>> it's hard to process. i have a daughter that's 8 years old. she's close to the age of these children. to me, like, it makes me feel like this could be me. >> that wraps up the hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. thank you for the privilege of your tim. lindsey reiser picks up with more news right now. good morning. i'm lindsey reiser at msnbc headquarters in new york. picking up a busy hour of news. right now what will the doj do next? that's the question after a judge ruled in favor of donald trump's request for a special master to review evidence seized from mar-a-lago. the justice department, which has already completed its own internal review, said it will consider appropriate next steps which includes a possible appeal of the ruling. we're still waiting to find out if that will happen. we do know both sides have until friday to submit a list of

potential candidates to fill that special master role and outline their limitations. as for the investigation, a senior doj official tells nbc news this ruling does not halt the probe into the potential mishandling of classified documents. we'll dig into the legal implications of the judge's ruling in moments. also today, mixed emotions in uvalde, texas. students are back in school for the first time since the tragic may shooting at robb elementary. parents dropping off their kids, just trying to do the best they can. >> when i spoke to my kids the whole week, drilled them on, if anything happened again, try to make it out the window, run, don't scream. >> we're scared but we're here. >> we are on the ground in the community as they process the weight of this day. big news from across the pond where the new prime minister of the united kingdom, liz truss, is speaking this hour

from downing street. we are monitoring that and we'll bring you the latest. we'll start with the latest developments in donald trump's legal saga. i want to bring in nbc's ryan reilly, nicklaus wu a congressional reporter with politico, matt miller, former special adviser to the national security council and former doj spokesman. and paul butler, former federal prosecutor and msnbc analyst. the judge says there's no evidence of trump's disregard. what is the impact on the doj's investigative efforts and what happens next? >> i think this is going to definitely delay things a bit, especially when they get into the question of executive privilege. that's a really, really unprecedented ruling we have there. it's going to be very difficult to find someone who is going to be able to perform that role when there's no roadmap. basically these questions should be handled before a d.c. court.

it's not something that a court necessarily in florida should be handling under the presidential records act. this is all supposed to come back, any questions about the handling of the materials with the national archives is supposed to come back to d.c. it's a really, really complicated matter. the judge's ruling, and i'll read a quote from it here, seems to be very concerned with donald trump's tests but not necessary the interests of the government. the court takes into account the unprecedented nature of the search of a former president's residence. the stigma is in a league of its own. a future indictment based on any degree on property that ought to be returned would represent in reputational harm of a decidedly different order of magnitude. it's important to remember that this property seized here, the vast overwhelming majority of it did not belong to trump. these were over 11,000 property -- documents of the government that were seized during this raid in mlg on

august 8th. regardless of their classification level, they did not belong to donald trump under the law, lindsey. >> paul, some of the criticism of this ruling has been swift. we know harry lippman called some of the judge's ruling a breathtaking over reach. former acting solicitor general neal katyal called it bad. the judge did traum's lawyers' work for them. is this an over reach? >> i think so, lindsey. the judge's opinion acknowledges she's giving trump special treatment because he's a former president, but because there's never been a former president with that's the subject of a search warrant, there is no standard procedure. the judge is basically making this up as she goes along. that leads to a lot of uncertainty around issues around how much of its investigation

doj has to stop right now. >> matt, have you heard anything from your former colleagues in the doj by this ruling? do they feel blindsided by this? >> i haven't. i suspect they're not blindsided. the judge previewed she was likely to take the action. even though the department feels the law is overwhelmingly on its side, they aren't surprised and they've been preparing for this outcome. i think the decision is whether they appeal or not. i think they're likely to appeal. i don't think it's a completely obvious decision they'll have to look at the risks and awards. the 11th circuit is one of the most conservative in the country. the majority of judges in that circuit were appointed by donald trump. there is an outcome where they can proceed with a special master process and make the claims that these documents don't have a colorable executive privilege claim because the sitting head of the united states, the sitting head of the executive branch has not agreed with that claim. at any event, binding supreme court precedent says executive

privilege is weakest when the documents will be used by an agency of the executive branch, the justice department, in a criminal investigation. i think they're likely to appeal, but they have to weigh the fact that appeal could ultimately go to the supreme court and declay this aspect of the investigation for months. >> matt, looking shorter term to the deadline on friday, you tweeted about the complexity of these proposed candidate for special master. all judge cannon has to do is find a judge who is an expert in one of the contested unexplored areas of the law, has top secret clearance, isn't seen as tainted through service in a recent administration. good luck. how complex will this process be? >> that's one of my major criticisms with the judge's ruling, that it's factually incoherent or naive in a number of respects. no more so in the fact that a special master -- you'll find someone who has the expertise and the clearance -- remember,

