for getting up "way too early" on this wednesday morning as we keep an eye on the hurricane bearing down on the east coast. "morning joe" has complete coverage starting right now. good morning, and welcome to "morning joe." it is wednesday september 28th. we have a lot to get to this morning's in just a moment we're going to check in with bill karins and get a live report from nbc's kerry sanders of the powerful hurricane now barreling towards florida. we're also following big developments out of russia and ukraine. there was no surprise in the upcome of those sham elections aimed at annexing parts of russian-occupied areas of ukraine. plus new reporting on what the kremlin is doing to prevent russians from fleeing to avoid being drafted into its faltering war. all of this as the nuclear threats from top russian leaders

keep coming. willie? >> yeah. start in florida, though, this hour, mika. millions of residents are bracing for hurricane ian as that powerful storm barrels towards the state getting stronger by the hour. just this morning it became a category 4 hurricane expected to make landfall in the southwest coast of florida as early as this afternoon. the center of the storm forecast to move over the central past of the state with winds reaching more than 130 miles per hour. the national hurricane center also warning of dangerous storm surge and flooding with up to 18 inches of rain expected in some areas. more than 2.5 million people under evacuation orders along parts of coastal florida. the powerful storm passed the florida keys last night causing a couple of tornadoes and some damage there. officials say there also is significant flooding across that area. yesterday the hurricane battered western cuba knocking outing the island's electrical grid, causing a nation-wide blackout. officials say two people were

killed there. straight to meteorologist bill karins with a look at this storm, bill, where is it now and where is it headed? >> southwest florida, to be exact. almost certain this will end up being one of our costliest hurricane disasters even just weather disasters in our country's history. some estimates put this at about $10 billion even $20 billion worth of damage. that's not the important thing today. the important thing today, save as many lives as possible. the goal of all emergency managers and all meteorologists. get as many people as possible out of harm's way. after it's done we'll figure out how to repair and get power back on in weeks ahead. category 4. strong as it gets. don't even get many category 4 landfalls in this country but that's going to happen this afternoon and happen somewhere close to fort myers. 18 years ago hurricane charlie made landfall category 4, exact

same location. unbelievable for the people that lived through that and they're going to do it again. this is 2:00 p.m. the eye just off the coast. here's ft. myers, cape coral, captiva, those areas devastated by tremendous storm surge and catastrophic winds moving onshore. a category 4 hurricane gives catastrophic winds with the eye. going to see the top level of houses completely torn off. won't be all the way down to foundations like andrew as a category 5 but close to it. if anyone hasn't left this area and hearing that, reason enough to get out of there. we take the storm going throughout the nighttime into tomorrow morning central florida, weakening at that time and a big power outage even through orlando, disney complexes. emerging off the coast here of daytona beach and makes another landfall and really catastrophic portion of this storm, the life-threatening portion is

everywhere here from the fort myers southwest florida into central florida. number one thing that kills people in hurricanes is water. the thing today we're focused on that storm surge. going to be to the south of the landfall. could be the port charlotte area and all the way down to fort myers, very low-lying areas. a 12-foot storm surge never's has the in those areas. even charlie happened when load tide was happening. this looks to move in during high tide. high tide, charlotte, 6:00, sanibel 3:00 this afternoon, coinciding right with the peak storm surge. add two to three feet on top of the storm surge making it even worse. right now you still, if you haven't evacuated or haven't left and supposed to, still have a little bit of time. it's getting late. already gusting to 51 in naples, 40 fort myers. usually get gusts 50 to 60 tree branches fall and power out pt when rescues say can't help

people. have to wait for the storm to be over. fort myers and port short, puerta gorda, wind gusts up to 130 miles per hour. talking catastrophic wind damage and as far south and orlando, wind gusts of 88 miles per hour. old trees in the area, a problem with branches falling down. power outages a swath in red. widespread obviously where the landfall is and right up through i-4 heading into volusia, flag beach county back down towards the space coast. guys, bad as it gets. been through a lot of these big, huge, devastating storms. try to save lives today, but this is going to take weeks to recover from. >> whew. you know, bill, we have, we've done this, i think, together for about 20 years now. back to 2004 in my hometown. you and i reporting on hurricane ivan. another category 4 storm, and

it -- it made a tick right at the last minute and obviously put pensacola right in its target. this storm, though, it really does seem to be a bit more consistent. doesn't it? chances are really they are slight it's going to hit anywhere other than that fort myers area? >> yes. i know everyone in tampa. still watching this closely. a couple days ago thinking into tampa. insteadable to a wobble to the east, our computer models shifted a little. you can see a line here shows how these hurricanes wobble, and if we get a wobble last minute, we may get, you know, a hurricane landfall into fort myers directly instead of up the coast. or wobbles the other way, could get it in sarasota. that's the window where we're going to see the catastrophic winds, the 130 mile-per-hour, 140 mile-per-hour winds. either somewhere from fort myers, bonita beach northwards up to sarasota. everyone in that region has a

possibility of obviously life-threatening weather. storm surge they've never seen before. everything you get with a category 4 landfall. >> all right. bill karins, thank you very much. and, of course, fema is already on the ground in florida getting ready for this, and we'll watch it throughout the entire four hours of "morning joe." also the how select committee investigating the january 6th attack on the capitol postponed today's public hearing because of hurricane ian. the committee announced the move yesterday writing we are praying for the safety of all of those in the storm's path in respect is no word yet on when the hearing will be rescheduled, but the committee appears to be winding down its investigation. one committee member speaking on the condition of anonymity tells nbc news the panel is transitioning its focus to a written report outlining the panels findings over the past 14 months. joining us now, justice department reporter for the "new york times," katie benner.

first of all, do we know when the next hearing will be? that does appear to be the final one, but how long will they hold off? >> so talk is it could be soon as next week but i think should be cautious here, because they can reschedule this hearing, just saw them reschedule this hearing's we won't know for sure until the committee puts out an official announcement. >> katie -- sorry. >> the written report they're working on. what are we hearing about what exactly they plan to do with that? talk about what it would take for them to actually, you know, do a criminal referral to the justice department by unanimous vote, perhaps. is that at this point just surmising, or is there legitimate undercurrents? >> i think one of the things about this committee, as they reach near the finish line it starts to get fuzzy in terms of what their mission is and intent is. i think the report is a really great example of that. you're right. there was originally talk of criminal referral to the justice

department. that conversation was happening at a time it did not seem the justice department was moving quickly to investigate january 6th and now we see they are moving ahead and does not need a referral from the committee to act. the committee's report i think ultimately what they've all said. fullest accounting to the american people of what happened leading up to january 6th, why the january 6th attack happened and what to do afterwards. there may or may not be a criminal referral. may or may not refer some activity regarding funding to the s.e.c. that's to be seen. ultimately they want a document to read that tells us exactly what happened and why. >> and, katie, obviously the hearings and the report, too, captured the country's attention. polling shows in a way even the committee didn't expect. it has been compelling and will be in this last one. take it from the other side of it. the justice department. how closely are they watching these hearings? how closely are they watching

this last hears and read this final report when they consider whether or not to take up criminal charges? >> top officials always maintained the departments' leaders are watching extremely closely. absurd not to. you never know what evidence can be brought in this forum. maybe not evidence to hold up in a court of law but could lead to interesting questions, leads, investigative steps. watching closely. scan the report for any information they can find that matches what they've seen, contradicts what they've seen and contradicts what their own witnesses told them. they will be key. and keep in mind, they have never come to a full cooperation agreement. for the department, some information they see in the report whenever it comes could be information that they're seeing for the first time. >> katie, we had, we continue to have convictions in the january 6th trials that are taking place.

yesterday one of the -- the toughest sentences handed down along with a judge that's just absolutely scathing of the january 6th hearing as well as donald trump. >> keep in mind, this is true, the committee holding hearings publicly, taken a break, the justice department has been moving forward, to your point, with these prosecutions of rioters. seen judges come out and criticize not only the folks before them on the bench who they are, who are being found guilty, being sentenced, but also really criticizing this ongoing lie that donald trump won the election, and the ongoing damage done to the country. i think we might see some of that in the future committee hearings as well. the committee wants to show some of the loose ends they've gathered up including a more forward-looking view of the impact all of this has had on the united states since the attack. >> all right.

the "new york times" justice reporter katie benner, thank you very, very much for being on this morning. also, major news out of russia this morning. the "new york times" reporting that russian men attempting to escape the country following vladimir putin's latest call-up are being met at the border and served draft notices. the neighboring country of georgia says around 10,000 people are seeking entry into its borders each day as the rush to escape continues. the eu border agency says there was a 30% jump last week in the number of russian citizens who fled the country. according to independent newspaper, russia has seen protests in more than 50 cities and 2,300 people detained under anti-protest laws. supporters of the kremlin claiming contradictory in referendums most western observers call shams. russian officials in four occupied regions alleged

citizens of those areas voted overwhelmingly to see to cede their homeland to russia. annexed land from ukraine. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy said "none of russia's criminal actions will change anything." joining us now, staff of the "atlantic" tom nichols and host of "way too early" and white house chief of politico, jonathan lemire. max exodus of men and families supporting themselves just to get away from being a part of russia's war, these are russians. it's remarkable. >> really is. willie, you know, you have a country that's in -- it's just in a free fall right now. talked about this yesterday with anne applebaum. and you have a country that was -- economically struggling before this war began, gdp smaller than a lot of u.s. states. they've endured economic

hardship. the russian people have, because of one man's war. he's continuing to get attacked from people that are supposed to be his closest allies on the international stage, and his people are trying to flee his country. the situation just seems to keep getting worse. >> yeah. those pictures are extraordinary of people desperately trying to get out of the country whether by train, plane or even by foot. and those people in russia have to be asking themselves what this war has brought them exactly? they were promised a quick war, toppled kyiv, take back land that they lost at the end of the soviet union, and instead have been condemned by the world. had cripples economic sanctions placed upon them. it's not a pretty sight inside russia right now and tom nichols, i imagine vladimir putin does, to some extent, understand that. does, to some extent, feel that. the question, does it matter to him? that there are protests in the streets? that even china and india now

are criticizing him in public? does that change his calculus at all in this war? >> it doesn't seem to. he is personally invested in this war. he is a man who has very hard time being wrong. a very hard time dealing with humiliation, has kind of a gangster mentality that if you show weakness, you're not the boss anymore. the interesting thing, though, here, willie, is that this mobilization almost seems like a kind of reluctant half measure that we sort of thought he would take -- some of us who watch russia thought he might have done this on victory day in may, and one idea is that putin is boog pushed by people in the military tired of losing this war, while other people basically stay out of it and stay home and watch tv.

