ticket to "phantom of of the opera." sgluk still see is in london. and "music man" wrapping as well. we love talking to you. thanks so much. we'll see you on broadway. that does it for us this morning. we'll see you right back here on monday morning. jose diaz-balart picks up the coverage live from san diego, right now. good morning, it's 10:00 a.m. eastern, 7:00 a.m. pacific. i'm jose diaz-balart. this morning ukrainian officials say armed groups and russian-held territories are going door to door to force participation in what the u.s. has called sham referendums to join russia. we'll talk to a former officer about the latest developments. also this hour, we'll bring you an interview with the department of of homeland security secretary. what he has to say about the record number of migrants and

asylum seekers and what he thinks of governors sending them to cities around the country. with just 46 days until the midterms, we're taking a closer look at what both parties are doing to garner support from latino voters. we'll have more on that. and we're watching the escalating protests in iran. some women are burning their head scarves in defiance of the nation's morality police after a woman died in their custody. we begin with the growing backlash in russia to vladimir putin's order calling up 300,000 reservists to fight in ukraine. with tomorrow marking seven months since russia's invasion, putin is looking to reset recent losses with a new surge of troops. more than 1300 people have been detained while protesting the order. this morning russian opposition

leader alex say navalny called it criminal. and earlier today, voting began in russian-occupied territoies of ukraine to become part of russia. it's been viewed as a sham in the west as part of the plan to annex a portion of ukraine easter toir. chief foreign correspondent richard engel has the latest from ukraine. >> reporter: this is a water shed moment in russia. for the last seven months of this war, russians by and large have been ignoring the conflict, even though it's been on television. it hasn't touched most people's daily lives. even in moscow, people have been fairly isolated from the sanctions. the war has been fought by the regular standing army or private security contractors, but now all of that has changed as russia has implemented its first mobilization since world war ii.

russians are saying good-bye to their sons as they head off to war. draft orders have gone out all over the the country. hand-delivered summons to report for duty often within hours. president putin threatened to use nuclear weapons saying the survival of russia is at stake. secretary of state antony blinken called on the security council to take action. >> these reckless nuclear threats must stop immediately. >> reporter: at the u.n., russia's foreign minister continued to push russia's false propaganda claiming russia is fighting nee yo nazis. he only showed up for his speech and then left so he didn't hear criticism of russia. moscow is looking to recruit 300,000 new soldiers to reverse recent and heavy losses in eastern ukraine. but many russians want no part of this war. around 1,200 protesters have been arrested and given draft cards.

i'm not going to die for putin, this protester said. many russians are trying to dodge the draft. failure to report is a crime. flights to visa-free destinations are full or have become expensive. there are long lines at the land borders of finland and georgia, and this morning there's a new twist in the seven-month war. it's voting day in four parts of ukraine occupied by russian troops. ukrainians in occupied territories face a yes or no vote on whether to join russia forever. critics say the vote is illegal, held under duress and that the yes result is a fore gone conclusion. >> the very international order that we have gathered here to uphold is being shredded before our eyes. we cannot, we will not allow president putin to get away with it. >> reporter: putin has said he supports the vote and suggested rusia will then annex ukrainian

territory as part of greater russia. the kremlin is dismissing reports that russians are trying to avoid the draft as exaggerated, even as bloggers, lawyers, human rights activists in russia are posting online advice on how people can do exactly that, get out of military service. either by producing fake doctors notes or just leaving the country. >> richard engel, thank you so much. right now, forecasters are watching a tropical depression that could threaten the western caribbean and parts of florida in the coming days. meanwhile hurricane fiona is a category 3 storm as it slams bermuda. it's now taking aim at canada. it could be the strongest storm to hit that country this weekend. bermuda avoided a direct hit, but still saw powerful winds and heavy rainfall. meanwhile in puerto rico, more than half of the island is still without power and water with sweltering temperatures near 100 degrees.

allison barber joins us from puerto rico. what's it like there this morning? >> reporter: it's challenging for a lot of people in part because it is so hot. there are about a million homes and businesses that are still without power on this island. for many there are also trying to deal with the process of cleaning up. now they have the added concern of worrying about this heat as temperatures just feel like they keep on climbing. i want to show you where we are. this is one neighborhood in puerto rico. we were talking to the owners of this house. they said when the storm started, and all the rain started to come, the rivers started to overflow and water rushed in. they were at one point concerned that their home was going to collapse. you can see how it just moved the car in here. all of the mud. they went out into this boat and stayed in it because they thought this was the only way to survive through the storm. they were rescued from this boat at 2:00 a.m.