it takes months to get someone a security clearance if they don't have it already, who can go through these documents and make the kind of claim that is usually subject to a push and pull between agencies of the government. usually when executive privilege is contested, it's between congress and the executive branch and a judge makes a ruling. it's always very fact-specific. there is not a lot of precedent to go by. the idea that you would find someone that has those first two qualities, one is an expert in this very contested, very uncertain area of the law, number two, has an existing security clearance so a process isn't delayed further and, number three, will be seen as not biased. most of the people who have security clearance, have it as a result of working in the executive branch. someone who came from the biden administration or the trump administration. good luck finding someone with all those credentials that is unbiased. >> we know donald trump's

longtime legal strategy has been to delay. he rhetorically likes to present himself as the victim of the deep state. in a statement posted on his social platform after this ruling, he attacked the doj and fbi, said they're totally corrupt, is still calling for the 2020 election to be overturned. how are republicans reacting the this really anti -- messaging when they'd like to shift the focus to november. >> certainly a lot of frustration among republicans that this is the sort of thing that trump is talking about, and this will be the sort of thing they'll have to answer potentially uncomfortable questions about as congress returns to washington, d.c. over the next couple weeks. when senators come back this evening, we can expect a lot of reporters to ask them questions about these continued election denialism statements from former president trump, let alone these comments about attacking the justice department and the fbi when republicans would rather

try to trumpet a pro law enforcement message or talk about the economy. so in many ways, there is all this frustration, but trump has continued to assert himself into the conversation and that's something republicans can't avoid. >> nicholas, an unsealed doj filing also shows at least 900 pages of documents with classified markings recovered from mar-a-lago. that was january, june and then in august. the judge's ruling also shows separately documents seized including medical documents, correspondents related to taxes and accounting information. nicholas, can we see the convergence of multiple investigations around the mar-a-lago search? for example, we know the oversight committee is looking into trump's taxes? >> it remains to be scene whether we'll see the convergence of these investigations. the more interesting thing to me here is the fact that all of these documents were commingled

together at mar-a-lago of the it goes to show the way in which trump was storing these records. you had, yes, these other documents commingled together with these documents marked classified, with covers of "time" magazine, with articles of clothing and the like. we'll have to wait and see what happens in this case and what the relevant committees oversight are doing in congress. we haven't heard much since the house intelligence and oversight committees made their first asks of the government. >> ryan reilly, nicholas wu, matt miller and paul butler, thank you all for starting us off. today kids in uvalde, texas, are back in school for the first time since 19 students and two teachers were killed at robb elementary back in may. we are live in uvalde on how parents, teachers and kids are coping. britain's new prime minister liz truss is set to speak to the british people this hour after meeting with the queen.

did boris johnson also tease a comeback? pouring rain on the east coast while the west deals with record heat. the latest on the fallout from the extreme weather across the country ahead. let your queries . uh, how come we don't call ourselves bikers anymore? i mean, "riders" is cool, but "bikers"...is really cool. -seriously? -denied. can we go back to meeting at the rec center? the commute here is brutal. denied. how do we feel about getting a quote to see if we can save with america's number one motorcycle insurer? should flo stop asking the same question every time? -approved! -[ altered voice ] denied! [ normal voice ] whoa.

it's the greatest sandwich roster ever assembled. next is the new great garlic. the tender rotisserie style chicken is sublime and the roasted garlic aioli adds a lovely pecan flavor. man, the second retirement really changed you. the new subway series. what's your pick? why hide your skin if dupixent has your moderate-to-severe eczema or atopic dermatitis under control? hide my skin? not me. by hitting eczema where it counts, dupixent helps heal your skin from within, keeping you one step ahead of eczema. hide my skin? not me. and that means long-lasting clearer skin and fast itch relief for adults. with dupixent, you can show more skin with less eczema. hide my skin? not me. serious allergic reactions can occur that can be severe. tell your doctor about new or worsening eye problems

such as eye pain or vision changes, including blurred vision, joint aches and pain, or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines without talking to your doctor. when you help heal your skin from within, you can change how your skin looks and feels. and that's the kind of change you notice. talk to your eczema specialist about dupixent, a breakthrough eczema treatment. nina's got a lot of ideas for the future. and since anyone can create a free plan at fidelity, nina has a plan based on what matters most to her. and she can simply focus on right now. that's the planning effect. from fidelity.