but, remember, that putin sold this war as something that would be over quick. it's not really going to affect you. we'll have big parades and a bigger country when it's all over and so now i think he's, he's stuck. he doesn't really have a lot of good options here, and in typical putin fashion, he's just going to keep plowing through it because he doesn't know what else to do and backing down just doesn't come easily to him. >> tom, u.s. officials told me in recent days that a cornered desperate putin is the most dangerous and where he is now. we should know the mobilization of reservists coming largely falling on the backs of the outer regions seeing many of them try to flee the country. tom, talk about this sham referendums that have come down. obviously they won. many of these votes cast with russian soldiers in ukrainians homes forced to vote at

gunpoint, officials say, but if indeed russia annexes these countries that ups stakes, officials believe, about the possibility any fighting in those regions could be used as an excuse for putin to escalate and that coup include nuclear weapons. you just wrote about that. last remaining threat. tell us what you mean and how worried are you? >> well, i'm not that worried yet. i still think it's unlikely that he's going to use nuclear, a nuclear weapon. one thing about this conscription in the boondocks with russian authorities. ironically, areas much more pro-putin than the cities. he may be traconning people in the military. when he annexes these territories, i worry he claims these are part of the russian motherland and therefore the integrity of the russian state is being threatened and that,

therefore, the ukrainian fighting to reclaim ukraine territory is actually an existential attack on russia, which opens the door to making more nuclear threats. i wonder about this, because i don't think anyone in russia, even in russia, really believes that any of these referendums matter. i mean, you know, we're talking even the soviets, at least since stalin's time, didn't bother things at 98% or 99%, which is what they did here, but putin may be trying to lay the legal groundwork, kind of the legal and nationalist foundation. no longer fighting on ukraine but the territory of the motherland. whether he'll get away with that or anybody buys it, but i'm concerned that's what he's trying to do. >> yeah. the "atlantic's" tom nichols thank you. getting back to this story throughout the show as well. still ahead on "morning joe," we're tracking the path of

hurricane ian all morning with live reports from florida throughout the show. also joined by head of fema to talk about the federal response already getting in place for the storm. also ahead this morning, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell snarls support for legislation aimed at preventing another january 6th, but will other republicans follow his lead? plus, the january 6th rioter who assaulted officer michael fanone gets one of the harshest sentences yet. relating to the capitol attack. we'll have a look at this morning's front page headlines including a warning about possible blackouts in one area of the country this winter. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. >> a beautiful view of new york.

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it's 24 past the hour. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is throwing his support behind the bipartisan electoral count act reform. >> congress process for counting the presidential electoral votes was written 135 years ago. the chaos that came to a head january 6th last year certainly underscored the need for an update. >> the revision would clarify the 1887 electoral account act to limit the vice president's responsibilities to simply counting votes and raise the threshold to object to an elector and also add laws around certifying elections and help ensure and orderly transition of

power. the endorsement from mcconnell gives the legislation a major boost but will put the republican leader at odds with former president trump. the bill can now be sent to the full senate floor for a vote. >> i really don't think he cares. >> oh, of course not. >> donald trump is -- jonathan lemire, obviously this has been a critically important piece of legislation to pass, as i mentioned yesterday. the "new york times" editorial board, "wall street journal" ed tort board soon after january 6th both agreed this needed updating. especially to prevent another january the 6th, but also i like the fact, even unless, let's just say less serious times, it stops members of either party for political purposes questioning the outcome of the election, and it seems every few elections you'll have a couple of democrats or a couple of republicans who want to make a point to their fervent base who

question the outcome of the elections. of course, drawing no equivalency between what happened in '20 and what happened through the years, but it has been an irritant for quite some time, and by raising the -- the -- the threshold for actually these -- these questions to be raised and debated, i think -- i think it makes the entire process cleaner, better, more serious. >> yeah. that's happened before. george bush's election. happened in 2016. a couple democrats registered complaints when donald trump was being, january 6th, and joe biden then vice president said, no. enough is enough. moving on from here. this, of course, is about january 6th and bipartisan support, a bipartisan bill. those attacked the process believed enough republican support anyway and mitch mcconnell lending his voice all but guarantees that. put it at odds with some in the caucus.

not every republican. particularly those in line with the former president will go with this, opposition. right, people i talked to say mcconnell doesn't care at all what trump thinks. heard how critical he was on january 6th, the aftermath of riot. we know how mcconnell has broken with trump on a lot of things since then. this is an important step and white house aides i spoke to last night said, of course, the overarching goal after that election, federal vote are rights reform. fell short. this, an important, key and necessary step. >> staying on january 6th one of the protesters who assaulted d.c. police officer mike fanone will spend the next seven years in prison. kyle young a trump supporter at the capitol on january 6th sentenced to 86 months in prison after pleading guilty in may to a felony count of resisting impeding officers or assaulting. he brought his teenage son to the capitol and part of the mob

that dragged officer fanone into the crowd and handed a taser to another attacker who shot fanone in the neck. he apologized hoping the former officer could forgive him one day and fanone spoke at that sentencing telling young he prevented him from finishing his career in law enforcement and should have been given a ten-year sentence. fanone added, "i hope you suffer." after fanone spoke a supporter of the january 6th defendants was in the courtroom shouting out calling the former officer an expletive. a brief staredown before he was escorted out. a long sentence for the man that committed the crimes and a federal judge, judge jackson, handing down the sentence made a longer and bigger speech about the people who drove people like kyle young to the capitol. republican leadership who stoked

the fires fanned the flames and sent them to the capitol. >> some of the very people who want to run for house of representatives over the next couple of years. one of those who tried to help liz cheney out of the chamber on january the 6th did not -- didn't get a kind word from liz cheney who says, you caused this, and now cheney was right. some republicans stoked the fire. the judge had none of this yesterday and condemned the attack in the harshest terms since she couldn't believe he did what he did with his son there and then took aim on republicans. took aim on donald trump. it says, the judge rebuked republican leaders who she said were so fearful of trump that they wouldn't contradict his lies about the election. some she said, were cagily stoking civil unrest amid ongoing investigations, this

into donald trump's conduct. mika, again, this is -- it's just so striking. you just have to stop yourself every once in a while. so striking you still don't have republicans aggressively calling out what happened on january the 6th. still spreading conspiracy theories as we saw a couple days ago. >> yes. >> trying to say that some guy was an fbi plant. again, just -- >> why would they want anything to do with it? >> conspiracy theories. again, beating the hell out of cops. again, these people are the same people saying put us in charge, because democrats aren't supportive enough of police officers? they're the ones beating up, their supporters are beating up police officers. these republicans are lying saying -- a bunch of tourists, talking mainly about house republicans, and they just want call these people out. they won't condemn them in the harshest terms, and you still

have an officer almost beaten to death getting, getting smeared at and verbally abused inside of a courthouse. >> head of the oath keepers on trial for many charges including seditious conspiracy. why would any republican leader want anything to do with this? why, if just -- it's, number one, it seems so demented. >> yeah. >> and treasonous, but number two, why would you want to be affiliated with anybody who would do damage to our democracy, hurt cops, try and kill cops? and try and interrupt our process? i don't understand it what's the win here? >> not only that, talked about defunding the fbi. >> nuts. >> the top law enforcement agency in america? and beating the hell out of police officers on capitol hill? so this is -- >> you can't take a stand on "this"? >> all situational support.

these, these people. so many of these house republicans say, yes, we support democracy. so long as our candidate wins, and, yes, we will support law enforcement, so long as law enforcement doesn't enforce the laws. so long as law enforcement doesn't protect mad zonian democracy. so lon as law enforcement allows our guy, the cult leader, to take top-secret classified documents out of government buildings, steal them, and store them illegally in his beach-side resort. this is -- it's all very situational. it's all really grotesque and you just -- you just wonder, where is the shame? where -- is -- the -- shame in this republican party? >> following the many trials in play here. it is time now for a look at morning papers. in new york the rochester democratic chronicle reports on possible service cuts at upstate hospitals according to a new

survey, about 50 hospitals in the region warned of cuts due to declining patient revenues and sky-rocketing service costs. nearly 90% of those hospitals report they are on track to lose millions of dollars by end of this year. in massachusetts, the boston globe reports energy officials want that plummeting winter temperature -- warn that plummeting winter temperatures could bring rolling blackouts across new england. natural gas shortages driven by the war in ukraine could strain the region's power grid this winter. commissioners of the federal energy regulatory agency earlier this month made a rare visit to new england to come to grips with just how serious the threat is. in kentucky, the courier journal leads with ford motor company's expanding presence in the state. the automaker announced it will invest $700 million and create 500 new jobs at its truck plant in kentucky to support vehicle

production. and in michigan -- the detroit news is covering general motors' decision to delay its return to work plans until next year. on friday the company informed employees they would be expected to work in-person at least three days a week. that announcement was met with swift backlash causing the automaker to delay those plans. and coming up, cracks in the pipeline or sabotage? that's the question european leaders try to answer after leaks in two natural gas lines that run from russia to germany. we'll have the latest on that. plus, former secretary of state john kerry is our guest ahead of a major climate conference. up next, one of the most famous speeches of the 20th century didn't really move the needle when delivered. president's historian jon meacham joins us to explain. "morning joe" is coming right back. t

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look at that gorgeous shot of washington, d.c. at 38 past the hour. >> much better in washington, d.c. right now than it is in southwest florida. we have bill karins, of course, that's going to be with us throughout the morning. we're tracking ian. expecting right now, ian to hit the coastline early afternoon, around the fort myers area. a category 4, and bill karins saying earlier this hour there's fear that it could be the most devastating, the most expensive hurricane in u.s. history. >> millions of people are under an evacuation order right now and fema is already getting into place. >> we'll be following that story over the next four hours, but right now let's bring in presidential historian jon meacham. jon, great to have you here.

you're out today with a new episode of your award-winning podcast series. my favorite podcast that's out there, and the season two premier of "it was said" you talk about winston churchill's speak, delivered in june, one month about the premiership, prose to premiership at a time very few in america or across the world gave britain a chance of pushing back and stopping a nazi invasion of the island. here's a little bit of that speech. >> if we fail, then the whole world, including the united states, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new dark age made more sinister and perhaps more protracted by the

likes of perverted science. let us brace ourselves to our duty, so bear ourselves towards the british empire and its commonwealth last for 1,000 years. then we'll still say, this where thy finds thyself. >> absolutely remarkable speech, jon. first of all, since this podcast series is about speeches, let's talk about churchill for one second. as an orator, say in the dark days of american democracy, four, five years ago, sometimes at night, with the lights off, i would put churchill's speeches on and just close my eyes and listen. and the thing that struck me was that churchill, we think of him as this hot -- one of our

favorite quotes about churchill. when he's right, he's right. when he's wrong, good god. my god. and we think of this hot-headed, flamboyant leader, and yet you listen to these speeches. his great speeches. he always told of love at its low cadence. he takes his time, and it seems every word is phrased with even more power. >> you know, as you know, he wrote them out in what he called psalm form. so his script was not sentences across a page, but as verse, because he understood this was a performance. he was in a shakespearean tradition, almost, by -- he was a force for order amid chaos. imagine what it's going on in that late spring, summer, into the fall of the blitz.

