able to figure out this must have been the way they got that information, then that technical source is disabled and you lose all of the information that you mugt have gotten in the future about an adversary. so i've asked the director to the analysis to make sure that we mitigate any risks if there are human sources they're protected and if they're technical sources that we take steps to protect that as well. >> and what are the key reasons that you made this request that you're having this review taken, what were the indications that there could be a problem and how

long would a review like this take? >> well the primary indication, because we haven't seen the documents, is how their marked. and when they bear that sci marking, it means there is a sensitive source involved and if the source is revealed, it could do grave damage to the national security. so, that alone and then of course you have the volume of these documents, the cavalier manner, the reckless manner in which they were being maintained in various locations, in some cases according government filing intermixed with newspaper clips and others, so it poses a real concern. in terms of how long it would take, you know, i think they'll do a very early, quick check to make sure if there was a human source involved, do we need to get someone out of a location. but it may take a bit of time, weeks to determine if there is

any indication that people had access to these documents, is there any indication that our adversary now is suspicious about this particular source. so, that could take some time. >> chairman schiff, we were speaking this morning about the impact of the hearings of your january 6 select committee on a bit of a summer heyity us but promised to come back with more information about what happened on the 6th. can you preview some of that and let the audience know when you're back from front of cameras telling that story. >> i think we'll have a hearing or hearings on our recommendations and our role, that is the justice department, but ours is to do the over sight, expose the malfeasance and then propose corrective actions, generally in the form of legislation. so i think we'll have a hearing or hearings on the reforms necessary to protect us.

and that might be reforms to the electoral count act or reforms to how the powers of the presidency could be abused. but we also may have a hearing or hearings of how of a factual nature like you've seen in the past where very much in daily, weekly discussions about this, we've set a high bar and we want to make sure that any hearings that we have meet that high bar. >> final question, politically, heading toward the midterms, we had a surprise result in alaska and some trend lines in the polls. how confident are you about democrats' potential for success in the midterms, especially in what would be a very hard-fought battle in the house. >> well i'm feeling very on the -- i've been very optimistic. i've been helling our incumbents in a dozen or two dozen states in the last few months ago and candidates would tell me they're facing some real head winds.

now the situation on the ground is completely different. if anything, we have a slight breeze at our backs. i still don't want to understate the challenge of a midterm of a president's first term, but our candidates are doing extremely well. they've recruited largely because of trump's involvement, a lot of unelectable people, extreme people. and i do think when we really began to see that change, as you were indicating earlier, was when the supreme court took the rights americans away. jeopardized women's reproductive care. that is the beginning of change in momentum and we just hope and are going to work hard to continue that momentum up through the election. >> chairman of the house intelligence committee congressman adam schiff, thank you very much for being on the show this morning. and coming up, president biden will head to philadelphia later today so to deliver a speech aimed at saving the soul of america.

we'll go live to the white house for what to expect tonight. plus nearly 180,000 in jackson, mississippi, are told to shower with their mouths closed as they have -- as they have no clean water for a fourth straight day. the mayor of jackson will be our guest. and, serena williams retirement still on hold. after out lasting the world's second ranked player last night in front of a packed arthur ashe stadium advancing to the third round of the u.s. open. "morning joe" returns in just a moment. my grandma never mentioned this, but her first job was working at a five and dime, when she was only 16 years old.

it's all right there in the census. see where a few details can lead with the 1950 census on ancestry.