it is an emotional day in uvalde, texas, as kids return to school for the first time since the shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead. students returned to new campuses with enhanced security measures including an eight-foot perimeter security fencing. it's being added to all the city's schools. joining me from uvalde is nbc's antonia hylton. also ar lease hernandez, reporter with "the washington post." antonia, first to you, obviously a tough day for families. what are you hearing from people there? >> reporter: good morning, lindsey. as our team was out here all morning talking to families, parents dropping their kids off, what we found is people are

feeling internally split, and that's between feelings of fear and grief, anger still as they kind of look at the prospect of having to come back onto these campuses and then the reality of wanting to do what's best for their children, making sure their kids are still learning, they're not falling farther behind in school, but they can come to the classroom, they can be around friends. many parents don't think going virtual or home schooling their kids right now would be the right option. some other families are taking those alternatives. so the parents were very visibly divided as they were bringing their kids up to the front door, some were even grieving, very openly in their cars. while for the kids in some ways it was a happy day to see their friends, for others it was tough. take a look at a conversation we had with one mom. >> just be safe, to be honest. we don't know what can happen. we really don't know. it was a very bad tragedy that happened. it's hard for a lot of people,

and it's hard for a lot of people to just keep going because of what happened, but we still have to keep going. our kids can't just, you know, be suffocated. let's be honest. i don't know. >> reporter: we're also hearing that many of these kids and their parents are taking advantage of the counseling services that are provided by the school district or even in some cases going all the way to san antonio to get counseling and to get assistance to sort of emotionally grapple with and get support as they get ready to take one foot in front of the other throughout the rest of the school year, lindsey. >> you can absolutely understand all those conflicting emotions about not wanting to go back but at the same time needing to returning the normal. you wrote about a skeptical student who wrote, when he learned there would be more officers on campus, the third

grader said it didn't make him feel safer, who cares if they are cops, he said, they don't do anything? has the community completely lost trust in its police? >> i think that's one of the perspectives, and it's a prevailing one, amongst particularly the group of folks trying to push for more accountability in that community. but there's disinterest all the way around whether police or the school system. it's something the community is trying to work towards but not without first taking steps to correct the things that went wrong back on may 24th. >> antonia, former uvalde schools chief pete arredondo is out of a job. what other do people want to see? >> it's important to note that some of the security changes are still in the ro ses of being made and parent are anxious to

see the processes completed. for example, some fencing needs to go up, hundreds of cam pels still need to be installed across all the different campuses. some parents wanted all that ready to go today. i think the other piece is going to really just be the relationship piece that every single day, every single week and month, this school administration is going to try to prove itself, prove to parents that they're still really prioritizing kids' safety. as arelis just mentioned, there's a lack of trust that goes all around the system. every day, the counselors they've hired, monitors in the school, they need to prove to these parents this is a safe place to be. that's something that's going to take some time. >> arelis you spoke with a family of a 9-year-old girl who was at rob elementary during the shooting and she told you i try to forget. i don't like to talk about it. are these kids getting the

resources they need? >> there certainly are resources in the community itself. this summer has been a bizarre one for the children at robb elementary. there have been charities that came into town to do family fun days, there have been trips to theme parks, suite days that opened up their doors for free to the children of robb elementary. that memory is still there. even though the resources are available and the families are trying their best to navigate that trauma, this is a community-wide experience that is full of reminders everywhere. it's something that you have to keep working at. there are resources available wherever one is taking advantage of it at the same rate as other people who have access to or even have the time and the resources to do it is another question. >> antonia hylton, arelis hernandez, thank you both for your time. wish those kids the best as they go back to school. public schools in jackson,

mississippi, are welcoming students back after the city's water crisis forced all classes to go virtual. according to the school district, water pressure in nearly all the schools is suitable for their return. there will be other locations in place for the schools that still don't have reliable water. officials say water pressure for jackson residents returned to normal a week after the flooding there damaged the city's water treatment plant. that water is still not safe to drink and a boil water notice is in effect still. this morning great britain officially has a new prime minister. what to expect when liz truss speaks to the british people later this hour. back here at home, we're about two months out from the midterm elections. how president biden is helping democrats make their case to voters out on the trail. >> when i say democracy is at stake, i mean what i'm saying literally. 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. ♪ ♪ 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. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ when you really need to sleep. you reach for the really good stuff. zzzquil ultra helps you sleep better and longer when you need it most. its non-habit forming and powered by the makers of nyquil. i had been giving koli kibble. it never looked like real food. with the farmer's dog you can see the pieces of turkey. it smells like actual food. as he's aged, he's still quite energetic and youthful.