as he put it, everything is at stake, and it's not emotional. it's real. france has fallen. the united states is in its isolationist, in the grip of isolationism. three of the most, four important words in the speech are "including the united states" not such a very subtle point that the great republic, as he called it, needed to become engaged in the world's problems. that somehow or another hitler taking over europe was not going to keep the united states impervious from the price of autocracy, and i think what's so fascinating to me about the churchill saga, as he puts it, he sets this frame which is -- if the empire, if democracy, constitutional democracy is to last forever, men will still say this was their finest hour. he sets things up as a story

that we are not only acting for ourselves in the moment, but for generations yet to come. we're players in an unfolding story, and i think in our own moment, we need to remember this. what churchill is really calling for there, and in these other speeches. president kennedy and the moon landing, margaret thatcher in -- in the early 1980s, ronald reagan at normandy, frederick douglass, nelson mandela, eleanor roosevelt. what they're all really asking for is courage. is the capacity for each of us to act not only for our appetites and ambitions of the moment, but to, perhaps, put the middle and long-term interest of others ahead of our own short-term interest, and that was the fundamental claim that churchill was making. >> jon, this usually my

complements to your dripping sarcasm, but i join joe this really is my favorite podcast, too. so good. so excited for the new season. thinking about that speech in your book about franklin and winston, almost everything publicly and privately that churchill said was directed to fdr in some way. a speech like this, you touched on a minute ago, also a big senate to fdr that we need your help here. >> church lil once said no lover ever studied the whims of his mistress as i did those of franklin roosevelt. it was a love story. it was a seduction, because -- let's see if any of this sounds familiar. the united states was self-absorbed. there were ill-liberal forces on the right and left in the 1930s headed into the 1940s.

congress beholden to a largely isolationist base. so even if they thought they knew better, they feared being defeated, and the so, therefore, they continued to build an isolationist regime, which would not even allow the selling of arms for a long time. we had neutrality acts. three of them, i think, in the 1930s. trying to keep this idea that america was somehow not going to be involved in the story of the world, and it was about domestic politics. it was part -- the cataclysm of the first world war. it wasn't irration many, but it was wrong. something could be irrational -- can be rational and wrong as well. so i think the good news about the story of fdr and churchill and, you know, maybe seems as though we're talking about, you know, kind of a sea span epcot of great people who don't walk

the earth anymore, whatever, is, they were human beings. these guys were not particularly good husbands. they weren't particularly good fathers. they could be -- touch and go friends. as politicians they could be totally wrong, but they got the central big thing right. which was that the experiment had to go on. and i would suggest that that's the thing facing all of us today. are we going to defend this experiment in the way they did? and they should be inspiring. not because they were perfect, but because they were so damn imperfect. >> right. that's so interesting. although churchill's speech is one of the most explained in english history today. jon, you say in the podcast it wasn't initially well-received at all. let's take a listen to a clip from the new episode. hold on one second. >> the speech was delivered twice. one in the house of commons, again for the public on the

radio. churchill's performance in the house was apparently better than his later public one, and an intimate wrote as delivered in the house of commons that speech was magnificent but it sounded ghastly on the wireless. all the great vigor he put into it seemed to evaporate. his private secretary thought the prime minister sounded tired on the radio. another aide reflected that at points during the radio version churchill spoke with a cigar in his mouth. yet the speech's sentiments transcended the "iffy" public delivery. here as in other occasions in 1940, churchill agency the broadcaster one remarked, mobilized the english language and sent it into battle. >> took it into battle and there is -- >> really good. >> there's a number that i always talk about, a percentage

that i always talk about, that i find absolutely stunning. that at the height of the blitz, and in 1940 and early '41, only 3% of the british people thought it was even possible that they could be defeated by the nazis, when, in fact, it was much closer. their survival actually teetered far more than churchill would have ever allowed them to imagine for the very reasons that you talk about in the podcast, when you bring up a morose extraordinary quote about churchill. >> well, you know, as wellington said at waterloo, the damndest close-run thing you ever saw in your life. dunkirk, unfolded june 4th, the great speech, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight.

we shall never surrender, but that was because hitler, bizarrely, chose to let the british expeditionly force go, essentially. he could have crushed it. hitler made three mistakes militarily, strategically, of which he would never recover. take one out, would have succeeded. ined -- invaded soviet union and then declares war on the united states, four days after pearl harbor and had a treaty obligation to do it, presumably. but we know, all know how he treated treaties. so it's a reminder, and i think once sort of disorienting and yet reassuring that history is so contingent that what we're living through -- there's no

forward result. these are human beings making decisions, often wrong. sometimes right. churchill made the right decision in that he bet on the resilience of the british people, and he was determined. in his memoirs it's very interesting. churchill was not what i would call a particularly modest man. i think that's a fairly safe way to put it, but if you read the war memoirs, six volumes, won the nobel prize for literature. you realize that again and again, he talks about, to use the murrow line. he talked about, yes, i expressed this, but it was the will of the people. i was called upon to give the roar to the british lion. and that's the covenant of a constitutional democracy. it's that the leaders and the lead are in a kind of conversation. they reinforce each other. sometimes the leader is ahead of the many, and sometimes the many

are ahead of the leader, but if this -- again, if this experiment's going to long entur, there has to be an open channel of honest communication between the two, and i don't think there's any better example in modern history than of franklin roosevelt and the united states in depression and war and winston churchill in wartime britain. >> the season two premiere of "it was said" available now wherever you listen to podcasts. historian jon meacham. fantastic work. thank you for coming on. and ahead, the state of florida braces for a category 4 hurricane ian. a latest track and live update from the state plus joined by the fema administrator as president biden directs federal assistance to supplement florida storm response. also ahead, the u.s. special

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to get a first-round bye in playoffs. >> the question, set the all-time single season wins record? then went into two months of kind of spinning out of control. just couldn't hit. even though aaron judge was carrying them through that tame time. they're back, seven in a row won, and clinching the al east for the 20th time, clinching the division there. we'll tick through other names. particularly on the bottom. painful for many on this program, but also, joe, the st. louis cardinals clinching their division last night. >> wow. >> the only race really left to look at is the mets and braves, who are tied. cardinals getting it done here last night. what an organization. there they are again. st. louis cardinals. >> what an organization. >> and pujols. got to .700.

back to the yankees a second. aaron judge still sitting on 60 home runs. got eight games now to hit one to tie and two to break the record set by roger maris, 61 years ago. walked four times. >> oh, come on! >> hitting the ball but not hitting it out of the ballpark. not that he's in a slump. pressing, a couple balls out of the zone, you see him swinging but still has eight games to do t. has time. little legal park in the bronx that will help. seems he's pressing a bit. thought he would do it at fenway last week. he did not, but one to tie, two to break. mike barnicle, great, national least eeg. tied. teams play three this weekend in atlanta. although it's possible the storm might delay some of those, but division title on the line. >> division title on the line. going to need to grind and come

up big back-to-back. watch out for the cardinalsness under the radar sneaky great team. >> by the way, i just want to remind you, those who watch this show. while the yankees were losing middle of the season and whining going on, willie and i kept talking how long the season was time and time again. it's a long season. all right? doesn't matter if you break records. ask the seattle mariners. doesn't matter. again, got a really good friend thrilled about the fact indians had won, like, 24 or 25 games in like august. great! it's august. it doesn't matter. and cardinals are a perfect example. look at the series won this century and weren't the best team through the year. same with the braves. mike barnicle ask you a question. willie brought up red sox. finished last five of the last

11 years. of course, celebrate their victories and thrilled they won four world series, but, mike, i love the red sox. you know, i still watch every game. i listen to every game. even when we're playing badly. i -- it's like, it's a thrill for me to be able to hear the sox. even on the radio as i'm going to bed. >> hey, joe -- >> but this team, this team is depl deplorable. i hate to say it because i know it's tough. i know this job's tough, but bloom has put together one of the worst red sox teams i've ever seen in my life. look at the people coming out of the bullpen all year. it really is inexcusable for a team in that market that makes that much money. they make more money, my god, than probably, you know -- the overwhelming majority of the teams, and this is an absolutely horrific lineup. the pitchers, the bullpen. what in the world has happened,

mike? >> well, joe, i would tell you this -- first of all, that outside of my family, the red sox are the most important component of my life. >> hmm. >> and i have to tell you that this has been the most bitter, the most disappointing season i've experienced in a long, long time. there is no excuse for what's happened. bloom is a good guy, a smart guy. been on the job nearly three years. there's no excuse for coming north out of fort myers and let's hope fort myers survives today's onslaught from the hurricane. no excuse coming into the major league without an outfielder who can hit the ball without a bullpen, without a starting rotation. i don't know what happened. i don't know what the plan is. i would hope they would tell us at some point, because they certainly have enough money, and we got to get it done.

>> hmm. >> yeah. he seems like a good guy. really does. i wish him well, but they need to explain to red sox fans who love the team as much as you do, and i do, what in the hell happened this year? we have claire mccaskill. i know. got to bring up claire. she would be very upset if we don't talk about a great organization. red sox won four world series. a couple off of you guys but cardinals don't finish in five times out of the last ten years. they're an incredible organization top to bottom. talk about this year's team? >> well, this year's team has been such a tale of the old and the young. the next generation is clearly coming up with goldie and arenado obviously key people going forward and that's the thing cardinals do. always look down the road. who is going to take the place of yadi? who is going to take the place

of pujols, such fun for is this year. people are going nuts about pujols hit .700 on apple tv and a lot of the fans couldn't see it because it was on apple tv! so we are having a little bit of a kerfuffle here in st. louis. so friday night i will be there. >> wow. >> i'll be there in our seats behind home plate, and pujols will get a welcome like he has never seen in st. louis, and hopefully he will do a little magic for us this weekend, since cardinals' fans feel cheated because of apple tv. >> oh, my lord. oh, my lord! you're so spoiled. >> okay. >> you have that to complain about? barnicle lemire and i have to watch pitchers that couldn't make the catholic high school team. maybe played on little flower in pensacola. >> all right. save it. >> she's complaining -- >> so i'm curious.

curious, guys. how do you feel about -- i wanted to ask this before we get off baseball. how do you feel about this wild card team thing? i'm a little, like, put off by the fact we went off division and now have to maybe play the phillies or milwaukee to get to the braves or to get to the mets? this three wild card thing, i don't understand what's behind that, and it feels a little unfair to a division winner that they've got to jump through another hoop to get to one of the division winners. >> so, claire, i'm going to take the angst of that question and use it as we call in the news business a tease and we will answer that later's we have a lot to get to this hour. you've had nor time. baseball time. >> thank you, dear. >> but a lot to get to very, very massive storm headed towards florida. hurricane ian strengthening into a category 4 storm this morning that's already knocked out power to all of cuba and now barrels towards the west coast of florida. more than 2 million people are

under evacuation orders. thousands in south florida have already lost power, and we are beginning to see flooding from storm surge in the florida keys. let's go straight to meteorologist michelle grossman for where everything stands right now. michelle? >> reporter: hey there, mika. unfortunately received a special update from hurricane hunters and saw the storm strengthen further. 155 mile-per-hour winds. >> geez. >> 2 miles away from a category 5 storm and hours away from a landfall. the latest with ian, a huge storm. not just in size but in power. again, we expect a landfall right around 2:00, 3:00 this afternoon. it's so close to the west coast of florida. 65 miles west-southwest of naples, florida, moving northeast at 9 miles per hour. starting to slow down. the forward speed as expected will slow down. we expect to do slow down three to four miles an hour. a walking pace.