they were out here yesterday trying to just clean up. but they said at one point, we have to work quickly because we don't have any lights. once the sun goes down, we can't do anything else. but look at the rest of this neighborhood. this is just one neighborhood in puerto rico. this home literally collapsed. we were speaking just before to the owner of this home. he says he was here with his wife when the rain started to come. he started to realize that the situation was getting dire. so he decided to evacuate. he says in the days since hurricane fiona, he has not heard from anyone. they haven't even brought him water. he's been trying to kind of salvage whatever he can. but look. there's not a whole lot left here. not a lot that can be salvaged. there are other homes that were behind this home. they are just gone. so people are frustrated because

they feel like i they shouldn't be in this position right now because they wanted the power grid to be better, less fragile after hurricane maria. they thought the power companies, the government were prepared for a storm like this. they say what they feel like they realized is they were not and they are not confident that the power or the running water will be back any time soon. >> allison barber in puerto rico, thank you so much. i had the opportunity to speak with homeland security secretary yesterday for an exclusive interview. we spent most of the interview talking about the humanitarian crisis at the southern border, but it started by asking what his department is doing to help restore power and other services in puerto rico. >> we are thinking of the people of puerto rico ask also supporting them tremendously. i was in a briefing with fema yesterday. in addition to the 700 personnel that we already have resident in puerto rico, we have surged resources to the island to make

sure that we're addressing the needs of the puerto rican people. i was in touch with the governor. our fema administrator was on the island. we are working with the army corp. of engineer ha in a government partnership with the officials in puerto rico to restore energy torks bring water supply. one thing that's very important is that the puerto rican people have been able to open commerce because of the swift response that they with us have executed. and that opening of commerce is such a lifeline to the support that they need. >> secretary, i'm here in el paso, where about 2,000 people are arriving every day. this fiscal year, we're looking at roughly 2.4 million apprehensions. countless others are crossing and not being apprehended. what is the united states'

border policy? >> we are doing so much. our policy is to enforce the law. and that is indeed what we are doing. individuals who arrive at our border, who do not have a legal basis to remain in the united states are being removed. and those that do have a valid basis under the laws that congress has passed are able to stay as the law provides. that is our policy. to enforce immigration law. at the same time, we continue to urge congress to pass immigration reform because one thing that everyone agrees upon in an area with little agreement is the area that our system is broken. and it is in dire and desperate need of reform. >> so the issue of immigration reform is clearly a priority, which is not till this moment been done in washington. but i take you back to the border.

you have been at the border countsless times. towns all along the 1800-mile border are dealing with a humanitarian crisis. what do you tell local officials in these towns. el paso is spending 300,000 a day in dealing with the crisis. it's a humanitarian crisis. what do you tell towns all across these 1800 miles of border? >> i say a number of things. number one, we have surged resources to the border. we have 23,000 personnel dedicated there. the president has for the first time since 2011, the first president to do so in about 11 years. plus we have increased the number of agents that is reflected in the fiscal year 2023 budget. and one other important thing that i say. among a number of others, work

with us. coordinate. we work in close partnership with local communities to bring order, to bring safety, and bring humanity to the situation. i know you're in else pa so. we work closely with the mayor of el paso. we reimburse the city for expenses through our emergency food and shelter program. when we work in coordination with one another, we address the situation ably and effectively. when a governor acts unilaterally and refuses to coordinate with other government officials that is when problems arise. and that is when we deplore political stuntsmanship when we're dealing with the lives of vulnerable individuals who are reflective of a challenge that our entire hemisphere faces. >> secretary, back in november of 2021, almost a year ago, that

regime entered into agreement with the castro government to lift visa requirements for cubans so they could come to nig rag away. since then, we have seen an increase in the number of cubans. and making it to the southern border. does this mean they are dictating american immigration poicy? >> they are not dictating american immigration policy, but they are impacting the flow of migrants that are seeking to depart their boundaies. their actions, the unilateral action of an authoritarian leader does have an impact on people. i will tell you, and you know this very well, you and your brothers know this so very well, the actions of a dictator impacted my families, our families migration. we fled the communist takeover of cuba to reach the freedom and