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wow, serena williams wins again. the 23-time grand slam champion eliminating number two seed anet konta veet ensuring she will play one more singles match before she retires from tennis. >> you know, it is no rush here. i'm just -- i'm loving this crowd and -- [ cheering and applause ] -- oh, my goodness, it is really fantastic. so, there is still a little left in me. we'll see. >> the six-time champ at flushing meadows will play tomorrow for a spot in the fourth round and you could just tell, guys, she's just loving

it. she's completely free. no stress, and that is kind of a winning feeling. >> yeah, that is actually exactly what she said after the match. she said i have nothing to prove. i have nothing to lose. this is probably my last dance. i'm playing loose, i'm having fun. and it was just so fun watching her play. at 40 years old, not playing to ramp up for the tournament, but man, she looks good. and she looks really good and i don't want to get greedy here but she just knocked the number two player in the world out of the bracket. and she has some players that she could beat. but this could be something really special. and how fun and what a gift to get to just watch her play one more night. we want one more night, the greatest player of all time and without question one of the greatest athletes ever to live. >> incredible. >> for sure. >> so a little baseball last night, too.

joe, some la-new york match-ups. picking things up in the top of the 7th with the mets clinging to a run-run lead. >> turning drives one to center, chasing nemo back to the warning track. right at the -- he made the catch. oh, wow. the catch of the year for brandon. >> what? >> what a catch. >> are you serious. >>? brandon nimmo taking a way a home run for turner to preserve the mets lead helping out jacob degrom and beating los angeles 2-1 in what could be a little playoff preview. these are two really good teams. if felt like a playoff game. >> you got to believe, i mean, what a difference this mets team. and you do have to look at the owner who has said i'm going to do what it takes to make the mets competitive. they've had a lot of people hurt this year.

they've kept their head down and it really, it is a pretty remarkable story. >> yeah. they've got great pitching and degrom only gave up one rub to the best team in baseball last night and you have scherzer out there and well. and they're playing really well. meanwhile on the west coast, in anaheim, show heyo tauny help the angels rally to a 3-2 win over the yankees last night. now the first player in major league history to hit 30 home runs and record 10 wins in pitching in the same season. we've said it before, but this guy is unlike anything we've seen probably since babe ruth. to pitch the way he pitches and to hit 30 home runs and counting now. >> you know, you've got two of the greatest players not just playing baseball right now, but over the last decade at least, that seems to be an

understatement. playing out in anaheim. and what a shame that more baseball fans don't get to see them every night. i'm hoping that, you know, maybe the angels could turn things around and they could start at least making it to the playoffs. but pretty extraordinary. also, on the yankees front, too, you and i always say it, it is a long season. and you never know what is going to happen. you know, the red sox got really hot in late september. it almost took them all the way to the world series and just like that, their bats got cold and i've been saying the yankees, this is time for them to be struggling and they could do better in september. september is just begun. there is a long -- a long runway to the playoffs. at the same time, at this point, their problems are now months into the making and you really do look at them. you just wonder, what is going

on with this club that seemed like they were on the way to making history this year. >> yeah, the first half of the season, it was talk, are they going to set the single season all time wins record. get to 116 or 118 wins in the season. and since the all-star break and you're right, it is not a couple of weeks any more, it is been about two months that they've been in this slide where they lose a bunch and then come back and win a couple and then they go back into the valley. they lost again to the angels as we just showed. so the bats aren't hitting. and without that, their winning their division by six games still, they built up the pad earlier in the season but the rays are coming into town. and now clearly the astros are the class of the american league and everything will go through houston again. >> we'll see what happens. one other clip, i just have to show you, liverpool. if the red sox season is not going badly enough, liverpool has started off about as badly

as could be imagined. and they were really, in august, they had their backs to the wall because man city is such a great team, that if they failed to win again yesterday, as it looked like through 97 minutes, then they actually would have already been out of the running for a championship, where the champion is crowned in may. this is what happened, though. at the end that match. >> might be worth two points for liverpool. don't mess with the header. can't bring it down. real pit bull and it is in. they brought it. with a last kick of the game. turning one point into three. >> it is the hope that kills you, you got to feel terrible for new castle and in that situation. but, liverpool lives to fight