meaning it will crawl over the state of florida over the next several days dumping up to two feet of rain in spots. as far as alerts go, 21 million at risk. a lot of people. looking at hurricane warnings from tampa, fort myers. we expect that landfall right near fort myers. show you that track in a second. but this is devastating. looking at a category 4 storm and then right near landfall -- i know -- 155 mile-per-hour winds. that's going to cause a lot of damage. looking at winds, looking at storm surge. remember, water is the number one reason why people die in hurricanes. whether it's the water from the sky or it's water from the ocean. that's what we'll see going throughout time here. now, just not the coast of florida. it's inland, too. we'll see it maintain strength as it heads inland. category 1 storm 12 hours later moving, again, so, so slow. then move towards the northeast of florida. hop into the atlantic once again and then it's going to make a third landfall as we head towards the weekend. so somewhere between georgia and

south carolina we're going to look at tropical storm force winds and storm surge as well. radar, so active. a very strong form. a textbook look to a storm. looking at all these bright colors. heaviest rainfalls. heavy bands moving onshore and it will look like this over the next several days. a tornado watch as well. severe weather threat in addition to storm surge, devastating wind faal, flooding rains and a lot going on. seeing winds really pick up already. 52 miles per hour in naples and 46 miles per hour in venice. stronger closer to the eye of the storm. storm surge. the number one concern. looking at a wall of water. this is a wall that just moves from the ocean to the dry inland. looking at 8 to 12 feet. that is unsurvivable if that moves in and you do not evacuate. back to you. >> 155 mile sustained winds, just 2 miles per hour short of a

category 5. call it one. strongest storms to ever hit florida. thank you so much. nbc news correspondent joining us kerry sanders. kerry, good morning. what does it look like there? >> reporter: well, we know it's coming. thanks to the radars. it's just raining. it's miserable right now. we've had some gusts but not even tropical force winds. where i'm standing a couple feet from where the rivers connect there and heard discussion about the -- the storm surge, and this likely will be under water because of where we are. so close. 140-plus winds pushing into the storm surge. one of the things important to note about storm surge. especially for those who decided no the to evacuate. with the storm surge comes the force of mother nature. not just a simple rise in water. it's a force that comes in and it can actually wash away a home. so somebody who thinks, well, i can deal with the water. no.

you cannot. there's no olympic swimmer that could deal with a storm surge. the authorities here, the emergency managers, they've said that those who need to do evacuation, should have already evacuated and feel confident those that needed to evacuate have and know some have stayed behind and told them, look, when the hurricane hits, the possible the eye could come right over the area where we are. when the hurricane hits you can't pick up your phone, dial 911 and expect a rescue. that's not going to happen. the greatest threat where i'm standing are the tornadoes. there are some tornadoes that have been spotted on radar. there are some concerns about those tornadoes, because within a hurricane, there are tornadoes spinning out and sometimes we see that in advance of the hurricane actually arriving. so, willie, it's going to be one of those things now where we're going to have what i would consider with my experience a rare daytime storm. seems so often that these hurricanes seem to arrive at night. we're actually going to see the

power of ian, a category 4 hurricane, with the daylight as it comes in. assuming that technology holds, because, you know, we're using electronics here. guys? >> appreciate your coverage. kerry, be safe. back to you soon. nbc's kerry sanders in punta gorda, florida, and so much, kerry. fema on the ground as the hurricane nears landfall. overweekend president biden approved an emergency declaration requested by governor dedantas of federal aid deployed to the state immediately. >> the governor activated 5,000 state and national guard and another 2,000 guard coming from other states. fema is also proposing and pre-positions 3.5 million liters of water. 3.7 million meals, and hundreds of generators. >> the editorial board of the

"miami herd" says we don't care whether desantis and biden talk as long as they cooperate on hurricane ian's reading from the editorial, they may not like each other but at least cooperating for the people of florida. the bar of bipartisanship is pretty low. all we care cooperation in face of the storm and putting floridians ahead of politics. that's what they're doing so far. we want coordination, not in-fighting. a rare thing between republicans and democrats in this era. the spirit of cooperation is hard to maintain in the aftermath of such a difficult and life-threatening event, but even if this cooperation between desantis and biden is perfunctory, we'll take it. floridians need all the help we can get, and obviously things are very raw. especially between democrats and republicans in general, but with governor desantis and the migrant issue and other decisions made, he and joe biden

could not be on more opposite ends of the major political divide that exists. >> and right now that means absolutely nothing, right. >> it means absolutely nothing. we saw before joe biden and ron desantis sit down. i don't can't remember the exact event. perhaps a hurricane last year, but we've seen them sit down before and talk, and chances are good. even if not talking on the phone, they are coordinating. i remember when hurricanes came. i was not -- not the kindest to bill clinton or the clinton administration, but i will say the first time came down. very interesting. claire mccaskill, very interesting. clinton's staff members tried to keep me away from, from the president and keep me away from fema people, and lawton chiles, no fan of mine at all, i'd gone after him on health care reform and he let me know he was no fan at all. lawton chiles said, hey, hey,

wait a second. i'm not going in with president clinton until the kid comes in, basically. i was like, 31-year-old freshman, and it was chiles and democrats who had no use for me politically. pull me into the room. sit down, say it's his district, talk to him. a lesson i never forgot, and that's a lesson i think -- joe biden probably knows better than anyone. >> yeah. and when we are in devastating tornadoes in southwest missouri, a very republican area, you saw those party lines fall away. one thing i do hope, joe, put a little politics in this. we all are praying for the people of florida. we hope the devastation is not deadly. we are glad for the cooperation, but when it's all over i hope some of those floridians who hate the federal government remember that the federal government is there for them at a time of disaster. >> right. absolutely. i think the reason why the

editorial board even raised the question, we are in a time, say this very carefully, certain things that should be, that should be hands-down, we are all on the same side of this. i could bring up january 6th. you would think, that anybody who looks at that would call it violence. yet there are partisan disagreements on january 6th, and i think that raises the bar here and makes it perhaps more difficult. i don't think difficult for joe biden. >> maybe -- maybe, mike barnicle, because as a member of congress when three or four hurricanes came through and every time i dealt with bill clinton, i dealt with his fema director. i felt with democrats who i may not have agreed with throughout most of my tenure there, but everything mika just said, just doesn't matter. >> right. >> it really doesn't matter. doesn't matter what happens. that that hurricane is coming through you have to have that coordination through the federal government. the state government. and local leaders. doesn't matter the party.

what a problem hurricane katrina was. so effective returning hurricanes in florida, his brother assumed, up and do what comes naturally. doesn't happen that way. i mean, very fortunate to have his brother jeb as governor of florida. never seen anybody run hurricane recovery better than jeb, but you have to have that coordination, mike, and politics, i'm sorry, it just doesn't matter. doesn't matter to the people of florida right now. it doesn't matter, shouldn't matter, to the leaders. >> well, one guy who certainly understands that more than some other people in politics, joe, that joe biden. fema's been on the ground in florida for several days now. we just said recitation from the president yesterday about what fema is already doing in preparation for helping people in florida. for helping to save lives. and i don't think he needed to be challenged to make a phone call, by the governor of florida, which the governor did yesterday, indicating that his

phone is open but he hasn't spoken to the president. the reason he hasn't spoken to the president is the president was actively engaged in getting fema and help and aid to florida now. >> yeah. and white house aides say that that door will remain open. the president spoke to local mayors he and the governor connected late last night and they had worked before previously last year. the building collapse, joe, apartment building that collapse. >> that was it. >> when the president came down to florida. he and desantis worked well together and the president said over the next few days expect federal briefings and whatever federal help they can direct they will and politics not a part of this and certainly as the storm rears category strong strength and bringing likely catastrophic damage we expect the president will likely visit florida maybe sometime next week to help oversee the rebuilding processes that could pledge federal support for that effort,

too. >> all right. also we have major in u.s. this morning on several fronts out of russia. the "new york times" is reporting that russian men attempting to escape the country following vladimir putin's latest call-up are being met at the border and served draft notices. the neighbors country of georgia says around 10,000 people are seeking entry into its borders each day as the rush to escape continues. the eu border agency says there was a 30% jump last week in the number of russian citizens who fled the country. according to independent newspaper novia gazettea, people detained under anti-protest laws and the supporters of the kremlin claiming victory in referendums that most western observers are calling shams. russia officials in four occupied regions alleged citizens of those areas voted

overwhelmingly cede their homeland to russia. this to annex more land from ukraine. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy said, "none of russia's criminal actions will change anything." willie? >> meanwhile, european officials are investigating unexplained leaks affecting two nord stream pipelines that bring natural gas from russia to europe through the baltic sea. officials say two explosions were heard before those leaks started. europe pointing to possible sabotage and that the energy standoff with russia provoked by the war in ukraine. joining us, democratic senator chris coons, member of the foreign relations and judicial committees. thanks for being with us. start with the nord stream pipelines and secretary of state blink expressing skepticism although he didn't call sabotage, expressed skepticism.

what are you hearing about the leaks? >> and stoltenberg called it sabotage. we don't have definitive intelligence information what caused this pipeline to rupture and begin to leak ethane up into the atmosphere but it is is likely this is an act by russia. i think that we've seen over and over vladimir putin use energy as a weapon against the west to try and undermine nato's unity in the face of his brutal invasion of ukraine. the fake, sham referenda they've been holding in luhansk and donetsk, the way they've had to recruit for their army in prisons and by forcing people fleeing the country to return and to serve demonstrates all the different ways in which his criminal invasion of ukraine is intensely unpopular, and i think only by continuing to turn off the spigots of power of gas and oil to the west does he have any chance of weakening our resolve.

nonetheless, despite his accesses here in congress we have a strong bipartisan support for voting for more funding. president biden has asked for $12 billion more in the bill we will take up end of this week, and i believe it will pass. >> as the russian military continues to flail in ukraine we are seeing acts like a nuclear threat last week from vladimir putin saying i'm not bluffing on this. perhaps if this is sabotage, as the secretary-general says, another act of desperation, as he's backed into a corner. what does that tell you about where he is and about his mind-set? how much does that concern you? >> i am concerned vladimir putin is increasingly desperate as there are proest its in russia, actions against military recruitment stations and as hundreds of thousands of russian men flee into finland, kazakhstan, georgia, to avoid a war they don't support and in which they're not willing to

serve. we should always take seriously his threats to use nuclear weapons, but frankly, we need to push back as president biden has and make it clear for him to do that would bring a swift and decisive response by nato that we refuse to allow him to prevent us from providing the critically needed arms and support that has allowed the ukrainian military just in the last few weeks to make a dramatic breakout east of kharkiv and to retake thousands of square miles of ukrainian territory. >> senator, as the russian army continues to expose its own weaknesses, as putin continues to show that he is in a very, very shaky position in terms of his own country with people fleeing, rather than serving in the army, there's increased talk about potential negotiations between ukraine and russia to end this war. my question to you is -- why would the ukrainians cede anything to russia or putin right now?