democracy and promise that america presents. so the actions of leaders matter. >> secretary, i thank you so much for your time. i look forward to our continuing conversation. i thank you very much for being with us. >> thank you very much, jose. still ahead, alex jones is back on the stand for another sandy hook defamation trial. this time he's done being sorry to the families of the victims. we have the latest from the courtroom. but first former president trump has one week to back up his claim that the fbi planted evidence when they searched his mar-a-lago home. what are the consequences if he doesn't? you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports" from san diego. art reports" from san diego. nes? they're investing with merrill. think miss allen is texting for backup? no she's totally in charge. of her portfolio and daniel g. she's building a greener future and he's... running a pretend restaurant. and phil? phil has questions,

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the specials master appointed in the mar-a-lago documents probe is giving the legal team one week to back up their allegation that the fbi planted evidence during its search of the former president's

florida residence. the special master also gives the doj a monday deadline to provide those thousands of documents seized from mar-a-lago. joining us now is justice and intelligence correspondent ken dilanian. what exactly is the special master asking for from both sides. >> good morning, this is a put up or shut up moment here for the trump team. because they have been insinuating that the fbi may have planted evidence. the judge in her order required the special master to get an accounting of all the property seized at mar-a-lago and have both sides agree on what it was. so that's what the judge is doing here, the special master. he's asking the trump team to tell him if they believe that there are items that the fbi says they have that were not at mar-a-lago. and if they don't come up with

any allegation that there were missing items, it's speak now or forever hold your peace. it would be difficult to make that allegation at a trial. they wouldn't be able to make it without evidence. but here's their chance now. and in a judicial forum to assert that evidence was planted. if they don't do it, that allegation should go away. former president trump may keep making it in public forums just the way he said he declassified these documents and his lawyers have never made that in court because they cannot because there's no evidence. that's where we stand. >> legally, does it matter that trump's team has been saying all kinds of things, but has not included that in any legal brief organize procedure? >> legally, it doesn't matter. but for those of us who are trying to parse the truth of words that lawyers are uttering, we should pay attention to what

they say outside of court and compare it to what they say in court. because clearly, none of these lawyers have been willing to make these arguments in a court of law where there are penalties for lying and where you have to have evidence to back up your statements. so they can say whatever they want outside of court, but inside a courtroom and in legal documents filed with the court, the consequences for misrepresentations or lies are very serious. >> ken dilanian, thank you so much. also this morning, we have an update from the latest sandy hook defamation trial for conspiracy theorist alex jones. jones was on the stand after being sued for calling a massacre a hoax and said he's done now with saying he's sorry. >> is this a struggle session? are we in china? i said i'm sorry a hundred times. i'm done saying i'm sorry. i don't apologize for it. >> don't apologize. please don't apologize. >> i have apologized to the

parents over and over again. >> objection. >> lawyers called jones out for calling the judge a tyrant on his show. he also created a website called kangaroo court where people can watch the trial. the jury will have to decide how much he will have to pay in damages to the families of eight victims and one fbi agent who responded to the shooting. all of them say his lies led to emotional distress and harassment by his followers. coming up, a new report says latinos would rank fifth in the world for gdp if they were their own country passing the uk, france, and india. as we continue to celebrate hispanic heritage month, we'll dig into economic power, next. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." reports. ee, explore new worlds, and to start screening for colon cancer. yep. with colon cancer rising in adults under 50, the american cancer society recommends starting to screen earlier, at age 45. i'm cologuard, a noninvasive way to screen at home, on your schedule.

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ 46 days until the midterm elections, and democrats and republicans are vying to win over latino voters. nowhere is this group more important than in informed, where the vote could be a deciding factor in an important senate race. we have more on this. >> jose, we talk about this every two years, the latino vote

coming much manufacture relevant. you have organizations registering more and more latinos every election, which has made the latino vote much more relevant. less than 50 days to the midterms, latino voters are more coveted than ever, including here in nevada where they are expected to make up 1 out of every 5 voters. republicans opt mystic with more latinos shifting to the gop in 2020. cindy martinez says she's voting republican this year blaming democrats for soaring inflation and weakening economy. >> i have to pay more to fill my tank, and i don't have enough to feed my family. that's not a political issue. that's a survival issue. >> reporter: republicans proudly tout the latina republican who won a house seat in south texas.