another week. and they only have their backs to the wall for the next nine months. so we'll see what happens here. but look at that. in the last second, after having a miserable 97 minutes, willie, finishing it off there with a last second shot. >> that is a pretty extraordinary goal. as usually i don't have a lot to contribute to our soccer coverage, but will say ted lasso is a great show. does that help? >> yes, it is. i didn't wait for it to start again. president biden is set to deliver this address on quote, the soul of the nation. tonight at the independent national historical park in philadelphia. a white house official telling nbc news the speech will focus on america's standing in the world, and how it's democracy remains at stake. washington post columnist a.j. deon has a new piece this morning entitled, when trump's help, biden makes the gop play

defense. and he wrote president biden is signaling that the democrat strategy for this fall is moving sharply toward the attack. with a speech tuesday about law enforcement and public safety, he challenged republicans on ground that the gop thought it owned and in a prime time address on thursday, he plans to bring the survival of democracy itself to the center of the 2022 campaign. the paradox of american politics is is that the putatively conservative party now finds itself reviling, established institutions, threatening political violence, and in the trump documents case, embracing the wrong side of national security. it is no wonder that republicans are playing defense in an election that once seemed theirs for the asking. let's bring in white house reporter for politico and contributor eugene daniels at the white house for us this

morning. eugene, what could we expect tonight as the president is making an address to the nation and this is a white house event. >> i'm sure how to follow serena williams and that sports, but you know, this white house has been talking about the soul of america for a long time. this president could probably do a column response in any of this speeches now because it is something he's been talking about since he's been running for office, the reason that he threw his hat in the ring. so he'll talk about america's standing in the world and more importantly he's going to talk about how he feels this white house feels that democracy is at stake in this election. elections to follow. and simply put, who is protecting your rights in democracy and who has not. that's him trying to paint a contrast between himself, donald trump, and other republicans. and so, first and foremost, the overturn of roe v. wade has given this white house a lot of evidence that -- to show people,

hey, something could happen again and that we will do whatever we can to make sure that other rights that americans have been used to for decades are not taken away. and then, there is evidence as we've been seeing, these midterms kind of play out, that this issue, smaller democracy and also abortion have been huge for democrats. you look at special elections in new york, the special election and last night in alaska, but also the referendum in kansas. this administration has a lot there. but also donald trump. you have donald trump out there more than he has been and i will say more than republicans want him to be. they will tell you behind closed doors especially, that is not what they wanted to see. now this president has the ability to say, this is what i've been doing, to protect democracy, but look at the other side and what they've been doing and it is easier to do that when -- when former president

donald trump is out making the news cycles. so they think they could make this a choice election instead of a referendum election. >> thank you very much. nearly 180,000 people in jackson, mississippi, has been without drinkable water for days and it could be a while before it is back. nbc news correspondent gaud venegas has the latest. >> reporter: another day under a state of emergency for the people in jackson, mississippi. a city without clean running water. >> the whole community is suffering. >> reporter: for frustrated residents, there are still no assurances on when the water will run like it should. >> there are interruptions in the system that are causing low pressure and in some instances no pressure for jackson residents. >> for many who can't afford to buy drinking water, overwhelmed distribution centers are the only option.

>> i've been here three hours. it is no organization. it is not fair. >> others filling jugs with nonpotable water for toilets and cleaning and laundry and the national guard arriving on wednesday expecting to join the distribution efforts. residents like kelsey are calling on leaders to do better. >> this is been going on for too long to not have it figured out by now. >> state officials say the water treatment plant failed entirely on sunday evening, after years of problems and issues were flagged last month according to an environmental protection agency report obtained by mississippi today including staffing shortages, monitoring failures and soaring customer complaints. the epa telling nbc news working closely with fema as well as communicating with state and local officials to address the growing crisis. the city's mayor said progress is trickling in. >> we are expecting pressure to start increasing.