>> well, that's right. at this point, president zelenskyy has said their goal is to regain all -- excuse me, all ukrainian territory including crimea, and i think the ukrainian people who have shown such remarkable resiliency and determination, their soldiers who fought so bravely, expect nothing less. there may come a point where negotiations are the only way for this conflict to resolve, but, remember. ukraine has been at war for eight years. ukrainian men and women have volunteered to go to the front in the very eastern-most part of ukraine. since 2014. so for many in the west, many americans, we think of this as a war going on just since february of this year, but for ukrainians they've been volunteering and going to serve in the eastern front against the russians now since 2014. i think they expect their inspiring leader zelenskyy to

continue to fight as long as they continue to gain territory. >> all right. senator chris coons, thank you very much for joining us this morning. we appreciate it. and still ahead on "morning joe," much more on the war in ukraine and the growing discontent inside russia itself over the war. former u.s. ambassador to russia michael mcfaul will join us. plus, we continue to monitor thericane ian now a massive category 4 storm. governor ron desantis is expected to give an update on preparations any moment now. and up next, the inflation reduction act was a big political win for president biden. but even that could be outweighed by the benefit to the environment. u.s. special presidential envoy for climate, john kerry joins us. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back.

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a live look at tampa, florida, where millions of people are under an evacuation order right now. the hurricane barreling toward florida. we'll have an update on a number of levels, get a check on radars and check in with nbc's kerry sanders and we'll be looking at this storm's path. expected to make landfall in the next few hours. expected to be the storm of a lifetime. joining us now, former secretary of state, the u.s. special presidential envoy for climate, john kerry. it's really good to have you on the show this morning, mr. secretary. we want to talk about what's obviously happening with climate change and your efforts in just a moment, but i would be remiss not to start with the situation in ukraine.

the mass exodus, the remarkable mass exodus of men out of russia. what do you make of that? do you think vladimir putin has ever been this much in a corner, and what does that bode for a man who may see his only option left as nuclear? >> well, let's pray he doesn't really see that as his only option, and, frankly, i doubt that he does. but clearly it's a very, very dangerous moment, and he is more in a corner than anybody would like him to be, because that's not good for anybody. so hopefully diplomacy. i know the secretary of state tony blinken and jake sullivan know there's a super focus on this, and we have to hope that people will come to their senses at some point. there's going to have to be a negotiation at some point. >> former job, secretary of state, current climate with

explosions around the nord stream pipelines. what do you believe putin is up there there, if you believe he's up to something. >> well, our european friends have been more forward-leaning on labeling it sabotage. we're waiting to get the facts. the administration is looking very, very closely at that, obviously, and critical is going to be repairing it as fast as possible. an underwater operation, but that's going to have to happen. >> so obviously environmental impacts from this as well. what's the concern there? >> well, the concern there is that if you have blown up a gas pipe and gas is coming out, which evidently you can see happening in the ocean, that's methane. huge release of methane. unburned gas is the most, the methane it leaks is the most destructive gas. it's 20 to 80 times more damaging and destructive than

co2, the burned gas, and it's responsible overall for half of the warming of the planet. so we have actually, on the good side of the story, president biden announced a methane plant last year. we have 122 nations that have joined in this pledge, to reduce methane leaks by 30% by 2030. if we did that, and i believe we will be able to do it. we have more and more nations signing up, it's the equivalent of every automobile, every truck, car, airplane in the world going to zero by 2030. zero emissions. that's a huge grab, if we can get it. and very excitingly, the senate passed the donali amendment this week, the first environmental treaty to pass in about 30 years and that will also probably help in cooling of the planet .2 degrees celsius. a big step forward to finally ratify it, making it law of the

land and have the united states step up and president biden and the team and the senate should be congratulated for making that happen. >> there is a major u.n. climate conference scheduled to be held in november in egypt. nations from all across the globe will be participating in that. my question to you is -- what can be done about china? the seeming reluctance to participate in affairs of climate control of other nations? >> china, interestingly enough, china has a plan. they've put a plan in place. we think they could do more, but china is going to be building more electric vehicles put on the road over the next year or so in china than in all the rest of the world put together. china is -- i'm not excusing china, i'm just telling you that china is moving to do additional

things. they are deploying renewable power at a rate that exceeds all other nations. they are the largest manufacturer of this in the world and so china is moving. the challenge is, if we're not cooperating able, which we're not able to be doing right now, since the, the -- since taiwan, the taiwan visit, china has suspended its communications with us on this subject. i hope they're going to come back, and i hope that we can work together. because take methane. china under last year's agreement in glasgow said they would put out an ambitious national action plan for methane this year. we were working on that together. how do you do to? what's the best way to approach it? we could be helpful and they to us in what we make. china is deploying a massive amount of renewables right now.

so we want china to be able to move faster, do more, and it works better when we're able to cooperate, but china will be in shape, china will come, say to the world what it's doing, but i don't think quite as much impact as if we were able to cooperate together. they'll be about 30,000 people coming. a massive meeting. africa is front and the center in this particular meeting, because it's taking place in africa. and we are all assembling in africa in a few days for what's called the precomp. we try to minimize capacity for any issues to get in the way and destroy the momentum and so forth. we're very hopeful, but scientists are waning us. where this is urgent, and, yes, the world has to deal with ukraine and the world has to deal with inflation, but we also have to deal with an existential prices. a climate crisis and mother

nature could not be more clear about the dangers. very learned scientists warned us a week ago we may have reached five tipping points. may be past them. we don't know. arctic,ntarctic, coral reef and the sea. life threatening implications if we don't deal with t. the administration you know well made this issue a priority. inflation reduction act included $369 billion towards climate renewable energy. a huge number for people watching's what does that mean? >> in practical terms president biden succeeded thachieving an extraordinarily piece of legislation which has implications way beyond the united states. impact on available technology to the rest of the world, and the rest of the world is

suddenly -- look, we just had a huge energy summit in pittsburgh in ministers from around the world talking about inflation reduction act and impact on them, because they see the u.s. moving forward on technology, research, development and deployment. on direct air to carbon capture or battery storage or other kinds of storage, or green hydrogen. all of these different technologies that are going to change economies around the world, and they're now saying, wow. the united states of america is moving forward. that's going to have an impact on us, and they also don't want to be left behind. so they're saying, we better get our own act moving on this. so this act will be an accelerator of action way beyond whams in the states. but in the states not only implications for people's health care, that will be cheaper,

drugs, cheaper. prescription drugs. it has limits for lower-income folks. anybody earning $400,000 or less not paying a dime more. reduction on the deficit in it, but most importantly, it has really serious money as incentive for the deployment of renewables, for the manufacture of renewables, for deployment of electric vehicles, the infrastructure for it. this is a job creator. you hear that a lot in politics. people saying, it's going to -- this is a massive job creator and it's going to put the united states of america in a very strong position to be leading on a global basis. >> former secretary of state now u.s. special presidential envoy for climate, john kerry. we've spared you discussion about the red sox. >> i heard it. >> thank you. >> i suffered through it. >> good to see you. mika? >> thank you, mr. secretary.

coming up, we continue to monitor the latest as hurricane ian barrels towards florida. governor ron desantis is talking about the state's preparations right now. we'll bring you any new updates. also ahead, poll after poll has shown women are more motivated than ever to vote in november, but many still say who they will vote for is still up in the air. we'll bring you the latest in numbers, next on "morning joe." downy will soften your clothes without dyes or perfumes. the towel washed with downy is softer, and gentler on your skin. try downy free & gentle. president biden has now signed the inflation reduction act into law. ok, so what exactly does it mean for you? out of pocket costs for drugs will be capped. for seniors, insulin will be just $35.

families will save $2,400 on health care premiums. energy costs, down an average of $1,800 a year for families. and it's paid for by making the biggest corporations pay what they owe. president biden's bill doesn't fix everything, but it will save your family money.

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let's go live to florida right now where governor ron desantis and state officials director of emergency management holding a live news briefing. let's dip in real quick. >> -- even potentially helmets. if there are flash flood warnings in your area, remember

it is never safe to walk or drive through flooded areas. we continue to coordinate with all of our electrical partners as the governor mentioned. over 30,000 linemen stationed throughout the city from north central florida all the way down to miami. as areas in south florida and the keys begin to experience power outages remember to contact your service provider, not 911, for power restoration. you can also keep your rerefrigerators shut. open them at little as possible to help preserve perishable items. using a generator, we've been saying for days, remember to keep it elevated, on a hard surface, away from doors and windows, outside of garages. this will help you stay safe. if residents have any questions about resources for hurricane ian, i urge them to reach out to their local emergency management or public safety office. this storm is here.

it is imminent. i can tell tu is a cat 4 hurricane, nearly a cat 5. i know all emergency management directors in southwest florida very well. combined they have over 200 years of experience. they're preparing and expecting a cat 5. so, please, stay indoors, stay away from windows. get to an interior location of your house. if anyone has any questions and they still have phone service, if you need to contact the state to ask for assistance, we have a cell assistance information line that number is 1-800-342-3557. that is 1-800-342-3557. as always, please, follow us on our social media at facebook and twitter page @flasupport.

thank you,governor for your leadership. >> rescue teams staged in miami and also in central florida. wep have over 600 resources to bear. we have fema teams coming from out of state. we have virginia one and two that just literally came back from puerto rico in miami also there to assist. out of the eight teams in florida five are activated and will have search and rescue dogs. they will have swift water boats and go from door to door with engineers and trauma surgeons as soon as it is safe for them to make access to those neighborhoods and go from door to door to administer life-saving support through their missions's when it comes to hur caan response i will put the state of florida against any of the 50 states. we have the best professionals and governor the largest seen in the state. amaing work you and your team have done. please, stay safe.