i really attribute that to diet. get started at longlivedogs.com online sports betting to fund real solutions to the homelessness crisis. so how will that new revenue be spent? new housing units in all 58 counties, including: permanent supportive housing, tiny homes communities, project roomkey supportive hotel units... and intensive mental health and addiction treatment. in short, 27 means getting people off the streets and into housing. yes on 27. want a permanent solution to homelessness? you won't get it with prop 27. it was written and funded by out-of-state corporations to permanently maximize profits, not homeless funding. 90% of the profits go to out-of-state corporations permanently. only pennies on the dollar for the homeless permanently. and with loopholes, the homeless get even less permanently.

prop 27. they didn't write it for the homeless. they wrote it for themselves. it only takes a second for an everyday item to become dangerous. tide pods child-guard pack helps keep your laundry pacs in a safe place and your child safer. to close, twist until it clicks. tide pods child-guard packaging. the united kingdom has a new prime minister this morning. liz truss officially took over from boris johnson today. after meeting with queen elizabeth at the royal castle in scotland. right now we're waiting on truss to make her first speech as prime minister any minute now on downing street.

joining me is nbc senior international correspondent keir simmons who is standing by for the speech, bbc's katty kay, also an msnbc contributor. keir, let's start with you. what is the state of the uk as truss takes over right now and what themes do you expect her to hit on as she addresses the british people? >> reporter: an incredibly challenging prospect for liz truss, lindsey. just to tell you what i'm seeing right now, because we are expecting liz truss to arrive here in this famous street outside that world famous door, 10 downing street. she's flown back from ball morrow castle. she is prime minister. i'm look oing to my left. there is a crowd of british members of parliament who are now just beginning to make their way down the street. what we expect is for them to fill the street on either side so that liz truss has a kind of welcome audience, a receptive

audience as she comes out -- as she stands in front of that door and makes her speech. just back to your question, i was looking back at britain's first female prime minister, margaret thatcher who quoted francis assisi. there was inflation, there was strikes, a looking recession, economic times were incredibly bleak and she said something like where there is discord, let there be hope. that quote lived in history despite the tough times that she then faced in the years ahead. i think liz truss, she's said to not welcome comparisons to margaret thatcher, but i think she will try to set the same tone here in downing street. she's going to have to be bit tisch with the british people, with the war in ukraine, the cost of living crisis, all the issues that britain is now

facing, the pound to the dollar is the lowest it's been since 1985 when margaret thatcher was in power. with all that, she's going to have to be real with the british people, but will have to offer hope the way margaret thatcher did back in 1979. >> katty, do you see the resemblance between truss and thatcher? >> some sat toral resemblance. went to oxford, came from a middle class background, not from the same stock -- went to eaton college and oxford and were part of the upper classes of britain. in that respect -- a break -- echoes she's a small government conservative. she has said she would like to cut taxes -- wealthiest people and prompted some economists to say that's not the right thing to be doing at this moment. i think keir is right.

you can't overstate -- extreme highs as the uk heads into winter -- >> looks like we're getting hits -- >> amongst post office workers. >> from your camera there. sorry, katty. i'm going to throw a question now to keir. boris johnson had quite the farewell speech outside of downing street today. let's listen to some of that. >> i'm now like one of those booster rockets that has fulfilled its function, and i will now be gently re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down invoicebly in some remote and obscure corner of the pacific. like cincinatas, i'll be returning to my plow. i'll be offering this government nothing but the most fervent

support. >> so is that a hint that his political career maybe isn't over, that he won't so quietly return to his plow, he might reemerge? >> reporter: it was a stunning speech, wasn't it? just to continue what katty kay described as a sartorial compare ton to margaret thatcher. even she shed a tear. boris johnson appeared to be giving a victory speech. that reference to cincinatis had people reaching for classics, history books and discovering, if they didn't already know, that cincinnatus returned to power in rome. so is there a suggestion -- it's boris johnson all over that he might come back at some stage. people who have even been close to him suggesting that just isn't very likely, seems