>> reporter: but it is not fast enough for residents in a state that has more than enough water but no functioning treatment plant. >> gaud venegas. and joining us now the mayor of jackson, chokwe lumumba. this is roots in history. but minute immediate term, what are your residents doing to get clean water. >> well first and foremost, thank you for lifting this issue up. i'm at the water treatment facility now. many of our residents are still going to distribution centers. still having the nonpotable water provided through the state, that mima is helping to support the issuance. we have posted around the city various distribution locations and various places where they could pick up the water and

there are a number of nonprofit organizations that are helping to support the effort and independently doing various distributions. i want to thank the many cities, the many organizations that have supported this effort. i want to make it clear that it is been the city and the administration who has been lifting up this challenge for more than three years. saying that it is not a matter of if the systems will fail, but when the systems will fail. we have talked about the staffing shortages and we've worked with the epa to be a part of things like the mutual aid agreement, through the rural water association, and they have attempted to aid and augment the staffing challenges. sometimes we have to give the back drop to these things understanding that to become a class-a operator and we have a surface system and that is what it requires, it takes two year with a college degree and six years without a college degree. so it certainly has been at cumulation of challenges and

divestment over years. more than three decades. when i moved here in 1988, i remember in '89 when we had these challenges. so we're happy to have the state aboard. we've been going it alone for far too long and for them to join us is something that we welcome with open arms. >> yeah and the epa has you say put out a report two years ago outlining very clearly all of the problems with the water system there. it sounds, reading the reports, like the fix to this water treatment plant is a big project. it is a billion dollars project, presumably would take years w. that in mind, what are your residents going to do, forget today and tomorrow and for the weeks an months and years to come as they try to drink water, as they try to bathe their children, what do they do? >> yeah, well, first and foremost, i think we answered that question to two tranches. first is the immediate future. we're seeing gains in the system today. as we speak i'm at the water treatment facility to get a

briefing about what we saw last night and in those gains and when we could expect certain areas to return pressure. but even when that happens, you know, as always, you know, i say that the city of jackson's water treatment facilities are in a constant state of emergency. because it is not a matter of if, like i said, but a matter of when, and so we need both state and federal support. this is a billion dollars problem which is not within the city's capacity to meet that challenge. we are investing every dollar that we have. not only do we have rely ability challenges, we have equity challenges in our system. that is why we've invested in $8 million pipe that improves water which is the most effected community. that is why i'm standing outside of the weatherization structure that we've put around our membranes which two februarys ago when the cold temperatures debilitated our water system and shut it down, we invested in that. and so we're making investments

wherever we can, but we have to be met in that process and so that is why we're, you know, excited about the opportunity to have additional partners here on the ground. and so we believe that our residents are worthy, are worthy of the dependable and reliable water. >> so, mr. mayor, who doesn't -- i'm curious, you said we've going it alone for too long. who dropped the ball? what agency dropped the ball? i mean, to not have water, it goes way beyond a basically necessity. it is a basic reality. why is it that we're now at a catastrophic level for the people of jackson, mississippi, where they don't have water? >> well, what we are looking at is a set of accumulated challenges that are the better part of 30 years. so there are a lot of people that failed to respond to this need over the course of time. it is been well documented and i've spoken to our immediate legislative requests each and every year, as well as lifting

up the federal funding. i've said that jackson was the poster child for the infrastructure bill. the president himself upon signing it mentioned places like jackson, mississippi and flint, michigan. i've been with the epa administrator, walked streets of jackson and talked about these challenges, met him in washington, d.c., i've heard his stump speech in many locations where he talks about what he saw in jackson, mississippi. and so while we have the historic funding, it is time to make sure it goes from their intend to our hands and the conduit is going to be the and so we're happy to have their partnership but we have to make certain this is a sustained effort and that it brings into fruition the dependable equitable system that we are talking about. and so we've been ringing at alarm for an extremely long time and we have to make sure that even when the cameras disappear and the tension doesn't ant the resolve does go away either. >> the mayor of jackson,

mississippi. chokwe lumumba, thank you for being on this morning. >> thank you. >> all right. we'll be watching. up next, after six months of war, we'll introduce you to ukraine's version of rosie the riveter, five mothers who are taking the fight to russia. plus, the pandemic's effect on u.s. students. new test results showed it erased 20 years of progress in math and reading. we're back in a moment. ♪ it wasn't me by shaggy ♪ you're never responsible for unauthorized purchases on your discover card.