training they are entire lives for this. hunker down. now is not the time to hit the roads. >> we will, of course, monitor impacts. soon as the storm moves its way through any given part of the state, the priority is going to be to get personnel in there. to be able to launch rescue efforts and then obviously pave the way so that we can bring in more supplies to the airports, clearing roads so that our linemen get in there, restore power. all standing by. this is going to be a major, major storm. you've been following the tracks and seeing obviously we knew for quite some time it would be a major hurricane. some tracks a couple days ago showed maybe it would weaken reaching landfall further north. this one has just strengthened and strengthened and is the real deal. it's going to do a lot of damage. be prepared. kevin said, widespread power

outages that will occur not just in southwest florida but in portions, other portions of the state. of course, it's a priority to give those linemen the ability to get in there and restore that, but people should just be prepared. there's going to be damage to infrastructure with a storm of this nature and power and communications and all those things can be affected. do what you need to do to stay safe. if you're where the storm is approaches you're already in hazardous conditions. getting worse quickly. please, hunker down. treat it like a tornado, and make sure that your friends and family know where you are. we're going to have folks that are going to be, be there very quickly once it's safe, but, you know, this is the real deal. so -- happy to take some questions. all right. governor ron desantis. this is live from tallahassee, florida, where the governor and state emergency officials are letting people know to prepare

for high winds, for projectiles to fly around, telling residents to hunker down. this is the real deal. that is, if they haven't evacuated. millions of people in the state of florida are under an evacuation order right now, and they should be out. the governor saying there will be real damage. emergency officials saying the damage is potentially and probably going to be significant. to expect communication to fail and for massive power outages. again, we'll be tracking hurricane ian as it is expected to make landfall in the next few hours. the state of florida is going to be a direct hit. we're now 40 days away from the midterms, and if one thing is becoming clear, women are going to be the deciding factor in november. according to a new survey from emerson college and the leadership now project, 56% of swing state independent women voters say they are "very

motivated" to cast ballots this november. as for who they plan to vote for, nearly 40% say, they're still undecided. meaning this critical election is likely still up for grabs. joining us now with more on those polls is co-founder and ceo and ceo of the leadership now project, daniella ballou-aares. and tom rogers who writes about the new numbers in his new piece. daniella, give us the biggest takeaway from the polls here. it seems that more women would be quite decided. what did you think? >> the polling wasn't completely surprising because these are midterm elections. and even with all of the attention on politics right now, a lot of americans don't put as much attention on midterms. i think as the leadership now

project, we're concerned with the health of american democracy. and ensuring that americans are aware of what's going on in politics and understand that participation and a healthy election system is critical. so looking at these numbers was not totally surprising. we think it's critical that women in particular are informed going into this election of what's at stake. the really interesting numbers that we looked at was around january 6th and how concerned independent women with the health of american democracy, would they vote for a candidate who was said the election was illegitimate or stolen or someone who denounced january 6th? 69% of independent women said they wanted a candidate who denounced january 6th and saw the 2020 election as legitimate. that was encouraging. >> claire mccaskill, it seems also the issue of abortion would

be top of mind for a lot of women and men. >> listen, i think abortion is going to be huge in terms of driving people to the polls. keep in mind, this poll is of independent women. these are really voters that decide swing elections. these are big numbers for a midterm, for independent voters. those are the voters that typically, as mentioned, stayed home midterms. i do think, you know, the abortion is fighting with the economy because independent women are going to be very concerned about the economy. but they also are really upset about what happened on january 6th. when you combine abortion and january 6th, if these campaigns highlight the election deniers who also, many of them, do not think there should be an exception for rape or incest, that's how you get a winning combination in those swing districts. >> daniella?

>> i think -- our focus as an organization, we're a group of business and thought leaders committed to protecting american democracy and economy, of course, is critical. so we increasingly see that business leaders, voters are seeing the connection between a stable economy, a stable democracy. clearly in this poll, women did not see the economy as really critical. but when asked to make tradeoffs across issues like abortion, guns and democracy itself, did put a strong priority on issues both economy and abortion, guns and response to january 6th. i think it's a nuanced view. and the jury is still out on how independent women will break in this election. but i think really critical, the highest rated question was do you believe this election was

legitimate? >> tom rogers, what do you make of the poll numbers, and in the lead-up to the election there are a number of issues where it seems republicans are not on the side where most americans sit? >> daniella deserves a lot of credit for driving these initiatives. this was a survey of the most purple voters in the most purple states. independent women, but in arizona, georgia, michigan, pennsylvania and wisconsin. really going to the heart. that if the democrats are going to hold the house, what they have to really focus on to get those voters out. what was most interesting to me is while the economy rates overall among women as top priority when asked what's your top issue? when you give them the choice of what candidate you're going to support, are you going to support a candidate that prioritizes gas and groceries or

are you going to prioritize a candidate that prioritizes access to abortion? the numbers surge in support of abortion access, but more interesting than that, when you do that match-up, candidate that prioritizes gas and groceries versus candidate who prioritizes gun control, gun control overwhelms the economy candidate. i don't think we're getting enough focus on that issue among these key purple voters in the most purple states. when you look at that issue relative to crime, the issue that the republicans are beating to death, this population segment prioritizes gun control way more than the issue of general crime. that's one that i think we really got to go at if we're going to get the undermotivated women here. yes, 54% are very motivated. but some what motivated and not

too motivated are the ones we really got to get out if we're going to make sure that the democrats have a shot at holding the house. and that is a critical element of this poll. >> ceo and co-founder of the leadership now project, daniella ballou-aares, "newsweek's" tom rogers, thank you very much for coming on. and up next, the director of fema joins us live as hurricane ian crawls closer to making landfall in florida. now just shy of category 5 strength. "morning joe" is back in a moment. before we begin, i'd like to thank our sponsor, liberty mutual. they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. and by switching, you could even save $652. thank you, liberty mutual. now, contestants ready? go!

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all right. we're now into the top of the third hour of "morning joe." we're tracking hurricane ian barrelling towards florida and

moving towards category 5 level strength. welcome back to "morning joe." it is september 28th. jonathan lemire, mike barnicle still with us. all focus right now is on the fact that such a wide swath in florida is really where this storm is headed and i'm so worried about the people who did not evacuate. >> so what happens is when -- when you have a hurricane that goes -- so many hurricanes lately have been atlantic hurricanes. they either bounce off the shore and go out into the atlantic. when they get up into the gulf, they increase in intensity because the gulf is so much warmer than the atlantic. that just adds fuel to the power of the storm. this was going to be, many people thought it would be a cat 3 storm, then later, they started talking about a category 4 storm. now possibility of it being a category 5 storm when it hits the shore. you have 155-mile-per-hour

sustained winds and gusts up to almost 200 miles per hour. we don't know exactly what's going to happen when it hits the shore. we know this, you are going to have massive power outages, you'll have, as bill karins said earlier this morning, up to $10 billion in damages, one of the most expensive storms in history. let's just pray that the people along the path shelter in place and stay safe. >> yeah. and that's why we have an emergency update from the hurricane center a little while ago. it showed those 155-mile-per-hour sustained winds, that's 2 miles an hour short of a category 5 storm as it makes its way towards the southwest coast. let's get over to the maps. we find meteorologist and correspondent ms. grossman there. what's the latest? >> hey, guys. we are looking at a historical storm, life threatening,

life-altering catastrophic storm. winds of 155 miles per hour. it continues to strengthen at the worst time. we'll see big, big impacts from this storm not only today but tomorrow and also friday. and into the weekend. part of the problem is the storm will slow down. it's already starting to slow down. it's going to slow down to a walking pace. it's going to drop a lot of rain in a lot of spots. 21 million people will be impacted. we're looking at hurricane warnings in the red and warnings all the way through georgia and into the carolinas. this is a story we'll be talking about through the weekend. here's the latest on ian. again, strengthening at the worst time. 155-mile-per-hour winds. joe mentioned we're seeing gusts higher than that. we do expect it to maintain the strength as it moves inland. that's in the next few hours. moving northeast at 10 miles per hour. it's only 55 miles west of naples, florida. it's getting very, very close. here's the track, category 4 storm. this afternoon, by noon, 1:00, 2:00. we'll see that landfall as a

category 4 storm. 155-mile-per-hour winds. winds gusting higher than that. storm surge, 12 to 16 feet of storm surge. that's life threatening. you cannot outrun this. if you didn't evacuate, we'll see some big, big problems from this. damage to homes, to buildings. as we go throughout time, this is where we slow down. still 12 hours later, looking at a category 1 storm. winds of category 1. looking at rainfall. as we go throughout the next 12 hours, looking at tropical storm winds. then it makes a turn towards the carolinas. between georgia and the carolinas, we'll see tropical storm-force winds. looking healthy on radar. that's terrible news. the eyewall, lightning around that eye. heavy rain, the reds, oranges, yellows is where we're seeing the heaviest rainfall. we'll see this picture not only today but thursday and friday.

that's why we're expecting 12 feet of rain. the hard to say that. here's the immediate threat. the threat for severe weather. we had nine reported tornadoes since last evening. the threat for severe weather today, thursday and friday. a lot of energy with this system. this tornado watch is in effect until 5:00. we've seen warnings throughout the morning as well. winds picking up to tropical storm-force winds. it's getting closer. we'll start to see things deteriorate as we head throughout the next couple of hours. this is what we're most concerned about. we have storm surge. storm surge is a wall of saltwater that gets pushed onshore. you have this and fresh water falling from the sky for days and days that will lead to flash flooding, it will be life threatening over the next several days. 8 to 12 feet. we did receive a report of 12 to 16 inches. that was updated as of 7:00 in the morning. other impacts, heavy rainfall.

we'll see roadways flooded. homes washed away at least in the coastal communities into the ocean. 12 to 24 inches of rain where you see the brighter colors. heavy rain continues into georgia and the carolinas. the northeast will get some rain by the weekend. when you think of hurricanes, you think of winds. we'll see very, very gusty winds. the grounds will be saturated. power lines will come down. trees will come down. we'll be out of power in some spots for weeks to come. significant damage. strongest wind gusts through thursday. look at some of these numbers. 127 miles per hour, it's not just along the coast. we're talking about inland. this storm will impact the entire peninsula of florida with the rainfall, storm surge and winds. that's the biggest concern even into georgia and south carolina. we'll see power disruptions, communication outages. we'll see weeks to restore this. it's september. it's hot in florida. that will be a problem. we're looking at the severe

threat. this is this afternoon. 15 million people at risk. looking at hurricane-force winds. there will be brief tornadoes, that's typically what we see with land-falling tornados. we'll see this continuing into tomorrow. >> nbc meteorologist michelle grossman, thank you very much. we'll be back to you shortly. joining us now, fema administrator, deanne criswell. what can you tell us as this storm keeps getting bigger? >> good morning. thanks for giving me an opportunity to talk to you today. we've been preparing for this storm since friday when i talked to the governor and heard what his concerns are. as we continued to watch this storm, get more defined and now that we see it moving south, we are confident we have moved the right personnel and the right resources in place to make sure we can respond immediately, especially for those life-saving

efforts. we listened to the threat from the storm surge. it's going to be life threatening. anybody that has not evacuated, they need to stay in place and try to get to high ground if the waters start to rise. we're prepared to go in immediately to support the state's efforts in that immediate search and rescue to find anybody that may be impacted or stranded because of the storm. >> do you have an estimate as to how many people did stay behind? there's been urgent notices for people to evacuate, not everybody heeds that call. any sense of how many people are still there and may have to be saved when it's okay to do so? >> i don't have an estimate on total numbers. when i joined the president and talked to the mayors of hillsborough, tampa, st. pete, clearwater, they were confident people were taking their advice and evacuating. so many have evacuated, but there's always people who think they can ride the storm out. they'll be our concern as the