incredibly unlikely the conservative party would ask for him to return, but then we are in the most uncertain of times. he's spent the summer, a long summer saying goodbye. he's handing liz truss a long, hard winter. how she's merges from that, that's unknown. that's the politics of this country right now, just very, very difficult to judge. one thing you can say, liz truss is very definitely behind in the polls, a general election perhaps in two years' time. where we sit right now looks like it might be won by the lab bauer opposition. >> as you're talking, we're watching the motorcade in which truss is right now approaching where you are at downing street. keir, let's talk a little bit, also, about what happened at balmoral. normally the prime minister would meet with the queen at buckingham palace. it was done in scotland because

of the queen's health and mobility issues. talk to us about the break in tradition and how the queen is doing. >> reporter: i'm just looking to my left, lindsey, you'll excuse me. obviously we're waiting now to see liz truss arrive for this historic moment. it was a constitutional moment with the queen earlier at balmoral castle. historic moment because not for 140 years, not since the reign of queen victoria have we seen british prime ministers have to travel all the way, 500 miles, to scott land in order to have the baton passed as boris johnson cut off any cord earlier on, from prime minister to prime minister. the queen is, of course, the head of state. constitutionally she takes the resignation of one prime minister and appoints the next prime minister. of course, it happens through the election of that prime minister and political party. people were looking at that

image as a split screen if you'd like. you've got to politics here, but you've got that royal issue, the queen standing there with a walking stick in her left hand as she reaches out with her right hand to shake her new prime minister's hand. people will notice how frail -- they haven't seen her since back in july. the way we'll see the queen in the years ahead is going to be very, very different. i think it may add to the sense of insecurity here in the uk. >> keir simmons, thank you so much. also thanks to katty kay. hope to hear more from you. we had some connectivity issues. thank you so much. all right, everybody. we are monitoring -- memphis police will be talking to us about the case of eliza fletcher, the mother of two whose body was just found and confirmed to be hers. let's listen in to what they had to say about the case.

>> all right. i think we're ready. >> good morning. today is a very sad day in the city of memphis. first, i'd like to express our sincere condolences to the family, friends and numerous others who have been impacted by the tragic and heinous kidnapping of elaza fletcher. yesterday evening, september 5th at approximately 5:07 p.m., the memphis police department and other law enforcement partners discovered the remains of a body, a human body in the rear of a vacant duplex apartment at the 1600 block of victor street. at that time it was believed the unidentified body could possibly be the remains of kidnapping victim eliza fletcher. further forensic investigation by the mpd traffic unit

positively identified the body was, in fact, eliza fletcher. this finding marked the culmination of a four-day intensive investigation incorporating a robust search and rescue effort and the timely arrest of suspect cleotha abston on september 3rd, the day following the kidnapping. cleotha abston has been charged by mpd homicide investigators with the following state charges: first degree murder, first degree murder in perpetration of kidnapping, especially aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence. in addition, abston has been charged with the following unrelated offenses: identity theft, theft of property and credit card fraud. while the outcome of this investigation is not what we

hoped for, we are nonetheless pleased to remove this dangerous predator off the streets of memphis. i'd like to personally thank the professional and highly skilled men and women of the memphis homicide unit, the memphis police department, the fbi, the u.s. marshalmarshals, tennessee of investigations, shelby county sheriff's office, district attorney general's office, homeland security, the atf and the university of memphis police department for your relentless efforts and many contributions toward this investigation. the collaboration and cooperation amongst all of our partner agencies was nothing less than symfonic. we're grateful for the hundreds of tips that came from crimestoppers and other

platforms in our citizens at large. our engaged and supportive community is truly our most valued asset. just remember that this still is an ongoing investigation. at this time, i would like to bring up fbi special agent in charge doug corneski. >> good morning. first and foremost, on behalf of the fbi, i want to extend the extreme sympathy and condolences of our office to the family and friends of eliza. while most of us did not know her prior to this tragedy through the course of the recent investigation, we got a small glimmer into the light that she was to her family and friends and community. next i just want to commend the immense collaborative efforts of the local, state and federal law enforcement during this

investigation. as the family knows, every possible resource that we had as a law enforcement community to include the fbi was brought to bear to both find eliza and her perpetrator and hold him accountable. simply last, i want to thank the community for their support during this investigation, the many tips and leads that we received. we are a member of this community as well, and this situation, this tragedy impacts us deeply as well. so with that, again, i want to thank the community. next, i'll be followed by the acting assistant special agent in charge, ollie roberts from atf. >> thank you. first, on behalf of atf, i'd like to extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends affected by this tragedy. no resources were spared to locate and arrest the individual