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breztri won't replace a rescue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. it is not for asthma. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition... ...or high blood pressure before taking it. don't take breztri more than prescribed. breztri may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling,... ...problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. if you have copd, ask your doctor about breztri. new this morning, ukraine's state nuclear company confirms experts from the international atomic energy agency have arrived at the zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. they will now assess the risk of a radiation disaster. the team's arrival was delayed due to shelling in the area. let's bring in nbc news foreign correspondent molly hunter. she's back in london this morning after covering the war from the front lines and has a new documentary premiering tonight on nbc news now entitled

"a mother's war." molly, tell us about it. >> mika, good morning to you. you will recognize a lot of these women. we brought a lot of these women in our reporting during the last six months of ukraine. five different women that we met. we didn't set out to make a documentary about women, even specifically about mothers, but in conflict zones, when you are back from the front lines, when you are in some of these towns and villages that russian troops have occupied, it's very often the women who are there when the russian troops leave. it's the women who survived and the women who came out of their houses and granted me access and my team access to tell their stories. i want to share a short excerpt with your audience and i'll talk to you on the back end. >> reporter: marina flags us down as we arrive. she starts telling us about her neighbor's son before we start recording her audio.

>> reporter: it's early april, after five weeks of occupation, russian troops left a few days ago, we're some of the first people she sees. >> reporter: she takes us back to the house, to the shallow grave. >> his mom. his mom. and she will tell the whole story. that's what she's suggesting. >> reporter: 81-year-old says her son roman was just 57.

she's a widow. he was her only child still alive. during the occupation he returned home just to check on her. she explains one afternoon in mid-march he asked russian troops at a checkpoint for a cigarette. after she gave him one, as he walked away, they shot him in the back. >> that's just a snapshot. that is one of the women who kind of takes us through the evolution of the last six months of the war. but these women, all five of them, they are extraordinary, they're all fighting in different ways, but their

stories are almost typical in some places, some parts of the country we went to. really takes you through the last six months of the war, through the eyes of these women. and i hope you'll watch tonight. >> nbc's molly hunter, thank you for bringing that to us. thank you. "a mother's war" premieres tonight on nbc news now. don't miss it. willie? >> that looks extraordinary. i can't wait to watch that. a new report back here at home, out just this morning, shows the extent of the last two years of the covid-19 pandemic and restrictions on school children. essentially those tests show erasing two decades of progress in math and reading. the national assessment for educational progress often called the nation's report card found math scores dropped seven points, marking a first ever decline. and reading scores slipped five points, producing the largest dip in 30 years. and if you look inside these numbers, guys, you find the

students affected worse by this were black and latino schools whose schools were much more likely to be shut down for longer periods. of time. there will be a lot of nalgs it's analysis of this, a lot of questions asked why those schools were closed as long as they were when we knew them to be relatively safe, but this is a gut punch of a result that came out today. >> it is a gut punch and something that will take quite some time for these students, especially more disadvantaged students, to respond to. and mika, this also, not that everything goes back to politics, but this explains a lot of what happened in the 2000 election, a lot of what happened in last year's election in virginia. people were talking about critical race theory and a lot of other things. and one post-election focus group after another, it was

parents that were just angry that their schools -- their kids' schools had been shut down for so long. >> we'll continue the conversation about that. that does it for us for now. lindsey reiser picks up msnbc's live coverage in one minute. live coverage in one minute. problem so lve together, and find the answer that was right under their nose. or... his nose. in order for small businesses to thrive, they need to be smart. efficient. agile. and that's never been more important than it is right now. so for a limited time, comcast business is introducing small business savings. call now to get powerful internet for just 39 dollars a month. with no contract. and a money back guarantee. all on the largest, fastest reliable network. from the company that powers more businesses than anyone else. call and start saving today. comcast business. powering possibilities. at xfinity, we're constantly innovating.

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