storm passes and we get in there to see how many people are stranded. >> given the population of lee county in and around fort myers, we're talking hundreds of thousands of people probably on the move. that's one issue. that's one problem to be dealt with, just the traffic getting people out of there. the other problem -- it's not a problem, what exactly does fema have on the ground now in and around lee county up through port charlotte? >> so, the resources that we have are staged strategically throughout the state. we know there will be impacts around the state. we're talking about where the hurricane is going to make landfall and where the eye of the storm is going to be. we know there's going to be rain across the state, significant amounts of rain. we know there's going to be tornado warnings. we had several tornado warnings yesterday. so, we have resources down in miami for search and rescue. we have resources up in the orlando area. we have resources outside the

state lines. so we can then come in quickly as soon as the storm passes to those areas that will have the greatest impact. >> what -- tell us, if you can, what did governor desantis say he needed most when you all had your conversation? >> yeah. i think the thing that we talked about back on friday that he was the most concerned about is we have an elderly population in many of these communities. we have a lot of individuals that are dependent, medically dependent on electricity. power -- we know there will be power outages. that's one of our big concerns of making sure we can support those people that need that. we are getting into those facilities that may not have been evacuated and see what their needs are. >> i'm noticing some hospitals right where the storm is headed are still open and operating. are they shored up so we don't have another situation like we saw in katrina? >> i know there's been several

hospitals that did evacuate. several nursing homes and assisted living facilities that did evacuate. florida did put in significant codes and standards that require greater resilience, bringing generators up to a higher level, reinforcing facilities. there's a lot of improvements that have been made over the last several decades to make sure they're stronger and able to withstand the impacts of these storms. they are our priority. we know where all of these facilities are. that's where we'll focus efforts to get in there and see what the impacts are and what we need to do to help the people that remain behind if needed. >> deanne criswell, thank you very much for being on this morning. we'll be watching this. we have a number of other big stories we're following. jury selection is scheduled to resume later this morning in the nation's capital for the trial of oath keepers leader stewart rhodes and four other members of the right-wing militia group.

they're charged with seditious conspiracy in connection with the january 6th insurrection at the u.s. capitol which carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence if convicted. the high-profile case is the biggest yet stemming from last year's attack on the capitol. the u.s. district judge presiding over the trial is looking to qualify 45 jurors before both sides exercise their strikes and select the final members of the jury. attorneys for rhodes have indicated he plans to argue he wasn't plotting anything illegal, but was just trying to prepare his members to take action if then president donald trump activated militias by invoking the insurrection act of 1807. all five defendants have pleaded not guilty. the trial is expected to last about six weeks. >> jonathan lemire, you look at this investigation, we're talking about the size and scope of this storm.

and it is massive. it's a metaphor for the fbi investigation, the doj investigation into january 6th. the size and scope of the investigation, the size and scope of the prosecutions. the breadth of what the justice department does continues to expand in large part because it's all on video. and they keep finding new people and identifying new people that took part in the riots, that took part in assaulting cops, that took part in illegal behavior. it is a massive undertaking by the fbi and doj. and we're seeing day after day one rioter after another rioter getting convicted. >> yeah. it has been billed by the department of justice as their largest investigation in their history because of the sheer number of people involved and

the near number of evidence involved. largely because the whole thing was caught on tape. not just security cameras at the capitol but these insurrectionists decided it was good to livestream while rioting at the capitol. that has been used against them and making the prosecutor's jobs easier. this trial here for the heads of the oath keepers, we talked about earlier in the show the man who assaulted michael finone, he asked for mercy from him, he said he is not ready yet. he got seven to eight years. as much as we're all focused on the probes into donald trump, including that by doj, doj is going one after another methodically trying and for the most part convicting capitol hill rioters. >> we got a snapshot of how the public is feeling about this. when asked about donald trump's role in the january 6th

insurrection, 38% of those polled believe he was directly responsible. 25% believe he encouraged those involved. 41% of those polled believe trump should be charged with crimes related to the attack. 34% oppose charging him. 25% not sure. this poll shows faith in american government is on the rebound. half of americans now believe the u.s. system of government is sound. that's up from 36% in june. it's the first time the number reached 50% in more than two years. a majority of republicans still believe the big lie that joe biden is only president because of voter fraud. joining us in new york, colorado secretary state chair, jenna griswold running for re-election in november. secretary griswold, thank you for being here. there's a slate of republican challengers running for re-election who said we don't

believe joe biden won the 2020 election. the man in arizona has gone as far as saying if joe biden goes and runs and wins again in 2024, i can't promise i will certify that result either. >> thanks for having me on. in colorado, we have the best elections in the nation. they're secure, they're accessible. as secretary of state, i take it as my duty to make sure that every republican, unaffiliated and democrat has access to the franchise. we are seeing the effects of the big lie across the country. for example, in colorado, i had to as an insider threat when a local county clerk actually breached her own election system trying to prove the big lie. we are seeing the big lying about used to destabilize american elections from voter suppression bills being passed, fake audits, threats to election workers. so the nation is at code red and talking about those election deniers running for secretary of

state across the election we have a huge opportunity in november to save the country. >> as secretary of state, what can you do to bolster the election? they're under arecall the from a lot of people who want to tamper with them or want to say what happened didn't happen. >> america's elections are safe and secure. voters votes count. we have a series of things we can do to evolve with the emerging threats. this past year i passed into law it's now a felony to compromise voting systems in the state of colorado. it's a felony to allow unauthorized access. we are seeing election workers threatened and then people like steve bannon coming in. at the same time, we are seeing americans freedom to vote rolled back. we also need secretaries of state who will open up the

franchise. that's why i expanded dropboxes by 65%, set up automatic voter registration. we need to stop the election denialism, stop the attacks on our election infrastructure and fight for american's freedom to choose their elected officials. >> 61% of republicans feel joe biden is not the legitimately elected president of the united states. how has your job changed, how has your life changed given the sea of denialism around us? >> it's changed a lot. i'm the first democrat elected to secretary of state in colorado in 60 years. my tenure included an international pandemic, managing elections during that. the really worst attack on the right to vote in our election infrastructure in recent times. so a big part of the onis pushing back on the lies.

making sure that coloradoans are aware there's this election denialism out there and to go to a trusted source, but also making sure we're evolving with the new threats. that's why i set up the first state office to combat foreigns did foreign disinformation. we had two insider breaches in the state of colorado. >> but personally? >> personally, it's a whole new thing. not only election workers receive threats, i do, too. at this point, two people have been arrested for threatening my life. i think, as a nation, as secretaries of state, the democrats, we will not stop. we will not be intimidated. i'll make sure to stand up to election deniers and go into blue and red counties to make sure eligible people can cast a vote. >> one of the things you said that's most important right now is the battle to fight disinformation and

misinformation. as we're seeing the republican groups, shadowy forces putting out fliers to confuse voters, advertisements that are blatantly false. how do you try to combat that and protect the vote so people know where, when and how they're able to do so? >> we have great elections in colorado but the emerging threat of disinformation is something pushed by foreign adversaries, russia, china, iran, but also from domestic actors. we have to expect people -- i grew up in a cabin with an outhouse outside in rural colorado, we have to expect people like my mom who do not have social media, to withstand disinformation attacks. so it's alerting americans to the role of disinformation and

sending them to a trusted source. more than just that, it's recogniing that this is a political tool. donald trump tried to steal the presidency in 2020. he failed. the actions have not stopped. the big lie is a political tool. it led to the insurrection on the united states capitol. it's the foundation of the 34 voter suppression bills that were passed into law last year. it's the foundation of all these things we're seeing to destabilize american elections. so we also, in addition to shining light on the lies, we need to push back on the voter suppression, we need to prosecute when people are trying to breach election systems and we need to make sure big lie secretary of state candidates are not elected in november. >> maybe the most important thing you said is the elections are secure and the work here is to keep them that way. >> thank you for being here today. >> thank you.

>> thank you for your service. still ahead on "morning joe," the latest from on the ground in florida where hurricane ian will make landfall in a few hours with wind speeds just shy of category 5 strength. also ahead, did russia sabotage its own pipeline to punish europeans for supporting ukraine? former u.s. ambassador to russia, michael mcfaul will be our guest. plus the january 6th hearing that had been scheduled for today has been postponed. we'll have the latest on when we expect the next hearing to be and what steps the committee could take when all the hearings are done. you're watching "morning joe." we'll be right back. it's the all-new subway series menu. twelve irresistible new subs. the most epic sandwich roster ever created. ♪♪ it's subway's biggest refresh yet!

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the house select committee investigating the january 6th attack on the capitol has

postponed today's public hearing because of hurricane ian. the committee announced the move yesterday writing we are praying for the safety of all of those in the storm's path. there is no word yet on when the hearing will be rescheduled, but the committee appears to be winding down its investigation. one committee member speaking on the condition of anonymity tells nbc news the panel is transitioning its focus to a written report outlining the panel's findings over the past 14 months. joining us now, justice department reporter for the "new york times," katie benner. first of all, do we know when the next hearing will be? that does appear to be the final one, but how long will they hold off? >> so talk is it could be soon as next week but i think should be cautious here, because they can reschedule this hearing, we just saw them reschedule this hearing's we won't know for sure until the committee puts out an official announcement. >> katie -- sorry. >> the written report they're

working on, what are we hearing about what exactly they plan to do with that? there was talk about what it would take for them to actually do a criminal referral to the justice department by unanimous vote, perhaps. is that at this point just surmising, or is there legitimate undercurrents? >> i think one of the things about this committee, as they reach near the finish line it starts to get fuzzy in terms of what their mission is and intent is. i think the report is a really great example of that. you're right. there was originally talk of criminal referral to the justice department. that conversation was happening at a time it did not seem the justice department was moving quickly to investigate january 6th, and now we see the justice department is moving ahead and does not need a referral from the committee to act. the committee's report i think ultimately what they always said, which is a fullest accounting to the american people of what happened

leading up to january 6th, why the january 6th attack happened and what to do afterwards. there may or may not be a criminal referral. they may or may not refer some activity regarding funding to the s.e.c. that's to be seen. ultimately, what they want to do is have a document that we can read that tells us exactly what happened and why. >> and, katie, obviously the hearings and the report, too, have captured the country's attention. polling shows in a way even the committee didn't expect. it has been compelling and will be in this last one. take it from the other side of it. the justice department. how closely are they watching these hearings? how closely are they watching this last hearing? how closely will they read this final report when they consider whether or not to take up criminal charges? >> top officials always maintained the department's leaders are watching extremely closely. it would be absurd not to. you never know what evidence can be brought in this forum. maybe not evidence to hold up in a court of law but could lead to interesting questions, leads, investigative steps.