jesus marus is organizing latinos behind the senate candidate. >> tee nas are mad. >> reporter: though republicans still have their work cut out for them. one poll showing democrats lead by 24 points nationally among hispanic voters. economic issues, their top voting concern. in nevada the race for senate is a toss up. hopes resting on katherine masto. >> why are more latinos preferring republicans now? what is happening? >> i can only tell you what i know in informed, and the will tee knows that i talked to may be different than those i talk to. they are looking for somebody that understands the challenges that they are facing. >> reporter: democrats in nevada can count on the backing of a key union.

they plan to knock on over a million doors before election day. democrat union member joleen raez helped canvas in the 90-degree the heat. >> if republicans get into office, they are going to overturn our rights in the state. >> reporter: yes the gop needs just a small shift to make big midterm gains. all eyes set on the latino vote. very important test for catherine and for democrats in nevada. it's important to point out that nevada is unique and different from places like texas where we have seen republicans gain support with latinos. the issues that might affect the people in texas could be slightly different in nevada, yet like in other places in the country, they did tell us the economy is top of mind. so we should see in the next election if democrats maintain a naj of the support of latinos or

if they switch to the republican party. that's what remains to be seen. >> thank you so much. with us now to continue our conversation is california senator alex padilla. also the first latino to be a senator from the state of california. senator, it's always a pleasure to see you. as was pointed out, the latino vote shifted toward republicans in 2020. even though democrats are still holding an advantage in the latino voting as a nation, why do you think this shift is occurring? is it a significant one? >> good morning, jose. happy hispanic heritage month. i think there's a few things that are going on. anybody who has traveled to this part of the country has seen latino movies can understand that the community is diverse.

when you talk about maybe a third generation, fourth generation in south texas, very different than the dynamics of the latino community in south florida. very different than the dynamics of puerto ricans and dominicans in new york or very diverse latino community in california. so the old adage applies to latino community as well. the one thing we have seen shift in recent years is more aggressive investment by the republican party to engage latino voters, not just the last weeks before the election and democrats are doing the same. and so the latino vote, like any other voter, should never be taken for granted. democrats have a beautiful story to tell. if you look at the rescue plan passed without a single republican vote, the inflation

reduction act, in which communities are on the front line when it comes to changing climate and the devastation that has come with that. the student loan relief that president biden just initiated, tremendous aid for latino voters. so democrats have a tremendous story to tell. we're out there telling it. i think it's going to bode well for us this november. >> i want to take you back to the humanitarian crisis that we're seeing in our border. roughly 8,000 migrants are crossing the border into the u.s. every day. here's some of what the vice president had to tell when she was asked about the governors of texas sending migrants to other states unannounced. >> i think it is the height of irresponsibility, much less frankly a dereliction of duty.

when you're an elected leader, to play those kinds of games with human life and human beings. if you think there's a problem, part of the solution. >> so senator, what is the solution here? >> let me just add to what the vice president said. it's also shameless what's happening. the latest estimates, 12,000 per migrant that governor ron desantis paid to fly folks, fly asylum seekers out of texas all the way to martha's vineyard. money that could have been and should have been invested in temporary housing, emergency food, shelter, something that the federal government needs to invest more in. how about a phone call home to connect with loved ones. that's more of a humane treatment of asylum seekers than

what these republican governors are demonstrating. the fix, we have to restore the capacity of the very departments and agencies that were starved under the trump administration that are in charge of this. we have to fix the legal migration pathways that haven't been modernized in more than 30 years. it's real simple. water flows. if you fix the opportunities for people seeking to come to this country to work, to study, or anything else, that takes pressure off the regular migration flows that we have seen in recent years. >> senator, it's always a pleasure to see you. i thank you very much for being with us this morning. >> thank you. have a great day. coming up, if latinos were their own country, they would rank fifth in the world for gdp. next, the massive economic power in the united states. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." watching diaz-balart reports.