responsible for this incomprehensible violent crime. atf utilized resources such as assigning special agents, our canine and utilizing the e-trace database. we also utilized our expertise, working with our state and local partners to bring about justice to the family and friends in reference to this tragedy. i would like to bring next up u.s. marshal tyrese miller. >> thank you. good afternoon. on behalf of the united states marshal service, we want to extend our sincere condolences to the family of eliza fletcher, her friends and family and those that knew her. as i understand it, she touched many lives and it's certainly a loss. as i've said on numerous occasions, the marshal service has a very unique relationship with the memphis police

department. any time they call, we're there to assist. we were glad to receive that call on saturday when a suspect had been identified. we then went about finding the suspect vehicle in question as well as the suspect himself. he was spotted -- the vehicle was spotted in an apartment complex, and we also conducted surveillance on him. then when he tried to make a move, we went in and made the arrest safely and took him into custody and turned him over to the custody of the memphis police department. after that we also participated in the search efforts to find ms. fletcher all day sunday and all day monday. as has been stated, it was not the outcome we were looking for. we were dedicated and committed to continue those search efforts and assist our partners until

she was found. next i'll turn it over to district attorney general steve moore. >> thank you. good morning. i also want to add my condolences and the condolences of my office to the family of eliza fletcher. to lose someone so young and so vital is a tragedy in and of itself. to have it happen this way with this senseless act of violence, it's unimaginable. we're praying for them. i'm praying for eliza and praying for the family. with respect to the family, both law enforcement and our office was in contact with the family throughout this long weekend. they have been fully cooperative throughout that entire process, and in contrast to whatever baseless speculation you might have seen, we have no reason to think this was anything other than an isolated attack by a

stranger. with respect to the family, we were in touch with him, as i said, throughout the course of the weekend. i visited with the family personally over the weekend. i also visited them this morning when we had terrible news to deliver to them. i have a message from the family that i want to express to all of you, the public, but also the media. please respect their privacy. please allow them to grieve. at an appropriate time, they will be making a statement. i believe a written statement will be forthcoming. we really do ask that you avoid intrusive questioning -- >> all right, everybody. we have been listening to officials tell us what is the latest on the ground there in memphis, tennessee, just a heartbreaking horrible update. 34-year-old eliza fletcher, teacher, mother of two, has been found dead. her suspect tore captor and murderer is in custody. want to bring back with us, former federal prosecutor paul

butler to talk about some of the facts of the case that are new that we're learning. we did just hear from memphis police there that this suspect, 38-year-old cleotha abston in addition to being charged with first degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and tampering with evidence is also being charged with identity theft, theft of property and credit card fraud. paul butler, does that tell you a little bit here about a possible motive? >> lindsey, the da says he has substantial evidence to support the charges of first degree murder and aggravated kidnapping. prosecutors also say they have video of the abduction. they've got the suspect's dna. even a statement from the suspect's brother that he had been acting strangely. what we don't know, whether there has been a statement from the suspect. we know he doesn't have an attorney so the judge will appoint one. the judge set bail. tomorrow the prosecutor will ask the judge to hold the suspect until the trial.

>> paul, there are some really disturbing facts here about what led investigators to cleotha abston. we know that she never returned home from her morning jog on friday. investigators went to the location and a bicyclist found fletcher's cell phone and sandals. investigators obtained surveillance images which you mentioned. what more do we know here about what evidence prosecutors have tieing abston to this case? >> there is eyewitness evidence, not of the actual abduction as far as we know, but people talking about the suspect saying that he had been acting weirdly, and one person reporting that he had been seen cleaning his vehicle. now, that was part of his work, to clean suvs. so there are always questions in these cases, but the prosecution is saying its case is very strong. lindsey, i think one really big

issue is whether it will seek the death penalty if the evidence is as what it's claiming. capital punishment is legal in tennessee, but the governor there put a pause on executions to examine the procedure for the year of 2022. so this doesn't mean that the da can't seek the death penalty, just that executions can't be carried out immediately. what i think is especially interesting here is that the district attorney actually ran on a platform of reforming criminal justice. the death penalty presents a lot of issues about race and class that would certainly be implicated in this case. >> paul butler, thank you for your time. we are going to switch gears now and turn to some politics. we are 63 days out from the midterm elections. republican senate hopefuls are looking for a way out of a summer slump. nbc news reports that the gop is launching a nine-figure ad blitz