certainly they're watching closely. they'll scan the report for any information they can find that matches what they've seen, contradicts what they've seen and contradicts what their own witnesses told them. they will be key. and keep in mind, the committee and justice department have never come to a full cooperation agreement. for the department, some information they see in the report whenever it comes could be information that they're seeing for the first time. >> katie, we had -- we continue to have convictions in the january 6th trials that are taking place. yesterday one of the -- the toughest sentences handed down along with a judge that's just absolutely scathing indictment of the january 6th hearings as well as donald trump. >> keep in mind, this is true, the committee holding hearings publicly, taken a break, the justice department has been moving forward, to your point, with these prosecutions of

the rioters and we've seen judges come out and criticize not only the folks before them on the bench who they are, who are being found guilty, being sentenced, but also really criticizing this ongoing lie that donald trump won the election, and the ongoing damage that's doing to the country. i think we might see some of that in the future committee hearings as well. the committee wants to show some of the loose ends they've gathered up including a more forward-looking view of the impact all of this has had on the united states since the attack. >> all right. the "new york times" justice reporter katie benner, thank you very, very much for being on this morning. coming up, the senate's top republican is backing a plan that is making it harder to overturn a lawful election. will other republicans join mitch mcconnell who is supporting the measure? we'll run through that ahead on "morning joe." ♪limu emu & doug♪

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major news out of russia. the "new york times" reporting that russian men attempting to escape the country following vladimir putin's latest call up are being met at the border and served draft notices. the neighboring country of georgia says around 10,000 people are seeking entry into its borders each day as the rush to escape continues. the eu border agency says there was a 30% jump last week in the number of russian citizens who fled the country. according to an independent newspaper, russia has seen protests in more than 50 cities and 2,300 people detained under anti-protest laws. across ukraine, supporters of the kremlin are claiming victory in referendums that most western observers call shams.

russian officials in four occupied regions alleged citizens of those areas voted overwhelmingly to cede their homeland to russia. this sets russia to annex more land from ukraine. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy said "none of russia's criminal actions will change anything." we'll talk about this when former u.s. ambassador to russia, michael mcfaul joins the conversation in the next hour. what he makes of vladimir putin's threats of nuclear war. "morning joe" is back in a moment. 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? president biden has now signed the inflation reduction act into law.

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that's why cal fire firefighters, the american lung association, and the california democratic party support prop 30. prevent fires. cut emissions. and cleaner air. yes on 30. mitch mcconnell is throwing his support behind the bipartisan electoral count act

reform. >> the congressional process for counting the presidential electoral votes was written 135 years ago. the chaos that came to a head january 6th last year certainly underscored the need for an update. >> the revision would clarify the 1887 electoral account act to limit the vice president's responsibility to simply counting votes and raise the threshold to object to an elector and also add laws around certifying elections and help ensure and orderly transition of power. the endorsement from mcconnell gives the legislation a major boost but will put the republican leader at odds with former president trump. the bill can now be sent to the full senate floor for a vote. >> i really don't think he cares. >> oh, of course not. >> donald trump is -- jonathan lemire, obviously, this has been a critically important piece of

legislation to pass. as i mentioned yesterday, the "new york times" editorial board, "wall street journal" ed tort board soon after january 6th both agreed this needed updating. especially to prevent another january the 6th, but also i like the fact, even unless, let's just say less serious times, it stops members of either party for political purposes questioning the outcome of the election. and it seems every few elections you'll have a couple of democrats or a couple of republicans who want to make a point to their fervent base who question the outcome of the elections. of course, drawing no equivalency between what happened in '20 and what happened through the years, but it has been an irritant for quite some time. and by raising the -- the threshold for actually these questions to be raised and debated, i think -- i think it makes the entire process

cleaner, better, more serious. >> yeah. it's happened before. george bush's election. it happened in 2016, a couple democrats registered complaints when donald trump was being -- january 6th, and joe biden, then vice president, said no, enough is enough. moving on from here. this, of course, is about january 6th and bipartisan support, a bipartisan bill. those attacked the process believed it would get enough republican support any way, and mitch mcconnell lending his voice all but guarantees it. it puts at odds with some in the caucus. not every republican. particularly those in line with the former president will go with this, opposition. right, people i talked to say mcconnell doesn't care at all what trump thinks. heard how critical he was on january 6th, the aftermath of riot. we know how mcconnell has broken with trump on a lot of things since then. this is an important step and white house aides i spoke to last night said, of course, the overarching goal after that

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welcome back. imagine finding a treasure trove of nerve-before-heard music lost to time curated by one of the '70s biggest influencers, that's what happened when joe hagan

went into the closet of earl mcgraff tape after tape from music legends like hall and

oy walk into a closet, there are hundreds of real, the real tapes. old-school. on a stepladder. i knew there was a story there right away. and i got interested in it. they were liquidated his estate at the time, and i said, i'm getting these tapes.

and i, i very fortunately hooked up with an amazing, independent record label in los angeles called light in the attic, and they said, hey, let's do this. let's make an album. we'll put a book inside. it will be journalistic. you can interview people, and we'll make it into a project. >> journalistic and also extraordinarily cool. i have to read this. harrison ford noting, talking about earl mcgrath. ford, who before "star wars" fame was early's handy man and pot dealer. he called him the last of a breed. one of the last great gentlemen and bohemians. >> what did you find beyond those rolling stones. that and itself would be enough. what else you got? >> amazingly, hall and oates, maybe you've heard of them, their demo tape from 1969 was in there. and it was, you know, when they were -- they began trying to be a country rock act, and i interviewed darryl hall and he said, they were trying to sound like the band in robby robertson. there's a new york dolls represented in there.

jim carroll band, if you've heard of him, he's a great, interesting poet. and early -- by the way, earl discovered hall and oates, that's a whole story itself in the books. >> so the tapes, did you digitize them? were you able to get them so you could listen to everything? >> we had a grammy-nominated record engineer remastered them and digitized them and made them -- cleaned them up, because some of them were in rough shape. and, you know, we have 20 -- it's a double album. it's 22 songs in all. and it's a big -- a wide berth, breadth of music. >> the music business is so quirky, hit or miss. >> was there anything in there that you heard and immediately said, wow, this could go today? most of it, i will say. a large part of this, i felt like i was an a&r man from the '70s, suddenly. i'm getting to revisitdemos. is there was a band called

shadow, which was a pop rock group that for whatever reason wasn't able to make it over the top. they were being billed as the american bee gees. two of their songs are on here, really amazing. there are several artists like that. and other ones that are cult legends like the exas trubidor on terry island, which is an amazing artist still working today. this was like a fantasy to be able to come into this and be able to relive this. >> the double album is entitled "earl's closet" the lost archive of earl mcgrath, 1970 to 1980. that is just amazing. joe hagin, wow! >> it is -- >> a great story! >> it is a great album. it is a great project. and as joe said, it really, it doubles as a journalistic project. joe, thank you so much for being with us. we greatly appreciate it. >> thank you. >> thanks, joe and mika.

so mike, we were talking last hour about the new york yankees. actually, they started the season on the historic run. things slowed down a bit for them, but they've got the pacing right now, as they go into the playoffs. won the al east, got a buy, and it is still aaron judge chasing history. talk about how things are shaping up in the american league east. and let's let jonathan lemire give his opinion on how to fix the red sox. >> well, i've got to tell you, joe, watched the yankees game last night, switching back and forth between the red sox and the yankees game, and aaron judge may be in five at bats, four really hittable pitches. that's it. he will break this record. he will get to 61. he probably will get to 62 and beyond. the yankees, i don't know how far they'll go this fall. there's a subtle weakness, i think, to the yankees' team. i don't know whether they make it to the world series, which is

obviously their goal. but, you know, the point of this thing, joe, as we talk about this every day, and baseball is like life, you've got to do it every day. win, lose or draw, you've got to dress for them all. >> in the red sox case, you lose more than you win. eight games under .500. you asked what they should do this off-season. probably involves a lot of prayer. but beyond that, they need to spend some money. they need to keep raphael devers, they need to help sandra bogerts as well, but rebuild a pitching staff rotation and bull pen. mike's dying to chime in. go ahead. >> i'm just going to tell you this. you know this, you feel this, you live this, so does jonathan. this is the curse of bookie betts. this is the curse of trading a home-grown star, a megastar, the face of major league baseball, bookie betts, and get nothing for him. >> i'll pick that up. i was in l.a. last week, got to a dodgers game, was disappointed

that mookie betts had the day off, he wasn't going to play, but he pinch hit in the bottom of the ninth and delivered the game-win walk off hit. was he's that special, he's a superstar. i was happy for him and it broke my heart at the same time. >> you look at how badly we're doing this season, look at what's happened over the past couple, and it's hard to believe, jonathan, we were world series champs, not so long ago, with mookie, with devers, my god, with zander, with some really good pitchers, it's amazing how that 2018 team has been dismantled, piece by piece by piece. >> it was just four years ago. and that wasn't a team that fluked into a world series championship, that was a team that steamrolled through the playoffs and there was barely anybody left. age, look, some players just got older. j.d. martinez, not the same guy

he was then, that happened. but they lost mookie betts. andrew benintendi is gone. david price is gone. chris sail hasn't been seen since, although technically he's still on the roster. and now, the core, what should be the young core going forward, devers and bogerts, both of their futures are in question. and if they were to lose them after losing mookie, i don't know. as much as the red sox are the lifeblood of new england and it is the backdrop to our day-to-day lives, there would be a fan revolt. there would be a lot of really unhappy new englanders if that were to happen. >> all right. it is two minutes before the top of the hour right now. two minutes before 6:00 a.m. on the west coast and 9:00 a.m. on the east coast. and hurricane ian is barreling

down. is barrel. e ian is barreling down is barrel. and occupied parts of their country calling them, quote, null and worthless. this amid outrage over the suspected sabotage of two underwater gas pipeline built to carry natural gas to europe, as some european leaders point the finger at the kremlin, suggesting the blasts were intended as a threat. but first, as we said, hurricane ian is expected to make landfall in florida in just a few hours. we're going to get the latest track in just a moment. first, nbc news correspondent sam brock has the latest from the west coast of florida. >> reporter: this morning, hurricane ian now a category 4, pounding the florida keys overnight with soaking rains and sustained winds up to 140 miles an hour. there were also a number of

reported tornadoes in florida overnight, knocking down trees and damaging small planes at a local airport. on tuesday, president biden promising federal support, sending some 700 fema workers to potential disaster zones ahead of the storm. simultaneously warning residents to take hurricane ian seriously. >> the forecast can change, but for now the experts say this could be a very severe hurricane. life-threatening. >> reporter: late last night, florida's governor had this message for his state. >> you need to evacuate now. you're going to start feeling major impacts of this storm, relatively soon. >> reporter: despite repeated warning to evacuate in gulfport, these buses meant to transport hundreds of seniors going largely unused. >> this will all be underwater. >> reporter: volunteers telling us they were hoping to pick up 200 people, but only transported a few dozen. >> reporter: thank you for coming and getting me. >> reporter: among them, 91-year-old elizabeth hartman, who ultimately agreed to go,