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38 past the hour this weekend thousands of professionals will gather for the latitude small business conference. we should note we are the official media part per in. a new report by the donor finds that if u.s. latinos were an independent country, their gdp would rank 5th in the world, surpassing the uk, india and france. the economic output of latinos was nearly $3 trillion. despite that growth, the report still shows disparities when it comes to wages. joining us now, the chairman and founder of the group, chairman of the latino and donor collaborative. it's always a pleasure to see you, my friend. the report also found that the latino gdp was the third fastest growing among the ten largest

gdps. what dough yo i think is behind this explosive growth? >> it's basically that the most entrepreneurial cohort is the latino cohort. they are creating 80% of all net new businesses. they are creating 52% of all net new employer-based businesses. meaning they are growing employment throughout the country. it's also the youth. the youth of our cohort just to give you an example. if you looked at the most populated age is 11 for the latino cohort. in the angelo american, the most populated age is 58. so this is the succession planning that's going on within our country, whether we know is or not. and it's what differentiates the united states from other mature economies. we have a youthful cohort that's entrepreneurial, productive, the most productive cohort. it's creating wealth and it's creating growth beyond all countries except for china now. >> so the report shows the wages

and salaries grew more than those of nonlatinos, but it also found a substantial wage gap for latinos compared to non-latino whites. why do we have that gap? how do we bring it? >> i think there's two points we need to understand in talking about this. the first one is that the wage gap is explained by the youth. when you have a dramatically younger youth cohort than an older one, your going to make less money. you're starting your career as opposed to the middle or end of your career. so the income disparity is part of that. the other part is that historically, we have been at the lower end of high-paying kinds of jobs. but that is now changing. it is dramatically changing because the most increasing educational attainment cohort in the united states is the latino cohort. above all others. so it's in motion. that's really the point of this

study. even though we're starting lower, even though we're younger, it's creating more wealth now as reflected in gdp than any other cohort. >> so very quickly, tell me about latitude this weekend. >> latitude is a business event. not the same people, not the same talk. we're talking about 21st century american. and there's going to be -- there's already about 6,000 people here of all sectors. we have entrepreneurs here. we have corporate executives here. we have a bunch of ceos that are part of the conversation just today. john donnahue from nike, brian from target and david kenny from nielsen. we'll be talking about a lot of the issues that are important to our country in 21st century america, opposed to 20st century america.

it's really important. >> i'm so excited to be here. i'm looking forward to listening in on that conference. former president obama is going to be here. it's going to be a fascinating weekend. i thank you for being with us this morning. >> all right. we'll look forward to seeing you. >> thanks. coming up, the iranian army just gave its harshest warning as demonstrations grow over the death of a woman in police custody. but first, russia staged referendums before they took over years ago. and now they are doing it again in ukraine. so should the u.s. do anything about it? can the u.s. do anything about it? i'll ask this next. you're asking "jose diaz-balart reports." g "jose diaz-balart reports.

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the reservists. joining us now is the congresswoman from new jersey, a member of the house armed services committee, a former policy office in the navy. always a pleasure to see you. in 2014, russia held a referendum before annexing the territories point of russia. the united states and much of the world saw that and didn't do much about it. what is russia trying to do this time? and what should the world and the united states be doing about it? >> so thanks so much for having me. certainly russia is once again trying to have a sham referendum. i don't think anyone in the west believes it or puts stock in it. it is certainly not any sort of democratic process. i think what's striking to me right now is after putin's announcement that he was going to conscript 300,000 troops, we finally see a break in what has seemed to be a little pith of a strangle hold on messaging and rooting out dissent in rusia.

it certainly seems the dam is breaking right now. i have seen reports that a ticket out of moscow is going for about $9,000. over 1,000 arrests have been made. even see in putin's hometown of st. petersburg a referendum calling for him to resign because he's committing treason. this is pretty shocking, a pretty shocking turn of events in what largely has been an area where we have seen putin controlling the message within russia. >> want your reaction to something senator lindsey graham said about these protests in russia. i want to play for you part of what he said. do we have that? >>s this is the beginning of the end for putin. he's asking people to die in a war they don't want to fight. he's destroying the russian economy. he's destroying the russian military.

there's going to be a pushback and it's just a matter of time they take him out because there's no way for russia to be a part of the family of nations under his leadership. so they are running out of soldiers. 300,000 people are going to be drafted against their will. the ukrainians are doing a hell of a here. if we just stick with ukraine. >> what do you think of that? are putin's days numbered, congresswoman? >> what has been so striking to me about this is the constant miscalculations that putin has made and i've said this from, you know, the events leading up to the war and throughout this war. so i again and again and again said putin was miscalculating the strength of the ukrainian resolve. he thought this would be much like 2014. but as i went to ukraine, we stopped in brussels first and i have never seen our nato allies more aligned with us, the