across several key states. their strategy, tie the democratic candidates to an unpopular president, joe biden, and highlight inflation and other worrisome economic trends. president biden's numbers have been ticking up. he traveled to wisconsin and pennsylvania yesterday, two states with critical senate races. he sought to tie the republicans to those contests to donald trump. >> there's no democracy we can be pro insurrection and pro democracy. so when i say democracy is at stake, i mean what i'm saying literally. >> let's bring in nbc news correspondent vaughn hillyard from philadelphia and nbc news senior national political reporter sahil kapur from capitol hill. you have a lot of new reporting on this. republican strategists said the summer was really strong for democrats. what are you hearing? do republicans feel they're kind of behind the ball here?

>> reporter: yes, republicans do feel like they're behind the 8 ball. not a good summer for senate republican candidates seeking to reclaim control of the chamber. this is where they hope to turn things around. they plan to bombard the airwaves with $169 million ad blitz across eight states to try to turn their fortunes around. you see some of the reasons for this, the problematic struggles. candidates from pennsylvania to arizona, j.d. vance, a republican candidate has been struggling, polling neck and neck. behind that, the campaign arm has had a cash -- republicans are reliant on outside money. there's a feud going on between mitch mcconnell, the minority leader, and rick scott, the campaign chair which mirrors the feud between mcconnell and trump and the direction of the party.

beyond that, you have donald trump back in the spotlight, not helping republicans, trying to make the election a referendum and the fact that abortion is out there motivating democrats. between now and the election is when they hope to turn it around when voters are tuning in. >> vaughn, you're in one of those crucial states. sahill mentioned pennsylvania. mehmet oz just held a press conference. what's the latest from his campaign? >> reporter: really pennsylvania here is a focal point nationally because republicans are trying to pick up senate seats around the country, but pennsylvania, they're on the potential cusp of losing one that they currently have. that is where across the hotel ballroom here outside of philadelphia where we're standing now, mehmet oz just held a press conference alongside senator pat toomey, the current outgoing republican senator here. the focus for them was the fact that john fetterman has yet to agree to a debate. tonight was slated to be the first debate between oz and

fetterman in which you're looking at polling that has consistently shown fetterman up several percentage points. they have called into question whether he is healthy enough, not only to be a candidate, but a u.s. senator, essentially making the case that, if this stroke is debilitating to the extent he is not able to go on stage and articulate his policy, they're calling into question for pennsylvania voters whether he should be the man up for the job. of course, it was just two days before his may primary in which he suffered that stroke. ultimately democratic voters by 32 percentage points ultimately went with john fetterman despite concerns about his health. at the same time, we're just 63 days away. mehmet oz is doing what he can to get in front of voters and compare and contrast with john fetterman, hoping that can come in the form of a debate. >> vaughn hillyard, sahil kapur, thanks so much. up next, russia's supplies on the battlefield are running short. more countries refuse to do business with them.

they've turned to north carolina. as an expedia member you earn points on your travels, and that's on top of your airline miles. so you can go and see... or taste or do absolutely nothing with all those bubbles. without ever wondering if you're getting the most out of your trip. because you are. ♪ ♪ this... is a glimpse into the no-too-distant future of lincoln. ♪ ♪ it's what sanctuary could look like... feel like... sound like... even smell like. more on that soon. ♪ ♪ the best part? the prequel is pretty sweet too. ♪ ♪

(dad) we have to tell everyone that we just switched to verizon's new the prequel is pretty sweet too. welcome unlimited plan, for just $30. (daughter) i've already told everyone! (cool guy) $30...that's awesome. (mom) it's their best unlimited price ever. (woman) for $30 a line, i'm switching now. (vo) the network you want. the price you love. only from verizon. the new subway series menu. the greatest sandwich roster ever assembled. tony, the new outlaw's got double pepper jack and juicy steak. let's get some more analysis on that, chuck. mmm. pepper jack. tender steak. very insightful, guys. the new subway series. what's your pick? are you tired of clean clothes that just don't smell clean? downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters very insightful, guys. keep your laundry smelling fresh waaaay longer than detergent alone. if you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks, make sure you have downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters.