western nations, more aligned in this fight and certainly that alignment has done nothing but grow. when i was on the ground before the war started, the ukrainian people were united in their resolve to fight for their freedom and democracy, and i really thought putin was making a really strategic miscalculation on what this war would look like, how hard it would be, and we've seen that again and again and again. when i just went back to ukraine recently and spoke to defense minister and president zelenskyy and we heard from our embassy on the ground there about what was going on, we heard about these problems and morale that the russian troops were facing. we saw the horrible events of bucha and the human rights catastrophe and the war crimes committed. this is not a military -- professional well-run, organized

military that can really combat the strength and determination of the ukrainian forces. and now that we're seeing at resolve at home break down for putin, he's avoided conscripting military members from, you know, really the homeland. he's done it from regions outside of russia, proper, more of the regional territories, and he's tried to keep the -- if you will, middle class russians out of this. now with this announcement of the 300,000 conscriptions, you know, the resolve at home has broken. the resolve on the ground has long been a huge problem for russian military members. it does seem as if this is a real turning point and made in large part because of miscalculations on putin's part. >> congresswoman, it's always a pleasure to see you. i thank you very much for being with us. >> thank you so much for having me. still ahead, protests intensify in iran after the death of a woman who was in the custody of the morality police.

why our next guest says it's more than just grief. the dow falling more than 450 points after the open. we're going to keep an eye on this as it develops. you're watching "jose diaz-balart reports." atching "j diaz-balart reports. .nice. i want to feel in control of my health, so i do what i can. what about screening for colon cancer? when caught in early stages it's more treatable. i'm cologuard. i'm noninvasive and i detect altered dna in your stool to find 92% of colon cancers, even in early stages. early stages? yep, it's for people 45 plus at average risk for colon cancer, not high risk. false positive and negative results may occur. ask your provider if cologuard is right for you. consider it done. finding the perfect project manager isn't easy. but, at upwork, we found him. he's in adelaide between his daily lunch delivery and an 8:15 call with san francisco. and you can find him, and millions of other talented pros, right now

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be seen clashing with protestors. the iranian army said it will, quote, confront the enemies to ensure security. the u.s. imposed new sanctions on iran's morality police claiming it's responsible for mahsa amini's death and accusing the unit of abusing iranian women. >> joining us now an iranian journalist and author of "heartbeat of iran." thank you for being with us. what kind of risks are these women taking in iran? >> thank you for having me. i have to say these are unprecedented times in iran. to compare these protests to that of what we saw in 2009 and 2019, these are bigger, greater and women and girls, iranian women and girls, are leading the way forward and i would say with confidence that if they see resolve, it will be because of

their defiance and courage. and i will add, jose, that iranian people, not just women, but along with men, are on the streets with the knowledge that they will be choked, they will be cracked down, and they will be killed. but they're out there, they're fighting, they're raising their voice and calling for change. >> what strength, what heroic valor they are showing. i just think back to 2009 when the world saw some movement and desire in iran and yet really didn't support or help it in any real way. same thing in 2019. is there something that the west or the united states could or should be doing to support the rights of the people of iran to have a different future? >> absolutely. iran is a country of 83 million people and i would say, again, with confidence that the majority of them want change.

and right now, as we're speaking, jose, millions of people in iran are deprived of internet connection. when i tried to connect with folks inside iran, some of my messages go through to those who have access to internet through vpn services. and i think the number one thing right now, the west and in particular the united states, one of the countries with greatest technology out there, can do is to help iranian people get online, get access to the internet and therefore be able to raise their voice. without that, the government has the possibility of greater crackdown and greater way to choke and isolate a society that's longing to break free. >> a society that has such a rich history in traditions and since 1979 been suffering so much. i thank you so much for being with us. and that wrapping up the

hour for me. i'm jose diaz-balart. i'll see you tomorrow night on nbc nightly news on saturday. you can reach me on twitter and instagram. please follow the show online. thank you for the privilege of your time. alex witt picks up with more news right now. ♪♪ a very good friday morning to all of you. i'm alex witt live from new york. right now growing unrest in a dramatic escalation in russia's war in ukraine. the russian government has begun the first of five days of voting to annex kremlin-controlled parts of the independent nation it attacked. it's a referendum that critics blast as a sham. while inside russia, emotional scenes are playing out as many of the nation's men are rushing out of the country to avoid being drafted to fight in this war. the backlash vladimir putin is now facing by his own people. plus in the