this morning, a striking indication of just how much russia has become a pariah state. a senior u.s. defense official confirms to nbc news that russia is in the process of buying from north korea. in the last hour, the international atomic energy agency released its report on the state of ukraine's largest nuclear facility. the agency says it has grave concerns about the situation at the zaporizhzhia plant. joining me now is nbc news pentagon correspondent courtney

kube. >> reporter: it's an example of the amazing amount of fire power that russia has been unleashing over the last six plus months in ukraine. we know in addition to turning to north korea for this ammunition, u.s. officials are saying they expect them to look to north korea for additional weaponry. they have turned to iran in recent days. u.s. officials saying the russians have purchased several drones from iran. it's not yet clear if any of those are operating over ukraine yet. the belief is that this is a sign that russia is working through much of its equipment in ukraine. it's indicative, according to some officials, of the fact that some of russia's equipment and weaponry is, frankly, old and not working as well as they hoped. this is another disclosure by the administration of information that is in a continued effort for them to show that russia is struggling on the battlefield in ukraine.

we have been seeing these disclosures and intelligence that's been downgraded over the last several months. this is the latest in a string of that. >> ambassador, i want to get to the news on the nuclear front with you. that iaea report on the zaporizhzhia plant shows that the agency is still really concerned. what is the likely damage that russia has done? >> it's hard to tell. it's a good thing that they're still there, by the way. that, to me, is a very good sign. they have been allowed to be there. i hope they stay. it's extremely dangerous. nuclear power plants, especially the ones the size of zaporizhzhia, should not be part of the battlefield. i hope that all sides will decide they need to move away and especially the russians so that this doesn't become a greater disaster. >> ambassador, i want you to pick up on some of what courtney was saying. we know ukraine scan trooian tr

made gains. there are concerns russia -- concerns within russia they are losing ground. what do you say at the state of the war? the incredible resilience of the ukrainian troops. >> first, an amazing american intelligence coup that they found out this information about the north korea purchase and decided to declassify it. second, you have to be desperate if you are buying artillery shells from the north koreans. we thought russians would win the long war. it may be the long war is in ukraine's advantage. third, yes, there's good news out of the regions around kharkiv that the counteroffensive is gaining territory. it seems like the momentum, it's small momentum, but it seems like the momentum is on the side of the ukrainians. >> courtney, on that note, what do you make of the decision to declassify that intelligence that you are able to bring to us today? >> reporter: again, this is a string of information that the

biden administration has chosen to declassify, since even before the invasion. they have been providing information that they are using in some cases as a deterrent. the hope is when they put information about russia buying things from iran, that maybe they will deter them from doing it. in some cases, some has worked. they put out information about russia potentially holding referendums in ukraine. we have not seen that materialize. in other cases, the hope is to shame russia away from doing some of these activities by putting the information out there. again, it's also to shape what is happening there. the u.s. military does not have a presence there in ukraine. providing information like this is a way for the biden administration to provide a window into what they see happening there. again, they are trying to put out information that makes it seem as if russia is struggling on the battlefield. it's true in some cases they are. not all cases. but this is another way for them to put out that narrative that

makes russia look like they are struggling on the battlefield. >> thanks to both of you. appreciate your time. that does it for me this busy hour. "andrea mitchell reports" starts next. clean ingredients.. spark an explosion of the senses. so when you finally taste it, it just confirms... this. is. fantastic. and only at panera. $0 delivery fee for a limited time. it's 5:00 a.m., and i feel like i can do anything. we've got apples and cabbage. 7,000 dahlias, vegetables, and brisket for dinner. this is my happy place. we've been coming here, since 1868. my grandmother used to say, don't call me, don't bother me. i'm going out to mow. there's a lot of cushy desk jobs out there, but i make the earth take the shape that i want it to take. there are millions of ways to make the most of your land. learn how to make the most of yours at deere.com businesses have to find new ways to compete in order to thrive in an ever-changing market.

the right relationship with a bank who understands your industry, as well as the local markets where you do business, can help lay a solid foundation for the future. pnc provides the resources of one of the nation's largest banks and local leaders with a focus on customized insights to help your business achieve its goals. that's how we make a difference. ♪♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪♪ good day to you. i'm peter alexander in today for my friend andrea mitchell. here in washington, top justice department officials are debating the best way to proceed after a trump appointed judge in florida granted a request from the former president's legal team to appoint that independent third party, what they call a special master, to review items seized during the fbi's search of mr. trump's mar-a-lago home last month. the key questions right now, who will the judge choose? will the doj appeal parts of the ruling that impact their investigation? how long could that take?